Caren didn’t speak for a second.
Why?
“You…
you’re kidding?!”
Caren started laughing.
His voice was dry.
“Come on, seriously?
You wanted me to be happy for a second, only to trap me in a dark space?”
He looked around.
“Okay, okay.
What’s next?
What are you going to do now?
Bring Ren back to life and let her kill me?
Or…
teleport me somewhere else?
An ocean?
Hell?”
Caren shook his head.
“Who even are you?”
He smirked.
“I’ll find you.
And when I do, you’ll be the one crying for help.”
Suddenly, Caren shivered.
A voice began to speak.
“Caren, you have achieved your Start.”
It paused.
Its tone was deep and dry, devoid of emotion.
It sounded like a machine or a robot.
“You are a Starter now.”
Caren didn’t move.
He simply whispered,
“Who are you?”
The voice continued without paying any attention to him.
“A boy.
A boy with no home, with no one to love, yet still living on his own.
But there was still hope.
He believed he would find love someday.
“Unfortunately, another boy took over his body.
“The body thief was kind, like a normal human.
He didn’t know what to do, but he tried.
“He died, but remained unbroken.
He tried.
“He killed a girl and a boy.
“And then he talked to a flower.”
Caren sighed.
“I know, I know.
There’s no need to tell me what I did.”
The voice continued.
“Your achievements were great.
Starter, your Chosen Name is peerless.
You are a Matter Manipulator.”
Caren frowned in confusion.
“I’m what?”
The voice answered.
At least, that was what Caren thought it was doing.
“There was a prince.
He created everything: water, air, wind, space, stars, and…
even nothing.
He created nothingness itself.
“He was the Prince of Matter.”
“Why are you telling me all this?
Wait, wait…
Chosen Name?
Wasn’t it in the texts?”
But what did that mean?
What could he do with his Chosen Name?
“You gained three Chosen Abilities: Air Compression, Ground Slicking, and Object Sharpening.
“Glorious.
Your will is unbreakable.”
Caren raised his eyebrows.
“Um…
yeah, thanks?”
The voice continued, its tone still emotionless.
Who was speaking?
Caren didn’t know.
The only thing he knew was that whoever owned the voice wasn’t there.
Its voice was the same as the one that had told him he had gained a Spoil.
“Starter, your Grade is Drop.”
Caren listened intently, sensing that this was something he needed to know.
“Drops were the weakest.”
Caren’s face fell.
“What?
The weakest?
I died over and over just to be the weakest?!”
But then a smile appeared on Caren’s face.
“Actually, it’s not that important.
After all, everyone except me is a normal human.
I could become rich, or…
it’s better not to tell anyone.”
Caren didn’t want to trust anyone easily.
Maybe it was because of his experience with Ren or Darkness.
What about that flower?
There was nothing he could do about it.
Maybe when he became stronger, he could.
“So they created a…
for future Drops.”
Caren furrowed his brow.
Why didn’t it tell him what they had created?
Was it something that was forbidden?
The voice didn’t let him think about it for long and continued.
“Your Level is Beginner.
Kill to become stronger.
Power gained: 1/1000.”
Caren’s eyes widened.
Kill?
He had to kill?
But kill what?
Other people?
There were no monsters in his world.
Caren suddenly jumped.
He heard something moving.
He looked around and swallowed.
When he realized what was happening, the color drained from his face.
Hesitantly, he took a step forward.
Countless vines had grown throughout the dark space, stretching toward him.
They moved slowly, as if they wouldn’t reach Caren anytime soon.
But that alone was enough to shatter his sense of calm.
“What the…?”
Caren looked up, as if the owner of the voice might be there. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“Please, take me out of here.”
He looked at the vines.
What would happen if he touched one of them?
He quickly pushed the thought aside.
“Am I out of my mind?
Uh, where am I anyway?”
“Starter, can you reach the end?”
He glanced at the vines again, afraid to even look at them.
“Um…
what do you mean by ‘end’?”
Was it talking about the end of this dark space?
Did he have to go near those vines?
But before he could move or say anything, the black space began to fade.
“Oh, shi—”
He was there again.
On the bed, in a small room with white walls.
Of course, he knew where he was.
“Hospital?”
Tears filled his eyes, but he didn’t cry.
He no longer wanted to show any weakness while someone was around.
He wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
Then he made the texts appear.
Name: Caren
Grade: Drop
Role: Upside Downer — Starter
Chosen Name: Matter Manipulator
Chosen Abilities: Air Compression, Ground Slicking, Object Sharpening
Level: Beginner
Power Gained: 1/1000
Spoils: Dead Guide
There were so many things to take in.
Most of them weren’t difficult to understand.
Except for one: Role.
What did that mean?
The voice had called him a Starter before, and he could kind of understand that.
But…
he had no idea what an Upside Downer was.
He guessed it was some kind of ranking system.
Maybe Upside Downer was the name of his kind, while Starter was his rank.
“Why didn’t the voice explain it to me?”
And the vines.
Why had they tried to reach him?
The first thing that came to his mind was that they wanted to eat him.
But that sounded stupid.
“Am I a Matter Manipulator now?
Or can I just manipulate matter?
And how do I use my abilities?
Isn’t there a tutorial?”
Suddenly, the door opened, and someone entered.
A woman.
She was so beautiful that Caren almost blushed.
Her red hair was the color of wine, and her eyes resembled two black rubies, as if they had been carved by the finest gem cutters.
She was tall, wearing a black leather coat and loose-fitting pants that were wide enough to conceal the shape of her legs.
She looked like she had recently turned twenty.
The woman smiled gently.
“Congratulations.
You are now a Starter and an Upside Downer.”