I always like to find escape routes from everything. You ask why? Because escaping usually is less troublesome, especially these days, especially during these goddamned days.
Chapter 4- Scavenge
As I lead the uncharacteristically enthusiastic David to the house Eric was building, I noticed a few strange things. First is that even though that I could see the school fence, the outside seems to be blocked by the irritating fog.
And secondly, it is awfully quiet around our base. Did we possibly kill every single one of the undead in our area? Highly unlikely. Is the dungeon attacking other survivors? Most probably. Is the dungeon preparing for an all-out attack against us? Hope it isn’t but it is highly possible.
As I was thinking about multiple redundant things, David called out to me.
“Oi, Constantine, are we there yet? I think some of these unfinished structures would be a good place to search and loot.”
“What? Oh, right. We might as well search these places first. I’ll go scout to see if there any undead, watch my back.”
I replied and kicked off towards the nearby buildings. I heard a shout come from David.
“Sure thing kid! Don’t die in there!”
Wow, that really helps out a lot sir. If we weren’t in the middle of a dungeon I would probably shouted at him. Come on, who tries to lift up your spirit by saying ‘Don’t die!’, does that even work?
I advanced forward to the unfinished structure, making notice of any sounds made by the undead. I slowly moved my feet as if wading in water.
I kept my short sword at my hands, ready to slash anything that moved, as I crept by. The construction was nearly finished, only missing roofs, some windows, and a paved pathway.
After a minute of trying to be a ninja, which is quite idiotic, I reached the door. I slowly opened the door, peeking through the slight opening to see if there is anything moving inside. As I step my foot inside a sound was heard.
CRUNCH
Damn… I just stepped at cracked glass. I wasn’t able to criticize myself anymore as I heard another thud, this time sounding like footsteps.
That made more alert about the situation. I’ve already seen a crying zombie, what stops the [System] from popping up a stealth zombie? Another sound was heard, a shush or a hiss, maybe?
The structure was probably meant to be an office. A few cubicles side by side, a smaller version of offices found in large companies. This doesn’t make any sense at all, with the apocalypse going around, why would you need to build stuff like this?
BLAG
A sudden drop of object echoed through the silent structure. This was followed by a whimper and something sounding like someone was trying to make the other one quiet.
Now I was sure there are humans, probably.
“Hello? Anyone in here? I’m a human…”
I just wanted to slap my face after that. Announcing your presence in the middle of a chaotic dungeon is pure idiocy.
Anyways, no one answered up when I called. There was a very slight rustle though. I couldn’t see where it happened due to my bad eyesight, I wish I had my contacts or glasses.
I continued to walk along the building checking underneath every table there is. You never know when something is going to grab you from underneath.
As I neared a cubicle somewhere in the middle, I heard a slightly labored sound of breathing.
As cautious and as stealthily as I could, I inched closer to the desk where the sound is coming from. Trying to check if it’s a fellow human or my possible murderer.
Just as I could see it, something jumped at me suddenly, and it friggin hurt!
I tried my best to adjust to the situation, looking for anything against the attacker. It seems that it’s a male. Judging by his lack of the putrid smell the undead emit, he must be alive.
“[Blood Debt], [Bulwark], [Feeding Frenzy]!””
In that instant that I assessed the person, I activated my skills. Plus the skill that I forgot to activate when I was near death earlier. I must remember not to panic as much as I can especially when the fight needed my skills.
With the power and the distinct memory loss that I usually have when activating [Feeding Frenzy], I was able to throw my opponent of me. After that, I scrambled to pick up the weapon that fell from my hands.
Without the person attacking me, I was able to see his weapon. A goddamned nail-studded plank. In contrast to my weapon, it was dozens of leagues far.
The person was about to throw himself at me when I saw his face.
“Andre?”
“Ha… Ha… Lazy Bones?”
And there goes that crazy bastard. Even in the apocalypse that friend of mine still has that capacity to call me that name. It is actually quite fitting since I’m thin and lazy, but I’d rather not admit it.
“Where have you been for you to be in that position?” I asked Andre wondering about what happened to him at the start of the apocalypse.
Of course, he managed to save his girlfriend too. Who was by the way, our class’ most beautiful girl. Leave it to the crazy bastard to get her to answer him.
