Chapter 13 - My Rewards Are…

[ Rewards are being calculated based on performance. ]

[ The Top Five will receive personalized Rewards. ]

[  Everyone will receive Base Rewards.  ]

[ Top 5 Contributors: ]

[ 1: Adapter, 349 kills, 0 assists ]

[ 2: Drag00n, 212 kills, 183 assists ]

[ 3: HaileyPrincess: 183 kills, 4 assists ]

[ 4: Patsaspydar: 81 kills, 22 assists ]

[  5: Body_built: 89 kills, 3 assists  ]

 "What?! I had more kills! Who the hell is number four?!" A man yells out. All he's wearing is a heavy chestplate, some pants with kneepads, and metallic wraps around his fists, and from his complaining it's evident that he was #5. That, and the rippling muscles threatening to rip free even from the sleeveless heavy slab of metal on his torso.

 At the same time, a young adult woman is almost skipping as she trots over to me. "Kieran, did you see?? I got fourth!"

 Oh, shit.

 I reach up and snag her hand, pulling her to sit in front of me, stunned. "Was I not supposed t—"

 "No, you did great, Pat. Just don't pull unnecessary attention to us… Please?"

 She nods, still clearly excited about her achievement. And, fortunately, it seemed that the mountain of a man hadn't heard either. 'Thank God.'

 "So, how many did you kill?" Patricia asks, a small grin on her face. It occurs to me then that she doesn't know my username, and seems to have forgotten the name of my Class. That, or she was too dumb to make the connection.

 "… I'll tell you later."

[  Rewards are now being distributed.  ]

 It seems that the Evolving System was here to save the day from the force that was a barely-teenage girl trying to argue. I couldn't see any screen open for anyone else, which would mean these were ones only the person receiving could see. 'That's good, especially if there's any difference in size,' I think, before the next message pops up.

[ Congratulations on clearing the Emergency Event! ]

[ You ranked: 1st ]

[  Rewards for Ranking: 10 Shards (+490), 15% EXP (+35%), 1 HP Pill (Advanced), 1 MP Pill (Advanced), 1 FS Pill (Advanced)  ]

[  Level Up!  ]

[  The Shop is now available.  ]

[  Safe Zone now reinitialized permanently.  ]

 "Nice," I mutter, checking out my Shard count and new EXP level.

[  Shards: 1878  ]

[  Lv: 3 {41%}  ]

 'I wonder how this shop is.'

 Before I have the chance to open it, a boy suddenly pops up in front of me with a huge grin. Well, he's clearly not a boy, but his face looks so young he could be anywhere between 12-22 years old. I give him a quizzical look, but as if it's part of a script I was uninformed of, he smoothly starts talking. His light brown hair has a long middle part in it, with the tips reaching just past his cheekbones, and it's bouncy enough that it draws more attention to it than the childish face does, though his bright blue eyes are a close contest.

 "Hey there! My name's Roste. You look pretty strong, what rank didja get?"

 I look at him, stunned, before I can finally blink a few times. "Uh… I got 134." I hoped this would be enough to satisfy him. The odds that he got the same rank were one in tens of thousands, and it only went up marginally if he had already talked to a few people.

 He stares silently at me for a moment, his eyebrows raised, while I silently sweat my ass off wondering if my luck really was that bad. Finally, he smiles again, letting out a light chuckle.

 "Cool! Can you tell me your rewards? I ranked 116th."

 Patricia was quiet during the exchange scooting closer to me as if to hide. I wasn't sure what she seemed worried about, though I understand the lack of trust.

 "… I got 20% EXP and 15 Shards."

 "Really, huh? That's interesting. For someone who ranked lower than me, how'd you end up 5% more EXP and 5 more Shards?"

 Shit.

 Patricia wasn't going to jump in to help; she seemed confused by our conversation, looking over to me to see what I would say. My hand slips towards the sword on my waist as my brain races as I try to think of a plan, of a response, anything.

 He suddenly throws his hands up in surrender, that same goofy grin on his face. "Relax!… Adapter."

— — — — —

 Roste was better than I was expecting.

