The fact that I had taken a life didn't seem to concern me much, if anything I felt more confident about my survival. The dog seemed to have decided that I was its next target. It attacked me just like it attacked the others. In fact, the dog had two kills of itself too. That seemed to confuse me, were other animals capable of understanding the announcement? What did it sound like to them? Maybe it was an instinctive feeling instead of a verbal announcement.
Or was it a unique case? Star Beyond The Periphery did mention that there were bugs in this "Game". Regardless of what it was, I had to take this dog down.
I jabbed the kitchen knife into the front right foot of the dog and stamped down the knife, in an attempt to nail it down to restrict its movement. The dog was clearly in pain, it had lost it's will to move for some reason and it started cowering, almost as if it was begging me not to kill it.
Yet, I had no pity for it. Blood doesn't scare me, probably one of the benefits of being a doctor. I'm used to seeing people falling in despair when met with conditions they can't survive or people desperately hoping that there is a chance at survival; neither choice included people being in their right mind to move along with their business just like they used to. Despair and denial were the only two possible reactions when met with no chance for survival. The least I could do for this dog is put it down as painlessly as I can. Removing the knife from its foot, I struck the knife to its throat. It moved no longer...
[ You have eliminated a bug in the Game. Would you like to report it? Y/N
Note: There will be rewards for reporting the bug. ]
I clicked Yes. I needed whatever edge I could get from this horrible situation, it felt completely unrealistic but I knew I had to survive.
[ You have received the skill "Animal Cruelty (C-)" ]
[ Skill Name: Animal Cruelty
Rank: C-
Usage: Passive
Function: Damage dealt by the user increases by 12% when it is dealt to entities similar to domestic animals from the planet Earth. ]
The term entities seemed extremely vague to me. The fact that the dog was considered as an entity that could be killed but not a being that deserved to fight to live bothered me. Was this it? Were humans the only beings fated to survive? At least here, it surely seemed that way. We were no different from the constellations; we dominate over whatever is weaker than us, whether the excuse for it is entertainment or survival doesn't really matter. Only the ones at the apex survive, everything else is meant to crumble.
Kang didn't seem to think so. He pointed his gun at me, clearly disappointed by the death of his dog. The distance between us was not enough for me to be able to strike him with my measly kitchen knife.
Kang had no reason to point his gun at me, he had already killed three people and for some reason, he seemed more muscular than before. His hair had also started turning black from white. It seems getting this so-called Status Window makes a few changes in a person.
I wonder how it will change me.. that is if I even get it. At the very least, I don't want to die being a fodder for this man. I struck myself with the knife before he could shoot me down like a wild animal.
Wait.. this isn't the end? Where am I? I was surrounded by what seemed like an infinitely deep pool of water. I was slowly losing consciousness.
"Rise and shine, Jin Baek." A mysterious figure woke me up.
I was no longer in the pool of water where I felt like I was fading away. I was now in a white room surrounded by stars.. real stars..
A young boy with white hair and two alien horns, similar to the profile picture of Star Beyond The Periphery sat in front of me. Even his green eyes had bluish star-shaped irises that seemed to mimic the star between the alien horns of the profile picture of Star Beyond The Periphery.
"I'm sure you already know me, Jin Baek but let me introduce myself. I am Star Beyond The Periphery, one of the developers of Fables Of Conquest. Well, I can't reveal my real name but... I'm sure you have questions. I'll tell you why I invited you here and even answer four of your questions." Star Beyond The Periphery declared.
"I see. You referred to me as Jin Baek, you know me from the chatroom. Why was I able to access it in my dreams?" I asked my first question.
"Nebucord is a chatroom for constellations. Constellations are beings that have established themselves as noteworthy existences through fables or iconic actions that have separated their existences from mere mortals of whichever world they belong to. You were able to access Nebucord since I falsified your existence as a Constellation with the help of another Constellation called Domain Master Of Dreams. You weren't able to access anything other than Nebucord since the falsification process partially failed." Star Beyond The Periphery answered.
"Other worlds? Does that mean this game isn't only being played on Earth?" I was curious to know if more constellations from other worlds existed. I was able to discern the identities of many constellations from my time in the chatroom as a mythology nut, but few constellations active in the chat room used extremely vague and weird terms that I wasn't familiar with.
"Precisely so. Constellations don't just originate from Earth. Earth, however, has a significant advantage in comparison to other worlds since it has the largest number of Constellations." Star Beyond The Periphery answered.
"What is the purpose of this game?" This question honestly seemed like a waste to me, there were a lot of better questions to ask but I really wanted to know why we were being treated like disposable pawns.
"Constellations require food and entertainment just like mortals. The actions performed by you mortals serve as food for them and watching you is entertainment. Seraphs own stream channels which are viewed by constellations, Constellations may also sponsor particular Players to be able to enjoy a more hearty meal." Star Beyond The Periphery seemed to slightly frown while answering this.
"Are there any disadvantages to taking a sponsorship?" This question was honestly the most important one to me, if I were to take help from beings that treat us like toys, wouldn't we eventually be thrown away like a child throws a toy away when he no longer likes it?
"There are. Only a few constellations don't need to consume actions, the rest do it quite enough that you won't be able to generate Fables necessary to be a Constellation." Star Beyond The Periphery answered my final question.
"Now that I have answered your questions. I'll tell you why I have invited you here." Star Beyond The Periphery continued.
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