Charles must have thought I would find value in his daughter if I realized she had a very useful Gift that I could exploit.
It was a very smart move to make, but his reasoning was flawed.
Why would I choose to bring extra baggage with me just for her Gift, especially when I was responsible for the death of both her parents and even everyone she came to know and love?
There was also one last thing Charles was unaware of… something no one currently knew. Since I had a bit of time left, I could simply tell him as a parting gift—for old time’s sake.
“In the future, there’ll be something known as the ‘System Shop’, where Gifteds exchange Karma Points for nearly everything. When that time comes, Karma Points will determine nearly everything about a Gifted.” I spoke, moving closer to the man.
“You can obtain food, clothing, supplies, even Skills… if you have enough Karma Points…” My voice trailed.
However, here was the crux of the matter—the reason I even brought up this concept in the first place.
“… The Gifts of those who are dead automatically get turned into Skills and can also be bought using Karma Points, though the good ones are a little pricey.”.
My face now moved closer to the man as I grinned sadistically.
“If she’s such a powerful Gifted, I can just obtain her Gift for myself in the form of Skills later on! Your Gift will come in handy too!”
The moment this bombshell landed, Charles’ face completely fell and his eyes turned grey in despondency. The tiny hope of his child’s survival had vanished. Seeing the usually composed and resolute Camp Leader in such a state was enough to trigger a laugh in me.
“Pfft. Pfft…”
“… Puhahahuahahahahahahahaaaa!!”
My cackling voice nearly caused the room to shake as I laughed in amusement. One would think I was mad the way I chuckled.
The reason I didn’t hesitate to get rid of Paul back then despite his useful Gift… the same reason I didn’t hesitate to kill off some interesting Gifteds who had extremely overpowered Gifts—that was also the same reason I wouldn’t feel any remorse in burning this whole place to the ground to get what I wanted.
“In the end, your Gifts will be mine… in the form of Skills, of course!”
More laughter escaped my mouth as I bathed in the revelation that seemed to completely offset Charles to his very core.
“… So… because of that reason… you would kill… an innocent girl…?” His voice, shrill and slow, beckoned to me.
I looked at Charles, ceasing my laughter immediately. His sincere eyes displayed worry and genuine affection that was obviously meant for his daughter.
‘Urgh!’ I felt a slight pain in my chest once I noticed this.
His words and actions struck a chord within me. Perhaps… if I had a father like him, I wouldn’t have turned out to be so twisted. No, if even one person I knew back then displayed this form of devotion to me… then maybe…
“I respect your wishes, Charles. But, reality is quite harsh. Just as you wouldn’t hesitate to let the other Camp members die in order to protect what you love, I am also the same…”
My eyes were now rid of any amusement as I knelt to stare deeper into his eyes.
“… I too will sacrifice anything and anyone to protect the only person I love!”
We both had things to protect. It was just unfortunate that he was weaker than I was. Had it been the other way around, if he had to make a choice, he would choose his little girl no matter what!
“You… have someone to… protect?!” Charles strained to speak, displaying shock.
His mind must have still been experiencing severe trauma and pain, yet he struggled to speak. Perhaps the hope for his daughter’s salvation still lingered somewhere in his heart.
“Of course, I do. A life with no one to protect is not worth living.” I replied with a soft smile.
Charles showed even more shock at my words.
“W-who… is that person?”.
My grin widened as I gave a bright smile and raised my hand, pointing at the object of all my affection and love.
“Myself! I love myself above all others. I also strive to defend myself before others. No one is more important than me, and if anything exists that threatens me… I will do everything—whatever it takes— to make sure I come out victorious!”
The Camp Leader gasped in surprise and disgust. His face morphed into an angry one, clearly in complete disagreement with my philosophy.
“You selfish bastard… you devil… you’d kill innocents for yourself? What would you gain by that? You… you monster!”
Charles continued his rambling and I rolled my eyes. This was my problem with overly righteous people.
Was there anything wrong in doing my best to live?
Sure, my methods were extreme and sketchy, but the goal was geared toward my survival. I also enjoyed some of the things I did, but wasn’t that for the best? If I had to dirty my hands to live, wouldn’t it be better if I did so without feeling shitty about it?
‘A job only gets easier if the person that does it starts to enjoy it…’
Through the deaths of these people, I would be able to secure (G) Karma Points which were able to grant major boosts to my capabilities, further ensuring my survival.
The hell that awaited me beyond the beginning phase was something Charles and the others couldn’t comprehend. While I seemed like the devil at the moment, it was only a necessary precaution to make sure I didn’t lose to the actual devils who would surface later on.
“Don’t look at me that way, Charles. I’m not the bad guy here…”
If this man wanted to blame someone, he could blame God or the Demons for trapping us in such an apocalyptic world. Just like him and his daughter, I was also a victim who had been forced to play this crazy game.
The only difference between us was that I would do absolutely anything to guarantee my survival!
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