MC 2

I didn't imagine my first encounter would be as bitter as this; I forgot this bastard was a severe siscon. Moreover, this bastard MC of the novel dares to use appraisal on us. I felt the same sort of disgusting mana sipping on me, though I didn't block it. After all, it might lower the MC guard.

Barrion definitely sensed Arlan's use of appraisal on him, though he didn't mind it. As for Vivian and Eu, they felt uncomfortable. Just like that, I'm unable to stop myself from lashing out at the world's so-called main character.

This brings us to the current situation.

"Hey, where are we going?"

Looking back, I see the MC grumbling as he walks. If this gets any longer, I might not keep myself from punching him in the face.

As I didn't sense any presence in the surroundings, I halted my feet. We were behind the mansion, with trees in our surroundings to hide us. With the others already inside, no one will stop me from killing...I mean, no one will interrupt us.

I sit on the ground with my butt touching the ground while laying my back on the wall to support me. "We're already mature enough, so let's talk calmly," I say, patting the ground beside me. "Have a seat."

"Matured? We're just kids, you know?" Though MC walked beside me, he refused to sit on the ground and played cool by putting his back on the wall and crossing his arms. "Most importantly, what are you on about? If this is not important, I'd head inside."

You're saying that, but you're trying to act mature right now. Hypocrite as always, huh? Heaving a sigh, I decide not to drag this on any longer.

"There's no reason for you to raise your guard. "Rising the corner of my lips, I look straight at Arlan... "After all, you already looked into my status."

Arlan jumps back, meters away, with his eyes widening. "Wha…? No, wait…What are you talking about?"

"Don't act dumb; I've sensed you using it earlier."

"Huh?" He scoffs, rolling his eyes. "What nonsense are you talking about? There's no way a kid like you could do that."

Just like how I remember him, he acts like an older person to those around him. He’s a reincarnator indeed, though he's denser than any human could be.

"I'm not a kid…inside at least." I rose from my seat, standing toe to toe with the main character of this world. I'm a bit annoyed at how he is a bit taller than me, but I try not to break the character. "Let's not make a fool of ourselves…We are both reincarnators."

"You bastard, who are you?!"

He jumped away, exploding a shockwave out of his body. As a barrier appeared around his body, he held out his fist. A black mana emerges from him, threatening to destroy the enemy.

2 years after he acquired the system, and this is him now.

"You do not belong in the storyline; why are you getting involved with them?!!" He roared, his eyes burning with conviction and hatred for his beloved game. "You're going to destroy the scenario."

"Enough…"

Gust of wind silently explodes in the surrounding area. The power that the Mc's exerted was blown away. I already blocked his mana, so no one should have sensed it.

2 years, and that is all he got; his character was fairly stupid. He refused to get involved with the story; initially, that's why he hasn't done anything noteworthy ever since he regained his memory. He'll light a fire in his own butt later on anyway.

I don't know how much of my power was leaking, but it's already caused MC to freeze on his feet.

Unlike you, who spend your time without caring about the world just because you think you don't have anything to do with it, the protagonist was going to solve everything. That's how you think, but I'm different. I have been preparing myself to meet you.

I step closer to MC, enough for me to reach him.

"You should behave yourself." With just my right hand, I destroy his barrier. "You're weak…"

"Are you an idiot?! You're supposed to be making allies, not nemesis!!"

At that moment, the voice of my beloved master rang in my head. It was so close that I could feel the master pinching my back. Well, she's behind me after all. I'm impressed; no one catches her presence, not even the system of MC. But master, you can stop. It's starting to get stingy.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Well, let's get along." Enduring the pain, I patted MC's shoulder, retracting my mana. "We are in the same boat; there is no reason to be against each other."

Smiling, I removed my hand from MC's shoulder and used it to tap away my master hand that had been pinching me.

While I'm busy, MC's face contorts in hatred. "Same boat?! You have the guts to say that when you're getting involved in the scenario!!"

"Scenario..?"

Ahh, this idiot firmly believes this is the game world. Saying that no one should get involved in the scenario, though that's the biggest sham. Even if some are accidents, he still messes up the whole storyline. Stealing the protagonist's harem, plot, and even the entirety of the protagonist's identity. It should be; no one should get involved with the scenario aside from you.

In the end, he's the one who will set the early destruction of Araeh, and other worlds. Is this why the other readers, including my brother in my past life, suggested killing him?

It's irritating to listen to some goody-to-shoes, but listening to this hypocrite will make my ears bleed. He doesn't like the good personality of the protagonist, but he's no better. I feel stupid for cheering for this guy before.

But killing him is not a solution either, if I want the real protagonist to have a better ending.

If it is like this, maybe I should open his eyes a bit.

"You're really fucking dense, or perhaps a straight-up idiot." I glare at him with mixed disgust. "Do you really think this is the world of the game?"

"What do you know?!" he squinted his eyes, though his eyes were obviously looking for a solution through the system.

You’ll not find anything there yet.

I can feel Master pinching my skin, but I decide to ignore it for now.

“I might not play the game, but I do know about it." As he still couldn't stand up from the earlier pressure, I gave him an icy glare. "I also know what the second installment is all about."

"What?!" MC widens his eyes. Realizing that he shouldn’t have done that, he coughed several times. “Well, what about it?”

It's only natural; he's flabbergasted. He doesn't know anything about the second part of his favorite game. However, my knowledge didn't come from the game he knew of, but from the novel where his supposed future was written. He only learns a portion of it through fellow reincarnators from his world. The storyline was a bit dreaded at that point, so he tortured his way out of some of it.

