Limit Of Fortune
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A few days later, on the morning of June 12th. The date was set for the final battle between Greg and Tim—the decisive match that would decide who won this year’s Ultimate Survival Game! As expected from a title like “The Limit of Fortune,” it wouldn’t be an easy fight at all…
Although they were both Level 2 now, their fighting strength had clearly decreased compared to when the game started. Moreover, since neither side knew what sort of strategy each other might have in mind until the actual day itself came around, there was no way to tell how strong they really stood against one another right now.
If anything, even if he did manage to win today’s battle somehow (though perhaps not by as much margin as before), everyone else present could still claim victory with their own skills alone? It’d definitely be better than nothing but, well…
“Gregs.” Suddenly speaking up beside him, Annie made her presence known while gazing into space as she looked out over the scenery below them. “…I’ve been thinking about something ever since yesterday night…”
She turned towards Greg without changing facial expression whatsoever; then after looking back down again, spoke softly: “Last time we fought inside the mansion, I beat you because your attacks weren’t working properly due to being affected by my Fear Effect ability. In which case…if I use that same technique here too, will it work?”
“…That’s exactly why I’m asking whether or not you can do such things!” Greg snapped back immediately. He didn’t want to waste his precious spare time talking nonsense to someone so useless. But upon seeing Annie‘s serious face, he felt uneasy.
Annie tilted her head slightly downwards and said quietly: “Then…what is it? Are you worried about me cheating again? Because I’ll say straightaway that using my special power in this situation where nobody knows what any of us are doing isn’t going to happen at all.”
“Uh… Yeah, yeah, sure.” Greg nodded awkwardly. Then turning to look behind himself, he saw Michelle standing next to him. Seeing her nod once, he continued: “But what makes you think I don’t trust you? You’re just pretending to be dumb again, aren’t you…? Cough cough!!”
After saying that, he coughed loudly twice. “Anyway, forget about everything. Let’s get ready for our big battle soon okay?! We need to make preparations first ya know?!”
“Of course,” Annie replied calmly, seemingly having anticipated Greg’s line of questioning from start to finish. “Like you said earlier, we should try to find some good hiding spots beforehand. I believe we already tried searching everywhere yesterday, but let’s check again anyway.
And besides, we also need to prepare ourselves mentally. Don’t worry. This time I won’t hesitate to kill people — even those close friends of yours who may appear during the final stage. So please keep that in mind as well.”
Michelle gave a slight smile. Her words seemed very harmless enough, yet the implication behind them was quite clear. Though Greg couldn’t imagine any of his friends actually appearing in this situation. Even if they managed to escape here safely, there wasn’t anyone he wanted to see die along the way.
Not only that, but he completely doubted that any of them would have the guts to come out and challenge him directly in front of everyone else.
However, despite knowing full well what kind of person Annie was, he still found himself unable to calm down entirely. That meant…he needed more help than usual. Something extra powerful. Or maybe a little bit of luck. Perhaps the latter would be fine though, considering how many times he’d used up all his luck throughout these past three months.
After discussing various matters together, they eventually reached the conclusion that it was best if they split themselves into two groups. One group would search for places to hide, while the second went ahead to figure out what sorts of strategies their opponents might have prepared for them.
They decided on dividing the area into four parts, with each member taking turns to go through every part individually. Since this place had become smaller and smaller as the days passed, finding such hidden areas shouldn’t take long at all. Plus, they could always switch their roles halfway via phone call if necessary. At least, that was the plan.
While walking off, Greg noticed that most of the people around them were staring at them suspiciously. Some even whispered among themselves. He realized that the reason for this was probably the fact that Annie was carrying a gun.
However, since she hadn’t drawn it on anyone yet, he figured that they mustn’t have seen its true form. Still, he decided to leave the matter aside for now and focus instead on dealing with whatever problems arose tomorrow.
***
Shortly before noon, both teams returned to the central plaza. The atmosphere within the square resembled that of an abandoned warehouse, with no one present. There were several pieces of trash scattered across the floor. It appeared that the cleanup team had left early today. As expected of a place like this, there had clearly been lots of garbage lying around.
