Where were the priests and mages who were supposed to greet us? The ones who had summoned us here?

  "REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED!"

  The deafening announcement blared through the chamber, growing even louder with each repetition.

  The speakers embedded in the walls rattled with the sheer force of the sound, making me flinch. If I got any closer, I feared I might actually go deaf. The relentless repetition felt mechanical, hollow. This wasn't the ancient medieval world I had envisioned—no robed sorcerers or grand summoning rituals. Instead, there was technology, and it was mocking us.

  Vacinay placed a hand on her hip, tapping her fingers impatiently. "Alright, I swear to God—or whatever god runs this world—if this doesn’t stop in the next minute, I’m gonna go wildmutt on it and tear it apart." A spark of excitement laced her words, her lips curling into a smirk.

  She muttered under her breath, almost giddy. “Wildmutt… wildmutt…”

  Hessien clutched his ears, his face contorted in pain. "Okay... this isn't funny. What the hell!?"

  Ghomas had enough. "Shut this off!" he bellowed.

  "REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED!"

  The volume surged, rattling the very floor beneath us.

  Was this thing taunting us?

  "Fuck this! Let’s just get out of here!" Vacinay snapped.

  Ghomas shot her a flat look. "No shit, Miss Ben 10, but where? You see an exit?"

  She furrowed her brows, then extended a finger toward an enormous, ominous door towering before us—so painfully obvious it was almost insulting that we hadn't noticed it earlier.

  Ghomas blinked. "Oh." A pause. "Yeah, I totally saw that. I was just testing you—"

  "Shut up."

  She strode forward, grabbing the doorknob and giving it a firm pull. It didn’t budge. Her smirk faltered.

  Feigning nonchalance, she tried again, putting a little more force into it. Nothing.

  "Okay. What the hell?"

  Planting her feet, she grabbed the handle with both hands and yanked with all her strength, her body jerking wildly. The door didn’t so much as tremble.

  A minute later, breathless and red-faced, she slumped against the door. "Hey… bestie… help me out."

  Hessien made a disgusted face. "There you go with that ‘bestie’ crap again."

  Still gasping, she managed a cheeky grin. "Wow… best best, my cutesy little bestieeee."

  "Stop."

  "Cutey cutey bestie-bestie-bestie-bestie," she made stupid expressions.

  Hessien rolled his eyes and gestured at Ghomas. "Hurry up."

  Saluting, Ghomas jogged over.

  For the record, Vacinay was mocking Hessien. He used to call her ‘bestie’ back when they were thirteen, clinging to her like a lost puppy because she was his first friend.

  Ghomas and Hessien locked eyes, their expressions suddenly turning serious. In perfect synchronization, they nodded.

  With a dramatic handshake, they declared, "The time has come for us to use our power."

  Ghomas closed his eyes, fanning his hair with a hand—though it barely moved. "So it seems, brethren… but are you certain we can handle this?"

  Were they serious right now?

  Vacinay clutched her chest in mock awe. "No… way. You’re putting aside your differences? Hessien-kun! And Ghomas-chan!" She fell to her knees, voice trembling. "Please… save us!"

  Ghomas blinked. "Wait. Chan?"

  "Yes, Ghomas-chan!" She beamed at him with wide, innocent eyes.

  "Uh… isn’t that for girls?"

  "Yes, Ghomas-chan."

  "...So?"

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  She grinned. "Because Ghomas-chan has a pussy between his legs, of course."

  Silence.

  Ghomas stood there, processing. Then, his face contorted in rage. "Fuck you!"

  He lunged at her, but she laughed, dodging with ease. "Hahaha! I wish I had my phone to record your reaction!"

  "Get back here!"

  Hessien groaned. "Ghomas! Bruh! Focus!"

  Ghomas clicked his tongue, shooting one last glare at Vacinay before jogging back to Hessien.

  They placed their hands on the doorknob and turned to us with self-important grins. "Don’t worry… we will save you all… our damsels in distress."

  "Kill yourself," I muttered.

  They ignored me, throwing their heads back as they roared to the heavens, “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

  “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

  With exaggerated motions, they twisted and yanked at the door, their bodies flailing as though possessed by spirits of pure nonsense.

  “This is too much! We need to use that technique!” Ghomas shouted, sweat glistening on his forehead.

  Hessien’s eyes snapped open in horror. "No… you don’t mean—"

  Ghomas’s expression darkened. "Yes… I mean that."

  I tuned them out. They were beyond help.

  Opening my palm, I summoned a yellow, legendary card. Light radiated from it, casting flickering shadows on the walls. A clock symbol adorned the back, while the front displayed various locked icons.

