Haha, I have no excuse. Sorry for the hiatus. You know me, I'm an unreliable author.
Exodus
The scout’s frantic scream pierced through the stagnant air.
A mind tingling silence filled the room. Only the repressed swallowing of dry saliva, and the ever so slight quaking of frightened feet could be heard within the confines of the archive room.
And just as suddenly as this silence came, as if a pin had dropped, it was quickly broken by the violent sound of destruction that originated from beyond the room.
The noise sent an electrifying jolt of anxiety coursing through everyone’s bodies, and snapped them all out of their minute reverie. Instinctively, seats fell as bodies sprung into action. A mass of weak, barely able survivors streamed out the door and into the more open space of the library commons.
The finely maintained order that had once been present was now nowhere to be seen. In its place was a coalition of fear driven, dirt covered, and injury prone bodies. The people around me were no longer students, but merely cattle.
From the corner of my eye, I could see the others.
The first to catch my attention was Cher. Her unconscious figure remained unchanged even in the heat of the moment. Besides her, Cielle remained seated, although the conflicted expression on her face was more than visible.
I did not see Hina. She was probably outside, along with the rest of the survivors.
As bodies quickly left the room, I noticed another individual who had remained. With somewhat shaky hands, he adjusted the frame of his glasses, and unsteadily walked towards me. The injuries from earlier were still apparent from his demeanor, and his expression did no good at hiding the anxiety on his face.
It was the President.
He gave off a false bravado as he spoke. His voice was quiet, and whether he was purposely whispering, or unconsciously lowering his tone, I could not tell.
“Hide, what… what should we do? I honestly did not expect the horde to get here so quickly… I- I thought we at least had a few more minutes before...”
The more he expressed his concerns, the more his fake demeanor cracked. The fear brought on by hundreds of man eating creatures was by no means light.
“...”
In my case, I did not feel as surprised or scared at the sudden situation as the others. For one, I’m positive that some part of my [Psychopath] title is influencing my mental state, hampering my emotions. And second, I knew about the horde’s approach. My sensory perception caught sight of their charge, the only real issue I had was not knowing the exact time they would arrive… If I had known how to adjust my output for increased accuracy, then…
I shook my head in an act of futility. An unintended sigh leaked out from my thinly parted lips, while light and focus returned to my glazed eyes. Either way, I pushed aside my speculations about my own ability, and focused on the matter at hand.
I shot one last glance at Cher and Cielle as I swallowed down a mouthful of dry saliva, and briskly walked over towards the door.
“For now, let’s check out the situation. Afterwards…” The President followed behind me without reservation. I don’t know since when, but in his right hand, he lightly held a black obsidian longsword. “... After we see how bad things have developed, then we can start taking action.”
*****
I joined up with Hina and the others at the open space of the library.
With Hina, were the rest of the President’s party, Kido and his merry group, as well as the remaining survivors from the cafeteria.
Looking over at Kido, a small frown formed on my face. The nagging feeling of curiosity and sense of trepidation that blossomed within me was a constant annoyance. Doubt had already began to form, and it only grew as the questions I had remained unanswered.
I was especially doubtful of Kido’s legitimacy. Whether or not he truly did posses the [Hero] title is still a mystery. I wasn’t stupid enough to just simply take his word for it. It also didn’t help that my [Identify] skill can’t check on a person’s titles.
Swallowing down my curiosity and trepidation, I looked away and shifted my stare onto the thing that had caught everyone else’s attention.
Towards the front of the library was a makeshift barricade that covered the entirety of the Library entrance. The barricade was made of a loose amalgamation of shelves, cabinets, tables, literally anything that could be used was used. The barricade itself wasn’t much of an issue, rather, it was the commotion behind it that concerned me. Behind the barricade, behind the tightly shut doors of the Library entrance, was the horde.
The scratching of wood, the loud and reverberating sound of crashing, as well as the chaotic chorus of frenzied roars, all of this was loud and reminded each of us of how painfully dire our current situation truly was.
Without pause, I walked forward towards the source of the noise, all the while, I barked out various orders to everyone present.
“Those who can’t fight, start gathering the supplies we have. Food isn’t as important, prioritize medicine.”
“Prez, get someone to carry Cher.”
“All the noncombatants, stay behind me. Melee fighters come up front, ranged stay behind them.”
I organized everyone under the assumption that the horde had already reached the library, and arranged everyone in a fighting position that maximized our current combat potential.
By the time we reached the middle of the third floor, everyone was a lot more organized, and the panic had been brought to a controllable level. Of course, I had no real faith in this makeshift formation. In the face of hundreds of blood lusted monsters, a paltry group of less than a dozen able bodied people would barely put up much of a resistance.
The purpose of the formation was for the non combatants. The cafeteria survivors. It would be bad if they went crazy, freaked out and made this mess worse than it already is after all. At the very least, this formation brought some semblance of comfort to those who could not fight.
In the center of the open space, the additional person I had assigned as look out- a girl with a slightly cute appearance- was standing. She had a bag overflowing with emerald feathers clutched close to her chest. She fidgeted uncontrollably, while a nervous expression contorted her face. Her eyes constantly darted around the room, although they lingered noticeably towards the location of the library entrance.
It was only after seeing the group’s arrival did her face visibly slacken.
“What’s the situation?” I immediately asked, although through [echolocation] I was already starting to paint a picture of our current predicament.
“Well… w-e-we spotted monsters, lurking around the 3rd floor. T-the moment, we saw them, we immediately ran to get you.” Fatty came up from behind me and explained with a nervous stutter in his voice. “That was over a minute ago, by this point…”
Just as he spoke, a tremor rang out through the library. Glancing over in the direction of the noise, it was clearly evident that the walls wouldn’t last for very much longer. And once those walls broke, then the barricade will quickly follow...
What’s more, they were on the third floor, on the same floor as us. Unlike before, where we had the geographical advantage, the situation now was obviously much worse than before.
“What should we do?” The President repeated his earlier question while his face contorted in worry. “How much time do we have? How many of them are there? W-what should we do?”
“... We’re going to have to leave the Library…” After a slight pause, I answered solemnly while I maintained eye contact with the direction of the noise.
The President’s questioning came to an abrupt stop as he bit down on his lip, his face contorting in consternation. Although he knew we didn’t have any other options left, still, the conflict in his face was palpable. “The Library is the most secure location within this building… With the situation being as it is, we’ll practically be open game anywhere else.
Where else can we go?”
After another slight pause, I answered. “There is one place.”
Hearing this, the Prez’s brows arched upwards, as he wordlessly urged me to continue speaking.
“If… If things work themselves out, then we might be able to escape the bulk of the horde chasing after us…”
“What place are you talking about?” The teacher from the President’s party couldn’t help but blurt out as his eyes filled with new found hope. He just came back from the archive room, and on his back was an unconscious Cher. He had inadvertently overheard our conversation.
With his sudden outburst, everyone’s attention shifted and I was once again the main focus.
Without flinching, I readily responded.
“In the east building, there is a bomb shelter. Although there are a couple of monsters lurking about, from my previous experience, it shouldn’t be all that hard to come up with a few precautionary measures before hand. At the very least, the situation there won’t be as bad as it is in here.”
“A bomb shelter!” Kido’s voice exclaimed out in amazement as he too, lured by everyone else, made his way towards me. “That’s great! Bomb shelters are sure to have food, water, and other sorts of provisions!”
Hearing him talk, a frown momentarily formed on my face. “...Well, rather than just the bomb shelter, I believe we can secure the East building as a whole.”
****
At most, we had 5 minutes of prep time. 5 minutes before the the barricade breaks and a stream of monsters floods the entire library. 5 minutes to think up a strategy and implement it to the best of our abilities. 5 minutes at the junction of life and death.
Those 5 minutes ended 1 minute ago.
