For the next two hours, Cerus and I went house-to-house in the High Tier Zone, searching them top to bottom for something off. The longer it went on, the more mentally draining it became. The High Tier Zone was a Suburbian sea of monotony; everywhere I looked was the same house with a different set of colors on the interior and exterior. Nothing set them apart, and nothing stuck out to either of us. To counteract the tedium was Cerus and her conversation, something I never imagined I’d be looking forward to.

She’d asked me more about my time on Earth, so I told her more about what my life was like growing up around the “bourgeoise” as she called them. Cerus, in turn, told me more about her time in Swingtail. She was a licensed bodyguard there, apparently. She’d trained from the moment she Assimilated to become one, and she took immense pride in the work she did. When I’d asked her what or who she guarded, she refused to answer. I wasn’t “privileged enough” to hear that information.

Eventually, we found ourselves in front of an earth-toned version of Ciz’s house near the eastern gate of the city. Four of the 3-Star mobs scurried beyond the gate, just like Ciz suggested they’d be. The moment I locked eyes with them, they stood on their hind legs and chomped at the air with their pincers. Cerus gave them the middle finger.

This house was the same as the others. Same sunroom to the right, kitchen straight ahead, living room with the grass rug to the left, and the stained-glass lamps throughout. What set this house apart, though, was the bookshelf in the hallway to the primary bedroom. We both noticed it at the same time, making a point of combing through it for any sort of sign.

“This could have a switch built in,” I mused aloud. “You know, pull the book and a door opens somewhere?”

“Where did you learn that?”

“Video games,” I admitted. “Still, it’s a start.”

“I hope you are correct. If this place does have a hiding spot, I believe it will house plenty of mobs to slay!”

“There could also be loot. Even if there isn’t anything incriminating, I think it’d be worth it to comb through–”

Cerus pulled a nuclear fallout survival book from the bookshelf and tossed it haphazardly into the steadily growing pile of discarded books at her feet. At the same time, I indeed heard a click sound in the kitchen. We exchanged a look and smiled before we headed there.

Nothing looked off. Just like every other kitchen in the Zone, the floors had a black and white checkerboard pattern with a sink built into the left column and an oven built into the right. At the furthest end of the kitchen between both columns was a large white refrigerator. Cerus cheered as I opened it, and I did my best to hide my adrenaline-laced dread. Where there should’ve been food and water was instead a pathway down into a dark, mossy-bricked basement. I could see lights on in the distance, and wet blood on the floor.

“Showtime!” Cerus smiled.

I was still nervous, but I needed to go down there and face whatever I saw. I refused to stay weak.

“Showtime,” I responded, with as much conviction as I could muster.

There was a lot about Cerus I couldn’t truly know simply because I wasn’t her. Despite that, I’d thought her relatively easy to read. She wore her emotions plain on her face, oftentimes wanting you to know what she was thinking. So when we reached the bottom of the stairs, “unreadable” was not the word I imagined I’d be using to describe Cerus’ face, especially considering what we saw. Shriveled bodies of men and women dressed in what looked like SWAT gear were packed like sardines atop stone slabs against either stone wall. There were three doors in the room. The two on the left and right led to larger rooms packed to the brim with bodies. The furthest room had its door slightly cracked with a faint light flickering behind it.

Cerus’ unreadable expression slowly morphed into one of true, unmistakable rage similar to Henrietta’s before her death. I scanned the nearest body, and only after reading its description did I understand Cerus’ growing anger.

Stone Henderson

5-Star Reincarnator

Level 63

On Earth, Stone Henderson was an accountant. He didn’t enjoy his job, but who did? He had two children. He couldn’t afford to support them, but who could? He had a failing marriage, a strained relationship with his parents, and a propensity to stray whenever he felt he could get away with it. Eventually, tired of his old life, he decided to go out on his own terms. When he woke up, the first thing he saw was a System Notification welcoming him to a brand-new world. He had done it. He had Isekai’d! He’d heard about the phenomenon, but could never be sure whether it was true or not. Now that it was, he could live the life he’d always dreamed of! He’d be rich, he’d get with as many girls as he could, he’d even get that dog he always wanted! Unfortunately for him, that kind of thing isn’t handed to you for free. Not in his old world, and not in his new one.

