《A Loner's Calling》 Prologue The day started like any other day, me going to school alone while observing the other students on their way while walking alongside their friends. Their cheerful voices penetrated my ears, giving me a tinge of gloom as I continued to walk towards school. That was the normal daily life of me, Ren, a loner. Back when I was 8, I was involved in an incident, taking away all of my trust for all humans, except my family. I even had problems trusting my best friend and childhood friends because of it and no matter how much I wanted to change, this mentality still didn¡¯t go away. Thus my current situation in school, me walking alone towards school, although I had a few chats here and there, I didn¡¯t actually try to get to know them better. But today, during a specific time of rest, it happened. ¡°Wha- what the!?¡± A huge blue glowing circle appeared beneath the feet of our campus. It encompassed everything from this building, to the track and field course. Needless to say, the whole campus was above it. Students here and there were dumbfounded at this sudden phenomenon, others, who had the profession of ¡®Nerds¡¯, ¡®Geeks¡¯, and ¡®Otakus¡¯ had an expectant smile plastered on their face. ¡°Yes!! Finally!!¡± ¡°N-No!!¡± ¡°What the fuck is happening?¡± Various reactions appeared here and there. There was even a violent reaction to the phenomenon, as expected by the bad boy of campus. His name was Takagi Ryouma, a transfer student from Japan. By the way, the school we are studying in is one all of the countries in the world invested in. It is located in the Bermuda triangle, a place where contact from the outside is limited. I don¡¯t know why it was located in such a dangerous space, but probably because a countermeasure was made, this campus was made possible. And since this school is one made for elites and for all races of humans, naturally there is a mixed nationality student body. Others were black, some white, others Asian, others Westerners. During the chaos, holographic plaques appeared in front of us one after the other. It had a tinge of blue, while the characters were glowing white, and all of the plaques stated the same thing. [Transfer to Heavenly Dome imminent¡­ Initializing transfer protocol 111531-A¡­ Initialization complete¡­ All selected ¡®invitees¡¯ are to report to the God managing the world Unamea¡­ Serial Number: 851325566897] Well, everyone except me for some reason¡­ [¡®Loner¡¯ title activated, declining invitation to heavenly dome¡­ Remaining in current world¡­ Accessing ¡®Status Card¡¯¡­ Access Complete¡­ Using declined invitation as points for ¡®Status Card¡¯¡­ Process Complete¡­ Accessing ¡®Space-Time¡¯ attribute magic as dictated by the God of Loners for all existences holding the ¡®Loner¡¯ Title¡­ Magic Acquired¡­ ¡®Status Card¡¯ points depleted¡­ Terminating¡­] Just as I was about to question what happened, the glowing circle below us shined even brighter before disappearing, along with all of the people and buildings above it, except me. Since I was at the second floor, without the support of the floor, I fell towards the ground. Luckily I landed on soft soil reducing my impact, just some feet away from a hole used to make the foundation of the building. ¡°What the¡­ hell happened¡­?¡± Because of the impact, my breathing was unstable. My back hurt because I fell down on my back while I protected my head using arms. Without any training prior to landing safely, this was the supposed outcome naturally. I unsteadily got up while dusting away my clothes and body and looked around only to see an empty plot of land with some holes here and there. Hell, even the track and field course was gone. Just then, people from outside the school, yes, there are people here other than students. In fact, it was more like a huge city on an island than just people, came running towards the school. And naturally, or more like something that was supposed to happen, their jaws dropped to the ground and scanned the entire area. Of course, their gaze landed on me, the sole person standing on this desolate ground.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Wha--- what happened here¡­?¡± Some people were breathless as they continued to stare at me with suspecting eyes. ¡®Ah shit¡­ I know those gazes¡­¡¯ The flashbacks from when I was eight returned. I was just walking around school only to get called out for no reason. What happened next was that I was accused of stealing money from the teacher while he was out. What¡¯s more, none of my classmates tried to help me, not even my best friend and childhood friends, although they had some worry in their eyes. The rest had condemning eyes looking towards me, telling me, ¡®Thief!¡¯, ¡®Give it back!¡¯, or ¡®You¡¯re a bad guy!¡¯ Now, if you were in my shoes, try to imagine standing in the middle of the class, with all eyes looking towards you with distrust, disbelief, and some anger, not to mention I was still 8 years old, an elementary student. Just standing there in isolation as the rest continued to look at you unkindly while the teacher was scolding you for the crime you didn¡¯t commit just because you were there. And everything I experienced was repeating itself here, but this time, it was much more dangerous. ¡®Fuck me¡­¡¯ A few moments later, the police arrived and arrested me on suspicion for the disappearance of the school, as well as the students. Some other people were crying while shouting out to give back their children, others were just straight up telling me to die. ¡®How am I supposed to do that when I don¡¯t even know where they are?¡¯ Such was human nature. What they see, and what they think, they believe. Much more if they were in distress. Seeing that their children went missing, and that I was the only one present, gave them a target to push all the blame to protect themselves from the sudden loss of their children. And now, the police were taking me in, what else would you think if you didn¡¯t know what happened? You would probably be like these other people, bawling their eyes out while telling me to die. ¡®This is why I can¡¯t trust humans¡­¡¯ Their nature is trash, mine included. That is why I strived to change myself, but didn¡¯t get any results, and now you want me to go through it all again¡­? ¡®This shitty world¡­¡¯ I swallowed up all of the complaints I had and complied with the police¡¯s instructions. Moments later, we arrived at the slammer. They locked me inside and told me that they were going to get some processes done to take me to court. They also said that if I didn¡¯t have a lawyer, which I didn¡¯t, they would provide one for me. At least, the police are neutral, unlike the people affected by this incident outside. Thanks to their neutrality, I was able to regain my calm and recall what had happened back in the school. ¡®Something about a heavenly dome and a reporting to God, as well as Status something¡­ What was it¡­? Status¡­ status¡­¡¯ I recalled hard about what was written on the plaque. Because it happened all so suddenly, I had a hard time trying to remember. ¡®Ah that¡¯s right, ¡®Status Card¡¯.¡¯ Once I thought about it something appeared in front of me out of thin air. ¡®What the¡­?¡¯ It had the same blue tinge as the plaque earlier, as well as the glowing white letters. But somehow, it was arranged like something from an RPG game. Name: Ren Cruz Age: 18 Gender: Male Class: N/A --- LVL 1 Titles: [Loner] [Invitee That Has Declined] HP: 1049/1050 (50+1000) MP: 27025/27025 (25+25000+2000) STR: 212 (12+200) AGI: 209 (9+200) INT: 712 (12 + 500+200) WIS: 215 (15+200) VIT: 210 (10+200) Skills: [Space-Time Magic Lv. 1] ¡®¡­¡¯ I was speechless at this sudden turn of events. Isn¡¯t this just like those novels where you were transported to another world with game elements? No wonder those Otakus had a grin on their face. Their dream probably came true. But for now, instead of thinking about them, how about I try to understand this concept of ¡®Status Card¡¯. Loner ¨C You are always alone. You do not trust anyone. You think and decide by yourself alone. You reject any invites to gatherings. You reject any groups. And you are also the strongest when you are alone. Invitee That Has Declined ¨C You, who have rejected the God¡¯s invitation, have taken up the power of the invitation as your own. Seeing this really made my head hurt, literally. I had no idea whether this was strong or not. I also had no idea where I could use this for. While I was contemplating on why I had this, the police came back suddenly and called out to me. ¡°Hey, get up. The trial will be starting soon.