***Duuga, Shinzan Forest, Aura***

Duuga could not help but gave out a long sigh. He had not been prepared for such a thing to happen nor did he expect to lose sight of his first non-monster friend as soon as he got into town. He was also assaulted by several high leveled monsters as he was protecting the children that were stranded during the attack on the town.

“Hey little [Hokkori], do you know your way around the forest?”

Duuga let out another sigh. Not to mention his current travelling partner was… a bit more eccentric than the one he had before Hayato. Even though the girl was the person who saved him, with her current situation…

“Well, even if you don’t I can just go with my instincts and find the boss on my own~”

Duuga felt as if he had drawn the short end of the stick. Oh, he had not introduced the girl yet. ‘I guess I will start with her appearance’ Duuga made a thinking face as he sat on the top of the girl’s head.

Starting from her looks: She had long flowing black hair tied into a ponytail, showing her oddly porcelain skin. Her eyes, though filled with an innocent curiosity, were colored raven black. Not the shiny black that he had seen in the other eyes of female [Adventurers] but a lifeless raven black.

He does not know if the person was of average height or not but she was certainly a head and a half shorter than Hayato. She was also quite petite compared to the females Duuga had seen. ‘Is she perhaps a child? No… a child shouldn’t be tall like her…’ Continuing from Duuga’s thoughts: Her face held a slight immaturity but it served to add to her... charms?

“You’ve been quiet for a while now little [Hokkori].” The girl commented as she made her way through the dense forest whilst brushing away branches.

Another trait she had were the wolf-like appendages she had on her. Her black wolf ears and tail clearly showed that she was part of the [Wolfling] species of the [Demi-human] race. Her name was- ‘What was her name again? Oh yeah…’ -Katona.

“So, little [Hokkori]: Do you have any ideas on how I should go about killing the boss of this forest?”

Duuga sighed yet again. He felt that today would be a very long day. He wished he had the bracelet he gave to Hayato so he could at least make the girl stop questioning him every one minute into the quest they were undergoing.

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***Yuka, Capital City Sofia, Aura***

“Ame, are you sure you want to try this?” Yuka couldn’t help but question the younger girl’s choice of food.

“Of course I am or not I wouldn’t have chosen it in the first place Yuka-Nee~” Said little girl was happily answering her question with a smile as she picked up her spoon.

Yuka couldn’t help but stare at the bowl of red blob that was supposed to be soup sitting in front of the little girl in her party. It was the apparent mystery soup that was sold by the restaurant across the inn they were staying in. Seeing as the meals in the restaurant of the inn were too refined for hers and the other member’s palates, hey decided to go to another place to eat.

Yuka turned her gaze towards the only male of the group, namely Ame’s brother: Cairne, with an expression of “She’s your little sister, convince her” as she was quite worried of what was put into the “Mystery Soup”

The male flinched when he realized that the stare was his cue to try and ward the death flag that was about to be triggered away from his little sister. So the brunette male began his turn. “Ame, I remember that you weren’t all that good with soup-based food. You don’t even like soup in the first place, why would you want it now?”

“Eh~ But that was 2 years ago. I’m all grown up now so I should at least try to overcome my fears. I even eat my vegetables like the good girl I am supposed to be…”

Yuka sighed. She had no choice but to let the girl eat her “Food” now since she made quite a scene already. She could already hear the mutterings of the lolicons in restaurant.

“You should let the precious girl eat what she wants you bastard!”

“Go die you piece of Riaju! Leave the little girl be”

“Loli~”

Yuka had to actually glare at them to shut them up and to mind their own business before turning back to her own, normal, plate of protein and carbohydrates with a little bit of vegetables.

“Then if you are done interrupting me An-chan; Thank you for the food~” Yuka watched as the little girl gave a small cheerful prayer before scooping up some of the “Red blob” before putting it into her mouth.

Yuka waited for her reaction along with Cairne. Was she going to be able to finish it or…

“Yummy~” Ame made a pleased sound as she cupped her cheek with her free hand. “You have to try this An-chan~” she scooped up a spoonful of the soup dubbed “Red blob” by the resident red head.

Yuka ignored the plea of salvation from the cornered brunette.

“An-chan say ah~”

Let’s just say that Yuka would never ever try any food with the word “mystery” in its name even if it was from a sweet little girl like Ame… though she would like to see the reaction of her instructor if he were to eat the “Red blob”.

‘Why am I even thinking of him again?’ Yuka shook her head to dispel the image of her smiling instructor as her cheeks began to heat up.

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***Hayato, Sleeping Forest, Aura***

“Hm… I wonder why [That Person] reset everything…”

Hayato stopped in his tracks. Did the voice change from being an obscure voice to that of a little girl’s? No, scratch that; did she just say something about [Reset]? Who was she talking about?

“Just as I was having fun with his character build, [That Person] just goes and resets the whole [system] without warning! At least give a little heads up you psychotic little-”

“Hey, what do you mean by [system]?” Hayato bit his tongue. Curse his curiosity and his impatience to find new information.

