[Excerpt from the book 'Savior of the World'
Daniel Bran moved away from the scene of the crime where the lifeless body of the young mother lay limply on the cold ground, the son wailing agonizingly kept hugging and calling for 'mom' repeatedly, while the 'father' was slumped on his spot, with eyes that look like they were lost and distant, his mouth hung open.
Daniel Bran couldn't bear the sight and decided to leave. He had witnessed many deaths, but the feeling of helplessness, the inability to act to save lives still hits differently.
Before he left to give space to the family to grieve, he extended his hand and squeezed the insensitive fly that kept encircling the astonished man, the fly attempting to enter his opened mouth. He was even compelled to slowly reach his chin and close it for him, but shooed the thought away, as he might get misunderstood again.
Daniel Bran stepped outside, scanning the field for any monster threats while the wail inside the dilapidated barn was echoing. Aside from the dead bodies of the monsters, there was not a single sign of life in the vicinity. It was as if all lives had been obliterated, and only the trees and grasses moved with the wind.
The sun was already setting, dyeing the blue sky with a reddish hue like a finished background on a landscape painting, only the lower part was bathed in a different color of red joined by a coppery smell filling the air. And the silence of the surroundings cast a rather eerie atmosphere than serene.
Daniel Bran sighed. His mind raced to think of what his next step should be. He remembered the golden window and the blue screens that helped him recognize what happened to the woman.
He then tried to open his SUP window to check on his abilities.
[System User Profile
User: Daniel Bran Rank: S
Health: 100 % Mana: 47 %
>>>>Stats
>>>>Abilities
>>>Asclepius' Hands Lvl. 1 [ ↑ ]
>>Default Skill
>Brief Diagnosis
>Treatment Plan
>Life Expectancy
>>>>Inventory
>>>>Bank]
Daniel Bran raised his brow, his eyes lingered on the name of the ability. But even after reliving all his stock knowledge, he couldn't pinpoint where he heard that name that sounds like someone who had problems pronouncing 's' would surely find difficult to pronounce.
It's probably the name of an ancient Greek doctor or medical practitioner based on the default skills, – Daniel Bran thought to himself. However, he couldn't comprehend why he received that kind of ability when he was a soldier active on the frontlines rather than part of the military medical personnel. Instead of saving lives, he was more accustomed to taking them.
His thoughts went back to the golden screen. He wondered what the arrow was for, so he pressed it next and the window displayed,
[>>>Asclepius' Hands Lvl. 1 [ ↑ ]
>>Default Skill
>Brief Diagnosis
>Treatment Plan
>Life Expectancy
*Upgrade to Lvl. 2
>5 Patients Successfully Treated: 5 Remaining]
"An upgrade," He muttered.
He sighed in disbelief as if everything had just finally sunk in on his head. How is it that the man inside looked like it was just something trivial? And it seemed to him that he knew something.
"Awakened," He murmured next, remembering the initial notification he received. "What does it mean?"
"It meant that you're one of the chosen individuals."
Daniel Bran looked back and found the man, whom he still did not know the name of, standing behind him with disheveled hair and a gaunt face. Some strands of his slightly long dark brown hair were even stuck on his lips like a hanged ghost lady trying to scare someone.
The man's eyes bathed in the light of the setting sun appeared golden, looking at Daniel indifferently.
Daniel Bran replied, "Chosen individuals?"
The man nodded, "Those who were given powers and abilities to fight the monsters and save this world. I think the ones who received that notification became similar to us. It's like a game, don't you think? A game where this world appears on a screen of a mobile or a pc, and we are the avatars of each fucking player trying to rank up and defeat the final boss."
The man looked up in the direction where the gigantic door was as he mentioned his last words. It was an accurate comparison. However, Daniel had no idea that the game was his real world.
"Where are you heading now, Private?" The man asked, breaking the cold silence between them.
Daniel Bran replied, "I have to go to the city."
"Are you sure? Are you perhaps referring to the City of Alpas? By now, the city had been probably overtaken by the monsters as it was directly below that enormous door. The government will soon identify it as a Red Zone. It won't be safe to go alone."
Daniel Bran silently agreed with the man. It will be difficult for him to enter the city alone, or maybe it will still be difficult even if he enters with his troops. Even at that distance, he could see the crimson door covered in red and dark smog.
He fell into deep thoughts.]
