"Two days ago we agreed to wait a bit for the government to respond but as things stand we haven't seen any activity from the military forces in response to the situation" Veronica stated and everyone had grim expressions on their faces.
With the absence of government activities in the area it was safe to assume that they were also facing their own internal problems. Two days had already passed and still there was no response. It was safe to say that the situation wasn't so good on their side either and it would take sometime before they could give a full response.
"The food that we took from the cafeteria is also lacking and can only last us about two days at most" Melody chimed in as well. She had gained some confidence and she could now speak more freely at the table. Regardless of this though no one minded because she was a smart and insightful person.
Silence reigned over as everyone was lost in their thoughts
"Why don't we just eat the mutant beast meat?" Jordan suddenly proposed.
"That's brilliant he he he" I laughed as I remembered my promise to eat that overgrown bird. I licked my lips it was time to repay a debt.
Everyone was giving me weird looks at this point to which I just coughed in response.
"We also need to send a few of us to town just to see that condition its in. Now it is no doubt that it will be dangerous without a doubt but it's the only thing we can do at this point"
Veronica said.
I nodded and sighed. She was right the only way to determine how things were outside was to personally check.
I raised my hand
"I'll go"
"Are you sure? It will be dangerous and aren't you still injured?" Grem joined the conversation
"Nothing I can't walk" I shrugged lightly still conscious of my left arm
"I'll be going with you too man. Can't have you doing something reckless on your own again" Jordan gave me a wild grin. He and I had been separated for the most part of the first day of the apocalypse, there was no way he would want to part from me that much.
"I guess I'll be coming along too. I'm a healer after all" Rina smiled at me brightly
"Well you're not just a healer Rina you got a killer voice" I teased alittle
A sigh came from Lydia
"I can't believe I'm doing this" Lydia said helplessly "…I guess you can count me in as well"
After Lydia spoke no one else volunteered.
Veronica nodded before she said
"Well then Jordan, Huey, Lydia and Rina will be given this task while the rest of us will process the carcasses of the elephant beetle as well as the eagle to see if they're edible"
Like that the meeting ended
…
"Do you have a death wish or something!" Lydia wasted no time in scolding me. We were walking outside the gym.
"Geez would you relax? Its not like I'm too injured or anything"
Lydia poked at a point in my left arm in response
"Ow!" I winced
"Ohhhh I'm not that injured" she threw my words right back at me mockingly. "You can even move your arm goddammit"
She cursed which caught me by surprise I looked at her more closely and I could see a deep concern in her eyes. She was genuinely worried about me. Her lips were twisted in a pout that honestly made her look cute especially with her emerald green eyes. Her blue black hair was tied in a ponytail.
She was honestly the embodiment of a fairy.
"You don't have to worry about me. I may be injured right now but we'll leave for the scout mission a week from now so in the meantime…"
We stopped infront of the second star eagles corpse. An excited smile on my lips.
"…I'll be enjoying some bird meat"
Using my sword I cut into it. By now the lingering mana around the eagle had receded a bit and Lydia was far stronger than before so she wasn't as bothered as she was in the beginning. I took the steps similar to how I would handle a killed chicken. I rid the bird of its feathers using my sword and lay them on the ground adjacent like a make shift mat.
Then I moved on to the legs of the creature, hacking them off the main body before cutting them further into smaller pieces. Of course blood had spilled to the floor but it fragrance was so inviting that I had no choice but to store some of it in a two litter bottle of course Rina had helped out with a mixture of chemicals that were used to keep blood in blood banks from clotting while in storage. The bottle was placed away in my backpack.
In a matter of three hours the large bird that had been as large as a 4x4 pick up was reduced to three large 3m by 2m plastic containers that were in the school garage. Of course I had the help from a small group of survivors and Jordan as well to make this much progress.
Of course the large beetle that was killed by Jordan and Veronica was also processed into meat with its large shell stored away for future usage. Who couldn't say that the beast material could be used for creating items?
But well that was a theory to be proven another time as none of those present had any skills in forging or blacksmithing.
Anyway, while the containers of eagle meat were taken way to be stored somewhere I decided to head to the cafeteria of course Lydia followed me here
"What did you say you wanna do?" Lydia asked with an ashen face
"I wanna drink the beast's blood" I replied with no hesitation. Something in the back of my head had been nagging me to do this.
I could only sigh as Lydia's face grew even more ashen.
"Look I know what I'm doing is risky but I feel like I can benefit from this somehow"
With that I unscrewed the bottle I was holding and brought it up to my lips. The fragrance entering my nose once more. Inviting me. Urging me to drink.
