Outworld: Awakening

'How the hell did he get here? Has he been in Dratol all the while?' Adam thought as the footsteps drew closer.

A split second later, Adam's facial features suddenly turned stiff. The footsteps had gone quiet.

"Didn't you say you'd contact me in three months? What the hell is this, Vicar?"

Adam's eyes darted in every direction, however, only the immobile mannequins came into view.

"Hey! This is not—"

"Keep quiet. Don't waste Elliot's efforts. It should start around now…"

As Vicar's words trailed off, a series thunderous explosions echoed. It's vibrations sent Adam and tens of mannequins plummeting to the ground.

'What the hell was that? What is this maniac planning this time?'

Muddle headed, Adam struggled to keep his eyes opened. All he could hear was a high-pitched echo which muffled a cacophony of noise from the main road.

"Sometimes I forget what a weakling you are," Vicar said.

Adam who lay on the floor flinched, because the voice came from behind him. Mustering all his strength, he slowly turned his head.

"Huh? Wait… What?"

Adam's jaw dropped as he started at the mannequin of a young girl.

"We don't have a lot of time, so listen carefully. You handled your interrogation spectacularly, and that is the reason I'm rewarding you," Vicar said.

'Huh? What kind of reward is this?'

"What do you mean re—?"

Before Adam could finish his statement, the mannequin suddenly sat on his body.

"What the f.u.c.k are you doing? Get off right—"

"The doppelganger Elliot created is my reward to you. Instead of wasting the next few months here, you can begin your first mission. Those spies won't be able to tell the difference between you and the substitute," Vicar said.

'So that's the reason… but what's happening out there?' Adam mused

"Wait. How did you know I would run into Elliot? I could have taken—"

"That's a stupid question. No matter what street you took, you would have encountered one of his clones. After this experience I'm sure you'd be more cautious about your dealings," Vicar said, slapping Adam at the back of his head.

"Then, what about—?"

"I told you we don't have enough time. I'm not here to satisfy your ignorance. In ten minutes, hundreds of people will flood the streets and it would make it more difficult for you to leave. So, listen to me," Vicar said, once again slapping the same spot.

'Damn it! Only if I could move my body…' Adam thought through gritted teeth.

Just then, Vicar's voiced reached him again, "Here, take this. It contains the details of your mission. It also has a mask that can change your facial features."

A blue-black crystal suddenly landed in front of Adam. Shaped like an apple, the crystal sparkled while rotating on its own.

'Is this another type of containment Item?'

"By the way, I will need the amulet Varidan gave you. If your substitute doesn't have it, Varidan would become suspicious," Vicar added.

Without saying a word, Adam summoned his amulet from his inventory. The exact moment it appeared, a purple barrier covered the amulet. Stunned, Adam watched as the amulet rose into the air, before disappearing into the darkness.

"That's that. Elliot will buy you some time to get out of here. The mask should be of help. The crystal also has the coordinates to your rendezvous point. Someone will contact you when you meet the others."

"Huh? Others? What others?" Adam said.

However, the mannequin sitting on his back suddenly fell to the floor.

'Damn it. He comes and goes as he likes… if there are other people, does that mean they also want to join Vicar's organization?'

Absorbed in his thoughts, one mannequin rose to its feet before approaching Adam in a quickened pace. Even if Adam had noticed it earlier, he knew he couldn't do anything since he was still suffering the side-effects of Elliot's attack.

However, with a few meters separating Adam the mannequin, it suddenly exploded into tiny particles which rained on Adam's body.

'What the hell was that?' Adam thought.

At that same moment, Adam suddenly realized he could move his body again.

'Who would have thought that was the antidote?' Adam had a wry smile on his face as he slowly rose to his feet.

Wasting no time, he smashed the blue-black crystal on the floor. A brilliant white light filled the room, and two items emerged on the spot the crystal previously lay. Adam's gaze lingered on an amulet similar to Varidan's, however, its blood-red hue was the only difference. By the side, he could see a plain white caricature face mask.

Without saying a word, the two items disappeared into his inventory.

[Title: Manipulator Activated!]

Adam's hair, face and physique slowly morphed as he removed his Varidan uniform. Grabbing some worn clothes from some mannequins, he made his way out of the room.

* * *

While Adam and Vicar discussed, mayhem rocked the southern region of Dratol. Hundreds of citizens ran helter-skelter as explosions rocked every street corner. Awakened from various guilds and those non affiliated, trooped out in mass. They were ready to meet the enemy. However, no matter how much they searched, they couldn't find the terrorist behind the explosions. Worse still the explosions continued unabated, and a raging inferno had engulfed a significant portion of the southern region.

Amidst the chaos, the spies assigned to watch Adam diligently maintained their positions.

On the rooftop of the adjacent building to Elliot's, two Varidan spies clothed in all black lay on their stomach while keenly observing the building.

"Sir, what's the kid doing in the building? Should we intercept—?"

"Maintain your position. Ignore everything. The guilds should be able to handle the mayhem."

The duo shared no words further. They continued to watch as hundreds of scared citizens ran past the building, while Awakened from various guilds assisted or ran towards the sites of the explosions.

Five minutes later, the eyes of the spies sparkled underneath their masks. They could see an apprehensive Adam and a scared Elliot walking out of the building.

"Inform the others. The target is on the move again."

Saying nothing further, the two spies disappeared.

At that same moment, Adam and Elliot mingled into the crowd. Following the instructions of the guild members, they made their way towards the less congested parts of the burning city.

Among the scared crowd, Dotson and Decker quietly made their way towards Bricteva's Inn. They too had been observing Adam, however, they abandoned the mission after the first explosion.