¡± With an indifferent voice, he took and slid the key he was holding into the keyhole of the iron bar door and opened it. ¡®Hmm¡­? Does he not see this floating plaque?¡¯ ¡°What are you waiting for, get a move on.¡± With an irritated voice, he ushered me to stand up and walk, of course, I complied. I stood up and walked towards him, and then headed to the court. ¡®For a change in status, my body does not seem that different¡­¡¯ When I tried verifying what my body could do with just walking, results did not show. ¡®¡­ Maybe I should try some stuff later¡­¡¯ Moments later, we arrived at the court, and inside, hell waited for me. Chapter 1: A Not So Good Trial and A New Power When the double doors opened to the courtroom, the majority, if not, all of the people inside set their gazes on our direction. The two polices, surprised at the reaction, stiffened up for a moment before guiding me to my designated area calmly. As expected from veteran police officers, you can count on them to be calm during a crisis. While I took a seat, majority of the people on the other side glared at me like I was some kind of killer of their children. Heck, some were even murmuring that I should just die and disappear for doing something to their children. ¡®¡­ Idiots¡­¡¯ That was all I could think of about their behavior. Anyway, while I was thinking that, the judge declared order on the court. ¡°Order, order in the court! We are gathered here today on the account of the missing school and students of the Bermuda Triangle University. Ren Cruz, the sole witness and suspect, has been ordered by law to attend this trial as a defendant.¡± With one more slam, the entire courtroom went silent and next came the prosecutor and my lawyer. ¡°Prosecutor Miles Worthedge will be the leading prosecutor for the day, while Attorney Phoenix Write will be leading the defense.¡± The two gave their greetings to the judge and started with the case. The first one to speak up was the prosecutor. Judging by his face, he was at a loss on what to do with this trial. There were no evidences save for the sole witness that is me, so all he can hope for him to win this case was for me to admit that I did something. The same could be said about my lawyer. No evidences, no other witnesses, no nothing. All he could do was wait for my testimony and come up with an answer about that. ¡°May the defendant Ren Cruz please come to the stand.¡± I complied and silently walked towards the stand while calmly observing the audience with the corner of my eye in case they do something rash. Nothing beats being too careful. Once I got to my position, the prosecutor nodded calmly and began dishing out his questions. ¡°What did you see during the disappearance of the school?¡± Easy question, and easy to answer, the real question was could they even believe my answer? I relayed to them what had happened during the time the blue circle appeared and disappeared. Of course, I withheld information about the Status Card because this could be my one time lifeline in case I need to escape. Their reactions were as I expected. Nobody believed it, even though you couldn¡¯t explain the disappearance of the school with logic. It was outside the boundaries of common sense so who in the world would believe that your school disappeared because of a giant blue circle? Naturally, the audience began to become noisy in the blink of an eye once they heard my testimony. ¡°ORDER!!! ORDER IN THE COURT!!!¡± Seeing that the judge used his full voice to calm the masses down indicated how riled up the audience was. The loud smashing sound of the gavel brought back the people to their calm demeanor, even though the police were nervous because of the sudden clamor of the people.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The prosecutor had also gotten his calm back as he tried to assess any gaps in my testimony, be it my body behavior, habits, sudden moves, pitch of my voice, etc. Sad to say, he wasn¡¯t able to figure out any gaps because he didn¡¯t know that I was telling the truth. Just when I was about to ask if I could sit down again, my lawyer spoke up. ¡°Permission to question the defendant.¡± ¡°¡­ Granted.¡± The judge hesitated before giving the approval. ¡®¡­ Excuse me¡­?¡¯ I was at a loss on how my lawyer turned sides at once. ¡°Sorry but, we just want to know the truth, right Edge?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®¡­ You¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­¡¯ I got extreme d¨¦j¨¤ vu of a game I used to play where you controlled an attorney and find clues to help solve cases. This lawyer was like that exact attorney. He bombarded me with questions about my lifestyle, and I answered them honestly. Questions about my relationships, family, etc., to get something that could be used as a motive for making the school and students disappear. ¡®How the fuck am I supposed to have a motive? And how in the hell could I even make a whole school disappear like that¡­?¡¯ Judging the situation to be dangerous when something supernatural happens, I vowed to myself that I wouldn¡¯t use the power I have in public, even though I don¡¯t know how to use it. Once his question spree was over, he was at a loss too. Nothing of note could be pointed out as a motive, nor any actions be pointed out as a grudge towards specific people. Much more since I was the only witness/suspect in the case, and there were no evidences. ¡°I see¡­¡± The judge had no other choice but to give the verdict ¡®Not Guilty¡¯ to me and dismissed the entire trial. They also ushered me out and left me to my own devices. ¡°¡­¡± ¡®No ride back home¡­?¡¯ Since they left me outside, I thought they would bring me back to where I lived, but apparently, they had their hands full with the case of the school disappearing. I had to call a taxi so that I can get to my apartment before sundown, but no matter how many times I called one, they just drove right past me. ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Well this sucks¡­¡¯ I had no other choice but to huff it back home with my own two feet. Just then, an idea came to mind. ¡®Didn¡¯t it say Space-Time Magic¡­?¡¯ I went to a secluded area, one where no people would go to and where no CCTV were posted and tried to think about Space-Time Magic. If something was associated with this type of magic, then teleportation would be one. ¡®How do you do this¡­?¡¯ I recalled how some novel characters do it by imagining the area where you want to go and using Mana to open a portal to the location. ¡®Wait, how do I control Mana¡­?¡¯ Imagining is easy, but Mana was a whole different problem. Based on some novels, anime, or mangas about magic, they say that Mana is a flow in your body like Qi, sometimes just the air, and others say that Mana is your own blood. Since there were a lot of speculations about Mana but not too in depth when explained, I had no idea on what to do. ¡®¡­ You know what, let¡¯s just wing it.