“Bluuuuurgh”

Arghh! Here I am sitting beside the toilet seat vomiting with my whole heart. My head is throbbing like crazy and my stomach feels twisted and upside down. Whenever I think of the slimy tentacles wrapping around my skin, I shiver in disgust, especially now that I can summon the very same tentacles. To be honest, I am currently mentally unstable.

It is 6 o’clock in the morning and I was not able to get a wink of sleep since I got home. I tried to but my chest just feels heavy that sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe. Whenever I attempted to close my eyes, I felt as if someone is watching me from far away which made me even more restless. I was afraid, quite afraid of dying. Even though dying would allow me to know if the concept of heaven and hell is indeed true, I am still afraid of what is to come. As all these wild thoughts run round and round on my head, my head started spinning and led me to the bathroom which explains my current state.

I then stood up to prepare to go to school. I walk the halls staggering while leaning on the wall to get to the kitchen to at least eat something since my stomach is as empty as it can be. But I forgot that the fridge was just as empty as my stomach so I just filled the pitiful belly of mine with water. I feel a lot better now and was able to normally get out of the house.

I was quite fidgety while walking. My fingers just can’t stay still and I look around my surroundings so much that I look like a paranoid, but maybe I did became paranoid. I also became so jumpy that the cat in the side of the road even surprised me and made me jump back, I am just glad no one was around at the time. I got to school without running to Hector which is good since I do not want him to see me like this, he might think I am some weirdo. I headed straight to the bathroom and fixed myself up; no one in my class should see me in this state. I looked in the mirror and tried to fix how I act until I think I seem normal.

“Morning”

I told everyone as I walk towards my seat. It is a bit early so I just tried to relax for a bit. Then random thoughts came into me. If I ever had to fight again, how can I increase my chance of winning? Getting stronger is a given but how do I obtain more strength? How can I increase my chance of survival? The bell rang and class started. Even during class, I was trying to think of a way to survive. It is now lunch break and I am still trapped in the loop of my thoughts.

“Hey! You alright bro?”

The guy in the seat in front of me asked as he was sitting backwards of his own seat. The guy’s name is Leon and he is the idiotic type. I don’t really quite like him since he can get really annoying, babbling through and through about things he only understands. He is also a fan of Idols, how do I know? Because he always sent me links to videos of his favorite idol group that I should take time to appreciate their brilliance. He really said brilliance and that is irritating. The reason I am acting all buddy-buddy with this guy is that he knows a lot of random information that might get handy when I need it, and so I thought.

“Yeah I’m good”

I replied while smiling, the art of being friends is a smile after all.

“Hey! Don’t even try to make a lie in the presence of the God of truth and justice! Got it?”

“Lie? I am not lying though. God of truth and justice? I thought it was chaos and discord?”

“I am both! Anyways I know you are not well since you did not sleep even once during class! Especially while looking so sleep deprived! You have those black circles in your eves you know”

Damn, He’s right. This is the first time that I haven’t slept in class even by a short while. I did not know that this idiot full of nonsense can be sharp sometimes.

“I was just thinking about things but I’m fine, really”

“What is that? Care to share? I am great at giving advices you know?”

“Never mind that, if we just sit here and chatter, lunch time would be over in an instant.”

“Oh? I forgot! Come on let’s eat lunch together. I can even treat you to a meal if you like”

We then went to the cafeteria to eat lunch but I refused his treat since I do not want to be under anyone’s debt. The annoying thing is that he kept bugging me about what my problem is. When I just ignored him, he then kept babbling about his favorite idol group. Class resumed and I was asleep in an instant. Maybe talking to the guy helped me wind off a little. Ah what a great nap that is. I then headed straight home as soon as classes were over.

I locked the doors and closed the window. I made sure that no one would be able to see me from the outside. I removed my shirt and tried to focus then I transformed. I need to get used to my powers in order to increase my chance of survival.

“Now for the first test”

I told myself quietly. I brought out the tentacles to my left arm to test if it was also capable of transforming since on the previous fight, only my right arm was transformed. It was successful but when I tried bringing it out in both arms, nothing happened. It seems that at my current state, I can only do it in a single arm. I also tried to transform my foot, I felt the energy but it seems like I was also not yet ready for it either.

“So I have to rely on a single arm?”

I thought to myself. Next I tried to test the capabilities of the tentacle arm. I tried extending it is far as I could and it seems to be able to reach about 5 meters. It is also quite stronger compared to my normal transformed arm. What else should I do? I practiced controlling the three tentacles in the arm separately and it is quite easy, it is as if I am just moving my fingers. I then grabbed a knife in the kitchen and tried slashing the tentacles but not too deep. It actually hurts and bleeds a lot but when I untransformed my arm, the pain is gone and so does the wound. So I brought the tentacle arm back and cut off an entire tentacle and it wriggles even when severed, Gross.

“Damn!”

The words slipped off my mouth due to the pain but when I reverted my arm to my normal transformed arm, my fingers are complete. It seems that I can use this to my advantage by using my tentacle arm as a shield. So my powers are quite useful after all. If only I could copy more powers and able to materialize it in both arms, I can be like ridiculously strong! Damn, I’m getting over confident.

“What else…”

I uttered as I was thinking other things to test but I can’t come up with one. I just grabbed the knife I used to cut my tentacles then put it in its sheath. I then grabbed some cloth from my room and wrapped it around my torso with the knife beneath it. A weapon is also important especially since one of my hands cannot transform. I put my clothes back and looked at the mirror. I turned around to see if the knife can be seen through my clothes. It does not look like I am carrying anything, that’s good.

Now my problem is that I need to copy more powers by touching a specter’s body but if I found one, it will probably result into a battle and I want to avoid it as much as possible, I am new to this after all. I do not know how strong other specters are, that octopus back then might even be compared to a slime in a game. It will be even more dangerous if I stumble upon a king candidate. Damn, what should I do?

After thinking long and hard, I decided to just rest for the day. I am quite exhausted after all and tomorrow is also a weekend so I think I have so much time to think about things. I just took a bath, went to my room then into my bed and slept, even though it is still quite early.

It is now morning, I got out of my room to get some fresh air to relax me a bit. I walk the streets alone looking up into the sky every now and then; the weather is good after all. The thing is I don’t really have a place to go to so I just roam around without direction. I then reached a crowded place which seems to be the market district. The crowd disgusts me but since I am here, I should take a look around.

While walking the streets, I saw something strange. It looks like a small, magical dome and people just seem to normally pass through it. If I compare it to games, it is more like a warping something. I came closer to inspect. I touched it my hand then it sucked me in. I then found myself in a place full of ruined buildings; it is as if it was bombarded.

I looked back to see if there was an exit from where I came from but there seems to be none. I then heard a loud sound and I think it is quite near. I headed to the direction of the sound and the place was covered in dust, I hid myself in one of rubbles as I see monsters fighting each other. It is a two versus one fight. One looks like a huge white were-tiger, it seems to be more than two meters tall and wearing a large furry vest. On the other side, there seems to be two bat like creatures, the black one looks stronger since it has larger wings and sharp claws while the brown one has a very large mouth, it is disgusting as saliva drips from it.

So is this place was made to be a battlefield? Hmmm…. I think it is a good opportunity for me, If I can just jump out when one side is already on the verge of defeat, I can make him an ally while copying three powers. This is great! It would seem that the one struggling is the giant tiger since it seems to be a close range attacker and the other two are flying while attacking from a distance. I should watch a bit longer before jumping in.