  "REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED!"

  I examined the card, my fingers tracing the locked symbols. Which skill could I afford to unlock?

  Time Freeze loomed at the top of the list, an unreachable goal. Anything below it wasn’t even worth considering.

  I clenched my jaw.

  Out of them all, Future Sight was the cheapest.

  My status screen showed that I only had 3 skill points, which wasn't enough to unlock anything...

  Hm, I wondered what my level was.

  I didn’t start at Level 1, huh? I wondered what the reason was. There was an experience bar next to it, only a quarter full, hinting that somehow, I had gained experience.

  Ghomas and Hessien collapsed, their bodies heaving with exhausted breaths.

  “Okay... this thing won’t budge. This isn’t funny anymore...” Hessien muttered, attempting to rise only to fall back down.

  Funny? It was never funny to begin with.

  Ghomas clutched his chest. “Yeah… I’m losing it, listening to this.”

  The voice blared again. “REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED! REALITY DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED!”

  Hessien slowly pushed himself up, determination flashing in his eyes. “Honestly, I was gonna say something cool like ‘the time has finally come!’ but I completely forgot we had those damn cards.” He summoned a yellow card into his hands.

  Curious, I crept up behind him, resting my chin on his shoulder.

  He glanced at me, his eyes glinting. “Sup? Wanna see it?”

  “Oh… no, no. Just need to know one thing.”

  “Yeah? You wondering if we’ll escape this mess?” He grinned. “Of course we will. You know why?”

  “Nope.” I couldn’t help but wonder what nonsense he was about to say.

  “Because with family…” he began.

  Before he could finish, I bit down hard on his shoulder.

  “OW!” He retaliated, biting my head.

  “The hell?!” I yelped, pulling away.

  “You bit me first!”

  “Yes, because I knew you were about to make a Fast and Furious joke!”

  He sighed, resting his hands on his hips. “So what? Anyway…”

  Right, there was something I wanted to ask. I pointed at his card. “Okay, mind explaining how summoning mist is supposed to save us?”

  It was a sarcastic jab. Honestly, Vacinay’s shapeshifting powers seemed far more useful right now.

  He shrugged. “It wouldn’t.”

  A strangling urge rose in my chest, but I forced it back down.

  He waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t get too worked up, Lumii.”

  That damn nickname. He still liked calling me that from when we were kids.

  He continued, “Besides, I was gonna summon a white card too, you know.”

  Right. We had those cards, but I wasn’t ready to use them yet. For all I knew, the legendary card might make me go bald just for using a single skill. No way was I taking that risk without knowing the consequences.

  I raised an eyebrow. “By the way, what’s your level and how many skill points do you have?”

  He groaned. “I’m level 5. Four skill points.” He scowled. “And most of the damn skills are locked. I only have three I can actually use."

  ...

  ...He was at a higher level than me. More skill points. Available skills. And he was complaining?

  What the hell was going on here?

  Noticing my confusion, Hessien raised an eyebrow. “What’s your skill originator card?”

  I summoned it, holding it up for him. He reached out to touch it, but his hand passed right through.

  Interesting. So only the person it belonged to could interact with it? Un-stealable. Nice.

  “Oh, that’s surprising. Time stuff?” he asked.

  I nodded, a grin tugging at my lips. “Yep.”

  “Wow…”

  Vacinay caught wind of the conversation and sprinted over to us. “Wait, you’re serious?”

  “Yep. I might… be a lot better than all of you.” I shrugged and spread my arms wide, feeling the weight of their gazes on me.

  Hessien chuckled, slinging an arm around my shoulder. “Yeah, gonna be some big shot, huh? I’ll be the one going, ‘Oi! She’s my cousin!’”

  Embarrassment crept up my neck. I wanted him to be jealous.

  “Damn… I’m still making my army,” Vacinay groaned.

  Wait a second… she wanted an army of dragons and centipedes, but she’d only chosen shapeshifting? I guessed she was planning on using a white card to gain monster control.

  Ghomas stared at me, his eyes narrowing with a strange intensity. To my surprise, there was jealousy there. I always thought he was too stupid for that.

  He finally asked, “How many skills can you unlock?”

  That question killed all my pride.

  “None,” I muttered. “I need to be level 10.”

  “Pft.” Vacinay struggled to suppress a smile.

  “Oh my…” Ghomas clasped his hands together and bowed mockingly. “I’m sorry to hear that…”

  Hessien shook his head, disappointment thick in his voice. “My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined…”

  Before he could finish, I shoved my hand into his mouth. “Shut up.”