"What now?" Hans said.

The three of them sat on the beach, staring off the night sea with the dimming pyre crackling behind to trace the silhouettes of their faces.

"I don't know." Jan dropped to the sand, letting out a groan. "Do we even have anywhere to go?"

Their faces looked worried. Of course they were. Only Mateo had the magic to fight off Walkers, and without him, the two would hardly get by, let alone fight the monsters back.

He needed to be with them.

This time, he wouldn't make the same mistake again. Not after what happened to Ana. This time, he has the power to change that.

"I think I know where." Mateo said, earning the gazes of the two. "It's a stupid plan, but what if–what if, we go to the tower?"

"That tower?" Hans pointed to the sky. Tracing his finger, it led to the giant white tower piercing the clouds.

"Yup." Mateo said. He then began to tell of uncle Pedro's story of meeting weird-looking people. The ones that helped him, and the ones that told him to climb that tower.

After Mateo was done saying his piece, the two pondered on the idea for a while. Jan looked more or less aboard, though Hans was leaning more to not.

"Are you sure they're the real deal?" Hans said. "Not to discredit you nor uncle Pedro, but what if they were just cosplayers rolling around town?"

"Come on, we don't even have conventions around here."

"I know but–you seriously think what you said is more realistic?"

Hans got a point. It was pretty hard to trust the words of a friend which was taken from the words of that friend's friend, especially if their lives were hanging on those words alone.

Mateo couldn't believe it himself. It was easier to think that the things in fantasy should just stay in fantasy. But if he denied this changing world of theirs, they'd really get left behind. "Like I said, it's a stupid plan. But do we really have any other leads?"

"We could try and find some surviving communities out there." Hans said. "I think it's better that way than heading for that tower. That thing gives me chills just looking at it."

That was a possible alternative. Find others who're in the same situation as they were and get their help, maybe build a community around the idea of working together to survive in this hellish landscape.

But like all things, it wasn't going to be that easy.

They first need to track down other survivors, which is hard in and of itself. There was no signal and electricity, so they'd find it hard to communicate with the other survivors around. Even if they did meet other groups, was it going to be so easy to enter their already established communities? The more people, the more mouths there were to feed.

Maybe they'd even end up fighting against other groups for resources. Now that no law could hold someone accountable for their own actions, things are undoubtedly going to get messy.

"What do you think Jan?" Mateo prodded an elbow to her.

"Let's go to the tower." She said, pushing herself off the sand to sit upright. "I think uncle Pedro had a good reason to share what he saw that day. I mean, he'd never been the type of person to strike up a pointless convo, so he knew what he said to Mateo would prove useful."

The pyre behind crackled, earning the look of the three.

"That settles it, then." Hans sighed, turning to a stand. "I still have my reserves, but I trust you guys."

He then pointed to the pyre. "By the way bud, you sure that huge ass fire won't attract any of those zombies here?"

"I'm sure. Aside from the neighborhood we came from, we're surrounded by the wilderness. Uncle Pedro and I already finished off the Walkers in that area."

Mateo then flashbacked to when he first got in a wild goose chase with the Walkers outside Hans' shop. "And from what I know they don't wander far from their own territories–unless you provoke them to a chase."

"I'm still not convinced." Jan said.

Mateo stood up to stretch before dousing his arms in fire. "By the off chance they come, then I'll handle it. I've got this magic thing going on, you know?"

"Showoff." Jan elbowed him. "You think your hot shit now that you have this 'magic thing going on?'"

"Damn I wish I could do that, too." Hans said, imitating the moves of throwing dodgeballs. "Blazing fireballs to injustice like bam."

"You can."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah… well, no. Not now. We need a magic shard, a Fractal, and a Magic Node to make things work and–"

Mateo eyed the pyre before turning back. "By the way–Hans–when you found uncle Pedro, did you see a small snake with him?"

"Nope."

"Well, did you see a white orb floating above his body?"

"Not an orb, but I did find something else." Hans said before rummaging through his pockets. He showed off a black bead, swirling with energy inside as if a hundred small snakes were slithering inside the bead. He also showed off another thing, this time a purple glowing shard.

Mateo's eyes widened. Snapping his fingers, he summoned his Magic Node to survey the items.

1 Snake Elder's Fractal (Sealed)

1 Summoner Magic Shard

This was uncle Pedro's.

This confirmed it. Along with the Walkers, people do drop loot when they die, though there was an off chance that some loot wouldn't drop at all like uncle Pedro's Magic Node.

Mateo could absorb both the Fractal and the magic shard. He still had two empty Fractal slots, and having a summoned familiar seemed pretty useful for fighting.

His gaze then turned to Jan.

"Jan, can you summon your Magic Node?"

"That white orb thing? Yeah, sure." She snapped her fingers, materializing a Magic Node beside her.

"Say 'status.'"

"Status."

Status

Name: Jane Rivera

Race: Human

Rank: Unranked

Strength: G-

Dexterity: G+

Constitution: G-

Mind: G

Soul: G-

Fractals: None (0/1)

Magic: None (0/10)

Relics: Magic Node

Jan had an empty Fractal slot, though she only had one slot instead of Mateo's three. Maybe this was because Mateo had passed out for a total of three whole days, while Jan was only out for one, though Mateo couldn't say for sure.

If Mateo absorbs this Snake Elder's Fractal and magic shard, he'd grow stronger than ever. Stronger that he could confidently protect Jan and Hans.

But this probably wasn't the best course of action. If Jan would choose between being protected by others versus being able to protect herself, she'd sure to choose the latter. No one wants to be a burden, especially if that someone happened to be Jan.

Mateo's eyes then meet with hers.

"You want some magic?"

"Hell yeah?"

"Good to hear. Hans, give her the stuff."

Hans dropped Jan the Fractal and the magic shard. As soon as he did, Jan's Magic Node darted, zigzagging in front of her and leaving trails of texts in the air.

Fractal detected. You have one available Fractal slot. Would you like to absorb the Snake Elder's Fractal?

Jan turned to Mateo, with him nodding to agree.

"Yup." The bead in her palm cracked open like an egg to reveal a black wisp. The wisp lay suspended midair before it then dashed straight into her chest, dissolving into her body.

She let out a slight moan.

Mateo turned. "You okay?"

"Sorry." Her face brightened to a tomato. "It was just… well, it kinda felt good."

Magic shard detected. You have ten available magic slots. Would you like to absorb Summoner Magic Shard?

"Yup."

The shard in her hand vanished to white light.

You have absorbed a Summoner Magic Shard. Acquired the skill: Ouroboros

Ouroboros

Summon a snakeling familiar that can fight. Has the ability Poison Cloud. High cooldown. High manacost.

Familiar abilities:

Poison Cloud - The familiar spits toxic clouds from its fangs. It has mild venom and is capable of blinding enemies temporarily.

(Upgrade ability to unlock more familiar abilities)

Ouroboros. Mateo knew this summoning magic. Uncle Pedro's exact magic ability that summoned Marie.

"Well?" Mateo said.

"Well, what?"

"Can you hear the, uhh, whispers?'

"Yeah." She closed her eyes. "It's kind of unnerving, to say the least."

She then raised her hand, with black streaks of mana seeping out of her fingertips to form a mist cloud in front. The cloud then dissipated, revealing a small snake with red eyes weaving through the air.

"Marie?" Mateo said, drawing a hand close to the snake.

The snake then hissed, weaving fast through the air to perch on top of Jan's head. It then spat a small cloud of smoke to Mateo's face, though it didn't sting his eyes.

"Yup, that's Marie." Mateo felt a grin drawn over his face. He then leaned over, rubbing the snake's head with a finger. Surprisingly Marie let him do it the second time.

"Sorry I couldn't be there for uncle Pedro."

"Woah." Hans said, his eyes wide staring at the little snake. "That's, like, totally awesome isn't it? Man, I feel left out now."

Mateo's gaze wandered to Hans' foot. He tried to hide it, but he was always limping every time he moved. It was hard to imagine what he was going through and the pain he was enduring.

"Don't worry. We'll find you a Magic Node soon enough."

"Thanks."