Alam niyo 'yong hindi dapat nag-e-exist ang chapter na 'to pero nagexist siya dahil kailangan kong icut ang last chapter? Oo. Dapat kay Vesta 'to eh.

-chapter seventy-four-
____________________

FEYRE

"I'm gonna start with the legendary rogue."

"YOU'LL BE positioned here. After I leave, the timer will start counting from one minute. The hunt will start after that. Two hundred kills to enter the final competition. You have two hours. Safe hunting, player."

Bored kong tinitigan na makalabas sa napakalaking double doors ang NPC. I stayed on the spot that he pushed me to. Vines scattered on the wall behind me, with flowers decorating them at certain distances. Trees, seemingly endless trees, laid in front of me, the green going darker and darker as it gets further.

The Garden doesn't look like a garden. No, it looks like a freaking forest.

Well, except for a fountain that I can make out from here. A fountain with a lion statue in the center, and at the head of the lion is another rogue. Surveillance.

Hindi ko alam kung gaano kalaki ang Garden, but I bet it's larger because I can only and faintly make up half of the rogues that are supposed to be in here. Three beside me, all facing separate directions. I can hear faint rustling of leaves in the ground and by the branches, five facing me.

I stepped slightly to the back, keeping my feet impaled on my spot and blending in with the larger-than-root vines. Being a rogue is such an advantage in sensing danger, but a complete debacle when faced with the same class. Alam kong nagse-senyasan na lang kami dito.

At paano na lang kung mangyayari na ang totoong laban. Kung saan hindi na ibang creature ang kalaban namin pero ang isa't isa. Napangisi ako sa biglaang excitement na lumusob sa katawan ko.

It will be a full blood war. Not an organized event like the fighters, nor the ranger's tame hide and seek.

I twirled the chains on my hand, eyes fixed on the timer. Pinalakas ko rin ang senses ko sa mga pinakamalapit na players sa'kin. Thirty seconds before the Feys arrive and the quest will start.

Kinapkap ko ang likuran para kunin ang poison vial ko. Poro, now that he's matured, can secrete venom that I store and use in battles. Hindi ko nga alam pero sa tingin ko may kinalaman iyon sa evolving shit niya. Ang importante lang naman ay hindi niya ako mapo-poison dahil magka-apocalypse na lang, sisiguruhin kong mamatay ang lahat ng ahas sa mundo.

Natigilan ako at napasulyap sa gilid ng gumalaw ang isang assassin. He shifted in his weight as he stared in front of him. He looked nauseous, terror evident in his face. At mukhang hindi niya ako napapansin dahil wala siyang tinitingnan kung hindi ang sa harapan niya. Oh well, baka takot siya sa puno o ano. Treephobia.

Anyway, hindi ko siya problema. I tore my gaze away from him, bored, and twirled the vial in my hands. Kumunot ang noo ko nang mapansin na parang nag-iba ang hugis nito. My poison vial has a round bottom and a thin neck, pero bakit parang roundish and longish ito. Frowning, I looked at the item in hand and cursed.

Putangina. Ang special bullet pala ni Vesta 'to.

Kinapkap kong muli ang likuran at ang buong cloak ko na, hoping to find my vial pero madapa sana si Hex at wala talagang vial dito sa cloak ko! Wait, don't tell me I switched our bottles? Or mali ang nakuha ni Vesta sa'kin?

Ahhhhhh!!! Anong gagawin ko ngayon! I mean, alam ko naman kong ano ang gagawin ko pero wala na ang advantage ko dahil sa wala na akong poison. Fuck, mabunggo sana ang ama ni Cerberus sa pader.

Naningkit ang mata ko habang tinititigan ang special bullet ni Vesta. This explodes upon contact. Maybe I should just throw this like some bomb and shock the other rogues. I mean, wala namang mawawala sa'kin dahil mababa na ang charisma ko.

Itinago ko na muna ang bullets sa cloak ko. The timer is counting to 6 seconds now. I better be prepared.

Inilabas ko ang dalawang chaindaggers at ni-twirl sa kamay ko. It picked up even more speed when the timer hit the 2-second mark. And when it was close to 0, I took a step back.

