"Are you seeing it right now?" I asked the soldier who went silent for a while.
Daniel Bran nodded. He lifted his hand and pointed his finger in the air. His face looked amazed.
Seeing that gesture, I thought that he certainly looked like a fool. But I frowned when I tried to use my Caster's Eyes and the same two words above his head only appeared.
Screw that 'male lead'.
I expected that I might also be able to see other's profiles if I wanted to. Perhaps the Caster's Eyes need to be upgraded? I checked and I was indeed right.
The level indicates that it can still level up. This means a possibility that the ability will also get another feature. Let's hope it's not something like a font upgrade.
I guess I have to do it. I just wished the upgraded version wouldn't show me another horrifying nonsense. I clicked on the button.
[>>>Caster's Eyes Lvl. 1
>>Default Vision > Character's Role
*Upgrade in Lvl. 2
>20 Supporting Characters Required: 0 Acquired
>200 Extra Characters Required: 0 Acquired
*Upgrade in Lvl. 2
>100 Star Required]
I raised my eyebrows at the requirements I found absurd. "Hm?"
"Is something wrong?" Daniel Bran turned to me expressing his concern at my odd reaction.
I languidly waved my hand on the soldier without looking away at my window. I casually threw back an inquiry to him.
"Did you see your rank? What is it? And your stats? How strong are you?"
I tossed all my questions at once, excited to hear the answer even when I wasn't looking at the man. There was that thrilling feeling of comparing my profile with another and seeing how big the gaps were.
As I was the hero of the story, of course, it was expected. Still, I wanted to know.
Daniel Bran replied, looking back at his window with a quizzical look, "My rank is S. Do you know what it means?"
Ah. He's an S rank Just like me. Of course, it's to be expected because he's also a high-ranking character as well. He's the – no! Erase! Erase!
I cursed inwardly. I nearly slammed my head just so my brain could forget that thought, but then I stopped midway.
I remembered the novel wasn't a romantic tragedy genre, and I'm not some female lead who'd lose her memories after getting hit by the edge of the table.
I answered the soldier after regaining my sanity, "I think it's a higher rank."
"Oh…I see."
"What about your stats?"
I asked again while my eyes moved to the corner where the mother and son were.
I need to know their roles, but I need to touch them too.
"My strength is 95 percent," Daniel Bran obediently answered afterward.
I nodded with my index and thumb fingers rubbing my chin like I was plucking an invisible beard. It's higher than me. Well, that's probably because of his large physique.
"Your stamina?"
"A hundred percent."
"…"
I suddenly don't feel like asking anymore lest I might curse the heavens and question their choices again. My brain was too drained to scream profanities at the guardians again.
"…your speed?"
My mouth itched and moved on its own.
Daniel Bran, "45 percent."
I guess I'm faster than him.
"How about your intellect?" I regained my feeble confidence and continued asking, this time with an obvious smug in my face.
Daniel Bran smiled, immediately understanding that my 'Speed' was probably lower than him. Dude, don't look at me as if I'm amusing. This isn't a romance novel.
He replied, "90 percent."
My eyebrow twitched very slightly.
He's smarter than me?!... I guess it's acceptable. He's been fighting in the frontlines after all, and one should really have to hone their critical thinking.
"Your luck?"
"It was only 15 percent. I guess I'm not that lucky."
"Looks like it," I responded quickly.
Imagine becoming a male lead in an apocalyptic story and learning you're actually homo and are to be abandoned by your soulmate because he's straight. Let's avoid acting lovely, Atlas.
I sighed. My eyes droop in exhaustion. I never spared the soldier a second glance again and instead went on the pair of mother and child.
I stopped before the woman who flinched slightly at my proximity. I carefully bent down and whispered, "Excuse me. Let me check on something. I won't hurt you."
I was even tempted to wave my wound on her to show that I almost died for them, just so the two would relax.
The woman hesitated at first but she eventually nodded after I acted like my back hurt from crouching too long.
