The Path Unknown

21. An Old Friend

They drew towards the second portal, the room filled with nothing but emptiness and quietness. There was nothing left of the mobs that previously guarded this portal's secrets. They were definitely hard, but Kage could read their algorithms like an open book. Either he was getting better at computers himself, or this man was really slacking off in his security. Either way, they would press on until they found him. He was important to the next few raids against this unavoidable death game and, although he devoted his life to cheating this game, he would have to follow the rules for a bit. Even as an idea, getting him to cooperate with that fact seemed like an impossible task.

The two sat down in front of the light to catch their breaths. This was unlike anything they faced and the experience earned was worth the battle. They each acquired about two levels more than they entered with. Leaning on each other, they kept a vigilant eye out for anything out of the ordinary. The battle was long and extended ridiculously longer than they originally hoped it to be. The thing that threw them off were the traps that were set. It nearly killed Michiko almost three times! It was a clever thing to add, but Kage started to see the pattern of where the sentries avoided and communicated that to her. It caused the battle to end quicker than it would have gone, but it was still very time consuming. They would wait the day out just a bit, as it was only becoming dawn.

*In the control center of the tower*

"Master, there are two people trying to enter the control room again. They have gotten past your sentries." A quiet, agent-like person stated, uneasily.

"They will fall like the rest, just respawn the mobs as soon as they are dealt with. How much damage have they taken?" A man in dark blue clothes and black cape asked.

"None, they are very skilled and seem quite prepared. I thought you said that nobody knew about this place?" Sarcasm slipped out of his mouth, "Wouldn't this be impossible on a normal basis?"

"I am quite certain nobody knows about this place, though I did see spies come before. They may have been for these people. The question is: Why only two?"

"Well, I doubt they needed more with the poor battle your 'soldiers' put up. We haven't had much action here in a while. You sure you don't want me to deal with them personally?"

"No, I will not have you go and get yourself killed, Haru!"

"You're afraid?" He raised an eyebrow.
He said nothing in reply. Haru turned out towards the door, which slid open for his exit.

"I'm still going, I want to meet these two for myself."

"Fine, as you wish..." He sighed.
The door shut behind him. The man looked back at the keyboard and turned on the security cameras that were placed. The maze room was destroyed and the mob room was empty except for the two. There was one more level for them to clear if they were going to get to him, but what would they want with him? This was no ordinary mission. Whoever they worked for, if they did work for someone, clearly sent the best two to get the job done right; and they did it right, alright. They cleared a whole section without a point of HP lost. He would have to reprogram the entities to make them stronger - if he survived this two-man assault.

*Second level with Kage and Michiko*

Rested and acquiring their second wind, they were ready to take on the last floor to reach the top. They got up and turned towards the next portal. This seemed as if it could have been its own quest to acquire something great - like a weapon or item. They felt a bit misinformed, unfortunately. Not once had they have to use an item. Kage was pleased, but he knew there had to be a catch. Info brokers don't normally give false information and the same story from two different info guilds. There had to be something coming up that would require it, which would be a pain and cumbersome burden to Kage.
Just then, a figure dropped behind them. A figure in a teal jacket-like shirt, and a long scarf appeared. His face was covered with a blindfold, unknowingly transparent from the user's side. He wielded a Katana on his back which seemed to be his weapon of choice. After a pause that tried desperately to be dramatic, he stood up and spoke to the couple.