Chapter 2: The Black Ball
Aisei stared at the screen in front of him — stunned.
(So it's true… the Professor really is sick? All that coughing wasn't just stress?) he thought silently.
Coincidentally, he had Emergency Pill from Chamber — the same one he and Ajuka had tested before. Although he wasn't sure if it could cure internal illness, Aisei was determined to try.
He took out the pill and handed it to Prof. Johar.
"Professor, try this pill. Who knows, it might help with… whatever sickness you've been hiding."
"Sickness? You think I'm sick?" the Professor scoffed, feigning normalcy.
But Aisei wasn't fooled. They lived together — it was impossible to hide for long. The coughing fits, the way Prof clutched his chest before bed... It was obvious.
"Oh, come on, old man. Just take it. Juka and I tried it. It works," Aisei insisted.
"Alright, alright…" Prof gave in and swallowed the pill. Within minutes, the pain in his chest began to ease.
His eyes suddenly sparkled — adorably shocked.
"…I want more!" he said, reaching out.
"Huh?! No way! We don't even know the side effects if you overdose!"
The Professor squinted at him. "I don't want to eat them! I want to study them!"
Aisei smirked and handed over a few extra pills for analysis.
[Ting!]
A transparent screen popped up in front of Aisei.
Side Quest: Save Professor Johar from death (Completed)
Difficulty: E
Reward: +2 Strength, +2 Agility, +2 Defense
Skill Acquired: Empathetic Listener
Tokens: 3x
After they finished eating and cleaning up, the Professor returned to his lab — researching, testing, and laughing like a madman.
Meanwhile, Aisei sat on the outer wall, looking up at the sky. He slowly closed his eyes and entered the Chamber.
"Chamber, status."
[TATATA... TATATA...]
Status Window
Name: Ri Aisei
Age: 15
Strength: 13 Defense: 11
Agility: 9
Skill:
● Empathetic Listener (9%)
Playground:
● Slot 777
Item:
● Emergency Pill 1
● Token 3
"Empathetic Listener'...? What am I, a therapist now?"
He pondered for a moment — maybe because he listened to the Professor earlier? Could the Chamber assign quests based on real-life events? Interesting.
He moved to the Slot 777 machine and inserted a token.
Thud! – Thud! – Thud!
Symbols stopped one by one.
[Thank you] (-_-)
"…Yeah Yeah. Gambling is bad for mankind."
He inserted the second token.
Thud! – Thud! – Thud!
Three bananas appeared.
"Come on, give me something at least." (-_-)
He used the final token.
Thud! – Thud! – Thud!
Three Black Ball appeared.
"…Black balls?"
He picked one up. As usual, no response from the Chamber. Items from the Chamber could be taken out freely.
---
Aisei exited the Chamber and walked toward Ajuka, who was working on the defense base. Without warning, he tossed a banana at him.
Ajuka caught it using a floating blood-formed hand.
"Don't throw food. It's wasteful," he scolded.
"Sorry, sorry…" Aisei chuckled and walked off.
Suddenly, he heard a voice echoing from underground.
"Nyahahaha! I feel young again! That pill really works! I need to finish CP001 soon. Let them find the surviving humans and bring them here. If it's a woman — even better. But make sure she's over 40. Nyahahaha!"
(-_-) Aisei froze.
It was the Professor! And he could hear it crystal clear — even from a distance.
Empathetic Listener — the skill allowed him to hear voices from afar.
Interesting. This would definitely improve his tracking ability.
He tested the distance range. At 50 meters, he could still faintly hear Ajuka's voice: "Blood Missile…"
At 100 meters, the sound faded.
Aisei kept walking until he arrived at the old playground near High School of KIR — about 8km from the lab. The place remained unexplored.
While bouncing the black Ball on the ground, he suddenly heard heavy breathing — about 100 meters away in the bushes.
He stepped back slowly.
Too late. A wolf had already spotted him.
It lunged!
Aisei dodged — but the black ball slipped from his hand. He pulled out his machete, ready to fight.
The wolf looked like a regular one, it feel easy.
[Ting!]
Side Quest: Defeat the Wolf
Difficulty: F
Reward: +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Defense
Token: 1x
"Another quest, huh?" Aisei attacked eagerly — but forgot something important.
Wolves rarely hunted alone.