Almost immediately lumabas na ang mga Garden Feys. Kulay berde sila at kasing-taas ng mga goblins, ang mga tainga nila ay medyo mahaba at bulaklak o di kaya'y mga dahon ang dume-dekorasyon sa ulo nila. Nakasuot sila ng elf shoes at gumagamit ng isang short wooden sword bilang sandata. They don't have any special skills that debuffs the player but they are the hardest Feys to kill.

Anim na Garden Feys ang pumalibot sa'kin pagkatapos ng timer. Anticipating their presence, dahil nakaramdam ako ng mataas na magic energy noong 5-second mark, umikot ako at hinayaang lumipad ang mga chaindaggers. They damaged about 25% of the six feys around me, enough to hurt and for them to take notice of me.

Mabilis silang lumusob sa'kin pero mas mabilis ako. Duh, I'm one of the players with the highest speed kaya. I impaled my dagged in the back of the first fey's neck, dahil nandoon ang isa sa mga weakpoints nila. Ang isa kong chaindagger ay pumalibot sa dalawang malapit para magstay sila doon. I balanced the left chain with my newly found knife and struck it on the fey's head. Pabalik-balik ko itong ginawa sa ibang mga kasama niya. Rather than Solace who dances when fighting, I always feel like a wind who changes direction as I please.

Hindi nagtagal at tumaas na ang kills ko sa 85. Siguro nga nagsusuot ako ng potion na makakaakit ng mga fey kaya marami ang pumupunta sa lugar ko pero sino naman ang makakabigay ng ebidensiya doon dahil, duh, I'm a good strategist. Yes, other people might call this cheating but this is just called strategy.

Sinulyapan ko ang lalaking nasa kaliwa ko kung saan nakikipaglaban siya sa isang rogue at nakikipagaway din sa mga feys. Maybe I should join their feast and have all the reward to myself. Hindi ko napigilan ang mapangisi.

Now, it's Feyre's time to play-

"AHHHHHHH!"

Isang sigaw mula sa kanan ang kumuha sa atensiyon ko. I spinned my head to the direction really fast, and what happened next almost gave me goosebumps.

Almost, ha. ALMOST. MALAPIT NA PERO HINDI NATULOY.

Anyway, nagulat ako ng slight lang naman. Ng very slight. Nang makita ko ang lalaki ,na mukhang masusuka na kanina, na atakehin ng isang napakabilis na bagay. It came from the forest and landed on the guy's back, knife pierced on the player's chest. Nanlaki ang mata ko nang makita kung gaano ito kabilis.

The poor man landed on the ground, neck and chest oozing blood. Unti-unti siyang nawala at mukhang natransfer na ang kills niya doon sa pumatay sa kaniya.

The rogue, with a short stature, turned to look at me, and just then, I shivered from intense thrill. May dugo mula sa labi niya at sa ibang bahagi ng katawan niya and his eyes, his eyes has this craze look in them - almost mirroring my own. And when his mouth lift to form a smirk, I knew I was smirking too.

Well, would you look at that, two predators meet because of a single prey.

Wala nang salita pa ang lumabas sa bibig namin. Wala nang tanong pa kung susugod o hindi. It was as if we had an unconscious agreement and our bodies flew towards each other, lunging attacks after attacks. There's only us, the sound of blades and our craze and bloodied look. There's only us and our hunger to win.

I kept my right chaindagger impaled on the Garden's walls. It helped me balance myself as we circled against each other, knifing each other's throats. Napakaweird dahil parang magkasingbilis kami at tama lang ang lakas na pinapakita namin.

Warbeast Leader threw his shuriken at me, one that I let my dagger be struck with. Itinusok ko ang blaid ng chain dagger sa bilog na nasa gitna ng shuriken at ginamit ito pabalik sa kaniya. He smiled at what I did and kicked a dagger right through my shoulder.

Hindi ko na maisip kung ilang pasa at sugat ang natamo ko. I can feel my body aching but I can't deny my mind of it's satisfaction. Hindi ko na din alam kung kaninong dugo ang nasa mga weapons namin, dahil kahit su Warbeasts ay may mga sugat na natatamo. And sometimes, we use each other's weapons to inflict damage.

What we didn't expect however was for a third party to join our dance.

