Bound By Fury:The Forced Path

The great sandworm charged at Akira, its enormous armored body churning through the desert sands at a terrifying velocity.

Akira dove sideways, narrowly avoiding the worm's snapping jaws as he swung his sword in swift counterattacks.

Every one of them struck, but to absolutely no avail.

The beast's thick, scaly hide just shrugged the blade off.

Akira thinks, heavy breathing

"Damn it...it's too big."

"It's impossible even for my sword to scratch."

With what little strength remained, he spun, barely evading another sweeping attack, each of his movements sapping his strength while the worm didn't relent.

The breathing of Akira was ragged, his muscles worn out by the ceaseless assault.

Just as Akira begins to think about exactly how he is going to get himself out of this, his gaze drops to a spot nearby-a piece of ground that seemed unstable, like a patch of quicksand.

Akira he muttered to himself; a faint smile tugged at his lips.

"Yeah that it's…"

Akira burst toward the unstable ground. The sandworm chases him, and its massive body furiously tears through the sand.

At the last second, Akira stops right at the edge of the patch, leaping to the side as the worm lunges forward, unable to arrest its momentum. It barrels into the unstable sand, sinking halfway in before realizing its predicament.

Akira smiling, holding up his sword

"Alright, let's finish this off."

Without hesitation, Akira bursted down the beast's massive body, his boots digging into its slick, churning hide as it writhed violently. The tremors beneath his feet threatened to throw him off balance, but Akira tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, his knuckles white. The worm's frenzied movements made it harder to land a clean blow, but he pushed forward with unrelenting precision.

Timing his strike perfectly, Akira leaped into the air and slammed his sword downward, driving the blade deep into the worm's pale, vulnerable underbelly.

The creature let out an ear-piercing screech as its body convulsed violently. A fountain of dark, viscous fluid erupted from the wound, spraying outward as the worm bucked in agony, nearly throwing Akira off. Clinging onto the hilt with everything he had, Akira twisted the blade, forcing it deeper into the beast's flesh.

"Just stay down!"

Akira growled through clenched teeth, his muscles straining as he braced against the worm's death throes.

Akira held his place, teeth grinding as the blade twisted onward.

Akira: (straining, yet determined)

"Come on… just a bit more…!"

The final push results in one last, massive surge, and the sandworm lets out a guttural screech before its bulk sinks into the sand, lifeless.

Akira stumbles backward, heavy with panting breaths, and watches this beast slip below the surface until nothing more but circular ripples in the sand bear witness to the event.

He pants for breath; soon after, the soft glow he is so familiar with re-appears in front of his face, the shining status window materialises softly humming.

[Status Window]

[You defeated the boss monster: Sandworm.]

[You earned a huge amount of EXP!]

[Level Up! Your level increased.

[Level up! Your level increased.]

[Level up! Your level increased]

Akira's eyes widen as he takes it in three levels in one battle, a big boost.

But what really catches his eyes is the final line across the screen.

[User's level has exceeded 35. Skill White Lightning has been unlocked.]

Akira: (to himself, his eyes shining with excitement)

"White Lightning…?"

A description of the skill fills the window:

[White Lightning: This allows the user to take white lightning and control it at their will, molding it into whatever forms they find more suitable.]

Akira's lips twist upwards, as, even now, his mind races with what it might be able to do.

Already, a faint crackling of energy stirs inside him, a sleeping storm just dying to get out.

Akira: (thinking, fists clenching in excitement)

"This… this is really great"

Suddenly, his veins were filled with energy anew his body recovered to peak condition after leveling up

Where there was exhaustion a while back, now a hard burning was there for an opportunity to try the skill and see how it went.

Akira: (to himself, his eyes narrow "

"I'll use this power… to make them pay."

"All of them."

In but a flicker, the status window was gone, and Akira was clenching his fists as if a promise of White Lightning crackled within.

Akira dusts off his hands, glancing around the now-empty dungeon.

Sand clings to his boots and the edges of his clothes, but the hard-fought victory feels satisfying. He mutters to himself, smirking.

Akira: (smirking)

"This dungeon was way easier than I thought."

He looks around, observing a great number of magic stones lodged in the sand and scattered on the ground from where he and the worm fought. Cautiously, he begins to pick them up; each one gives off a faint glow of trapped magical energy.

Akira pockets them all, immediately thinking of Hiroshi,who can fetch him a good price for those. Everything counts, more so now that he has made a resolve to financing his missions himself without being leech-like towards others.

As he makes his way through the remains of the sandworm, his eye catches on something gleaming near where the creature's maw has fallen.

Akira crouches, reaching down to pick up what appears to be a small, jagged tooth, roughly the size of a dagger.

Akira: (muttering)

"Huh… this looks interesting."

Curious, he calls up his status window and looks at the item, calling up its information.

In an instant, the details pop up:

[Item: Crysdagger]

Type: Dagger

Durability: 120/120

Attack Power: +15

[Effect: Slightly raises the critical hit rate by 5%.]

The stats are meager, not really standing out compared to his usual weapon.

