Chapter 21:
VOL. 2: CHAPTER 21— “THE FIRST CONTRACT, AND THE THING BENEATH THE QUARRY”
FATEBREAK: The Anomaly Who Holds Two Authorities
The Valenheim Central Guild Hall was never quiet. Steel boots, clinking armor, spell glyphs humming overhead—dozens of adventurers moved in and out like tides.
Quests were posted.
Arguments broke out.
Laughter echoed.
Bloodstains were cleaned off the marble floor like routine maintenance.
Behind the counter, Clerk Mira adjusted her glasses.
“Next!”
A group stepped forward.
Three familiar faces.
And one……oddly calm human.
Mira glanced at the registration slate.
Name: Kairen Nacht
Race: Human
Rank: F (Provisional)
Magic Affinity: Elemental (Unspecified)
Party: Pending
She looked up.“You’re new.”
“Yes.”
“You’re very calm for a new adventurer.”
“Habit.”
She frowned, then shrugged. “Alright. Party registration?”
Ryn raised a hand cheerfully.
“That’d be us! Team—uh—”
Lyka elbowed him. “We never named it.”
“…Team Temporary.”
“No.”
“Team Survival?”
“Also no.”
Chorona quietly said, “We could… decide later.”
Ryn sighed. “Fine. No team name yet.”
Mira scribbled it down. “First contract?”
“Yes, please,” Chorona said politely.
“Low-rank board, then. Don’t die.”
“…Encouraging,” Ryn muttered.
— KAI’S POV —
So this was the Guild.
Big.
Loud.
Smelled faintly of metal, sweat, and desperation.
I liked it.
Less politics.
More honesty.
Adventurers argued openly.
Bragged loudly.
Healers scolded reckless idiots.
A man missing an arm laughed while telling a story about how he lost it. This place didn’t pretend danger didn’t exist. It respected it.
Ryn bounced ahead toward the quest boards.
“First mission hype! Let’s get something easy. No dying on day one.”
Lyka grinned. “Coward.”
“Strategist.”
“Coward.”
Chorona walked more slowly beside me.
“…Are you nervous?” she asked.
“No.”
“Liar.”
I blinked.
“That fast?”
“You breathe differently when you’re tense.”
“…That’s unsettling.”
She smiled faintly.
For a second, I forgot where I was.
— POV: RYN —
Quest board.
Glorious, chaotic quest board.
He scanned parchment after parchment.
“Rat extermination—no.”
“Sewer ooze—absolutely not.”
“Escort merchant—boring.”
“Investigate missing sheep—why is that always a thing?”
Lyka leaned over his shoulder. “Ooh, goblins.”
“No.”
“Bandits?”
“No.”
“Haunted ruins?”
“Definitely no.”
Chorona raised a hand timidly. “Um… this one…?”
She pointed to a parchment.
[Quest: Subjugation]
Target: Ashscale Lurker
Location: Blackridge Quarry (outskirts)
Threat Rank: D
Details: A subterranean beast disrupting mining operations.
High heat output.
Payment scaled by damage.
Ryn squinted. “…That’s not F-rank.”
Lyka grinned. “Fun.”
Ryn panicked. “Fun kills people!”
Chorona tilted her head. “But it’s only one monster. And we’re four.”
Ryn looked at Kai. “…You’re not secretly S-rank, right?”
I shrugged. “Define secretly.”
“NO.”
Lyka laughed. “Relax. We’ve fought worse.”
Chorona nodded. “We’ll be careful.”
Ryn sighed dramatically.
“Fine. But if we die, I’m haunting you all.”
— KAI’S POV —
We submitted the quest.
The clerk hesitated.
“Your party is F-rank,” she said. “This is D-rank.”
“We know,” Ryn said quickly.
“But we’ve got… experience.”
She glanced at Chorona.
At Lyka.
At me.
Something in her expression softened.
“…Very well. But report immediately if the threat escalates.”
We nodded.
First contract.
First mission.
Simple, right?
That thought lasted approximately—
Three minutes.
— POV: BLACKRIDGE OUTSKIRTS (MINER) —
“Another party?” the foreman muttered.
The quarry was half-shut down.
Scorch marks streaked the stone walls.
Melted tools lay scattered.
