Staring out at the blue sky from the minivan’s window, I yawned while sitting up and scratching my hair.
“Bored, Mid?” Hearing Sheep’s voice, I lean back.
“Mm.”
“Should we discuss a plan on how to deal with the dragon?” Jupiter’s voice came from next to Sheep, riding shotgun while Sheep drove. I had decided to ride with these two so we could talk, but since we started to drive from Beta I had felt incredibly lazy, not wanting to talk or think much. Instead, I had taken the backseat and laid down for a few hours. Finally feeling bored out of my mind, I sat up.
Leaning forward and resting my chin on the space between the pair, I used Hawkeye to look ahead and saw nothing. “Nah, plans for the dragon come later. There isn’t enough information to make a plan, anything discussed will be wasted.”
“Wouldn’t it be good to at least have a foundation?” Jupiter sounded confused as Sheep chuckled.
“Midnight doesn’t plan unless she knows most of the variables to a fight. We’d need everyone to advance before she’ll start formulating a plan, but don’t worry, we’ll be arguing late into the night once she does start to plan. She’s brilliant with planning but horrible with some ideas.”
“Mm.”
“What kind of variables do you need to know?”
“Weapons, equipment, spells, talents, layout, enemy, unknowns and numbers.” Lazily answering Jupiter’s question, I turned my head so my cheek rested on the edge of the seat.
“And since we only know two of those, layout and numbers, we really can’t make a reliable plan. We should discuss the unknown, the dragon’s abilities.”
“Ah. Dragons breathe fire and in some stories they can use magic.”
“Not only that, but their scales and skin are tough enough to deflect swords and spells.”
“Then there is the fact they can fly at fast speeds. Though it’s all speculation since it’s based on stories.”
“Stories help fill in a few blanks. We should take note of how dragons can cause winds with a flap of their wings…”
Hearing the two discuss what the dragon could do, I didn’t join in and just listened, simulating a fight between myself and the dragon with what they discussed.
The biggest advantage I would have is my long range sniping, being able to get a very long range hit off may very well kill it. When I had seen it the dragon had been asleep, at least its eyes were closed, and hadn’t looked at me nor reacted. Assuming it has a lack of awareness of those looking at it, I could very well set up. If I had the time, I could very well hit a shot from about a kilometre away, maybe more. I’d need a high place to do so though.
In my simulations, the dragon won if it found me, but I would win if I could get a few shots off. An idea came to mind and placed it at the back of my mind for later. Yawning, I leaned back once more, looking out at a horde of Husks on the left side, stumbling away from us.
“So that’s a horde?”
“Or swarm, we use both. They don’t seem to have a predictable path so we’re always at the risk of them stumbling towards us.” Hearing Sheep answer Jupiter, I used Hawkeye and looked at the group, frowning slightly. The new types from the town were in there, specifically the long armed Husk and Screamer. Acidmancers and Runners weren’t easy to see since they looked like a regular Husk.
Turning my attention away from the Husks, I opened my Job menu and looked at my progress. The node I had last completed had been the one that allowed me to learn Advanced blueprints. This is linked to Radio, Computing and Electricity. Based on the names I knew what they did already, but what came after is what I found myself interested in, it’s another large node. Right now it took twenty points per node level, and selecting three levels for Radio, I confirmed it as three blueprints appeared on my lap as my Job Points dropped to single digits once again.
Picking up one blueprint, I couldn’t help but grin and as I looked at the next two, the grin increased once more.
“Ew, Mid you’re making that face again.” Glaring at Sheep who chuckled, Jupiter looked at the rear view mirror and seemed confused. “Ah, whenever Mid gets excited about something she grins like a maniac. A habit not lost from her old body it seems.”
Kicking Sheep’s seat lightly, I sigh and hold up the three blueprints, still grinning ear to ear. “I have a right to grin like this. These blueprints are exactly what we want.”
“Oh, going to fill us in?”
“Only if you shave that disgusting thing off your face.” Kicking Sheep’s seat once again as he chuckles, I turn to Jupiter. “Sorry, we like to banter a lot.”
“Oh, no problem, I’m used to my team doing the same.”
