For the next few hours, we observed the city from the safety of the hotel. We noticed a few differences, but for the most part, only more and new monsters appeared. I could see mutant bees, flies, and even those simple birds which in the past didn’t cause any harm to humans. However, now they looked like predators looking for food. Also, I could see bats everywhere now. But why would these monsters appear only now? Claire killed a few flies, but I didn’t see a single one until that moment.
But not everything was bad news, at least the kids could use their toys for hunting monsters without leaving the hotel. Although they looked very bored inside the hotel and also they had to be careful and fast while using it because the helicopters weren’t much sturdy. A single half meter tall bee could quickly destroy their toys. Occasionally, I would see Rose and Sarah using those mini-helicopters since they had a lot of MP. The new survivors would also use the mini-helicopter while the kids were resting.
“Such bad luck,” Harry said an after a long sigh. “Why did this have to happen now? Our camp was getting bigger and bigger each day.”
On the past few days, Harry’s group managed to find ten survivors, so now we had a force of twenty-seven survivors. However, only a few of us could try to face those flying mutant monsters. The new survivors would still need some time until they can understand that they don’t have any other choice but to fight from now on.
“What do you think caused this Ethan?” Harry asked.
“How in the hell am I supposed to know?”
I guess it wasn’t clear to him that I’m not one of the smartest of that group. We had forty-five woman, a teacher, a student of psychology, and a student of medicine on our side. What would make him think that I would have an answer that they didn’t?
“He is just asking your opinion,” Sandra said a bit annoyed. “You don’t have to talk like that.”
I thought that she had already noticed it, but to my surprise, Sandra still didn’t know about my short-temper and my rudeness. Anyway, I was probably a bit stressed. Something was happening, and I didn’t know why, and that was making me angry. Recently, every single question without an answer was getting on my nerves.
‘I have to think about something else to make me relax, let’s see… I wonder if those birds’ meat tastes good.’
“In any case,” Harry declared with a serious expression.” We’ll have to change our approach for the time being. The kids and the new survivors can kill those flying monsters without getting too far from the hotel.”
Since we always could see dozens of monsters in the sky and a few less on the streets, that was the best approach until we can diminish their numbers.
“In that case,” Sabrina opined. “The kids and the new survivors should take turns using the mini-helicopters. While the rest of us will explore the city to understand what happened and look for more survivors.”
“What do you mean by us?” Harry frowned. “You and mom should stay here too.”
“Don’t be a sexist!” Sabrina yelled. “I can help too!”
“I'm not a sexist!” Harry said angrily.” It’s just for the time being until you two can break your limits a few more times.”
For a few more minutes, they discussed fiercely, and it was very annoying since the discussion as purely based on their emotion.
“Enough!” Sandra said, angrily.” We don’t have time to waste with those pesky discussions, we’ll use everyone who can be used since every one of us has useful skills, but we’ll take turns.”
Sabrina indeed had a useful skill, but I didn’t know if Sandra also had one. Well, since she looked pretty sure of herself and no one disagreed that was probably the case.
“Although I said that,” Sandra said after a sigh. “The only ones who can’t stay behind are Harry and Ethan. Harry is our best front line, and we will need Ethan’s tracking skills, can we count on you two?”
“Leave it to me,” Harry said with a face full of pride.
“I don’t have another choice, do I?”
“Then it’s settled. “Sandra declared. “After we create our new weapons, we’ll leave tomorrow morning and also tomorrow I will inform who the other members will be.”
At first, I thought Sandra was just a regular housewife; maybe I was a bit sexist too. It seemed that she had some experience in leading other people, but that was fine by me. As long as she is smarter and less impulsive than me, I’ll follow her orders. But what happened to the council? Did Claire say that to mess with me? Probably not, Sandra took the command temporarily since the city changed again.
Since I only slept a few hours in the last few days, I decided to sleep through the entire night. And at sunrise, everyone in the hotel was already awake. And after half an hour of discussion, they used the statue to create their new weapons. It would be a pain to memorize what those weapons could do, but since that would be useful, I had no other choice.
But luckily, everyone weapons were quite simple. Harry created a round shield made of iron that could cover half of his left arm, the shield was very simple, and it didn’t have any effects. On the other hand, his new sword could use his MP to electrocute the enemies. Aside from that, that sword was pretty much the same as his previous sword. He didn’t change his mind; he would do everything to protect those behind him and don’t let a single monster approach them. Those who already obtained their new skills, explained what they now could do, even though I didn’t ask for it. Harry received the skill Rage, with that skill he could amplify his next five attacks by sacrificing a small amount of HP.
Rose, instead of creating one, she created three glaives because she now could control three objects with her telekinesis. Those glaives didn’t have any effect. When I asked her why she couldn’t simply explode the monsters’ brains, she said that she could do it. But, she had to use a lot of MP to ignore the enemies’ defense. But that didn’t bother her, because now she could throw weapons at the enemies with a fearsome speed because she had more MP and because her telekinesis was level three. Rose obtained the skill Flash of light, with that skill she could create a small explosion of light and blind the enemies for a few seconds. That skill couldn’t damage the enemies, but it looked pretty useful.
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Sarah’s new weapon was another whip. Did she develop a liking to the weapon? Or did she acquire a fetish? She probably liked to hit Harry in the ass, and she wanted to do it again. What a bunch of weird people. The whip had many thorns, but it didn’t have any effects, she probably wanted to spend all her MP healing her allies. Sarah’s new skill was too my surprise water ball. The same thing the mutant fish could use, she probably wished for another support skill, but she didn't get lucky this time.
