Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

"I want to hire you."

This is what Ridha wanted to do, but why? What made her conclude that Alex might accept her request?

The answer to that was simple: Alex had been going around collecting coins these days as if he needed as many coins as he could have. Once he asked for coins in exchange for life, and today he was hoarding coins by playing this game he created.

His actions did not make many things clear, but they did give people the idea of what he was trying to do—he was collecting coins; how obvious was that?

So, if someone gave him more coins than he could get from running around, forcing people to give him coins—which, of course, would backfire one day—would he not accept it?

"Hire for what?"

Alex's reply to her question, on the other hand, was pretty simple. He wanted the information about what Ridha desired from him. What did she want to hire him for?

That simple question, however, caused Ridha's eyes to brighten with surprise and delight.

Alex didn't outright reject it but inquired more about it. This implied just one thing: He had an interest in this topic. And that was something Ridha was truly happy about.

"I-I want to hire you to protect me 2 hours every day."

That happiness of hers caused her to stutter, but she did reply to his question as soon as she could, not wanting to delay this any longer, fearing that Alex might change his mind.

Her reply, however, just made Alex frown. Protect her? Why would he do that?

"I don't protect people—"

Alex shook his head as if denying her request. He was not a guard for someone. He could kill people if given an appropriate number of coins, but protecting was not his thing.

"I will give you 20,000 coins for those two hours, and I will not stop you from clearing any zone or killing people in the meantime. You can do whatever you please; just be by my side for those two hours."

His words, however, were cut short, causing his brows to crease harder as he stared at Ridha, who had hurriedly spoken her point in hopes of changing his mind. Why was she so persistent?

"And I'm not weak enough that you'll have to protect me from every person we see; not everyone can harm me after all.

All you have to do is step in when you think that the opponent I'm up against is not someone I can face with all the strength I have."

Ridha added with an earnest look on her face. It was as if she really didn't want to let go of this chance, which she really didn't.

Alex, on the other hand, kept staring at her with a frown.

The same question surfaced again: Why was she so persistent? What did she stand to gain by all of this?

She didn't really seem like a person who would need protection from someone else. The thing that puzzled him the most was that she wasn't lying about a single thing.

Up until now, all she spoke was the truth and no lie.

No matter whom Alex had talked to after he got this lie detection skill, they would lie at least once in every line.

That lie could be the smallest of things. One person even lied to him just to save one coin. Such was the world now, so how could she not speak a single lie to him?

But before he got to that part, there was something else he wanted to know.

"How would I know how strong you are?"

He questioned with a tilt of his head, clearly showing a confused expression.

He had analytical eyes, so he knew that she was strong, but Ridha didn't know that. So, how could she so confidently say that she was strong without having a way to prove herself strong?

"I can tell you everything about my status window!"

Ridha, who heard that question, exclaimed, not wanting to delay the answer even a bit as she felt that the longer this topic was pulled, the lower her chances of getting the deal finalized would be.

Alex, however, squinted his eyes at her words. She spoke the truth again, but now her actions seemed really suspicious.

Why would she just tell him everything about her status window just because she wanted him to protect her for two hours—that too wasn't actually protection, as Alex knew just how strong she was, and the fact that there would rarely be anyone out there who could be a problem for her?

It was true that a certain trust was needed to be there between the one who wanted to be protected and the one who was going to protect, but this was not a certain level. She was talking about revealing her deepest secret, something many people would die for.

But just then, something clicked within Alex's head, causing a cold glint to flash past his eyes.

'Is the skill not working by any chance?'

He thought inwardly while also inquiring the AI about it, which replied instantly.

<No, that is not possible, at least not when the one in front of you is someone weaker than you. And even if the ability did fail you or it was being obstructed, there's no way I wouldn't know that.>

The AI's voice sounded confused as well, since just like Alex, it had been seeing things in this world, and he knew that lying was a pretty normal thing to do for humans, but the girl in front of Alex wasn't doing it.

It was strange, but it intrigued the AI as well.

The AI desired to know more about this girl. It could see a light different from any it had seen in the eyes of the girl in front of it, and it wanted to know what that light was for.

But Alex's question about skill malfunctioning wasn't something that it could just ignore. There was a possibility that the skill was blocked by the girl, but not without being detected by the AI.

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'Are you sure?'

Alex, however, questioned again, as he could feel the AI's emotions. He could tell that AI was confused as well.

<Yes, I'm sure.>

It was only when he heard the confidence in the AI's voice that he focused back on Ridha.

He didn't know that the AI, instead of being confused about the fact that the skill might be dysfunctional, was confused about Ridha's actions.

'Alright.'

Alex nodded his head, and his lips moved.

"How would I know that you're not lying to me?"

Alex's question stumped Ridha. She opened her lips and closed, trying to say something, but she didn't have anything she could say right now, causing her eyes to go dim, but just then...

["Ridha…"]

A message from her patron god, who knew just how important this thing was for her, suggested something to her, causing her eyes to brighten up again.

"Alright, thank you!'

As soon as her god's words ended, she couldn't help but exclaim in gratitude with a big smile on her face.

Alex, however, frowned at that but didn't say anything. He could somewhat guess what was happening.

["She's talking to her patron god in the personal messages like I do."]

It was then as if wanting to clear Alex's doubts that the certain god, exactly when Alex wanted to know.

Alex had not noticed it until today because this certain god had always been saying something to him, but whenever he had some kind of doubt—the type that any human would have in that kind of situation—the certain god replied to his questions without even him asking it out loud.

"I can swear an oath of existence. I will swear about not ever lying to you, just so that you can rest assured."

Ridha, on the other hand, unaware of what was going on in Alex's mind, hurriedly replied to Alex's last question, causing him to frown.

Oath of existence? What was this now?

"Oh, an oath of existence is something any human with a contract with a god can swear. It's something that kills you the moment you lie."

Ridha, who was still staring at Alex, awaiting his reply, was soon to notice a frown and the light of confusion in his eyes, making her realize her fault and adding a line of explanation along with it.

"You can confirm it with your patron god if you want to."

She continued, oblivious to the fact that Alex didn't have a patron god, but that didn't mean he didn't have anyone to answer his questions.

He had many gods willing to give him the information, and they were trying to do it as well, but the problem was that all of their texts were broken.

[...is saying that it is true.]

[...is saying that the girl is not lying.]

[...is saying that it is only applicable to those who have formed a contract with a god.]

This was all they could tell, but there was this one God who could explain things to him better than any other, and he was right now listening to her words.