Lakeview Apartments, Forest Park, Clayton County, Georgia.Wednesday, October 16th, 2019. 06:10.

The girl woke up to the sound of an air-raid siren.

Startled, Sara rolled out of bed and crawled underneath in one swift motion, with the blankets still wrapped around her. Moments later, the now-familiar barking of automatic guns fought against the siren's klaxon for the most frightening sound of the year award. Armageddon was just an honorable mention right now. She was glad they waited until the worst days of her period ended before going all-out. Sara felt she couldn't deal with both hormones and a war on her doorstep at the same time.

Minutes passed, and the fighting kept going strong. Sara wondered if they would ever run out of bullets. Or if they were hitting anything.

"Only the Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise," she quoted under her breath.

She closed her eyes and focused. She tried to remember on which side of the building she slept. The wrong one, the front, facing Jonesboro Road. She doubted the flimsy wood-and-plaster walls would stop a bullet and started to crawl out of the apartment. As she reached the hallway, she felt rewarded for her effort in cleaning the dead people's fluids. She wouldn't have to crawl on filthy flooring. Oh, no. Shelve that. Ahead of her, the black stuff trail.

Shifting into a crouch, Sara walked like a duck all the way to the end of the corridor, entering the apartment on the opposite corner from the "Necropolis King Castle". She leaned against the wall by the front door, unwilling to risk being next to a window no matter on which side. Without anything else to do, she waited. Her mind raced unbiddenly and showed her all the horrifying ways she could end.

Time passed.

The gunfight outside stopped.

Sara sighed in relief.

Less than a minute later, it resumed.

Shaking, she decided to move forward with her plan. She needed to move out of Lakeview. Get away from the Necropolis King and whatever they were fighting for. It was not her fight. Her task was bigger than that. Or so she wanted to believe.

But she had too much stuff. What should she take with her, and what should she leave behind? Her most prized mementos notwithstanding, food was the most important thing. Then clothes, blankets, maybe medicine? She was overwhelmed.

Why was everyone fighting? For the resources left by the dead people? Did they know something she didn't? Sara spent a lot of time thinking. If the fairy was right, nobody was farming the farms, manufacturing products… nothing. Nothing was getting done, so the stuff out there wouldn't be replaced. Supplies were whatever you could grab, for how long it took to spoil. Then that was it.

Clothes, shoes, food. Her mind kept going back to that. Food. Nobody was making more food. And the food that already existed was slowly spoiling. And what about water? She had a few months of food but she would run out of water in a week or two. Without anywhere to refill it. She knew some rivers and Lake Stonecrest a few miles to the northeast where she had to go in a month… no, wait. It was a month a week ago. The silver lining was tarnished.

The gunfight stopped again.

She waited, but no shots were fired for a few minutes. Maybe they reached a truce, maybe someone killed the Necropolis King. But now she used this pause to visit the toilet. A lady during her special time of the month needed a lot of care. After she'd prevented a spill and freshened up, she checked on her skin and hair. It was as advertised. Her complexion never looked better than that. Her hair felt like she'd just left the beauty salon.

Back to business, Sara started packing her stuff. She took one carry-on case and carefully packed her most important items. Her cellphone, her mom's photo, Verachiel's feather, Joseph's Spiderman, and Rudy's nametag. Then her underwear, and her favorite clothes.

"Fairy, I can't take all the food with me. Can we use some of it to make you grow?"

She also needed to ask if the fairy had a name. Or give them one. Later. She wasn't in the right state of mind to do something as important as that. She cooked the three dozen eggs she found in the other building with some questionable meat that fortunately didn't smell bad after she grilled it and strips of bacon. She piled pickles, peanut butter, and jam on stale bread and then drank about two gallons of milk. Without food reaching her stomach, she never felt stuffed.

She ended breakfast only after she gained another two points of Core Strength. After that, she set about sorting what she would take with her and what she would leave behind to hopefully come back to pick up later.

With a notepad, she wrote symbols and labeled the bags with a rudimentary code so she would both know what was inside each one of them and prevent people from reading plain language. It wouldn't be hard to deduce but at least it gave her some peace of mind.

