Alice adhered to Rain’s wants. She wiped away her mien of sympathy, replacing it with her usual stoic outlook as she proceeded to say, “No one knows exactly who or what the Benefactors are. Only that they offer great power beyond what the Plexus offers us.”

Rain’s eyes narrowed, his smile long faded from his face and his hand gently stroking Sean’s hair as the boy leaned into him. “Great power?”

“Yes.” Alice nodded. “It’s referred to as a Privilege. And I know I said ‘us’, but not all of humanity has the ability to catch the interests of the Benefactors. Revelation has been rigged in the favor of some over others.”

Revelation. Rain recalled that from the opening Plexus message he’d seen—it had even been the first thing. It was apparently the name given to the occurring scenario, from the look of things.

He, as well, remembered that the Benefactor thingy was also amongst the messages. It had said no Benefactor was currently interested in him.

The way that message was composed stood out to him now that he was in a conversation focused on it. And it was not in a good way.

“These Benefactors… are they sort of human-like?” Rain asked, his mind whirling through various forms of conspiracies that were all quite far-fetched as his chest tightened.

“Yes,” Alice answered, and Rain sensed something bubbling within him slowly. He was not sure what it was yet, but he was sure of the ‘Benefactors’ being the trigger. “Faction Leader… of the GEF, likens them to higher entities…”

“Gods~” Sean chimed in with a mellow tone. Rain’s stroking of his hair paused for a moment then, but resumed quickly. The boy’s word had made him realize what sort of feeling he was having towards these Benefactors. It was despise.

Higher entities that could grant humans powers? It was obvious that they had a hand in the ruins the earth had become. Now that he knew what they were, he hoped they would never take an interest in him—ever.

“Maybe,” said Alice. “Maybe not. Like I said, no one knows who or what they are. Anything you hear is merely speculation.”

“You said some humans are favored with powers from the Benefactors over others, what did you mean?”

The candle Alice held was almost at its life’s end now. She glanced at it and Rain saw on her face that she was thinking of the time she’d wasted here bringing out her words bit by bit.

With the way the world was currently, everything was in low amounts, so wasting resources wasn’t the best of options. She was also yet to mark the route they would follow to Manchester, and now she would have to light another candle for it. That was even if she had another. Rain had no doubt she did though.

All of a sudden, a question wandered into his head, causing him to widen his eyes slightly.

Wait, Manchester? How did she end up here from her faction in Manchester alone? He wanted to ask, but out of consideration for her resources he decided to save it for later.

“You received a Role from the Plexus, didn’t you?” Alice answered the question Rain had posed to her. When he nodded, she continued, “I’m not going to ask what your Role is, but—”

“Side Character,” Rain blurted, dazing Alice in return.

“You can’t just say that,” she said with a pensive expression.

He knew why she was complaining. She had told him not to trust others after all. And the way their conversation was going, it was obvious that a person’s Plexus could not be seen by someone else; if that was possible, Alice’s warnings would have been different—the way she worded her words too. But he had chosen to trust her. And besides…

“Why can’t I?” Rain said, nudging a brow down. “We’re going to be traveling together, right? Then wouldn’t it be good to know a little bit of one another? How are we going to survive in a battle if we do not at least know the extent of each other’s strengths?”

Her expression changed slightly. She knew he was right.

Alice sighed, and was about to talk when Sean’s voice overshadowed hers. “I’m a Protagonist!”

“Sean!” Alice roared, and the boy shivered.

Rain chuckled, caressing the boy’s hair. “You shouldn’t say that to just anyone, you know?” Hypocrite. “Your guardian doesn’t like it either.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“But I think you’re trustworthy,” said Sean with an expression of lost vigor.

“Kids are always right,” Rain consoled. “But the guardians are righter.” He winked and Sean smiled. Then he turned back to see Alice with a shut eyes, apparently trying to calm herself down. “So, how are the favored ones chosen? You mentioned the Roles after, so I guess it’s from there, right?”

Alice opened her eyes, a substantial amount of her fury had dwindled out, but the gaze she directed at Rain made it seem as though she no longer wanted to answer his questions. Rain wasn’t bothered though; he was sure she would answer.

And she did. “Protagonists and Deuteragonists.”

Rain blinked. “They’re the only ones that can be favored by these Benefactors?” Alice nodded, and instantly Rain’s eyes shifted towards Sean. “You’re favored?”

