-chapter forty-eight-
FINN
Hindi ko naman plan na mapasama sa ranking na 'yon. More so to be first in the number of kills.
I just wanted to let off some steam.
Nang makita ko si Gavin ay sinubukan ko naman talagang kunin ang atensiyon niya. I jumped and waved, calling his name and saying some weird things, but my clones keeps on imitating them perfectly. Kaya naman hindi ko na lang tinuloy at nilagyan siya ng mark.
When the others arrived, it was easier to mark them. Lalo na't hindi pa naman dumadating ang sarili nilang clones at napakaingay nila para mapagkamalang hindi.
Umalis lamang ako matapos ko silang markahan, but I didn't wander too far. I stayed on the next closest tree, so that I could mark the players who would come inside next.
I hummed a slow song to myself, feet kicking the air as I sat on a tree branch. Binuksan ko ang player profile para sana tingnan kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng ikalawang revolution flag na nakuha. Unlike my first one, which is a simple attribute upgrade, this one looks similar to Oliver's exception.
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Name: Finn
Alliance: Lone Wolves
Level: 19
Cities Completed: 9
LB Points: 150
Revolution Flags (1):
[Armory] Ultimate Stealth - Activated
[Beast's Castle] Eye of Truth - Show
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I raised a brow at the difference in action buttons. Ang una ay kailangan kong ma-activate, habang ang ikalawa naman ay 'show' lamang. I tapped the button with a slight frown, curious about the benefit.
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Eye of Truth [Special Function]
The Eye of Truth has various functions. It is what it name implies: a special benefit to let the player see everything she pleases, as comparable to Belle's mirror. However, there are limitations and this feature can only be used at certain situations. These are listed below:
• The benefit can show the holding player how to complete a city.
• The benefit can show the holding player the clue to complete a city.
• The benefit can let the holding player see the players around them. Alliances will be marked as blue, while non-alliances are shown in grey.
• The benefit can be used to trail a chosen player for twenty-four (24) hours.
Limitation: You can only use one of the listed functions above in each city. You must always think twice in your decisions, rogue, in case you pick the worst choice.
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I can probably just use the first one for the entirety of the game para madali akong matapos. O 'di kaya ang ikalawa. Still, on cities like this one where the number of kills is most required, hindi rin naman sila makakatulong.
Although this would actually help in the eighth city, dahil hindi na namin kailangang mag-aksaya ng ilang oras sa paglibot ng maze kung alam na namin ang sagot sa pagkompleto nito.
Since, it's useless here and I wanted to try it, pinili ko na lang ang ikatatlong choice.
I jumped a little when four, small eyes with swirling green and yellow orbs appeared around me. Isa sa likod, dalawa sa gilid at isa sa harapan ko. It suddenly feels like my field of vision has grown. Kahit na ang nakikita ko pa rin ay kung anong nasa harapan, I can make out the things that exists on the other directions that the floating eyes could see. It was a bit weird pero okay na rin, I don't think the others could see them though.
"A Clone Forest, huh."
Napatayo ako nang marinig ang boses ni Marcella. Tumalon ako sa pinakamalapit na puno sa gate. Kasama niya ang buong guild. Even though I'm still kind of annoyed at her earlier behavior, nilagyan ko pa rin siya ng mark.
Enemy or not, I do not want to harm or kill real people.
Nakita kong may ipinalabas na item si Wes. It looked like some kind of charcoal, must be something he bought from the Magus City. Talaga ngang ang weird niya. Kahit na para sa future plans niya pa, parang kakaiba lang na bibili siya no'n.
Para siyang si Tita na laging may dala. Payong man, rubbing alcohols o 'di kaya gamot pangpakalma. They're like a walking emergency kit.
Wes started to rub the charcoal, was that a gel, on his wrist. "Let's mark our wrist so that we can identify each other. Hindi mawawala ang gel na ito hanggang sa makapunta tayo sa next city. It's a magic item so it wouldn't be erased kahit na anong mangyari, kaya keep your wrists uncovered and always look at your opponent's wrist."
Tumango-tango naman ang buong alyanse ni Marcella. Dierran happily took the small jar of gel and applied them to his alliance members, sinasabihan niya rin ito na kapag nakita ang mga kasama ay may sasabihin silang special word, it may be copied by the clones but it will be delayed for them.