“Third this week,” a miner said.
“Last two ran after the first roar.”
Chorona approached politely. “Can you describe the creature?”
Foreman scratched his beard.
“Big. Black scales. Lives in tunnels. Breath like a furnace.”
Lyka whistled. “Ashscale variant. Annoying.”
Ryn frowned. “Annoying is not comforting.”
I crouched, examining the scorch patterns.
“…It hunts by heat signatures,” I said. “And moves through loose rock.”
They all looked at me.
Ryn blinked. “Since when are you a monster scholar?”
“…Since Earth had documentaries.”
“That explains nothing.”
Chorona smiled. “So we avoid fire?”
“Yes,” I said. “And noise.”
Lyka grinned wickedly.
“…We’re doomed.” Ryn screamed.
— POV: LYKA —
Tunnels were dark.
Hot.
And smelled awful.
Perfect.
She crept ahead, senses sharp, tail swaying lightly. Behind her,
Ryn muttered prayers under his breath.
“Why does it always have to be underground…”
Chorona followed, staff glowing softly with mana.
Kai brought up the rear.
Silent.
Too silent.
Lyka glanced back. “You stalking or walking?”
“Both.”
“…Comforting.”
They reached a wide chamber.
Cracked stone.
Melted walls.
And—A low, rumbling breath.
From below.
Ryn squeaked. “I regret everything.”
— KAI’S POV —
Ashscale Lurker.
About four meters long.
Lizard-like body.
Blackened scales radiating heat.
Molten saliva dripping from its jaws.
Threat level?…
Moderate.
I could kill it in one strike.
I didn’t.
Because that wasn’t the point.
“Lyka, left flank,” I said.
“Ryn, draw it forward.”
“Chorona, suppress its core when it opens its mouth.”
They all froze.
“…You’re giving orders?” Ryn asked.
“Unless you prefer improvising with fire.”
“…Fair.”
The beast roared.
Combat began.
— FIGHT SEQUENCE (SHORT, TECHNICAL) —
Ryn fired wind blades, darting around wildly.
“WHY IS IT FAST—?!”
Lyka leapt, claws raking scales, sparks flying.
“Too hard! Who armored this lizard?!”
Chorona chanted softly, frost sigils forming.
“Opening in three seconds…”
The lurker inhaled—
Core glowing—
I stepped forward.
No ANYparxía.
No Amara.
Just lightning.
Condensed.
Focused.
“Lightning Lance.”
The bolt pierced its throat.
Chorona’s frost sealed the core.
Explosion of steam.
The beast collapsed.
Silence.
— AFTERMATH —
Ryn stared.
At the corpse.
At Me.
At the perfectly cauterized wound.
“…So,” he said slowly. “You’re definitely not normal.”
I shrugged. “Normal’s overrated.”
Lyka laughed breathlessly. “I like him.”
Chorona exhaled, relieved. “Good teamwork…”
Then—
A tremor.
Dust fell.
From deeper tunnels.
A second roar echoed.
Much louder.
Much closer.
The foreman’s words returned:
Third party this week.
My stomach sank.
“…That wasn’t the main one,” I said quietly.
Silence.....
Ryn screamed. “FIRST MISSION, MY ASS—!!!”
— KAI’S POV —
That roar……was not D-rank.
The sound wasn’t animal.
It was heavy.
Dense.
Like stone grinding against bone.
The cavern trembled again, deeper this time.
Cracks spread across the walls.
Loose gravel poured down in steady streams.
Ryn slowly turned toward me, eyes wide.
“…Tell me that’s just echo.”
“No,” Lyka said flatly. “That’s big.”
Chorona swallowed. “The mana density… it’s wrong.”
The tunnel behind the corpse collapsed.
Our exit vanished.
Silence.
Then—
Something moved in the darkness ahead.
And the air grew thick.
Not hot.
Not cold.
Heavy.
Like the cavern itself was pressing down on us.
Amara whispered.
『Warning.』
『Target classification escalating.』
『Estimated threat: B-class minimum.』
“…Of course it is,” I muttered.
Ryn screamed.
“WHY IS OUR FIRST QUEST ALWAYS A LIE—?!”
— POV: LYKA —
Her instincts screamed.
Predator.
Ancient.
Territorial.
