Civilization

With his head pressed to the ground, Travys glances to his left to see us emerge from the wall of flames. Gibing pulls his head back while lifting his body so that we could have a casual chat with him. Spitting out blood and saliva, Travys looks at us calmly, as if dying and losing were just part of a day-to-day basis.

"So, how was it?" - Ian

"How was what? Losing? Getting over 30 other players killed? About to die? Getting outplayed? Not knowing that Kingston over here has a demon in his hand which killed everyone last night? What are you asking, Ian?" - Travys

"I just want to know something simple. Why didn't you just think of co-operating in clearing this place? You know there is a quest to clear it right, and it ties in with the third event, so why?" - Ian

"Do I need to spell it out for you or something? Or are you a complete idiot now?" - Travys

"I want to hear your opinion. I have my own opinion and assumptions of what your reason is, but they might be different. So just tell me before I kill you, nice and simple. " - Ian

"Hahaha! If we were in a different game with a different objective, heck if we were just meeting in real life, it would be great to get to know you, but I have a job to do. This is just part of the job, nothing more, nothing less, and definitely not personal. I am an employee of Bones. This is a new area that we could potentially conquer and use. That's it." - Travys

"Just that, and you would kill everyone that walks through the other 9 Portals down below?" - Ian

"Just that." - Travys

"I see… There really is nothing more to it." - Ian

"I'll be back, you know. Devel will be aware of your presence now, and he isn't the type of person to let things be." - Travys

"Let him know, that I will be here, waiting for him." - Ian

"Finish him, Gibing." - Ian

"With pleasure." - Gibing

Slamming Travys's head down into the floor, Gibing depletes his HP, sending him back to the real world, but that was just the start of a multitude of problems.

"He didn't really say much, did he?" - Kingston

"Why did you kill him so fast, Ian?" - Rebecca

"I… I don't know. I felt annoyed during the conversation. Maybe I just wanted to end it as soon as possible. Sorry, I should have kept asking him things related to Bones, Devel, etc. How come you didn't notice that he was planning to attack us?" - Ian

"Umm, I'm not sure. Nothing activated..." - Rebecca

"Don't worry about it, at least we are all safe now, and I guess we have reunited with everyone as well. Although, they are slightly different from how I remember them, am I right, guys?" - Howard

"Just slightly different, Howard? I thought we had a big improvement." - David

"Are you really, David? I remember David being a little more shy. What happened to you that changed that?" - Howard

"People change, especially when we were in a dire situation." - David

"It wasn't just him that changed. I didn't think I would be in the front lines at all." - Yor

"And now you are attacking side by side with Ken." - Kingston

"And the biggest difference would be Ken." - Gibing

"I'm not that different…" - Ken

"Brother… Is that really you now?" - Kaede

Speaking up, Kaede approaches Ken and looks at him nervously. Ken's appearance was different after Belial's transformation. Grabbing Kaede's hand, Ken kneels to the floor. Previously they were the same height but after the transformation, Ken was a head taller than his sister. Bringing himself down, to give Kaede reassurance, Ken smiles at her gently.

"Sister, no need to be worried. I'm sorry for leaving you at the Portal, and I'm sorry for letting you feel so lost and hurt. I am the same as I have always been, nothing has changed except for my appearance. I'm still Ken, your one and only brother." - Ken

Tears well in Kaede's eyes, as she grabs Ken closer to her. A stream of tears pours out of her eyes and onto his shoulder. Holding her tightly, Ken gently rub's Kaede back as a few tears escape the drop. Taking the tranquil opportunity, I decide to look at everyone's stats to see the changes. After all, we were all resting our bodies after a long fight.

Name: Ken

Race: Demon (Snow Wolf)

Health Points (HP): 62/104

Mana Points (MP): 10/22

Demonic Energy (DE) : 5/10

Strength: 38 (+10)

Vitality: 52

Intelligence: 44

Dexterity: 30

Agility: 55

Luck: 10

Skill: Ferocity, Predatory Grasp, Silver Flash, Amorok's Blessing (Passive), Follow the Pack (Passive), Belial's Gift (Passive).

Predatory Grasp (Active) 10MP or 5DE - Enhancing the user's hand and grip strength increasing Strength by 25%, while also injecting demonic power into the target dealing damage ( 20 + 100% Strength). Cooldown 1 min.

Silver Flash (Active) 12MP - Increase Agility by 50% during the process of 14 short dashes. During the short dashes, it is possible to dodge or attack dealing ( 10 + 50% Strength + 100% Agility). Cooldown 30 minutes.

Amorok's Blessing (Passive) - This being is blessed by the wolf god Amorok and his able to receive more of its blessing the longer its faith toward's the god last. Each blessing will be granted once a week and could range from additional stats to skills to weapons. Current added blessing, +10 Str.

