Dots of blood splattered across Sam’s face.
One moment the mossy chamber buzzed with excitement. In the next horrified screams reverberated through the air, joined by freshly spilled blood and the crack of bones.
Sam spun to flee only for a woman to snatched his arm, grip tight enough to bruise.
“S-Save me.” She groaned out. Her eyes were already glazed over and her skin peeling, a walking corpse in every sense of the word. He tried to shake her off but her nails scrapped into his skin and kept him in place.
A gasp left him when a sword tore through the woman’s stomach and into his own.
Sam shot up. His eyes darted about, goosebumps prevailing across his arms and the hairs of his neck at attention. It took several deep breaths to collect his bearings.
It was just another nightmare. Nothing more, nothing less.
“You had a bad dream too?” Seated upon a windowsill and illuminated by rays of moonlights, Sasha called out to him. Color had returned to her face overnight, though the pain of last night’s wounds revealed itself through grimaces as she turned to get a look at him.
Sam nodded, raising from the surprisingly comfortable sofa he’d spent the night on. Ivan was fast asleep on a small chair while Mai stood beside the barricaded doorway, silent and stone faced as usual. They’d decided to hole up in one of the many extravagant rooms the mansion boosted for a chance to regroup.
“Should you be out of bed?” He asked, nudging towards the quite frankly oversized canopy bed they’d set her up in last night.
“I’m fine. I have a passive skill called [Pain Suppression].” Sasha smiled. It was subdued, nothing like the shy but earnest one he’d become accustomed to.
“No then.” He made his way over to her and offered a hand. “If you need to rely on something like that to get around you should be resting.”
Sasha’s smile dropped momentarily but returned as she took the hand, smaller but far closer in nature to her genuine smiles. She took her time standing, cautiously moving over towards the bed with his support.
“I’m sorry.” She said softly out of nowhere. “You were relying on me to fight off those skeletons and I-“
“Stop.” Sam cut her off. “You saw Ivan get swarmed. Everyone would chose family over a stranger any day. It’s not like it would’ve made difference if you stayed and fought.” His gaze wandered over to Mai. Her golden eyes stared back until he broke off the impromptu contest. He knew she was leagues above them but never in a million years would he have guessed the gap would be so huge. There’d be no stopping the inhuman power at her disposal if his -so far- unfounded fears came to fruition.
“You say the meanest things.” Sasha whispered. She looked up at him, bright blue eyes downcast. “Are we really nothing but strangers to you?”
Sam turned away.
They were all random people, brought together by an unbelievable set of circumstances. While he was more open than Mai, friendship and the like never crossed his mind, survival at the forefront of his thoughts. Ivan roped him into shared workout sessions back at camp, making lighthearted jokes of everything while Sasha’s kindness never wavered, always happy to be a part of it. If things were different maybe they’d have become fast friends.
Who was he kidding?
Even if his life wasn’t on the line Sam couldn’t see himself bothering to make friends.
Strangers caused trouble but at least you could see it coming and plan accordingly. Friends were so much worse. Friendship blinded people when it really mattered.
“Make sure you rest up.” Sam said as he set her down on the bed, quickly moving on least she put him on the spot again.
Back on the sofa, his Personal ID window appeared with a thought.
《 Personal ID 》
Designation: Sam
Origin: Pure Human
Sex: Male
Age: 21
Alignment: Neutral
Titles: Lone Observer, Desperate Survivor, Second Fiddle, Phantom Estate’s Owner
Core Attributes: [Strength: D] [Agility: D] [Endurance: D] [Perception: C] [Charisma: D] [Intelligence: B] [Luck: E]
Inherent Attributes: [Aura: B]
Divinity Points: 3
Traits: Level-headed, Sharp Senses
Inherent Traits: Armaments of the Soul
His new title, Phantom Estate’s Owner, was the first to come with tangible effects.
Another thought summoned a secondary, expansive window beside his ID.
「The Phantom Estate 」
Stolen story; please report.
「Description: Built by a powerful mage, The Phantom Estate is more than just a mansion. Powered by mana, the structure boasts various features. A moldable appearance, teleportation, and defenses, all keyed to the owner’s will. The intricate enhancements weaved into its walls extend far beyond the understanding of most mortals and perhaps the gods themselves」
「Synchronization: 1/100」
「Mana Reserve: 500/1000」
By unanimous vote -meaning Mai didn’t care to take the title for herself while Ivan delegated to him, desperately looking over Sasha at the time- the reward for the would be dungeon clear fell into Sam’s lap.
If the information displayed before him was true than this mansion would be a step up from their current excuse of a stronghold, but as omniscient as the game like windows appeared to be, he would not entrust their safety to them.
Come morning they’d search the building top to bottom and should it prove secure, the rest of the camp would be brought here.
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Like most people his age, Sam played a number of video games. With technology advancing by leaps and bounds, graphics -among other things- saw massive improvement. In the skilled hands of professionals, the fantastical atmosphere of imaginary worlds could be captured and given life.
None of those games prepared him for the stench that followed their desperate battle. The scent, a stomach churning abomination that worsened by the minute, saw him gagging more than once, his eyes nearly watering.
Even with the ripped white cloth that covered his mouth and nose, Sam kept an arm to them as he stepped around rotting corpses. Mai -the lower half of her face also covered- didn’t show such respect or caution, walking over any in her way and going as far as to stab those still twitching. Divested of that dark energy that powered them, he sincerely doubted any of them would get up once more but he didn’t stop her. If she wasn’t taking care of it he might’ve been doing so himself.