I hesitated for a moment. In truth even I was apprehensive about what I was doing but I steeled my resolve and lifted my head up with the bottle connected to my lips. I felt a liquid pour on my tongue. It was warm and somehow reminded me of hot chocolated.
Lydia bit her lower lip as she watched me. Take a single large gulp before removing myself from the bottle. A few seconds ticked by. No reaction.
"Well that wasn't so_"
BOOM
A mini explosion happened within me the moment the blood landed in my stomach. Massive amounts of energy were released from the essence of the blood that rampaged through my body completely out of my control.
A non-sensible pain that ruptured throughout my entire body with my stomach being the center. A pained groan escaped my lips as the pain forced me to get on my knees. My body felt heated up. It was so hot to the point that my skin mildly turned red.
My blood was boiling. My muscles roared in protest. An unbearable itch came from my arm and chest but I was in too much pain to feel anything further from that. My eyes almost rolled to the back of my head but I bit my tongue so violently I thought I was going to chop it off. My body felt bloated for a moment that I thought it would burst apart. Unbeknownst to me if it wasn't for the current strength of my body I most definitely would have.
The pain persisted for what felt like an eternity before it died down leaving me a sweaty mess kneeling and panting on the floor
[Health +37 /Strength +20/ Mana +16]
I smile crawled onto my fatigued face.
"Huey?" Lydia was kneeling right beside me. "Is everything alright?"
"Heh you seem to be asking me that question a lot lately" I said causing a bright flush of red to heat up her cheeks.
"Could you be serious for a moment! I thought something bad was going to happen"
Lydia shouted out her frustration with her hands raised in the air.
I looked at her with a serious expression as I had a solemn thought. If taking in the blood had almost killed me due to the excess energy had my body not been able to assimilate it well then if normal weak bodied individuals ate the meat from the second star eagle then wouldn't they die.
Of course the essence in the meat might be lesser than the essence in the blood but I was pretty sure that it would still be enough to kill most of the survivors who were level 0 currently.
"Lydia I think we should hold off the eagle meat for only those who have stats higher than 50" I said
Lydia seemed to think about for a moment before she caught on to my train of thought she didn't object and immediately we headed back to the gym. We had to find Veronica and explain the situation to her.
When we exited the cafeteria and headed towards the gym. I could see Veronica directing instructions to some people who seemed to be building some sort of wall with the fallen concrete. Although it may not hold for a long time it was at least better than nothing and it could definitely hold off ravids below level 5.
…
As we explained to Veronica about our plausible theory, she decided to keep it in mind and avoid consuming the eagle meet for now. I kept my stash of eagle blood in my bag a secret though, I should be able to take it without much difficulty soon, I thought.
So that afternoon we only fed on the beetle meat.
[Stamina +2]
I smiled as I still received benefits though they differed from the others as they got better stats. If I had to say then it was probably due to their stats being lower. Still we continued to eat with me and Jordan chatting frequently as well as Lydia and Rina chiming in from time to time. We were lost in our own world. In all honesty it was a refreshing feeling that distracted me from my thoughts of the future.
After supper everyone slept with a smile on their face as this was the best meal they had had in a while. Of course Rina applied two more heals on me before I slept and I was surprised that the chest wound was closing rapidly as the mending of my left arm accelerated to thrice the usual healing speed.
…
Like this another three days passed meaning that six days had passed since the apocalypse brought about by the arrival of the Spirit record system had began.
The front gates of the high school were broken down and the walls were cracked, the cars that had been parked in the parking lot had most of all been broken with some having flat tires, broken windows even an Audi XX which had been the latest release from the company had been utterly obliterated.
Currently three teenagers and a single lady in her early twenties looked at the scene with shock. If the front of York Town High already looked so decrypt how was the situation truly like outside the school walls?
I took deep breaths as I looked towards my friends who would be journeying with be beyond these walls. Jordan had his Thunder gauntlets fitted to his fists firmly. He wore simple gym sweats just like me and he had a serious look on his face that rarely showed up in fact if I could see myself in the mirror right now I was certain that I would also see a serious me staring right back.
Lydia's purple battle robe hung tightly to her body as her dark hair whipped left and right due to the wind.
Rina wore a pair of jeans that she had borrowed from one of the females who had a spare set and if one looked closely they would see the dagger that was held at her waistband.
With Black Salamander held in my right hand and a backpack on my back that was full of our supplies I took the first step outside.
'Wait for me mom'
----------------------------------------------------END OF PART 1------------------------------------------------------