Return

"You're one of the four lucky survivors. How are you feeling?"

Reed was once again standing in front of the golden screen. The arena of nightmare was no longer surrounding him. Instead, the fresh scent of damp grass felt surreal.

"Do I get another 30 minutes to question you?" Reed inquired instantly. He had questions. Too many of them, in fact.

Why was he the only one with the gun?

Why did the blue-haired youth get to pass the test without any opponent?

What were those beasts?

What happened to the real Juli?

Why would he even face Juli?

And what about the sister of the fifth contestant? Is she dead or alive?

But his raging thoughts were forced into a corner when the words on the screen flashed once again.

"Only three survivors have the chance to inherit my strength. Do you wish to be one of those lucky three?"

Reading the words on the screen, Reed couldn't help but ask out.

"What will happen to others except for the winner?"

"They will die."

"What happens if I don't want to inherit anything from you?"

"That's an impossible endeavor but if you do not wish to fight for my inheritance, you will be allowed to leave."

Reed recalled that the only way to have a chance of leaving this verdant hell was only if there were three contestants left. And now, Miracle was twisting its own words.

"Just like that? No underhanded moves? I will be able to live peacefully? Get a job without any monsters trying to gobble me up?" Reed inquired with a gulp.

"Of course, not."

The words made Reed's expression fall but much to his surprise, the subsequent content was extremely strange.

"This world is rich in spiritual energy. You are 21 years old and expected to have your mental prowess tested, right? With the passive enhancement of this realm, I can assure you that there will be nothing normal for you anymore. Unless you accept that you have changed and all the mysteries will slowly turn ordinary in your eyes."

"I don't understand."

"Remember the prizes to the survivors of the first quiz?"

"Yes," Reed gulped.

"They aren't as simple as you think."

Instantly, Reed involuntarily began to cough. With more coughs, he began to spit blood. His nostrils felt warm and his eyes felt itchy.

"Gah!"

Reed gasped.

His glare landed on his right middle finger. Under his terrified gaze, the base of his middle finger protruded. His flesh around the protrusion deformed and took the shape of a ring and soon, the skin around the ring was layered in a dull yet graceful grey metallic sheen as if it was made from platinum. A small part of the said material parted in a diamond shape, revealing a small golden jewel embedded on the surface.

At this moment, Reed felt that his entire body had been lit on fire.

"Liar..." Reed gasped, "You're killing me..."

He couldn't see anything but he felt like dying.

The pain that struck his mind was simply unbearable.

"I lie because you did the same. But I also show this kindness for the very same reason. Goodbye. If you're half as smart as you were back then... you won't let others know you survived this encounter with me."

The words on the screen flashed and Reed disappeared from the plain.

"Now, to handle the remaining three."

---

"Haaaaah!" Reed sat up with a loud gasp as his chest momentarily swelled and his stomach tucked in. His widened gaze hurriedly scanned the room.

The familiar two-seater couch, the LED entertainment unit, the greyed-out carpet, and the sleek desert eagle next to his cellphone.

"Huh?"

Reed blinked.

'Aaah!'

'Hehehe, Popcorn or Soup~'

'Brother! No... NO!'

'I won't kill you, sister...'

'I'll give my life for you young miss.'

'It's me, Juli!'

'You will never have a normal life."

Reed's memories twisted and turned into one ride of horror. Deaths, blood, and faces flashed in front of his eyes as the look of despair in Reed's face grew more evident by the second and all of it turned into one tablet-sized golden screen.

Thinking for a moment, Reed slowly reached out for the gun.

He didn't know why, but he was naked. Yet, it didn't matter to the current him. He only needed to feel safe and the sense of security only returned once he held the gun in his hands.

'Is this reality? Or am I in some other game of Miracle? I never chose the option of leaving, after all,' Reed bit his lips and finally stood up.

For a moment, he felt swifter in his actions.

Blinking, he looked down.

'Yes, smooth abs, well-trained chest, and the other gun looks packing...'

'Huh?'

'Whose body is this?'

Reed gulped and quickly picked his cellphone. Opening the camera and shifting it to the front mode, Reed found his own face looking back. Aside from the slightly sharpened features, there was nothing strange.

'Is this what Miracle meant by I won't have a normal life? In a sense, that's true. I am lazy enough to let all these gains turn into fat so that's not exactly normal,' Reed thought but he slowly made his way towards the curtain-covered windows and slightly pulled it away from the edge. Looking down on the street, Reed found nothing wrong.

Once again, he checked his cellphone.

The lock screen showed the date and the time.

21 August 2027

09:53

It's his birthday.

The preview of the message from the government was still there.

Reed's gaze drooped slightly.

"I really want to believe that this is real... Miracle! I know you're here! Stop playing games, please! I chose to leave the game."

"I don't want your powers!"

Reed began shouting but he got no reply.

*Thud*

*Thud*

At this moment, Reed's ceiling was knocked by loud thumps— possibly stomps.

"Fucking junkie! Shut the hell up! People wanna sleep!"

Being a Sunday morning, Reed's shout did break a few dreams and as he heard the muffled scolding, his expression slightly eased.

Thinking for a moment, Reed dialed a familiar number.

*Trrrr*

*Get the same ringtone for the efficient value of 5 cents.*

*Baby, baby, baby ooooh~*

*Click*

"Hello?" The voice from the other side of the call finally answered.

For a moment, Reed did not know how to reply. He thought for a moment and began with a soft, disgruntled sigh. If he had a choice, he didn't wish to meet her but since he did... technically shoot her, Reed would feel shitty if he didn't even try to see if she was alive or not.

