"Would you like to make a deal with me?"
Sebastian wasn't even fazed anymore.
Since the 5 of them came from the same batch of newcomers, they were bound to keep running into each other as long as they didn't die prematurely.
Thus, it was better to get the introductions out of the way sooner than later.
There was no use in avoiding the inevitable.
"What sort of deal are you trying to propose?"
The man looked around before gesturing at Sebastian to follow him.
"Let's go inside my shack, some matters are best spoken of in private."
Sebastian sighed.
"Sure, why not."
Seb didn't forget to secretly undo the safety of his pistol before following the man.
If the man thought he could lower Seb's guard by inviting him into his shack and then springing some sort of surprise attack, then he would be surely mistaken.
For a moment, Seb pondered whether he should just shoot the man with a skill denial bullet for insurance's sake.
He ultimately decided against it.
As long as they were in the newbie protection period, killing him might not be possible and even if it was, there must some serious repercussions for the measure to actually work.
In that case, there was nothing to gain by revealing his cards this early.
The man entered the shack and sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Please take a seat."
Seb narrowed his eyes.
There didn't seem to be any traps so far.
He sat down.
"So... What was so important that you had to bring me in here to discuss?"
The man gave Sebastian a mysterious, smug smile.
He took out two apples from under his bed and started to chew on them.
He tossed one to Seb.
"First have something to eat."
Seb just dodged the apple coming his way and stared at the man with a deadpan expression.
"You are vigilant. I like it."
The man put the apple back down and licked the juice spilling down his wrists before continuing.
"You are also 'their' customer right?"
Seb felt puzzled.
"What are you talking about?"
The man however didn't buy it.
"There's no need to play dumb now... For starters, there's no other way you would already have access to an Artifact before your first trial."
"Artifact?"
"Your right eye was black in colour when you first came, now it is silver. If it's not an artifact then you must be carrying a silver coloured lens in your pocket for some reason."
Seb cursed in his heart.
This was an oversight on his part.
He should have tried to determine whether there were any changes to his appearance after equipping the artifact.
So far he had only met the doctor and this rich young master after equipping it, but there was no way to determine whether anyone else had seen it or not.
This was a village full of people with strange abilities after all!'
For the weak, treasure is the biggest sin.
Right now, he didn't have the capital to fight against an entire Hamlet.
Seb calmed himself down before continuing the confrontation.
"What if I just got the artifact from the tutorial?"
"Then you would need to score more than SSS. If that is the case... Then you are even more likely to have had 'their' guidance."
Sebastian's brows furrowed a little.
He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, if you asked him personally he would 'modestly' describe himself as a minor genius.
The point was that he already had an inkling of who the man might be talking about.
"When you say 'them', by any chance, are you referring to the Infin-"
"-Yes, I am indeed referring to 'The Infinity Faction'. Who else could it be?"
Seb just shook his head.
"No, you are correct. I am indeed a 'customer' of the infinity faction. Since you know that they exist, you must also be one as well?"'
The man nodded in affirmation.
"Yes, they were the ones who helped me get into Purgatory. I also bought a lot of information about the place from them."
"I See..."
"Right now, I went and acquired information about Hamlet 444 and from what I have concluded we are in an extremely bad situation."
"Why is that?"
"To put it in simple terms, this place is full of 'stagnant veterans'. People who have completely given up on increasing their levels and advancing to the next stage."
Seb understood what the man was talking about.
A stagnant environment was one of the worst to find yourself stuck in.
Such people will not only refuse to provide the newcomers any help, they might even take the initiative to drag them down.
But...
"Is that all?"
The man moved his head from side to side.
"No. There's more."
"That is?"
"Usually the newcomers would either miraculously reach level 10 by the end of the month and leave, or try to kill the old-timers."
"Okay...""
"The point is, those that tried to kill the old-timers always failed. There are many reasons behind this, but the biggest one is that the village is extremely united."
"I still don't see the point of concern, don't we just have to get to level 10 then?"
"What I am telling you about is the old case, the last month of newcomers was different. They somehow managed to kill a few old-timers and stay."
"Which means..."
"Which means that the village is extremely agitated right now and we might get attacked the moment our protection period is over."
"That is... Indeed troublesome. Since you have approached me, you must have a plan?"
The man once more gave a smug smile.
"For starters, I would like to form a party with you. An alliance based on mutual benefits. For starters, I would like to exchange vital information."
"Why me?"
"Didn't I just tell you? You are also a customer of 'that faction', which means that you must at least have some potential. In addition, there is no one more suitable to form a party with than those in the same batch as you."
Seb hesitated for a second.
"How exactly is forming a party going to help us survive the end of the week?"
"I am sure you already know that being in the same party means that we would be guaranteed to get into the same trial."
"Of course, that's basic information."
Sebastian didn't know shit but he was determined to bluff his way through all obstacles for as long as he could.
The man smiled assuredly at Seb's response before continuing.
