Meanwhile, After Alec disappeared from the seventh floor. He appeared in front of a beautiful lake.
The lake was calm and there wasn't anything else present around it.
He gazed around but there was nothing. After walking around the lake for a while, he became dizzy and lost consciousness.
After a few minutes, he opened his eyes only to find himself inside a worn-out room.
The room was small and old. A single old bed was present in the middle of the room.
Alec looked around with confusion. He walked outside the room.
While Alec was looking around a voice called out to him from behind.
"Alec you are late again. Hurry up eat something. Everyone else has already eaten. You are the only one left."
Alec turned around and saw an old woman standing a few meters behind him.
She was waving at Alec with a warm smile.
Some small kids were running around the woman.
Alec looked at the old woman and a warm feeling welled up inside his chest. Some tears appeared in the corner of his eyes.
After wiping his eyes Alec smiled and hurriedly approached the woman.
The kids running around the old woman saw Alec and started running toward him.
"Brother you are awake. Let's play after eating!"
A brown-haired young boy grabbed Alec's hand and looked at him with puppy eyes.
With a smile, Alec nodded his head and grabbed a piece of bread from the old woman's hand.
Alec was a little confused but he knew where he was. He was at the orphanage, where he spent his childhood.
The old woman and the kids standing in front of him were his only family when he was young.
The orphanage was small but the few kids living inside the orphanage were well-fed.
Also, the old woman took care of everyone like a mother.
Alec also considered the other kids his brothers and sisters.
He was going to eat the bread but then a notification sounded in front of Alec.
Warning! Unknown energy is detected around the host mind!
An emergency mission is assigned to the host!
'Mission; xX'
Break the Illusion of the eighth-floor guardian.
Reward:
Trial cleared.
1×Sub-Rank increased.
Penalty:
Failed to advance to the next floor.
-1×Sub-Rank.
Time remaining: 7 days.
_________________________
Alec gazed at the system panel and closed his eyes. He was confused but he somewhat knew it was an illusion.
Because the old woman standing in front of him was dead. Even the kids surrounding him were dead.
The moment he saw the old woman, her blood-filled figure appeared inside his head.
With a deep breath, Alec dismissed the System panel.
He knew his new friends who were like a new family were waiting for him outside the Illusion.
He knew he had to do a lot of things. He also needs to take revenge for their death by killing all the monsters but he wanted to spend some time with the old woman and the kids.
With a smile, he devoured the bread and started playing with the kids.
Everyone was laughing and playing but the more time Alec spent inside the Illusion the blurry his memory became.
Even though he remembered everything after seeing the system panel, but after two days, his mind became a little foggy.
After spending three more days inside the Illusion, he forgets the names of his friends. He even forgets their faces.
"Didn't the system say I have 7 days so why?"
Alec questioned with teary eyes. He had to leave because if he stayed inside the Illusion another day. He will probably forget about the system.
With a deep breath. He accepted the fact that the people standing in front of him were dead and the happy image in front of him cracked like a mirror.
...
Meanwhile, After entering the golden portal. Jian appeared on top of a vast mountain.
The mountain was filled with grass and flowers.
Jian looked around the mountain for a while and after finding nothing. He fell asleep because he was tired after destroying so many ugly skeletons.
Even in his sleep, he was cursing the skeletons for their ugliness.
After a few seconds, his thoughts became dizzy and he opened his eyes with annoyance, only to find himself standing inside a big room.
The room was majestic with expensive paintings and carpets lying around everywhere. There were rubies and diamonds embedded in the walls.
A large luxurious bed was placed in the middle of the room. On top of the bed, a beautiful golden-haired woman was reading a book.
Jian looked at himself and became shocked. He was grabbing some broken pieces of the vase in his tiny hands.
"Wasn't I...?"
"?"
With a perplexed expression. He tried to remember what he was going to say but no matter how hard he tried, he didn't remember anything.
Jian threw the vase pieces away and put his middle finger on his cheek.
"I feel like I am forgetting something!"
The woman sitting on top of the bed chuckled when she saw Jian's movements.
While Jian was thinking a cute voice sounded from behind the bed.
"Jian are you going to find me or not."
Jian looked at the place where the voice came and raised his brow.
"Prince Kelvin, I know you are hiding behind the bed!"
"No I am not! Also, I didn't break the vase!"
Jian blinked his red eyes and approached the bed.
"Don't you know there are insects behind the bed? Are you really not coming out!"
"The insects are ugly just like the ugly skeletons...?"
"Ugly skeletons?"
Jian widened his eyes. How can he forget the ugly skeletons?
But then suddenly he looked at the golden-haired woman sitting on top of the bed.
It was Kelvin's mom who died when they were young. Memories of the past appeared inside Jian's head and he started crying.
After Kelvin, she was the only person who was close to Jian because Jian's parents died in an accident.
The golden-haired woman looked at Jian worriedly.
"What happened Jian? Why are crying, come here!"
Kelvin also came out from the bed and approached Jian.
"Are you crying because I lied about the vase?"
"I am sorry. Don't cry."
Kelvin started crying as well.
Jian looked at Kelvin and started crying more.
"You looked ugly while crying. Even uglier than the ugly skeletons."
The golden-haired woman sitting on top of the bed sighed and stood up. She approached the kids and wiped their tears.
"Why are you both crying because of a vase? I can buy 100 new vases don't you know I am the Queen."
Kelvin chuckled when he heard her mom.
"Yes! We are rich!"
He kicked the broken pieces of the vase away and looked at Jian with a smile.
"Let's go play outside!"
Jian shook his head and suddenly hugged the golden-haired woman.
The woman was confused but she patted his back with assurance.
"It's okay."
After calming down Jian stepped back and the image in front of him cracked.
