"Well for starters you didn't commit a crime if that is what you are wondering. You acted out of self defense. As for being on their list... I am sure that with the reputation your Power has, you're already on alot of lists. Not all of those lists are bad, mind you, but still right now at your level you don't have to worry about being approached by stronger opponents". Henry acted pretty nonchalant about all of this, including the fact that they just killed someone. If anything, Henry was a bit impressed that they were able to hold their own for this long against this form of trap, even if it was many against two.

"As for what we are looking for... if the Void Wizard did indeed send you here, then it will probably be one of those things that will just be known when its found. That person is a mystery, but knows what they are doing. Still..." he gave the three Gamers a look over. "Contacted by the Messengers of Gaia and the Void Wizard. That certainly will give you guys quite a good reputation here in the abyss. Who knows, maybe no more hunters will bother you if they know that you have incredibly powerful connections. Sure the Messengers may not count, but I wouldn't say that the Void Wizard isn't watching out for you all possibly". With that said and done, Henry looked towards the way forward.

"Anyway, we need to keep moving. It seems the distraction team is overwhelming a good number of the tougher opponents, but that doesn't mean that there won't be others. Lets go". Luckily, the recovery abilities of the Gamers were rather quick, so within about the five minutes of rest that they had, moving on was a bit easier knowing that they were all fully healed for now, even Henry's wounds being healed thanks to Ren's spell.

The next hallway was, fortunately, filled with giant piles of nothing, as were the stairs upward, which again Henry paused to do the strange glowy eye thing to scout the way up the stairs for any possible ambushes. Fortunately there were none.

"What is that strange Skill you are using?" Ren was curious now, thinking that whatever it was, it was incredibly useful.

"Its called Wizard's Sight. Some who are born with magic have it as a natural gift, but it can be learned through alot of practice". Henry's explanation was simple, since they didn't have much time to sit and chat, Ren accepting that explanation and making that a goal to investigate and learn when they were done with this place. Indeed, Ren was being optimistic, thinking that they could all get out of here alive and well as their group moved onto the first floor.

---

Little did Henry's group know, as this was during the time they were fighting the two Mages, that they weren't going to get out of here all alive. Keiko tried her best, but soon enough the HP of Erica dropped past what it should in the negatives. Erica's body shimmered for a few moments before it simply vanished into thin air, Keiko's eyes widening as all that was left in her place was a small treasure chest, this looking like the loot chests that boss mobs dropped.

Just like that, in a single instant, a Gamer had died.

Whether or not she respawned somewhere else or was truly dead was uncertain, but a window had appeared stating that 'Erica had left the party', Ren guessing at the time that she might have formed her own party or something with the non-gamer they were with.

---

As Henry's group walked onto the third floor, again they would see nothing but a hallway that went forward and a door. Unfortunately that door was locked, but Henry placed his hands on it and used that Wizard's Sight again to see through it. "Some sort of storage room. We can come here later after we investigate the rest of this place. Besides, its sealed by a pretty powerful magic barrier, dispelling it would take too much time".

Again, this group was having a huge lucky streak here. They encountered no one as they progressed forward, the end of the hallway being a dead end, so they turned left, and soon arrived at another set of large double doors, Henry stopping them there.

"Alright, this place looks promising, its sealed though by a barrier. If Keiko were here she could make quick work of it, but she's not as according to Saya..." he stopped for a moment, eyes widening a bit, but he shook his head for now, looking back towards the group, that expression on his face not having been seen thanks to his back being to the Gamers. "They are fighting some monsters. Ill try and set up a way to unseal this barrier, in the meantime ready yourselves and if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask them now as you may not get another chance until this is all said and done".

