Stronger

Azuma reacted even before his mind could understand what happened. There was a blur of shadow that lunged at him, he staggered back from the sudden weight but plunged the small fragment of glass at his attacker.

The monster had no eyes, his mouth was wide open—lined with small uneven teeth—and drooling with acid.

It hissed and the stench burned Azuma's lungs, but by this time he had faced death too many times. The terror was deeply rooted and his intincts were sharp even though shaky.

With a low guttural sound, he dragged the glass aside and severed the monster before it could even land a blow.

Azuma fought against the monster but his struggles were more towards the burning pain that spread and flared with every hit he landed.

By the time he grudgingly dumped the dead monster down, he was breathless and dizzy.

But there was a speck of warmth in his numb heart.

"I…" he whispered, gazing at the glass in his hand, "I killed… two of them."

It sounded impossible given the circumstances. He had no actual weapons, no technology, and no innate skills at fighting monsters.

Azuma forgot about everything else, his fears and rage washed away like they were nothing.

His throat went dry.

A little far from the window where he stood there was the balcony of two young siblings. They had called a strong looking old man for help but now all of them were staring at Azuma in disbelief.

"Well…" the boy said thoughtfully, "I really thought he would die since he's a weirdo."

"That's rude!" his sister exclaimed, "Maybe he was nervous when he started shouting at something unknown, maybe it was the neuralink? Some malfunction?"

"Who fights with a bot like that?"

"Okay enough, you two," the old man sighed and lowered his gun.

He had barely pulled the trigger when he saw Azuma fight like that and finish a high ranked monster within moments.

Azuma sensed he was being watched and glanced at the three other people.

"Eeh!" the little girl gasped when she saw his injured face and the blood which seemed to have embraced him a little too intimately.

"That's rude," her brother mumbled.

+

Azuma had known Grandpa Ru for a long time.

He was a man that looked old and grumpy ten years ago and still looked old and grumpy after ten years. One could always find him near children and Azuma could never understand why Grandpa Ru let that happen.

Children were annoying.

But not to Grandpa Ru and so the old man became grandpa for countless kids he helped and raised along the way.

Even though Azuma and him were not biologically related, it was hard to tell by the responsibility Grandpa Ru showed.

He was now immersed in deep thoughts and his eyes were dark as he wrapped bandages around Azuma's palm.

The air was heavy and tense. They were no longer in immediate danger but even the distant inhumane cries caused them to flinch sometimes.

Azuma was looking at the faded badge sewn in Grandpa Ru's shabby clothes and his thoughts were complicated.

LCFR/021 ⍺

"Strange," the old man closed the first aid kid and scratched the back of his neck, "There is so much blood and yet the only wounds I can see are on your palm."

Azuma frowned.

"How are you feeling?" Grandpa Ru asked.

"You just gave me the painkillers," Azuma slightly curled his fingers as he realised how drastically different he was feeling, "I am not feeling anything for now."

There was a soreness in his limbs, and the hot shadow of pain and flaring wounds still remained. But it was hard to believe there were no visible injuries.

He wondered if it was some other weird function of codex…

But that makes no sense.

An AI can not alter the basic biology of humans. They were not that advanced yet.

Grandpa Ru was not sure what to say and after trying to find some consoling words and reasonable answer, he gave up and flatly concluded.

"You need to be properly checked," he got up from his chair, "Return to your base and why the hell did you even think about coming here?"

Azuma was now slowly understanding what must have happened. Since Grandpa Ru was alive and far from being sick, the message he received must be due to Zero.

…or the codex.

They invaded the database and learned about the bad situation of this town. But it made Azuma uneasy to learn how easily the network connected to AI could be manipulated.

And it made his heart race to think about how easily Zero had proved her point.

He could become strong.

Truly strong.

It was a scary thought that made him feel more certain than ever before.

"Bored," was all he said in the end.

Grandpa Ru grumbled about how today's generation is reckless and impulsive but did not pursue the matter further.

He forced Azuma to take some dehydrated ration snacks, ready to eat meals, and freshly baked cactus cookies because he looked so 'thin'. And since the weapon Azuma used was risky, Grandpa Ru gave his own sword to him.

And taser whiplash.

Along with a twin set of daggers.

"How much do you hoard?" Azuma was bewildered as he watched the heavily packed luggage.

"Learn to hoard," Grandpa Ru mumbled with distaste, "You can't always be with Genesis and surviving is hard in these areas without proper equipment."

The winds were cold and the night was quiet by the time Azuma reached back to the base. He grabbed a tram and was slightly more annoyed to realise that the penalty quest had even misguided him on the way earlier.

But he couldn't say truly mad when there was a wide prospectus in front of him.

He needed some time to clearly think.

To blindly follow the codex could result in fatal consequences. It was still something mysterious and eerily capable of too many things.

Who would create something like that?

And why did Azuma find it?

If he reports to the authorities, he might lose the only chance he had in fulfilling his dreams.

How long can Azuma simply let things happen? He needs to make his own path.

And Shiro…. She was still shackled inside the Abyss.

As he faced the large gates of the Genesis Base, Azuma deeply inhaled the refreshing wind. It was gentle and calming that night.

〙Daily Quest is now available.〘

〙You have unread notifications!〘

The gentle voice of Zero softly resounded inside his head as the quest screen flickered in front of Azuma. His gaze hardened with determination and he slightly smiled.

This time, he will not back down so easily.