In contrast to the previous day, the sky above them remained gloomy and cloudy. Although it was hard to tell, judging by the position of the sun, it seemed likely that the weather would remain unchanged until evening.
Both parties met up with each other after coming out from opposite sides of the park. Once they got back to the central plaza, they sat down together to discuss the results of their individual searches.
The first to speak was Annie. She told the others that she’d searched the entire western side of the city. According to her, although she did encounter numerous corpses, none of the bodies belonged to any of the students here.
Presumably, the ones who died weren’t killed inside the school building itself, which made sense given the number of holes leading outside. In addition, she’d also discovered several small rooms built underground.
From what she could gather, these were likely emergency shelters designed to protect people in case of emergencies. All of the doors were locked, however, so she didn’t bother trying to break into them. Besides, even if they succeeded, there wouldn’t be much point in keeping them safe. If something really bad happened, then they’d all end up dead regardless.
She ended her report by stating that she’d checked almost every nook and cranny of the eastern half too. Apparently, she’d gone straight up the stairs to the roof without entering the classrooms first, just to make sure there weren’t any corpses lurking about. But unfortunately, everything turned out to be exactly as expected. No living humans or monsters were present anywhere near the school buildings.
Next came Michelle. After confirming that Annie hadn’t missed anything important, she continued on by sharing details of her own findings. First, she explained that she’d done an initial search of the northern section of the southern district, starting from the main road connecting the town center to the bridge over the river.
Then, she proceeded southward towards the residential zone, whereupon she crossed the bridge and entered the industrial area. Finally, she walked eastwards to reach the southern edge of the forest, at which point she stopped searching altogether due to a lack of information.
“So basically, I’ve looked everywhere,” said Michelle. “I haven’t met anyone alive, nor have I encountered any monsters.”
Annie nodded in response. Based on her observations, it sounded like they’d already covered pretty much all of the ground within a radius of roughly five kilometers. So far, no one had reported seeing any survivors either.
To put things simply, this world didn’t seem to possess much life whatsoever. This wasn’t surprising, given that it only contained human beings. Monsters normally existed alongside intelligent creatures. Therefore, they couldn’t possibly live alone.
Furthermore, the destruction caused by the bomb explosion further proved that the world was devoid of any large-scale monster attacks. Thus, it was highly unlikely that any monsters had survived the blast. On top of that, the fact that nobody else showed up during their respective searches indicated that the surviving residents had evacuated to safer locations.
“That’s interesting news,” said Greg. “But…”
He paused briefly, looking troubled.
“What is it?” asked Anne.
Greg scratched his head awkwardly. Upon closer inspection, he seemed to be having doubts regarding some aspect of the situation. Eventually, he let out a sigh.
“…It looks like we’re not going to find many friends here.”
The others quickly understood what he meant. A moment later, they all began nodding in agreement.
“Yeah… That does sound like a problem.”
After hearing their reactions, Greg suddenly remembered how he’d heard someone calling him last night. He thought back to the voice again but still failed to recall who it might have come from. Perhaps it was merely a coincidence? Or maybe it was actually one of the refugees hiding somewhere deep within the forest.
Either way, it didn’t look like they’d managed to meet any friendly faces thus far. Given the circumstances, it was very possible they wouldn’t run into another person anytime soon. And if they were forced to stay behind because of that, then things would get difficult for everyone.
They needed to figure out a plan B. Before long, however, the group was interrupted by a sudden commotion.
A man wearing a black suit stood before them. His face bore a striking resemblance to the one seen on the wanted posters stuck along the walls throughout the town. However, unlike those images, he wore a pair of glasses and held a cigar between two fingers.
As the stranger approached, the girls immediately recognized him. It was the same guy who’d been standing guard at the front door when they arrived yesterday afternoon. The reason why they knew him so well despite never meeting before was simple: he’d left quite an impression upon them.
“Well now, you certainly are late,” muttered the man, puffing smoke rings through the gaps in his teeth.
