HARMONY [LITRPG / ISEKAI / PROGRESSION / OP MC]

“Ugh… damn it, why is it we’re the ones checking this place out?”

“Ugh… gruuh… Mmh!”

“Hey! You better not throw up near me! Turn away!”

A series of voices echoed out beyond the door they hid behind. Thankfully the other room they hurled themselves in was spacious and bereft of blood and gore. Aidan’s heart still hammered against his chest, even though he knew by now that they were safe from the men coming in.

“Hey, let go.”

“Oh, shit! Sorry.”

Aidan quickly did that, letting go of Nina whom he was hugging with all his might. She didn’t seem all that fazed from it, instead listening in closely to the men now forcing themselves in while retaining their disgust at the outcome.

Aidan had to keep close contact with Nina in order for his Phase to work, or at least that was how it felt. He wasn’t quite sure how to expand his Phase beyond just himself like how he would do with Vanish, but now that he had done it, he had a good grasp of how expansive it could be. Still, his face flushed a little from holding onto her tightly, feeling just a smidge embarrassed for not realizing to let go sooner.

Instead, he sat down on the floor and closed his eyes. He whispered that he was going to check on the other side, getting Nina’s approval before letting Soul Meditation run its course.

His ghostly self quickly emerged, phasing back through the door and into the messy room where he spotted the people coming in. He instantly recognized one of them wearing a red jacket, already knowing exactly who these people were.

“Did you find him?” One of the men asked, a wiry looking man who kept making scrunched up faces at the sight of all the blood.

“Yep… whoo, I’m actually glad he didn’t survive,” Another responded, the same one wearing the red jacket. “Looks like whatever the hell the boss was cooking up did its thing.”

“Hey, is it really a good idea to be here?” The man, who looked like he was wiping off the contents off his lips, asked nervously. “I’m getting chills straight to my fucking bones, man.”

“Stop being a damn baby,” The first replied. “And start digging around for anything valuable. Or else we might end up the same way.”

“Good call, let’s go.”

Aidan quickly moved back over to the other room, returning to his body. When he woke up, Nina already had what looked like a lighter in her hands, brightening up the place. It looked like they were stuck in a storage room of sorts, several chests and containers filling up the place on shelves and compartments stuck within.

“Who is it?” Nina asked.

“I think it’s Red Riot,” Aidan said. “One of them was wearing something red. That’s my guess.”

“That’s usually their calling card,” Nina muttered. “We better hurry and get on out of here before they try getting in.”

“Agreed,” Aidan nodded. But when he noticed Nina looking around her a moment later, he raised his brows at her. “What’s on your mind?”

“Considering that those lovely people are planning to ransack the place anyways… might as well abscond a few things ourselves. How good are you at using that new spell of yours?”

Aidan instantly realized what she was hinting at, her smile turning predatory at all the containers and chests hidden in here. He was shocked to find out how greedy she could be, but figured that it might as well take the opportunity themselves.

The men were currently scavenging every corner of the messed up room, so they were going to take a while before they head into this room, which they’ll probably ignore considering that it was locked. In another way, they might struggle to break in, so they had a short time of searching through everything in the room and taking everything of value.

He felt kinda shitty looting a place where somebody had just died, but he didn’t get this far by being kind. He had to follow Nina’s drive of getting ahead in life if he wanted to survive in this world, even with the powers he had on hand.

He followed Nina’s orders, phasing his hand through several containers and digging around for anything useful. Normally he just opened up the containers from the inside if they were locked, wanting to make sure not to make too much sound to attract the Red Riot’s attention.

The things he picked up ranged from out-of-place materials and strange items that he had no clue on what they were used for at first glance, so he scanned a few items that caught his interest and was pleasantly surprised.

Whisperwind Coin (Uncommon)

A small circular coin created with a wind element array that allows the user to send a voiced message to any person they met before, as long as the person is within 5 miles. While the message cannot be traced, only a brief phrase can be uttered with each use. After five uses, the coin is shattered.

