Walking through the corridor, Lucian yawned frantically. It had been 7 hours since he got the task notification from the system.
For about 4 hours, he simply sat over the same spot, expecting something to happen. But everything remained the same. Not a single sound was to be heard from the dark.
To a guy who chronically scrolled his phone throughout the entire day, the silence stung more bitter than most life-threatening fights.
By reaching the 4th hour, his back began to ache and feet grew numb. It was then that he decided to think of a completely different topic. Something that became one of the pillars that supported his hobby of writing.
For a long time, Lucian had never liked most of the books and stories. The cliche plots where the protagonist simply threw himself into trouble. The plot was where everyone knew that something bad might happen, yet a dumb guy simply decided to walk into danger while expecting flower beds over the path.
Even this situation felt similar to him. For so long, he had seen no difference in his sight, yet the system proclaimed the task to be dangerous. While Lucian, on the other hand, simply waited for something to happen.
"Man, I for real hate that so much... Imagine writing such dumb characters..." He scoffed.
It was then that Lucian made up his mind and decided to do something truly meaningful and intellectual—unlike the stories he hated.
Within moments, he found himself walking on the stairs that led to the second floor of the building. He wasn't happy about it, but he didn't refute the situation either.
In a sense, he felt a bit... Ashamed.
But at the same time, he was glad that nobody saw it.
'No witnesses means no crimes committed,' he thought as he pushed open the gates of the second floor of the supermarket.
Almost immediately, his facial expressions worsened, and a dense, tangy flavor took over his tongue. A warm and humid breeze struck over his body, making his hair flow in the air.
For a moment, Lucian's senses had been numbed. But his eyes did not waver. To his right, a small system window hovered, notifying him of everything necessary.
---
[Passive Skill—Indomitable Will (F)—is in effect!]
└ [You're successfully resisting mind distortion!]
[Passive Skill—Perception (F)—is in effect!]
└ [All of your senses have been enhanced!]
---
"Right," he muttered in an almost inaudible voice, forcing his body to step through the door.
"Now this is entertaining!" His lips curled into a wide grin, and his eyes widened in exhilaration.
Being able to find something entertaining after so long of a drought, Lucian did feel good. But the fact that he couldn't see anything despite the effects of his passive ability only added more to his plate.
One could say that Lucian's decision was dumb, but from his point of view, it felt better than any other.
As he stepped through the gate and landed his foot on the ground, all of a sudden, everything disappeared.
The murky smell, the metallic taste, the unwell warmth in the air—everything. The darkness subsided, and his vision cleared almost instantly as a soft hum echoed in his ears.
*Whoosh!*
Lucian stood at the same place, flustered.
"Wait... That's it!?" He grumbled in disappointment.
But he did not think too much of it. Since as of now, his life had become prone to dangers.
"The fact that there's an effect of mind distortion in this place... It's convincing enough for me to believe there's more than just that in here." He smiled, entering the second floor.
Without wasting any second, he began walking straight forward. His eyes continuously darted from one place to another, scanning every bit of information about the place.
Walking down the aisle, his nostrils flared as he caught onto a rather foul smell. His steps slowed down but did not stop. Holding tight onto his daggers, he stepped heavily towards the source of the smell.
"Krr..."
Suddenly, a sharp yet low shriek echoed ahead. Lucian's body froze as his eyes noticed something out of place ahead. Within the sharp and deliberate lines of the shelves, he noticed the shape of something small, curved, and well... moving.
It was some distinguishable movement, but just slight trembling.
Lucian squinted his eyes and saw what seemed like a small stream of dark crimson flowing over the floor. He slightly raised his gaze, and there, he saw a hand. A human hand lying over the ground with blood splattered over the skin.
To a little right, there it was. The creature that sat right beside a bloodied corpse, trembling.
With slow and deliberate steps, Lucian closed his distance with the creature. The closer he went, the clearer his vision became. At a certain distance, he could finally see the creature properly.
A small creature—similar to the height of a small child—covered in brown-grey fur. Its hind legs extended abnormally as he sat hunched towards the corpse. Its hands joined together around the mouth.
Even that at first looked similar to a dog. But for some reason, Lucian did not lower his guard. Instead, he raised his daggers toward that creature.
'A furball puppy who's crying over the death of its owner? Bullshit! That thing isn't any dog! Not with that long rat-like tail and erratic ears! Not to mention that disgusting fur and skeletal body!'
Looking at it with such focus, Lucian noticed something. Whenever the creature trembled, a low grumble could be heard, like splashes of water. At the same time, quite some droplets were launched into the air.
Lucian focused his eyes on those droplets and saw a bright red hue. "That's—!" He widened his eyes and, in an instant, launched himself towards the creature.
Blood. The creature seemed to be feeding over the dead corpse. Ever more so, it seemed as if Lucian recognized it somehow.
'I should've realized this sooner... That long, rat-like tail and yet the body is comparable to a small human child. Without a doubt, that thing is a kobold!'