I was lacking something vital right now, and that was information. I didn’t know how the other countries were faring-hell I didn’t know the situation outside of this town. That was why I needed to go for a little “walk” around town today after I’d taken a rest at home. The first step was heading towards the hospital, the largest collection of weaker people. Meaning, it was also the largest target for monsters.

When I arrived there, I was met with more destruction. Half of the building was gone, but I decided to use Pyro particles all the same. You never know, someone could be hidden under all that rubble, desperate to be saved. Yet, even with the hope I held, there still wasn’t anyone. All I could spot were monsters, not just goblins but kobolds and giant rats. I wasn’t in the mood to fight right now, I had more important things to do….

The next move of action would be collecting supplies, I needed to secure some food and water for my family .... Come to think of it, I could probably scout for some medical supplies in here for later use. Thank god for the inventory….

****

After collecting a few supplies such as bandages, alcohol, sutures and the like, it was time to head to the nearest supermarkets. Between the hospital and school there were about three to four markets. I decided to take this route even though it would take longer to get home because there might be some stray survivors around like the man I’d spotted yesterday. I kept emitting Pyro and Aer particles within a 1 mile radius to detect any humans in trouble. I found two people on my way there getting harassed by kobolds and giant rats so I decided to help out and get some free experience while I’m at it.

[2 Kobold Soldiers Eliminated]

[1 Giant Rat Eliminated]

Once I got to the supermarkets I started mindlessly tossing everything into my inventory to make sure that none of it would spoil or go to waste. By the end of the excursion I’d gotten enough food for my family to last us about a year, which would be more than enough time to get things on track. All that was left was checking in on mom and Ella……and finding Matthew.

I’d heard from my mom how much Matthew had tried to help her, and how he’d stopped showing up all of a sudden after saying something about “family troubles.” Knowing his tenacity, he was most likely alive, but as for how much longer? I had absolutely no clue. Until I had any clues about his whereabouts, it would be best to head home for now.

****

I arrived home only to be met with the weirdest scene…..a random girl was bowing in front of mom and Ella. I was too far away to hear what she was saying, but it didn’t seem to be anything negative judging by their expressions. I walked quietly up to them so as not startle anyone, but I also used Analysis just in case:

[Analysis Activated]

{Mia Lv 16

Title: The Mad Killer

Job: Demonic Pugilist

Strength: 20

Stamina: 23

Agility: 25

Endurance: 16

}

My eyes narrowed but then returned to normal as the girl turned to face me. She eyed me suspiciously until mom spoke up.

“James, you're home! Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Yup, all’s good over here” I replied, “but who’s that girl over there?”

“Oh! I nearly forgot. James, this girl is called Kara, she had passed by and beaten down some monsters that were closeby. As a thank you we decided to give her some food and water from our storage and then she started tearing up ....”

My suspicions were raised when mom gave me a name different from what appeared through analysis, and my instincts were warning me that she was hiding much more than I’d just found. However, my suspicions had to be pushed back because she’d come up from the ground and faced me. I got a good look at her figure then. She had a light tan, with reddish brown hair. Her face was decorated with a narrow nose, thin lips, and hazel eyes.

“Hello, my name is Kara. Your family was very kind to me and I would like to repay this debt.”

“That’s great! Why don’t you follow me to do some scouting? Mom, Ella, I’ll head out for about an hour and then I’ll be back. Oh, and here are some supplies.”

I dropped off crates of food and water and had this girl follow me on this “scouting” mission. We walked towards my school, then decided to head towards the closest park. Meanwhile she was very quiet, but thanks to the new mana-filled atmosphere I could sense a subtle killing intent behind me. I pretended not to notice and decided to make some light conversation.

“So….Kara….how long have you lived here?”

“...I’ve been here since I was a toddler, me and my family moved here a long time ago ”

“That’s cool, so where are your parents now?”

“......”

