Chapter 26: Midworld:Part 2

Fight!! Fight!!! Fight!!

The audience cheered as the bulbs dimmed, slowly fading into darkness.

The victims stood alarmed in their groups. They saw no other option, no savior to rescue them—freshmen in a world of pros.

Suddenly—

A prolonged lightning stroke, cutting the tension clean in two.

All heads turned upward, careful, waiting as though expecting someone to descend.

[Stop bullying them, Cain!]

A mechanical female voice echoed from above, older this time.

It emerged from little blue stars, slowly descending, conjoined by glowing blue lines at their sharp edges, their middles curved elegantly around.As blue midst added the final touch.

“Just wanted to have some fun with the freshmen!” Cain replied, the smirk on his face never fully fading.

[Stop at once.]

She cut the conversation short with a tone of command. Cain did not oppose her words. He stood silent, like a child torn away from his favorite toy in exchange for quiet.

The being clearly held great influence, and for good reason—her presence was stronger, more violent, than anything they had felt before.

Slowly, the stars swirled around them, effortless, glittering at every point of contact.

Jamie’s eyes focused, struggling to comprehend what he was witnessing. Humans, elves—all with unbelievable strength, evident even at first sight. And now, this… another being, far greater still.

Ironically, the sight made him happy. A scale of power to look up to. His resolve grew stronger.

“Justice never comes easy.”

“The harder it gets, the sweeter the victory!” he convinced himself.

[My children, welcome,] the voice began, echoing from the stars.

“Magnificent!” Alexander exclaimed, touching the glowing fragments in wonder.

[My name is Medussa.]

[I am sorry for the trouble he caused you.]

Her tone softened—calm, persuasive.

“Don’t worry, we’re cool!” a black boy from one of the groups replied. Blue eyes glittering,two bangles tied around his head, he wore a blue shirt rolled up at the sleeves and red trousers. His friends nodded in agreement, as did the others.

[Thank you.]

The stars floated higher, distant now, like ants against the vast ceiling.

[For completing the second game, I hereby reward each of you with one golden point.]

Eyes widened. System screens automatically activated before them, the notification bell bright as ever.

[Acquired > +1 golden point]

Their second golden point—an opportunity to upgrade.

Beneath them, a massive detailed map materialized, more industrious than Midgard itself.

The words—

[MAP OF MIDWORLD]

—pinned stylishly at the top.

Large points of interest stood out: G Tower, Hospital, The Mall, Main Hall, among others.

“So this has to be the main hall!” Alexander muttered, rubbing his chin.

A red mark glowed on the left side of the map, subtitled [New Base].

Medussa interjected.

[Everyone in this world is a player.]

Murmurs rose from beneath instantly.

“No way!”

“Incredible!”

[All are on different stages of their games.]

[How you classify them as foe or friend is up to you.]

She added.

[That map will show you everything you need.]

[Commencing teleportation protocol > destination: City Market.]

“Here we go again!” Bray steadied himself.

Their bodies disintegrated into pixels, this time much faster.

[Good luck.]

They vanished.

—

The sun shone brightly over the city. Skyscrapers reached high above, trees stood scattered along the roads. It could easily be mistaken for modern-day New York.

In the market, elves and humans mingled freely—interacting, laughing, smiling, as though they were no longer trapped in a hellish world. Their hair shone with golden highlights, not fully transformed—identical to Jamie’s and Alexander’s.

On the tar roads, beautiful cars glided past every minute. Shops stood lined together, their logos pinned above in varied designs. Vendors crowded outside, loud and persuasive as they hawked their second-hand products.

Near the market stood a sturdy metal bridge, stylishly built, its center splitting open to let fishing ships pass beneath toward a dock where fresh catch was sold.

Beside the bridge, a flower shop bloomed, its scent sweet and inviting. Its design spoke volumes of its creator’s artistry. Behind it, however, stretched a dark alley, where a trash bin overflowed with decaying flowers. Yet strangely, no flies or rodents stirred—the rotten petals still clung stubbornly to their fading beauty.

Suddenly—

A warping sound echoed. Pixels of light flared as bodies began to materialize. First came the hands, then the arms, and lastly the mouths.

Bray’s eyes widened, blazing with fire. He clenched his fists and stormed to the trash bin, pounding it over and over while muttering:

“I hate this.”

The team froze, unsure whether to laugh or feel sorry for him.

