Galaxy's First Ruler

Washington D.C.

In the royal suite of one of the luxurious hotels within the city, Annie tossed and turned because of the lack of sleep.

Annie wasn't a big fan of the excessive artificial feeling that these kinds of hotels used to give. Especially after becoming a Dreamer and gaining her Class. It seemed she had become more attuned with nature and that made these things stand out even more. But that was only a part of the reason for her sleeplessness.

Annie had buried her head deep within the cushion. From time to time, the color of shyness and bashfulness passed through her cheeks, the color of which almost matched with her light red hair. Frustrated, Annie's hand reached towards her mobile and again checked the time. The mountainous wallpaper got reflected by her deep brown eyes.

"Ughh!"

Annie smashed a fist on the bed and jumped back to a seated position. She was about to dial a number when through the windows she saw a black fog seeping into her room. Bizarre as it was, Annie couldn't help but smile, seeing the fog. With a swift motion of her hands, she adjusted her hair and checked her face in the mobile.

'Hmm, it's ok!' Annie reassured herself for the hundredth time.

The black fog took over the room, the hall, and every other corner of the room. But it receded at a faster rate than its entrance. As soon as the last trace of the fog vanished, Annie saw a blond-haired man in a black jacket and jeans, seated on the chair beside her bed. One could have seen a sliver of the black fog twirling around his fingers.

"What took you so long?" asked Annie.

"Got busy with the newbies."

Annie raised her eyebrows, hearing the reply. Neither the man nor she needed to go to the Random-Dungeon that day. And the responsibility to take care of the newbies came under her area of expertise, but her presence was required for an event. She couldn't help but pity the new Dreamers.

"You went easy on them, right?"

The man shrugged for an answer.

"Logan?" asked Annie, narrowing her eyes.

"Alright, alright. There were a few injuries, but I needed them to experience the use of Health potions."

Annie shook her head. The shaking of her head brought her eyes in contact with Logan's smooth neck and his collarbone. Annie wanted nothing but to open up the jacket a little to watch more. What secrets had laid behind that jacket, and how cold the chain in Logan's neck must have felt? Questions like these had surfaced in her mind.

"Oi, did you hear what I just said?" asked Logan, snapping his fingers.

Annie fell out of her reverie, and the emotions of shame conquered her proud face.

"Ahem, cough! Sorry, I was thinking of something important."

Logan looked into her eyes with complete disbelief written on his face. But saying nothing, he leaned back in the chair and repeated his words.

"The situation here is getting out of control."

"Oh! By that, do you mean Mr. Masked Menace?" asked Annie, switching on the TV at low volume.

"Hmm. The government and ADA are showing their aggressiveness now."

"But isn't that good for us? At least it would take their mind off the Black Hand for some time."

Logan tapped his finger on the armrest and looked at the current news flashing on the TV. A brief silence followed Annie's question related to the many involved parties. Logan looked at her and a slight smile came upon his face.

"You might be only one step away from the Rank of Baron. But you are still as naive as the time when we met for the first time."

Annie pouted at the sarcastic remark, but a wave of joy washed over her heart listening to Logan's first sentence. In just a few Dungeons, she would probably become a Baron. And then she could spend more time with Logan. But not caring for Annie's wild thoughts, Logan continued.

"Cornering someone as strong as that Masked guy, with no knowledge about his abilities, could be the stupidest thing they have done so far."

"Huh? What did you find out?" asked Annie, with a sudden grave look on her face.

"That is the issue. I couldn't find anything. He is like a shadow that got casted without light," replied Logan, massaging his head with his hand.

"Did he notice you at the entrance of Arizona's Dungeon?"

Logan shook his head in refusal.

"Humph! Then how strong could he be?"

Logan stood up, listening to the question, and approached Annie. Annie's heart thumped as she saw the tall stature approaching her little by little. Logan's hand reached towards Annie's forehead, but she had already closed her eyes.

Tick!!!

"Owww!"

Logan flicked Annie and her skin became red from the impact of his fingers.

"Naive! I met with the Burmese champion who was with this masked guy in the last Dungeon."

"And?" asked Annie, with her tongue out.

"Well, things aren't as clear as the Indian Guild had stated during their press release. I went there to invite Tun Bo Ag, but he refused. So I traded a little information about the Masked Menace with him in exchange for providing him financial help to form a Guild of his own."

Annie couldn't help but feel sad upon thinking of the rising star of India's Guild. She also only knew as much as the Indian government had publicly stated of the events that had happened within the Dungeon. And which led to an all-out declaration of war against the one man that had left the Party amid the raid.

"So, what did you get out of him?"

Logan sighed before answering the question.

"Sigh. Almost nothing. He seemed oddly loyal to a person who is claimed to be responsible for their Leader's death. But I can say for sure from the tidbits, that the Masked Menace is at least of Rare Rank."

"What?" Annie jumped out of the bed in surprise and continued, "But how is this possible? What was a Rare Ranked Dreamer doing among a Party of Common Dreamers?"

Logan approached the large window, looking out into the city. At this point what he had was nothing but a mere guess. He and Annie both knew it, but these guesses of Logan had saved many lives in the last year. And there wasn't any good reason to not continue to do so in the future too.

"I think… I think he has some ability to mask his Rank or falsely portray his Rank higher or lower than his actual one."

Annie's mouth gaped, considering the possibility of this guess being true. And realizing the consequences, she immediately blurted out.

"But this is plain stupidity. He is playing with the lives of innocent Dreamers by doing so. The 'Record' can't be fooled that easily."

Logan poured a glass of water and gulped it down. He looked at Annie and made her aware of a more brutal truth than she had come up with.

"His actions, if continued, would cause a Dungeon Break. A Dungeon break, with a Boss of Rare Rank."

Annie's back became wet, irrelevant to the cool air circulated by the AC. With heavy steps, she neared Logan and held his hand.

"Logan, we must stop him."