A strange calm enveloped the city. And that calmness itself was eerie.
My footstep and that of Marcus's would've been the only sounds that echoed through the dead of the night as we walked.
That was, if Unc had stopped yapping on with his pathetic efforts to spark conversation.
It got me wondering, do some people really not know when it's time to stop socializing?
I let out a solemn sigh, slowly shaking my head as I sneaked a glance at him.
He walked by my left-hand side, with a nervous expression present on his rough face.
That smile of his never wore off, but at that moment, it had lost the shine and the blinding effect it had earlier.
The fact that his smile was so lackluster was proof that the guy's energy had been thoroughly drained.
Even the way he walked was funny and kind of staggering, like he'd collapse at any moment.
I almost let out a mocking chuckle.
But I stopped myself, because I began to feel bad for the guy.
That was until the words left his mouth again: "So.. your frie–"
I let out an exhausted exhale — loud and deep — as I faced forward, staring at the quiet and clear road in front of me.
We'd been walking for a while now — about 15 minutes — in this city swallowed by the dark of the night, where the faint glow from the full moon was the only thing that permeated the darkness.
Judging from how visibly drained Marcus looked, one would've thought that he'd shut up by now.
That he'd just keep still and walk with me.
It would've been really better for me. I'd had a very, very long day. Quite possibly the longest I'd ever had. And all I needed was a few minutes of silence to ponder and straighten my scattered thoughts.
But no! I couldn't have that little moment of peace because there was an old man disguised in a youth's body, desperately trying to chat with me.
"Do you have some kind of problem with me, Duz?" Marcus suddenly asked.
His question made me furrow my brows.
Problem?
You think?
A few minutes ago, you swore to kill me.
…Well, technically you didn't know it was me. But still! Only a madman wouldn't have some kinda problem with the person who wants to kill him.
"..."
…But I am a madman.
Haah.
I need silence.
"No, I don't," I replied with a barely audible voice.
Yeah, right.
I still didn't look at him, though.
I kept staring forward, at the ruined streets ahead. The destroyed asphalt ground that we walked on, the chunks of metal that lay at random sides on the road, the corpses of both Rethons and humans alike, and the debris of ruined buildings scattered on the ground in front of us.
The sight of all the things we walked past, and the once recognizable streets that were damaged beyond recovery, did nothing to dull the feeling of familiarity that pulsed within my heart.
We were definitely in the territory of the Kilac Gang.
And from where we currently were, it would've taken us five minutes to get to the gang's HQ.
…But something felt wrong.
Terribly wrong.
It always is.
"What do mean you don't?" Marcus spat, his words oozing with uneasiness. "I've been trying to talk to you ever since… earlier, and… d'you hate my guts, Duz?"
Oh my goodness, would you please shut up?!
…Should I just ditch this guy?
Hm, maybe I should. But after I find out the source of this…
The thing I felt was wrong was the absolute absence of Rethons. In fact, the absolute absence of monsters.
It was way too quiet.
And with my heightened perception stats, I could feel a slight tremor underneath my feet.
I paused immediately, raising a hand over Marcus's face, bringing a halt to his stride and words as I suddenly crouched into an engaged stance.
"Shhh," I warned. "I hear something."
I, in fact, heard nothing.
It was the perfect excuse to ditch that awkward conversation that I wasn't ready for!
Unc also crouched slightly, and his uneven breaths directly streamed into my ear as he shakily whispered, "What is it?"
I heard nothing. But that didn't mean I felt nothing.
The tremor underneath my feet was so slight that one could easily dismiss it as nothing.
No, if I hadn't increased my stats earlier today, I definitely wouldn't have felt it at all.
That meant Marcus was absolutely oblivious to what I currently felt.
"I....don't know," I said, my ears picking up a distant sound.
Okay, now I actually hear something.
It..
I narrowed my eyes.
It sounds like…
Footsteps.
Heavy footsteps.
And they're approaching here. Still far, though, but still.
I stood up straight, and Marcus followed.
I looked at Marcus. "You didn't hear that, right?"
His grey eyes narrowed slightly as he shook his head. "I didn't hear anything. What was it?"
I shot a glance in the direction of the distant sound. Although I couldn't see the source from here.
But I recognized that feeling. It was faint, but it was there. The same feeling that ran across my spine when I first saw the Avendars. When I first saw the,
"Endorath," I whispered.
"Huh?" Marcus hummed, "Endo-wha?"
I shook my head. "Let's get going."
I continued walking. This time, though, my pace was quicker.
Marcus didn't ask anymore questions as we walked. And surprisingly, he didn't utter anymore words.
It felt good. Finally, some quiet time.
The tremors still echoed across my feet, but I ignored them now. And I continued walking in the newfound silence.
Speaking of stats…
I have to allocate my 24 free stat points.
I nodded.
I'll do it now.
I held my chin.
That attracted a curious, borderline inquisitive glare from Marcus. But I ignored him.
I just focused on the glowing screen in front of me as we walked.
====
|STR:10|
|AGI:10|
|END:9|
|VIT:8|
|STA: 8|
|PER: 8|
====
I have to round them up and make them somewhat equal.
That means… 24÷6…
Arghh!!! Fuck maths!
I shook my head.
"Hey, Unc," I called out to Marcus.
"Unc? I've told–"
"What's 24÷6?"
He halted immediately.
Hm?
I paused and turned back to look at him.
He had his hand on his chin, just like me. And his forehead wrinkled as a contemplative expression spread across his face.
"Hmmm." He pondered.
I sneered.
All that for basic math?
Tch.
I almost shook my head in disappointment, but then I remembered that I was the one who asked him. A knowing smile played on my lips.
Marcus raised his head, his grey eyes twinkling as his radiant smile bloomed. "It's 4."
I nodded, smiling.
Such a good boy.
"Thank you," I said.
He nodded. "You're welcome, but I don't understand why you asked that question."
I rolled my eyes.
It's none of your business, Mr. ''it takes me two minutes to solve basic math.'
"Oh, it's just some stuff," I replied, looking at the hovering window in front of me.