Upon noticing that the newcomers appeared to know each other, the men all exchanged glances. Although they looked nothing alike save for their clothing, they’d probably known one another since childhood. In short, these guys must be part of the same family.
Judging by their behavior, they clearly regarded themselves as close relatives. Even though none of them spoke directly to each other, they gave off distinct impressions of familiarity.
“Excuse me,” said Greg, bowing slightly. “We apologize for being late.”
“Ah yes, you do indeed appear familiar. What business brings you here today?”
“Our apologies once more,” replied Greg. “You see, my name is Gregory Pangborn, and this is Miss Anne Tachibana. As you can tell, we belong to the same party.”
Immediately after, the rest of the people present bowed low as well. Everyone except for the man in the black suit, that is. Rather than lowering himself to greet the strangers, he remained seated and kept on smoking his cigar.
Before too long, the entire gathering returned to its original position. All eyes turned toward Greg again. When he saw what happened next, his expression grew even tenser.
One of the men extended his hand in greeting.
“My name is Charles Chatsworth. Please allow us to extend our deepest gratitude for your assistance earlier. We could never have made it this far without you.”
Charles’ tone was polite enough, but there was something about it that felt somewhat unnatural. At first glance, he presented himself as rather reserved, yet his words carried with them an air of sincerity. Moreover, his mannerisms suggested that he didn’t really care whether or not the visitors accepted his apology.
But regardless of how he acted, his actions did convey genuine respect. If anyone else had tried to speak like that around Anne and her friends, they likely would have received a harsh response instead. Yet somehow, Charles pulled it off.
Anne smiled warmly at the man. She was impressed by his ability to remain composed under such trying conditions.
“Thank you, Mr. Chatsworth. I am afraid we couldn’t help much, though.”
While she spoke, Anne glanced over at the woman in question. Her companion was currently busy dealing with a small crowd of children. Most of them appeared to be orphans. For whatever reason, they were all staring intently at the newcomer.
Their gazes were filled with curiosity. Some of them even started to ask questions. One boy even crossed paths with Charles, which prompted the latter to stop what he was doing and address him. Afterward, the conversation continued until the young man finally moved away.
At that point, Anne noticed a girl approaching their table. Unlike the others, she wasn’t dressed in rags. Instead, the girl wore a set of formal clothes similar to those worn by members of the nobility.
This particular outfit consisted of a dress with a high collar and long sleeves, accompanied by a matching skirt. Underneath the hem lay a pair of white socks and a pair of shoes. To top everything off, the girl also sported a knitted cap adorned with a red ribbon.
When she reached the couple’s side, the girl stopped in her tracks and stared at Greg. Then she slowly lifted both hands up into the air as if presenting herself. From beneath the brim of her hat, a single strand of hair fell down onto her forehead.
Greg gently took hold of the girl’s arm. He then led her over to where Anne sat. Once they got closer, however, the little girl began to panic. She desperately attempted to pull back from Greg, causing him to stumble backward in surprise.
“Whoa! Whoahh!” shouted Greg, falling flat on his butt.
The girl yelped loudly upon seeing Greg fall. Upon hearing her voice, several nearby boys looked at each other nervously. They quickly retreated behind their mothers’ skirts.
Meanwhile, Anne stood up and helped Greg get back up. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder while keeping her eyes focused firmly ahead.
“Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?” asked Anne.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry,” replied Greg, giving her a thumbs-up. “It happens sometimes.”
His reassurance seemed to calm the girl down. She lowered her arms and allowed Greg to take a seat beside her. A moment later, she shot him an inquisitive look.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
She sounded curious, but her tone contained no hint of malice whatsoever. The fact that she addressed Greg directly meant that she must have recognized who he was. That being so, it probably wouldn’t come as any great shock to learn that the child possessed some sort of special power. In spite of that, however, Greg still found himself flustered.
After all, he’d only just met the girl a few moments ago. It was hard to believe that she already knew about his abilities. More importantly, he hadn’t told anyone anything about himself during their brief exchange. How exactly did she find out about his secret identity? There was no telling why, but the girl suddenly leaned forward and whispered something in his ear.
