Kanjori

Chapter 8 : The Abuser

After Lily entered the cave, the three of us faced each other simultaneously.

"Do we all trust her?" I asked while checking behind my back to see whether she exited the cave or not.

"Well I sure do. I have never seen such a strong beautiful independent woman before in my life! Well except for you Rin!" Gideon exclaimed.

"Well, it's never safe to trust someone you just met, however something is telling me this girl is okay. She's strong enough to have caused Krueger and his group to pause the fight, but she's also rather timid. We can use her as a means to get around, but do not get too comfortable with her." Damian replied while rubbing his chin.

As soon as he finished his sentence, Lily came out of the cave with a bag. She immediately began to blush as her eyes met with ours, and hid her face behind the bag.

"I-Is there s-something on m-m-m-my face?" She asked while shaking in fear.

We all collectively shook our heads and Damian stood up. "So, we never really got to introduce ourselves. I'm Damian, the girl is Rin, and that big dude over there is Gideon. We're here to get that dark stone and get outta here.

"Y-You guys too? Mr. G-Gregorio must really want that stone."

"Hm, I guess so. Anyway, those guys we were going to fight. It seems like you know them, or at least their leader does. Do you know who they are?"

Her face instantly went from red to normal. Something about the energy she was giving off began to feel chilly, and her gaze because sharp. "Krueger and his men are dogs. They recruit girls that they see around the game and give them items and stuff as long as the girl agrees to have sex with them. I heard about them, and decided I need more information, so I joined their guild for one day, and one night Krueger called me to his tent. I knew what he wanted, but he didn't know what I wanted. I was able to find out that he received his power from the game's owner Dr. Genesis. Once he told me, I made a run for it, and have been hiding out here ever since."

I couldn't help but put my hand over my mouth in shock. The strongest player in the game is not only illegitimate, but he spends his time preying on girls?

Gideon prostrated in front of Lily. "I apologize on the behalf of all men. We a-" Damian punched Gideon's head into the ground.

"So he got his power from Dr. Genesis? Do you have any idea why Genesis would give him power?" Damian asked.

"W-Well, rumor has it, Krueger is meant to represent power, and how it's possible to become as powerful as he is. He's also on the search for specialists." Lily replied.

Specialists. The special class that has access to the powers of every other class. One that is comparable to the power of a God. "Why would the owner of a game have to SEARCH for a specialist? Wouldn't he just know there's one if he can access all game data?" I asked while looking at Damian.

Damian's eyes widened slightly as he realized what I was saying made sense. It seemed as if he was about to speak until Gideon cut the conversation short by asking what was in the bag.

Lily pulled out a couple pieces of bread and handed each of us a piece. "I-It's been a hassle g-getting the bread, because Krueger is out to get me.. but I hope you all enjoy it!" Lily said with a big smile on her face.

We all sat and ate in silence as scorpions skittered around the dry desert sand. It has barely been a day since our journey began, and it already feels as if this quest might have been a mistake. If someone with power given to him directly by the game owner is unable to defeat the boss, then what makes us any better?

I stood up and sat by Damian's side and laid up on him. My eyes slowly began to shut as I thought about what tomorrow may bring. If we plan on being successful, there's no way we can do it without our minds being in tact.

The Next Morning

"So you're finally awake" Damian said while smiling at me warmly. I opened my eyes to see both Lily and Gideon prepared for action, while Damian sat in the same spot he was in last night.

"You could've woke me up ya know!" I yelled while getting up.

"Well nobody wanted to disturb sleeping beauty's rest" Gideon responded while laughing.

"Especially after that long battle you had yesterday, you definitely deserved your rest." Damian added while dusting off his pants.

"G-Glad to see you're well rested Rin! Today we're going to come up with a strategy and test it out against a mini boss!" Lily said with a voice filled with excitement.

"Mini boss?" I asked.

"Yeah a mini boss! We are required to beat the mini boss to get they key we need to use to open the real boss's door. A-Anyway, I came up with a pretty good plan that I think might work."

"And what may that plan be?" Damian asked.

"S-So far I've only seen Rin in action, but from what I've seen, she's pretty strong. I've never seen anyone overpower Sophia before, so she have definitely proven herself to be strong. Now for Damian. I have no clue how strong or skilled you are, so for this mini boss raid, I want you to be Rin's backup. Gideon, your job will be to defend us from large attacks, as any tank would. And finally, I will be attacking the mini boss from afar. Anything done during this raid will probably help us place people in more proper roles for the boss fight. Any objections?"

"I don't have a question, but I noticed you're a lot less shy when you explain things" Damian said while laughing.

Lily blushed and then shook her head. "Well s-s-since everyone is ready, let's go!"