"Name?"
Hmm. Well, I definitely can't refer to myself as The Wanderer...
Hea- cough... Uhh, Headlesschicken."
"Heddler Stchiken?"
Whhew, that was close. I almost called myself Heaven No. 2093 again.
For some strange reason, The Wanderer's new alias had simply popped up in his mind like magic. It didn't seem too bad, though...
Right?
Surrounding him was the entire group. After realising there was a possibility of other survivors, they naturally wanted to question him more. It wasn't like they'd been the only ones who'd been magically teleported to the Empty Districts, how coincidental could that be?
Faced with the bombarding questions, The Wanderer decided to play dumb, only mentioning that he and the other finalists had been teleported, but died over a dispute. As for him, he had escaped the battlefield wounded, fainting and finally waking up here.
By all means, it was a very vague and suspicious backstory, alongside an obviously faked name, but The Wanderer hadn't planned anything in advance. Well, he never did.
Everyone found it suspicious, but no one said anything, merely signaling to each other in subtle actions. They didn't know how strong this stranger was, nor did they know the exact truth behind his suspicious words - so they needed to probe for more details.
That would all be future actions, though. The important part was gaining Heddler's trust by being friendly.
Well...
It all sounded like a nice and smart plan, but unfortunately there were some who didn't exactly get the memo.
Cane had already walked forward, hand out for a shake. Seeing this, The Wanderer accepted, and inwardly felt happy.
I definitely chose the right person to be the MC, haha.
"Since you're already here, there's no point in worrying about the small things. What are your powers?"
The Wanderer paused for a moment, thinking of which powers to display and which ones to hide.
Well, there was the important one, Frost Energy. With it, he could display his usefulness in the team by becoming a water provider. As for the second ability to share, maybe something useless, to show he wouldn't be a harm?
Good idea, me.
"I can shapeshift and create ice."
Ice???
His words immediately changed the looks in the others' eyes. For the past few weeks, water was exactly what they'd lacked. Everyone looked at each other, relief visible on their faces.
Upon hearing this, Cassidy also stepped forward, taking the initiative to shake hands as well.
"How about you stay with us for now, then!"
...
For the next week, everyone observed the strange behaviours of their new member.
Heddler didn't seem to care about food, and if no one reminded him to eat then he'd go the day without anything. Even then, he wouldn't show any signs of discomfort.
Not only did it seem like he lacked a digestive tract, he regularly forgot to sleep as well, usually staying awake for multiple days before collapsing out of nowhere.
Every morning fell into a rhythm, even in spite of his suspicious behaviour. He'd be called over by someone, after which he'd condense ice repeatedly for the next few hours. Whoever was on duty that day would then take the ice to melt over a constant fire.
With a source of water, life became much better. Things like drinking blood was a thing of the past. Furthermore, if one was frugal enough, they could even save enough water to shower with!
That was something that everyone appreciated.
At this time, it was dark outside.
Everyone had gathered together around the constant fire, with The Wanderer still condensing ice.
He was... absolutely bored out of his mind.
Ughhh... when's the action happening??? Am I really gonna be stuck here just using Frost Energy 24/7?
The Wanderer complained in his head, but he didn't let it show on his face. On that note, he'd already chosen a face to use - one that was utterly forgettable, average in every way. No one questioned it, of course. They probably thought it was a side-effect of being able to shapeshift.
Either way, he was spending every day stuck inside the base, monitored constantly and not allowed to go outside.
At this moment, Nick took the chance to speak, sounding quite solemn.
"Today, I believe I've found our only way out. As you all know, high rank monsters have cognition like us humans, and Rank 5's can even communicate! The... "locals" know the territory better than us, so if we want to get out, our only chance is to try and communicate with - this District's ruler."
Everyone's eyes narrowed at these words, and Cane spoke afterward.
"This is why you arranged the meeting, right? You found where this District's Rank 5 monster lives at?"
It was spoken like a question, but in reality it was just a statement. None of the people around the fire were stupid, and the implications of Nick's words were quite plain to see. This information... it was extremely useful.
"How are we going to communicate, though? These monsters all hate us, and Rank 5 isn't an existence we can afford to fight. As it were, Cane is our strongest member right now, and he's only a Warrior!"
Cassidy had stumbled upon the crux of the issue - that being, even if a human could communicate with a monster, who knows if the monster wants to communicate with a human?
Everyone remained silent for a moment, and The Wanderer took the chance to speak up.
