Sho looked around in amazement.
By the end of the day, Alpha was able to organize everyone.
There was a group of scouts; consisting of six strong fighters, one medic, one who knew how to draw and was tasked to draw maps and one bulky dude who was tasked to be the carrier of anything valuable they could find. Among the nine scouts, Alpha's friend was one of them. Alpha seemed to trust his friend greatly and let that person lead the Scout Team while he remained in their "camp".
Amidst the building that was mixed with the forest, Alpha chose a location near a small waterway as for their camp. The waterway didn't belong in the city. It probably emerged along with the trees.
In the camp. Alpha, put everyone in a group and made them work together. It felt like a classic approach. But it was damned effective.
The group of random people who could be just as good as ragtags became systematized in no time. They couldn't compare to military arrangement, but everything was almost in order.
There was even a group of seven medic in their camp. Alpha chose an experienced doctor who could instruct everyone for any emergency. And the rest of the group had manifested skills that were related to medicine or healing.
There was also a group of guards, which in Alpha was the leader. He individually looked into everyone's skill. Of course, not everyone was willing to show their trump card. But he was able to judge who was strong enough to join the guards. Forty-seven of them have attack skills while fifteen have strong defense skills. He grouped the sixty-three people into seven groups. He positioned three groups on different points of the camp, the other three were told to rest for the next shift, and the last group was tasked to divide their group for a patrol. In case of emergency, the patrol group would join which every point is in need of help.
Sho was truly amazed.
Whilst watching, he gained a lot of experience he didn't know would be useful. He took over Sho's memories so he knew a thing or two about strategizing. But that was in the game. With Alpha's orderly lead, he was able to relate the game into reality.
Not everyone could be as calm as Alpha. It just showed how much experience the guy has.
And that was not the end of what he did in their camp.
There were 347 people in total in their camp–with Alpha's instruction, they counted so that they knew how many they were. And each of them was assigned a task that was very suitable for them.
It was amazing to see such a person who could guide everyone to the skill that was suitable for them.
Although many people questioned if it was a right thing for a civilian to act as guards or patrols, no one could really voice dissatisfaction when laid with the unknown. Everyone was still afraid that their life would be in danger with this Super Phenomena. They couldn't even call for help as every gadget stopped working. It wasn't just a case of no battery. It was as if any device or technology had become useless after they entered the Zone.
Everyone has different reaction with the unknown. Some people were stressed, despair were seeping beneath them. Some were worried about their family outside, having no communication, they felt anxious not being able to get out of the Zone. Some others were excited, they treated everything that had happened so far as a game. And there are those who were cautiously accessing the new situation with different view towards the world.
"How was it?" Alpha interrupted Sho's thought.
Sho gave the guy a genuine smile. "Amazing." Being comfortable with him, he honestly said.
The tip of Alpha's lips lifted a bit. "That's not what I wanted to know."
*Damn! I thought he was asking me about the camp because of my thoughts wandering!*
He almost flushed red with embarrassment before remembering he was tasked to observe the camp and report his findings. "The medic is currently stable. Doctor Wan is taking care of the instructions, he's also guiding the rest of the medic to familiarize themselves with their skills. Aside from that, he's also employing our current medical knowledge in use. Since there was no grave injury, after taking care of those with minor wounds, they started to familiarize with each other.
"Mister Glum is taking care of the non-fighters. One-hundred and fifty-seven of them are being instructed on first aids, as per your instruction. We can't see the effect yet. Many of our non-fighters are kids, elderly and disabled. They themselves need taking care of. There are those in distress and we are getting counseling so we can better assess them and to make sure the "stress" won't spread to anyone else.
"The one-hundred and six people who you assigned to establish better camps currently are gathering materials for the camp and fire later. I've lost sight of Miya and Kali. Hana is talking with everyone, from the gist of what I could hear, she's asking everyone about their situation and trying to calm them down. Duke is still trying to work on how to communicate outside. When I asked him earlier, he said it seems anything that connected with our technology before doesn't work anymore. But with his current glitch skill, he might be able to get a new communicator. I'm not sure what his skill is as he didn't answer me anymore and focused on doing what you asked him to do." Sho finished reporting.
"Very good." Alpha said, satisfied. It was only day one, but everything was going smoothly.
It didn't feel like what happened earlier was the end of the world anymore. It felt like a new beginning.
Sho thought that having a different mindset or location could result in a different outcome. Comparing the scenario of his murlocs' encounter and this Super Phenomena, it felt like the other was a nightmare while here it was walking in a breeze. It was very relaxing. It didn't have any apocalypse vibes.
Now that the situation was mostly peaceful, Sho was able to observe and think more. The Zone he was in was in stark contrast to the Murlocs' Zone. In the Murlocs' Zone, he really couldn't think of any unnecessary details, because one moment of distraction could lead to their death.
