8. Initial Phase (3)

Being blind in a world like this meant inviting monsters and humans alike to kill me. I know I absolutely cannot allow myself to die but shouldn't the main character privilege let me have it easy. Well, complaining is what fools do so I'll stop. I'm just glad it's only 30 minutes of darkness. Utter darkness. Only after losing my sight did I understand how much I relied on them to navigate my way through this place. It was as obvious as it could get.

"I set up traps around this building just as you told me," Said Luna.

"Thanks. Maybe also keep an eye on Jay," I told her as I leaned on the pillar behind me. With every sound that echoed, I tried to image the structure of the room as much as possible.

"There's a sofa on my right side a few feet away?" I asked but got no response. I guess she went to look for Jay.

Being blind in a way, was very scary. I wouldn't know if anyone jumps at me until it's too late nor did I know if anyone was around me unless they made a sound. It was difficult to just use sounds to navigate through while bumping and stumbling on smaller objects or rocks that I couldn't sense.

The cut on my neck started to sting as I flinched back and grabbed their hand trying to clean the dried blood on the cut.

"That wound might infect you," she said.

"Warn me before you try to do this again. I might just swing my weapons with full power next time. Wait, there won't be a next time. Like hell am I using this skill," I groaned with the stinging pain on my skin.

"Sure," she said as she finished, "Done. Now I'll go find Jay. He's been out of sight for long enough"

"Wait, before that. Tell me if what I say is right. There's a sofa set on my right, the object behind my back is a wall and the entrance is right beside me at a few feet. The reception desk is in front of me and the elevator is to the left as well as the right, that would mean, this building is divided in two wings?"

"You're mostly correct," she replied.

"Alright. You can go now," I told her and continued to try to sense the smaller objects and make a mental map of the room with more detail. This skill might just help me later when I just can't help but overuse the skill.

[New skill development in progress]

I could still see the system messages though. With this, I now know that I can craft my own skills as well. How is this system so convenient yet so hard to figure out?

"YOHAN!" Jay yelled my name while flying down the stairs, flinging himself down with speed. The ground was trembling and vibrating to something.

"Who or what did you disturb?" I asked and tried to sense the thing rushing behind him.

"DUCK!" yelled Luna right after.

The impact of something really soft yet powerful enough to send me flying onto the elevator doors on my left, the force was enough to disfigure the doors as I felt my back and spine suffering. I think I might be broken. Moreover, I had no way of knowing what hit me. This is why I asked Luna to place traps around us. They cannot protect me yet. None of us thought that there could be a monster inside the building.

[Reducing mental shock]

[Offsetting damage]

I tried to move myself but it hurt so much. I slid down the doors and on my knees, I felt my blood dripping down my nose and a surge of adrenaline, "Can you do it on your own? Jay?" I asked.

Jay's footsteps were right infront of me. Brave kid.

"Yes," He grinded those words out of his mouth.

With an increase in his presence which was greater than before, he was activating his exclusive skill. It made the monster shrink back in it's place as it started to slowly take effect. The thing he's probably the best at– illusions.

I could feel the vibrations of the monster stomping in response to Jay but it didn't reach us. I could feel another presence growing behind the monster.

"I'll slow it down," said Luna. Too bad that I wouldn't be able to see her in action using her skills.

My sight started to return. The light started to reflect in my eyes, the colors filled the silhouettes and I could barely make out Jay standing in front of me. Soon, I could see better than before as if my eyes were restored to their peak condition.

The monster looked like a huge cotton ball. I looked at it flabbergasted, "What is this?"

"Cotton candy's parent!" informed Jay.

"Cotton candy?" my jaw dropped while staring at the huge white monster. I just got clapped by food.

"I found it while exploring. It looked so soft and cute, I wanted to touch it. I'm sorr— YOU CAN SEE!" Jay turned back to face me.

"Yeah, my sight is back," I said and noticed the red rusted chains that looked so flimsy and thin, it could snap anytime, binding the monster in place. That's Luna's skill. They're very capable but slow.

The walls around it were cracked, the ceiling looked like it would fall at the slightest irritation and the scarce light inside the structure made it's white fur look grey. The chains around it that were not allowing it to take a single step towards us were barely holding on when the cotton ball-like monster's eyes started to get clouded and it stopped moving. It was inside Jay's illusions now.

It started to self mutilate in a matter of few minutes. I wonder what Jay's illusion was showing it to get such a drastic reaction out of the monster. It's pure white fur that looked so soft, it made me want to touch it, they were dyed with blood; it collapsed on the ground and the chains retreated back to Luna. Because of it's round figure, it rolled outside of the building lobby and crashed onto an electricity pole close to the other side of the road.

I moved despite the pain in my limbs, "Impressive," I looked at Jay with a bit of underlying fear for him. His illusions are top-notch.

Jay, however, didn't look very pleased. He wasn't happy nor was he smiling at his victory while looking at the carcass, "Is it necessary to kill?"

"Kill or be killed," I told him, "That's what this world has become. Not like it's any different from before, is it? It just became an extreme version of that"

"You're really cold blooded to be able to say that to a kid," Said Luna.

"I won't lie. I'll put the truth as it is on the table. It's upto you if you want to accept it or keep asking for something that's already spilt," I answered.

[Quest: Gather at the SuperMarket in your district and survive inside until the end.]

[Difficulty: D]

[Time Limit: 5 days]

[Reward: 400c, Common skill]

[Failure: Another A rank difficulty quest.]

The screen blinked in front of us, "It's here," I murmured.

"The only SuperMarket around us is that place with the upside down tree," mentioned Jay.

"I see how it is," I miffed but then realised my 'Reader' skill was once again active by itself. Each time I think to find an answer, I've been efficiently guessing each of those elements correctly to a certain extent. It was 'Reader' in action.

This quest was also about either massacring everyone or coming to consensus with the other parties. Either it's co-existing or fight to survive until the end, like an extreme game of hide and seek. The failure penalty is another death sentence for a world that's just beginning to gain power. The system sure has it's interesting ways to sentence people to death.

Most people will be falling prey to those carnivore plants in that supermarket while the reward is way lesser than the first quest but that common skill is alluring BUT,

Am I an asshole? Yes.

What will I do? Greater the risk, sweeter the rewards.

Am I about to drag Luna and Jay too? Let's see.

"You guys have a death wish?" I asked and they wore scared expressions as if I was threatening them. Do I really look that scary by not being able to show any expressions?

Luna took a hint and declined, "No, I wish to live. Easier the better," she said with no ambition, with no desire to rise to the top. Despite having such overpowered skills, she refused the chance to evolve herself or even discover her limitless potential with new challenges.

"What?" Jay looked confused.

"I am talking about taking the A rank quest instead of having to see more human ugliness, not that we won't see it later but how about it? Want to go?" I asked him.

"I'll go with you, wherever"

His unwavering trust in me made me uncomfortable, "You know that I didn't exactly help you because I had pure intentions, right?"

He nodded and said, "But you're still the only person who saved me"

"That doesn't mean you can trust me unconditionally," I refuted.

"Then I'll trust myself," he simply said.

"Suit yourself," I put his cap back on his head that I found lying around before, "It was good meeting you, Luna"

"Me too. I'll see you again if I survive," She smiled and walked away in the direction of the supermarket. The first parting since coming to this world. I just hope she survives. If we meet again, maybe I'll have a chance to get to know her more.