9. Who are you?

After cleaning up our traces from the place, I and Jay walked across the road to the cotton ball-like monster. Does the system have information on the monsters too?

Monster info!

Monster status!

Peek!

It's not working. I looked at Jay who was staring in the direction of the hospital and the road where Luna's back disappeared. When I really started thinking from his point of view, I realised that the people of this world didn't even have the chance to process their grief or get used to the changes that took the world by storm in a mere 2 days. They had to adapt almost immediately to survive, kill to move forward and separate their sanity from reality to cope with it.

Not that I can help him with something he doesn't show any signs of mentioning. All I can do is have his back since I picked him up.

Now, to dissect this monster for any potential resources.

***

Jay thought while looking in the direction of the hospital that his one and only mother was still in that room. The only one he didn't kill despite losing control of himself when the quests hit masses with a terrible condition to stay alive.

The patients and visitors who started to explode one after another from panic and refusing to do what the assigned quest said to do marked the start of his traumatic experience of almost getting killed by his guardian.

Losing his mind in that pressure but when the hostility was aimed at his mother, his power explosively in waves tore apart the people's sanity in a wide radius across the room. Every last person in his skill range, like a short-circuited fried wire, fell to the floor.

He gazed at the crumbling buildings in that one direction often thinking about how he couldn't even utter a word of separation or even a short goodbye to her. The person who would probably lay there forever with her eyes closed in a coma, never knowing of what became of the world and never having anyone by her side as she departs after losing life support.

The emotional pain buried itself in his small stature without any outlet to let it go as he carried on without having any time to address his loss.

The man who reached out to him, despite having no expressions– little to no compassion in his voice, like a monotonous robot he spoke of surviving as Jay grabbed that hand as though his life depended on it which felt like an anchor to a ship in a storm at that moment.

***

"Are you okay?" I tapped on Jay's shoulder as he was dazedly looking at nothing in particular. Without waiting for his response I asked, "Want to try making bombs?"

"Bombs?"

"Yes. You remember that upside down tree?" I told him when the system message interfered.

[Warning: 3 minutes before quest areas are sealed]

"Are we really not following through with this quest?" he asked nervously.

"Why? Are you scared now?" I said.

"No but wouldn't A rank be more than what we can handle?" he bit his lower lip.

"That's what we're going to prepare the bombs for. Let's go," I said and walked towards the other buildings which I assumed would have those carnivore plants growing inside.

Expand!

The sword glowed once more and assembled itself in my hand, it piqued Jay's attention as he looked at it in awe. His eyes were hungry with the desire to own it but he also managed to tear his eyes away. He knew it was not the weapon for him.

We cautiously entered the building not far from the previous one, as if walking in a jungle, it felt fresh and alive. This is what I've been craving for all that while in the other worlds? This feeling, this stimuli and this sense of importance to my own life in a place where I can't die. For a sudden moment, I had a sharp edge of my own memory slice through my brain without having processed it in that second, I had to support my head with my hand. Like a creeper creeping up my back to get a hold of my neck.

I turned around immediately but there was nothing and nobody to ambush me. Just my imagination? Can't be.

"Yohan?"

Flitting my eyes at Jay, "Just a slight headache, I guess," I said.

Status!

[Name: Yohan Wan]

[Age: 24]

[Attribute: Main Character(lv.4), ???]

[Exclusive skills: World warp(lv.4), Reader(lv.3), Developer(lv.2)]

[Overall stats: Strength (lv.5), Agility (lv.5), Physique (lv.5), Magic (lv.4), Dexterity (lv. 3)]

[Overall Rating: A+]

[Estimated potential: S]

[Remarks: An amnesiac wandering the worlds, observing tragedy and a chance at life.]

Developer?

Skill info 'Developer'!

[Skill: Developer]

[Type: Active]

[Level: 2 (Will increase with aptitude)]

[Status: Undefined]

[Uses: Builds new skills as per user logic]

[Usage: Null]

What the hell is this overpowered skill? That's main character privilege right there but how do I use this? The system message did say a skill was in development while I was training my senses to make up for lost sight. It works as per user logic then I might as well develop exclusive skills instead of common ones that don't show up in status.

[Warning: Memory strain will result in a migraine]

That's weird. It's not like I'm trying to forcefully restore my memory. Not that I can do it without taking any damage either. I decided to ignore and keep it for later.

The supermarket quest must've started by now. The incoming system penalties will hit us any moment, "Jay, you remember those upside down plants? Make sure to cut the stem out. Only the stem. Absolutely do not touch the stem and roots. Hold the flower's thicker end and cut it. The stems explode when you touch them so don't," I instructed him.

"How many?"

"As many as you can. Store them in your inventory," I told him.

"On it," He immediately started the task I assigned to him.

While collecting my own share of those nasty explosives, I came across a shadow. Without a sound, I followed behind it. There was not a single sound of their footwork while I was barely keeping up with them. On a helical staircase at the end of the floor, there was another person's presence. Distracted by that information, I lost sight of the shadow and I tightened my grip on the sword.

In that moment, there was a blade pointing at the back of my neck.

"Who are you?"

"Trashcan," I replied. I didn't want to answer.

"It's good to be self-aware but really, who are you?" they asked. Their deep voice sounding familiar as if I've heard him before. My uneasy heart started shivering as I felt my heartbeat speed up. The feeling of something that was missing inside me was so restless. The hollow part of myself that I forever longed for was quivering with the desire to turn around and see the face of the man pointing his blade at me. As if facing the personification of the system, I tried to calm down under his heavy presence.

"Yohan Wan," I answered. There shouldn't be anyone stronger than me unless they're an enemy. Where is my main character privilege now?

The blade retreated and I turned around. His black hair was parted on the side with the bangs hanging across his left eye. A high nose and eyes full of the desire to live. His survival instincts oozing off of him were on a completely different scale. He was taller than me by a few cms, wearing a suit which was as good as new. If the system had a face, he would be it.

Peek!

[Name: Liam Genesia]

[Age: 24]

[Attribute: Main Character(lv.6), ???]

[Exclusive skills: World warp(lv.4), Developer(lv.2)]

[Overall stats: Strength (lv.6), Agility (lv.6), Physique (lv.6), Magic (lv.5), Dexterity (lv. 5)]

[Overall Rating: S]

[Remarks: A self-aware asshole whose only goal is destroying the system but he is a good asshole.]

The look on both our faces twisted as if looking in the mirror and seeing someone very familiar yet very different, like two people who were poles apart and never supposed to cross each other's paths. The slight electrifying feeling that I felt in my body started to buzz as we both glanced at each other's status window. With another surprise at the gesture, I looked at him.

"You're able to use peek," I claimed.

"So are you," he confirmed my claims.

The system message popped up breaking our cautious glower at each other.

[Warning: You are being teleported to the A rank quest location]

"Yohan!" Jay called me from the other side of the area. He was worrying about whether we'd be teleported to the same place or different quest locations but the thing with Jay is, with his skills he can easily get to the top; If only he learns to use his skills in a way that allows him the absolute authority over someone's brain. Then there will be no one stopping Jay.

"It's okay!" I tried to assure him but in the end, even I didn't know if we'd stay together or get separated.

After hearing his voice, Liam looked behind my back as though he were approximating Jay's location through the sound.

His image started to vertically shift into white-hot lines, without another word he was teleported by the system to another location. Only then did I relax my tensed muscles, all energy left my body and I stared at my own hands disintegrating in the same way as his. I felt as if I found a piece of myself that was missing, like intuition telling me to absorb his existence like a monster devouring to quench their neverending hunger for survival. I was momentarily swallowed by anarchy.