This wasn’t an Ashscale.
This was something that had been sleeping.
The ground bulged.
Stone shattered.
And it rose.
— MONSTER REVEAL —
The thing that emerged was not a beast.
It was a weapon.
Eight meters long.
Body plated in obsidian-black scales veined with magma.
Six limbs ending in serrated talons.
Head shaped like a hammer, jaws splitting open vertically.
But the worst part—
Was the core.
A glowing crimson crystal embedded in its chest.
“Core-exposed…?” Chorona whispered.
“No,” I said. “Artificial.”
Ryn stared.“…You mean… someone made this?”
The creature roared.
The cavern ceiling partially collapsed.
Lyka swore...
“THIS IS NOT IN THE QUEST DESCRIPTION—!!!”
Loudly.
— KAI’S POV —
This wasn’t a monster.
This was a weapon prototype.
Someone was testing combat organisms near Valenheim.
Subtle.
Disposable.
Perfect.
And my party was standing in the firing range.
“Formation,” I said calmly.
Ryn looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“FORMATION?! IT’S A WALKING VOLCANO—!!!”
“Lyka, harass from blind side.”
“Chorona, suppress mana regeneration.”
“Ryn—”
“DON’T SAY BAIT.”
“…You’re bait.”
“NO—!!!”
Too late.
The creature lunged.
— BATTLE PHASE I: CHAOS —
The beast slammed forward, jaws crashing into stone where Ryn had stood a moment earlier.
Ryn rolled, screaming, firing wild wind blades.
“I DID NOT SIGN UP TO DIE BY HAMMER-FACE—!!!”
Lyka leapt onto its flank, claws carving sparks.
“Scales are too dense! This thing’s reinforced!”
Chorona raised her staff, sigils forming—
But her hands shook.
Too fast.
Too heavy.
Too familiar.
Her breath hitched.
For a second—
The world……stuttered.
Not slowed.
Not frozen.
Just—Misaligned.
She gasped. “I— I can’t—!”
The creature turned toward her.
Instantly.
Target lock.
My chest tightened.
Too fast.
Too accurate.
This thing was reacting to probability, not movement.
“Chorona, MOVE—!!!”
Too late.
— KAI’S BREAK —
The beast’s claw descended.
No time.
No restraint.
No calculation.
Only instinct.
Space warped.
Not erased.
Dissolved.
ANYparxía—Boundary Dissolution.
The claw passed through Chorona’s head.
Not phasing her.
Phasing the space between them.
The impact vanished.
The monster stumbled.
Confused.
The party froze.
Lyka’s eyes widened.
“…What the hell did you just—”
I was already moving.
— BATTLE PHASE II: KAI UNCHAINED (RESTRAINED MODE) —
No Amara voice.
No system prompts.
Only movement.
I closed the distance in one step.
Lightning wrapped my arm.
Not flashy.
Dense.
Compressed.
Void Strike — Concept Variation.
My fist struck its core.
Not with force.
With erasure.
The crystal ceased existing.
Half the creature’s chest vanished.
The monster howled—
And regenerated.
Instantly.
Artificial regeneration loop.
Of course.
“Tch.” I leapt back as molten blood sprayed.
Ryn stared, shaking. “…That… that wasn’t lightning…”
“No time,” I snapped. “This thing adapts. We kill it fast.”
Lyka grinned ferally. “Finally, a real fight.”
Chorona stood frozen.
Hands trembling.
Her instincts were screaming something she didn’t understand.
This monster……should not exist.
— POV: CHORONA —
Her heart raced.
Not fear.
Recognition.
This creature……was wrong.
Time bent around it.
Probability warped.
And for the first time—
She felt something watching.
Not the monster.
Not the cavern.
Fate.
Her head hurt.
She whispered without realizing:
“…Don’t die… please don’t die…”
Kai glanced at her sharply.
Something about her voice……hurt.
— BATTLE PHASE III: FULL ENGAGEMENT —
The monster slammed the ground.
Magma erupted.
Lyka vaulted through flames, slashing joints.
Ryn focused, forming a proper spell.
“FOR ONCE— HOLD STILL—!!!”
Wind compressed.
Gale Piercer!
The blast tore through its neck, exposing spine.
