Ultimate Gamer System: Factory Must Grow!

In the end, the monster only managed to go fifteen meters away from where it nearly slaughtered Callane's group before the might of this place's owner reached it.

Watching how this powerful monster, an entity she could barely crush the leg of, died just like that, all Callane could do was gulp her saliva down and stretch her eyes open.

'I know whoever owns this place is on a whole other level, but...'

For the second time in quick succession, she swallowed her own spit, just thinking about this place's owner proving enough to make her shake.

'Even if it means repeating myself... What the hell was that?!'

The shot that left such a massive impression on Callane, however, didn't appear to be anything special. Quite the opposite of that, given how the same attack continued for just a little bit longer before the whole field turned silent again.

This time, however, rather than relaxing down in hopes this whole ordeal was now over, Callane opted to brace herself, fully expecting the situation to change yet again.

'As much as I hate it... There's no way he could've survived out here, with monsters like that lurking on every corner.'

This wasn't the thought Callane was willing to accept personally. To determine the death of her childhood friend, destined partner, and almost a lover through nothing but circumstance stood in opposition to the very core of who she was.

Normally, she wouldn't dare even think about giving up all the way until the moment she found and collected his corpse at the very least!

But the Outlands...

No, this place defied all the rules Callane thought she knew. And, as if that wasn't enough, she wasn't here just as herself, but as a leader of a unit that had already lost some of its members.

'In here, I'm no longer responsible for just my life,' she thought, gritting her teeth as an overwhelming sense of powerlessness washed through her soul, 'while here, I'm also responsible for all those who followed me!'

Callane gritted her teeth to the point her jaw joints started to hurt, threatening to dislocate if she didn't relax her mouth.

"Everyone..." Rather than a call, what came out from Callane's mouth was just a hoarse whine, only now forcing Callane to look into herself and realize just how big of a toll just that one attack of hers took.

Sure, it was a perfect leaping strike, a technique she normally struggled to execute in proper form or with proper circulation of her Qi, but...

'Wait, how is that technique making my voice hoarse?' she squinted her eyes, puzzled by the missing logic between the connection she naturally drew, 'wait, could it be...'

For how simple of a discovery it was, it left Callane stunned.

'Is my voice hoarse because of how much I screamed out today?!'

Such a thing would normally be unthinkable for the precious young lady of the Perell clan.

Normally, even her faintest whisper would be heralded in all directions of the world for all of her servants to hear, repeat, and follow.

But again, the Outlands weren't a place where the normal rules applied.

And it was right here, stuck in the middle of the territory of some unknown powerhouse, facing the powerful monsters that said powerhouse battled en masse... that Callane realized her actual shortcomings.

Yet, before she could even look back upon them and reflect, a weirdly strange yet still familiar voice filled the air, causing her to freeze on the spot.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my claim?!"

The owner, definitely male, of the voice wasn't shouting. The tonality of his words was like that of a random person picking up a fight while heavily drinking in an inn, but...

Through some way, a way that had absolutely nothing to do with mana or Qi, this same, provocative voice was amplified to the level where it could be considered an actual attack!

Still, hearing this voice, Callane could do nothing but slowly turn in the direction it was coming from, her face a perfect mask of shock and disbelief... and confusion.

For right now, standing on a massive pillar that wasn't there just a moment ago, was no one else but Theo himself!

Theodore Evilbane.

The man whom she organized this entire reckless expedition to save from the Outlands.

A genius magician capable of unleashing the highest tier of mystical magic that baffled even the imperial archmages.

A troubled young man who picked up everyone else's slack and stained his hands with the blood and life of his brother to put a stop to his carnage, despite fully knowing the consequences of doing so.

A powerhouse capable of battling off entire hordes of monsters on the level where just one was enough to screw Callane's whole group up.

He was all of those things, and yet...

And yet, right now, as he stood up on the pillar of a perfectly white stone that appeared seemingly out of nowhere, he... He didn't look like Theo at all, for there was no sign of recognition in those eyes he used to look down upon Callane's men and the girl herself.

He was all of those familiar things, and yet, he was also perfectly strange, refusing to recognize Callane, whom he pretty much grew up with. Yet, as weird as it might be, there was no sign of hesitation, doubt, or hate in his eyes that would indicate some sort of reason for his refusal.

It was as if... he truly didn't recognize her at all!

And so, incapable of just processing all of those unexpected factors, sides, circumstances...

Callane fell down to her knees, staring blankly at her childhood friend and old crush.

And the only word that managed to sneak out from between her lips was the lone, "Theo...?"

*******

[Challengers Killed: 100/100]

[Wave 2/3 Finished!]

[Boss Wave (3/3) will start in: 05:00]

Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

[4:59]

[4:58]

'Huh?'

Theo stared blankly at the system notifications, not even realizing when the kill counter reached the full hundred slain monsters.

He paid too much attention to those strangers lingering around his land to notice it happening, only getting the realization when the system's notification appeared right before his eyes.

"So, there's a break before the last wave, huh?" Theo muttered to himself, breathing out a sigh of relief when all of his guns suddenly went silent, allowing him some respite from the constant noise of them shooting.

Even though no gunpowder was used in the production of those shells, each of those shells appeared to break the barrier of sound the very moment they left the gun's barrel.

That, or the principle those guns used was simply too foreign to Theo for him to understand how it worked or where that noise was even coming from to begin with.

Still, right now, the apparent source of those noises was the least thing Theo could care about.

After all, with the system already announcing the next wave to be a boss one and by extrapolating the way in which the waves developed thus far...

'If they happen to be in the way of the boss, there will be absolutely nothing I can do for them. And that means...'

Taking in a deep breath, Theo allowed himself just a few more seconds of deliberation before dashing down his control tower, through the gate, and then into the apparent wilderness of his outer perimeter.

He only slowed down as he actually approached the group, only to whip out his universal tool. A moment of playing around with shapes later, he erected a simple concrete pillar with a convenient staircase hidden at its back.

By now, after the many, many times he rushed up and down the stairs leading to his underground factory, scaling those steps only took him a short moment.

[3:12]

'Shit,' Theo cursed in his thoughts, already calculating the time he needed to return to his control tower, leaving him only about a minute left.

Yet, pretty much as soon as he climbed up to the top of his pillar and stood up only to then look down at the people gathered below...

'Up close, it looks quite a lot more gruesome,' Theo thought, noticing the dead and injured, struggling to keep his face straight.

Still, he didn't have the time to get himself used to it, both because of the coming boss... and because the group finally took notice of him too.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my claim?!"

The words that came out from Theo's mouth weren't researched, weren't a product of a cold calculation aimed at getting a desired reaction.

With the time constraints urging him to go back right this very moment, Theo... went with nothing more than his honest feelings, caused by the unexpected disturbance during the biggest trial out of all that he had faced ever since he first woke up in this world.

That group's reaction, however...

The men either froze on the spot, their eyes a mix of terror and reverence, or looked over to the one person Theo quickly summarized to be the leader of their group.

Yet, as he squinted his eyes and looked down...

A weird, unfamiliar sense of longing suddenly exploded in his heart, nearly causing him to stumble and faint on the spot.

[Trace of Consciousness detected!]

[The fiancée of the murdered groom Questline altered]

[Investigate the source of the Trace of Consciousness]

Theo's face grew still as his attention fully switched over to the system prompts.

'That's... new, isn't it?' he thought grimly, not sure how to take the sudden revelation of a questline he didn't even know to be more than just a random, error-born notification.

Yet, the real world didn't give him any time to consider or process his options, not when a weak voice snuck through his ears and assaulted the very core of his soul.

"Theo...?"