The Poncho Faction

Evening fell upon Red Town, turning the grey rainy clouds black and the streetlights on. Nico and Lindsey made their way back to the adventurer's guild, where they found Melissa sitting on her desk computer. She made eye contact with them, and her usual smile quickly faded when she saw Lindsey.

They approached the front desk and greeted Melissa, who responded with a curt nod and smiled faintly. Lindsey hid behind Nico and scratched the back of her neck nervously, cringing slightly as she averted her gaze.

Nico raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes in annoyance. 'Don't act ashamed now. You're the one who decided to make things weird yourself,' Nico said as he stepped forward.

"You're back," she said softly. "I see you slayed the Dire Wolves. Good job."

"Eh, it was a no-brainer," Nico said as he shrugged and smirked. "... You seem to be in a hurry tonight. Is something going on?"

"Ah, you can tell...?" she replied with a faint smile. "I'm going... to my second job."

Lindsey laughed softly, earning herself a glare from Nico, who immediately told her to stop. Nico turned to Melissa and sighed.

"Sorry. She doesn't know a single thing about respect..." he apologized. "It's like she's a teenager going through adolescence."

"It's alright. Your reward?"

Melissa lifted her palm above Nico's, allowing the transfer of the coins to occur. Once the payment was settled, she got up from her chair and pressed a button. The button turned on a holographic NPC that would act as Melissa's replacement.

"I'm already running late. This isn't good," she said as she looked at the clock on the wall. "See you in the morning," she said with a smile as she retreated to the back.

Nico smiled back and waved as he watched her leave.

"How can you be attracted to someone like her?" Lindsey inquired as she crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow. "You do know that she's a hooker, right? And, she works for Genesis. You know that too, right?"

"Of course, I know. Thanks to you and your sister," Nico rolled his eyes as he walked to the elevator.

"And yet you like her. It must be those big boobs. My boobs are just as big, maybe even bigger, and you haven't made your move yet," said Lindsey as she fondled her breasts and pushed them up towards Nico, who became flustered in response.

"Behave yourself! Melissa's cool!" he exclaimed as his cheeks flushed red.

"And I'm not?!"

"You're a literal brat, so of course I'd like her more than I would you!"

Lindsey gasped and teared up. "You're mean, Nico!" she shouted as she smacked him on his shoulder, taking away 15 points of his health.

"Hey, that hurt!" he said as he pinched Lindsey's cheek. After a sigh, he scratched the back of his head. "I'm too tired for this bullshit. You're sleeping on the floor tonight."

"Huh?! I was kidding! Don't do this to me, Nico!"

***

The black clouds turned grey, signalling that day had been approaching. Nico slowly opened his eyes and looked around him. He had fallen asleep on the floor after Lindsey refused to do so herself. His back was alright. If he had slept on the floor in his original body, his back would've been thrown out, even though he was only 34.

"Bad posture isn't a game..." he mumbled as he stood up and stretched. He saw Lindsey leave the bathroom and greeted her. "Morning."

"Morning. What are we doing today?" she asked with a smile.

"Same thing as yesterday. We're going monster hunting. This time, we're not stopping at just wolves. We'll hunt as many monsters as we can, harvest their organs, sell them and make a ton of bank."

"That sounds exhausting. Can't I stay here instead? Just for today?" Lindsey inquired as she pushed her index fingers together and pouted.

"Sure; if you wanna return to the streets, that is."

"Let's get huntin'!" Lindsey said, her voice motivated and her face showing nothing but determination.

"I'll send you the location of our first hunt. I'm gonna go freshen up. You can go ahead so long."

Lindsey nodded and left the room, allowing Nico a few minutes of peace. He didn't waste any time opening his status screen, where he saw all his statistics and how far he'd grown.

