Some spiders had been frozen to death by Karime, some spiders had been burned into cinders by Jessica, and the rest had been crushed by Andrew who had grabbed a metal pipe to use it as a weapon at some point in time.
The three of them had killed all the small spiders.
I was slightly surprised, but after thinking about it, I found it normal.
These small spiders were Tier 0 Monsters, and some of them barely reached Tier 1. Even normal people could kill them as long as they were careful.
Karime, Jessica, and Andrew, on the other hand, were Awakened. They were weak and inexperienced, but after they snapped out of their shock, they did not have any reason to fail to use their skills to kill a few Tier 0 monsters.
Even the big spider was not that strong. It barely reached Tier 3. It was even weaker than the wolf that killed me in my first dungeon.
The Tiers of monsters go from Tier 0 to Tier 10 according to Garcia's Scale. Tiers 0 – 0.9 can be killed by a normal human, and Tiers 1 – 1.9 can be killed by any awakened.
Only after Tier 2 the monsters became dangerous. Guns start to be useless against monsters of this level, and only Awakened of a certain level can defeat them.
It goes like this:
Tiers 0 – 0.9: Killed by a normal human.
Tiers 1 – 1.9: Killed by any awakened.
Tiers 2 – 4.9: Very dangerous. Guns start to be useless.
Tiers 5 – 7.9: Only highly destructive weapons can destroy them.
Tiers 8 – 10: Monsters able to cause disasters of Epic proportions. To kill one without relying on Awakened it's necessary to use weapons of mass destruction.
Beyond that, there are Tier 11 monsters, but humanity has never killed one of them except for the ones killed by the Protector Duke. In fact, the few Tier 10 monsters that humanity killed needed the cooperation of several Tier 9 and Tier 10 Awakened before they could be defeated.
Right now, I should be a Tier 2 Awakened. However, the mana in my body is greater than normal Awakened. Plus, thanks to the skills the demon taught me and the training I did in my dreams, my strength should be on the high side even among Tier 3 Awakened. In fact, if I go all out, I should be as strong as a Tier 4 Awakened.
Karime and Jessica were Tier 3 Awakened, and Andrew was a Tier 4 Awakened. Just in terms of the amount of mana in their bodies, they were way above me.
Well, I Awakened recently, so it can't be helped if my Tier is low.
When I approached my friends, the three of them looked at me with complicated and admiring expressions.
"Jane, you killed that spider so easily. Have you always been this strong?"
I became slightly embarrassed. "Actually, you could have killed it as well if you are careful. That spider was not that strong."
That is true. The spider was barely a Tier 3 monster. Any of them could have killed it if they were calm enough.
"I'm not sure I can kill a monster like that." Andrew smiled wryly and patted my shoulder. "It looks like you became a lot stronger after awakening."
"But, what are we going to do now?" Karime asked at that moment.
I fell silent. My purpose coming here was to train, but there is no way I can tell them that.
Just then, I heard the little girl crying out.
"Mom!"
I jumped in surprise. Hurriedly, I looked in the direction of the girl and saw her looking towards the mall.
There, a group of spiders had destroyed the wall and entered in it.
My expression immediately became pale. The people inside–
"Mom!" The little girl cried out again and rushed in the direction of the mall. It seemed like she wanted to go to save her mother.
I reacted immediately and ran towards the girl, hugging her from behind and stopping her.
"Let me go! I need to save my mom!"
"… Sorry."
"Let me go! Please!"
"… I'm sorry. I couldn't save your mom. But I promise to her that I would protect you. I can't let you go."
"You are a bad person! Let me go! I want to protect mommy! Please! Please…" The little girl looked at my face with eyes full of tears. It was as though she was begging me to save her mother.
But I could not.
I could only repeat the same words as before.
"… Sorry. I can't."
The little girl's face turned pale. Then, her expression turned into one of fury and hatred.
"You should die!"
Then, she escaped from my arms and ran away.
I wanted to chase after her, but when I saw that she was not running in the direction of the mall, I hesitated.
Should I truly go after her? After all, she hates me as the man that let her mother die.
Even if it was unavoidable, that little girl must think that.
"I'll go after her."
"W-Wait, I'll go with you."
Karime hurriedly said and chased the girl and Andrew followed her.
I smiled wryly. I'm not an idiot to not notice that they wanted to avoid me.
Even if they did not say it, it's obvious they felt uncomfortable after I abandoned the people in the mall.
I heaved a long sigh and put on a complicated expression.
Was I really wrong?
[You were. You should have left these burdens behind, boy. This is foolish.]
Shut up, demon. I won't abandon my friends.
[… Sigh, how naïve... But you are my host in the end. Be thankful, I will help you to survive. Let me use a bit of your mana.]
Before I could ask him what he was talking about, a portion of my man left my control and spread to the surroundings.
[This should be enough.]
'What did you do?' I asked the demon, but he ignored me and stayed silent.
Just at that moment, little Jessica approached me with a hesitant expression.
"Brother-in-law... It's not your fault. We could do nothing to save them." She held my shirt and looked at me with an encouraging expression. "Don't worry, big sister and Andrew know that you are not in the wrong. It's just that they can't easily accept abandoning these people."
I was startled, but realizing that Jessica was trying to comfort me, I smiled happily and caressed her black hair.
"Thank you for comforting me. Also, I'm not your brother-in-law anymore. You should stop calling me that."
"But I like calling you like that. Do you dislike it?"
I did not know whether to laugh or to cry.
It was not about if I liked it or not, but that it made Karime and I feel awkward.
"Actually, you should get back with my sister. I think she still likes you. I don't even know why the two of you broke up." Jessica suddenly said.
I was stunned. Getting back with Karime?
For an instant, I hesitated.
Karime was my crush since I have memory and my childhood sweetheart. I really miss the time when we were lovers.
But suddenly, the image of a certain silver-haired girl appeared on my mind.
I quickly shook my head. The hell, why did I suddenly think of her?
However, it helped me to clear my thoughts.
"I don't think I will get back with her. At the very least, not for the time being. I need to think about my future a bit, you see."
"Is it so?" Jessica nodded in realization before looking at me with a smile. "Anyway, mother and I like you a lot. We would be glad if you are part of our family."
I smiled wryly and nodded. "You are already like my family, little Jessica. Like a mischievous little sister."
"Ley will kill me if she knows you said that." Jessica giggled. "Thank you for saving me before. You were so cool, big brother."
"Of course. After all, I must protect my little sister."
Jessica giggled again with a happy expression.
[Mm, this girl is pretty good. Boy, you should hurry and bring her to your bed.]
Huh!? What are you talking about, demon!? Jessica is like my little sister, and she didn't see me like that!
She didn't, right…?
[Who knows?] The demon smirked. [Anyway, she is not even your real sister, what is the problem? Plus, even if she doesn't like you, she at least has a good impression of you. That is more than enough to bring a girl to bed. I can teach you if you want.]
Shut up, pervert demon.
[As you wish.] I felt the demon shrug.
"Brother-in-law, did anything happen? Your expression suddenly became strange."
"It's nothing." I feigned a smile and replied to Jessica, however, I could not help but think about the words of the demon when I looked at her.
Now that I think about it, Jessica has become very beautiful.
She still has a bit of childish cuteness, but she is already transitioning towards becoming a youthful beauty.
… What in the hell am I thinking about?
It's the demon's fault. Damn, at this rate, he will turn me into a pervert.
[Sigh, what an innocent boy. He did not even know the marvels of a sister-in-law. Why did I choose this idiot as my host?]
Oh, shut up. And stop filling my mind with your dirty thoughts.
...
Support me on P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels