Loki’s Successor System

Chapter 176: Wandering, Wandering

Panting loudly, Jin stood in tattered clotheswearing them loosely just as he wore many huge cuts on his body. He kept his hand on his abdomen where he was injured, bleeding out. 

Slowly, he looked down at the creature he had only just defeated. It peered right back up at him that dark-eyed monster with hints of stoicism buried within. 

He defeated the creature. He grimaced. Did he defeat the creature? He had trouble believing it. He just couldn't. He'd been victorious; but he felt like a loser for some reason. To amend, there was a reason. He was not rewarded. Rewarded with experience points, that is. 

He frowned, looking down at the creature once more. "What a waste of a future God's time. Hurry up and die before I decide to eviscerate you, assuming you even have internal organs."

The creature's body slowly started to crack. Dark smoke escaping its wounds; and diffusing through the air. The creature's body started to disintegrate. It shriveled; bending and twisting as if there were no bones under skin, and flesh. 

Soon after; it had decreased in size, and turned into dust. Having repeated the fact that it was a waste of time in his mind, he scowled at the last image of the creature. 

What a let down, it was.

He sighed, hearing sinister sounds from behind him. His hair blew gently as Cliff took form. First, as an amorphous black misty figure. Then, later an outright human with a thumping heart. But Cliffhe wasn't human; nor did he have a thumping heart. He died quite some time ago. His stressful, restless soul did not see freedom but instead imprisonment once again. Forever he would serve his master. 

"That was too easy, wasn't it?" Cliff asked, walking alongside the limping Jin. 

Jin scoffed. "Of course it was. The worst part about it all was I didn't get a single point. No Exp whatsoever."

"Well, that Void was a defect," Cliff said, "so of course it was easy to take down. You actually took longer than I expected"

"Aw, silence for once," Jin facepalmed.

Cliff smiled softly. "What? I'm not lying to you. I'm a man of my word, kiddo. And I can even be more honest with you. You're leveling up pretty slowly for a kid with all that battle fire."

"Well," Jin uttered, "what am I suppose to do when people are betraying me, my friends were condemning my killings, and I'm barely getting opportunities to gain Exp? Can you be useful for once, and give me some tips? Excuse me if I've witnessed wrong, but isnmt that why you're here?"

Cliff sighed, averting his eyes. "As I told you before; I'm not going to be of much help to you. I'm the worst discipledon't think otherwise just because I haven't tried killing you yet. Disciples tryna killing youthat's something you're bound to see when you level up pretty decently. Starting from the time you hit level ten."

Jin snorted as he walked without sense of direction. "Oh, yeah? So the disciples will be able to hurt me, huh? I see. In that case, let them come."

"I like your spirit, kid," Cliff said, "but you gotta put in the work first. The world's slowly becoming that place I described to you on your front porch. Soon enough, there will be chaos. The demons have already sent out soldiers. The ancestral creaturesthe ones who died because of Magic suppressionare back as well. Soon, the demons themselves will arise. Then, the Successors will too. Right now ... you're just ... not ready for that. You can't handle"

"Are you trying to say I'm incompetent?" Jin asked.

"Not really," Cliff replied, "I'm just advising that you hurry up. Get serious about this. You don't have time to waste."

"You're wrong," Jin said, looking up at the sky, "I have all the time I need to become excessively overpowered. But you're correct about one thing ... I am incompetent. At least," he glanced, "for now."

Cliff saw it again. That burn in Jin's eyes. All of the Successors with those burning, determined, bloodlust eyes had seen death. With hindsight, he was bothered at the thought of losing Jin in a similar way. This was too much for him. And so, he looked away.

Jin looked away as well. He grimaced. What was that odd look on Cliff's face? It wasn't one of ridicule so he wasn't looking down at Jin's notion. Jin tried to change the subject. "Level ten, huh? I have to put up with another annoying one of you."

"For the record," Cliff said, "I'm the nicestthe one who isn't trying to kill youand therefore the least annoying. If you think I'm annoying, just wait 'til you meet successor number two at level ten. She'll even try to kill you in her sleep."

