*Crack*
“ARRRRRRHGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”
The cracking noise of bones breaking resounded clearly as the shooter’s painful scream filled the air. His arm broke without effort in front of my strength.
“How cruel!”
“Y-you monster!!” People cowered and shouted in fury.
“Monster? Didn’t he just shoot me?” I looked at them with disdain. “He can shoot at me, but I can’t break an arm? Is a broken bone worse than a gunshot? Just so you know, I would have broken all his limbs if not for the situation. I only didn’t because I might as well kill him if I break them right now.”
It sounded as if I talked about some twisted mercy, but I didn’t care. The others kept pointing their silly guns at me, trembling. They were not experts. I wonder how they even got the guns.
“Let him go right now, or I’m going to shoot!” One of them shouted.
“So, shoot,” a creepy smile appeared on my face, “But I will break your legs this time.”
The man hesitated. He knew it was no bluff.
“That’s enough!” Haze stood in front of them before things could escalate, “We have more important things to worry about! And you can’t go around shooting people!”
“Mr. Haze…”
“If Mr. Haze says so…” The men lowered their guns while biting the corner of their lips.
Haze pleaded with his eyes for me to let go. I threw the broken-armed man to the others as if he weighed nothing, keeping my guard up in case any of them tried anything funny.
“I want you out of here! Get out!” The one called Mr. Albert pointed his fingers at me, shouting.
I shrugged, “Oh, is that so? You’re not even a priest here. Even if you were, I can walk out on my own, but nobody can force me out.”
Jiwan and the others stared at me, perhaps unable to recognize my usual self. I was just… angry. Since everything started, all I did was take care of people. I changed my plans. Got hurt and bled. Almost died several times.
I was trying my best to save them, but they would rather trust this conman politician over my words.
Why should I care about doing things my way then?
I will trample under my feet anyone in my way.
“Y-you…” The veins in the conman forehead were about to burst. I met many of his type of people, climbing to authority and power from the past, which were worth nothing in this new world. When in despair, people sought for leaders, and those with a silver tongue manipulated them easily.
“Mr. Albert, please, let’s drop this, he’s dan-“ Sooyeon suddenly covered her mouth, looking at me as if she said something wrong.
‘Dangerous, huh… I guess that’s not wrong,’ I thought.
“Fine, since Miss Yeon is asking me, but he isn’t welcome here.”
Mr. Albert walked out, followed by almost everyone else. They carried the injured man, leaving the room free of outsiders. Only the dogs, the little girl, Jiwan, the Class Rep, Haze, Sooyeon, and I were left.
“What’s going on? That’s not like you,” Jiwan worried.
He was right. That was not like the “me” he knew, but that one was already gone.
“No time to make friends, buddy. They’re not worth it. Soomi isn’t out of the woods yet, and this place is temporary.”
“You keep saying that!” Sooyeon said. “Isn’t it about time you tell us how you know that? How do you expect us to believe you?”
“Sooyeon…” The Class Rep tried to calm her down.
“It’s not as if you can understand even if I tried,” I sighed, “Have I been wrong?”
“No, but you don’t know everything! You’re just a college student like us!” Sooyeon glared at me.
“I have no time to waste convincing you. Think whatever you want,” I shrugged.
“I will take my sister outside!” Sooyeon walked towards Soomi.
Shadow and blood growled and bared their teeth, forcing her to stop, “Gr….”
“….!” Sooyeon backed away in fear.
“WOOOF. WOOOF!”
The Black Lab barked loudly. The huskies flinched and then made way for the girl.
‘What are you doing?’ I glared at them.
‘Sorry. Big Sister. Scary…’ Shadow lowered his head while looking away.
I facepalmed.
So, the Black Lab was their big sister? Those two cowards!
Sooyeon sat near Soomi, gently touching her forehead with a face full of worry.
“Zen, those people are afraid. They shouldn’t have shot at you. I’m sorry,” Haze bowed in apology.
“Never mind. They couldn’t hurt me, anyway. And I won’t be staying here long enough for them to do anything stupid.”
“Buddy, you want to keep going south? This place looks safe, though. Do we need to be in such a hurry?” Jiwan spoke his mind, but it was clear everyone else thought the same.
“Jiwan. This place is safe for now, but only from those Longclaws and other weaker demons. Coming here, I’ve seen sights from other worlds, and this place won’t be enough to stop them. Everyone that stays here will die,” I said it without exaggeration or lies.
