The Cursed Gamer, Book 3

463: The One Beyond Omnipotence

Chapter 463: The One Beyond Omnipotence

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The alleys of Rimala Al-Sahara were cold and merciless, echoing the harsh realities of survival on this red planet. Water was scarce here, and fresh fruits more so.

In the narrow shadowed paths, a little girl with raven hair and dirt-smudged cheeks rummaged through the refuse for scraps. Her small hands, trembling from her fever's chill despite the heat of the desert, clutched at a piece of stale bread like a treasured prize. Her clothes, mere rags, hung loosely around her frail body.

Picking up the juicy apple, she began to run. But a large hand yanked her by the collar and threw her against the floor.

A shopkeeper's boot, heavy and merciless, descended upon the girl's back with a thud that seemed to echo through the empty alley. "Thief!" he roared, his face a grotesque mask of fury.

The girl, propelled forward by the force of the kick, fought to maintain her grasp on the bread. The angry shopkeeper kicked her for a bit more, before huffing in fury.

"Leave it and get out! Stupid thief," he yelled, but the girl's grip only tightened.

In the end, she grunted to herself and handed him the apple. The shopkeeper took it and turned around with a gruff, but the little girl took the chance to snatch the bread that hung from his pocket. That must be his lunch, but the little girl didn't care, she hadn't eaten in days.

She grabbed the bread and ran. But the shopkeeper stopped her again, delivering a kick to her side, sending her tumbling to the ground. "This little rat...!"

The little girl gulped and her knuckles whitened around the coarse loaf, her belly aching with a need that overpowered her fear. The man loomed over her and she gulped.

Anticipating another assault, she winced, but what came was not a blow but a sudden, surreal blue glow that cut through the dimness. A message hung in the air, its digital script bizarrely out of place against the filth-streaked wall behind it.

[Ding! The Gamer wishes to talk to you.]

"...." She blinked at the unexpected apparition, a sliver of wonder piercing her survival-hardened shell.

Yet, the instinct to escape was stronger. The man seemed to be taken aback by her odd expression too, and the little girl used that chance to turn her back on the floating words and bolted, the bread pressed against her chest as she wove through the labyrinth of alleys.

...

Finding solace in the shadowed recess of an abandoned edifice, the little girl sank to the ground, her back against the cold, unforgiving stone. She ravaged the bread with bites both ravenous and deliberate, each mouthful barely denting the void within her.

As she ate, the lack of water made her choke and cough in surprise when the blue glow reappeared, insistent and revised.

[The Gamer has broken a few rules. In particular, Rule #3 of Batch A3 has been broken. Your authorization is needed. Summon the Gamer?]

This time, she couldn't look away; her eyes, a striking green that belied her squalid state, fixed upon the words. A flicker of comprehension ignited within those depths, a recognition of something far beyond the grim reality she occupied.

"...."

Her eyes twitched in annoyance.

With a heavy sigh that seemed too weary for her young years, she dropped the act. A light of ancient wisdom flickered before her eyes, unsuited for a girl who couldn't even steal an apple.