*Smack Smack Smack*
Leo regained consciousness rather rapidly due to the pain of the haymaker slaps that his sad excuse for a mother was raining down on his face.
Scrambling to dodge the next slap that was quickly approaching his cheek, Leo rolled to his side and jumped to his feet.
"MOM! Stop hitting me for fucks sake!"
"How dare you curse in my house you little shit! What are you even doing here?! And why did you break the vase next to my door!?"
"I didn't mean too break your vase! Clearly I passed out from exhaustion! Are you too stupid or too ignorant to see that?!
And I'm here to get my car! Where are the keys?!"
Leo's mother, Hellen, was caught off guard by the fact that her son was suddenly confronting her so brazenly.
All his life, he had been a quiet and reserved boy who rarely spoke or engaged with others.
She could hardly recall a time beyond when he was a baby where he had so much as raised his voice at her or anyone else and yet, here he was, raising his voice at her.
She didn't like that one bit.
"Did you just call me stupid, you son of a bitch?! I see a few months away at college have given you the idea that you can talk to your mother however you want!
Come here!
Let me slap some sense into that ugly head of yours!"
Leo wasn't the least bit intimidated by his mother. Sure, she had always been confrontational and a tad bit aggressive, but she was more bark than bite.
The old him would have been terrified of her, but having lived for as long as he did during the apocalypse, her 'reign of terror' was no more frightening than a chihuahua's bark.
So without delay, Leo returned the same energy back at her that she directed at him.
"You got one thing right, I really am the son of a bitch, bitch! I don't have time for your asinine behavior though!
Where are my car keys?!
This world is about to get fucked 5 ways to Sunday and I have better things to do than indulge your fragile ego, so either hand over the keys or get the fuck out of my way!"
Hellen wanted to retort but for some reason she was intimidated by her sons newfound courage.
Of course, she wouldn't let that show so with an indignant expression she simply point towards the floor where the table Leo had crushed was currently scattered about.
Leo looked down and realized he had been standing directly over his keys the entire time.
'Whoops. Guess I forgot what it's like to observe my surroundings without all my skills and high stats.
Do better Leo.'
Leo quickly bent down, grabbed his keys, and without another word he rushed out of the house and hopped into his car, cranked the engine, and sped off towards the store.
It didn't take long for Leo to reach the outdoor mall that was located only a few miles from his house.
There was only one store on Leo's mind at this point and that was the outdoor shop that rivaled the largest department stores.
He quickly parked his car, jumped out, and rushed inside the store.
After grabbing a shopping cart Leo made his way up and down each aisle, grabbing everything that he needed for his plans moving forward.
Although a lot of this stuff would be helpful after the coming changes to Earth, they would eventually lose their usefulness as the 'players' strength and skills increased, so he refrained from going overly crazy with his stockpiling.
Once his cart was near overflowing with the basic essentials for camping, he made his way towards the section where you could purchase firearms and hunting knives.
While he was walking towards the firearms section, it finally happened.
"Greetings humans of Earth.
Your race has been found wanting.
Your wanton destruction and utter disregard for the people and world around you, has caused many gods to be angry with you.
Thus, you and your fellow humans have been chosen to partake in a little game.
Fear not, for we gods are benevolent and have modeled it after your worlds popular entertainments.
The game will begin in four hours.
Be aware that should you perish in this new world then you will be welcomed into the afterlife.
Their will be no second chances."
Since Leo had experienced the intrusive voice once already, he was not the least bit caught off guard by its sudden invasion of his mind.
The same could not be said for the others in the store however.
Looking around, Leo could see a range of emotions on the faces of those present: fear, confusion, disbelief, and many more.
It didn't take long for the screams to ring out.
"What was that?! Did anyone else hear that voice?!"
"It can't be real! I refuse to believe it was real!"
"Get the fuck out of my way! I have to get home to my family!"
And so on.
Leo simply stood still and watched the chaos unfold.
He too had reacted like these people when he had heard the voice for the first time.
He himself had been utterly terrified and confused at that time.
Which had made the struggle to survive the coming chaos so much more difficult than it needed to be.
'This time will be different.' He swore to himself. 'While the rest of the world is lost and confused, I will seize the opportunity to put a gap between us that will be insurmountable no matter how much time passes.'
Leo knew that the gods weren't actually punishing the humans for any failure or anything of the sort.
They were simply bored.
Wars had become more and more scarce as time passed, globalization had brought together humanity on a scale never before seen, and people were beginning to fall into a constant state of repetitiveness.
Of course, it would be years before the humans learned this truth but ultimately it did not matter why it was happening, because they had no say in the matter at the end of the day.
They were simply at the mercy of those who ruled over them.
'That is until I find a way to get to those bastards and beat the shit out of them that is.' Leo thought to himself.
After reveling in the surge of adrenaline that coursed through his body at the thought of fighting the gods themselves, Leo calmed himself down and returned to his tasks at hand.
With the store now in complete and utter chaos, Leo simply walked behind the gun counter and grabbed a .308 long rifle, a couple .45 caliber handguns, some holsters, and as much ammunition as he could fit in his cart before turning towards the exit of the store.
Having grabbed everything he could manage, he waltzed his way through the now barren store and exited out the front.
'Not like I need to pay for anything since money will serve no purpose in a few hours! Haha! That timing worked out better than I thought it would!'
As Leo made his way through the parking lot, he had to dodge quite a few vehicles that were speeding out of the lot like bats out of hell, but despite everyone fervent behavior, he continued on as if nothing was happening.
When he arrived at his own vehicle he slowly and without a care in the world, unloaded his cart into the trunk and backseat before jumping into the drivers seat and heading towards the exit of the mall parking lot.
While people were hurrying back to their homes, Leo had other plans.
Since his mothers house was on the outskirts of the town, he really only had two choices on which direction to head.
Back into town.
Or straight out of it.
He turned down the road that led out of the city and with a smile as wide as his face could manage, he floored it down the open road.
'My legend begins now.'