"It's Reed, hi," he replied.

"Reed? Uh, yeah, What's up?" Juli still had the same tone. Although surprised, she didn't let it affect the call.

"I... uh, just wanted to meet with you. If possible, today."

"Listen, I really can't. I'm with Lea and others so my time is packed. And on the weekdays, I've got to work. And, I don't think it's a great idea for me to see you," She stated without any hesitation but Reed could only have his brows folded in confusion.

'She said the same thing when she was in the arena. Anyway, who goes out shopping at 10 in the morning. On a Sunday, even,' Reed thought before replying.

"I guess, you're right. Take care," Reed added as a formality. He didn't feel like he had the right to wish Juli well. After all, it is now proven that if pushed to a corner, Reed might as well choose to kill her if given the option out of his troubles.

The thought was extremely troubling.

"Shit..." Reed grunted before looking at the living room once again.

He called it a living room, but this is the place where he eats and sleeps. The kitchen was simply a small space with a sink and a bit of space adjacent to the room without any partition. Meanwhile, next to the sink was the entrance to his toilet/bathroom and even his wardrobe was set opposite to the television.

His most prized possession, as of now, was the gun in his hand.

'With seven bullets left,' Reed sighed slightly.

'And what about this ring?'

Reed went back to the couch and slumped down. Feeling the familiar sink and sag of the couch onto his back and butt, Reed stretched his legs forward and placed the gun on the floor, and set his cellphone aside.

Raising his right-hand high, he observed the platinum ring with the sparkling gold jewel embedded in the center.

Thinking for a moment, Reed tried to pull the ring out but as expected, something deformed into a ring using his own flesh couldn't be pulled out easily.

'My favorite underwear is missing, and I'm left with you. I can't even remove you... unless I try to cut off my finger...

Now that I think. Will the ring affect my movements down there?'

He was incredibly stressed out for various reasons.

And one of the speculations came true as he gripped his slightly 'reinforced' package down there with his right hand.

The sensation had changed. It wasn't as good as before.

His best friend in the whole world had become useless to him.

But that wasn't even the main source of distress to Reed right now.

The underwear he lost was one of the rare, recently purchased ones. And in fact, he was lucky that he wasn't wearing his weary underwear with tears over the fabric that would have revealed his business to others. It would have been way more embarrassing then.

'Anyway. At this point. There are only two possibilities.

Either all of this is real. Or this is another game from Miracle.

If all of this is real, then I have to proceed with caution. Miracle did something to my body and even if I look good, it doesn't mean that it is necessarily beneficial. It did say that my life will never be normal...

And if this is a game, then there is even more need for caution. Who knows, one day, I'm chatting with someone and that person suddenly turns into a monster and gobbles me up...'

Reed's gaze turned distant for a moment. He was unsure as to how to live from now on.

In fear?

Always looking over his shoulder and stepping out to restock his supplies cautiously?

He still needed to work and earn his living.

'And... do I go and get my mental prowess tested in the Conclave's facility? What if there is some abnormality? What if they detain me?'

Reed's gaze grew dark.

His world had just gotten a lot more uncertain and now that he had seen too many deaths physically near him, his mind couldn't help but try and think the safest path to living his life.

'But I'm also curious. If I categorize the changes in my body as physical enhancement, did I also receive a substantial boost to my mental prowess?

My thought process feels normal. I stupidly called Juli at the first thought, risking my own neck. After all, there's no telling if she's the real deal or not. So, I'm certainly not very smart. Wait... let's think. When I was three years old, I did stumble down and find a...

Woah...'

Reed's eyes widened.

"Did I just recall something from when I was 3-year-old?"

He blinked.

Did his memory get a boost?

'A pi to its tenth decimal is 3.1415926535... damn...' Reed gulped.

'No. I won't have myself tested in the Conclave's Facility. There is a big chance that Miracle is actually a warlock but if I want to have more measures of defense, I need to know more about warlocks. But going into the facilities erected by the Warlock Conclave is not the right decision.

Is there any place other than the conclave where I can have my mental prowess tested...'

Reed frowned.

Still, no answer came to his mind.

'The entire Warlock population is regulated by the Warlock's Conclave in the Belt Continent. I remember seeing their documentary.

The helmet-like device would test a potential Warlock's mental prowess and then conclude the result in a number. An average 21-year-older like me would only have a '1' as our mental prowess. With that, we will receive a certificate of test and also get the mental technique to form a contract with an animal.

The Technique is fairly simple... and the method is not complicated.

Wait... this isn't right. Indeed, the Technique to make a contract with an animal is already known on the net. Then... why do people still have their mental prowess tested by the Conclave? Why not become a Warlock in secret?'

As Reed frowned and began mulling over the matter, he recalled another piece of information.

'Opportunity! That's it! If someone has a stronger mental prowess, they might gain a special beast bred from totem beasts as their first contractual animal. Not only that, such warlocks are nurtured and given hefty resources. If I try it myself, at most, I can make a contract with a stray cat. But in the Conclave... I would have a chance to make a contract with a true beast with mighty potential.

But... a stray cat it is.'

Although Reed felt that his conclusion was on the point, he felt that it was too simple.

'Conclave isn't a simple place. How could it be? And who is to say that the bowl-like helmet only scans mental prowess? Maybe the Conclave has further data than I can imagine... anyway, I don't want to risk my neck by going to the conclave.'

Thinking for a moment, Reed opened the application of his bank to check his balance. He, of course, remembered it clearly. But the feeling of seeing the number in the bank account is always different.

There is a sense of surety in numbers.

That's why there's a popular saying—

Numbers don't lie.