Mirror World: Destined Return

The sound of steps echoed from between the thick trees, but no one was visible.

Graaah!

A Chaos monster roughly one and a half meters tall, covered in steel armor and carrying a halberd taller than itself, looked around. It was a Metal Warrior, a dwarf Invasive Chaos—a Shen-rank Armed Chaos.

Arrows flew from various directions at the Metal Warrior.

Gurrrh!

The Metal Warrior swung its halberd to deflect the arrows, but couldn’t stop one from penetrating the gap in the armor of its right knee. The Metal Warrior noticed its right leg couldn’t move well and looked down to see mold-like rust spreading from its right knee. The red rust corroded the Metal Warrior’s knee, making screeching sounds. The Metal Warrior fell to its right knee, and a light blue longsword penetrated its os from behind.

Guuu.

The Metal Warrior trembled, and its armor fell apart like the remaining shell of a snake after it shed its skin. Just then, the sound of something quickly approaching was heard from across the thicket.

“Hyung-nim! Here it comes!”

Graaah!

Another Metal Warrior charged out of the thicket, but this one was covered in a grey light.

A Lapang-rank Chaos! Seong-Hwi exclaimed inwardly.

It swung its halberd enveloped with Chaos Mana right at Seong-Hwi, who was concealed by Chaya’s ability.

“Hup!”

Seong-Hwi blocked his flank with the Ace of Swords. He was slightly raised into the air from the impact but landed safely on the ground. However, the Ace of Swords was destroyed.

[Ace of Swords destroyed.]

[Unavailable for 72 hours.]

Chaya’s Concealing Cloak also disappeared at the same time.

“Hyung-nim! I will re-activate the skill!”

“No, it’s fine. Just keep a lookout for the surroundings. Let me know if any other Chaos or people approach,” Seong-Hwi replied as he stared at the Lapang-rank Metal Warrior, his eyes shining.

It doesn’t compare to a Demon Knight, formerly a superior race, but it’s still Lapang-rank!

Seong-Hwi had been hunting Metal Warriors on the west end of the Capital for the past five days, but this was the first Lapang-rank Chaos he had encountered. Normal people would make at least minimal preparations and hunt with a tank, attacker, and support as per the Paulo Formation.

Even with that level of preparation, they would run away without hesitation if they encountered a Lapang-rank Chaos. However, it was only a dummy for Seong-Hwi to test himself and his new skill.

Graaah!

The Metal Warrior charged ferociously at Seong-Hwi, who did not run away. It swung the halberd enveloped in Chaos Mana, aiming for Seong-Hwi’s chest.

A card flew out of the Tarot Deck of Destiny. It showed two clerics holding a blueprint and discussing a sculpture they would place in the church with a sculptor. Three golden pentacles were embedded in an arched pillar in the church.

[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]

[Three of Pentacles]

Three pentacles appeared in a row before Seong-Hwi. The Chaos Mana-infused halberd destroyed the first two pentacles, but the third held on for longer.

Graaah!

However, it was only for a moment. The third pentacle was also destroyed once the Metal Warrior raised the output of its Chaos Mana.

[Three of Pentacles destroyed.]

[Unavailable for 72 hours.]

The Three of Pentacles can last to an extent against that level of Chaos Mana, Seong-Hwi thought as he backflipped up a tree.

The Metal Warrior chased after Seong-Hwi from the ground, destroying the trees with its halberd as Seong-Hwi jumped from tree to tree.

[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]

[Chasing Bow, one of the symbols of No.3 The Hunter]

A black bow appeared in Seong-Hwi’s hand, and a black arrow was automatically nocked once he drew the bowstring. He used another skill before letting the arrow loose.

[Activating Skill: Rust of Ruin.]

A menacing dark red aura lingered around the arrow tip.

I’m fully accustomed to the mana pattern now.

As one would expect from a skill with S-rank potential, the mana pattern of Rust of Ruin was incredibly complex. However, as one who used to be called the Thousand Skiller, learning mana patterns was his specialty. As a result, he had gotten so accustomed to using Rust of Ruin that he could now use it in combat after only five days.

Seong-Hwi fired the arrow and repeatedly drew the bowstring to continue firing.

Gurrrh!

The Metal Warrior swung its halberd to deflect the arrows, but not even a halberd with its long reach could deflect them all. An arrow struck the Metal Warrior’s flank, activating the debuff Corrosion. Rust began to spread, but much slower than how quickly it had spread for the Shen-rank Metal Warrior earlier.

As I thought, the power of Rust of Ruin has diminished because of Chaos Mana.

Rust of Ruin could boost the attack power of other skills and, above all, make an opponent’s ferrous weapons and other gear obsolete. It could even bind the opponent by making their movements difficult.

Hmm. Depending on the situation, I could change how I use it. If I only want the boost in attack power, I can reduce the application area and give up on the debuff. I can also do the opposite and increase the application area to apply the debuff.

The Lapang-rank Chaos with Chaos Mana somewhat blocked the D-rank Rust of Ruin but allowed Seong-Hwi to think of a new way to use the skill.

Come to think of it, we were warned about Haema Sanguis’ Blood Mist if we ever encountered him. I could apply that concept to my skills.