Mike still wasn't in a very good mood. He had come here, ready to put all of his hard work and training to the test, and so far he was failing hard. It was pretty disheartening. Sure, hearing about the storage room (aka loot den) cheered him up a bit at the thought of getting some nice gear, but it still didn't make up for his lost stats. Turning on Zandaka, he began to Meditate. This way, he'd have his buff up before the battle, without going into it with his MP too low. As he meditated, he began to think about his Spirit Blade skill; as far as he could see it, Spirit Blade was one of his most important skills, right up there with Zandaka. It was basically a skill that summoned a weapon that kept getting stronger. No needing to worry about getting disarmed, or it's durability. In fact, the only problem with it was the massive mana drain. However, he had noticed that Zandaka's cost went down as he leveled it, so he had to hope that the same was true for Spirit Blade. Mike had no doubt that if he could overcome the mana cost, that it would be better then any weapon he would find. Especially since item drops only seemed to happen with bosses

Those monsters were strong, he managed to deplete the HP bar of the monster with his attacks, but not completely. The horrid monsters did not attack that much luckily. However their attacks probably are devastating. He guessed that he could completely kill the enemy if he had used the Ban Breathing Technique. But it is hard to remember all the abilities he had, maybe it was smart to check his list of abilities before he headed into the battle. Silas jumped a bit back to be sure that he didn't get hit.

Silas glanced over at the other members in his team. Sasha seemed to do okay, like himself, she had landed some good attacks with her OP energy gun, or whatever she called it. Keiko was also doing fine, despite not knowing anything about her, he knew she was the strongest in this group. He then looked at Erica... Silas eyes widened. Her HP bar was as low as could get... and when that happens...

She disappeared. Erica just exploded in a mass of particles and vanished from this planet. Like everyone else a window appeared before him 'Erica left the party'. The others might not have realized... but Erica not only had left the party, but also this life. No, Silas didn't know her very well, but she was a part of this team. Nonetheless Silas got furious. He imagined fire on the inside of his body, He stormed at the closest tumor, which happened to be the one that was weak on health right now, and stabbed him right through its body to release his anger.

Silas, with all of his immense rage, channeled and focused it like a burning fire within and with that used it to stab the nearest helpless foe. The creature was quite weakened, and in alot of pain, but it was about to receive even more pain from Silas' blade, this one and the one that actually killed Erica still being the only two left after Erica pretty much destroyed, or so it looked like anyway, two of them.

---

Silas' Wrath: 0 (Critical!)

---

Somehow, as Silas imagined a fire within, he could feel something rising forth along with his anger. As he rushed the blade towards the creature, which hit without much effort thanks to it being chained and thus helpless, his katana, let out some strange power as he stabbed into the beast with his anger. Perhaps it was the Inner Ki Technique and his ability to thus channel Ki through that, spiritual power through the Tamashi no Nessho, which was a technique that burned spiritual power to increase one's fighting capabilities like fuel on a fire, and even the Breathing Technique that all aided this.

But the moment he struck, what looked like some form of greenish, bluish fire, but more ethereal really, burned the beast as he struck with the inner fire of his rage. The attack easily drained the rest of its HP as he impaled the beast straight through, this strange fire-like energy burning and blasting the creature apart from within, draining a good bit of Silas' MP, but also finishing that one "tumor" in the process as it was no more, the circle that summoned it still being there, but it was gone for now.

After Silas killed that beast, a few windows appeared for him, a small bit of Silas' HP also drained after that powerful strike.









Silas could still feel, if he was still pissed off that is, this fiery, although it didn't feel hot, power burning within him, Keiko just staring, a bit stunned and just utterly... shocked... at how Erica had just disappeared. It really was no time to be impressed with Silas' new power, Keiko probably not even noticing it really. She was more simply... overwhelmed... by the fact that someone had just vanished or died... or whatever the hell just happened, in her arms, leaving behind some strange treasure chest nonetheless.

With still one creature left, this one being at full health, it was time to avenge Erica and try to figure out just what to do next.

Lucian accepted what Henry had told him, and carried on. There was no poit in fretting really, and as he had said, if the void wizard was looking out for him, and had such a reputation as was mentioned, it wasn't likely that anyone would be able to get through to them that they didn't stand a chance to beat. It was a comforting thought really.

As they continued, Henry used a unique skill to scout ahead, one that Ren seemed to be interested in. One that Lucian was also keen in, and never put too much thought into. Sensory magic, and ways to detect. Truly his mind was starting to think more so on this matter, and he certainly had time for it, as he did look around as they progressed, but it seemed that there was nothing really in their way, a room that could have some items in it, and finally some doors that had a barrier on them.

"Well, if we are going to get ready, then should we pre-emptively strike when the doors open if we see anyone?" Lucian made sure Rai and Gnome were out right away this time, and gave them a nod, then looked back at the door. If anyone tries to harm people important to me, they will die...people important to me? He thought for a moment, then looked over his merry little group, raising his eyebrow at his own train of thoughts. Then stopping as his gaze met Ren. Yeah, I guess the kid is important to me. in his mind, he shrugged, then he got his mind back on track. Mentally prepared, and with his two elementals out, he was ready to strike.

"Shit... shitshitshitshit!" Sasha stammered in disbelief. She was still focused on the enemy at hand, but she very distinctly saw Erica go up in a puff of sparkles. While she wasn't directly concerned by her... death, it did drive home How dangerous the situation was. Silas finished off the first spirit, so she fired another barrage of energy revolver shots into the last remaining spirit, remembering to turn on the breathing technique this time.

"Keiko! What happened?" Sasha asked, hoping she wouldn't confirm the worst.

Sasha first made sure to activate the breathing technique, that familiar surge of energy flowing through her returning, strengthening her abilities as she fired another barrage two barrages of revolver shots. Unfortunately for this time, this last one was at full health and not bound by chains, so hitting it with both barrages may not have been a walk in the park like before.

---

Sasha Revolver 1: 66 - 41 Projectile = 25

Miss

Revolver 2: 6 - 41 = -35 (Max Damage!)

Damage Dealt: 110

---

The first barrage of shots nearly hit, but in the end they missed as the spirit barely moved out of the way in time. The second line barrage of six shots was spot on, making the creature howl out in pain. Then Sasha asked Keiko the question, bringing Keiko back from her stunned silence as she stood up.

Glaring at the creature with a mixture of anger, disgust, and also a hint of sadness, she clapped her hands together, before spreading them apart slightly, but still keeping her fingers and the bottom of her hands touching, as if to create a hole with her hands. "Begone from this world you foul creation". Electricity suddenly began to spark to life in the 'hole' that she made with her hands, which she then thrust towards the beast, the bolt streaming and tearing through the air faster than one could blink.

---

Keiko Attack: -29 (Max Damage)

Damage Dealt: 270

---

The beast howled out as the blast of lightning slammed into it, but that was not all Keiko did. Right after she launched her blast, she moved forward with surprising agility, one of her hands glowing with some form of faint, golden light, the girl proceeding to then literally palm strike the creature in one of the creature's many faces that were on its monstrous body.

---

Keiko Palm Strike: -9 (Max Damage)

Damage Dealt: 120

---

While the palm strike itself didn't seem all too strong, the light that was on her palm blasted into the creature, making it howl and twist its form as the light moved and began to constrict its being, tearing away the dark, horrid essences that made up the being. The beast tried to resist, but it was out of strength, or HP in the Gamers' case, the beast crying out before it soon vanished in a flash of light, Keiko throwing a Talisman at the remaining summoning circles, making them vanish.

After that she turned back to Sasha. "I... don't know what happened to her... bodies just don't disappear like that..." She seemed quite confused as well. "But... I felt the life force leaving her body... so I'm pretty sure that..." she lowered her head, averting her eyes and staying quiet. She saw the chest that was left behind, walked over to it and handed it to Silas. "I don't know if this has to do with your strange ability or not, so she could be alive... I don't know, but for now, you two should turn back. Its clearly too dangerous for you to be here". She didn't want to belittle their efforts or strength, but her expression was serious as she turned away and began to move onward, hoping that Silas and Sasha didn't follow.

After killing off the first monster Silas panted, quickly inhaling for a few seconds before clearing his mind. Silas was never the type to get so frustrated over a death, at least he thought that would be the case. Apparently Erica's death hit him. After the second tumor was killed, Keiko pretty much confirmed Erica's death. Silas saw the pain on Sasha's face, as she probably hoped it wouldn't be true. Keiko gave the chest to Silas and told him, and Sasha, to get out of this place.

The chest. Loot is only dropped when the enemy or ally is killed in games. The chest appearing in front of them must be a confirmation of Erica's death. Silas couldn't believe what had happened. He found himself in a dangerous place, this Gamer ability was just dragging him down further into the Abyss. For his own safety and for Tomoyo he had to get out of this place. But... he couldn't. He couldn't let Keiko continue on her own, no matter how strong she is. And whether Sasha would accompany him would be up to her. Silas placed the chest in his inventory and turned to Sasha.

"I know this is a dangerous place. But we can't just let Keiko go further in this shithole alone." Silas said, his behavior having returned to his monotonous voice, though a you could sense he was worried about Keiko. "You're not going to tell me that you're going back... especially after we have come so far."

Keiko turned around as Silas moved over to her and told her that she wasn't going to tell him to go back. She didn't want to say 'this has nothing to do with you' since, with the death of one of their friends, it did have something to do with them. "Fine, have it your way". She suddenly moved backwards, two Talismans appearing in her hands. She then threw them onto the walls beside her so that they were across from each other. With a wave of her hand, a line of energy connected the two talismans before a glowing wall would now be between her, Silas, and Sasha.

"I cannot let you come along though, but... if you can break this barrier then I will accept your help. If not... please turn back, there is nothing wrong with leaving to live another day". She had an apologetic tone to her voice, as she didn't want to do this, but saw no other choice. After that she began to go up the stairs to the next floor, leaving Sasha and Silas the choice of either turning back or trying to break the barrier Keiko had created so that they could advance.

"I... hell no." Sasha said, her tone much harsher than she intended. She didn't want to show weakness in this situation, even though she felt like running away right this moment. This whole gamer business just got a lot more serious. No, it had always been serious, she had always just been in denial. She looked Silas in the eye. Sasha didn't peg him for such a white knight, but she wasn't about to let him go alone. There was also the rest of the group. "Of course not."

Sasha raised her arms and began blasting away at the barrier. Whatever it was, she didn't think it would stop them for long.

It was virtually impossible to miss the barrier, so there was no issue with aiming, Keiko having moved on ahead and up the stairs by this point. The problem though with hitting the barrier was that, despite how many Mana Revolvers she was firing off, and slowly draining MP in the process, 6 MP to be exact with each shot volley, the barrier didn't show any wear or tear after the first hit. A 0 was present as the shot hit, a red one, usually a red number being the indication for dealt damage. This time, apparently there was no damage at all dealt as she shot the barrier. Plus keeping the Breathing Technique, if she had it up, was also an MP drainer as well.

Still, if the two Gamers wanted to get through the apparently very tough barrier they could either try and keep smacking away at it or stop for a moment to try and think of a plan to either get past the barrier or around it.

Henry finished his own preparations, Ren also having used Meditation to bring his MP up to full and prepare all of his own abilities. Henry looked over the three Gamers, but then heard some other footsteps. He didn't ready himself in alarm, since the owner of those footsteps was revealed. It was Keiko, but there was something strange there. She came alone, without the Gamers she had gone in here with.

"Sorry that i'm late... had some other things to deal with..." She seemed a bit down, and Henry picked up on this.

"Where are the three you brought with you?"

"I put up a barrier and told them to stay behind... since its too dangerous for them here, hopefully they'll get the hint and go home while they still can". She said nothing about Erica, but Henry already knew, as Sayo had informed them all about it. He decided that it was best to keep the other Gamers out of the loop about it, lest they be distracted by the loss. "You should do the same for these three". Keiko muttered this quietly so that only Henry could hear.

"Well, ill trust your judgement, but these three managed to take out both a Necromancer and a Spatial Mage on their own... granted I had to deal with all of their summons, I trust their strength and their ability to control alot of summons. The numbers will help us since the Distraction Team is still busy cleaning out the place".

