About 5 minutes after the archer left, the leader of Group 5 was preparing for the next monster spawning when suddenly, something bright flashed in front of the 4 of them.
At first, the leader got ready to attack, but when the light died down and she saw what it was, the blood left her already pale face like she had seen a ghost.
In front of her was a floating golden crown. If it appeared in front of her then… she understood that the archer had died.
She also understood that if someone in her group were to die, she didn't need to worry about their crowns getting lost. It would automatically find itself back to the captain.
It wasn't only her that learned it though. Every single leader that was watching the grid instantly understood it.
"It seems that if someone were to die away from the group, they will have their crowns return to the group," Ning said out loud to the other two that were listening.
"So we can be sure that Drake hasn't died yet, is that what you're saying?" Derel asked.
"In a sense, yes," Ning said. "But it also means that all the other leaders can now start sending people to attack others without fearing the loss of their crown."
Issi gave a contemplative look. "If they don't fear death, then we may see some more attacks from now on," he said. "We will need to be even more cautious."
* * * * * *
"Hello? Is someone there? Please don't come near me," Nova shouted, but she heard no response.
Drake who was quite far away from her heard her words and started fearing all of a sudden.
'That archer, did he kill himself because he was close to her?' he thought. 'She wasn't lying when she said we would die if she stayed there.'
Fearing for his life, Drake ran away, going back to Group 5 to trouble them even more.
About 100 or so meters away from where the monster spawned, Nova sat upon a tree branch with her head tilted to the sky and a dead look on her face.
For about a week now, she had finally been amongst people, people that wouldn't die just because they were around her. And yet, that time had passed and she was forced to be alone.
Alone like she had been in her world for years after everyone died. She had contemplated killing herself on multiple occasions.
However, that proved to be harder than she would have expected.
She simply waited on the tree, looking at the sky when she heard another few footsteps coming toward her.
"Who's there?" she shouted once again. Fearing someone was coming toward her unknowingly.
"Calm down, it's me," Ning's voice drifted from afar, and soon he appeared in front of her with a ball of light next to him.
"How are you making that light?" she asked with a surprised look.
"Magic," Ning said with a smile. "I'm sorry I've neglected you for nearly 3 days now. I can't imagine just how hungry you must be."
Ning proceeded to bring out some fruit and created some water for her to consume.
"It's fine," Nova said after feeling the state of her stomach. "I don't need to eat."
Ning stopped. "Are you sure? Did you eat something already?" he asked as he looked around at the forest. It didn't look like there was something to eat here.
"Yes, I am not hungry," Nova replied.
~GROWL~
As if to defy her statement, her stomach growled, leaving her to be embarrassed all of a sudden.
Ning chuckled and handed her the food. "You don't need to lie," he said. "I have plenty of it. Take it."
"Thank you," Nova said as she took the food and started eating it.
"Ho-how is the competition going?" she asked with a guilty voice. "I-I'm sorry I can't be there to help you guys."
"It's going fine," Ning said. "Don't worry, we are doing well right now."
"When do I come to help?" she asked.
Ning thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. But it might be any day now."
"We've come upon a certain little revelation. It seems that if someone were to die, their crown will return to the group. So, we may see people coming to attack us now," he said. "So you have to be careful from now on."
"I… I will," Nova said.
"Alright, I will return back to the group now, take care," Ning said and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Nova called him just as he turned around.
"Hmm, what is it?" Ning asked.
"Umm… why are you not affected?" she asked.
"Sorry?" Ning asked before understanding what she meant. "Oh, your powers you mean. Uh… I'm not sure actually. I have a theory, but I can't confirm it at the moment."
"What theory?" Nova asked. "Can it be passed along to other people? Or even just men?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you the theory right now, but it's not something I can pass along or teach other people for sure," he said.
Ning's theory was that since he had no soul, and Nova's power was based on souls, it only affected beings with a soul.
This was why she was never able to hurt monsters on this planet which were mere creations of Genesis with no souls.
Similarly, since he too didn't have a soul, he too wasn't affected by her. But every other participant was in dire danger around her for sure.
'If she wanted to, she could go around the area and kill them all,' Ning thought. 'But that would traumatize her even further.'
"Alright, I'm leaving now. The monster will spawn anytime soon. Take care," Ning said and left.
Nova was alone again, but the simple interaction had left her fulfilled. So, he simply continued eating the food that she had been handed and went back to looking at the sky, waiting for the signal when she would have to go get a gem for her crown.
