Chapter 86: Second Order [2]
Swoosh!
I sliced my arm around the office.
The feeling was smooth, without any hindrance. I stood in silence while staring at my arm, which had now turned completely dark and was sharp at its end.
I wanted to try slicing at the table, but thought better of it as I imagined my hand returning to how it was, and the shadow retreated.
"Haaa."
I felt a little nauseous while staring at my arm once again.
My mind throbbed at the same time.
It wasn’t for long, though. Just for several seconds before everything settled back to normal.
’I guess it’s most likely because the node is being used?’
This was my best guess.
I was still too unfamiliar with how nodes worked to know.
But still...
"This is ridiculous."
Even now, it felt like I could shift every part of my body in the way that I wanted it to. So long as I imagined it, I could probably make several hands appear.
’Wait, that might actually not be a bad idea.’
The more hands I had, the better.
It would make the programming process a lot faster.
"Well..."
So long as I could keep my focus the same, then maybe.
Still, with some practice, it wouldn’t be entirely impossible.
"I’ll need to test this out later."
What I was worried about was the toll it took on the node in my head. Although I had developed one at a 70% purity rate, I was worried fractures would still form if I overused it.
’It’ll probably be fine, but I can’t take any risks.’
For now, I planned to gradually deepen my understanding of this new skill and learn more about nodes and fractures.
"It might take a bit, but this is good."
I was excited about this new skill. The possibilities were endless.
But at the same time, looking at Mirelle’s profile and seeing her skill section, I was a little lost.
[?????]
"Why can’t I see her skill?"
Could it be because the gap between me and Mirelle was too large for me to properly control her?
It made sense when thinking about it, but...
I was really curious to know what her skill was.
Eventually, my gaze fell on the painting where she was, watching as she held the bag of chips above her, waving it in the air while tilting her head left and right, trying her best to see if there were any chips left.
Dragging her finger into the bag, she sucked on her finger.
"....."
This little...
I shook my head before checking my watch and turning to look behind me.
’It should be almost time...’
To Tok!
"Huh?"
Someone suddenly knocked on the door.
"Who is it?"
"...Who else would visit you?"
"Oh."
He had a point.
No, but...
I hastily looked at Mirelle, who was still messing with the empty bag of chips.
"What are you doing? Can I come in?"
’Shit!!’
The doorknob twisted, and my eyes widened. Without thinking, I rushed to the painting, brought it down, and the bag fell onto the floor as I flipped the painting over.
Clank!
The door opened right after as Kyle came in, his eyes pausing on me.
"What are you doing?"
He looked at me weirdly as I brushed my hair back while leaning on the wall with my other hand.
"Oh, nothing..."
"....."
Kyle’s eyes narrowed, and my stomach sank. Did he figure something out? Why is he looking at me like that? Could it be—
"Are you starved for romance?"
"Huh?"
Starved for romance? What was he talking about?
"First the sunglasses, and now this weird position...? You must be dying to get a girlfriend."
"What sort of..."
That was when I realized it and looked at my current position.
With one hand leaning on the wall, and my body twisted to the door, it really did look like I was practicing some sort of weird move.
’Holy fuck.’
It took all of me to stop my face from changing.
"If you’re here to spout nonsense, you can just leave."
"No, I’m good."
Kyle glanced at the turned painting for a brief moment, mumbling something like, ’You even got a painting? You seriously think I don’t see through you?’
I forced a smile.
Think whatever you want.
"Anyways."
Kyle sat on my desk, crossing his legs.
"There will be a Section Dinner soon. I was told to invite you since you now seem to be part of the Guild."
"Section Dinner? Can I—"
"You can’t skip it."
"What, why?"
"Because I’m not allowing you to."
Kyle hopped off the table, eventually moving towards the door again.
"You’re too much of a loner. You’re practically stuck in your office the entire time, and wherever someone sees you, they mistake you for some sort of ghost, given the dark circles beneath your eyes. Do you even sleep?"
"Lately, yes..."
I managed to sleep an average of a whopping five hours these past few days. A record for me.
"Lately?"
Kyle covered his face.
"This..."
He looked really speechless.
"What? It’s not that bad."
"Not bad?"
Kyle looked even more speechless as he opened his mouth to say something, but eventually closed it and shook his head.
"Whatever the case, you need to come to the dinner. It’s in two hours, so don’t be late. You need to interact with the others more, and there are several key pieces of information that’ll be shared. Even if you’re not an active member of the Guild, you need to be there since it might be related to your general safety."
"....."
I stared at Kyle, thinking of all sorts of excuses to reject the invitation.
However, after a while, I gave up.
"Alright."
I realized that going was only going to benefit me.
There was quite a lot that I still needed to learn about nodes and this world, and the best way to learn was by going there.
Although I hated socializing, I had to do this.
"Good."
Kyle smiled, seemingly happy with my decision.
His mouth opened to say something, but it soon froze the moment he caught sight of something on the floor, and his face hardened.
Hastily looking back, he moved out of the room and closed the door.
Right before leaving, he mumbled in a hurried tone,
"It was you..."
He looked really scared as he said those words, leaving me at a complete loss.
What the...
Clank!
The door closed right after, and I could only stare numbly at the door.
Looking around, my eyes eventually fell on the chips on the floor, and realization dawned on me.
"Ah, right."
I almost forgot about that.
I shook my head and started toward the empty bag. But just before I could reach it, the world around me seemed to suddenly freeze.
Flick!
".....!"
The light above snapped off, and in an instant, I was swallowed by darkness.
Click!
A soft, deliberate click echoed through the room. The door had locked.
Then...
The air shifted.
The temperature plummeted, and I began to shiver uncontrollably. A creeping dread coiled deep in my chest, spreading like ice through my veins.
Until—
0
A massive, blood-red zero seared itself onto the wall. My body froze.
Cra—! Crack!
The silence was shattered.
The wall began to split, jagged lines tearing across its surface. Pieces crumbled and fell
away, revealing a growing hole—
And through it, I saw something eerily familiar.
A theater.
An opera-style theater, completely abandoned.
A grand stage loomed in the distance, cloaked in shadows.
I stared, breath caught in my throat as the all too familiar stage presented itself before my very eyes.
But then—
"Hoo."
I closed my eyes... and checked the time.
I sighed.
’How punctual.’