The Night Growler's thief, Sena, threw her fucking knives at us making us stop to deflect it. She looks so smug and she's also sporting some wounds.

Give it to the shining stars members to kill my joy off. Sila na talaga ang mga dakilang buzz kill. Minsan parang gusto kong irecommend kay bituing walang ningning ang mga comedy movies para matutunan niyang tumawa. Nakakahiya naman kasi at parang hindi nila alam ang salitang happy, joke, at iba pa.

"Never underestimate a thief's instinct," panimula niya. "I always know where the fun is."

"The fun went to zero real quick when you arrived." banat ko.

Warbeat tilted his head and looked at both of us. "A three-way battle is nice."

I rolled my eyes. Well, it's not like I'm at a disadvantage with my chaindaggers but I don't really want to face any players from the Night Crawlers guild.

Sol strictly told me to avoid them, after all.

"Maybe Feyre is just afraid of me."

"No fun ka nga eh. Paano pa ako matatakot." humikab ako.

Ngumisi siya. "Whatever."

Like the thief she is, mabilis siyang sumugod sa'min. But like the rogue we are, napansin namin iyon at sumugod din kami. Ngunit dahil nga nautusan akong iwasan si Sena, I had another plan.

Kinuha ko ang special bullet ni Vesta at iginapos ang isang chaindagger ko sa malapit na puno. When we're almost close to each other, our weapons closed to each our throats, itinapon ko ang bullet sa lupa.

A loud explosion resonated in the whole room. I had ample time to jump back and use my chaindagger, pero napakalakas ng pagsabog at itinapon ako nito papalayo.

Papunta sa limang fey na malapit nang mamatay.

The feys died when I landed on them and it added on my kills. 158 kills. Wow, I never noticed I killed feys while I was busy fighting too.

"What the fuck, Feyre?!"

Isang pamilyar na boses ang nagpabukas ng mata ko. Nakahiga ako sa lupa, my body aching from wounds and burns, my cloak on fire, and there's a person looming over me. His long brown hair slightly hiding his tanned face.

Kumunot ang noo ko. "Uh... kilala ba kita?"

"Nagka-amnesia ka ba sa pagsabog?" tanong niya rin.

Sumimangot ako. "Nasunog ba ang cloak ko?"

Napakamahal pa namang irework ulit ito.

"Ayos ka lang ba?"

Ay sige, magtatanungan na lang tayo? Ano 'to? Interview portion kung saan all questions lang at no answers?

"Bobo ka ba?"

He immediately laughed at that. I made a face. Tangina, huwag niyong sabihin kalahi ni Hex ito, iyon nga lang walang tainga at buntot. Ano ba ang katawa-tawa sa sinabi ko? Ngayon lang ako nakakita ng lalaking nasisiyahang matawag na bobo.

"Tulungan mo nga ako," kung sino ka man.

He rounded up and held his hand, which I immediately took. Lumapit ako sa fountain at kinuha ang apoy sa cloak. Siya ata ang lalaking nakita ko kanina sa taas nito. May pagkawirdo din 'to, ano?

Mukhang siya lang rin mag-isa ang nandidito at nasteal ko ang mga fey na papatayin sana niya. Oh well, not sorry.

"Ano 'yong pinasabog mo?"

I frowned. "Bakit ako tinatanong mo?"

"Who else would bring an explosive inside aside from you?"

He has a point. Ako lang naman talaga ang may brains dito at magaling magstrategise.

"Sandali lang," umatras ako. "Kilala ba kita?"

Parang nagulat at nahiya siya sa sinabi ko, if his pink cheeks were any proof. Umiwas pa siya ng tingin habang tahimik ko lang siyang hinihintay na mag-get over sa shyness at sumagot.

I swear I could already hear crickets because a few minutes have already passed but he's still not moving. Ano? Naglog-out ba ito? Nagcrashout ang server niya? Nasira ang VR niya? Lag? Walang internet connection?

At dahil pinaglihi ako sa pasensiya, hinayaan ko siya at nagsimulang na lamang maghunt ng feys. Of course, before ako naghunt, pinunasan ko muna ang mukha kong may dugo at abo. Of course, before ako naghunt, hinugasan ko muna ang chaindaggers ko.