Naalala ko tuloy noong may dragon raid kami at para makuha ang status at pattern of skills ng halimaw ay nag-volunteer akong makipaglaban. Dierran stayed at the mouth of the cave, attentively looking at my hand in case I make the 'giving-up' sign, so he could go and make a diversion for me to leave.
Bago pa umalis ang bawat isa sa kanila ay minarkahan ko silang lahat. Although, I missed Wes and Dierran because they suddenly disappeared.
Kita naman sila sa mapa ng players na ginagawa ng lumilipad na apat na mata. I jumped down, quickly impaling my kunai at the back of the clone's neck when I saw them. That's my fiftieth kill and I could still slowly raise the quota up without entering the ranks.
Ginamit ko ang map ng mga players sa ulo para obserbahan ang ginagawa nila. While doing that, I was slowly raising up my kill, stopping only when I reached the 85th one.
Humiga ako sa damuhan at pinanood ang pagtaas ng mga kills nila, gano'n na rin ang paglabas ng mga pangalan nila sa ranking. I started practicing my kunai throws while watching. Sunod-sunod kong ipinalipad sa ere ang mga kunai at sinasalo - pinapabilis ang paggawa nito sa bawat segundo.
I tried using various techniques using it. Nagpalabas ako ng sampung throwdagger. I tossed them in the air at the same time, then used my shadow to make them stay in the air. Mahirap iyon gawin noong una dahil hindi ko ma-manage nang mabuti ang shadows. The first attempt made the kunais fell down after five seconds, the black knives dropping down on me.
I blew out a loud puff of air, shadows of smokes appearing and pushing the knives away from my body. Napapikit ako nang tuluyan silang mahulog sa tabi ko. The various throwdaggers dropped just around my head and the sides of my waist.
Pinitik ko ang kamay at biglang nawala ang mga kunais.
On my tenth attempt, I successfully managed to control the shadows that held the throwdaggers in the air. They formed a circle, moving around and shifting, until they faced the outwards direction. Sa ganoong paraan ko sila pinakawalan.
"Yey." I congratulated myself as I sat up and saw the result of my hardwork.
Bawat throwdagger ay nakatusok sa mga punong nakapalibot sa'kin.
"Ah, may tubig do'n."
Tumayo ako't lumapit sa isang lawa. I stared at my reflection in the water. Nakabunghay na ang buhok ko para maayos akong makahiga kanina. Kinuha ko ang pouch ng mga hair tie na bigay ni Caspian at sinimulang taliin ang buhok. I was biting the other tie while neatly pressing the bun when the rankings changed.
Hindi ko napigilan ang pag-awang ng bibig kaya nahulog ang pangtali sa tubig. I watched it sink into the water and pouted.
Bigay pa naman ni Caspian 'yon.
Nakakagulat kasi talaga ang nakita kong sitwasyon sa taas.
"Marcella's very petty." natatawang tugon ko sa sarili nang makitang ako lahat ang patay niya.
I've never touched any of her clones too. Kahit na sumusugod ito sa'kin ay pinapabayaan ko lang.
A loud conversation made my ears perk up. Tumayo ako mula sa may lawa at tama namang tapos na ako sa pagtali ng buhok. I think I kind of heard Dierran's voice so I went there, hoping that it's really the two of them.
Hindi na ako lumapit pa para marinig ang usapan nila't minarkahan nalang silang dalawa. Ngunit biglang lumingon si Wes at tumitig sa gawi ko.
"Hala!" I quietly gasped, quickly hiding behind a tree.
Paano niya kaya ako naramdaman? I have no presence already but he could still perfectly sense me. Kung medyo maliwanag lang dito sa punong kinatatayuan ko, sigurado akong nagkatinginan na kami.
It's not like there was anyone around me too. Wala naman akong maramdaman na kung sino dito at wala ding nakikita ang apat na matang lumilipad sa paligid ko.
I sharpened my sense of hearing, almost fully pressing my ear into the tree as if I could hear everything if I did that.
"... I thought someone was here."
Mas lalo akong kinabahan do'n. Akala niya lang? Hindi niya talaga ako naramdaman? Does Wes have monster instincts that he can just feel people's presence by thinking they must be there?
Sumusunod na talaga si Wes sa mga pinakaweird na taong nakilala ko sa tanang buhay.
After a minute, I peeked from the side of the tree, biting my lower lip in anxiousness. Parang nakahinga ako ng maluwag nang makitang tuluyan na silang umalis.
Then, a loud explosion made me stagger on my feet. Depore must have been exploding every herd of clones she met.
"Hala, ano 'yon? Sino nagpapasabog?"
Nagtago ako muli nang marinig ang paparating na players. Three male rogues walked to stand over a tree, a few feet away from me. Siguro'y magpapahinga lang muna sila do'n dahil kanina pa din naman kami naglalaban.
Hindi ko planong makinig sa kanila but a certain name made me halt on my tracks.
"Aba, ewan ko. Ay hala, p're, alam mo na ba 'yong usap-usapan kay Sparrow?" tanong noong isang may hawak-hawak na sanga.
"Si Sparrow?" kumunot ang noo ng lalaking may makapal na kilay. "Ano naman usap-usapan sa kaniya? Tsaka ba't ka may chismis tungkol doon, wala naman siya dito."
The third one who was drinking water suddenly stopped, aggressively flicking his hand. Nang malunok niya na siguro ang tubig na iniinom ay siyang pagsalita niya.
"About nga diyan! Alam mo ba, hindi daw totoo 'yong sinabi ni Eura tungkol kay Sparrow. Kasi naglalaro si Sparrow dito."
Inikot ni Makapal-Kilay ang mata niya. "Asus. At saan mo naman narinig ang chismis na 'yan at nagpapaniwala ka?"
"Gago, legit to p're. Sinabi 'to noong bestfriend ni Sparrow."
"Bestfriend? Si Sparrow may bestfriend? E malimit nga lang makipag-usap sa ibang tao 'yon eh." sumimangot si Makapal-Kilay. "Huwag mo nga akong lokohin."
"Mayro'n kaya!" depensa noong ikatatlo. "Ano nga ba ulit pangalan no'n. John... Zun... Sun- ah! Si June, pare!"
I froze when I heard the name. So I was really right about her. I had an inkling. I had an assumption. But it feels different when I get to hear it from other people, kasi parang mas lalo siyang nagiging totoo.
June's really that committed to being my nightmare.
"Hindi ko pa naririnig ang pangalan na 'yan. Ano ba 'yan, puro kayo chismis."
"Bro, totoo 'to. Pinakita pa nga nila sa'min si Sparrow! As in siya talaga!" pangungumbinsi noong una. "Kuhang-kuha ang mga moves!"
"Marami namang nagpo-portray do'n kay Sparrow kasi sikat."
"Sandali lang ha, kanina mo pa siya dinedepensahan. Parang 'di ka naman niya fan?" tanong ng ikatatlo. "Akala ko pa nga hater ka niya."
"Magaling gumawa ng guides 'yon at tutorial kaya siyempre manonood ako. Hindi naman sa pafan-fan minsan 'yan eh."
"Ah, basta talaga, p're. Nandito talaga si Sparrow. Nakita na namin tapos um-oo pa 'yong Dylan na siya nga talaga. Magaling din 'yon. Magkasame guild ata sila noon."
Dylan's in there too? Pero ano kaya ang ginawa nila na nagpapakita na nandito talaga si Sparrow.
"Bulaho mo, doi. Hanggang 'di ko pa nakikita, 'di ako maniniwala."
"Ano ba, huwag mo nga kaming bisayain o i-hilgaynon- ano bang linggwahe 'yang gamit mo!"
The third man smacked the back of their heads and let out a sigh. "Kanina lang pinakita noong 'di pa tayo ulit nagkasama. Bagay talaga - 'yong buhok tapos 'yong hoodie tapos kuhang-kuha bawat atake. Parang nakita tuloy namin si Sparrow in action."