Uses: 3/5

…..

Wardshatter Wand (Uncommon)

A wand capable of breaking through different types of wards at Bronze rank or lower. It sends along a ripple of destructive mana along with the spell it is cast with that dissipates any defensive properties it comes across.

Wardshatter–Mana cost: 25

Requirements:

Level 10+ Mage

…..

Windwalker Cloak (Rare)

A silver-gray cloak woven in rare spider silk and enchanted with the ability to allow the user to leap vast distances and slow their falls as if carried by a breeze. It makes the user lighter in their feet, increasing their Agility.

+15 Speed

+10 Reflex

Requirements:

Level 10+ in Any Class.

“I’ll be taking that.”

Aidan nearly groaned before handing over the clearly valuable cloak to Nina who smirked at the hand-over. He actually wanted that cloak, but he couldn’t go against her claim.

They kept looting the place until eventually the entire storage room was emptied of whatever valuables they managed to scrounge up, leaving behind Common rarity items that weren’t worth anything to Nina’s eyes. When all was said and done, Aidan and Nina went to the other side of the room next to the wall.

Aidan pressed his hand on it and phased through using Phase. Seeing it working and expanding itself through his soul, he offered his hand to Nina, but it remained untouched as she just stared.

“It’s safe, don’t worry,” Aidan said.

“...you know what will happen if you leave me stranded here, right?”

Aidan flinched back at that. That came out of nowhere. She was staring at him as though she was ready to press a knife up to his throat if he didn’t reply.

Did she somehow figure out that he wasn’t under her contract anymore? But when he read her soul, strong hints of suspicion were layered on top of skepticism.

He found out one thing about her that seemed to be dominant down to her very core. She was so paranoid that she would even question the soup she would make in her very own kitchen.

“You think I’m stupid?” Aidan asked. “Now come on and hold it. Those guys are coming.”

Nina looked back down at his hand, then grabbed it. Making sure to hold on tight, Aidan pushed himself through the wall, and when the hand grabbing Nina was pulled along, he dragged her out of the house with no problems.

Seeing Nina completely out, he let go before noticing her shiver when he did. Her hands rose up to her shoulders and started hugging them.

“I don’t think I can get used to that,” Nina admitted, her soul actually sounding terrified for a solid second there.

“I definitely will,” Aidan answered cheekily, prompting Nina to actually show a genuine smile.

“Let’s leave before they notice us,” Nina said, leading Aidan through a small pathway he didn’t notice before, leaving the house behind.

In the far distance, Aidan’s ears picked up the men suddenly shouting curses. It became fainter and fainter, but they probably realized that they missed their chance to loot the storage room after Pummel died.

When they got far enough away that even Nina assured him that they wouldn't be found, tucked away within a small corner beneath a hanging bridge, they recollected themselves.

“I hope you had enough of meeting informants now,” Aidan said. He looked back at Nina who kept a steadying stare at the ground.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Nina said.

“Didn’t you say Pummel had enemies?”

“I did, but even his enemies knew how valuable his information network is,” Nina said. “And seeing that it was Red Riot is even more confusing. He’s known for being a direct acquaintance for the gang, so seeing their flunkies flood into his home as if they knew what happened doesn’t make any sense.”

He crossed his arms, taking Nina’s words in. When he closed his eyes, he could still feel that strange dark sensation that Pummel’s body emitted. He tried to see if he could connect it somehow.

When he expanded his Sense Vibrations further, that trail of malignant energy actually trailed all the way back a few miles from where they were. When he realized this, he told her.

“You can sense where that energy is coming from?” Nina asked.

“Yeah…” Aidan said. “What should we do? Should we follow it?”

Nina took a moment, her arms crossed in thought. “I think that’s a good idea. Better to see exactly how Red Riot did all of this before they try doing that kind of method on any of us.”

“You mean on you,” Aidan said.

“Obviously,” Nina said, her chin raised as though he just asked a dumb question. “Now come on, follow the trail, pup.”

“...Don’t call me pup.”