Until Jamie burst out laughing—eyes blurred, tears of joy streaming.

Alexander smirked, mockery in his tone:

“Of all things, that’s what irritates you?”

Before Bray could reply, Greg joined in with sarcastic ease:

“It’s just like riding on a plane… easy!”

Bray’s anger deflated quickly, his expression shifting, embarrassed. He glanced right, then left. But Jamie caught on.

“You’ve never flown on a plane?” Jamie asked aloud.

Bray’s head dropped.

“Really?” Alexander asked, genuinely shocked. Of all people, Bray seemed the most adventurous.

Bray muttered, barely audible:

“Yes.”

“What?” Alexander pressed, demanding a louder answer.

“I said yes!” Bray shouted, his voice cracking.

Silence. The group stared. None had ever seen him so vulnerable.

Alexander spoke calmly:

“See? That’s easy.”

“There’s no shame in that,” Greg added.

“Really?” Bray asked, hope flickering in his voice.

“Yeah,” Jamie confirmed with a grin.

Bray scratched his head nervously, but this time his face carried a robe of hope.

“Sorry I overreacted!” he admitted.

“We all make mistakes,” Jamie assured him.

“Besides—we should be worrying about our location.”

Alexander activated his system screen, the map glowing before him. A tiny mannequin marker displayed their position—standing at the [Northworld Market].

“She was right. She sent us to the market,” he said.

“Then let’s get this over with. I need to sleep,” Greg groaned, activating his own map, which still displayed their destination.

“We’re just gonna go there without a plan?” Alexander asked as Bray and Jamie moved ahead.

Jamie turned, eyes gleaming.

“Rubber duck!” he declared.

Alexander froze, indecisive. But as his friends moved further down the alley, he had no choice but to rush after them.

“Wait for me, gu—”

His words cut short.

The group had stopped, their path blocked by three humans.

Two women and a short, heavyset man stood in fighting stances, weapons glowing in hand, golden hair gleaming. Identical uniforms bore a flower sigil on the chest—shopkeepers, unmistakably.

“You picked the wrong day to steal from us!” the man threatened.

The boys raised their arms in panic, confusion etched on their faces.

“You’ve got it all wrong!” Jamie pleaded.

“You can’t fool me! I know why you’re here! You failed to steal yesterday, and now you’re back!”

Alexander interjected quickly, his voice urgent:

“We assure you, we are not thieves. We were just teleported here by the system, not in the slightest way—”

“Stop!” the man barked, eyes narrowing.

“What did you just say?” he demanded, katana gleaming in his grip.

“That we just arrived here,” Alexander repeated.

“No—after that!”

“We were teleported here by the system!”

The man froze. His eyes darkened as he studied them.

Then—

A smile broke across his face. He turned, embracing the older woman beside him. She hugged him back, both of them shedding tears.

“Finally, she chose us, darling!” he whispered, voice trembling.

The boys exchanged stunned glances.

“What’s going on?” Bray mouthed at Alexander.

“I don’t know.”

Alexander prepared to ask again.

“Uh… what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, dear,” the woman replied, her face transformed with joy.

“Everything is even better.”

They stared, baffled. The way the couple cried made it clear no explanation would come easily.

“So, ma’am?” Jamie tried cautiously.

“Are we free to ho?”

She wiped her tears, sniffed, and stepped aside to clear a path.

“Yes, run along, little bundles of joy!”

The boys freaked out, thoroughly unsettled. Without hesitation, they rushed out of the alley, eyes forward, never daring to look back.

—

After twenty minutes of following the map, bickering over directions, they finally arrived at another section of the city.

[Name > Gulliver Area 1]

Tall buildings dominated the area, alphabetical labels stamped across their fronts. Their design resembled university dorms—rows of doors, countless in number.

“What’s our building?” Bray asked.

Alexander lifted his hand and pointed at a smaller block with only four doors.

“That one. House K, Room 2!”

They groaned in unison, comparing it bitterly to the towering structures around. But complaints aside, they climbed the stairs to their door.

A biometric lock awaited them, identical to the ones in Midgard.

Beep.

It accepted Greg’s fingerprints.

Creak.

He pushed the door open.

Inside—

They froze.

The interior mirrored the houses of Midgard, only scaled down in size. But one detail eclipsed all others.

On the couch sat a familiar figure they had seen only once before.

Caster. In the flesh.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep