Nathan's head was destroyed—charred to ashes by the laser that struck him. The colors of the environment around them shifted into abstract chaos, as their surroundings flickered between one dimension, then two, and finally returned to three dimensions once again.
Spice Up stared at Nathan—his head was still intact within the reflection in Spice Up's eyes. His eyes gleamed—Nathan was still alive, his head completely unharmed. The abstract aura and colors distorted, and the environment returned to normal. Spice Up activated his power [ Skill: Spice Around Field ].
That power rewind time by two seconds, saving Nathan from his death. Nathan remained intact, as if nothing had happened. He knew that if he approached again, the laser would attack him once more.
Nathan then observed the golem from a distance, trying to locate its core. He found it within a few minutes and immediately shot the core—causing the golem's body to tremble and swell.
Feeling that something was wrong, Nathan immediately sprinted out of the boss's office. The golem kept swelling in size as smoke poured from its body, and Nathan ran as far as he could until, at last, the golem exploded—obliterating the entire room.
The entire dungeon echoed and shook violently, smoke pouring out from the room that had been destroyed. Nathan, who had managed to run far enough away, survived and made his way back to the ruined room—where only collapsed debris and the items dropped by the golem remained.
Nathan approached and took the drop items released by the golem boss. He obtained a boss type magic stone, and magic scrap material that is useful to sell—or to craft new equipment.
----
Nathan leaved the dungeon, then ordered a taxi to go to the Heroes Company. He only gave a faint smile during the ride, slightly satisfied with the results this time; he felt that little by little, he could escape from his extremely boring life.
Upon arriving at the Heroes Company, he went to the reception room and took out all the items he had obtained from the golem boss from his bag. Nathan received 630 cashpoints, an amount more than twice his usual daily earnings.
Nathan walked away from the receptionist with a happy smile, it was not in vain to sell the golem boss item—however, he still kept the magic stone dropped by the golem boss, he wanted to try an experiment when he got home later.
While busy holding the magic stone while walking, Nathan, who was not looking at the road, accidentally bumped into the shoulder of someone who was walking in the opposite direction from him, making that person and their party members stare at Nathan with sharp gazes.
"Huh? Do you have a problem with me, bastard?!" Said that person with a loud voice and a threatening gaze, making everyone around look at them.
"Ah, sorry... I didn't mean to." Nathan replied carefully, clearly he did not want to make any problem.
"Tch, fuck you." The man sneered, followed by mocking laught from his party members toward Nathan.
Nathan let out a slow sigh, he then continued walking and left the Heroes Company. He realized that maybe he had to find a solution and not only motivation—that he had to become stronger and increase his income, because money or cashpoints were Nathan's number one priority.
He walked home to his apartment on foot because the distance was not too far. As time passed while Nathan walked home, it made him continue to notice the negative things happening around him, whether it was theft, harassment, or criminality—while that was an everyday scene that Nathan did not care about.
On the way, he accidentally saw a van stopping not far from him, three people got out of the car and kidnapped a small child, forcing the child to get in and scream for help.
"Help! Mom, help me!" The child shouted as loudly as possible asking for help.
Nathan was confused and just stood still, he did not know what to do, whether he should save that little kid or just stay silent like usual. Nathan was confused, he was not a good person who took care of other people's business, he let out a slow sigh and tried not to think about it.
The little kid kept screaming, Nathan was in a dilemma—he took a pistol out of his pocket and aimed at the van's tires, deflating three of them. The three kidnappers who noticed that immediately got out of the vehicle, among them one was holding a sharp weapon and another one had a crowbar.
"Hey kid! You want to be a hero, huh? You want to die here?!" Said one of the kidnappers approaching with a threatening and challenging tone, while the other two kidnappers laughed.
Nathan remained silent, offering no reply. But deep down, he knew those three kidnappers were strong—dangerously strong. Without hesitation, he summoned Spice Up.
The kidnappers didn't waste any time. They charged straight at him, one of them clearly a support-type, enhancing the physical strength of the other two and turning their assault into something far more lethal.
Nathan used [Skill: Spice Around Field], causing the surroundings to distort into an abstract dimension and time to stop for 2 seconds. Nathan aimed at the two kidnappers' heads and shot them, while Spice Up killing the other kidnapper.
He didn't expect it to be this easy. The surroundings returned to normal, but the three kidnappers were already lying dead on the ground. Nathan approached the van—seeing the kidnapped child still tied up and whimpering in fear.
"You're free now, come out," said Nathan as he untied the child.
The child, still terrified and in shock, quickly climbed out of the van. He ran away, and after a moment, he turned back—shouting his thanks to Nathan.
"T-thank you!" the child shouted before turning back around and continuing to run.
Nathan was slightly taken aback, but then he smiled and turned away, continuing his journey home. Meanwhile, the three kidnappers lay motionless where they had fallen—and with how deserted the street was, Nathan considered himself lucky this time.
----
A little while later, Nathan arrived at his apartment. He went inside and quickly cleaned himself up — after finishing his shower, he headed to his bedroom, laid down, and closed his eyes for a moment. He felt a hint of loneliness, he rarely met his friends anymore, always busy with his own life.
After spending quite some time lost in thought, Nathan decided to leave his apartment to get some fresh air. He put on his hoodie and began walking outside, the farther he walked, the brighter the city lights became. Many people passed by, and the bodies of the three kidnappers had already been taken care of by the police—who were now investigating and searching for the culprit, unaware that it was actually Nathan.
Nathan walked quite a distance, and eventually decided to climb a tourist tower known as Claurent Tower. Many families and people were visiting the place, laughing and enjoying their time together. Nathan continued up the stairs, step by step, until he reached the to —a place where everyone shared stories, laughter, and joy.
He could only smile as he watched how happy everyone else was. Nathan felt a mix of envy and loneliness, he wished he could meet his old comrades again if the chance ever came. He did have Spice Up, but that creature was merely a summoned being — it had no heart.
The stars that night were breathtaking, their light untouched by the city's glow, not even the light pollution could outshine the brilliance of the stars and the soft gleam of the moon. The city's lively and futuristic atmosphere made many believe it was the greatest city in the world—though in truth, it wasn't as perfect as it seemed.
Nathan then decided to head back down after enjoying the view for quite a while. He felt that today had been a relieving and pleasant day —and one that brought him a bit more income as well.
----
He then went to a restaurant and ate a cheap meal—just enough to keep himself from starving. After that, he bought several equipment components he needed, picked up a guidebook, and continued wandering around the city.
"Nathan...! Hey, Nathan...!"
While walking around, Nathan faintly heard someone calling his name. He turned around and saw a man in the distance running toward him, causing him to feel a little confused.
The man finally reached Nathan and bent forward, panting heavily from exhaustion, while Nathan still looked confused and asked who he was. The man lifted little his head, and Nathan felt that his face was strangely familiar.
"So tiring…" the man said, still out of breath
"U-um, is there something I can help you with?" Nathan asked, giving a slightly awkward smile.
The man then lifted his head and smiled at him. Nathan froze for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as he stared at that familiar face. The man gently patted Nathan's shoulder and spoke.
"Long time no see..."
"Nathan..."
...