One day, a man approached him offering everything he’d ever dreamt of. The cost? Join him and his boss’s little gang. They called themselves the Rangers of the Endless Daydream. They could do anything, have anything. You see, the Ellalara Belt wasn’t real. It was a simulation. A game. A game with a code; a code that could be cracked. All you needed to do was cause those cracks. Tip a couple vases. Kill a couple people. Eventually, those cracks would turn into fissures, those vases would reveal hidden gold, and those people… well, when they got tired of dying they’d just join the Rangers. They didn’t matter. You see, the man believed that as soon as the Ellalara Belt reached its breaking point, the System’s Administrator would reveal themselves. At that point, the Rangers would kill them and become gods of their own universe! Stone fell in love with that dream, and joined the Rangers that very day.

I know what you’re thinking. The boss’s associate believes all that bullshit, but what about the boss? What do they believe? I’d tell you, but this is one of those things you need to learn on your own. And learn you will. Not today, not tomorrow, but someday soon. And when you do learn, and you learn how stupid their beliefs are, you’ll truly understand why Cerus is so angry. Why Opix is angry. Why Henrietta is angry. Why Ysnik is angry. Why Ciz is angry. Why the Ellalara Belt is angry. Why I am angry. Until that day comes, prepare. Soak in every bit of the world around you, breathe in every experience, savor every memory. Because soon these days will end, and your true fight will begin.

Above every single one of the Rangers was a health bar. All of them, in this room and the two adjacent to this one, had health bars with the same percentage – one. I don’t know what prompted me to do it. It felt as though I’d been controlled by someone else. Even so, when I pulled out my Sabertooth Splitblade and slammed it into the skull of Stone Henderson, Cerus didn’t stop me. Instead, she wordlessly motioned for me to pass her the sword. I did, and she killed one on her own. We kept doing that, killing Rangers one by one until the room was cleared. There were 14 in that first room, and my Blood Amulet now had seven charges, giving me a 14% Strength boost. Cerus stopped me before we could move into the next room. Once again, the air around her changed. Like it was still Cerus, but more… domineering. It felt as though I wasn’t sharing a room with Cerus Rose but a queen that shared her name.

“Grim Hearts, tell me now. What are your intentions with the Rangers of the Endless Daydream?”

“You say that like you think I’m going to join.”

“Will you? They will offer you the world in exchange for a dream. I know your type, and your type would say yes.”

“I’m not joining them, Cerus. I’m nothing like them.” The more I thought about them, the angrier I felt. “They had… have the freedom to be different. Be better. They took the easy way out, and now everyone has to suffer because of it. Look at the lengths Ysnik has to go to… The desperation Henrietta felt to win. We could’ve been friends with Ciz, but instead, we’re forced to scheme and maneuver against her! This… isn’t what I wanted. I knew there would be combat, I knew there would be fighting, but I didn’t think it’d feel like this!”

My words struggled to come out. I felt angry. That ideal in me surged with the need to do something, but giving words to that feeling eluded me. Despite this, Cerus smiled at me and nodded, still speaking in that domineering tone.

“I know what you mean to say, Grim Hearts. Moreso, I know exactly what you are feeling.” Cerus smiled. “You have spent enough time around a Rose for her essence to rub off on you.” She chinned at the room to my right. “Go, Grim Hearts. Sate your urges. You may claim three more Ranger lives.” I began to speak up in protest, but she stopped me with a hand. “The enemy lies in wait, and they have been alerted to our presence. Our time is finite, and we need your Blood Amulet fully charged if we are to win. Be swift, and do not kill more than is necessary. These lives were ended by Ciz Weroz, and if we upset her she will likely descend upon us before we are prepared.

“How do you know Ciz did this?”

Just like that, the air changed. I was no longer talking to domineering Cerus, but regular, annoying Cerus. “She is a vampire, dumbass. How do you think they got turned into human jerky? Also, I can see a red dot on my minimap. Mine sees farther than yours because I am a 1-Star.”

