—Determinant Of The World Destiny—
Rune
"Elena, don't just play around."
Elena, who was squatting while stroking the head of a cat, looked up, her long blonde hair slightly covering her eyes—she pulled it back behind her ear with one finger. After she could see Andreas, she smiled a little.
"Yes, yes, Captain." She finally stood up.
As I was about to take and tidy up our tent, I felt someone watching us, and it seemed I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Noah kept looking to the right and left. I tried not to pay too much attention to it, but suddenly Noah's gaze locked onto one spot—looking at it very seriously before he ran off to chase the figure he saw.
"Oi, Noah!" Andreas shouted from behind before Velyna also ran after Noah.
"Damn it, her too. Nathan, come follow them. The rest of you guard this area." Andreas and I ran after Noah, Velyna, and the figure that was spying on us.
I kept running after the figure Noah and Velyna were chasing in the dense forest without fear of getting lost. When the figure came into view, I immediately picked up a stone from the ground while still running before aiming and throwing it at the figure's leg. The sound of the stone hitting something was heard, and the figure fell down in pain.
"Arghh."
Noah pulled out his gun and pointed it at the figure. The hood he wore to cover his head was lifted by Noah. A man about our age with a slightly pale face and wounds was revealed.
"Who are you?" Noah pointed the gun right at his head. He looked at Noah with an annoyed and slightly scared face, considering the gun pointed at his head. He looked to the right and left, searching for an exit, but I, Andreas, Noah, and Velyna had already surrounded him.
"What's your name?" Velyna said in an intimidating voice, as if threatening that he would die if he didn't tell her. A few silent seconds passed before he spoke.
"Tobias... Tobias Hank." His voice was hesitant but honest.
"Where are you from? Were you spying on us?" Andreas threw two questions at him.
"Equinox." He stared sharply into Andreas's eyes.
"Equinox District? Then why are you here?" Andreas slightly raised an eyebrow, showing confusion on his face.
"Will answering that spare my life?" He asked seriously. Andreas smiled slightly at his question.
"Depends on what you're going to say."
"I am a soldier of Equinox, my comrades left me after I was dying on the front lines and presumed dead." Everyone widened their eyes, including me.
"Then where is your SpyderMech? Do you have any weapons?" Velyna asked with curiosity.
"It's broken. My pistol is out of bullets."
"Hand over your pistol." Velyna held out her hand, asking Tobias to hand over his pistol. Tobias reached into the right pocket of his pants and gave the pistol to Velyna.
Velyna immediately put the pistol into her left pants pocket without checking the magazine first.
"Get up, Tobias." Tobias got up upon hearing Noah's words. Noah and Andreas began to search for any weapon or tracker.
"Looks like there's no tracker. Alright, you're coming with us to Novus Vitas." Andreas held out his hand for a handshake.
"Alright."
***
Nathan held the doorknob of his new room in unit building 001. The silence that had enveloped Nathan disappeared when the creak of the door filled the empty space as Nathan opened it. He paused for a moment when the door was fully open before stepping inside.
Inside the room, there was a bed in the right corner, while on the left side there was a wooden table with drawers underneath and a wooden chair in front of the table. Above the table, attached to the wall, was a place to put books, and above it, books were neatly arranged with varying colors. Between the two was a window separating the right and left corners, and the moonlight illuminated the dark room.
Nathan turned on the light by pressing the switch on the right side of the door, to the right of which was a wardrobe and mirror on it's door. The moonlight that had been illuminating the darkness of the room was replaced by a brighter lamplight.
Too dark.
He then turned off the light that had been illuminating the room for a moment. Nathan walked towards the chair in the left corner of the room—he pulled the chair back slightly and sat down.
Nathan placed his hands on the wooden table, then interlocked his ten fingers and used his elbows as a support—leaning forward slightly, resting his chin on his ten fingers—thinking about the choice given earlier this afternoon.
***
"Runes huh..."
"We still have seventeen power runes and six ability runes. Wait a moment." Commander Dallen left Andreas and me in his room. We both stared at the door Commander Dallen had just passed through.
"Andreas, you have a rune, right?" I asked without looking at his eyes.
"Yeah, an ability rune. Wind, to be exact." My eyes shifted to Andreas.
"Expert Grade?"
"Yes."
"What was it like going through the First Abyss?" The question I had wanted to know the answer to for so long finally came out of my mouth.
"The First Abyss, huh..." Andreas raised the corner of his lips.
"Pretty bad." Without hesitation, he answered immediately after I asked.
"Why?"
"No. It's nothing." His gloomy face covered his usually cheerful one. It seemed no matter how many times I asked, he wouldn't answer. The sound of wheels was heard from outside the door—the door opened, revealing what was behind it.
Commander Dallen and a man around thirty years old wearing a white coat like a doctor approached us with a research table equipped with wheels, on which there were six runes, three on the right side and three on the left. The runes were covered by glass so they couldn't be taken by just anyone.
"Here are the six runes." Commander Dallen spoke before, a few seconds later, the man in the doctor's coat said.
"There are six ability runes. Crystal, String, Ice, Plasma, Starlight, Impact."
"I don't really understand Plasma, Starlight, and Impact." My honest question came out of my mouth just like that. Like people say, 'If you ask, you'll look stupid for a few minutes, but if you don't ask, you'll be stupid forever.'
"Plasma is a power where you can manipulate rays that are in the form of gas but have electrical voltage. It's similar to lightning but in the form of mist."
"Starlight is a power where you can conjure a kind of small ray ball that is destructive. You can control it like using an orb."
"Impact, with this rune there is a small chance that every attack of yours will trigger an 'Impact'. It works like a critical function in a video game but more powerful. Impact can affect time within a 50-meter diameter, when 'Impact' occurs, time will feel slow or even stop for a period of 1-3 seconds, affecting everyone in it's zone."
***
Nathan, who had been thinking about his decision behind the moonlight illuminating his room. Although Impact was a good choice for one on one, it was very bad if used for fighting together. Which rune is the most effective in various situations?
I think the answer is pretty clear. I will choose...