Alex met the rest of the team, Josh, Eva and Eve. Eve and Eva are identical twins with opposite personalities.
'Josh said he knows a lot about horror'
- Don't worry guys! I have been playing horror games nearly all my life!
'Maybe I can count on him, but let's just make sure'
"Josh, I heard that you always played horror games before, is it true?"
"Yea, I know about horror more than everyone here!"
[Lie]
"So you have been playing for 1 year or more?"
He deliberately asked '1 year or more' to know whether he knows nothing and is just lying or not.
"Of course, are you doubting me?"
[Lie]
Alex hated liars the most, because his brother always lied to his family whenever anything bad happened in the house and put the blame on him.
But that was the former Alex, not this one.
He promised himself that he will protect everyone. Even those who he hates.
"Of course not, I am not doubting you."
'I am sure, not just doubting.'
'Eva is arrogant but she is not 'bad', and Eve is kind and cheerful.'
But Eva is definitely not the type to apologize.
He concluded from this information that the Doppelganger who killed him was disguised as Eva.
'At least I got Lie Detection….'
He kept thinking and thinking for a way for people to stick together and he finally found it.
"Leader, may I have a word with you?"
He decided to use Maxwell.
***
"The game said that the teams have to be 'at least five' but didn't say anything about a limit, so I suggest that we join forces with other teams."
If he was the representative of evil, he would want them to be seperated so he could get more sacrifices.
"That's a great idea! It might be hard to convince all of them but it's worth a try."
He couldn't trust him fully yet, but it appears that he is in the green.
'Also, I can't let people follow Josh blindly'
"Leader, Josh doesn't know as much as he claims"
"…."
"I know you it's hard to believe but…."
Alex was about to tell him about 'Lie Detection' but what if he was the representative of evil?
Even if he wasn't sure that Alex was the Hero, if he knows such a skill existed he will definitely kill who has it.
Alex would have died on the spot. Although the representative of evil has to be secretive in killing or he will lose more than he gains.
If he knew Alex is the Hero and killed him. He can take his time and awaken the Demon King whenever.
"I hope you don't blindly follow what Josh says."
Maxwell had a weird expression on his face.
"I will."
'Did I use Lie Detection on him? For some reason, I can't remember.'
***
Maxwell talked to the other teams and they decided to all join forces, only four teams out of 25 declined.
Then a familiar labyrinth formed and he was alone once again.
'I wanted to tell others about Doppelgangers but all I could do was spread rumors.'
"Time to hunt."
He heard the same scream from before.
Grin.
Now it's the other way around.
"Eva, why are you hiding here?"
"Sorry, I was running from a Monster"
Rip!
After emitting some Holy Power without it noticing. He made a hole through the Doppelganger which quickly turned into its original form.
Snap.
He snapped it's neck.
He swore to kill as many Doppelgangers as he could.
***
'I….think… that's enough.'
After doing the same thing to 99 other Doppelgangers, his stats increased.
He was panting from killing Doppelgangers for three days straight.
"Status."
[Skill level up: Holy Power (D>>>C)]
[Skill level up: Holy Power (C>>>B)]
[Status of Alex Hart]
Level: 9
Health: 320% (100%)
Sanity: 401% (293)
Mental Strength: 54
Strength: 70
Agility: 40
Goodness: 100
Skills: System (S+), Lie Detection (D), Hero's Composure (A+), Holy Power (B)
Titles: Shattered Trust (A), Hero (???)
Points: 200
"What do I do with levels?"
[You can buy the 'System Guide' to understand everything about the System]
[System Guide: 100 Points]
"You gree…. Nevermind"
Sigh
He couldn't afford to earn another title.
"Buy"
Knowledge suddenly entered his mind.
Levels are the System's, not his own. When he kills monsters his Strength, Sanity and etc grow more when he uses them.
For example, he mostly used his Strength, Holy Power and Agility when fighting Doppelgangers. That's why those were the ones which increased the most.
He also kept running after Doppelgangers and hiding from people because if they found him he would have to go with them to not be suspicious.
System's Levels grow with the Exp he gets from killing any type of Monster, so they're not connected to each other. They just happen to grow from the same thing.
"…."
There is a shop where he could buy items and skills with the points he gets but it opens at level 10.
"Tsk, I wish I could curse at you."
He now knows that the System is a lazy greedy bastard that doesn't 'help' with the basics and he can't even express his anger.
He passed the exit of the labyrinth multiple times while running after Doppelgangers.
"Time to leave."
It was full of light outside.
He was happy to feel a breeze of air and the sun after such a long time.
"Never thought I would miss the sun."
But that didn't last long.
All the Players were depressed and Alex could see many dead bodies.
Sanity: 370%
As the Hero, although Alex has a lot of Sanity, his Sanity is very vulnerable to other's suffering. The 100 Goodness also contributes to that.
Tremble.
"What….happened?"
He asked Eve.
She looked at him with dead eyes unlike her cheerful personality then she pointed somewhere.
"Eva is almost dead."
Sanity: 350%
'Is it all my fault? If I didn't hide from them when they passed I could have saved her. I could have saved them.'
Sanity: 300%
He felt like a knife was put in his heart.
When he looked where she pointed, he found a big screen, displaying the number of those who are alive, floating in the sky.
- 103 Alive.
Sanity: 250%
'22 people died, I promised myself that I will save them.'
Sanity: 220%
'Each time I saw Eve smiling I promised myself that I would protect that smile. I promised myself that I won't let anyone die. I convinced myself that they will be okay since they are in teams'
Sanity: 200%
'But what did I do?'
Sanity: 170%
'Kept hiding when they passed by?'
Sanity: 150%
'Kept hunting when they were dying?'
Sanity: 120%
'A Hero, what a joke'
Sanity: 40%
They lost the four teams who refused to join and 2 others.
"System… What is the number of sacrifices needed to awaken the Demon King after those who died?"
He mumbled.
[10 Points per question]
Extreme anger welled up within him, but he knew this wasn't the time. The System who claimed that 'It will help him on his journey' is just a greedy piece of junk.
"..Tell me."
[41 sacrifices are needed]
Sanity: 30%
"The representative of evil, how much stronger is he?"
[His stats are about 14 times more than yours]
"Haaah…..What a dog-shit game."
- Eva is almost dead
'Could it be?'
"Eve, where is Eva?"
He had very little Holy Power left because he has been using it for 3 days but he might be able to save her with what he has.
Eve pointed to a tent.
Whoosh.
He ran as fast as he can.
'Eva.'
Her condition was much worse than he thought. It was a scene too horrendous to be described, it's like that Doppelganger did that on purpose to torture her without killing her right away.
Shine!
"Come on, we are getting there."
Spurt!
He kept vomiting a lot of blood from his mouth but he kept going for 3 hours then collapsed.
Eve was standing out of the tent looking at his collapsed body.
He heard something while his consciousness was fading
"Why…..keep…plan…..ruin."
He couldn't hear most of the things she said.