As the saying goes, "The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment."
That being said, unless you choose to live without hope, disappointment is inevitable.
Even knowing that, how many people can truly face that truth? How many can accept that something they pinned most of their hopes on could fail?
Jay wasn't sure. But he wasn't one of those people.
Back in the arena, he'd heard more than one person complain about the network being down.
There could be many reasons behind such a situation. Jay had no way to know the exact cause. Still, he believed he'd be able to contact Jess and Sam. Not out of naivety, but because they had prepared for this kind of situation.
However, it was now painfully clear that all their efforts were in vain.
"Fuck!" Jay cursed as he felt his emotions slowly getting out of control. Not even the comfort of the gravity chair could ease his nerves.
Unconsciously, his fingers tightened around the satellite phone, the innocent device groaning in silent protest beneath his grip.
'Sigh, it might still be useful,' he reminded himself, loosening his hand before he broke the phone out of anger.
"Jay, don't worry. I am sure they are fine," Lexie said gently, watching him with concern. She understood exactly what he was feeling.
If she were separated from her brother right now, she'd probably be a wreck too.
She wanted to help. Unfortunately, she could do little besides trying to comfort him.
"Yeah, you know how strong they are. Nothing can go wrong," Alex affirmed.
"I know." Jay exhaled and shook his head. "But…"
He did trust Sam and Jess more than anyone. They were capable, level-headed, and tough.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even be worried.
But now, people were turning into monsters.
Jay didn't know why. He didn't know how.
He had tried to observe, to spot some kind of pattern. But so far, there were no answers
For now, it seemed that anyone could be affected. That uncertainty terrified him.
If, by some twisted play of fate, Jess and Sam were turned into one of….
'No! If we are fine, there is no reason why they wouldn't be,' he mumbled. He knew he was just trying to comfort himself. Still, it was better than giving up hope altogether.
"Don't worry, man. I bet they're out there kicking some monster ass," Alex said with a grin.
"I'd actually prefer if they weren't," Jay muttered.
"Haha, fair enough," Alex chuckled.
He then leaned forward, trying to steer the conversation. "So... what do you think's going on?" He could see the worry in Jay's eyes. He knew empty comfort wouldn't help with him. The best thing to do was distract him.
"Didn't you hear that weird voice?" Lexie cut in before Jay could speak. "It's the System. It's always the System's fault."
"Yeah, but that didn't answer my question," Alex replied, eyebrows scrunching in frustration.
Lexie rolled her eyes. "How am I supposed to know, genius? We've been together since the beginning. You think I'm a psychic? Or did everything that happened make you dumber?"
"Hey! I just asked." Alex glared at her.
"And I just spoke the truth," Lexie said with a smirk.
Jay listened to them, a helpless smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Their banter, however ridiculous, helped.
It was oddly comforting, a proof that some things hadn't changed.
It was normal for him to worry, but that won't change the situation.
With a deep breath, he calmed himself down and decided to deal with the matters at hand first.
"Alright! Stop! There are many things we need to do," he interrupted the playful banter.
He then continued. "Lexie is right about the system. What's happening feels a lot like those things we've read about in books. But that's the problem. I don't know how much of that fictional knowledge we can rely on. Or if we can rely on it at all."
"I get it. You two are the bookworms." Alex shrugged.
Jay didn't argue with him.
Instead, he silently turned his attention to the strange icon floating in the corner of his eyes. It was a small golden circle inside which two blue dots depicted an infinity symbol.
He'd noticed it after the second system announcement, but he hadn't had the chance to check it until now. Now that things cooled down a little, they could look into it.
"You already know the answer," Jay said. There was no way Alex and Lexie didn't notice the weird thing floating in front of their eyes.
"Yeah," Alex answered while staring at the void in front of him.
Lexie nodded. Jay smiled, then focused on the hovering icon. As he did, it shook slightly and a few words floated in front of his eyes.
{WELCOME TO THE SYSTEM MULTIVERSE.}
"Well, thanks," Jay mumbled as the words vanished, replaced by a blue window with four tabs named: Status, Equipment, Event Log, Quest. The Status tab was the first to be displayed filled with a dizzying amount of data.
[Status]
Name: Jay Williams (21)
Affiliation: Terra (Ω2 Realm)
Race: Human-Type I {Awakened} - Level: 3/100 (32%)
Class: N/A | Profession: N/A
Title: N/A
Status: Tired, Confused, Anxious
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HP: 136/140 | Stamina: 100/135 | MP: 20/20
Attributes:
Constitution: 11
Vitality: 8
Strength: 11
Agility: 10
Dexterity: 9
Perception: 9
Mystery: 4
Willpower: 8
Wisdom: 5
Free Attribute Points: 27
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Talent: N/A
Traits: Rational, Attentive
Skills: Close-combat Mastery, Athlete, Cold-blooded
Affinity: Spirit
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Jay went through the status tab. It wasn't hard to grasp.