¡¯ I tried to imagining the apartment, not, but the alleyway behind it instead. I don¡¯t want to teleport where I could be seen appearing out of thin air. Next thing was I tried doing all kind of things to manipulate Mana. Seconds passed, minutes, and hours and somehow, I was able to feel it. Feeling it would be a wrong word though, it was like Mana was synonymous to thinking. It was like your brain gained another part where that specific part was responsible for manipulating Mana. Once I was able to get a feel for it, it took me a few more minutes, actually, maybe hours to try and use it for something practical. It got me excited actually so there was no problem about concentrating for hours, like how you¡¯re enjoying playing video games. And finally, I was able to create a portal to the alleyway. It took me a good 7 hours just sitting down and trying to manipulate it, and now, my work paid off. I push my hand through the portal where I can see the other side and found out that it was safe. Next, I pushed my whole arm, then next my whole body. Once I was on the other side of the portal, I saw the familiar apartment in my eyes, as well as the portal dissipating into thin air. ¡°This could be useful.¡± My excitement couldn¡¯t be controlled as I thought of multiple ways to use this [Space-Time Magic]. Once I got over it, I headed to my apartment and saw someone familiar. ¡°REEEEENNNN!!!!!¡± A cute girl in her mid-teens(maybe) was running towards me. ¡®¡­ Here we go again¡­¡¯ Chapter 2: Those Left Behind (1) The girl had her raven-black hair cut short, just like her height, which measured about 155 cm. Her chest was flat, well, not that flat, and also had brown skin, just don¡¯t ask me how I know her height. She was slim and had a hyperactive personality, the type where they can just keep on going even though it¡¯s too tiring. Such girl was running towards me with a scary expression(for me). Her eyes were crying huge droplets of tears while snot was going out of her nose. She even had her hair disheveled while her shirt was showing a huge amount of skin, not minding the gazes of other people walking by the sidewalks. ¡°¡­ Whoever you are, I don¡¯t know you so please stay away.¡± With that, I turned tail and ran for my life. No way in hell am I going to be caught by that beastlike person! ¡°HEYYYY!!! WAAIIITT!!!¡± And just like this, the touching reunion(not) turned into a game of tag, with me running for my life, and her with crying bloodshot eyes chasing me with no pause. ¡°I¡¯M TELLING YOU I DON¡¯T KNOW YOU SO STAY AWAY!!!¡± I gathered up the air in my lungs and shouted with a strong enough voice to let her hear. Of course, this did nothing to the beastlike girl chasing me. ¡°JUST HEAR ME OUTTT!!! REEEENNNN!!!!¡± ¡®Yeah, last time I did that, you had me hanging upside down on a tree branch, so nope, not falling for it again.¡¯ I recalled the time when I listened to her during one of her so-called favors. The result had me hanging upside down on a tree branch next to a cliff. This is the Bermuda Triangle after all. Of course, I didn¡¯t say that out loud. I just kept on running like my life depended on it, and finally, I noticed something strange. ¡®¡­ Is it just me, or is my breath not running out after sprinting for a good 3 minutes¡­?¡¯ If it was just the regular me, I would have fallen face down after about 20 seconds of sprinting. There was no way I could outrun the girl who joined the track and field team as the star of the relay. ¡°REEENNNN!!! STOP RUNNINGGG!!!¡± Although because of her low IQ(literally), she wasn¡¯t able to notice the difference in my body. But what was more shocking was that she was still not out of breath even after sprinting for 3 minutes straight. ¡®¡­ You¡¯re more beastlike then I expected.¡¯ We just ran around for a good 5 more minutes before she started slowing down, and before I knew it, fell down with a thud. Her breathing was out of order while her clothes and hair were more disheveled than before. When I saw her fell down, I stopped my running too and walked towards her, while also calmly judging the characteristics of my body. ¡®I¡¯m not out breath even after 8 minutes of sprinting in fact, it felt like I just walked for 10 seconds. I didn¡¯t even sweat. What is going on here¡­?¡¯ While I was contemplating on why I was able to do something out of my regular capabilities, I came on an answer. ¡®Was it because of my Status Card? If so, then just like games, has my body been modified to show results the same as the numbers shown on the Status Card?¡¯ If this was true, then I could probably squeeze the living daylights out of a lion. Since running was no problem, maybe I could even outrun a speeding cheetah. While thoughts roam inside my head, my feet brought me to my destination. The sight of the pitiful girl crawling on all fours while trying to grab my ankle made me look like a villain. Good thing that she collapsed inside an alleyway near my apartment.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Finally¡­ Haa¡­ Caught up¡­ Haa¡­ To you¡­ Haa¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Is something wrong with her head¡­?¡¯ Catching up to someone and willingly getting caught was two different things, but judging that her head was full of muscles and flowers, I ignored it and proceeded with my question. ¡°Why did you keep on chasing me, even though I told you before not to do that¡­?¡± ¡°Haa¡­ Let¡­ Me¡­ Haa¡­ Haa¡­¡± ¡°¡­ She fainted¡­¡± Her eyelids closed shut and her body refused to move. Hell, she was even drooling out of the corner of her mouth. ¡°¡­ Whatever¡­¡± I placed her on my back and gave the sleeping girl a piggyback. Next thing I did was head towards my apartment while avoiding the gazes of the people glaring at me because I came out of an alley with a sleeping girl on my back with disheveled clothes and hair. For some reason, she was also light, very, very light, just as light as a feather, literally. If this is thanks to my Status too, then aren¡¯t I superhuman already? I arrived at the door of my apartment and entered the code for the lock. With a click, the door unlocked and I headed in without any hesitation. The usual sight greeted me, messy living room, clean kitchen, incredibly messy bedroom, clean bathroom. I laid the fainted girl on the sofa and headed to the kitchen to whip up some grub. While cooking however, I heard a grunt and took a look towards the living room. The girl, Michelle de los Diaz, a Filipino citizen and student in the Bermuda Triangle University, opened her eyes. ¡°Oh, awake now?¡± With perfect timing, the dish I was cooking finished and all I had to do was set up the table. Once that was done, I invited her to the dining room(a.k.a. living room) to eat. ¡°Muu¡­ Ren¡­?¡± Her unfocused eyes made her a tad bit cute, but if you knew her personality, then you might say otherwise. By the way, I didn¡¯t change her sweaty clothes. Who cares if she gets a cold, she¡¯s a superhuman in that regard. Also, it¡¯s bad for my eyes(and heart) to see her naked. While she was getting herself together, I placed the food I cooked onto the table. The smell permeated through the room and brought her back from the world of dreams. Her eyes shone once and in just 20 seconds, the newly cooked food entered her belly. ¡°¡­ That¡¯s a new record if you ask me¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I was so hungry after chasing you all this time Ren. Why did you keep on running?¡± ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t after seeing your face like that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Realizing that it was also partly her fault that Ren ran away, she went silent. ¡°Anyway, the reason I was chasing you was because not for a favor, but a different thing.¡± The seriousness in her voice made me flinch as I had never seen this side of her before. Judging by the atmosphere around her, I could tell that what she was about to talk about was something serious. ¡°Then what is it?¡± ¡°Remember how you were brought to court after being judged as a suspect for the disappearance of the school?¡± ¡°Yep, but actually, I was more disappointed than scared.¡± ¡°Hm, Why?¡± ¡°Well, because of the lawyer and prosecutor. Did they even broadcast that trial live?¡± ¡°Ah right¡­ I remember their faces. It was actually funny to watch, but nevermind that. What I want to talk about is about the students and people affiliated with the school that was among those that disappeared.