"Quite reckless of you." Maya scolded, "You would have died there."
Her kind nature couldn't betray her; her eyes tingled with concern. I rubbed the nape of my back. I was kind of confused. What do I say?
I couldn't tell her that I already knew they would be arriving and I would be rescued by them.
If truth be told, I was being reckless. I didn't exactly know which restart it was and how much improvement there had been. What changes had occurred?
Still, what mattered was it worked, and I was saved.
Besides, what kind of behavior was this? Being concerned for a stranger who didn't help her at all. Kind nature is a distinct case. This was wholly different.
It wasn't only her, but Joseph and Amani were in the room too. Worries were conspicuous in their eyes. For me, it was awkward. I wasn't liking this situation at all.
This time Joseph uttered, "You saved countless lives and saved us." He sounds like a shy man. Which he was.
And how did I do that? I never saved anyone; eventually, they will die anyway. It's either in this game or in the next. If I am honest, perhaps the next game might be their last game too.
[Watcher 'Golden Crown Prince' thanks you on his vessel's behalf.]
That was jaw-dropping. Could the merciless watcher be that grateful? Even if they were, it was a hollow appreciation. I'm their author, their creator. I know them better.
However, strange enough. Inside, I was delighted. Being thanked by your own creation, regardless of how ruthless they were, still had a weight.
"But how did you know all of this?"
I looked at her, understanding her question. Obviously, I had the answer to the first game we played. A man with wit would understand how he could end it.
But... she wasn't done adding.
"Like, how did you know the bridge barrier would dissipate just after five minutes when there was no timer?"
Damn. She was quick to catch that detail. I'm not delineating how I did it.
Sigh... Not this one, "You had an ability from the start, right?" I asked her when she received the system of her own.
Maya nodded.
"Just like you, I have an ability as well; it's called clairvoyance of divine."
I know I didn't have this ability. It was a lie.
"Because of this, I'm able to see what you can't."
Fortunately, they didn't probe me further. However, I wasn't done yet. There was still something I had to tell them.
About the person I had brought with me.
***
It was night, and I was sitting in my room when the door burst open.
"I have brought you a meal," said Canny.
He had brown hair with light brown eyes. He wore a jacket similar in color to his hair. A chain around his neck. He had fingerless gloves.
He had an elated expression on his face, a tray in hand.
"What's with the mood? Be happy I saved you." He boasted like a confidently arrogant superhero.
"Should have fought on the ground. Then we will know who saved whom." I murmured, giving him a faint, taunting smile.
"You said something?" His ears pricked up, interested to know what I said.
"Men fight with swords, kids fight with guns. So real." I sounded sarcastic.
Canny folded his arms, one brow lifted.
"Oh really? Not men but stupid people fight like that."
"..." He was right, though.
[Watcher 'Kind Devil' has named you the 'Crazy Shadow.']
A cool name.
I shooed him out and ate the content on the plate. While eating, I recalled what Maya had told me.
She had gambled and spun the wheel. Luck being on her side, she received seven walkie-talkies. These devices had a long range, meaning that if a person was on one end of the city, while the other was on the opposite end. They would still be able to hear each other.
She gave a description of how I looked to his comrades and scattered them. Those who would find me will inform others.
She was smart. The first person who found me was a boy, Canny Batle.
Her ability to convince people to join her was on another level. After all, she worked at the company. where she had to deal with people and prevail upon them to do certain things.
But... there was a stark change. The numbers she had gathered were more than any restarts I had written.
Not to mention, most of them were Jins, who already had guardians.
Well... That wasn't all. Incidentally, I was being watched with vile eyes; I was among those that didn't have any guardians.
[Watcher 'Golden Moon Light' is offering his hand to you.]
[Watcher 'Kind Devil' is offering her hand to you.]
[Watcher 'Hero of Hundred Worlds' is extending his hand to you.]
[Watcher 'Selfish Pig' wants you to become his vessel.]
[Watcher 'The Entity of Arcane,' hasn't decided to make you his vessel.]
How funny... It was inevitable from the start. These notorious beings wanted me to become their vessel? If these hands had any sincerity in them, I would have.
No, they didn't. There are watchers that might be kind to their vessels but not these ones. Whether it's a coincidence or not, I had watchers—those that I knew the best about.
Usually, someone becomes a watcher when their story finishes. Whether it's a story of a hero who lost his world or a story of a villain who killed a hero. A side character, or anybody.
Watchers are beings who might have once been humans or another alien. Weak, pathetic, or maybe naive fools.
What if I tell you these watchers, excluding the entity of Arcane, are the ones whose story I have written with my own hands? Would you believe that?
Didn't I tell you I wrote twenty stories before starting the star novel? Perhaps in some novels these watchers might be the hero or a side character.
Maybe it's karma, the pain I inflicted on them; now they will give it back to me.
A screen appeared before me; it had options. I had to select a guardian.
"Here goes the thing."
---
[2nd game will commence in 10 hours.]