A trip down...

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The silence was shattered by the unmistakable sound of a crack. The sheer force of the stomp made the man's skull get crushed open. Bits of his brain and blood were splattered all over them.

"That, that was unnecessary." Asahi cringed at the sight as he tried to wipe off the splattered blood from his face.The girl that was holding onto Toru shielded his vision from the brutal scene.

'That's all of them.' Kazuhiro stared at the now lifeless body for a couple of seconds before overlooking the new faces that aided him during that last moment.

"Thank you for the help you provided." The entity gently bowed and placed a hand on his chest to show gratitude. If it weren't for them, he would've failed both missions.

"It's no big deal, we saw you folks needed some help, and we came in for the rescue." Asahi smirked as he placed both hands in his pockets, "However, we want to know your secrets, kid. How did you tame such a beast?" He directed his attention to the youngster.

 His sister was also intrigued and waited for the kid to answer. However, Toru did not reply at first but instead stared at the one holding onto him with indifference and a slight tinge of annoyance written over his face.

"I'm capable of standing on my own. You don't have to carry me." His signature monotone returned, as he was displeased with how she was holding him, it's as if she was carrying a large teddy bear in her arms.

"Ah, Sorry Ehehe." She sets him down, before letting out an odd giggle. That last bit made Toru feel uneasy.

Toru took a few steps away from her and stood beside Kazuhiro. "I did not tame him, he's his own being. The reason why I'm with him is because I've asked him to assist me on a certain matter." He responded to the teen's query.

"I see... that's kind of a bummer." Asahi chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head, disappointed at the reply. His initial hopes and expectations seemed dashed at that moment. Sure recent events had been crazy but he was silly to think that he had somehow was dragged into a manga setting.

"Anyways, without wasting either of our time, we should get going. If you don't mind Kazuhiro-San." Toru suggested. He turned to look at the entity, seeking confirmation if they should continue their march to their destination.

"I Don't mind." Kazuhiro shook his head in response to Toru. He picked up the kid, and placed him on his back. Toru held onto him as they were on their way to the school. However, their progress was stopped by a voice behind them.

"You sure kid?" Asahi quizzed as his eyes raked over Toru and his companion. The kid had heavy eyebags beneath his eyes, and the tall one sported papercut-sized scratches, a limp arm and a gunshot wound.

"You don't look so good, and your buddy over there isn't looking any better," He turned to point in the direction of some buildings, "Our apartment building is nearby, you guys can rest there, and we'll patch up the tall dude as best we can. Sounds good?" he offered.

"Asahi is right, you two should rest. Who knows what dangers lie the further you try to reach your destination. It could even be worse than those that tried to kill you earlier." Akemi chimed in, her concern evident as she glanced towards the smoldered vehicle. She worried for their safety, especially for the child.

A tense silence ensued. The group awaited Toru's decision, whether he would accept or decline their offer.

"Before I give you my response. What do you want in return? Surely the service you provide won't be free." Toru finally broke the extended silence. His tone was laced with distrust and genuine confusion. He had every right to be cautious. The world was in chaos, so to be offered a helping hand obviously wouldn't be free.

Understanding the kid's wariness. Asahi responded back. "Well, we won't ask for much but to tag along. I mean, we are bored out of our minds and got nothin' much to do besides toying with the dead around, the fun in that died down pretty quick." Asahi chuckled at the last bit as he expressed his reasons for the offer.

That left Toru to ponder for a bit, he'd glance at the entity occasionally and later released a sigh. "Sure, I could use some sleep. Moreover, I agree that Kazuhiro-san needs some time to heal his wounds. However, I suspect that he has some regeneration capabilities. I can't be entirely sure." He concluded.

"Great! Let's move." Asahi took the lead, followed by his sister, then Toru and Kazuhiro tailed a few steps behind the duo.

On their way there, the teen decided to introduce themselves. "By the way, I'm Asahi, Uchinaga Asahi, and this is my twin sister, Uchinaga Akemi." He pointed his thumb at the girl who was walking a couple of steps behind him.

"Hi!~" She turned and waved at the two, greeting them with a cheerful, melodic tone. A beaming smile gracing her features.

"Toru, and the one with me goes by the name Kazuhiro." After the introduction, Toru rested his head on the entity's shoulder.