“Hmmm… let’s see where to start. Okay, it started with this. I and Denise just met up at the convenient store during morning, like what we do every day.” He paused afterwards, trying to think of a better way to answer.
“Then, shit happened. Monsters appeared, cars suddenly stopped then crashed, we even saw a lady being beat up by a group of green child-like creatures!” Those green creatures are probably goblins; my intuition makes me believe that.
“We rushed to school. At that time, military wasn’t here yet. It was just a bit chaotic but it was fairly okay. Mang Lando ushered as to go inside and then the military arrived.”
I interrupted, “Then this happened right? The school turned into a dungeon and you can’t go out…”
“Yeah, that sums it all up. By the way Den, why are you being so quiet?” Lucas answered as I summed up the story and began talking to his girlfriend.
“Huh? Ah, sorry I was spacing out just trying to get fear out of my system. I’m fine, don’t worry hon, anyways, what happened to you Constantine, what’s your story?”
Denise answered after snapping out of her daze. Andre then soon followed up the question.
“Yah, it feels like you are an investigator, why don’t you tell how you ended up here?”
I told them my story, starting from my apartment until now. I omitted my class since it may cause them to freak out or blame me for trapping them here.
After hearing my tale, it was Denise who spoke first.
“You had it fairly easy, huh. Well, it’s still considerably bad but not as much as what happened to us though.”
Wow, now that I notice it, her voice is quite pleasant too. How did Andre even managed to end up with her? But, hey, what do you mean by that? Mine is fairly bad too, as bad as what happened to you guys… probably.
“Yes. I agree with Denise with that bro,” he pauses as if remembering something, “What’s your class anyway? I got [Fist Fighter] and Denise got [Shocker]. Mine’s self-explanatory and Denise got it after zapping a [Goblin] with her taser.”
Oh shit…
“Well, umm… you see, mine is quite… difficult to explain–“
“Just get on with it.”
As I expected, he wouldn’t manage not cutting me off while explaining.
“Okay. My class is [Champion of Vengeance].”
Pfttt…
“See?! That’s why I didn’t want to tell you!”
Of course, it was not only but the reason but it is indeed one among the list as to why I don’t want to tell him about it.
Denise adjusted her glasses and started to talk. Oh? I didn’t tell you she wore glasses? Probably slipped my mind. Anyways, continuing in on the story.
“Seriously dude? Your class is named like that? What are you, a superhero?”
Ok. That bastard is really getting on my nerves. He better thank whoever he must since I’ll let it pass by because he’s my friend.
“Stop that or I’d punch you. Anyways, it’s what I got and I’m stuck with it so let’s just get on to what we are gonna do. We better go back to our base, my acquaintances are waiting. By the way, can you guys help us carry supplies back home?” I asked them. They would probably not argue since they have nothing to do anyway.
Surprisingly, this time, it was Denise who answered.
“Sure, we’ll help you. Right, hon?” While looking at Andre with menacing eyes.
A near inaudible chuckle left my lips. He may have gotten the best girl of the class but he sure is whipped. They still love each other though, so I’ll just ignore it.
With a slightly stuttering voice, Andre replied, “Yeah, we’ll help.”
On the way home, we encountered a few wandering undead. We easily took them out due to their level and with our relatively good party. We even got nice looking loots. Plus around a silver worth of money each.
Necrosis Staff -1
Mana Cost: Variable Damage:0-23 Durability: 11/20
A staff commonly used by fledgling necromancers. This one has been particularly weakened by an outside force.
Effects:
· Has the ability to summon a weak undead. Abilities may rise depending on materials.
· Removes 100 Maximum Mana from the user per every undead summoned. Maximum Mana returns if summoning has been cancelled.
· Could only summon a maximum of 2 undeads a day.
Hidden Light+2
A ring previously used by a cleric. Some parts of it have been corrupted by undead mana.
Effects:
· Decreases the cost of healing skills by 1%.
· Increases the cost of healing skills by 50% if there are no undead nearby.
The last one may have not been that nice, but hey, it works in conjunction with the first one right? And a necromancer’s staff? Heck yeah! I’m definitely using that. Maybe I could get the people to let me have that since I have the highest mana capacity anyways.
