“Hey Vic, are you alright?”
They were riding Jeb together, Norm at the front, Victor at the back. Norm was supposed to lead them to where the corpses were, but he forgot where it was. Thankfully Jeb remembered.
“Why did you ask that?”
“You seemed a little off ever since you got back.”
As soon as Norm saw his best friend, he could immediately tell that something was wrong. If someone asked him to explain in detail how he knew that, Norm couldn’t answer them.
He was pretty sure how Victor talked was the same as usual, and his expression definitely didn’t change; Victor was smiling like always. There was nothing different about him, but Norm was certain that Victor wasn’t… okay? No, not that. Victor felt like he was happier than usual, but there was something bothering him.
“Am I that obvious? And here I thought I’m a great actor.”
“You’re a great actor, Vic; it's just because I’m your best friend that I know.”
Victor rubbed Norm’s head, but he didn’t say anything.
A minute passed in silence. Norm didn’t want to rush Victor, so he stayed quiet. If Victor didn’t want to talk about it, Norm was sure Victor would have told him.
Norm couldn’t see Victor’s expression in this position, but he didn’t look back, afraid that it would pressure his best friend.
“I killed Aria, which was great. But that would mean I have to kill Garron tomorrow. If I don’t, I’m sure he will run away and kill everyone.”
The silence this time was much longer than before, but Norm didn’t say anything. He knew Victor wasn’t finished talking.
“The thing is, I’m not confident I could kill him. So I was thinking whether I should just run away with you now that Aria was gone. Of course I’ll try my best to bring everyone you care about with us, but…”
“We couldn’t save everyone?”
Victor didn’t answered his question, but Norm already knew the answer.
“I’m 99% sure that he would kill a lot of people one way or another to help in his escape. Even if killing everyone wouldn’t do anything, he would still do it. Because that’s the kind of monster Garron was.”
The option was then to either run away and doom a lot of people, or make Victor fight and risk killing him. Either option was bad, and Norm was sure that whatever he chose, Victor would have followed it.
“I thought I was prepared to die; I thought death wouldn’t scare me, but after talking to Kairos, I realized something. I don’t care what happened to me, but I care about you. I’m afraid that you will be depressed when I pass away. I’m scared that you wouldn’t eat properly, what if you took on a bad habit because of me? What if you hurt yourself? What if something bad happened to you? Who would protect you? I know you really love and care about me, that’s why I’m scared, Norm. I wanted you to always be happy. If I was the reason your life was miserable, I don’t think I could forgive myself.”
Jeb was slowing down, sensing the mood. But Norm and Victor didn’t realize it because they were stuck in their own world.
“You know, Victor, I’m actually afraid of the dark. Crazy, right? I’m sure you never realized that about me.”
It was such an abrupt change of topic that it confused Victor for a second. But he recovered and answered Norm. Victor was sure that there was a reason why Norm was saying this.
“Yeah, I don’t think I've ever seen you afraid of anything.”
“Of course you haven’t, because I’m not afraid of anything when you’re by my side. Even when the demon made me hate you, I still believed that you’ll protect me no matter what. I’m actually a coward, you know.”
Norm changed his sitting position so he was facing Victor. He then gently punched Victor in the chest and smiled up at him.
“I always feel safe when I’m with you. The dark feels comfy rather than scary if you’re by my side. I feel energized waking up because I know I’ll be spending my time with you. Look at the stars, Victor. Aren’t they beautiful?”
Victor did, but his expression didn’t change. Norm knew then that his best friend didn’t get it.
“I mean, sure. But it looked kinda ordinary. I don’t see what’s special about it. I see the same thing every day for my entire life; it lost its appeal a long time ago.”
Norm was nodding, smiling all the while. Sometimes, Victor could be an idiot.
“If I’m alone, then I would also not think too much of it. But right now, I’m with you, looking at the same sky. Eating, walking, playing, exercising, everything feels so much better when I’m with you. Seeing you working so hard made me not want to laze around all day; it made me want to become a better person.”
“Then, you think we should run away? You’re right, if I’m with you, life is so much better. Why should I risk my life when it could bring suffering to you? They meant nothing to me; if they died, so what? They never helped me, so why should I risk my life for them? All of them were useless pieces of shit. I should focus on my own happiness, my own life; that is what they always do. I’m stupid for thinking otherwise.”
Norm was shaking his head; that was not at all what he meant. But he couldn’t fault Victor for thinking that way. Especially since he knew what Victor had to endure all his life.
At the end of the day, Norm wouldn’t be the one who decided whether they would run away or not. Any decision that Victor picked, Norm would respect and follow. Because it was important for Victor to make his own decision right now.
“If you had told me immediately that you wanted to run away, then I would have believed you, but you did not. Victor, you are clearly conflicted; that’s not something someone who doesn’t care would do.”
“I mean, that’s true, but I’m not conflicted anymore. Running away is clearly the best course of action.”
“Victor, what I said before was only true because you’re happy. What makes you think I wouldn’t feel sad when you’re sad?”
