God Magnus

"Fireball!"

A sphere of flames formed in Oliver's hand and was launched at high speed toward the group of orcs ahead. Their bodies burned in seconds, and he could hear their screams of despair.

"Capitán! Another squad is coming in at 25 degrees east! At least six dozen this time!"

He looked up and saw Ana Laura standing atop a stone tower. She wore the signature black and red uniform of their team, with the guild's emblem across the back and her nickname just below. A magically shaded hood concealed her real identity.

She also wielded her iconic sniper rifle. Several technological gadgets covered her forearm, and a maniacal grin could be seen on the face of that psycho.

"Copy that, Windstorm! Bombardment starting in 15 seconds! Plague, raise the shields to protect the Saint and the Demoness!"

"Roger, Capitán!"

The response came instantly, and green aura shields enveloped the other two team members. Oliver's mind focused on executing the spell sequence correctly, and with a little sweat, hell descended on those poor orcs.

A firestorm consumed the plains ahead, leaving nothing behind but scorched earth. And of course, two green shield lights remained, where the other two members of Oliver's squad were recovering and shielding themselves from the fiery inferno.

"My shields barely withstood that bombardment, Capitán... I think you've improved again, hahahaha." Plague's voice came from right behind, and Oliver nodded at that other maniac who was supposedly the support of the team. But except for rare moments like this, he actually dealt more damage than Ana Laura and her rifle.

"Yeah... I think we're finally ready to compete in the world championship and maybe bring the trophy home."

If not for the universal identity protection system covering his face, everyone would've seen the huge smile on it.

"Yeah, of course we are! After all, we're the..."

The world started to blur. Everything turned black and white. Only a massive red screen appeared in front of him, and on it was written:

[DEFEAT]

"Why... This is my fault, isn't it? I failed again... all of you. Plague, Windstorm, Saint, Demoness. And now my new team... again... I..."

Sssssssssssss!

A deep hiss came from behind him, and even space itself seemed to crack. Two constellation-like eyes stared at him, and this time it took several more seconds for Oliver's mind to begin to melt.

"Awaken! Anomaly..."

Beep!

His senses returned with the sound of a notification. When he looked, it was his countdown marking two days since initialization.

[119:59:59]

"Shit, another nightmare and that damn snake showing up again."

Morning light filtered through the leaves and branches he had used to cover the entrance to the hollow log. His body was sore but full of energy.

Oliver stood and began to stretch, only to be hit by the stench he gave off.

"I need a bath..."

Beep!

"Dammit! Is this damn bracelet ever going to stop beeping?!"

[Saturation: 25% → 30%]

"Hold on... Does saturation increase automatically? And what the hell does this thing even do? Combat is self-explanatory, but 'Saturation' could mean anything."

He had no answers, so he climbed out of the hollow log and started searching for a water source that wasn't the blood lake. Not just because that white demon snake was there, but also because a lake full of blood didn't seem like a great place to bathe.

The birds seemed to have found the courage to sing again, but it would take time for the vegetation to recover. Fallen branches and trees, overturned earth, and scattered rocks were all that remained of last night's battle.

"Lucky... That thing was the size of a van, with the length of a small train. There's no way to beat something like that without magic... Does magic even exist?"

The sound of flowing water reached his ears, and Oliver pushed those questions aside. Up ahead, a small river cut through the land, and sunlight reflected off its surface.

He looked around for any snakes that might claim the place, but between the clear water and polished stones, no scaly demons appeared. He undressed.

His school uniform shirt was already in ruins, so he tore it up and tried to make a sack out of it. It worked, somewhat, and he stored the remaining nuts that had helped him create the antidote.

He removed his pants, full of holes, and his nearly destroyed sneakers. His faithful jacket was tossed aside. Now, completely naked, he dove into the river.

The water was icy, but it felt like the current was cleansing more than just his body and his very soul. Relaxing as never before, he let himself float. Several minutes passed, and when he came to, he had drifted far downstream.

"Damn, that felt amazing, but I need to get my clothes and start looking for my team. I hope they're okay..."

He swam upstream. Everything was normal... until his vision was overtaken by a mass of red strands, and his heart froze for a moment. Something collided with his body and clung to him. Oliver started thrashing, but the red hair wouldn't let go.

"Red hair?"

His heart raced when he realized what was wrapped around him and clinging to his waist. Using all his strength, he dragged it toward the shore, near his clothes. With great effort, he succeeded.

When he emerged from the water with his burden, he finally saw her face. Pale as a corpse, if she wasn't one already, covered in cuts all over. But what stood out was a fist-sized hole in her abdomen.

His mind jumped from peace to sheer panic in seconds. All he could do was press his ear to her chest.

Thump!... Thump!... Thump!

"Nikki's not dead yet!!"