It's not sharp, nor is it deadly; it's of a solid, sturdy design, though.

The slight boost to critical hits might be helpful, but still not enough for him to consider holding onto it.

Akira sighs, shoves it into his pouch.

"Is not much of use to me right now"

"Better sell it and get some money out of it."

Having collected all the magical stones and getting the Crysdagger, Akira looks around again. Finding nothing else, he walks to the exit of the dungeon.

Since he can already see the light outside and a weak wind swirls up dust at his feet, he steps out, freezing in place immediately, narrowing his eyes.

The agent stood out front of the dungeon entrance-those officials in charge of the check-ups of clearances of dungeons. The agents make sure that any STARS that book dungeons complete the job, so nobody leaves behind a bunch of creatures that might cause an outbreak.

It was among his duties monitoring the activities, checking up on performances, avoiding unnecessary risks to the world.

But this one agent. Akira knows him really well after he sees his face.

Agent: (raising an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed)

"So, you're alive."

"Thought this one might've been too much for a lone STAR."

Memories cascade into Akira's mind, his jaw clamping down.

Akira's eyes narrow as he recognizes the agent's face—a man whose name escapes him, but whose actions remain painfully clear.

This agent is the one who, not long ago, handled the documents that ultimately robbed Akira of his father's wealth. He was the one who helped ensure Akira's name was signed away on those forged documents before the dungeon raid with Eri. The betrayal still stings, though Akira forces himself to stay calm, concealing his identity under a hood.

Akira: (thinking)

"Damn… this isn't good."

"The last thing I need is him recognizing me."

Akira:

"You appear unpleased that im alive."

The agent chuckles, looking around as though the dungeon behind him might yet hold threats Akira had missed.

Agent:

"It's just procedure."

"If STARS can't manage their own reservations, then it's on us to make sure things remain contained."

"You'd be shocked how many don't even bother actually clearing the dungeons they claim."

"Dangerous negligence, if you ask me."

Akira mockingly, he crosses his arms.

"And we would not want anything bad to happen, huh?

For a moment, it does-the agent catches the undertone in Akira's voice.

Agent "Ahoh" clears his throat, looks away.

"Anyway, as long as it's clear, I don't care what you do in there."

Akira steps forward with his gaze sharp and unforgiving, causing the agent to stiffen ever so slightly.

Akira: voice low, compact with restrained anger

"I wonder… whether you care about something, anything, other than yourself."

He narrows his eyes at which his brow furrows further as he regards Akira's face with growing suspicion.

Agent:

"Have we… met before?"

Akira's face is stoic, with an almost imperceptible tilt to his head, obscuring identification.

Akira:

"Doubt it."

"I'm new to this line of work. Just another rookie, nothing memorable about me."

He narrows his eyes and takes a step closer to see better into Akira's face under that hood.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps behind them.

A second agent in that strange uniform appeared, peering at his notes, then stepping forward.

Akira's heart jumps as he instantly identifies him-it was the very same agent who was there on that fateful day, the one assigned to handle the "transfer" of his family's assets, and who had stood there, smiling smugly while Akira signed his father's legacy away.

The new agent looks up to find his colleague standing in front of Akira with that scrutinizing look.

An eyebrow shoots up.

Second Agent:

"Everything okay here?"

The first agent regarded him before nodding toward Akira with a faint hint of recognition in his eyes.

First Agent:

"Yeah… something about this one feels familiar."

The second agent snickers, eyeing Akira for a moment before a spark of familiarity flashes across his face. He looks down at Akira's stance, his posture-something rings a bell.

But Akira doesn't feed him a reaction. He keeps his expression smooth, his voice casual.

Akira:

"Just trying to get this dungeon marked as cleared."

"I didn't think the getting out would be worse than the going in."

The other agent guffaws loudly, stretching a smirk.

Second Agent:

"Newbie, huh?"

"You gotta be brand new if you don't know how anal we are."

"Some of these STARS don't always play by the rules."

Akira clenches his jaw as he watches the two agents exchange a look, one which overflows with an amenity.

He could tell they were just fishing for any semblance of reaction from him-anything that could give him away. He plays along, faking a little nervousness, and shrugs.

Akira:

"Look, I know. I am just not used to all of these...formalities yet."

The first agent folds his arms, leaning farther forward, his suspicion flaring again.

First Agent:

"Funny, you look just like someone who's had enough...experience."

The second agent's smirk fades, replaced by a more intense, calculating look.

The second agent lets out a frustrated breath, taking a step back.

Second Agent:

"Fine boy."

" Just know that if you try anything… questionable in these parts, we'll know about it."

Akira gives them a curt nod, already stepping around them to continue on his way.

Akira:

"Appreciate the warning."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Akira can only hold his stare for a moment before the weight of tension begins to settle in between them.

As Akira turned to leave

The other agent snatches at Akira's wrist, flashing steel in the dim light of the alley before spinning him back around, eyes narrowing and shoulders tensing.

Second Agent:

"Wait a minute"