“What do you mean? I wouldn’t feel sad—”
“Don’t lie to yourself. I know you, Victor. You would regret and ponder whether you could kill him right now for the rest of your life if you choose to run away.”
Victor was looking down, biting his lip. Uncertain once again.
“Just like you don’t want to make my life miserable, I also don’t want to make your life miserable. I want to be a good friend to you, and a good friend helps each other out in becoming a better person. Like you said, I really love and care about you. That’s why I want you to be the best version of yourself. I don’t want you to change for the worse because of me.”
“I… I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll follow your decision, whatever it is. But you should think about this deeply. A happy Victor is better than a regretful Victor.”
“You won’t make the decision for me?”
“Nope.”
Norm patted Victor’s head. Victor was so hunched over that it was easy to touch his head.
They didn’t continue this discussion for the rest of the night. Norm already told Victor everything there was to say; the decision was up to Victor now.
Taking care of the corpse was easy; Victor didn’t even need to drink any [Bless Milk]. Apparently he was immune to it today because of the fight with Aria.
“When you kill them, did you feel anything, Norm?”
“Nope. Why did you ask?”
“Normal people usually aren’t okay after killing people for the first time. I guess the rumor about [Spirit Contractor] not feeling guilty about killing people was true, because I certainly didn’t feel guilty killing Aria. Though it was maybe because she was a bad person.”
Norm didn’t know what to say to that. On one hand he didn’t care; on the other hand he also didn’t care, so he just shrugged. Victor didn’t seem like he cared, so why should he?
[Soulmate Level 52!]
Ver woke up to a level-up notification and something that he was not at all expecting to see.
[Spirit Contractor Removed!]
[Spirit Knight Level 12!]
[Milk Clothes Obtained!]
[Achievement Completed!]
[Kill a single demon]
[Title: Demon Slayer Obtained!]
[Mana Increased!]
Ver could feel his mana increasing by about fifty percent, which was insane. He was literally fifty percent stronger by just obtaining a single Achievement.
I didn't know obtaining an Achievement was worth that much. Does Victor know how to obtain more?
The thought of asking Norm didn’t even cross Ver’s mind. Loved him, but he knew how useless asking Norm was about anything. Ver was even confident that he knew more about this world than Norm now.
“Good morning, Ver. Have you seen the notification?”
(Yeah, the reward for the Achievement was insane. Did you know how to obtain more?)
“Ah, that. I forgot you were asleep the entire time, of course you just received the notification. I was referring to the new Skill we got.”
Looking around, Ver could see that they were at the barn before the sun even rose. Judging by how sweaty Victor was, Ver was sure that he had been exercising before stopping to read the system message that appeared in front of his face.
“Yeah, rewards obtained for an Achievement were always good. As for obtaining more, I only knew like twenty. Reaching level 50 and 100 the first time, saving 1000 people, saving 100.000 people, saving 10.000.000 people, killing a demon, killing 100 demons, killing 10.000 demons, killing a Demon Lord, killing a Demon King, killing 100 monsters, killing 10.000 monsters, killing 1.000.000 monsters, creating a really good item, teaching 10.000 people properly for three years, restoring an area, raising a kid properly until they turned eighteen, feeding ten million people, protecting a place for twenty-five years, and fixing the world of its many problems.”
(Whoa, slow down. There is no way I would remember everything you’re saying. Also, are there way more than twenty Achievements?)
“I doubt there are a lot more than twenty. People share these things. It’s basically common knowledge. But there could be an achievement that no one knew because they were so hard to get.”
(No one hoards the information?)
“Why would people do that? We’re not demons.”
Ver couldn’t say anything to that. In fantasy, knowledge was usually guarded for whatever reason. Mostly because some organization or something wanted to get ahead of everyone else, but Ver guessed having common enemies that could literally destroy the world changed things. Being ahead of others was useless if you were dead. Making everyone stronger was better for everybody, except demons or monsters of course.
“Anyway, we should discuss our new Skill. What information did the system put into your… brain? Well, the equivalent of it.”
It was the first time it ever happened to Ver, and he didn’t like it. Which was probably why it never happened to him.
I guess because it's our Skill, the system takes from Victor’s desire also, not just me.
(We could turn milk into one full set of clothing. The Skill could only create one, and if you wear it, you gain a buff depending on what milk you created the clothes with. Also, if anyone else but you wears the clothes, they wouldn’t gain the buff.)
“I also received the same information.”
Victor was thinking deeply about something for a moment, but he then shook his head.
“I’ll decide whether or not I should make a promise when I see the Skill effect. Rushing wouldn’t do me any good. Anyway, we should go back. Norm is probably awake now. Also, the plan on how to kill Garron changed a bit. We’ll discuss it later. It’s easier to explain when we are back home. All right, see you there, Ver.”
Before Ver could do anything, Victor was already gone.
Great, now I have to fly all the way there.
It was doubly annoying when he realized that Victor probably arrived at their homes in a second or two.
