The World of Masks

Another one grows next to two worms. They crawl through their bodies without limbs, screaming nonchalantly, just like the bugs next to them. Every time I shake my body, the chains around my body curl up. The first two insects were damp with little to no reluctance, but the new ones still seemed to be as hopeless as the dust. As if shaking vigorously stretched the chain like a flint and believed that the day would come when he would find his freedom. Freedom. Usually it was a notion of unconscious life, but it was not as desperate as it had come to this. A long time ago, he remembered the day he lived free, and the rosy years were making him unable to give up this struggle. But it didn't work. No matter how much butterflies in spider silk roar and flap their wings, they only tangle more and increase the appetite of the spider.

"You're going out again?"

Looking at the armor on his body, Callie approaches Jack and asks him to swing his sword a few times. It was a complete honeymoon. A husband who goes to work and a wife who shows him off. It was a happy pair like a picture. Except for the squirming bugs in the house.

"It's time to get noticed. You should check it out. Hunt a few more if you haven't been foolish enough to notice. If they knew they were being hunted, they'd have to change their ways."

"Be careful."

Callie stays home in case the bugs try to escape. I had to worry about Jack.

I smiled at Callie once, looking up worryingly with my hands on her armor.

"Don't worry. I thought my life was precious in the first place."

It was so precious that I didn't hesitate to sacrifice another life. After calming Callie down, Jack leaves the house.

The place Jack and Callie were using was a little cabin. A woodcutter's house just off the mountain from the city with the organization, quite cozy, unlike what it looks like. Of course, the previous owners were now resting comfortably after giving their home to Jack and Callie. Mainly in the land behind the cabin.

Jack taps the ground a few times. Then I felt a slight vibration, like tapping on the ground. His troops are fine. Jack steps forward, forcefully rolling his feet.

After a while.

Jack took off his mask and swiped a fruit drink from the beverage store in the square as if it were NPC. It was a sweet and tangy drink. Although it was expensive, Jack's fortune had already been so much that consumption in reality or in games and so much that it did not even cost him a fortune. I sat at a table with a veil in the square and handed over a warm beverage to my neck. It looked like the rich guy was slacking off this time. A while ago, Terra Jack knew how to melt between NPCs.

He handed over the book, grabbed a drink, and seemed to be killing time like a handful of real-life cafes, but he's been keeping a close watch on the organization's building across the street ever since. There are only four humans you've already hunted in this city. According to the guy from the old Creed, there's only 20 of them left. Jack himself has dealt with four, so the remaining numbers should be 15 or less. Surveillance of the players entering and out of the building also matches the information Creed gave them. It didn't seem like there have been any more members of the organization lately.

'We're starting to move into groups.'

So far, all of the players Jack has hunted have moved in groups of two. The roles were the same. One shoots with a rifle, or a scope on a rifle, and the other with a cannon-like firearm throws tremendous fire support. Melee combat usually seems to be put down with a pistol. Yeah, well, the firepower support from rifles and cannons won't get us close enough. Perhaps that kind of fighting style was the basic fighting style of that organization.

The group members who were moving in groups of two were now never separated under six.

'We have to assume they found out.'

Now that the two are gone, it means that if they were attacked, two of the opponents could be easily dealt with. The organization's boss had to assume there was an ambush, so he did not allow no more than six people to travel thoroughly when he was out. And even though it's frustrating, I've decided not to leave the city for a while. That's why Jack had to wash his fruit juice side by side while reading in the city square.

'Now, what do we do?'

Now that we know they have someone attacking us, the attack by the Separatists will no longer work.

Jack suddenly looks down at his arm. It was covered with clothing, but there was a string of bracelets that he had looted so far. Some of them were taken from them. Jack's eyes sparkle.

You want me to feel military in a long time? '

Jack, who knows how precious my life is, will also seriously consider biting his tongue, but his military experience was not necessarily bad. After all, he was called a sharpshooter in the army. It didn't look bad to relive the old experience for a long time.

* * *

Currently, the people in the organization were very nervous. Not long ago, their colleagues, Vik and Creed, were killed by someone. Creed is fortunate to be back in the game, but unfortunately, Vik has not been contacted. Either you quit the game or you're dead. Since it was originally a protective organization, members of the organization did not have compassionate feelings for colleagues. Just like an employee at the same company, when I met her, all I had to do was say hello. Even though I spoke once, I did not have a strong and loving feeling of 'colleague.' I had to become that relationship because I couldn't meet her well in the first place. It was originally a two-way organization, where co-workers who were paired with themselves had at least some kind of partnership, but not others. That's why I just felt sorry for Vik, even if he didn't get back in the game. But the current situation was different from then. Four colleagues have gone missing in recent years around this city, the organization's base. When the first two colleagues disappeared, some didn't really care. They were just out hunting a little further, or they thought they were doing something else. The second time, however, was different when two more colleagues went missing. People who were optimistic said, "Oh, that could be dangerous. I became aware."

"Damn, I can't believe we're hanging out in front of here like rats."

A man grumbled. As a guy who didn't want to wear any sweaty guy around, I didn't like hanging out with five guys like this.

"Don't be so mean. I've already lost you. The boss is a nervous wreck."

When another man was definitely going out, he made excuses for the boss who ordered him to travel in groups of six. But the man seemed to disagree.

"They were novices! Cinnabar! I'll admit it to an organization that hasn't upgraded skills yet, hasn't had much combat experience, they're just a bunch of novices! We don't have to stick together like frightened bastards because those bastards are gone! You must be so amused!"

Wrong, this guy. I tried to protect the boss somehow, but his temper was dirtier than I thought. It was invisible because of the mask, but it was obvious that the face inside the mask was as thick as that filthy head of his. Eventually, I shook my head and gave up. She grumbles, but she doesn't seem to want to disobey the boss' orders, so she doesn't have to meddle and feel dirty.

Regardless of the slight squabble, the group moves forward. They were on their way to eat a dish called Pledge, a city landmark. A livestock that looks like a chicken or turkey, but tastes similar. It was one of the city's finest dishes with a variety of fruits and spices, but they all had that kind of money.

The group is ambushed, but the group doesn't feel particularly vigilant. In broad daylight, I didn't even think that I would be attacked in a city full of people. But the man they were dealing with was not a common sense.

Phew!

The young girl who was walking beside me suddenly fell with blood on her face. As you slowly close the movie, the girl falls slowly into the group's eyes.

"Gaaaahhhh!!!"

"Ahhhh!!!"

Suddenly, the people around you back away from the virgin, screaming. The maiden who was on her way for no reason fell down bleeding on her head. The blood flowing from the maiden's head drenched the road red because of how big the wound was. The NPCs around you panic and look around. It seemed like a virgin was looking for a reason to die. But the group looks at each other, their faces stiffened. They remembered one sound they heard as the virgin fell with blood on her hands.

It was gunfire.