Chapter 22 - Cripple

Inside of a small apartment three men sat on separate beds talking to one another. The building was made out of wood and the room was bland and slightly spacious as there were only bunk beds, two doors, and nothing else within it. The room was almost completely made out of wood giving off a medieval vibe. These three men were talking to one another getting to know themselves a bit more. The noob apartments were the biggest things in the settlement as it housed many noobs.

Niko was one of these men as he was talking to Candreva and Zheng. Walking towards this room was uneventful and many people had their rooms close by. The room had four beds and there were only three of them. One of the beds seemed to be in use as well, and they were extremely curious to find out who was the owner of it. Many questions popped into their minds as they were thinking about many things.

"Yes! My dad was the best baker in our town! Maybe in the world! Haha! Italians are the best bakers!" Candreva laughed loudly.

"I thought that title went to the French…?" Zheng sincerely asked.

"The French are feminine! We Italians are manly! Hahaha!" Candreva puffed up his hairy chest as he was still shirtless.

Niko didn't speak as much. He was used to only speaking to his sister, however, he did say a few things here and there. While the two spoke, Niko was thinking of things to do as he was finally in the settlement. There were many things we wanted to do, but sadly, he was still too weak and poor.

"Clank! Clank!"

The spherical doorknob on the wooden door began to move. Everyone stared at it in curiosity as the owner of the used bed should be the one messing with the doorknob currently.

Niko was already excited and happy that they would be able to have a veteran in their team, however, how was he able to stay in this apartment? This apartment was usually only for beginners, therefore, it was strange that someone who has been summoned at least a month ago was still in the noob dorms.

"Swish!"

The door slowly opened slapping air outwards as a man was revealed.

"This…" Niko's smile turned awkward. If someone were to live in this world for this long, then surely there was something special about this person. He had to be powerful, however, what faced them was not what they expected.

An old man who looked to be in his fifties stood there. He had a medium-sized white beard which was surrounded by wrinkles on his cheeks. Beneath both of this man's eyes were bags of skin which was a slightly darker shade than the rest of his face. He was surprisingly muscular as he wore rags on top of rags that looked like an old brown robe. If anyone were to come close, the same scent released by an old book could be smelled on him. The thing that made Niko and the others slightly awkward was the fact that the man was missing an arm. His whole left arm was nonexistent.

"A cripple!?" Candreva spoke in displeasure as he looked at the older man. His beard went crooked and his face looked ugly. So far Candreva was an extremely outspoken person who seemed to only talk about being a man.

Niko asked, "Are you the owner of the other bed?"

The man who gave a strange look towards Candreva, then turned his head, "Yes."

Niko was taken back. His eyes widened and his mind began to ask questions.

"Yo-- You! You didn't move your lips!" Zheng was the most surprised as he physically moved backward. Zheng's reaction was not an overreaction as the man had indeed spoken without moving a single muscle in his face. This had to be telepathy!

"You used your mind?" Niko asked with interest. Someone with telepathy in the group could be extremely useful. Not only would they be able to go through dangerous situations much better, but they would also be able to have an all-seeing from afar. The one-armed man would be able to give them intel on the surroundings and anything that is approaching. There were just too many uses for this skill.

"Indeed." The man's voice once again echoed throughout their minds.

"So what if you can talk through your mind? How is that even manly?" Candreva flexed his muscles as if he was mesmerized by his own appearance.

Seeing this, Niko's brows creased. This Candreva guy was a literal over-exaggerated male character from the books he had read before. This man seemed brainless and completely incapable of thinking about anything else than being manly. Niko was slightly worried that such a person would be hunting and leveling up with him in the near future as he could become a hindrance. He never expected there to actually be people like this in the world, he almost felt like this guy was acting in some ways as he felt that there was no way a person could be like this.

Showing more sense, Zheng spoke, "Well, he might be able to scout from afar, that can be very useful… Also, don't forget about the secrets that skills have… Either good or bad…"

This was true. The secret of many skills completely varied from life-saving to problematic. Many skills possessed backlashes when used, while others required certain things to use it properly.

Niko nodded as he looked at the man. The man's name was Ivanic and his skill was called [Mind Connection I]. Niko was also surprised to find out that this man was level 3. If he was here for a month reaching level three was quite impressive. If he had reached that level, it meant that his group was extremely outstanding, however, why was he alone and without an arm?

The man then moved towards his bed which was on the right side, just above the bed of Niko. He climbed up and sat down.

"Hey cripple how did you become a cripple anyway?" Candreva spoke out loud without a sense of care.

"Overconfidence." The deep voice of the old man finally sounded as he moved his lips for the first time with an ugly look on his face.