A young man with blond hair and sharp blue eyes sat at a round table inside a dimly lit hub, clearly out of place... Out of the six seats, the other three looked like they hadn't seen a proper bath in weeks…which, to be fair, they probably hadn't.
One of the three men at the table held a cup with two dice inside it while looking extremely anxious.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, slammed the open side of the cup into the table.
Thud!
"Oh gods, please let it be a pair six or higher, I swear I'll stop drinking for good and I'll go to church every day, just please let it be a pair six or higher."
The man finished his prayer and took a final look at the large amount of money and an expensive-looking sword at the center of the table; the money alone was equal to six months' salary. He steeled himself and looked under the cup.
"Pair six."
Arc hated games like these. If he hadn't lost all of his money due to being robbed, he wouldn't even be participating. He still couldn't believe it had happened so quickly.
He'd only just registered as a Path Walker. His first day. Leaving home to search for his randomly assigned teammates and prove to his family that he had what it takes to enter the academy. He hadn't even bumped into someone, and suddenly his money and watch disappeared. He couldn't help but feel frustrated and embarrassed at his current predicament.
"I even promised Father I wouldn't flaunt the money... If he saw me betting our family heirloom in a random hub, he would kill me."
Sigh!
Regaining his focus, Arc locked eyes with the man and activated a characteristic of his path. A transparent box appeared beside the man, giving Arc a summarized version of the man's thoughts.
[Hoping that you won't notice his lie.]
With that, all of Arc's nervousness disappeared; he had feared he might have to roll again, and knowing his luck, he never left a lot to probability.
"Liar."
The man suddenly stood up from his chair, raising his hands, ready to cause a scene.
"Take it easy, big guy, don't hate the player, hate the game. You were just unlucky today. You can't cause a scene every time you get unlucky, think about the fine."
The man took a deep breath and slumped down into his chair, looking at the table with vacant eyes, before another one of them spoke up.
"How do you do it?"
"Seems like it's time for me to leave."
The man rose from his chair, showing his large frame, trying to intimidate Arc.
"How is it that you never fall for a lie? It's almost like you know what we're thinking."
Arc, reaching for the pile of money, froze for a second, a smile appearing on his face before promptly ignoring the man.
"It's not like reading minds is cheating or anything, unfair possibly, but cheating no. And besides, they were probably gonna use the money and alcohol anyway, I'm helping them by winning, they should be thanking me."
Realising he had helped them, his smile widened, and he looked at the amount of money before rubbing his hands together gleefully like a raccoon.
"This is mine! All of it is mine! I'm rich hehe."
"Stop ignoring me!"
Snapping out of his money-engrossed stupor, he filled his bag with the money, took the expensive-looking sword, and stood up.
"Well, gentlemen, I'm going to take my leave. It was a good game."
The large man, who seemed to get angrier every time Arc ignored him, walked up to him and threw a punch, finally snapping.
"You bastard, stop ignoring me."
Time seemed to slow down for Arc as he ducked, weaved, and danced away from all of the punches. The exhaustion began catching up to the man, as he began slowing down before coming to a complete stop.
"Stop running away!"
"How about you start hitting instead?"
The man opened his hands, trying to grab Arc, only to get kicked in the leg by him, making him stumble headfirst into the wall, knocking him out.
Bam!
"HAHAHA"
Laughter rang through the hub as everybody looked amused at the sight of a kid beating a man twice his size, with ease.
The man with vacant eyes snapped out of his stupor. Desperately looking for an excuse so he could regain his money.
"That's it. You're a path walker! That's why you saw through all of our lies; it must have been one of your characteristics!"
The man's vacant eyes lit up. Proud of his intelligence.
"That's also why you could dodge Rick's punches!"
The laughter stopped, and everybody turned their gazes towards Arc. If what the man said was true, that would mean he had broken the rules of this hub.
Arc looked at the man and began fidgeting while trying to ignore all their gazes.
"Is it just me, or is it hot in here?"
He couldn't let himself get distracted by the stares, so he began moving his arms wildly while explaining.
"Since my cover is already blown, I've got to distract them while getting closer to the door. Come on, Arc, act like a clown, do over-the-top hand movements to shift their focus."
He began slowly moving towards the door while acting like a fool.
.
Creak!
"This shitty floor."
Hearing the creaking of the floor, Arc began raising his voice.
"Pfft, me, a path walker, no way! If I were a path walker, I would be looking for my teammates, not wasting my time in this shithole, surrounded by alcoholics."
The crowd looked visibly frustrated after hearing the insult.
"Do you take us for fools? Do you think you can waltz in here and trick us getting blessed by the gods ain't enough for you, huh?"
"Yes, otherwise you wouldn't be in this shithole."
"NO, that's not what I meant. The reason I'm so good at dodging is that I have experience. With a mouth like mine, you need to be able to dodge."
When Arc was at the entrance of the bar, he placed a hand in his pocket. As they began moving towards him, Arc took his clenched hand out of his pocket.
"SAND ATTACK!"
He made a dramatic wiping motion, making the ones closest to him close their eyes out of instinct, and ran out of the hub.
"Haha! Idiots"
They opened their eyes, realizing that there was no sand.
"THAT BASTARD!"
******
Arc sat on the rooftop of a two-story building, chest heaving, shirt clinging to his back. A grin tugged at his lips as he stared at something only he could see
Current Path: Forced observer.
Step: First
Characteristics of this path:
Your gaze is unmatched. You can see what others think about, how they feel. Even the unseen will be visible to you if you know where to look.
You may alter your perception: make night appear as day, freeze a moment, or follow thought like a trail of smoke.
But remember: just because you can see it… doesn't mean you understand it.
The Unspoken Wish:
To you who once watched, powerless—
You may now act.
But beware:
What you wish for,
And what you need,
Are not always the same.
The smile on his face widened as he began rolling around on the rough rooftop, filled with happiness. He still couldn't believe it; he was a path walker. Soon, he was going to join an academy and become super rich.
He finally sat up with his legs crossed and took out two golden compasses with intricate patterns, which he had gotten at the registration office, and opened them; both of them were pointing in the same direction. The one in his left hand had a red arrow while the one in his right hand had a yellow arrow.
"Green means a day's distance, yellows a day to a week's distance, and red is over a week if only one of us moves while the other stays where they are."
Closing the compasses, he placed them in his bag, lay down, and closed his eyes. For now, sleep came first. Tomorrow, he'd start chasing the future.