"That healer is like a hidden gem, and yet she chose to stay with that loser." Zinnia scowls at Lucian and Luna on the screen. She was furious that they survived after being dumped by Nova.
'If only that girl had stayed and been the one who killed the beast instead of him, she would have been the one to receive an upgrade in her system.' But sadly, Nova chose to follow after Thorin's footsteps and ran away.
Normally players only had one skill given to them by their system, but this time around there were players who had hidden skills. Luna wasn't the only one, and Zinnia didn't suspect that a weakling like her would be one of those chosen by the system. Zinnia didn't like to be wrong.
Dustan smiled widely in amusement. "Did you hear that, kid? Now he's not only hunting the beast in Hlasked, but he's also going after humans."
"Certain humans." Thalric added. They all lost the bet that Lucian would die.
"I still can't believe that he survived." Zyros said, still in shock.
"Kid got lucky." Orion grumbled out in irritation because he lost the bet. "One day his crazy luck would run out."
"It's not luck." Thalric admitted. "That smart kid knew what he was doing; he had no magic to rely on, but he was willing to take risks to ensure his survival."
"The kid may be smart, but that isn't enough to keep him alive in Hlasked; he needs magic to survive." Zinnia felt a certain satisfaction from knowing that Lucian couldn't use magic; she didn't want any other players to be better than Nova.
"He has magic." Zyros cut in. Watching Lucian try to use the powers of the dead beast Achiloq on the screen.
Lucian's bones shifted painfully as he tried to harden his skin the same way the monster did for protection. He wanted to check if he could recreate the same powerful spike attack Achiloq was able to handle, but he stopped and started bleeding out from the abnormal movement of his bone. Luna cast a healing spell on him.
'The kid is ambitious,' Zyros thought, 'but he forgot that he's human; there is only so much a human can do even with system magic.'
"That kid is able to copy the abilities of a beast?" Dustan questions Zyros. Lucian's cheat skill was something he had never seen before.
"Yes." Zyros answered, "He's able to steal the ability of any beast he kills; it's different from my ability, and I don't know how many he can copy."
Dustan grins while keeping his eyes on Lucian; his interest in the boy spikes up some more.
"It doesn't matter the special type of powers your magic gave him." Zinnia glared at Zyros as though her irritation from the outcome of the game was his fault. "Kid still doesn't have a system, and magic beasts are too dumb to ever be granted a system; his powers can't ever grow even if he had 20 different abilities from dumb beasts, although for a loser like him, it's never going to happen." She walked away, leaving Dustan and the others to themselves.
Days have passed since the players' battle with Achiloq, and Dustan's eyes were still glued to the screen; he laughed out loud in wicked glee when Lucian finally fulfilled his promise of killing a human.
"Isn't that your villain who you always praised and had so many expectations for?" Dustan taunts Zinnia, his voice filled with excitement. Since he started watching the game early because of his curiosity over Lucian, he didn't regret his decision; Lucian had made the game entertaining for him so far. "You always say that the hero is stupid; it turns out that your chosen villain isn't so smart after all."
Cloud-like creatures without facial structure move around Dustan and the others, serving them as they watch the game. These creatures were made with Storm magic; like Dustan, he was one of the 12 gods.
Zinnia felt angry that the player she spoke well of gave Dustan the chance to mock her in front of the others. She threw away the apple that was handed to her by the Ghuoit—the name given to the faceless cloud creature.
Storm made each of them with human blood from dead players over the years. They were to act as dummy servants in their god realm.
"I underestimated this human." Thalric admitted, a cruel smirk on his face.
"His actions are based on pure animalistic desire to survive," Storm said. "I will keep him as a personal pet after he dies."
"That human is hard to die." Orion laughs.
"This doesn't change anything!" Zinnia yelled at Dustan, who smiled more in amusement, knowing fully well that he had hurt her pride. "That foolish human isn't smart; this doesn't put an end to the game. The villain status is going to move to someone else."
'Hopefully someone more competent this time.' Zinnia thought. She wanted the chance to gloat in Dustan's face.
Zyros stood in surprise from his seat, knocking over the drink that had been given to him. "That's not possible. There's no way he has that much power." He muttered to himself as he watched Lucian daring himself to succeed in something he was meant to fail in. The grin on Lucian's face showed that he succeeded.
Zinnia, like the others, was lost for words, except for Dustan, who turned away from the screen and directed a strong gaze at Zyros, "Always knew that your ability was dangerous."
Zyros turned his attention to Dustan, gaping, and still didn't know what to say because he has always seen himself as the weakest among them and expected Lucian to be the same. Lucian's magic was starting to prove that his system ability had more potential than he realized. Either that, or Lucian was just better at using his magic than him; Zyros thought it was the latter.
"This shouldn't be allowed." Zinnia's voice was filled with hatred. "We need to stop him."
"No, we don't." Dustan stretched out his arms, happy to see Zinnia stressed out over a human. "Remember the rules to the game."
"There are no rules." Thalric and the others said simultaneously before laughing at Zinnia. Still, he felt an unsettled feeling in his gut; there was something about Lucian that bothered him.