Keiko said nothing, but just gave a nod. It was clear that she thought that the Gamers shouldn't be here, but she also trusted Henry's judgement of them, especially with the fact that they took out both a Necromancer and a Spatial Mage. She then turned towards the sealed door.

"Ill make quick work of this, but you all better be ready".

"We are". Ren spoke now as he stood up.

Keiko gave a nod and placed her hands upon the door, her hands glowing with a green light. Chanting a spiritual chant, the door appeared to have cracks in it for a few moments, the cracks growing bigger as her hands shone a bit more brightly. After about ten seconds, the cracks expanding the entire time, the door 'shattered' like glass, another door appearing in its place.

"It was a Phantasm door..."

"A Phantasm door?" Henry seemed legitimately surprised. "These Hunters aren't ordinary ones if they can also get something like that..." He looked back to the Gamers now. "I think the Void Wizard really was onto something when he told you all to come here..." and Henry was glad that they were here, but at the same time also agreed that they shouldn't be here.

"Anyway... lets enter now that the door has been disarmed". He gave a nod to Keiko, who opened the door. The two of them walked in first, followed by Ren and the other two if they still chose to come.

Once inside, they saw what appeared to be an incredibly gigantic room, and at the other end was a desk with a robed figure sitting behind it, his robes hiding his face.

"So... the intruders managed to make it all the way here and they broke my Phantasm door... and even murdered my Spatial Mage..." The man, judging from his voice, did not sound happy. This was clearly all going against whatever plans he had. "It seems like if you want anything done right these days... you do it yourself!". Suddenly he was now in the middle of the room in a blink of light, a ring similar to the ones the two enemies Ren's group fought had on his gloved finger.

Above his head was Taichi Akihiko, Lv 31 Blank Mage. This was a strange class, none that Ren had ever heard before, that's for certain.

"But first, to separate you all". The man smirked, but Henry and Keiko were already acting as they weren't going to give this opponent any quarter.

It was too late though. With a snap, just like the room with the spatial mage, the room was split into three 'sections', Keiko in one, Henry in the second, and the Gamers in the center one.

"Well well well..." The man now reappeared in the center section, floating int he air. "It appears that I have all three of you Gamers to myself... the auction is abuzz with information on you all, and I paid good money to get what little information there is. So..." he held out his hands as he landed on the ground, a strange white energy enveloping his hands.

"Lets see what you all are made of, cmon, ill even let you all go first~" Only his mouth could be seen thanks to the robes, but it was clear that he had a smirk on his face. It was quite obvious that he was planning something. What he was planning was unclear, so Ren decided to test the waters with a simple 'Mana Bolt!'

His first, and weakest, attack skill, but Ren didn't want to fall for another trap like before.

The bolt seemed to stop in midair right before the man, as if blocked by some barrier, but before it could be dispelled by it, he reached out and grabbed the bolt, his hands glowing a bit more brightly as he seemed to have... absorbed it...

"Heh... thanks for the treat, now cmon... who's next?" This man was toying with them and had a plan up his sleeves. The gamers would need to be careful as this would undoubtedly be their toughest battle yet.

This guy just absorbed Ren's spell. That was a very bad sign. Not only was this guy much stronger looking then the Necromancer and Spatial Mage from before, but hecould just absorb magic like that. While Mike wasn't sure what it's limitations were, he wasn't too keen of finding out himself. Because of what happened last time, he wasn't planing on charging in again, but that would leave him with very few options, since he was neglecting his only two ranged skills. Not only that, but the Necromance had made him a lot weaker with that curse, so he would stand even less of a chance of living if he just rushed in. With all that in mind, Mike decided to go on the defensive. First he used Observe, and then he prepared himself for the attack that he knew was coming

When Mike used Observe, the following window would appear, giving Mike some basic data on their opponent, a window displaying that his Observe Skill went up in Level by one after he had used it just then also appearing.



