"That takes care of one thing…"
Zaen flopped onto the bed after selecting a boarding school for Aeron. Naturally, the little one wasn't pleased with the decision, but it was for his own safety.
The way Hina had acted had creeped him out. Something had to have happened to her during the game, just like Harris.
"I wonder if something happened to Shyra too… No, don't think about her. You got more things to worry about."
Zaen shook his head and opened his inventory. Now, five slots out of the seven were filled, and his eyes immediately went to the walking stick. Without delay, he took it out, and suddenly his surroundings changed.
"…what is this?"
He… still couldn't see.
The only difference was that the colors had been reversed. Previously, he could only see pitch-black darkness, now he saw… a white space. But there wasn't anything other than that.
Zaen slowly walked ahead and immediately bumped his head on the wall.
"Ouch!" he hissed, rubbing his forehead.
However, as he brought his hand up, he saw it. He saw his hand! Although he could only see the outline, as if someone had drawn the line art and had forgotten to render it.
Still, he was ecstatic!
He could see something!
"Wait… can I see others with this?"
Thinking so, Zaen called for Aeron. The little boy's eyes were puffy from all the crying he did while begging them not to send him away. Despite being upset, the little one rushed to Zaen's room as soon as he was called.
"Brother… you called—?"
The words had barely left his mouth when Zaen wrapped him in a hug, smiling.
Aeron was taken aback by his reaction and wondered if the doctors were correct and his brother had actually gone insane. Still, he hugged him back.
As for Zaen, he couldn't see Aeron clearly. All he saw was an outline without a face or expression. It was a bizarre sight, but he was happier than before.
After hugging the little one for five minutes, he walked Aeron back to his room and returned on his own. Once comfortable, he opened the status page to see something new was waiting for him.
[New attribute: Perception has been unlocked.]
[Perception: Works as a sixth sense for those deprived of senses. The higher it is, the more the player can feel their surroundings.]
[Current Perception: 0.5]
"So this blankness isn't permanent," Zaen mumbled. "That's reassuring."
Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. While the status page was open, he let go of the stick, and everything turned black once again. Even the perception stat he had unlocked vanished like it never existed.
The only thing that he could see was the dropped stick. As soon as he grabbed it, all the changes were reversed.
"I guess it didn't cure my blindness after all," he sighed. "A walking stick… I'm helpless without it. But the question is, how do I increase my perception?"
His physical stats, like strength, agility, and stamina, improved through fighting and leveling up. Presence decreased based on his actions and stealthy maneuvers.
His sanity… it had increased to 150 after fighting the endless, so it most likely worked on the principle of facing near-death situations. He had no idea how to increase fortitude and constitution, but they seemed to be linked with one's level.
However, there was someone who could answer him.
"Beep-Boop?"
Zaen waited, but nothing happened.
"I'm not in the game right now. Maybe it'll only appear when I join a game…"
Other than that, Zaen's eyes fell on the remaining spin point. As much as he wanted to use it, he decided against it.
Since the fortune wheel gave him what he needed the most, it would be wise to save at least one point for desperate situations.
"No, let's make that six points. One for normal spin and the rest for a super spin."
After testing the stick, he didn't feel like he had been cheated out of five spin points. In fact, it almost made Zaen want to use them exclusively. But to do that, he needed more spin points.
"And how do I get them? Completing tasks, obviously."
He swiped to the [Tasks] tab, and plenty of new tasks were waiting for him.
"Locate an anomaly hiding within the public park in sector 3b. Can't accept that. The park is too far, and I don't think explaining all this stuff to Uncle would do me any good."
As he said that, his mind went back to something Hina had told him about those strange people who saved them. While Zaen hadn't encountered them, he knew they were the ones who could help him the most.
Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be interested in him. Probably because he was crippled.
Also, the fact that they forced him to accept their version of the truth made him think they wouldn't like it if he approached them. Not that he knew how he'd even contact a secret organization.
"It's better if I do this alone."
The only issue was that he was still blind. He needed someone to help him. Someone who knew about the anomalies.
"Hina…"
She was the only viable candidate, but Zaen wanted nothing to do with her. But what other choice did he have?
Just as he was about to have his AI phone assistant call her, he noticed something else on the task board.
It was another section of tasks.
However, unlike the tasks involving anomalies, these tasks didn't reward him with the shop currency or spin points, but gave him what he wanted the most.
[Task: Walk (1).]
[Objective: Walk 100 meters without bumping into anything.]
[Condition: Only the assistance of the Walking Stick is allowed. If anyone else helps the player, they wouldn't receive the reward. Also, the distance must be covered in one instance.]
[Rewards: Perception +0.35.]
"Hundred meters? That seems doable. I can ask Uncle to take me to the courtyard. I can complete the task if there's nothing to bump into—"
[All improvement tasks must be completed in a special realm.]
"What—?"
Before Zaen could say anything more, he disappeared from the room.