SSEI | Chapter 5.1

After wandering around 9b70602cc6 with the team d4a975f57f assignment sheet, Yuan 13c8cc3aa8 finally arrived at 1dfd961052 the cafeteria and 698e9c899b noticed that the 5aa1cb92b1 atmosphere among the 46b31a79a3 other wanderers had 285d668c0b changed significantly from dcaae55d5e before.5565d6d3dec176e6

‘…Feels like I’m sitting on pins and needles.’8ea5ff0155b65543

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The stares were 6047cf6b7d unbearably piercing. Of course, Yuan had 9c72c8eb0b been the center of 7781b1e15c curious attention since the 319053c700 day he first set 18c34cd8e8 foot in this space, 5afd203c74 but the gazes pouring 22acdce47d in now were of a10d3938b5 a completely different nature.f8e81de111d770ec

They were clearly wary looks, not at a clueless rookie wanderer, but at a suspicious outsider who might cause some unexpected trouble as the Red Man’s henchman.f80ae75073499f34

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There were a few cdde13df52 familiar faces, though. Sael and Eren Noeul. They were sitting with 6cb7f6f520 people who seemed to b8360e9407 be their partners, chatting c832324c19 away, but when they 0f45d89e9f made eye contact with 09368081f8 Yuan, they turned their ebbd76db2a gazes away with slightly f50ad1032f awkward expressions. Eren Noeul, 0c12c27d07 however, mustered 9b8084f194 up the 24ed4d1653 courage to 8591b37ca8 speak to c97e63489d him.2cd9bb161108f686

“Yuan, did you… really join the Red Man’s side?”e3e8a4b13e82d584

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“Uh, well, that’s how it turned out. I have my reasons.”30fa8b22e00dcb1f

“No way, I was just joking when I said you two seemed to get along… Whatever your reasons, you should refuse now. There are plenty of people who would help you.”3ad7592c6ac7df91

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She said that, but she didn’t offer to help herself. Her partner also seemed to want to avoid getting involved. Yuan awkwardly smiled and turned his head. He thought his partner might be somewhere around here…73e0498f2e445d50

“Get lost, you damn rookie.”fc3b359fdc89aadd

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A middle-aged man sitting in a corner shouted irritably. Even without hearing more, it was clear that this man was Yuan’s partner for this round. The man stood up abruptly before Yuan could even approach.d9ead84fc5b46ee0

“You do this match alone. I won’t get involved with that man.”a2ef00567ba93ecf

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“You’re telling me to go into the match alone? Is that even possible? I thought participation was mandatory…”3f896afadc1141d8

“That’s just my specialty. Even if I weren’t associated with the Red Man, there’s no reason for me to be on the same side as you. You’re useless in battle anyway, right? What, Crimson Disease? I don’t know what that is, but where would you use a calamity-limited skill? And you’re weak because of the disease, aren’t you?”9cfa681c0d1cf780

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Has that rumor spread too? Seeing that even the story about his weakness had spread, the culprit seemed to be Osma… It might not mean much to find out who spread it now, but it seemed that there were hardly any who didn’t know about Yuan’s skill anymore.375a33b85cc0ff38

“I was curious if he had some amazing skill, but it’s just a calamity-limited skill? Is that why he joined the Red Man?”e33aabc42599a324

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“Teaming up with him would be a loss. Where would you benefit from messing with a calamity? You should never mess with a calamity.”bb771df194316a24

Listening to the murmurs d1bfe89d0c from all around, it 817e768775 seemed Yuan had been 2adaa33d8d thoroughly marked. The middle-aged man left 18b41251ca his seat without listening a3c2aaca00 to Yuan any further, c601e776d1 and Yuan sighed as e0cefb012d he left the cafeteria. He was 15ec50a929 hungry, but b35e3cc82b he had f9fce7f1ed no appetite e2dbc7cf93 to eat 060ec73d62 among those 032ccc71d3 people.d03fa80704e581f1

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Until the next match starts, I should just go to my personal room. Maybe washing up or taking a nap will improve my condition a bit… Yuan thought as he walked energetically, but he soon felt deflated after just a few steps.7151af11731254f9

‘I knew this would happen, but actually experiencing it is quite disheartening…’b6158ac75d228549