For some reason, unlike perhaps other people Mike has used Observe on with the same leveled Observe Skill, not a whole lot of information was given other than a basic view of his stats and a glance at what his magic could be. Perhaps it was because he was a bit more powerful, but there was also Sayo, who had been immune to Observe before and she was only Level 5. Also he was probably on the same level of strength as the Enforcers they came with. So perhaps the Observe Skill had its limits after all at certain levels.

So erring on the side of caution, Mike decided to put his guard up and simply wait and see what their opponent would do next.

"Well, if you paid good money, then why not simply talk business first? Clearly you desire something, and we are also after something, so lets see what can be had?" Lucian would try a bit more of a diplomatic approach to things, at the very least it might buy some well needed time for the others to get there. Lucian didn't think highly on the thought of the other gamers leaving, nor did he on being separated from the two that helped them all get this far in. He stood at what would appear to be ease, the fact of his gamer mind really being the source of comfort for Lucian, and having his two elementals at the ready. "There is clearly something about us you either want to know, want for yourself, or want destroyed, correct? So, one of those or you simply have a unique taste for killing boredom, and I would suggest a video game next time if that is the case, but anyhow." He started to pace slowly in a small space, "So, you let us take the first swing, we shall let you be the first at the negotiation table." He raised a brow at Taichi Akihiko, awaiting a response.

Lucian Negotiation: 2 (Critical Success)

---

This was certainly a pleasant surprise. "Hmm, instead of attacking the criminal indirectly responsible for the death of one of your friends, you instead decide to sit and chat with him".

Ren's eyes widened as this was said, and the Blank Mage clearly took notice as he raised his hand over his mouth in a sarcastic manner.

"Oops, did I say that? Yea, that one girl... Erica was it? She's dead, done in by those tainted spirits I had set up as traps. Shame that the body just... disappeared though, it would have been excellent experimental material". The man gave a smirk, lowering his own hands for now. He was clearly amused by Lucian's attempts at negotiating, so he decided to humor Lucian and 'negotiate'.

"What, you're Enforcer friends didn't tell you? Guess they didn't think you could handle the truth, the truth that you all have no power". The man waved his hand, a chair appearing out of nowhere as he sat upon it, three chairs appearing for the Gamers as well.

"But I digress. In truth, your feeble and naive attempts at negotiating amuse me to no end, so I think i'll humor them and let you buy all of the time you need". This man was no idiot by any means, and had clearly seen through part of Lucian's ruse.

"The truth is, i'm not entirely all that interested in you Gamers. While yes, you'd all make nice little prizes as experimental material... right now you all are too weak to mean anything. you have an interesting power and a few unique connections for ones as weak as all of you". He made sure to put an emphasis on 'weak' there. "If I truly had wanted you, I would have sent better men then those two idiotic small fry after you".

Ren clenched his fist, but remained calm. So those two Hunters were small fry after all. That was a pleasing thought, to be nearly killed by small fry twice, despite having them outnumbered.

"But I digress, once again. As I mentioned before, i'm not after you three. This place is merely a base to take down a much... bigger prize, but since you are up for negotiating, lets talk business, shall we?" He gave a pleasant, yet not so pleasant smile that would send chills up anyone's spine. It was a smile that was disguised to be pleasant, but hid obvious nefarious intent.

"If there's anything I would want from you all... its your bodies, plain and simple. Normally I would just..." he suddenly vanished, reappearing right in Lucian's face, his own face inches away from his as in a tone oozing with slime he whispered 'kill you..." before vanishing and reappearing back in his own seat. "But it appears from your dearly departed Erica, that killing you makes your body go 'poof'", and to demonstrate a point he made the common hand gesture appropriate with said expression. "So i'll strike you a deal. Ill let you live, and promise to make your experiments as painless as possible... if you join me and serve me. Its as simple as that".

He suddenly snapped his fingers, three pieces of paper appearing before the three Gamers. "All you have to do is sign there... and ill spare your lives. Easy enough, right?" He now sat back, and awaited their individual responses.

Ren simply said nothing. He already knew his response, but wondered how Mike and Lucian were going to respond, because he really didn't want to have to fight both of them if their responses were different.

