The Path Unknown

20. The Backdoor

They started traveling down the road to their new errand. The information wasn't sweet to Kage's ears and was almost considered rather a piece of bad news. They would have to use in-game items to reach their final destination. Kage was hesitant on using items in the heat of battle. They were too cumbersome most of the time. Going into the menu to access them in the middle of a battle was risky and, though it could take anywhere from two seconds to two minutes, your survival in battle wasn't assured when doing so. Michiko, on the other hand, used items in battle like everyone else. She was well-organized in the composition of her inventory which allowed access of her items in a quick and time-saving manner. This was obviously different from Kage in many ways, but he knew the inevitability had to be dealt with eventually.
    
Kage and Michiko were on the search for a person that was only accessible through a great deal of items. The information they had on him was scarce and very vague and, though Kage knew this person through many different experiences, he was almost unreadable in his tactics and plans. The man was always very focused on his own task at hand, barely even bothering with anyone near him. From the info brokers that Kage paid, they found that he had set up precautions for weary wanderers who tried to enter his gates: traps, mazes, fake rooms, and even more. He was unimaginably intuitive and creative, forming a particularly difficult challenge ahead of the couple. On top of that, he was a very quick and professional computer programmer, out-classing Kage's abilities by five fold! He was not someone to deal with as a recreational activity.
    
They started their way to the 45th floor, heading to the labyrinth of an already completed quest. It was a tall building with many box-like sub-structures that also illuminated the entire area with baby-blue particles which emitted from the empty center. The individual structures held a dark color similar to a cup of fresh, black coffee, with antennas that stuck out from each free corner. It looked sort of futuristic, with the equivalence of Ancient Mayan's structures in today's society; but it held achievable structural outlines for the time. This place used to hold the weapon known as "The Scythe of Time", a deadly and elegant weapon which had the ability to slow a mob's reaction time and movement speed. Kage couldn't wield it, though, even to save his life.
    
Michiko didn't like this one bit. She held her comments about the cave from the quest for her swords, but this one was almost unbearable to her. The boxes held no room to maneuver as much as she wanted to and the tunnels themselves were too dark. Not even the little light fragments lit it up. She turned to Kage in concern and shook her head.
    
"Oh come on, scared of a little darkness?" He said sarcastically.
    
"Mmm mmm, that's not it. I don't like this place one bit. It just... Kinda gives me a bad feeling." She turned her head upward, gazing at the skyscraper.
    
"We don't have to travel in there, he doesn't work in these buildings."
    
"Wait, then why did we come here?"
    
"Because he does work here, he uses the buildings to cover up his operation. This place has a center free of buildings, holding a small lawn kind of area. He set up the middle accommodate his 'lab' and started to work."
    
"I thought your info was vague?" She looked at Kage inquisitively.
   
"It is, I don't know how to get in. The area is big enough for a maze and many sentries so it has to be pretty big."
    
"I guess..."
    
"Just stay on your feet and keep your eyes open. Stay close as well?"
    
"Yeah yeah, I know." Michiko brushed him off, "Let's go!"
    
They looked around the area for any sign of an opening in the structure, to no avail. There was no opening within the first few meters, even upward - they would have to go higher. In unison, they started to scale the side of the building. They made the distance seem short, reaching a ledge within a ten second period. Kage scanned the area there, again with the same result. He looked over to Michiko, nodded a "no", then started to climb higher. The trees below began to become smaller and smaller with the continuous climbing. If any of them were to fall, they would surely die. Kage saw a light emitting from the opposite side of the building. It shone like a sunbeam through clouds, brighter than the sun above their heads. This has to be it, he had to make it this obvious though? He called out to Michiko.
    
"Hey babe? You see the light?"
    
"Hey, I'm not dying from my anxiousness ok? Damn..."
    
"I wasn't being sarcastic," he almost grumbled in return, "there is a ledge with a light shining out of it."
    
"No, I don't, how far is it from you?" She stretched to try and look.
    
"Directly opposite of my current position. I need a mirror."
    
"Crap, but I like mine."
    
"Do you have mine?"
    
"Um..."
     
Hanging on to a ledge, she opened her menu. She truthfully wasn't sure about actually having Kage's mirror. He had kept his, just like her, but he had a reason for it later on - unlike her. She liked to look in it or reflect the sun onto the lake near their house. It almost seemed to transform it into glass. She scrolled down her item inventory. Finding the mirrors, it seemed that only one was inside of her inventory made even more obvious by the "x1" in the corner. She knew she had his, but it was apparently gone.
    
"I don't think I kept your mirror for long..." She drew out a long breath.
    
"Just kidding, I have mine with me. Good thing I took it from you last week."
    
"Oh you little-!!!" She remembered, abruptly.
    
Kage threw his mirror across the side, watching it as it started to fly down the side of the building. Looking in the reflection, he analyzed the information given to him from the glassy surface. There seemed to be a ledge on the side near the entrance of the building, where the light was sourced from. It hit the ground and shattered. There was no use for it now even if he could repair it. He could just get another on from a vendor anyway if he did need another one. Readjusting his focus to the task at hand, he concluded that he would have to jump it; but risking a fall would mean immediate death. It almost seemed impossible to make a jump around a building. Nevertheless, he consulted his other half before making the jump.
    
"Babe?" He looked toward her.
    
"What now?" She sounded annoyed, with an obvious reason.
    
"The only way to get there is to make a 1800 degree jump around the building, can you scale the wall downward?"
    
"Why? Can't you just take your teleportation crystal out? Teleport if you miss the ledge. I was gonna do it, there's one on this side too."
    
"Oh? Well then, umm..." He thought carefully.
    
"You feel stupid yet?" She sneered at him. "Cause I hope that made you feel that way." She stuck her tongue at him.
    
"What, as payback for my joke? What if this was a 'no-teleportation' zone?"
    
"Oh, Touché..."
    
"I'll find a way to move these buildings when I get in, hang on ok?"
    
"Alright." She started to get bored.
    
He looked outwards toward the ledge he was aiming for. There was only one shot at it, life or death. What was even worse, was that he could also jeopardize everyone else's lives by not acquiring the information from this person. This was it. Kage jumped towards the ledge, reaching out to it as if his life depended on it; which it did. He positioned his hand to grab the ledge, but it was too slick. He yelled out in frustration. The lack of grip made him slip, his gut sank. The worst had just happened: one simple mistake just cost him his life. He started hurling towards the ground, powerless.