While she worked on the dozens of duffel bags and cases with stuff, the fighting resumed. The girl was slowly getting inured to the sound of gunfire. She spent the rest of the day sorting her loot, getting ready to depart at a moment's notice.

*

*

Lake City PD, Lake City, Clayton County, Georgia. Wednesday, October 16th, 2019. 21:40

The "resistance" fighters returned after another failed attempt to remove the madman who took control of Fort Gillem.

Dismayed and frankly tired from several days of fighting, most were ready to give up and leave Atlanta. The main idea was to migrate south, to Florida or Alabama. Some even dreamed of finding a deserted farm to take over. Food security was a major concern.

They argued, and some fights broke out but were quickly quelled by the others. Feeling the situation was untenable, one man spoke out.

"Hey, can everyone stop and listen to my idea?" Laying on a gurney, officer Jones croaked. His abdomen was wrapped in bloody bandages and even now a small trickle of blood seeped at the corner of the gurney. How he was still alive, nobody knew. Only the crystalline fairy living inside Sara had the answer; it was due to the infusion of mana and Qi inside everyone's body strengthening them. Unknown to everyone else, officer Jones had very good mana conductivity. All the people who woke up earlier had.

He would have to repeat his request a few times. Eventually, a man in his fifties, sporting a nice and well-trimmed gray beard and with the bearing of a military officer shouted and got everyone to "shut the fuck up," as he commanded.

"Let's hear what Jones has to say," the military man said once he had everyone's attention.

"Thank you, Hainsworth," Jones tried to chuckle but coughed instead. "Look, we end this tomorrow. We'll cross around to Forest Park, there's a SWAT armored truck parked there. We load it up with explosives and blow the terrorists with their beloved building. We know their boss doesn't leave the place for nothing. I'll drive the truck."

"There are civilians inside!" Someone protested.

"We know they keep most of their slaves in the fort, including the women," sporting a bloody stump where his right knee used to be, Keynes interjected from his wheelchair.

"A few civilian casualties are acceptable," Hainsworth said. When some survivors raised an objection, he added, "There's military ordnance in that base that can be used to wage a small war. We can't let him consolidate his gains. But are you sure about that, Jones?"

"I'm a dead man walking, sir. Minus the walking part. But I think I can drive a car for the last time. Give me this chance to get back at them."

"We're only doing that as a last resort," Hainsworth negotiated. "We'll use a remote-controlled vehicle first."

"Anyone against?" Keynes asked. "If this doesn't work, then you can go on your way. But leaving this terrorist group to their own designs means they'll expand and possibly come after you after they get stronger. The cavalry is not coming to relieve us, gentlemen and ladies."

That night, officer Jones was loaded in an ambulance and ferried to Forest Park, using side streets, cutting through backyards, and avoiding Jonesboro drive entirely. The survivors spent the whole night preparing for their next push.

*

*

Lakeview Apartments, Forest Park, Clayton County, Georgia. Thursday, October 17th, 2019. 05:10.

Sara grunted in pain as she woke up in the dark.

Last night, the fairy convinced her to speed up their schedule and do another round of "mana channel cleansing", her bones this time. It included bone marrow too, which would make it easier to cleanse her circulatory system later on. But rushing the schedule had its price. Her body hadn't yet recovered from her skin treatment, and it imposed a heavy toll on her system.

She couldn't even open her eyes as she sensed her eyelids were covered in the black goo. The price of the accelerated schedule was a pain worse than before. To add insult to injury, the "impurities" gunk covering her was thicker as well as coarse. She rolled off the blanket and crawled to the shower, leaving a trail of black stuff behind. She turned it on and clenched her teeth as the icy cold water struck her body, causing her pained muscles to cramp. The black sludge pooled around the drain, too thick to easily pass the grate. As the water flowed and diluted it, the condensed impurities finally vanished with a sucking noise. She still gasped when she saw small fragments of bone mixed with the stuff.

"This is too sick. How did these bone... where did they come... Just why?" She muttered.

