A shack hidden inside the woods, crows hanging on the roof, and a dark cloud directly above it—everything that made a witch's house in books.
"Come in. I'd try to convince her to let you rest for today." Rox said, searching a wooden cupboard outside the house. She pulled out a key. "This isn't it." She tossed it back and rummaged the box again.
Benign stood beside her, keeping his ears and eyes open. All through his walk inside this forest, nothing felt like it belonged from Earth.
From the black onions that hung on branches to the sponge-like tree that had blue juicy pepper-like fruits. Rox had even grabbed one of them and ate it like it was a cucumber.
"Regeneration also made me less hungry." He touched his stomach. Or did his body still function well without food even in another world?
[The Legal System has given you 10 LUK points!]
Benign raised a brow. That was random. LUK points weren't what he needed right now; SP points would be better. There was no Lego to explain, so he checked his skills and weapons inventory to see all his options again.
"Status."
[Basic Skills]
- Regeneration: Heals injuries. Current lvl: 5
- Revival: Restores Life. Current lvl: 3
- Language Comprehension: Comprehends all foreign languages. Current lvl: 7
[Unique Skills]
- Hell Rain: lvl 2
- Tamer: lvl 1
- Father: lvl 2
[Weapons]
- Trobuct, Damage: -25 HP per hit
- Blade of Ages, Damage: -140 HP per hit
He checked the LUK points. Updated to 22. He hoped his next decisions would be less regretful with this luck. His attributes had no maximum and they improved with his experience.
Health points were still enough. He could push forward, but not without the fear of dying.
"Found it." Rox pulled a key with a heavy key holder. The holder shaped like a deer's antlers. "Do you want something to eat?" She pushed the door open.
Benign looked around the place one more time before walking in. He had to push the wooden door a little further to pass through. The door was rather stiffened due to its age.
"I'm good, but thank you."
The house was a humble abode. Wooden furniture, neat but faded drapes and curtains, stained tiles but not dirty, and one bed. There was no couch. Only one other room, apart from the living room.
"Do you need help with what you're doing?" He asked, just before something fell in the other room. "I guess you do." He found her under a smaller bed.
He looked up and saw she pulled it from a storage in the ceiling. He easily took it off her and carried it to the living room. She slumped to the living room and fell on the smaller bed.
Benign leaned on the wall. For a protector of realms, she was rather weak at certain chores. Did she rely on her slimes and boomerangs mostly?
The small house was silent. Benign noticed strands of Rox's blue hair sizzling with what should be static electricity. He peered closer.
It didn't burn her scalp, and she was unsuspecting, or likely unbothered by it. Was that another ability she had? She wouldn't be from Karnak since she didn't look like a cross with an animal of sorts.
"Before sunrise tomorrow."
He raised his head. "Is that when I have a match with your boss?" Did she get that message from what just happened to her hair?
"Yes," she sat up. "She's not very patient, and as Tuff must've told you, we need all willing help."
Benign agreed.
In his opinion, stopping the glitches' expansion was more important than trials, but the trials would prove as preparation if he ever met those other systemists.
However, what was the likelihood of meeting a systemist amongst the protectors? They might be different agencies, but they currently held one goal.
"Do you know any humans amongst the others?"
When Tuff said he met other humans and had to fight with them, it must've been during the trials.
"Why are you curious? Do you want to meet them?" Rox watched him from the corner of his eyes.
She was suddenly suspicious of him. Benign straightened his back and answered truthfully. "Not at all. This isn't our realm, so if they're here, they must have certain complicated situations."
That was all he could think of. Those humans were given missions to solve the glitches and would be rewarded with a life that cleansed their regrets.
He currently had no regret, and since he hadn't concluded on what his reward would be, one could say he just did it for the love of the game.
"Yes, they have very complicated situations." Rox agreed, looking away from him. "And they're mostly obstructing our own goals, hence why it's not always a pleasure to meet a human."
Now why would they obstruct the goals when they all had one mission? Benign sighed. Human beings still acted proud amongst species that used mana?
"Recently, the gods even played on our faces and brought a new species of humans. Those with weird abilities controlled by systems." She sighed, leaving the bed. "Those systems got corrupted now, so it adds to our workload as protectors. You'd be fine if you don't get involved—"
"Wait, corrupted systems?" Benign interrupted. "Do you mean the gods brought a species of humans, different from the ones with complicated situations?"
Rox looked at him in disbelief. Benign looked away. She probably wondered why he was curious and didn't know a basic fact when he was also human. He could only blame Lego for not filling him in.
To him, the only humans that should be here are the ones given a system and a mission to stop the glitches. There was no other problem in the realms.
"Look, they're mostly two types of humans you can find here," she raised two fingers. "Those system-crazed ones, and the ones that came here centuries ago after making a rift in space and time. Multiverse travellers, whatever they call it."
Benign just stood there, staring at her. What in the science fiction? Rox shrugged, looking exhausted by the whole thing as well.
"I don't know. Just don't mess with the system-crazed ones. They're not our concern right now. The other types of humans are a little tolerable." She lay on the bed and covered her face with her arms.
Benign nodded, swallowing down his worry. That could be why Lego left him—not that there was a way to tell whether he was a system-crazed person anyway.
If the systems were corrupted, did it include Lego? "I wouldn't be surprised since he doesn't know how to be a good helper." But he knew he likely wasn't.
This new twist to his mission jumbled his memories strongly. Glitches were one thing, but corrupted systems. It was awfully familiar. A book he had read while in his small town.
"That was ten years ago, but if I had transmigrated into it, this could become a more traditional journey where I know the events to come."
The glitches must've been a secondary mission that didn't follow the protagonist's journey, and that's because the protagonist had a system.
If it had been originally corrupted or not, he couldn't remember. He sighed, rubbing his neck.
"I definitely finished this book… but did the protagonist succeed, or was it the book where a villain actually won?"
It was fruitless. He let out a long exhale and occupied the bigger bed since Rox already lay on the smaller one.
"If I keep thinking, I'd remember it. I just need to remember what life was ten years ago… when my parents were still alive."