20 Serious Matters

Per usual it did not take Riyku long to make way to Racheal's doorstep. Knocking on the door seemed to be the first thing he did, before ringing the doorbell. He wondered why he didn't do that earlier, but it really did not matter much. Hearing the door unlock the male would relax his shoulders a bit. He had been worried that something may have happened to Racheal, not from the ordeal with Brad, but the ordeal with Bell. Still, it seemed his worry was for naught since Racheal was beaming a bright smile at him. "What did you do?" She questioned through the grin on her face, to which Riyku would shrug playfully. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Might I come in?" Riyku would inquire to which Racheal would move aside to let him in. Riyku would make his way to the couch where he sat and Racheal wasn't too far from him. Sitting down beside him she would give him a gleeful glance. "So, what happened?" Riyku inquired to which Racheal chuckled and nudged his shoulder. "I know you did something, but fine I'll let it go for now. I am being given several weeks worth of a vacation due to Brad's harassment. Not only that, but the vacation starts tomorrow and for about a week of that vacation I am being sent on a cruise to relax and unwind." Racheal would explain with joy. "That's good. You can now relax." Riyku would state afterward, though the glance in his eyes was not really all there. It was as if he were trying to read into the future.

"Is something wrong?" Racheal inquired having seen the expression he made. "I wouldn't say that. I am just glad everything is going to be fine now. "Riyku would look at her with a warm smile to which Racheal chuckled softly. "Me too. I am sad to say that you can not come with me for a multitude of reasons." Riyku would shake his head to her remark. "It is quite fine. I doubt you would get much sleep with me around." His playful tongue slipped for a moment which caused her to blush gently. "Yeah... I doubt I would. I'll be sure to tune in onto your matches during the Games. Since I won't be able to watch from the stands of course." Racheal stated to which Riyku nodded softly. It wasn't like he forgot or anything. The games were right around the corner after all. "Though, I am sure there is nothing to worry about with how strong you are. After all, you took down some kind of rampaging monster the other day." It seemed Racheal had been viewing the events that transpired.

'So she did hijack the footage. How sly of her. Still, she did save me. I wonder... what is she after?' Riyku had been in thought which caused Racheal to call out to him. His eyes perked back up to her in which she asked, "Everything alright?" Riyku would nod softly. "Yeah. Just thinking on that incident. I am not even sure where that monster even came from." Riyku would shrug to which Racheal would doot on it for a moment before shaking her head. "Neither can I. Probably one of the forestries nearby. After all, the kingdom is surrounded by forestry. Paths to neighboring towns are part of the forestry as well." Riyku actually did not know of this, in truth he knew little to anything on what was outside of this town or even what other factions were like. Of course, from a first-person perspective. He did get hints on what they were like and what other towns of this kingdom were like through information exchanges between people in the lower district.

"Sooo... Do you plan on staying the night?" Racheal inquired to which Riyku shook his head. "No. I had other plans already for this evening. Although, the offer itself is always tempting as ever." Riyku stated with a playful tongue. He would lean forward to brush his lips against her ear and seemed to have whispered something rather bashful since her face had tinted slightly pink. "Alright, I can wait." Racheal would moan out to which Riyku smiled and stood up before leaning over to place a kiss against her forehead. "Now. I must be off. I only came by to check in on you." Riyku stated to which Racheal frowned softly for a moment, before smiling gently at him. It was then she realized she was right, "Hey! I was right. You did do something today!" She exclaimed to which Riyku nodded to finally affirm her claim. "I did." Though, he seemed to already be making his way towards the door. "Enjoy your vacation, Rache." Riyku was pretty much out the door when he called back to her. A soft moan escaped her lips with a warm smile, "Always protecting others. Always helping others. You truly are a selfless man, Riyku." She whispered softly before deciding it was time to get ready, and began to pack up essentials for the trip.

Riyku was now heading towards the Mansion. The pathway had led him through the shopping district onto what could be known as a highway since it was just a straight long strip. Though, it was odd. Even if the night had fallen there were few too little cars. In fact, there was no one around. The eerie silence had not been noted until he realized he had been walking in a straight line for longer than he had anticipated. Narrowing his eyes for a moment he would activate his senses to further his range of 'feeling' presences. His eyes would narrow even more when he felt that there was not a single soul around. It was then a text box appeared upon his UI.

'Instance Dungeon detected. Now entering Dungeon.'

