Obsession... What's That? I Just Wish Someone Would Help Me Escape - Chapter 77
People constantly demand rightful qualifications for what someone possesses or enjoys, persistently holding them to a standard and trying to verify it.
And they can’t tolerate anything that deviates from that standard.
For example, the fact that Johann, an illegitimate child, inherited power and succession rights, or that I, without even having awakened any abilities, became a strong candidate to lead my household.
To the self-appointed “qualification inspectors,” these were outrageous crimes, adding a sense of “how dare they” to their criticisms as they relentlessly found faults and came at me.
Johann must have fought his own battles for a long time, just like me.
“I get it. No one ever left me alone either.”
At my nod, which conveyed my empathy, Johann raised one eyebrow.
“Don’t copy me.”
How am I copying your story? I’m the one who said it first, and you were the one who showed empathy by saying you went through something similar!
“Such a childish comment…”
Just as I was calmly giving him a gentle scolding, Furball twitched and let out a weak little sound.
“Mew…”
I forgot all about my pain and sprang to my feet.
“It’s alive!”
“Yeah, didn’t die. Hammer.”
Without thinking, I grabbed Johann by the neck and hugged him tightly.
“Wow, you’re amazing. How did you do it? This way, we can avoid a massacre in the prison…”
“I had a cat when I was young.”
Johann answered as he turned his head abruptly.
His ears were flushed red.
Oh, right, this guy is pure-hearted, isn’t he?
“Thank you. I’ll grant you the honor of being a cat mom too.”
At my enthusiastic expression of gratitude, Johann coughed awkwardly, still looking away.
“Not a dad?”
“Well, there are already two cat moms, Clara and me, so it’d be a bit strange, wouldn’t it?”
Johann rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
“Can’t it just be the two of us without Clara?”
“Clara was the one who saved the cat first, that’s not an option.”
“Then just leave me out of it. I don’t want multiple wives. My dream is to be a faithful husband.”
Furball, now fully conscious, meowed and rubbed its cheek against Johann’s fingers.
Is he doing this because he’s grateful?
Johann silently watched for a moment before handing the kitten back to me.
“Where are you going to keep it?”
“I’ll let it roam freely during the day and have it sleep in our room at night. The guards didn’t say anything about the cat, did they?”
“No way. The smell of cat poop is awful.”
Despite his complaints, we ended up bringing Furball to our room, and Johann, with his experience as a pet owner, let out a short sigh.
“What about the winner’s tournament? It’s tomorrow.”
Even though he acted like he didn’t care, Johann asked the question while lying down with Furball on his chest.
According to the official announcement, the conditions for winning the tournament are to either kill the opponent or render them powerless.
If the prisoners had some sort of bond, they would hold back, only using their abilities enough to avoid killing each other. But if there was bad blood, they’d go all out, fighting to the death.
And it wasn’t an individual match; instead, the prisoners were divided into teams.
‘But if you’re lucky, you might get through without doing anything.’
Based on what Damian said about “luck,” it seems like the teams are assigned randomly, like drawing lots, and not having to do anything could mean…
It must be a series of winning matches, where the winning team moves on to face the next.
To do nothing and still win, I’d have to be lucky enough to end up on a team full of top-tier prisoners.
The power I’ve gathered from the 20th group is formidable.
If I go up against No. 8, Grandis, it’ll be a problem.
To defeat Grandis, I’d need to kill at least one single-digit prisoner myself and take their abilities, but Marbas’s warning and the karma meter I saw on the message screen still weighed on my mind.
‘You’ll need to use your power wisely. If you recklessly kill to steal abilities, your karma will build up.’
Moreover, if I use the abilities of the recently deceased executor or guard, my powers might get exposed, so I’ll need to keep my awakening hidden for now, adopting a strategy of “concealed strength.”
Ideally, the best plan would be to avoid confronting anyone in the tournament, except for those I’ve already recruited.
After all, my bet with No. 8 Grandis wasn’t about winning; it was about killing me.
