Soulless Players

Chapter 28: Bryxton

October 4, 1857 - Sunday

Philip was seen walking along a stone pathway surrounded by towering structures, carrying a sizable suitcase with him. His attire consisted of a black frock coat, a black top hat, and a red scarf wrapped around his neck, obscuring part of his face.

As he made his way through the crowd, his gaze was steady and deliberate. Despite their golden luminosity, his eyes went unnoticed by those around him.

Shortly, his attention was drawn to a woman who appeared to be in a state of nervous excitement. She was elegantly dressed in a long flowing white gown that flowed elegantly behind her. She was seated inside a horse-drawn carriage that was slowly moving down the road. Despite her obvious unease, she maintained a polite smile on her face.

The horse carriage neighed and approached the towering edifice ahead. As they were nearing, the resounding clang of the bell reverberated throughout the surrounding area, filling the air with its mighty echo.

Philip, in his adult form, watched as it came to a halt in front of the church. Two children greeted the woman in white and led her to the center aisle with a long red cloth rolled on the marble floor.

When Philip caught this sight, especially the careful action of the children, he sighed in relief, touched the brim of his hat, and left.

Currently, Philip is in Bryxton, the capital city of Northon. This was the same city he originally came from and the place Steve was supposed to go to.

After his altercation with Steve, Philip crossed from town to town in an attempt to evade his potential pursuers, specifically the group behind Loen.

He was cautious as he knew they possessed extraordinary abilities. Furthermore, he had to hide his spoils, particularly Loen's ring, in a location only he knew of.

This action was crucial to him since the ring's abilities were unknown. He needed to be extra vigilant because an object with a mystical origin harbors hidden threats.

What if Loen's organization had a method to track down the ring? If so, Philip would find himself in a difficult situation.

Philip whispered the "magic word" and a clear panel materialized right before his eyes.

______________

Name: Philip Mckenzie

Story: The Misery behind the history of Britannia

Profession: Undercover Agent

Level: 13 (1100807/1638500)

Stats:

Physique: 30 (+15) [>]

Mental: 12

Mana: 0

Spirit: 0

Attributable Points: 63

Karma: -13

Uniqueness:

> Mystique Identities - Active (Lv. 2)

-Transformed physical body to body the player is familiar with.

> Golden Eyes - Active (Lv. 1)

-See through the value of things.

______________

Quests: +999

Inventory: 2

Log: +99

Information: /

***

Log: +99 (>)

> [Kill a Player Complete: + 5 Attributable Points, 1 Experience level-up card, 1 Uniqueness level-up card, Steal Player's Uniqueness]

> [Hidden Quest Complete: First Player to kill a Player +1000000 Exp]

> [Reach Level 10: System Upgrade! +1 Uniqueness level-up card, Player can now use Information Shop... (>)]

> [Create disturbance at the steam locomotive: -1 Karma]

> [Trespassed a shed you do not own: -1 Karma]

> [Stole clothes you do not own: -1 Karma]

> [Stole milk you do not own: -1 Karma]

…

Philip was bothered upon reading about karma in the system's log. It was not because he didn't understand what it was, but because he remembered Steve's sudden wariness in the past.

'So this was the reason,' Philip thought. He finally understood why Steve had been acting as if he knew danger was coming.

Philip was even more confused as he scrolled through older Log entries and read a strange record showing his karma had been both +100 and -100 at one point.

_____________

> [An outsider gazed upon the particular player.]

> [An outsider offered help to this player. +100 Karma]

> [An outsider interfered with the game world! This action was deemed damaging and destroyed the fairness of the game!]

> [Punishment bestowed to the outsider and the player who gained his help: -200 Karma]

> [The outsider chose to take the player's punishment: +100 Karma]

______________

"What's an outsider?" Philip muttered, curious about why he received an outsider's grace.

'It must be the time when I was in the forest…' He now understood why he suddenly became extremely lucky in the past.

'But why did they help me? What is their purpose?'

Philip stopped his mulling as his gaze was drawn towards an elderly gentleman, perched upon a stool within the cozy confines of a pastry shop, diligently engrossed in his morning read of the daily newspaper.

HEADLINES: TERRORISM ATTACK ON LOCOMOTION NO. 1!

Philip was surprised to see a picture of the train he rode with Steve in the newspaper.

'What terrorism?!' Philip's forehead wrinkled in displeasure. Even in his old world, terrorism was a big crime, especially during wartime.

Philip was anxious as what was written in the newspaper was not the whole truth. Instead, it was more about him being the terrorist.

'Hahh. They really make me a scapegoat,' Philip sighed in annoyance.