****
With the president leading the journey, the group had began their descent into the 2nd floor. Using the rope attached to the railing on the third floor, the process was arduous, and painstakingly time consuming. Luckily, the upside to this was that compared to the third floor, the 2nd and 1st floors were monster free. I already confirmed this fact before hand using [Echolocation].
Right now, while everyone else began their descent, I stood in front of the barricade. Like before, I was once again bait. Or rather, I was here to buy time in order for everyone to escape.
Unlike before though, I was not alone. With me was Cielle, who stood almost motionless beside me. The gaze from behind her familiar curtain of hair was solely fixated on the barricade before us.
Taking cue from the shorter than average girl besides me, my own gaze focused in on the barricaded doorway. The banging and destruction of wood rang vibrantly throughout the room, only to be overshadowed by the animalistic grunts and monstrous roars that tremored out from the horde.
crack! CRACK!
“Is...is this plan going to work?”
A quiet voice filled with uncertainty entered my ears. Turning around, through the thinly parted strands of hair, I could see Cielle’s paler than usual face contort in what I came to realize as fear. Except, this time, her fear was something else. It wasn’t the fear of losing one’s life, but rather, the fear of losing someone else’s.
After a short bout of silence, I responded,
“... I don’t know.
It was a hastily drawn up plan that has as much holes as there are stars in the sky, but… In the end, it’s our only option. At this point, we have no other choice.”
“....”
“Look, everything else is already set up.” I motioned to the bookshelves that surrounded us.
The giant, wooden book shelves were lined up on both sides, and arranged in a way that they formed a sort of pathway. A pathway that started at the barricade, and led deeper into the library, and away from the broken staircase.
As I gawked at the shelves, I could not help but speak, “It’s a bit amazing isn’t it? The power of creatures backed into a corner. To think those guys managed to set this up in such a short amount of time… granted, with the game system in effect, they were all much stronger than regular humans… but still it’s still impressive.”
I muttered almost to myself as I kept talking through the noise and animalistic screeches that originated just a little bit in front of me. Cielle silently listened to my ramblings, her head bobbed slightly forward almost in agreement with my earlier statement.
“Plus, you set that “thing” up properly right? The last countermeasure against the horde?”
Cielle lightly nodded.
“Then that’s it. We’ve done all we could in preparation. All that’s left is our performance.”
Crack Crack CRACK!
As if on cue, the barricade in front of us splintered.
Not even a full minute passed since our makeshift pathway had been completed, and already, the first monster head poked out from a newly created slit within the entrance. The door was moments from giving way and soon, the impending threat of the horde was going to become a dreary reality.
Without waiting for the moment to pause, I took hold of my current weapon - the larger than average pole arm- and immediately attacked the first monster.
Thrusting out the giant stick, I deftly landed a critical blow towards the monster’s exposed eye. A horrendous cracking noise reverberated at the moment of impact, but I was unfazed, and continued beating down on its exposed face. Soon it’s entire head was swollen to twice its size and the last vestiges of life fluttered out as its hp hit zero. Now, its rapidly cooling corpse had become just another component to the barricade that kept the horde away.
Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to appreciate this little victory, as the other monsters around it were unfazed by the death of their comrade. They continued to beat down on the door and surrounding walls. New cracks and openings were created, and another monster head replaced the one I recently slayed.
I striked out once more. Cielle provided cover fire, but her output was limited due to her lack of mana. This process repeated for a span of two minutes, before the entire door ultimately gave out, and the first wave of monsters began surging towards the room. I was ultimately forced to jump back, as the impending threat of a Tusk boar’s rush caused a momentary shiver to run down my spine.
I grabbed onto Cielle’s waist, and, ignoring her slight resistance, continued stepping back until my back hit a toppled book shelf.
As they approached, I continued to strike back. I did not run just yet. After all, my main purpose here was to buy time, and seeing as how the majority of the horde was still firmly behind the barricade, now wasn’t the proper time to make my retreat. Using the pole arm’s range advantage, I swept the giant stick deftly in front of me and kept the monsters at a constant distance, while also managing to slay a few of them in the process.
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Unfortunately, even with the constant rush and my constant attempts at attacking, I was only one person. Cielle’s role this time around was to act as emergency support and provide healing in case I get injured, so she wasn’t much help this time around. In other words, I was the sole damage dealer, and there was a limit to how much aggro I could draw.
A portion of the horde chose to avoid me, and instead began assaulting the book shelves around us..
Splinters flew threw the air and the constant cracking and snapping sounds of wood filled the room. Going by how things were progressing, It wouldn’t take long for the wooden pathway to collapse under all the constant pressure.
I killed off an approaching minotaur with a strike to its temple before I was ultimately forced to retreat.
“Cielle, Now!”
In order to draw their attention away from the pathway, I ordered Cielle to attack. Cielle’s mana was limited, and it was best to use what little of it remained wisely, but this situation was paramount. If the monster’s break through the walls of the pathway, then the whole plan would fail, and a large majority of the others would die.
Immediately after my order, a cascade of darkness surged forward, and enveloped the frontline of the horde. A chorus of screeches shook the air around us. The chaotic eyes of the horde immediately turned murderous as their attentions shifted over to me.
“Heh, don’t you think that was a little too effective?” I cracked a sardonic smile as I unconsciously took a step back. In the face of this overwhelming pressure, even I could not help but develop a cold sweat.
“...Sorry, but…” Cielle, who was firmly tucked underneath my arm, frantically tugged at my sleeve, “... Hide, please start running.”
“Kuh, In this type of situation, that sort of reminder isn’t really needed!” I hastily yelled, while my body turned and began running down our makeshift pathway. My legs propelled me forward, and as if on cue, the horde followed suit, and began their mad pursuit.
As I ran, the sound of violent stampeding followed me. The pressure felt from the horde was immense, it was as if I was running from the very jaws of death itself. Nevertheless, the constant, life threatening danger served more good than harm. My feet blurred as my body rocketed forward. Fear induced adrenaline continually pushed me forward, and I could do nothing but to obey.
Normally speaking, running straight forward from the Library entrance would eventually lead you to the broken staircase, where everyone else was. Of course, anyone with half a brain could see why that was a bad idea. Leading something that you were assigned to distract towards the thing you were supposed to lead them away from was definitely not a smart move.
That’s why this pathway was hastily set up. The path curved, and led away from the broken staircase. And in order to keep the hordes preoccupied on one target and lead them away from the others, we were needed as bait.
I continued to run, leading the monsters along the winding pathway designed specifically to buy the others enough time to escape.
Of course, there was only so much we could do in a space as confined as the library. In truth, the entirety of this pathway, from start to end, I could finish in less than 20 seconds. Calculating in the monster’s average speed of pursuit, this pathway could only buy about 30 seconds of time maximum.
But that in itself wasn’t a problem. After all, this pathway was just part of the plan.
“Hide, up ahead-!”
Cielle’s haphazardly yelled brought me back from my adrenaline induced haze. My eyes flashed as the thing in front of me quickly came into view. Not more than 10 meters away, there was a giant hole in the ground. The hole was about 3 meters in diameter, and had its edges liquified. It was apparent from the sulfuric smell, to the left over acid, that something had melted the hole in the wall.
If someone looked below that hole, they’d find another hole. A hole that completely melted through the 2nd floor, leading toward the first floor of the library.
This hole was intentional. Afterall, Cielle created this hole. This hole was the next part of the plan.
I cracked a smile as newfound energy reinvigorated my taut legs. Glancing back, I could see the horde still in full pursuit.
I continued to run for a little longer, before my feet slid to an abrupt stop directly in front of the hole. I then swiveled my whole body to directly face the horde in front of me.
They were less than 10 meters away, and that distance was steadily decreasing with each passing second. Their chaotic stampeding shook the floor and reverberated throughout the very core of my body.
My grip on Cielle tightened, and sweat dripped down my brow. I was nervous, yes, maybe even afraid, but I could not help but jokingly ask the girl in my arms, “Ready?”
Cielle, whose eyes had been glaring directly at the horde, made a slightly confused face as she looked up at me. It took her less than a second before the light flashed in her eyes, and an expression of realization colored her complexion.
“Wait, let me-” Knowing what was to come next, she tried to hastily stammer out a reply, but I ignored her.
Without saying another word, my arms wrapped onto her slender, jade-like waist, as my knees slightly bent. I glared at the approaching horde, took a deep breathe, and finally, with as much strength as I could muster, I threw Cielle directly up into the air.
Her small body flew higher and higher, all the while, an out of character shriek escaped her throat. The combination of my inhuman strength, as well as Cielle’s own lack of weight, contributed to Cielle’s growing elevation. After she had ascended past the rafters that hung below the ceiling (which were exactly 15 meters above the ground), I made my move.
With the horde now less than a meter away, I activated my skill, [Shadow Sprint].
Using the shadows created by the looming bookshelves above me, my body vanished just as the first monster ran through my previous location. Instantaneously, I found myself standing above one of the rafters.
I locked eyes with Cielle, whose frightened and bewildered expression greeted my own. For a moment, time seemingly stood still as she floated momentarily in the air. The hair that usually covered her face was parted, and revealed her frozen expression. Wide, brown eyes, and a shapely nose that I don’t get to see often greeted me. Her cheeks were flushed red, and tiny droplets fought against the wind pressure and remained firmly placed onto her jade like skin.
As I stared, a feeling of moment realization welled up inside me, as once again, time seemingly resumed in all of its hasty glory.
Her ascent had stopped, maxing out just a few feet above my current location, and Cielle was now slowly beginning her descent. Before, her body fell back down into the horde that awaited below though, I quickly reached out and grabbed her, pulling her towards me and onto the safe confines of the rafters.
The moment her feet touched the wooden beam, she panted out a series of uneven breathes. She knelt down and grasped the beam with all fours, and her mouth quivered in what I interpreted as a silent prayer. I could only imagine what sort of expression she was currently making underneath all that black hair.
“You okay?” I couldn’t help but ask .
“I… I hate heights…” She muttered out in an exasperated voice. “I hate heights, so I never want to do this again, but, more importantly…”
Her head swiveled slightly to focus on the commotion below.
After a few seconds of silent staring, Cielle spoke, “The plan is going well…”
I nodded mutely, while my gaze followed and transfixed onto the hole below us.
The horde was continually falling into the hole. One after another, as if the hole itself had some sort of magic pull, the monsters kept falling. Due to the tight formation of the horde, the monsters behind had no way of knowing what lay ahead of them. In addition, due to the narrowness created by the Book shelf pathway, all those that continued to run forward had no choice but to fall into the hole. By the time they noticed anything odd, they were already falling.
It was the perfect plan that made use of the horde’s large numbers and tight knit formation.
What’s more, the fact that the horde directly fell to the 1st floor was advantageous in of itself. The other survivors should be currently escaping towards the 2nd floor. This situation once again put us in the geographical advantage we had enjoyed before.
This hastily crafted plan that became our newfound beacon of hope was thought up by Hina. And what’s more, this was merely stage two of her three stage plan.
“With this… it should start soon…” I muttered to myself as I watched, transfixed at the situation below us. Like a waterfall comprised of able bodied monsters, they continually fell into the hole.
“...Cielle, how long has it been since the others left?” I asked in between my reverie-like stare.
“...10 minutes…” She replied.
“T-ten minutes?!” My head immediately swiveled to face her. I stared in agape shock, as she once again repeated.
“...about 10 minutes.”
“Oi, oi, isn’t this bad then.” I breathed out a heavy sigh. My arm snaked its way around Cielle’s waist once more, and, ignoring her slight yelp of surprise, I bent my knees in preparation. “The time limit we gave them was 10 minutes. If 10 minutes passed, then that means…”
As if on cue, the trembling beneath my feet intensified, and not a moment later, a gigantic explosion shook the whole of the building. The explosion was focused on the 2nd floor, but it was definitely strong enough to bring down the third floor. I imagined the pillars collapsing, as the third floor began caving in on itself.
I jumped down onto a bookshelf, and continued further onto the floor, even as said floor began to give way around me. The miserable shrieks and cries of the monsters below me filled my ears, as more than just a few of them fell downward, along with all the debris and concrete the explosion brought with it.
The third stage of the plan had began, and I was desperate not to find myself a part of the collateral damage.
I ran. Even with Cielle in my arms, I ran. Even as the floor crumbled, and cracked, and sank, I nonetheless ran.
When I reached the edge of the ledge, I took a giant leap forward, and practically flew threw the air. Behind me, the third floor completely caved in, and fell down onto the 2nd. The combined weight of the 3rd floor made the 2nd floor collapsing a mere inevitability, but right now, that wasn't much of a concern for me.
After all, the library was a lost cause either way.
I activated [Hard Scale] just as my feet hit the ground. A soft tingling sensation exploded from beneath me, but I ignored it. Deactivating my skill, I fought against the numbness in my legs and continued to run.
I ran past crumbling concrete, and falling debris as I made my way towards the door. Just as I stepped out into the hallway, the floor beneath me finally gave way. The 2nd floor, under the immense weight and pressure of the collapsed third floor, finally followed suit, and fell down into the 1st floor.
As of today, the Oakwood library was no more.
Reaching the hallway, the others greeted me. Their previously anxious expressions immediately lightened upon my arrival. I let go of Cielle, who managed to walk a couple steps forward on shaky footsteps before she crumpled to her knees. As if all of her energy rushed out the moment she fell to the ground, she rolled over onto her back, and heaved out a heavy sigh.
My eyes scanned the crowd ahead of me. Without me realizing, Hina was already besides her sister. She knelt down besides her, and gently patted Cielle’s head. Like a kid who suddenly found an abandoned cat by the side of the street, Hina stroked her sister’s head with light, and practiced movements. She spoke in an almost inaudible tone, all the while her sister responded with what I interpreted as the recounting of the past few minutes’ events.
My eyes further scanned the crowd until I saw Cher’s figure. She had been placed besides the wall, and her complexion and state had remained relatively unchanged from how she was before. I stared for a good while, before my eyes moved forward and gazed over the rest of the crowd.
Near the entrance, the girl in the wizard hat was bent over, and panting heavily. Her face was creased in sweat and fatigue, and a puddle of murky brown, a substance I later came to understand as vomit, had pooled beneath her. .
I heard this beforehand, but her explosion skill consumes both mana and stamina. It was a costly skill, but glancing back at the crumbling library, it definitely had destructive potential that rivaled its cost.
Besides her, were Kido and his group of merry friends. Kido was speaking conciliatory words, while he constantly rubbed her back, and the rest of the girls were acting out of character, and praised Wizard hat in praise.
I gave this group a sardonic glance, before I moved on to the rest of the crowd.
Everyone had on a variety of expressions. Some were relief, most were anxiety, nonetheless, these people all had one thing that tied them all together. Whether they were male or female, student or teacher, leechers or fighters, we were all what was left of Oakwood.
“That should buy us a bit of time, but we need to get going.” I spoke to the crowd.
While a majority of the horde was inside the library when it collapsed, I was certain that more than a few of them were still outside of hallway, and managed to escape injury. What’s more, I’m positive that there are more than just a few survivors within that explosion. Truth be told, the explosion just now, rather than killing off the monsters, was more akin to buying us time. Plus, the threat of reinforcements was still present, whether that was through another building’s monsters or newly spawned Shadow Lurker, we were still far from safe.
Shooting one final glance back at the library, I turned back to face the receding hallway and began walking forward. Everyone, as if on cue, followed suit.
Our exodus to the east building had just began.
****
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