“So first of all, this blueprint is for handheld radios, the range could be anywhere from a couple hundred metres to a few kilometres, I’ll have to make a pair and test to know.” Holding one up, I put it down before holding another up. “This one is for a regular radio, which is handy for bases. So not much use for us at the moment but will mean we can communicate over long distances with an operator listening and replying if need be.” Putting this blueprint down, I held up the last one.
“The last one is an Advanced blueprint for a radar. The range is the same as the handhelds, unknown until I make it, but if it works as I suspect we maybe able to detect swarms before they arrive, giving us at least a bit of time to prepare ourselves or make our escape, especially handy during the night when we can’t see them coming.”
“Well shit, that’s impressive. How long do you think you’d need?”
Thinking over it, I look up and answer Sheep. “It’s not a matter of time really, but parts. With a supply of components and parts from whatever you guys can find I can probably make everything within a few days. I’ll also be grinding Job Points for the other two rows of talents.” Looking at the first row of talents, I had never progressed past two of them, which were faster parts crafted from components and additional durability. I only had two points, not even to maximise one of those two nodes. If I can progress these rows, which are linked to more nodes, then perhaps I could gain more blueprints. Thankfully their cost hadn’t increased and planning to grind Job Points, I laid back down.
“No more talking.” Closing my eyes, I went back to simulating the fight against the dragon while slowly adding other factors, like Sheep and Winter. The biggest factor is the horde of Husks, as a fight with a dragon will attract a lot of them. We need a way to hold them off while we deal with the dragon, meaning we need to make it a quick fight before bailing.
Sheep and Jupiter continued talking about random topics, mainly about our world. Jupiter, first name Michael, is twenty years old, a casual gamer that worked as a manager in a call centre. He had left behind his parents and twin sister, who had actually planned to play Apocalyptic World with him, but couldn’t join him at launch at the last moment. He’d been thankful that she hadn’t joined him, but still missed his sister more than he missed his parents. They had done nearly everything together since they were children, never really separating from each other except for work.
“She’d been my best friend as well as my sister, so not having her nearby has been hard but at the same time I’m glad she hasn’t been dragged into this world.”
“Sounds like you care for each other a lot.”
“Yes, she and I were both the worst when it came to judging each other’s partners since we always wanted to make sure the other was treated right. If we ever get to go back to our world, I would want to tell her that I’m still alive. She and my parents must be a mess if our bodies are dead over there.” Jupiter sighs while I purse my lips and sit up.
“I’m the same. My mum is all alone over there, I just hope she’s still going…”
“My folks aren’t around anymore, for me it’s my fiance, Diana. Perhaps if we are the first to finish this Survival Basics quest we might be able to go back.” As Sheep sighs, the mood in the car plummeted as we all reminisced about who we left behind.
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“At the very least, I want closure and to tell mum everything. If I could do that, I think I can focus completely on this world.”
“Same, but I want to bring Diana here, if she’s willing, but at the very least I want to tell her I’m still alive.”
“Same with my folks and sister, I want to tell them everything and give them the closure that I’m still alive but trapped in this godforsaken world.”
“Alright, bet. If we ever get to make a wish to the System, let’s demand our return to our world and if it refuses let’s demand a temporary return.” Reaching over and patting both of them on the shoulder as I spoke, we all nodded before Sheep chuckles.
“Mid, if you were to ever return I’d fear you’d run a few places out of business by buying out their cheeseburgers.”
Slapping the back of Sheep’s head lightly, I chuckled along with him. “Absolutely, I’d buy out stores and stores worth of snacks and do nothing but snack out for the duration of our stay with Rebecca. Mum comes first, so does Rebecca’s dad and brother. What would you two do?”
“Could I choose to trash my boss's office room? Cause I absolutely would.” Jupiter chuckled as I looked at him.
“Oh my god, that’s brilliant. Sheep, let’s go trash management’s office!”
“Oh I’m on board.” Laughing, I joined in on their talk as the mood started to lift once more, and soon we were close to the turn off. Using Hawkeye, I saw the turn off and couldn’t help but smile a bit, it felt a bit like returning home after a long trip away.
