Noah woke up lying in what seemed like a black space. He looked up. There was nothing. Just a black space. Upon sitting down, he noticed two things. The first thing was that he had no clothes. Literally, he was naked. His muscles and skin were exposed. And the second one...
The floor was covered in blood. And he too. He looked at his hands. The arms, everything. There was blood. Scared, he put his hands on his face. What was that place? Was it the second floor? And her friends? And Ava?
He looked around. Clover was lying near him, but instead of being naked, he was wearing a dark blue formal suit, stained with blood on the floor. He crawled towards him. He didn't want to get up, it was very uncomfortable for him.
—Clover, are you awake? Clover? —the boy remained lying down. But Noah realized something. He was with his eyes open, motionless. There was blood running down his mouth, already dry. —¿Wha...?
He saw his back. On it... There were 3 holes, piercing through it. Noah froze. He took his pulse, his hands trembling, just like his entire body. There was nothing. He was dead. Several tears ran down her face, frozen, with an expression of terror and sorrow at the same time. After all, he was only 12 years old... What had he done to the world for it to be so cruel to him?
He looked more around that black space. Quite a few bodies were around him. Of people he didn't know, at least most of them. He got up this time, without first covering Clover's eyes. He discovered that a kind of black mist covered his intimate parts, which he found somewhat relieving.
As he walked towards an unknown direction, the bodies kept increasing in number. Until he saw someone alive, standing. He had green hair, and a very formal, elegant, and excessively detailed suit, with colored stones, and a fabric the same color as his hair. She was facing away from him. But she recognized him instantly.
—Cain...? —he turned his head to look at him. He looked at him with a cold, bloody gaze. He no longer had his glasses, and his eyes were no longer green. They were rather reddish in color. He looked at his hands. He was holding a mask, also very detailed, with a big smile on it. No... That wasn't Cain, he thought.
—Your fault... All this... It's your fault... —Noah didn't know what he was talking about. —If you hadn't insisted on searching, this wouldn't have happened. —The mysterious letter came to Noah's mind. A dark fog, darker than the fog that had covered him, began to surround him.
A strange sensation of suffocation began to be felt coursing through every nerve. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He started to feel dizzy. Suddenly, he wanted to close his eyes. Rest in peace. Get away from that place. "Cain," who was still there, turned around completely and opened his mouth. He was saying something to him. But he wasn't listening to him. He closed his eyes, and...
—Noah? Wow, does he always fall asleep like this? —Heard Enma speak. He opened his eyes, not too fast, not too slow. Enma, Ava, and Aike were sitting beside him. They were probably waiting for him to wake up.
—No, as far as I know... Oh, he's awake! —exclaimed Ava, a little happier, as she looked at him.
—Huh? What's happening...? —he said to himself. He sat up, sitting. There were trees surrounding them, and a blue sky, with clouds, and the sunlight hitting his face —Are we out of that tower?
—No... Unfortunately not. —Aike replied— This is the second floor. Cain and Clover woke up earlier, so they went out to explore a bit and get oriented. They'll be back soon. They left 30 minutes ago, they won't take long to fly back...
—Has the little princess already woken up?! —Cain's distant shouts interrupted him. He was accompanied by Clover, holding hands. —If that's the case, tell him to go back to sleep! Sleeping, he's even more handsome!
—Cain... —So all of that was a bad dream? He watched him as he approached. He looked normal, no red eyes, no suit, nothing like that. He also looked at Clover. He was much more cheerful than before. It seemed that Cain cheered him up more than he did. He didn't know he had a knack for children...
—Noah! — Clover ran towards him, happy to see him —This place is incredible! It's very strange, but at the same time fantastic!
—Really? —asked Ava as Clover and Cain sat down. —What did you see?
—I wish you had come! —exclaimed Cain. —There are some very beautiful landscapes! This is a very exotic tropical jungle!
—Yes! We saw a giant bird with yellow feathers and many more colors feeding its chicks!—said Clover, with what almost seemed like sparks in her eyes. —It was very round and rare! I had never seen such a rare specimen before! Its beak was even bigger than its body!
—Yes... Although it's strange. Almost as if we were in another world. There are giant rocks that even float in the air, as if there were no gravity on them.
While they were talking, Aike, Ava, and Enma watched them excitedly, fascinated to hear that. But Noah began to meditate. Where were they? From what they said, their location seemed to be in an open space. His head was spinning.
He decided to step away a bit while they were talking to get some air. Ava followed him with her eyes. The grass he was stepping on seemed normal, just like the trees. He remembered how to open the System, as Cain had said. He noticed how he touched a small lump. Did they implant it? He pressed it, and all his statistics appeared, with the only change being the mana, now at 100, and the identity.
Shadow Mage. He had a vague idea of what a Mage was, but that? He had the idea to press the reflection to see if something would appear. And indeed, it appeared, to Noah's surprise.
[Shadow Mage. / Current rank: K / Current limit: I- / General Info: A mage whose specialty is shadows and the dead. Function: Attacker, Defense (in special cases), Shield (in special cases). / Spells: none / Incantations: none / Enchantments: none / Abilities: Shadow Extract (lvl 1)]
Shadow Extract? Was that all he had? What was even that?
—What are you doing? — Ava, seeing him, approached him, passing by several trees —Are you watching the System?
—Yes. Something new has come up. It's information about the identities. Apparently, there is a lot of information about them.
—I was also doing a bit of digging, I know what you mean. — Noah still wasn't very accustomed to Ava's new way of speaking. He decided to try something.
—How much is 21 divided by 3? —he asked, with a smile. Ava was surprised by the question and started counting on her fingers.
