Wisps of lights seeped through the gaps in the furniture blockading the three windows in the room. The apartment was eerily quiet except for light snoring noises, as if the past 12 hours was just a dream.
Buzz Buzz Buzz
Across from the couch in the living room, a person could be seen curled up on the wooden floor wrapped in a pink blanket. A delicate hand stretched out of the pink blanket. The smooth skin was ruined by the two band-aids wrapping around her index and pinky fingers.
Fumbling to her side, Anne brought the palm-sized phone to her face. She plopped back onto the make-shift bedding, sprawled on the floor, and read the message with bleary eyes.
~Yawn~
Message Time: JAN.1st.2020 (12:00.00PM)
All status windows have been updated.
-No Other Messages-
Confused, she whispered, “status window?” Her eyes snapped out of her dreary state and her body bolted upwards passed straight through the blue screen hovering in midair. When her body was upright, the screen appeared once again half a foot away from her small chest.
Anne Peyton [Human]
Level: 2
Title: None
HP: 50/50 | Mana: 180/180 | Stamina: 80/80
Primary Stats:
STR: 6 AGI: 15 + 4
CON: 2 INT: 12
VIT: 3 WIS: 18
Auxiliary Stats:
LUK: 3
Free Points: 4
Skills:
-
She held her finger over the glowing blue screen and clicked on “Primary Stats.”
STR: Influences Physical Power and Stamina
CON: Influences Stamina and HP (Defense)
VIT: Influences Regenerative Abilities and HP
AGI: Influences Speed and Reaction timing
INT: Influences Mental Ability and Processing speed
WIS: Influences Mana Pool and Mana Recovery
After a basic understanding of each stat, she frowned at her CON and VIT stats. She walked over the bathroom and turned on the sink.
The sink sputtered for a moment before her hands felt a warm stream of water run down. She looked up at the mirror. She touched the eyebags sagging under her hazel brown eyes, then the two superficial scratch marks that stretched from her left cheek down to her jaw. Her thin lips slightly opened, and a high mellifluous hiccup escaped her mouth.
“My face…” she complained to the mirror, but still combed and patted down the spots in her short hair that was out of place after the night.
After brushing her teeth with the stranger’s toothbrush, she shut the lights in the bathroom. The bedroom was in the adjacent room. She glanced at the door of the bedroom with a curious gaze, “I wonder how strong he is.”
No one else was awake, so she only heard silence. She saw Rem sleeping with James’ cashmere jacket on the couch, and James huddled up with the remaining spare blankets on a rocking chair. Her eyes cut toward the light seeping through the furniture by the window in the living room. She took a peek outside through the cracks.
She could see the Hudson and everything that stretched between. The occasional giant rat and roaming wild dog could also be seen, but the streets were free from monsters and corpses. However, burnt residue and dried blood of all colors could be seen on the buildings and sidewalks.
Taking in the strange peace, she tipped-toed toward the door and looked through the peephole.
“What are you doing, Anne?” Like a cat whose tail was stepped on, she jumped and turned around. A dorky figure about a head taller with golden-haired locks and blue eyes stared into her stiff face. She cracked a smile and replied with a soft voice, “I’m checking if it’s safe outside.”
Seeing her morning smile, Rem blushed and followed up by lightly scolding her, “You should stay away from the door, we don’t know what’s out there.”
This time, Anne’s face flushed red in embarrassment and replied, “You…you saw that?” Not sure what to say, Rem nodded and remained silent. The two looked at each other in silence before Anne turned her gaze to the couch.
Seeing her look towards the couch, Rem felt troubled.
“Wa..was the couch com-comfortable?” she asked
“Yes, was the floor comfortable?”
She let out a weak chuckle. Rem smiled and noiselessly pumped his fist under the blanket. Rem sat up and gestured to sit on the couch. Anne nodded her head and sat beside Rem. For a while, they sat in absolute silence. Feeling gutsier by the minute, Rem slid his hand onto hers.
Anne flinched and slipped her hand away. She looked at Rem’s sullen face, but she was also flustered. After the awkward attempt, they both kept their hands to themselves. “Are you cold?” Rem questioned. Anne turned around and grabbed the thin blanket Rem tossed aside earlier. As Anne wrapped the blanket around her, Rem gulped.
