MTLNOVEL Chapter 148: Run
Meme At the End
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I sat up so fast my phone nearly slipped out of my hand.
"The fuck?"
I called back.
No answer.
"Toga, pick the fuck up."
Nothing.
My heartbeat kicked up. She joked, she teased, she played games… but she never sounded like that. Not even when she was bleeding out in an alley, half-conscious and laughing.
I shot out of bed, already pulling my hoodie on.
Where the fuck was she?
[NEW QUEST: LOVE CALL FROM THE ABYSS
Sometimes, the past doesn't stay buried. Sometimes, a voice reaches out through the chaos, a single thread in the storm… fraying, desperate, slipping away.
OBJECTIVE:
Find her.
Survive whatever war you are about to walk straight into.
Bring her back, Leave her to fate… or don't come back at all.
REWARD:
+??? XP (Depends on actions taken.)
New Passive Skill – "Bloodbound" (A connection forged in madness and fate. Unpredictable effects, dependent on proximity and intent.)
Unique Item – "??? (Unlocked Based on Completion Path)"
Reputation Shift (Permanent, For Better or Worse.)
FAILURE:
She is gone.
You live with it.
Or you don't.
[SUB-QUESTS]
TRACKING A GHOST
She is out there. Somewhere. Lost in the madness. But you don't have a trail… you have a whisper, a hunch, and the weight in your gut telling you that if you wait too long, it will be too late.
-Use all available means to locate her.
-Move fast. She doesn't have time for you to hesitate.
Reward: +100 XP, +1 Awareness
WALK INTO THE STORM
You found her. But now you are in the middle of a war you had no business stepping into. Two factions are tearing each other apart. And now you are in the crossfire.
-Navigate the battlefield… without getting erased.
-Figure out who's actually trying to kill her.
-Decide how far you're willing to go.
Reward: +200 XP, New Passive Skill – "Warborn" (Improves combat instincts when fighting against overwhelming numbers.)
TILL BLOOD DO US PART
You see her. She is alive. Barely. Maybe she is waiting for you. Maybe she's already lost. Maybe you are the idiot who came too late. But you didn't come all this way just to watch her die.
-Reach her before someone else does.
-Protect her, even if it means breaking yourself in the process.
Reward: +??? XP (Based on outcome.), Unique Item – "??? (Condition-Based)", Permanent Bond Effect (Changes Ryuu & Toga's dynamic going forward.)
[BONUS OBJECTIVES]
✔ "The Dead Don't Listen" – Walk straight into the war zone without backup.
Reward: +??? XP, New Reputation Title – "Madman Among Monsters"
✔ "Thicker Than Blood" – Refuse to abandon her, no matter the cost.
Reward: New Skill – "Oathbreaker" (Temporarily nullifies an opponent's strongest ability if they betray their own nature or ideals.)
✔ "Paint the Battlefield Red" – Eliminate at least 10 high-profile combatants on either side.
Reward: +200 XP, New Combat Style Unlock – "Phantom Requiem" (Each consecutive takedown increases movement speed and reaction time for a short duration.)
✔ "Your Heart, Your Choice" – Walk away without saving her.
Reward: +??? XP, Permanent Mental State Shift (Locks Certain Future Choices.)
FINAL NOTES:
No one is coming to save you.
No one knows why you are really here.
If you screw up, she dies. If you hesitate, she dies. If you are too late… well.
It is all on you.]
I was already moving. My window was open before I even registered what I was doing, my feet hitting the dorm's outer ledge before dropping down. I landed without a sound, rolling off the impact, my heart hammering faster than my thoughts could keep up.
"Stop fucking with me, system," I muttered.
[HEY, IT IS NOT ME. YOU WOULD GO AFTER HER EITHER WAY. THIS IS YOUR QUEST, ASSHOLE.]
I swiped the notification away. Bastard. I pulled my mask on… the same blonde-haired vigilante disguise from before. No names. No ties. Just a ghost in the chaos.
"Add Toga to the party," I muttered.
[CONFIRMED. HIMIKO TOGA ADDED TO PARTY.]
Her location popped up on the map… Deika City. Fuck.
