SSEI | Chapter 3.3

《Wanderer Status》

Name: Yuan (Nickname: White One)
Number of Deaths: 2
Points to be Acquired: 1150 (Passing the Lowlands +100, Acquiring Weapon +50, Assisting in Defeating 10 Enemies +1000)

It shows the points you’ll get once the game ends. Yuan, intrigued, spoke to the Blue Dot.

“Oh, right. How many points did you earn, Blue Dot? I think I got around a thousand points for assisting in defeating ten enemies.”

“I got 5,000 points for direct kills.”

“So there’s exactly a fivefold difference between assisting and killing. But still, 5,000 points for killing ten people isn’t as much as I thought…?”

“Not much? Little by little, it adds up. If you sweep through like this twice, that’s 10,000 points, and if you repeat that a hundred times per round, that’s a million points. With that, you can buy at least one of the cheapest calamities, right?”

Blue Dot said with a relaxed smile. Repeating it a hundred times, isn’t that like saying you’ll die a hundred times? Honestly, Yuan was more scared of Blue Dot’s nonchalant attitude than the weight of the number 1,000,000 points.

Well, if you stay in a place like this for a long time, it’s natural for the fear of death to fade. Killing others and dying yourself are just means to an end. It’s not like you’re stubbornly refusing to die, so it’s fair in a way, but is it really okay to get used to this…?

While Yuan was lost in such thoughts, Blue Dot lightly laughed and changed the subject.

“Anyway, it’s going to be quite tough for a while. You’ll experience aftereffects.”

“Aftereffects? Are there such things?”

“After using the power of a calamity, the aftereffects hit you. In my case, I can’t move my arms for a while. Well, think of it as a penalty for not going solo too much.”

“A penalty? It’s not even free, and it costs millions of points, that’s too much….”

“But there’s nothing you can do, right? The ones hosting this ‘survival game’ don’t like it when someone wins unilaterally. They think it’s more fun if even a beginner has a chance to turn the tables.”

Are they trying to ensure fairness? Thinking that way, Yuan nodded as if he understood. Without such penalties, someone like the Red Man would be unbeatable no matter what.

‘Maybe that guy also suffers from aftereffects after fighting for a long time?’

If even the seemingly invincible Red Man has a weakness, it must be those aftereffects. Of course, Yuan learned from his first death, so he doesn’t plan to mock or do anything mean to him when he’s incapacitated….

But thinking that Blue Dot won’t be able to move for a while made Yuan a bit nervous. Up until now, they were able to earn points thanks to Blue Dot’s calamity. While suffering from aftereffects, they obviously can’t use the power of the calamity, so if someone attacks….

But why is it?

Blue Dot, who said he wouldn’t be able to move his arms due to aftereffects, repeatedly opened and closed his palms with a puzzled look.

“But that’s strange? Usually, after dealing with three or four teams, the aftereffects should hit, but this time, even after taking down five teams, why…?”

Could it be that there are no aftereffects in this game? Or are they just coming a bit late? Yuan was also puzzled, but then he noticed Blue Dot’s expression turning awkward as he looked up at his face.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

“Yes?”

“Why does your face look like that? Are you sick?”

Blue Dot suddenly turned pale and supported Yuan. Why is my face…? Surprised by his companion’s words, Yuan instinctively touched his face and was startled by the almost burning heat he felt on his palm.

“The scar, my, my scar…?”

“Your scar is spreading! Hey, is there something wrong with your body?”

It was right after that when he sensed something was off. The cheek with the scar suddenly heated up, and before he could do anything, that heat spread throughout his body. Yuan tried to touch his face again, breathing heavily, but there was a problem. His arms wouldn’t move properly. His legs and other body parts were fine, though.

“My arms, my arms won’t move!”

“Suddenly your arms won’t move? Did you get hit by the enemy’s attack earlier?”

“I don’t think so! You countered all the enemy’s attacks, Blue Dot!”

It should be Blue Dot who can’t move his arms, but he’s supporting Yuan just fine. Meanwhile, Yuan’s arms wouldn’t budge, as if they were wooden logs attached to him. And maybe it was just his imagination, but it seemed like the light he saw in Blue Dot’s stain earlier was faintly wriggling in Yuan’s arms….

That’s when it happened.

With a sensation as if someone was whispering an unknown sound in his head, a new phrase was added to the place where the wanderer’s information was written.

[You’ve received a hint about your specialty!]

[Crimson Disease Terminal Stage: This disease is related to calamities. Try getting close to a being with a calamity or the Core of Calamity!]

So, this is because of that Crimson Disease specialty…? Panting and racking his brain, Yuan soon came up with a hypothesis.