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Despite the brief action, Anne’s twirling motion set off the butterflies in his heart. Her bob-cut hair reflected off the light leaking through the cardboard and made her action more brilliant. Anne noticed Rem’s blatant stare but chose to stay quiet and allowed him to indulge.
“Did you read the message?” she asked.
“What message?”
“The one sent to your phone.” Anne passed her phone to Rem. Scanning through the message, Rem smiled and yelled, “Status window!”
Rem Gold [Human]
Level: 0
Titles: Brave Soul
HP: 500/500 | Mana: 20/20 | Stamina: 370/370
Primary Stats:
STR: 12 AGI: 10
CON: 15 + 10 INT: 5
VIT: 15 + 10 WIS: 2
Auxiliary Stats:
LUK: 20
Free pts: 0
Skills:
-
Rem was ecstatic seeing his stats and squealed, “In normal RPGs, isn’t the average 10 or 15? This means I’m above the curve, right?!”
Then he noticed his Title, “Brave Soul.” He remembered this notification appearing after he risked his life to save Anne.
Click
“Ding!”
[Brave Soul – Rare Title]
[Passive: +10 to both CON and VIT]
[Active: None]
“Awesome!”
Anne's expression softened, and a slight smile appeared on her face. When Rem shouted again, she couldn’t help but ask, “What happened?”
“Anne! I have a title called Brave Soul, and it gives me +10 CON and VIT!!!”
“That’s a wonderful title!” James interrupted
“Dad? You’re up?”
James nodded and reached for the TV remote and clicked on the power button.
*static*
“Strange, let me try another channel,” James clicked again, but the result was the same. “Mr. James, why don’t we try the radios?” Anne asked
“That’s a great idea, can you both see if you can find a radio in this apartment?”
They both nodded and began opening every door they could find. Eventually, James found unplugged radio in the closet by the window. Quickly, he set up the radio and fiddled with the controls. It wasn’t long before the static turned into a voice that exuded authority.
“Citizens, this is a national PSA. To those listening, please stay indoors and stay safe. All military personnel will be coordinating with state officials to conduct search and rescue operations. We do not suggest engaging with hostile creatures. Once again, all citizens should stay indoors and stay safe. Yours Truly, President…”
The message looped again, but the trio felt their last shred of faith in the government dissipate into thin air.
Rem broke the silence and replied with a hoarse voice, “We’re on our own.”
Anne nodded, and James seemed downcast. Feeling the mood deteriorate, Anne attempted to change the subject, “Should we wake Peter?”
Her voice trailed off when mentioning Peter, but James shook his head.
“No, he didn’t come back until 5 in the morning. We should let him rest.”
They both nodded their head in agreement. “Anne, why don’t you tell me how you met Rem?” James asked with a foxlike smile. Hearing a suggestive inflection in his father’s voice, Rem was flustered and immediately raised his voice to switch the conversation.
“Haha, of course, I met her at school. But why don’t you tell us how you met Peter?” Rem interrupted.
When James thought about how he first met Peter, he fell listless for a moment before responding with enthusiasm, “Sure, I noticed that he was wandering the streets alone and offered him a ride in my Mercedes in exchange for food…”
When James recounted Peter’s adventure with the supermarket, Rem and Anne were both clutching their fists with excitement.
“DAD, Did you see him kill the cat?!” Rem excited asked
“Of course not, but it was as if I was next to him during the entire crisis,” James replied
“What a shameless storyteller…” Anne muttered under her breath
Rem didn’t lose his excitement and followed up with another question.
“Ohh, so what happened next!?”
Before James could continue, a cranky voice frightened everyone. “Where’s my good morning, you loud brats!”
Moments before Rem’s scream, Peter had scrambled out of his bed and charged out with his sword preparing for the worse. Seeing James' scared yet guilty face and Rem in one piece, he realized there was no attack. He snorted and lowered his sword to the side.
“Ding!”
“System Notifications Opening”
[You are the 5th person to kill a mini-boss monster]
[Reward: Random item!]
“Ding!”
