'I could bring two skills to the real world!' His eyes trembled with excitement, 'No, calm down, me!'
He looked at the tab of skills and wondered deeply, 'Most of the skills are good, but I don't even know what kind of situation I will end up in.
'The fact I suddenly encountered this is suspicious. Just what on earth are you preparing me for?'
He didn't ask for anyone specifically, but he knew everything isn't free, and free stuff is the most expensive. It raised his guard a bit.
After a bit of thinking, he finally decided that further thinking would only be a hassle.
'Okay, these should be enough to protect me.'
After choosing what skill he will bring to the real world. His vision went blank, and when he opened his eyes, he had returned to the familiar scenery.
He struggled getting up, and after taking a sip of water, he went out.
It was already dark. The cloud covered the sky, hiding the shy stars.
As he walked through the neighborhood, he realized it wasn't as bad as he thought.
Although extraterrestrials existed, they blended with humanity. Society didn't change much. This world wasn't much different from his world.
The buildings, technology. The only difference is that the planet and a percentage of the world population have superpowers.
It is worth mentioning that people with superpowers existed even before the extraterrestrials appeared all of a sudden.
He stopped walking as he arrived at the restaurant. He walked in and chose a table near the window.
"Halvor, it's been a while." A soft voice entered his ears. He turned his head to the source.
A beautiful girl wearing a waiter uniform. She has long golden hair with red eyes.
According to the memories, her name is Ludmila Evergrace, Claire Halvor's childhood friend.
"How are you? You look terrible."
"Well, stuff." He shifted his eyes slightly.
"I see you haven't changed at all. So, what do you want to order? You want the usual?"
"Yes, please."
A few minutes later, she came and put the food to the table. However, instead of walking away, she sat opposite of him.
"Uh, aren't you supposed to work?"
"I'm on my break. You don't want me to eat with you?"
"No, you can eat."
Halvor picked up a spoon and devoured the food, which was a simple fried rice with egg on top and an iced tea.
It was delicious.
On the other hand, Ludmila Evergrace was eating a triple layered pancake showered with honey.
As they ate, he thought of conversation topics that Halvor usually picked.
"So, how's work?"
"Exhausting, I just want to get out of here and play games. We should play games together."
"That sounds fun, but let's play next time. By the way, Ludmila, I have a question. What do you think about Henchmen?"
Henchmen, a government organisation that kills extraterrestrials.
Ludmila Evergrace stared at him for a few moments before replying.
"Henchmen? They're okay, I guess. Protecting people from extraterrestrials. Why did you ask all of a sudden? Wait, you can't be thinking of joining them after what happened."
He frowned slightly, 'Before he died, Halvor wanted to join the Henchmen? Does Henchmen have anything to do with the missing memories?'
"What do you mean by that?"
"Hah? It's all over the news! How come you didn't know." She looked at him strangely.
"I focused on my novel to complete a deadline and have no time to know how the outside world is doing."
Halvor was also writing a web novel. It has a decent fan base.
"Man, you're hopeless," she sighed, "Henchmen just lost 10% of its personnel after their attack on a powerful extraterrestrial, Red.
"Not only did they fail to kill Red, their fights with Red also caused massive collateral damage that killed more than fifty people.
"The people were furious and wanted the government to disband Henchmen, but for all the work money the government poured into the organisation, I doubt that's going to be the case."
"When did this happen?"
"They launched their operation two weeks ago to find Red's whereabouts, and it was only three days ago that the event occurred.
"Honestly, I'm worried that you forgot about these things. Are you okay? Are you too stressed out from your novel that it makes you forget easily?" Her voice was soft and warm. Her eyes were filled with concern.
His heartbeat jumped slightly.
"I'm fine, truly." Halvor squeezed out a smile.
But then, all of a sudden, he felt a tinge of pain as Ludmila Evergrace slammed both of her hands to his cheeks.
It surprised him a little.
"Halvor, I mean it." Her expression is solemn, "If you feel like you're alone and don't have anyone to talk to. Come to me.
"You're a very precious friend to me."
This trait of hers is the reason their friendship stays strong. It filled his heart with warmth.
"Yes, I will." He said as his cheeks squeezed. She then let go of him.
"Good."
After which, she devoured her food within a few moments. Once she is done, he asked.
"How is your relationship with Kathie?"
"It's nothing new, honestly. Things didn't work out for the both of us, and we went our separate ways. Why?"
"You're not sad about it?"
"Obviously, I am really sad about it. Can't you see the tears?" She pretended to weep and continued, "If you're worried about me, I'm fine, I, we, get over it. We didn't really cut our connections; we're still friends, but we need time for ourselves."
"Can I get her number?"
"That's a rather sudden request." She eyed him suspiciously.
"She worked with Henchmen, right? I wanted to ask her a few questions for my next webnovel. It has something to do with them."
The true reason is that Kathie was one of the last few people Halvor had met before he lost his memories.
"Oh, I guess it would be alright. I mean, it might be a good time for you both to catch up. You and Kathie never got along after middle school. Wonder what's that all about; neither you nor Kathie wanted to talk about it."
'Middle school…' His eyes frowned slightly, and distant memories surfaced. The corner of his lips twitched slightly, 'No wonder both of you never talk again, it'd be so awkward, but there's no time for that, I need to know why my memories disappeared.
'The faster I found the answer, the better.'
After giving the number to him, the latter said goodbye.
"What are you talking about? This will not be the last time we meet."
"Hmm?"
"Don't say goodbye, it is sad. Say, see you later."
He formed an awkward smile, "Yes, you're right. See you later, Ludmila."
"See you later, Halvor."
She then turned around and returned to the restaurant.
With nothing much to do, he might as well walk around the neighborhood, perhaps lady luck encountered him with something that might shake his memory up.
The sidewalk is filled with people. Youths that hang out with their friends, couples on a date, a salary man just got off of their job and visited a nearby restaurant to get some food and liquor.
And with the LED signs shining brightly in front of shops, it was a lively city that made him forget about the existence of the extraterrestrials.
As he walked, a young man bumped onto him.
"I'm… sorry." His voice was shaky, nervous. When both eyes met, his eyes filled with bloodlust and hunger. However, that only lasted for a few moments before he shook his head, saying, "No, no, no, no. I can't. I can't eat a human."
He then walked away slowly, swaying left and right like a drunkard.
Halvor frowned slightly, observing him.
As the youth walked, unaware of the silhouette trailing him, the boy smelled something delicious. Instantly, he darted into the alleyway. His speed was not something an ordinary human could achieve.
After a few turns, he stopped.
"Where? Where is this scent coming from!" Saliva falling from the corner of his lips. His eyes shifted sharply to the left and right. Afterward, he continued his pace.
"It came from here!"
After a few steps, he came to an open building. The door stride opened as if inviting him in. Cautious, yet hunger choked him better. He walked in.
As soon as that happened, someone floated down from the sky.