In a small room there are two beds. Both beds are parallel to each other, but they are at opposite sides of the room. In one of the beds there is a young man sitting at the edge of the bed.
–I need to be strong –said Xilovy while tying his shoes, with determination in his eyes–. I need power. I need to be strong enough.
–I need to be stronger –though Xilovy while leaving his house–. I must strengthen myself to survive.
–Resort 637 in 10 minutes –was heard throughout the street while other cars with megafones attached repeated the message across the whole city–. All participants must head to the bus station.
Xilovy walked towards the station with his head down and repeating in whispers, "I need to be strong". He was only carrying his wallet in his pants pocket, with no jacket nor any visible accessories.
–Good morning –said the receptionist–. ¿Could you pass me your identity document, please?
– Yeah –said Xilovy with a lot of energy, waking from his thoughts–, of course. Here, take it, please.
–Here you have –said the receptionist–. Now you may board any of the buses.
–Oh –said Xilovy with a sigh while lowering his head–, there are too many people.
He decided to enter the bus in gate three, which was surprisingly empty. It was not as it mattered, either way he sat down close to a window. Waiting for the bus to start, he saw how the other buses left one by one, while time passed and he remained seated alone in his bus. Due to the bad sleep and the tedious waiting for the bus, he ended up falling asleep.
Xilovy's sleep was interrupted abruptly by the voices of multiple people, which meant that he had arrived.
–Everyone gather up –said a middle-aged man–. I will state some important points.
As the man asked, a crowd formed in front of him. The crowd was facing a huge black gate, which looked like the entrance to a fort. The walls were huge and extensive, which could be seen to reach the foot of a nearby mountain.
–As far as I know everyone knows why they are here –said the middle-aged man–. Either way, I will make some things clear. My partner and I are here to represent the AEDPC and supervise this mission. A squadron of members of the AEDPC will be in charge of hunting the demidemon. In other words, this mission is not of great danger for you. As it was said before, you will be able to conserve the artefacts you find as long as you join the AEDPC. If any of you try to take home any of the artifacts that you find without declaring them and joining the AEDPC, the moment we find out you will be wishing to have died in this mission.
–This seems like such a waste of time –though XIlovy–. Everyone here already knows all of that, that is the reason why they are here. He might be doing this to try and persuade anyone not to even think of doing what he just mentioned. I don't care, all this situation is making me reconsider my decision. I am getting nervous because of all of this.
I may just kill myself all at once –whispered Xilovy.
The middle-aged man turned his stare directly to Xilovy. Xilovy felt chills through his spine and started grasping for air.
–Everyone will be given a notebook and a pen for creating your index –said the middle-age man–. If you already have an index then you should still receive the notebook as it can be useful for any case scenario. For anyone in the area of magic, your index is where you must detail how your spells are going to work. The magic energy follows your will, but it is necessary to specificity through your index how your will is going to manifest. Through the index you give meaning to characters, and while infusing your index with your energy, every time you infuse your energy to any of the characters stated on your index, the characters will consume your energy and cast the spell stated in the index.
The middle-aged man takes a piece of paper and shows it to the crowd.
–In this paper there is a circle and a statement saying "The energy takes the form of white particles and they move toward the center of the character" –said the middle-aged man–. I am infusing this improvised index with my energy right now, as you can see there is no clear visible difference. So watch now what happens when I draw a circle on the ground and infuse it with my energy.
The middle-aged man crouched and with his finger drew a circle on the ground. The man was holding the paper with his left hand so he used his right hand and extended it towards the circle. As the man infused the circle with his energy a bunch of white particles appeared from his hand and made their way towards the center of the circle.
–This is a very simple explanation so I recommend you to be creative and experiment with what you are able to do –said the middle-aged man while continuing to infuse the circle with energy.
The man started infusing even more energy to the circle and with that much more white particles appeared fading when they reached the center of the circle. It was truly mesmerizing watching all the bright small white particles move towards the center of the circle. It was as if a lot of white brilliant dust suddenly appeared from nowhere and acquired consciousness. The movement of particles was continuous and as they disappeared new ones appeared, creating a perfect cycle.
–Even though we supervise this mission –said the middle-aged man indifferently while staring at the particle he was creating–, we are not your babysitters so don't count on us for help. My partner and I are going to be at the bar on the pool zone creating a safezone, so if you need a break or any supplies you know where to find us. That will also be the zone where we shall be meeting after finishing the mission.
The middle-aged man suddenly broke from his focus and raised his head.
–After entering the resort you will not be able to leave until the mission is over –said the middle-aged man with a face of concern–. If any of you discover that this is much more than what you can endure, then you can wait with us for the mission to end. Only the invisible forcefield will disperse once the demidemon is killed, and with it all the monsters inside, so you have until the demidemon is killed to gather whatever you can.
