Julian Moore is a runner.
It has a literal meaning: a person who runs.
But in Julian Moore's world, a runner is more than a person who runs. It is a high-risk job that can change their entire life and possibly even death, a job so crucial to the survival of humankind that anyone would literally give whatever food there is left just to keep the runners full and healthy.
Before getting too deep into the subtleties of things, it is important to note that the world in which Julian Moore resided is a peri-apocalyptic wilderness teeming with mutant beasts and monsters of all varieties.
No one has figured out how or why the Earth got to this point or what caused the whole thing to go wrong.
It wasn't always like this.
Julian could still remember that he had been living a quiet and contented life until the point where, suddenly, the world was abruptly engulfed in pure and total darkness. It only took sixty seconds for the whole world to turn over.
Later, people called this day Judgement Day.
The planet was immediately ravaged by the arrival of the hostile beasts after the darkness receded, marking the start of the apocalypse. Within a few days, the world simply crumbled away, leaving little to no signs of life, save for a few stray animals and lucky people who survived the initial wave of destruction.
Julian Moore is one of the fortunate ones.
Many things took place, and after a long time, humanity gradually gained its power. To develop a new society that could restart humankind and also resist the monsters, military base camps were established in an effort to enlist the remaining humans.
One alteration brought on by the apocalypse is the unexpected disintegration of the world's magnetic field. It caused the generation that was heavily reliant on technology to collapse. Since they cannot communicate information through transmissions at this time, they are forced to manually deliver messages from one base to another.
Thus, the job 'runner' was born.
Redefining: A runner is a term used to describe those dispatched to the field to send messages. And they only have one mission, which is to run very well.
A runner who could not run can cause the death of a few individuals, a military base camp, or, worst scenario, will trigger the end of humanity.
Julian Moore is one of the best runners.
On many occasions, he had successfully sent information from one location to another, so preventing base camps from being overrun by an onslaught of hostile monsters. Or, in some other times, giving everyone hope by sending a few successful technological advancements that could make life in the base camps a bit better.
If someone wanted to know who they could trust to send information, there is only one, and everyone would unanimously answer: Julian Moore.
Yes, only one.
Only one because people know Julian Moore would help no one.
Many of his people died during missions, either from being eaten alive by monsters or dying from starvation. If there are twelve runners sent out to do a task, it is expected that only a third of them could return alive more often than not.
And in Julian Moore's group, he would always return alone.
Of course, runners were not responsible for helping people. They are meant to send information about the lives of their comrades. As long as they could send the message to the destination, it means safety to a hundred people. They are only ordered to run, run as fast as they can, and never look back.
Yes, that's why he is always alone.
Since Julian Moore never saved people.
It was as if these recollections had been brought into sync with the present situation. Chase stood motionless and watched as the tentacle pulled Evreux away from him. He was only a few feet away from Evreux, so he could have reached out and grabbed the person.
But he couldn't.
His feet were tingling, and the reflex of wanting to run away drowned his thoughts.
Evreux reacted more quickly as he hurriedly grabbed onto a branch protruding on the edge of the wall to stop the tentacle from pulling him entirely. Looking up, he could clearly see Chase standing perfectly still with terror evident in his eyes. Fear of what had just occurred prevented the white-haired prince from acting swiftly.
The assassin suddenly felt annoyed. He wanted to crawl forward against the strong force, pulling his body in half, and slap the bastard. He thought that he should give the guy a beating before he perished. At least leave him some slack to make up for his deteriorating ego!
"What the hell are you doing, you dickhead? Stop wasting time and get out of here!"
That yell jolted Chase awake. He stepped up right away to assist Evreux in holding the wall. Then, he stabbed the vine coiled around Evreux's legs with his other hand, leaving deep gashes and pus coming out. However, the vine appears to be more resilient, given that it did not lose its grip at any point.
"Why is this thing so sturdy?" Chase said urgently while hacking the vines. To give himself hope, he glanced at Evreux with a calm expression.