With that, we reached the [Safe Zone], along with our spoils and the new members, safely. We all flopped down as we set foot inside and rested.
“Constantine.” Someone called me while I was napping away at my spot.
“Hmm? Oh, why Aria?” I answered as I sat up.
“Could you… umm… this sounds a bit unthankful but, could you help me find someone in this dungeon?”
Why did she bring it up just now? And who is the person anyway. Let’s just get on with it.
“Sure, sure. Within an hour we’ll talk with the rest of the group and check if they are with us. If not, we’ll go save that person with just the tow of us.” I replied. It may have sounded a bit cool, just a little bit, but saying that while rubbing the sleep out of your eyes contradicts the image.
“Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” With an unexpected move, she hugged me.
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Sure feels nice being hugged. Makes it worth it trying to act hero. However, I could not say I did it out of pure sympathy. I have a quest to finish and that’s one of the criteria.
-Timeskip 1HR-
“Okay. So guys, Aria here,” I pointed to Aria, “requested for help in rescuing a person she knows. I just wanted to know if you are with us in this rescue operation. I’m not forcing any of you to come; it’s just that the extra set of hands may come in handy.”
“I and Denise are in.” After a few minutes of talking, my oh so reliable friend along with his girlfriend decided to join us.
“Both of us too.” Chimed in Alistair, signifying that she and David are in.
“Well then, it seems that the rescue operation would be ongoing. Please prepare supplies we will leave tomorrow morning once. Oh, and anyone needing to buy from the shop may ask me for access.”
With that, the impromptu meeting was adjourned.
* ●●
We set out in the morning just as we talked about. I’m giddily holding the [Necrosis Staff -1], somehow, they allowed me to have this. David was saying that he didn’t need it since he had the role of a tank in the first place.
Alistair and Andre rejected too. One is an assassin and the other a brawler. It comes down to just two people, Denise and Aria.
Aria, well she immediately let me have it when she saw me pleading. Denise, seeing that everyone just gave it to me in the end, allowed it as well.
With that, here I am strolling around this god-forsaken place with a giant smile plastered on my face. Swinging my staff around with a badass sword hanging on my waist. I really like this kind of moments, makes me forgive the apocalypse just a little bit.
Half an hour passed, we just entered the vicinity of the place where Aria said she last had contact with the guy she was with. This place seemed much worse than the area near our base.
Mangled bodies are strewn around. In worse cases, it’s only a chunk of meat sticking to a skeleton is all that is left. Oh, and don’t forget all those big swarm of flies chilling around.
Slowly, the team inspects each half-built bunker. All that we could find are tools and materials used for construction, which immediately went into our inventories. Candles, flashlights, and batteries are immediately looted too.
After checking the fourth or maybe fifth house someone spoke out loud, very loud.
“Hey! Don’t you think it is too silent? There is no undead in he—“
If you are wondering who the heck is shouting about the situation, it’s Andre. And no, he is not right. Because just as he was about to finish talking, a dozen or so of growls were heard.
[Zombiefied Humans] are converging at our group. There are some that only has their upper bodies, while some only has half of their faces dangling about.
“Get ready! Those [Creeper Dogs] are faster than an average human’s walking speed.” David shout from his position hoisting his hammer up high.
As he shouted that, everything sprang into action. The fastest to move was Alistair. With her pair of daggers, she disappeared from her spot and reappeared near a pair of undead. With a single stroke of her blade, the two fell.
I prepared my staff and swung it in a flashy way with the intention to summon undead at my heed.
…
It seemed like the whole party stopped and stared at me. It was just about for a second but I think they really did, some of the undead included.
“Idiot! What the heck are you doing?! Fight!”
Thank you Andre for that wonderful encouragement. I almost pulled out my sword when I felt something clicked.
Somehow, I was able to understand what to do to summon the undead. Again, I swung the staff and concentrated on the feeling of mana leaving my body when using a skill.
The miniature skull on top of the slightly vibrated. After that, the two corpses that Alistair just killed started twitching again. Soon after, they stood up again. A bit weaker but they could help anyways.
