Sara's (unwilling) Blood Bath_Sara's (not really) Fabulous System Armageddon, Book I: The World Ended at Rush Hour

Mary's apartment, Dormitory, Clayton State University, Morrow, Clayton County, Georgia. Monday, October 28th, 2019. 22:00.

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After going to the bathroom to freshen up and change into clean clothes from one of the previous residents, Sara brought a hair comb with her.

Mary saw the comb and commented, "You cut your hair so short. It looks good on you, though..."

"It makes me look like a boy," without delay, Sara fired her dispassionate answer.

"A very effeminate androgynous young middle-school boy," Mary teased.

Mary was probably mimicking her with these innocuous but aggravatingly truthful statements. Sara thought she would need to learn how to deal with Mary if they were to remain as friends. Then she cursed inside as she noticed her feelings. She wanted to be friends with Mary. Mary the social remora of all people. Damn those Social Skills. How dare them make Sara care for people?

It wasn't the Skills alone, though. Throughout this month, Sara was forced to learn how to connect to people, even though most of them were dead. She (mostly) selflessly toiled to accommodate their requests and usher them into whatever passed for afterlife after Armageddon. She was forced to face her fears, her anxieties, and conquer them. Composure, Presence, and Flattery only helped to accelerate the process.

Not to mention Mary had an innate ability to appear non-threatening to her target "shark". Her adaptability was commendable.

"Well, pretending to be a boy kept me alive in Seattle. Do you want me to comb your hair or not?" Sara changed the subject. Mary smiled, then sat upright with her back to Sara. Carefully, she ran her comb over the other girl's hair. "What happened to your hair?"

"I pulled it off," Mary's head hung low with a lot of shame.

"Fingernails?"

"Bit them off," Mary's voice wavered. "Sara I... when the world ended and everyone died, I woke up alone in my room. I called everyone and got no answer. My ears buzzed because it was so quiet outside even though it was sunny outside. Then I went out of my room and... and..." She started to cry.

Sara kept combing Mary's hair, waiting for her to finish putting everything out. "They were all dead," she said after Mary paused.

"Yeah. I ran back to my room and... lost my mind. Then I couldn't get out. I couldn't look at them. I lost track of time; days went by. I was thirsty and had to go drink some water. The smell. Oh, God, the smell. I told myself it was not real. I laid on my bed and decided to stay there until I woke up from the nightmare."

"Then the ice cream car guys found you."

"I heard them several times but I felt too weak to get out of bed. One day, I felt I would die for real, and I climbed on my window and screamed for help. They took me to the university and put me in a IV drip."

"I'm so sorry, Mary. It must've been terrible," Sara said heartfeltly.

"Still is," Mary hiccupped, "But it is getting better."

"Well, the survivors here all seem to be nice people," Sara lied. "They're helping each other."

Mary turned her torso around to make eye contact. "They? Not us?" She smiled to soften her next words, "Always the lone wolf, right?"

Sara put a hand on Mary's scalp and forced her to face the window again, "Stand still, woman. I'm trying to cover the bald spots. Now, don't do that to yourself anymore."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because you are alive. Because we were classmates even if we hated each other before. Because the world has turned into a horrible place for a seventeen-year-old girl. I'm willing to put all our baggage behind but you need to meet me in the middle."

Mary inhaled intermittently as her emotions caused her to make small sobs. "I like the new Sara better," she muttered. "Why did you sit alone during the barbecue?"

"I don't really fit in here," Sara admitted. "Aside from a handful of active explorers, most survivors are still stuck in the day the world ended. Still grieving. I see people wander around the campus with vacant stares. People crying, people who lost their will to live. Then there's you."

"Me?"

Sara's first impulse was to be blunt, speak her mind, to drag Mary into accepting reality by force. In her head, she would confront Mary about what she said about her family abandoning her, then force Mary to have an epiphany and be reborn tomorrow morning as a new person. But Sara knew stuff like that didn't happen. She recalled the many times social workers tried to do interventions with the hobos and crack addicts she had for neighbors in Seattle. They always came back none the wiser.

Mary needed to crawl out of the hole she dug for herself on her own. All Sara could do was stand at the edge and encourage her. "You're grieving too," Sara said with a faint note of defeat. Everyone was grieving. Even Kelly, living parents notwithstanding, grieved the loss of the rest of her family and friends. Amanda and Kelly were a similar case. They weren't friends before the world ended but became besties by a process of elimination.

Sara finished brushing Mary's hair, then Mary insisted it was her turn. After they finished grooming each other, it was time to go to bed.

At the guest bedroom's door Sara stopped to share a bit more of her mind. "You deserve a chance. Don't squander it. You need to get strong, Mary. The world ended, and what is left of it is not as nice as we were used to."

'And I won't carry you on my back,' she added to herself.

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Mary's apartment, Laker Village, Clayton State University, Morrow, Clayton County, Georgia. Monday, October 28th, 2019. 23:40.

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Sara didn't sleep straight away. She had an ax to bury. The alien parasite living inside her was silent since they argued at the hotel. Lying in bed, tucked under the blankets, she said,

"Abby, give me a Status Screen."

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Name:

Sara

Species:

Human (+2 Skill Slots)

Skill Slots:

10 / 12

Magic Type:

Mage - Enhancer (Exclusive)

Special trait:

See through the Veil (Able to see into the ethereal)

Special trait:

Personal Core (Treat Core Strength as levels in a main Class).

Main Class:

N/A

Secondary Class:

N/A

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Development

System Core Strength (SCS)

The System Core becomes stronger and better at generating its own energy. Core Strength is maxed out. It requires a connection to the main System Core to evolve.

1 - You can have a maximum of 10 skill points per level of Core Strength.

2 - A maxed-out Core allows for better aid in fine mana manipulation. Active Skills' upkeep can be fractioned.

3 - Increases max MP pool and MP recovery by 50%.

Mana Conductivity (MC)

52%

(77%)

A measure of how clear the body's meridian system is. Mana conductivity impacts environmental energy absorption and channeling directly. Cleansed body systems are MC% stronger, more efficient, and tougher.

Purity of Body

Digestive,

Skin,

Bones, Muscle,

Circulatory.

1 - Increase the efficiency of all cleansed body systems efficiency by MC.

2 - Synergy between Skin, Muscle, and Bone: Increase damage resistance by an additional half of MC3 - Synergy between Muscle and Bone: Increase physical strength by an additional half of MC.

4 - Synergy between Digestive and Circulatory systems increase immunity and resistance to external pathogens and toxins by half of MC.

5 - Cleansed body improves MP pool and all recovery rates by half of MC.

Mage - Enhancer (Exclusive)

25%

Your mana channels greatly enhance internal circulation but aren't that good at projecting and controlling ambient mana.

1 - Add a linear 25% to your mana conductivity for internal manipulation purposes.

2 - Multiply the effect of all Physical Skills and internal mana manipulation Skills by [25+Mana Conductivity]%

3 - Divide the effect of all External Mana Manipulation by 10.

4 - Exclusive-type mages cannot cultivate or actively use Qi.

Cold Affinity (major)

50%

You have a great affinity with the Cold element. Increase all Cold-related effects and resistances by 50%.

MP Pool

919

Available Energy for Active Skills. Equals to (10*SCS) + MC%. Recovers 10% per day under normal mana densities.

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Skills: Physical (78)

Adroitness

15 40%

The Skill of moving one's body with grace and precision. Increases speed and coordination and reduces reflex delay by Rank%.

Composure

14 75%

Staying calm under pressure or pain. When under duress, reduces penalties to mental stability, logical reasoning, and self-control by 2*Rank%.

Prowess

8 21%

Making the most of one physique during stressful situations. Lower reflex delay, increases combat damage and physical power by Rank%.

Brawn

22 59%

Muscular toughness and endurance. Reduces stamina consumption and damage taken, increases lifting and carrying capacity by Rank%.

Rapid Healing

11 59%

Accelerates and optimizes body recovery. Increases healing rate, reduces the odds of permanent damage, including scars, by 2*Rank%.

Thermostasis

8 21(%/F)

Widened temperature comfort range and resistance to forced heat exchange. Increase comfort temperature range by 1F per rank. Reduce damage from heat exchange by Rank%.

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Skills: Social(23)

Flattery

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

33%

Making graceful compliments and answering them appropriately. Increases reactions during and after intimate interactions by 2*Rank%.

Presence

36%

Motivating people with the power of your personality. Increases reactions during and after social interactions by

2*Rank%.

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Skills: Mystical(18)