With the timely info from Alina, our bearded leader led the group forward, constantly zig-zagging and correcting the route on the go. Thanks to her, we slipped through several courtyards without encountering any monsters. According to the eccentric woman's words, danger surrounded us on all sides: in houses, shops and even underground. Seizing the moment and in pursuit of satisfying my curiosity, I turned to Vadim:
“Does she have some kind of scouting skill?”
“More like a hunter's,” and then he competently shared more information. “That's an active skill called marauder, which predicts whatever monster can drop loot. Extremely useful and hella expensive!”
“So cool, damn it,” I glanced enviously at Alina, who was beaming with a sense of self-importance. “Wait, you said expensive. Is the money still in use?”
Through his unkempt beard, I noticed Vadim's smile:
“No, exp capsules are used in trade. What's your level?”
“Fourth,” there was no point in lying to the comrade-in-arms.
“Oh, that means you couldn't got one yet. They can be looted from monsters when the difference is five levels, and contain only 30% of the original amount of experience. So, let's say the system should give you three exp from level 0 monster, but if you kill him, you'll only get the capsule with 1 exp. Well, you can’t use it yourself - it has a difference limit of five levels. These capsules are now the main currency used.”
“Ooh ...” Anton's words resurfaced inside my mind. “It sure feels like we're in some game.”
“Many in the camp believe so. Where the hell is he going?..”
For no reason at all, the dog, raising a cloud of dust into the air, rushed for a neighboring house. I shrugged and ran after him.
I made it just in time: from the crumbled asphalt, he dragged the prey - a long, hairy caterpillar. It resisted with all the might it could muster, wriggling its whitish belly, but could not get out of the tenacious mouth of the dog.
Because of apparent hopelessness, it stopped running away and got out of the hideout, giving the last desperate fight. A pair of black eyes and four chitinous, sharp mandibles appeared in sight. The oversized larva's attention was focused on the dog, so hitting its head with a club was a shock for it. The disoriented creature turned at me, writhing its head, but that only hastened its doom. With a few solid strikes, I smashed the larva's head into a watery orange mass.
You eliminated level 4 Larva, gained 2 experience.
«Eh? 2 exp? Oh, right, cause it’s a group.»
I bent down to the ground and plucked a large leaf of some plant, that looked similar to a burdock. Vadim and his group came when I was wiping myself from the insect's lymph on my body.
Sounds of nausea reached me from somewhere behind.
«Ha-ha, what a weak-bellied people. I’m used to such a thing…,» and, turning to my buddy, I turned green. He, tearing the belly of the monster with his claws, devoured the insides smeared with mucus, and flopped in orange-whitish blood. Frowning, I could hardly restrain myself from vomiting.
“A useless waste of energy.” The voice of the bearded leader rang out. “This creature is harmless; it only devours endlessly growing greenery.”
“You tell him that!” I, without looking, waved in the direction of the satiating itself beast.
“Let's move on! Until someone or something else came running to the feast.”
“Vadim, wait,” Alina, pale as a dead, came up. “There are far too many creatures out there. It might be a colony.”
«Ugh, not again.»
I didn't wish to face tens of red creatures one more time.
“Sucks...” Vadim spat on the ground and waved. “Listen! We should go to the reptile's territories, then.”
Everyone turned to the road that spanned the border between the two territories without any questions. Under Alina's unmistakable instructions, we moved deeper into reptilian domains.
And now it became clear that an entirely different species was in charge here: there were far fewer plants, and they were all mostly prickly or spiky. Even the air here was excessively dry, and the wind picked up fine, eye-hurting dust. And above all, none of my companions were surprised by this stark nature's contrast.
“Sna-a-ake!” Cried an oblivious slob, whose name I never found out. A thin crawling, yellowish creature bit his leg and didn't let go. Yegor lashed out at it with his bone sword, but the dull blade's edge only knocked it to the ground. Still alive, it hissed with its tiny tongue and burrowed into the sand, then crawled toward the yellow-green grass. “It bit me! Save me, I'm going to die!” Our comrade-in-arms kept yelling.