With that, everyone returned to what they were doing. The pair of Denise and Andre are doing pretty great.
Andre would stand in front of Denise swinging his fists. A straight, then a jab, followed by an uppercut.
The already ugly and botched up face of the zombie turned into an even worse one. Meanwhile, Denise would shoot out small arcs of electricity from the tip of her hand, stopping the undead for less than a second. Andre would be safe from attacks while he dishes out damage.
Alistair and David fought as usual. Each being a force to be reckoned with. A baseball worthy swing from David caused a zombie’s head to look like a golf ball. Then there is Alistair, being the rouge type of our group, she was the one to take out the [Creeper Dogs], with precision nonetheless. Does that look like a person who just got up from a bite to you?
Excitement rushed through my blood. I know that I shouldn’t be thrilled about it with all the people who died, but I can’t help but get his feeling. It feels like I’m fighting with my party inside and RPG.
With the adrenaline rushing, I ran forward to take care of a few undead that manage to slip through my party members’ onslaught. I slid a few copper coins into the hilt of my sword, I immediately felt the effect of enhanced speed.
With a whip of my sword, [Retaliation] was instantly activated. The undead in front of me crumbled within a second. Now that I saw it, the undead are not really that strong, how come the military hasn’t gone back up yet?
We continued at this pace, never letting an undead get past us to take a bite at our healer. You may think that she was just leeching XP of from us but Aria did help. When Andre was bit, she immediately cast her spell and he was fixed up in seconds.
The battle ended with no casualties. The drops were no all that great. A few potions, enough for a distribution of a potion a person and some skins and other body parts. They simply paled in comparison to [Necrosis Staff-1] and [Hidden Light+2]. XP was not that great too; sharing XP with five other people must have cut it down.
Nevertheless, we managed to accomplish our goal. Denise managed to find a message written in red paint, they said it was paint but I really think it is blood, behind one of the bunkers. It read ‘Aria, I’m going to the gymnasium, I hope you’ll go there if you have read this message.’
I was surprised at first, of course, who wouldn’t be? I mean, the clue is seating there painted in red(blood) waiting us to see it.
“We need to go to the gymnasium right now!”
Aria has gone a bit hysterical after reading that. Maybe telling her what we saw out of the blue might have not been the best decision.
“Listen Aria, the sun is already setting; we need to get back as soon as possible. Otherwise, you may not be able to see that guy anymore; you would be nothing but a corpse.”
Wow, I sounded nice there. I should do that often. Now she started to cry, what wrong did I say? Ah, it was about the corpse thing, wasn’t it?
“Hey Constantine,” I looked back to find David glancing around, “we should get moving is the girl alright already?”
“Aria,” it was Denise’s turn to cheer her up now, “I know what you feel, all of us do. We lost somebody important to us the moment this all started. Why don’t we get back to our base to be ready for tomorrow I’m sure we will head out as fast as possible tomorrow morning. Right guys?”
Hey, why are you staring at me? I should just go with the flow I guess.
“Hmm? Oh, yes, we will head out to the gymnasium tomorrow morning, as soon as we are all geared up.”
“Okay fine; as long as you guys promise.”
Those were Aria’s words after she recovered from her hysteria. We set foot back on our home. I checked my notifications once I’ve sat on my bed.
You have levelled up!
You have earned a title!
[Necromancy Prodigy]
Description: You have a talent for practicing necromantic arts.
Effects: Proficiencies regarding [Necromancy] increases faster than other skills.
You can’t learn any light magic.
[Necromancy] spells cost 25% less.
You can summon an additional undead per day.
It seems that I’m going to be necromancer from now on. The restriction is kind of a bummer, but well; at least I get to summon the undead. Which fits in right into this dungeon considering it’s full of the undead. This deserves a victory cheer.
“Oi, what the fuck are you doing?”
I turned back to see Andre staring at me as if I am an idiot.
“You do know that you look like an idiot doing your victory cheer by yourself, right?”
“This deserves a cheer, I assure you. Cause from now on, we’ve got a necromancer on our team.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Alistair’s calling you go to her room.”
You may be wondering what the rooms are, basically it’s just a square shaped space enclosed with a curtain. I told them that they could put that up if they wanted some sort of privacy.