[Mystic Core (Consumable) – Ex. Unique]
[One-Time-Effect: +10 All STAT. +1000 Mana, HP, and Stamina. 10% chance to gain skill: Mystical Mark]
A white light flashed, and a thumb-sized black marble hovered in thin air. With an inexplicable attraction to the core, Peter immediately swallowed the marble and felt a strange energy flow throughout his body. As soon as the energy reached his chest, his heart rate drastically spiked. Moaning in pleasure, Peter felt his heart heating up, and each cell in his body transforming due to the energy from the core.
“He...hey sir are you alright?”
Seeing Peter, who saved his life, moaning and giggling on the floor, contradicted James’ story and his first impression of the man. None the less, Rem approached Peter on the floor and looked at his father with a pleading gaze.
James furrowed his eyebrows and timidly backed away. He waved his hand gesturing his son to back away as well. Watching his son get closer to Peter, he broke out in a sweat and shook his hands even faster, with his eyes brimming with nervousness.
Anne could hear James quietly muttering, “He finally lost it! Crap, crap, he’s going to kill us all!”
Before he could take action and physically drag his son back, Peter’s body started glowing with black lights. An intricate black crest accentuated by mystical runic marks formed on top of Peter’s body and imprinted onto his back. Anne opened her mouth but couldn’t form any words. Her emotions were thrown into pandemonium. She didn’t know what was happening to Peter, but she could feel the mana surging towards him in a berserk-like fashion.
As soon as the black crest landed onto Peter’s back, his moan turned into a sharp hiss.
“Ding!”
[Gained +1,000Mana, HP, and Stamina.]
[+10 to all STAT]
“Ding!”
[Mystical Mark – Ex. Unique]
[Passive: Increased Control over Mana and body.]
[Active: Restores all stamina and mana. Once per day.]
The searing pain stopped and left an inky black tattoo on Peter’s back. The three noticed that the tattoo looked the exact same as the crest floating on top of his body earlier.
Feeling numb, Peter looked at Rem and motioned with his hands. “Re…em get over here!” Rem was in shock after seeing the supernatural occurrence, but he flinched as soon as he heard Peter’s grating voice. Meeting Peter’s eyes, he immediately shuffled over.
“Closer” Peter said softly.
With an understanding expression, Rem crouched down and cupped his hand over his ear as if preparing to hear a secret.
Seeing Rem’s golden curly hair in his face, Peter lightly smacked Rem over the head.
“Next time, don’t be so loud...” Peter whispered.
Instantly cracking noises came from his body as he got up. His joints were especially loud. Feeling invigorated, Peter flung both hands into the air and twisted his hips.
Peter took a deep breath and sighed. Then he looked at the lost group and smiled smugly. “I bet all three of you are curious about what just happened, hehe.” Rem pulled himself up and shot a wronged look at Peter. Still, after hearing his dad’s story, he vowed to never get on Peter’s bad side.
“Before I tell you what happened, first, you have to know what happened last night.” Peter recounted his trip last night at the orc camp but left out the part where he shamelessly blinded the [Orc Warrior] before the fight. He watched the group’s expression change from nervous to downright tense, especially when he got hit by a spear.
“Wait, how are you here then? Didn’t the goblins chase you?”
“James, lemme finish the story!”
The three stopped talking, and Peter told them about his new skill [Body Enchant]. He also described how he massacred close to a hundred goblins (actual kill count: 78 + 1 orc warrior). He had inadvertently smiled when he thought about his tribute for Olivia and the kids and the stress that he had relieved, but that only added a cruel undertone to his story.
After summarizing his massacre, Rem was left dazed and hungry for more, Anne burned with the desire to get stronger, and James shuffled back two steps and warily eyed Peter.
“Oh, you’re all scared now? Boo!” Peter released a hint of killing intent. James was the first to react and balled up into a turtle while rolling away. Anne squealed, and Rem peed his pants.
“AHH HHA! Rem, you actually pissed yourself?!” Peter laughed for a few seconds at Rem and then turned toward Anne. His eyes lost its happy crescent shape when he saw her watery eyes. Before he could say anything, Anne charged to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
What the hell? Am I really that scary? It was just a joke... Well, a bad joke.
Peter grimaced at reality and headed back to the bedroom. He shook his head in disappointment and decided to exam the changes to his body.