He had only just transmigrated but it felt like it all happened ages ago.
What's more inconveniencing? Was it the reckless manner in which Summer was handling him while he stayed slyly unconscious, making the shoulder ride a lot more uncomfortable than was necessary?
Or was it the general fact that he was in the company of three apparent warriors that could end his life should they feel the need to? After all, this is not the first time Bux, the grumpy older man contemplated ending an "anomaly" like him during this journey.
Each time, he'd been let down by Winter, the SS-ranked mage who kept trying to inspect his system without success.
Or was it just the unsettling fact that he was now to be a lab rat? A Guinea pig for the experimentalists? A type of creature that must be killed to end, or ended to start the life of other beings that might be a stereotype from the result of his own analyses?
'I guess the system didn't hype this world well enough?'
'I've only seen three people so far, and I'm already facing execution. What would happen when I stand before the others or when I face beasts?'
[I told you all you needed to know. You told me to stop the "over-hype."]
[And speaking of beasts, there's a few lurking around the corner for your entertainment]
[Soak in their welcome]
"Wha–" he gasped out loud before he could control himself.
Winter shot her eyes directly at Eric who was facing downward, flopping against Summer's back like a dead animal. Her ears pricked, her senses flared, her aura grew wild. She strained, not too much, but just enough to pick the swift movement as large darkness-cloaked beasts cut through blades of grass, stalking and stalling, looking for the perfect opening to strike.
"Red-bellied Hounds," whispered Winter, standing poised and ready. The rest stopped too. "The bastards of the night. Would rather run you to death than strike you right away. I can pick eight of them. Any help, Summer? Your Hunter instincts are sharper than mine."
Summer scoffed, appearing pretty unperturbed by his sister's tense frame. He shifted Eric's weight to his left shoulder and said, "Yeah, you are correct. There are eight of them, but I sensed them a while ago. Why should I bother when I'm not on their radar?"
"What d'you mean, Sum?" Bux cut in. He was a little unfazed too. "We are all in danger of attack here. We're all on their radar."
"No. I disagree. All they seek is this rotten squirm on my shoulder. He's dripped a lot of blood on the forest floor to give even a blind man a trail. When the hounds attack, I'll just drop the weakling for them. Then we go back to the guild without a sweat broken."
"You will do no such thing!" Winter exploded. "That thing is a one-of-its-kind being and we'll get it safely to the guild without a hitch, is that understood?!"
'Thing? I'm a thing now?'
Summer grumbled, turning his back on his sister and walking off on the forest path. "Your wish is my command, my stern sister."
The others followed.
*Chime!*
[DISPLAYING STATS]
[...]
[LUCK: 60]
'What? Why are you bringing up my luck stat now?'
'Wait...it has reduced?!'
'Why is my luck pt reducing?!'
[LUCK: Your only stat that was bound to lose points instead of upgrading.]
[That might be the only downside of having acquired the System. The more you upgrade your other stats and you become more powerful, the unluckier you get.]
[Note: It doesn't keep going down. You can even get a 100 LUCK pts in the next few hours and have a boost of luck.]
[LUCK is the only stat that I have no control over, Eric.]
[Tik-tock... Will you wake up to a SSS-ranked beast ready to devour you at your doorstep? Or will you receive a pat on the head from the monarch? Your LUCK pts decide.]
Eric started mumbling mindlessly, drooling slightly on Summer's grey leather shirt. So many things about the System had stayed hidden to him, new facts and terms popping up after each encounter. But he feared than even worse facts was coming after him in the nearest future.
'To what do I owe such cruelty?'
[LUCK: 42]
[Guess you'll be fighting some beasts after all. Hope your mage friend fights valiantly for you]