Chapter 26: Skill Defect
Thomas woke up and saw new faces inside the room. When he heard what the psychotic woman said, panic surged through him, and he attempted to scream. However, his voice emerged muffled due to the cloth stuffed in his mouth.
Alex noticed that the man in the chair had regained consciousness and was desperately trying to convey something. Fear was etched across his face.
While his attention was on the man in the chair, Alex decided to use his [analyze] ability to find out who he was.
[Thomas Cain]
He could only find out the name of the person; he couldn't see any innate abilities or anything of that sort. Finding this situation absurd, Alex decided to sense him with his mana and found out that Thomas wasn't awakened.
'Wait, isn't this guy Thomas, Jack Reed's best friend?' Alex suddenly realized, his mind filled with questions.
While he was lost in his thoughts, he heard Agent Kirf's voice and turned his attention to him.
Agent Kirf commanded, "Quickly, finish it," and threw a dagger towards him.
Reacting swiftly, Alex evaded the dagger with a sidestep, assuming a defensive stance. But he soon realized that the dagger wasn't meant to kill him. So he composed himself and picked up the dagger from the ground.
"Is this really the guy whom you personally recruited?" Agent Kirf asked Agent Eris upon seeing Agent Silas' miserable state from the very beginning.
"Ah, sir, don't be deceived by his pitiful acting. He's quite the peculiar one," Agent Eris reassured.
"You recruited me," Alex intervened and forgot all about killing and the dagger he was holding in his hand.
Both Agent Kirf and Agent Eris looked at him quizzically.
'Your forgetfulness makes it even more interesting,' Agent Eris thought to herself.
"For some reason, you seem to not remember our interaction in the past," Agent Eris replied with a smile.
'The past... Did she interact with the original Alex?' Alex thought. 'I don't have the original Alex's memories.'
Alex grew frustrated and asked, "Who are you?"
Agent Eris grinned mischievously. "Ah, where's the fun if I told you that?"
"Fine, do you think I can't find out who you really are?" Alex smirked, then used his [analyze] ability.
[Due to artifact interference, the target's description cannot be perceived.]
'What?' Alex exclaimed. 'What do you mean there's interference?'
Alex couldn't believe it, so he tried repeatedly, but he still received the same error message.
Agent Eris watched as Alex's expression shifted from triumph to shock and then to frustration. Puzzled, she inquired, "What happened?"
She didn't get a response from Alex and noticed that he was in some kind of trance.
Giggling, Agent Eris remarked, "I don't know the reason, but it's quite amusing to witness your confidence crash within seconds."
Although Alex heard Agent Eris's giggle, he ignored it and tried to find a reason why his [analyze] ability wasn't working.
He tested it on Thomas to be sure. 'It's working on Thomas.' Then he tried to use it on Agent Kirf, but he got the same error message that he received from Agent Eris.
'So, it's not that my ability isn't working,' Alex concluded and wondered. 'Why can't I see both Agent Eris and Kirf's information? Is it because of the artifacts that the BW provides to its agents?'
Recalling the items that the BW had issued to all its agents, Alex remembered that they possessed the ability to camouflage the wearer's identity.
'But still, it's absurd that just because of some item's ability, my innate ability would stop working,' Alex couldn't help but think.
'What kind of shitty ability is this?' Alex lamented internally. However, a sudden realization struck him—every person he had encountered so far had some kind of defect related to their innate abilities.
For instance, Damien had a rank downgrade, and Violet had been experiencing constant pain whenever she was subjected to a lie.
'So, this is my skill defect: not perceiving individuals who have some kind of camouflage item,' Alex reached the conclusion.
Attempting to console himself, Alex thought, 'Well, at least it's not as bad as Damien and Violet.'
Then Alex shook his head and turned his attention toward Agent Eris. 'It's uncomfortable to know that someone else knows your true identity beneath the mask.'
Alex decided, 'I should try to investigate the original Alex's past.'
Alex snapped out of his reverie after hearing Agent Kirf once again.
Agent Kirf pointed at Thomas with a head motion. "Agent Silas, follow your orders," he commanded.
Alex couldn't believe it. 'Are they really expecting me to kill someone?' he thought and reflexively spoke.
"Sir, with all due respect, I cannot fulfill your order," Alex firmly stated.
Alex was not some kind of psycho who could kill people without batting an eye, and he wasn't even from this world. Where Alex came from, killing people was not normal. He had lived in that kind of environment for a long time, so it was absurd to expect him to kill someone with cold blood.
"What is your reason for not following my order?" Agent Kirf inquired, puzzled.
"Sir, throughout my entire life, I have never taken another person's life, and I refuse to start now. I am not a murderer," Alex declared with conviction.
After finishing his statement, Agent Kirf burst into laughter, while Agent Eris looked at Alex with a confused expression.
'What's so amusing about this?' Alex wondered, but he decided to let it slide. 'I suppose it might seem absurd to the people of this world.'
Agent Kirf composed himself and asked, "Agent Silas, correct me if I'm wrong, but are you implying that you have never killed anyone before?"
"Yes, sir," Alex replied.
'He isn't lying,' Agent Eris thought, growing even more confused. 'But his entire body and aura suggest otherwise.'
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone