Chapter 75: Chapter75-I only feel guilty in my dreams

Breathing heavily, I leaned against the door, listening intently for any sounds of pursuit.

I also retrieved my platinum rank potion from my inventory or seemingly out of nowhere, and immediately drank it all in one go.

Gradually, the chaos outside quieted, replaced by an eerie stillness.

I had escaped, at least for the moment, and was now waiting for my finger to heal back to its normal state.

I sighed...

"Damn, that was the most riskiest backup plan I could ever come up with. I swear, I'll never make a plan like that again."

I had two plans in mind.

The first plan was to intentionally tell them to stop trying to save Aeron, which would lead them into a trap.

My real intention was to save myself rather than Aeron.

I decided not to go along with them and let these guys die at the hands of that person.

If they all died, there would be no one left to complain to Marcus.

But there was a major flaw in this plan. Marcus might become suspicious of me.

So, I improved the plan.

I added that after they all died, including Zeras, I would intentionally injure myself by little cutting my leg, hands, and other parts of my body.

Then, I would slowly crawl towards the entrance of the shopping mall and collapse, forcing the guards to come to my aid.

I would tell them how we encountered the rebels and everyone died, but I managed to escape.

Afterward, most people wouldn't suspect me, though a few might still have doubts, but it would be minimal since I'm an Iron ranker.

My second plan was to rescue Zeras in the end and bring him back to the mall with me.

This would likely clear my name since the leader himself witnessed everything and would be held accountable for his recklessness and the deaths of the others.

This plan appeared unlikely or even impossible because of several factors, such as the presence of that guy, the possibility of Zeras dying, and other complications.

Currently, my fingers were regrowing themselves after all those fights...

It took a minute for both fingers to fully regenerate.

The living room we were in was quiet during this time.

Neither Zeras nor I said anything after our small conversation...

I remained quiet because I was in the middle of a healing process.

I wasn't sure why he suddenly became quiet after that.

From the moment he was being kicked by that guy to when I saved him, he seemed fine and was talking, even after his friends died.

Yet now, here he was sitting on the floor in silence, perhaps lost in thought.

I ignored him as I didn't much really care about him...

Then, I opened my character profile only to see numerous messages on hold.

[Ding, Congratulations, host! Quest: [Betrayal or Loyalty?] has been completed!]

[Objective complete: 1/1.]

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You've acquired 500 Monster Essences from the Quest, and they have been added to your Character Profile!)

500!

Holy shit! That's an incredible amount of essences I received for this quest...

It's the first time I've ever gotten this many essences as a reward.

My eyes were filled with joy as I looked at them...

Then, I checked my status window to see how many more essences I needed to level up.

Name: Michael Frostburne

Race: Human

Current rank: Iron.

Progression to Gold rank: 58% (1420/2500 essences)

Hmm, so, 1000 more to go...

Then, I closed the window and turned to look at Zeras, who was still seated.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

Zeras lifted his face and looked at me with a pained expression.

"Yeah... I'm okay," he replied.

Immediately, I sensed where this conversation might lead if I kept pushing him to talk. So, I said, "Zeras, stop showing your pain on your face and just deal with it."

I knew if I continued asking out of concern, he might open up and tell me how it was all his fault, or about seeing his friends die, and more.

I could help ease his pain by talking with him, but that wasn't typically my approach.

When I could foresee what would happen, I preferred to relax and stay calm.

Now, I can't remember the last time I felt guilty or sad.

While I was thinking about this, someone knocked on my door twice.

I immediately went to see who it was.

When I opened the door, I was a little surprised to see Lia standing there.

I asked, "Um, Lia, what brings you here?"

She said with concern in her voice, "I was just running some errands and heard the news about your group, so I came to check up on you."

She continued asking, "How do you feel about it?"

Before I could answer, she added, "Now, don't misunderstand. I was asking if you're feeling depressed or something."

Ah, she really is an innocent girl...

I put on a guilty and sad face and began my act.

Even though I didn't have much experience with pretending or acting, I was confident that the cute, naive girl in front of me wouldn't catch on, given my situation.

I said, "I do feel very sad and guilty about the death of my comrades since I was helpless. Anyway, thanks for your concern."

She smiled and replied, "No, no, it's just my duty as a friend to check on others. I didn't do much; I just asked how you were. You really don't need to thank me."

Friend? Interesting...

For a moment, I thought she might have actually fallen in love with me from the way she was showing concern and speaking to me.

But I was wrong.

Since she already has a fianc, I don't think she would consider cheating on him.

Still, someone close to her and very clever could easily manipulate her and mold her to their will, given how innocent she is.

I nodded slowly, trying to maintain the facade of sadness. "Yeah, I'm just trying to process everything."

Lia's expression softened further. "It's okay to feel overwhelmed. Losing friends is never easy."

"Yeah," I murmured, glancing away briefly. "It's just a lot to take in."

She hesitated for a moment, then asked gently, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

I shook my head slightly. "Not right now. Maybe later."

Lia nodded understandingly. "Alright. Just know that I'm here if you need anything."

"Thanks," I replied quietly, feeling now guilt for deceiving her.

She studied me for a moment longer before speaking again. "You know, Michael, you're a strong person. I've seen how you handle tough situations."

I raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by her compliment. "You think so?"

She smiled warmly. "Absolutely. You've been through a lot, yet you always find a way to keep going."

I shifted uncomfortably, not used to receiving praise, especially under false pretenses. "I... I appreciate that, Lia."

"You're welcome," she said sincerely. "Just remember, you don't have to face everything alone."

I nodded, genuinely touched by her concern. "I'll keep that in mind."

Lia glanced at her watch suddenly, realizing the time. "I should probably get going. But please take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will," I assured her, managing a small smile.

With a final nod, Lia turned to leave.

As she reached the doorway, she paused and looked back at me. "And Michael, if you ever do want to talk or need anything, don't hesitate to reach out."

"I won't," I promised softly, watching her leave with a mix of relief and guilt.

Once she was gone, I closed the door and leaned against it, letting out a long exhale.

The weight of my deception hung heavily on me, but I pushed it aside...

Living and surviving in this world requires tough decisions, and sometimes, assuming a role like this is necessary because you never know what role they might play in your life in the future.

I looked around my room, feeling the impact of recent events sinking in.

The deaths of those guys, the schemes and plans I had madeall of it burdened my thoughts heavily.

Man, a lot has happened faster than I thought it would...

But amidst all this chaos, one thing was clear: I needed to stay focused and keep moving forward.

I walked over to my bed and sat down, running my hand through my hair.

After a few minutes of adjusting my hair, I lay down in bed and closed my eyes, surrendering to the immense stress weighing on my shoulders from all this turmoil.

Then, I checked my watch to see the time...

Name: Michael Frostburne

Total Rules Broken: 1

Current Rules Broken: 0

Time: 5:35 PM

...

We arrived at the evening or close to the end of the evening in the mall, so the timing seemed fine to me.