I had discovered something new; there were two types of points I could gather based on my actions: goodness and evil points. I wonder what effects these would have in the end?
"My friend, how did you do that?"
While crazy questions were spinning in my head, I was startled by a voice coming from right next to me. Someone I was seeing for the first time had approached me because of what just happened.
"How did we do what?"
I answered by playing dumb. I wanted him to spit it out.
"You said something to the man, and then he just went and comfortably killed the Fallen. How did you do that?"
They didn't say "A leader doesn't fly; his followers make him fly" for nothing. Completely clueless about what was actually going on, this guy thought Sukrucuk's trait was my own miracle.
"I have a special skill. I do a little hocus-pocus, and you don't get affected by the monsters' attacks!"
I have no idea why I said such a thing, but thinking about it, I would realize I did it to grasp the logic behind the behavior points.
"Master, I don't want to suffer eight hours of torment. Could you do a little hocus-pocus on me too?"
Despair and ignorance were terrible things. This person, whom I could tell from his appearance was middle-aged, had left his fate in my hands with just a single word from me.
"Stand in front of me and close your eyes. I'll blow on you, and you'll turn into a hurricane!"
I had gotten completely carried away with the game. After saying a quick prayer and muttering softly, I took a deep breath and blew right into the man's face.
"Go get 'em, tiger! Tear that one on the edge to pieces!"
My eyes were sparkling as I drove the poor man onto a Fallen that had separated from the group. Almost a day had passed here, yet this was the moment my soul was filled with the joy of life, as if I had reached the absolute peak of entertainment.
"You're done for, you bastards!"
Man, was this guy ready to get pumped up. He was screaming savagely when he approached the Fallen named Guido lvl 1. He was in high spirits just like me, but in contrast to me, smirking like a bastard with my feet safely inside the shield, he was unfortunately within the mob's attack range.
"Crack and pop, Crack and Pop!"
"Crack and Pop, didn't work, try again!"
Seeing the human running toward him, the Fallen started dancing, bobbing his head back and forth. Before a second had passed, he began making whipping motions with his hands like a kitchen mixer, spinning around like a top circling his victim.
"You liar, you dishonorable son of a bitch!"
The middle-aged man had started cursing like a maniac, wildly spinning around too just to keep up with the rhythm.
This whole thing didn't last long. Before a minute had passed, the victim of fate collapsed to the ground and vanished.
"Look at this sucker! Do you jump on every bandwagon you see, you clown!"
I, on the other hand, was laughing savagely. I couldn't remember a moment in my twenty-something years of life where I was this happy.
"Evil points received +5!"
"First entrapment bonus +5!"
The voice ringing in my head had returned, and then I saw the massive ledger open up. There was movement on the blood-red page; white letters were writing down exactly what the voice had said.
It felt like ice-cold water had been poured down the back of my neck. What was I doing? In what right mind did I send a man into the mobs? It was as if I was the captive of an unstoppable passion.
I needed to gather my thoughts and think about this. If I couldn't find the reason behind my actions, it wouldn't be a surprise if I repeated the same mistake in the future.
More than half an hour must have passed while I sat alone, filtering the many thoughts crossing my mind through the sieve of logic.
"It must be because of this place. Because I'm in Hell, doing evil must have given me an unimaginable thrill!"
There was no other explanation. When I helped Sukrucuk, there was no change in my mood, but when I sent that man to his death, I was as joyful as a child.
It couldn't be this easy, right? Maybe we were being punished in The First Layer of Hell, but it still had to have hardships worthy of its name.
"Hell yeah! You were telling the truth, man! The shapeless light said exactly what you told me it would!"
Our fierce tough guy had returned in the meantime. I had decided to take what I just experienced to heart as a warning; if that tiny action stimulated my feelings this much, doing greater evils could turn me into an intern demon ready to start working.
"We don't lie, Big Bro. Now let's take a look at that skill book of yours if you want!"
At my words, Sukrucuk turned the cover of the book he held in his hand. Two words were written on it in faded gold-leafed letters.
"Unbreakable Will"
It was obvious from his every move that what he had experienced made my new partner very excited. He didn't wait long; he quickly opened the cover and began reading the book.
Sukrucuk turned into a statue for ten seconds. When he opened his tightly shut eyes, I could almost see the flames shooting out around him.
"First the name, then this skill... is this a joke, man? I mean, how much can a man be pushed!"
I knew exactly what was going on; I had experienced the same feelings during my first encounter with my skill. Fortunately, the punching ability ironically given to me wasn't that bad.
"Big Bro, calm down. First, read me the list that starts with 'Name', let's see if there are any changes in yours."
"Wait a minute, hold on, how did it go? Ah, found it. Listen closely, I'm telling you!"
Name: Sukrucuk
Title: Sinner
Level: 1
Health Points: 10
Magic Points: 10
Energy: 10
Attack: 10
Defense: 10
Strength: 1
Endurance: 1
Agility: 1
Wisdom: 1
Skill: Unbreakable Will
Class: None
Sukrucuk rattled all this off in a single breath while I compared it to my own stats. As a result, except for our skills being different, everything was exactly the same.
"Big Bro, all the stats are equal except for the skills. Now tell me the description of your skill!"
"Oh, don't even ask about that. The more I look at it, the crazier I get!"
The man turned all shades of pale at my request. It was clear there was some sharp humor at play here again.
"What's done is done. Come on, tell me what your miracle is!"
I tried to convince Sukrucuk by mimicking his speaking style. Fortunately, he spilled the beans without resisting too much and listed the attributes of his skill.
Unbreakable Will – Tier 1
10% of the damage received is used to restore health points; hits taken from multiple enemies compound, increasing by 2% per person. In the event of retaliating against incoming strikes, a one-second freeze effect is applied. – Tier Two Requirement – Receive 10,000 strikes while the technique is active.
When I fully heard the skill's attributes, I felt like dropping to the floor and bowing down. What kind of test was this? This book had literally turned the man into a punching bag.
"Brother, do you understand my problem now? They're all going to hit me, and if I hit back, I'll have to remain motionless for a whole second. What kind of skill is this? Am I just sitting here twiddling my thumbs? Is everyone passing by just going to beat me up now?"
Sukrucuk was rebelling, and he was completely justified in his own way. I needed to say something to calm him down urgently.
"Big Bro, wait, don't panic. Calm down!"
"Come on, how am I supposed to be calm? Am I going to wander around like a cheap movie extra!"
"Look, I'll explain the situation to you right now. Just come sit down and catch your breath for two minutes. Everything is going to be great, don't be scared!"