Chapitre 6: The shadow
Shaun's attention was drawn to the shadow flickering at the edge of his vision. Quickly scanning the vicinity, he found nothing that could be the culprit. Frowning, he looked back at his notebook, only for the shadow to reappear. Turning once more, he was met with the same emptiness. A slight shiver ran down his spine.
Indonesia, if he could even call it that anymore, was no stranger to horror stories of vengeful ghosts and demonic entities. Most of those tales involved spirits who didn't take kindly to trespassers—much less those who had their homes relocated by a massive upheaval. Now, the idea of encountering one of those spirits here, high up on a mountain that was never supposed to exist, sent a chill down his spine.
Shaun stood still, listening intently. The air around him felt thick, as if the world itself was holding its breath. He could almost sense eyes on him, watching from the shadows, just beyond his sight. His heart pounded in his chest, the silence around him unnerving. Every rustle of leaves, every creak of the dilapidated building, sent spikes of fear through him.
"I didn't do anything! There was a giant... earthquake!?" he shouted, just in case some spirits were actually stirring, only to be met by mocking silence.
"I come in peace! The upheaval was a natural disaster—I didn't disturb any graves or anything, like in those old western movies!" He puffed out his chest, trying to inject some bravado into his wavering voice. He recalled something about making yourself look bigger to scare off predators—or maybe that was for bears…
As he contemplated his own ridiculousness, including the odd choice of citing western movies instead of local folklore, the pen he had been using earlier rolled off the table and clattered to the floor with a loud clack.
His heart leaped, and he instinctively curled into a ball, landing with a thud in a fetal position, his arms wrapped tightly around his head.
The silence stretched on, but the eerie feeling persisted, like a cold hand gripping the back of his neck. When he finally dared to look up, he was startled to find that the source of the shadow was not a ghost or spirit, but rather the status screen on his left forearm. It hovered there like a holographic ink blot, an alien thing in an all-too-real world.
[Name: Shaun]
[Age: 19]
[Organism type: Human male]
[Class: Trapper]
[Status: Mental trauma detected]
[Strength: 5]
[Durability: 5]
[Vitality: 4]
[Speed: 4]
[Dexterity: 5]
[Mentality: 3]
[Resistance:
Heat: 1
Cold: 1
Toxic: 0
Electricity: 0
Light: 0
Dark: 0]
[Skills:
Active: Wrap Trap
Passive: Feeding]
"Oh my God! It's the MC cheat!" Shaun's confusion was washed away by a mix of amazement and relief.
Later on, when he met other humans, Shaun would have to remind himself to do some 'editing' whenever this moment was mentioned. Mainly because, as he'd find out, everybody else got a much better system than his own. But more importantly, he swore that nobody would ever know that the relief from not having to deal with ghosts beat any other emotion by a long shot.
"System, please explain the points in the status page," Shaun requested. The silence was his only reply. Maybe it needed activation?
"System, turn on..." Shaun hesitated. "System, begin functions."
Nothing happened.
After 15 minutes of trying various commands, Shaun resorted to increasingly absurd requests.
"System, I choose you!"
"System, Destiny Draw!"
"System, I'm all fired up!"
Shaun continued to break copyright laws, much to his growing frustration.
Feeling defeated, Shaun looked back at the status screen. Most of it made sense, but the skill descriptions were still a mystery. "Wrap Trap" had an icon that resembled a flower with sleek petals curling in as if they were grabbing something in the empty space in between. On the other hand, "Feeding" showed two rows of teeth biting heavily into a piece of meat.
Focusing on [Wrap Trap], the text began to shift and reform.
[Wrap Trap:
Detach mark from body at a specific place permanently. Will trigger energy vines to wrap around the organism in front of it if movement is detected or contact is made. Single use.]
Shaun's eyebrows shot up. "So, it's a one-time trap. Great, just what I need— Let's hope it's atleast as good as a bear trap."
Next, he concentrated on [Feeding]. The description reformed itself.
[Feeding:
You are what you eat. The first drop of blood of any organism killed by the user will add 0.5% of a random attribute owned by the organism to the user.]
Shaun's initial reaction was one of offense. "The system's calling me a glutton" Shaun muttered.
A thought lingered, unsettling him. What kind of creatures would he be eating? The image of those grotesque unappetizing plants flashed in his mind—what if there were animals out there that were just as twisted? The idea of consuming something monstrous to become stronger sent a cold shiver down his spine. But the more he thought about it, the more he accepted that he might not have a choice. In this new world, where the rules of survival had changed, he would have to adapt, no matter how much it repulsed him.
Determined to test his new skills, Shaun tried various methods, including touching the ground and thinking intensely about the skill. Nothing seemed to work.
"Maybe it needs an audio command… Wrap Trap!"
No response.
"Wrap Trap activate!!"
Still nothing.
Shaun's attempts to use famous fictional commands yielded no results either.
"Gomu Gomu No!"
"Rasengan!"
"Spirit Bomb!"
Each time, the silence persisted, and Shaun felt like he was hosting the world's least responsive magic show.
When Shaun finally gave up, he closed his eyes and focused inwardly. He felt a draining sensation and began sweating, but nothing happened.
When he finally stopped, he noticed the empty section of the "Wrap Trap" icon was now a third filled.
"Well, that's… something," Shaun said, wiping sweat off his brow. "It's like a weirdly slow-loading video game. I just hope it doesn't come with extra DLCs."
The process took 20 minutes to complete. Shaun, feeling a bit more enlightened but still bemused, finally rested. The strangeness of it all was beginning to sink in—this system, this world, these powers. Everything was surreal, but it was his new reality. And as much as he didn't like it, he knew he'd have to make the most of whatever tools he had. Because out there, in the darkness, the real monsters were waiting.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone