The Seeker

Like what the texts on the screen were telling them, Marty pressed the blue button on his watch, recalling out a translucent keyboard and pressed the TAB. Following this, another wall of text appeared on the screen.

[MYSTIC STEW]

[INGREDIENTS:]

[1 banshee wail (captured in a silver jar)]

[1 crocotta fang]

[1 cup of imp tears (gathered from a depressed imp)]

[3 moonlit apples]

[1 vial of a mermaid's breath]

[1 sprig of starlight herbs (harvested under the shimmering light of the stars)]

[1 flask of enchanted water (obtained from the hidden spring guarded by forest nymphs)]

[Salt and pepper to taste]

Marty had to scroll down to see the rest.

[INSTRUCTIONS:]

[Begin by heating the enchanted water in a cauldron over a magical flame.]

[Add the banshee wail and crocotta fang, allowing their enchanting essence to infuse the water.]

[Carefully stir in the imp tears, being mindful of the imp's magical properties.]

[Slice the moonlit apples into small pieces and add them to a pot, allowing the flavor to blend with other ingredients.]

[Sprinkle in the starlight herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper to enhance the flavors.]

[Gently pour in the mermaid's breath to add an oceanic undertone to the stew.]

Just as Marty finished reading, he felt a pair of eyes directed at him. They belonged to Eli. It took him a while to finish reading. The so-called recipe didn't make any sense at all.

"Um, what're you looking at?" he asked.

"Nothing," replied Eli, the corner of his lips tugged a little higher. He then withdrew his gaze and swept his eyes across the other participants. "What do we do from here on?"

The question wasn't directed at someone specific, but he was hoping Marty would be the one to answer.

Yesterday, when he strapped the watch around his wrist, he learned that the system he got was called System Alejandro.

The synchronization finished just as he was about to get into the bathtub and proceeded to have a full blown conversation with it.

Unlike System Andrea that sounded much like an AI, System Alejandro was more talkative and had more personality.

It told him it would lend him an ability called The Seeker. Just like Marty's, it wasn't an offensive type. All he could do was find things at 100% accuracy. It has a cooldown of six hours and he could find pretty much anything. Missing things, weaknesses, traitors, opportunities, paths, and even lost memories. The only downside was that he would lose his sense of direction in an hour after using it.

Then morning came and he decided to put the ability to the test.

"I'd like to find the person with the highest survivability rate in the game," he muttered. But after thinking about it for a while, he decided to change the question. "I'm lonely. Find me a friend."

To some, it may come across as something stupid. A waste of opportunity. And that he could have sought out the clue to win the game instead. But he just wasn't that kind of person. To him, dying was simply a part of life. And that it wasn't something to be scared nor intimidated of.

Following the System Alejandro's instructions, he muttered the thing he wanted to find three times, then with a relaxed and stable position, he positioned his feet shoulder-width apart, his hips and shoulder aligned.

An arrow materialized in his left hand, a bow to his right, they seemed to be made with silver dust. After he nocked the arrow to the bow, he drew a slow, deep breath and released a shot. But instead of moving straight ahead, the silver arrow simply floated in the air, moving slowly towards the kitchen. It hit Marty at the back of his head who was still beating his eggs on the counter at that time.

"I plan to move separately," said Jasper.

His announcement caused a stir to the other participants, especially to the twins, Theo and Thea.

"Oi! Don't go deciding just like that!" Xeno exclaimed. He no longer had the thousand yard stare that he had yesterday. The mental influence inflicted to all of them had completely vanished at some point.

"Right? The rabbit magician even said there will be no consequences when you lose this round," added Donna, the pink-haired woman.

"I apologize," said Jasper. "But I still wanna go on my own and I hope you won't take my decision badly. But you DO realize we're technically in a survival game, right? Some way or another, nine of us here will die, including me. Can't have myself attached to every single one of you." He then bowed slightly and left.

Only Lilia heard what he was mumbling as he walked away. "I'm tired of seeing people die over and over again."

Meanwhile, Marty had just finished distributing the ten points he received.

3 points in constitution, 3 points in stamina, 2 points in agility, 1 point in dexterity, and 1 point in strength.

He could already feel the changes in his body.

By allocating more points to constitution, he just increased his overall health and ability to withstand damage, giving him a higher chance of surviving encounters with enemies and environmental hazards.

The same could be said to stamina. With additional points, his endurance and resistance to fatigue were enhanced. In a game where his life was on the line, this was especially needed.

Only two points for agility because even if he finds it important, the first two were far more important. And while speed and dexterity may be good, they will be useless if he was already out of stamina or was sick.

Then there was Eli who simply divided the points equally. He thought that if he put the same amount of points in everything, he wouldn't be too bad at any one thing.

However, what they failed to notice was that while they just stayed in that one spot, a horde of angry hounds had already surrounded them from all directions.