I checked to confirm. The red dot didn’t appear on my minimap until I was right against the door to the room it was in.

“You get a good look, Grim? Good, because I want to see it up close! Get your kills so we can see it!”

***

I did kill three like Cerus instructed, but I got a bit carried away when I thought about how invaluable this was for my XP. So, I killed another… and another… until the whole room was cleared. Cerus was not happy, complaining about how people like me always took a mile over an inch. She came around when I told her I was Level 47, though.

“Grim Hearts, you now have enough Strength to move like a normal person and not a meatb… excuse me, a human. Please keep that in mind when next we engage in combat.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jumping normal heights, kicking things normal distances. That kind of thing.”

I felt my excitement rise. “I feel like your and my definition of normal is different right now.”

“It is. Normal to me means stronger than a… human.” She heaved. “No offense. I know you are a Felzian, but you are a human to me. I implore you, do not think like a meat-... human in our next fight, lest you draw my ire!”

My excitement began to wane the moment I made eye contact with the creature behind the corner – rather, when it made eye contact with me. The creature had white fur like the Ancient Sabertooth, with milky yellow eyes the size of tennis balls atop a wrinkly gray face that looked like a mask. It had thin arms and feet, with black catlike legs and black birdlike talons for hands. It gnawed on one of the still-living Rangers as it stared straight at us, unblinking and unmoving. I scanned it while Cerus geeked out beside me.

Animal I Have Become

4-Star Presence of Ciz Weroz

This is an Automatic Presence.

“I am the Presence of Master Ciz Weroz.” The Presence rumbled. Its voice was androgynous, making it difficult to discern its gender off visuals alone. Ciz’s Presence swallowed the Ranger it’d been gnawing on whole before continuing. “Who among you wishes to be consumed first?”

“Consumed?” Cerus asked. “Why would you do that?”

“You two have taken of my and my master’s banquet with nothing to offer but yourselves, so I will accept yourselves as my meal. Now, who among you wishes to be consumed first? Take your time, I will not rush you.”

Cerus: I TOLD YOU NOT TO KILL ALL OF THEM! THIS IS YOUR FAULT.

Grim: You killed some of them, too! It would have gone after us anyway!

Cerus: NO IT WOULD NOT HAVE. I PACED MYSELF SO IT WOULD HAVE A MEAL.

Cerus: YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK YOU.

Cerus: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU IGNORE ME, CUNT!

Cerus approached Ciz’s Presence before I could stop her. She turned to me, smiled, bowed to the Presence.

“Grim Hearts has offered himself to you, Ms. Animal I Have Become.”

“What?! I did not!”

“Before we arrived, he told me that if he ever found a Presence with white fur and a gray face he would allow it to eat him. ‘I have always wanted to be swallowed whole. It would bring me great sexual pleasure! I believe I would be fine with just being tasted by a larger creature, not even fully consumed.’. That is verbatim what he said. I was surprised, disgusted, and a bit intrigued! He went into graphic detail about it.”

“That’s a lie! Miss Animal I Have Become, Cerus is a fucking liar!”

“Do not be embarrassed, Grim Hearts. I do not kink shame. Besides, I have a phenomenal mem–”

“It makes no difference to me what your motives are,” The Presence finally said. It tried to stand to its full height but stopped when its head hit the ceiling. It sat back down. “You both will be devoured by me either way. You may run, you may hide, or you may wait. It makes no difference. In sixty seconds, I will taste you, and I will savor your flavor.”

I exchanged a tentative look with Cerus.

“Lucky you, Grim,” She snorted.

An idea occurred to me. I bolted from the room we were in to the one with the barely living Rangers laid out on the stone slabs. Cerus shouted after me like an angry mother, but she was too slow to stop me. I killed all fourteen of them in the room, bringing my level up to 53. I laughed as I ran out of the room, Cerus complaining close behind me. I ignored my stats, only because I’d been too focused on my new Skill.

New Skill Unlocked: Boost - Spend Stamina to double the damage of your next attack!