Claire’s new weapon was another bow, slightly bigger than her old one and all made of steel. It looked pretty heavy, but since she broke her physical limit many times, she would be just fine. Although in a normal situation a recurve bow would be the best option to amplify her attack, her strength was already too big for such a weapon. Since she was already extremely talented with bows, she didn’t put any additional effect or her new weapon, and she probably didn’t have any more evolution coins. Claire didn’t obtain a new skill because she wasn’t focusing on a single parameter. At first, I thought Claire killed those monsters in front of the school solely thanks to her experience and talent, but I was wrong, her first skill helped her lot. Her first skill was called focus, the more she concentrates on a single attack, the more damage she could cause. For how long she had to focus to defeat an anaconda on a single shot?
Since Sabrina and Sandra didn’t have much evolution coins, their new weapons were just a long version of their old weapons. And they didn’t have any new skills either, and that also would take some time for them, because they were doing the same as Claire, breaking physical and sensorial limit at the same time. But Sandra’s first skill was called Lion’s Roar; she could paralyze the nearby enemies for two seconds using her scream. But she wouldn’t use that, after all, that skill could attract more monsters and make things more difficult.
“It seems that everyone’s ready,” Sandra said after she looked around the lobby. “Today we will investigate the new changes in the city while looking for survivors, but to avoid problems, we won’t get too far away from the hotel. The exploration team will be Harry and Ethan like I mentioned yesterday, and Rose, Claire, and I. While Sarah’s healing skill is also crucial, today I think combat-oriented members should form the team.”
Sabrina pouted, thanks to her mother's words. Although she looked quite scared when I first saw her, she became a brave girl thanks to the presence of her family and friends.
“But that is only for today,” Sandra said after looking at her daughter. “The members of the exploration team will take turns, and eventually, all the survivors will have to participate. So, use your time to get strong as much as possible in the safety of this place. But eventually, all of us will share the same risks. Keep that in mind.”
Even though his mother was saying some scary things, Harry looked quite pleased. He looked up to her. While Claire didn’t mind much about that speech, Rose and Sarah seemed pretty serious, trying to understand Sandra’s reasoning and learn from it. While we were doing the final preparations, I decided to satisfy my curiosity.
“Hey, what was your mom’s job before the monsters appeared?”
“She was a firefighter,” Harry answered with a smile. “That’s why she is always so quick to take important decisions.”
That explained a lot, no wonder he looked up to her. Maybe I’ll be able to learn a thing or two from her while she commands us.
“Today we’ll walk around a bit this area to see if we’ll be able to find any more changes besides the unusual number of flying monsters.” Sandra declared. “We’ll always stay together, but Harry and I will take care of the non-flying monsters in front of us, Rose and Ethan will eliminate all the flying enemies. Claire will take care of the enemies who will try to attack from behind.”
It was a good formation; no one will have to over-work as long as we all do our jobs. To avoid any problems, I should use my analyze skill whenever possible and warn them if we find an unexpectedly fierce enemy.
“Ethan,” Sandra said with a serious look in her eyes. “Inform me immediately if you feel or see any sudden movement of the monsters. Also, if a large number of enemies approach us, tell me their numbers and the direction which they will be coming from.”
“Understood.”
“All of you,” Sandra warned. “Keep quiet and don’t let your guard down.”
Without wasting time, we left the hotel. As planned, Harry and Sandra begin to walk a few meters ahead of us, but they soon stopped, because the first battle was about to begin.
Mutant Rat - HP: 30
Mutant Bee – HP: 80
Mutant Quail – HP: 150
Mutant Crow – HP: 150
That was stranger; I never saw until now different monsters ignoring each other and joining forces to attack the humans. But we could think about it later. Faster than I imagined, Sandra pierced the rat with her new lance while Harry looked around, waiting for the approach of other monsters. The bee was fast, but I could follow the creature’s movement, and since the beast tried to attack from the front, I killed it with three bolts. Rose killed the quail using her three glaives at the same time, and Claire killed the crow with a single arrow on its head.
You have obtained 09 Evolution Orbs.
You have obtained 09 Evolution Coins.
It was more than I thought, the bee didn’t look that strong, or it was because we all faced those enemies together, and all the orbs were shared among us? I looked at Harry, and it seemed that he also received the message. That was a piece of useful information; we could use that to make the new survivors stronger at a fast pace, although they wouldn’t obtain any real combat experience.
Even before we could walk one hundred meters, we fought more two times. While I was glad that I was obtaining a lot of evolution coins, I was more concerned about the considerable amount of encounters and what exactly happened to the city. But at least I learn a few interesting things. At first, I thought that I had become faster than the others; in some aspect, that was true. But even though they didn’t break their sensorial limits, they also got more quickly. Harry could react, attack, and defend against the monsters at an incredible speed. The same applied to rose, her body didn’t move an inch during the battles, but her mind was working very fast while controlling the glaives.
‘It seems that the sensorial limit can increase all kinds of speed, but it focuses more on movement speed. But by breaking the physical and mental limits, one can also fight using their body and mind much faster than normal.’
Thanks to that, I noticed that none of those limits was better than the other. They were balanced, and one could cover the weakness of the other, but that could be shared with the others at another time. Although I didn’t hear anything, I could see on the radar a massive number of enemies a few meters ahead of us.
“There are at least one hundred monsters ahead of us, and they aren’t moving.”
We couldn’t see their exact position, but the monsters were on the other side of the block. I passed by that place a few days ago, and I didn’t remember seeing anything there. So I was curious to see what was there, and so were the others.
“Let’s investigate,” Sandra said, looking a bit uneasy. “But be ready to escape at any moment.”
The city had changed, and it became even more inhospitable. After walking a hundred of meters, we looked to our left side, and we saw a thirty-meter tall building covered with vines, and in front of it, we found a beehive of the same size.