"Strange name for an alien. Akemi, hand me your bat." Akemi tossed a spare bat over; it was made out of metal this time. She then pulled out a kitchen knife. The strat was for Asahi to stun the dead by whacking them on the head and Akemi going in for the head stab. 

After having their fun whacking and stabbing the dead, the siblings had soon led everyone back to their apartment block. 

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The door creaked opened loudly as they entered the room.

"Make yourself at home, just… don't mind the mess." Asahi opened the door to their apartment; the new guests were met with a cluttered apartment room with stacks of thin books, scattered clothes, and various misplaced objects.

"Anyways, Toru, you can rest in any of the three bedrooms you'd like, just head to the right of that hallway. As for you, Kazu-san, Akemi will take care of your wounds. I'll have to bathe for the third time today." Asahi sighed at the last part while Akemi went to fetch a medical kit.

The only ones left standing in the hallway were Toru and Kazuhiro

"Kazuhiro-san." Toru decided to break the silence. "Once the both of us are fully rested, there is something I would like to discuss with you. it may be related to you." He walked forward a few steps. " You must be curious about where or what I have been doing during all that action you had going on." He continued before turning right, the entity heard the door creak open and shut afterward. 

Puzzled by Toru's recent comments, Kazuhiro decided to pay it no mind and went into what seemed to be a living room, hunched over as his back touched the ceiling. He sat on the floor and leaned his back against the wall.

A pop up showed itself in the top right of his vision.

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xxxx 

You are now resting. Your health bar will regenerate over time.

Fractured bone detected. - cannot be recovered instantly, requires natural recovery- 

Damaged skin detected. Closing wounds

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HP: 210/1640

Time remaining to completely heal:

34 minutes and 30 seconds.

xxxx

'It won't take that long. I might as well check up on the rewards that I have received.' Retrieving the device, Kazuhiro scrolled through its contents.

"Staring at your own reflection? Cool mirror." Akemi stood at the side with a medkit in hand as she peeked at what the tall figure was holding, its design was strange to her.

'A mirror? Can she not see what's on screen?' Confused, he saw her sit beside him, inspecting the wounds that he had. 

"I'm no pro, but I'll try my best." Opening the kit, she took out a bandage and tried to roll around the long, broken arm of his.

Focusing back on the device, Kazuhiro continued to claim the rewards while Akemi attended to his injuries.

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xxxx

Received!

Alternative(s):

Eliminate the threat, with Toru being alive. | (5/5) -Complete-

Reward(s):

︎︎▪︎ 20 (AP) has been applied

︎︎▪︎ 20 (DEX) has been applied

︎︎▪︎ 20 (STA) has been applied

︎︎▪︎ 20 (AGI) has been applied 

︎︎▪︎ 20 (STR) has been applied

︎︎▪︎ 20 (CON) has been applied

︎︎▪︎ 15000 SC added to your virtual wallet 

︎︎▪︎ Facility Chest has been stored in your inventory.

︎︎▪︎ A new Application(s):

Class application.

︎︎▪︎ A new ability: Wind chant (Activation skill). A scroll has been stored in your inventory.

xxxx

'I instantly sense the power course within me once again; it's not the same feeling that I had after slaughtering a significant amount of those undead. Though that was only temporary, I have gained a lot, and I felt drained afterwards.'

"Woah, dude, what was that? Did- did I apply too much pressure on the injury?" Akemi, noticing the quiver, made her stop what she was doing. "And by the way, Toru was right about you having regen abilities. All of your wounds have closed up. Though your arm is still the same way as it is. I guess it'll take time." She stood up, seeing that her job was done. She moved to lounge on the sofa and later turned on the TV.

Kazuhiro looked over to see the bandaged arm. what he saw was the dressing wrapped in a bow. 'Was she even trying?' Refusing to comment about it, he averts his gaze to the device, now on the homepage. He noticed a new addition, the class application.

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xxxx 

__Class__

A suited class is being picked based on your attributes. 

Chosen Class: Merchant -Tier 1-

You received 10 Tree points for having a class.

Bonus Attributes:

+4 INT 

+2 STA

︎▪︎ Description:

Both a buyer and a seller, your goal is to make a profit! Either your customer buys using currency or trades it with something equally valuable. 

Given Class abilities:

︎▪︎ Tax:

A little more wouldn't hurt, right? What? Who said it was just about money?

Description:

You can steal extra from your opponents, be it draining their health or whatever ability that has drainage as its core function (It correlates well with Swiping Frenzy). . You can also tax others for their purchases starting at 5%.

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︎▪︎ A seller's greed:

 All the gold in the world!

Description:

Receive a minimal buff when you're not in debt. (Recieve a buff every month based on the market's sales or your wallet.)

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Given Class Item:

▪︎ A golden coupon:

Now, what do we reward our employee of the month with? More pay? Umm, no... but I've got a better idea, how about a discount!

Description:

Receive a coupon every month (market time) and be able to buy anything with 50% off! The offer cannot stack and can be used only by the user!

xxxx 

 'Hm? is this what it meant by class? The role that I got is not bad. I'll further look into it at a later time along with the other two that I have obtained from the recent mission.' He shuts off the device and inspected the health bar atop his vision.

'It's almost full. Might as well go out and extract a few things while he's resting.' 

"You've got to be kidding me. Why did you tie it like that, Akemi?! I bet that would surely help him recover." Asahi walks into the room with a towel on his head and wearing nothing but shorts, revealing his athletic physique.

"If you care so much, why don't you do it?" She retorted sharply, shooting her brother a glare.

Asahi tried to say something but was stopped by Kazuhiro, who voiced it before him. "No need, I'll head outside. I have a few things that I should attend to." With no further words from the twins, the entity took it as his sign to leave. He soon stood up and made his way out, leaving the condo.

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[Arlington, Texas. William's residence.]

A child can be seen slowly descending the stairs as bright flashes occasionally occur outside the sole window, briefly illuminating the dark domicile. The sound of the heavy rain added to the eerie atmosphere indoors. 

The soft pad of small footsteps whispered through the hallway.

The child was dressed in a black suit with a matching tie and shoes. Each step created a soft echo, resonating through the quiet halls.

Reaching the end of the stairs, the kid turned his head to the one and only lit room in the house. Hearing subtle noises coming from inside, the sound of a bottle being popped open.

He went in and headed towards the cabinet, not acknowledging that there was a person inside, simply ignoring their presence.

Opening the kitchen cabinet, he reached in to grab a treat. The action and the sound of the creaky cabinet didn't go unnoticed.

"I never saw you shed a single tear the whole time we were there. Why is that?" The gruff tone halted the kid in his place, he refrained from turning towards the owner of the voice.

The man was seated, and was waiting for the kid to answer as he poured himself another shot into the small glass. He gulped it down in one go.

The small glass hit the table with a thud.

He let his arm drop heavily on the table. Exhaling after downing the drink. The man glanced towards the boy. 

Despite the attention fixed on him, the boy stayed silent, his back still turned to the man, refusing to acknowledge the inquiry.

"I see how it is." The man chuckled as he rose from his seat and approached the kid. He vigorously grabbed and kept a hold of the boy's hair. Turning the boy to meet his gaze.

"I'll say it one more time. Why didn't you cry?" The man's tone grew more ominous as he phrased his question slowly, his presence becoming more intimidating. However, the boy maintained his silence, refusing to respond even under the mounting pressure.

The room resonated with the heavy rain outside, its sound engulfing the silence within.

A punch to the gut.

The kid squealed as he fell on the floor; he curled up and held his stomach. His mouth hung open, struggling to breathe in. Tears formed and ran down his face even though there weren't any wails coming from him.

"You do have tears after all." The man stood over him as he stared down at the kid, seeing him as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Are you glad that she's gone, hm? Is that why I didn't see any TEARS IN YOUR EYES!" The man's voice reverberated, his words echoed through the room as he relentlessly kicked the child while he remained on the ground.

"WHAT'S NEXT?! ARE YOU WAITING FOR ME TO DIE TOO, HUH?!" He continued the assault, delivering repeated kicks and stomps as the child tried to shield his upper body with his arms. The sound of thunder added to the tense atmosphere.

He breathed heavily as he delivered a final stomp, finally bringing an end to the violence.

"You should be grateful, most kids dont receive the things that you have. A name, daily meals, and a roof over your head, is that not enough?" The man stabs a glare onto the child. Bruised all over, and a small pool of drool and tears formed on the ceramic floor.