Call it paranoia but he preferred to be thorough given the circumstances.
From time to time they stopped to search the corpses of lost survivors who still carried their bags. It’s not like the dead needed the supplies.
They stopped before another room, weapons drawn. Mai kicked the door open and they rushed in.
Racks of weaponry filled the room, the blue flames of torches reflecting off the metal. Sam lowered his longsword and carefully pulled out one of the weapons; a spear, handle and blade made entirely of metal yet lighter than his sword.
「Relic Acquired: Sharp Spear」
「Rank: D」
「Description: One of the failed creations of a mage. Made of a lightweight conductive metal, this weapon's enchantment will never allow it to rust nor dull. A priceless treasure in the eyes of some. If something like this is considered a failure, what matter of weapon did the enchanter intend to create?」
「Effects: Boosts users strength and endurance.」
Picking up another weapon summoned the same window. Spear, sword, bow, dagger, hammer. The type of weapon didn’t matter; they all bared similar descriptions and the exact same effects. That also turned out to be true of the armor laid out across a different part of the room. Their effects were prevalent, his longsword noticeably lighter as long as one of those enchanted pieces of equipment remained in hand.
This was just what they needed. The upper floors held everyday facilities and now they had an armory to boot. The other people back at camp might just be able to get their acts together instead of twiddling their thumbs waiting on the four of them to get things done.
He was tired of risking his life for people content to do nothing but mope around.
Mai replaced the short swords on her back with an enchanted pair and turned her attention to the armor. Longsword swapped out, he joined her. Leather, steel. Thin, bulky. They were spoiled for choice.
“Thank you.” Sam said as he ran his hand over a silver chest plate. No time like the present to give proper thanks and now that they were alone, find a way to broach the topic of aura. It’s safe to jot Ivan and Sasha down as unaware of his ability, else they would’ve brought it up. “We wouldn’t have survived without you.”
She said nothing but did hold off on examining the armor in favor of eyeing him. For the second time, her cold demeanor waned, eyes narrowing slightly. It lacked any aggression. It came off as inquisitive if anything.
“Why refrain from using your aura?”
And here comes the gamble. Though, he supposed it wasn’t much of a gamble anymore. If Mai wanted to knock them off she would’ve done so with all the chances that’ve passed her by. It would be arrogant, not to mention delusional, to think she’d held back on account of the possibility his abilities matched up to hers.
“I have no idea how. I didn’t even know aura existed before this shitshow.” He admitted despite the incessant paranoid that gnawed at him.
Dumbfounded, all Mai managed was a simple “Oh.”
To hear an emotion add life to her monotone did wonders to quell his fear. Mai was a person, not some merciless wolf among sheep plotting their deaths. He hoped at least; paranoia could not be so easily dispersed. Not for him.
“What exactly is aura in the first place?”
“Its-“ Mai’s eyes narrowed further, darkened. Sam nearly took a step back, the flames that constantly burned through him physically recoiling as if to flee. “-a curse.”
That wasn’t a good sign. If mentioning it led to a minefield, asking to be taught about it would inevitably set them off.
“I will teach you to control it.” Mai added. She threw on a pair of black leather shoulder pads along with a pair of matching bandoliers, abruptly leaving the room. Sam decided on a chest piece made of a black metal, the straps tying themselves as the armor magically shrunk down to fit him. Only a moment spared to marvel the miraculous occurrence, he followed after her.
Why would something so powerful be labeled a curse?
----------------------------------------
Sam tossed the final body into the fiery pyre, stepping back and wiping away sweat as he watched the blaze crawl over the rotten corpse.
“This feels wrong.” Ivan said from beside him. “We should’ve brought the others before-“
“We all saw the same thing; moving corpses and skeletons. It’d be too risky to keep these bodies around.” Sam said. “We’re already taking a risk moving everyone to that mansion. We don’t need monsters getting in the way.”
“People. They were people.”
“Were, Ivan. The things they turned into would’ve torn us apart.” Sam sighed. Ivan’s heart matched his build. Comforting as it was to have someone like that watching his back in fights, things like this would take a massive toll on the big guy. “What if that necromancer comes back to attack us while you and Mai are bringing back the rest of the camp?”
Silent prevailed, the flames flickering in Ivan’s eyes as he watched, utterly defeated by their failure. He had taken wallets among other stuff from bodies, likely to pass off to those who knew them.
Sam couldn’t claim to understand it. They’d nearly paid the ultimate price in search of these strangers, doing what little they could with what they had. The revolting desecration of their bodies wasn’t something he’d be getting out of his head anytime soon but Sam wasn’t about to beat himself over their deaths.
“If you want to blame someone, blame that necromancer or whoever dragged us into this, not yourself.” Sam said. He gave the unresponsive man a pat on the shoulder and waited at the clearing’s edge.
It hadn’t been easy but this marked the burning of the last corpses in the mansion. The pyre itself had been set up a good distance away in the event it attracted monsters.
After dragging dozens of corpses so far, their putrid scent clung to him. On the bright side, he’s starting to get used to it.
A hot breeze strengthen the scent. Sam fought back rising bile. No amount of white lies made that smell tolerable.
Foul work aside, things were looking up for them. Mai and Ivan would soon be departing to bring back the others, leaving him to look after the injured Sasha. There would be discord about the handling of the bodies but they couldn’t take unnecessary risks.
Monsters weren’t the only thing they had to worry about.