A sudden rush of excitement washed over me as I read through the profile.

Not only had I advanced a level, but I was so close to finally evolving into a Second Grade. I almost couldn't believe it!

My gaze immediately went to the experience section.

EXP: [8,950 / 10,000]

…To think I achieved this level of growth in less than twenty-four hours! Just how many monsters did I kill?

At that moment, a series of notifications popped up:

[Lv 12 Goat headed ghouls x76 —> EXP 15,200]

[Lv 13 Siren of the Black Sea x1 —> EXP 220]

[Lv 16 Grave Ape x2 —> EXP 240]

'Woah… I killed this many?'

Of course it wasn't just me, but Aika too. Still, damn…

Then I arched a brow at the Grave Ape entry. I remembered one catching fire after Aika's attack, and the other was sent hurling back by Dion's attack. So, why was the kill attributed to me?

While I was considering this, I suddenly remembered that when it crashed into the first gorilla, a part of my flame had caught its flank.

Could it be that it didn't die from Dion's attack, but was later consumed by my flames?

I thought about it and nodded after a second.

That must be it!

Smiling widely, I shifted my gaze to the exclusive skill section.

Exclusive Skill: [Flames of decay - Lv2]

'Finally…'

I was up a level. Leveling up a skill meant that the potency, range, and most times, cooldown of that skill had been enhanced.

Flames of Decay did not have a cooldown period, which meant that only the other aspects of it had probably been enhanced.

Speaking of cooldown periods, I was really glad that Flames of Decay didn't have one like most skills did, seeing that this was the only offensive skill I had. The only issue with it was that it consumed a massive amount of my mana. To use the skill at its full potential, I needed to use up all of my mana, which wasn't very efficient for someone like me who could only draw in mana at night.

Still, it was an incredibly powerful skill, so I couldn't complain.

That aside…

'How on earth did I gain this much positive karma points?' I wondered as I stared at the figures.

Karma Points: [N 2,360 / P 550]

I remember that it was at two hundred before leaving the territory of the goat-headed ghouls.

But now, it was five hundred and fifty.

'Gamer Privileges… How did I get this many Karma points?'

[Retrieving information…]

[Karma Points gained at the Black Sea —> 300]

[Karma Points gained from helping the character Celeste at Merdini's Burial Ground —> 50]

'Oh… so I got a hundred karma points each from saving Ino, Dion, and Celeste from the Siren. While fifty probably came from the time I stopped and went back to help Celeste right after she stumbled.'

…Mmm.

'Though gaining positive karma is a bit harder than gaining negative, it looks like I gain more points at a time when I do good acts than when I do bad.'

Anyway, this was good because now, I could raise Evelyn up from the dead.

Yawning, I looked away from the multiple screens in front of me as they disappeared, and leaned my head back on the wall. I decided to raise her up later before we leave this cave, as I too desperately needed to rest right now.

However, before I could close my eyes, a shadow fell over me. When I shifted my gaze, I found Celeste standing directly in front of me.

'Huh? What does she want now?'

I didn't need to ponder much, as she quickly extended her hand toward my side and said nervously, "Do you mind… if I sit by your side?"

'What?!'

Honestly, I did mind.

Why did she suddenly want to sit beside me?

I frowned slightly. There was just too much about this girl that I did not understand.

Still, since she had helped me back at Aziz's beautiful garden, I was willing to indulge her. After a few tense seconds, I shifted my gaze away from her and simply said, "Do what you want."

Celeste walked over and gently dropped beside me.

For a moment, it was quiet except for the noise she made from scratching her arm.

Looking at her through the corner of my eye, I couldn't help but grow curious about her strange personality.

'Hey, Gamer Privileges?'

[Activating Gamer Privileges…]

'Tell me about Celeste.'

[Retrieving information…]

Suddenly, a long data stream of information popped up before me with everything about Celeste. I slowly began to read it, and as I did, I began to understand the relationship Celeste had with her brother. I could see the underlying instability of her mental state, and I could also see why she had this habit of scratching her arm. The more I read, I also began to understand why she behaved the way she did toward Cedric.

A part that caught my attention was:

[…the character Celeste had not been informed by the other members of the Martini Barony about their decision to sell off Cedric to the cold merchants. She was the only one in the entire Barony who wasn't aware of this, and thought that Cedric was just being withdrawn from the bastion due to his lack of a bond.]

Suddenly, so many things clicked into place. She wasn't strange; she was just terrified and alone. She didn't hate Cedric; she just desperately needed her brother to look at her, to notice her, and to speak to her again.

I dragged my eyes from the screen to Celeste. She immediately stopped scratching her arm, her eyes darting up to mine before quickly looking away. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them tightly, making herself into a small, defensive ball.

I shook my head and looked away. Leaning my head back against the wall, I was about to close my eyes when a soft, broken sniff reached me.

"I'm really sorry, brother," she whispered as she pulled her legs even tighter. "I know… you must probably hate me now. I know you may never forgive me... But... I just want you to know that I'm really sorry... I hate myself, too, and I won't ever forgive myself for the things I did to you."

Her whole body trembled. She bit down hard on her lip and quickly raised a hand, wiping her teary eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. Then she began to mutter to herself in a muffled voice. "I... I-I wish... I wish I c-could take it all back. I wish I never acted the way I did… I wish…" She began to scratch her arm again, more violently this time.

Looking at her, I couldn't help but feel a sudden, jarring wave of pity mixed with a deep, confusing guilt. Knowing how badly she too had treated the original Cedric, I thought, I should be furious, I should be cold. But seeing her reduced to this shaking, broken heap, the anger felt hollow. Besides, she never hurt me directly.

So…

What would Cedric do if he were here?

Would he forgive her?

Maybe…

Maybe he wouldn't lecture her on the things she did. Maybe he wouldn't bring up the pain of the past.

Maybe… he would probably just hold her.

I let out a long sigh then reached out and held her shoulder. She flinched, and her teary eyes widened in surprise, but I gently pulled her close and rested her head on my other shoulder, and she broke down into a fresh wave of tears.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.