Zakar stared at the paper in his hands as it trembled lightly between his fingers. His eyes shifted toward the door. He hadn’t seen anyone standing there.
There was no one else in the room except him. His mind went over the same thought again and again, desperately trying to piece the puzzle together.
How had this paper gotten into his hands? And how had he not felt it?
He slowly unfolded the paper, and what he saw next shocked him more than he had expected.
A message had been written neatly across it in ink.
’Meet us at the third block of the refectory tomorrow.’
He scoffed lightly before folding the paper back up. He remained still for several seconds, his mind battling with the possibilities of who could have sent it.
It couldn’t have been either of his teammates. It couldn’t have been General Lemon either.
If it were him, he would have simply dragged Zakar out and brutalized him for wasting even a second at the door. He certainly wouldn’t play a game of hide-and-seek just to deliver a message.
And besides, General Lemon wasn’t the type to write his messages on a piece of paper.
"Could it be Kyara? But why? Fuck!" he cursed before collapsing onto his bed.
The door suddenly opened, and Sera walked in with an expressionless face. She walked past him without a word and sat down on her bed on the other side of the room.
Zakar stared at her and noticed that her scar had healed considerably, though it wasn’t completely gone. He wondered about it for a moment before her voice cut through his thoughts like a blade.
"What are you staring at?"
He looked at her, baffled. He blinked twice, not because he wanted to, but because of the nervousness creeping through him. He eventually managed a faint smile and roughly scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry. I was just observing."
Sera shot him a dark glance before looking away in irritation.
Silence settled between them, cold and uncomfortable.
"I guess that’s how you figured out how to kill those things."
She said finally breaking the silence that had settled like ice between them.
"Yeah. You mean the Ash Imps, right?"
"Are you dumb! Yeah, I mean that."
Zakar smiled nervously. "Yes. I noticed that they regenerate and multiply at the same time. But there were certain spots that didn’t regenerate, so I based my attack around that hypothesis. Also—"
"Save it." she interrupted, standing up and walking toward the table.
"Huh?"
"You came from Earth?" she asked without looking at him. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Zakar stared at her in shock at the sudden question.
"Yeah. What about it?"
"You were hurt while dying?"
Zakar’s eyes widened even further. Where the hell was she going with this?
"Yes. Who the hell wouldn’t feel the pain of death?" he muttered, his stomach churning as an uncomfortable sensation stirred within him.
"I don’t mean the pain from dying. I mean the pain of having to die."
"I think you’re crazy."
"Emotional pain. You’re a bigger idiot than i figured!"
"Okay, yeah." He finally snapped out of his confusion.
"You felt it? Or did you just die like a piece of shit or what?" she muttered, scratching her nails against the table.
"I felt it. Damn. Why are you reminding me of it?" he muttered.
The memories of his girlfriend suddenly replayed inside his head, her voice echoing through his mind just as it had before his death.
’Dumbass. Why did he have to fight? Now his stupidity has caused his death. Serves him right. Fool.’
Those words sank into his mind like heavy lead disappearing into deep water.
"Good to know," she said simply, as though his emotions meant nothing to her.
"Damn. What is your aim in all of this?" he asked, clutching his chest.
A strange burning sensation was beginning to spread through him. He couldn’t tell whether it was merely in his head or something far more real.
"Nothing. I just wanted to know what it felt like to have emotions." she snapped before lying down on her bed.
Zakar stared at her in disbelief as she lay there perfectly fine. His eyes burned with anger as he continued staring at her.
’Why am I suddenly angry at her? Why do I feel like there’s a demon inside me? Why do I feel like I could crush the world to its very end? What in heaven’s name is this?’
He pulled himself back onto his bed and lay down. He decided to suppress the strange feeling by sleeping. Maybe that would be enough to make it disappear.
’I don’t know why the hell she asked me that question, but I can tell she’s up to something,’ he thought as he stared at the ceiling.
[Alert-!!]
[Murderous Intent is growing higher than normal.]
[Murderous Intent: 57%] New chapters come out on g.com first.
[Warning: You could go on a rampage and begin killing anyone randomly.]
"Wait, what!" he exclaimed as the notification appeared.
He immediately tilted his head toward Sera and noticed that she was staring directly at him.
He had exclaimed too loudly. He needed to be quieter.
’Wait... what!’ he muttered internally.
’Does the Murderous Intent apply to me? Why? Fuck! What the hell is this?’
[Yes. The application of this state of mind is exclusive to you. You are the Necromancy Player, and this power now runs through your blood.]
’You’ve got to be kidding me. So if my Murderous Intent reaches a certain level, I become a beast? How is that supposed to make any sense?’
[Once your Murderous Intent reaches 60%, you become Cannibalistic.]
[Once it reaches 70%, you become a Beast capable of killing not only humans but also other beasts.]
[At 80% and above, you become a being beyond Beast. You become a pure, random devil.]
’Fuck. So I’m literally something like a werewolf or vampire?’
[Yes. But only that you are a dynamite version.]
’How do I control this Murderous Intent? I don’t want to go around tearing the flesh from humans and beasts alike.’
[The remedy is optional.]
[First Option: Consume the corpses of fallen humans or beasts until your hunger is satisfied.]
[Second Option: Complete daily quests assigned by the system for this purpose. Bear in mind that these quests will be deadly and dangerous.]
’Fuck. Both options are crazy, but I think I’ll prefer the latter,’ he thought to himself.
’So when do I get my quest before I turn into a fucking deadly creature?’
[Searching for quest...]
[System has found a rightful quest.]
[Quest arriving in the next twenty minutes.]
’Damn. I have to get ready. I hope I don’t vanish during the quest. That would be too suspicious. I’ll have to leave for a secluded area.’
"Hmmm..." he sighed, exhaustion and anxiety weighing heavily on him.
He wondered what kind of quest the system would throw at him. It had called it deadly, but despite himself, he couldn’t help but wonder what awaited him.