The crowd erupted in chaos, seems like the man dying was going to make me receive quite the hate…
"He's the wolf!"
A shaky voice suddenly spoke up, following it was more voices, putting the blame on me.
"Aah! Get him before he kills us!"
"Someone! Get rid of him!"
Screams overlapping each other, putting the blame on me. I looked at the crowd, horrified. How do I explain to a crowd of people that are freaking out that I'm not the wolf?
People are always so quick to judge even when they don't know the situation. I sighed, I can't lose yet, not now….
I looked around, every faces here was filled with judgement and fear, except for one, Mary. She was sitting with a kid, it seems to be that little boy that I handed over to her the other day. I looked as the woman smirked at me. Why right now when I need you most?
I looked behind me, the crowd was forming a circle around me, I can feel Chin-hae looking at me, scared and confused. Seems like I'll be owing him an explanation.
Someone definitely set me up for this. All of this chaos, the man dying out of nowhere, I can sense the creator of this little show is near.
I stood up, grinding my teeth together, trying to focus. I looked at Mary again, is she really not going to help me? I shook my head, if she won't then I'll help myself. I can't be too dependent on her, I can take care of myself.
The screaming crowd started to throw things at me after seeing how I just stood there and did nothing, what a great start… glass bottles leaving scratches on my body, cans, tins and trash were also thrown at me.
I stood still, thinking about how to flip this around and get them on my side. I had to stay alive and keep these people alive for later, in case I need to form a team of some sorts.
"He's weak! Attack him! The wolf won't harm us!"
A voice erupted from the crowd, leading the group of madmen into throwing even more things at me. I looked around to find the source of the sound, enduring the pain at the same time. This is all too distracting…
"Hyukk! Shit…"
I wipe blood off the side of my mouth after someone hit my head with a bottle. Am I seriously dying because of these minor injuries? That's one heck of a lame death.
I still can't find where the voice is coming from, I can't fight back either, otherwise I'll just prove to them that I'm a wolf, that won't be too helpful for me.
The chaos's proving how selfish everyone is, blaming someone else just to stay alive. These people who are standing here, throwing trash at me are nothing more than the wolf, they'd kill on command to survive. I laughed, stopping for a bit before letting out a whisper.
"Pathetic humans. I can't believe we are the same species."
As my sentence came to an end, another voice spoke up. What the hell was in me? I shook my head, looking over to where the other voice came from. It was her, Mary decided it was her time to join.
"Calm down, ladies! Gentlemen!"
She'll distract them for now. Thanks to her, I can finally sneak out and tend to my wounds for a bit. I looked as the crowd stopped attacking, looking to where the sound might've come from.
Mary gave me a wink before continuing her speech. As she began to talk and gather everyone's attention, I crawled out of there as quickly as I can.
"Y-you're the insane lady!"
"Aah! Why is she here?!"
The people dropped their weapons. I knew she was powerful but since when was she able to intimidate a whole crowd of madmen like this?
Mary sighed, shaking her head. I can sense her turning on a skill thanks to the amount of energy surrounding her. She was like a lion infront of a pack of prey. Hopefully she doesn't end up killing someone…
As soon as I got out of the crowd, Chin-hae came rushing for me, giving me support to run away. He carried me on his back for a while before he began speaking.
"You mind explaining what happened?"
He frowned, taking me far away from the crowd. I laughed, I feel like a psychopath now, laughing out of nowhere? Is this because of the amount of time I've spent around weirdos?
I looked at the man that was carrying me on his back, well damn, I wish I was half as strong… Thanks to all his strength and Mary's way of getting everyone's attention, the both of them rescued me from death.
Behind us, I could see a small crowd that had caught up with our actions. They're following us now.
I gulped, looking back at Chin-hae I still owe him an explanation… I began to talk, trying to explain things as clear as I can.
"The guy suddenly attacked me as I was trying to see what was happening in the crowd, when his knife fell out of his hand he started begging me as if I started the fight."
Chin-hae was about to talk, his head turning around. His face tensing up, he saw the crowd too. The man began running quicker, trying to lure them into the wrong track.
After a while of running, we reached a silent corner, Chin-hae puts me down onto a bench. My injuries were fairly serious, but, I don't think it's enough to kill me.
"That's strange… I don't really get it either."
I sighed, not knowing what else to tell him.
"Well, If I had to guess, I'd say something was controlling him and when he failed to do so, he recieved a penalty from whoever gave him the order."
Chin-hae sat down next to me. He became a little more relaxed. Did he seriously believed those people? I let out a sigh.
