The End Of You Or Me

"You didn't bring your father this time," was the first thing Lieutenant Colonel Jameel said as Magnus entered her tent. He had been told to meet with her personally after arriving back at the camp along with the others.

The woman had had another meeting with Sergeant Jordan and Sergeant O'Brien beforehand, though. So she had received the general report of what had happened.

"I'm afraid it's just me this time, ma'am," replied Magnus with a smile.

Jameel still couldn't get used to the unpleasant vibe that smile was giving off, but she decided to ignore it and focus on the talk. "So, let's keep this short, as I'm sure everybody needs rest as soon as possible." She glanced at her adviser, Sergeant Major Trevor Cain, before looking back at Magnus. "My men are handing the supplies over to your group as we speak. I take it you won't shirk your responsibility to start teaching the soldiers tomorrow morning?"

Magnus didn't answer her question right away. He had taken a chance to observe the adviser standing next to her for a bit, and just from a glance, he perceived there was something more that was hidden behind his expressionless face. Magnus was sensitive to people's feelings, but for some reason it was hard to get a read on Cain. It was as if the man had his emotions completely under control.

And that rubbed Magnus the wrong way.

"Mr. Helvig?" asked Jameel.

Magnus blinked and immediately answered, "Yes, you can be sure your soldiers will have developed a few skills by the end of tomorrow."

"That's good." Jameel nodded, but she was not done yet. "However, here's the thing, young man. After having a discussion with the two squad leaders whom you have met tonight, I have decided that the one who will be teaching can't be anyone else but you."

"I'm guessing they told you that my magic was quite powerful, yeah?"

"That is so." She slightly struggled not to voice out her curiosity about how Magnus had become so powerful in mere days after the Prolog happened. "We don't want you half-assing your responsibility. If we could get lessons from the best, we wouldn't want to settle for less."

"Alright. You don't have to worry about that."

The meeting was soon concluded. Magnus stole a final glance at Cain before leaving the tent.

Outside, the others were still stashing the supplies in their Inventory, much to the soldiers' awe. Objects seemed to simply vanish into thin air just as they were held in the group's hands.

Fiona could be seen teaching a curious group of soldiers how to access their Inventory. Next to her, Summer was being bombarded by questions about her time inside The Abyss.

Magnus was about to shoo those people away before he noticed his girlfriend imitating the smile he often showed when he was irritated.

"I'd appreciate it if you guys could give me some space. I'm quite tired, honestly. You don't want me to accidentally burn someone's hair because I'm too tired to control myself, do you?" she said. Her tone was imbued with an exaggerated friendliness, which meant she wasn't being friendly at all. The girl then noticed Magnus who had stopped in his tracks. She waved and gave him an unrestrained grin.

His girlfriend seemed to have gone through a little transformation after her near death experience. She exuded a bit more confidence now, though Magnus felt it was more like her effort to suppress her insecurity.

Fake it till you make it, as they said.

Further away, TJ was seen leaning his back against a truck. Sergeant Jordan walked up to him and gave him a clean shirt—the guy had lost some of his clothes after being mauled by hellhounds, after all. The sergeant's eyes involuntarily traveled down to the stump on TJ's elbow, with nothing below that.

"Kid, I don't know how you can be so calm after losing an arm," Jordan remarked.

TJ received the dark green shirt and managed to put it on with ease despite only having his right arm to hold it. "I wouldn't be if I didn't have that big oaf over there to recover my arm," he said, cocking his head at Magnus.

Sergeant Jordan's eyes widened in shock. 'I did hear he was powerful. But I didn't know it was to that extent!' the man thought.

"Thanks for the shirt," TJ said before leaving, not giving the sergeant a chance to say anything more.

TJ arrived by Magnus' side before he pulled out his severed arm from the Inventory. "Here," he said, clearly demanding for it to be reattached at once. He couldn't stand the uncomfortable sensation of having just one arm.

Magnus had initially wanted to wait for everyone to get back to the apartment before dealing with TJ's missing arm, but clearly the guy didn't want to wait any longer. He sighed before taking the bloody arm.

He pressed the part where it had been cut onto TJ's stump before casting [Big Spark]. It took less than a minute before the guy's arm became whole again.

A distance away, Sergeant Jordan couldn't hide his shock. Hearing about it was different from seeing it with his own eyes. Meanwhile, the soldiers who had witnessed Magnus' feats with the giant water serpent and his [Earth Manipulation] earlier weren't as surprised. But they were still amazed, nonetheless.

After all the supplies had been stored safely in everyone's Inventory, they were ready to head back to the apartment. The military didn't mind lending a truck to deliver them to the halfway point between the camp and the apartment. It was only halfway because Magnus didn't want the military to get a peek at the apartment's location and what his group had been up to there.

After everyone got off the truck, Magnus proceeded to blast his way toward their destination. Low level monsters couldn't even get him to sweat.

A few minutes later, everyone arrived safely back in the apartment. They were welcomed by the group who had stayed back with warm hugs and kisses. Despite all the pain Summer's and TJ's groups had suffered that night, they all managed to reap many gains.