Abby explained.

Sara imagined that four or five-dimensional people must look like monsters. But she had a lot of questions, "Won't it harm me?"

It still felt like a hoax to her. And she wouldn't test it by harming herself intentionally.

"What next?"

After her long bath, she locked yet another throwaway apartment and went upstairs for breakfast, normal portions of food this time. Sara sat by the kitchen table and ravaged some vacuum-sealed jerky. An extravagant meal as the jerky still had two months before its "best by" date. She thought it was a waste but at the same time, she deserved an appeasing treat.

Well-fed and still tired, she slouched on the couch, staring at the blank 50'' TV. Sara grabbed a small book and went back to reading it. "Ultimate Crossdressing Canadian Park Hobo System Cultivator", the cover read. The trashy satire story followed a guy that was caught by an apocalypse in the middle of a Canadian wildlife park. Just like hers, the System in the book came from another dimension but in the book, everyone had access to the System from the get-go. The story told about Qi and cultivation but she was interested in the survival and interpersonal relationship between survivors. The protagonist turned the park into a safe haven for survivors after defeating a massive mutated beast with luck, wits, and a lot of plot armor. Quite literally, as he found, right at the start, some questionable costume that definitely was not intended for bulky males with exactly that name. Not exactly. The scandalous item was called in the story, "Sexy Plot Armor."

Once she reached the major plot twist, Sara tossed the book at the wall. Stupid cringe-inducing political satire. It wasn't even… never mind. Sara knew she was cranky, she was still having her period, spent the whole day yesterday worrying about getting shot by a stray bullet, and the isolation was all gnawing at the edges of her sanity. She wanted to scream. To go outside and run, if only she wouldn't get new holes bored by piping hot lead. Stupid book raising her hopes. Yes, it was all the book's fault, she decided. Maybe she should burn it. That kind of stupidity shouldn't see the light of the day, much less be put on printed paper. Stupid self-publishing authors.

She should do the opposite of what the guy in the novel did.

She had no aspirations to become the leader of a survivor group. And the people in the book were way nicer than the few she met last two weeks, including the ghosts. Maybe it was just her luck and out there somewhere a group of people had already managed to get electricity, warm showers…

She whimpered and sobbed, then went to fetch the book. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be a Nazi bitch and burn books." She felt stupid because she was emotional and the tears were already forming. Why was she crying for that stupid book? She went back to the couch and read a bit more.

The girl stopped reading and closed the book. It gave her a lot of ideas on how to deal with a System Core. Sara took a deep breath and said, "Status." Nothing happened. "Damn you, fairy. Give me a Status Window!" Irritated, she demanded. "I know you can read my mind and I give you permission to do it just once. Give me a status window just like the one in this stupid book." She regretted her outburst almost immediately because a sharp headache made her drop the book again.

A large blue screen popped in her vision. It floated about two feet in front of her and moved along as she shook her head. It couldn't be touched, her arm went straight through it. A hallucination induced by the crystal inside her.

Name:

Sara

Species:

Human (+2 Skill Slots)

Skill Slots:

10 / 12

Magic Type:

Mage - Enhancer Grade V

Special trait:

See through the Veil (Able to see into the ethereal)

Special trait:

Personal Core (Treat Core Strength as levels in a main Class).

Main Class:

N/A

Secondary Class:

N/A

Development

System Core Strength

9

The System Core's Strength and magical capacity. At higher levels, it may offer you more benefits and greater powers. Also, reduces external energy requirements. You can have a maximum of 10 skill points per level of Core Strength and no Skill can have a rank greater than Core Strength.

Currently, the Core is using slightly more power than it can passively generate, including ambient mana absorption.

Mana Conductivity

35%

A measure of how clear the body's meridian system is. Mana conductivity impacts environmental energy absorption and channeling directly.

Increase the effect of all Skills by (Mana Conductivity)%

Cleansed body systems are (Mana Conductivity)% more effective and resilient: Digestive, skin, bones.

Mage - Enhancer Grade V

25%

Your mana channels are shaped to greatly enhance your body but aren't that good at projecting and controlling external and ambient mana.