"Also, you know? A novel I read in my past life was not just connected to this place... but also took place in this world at the same time." My lips arch as I see his face in confusion.

"Wha? Impossible!! That can't be!"

"The scenario you know was already fucked up." Seeing the MC was in disarray, I walked past him, tapping his back lightly. "Btw, I will be going to the protagonist's place later. See yah."

"What! You're also planning to get involved with him!!" MC's voice became louder. "What if it's affecting the future?!"

I wave my hand without turning my back. "Don't worry! I just want to be friends with the protagonist!"

You've got nothing to worry about. You can steal everything from the protagonist, as you ought to.

However, I'll keep the protagonist to myself.

Though this makes me think of something.

"Master." Away from the sight of others, I called my master, who was visibly pouting.

“Are you done ignoring your master?” She crossed her arms, turning her face away from me.

"I'm really sorry, master…" I put my palms together, begging forgiveness from my only master.

“Anyway, you have something to ask, right?” She still has a pout on her cheeks but is willing to listen to me.

I’ll coax her later.

Putting that thought aside, I gaze at the vast sky above. "Master, is it possible for someone from the same Earth as me—no, someone who also knew the novel—to be in this world as well?"

"Yeah, it's not something that solely belongs to you." Master answers with a matter-of-fact tone. “That novel was intentionally scattered through different worlds.”

Masters smiled warily, with a slight hesitation, she opened her mouth. “That novel even reached my world…”

After a year with my master, I got to know she was from a different world. She got mixed up here through the Leyline years ago.

The same newspaper where I realized this is the world told by the novel that contains reports of the demise of a word. That's my master's world. Each time her world was mentioned, Master's heart became clouded. That’s why I don’t bring up the subject regarding that.

“Kuhum…” I tactfully coughed to shift back the track of the conversation. "If someone like that were to end up here, would they choose to kill The MC? Or I'm the only one that wants them to team up?"

“What would you do if they were really going to kill him?”

“I'll kill them, if there's someone to kill the MC, that would be me. I bet he’s thinking the same for me….”

It’s a great motivation for him to try to get stronger early.

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Arlan's pov:

Ping*Ping*Ping* Ping*Ping*Ping* Ping*Ping*Ping* Ping*Ping*Ping* Ping*Ping*Ping* Ping*Ping*Ping* Ping*Ping*Ping* Ping*Ping*Ping* Ping*Ping*Ping* Ping*Ping*Ping*

The same alarm reverberates in my head nonstop as I watch Carus's figure disappear from afar.

Ping*Ping*Ping*

Looking at the flooding screen in my surroundings, it only says the same thing over and over again.

[Warning: An outside variable in the world was detected, warning of possible danger.] [Caution was highly advised.]

To think, there's another like me. Despite his average status, he’s stronger. Is he concealing his real status, or does the system have a defect?

Also, why does he not possess the same titles as I do?

It doesn't matter, I now realize. I need to get stronger. I don't know if his words were true, nor do I have a way to confirm them.

But I've got to get stronger, no matter what. If the storyline were really thrown in a spiral, I would need the power to complete the game and kill the final boss myself if the protagonist was deemed useless.

"For that guy as well..."

If the day comes, he endangers everyone.

I will kill him with my own hands.

***

In the white world, the complete figure of four people can be seen once again. Each sitting in their respective seat, while the earlier occurrence played back.

"So, even now, we have no idea where the system that helped Arlan originated?" asked Oscar with the same heavy eyes on his face.

"Indeed, I have been searching in all sorts of places with no avail," Alaric responds, holding his temple in visible exhaustion.

"We don't have a single clue about that system since the new future was discovered," the woman with the blurry face affirms. "It might also be connected to the first leak of the original future to the other world."

"Mhm, yeah. My Caru seems stronger now, hehe." Lhifhina was enjoying the displays in front of her, which show Carus's interaction with Arlan and his previous training in dungeons.

The three of them looked at Lhifhina at the same time, though none of them could utter a single word. Lhifhina didn't seem to have interest in their current topic, so they all nodded together wordlessly.

At that moment, the words that left Lhifiana's mouth caused their interest to shift.

"Why does most of this clip seem incomplete?"

Alaric strokes his beard. "Well, maybe because Vivian Dungeon has high cancellation."

"Also, like the possibility, the recording was mostly blurred or entirely cut. Maybe because this orb works on the same principle as the tree, "the woman across Lhina added. "However, this time, it's much worse than usual."

"Is the brat hiding it himself or something?" Oscar blurted out as the surroundings turned silent.

Alaric guffawed. "That's unlikely; I'll bow before that brat if that's ever the case."

"You need the ability to interfere with reality and the rules of the world to fool the tree and this orb." Even the faceless woman shares the same view. "And the only individuals that can pull that off in this world are all in this place."

"I agree, my Caru; I don't have that sort of ability yet." With a soft smile on her face, Lhifhina concurs. "And I already let him know he's being watched, which he's fine with."

Alaric expressed another doubt that had been lingering in his mind. "That wouldn't change the fact that he's gaining strength exponentially. Is someone helping him?"

"What is this? Another force like the system?" Oscar groans.

"None that we know of." Even the mysterious woman was at a loss.

While they're lost in their thoughts, Lhifhina alone has a carefree smile on her face.

"Maybe Caru found himself a girlfriend?