Mike — "Uh…"
「A monster that talks?」
Mike stepped back abruptly, reaching for his knife. In vain—he no longer had it.
??? — "What, got something on my face? Oh, I know! You've never seen a goblin before?"
A goblin stepped forward, eyebrows slightly raised.
「What's a goblin?」
His silhouette was lean and wiry. His skin was dark, almost ashen, as if scorched by an oven. His slightly dark hair was uneven, bleached in patches. Dark marks streaked across his scalp and temples, left by use rather than aesthetics.
He wore simple, loose pants, reinforced at the joints. A poorly adjusted strap hung at his waist, deliberately neglected. His feet and torso were bare.
His clear gaze was already assessing Mike. His young, relaxed smile gave the impression that a good friend was standing there.
He continued his questioning, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed. Too relaxed.
??? — "So? Maybe you want me to introduce myself first? My name's Ert—"
He suddenly stopped talking, already close to Mike.
??? — "Oops, I almost spilled my name… No. 708. Entity No. 708."
Mike — "An Entity? Really? You don't have armor or something?"
No. 708 — "Armor? How do you know about that? I'm supposed to be the first one that—"
Mike — "I met one… an Entity… A big white armor with a sword… He said he was number…"
Mike drifted into his thoughts, mouth hanging open. The information had completely slipped his mind.
「??? — "It was number 260…"」
A voice cut through his thoughts, giving him the answer he was looking for. Not just any voice—it was the Voice.
「Mike — "Uh, you scared me! Don't do that again! But thanks… Are Rhéa and Gekidō okay?"」
「Voice? — "Rhéa is still sleeping, and Gekidō seemed lost in thought… He checked on Rhéa's condition, then, a bit frustrated that she didn't wake up, he went off to punch his volcano in a weird way… Did something happen between you?"」
「Mike — "Yeah, quite a few things… First of a—"」
No. 708 — "Hey, hello! Buddy?! Human! You hear me? You started talking and then froze! What are you playing at?"
The Entity waved his hand in front of Mike's eyes.
Mike — "Ah, right… so it was Entity No. 260…"
No. 708 — "Ah, the old guy? That explains everything. He tends to forget certain things. Or maybe he mixed up 100 and 0… he's got issues with numbers… Plus, the rules changed—we're supposed to leave newcomers alone for the first ten floors."
He stepped back slightly; a simple kick against the ground launched him several meters away from Mike.
Drawing circles with his finger beside his temple, as if to say Mike had dealt with a lunatic.
No. 708 — "But then, there's a big problem! I was sworn that very few people survive a fight against him. Either they die before being healed… or they give up. Well, same thing really. Either way, it's death. And you, how should I put it—you look ridiculously weak…"
Mike — "Still, he looked like he knew what he was doing… He even gave me some thing before leaving…"
Mike rummaged through his pockets for a few moments. He insisted. Then pulled his hands out completely empty.
「Voice? — "Don't tell me you lost it?"」
「Mike — "Yeah…"」
No. 708 — "What? Buddy, that means you're incredible… Oh, I know—you're hiding your true strength with those totally uncontrolled movements?"
「Voice? — "Pfft, the little goblin's not wrong."」
「Mike — "Wait, you know what a goblin is?"」
「Voice? — "Well, it's obvious, isn't it?"」
No. 708 — "And there you go again, lost in thought? I really don't see how you survived against the old guy… I could've killed you so many times already. And honestly, you're starting to annoy me… just like this role…"
Seeing No. 708 start tapping his foot, Mike raised both hands in front of him.
Mike — "Kill me? Wait, I have two questions! You keep calling me buddy or whatever, but my name's Mike. What's a buddy? And explain what I'm doing here! Since the beginning, I've been pushed around without anyone explaining anything…"
No. 708 — "Buddy… You really don't know what you're doing in this Sekai?"
Mike — "Sekai? What are you talking about now?"
No. 708 — "This world! But forget it… we'll see later."
Without hesitation, with simple steps, No. 708 had already moved closer to Mike.
「Voice? — "Where's your knife?"」
「Mike — "I must've dropped it to go down."」
Mike stepped back with a kick against the ground. The Entity's hand struck his knee. Not enough to hurt. Just enough for his body to collapse on its own.
Mike — "Hgh"
No. 708 — "Bad movement. Bad angle."
Mike barely caught himself on the ground, then rolled and got back up.
「Mike — "Movement? What do you mean?"」
「Voice? — "Not sure… But if you don't have a weapon, how do you fight?"」
「Mike — "I don't know!"」
No. 708 — "Stop daydreaming every thirty seconds!"
A simple punch came straight toward Mike's face. A dodge should've been enough, but a hand on his abdomen stopped him.
Mike — "Since when—"
The blow hit him head-on, crashing hard into his face. A small scratch appeared.
No. 708 — "Your weight was poorly adjusted. If you only dodge, you're too predictable… I don't understand how you made it this far."
Mike staggered back, panting, teeth clenched.
Everything felt… wrong. Not slow. Not weak.
Wrong.
Every movement started correctly.
And yet, his body always ended up somewhere else.
Mike tried to attack with his fist.
The exact moment his foot touched the ground, a minimal pressure struck his ankle.
His attack continued. But his hips followed a trajectory he hadn't chosen.
Mike slammed into the ground.
Mike — "How!?"
The Entity sighed, almost disappointed.
No. 708 — "There."
He pointed at the ground, exactly beneath Mike's foot.