"Instance Dungeon?" The male muttered as the illumination of the world around him began to twist and turn. It was like the world was spinning rapidly in several directions; although, he did not feel the slightest bit dizzy. When all was said and done, the world around him appeared bleak and barren. The night sky was crimson lite, the ground beneath his feet was soiled with black, and the buildings off in the distance in ruin. If he had not traveled this same road several times, he would never have guessed that he was still in the same place. The homes around him were as much in ruin as the buildings in the distance, and there was no evidence of what had caused it. Crossing his arms over his chest, his expression became serious. "What is this place?" He would tap his finger upon his arm in thought. "Clearly, I am still in the same town as before; however, it's almost like this place has been wrecked to nothing." Riyku would state aloud.

Once again the male would expand his senses to try and find anything or anyone within a good amount of distance; however, nothing had shown up. Exalting a heavy breath the male would return his senses to normal and figured he would try to at least find a way to return back. The thought of walking in the opposite direction crossed his mind; however, he remembered that the message said 'Now entering dungeon.' Which meant that if there was no door behind him, then there was no way of leaving through the way he came in. There was also no means of which he knew he could leave for that matter. "Well, Guess I'll just proceed onward." The male would uncross his arms and stuff his hands into his pockets. He would proceed onward down the road.

It indeed was a simple path, straight all the way with broken fences and ruined homes along the sides. Every now and again he would see a totaled vehicle. Though the moment he came across his original destination his eyes grew wide. The place where the mansion usually was appeared to be more like some kind of demonic castle. The gates were closed and locked tight by a hefty lock, but on the other side of the gates there had been several creatures. To even call them demons wasn't right; since the creatures, all appeared in the form of monsters. Riyku would approach the gate after gawking at it to which he looked at the lock. The moment he reached out for a text box appeared before him:

'The gate is locked. Would you like to use a key?'

The options were yes and no. Though he knew he did not have any sort of key let alone a key for this hefty lock. After a moment of debating on hitting no, he said to hell with it and hit yes.

'You do not possess the proper key. Would you like to attempt to pick the lock? (5/5 tries remaining)'

Yet again there was another option of yes and no. Though he did not expect to be allowed to pick the lock. The man had thought of just hopping over the gate or even breaking it down, but if he could infiltrate the cast unnoticed and unaware he would do so that way. Hitting the yes button he was given the tools needed through means similar to Weapon Summon and Weapon Return. He would proceed to pick the lock and with skill and luck combined he seemed to hear a 'click' and the hefty thing fell to the floor.

'Skill acquired. Locking Picking Lv.9'

'You've gained 30exp.'

The male would look at the text upon his UI. Something new had appeared and it wasn't the fact he gained a skill either even if that was a new skill in a way. It was the fact that the number of experience points given was on display. For now, he would push that thought aside and push open the gate which gave of a screeching sound. Cautiously the male made his way into the courtyard; though interestingly enough none of the monsters had seemed to pay attention to him. In fact, most just walked past him without a care in the world. It was odd, but he did not question it. When he approached the front door, he noticed that the place was far larger than it should have been. In addition to that, this demonic looking castle still retained some similarities to its mansion counterpart. Upon pushing open the doors another text box appeared before him.

'Upon entering you may not leave until you clear the first floor. Will you still proceed onward?'

Of course, the choice options of yes and no were there, but what did it mean he had to clear the first floor? This was rather confusing now. Attempting to expand his senses to see who or what was around this odd building as well as inside, he would granted with little information. The monsters walking about around the courtyard had been the only presence he felt. Deciding to push the no option the doors were shut on him and he would step back. A soft sigh would escape his lips as he looked around, for a way to leave this so-called instance dungeon. "Seraphina." The male would see if he could get her to help him, but from the silent treatment, she may have been out cold. It was then that out of the corner of his eyes he saw some kind of floating white orb that had been a few steps from him. "This wasn't there before..." The male had made note of this, before approaching the orb. As he reached out to it, it would give off a bright shine, not enough to blind one but enough to make him feel a gentle warmth from it. Shortly afterward, a text box would appear not on his UI, but in front of him with several choices.

The male would glance over the four options; although the final option to leave had been blanked out. As he reached for it he was given a noise of denial. As if it were telling him that he could not leave. Kissing his teeth the male would select the save option. It seemed familiar after all. Once he selected that option a new tab seemed to open up over the previous one.