A card flew out of the Tarot Deck of Destiny. It showed three women on a fertile land filled with fruits and vegetables, making a toast with blue cups in their hands.

[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]

[Three of Cups]

Three cups appeared in midair.

[Activating Skill: Rust of Ruin.]

Once Seong-Hwi applied the Rust of Ruin on the three cups, it replaced the clear water that should have been generated with a dark red fluid. The three cups were flipped, and their contents poured on the Metal Warrior’s head.

Graaah!

The area of effect was incomparable to what one arrow could cover. It had no attack power but was the ideal way to apply the debuff Corrosion. Even for a Lapang-rank Metal Warrior, it took only a moment for its entire body to be covered in rust.

“Not bad at all,” Seong-Hwi remarked after finding a new way to use Rust of Ruin.

Although it consumed a lot of mana, and he could only see such debilitating effects because the opponent was covered in steel armor, it was still satisfactory. Seong-Hwi took the chance formed from the Metal Warrior’s disorientation and jumped from the tree.

[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]

[Harvesting Scythe, one of the symbols of No.13 Death]

[Drastically lowering the Harvesting Scythe’s abilities due to unfulfilled conditions.]

[Deathly Aura is available.]

A black scythe appeared in Seong-Hwi’s hand, and black Deathly Aura enveloped the crescent edge. He had barely embodied the symbol through the White Snake of Equivalent Exchange last time, but could now embody it with no expedients.

Graaah!

The Metal Warrior tried to run away once it noticed Seong-Hwi charging at it with the scythe, but its movements were dull due to the rust covering its body. The Harvesting Scythe split the Metal Warrior in two.

“Huuu,” Seong-Hwi exhaled.

[1,448 Karma obtained.]

Seong-Hwi stepped on the Metal Warrior’s rusted breastplate. It broke like a cookie now that it wasn’t enveloped in Chaos Mana, revealing a fist-sized os split in two. He put it in his pocket.

A Lapang-rank os should get me more Coins.

Seong-Hwi did not know what Clan Blue Anvil was trying to make, but they were buying Shen-rank Metal Warrior os for two hundred Coins each. They would surely pay more for a Lapang-rank one.

I hunted forty-three Metal Warriors today. Each gave me about a hundred fifty Karma, and if I consider the Coins I’ll get from selling their os... it sure is nice.

He could use the Karma to buy stat cubes and the Coins to buy useful items in the market, which would save him the Karma he would need to open item cubes. As he was calculating his profits, he thought about Jurie, who had given him this wonderful information.

I wonder if she has decided.

***

A blonde woman with blue eyes poured brandy into a glass in a red brick building with a sign reading Vivienne Information Center near the entrance of South Earth. The bottle was labeled Hennessy VS. It was the lowest grade among the cognacs on Earth, but it was a nostalgia unlike the tasteless hard liquor made in the Mirror World. Hence, it was a premium item that cost several thousand Coins.

Jurie raised the glass of brandy and stared blankly at the brown fluid. Whenever she drank cognac or Bordeaux wine, she could recall memories of her home in France, which she could never return to. Once she recalled memories of France, someone else also appeared in her mind.

“I miss you, Vivienne... If I knew this would happen, I would’ve let you eat more delicious food and introduced you to more wonderful places.”

Jurie sipped her cognac. She closed her eyes as she thought about the grapes in this alcohol that were grown in France while drinking its water. Images of her hometown and her little sister’s face appeared in her head.

***

The House of Martin was a well-known noble house, and Jurie was its eldest daughter. She had an older brother and younger sister, Vivienne Martin, whom Jurie named her information center after.

Vivienne was diagnosed with leukemia when she was nine years old—to be more specific, chronic myelogenous leukemia. They were shocked about the diagnosis at first, but unlike in the past, leukemia wasn’t always a fatal disease. The family thanked the heavens once the doctor told them the chance of a full recovery and the survival rate of childhood leukemia was around ninety percent.

On top of that, Vivienne was a member of House Martin, which had access to the most advanced medical services. No one doubted she would make a full recovery. However, Vivienne’s condition continued to worsen—she consistently took imatinib, an oral cancer medication, and even went through stem cell transplantation surgery, but the cancer continued to recur.

The team of doctors cautiously mentioned it could be due to the cellular mutations caused by the slowly rising worldwide radioactivity. As a result, Vivienne was forced to stay in a cleanroom from a young age.

***

“I don’t wanna eat this, unnie,” said a little girl in a white bed.

They were in a giant room filled with furniture from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and a glass cleanroom was installed at the center. The little girl with no hair but beautiful blue eyes looked down dissatisfyingly at the plate on the bedside table.

“Broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, tofu... They’re disgusting.”

“But Vivienne, Chef Gaston studied long and hard to create this noncarcinogenic dish for you. If you don’t finish it, I’m sure he’d bawl his eyes out in a corner of the kitchen—”

“Alright! I’ll eat it!” Vivienne stabbed a tomato with a fork as Jurie imitated Gaston crying.

She’s such a good girl, Jurie thought as she smiled at Vivienne.

