"Irwiz?"
Irwiz heard Rera's call from her.
But he didn't answer immediately, since new things have been introduced.
First off, he has awakened to the Abyss pathway of this world with a strange title. Slumbering God's Sanctuary?
Maybe it was the Madness God that the Madness Cult followed.
Secondly, some form of storyline missions had been introduced to him.
This has been feeling like a game for a while now. Game panels, missions, in store currencies, a buff that only you can be privy to, such things really did make him feel like all this was a game.
Now, "storyline unlocked"? Destroy the city of Evelyn?
Hahahahaha, such a crazy design this game was.
All of this world building just for him? Or perhaps, these servants of fate were all the players in some sort of simulation?
Or perhaps he would be schizo by thinking that, actually just being all alone.
However, Irwiz knew one thing.
This world was 'real'.
Up til now, he fully remembered everything that happened.
He didn't forget the homeless man that died by stabbing to his abdomen when he first arrived here. He neither forgot about the severe pang of hunger that hit him within a day, or those disgusting little rats crawling up his skin, and biting it apart while he tried to sleep.
He still remembered the severe disillusionment seeing the vicious glares of those filthy sewer rats coming after him.
At the time, he barely even had any strength to fend off those monsters. If not for the boss that found him, he might have just become just another child dying in the slums on that day.
In fact, he was an incredibly ungrateful child who had murdered his savior in cold blood, purely based on intuition and an illogical panel that came out.
Of course, it mattered that the purpose turned out to be right, but he was still a vicious bastard for doing that to his benefactor who saved his life, at that moment.
And he fully enjoyed the process as well.
This world was real, at least to him. If he was fully capable of only perceiving this reality, why would he want to meddle with something else?
Even if he wants to chase the truth, Irwiz reckoned he needed to be of certain status or strength.
Well anyways, Irwiz still remembered those streaks of pain and madness that flowed into his mind. At that moment, he even seemed to relate a bit to the chants of those cultists he had heard.
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but get goosebumps. It was really getting into his head, good thing somehow it was suppressed.
Anyway, there was one more thing.
[You have become eligible for more privileges.]
[New privileges: Use Fate Points to gain access to knowledge. The price will be determined based on an equivalent exchange system.]
Hmm? That meant he could ask the system how to go back to his homeworld?
Not that he wanted to anyways. But he'll try it next time.
For now, they had to get out of here.
"Rera" Irwiz uttered from his mouth.
But for a moment there, he almost didn't believe his own voice. This was not his voice.
His voice was very hoarse, and sounded more like a sequence of muffles and low roars instead of what a human should sound like.
"Irwiz, is that you?" Rera asked again, this time more cautious. But in order to assure her, Irwiz used the safe word.
"Apple, Rera, the word is Apple" this time, he tried to pinch his voice as high as he can. He barely sounded like a very hoarse sounding old man.
It clearly contrasted with his appearance of a young boy... wait was his appearance the same?
Irwiz took a look at his hands quickly. What greeted him indeed was not the usual human hands that should belong to a normal human child.
It was full of spots in some areas, along with some little spikes that protruded from the skin.
He wasn't disgusted with the sight.
'Really, I am not a human.' Irwiz laughed to himself. However, he could also sense the existence of abilities he didn't have before.
Such as, his hearing had improved.
Irwiz felt like he could go perfectly fine without eyesight, distinguishing using the vibrations on the ground, along with hearing to distinguish the locations of things.
There were more he didn't explore yet though.
Then, he replied to Rera's question.
"I am me, Rera. I just became..."
"Became what?" Rera's voice seemed to trepidate.
After all, she saw what expression was on Irwiz's face right now.
"A mystic" Irwiz finished his sentence. Rigt now, indeed, his face was full of smiles, enough to creep a person out.
Even though, all he felt at this moment was happiness, he felt a slither of madness hiding behind it all. He could feel that his emotions were getting amplified by this exact madness.
Instantly, the big smile on his face started to fade away, beginning to be replaced with a contemplative look.
'It's a problem' Irwiz thought.
What use was this except intensifying his emotions? Of course, it could be useful in certain areas, such as feeling life more vibrantly, but Irwiz had long grown past such useless things back in his home world.
He had become indifferent to a lot of things, not because he was forced to, but because he deemed them to be useless.
Especially in this world, he didn't feel like growing much attached to it either.
"Let's escape tonight. I sense a good opportunity" Irwiz shared his thoughts with Rera, which she promptly accepted.