Second Genesis

Grey’s eyes reflected the oncoming attack and he let his feet slip out from under him.

It was still a measure too slow. Gravity wasn’t going to be fast enough to save him from this fate. However, he wasn’t banking on gravity being faster than magnetic needles. He was banking on gravity being just fast enough for the tip of his chainsaw to hit the ground again.

And that it was.

This time, however, Grey had adjusted the angle on his back just enough and zipped to the side at a sharp angle.

Chi.

The needles flew by where he had just been, and by the time they hit a tree in the distance, Grey had already leapt back to his feet. He had never imagined using the chainsaw like this, and one wrong move would have turned his own weapon against him, gouging out his legs from the back.

But he didn’t even consider for a moment that he would make such a mistake, his entire body primed to a state of absolute, unbridled focus.

’Twelve seconds.’

Grey pulled the revving chainsaw from his back, holding it in one hand and the Curved Rusted Saw in the other. He dashed toward the dark-skinned man, holding out both weapons as though he wasn’t scared of either tipping him over.

His +15 STR from the Chad Suit fueled him like the most acute sense of euphoria, and when he felt the spear blade coming for his head again, those very senses sharpened to an extreme.

Grey feinted the swing of his curved blade, suddenly pivoting to use the Chainsaw of the Skrill instead.

The dark-skinned man was taken aback, but he was still a step too late to change a single thing.

He had been so used to Grey using the chainsaw to maneuver that he mistook it for a treasure purely meant for that. When Grey attacked with the Curved Rusted Saw first, he didn’t even second-guess it.

But from the start, Grey had already seen what he needed to see from the curved blade. The moment it left scratches on the dark-skinned man’s spear, he knew it was over.

No Common weapon would leave such marks on a Rare weapon.

Meaning...

Sparks flew from the Chainsaw of the Skrill as Spark Fly activated. A raging heat filled the air and the spear was sliced in two down its length, taking the dark-skinned man’s hands with it.

Grey pulled his chainsaw to the side, ripping the man at the waist and bisecting him in two. But before the latter even had the luxury of falling, Grey’s curved blade flashed, taking his head.

Blood spurted and the Curved Rusted Saw greedily swallowed it up. Rust flakes fell from it and it gained a deeper, copper-like hue.

Grey stopped moving, gasping for breath. Slowly, he raised the back of his hand to his lips, wiping the blood as the last spurts of his chainsaw slowed into a small whirr and then nothing.

"Keep your hands off what’s not yours," Grey snarled.

Strapping the chainsaw onto his back, Grey trudged forward.

He had not a single clue that he had just killed the leader of the fourth-ranked team of Zone 234. This was a man who had once been third on the leaderboards before Grey looped enough to gain the advantage back.

Yet, he had lost decisively.

Grey’s chat was going insane, but he had completely tuned them out as he walked forward and picked up the golden item.

He cursed when he didn’t get a notification for Free Stats. That bastard had probably taken them when he found the item. What a stupid system.

Grey took a breath and exhaled. ’This guy was pretty strong. Stronger than that Sabrina girl and the short Russian-looking dude. Hopefully he has better items and I don’t get them snatched away this time.’

The spear was destroyed, but Grey was hoping that it was just the man’s starter weapon. He hoped he hadn’t destroyed too much with that swing at his hips.

What was odd was that the man was working alone. Grey thought he was the only one doing that, and probably Joaquin as well. But given Joaquin’s proclivities, Grey wouldn’t be surprised if he had already found a new group of people to boss around even with his team dead.

This man may very well have lost his teammates as well. But as far as Grey could tell, he was completely alone. If there had been someone else hiding nearby and they were siding with him, they would have already appeared.

’What’s this?’

—

Name: A Beauty’s Bracelet

Rarity: Rare (BLESSED) (LIMITED)

Accepted Type: Resonant

Rejected Type: Linear; Branching; Recursive

Description: Blessed by the Goddess of Unity, the Beauty’s Bracelet is a bound item designed for the chosen of her holiness. Graced by the Goddess’ goodwill, it grants the user immunity to the Fog of Chaos, vision in the darkest of night and brightest of day, and a constant stream of stamina.

Abilities: +50% Stamina. +1 Stamina regeneration per 30 seconds. Dispel one status effect with a payment of 5 Stamina.

—

Grey’s eyes lit up. This was exactly what he was looking for—a holy item. If he gave this to the Baron, his task would be complete.

However, Grey couldn’t help but hesitate.

This item was good. Very good.

But outside of most of what was on the screen—even setting aside the fact that if he wore it he could basically keep the Chainsaw of the Skrill revving indefinitely—it was what the Description said about the Fog of Chaos that really caught his attention.

His Legendary Quest required him to find out the secret of the Fog of Chaos. There were only three days left until the next Ailment, and if that came down, Prometheus wouldn’t have enough energy left to dispel it for him. What were the odds he’d not only find another Fog-of-Chaos-ignoring treasure in that time and clear the quest?

But if he didn’t give this item to the Baron, he wouldn’t get the permit to the shop and he would have no protection in the city while he was surrounded by nobles who wanted to kill him.

’Fuck. Why can’t I have anything nice?’

Grey didn’t know what decision to make. He pushed it to the back of his mind, first deciding to see what items he could scavenge from the dark-skinned man.