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Chapter 66:

“We’re going to keep heading deeper in,” Jaco ultimately decided. He looked between his two companions and could clearly still see their hesitant expressions. But before either of them could say anything in protest, he continued with the intent to further explain his reasoning.

“I know. It’ll be incredibly dangerous, and for that, I honestly won’t blame either of you if you decide to head back to the camp. But I’ll be staying here and pressing forward either way. That Demon is terrifying, but it just went over to the fortress. Since it seems to prefer flying, that’ll at least make it obvious to see whenever it decides to leave. So there’s that as a small comfort, at least,” he said.

“What about Levi and the other members of the Chosen Few?” Evelyn asked.

“They will also be a potential threat,” Jaco admitted with a nod. “But they’re also part of why we need to stick around and learn more. Like if that deal Levi made with the Minotaur is still ongoing and if he’s now working directly under that Demon. Or if it fell through and the Chosen are actually being screwed by the Demidemons for keeping their base close to the Gate of Hell. Or at least I’m guessing it’s somewhere near there?”

It wasn’t something that had actually come up with the earlier discussion with the others as they sat outside the camp. But as a sudden thought that had just come to him, it’d be a good thing to note. Especially since they would currently be in the area, making the information more immediately relevant.

“Generally speaking. It moves around quite a bit and doesn’t really fall into any strict pattern of where or when the next one will be. The only thing I can say is that you can think of Levi himself as the actual base. Like for a meeting, it’s always where he currently is or soon plans to be for a while,” Evelyn explained.

“Any idea where he might be now, then?”

The former Chosen apologetically shook her head. “Sorry, but I don’t have a clue. Even at the time, it always felt like he randomly moved around on purpose. I guess Levi didn’t want anyone knowing where he was until he actually wanted them to know.”

“Fair enough, I just figured I should ask anyway. But anyway, my point still stands that this will be our best chance to learn more. At the very least, the Chosen Few will definitely still need to adjust to the changes that have come from all these Demidemons coming over. Who themselves are likely still exploring the city for the first time, right?”

“Oh, I think I see what you mean now,” Sam began. “The long we wait to explore, the more dangerous it’ll become. Since they’ve only been coming through for as long as the warning came from the System. So they’re probably not very organized yet.”

Jaco nodded. “Mhmm. While it might be safer for us to go back and regroup at the camp. The longer we wait, the more time the Demidemons will have to get used to their new surroundings. I believe that this is probably as good a time as we’ll get to investigate. However…” he looked between the two of them.

“Like I just said before, I’m going in now, no matter what. But you guys don’t have to come along. So if you do want to head back, this is your last chance. We’d go around to another side without any Demidemons immediately nearby. Even then, it’ll still be dangerous. So what’s it going to be?” Jaco asked.

“I’m coming,” Evelyn answered with practically no hesitation. “I’d rather be out here and make myself useful, than just stay behind. At least by helping you out, I would be doing some good.”

There was a resolute look behind the redhead’s eyes. When Jaco met her gaze, his gut told him that it was the expression of someone with the determination to atone for their sins. The decision to decide Evelyn’s fade had ultimately been an indecisive one. So in lieu of actual judgment, it wasn’t a stretch to believe that this was the alternative atonement she currently sought.

At the former Chosen’s hip was her blade. Right as they had been passing by the camp on their way to the city, she had quickly gone to grab it. With one hand resting on the hilt, Evelyn was equipped to fight.

It was a stark contrast from the person who’d just earlier been unwilling to even fight back against the swarm of Spectres. Haunted by her past, she had simply been unable to gather the will to fight and had instead wished for her own death. Though with how little time had actually passed since then, Jaco was a bit uncertain about the stability of her mental state.

To go from willing to die to ready to fight was a pretty big leap to make. While the latter would definitely be more preferable in this case, who knew if she might suddenly jump back for the former. However, Jaco would be lying if he claimed to be any sort of expert on mental health. Especially so in their post-System world, where many people have dramatically changed in both mind and body over these last two months.

“Alright,” Jaco then said. “And you, Sam?”

The Mage took a bit longer to give her own answer. Sam’s lips were pursed together as she was deep in thought, clearly conflicted. But after a few more moments passed in silence, her gaze then sharpened. She looked up at Jaco from the floor, her mind now made up.

“I’m already here. If I go back now, I don’t know when my next chance will be to leave my responsibilities at the camp behind. This might be my only chance to gain Experience and get stronger. Maybe even enough to actually reach Level 30,” Sam said.

“Okay then, I guess that settles that. In that case, let’s go ahead and find a better spot to enter the city from. Preferably somewhere that doesn’t quite have as many Demidemons roaming around.”