“Huh? Hey! You can hear me?” The voice changed back to its obscure state again.

Hayato stayed silent. Should he answer the person or should he just act like he was talking to a person in [Telepathy call]? “Hello? Fox you hear me?” Hayato cringed at the name. He never thought someone would actually call him fox again. Deciding that he should just play it safe, Hayato just continues to walk ahead with caution both on his legs and his mouth.

“Huh… must have been my imagination… Now where was i? Oh yeah! That little-” resumed her rant with what appears to be her real voice, which reminded Hayato of someone in a movie he had watched before.

Hayato listened to every single word the [Voice] was ranting on and on about. At times there would be incomplete information but at times it was just the [Voice] voicing her displeasure about the [Reset]. “Oh yeah… I should check what the skills are…” With that in mind, Hayato stopped and climbed to the second highest branch of the nearest tree. It was only 10 meters up so it wasn’t really that high, to him at least. And this time he made sure to unmark the [Full description as he only needed to know what the skill did and not its story.

[table]Learned skillsName:Description:Wind walk (Semi-passive)It cannot be upgraded. Increase SPD by (User level X speed) +1/2 agility for seven minutes, skill cool-down is 1 hourDexterous hands(passive)the user gains crafting skills more easily and improves the quality of each work he/she makes. Also reduces weapon handling penalties. Skill can be upgraded.Fighting spirit(passive)gains 25% increased resistance to CC (crowd control) skills and gives 5% resistance to every elemental and physical resistance. Can be upgraded every 5 levels.Lucky Bastard!(passive)Increase in item drop, EXP, Treasure finding and money gain by 25% cannot be upgradedMartial Prowess!(passive)Physical attacks deal 15% more damage and reduces the durability reduction per hit of weapons. cannot be upgraded Mental Prowess (passive)Increase the strength of magical strikes by 15% and increases the casting speed of magic. Cannot be upgraded.Stone Skin!(passive)Reduces incoming physical, elemental and magical damage by 15% cannot be upgradedMental Fortitude!(passive)Reduces the time it takes to recover from terror, confusion and silence. Also increases mana regeneration by 25%Ghost strikes!(passive)Ignore any and all armor to deal true damageAdvanced Appraisal(Active)Identifies anything and everything but does not reveal all information even if mastered. Can be upgraded by constant useOre Identification(Active)Identifies all ores. Information gathered can be improved by increasing skill level. Can be upgraded by constant useAcolyte (passive)Increases the rate of improving life-skills by 25% cannot be upgraded. Will be lost if job Acolyte removed from list of jobsIllusion (active)Casts an illusion where the caster wants to and can be maintained as long as mana was supplied to the illusion. Can be upgraded with constant use.[table]Racial skillsName:Description:Master of illusions(Passive)Master of illusions and are immune to illusions. Do not need training to use any illusions but still need to learn the skills via book or jobs

Hayato blinked twice before re-reading them again. Not only were the skill masteries were reset, some of the skills had been rewritten. He used to have [immunity to CC] due to [Fighting Spirit] but now it had only turned into [Resistance to CC]. Did something happen? Just as Hayato minimized the [Skill Information Screen], an [Information window] appeared in front of him.

We apologize for the unannounced reset of the world of Kismet but please understand that it was for the betterment of user experience as it was found that more than half of the players have been affected by a virus that could cause the malfunction of the Gaia Sphere thus we had to force wipe everything on the Gaia sphere, including character database in the Kismet Servers. We are trying to find the source of said virus. We hope you continue to play Kismet Online! – From the Kismet Team

Hayato stared at the small screen. He stared at it for a long time whilst ignoring the [voice].

“That person has the galls to try and act like it was some kind of fault in the system and the… Gaia sphere… What is that? Does [That person] mean the driving force of the [Adventurers]?”

Hayato was starting to get confused. Was this place still connected to the [Kismet Online] servers or was that message a ruse to hide their real identities of the people/person behind the teleportation of players into the game? He did not know. If that was the case then he would just let some righteous player be the main character to find the way back home because there will always be that kind of person in this situation.

A small rustling alerted Hayato that something was close. He immediately used [Illusion] and made himself blend into the surrounding leaves and branches. He also readied his [Advanced appraisal] in case he needed new information. He stayed stock-still, waiting for whatever thing to come out of the rustling bushes underneath him.

The bushes rustled a little bit more before something that resembled a fiery wolf jumped out of its hiding place. Using his [Advanced appraisal], Hayato was only rewarded with a name and question marks for its levels. It was a [Magmatic Wolf]; One of the monsters that chased him from [Shinzan Town].

You have taken the quest: Magmatic Eradication from the Forest Deity. End of quest by today or consequences will be dire. Number of magmatic wolves remaining: 15

Hayato’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. Now he had to kill the thing. Even though it was partly his fault for bringing it here, he did not expect to be forced to kill it. “Finally: some action!” The [Voice] appeared to be pleased that it had found such good way to entertain herself.