(Multiply the effect of all Physical Skills and internal mana manipulation by [25+Mana Conductivity]%)

(Divide the effect of all External Mana Manipulation by 10).

(Cannot actively use Qi).

Skills: Physical (16)

Adroitness

6

The Skill of moving one's body with grace and precision. Increases speed, coordination and reflexes by 1% per rank.

Composure

3

Staying calm under pressure or pain. When under duress, reduces penalties to mental stability, logical reasoning, and self-control by 2% per rank.

Prowess

2

Making the most of one physique during stressful situations. Lower reflex delay, increases combat damage and physical power by 1% per rank.

Brawn

5

Muscular toughness and endurance. Reduces stamina consumption and damage taken, increases lifting and carrying capacity by 1% per rank.

Skills: Tool (4)

Handguns

2

The ability to correctly operate small firearms. Increase accuracy and reduce the chance of mishap by 2% per rank.

Lockpicking

2

Proficiency with lock picks and related tools. Increase dexterity when tampering with locks by 2% per rank.

Skills: Social(6)

Flattery

2

Making graceful compliments and answering them appropriately. Increases reactions during and after intimate interactions by 2% per rank

Presence

4

Motivating people with the power of your personality. Increases reactions during and after social interactions by 2% per rank,

Total Skill Points: 26 / 90

She felt excitement at seeing some progress, though she didn't feel any different.

The crystal inside her replied to her thoughts.

"I think we talked about not reading my thoughts," Sara frowned.

The Celestial fairy smugly declared.

"Okay," she relented without much trust that the alien creature inside her wasn't turning her into a puppet.

Alien creature... Damn.

Sara knew what she had to do next. The fairy needed a name. It was a crystal, so ordinary fairy names were out. It had no gender either. That was a tall order. She remembered one crystalline critter, the summon "Carbuncle" from the Final Fantasy games. The same legend led to the Pokemon Carbink. Carbuncle was a nice name, but too lengthy. Carby? No, that name was too fat. Cabby? Not a taxi. Car-uncle… Nope. She settled for "Abby". Easy on the tongue, and the origin made sense, for her.

"System fairy, you are now named Abby," Sara declared.

the fairy's androgynous voice sounded servile.

That wasn't what she wanted either. "I do not want a master-servant relationship. It feels odd, and sort of like slavery? Definitely not. I'd rather we be partners. Friends, even."

She smiled, "Yes. Please. So, Abby… do you accept the name? Is Abby okay? Do you even have a gender?"

Abby said and then spoke in a very sultry and feminine voice,

Sara cringed as some hairs on her back stood up. Too much. "Less adult, please."

This time, the voice was softer and without many overtones or harmonics, closer to a teenager who trained for public speaking. Or some very expensive voice actress. It was very pleasant to hear and felt comforting and familiar for some reason.

Sara sighed in relief. "Yes, thanks! Abby, it is then. Pleased to meet you, Abby."

Abby replied.

"Let's start over from the beginning again, shall we?" Sara said, excited for finally having someone sounding like a human being to talk to. "So, are you a fairy or a System Core?"

"That's the big golden meteor that was tethered to Verachiel and vanished into thin air, right? The one I'm supposed to wake up after Halloween. What happened to it?"

The fairy replied nonchalantly.

Sara almost jumped to her feet, "What? Run that by me again?"

"Why do that, then?"

She let Abby win this one. Sara was aware she could probably force the answer out of the fairy. That wasn't the kind of relationship she wanted going forward. She changed subjects.

"You mentioned something regarding mana and Qi. Is this 'Qi' you mentioned the same thing from this novel?"

"What about mana?"

"Can I become a cultivator if I learn martial arts?" She asked, proving that she wasn't fully following the fairy's explanation.

"And you are also managing my food intake," she pointed out.

That touched on a sensitive subject for her. "How long until I can stop eating for ten people?"

Sara remembered another pressing question she had. "You warned me of the cops way before they reached this building. How did you detect them?"

"Can you do it again?"

"What's the range of this detection?"

Great, another ghost. "Can you sense the Necropolis King?"

"Did you sense the two cops leaving?"

"If they come close to me again, will you identify them? Do they have any specific magical signature?"

A weight lifted from her chest. The conversation sated her need for interaction, and brushed on some topics she failed to understand before. Satisfied she'd befriended the crystal fairy living inside her, Sara prepared for another day of hard work.

*

*

Rudy's Apartment Building, Forest Park, Clayton County, Georgia. Thursday, October 17th, 2019. 10:30.

Sara entered the apartment and tried not to yelp in surprise as she saw the woman wearing gym clothes sitting on the couch. Tried being the keyword. Sara fumbled and dropped the manager's keyring.

"Good afternoon," the girl tittered.

"Oh, welcome, Sara!" The woman, definitely a ghost, smiled. "I'm watching 'Survivor', please have a seat."

Sara knew the TV was off but she knew better than to argue with the ghosts. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss..."

"Mrs. Nolan. Michelle Nolan, personal trainer," the woman offered but kept her eyes peeled on the powerless TV set. "I was waiting for you, Sara. Please, don't be a stranger, take a seat. They're at the tribal council, voting to eliminate a contestant now."

Sara sat next to the woman, smelling a strong odor of sweat coming from her. It was a bit disgusting, about what one would expect a gym to smell after a month without cleaning. Michelle's eyes were Asian, but her jaw was definitely Mediterranean. She had a prosthetic hand. Sara must've stared too long because Michelle noticed.

"Oh, this? I lost my hand fighting a train." Sara decided the explanation was enough for her. No, she wasn't going to delve into the ghost's rabbit hole of madness. Maybe her sin was compulsive lying. Or something related to the missing hand. Aside from that and the stench of a stale gym, she looked normal.

"Who are you rooting for?" The girl asked to change the subject. The TV remained dead.

"The Sparrow Tribe. The showrunners clearly decided to make one of the tribes the underdog this season. It's so infuriating!"

"I feel sorry for the other guys," Sara chuckled. "Because they're obviously being set up. The producers would never let the underdogs lose."

Michelle looked askew at her, then grinned. "I know, right? That's what I thought too! And that's what makes me mad; the first eliminations aren't surprising anyone. Look, the way they're focusing between the redhead and the glasses guy? The glasses guy will be the one to go, he'll be put against the redhead." Sara didn't understand, and Michelle explained, "The elimination this season is different. They pick the two most voted castaways, then give them a challenge, pitting one against the other."

"Oh. I'd be glad if you explained it to me. I seldom watch that show."

"Sure, sure. They're casting the votes now... See? I told you. They are putting the nerdy guy against the redhead. I tell you, reality TV should be spontaneous. They're killing it," Michelle lamented.

"What's their challenge?"

The personal trainer grunted, "Tug-of-war on the beach. Unbelievable!" Michelle leaned forward and didn't speak for a few minutes. "There, she lost. What, what?"

Tense moments followed, but at the end, the woman's ghost jumped up and hooted. "Take that, you idiot! Hooo! Hooo! Travis played an immunity idol on the girl! Oh, dammit."

"What's the matter?"

"The immunity idols this season, when played on someone else's behalf, turn the rescued castaway into a servant for the week. Oh, what envy!" she hissed. "The girl will be with Travis the whole week! Fulfilling - every - one - of his desires," she bemoaned with a velvety tone.

"No wonder they set her up to fail like that, to spend a week with such a hunk," Sara quipped.

"Right?" Well, it's over. Thank you for watching it with me, darling."

Sara half-expected the ghost to vanish right then. Michelle didn't, though.

"Michelle, what is your last wish?"

The personal trainer let a peal of... cackles out. Sara worried she would turn into a wraith like the others, but the woman finished her burst of mirth. "I want you to trash the bus stop on Courtney Drive. That hideous aluminum-and-glass thing."

The girl snorted in surprise and raised an eyebrow, "seriously?"

"Yes. I hate bus stops. I would love to see all of them gone, but just one is fine. My son has a baseball bat and a kendo helmet in his room."

Sara didn't question. A last wish was a last wish, and she just wanted to be done with it. She collected the items and walked outside wearing the kendo 'men' helmet and 'kote' gloves over a thick sweatshirt. She left through the rear gate and walked a hundred feet north to the bus stop with the ghost trailing behind. With the baseball bat in her hand, she aimed and started smashing the tempered glass panes of the bus stop while Michelle hooted behind her. "Yeah, show them who's the boss, girl!"

She broke the roof, the rain shield panels, and the advertisement billboard. The structure, made of steel instead of aluminum as advertised, remained intact. Sara removed the smelly helmet from her head and grinned back at Michelle. "It's done, ma'am!"

"Thank you, Sara. And remember to do your calisthenics every morning, as we discussed!"

When did they discuss calisthenics?

Michelle faded.

> Assignment Complete!

> You gained 2 points of Adroitness

> You gained 1 point of Brawn

She discarded the smelly kendo gear on the pile of broken tempered glass. "Whimsical undead," she mumbled as she walked back to the building.

*

*

Jonesboro Drive, Forest Park, Clayton County, Georgia. Thursday, October 17th, 2019. 14:55.

Sara was packing stuff in Rudy's apartment building when she heard the gunfight restart outside. Sara rushed up the stairs and kept climbing, holding her breath to avoid the stench of dead people. She was out of breath when she reached a high floor and entered a corner apartment.

She wouldn't go to a window facing the main street yet. Instead, she went for one near the side alley and looked. She heard police sirens and a lot of gunfire. This time, the visitor team was attacking from the north and they would come right past the five-over-one apartment buildings. It also meant the Necropolis King would be firing this way too.

Speaking of the devil, the characteristic staccato sound of the Necropolis King military automatic guns sang their greeting. She saw a police car speed down Jonesboro in the direction of the automatic gun, sparks flying from the thick metal plates welded into the car like a famous 80's TV show as the bullets rained on it. Mesmerized, she shifted to the main street window and thought she saw no driver but moments later the car suddenly veered off and exploded, shooting tongues of fire out of every opening. She was sure the blast started from the cabin, which made no sense. Sara pieced her clues together and decided the cruiser was remote-controlled and probably rigged to explode.

The burning car kept moving for about fifty yards before it veered to the side and crashed down into a rainwater gutter next to Fort Gillem's fence. It almost reached the high rise the Necropolis King turned into his castle.

"YOU DARE ATTACK MY KINGDOM?" The Necropolis King's voice rang with unnatural strength and clarity.

It didn't sound mechanical or had any static this time. Sara wondered if he upgraded to a sound system. Which meant the psychopath had electricity! Damn...

From the other end of the street, Sara heard a loud pneumatic pop and a hissing like fireworks from up close. She saw something fly past her window, trailing smoke. it went out of her field of view and moments later a massive explosion rocked the whole neighborhood. The Necropolis King's gun sang in vengeance. The missile, bazooka, or RPG (Sara wasn't too keen on military weaponry) the attackers fired had either missed or caused little damage. In retaliation for the explosive projectile, more automatic guns were fired along with the main one. Erratic shots ripped chunks of asphalt from the road.

The girl found herself stuck to the window. Curiosity battled with both fear and common sense.

With its sirens blaring, another police vehicle raced down the street, in a straight line. This time, it was a black SWAT armored truck. She couldn't see if this one had a driver or not, but she expected it to be remote-controlled as well. The bullets ricocheted against the heavily armored car and did little to stop it from going straight ahead. It was about to run into a parked car when it changed to the left lane, then changed back into the middle of the street. Maybe it had a driver. It made sense to hide from the bullets and the driver's seat was too conspicuous.

"YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME!" The Necropolis King shouted as his guns chewed ammunition too fast for Sara. How vast was his armory to fire so many shots? She was sure it was hundreds upon thousands.

Mesmerized, Sara watched the SWAT car speed down the road, coming from the north. This one's armor was built-in and not some shoddy welding work. Most shots ricocheted away.

