Kara felt a consuming desire to play the piano. All she could think of was to make a sound. A vibrant, powerful, haunting sound. Her fingers were itching for it, her entire body fidgeting with the anticipation of touching the keys, to feel them sink under her touch, to create.

She knew of Sirens. They were one of the most abnormal things in The Games, though unfortunately not particularly powerful. Most Siren types had an obtuse set of requirements and unique skills that reflected them. This would be the first time she heard of a Life Siren, most likely given the reason that, when people die, they usually stayed dead.

She could feel something inside her trying to break free. It was her new powers, whatever they might be, and they didn't seem intent on listening to her. Her Mana tensed and cramped under its pressure. She attempted to stand up, to turn away from the piano, but she was unable to push the Kinetic Mana forward. Her hand stuck to it like glue. Kara could hear her powers calling out to her, to release every bent up and twisted thing of hers into it. She just had to let go.

“I refuse to bend," she again, releasing hundreds of Mana points. Her hair began to float around her shoulders, and if she had eyes, they would have shinned a stark white. “Not an inch, not for a moment,” she said, and cut her arm from the shoulder down. It fell to the floor bloodless.

The dead did not feel. She stood up, grabbing her cane with her other hand. She walked around the piano, eyeing it. Its voice no longer burned inside her mind. It no longer attempted to control her.

She converted a hundred points of Mana into Life Force, causing her arm to float back into its place. Re-connecting the bone and veins was a tortuous, tedious but having done it thousands of times The Pre-Game granted her the Flesh-Mender skill even with her high level.

"I refuse to be a part of someone's sick entertainment," she said, her hand sliding against the wood. She walked around, glancing at how the humans panicked, screaming and bleeding about the cafe. Kinetic Mana fueled objects darted around the room, smashing into either Ghouls or other people. A fire began to grow in a corner, started by a miscast Thermal skill.

Kara had gone from being a part of the pinnacle of intelligent life, to this low-level farce. It was infatuating.

Congratulations! You have taken the first steps into becoming a Siren!

You have resisted your most basic needs. Nothing will manipulate you, not even your emotions, well-being, or your very dreams.

You have gained the Stalwart trait. You have greater control over your songs at the cost of losing 20% of their effectiveness.

You have filled 1 trait Siren traits of 5. Based on the Songs you unlock, your powers will evolve differently!

Ah. Kara felt a bud of excitement spark. It was tiny, but it was there. It wanted to do what it has always done--to learn and evolve. This new profession seemed to offer something novel.

Kara returned to her feet, and out of desperation and curiosity, she began to play, hoping to find something worthwhile in whatever decaying life she had leftover.

***

Nilbog pushed ahead of Doyan and his assistant, Tren, to engage a Ghoul. He did it for practicality, not out of bravery. The sooner they could get people armed the higher their chances of survival will be.

Of course, the increased rewards were a welcome addition. Those with the highest contribution received the best rewards, which in the end worked in his favor. He needed all the skills and equipment he could get if he wanted to get anything done in this world.

With two knives in his hand, Nilbog stalked for his next Ghoul. Picking out an unsuspecting Ghoul, he darted in, making as little sound as possible while attempting to keep up with the monster’s rapid movement. It was circling a man with a small cutting knife. The beast was much faster than him, slashing him while constantly dodging his ill-aimed strikes.

Level 26 Ghoul

Monster Rank: F

Nilbog snuck to its left corner, and just as the creature went in for a slash, he did so as well. It quickly gave the man a small gash on his forearm, and promptly backed-stepped right into Nilbog blade, impaling itself. He aimed for the heart, hoping it was a weak point.

Penetration!

Your strike dealt critical damage!

You have dealt 59 damage!

You have dealt Devastating Bleed Damage!

The blade went in cleanly, piercing it’s back and appearing out the front. He stuck the other knife up its rib cage.

Penetration!

You have dealt 25 damage!

You have dealt Major Bleed Damage!

Nilbog placed his foot on the creatures back and pushed forward, quickly pulling out both knives. Blood spurted like a fountain soaking his arm and chest. The creature fell, dead before it could touch the ground. Either it took a fair amount of damage, or two critical strikes was all it took.

The man was panting heavily with many shallow cuts, but he was otherwise fine. “T-Thank you, chil-”

“Group up with the guys hacking at the Ghouls behind me,” Nilbog said, pointing to Doyan and Tren. Their bellows rallied those around them. The man nodded slowly. He was too rattled to complain about being ordered. If Nilbod learned one thing about humans, it was that they did not like being told what to do, regardless of whether it was right or wrong.

