I was sleeping on the ground…or is it?

My body still is indeed there, but for some unknown reason, Astral Vision got triggered but I can't control it. I don't know whether this is a dream or not, but I could see my surroundings even while I was unconscious.

The helicopter, as soon as the notification about the monster has been defeated, tries its best to land nearby.

The crew got out of the helicopter, and searched the area.

"Rinka, Rinka!."

For some reason, I can even hear the sounds, albeit it wasn't that loud, my vision also got reduced. It seems I was really unconscious.

"I found the monster's body!"

One of the crew spotted the monster, huh? I'm sure my body was left unconscious right beside it.

"Search the area, quick!"

The crew, searching the area, hastily. Using flashlights to help their vision, I forgot this was supposed to be dark at around 23:40 P.M.

"I found Rinka's body! Come here!"

"Roger!"

"This madlad actually did it."

"He is crazy, mad even."

They circled around me, preparing something like a stretcher to carry my unconscious body to the helicopter.

When they moved, for some reason, Astral Vision also followed them.

"Careful."

"Aaaand- There we go. Where to go now?"

"Where else? To the safest place there is!"

======================

They landed off nearby the bunker, carefully carrying my unconscious body, to find a place to lay me down.

Another door opened, and Stella was there, watching my unconscious body carried to the bed.

The crew leaves the room, while Stella is still there.

I can't hear anything, or perhaps, she didn't make any noises.

I tried to cancel Astral Vision, but it didn't do what I wanted. I want my brain to rest, and so, I close my eyes. I close my ears. I forcefully cancel the vision, but it still is giving me unwanted vision…

I woken up.

The first thing I saw was Stella's sleeping head on my body.

"Did she really stay there for that long?"

I looked around for a clock, to know how long I was sleeping for.

The clock was pointing to one and five, either 01:25, or 13:25.

I can't feel my right eye. I can't even open it.

I slightly moved Stella's body, slowly and carefully to not wake her up.

Drawing myself towards a mirror, I use my hands to forcefully open my right eyes.

An eye, devoid of anything, like the retina of a blind man.

I closed it again.

"Hey, Stella, wake up."

"Hnngh~" ...cute.

"Fine."

Poking her head with my fingers. Slowly, increasing the tempo, and the area of it, till she wakes up.

"Good morning, sleepy head."

She showed signs of waking up.

"Morning~"

"Hmm?"

"mhmmh?"

"Rinka?"

"Rinka?"

Her brain can't handle the excitement, making herself confused.

"Yeah, it's me. Now, you should sleep again, or I'll kiss you."

She was tearing up.

"Rinkaaa~"

"Why are you so reckless?"

She hugged me.

"Oy, you're heavy you know."

"I will let that pass,"

"It...really is scary, to see your unconscious body, carried to this room."

"I know."

She hugged me, even tighter.

The tears, the cry, she let all those out.

She is crying for around three full minutes.

"Is it done?"

"Mhmm."

She wipes her tears.

"Hey, Stella."

"Yeah?"

"What will you do, if I tell you that I manipulate everything so you fall for me?"

"Hmm?"

"Like, I confessed to you, you took the wrong turns on the way home, got kidnapped, I for some reason showed up at the kidnapper hideout, beating them, you got sick for a whole week afterwards, and I tending you every day for the week?"

"If you say it like that, it sure doesn't seem to be a stretch to call it manipulation."

She faced her face, towards mine. "But you know what? After getting to know you for quite some time, you ain't that bad to fall into."

"And, also, if I was the one that liked you first, I would go to such lengths, but not that kind of extreme!"

"You? Interested in other people?" pfft "nice joke."

"Hey, I'm still human too!"

Both of us, laughing quite the laugh.

"Hey, Rinka…Why are you closing your right eye?"

"It's dead."

"What-"

"What do you mean it's dead?" She exclaimed.

"Things happen, and a sacrifice must be made," I looked at her…is that a pity or sadness? "Would you rather lose your life, or lose your sight?"

