Chapter 24 - 10 Kilometer Sprint

It was already way past the middle of the night.

Yin and Gavin were running from the edge of Cisco back to the Inn whence they came from.

"W-What do these words mean?!"

Yin asked in a state of panic while holding the sharp daggers which almost struck the back of his head.

[ Greetings Thanatos, it is time for your daily quest. ]

"You've got to be kidding me! Can't you see we're being chased? I-It's already after midnight? We haven't even eaten dinner yet!"

[ The day has started. Here is your daily quest. ]

[ Daily Quest : 10-kilometer run. ]

"Why does it seem to keep getting harder and harder?"

The white-haired lad was distracted by the System's message popping out.

"We should just fight them now!"

"Yin, focus! Assess the situation, we don't know how many of them there are, we don't know their abilities, too. We're fighting under their own turf. It'd be best to regroup for now!"

Gavin shouted at him.

Yin responded with a frustrated grunt.

The roads kicked up dirt because of their sprint.

Nobody was in the streets.

Not a single soul roamed Cisco after dark.

Yin and the others did not know why, though.

After about ten whole minutes of sprinting non-stop, they finally reached the Inn they were staying in.

Gavin opened the door.

The once crowded pub of the Inn was now empty.

Much like the streets from earlier, not even a single drunkard was present.

"Yin, I'll stay here and guard the door. Go the room we were supposed to stay in and alert Luken and Suna. Tell them it's time to go!"

"Yes, sir!"

Yin sprung into action and ran full speed, his adrenaline kept him going despite fatigue obviously catching up to him.

But he was not the same person as he was just a few months ago.

His daily quests helped him tone his body and shape his physique.

Yin now had visible muscles and a finely shaped body befitting a soldier.

Time seemed to slow down.

As his legs moved forward one after another, he realized just how much he's grown.

He wasn't the same frail farm-boy that he was.

Yin finally reached their room which was located at the end.

He turned the knob on the door.

It wasn't opening.

"Commander! Suna! Open up!"

Silence.

"Are you guys there?!"

Not a word was heard.

Yin was worried.

"C-Could something have happened to them? Impossible! Knowing the Commander and Suna's strength, they wouldn't go down or be taken without a fight!"

His words were a way of comforting himself and assuring him that his companions were all right.

Until he finally decided to open the door by force.

Yin backed away from the door for a little bit.

He revved up his left leg for a kick.

His foot swung on the door's knob to break its lock.

The loud crack from the wooden door and countless small bolts came flying across every direction.

It was a success.

Yin was preparing himself for the worst.

What he saw made him sigh.

The Commander was fast asleep on the window, peeking his head out of the night sky.

Meanwhile Suna was snoring at the upper bunk bed.

"S-Seriously?!"

He slammed the ground a single time.

It seemed to do nothing.

"WAKE UP!!!"

Yin had enough and just resorted to shouting.

"Oh, Yin, did you guys finally bring food?"

Suna's sleepy face quickly turned hyper active.

"Get up, Suna. Let's pack our things and get the heck out of this town."

"B-But we haven't even eaten…"

"Exactly! We won't be eating anything if we're dead!"

The intensity in Yin's voice made Suna stand upright and immediately started to get to work in preparing their things.

The Commander was still asleep.

"Say, Yin, can I wake him up instead?"

Suna asked him.

"S-Sure."

Suna raised her palm to the sky and slapped the back of Luken's head so hard that it made the floor shake from the intensity.

He yelped with a high-pitched voice.

Luken held the back of his head with both hands.

"What's the big idea?!"

Suna turned towards Yin's direction.

"Gavin told me to inform you guys, someone's after us. We were chased back here! T-They threw daggers while I had my back turned, I almost died!! Can we please get out of here?!"

"Jeez, Yin boy, take a chill pill, alright? Where's that green-haired slime?"

"He's watching the door to the Inn, we should go back to him as soon as possible, sir."

After they made preparations and gathered their bags, they made their way from the hallway to the entrance.

Where they found Gavin.

His face was pale.

It had dread written all over it.

"Woah. What happened to you?"

Luken asked.

"We have to get out of Cisco. Now."

Gavin responded back with a stern voice.

"You still haven't answered by question you know?"

Luken retorted back in a comical fashion, much like he always does.

Gavin ignored him.

"Listen, they've probably blocked the entrance from where we came from, we can't retrace our steps back."

"What should we do then?"

Suna asked.

"Let's make way for the forest. We'll travel on foot towards Rizako. But the instant we step a single foot outside, we should run. Run like our lives are on the run. Because this time, it is."

"Slow down, man. Why can't you and I just take them on, right here, right now, like the good old times!"

Luken said.

"I'm going to need you to trust me, Luken. Just do as I say for now."

Sensing the urgency and seriousness in his voice, the Commander dropped his whole comedic and calm demeanor and nodded in approval.

"Alright."

They prepared to go outside, as soon as Gavin stepped outside, the other three immediately bolted out as well.

Their feet were fast, as fast as lightning.

"Tell me, what did you see, Gavin?"

Luken asked concernedly.

"It's not so much as what I saw, just what I heard."

"Err, so, what did you hear?"

"I felt someone's presence up against the door, I took out my daggers and was prepared to take them on, when a soft-spoken voice said 'The Red King wants to know how much for the boy.'"

"Seriously?!"

Luken couldn't believe what he heard.

Until Gavin handed him the daggers inscribed with the words 'How much?'"

Gavin nodded.

Yin and Suna were still dumbfounded, all they knew was that someone or something was after them.

"Who's the Red King?"

Suna asked.

"Alright, alright, you two, we're going to have to break some world records for sprinting, okay? Just think of it as training, well, if you get left behind, you'll probably die."

Yin grinned.

Although he was scared, he was confident.

"There's no way we're dying in a place like this."

Yin said with sheer confidence.

Gavin smirked.

"That's the courage of a true Six Blades member."