Lily said nothing as she patiently listened to Dawn's explanation. She nervously awaited the other's reaction, only to receive a karate chop on the head.
"This is what made you so anxious?! It's no big deal. If anything, I'm the one who made an assumption. Besides, there's a little secret you should know about me as well!"
Lily grinned at Dawn, who sniffed and held back tears, relieved that Lily wasn't upset with her and decided to break off their friendship.
"You, Daniel, and old man Hector are not the only ones with a cheat ability! My cheat ability allows me to sense positive and negative energy from others. Basically allowing me to tell good people from bad! It only awakened recently, but it does come in handy. Especially towards people like Jerry and Martha. When I first met you, I knew you were a good person!"
Lily's reassurance lightened the guilt she felt, especially after bonding with the other girl.
"So, since your mission here is complete, where will you head next?"
Lily asked. When Dawn wrote down everything she remembered from the webtoon, and knew if she wanted to survive, she needed to recruit people whose abilities would be useful to her.
Using her phone, she opened her notes and looked at the list of characters she had written about. Picking out the few whose abilities would be useful and would take the slightest persuasion to win over. Dawn paid attention to only cannon-fodder characters she could remember since she had already given up the notion of aligning herself with any main characters.
Mainly because of their unwavering loyalty to Ara, which she very much admired about them. Or they were bat-crazy villains who would not listen to her or fell in line with her powers. There was also her not wanting to disrupt the original flow of things since Ara and her harem was a much-needed factor.
Dawn wasn't trying to become the main character. She just needed strength so she could survive until Ara achieved peace in this world again. She may envy Ara for her courage, not to mention the yummy harem of guys who thirsted after her, but in no way did she want to stand in her shoes.
So far, those recruited by Dawn, minus Kris, did not heavily impact the original story's flow.
'Then again, who knows if the original story I remember reading is the same? Who is to say there aren't others like me or another Martha situation? Arg, this is all so frustrating! I just want to live! Is that too much to ask for?!'
Dawn wanted to grip her hair in frustration and scream. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a ding sound, followed by a notification that made her eyes grow large. Without haste, she clicked on the hologram envelope and eagerly began to read the contents inside.
'Dawn, is this really you? Sorry it took so long to reply. Still trying to figure out the mechanisms behind this thing called a system or whatever it is! Anyway, now that you got this message, quickly make your way back home! Mom and my family are currently taking shelter at our church which has become a safe zone. Look, I know you're scared, but do whatever you have to do to get here. Reply as soon as you get this message!'
"Umm, Dawn, are you okay?" Lily warily asked the girl, who said nothing as tears ran down her cheeks.
"They're alive! Thank God, they're alive!" Dawn happily whispered to herself, reaching a hand up to wipe away the tears that kept falling from her eyes. The burden and anxiety concerning their welfare had been lifted, bringing great relief to Dawn.
"Give me your face. Even if they are happy tears, you shouldn't allow them to ruin such a cute face." Diva appeared before crying girl, cupping her face with one hand and using the other, which held a handkerchief, to wipe her tears.
"I take it you finally received a reply from your family?" Kris stood beside Dawn and asked. He smiled when he saw Dawn happily bobbing her head up and down.
"Now that you got in touch with your family, you must be heading there next, right?" curiously asked Lily, happy to hear that the girl received a response from her family. During such troubling times, families were destroyed; many people lost their precious loved ones. Lily was an orphan, so she didn't have a family to lose.
But Lily couldn't say the same for those at the base, many of whom lost their spouses, lovers, and children to the siege of monsters roaming outside. Remembering those empty eyes, void and filled with unimaginable heartache and anger, chilled the archer's bones.
"Trust me, I would like to head straight there, but my mission calls me elsewhere. Once I'm done there, I'll make my way towards my family," Dawn explained, hearing Kris standing beside her sigh, running his hands through his wavy black locks.
"Please don't tell me it's another psychopath! We already have two of them!" Kris pointed to Diva and Ren, who were once again glaring at each other. Neko-chan lounged in Dawn's lap, happily purring as she felt her master's hands gently brush the fur on her back.
"I don't believe I'm saying this, but at this rate, the cat is the only one that has an ounce of sanity!" ranted Kris, to which Dawn giggled. The sound of her sweet giggles made Kris blush and turn his head away, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Sorry, but I made up my mind! Our next stop will be District T20!" Dawn happily announced, turning her eyes towards Diva, who caught her adorable new mistress's look.
"The boat we used to travel here was left back on the shore. So, Diva, do you think you could use your transportation abilities and send us directly to District T20?" asked Dawn.
"Sorry, mistress, but that's not how my powers work. My transportation abilities work on places that I've visited or can get a visual on. Not for places that I never visited before, sorry!"
Diva felt sad when she saw her mistress's eyes dim with disappointment.
"Really? Well, that's okay. We'll just have to find another way that is clear of danger." Dawn opened her map, sensing Lily peering over her shoulder.
"District U21 is connected to District V22 and District T20. District V22 is covered in danger zones, and the only safe route to get to District T20 is by crossing the section that is split by the ocean," Lily read Dawn's dilemma out loud.
"While I can't use my transportation abilities, I still have other means of crossing the ocean floor." Diva's words relieved Dawn's worries.
"Alright, people, let's get a move on it!" Dawn jumped to her feet.
Once outside the tent, Diva stared at it and snapped her fingers. The glow of blue light emitted from the tent grabbed Dawn's fascination as she watched the tent shrink before becoming a sapphire gem charm bracelet that sat around Diva's elegant wrist.