While the exact effect of everything wasn't clear, it was still easy to figure some things out.
For example, it wasn't a problem to tell the physical attributes from the magical ones.
And to be honest, what he saw really satisfied him. His physical stats were around ten in average. At least, all those years of training weren't for naught.
As for his lackluster magical attributes, he could only say that humans weren't exactly known for their "magicness". His only qualm was the value of his willpower. If it referred to mental resilience, he believed it should be higher.
Despite his curiosity, Jay didn't continue to explore the "Status" tab for the moment. He just took a cursory glance and switched to the Event Log.
Event Log
{System loaded successfully.}
{Attributes awakening complete. All attributes' effects increased by 30%.}
{Killed Zombie (Ordinary, Lv1). +10 XP.}
{Killed Zombie (Ordinary, Lv1). +10 XP.}
{Killed Zombie (Ordinary, Lv1). +10 XP.}
{…}
{Killed Zombie (Ordinary, Lv2). +40 XP.}
{20% Stamina remaining.}
{Congratulations. Level +1. You are now Level 2. HP+ 10. SP +10. +9 AP.}
{Killed Zombie (Ordinary, Lv2). +20 XP.}
{Killed Zombie (Ordinary, Lv1). +5 XP.}
{Killed Zombie (Ordinary, Lv2). +20 XP.}
{…}
{Killed Fehl (Rare, Lv5). +75 XP. Bonus +160 XP}
{Congratulations. Level +1. You are now Level 3. HP+ 10. SP +10. +9 AP.}
{Killed Zombie (Ordinary, Lv2). +13 XP.}
{…}
'That's quite useful,' Jay mumbled as he read through the event log.
Even though it didn't record a lot of things, it cleared up many of his doubts.
First, the system did increase their strength. It didn't increase their attributes directly. It seemed to be some kind of sublimation that allowed them to wield more power. And an increase of 30% was nothing to scoff at.
'Basically, those who were already strong will benefit the most.'
Then they could confirm that the monsters were indeed zombies.
It was sad as the situation of those who turned was probably hopeless. But the silver lining was that most were low-level. The majority were Level 1 or 2. If the surprise element was taken out, there would probably not be so many casualties.
Though, this could change fast as the zombies could grow stronger. But so could they. As long as Jay and the others didn't slack off, the zombies shouldn't remain a threat for too long.
The true problem came from the last monster they faced. The Fehl. Not only was it way stronger than everyone else, but it was also a rarer kind of monster.
It was a considerable threat, and Jay hoped he wouldn't meet another one soon.
'We were lucky. If it had taken the initiative… If it was a little stronger or not alone…' Even now, Jay wasn't too confident in their ability to defeat another one. Not without better weapons.
He sighed and was about to open the Quest tab when Alex spoke. "All right. Guess I was the wrong. The system is real."
"That much was to be expected," Jay replied, pulling his eyes away from the floating screen. As he did, it shrunk down and returned to its hovering position in the corner of his vision.
'Convenient,' he noted.
"Yeah, but that changes nothing to the fact that I don't trust it," Alex argued.
"I don't think it turned those people into zombies on purpose. In my view, it is more of an incidental thing. You read the part about the attributes awakening. Maybe they failed," Lexie explained.
"I guess that's also a way to put things. But what does it want then?"
"Bro, you are missing the point. Whatever the system's purpose is, we can't care less now. What if it truly meant us harm? Do you think you can do anything to some deus ex machina that easily turned about half of the population into zombies?" Jay asked.
"I… Fuck this," Alex cursed, seemingly exasperated. Even if he didn't want, he had to admit that it was stupid to question the system's purpose. After all, even if he knew, he would probably be helpless to do anything about it.
"Nobody will stop him if he can fight it. I mean, he will do us a great service," Lexie added, a teasing smile on her lips.
"I still like me alive," Alex grumbled.
"Well, you know the saying. If you can't beat it, join it. What is certain now is that the system can make us stronger. It won't hurt us to play along with it first. As for the answers to your questions, we will eventually find them," Jay said with a faint smile.
"I get it. So, what's the plan now? How are we going to deal with the situation on Jess and Sam's sides," Alex asked.
"I think…"
Jay was about to respond when a loud shout interrupted him.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" someone yelled from the player's lounge.
"What's going on?" Lexie asked with a frown.
"Don't know. Let's check," Jay said as he stood up and quickly walked towards the lounge.