Mysterious Fog World: Eldritch Nexus

Drake watched the two girls in front of him blankly. He wondered if they had a screw loose in their head.

That didn't mean that he had no interest in them. He didn't mind having followers as sexy as them. But the question was why. Why did they want to serve him? He didn't believe that he was suave and charismatic enough to make girls follow him with a look.

He suddenly remembered another function available to players.

Name: Yumi Murasame

Loyalty: 100 (Zealot)

Name: Ayame Murasame

Loyalty: 90 (Loyal)

The loyalty was measured on a scale of 0 to 100.

0 meant No Loyalty.

1-50 meant Unreliable. They could not be trusted and could betray their target of loyalty at any moment.

51-70 meant Reliable. They could be trusted to some extent and would not betray easily.

71-90 meant Loyal. They could be trusted with major business. They had low chances of betraying.

91-95 meant Devout. They are devoted to the target of their loyalty and put their liege’s interest above their own. If needed they could even give up their life for them. Very low chance of them betraying unless something drastic happens.

96-99 meant Fanatic. Their loyalty borders or even crosses obsession, willing to do anything and break any limits for their liege. They consider their liege as their faith. There is little to no chance of them betraying them. Only after destroying their faith, could they betray their liege.

100 meant Zealot. It was the point of no return, once reached, then no matter what they would never betray their target of loyalty.

The higher the loyalty, the harder it is to both increase and decrease it.

That's why, watching their loyalty, especially the loyalty of the girl named Yumi, he was puzzled as to why she became his Zealot. Even Ayame was only one step away from becoming a Devout.

‘Oye, Ivy, what is going on here?’ He gave up thinking about something outside of his control so instead of wasting his brain cells for no reason he asked the system, who might have the answer to his question.

[Host, they are twins. The blindfolded girl, Yumi, is a natural-born Seer. She randomly gets visions regarding future events that have helped the sisters to survive the harsh world. When she saw you, she triggered a vision that might have told her that by following you, both the sisters will have a great future.]

‘Really? Then isn't she kind of awesome?’ thought Drake.

He understood the reason for their high loyalty. He didn't know what Yumi saw, but it was enough to raise her loyalty to the max.

Even Ayame had 90 points of loyalty without knowing much, that only proved how much she trusted her sister.

With the mystery cleared, his focus shifted back to the girls kneeling in front of him.

‘Having two sexy twins as followers when I am just starting the game is awesome, but I can't just accept them so easily.’

‘Even if, with the functions of the system, I did not have much need for talent, I need both loyalty and strong willpower.’

‘They have loyalty but do they have the willpower? That still needs testing.’

After musing inside his head, Drake concluded. He would test their willpower using the system's function that Ivy prepared for him.

“Get up.” He ordered the girls.

They got up and went back to doing what they were doing before. Ayame again watched him with a scrutinizing look. Yumi still stared at him with fanaticism.

“If you want to follow me, you need to prove your worth,” declared Drake.

Ayame fumed hearing that. They had presented themselves to him on a gold platter and he still dared to ask them to prove their worth.

Ayame Loyalty -1, 89

Drake was constantly watching their loyalty, and as expected Ayame’s loyalty decreased. If her loyalty was lower, then the decrease would be much more than a measly 1 point.

Before Ayame could say anything, Yumi said, “Of course, my lord, anything you wish.”

Ayame stopped herself from speaking but made a disgusted face. She thought he wanted both sisters to sleep with him to “prove their worth”.

“Good. Now we will go somewhere so don't panic.” Drake informed them.

Ayame finally couldn't take it anymore and said in a loud voice, “What do you mean? Where are you taking us?”

Drake didn't answer, and when she was about to speak more, she realized they were no longer in the alley but in a forest.

“How is it possible? Where are we? How did you bring us here?” Ayame started panicking.

Ayame Loyalty -1, 88

Yumi just stayed where she was with a faint smile, she had absolute confidence in Drake.

“This is the training room,” announced Drake.

The training room was the function of his system. It could be used to simulate fights. Time inside was 4 times outside.

It could simulate a variety of biomes, but only the forest biome was unlocked.

“Why did you bring us here?” asked Ayame, while covering Yumi behind her as she was a long-range fighter.

*growl*

They heard a growling noise and turned their attention to it. It was a huge boar, the size of a small car walking towards them menacingly.

Ayame paled watching it coming towards them. Even Yumi had a serious expression, she moved from behind Ayame and came in front of Drake to cover him.

