Author's Note: This is just the first draft... I'll edit this chapter after I'm done with ARC 1 and Chapter 20 will be the last chapter of the ARC.
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Chapter 18: Troll and a bottle of Rum
Miguel
We were starting to get used with our everyday lives. Walking, avoiding monsters, shortage of food, sleep deprivation, and living in constant fear that the monsters or bad people will finally kill us all. At least I already solved our drinkable water problem.
The streets were still filled with rotting corpses and most of the buildings we passed were either completely demolished because of the earthquake or partially ruined. There were also vehicles scattered all over the place and obviously, all of them aren’t working. Most of it has corpses inside.
There were cracks on the concrete roads and there were strange plants growing on them. Dianne was making a stop every now and then to collect these plants and she told us to do the same, since it will help her in alchemy. Obviously, we agreed and it was actually a good idea to do so.
Hoarding these alchemy ingredients will certainly fetch a good price when it happens that we trade them to other survivors, even more so, if Dianne’s knowledge and skill in alchemy improved, her potions would probably be the best seller.
It’s strange that the only survivors, we ever met were George’s group and no one else. I found it hard to believe that not many survived this apocalypse. I mean, these monsters weren’t probably the cause of most of their deaths. My guts were telling me that something else must’ve caused it.
Perhaps God was the one responsible? Or maybe the merge of the two universes caused it? If so, it’s a great coincidence that no one in our group, the original ones, died at the moment when the apocalypse began.
“By the way, did you notice that it’s been days, and yet we rarely encounter another survivor?” I asked them out of curiosity.
“Yeah, I noticed that too… Well, I’ve seen stray cats and dogs, but no humans…” Eric said.
Sir Gerry furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh, you didn’t know?”
“Know what?” Melissa asked.
“Well, before all of this began, I was teaching my students in my music class and when the blue screens appeared… uhmmm…”
“Go on…”
“Most of my students, well… they just fell to the ground unconscious… We were all… shocked when it happened. One of my students checked their pulse and… they were… dead.”
“I was there too… at Sir Gerry’s class…” Beth said as she looked down. “It was horrible…”
“But why did they die?” I asked.
“I don’t know… They just did…” He responded as he looked down.
“I’m sorry… Uhmmm… I didn’t mean to…”
“No… It’s okay…”
I didn’t dare to ask more from Sir Gerry. It seemed that it was traumatic for him and it only brought him sadness as I asked him the question. I rubbed his back to at least give him some comfort and to give my sympathies. He nodded and wiped off his tears with his wrist.
“How about you Mang Kaloy? What happened to you?” Beth asked.
“I was with my family at that time… We all survived at first… except for my wife. She fell unconscious too… I had two sons with me… When the ogres were gone, we thought we could evacuate and seek help from the police. I didn’t make that much money, so we didn’t have food in our house… When we saw the zombies, I killed one of them and my son picked up a rock from the zombie.”
“A rock? You mean, a Fucking Rock?” Eric asked as he and I looked at each other.
“Yes… that one…”
“What happened?” Beth asked.
“My son said that it’s just a rock and as soon as he dropped it, the rock exploded… right in front of them… When the smoke cleared, they’re gone…. Both of them…”
“I’m sorry…” Beth said.
“It’s okay… I promised myself that I will survive, no matter what. I might be the only person alive who will remember them and if I die… No one will remember they existed…”
I was impressed with Mang Kaloy’s determination to survive. Perhaps it’s better if we also have that kind of thinking too. Eric looked scared as he heard their stories. I couldn’t help but think of the same thing too. What happened to our families?
The world’s situation might be worse than I thought. Not millions, but billions were probably dead. Melissa looked like she already accepted the fate of her family. It’s most likely that she’ll never see them as her family was on a far island.
It’s been hours since we left the house, and as usual, we’ve encountered monsters on our way. Dianne did a good job of spotting the monsters and with her help, we avoided most of the monsters on the way and making the necessary detours to avoid the said monsters. In this area, we’ve encountered gnolls and finally, the monster that I’ve been anxious to meet since we’ve encountered the ogres: the trolls.