Aidan muttered but did as he was told, leading Nina through the path where he believed led to where the trail of that curse-like energy came from.

Throughout their short journey, they went down pathways where Nina believed the Red Riot wouldn’t go through, as there were certain blocks under the control of different gangs than their own. They currently went through the block under the control of the Stained Brotherhood, a gang focused entirely on martial prowess and mercenary work.

Aidan could tell immediately how true that was, glancing over at several people chilling in spots, their armor adorned with meticulous designs and expensive markings that he could only believe to be enchanted. They didn’t show much physically in terms of size or muscle, but through their souls. They were honed to the point of being blades, ready to cut at anything that came near them. Their high levels reaching around the thirties also made them pretty unapproachable, yet despite that, Nina walked through with not a single waver in her gait.

Still, he paid more attention to the strange trail that seemed to cling to the skies, the murky depths coiling around like devilish snakes, creating a demonic pathway to the hell they were surely approaching. It was becoming stronger and more potent the closer they got, a strange itch suddenly developing within his soul that couldn’t be scratched.

Eventually they reached a place quite far from the other buildings and housings, into some spacious lot that had several broken down buildings and scattered debris. They didn’t look like they were recently destroyed, more like it was just left here for years on end, and nobody bothered to clean up here.

Another thing that could be explained with his senses was that this place was practically haunted with the ghosts of all who died horrifically here, the dark emotions rampant around the environment. Several screeches and horrific twangs of strings echoed in the background, giving Aidan a chill that went below his very bones, straight to the marrow.

“The Dark Zone…” Nina muttered, catching Aidan’s attention. “A pretty dangerous place, and even more lawless than the Grim Corner. Gangs come up here to settle things and, as you can guess, it can get pretty nasty in the end.”

“Of course,” Aidan let out. “This city is so wonderful, isn’t it?”

He was starting to regret somehow landing close to here to end up in this position, but at this point, there was nothing he could do. Eventually they came up to one of the buildings that were still standing, a rather large storehouse reaching several stories tall.

It was made entirely out of metal, which might make some sense as Aidan could also sense mana circling around there, possibly arrays that made it either tougher or durable enough to handle the risk of being in the Dark Zone, a rather appropriate name for this kind of place.

He placed a hand beside one of the walls around the south-western side. He noticed the trail reaching all the way through here.

“It’s inside, probably around here where it’s the closest,” Aidan said, handing out a hand. “You’re willing to go in, or is this enough?”

“We’ve already gone this far,” Nina said, taking Aidan’s hand. “Backing out now is something only fools do. Now come on, make the magic happen.”

Aidan could tell that she was mostly psyching herself up from the way her soul was handling it. Nodding to her determination, he activated Phase again, pushing themselves through.

On the other side, Aidan was surprised to find an extremely spacious hall, the center having a large hole in the ceiling where he spotted several more pathways in the upper floors, all of which carried heavy wooden boxes that reeked like they’d been caked in rainwater for years.

When Nina came through, she shook her head slightly, only to look relieved as she let out a breath.

“It looks like it’s getting easier,” Nina said with confidence. “I’m already starting to have ideas on what to pull with that nifty spell of yours.”

The way her fierce grin flashed made Aidan imagine what sort of twisted ideas she had formed in her head, though it was better than that strange sense of suspicion she had earlier. That suspicion of whether Aidan was going to secretly kill her was still there, but it was just buried deep into her subconsciousness. Perhaps she just didn’t put it as a high priority to worry about due to the contract she believed she still had on him.

“Well?” Nina asked, taking a glance around herself. “Where is it?”

“It’s farther away from here. Hold on, I’ll find it.”

He did just that, expanding his Sense Vibrations to scour every inch of the spacious hall inside. The cursed trail seemed to lead straight to the center of the hall, so he led Nina over to it while avoiding anything that could make some noise.

After a few minutes of traversing the dark, only using the various light sources that were in different random places of the hall, he finally saw the source of that strange trail and froze.

“What… the hell is this?”