No. 708 — "You passed the point. From there, your body couldn't correct anymore."
Mike stood up, trembling.
Mike — "You… you hit before I move?"
The Entity let out a small laugh.
No. 708 — "Neither before nor after."
He stepped closer, tapping Mike's chest with his finger.
No. 708 — "I hit exactly when you have no choice left."
A brief silence.
No. 708 — "That's my signature technique, Zero-Point Fix."
A shiver ran down Mike's spine.
No. 708 — "A minimal correction. Just enough for you to lose on your own."
Mike detached part of the chain wrapped around his wrist. It didn't reach the ground.
No. 708 — "Oh, finally decided to attack?"
He spun it in his hand, making small circles before taking it straight to the head.
No. 708 — "Pfft. You really plan on using that? You used a knife before, right? I can tell by how you move."
The Entity let out a light laugh.
With a sudden motion, Mike tried to strike him with his new weapon, but his attack had no impact.
On the contrary, it created new openings, easily dismantled.
No. 708 — "There we go. It's getting worse and worse."
「Mike — "I'm sick of this… I need to focus… Like last time."」
Mike completely changed his stance. His feet anchored to the ground. His hand firmly gripping the chain, tracing arcs through the air.
Mike — "You move too much… I'll catch you with—"
He swung the end of the chain straight at No. 708. The latter dodged, then moved in to strike Mike's wrist.
But unsuccessfully—the chain wrapped itself back around Mike's wrist.
No. 708 — "Tch. You actually control your chain pretty well. So you're one of those…"
Mike — "What are you talking about? I didn't do it on purpose."
No. 708 — "Wait… don't tell me you don't know about the pillars?"
The Entity sat down on the ground.
No. 708 — "So I really got stuck with the first job."
He tapped the ground in front of him.
No. 708 — "Come on, sit down! I need to explain what the pillars are."
Mike sat down where he was told.
「Voice? — "The pillars?"」
No. 708 — "Simply put, all worlds—the Sekai—are made of five pillars."
Mike — "Sekai again? What are you talking about?"
No. 708 — "Don't interrupt me, that's not how buddies do it… oh, right…"
The Entity scratched his hair before continuing.
No. 708 — "The first pillar is Hōshutsu, release, energy, that kind of thing… But wait, no, no, no! That's not my job actually—it's the woman with the books who's supposed to explain that. I'll just give you their names."
Mike — "Wait, I don't even understand what you're talking about."
No. 708 — "The second is Ryūjin, the body. Then Shuhō, techniques… that's my main pillar. After that, Tamashii, willpower, the spirit—that one's yours. And the last one, I'd rather not talk about it. It's the most troublesome… Let's hope you don't run into a colleague with that kind of power…"
Mike — "Wait! So if I understand correctly… I have powers? Tamashii?"
No. 708 — "Yeah… Your Sekai must've been really boring without all that. I get why you accepted the invitation."
Mike — "What invitation are you talking about?"
No. 708 — "Don't tell me—"
Boom
A massive noise echoed, followed by violent tremors. The ground, the walls—everything shook.
No. 708's small body was briefly lifted.
No. 708 — "Huh?! What the hell is that!?"
He planted his feet before his body hit the ground again.
No. 708 — "Yeah, I hear you…"
A thin headset settled on his head, discreet but clearly present.
No. 708 — "What?! Someone already finished their building?"
「Mike — "Their building? There are other buildings? He's got a phone in his helmet?"」
Mike stood up as well.
No. 708 — "Is it even possible to be that fast?"
The Entity moved away, settling in a corner of the corridor.
「Mike — "You knew about the pillars, the Sekai, and everything he talked about?"」
「Voice? — "Partly…"」
「Mike — "Can you explain all that to me?"」
「Voice? — "No. They do it better than I could… You'll see while fighting."」
Mike clenched his fists.
「Mike — "Then what are you useful for?"」
No. 708 — "Well, buddy, I'd have liked to keep explaining all this, but you lot seem, how should I put it, special this edition… One of them already finished her building, she's causing a ruckus downstairs. Sounds fun."
He smiled and pulled his hand from his pocket, extending it wide open toward Mike.
No. 708 — "You'd better come see me if you survive! And then, we'll fight for real!"
Mike — "Okay…"
Mike looked at the outstretched hand, then did the same. Their palms slowly met before separating.
No. 708 — "What? Never done a high five? You're really weird. Let's try again! You hold your hand vertical, push your arm with a bit of force and—"
Clap
Their palms collided with a sharp, quick sound.
No. 708 — "Yeah, buddy! Still not quite right…"
The Entity turned around and touched the seal adorning the door. It lit up, and the goblin's silhouette vanished.
No. 708 — "Get stronger for next time."
Silence settled in.
Now that he was alone, the place felt too big. Or too empty.
Lit by the red moon, everything looked scorched.
Mike — "Wow, he talks a lot… that was exhausting…"
Mike's shoulders slumped. All the tension left his body at once.
He carefully looked at his own hand.
「Mike — "A buddy… He was nice…"」
He walked toward the door at the end of the corridor.
「Voice? — "Just so you know, that's someone you get along with, someone you want to spend time with. It's great that you have a second buddy."」
「Mike — "Thanks, dictionary. I get it better now, but what do you mean, second?"」
「Voice? — "Well, who else but me…"」
Mike covered his mouth before stepping through the door.
Mike — "Wait… does that mean I'm not on Earth anymore?"