Rahul heard my words and shook his head with a bitter smile.
"How can it be that easy. Do you really think that it's easy to kill an Abnormal. Did you forget how you almost died while trying to kill that female Abnormal."
His words broke my fantasy and brought me back to reality.
'That's right. I am not capable of killing even a single Abnormal. How can it be easy to kill 10 Abnormals.'
'But still. This is better than nothing' I thought and shook my head.
'This Crystal is a way for us humans to rapidly gain strength. Plus, killing a Abnormal doesn't necessarily mean going head to head against them.'
'One could use various means to kill them. Hit them with a car. Blow them with some explosives. Burn them with molotov. Set them up with a trap.' I could come with a lot of ways to kill those Abnormals given enough time.
"What are you thinking?" Rahul asked with an amused expression.
"I'm thinking of ways to kill these Abnormals." I said with excitement which provoked a laugh from him.
"I see." He smiled. "But let's distribute these crystals before we do anything else."
"Distribute them?" I asked in confusion.
"Yes. We are a team so it's important that we distribute the rewards equally."
"No." I denied at once without even thinking.
I knew that he was giving me the crystals only because I was his brother and not because we're a team or something.
'Even without my presence, he could have killed those Abnormals just as easily.'
'If I took those precious crystals for free then I would be truly ashamed of myself. So I shook my head decisively without a second thought.'
'Moreover, he was much better at fighting than me. If he eats those crystals, the the fighting power of our family will increase significantly. But if I eat them, then the situation won't change that much.'
So even though I coveted those crystals and kept them in high regard, I decided that I would not eat them no matter what he said.
"Why?" He asked with surprise. "Aren't we a team."
"We are. But didn't contribute anything this time. I cannot take the reward without contributing anything."
"Is that so." He said with surprise. "I didn't knew you had such a side as well."
"What do you mean?" I asked gravely. 'Are you cursing me indirectly or something.'
"Nothing." He smiled. "If that's your decision then I won't push you."
"Alright then. Let me tell you how these crystals work." He said and started explaining.
"As I said earlier. There are 5 types of crystals. Those are Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and Black crystals which increase your Strength, Agility, Endurance, Perception and Mana respectively."
"Right now we have Red, Blue and Yellow colored crystals. Eating them will increase my Strength, Agility and Perception by 0.1 each." After saying that he put the three crystals in his mouth and gulped them down with some water.
I kept looking at his body. Will his muscles increase. Will he become taller. Will his eyes start glowing.
After waiting for a while, nothing happened.
"Did it work?" I asked.
Instead of telling me anything, he smiled, opened the hologram and showed me the interface instead.
User name:- Rahul Singh Rana (Second-Timer)
Stats:-
Strength - 1.0 (0.9)
Agility - 0.9 (0.8)
Endurance - 0.7
Perception - 1.5 (1.4)
Mana - 0.0
Skills:-
None
Equipments:-
None
Wealth:-
None
"So it really did work." I said in realization.
"What? You're expecting my body to glow or something." He said with a laugh.
"Not really but…" before I could finish, I felt a faint vibration from my pocket. I took out the smartphone and realized that there was an incoming call from Neha.
"What happened Neha." I said as I received the call.
"Brother." Neha's teary voice came from the other side.
"Oi. Neha. What happened to you. Are you in any danger?" I asked in panic. 'Shit! What happened to her.'
"Brother… They… Outside…" she said before breaking into sobs.
Before I could say anything the phone was once again snatched from my hands. But this time, I didn't protest. Rahul could do a far better job at comforting her than me.
'Your heartbeat is getting faster and faster. Are you afraid for her safety.' Lily's voice rang in my head.
'Yes.' I said and shook my head. 'Dammit. I should have been there for her. What kind of Elder brother am I.'
'It's not your fault.' She said in a soft tone which managed to calm me down somehow.
'But still…'
'Don't think too much about it. You're already doing the best you can, aren't you.'
'Well… I understand. Thank you.'
'You don't need to thank me. This is something that I should do.'
'Hmm?'
'Nothing.'
"It's alright." I heard Rahul's calm and steady voice when I came to myself. "Put some cotton in your ears. Don't focus on their cries."
"Don't worry. We're coming. We'll reach there as soon as possible."
"Yeah."
"No. Do not worry about our safety. We're completely fine here. Trust in us." He continued to coax her, but this time, even I could see that it was not working.
'What's worrying her so much?' I wondered but suddenly got an idea.
"Pass the phone to me." I said to Rahul.
"Huh!" He looked at me with confusion.
"Give me the damn phone." I said and snatched it from him.
"Oi Neha."
"Yes big brother." She said between sobs.
"Stop crying like a little girl." I reprimanded her and then continued. "Look at your left hand. Is there a watch in your hand?"
"Huh!" Neha's surprised voice came from the other end of the phone. "How did you know? And… when did it come to my hand. I don't remember wearing such a thing."
"Oi Ashok. It's… it's… it's merged with my hands." Her fascinated voice surprised me a bit.