Vivienne ate the tomato and asked, “How’s high school, unnie? Is it different from middle school?”

“Mmm, it’s not that much different.”

“Really?”

Jurie and Vivienne were seven years apart. At the time, Vivienne was ten and Jurie was seventeen.

“I wanna go to school too,” Vivienne mumbled sorrowfully.

Jurie pulled out her smartphone once her little sister’s expression grew somber. She tapped on the smartphone and turned on a video she had looked hard for. It introduced the various tourist attractions and well-known products in New York.

“Look at this, Vivienne! I’ll take you to New York this time!” Jurie said energetically with exaggerated movements.

This habit was developed from her desire to fill Vivienne with positive energy. She talked as pleasantly as possible to make the other person laugh.

“New York?” Vivienne asked interestedly and watched the video from across the glass of the cleanroom.

“Wow! It’s the Statue of Liberty!”

“It’s Central Park! I know this place. I saw it in Penguins of Madagascar. It’s my favorite animation!”

“Shake Shack? Wow! I wanna go there one day.”

Jurie smiled as Vivienne’s somber expression changed to delight and said, “Let’s go to New York together once you’re all better.”

“Really? Can we get burgers too?”

“Of course.”

“And fries? And Coke?”

“Of course!”

Vivienne smiled widely. Jurie wondered which part of the world she would show her tomorrow. To Vivienne, Jurie was a motherly figure because their mother passed away when Vivienne was a baby. She was also her tour guide, showing her all parts of the world, her deliverer of positive energy, and a network that acted as a link between Vivienne and the world.

***

House Martin was flipped upside down when Vivienne was eleven and Jurie was eighteen. Vivienne, sleeping in the cleanroom, and their father, Remy Martin, sitting in the backseat of a car on his way home from work, were Lost simultaneously.

The eldest son, Jean Martin, inherited the house and its businesses, but couldn’t fill the void left by Remy. Jurie met everyone who claimed they returned after being Lost, but they all turned out to be swindlers. She saw no hope that her little sister and father would return.

Two years passed, and Jurie became a reporter at Le Monde News, busily investigating the truth about the Lost phenomenon. Then, she was also Lost.

***

“I killed her.”

“What? What did you... Just say, Dad?”

After clearing the hellish mandatory quest and reaching the Mirror World, Jurie visited Clan Martin after hearing about it from the Mirror World residents. As she had expected, her father, Remy Martin, was there, but his expression was much colder than on Earth. Her little sister Vivienne was nowhere in sight.

“Vivienne... was killed?”

“No. I killed her. She agreed to it. I killed her with my own hands... on the sacrificial altar.”

Jurie could only stare at Remy in shock, unable to form words.

Remy continued, “I’ve heard that you became a reporter from the members of our house who were Lost before you. Reporters are useless in this world. A smartphone D Weapon is even more useless, so open cubes to get a new weapon.”

“What are you... saying?”

“I’ve heard Jean has taken my place and inherited the house and businesses, but they’re in a continuous downward trend. But worry not, the House of Martin will begin anew here.”

Her father, Remy, said he killed Vivienne with his own hands, but all he was focused on was the House of Martin. Jurie would have been sad but accepting of the truth if he had told her Vivienne was killed by Chaos monsters or passed away because her disease had progressed. However, she was killed by her father.

“You must also work hard to revive the house. The human race is in danger at the moment. We will soon be at war against the dog beastfolk. I expect you to support our house—”

“You survived at the cost of Vivienne’s life... and all you talk about is reviving the house and war? Screw that!” Jurie shouted.

Remy stared at her and said, “You have no idea about the value of our house. As long as we strengthen the house, we can—”

“Shut up! How... How could a father kill his daughter?! How could you kill Vivienne?! You murderer!” Jurie screamed resentfully. “I feel sick just from sharing the Martin blood with you!”

With that, she left Clan Martin.

***

“Fuuu,” Jurie sighed as the faint scent of cognac disappeared and opened her eyes. “I tried to understand you for the past five years, but... it was impossible.”

She couldn’t forgive her father for killing Vivienne, even if Vivienne agreed to it. She tapped on her smartphone with her free hand.

I don’t know who, but a group is planning an attack on Edu. Jurie thought about the clue she had found in the Network.

At first, she thought it was just a battle between the Union’s factions. Clan Martin was part of the pioneering faction that believed they should head to the center of the Mirror World, so she thought the opposing conservative and dependence factions were trying to ruin the reputation of Remy, an important figure of the pioneering faction.

It was only natural for Clan Martin’s reputation to fall if Remy, twenty-third in the human ranking, were to allow an attack on Edu while he was there to protect it. Hence, Jurie planned to let it happen since she couldn’t care less whether Clan Martin’s reputation fell, but the Asian man who visited her slightly changed her mind.

“Premature decision... a fair judgment... a void after achieving my goal... farewell and a hidden truth... and reconciliation.”

Jurie would have ignored such a card reading on Earth, but they were in the Mirror World, where all kinds of fantastical skills existed.

If that man’s ability is real... Jurie pondered.

It would mean the card reading had foretold Remy Martin’s death. Jurie fell into deep thought as she fiddled with her D Weapon.