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No matter how prepared he was, the feeling of everyone viewing him as a suspicious entity was something he couldn’t get used to. Moreover, it didn’t seem like they were avoiding him just because he was associated with the Red Man. There were quite a few people ready to hate him just because his skill was related to calamities…6d7ba03e4c32b09a

Isn’t that too much? Even if his skill is a bit hard to use, treating someone like that! Yuan was fuming with anger when a voice he had never heard before came from behind him.ea51cdd6a9f8b111

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“You look really down. Hey kid, are you okay?”72d3c06a28dcac92

Yuan turned his head to see who it was, but it was someone he didn’t know looking down at him.67e323c44a43a28a

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‘Who is this?’ac80cac2093adfe8

It was a man with hair so dark blond it almost looked orange, tied up roughly. His eyes looked fierce, but he didn’t have a scary impression, and despite his broad shoulders and sturdy build, he gave off a light feeling.4fb2ca13bed295ac

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But really, who is 03eb47e6b9 this? As Yuan 55748f1f82 scrutinized the 2be297ef65 man with 1706deff1e a suspicious 3b7072ff42 look, the de1eb21158 man let 522936173a out a 9aa93cbc28 chuckle.35bdfa1485e8d8ad

“You’ve got quite the guard up. Don’t worry, you and I are in similar situations.”1137a524c351bf83

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“Similar situations?”1be22dd60feffc04

“You’re getting bad looks from people because you chase after calamities. If I had to say, I’m your senior in that regard… Oh, right. My name is Esanok. Have you heard of me?”12f976179d15afbb

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“Oh, are you the one who operated the windmill before?”fe55c29dc4e3d6a7

“You know it.”0ec1b04c63099c12

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The blond man e4e2b1b269 nodded with a e672340b7a smile. So he 3482b813e8 was the f400cf6b84 one who 20202aea4f was with 4ae5389ec1 the Blue 50e55ee175 Dot during 5bd76fd8cd the second a5e778afc0 match. In that case, he 758684ec26 was indeed in a 5e1b1f9fe7 similar situation to Yuan. Knowing there was 787c631987 someone else in 1e6f423053 the same boat 52980d0e86 as him, Yuan 742510b28a sighed with relief.2e442c7317f94128

“Your partner ditched you, right? It’s better to part ways since that guy’s not much use right now anyway.”e68a585882bf27ad

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“Not much use right now?”0666b708e608b6c3

“His skill is quite peculiar. He can skip the next match, but for each match he skips, his weapon’s attack power and point gain double. If he skips two days, it quadruples, if three days, it octuples, and so on.”a8a6de63dd7b7776

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“Doubling like that… I mean, theoretically, isn’t that the strongest? If he rests for about a week, his attack power would increase over a hundredfold.”6b64795bc0923474

“Well, theoretically, yes. But this isn’t a game that can be solved by just increasing attack power, and since the structure is such that if he skips a match, his partner suffers, he can’t abuse it.”9ca56e3e95ff9ca6

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“Ah, I see…”b73ebd3acc5a0197

“Besides, he already participated in yesterday’s match, so he can’t benefit from his skill right now. He’s practically skill-less at the moment.”9b78a3f645b037a8

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What, so the partner is the one who’s actually useless in battle right now… He might have immense potential later, but for now, it seems there’s no need to worry about him. Moreover, skipping matches means he can’t gain experience, so it might take a long time before he becomes a threat to everyone.491652f555316b18

Anyway, that’s not the important issue… So is Esanok on my side? As Yuan subtly watched him, Esanok smiled and added.b038c693bebefd15

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“I can’t go out with my partner this time either. The windmill operation incident spread all over the place… So, how about teaming up with me in the wasteland?”bdb84671b5385ca9

This was quite a tempting offer. Honestly, Yuan wasn’t sure if he could make it to the night zone alone. He had managed to break through the evening zone a few times, but that was thanks to the help of others. He hadn’t even explored all the evening locations yet, so if a new place like the amusement park appeared, he’d have a hard time.456570fcaf1c7106

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“Um, just to let you know, I have to move alone from the night zone…”a3eaa739ffededca

“I think I get it. You’re looking for your own clues, right? Then let’s stick together until then.”f0876db6ae963152

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He didn’t mention the Red Man, just in case, but Esanok nodded readily. It seems that people don’t just die without a way out. Yuan was secretly pleased, thinking so.ee1d336be01ac56b