“Alright, I’m coming right after you.”
Wonder what she’s calling me for. I thought of my soon to exploits as a necromancer of our team. By the way, I left the two undead that I summoned upstairs, they’ll stink if I bring them here.
“You called me Alistair?”
I peeked behind the curtain and asked Alistair. She looked surprised and quickly folded a picture she was holding.
“Are you reminiscing? I should just leave you alone for now, take your time.”
I said that as I tried to close the partition as silently as I could. She called out to me before I could even do so.
“No, no, no, it’s just that I’m really sad. Come in, come in, I have something to say to you.”
“Okay, well, what’s it all about?”
Alistair took a paper from her waist pocket, she spread it out and started to speak, “This is the map of the area we’ve been to, I tried to be as accurate as possible—“
“Wait, wait, since when have you started writing this?” I asked, curious about this map of hers.
“Well, I started doing this when I teamed up with David and Henry, I mean Carlos, and have been continuing it since then. I was just about to ask you to help me fill out the map and ask about what are the plans tomorrow.”
“Sure, if it’s just that I could help.”
An hour passed by as I described the whole school grounds as accurately as I could from my memory. From the vending machines to benches and even toilets; I’m rather surprised that Alistair could draw maps so well.
“That’s pretty much it, that’s all that I could remember.”
“Thank you, now what about the plan?”
I tried to formulate a plan to the best of my abilities. Thinking of where to start searching, how to do the searching, and what would be our contingency plans.
“Okay, the plan starts here,” I pointed to the [Safe Zone]’s location at the map, “we are here and the gymnasium is north from our direction. The distance is not that big but considering the dangers, it would be a pretty far location.”
I pointed again at several areas, the canteen, the auditorium, and the faculty all of which are placed before the gymnasium in the same direction.
“The canteen, auditorium, and the faculty are the most likely places where survivors would be. We don’t know much about the newly installed bunkers near the quadrangle, but it would not be in the direction of our first search.”
“Yeah, but what about if there are indeed people there? I mean, there are others that wouldn’t be able to fend for themselves, surely.” Alistair asked, she probably has her own plan about that already but we made a promise to Aria.
“Yeah, I know that not saving them is a bad idea, but we must consider that there may be more people in the spots I said, what’s more, the gymnasium is in that direction. We could either gamble with saving a few lives there or visit spots that are surely populated, I know it sounds harsh but we must be logical here.” I think I made a fair argument there since Alistair started to seem to be thinking about it.
“The general plan would be to thoroughly inspect each key buildings and loot all that we could, large things should be put in our [Inventory] and small ones like nails to our carried sacks. We’ll do this until we get to the gymnasium. Should there be survivors found, a pair from our team would guide them back to the base and give them necessary supplies until we get back.”
I wrapped up my plan with that. I really think it’s not a good one though, not bad but not just really good enough.
“That’s fine with me, it’s not as if I got any better plans, we better discuss this to our team, fortify the first floor, and retire for the day.”
We did just as Alistair said; we got the whole crew together and explained the whole plan. The most attentive one during the discussion was Aria followed up by David. After that, we fixed up the first floor.
We put up a removable barricade from the inside and boarded up the windows. The metals sheets were put up outside to reinforce the thin walls. Andre even rigged up a trap that was modified to be deadly from a previous prank that he did. It was designed to drop wooden stakes from the top of the door outside if someone forced to open the door. Effective against zombies and unsuspecting humans with ill intents.
Soon enough, the construction work was finished. Miraculously, there were no undead that showed during our loud construction. Allowing us to finish it faster than the goal time.
I went down the stairs, I stopped mid-stairs to stare at the [Safe Zone], and the place seems to be growing. Back then, it was about the size of a large classroom, but now, it was the size of four large classrooms, placed side by side, already. Some way or another, the [Safe Zone] was expanding at a noticeable rate.
As soon as everyone hit their own mattresses, all sounds ceased. The only sound left was the light breathing and the snore of Andre… It’s not that loud but it adds up to the fact that I can’t seem to sleep.
Although, it may be due to the effect of the [Safe Zone], the idea would instantly be shot down since everybody else seemed too able to sleep normally. Nor would it be about my increased [Vitality] since David is literally sleeping like a log with him being one of the largest people that I’ve encountered so far.
