Chapter 01- I am The Sidekick!
At some point in my life, I met a person. He was an old man if I can recall correctly. Old, wrinkled, tired, and lonely. He had no family, no friends, and nothing to rely on. He lived his life in complete solitude, far away from the warmth of a loving hand or the caress of a caring companion.
He was completely and utterly lonely. Yet, for some reason, when I met him, he always had a brimming smile on his old face. It wasn't the most bright smile in the world but it still carried something that a person like him should not possess… Hope.
He was still hopeful, he was still looking forward to tomorrow. As much as he was aware of the fact that he will never see his loved ones again, he still moved on and continued living.
At that time, I was still a clueless, small child that had everything. Friends, family, warmth… I had it all.
My only concern at the time was 'why did my friends leave me here and go play alone? Why did they leave me alone? I wanted to play too!'. I just sat there and cried silently over my simple problem.
So, the words he said to me at the time only passed as nothing but nonsensical gibberish that my immature mind could never get. Something that I will only come to understand after so many years… Even after my death.
He said, "Why are you crying, child?"
I don't recall what I said precisely, but I am sure that I recounted what happened to him. It was not a good idea to speak with a stranger especially when you're nothing but a kid. However, his voice had such a gentle tone to it that I could only feel comfort and ease talking with him.
He listened to my story silently, his expression didn't lose its warm smile. He just waited for me to finish.
After ending my story, I just continued crying. I could not bother by the fact that he was still there. I just spoke out my heart in hope of finding comfort in that and it did work.
Then, he spoke again "Do you hate loneliness?"
"I do! I want to always be with my friends." I responded.
"What if they don't want to be with you?"
His second question made me go silent since I could not process it at all. It was hilarious to see my wet face contorting as I tried to think of an answer with that stupid brain of mine.
"I… I don't think they should hate me! I am always nice to them."
"What if staying with them will hurt you instead of making you feel happy?" His tone was still gentle and serene yet his questions were the contrast of that. They kept brutally assaulting my mind and I had no way of fighting back… or responding.
Seeing that, he probably understood my hardships and started chuckling.
"You don't have to answer that question. It was just an old man spouting nonsense. But, in my opinion, you don't have to feel sad about them hurting you."
I can't recall his face, but I can recall that his eyes shifted to look at the sky as he continued.
"The people that love you will always stay by your side. The people that cherish you will always pull you together with them. They will see you as something important to them, something that they must not leave behind. Those are the ones that you should give your all to."
I didn't get it… I didn't get anything of what he said yet also found it very interesting to listen to.
Even with my confused mind, I was still able to generate a question that I wanted an answer to.
"Where can I find those people?"
"That's not something neither I nor you could answer. Those people are the ones who will give you the answer. They will show you that they are truly what you have always been looking for."
That was the last thing he said before he walked away, leaving me in a lost state. I frankly didn't like that answer, they will give me the answer? What does that even mean? Was it some stupid philosophical stuff an old man would say?
I never knew the answer to that and years passed. I grew up, met new people, created new friends, and lived a fulfilling life. I totally forgot about that moment in my life, as if it was a fleeting memory, dancing along a thin string that was my life. It created a ripple in that string but that was it, it just vanished after that leaving that string as motionless as it ever was.
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"Rin… Rin… Oi Rin!" A voice woke me up from my daze.
For some reason, I embarked on a journey down the nostalgia path at that time. I didn't know why, but recalling that memory from time to time became a simple hobby of mine.
"My bad, I was thinking about something," I said as I scratched my head awkwardly.
The one I was speaking to was my best friend, Marcus. We have been best buddies for years… even after the apocalypse took over the whole world, we never left each other's side and tried to survive together.
Yeah, you heard me right, apocalypse. It's not a romantic drama or a cheap B-rated movie about zombies but a full-fledged apocalypse.
Now, let's make things clear, surviving the apocalypse while being a 17-year-old boy is nothing short of a miracle. We didn't only do that, we even were able to create a new place for people to live in.