Name: Kaede

Race: Demi-Human (Wolf)

Health Points (HP): 15/62

Mana Points (MP): 20/20

Strength: 25

Vitality: 31

Intelligence: 40

Dexterity: 36

Agility: 35

Luck: 1

Skill: Ferocity, Beastman Senses (Passive), Follow the Pack (Passive)

Name: Gopopo

Race: Oni

Health Points (HP): 63/102

Mana Points (MP): 6/23

Demonic Energy (DE) : 5/10

Strength: 35 (+3)

Vitality: 48 (+4)

Intelligence: 46

Dexterity: 32

Agility: 41

Luck: 10

Skill: Demon Lash, Demonic Embrace, Backstep, Pinpoint, Enhanced Sight (Passive), Weak spot (Passive), Darkness Aliment (Passive), Oni Blood (Passive) Belial's Gift (Passive)

Demon Lash (Active) 6MP or 3DE - On activation, create two long whips out of Demonic Energy. Each attack with the whips stacks damages up to 5 times (First Strike: 20 + 20% Strength, Second Strike: 20 + 40% Strength …. Fifth Strike+ : 20+100% Strength). Duration 10 min Cooldown 30 min.

Demonic Embrace (Active) 4MP or 2DE - Grabbing onto the target, draining its HP dealing (10 + 100% Strength +60% Intelligence) and healing for 20% Damage dealt.

Darkness Aliment (Passive) - All damage, whether it is a close range or long range, will deal 10% additional Dark-Element damage.

Oni Blood (Passive) - Increasing Vitality and Strength by 10%.

Name: Gibing

Race: Oni

Health Points (HP): 56/132

Mana Points (MP): 3/16

Demonic Energy (DE): 5/10

Strength: 45 (+4)

Vitality: 60 (+6)

Intelligence: 38

Dexterity: 25

Agility: 25

Luck: 10

Skill: Demonic Battle Pact, Demonic Embrace, Charge, Heighten Reflexes, Warrior's Sense (Passive), Darkness Aliment (Passive), Oni Blood (Passive), Belial's Gift (Passive)

Demonic Battle Pact (Active) 6MP or 3DE - Enveloping the fists with Demonic Energy creating small explosions with each strike dealing (50 + 120% Strength) damage. Duration 10 mins. Cooldown 30 mins.

Name: David

Race: Djinn

Health Points (HP): 43/150

Mana Points (MP): 10/15

Demonic Energy (DE) : 0/10

Strength: 40

Vitality: 75

Intelligence: 30

Dexterity: 20

Agility: 25

Luck: 10

Skill: Flame Body, Jahannam Naar Dire, Ifrit's Favor (Passive), Fiery Essence (Passive), Belial's Gift (Passive)

Flame Body (Active) 5MP or 2DE - Engulf the body in flame reducing damage taken by 50% whilst also giving a shield equal to 50%HP. The flames can be used to enhance Jahannam Naar Dire. Duration 1 min. Cooldown 5 mins.

Jahannam Naar Dire (Active) 20MP or 10DE - Create a blast of condensed flames dealing Fire-Element damage (100 + 150% Intelligence). If Flame Body was activated prior to the activation of this skill then the damage and size of the skill will increase by 50%. Cooldown 1 hour.

Ifrit's Favor (Passive) - Reduce damage taken by 10%. Melee damage dealt to this user will counter to the dealer in the form of damage over time, burning them, for 1% Maximum HP every min.

Fiery Essence (Passive) - Give close-range attacks additional 10% Fire-Element damage.

Name: Yor

Race: Demon ( Black Dog )

Health Points (HP): 23/86

Mana Points (MP): 16/21

Demonic Energy (DE) : 5/10

Strength: 30

Vitality: 43

Intelligence: 42

Dexterity: 32

Agility: 56 (+5)

Luck: 8

Skill: Deathly Hold, Blood Hunt, Energy Booster, Guardian Black Dog (Passive), Belial's Gift (Passive)

Deathly Hold (Active) 5MP or 2DE - Gripping the target dealing Dark-Element damage (20 + 80% Intelligence). If the target is held for longer than a minute then deal additional (50 + 160% Intelligence). Cooldown 10 min. 𝗳𝓇ℯe𝓌𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘𝚟𝘦𝑙.𝑐𝚘𝙢

Blood Hunt (Active) 10MP or 5 DE - Increase Agility by 50% while intensifying traces of enemies that are below 50% HP. The user can see a blood mist trail leading to the enemy.

Guardian Black Dog (Passive) - The rare and unique variant of the Black Dog, guides the user on a path, protecting them from danger. Giving 10% reduced damage and 10% Agility.

I almost couldn't believe my eyes…

Each and every one of them had stats that rivaled mine and with it an additional gauge, the Demonic Energy, just like Kingston's. In fact, some were better than mine. I let out a low whistle as I place my hands on my hips and look up. If it wasn't for the fact that I had so many skills, they would be far superior to me since their skills were tailored to their current races.

Placing his hand on my shoulder, Kingston looks at me.

"They are strong, aren't they?" - Kingston

"Stronger than I thought, that's for sure." - Ian

"Right? Belial really gave us a gift there. So, what's your plan? If you don't have one, let me tell you mine." - Kingston