"It's futile! Futile! They're coming to swallow us all! It's just an apocalypse cycle! The more we strive, the faster they come! It's Futile! Futile!" shouted a very shabby-looking man with disheveled hair.
He looked so dirty with a torn t-shirt and half-cut trousers.
The man was holding a sign that read ( The Apocalypse is coming! )
Standing on the side of the road, he continued to shout and attracted the attention of several passers-by. Of course, the majority of passers-by paid him no attention at all.
On a sunny morning where all activities begin, people were too busy with their own work, including Arya Tara, a 25-year-old man walking on the sidewalk in semi-formal-looking clothes.
A long-sleeved white shirt rolled up to the elbows, no tie and an open top shirt button. Long jeans pants and also plain black shoes that are usually used by office workers. His short black hair is neatly combed like someone who is leaving for a meeting.
For someone who looks like an office worker, his body is big enough and muscular enough to attract the attention of several people who pass by him.
When Arya passed by the crazy man who kept shouting, he could only shake his head. Not because he didn't understand, but on the contrary, he understood what the crazy man meant.
"They'll come and swallow everything?" muttered Arya who continued to walk forward. "Of course those creatures will swallow everything, after all...."
*TET!
*TET!
*TET!
The alarm sound was ear-splitting and made everyone instantly alert. Everyone rushed towards an iron box that was scattered at several intersections.
The large iron box was none other than the elevator leading into the underground.
Everyone rushed into the elevator and descended into the underground.
As people took cover, an announcement suddenly echoed through the city.
{ Warning! Warning! The Void Beast has appeared. Evacuate into the underground bunker immediately. Warning! Warning! The Void Beast has appeared. Please do not panic and take cover immediately. Thank you. }
*TET!
*TET!
*TET!
Many buildings suddenly sank into the ground. But it wasn't because of monster attacks or natural disasters, but rather a giant mechanism that allowed a number of buildings to descend into the underground.
The ground that the buildings are built on is nothing but iron and steel that serves as the floor of a giant elevator.
The buildings descend deep into the underground and the huge holes created are immediately covered by thick and sturdy steel walls like giant iron slide doors.
In less than 5 minutes, the majority of buildings in the city were underground, leaving only a few small buildings on the outskirts.
A shop on the edge of the city was suddenly destroyed. Not because of a natural disaster or anything like that, but as if it had been hit by something invisible.
The ground shook but there was nothing as far as the eye could see...
Normal human eyes...
"They've finally arrived," muttered Arya with a slight smirk.
Those creatures are Void Beasts. They were beasts that came from a different dimension.
Their forms could not be seen with eyes, their scents could not be smelled with nose, their sounds could not be heard by ears, and their bodies could not be touched at all.
In short.
Beings that cannot be perceived with normal human senses...
Yes... Normal human senses...
"Squad Alpha, follow me! The rest of you, fight the type 1 void beasts!" shouted a woman who was running ahead of a group of people who looked ready to fight in their distinctive bright red military uniforms.
The young woman with bright red long hair had just turned 20 this year, but despite her age, she was capable of leading people much older than her.
These people were none other than void hunters. People with superpowers and the ability to perceive and fight void beasts. And the young woman leading them was Alya Reid.
"They're already moving too," muttered Arya who saw the group of people and felt his heart beat racing up in excitement.
The man looked around, observing the empty and mostly flatted city with no sign of humans at all. "Now, how can I get money from -"
His gaze suddenly fell on a single void beast running towards the nearby forest.
--------------------------------------------------
The ground trembled, trees fell one by one as the creature rushed at speed.
To normal human eyes, it was the same as seeing the nothingness crashing down and destroying everything in its path. However, to the eyes of void hunters, it was a huge creature of various shapes and sizes.
And this time, the void beast that crashed into the forest looked like a giant hairless gorilla with a height of 5 meters. Pale skin with 2 hands. There was only a wide mouth on that face. No eyes, no nose, no ears. A mouth that stretched for a length that was almost as long as the diameter of the creature's own face.
The creature roared with its wide mouth, revealing rows of numerous canines and a long tongue.
The creature wasn't chasing blindly, it was chasing someone.
And that someone was a girl whose right leg was injured and was taking cover behind a giant boulder.
An ordinary high school girl who was still wearing her school uniform, a white shirt and a green skirt. Her long, lime green hair was tied in a ponytail so as not to hinder her movement. But of course, that was irrelevant if one of her legs could not be moved.
