The Final Desperation

"Hey Mechanic, can you come with me for something?"

Genji brought this up at breakfast the day after they settled down.

"Sure. What for though?"

"Seer wanted us to buy some security measures so our base won't experience the same problem. You're the only one who has knowledge about this area."

When he heard the reason, Mechanic couldn't pass up the offer. As a spy, getting the chance to set up security measures would mean he can leave a backdoor. That and denying a request from Seer would be suspicious. He's been their leader for a long time and disobeying him would attract attention from the others.

"Yeah. When are we going?"

"I was thinking now."

"Then let's go."

"Thank you. I promise this will be the last time I bother you like this."

"Don't worry about it. I'm happy to do this."

They got into a plain jeep and started driving to town. Time passed and soon Mechanic felt something was wrong. It's been too long. he knows where the closest security-related store was and they should have arrived 10 minutes ago. Where are they going? Why does this place seem so deserted? 

And why didn't he question the weird route? As these questions flashed through his mind, he felt his body go numb.

"Assassin? Why do I feel-"

Then everything clicked for Mechanic. He's been seen through.

"Yes. Seer knew the whole time. I'm just the person he hired for the job. Now sleep. I'll make sure your death is not in disgrace."

Unwillingness flashed through Mechanic's face but his body was too weak to do anything. Even his mind felt sluggish so he can't use his mental powers. A flawless assassination.

The process was a simple one, but the execution was far from it. Genji stopped the car once he sensed Mechanic had fallen unconscious. He reached down to the pedals and pulled out an open vial of pinkish liquid. Half of its contents had been emptied. Genji corked it and reached down again. Another vial. Then another one.

Soon, Genji had a total of 7 vials between his fingers. This was what he had used to poison Mechanic without him noticing. Each individual vial had an apparent effect, such that Mechanic would have noticed if they were used individually. Yet when used together, they formed a gas that restricted the symptoms of each other until it's too late.

Genji got out of the car, coughing a few times. He's not immune to these poisons. He simply knows how to guard against them and not succumb to their effects before his opponent does. It's a stupid method, but it works. How can you get an antidote if not even the creator has one?

After stabilizing his condition, Genji walked to the passenger's side and dragged the limp Mechanic out. Then he took out a gun and shot him through the eye. Then Genji fired a few more shots into the body to make it seem like Mechanic died from gun wounds. 

Lastly, Genji turned the gun around and opened a decent amount of wounds inside him. Most of the areas were nonlethal, but a few pierced his important organs. With his current condition, he should have around 40 minutes to live.

After putting Mechanic's body back into the car, Genji smiled through the pain and slammed the pedal, speeding back at an insane speed.

 

---

 

"There's a vehicle coming at us at a rapid speed," everyone was on guard recently so it was no surprise Sensor picked up on this.

"Can you tell if it's hostile or not?"

"No. Just that the driver has a thin life force. It's like he's about to die."

*CRASH*

A loud sound interrupted the chat as a car smashed into a large tree outside their home. Hearing the commotion, everyone in the house quickly gathered outside to understand what happened. As Sensor, Mage, and Lumberjack approached the crash site, they managed to see a bleeding Genji in the driver's seat.

"Stand back," Lumberjack yelled as he brandished his axe to cleave open the car frame.

He reached in and pulled out the heavily injured Genji and yelled in a booming voice.

"Medic! Get over hear!"

A few seconds later, a younger-looking woman ran over in her nurse outfit. Seeing the bleeding Genji and limp Mechanic lying on the ground, she bent down and gave the two of them a check. 

"Mechanic's dead, but Assassin's barely alive. I can stabilize his wounds, but you will have to move him to my room for a complete recovery."

"No problem."

Medic crouched down and a white glow came out of her hands. The light covered Genji and bullets floated out. Then the wounds started closing. 

 

---

 

When Genji work up, he found himself in a white room. Feeling the absence of pain, he knew his gamble had paid off. 

"Your awake," a sweating Medic greeted him.

"How long was I out?"

"4 hours. Those were deadly wounds. What happened to you?"

"Can you gather everyone so I don't have to repeat the story?"

"Sure."

Medic left the room and came back with everyone slowly funneling into the room.

"So what happened? How did you receive such wounds?"

"We were ambushed. Out of nowhere, a feeling of weakness overtook us. I suspect it we triggered a condition of some kind-"

"Poison," Medic interrupted, "You were poisoned. A nasty one at that."

"I see. Well, that happened and then we are getting shot at. We managed to drive away in time, but they were relentless. Because of my failing body, we received a lot of wounds. Wait! Where's Mechanic?"

Genji started acting like he suddenly remembered the wounded partner. No one answered him. Seeing their grim faces, Genji calmed down.

"So he didn't survive those wounds. I knew those were pretty serious."

"Don't be too sad about his death," Sensor comforted him.

"I'm not upset about it. Anyways, I managed to shake off the pursuers after gunning some down and taking a bunch of swirls. Then I rushed back as soon as possible in hopes that we can be treated."

