“Great! We would LOVE to join with you!”

I had already told Ariel to just go with what I’m doing for now through telepathy. I obviously had no intentions to join this group of people, and they obviously had no intentions for letting us simply join. If they ‘just wanted to talk’ then a small group of people would have approached us normally instead of a group of unique ability holders surrounding us while staying invisible.

This all felt like ‘if you are not with us, you are against us’.

The plan I came up with for now was to reduce the stress levels in the vicinity. If they relaxed a bit and lowered their guards I would have a much easier time getting away from this unscathed, which is why I acted like an idiot and immediately agreed to join.

I knew from experience that the best way to lower another person's guard is to make them believe that they are smarter than you. That being said, you can’t appear too stupid otherwise they will just think you are acting and the other party will remain suspicious of you as a result. It’s a fine line between maintaining that the other person is smarter than you and making them suspicious of your unnatural stupidity.

I ignored the dumbfounded expression on the old lady in front of me as she certainly wasn’t expecting me to agree to join them, and continued as if nothing was wrong, “Though why are you guys surrounding the both of us like this? And why are the rest of your group staying invisible?” I asked while looking confused as I stared at my surroundings.

Those two questions showed that while I was stupid, I wasn’t so dense that I couldn’t pick up on the uncomfortable environment me and Ariel were currently in. At the same time I was idiotic enough to not comprehend the meaning behind their actions. I think this should be a good start for my ‘stupid-but-not-so-stupid’ act.

The old lady in front of me got over her initial surprise and smiled kindly, then spoke up, “Excellent! We welcome you to our group! But before that I do have a few questions if you don’t mind my asking them?”

She ignored my question about why they were invisible and surrounding us and spoke as if she were speaking to a small child. Crap, did I overdo my idiotic act? Will have to dial it down a notch...

“Of course! Please, feel free to ask whatever you want.”

“Firstly, you should know that we have an ability user who can tell if you are lying or not. So it would be best if you speak the truth.”

Damn, why didn’t I check this beforehand? I tried searching for who had an ability similar to my ‘True Sight’ ability through ability identification but I came up with nothing. All around me the unique ability users mainly had abilities that would allow them to fight me.

Did she just call a bluff? Or is there something else going on here? Do they perhaps have someone who can tell all the abilities I have ‘absorbed’, and thus they are testing me if I will use my identification or True sight abilities or not? Hmmm…. this is worrying…

“Really? But you should know I have an ability called ‘ability Identification’ that allows me to see what kind of abilities you all have, but I don’t seem to be able to see anyone with an ability to tell if I am lying or not…” I tilted my head in puzzlement and did my best to show that I really was perplexed by all this.

The probability of them having someone who can also use some kind of identification ability is high. How else could it be explained why a group who only had people with unique abilities in it would suddenly appear on a rooftop which just so happened to have two unique ability holders? They already must know about the abilities of me and Ariel, which is why they are here trying to ‘recruit’ us.

Though I can’t be sure whether they only know about my ‘absorption’ ability or if they know every single one of the abilities I have absorbed so far. If they know all the details then this is seriously disturbing! The possibility of them knowing about the details of my absorbed abilities is high, which is why I decided to reveal about my identification ability.

This will again serve as a means of lowering their guards. I revealed one of my abilities without any prompting from their side, which means that I am an idiot who doesn’t realise that I should probably keep my abilities hidden. It will also give me a chance to learn if they know details about my absorbed abilities or not.

The expressions of the woman in front of me changed into a knowing-kind of smile, and I immediately knew that she was already aware of all my abilities from her expression! She then lifted her head and gave a nod, and instantly a group of 5 appeared beside the woman!

I immediately used ability identification on the 5 new arrivals and saw to my dismay the thing I was dreading.

Target ability identified. Target has the unique ability: Detailed Search. This ability allows the person to get detailed information of anything he searches for.

I had to work hard on not changing my expressions into one of dread or anger, instead I changed my expression to one of worry. I was worried as it is, and the presence of the nerdy Japanese guy standing next to the old woman who I found out had the ability of:

Target ability identified. Target has the ability: lie-detector. This allows the target to detect all lies.

made my worry spike even more. Even though this wasn’t a unique ability, it will still make this conversation difficult for me. ‘Time to take your acting to the next gear, Ben’ I thought.

“Oh, so you guys know about my ability. I see why all of you have surrounded us. You all must think of me as a horrible person.” I said as I hung my head in fake-shame. I was counting on the fact that the Japanese guy could only spot lies, and not deception. There are plenty of ways to deceive someone without actually lying to them, so I would just have to bend the truth a little to make the conversation go my way. If the Japanese guy can spot deception as well, then this is getting more and more impossible by the second!

“Yes, we do know all about your abilities. Which is why we have to ask a few questions regarding the disturbing nature of your ability.” The old lady said.