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I went silent once I heard it. ¡®How come I never thought of it before¡­?¡¯ ¡°Ahh¡­ That¡¯s why¡­¡± ¡°Hmm¡­? What¡¯s why?¡± ¡°¡­ Nevermind that. Anyway, you said that there were people who were left behind?¡± ¡°Yes and¡­ wait a minute¡­ Did you say left behind¡­?¡± ¡®What a sharp girl¡­¡¯ Well, excluding her low IQ, she was actually sharp in some occasions. In any case, since she was able to notice my wording, her suspicions went up as she stared at me with questioning eyes. ¡°Yes, I said left behind.¡± ¡°And what do you mean by that?¡± Her curiosity was at its peak. Maybe because she had a friend that was included in the disappearance, she wanted to know more about why it happened. ¡°Do you know what I experienced there?¡± ¡°Yes, back in the trial you said some ridiculous things---¡± ¡°I was not lying about it. Everything I said there was all true.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Noticing the seriousness in my voice, she clamped up and didn¡¯t retort back. ¡°If you want some proof, then how about our little game of tag. You, a star in the track and field relay, were not able to catch up to me, a regular person with no athletic ability.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seeing that she went completely silent told me everything I need to know. Right now, she was in deep thinking about the reason why she wasn¡¯t able catch up to me. ¡®You finally noticed¡­ You need to raise your IQ more¡­¡¯ Keeping that thought to myself, I continued staring at her silent self. ¡°¡­ Okay, I¡¯ll believe what you said back in court. So if that really did happen, then presently they would be in some sort of dome where a God was training them for an upcoming war?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°My god¡­¡± Her eyes trembled for a bit before returning back to her calm demeanor. ¡°¡­ Alright¡­ We won¡¯t get anywhere with this, let¡¯s meet up with the others.¡± ¡°By others, you mean¡­¡± ¡°Yes, the ones that were ¡®left behind.¡¯¡± She stood up and went outside after thanking me for the food. Because of the urgency in the situation I left the plates as they were and vowed to clean them when I return. I got up and followed her, although, I didn¡¯t trust her one bit. Chapter 3: Those Left Behind (2) I followed Michelle under the night sky. Since it was about 7 P.M., the streetlights were on, illuminating the dark streets. People here and there could be seen walking, going about their own business, but once they saw me, they quickly avoided my gaze and left in a hurry. ¡°¡­ I guess being the sole and suspect really made people anxious around me.¡± ¡°Well, yeah¡­ If I didn¡¯t know the circumstance around it, I would probably avoid you too.¡± Any normal person would avoid me if they knew I was indirectly a part of a mass disappearance, which I am currently. We talked while we walked¡­ Things about what I thought about some students, what I was doing during the incident, etc. Everything regarding the incident, Michelle asked for my input. Of course, I answered honestly because specifically, there was nothing to lie about. And even though I am a loner, I was a kind of loner who had no problems talking and socializing with people, just the type to avoid it. ¡°We¡¯re here¡­¡± Just when she finished asking me about her questions, we arrived at a building. The building was in a clean state, which told me how the owner of this building takes care of this place. Above the door was a sign saying ¡®Welcome¡¯. ¡°What is this place?¡± ¡°A bar.¡± ¡°¡­ Excuse me¡­?¡± ¡°This is a bar.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was stupefied at this sudden revelation. This girl, who had muscle for brains and always acted innocent in the university, actually frequents a bar? I stared at her just in case she was actually lying, but she just brushed it off. ¡°Yeah, you weren¡¯t the only one who had that kind of expression when I first introduced them to this place.¡± With a retort, she unhesitatingly entered the bar. I followed course, and found myself inside a tidy room with round tables scattered cleanly inside. Some people were enjoying drinks, while others were just busy talking with each other, well, until I showed up. The room went silent and most of the gazes went to my direction. ¡®Well this sucks¡­¡¯ Some people were staring daggers at me like they wanted to kill me. Thankfully, they had their rationality holding them back, except for the drunks that is¡­ ¡°YOUUU!!!!¡± One man in particular rushed towards me as he held a wine bottle in his hand. ¡°I¡¯M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOUUUU!!!¡± With his rationality gone, as well as the unperturbed hatred in his eyes for me, he had no qualms with attacking an 18 year old with intent to kill. The shout startled most people in the room, including Michelle, but not me. ¡®Guess this is what happens when someone hates you to death.¡¯ ¡°GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTERR!!!¡± With one swift, but messy move, he brought his bottle up high and swung it down on me. Even so, I didn¡¯t just stay put as I saw the swing hurling down on me. I leaned my whole body back and dodged the swing, while the man lost his balance and crashed to the floor, his red face indicating his either drunken state or rage and embarrassment. ¡°HEY!!! NO FIGHTING INSIDE!!!¡± Once the commotion was known, the owner, or barkeep, rushed towards the man on the ground, picked him up, then threw him out. ¡°¡­¡± Me, speechless at the sudden display of something from a novel, looked to the man who threw the man out. He had a tanned body, black hair, and burly chest. He was a head taller than me, who was 168 cm, and had a menacing look on his face. ¡°And you¡­¡± With a voice as deep as the sea, I sensed some hostility being directed at me. His eyes looked like they were looking at something less than trash. ¡°¡­ If you cause trouble, then you¡¯re permanently banned from this shop, got it?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes, sir¡­¡± I had no other choice but to nod my head in agreement at the menacing aura he had. Once his business was done, he went back behind the counter and continued taking orders. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Ren, don¡¯t let it get to you.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°¡­¡± Realizing the attempt Michelle did to cheer me up, I turned my eyes to her and nodded, although it had no effect. ¡°Alright, you see those four people there at the back? Those are them.¡± ¡°¡­ Are you serious?¡± ¡°Yes I am¡­¡± The four staying at the corner of the bar farthest from the door, were those who I knew very well. ¡°Damn it, are you a prostitute?¡± ¡°Hell no!!¡± She ushered a silent scream at her rejection of such a thought. ¡°Anyway, they are the only 4 who were not included in the disappearance.¡± ¡°Well of course they wouldn¡¯t. They¡¯re not even at school during lunch time.¡± The 4 people Michelle was talking about were the worst of the worst delinquents of the university. The 4 who had so much money that even the school bows before them. The 4 who can get their pick on any girl they like just because they were loaded, those types of guys. ¡°Screw you. I¡¯m not going anywhere near them.¡± ¡°Just hear them out for a minute.¡± ¡°No means no.¡± With a threatening voice, I turned around and left the bar. I was not going to get myself involved in those 4 again. Last time that happened, I was sent to the hospital and lived there for a month. ¡°Time to go back, I need to find out how to use my powers properly.¡± When I got back to my apartment, I washed the dishes, went into my room and checked my Status Card once again. Name: Ren Cruz Age: 18 Gender: Male Class: N/A = LVL 1 Titles: [Loner] [Invitee That Has Declined] HP: 1050/1050 (50+1000) MP: 26957/27025 (25+25000+2000) STR: 212 (12+200) AGI: 209 (9+200) ¨¨210 (10 + 200) INT: 712 (12 + 500+200) WIS: 215 (15+200) VIT: 210 (10+200) Skills: [Space-Time Magic Lv. 1] When I opened my Status Card, I was greeted by something unexpected. ¡®My AGI increased? But for what reason?