Bzz

Bzz

Bzz

As he rolled inside the mattress, the cold air rushed inside stealing the heat that had created a paradise inside. The annoying sound was even more disturbing as he felt his head become heavy and hurt forcing him to get out of the mattress. It was on times like these that he wondered why he made his own life difficult as he moved directly towards the kitchen counter and started solving the equation. The voice had become even more horrible by now while the quickly dissolving heat made him shiver. Copying the answer from the calculator, the noise finally stopped but the throbbing was still there in his head.

As he returned from the bathroom with his head clearer, he heard pitter-patter as the rain struck the window. Outside was utterly dark and by now the storm had ended. There were winds still blowing out there as he could hear the glass rattle every now and then. The atmosphere was serene and he sat down on his praying mat with the heater beside him. Eyes closed he just sat there enjoying the nature orchestra as the rain and wind created an indescribable melody.

He sat there until he heard the azan for fajr prayer. After praying, he started tidying his room. The mattress was rolled and placed in the cupboard, the dishes were placed in their drawers while his work table was cleaned. Then he cleaned the floor, stopping only when everything was spotless. Afterward, he packed his clothes and accessories that he would take with him on the trip.

Just when everything was completed, his stomach twisted begging for food. He took out the crate of ration and from within the second packet. Every bite, which was as small as possible, released an amazing flavor. It was indescribable. Every bite resulted in small changes in flavors that overall completely changed it. It took him a while to enjoy the ration.

The app still did not show any cabs and it would have been weird if there were some roaming around at five in the morning. Having nothing to do, he took an umbrella and left the building. The old man asked him whether everything was okay at which he nodded and then disappeared into the darkness. He set his location to his family home on the google map and started a long walk. The darkness, the winds, the cold. It created an atmosphere that was utterly creepy now that he was outside. Even after becoming fat due to the layers of clothing he wore, the cold found ways to disregard most of his protections whenever the wind blew.

Praying that he would get a ride along the way, he kept walking along the empty roads. Even the stray dogs were nowhere to be seen as they most likely were hiding in someplace warm. At first, the desolation did not bother him but as the time passed and he moved through the streets, roads, and alleyways anxiety kept building inside him so he brought out the pistol from the inventory. He considered where he should hasten but then placed it in the front pocket of his coat so that he could quickly take it out in case he needed it.

The ground was carpeted with hail so he had to take careful steps as any fall would hurt a lot even if the ground was clean after the storm. Thankfully, the drainage system kept working correctly or the whole city would have been underwater. He kept an eye on the trees and all of them had a vibrant green in the light of his torch.

The map made him journey through all kinds of nooks and crannies that he had never visited before. He frowned as he jumped across a puddle, full of water and garbage. The smell in some places was revolting and the city was still without any living creature even though the sky was starting to become blue. The darkness was much lighter than before as he passed through housing areas and business centers in the sectors. The walk was tiring but being able to tire himself was something novel even now. He was starting to love this feeling as it meant he was okay.

The exploration of the desolate city rekindled a long-lost feeling in his heart. Excitement. The one that he felt long ago when got his hands on an amazing book or when he found a hidden location in a game after replaying it multiple times. It was a feeling that had been dead for a long time. Even though he made games, it had been years since he had finished playing a game even once. The book also felt a lot less wondrous than before. He did not know when it started happening but it had been abrupt.

He crossed a bridge and moved to an especially old and worn-out area. The whole place was full of worn-out buildings surrounded by mud houses. He was a bit skeptical but decided to follow the map. Deeper he went into the forest of broken concrete buildings and mud houses. He checked the map as the area became increasingly complex. According to the map, he was halfway through this area so he pushed himself onwards while trying his best not to dirty his clothes. He wondered as he moved through tight spaces how the rooftops of the mud houses were still standing after last night.

The broken asphalt was sometimes visible as he moved deeper when he saw a figure leaving a concrete building. At that moment, the wind blew from behind him allowing him to glimpse at the jar that the figure was carrying. His heart started beating seeing that but he controlled his facial features and asked in a pleasant voice.

“Asalam mo alikum, I am looking for a way out of here. Can you give me any directions?”

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As he spoke, he looked at the narrow and elongated face with very big ears. The face showed a close resemblance to the pictures of rats that he had seen before. The figure seemed shocked and tense as he focused on his body, especially his hands. The expression changed for a brief moment that caused him to move his hand to the pistol in his pocket. He took a glance at the surroundings, memorizing all the spaces that could be used to run away from this encounter successfully.

“Looking for a way out sir. Follow me, follow me. This Choua will take you out of this stinky place… just give me some money good sir. The cold is merciless and the stomach empty.”

His hand was on the trigger as he saw the rat-faced person approach. Every step caused his heart to beat faster and faster. Setting aside the umbrella, he took out two red-colored, hundred rupee notes. As the figure was nearly in front of him, he extended his hand.

“Please guide me and I will give you more.”

“Really! Thank you, young sir!”

The face bloomed into a smile as the notes were taken with trembling hands that radiate genuine happiness and heartfelt gratitude at earning just a few hundred rupees. Money accepted, the figure came closer and his heart beat faster.

He stepped towards the side while he moved his pistol inside the coat checking whether he could take a shot inside the pocket. He did not want to shoot with one hand here as that would cause damage to his hand. In the dungeon, he had no problem with it as he would be completely healed by the end but this was the real world and he had stuff to do before he could return to the dungeon. Still, he kept himself ready. The nozzle was pointed at the figure as he came closer and closer.

The performance that had been performed earlier shot directly into his top five. If he had not seen the jar he would not have been as careful as he currently was. As he had used it himself he knew how terrible it was so he kept considering whether he should just kill the guy wearing ragged clothes full of dirt and a pair of coca-cola bottles for shoes. The body in front of him shivered and he decided against it for the moment.

They cut a corner and just then the sunlight directly hit his eyes. His eyes blurred.

Splash

He jumped aside, surrounding quickly clearing up.

Bang

Bang

Bang

The body was forced back due to the force of the bullets and as it hit the mud wall, cracks formed on it. No blood came out though, no screams of pain. Nothing. The figure was completely fine and tried to stand. He aimed at the head and started firing bullets. He counted with every shot while calling the shield power all kinds of names. No matter how much he fired it seemed to have no effect on it as it remained completely spotless.

Now five bullets remaining, he lunged towards an alleyway and started running between the mud walls.

“Where are you bastards running? I will have you bastard torn apart.”

It seemed that the Choua was completely fine as he had thought. The energy shield had been listed at the price of 300 CP at the power list in the shop and it seemed it was worth all the money that it cost. His pistol, though he had not compared to those in the real world, was easily capable of blowing big holes in human bodies. Its power was considerable but even it had been not able to do anything to it.

As he ran, he noticed how strange the whole place was. Not even one person had come out to check what was going on, after all the pistol was very loud. He kept jumping through obstacles while cutting the corners at high speed.

Suddenly, he started hearing small noises all around him in the labyrinth of mud houses. Running proved useless as the sound was all around him and his stamina was also running out. He stood against a wall taking in labored breaths. The frigid air cut into his neck with every breath.

Haaaa

Huuuu

Haaaa

Huuuu

Deep breaths were difficult but when he forced himself to take in air, he gagged at the smell. Until now his brain had been filtering the smell all around him but when he consciously took in such deep breaths, the smell also came in. He forced himself not to cough and it damaged his neck even more from the inside.

He stumbled inside a building with multiple boxes stacked outside it along its walls.

As he moved inside, his eyes were glued to the blue-colored things that were biting the necks of all that were there. From adults to children. All dead, with their bodies completely blue from the cold. The blood was being sucked towards the deep blue cores that were located at the center of these rat-shaped constructs. He sat next to the door after grabbing a thick wooden stick just in case they decided to jump upon him.

The process of absorbing blood was slow and he observed it while he rested. Seeing multiple powers that cost hundreds of points and not to mention that Manifest person from yesterday, he was starting to understand that he was lagging behind others by a lot after all at the time he was kidnapped the statue had had he was from the first wave and not the first person. Just a day before the world had seemed to be normal and just after watching one video, he had come across three different groups.

Feeling that his lungs had stopped burning, he took out his sword and poison jar from the inventory. Coating the sword with poison, he sheathed it. For the last few missions, since he encountered those unkillable types of monsters, both of these things had become useless but he still remembered how the poison had allowed him to kill all the targets with just one cut even though he still could not wield the weapon correctly, just flailing his hands when fighting. The sword too had been capable of cutting through the chains conjured by that horned goblin so he hoped it would work against this rat if he had to confront it.