Aside from that, he also thought of one detail that was bothering him. He couldn't recall how Akihiko looked. Although he knew the kid, the middle school kid was like an invisible existence if no one paid him attention. Even for someone like him he observed details, he couldn't really recall what he looked like. And it didn't help that the kid barely looked up to reveal his face. It was a minor detail that he would surely forget if he didn't think of what was bothering him in the Murlocs' Zone and after that. He wondered if that was his inherent ability.
He was really looking forward to seeing the three again. He knew that the three aren't normal. One was a monstrous genius, one was a kind person but still survived and another who lacks presence. And he… what's special about him?
"Sir Alpha…"
"Just call me Alpha. What is it?"
"Why did you choose me to do this? What did you see in me to do this summary report? I think anyone can do this…"
Honestly, his tasks were too easy for him. He felt that if anyone was given the task, he or she could do a better job. His mind kept wandering and he was still full alert. Although he saw this as a peaceful Zone, he didn't let his guard down knowing that there were other living beings along with them.
The encounter of murlocs were deeply ingrained in him that his instinct told him a moment of carelessness would cost his life.
"Not everyone. Each of us has our own thing we are good at. Some may be more talented in one area. I chose you to give me the summary of our camp because I know you are good at observing details. I saw how hard you tried when the event started. Although you are currently lacking in experience, you do have a talent for observing. And I think that if given the chance you can lead people."
Sho was shocked. *He? Leading? That seems far from the truth.*
Well, if he would only use the original Sho's memory, he felt that he really couldn't lead. But what about the real him? Did he have kicks for leading? If he was just trusting his feelings, he would say he never experienced leading. That's why he was so clumsy with it.
"You might not be aware of it. Maybe, because I tried to get the leadership, you felt you didn't have talent. Boy, it's not like that. It's just that I have more experience with you. And more confidence in the area of commanding. Leading people is not easy. You need a brain for it. And I can see you are a good fit. You have talent you just haven't seen. I tasked you with observation so you could gain more knowledge. If worse comes to worse, you can take over the leadership and lead everyone to safety."
"Aren't you mistaken?" He couldn't help but utter. "I'm good with observation, yes. But I've never thought of myself as someone who can lead."
"Being a lead is not for everyone. If you don't want to lead, that's up to you. But earlier, when you stood up there trying to unite us together, you have greatly qualified for being a lead. I see your potential. You just have to believe in yourself."
"But in this new messy world, I'm not even equipped to be a leader. I don't have a skill that is as awesome as yours or the rest of us."
"That's why I said you don't have enough experience. But you're off to a good start. Continue observing. And let me know what you think of our camp's situation. Also, meet me in the waterway in three hours."
"Wait! Why are you doing this?"
Alpha was about to go when Sho suddenly asked.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Why are you trying to encourage me to be a leader? You're more suitable for it…"
"Kid…" he gazed at Sho for a long time making his heart start beating faster. "We don't know what's out there. We don't even know what's here in the Zone with us. We don't know many things. But I believe that children could carry our future. It's the reason I've enlisted in the army. It's the reason why I serve wholeheartedly. Because there are a lot of children holding our future.
"I'm just someone who believes that kids should be educated young. It just so happens that this Super Phenomena took place. You, Duke, Miya, Hana and Kali stood out the best. I believe the five of you have a bright future ahead if taught well."
Sho was pleasantly surprised. He discovered Alpha's eyes on him because he was observant. But he didn't know he was also eyeing four others.
It was reasonable for Duke. He was a techy geek. He didn't even hide his glitch skill which was related to programming. He was able to create *something* based on his programming insights. Although it also has limits. As of now, he still couldn't create a program to reach outside.
Miya was a silent eighteen year old genius. She looked prideful. She had an air that it was obvious everyone should recognize her. And the reason he knew that she was a genius was because more than five of the people in their group did recognize her as a one-in-a-million type of genius. They saw her in the news.
Kali… he had no idea about the guy because Alpha gave him a task and disappeared.
As for Hana… even though he didn't want to admit that the girl who hurt Sho was outstanding, she was indeed outstanding. She didn't reveal her skills, but she had already been the center of everyone from their camp. It was her pure intrapersonal skill that even tricked the poor original Sho. That was the reason he was even more cautious towards the girl. A girl who could look so pure, delicate and upright then turn bitchy in just one second was very dangerous in his opinion.
"Remember, three hours from now. Just adapt well. We don't know what might happen later. But adapting could never go wrong. It's better to adapt now that we have a breather than later when everything gets messed up."
Sho nodded as Alpha walked away.
He was still in deep thought.
Alpha was right, no matter what he thinks, he needed to adapt. Even if the System turned out to be evil, being able to adapt with the Zone and the two merging worlds would do him good.