Chapter 359 - Hypothetically (Patreon)

In the next few hours, there are three more challenges.

One of them is against little Isabella. A group of people from all three difficulties, around 60 people in total, most of them from Hard.

They enter expecting to win against the kid, but get welcomed by unrestricted Isabella.

Within seconds, blue flames devour them all, burning through the barriers, heating up the environment enough for some people to die of that alone.

The attacks thrown at the girl are easily dodged. The Avatar predicts who will attack and when through [Empathy] by tracking emotions.

To be honest, it's not even close, and Isabella cheers the entire time on her own Avatar. There is no shame to be found and when the challengers get out one after another and she makes fun of them.

That's something I can get behind, it’s entertaining to watch all these adult men and women avoiding her gaze. They can't even say anything back, just the Avatar was enough to show them a clear difference in their power levels.

Another challenge is against the lightning man from Gareth's group. I think his name was Ghast. A group that attacks him does so because one of their members is capable of redirecting lightning with some sort of metal manipulation, using it to create lightning rods.

Obviously, the group gets wiped out quite easily too.

At this point, it's clear it's just slight poking by the most curious people who don't mind spending some shards on a challenge. Even after losing, they are not too disappointed and often laugh.

As the last challenge, they go against someone from the group which BenDover belongs to, once again losing.

Then they stop, just a few people staying behind in case there is a challenge so they can warn their groups, and the remainder slowly goes to sleep.

Before leaving, I move a bit closer to listen to Channeler and his group. The uselessly handsome man is aware that some people already connected him with Group 4 so he lets his friends talk most of the time, only joining sometimes.

"Strong?!" he laughs pretentiously while talking to someone from Easy. "He clearly abused the fact there was a forest he set ablaze. On the clean plane, he would probably get defeated. Probably some passive or trait that makes him stronger around fire?" he wonders.

The woman from Easy difficulty says something and he smiles at her sweetly.

"Of course I'm helping group 4, they are paying me." He leans closer and whispers, "Most of them have no idea how much shards are worth so they are unintentionally generous. Noname is also not that... bright, so I got a lot from him."

Dude. I know you are trying to help, but you didn't have to go that far.

Another man shoves Channeler and also throws some insults at me, also one of Channeler's helpers.

To that, Channeler nods, "Just a better terrain, a few more people and it should be doable."

The conversation quiets down and they disappear in the distance.

Moving to the side, me and Lily join Tess, Sophie, and the twins.

I feel my cold heart warm inside when I see how awkward Dennis is around Sophie and Tess, unable to look up. His brother seems to have fun with it as well, but he doesn't dare to push it for fear of being betrayed. I know he also said some interesting stuff while trying to show off in front of Brainiac and Lootenant.

"Do you think people will really fall for it?" Lily asks when we join them.

Instead of me, Tess answers, "People aren't that dumb, Lily. Some of them might, but the rest will be mostly acting on their greed. Nat offered a LOT of shards as additional rewards so it's worth gambling even if the chance of winning is low."

"But Nat went and did all this preparation with Channeler, even offered them items. Is it all for nothing?" Lily looks at me and at Tess.

Knowing me better, the lightning blonde smiles, "That's Nathaniel's version of having fun. He just likes to mess with people."

I mean, she is not wrong. It's annoying but also super funny to watch others try to trash talk me. Even though I give it a little chance to work, it's worth it just from an amusement perspective.

"You are weird," Lily notes and I shrug, copying Tacita. Unfortunately, I'm not doing it as skillfully as she does.

Walking under the dark sky lit by stars, the sounds of conversations quieten down, and around our house, only us 6 members of group 4 remain.

"How do you know that maniac so well, Tess?" Sophie asks and yawns. She seems to be bored, but I noticed that she enjoys gossip a lot.

"We used to date on Earth," Tess carelessly throws in a bomb of information.

That gets interesting expressions from others. Especially the twins and Lily.

Seeing that, Tess smiles, "We were both really young. He was my first boyfriend," she smiles.

I stay quiet, an uncomfortable feeling in my chest.

"Then after a few weeks, he tried to use me as an alibi." Tess stretches, a slight smile still on her face. "Back then, it really broke my heart. Did that handsome bad boy date me only to use me later? Did he even care about me?"

The others also stay quiet, and we continue to walk in awkward silence.

"Now that I think about it, you never apologized, did you, Nat?" Tess asks.

"I did not," I agree.

"Fuck, that's brutal." Sophie breathes out finally.

"Right?" Tess turns to her. "Poor teenager me betrayed by the first boy she ever liked."

"You said alibi, what happened?" Lily asks quietly.

"That's not something for me to talk about," Tess says clearly, and a few of them turn to me.

For a moment, I have this inkling to say something. To explain what happened and share it with others.

I almost open my mouth to say it, but in the end, I stay quiet. When my eyes meet those of Tess, she returns my gaze calmly.

I know what she is trying to do, and she isn't even trying to hide it.

Still, in the end, I avert my gaze first.