The gnolls and the trolls seemed to tolerate each other’s presence. In fact, Dianne saw them strolling together on the streets. We were morbidly curious on what a troll looked like, so we peeked from a sidewall of a building and observed them.
Troll Smasher Lvl. 32
The troll didn’t have a resemblance to Lord of the Rings’ cave trolls nor Elder Scrolls’ trolls. They looked like the trolls in Dungeons and Dragons. It stood about nine feet tall and has dark green and rubbery-look skin. Its face was hideous as its nose and chin were long and pointy.
It also has a sharp set of teeth and its fangs protruded even with its mouth closed. The troll didn’t have any clothing in it, so its ridiculously large penis and testicles were dangling freely in the air. However, it was carrying a huge wooden club, thus its name ‘Smasher’.
[We should avoid those monsters, okay?] - Miguel
The rest of them nodded.
As we continued our journey, Dianne told us that she found a convenience store still standing. However, there’s a troll near the store and it didn’t look like it’s going anywhere. It was wandering aimlessly in front of the store.
Troll Runt Lvl. 24
[What now?] –Mang Kaloy
[We don’t have a choice but to take it down.] - Miguel
[What?! You’ve got to be joking, right?] – Beth
[We actually killed two ogres before we got to the university belt.] – Eric
[And we only had one skill back then… Also, the ogre’s level was higher than that troll.] – Claire
[Really?] – George
[Yeah, it was because of Miguel’s plan…] – Dianne
[Wow…] - Gerry
[Please don’t tell me I’m going to be bait again.] – Melissa
[Dianne, get back here… I’ll try to think of a plan.] – Miguel
[Okay..] – Dianne
As we wait for Dianne to come to us, I pulled out my book about the monsters and searched for the entry for trolls.
According to the book, trolls are normally found with the gnolls. They have a symbiotic relationship when it comes to food. Whenever the trolls hunt for food, they often leave leftovers of their prey. These leftovers were left to rot and the gnolls love to eat these rotten meat. Sometimes, when the gnolls hunt, they leave the fresh meat of their preys to be rotten or to be eaten by a troll before they dig in.
Their dungeons were often called twin dungeons. These twin dungeons share the same mana signature yet different monster spawns. Not only that, they also share the same territory and they evolve almost at the same time. It was still a mystery on how these twin dungeons came to be.
Monsters don’t really need to eat. They can survive for as long as the dungeon exists. The book said that it was still a mystery. According to the author’s theory, these monsters eat, not for sustenance, but to absorb traits of the ones they killed so the dungeon monsters would evolve further.
Trolls have rubbery skin. They’re resistant to arrows and weapons with blades as they have regenerative abilities. Even if one cuts the head off a troll or cut their limbs, it will always come back, and the regeneration will only take seconds. However, trolls are extremely weak to fire and acid. If you wanted to cut their limbs permanently, you have to burn or pour acid on the stump to stop its regeneration. I told them what I learned about the trolls. It’s obvious that our only way to kill the troll is with my magic.
[Trolls looked more troublesome than I thought…] – Claire
[Good thing, Miguel got fire magic.] – Eric
[Yeah… I bet you can kill that troll by yourself and, most importantly, I don’t have to be bait.] – Melissa
Everyone seemed to be confident that I could take down the troll by myself. But there’s a little problem…
[I could probably take down the troll by myself, but the thing is, that troll might rampage while it burns… it will attract more monsters and it’s dangerous…] – Miguel
[So what’s the plan?] – George
[Maybe if Dianne and Melissa…] – Miguel
[No! I don’t want to be a bait!] – Melissa
[That’s not what I’m saying… That convenience store, I don’t think the troll can reach that height. If you can somehow distract it by shooting arrows…] – Miguel
[I think we can do that…] – Dianne
[Okay, so here’s the plan…] – Miguel
The discussion went on for a few minutes as I told them the plan. Some of them disagreed with my idea because arrows, swords and spears might not work well against the troll’s rubbery skin. It’s true that the book mentioned that it’s resistant to bladed and pointy weapons, it didn’t say that it was immune. It said that it’s resistant to those kind of weapons because of their regenerative abilities.
Dianne went to scout the perimeter first before we execute the plan. We didn’t want any stray monsters coming to us during the fight. After a few minutes, Dianne went back to us and said that the nearest monster was at least 2 kilometers away. It was fortunate for us that the troll near the convenience store was a stray.
Dianne had no problems of getting seen by the troll because of her skill [Sneak]. Melissa, on the other hand, was having a hard time crossing to the other side of the road where the convenience store was located. She had to go far away from our position and cross the road in order for her not to be seen.
She and Dianne climbed the rooftop of the convenience store. It was the only building in the area that still has a roof on it. Once they’re in position, Dianne and Melissa drew their bows as I gave them the signal to initiate the ambush plan.
[Go!] – Miguel
Dianne used [Aimed Shot] while in sneak mode. Melissa did the same as she summoned a [Phantom Arrow]. I used [Tailwind] to enhance the speed of their projectiles. Both of their arrows landed on the troll’s head.
-131 HP! Sneak Attack! Critical Hit!
-45 HP! Critical Hit!
+10 HP!
The troll didn’t seem to flinch even though the arrows pierced its forehead. It pulled out the arrow from its forehead and a red number appeared. I think it was the troll’s regenerative ability.
The troll was enraged and it growled fiercely as it tried to jump and reach the two. Luckily, I was right. It was too heavy and it couldn’t jump too well. The glass windows of the convenience store were shattered by the troll as it desperately tried to climb to the roof. Thank god for gravity!
However, as they continued to shoot the troll with their arrows, the troll looked around and lifted a car. We were shocked as the creature displayed its unnatural strength. Before the troll could throw the car, I went out of hiding and cast [Chain Hellfire].
Target is Burning!
-80 HP!
-80 HP!
-80 HP!
The troll tried to scream and dropped the car as it burn. I aimed the flames to its neck to burn its voice box and spread the fire throughout its body. The only sound it made was a muffled and almost inaudible exhale of air.
I grinned at the brutal effectiveness of my fire magic and its constant tick of damage numbers. The troll was randomly flailing its arms to no one. I was afraid that it might make too much noise when it hit something, so I gave Claire the go signal to attack.
[Claire, make sure you cut those legs. Remember, 3rd and 4th strike, okay?] – Miguel
Claire nodded and rushed towards the troll. Since she’s charging, she can use the momentum to make the attack much stronger. When she was close enough, she sliced the troll’s left leg in one slash. It confirmed my theory that the fire will not only hinder its regenerative ability, but it will also soften its skin and flesh, thus making it tender and vulnerable to piercing and slashing attacks.
-127 HP!
Target is Crippled!
-80 HP!
The troll fell down to the ground and flailed its arms wildly. Claire moved from the distance to let the monster die from the flames. After a few seconds, the troll stopped moving and died. I stopped the [Chain Hellfire] as I didn’t need to burn it further into ashes.
Target Died
The plan was successful. However, we didn’t expect that the troll could come up with an idea of throwing a car. If I was a little late with my [Chain Hellfire] or if didn’t aim it right in the neck, Dianne and Melissa would be injured or worse. The original members gained another level while the rest of them levelled up twice. The party celebrated as we checked the charred corpse of the troll.
“Loot” I said as I touched the troll’s corpse.
The corpse became pixelated as it disappeared and left its loot. Since the troll was carrying nothing but its birthday suit, it left 12 Silver Coins, a mana stone, and a skill book. Eric’s eyes widened as his greed was starting to surface again. We used [Observe] to check the loot.
Silver Coin X 12
Mana Stone X 1
Skill Book: Troll's Skin [Passive]
Effect: Your skin will be your natural armor and as thick as a troll's. It will also increase your HP regeneration by 30%. The HP regeneration and damage reduction will increase by 1% and 0.50% per skill level, respectively.
Damage Reduction Bonus: +10% +0.50% every level
HP Regeneration: +30% +1% every level
Our mouths were hanging as we saw the skill book. It’s been a while since we got good loot and this skill book was probably the best drop we’ve ever seen yet. As Eric drooled and rubbed his hands, I explained to the group of our ways of distributing equipment and skill books.
When I was finished explaining the rules, Eric grabbed the skill immediately and said: “We should have a…”
But before he could finish his sentence, Melissa pounded his head with her fist as we heard a clang sound.
“Aw! What was that for?” Eric complained as he rubbed his helmet.
Melissa took the skill book from his hand and gave it to me. “You’re not taking this one…”
“What?! That’s not what I’m saying!”
Melissa hit him again. “Shhhh!”
“Alright, now for those who want the skill book, raise your hand and tell everyone why it would benefit the group as a whole.” I said to them as I held the skill book.
“I don’t need it… I just want my son safe. That’s all. Someone can have it.” George said.
“Well, it may help me survive, but I’m not doing a lot of fighting and I couldn’t think of any reason of what benefit to the group as a whole if I use that skill book. Besides, I don’t even understand a bit of it.” Mang Kaloy said.
Gerry and Beth had the same opinion on the matter. Eric was almost crying tears of joy as he heard them. The only ones left was Claire, Dianne, Melissa, Eric and me.
“It’s very tempting, but as you already know, I already have [Meditate] and [Masochism] which does pretty much the same as this skill…”
I swear, I thought I saw a dollar sign in Eric’s eyes when he heard me say it.
“But…” I continued.“I think Claire should take this skill book.”
“Really?” Claire smiled.
“What?! She’s not the tanker! I am the tanker!” Eric protested.
“But you’re not tanking, you idiot!” Melissa retorted. “You’re already wearing armor and a steel shield… Claire’s going to need it…”
Eric couldn’t think of any comebacks as he looked down in defeat. It’s good that Melissa can put him on a leash.
“I agree with Melissa. Claire will need the skill book. She’s in the front line too, you know…” Dianne said.
The rest of them agreed that Claire should take the book. When the decision was made, I handed her the skill book and she used it immediately. As the skill book pixelated and disappeared, Eric looked like he’s about to cry as Claire sang Ode to Joy.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get a lot of skill books later…” I said to Eric as I patted his back.
He sighed deeply as I signalled Claire to stop with her teasing.
“Come on, let’s get some supplies...”
We entered the convenience store and took everything that we can eat or use. Eric, Gerry and the girls grabbed all the canned food from the shelves. They put the canned food in a box and stored it in their inventory. Melissa also found a sack of rice and boxes of canned food in the storage room.
We also took some soap, shampoo, toothpastes and of course, new toothbrushes. We’re no longer content with just surviving, we wanted to live and surviving isn’t living. I also took some detergent soaps and bleach for laundry.
We certainly hit a jackpot with this convenience store. I grabbed a box of canned tuna, and put all my necessities in a bag, and stored it in my inventory.
George and I grabbed the bottle of beers and the cartons of cigarette along with some energy drinks and soda. Mang Kaloy, on the other hand, grabbed the vodkas and brandies. I also took four bottles of rum. Aye, I love rum!
Well, it may be wise t' store more food than grog, but you know, rum be love, rum be life. With all t' lootin’ and plunderin’, it’s all better with a bottle o’ rum. It’s a pirate’s life for me.
Anyway, it’s already noon and we decided to have our lunch at the convenience store. Melissa used the super kalan and cooked some rice. Since most of the canned food were ready-to-eat, we didn’t need to cook them and we just topped canned tuna over our warm rice.
After we ate our meal, we decided to rest for a bit because walking for hours made our feet sore. I could really use some foot massage.
“Hey, can you chill this soda for me?” Dianne asked as she held a can of soda.
“Sure…”
I held the soda can and used [Fire Manipulation] to chill it. As soon as the others saw it, they all grabbed a can of soda and requested me to chill it for them. They all gathered around me as I chilled their soda. I noticed that Claire wasn’t interested in ice cold sodas and she’s roaming around the store trying to find something. She stopped by in a shelf and I was shocked when I saw her take, not one, but five packs of condoms.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
*Pop*
“What the hell?” Eric complained.
“Oh shit! Sorry…” It seemed that I lost my concentration for a moment and I accidentally froze the Eric’s soda.
“No, it’s okay. Here’s another.” He said as he handed me another can of soda.
I used my magic again to chill Eric’s soda, but after a few seconds, I blew it up again. Shit…
“Are you okay?” Eric asked. “Maybe you should take a rest or something…”
“No, no, no… I’m fine… I was just… distracted.” I replied.
I took a can of soda from my inventory and chilled it correctly and gave it to Eric.
“Thanks!”
“No problem…”
As they enjoyed their cold sodas, I also chilled a soda of my own and tried to distract myself. Claire seemed to realize that she’s the only one without a soda. She opened a can of iced coffee from the shelf and handed it to me.
“I don’t want it cold. I’m craving for a hot coffee…” Claire said.
“O-okay…”
My hands were shaking as I heated up the can. I did my best to concentrate and not to look her in the eyes. When the coffee was steaming hot, I handed it to her. “Thanks…”
“It’s hot…” Claire said as she blew the hot coffee.
As she continued to blow the steam, she stared at me with a seductive look. I turned my gaze away and couldn’t help but blush. Claire took a sip and I could hear her make a slurping sound. I could feel my sweat getting cold as I heard her gulp.
“It’s so good…” She said. “Here you should try it…”
“N-no thank you…”
“I insist… It’s really good.”
I took the can and stared at it for a while as my mind was going haywire. I closed my eyes and went YOLO as I drank the coffee.
“Isn’t it good?” She asked.
“It’s good… yeah.” I answered as I gave her back the can.
I was surprised when she drank the coffee straight up. It seemed that she didn’t mind that it’s hot and I drank on it. I could only imagine that our saliva was mixed up in there somehow. I couldn’t help but gulp as I saw her throat moving up and down as she drank the coffee. If my face was a monitor, it would display a blue screen error message and explode.
“Ahhh… I think I’ll have another next time…” Claire said.
When she stood up, she left and took a lot of cans of coffee from the shelf. It made me wonder. It’s clear that she’s trying to seduce me and it turned me on. Why does she need a lot of condoms? Is her coffee seduction a reference to the joke at the hardware store? That if she’s my wife, I’d drink the poisoned coffee? Shit… She’s clever devil.
I shrugged. I will try to ask her, but not tonight. We’ll reach Cubao in a few hours. I have to focus on the mission and my concentration need to be sharp. We don’t know what we’ll encounter there.
After we had our rest, we continued our journey.
Dianne kept on reporting about the monster mobs she saw and we avoided the monsters we couldn’t handle. To save time, we killed the small groups of gnolls that blocked our route. As we reached Cubao, we killed four groups of gnolls on our way with a total of 14 gnolls.
The original members didn’t level up, but the others only levelled up once. The gnolls we killed had an average level of 12, so they weren’t too much of a threat to us.
A few hours of endless cycle of walking, sneaking and walking again, my feet were feeling sore again and we finally reached Araneta Center. It’s a mall with a large stadium. They called it Araneta Coliseum as the stadium was designed… well, like a coliseum. It was damaged by the earthquake and has cracks on its walls, but it’s still standing.
[Do you remember when we watched Daria Swann’s concert?] – Dianne
[Yeah… I do.] – Miguel
[I love her voice and she’s pretty… I heard that she came back for a concert last Sunday… It’s a pity that the apocalypse happened the day after…] – Dianne
[Daria Swann? That singer who always sings about her boyfriends and their breakups? She sucks… I hate her.] – Claire
[W-well, they cheated on her and they broke her heart!] – Dianne
[Right… All of eight of them? She’s definitely not a keeper…] – Claire
As Dianne and Claire argued about Daria Swann, I remembered that night. The concert. My sister, Jen kept bugging me and my mom because she wanted to watch Daria Swann’s concert. Of course, my mom gave her permission, but on a condition that I would be there too. I wasn’t a fan of Daria Swann but I went with her because Dianne told me that she would be there too.
Jen, Dianne and I went to the concert together when I was in high school. When I saw Daria Swann appeared on stage, I was mesmerized, not with her voice, but by her beauty. I was silent as I watched the concert and I just stared at Daria Swann the whole time.
I looked at Eric and he looked anxious as he saw the Coliseum. I tried my best to console Eric and told him that I needed him to be focused. I looked at Claire and she seemed not to be bothered by it. Well, I couldn’t get a good read on her face, so she might be worried but she’s not just showing it.
We stopped on our tracks when suddenly, Dianne told us that she saw a group of survivors.
[Survivors!] – Dianne
[How many? Can you see their levels?] – Miguel
[Twenty, I guess? I’m too far to use [Observe]… They’re wearing fatigues…] – Dianne
[It’s the army?] –Claire
[Yeah, I guess…] – Dianne
[What should we do?] – George
[We stay out of their way, of course… We don’t know if they’re friendly or not. We play it safe.] – Miguel
We continued to move as Dianne lead us to an alternate route where we can avoid the survivors. Since Cubao is very close to Camp Aguinaldo, there’s a chance that those survivors were also from there, but I had my doubts. What if they’re not from the army? In this situation, you don’t talk with a soldier, you talk with their leader. Like I said before, I knew someone inside Camp Aguinaldo and he’s in charge.
We also noticed that there were almost no monsters in the area. Perhaps these survivors already cleared the area. Dianne informed us of another group of survivors and like the first group she saw, they were also wearing the standard military fatigues. They were fighting a mob of black tiger-like monsters.
[Should we help them?] – Dianne
[No… I told you, we should stay out of their way…] – Miguel
[But why?] – Eric
[The same reason why we should avoid other survivors not wearing a military fatigue…]– Miguel
[You’re being too paranoid, Miguel…] – Melissa
[You know, I kinda agree with Miguel on this one. It’s good to play it safe. They might attack us on sight.]– Claire
[Come on, let’s go…] - Miguel
It took us more than an hour before we reached Eric and Claire’s house. It should only take us minutes, but we’ve been sneaking on our way to avoid being seen by these survivors. I wanted to avoid unnecessary violence. I may be paranoid, but that’s why I’m alive.
Although Claire and Eric were neighbors as they lived on the same block, they didn’t know each other until I introduced Claire to them. Both of them looked excited and afraid at the same time.
I’ve been to Eric’s house before. We had a lot of fun and I used to play video games with him along with his brother. I was envious of them as they were wealthy and they have a huge house. I used to tell a joke to Eric that their house was in the wrong neighborhood. They had a mansion in an urban area. Handsome, womanizer, wealthy, and smart... in his own way. That’s Eric for you.
It’s already sunset when we reached 16th Avenue, where Claire and Eric lived. Dianne said there were no survivors or monsters on the road so we rushed towards Eric’s house. When Eric saw the gates were open, he sprinted towards their house as the rest of us followed.
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Eric
After I heard Prof. Gerry’s story, I was starting to have doubts that my family survived. We tried to distract our minds as we tell jokes on the way. I just couldn’t help but think about it. What if they never make it in the first place? When we reached Araneta Center, I was feeling anxious.
When I left for school, dad was in Hong Kong for his business meeting with a client while mom decided to take a break and rest. My brother’s first day of school would be next week. My mom and my brother were probably at home when it began.
“If they survive, they’ll be in Camp Aguinaldo… I want you to focus, okay?” Miguel said as he patted my back.
Miguel’s always calm in whatever situation we’re in. Be it earthquake or monsters, he’s always calm and he seemed to calculate every step of our way. I’ve relied on him on many occasions, even before the apocalypse began.
Time and time again, his opinions always come out to be the right one. When our party members decided to betray us and almost got Dianne killed, I’ve learned to trust his judgment, even if my opinion often differ from his. I tried to do what Miguel said, but I couldn’t help it. We were so close.
When Melissa saw me worrying, she walked beside me and held my hand.
“Whatever happens, I’m here for you… Don’t think about it too much, okay?”
I smiled.I felt so lucky that I met Melissa. I held her hand tightly as we walked.
Four weeks ago during summer break. I went to the university for enrollment. It was already noon and I was driving my car looking for a place to eat. I noticed a small but new restaurant a few miles away from the university, so I decided to give it a try.That was when I first met Melissa. I’ve dated and seen a lot of girls in the past and I can say that she’s definitely the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. As if on an instinct, I introduced myself and asked her name.
“I’m Melissa. Are you going to order or what?” She sighed and looked annoyed at me as she took my order.
Ever since that day and even though it’s summer break, I ate regularly at the restaurant just to see her and each time, I was there, she would roll her eyes and she’d avoid talking with me as much as possible. I tried to ask for her number, but she refused. I even tried the old way of bringing her flowers and chocolates, but it also didn’t work. She looked annoyed as she put the bouquet of flowers and the chocolate on the counter and continued her work.
On the day of the apocalypse, however, Melissa started to open up to me. She told me stories about her family. They came to Manila hoping for an opportunity of a new life, but their restaurant wasn’t doing well since it opened last month. I was actually the only regular customer they had. She also told me that her parents went back to the province to visit her grandparents and her sister in Palawan.
I felt calmer when Melissa held my hand as we walked through the parking lot.
Dianne was trying to ease our anxiousness as she told us about Daria Swann’s concert in Araneta Coliseum. Claire was obviously a hater so she argued with her.
I didn’t exactly know the whole story about Dianne and Miguel, but from what I know, Miguel tried to ask her out but he was rejected. If it was me though, I’d totally move on to another girl and try again, but Miguel was persistent and even if their families had problems with each other, Miguel still pursued her.
It was clear to me that Dianne shares the same feelings for Miguel but for some reason, she seemed to be conflicted about it. I told her over and over again that she should also make her move and not to play hard to get because once Miguel moved on, she’ll regret it. Of course, she denied that she had that kind of feelings for him and she only considers him as a friend.
When we were in senior high, Dianne’s mom died because of cancer. Not many attended her funeral, only a few of her relatives attended the wake. Of course, I was there too. Miguel also attended the wake and tried his best to comfort her.
Dianne was the only child. Her mother was a single mom and they lived together in Pasig, but I guess she moved out to one of her relatives after her mom died. She just told me that she now lived inside Camp Aguinaldo.
Anyway, after a week since her mom was buried, Miguel started to avoid her. He was acting like she never existed. Dianne asked for my help, but when I asked her what was the problem, she couldn’t say. I tried to ask Miguel about it, but he told me that there wasn’t a problem between them. He said that he just moved on.
He became cold to others and became snobby. Well, except for me and a few others. Every time she tried to engage a conversation with him, Miguel would either ignore her or his replies were too short.
Whatever happened between them made him too insensitive. I told Dianne to give him the tickets to at least strike a successful conversation and to improve her chances with him, but she failed. Well, I tried to help her, but in my opinion, she’s a hopeless case.
[Survivors!] – Dianne
I snapped back to reality as I heard Dianne’s message. I should focus on the mission...
[How many? Can you see their levels?] – Miguel
[Twenty, I guess? I’m too far to use [Observe]… They’re wearing fatigues…] – Dianne
[It’s the army?] –Claire
[Yeah, I guess…] – Dianne
[What should we do?] – George
[We stay out of their way, of course… We don’t know if they’re friendly or not. We play it safe.] – Miguel
We’ve reached 14th Avenue after we passed the Araneta Coliseum, but Miguel’s instruction was to avoid the soldiers. It was taking us too long when it should just be a few minutes walk. My heart was pounding in nervousness.
[The soldiers are fighting some black tigers… It looks like they need help.] – Dianne
[So?] - Miguel
[Should we help them?] – Dianne
[No… I told you, we should stay out of their way…] – Miguel
[But why?] – Eric
[The same reason why we should avoid other survivors not wearing a military fatigue…]– Miguel
[You’re being too paranoid, Miguel…] – Melissa
[You know, I kinda agree with Miguel on this one. It’s good to play it safe. They might attack us on sight.]– Claire
[Come on, let’s go…] - Miguel
At first, I didn’t know why Miguel was too paranoid, but I was beginning to understand why. Why should we risk our lives for some strangers?