Making the turn, we kept driving and soon the base we had claimed came into sight without needing Hawkeye.
“Jupiter, welcome to Alpha, our little base.” Using Hawkeye, I saw a figure standing on the roof, handgun in hand looking towards our convoy. It’s Aerith, who upon seeing the convoy yelled out behind her. Looking around, I saw Ghost and Lemon position themselves, ready to fight. Smiling at their set up, I told Sheep and he nodded.
“Good, they're on their feet. I just hope they don’t shoot first and ask questions later.”
Thankfully they didn’t. As soon as we got close enough for them to see the minivan, I saw Aerith look excited as she yelled once again, Ghost and Lemon shouting back and waving at her to take cover. Looks like those two are aware we could simply be other people, especially with the semi. Upon pulling up to the side of the base, I got out first and waved to Aerith’s location, who is now hiding behind the ledge of the roof.
“We’re back, guys. Come out, we have new people.” Yelling this lightly, I saw Aerith’s head pop out and look at me as if to confirm. I need to work on training her, exposing her head like that could lead to an easy headshot. Aerith grins and stands up, waving to us before yelling at Ghost and Lemon, though they had already emerged and started walking over.
Their eyes went from me to the semi, excitement expressed on their faces. Ghost stood before me first as he looked at the sniper strapped to my back.
“Did ya get an upgrade, Mid?” Ghost chuckles as I shake my head and pass him the sniper. Carefully looking it over, he nodded and handed it back. “I take it you either found it luckily or finished a quest?”
“Not exactly, I’ll catch you three up in a moment.” Looking over my shoulder, I gestured to Jupiter and walked over and stood next to me. Ghost and Lemon turn their attention to him, staring as if Jupiter is a treasure while Aerith’s attention went to Silver and Dawn, who were driving the semi.
“This is Jupiter. He leads three others who have joined us, we found them thanks to your messages, Ghost.”
“Oh, they worked?” Ghost grinned before extending a hand out to Jupiter. “Nice to meet you, Jupiter. The name is Ghost.” Lemon and Aerith introduced themselves as Winter and Melody, who had been driving the SUV together, joined us as well. Silver and Dawn joined us shortly after and everyone introduced themselves to each other.
Turning to Silver, who remained as quiet as usual, I gave him a small smile. “Could you back the semi up so we can unload it?” Giving me a nod, Silver left the group while I led the others into the base. Not much had changed, except that the foundation for three houses had been completed, the cement dry and a bunch of wood stacked up besides one.
“Been busy have we?” Looking at the wood, it wasn’t the wood from the creepy forest we had seen before.
“Ah, yes. The day after you guys left Lemon and I took the campervan and gathered wood, but the handsaw broke so we could only get that much.” Aerith answers me as I walk over and nod thoughtfully at the stack.
“Not bad. We got goodies ourselves that should help you guys. We’ll be converting the raintank on the SUV into a water tank since we didn’t find any in town. But this will all need to be delayed for a while.” Since we didn’t exactly have a meeting room of any type, we gathered chairs and sort of just sat in a circle around the campfire that the three had made while we were away.
When Silver finished, he joined us as the sun started to settle. Aerith got to setting up the campfire while the others got comfortable. Since we had stopped at Beta Jupiter’s group were aware of the fact Husks didn’t come out at night, though they still seemed a bit unsure.
Once the fire was lit and everyone had settled down, I stood and started explaining everything that happened in town, starting with the Lvl 2 advancement and the benefits we had received, meeting Jupiter’s team, acquiring the semi and finishing with what we found at the centre of the town. It took about an hour and a half to explain everything while answering the questions that were raised.
Once I finished talking, everyone remained quiet while lost in their own thoughts before Aerith raised her hand.
“I’m far behind everyone because I didn’t get the fifty points…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be taking you to help you out, it’ll just be us two, just focus on accumulating Class points. We’ll need to do more hunting and possibly kill Screamers but you’ll be fine. Have you selected your Class yet?”
“No, but I can now. I only had to learn four blueprints and I got a fourth building blueprint through my talents. I got Job Points from finishing the foundations, though it was only two points…”
“Good, we’ll have a chat later about your Class. About the details of the plan, here is how the teams will be sorted.”
