Chapter 13

Ayano-san's body shook and her face paled.

"..."

"Yoshimura-san?"

"..I..."

She seemed hesitant to say her class.

...Is it common or rare and is now embarrassed to say it?

Well whatever it is, it certainly wouldn't be worse than my class.

But still though, Reika is too aggressive and intimidating which is starting to get to my nerves.

I mean, I barely managed to fix this person and now you're trying to break her again?!

"Cough!"

I exaggerated my cough which pulled the attention of the two girls in front of me.

Reika was glaring but when she saw my eyes, she clicked her tongue before taking a deep breath.

"Huuu... alright..." She spoke in a calmer tone. "Yoshimura-san... what is your class?"

Ayano-san's hold on my hand became tighter while she remained looking downwards, as if fearing to meet Reika's gaze.

"I.."

She seemed really hesitant to reveal her class. Hmmm... maybe hesitant isn't the right word, I think it's more like she didn't want to reveal it?

"Come on, Ayano-san. We won't judge you even if your class may seem bad or useless. Does it belong in the common category?" I asked, trying to lighten the pressure she felt.

"..I-it isn't.." She answered in a small voice.

"Then is it rare? unique?" I kept asking but she slowly shook her head. "No way, then is it legendary? ...even mythic?"

Still shaking her head, she finally looked up from the ground and turned to me.

I could see that she was worried and afraid but she took a deep breath before looking at me with a strong and determined gaze.

"Yabuki-kun... do you... do you promise to not.. be afraid after I reveal my class to you?"

Of course even though she looked determined, I could hear a pleading tone from her voice. It was more like she was hoping that I wouldn't be afraid of her, no matter what.

...Which made me quiet worried... is her class really that fearsome?

Reika's knit eyebrows also loosened after hearing Ayano-san's words.

Meeting Ayano-san's hopeful gaze, I answered. "Alright, I promise."

...Of course that depends whether her class might be harmful to me or not.

"Huu... Okay.." She released a breath before continuing.

"My class is... Special..."

Oh, like me? What are the odds of that...

"I-it's called... [ 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐞 ]..."

"...Like the bird? or the mother of nursing?" Anna-chan mutters from behind.

I think it's the latter... No, it should definitely be the latte. I mean what kind of class has the name of a bird?

"...The nursing... probably..." Ayano-san mumbled while looking away.

In a small voice, she continued. "...I have a skill called [ 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 ]... as you might have gotten from the name... I can heal other people's wounds with my blood."

This time, all three of us looked towards her.

Immediately, Reika started asking questions. "To what extent can your blood heal? Does it work if we drink it or do we only apply it on the wound? Alo-"

"I- I don't know!" Ayano-san repeatedly shook her arms and leaned backwards after Reika moved closer and closer each time she asked her questions. "...I've.. never used it before..."

"Oh I see..." Reika made a curious expression. "Why does your skill have to be ruthless as using your blood? Isn't your class nightingale? not bloody mary or something."

That's when we heard Anna-chan speak. "Unless it has something to do... ..with her unique attributes.."

Reik and Anna-chan inadvertently glanced at me. I could tell that they were still slightly wary since my unique attributes do involve betraying those who trust me.

But our two years of friendship should win over their momentary worries.

...right?

Ayano-san stammers in nervousness. "M-m-my unique attributes... I-I can absorb status and exp points from someone... but only if they trust me.."

"Hmmm... isn't that a pretty useful thing?" I mused.

"...But the victim dies right after the absorption process..."

Ayano-san made a face as if she had given up. Heck, I think she was even smiling a little. Maybe she finally accepted reality?

But I do understand that it is quite depressing and maybe horrifying for her since she was a kind and innocent girl, but not only did she go through a traumatic experience, she now also has to live doing something that goes against her personality.

No wonder she's drowning in her guilt. I don't doubt that she's constantly having thoughts of dying just because she feels like its pointless to continue living a life that is built upon other people's bodies.

After all, it just goes against her personality, her nature, and her identity.

'But...'

I don't know what kind of face I'm making right now but it's great that Ayano-san isn't looking at me.

'...I can change her...'

...No... it's not a matter of possibility but a matter of will.

I WILL change her.

After all... her ability seems useful.

Plus, the nature of her unique attributes goes well with mine.

Oops... I think I'm smiling too much since Anna-chan and Reika are looking at me weirdly.

Ah... what can I do though...

'I found my perfect partner in crime.'

-

After that, we took our time to explain our classes and skills.

Naturally, Ayano-san was surprised to learn of my class and unique attributes that were very similar to hers.

But... what I found weird was that she looked st me first with sympathy, as if she felt sorry for me before turning into empathy.

Maybe thats because she realized that we're the same.

But I noticed that she was looking at me with a more intimate and closer gaze, probably feeling a sense of kinship and camaraderie since we had the same nature of job class.

...This is perfect though.

I can use this chance to get closer to her and influence her little by little.

Huu... This is going to be a long project but...

Just thinking about the future gets me excited.

"Stop that creepy smile of yours already, Jin-kun." Reika who was beside me, whispered while we wete sneaking through the hallway.

That's right, after we got our general formation, we set off immediately to escape this place.

At the moment, Reika and I were at the front while Ayano-san and Anna-chan were behind us.

We could hear terrifying screeches and ominous beast howls from time to time but after traveling for about fifteen minutes, we have yet to encounter a single goblin or monster.

Naturally, we already grew suspicious after not seeing a single goblin within three minutes of our journey but this made us even more apprehensive now that they seem to have completely disappeared.

Dismembered corpse accompanied by puddles of blood, some fresh while others were dried. Either way, these things were scattered like decorations in the partially destroyed hallways.

The floor was littered with flesh bits, bones scattered innards, grey bricks that were part of the walls and ceilings.

It's like we were going through a haunted slaughterhouse.

Plus, the would spot severed heads stuck on iron sticks or poles from time to time. Those definitely freak us out since we always get reminded that... everything was real.

The lifeless eyes and lulling tongue of those heads...

...Those were real people.

Like, real living people.

This realization didn't hit that hard since we the hallways were literally filled with corpses of real people.

The only difference is, we didn't have to see their faces.

...Now I can't get the faces of those severed head out of my head.

I've forcefully adapted myself to grow accustomed to this scene but... I'm not a machine so the best I could do is ignore them.

Ayano-san seems to be holding out well. Seems like she's been through worse. Of course, the severed heads affected her as well but it seems like the faces of her dead classmate were worse so she wasn't affected that much.

Anna-chan still had a pale face but just like me, she was doing her best to ignore it.

But try as she may, she could not stop herself from being unable to stomach the things we saw, especially those severed heads.

Meanwhile, Reika seems to be the one who had fully grown accustomed in the environment since she doesn't even hesitate to examine the causes of deaths of the bodies.

By examining, of course I meant that she was merely looking at the bodies from a glance and guessing what could have killed them.

But still though, props to her that she's able to look at them without feeling pale.

As for me... I don't think I'll be able to sleep well.

...Nah, I'm sure I'm going to get nightmares for quite some time.

"Just past this corridor will be our checkpoint. That door will lead towards a large room that connects towards the path that leads to a nearby exit.

This is important because it is the only way towards the mentioned exit... otherwise we'll have to escape through the entrance of this place." Anna-chan whispers from behind us.

All of us quietly nodded at each other before sneaking towards the said large room.