Musutafu to Deika was at least five prefectures away. No train, no car, no way I would make it in time running like a normal person.
I checked my stats. Agility: 122. Limit Breaker would push it to 366, but that still wasn't enough. I needed more speed. More power. More fucking everything.
I pulled the knife from my inventory and drove it straight into my heart.
Pain tore through me, my vision tunneling for a split second before my system kicked in.
[LAST LAUGH TRIGGERED.]
[FUCK YOU, I'M ALIVE TRIGGERED.]
[SPEED +25% | POWER +25% | TEMPORARY EXHAUSTION NEGATED.]
My HP tanked, but it didn't matter. The boost hit instantly, my muscles surging with raw power. I yanked the blade out, blood dripping down my hoodie, but the wound was already closing.
Then I ran.
[ENDLESS MOMENTUM ACTIVATED.]
[WARPATH MOMENTUM ACTIVATED.]
Each step felt like a gunshot, the pavement cracking beneath my feet. I wasn't running… I was ripping through space, my speed doubling with every passing second. Streetlights stretched into neon streaks, cars blurred past like frozen images, the city folding behind me.
Not enough.
I needed more.
I stabbed myself again.
[GAMBLER'S GRIT TRIGGERED.]
[LAST LAUGH REACTIVATED.]
[SPEED +25% | POWER +25%]
My vision pulsed. The pain sharpened everything, turned my body into a machine fueled by self-destruction. Blood loss should have slowed me down. It didn't. My lungs should have given out. They didn't.
[RELENTLESS SURVIVOR TRIGGERED.]
[ENDLESS MOMENTUM STACKING.]
The world couldn't keep up. I wasn't moving… I was breaking physics, tearing through Musutafu like a goddamn bullet. My heart slammed in my chest, trying to keep pace with the rest of me.
Three prefectures down.
I stabbed myself again.
[FUCK YOU, I'M ALIVE STACKED.]
[LAST LAUGH STACKED.]
[SPEED +50% | POWER +50%]
I wasn't touching the ground anymore… I was skipping across it, barely a blur against the highway. The wind lashed against me, my hoodie whipping like it was about to shred apart.
Not enough.
[CHEAT DEATH ACTIVATED.]
I slashed my arm open.
[SPEED +25%]
Another prefecture. The city skyline barely flickered in my vision before it was gone.
I wasn't human anymore.
[QUICK STEP ACTIVATED.]
My entire body flickered, slipping out of sync with reality. Every object, every obstacle phased just slightly, letting me move through the gaps in ways I shouldn't have been able to.
[ADRENALINE RUSH ACTIVATED.]
Everything sped up even more. My heartbeat, my reaction time, the world itself… it all blurred into one long tunnel of neon and concrete.
Deika was on the horizon.
I stabbed myself again.
[GAMBLER'S GRIT STACKED.]
[FUCK YOU, I'M ALIVE STACKED.]
[SPEED +75% | POWER +75%]
I hit the highway, my feet barely touching asphalt before launching forward again. A truck barreled toward me… too slow. I flipped over it without losing momentum, landing and immediately propelling forward.
One more stab.
[LAST LAUGH STACKED.]
[SPEED +100%]
Deika City was dead ahead.
Everything snapped.
The pain disappeared. The world stretched into nothing. I was something else entirely, something that wasn't meant to exist at this speed.
[CHEAT DEATH TRIGGERED.]
I crashed through Deika's outer district. A rooftop barely registered before I was on it, rolling into the impact. My muscles screamed, my bones felt seconds from shattering, but I didn't stop.
I made it.
I checked the map.
Her signal was still there. Weak. Flickering.
I jumped.
The city blurred beneath me as I dove straight into the fire.
[TETHER LINK REQUEST FROM HIMIKO TOGA.]
A request. Not automatic. Not passive. She was trying to reach me.
I accepted.
Everything lurched.
For a split second, I wasn't on the highway anymore. I was somewhere else… somewhere dark, cold, drenched in the scent of blood and smoke.
And then I heard it.
A wet, ragged breath. The faintest whisper.
"...Ryuu."
My stomach twisted.