⌖♕⌖♕⌖1d8f1d9267c050ce

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Thus, Yuan 2a2bfc35e6 and Esanok c4a5154413 decided to 9dd4b0ab6c meet up 064f66e33c at the 3363defc53 evening location 9caf8a874e after each e837c72347 heading out ac8d200287 to the 5ad434a618 wasteland.151710db32130d7c

When the match started, Yuan boarded the vehicle without a partner. He had heard that the vehicle wouldn’t operate without a partner, but in the partner’s seat, there was already a straw scarecrow sitting. On the scarecrow’s face was a simple sentence: “Doppelgänger: A temporary substitute summoned due to the opponent’s skill.”ac0706e4538b051c

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Thanks to what he learned from the Blue Dot before, operating the vehicle wasn’t too difficult. After safely ejecting from the hatch and landing on the ground, the doppelgänger burst into flames and turned to ashes without anyone setting it on fire.5bdcf54bd4a0efc3

‘I guess I can’t take it outside. Not that I mind much.’ab420cba06215f18

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Yuan went out into the wasteland and only took weapons and food from the supply box. The weapon looked like a broad broom and didn’t seem very reliable, but since he couldn’t discern the weapon’s performance, he had no choice but to take whatever he could for now.9131c35a2ac6158b

Since he hadn’t eaten properly at the cafeteria, he diligently consumed the rations while walking. Perhaps that’s why the supply box always contained food.e3c236592d05c7ef

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When he was 1de8cc07b7 almost full, a 4908b7d739 forest appeared in 3cc383c124 the distance. As promised, he lingered f2d7a0f68d near the entrance of b637f7db1d the main road by 6f60d1b879 the forest, and soon 7baff3287c Esanok appeared. He was fa45a9ae8f holding a 2f69cf6e8e wooden stick bd9c09ecc8 full of 2ded11a76a nails and 7118b34868 wearing tinted b725abc21b glasses, which 6d6f5ceddd seemed to b52d37042a suit his fe287bdf8f frivolous impression, ed7f224baf even though cf2a29b156 it was 163a528664 likely just 1beab604d6 a random 5316435f78 choice from 8647b92a0b the supply 9961aec8f9 box.91e9f6cdbec800d8

“Great, we met up safely. Honestly, I was a bit worried if we’d meet on time.”fe0da32863d82f5d

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“Yeah, if I had ended up in the canola field or maze village, I would have had to circle around the edge for quite a while…”8ab03d3ee77e7eb4

The two decided f888f00c28 to continue their ec99197870 conversation as they b210cc35c1 walked slowly along f9a96a2974 the forest path. It had 1cd731ef25 been quite ad569ab563 a while ae2952b525 since Yuan 969b30f3db had been 0acec472fd to the 788063e204 forest since 511c273288 he briefly 595bfdc237 stepped in ff3d100ad7 during the 02ff3e003a first match fb29be7b08 and was 4550719f14 killed, so 3ac590f688 it felt a3953bd6b1 quite nostalgic d77c50137b for him.937877dcf0392a6a

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Back then, he was running away frantically and didn’t know what was what, but walking slowly without being chased made the forest feel quite peaceful. Even though the sun was setting, it was bright around, and if it weren’t for the current situation, he might have considered it a decent walking path. As he was lost in such idle thoughts, Esanok spoke first.becee8aea2e0fbaa

“So, what are you looking for in this world?”4829f02935203899

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“…Pardon?”ba15c83c31b342ac

“You saw the clues with the Blue Dot, right? Then you know what your purpose is, don’t you?”ae539177df065e4d

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“Sorry, but I don’t know that much. I just regained a few memories…”440d38be246ecc24

“Oh, you don’t want to say? Well, it was a bit of a personal question.”6053935af72244ab

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No, it’s not that I don’t want to say, I really don’t know… Yuan was eager to protest, but Esanok patted his shoulder as if he understood everything. It was a bit embarrassing to be treated like a child, but it seemed he wasn’t going to ask further.1c491be7468c2695

“By the way, did you get a clue about your purpose when you operated the windmill last time? Did you get a clue about what your purpose is?”73843937cde74c09

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“Not just me, but everyone would get such clues… Anyway, yes.”d5eb7280a34b561a

“But you seem to be in pretty good shape. Didn’t you get any shock or anything? Last time, the Blue Dot was in pretty bad shape.”70a0fdba2b3b1293

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