'Damn it! How am I supposed to defeat that thing?' the girl thought as she peeked out occasionally.
Her heart beating so fast and making her breath heavy. Sweat started to pour down and her throat became dry as desert.
Her black eyes were intently watching the movements of the huge creature. 'Stay calm, with my power, I'll be able to ambush it.'
'Stay calm!' The girl shouted at herself in her mind.
Her body was shaking as she tried to calm herself down. As she observed the creature, she grabbed a tree branch tightly.
"You'd better not do anything," whispered Arya who was standing behind the girl.
The girl was surprised and turned around spontaneously, she almost screamed but Arya immediately covered her mouth with his hand.
"Calm down, I'm not your enemy, it would be dangerous if the creature realizes our location right now," whispered Arya who tried to speak in the lowest possible tone of voice.
The girl finally began to calm down and Arya lifted his hand from the girl's face.
"What is your name and what is your power?" asked Arya who was still whispering.
"Eh? What? Why do you ask that so suddenly?" replied the girl in a low tone of voice.
"Sssthhh… Don't question me, do you want to survive or not?" ask Arya quickly.
The girl peeked at the beast cautiously and then looked at Arya a bit hesitant. "Anu... My name is Ayu Cyren, and Sharp Slasher, that is..." the girl slightly turned away to avoid Arya's gaze. "... That's my code name, my power is to make everything I touch into sharp objects." The girl replied in a low tone of voice.
"Perfect, battle type. We can fight it head on."
"Wait, head on? We? Do you see my leg? How we do that? We need to make a trap." Ayu suggested.
"How much is it? I want to borrow your power for 5 minutes."
"Huh? What do you mean by ( borrow my power )? I don't understand what you are trying to do. And first of all, who -"
"There's no time to explain. How about 500 Narat. Would you like that?"
Ayu's eyes widened instantly. "500 Narat? That's a lot. What's it for?"
"Answer quickly before the creature realizes our position. This is our only chance to survive. Do you want to live or get eaten while running with that injured leg?"
There's a lot of information she got in the moment that almost made her brain stop working. But the man's word managed to persuade her, especially deep in her mind, she knew exactly that the probability of her winning in the current condition is slim to none.
"Okay. I don't know what that means, but I'll lend it to you. 5 minutes okay?" asked a slightly panicked Ayu.
[ Open Deal ]
A bright green panel floated in front of the girl's face.
[ Ayu lends her D4 power for 500 Narat to Arya for 5 minutes. ]
[ Accept ] [ Decline ]
Ayu paused for a moment and tried to process everything. In this world there were various types of D4 power, but this was the first time she had seen such unique type.
Not the type that changed the properties of the user, nor the type that changed the properties of the things that the user interacted with.
An ability that required the consent of others.
"Ayu! Hurry! It's coming!" shouted Arya who was so nervous that the void beast had realized their position and was running towards them.
Ayu immediately pressed the ( Accept ) option right after hearing the void beast's loud roar.
[ Confirm ]
[ Transaction Complete ]
The void beast drew closer and Arya grinned.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Ayu!" Arya immediately picked up a log lying on the ground.
He turned the log into a sharp log and swung the log at the void beast.
*JRASH!
Purple liquid scattered into the air. The liquid that came out of the wound on the void beast's hand.
The void beast stepped back and watched warily. Ayu, on the other hand, was petrified. Her jaw dropped and eyes widened as she saw the super power that exactly looked like hers.
"Tha... That... It's similar to mine!" said a still amazed Ayu.
"What do you mean, this is yours," Arya replied loudly.
"Eh?" Ayu immediately touched the stone in front of her and tried to turn it into a sharp stone, but nothing happened.
"Eh? My power?! What happened?!" Ayu panicked when she realized she could not use her power.
"Don't panic like that, I'm just borrowing it. In 5 minutes, your D4 power will return," Arya replied with a wide grin on his face.
"Eh?! So, your power can really do that?! What exactly is that?!" shouted Ayu.
Arya pointed his sharp log to the void beast. "My D4 power allowed me to perform any transaction."
Ayu's brain almost stopped for a moment, trying to understand everything.
Transaction?
Buy?
Money?
Deal?
As she puts all the pieces together quickly, she comes to a mind blowing conclusion that leaves her gasping.
"Wait… don't tell me… you could buy CONCEPT?!"
He grinned widely with such confidence. "Correct! Currency Convert, that's my code name and my superpower."