Another one came from behind!
Shazz!
Its claws slashed his arm, sending his machete flying.
Panic surged.
Now he was surrounded by two wolves — but his face stayed calm and serious despite the danger.
Suddenly, the black ball rolled toward the machete — and fused with it.
The blade was now shrouded in black aura!
Aisei was stunned.
Without hesitation, he dashed, grabbed the weapon, and spun low — slashing the first wolf.
Shaaaak!
A single strike split the creature in half.
The black ball had boosted his weapon's power.
Crack… (A small fracture appeared on the blade.)
The second wolf roared and charged. This time, Aisei didn't use the blade. He clenched his fist — and punched the wolf in the head.
BAMMM!
The wolf collapsed — unconscious.
"Stay down before I pierce this into your heart," Aisei muttered coldly.
He was shocked himself — one punch was enough to knock out a full-grown wolf.
No doubt — his power had increased.
[Ting!]
Side Quest: Defeat the Wolf (Completed)
Difficulty: F
Reward: +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Defense
Token: 1x
---
Status Window
Name: Ri Aisei
Age: 15
Strength: 14 Defense: 12
Agility: 10
Skill:
● Empathetic Listener
Playground:
● Slot 777
Item:
● Black Ball 1
● Emergency Pill 1
● Token: 1
---
The aura-wrapped machete returned to its ball form.
Apparently, Aisei could separate or fuse it at will.
This ball wasn't ordinary. It was a power source — a weapon enhancer.
He checked the first wolf's body — looking for the glowing stones from Mount KIR.
None this time.
Suddenly…
Bezzzz... bezzzzzzz...
A strange buzzing came from the school building. Aisei backed away — this wasn't the time to act rashly.
He picked up the unconscious wolf and headed back to the lab.
---
"Didn't you just eat? You hunting again?" Ajuka teased.
"the wolf still alive," Aisei replied flatly.
He descended into the lab.
Prof was ecstatic.
"Wahhh! You've outdone yourself this time, Aisei!" He kissed Aisei's forehead.
"Put that thing in the cage! I'll find all your weaknesses this time, you pest! Nyahahaha!"
---
Later, the two sat on top of the defense base, gazing at the sky.
"Aisei… I don't have the heart to leave Prof here alone," said Ajuka softly.
"Don't worry. Once we finish the base and food storage, we'll return here every month," Aisei said.
He handed the black ball to Ajuka — and unexpectedly, Ajuka's weapon also became shrouded in black aura.
A new discovery — the ball could be shared.
Even better — Ajuka could summon and dismiss his blade at will.
"Aisei… do you ever wonder… why only we survived? Why us?" Ajuka asked, his voice trembling in the night breeze.
Aisei went silent. Long pause.
"Until we find that bastard… and chop his head off ourselves… we have to keep surviving, Juka."
His voice was calm — but sharp.
"You saw it that day. He killed everyone in an instant." Ajuka's hands trembled.
"I didn't understand how our family died back then…" Aisei whispered.
"But now we know. That bastard… he's had insane power for a long time."
"That's why we need to prepare. And now… he's probably even stronger."
Aisei gripped the ball tightly.
He closed his eyes.
"Chamber, status."
[TATATA.. TATATA..]
Status Window
Name: Ri Aisei
Age: 15
Strength: 14 Defense: 12
Agility: 10
Skill:
● Empathetic Listener (9%)
Playground:
● Slot 777
Item:
● Black Ball 1
● Emergency Pill 1
● Token: 1
"Can I rename this skill...? 'Empathetic Listener' sounds kinda lame."
He typed something on the Chamber's keyboard — and succeeded.
[Empathetic Listener] → [Sound Radar]
"Hehehe… now that sounds cool," he grinned.
The two finally fell asleep atop the base — exhausted, but ready for another insane day ahead.
---
The next morning…
Aisei woke up early. He checked the surroundings as usual.
Suddenly
[Ting!]
A transparent screen appeared.
Main Quest: Help the Dwarves against the Lizardmen
Objective: Free 100 enslaved dwarves. Protect them.
Difficulty: D
Time Limit: 1 day, 12 hours, 59 minutes
Penalty: Death
Reward: +10 Strength, +10 Agility, +10 Defense,
Token 20x, Bravgor Hammer
"
…Death?" Aisei whispered.