Team one, led by Winter, consisted of Silver, Melody and Ghost. Team two would be led by Sheep and joining him is Jupiter, Dawn and Lemon. Lemon and Dawn will rotate to Team one first, then Jupiter will rotate. Jupiter will bring those who were about to advance back to Beta before taking them back once they awoke and sorted out their spells and weapons.
“Tonight and tomorrow we’ll work on unloading the semi. Sheep and I will work on dismantling the tools we brought along so I can learn the blueprints for them and we’ll scrap anything we don’t need right this moment, like the lawnmower. We also brought plenty of cement for you too, Aerith. The day after we will take all the vehicles and head to Beta before heading to town. Any questions?” Seeing no one raise their hand or speak up, I nodded lightly. “Alright, go rest. Fighting a dragon may sound exciting but we want to ensure that everything goes fine, so don’t panic, I won’t let any of you die.” With those words, everyone departed, finding places to sleep, with Jupiter’s team taking one of the buildings at my suggestion.
Grabbing Aerith, we entered the campervan and after making us coffee, the first coffee I’ve had since leaving, we sat down and discussed Classes for her. While she had accumulated about ten points, she had yet to decide on a Class. Aerith didn’t enjoy combat, which I had already been aware of. She’s not a good shot, she doesn’t enjoy entering melee nor did she have the confidence to engage in singular combat.
“There aren’t any healing Classes, and Melody already has Shielder. Maybe I should take a combat oriented Class? Well, they’re all combat oriented…” Aerith bites her bottom lip while looking a little down. “S-sorry…”
Flicking her forehead lightly, I smile before patting her head. “You have nothing to be sorry about, Aerith. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I can’t use an automatic rifle or SMG at all, my aim is horrendous with those weapons.”
“Even though you can snipe that well?!”
“Mm, I just never really got used to assault weapons like that, at least in full dive. There is a Class that I think will be amazing for you though and it provides us with exactly what we need.”
Aerith tilts her head before sipping her coffee.
“Ice Magician, can you read the description for me?”
“A sorceress that commands the power of Ice. She controls the battlefield with Ice, slowing enemies and shielding allies with walls of Ice…” Aerith continued to read, her eyes widening before looking at me.
“Control. Being able to slow and freeze enemies in a high pace environment like a battlefield will bring a lot of breathing room to us, especially if we need to fight a horde of Husks.”
“B-but I don’t know how to use magic.” Sounding unconfident once again, Aerith’s face turned downcast before I ruffled her hair.
“The System teaches you a spell and how to use mana. Not only that, but Jupiter is a Fire Magician and he can help teach you how to use magic. I can even teach you a bit, though I only know how to use Hawkeye. If you don’t want to, we can take our time to select another Class.” Aerith had become a lot more confident while we were discussing plans, doing Building or talking in general, along with her recovery from being nothing but skin and bones. Her confidence did a one eighty when discussing combat, and I knew I couldn’t just force her into it.
“N-no. I need to be of use to you outside of just building a few houses.” Aerith looked up and took a breath.
“Aerith, don’t think like that. You’re far more useful to us than you give yourself credit for. If it wasn’t for your suggestions of going small and looking for a car lot, then we may very well still be struggling in the town. Our team tends to think of doing bigger tasks because we’re too confident, your way of thinking reigned us in from storming the shopping mall on the bet that the semi there would work. Instead, we’re now in a very good position.” Patting her head again, she shook it and looked at me with a bit of hesitation.
“T-thanks.” A small grin appeared on her face before her eyes unfocused to look at the System. “I’ll go Ice Magician.”
“As long as you’re sure.” As I watch, Aerith presses down in the air. In the next moment, a pained expression, which I’ve now associated with one gaining the ability to use mana, appeared on her face before her eyes rolled up into her skull as she passed out. Catching her quickly, I carried her to the bed and laid her down, tucking her into the blankets before leaving the room and closing the door.
“So our Ice Magician is the girl who is named after a famous healer while Winter is a shotgun maniac.” Chuckling to myself, I stepped out of the campervan and headed towards the semi.