"Where's the bandage boxes?"
Chin-hae quickly handed me the bandages, I took them and tended to my wounds. Thinking about the voice, it clearly came from the crowd yet I can't seem to find who it was that leaded the group…
"There's something strange I've noticed."
"And that is?"
Chin-hae stopped for a moment, looking around to check if the group of people were still following us before calming down and spoke.
"I keep on seeing people disappear then returns as dead bodies."
He stopped for a moment to catch his breath then continued.
"Sometimes, the bodies look like it was a suicide but I feel like it's more likely someone placed the bodies in that position…"
That's strange… I guess not really since things like missing people did exist in the old world, but returning as a corpse? I would agree with Chin-hae's idea of the wolf faking the deaths as suicidal incidents… This is all so absurd.
I looked down at my wounds, could I have experienced something similar? That doesn't sound like a solid argument… maybe I should just forget about the injuries for now until they start to matter or become useful.
Suddenly, as I was zoning out, getting trapped in my own thoughts, a sharp blade flew our way, I could feel my heart beating out loud as the dagger fell down, it was inches away from hitting me straight in the neck. Where the hell do these people find those weapons in an abandoned subway station?!
Chin-hae took the blade and held onto it tightly. The man infront of me was strong, he was loyal and a great companion. I tried getting up, pushing him aside.
「??? Smirks at your pathetic state」
Who is this person hiding behind those question marks? Why do I keep receiving notifications from them?! I have to ignore them.
I don't have time for this bullshit, Chin-hae and I are being cornered now. I limped out of my hiding spot, giving Chin-hae a glance. This might be the last time I see him.
A member from the group shouted.
"I see him! It's the wolf!"
"Hyung! Don't!"
Chin-hae's voice and the man's voice overlapped each other.
I took a deep breath. Why do I keep on acting recklessly? I was nothing more than an ordinary person up until now.
[SYSTEM: opening 「the universal store」!]
"I'll show you how strong a sheep can be."
I looked at the madmen coming my way, if they won't listen to me then I'll make them listen. I gotta say, Mary did hold them back for quite a while, thanks to her, I can start my battle.
[SYSTEM: you've bought x3 「heal potion」, x1 「steel sword」 and lv2 strength! Now withdrawing 「800R」!]
Well damn, that was expensive. I'm down to 1,880R already. I sighed, drinking down 2 of the heal potions and took out the steel sword. It might look old and a bit weak but that's enough to defend myself and scare the people off, hopefully.
I'll find the culprit behind this once I finish this little game setup you guys made. What a nice way to welcome a guest….
A old cowardly looking man that was somewhere in the front of the crowd stopped as he got closer, seeing my sword, he gasped and shouted.
"H-his injuries! They're healed! And h-he's holding a blade, are you sure we'll be okay, captain?"
"Who cares! He's just scaring us, attack!"
A man shouts from somewhere nearby, he seems to be the leader. As his sentence ended, multiple members of the group came charging at me, their swords clashing against mine.
"Shit… Did you all upgraded your stats or something?!"
I shouted out loud, getting pushed against the wall by their force. Was I going to spend more ranks on buying and upgrading my stats? Of course I am, atleast for once, I'm not so cheap.
[SYSTEM: the stats 「strength」 and 「stamina」 are upgraded to lv5! Now withdrawing 1600R]
I felt as if a volcano of energy erupted inside of me, I was stronger and swifter. I could easily take them down now. When I looked back up, a person in dark clothes and a brown cloth went charing at me.
Slash! Kwaang!
My sword clashes against the weapon they were holding, sparks forming around the two blades. I dashed back, who the hell was behind that sword? Level 5 is pretty high for a second game. Whoever this is, they're surely stronger than most of the monsters I dealt with.
"Gyungho! Watch your back!"
Chin-hae dashed towards me, his hand holding a small sharp dagger, I looked behind me to see him stabbing a woman that was charging at me while I was distracted by the person infront of me.
"Heukk! Bleurgh….! It wouldn't hurt if you just give up!"
I looked back infront of me to see the figure in the cloak pressing their sword down against my neck. I looked down at the sword then glanced at Chin-hae.
I pushed Chin-hae aside and kicked away the person's sword. With no weapon in hand, surely… I was wrong. They pulled out a dagger and came charging back at me.
I narrowly dodged their attack, sprinting towards them.
"You just never give up, right…"
I smirked, getting closer. Every step I took, I could feel energy flowing through my body. I ran towards the person in the brown cloak, tearing it off before starting to talk again.
"…Aiko Kagami, the ruler of dreams."