"We're going to use it to beat the shit out of the Slime."
The Hero looked at me with widened eyes, and so did the cat sitting on his shoulders.
Was that a fucking cat speaking English? Three years was way too long a time. It was surprising to see the feline race evolve faster than humans, but I saw it coming.
The dumbest of humans were no smarter than a cat in the first place.
"Wow, who is this guy? What slime are you talking about?"
The girl sitting inside with a crowbar looked at me, the smoke of her joint filling the place.
I pushed the hero aside and stepped into the room. The messy place was filled with trash from front to back, I would probably find a bunch of cockroaches sitting around too if I just moved one of these damned trash bags. But the worst of it all was the smell that filled the room.
It was the smell of rot that had stuck to the walls instead of spreading out. I had many thoughts about what must have happened, but the most natural one was that someone in one of these rooms was dead and had been killed because of the first scenario.
None of that mattered to me, though.
"Do you mind explaining… sir?" the hero said. He kicked one of the bags to the side and jumped back when he saw the group of enormous cockroaches running around.
The cat jumped straight on them to give them a death+funeral package while the Hero breathed out and took a seat.
"What do you mean by killing the slime?"
"Who even are you, mister? Can you stop acting like my home is yours?"
"It became mine from the moment I stepped inside, you're the guest now bitch. Shut up."
The girl dropped her joint in shock, but that mattered little.
"Think of it, hero. Just following the script of the scenario is no different than doing what they want. So, we killed a whole bunch of people and the monster they were keeping around as a natural disaster somehow, all they did was praise us for it and up the difficulty."
"I see, the eyes that keep peeking at us have also increased."
I had blocked them before, but it seemed that Relafan had been seeing those observer 'eyes' more these days. It just meant we were being interesting to them.
That wasn't what I wanted. I was pissed about the fact that someone out there would even have the distant thought of using me as entertainment.
"So, when the next time that guy comes up, we'll send the Giant Skeleton Warrior on it."
"How will we do that?" asked the Hero. "It's not like we can control it."
"You made it very strong, I don't think I can beat that either."
"Why is this man talking like he's some big deal? Hey, even if it's your home you should treat your guests well."
The girl now accepted this as my home.
How weird.
As if a bulb had flashed in his head, the hero clapped his hands and turned toward me.
"Sir, if you want to bring the Apocalypse Manager again then you'll have to clear the scenario."
"So far so good."
"And we need five people in our party! Let's add the girl and the cat."
I narrowed my eyes.
I didn't like the girl, but the cat was ok. That said, the girl was the one who had the weed.
The hero walked closer to me when I beckoned him over. He leaned closer and I whispered.
"What's her name?"
"I…don't know."
"You fucker, you came to sleep with someone without asking her name?"
"I… did not come here to do that!"
With a sigh, I shook my head. Now that I knew they weren't exactly related, I had the option to kill her and take the joints, but it was true that I needed five people.
"Can you hold your own? What are your stats?"
"Stats…?"
The Hero explained how and the girl showed us her stat window.
[Name: Alice Davies]
[Age: 21]
[Level: 11]
[Title: -]
[Sponsor: -]
[Skills:
Personal Skills:
Game View (Lv 1)
View things in a 3rd Person POV
Unique Skills:
Useless Gamer (Lv 1)
You love games, You suck at games. Hard life. Get skills related to your passion, which is, unfortunately, pitted against you by fate. Good luck surviving.]
[Stigma:
-
]
[Stats:
Strength - 3
Agility - 9
Constitution: 5
Magic Power: 61 (Dormant)
{Unusued Stat Points: 22}
* The limit of the human body at 15 has been removed. Please try your hardest to level up.
** The average Olympic athlete has a stat of 10. Please attribute stat points wisely
]
It was time for another secretive meeting.
The Hero leaned over to me while the slime and the cat listened in.
"What now? It is pretty crazy, she's a born mage build."
"The others will also increase with time," said the cat. "I say you give her a chance, boss."
Did this thing figure out I was just going to let it in? Cats sure did come a long way in three years.
The other stats will increase when she learns our breathing technique, and so will the dormant magic stat. I didn't think it was a bad investment.
I tapped the screen of the Apocalypse window, since I was now aware of their presence and they were aware of mine, the cat and the girl's marker appeared on the map.
With a button, I sent them a request.
"Oh? A friend request? I never… I never thought I'd be invited to a game party—"
"Just accept it."
The girl swallowed at my annoyed voice and tapped the accept button.
Then, the scenario window opened in front of me again.
And at last, the two remaining conditions were visible.
[Scenario 2 - What fun are weaklings?]
[Condition 1: Form a Party (5/5)]
[Condition 2: Find a Hideout (Complete)]
[Condition 3: Level up to Level 10 (Complete)]
[Condition 4: Develop One Skill]
[Condition 5: Wait (00:00:34.12)]
The time of the wait was going down at once.
In the next moment, a bright flash filled the room and blinded our eyes.
A ding resounded, and in front of everyone formed yet another window.
[Scenario 2 Part 2 - Authoritarianism]
[Fight against the other parties and become the sole leader of your region]
[Success Rewards: Leader Title + Items]
[Failure Rewards: Death or Servitude]
Well…
It seemed things had become a lot more interesting.