A funny thing about becoming awakened in this world. This miraculous system had appeared to force the evolution of Earth in order to deal with the onslaught. Well, Marcie assumes at this point that the other awakened can also see system windows. How would she have otherwise seen the windows prior to being bestowed her skills? More importantly, why was there a system to begin with and who made it?
There were so many questions about an aspect of Earth's new reality that have gone unanswered. All she knows for sure, is that just tapping into it has lessened the burdens on her body.
"Ooof, my physiotherapist might have her work cut out for her now…" A bead of nervous sweat rolled down Marcie's temple as she swiveled the now very broken door open. She hadn't meant to break the handle to open it, but she was experiencing a whole new level of strength now that she was no longer just a normal person, and admittedly, she wasn't sure how to regulate it.
It was unfortunate that her new found abilities haven't made her more graceful though. She very much wished to become a more agile person. But when the stool she was using pulled a puppy move and almost rolled out from under her when reaching for the door handle, her only instinct was to grab it with all her might in a knee-jerk reaction. Breaking it may have been the intention, but not like that.
Now this was the really tricky part. Getting out of the building. No doubt escaping was going to be trickier than surviving a dungeon in many ways, but with the chaos happening currently, she just might fly under the radar.
Marcie poked her head out just enough to see her surroundings. There was a very long hallway with multiple doors. As she turned her head one direction, the smell of corpses became pungent. 'The other way it is!'. Was it the wrong choice? Who knows? Marcie's first thought was to find a map of the building. Offices usually had those on their walls to guide people in evacuations.
While it looked somewhat silly, Marcie propped her feet up on top of two wheels so they didn't drag and pushed herself in a zigzag pattern from wall to wall. She definitely wanted to find an alternative to this motion as it was largely an uncomfortable thing to do. In the time it took for her to get out of the room, the floor had mostly cleared itself out. She was curious, but also afraid of what might be the cause of the alarm.
"Ugh, nothin but hallways and useless rooms…" Checking each room she came across may as well look like a monster had been through there for all the locked doors she had to break. She was once again thankful for cutting out all the cameras on the floor for fear that her insurance would have a heyday with her should she be caught and charged for destruction of property.
"Just how big is this building anyways?" She began to wonder if this was one of those building complexes where above ground were different buildings, but the underground parts were all connected. She did come across stairways but with her condition, that wasn't much of an option. Marcie rather needed an elevator, more like she hoped desperately for one.
~
The upper levels of the Association were in complete disarray. Richard had amassed a sizable number of units from both his guild and also from the local police force. The moment they received legal permission, they infiltrated the building with practiced precision.
Their first priority was securing the building itself and taking control over the security. Though moving hastily, they were a bit too slow as security caught their movements on camera and sounded the alarm across the building.
"Shit…" Muttered one of Richard's men as they pulled a secretary from her seat. "The Security room, where is it?" he barked. The lady cowered and pointed down the hall.
"D-d-down there, th-th-third door on the r-r-r-ght." The soldier felt distrustful and demanded to see a map of the building. When she said there were none, he yanked out a binder that said 'Employee Handbook' and flopped it open on the desk. Luckily it contained a map of multiple floors, though not all of them.
"Captain, fourth door on the left." He called out after studying the map for a few moments. The soldier sat the woman back down in her chair as a police officer took over for him. The woman was clearly on the verge of panicking but that was not exactly a priority for Richard and his men. No, they proceeded down the hall, each harboring the intense glare of determination.
Every single one of those soldiers with Richard were present when Marcie was rescued from the dungeon and each and every one of them took it very personally when they were informed of her kidnapping, the way an older sibling can be protective over the younger, or a parent over their child. How dare the Association take her like this?!
But none of them felt as anxious and serious about the ordeal as Richard. Through their nearly daily interactions since her initial rescue, they had formed a deep friendship between them. In his eyes, Marcie had become a bright existence and a person whom he can let himself completely relax around in a way his buddies and family could never be.
A big slam came as two men in security uniforms jumped in their seats. Richards' team moved in like wolves on prey and had the men tied up in minutes. Richard immediately scoured the multiple monitors looking for any signs of his cherished person.