Chapter 73: Superstrength
"I..." Ophelia hesitated before lowering her eyes. She looked ready to refuse, but Robert spoke before she could finish.
"Please think about it first, Mrs. Ophelia. If Alex completes his Tutorial Quest and we complete ours at the same time, everyone should receive at least one Reward Box. We might even get another one from Alex’s quest. Those rewards could improve all of our chances of surviving," Robert said.
Ophelia remained silent. She still looked unconvinced, which was understandable. She barely knew any of them, and the System hadn’t explained what joining a faction actually meant or whether members could leave later.
Alex and Robert’s eyes met for a moment. Robert gave him a subtle wink before walking over to Ophelia.
A moment later, he quietly led her toward a corner of the corridor so they could talk without everyone listening.
Watching the two of them, Alex couldn’t help thinking Robert looked exactly like a suspicious scammer trying to sell something expensive.
His attention shifted to the elderly woman instead.
"What about you, Miss Rae? Would you like to join?" he asked.
"No," she answered.
"Okay," Alex nodded.
Alex could tell from her expression that she had already made up her mind, so he did not waste time trying to persuade her.
At that moment, Sophia walked over with her phone still in her hand. She looked slightly uncertain as she stopped in front of Alex.
"Can you tell me what you know about Faith? I tried checking Dwitter, but everything is loading too slowly," she said.
"You’re interested in Priest Class?" Alex looked at her in surprise.
"...Why are you acting surprised?" Sophia frowned.
"You always picked berserker-type classes whenever we played games." Alex pointed out.
A faint blush appeared on Sophia’s face.
"That was different," she mumbled.
Alex chuckled. The quiet Sophia became the loudest person in the room whenever they played multiplayer games. She had dragged him, Kevin, and Tina into enough matches that Tina eventually became a gamer herself.
Remembering those days felt strangely comforting. Yet Alex couldn’t deny that he liked the current environment too, as dangerous it was. He liked growing stronger and seeing the visible progress.
Putting those thoughts aside, Alex explained what he knew. "Faith is a strange stat. Unlike mana and aura, it doesn’t seem to recover in a predictable way. It can heal injuries and reduce fatigue, but for some reason it works much better when you’re healing someone else instead of yourself."
Sophia listened without interrupting, her expression growing more thoughtful as he spoke. When he finished, she looked down at her own screen again before quietly nodding.
"...Maybe I was right after all," she mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"It’s nothing important. I’ll tell you when I’ve confirmed my theory," she said
Alex nodded. While listening to her, Alex continued practicing the Battle Instinct Spell. There was no reason to stop training whenever he had a free moment.
She added with a smile, "I think I’ll choose Priest. We need someone who can heal everyone, and someone should stay behind with Miss Rae if things become dangerous. It seems like the best role for me."
Seeing Sophia smile for the first time since they had reunited, he felt a little relieved.
She selected her class before reaching out her hand. Alex shook it, and another notification appeared before him.
[Sophia Williams has joined Alex Mercer’s faction.]
A few moments later, Robert returned with Ophelia and Charlotta. Somehow, he was carrying Charlotta on one arm while the little girl giggled happily, as though she had already known him for weeks instead of less than an hour.
"W-we’ll join your faction," Ophelia said.
Alex looked at Robert with a questioning expression, silently asking how he had managed that. Robert only answered with an innocent smile, making it clear he had no intention of explaining.
Shaking his head inwardly, Alex accepted their decision. He shook Ophelia’s hand first before crouching slightly so Charlotta could shake his hand as well.
[Ophelia Miller has joined Alex Mercer’s faction.]
[Charlotta Miller has joined Alex Mercer’s faction.]
Alex reopened the faction page after the notifications disappeared. Including himself, the faction now had seven members, meaning he only needed three more people to complete his Tutorial Quest.
The faction perk was useful too. A permanent ten percent increase to everyone’s EXP would speed up their growth considerably.
Almost immediately afterward, everyone except Alex received a Reward Box for completing their Tutorial Quest.
They opened them together and found practical supplies such as flashlights, batteries, rope, medicine, and other survival necessities. The only weapon among all the rewards was an F-Rank dagger that Robert received, as he was a Rouge.
Alex had advised everyone that Rogue might not be the safest choice for now, but Robert told him that something about the Class seemed to be calling to him.
Alex didn’t argue after hearing that. It might be possible there was some strange mechanism at work. There were still too many mysteries about System. So, he let Robert choose Rogue. What surprised him much more was Ophelia’s decision.
She told them she worked as a nurse, yet she had chosen Warrior instead. Alex didn’t need to ask why.
Looking at the way she instinctively kept Charlotta close, the answer was obvious. She wanted the strength to protect her daughter herself.
Charlotta, meanwhile, had chosen Priest. She wanted to become a Mage after watching Alex, but Kevin and Robert spent several minutes convincing her that healer was just as amazing, and flashy.
In the end, the little girl reluctantly agreed, though she still looked a little disappointed.
Alex smiled faintly, thinking she would probably keep asking him about magic later. Children rarely gave up on something they found exciting after hearing "no" just once.
"Mrs. Ophelia, can you hold this? It will help you in combat," Alex said as he took out the shield he made from the Titan Reef Crab Leader.
It would be good for a warrior like Ophelia.
She looked surprised, but she let go of Charlotta’s hand and reached out for it slowly. The moment the shield’s weight settled into her hands, her eyes widened.
Before she could react, the shield slipped from her grasp and crashed onto the floor with a loud thud, leaving a dent in the floor.
Silence filled the corridor for a moment. Everyone looked at the shield, then at the dent in the floor, before slowly turning toward Alex. He had been holding that same, heavy shield with one hand just moments ago.
..
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