# CHAPTER 6
Umbral Chalice, an organisation originated in the Nova City. Initially, this organization worked as a resistance force against the oppression of the other species and of the magic capable humans. But, as time passed, this organisation's original purpose deviated from its original path.
The organisation which was supposed to stand for people, now started to use its own people as research material. Realising the evil intention of the organisation, the United alliance declared them as an illegal organisation and started their pruning. This happened around two year after the 'MISSA MORTIS'.
UMBRAL CHALICE on their part organised a coup de'tat. The massive blast and the large scale commutation caused by their people almost engulfed the city in flames of rage. It was only after Luca appeared that the situation came into control. However, the real person behind all this commotion was still not to be found. Since then, Umbral chalice went into hiding and they continued their ceasefire from the shadows.
BOOM! SHOOM!
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER HAS PASSED THE TEST GIVEN BY ELION. ]
Ray was forcefully moved out of the Doran's Hideout. The fountain in the park exploded into dust while the stairs disappeared.
[ NOTIFICATION
THE WORLD HAS RECEIVED YOUR CALLOUT. YOU HAVE GRANTED ACCESS BY THE WORLD.]
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU CAN NOW USE RUNE LANGUAGE. ]
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU CAN NOW USE MP.]
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE RECEIVED...]
"Ahh! It was me limiting myself? Did I not give my everything in my previo-.....Arggghhhh" Information about the Rune language and all related info flew into Ray's minds.
"I was a failure. A FAILURE._"
Ray had a deep breakdown. His justification for his miserable and pathetic life and his incapability to protect his loved ones had just crumbled. The faces who only made him feel regret yesterday now enveloped guilt, shame, disgust and despair.
"So I was a bastard all this time. I...really was...pathetic."
[ NOTIFICATION ]
THE TWO PEOPLE SHOW HOSTILITY TOWARDS YOU.
SWING!
A dagger pointed at Ray flew over at him. He barely dodged them leaving behind a graze in his neck.
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE BEEN POISONED. THE EFFECT OF THE TITLE 'REGRESSOR' HAS ACTIVATED.]
[ NOTIFICATION
COMMENCING POISON NEUTRALIZATION.....3..2..1..]
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE RECOGNISED YOUR PURSUERS AS ENEMIES.]
[NOTIFICATION
THE POISON HAS BEEN NUETRALIZED.]
"OH! You managed to dodge it. I didn't expect you to be so capable." The man with the broken mask, No.5 spoke.
"Hush ....there are people here?....Damn...these bastards had to appear at such a time ."
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE RECEIVED A QUEST!]
[ NOTIFICATION - QUEST
GOAL - KILL YOUR PURSUERS(0/2).
REWARD - ???
FAILURE - ??? ]
"I don't remember doing anything to have garnered your hostility." Ray spoke with a casual and calm tone.
"Two black masks. They are from the Umbral Chalice. They are after me but why? Do they know about me knowing about the book 'Asta Magna'?"
"Yes, you didn't. But you might be a clue to it. Plus, you seem to hide something precious with you, don't you?" The broken mask spoke while the person next to him remained silent.
"He didn't have anything in his hand when the smoke disappeared. Did he fail by any chance? Or perhaps he hid it?" No.5 thought, doubting Ray.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Ray knew this wasn't going to work.
"This won't work. They know about the book. Looking at that man's aura, he should be around 4*.....I'll need to stall for time and run away."
"If you give the thing you obtained from down there sincerely, I will leave you. I promise."
"Strange. My poison would have paralyzed him by now. How is he still fine?"
"....The system didn't get updated. You're obviously not planning to let me go are you?"
"System? I don't know what you're talking about but I'll at least promise you a peaceful death if you hand it over to me now."
"I can't. I have it here." Ray motioned towards his mouth.
"There's no helping it. I wanted you alive but perhaps I'll extract the item from your corpse."
"Inventory."
CLANG! CLASH!
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S HP HAS DECREASED.]
"Hmph!"
"Just the brute force of his strike is lowering my HP."
No.5 appeared at Ray's sides while the other man dissolved in the ground on his shadow. No.5's stealthy assault unveiled the twin daggers he had hidden under his sleeves.
"The other one will definitely strike me from the shadows. I need to find an escape route quickly. A drawn out battle will be disadvantageous for me."
"Oh! You hold more mysteries to yourself than you show."