"While the starting location is based on the personality and compatibility of the sinners, your partners in the trial are randomly assigned based on the level of your cores."
"We will indeed would be able to increase our chances of survival and overall rating in the trial by working together... but... is that all?"
"Of course not! I have a certain skill that lets me determine who is telling the truth and another than can let me form contracts and alliances."
"Go on..."
"My plan is to make contact with the sinners from last month and form an alliance with them. Even if they disagree, my skills would help me get a lot of information out of them."
"Once again... Why do you need me here?"
The man just smirked in response.
"First, the previous batch can only help us after we have shown our potential worth as allies. It is unwise of me to approach them on my own. I need to take a few people from my batch at the very least in order to show our unity."
"I see... who else are you planning on roping into this alliance?"
"I think that the two of us would be sufficient. We are by far the most stable of the bunch. No matter how strong they are, I prefer my partners to be rational."
Stable?
Him?
Well... for the time being... Sebastian did feel in control over himself.
Moreover, compared to the other three.. He was indeed quite 'stable'.
Speaking of which, what about the man in front of him.
Everyone he had met so far in Hamlet 444 had an inclination towards being insane.
If the words he had overheard once he arrived here, 'insanity' seemed to be the theme of this particular place.
So why?
Why did the person in front of him seem so rational?
"I get that I am a good ally, but why should I trust you? For starters, aren't you a bit too sane to be here?"
The man gave Sebastian a smile that wasn't a smile.
"What do you describe insanity as?"
He continued without giving Sebastian a chance to reply.
"You see, ever since I was a little child, I was obsessed with the thought of wielding supernatural abilities."
"Once I heard about Purgatory, it was only natural that I spared no effort into finding a way to get in here."
"I voluntarily gave up my family inheritance to a shady organization, followed their directions, committed murders and other heinous crimes, all so that I could voluntarily step into this hell."
"I killed my parents, my siblings and my friends by my very own hands."
"All so that I could remove all of my attachments to my previous life. All so that I could chase after this fleeting opportunity to become something greater."
Sebastian fell silent.
He could finally see 'That look' within the man's eyes.
The one of being so lost within their own worldview that they had completely broken off from conventional morality.
"If this isn't crazy enough for you? What is?"
Sebastian smiled mirthlessly.
"You seem awfully self aware?"
"So what if I am? Does an insane person become less crazy just because he knows that he is a lunatic?"
"I guess not..."
"Exactly! I just have the ability to look at myself objectively. That doesn't make my self-destructive actions any less irrational in nature."
Sebastian sighed...
Perhaps that was what was happening to him right now?
The increase in stats and freedom from the tutorial had made his head clearer about his own situation.
But by no means did this mean that he had recovered.
He was just able to have a temporary respite.
If he were to make the wrong decisions... Perhaps all it would take was a simple push to set him off the rails once again.
The man continued.
"It is precisely because I forced myself into this hell, fully aware of the consequences that I am an insane being fit for Hamlet 444."
If Seb wanted to prevent himself from becoming a lunatic who couldn't even make rational decisions for himself, he would need to make the most optimal and calculated choices.
The first of which was considering the proposal in front of him.
"If you want me to trust you... shouldn't you tell me your name first?"
"Call me Peter. What about you?"
Seb pondered for a moment.
"Is that even your real name?"
The grin on the man's face widened.
"Does the past even matter? In here, my name is whatever I want it to be."
Seb smirked upon hearing that.
"Call me Fenrir then."
"Why?"
"If I am going to choose a fake name, might as well make it obvious."
"I see, in that case... call me Ratatosk."
The two of them shared a knowing look for a moment.
"Looks like we will get along well."
Why did Seb choose the name Fenrir?
It was because he felt that his current circumstances were extremely similar to that of the mythical wolf.
Trapped like a beast bound in chains, all due to the plot of an entity stronger than him.
Just like the only respite of the wolf was to howl at the moon, he would make use of the trials of the blood moon as an opportunity for his rebirth.
Finally, once he manages to break free from his chains, just like the wolf, he would bring an apocalypse with him.
Sebastian remembered the 5 rules of purgatory once again.
While trusting others was nothing but stupidity, trying to survive on his own would just lead him to self-destruction.
Being able to survive on his own would mean that he was really strong, and as a newbie, that can only mean that he possessed a good core or trait.
Both of which would arouse the greed in the hearts of others.
The more attacks he survived, the stronger his next opponents would be.
The never ending cycle of getting hunted down wouldn't stop until he either died or became the strongest person in purgatory.
Instead of going through all that trouble just to be a loner, joining a group and using them as a shield was a much better option.
Moreover, the deal that Peter- no... that Ratatosk had offered him was a hundred times better than getting roped up with the other three lunatics from this batch.
Since he couldn't avoid joining a group, it was better to choose a decent one that wouldn't drag him down.
Sebastian made up his mind.
"I accept your proposal."
He would accept this deal with the devil.
However which of the two was actually the devil... was something only time could tell.