When Aiden woke, he found various tubes attached to his arm. Sophia was lying quietly on the bed not far from him as if she had not woken yet.
"Eh, you're awake?"
As soon as Professor Martin entered, he was pleasantly surprised to see Aiden open his eyes.
"Yes, how long have I been asleep?" Aiden only realized that his voice was very strange when he spoke. His throat was dry and hoarse as if he hadn't drunk water for a long time.
"Not long, just three days." Professor Martin handed him a glass of water with a smile. He sat by the bed and asked with interest, "Tell me, what happened? When I saw the two of you that day, even I was shocked."
Aiden gulped down a large cup of water. Only then did his throat feel a little better and he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Sigh, it's a long story…"
Then, he briefly explained what happened but omitted the part where he had become crazy. Instead, he changed it to a story of him and Sophia joining forces to kill the ferocious beast but were also seriously injured.
The reason for his concealment was simple. Aiden didn't know the reason for the unexplained things that happened. At least, he didn't want to reveal it until he was clear about it.
After hearing this, Professor Martin could not help but shake his head. "I don't know if you're lucky or unlucky. Ever since I awakened, I haven't even seen a fully beastified ferocious beast. I haven't even seen an aggressive ferocious beast, but you…"
Professor Martin stared into Aiden's eyes and said with a faint smile, "You've only awakened for a few days. Not only did you encounter a Slaughter Beast, but you also encountered a fully beastified Devourer. Such luck is rare."
"I'd rather not have such luck." Aiden rolled his eyes and muttered softly. No one wanted to be stuck between life and death all day long, and he was no exception.
"I don't know if it's an illusion." Professor Martin's expression suddenly became serious. He said seriously, "Ever since I met you, I feel that this world seems to be getting more and more unsafe. The delicate balance between humans and beasts is being broken. Some things seem to be developing in the direction of time and space. It's been more than three years since I awakened. This is the first time I feel this way."
"…" Aiden was stunned, not knowing what to say for a moment.
"Over the past three years, I have come into contact with some Awakened ones." Professor Martin slowly took a sip of coffee. "There are strong ones and weak ones. Their personalities are also different…"
Aiden didn't reply, quietly waiting for him to finish.
"But you're different." Professor Martin glanced at Aiden solemnly. "There's something special about you."
"Special temperament? What?"
"I don't know how to describe it. It's like the protagonist of a movie."
"…Protagonist? What do you mean by that?" Aiden grinned.
"No, it's very unlucky." Professor Martin shook his head seriously. "The movie I'm talking about is a horror movie. No matter what, even if the protagonist doesn't do anything, terrifying things will take the initiative to find him. You give me the feeling that no matter what you do, there will be ferocious beasts targeting you."
"…" Aiden was speechless. It was fine—he didn't want to be the main character either—but thinking about it carefully, he began to feel a little nervous. After all, according to Professor Martin, he was indeed extremely unlucky. He had awakened for a week and almost died three times…
As he thought about it, Aiden's mind wandered.
Could it be that he was really like the protagonist of a horror movie? No matter where he went, bad luck would catch up?
Then, Professor Martin stood up and stretched. "I've decided. I'll try my best to stay away from you in the future."
"What?"
Aiden was very surprised. He was very clear about Professor Martin's strength. There was nothing wrong with the Professor being the only person he could rely on in this world filled with beasts, but If he kept away, wouldn't Aiden be waiting for death if he encountered such danger in the future?
"Professor Martin, you can't joke about this."
"I'm not joking." Professor Martin shook his head slowly. Then, he smiled and comforted him. "But you don't have to worry too much. When I say stay away, I'm not saying that I don't care about you. What I mean is that you have to increase your strength as soon as possible. Only then can you have the confidence to find more companions. You can even seek the protection of the organization. With more companions, you'll be much safer."
"Organization, is it the Awakened organization?" Aiden wondered. This was not the first time he had heard of this term, but Sophia Harry did not know much about the organization. Professor Martin seemed to know but was unwilling to reveal too much.
"Hehe, you'll know in the future. What you need to do now is to recuperate as soon as possible." Professor Martin stood up and suddenly thought of something. He turned and said, "I've already dealt with the beast's corpse. You can rest and recuperate."
With that, he opened the door and left.
Aiden sat on the bed, still thinking about Professor Martin's words.
What kind of existence was in an Awakened organization…
What kind of existence am I in?
Aiden was a little confused. Before this, his thoughts had always been to hide as much as possible, to hide himself. He thought that this would allow him to live a peaceful life. As for Awakened organizations, he did not care at all, nor did he want to care.
However, after listening to Professor Martin's words, he suddenly realized that it was really as Professor Martin had said. Even if he did not take the initiative to expose himself, the beasts would still take the initiative to find him. Once or twice, he might be lucky, or saved by others, but what about three or four times?
What about ten or twenty times?
There would always be a time when he would get into a desperate situation. At that time, would it be possible for him to hide?
Perhaps it was really as Professor Martin had said. If he wanted to survive, he had to find an organization. Only by having enough companions and being strong enough could he survive in this terrifying world.
[Beep!]
[New ability detected: Berserk Transformation, Sequence Number: 71, Ability Pathway: Enhanced]
Aiden froze.
"Berserk? Is it like when I lost my mind earlier?"
[Yes, Berserk Transformation can increase the user's various physical fitness in a short time, including strength, agility, and so on. Level 1 Berserk Transformation can increase the user's physical fitness by 500%, but at the same time, it will greatly reduce rationality and mental strength. The effect lasts for five minutes.]
"Now I know…" Aiden pursed his lips. Until now, he still felt a strong sense of discomfort in his head. Although the berserk skill was strong enough for him to almost fight a swallowing beast alone, the side effects were also terrifying. Most importantly, after using it, he would lose his mind.
If it was like when he was fighting the direbeast Lily had transformed into, it would be fine if there was no one around. However, if there were others present when he went berserk and he had to face more than one direbeast… With a group of them, he could only die without having control.
At the thought of this, Aiden felt a little helpless. Why did the skills he obtained feel a little… deceiving?
"Let's talk about Priest skills first. They sound quite powerful. Self-healing, Healing Halo, and Strength Increase. However, with those two active skills, every time I use them, it's as if I'm drained hollow. It takes a few days to recover. Not only is it tiring, but the healing effect on larger wounds is also very ordinary.
Looking at this berserk skill, to put it bluntly, he had become a lunatic with relatively powerful combat strength. But no matter how powerful his combat strength was, he was still a lunatic…
"Sigh, looks like I have to be more careful in the future…"
Aiden lay down on the bed and stopped thinking about these troubling thoughts.