"He clearly didn't have a sword until a moment ago. Earlier, my poison didn't work as well. He is definitely hiding something. Perhaps, a dimensional space? But he doesn't have anything on him." No.5 was sure about Ray hiding something very precious.
"He saw it, my inventory. He won't let me go that easy."
"It could be that you are just blind."
"We'll see." The broken mask launched a series of attacks aimed at Ray's vitals.
CLANG! SLASH! SWING!
"Kugh!"
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S HP HAS DECREASED.]
"The frequency of the attacks keeps on increasing. I need to do something quickly."
"Ugh!"
CLANG! SLASH!
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S HP HAS DECREASED.]
"..." The masked man launched attacks from behind Ray often, his pattern of attacks reminded unpredictable for Ray.
"An opening. No, it's a trap. He isn't as experienced as I thought." Ray had intentionally left a gap in his strike near his abdomen. No.5 was too experienced to be deceived by Ray.
"Huhu..Such tricks would work on a monster, but against a human, they're useless!"
SLASH!
"Kugh!" Ray was grazed by the sword on his left abdomen. His strategy and lack of experience backfired on him.
"Shit. I should have thought of it first. Such tricks obviously won't work on him considering he's a 4* swordsman."
"Let's finish it shall we? Or..."
"Bleh!...Kuek!" The broken mask launched another series of attack.
SLASH! CLANG!
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S HP HAS DECREASED.]
This time they comprised of frontal and honest attacks which depended mainly on the agility advantage of the broken mask. His intention was clear.
"He's playing with me. Damn...I can't find a way out. And he...he isn't giving me any chance to open the inventory."
"I now understand why No.4 haves so much fun in his torture camp. This feeling.....," No.5 continued with his attacks while Ray continued to dodge or graze by them. " this thrill to trample on someone weaker than you...it's transcendental."
"Kuek! Kugh!"
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S HP HAS DECREASED.]
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S HP HAS DECREASED.]
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S HP HAS DECREASED.]
.
.
.
.
"I need to think of something quick....Oh right! I had that.....There's still hope. Maybe that will come in handy."Even though the situation was dire, Ray's survival instincts dictated him towards that one possibility.
"Put everything into Intelligence."
[ NOTIFICATION
INTELLIGENCE - 15 > 25 ]
"Please, please, please."
"Distracted, are you!!" A sword strike aimed at his neck.
CLANG!
"Kuek!"
"Shit. My hand.. it's torn slightly." Ray forcefully moved his hand in an uncomfortable position. This movement proportionally increased the stretch on his ligament.
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S HP HAS FALLEN BELOW THE CRITICAL RATE.]
[ NOTIFICATION
THE CONDITIONS FOR THE USE OF THE SKILL 'EYES OF ISMARA' HAVEN'T BEEN MET.]
"Tsk!!"
"Is that so, you system bas-"
"Were you waiting for something? Your eyes looked desperate... hehehe not that I hate it. Anyways, let's wrap this up now." No.5 said motioning his hand in a circle.
"That must be a signal for the other person." Ray stood straight, holding on to his sword, bleeding.
[ NOTIFICATION
THE EFFECT OF THE TITLE, 'REGRESSOR' HAS ACTIVATED. YOU RECOVERY SPEED HAS BEEN BOOSTED BY 1000%.]
"Hah...was there something like this. Why give it just nowww?"
FIRE BALL!! BOOM!
"Hah, so that shadow can use fire magic." Ray was scorched on his left side of the body. Even though his body was continuously healing, Ray's dire effect made it hard to see the difference.
"Inventory."
GASP! HUSH!
"I should run while it's still hard to see."
STAB!
"Where are you running?" No.5 threw himself at him, his sword poked through Ray's left belly.
"Hah..I couldn't run in the end.....but I won't let you go unscathed."
STAB!
"Huh?.....You bastard....fuck!" Ray stabbed a dagger in the lower belly of No.5 and twisted hard inside.
"Blegh....You didn't expect...it...did you? Hahaha" Ray's eyes were getting blurred by the blood in them coming from his forehead from his dodging of the Fire Ball earlier.
"Do I really don't have anything left with me to get me out of this situation."
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S STAMINA HAS DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY. DUE TO THE USE OF THE TITLE EFFECT 'REGRESSOR'.]
[ NOTIFICATION
THE SYSTEM HAS DECIDED TO HELP PLAYER RAY HYSTER IN EXCHANGE OF HIM INCURRING A PENALTY.]