“I-I see…”
“… Sigh. I really didn’t want to show it here, but it seems you all won’t believe me if I don’t. Haze, close the door, please.”
After Haze closed the door, I got up, breathing deeply, “Jiwan, come here.”
I led him in front of the burly dude, “Haze, punch him.”
“Uh??” Haze’s eyes widened in surprise.
“UHM?! PUNCH ME? ARE YOU CRAZY?!” Jiwan looked out of his mind with fear. A punch from Haze…
“With your entire strength,” I added.
“No way!” Jiwan frantically wavered his hands.
I looked at Haze, nodding.
“The hell? He will not punch me-“
Haze stepped forward, bringing his arm back before throwing a powerful punch. The Magic Circle glowed in my hand…
[Defense Up]
A magic layer covered Jiwan’s entire body, providing defense much beyond what a normal human could dream.
*SMASH*
Haze’s fists smashed into Jiwan’s stomach, and he looked about to die before it even hit, “UUUUUUUUUGH…?! Huh? It doesn’t hurt???”
“W-what’s that on your hand??” The Class Rep saw the Magic Circle and her eyes lit up with interest.
“This? This is a spell circle,” I smiled. “Didn’t I tell you? After awakening the system, everything is different.”
“No way…” Even Sooyeon was flabbergasted.
“HEY, THAT SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. You didn’t need to use me as a punching bag!” Jiwan protested.
I smirked, “You felt nothing. Haze held back. With his full strength… you would still be on the ground right now.”
Jiwan glared at me, “You’re a terrible friend!”
“Do you believe me now?” I waited for their response. If even after seeing this, they still refused to believe me…
Jiwan, the Class Rep, and Haze nodded. I glanced at Sooyeon. Honestly, I was close to giving up on her. She lowered her head shyly, nodding.
“I wanted to go south right away, but, with Somi’s sickness, it’s too risky. She needs strength. That means finding something to eat in one of those new worlds. And quickly.”
“Since you have magic, we can do it, right?” Jiwan’s eyes shined with hope.
“Maybe. It’s not that simple. Right now, all of you are [Unranked]. I have opened The Path, reaching the [First Rank]. I’m much stronger than you, but that doesn’t mean I’m stronger than those of the other worlds.”
“They also have magic?” Haze asked.
“Magic, skills, items, natural powers… there can be anything. Even the environment might be incredibly dangerous. Not everything we find will be edible. Luckily for us, I have an innate ability called [intuition]. It’s how I know those things about this world.”
I lied. I couldn’t have them questioning me every time, and I would eventually run out of excuses. It’s better if they think this was one of my powers, and not because I was reborn.
“That’s amazing. So that’s why! Can we have abilities too?” The Class Rep took it a lot better than I thought.
I realized I knew too little about her. She always looked calm and composed in class, uninterested in other people, and adapted quickly to this situation. Unlike Jiwan, she didn’t mention family at all.
And just now, when I showed my spell, her eyes sparkled the most.
“That’s different for everyone. You will only know when you awaken.”
Sooyeon looked at me with determination, “Can I heal my sister? If I open the system.”
“I don’t know. It’s possible, but… out of everyone here, you are the one furthest from awakening,” I said truthfully. The New Qi around her body is thinner than the others. Haze was the closest.
Perhaps I should have motivated her to work hard into opening The Path, but that might have led her to be reckless. No one knew when their path would start, and frustration caused people to make poor decisions.
“!!!” Sooyeon said nothing else, but lowered her head, dejected.
“Don’t worry. I will never let Soojin’s sister die,” I clenched my fist. “Jiwan, Class Rep, you are coming with me. We’ll find food.”
“Um!” they agreed right away, bringing a smile to my face. Showing them magic was the right choice.
“Haze, you stay here and monitor things. They trust you. I will leave Blood and Shadow here too.”
Shadow wanted to protest, but I paid no attention to him. Blood looked quiet as usual.
“Don’t worry. I will keep the girls safe. I won’t let anyone hurt the dogs either,” Haze said bravely.
I looked at Shadow and Blood.
They looked back at me.
The three of us laughed our asses off.
“The dogs… laughed?”
I laughed so much I almost forgot about our situation. Hurt them?
Shadow and Blood?
They better stay the hell away, or there will be a lot of bodies to clean up after we come back!