"I wouldn't want to lose anything." Her voice is full of confidence. Right, of course she would.

"As expected of my Stell-" A punch was flying toward my belly, even though a really weak one, but now it's becoming a barrage of weak punches.

"Stupid. Just rest, stupid."

"I'm resting here, stop the attack~"

"Anyway…,"

"Is it day or night right now?"

"It was one at night. Saturday, why?" She stopped her weak punches, and stood up.

"I want to continue resting..."

"Sleepyhead."

"Can't argue with that."

I fell asleep, really fast.

"Rinka?"

"I only left you for three minutes, and you're asleep already?"

"He really is sleeping."

"Looking at him, his relaxed face is kinda cute."

*poke* *poke*

"He really was tired huh?"

What the heck.

Astral Vision triggered the moment I fell unconscious, again.

And then, the vision changed.

It was yesterday's battlefield area, or rather the battlefield I just went to last night. I saw Kaku, ordering around, for people to collect the carcasses of the monster.

He was also ordering some people to circle around, for whatever reason.

"Is it ready?"

Ah, now I can hear sounds.

"Yes, it could reach for around Forty kilometres, theoretically, "

"We have yet to test it." One of the engineers I saw in the bunker was setting up something there.

"We don't have time, launch it now." Said Kaku.

"Starting!"

[Greetings, everyone.]

[I'm Kaku, from the Jakarta Region.]

[As everyone knows, Our Electricity was getting cut by the monster.]

[We need to reclaim that energy back to make us back to our normal life.]

[and also, the Safezone Region is extremely important!]

[FIGHT! FIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE!]

[FIGHT! FIGHT FOR YOURSELF!]

[WE MUST SURVIVE!]

[REPEAT AFTER ME.]

[WE MUST SURVIVE!]

A short, yet the needed message, to fuel everyone's dreams and hopes.

During Astral Vision, for some reason, I could access the status screen. The quest for 'Survive' is already marked as done, but the numbers stay there, as if mocking us the survivor.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

[3,182,321,872 / 8,302,341,742]

3 Billions, huh. We yet to know what the heck happened to the other side of the earth.

This number is depressing to know, that's why Kaku's encouragement is necessary, to make sure, at least the people actually trying to reclaim their land, to make another safezone region, to make living spaces even bigger.

The sounds were flying through the air. Flowing to every bit it could reach.

It really does seem like a skill, as the people circling around, starting to lose their foot, standing on their knees.

"I'm sorry, the burden is too big for you all,"

"We're done for now, you can go take a rest."

"You should take a rest too, sir."

"I-"

It's become more and more blurry…

The vision changed once again.

Now, it was somewhere I can't recognize at the moment, as the catastrophe has changed the landscapes.

"Jakarta huh?"

A man that I would think of as the leader at first glance.

"They got it easy, don't you think?"

Her expression, kinda demoralizing, but it seems everyone there already gets to know each other.

"But, isn't it said that the participants were only five people?"

At first glance, he seems like a scaredy-cat, and he also brought datas to his words, so safe to assume, a nerd.

"Whatever, that monster is humanoid like us, we can take it down!"

Musclehead, extreme positivity, usually the first one to die, but the needed one to encourage other people.

What is this, is this the main character party?

Also, is this midnight, or noon?

I looked up right at the sky…there were two moons in the sky…weird.

But…one of them is the sun, that one definitely is a sun.

"Are you all ready?"

The leader asked everyone.

"Sure."

Heroine…

"Don't let me down, scaredy-cat!"

The musclehead put his arms around the nerd.

"You shouldn't give your hope to me~~"

"Let's go."

Astral Vision seems like following them, for whatever reason.

They slowly navigate through the area.

Cars and Motorbikes, abandoned by everyone.

Houses and Buildings get destroyed.

It was only one day, but the impact was such massive destruction.

"Hey, so all I need is to think about how to trigger the skill, right?"

