The Acknowledgement - Volume One

Nearing Game Day

                Winter sighs, steps through his house, and into his bedroom. "Dammit, what a mess," he sighed. Clothes were strewn all over the room, with all sorts of garbage from take out food on the surfaces of the desks and dresser. He stepped through the room, picking dirty clothes up and throwing them into a basket, "I wonder what mom would say if I told her that I followed in father's footsteps?" Winter thought, laying a hand on his neck briefly, "He's the reason we're so miserable. Even though I've already made more money than most people will ever see in a lifetime. They won't ever accept me because of her mistake," he added. Grabbing some garbage and throwing it away in the small garbage can in his room, "He's the reason I'm all the way in Klato. In my own home at 17 and why mom is so distant from me," Winter reviewed, "I don't need family, no. I don't need them even a little," he decided, "Raiding dungeons is all I need," Winter explained. The next day, an MDA went on the news, "The ants are evolving at an astounding pace," he began, "when the number of mutants increases and takes over the entire colony, we can call that evolution!" The MDA agent explained, "This is an ant photographed at the time of the first and second raids," he continued. The first instance of the ants were like the queen, massive ants with chitinous white armor and red eyes. "In the beginning, they crawled on the ground like regular ants. They didn't seem to be any different in appearance, other than their size," he continued, "However, this is a picture of an ant during the third raid," the MDA agent explained. The ant was much smaller, comparable to a human, with chitinous black armor with hairs on their 'forearms.' He turned to the camera, "You can see that the ants are now standing upright, and their heads have become much smaller, allowing for more nimble movement-" the MDA agent began- "They can now use four of their legs as grasping and holding appendages," he continued, "It only took two years for them to change the core characteristics of their species!" The MDA agent explained, "It doesn't stop there either, this here is the most recent photograph of the ants. This was taken from the ant that died in Wido," he added. The ant had a lanky figure, chitinous red armor, and pale white eyes with more defined hands on their four legs. "Those things can fly now?" The host asks, "Yes, that's the main reason why we're raiding the island for the fourth time," the MDA agent explained, "Even a perfectly capable Mythic would run from a frightening monster like that!" The male host explained, "Perhaps, but a retired Mythic mustered up the courage to join the raid," the female host replied. Winter walked through town with his hoodie up, looking at his phone at all the comments of the video the news posted about the raid on a social media platform, "Why's Winter Greats on the list? Wasn't he an E-rank?" One comment asks, "Once an E-rank, always an E-rank. He's probably going to piss his pants and run away," another commented. "I don't care about hate comments, but I worry what'll happen when they see me during the raid," Winter thought. His phone rings, and he brings it up to his face after tapping accept, "Sir! You should come to the laboratory!" Mari explained, "What? What's going on?" Winter asks, "The team you employed to work on your project figured it out, and while testing the new amulet, they discovered several new applications!" She explained, "Yeah? I'll be on my way," he replied.

                Winter steps into the lab, and finds Mari waiting for him outside the testing facility, "What's so urgent?" He asks, "I thought you'd want to see this for yourself," she replied, pointing into the facility. He looked through the glass, seeing a massive beam of light erupt from a device, launched at a dummy. The magic slammed into a barrier and was suddenly diffused into the surroundings of the dummy, melting away as if it was water running off a smooth surface. "Holy crap!" Winter watched with wide eyes, "It was discovered that this amulet nearly perfectly diffuses magic going into the barrier it's molded into, its accuracy is nearly to the atomic level!" Mari explained, "What about magic going out?" He asks, "It's the opposite, it nearly perfectly amplifies magic going out of the barrier," she replied, "How much more testing until it's approved for use?" Winter asks, "Not long, about a week," Mari replied. "Good, the Kauai Island raid is coming soon. I need all the tools I can get," he explained, "Right away sir," she nods as Winter walks away, "Oh wait! Someone was looking for you, sir!" She rushed to his side, "Who's looking for me?" He asks, "It was someone from Flore. They gave me this business card and told me they want you to give them a call," Mari explained, handing a business card to Winter. "Who'd want me to call them?" He thought, taking the business card. Suddenly, Winter's eye turned in a direction with a streak of an aquamarine aura. "What's the matter?" Mari asks, "Hold on," his shadow opened up under his feet and four shadow-like pedals came over Winter, closing on him after shadows drew up onto his body, latching onto him tightly. Winds of cold air and dark energy rushed out from underneath before the shadow-like, flower bulb twisted down into the portal it created. A Soldier rose from the portal, swapping places with Winter, it looked at Mari confused, "What the hell!" She screamed. Under the dim light of a streetlamp, a knife was held close to a woman's throat, "Shout, and I'll kill you," a man warned the woman, her back against the dead end of an alleyway. "You know that a few people were murdered here, right?" He asks with a sinister smile on his face. The woman had tears running down her face, "Please! Don't kill me," she begged. "This is why I love this neighborhood," he smiled, his eyes glowing a sinister green. "I know, right? I love this neighborhood, too!" Winter commented, sat up on a rooftop. His eyes glowed a deep aquamarine, and the man turned slowly to see where the voice came from. "Out of curiosity, why're you doing this?" He asks, landing on his feet in the alleyway. "Are you here to lecture me or something?" The man laughed, "Reasons shmeasons," he moved the knife away from the woman, "I don't think about that kind of stuff, but if I had to answer-" he suddenly rushed toward Winter- "Because it's fun!" The man explained, grabbing Winter's shoulder and stabbing into his gut in the knife repeatedly. "When I set my sights on someone weaker than me, I get the urge to harass the-" he explained, only to be interrupted by Winter's lack of a reaction. "I can somewhat relate to that," he looked into his eyes. The man cowered, sweat beading on his face. The knife pressed against his skin, leaving on scrapes with cuts in his shirt. "This was my favorite shirt," he thought, "Once you get a taste, though-" he snatched the knife from the man's grasp. He swiftly cuts through his leg with a fluid motion- "Returning to a normal life isn't easy," Winter explained as the man screamed in pain. "It would've been nice to go home-" he began, glancing at the woman, "before it got dark," he commented. She rushed off, quickly headed home. "Turn yourself in before midnight-" Winter commanded- "That's if you want to live," he added. The man laid in a pile of garbage, his skin pale as if he saw a ghost. "If he doesn't turn himself in before midnight, go ahead and kill him," Winter commanded a shadow soldier that slunk into the man's shadow. "I would prefer you lived," he added before stepping away, "Though I'm not sure exactly how patient my high orc shadow soldier is," Winter thought.

                Walking back home, "Tomorrow's the day of the Kauai Island raid," Winter thought, "Oh right, I nearly forgot," Ultima commented, "What do you think will be waiting for us there?" He asks, "Not sure, but I have a feeling we'll have a blast," it replied. "I hope so too," Winter replied.