Save-

1: May 28th, 2796 Wednesday. Location: Strife University

2: August 29th, 2796 Thursday. Location: Underworld, Town of War.

3:

4:

5:

When he saw this screen he would remember the first time he 'Saved' which had been back in class several months ago. Though the Location thing was a new feature... and it even told him where he was. "Underworld, Town of War?" The male was somewhat puzzled by this location. "Isn't this an instance dungeon, what does it mean Underworld, Town of War?" The male muttered before looking around once again. The more he took in the scenery the more he realized that his place did appear to be in ruin as if it was a town hazed over by war. A true Underworld. A soft sigh would escape his lips as he pushed upon the x button to close out the save tab before looking over several the last two options available to him. In truth, he had hoped that the load option would appear, but it did not. Just to make sure, he would use his voice command, "System Load Menu." Though when he tried to call out to it, nothing would happen. So he tried again and nothing, one final time and nothing. This time he would try to navigate through his system menu manually, but upon reaching the menu for Save and Load, only Save was available. The Load tab was completely taken out of the occasion. "You have to be joking..." The male muttered before closing out his menu in frustration and looking back at the two options before him. Upon thinking about how everything played out presently, it would seem that the 'rest' option was going to be to restore his SP, MP, and EN. Though one out of one probably meant he could only use it once.

So, he would push that option aside and would proceed to select shop. Upon doing so would open out a well-placed tab before him. There were several tabs on the top and several tabs on the left side of the selection. The tab 'All' and 'All' were highlighted. On the left side had the text 'Type' and on the top had the text 'Items'. Indeed the selections before him were items of various sorts from weapons and armor to healing potions and accessories. His eyes looked to the left side where the tabs were 'Rarity', 'Condition', 'Enhanced', 'Enchanted' and 'Level'. The topside had been 'Weapons', 'Armor', 'Accessories', and 'Misc'.

If he selected based on what item he was searching for and what type he would be able to pinpoint the location no? Well, he did just that. Selecting Item, Weapon would open a list of different weapons in a sub-tab. He had not expected the diversity of search to run that deep, but to make things simple he selected sword. Which seemed to have lite up the sub-tab 'Sword'. He would then proceed to select a Type. Selecting, Rarity would open a sub-menu just like it did for Weapons. The sub-menu would go from 'F to A'. The store did not seem to contain S rated weapons it would seem. So he just selected 'A' for now which would light it up. He would then select the filter button which proceeded to 'blink' the screen in and out of view for a split second to show his filtered choices. "Well, that is interesting." The male muttered to himself while glancing over the selection of A-rated swords. Some of the swords seemed to have different conditions such as 'Excellent' 'Sharp' 'Lethal' and 'Crude'. There were other conditions he had never before seen like 'Magical' and 'Distorted' as well as 'Possessed'.

To match this select the prices also varied, those with 'Excellent' or special conditions seemed to be quite pricy compared to the 'Crude' condition. In addition to that, the price seemed to be that of different currency that read 'Souls'. The male wasn't too awestruck. The fact that the currency was similar to the place he was in, did not mean much to him; however, he noticed another text button that read 'exchange'. Clicking on it opened a small sub-menu over the shop menu which held the text.

'Points into Souls: 100:1.'

'Points- 252,341 / Souls- 0'

'Exchange?'

A soft sigh escaped his lips. "So in other words, I can spend one-hundred of my points to collect one soul." The male muttered to himself before hitting the x button in the corner of the sub-menu. Sure, he could collect more points upon his return; however, he still had to pay for the suit. It was the last piece of equipment he needed to pay for, and he had yet to know the price. Now he was back at the shop menu, but since he had no Souls he would close it out and would close out the entire menu afterward which would cause the white sphere to die it's illumination down as if it were being deactivated.

Moving back to the door he would look at it before turning back to the gates. "It would appear that in order to leave, I may have to clear the first floor of this building. However, I have no idea what is behind this door. I don't even know what kind of beasts or creatures reside in this place." The male would narrow his eyes with a serious expression. He did not even know what the strength of these creatures even was, nor did he have much of a way to tell. In fact, he knew nothing. His information on his place was zero. Walking in without so much as any preparation could mean death. Though, what could he prepare for? If he knew exactly what was going to befall him, things wouldn't be so complicated.

"Standing around won't get me anywhere though. If I want to leave, I should clear the first floor and come back." The male stated before pushing against the doors. The text would appear yet again

'Upon entering you may not leave until you clear the first floor. Will you still proceed onward?'