¡¯ Since I was still confused about what this acronyms mean, I didn¡¯t quite understand what it signifies. ¡®Ah right, I forgot that I can check what the keywords mean in Status Card¡­¡¯ Name ¨C Name of user Age ¨C Age of user Gender ¨C Sex of user Class ¨C User¡¯s class. Identifies what specific stat will be increased upon leveling up and determines what skill the user can and cannot learn. Titles ¨C User¡¯s gained merits. Titles gives specific bonuses based on merits. HP ¨C Health Points. The user¡¯s life force measured in numbers. Once HP reaches 0, the user dies. MP ¨C Mana Points. The user¡¯s Mana capacity measured in numbers. Using magic and specific active skills consumes MP. Low current MP can cause side-effects like dizziness, vomiting, light-headedness, fainting, weakening, etc. STR ¨C Strength. The user¡¯s body power measured in numbers. STR strengthens the body, making it durable against physical attacks. STR also determines capable body output in force. AGI ¨C Agility. The user¡¯s body swiftness and control in number. AGI increases body memorizing capabilities, as well as speed output. INT ¨C Intelligence. The user¡¯s magic capability measured in numbers. INT increases magic output and magic control. WIS ¨C Wisdom. The user¡¯s brain capability measured in numbers. WIS increases mind memorization and critical thinking. VIT ¨C Vitality. The user¡¯s rate of regeneration and resistance against diseases measured in numbers. VIT strengthens the immunity system, organs, blood, cells, and tissues. Skills ¨C The user¡¯s learned magic, active skills, and passive skills. ¡®Ohhh¡­ Thanks to this, I can finally figure out which is which.¡¯ Basically, STR is how much can your body defend and output force, AGI is your control and speed, INT is your magic capabilities, WIS is your brain power(IQ), and VIT is the bodies antivirus, as well as strengthener. ¡®I need to check how strong I am based on this numbers¡­¡¯ I went outside and saw the dark sky littered with stars. Since it was about 8:00 PM already, there were less people outside. I looked for rocks and gathered them up in one place, from smallest to biggest. I even surprised myself by lifting a 15 Kg rock with one hand without difficulty. Once that was done, I picked up the smallest rock the size of the pebble and held it in my hand. ¡®Here goes nothing¡­¡¯ Then I squeezed it hard. The rock in my hand disintegrated into dust and fell out of my palm. ¡°¡­¡± I went speechless. Of course, crushing a pebble with my hand wasn¡¯t an uncommon thing for me, but for it to turn into dust, just what kind of force did my body output to turn a rock hard pebble into dust? My gazes turned to the next rock with higher expectations. The rock this time was the size of my hand. The same as I did with the pebble, I squeezed it hard. The next thing that happened surprised the living daylights out of me. The rock burst into pieces as it landed on the ground. My eyes, wide as a saucer just kept on staring at the broken rock pieces. My corners of my lips twitched and began to rise, while my heart beat faster. The next rock I looked at was the 15 Kg rock I had no problem carrying with one hand. ¡®¡­ What if I punch this rock¡­¡¯ A scary thought to regular people emerged in my head. Normal people wouldn¡¯t try to do it lest they want to get their hands broken. I placed the rock on the ground and situated my fist on top of it. Since the rock was on the ground, my posture was that of kneeling. One my stance was ready with one swift movement I raised my fist and brought it down, smashing it on the poor rock. The rock smashed, scattered into pieces, but my hand didn¡¯t stop there. It went straight on the ground and made loud impact. When I lifted my hand up, what I saw was the smashed rock, and a hand imprint on the ground. The most surprising thing was that my hand was unscathed and not in any pain. ¡°Ha¡­ Haha¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help but stifle a chuckle at this unimaginable situation. ¡®Good thing I did it in an isolated alley.¡¯ Who knows what would happen if they saw me smashing a huge rock and leaving an imprint of a fist on the cement with just one punch. But I also realized one more thing. ¡®My fist was too fast.¡¯ The fist I used to punch the rock was a blur in my head. It just happened too fast for my current eyes to catch up. ¡®Aren¡¯t I a superhuman already?¡¯ Super strength, super speed, super endurance, and space-time manipulation, heck, I don¡¯t even know if that is superhuman or just plain alien. While I was in contemplation, I heard a rustle behind. I quickly turned around and saw a cat just walking around. ¡°¡­ Damn it¡­¡± Because I was lost in observation as well as excitement, I lost sight of my surroundings, as well as my time. ¡®I need to go back¡­ I¡¯ll continue this tomorrow.¡¯ It was getting pretty late, so I went back to my apartment, but when I arrived, Michelle greeted me with urgent news. ¡°REN!! THE 4 DELINQUENTS WERE KIDNAPPED!!¡± Chapter 4: Those Left Behind (3) Once I heard what Michelle had to say and what she wanted me to do, my entire mind and body came to a conclusion. ¡°Hell no.¡± Apparently, the 4 idiots were kidnapped because of their worth, probably for ransom. They were rich after all. But what I didn¡¯t get was why now? It could have been any other day, so why did they choose this specific day where the entire university vanished along with the students? ¡°WHY!?¡± Not minding about the noise she was generating, she continued to glare at me for my rejection. ¡°Take these examples as reasons¡­ Number 1, what am I supposed to do? Number 2, how are we going to do it? Number 3, is it dangerous? Number 4, and last, I am extremely weak.¡± ¡°¡­ I can agree with 1, 2, and 3, but not 4¡­¡± ¡®¡­ Damn it¡­¡¯ I guess I showed her a little too much of my capabilities, but that still doesn¡¯t change my stance on what to do. ¡°I still won¡¯t cooperate with you. We¡¯re just students, and if you¡¯re telling me to go up against a criminal organization, then count me out. I¡¯m not getting my life risked for some idiots who got me into a hospital.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Once I laid out my reasons for my refusal, she went silent. Much more since I mentioned a past where I was a victim of their incomprehensible actions. ¡°Nothing more to say? Well then, good night.¡± I entered my apartment then closed and locked the door. I also turned off the light and closed everything that may be a possible entrance to my apartment. ¡®¡­ Somehow, there¡¯s more to this than meets the eye¡­¡¯ When I got to bed, I just couldn¡¯t help but think about what Michelle said about the 4 idiots being kidnapped. ¡®If they really were kidnapped, then their families would have already gotten the criminals under bars. They are that rich and influential after all, so nobody would try to mess with them.¡¯ ¡®If it had something to do with the disappearing university, then maybe¡­¡¯ I pushed that thought aside and just focused on sleeping. Seconds passed¡­ Minutes¡­ Maybe hours¡­ ¡®I can¡¯t sleep¡­¡¯ I checked the clock and it showed 11:27 PM. Seeing that it was already that late, I tried going back to sleep but failed. Since I wasn¡¯t able to sleep, I got up and headed towards the bathroom. Just when I was going head to the bathroom, I heard something moving outside of my door. I also saw some shadows moving about through the gaps. What¡¯s more, they stopped right outside my apartment room ¡®Who are they¡­?¡¯ Feeling a crisis in my safety, I silently headed towards the kitchen and grabbed a knife. Once I returned to the door, I saw the knob moving. ¡®They picked the lock! I need to hide¡­¡¯ Since I wasn¡¯t able to lock the door using the old fashioned way (sliding lock) because it was defective, I had no choice but to use the door lock instead, as well as the digital lock. Seeing that they were able to bypass both of it made me realize that they were no ordinary people¡­ I hid under the table of the living room which was large enough to hide my entire body. Also thanks to the table cloth, it obscured my image even more. Once the door opened, 3 people wearing masks bringing what seemed to be a sack, some rope, and tape. They even had some deadly objects strapped to their thighs.