A True Rhombic Comes in Time

22

"Why do you have to leave so early today?"

Gomi nagged me, her lips pouting like she was about to give me a big smooch.

After three weeks of daily hunting, I felt fairly comfortable climbing to the fourth floor. Because the next test was to take place when crossing the fifth floor, it was going to be my judgment alone that decided if I would go onto the next floor. 

I had to be extra certain that I was ready because if I failed the test... It was going to be bye bye Leah.

The rule of thumb on the floors lower than the 10th was to kill one hundred monsters before proceeding to the next floor. I felt impatient, but knowing my weakness better than anyone, I chose to go overboard. I lost count after 200-something monsters on the second and third floors, but I kept going until I felt like I had it.

I breezed through the second floor, which delighted me. I spent a little more time on the third floor because it was where the trolls began showing up. But after two intense weeks of hunting spree, I felt confident that I'll be able to survive the fourth floor.

The world was buzzing with the terrible news of those high-level Pockets that appeared in London. Everyone expected England's star pair Oliver and George Burton would terminate both of them one after another with ease. After all, the brothers had reached 90-something floors inside the Door. So it was a huge shock when only one of them, George, came out battered and tattered. They were no doubt one of the best in Europe, so fear swept the entire continent as they awaited what might happen.

Eventually, both Pockets were terminated on time before exploding. But it took several top-tier pairs from England and several other neighboring countries to get it done. Out of 20 Rhombics who entered, 10 each at the same time, three were officially announced dead while two became "missing".

But everyone knew what "missing" meant in the Rhombic world.

The details of what happened inside those Pockets still haven't been released. All information related to the Door and Pockets was technically under the RAC's jurisdiction, so the public relied heavily on the alliance for details. So far, the RAC's official statement has been very vague. The only useful information it provided was the fact that these Pockets included an unexpectedly higher number of monsters.

There were many other rumors on the street as usual, including the popular "The Door is going to eat us alive" theory, but this wasn't new. I didn't pay too much attention, and I just kept marching forward. I was busy enough with my own new-found power.

So here I was, finally on the fourth floor where I would have to take another Test in order to climb to the next floor.

"I told you, I have a meeting with Virpal today. The CIO, remember? It's the lady I saw in that memory."

I explained to her for the hundredth time, but I kept my voice patient because I understood why she didn't want me to leave.

Just as Gomi promised, she remained "with me" since the first-floor test. But it seemed that she belonged more to this dimension than to me because whenever I left the Door, she wasn't able to accompany me to the outside world.

The first time it happened, which was the day of the test, I was in a panic. After killing my very first ogre, I picked up the gem and walked out with a smile on my face. But when I did, I quickly saw that Gomi wasn't behind me.

I went back inside in alarm to find her materializing again right in front of me. After doing this twice, it became clear that she couldn't leave the Door.

Gomi explained that whenever I left, it was as if she disappeared. And when I returned, she would "exist" again.

So it was understandable that she wanted me to stay inside the Door as much as possible. I didn't dare to imagine what it must feel like to just disappear like that.

But a few days ago, I got a call from RM Cho, my former training guide. Recently, he became my new Contact, replacing the passive-aggressive Sarah. I learned that just as he expected, he lost his Rhombic power. It happened much sooner and very abruptly, but RM sounded okay with his situation. It sounded like his main concern was being out of a job, which was no longer a worry for him. Not all employees of RAC were guaranteed a job if they lost their power, but he managed to snag one as a Contact.

Really, RM was a smart dude. He explained.

"This is exactly why I decided to work for the alliance. All those endless paperwork and guide duties took a lot away of my hunting time, but I knew that if I lost my power, I would still have a job here."

Each Contact was assigned several Rhombics at a time, and it turned out I became part of his group. He was the newbie in the department, so I assumed he was assigned the worst and the weakest Rhombics.

A Contact's duties were to handle all communications between the hunters and the RAC. During the last call, RM told me something interesting. Apparently, CIO had assigned an experienced Rhombic to help me. Although I was finally climbing to higher floors, I was still comparably far behind. There were more than a dozen Rhombcs who were marked weeks after I was and passed the 10th-floor test already.

I haven't seen Virpal since our first meeting, but I realized that she must have been monitoring my progress.

RM seemed excited for me, believing that this was an amazing opportunity because the assigned Rhombic was none other than Ryder Reece. Obviously, I and everyone else in the world knew what happened to him. Because he broke the rule and hunted alone on the high floors, he was banned for three months.

But it turned out he was given a way out of this sentence. He could either take the three-month ban or help me, a lost cause as far as RAC was concerned, reach the 10th floor. He was told that once I pass the 10th-floor test, his ban would be lifted.

Most Rhombics reached the 10th floor in three months. So when given a choice, Ryder was being logical to pick me over the three-month ban. I was already on the fourth floor, so I could imagine him thinking he could get me to the 10th in less than a month.

Cocky bastard.

Well, I didn't want his help. I was improving slower than the other Rhombics, but I was getting there. Plus I couldn't take the chance of him finding out about my less-than-100 Power value. I highly doubted Virpal would have told him about it because if she did, Ryder would have never taken this option. And what if he finds out how weak I am and makes an official report to the RAC? He might think this was the way to get out of his sentence completely.

If this happened, even Virpal wouldn't be able to prevent me from getting banned.

And then, there was the problem of Gomi. I felt oddly paranoid as something inside of me screamed that I should not let anyone find out about her.

So I flat out rejected the offer. I told RM that I wasn't interested and that I was going to be fine on my own. He seemed surprised, probably thought I was a stubborn idiot.

I mean, who wouldn't want to meet and even be helped by the gorgeous celebrity Ryder Reece?

Well, this idiot did.

I thought that was the end of this story, but the very next day, RM called me back. He sounded a little strange when he told me an appointment was arranged for me with the CIO Virpal.

And apparently, this meeting was not optional.