“Oh I see, my bad for asking. Well it’s good to meet you Mia-”

CLANG

Two blades clashed at super speeds. One being my fancy slicer while the other was an assassin’s short sword. I guess that was too much of a provocation? Well, it doesn’t matter anyways, it was time for the real conversation to begin. Mia’s eyes flashed in surprise before returning to a lazy squint.

“...How do you know that name?”

“Every man should have their secrets, don't you think?” I said with a playful smile.

“Girls should have their privacy too, don’t you think, ” she replied, as if spitting venom. I felt slightly embarrassed but decided not to show it. If I showed any openings I would be in trouble, I hadn’t had much experience fighting other humans after all. We eyed each other, looking for any openings to take advantage of, granted I was much sloppier than her. However, my stats were much higher so I could rely on those. She didn’t seem like she was going to speak now anyway, so I decided to just end this fight.

I formed a barrier silently around me, although it was much weaker when chantless, it did give me more time to cast other spells. I think she realized something was up….but it was too late.

“Constrict and compress, bind and oppress. Binding Chains!”

I learned this spell near the last pages of the beginner’s section of that tome of sorcery. Chains formed from the earth and grabbed onto her feet and arms, immobilising her. I walked towards her, only to pause in between my steps…

My psyche was fine when watching monsters flee in terror, yet for some reason, watching a girl in her late teens look towards me in horror made me feel bad….

I didn’t care if it was called hypocrisy, but I decided to release her. Before that, I gave a light warning so that she wouldn’t run away.

“I’m going to release you now, but don’t make any sudden moves. As you’ve seen, I can stop whatever you throw at me. ”

I released the chains and let her get up. She gave me a hateful look, but then she sighed while shifting her expression. After giving me one last suspicious look, it seemed like she’d given up and decided to cooperate. Right then I heard the system sound out with an odd message:

[■■■ (Rank F) unlocked, first skill unleashed]

{■■■ (Rank F): Truth}

As that message sounded out the girl, Mia, decided to talk too.

“Alright Alright you can calm down. Yes my name is Mia. Did you expect me to tell a group of strangers my real name without any caution?”

[Target is truthful]

“Why did you approach my mom and sister?”

“I happened to be nearby and saw some monsters so I decided to help y’know?”

[Target has lied]

I gave her a quick glare when I heard that message and she answered with a light cough.

“...okay…to be honest I was going around looting homes for supplies. At the time I saw your little family's house and decided to head there. I found some goblins on the way and got into a scuffle and it seemed like your mom saw that and decided to thank me for ‘protecting’ them, so I decided to play along and maybe get more supplies. That’s when you showed up to rain on my parade.”

[Target is truthful]

My eyes softened at her explanation, but I was still annoyed that she tried to take advantage of mom’s kindness. Either way, I had one last question that was gonna kill me with curiosity….

“Your powers….how did you get them?”

Her eyes widened in surprise, but then squinted in suspicion.

“Tsk, so that didn’t escape you either huh? Well I don’t think I’ll answer that.” she said while doing a “cutsie” pose. Honestly now wasn’t the time for games so I decided to speed things up.

BOOM

I fired a fireball beside her, but just far away to not cause any damage. Her face displayed clear shock, but was then graced with a fed up expression.

“Che…well, I’m assuming that you gained them the same way. A few days after the Calamity struck, I started feeling more powerful for some reason. Then, suddenly, my fists could emit different things like fire and darkness, just like those video game characters y’know?”

[Target is Truthful]

I could barely hide my surprise….what she just said meant that others like her….they could be out there. That was both a good and bad thing. On one hand, humanity had a fighting chance, but on the other, people with cruel intentions could also gain these powers….

Well….now wasn’t the time to think about it…yet. More importantly:

“What are you going to do now?”

She gave me an inquisitive look, then started to think. After a few moments, her face brightened up and she put a fist to her hand, as if she'd gained a bright idea.

“Hey! Why don’t I hang out with you?”

Those words were just what I wanted to hear. The first phase of surviving through this apocalypse was about to begin.