Nakabenteng fey na ata ako nang tumingin siya sa'kin at sumagot.

"I'm Life. From Halcyon's guild?"

I blinked. Ah, the assassin.

Ngumisi ako. "Wow, welcome back to Earth. Kamusta ang buhay mo sa Pluto?"

Mukhang nagulat siya sa sinabi ko dahil napa-atras siya't napakurapkurap. Wow, cute.

"Ha?"

"Wala, sabi ko bingi ka."

"You only said on-"

Natigilan kaming dalawa nang may lumabas na halimaw sa gilid ko. Well, he's not really a monster, but he has those tendencies, I guess. Or it's because his lovely guild leader is a tamer of monsters.

"Wow. At saan ka namang nagmaterialize?" walang-buhay kong tanong sa sidekick ng kambal ni Sol.

He grinned. "I'm here in her orders."

He pointed at the tree at magbibigay na sana ako ng sarcastic remark na, wow, finally, kinuha na ng nature ang kapatid nilang si Rio, kung hindi lang lumabas ang magnanakaw na binuhay ng samurai na lider. Sena, John Cena's twin sister, appeared, furious beyond doubt, her usually styled violet hair now dirty and messy.

At kung makasama namang ng tingin ko parang kasalanan ko. Like duh, naapektuhan din ako 'no.

"Can't believe you betrayed our bond that easily, Isuzu." madrama kong sabi.

He gaze at me, unamused. "It's Irusu. And anyway, our bond is not stable enough and can be traded for free lunch."

"Isusumbong kita kay Sol, Toyota."

"Hindi ako natatakot sa guild leader niyo. It's Irusu, okay."

"Shut up, Honda. Huwag ka nang magpakita ulit."

Mitsubishi glared at me before finally walking out, hands behind his head as he whistled. Bago pa siya tuluyang makaalis ay itinapon ko sa kaniya ang bullet ni Vesta.

Isang pagsabog muli ang nangyari na nagpasigaw kay Cena, at sunod-sunod niya pa akong minura, like where's the respect? Nagpatalon din iyon kay buhay na mukhang patay sa tabi ko habang kalmado ko lang tiningnan si Subaru na masurvive ang pagsabog nang 48% life. Scouts and their damn danger senses.

"You really don't want to settle this with me, Feyre?" tanong ni Sena na umitim na mula sa mga abo. Bakit ba kasi lagi siyang present sa mga explosions ko.

Bumuntong hininga ako. "Hindi nga kasi pwede. I'm banned from engaging with any of the Flight Mawlers."

"Flight Mawlers?" tanong ni Luffy sa tabi ko.

"Isa pa, hindi ako takot sa'yo. Takot ako kay Sol, okay? Baka hindi niya ako pautangin."

I love fighting and blood, but I do have my priorities.

"What-"

Hindi natuloy ni Sena ang sasabihin niya dahil biglang may lumusob sa'kin kaya nahulog ulit ako sa lupa. May special connection na ata kami ng crust ngayon sa ilang beses ko siyang makaphysical contact.

I glared at Irusu on top of me, who was also glaring. Inilabas na ni Life ang weapons niya at nakahanda na din si Sena.

"Well, isn't this a good time?" aniya. "Our fight at the GOG wasn't concluded. Let's see the results right now."

Oh, hell. Whatever. I hope Minerva choke on her water.

____________________
-chapter end-

[AUTHOR'S NOTE]:

HI! If you guys are curious as to how the charisma points are determined, lemme explain, hehehehe. So bali, aside sa appearance mo, nagba-base din siya sa character mo in game. There's additions if you helped other players and make good deeds. Kapag palagi kang nilalapitan at kinakausap. Kapag marami kang nakukuha na gifts or is voted on the game official site.

May deductions naman sa CP mo kapag masama ang trato mo sa kapwa or if you're using crude language in inappropriate situations. Pwede ding nareport ka ng players na problematic o laging naghahanap ng away. Or you are banned from a certain city or guild. Blocked by a player. Voted against on the game official site.

Feyre's charisma points was supposed to be frozen already dahil may certain day kung saan napakaraming report ang nagpile up sa kaniya. I mean, she blew up the guild hall of Legalius, when she found out that her past party members are actually part of the guild.

____________________