Nilbog circled back, not going too far out from his group. The numbers were about even now, and that was not good. The creatures kept pouring in from their holes in the ground. They had no Armor and easily bled to death, but dealt extremely high damage with their claws.

Life Force was the most common power humans used. It granted them increased stats and offensive skills, but most importantly it was their main form of defense. Life Force Armor was them basic and important skill a person can have, and most of these humans did not.

The information inside Nilbog's head regarding its importance was not wrong--it was the humans that were. Anyone without Life Armor was going down with two direct shots. Those who fought recklessly got badly damaged, and those that didn’t gradually lost HP and STM instead.

There were a couple of ones capable of using Life Force, as well as a few Mages blasting fire and sharp winds, but they were quickly becoming exhausted by the influx of Ghouls. Most of the crowd here were ordinary folk with no combat focused skills.

What struck Nilbog as odd was how these Ghouls were acting. They were automatic, instinctual beasts, but the way things were escalating was abnormal. Those that were in a group met group battles, and some Ghouls even hovered around aimlessly. Virtually no one was outnumbered.

Nilbog wasn't sure what to think of that. While he knew the basics, information regarding The Game itself was absent from his head. Were those Ghouls like Nilbog, but only instinctual? Or were they empty shells? What if they were just being controlled?

Those questions haunted Nilbog. What if he was behaving exactly like how The Game made him?

No. What type of monster did not eat humans? He had free will. It wouldn't make sense why he did so many stupid things if he was a puppet.

Nilbog took a few moments to run through the crowds, intervening just long enough. He helped a young woman take down a Ghoul as she battered it with her chair, and got lucky another time when he back-stabbed a Ghoul through its heart, leaving it to bleed out as he thrust at another one a few meters away. Those that used Life Force skills had a yellow glow to them, though the hue sometimes changed based on the skill. Nilbog focused mainly on helping them.

Before he attacked his next ghoul a human-shaped raisin dressed in a white dress scuttled from the side. She struck it legs with her cane, sending the creature’s head below it, and then pummeled it to pieces. The poor Ghoul didn’t have a chance.

What the hell is that doing here. Anyone below the age of 13, as well as over the age of 60, was given the option to remove themselves from The Games, and that lady looked easily over a 100. Her eyes barely peeked from under the thick layers of shriveled skin hunching her eyebrows, and the hunch of her back was so bent it was almost parallel to the ground.

Nilbog stepped back. She might have been one of the three Anomalies. He didn't want to get invo—

“I see you, son,” she said, snapping towards Nilbog. He saw one eye peeking through the sagging skin at him. The other was hid in the hunch of her fading eyebrow. “Do this old lady a favor, and go fetch my grand-daughter, would you?”

“Uh… I’m a bit bus—”

“It will do you good,” she said, taking tiny but abnormally quick steps. Her body swayed from left to right, almost as if she were tipping over. “The brash girl is in that direction,” she said, catching Nilbog’s hands before he could even react. She tugged at him as she pointed towards a chaotic mess of people and undead. “That bastard’s dog sent her off before I could have a decent word with her.”

“I—” Nilbog’s mouth wouldn’t work. Two Ghouls began to circle them, but the old lady’s clutches were wrapped around his wrists like iron. They did not budge an inch, and kicking her did not seem like a good idea—he didn’t need Seventh Sense to know that. She concealed her Danger Rank but it didn’t completely hide it. He knew for certain she was stronger than him, but not how strong. She could be anything from a Wolf to a Cataclysm for all he knew.

“Won’t you?” she said, not paying any heed as they charged.

“I will!” Nilbog yelled, stepping in front the moment the old lady peeled her fingers. He met the Ghoul’s claws on each knife as it dashed towards him. There was too much power behind its charge for him to block in place. He jumped back with it, falling to the ground. His knives were stuck in between each finger, preventing it from ripping him, but he couldn’t stop its teeth reaching for his face. They got close enough for their breath to burn his nostrils before Nilbog kicked the Ghoul in the air with the momentum.

He dealt 4 damage, but more importantly, he got to keep his face. It struck the back of its head as slide across the plastered ground.

Nilbog got up half a second earlier. By the time it turned towards him his knife flew the couple feet in between them, impaling itself through its eye. It took 57 damage but still did not fall. It charged forward right into another flying knife, taking another 59 damage before sliding to Nilbog’s feet.

Holy shit. He still had not grown used to being able to do any of this without actually knowing how. Throwing knives, swords, spears, bows, he likely had a basic understanding of each common technique and weapon. He bent down, taking both knives out. He was going to have to test this as soon as he could.

