Spark

All in all, they had lots of fun dancing around in this display of manly strength and friendship, but soon they had to tackle the issue of the bait again. It would get dark soon enough. They had to set up both the bait and a reasonable camp before that happened.

Ian had to mix up the poison on his own. The kills would then be his own. He was a bit unsure how the meat would taste after he sprinkled the mixture on it, but it had to do. They were in a hurry, with the night creeping up on them fast.

Ian was of the generation that had never felt safe outdoors. His rational mind knew that the krobinnuti made every place dangerous, not just the jungle. However, the fact that filtigers and even worse things existed on Earth now meant that there were no trips to national parks with the family, no hiking, nothing more dangerous than gardening. He had once read somewhere that in times of war, even popular culture changed. Songs would be more focused on nebulously positive concepts like eternal romantic love and similar optimistic ideas. He didn't know if this was true.

"System, show me my stats, all of them," he said.

[NAME: IAN RAINWALL]

"You don't need to tell me my own name. I am aware of my identity, thank you."

[LEVEL: 1]

[POWER UP POINTS: 0]

[EXPERIENCE POINTS: 10/15]

[HEALTH POINTS: 100/100]

[STRENGTH: 7]

[INTELLIGENCE: 14]

[CONSTITUTION: 8]

[SKILLS: SHOOTING STAR, TARGET FIRE]

"Sweet," Ian thought. "Can you tell me why my intelligence is doing so well and my strength is lagging behind?"

[BODY TYPE: SPARK]

"Huh?"

[BODY TYPE: SPARK STARTS OUT WITH POOR STRENGTH, DEVELOPING STRENGTH SLOWLY AND HAVING TROUBLE GAINING MUSCLE. BODY TYPE: SPARK IS FAST, HAS HIGH AGILITY, IS ABLE TO GAIN MORE THAN ONE INTELLIGENCE POINT FROM A SINGLE EVENT]

"Cool!" Ian exclaimed inside his mind. "Why did you not show me this earlier?"

[BODY TYPE IS NOT A STAT. BODY TYPE CAN BE OBSERVED BY A HUMAN DOCTOR]

At times, Ian thought his system was actively throwing snarky remarks at him.

He placed the bait in a spot that he made more appetizing with the addition of a few silly branches. It wasn't much, but it would look more natural to the cobras.

Ian hoped that the cobras would not be too clever for his great intelligence stat.

He went to Kortock to ask about the camp.

"We can set it up there, where there are still a few trees left. We will have someone guarding the camp for the entire night. Nine hours of sleep. That should be enough. We'll split that in three shifts. Ian, do you want to sleep uninterrupted?"

Ian nodded. "I can take the last shift."

[MOTHER IS CALLING]

"Oh, damn!" He turned around. "Can I have a moment?"

"Take your time, son."

His mother was weeping openly. It took her five whole minutes to calm down and articulate the reason of her agony.

"Your father – he didn't come home – they asked questions about you. Ian, please, you must not come here while your father is gone. Something bad is going on."

All the joy Ian had felt about his intelligence and finding out his body type vanished in an instant.

He watched his mother cry. He thought about her facial surgery and the wrinkles born out of worry that now marred her beautiful face. He had not realized how old she looked nowadays.

Ian still remembered her as the youthful woman, the optimistic being that had charmed his father with every little action.

There had been magic in the way she had left the dirty dishes in the sink to show how much she hated nagging.

Ian wiped the corners of his own eyes, and suddenly he saw a reality from his childhood years, the first time his father had actually consoled his crying son.

Ian was now fully immersed in the memory of standing before his father with tears in his eyes.

"But Evey took my toy."

"You'll get it back. Heavens," his father said, shaking his head. "I can't…please stop that. It makes me sad, too. You want a Strawberry Banana Banana Caramel Shake?"

"Y-yes," young Ian muttered.

It was still foreign to him at that point in his life to feel so loved by his father, but the old man got wiser as he aged, and as Ian returned to the present moment, he knew there was nothing he would not do to get his dad back.

His dad was a good man, not perfect, but good, and that was more than enough. Ian loved his parents, he loved his sister, and he wanted them to be happy. Now, watching the intense shades of different worries alternate on his mother's face, he knew he had the means to do things that most would never be able to do, even with the life of a beloved relative on the line.

"You need to tell me everything, mom," he said.

A group of people had entered the home of his parents earlier that day. The men had worn helmets that had covered their faces completely. They had changed their voices and interrogated his mother about Ian and his father.

Of course, she had told them nothing and after a threatening moment of questions flying in the air, the men had left and she had called her daughter to send her on the run. She didn't want to take any risks at all.

Ian went to seek Kortock's advice and repeated all the questions they had asked his mother, diligently, without adding anything that his own imagination wanted him to add.

"Was there any extra trash in the krobinnuti room?"

"Did the krobinnuti ever speak to him while he was cleaning?"

"What about the son, where does he get his salary from?"

"Why does he not get a steady salary yet? Why is it not a monthly payment yet?"

"Has Ian Rainwall had any arguments with the higher-ups?"

"Who does Ian associate with?"