"Hold on tight. I will break this thing up, and we will run away."
He shifted his weight and focused on dragging Evreux. He didn't even grasp what the assassin had said before. However, after pulling and slashing for a long time, it can be seen that all of his efforts had been for naught.
What can a stick like Chase do against a giant snail?
He was only getting pulled together by Evreux.
The assassin could see how hard Chase was working to save him. The youth in front of him was filthy; his body was littered with wounds, heck, his white hair even looked brown right now. Amongst them, he could understand the situation very well. He is also tired. He thought he'd given himself plenty of time to live up to this point.
"Hey," Evreux called out.
"What?" Chase is still pulling Evreux.
The assassin blinked his eyes. "Let go."
"Huh?" Chase turned his head and looked at Evreux. "What did you say??"
Evreux removed Chase's hands that were firmly grasping his clothes. He remembered something out of the blue. Somebody taught him you could discern a person's profession by touching their hands.
It was claimed that a noble's hands were delicate since they didn't perform a lot of physically demanding work. Scholars have ink and paper cuts, whereas warriors have calluses.
Chase's hands are almost unrecognizable. It's filled with wounds and torn skin, some parts showing bones. Anyone looking would think that it's the hand of a tortured prisoner.
"You can't do anything." Evreux was blunt when he urged, "Just let go."
Chase remained unconvinced, tightening his hold. "What the fuck you are talking about? Hold on, let's get out of here."
"There's nothing you can do," Evreux emphasized once again.
He'd heard rumors about how stubborn the white-haired prince was. It appears to be true.
"What can you know?" Chase hissed, still tugging at him. "You're just an assassin who wants to kill me. Why should I listen to you?"
"That's why you have to let go. Why would you try to save your killer?"
Chase stopped.
Why?
Indeed, it's questionable why would he save Evreux. Well, he had determined that the assassin was valuable. But, in this situation, is that reasoning still acceptable?
Chase met the assassin's gaze with his emerald green eyes, which seemed to glow a little in the dim light. Somehow, Evreux could see something beyond those eyes.
Why does it look like it's tainted with despair and sadness?
"I'll hold them up for you. All you need to do is run forward. I'm afraid I'm powerless to assist you, but there are some who live in the abyss who might be able to assist you."
Evreux looked at him thoughtfully.
"The curse might keep from going up, but there are chances when the abyss would pity the lost. The abyss might lead you to a safe dwelling if it fancies you. And if not..." he paused.
What would happen if he could not reach them? Both of them know the answer.
"But that is much better than sealing your fate here. Run and survive. That's important."
The assassin said those words without malice. As someone who is familiar with the underworld, he knows how fickle life is. Today you are celebrating life; tomorrow would be your funeral. He had accepted it entirely the moment he had taken this job.
Chase loosened his hold. He took a step back, and with the assassin's encouraging nod, he turned around without looking back.
Evreux watched the figure of the white-haired prince getting blurry and tiny until he could no longer discern his image. He suddenly felt bad, maybe a bit sad, but what else could he do?
He knew that there was no other option than this, but it didn't stop him from thinking about what would happen if he could get back home or at least see his family once again. The creature was pulling so hard, that it almost seemed as though it was going to rip his guts right out.
He couldn't breathe.
Evreux remained anchored for a while. After counting that Chase would have probably left the vicinity only did he let go. The sensation of being on the verge of death will always be exhilarating. He did, however, feel a sense of lightness, as if letting go of everything had helped his body relax.
His body was dragged in a swoop towards the snail king.
It's his end.
Or maybe not.
Chase, who appeared to have been pumped with chicken blood, ran at breakneck speed. Yet, his mind has been garbled with many thoughts. Should he try to rescue the assassin, or should he just escape and save himself?
The possibilities were endless, and many scenarios played out in his head. He tried to analyze the options, with his safety as the most crucial factor.