Even though I say 'we', people will shake their heads and respond 'It was Marcus who was able to do all of that. You are nothing but a follower.' and I was totally fine with that.
I did lose my family because of this apocalypse, but I never blamed anyone for it. Marcus and the others tried their best yet it ended up with me losing my little sister and my mother… My only two remaining family members from after the apocalypse.
The story of how that happened is stupidly long so I will spare you the details and say that it was a mistake… A mistake of a decision.
Anyway, I shook my head to get rid of these 'fourth-wall-breaking' thoughts and focused on the matter at hand.
We were sitting around a huge table, a total of 6 people, me, Marcus, and 4 other girls were the people present at the meeting.
"Focus, man. The matter is very important." Marcus replied with a reprimanding tone.
"I'm all ears."
"Good. Now, as we were saying, our patrol teams discovered a dungeon far in the north, approximately 500 KM from here. The dungeon seems to be untouched and the aura around it indicates that it's at least a C-Rank dungeon."
"C-Rank dungeon? You aren't actually thinking of clearing it, are you?"
"That's what I want to do," Marcus replied to my retort with a serious look.
"Did you go fucking nuts? It's a C-Rank dungeon we are talking about. We barely could clear an E-Rank dungeon two weeks ago and now you want to tackle one that's two ranks higher?"
I was genuinely shocked and very angry at his unreasonable request.
"We can't keep this slow pace. If we keep going step by step, we will eventually be destroyed by the 'wave'. The monsters around the shelter are becoming stronger and stronger and the zombies are also increasing in numbers. We have to get stronger as quickly as possible."
"Marcus is right. The higher the risk the higher the rewards." One of the girls said.
Her name was Fiona, Marcus's childhood friend. I can already see many of you thinking that 'she's definitely in love with him' and to that, I will respond… yes, she's head over heels for him.
They have basically been together for almost 10 years so it was inevitable that she falls in love with him. Besides, the boy Marcus was handsome. He was tall, attractive, kind, and takes care of others. Anyone would be attracted to him let alone his long-lasting childhood friend.
She was a gorgeous woman with a petite stature and a cute face that made others adore her and protect her. Her distinct black wavy hair and her aquamarine eyes made her really attractive to both sexes.
*Ehem*
Anyway, she was clearly with the idea just because Marcus said it. I won't be surprised if she followed him to hell if he said so. That shows how blind her trust in him was no matter how wrong he was.
Fuck, that's too dark. Let's not diverge from the topic now.
"That is stupid and dangerous. Forget about the fact that the risk is over the roof, the chances of a dungeon outbreak happening are very high in case the raid fails. The shelter would be at a huge risk if a swarm of monsters attack all at once."
I was still against the idea and wasn't going to back now, many innocent people will die. It was no joking matter.
"Then what? We sit here and wait for the monsters to infiltrate the shelter and kill us all. I won't allow that to happen. We can't restrict our ambitions just at the mere sight of a dangerous challenge." Marcus added.
"Marcus has a point, Rin. We have no other choice but to fight against stronger enemies. That's our only way of becoming stronger." Another girl responded
This one was Claire, she was Marcus's older step-sister. Yup, I am not even kidding, his step-sister. Now, before some of you start moving your right hand, let me explain.
….
You know what, you can move your right hand. She's as hot as you could imagine and a little bit more and she was also coincidentally deeply in love with him.
'Coincidentally' I say but it was all somehow working perfectly as absurd as the scenario sounded. Marcus was just one lucky motherfucker.
Her body was just simply there to tease every man's fantasy and make them have a hard time sleeping at night. Big breasts and a plump ass coupled with an hourglass figure.
After glancing at her for a few seconds, I averted my eyes from her naturally and looked at Marcus.
"You don't know how absurd what you're doing is, Marcus. Reckless greed for power will only lead us to imminent death."
"Come on, Ri-"
"Hmph! Let him be, Gin. He has always been a coward and he will always be a coward. He won't understand you."