“Andrei, calm down, check your status.” Yegor, smirking, held out his hand for a bet. “I bet twenty exp that it didn't even bite through your skin.”
The guy froze, pressed a dot on his wrist, and exhaled in relief.
“Alright, let's go.”
From there, our squad got hit with several more similar attacks, but we were on guard now, and quickly dealt with even the slightest threat. Though I was now without a wooden cover, I was out of danger with my trusted four-legged protector. My buddy would deal with any small critter that crawled out of the sands. As for Alina, she apparently got used to the dog and tried to stay close to avoid the attacks of the smaller animals that were everywhere. On this short journey, her contribution to the group's survival was the highest, and our journey back became a midday stroll.
«What a pity she's so bad-tempered!»
Sweating from the abnormal and bizarre heat of May, we took shelter in one of the malls. The grocery store was practically empty; most likely other survivors must have cleaned the place out in the first days after the disaster. Divided into teams, we searched every corner. I was lucky enough to find a few five-liter water bottles, and Yegor with Andrei found a box of dry noodles.
Except that we couldn't cook the food - there was no electricity in town for a few days, and using a fire was forbidden by Vadim. We had to chew them dry grinded with spices, chugging water afterwards. And when, after finishing the dinner we went for the exit, Alina shocked us:
“There's no creatures around, but I'm out of mana.”
“So quickly?” Exclaimed the surprised Vadim.
She nodded in disappointment and ran a hand through her short blond hair. Everyone else was looking for sustenance and she got a new haircut.
“All because of the new skill, it takes up a third of my source.”
“Shit,” the bearded man looked up at the blazing sun. “It's about eleven o'clock; not much time left before noon. Either we go now, or we barricade ourselves and wait until tomorrow.”
«We've crossed only a couple of miles in six hours and we're not going any further? What an overreactor...»
I wasn't going to voice out my opinion. For sure, no matter what I say, Alina will make a scene, so I've let them decide for themselves.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
However, there was no further discussion; people tiredly, and rather doomfully, looked at each other.
“And what's the problem?” Apparently, if I don't ask, no one will explain anything.
And, as usual, five puzzled looks were fixed on me.
“What?” I shrugged my shoulders. “Yeah, I don't know! Been meditating in place for a week, like Buddha. Why don't you just explain it already?”
“Ahem,” Vadim cleared his throat and spoke. “Well, it's just that they're the most annoying creatures, swarming everywhere and in large numbers, so their behavior is already known to everyone. I'm surprised that... Oh, well, okay. Soon it will be noon, and that means the big specimens will come out - the hornlisks. Those are huge two-headed lizards that use fire magic. They're hard to deal with, but they're slow and one can run away from them. That's why I'm inclined to move now.”
What about the albinos? You know, the humanoid-like ones with claws? - I remembered one of the first fearsome creatures that had once saved me from a giant.
“They're rarely seen now.” Yegor chimed in.
“Yes, they're a relic of the past. Our biggest problems right now are the salamanders and the flying monsters that circle over them. A dozen flying critters can cause serious problems for us. Besides Zhenya, none of us have long-range magic.”
“Flying monsters? Sounds unpleasant, but since you want to go right now anyway, is it going to be even worse at night?” I made what seemed to me a very logical assumption.
Vadim held the almost empty five-liter bottle above his head, and as he finished the rest of it, he said:
“I would consider staying around at night only if I had a tank. As dusk fell, the nocturnals would come out to hunt. Those are smaller creatures, like the dinosaurs in the movies. They're quick and poisonous, but one's easy to handle. Except... they never move alone. It's always a pack of a hundred or more.”
“Like cockroaches?” I clarified.
“Yes, like cockroaches.” Vadim opened another packet of noodles and began quickly consuming it. “They can see in the dark and have an excellent sense of smell. So, no matter how we hide in their territory, they will definitely find us. So, if everyone's finished resting, we should move out now.”
He shook the noodles out of his beard and stood up briskly. Everyone else was in motion, too. Zhenya picked up the tiny girl in his arms. Alina and Andrei took on the support roles, each holding five-liter cans of water. Apparently, they didn't want to get into fights. Yegor was holding a new machete and put the bone sword he used earlier in his backpack. We were the last to move out with my boy; he was completely soaked from the heat: could hardly move, breathed hoarsely, and his tongue stuck out almost half a meter, picking up small grains of sand from the ground.
I protected myself from the scorching sun with stylish sunglasses and a bandana with braids. It was a good thing we visited the mall - I could finally replace my leaky pants and get dressed up. Otherwise, I would have sunburned in my penniless guise in the next five minutes, or have suffered from sunstroke. Now, wandering through transformed hometown was much more comfortable. I could only wish I had some bones on hand - would've crafted a few traps.
The farther into the reptilian domain we entered, the more the surroundings changed. As far as I remembered, this had been the border between the city and the industrial area, but now we were surrounded by the remains of the ruined five-story buildings and sand-covered warehouses. And pretty soon, this neighborhood might become a real desert.
«Why did everything change so much? Do the altered really have that much impact on our world?»
That's what I was thinking about the majority of the time, until, at one point, Vadim raised his hand with an ax. Without further ado, we turned toward the next house. Zhenya was the first to collapse on the ground in the shade, almost letting go of his expensive luggage out of his hands from fatigue. The whole squad looked tired, though we had only proceeded a short distance.
“Look,” said Vadim, breathing heavily, pointing toward the high-rise in front of our group.
I even took off my sunglasses, but I couldn't make out anything through the smoldering heat and sand cloud.
“Vadim, we don't have any vision-enhancement skills.” Yegor spoke up for all of us after he took his eyes off the water bottle.
“Ten flying, one hornlisk,” our leader began to list aloud. “They're confronted with...” He squinted his eyes hard. “Man, they look like demons. Maybe they're from the camp.”
“Hey, what sort of demons? Scorpions?” Alina asked excitedly. “Could it be Dmitri Yurievich raid?”
Vadim furrowed his brows:
“There are only redskins, no one else around, and the demons seem to be losing.”
“Damn it! Hey, you,” the matron turned to me. “Go and take a closer look!”
I looked at her like she was insane.
“Alina!” Our leader snapped at her.
She snorted and defiantly turned away.
«A woman in her forties and acting like a spoiled child.»
“Let's turn here. In fact, we're doing great, just another hour to go and we're home. Alina, check the safe direction.” Vadim asked her in a good-natured tone, touching her shoulder.
I expected her screaming, or at least a demonstrative ignore, but his touch made her flinch and she meekly said:
“Okay.”
«Ho-ho, she sure seems to have some feelings for our bald leader. Or, does he do that to everyone?»
While Alina was examining the area with her skill, I sat down with the poor Zhenya.
“Are you all right?” I turned to him.
“Fine,” same short answer, but I could see the weariness in his eyes.
“Maybe I can help you? I could carry her for some time, while you recover some strength.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head stubbornly.
“It's just that I feel like in a hundred yards you'll fall exhausted with...” I hesitated a little, remembering the name. “Rita, right? And then we'll have to carry the two of you. Maybe we can fend off the monsters without a mage, but it would be much harder to move with two dead weights.”
“Nyaff," my dog, lying nearby in the shade, looked up at me with pleading, weary eyes.
“I'd carry you if I could, my boy, but you weigh as much as a horse do!” I sympathetically stroked his withers and scratched behind the ear. “So, what do you say, Zhenya?”
Zhenya sat idly with his eyes closed, breathing quietly, as if he were asleep.
“... that's all the directions, Vadim.” The effect of Alina's skill came to an end.
“So, we'll have to make an even longer detour into the territory of these creatures.” The group leader stared sullenly into the sandy far reaches of the industrial zone, calculating our chances of survival.
“Or maybe we could go through the monsters?” Yegor asked, separating himself from the crumbling brick wall and putting the machete over his shoulder.
Alina snorted contemptuously, but remained silent. The guy glared menacingly at her, but Vadim prevented the conflict from escalating.
“It's too risky. We've only got one mage, and even then...” He pointed to the exhausted Eugene. “The flying one are too fast, and they'll catch up with us wherever we go.”
Besides, if we don't kill them quickly, they'll call the nearest flocks together by roaring and chattering.
“You think there, “Yegor raised his voice and gestured at the dancing sand cloud, “we have higher chances to survive?”
“At least there are!” The bald, big-haired man exclaimed in a high tone as well. “Yegor, without any mages we'll just die, or, you hope we aggro all these monsters on ourselves, and you escape to the camp under the camouflage? Don't forget: I can see most of your abilities!”
«Wow, now that's interesting! Does he have a fifth tome of appraisal or is it because he's the group's leader?»
“As we’re in dire need of second mage, I have a suggestion.” I decided to intervene in the heated discussion. I immediately got two angry, one contemptuous, and another interested look. I put the backpack on the sand and, having rummaged through it, pulled out the necessary book to the light. “The attraction of unprecedented generosity: Chain lightning! Anyone want to learn it?”
Now everyone was astonished, even Zhenya woke up from his meditation. Alina was, of course, the first to wake up:
“And you offer this only now?!” Her indignant tone made me want to hide the book back in the backpack.
“Well, you're a scout; and right now, you don't have any mana left, do you? So, you're unsuitable, maybe someone else?”
The woman gasped with gushing curses, and I quickly asked our bearded leader.
“How about you?” He quickly accepted it and, after reading the description, shook his head.
“Class conflict - I don't use mana.” He immediately returned the skill book to me. “That leaves only Andrei or Yegor.”
«It sucks, but it can't be helped.»
I was upset with the remaining candidates.
“I'm level 2, mana reserve 25, but right now 16, because of the aura.” Immediately came forward Yegor. “Class - magic warrior.”
“And you?” I nodded to Alina's sycophant.
“Level 1, mana 15,” he hesitated. “Well, it's ten right now. I've got two classes: healer and assassin.”
“Wow, that's some classes.” I exclaimed in surprise.
“That's because of my skills. Sinister strike and First aid,” he explained fearfully.
“The choice is obvious,” I said, handing the book to the magic warrior-to-be.
“Are you sure about this?” The guy hesitated a little, but accepted the book at once. - It must be quite expensive!
“Yes, it's fine, learn it.”
The paper brick quickly vanished, and Yegor began to examine the numbers in the skill's description. While we were talking, Alina approached Vadim and whispered something in his ear, shooting her eyes in my direction. He listened to her interestedly at first, and then quickly pulled his head away and stared at her with a grimace of disgust. After he'd managed to get over his shock, he spoke through clenched teeth, angry to the bone:
“I hope that's the last time I hear that sort of crap from you! Do you understand me, Alina?!” He stared menacingly at the frightened woman.
“Yes,” she lowered her rapidly wet eyes and turned away.
At that moment, Yegor finally got interrupted from studying his new skill and described it aloud:
“Mana cost - seven, max targets - ten, additional effects besides damage: electrical shock. Damn, that's a great ability. Sasha, thank you so much! I promise, as soon as we're in camp, I'll compensate you with another skill or capsules.”
“Let's first get out of here.” I brushed off the promises of an unfamiliar man and turned to Vadim. “What's our plan?”
Vadim looked thoughtfully at the group, then turned his gaze to the birds circling near the apartment buildings, and, with a heavy sigh, spoke.