Chapter 112: First Challenge Done!

The reapers started to look confused and were attacking and killing each other. After some time, The last of the reapers remained but Oj, Midnight, and Imani took care of them. They turned toward the man standing at the back. Oj smiled, "You finally made your entrance." 

"Indeed, I was a bit late to this, but still, I'm glad that it's over." Ryan walked up to the three with a smile on his face. Midnight looked at Ryan and spoke, "What was that though? I've never seen a Gate appear like this before… Not only did two appear side by side but there was nearly an entire army of Reapers that ran through… If it wasn't for your ability, we would have had a really difficult time dealing with them." She looked relieved when she saw Ryan. 

Ryan shook his head, "I was afraid that the gate would be something else… I took some time because I got more weapons just in case it was what we initially thought it was." He looked at the gate disappear. Imani questioned, "Master, what did you think the gates were?" all three of them were curious. 

Ryan looked at Imani and nodded, "Looking at the energy signal left by the gate when it appeared, it looked like a huge blob of energy… Something that only happens when an S rank gate is appearing. That also a huge S rank gate… I sent Oj and Midnight to assess the situation but after hearing that it was actually two A rank gates very close to each other, It was a relief. I was about to send gold as well but He was at the other side of the city, and after knowing that the gate was manageable by you three… I didn't press him to come and came myself." He explained. 

The three were shocked by Ryan's words but they understood his problem. Oj walked up to Ryan and smiled, "At least The people in the hotel are safe and we took down the gates… These recent gates have been very weird, haven't they? Almost feels like there is some pattern to it all…" He furrowed his eyes and whispered to Ryan, "Maybe something relating to a foreign human entering our world?" 

Ryan nodded and looked at Oj, "If you look for patterns in anything, you will find it. I've assessed His character and can say that he has no harmful intents towards us." Midnight and Imani also nodded when they heard Ryan. They didn't hear Oj's whisper but after hearing Ryan's words, They quickly understood what they were talking about. 

Oj nodded, "indeed, I have also looked into his character a bit. Even taught him a few things yesterday… But I didn't mean that it was him doing all this. What I mean was… What if they were following him? What was his story again, could you tell me?" Oj spoke. 

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"Who… Who are you?" Alex softly asked. He didn't know the woman in front of him but he felt some form of deep connection with her. He even shed tears as soon as he heard her voice. Alex wanted to know who could have made him tear up like this from doing nothing. 

The woman smiled, she put her hand on Alex's face and smiled. "You forgot your own mother?" She then sighed, "I know that I've been away from you for so long… But son, I'm here for you." A small smile on her face. 

Alex put his hands up and slowly grabbed the woman's hand which was on his face. His face turned slowly from a small soft smile to rage. Alex grabbed her hands tightly and pushed her away with all his power. 

'Good thing this system still works here. To think that it would say combat initiated as soon as the woman touched me… That was close, It must be trying to get into my head.' Alex sighed in relief while looking at the [Combat Initiated] prompt in front of him.

Alex looked at the woman with a firm gaze. He was enraged. "The woman who should have been there for me my entire life… Do you really expect me to believe that the people who left me at the doorsteps of an orphanage would really show this form of love? You really should have rethought some other plan!" Alex roared as he punched the woman. 

The woman fell to the floor, blood running from her nose. Alex looked at her with slight confusion. 'Is… Was she? Why didn't she protect herself?' He was confused by the lack of action. However, Alex's confusion soon stopped. The blood that was running from the woman's nose slowly got sucked back into her body. She stood up and with a wide creepy smile, She laughed. "I nearly had you… Snooping through the memories of such a young soul is difficult, you know? It was lucky that I found that image leftover in your memories. Seeing how the rest of your life went, I guess It would be a reward for finishing the first trial… At least you saw the woman who abandoned you at birth." She said as her body faded away.

Hearing the woman's words was a shock for Alex, he couldn't believe it. 'I felt some connection from that woman but… I didn't know that she would actually be the image of my actual mother.' He looked a bit saddened by this but quickly picked himself up. Alex looked around him and noticed that the environment was slowly becoming less visible for him. 

A small white fog appeared around Alex, only letting him see the ground beneath him. "The first trial seemed to be pretty easy for you… But I guess with the help of something extraordinary, it would be pretty easy. Nevertheless, It isn't breaking the rules so I'll allow it. Luck and one's powers are also what helps decide how powerful you really are." The deep voice once again came back. 

Alex looked around and smiled awkwardly, 'This voice knows about the system… And by its words, It seems to know more about the system than I do.' Alex was curious about the voice. He didn't know who the person behind the voice but he had a feeling that the person knew a lot more than he did about the system.

The voice continued, "Now, The second trail… You will be battling enemies… Leach Gremlins to be exact. My very own created creatures made specifically for this challenge. I'll give you a hint for this enemy… Only a very few with a certain special ability can take these Leach Gremlins on. Abilities which are similar to their own powers but very different at the same time." The voice faded away as Alex felt like he was falling once again. 

This time, He felt the temperature rise a tiny bit around him. After some time falling, Alex landed on the ground. This time, It was dark bricks all around him. Alex looked closely around him, observing his surroundings carefully, "It looks like some type of creepy basement." She commented. 

"Kwek!" 

Hearing that voice, Alex turned around, looking for the source. He looked closely around the room, looking for the source but he saw nothing. Until a sudden thought came into Alex's mind as a few drops of what seemed to be blood dripped on Alex's face. 

Alex looked up and saw two huge humanoid creatures stuck on the ceiling. They had almost ghost-like pale slimy skin, huge teeth, and even bigger claws. The creatures jumped towards Alex as soon as he saw them.

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Ryan stood in the reception of the hotel, He looked at Midnight and smiled. "I never thought I'd get to come here again. It's been like a few months now, Loving in the office rooms has been good, but I do miss this place." He looked nostalgic. 

Midnight nodded and spoke, "That's nice but I'm starting to get annoyed here… What's happening? A few people disappear, this time military?! That's the reason we were called right? Why are you talking about the hotel?" She seemed to be slightly angry at Ryan. 

Ryan laughed and nodded, "I know, I was just trying to lighten the mood. I did call you for that reason but we first need to wait for Imani and Oj to report back. After that, we can go to my office and discuss this topic properly." 

Oj walked up to Ryan and put his hand on Ryan's shoulder, "everything is clear. The ones on the top floor were told via speakers to stay inside as it would be safer for them. And the ones who were downstairs were taken to the basement where all of them are safe. So we can get to business…" He spoke slowly. 

Ryan nodded and looked at the elevator, "I was curious and wanted to invite Alex but It's better to keep him away from this. Looking at his growth, him getting into the wrong hands would be a fatal mistake for us."