Chapter 3: Acting

Iris thought for a moment before she recalled something.

'Ah, there is a way.'

Thinking about this, Iris turned and started to run.

Not long afterwards, the trash bin was pushed aside and the swarm of Wretched chased after her.

As Iris continued to run, she reached the end and accurately turned left, opposite to where the others ran to.

Because her turn was unexpected and accurate, the Wretched bumped into the wall as some got crushed by their own.

Iris scoffed and as she continued to run, she felt that her speed was gradually decreasing as well as her HP.

[HP: 76/00]

-2

[HP: 74/100]

-3

[HP: 71/100]

-1

[HP: 70/100]

Seeing this, Iris began to panic a little bit, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

'What's happening?'

'Why is my HP decreasing this much?!'

Iris then heard the sound of growls closing in and she did not dare to turn around.

'Why? Is it because of the curse that is placed upon this body?'

'How am i even supposed to find out about the curse without even knowing what the original body had touched?'

'Do they think that in the game it will show all of what a passerby-like cannon fodder would've been doing throughout the entire Trial?!'

Iris rolled her eyes but just as she reached a corner, something unexpected happened.

Grrrr!

Gasping, Iris was pushed to the wall and hit her head.

Hiss!

Iris stubbornly opened her heavy and painful eyelids from the impact on her head and when she did, a Wretched tried to bite her and she held its mouth with both of her hands and the teeth of the Wretched pierced her palm.

"Urghh- Hiss! Ahhhhh!" Iris screamed out, both from fear and annoyance.

Groaning, Iris saw from the corner of her eyes the other Wretched closing up on her.

'I'm definitely done for... I don't think i would die but still...'

Just as Iris closed her eyes and silently prayed for a miracle to happen, she suddenly heard the familiar sound of the system.

[Believers: 1]

[Condition Unlocked!]

[Ability: Aura of a God]

[Description: Allows User to Emit the Aura of a Deity Itself. The User can choose any entity's Aura.]

[Condition: The User can only emit an Aura if the User can "Act" the characteristics and traits of that specific entity.]

After reading this, Iris felt that her ability was completely useless and that her sacrifice was left in vain.

'What use is that ability in my current situation?!'

Albeit, seeing that her situation was getting more dire, she decided to try it anyway seeing that she has nothing to lose anymore.

'Alright, let's try that one individual i can think of at this moment!'

'I hope this ones aura can scare off the Wretched!'

Closing her eyes, she tried recalling how that individual acted whenever they face someone else, especially insignificant ones such as an underworld being.

Iris also tried recalling what their attitude was, from the tone of their voice, from the way they speak, look, and gestures.

After vaguely remembering some details, Iris hoped that this acting would work.

"Oi." That was a simple syllable she uttered, but somehow, her demeanor and tone shifted.

The Wretched who was trying to bite her and the others trying to catch up on her, all also froze.

Somehow, the way they saw Iris changed drastically, the once simple looking human suddenly had her eyes sharper and her tone more solemn and disgusted, as if she was talking to an insignificant creature.

The Wretcheds didn't know why, but they somehow felt this same demeanour familiar.

Iris coldly glared at the Wretched before her and with a click of her tongue, she opened its mouth even wider, as if planning on breaking it.

Seeing that she still couldn't break its jaws apart, Iris had to go to another plan and just grabbed its entire head before shoving it towards a wall.

Boom!

With one single shove as Iris' hand remained clutched on the Wretched's distorted face, a loud sound that seemed to have something crashed and broken echoed throughout the entire alley.

Seeing one of their own getting beaten badly, the Wretcheds began to hesitate, but their desire to devour flesh still fought stubbornly.

Iris seemed to notice their thoughts as she leaned forward to the Wretched she was holding and whispered with an obvious annoyed smile, "If you dare lay one of your disgusting fingers on me, I'll rip you to shreds, understand?"

As soon as her words fell, her head remained staring at the same direction, but her eyes turned to the corner, gleaming coldly towards the other Wretcheds.

The Wretcheds subconsciously shrank back their necks in fear, making Iris silently satisfied.

Standing up as she finally let go of the Wretched, she turned to walk towards the rest of the Wretched.

Unconsciously, the swarm of Wretcheds made way for her on their own.

Iris was stunned for a moment but did not show it on her face and just casually walked straight.

Sensing lingering gazes on her, Iris once again begun to act as she suddenly halted her steps, her words echoing.

"Look at me one more time and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Suddenly, the ground and the walls began to tremble slight, adding an extra affect in Iris' play.

The Wretcheds instantly lowered their heads in fear, though they might be an undead creature now, they are still living creatures- to be more precise, creatures who can still sense danger.

As "Living" creatures, they can still view the preys and the predators.

Unbeknownst to them, even Iris was petrified when the ground and the walls trembled.

'Did- t-there's no way that "they" found out already that I'm mimicking them...right?' Thinking of this, Iris secretly shuddered and turned back as if nothing happened before walking away nonchalantly yet solemnly.

The Wretcheds did not dare to look up, only after not sensing the presence of the human anymore did they raise their head.

Seeing that their preys are now lost, they all let out a low starving growl before scattering.

As soon as Iris was certain that she finally lost them, her once arrogant look disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Panting as she held her chest, cold sweat dripped down her forehead and she couldn't help mumbling to herself in fear, "There's no way that they just saw my play, right?"

"Because if they did then-" Fearing the worst outcome, she immediately checked her health status.

[Curse: -1]

Seeing that her [Curse] did not increased and instead lessened 1 percent than before, she felt relieved.

'Fortunately, they did not see my play, and my curse even decreased!'

'Although it is only one percent, that is better than nothing- or even worse, increased!'

Iris was satisfied that "they" did not saw her acting and that "they" did not placed more curse upon her out of anger.

"Hey! My acting back there was pretty good, isn't it?" She muttered, feeling flattered by herself. "I didn't know that this ability would actually be this helpful, and it even made me enjoy it!"

Just as Iris was overjoyed, she heard the familiar sound of the system.

[Defendant Live - Stream Unlocked!]

Seeing this, Iris became stunned. 'Wait, doesn't this usually appear in players who receives a "Fan" when watching their journey in the Trials?'

'How come i suddenly have one? If I'm not mistaken, the viewers of the Trials are always cold and lofty, if not- then entities that only watch for mere entertainment.'

'Because becoming a "Fan" means that they will give you "blessings" known as "Karma" which helps the players get stronger as well as the entity that watches the player itself.'

'The downside to this though for the viewers is that if the player dies, then all the "Karma" they give goes to waste which means that their chance to gain more power also lessens.'

'Because all the viewers have limitations to the number of "Karma" they give, which is only 10 for the lower class viewers, 20 for the middle class viewers, and 30 for the upper class viewers.'

'The viewers of course have their own food chain and they are ranked based on their level.'

'Those who becomes a deity that is level 1 up to 5 are known as the lower class, level 6 to 8 are middle class, and finally, those who are level 9 and 10 are known as the upper class, the strongest.'

Seeing this, Iris was naturally flabbergasted before fear crept into her skin rather than excitement.

'If a viewer had watched my play, and even "enjoyed" it as to becoming my fan so far, then it is either they are someone close to "them", hates "them", or worst-...'

'...It's "them" theirself.'

['Defendant' [00218] has successfully opened their Live Stream!]

['Judge' [One Who Rules Over Death] has entered the channel!]

['Judge' [One Who Rules Over Death] says "Your acting skill of copying me is interesting"]

['Judge' [One Who Rules Over Death] asks if that is how you viewed of him?]

Iris had her eyes widened before a defeated smile appeared on her lips.

"I'm so done."