“Huh?” Sean looked dumbfounded. He seemed to glance at Alice before muttering, “I-I’m not sure.”

“He’s not,” Alice answered in the boy’s stead.

“Why?” Rain asked. “He’s a Protagonist, right?”

“Yes,” said Alice. “But he just woke up. Benefactors don’t go after those who have not proven their resilience in this world.”

Rain was not having it though. If those Benefactors were really human-like then that meant they were unpredictable. One could have seen something in this boy and, just like an investment, bestowed him with their Privilege.

“How are you so sure?” Rain chose to voice his opinion on the matter. “He could be a special case. Or do the Benefactors have anything to lose by giving their Privileges early to someone?”

This was the only reason Rain could think of that could prevent the Benefactors from granting a person their Privileges. But if there was nothing to lose…

“No; I doubt they do,” Alice answered somewhat hesitantly, and all Rain’s face muscles relaxed.

“Then all the more reason that it’s possible he’s a chosen one or something.”

“Well, he’s not,” Alice shot back. “He said it himself that the Benefactor and Privilege sections are blank.”

Alice looked at Sean, and Rain did too. The boy nodded stiffly.

Rain’s eyes narrowed at that for a moment, after which he relaxed, accepting that he’d lost that little tussle of words.

I guess you’ve already lectured him on the Plexus, then; well, that’s good.

In the end, his whole back and forth with Alice was simply because he felt inclined to win the argument, nothing more. It was not like if Sean actually possessed a Privilege he could lend its powers or something. He didn’t even want to.

Alice continued in something of a hurry, “Anyways, back to my initial warning. Going out into the dark of night without a Benefactor is suicide. Even those with Benefactors are not advised to.” The latter words felt like they were precisely for Sean.

As for Rain, none of what she’d said was convincing enough for him—yet.

“What comes out in the dark?” His question was direct, but rightfully so.

What ruled the current version of earth were mutated monsters, which meant only something worse than them could strike such fear in the hearts of humans.

Alice, on the other hand, had already called to Sean for them to return back to their side of the store, the utilities section, when Rain paused her movement with his question. She decided to answer him.

“The fog, and with it: Wraiths,” she said, “mysterious beings that attack in droves and have no physical body that can be harmed directly. Without a Benefactor and their Privilege you cannot fight or escape from them unscathed, no matter how powerful your Attributes are. And once you have been cut, even if a tiny bit, your life will surely end. Their fangs and claws are poisonous, nothing can save anyone who has been infected.

“Furthermore, the fog that announces the arrival of the Wraiths deals a significant blow to a person’s sense of sight, smell, and hearing. That is why those who have Benefactors are as well not advised to venture into the night, despite their immense power. After all, how do you fight something you can’t see, smell, or hear?”

Rain’s stomach turned rock hard at Alice’s explanation.

They were truly very dangerous beings. No. It was not only the Wraiths, the fog too. The night in its whole was truly dangerous. The Durability he prided himself on would be useless before the Wraiths; and what’s more, he could not attack them. It was crazy.

He recalled how the moonlight making it into his hospital room had been dulled by something mist-like. This was the reason. The fog.

Man, thank goodness my body was weak; I would have left the hospital otherwise.

Still, that was not enough to keep him from venturing to his home.

Simply asking Alice to hold on for him when morning came would have been the best thing to do, but, first of all, he did not want to be a burden and slow down the progress of others for his own sake; and secondly, he was not sure how long he would take. He had to factor unpredictability to everything he was doing.

At the end of the day he had only one option left. Ride the storm to his home.

With a smile Rain said to Alice and Sean who were already on the verge of heading back to the utilities aisle, “Do not forget the map, please. And thank you for your piece of advice; because of it I now know the dangers of night, so I intend to make it back before then.”

Alice was silent for a second, then she turned around, concern all over her face. Although, it was only for a moment, as curiosity washed over it a second later. “If you don’t mind, I have a question.”

“Shoot,” Rain replied.

“What purpose do you hope to achieve by going to a place that’s obviously empty and in ruins?”

Rain didn’t think about an answer to that question since he already had one which had never once wavered or become shadowed by something else. Instantly he told Alice, “My purpose? It’s honestly nothing quite grand. I just want myself back.”