The first thing that Aros did was to go check out his basement.
Opening up the door and going down the dusty stairs, just showed how little he would come down here. This place was more for storage if anything, which just piled up over the years.
There were no windows, and it was all just one single room with some pillars to hold up the house.
The floor was made of cement, leaving the whole area bleak. There was a single light on overhead, which gave enough light to see.
Aros started digging through a pile of stuff, looking for something which may save his life.
After a minute, he found a gun case, which he pulled out and laid down on the ground. Opening it up showed a .22 rifle, and a box of bullets.
Seeing this gun reminded him of when he used to shoot when he was a kid, but that hadn't happened in a long time. He let out a soft sigh before checking if it was in working condition, then the ammo. A couple bullets were missing, leaving him with 47 bullets. He loads in 6 bullets, plus another in the chamber, and sets it in the corner of the room.
Aros goes upstairs, and begins carrying down everything which he could think would be useful. Canned foods, lights, some bottled drinks, a sleeping bag, blankets, and many more small items that could be of use.
He suddenly remembered that the power could be lost, so he grabs some large empty jugs and began to fill them up with water.
'I don't know how long this will be. I might need to stay down here for a long time.' He thought.
Growing up, he had learnt to not rely on others. Getting emancipated at 16 had led to him only having himself to rely on.
At 11:55 AM, he checked the TV again.
"The government is advising for all to stay indoors. The military is prepared to act for whatever purpose. Again, you are advised to stay indoors. Lock your doors, and hunker down. This will all be over soon." The reporter said.
Aros almost laughed at that. Nobody, including the government, truly knew what to expect.
The one thing Aros was hoping for that could help, would be the blessing that was mentioned.
He checked the clock again. 11:59 AM. It was time.
[...]
[Greetings, Host. I am The Final Blessing of The Gods. Or more simply known as Final Blessing System. The System is currently connecting itself to you. The more you progress, the more you can gain.]
The words came directly into his mind, similar to the voice was previously.
"Alright, so then what can you do for me?"
[The System can currently show the host their status, skills, and also allow access to the inventory.]
That perked Aros up a bit. "Show me the inventory first." He said.
As he said that, he felt his mind and body connect to a small empty space. It was a bizarre feeling that he wasn't used to, and took him a few seconds to understand the basics.
"So, it's a 10cm cube?" He asked with a slight frown. The space was only 10 x 10 x 10. It was small, but it wasn't the worst thing ever.
"Show me the rest then." He said.
[Reactivating dormant genes.]
That confused Aros.
[Name: Aros Mercer (22)
Race: Human
Title: None
Level: 1
STR: 8
DEX: 9
VIT: 8
INT: 12
FAITH: 3
Unused Stat Points: 0]
[SKILLS: Parallel Thought Lv 1]
[The average for an adult is 10 points.]
Looking over the stats made him frown a bit. He was below average in everything except his INT. He wasn't the most physically active, so he wasn't too surprised. The high INT was just a bonus on top of it all.
"What is Faith? And what is that skill of mine?" Aros asked the system.
[Faith is the connection which people can have to divinity. It has many purposes.]
"Well, that was helpful. Not. Can't you tell me what exactly that means?" He asked again.
[That is something for humans to discover.]
Aros let out a groan. "Alright, fine. What about the skill then? Parallel Thought?"
[The system will call natural energy as mana since that's what your more inclined to think of it as... Back before mana disappeared from the world, some individuals had a certain ability which they were born with. It could be passed down through generations, dormant, waiting for mana to return. This is where that skill came from.]
Aros thought about that a bit, and silently thanked his ancestor for the gift which he had been given, even if it was hundreds or thousands of years ago.
[Parallel Thought can be described as being able to think in two directions, without sacrificing brain power or focus. If every persons brain had one room and one worker, then your brain has two rooms and two workers. They can work independently, or together.]
That had caught Aros' attention. He began to try and test it. He pulled out his phone, reading through more and more social media posts, while also thinking of what other supplies he will need.
One thing which caught his attention was that some groups of people were very adamant that their god wasn't dead. Probably in denial.
Aros just let out a soft sigh as he kept hauling things downstairs.
After a couple minutes, the lights in his home started flickering on and off for a few moments before staying on.
This made him frown a bit, hurrying up with storing things away.
After a bit, he grabbed his .22 rifle and went outside to his truck. His truck was the only vehicle he had, so if he needed to move, it would need to be in good condition.
He had filled up the tank before coming home earlier in the day, so that's as all good.
He looked around the shed, seeing a cap that would go on over the bed of the pickup.
A few minutes of work, and it was completely bolted down.
[Skill level up: Parallel Thought Lv 2]
That caught him by surprise, but it was quite nice.
Right as he was closing the shed doors, he saw a car speeding down the road, easily over 100 mph. It was heading away from the town.
He slowly walked towards the end of his driveway, looking both ways, and not seeing a thing.
As he was walking back to his home, he saw the lights inside flicker again. He frowned a bit, knowing that there was something important about that he was missing.
He walked back inside and remembered that he had an empty inventory.
"Hey system, what am I allowed to store in the inventory?" He asked.
[No living beings. Plants are allowed. The items placed inside will be in stasis.]
That perked him up a bit.
He had moved the canned goods downstairs, but there was lots of stuff that couldn't be preserved easily. He started to store some raw meat from his fridge. It would stay fresh in there. He also stored away a lighter, a small flashlight, and a small pocketknife.
"That's good... that's good..." He muttered to himself.
He was trying to think of what else he could need. He had moved some medicine and a first aid kit to the basement, but then he remembered it was October.
"More blankets, and winter clothing." He began to stuff some clothes in a duffel bag, then took an empty backpack and another empty duffel bag downstairs, so he could fill that up. Easier to move around with.
Right now, what was on his mind, was surviving. The voice only mentioned that even the gods didn't know what was fully going to happen. For now, he would avoid people and just settle down in here.
He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at himself. He didn't expect that just another casual day would lead to so much chaos.
He pulled out his phone a bit, trying to see if anything was happening. One video did catch his eye.
"Jimmy! Come on, we gotta go!" Shouted a girl. She was filming, and sitting in the passenger seat of a car.
"It's alright, I just want to see what's happening!" He said and kept staring forward. The camera panned, and showed a hospital. There were people running out, screaming. Some had blood on them, and others were bleeding. It then moved up a little bit to show a person jumping out of a second story window with another person holding on tight to them. The camera zoomed in.
"Oh god, Jimmy! Go! Go!" She shouted.
The second person was biting and eating the person they were holding onto.
The video ended there, but it still made Aros shudder.
Thinking back to the image of the hospital made Aros remember one thing the voice mentioned. The Corona Virus.
"Don't tell me that was actually a zombie virus... well, fuck me..." He muttered.
He knew he couldn't stay waiting, and headed back upstairs. He started to grab all the camping gear that he could, pots and pans, anything a person would need to use to live, and started hauling it out to his truck.
Before, he was fine with just waiting. That was before zombies became a thing. He needed an escape route.
While he was walking inside his home to grab another load, the lights flickered again, but didn't come back on.
A rumble could be felt, then when he turned and looked to the north, he could see a giant mushroom cloud.