Chapter 13: Please Don’t Think You Have Superpowers
After the hallucinations receded like a tide, Ron stayed silent for an extended period. That apparition and the voice in that conversation unveiled many secrets vaguely.
It’s like playing a game, and suddenly, an unexpected plot scene appears. In Ron’s speculation, some formidable creature should be freezing this territory with just one move. After all, this is a fantasy world; isn’t this a typical development? But now he increasingly feels it’s not that simple, as if there’s something concealed behind all this. Including this system it also gave him a very uneasy feeling.
After hesitating, he decided to walk towards the place where the apparition had appeared. Unconsciously, he found himself walking to the depths of this town. If it were yesterday’s Ron, his physical strength wouldn’t have supported him walking to this place. Although the strengthening training mentioned by that system almost cost him his life, it did indeed bring about some changes in him.
While he was thinking this, another similar apparition appeared, and it was in a running posture. The apparition darted into an alley, prompting Ron to follow instinctively. After squeezing through, he found himself facing a dead end.
“What…?” Ron was instantly disappointed.
Sure enough, everything he had seen before was just an illusion. He had thought it might be some decisive clue. But then, a strange sound caught Ron’s attention, resembling a crow’s caw and a canine whimper.
A white squirrel stood there in the dead end, staring at Ron.
“?” The squirrel looked confused.
“!” Ron’s gaze at it seemed like he found money.
The squirrel seemed to understand something from Ron’s look and bolted. Almost like when Ron encountered it before, a snowstorm suddenly swept in. The temperature dropped further in the already freezing town where people’s breaths were visible. He would have been too cold to proceed if it were the previous Ron. But now, he merely felt a slight chill from the gust of wind. He braved this cold wind and approached the peculiar squirrel.
“This guy must be the culprit,” Ron felt he was just a step away from making a fortune, “You’re not getting away!”
The squirrel, seeing Ron ignoring the gust of wind, showed a hint of surprise in its human-like eyes.
As Ron approached step by step, the squirrel instinctively cried out and then jumped onto the wall. But Ron, much like catching a chicken, managed to grab it from the wall.
In Ron’s ears, his own voice echoed, “Got you.”
However, he was sure he hadn’t said those words — even though he had intended to. But while he was dazed, the squirrel squirmed out of his grasp and hastily escaped under the cover of the snowstorm.
However, Ron had already anticipated its path before the squirrel could escape. He could have easily pursued it, but the situation was too peculiar. He paused for a moment.
“System, do all time travelers have unique abilities?” Ron couldn’t help but ask.
“Dear time traveler, please refrain from delusions. Before acquiring this system, you were just an ordinary person.”
“But if you’re referring to the special abilities of this system, then yes.”
The system’s response made Ron believe that the system didn’t cause the hallucinations he had experienced.
This wasn’t happening yesterday; how did it suddenly become like today?
Ron was now questioning if he was experiencing something akin to a juvenile delusion, but he had already graduated from that phase; it didn’t make sense. He lifted his head and realized he was close to the town center.
“The efficiency of this investigation is remarkably high,” Ron sighed.
Now, it’s just a matter of turning this little town upside down to catch the person Miss. Mercury is looking for.
But he didn’t notice that he was subconsciously chasing the white squirrel in front of him based on the hallucination. The squirrel thought it had escaped, but when it looked back, it was shocked to see Ron behind it.
“Goo!” In extreme panic, the squirrel sounded like a sneezing pigeon.
Forget the squirrel being startled. Ron himself was startled. He never thought he could turn around and catch this squirrel.
In Ron’s memory, he had never successfully caught any animal; he always fell short every time he tried to catch one. The squirrel made an angry expression, seemingly accusing Ron of relentless pursuit, and “chirped” a few scolding words.
It thought this was just a coincidence; after all, numerous people who had come before were all toyed around by it. Having lived in this rarely frequented town for a long time, could anyone other than this uninvited guest be more familiar with this place?
However, before it could run through a few alleys, its neck was lifted, “Got you.” But Ron didn’t know how to catch a squirrel and was fiercely scratched by it.
“So aggressive?” Ron, observing the fierce demeanor of the squirrel, picked up a nearby trash can.
The type of behavior he couldn’t stand the most in his life was this, and he couldn’t tolerate it.
“Can you forgive it?” Suddenly, a hoarse voice came along with the cold wind. Insight was a figure sitting on a rocking chair, undoubtedly the one who had just spoken.
However, Ron found it hard to say that this was a living person. His first impression was of a mummy. Covered in many bandages and wearing loose robes, his face appeared as dry as if the wind had dried it. The wrist revealed from his sleeve had only skin covering bones as if cutting it wouldn’t make it bleed. His eyes seemed sunken, making one worry they might fall out at any moment.
He opened his mouth slowly, his voice low and sluggish, “Without it… there’s no one to accompany me…”
Ron tossed the squirrel over. In mid-air, the squirrel darted into the man’s arms, crying a few times.
“Ah… caught, but nothing can be done…” The mummy’s speech was slow as if each word required all his strength.
After returning the squirrel, Ron adopted a waiting-for-an-explanation expression.
Don’t think he’ll be scared just because Ron looks like a mummy. Ever since being tormented by the system, he has been fearless; nothing can be scarier than a sky full of meteors. He has no fears after being tormented by the system. Nothing can be scarier than a sky filled with meteors.
“Don’t rush… don’t be nervous,” the mummy said slowly. “I know you… have many things to ask… just like the people before you.”