—6 with... —she spent several seconds counting —6 with 7638! —she exclaimed, proudly. Noah looked at her again with an unpleasant expression.
—...It's 7. You definitely haven't become smarter. —this discouraged Ava a bit— So this suggests that the increase in intelligence doesn't add more knowledge to us, but rather improves the way we think about things.
—Ah! By the way! Have you seen the shop? You can visit it now!
—Shop? — Noah remembered having seen something similar.
—Yes! There's something called a "free daily box." No idea what it's for. — Noah immediately knew what it was, or at least what he thought it was.
—Let's go back to the others. I think I've discovered something.
—What are you trying to tell me? —Ruby was drinking water from a river. The waters were very clear and crystalline, reflecting the sunlight above her. The trees around her seemed normal, but the birds flying in the sky did not. Azrail was watching her, leaning against a tree. —Shop?
—Yes. Think it over. Don't you find it strange that the rabbit still hasn't come to give us instructions? —he said, lifting his head, contemplating the landscape. The cold air hit him, and a single tunic didn't help. And even less flip-flops in an environment like that.
—That's because we are dissolved. Before, we were all grouped together, so that shitty rabbit could talk to us. What are you implying, Mr. "everyone-is-trash-but-me"?
—... Open your System. Press on your left ear, a little higher up. You will notice a lump. The shop is already available. — Ruby stopped drinking water, stood up, and did as instructed —Look at the "free daily box."
—Yes, and? It's a free box. Should I claim it?
—Go ahead.— Ruby pressed the box icon, and a small box appeared in her hands. It was a small white box, smooth, with a golden lock. The lock opened, and a clear blue light appeared, floating in the air.
[You have obtained a common item!] A sword appeared in the air, falling to the ground. It wasn't too good, nor too bad. Azrail grabbed it. It had a worn leather grip.
—Is that a sword?— Ruby asked, confused, while Azrail watched her.
—The real question here would be: What do we need a sword for? Look around us. This looks like a jungle. And the creatures are very strange compared to our world. Look back at the store.
Ruby reopened the store. The box now cost 100... What were those stones? Now, there were more items below. Clothes, food, necessities... All with different prices, but with the same currency of payment. She kept going down. She noticed that there was a first aid kit.
—Why do we need a first aid kit? No, rather, what's all this for?
—Haven't you noticed...? This is the second game...
—...Survive. —Noah told everyone. They listened to him attentively, after he had explained the situation with the store. He still hadn't claimed any box.
—Then, why didn't the rabbit tell us?— asked Cain, looking at his shop.
—Maybe that's the trick.— Enma replied. —Since it has already given us several advantages before, it could be like a 'punishment' for having helped us previously.
—They don't want us to survive... —said Aike, scratching his head —I'm going to try to claim the box then. Let's see what happens. —he opened the store and pressed the button. The little white box appeared, and opened, causing another blue light to float.
[You have obtained a common item!] What appeared to be a round wooden shield appeared in the sky and fell. Aike grabbed it. It was an appropriate size for him.
—Here. — He gave it to Clover. —You'll need it more than I do. — He, grateful, nodded and grabbed the shield. It was a bit big for him, but he didn't mind. It would cover him more.
—Oh, oh, now me, now me! — exclaimed Enma. She pressed it, and the same procedure followed, with the blue light.
[You have obtained a common item!] But nothing appeared. The blue light faded away. Enma had a poker face, still looking up.
—Why don't I have anything?! —she finally said, grabbing her hair. Everyone looked at her, confused.
—Hey, look at this. —said Ava. She hadn't opened a box yet, but she had a yellowish piece of paper in her hands —There's an information section, right at the corner of the box icon. I pressed it, and this appeared. Here. —She handed the paper to Noah. They were the odds of obtaining each item. He put it in plain sight for everyone present.
[Common: 70.3% ---> Worn swords, level 1 healing potions, level 1 buff potions, ancient wooden shields, nothing.
Rare: 25.6% ----> Swords in good condition, level 2-3 healing potions, level 2-3 enhancing potions, metal shields, magic wands, mana channelers.
Very rare: 3.1% ---> Swords in very good condition, healing potions of level 4-7, enhancing potions of level 4-7, silver shields, enhanced magic wands, superior mana channelers.
Mythical: 0.99992% ---> Gold swords, level 8-10 healing potions, level 8-10 enhancing potions, silver shields, ruby-boosted magic wands, God-level mana channelers.
Legendary: 0.00008% ---> The Mask of the Liar Assassin, The Grimorion Staff, Thor's Hammer, Hercules' Shield, The Star Armor, The All-Seeing Eye, The Hamelin Flute, The Invisibility Cloak of the Third Brother.]
—That explains why Enma had nothing...— said Aike. He looked at Clover —Try it yourself, little man.
Clover pressed the button, and the box appeared, but instead of a blue light, a green light appeared.
[You have obtained a rare item!] Three jars with an orange liquid appeared. They had text written on them.
—Level 2 enhancement potions... —he read. He placed 2 small bottles in Aike's hand —I don't need this. You do. — Aike's face lit up, perhaps because of the child's humility, and he accepted the bottles. He patted his head, ruffling his hair a bit.
—It's my turn, right? —said Ava —she pressed, and the box appeared, with a blue light emerging. The same message appeared, and a sword with a worn leather grip came out. —Geez... This is useless to me.
—The chances of getting a mythical one are 0.99992, and a legendary one are 0.00008%, right? —commented Noah —It's almost impossible for someone to get one. You would need a lot of luck to...
[You have obtained a legendary item!] It was heard from behind. Everyone turned to look. Cain had opened his box, and a powerful golden light surrounded him.