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 No response, that angered him further, prompting him to grab the glass bottle and hurl it at the wall, shattering it into multiple pieces. He could only flinch and hope the shards wouldn't cut him.

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The man exhaled heavily and headed out of the kitchen, clearly not having drawn the wanted reaction out of the boy. He grabbed the coat that hung in the hallway. 

As he prepared to leave through the front door, he glanced at the boy and commanded, "Pack your stuff; we're moving to a new place about a month from now."

Approaching the front door, he added one last remark before departing. "Clean up the mess." And with that, the door swung shut behind him.

A few seconds after his departure, he strugglef to prop himself to sit up and lean against the wall. His gaze drifted towards his palm only to spot a crushed chocolate bar in his hand.

No longer carrying an appetite, he chose to throw it across the room.

His eyes closed on their own accord as he sought solace in the patter of rain outside. It was a fleeting refuge, an attempt to dull the recent turmoil and distress.

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"Toru..."

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"Toru..." the echo wasn't his imagination? What's going on? He opened his eyes and looked around.

".... up."

Suddenly, a bright flash covered the room. Only to see a familiar ceiling.

"Toru! You okay? You didn't get bit, did you?" A look of genuine concern bore on Asahi's face.

"Bit? What? Ah, no... no, I didn't get bit, just had a bad dream." He mumbled. He tried to sit himself up on the bed frame, rubbing away the remnants of his tiredness.

"Man, I thought you'd turn into one of them." Asahi relaxed his posture. Satisfied with that not being the outcome.

"How long was I asleep?" Toru asked, looking for any clues about the time through the window. Darkness had long settled upon the city.

"It's slightly past midnight, you slept for a solid ten whole hours," Asahi replied with a smile, relieved to see Toru getting some rest.

"Is Kazuhiro-san still around?" He got out of the bed and briefly stretched his limbs.

"Nah, He left a while ago. He said he had something to do, so we didn't bother stopping him. He's still at the park, Akemi and I went up top for a view just a moment ago." Asahi went to settle on a beanbag and later took out what seemed to be a comic book, a manga.

"I see, then I'll be joining him. I'll be fine, you don't have to worry about me." Toru turned to grab his jacket.

"You sure? I can have Akemi escort you out-" Asahi's offer was interrupted by Toru.

"No." He muttered as he closed the door behind him.

With Toru gone, Asahi let out a sigh. He flipped through a few more pages of his manga, hearing another door open and shut.

"Alright, he's gone, in 3...2...1...AKEMI!" Asahi called out to his sister. She bursted in, visibly annoyed.

"WHAT?!" She yelled back.

"Toru went out alone, watch him from a distance." Asahi instructed, before returning to his reading.

"HAH?! HE'S ALONE!" She slammed the door shut.

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+Toru POV+

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'Another one of those dreams that are just memories of the past. When will it end?' Toru mused over the memories he longed to forget. 

He walked in the park only to stop in his tracks, he looked to see Kazuhiro in a squatting position, his back facing the boy.

He moved forward and settled beside him, mimicking his posture. He then glanced to see what Kazuhiro was doing.

"You know, the first time I saw you use that device was through security footage. You did the exact same thing that you're doing right now. I wonder what that does." Drawn by the strange phenomenon that was happening in front of him, the entity aimed the machine's camera lens at the sniper rifle. What seemed to be a swirl of colorful smoke emerged from the object and moved directly onto the device.

The device tinged as the store clerk pocketed it and turned to the boy.

"It allows me to create a copy of said item. That reminds me, Toru, you wanted to discuss something?" Kazuhiro answered and listened attentively to what the boy had in mind to talk about.

'It's not the right time to talk about it. I can hear that creep coming towards us.' Toru briefly pondered if he should share about the strange encounter that he had but chose to do it at a later time.

"Later, once we're done with the task at hand. Besides, someone's already here." He replied.

"Ha...Ha... There you are." Out of breath from running, trying to find the kid she had lost him recently. Did he notice her tailing him?

"So, when are we leaving? But first, where are we heading?" Asahi shows up behind her with two school backpacks loaded with necessary supplies.

Toru chose to inform Asahi. "The sooner we leave, the better. We're Headed to Shintoko Academy."

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