World Awakening: The Legendary Player
Chapter 37: Being watched

Chapter 37: Being watched

Nox woke up. His body actually felt decent, way better than it had in days. That whole mana thing, even though it had almost killed him, seemed to have kickstarted something. He sat up and stretched, a few joints popping.

He glanced over. Serian was already sitting on the edge of the bed, her back to him. She looked... well, she looked like she hadn’t slept a wink.

"Morning," he said. "You, uh, get any sleep?"

She turned, just enough to look at him. "I am sufficiently rested, Human Nox. We should prepare to depart." Her voice was steady, but he wasn’t buying it.

’Yeah, right,’ he thought. But he wasn’t going to push it. If she wanted to pretend she was fine, whatever.

They didn’t say much else. He splashed some water on his face in the tiny bathroom. It wasn’t exactly a shower, but it was better than nothing. He still felt grimy, but his new clothes were a definite improvement over the trashed ones. Serian just stood by the window, looking out at the street.

When he was done, he nodded towards the door. "Alright, let’s bounce."

They walked out of the room and down the stairs. The old guy was still at the counter, looking just as bored as before. Nox just gave him a nod as they passed through the lobby and out onto the street. The city was already waking up. Cars were moving, people were walking around. It was almost normal.

’Normal,’ he thought. ’What a joke.’ He also remembered his wallet was completely empty now. ’Hope this princess-saving gig pays off, or I’m gonna be seriously broke.’

They walked a block or two, the plan still to head north. Nox was thinking about the route, how to avoid any obvious trouble spots, when it hit him.

’Shit. The girls.’

He had told them to meet him at the city center if they wanted. He hadn’t forgotten, not really, but with all the princess drama and getting nearly killed, it hadn’t been front of mind.

’They’re probably worried,’ he thought. Or maybe they’d just figured he ditched them.

’Can’t just leave them hanging.’

He stopped. Serian, who was walking a step behind him, almost bumped into him.

"Is there an issue, Human Nox?" she asked, her hand instinctively going near where she probably kept a hidden weapon.

"Yeah, uh, slight change of plans," he said, turning to face her. "We need to make a detour. I gotta pick some people up."

She just looked at him, her expression unreadable. "Other allies of yours?"

"Something like that," he said. "They’re... people I know. From the school. We were supposed to meet up."

She considered this for a moment. "This detour," she said, "will it significantly delay our journey north?"

"Nah, shouldn’t be too bad," he said. "City center isn’t that far out of the way from here, depending on which way north we’re actually heading. We can swing by, grab them, and then get back on track." He hoped they were even there. ’What if they couldn’t make it? Or what if they think I bailed?’

He didn’t like that thought. He wasn’t about to become like everyone else who’d ever let him down.

"Very well," she said after a moment. Her pointy ears, which she had made visible again once they were in the hotel room, twitched slightly. She hadn’t bothered to hide them again this morning. "Lead the way, Human Nox. I shall accompany you."

’She doesn’t seem too bothered,’ he thought. ’Guess as long as she gets to her sanctuary, she doesn’t care who tags along.’ He wondered if she even thought of him as an ally or just a temporary bodyguard. ’Probably the second one.’

"Alright," he said. "City center it is then."

He started walking, changing direction. She fell into step beside him. She was quiet, as usual, but he could feel her watching him sometimes. He wondered what she was thinking.

’Hope the girls are okay,’ he thought again as they walked. ’And I hope they didn’t get into too much trouble finding their families.’ He found himself actually a little bit concerned. It was a weird feeling. He wasn’t used to worrying about other people.

He pushed the thought away. They were tough. They’d be fine.

They walked until they were about halfway to the city center when Serian suddenly stopped him, putting a hand on his arm. He looked at her. ’What’s up now?’

"Human Nox," she said, her voice low. "We are being watched."

He looked around. He didn’t see anyone. ’Watched? By who?’ He didn’t know how to sense presences like that. That was some fancy elf stuff, he guessed.

"You sure?" he asked her. "I don’t see anything."

She nodded, her eyes scanning the trashed buildings around them. "I have felt it since yesterday," she explained. "When we were in the safe zone. It was faint then, so I thought little of it. But now that we have left the safe zone, the feeling is much stronger. And closer."

’Hmm...’ He thought. So, someone had been tailing them, maybe even since he first bumped into her. He didn’t like that. He looked around again, trying to spot anything out of place, but it all just looked like wrecked city to him.

If Serian felt it, though, he figured he should probably take it seriously. She didn’t seem like the type to get spooked over nothing.

’If they’re hiding, maybe the Appraise skill can spot them,’ he thought. He hadn’t really used it much on an area, just on items or that one time with Serian when it failed. ’If it can tell me about a gun, maybe it can tell me if there’s some creep hiding in the shadows.’

He focused on the general area where Serian seemed to be looking, the direction the uncomfortable feeling was coming from for her. He activated Appraise in his head.

A blue box popped into his vision, same as before.

[Appraise Error: Target Level Exceeds User Level by Significant Margin. Information Restricted.]

’Well, damn,’ he thought. ’Same error message. But that means there is a target. Serian was right.’ The fact that their level was way higher than his wasn’t exactly good news, but at least he knew they weren’t imagining things. Someone was definitely out there, and they were strong.

"You were right," he said to her, keeping his voice low. "Someone’s out there."

Her eyes narrowed.

Nox looked around, spotted a decent-sized rock among the debris. He bent down and picked it up. It fit pretty well in his hand. ’Okay, if they’re hiding, maybe a little surprise will make them show themselves. Or at least make them jump.’

He remembered that feeling of mana he messed with earlier, how he’d pushed it into his muscles. ’Wonder if I can put it into this rock?’ He focused on the stone, trying to channel some of that new energy he had into it.

It was weird, trying to push something he couldn’t see into something he could hold. For a second, nothing happened. Then, he felt a faint thrum from the rock, like it was a little bit... more than just a rock.

’Oh, that actually worked? Nice.’ He didn’t have time to think about it too much. He pinpointed the spot where he’d aimed his Appraise skill, where the presence felt strongest to Serian. He wound up and threw the rock as hard as he could.

The rock flew through the air, a dark blur. It wasn’t just a normal throw; he had put a lot of his strength into it, plus the mana. It hit the side of a half-collapsed building with a loud crack, way louder than a normal rock should have made. Chunks of concrete exploded outwards from the impact point.

For a second, there was just silence. Then, a muffled yelp came from behind the wall where the rock had hit.

’Got you, asshole,’ he thought, a little smirk on his face.