***

A few hours later, I'm finally done creating items to give to Channeler and his group. Even though they are helping only a little, I don't mind it that much. You could even call it an investment, as they are all people Channeler recommended and that might be useful in the future.

Biscuit, who is lying on the table, watching me the entire time, stretches and sticks out his tongue that I grab and pull on.

The look he gives me is totally deserved, but I do not mind. When I let go of his tongue, he continues to stretch.

I boop his nose and show him the last item I made. Biscuit sniffs it, then loses interest because it's not food.

"One day I might make you some equipment as well."

(Food?)

"Not food."

(Asshole.)

"I'm not."

(Friend.)

"Do not try to blackmail me!"

(Food!)

"You just ate!"

(Food, food!)

"You will get fat."

(Sustenance.)

"You won't die from not eating for a few hours."

(Asshole.)

"I'm not letting you die of hunger. How can you say that!"

(Sustenance.)

"For fuck's sake, okay. Maya is in the house, she knows where I'm hiding the deer jerky."

(Food!)

"Just go, damn it."

When Biscuit floats away like a burrito-shaped blimp, I sigh. I miss my minion; she listened to me most of the time. Meanwhile, dealing with Biscuit is like dealing with a kid. A terrifying kid that can create mana bombs.

It's not my fault.

"You feel weird in the past few hours," Isabella notes from her corner where she continues to melt the metal I give her. She seems to be really enjoying it.

Just in case, I check, but she isn't connected to me with her skill, nor is she reading my emotions.

The little girl smiles, her green eyes shining, "I'm getting better at my skill. I can feel a little even without connecting to you."

Such a scary thought. I will have to come up with ways to counter it.

"Are you okay?" She jumps my way a few times on her short legs,."I will listen and promise not to tell anyone, not even to dumb Soph!"

"It's fine," I wave it off.

She hugs me shortly, "If you say so. But please be careful with that skill. Do not overuse it."

As if, [Focus] is too good to let it uselessly lay on the side.

"You already said something similar to me a few times," I note and push her away.

"And I will say it more because you do not listen. Just a bit more and you will be dumber than Soph! At least she listens to me sometimes."

"So anyone who doesn't listen to you is dumb?"

She looks at me, somewhat disappointed, "Dumb people are dumb, not people who do not listen to me," she says as if it's obvious.

I see, makes sense.

It does not. I do not understand how kids work.

"Do you enjoy melting stuff?" I ask.

"I'm not melting stuff! I'm practicing smelting!"

"I see."

"Don't laugh!"

"I'm not laughing."

To that, she kicks my shin, dealing no damage, "I can feel your emotions."

"Yes, yes." I pause for a while. "I wanted to ask you something."

Isabella's face turns serious and she sits in the chair nearby, her full attention on me. It's quite funny seeing the serious expression she is trying to make.

What I want to ask her is a bit silly and may be the result of me being cowardly. I could also ask someone else, but there aren't that many I feel comfortable around to ask for advice.

So yeah, better to ask an 11-year-old girl, right?

Maybe I really am dumb.

"So, I did something bad to someone I know. It was a long time ago, but lately, around 1 year , I met that person again. Oh, it's all hypothetical. So let's say, hypothetically I met that person after a few years, just a year ago, hypothetically."

Isabella just nods and waits.

"So how… what should… I…"

"Just apologize," Isabella interrupts me.

"It's not that simple."

She shakes her head as if dealing with someone dumb, "It's simple!"

"There is no way it is that easy. She surely still hates me for that even though she is not showing it. Hypothetically, of course. Betrayal is one of the worst things you can ever do, especially to someone who trusts you and who showed only good emotions toward you."

"Just apologize."

"I mean, betrayal like that is beyond pathetic. Sure there might have been a reason and it was always planned long before meeting her, but who would have known that that person would prove to be someone like that."

"Apologize!"

"Back then it wasn't even something I would consider that bad, but in the past year, still hypothetically, a lot of things changed. So how to say it? It feels right to do something about it?"

"Dumbthaniel."

"I have decided to change a few things and set rules for myself to follow to not become savage. I also realize that what I did is something I really, really dislike and not long ago said I would kill someone if they did that to me."

Isabella stands up and starts kicking my shin and I strengthen my body further.

"I even said it in front of her. Damn, do you think she immediately remembered what I did to her and that's why she smiled? Did she get also pissed off because I did to her something I just said I would kill her for? Is that why she mentioned it in front of others? Oh, and don't misunderstand, Izzy, it's all still…"

"Still hypothetical!" she kicks me, blue flames creating a small explosion at the place of impact.

"Yes, still hypothetical." I pause and then look down at Izzy who at this point looks like an angry kitten.

She isn't an ESM, but it will do.

I pick her up to my chest, putting her in a similar position to what my minion likes. Ear against my chest and her tiny horns poking the bottom of my chin.

Isabella struggles, trying to get away, but in the end, it's not it, and I let her go.

"Thanks for the help, Izzy," I tell her, ruffling her hair.

She pushes my hand away and while I head out she shouts something about dumbasses she has to deal with.

***

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