The most likely cause right now would be the [LOCKED] effects of my titles. As to what they actually affect directly, I don’t know. They might decrease my needed sleep time or increase my energy—
You have unlocked a [LOCKED] effect of your title.
[Sole Survivor]
Description: [HIDDEN]
Effects: Increases mana capacity by (INTx100).
Needed time to sleep has been decreased by 50% if inside a dungeon and 75% if outside one.
[LOCKED].
Umm, isn’t that a little bit too strong? How am I supposed to sleep now? In the first place, why didn’t it trigger when I was here the first day? Or is it just that I didn’t notice it since I’m stressed back then?
With nothing else to do, I tried to increase the proficiencies of my skills. I will exploit the increased regeneration effect of the [Safe Zone] and the effect of my title shortening my needed sleep.
The only thing that I could practice would be [Bulwark]. There is no one near me who is hostile so [Retaliation] is out. I’d rather not bring in dead bodies in here just to practice [Blood Debt] since it may disturb the others’ sleep. And [Feeding Frenzy] is pure waste of resources anyways.
I sat about in the corner, putting up the skill’s name in my mind.
‘[Bulwark].’
I could feel the drain in my mana; it felt as if my body was heavy even if I know that I’m physically fine. The drain in my stamina is something that I felt too. My energy to move started to just diminish.
Concentrating even more, I felt the flow of mana and my energy. It is noticeable that they are flowing into a single direction, but to which direction it is, I don’t know. That is the only feeling that I felt. No matter how hard I focus, I just can’t seem to get it how it works.
I was only able to sleep after midnight. I may need only half as much sleep as a normal person, but I still need to sleep for, let’s say, about 4 hours, give or take. Although I did manage to raise my [Bulwark] by two levels; it was still far from the next level which I assume would be labelled intermediate.
By the end of this day, I managed to raise my agility vitality and strength all by 1. Real fighting experience was also gained. Which I hope would help me survive tomorrow. Just after thinking of what good I have done for today, I followed the others to dreamland.
———————————————————————————————————————
We set out exactly after sun rise. The travel to our first destination is safer than normal, we only encountered a pack of undead (are they even called a pack?) numbering about a dozen. We immediately took them all down with ease and proceeded forward.
The canteen was even larger than our base. If our base is the size of 4 large classrooms, this one would the size of 5 or 6 of those. I felt sad seeing its condition. One of the normally lively place within our school, brimming with noise and other sounds, looks like this now.
There were military tents crumpled down and the benches placed inside are now outside some looking like a barricade, some just really scattered about. It seems that my decision was right. There are really people inside; I hope that they are still alive.
Alistair moved forward and said, “I’ll scout ahead to check if there are still people inside and if there are, let’s hope they’re friendly.”
“Okay, just be sure to prioritize you safety, run outside if you’re in danger.” The one to say this was David; he was with her the longest time in our group.
“Sure thing.” All that he got was that simple reply from her. She is speaking quite normally, even last night I could converse with her as if she is a normal person. Is it just the effect of the virus that she was spouting non-sense yesterday?
“Aahhh!” A scream echoed from inside, just half minute after Alistair entered.
“Oh shit! Let’s rush in!”
———————————————————————————————————————
Constantine’s Status
Name: Constantine (Remnant) Riposte
Class: Champion of Vengeance
Level: 10 (75/1000)
Stamina: 230/230
Health:160/160
Mana: 1500/1500
Titles Equipped: Remnant, Sole Survivor, Glitchbane, Mana Overloaded
STR:11
VIT:17
AGI:11
SPD:8
INT:10
WIS:9
CHR:2
LUK:9
STATPTS:50
MNAREG: 1/sec
HPREG: 0.0066/sec
STAREG: 0.066/sec
[Retaliation Beginner Lv.1 30.8%]
[Feeding Frenzy Beginner Lv.1 4.6%]
[Blood Debt Beginner Lv.1 10.0%]
[Bulwark Beginner Lv.2 76.8%]
[Book Comprehension Beginner Lv.6 78.7%]
None
Currency: 51 Silver 26 Copper