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡®This is bad¡­¡¯ 3 v 1, a disadvantageous position for the lone person. ¡®Are they part of the group that kidnapped the 4 idiots?¡¯ ¡®Then they probably got Michelle too¡­¡¯ I gripped the knife in my hand in a reverse grip. I planned to stab the person at the back on his neck, but¡­ ¡®Can I really do it¡­?¡¯ I was just living a normal life as a loner, why do I have to kill people now¡­? I wanted to resolve my distrust of other people, not something that hard actually, but because of some ridiculous encounters like with the 4 idiots and Michelle, I just kept on getting farther away from my objective. ¡®Will I forever be alone¡­?¡¯ I tightly gripped the knife to prevent my hand from shaking too much. Hesitation filled my entire being as I stared at the nape of the backmost person heading towards my bedroom. ¡°He¡¯s not here.¡± ¡°Shit, he must¡¯ve known we were coming.¡± ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to discipline some little girl later¡­¡± Based on their conversation, Michelle was probably caught by them as well. It also brought me back from my long contemplation. ¡®Looks like my theory of the 4 and Michelle in cahoots trying to backstab me was wrong.¡¯ ¡°Continue searching, he might be hiding somewhere here.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± The other two nodded at what seemed to be their leader at the front. Then, they scattered and ransacked the place quietly. ¡®¡­ What the hell am I thinking¡­?¡¯ I renewed my determination on my life goal. With eyes a blazing, I stared at the approaching masked man and gripped my knife tighter than before. ¡®I¡¯ll just continue as I always did, like before¡­¡¯ A serene calmness spread through my whole body as I lunged at the man with quick speed when he was at close distance. I blocked his mouth and nose with my left hand before he could usher a scream and stabbed him in the neck with the knife in my right. The knife slid through his flesh like piercing paper, even though I knew it hit his bone. A noisy thud reverberated through the room once I and the man collapsed on the ground. The other two quickly ran to where the noise emerged and saw me, drawing out a bloodied cracked knife from the bleeding masked man. ¡°Shit! Johnny! Take him!!¡± ¡°Roger!!¡± The two of them pincered me and attacked me at the same time without regards to their dying colleague. But one thing that I noticed during their charge was something I was not expecting to see in reality. ¡°¡­ So slow¡­¡± For once, I thought I was in a novel where the MC was able to see fights in slow-motion. Using this to my advantage, I stepped back and dodged to the side to avoid the man charging at me with a cloth in his hand. I spun around once I dodged and lodged the knife on his back, and with the help of centrifugal force and my Status Card, the impact wasn¡¯t pretty. ¡°ARRGGGHH!!!¡± The knife lodged itself deep into his back, while his bones cracked and broke under the force generated by the impact. His pained scream, probably louder than a siren, echoed all around. He flew for about a second and crashed into a wall leading to my bathroom. The wall crumbled and cracked, revealing a hole once his body dropped to the ground, twitching and being unable to move. ¡®Looks like I destroyed his spinal cord¡­¡¯ The last masked man looked at me with a dumbfounded expression (Maybe. I can¡¯t see through his mask). He then resolved himself and took out his bladed weapon strapped to his thigh. It looked like a combat knife soldiers in the army used. ¡°¡­¡± He silently stared at me before rushing in like a tidal wave. Inside this compact area, the combat knife he was holding shone the greatest although it still looked slow to me. He made a straight thrust with the knife then withdrew it quickly, only to make some more thrusts. ¡®He¡¯s an expert¡­¡¯ The man was a pro at knife wielding. Even an amateur such as I was able to say it confidently, even though I have no knowledge of knife wielding. He even took into account the surroundings and made it into his advantage. If not for my Status Card increasing my overall body specs, then I would have been stabbed a hundred times over by this guy. ¡®But too bad, I¡¯m no longer a normal person.¡¯ Since he was putting some distance after some thrusts because of his cautiousness of what happened to his colleagues, it was hard for me to try and catch him with my amateurish skills. So I only had one other option left. ¡®[Space-Time Magic].¡¯ Even though this will be the first time I will be using it in combat, thanks to being able to understand how Mana works made it easier to visualize. Also, this was commonly used in games, as well novels, mangas, and animes as a short-distance repositioning tool. ¡°[Blink].¡± ¡°¡­!¡± In a moment, I appeared behind him and quickly grabbed his hand holding the knife while enduring the sudden nausea. ¡®Oh god¡­ This feels worse than car sickness¡­¡¯ I tightened my grip on his hand while resisting the urge to vomit. Next thing that I did was kick his calf with the sole of my foot and outbalanced him, possibly breaking his leg in the process because of the force I put in. ¡°AAGGG!!¡± His pained shout hurt my ears, so I quickly used my free hand to knock him out by knocking him on the head, this time, with just enough force to not break a skull open. He then collapsed on the ground, breathing, unlike his other two colleagues who were probably already dead. ¡®¡­ I¡¯m no longer a normal person, huh¡­¡¯ No reaction to killing, calm behavior in combat, as well as exceptional judgment in critical situations(maybe). ¡°Goodbye, old life¡­¡± I picked up the unconscious man and ran away from the apartment after getting some of my stuff ready before anybody checks this place out. Chapter 5: Those Left Behind (4) Recalling the map I had in my brain, I set my next destination to the bridge connecting to another island, specifically, under that bridge. The bridge was known as Klingston Bridge, as decided by the manufacturers for the highest paying sponsor. Under it was a river, but on the edges of the river, there was cave. Apparently, only I and Michelle were the only ones who knew about the cave. Thanks to the favor I did, we were able to find the cave as coincidence, which resulted to me hanging upside down a tree branch near a cliff. It was because on the other side of the cave, there a huge tree laid its roots. Behind the tree was a steep cliff, about a 35 meter drop. ¡®If anywhere is safe from public eyes, it¡¯s that place¡­¡¯ As such, with my rushed judgment, I continued with my weaving through the dark alleyways while carrying the unconscious masked man on my shoulder in order not to be seen by the public. During my travel, I noticed some police roaming about asking if they had seen someone. ¡°Excuse me, have you seen this young man, Ren Cruz?