Upon hearing her whisper, Greg immediately stiffened up. His face went pale once more before turning bright red.
“Wh… What?!”
He frantically shook his head, trying to deny what he heard. However, the girl simply giggled and poked fun at him. As she did, she patted him lightly on the chest.
“Oh my goodness. You don’t know, do you? Well, I suppose that makes sense. No one in this town has ever seen a superhero, right?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the girl turned toward Anne and bowed politely.
“Please accept my most sincere apologies for calling attention to myself. My name is Eliza. Thank you very much again, Miss Anne. Could I trouble you to tell me where I might find Drago?”
In response to the girl’s words, Anne gave her a polite nod.
“Of course. Please follow us. We’ll show you the way.”
Eliza nodded happily. Then she glanced around briefly before whispering another short sentence into Greg’s ear. At first, Greg didn’t understand what she said. But when she repeated the same thing after asking him to repeat it back to her, he finally caught on.
“Huh…? Oh yeah, sure. Sure…”
Greg tried to hide his embarrassment, but his reply came across as rather unconvincing. When Eliza saw how awkward he felt, she laughed aloud. Her laughter rang loud and clear through the marketplace. Since everyone else had left their homes early that day, there were far fewer people than usual milling about. Most of them now looked curiously in their direction.
Anne’s expression grew serious. An uneasy feeling began to fill her heart. She knew full well that the girl standing next to Greg could easily kill dozens of men with her bare hands. All she needed to do was touch someone with her mind, and they would instantly be paralyzed.
And yet, the girl showed absolutely no signs of hostility or anger. Instead, she appeared quite happy and carefree. This made it impossible for Anne to determine whether the girl posed a threat.
This wasn’t the first time Anne had encountered such a situation, either. Whenever she confronted monsters, they almost always reacted violently. Even if she managed to subdue them somehow, the fight usually ended badly. Some even died by her hand.
Sooner or later, though, these encounters inevitably became violent. As a result, she never let herself relax until she actually killed the monster in question.
However, since she couldn’t figure out what kind of powers Eliza possessed, she decided not to make assumptions. For the moment, she kept her guard up. After all, she didn’t want to end up dead because she underestimated her opponent.
***
They arrived shortly thereafter at the doctor’s office. The building was located near the center of town, which meant it was close to both the church and school buildings. It also happened to be situated directly opposite the town hall. If one wanted to reach those places from anywhere within the city walls, one would need to pass right past the doctor’s clinic.
Since it was fairly large, the entire structure consisted of two connected structures. One half was built like a normal house, while the other resembled a small hospital. Both sides featured an impressive number of windows and doors.
Apparently, it served multiple purposes: as a residence and place of business. Furthermore, the clinic itself was equipped with various machines and tools necessary to treat patients.
There was a single entranceway leading inside, and several wooden stairs led down to the ground floor. A sign hung above the entry, stating that the establishment was under the ownership of Doctor Gregory.
The three of them entered together and headed straight over to the reception area. By then, the sun had already set, leaving the town in darkness. Fortunately, the clinic boasted numerous lights and lanterns. They illuminated every corner, allowing visitors to move freely throughout its interior without fear of stumbling.
On the wall behind the counter stood a simple plaque engraved with the name “Doctor Gregory.” Next to it sat a long table covered in papers. Stacks upon stacks of bookshelves lined the room to the side.
There was barely enough space between them to walk, so they must have been packed tightly together. Every shelf contained rows upon rows of medical textbooks. On top of each book rested a small glass vial containing some sort of liquid medicine.
A few feet away, a woman wearing glasses and a white lab coat stepped out from behind a nearby door. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and she wore a pair of spectacles perched atop her nose. What really drew Anne’s eye, however, were her eyes.
Their color reminded her of the night sky. Though the light outside had faded somewhat, it still shone brightly. In fact, she seemed to glow faintly, just like the moon.
When she spotted the trio approaching, the woman spoke.
“Welcome. How may I assist you today?”
