The moon was now fully away; hints of its peaceful luminance, seeping through the cracks of the old building and brushing across everyone's faces. Even with this light, however, the crackle of the campfire still continued to burn strong, even after hours.
And soon, Zac opened his eyes.
"..." He glanced at everyone, only to see all of them peacefully sleeping — even the one that was supposed to stand watch, Ryan, seemed to have fallen asleep. Zac looked at them for a few more seconds, before quietly standing up; careful not to wake anyone.
And with one final glance at the group, he nodded and walked away.
As much as Zac was interested in checking the nearest settlement, he needed to make sure if his apartment was still standing — and if he could find his mother there.
20 years.
She could have died already. But Nathalie is brave, much braver than Zac when all of this happened. She now also has the same System Zac had in his previous life, so by all accounts… she definitely should have survived.
She might also very well be in the settlement, but since he was already near the apartment, it was better to check it first.
Even with Zac trying to be as quiet as possible as he walked through the mall, it didn't take long to find the exit — as the light of the moon practically led him out.
"..." Zac took in a long and very deep breath as he stepped outside and basked in the moonlight. He could never forget how beautiful this sky is at night — the auroras had a certain allure; almost as if they were trying to welcome him back.
He couldn't relish this moment long, however… as he let out a sigh and looked back — and there, someone was standing at the entrance of the mall.
"Where do you think you're going?" It was Ryan, who Zac initially thought to be asleep.
"Just going for a walk," Zac answered without any hesitation.
"You want to die?" Ryan sighed, before pointing his spear and gesturing to Ryan to walk, "Be my guest."
"..." Zac only blinked at Ryan for a few moments, before turning around and actually walking away.
"Wait! What are you doing!? Didn't you hear there might still be monsters roaming out there!?"
"...Are the black wolves the strongest monsters in this area?" Zac halted his steps as he glanced back at Ryan.
"...Yes?"
"Then I will be fine," Zac nodded, "I appreciate you showing concern, Ryan. Try not to change as you grow older."
"Stop!" Ryan followed Zac; his steps, as loud as his voice, "We didn't find you here just so you can go ahead and kill yourself!"
"Actually, I found you," Zac shrugged before once again walking away, "Have a good night."
"I said stop!" Ryan then spun his spear around, pointing the blunt tip of the shaft towards Zac; but with Zac continuing to ignore him, he suddenly rushed forward and lunged the shaft towards his leg.
"..." Zac, however, was able to quickly lift his foot up, before pivoting with his other leg and kicking the shaft away,
"...What level are you?" Zac then asked as he faced Ryan, "30, 32?"
"34," Ryan answered as he once again pointed the blunt tip at Zac.
"How long have you been using the spear?" Zac, on the other hand, seemingly doesn't mind.
"What's it to you? Don't make me drag you back. Don't be stubborn and—"
"You're bad at it — the spear, I mean."
And as soon as Zac's words reached his ears, Ryan's eyes started to twitch as his hands that were holding the spear started to tighten their grips.
"Have a good night, Ryan," Zac then once again nodded his head and turned around, "Say goodbye to the others for me."
"I don't think so!"
And before Zac could even start walking, Ryan once again swung his spear — this time, with Zac's torso as the target.
"I thought you were keeping me safe," Zac casually said as he slightly leaned forward to avoid it.
"Yeah, from yourself!"
"It's dangerous to hold a spear like that," Zac once again just spoke calmly as he avoided the shaft by just a hair's breadth.
"Shut the fuck up!"
"Alright. That's enough, boy."
And as Ryan was about to swing again, Zac kicked the ground — causing a cloud of dust and some pebbles to shoot straight towards Ryan's face,
"It's my turn to attack."
"D… damn it!" Ryan immediately started swinging his spear everywhere with his eyes closed; trying to fend off any attack that was about to come his way. And soon, a couple of seconds later, he was finally able to recover his sight…
…only to find that Zac was no longer there.
***
"Pft, children."
Just a couple of corners away from the mall, a somewhat devious chuckle could be heard whispering through the desolate and abandoned streets; with Zac jogging away with a small smile on his face.
Fight against someone who was 30 levels above him? Zac wasn't crazy enough to do that. The only reason he was even able to keep up was because of his extra points — which made him equivalent to a Lv. 17 or so.
Add to that his experience in battle, then it was easy to play with Ryan. He was not, however, stupid enough to think he could match up someone with double his stats. He could fight him, but the question is for how long?
"Pft…" Zac once again started to chuckle as he remembered Ryan swinging in panic, "Ha… classic."
Zac continued to run and walk across the streets; looking around for anything that he could consider strange. Abandoned streets, rubble, and debris-filled areas — it all made sense now that he knows he was already 20 years into the apocalypse.
There are no people because they are already inside the settlements… they were living underground.
20 years — Zac still could not get over that he missed the first 20 years. He could really only imagine how strong he would have already been by now.
That goddess… so far it's all been bad luck. And he didn't want to add to that anymore as he started hugging the walls as he moved; careful not to get ambushed by brigands and monsters.
He could probably easily kill a pair of black wolves, but the same could be said vice versa.
And soon, with him being careful… he was finally able to reach his apartment.
"..."
"..."
"Well…"
At least what's left of it, that is.
The entrance was already caved in. Zac didn't even need to enter the building to know there was nothing inside — how could there be, when the building has practically fallen onto itself?
"..." Zac could really only take in a very long and deep breath as he closed his eyes. If his mother was not dead yet, then she was most likely in the nearest safe zone.
"...It didn't last," Zac then muttered as he opened his eyes and once again looked at the almost collapsed building,
"But it was nice having a home again."
And with those words, he walked away. But before he could get far, he saw the ground and the walls around him turn green; flickering, almost as if reflecting a giant firefly.
"..."
Zac immediately turned around to see where this light was coming from — and there, on the rooftop of the apartment…
…was a green flare.
A flare that almost reached through the sky and drowned even the colorful auroras that littered it.
And as soon as Zac saw this, he ran towards the light.
A Green flare… it was one of the default skills he gained in his previous life.
A default skill of the Tome of Mage that he gave his mother.