Ascension: Online

(Furuwa's Perspective)

"The victor is number 116!" the mayor declared.

Walking off the stage in triumph, I put my sword back into my inventory, then glanced at the time displayed on the top right corner of my System. It read 6:45 PM. Since I already ate dinner, I decided to go to the Hunter's Guild to pick up some quests. I had time, so might as well make the most out of it and get even stronger.

Most of the quests I got happened to require me to go to the forest to the east of Qilian City, so I headed for the eastern gates. As I walked, I thought about two certain people - Igarashi Kaze, and Sakura Hina. They had said they were sick since two weeks ago, but now that the two weeks have passed, they still did not show up at school. At least, Sakura-senpai did not. Kaze wasn't in the same school, so I had no way of telling. However, my instincts told me there was something off about the two.

I've been trying to look for them, but to no avail. However… recently, I picked up on a clue that might just lead me to the two of them.

There was a young man following me. He didn't seem to realize it, but his tracing skills really sucked. I noticed him spectating my fights and following me around, ever since the beginning of the preliminaries. To not alert him, however, I didn't bother confronting him about it. Every time I walked by him on purpose, he would try to play it cool and pretend to be busy.

I've said it already, but I'll say it again: his following skills really sucked. He just wasn't the man cut out for this job.

That said, why would anyone want to follow me? Was he a creepy stalker of some sort? I wasn't half-bad-looking, but I was still a far ways off compared to Sakura-senpai, for example. Besides, this guy didn't seem like a pervert. Perverts would be better at following others. Chances were, there was some mastermind above him ordering him to do this.

And if I had to be honest, I had a good idea who the mastermind was.

However, today, the man wasn't here. I've tried looking for him discretely, but he simply was not here, for whatever reason.

That's why, when I spotted him in front of an inn with two young kids together with him, I was naturally surprised. Out of instinct, I dashed behind a building to observe him from afar. Ironic - the follower was now being watched by the followee.

"What is he doing here…" I muttered in confusion. "And why with two kids?"

The young man appeared to be waiting for someone. But if that's the case, why not wait inside? Ah, wait… that's probably because of how loud the kids were. That aside, however… if he was waiting for his mastermind, then if I just stayed here and kept watching, I would be able to find out who the person instructing him to follow me was. And if my guess was on point…

Fifteen minutes later, I got my answer, and my lips curved up into a dangerous smile as I spotted the two people I was looking for, along with a third, little girl.

"Found you."

*****

(Kaze's Perspective)

When we got back to Qilian City via the eastern gates, we were immediately greeted by Ming Hong and his two younger siblings.

"Brother Kaze! You're here," he called out, a bright smile on his face. "Nice new outfit."

Ah… shit. I completely forgot about Ming Hong… dang.

"Y-Yeah, thanks. Sorry, I had some business to do outside, it took longer than expected," I replied. "Were you waiting for long?"

"No, not at all!" Ming Hong replied. However, I doubted it - the two younger siblings looked tired and didn't want to stand anymore. They had probably been waiting here for a while.

"Well, let's head inside. Ming An and Ming Kang probably need to rest," I said, walking into the inn. The rest of them followed.

After I renewed my room, we headed upstairs. Once the door was unlocked, Ming An and Ming Kang immediately rushed in, before jumping onto the sofa and relaxing.

"Ah… finally…" they murmured, enjoying the feeling of sitting down.

"Hey, manners-" Ming Hong began, about to reprimand them, but I tapped his shoulder and shook my head.

"They're little kids… just let them be."

"Right… yes. Brother Kaze, you are spoiling them too much, haha," Ming Hong chuckled.

I smiled. "Maybe. But I mean… after this week, they won't be able to do this anymore."

"Brother Kaze is thinking of leaving Qilian City?"

"Well, if I get admitted into the sect at the tournament, I naturally will have to leave."

"That is true…"

He then walked to the door and placed his hand on the handle.

"Well then, I will head out now to continue following the people you mention-"

"Following who?"

A female voice suddenly said as Ming Hong opened the door. Hina, Ming Hong, and I all widened our eyes in surprise to see who it was.

"… Furuwa?" I whispered, not sure if what I was seeing was real, especially since I just experienced the Vault of Deception.

"Surprised to see me? Of course you are. After all… you've been trying to avoid me, haven't you? And the two idiots too."

Saying this, she strolled on into the room uninvited. The atmosphere darkened, tension in the air.

"So. Talk to me… why are you still not at school, Sakura-senpai?"

I opened my mouth to respond in her stead, but Furuwa cut me off with a glare.

"And don't give me that crap about being sick."

"…" Hina-nee and I exchanged glances, and I sighed.

"Brother Ming, can you take your younger siblings and leave for a few moments?"

Ming Hong nodded in understanding, quickly taking Ming An and Ming Kang out, even though they didn't want to leave the couch. They closed the door behind us, and I motioned to the now-empty couch.

"Take a seat. This will be a long story."

Furuwa eyed me in suspicion, but she did as told.

Hina-nee glanced at me in worry. "Kaze-kun… are we telling her the truth?"

"… It's not like we have much of a choice, now that she's found out," I sighed and sat down on a chair across from the couch. "If it were anyone else, I would be able to cover up our lie, but… not to her."

"Hehe, I suppose that's true… Chiaki-san."

"What?"

"What Kaze-kun is about to tell you… you cannot leak this to anyone else. That includes in the real world as well. If you agree with those terms, we will tell you the truth. If not, you'll have to resort to just guessing on your own."

Furuwa snorted. "Sakura-senpai, with all due respect, you are not in any position to be making demands of me. I can report to faculty anytime that you are here playing a video game instead of going to school. I do want to know what is going on with you two, but I will do that on my own terms - not yours."

"So what if you report me, Chiaki-san?" Hina-nee shot back. "I am bound to get expelled either way, if I continue to not show up to school. Your report will be of little use."

"So, you intend to continue refusing to attend school?" Furuwa asked, narrowing her eyes.

"… I don't have much of a choice."

"… What?"

"Before that, agree to her terms," I interrupted. "If you don't, we won't tell you anything. There's not much you can use as a threat - the real world is of little meaning to us now."

"You're bluffing."

"You're welcome to see whether or not we're bluffing. Just remember, we won't be losing anything. I am only proposing you this deal because otherwise, you would be a hassle and continue to hunt us down in this game until you got the answers you want. But if that's the route you want to go, I'll be your opponent."

"… Fine. I was never planning on telling anyone in the first place. I too, would rather get answers here then have to keep finding you over and over again."

"Well then… listen closely, and be prepared to throw away all common sense," I smirked. "What I'm about to tell you will shatter your concept of reality itself."

"… You're kidding, right?" Furuwa raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

Hina-nee smiled. "He's not. But before that… Aisa-chan, you know what I'm hinting at, don't you?"

Aisa closed her eyes and folded her arms, sitting on the bed. "Worry not… anyone who knows the 'truth' will be subject to the same restrictions."

Faced with these cryptic words, Furuwa was evidently confused. But what awaited her was something far worse than she could've imagined.

"There's no turning back once you start listening," I chuckled. "Are you ready?"

Furuwa slowly nodded, not understanding what exactly I meant. I smiled.

Sorry, Furuwa. You chose to confront us about this.