In the midst of his repose, a sudden chime from the system shook John awake. His eyes snapped open and locked onto the system screen:
[The Childhood Friend]
[Quest: Manipulate circumstances and have Dalia leave Julian on her own.]
[Reward: Web of Whispers (S) Skill]
John's eyes widened. This new quest offered an S-tier skill. He didn't know what it was, but judging by the name, he could guess it was related to intelligence networks or spycraft.
The gears turned in his head as he machinated how he would make use of this new skill, but the whole shelter began to bustle and people all marched towards the university's lobby. Curious, John followed the crowd and arrived at the lobby, catching sight of Theodore standing in the middle.
"Friends," he began, his voice booming through the lobby. "Today, I have something to announce."
"You've all seen what the system is capable of by now, and we have our friends in the sky to thanks for that."
Hushed whispers and murmurs coloured the lobby at Theodore's words. Friends? The people wondered. How can he call them friends? After all, are they not the ones who unleashed monsters on their world?
"Now I know your doubts," Theodore continued, arms open wide. "But they are not the ones responsible for the monsters. They're here to help us."
Audible gasps and loud chatter filled the lobby. John's eyes narrowed as he observed Theodore closely. Aware of the man's devious plans and penchant for lies, John knew better than to trust his honeyed words. What could Theodore be plotting this time?
His gaze scanned the lobby, he could see the people's excited faces. Theodore was playing at their heartstrings. What better news than telling them this seemingly all-powerful race is here to help.
"However," Theodore said, his tone carrying deception, "we have to do our best, too. Therefore, from today on, we will reclaim our city!"
His voice boomed through the lobby, igniting people's hopes.
"One last thing," Theodore said, his gaze locked on the ceiling. Confusion spread through the lobby. What was he doing? But before they could wonder any more, two blue beams of energy descended from the sky to Theodore's sides. The beams coloured the lobby in blue and everyone squinted, shielding their eyes from the blinding light.
A second later, the light subsided and as John's eyes adjusted, he saw them. Two beings clad in strange, white armour, or suits? What it was called? He didn't know. Their suits were adorned with what seemed like gold, but it was slightly darker. Blue orbs radiated energy out of the suits and pulsed with otherworldly energy.
One was a tall, lean male. Diamond-shaped face, a strong and defined jaw and piercing blue eyes. He stood motionless, but he did not have the eyes of a friend. It seemed as though they did not express emotion, but John could swear those eyes were looking down on him.
The other had the figure of a female human. She had a lean, hourglass figure, her suit conforming smoothly to her skin that bloomed elegance. Unlike the male's dark hair, her hair was white, devoid of pigments and life, but brimming with majesty.
Her icy blue eyes mirrored the pulsing energy of the orbs on her suit. Just like the male figure, the female's visage did not consciously express emotion, but John saw something beneath her icy facade. What were they?
Aliens.
As they surveyed the gathered crowd, whispers and murmurs rippled through the room. John tensed, unsure what to make of these strange beings. Could they truly here to help, as Theodore claimed?
No, he shook his head. He knew, whatever he was up, it wasn't good.
"Allow me to introduce you," Theodore began, a smile plastered on his face, "these are our friends from the sky. They are a race known as Luminars."
"We will learn more about them, soon, but for now, we need to grow stronger with the help of the system they gifted us. And for that, we will form groups, go out, grow stronger and retake our city!"
Theodore shared a nod with the aliens and a beam of blue light snapped them out of existence, as if they were never here.
The people's reactions was mixed, some showed reluctance, but John thought a majority of them had positive reactions to these news. As he scanned the lobby, he saw Theodore guiding everyone to an empty classroom.
John figured this little process wasn't optional and so he followed. There, Theodore and some other soldiers asked everyone to list the class they got from the system and their abilities.
As it reached John's turn, he wrote down a simple Rogue class. Nobody needed to know he fed from other people's misfortunes. Theodore asked everyone to lie in wait until they're assigned teams. This reminded John that he did not know anything about Stephanie's abilities, but he should be able to know thanks to his Skill Borrowing skill. He smirked and brought up the system interface.
[John Sarack]
[Age: 21]
[Strength: 11.7]
[Vitality: 9.1]
[Agility: 8]
[Energy: 11.5]
[Skills: Quiet Steps (F), Critical Hit (F), Shockwave (F), Love Meter, Appraisal (B)]
[Skill Borrowing: Muscle Strengthening (E)]
John's eyes widened as he stood in the dusty university classroom. He wanted to chuckle imagining Stephanie with bulging muscles, but this new skill was satisfactory. He thought he could've fared much better against the Dark Knight if he had possessed this ability earlier, but no use crying over spilt milk now.
Just then, Theodore's voice echoed through the empty halls, calling John's name. "John, my boy, come," he said, his usual gentle demeanour on full display. As John stepped over upturned chairs and debris, blonde layered hair with soft, natural waves caught his gaze - it was Dalia. She looked as if she was drafted as a soldier for a war in this strange new world, but still smiled with relief knowing she would be amongst a familiar face.
John smiled and nodded, causing Dalia to sigh. They stood together in the abandoned classroom, the sun streaming through cracked windows. It was time for their team to assemble. As Theodore called out names, each voice echoed eerily down the vacant corridors. John caught sight of every student's former crush - Julia, his old high school teacher.