"Haha..yes...finally there it is, my system...." A smile appeared on Ray's face among all his bloodiness.
[ NOTIFICATION
THE SKILL 'EYES OF ISMARA' WILL BE FORCEFULLY ACTIVATED.]
[ NOTIFICATION
THE BURDEN ON THE PLAYER'S BRAIN HAS INCREASED.]
[ NOTIFICATION
REMAINING TIME UNTIL THE COOLDOWN OF THE SKILL 'EYES OF ISMARA' - 04: 58.]
"My skill....Ugghhhh." Pain erupted within Ray's brain. His eyes started shining, magic flew into them.
"I didn't expect that bastard to have a dagger...huh? Is something differ- he's using magic!" No.5 thought looking at the bluish aura surrounding Ray and his eyes.
"Arghhh!"
"I need to close the distance before his chanting succeeds." Thought No.5. He rushed at Ray, as well signalled No.4 with his left hand in the shadows for another round of attack.
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE 4:46s REMAINING OF THE SKILL 'EYES OF ISMARA'.]
"Offf! This pain.....No...I need to see,huh? What are these....why are three two no- three no- four? five? Why are there so many of that mask?"
Ray's eyes had changed. Their vision had turned somewhat white-black. Plus, there were multiple black masked person visible.
"What is happening.....huh? They are merging?"
CLANG! CLANG!
"Kugh!" Ray blocked the attack one after another with more precision. He could now somewhat see the attack's path and prevent any imapact damage on him.
CALNG! CLANG! CLANG!
"How is this bastard blocking and dodging my attacks? I didn't get slow...neither am I going easy. Then why?....is he improving while fighting?" No.5 was getting more and more frustrated. His anxiety for the possession of the item kept increasing.
"Ah! I get it....it's future vision. Though it's just 2s forward, it seems more than enough for a fatal situation. From left, now downwards, left again, no that's a fake.....and ball from behind."
"Heeeeiah"
FIRE BALL! BOOM!
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE 3:34s REMAINING FOR THE SKILL 'EYES OF ISMARA'.]
"He.... he's predicting my attacks, isn't he? But all of a sudden, was he acting earlier? Why would he?" No.5 was slowly getting exhausted. The continuous attacks along with the stab he had got earlier, his situation wasn't good.
"Ugh!Hegh!"
"He's slowing down!" Ray thought. He was aiming for a gap. He moved back and forth of No.5 which made it hard for the person in the shadows to aim.
"The battle must not continue any longer. I should ask him to use 'that'." No.5 motioned his right hand this time.
"That's the signal. Dmn... I only found one after searching for so long, but there's no time to think. We need the book more urgently." No.4 stopped his inchant mid-way and took two fist-sized cubes. He moved out of the shadow of No.5 and ran away, throwing the cubes just below Ray.
THUD! FALL!
"Yes, that's it. § and ∆ Mana Batteries." No.5 moved away from Ray in the midst of his attack.
"Huh?"
"Why are they running...Shit!" Ray's eyes fell on the two cubes near his foot which merged into one. His future vision warmed him for a BLAST.
BOOMMM!
[ NOTIFICATION
CAUTION! YOU HAVE ONLY 1 HO LEFT.]
MIRROR DIMENSION! MIRROR FREEZE!
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE 1: 14s REMAINING FOR THE SKILL 'EYES OF ISMARA'.]
FREEZE! \\\\\\\\\\\\
"..!" Ray froze in his place, unable to move. Not only him, but the other two black masks also froze.
"Shit! Why did he have to appear now all of a sudden?" The expression on No.5's face expressed intense anxiety along with fear.
The surroundings froze completely. Around a perimeter, surfaces appeared in air like a mirror. Small shiny particles, as it pieces of broken glass floated in air.
"I was thinking what was the commotion here. Turns out the rats missing from their base were here all this time." A person floated in air. White wavy hair and shining red eyes, arm wrists enveloped in a thick silver coat of mana, except for the head the rest of the body was covered with a unique black robe.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[ STATUS WINDOW
LEVEL- 12
NAME- RAY HYSTER AGE- 17 TITLE- REGRESSOR SEX-MALE
TRAIT - ???
STRENGTH - 20
STAMINA - 15
AGILITY - 17
INTELLIGENCE - 25
PERCEPTION - 15
(ADDITIONAL STATS- 0)
HP- 1340 MP- 0 (1250)
SKILL - EYES OF ISMARA ( ACTIVE )]