The aftermath of the "encounter" (2)

I slightly opened my eyes.

Someone was calling out to me.

"Come on! please get up!"

My back felt cold and my head was a mess. I remember all of the things that went down before I passed out.

I completely opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was Silvia, kneeling over me with a torn attire and messy face.

"Oh thank god!"

She shed some tears and they fell down to my face.

"A_are you hurt anywhere? what happened?" She said in a panicked tone.

I got up. My body was feeling better than ever. It seemed that the scratch on my cheek has healed also.

"No, I'm fine. She did heal me pretty well."

"I'm so glad your alright!" she said while hugging me.

If these types of actions help her recover, I'm totally fine with doing it. Besides I promised her.

Have to say though, I can get used to this.

"Tch, damn it." I mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. I'm glad your fine too."

I make her let go of me.

I glanced around and noticed I was right beside the big blue leaved tree. But there was a problem.

"Where did the cabin go?"

I couldn't find it anywhere up on the branches of the tree. The cabin was relatively big so spotting it from a little distance wasn't hard.

Silvia looked surprised and glanced at the tree quickly, then turned back to me.

"Y_your right Leon! its totally gone! I didn't notice it before!"

Aside from that, her sleeping pajama is totally torn and ragged, so I unbuttoned my shirt and gave it to her since it had less holes on it.

"Here, have this. Its my fault your clothes got torn. I'm sorry."

"Thank you! But your shirtless now... you could catch a cold if you are left like this."

"It's alright. I'll get something back in the camp."

Oh how could I forget this?

"Let's both get shoes as well. We can't walk in a forest with our bare feet for long."

"Alright."

...

Through her exposed skin, I could see scars and marks on her abdomen area. They looked old.

She really did go through a lot of crap.

"Come on, wear it properly. Here let me tie it for you so it wont fall off."

I tied the two side pieces of my shirt on her waste.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Now that that's done, I better get to the important parts. Better check if everything is going well first.

"...Can you please explain what happened to the man after he came out?"

I needed to know if he leaked information to anyone else.

Still looking worried, she sighed and started to talk.

"He was acting strange. He just went straight back to the camp without hesitation. Even when he came back, his behavior didn't change at all. He went near a tree and slept there. I thought he noticed me at first, but when I used my domination skill on him, he was really sleeping."

"I see. Thanks for being careful."

"He he. No problem!"

That takes care of that then. I still can't believe that the cabin vanished. It did shake a lot before I fell unconscious so I guess it was to be expected?

"Well, let's head back. I'm hearing some strange noises in this forest."

"Okay!"

During the way back, I thought about the events that transpired in the cabin. There were two main points I got out of that conversation. Apparently I am life itself and it's bad if I use I assume the 3-time loop skill. She did mention about some people called "they" and "the lord" as well.

So this means that I'm special in someway or another? I heard all that she said but couldn't comprehend it all after that encounter, even if you could call it that.

Should I just... not use that skill after all? but if I don't, then I would die though. I don't want that. No, I never want something like that. I need to survive. I haven't lived my life to the fullest yet. I'm never giving up.

"Hey Leon?"

"Hm? what's up?"

"Are you feeling well? I can tell your scared about something."

Scared huh? that's surprising. Even back on Earth, I was never scared of the bad thing that were happening to me.

"Just thinking about some minor things. Nothing important. You should worry about yourself more than me."

"...If it's something I can help with, don't hesitate to ask ok?"

She doesn't trust in herself much. Most likely the abuse she received from her family made her loose all of her self confidence. If I was in her situation, I probably would have ended up the same.

"Alright. Thanks for having my back since we met. Though you are the strong one."

Boosting her self confidence can make her more reliable. I better work on that.

"It's no big deal! I need to repay you for saving me after all!"

For how long does she plan to repay me? I need to get her out of this mindset. She can't never leave me.

"Alright then. Thanks again. Let's hurry back to the camp. The second stage may start soon."

She nods her head with a sweet smile.

We sped up and reached the camp after about ten minutes.

When we arrived, I didn't notice anything too out of norm happening. Guess that means the meeting went well.

I don't see any of the leaders.

The man is no where to be found either. Should I be concerned about that now?

"Let's go ask some people if anything new happened."

"Are we going to do that with everyone?"

"No. I know who to ask. Let's go."

And that person is none other than Andrea Sanders herself.

To keep it simple, the plan is to make her suspicious of me. That way I have a higher chance of finding out what her ability is. I'm ready to give up my second loop to find that out.

I slightly know about her situation. Her so called grandpa is using her really well. On the previous loop before I and Silvia got killed, she seemed to be obedient to her grandfather. Maybe it's because of abuse. I need to know more.

...Maybe I can set up a meeting with her this time as well.

"Leon look over there!" says Silvia as she pulls my arm.

"She's over there! see? besides that blond guy."

She's right. What is she talking about with Paul?

"Yeah I see it. Come on, let's keep an eye on her until she finishes her talk. Come on, that spot near the tree is available."

We went and sat on the spot I mentioned. Our view was pointed at Andrea's direction so we needn't worry about loosing her.

While waiting, it's best if I check my and Silvia's stats for any possible improvements.

First, Silvia's.

"Can I check out your stats? while waiting for them to finish, I think it's best to check them just in case."

Unlike actual video games, when you get some sort of skill or upgrade, the system doesn't inform you about it. So you need to check it yourself. I found this out while looking at Silvia's stats after the first stage ended.

"Why are you asking when you can already see it from you party skill?"

"Um, well, I'm not going to look at your personal information in secret. What type of partner would I be if I did that?"

Her eyes lit up more.

A tear fell down her face.

"wha_ Hey! what's the matter?! are you okay?"

"I_I'm fine! I just... remembered something unpleasant."

Did my statement have a bad influence on her? no way.

"Oh well, sorry I guess."

"Why are yo apologizing? gosh."

"Uh, well..."

Suddenly, she holds my hand.

"Next time, let me be prepared alright?"

Prepared for what? what is she saying?

"I don't get it but okay."

She starts pouting. Oh great.

"W_well, let me check our stats real quick."

First, I opened my status screen.

[Status screen]

Full name: Leon Simon Walker

Level: 6

Race: Human

Age: 16

Class: Unknown HP: 24/24 MP: 36/36

STR: 8 DEX: 8

DEF: 8 INT: 8

Will: 10 Clarity: 11

MAG: 8 MAG DEF: 8

Title: 3-time loop playerDOn't listen to HER.

Skills:

3-time loop Lv. MAX: Allows only Leon Walker to loop back three times during each event. Cause of loop: Death. Don't worry, I'm not going to let you die.

Appraisal Lv. MAX: Skill granted by the title "3-time loop player". Allows user to see all players status screen.

Hide stats Lv.2: Skill granted by the title " 3-time loop player". Allows user to hide his/her stats from other individuals. Current number of stats that are able to be hid: 3

Party Lv.2: A skill granted by the hidden title "??? ????? ?? ??? ????? ???????". Allows user to party up with a number of individuals based on the level of the skill. Affects: Communicate with your party member_ Track your party member_ know your party members condition. As the level of the skill increases, the affects increase as well.

Ah, my strength, dexterity, defence and intelligence have increased by one. Was it Eowyn's doing?

I scroll down.

"Wha..."

I gasp as I see those words besides my title.

"Leon? what's wrong?"

Holly shit...