Jin smirked. "Sounds like fun."

Cliff grimaced. "What about me? How am I not fun, huh? Tell me. By the way, I didn't ask to be a Disciple. I'm here against my will. So I'd be grateful if I were you," Cliff's tone fell, "I ... didn't ask for any of this."

Jin sped up, walking faster. "Nope. This sounds like the catalyst of a whole background story, which I really don't want to hear right now."

Cliff sped up. He scoffed. "Pfft. As if I was gonna tell you shit about my past life. I couldn't trust you less. You successors are all the same. I can smell you. I can predict you. So, in other words, you're safe from an info dump."

"You say that as like you're not a disciple. As if personal information still matters to you," Jin said.

"It does!" Cliff snapped. "I'm sorry ... I just ... forget it." He turned his head.

Jin stared at him for a bit, but then looked away. 

Jin slowed his pace; groaning as he pressed on his belly. There was a searing pain. He then looked at his hand, bringing it to his face. Blood, blood and ... more blood. "Tsk. That stupid thing cut me pretty good," he said. 

Cliff looked at the wound as they walked. "Ouch. That's gotta hurt. But there's a lot more where that came from, mind you. There are lots more of those Voidsand they're all capable of using magic unlike the one you fought today."

Jin looked at his system screen. The hovering user interface lingered in his face as if integrated into his sense of sight. He scowled.

[HP: 17/47]

"Yup," he sighed, "I'm definitely losing a lot of blood right now. I'll need food. A lot of food. In that way I'll be able to heal up." 

He needed food. But finding food was the problem. He had to keep watch for enemies. Or perhaps even go invisible to avoid being spotted by one of them.

Avoiding battles? He already hated this predicament. Though he was injured, he was losing a lot of blood and already low on health too. He really had to avoid trouble.

*** 

The sky was still dark. But there was still ample light for vision. Vision allowed one to see just how much more fucked this world was compared to its initial already fucked state. It was quiet. A tad too quiet for a world in which apolocalypse saw reigning prevalence. 

The Voids had destroyed houses and buildings and roads and light poles. Just like the ancestral creaturesones to whom Magic was suddenly restoredthe rebbellion of Voids too were destroying everything created by the modern inhabitants of this Earth. 

There huge clusters of debris almost in every corner of the eyes. Buildings were turned upside down. Slews of corpses littered the grounds. Genocide to the people who imposed harm to the world! This was apocalypse. 

And within this sudden apocalypse; loitered a specific being. A rather arrogant being who seemed not to be bothered by such. 

Smirking, he stood in front of a grocery store. This figrue was Jin. Finally, he had stumbled across a supermarket where he could alas attain the much needed food for regeneration. 

Cliff manifested; taking form and appearing next to Jin. "Oh, you find a place you can get food from. One hell of a Good job. Thought you were gonna die from the bleeding effect just like a few other dumb predecessors."

"Then you thought wrong," Jin said, brusquely. 

He looked at his hovering system screen.

[HP: 8/34]

"Where did you go off to anyway?" Jin asked. 

"Well," Cliff said, standing, "I just kinda chose to leave you be while you walked pathetically. I hate walkin'."

Jin snorted. "Are you sure you weren't scared of the 'Voids' and chose to flee?"

"Yeah right," Cliff said, "you would be the one in troublenot me."

Jin started toward the grocery store. He walked toward the door and stopped. There was a glass doubledoor in front of him. But he couldn't see through the glass. There was something jammed against the back of the glass that seeing through. 

"Welp, at least I get to use that sixth special attack I didn't get to use on the Void."

Jin quickly closed his hand, and a dagger manifested in this said hand, his eyes glowing green. He slashed at the door; and then there was a huge, green explosion. The door was destroyed, glass pitching all about. 

Jin walked right through the smoke from the explosion. And on the other side, he froze. Therein front of himwas a group of people, pointing weapons at him. 

"You entered the wrong house, fool!"

Jin cursed, narrowing his eyes. "Ah fuck, just gimme a damn lunch break!"