Checking the character's HP bar is a basic function every game with a combat system should have, requiring no cost or prerequisite. Yet, the fact that I felt exhausted and even fainted while trying to view someone else's HP bar seemed highly illogical.
An infant, no, to be precise, I was a toddler now.
The advantage of being a toddler was the continued need for long sleeping hours. I had already wandered around for half a day and was a bit tired, so suddenly "falling asleep" in someone's arms wasn't impossible. Therefore, this time I could probably get away with it, but I needed to be careful next time. According to the original setting, there weren't many fools here; everyone else was sharp, and I absolutely couldn't underestimate their intelligence. The survival difficulty was high.
Death was too easy here, wholesale slaughter happened frequently.
Perhaps life had become too comfortable, and I had become a bit greedy, even developing aspirations.
Since I was here, though I wanted to die, things without a challenge weren't very interesting. Rather than being killed by someone, I preferred to choose my own way to die, ideally with some sense of ceremony.
Having been confined by reality for too long, I wanted to spend the final leg of the game in my own way, undisturbed, executing it precisely.
Alright, back to the HP bar issue. I couldn't rush things while exploring. I was very cautious, combining my years of gaming experience, and it took me almost a week to gradually figure out the mechanism for viewing HP bars:
1. Fixing one's gaze with concentration allows one to view the opponent's HP bar, consuming a certain amount of mental energy.
2. Insects and herbaceous plants do not have HP bars.
3. Small animals do not have HP bars. "Small" was likely based on humans as a benchmark. The large dogs taller than humans within the Zoldyck territory had HP bars.
4. Trees had HP bars, but they were only briefly displayed when attacked, with the HP decreasing according to the damage taken.
Considering that HP bars were of little use outside of combat, I wondered if it was better to save mental energy and not view HP bars.
Wait, there was still a fifth point to the mechanism:
5. Destructible props within the environment had HP bars, but they were only briefly displayed when attacked, with the HP decreasing according to the damage taken. Small props within the environment, such as spoons and cups, did not have HP bars.
Before arousing more suspicion from my caregivers, I stopped attacking the table. Even though I hadn't damaged the table with my strength, being perceived as having a violent personality would be bad.
Well, I thought I was being low-key enough. Plus, with the birth of Illumi, the Zoldyck family's first son, their main focus would be on him, and they wouldn't pay much attention to me, the disabled person.
I never expected that my antics with the Zoldyck family's flowers, trees, birds, beasts, tables, chairs, vases, chandeliers, teacups, walls, and so on would be discovered. In retrospect, it's not surprising that they were discovered!
"Her destructive urge might be a form of release," a person resembling a white-coated doctor said to "my" biological parents. "Generally, babies around seven or eight months old can imitate the syllables of surrounding people's speech. By her age, she can already understand a lot of what adults say and will want to express herself more. Since she can't speak, she can only do it in other ways."
"Express herself? Oh," Kikyo, "my" biological mother, said with a hint of surprise. "She was too quiet before, and I was worried she was slow to react. So, is this current behavior a good thing?"
"Sort of," Silva, "my" biological father, said with a hint of annoyance. "If you don't count that vase she almost broke..."
"That vase? Oh, how much was it?" Kikyo looked at "my" caregiver.
The black-uniformed woman, who was the primary witness and the "vase rescuer," bent down and replied respectfully, "About eight million Jenny, Madam."
No way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That thing looked unremarkable, and it even had a bouquet of flowers in it. I thought it was just an ordinary vase!
Wasn't this a comedic manga plot where I almost broke an expensive vase and had to join the public relations department as a helper to pay off the debt?
"It's just a vase," Kikyo said dismissively, fanning herself with her paper fan. "My poor daughter can't speak, and we absolutely cannot stop her from expressing herself."
"Yes, Madam," the caregiver replied.
"..." Silva wanted to say something but stopped.
I thought he was worried that the next vase I broke might be worth even more, and he would be heartbroken but wouldn't say it directly due to pride.
Tsk.
Don't underestimate me too much, Silva!
My artistic discernment wouldn't fail me!
"Please wait a moment, Madam," the white-coated man said, sensing Silva's attitude. "The broken pieces of the vase could harm your precious daughter. I suggest you appropriately guide your daughter to do something... uh, safer to express herself."
The white-coated man's words didn't sway Kikyo. Before Kikyo could speak, Silva preempted her, saying, "I also believe we shouldn't let her come into contact with dangerous items too early. She has already cut her finger with cup shards."
"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kikyo snapped her fan shut, her anger directed at "my" caregiver, her voice rising several octaves, quite jarringly. "When! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The caregiver remained silent, lowering her head deeply.
"I ordered her not to tell you," Silva explained on her behalf. "I knew you would get agitated, and this child is quite sensitive... This way, let's not let things get too tense."
"How can you say that! She's my child! How can you exclude me!" Clearly, Kikyo did not accept Silva's explanation. Her dissatisfaction extended to issues of ownership and authority, and it seemed she wouldn't let it go easily.
I heard that discussions about child-rearing are one of the classic issues that cause arguments in most families, and it seemed the Zoldyck family was no exception.
The white-coated man, who tried to mediate by mentioning "how parental arguments in front of children harm them," was silenced by Kikyo's intimidating demeanor, or perhaps her aura as a professional assassin, and quietly shrank his presence.
Sorry, Silva, I cut my finger just to see how my HP bar changed when losing blood.
After all, I couldn't test the HP bars of other creatures. I couldn't catch up to small animals, and I didn't dare to approach large animals.
As for humans, I couldn't just test them either!
As the source of the incident, although I felt apologetic, I chose to enter the "block specific sounds" state, specialized in office workers. Kikyo's voice immediately receded, leaving only her moving lips to indicate she was still speaking.
Let Kikyo... I think she needed to express herself more than I, the mute one. Well, after Kikyo had vented enough, Silva calmly commanded, "Alright, that's enough," ordering her to shut up.
Perhaps she had truly finished venting, or perhaps she succumbed to the stronger party. Kikyo didn't seem displeased with Silva's firm tone and also calmed down. "Darling, you know, I was just too heartbroken! If you hide even such small things from me, and if something more serious happens, and I'm not the first to know, I can't imagine how devastated I would be!"
...So hiding it from you is the best option?
However, that was their future family issue and had nothing to do with me.
I only cared about Silva's HP bar. His HP bar... was very long, taking up half my field of vision.
So, Silva was indeed a boss-level character. No wonder Kikyo listened to him.
Unfortunately, the game currently had no level display. I felt that defeating him would level me up at least ten times.
...If I could manage it.
Viewing the HP bar of a boss-level character consumed more mental energy than viewing other characters. However, through my persistent efforts, I discovered that the three heads of the Zoldyck family, including Silva, all possessed HP bars that occupied half my field of vision.
This meant that there were a total of three bosses within the Zoldyck family dungeon.
That's quite a few!
Death was probably not the correct way to end the game. The worst-case scenario was returning to the starting point and experiencing life as a newborn infant all over again, with days spent on diapers and liquid food... No, that would be too terrifying... Did I have to defeat all the bosses in this world to finish?