"You did well. Rest for now," Seer ended the discussion and motioned everyone out.

Everyone brought the story. They never considered that Genji was the one that killed Mechanic. If he did kill him, why would he bring the body back? And why would he poison himself like that? You have to know, even Medic found the poison troublesome. And Medic is one of the best doctors in the world. She might look young, but that's a testament to her medical skills.

Correct, her young looks are the result of her taking good care of her body, not her immatureness. No one knows her actual age, but she's been around for a long time. One should never as a woman for her age.

In addition, Genji's wounds are too serious. If they were slightly late, he would have passed away. Why would anyone inflict those wounds on themselves? Wouldn't it be easier to dump the body and make up a story of how Mechanic died in the ambush? Nothing pointed at Genji being the murderer. 

It's too illogical. So illogical that one would have to be crazy to do something like that. Yet Genji is crazy. Crazy to play with his life like that. And he won.

The only person that had an inking of this was Seer, who had put him to the task. But even Seer had doubts when he saw the result. Did Genji kill Mechanic or did this happen before Genji can dispose of him? No matter how he thinks about it, it's the latter.

 

---

 

Genji teleported nonstop as a small blob of darkness flashed toward him. While he desperately tried to pull open the distance, he pelted the boss to the best of his ability, but this did not slow the speedy creature. It was closing in fast, and things are getting ugly.

*Fsssshhhh*

The boss's razor-sharp blades came down at him as he twisted his body. Yet this reaction was too late. A large cut had opened up on his shoulders before he can do anything about it. Genji hurriedly teleported away before doing his best to rush back to the border between the two areas. He's running out of daggers and the boss still has a large amount of health.

Casting a healing card between the teleportations, Genji was able to sustain a few more hits. 

"Shit! Why do all the bosses at this level counter me?"

A storm of crows burst out from his body and rushed at the approaching shadow. They didn't do much, but Genji was able to get a sense of where the boss was. Just follow the dying crows.

Soon, Genji was upon the area between World's Edge and Uncharted Lands. He hurried to rush through the film and unleashed his meager daggers and prepared to spam-click the card. Unlike the creatures in the Uncharted Lands, these creatures did not have any broken damage resistances or percentage health.

In a matter of seconds, the entire area was massacred and his daggers were replenished. With this recovery, Genji stepped back through the film and prepared to fight the troublesome opponent.

"Time for round 2, annoying fucker."

A storm of daggers followed him and drowned the boss. Yet as strong as they are, Genji still had to constantly teleport to get away from the swift shadow. The fight lasted another 30 minutes before Genji was able to finish the boss.

(You have slain Black Flash, level 899)

(You have obtained a progression card.)

Once the boss fell, Genji fell on his butt and let out a sigh of relief. 

"Yeah, I don't think I can continue grinding this. How did someone get so many progression cards?"

Genji pulled up the leaderboards and chose the progression card category. At the top of the list, a name with 82 progression cards appeared. It was strange. Genji only had 63 cards, yet this person had 19 more than him. Just what is he doing wrong? There's no doubt he's the strongest player in the game so why can't he catch up?

"I guess there's only one way to find out."

Genji clicked on the name and sent a message.

 

---

 

PheaCat was spending time with her friends when she got a message from an unknown user. Since it was unknown, she assumed it was normal spam from people that had nothing better to do. She has gotten plenty of those since obtaining the number one spot in progression cards. If only there were a filter system that helped her sort the messages.

"This drink is delicious," her friend said as she sipped her glass of yellow and blue liquid. 

Because this is a virtual game, there are a lot of tastes that don't exist in the real world. It's one of the main attractions among the psychics that had gotten burnt out from the game but can't leave. 

"Yeah. It looks beautiful as well."

"I know right? We can eat whatever we want and not have to worry about weird smells or looks. Everything is so optimized. If only reality is like this."

*Ding*

PheaCat got another message. She continued to ignore it. Then another one. At this point, she's starting to get annoyed by this.

"Give me a second. Someone's spamming me so I want to block them."

"Go for it," her friend was used to this occurrence. Compared to when PheaCat first obtained her rank, things had gotten milder. That's what blocking a few thousand people can do for her.

"Alright, all done."

On the other side, Genji was speechless when he saw that he was blocked. How is he going to contact her now? As for contacting second place, he never considered it. The person only has 64 cards, only 1 more than Genji. This then puts Genji in third place, limiting his options. There's only one person he can consult for this problem.

"I guess I need to try a different approach."

A few hours later, PheaCat's friend pulled her aside.

"Hey Phea, did you see the commission?" 

"No. What commission?"

"Hear. Have a look. the result may surprise you."

Her friend sent her the link to the commission page, giving her some time to read it. 

(Looking to meet PheaCat. 1 level 70 boss card for her position. 5 if you bring me to her.)

When PheaCat saw the request, she was taken aback. Someone was willing to spend so much to meet her? You have to understand boss cards are very valuable. Each one is earned at the risk of a party's life. Not to mention a level 70 one. There are not many teams that could earn this amount.