I made a show of clenching my fists and said in a deeply troubled voice, “I know everyone thinks it is disgusting, I did at first too! But I did what I had to do to survive! Can you really blame me for that?!”

The gazes of the people first shifted to the Japanese guy, and he nodded and then they all shifted back towards me again, though there was less hostility in their eyes now. Seems like the Japanese guy can’t spot deception! And my act of ‘being troubled with my own ability’ worked as well!

But, I still need to be careful. I can’t get careless as I still have to make sure I speak the truth while also making sure that the conversation goes where I intend it to go!

“Fine, we don’t blame you. The abilities were all randomly given after all.” Random? I think they haven’t yet realised that the abilities have some sort of connection to the person’s personality. I made a show of relaxing my face and breathing a sigh of relief as the old woman gave me a smile and continued, “But we do have to know if you have ever killed a human!”

Before I could get a word out Ariel spoke up from beside me!

“Yes, he has. I spent a good few months as a captive before Ben here came and saved me. He got too angry at what he saw and he couldn’t help but kill some of them! He only did it to save me and a few other girls! I killed some too when I got free! The things they did to me… Let’s just say I have not lost a single second of sleep over killing them and I never will!”

Wow, Ariel! Damn girl! Good going!

I have no idea if she is acting but if she is then I have to give her props on how her eyes are glaring and how her voice was so determined it left no room for doubt! I quickly followed by making a dark expression as if the memory of that day still haunted me.

“And can those of you who are invisible please become visible again! It is pissing me off that you guys are treating us as some sort of criminals! And the fact that you are invisible is simply creeping me out! If you want to surround us go ahead, but just become visible again!” Ariel continued on.

I scanned the looks of the crowd as everyone was taken aback by the sudden outburst from the girl whom they had thought was just some sort of background character. It felt as if I was someone who was following Ariel around, and not the other way around, as so far I had acted meek and idiotic while Ariel, being Ariel, was full of fire and determination.

The old lady got over her surprise, made sure by asking us not to attack anyone and confirming it with the Japanese lie-detector when we said we won’t and finally gestured with her hand. Everyone surrounding us became visible again as they slowly walked past while giving me glares and came to a stop around the old lady, keeping her in the center.

“Finally, we need to ask you about your meeting with a dragon two days ago.” The old lady said fixing me with a glare.

Damn! They even know about Fiora?! Were they following me? This is too creepy!

……

Wait a minute…. this is actually good! I can use this to get rid of these scumbags while at the same time gaining their help!

I started off by telling them about my meeting with Fiora. I obviously didn’t reveal all my thoughts but just gave them the overview, while also making sure that nothing I was saying was a lie.

I didn't mention anything about the revelation that I could potentially absorb unique abilities from monsters or what Fiora said about the world changing. When I got to the point about the mark I made an expression as if I had suddenly realised something and paused my explanation…

….

“What? What’s wrong?” Asked the old lady as I was still pretending to have realised something incredible and alarming.

I made a show of pretending to be disturbed and hesitating before I finally ‘made up my mind’ and started telling them about the mark.

Ignoring their looks of shock about the implications of me being branded with a ‘death mark’, I finished off by saying:

“I don’t think it will be a smart idea for me to join up with you guys after all. The mark allows the dragon to keep track of my whereabouts at all times, which means that there is a possibility of people near me being in danger in case the dragon ever comes near me! I’m sorry but I think it’s best if we stay apart for now, at least for as long as the dragon is still out there.” I finished up by looking crestfallen and sad.

The best thing about starting off anything with ‘there’s a possibility’ is that apart from impossible things, there is ALWAYS a possibility of something happening. I’m sure Fiora won’t come down near me, if she wants to harm me she will just kill me with the mark and if she wants to speak with me she will make me go to her instead of coming near me herself. But, is there a possibility that she could decide to come here? Yes, absolutely! Which makes the words I have spoken to be the truth!

All of the group started discussing in low voices about what to do or not to do before a burly man spoke up in a loud voice, “You think we care about you? Just give us the girl. Her ability is what we want the most! You can do whatever else you want!”

I quickly used identification and found out that he had ‘invincibility’ as an ability. I thanked him in my mind for his utter stupidity before I made a look of incredulous anger and spoke up with as much anger as I could fake in my voice…

“Listen here! She isn’t some property of mine that I can just ‘give away’! She is a human being! If she wants to go with you it is her decision and I won’t stop her, but if you think for even one second that I am going to let you to force her to go then we are going to have a fight on our hands!”

I proceeded to stand up in front of Ariel and glared at the burly idiot.

Obviously, I had no intentions of fighting against them. If they did want to force her to go, I would let them take her. Sure, she is useful for her ability but is she worth enough for me to risk my life by fighting against these unique ability assholes? No… Not yet anyway…

But, I did have to capitalize on such a gift the burly man threw towards me. This show of me being protective of Ariel will make her hopefully trust me more, and at the same time it will show these idiots that I am not some disturbed psycho who goes around drinking blood to gain abilities but instead I actually care about my fellow companions! It will also make them think that they can use her against me in the future, which will make them more confident and thus increasing the chances of them leaving me alone.

I heard Ariel say from behind me, “I’m staying with him!” This was obviously going to be her answer. The way the burly idiot had spoken would obviously bring back past memories for her and she would never decide to go with such people. There was also that whole ‘I saved her and she feels obliged to pay me back’ thingie.

The invincible idiot made a step forward as if he actually was going to fight me for Ariel before the others stopped him and the old lady spoke up again, “Sorry about him, please don’t think we mean to imply that your companion is some sort of asset or anything. I apologize on behalf of this idiot, I really do! We won’t force either you or her to come join us, so please don’t be worried and there is absolutely no need to fight!”

It worked! Thank you, invincible idiot!

“I think we should leave now. We will try and keep in touch. Good luck on your mission!” said the old lady and they prepared to leave.

Not so fast, not on my watch!

“Wait!” I exclaimed as I pretended to struggle as if I wasn’t sure if I should ask what I wanted to ask or not. “Ummm… If you don’t mind, could you guys help me out by pointing me towards strong monsters…? I could kill them which would help humans by removing strong threats and at the same time I could gain a few strong abilities…” I fidgeted around as if I was nervous in asking this question.

The old lady immediately said, “Of course, we will be happy to help you! We will get someone to tell you through telepathy if we spot a powerful monster.” She smiled but I could see plenty of others behind her that didn’t agree with what she just said.

She bid farewell and they all vanished. I used ability identification in a wide area to make sure none of them were remaining, but it seemed as if they all really had teleported away.

I was glad that they were idiotic enough to agree to help me out, though I will have to change a few things in my plans. Firstly, I think if I ever come across a monster with a ‘unique’ ability I should store the blood in my pocket dimension somehow and keep it there to drink later. The guy who can know all details about my abilities is worrying and I need to keep the fact that I can absorb unique abilities a secret for now. I think I will keep storing the blood until I have collected a number of powerful abilities and then drink all of it at once when I am at a point where I can stand up to this group alone.

Secondly, I think I will have to go after James and my group of friends after all. If I am to face a mighty dragon while also keeping this group of assholes off my back I will need to have a few people I can trust to watch my back.

Yep, I think these changes will have to be done. For now this should be enough, but I will have to continuously keep thinking about other ways to keep this group away from me.

I turned around to face Ariel and she made a small smile towards me.

…..

She looked quite beautiful to be honest smiling like that under the sun on a rooftop…

….

Get a hold of yourself idiot! This isn’t the time! Focus on what you need to do! There’s a lot to think about!

I tore my gaze away from Ariel’s face and thought about whether I should head straight towards the university where my friends are or if I should do some hunting first…

___________________________________________________

(Third person’s perspective)

A group of people appeared out of thin air inside a previously abandoned warehouse. The warehouse was now starting to look more and more like a place where people were actively staying as it was now cleaner, had furniture like couches, coffee tables etc about and the huge round table at the center had a bunch of pages strewn across its surface.

As soon as the people arrived they all turned towards Anna and started asking questions or simply shouting at her. Most people wanted to know why she agreed to leave both the man and the woman alone, and on top of that even agreed to help the guy!

Silencing them all with a shout, Anna started speaking in a voice that suggested she was speaking to a bunch of stupid kids instead of grown up seemingly smart adults. She sighed before she spoke, “Don’t you all realise the benefits of our little ‘deal’? You all saw how, contrary to expectations, the guy wasn’t some kind of evil genius creep but instead he was a gullible and sensitive idiot! Which means we can use him!

We are all aware that the person with ‘steal’ is more powerful than this ‘absorption guy’ right now, on top of that the ‘steal’ ability is harmful for us whereas ‘absorption’ isn’t! This is the reason why I agreed to help that guy out instead of forcing him to join us.

We can help him get stronger and as a result he will think that he owes us. We can then use him when he is stronger and ask him to go and see this ‘steal’ person. If he refuses we can use the girl against him, you all saw how deeply he cared about her didn’t you? I’m sure there is something going on there!

We gain a useful idiotic ally and at the same time we don’t have to risk losing our own abilities by going after the ‘steal’ person!”

There was a moment of silence as everyone contemplated over Anna’s words. They all came to realise that what she said was true and in fact this way was so much better than what they had originally planned!

The discussions about today’s conversation carried on well into the night as they gleefully discussed about how they were so smart in manipulating a person to do their bidding while the said person was completely unaware of it all!

_____________________________

Author's note:

What did you guys think about the first interaction between Ben and the Council? Obviously there couldn't be a flashy all out battle at this point as the MC would have lost BADLY. Instead I tried to make it a sort of mental battle... Don't know how well I pulled it off though to be honest.

Let me know if anyone spots any mistakes!

Thank you very much for reading! :)