¡± ¡°Hm, you mean the suspect of the disappearing university? No I have not¡­¡± They were looking for me. They even had an exact picture of me. ¡®This looks serious¡­¡¯ If they were finding me based on the disturbance back on my apartment, or much worse, on the behalf of the organization targeting me, then I had not much time to leave this city. There are few cities in the Bermuda Triangle Island, but this city was the biggest because it was housing the Bermuda Triangle University. ¡®If this spreads out through all of the Bermuda Triangle Island, which is already happening¡­¡¯ Then I won¡¯t be able to escape. I won¡¯t be able to reunite with my family living back in Japan because of their jobs. Even if worse comes to words, I¡¯ll have to use [Space-Time Magic]. ¡®But the problem is Mana usage¡­¡¯ I noticed that whenever I use [Space-Time Magic], a good chunk of my MP gets used. Plus, it was just a short distance jump like about, 5 ¨C 8 Kilometers. If I had to use [Space-Time Magic] to cross over the ocean through hundreds of Kilometers, I don¡¯t know how much MP I am going to need for it to work and hope that I won¡¯t end up in somewhere dangerous like the middle of the ocean. ¡®Looks like I¡¯ll have to increase my MP if I want to leave¡­¡¯ Judging that to be my next target, I continued to move towards my destination. It took me a few hours to reach there, so the time would be past midnight. There were a lot of times when I was about to get caught because of some unexpected situations, as well as my carelessness, but I was able to avoid them entirely. Even though I was running for extended periods of time, it felt just like a light jog to me. In front of me resides a cave. Its insides were pitch-black because of the lack of light. It looked like something good to use in horror movies. ¡°I forgot to bring a flashlight¡­¡± Because of me rushing through the whole night, I wasn¡¯t able to prepare everything perfectly, and that included the flashlight. ¡®Looks like I¡¯ll have to drain the battery of my smartphone¡­¡¯ My smartphone, which indicated 15% as its battery life, revved up and turned on its flashlight mode as I pressed on the screen. ¡°I¡¯ll have to be quick¡­¡± Thankfully, the man was still unconscious so I won¡¯t have to worry about making some noise, as well as any problems. Oh how wrong was I when I thought of that when I just entered the cave.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Of all things, a fucking wolf pack actually lived here!?¡± I was being chased by about 6 - 8 wolves behind me. Thanks to my reinforced body, I was able to outrun them, but before I was able to run, I was scratched by one of them. Maybe scratch was an understatement, how about slashed? Blood was dripping from my leg where the claws of one wolf hit me. It hurt, but not so much. Maybe due to the Status Card, or the STR stat, some of the pain was nullified. While I relaxed when I put the man down, I noticed a pair of eyes glaring at me from the front. It then spread and I found myself surrounded by wolves. Just then, I recalled something I read about on the internet. ¡°Wolves never let go of the prey they chase.¡± Seeing that their prey was wounded and cornered, which was me, the wolves decided to put an end to the chase. ¡°Shit¡­ Even with my body specs, I can only take about 3 - 5 wolves before being bitten and bled to death.¡± Realizing my disadvantageous position, I directed my eyes at the unconscious man. ¡®Damn it, I wanted to wring out some information from this bastard, but looks like I¡¯ll have to use him as bait instead.¡¯ I didn¡¯t want to do it, but my situation proved otherwise. I slowly ducked down and tried to grab the man. During that time, the wolves pounced on me. ¡°Fuck!¡± I quickly grab his shirt and threw him towards the frontmost wolf. It looked bigger than the others so it was probably the alpha. Not expecting the sudden human cannonball, the wolf was caught of guard and smashed into the body. Crack, crack. ¡°GUUHHH!!??¡± Judging by the pained and surprised groan as well as cracking sounds, bones were probably smashed, and the man woke up. ¡°W- what the hell---!?¡± His voice was cut short as the wolf beside the struck alpha sunk its teeth on the man and closed its jaws. ¡°GGAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!¡± The pained scream of the man echoed through the forest a ways from the river under the bridge. His scream surprised some of the wolves, making my attacks land easier. I quickly stepped in front of the wolf and brought my fist to the side of its jaw. With the power from my reinforced body, its jaw cracked and dislocated while the wolf was sent flying. Once I finished doing that, I noticed a wolf rushing in behind me. I quickly ducked then twisted my body, using my hands to grab the fur on its belly then used the force from its lunge, as well as my own to directly lodge the wolf on the ground. Its head smashed on a surprisingly well placed rock and cracked open. But because my posture was bad, I wasn¡¯t able to react to one of the wolves lunge towards me. ¡®FUUCKKK!!!¡¯ I had no choice but to use [Blink] again. Even though this was not good to use in combat because of the side-effect it had, it was the only way to escape being bitten on the neck. ¡°[Blink].¡± Once more, the wolves flinched at the sudden disappearance and reappearance of my body atop of the wolf. Enduring the urge to puke, I brought my fist down on the crown of the wolf and smashed it on the ground. Its head popped open like a balloon and blood and brain matter splattered all over. I quickly adjusted my posture and saw that the wolves were wary of me after killing two of its pack members. The alpha in particular, looked at me with extreme hostility and caution in its eyes. Under its paws, the corpse of a mauled man lying on a pool of blood could be seen. ¡®Shit, even though I used some bait, I wasn¡¯t able to kill my target wolf count¡­¡¯ If was able to kill 5, then I could¡¯ve hunted the rest with ease. But because I used [Blink], the nausea wouldn¡¯t go away that easy, impeding with my decision making ability. ¡®This is really bad¡­¡¯ If I hadn¡¯t broken my posture earlier, then I wouldn¡¯t be in this situation. Just then, I had a thought. ¡®How about [Time] magic¡­?¡¯ I haven¡¯t had time to use it yet, nor the practice, but it would probably be the same with using [Space] magic. ¡®First, imagine what I want to do, then¡­¡¯ Once I got the idea in my head, I quickly put it in practice. ¡°[Slow].¡± When I used the magic, I saw that the wolves were moving slowly now. Seeing that the magic worked, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. ¡®Now¡¯s my chance!!¡¯ I quickly dashed away from the alpha wolf. I also didn¡¯t forget to cast another magic on myself. ¡°[Accelerate].¡± Once I did that, the wolves, as well as the surroundings slowed down more. In that moment, I quickly picked up the knife from my bag ahead of me, and threw it towards the crown of the alpha wolf. The knife flew in a straight path and moved as fast as a bullet. The knife lodged itself on the alpha¡¯s head before piercing it through until just halfway. ¡®That¡¯s one knife rendered useless¡­¡¯ I quickly grabbed the other two knives I looted from the three men and slashed at the remaining wolves. Once I was done, only a single wolf remained, its pelt bloodied and breathing coarse. ¡°¡­¡± I silently stared at its eyes for a few seconds before ending its misery. ¡°Even though I¡¯m no longer normal, I still had trouble dealing with wolves¡­¡± I turned my gaze to the corpse of the man before proceeding to pick up my bag. It was unscathed, save for the dirt on its bottom. I took a look at my clothes then made a quick decision to throw them away. ¡°I wonder how cold the river is during the night¡­?¡± I headed back to the river in order to take a bath under the moon. Chapter 7: Reality Falls (1) While I was bathing in the river, I was thinking about how the fight had gone. ¡®If I just used [Time] magic before actually deciding to use the man as bait, then I would not have lost that valuable source of information¡­¡¯ I splashed the cold water into my body and face as I kept on thinking about my mistakes and its possible solution if I did another move instead of the wrong one. ¡®For instance, instead of ducking when a wolf rushed at me from behind, I should¡¯ve just dodged to the side then brought my fist on its head.