Her voice carried a pleasant timbre, making it easy to listen to. However, Anne noticed something strange about her tone; the sound of it was slightly distorted. Could this mean…that the speaker was speaking telepathically?
That wouldn’t surprise her at all. Many humans possessed the ability to communicate via telepathy. Such abilities weren’t limited to witches alone. According to legend, anyone who was capable of using magic could use it to speak thoughts into others’ minds.
Of course, most practitioners only used the skill during times of emergency—when communicating information quickly and discreetly proved essential.
Still, it wasn’t unheard of for individuals to develop their mental faculties further. Eventually, they might learn to read the emotions displayed on another person’s face, or even better, understand what they were thinking.
This was difficult to accomplish, of course. Those with powerful wills often found themselves unable to control their own feelings, much less those of others. But the more sensitive a witch was to the emotions around them, the easier it became for them to discern the true nature of someone’s innermost desires.
In short, telepathic communication was possible. Unfortunately, since many people lacked the proper training and experience, they rarely ever developed this skill to any meaningful degree. Telepathy was no different than learning how to ride a horse: it required practice and patience. Most folks simply never got there.
Regardless, it was clear that the women before her hadn’t spent too much time practicing their skills. She could hear them loud and clear, but they sounded fuzzy. Perhaps they’d focused their efforts elsewhere instead. Either way, though, this was a good opportunity to find out exactly what kind of person they worked for.
Anne turned toward the redheaded girl beside her.
“I’m here to see Doctor Gregory,” she said.
The young lady nodded. Then, after a brief pause, she added, “He’ll be happy to know that you’re interested in his work.”
That certainly caught Anne off-guard. While she knew that some doctors practiced witchcraft, she had no idea if the same applied to this man. Still, she felt compelled to ask anyway.
“Is he a witch himself?”
She received an affirmative response immediately.
“Yes! He is!”
It looked as though the girl didn’t want to say anything else. So, rather than press the matter, Anne decided to change subjects altogether.
“What does he specialize in?”
This question elicited a smile from the doctor herself.
“All sorts of things, actually. You can look through these books if you’d like. I believe my boss has written quite a bit.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the girl vanished back into the shadows. The next moment, the entire stack of books toppled over onto the floor, scattering across the linoleum. Before Anne could react, a hand reached out from the doorway. It grabbed hold of hers and pulled her backward into the corridor beyond.
At first, she thought nothing of it. After all, she was the one who asked him to leave. Why would he suddenly decide to follow her?
But when they made contact with the hallway itself, she realized why. For starters, there was now a thick pane of transparent crystal separating them from the rest of the building. Once again, she couldn’t help but marvel at its beauty. And yet, despite everything, she also sensed a sense of danger lurking beneath the surface. Something told her that getting trapped inside meant certain death.
Forcing down her fear, she tried to pull free of the stranger’s grip. But the harder she struggled, the tighter he held on. Finally, she managed to pry open her clenched fist enough for her fingers to wrap around the edge of the window. With every ounce of strength she could muster, she pulled herself upward until finally, she broke free.
***
They stood atop a cliff overlooking a dark sea below. Beneath them, the waves crashed against the rocks, sending spray high into the air. As far as Anne could tell, the ocean stretched on for miles without end. In fact, it seemed endless. Like a giant beast waiting to devour them whole if given the chance.
A cool breeze swept past, carrying with it the scent of salt water. Fortunately, it appeared that none of the nearby trees bore leaves. Otherwise, the wind might have been able to carry away traces of their presence. What little remained, however, did seem to linger just long enough for her to notice.
Just then, a figure stepped forward from behind a large boulder. Though she recognized him instantly, she still gasped aloud upon seeing his appearance. His hair was blacker than night; only a small patch of white showed near the center of his scalp.
Yet this was not where he truly shined brightest. Rather, it was located directly above his brow. There, a glowing orb floated freely within the confines of a golden circle. Its size alone was impressive, easily dwarfing the headdress worn by most other witches. Even so, it somehow managed to fit perfectly. Together, they formed a perfect union between form and function.
The End