Their reaction was warranted, as the boar was not normal, but the infamous Iron Tusk Boar.

It was a level 0 monster, but a very strong one. It could only be found outside the territory in the Fog Zones surrounding it.

They about it because it was high in demand in the high-end restaurants in the territory. It was as delicious as it was ferocious.

Many Fog Explorers venture out of the territory just to find it, as its carcass could sell for as much as 50 silver, more than enough money to enjoy for a few months.

But to earn the rewards, risks were necessary. Many died against its iron tusk. To fight it, a team of at least 5 strong level 0 was needed, to fight it equally.

Not such a monster was in front of them. Ayame was now looking for ways to run away. They were not his match and would die if they fought the boar. They were not like Drake who could resurrect after dying. Once they die, they will be gone forever.

Just as she was about to run away with Yumi, she saw Drake coming out from behind her sister and moving towards the boar.

Even Yumi paled seeing Drake's actions. She drew her bow, ready to take action at a moment’s notice.

Ayame who wanted to run away with them, cursed under her breath but still unsheathed her daggers, as her 88 points loyalty towards Drake and her sister stopped her from leaving.

Drake unaware of it all, came in front of the boar, and said “This pig is so huge”.

Ayame thought that Drake finally lost it, she was running towards him to pull him back. Yumi too looked worried and followed her sister.

Then they saw something shocking. The boar was just standing in front of Drake, its eyes were blank.

Drake unaware of it all was feeling good about his choice while standing in front of the boar.

The training room could simulate monsters to train. The monsters needed to be scanned to be used. Only monsters killed by Drake could be scanned by the Training Room. But for the first time, Drake could specify any dead monster and use it in simulation.

When Drake was roaming in the twin square, he saw a big restaurant. There was a team of explorers standing near it with a huge boar carcass near them.

They were having some deal with the hotel manager. All the team members looked haggard with serious injuries, but they brightened up when they received the huge money-filled pouch.

He found that the boar was called Iron Tusk Boar and was a very strong level 0 monster.

He thought that it was perfect to be the first monster used for simulation training.

When he saw it first, the explorers had tied it tightly so it wasn't as big as it was when seen standing. That's why Drake was amazed watching it.

The twins had calmed down by then when they saw the boar standing still as if waiting for a command. Yumi was calm enough to notice with her “eyes” that the boar looked both real and imaginary at the same time.

Drake turned around and told the twins, “This is your test. Fight this boar.”

“What!”, exclaimed Ayame in shock.

Ayame Loyalty -3, 85

Yumi's smile was already back, she just responded, “As you wish my lord”.

After saying that he disappeared.

He reappeared back in the alley.

‘Let's go collect some mushrooms,’ he mused to himself.

Ayame Loyalty -85, 0

‘The test has just begun, hope you can handle it for 24 hours,’ thought Drake while smiling evilly.

—------------

Meanwhile back in the training room. Ayame was fighting desperately with the boar monster. She was covered with blood and had multiple broken bones. Her right hand was hanging limply from her shoulder.

Yumi was lying nearby, dead, with a hole in her chest.

Ayame eyes were red, she hated Drake to the bone, and she vowed if left alive, she hunt Drake till the end of the world.

When Drake left, the boar suddenly moved as if it had come to life. It bypassed Ayame and attacked Yumi directly. It knew that the archers were troublesome but at the same time easier to kill.

It impaled its tusk in her chest and raised her high while she was hanging on it. Ayame screamed desperately, she slashed at the boar again and again, but with little to no effect.

Yumi just smiled at her and took her last breath.

“No, no, no, Yumi, Yumi, YUMI!!”

“Yumi, please don't, please open your eyes.”

Ayame Loyalty -85, 0

Ayame was shouting hysterically.

She lost all reason and started attacking the boar monster.

“Die, die, die, you fcking monster.”

When Ayame hit the monster, it realized she was weak. So, after killing Yumi, the monster started playing with Ayame.

Slowly, she started getting more and more injuries. After a few minutes, her body was riddled with injuries, and broken bones, and also lost her hand.

The monster was bored of playing so it decided to end it and tackled her to the ground.

“Aah”, screamed Ayame in pain.

Then she watched as it trampled her body under its hooves. In her last breaths, she only had boundless hatred for Drake.

The lives of the twin sisters who survived the harsh world depending on each other ended like that. They decided to serve a chosen one, which became their biggest mistake. Perhaps, the visions were not always right.

That was the end of the story of Yumi and Ayame.

Or, was it?