"People. People with Skills already." Vari said with the smile still on his face.
Adam never really noticed how scary that unnatural smile looked.
In a moment's notice Vari, Kaiser and Moon had sprinted down towards the light they had seen, leaving Adam and the two others in their dust in an instant.
The other two were visibly bothered by them dashing in that direction and seemed to whisper something to each other. But it was like they weren't even speaking to themselves.
Adam didn't really care much for them. He had cracked the code to how to make Plague Disciples so he knew that those two were already infected and if they tried something he would easily be able to dispose of them with the arm.
He turned back around to make sure that the three others were actually gone as he dusted the mud off himself and surveyed his environment.
The Arm had not affected him as severely as they had said, but he had a gut feeling that he did not need to tell them so soon. Afterall, he knew this game would quickly become a strategic battle field early on at some point and he needed to gather all the aces that he could stuff up his sleeve. At least that was what he had remembered.
He felt a sudden chill slither down his spine as he sighed.
The system Panel popped out.
「Plague Disciple (Plus Quam) in the area.」
Adam read.
"Plus? What does that mean, I thought they were rated in Tiers…" Adam said as he turned around to be met face to face with a massively tall and bulky Infected Player. He looked like he had recently been turned to a Plague Disciple.
Its eyes were dim and dead and its hair was rather muddy. It bent its back low so it could look Adam straight in the eye. If it was standing straight it would easily tower massively above Adam.
It looked at Adam with a weird expression on its face. It seemed somewhat disappointed even as it visibly hesitated at making a choice on what to do next as it just froze there.
Adam was frozen too, in absolute fear. He looked behind the beast to see the two other men's mangled corpses on the floor, with their guts and brains hanging out and staining the Mud red.
Adam stared back at the Plague Disciple as it made a sudden movement, stepping back and glaring like it had seen something offensively scary.
Adam recognized this moment as a chance without a second thought. He immediately ripped off a part of the fabric on the Arm and made sure his palm made direct contact with the arm.
A fuzzy and soft feeling overcame his initial fear as his whole body went limp but somehow, he still stood, his squinted eyes went droopy and his facial expression changed to one of odd happiness. This was the Effect of a Demonic Weapon in this world, and Adam knew it wasn't as bad as it could've been.
In this state, his thought process was incredibly slow so it took much longer for his thoughts to be translated to movements, and even when they were, they were just not precisely what he wanted.
Adam understood that much before he took this risk…
Adam noticed the huge muscles in the calf of the Plague Disciple pulse briefly and immediately he put his plan into motion.
'Move move move move pleaseee move.' He began to literally beg his own body to swing the arm like a sword.
The Beast rushed straight into Adam and grabbed his skull and immediately buried it into the mud deep enough to have him struggling to breath and struggling to move.
「EXHALE INHALE EXHALE」The system flashed commands in what seemed to be mockery.
This was an ill-thought-out plan, Adam concluded as he writhed around trying to scratch the mud off his face until he saw a bright blue beam like he had seen before. Even through the thick black mud he could still see that divine light.
His thought process sped back up as he felt someone walk up to him and pull the Arm straight out of his palm.
"Who are you?" This unknown person said sharply. Adam, although buried in mud and struggling to breathe and hear, could hear the vivid rasp in this mans voice.
「EXHALE INHALE EXHALE」
Adam stopped trying to scratch off the mud from his face as he tapped around and met with the bare feet and toes of his helper and tapped them desperately.
In a moment his hand was grabbed firmly by another and he was pulled straight out of the ground easily.
"You are… Adam." Adam's Savior said as the corner of his lips tugged into a small grin.
「EXHALE INHALE EXHALE
Breathing stabilised」
Adam's saviour was a rather tall and toned man, with stubble around his chin and face, a brown sack wrapped around his head and sunset yellow eyes that seemed to drag the soul straight out of Adam as the raspy voice uttered his name.
The man looked dirty and unhygienic like they had all looked, but all the other of his good features shone brightly through all of that.
"You look like…" Adam tried to say but then snapped out of it and shook his head trying to get the mud off his face as his savior examined the arm further.
"Adam. Where did you get this?" The Man asked.
"Hello, geezer, I'm Adam, nice to meet you too. How nice of you to introduce yourself to me before stealing my stuff and interrogating me." Adam said trying to be witty as he reached for Arm and grabbed
it straight out of his palms.
"My name is Valerian. Nice to meet you, Adam." He said, as he put his hand out for a handshake and smiled, but with teeth.
Something else replayed in Adams mind.
"Do not Shake hands unless you are acquainted."
Adam at least remembered enough to know that that didn't apply to this early in the game. But he'd still like to avoid a handshake because the damned game was too unpredictable.
Adam acted like he didn't see it and he looked to the arm and wrapped up the part he opened up carefully then strapped it to his back as he picked up his blade.
Valerian's smile vanished quickly and he brought his hand down.
Adam stared beyond Valerian's Shoulder and was met with a burnt Plague Disciple. It was burnt like the steak that he remembered his uncle used to cook at the restaurant. Vile.
It even smelled vile too.
Adam stared at Valerian and wondered how he had done that.
He looked for the tag that should've been above his head, but he couldn't see any at this point.
But he got another System Panel info drop.
『Available Skills Updated!』
"Adam… You're smart. I need you." Valerian said with his monotonous raspy voice as he swung a little sling bag that he had strapped to himself forward, and then carefully opened the knot and pulled out a paper map.
"A Map!?" Adam exclaimed audibly. 'Just who is this bastard.' Adam thought.
'A Map and a flashy Pyro Skill… And the Game allegedly hasn't even started yet. Who are you!!!???" Adam exclaimed in his head, confused.
"A Demonic Item… A Map and a skill. We aren't so different." Valerian said, he somehow knew exactly what questions were in Adams head and answered concisely. Like he had planned this situation and prepared extensively .
Valerian signaled for Adam to follow him and then spread the map on a rock.
The map seemed handmade, it was on the very sack type cloth they had all spawned in and seemed to have been written with a stick and soot or ashes or something.
Adam stared at the detailed map in awe. It instantly jogged his memory of seeing the Game Walkthrough guy being happy he managed to get a map from a paid DLC so now he could explore the 0th circle in depth.
"Did you really remember all the details from the last time you played this game? How many times did you play this game?" Adam asked in awe.
"I don't know." Valeria said as he pointed to the centre of the map with a bland look on his face and then said one word with so much more vigor than all the other words he had said.
"Traps."