The rude voice belonged to the third girl, Serena. Now, I can see you all waiting for the grand reveal of who this girl was and how she was somehow close to Marcus. Well, you are all mistaken. That girl is supposedly MY childhood friend.
Her rude attitude toward me and the clear disgust she had toward me made me question whether we were actually childhood friends or not. But, what I was certain of is that rude Tsundere also likes Marcus.
You might be wondering why she wasn't attracted to me. The answer is, I have no fucking idea. She just hates me and considers me like trash. No, worse than trash.
A childhood friend, a step-sister, and the Tsundere… The harem trinity has been completed. Well, not really since there was still one last fourth person…
"Don't say that, Serena. Rin is an indispensable friend and a great fighter. We will need him in this."
I shook my head with a sigh.
I really didn't know what to say at that time since no one was with me. I was genuinely about to give up.
"I think Rin is right." A cold voice suddenly exclaimed calmly.
Speak of the devil, the fourth girl finally spoke. Now, you all knew that the three girls were great beauties, well, scratch all of that and throw it in the bin.
Ok, let me put it more simply for you horny lot to get. Let's say the three girls I previously mentioned were 9/10 in my perspective. Well, the fourth one is like 100/10.
I knew that might sound like an exaggeration and it may well be an exaggeration. But, the fact is, she was drop-dead gorgeous. The type that will genuinely make you fall in love at first sight. I never believed in that fact until I saw her for the first time.
However, much to my bad luck, I was never someone who could ask her out or even become friends with her. We both were from two different worlds. I was a poor orphan who recently lost the remaining members of his family. As for her…
Her name was Elise, we were classmates at some point when the apocalypse only existed in fiction.
An angular face, snow-white skin, and a pair of starry violet eyes. She was also quite tall with a body that would make you lose your mind with a glance.
Do I sound like a simp? I don't give a fuck. I was just giving you guys a small idea of how beautiful she was.
Anyway, her background before the apocalypse was as outstanding as her looks. Her father was a world-renowned businessman and she worked as a model for a plethora of popular magazines.
Back to reality, I erased these thoughts from my head and focused on Marcus. His eyes were focusing on Elise and I could see the myriad of emotions dancing in his eyes. One glance was more than enough to see who this casanova liked.
He never directed such a longing, warm and gentle gaze to any of the other three, except for Elise. He was head over heels for her.
What a drama! This makes me feel like I'm the sidekick of a rom-com harem anime with a cold main heroine. It's never bad to be a part of that even though I know I will never get my hands on these women.
"Why, Elise? You know more than anyone else how crucial it is to get stronger quickly." His voice didn't have any authority or anger. He was speaking in a low, gentle, almost pleading tone.
However, Elise ignored his puppy eyes and responded with her usual ice-cold demeanor.
"We are not qualified to face a C-Rank dungeon now. If you want to commit suicide then go ahead and do it."
There were no emotions in her voice, she didn't even consider Marcus's emotions which were clearer than the sun in the morning.
His face frowned slightly for a split second before returning to normal quickly.
"Got it." He responded faintly before walking back to his chair.
I sighed under my breath and looked at the time on my pocket watch. I say it's my pocket watch but it was actually my father's pocket watch. He gave it to me when he was on death bed 9 years ago and I kept it with me since then. One of the hands was cracked but still working and the numbers were barely visible to the eye.
I kept it with me as the last thing I had that linked me to my family.
"It's already late. I should be going back now." I excused myself and left the room.
Have fun with your harem, Marcus. I thought in my head.
When I was out of the house, I whistled slightly.
"Mika! Mika, where are you?" I said as I called for my sole companion.
"Waa!!" A cute voice responded to me with a low screech of happiness.
Then, a small creature flew out of nowhere before landing in my hands. She looked like a lizard but she had wide wings on her back. Yes, she was what we call a 'dragon'.
I had a dragon companion as my last 'family'.
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