This time he would push yes and the doors would open on their own. A still blackness was revealed before his eyes. "I guess I can't even get a glimpse of what is in there." The male would huff before going through the blackness which rippled like water to his touch. Upon coming out of the other side he made note of the interior of the building is roughly the same as it was in the other world; without all the demonic designs and what not of course. His crimson glance scouted the area, expanding his senses yet again to see if he could locate anything, and interestingly enough he did. An extremely strong presence seemed to have resided just up the stair-well which happened to have been making its way down the steps.

"A mortal?" The distorted voice of the presence had come at him. "No, not quite." It remarked as it made itself known. The figure was a humanoid. The features of a demon, with the horns, claws, fangs, tail, and wings to boot. Above this figures head was a red cursor and below that cursor was the name, 'Verso The Demonic Butler.' The color of the name happened to be a lighter red, almost pinkish even. "You have the scent of a demon, but also... Hmm... I can't quite place it. Regardless, tell me how you stumbled into my Master's Castle?" The demon called out to him. Riyku didn't know if he should attempt to talk to this demon or come at him with a surprise attack. "Well?" Demon inquired having noticed the male's hesitation. "I am not sure. I was brought here."Riyku replied to which the Demon's brow rose. "You don't say? That would make you sixth one today." The demon replied to which Riyku's brow rose. "Sixth? What do you mean?" Instantly the male was on guard, in fact, there was a burning flicker in his crimson eyes. Noticing this the demon would chuckle, "Slaves. Are they perhaps yours?" The demon would inquire to which Riyku would close his eyes in thought. He did not know if these six were the girls and Skylar, or someone else.

The lack of information alone was putting him one edge. Clicking his tongue he would nod, "Yes. They are." He replied to which the demon snickered. "Then I am afraid you must leave. The six you seek are my Master's property now. If you are a thief, I will gladly partake of your soul." The demon suddenly became hostile. Riyku would grit his teeth as a single weapon would appear in his hands.

Demon Slayer Replica +4

Type- Sword

Rarity: A

Condition: Sharp

A weapon used in the ancient war between Man and Demon by the Great Hero Korin. The Demon Slayer is said to have slain several demons as well as the Demon Lord. +10% Bonus attack power when fighting against Demon Class enemies.

It was the sword bathed in light. Looking to his free hand he would replicate this sword with his Shadow Replica which would replicate the Demon Slayer Replica. Of course, the shadow version would not be as powerful as the original, but still, it was better than nothing. Seeing this the demon would snicker and lick his lips. "Indeed, you are not mortal. You hold the scent of a demon, one of darkness at that. I'll be sure to ascertain your power after devouring your soul." It was then that the demon flew right at him. The speed wasn't anything close to that of the bandits he had been fighting. In fact, he wasn't even close to that of the girls' speed either. Clicking his tongue he would bring his blade up as if to slash at the demon who only locked the blade with his claw. Pushing the sword downward the demon would lunge his other claw for Riyku's throat. With great nimbility, the male would arch his back and turn on his side to avoid this strike only to step back forth and swing his shadow blade around. For an attempt at cutting the demon down. The demon had pushed off the sword he was locked with to avoid this cut and landed upon his feet before dashing at Riyku once again.

This time around Riyku would use his 'blink' skill to teleport beside the demon while being in mid-swing as if in an attempt to cut him down yet again. Since this caught the demon off guard, he seemed to copy Riyku's skill and 'blink' away just before taking any serious damage. Though the blade did kiss his flesh and cause a minor wound. "Should have known. All demons can use 'blink.'" The demon kissed his teeth as he retook his stance, and regained his composure. Riyku on the other hand only narrowed his eyes. 'All demons? Did that mean even the demons in the other world?' The male muttered an internal thought as he focused his eyes upon the demon before him.

The demon would dash at him yet again, and Riyku seemed to prepare for it as best he could; however, mid-way through the dash the demon would vanish only to reappear a second later in front of Riyku. The demon's claw coming straight for the male's gut. Since he knew that the demon was capable of using 'blink' he would use it himself and teleport above the demon only to bring both swords down. The demon figured the male would use this skill again and would use it to either evade and make distance or evade and counterstrike. So, he would turn around as if he gash Riyku's throat out; however, Riyku wasn't behind him. No, it wasn't till the demon felt the steel and shadow of a sharp blade cutting through both his arms did he realize that Riyku had come from above.

