It seemed like luck was not on Karma's side, because Marcus and his crew had found the same zone he was in, and they were heading straight for it.
He swallowed. This wasn't a good sign.
Odds were it would turn into a confrontation. There were five of them, which meant they'd probably try to kick him out, or worse.
Quickly, he activated Analytical Vision on them.
His eye flared bright gold as Marcus's and his crew's status windows appeared in front of him.
"As expected, he's the strongest," Karma said, his expression serious.
---
Name: Marcus Lewing
Race: Human
Age: 20
Level: 1
EXP: 350 / 2,000
Fortune: 850
Spirit (Colorless): 5%
Spells: [None]
Techniques: [None]
Skills 0/5:
Physical Attributes:
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Speed: 9
Agility: 9
Gift:
Leding {Maljut — 10%}
Ability:
This skill allows the user to summon magical chains to immobilize targets.
If targets die while bound, there is a small chance of permanently absorbing a portion of their physical attributes.
The stronger the user's physical attributes, the more powerful, faster, and durable the summoned chains will be.
Limitation:
The skill is limited to summoning chains within a 10-meter radius around the user.
The user can only bind up to 3 targets at a time.
Drawback:
The user gains half the normal attribute points upon leveling up.
Items and buffs that boost physical attributes are 40% less effective on the user.
---
Karma was genuinely surprised by Marcus's physical stats.
He already knew Marcus was an athlete, but those numbers were well above his crew's.
Though that was probably his Gift doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
Marcus was also the only one in the group who had leveled up.
And then there was his fortune: 850, noticeably higher than the rest of his crew, who were sitting somewhere between [-50 and 230].
Still nowhere close to the ridiculous negative fortune Karma was carrying.
Something else Karma noticed was that Marcus looked different.
Taller. Broader. His hair had turned a bright, almost metallic gold, and his eyes matched.
His crew had changed too, all of them looking sharper than before.
Had he changed as well?
He had, actually. His hair had gone straighter and darker, and his eyes had turned a vivid red, like rubies.
When a human received the system, they went through a kind of metamorphosis that slightly altered their appearance. And as they kept leveling up, that change would continue.
"Well, looks like someone beat us to it," Marcus said with a grin, pulling Karma out of his thoughts.
They had arrived.
"Tch, this cockroach really never stops being a pain, does he? I guess we're stuck sharing the zone with him," one of Marcus's lackeys muttered, the one with electric blue hair.
But another member of the crew shook his head.
"Didn't you see? 1/5. The cap is five people, and we are five. No room for everyone," he said, shooting Karma an irritated look, as if it were somehow his fault the barrier had that limit.
Karma clenched his teeth.
He didn't like his odds against all five of them.
Marcus was the real problem. With fortune sitting that high, he could probably tank the effects of Karma's ability long enough to close the gap and land a hit. And the numbers spoke for themselves. Karma wasn't at a high enough level to take them all on.
"It's pretty obvious who doesn't belong here. Tell that useless bum to get out and let us in. It's only logical," another one of the guys said, not even bothering to look at Karma.
His tone made it clear that as far as he was concerned, Karma's life was worth nothing.
So they had reached exactly the conclusion Karma had feared.
That he was the one who didn't belong, even though he was the one who had gotten there first.
Unfair. But Karma was used to life working that way.
"Yeah. Tell him to leave, and if he won't, we'll make him."
[+50 EXP]
Karma heard the notification.
Ten minutes had passed, and the zone had handed out its automatic reward.
The orange zone gave more than green, apparently, though it was still not a lot.
"Hold on, guys. I get why you want him out, but to be fair, he was here first," Marcus said then, which left Karma completely thrown off. "Besides, I don't think this loser's going to last long out there on his own. I don't want that on my conscience. You all stay. I'll go find another zone. Easy enough for me."
Marcus said it with his usual arrogance, but still.
Karma was genuinely surprised Marcus had said that. Though on reflection, it wasn't kindness. Marcus was just looking down on him, trying to play the cool, generous guy while humiliating him in the same breath.
Good intentions or not, he was still the same jerk as always.
"Are you serious, Marcus? We can just throw him out by force. It's not like he's going to survive anyway," one of the others pushed back.
"Yeah, that loser's done for either way."
"If Marcus is leaving, I'm going with him. I'm not staying here with this guy."
Karma sighed.
Completely predictable.
He'd seen it coming from a mile away.
"Forget it, I'll leave," he said, stepping out of the barrier. "Go ahead and take it. I'll find another zone."
He said it with a flat expression as he walked past them.
"You sure about that?" Marcus asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Pfft, what a kid. He definitely got upset about what we said," someone snickered.
"Let him go get himself killed. Clearly doesn't value his own life."
Karma kept walking and didn't look back.
Leaving was the right call.
Staying was too much of a gamble. Those guys could easily decide it was worth killing him to upgrade the zone to purple and then have all five of them inside.
Better to cut his losses and focus on finding a red zone.
"Yeah, this is the right move," Karma told himself as he approached the stairs.
Up ahead, a crowd of monsters was waiting for him.
________________________________________
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