 Understanding that I was extremely suspicious of someone who had so easily figured me out, he had explained his thought process and a bit about himself, as well as other useful information. 

 He was Roste Minch, 19 years old, about to start his first year of college with a major in Psychology, until everything happened. He was gifted with a high IQ, or so he said, and he feels he is using it to its full potential in this new dystopian world of ours. It's also how he was able to deduce I was Adapter, using those questions he had asked as well as keeping an eye on me and the other guy, since he knew that one of us had to be Adapter. Since Drag00n had essentially revealed himself and his kid, it turned out to be pretty simple to guess. 

 "What if you were wrong? What if you ARE wrong and I'm lying to you?" I ask, tilting my head to the side as I keep even eye contact with him. He giggles, shaking his head. "I was gambling with my intuition from the start, but having seen how you reacted, it's definitely you."

 Feeling the light heat of embarrassment rising in my chest, I sigh. "Fair. So you just want to party up with someone strong so you can build up your own strength, huh?"

 He nods earnestly, and I rest my chin on my fingers for a moment. If he was just planning to use me to ride my coattails, it would have become obvious by now. Not to say I completely trusted him yet; if anyone could pull off a scheme like this to trick me, it would definitely be this kid. But… He did seem very straightforward, in a way that made me WANT to trust him. 

 After a long moment, I sigh. "Fine. Just until you get to Level 5, okay? And I should tell you… I'm not actually all that strong. I've survived with mostly luck and bullshit so far."

 Roste scoffs, earning a look from me. "What?"

 He shakes his head. "No, no, it's just… I don't know if you're underselling yourself, or if you really aren't aware of your abilities. You did that to the tunnel, right?"

 The Rogue technically under my command looks confused, hopping up onto her feet and strolling over to the tunnel. We both watch her do so, until she peers inside and immediately shrieks. "What the hell?!"

She was loud enough to draw attention to herself, and when more people see the carnage, they all began crowding the area, clamoring to try to find out if anyone had seen who had gone in or out of the tunnel, but it seemed everyone had been too involved in fighting for their life. It didn't take long before the name "Adapter" started sprouting up in conversations.

I glance at the boy sitting next to me. 'He must have been keeping a closer eye on me than I realized. I even used Stealth when I slipped away.'

  "So, you know your Intelligence Stat, right?" He asks cheerily, earning a confused look from me. "Uh, yeah. Boosts your Mana and stuff, right?"

  "The system describes it that way, doesn't it?" He replies smoothly, one of those grins on his face again. "But each Stat has a little hidden something that it doesn't tell you about. For example, Vitality is described as a measure of spirit and fortitude, right? With the effects being that it boosts your HP and FS. But it doesn't tell you that it boosts your overall defenses too. If a weapon's Attack or Durability grade is too many grades lower than the Vitality grade of whoever you're attacking, there's actually a chance that the weapon will shatter before you can even pierce their skin."

  The scenario sounds familiar, and it only takes a few seconds before I realize why. 'The kitchen knife with Alden… It makes sense now.'

 "So, what's the deal with Intelligence?"

  "In my case, my general IQ is high, but I can't process things incredibly fast without appropriate information. Intelligence made it so I could do more with less information, and I'm pretty sure my IQ is higher now. I retain information a bit better, and can pick up details I couldn't before. Do you know what you think your best mental ability is?"

  I already knew the answer to that, and I hated to admit it, but he was right. I wasn't just lucky. "… My analytical sense."

  His eyes widen slightly. "And I thought being smart was helpful."

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how right he really was. I had originally boosted my Intelligence when making my Class to ensure I wouldn't run out of MP — of course, when I can't Absorb when there's more than 10 or 15 enemies, it's not like I would run out of MP anyway. But being able to analyze the situation I was in was the main contributor to how I had survived until now. 

I'm broken out of my thoughts as another system pops up, and I immediately groan when I read it. "You can hardly call that a break after everything we've been through…"

[  After a 5 minute period for the users to finish resting and recovering, the next Quest will be distributed.  ]

  Roste laughs. "Well, we'll get a chance to see other's capabilities sooner than we thought, eh?"