Sam and Evelyn following close behind, Jaco took the lead. The Druid was able to effectively scout out the area by going ahead on his own at times. Thanks to his superior vision and higher Stats, it was easy for him to quickly get a lay of the land. With the threat of a flying Demon still in the back of his mind, Jaco was hesitant to transform into a hawk and take to the skies. Getting to the top of one of the taller buildings around for a vantage point, however, was a different story.

He would repeatedly separate from his two companions to hurriedly get to one of these high points and then take a look around. The first couple of times only showed him more of the same. That they were Demidemons moving about on the streets, which made it a no-go zone for Sam and Evelyn. Jaco didn’t want to take the risk of them taking even a single blow from a Demidemon, if he could otherwise avoid such a scenario. With the Level gap and the fact that neither of them were focused on Endurance, even one direct hit would almost definitely be fatal.

As Jaco climbed up to the top of another structure, it seemed that the third time would be the charm. It was still just the outer region of the city, so nothing could be certain when it came to going further in. However, at least from what he could tell, there weren’t any Demidemons currently in sight. So going around the city’s perimeter and entering from this side looked like it would be their safest bet.

I do spot a few Skeletons though, and can already see a couple Ghouls from here. Eh, they shouldn’t be a problem. Ghouls are tough and pretty hard to kill for their Level, but Sam already out Levels them by a good bit. She should have enough firepower to just overwhelm them before they can even get close enough to retaliate, Jaco thought to himself.

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From this section of the city, they should be far enough from the Demidemons to not attract them. So even if they started getting noisy by fighting off the undead, it shouldn’t prove to be an issue in that department. As long as it got closer to her Class Evolution, all Jaco could see was the positive benefit of EXP farming from entering this way.

However, as he was looking around the area, something else did catch his eye. A singular building that was only in slightly better shape than its immediate neighbors. But enough so for the Druid to recognize it as a retirement home. And upon spotting it, Jaco’s mind immediately went to thoughts of his parents. The expression on his face had been one of simple focus on the current mission at hand. But that now fell away into a sullen look as his lips twisted downward.

It’d been a while since he last thought about his parents. Whether or not they were even still alive, or if perhaps they were dealing with their own struggles. It wasn’t something Jaco could actually do anything about, however, so it was a subject he intentionally tried not to think about. Though in moments like these where there was an active reminder, he didn’t get much of a choice in that.

With a heavy sigh, Jaco straightened his back and shook his head. He tried to dismiss his dour expression, and replace it with a brave face. For the time being, he just needed to continue to concentrate on the problems that were actually in front of him. In this kind of environment, allowing himself to remain distracted would only be to his own detriment.

Jaco made his way back down to ground level, where Sam and Evelyn were already waiting for him. He then shared his findings about the lack of Demidemons in the area ahead of them. So to nobody’s surprise, their assent to go in from that way was a unanimous decision.

Though as they began to walk, Jaco couldn’t help but make an observation. One relevant to both himself and his pair of companions. They were like the three musketeers of personal issues weighing them down.

Evelyn with her recent past as a former member of the Chosen Few and everything she regretted doing while under them. Then there was Sam, whose own younger brother was the leader of the Chosen. Finally you had Jaco, who was the expectation in that his own issues didn’t directly revolve around the Chosen.

But he now just been reminded of the idea that his own family was very likely dead. And that he would almost definitely never be able to find out one way or the other with any kind of certainty. Due to the unlikely chances of anyone actually knowing their current status even if he made the journey to where they lived across the country, thanks to the Apocalypse’s changes to the world.

Well this is just great. We’re all about to head into a city now infested with Demidemons while each dealing with our own load of emotional baggage. Yaaaaay, Jaco dryly thought to himself.

On that positive note, the trio finally and properly entered the city. As they did so, Jaco actually made the conscious decision to hand back by several steps. They walked together in a line. With Jaco in the back, Evelyn in the middle, and then Sam being the one to now take the lead.

This way, Sam would be in the prime position to engage any foes they encountered and claim the Experience for herself. Evelyn would be right behind her, able to quickly assist as necessary with her high focus on speed. While Jaco would be able to keep an eye on things, while also being able to easily protect their rear from anything trying to sneak up from behind.

The first undead they encountered was the group of Skeletons. They were largely just the regular variety, with one Warrior mixed in. As such, Sam was effectively able to just breeze right through them with no trouble at all. Taking them out took so little time that Jaco hadn’t even needed to pause, and had just been able to maintain his walking pace.

“Pair of Ghouls right around the next corner. Sounds like they’re about to turn into us, so get ready for that,” Jaco commented. Sam glanced back at him and simply nodded, before turning back to face the coming Ghouls.

As she readied her wand, Jaco also got ready. A Ghoul’s scream was loud. Enough so that even if there weren’t any Demidemons in the immediate vicinity, the risk of any hearing that cry was a real one. It would be up to Sam to kill them before it came to that. But just in case, the Druid silently prepared himself.

Having already gathered her Mana, Sam was able to react the moment the Ghouls moved around the corner. Before they even had the chance to look their way, swiftly moving bolts of Mana were already flying through the air.

All the bolts were honed in one the first of the Ghouls. Each of them slammed straight into its head, rapidly rendering its skull into a splatter of mush. As the first Ghoul’s body fell to the ground, however, the other one had already begun to rear its head back. Jaco quickly responded by raising his arm, ready to interrupt the coming scream with a fire beam.

Before he could do so though, Sam was already reacting. Wisps of Mana were still housed in the skull of the first Ghoul. But with a simple flick of the wrist, the Mage commanded them to fly back out and coalesce back into a solid bolt mid-air. One that then slammed itself straight into the open mouth of the second Ghoul. The force of the blow knocked the undead off balance, making it fall backward into the street.

As it then tried to stand up back, Sam saw to it that it wouldn’t be able to regain its bearing. The moment the Ghoul lifted its head off the ground, another series of Mana bolts were already darting right for it. And with their aim true, the undead’s head then turned into a second splattering of meat and bone sprayed across the ground.

The Mage lowered her wand, and released a sigh of relief. She wiped her sleeve against the forehead before turning back to Jaco. While Sam did look a bit winded, she wore a satisfied and victorious smile on her face.

“Wasn’t sure I actually had the Stats to pull that off. Been thinking about that trick for a bit now, but I wasn’t sure if my Will was up for it yet,” Sam admitted.

“Being able to reuse the leftover energy of your attack does seem pretty useful,” Jaco said with a nod. “But did that fight manage to gain you another Level?”

Sam shook her head. “No, sadly not. I don’t think Ghouls will really be productive on that front anymore. Only Skeleton Mages will be worth the EXP, or at least more than just one or two Ghouls. Which is a weird thought, now that I’m thinking about it.”

“Oh? How so?” Jaco asked.

“Hmm, just the idea that Ghouls not really being worth the Experience. Like it wasn’t that long ago that just fighting them on my own felt like a really risky idea. And now I just managed to take two down before they could even react.”

“That’s the benefit of a higher Level,” Evelyn chimed in. “Against monsters, each and every Level before your Class Evolution makes a noticeable difference. It’s why you can put up a decent fight even while a few Levels under them. So then being over them by the same amount reasonably means that what would have been a tough fight before quickly turns into an easy one instead.”

On that note, the three of them then moved on. They didn’t really have the luxury to stand around and enjoy idle chatter, after all. However, Jaco didn’t believe they were any other undead close by. At least none that he saw earlier. But at least that meant Sam would have the time to regain at least some of her spent Mana.

For the next several minutes, they moved deeper through the outskirts of the city in relative peace. Each step took them deeper and deeper in. And as they were power walking with a pace that was already much faster than the pre-System average, they were actually moving at a pretty good speed. Even with Sam being the slowest with her Stats as a Mage, she would have easily outpaced any human before the Apocalypse.

However, it was as they were currently moving that Jaco then came to a sudden stop. His gaze narrowed, as he focused on a noise he just managed to pick up. One that was coming from their left. His eyes widened with alarm upon hearing the sound of heavy hoofbeats stomping against the ground. Hoofbeats that were coming almost directly their way, and were by no means doing so slowly.

“Fuck! We need to move, now!” he exclaimed. “There’s a Minotaur heading right for us! It’ll be here any minute!”

Both Sam and Evelyn visibly paled. Neither said anything, but they were already prepared to follow the Druid’s lead. Fortunately, they did have time to get out of the Minotaur’s way.

Being on their left side meant it was on the opposite of the buildings next to them. So in the time it’d take for it to get to the next intersection, they could-

At that moment, there was a thunderous boom. The building just a couple dozen feet away from them exploded into a cascade of stone shrapnel. Stepping out of the small cloud of dust, the Minotaur’s greataxe lowered to its side. Though before any of them could react, its head turned, and the monster's red eyes met their gazes.

Minotaur (Demidemon)

Level: 49

“Well… shit,” Jaco muttered. With the Demidemon now staring them down, trying to run would just mean exposing their backs to it. Something that would be especially bad if it had any ranged attacks.

Which meant there was just one thing they could do now. It was officially do or die time.