'Wasn't her change a bit too abrupt.'
"Don't worry that's…" I wanted to say 'not dangerous' but my sentence was cut off by her excited voice.
"So cool right. And what this. It's shining. Is this thing really a watch? What does it do?" she said
"Oi Ashok. There's some old guy talking in my head. That's… that's… That's so awesome." She continued talking to herself.
"What? AI. This is so cool. Ashok I'll talk to you later. Okay. Bye." And then she cut the line.
I waited for a good ten seconds to register what had happened.
I wanted to distract her from her troubles by telling her about the Black Watch. I had hoped that there would be an AI in her watch as well who could comfort her.
But who knew that she would get so excited that she'd not only stop worrying, she even cut the phone and ignored me mercilessly. Just for that Black Watch.
Is that Black watch really more important than me. Damn it! I won't talk to her again anytime soon.
I turned to look at Rahul who was eavesdropping on the whole conversation and I could see that he was also a bit surprised by her reaction.
"Oi, why was she crying?" I asked. Being the responsible elder brother that I was, how can I let my little sister suffer any grievances. "She's not in any danger is she."
"Sigh! No she's not in any danger. But a few Abnormal hunted down some stranger outside our house and started eating it alive right in front of her window."
"She could hear everything as they ate him alive. That… that was why she was so freaked out and called us immediately after they left."
"So that's what happened." I said and shook my head. If such a thing happened to me, then I would completely flip out and lose my mind. Compared to me she's doing great.
'Indeed. She has a far better mental fortitude than you.' Lily's voice rang in my mind.
'You. Shut up.' I reprimanded her angrily.
'Hmph.' She snorted and didn't speak anymore.
'Huuu.' I sighed. Even an A.I doesn't show me any respect.
Well, putting that aside, I started thinking about the current situation.
'She's still alone in the house. That Black Watch is a novelty for her and might be able to distract her for some time but it doesn't change the fact that she's still alone in the house. If some Abnormals come to know that she's hiding there then…' I didn't dare to think anymore.
'If possible I'd like to get home as soon as possible.' I looked up at Rahul resolutely and said.
"Rahul. Let's get going. We need to get back home as soon as possible."
"Agreed." He decisively said and we immediately started packing out bags.
'Seems like he's just as worried as me.' I thought.
'Oi What was the thing about the Old Man. Is her AI an Old man and not someone like you.' I thought in my mind.
Indeed, I was a bit puzzled over this matter. Earlier, I had thought that every AI would be similar, like Lily. But my thoughts were proven wrong.
'Is it possible that this is a gender based thing. Boys get girly AI, Girls get manly AI.' I thought
'Or maybe something related to age. Young people get old AI, old people get young AI. But… then again, I'm not old either.'
'Maybe it's totally random and I'm just making a fool out of myself by thinking too much into it.'
'Oi. Lily. Why are you not saying anything?' I asked.
'Hmph.' Came the reply.
'Damn it. She's got quite a feisty personality for her age.' I thought.
'What did you say?'
'Nothing. Sorry. That was completely unintentional. Damn it! How can I forget that she can read my thoughts. Shit! I should probably stop thinking now.'
—————
"You get a crystal from a Abnormal. Cores from Mutant Beasts, Birds and Fishes. And Nucleus from a Mutant Tree." Rahul said as he taught me the basic knowledge that would be useful in Apocalypse.
We were currently walking parallel to the highway while maintaining a distance of 100 meters. This way, we would not lose our path in the dark while also keep an close eye on our enemies.
"A crystal is worth 10 white coins. A Core range somewhere from 2 to about 500 white coins. And a Nucleus…"
"Wait! Why does a core's price vary so much?" I asked in confusion.
"Well, the price of a core belonging to a 8feet long Mutant Tiger shark would be worth much more than that of a mutant Rat. Don't you think." He said with a smile.
"Ah! I understand. What about the nucleus?"
"Nucleus. They are the most expensive of them all. Even the weakest of mutant trees produce a Nucleus worth more than 300 white coins. If you ever come across a Mutant Tree, do yourself a favour and 'run' from there as fast as you could."
"Why? Are they more dangerous than a Mutant Beast?" I asked in confusion. Isn't it just a tree. Can't we cut it's trunk with an axe or something.
'Or does it start moving after turning into a Mutant tree.' I pictured a moving tree in my head and felt that a tree would indeed be more dangerous than a tiger, if it could move. But… isn't that a bit too much.
"Yes. Far far more dangerous." Rahul said "And I can tell you that anyone who ever underestimated a mutant tree did not survive to tell the tale."
Then he continued "Highly advanced mutant trees, can spread themselves throughout a whole forest."
"Really? Then, isn't walking like this in the forest rather dangerous." I looked around at the trees with a bit of fear in my eyes.
"Pfft. Don't worry. Mutant trees are far lesser in number than mutant beasts or Abnormals."
"How so?"
"Well, the chances of a Mutant Tree being born is about 1 in 20,000. And, just because it's dangerous for you to face a Mutant Tree doesn't mean that it's the same for me."
"Oi. Aren't you underestimating the Mutant Trees now." I asked in a suspicious voice.
"Cough! Cough!" he almost choked on the water he was drinking when he heard that. He wiped his mouth and said. "Let's talk about Abnormals and Mutant Beasts now."
"As you learned already. Of the entire humanity, around 80% will turn into Abnormals. So there's not much left to say there."
"There are around 7.6 billion humans on earth give or take. Going by that fact, there should be around 6.1 billion Abnormals running around everywhere by tomorrow morning."
"A newly born Abnormal, like the one we fought back there is normally twice as strong as when they used to be as human."
"Wait! What do you mean by newly born Abnormals?" I asked in dread. "You mean to say that the Abnormals we fought were the weakest of their species?"
"You can take it as that." He smiled. "What, you thought that only you had the right to evolve and become stronger?"
"I…" I truly had never thought that they would evolve as well. Till now, I had only seen them as typical Zombies and not a different species as Rahul had said. I was only calling them Abnormals because that was what he was calling them.
"How do they evolve?" I asked.
"By eating of course." He replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Eating what?" I asked but he simply looked at me like I was an idiot for a second before it hit me and I shivered in fear.
'If they can evolve by eating us then won't the hunt us even more actively.'
"Don't worry. We're not the only ones in their Menu. There's also Mutant beasts, Mutant Birds and Mutant Fishes and so on." He said.
He looked at my foolish expression and laughed even more. "What, you thought that the remaining 1.5 billion humans will be enough to fill the stomach of all the Abnormals."
"Truth be told, from now on, the ones at the top of the food chains are those Abnormals, Mutant Beasts and Mutant trees."
"I did not include bird because even when they become twice as strong, they alone cannot kill an adult male. Though it's still wise to hide away from them as they often fly around in large flocks."
"And I didn't include the fishes because, well. The strongest of them live in deep water."
"From today onward, the ones fighting for throne of the king won't be us humans but those these new species."
"We're not the main characters in the story anymore." He smiled bitterly and said "We're just some side characters trying to stay alive."
'Well. Even if that's the truth you don't have to tell me all of it in such a blunt manner you know.' I thought.
"But don't let it get to you." He said with a laugh when he saw that I was not replying. "Just because we're not at the top doesn't mean we'll die easily."
"Let me tell you, a high tier human can easily defeat many of those Demon beasts and Abnormals." He said. "Now let's talk about the Demon beasts."
"Out of all the animals, birds and fishes, only about 20% are converted into their mutant forms in the first day."
"But… as you know, the law of the jungle had always been in effect in the jungle. So the rest of those 80% will either die soon enough and be eaten or revive as Mutant beasts."
"In a sense, we're most afraid of the Abnormals because of they look like us. But the truth is that, of the 3 factions of Mutant trees, Mutant Beasts and Abnormals, Abnormals are the weakest."
"If it had not been for the extremely low number of Mutant trees and the diverse group of Mutant beasts in the forest which are on constant war with each other, the Abnormal race and the human race won't last for a even a day." He said.
"You mean to say that Abnormals don't fight against each other." I asked.
"Umm… I won't say that they don't fight against each other. You see, when they evolve, they start to gain intelligence. Just like us humans."
"Now they won't know how to read and write. Or speak since no one ever thought them these things, but when the they become just as smart as us, if not more."
"Really?" I asked in shock. So far I had thought that our only advantage as a species was our big brains, but it seemed like that was not the case anymore.
"Of course. If you teach a Abnormal baby and a human baby together, then they will both learn at about the same speed. Provided the Abnormal baby don't eat the human baby first."
"They can have babies as well?" I asked in shock. I realized that the more he talked the worse I felt.
"Of course. When I described them as a species, I was not jesting you know." He said and then added. "But that's all in the future. At this point in their evolution, I'm pretty sure that they can't tell white from the black." He stopped speaking and looked at me as if waiting me to ask any questions.
"Rahul. Would they really become as smart as us?" I asked.
"Not only them. But high level Mutant Beasts and Mutant tree become sentient life forms as well. Although I'm not sure if they would be able to learn how to read and write, they would definitely become far more smarter than your roadside Chimpanzee."
"But, as I said, all of the things will happen in the future. Far in the future. Like a decade or two from now on so let's not talk about it right now." He said and stopped the topic.
Probably because he noticed my uncomfortable expression.
Of course, I didn't ask him how he knew about things from a decade ahead in the future. It had already become an unwritten rule in between us two. He would tell me stuff, and I won't ask him how he knew about the stuff.
"Now, let me tell you a few things about Mutant Birds and why you should avoid them even if their not the strongest of the bunch."
"You see, those Mutant Bird always…" he stopped all of a sudden and looked at the direction of the highway.
"Did you hear that?" he asked in a low voice as he took out his Axe from his bag.