Ver was much faster than when he first woke up, but compared to Victor, it was like comparing a snail to a human. The infuriating thing about this analogy was that Ver wasn’t even sure it was an exaggeration.
Whatever, I could teleport. Who cares if Victor can run fast.
Of course Ver didn’t do that, because today, he needed all the mana he could get.
Bow woke up in an unfamiliar room. She didn’t open her eyes, afraid that—
“You’re safe, Bow. I know you’re awake.”
She didn’t open her eyes because she was afraid that someone or something was mimicking her brother’s voice—
Ursag flicked her forehead, making her immediately sit up.
“What did you do that for, you idiot? I was just trying to annoy you, not trying to be careful.”
“You accidentally told the truth, you idiot. But forget about that; we have much more important things to discuss.”
From Ursag’s expression and the way he talked, she knew he was serious. So she stopped joking around.
When she looked around the room, she saw a door, a carpet, walls, and her dumb brother. There was literally nothing else.
“Where are we?”
“In Norm’s house. He’s the kid from yesterday. You know, the one who rode that giant bull and saved us from the poison.”
The memory from yesterday finally came flooding in. The attack, the corpse, the poison, and more importantly, the demon.
“Are we far away from where the demon is?”
“No, apparently in a few hours we’re gonna kill it.”
“What?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t yeah me, explain everything.”
“Oh, wow.”
Ursag suddenly went still, and a bit of saliva dripped from his mouth, which was a bit disgusting.
“What do you mean ‘oh, wow’? That didn’t explain anything. Hey, are you okay?”
She was shaking her brother back and forth, but he still didn’t answer her. He didn’t even look at her; he was staring at the door, his dumb look even dumber than usual, which she hadn’t thought was possible. Then, Bow looked to where Ursag was staring, and she immediately understood why Ursag became like this.
“Oh, wow.”
Standing at the door was the most handsome man she had ever seen. The man was currently covered in sweat, but he didn’t stink at all. It was the opposite; in fact, he smelled really good, definitely the best smell that ever came out of anyone.
“Hey, you must be Ursag and Bow. I’m Victor.”
Hearing the voice of the man who called himself Victor was like receiving a massage through her ears, and when he smiled at her, Bow passed out.
Bow, you idiot! Why in the abyss did you pass out now? You’re making me look bad!
“Ehh, is she alright?”
Ursag couldn’t fault her for passing out. If the man—no, was he even a man?—smiled at him instead of at his sister, then Ursag was sure that he would be the one who would be on the ground, not her.
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
Yes, I can hear you. My name is Ursag, by the way. Don’t mind my sister on the ground; she just wanted to get more sleep.
Ursag closed his eyes. If he looked at Victor any longer, it would be bad. He was not a pervert!It was just a biological reaction! Abyss, he wasn’t even attracted to men. But Victor's sweat-soaked shirt didn’t hide anything! And Victor was the most beautiful thing Ursag had ever seen; nothing else even came close. Not to mention how sexy he was.
Wait, I’m not drooling am I? I am!! Ahhhh! Stupid body! You’re making me look bad!
“Are you meditating? Is that why you didn’t answer me and were closing your eyes? If so, then I would just leave you alone.”
He was at first confused why Victor said that, but Ursag then realized that he had answered Victor's question internally, not externally.
Okay I’ll just pretend to meditate. Drooling while meditating is completely normal. No doubt about it.
Thankfully, after a moment, Victor got out of the room, which made Ursag so relieved that he passed out.
“Wow, did you level up and gain a new Skill or something? You were so much cuter and prettier than you were yesterday.”
On the way to the barn, Victor saw Kairos outside the wall of the village, looking at him with amazement.
“I did level up and gained a new Skill. But I don’t think my new Skill improved my appearance. By the way, Ursag and Bow passed out when I checked on them. Are they alright?”
“I would be surprised if they didn’t. But don’t worry, they are alright. They just passed out because they looked at you.”
“Me? Why would they pass out seeing me?”
And here he thought it was because of the poison. Not in a million years would he have thought that they passed out just cause they saw him.
“They are low-level. It was hard for them to comprehend what they were seeing so they passed out. I’ve heard that a high-level [Spirit Contractor] has that effect on people. You don’t seem that high-level, but what do I know?”
Victor sighed, and rubbed at his temple. People passing out because they saw him was just plain ridiculous. It would make going out such a hassle.
“Am I really that handsome? Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?”
“You’re literally glowing, and I’m certain that it didn’t come from a light or a Skill. Did you think bending reality because you are so good looking is normal? I recommend always wearing something that covers you entirely or you could accidentally kill someone. And no, I’m not exaggerating. It happened before.”
Great, just great. Fuck my life, man. Good thing I have that new Skill.
Of course Victor could’ve asked Norm to tone it down a bit, but he didn’t want to. Because Victor knew that his best friend thought of him as the most good looking person in the world. He wanted to meet Norm's expectations, even if it was a nuisance.