Caren blinked rapidly, then turned his head.
Ren was walking beside him.
Caren clenched his teeth, but this time, it wasn’t because of Ren.
“I can count that as my worst death.
Has anyone else died as many times as I have?”
Caren was getting used to it.
Humans were adaptable.
But when they adapted, they changed too.
He looked ahead.
They were getting close to the rats.
Caren turned back to Ren and forced himself to smile.
“You know, this place isn’t safe.
We have to try another way.”
Ren looked at him, confused by what he was talking about.
Then she frowned slightly.
“Why is this place not safe?
It’s the best route to the structure.”
Caren swallowed hard.
He looked down at the sand, watching the wind move it.
“That’s because…
I know it sounds stupid, but…
my grandfather can see the future.
He warned me about everything.
How I would find you and escape from here.
And a lot of other things…
But if we keep going this way, rats with yellow eyes will eat us.”
Ren’s eyes widened, and she took a step back.
“Are you sure about those rats?
Aren’t you just joking?”
Caren sighed in relief.
He didn’t know how Ren knew about them, but as long as he was safe, nothing else mattered.
Caren frowned.
He didn’t want to die, but Ren had killed Caren before.
She was really a monster.
But there was something strange about it.
He had always wanted to die, but he had been too scared to kill himself.
And now, when he could simply stop trying and let unknown creatures kill him, he was doing everything he could to survive.
“I’m just weird, aren’t I?”
Ren stared at him for a moment, then started walking again.
But this time, she was moving faster.
“D…
don’t you come?”
Her voice was slightly shaky.
Caren simply nodded and followed her.
After walking for a while, they were both exhausted.
The desert was scorching hot, and Caren’s bottle was empty.
They had drunk all the water, and there was nothing but sand around them.
Caren could only hope they would find some water, but he wasn’t sure they would.
“Come on.
Just this once, give me what I want.
It’s not fair that I don’t have anything useful.
Even Ren has her own monster.”
Fair?!
Nothing was fair in life at all.
And what could he do? This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Just keep trying and hope something good would happen.
As if he could do anything else.
He kept trying because he was too scared to give up.
But at the same time, he just wanted to lie down on the ground and rest.
Let those creatures kill him and end everything.
But he didn’t.
He still wanted to live with his family.
Because no matter how much he wanted to run away from them, they were still his family.
“Uh, of course I can’t tell them that I wanted to kill a girl, or that I died three times.”
A smile appeared on Caren’s face.
He just had to survive and not break.
“Oh my God!”
Hearing Ren’s voice, Caren snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her.
“What’s wrong?”
Ren simply pointed ahead, a smile on her face.
Caren followed her gaze.
A black temple stood before them, its massive crimson columns rising high into the sky.
Its surface was covered in countless cracks.
It was as tall as a tree and as wide as a bus.
Caren felt a pressure weighing down on him.
It wasn’t enough to bother him.
He looked at Ren, who was staring at the temple.
“Finally.
Finally, I can leave this place.
I can go home and live with my family.
I don’t have to worry about anything else…
Caren, let’s g—”
Before she could finish, Caren drove the knife into her back.
The blade pierced straight through her heart.
He didn’t give her a chance to react.
She simply stared at Caren and whispered,
“Why?”
Then her eyes closed.
Caren let her fall, then covered his face with his hands.
“Why?
WHY?
You killed that boy.
You killed me.
You can’t ask me why.”
Caren stared at her face.
It didn’t feel real, as if she might suddenly open her eyes.
She just died?
Just like that?
Caren’s eyes stopped moving.
Something on Ren’s face was glowing.
“A tear?”
But she hadn’t even had time to cry.
So…
this was a tear of happiness.
She was happy because she could finally leave this place, go back home, and put all of this behind her.
“It…
of course it was your fault.”
Caren had just done what he had to do.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Caren placed his hand on Ren’s to check if she was still alive.
And at that moment…
she died.
Ren wasn’t alive anymore.
And Caren was…
happy?
“Yeah, I can’t tell Mom and Dad about this.”
[You gained one Spoil.]
Caren jumped back and turned his head, trying to figure out where the voice had come from.
If someone…
He looked at Ren.
“Shit, shit, shit.”
Caren took a step back.
“Who’s there?!”
He waited for an answer, but none came.
“Show yourself!
I have a weapon, so…
it’s better for you to—”
He didn’t finish.
Spoil?
The word felt familiar.
He had heard it before.
Or…
had he read it?
Caren made the texts appear.
Everything was as usual.
Except…
Spoils: Dead Guide
What was it?
What even was Dead Guide?
He looked at Ren.
Was it about her?
She had kind of been his guide, and now she was…
dead.
But why was it there?
Spoil?
Was it a reward for killing Ren?
Huh?
This was confusing.
Caren felt something, as if his mind already knew what to do.
He focused on Dead Guide, and then…
Blue sparks appeared around his hand.
A few moments later, something formed around it—a thin rope?
Caren jumped back and shook his hand.
“What the fuck?!
Let go!
Let go!”
But nothing happened.
It was just a rope.
Like any other rope.