Hayato sighed. He knew he had no matter on the subject so he just readied his [Iron Katana] with the [ice attribute] and jumped down, piercing the wolf’s head in the process. He did not want to drag any fights with high-leveled monsters but he was slightly disappointed at the wolf’s unguarded nature.

A quiet growling noise made it to Hayato’s sensitive hearing and without any hesitation; he jumped back; barely missing the swipe of a fiery paw. “Damn… I’m going to need something better to kill this thing…” Hayato glared at the [Magmatic Wolf] in front of him. Not only was it still alive, it had TWO heads. He had only managed to kill one of its head. “Wait… could this be one of those…” Hayato used advanced appraisal again.

Urgent Message: Several mutated bosses have appeared! Mutated Magmatic Wolves now rampage in the Sleeping Forest!

======================================================

***Yuka, Capital City Sofia Plaza, Aura***

“Are the DEVs making this a one-time event? Are they letting us regain our levels by fight [Mutated Magmatic Wolves]?”

“Are they crazy?! We can’t fight that thing by ourselves!”

“I don’t know about you but I’m going to get that EXP drop”

“Hey! I’m coming with you!”

After the message given to all players from the [Kismet Team], which Yuka doubts was true; another message appeared to all the players in [Aura].

“Yuka-nee, should we try at it? Even if we don’t kill it ourselves, a [Mutated boss] gives a lot of [EXP] even if it’s a third of the original [EXP]. As long as we deal damage to it continuously we should be able to get a large boost to our levels.” Ame who had been quietly enjoying her [Candy Apple] piped up after reading through the message.

“True… It may increase our levels by a lot but how are a bunch of low-leveled players going to survive against a high-leveled monster? A [Mutated boss] nonetheless…” Cairne who just came back added his opinion after hearing Ame’s suggestion.

“Cairne has a point… Even if we somehow killed the [Mutated Magmatic Wolf], how are we going to get out of the [Sleeping Forest]? Last I remember; even level 80 players were having trouble with the monsters there.” Yuka commented as she looked up towards the sky, ignoring the flood of [Adventurers] rushing out of the capital. Amongst the ruckus, Yuka could hear a small conversation between some guardsmen that were coming back from their patrols.

“This might be problematic… If those [Magmatic Wolves] come out of the forest then we can kiss the [Capital Plains] goodbye.”

“Yeah, if that happens, no merchant would be able to get here. Even if they had [Adventurers] guarding them.

Yuka sighed. If it was going to affect the world like this, she might as well try to help out. “I vote we go there…” She abruptly stood up from her seat on the bench and turned towards the two siblings. “You two coming or not?”

==================================================

***Duuga, Shinzan Forest, Aura***

“We need to hurry up, little [Hokkori]! We’ll need to kill those wolves to get back my lost levels~”

Katona rushed through the forest on all fours, evading roots and other obstacles like it was her playground while at the same time cutting down all monsters that were unlucky enough to get in her way.

“You’re crazy! If you go you are going to get killed!” Duuga cried out as he barely held his position on the petite girl’s head. Even if she was an [Adventurer], she should at least treasure her life and not rush headlong into battle like this.

“I knew you agreed with me~”

“I did not you eccentric Wolf!”

Duuga really wanted the girl to understand what he was talking about.

====================================================

***Hayato, Sleeping Forest, Aura***

Hayato ducked right under the fiery paw of the [Mutated Magmatic Wolf] and executed a sweeping kick at the remaining front legs of the monster to knock it off balance and jumped back as gouts of flame came out from the opened jaws of the fiery wolf.

After the message telling him of the [Mutated Magmatic Wolves] the monster he was fighting grew twice its size and was now towering over him by 1½ meters.

“Damn it…” Hayato winced as the fire attack of the monster managed to lick one of his tails, causing his HP bar to drop by 13%. He needed his [Iron Katana] back lest he die from the fire cloak surrounding the monster and its fiery breath. The only problem was the fact that his weapon seemed to be losing its durability from the intense heat of the wolf.

“I doubt I will be able to use it now…” Hayato lamented and brought out an [Iron Katana] with the [Lightning attribute]. “Fire would be especially useless against you and I don’t have anything with [Water Attribute]…” Hayato raised the weapon above his head with the blade pointing towards the [Mutated Magmatic Wolf].

In response to his stance, the wolf crouched lower in a position to lunge at its enemies. Even if the monster was of a higher level, it seemed to be relying on brute strength rather than its intellect. “Really… you shouldn’t underestimate a fox…” in response to his comment, the wolf growled and lunged towards the white [Foxling].

Time seemed to slow down for him as the large [Mutated Magmatic Wolf] neared with one of its jaws wide open. Hayato waited until the monster was 3 steps away from him and ducked under the monster and impaled its abdomen as it rushed past above his head. As the beast kept moving, the blade began to cut its abdomen open, causing the boiling monster blood to rain down on Hayato as he held his position and kept the sword from being pulled with the monster.

Hayato watched as his [HP bar] began to drop rapidly as the monster passed overhead.

-Chapter End-