"Well, this means we - all of us - have no choice but to hunt more monsters, and those of higher ranks. That's the only way we can get strong enough to be on talking level with that Rank 5 monster, right?"
Although it didn't show on his face, inwardly he was quite frantic.
Come on, let me out, let me go outside and play!!! Stop keeping me holed up next to this sh*tty fire every minute!!!
In fact, it was a suggestion everyone agreed with. Although it might be smarter to pile all their resources onto Cane, the current highest in rank, the truth was that none of these proud prodigies were willing to be below others.
With the idea out and ready for people to build upon, it was immediately accepted - everyone for themselves, whoever gets to the top is by their own ability.
"Since we're in agreement, there's only one thing left. Cane, as the current strongest among us, should naturally opt out of this little competition and focus on protecting the base instead."
Nick side-eyed Cane, overtly displaying certain green tea tendencies. Cane didn't pick up on it, and decided that it was fair - though he still added:
"Oh, but Heddler should stay in the base too. With his level of strength, there's really not much he can help with in a fight. Plus, we still need water and stuff..."
"Yeah, I agree."
"Sounds like a good idea."
"Mhm..."
The Wanderer smiled on the outside, but on the inside...
"..."
F*CK!
GO F*CKING SHUT UP!!
NO ONE WILL THINK YOU'RE A MUTE IF YOU DON'T SPEAK!!!
...
With the following plan decided, everyone felt much more relieved.
Only Susie was anxious - the more fighting that was involved, the more people would get hurt. Worse than that, everyone seemed awfully motivated to go out on their own and hunt, since then they wouldn't need to share high-rank meat with anyone else.
Over the next few days, such a scene could be seen, where Susie was running around the base whilst caring for multiple wounded simultaneously. Upon their rejuvenation, they'd simply get up and go outside - and get hurt again.
At this rate, she'd get grey hairs and wrinkles.
Wait, no. Some hairs were already looking grey. Not to mention, a few wrinkles from constant frowning.
Without realising, a month passed.
On one night, a certain calm was brewing. This was such a night, a peaceful night, where for once there were no wounded people. Susie could take a break, and hopefully save her hair. In the meanwhile, Cane, who'd been constantly stuck at the base, could finally go outside and enjoy some fresh air.
The night was so peaceful, that unknowingly, everyone in the base fell asleep.
Outside, Cane's shadow was highlighted by the moon. It suddenly moved in front of him out of nowhere.
Huh? What's this, some kind of fore-shadowing?
Cane thought it could just be some prank, but he wasn't willing to take a risk, so he decided to go back to the base. And upon entering...
"It's... really damn quiet."
Cane took a look around within the base, but saw nothing as it was too dark. Before continuing further, he paused, feeling like there was something more he should say.
"Too quiet."
There we go.
With a classic horror film's death flag planted, Cane now knew for certain that something was wrong. Therefore, he decided to light the fire and rouse everyone, even if it disturbed the hard-won sleep that the group had been looking forward to.
And as expected...
Upon a quick role call, it became apparent that Alex had gone missing.
"Alex? Hey, bro, where'd you go!"
"Alex! There's freshly cooked Rank 5 meat waiting for you at the fire!"
As the others called out for him, Cane looked around, checking with Hidden Strength - the range and the ability's function actually allowed him to use it as radars of sorts. After using it, though, nothing was confirmed.
The 5 of Cane's friends were all present, and the 3 of the other Combat Schools (not including Alex) were also within range. Heddler, the newcomer, was also within range of his Hidden Strength radar.
Wait!
Cane checked closer. Heddler appeared to be... moving to a certain location, with a clear intent and purpose in mind.
Just as he was about to inspect further, though, a shout roused him.
"Hey, I found him! Or, well... it kinda looks like him..."
It was from Heddler.
When they all rushed over, eager to see the situation, the sight plunged everyone into a shock.
In an out-of-the-way room, within the same high rise building that they were employing as a base - only a few floors above - there lay Alex's dead body.
He was completely shriveled, like a dried husk. His skin had turned a dark brown, reminiscent of bark, looking very much like a mummified body.
But the real issue wasn't his drained vitality. It was the fact that all over his body, scattered about like hairs, were lesions - cuts and scratches, wounds that looked... man made.
Alex had died.
"I'm not even a novice forensic doctor, but... even I can tell he was killed by one of us."
At Cane's words, everyone turned to look at the one who'd first called them over.
Did the newcomer, Heddler...
Did he kill Alex???
The Wanderer silently gulped, looking back at the multitude of suspicious gazes.
Suspicions and A Death, can it get any worse from here!!!