The name Erica didn't ring any of Mike's internal bells. While he did think it was sad that someone had died, he had a hard time grieving for someone he didn't know. It helped that he knew that this man was only saying these things to attack them psychologically. Sure, he knew that he was pretty weak, but he only had these powers for around a week, so of course he wasn't that strong yet. Maybe it was because his favorite genre of games was RPG, but Mike wasn't upset about that at all. In fact, it was part of the appeal to him. While he wanted to say that to this man as a way of countering his words, he knew better; him calling them weak could very well be an attempt to goad them into giving away information about themselves.

As for the deal; the idea of betraying the people who trusted him and becoming someone who captured people to be sold as slaves sounded vile to him. However, not as vile as being experimented on. Mike had been in so many hospitals, had so many drugs put into his system, and been cut open so many times, that the idea of being experimented on nearly made him lose control and rush the man in a blind rage. However, he managed to catch himself. "Dying in battle sounds much more pleasant then being a lab rat" he replied, his voice soul chillingly cold

"Tempting offer," Lucian spoke thick with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes, "And here is my counter proposal, We challenge you to a fight, we win, you pack up and get lost, we loot your place, You win, you can have me as your tool willingly, till someone other than myself ends you without my aid, or I die. The other gamers get to carry on as normal people, and you never have anything to do with them again after your business is done here, in any manner." Lucian spoke in a serious tone, and was putting himself out on the line. "Easy enough right? The weaklings go home, no harm no foul, you get one for your own purposes. All you have to do is beat the weaklings without killing them. All games have rules and conditions to play them, and we are Gamers. Do you accept the new terms and challenge?" Lucian raised his eyebrow at him, it was true that they are weak, but being a weapon and tool of someone would be better than having his friends die on him. He already brought someone to death from their group, as it was him who initially brought Erica to the other Gamers.

"All in all, we aren't going to be your experiments. Understood?" Ren responded now, glad that the other two Gamers felt the same way he did. Of course, who wouldn't in this situation? They had heard absolutely horrible things about hunters, one of them being if they were captured, death would be the best outcome. Normally such an expression would be an exaggeration, but in a world of supernatural powers such as this, it would be hard to say whether or not that expression truly was an exaggeration. Regardless of the case, Ren had no intention of joining or being experimental material, even if the experiments were supposedly going to be 'painless'.

Taichi was silent, for all of a couple of seconds, before he suddenly burst out laughing, nearly falling backwards out of his chair in the process. "Oh my god... t-that's... so precious". He couldn't stop laughing, Ren clenching his fists. It was a good time to attack, but he held back. The man teleported in front of their faces in a matter of moments. It was clear that they were somewhat outmatched here in terms of ability, plus Ren wasn't sure if the man would just absorb his magical attacks as he did that Mana Bolt. After a few more long seconds of laughing, he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Oh... ohh... ugh, sorry bout that". He sighed heavily, regaining his composure a bit. "Damn though, that was hilarious. I haven't had a good laugh like that in a while". Taichi grinned, but that grin turned into a small smirk. "I mean, the fact that you guys think that you have a choice. That is utterly priceless". He stood up, and with a snap of his fingers the chairs and tables vanished, Ren managing to stand before the chair fell. Luckily the reflexes of the other two as well, albeit barely for Lucian, allowed them to stand and not fall on their asses.

"You are all so naive. You come here, with little power and some big friends and suddenly think that you can talk terms with me?" At this point he was looking at Lucian. "Seriously, what's up with that shit? Its a great joke, but if you're trying to be serious, your just shit out of luck". He was pretty much mocking their negotiation attempts now. Still, if anything these attempts did buy time. Some time for hopefully others to show up and help.

"Nonetheless, if its a battle you want... its a battle you shall have..." The man smirked and suddenly snapped his fingers after teleporting back a few yards away from their small group.

---

Magic Attack (Target- Lucian): 25 (Hit!)

Damage Dealt: 133

Magic Attack (Target- Mike): -40 (Max Damage Hit!)

Damage Dealt: 150

Magic Attack (Target- Ren): -32 (Max Damage Hit!)

