Side Character's Curse

3|| Noise

I needed a wage.

Even a massive one wouldn't be enough to repay everything I'd had to put up with ever since coming into this body.

Upon exiting the café, I claimed a headache and slunk away to the darkened alleyways. Of course, neither Calix nor Calista asked if I was okay as they were too engrossed in each others' eyes. I felt like I was intruding on something important, and every good third-wheel knew that was when one should make themselves scarce.

But I couldn't fully disappear– who knows what the system would do in my absence?– so I pressed myself against a wall that reeked of dirty feet and urine. Inhaling through my mouth, I glanced around to ensure I was relatively alone. My only company were the rats, and a young beggar who was lazing against the opposite side, completely wiped out from his inebriation.

"Oh, system?" I whispered, extending my arms. "I'd like to use the Cloak of Secrets, please." I'd won this item after completing the second incident– which had involved the arduous task of befriending Calista and worming my way into a position of trust.

Ding!

Access granted!

Item procured: 1x 'Cloak of Secrets'

Information: Tailored in the dark by seventeen sinners, this cloak will render the user invisible to people who are not 'Story Travellers' or 'Dreamers'

Seventeen sinners, huh? I thought as a sudden weight dropped in my hands. Briefly, I reminisced about the love potion I'd won three- or was it four?- stories ago would have been extremely useful here, if only rewards carried through storylines.

No matter how many times I'd seen it before, the cloak always took my breath away. Darker than the deadliest of nights with a soft, gossamer feel that rippled between my fingers like water. I pulled it around my shoulders and a gasp pushed past my lips as a chill shot through me. My back arched and a sense of hopelessness swept through me for the briefest of moments before passing over me like a dying tide.

There was a silver buckle by my sternum and I clasped it securely. The cloak stopped just above my waist, and it was important to ensure every part of the cloth was touching me for the invisibility to work. I pulled up the hood, wincing for a second as despair clawed through my brain, and took a deep, steadying breath. You've got this.

Ding!

Characters 'Calista' and 'Calix' are taking a stroll along the 'Couples Path' on their way to the market!

If you run, you might be able to catch them :)

I scowled and swiped my hand through the hovering screen, annoyance bubbling in my stomach like a pressure cooker about to burst. Couples Path. Really?

Forcing away the cynical thoughts, I ploughed onwards.

The market square was crowded, but sluggish on the sultry day. I pushed past the compact bodies that drifted from store to store with merchants promising a sweet relief from the heat with their products. Men with their starched shirts and tight-fitting jackets wiped away the sweat with already damp napkins, maintaining the stiff upper lip of idiotic resilience that had been drilled into them from a young age. They were usually accompanied by women whose dresses clung onto them like a second skin as they futilely tried to bat away the heat with paper fans, their lilting voices cutting through the din as they complained about the weather.

I even spotted a few sticky-fingered thieves, whose feather-light touch gained them more than a few treasures. As far as I could see, any store that sold even the smallest bit of ice was packed, and I longed to join them. But I was on a mission, and there was no time to waste on frivolity.