Lucian opened his eyes to see glowing lights all over his body, and besides the magic that was being poured into him was Zyros.
"Relaxed kid." Zyros said and continued pouring more of his magic into Lucian's body. He was expecting his body to have reacted badly and rejected his magic; in the worst case, Lucian could be dead, but seeing that he was awake and not dead must be good. That means something was working. Hopefully.
"What did you do to me?" Lucian asked, moving his hand. He could feel more magic in his body than before, but he still had no magical system and didn't understand.
"I saw how you were able to copy the ability of that dead beast and thought that you will have better chances of staying alive if the ability you are able to copy stays longer for you to use." Zyros moved his small, childlike form and sat down next to Lucian, resting his body against the wall. They were the only ones around; the girls had gone to look for water and more food supply. If they were around, Zyros wouldn't have shown himself, because it was against the rules of the game for him to be in the Hlasked, at the dungeon with Lucian.
"Why are you trying to help me?" Lucian asks Zyros. From the moment he saw Zyros, he knew that Zyros was a different kind of god from the others.
"I'm not trying to help you; I just want you to live for a while even if you end up dying later. It's inconvenient if you faint whenever you use the little powers you have." Besides, Zyros turned his face away. "It's not like any of you asked for this. So in a way, I guess me being here is more because of guilt. Don't get the wrong idea, kid; I'm no different from the rest of the gods." He said bitterly.
Lucian tried looking at Zyros's eyes in order to read his mind, but he felt a shield that blocked him out immediately.
Zyros smirks, "You really think the ability of a low-rank monster can be used against me?"
Lucian scoffed and turned away from Zyros. He thought back to Zyros's words and realized that he was being watched—not just him, but everyone involved in the game. "Is it safe for you to be here?" He asked even though he didn't want to care about if the damned gods fought among themselves.
"Don't worry, anyone who has their eyes on you still thinks that you are passed out. Or dead, they are also getting a good laugh out of it."
Lucian's cheeks burn in embarrassment.
"Your cheat skills seem different from mine. My cheat skill allows me to evade death and copy the ability of whoever I'm fighting against, but it does have a limit of three people at a time, and immediately after the fight is over, I lose their magic, but I'm only able to keep one magic as mine for as long as I want." Zyros places a hand on his chin in thought, a serious look on his face. "All those who have been able to achieve god level are able to use pure magic, and with the dark energy surrounding most magic beasts, I doubt I will be able to copy that. And the fact that you are able to steal the magic only when they are dead is disturbing, but I guess you are willing to do anything it takes to survive."
Lucian frowned at Zyros; he still didn't understand how he was able to steal the monster magic, but thanks to Zyros he now had partial knowledge of the magic that had been given to him.
'If he's able to copy three while fighting, does that mean I would be able to do the same, or am I only able to copy one that only lasts for a day?' Lucian thought quietly.
"I'm leaving." Zyros stood to his feet. "This might be the last time we see each other, kid, unless you win the game, and honestly, I doubt that." He said coldly. "Just try your best to push through for as long as you can."
"Thank you." Lucian stared up at Zyros without trying to read his mind again. "I'm going to survive; this won't be the last time we meet."
Zyros smiled sadly at the determination in Lucian's eyes; although he was one of the 12 gods who ruled their worlds, he considered himself to be the weakest among them. Lucian being stalked with his weak ability was nothing more than a death sentence that weighed Zyros's heart with guilt.
Nova revealed herself after she was sure that Zyros was gone. She has been secretly watching Lucian and Zyros together and had tried reading their lips to know what they were saying but couldn't figure it out.
"That was one of the gods, wasn't it?" Nova asks in amazement, "What did he want?" She came closer to Lucian. "Don't worry, Luna isn't here; we found water, and she's still purifying the water, and I can keep a secret."
"He…" Lucian was about to tell Nova the truth but stopped when he remembered that they are being watched. Since Zyros was gone, the illusion he placed on him must also be gone. The words he said, along with his actions, could be seen and heard. "I don't know what you are talking about; no one came here."
Nova glared at Lucian and tried to control her anger from slipping into her voice. "I saw him when he was using magic on—" Lucian covered her mouth with the palm of his hand.
The only way to get Nova to shut up about this was by telling her the truth, so Lucian went ahead and told Nova all she wanted to know, leaving out the secret about his skills to steal the abilities of dead monsters.
"So…" Nova examines Lucian. "With all that magic, do you feel stronger? Do you have a system now?"
Lucian shakes his head; he feels the increase of magic in him, but it still feels like wasted efforts. He looked at Nova, at the sad look in her face as she stared at him, and then he decided to read her mind.
'That's good. I like you being useless. If you end up strong, it's only going to complicate things.' Lucian felt his blood turn cold at the dark thought in Nova's head. It didn't represent the kind look in her eyes.