{ Player: V-777 (Vortex_7)

LVL: 5

Race: Night Phoenix

HP: 400/400

STR: 330/330

DEX: 290/290

CHA: 70/70

LUK: 7/7

Mana: 490/490

Value: #1549

Aestrol Coins: æ34,218.00

Companions: TreeHart

Weapons: Steel Blade (D-rank); Voided Xiphos (Unknown Rank)

Items: Packaged Food (3); Healing Potion (5)

Abilities: Dancing Fire (D-rank) }

He inspected his inventory and pulled out the Gryphon Heart. He frowned as he put it back and closed his status screen. 'I like how far I've come. But, my health is still a problem. I need to find a way to consume this Gryphon Heart while I still have it.'

He left the room and made his way out of the adventurer's guild. As soon as he stepped through the doors, his AutoSiphers played a ringing tone. When Nico looked at the holographic screen in front of him, he saw Lindsey's gamertag on the display.

He picked up and said, "Hello?"

"Nico...! Help! They're-! (static)"

The call cut and Lindsey's panicked voice disappeared through the line. Nico felt his nervousness slowly rise. He ran in the direction of the first location he sent Lindsey, hoping he'd find her there.

But, on his way there, he encountered a man wearing a poncho, carrying a staff while wearing a sinister smile. Nico pulled out his Voided Xiphos and took an attack stance, his brows furrowing as he readied himself for battle.

"Hey, you're Nico, aren't you?" the man in the poncho inquired as he scratched his face. "You might wanna put that sword away, or else you're gonna get hurt."

"Who are you?"

"My name is irrelevant. But, my family... We are known as the Poncho Faction, the roots of Genesis!" the man exclaimed.

"You're the one who took Lindsey. I'll only ask once. Where is she?"

"If you want her back, you'll have to quietly come with me. And, that means putting away that weapon of yours."

Nico resisted. For all he knew, it could've been a trap laid out for him. But, at the same time, he couldn't let Lindsey get taken back to Genesis without her own free will.

'I don't even know this girl... And yet... I can't let her die...' Nico gritted his teeth and stashed his Voided Xiphos into his inventory, putting his hands in his pocket hoodie afterwards. "Fine... I'll play along. Take me to your leader."

The man in the poncho smirked and nodded his head vigorously. "You're smart! Very smart! Come, I'll take you to the leader!"

And so, they began trekking through the most shady parts of Red Town, Nico's memories taking him back to the first time he arrived in the game world. The same things he saw that day were the same things he saw today.

The mysterious man in the poncho ended up leading him to an abandoned school, where crows built nests and flew around nonchalantly. Nico felt his skin crawl and remembered Nyx's words when they parted ways.

'In exchange for my enhancements, you'll come across a life-threatening situation at least once or twice in a single month.'

Nico had spent about 2 to 3 weeks in the new world, which made him wonder if this was what Nyx had spoken about. His goosebumps became visible and he felt his skin crawl because of the school's state.

Graffiti walls with countless messages instigating the murder of the Olympus gods, the broken swing that constantly swung because of the subtle blowing wind and the cracked walls with holes where some critters had built their nests.

Nico stepped into the school, arrived at the auditorium, and was met with an intimidating presence. A man with no hair and green eyes glared at him as he sat on a chair. Nico readied himself because he knew that he'd be fighting soon enough. And, with his luck, probably for his life.

"You know..." Ace began as he stood up from his chair and grunted. "I never thought that the man Lindsey mentioned was going to be as scrawny as you. What race are you?"

Nico didn't answer. Instead, his eyes kept scanning the area subtly, trying to detect any hidden presence. So far, he had spotted none.

Ace furrowed his brows. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

"Where's Lindsey?" Nico inquired in a serious tone, his eyes narrowed, but his nervousness palpable.

"Tch. Show him the slut."

The curtains of the stage behind Ace opened, revealing Lindsey being held by 2 men in ponchos. She was gagged and chained, resisting as hard as she could to break free. But, when she saw Nico, she eased up, almost as if she had put 100% of her trust in him.

Her eyes were glimmering, just like the first day she saw Nico in action. Now that Nico had been assured that she was safe, he needed to make sure that stayed that way.

"Now then, let the game begin," Ace said with a smile on his face.