Damage Dealt: 150

---

Before the three of them could even blink, green swords of energy just like the one the Spatial Mage used, only a bit more powerful, were sticking out of all three of them. Lucian's, however; missed his vitals just by a little, sparing his HP bar from hitting 0 by a mere 2 HP. A little more though, and it would have cleaved straight through Lucian and straight up killed him.

"See what I mean, no means of defending yourselves. You're just a buncha weaklings..." He snapped his fingers once again.

---

Magic (Lucian): 26 (Hit!)

Resistance: Failed

Magic (Mike): 30 (Hit!)

Resistance: Failed

Magic (Ren): Fumbled

---

The flashes of light that appeared from his hands were chains, leaping out and moving. Unfortunately, neither Mike nor Lucian were swift enough to dodge them, nor were they strong enough to break the chains of magic that suddenly just appeared, the chains cold like death, their bodies being immobilized and unable to move. Ren got lucky though. Instead of a third set of chains attacking him, the ring on his finger, similar to the ones the Spatial Mage and Necromancer possessed, sent a strange, ugly, black glow up his arm, making him shudder for a moment and grit his teeth, as if he was stunned for just a moment.

Ren took this as a chance and began preparing the Healing Wave spell, something that took a bit of time to perform, but they all seriously needed the healing, especially Lucian.

Fortunately though, both being stunned and their negotiation attempts did, fortunately by some incredible grace of luck, by them time. Suddenly, from nowhere, a blur sped past the three Gamers and struck the blank mage straight in his stunned face, dealing a whopping 200 damage and throwing him into the opposite wall. With a big smirk on his face was Touma Urameshi, one of the enforcers, the Grappler. That punch had also made something around him shatter like glass, which was probably why it didn't deal as much damage as it should have as the force of that flaming punch broke whatever barrier was around him most likely. Touma had some wounds on his body and a few burns probably from other fights in this place, but couldn't look more excited. "Finally, an opponent who ca--" Before he could either finish or throw another punch though, he suddenly vanished, just as Henry and Keiko did when they arrived in this room.

Following that, right as he managed to stagger up, was a shadow rising from the floor, and a pair of black claws racking across his back, making the man cry out loudly as they tore his robes a bit and left several bad looking, black gashes across his back now, his clothes torn slightly. That was another 300 damage, a bit deeper of a strike this time that had some dark power behind it. Nero was standing there, behind him, having risen up from his shadow, literally. Unfortunately, before he could make an instant followup attack, he too vanished.

Finally came Keiichi, who broke the chains on the Gamers, but before he could lift another finger, he too vanished, all three of them having technically arrived at the same time.

Ren, at this time, completed his spell, the casting of it anyway, making the incredible damage all three of them had suffered vanished, the Healing Wave spell targeting Lucian to make his wounds vanish, but Ren and Mike still had some damage, having only healed 49 HP from the Spell's power, but still, they were better off than Lucian was after he had gotten hit.

"Dammit... damn it all. Your friends may have helped you, but no one else can help you now, in fact, without that... interference... you would have been at my mercy!" He seemed a bit pissed now, his cool a bit gone by this point. Fortunately for the Gamers, he was just about to come out of being stunned, so they would have ample opportunity to strike, Ren taking the few seconds he had after his spell's completion to summon his demons and begin casting of a different spell.

The others would get their moment to strike now. With 500 of his HP, or 1/3rd essentially, gone and whatever barrier was around him down, the Gamers would stand a bit of a better chance all thanks to Lucian buying them time by getting him to negotiate and him stunning himself just then with his own magic, something he was just beginning to come out of.

Silas sighed and wiped the sweat off his forehead after doing a few slashes against the barrier Keiko had set up. (I assume it will never break) He turned to Sasha again, still holding his katana in his hand, prepared for any monsters that would appear. "I don't think we will ever break this thing. There must be a way around or something, we can't just let Keiko go on by herself... and aside from that, I want to know who this Void Wizard is. Why has he taken such an interest into us?" he questioned. "Anyhow, got any ideas Sasha?"