"Who do you think is the enemy? How could they target all our safe houses?" Dotson whispered.

Rage distorted his features as he struggled to calm his trembling body.

"How would I know? Let's return quickly. We have to let the others know. We might have to prepare for a war between guilds," Decker retorted.

Saying nothing further, the duo continued their journey to the Inn.

* * *

Three hours later.

News of the terrorist attacks had spread in Dratol, even some neighboring countries had gotten wind of the attacks. However, the most shocking news was that there were no fatalities from the incident. Although hundreds of people had been injured, no one had been reported missing or dead.

Dratol had closed its borders, and Dratol's guilds launched a wide scale man hunt for the terrorist.

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of the southern region, a depleted farmhouse stood at the center of an abandoned wheat farm.

A young man with dirty brown hair and bland facial features walked in light steps towards the farmhouse. The ripened wheat fluttered under the gentle night's breeze, carrying a reinvigorating malty roasted aroma. Coupled with the radiance of the dual moon's, it painted a picturesque scene.

From his position, he could see the dim lights of a lantern or a burning candle from the farmhouse's window. With each step he took, his eyes wandered in all directions

With a few meters separating the young man from the farmhouse, he came to a sudden stop. Just then, two burly men dressed as medieval executioners stepped out from the shadows. One held a large claymore while the other held an equally large labrys.

"Token?"

The claymore wielding man said in a low voice. His grip around his weapon tightened as he stared through the eye slits of his black mask.

Saying nothing, the young man removed a blood-red token from his pocket.

"Hand it over," the burly man holding the labrys demanded.

However, the young man chuckled while slowly shaking his head. Without saying a word, he returned the token to his pocket, before walking towards the two men in light steps. Meanwhile, the eyes of the men turned bloodshot. They readied themselves to attack the nonchalant youth. With each step, the bloodl.u.s.t of the duo increased. Their body sizes tripled and thick veins the size of an average man's arms covered their bodies.

Unfazed, the young man continued walking unabated. A cheeky smile donned the sizes of his lips as he stared at the now monstrous duo. He couldn't mask the mocking gleam his eyes carried.

Just then, the two monsters launched themselves towards the youth. Their weapons tore through the air as they attacked from either side.

"That's enough. He's one of us."

With barely inches separating the weapons from the neck of the young man, the two masked men disappeared into thin air like a puff of smoke.

"You're the first one not to fight with them. How did you know they were illusions? Oh. Why aren't you wearing the assigned mask?"

On the porch of the farmhouse, a woman with stunning features stared at the young man with a slight smile on her plump, nude lips.

[Potential Source of Danger Detected]

Adam smirked as he got the system's warning.

"Is that important?" Adam asked as he met the hazel eyes of the beauty.

"Pardon me. Forget I said anything."

Her smile grew wider as she stared at Adam with a meaningful gaze.

"Welcome. Call me, X. I'm your handler. Come in. The others have arrived."

Saying nothing further, X walked into the opened door behind her. Wasting no time, Adam followed her.

The moment he passed through the door, the world before his eyes distorted. Before he could comprehend what was happening, he appeared in a dimly lit room.

'Am I the only that hates this f.u.c.k.i.n.g teleportation? Where the hell am I this time?'

Adam's brows furrowed as his gaze wandered around his new location. At that same moment, hundreds of eyes turned towards his direction. As Adam's eyes adjusted to the lighting in the room, he noticed all the people in room wore red hooded robes which had black interlocking chain pattern on its surface.

'F.u.c.k me. Vicar said nothing about a cult…'

Mid-thought, a thunderous voice echoed, "Welcome, brothers and sisters. You have all worked hard to get to this point!"

Just then, two pillars of fire illuminated the room, raveling the cathedral-like interior of the room. It also revealed the source of the loud but sickly voice. Adam and the others turned their attention towards a dais, and they could see a sickly old man who wore the same red robes. He held a black cane, using it to support his frail body.

Black sores and eerie scars covered most of his wrinkled face, while those closest to the dais could see his scanty, brown teeth. From Adam's position, he could see a black centipede-like creature writhing on the face of the old man. However, the most chilling features of the man were his eyes. He had slit pupils which glowed red.

Just then, an uplifting symphony filled the room.

"… populus autem cupiditas deseras vestra spe et coniungere nobis in paradiso…"

'Huh? Is that Latin?' Adam thought as he stared at the singing old man.

"On this day, the red moon dances in the skies and the violet rain falls. Herald the coming, chosen of the people! I ordain you all as Priests of the weathered land. Kings to pillage what the world once forgot. Tonight, heralds the birth of a new legion. The 301st Order of Scavengers! I, Bishop Mikan, have witnessed your birth. Tonight, we shall release you into the world!"

The room violently shook as thunderous cheers met Mikan's words. The newly ordained priests dropped to their knees while fervently singing along with the hidden choir.

'At least that bastard should have told me he was sending me to a loony bin. Where the hell is—?'

Mid-thought, a familiar voice reached Adam, "Prepare yourself. Survive this round if you want to live," X whispered.

[Potential Sources of Danger Detected]

Before Adam could comprehend what she was talking about, a series of ear deafening roars filled the room.

Before anyone could react, over seventy beasts appeared from portals beneath the floor. Within seconds, they attacked those who had been in fervent payer and worship, tearing them limb from limb. The smell of fresh blood pervade the air, while the melodious symphony drowned out the screams and shrieks of the injured.

Mikan gazed at the chaos with an eerie smile on his face, he fiddled with the creature roaming his face while muttering to himself, "The dawn of a new night approaches. I wander how many of them will remain?"