In the newspaper was a wanted poster showing a drawing of his face as Raven and details about how he terrorized passengers with firearms, leading to two deaths, with one of them being the son of the businessman Ronald Evans.

'So they did not write about the mud monsters. How could that be? There were a lot of passengers who had seen them. It is impossible to silence all of them,' Philip mulled.

'Maybe there is someone who could manipulate memories.' He speculated. This was the only thing he could think of a reason for.

'Using this face will become harder…' Philip pulled the scarf up to hide his face.

'I need a new identity.'

Philip entered the pasty shop and bought a dozen bottles of milk. While waiting for the server, he heard a man talking behind him.

"Oh heavens! This kind of person is really the scum of society! Why would they involve normal people in their rebellion? Poor son of Ronald."

"Yeah, I heard that the terrorist tortured him to death! How could someone do that to a child? What can they get with it?" Another woman cried in anger. While she blabbered her frustration, her mouth didn't stop chewing the bread she was eating.

Hearing this, Philip could only minimize his presence. He knew if someone saw him, death would await him.

'Good thing I have one more layer of disguise on,' He sighed in relief. As an undercover, it has always been his habit to wear a cosmetic, especially now that dangers were lurking around him.

Although disguised, he was still attentive as he knew the world wasn't as normal as it looked. In addition, he had no idea what kind of powers the world had. Who knew? Maybe there is a certain power that could see through his real appearance.

"Here is your order sir." A lady called out. She handled a wooden crate filled with bottles of milk. "Be careful sir. It's heavy."

"Thank you," Philip slightly bowed in appreciation and took the crate with his arm.

Afterward, he drank one and placed the bottle back after he had emptied it.

Ting!

Suddenly, a bell resounded in Philip's mind. He whispered a word and a new notification reminded him.

[Chain Quest: Growing Up! (1): Complete!]

—Drink milk every day (8/8)

[Received 1 Experience Point]

Philip nodded his head in satisfaction. He had once again completed this quest. Although compared to his total experience points, the reward was immaterial, he was still glad to achieve it.

While he was enjoying this little achievement, excruciating pain suddenly coursed over his body as if his bones were slowly being pulverized.

Philip clenched his teeth as he quickly focused his whole mind on imagining his body in his past life.

Immediately, the pain stopped, and a bell rang inside his head.

Ting!

[Used uniqueness. The player is now transformed (2/2)]

[Physique: 30 (+15) (>)]

Philip sighed in relief upon seeing the notification, specifically on the detail entailing how he could now transform twice a day, each for eight hours.

This was the upgraded version of his uniqueness 'Mystique Identities'. After he defeated Steve, he received a reward called 'Uniqueness Level Up Card.'

Upon knowing that it could strengthen his ability, he immediately used it as he knew that transforming for only eight hours a day was a huge stumbling block on his travel.

Moreover, his original body was temporarily unusable as he had yet to find a way of growing new limbs.

'I'll save the other Uniqueness Level Up Card for the future,' Philip decided. When he reached level ten, he also received another card.

Initially, he wanted to upgrade his uniqueness to level 3. However, after giving it some thought, he temporarily set this aside.

'16 hours a day is enough. After all, I'm not in immediate danger.'

As Philip exited the quaint pastry shop, he made his way towards a building with a series of similar windows adorning its succeeding upper level. Positioned in the heart of the building, a sign affixed to the wall proudly displayed the name 'Alma Inn'.

When he entered the building, a young adult man welcomed him.

"Hello, What can I do for you?"

Philip carefully observed the gentleman sitting behind the front desk. The man was clad in a thick, earthy-toned coat that seemed to be keeping him warm in the chilly weather. He wore silver-rimmed glasses that seemed to reflect the dull light in the room. On the man's desk lay a book titled 'Structural Engineering,' which suggested that he was perhaps a student or a professional in the field.

As the man welcomed him, Philip couldn't help but notice the faint wrinkles that creased the man's forehead. His hands trembled slightly, and his gaze was fixed weakly on Philip, almost as if he were about to faint.

"May I please have a room for three nights?" Philip requested politely. He sensed that the man might be unwell or anxious, and decided to quickly inform his purpose.

"Room 3 on the third floor. 300 doli in total," He said while offering the key to Philip.

After Philip paid, he left and climbed upstairs.

When he arrived in his room, he quickly lay on the chair, exhausted. He had been traveling for a week without a clean room to sleep. It was the first time since the train incident he could lie on a comfortable couch.

A little while later, when he had rested enough, he grabbed his luggage and took an intricate jewelry box inside.

He opened it and took the two letters his mother and father wrote.