"Oo. Ang problema nga lang, nakakainis din na gano'n siya, alam mo 'yon? Isa siya sa top player pero nananatili lang siyang lowkey at 'di man lang kami tinulungan." umiling-iling ang una. "Nako, kaya boto talaga ako kay Marcella simula't sapol. Kahit na top siya ay nakakaya pa ring tumulong sa iba. Si Sparrow nga second na lang pero ang yabang pa."
Sinamaan sila ni Makapal-Kilay ng tingin. "Tumigil nga kayong dalawa. Hindi natin kilala ang bawat tao kaya huwag muna tayong magjudge agad. Tsaka tumigil nga kayo sa pagchi-chismis, wala namang dala 'yan sa inyo."
"Mayroon kaya! Iyon ay huwag nang maniwala kay Sparrow. Amp, buti na lang 'di ako nagdonate ng stars at clicks do'n. Pangit naman pala ugali."
"Ikaw ang pangit ang ugali sa pagkukuwento mo sa likod ng mga tao."
I watched as the men disappeared from the forest. There was this ugliness in my heart that had started growing since earlier. Mula sa sinabi ni Marcella hanggang sa ngayon, lalong-lalo na nang malaman kong si June nga ang may pakana ng pagsisira ng imahe ni Sparrow.
"They don't admire you like a hero who could help them anymore."
Natigilan ako nang marinig ang pamilyar na boses. I turned around, now face to face with June. She was almost the same height as me. Nakabunghay ang abot dibdib niyang buhok at may saya sa itim niyang mga mata. Her porcelain face looked like the exact opposite of her heart.
"Alam mo ba kung anong sinabi sa'kin ng taong nakalaban ko kanina." June smirked. "Sparrow, tinitingala kita ng ilang taon, pero bakit mo ako nagawang patayin...?"
My breathing hitched and my eyes widened at what June just said. "What did you do?"
"See? You can't not talk to me, Finn." she tilted her head, a sweet but sinister smile in her face. "You'd always come back to suffer in my hands. Kahit ano pang pagblock mo sa'kin sa mg laro at pagrefuse na gumamit ng mga social media accounts."
"What did you do." I demanded from her, voice hard and unforgiving.
"But it's alright, Finn. At least now if you're gone or Sparrow dissolves, no one knows you exist right? Well, except for those three minions you have and-" bumuntong-hininga siya. "I forgot. Marami ka rin palang nagawang kaibigan dito. Should we try decreasing the number?"
Hindi ko na napigilan ang sarili na sumugod sa kaniya. But like a perfectly copied clone, June executed the same move and so I found myself pressing a kunai to her neck as she did to mine with her own sharp icepick-like weapon.
"Did you forget, Finn? I'm not a second Sparrow for nothing. Kilalang-kilala ko lahat ng movements mo, dahil nga ako din ang naging kasama mo noon, hindi ba?"
"June." malamig kong tawag sa pangalan niya para tumigil na siya sa pagkukuwento ng kung ano. "What did you do?"
"I killed someone. I thought he was a clone, but as it turns out, he was one of your avid fans."
Tuluyang nanlamig ang buong katawan ko. It feels like the chains that have started to loosen started to choke my whole self again.
"It's the fight they were talking about." she whispered, almost laughing. "'Yong pinakita ko ang galing ni Sparrow. Nakapatay na pala ako ng player sa harap nila. But they didn't care, Finn."
I gripped the kunai tighter, the tip of it cutting June's skin. Dumaloy ang dugo mula dito ngunit ni hindi man lang nagpakita ang sakit sa mukha niya.
Sanay na siya sa gano'n.
"He was angry at first, then when I told him the truth, he just completely changed his fury at me. Nakakainis kaya tinuluyan ko na siya. Ikaw na nga ang ginagamit ko pero bakit ako pa rin ang may kasalanan?!" malakas niyang sigaw sa'kin.
"Why would you still-"
"Because I hate you, Finn. I hate you so much I wish you could just die." she chuckled. "But I find it amusing to slowly see your flame subside. Ang makitang mawala lahat sa'yo."
"Wala akong kailanmang ginawang masama sa'yo."
June frowned, not pleased by my answer. Then, she shrugged.
"Let me start with those people you've became close in this game, Finn. Don't worry so much."
I glared at her.
June smirked. "You're already used to death, right?"
-chapter end-