Daz suddenly sneezed while he gazed at the city of Waterford. "Is someone talking about me? Mmm, I doubt it. The only people that would ever talk about me that aren't in Fort Skip would be my girlfriend and sister... hmm, and maybe Adam, though he's probably dead."

Daz turned around and headed back into Fort Skip. He was busily asking the system question after question in his head as he tried to find the perfect higher tier SS-ranked skill to fit him.

He was aimlessly walking around the base as he was doing this, and he only stopped when someone called out his name.

"Big bro Daz!" a high-pitched and girly voice called out to him.

Pointing his head in the direction of the voice, he saw a young girl wearing boyish clothes running towards him. This little girl couldn't have been any older than nine, and she was happily smiling at Daz with her childish, yet familiar face.

'What the actual fuck? 'Big Bro Daz'? Who the hell are you? I don't recognise you from my Citizens!' Daz exclaimed in his mind, but he put on a peaceful expression and returned the girl's smile.

As soon as she had reached Daz, she bent over and placed her hands on her knees, just below her hotpants, making the girl's short blonde hair fall over her face. "Phew... I had to run a lot farther than I thought... that was kinda exhausting."

"I'm sorry for making you run so much just to find me," Daz said with an apologetic tone. "I don't recognise you. Who might you be, miss?" he then asked with a caring and worried tone.

"Eh? Miss?" the girl replied with a confused look on her face.

'No way... it couldn't be, right?' Daz had a stinking suspicion, and to satisfy it, he used Higher Identification on the 'girl'.

Jorden's Status Basic Information Name: Jorden Species: Human Age: 9 Sex: Male Class: Thief Affinity: Chaotic Good Description A young boy whose life had barely begun before the apocalypse started. His parents were killed on the first day of the apocalypse, and it greatly affected him. His Lord has set him on a path of revenge that may save him from losing his mind to the cruel reality of his new life. Energies Lifeforce: 1000/1000 Stamina: 1100/1100 Stats Dexterity: 70(84) Stealth: 100(120) Agility: 70(84) Loyalty: Slightly Low

"Like I thought..." Daz mumbled, causing Jorden to tilt his head in an adorable fashion. "You're Jorden?"

"Mmm. Did you not recognise me?" Jorden asked Daz curiously.

"Nope. I didn't. You look far different from what you looked like this morning. What happened? Did you change your appearance via the system?" Daz replied as he crossed his arms over his chest.

While he had noticed before that Jorden had a slightly girlish face, he had just attributed that to the fact that Jorden was still a nine-year-old boy, so it was natural for him to be somewhat more feminine having not gone through puberty.

Jorden shook his head and made an awkward expression. "Sarah said that I would look cuter like this, so she cut my hair, forced me to wash and gave me these clothes... do they look weird?" he asked with a worried look on his face.

"Nah, I was just surprised. You look completely different. Anyway, you needed me for something?" Daz replied nonchalantly.

He didn't really care that Sarah had made Jorden into a doll of sorts, so long as he knew who he was dealing with, he couldn't care less about how they looked.

"Yeah. I upgraded my stats a bit and I bought a new dagger," Jorden said as he pulled a ten-inch long knife out of his short-sleeved hoodie's pocket. Daz immediately identified it to see if it was special in any way, which it wasn't.

M-Tech Combat Knife [F-Rank (Lower Tier)] Description A simple knife created from stainless steel on the planet, Earth. Stats Durability: 15 Attack: 30 Skills N/A

Jorden tightly clutched the knife's handle with both of his hands while he stared at the ground. "I... I know it's not that good... but... I couldn't afford anything else with the points I got... I already got a few simple skills from fighting the training dummies... can... can I help you kill the monsters tomorrow?" Jorden pleaded as he gently raised his head and stared into Daz's eyes.

'This is a problem... I already rejected him once and he took it well, but if I continue to say 'no', he's bound to snap one day. Hmm, guess I'll just have to meet him halfway.' Daz got down on one knee and gently ruffled Jorden's hair.

"I can't let you fight in the attacks yet," Jorden's face fell when he heard this. "But I'm going to the Military base today, and I might need help. Would you like to come with me when I go?"

"I would! I would! I'd love to go!" Jorden nearly shouted out his acceptance. 'If I can show big bro how useful I can be, he might let me take part in the attacks!'

Daz smiled. "We're leaving in roughly an hour and thirty minutes, so go train some more and spend the rest of your points if you have any left. I'll need you to be on your best behaviour when we leave though, is that understood?" Daz asked with a firm and unyielding tone in his voice.

"Of course! Thank you, big bro! I'll do my best!" With that, Jorden ran off happily back to the training area.

Daz watched this girlish boy run along like the little kid that he was with an emotionless expression. "I wonder if he truly can be of help to me? Well, if anything else, the more loyal Citizens I have, the better."

Daz then went to find Crusher since he had a few things he needed to talk to her about, such as her possible evolutions and how to choose them.

It only took Daz ten minutes to find Crusher. Surprisingly, she was lying on her back in one of the ballistae towers with her eyes closed. 'Is she asleep? I should come back later if she's resting. No point disturbing her now.'

"Lord Daz?" Crusher called out to him. Apparently, she wasn't asleep at all. She opened her eyes and leaned her body up before looking at Daz. "Did you need me for something?"

Daz returned her gaze. "Mmm, I need to talk to you about a few things."