The connection snapped back. I was back in my body, still running. But the afterimage burned behind my eyes.
She was alive. Barely.
And she was waiting.
I didn't have time to think. I threw my entire weight forward, forcing every ounce of momentum into one final push.
[PHANTOM STEP ACTIVATED.]
Reality blurred. The air around me warped. The city lights stretched into a distorted tunnel of color.
Then…
I was in Deika.
My heart slammed against my ribs. Blocking every other sound.
But I was here.
I scanned the streets.
Then I saw it.
Smoke. Fire. The distant echoes of sirens, gunfire, screaming.
A fucking war zone.
And then I dropped down, heading straight into the fire.
The city was a fucking mess. Buildings cracked and burned, the streets filled with debris, bodies either moving or not. The air was thick with the stench of smoke and blood, and every few seconds, an explosion rattled the ground.
I didn't stop to figure out who was fighting who. It didn't matter. I wasn't here for that.
I was here for her.
I moved fast, slipping through alleys and side streets, keeping to the shadows where I could. My mask was still on, but it didn't matter… no one gave a shit about another figure darting through the wreckage. Everyone was too busy either fighting or running.
Her signal flickered ahead.
There.
The house was falling apart, half its roof caved in, windows shattered. Looked like it had been abandoned long before this warzone turned it into collateral. I didn't hesitate, pushing the door open.
The smell hit first… iron, thick and fresh.
Toga lay on the bed, barely moving. Blood soaked through her clothes, staining the sheets beneath her. Her breathing was too shallow, her skin pale even in the dim light.
I moved.
"Toga."
She didn't react.
Her eyes were barely open, unfocused.
I reached for her wrist, checking for a pulse. Still there. Weak. I shook her lightly.
"Toga, wake the fuck up."
Her fingers twitched. A small sound left her lips, something between a hum and a groan.
I exhaled sharply. "You are not fucking dying here."
Her eyes fluttered open slightly. "...Ryuu?"
"Yeah, dumbass, who else?" I pulled a small vial from my inventory… basic healing, nothing fancy. "Drink this."
Her lips barely parted, her breath rattling in her throat.
I clicked my tongue. "Fine. Open up."
I tipped the vial into her mouth, forcing her to swallow. She coughed, barely managing to get it down, but some color started creeping back into her face.
Her fingers weakly curled around my sleeve. "You came."
"No shit."
She swallowed again, voice hoarse. "Didn't think… you would answer."
I grabbed a cloth from my inventory, pressing it against the worst of her wounds. "Yeah, well. You sounded like you were about to fucking die."
She let out a breathy chuckle, wincing immediately. "Hurts."
"No shit."
Her grip on my sleeve tightened slightly. "What… took you so long?"
I side-eyed her. "You were in another fucking city."
She tried to smile, but it barely held. "Fastest you've ever run for a girl?"
I didn't humor that. "What happened?"
Her eyes flickered, something shifting behind them. "...Got caught in the crossfire."
"Whose?"
She hesitated.
"Toga."
She swallowed, fingers twitching. "...Meta Liberation Army."
I frowned. That was a name I hadn't heard before. "Who the fuck are they?"
She let out a breath. "Villains who think they are revolutionaries. Or revolutionaries who act like villains. Take your pick."
Great. More bullshit.
I glanced back at the door. The fighting was still raging outside, getting closer. I didn't know if they would come here next, but I wasn't about to wait and find out.
"We are leaving," I said, slipping my arm under her.
She let out a weak whine. "Can't move."
I laughed, shaking my head. "Fine." I pulled up the System Shop, buying a stronger potion and popping the cap. "You heal. I have a score to settle with them anyway."
Toga's grip tightened around my wrist, weak but firm enough to hold me in place. "Don't. Leave me." Her breath was shaky, her eyes lidded. "I just wanted to hear your voice one last time. I knew you were far away. It is a miracle you made it before I died."
I smirked coldly. "Wait. I will warm you by burning this city."
(Check Here)
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Transmission intercepted:
"Greetings, humans. We have analyzed your fiction consumption habits.
You devour, but you do not vote.
We considered sharing our technology…
but you are unworthy."
SIGNAL LOST
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