Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

The Key of the Abyss was one of the items Ark had gotten as a result of clearing the beginner’s tutorial.

His plan was to go back to that horrid place and further climb the tower, unraveling the mysteries that lay within it.

But not even in his wildest dreams did he think that it would be saving him today...

"So it has a cool name. What does that do for me?" Tristan asked in an unimpressed tone.

Ark stumbled forward.

"Not just a cool name. With this key, it is possible to return to the beginner tutorial... the hell-level tutorial that we went through."

His grip on Satella’s neck loosened a bit and she took in a deep breath. But he didn’t let her go.

Tristan’s eyes narrowed. "Are you sure about what you are saying?"

In Eden, information was power. Most people that had been to hell-level towers and dungeons only had their memories to recount their experiences, and usually, it wasn’t very accurate.

No one expected a tower to be hell-level prior to entering them. And there were not that many hell-level towers to begin with...

But with a key that allowed a player to traverse into hell and back, at his own convenience, Ark could only imagine the wealth of knowledge he would be able to bring back.

And with the ever-growing battle for information among the top guilds, this could likely put the Association ahead in the race to uncover the mysteries of hell-level towers.

It was an offer Tristan could not afford to pass up on.

"So you want to exchange that key for their lives?" He was quiet for a few seconds as he contemplated. "I see, that is not a bad deal—"

"Actually, I cannot give you the key."

"..."

"What?" Tristan gave him a blank stare. Even Satella seemed confused.

Why would he propose a deal with a key that he could not give out?

Ark scratched his head and sighed. "Hey, I don’t make the rules. The key only allows me to return to the tutorial, it won’t work for anyone else..."

It had been explicitly written in the description of the Key that only he could use it.

"But, I can assure you that whatever information I get from the tower will be exclusively given to you."

Tristan was silent for a few seconds as he considered Ark’s deal.

’Come on... you know you need this information!’ Ark thought.

Most of the top guilds would be dying to have access to the information he was offering him.

Ark was tempted to sell his deal further, but he did not want to sound desperate, so he remained quiet.

Tristan was either edging him on, or he just really wanted to kill Thalia that much, because it took him a good three minutes before he let go of Satella’s neck.

The woman fell unceremoniously on the hard floor, and rubbed her sore neck as she glared at him.

"Very well." Tristan folded his hands behind his back. "As long as you keep your end of the deal, the association will no longer hunt Thalia—"

"Actually, that is not all I want." Ark interrupted him in the most polite way he could.

The room fell silent.

Tristan glanced at Satella in disbelief, before staring back at him. "What do you mean?"

"Information about a hell-level tower is rare, actually, no matter how strong you are, it is nearly impossible to get. So I want you to add something to... sweeten the deal."

Ark spoke with the confidence and greed of the devil himself.

Tristan had just pardoned the lives of his friend and his saviour, and yet he wanted more?

What sort of human being would even think that way?

Tristan’s face twitched. "You’re really pushing that luck of yours. Do you really want to die that badly?"

Ark did not back down, instead he waved the key in front of Tristan’s face, the way a person would dangle a bone in front of a dog.

And as much as Tristan hated to admit it, it worked.

If the grand commander of the Player’s Association was to hear that he failed to secure such a deal, he would be furious.

Worst of all, if the information were to fall in the hands of one of the major guilds, like Fable or Order.

Tristan felt bile rise up his throat.

"What else do you want?" He asked tiredly.

"Fifty duels." Ark replied in a firm tone. "I want to be able to fight you fifty more times."

Ark hated Tristan. He likely hated him more than he even hated Cain, and that was saying a lot.

But Tristan was a Mythril-ranked player who had likely been in Eden for more than a century.

Just one battle with him was more than enough for him to gain two extremely powerful spells, and get direction.

There was no way Ark was going to miss an opportunity to capitalise on it.

Because although he wanted to wipe the cocky smirk off Tristan’s face, as much as he wanted to make him suffer for what he had put Thalia through...

Ark was weak.

If he wanted to one day be able to even imagine punishing Tristan in any way, then he needed to learn everything he possibly could from him.

"Give me fifty sparring sessions with you and I swear, by the fiftieth spar." Ark’s voice grew intense, the fire in his eyes burning brightly. "I swear I will beat you!"

Tristan stared at him for a long moment. "You want me to train you to fight against me?" He shook his head. "Fine, but on one condition..."

"From time to time, you will help out the association on a few tasks. You can always refuse, but I’m sure they will be to your liking. Do we have a deal?"

Ark nodded. "Yes."

"Then it is settled. It was nice once again doing business with you, Player Ark." He turned around to leave when—

Thump!

Tristan turned around to see the bag of coins he had given Ark next to his feet.

Ark stared at him coldly. "Take it. If you ever insult me like this again..."

His face grew dark. "I will kill you. No matter how many times I have to try."

The atmosphere around them became stifling. Tristan smiled, his body blurred, and then from his head down, he evaporated like steam, vanishing into thin air, along with the coins...

Ark stared at the spot he had been and let out a sigh.

"I managed to save her..." he muttered, and then dark spots filled his vision.

He could hear someone screaming his name, but it sounded muffled, as though he had been submerged in water.

And then he fell flat on his face, darkness corroding all that was left of his vision.

<•••>

Tristan materialized in a dark alley and heaved a breath. The rain was still falling, so his new suit was thoroughly soaked, and his boots were soggy.

For a vice commander, right now he looked unsightly. But it was worth it...

He could have easily sent one of his more experienced agents to handle Ark, especially considering the weather. But Tristan had gone personally because there were things that only he could handle.

And it turned out to be the right choice. He doubted any other agent would have been able to handle that woman after all.

Satella...

Fighting her had been child’s play for him, but more than half of the association would have struggled to beat a team of her and Ark.

"Youngsters these days are getting increasingly difficult to deal with..."

"You seem happy. Did you get what you wanted?" A voice came from the darkness.

Tristan smiled as he glanced lazily in the direction of the voice. "That and more. It seems your organisation was right, he might just be one of them..."

A woman stepped out of the darkness, her hands folded underneath her chest. She was an Undie with light blue skin and long, pale blue hair.

Even in the beating rain, her hair was not soaked, the water simply slipped down it as though it was coated in wax.

"So, what is the reason for this meeting?" The warmth in Tristan’s voice vanished, and his eyes grew darker. "I told you, I would rather not see you worms unless it is important, Darya."

Darya stiffened slightly as she met those cold eyes, the eyes of a murderer, but she did not take a step back.

"It is important." Another voice came from the darkness as a man walked forward dressed up in pitch-black armour.

Once revered as the shining light of the academy, the hero beyond compare, he had begun to go by a new name in Evernight.

The Dark Hero, Darius.

Darius did not have an ounce of fear in those eyes of his as he met Tristan’s gaze, because they bore the same eyes.

"We have found another one."

Tristan’s entire demeanour shifted. "Is that so? Well, don’t keep me waiting."

Darya’s brows suddenly twitched as she stared at him, intently, her features slowly twisting with confusion.

She dared to take a step closer to the Phantom Assassin.

Was what she was seeing correct? Or was she seeing things because of the darkness? She hesitated before she asked...

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean- -"

Tristan abruptly stopped speaking, then his eyes widened slightly as he felt something warm slide down his cheeks.

He reached for it, and brought the substance to his gaze. It was blood. He stared at it for a few seconds, before bursting out into wild laughter.

Darius and Darya shared looks as they stared at him.

But Tristan did not care about their reaction. "That boy! He is really something, isn’t he?"

It was too bad, Ark had won the bet.

But he would never know...