Chapter 24: Try again

this is a fictional story by realTensai

Alvis’ body shook, a higher might forcing it to move. He was in his comfort zone, fully at peace, yet his peace was getting interrupted. The higher might shook stronger and stronger and Alvis knew he would leave his comfort zone soon. He started hearing a voice, and before he knew it, he woke up.

“Wake up Alvis, you got—”

“Ahhh!”

Alvis woke up screaming, the sight of the wind arrow piercing through his head still vivid. He gasped for air and instantly touched his head to make sure it was still intact. Though after confirming his head was still where it should be, he knew he had respawned.

“What is wrong Alvis?! W-Why are you sweating like that?”

Only then did Alvis notice the sweat pouring down his face. When he tried to wish it away, he felt his hand shaking.

“I-I am good. Just had a really terrible nightmare.”

Alvis shook his head, trying to forget how awful his last run ended. However, in the next instance, Alvis felt the warmth of his mom, who went in to embrace him. Feeling how she patted his head, once again confirmed he was alive.

“It is over now. There is no need to worry. I am here for you.”

Her gentle voice filled Alvis’ head, letting him let go of the cruel memories. With those words, Alvis finally realized it was over. The last run had ended, and he had respawned. He was alive.

He could start all over again.

“Thank you, mom.”

After Alvis had calmed down, his mother left the room. Now he could organize his thoughts and go over what happened in the last run and what he had done wrong.

To sum it up, the reason his last run went so terribly wrong was that he was untrustworthy and suspicious. Everything boiled down to that.

Alvis had not known Lia was an empath, and that was why he did not hesitate to lie. In his eyes, lying was not something bad if it was not done out of malicious intent. He had only lied because he thought things would be easier that way. Though he could not have been more wrong about that.

The moment he explained why he wanted to join the student council, his fate was already sealed. In their very first interaction, he had lied to her. Him saying he wanted to join the student council because he wanted to contribute to the school was a bold lie. If he now thought back to it, Lia did seem to not believe him, yet he was oblivious to it and had thought she could not see through his lie.

Since then, Lia had found him suspicious, leading to her not trusting him. Her behavior now made sense, too. Alvis had felt the reason she did not open up to could be that she did not trust him. But back then, he could not explain why she would not trust him, so he thought he was just making up an excuse.

Somehow, Lia had also noticed that Alvis had been gathering information about her. This, paired with his lies and odd behavior, just made him seem suspect. No wonder she did not trust him in the end.

Though one thing she said stuck with Alvis. Her explanation for his behavior. Lia thought Alvis was part of the Devil Cult and that he wanted to get to the Assassin Organization through her.

Alvis had no idea what this Devil Cult was. Heck, he did even know it existed. Of course, he had heard the stories about a cult that tries to release the devil from his seal, yet he had thought it was only a myth. A fairytale supposed to scare misbehaving kids. That Lia thought he was one of them was the worst thing that could have happened to him.

In the heat of the moment, Alvis could not understand why Lia did not believe him, even though she could sense he was not lying. Though after analyzing everything that had happened before from a retro perspective, her reaction was justified.

Alvis could only sigh.

I was such an idiot.

He accepted his mistakes and was ready to move on. The last run was over, so now he could learn from his mistakes. His approach was not wrong, just the way he acted. Alvis would join the student council again without acting suspicious this time. This was what he decided on.

He still had to find out how he could save Lia if he wanted to clear the level. Lia was a part of the Assassin Organization. The fact she could kill Alvis with such ease proved it was not her first time. So if Lia was an assassin, Alvis did not know how he could save her.

Before he had thought Lia would be forced to join the Organization and Alvis would have to hinder that. Though now he found out she already was a part of the Organization. So now he had no clue what to do.

But maybe, exactly because she already was a part of them, Alvis had to save her. Maybe it was his job to free her from the grasp of the Organization. It sounded baffling to him, yet it could be the case.

This level is insane!

When Alvis saw his new level for the first time, saving a girl sounded hard enough. But now that he knew what she had to be saved from, he realized it was straight-up insane. Yet as an experienced gamer, he knew complaining would not make the level any easier, so Alvis quickly accepted his fate.

He felt like he had gone through everything important, so he now opened up his system.

NOTIFICATION

[YOU DIED!]

Experience is awarded for dying!

LEVEL 2: A lone girl

Mission: Save the girl

General:

Name: Alvis Silva

Race: Human

Class: Mage

Level: 3-> 4

Skills:

Basic mana manipulation: Lvl. 5

Mastermind: Lvl. 2 -> Lvl. 3

Stats:

Mana: 96-> 99

Strength: 29

Intelligence: 85-> 88

Endurance: 36-> 41

Reflex: 32-> 35

Health: 45/45-> 50/50

The changes were decent and expected, so Alvis did not comment on them further. Only his level-up surprised him. He was at level four now, yet he did not notice any changes. Normally, level-ups granted one access to new abilities or skills, but not so in this system. Until now, his level-ups did not benefit him. Though Alvis still hoped this would change in the future.

——

It was just a white door that stood before Alvis, though right now it felt like an unsurpassable wall only Titans could tear down. And Alvis was by no means a titan. Yet he would have to have the courage of one if he wanted to knock on the door. The last time he did, everything went downhill from that point on. But now he knew what to do and how to act.

Alvis breathed in and out several times until he had finally calmed down. He could be a bit nervous, yet not so nervous Lia would find it suspicious.

This time I will succeed!

With his resolve at an all-time high, Alvis knocked on the door. Just like the last time he heard her voice answering.

“Enter.”

The first thing he saw when he stepped in was Lia sitting behind her desk, paperwork in front of her. Her sight triggered Alvis’ memory of her killing him, though he instantly suppressed it. Alvis had done a lot of mental training before meeting her now, so he would not hold a grudge against her. Him knowing that it was basically his fault she killed him also helped.

Alvis’ appearance made them have question marks on their faces. Maya and Chao were puzzled, and Lia was the only one who was composed. Yet even though she wore a smile on her face, her gaze seemed to be questioning Alvis.

“Alvis, what are you doing here?” Maya asked, breaking the silence.

“I have got a request.”

Maya raised an eyebrow, though it was Lia who spoke up.

“What is it?” Lia asked, her green eyes focused on Alvis.

Alvis took a deep breath in before he said the words.

“I want to join the student council!”

As soon as those words left Alvis’ mouth, silence awaited him. Just like last time, they looked at him, unable to understand the situation. And just like last time, Lia was the one who would ask the question.

“Why?” Lia asked, her face indifferent.

Alvis cleared his mind, closing off every bit of rationality within him. He wanted to be as sincere as he could.

“I want to get closer to you Lia! I want to join the student council so I can get to know you more!”

This was the unfiltered truth. The only reason Alvis wanted to join the student council was so he could get closer to Lia. This he told her upfront.

An unbearable silence greeted Alvis after he had spouted out his true feelings. Lia’s eyes widened as she stared at Alvis, unable to say something. Maya just looked like she had seen a ghost and Chao did his best to hold in his laugh. Though Alvis met Lia’s gaze, his resolve crystal clear. Then, after a few more seconds, she laughed.

“Puhaha, — you are not lying! But who would just say that upfront, haha? Most guys would not come here and tell me they want to join us just because they are interested in me. Hahaha.”

A cute smile accompanied by an adorable giggle was Lia’s response. Her white face flushed and she could not stop laughing.

“Well, my mom told me I should not lie.”

Lia just looked at him and when she realized he was not lying, she laughed even more.

“You are funny, Alvis,“ Lia said, wiping a tear away. “Fine, I will let you join.”

“Yes!”

With that, Alvis once again made it into the student council.

Ha, I guess honesty really is the foundation of trust.