I touched the green arrow on the woman's head and the arrow exploded into smoke. It cleared and revealed the word.
[Extra]
[Ting!]
[1 Extra Character Acquired!
>199 remaining]
"Hehe."
So, this is how it works. I should probably practice my kindest smile so people will let me pat their heads.
I saw the mother shook in fear while looking at me. Did my smile looked wicked? She muttered something incomprehensible, gripping her son tightly against her chest.
The grin on my face vanished as I watched the scene before me. The shaking, the muttering, the unfocused eyes, and the incessant heavy breathing of the woman were enough reasons to fully seize my attention.
"What's the matter?" Daniel Bran went over, noticing the sudden strange silence that permeated the air. He rushed to me and examined the situation. His concerned eyes would have thrown me out of the barn if only I wasn't too engaged in discerning what happened to the woman.
"Move over."
I moved out of the way.
Daniel tried to check on the woman but was stopped by the boy.
"Don't touch my mom!"
The kid screamed and cried, his snot and tears trickled down his mouth and cheeks but his eyes were surprisingly brimming with courage.
"I won't hurt your mom. I have to check something! Look at her!"
Daniel Bran pointed at the mother whose tremor became more apparent. I silently watched in my spot. She looked poisoned. But how?
The thin arms that embraced the kid shook greatly, almost dragging the child with every shake. The kid looked up at his mother and stopped crying when he noticed her odd behavior. He looked at the large man with eyes asking for help.
Daniel Bran nodded and tried to separate the child from the mother again. I didn't expect him to pass the child to me.
[Ting!]
The woman's teeth began chattering, and droplets of sweat formed on her face and neck as if she were burning. Her eyes rolled upward and shook greatly.
Daniel Bran, "She's convulsing…"
"Why?"
The soldier did not answer. He rolled the woman to the side and declared, "I'm lifting her clothes."
I answered in haste as the matter was of utmost urgency, "Yeah, sure. I'm not looking."
I covered the kid's eyes with my hand.
[Daniel Bran quickly examined the body. The ability he saw in his profile was connected to healing. Although he wasn't sure how to use it.
[Patient Obtained!]
The screen popped again.
It read – [Got bitten by 'Myrhmotera'– a monstrous ant that carries poison on their mandibles. To immediately impale their trap at a simple contact.]
Daniel Bran saw four tiny marks that resembled a pimple on the woman's back and shoulders. It was already swelling and purple; there were tiny black veins encircling the lumps. He pressed the button to see how to cure to woman. The window displayed,
[Treatment: Antidote – made from the saliva of a living 'Myrhmotera']
'Damn it.' Daniel Bran cursed silently. If it's a dead one, then there are plenty of corpses outside, but it needs to be alive?! Where else he can find one? Ants moved in packs and built their colonies. Obtaining one is like invading a country and slaughtering everyone except one citizen.
He pressed the next button to check on the 'Life Expectancy' of the patient. The next course of action will depend on the time remaining at hand.
[Remaining time before death: 2 minutes]
Daniel Bran froze. His hands suspended in the air as if the cross-eyed doll dressed in pink shouted 'red light' and he stopped moving.]
"What's wrong? What happened?"
I peeked above the soldier's shoulder and saw the purple bites on the mother's back.
"What the fuck is that?!
"She was poisoned."
"Those ants have venom?!"
"Seemed likely."
Daniel whirled and pulled the kid beside his dying mother.
"What happened to Mom?!"
The kid shouted next. I grabbed the boy from getting closer. I was afraid he'd get poisoned too. The kid struggled in my embrace and I grabbed him tightly until I heard the soldier's next words.
"It's fine. Listen here, kid. Your mom was bitten by the monster…and she's dying. Go to her."
My grip loosened and the kid jumped to his mother's body, shaking the woman with his weak and thin arms. But the woman just closed her eyes and mumbled something I couldn't comprehend; her mouth was foaming and she breathed her last after the son touched her face.
[1 Supporting Character Acquired!
>19 remaining]
The screen popped in front of me. However, I couldn't be glad.