Age of Asura [Progression, LitRPG, Apocalypse]

Uruvi’s eyes lit up seeing the cheeky smile of Rambha. “Rambha?”

The smile on Rambha’s face was quickly replaced by a concerned look. “Babe? What happened?” She leapt off the parapet and landed next to Uruvi.

She tried to wipe the tears off her cheeks, but the metal gauntlets made the task hard. “Where did you disappear to?”

Rambha let out a sigh. “When Sashwat chased Ashwin out of the bar, I tried to follow them. But unfortunately, there was a gang waiting to ambush Sashwat, and I ended up getting caught instead. Bastards were a pain to deal with. By the time I got back, you had already left. I had been searching for you ever since then.”

A wave of relief washed over her face. “Thank god. I was afraid something might have gone wrong… very wrong.”

“Enough about me. What happened to you?” asked Rambha.

She looked away and said, “I… I just let somebody down… No. I killed them.” She narrated all that had happened since she had left the bar.

“Oh, dear…” Rambha said as she gave her dear friend a warm embrace. “You are not responsible for it.”

She let out a scoff. “Yeah, right…”

“No, seriously. There was no way you could have known.”

The two parted, and Uruvi appeared more relaxed. However, Rambha could see the sadness on her face.

Uruvi shook her head. “He is dead because I was a coward. Didn’t have the guts to kill him… And honestly, I am not sure if I still can.”

“Where is he now? The killer?”

“His body is lying somewhere over there,” she said, pointing her thumb behind her. “But his head is lying in a ditch somewhere.”

Rambha wore a grimace on her face. “Well, he won’t be killing anyone now.”

Uruvi let out a snort before she was struck by a thought. She turned back to face the darkness and said, “I hope he doesn’t turn into a Bhootha. Can he?”

“Negative. Contestants cannot turn into Bhootha, nor can their bodies be possessed by spirits,” said Arya.

“You sure?” asked Uruvi.

“Affirmative.”

“That is good. One less thing to worry about,” said Uruvi.

Rambha tossed her briefcase over her shoulder and said, “The last thing we need is contestants turning into monsters.”

Suddenly, heavy footsteps were heard, originating from the darkness ahead of them. Uruvi tightened the grip on her gauntlets as she waited with bated breath.

A massive figure rushed out of the gully right before them. He came to a stop, looking around before locking onto Uruvi. “Hey…! Those… Gauntlets…!” He said, pausing at every word to catch his breath.

Uruvi took another good look at the man. He was tall and well built, with skin as dark as the night. His short, black, and trimmed beard gave him a sharp appearance, despite dressing shabbily in a loose grey t-shirt and brown trousers. “Yeah. What about them?”

“They… They are…” He put his hand up as he bent over, gasping for air.

She broke into a smirk and replied, “Take your time.”

As his breathing eased, he stood back up and took one large breath. “Okay. They are mine! Would you kindly give them back?”

“Huh? What? How do you know they are yours?” asked Uruvi.

“You got them from a guy, didn’t you? Uh… Short… lean… Shit, they all dress the same as well!”

“I got what you are saying. But that isn’t proof these are yours.”

He put on a grin and said, “I can prove it. Just hit me.”

She shot a look at him. “Hit you?”

“Come on. Go ahead. Give it all your strength.”

She shrugged her shoulders and said, “Your funeral.” She lunged, ready to fire a punch, when suddenly all her will to fight seemingly died. Her pace slowed down to a jog before coming to a stop. “Whoa! What’s happening?”

“Babe? Are you alright?” asked Rambha.

“Babe’s alright. She is just feeling the effect of the weapon’s passive. You cannot attack the owner when wielding the weapon. Which is… me,” he said, pointing at himself.

She gave it another shot, but struggled to even raise her hand. “Aww, man!”

“Come on. Return them to me now,” he asked politely.

Uruvi put on a deep frown as she removed her Gauntlets and handed them over. “Lucky bastard.”

He humbly accepted them back and put them on, wearing a bright smile on his face. “Ah! Welcome home, my beautiful.”

“So, what are…” He turned his attention back to Uruvi when he caught a glimpse of Rambha. “Whoa! Whoa!” He scooted around Uruvi and approached her. “The name is Vishwas. What is yours?” he asked with a cheerful smile and his hand stretched forward.

Rambha did not look amused. “Hu huh. My name is Rambha.” She did not accept his handshake.

