CHAPTER 43: UNEXPECTED FALL OUT

A few hours passed, and the group made their way north in search of the next gaming store.

By this time, the sun had already gone down, and most of the monsters were active.

It was well instructed not to roam around at night, as most monsters found it effortless to find their prey by that time.

That said, the situation was quite different.

Jayhan needed to find the gaming discs that very day, as he knew the next day would be used for excessive planning after Kara and Veronica upgraded their stats.

Strolling down the streets with torchlights they had purchased, the group finally made it to the first gaming shop they found.

"Is this what you were looking for?" asked Adonis.

"Should be."

"Would you like me to go probe it out?"

"Staying out here isn’t exactly safe because of the monsters roaming about, so we should all go in."

"I see, then I shall take the left side of the store."

"Good, I’ll take the middle."

Each already picking their sides, both Jayhan and Adonis turned to Seo Yuna.

Reaching her gaze, they could tell she was criticizing them with her eyes.

"What is it? Are you scared to go in?" Jayhan implied.

"Since when did you two get so close? How long have I been asleep for?" Seo had her arms inserted.

"What do you mean? Jayhan and I have always been like this. You simply lacked the emotional intelligence to understand a dude."

Seo fluttered.

"Do I?"

"But you don’t need to worry; I can always teach you if you’re interested."

"Good to know you’re still annoying."

"And you’re still without a brain."

Right after, they both peered each other down.

’Sorry, Seo, it was better for you than me,’ said Jayhan in his mind as he observed.

...

The following second, all three of them were in the gaming store.

Admiringly, it was very small, with limited space, making it easier for them to do their full exploration.

Jayhan pointed his light at each row he passed, and not a single one had the words "Apocalypse on Earth."

And the sun seemed to be setting even more, so he knew he needed to find the game as fast as he could.

Adonis and Seo had the same luck as him. All the games they could find were either dating sims or had already been broken.

It didn’t take long for the team to give up.

Adonis moved closer to Jayhan, who was seated on the ground.

"Are you doing alright?"

Jayhan guided his hand through his hair.

"For the most part. So, any luck?"

Adonis swayed his head. He couldn’t even find a hint that a game like that was in the store.

After a while, Seo sided with them.

"Sorry, I couldn’t find any game that fit that description."

Jayhan smirked. "That makes all three of us. Safe to say, the game isn’t in the store."

"What do you even need the game for? Consoles don’t work anymore, so it’s more or less useless."

Seo leaned against the shelf.

Jayhan couldn’t chide her for thinking as such; she did not know of the power he could access if he had just one of the games.

’The 5th quest is almost here as well. Things are not looking too great.’

Something unusual happened right after.

Jayhan was about to stand from the ground and tell them it was time to head back to the plaza when he suddenly felt something heavy weighing on him.

It was as if the entire city was now leaning on his shoulders.

’What?’

Before he could figure out what was happening, he felt a strange hand seize his heart, and then with a single congestion, Jayhan shot down to the ground, his eyes closed as he went unconscious.

"Jayhan!!!"

Lucy hurriedly acted, trying to pull him up as she was panicking with trouble.

...

Showing up

back at the plaza.

Adonis was the first to wander in, carrying Jayhan on his back, while Seo followed behind him.

It didn’t take long for Veronica, who was just stepping out of the tent, to detect them.

At first, a smile formed on her face, but as soon as she saw Jayhan, it dissolved instantly.

"J bear!~"

She dropped the water bottle in her hand and promptly dashed forward, worry etched on her face.

Picking up on her voice from inside the tent, Kara charged out, her eyes picking up on Adonis as he was lowering Jayhan’s unconscious body to the ground.

{The character Jayhan is currently facing his curse.}

Kara didn’t know what that meant, still, in that moment, she could hear her own heartbeat fluttering.

Sure, she knew Jayhan wasn’t dead, but that wasn’t all. The longer she stared, the more it seemed like she was going to lose him.

Calmly, Kara made her way closer, her eyes on Jayhan the whole time.

Adonis and Veronica were kneeling at opposite sides of Jayhan’s body, while Seo remained at the side.

With the distance already closed, Kara muttered,

"What happened to him?"

Seo fended off her gaze, evidently not wanting to be the one who acknowledges the question.

Truthfully, even she didn’t know what happened to Jayhan either.

Alas, Adonis replied,

"We don’t know. We were looking for a video game before we returned to the plaza when he collapsed to the ground out of nowhere."

Kara kept quiet, though her eyes were seething.

She transferred her gaze slightly to the side.

{Jayhan’s survival rate has dropped below 30%.}

{Chances of survival are decreasing.}

After reading the message for a while, Kara closed her eyes, as if trying to appease herself.

Then, she suggested another question,

"Did anything seem out of place?"

Adonis reflected for a while.

Although Jayhan seemed exasperated after their battle, it didn’t take too long before he fully recuperated, so the option of passing out from exhaustion could not be applied.

Even before their battle, Jayhan was absolutely fine.

"I don’t think anything is wrong with him." Adonis slowly lifted his head. "I think he is probably facing his divine curse."

All eyes fell on Adonis.

Other than Seo, none of the girls had heard of the curse, nor had they experienced it.

To add to that, it was unlikely that any of them had built enough bonds with their contractors to have access to that information.

"What do you mean by that?" Veronica carried her peculiar face.

Adonis exhaled.

"We both fought, and during our battle, we activated our divine blessings. After the fight, I was cursed by my divine protector. That happens after using a divine blessing. So I can only guess this is his curse."

"Are you saying he is in this state because of you?"

Mana sparked around Kara’s body, her gaze locked on Adonis.

Adonis merely stood up.

"Yes."

Not even a second later, Kara landed a jab on his face.

The unforeseen attack was so vigorous that Adonis was knocked right out.

Like that, his body was on the ground, wasted.

"Great, now the two men in our group are out cold," Seo shook her head.

"Girl, you killed him. How is he going to explain how to make J bear wake up?"

Kara, her fist still clutched, glanced down.

"Sorry, my body moved on its own. Right, I didn’t think of that." She was slightly fueled up, as seen on her face.

She was petrified, her fingers shuddering as she observed Jayhan in his state. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to show that in front of the girls.

With persistence, she wrapped her hair up in a ponytail.

"Let’s get him inside the tent. I’ll handle the rest."

Veronica and Seo gave one another eccentric peeks, wondering what Kara could possibly do to get Jayhan up.

But asking that would unquestionably get no reply, not when Kara was already striding back inside the tent.

They eventually made up their minds to do it and deliberately moved Jayhan’s body into the tent as Kara requested from them.

None of them stuck around in the tent with Kara after Jayhan was safely placed there.

Mostly because Kara had already asked them to leave.

Since it was night, Veronica entered the second tent with Adonis and went to bed, knowing if Jayhan wakes up, she and Kara would be next to go hunting for a green zone.

Meanwhile, Seo was lounged right outside the tent where Jayhan was, a small bonfire right in front of her.

She had found some marshmallows in a small bag and decided to roast them while checking out the night sky.

It wasn’t that she had difficulty sleeping; it was more of the fact that she wanted to stay awake for as long as possible in case Jayhan wakes up.

As such, she decided to wait.

Abruptly, she heard the rippling sound of the tent opening.

Turning around with anticipation on her face, expecting it was Jayhan at last, disappointment washed over her after seeing it was Kara.

"Oh, it’s just you."

"Expecting someone else?"

"Not really. Why aren’t you asleep?"

Kara planted a hand on her shoulder.

"Better question: why did you try to have sex with my boyfriend?"