The leader seemed to me to be asking that to the nerd…but is it?

"Yes. I activated mine with ease, but you need to imagine it first."

Yeah, the nerd.

Did they already get their skill? It seems the scaredy-cat is the one giving them the hope needed.

Nerd, no. Let's just change it.

The weak will always use their wits to survive. While the strong, will use their guts to survive.

The weak are the fastest ones to adapt to such harsh conditions, while the strong are already strong enough to adapt to harsh conditions.

What I'm trying to say is that nerd adapt to game-like status screen really fast.

They stopped moving all of a sudden.

After a while, I could move around…I'm free~

I spotted a humanoid thing, but they definitely aren't behaving like what a human would.

Yeah, it has a snake head.

"Do we have a plan, Dril?"

Is it the nerd name?

"Humanoid have way too many weaknesses, but the first one will always aim for the legs."

"And the next one their arms, isn't it? Hahaha!" the musclehead seems to be so smug about it, even though it doesn't to be said.

"Well...yeah. I suppose? But, remember, we don't know anything about it." Dril added.

"Be careful everyone, I'll initiate it!"

From nothingness, the leader takes out quite a long sword.

The heroine, using a bow.

The musclehead, taking out a heavy weapon that is resembling a hammer.

But, Dril didn't bring out anything.

"CHARGE!"

The enemy was a humanoid, with the head of a snake and using short swords in both arms.

A wind, gushing away from the backline, attacking the monster.

Coincidence? Magic?

"Nice one, Dril!"

Leader, cut one of the legs, from the now unstable monster.

The monster that was trying to make itself stable, not able to stand on their knees.

"RAAAAAAARGH!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

From behind, musclehead uses his blunt heavy weapon, attacking straight to the arms.

The monster loses one of its weapons by this move.

It behaves weirdly, as if it will do something, a special move.

Dril, also noticed it.

"BOTH OF YOU, GET BACK! NOW!"

Both of them, listening to him, and taking a step back.

The monster then started spitting something that resembled a venom cloud to its surroundings.

"What the heck."

"What do we do now?"

Both of the frontline-attackers backed down to the backline.

"I will try another wind magic."

Another gust of wind was penetrating the venom cloud.

But, nothing was there.

"Where is it?"

"Be careful, stay on guard!"

Three of them, standing with their backs to each other, in a defending position, like some film scene.

Wait, three?

From above, the enemy was coming.

"ABOVE! DODGE!"

It was too late, the monster was already spitting another venom cloud and caught the three of them.

"WIND!"

The venomous cloud cleared in an instant once again, and now the monster and those guys faced each other one more time.

An arrow, barrage of arrows, was flying towards it, targeted to the monster body.

"Nice, Veronica!"

Veronica is the bow girl huh.

It can't dodge the arrows, as it already lost an arm and a leg.

But, none of the attacks hit the head.

"WHY I GET A BOW?"

"You did good, now hide again!"

The two frontliner get back in action to attack it.

A slash, and a slam.

The monster, the now crippled monster was ended by the two of them.

[Congratulations! Congratulations!]

[West Java Region Boss was Cleared!]

[Participant, 4]

[Rewards, Monsters on West Java Region get reduced stat, and West Java now considered a Safezone!]

[Congratulations! Congratulations!]

"Well, that was easy?"

Musclehead, mocking the enemy…but I feel like that's just how he talks?

"We simply got lucky and got a wind manipulation user."

Truly leader material right there, but Kaku still is the most ideal…No, I mean it in rational minds...but upon second thought, he look like the tour guide in Indonesia. A funny coincidence.

"Yeah, the venom is really bad for my skin, it became itchy!"

Veronica…no comment about her.

"We better go wash ourselves."

Dril also support her...I smelled something funny even though I can't smell right now.

Aren't they a bit too lax on this? Well…it's not like I actually could be saying that after such a reckless act…but still…

With that, Astral Vision got cut, back to the focus of my sleeping body.