After an hour of sneaking and waiting it out, Dianne gave us a clear signal and we finally reached 16th Avenue. I ran towards our house, hoping that my family wasn’t there. Miguel was right. If they survived, they would’ve evacuated to Camp Aguinaldo as it was few minutes walk.
I saw the gates of our house was open. The front yard and the garden were a mess. I rushed towards the door and looked around the house for my family. As I saw a familiar face, I dropped my weapon and removed my helm.
“Mom?”
I found my mother’s lifeless body on the floor under the dining table. My stomach was churning and I felt sick as tears flowed from my eyes. I held her in my arms. I couldn’t care less if she’s rotting.
“No…”
My aunt was there too. She was holding my mother’s hand as they tried to hid under the table when the ground shook. I embraced my mother’s corpse as I wept.
“Grrrrrr….”
I heard a growl on my back. I turned my head and saw two huge black cat monster snarling at me.
Chimera Lvl. 19
Chimera Lvl. 19
The grief I felt turned into anger as I saw the two monsters. I slowly stood up and grabbed my spear and shield on the floor. I shouted fiercely and charged to one of the monsters and used [Bash].
-151 HP!
Target is Stunned!
As the chimera was knocked back and stunned, the other one pounced me on my back and bit my neck.
-251 HP! Critical Hit!
Debuff: Bleeding
“Ahhhhh!!!!”
I screamed in pain as I struggled against the chimera. Its fangs were pinned on me and it took me down to the floor. I thought that was it. I was going to die, but I didn’t care…
-82 HP!
“Eric!” Melissa quickly drew her arrow and shot the chimera.
-246 HP! Critical Hit!
The chimera loosened its grip on my neck. I punched the monster in the head, so I could escape. I immediately grabbed my spear and stabbed the monster continuously in rage.
-107 HP!
-91 HP!
-102 HP!
Target Died!
The other chimera stood up and recovered, but before it could attack me. Miguel used his fire magic and burned the monster to ashes.
Target is Burning!
Target Died!
----------------------------------------
Miguel
These monsters were everywhere and we barely made it in time. He could’ve died there if we were a few seconds late. As the chimera burned, Eric continued to stab the dead chimera in his grief. Melissa rushed towards him and embraced him to calm him down. He was bleeding badly so I healed him.
+333 HP
I looked around and saw three corpses under a table. One of them was wearing a maid uniform. It seemed that they were alive during the earthquake. Does that mean that the blue screens have something to do with their deaths?
“Nooo...”
He wept as he knelt in front of his mother’s corpse. Melissa embraced him and tried to give him some comfort. All of us fell silent as his grief was felt by everyone around him.
All of a sudden, Claire ran outside the house.
“Stay here.” I told them.
As I went outside, I looked around to find where Claire ran off.
“Claire!” I shouted.
I looked to my right and saw her running. I followed her and sprinted as I saw her entered a house. I tried to catch my breath as I stood in front of the house.
Claire’s house was ruined. The roof collapsed and what was left of it was a pile of rubble. I saw Claire trying to clear the rubble. I used [Earth Manipulation] to lift the large pieces of debris. After I was done, we found five corpses under the rubble. She stood up and she was staring blankly at the corpses.
“Help me carry them...” She said to me.
I nodded. I looked at her, but there were no tears in her eyes. I can tell that she’s sad, but she’s trying to hold back her tears.
I didn’t know what to say to her, but I did what she asked me. I carried one of the bodies and followed her as she carried two bodies in her arm. She laid down the corpses in the front yard of Eric’s house and went back to her house to fetch the others. As I dropped the body to the ground, I went back to help her, but she refused when I offered to carry one of the bodies. After she laid them on the ground, she looked at them.
She was staring at the corpses as if she’s in a deep thought. Three of the corpses were male. One of them must be her father and two were her brothers. The rest of the corpses were female and one of them must be her mother and the other was her little sister. I wanted to say something to her, but I was lost for words.
After a few minutes, she covered her face with her hands and wept. She’s probably in shock and couldn’t believe what she saw. There were probably no words that can ease the pain she’s feeling right now.
I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Claire…”
She wiped off her tears from her eyes and cleared her throat. “It’s getting dark… We should bury them.”