“Good. Now go find my granddaughter,” the old lady said.

Nilbog hopped away, waving his knife in front of him. She stood a few feet away. The Ghoul that attacked her laid on the ground with all its limbs pointing in all the wrong directions. “Where is she?” he said, swallowing sweat and blood. Something cut his lip.

“The girl tends to be flashy, so look towards the center of things. You’ll know my dear when she sees her,” she said, and then walked the other way. “You need allies, yes? She’ll be useful to you, just like she is to everyone else.”

“Why would I do that?” There was no reason not to help strong people, but doing it on her command was different.

“Because your face is eerily familiar to one prick I used to know,” she said, glancing back. “It’s more a favor to you than it is to me.”

Nilbog flinched, though it was to be expected. With a name like Jack The Hero, it wouldn’t be surprising for someone to notice the resemblance. I’ll talk to her later. Jack was betrayed by his closest allies, but if he had true friends among the serpents, then it might be good for Nilbog to find them. It was his only viable option at this point.

He began jogging, dipping in where he thought he would be useful. There was no reason to put in extra effort to find a single person out of the crowd.

Then again, the lady's not-so-subtle threat didn’t inspire confidence in Nilbog to completely disregard the idea. He sighted another potential ally attempting to crush a Ghoul with a chair, but before he could make his way into the fest, his body jerked down and rolled to the right. Surprised at the sudden movement, Nilbog did not roll with the momentum, making his right shoulder receive the full impact.

He nearly fumbled his knives because of it, but he found his bearings at the last moment. He bounced up, coming face to face with a Ghoul’s thrust. He couldn’t bock it in time, but his knife did push it to the left side. Its nails took a bit of his flesh as it scraped by his upper arm, taking 5 damage with it. The beast’s movement carried it forward, placing him inches from its chest. Clenching his teeth, Nilbog met the Ghoul's neck with his other knife before it could bite.

It sprayed blood as it tumbled away, dying shortly after—it must have been already damaged. Dismissing the experience penalty notification, he quickly balanced himself as more feat scuttled towards him.

Level 34 Adult Ghoul

Rank: F+

One Ghoul was left. Fortunately for Nilbog, the Ghoul he cut blocked the other, probably saving him from a fatal attack. Unfortunately, another Adult Ghoul joined the fray. A monster’s level and rank showed once he got within a certain range. The higher the level and rank, the quicker and more intelligent they became--it was the reason Nilbog had consciousness, probably. Oddly enough, however, these two were the same levels as some Ghouls he harassed. One also had identical injuries.

That's not a coincidence.

If they were truly mindless monsters then they wouldn’t have chased Nilbog when there were much easier targets to hunt. He also doubted they had the capacity to seek revenge. This had to be influenced by The Game. Either this information wasn't considered 'basic,' or there were holes in the information The Game provided to Nilbog.

Focus. Taking that Ghoul out there probably saved his life, though fighting two Ghouls simultaneously was not a much better alternative. The element of surprise was not on his side. He might have had the technical experience but real fighting was out of his league.

His eyes darted towards Doyan. They were a distance away, but they were still within range. Doyan turned towards Nilbog as he took down another Ghoul, probably being alerted by his Sixth Sense. After a glance, however, he shrugged and turned away.

No surprise there, I guess. This was just how Sentient beings behaved, and though it was probably a baseless prejudice, Nilbog felt like humans were especially despicable in this matter. Besides that literal oddball Argento, everything he had seen so far confirmed it.

And that music was not helping. He could hear it everywhere around him, and in each different place he looked the music changed, as if each fight had its own track.

Its invasive notes tried to creep into his head, louder and louder they became vibrating through his body. Foreign emotions began to bud inside him. All he felt was rage. His hands and feet begged him to crush something. The faint dark mist began to solidify around him.

A Siren offers you power.

Do you accept?

Y/N

Nilbog politely declined but it did not relent. It tried to burrow its way through his skin. Clenching his teeth, he willed it away, his Sentient Killer class substantially boosting his Mental Defenses.

Sentient Killer Activated.

The difference in Danger Ranks has increased Sentient Killer’s effects by 50%

Status Affliction Resisted

You resist, but for how long?

For as long as it takes, Nilbog thought as the Ghouls crept forward. Whatever a Siren was, it wasn’t any good news. It wasn't a surprise, but Kara The Blind Mage was at least two Danger Ranks higher than Nilbog. That meant Tiger and up.

She was hardly his main concern, though. More sweat ran down his forehead, mixing with the red and purple blood.He racked his brain for ill-advised solutions against the Ghouls.