The middle-aged man stands up and turns his gaze towards the sky.
–You may enter now –said the middle-aged man–. I wish you luck everyone and my most sincere condolences.
Xilovy saw how a crowd of people runned through the gate and into the resort. Once himself crossed through the gate he saw how a thick white fog appeared behind him. It was as if the whole world had disappeared and the only thing in existence was the resort surrounded by emptiness.
–I must start writing my own index –thought Xilovy while he walked towards the resort lobby. I should probably sit and take my time to write my index before entering. I wonder what my max magic energy capacity is…
Xilovy left a heavy sigh and sat on the floor in front of the glass entrance of the lobby.
–I should have paid for an exam for measuring my capacity –thought XIlovy–. Well… It doesn't matter any more… I must not overexert myself.
Xilovy spent time thinking about what to write in his index. Once he finished writing in his index he stood up and decided to enter the lobby. But before he could reach the handle, the sky suddenly turned pitch black. The radiant sun that before illuminated the sky now was gone and a weird moon appeared instead. The moon was a huge smile in the sky, like the smile of a clown mocking everyone that dared to enter.
The lobby was so dark that it was impossible to see what was inside. Xilovy took a deep breath and entered the lobby.
–If I put my hand on a wall and continue walking close to it –thought Xilovy–, I will be able to advance without problems.
Walking through a hall, Xilovy realized that his eyes were getting used to the darkness and he was able to distinguish his surroundings. It was as if the light from the moon, although dim, was reflected throughout the whole place. He continued walking before he came across a big room where the resort style changed completely. The room resembled the classical entrance to a mansion with two curved stairs which lead to the second floor and with a huge door in between the stairs.
–The entrance at the center looks very suspicious –thought Xilovy–. Normally one would think that behind the door there are things of great value, but I don't think it is worth the risk. I will let everyone else take care of those big events and just focus on small things. Little by little is how you must do your things. Slow but steady wins the race. I will go to the second floor and search for anything of value.
Xilovy went up the stairs on the right and close to the railing on the right. His steps echoed throughout the whole room and a strange feeling of peace and loneliness invaded Xilovy's heart.
Midway up the stairs Xilovy realised that something appeared suddenly to his left. It was an abnormally tall and dark figure. The monster's right arm began at the level of his abdomen and both of its arms reached its knees. Regardless of his appearance his head was the one of a handsome blackhaired young man.
The presence of the monster immediately alerted Xilovy. The monster's presence was so overwhelming that with just a glance Xilovy became totally paralyzed.
–Oh my god –thought Xilovy–. If I move I die… I must not move! I am dead! I am dead! Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead…
The monster turned his head towards Xilovy and with his left arm pushed Xilovy. The paralyzed Xilovy fell and crashed with the railing. The monster stopped moving and watched Xilovy silently.
In the realization that he was being teased by a beast Xilovy turned his head desperately searching for anything to help him.
The monster prepared to turn his whole body, but before he could complete the action, Xilovy realized what he was trying to do and immediately decided to jump from the stairs without thinking.
The despair and the pure terror made him fall horribly on the floor and sprained his left ankle. He was vulnerably lying on the ground, facing the monster, enduring the pain and the overwhelming urge to scream.
The monster stared directly at Xilovy and made a huge smile. It was as if the monster was toying with Xilovy. The monster quietly and calmly started going down the stairs.
–I need to be strong –said Xilovy with a sigh.
–Strong? –thought Xilovy while crawling towards a corridor–. Who am I lying to? I am going to die… I am surely going to die… Die, die, die! Shit! Shit! Shit!
As soon as the monster set a foot on the ground it started sprinting towards Xilovy. Xilovy bit the index finger in his right arm and with his blood started drawing a circle in his left palm. He quickly grabbed the notebook in his right pocket and extended his left hand towards the monster. With all his will to live Xilovy infused the circle with his energy. The spell which was written on the notebook was activated and from his left palm a bright flash of light manifested. The light was so bright that the whole room was illuminated for a moment. Fortunately for Xilovy he was with his eyes closed staring directly to the ground. On the other hand, the monster was blinded and because of the momentum he fell to the ground.
Xilovy didn't waste any second and began to run as best as he could through the corridor. He identified that in the distance there were three doors at each side of the corridor. With no doubt he entered through the third door furthest door of the left and quickly identified that the interior resembled a high school lab. The room had small windows at the top of the wall. The light that entered the room was strangely yellow, but Xilovy didn't care much and he quickly hid inside a cabinet.
Xilovy's body had reached its limit and the starting shock commenced to wear out. He had used all his energy to escape and even though he didn't feel safe his body couldn't bear it anymore and he passed out.