"Shocking, right?" Her friend asked her.

"Yes. With that bounty, people will look all over for me."

Her friend shook her head.

"That's not what I was talking about."

"It's not?"

PheaCat was confused about what her friend was getting at. The bounty is not the shocking part? Then what is?

"Look at the commissioner."

At her prompt, PheaCat's eyes wandered down to the name. Assassin. Assassin? Why does that name sound familiar?

"Who's Assassin?"

Since her friend seems to know, she might as well ask. No point in trying to figure things out by herself when the answer's in front of her.

"No way you don't know about him!"

When she heard the question, her friend looked at her like she had grown a third head. There's no way, right? How can she not know?

"Am I supposed to know?"

Her friend facepalmed before replying with, "Open the leaderboards."

"Leaderboards? What's there to see?"

PheaCat followed the instructions and instantly froze. At the top of the level leaderboards, is Assassin with a star in place of his level. What the hell is a star level? And when did the name change? Wasn't 79 the highest level someone had reached? Did the person change their name? Why did the number disappear? Just what is going on?

PheaCat fell silent for a few seconds before she turned to her friend. 

"What is with that level?"

"He was in his nineties yesterday. I assume the star is what is after level 100."

Holy! Level 100? How did someone reach that level? Wasn't it supposed to be harder to level up after every 10 levels? And what's with the big gap between him and second place? Is he hacking or something? 

"Why does someone like that want to meet me?"

"I don't know, but do you want to take the offer? That's 5 boss cards right there. Someone of his level should have no problem paying that price."

"I don't know. Things seem shady no matter how I look at it."

"How about you let me accept the commission and we set the meeting point in a safe zone? That way, if he has hostile intentions, we can at least keep our lives?"

PheaCat hesitated for some time but eventually succumbed to the temptation of the rewards.

"Fine, but only if it's next to the mayor's mansion."

The mayor's mansion. A place filled with the most guards. It would be suicidal for anyone to do anything around there. A place of the utmost security. That was the only way PheaCat felt safe meeting with this top player.

 

---

 

"This is the place," Genji said to himself as he arrived at the provided address. 

Looking around, he saw multiple NPC guards in the area, all of them at level 90. A weird occurrence when you consider these guys are the people to give out quests about defending a place. Can't you do it yourself? Your stats are many times greater than the players and you all have powerful skills. Why are you asking the weak players to do it?

"I'm here," he messaged the person.

"We're by the front gate."

When Genji walked over, he saw two female psychics constantly moving their heads to survey the surrounding areas. It was like they are looking for someone.

'Seems like I found them.'

To confirm, he went up to them and asked, "VacantAngle?"

"Assassin?"

"That's me. I assume this is PheaCat then?"

PheaCat nodded but didn't relax. She's ready to defend herself in case he becomes hostile. A safe area is not 100% safe. They still need to survive until the guards take action, which might be a few seconds.

"Here's the cards."

Genji initiated a trade, surprising VacantAngle since the process was simpler than she expected.

"Are you not afraid of being scammed?"

"No. If you dare, I'll simply hunt you down."

"Ahem. So why did you want to meet me?"

PheaCat cleared her throat and pretended no threatening statements were made.

"Tell me. How did you earn so many progression cards?"

"Excuse me?"

This was not a question she was expecting. Not because it was a secret or hidden information, but because of how common the knowledge was. Why did this top player ask such a basic question? 

"You heard me. How did you reach so many progression cards when you're so weak?"

"Hey! What does my level have anything to do with it?"

"It doesn't?"

Genji was starting to get confused. If levels don't affect how one obtains progression cards, then what does?

"Huh?"

Genji was not the only one getting confused. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Can you tell me how you got your progression cards?"

PheaCat had a feeling this priest obtained his in an unorthodox way. Why else would he ask such a stupid question?

"I killed a bunch of strong bosses. What else? It's not like there are other ways of getting them, is there?"

Seeing the confidence he oozed when he said the sentence made the two ladies exchange an awkward glance.

'Do you want to tell him?'

'No. I kind of feel bad.'

'One of us will have to break the news.'

Eventually, PheaCat decided to burst the bubble and tell Genji the truth.

"Actually there are other ways to get them. Just do some quests, level up some production skills, harvesting skills, or participate in events. As long as you diversify what you do, you should easily earn some progression cards. Things only become hard when you reach 10 cards in a category. They are called progression cards for a reason."

Hearing this, Genji's face stilled into an emotionless state.

"Is that so?" He asked as he turned around and started walking away.

"Uhhh, did I say something wrong?" PheaCat asked her friend.

"I don't think so?" She scratched her head with innocence.

'I should probably say something for the person. After all, he did spend 5 boss cards to hear that.' PheaCat saw how solemn the atmosphere around Genji was and decided to yell something to cheer him up.

"Hey, Assassin! If it makes you feel better, anyone who reached 25 progression cards in a category is considered to be one of the best in that area."

Genji paused for a moment, then the dark mood around him increased in intensity.