Right after it passed in front of her building, Abby chimed in,

"No way," she gawked as her heart rate soared. Was that a suicide run?

She bit her lower lip and found it impossible to take her eyes off the SWAT truck. It was clear to her. They attempted an unmanned bomb car first to see if it worked, then went along with this sacrifice.

Proof it had a driver, the van dodged both debris and car wreckage as it sped down Jonesboro. Sara found herself glued to the window, her heart racing in her chest. Was the cop really going to commit suicide to take out the Necropolis King? She moved to the corner window to see as the armored van rammed into a barricade of cars at the end of the street before the office building. Like a raging bull, it kept pushing. The screeching tires raised a smoke curtain as the van pushed its way past the barricade, causing the cars to slowly spin and move aside...

"SHOOT IT DOWN!" The Necropolis King shouted. His voice sounded desperate. The guns were firing almost straight down now. "Throw grenades!"

Sara saw puffs of smoke and sparks from the car barricade, shattering the vehicles' windows. No explosions like the ones she expected. Maybe the grenades were duds.

The barricade let a metallic groan and broke apart as the armored van pushed through. The SWAT vehicle broke free, screeched its tires, gained speed, and went out of Sara's field of view. It probably ran into the lobby of the office building. The automatic guns stopped firing.

Sara was frozen in dread. She could barely breathe.

A brief moment of silence ensued, broken only by the cracking of the nearby burning police cruiser in the gutter next to Fort Gillem. Then a massive explosion shattered most windows along the street, the one next to Sara included. The shockwave rocked her and she tumbled inside the apartment. She felt the burning sting of a dozen shallow cuts on her face and arms as she was ragdolled on the floor. Unable and unwilling to open her eyes, she felt the heatwave and heard a mighty rumbling noise that went on for too long. Stunned from the shockwave, Sara could only dread as she imagined the mid0-rise office building toppling and falling all over the street, including where she was. Instead, she was greeted with a cloud of dust that invaded the apartment through the broken windows.

She might have heard cheers drowned by the rumbling collapse but it was probably the panic and her imagination playing tricks in her mind. Lying on the floor among myriad pieces of broken glass, Sara didn't dare to move. A thick dust cloud drowned the sunlight and made her cough. Sara cried. She felt like her life was about to end. Surely the building would cause a domino effect and destroy everything around.

The wind quickly cleared the dust cloud and sunlight returned. Sara could feel the blood from her cuts seeping into her mouth. With trembling and feeble arms, she tried to prop herself up. She felt some cold run up her arms and limbs, stinging her skin. As if her body was soaking up something...

Abby reported.

> You gained 5 points in Rapid Healing.

> Rapid Healing (Physical Skill): Accelerates and optimizes body recovery. Each rank increases the healing rate from wounds and diseases as well as reduces the odds of permanent damage, including scars, by 2%.

Sara was in too much pain to think that ten percent was too little. Or how much energy was wasted since her mana channels were mostly clogged? Nor did she have the mind to joke about becoming Wolverine's daughter. Sara just stayed down until she felt like pulling the glass shards out of her face and arms. She noticed she wasn't bleeding anymore. The blood she bled clotted on the debris-ridden floor.

How long was she there? Did she fall unconscious? Her whole body hurt. She still couldn't see shit. Sara carefully reached and pulled glass shards out of her face and arms. Only when she felt no more shards in her wounds did she summon the strength to stand up. She dreaded looking at herself in the mirror. The girl feared her face was ruined. The pain was receding at a quick pace, though. She moved her limbs to check for anything broken but it seemed that everything was fine.

Standing up near the corner between the two broken windows, she stole a glance at the street. Everything was covered in dust. She heard cars approaching and soon a small fleet of five cars, three of them marked as police vehicles crossed in front of the building in the direction of the crashed skyscraper. A few people held their guns out the windows, waving rifles in celebration.

Stupid survivors. Maybe humanity deserved to become extinct.

Sara needed to tend her wounds, magical healing or not. She also decided to put her evacuation plans on speed dial.