Saving the assassin means going to the center of the riot, where there are bugs exploding and tentacles writhing. The assassin had been carried out, so he had to find a way to bypass them. But how is he going to do that?
He wouldn't be having this problem if it was that easy.
Not saving the assassin will give him ample time to cross the whole territory. Even though he was bound to get lost in the end, he could still use the system to provide guidance on the safest route. If he was lucky, he might find the settlement that the assassin had told him about.
If not, then...
He asked the system if saving the assassin would give him more safety. The system gave him the same answer it presented earlier.
「Helping the Assassin and getting his support will lessen Chase Laurier's burden, lowering the danger level by a difference of twenty to twenty percent chance. Final verdict: Befriending the assassin reduces the host's danger level up to 70% to 65%.」
Then should he run away?
Chase came to a sharp halt. He had been running his whole life. He remembered. He could still remember the companions with whom he had grown up, the individuals he had met along the road who had become his friends and family, had perished behind him. All the people around him urged him to flee and save his life.
It is always him who has to run away and continue living.
He has gotten tired of running away.
Chase took a sharp turn and ran in the direction of the snail with trembling legs. His senses became sharper, and he paid close attention to everything. The writhing tentacles, the exploding beetles, and the pitter-patter of his steps were all magnified in his head.
A feeling of awakening and illumination occurred within his body.
The system notified him once again of his safety. However, this time, a series of information entered. In spite of the system's apparent mechanical nature, the speaker's voice seemed to carry a positive emotion.
「Reaching the highest level of danger.」
「A Near-Death Experience buff has been triggered.」
「Host, Chase Laurier, earned an increase of all physical stats in sixty seconds.」
「The perseverance of a survivor should not be underestimated. Miracles are given to those who work the hardest... 」
「Recalculating...」
「A second buff has been triggered. Hearing the solemn prayers of the weak, the gods took pity on humanity and allowed a miracle to happen. Julian Moore, the savior of humanity, was granted a new lease on life. In order to continue his legacy, his ability, The Guardian Of The Wind, was unlocked.」
「Congratulations! Chase Laurier became the new holder of The Guardian Of the Wind.」
「Obtaining an increase of stats... 」
His body felt a familiar surge of energy. His vision had improved, and he was able to see things more distinctly. Chase continued ahead with a renewed sense of optimism.
The one who was always running away was Julian Moore.
He is no longer Julian Moore.
He is Chase Laurier, the eccentric prince who does everything he fancies.
He dashed ahead, leaping over the towering wall. It appeared as though gusts of wind were supporting his feet, which in turn propelled him higher off the ground. Along the way, he also collected several insects, which immediately began buzzing after being enclosed under his arms.
The tentacles couldn't see, but they had a keen sense of touch. When prey landed on one of the tentacles, it was quickly recognized as such. Chase was surrounded by long tentacles, but he jumped right away, which caused the tentacles to get tangled up. If he could not evade the pursuit, he would use the explosives on his hand to rip the tentacles apart.
He had a lot of energy and didn't feel tired as he ran around. He explored the area for the assassin and discovered him wrapped in the largest tentacle. This tentacle is located near the middle of the snail, where one can see the snail opening its enormous mouth. Chase launched himself into the air and sprang to his feet.
Evreux felt his consciousness slipping away. He barely pried his eyelids open and saw the snail king lurking directly under him. The snail king is a giant carnivorous slug willing to consume whatever it can get its mouth on.
Now that it has opened its big mouth, he can see all one thousand of its pointed teeth as well as the fumes that are being discharged from it.
One bite will be enough to put him out of his misery, given his petite size in comparison to the snail.
The world seems to have slowed down all of a sudden. He could sense the vine's grip loosening, as well as his life, which is so short and fickle. It wasn't an easy death, but it won't be painful either.
At least, not anymore.
He felt like he was floating above the ground, with nothing around him except for the endless darkness within the abyss, that no matter where he looked, there was nothing in his sight. As his eyes drifted shut for the last time, a familiar voice called out.