The creature retaliated, tail sweeping.
Lyka was thrown into a wall, coughing blood.
“Lyka!”
“I’M— fine— probably—!”
Chorona finally steadied herself.
Staff slammed down.
“Frost Bind: Astral Seal.”
Chains of frozen light wrapped the monster’s legs.
It roared.
Struggled.
And—
The core regenerated.
Multiple cores.
Hidden nodes.
“…It has backups,” Chorona whispered.
I swore.
Prototype.
This was military tech.
— KAI’S RUTHLESS DECISION —
No more restraint.
Not full power of ANYparxía.
But—
Enough.
“Ryn, eyes closed in three seconds.”
“…WHY—”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“ONE.”
Spatial Distortion — Null Zone.
The space around the creature collapsed inward.
Not crushing.
Deleting momentum.
The monster froze mid-motion.
I walked forward.
Calm.
Cold.
And whispered:
“ANYparxía — Concept Break.”
My hand touched its skull.
And erased.
Not flesh.
Not bone.
Existence.
The head vanished.
The regeneration stopped.
The body collapsed.
Silence.
— AFTERMATH —
Dust settled.
Magma cooled.
The cavern stopped shaking.
I stood there, breathing steadily.
Behind me—
Absolute silence.
Ryn stared like his soul had left.
Lyka sat against the wall, laughing weakly.
“…I officially vote Kairen as emergency apocalypse deterrent.”
Chorona approached slowly.
Her steps hesitant. “…You erased it.”
“Only part of it.”
“…That was not magic.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
Long.
Soft.
Afraid.
But not of me.
Of something else.
Her lips parted.
And then—
She said it.
“Kai… if you ever disappear…”
The world stopped.
Not literally.
But inside my head—
Everything froze.
Kai.
Not Kairen.
Not Nacht.
Kai.
Ryn blinked. “…Wait.”
Lyka’s ears twitched sharply. “…Did she just say—”
My heart slammed into my ribs.
Slow.
Controlled.
Don’t react.
Don’t reveal.
Chorona herself froze.
Eyes widening.
Hands flying to her mouth.
“…I— I’m sorry— I don’t know why I said that— I meant— Kairen, I meant Kairen—”
But it was too late.
Silence fell heavier than the cavern dust.
Ryn stared between us. “…Hold on. You said your name was Kairen.”
“It is,” I said instantly.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
Lyka narrowed her eyes. “…Then why did she say Kai?”
Chorona looked panicked. “I— I don’t know— it just… came out—”
Her fingers trembled against her silver thread.
“I’m sorry— I really don’t know why—”
Inside me—
Cold spread.
Amara whispered nothing.
Which was worse.
I forced a laugh.
Light.
Careless.
Natural.
“Kai’s a nickname,” I said smoothly.
“Old habit from childhood. Didn’t think anyonech it’d slip out.”
Ryn squinted. “…That’s convenient.”
“Everything about me is convenient.”
Lyka studied me.
Long.
Then shrugged.
“Adventurers are weird. I’ve met worse.”
Ryn sighed. “Fine. I’ll pretend that didn’t feel ominous.”
Chorona exhaled shakily.
Relief.
Confusion.
And something deeper she didn’t understand.
Then she finished quietly:
“…I think… the world would break.”
My chest tightened.
Not because of fate
.Because…
She sounded certain.
Ryn coughed loudly.
“OKAY— emotional trauma later— HOW DO WE EXPLAIN THIS TO THE GUILD—?!”
Lyka laughed. “‘Mining accident’?
”“…Sure.”
I glanced at the corpse.
No insignia.
No marks.
But the design……matched Valenheim doctrine.
My jaw tightened.
So.
This city wasn’t just preaching order.
It was building weapons to enforce it.
And somehow—
We’d just walked straight into the first test.
— AMARA (INTERNAL) —
『Observation.』
『Chorona identified Master’s original designation.』
『Probability of coincidence: 0.0000000003%.』
『Classification updated: Undefined Constant — confirmed.』
『Conclusion: This variable has interacted with Master across timelines.』
She did not tell me.
— FINAL SCENE —
As we exited the quarry, battered but alive—
High above—
Unseen by us—
A mirror shimmered.
And a hooded figure whispered:
“…Interesting.”
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