They don't come in many, they don't cost a penny. They are the ones who would show up even if it will cost them.
Friends, the ones who stay … not when it's easy, not when it's safe. The ones who would stand by you, walk you through that burning fire, stand between you and the danger, even when they too are afraid. They would take your pain seriously even when the world doesn't,
They wouldn't just laugh with you when all is well, they wouldn't just stay during the sunny days, they would reach for you when you fall, they would sometimes with blood running down their hands, pull you back up.
A friend is a person who says "Rest, I've got this" and they actually mean it, not just by words, but by action too.
And right now Johnson was a good example of it. Johnson was standing strong, unshaken as a wall of steel, his shadow covering Fai, protecting him. In his hand he held strongly to his opponent's fist, anger boiling in his heart.
Since Johnson had met Fai, he had this feeling … deep within him he just knew it, there was something about Fai, something special, something that made him different from the rest, and he wanted to connect with him, to connect with that differentness, and that was what led to him having this connection with Fai. But right now, before him were people… people who didn't want that, people who wanted to interfere, and that he couldn't just let slip.
But that wasn't even the cause of his anger, the cause of his anger was the fact that these guys had dared to hurt Fai. Maybe to them this could be justified with the fact that this was the assessment, and to make it through this stage this was needed, this was the minimum, a sufficient sacrifice for victory.
But to Johnson, the assessment was only an excuse to people like this, a petty reason they could use to launch themselves on those weaker than them, a flag they could raise high to cover their evil deeds, and that he didn't like.
Right now Johnson didn't care whose hand he was holding onto, all that mattered was that he was going to whoop this person's ass… at least that was what his face was saying. Whether he would be able to do it was another thing entirely.
Fai on the other hand was on the ground, weak, hurt, broken… and the countdown was still ongoing, the glowing screen changed and shapeshifted characters before his eyes.
[20 s]
Luckily, with Johnson's intervention some time had passed, it was remaining only twenty seconds, but still yet, it felt long.
Fai's energy was drained, his HP low, he was weak.
His thoughts then shifted, his focus on Johnson, his frien— no, his only friend… who was now fighting for him. A slight smile found a way to creep to his face even though he was in pain, physical pain from the beating he had received.
But even the pain he was going through couldn't stop the smile from climbing up his face.
The reason for his smile: someone was fighting for him, someone actually cared for his safety, and not even in exchange for anything. They just cared.
Not that Fai had anything to offer in the first place, but it was comforting. Gone were the days where he had to face this world on his own, where every burden was his to carry, and every offer of help a trap in disguise.
"I don't even know if this is a good thing or not, but I'm grateful he's here, although I've never considered such thoughts, it's really nice to have someone to rely on," Fai thought.
A sense of relief filled his heart. When gaining the system, he knew it was going to be his ticket to strength, to respect… and everything that comes with power.
He didn't even consider that having people close to him would be important or useful in any way. To be honest, he thought it was going to draw him back if anything.
But right now he was so grateful, so grateful that he hadn't pushed away Johnson when he had tried to come close to him.
As he then thought about the system and life relationships, a thought crossed his mind,
"But this makes me wonder, would his presence alter or affect the system quest in any way?" Fai asked himself, curiosity taking his mind.
The system didn't really say much about the quest. All it did was ask Fai to survive. It didn't mention if external help would be permitted, still yet it didn't say that it wasn't permitted. The implications made this a question that was hard to answer.
In any case the chances of Fai having the rewards were reduced to 50/50 chances. 50 that he received the rewards and 50 that he didn't. The latter was not what he would like to happen.
But what if he was getting it from a different point of view?