"How the hell is the first thing the system tells me to do is survive?"
Erin was perplexed about the entire situation. He didn't know what to think anymore. In all the system novels he had read, the system was supposed to help the protagonist grow stronger and start by giving simple quests before escalating to something more dangerous. But it seemed like his system wasn't like other systems, and he couldn't apply the same logic here either.
He had wasted so much of his life on that particular genre, and now it was of no help. And what was this about not meeting the requirements to unlock the system? If he couldn't use it, why would it initialize and give him a quest? Erin was angry because he didn't even know what the requirements were.
What if the requirements were something like getting six-pack abs or, worse, scoring with a beautiful lady? He hated to admit it, but he couldn't do either of those things. The requirement could be something unexpected or dangerous, something he had never done before, which only made him more anxious.
"Requirements, my *ss."
He had to shove all these thoughts aside as another problem was staring him down at the moment. If what his system said was true—and he assumed it wouldn't lie, because that's what systems in stories never did—then that meant this strange man named Damien was out for his blood.
He wondered why because this was the first time he had ever seen Damien, and he couldn't think of anything he might have done to anger him in such a short time.
He stared at Damien one more time, trying to assess the situation, but it seemed that Damien was already talking to Larry, and his attention was no longer on Erin. The invisible pressure he had felt moments ago vanished as well, which meant it had come from Damien. The system had said it did.
The easiest thing to do would be to leave the job and not follow them, because protecting Damien was the mission. If he bailed, he'd complete the quest and survive to see another day.
He looked around and was about to ask Larry if he could cancel the job, but then a sudden thought hit him.
"Sh*t."
He had already spent the advance payment he was given for the job. He should have realized that he could only cancel the job if he had the money to return, but he had already spent it, so he couldn't do that anymore.
The thought of running away crossed his mind, but that was a terrible idea because if he ran away, he would become an enemy of the Silver Beasts, which meant nowhere would be safe for him.
As he weighed his options, Mark came up beside him.
"Hey, Erin, are you okay? You seem a bit stressed out," Mark said, his voice annoyingly cheerful.
Mark's question pulled him out of his daze. Maybe he could borrow money from this guy? He recalled that Mark had offered to buy him something after the mission. But no, he couldn't do that. That was the worst option out of all of them.
If he borrowed money from this guy, he would be indebted to him, and next thing you know, he'd have to do things for Mark, which would be terrible. He had learned his lesson about trusting others, and he wasn't going to make that mistake again.
With all his options gone, there was only one thing left to do: try to stay as far away from Damien as possible. That meant sticking to what he knew—keeping to the back. If he did it right, he wouldn't need to interact with Damien at all.
So he had to hope that nothing would happen. He knew he had bad luck, but that didn't mean it would strike again, right? Right?
"Think positively, Erin. You're going to be okay, no matter what happens. All you need to do is keep yourself safe and survive. Not too much to ask, right? You've done this all your life."
He was right. He had been living and surviving his entire life, no matter what was thrown at him. Whether it was getting harassed by Gordon, bullied by others, or forced into dangerous situations by the gang, he had always managed to get through it. He always survived, even if it meant getting injured, sometimes seriously. He was still here, wasn't he? He could do this. He would survive today, not because of luck or fate, but because he would make it happen. He had the will to back it up, and that was what mattered.
He was feeling determined, but it seemed Mark wanted to ruin his mood once again.
"Just imagine, we get to stay at the front. I hope we're in the same group, but I'm sure even if we are, you won't talk to me," Mark said.
"Yes, I won't, so leave me alone," Erin thought.
He had no more words for Mark, so he just closed his eyes and waited for the mission to start.
It seemed that Larry still had more to say.
"We're going to group you, and those groups will be put in a position of my choice. If you look at the wall, you'll see who you're grouped with. Depending on the letter you get, you'll either be at the front with Mr. Damien and me, or at the back. If you're in Group A, you'll come with me."
Erin secretly prayed before looking at the results, but it seemed luck was never on his side. He was put in Group A.
"Hey, Erin, we're in the same group! Thank God," Mark exclaimed, far too excited for Erin's liking.
And of course, he was in the same group as the idiot too.
"Could my luck get any worse?" Erin thought.
Erin didn't want to tempt fate by thinking it, but the thought was there all the same.
He probably shouldn't have thought that.