“Uh, now that I think about it, it seems like it’s because of my specialty! It feels like I’m absorbing the aftereffects from your side?”

“Absorbing my aftereffects? What are you talking about? Does that even make sense?”

“Honestly, it doesn’t make much sense to me either! But that’s what it said in the wanderer information or whatever….”

“Wow, that’s amazing. What kind of specialty is that?”

Blue Dot’s mouth hung open in disbelief. Of course, Yuan’s hypothesis was still just in the realm of speculation, but Yuan was confident that his guess wasn’t far off.

Even though he had met the Red Man several times, the scar had never reacted. Probably because the Red Man hadn’t used the Core of Calamity to the extent of causing aftereffects. It was only when Blue Dot had fought enough and was suffering from aftereffects that he got the first hint, so this is definitely a specialty related to calamity aftereffects.

But as soon as he thought that far, Yuan felt a bit deflated.

‘A specialty that absorbs others’ calamity aftereffects, what kind of thing is that…?’

It seemed like a specialty that only benefited others. While it was good to get a hint about his specialty, the more he thought about it, the more it felt like he was at a loss, leaving him feeling uneasy.

Only then did he understand why the shopkeeper told him to hide the disease. While people around him would benefit, Yuan himself would be taking on others’ penalties, making it a specialty that could easily be exploited by others. It would be better not to reveal his specialty, like Lork or the Red Man.

‘Oh no, did I tell Blue Dot for no reason?’

Initially, he had spoken without thinking due to the overwhelming confusion, but if Blue Dot spread the word, it could lead to trouble. Although Blue Dot seemed like a good person, it was still uncertain if he would remain a good person when he wasn’t on the same team.

What should he do, he couldn’t take back what he had already said. Still, since it had come to this, Yuan decided to trust that the other person might be a good person and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Um, hey. Blue Dot. About what I just said, could you not tell anyone….”

“……”

But something was strange. Blue Dot, who had been showing interest in Yuan’s specialty and sparkling his eyes, suddenly turned his head away with a pale face, staring at something.

Could it be that an enemy came at this timing? No, but if an enemy had come, Blue Dot would be able to handle it, so there was no reason to be so serious…. Yuan turned his head to see where Blue Dot was looking and couldn’t believe his eyes.

“…What is that? A dark cloud?”

Beyond the sky where the sun was setting, pitch-black clouds were gathering as if night was already approaching. Simply forming dark clouds might just be a normal natural phenomenon. But those clouds were definitely a sight that would make Blue Dot lose his composure and stare.

Ordinary dark clouds don’t grow in size at such a rapid pace. They don’t wrap themselves in sharp lightning like barbed wire, pour down bright red rain, or have the sound of a roaring beast instead of thunder.

“What, what is that…? Does it usually rain like that here?”

“Does that make any sense? There’s no way the weather would change so drastically without any reason! As far as I know, there’s only one reason for such a big weather change….”

Blue Dot muttered in a voice that had lost its composure. Completely absorbed by the dark clouds, his kindness seemed to have flown away, and he didn’t explain further, but somehow Yuan felt like he knew the reason. Eren Noeul had explained it last time.

“Could it be that the windmill’s machinery has been activated?”

“That’s exactly it. Wait, who was Esanok teamed up with this time?”

Esanok, come to think of it, he had heard that person had teamed up with Blue Dot in the last match. If Blue Dot had given up on the strategy after meeting Yuan, but Esanok hadn’t, then it was just about time for the windmill to be activated.

“Maybe Esanok really succeeded this time! That guy did it!”

Blue Dot shouted excitedly, but to Yuan, it didn’t seem like something to be happy about. Those dark clouds spreading with tremendous momentum didn’t seem like they would stay just in Maze Village. The bright red rain pouring down at an abnormal rate wasn’t being absorbed into the ground and was starting to flood, with the red water slowly creeping towards the lakeside.

Yuan realized at that moment. If a massive storm hit Maze Village, making escape impossible, the surrounding areas wouldn’t be unaffected either.

“If we’re not careful, we’ll get caught up in it too! Hey, let’s quickly cross the bridge to the next area….”

The dark clouds hadn’t invaded this side yet. If they escaped before anything happened, they could safely move to the night area. Yuan judged this and urged Blue Dot.

However, Blue Dot’s actions were completely the opposite.

“Sorry, Yuan.”

Before he could even grasp the meaning of those sudden words, Yuan’s body was lifted again. Blue Dot picked up Yuan like a piece of luggage and started retracing their steps.

“Mr. Blue Dot? Where are you going? Hey, why are you going back!”

“I’m really sorry. But with things like this, I can’t possibly go to the next area!”