A high pitched scream would echo throughout the first floor halls as the demon stumbled forward while his blood tainted the clean tiles. "You bastard!" The demon shouted as he quickly turned around in an attempt to kick the male in the side since Riyku was still recovering; however, the time lag between Riyku's recovery and his own wasn't enough to allow such a feat to be done. Riyku had already thrust his sword into the demon while cutting off the leg with shadow sword. He would then rip out the sword in which the demon fell onto the ground with a loud thud. A marker would appear above the demon's head on Riyku's UI. Stepping up to the demon Riyku would cross both blades at each side of the neck before cutting the head off clean as if 'executing the demon'. The demon's body would then began to boil and evaporate afterward, leaving not a trace of it behind.

'67,430Exp Gained!'

'326 Souls acquired!'

'Key to floor 2 acquired!'

A heavy sigh parted the male's lips as shadow blade dissipated and the original returned to his inventory. It was clearly a sign of the ending battle; though it wasn't much of a struggle. Sure there were surprises, but he wasn't serious injured or even scathed for that matter. "Key to the 2nd floor eh? I even gained more experience points and acquired souls. Not a bad trade... but what did he mean by there being six slaves?" Riyku's expression became grim as he thought upon it. Though that changed when he bore witness to the illumination of blue light on the second floor and the appearance of another door which had not previously been there. Making his way up the steps with caution he would approach the blue sphere. "Could this be like the white one?" Riyku muttered his thought aloud before placing his hand against it which caused it to brighten a bit and a screen would appear.

The Rest option was missing, as well as the leave option, but there was a third option available. Selecting the third option he was greeted with another menu to choose from.

The only option was courtyard though, which was probably referring to the white sphere. Just to test this theory he would click upon it and the menus would all disappear in unison while the blue light burned brighter than ever. Moving his arm to cover his eyes from the blinding light he would grit his teeth. Though once the illumination died down he was greeted with the eerie scenery of the courtyard and the ruin of the surrounding area yet again. "So it does take me back. Perhaps the other areas will unlock as I clear them..." Turning back to the white sphere he would press upon it which gave him the choice menu.

The first thing Riyku made note of was the fact that the Leave option was no longer grayed out. The second was the Travel selection. Since he assumed it would just lead him back to the first floor or give him that option he would simply ignore it and select the Leave option.

'Now exiting Instance Dungeon. Thank you for your hard work.'

The fact that the text box was thanking him was kind of weird, but it was next to nothing when the distortion came through and the world began to spin and twist in all angles until everything was reverted to how it normally was. His being was now standing outside the door of the mansion and the world appeared as peaceful as it was when he was forcefully placed into that strange world. His eyes shifted towards the skies in which he made note of how dark it was. "How much time has passed since I left?" The male muttered to himself before he heard the sound of the front door being opened. If he didn't realize he was back in the normal world, he would have put his guard up, but the refreshing sight of Skylar was what caused him to relax. 'So, they are safe... But then who were those Slaves that, that demon was talking about.' Riyku would internally speak of before his attention was taken by Skylar. "There you are, do you realize how late it is? The girls are pretty pissed. It's way past midnight." Skylar wasn't upset, more so he seemed fearful to which Riyku sighed heavily. "Is it? Damn... what is the time ratio compared to that place." Riyku seemed to mutter aloud.

"Place? Time Ratio? Did something happen?" Skylar inquired. Riyku realized then that he would have to explain what just happened to him. Not that Skylar or even the girls would probably comprehend. "Alright, I do need to explain. Gather the girls and I'll tell you all what happened to me. It is a rather long story, but I hope everyone will be able to sit through it." Skylar would nod to Riyku. "I am sure they would like to hear. I myself would like to know what you meant just now. You are a strange one after all." Skylar stated to which Riyku would sigh heavily. "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I'll meet you inside." Riyku would reply to which Skylar nodded. "Alright, but don't keep us waiting any longer than you already have. Well them, anyway." Skylar would reply to which Riyku nodded as the male went inside.

Riyku would look out once more over the courtyard. "It really is different... What was that world anyway?" Riyku muttered aloud. A few moments of silence, before he would turn to face the door. Out of the corner of his eyes, he thought he saw the faint flicker of something, but when he heard his name being called by one of the girls his attention was drawn astray. As he entered the mansion, he would close the door and with that, the faint flicker happened to have been the steady appearance of the White-Sphere from the other world.