Following the path given by the game room clerk, Arthur and the girls went up to the third floor. This floor already had fewer stores open and some locations were empty. But this was perfect for places like bookstores and the like. Farther up the floor, an open recreation area was already packed with people. There must have been about 70 to 100 people.
Lucky the place was spacious, so even with that, it could still be spacious enough to stay in.
Arthur could see from a few things that this appeared to be some sort of sporting event, and it was purely for recreation. He could see something like an obstacle course, and some of the people involved were setting up some tatami space.
As he walked around the place, Arthur suddenly felt a pain in his feet, like a vein that had just burst. It sent a small jolt through his body, but nothing he couldn't ignore.
"This seems pretty expensive to organize. What will the prize be?" Sara asked as she watched things.
Madison was quick and already got her cell phone. After researching a bit, she told everyone: "It seems that it was an event organized by the mayor to liven up a little so that the mall was more visible, drawing attention to the third floor as well. You can't see the prize, but it's going to be an obstacle course competing with time and a stick fight on the mat. This information looks like it was just added."
"Oh..." Emily exclaimed, but it didn't seem all that interesting to her. Her attention was soon drawn to Arthur, and she noticed that his expression was a little strange. "Is everything okay?" She asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, it's okay. I think I need to go to the bathroom. Do you mind waiting a while?" Arthur squeezed out the kindest voice he could.
"Of course, fine!" Emily nodded.
Arthur waved and then went to look for a bathroom. Despite what he said, his pain was a far cry from okay. The pain that was in his foot felt like it was rising, as if it wanted to break his entire body. It reminded him of the time he was "reborn".
He soon found a bathroom and slipped into a cab.
"What the fuck is this!?!?" Arthur muttered a few words between his teeth as cold sweat ran down his back and forehead.
The pain soon reached his belly, and the pain concentrated there. The area was exactly in the center, just below the navel. That pain soon moved to the right part of his chest, and Arthur had already taken off his jacket and shirt to see what was happening.
He soon saw something that made him startle. Black lines were covering his body, with them all over his body. Black spots were on his right chest and abdomen, as if they were points of concentration of these lines.
Bang!
Arthur was gripping the toilet paper holder, but a sudden wave of pain had him ripping the holder off the wooden wall.
...
...
The pain that came with this check was not at all pleasant to Arthur, but he endured it through clenched teeth. He realized that what was happening must be part of the system or something he didn't understand about himself.
...
...
...
1. Solve Your Problems (Time: 5 Days)
Find a way to level up so the system can clean your mana channels. |
[Penalty]
•Impurity Reactions Every Two Hours•
[Mission Failed]
•Body Will Be Consumed and Rot by Impurities •
...
'Crap!' Gritting his teeth in pain, Arthur stood on the toilet. He noticed that this 'adverse reaction' seemed to be passing.
He realized that his situation was quite critical now. If he didn't find some method to level up in five days, apart from frequent reactions, he would die. He was feeling helpless too from the fact that he had already tried what he could and knew for it.
Nothing else was making him level up, and other than a few points he gained from leveling up earlier, he wouldn't have any. Some panic finally arose from this situation. It also made him realize that he was not just any normal person, and his neglect of his own existence ended up bringing this problem to him.
He wasn't stupid, and a little pain makes one think better.
'I've got some fucking seal on my body, and thanks to that I'm close to death. The system talked about impurities... was it that black, smelly stuff? It sure must be... but how the fuck do I have to break this seal?'
'Wait a minute, the system didn't say I have to find a way to break the seal, but simply a way to level up, and then it will do it on its own... I guess.'
As he thought about these things, the pain in his body soon began to fade, and his reasoning soon turned away from these matters.
'I can no longer be so negligent with myself, especially with such a short period of life. But I have no idea how to do that, and standing in a bathroom thinking about it doesn't help. I have to go home in those two hours and then I can look for something.'
Arthur was so focused on other things that he forgot the weirdness that was himself. This shock was good and served to remind him of himself, and coincidentally it was in keeping with his tastes of wanting to get stronger.
Since his fight with Five, he realized that he wasn't even that strong, and there were things he didn't know that looked like they were from fantasy movies. Magikeen was an existence he couldn't even comprehend, especially that blue energy of hers.
Watching the black lines disappearing inside his own body, Arthur started to think he was going crazy, but after pinching himself, he saw that things were really ugly.
Dressing again, he soon left the bathroom.
***
"Girls, you came here too!" Cesar came out of God knows where and approached the girls.
"Hi Cesar. We heard you had to leave early, but I'm glad we met!" Madison didn't seem to mind too much and greeted him back.
Sara and Emily didn't say much, as Madison had said enough. Emily seemed to be looking for someone instead.
"Where is Arthur, is he gone already? It's really a little late for him to go at this hour, as he has to walk!" Cesar noticed Arthur's absence and didn't mind putting him down a little more.
Emily quickly narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. In fact, when she looked at Cesar, her eyes brightened and a charming smile graced her face.
Seeing that, Cesar almost got a shock, but he controlled himself.
"Well then, I found out that the prize was a cell phone of the participant's choice, along with a giant teddy bear. I was thinking about competing, but there's no one I can give the prize to..." His eyes were suggestive to Emily, and seeing that she continued to smile at him, he felt encouraged to approach her.
"I also heard that the competition was in pairs, so why don't we share the prizes?" He approached and was feeling excited about the idea. It would be a great couple activity and could bring the two together. Not to mention that he personally arranged the additions, precisely to do this with Emily.
What shocked him the most was that Emily was still smiling at him, and she even held out her hand. He immediately extended his as well, and his heart was already almost out of his mouth.
"I knew you were going to-" His smile was blooming, but it was immediately broken when Emily walked right past him.
"Hey, I heard the competition was in pairs! Why don't we play with the girls? Looks like the prize is what you were looking for Julia!" Emily spoke enthusiastically and the smile remained on her lips. Her hand was on Arthur's wrist and she was already pulling him towards what appeared to be the stall where registered the participants.
Caesar's brain short circuited looking at that scene, and his mouth nearly spasmed. His hand curled into a fist and his fingers snapped as veins throbbed in his forehead.
Arthur and Emily wrote their names together, with Emily writing for Arthur, and Madison and Sara were going to participate as another duo. There was a small entry fee, and this time everyone paid the same. Arthur didn't even offer to pay for them as he had already paid a lot of things, which wouldn't do him any good in the long run.
The obstacle course would be done by the pairs, and the one with the best scores would win. If there was a tie, it would be played on the mat with a stick battle.
They soon eagerly awaited the start of the Event.
Caesar, who had been abandoned, was already somewhere else talking to a tall, black guy.
"We'll go together, and you can keep the cell phone, I just need the bear. Besides, there's going to be an extra R$1000. Do you want it?" Caesar's face was dark and angry.
"Obviously!" The tall man gave a mocking smile, while thinking: 'I could see your beeing dumped from afar, and you come here just for that...'
After waiting a few moments, the event finally started.