[Status Window

Name: Summer Murphy

Race: Human

Author: Magnus 2.0

Alias: Glósóli

Age: 17

Title(s): None

Level 9

XP: 260/900

HP: 270

Mana: 290

Strength: 34

Agility: 75

Perception: 31

Stamina: 44

Skill(s): Rejuvenate, Lesser Heal (Lv. 7), Earth Bullet (Lv. 4), Rapid Growth (Lv. 3), Glowing Sun (Lv. 1), Spearmanship (Lv. 3), Illuminate (Lv. 3), Pain Resistance (Lv. 6), Deadly Growth (Lv. 1).

Unused Stat Points: 4.]

Summer had managed to level up four times. She had killed eight horned tigers by herself before the second batch had arrived. One tiger equaled 70 XP. However, because their second round consisted of teamwork, the XP she gained for each tiger had been halved. In the end, she gained 1260 XP for electrocuting a total of 36 tigers. She had also earned a portion of XP—precisely 30 points—for dealing the final blow to the mutated tiger. After severely injuring the byakko, the system granted her half of the total XP she would've gained had she also finished off the monster. For that, Summer received 140 XP. Finally the XP windfall was concluded with the massive gain of 760 XP after her Objective was deemed completed. She hadn't failed it, for the one who determined an Objective's success and failure was the Author himself.

Summer decided to put two bonus points to her HP and Mana each.

Meanwhile, Lisa was now on Level 6. She defeated nine hellhounds, each was worth 60 XP. For assisting TJ with his Objective, she gained 380 XP. With an additional 220 XP for helping Summer with her own Objective. But her biggest gain from tonight's excursion wasn't her Level. It was the weapon Summer had retrieved from the byakko.

However…

"Oh! I get to have a second weapon?" Katja's eyes lit up seeing the curved daggers in Magnus' hands.

Summer had already said no to the weapon, since she already had [Forthright]. Still not technically hers, but Magnus didn't mind that she held on to it until she earned her own spear.

Magnus had activated the daggers' active skill, [Thunderwhip]. The weapon itself was given a weird name, [The Whipping Angel]. As if reinforcing the name, each dagger's crossguard was adorned with a small sky-blue etching shaped like a wing.

Magnus himself had a lightning element affinity, so in his hands, the daggers' active skill could work at its full potential, lengthening the lightning whips and maximizing the damage output.

Katja didn't need to ask as she quickly understood that it was a weapon that aligned with one of her element affinities. She had instantly discarded Magnus from the list of people who would wield the weapon, leaving only her name on it. "Thanks, Summer my girl! I can't believe I finally—"

"Who said the weapon was for you?" Lisa protested. "Clearly, Summer wants me to have it!"

Summer opened her mouth to voice her agreement before Katja snapped her head at the smaller girl and retorted. "Excuse me? Last time I checked, you didn't have lightning element affinity! What makes you think you can use the weapon properly?"

"It doesn't matter! I can still activate the skill!"

"Yeah but it will be weak! It'll work better in my hands."

"I don't care! I need that weapon! TJ already got his weapon, why can't I—"

A sharp glare from TJ shut her up. She quickly corrected herself. "Tyler now has his own weapon. And I helped him and Summer a lot tonight. It's only right that I get to have the daggers. Besides, you haven't done anything to earn them!"

Summer sighed and massaged her forehead. "Katja, let her have it. It's true that she has done a lot to aid us tonight. The least I could do is give her the daggers."

Hearing that, Magnus shrugged and deactivated the skill before handing both daggers to Lisa.

Katja harrumphed and stormed off.

"Well, I guess it's about time everyone got some sleep. You guys will be back to regular training tomorrow morning," Magnus announced.

Little did he know, a storm was about to ensue come morning.

– – –

It was almost dawn, though everybody knew the sun wouldn't rise.

An eighteen-year-old boy was walking down the street that had been emptied from monsters thanks to Magnus and his group. He was tall and quite muscular, but his steps were silent and fast. It was as if he had mastered the art of sneaking and moving at lightning speed.

For Magnus, he was a familiar face. It was the very person whom he had chosen to let go several nights ago.

Matt Liu now had a different appearance, mainly due to the deranged look coloring his face. There was excitement blaring from his bloodshot eyes, as if he couldn't wait for the right time to do what he had to.

As he inched closer to the apartment Magnus and his group was sheltering in, he couldn't hide his emotion anymore. His mad-looking grin broadened and his hands shook with anticipation.

Before he got any closer, he halted his steps. He knew Magnus had sensitive hearing, so he didn't want to make his presence known. At least not yet.

His hand then stretched, palm open, before a small vial appeared on it. Inside it, black goo that glowed a blood-red aura sloshed around as he lifted the vial in front of his eyes.

"This will be the end of either you or me, Tyler." He chuckled. "Heh, I never liked you, anyway. But now I get to see that arrogant face of yours squirm in pain."