He immediately spun around towards Uruvi and asked, “And you?”

Uruvi’s gaze was fixed on the ground below. Her face was washed with deep sadness, which he caught immediately. “Huh?”

“What’s wrong? By the way, where is the guy you took the gauntlet from?” He asked.

“His body is lying somewhere there,” she said, pointing behind her.

“Well damn. Good job.”

“How did you lose them anyway?”

“Bastard stole them from me when I was knocked out drunk. Must have tried to kill me, but he must not have known why he couldn’t,” he explained.

“Oh… That explains why he didn’t become the owner of it. The name is Uruvi.”

“Nice. What are you guys doing here anyway? I doubt you are from here,” he said.

“There they are!” A stranger shouted.

They turned towards the path ahead of them and saw a gang of men rushing towards them. Vishwa stepped forward and said, “Let me handle them.”

Rambha stepped back and exchanged looks with Uruvi. “Want to see what he's going to do?” She whispered.

“I bet nothing,” said Uruvi.

He put his hands just as they reached him, forcing them to come to a stop. “What happened, macha (brother)? Why are you chasing after two innocent girls?”

“Innocent? She trashed all of our men!” said the one before him.

“Oh! You know she thrashed them, right? Then why do you want to go after her?” He asked.

The goon shot a furious look at him. “Get out!”

Uruvi suddenly leapt over the gang and landed behind them. ‘Level 16… 18? Piece of cake.’ She whipped out her club and lunged at the gang of contestants, who, despite the fury they showed on their faces, were barely able to put up a fight. She fought like a feral cat, her strikes were fast and strong. It shattered their shields, bent their knees, knocked out some of their teeth, and left them seething on the floor in pain.

Once she was done, she looked at her screen and saw that she was a few points short of Level 21. ‘Need to beat up more of these guys… Fuck…’

Vishwas peeped over her and said, “Madam has a lot of anger.”

She did not react, instead turned her attention towards one of the men on the floor who looked like he could talk. “Are you people part of Rajan’s gang or the other guy?”

“They are part of Rajan’s gang,” Said Vishwas.

“What are you doing, man? You are supposed to be helping us!” Said the goon on the ground.

Uruvi looked up at him. “You are a part of Rajan’s gang?”

“No wonder no one stabbed him when he was lying around drunk,” said Rambha.

“I am. But only for namesake. Didn’t offer myself to participate in any of their foolery,” he said.

“Fucking… Bastard…” Said the goon as he rolled over in pain.

Uruvi let out a grunt and walked away in the direction from where the gang arrived. Rambha quietly trotted behind her, who was followed by Vishwas.

She led them down the street and around the corner, where the place looked as deserted as the rest of the city. She stopped under a lamppost and turned to face Vishwas. “What are these guys up to?”

He let out a sigh, looking down at the ground. “They are maniacs. These idiots are being fooled by their boss. From what I heard…”

“They think this is all a test and they will go to heaven… Yeah. We know that much,” Uruvi interrupted. “They massacred Arshid’s gang, and they were planning the same with Nanda’s gang.”

“I heard you saved them,” he added.

“I just helped them leave the place. I get why they are killing each other. But why are the last two gangsters working together? What’s their plan?”

“Don’t know. The goons were simply ordered to kill anyone who wasn’t part of the gang and fetch the points,” he said.

“Is that what you have been doing?” asked Rambha.

He broke into an awkward smile and said, “I was supposed to. But I found better use of my time.”

“And what is that?”

“Trying every alcohol brand I could get my hands on,” he said.

“Nice!” Rambha exclaimed in excitement, earning her a surprised look from Uruvi. “What? Better than spilling blood, right?”

“Seems like you know your alcohol!” he said with a bright smile.

“Don’t push it!” she said, holding her hand up. “Well, I guess this is where we part ways.”

“Wait. What are you guys doing here?” he asked.

They didn’t reply, instead looked at each other’s faces.

“Come on… I told you everything you want to know, right?” he said.

“Yeah. But you work for Rajan, and we don’t want him to know,” said Uruvi.

He casually whipped his hand and said, “That was five minutes ago. I can’t go back now. He only let me live because I have a thousand points.”

“Hmm… We are planning to get to rank 1… By tonight,” said Uruvi.

His expression froze. “Huh? You guys are serious?”

“Dead serious. So, now I am going to go beat up Rajan’s gang,” she added.