Perhaps it was magic. Perhaps it was knowing that with his skills, with his defensive treasure, with his abilities, Albert had nothing to fear from the strangers in the room. Perhaps it was due to what other-Albert hinted at in who knows which video, it was not important, about how having a strong sense of self was like being lost in a mirage. Albert didn’t know. But what he knew was that most of his fears were unfounded. Most of his ideas about the club being a dangerous place, being a bad place filled with bad people were wrong. Granted, there were weird individuals who were very drunk and were acting very strange. But he was drunk himself, perhaps as a way to avoid dealing with this strange place sober-minded, and he really didn’t think it was all that bad.
Well, there was also the fact that he could probably oneshot pretty much anyone with just a punch. With [Strengthening] active, of course. Even one of the security guys, for sure.
Would he come back here by himself for fun? No, obviously. But he would also not resist as much as he did if his friends asked him to return here again, or to go to another club for this or that event. It was fun, in a way. It was an escape, although he would rather be home to study magic to escape. He knew that he could not spend his days cooped up in his room or in a strange cave where the system sent him for the daily challenges.
It was surprisingly okay, as far as places went. It helped that Temalas city was a big city. There was little chance he would meet anyone he knew from middle or high school here, very little reason to be self-conscious. And what should he be self-conscious about? He was fit now. He was well dressed (his 200$ from the daily challenges had helped on this regard immensely). He had friends. Everything was going to be okay.
In fact, he was having a world of fun watching Colin fumble his way into Aubrey’s awareness from the sidelines together with Marc. They were sipping on one of those colored cocktails they give you in places like this, deafened by the music, blinded by the lights. His body seemed to move on his own with the beats of the song he didn’t know but that everyone else appeared to know by heart. He could just move his mouth and scream random words, enjoy the vibe. It’s not like anyone would notice him masking his lack of musical knowledge.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
He listened to other genres, but it dawned on him that his hate of pop music was more out of fear than actual dislike. True, he didn’t like it, but he didn’t hate it either. So many things learned about himself in one night, he thought with a smile. Perhaps it was thanks to the system, that had pushed him to meditate many hours a day in an attempt to master whatever magic he wanted to learn that day, with the side effect of training his mind to be more open and observant of itself.
Perhaps. Perhaps not. It was not the time to wonder, with so much alcohol in his body.
“Hey,” Marc elbowed him. “Who’s that guy? He’s been shadowing Aubrey ever since we got here.”
Albert strained his eyes in the darkness and intermittent lights. He almost used [Perception] without thinking but avoided the mistake at the last second. His alcohol-addled brain was even about to activate it at Level 5, and you know what problems using the max level of that skill caused him the last time he tried to use it. To do that here would be a grave mistake.
Colin seemed to be unaware of the man shadowing the girl he hoped to make into his girlfriend before the night was over. Perhaps it was just Marc being overly protective of his friend – the friend group was very tight and even though Aubrey had been the last to join, the four were very close. But right about when he was finally willing to let go of the matter and try to see if he could survive in the dance floor alone, Albert suddenly felt the immediate sobriety of adrenaline. Where was Aubrey? She was there a moment ago, but now he could not see her anywhere. It was like she disappeared right before his eyes, between one blink and the next.
Did the strange man take her away? He remembered seeing a glimpse of his face, and he was strange indeed. He was not a random guy at a club, was he? He was another magic user, his brain told him. A magic user who just kidnapped Aubrey in the blink of an eye right in the middle of a crowd, leaving no trace. Colin locked eyes with Albert for a moment, and Albert was immediately sure of what he was going to do. Seeing the confused expression on his friend’s face told him all he needed to know. Something was clearly wrong here.