¡¯ If I had properly studied the limits of my body, I might¡¯ve just done that, but the lack of information hindered my decision. I splashed more cold water on my face and then, a thought came up to my mind. ¡®Actually¡­ What is with this situation anyway¡­? Wasn¡¯t a trial completely out of the blue? How about the people fearing me? I didn¡¯t even do anything for them to be scared about¡­¡¯ I lost myself in the thoughts that had yet to pop in my head when I was first brought to this situation. Just even being brought to court was already grounds for suspicion, seeing that it was mostly illegal. Next were the people in fear of me. What was up with them fearing me? Wouldn¡¯t they be curious instead of scared? There wasn¡¯t even a single person who asked me about the incident, well except for Michelle, but she was a student. I¡¯m talking about the adults who have work in this island. ¡®Unless, they have a reason to be legitimately scared of me¡­¡¯ Thinking about it, fear of the unknown is one thing, but fear of the known is something that is just as important to human psychology. There are people who are scared of the dark because they are afraid of the unknown dangers that lurk within, but simultaneously, there are others who are scared of the dark because of something they know was inside lurking within. This was pretty much what summed up my situation right now. If the reason why they were scared of me was the latter, then how can they explain the reason why the other students disappeared while I remain? Hell, based on my observations about Michelle¡¯s behavior, I bet they didn¡¯t even question her that much, as well as fear her. ¡®What is the reason?¡¯ Since I had no idea how they came to fear me, I was at a loss on how to proceed with this train of thought. ¡®If I was just able to get some information from that guy¡­¡¯ The more I continued with this train of questions, the more I regretted having the man I brought killed. I splashed some more cold water on my face then left the river stark naked. ¡®I¡¯ll continue this next time. For now, I¡¯ll need to go to the other side of this cave.¡¯ That way, I can set up a temporary base by building some shelter using wood. I got dressed with some new clothes, as for the bloody clothes, I put them inside a garbage bag then brought it with me. ¡®I¡¯ll have to clean this¡­¡¯ Even though there were some holes here and there due to the battles, as well as a large amount of blood stains, it can still be useful as layering during the night, or even just as normal clothes. I¡¯ve had my fair share of wearing clothes that had holes. Next, I picked up the bag that was hanging from a tree branch. Once I was all ready to go, I continued with my journey to the giant tree that rests on the other side of this cave.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Since the cave was just a one way path, there was no way to get lost within it. The problem was that there were a lot of turns, as well as some dangerous obstacles so traversing it in the dark was incredibly dangerous. I checked the battery of my smartphone and saw that there was still some juice in it, and without hesitation, walked into the complete darkness of the cave. With the light guiding me through the dark and damp cave, it took me more than half an hour to finally reach the end. As if it was serving its purpose up until its final breath, the smartphone, drained of its battery, turned off. ¡®Finally¡­¡¯ After a long night, I was finally able to reach my destination. The huge tree was breathtaking to look at with the moon right behind it. The sea beyond the cliff reflected the stars hanging in the sky, and the waves, gently brushed on the shore beneath the cliff. ¡°Ah finally! You¡¯re here!¡± And just then, I heard a familiar voice that I wasn¡¯t expecting to hear at all in this place. ¡°Michelle?¡± ¡°Yeah, glad to see me?¡± I was at a loss on why she was here. ¡®Wasn¡¯t she captured?¡¯ ¡°If you¡¯re thinking that I was captured by the same guys who knocked on your place, then you¡¯re dead wrong!¡± She made a big X with her arms. Heck, she even pouted¡­ ¡°¡­ Why are you here¡­?¡± ¡°Why am I here? It¡¯s because I guided you here.¡± ¡°¡­ What¡­?¡± More and more questions kept on popping up in my mind. First, who was she really, second, if she was captured how did she escape, three, how did she get past the wolf pack inside the cave¡­ And four, what did she mean by guiding me to this place¡­? ¡°You see Ren, you say you are distrustful of people, but for some reason, why do you openly share with me your secrets?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Back then, when we were walking to the bar, didn¡¯t I ask you about the source of your powers? What¡¯s more, you even answered it correctly like it wasn¡¯t a secret, a secret you didn¡¯t share during the trial.¡± She was right¡­ She was the only one I shared my secrets to. Even during the trial, I didn¡¯t share about my Status Card, but I did with her¡­ I had thought that I only shared with her my Status Card because she knew of my superhuman abilities firsthand, but apparently, that was my misunderstanding. ¡°You, what power did you receive¡­? No, how are you still here¡­?¡± My mind was running on high gear to try and find out how she manipulated my mind process. My hand also went to the knife that was hanging from my bag while my eyes was kept strictly on Michelle at all times. ¡°You catch on quick, [Loner].¡± ¡°!?¡± Just that one sentence made me realize how she was able to remain in this place without being sent to the Heavenly Dome or something. ¡°Are you a [Loner] too¡­?¡± ¡°Surprised¡­?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t think that this girl, of all people, was a loner. ¡°And I take it that you have a similar Status Card like me¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Another hit. If what she was saying was true, then everything that happened earlier night was probably all an act to get closer to me. ¡°And then you used your special ability to what, hypnotize me?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Close, but not quite.¡± She slowly got closer as I put more strength to my grip. ¡°We both are similar in physical strength and maybe pretty much similar in our magic power too. But what we don¡¯t have in common, is our [Skills].¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°So if you do not want to fight a physically fit person in an equal state, then I suggest you put away your weapon.¡± My hand holding the knife twitched for a moment, before moving down and returning to my side. I can¡¯t risk fighting against Michelle who I had no idea what her [Skills] were. If, and just if, she had a skill that countered my [Space-Time Magic], then I would be dead. ¡°Good. Now then, where to start, ah right there¡¯s that.¡± She twirled in place as if she was having fun, and then jumped up a tree branch of the giant tree. ¡°I am not your enemy, if anything, the enemy are those bastards who kidnapped the four delinquents.¡± ¡°...What?¡± I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve said what during this day, but who cares? I am at an utter loss on how to approach. ¡°You realized while you were bathing right? That everything about this situation is fucked up?¡± ¡°¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s true¡­¡± ¡°Well, that was partly my fault, since I did that to you during the time you were falling after the incident.¡± ¡°¡­ And since you weren¡¯t at the scene, you were able to escape all kinds of suspicions, and place it all on me, thus, making that organization focus on me, and not you.¡± ¡°You really are smart.¡± She made a smile as if she was pleased by my response. ¡°I know what kind of place this island is. That is one of the reasons why people were scared of you instead of curious. I also know partly about the organization that tried to kidnap us both.¡± I was silent the whole time she was discussing about the reasons why our situation was all fucked up now. ¡°This island, no all of the people here except for the students, including me and you, as well as the delinquents, isn¡¯t a part of our original world.¡± ¡°¡­ What¡­?¡± That was the only word I could say. I was at a loss, an extreme loss on how to perceive her words. ¡®What does she mean about original world¡­?¡¯ ¡°This place, the Bermuda Triangle Island, isn¡¯t a part of Earth, but of another world.¡±