The Extra’s Survival: Logging into the Game Master System!

Adrian's POV]

"So basically, you got a contract in the first tutorial just like Alice, and were immediately called upon for a secret quest that you cannot share?" Mark asked as he narrowed his eyes at me.

I wanted to avoid him and run away but I gotta be here with this group as well. After all, while my old group will handle all the things in the background, I would need a front group that can handle everything at the surface level.

Plus more importantly, he is my friend. So it won't be a nice thing to turn my back around to the only few people whom I can trust.

Hearing his words, I nodded at him, which made him sigh before walking a couple of steps forward as he brought his cheek a bit towards me.

Confused, I looked at him before he pointed at his cheek without speaking anything.

"I am not Gay Mark. I am not kissing you-"

-BOOM!

And Mark punched me in my gut before glaring at me.

"Ow! What was that for?"I asked as I held my stomach, where he punched.

Then sighing he spoke,

"I am not either, you bastard. Now punch me 18 times, to make sure we are even."

I looked at him with a surprise, before I smiled. Ain't that so nice of him?

"I know I can be dumb-" he was speaking as I interrupted him.

"You are," I answered.

He paused for a moment before continuing," And there are many times I make mistakes."

"Sure you do," I answered again with a smile.

"Listen Adrian! This isn't funny! Our lives are on the line… I can't… pretend everything is fine…" he spoke as he started turning silent again.

His eyes looked heavy. I wonder how long it has been since he slept? Did he sleep at all? He seemed tired.

"We can die at any moment. Our life can change at any moment. Somehow we are reduced to become mere playthings for this tower. I don't like this. I want to go back. I want to go back to the days where we could relax without any worries!

Without any tension! Without needing to fight for our life everyday!"

He spoke out loud. He was breaking a little. My friend… my best friend… he was not only physically tired but also mentally exhausted.

It was then I questioned something. Something that I had been neglecting for so long.

My eyes turned to Alice. And then to Alex. Then I looked at Luke on the [Map!] who was sitting alone, all by himself in the corner.

And then to the other players who were somehow more silent than before.

'None of them are asleep. They are scared,' I saw fear in their eyes. Worry, cautious and so many heavy emotions.

Everyone except me was getting tired. Even though these events might have cheered them up, this also made them fear of sudden attack during the night.

My old group was comparatively calmer but weren't they a special case? Their entire life was like this, so this isn't new to them.

'Yet, none of them are sleeping even though they used to do it before the apocalypse,' I sighed as I understood that even they were more cautious than before.

The very castle where they were supposed to relax, now they wondered if they would be alive tomorrow? Or will they be able to escape out of here or not?

I was… taking this whole thing a bit too lightly, wasn't I? Wouldn't I have been the same without my [Game Master System!]?

'Not really. But I don't know if I could have survived this far without it,' I sighed as I realized that I had been taking this thing for granted now.

"Adrian?" Alice asked as she saw me getting lost in my thoughts. There was worry in her eyes, and I sighed before looking back at Mark,

"I will create a place. A place where we can relax and enjoy. I don't know if we can bring back the past days, but if it's just about creating a place which we can call home. Then, I think it should be possible."

"Will you be able to?" Alex asked as he seemed pretty serious with his words. I don't know why, but I saw hope in his eyes, as if he was asking for confirmation from me.

"Yes. But it will require all of our efforts. Mark, I am sorry that I have kept things hidden from you. I will probably do it again, many times… but we will always be friends," I spoke as I looked at Mark.

He slowly looked at me before nodding.

"It's all right Adrian. I just got a bit emotional when I saw you alive. It made me really happy brother," he spoke and I smiled before thanking him for understanding my situation.

Then I pondered a little about the current situation before I reached a proper conclusion.

"Mark. Alex. You both should sleep for now. I and Alice will keep the perimeter in check. 6 hours later, we will take turns to sleep, and you guys can do the same," I looked at the duo as I suggested the idea.

Though reluctant they nodded after Alice agreed with me. And within a few minutes, both of them fell into deep sleep, making me smile before I turned to Alice,

"How are you?"

"I am good. How about you? You okay? With the contract and all," Alice asked a bit worried but I nodded before speaking,

"It's not exactly a contract but a deal. I need to fulfill his quests and in exchange I get information and skills. He said that there are all forms of contracts. Even though he seemed to be pretty cunning, he seemed to be the fair type."

Alice was skeptical of the contract but seeing that I wasn't worried, she too calmed down.

"Speaking of Contracts, what happened back in the safe zone? You said they took you somewhere and showered you with skills and knowledge?" I then steered the topic towards her contract.

At first I asked what happened which she told me in detail without hiding anything. And then as we moved on to the topic, I started asking about Mana and the way it's handled.

Alice said that she knew only the very basics given how little time she had to learn there. Though what she told me, was enough to give me a general idea of what type of skill I want.

Still I asked her to explain as much as she understood the topic. It was insightful and could be really great useful in case I came across a being using mana to support his entire living.

There were also discussions about other forms of energies such as Aura and Spirit Energy. Though given the limited amount of time, she only knew of the names of such energies.

The topic went on for an hour before I saw her yawning as well. I chuckled as I insisted her to sleep, which she disagreed at first. But then after I told her that it's fine as I have slept before and even I have a couple of S-Grade skills, she finally agreed and then moved to sleep.

After that, I deleted [Mana Control] and [Mana Regeneration!]. Since they were my innate skills that came with Mana, they cost about half a million to be deleted.

Though since I already had something else in mind, I deleted them without hesitation before typing something that I needed.

[Energy Connection!

Grade: D

Effects: Allows the user to connect with all forms of energy and control them to a minor extent! The user can feel the presence of even the thinnest strain of energy of any form present around him]

[Would you like to create the following skill for 70,000 GM Points?]

I clicked [Yes!] before pouring [100 Skill Points] into it. I made some minor changes before pouring another [1000 Skill Points]. A few more minor changes and then [10,000 Skill Points!]

With the limited GM points, I then made the final possible changes before upgrading it once more with [100,000 Points!]

As for the final result.

[Skill: The One

Grade: S

Effects:

-Healing: Allows the user to take in surrounding energy and heal himself or others at rapid speed!

-Telepathic Communication: The ability to connect mentally with others by sensing their thoughts or emotions through energetic fields.

-Empathy: A heightened sense of emotional awareness, where one can deeply feel or influence the emotions of others by connecting with their energy.

-Control of Elements: Allow individuals to manipulate the elements—such as fire, water, air, and earth—by controlling the energy within these natural forces.

-Weather Control: By tapping into the Planet's energy fields, the user could control weather patterns like storms, wind, and rain.

-Energy Blasts: The ability to project powerful bursts of energy for defensive or offensive purposes.

-Force Fields: Using energy to create protective barriers or shields around oneself or others.

-Energy Constructs: Forming solid objects, weapons, or structures from pure energy.

-Energy Amplification: Using external energy to enhance one's abilities or increase their potency.

-Energy Absorption: Allows the user to absorb all forms of energy to a certain extent, replenishing the user's own reserves!]

With this much, I won't need to be worried about Mana for quite a long time. Mental, Physical and Mana aspects are done now.

'Ain't that nice,' I thought before looking at my status screen. And what I saw made my eyes widened as I looked at the changes that my new skills had brought.

"Holy… Shit!"

I couldn't help but wonder if it was really my status screen at all?