* * * * *
I went back inside the barn, leaving the soldier deep in his thoughts. My gaze moved to the child who was still sobbing and embracing his dead mother. My head ached when I remembered what the kid's role was.
Supporting character. Not just an extra, but a supporting character! Which means, our meeting wouldn't just end here. A novel revolves around the protagonist, and a supporting character always appears with the protagonist! Am I going to be a babysitter instead?!' – a barrage of thoughts swirled in my head.
I thought of sneaking out and leaving the soldier and the kid. If I do that, then I won't be burdened by worrying over where to dump the child or carry him around. Daniel Bran can protect him better than I can!
I've decided.
I glanced around to find any large hole in the wooden walls of the barn, one that could fit me since the soldier was at the entrance, brooding over complicated things. My back ached from crawling to the corners.
My shadow went past the child and I kept praying that he won't notice me. His tear-stained and puffy eyes looked pitiful that it was poking my conscience so I averted my gaze. I really am in no position to take a child.
I jerked when someone tapped me on the shoulders. I looked back, my heart raced as I expected the soldier behind me, but my eyes landed on the kid instead. I sighed in relief and asked the kid in a whisper, "What?"
The child did not speak. He merely looked at me and his mother, then he pointed his finger to the opposite corner where the stacks of chopped wood were. Behind that pile of woods was a large gap enough for even the soldier to pass.
I returned my gaze to the kid who went back to his mother's side, bringing a worn-out banner and struggling to cover the corpse of his mother.
The kid's thin and small arms were pulling the cover, and a few drops of tears came out of his eyes. Even his sobs were suddenly restrained, and his movement languid as if he found it difficult to even breathe. He went over to the other side and continued fixing his mother's remains, silently mumbling his goodbye while caressing the ghostly face of his mother.
Is it even possible for a child to act like that after only a few hours of crying over the death of his sole guardian? The thought dashed in my head as I watched the poor kid, forgetting my scheme to run away.
The author could have at least searched for how a child behaves after losing a parent! I wouldn't have shaken to leave if he trashed and wailed and yelled like it'd ripped my ears…but this?! The sight was too depressing!
I looked upward and blinked my eyes several times, sending back the peeking tears from my eye glands. For a moment, my mind showed me a familiar scene where a boy couldn't even cry properly in the wake of his guardian because he was told he had no right.
I stared at the corpse and the silent mourner for quite a while, waiting for whose side of my shoulders' dwellers would win.
The one with a ring hummed me a song that goes – there's a hero if you look inside your heart – accompanied by a lyre. On the left was the one with horns acting like a manipulative coach whispering to me deadly and evil strategies.
The boy kissed his mother's forehead one last time, then he finally lifted the banner and covered her head.
At that moment, a resounding slap echoed inside.
Hurried footsteps came closer and I saw the soldier looking at my hands on my shoulders with confusion.
"What happened?"
He moved closer to me and examined my shoulder. Aside from the reddened skin, there was no other injury. But as soon as he touched my shoulder, he froze like someone caught in a blizzard.
[Daniel Bran's movement paused after another screen appeared before him.
[Patient Obtained]
Nervousness rammed the soldier's chest.
He used his 'Brief Diagnosis Skill' and he sighed in relief after reading the message.
[1. The dorsal part of the body was injured by the razor-sharp legs of Myrhmotera. Scratch wounds are half an inch deep.
2. Left shoulder ache from a powerful hit.]
"Did you hit your shoulder?" Daniel Bran asked the man who looked distressed and reluctant.
The man simply nodded, and pointed at the woman's corpse by his lips, "Can we, at least, bury her?"
Daniel Bran shifted his gaze to the floor and to the boy who was waiting for his answer. He nodded his head, and the kid ran off near the entrance where the farming tools were, grabbing two shovels that almost pinned him down to the ground.
"Let me do it."
The soldier offered and snatch the shovel, and he threw the other to the other man, but when the latter winced after catching the digging tool, he told him to just sit and look after the child.
Fortunately, the soil in the area wasn't that hard to dig, and it didn't take long before Daniel Bran had finished digging an appropriate depth to bury a corpse.]
I stood before the freshly dug grave with an inexplicable look on my face. I had never once imagined attending a burial half-naked behind a barn in my entire life. But my clothes were ripped and the only thing covering my torso was the bandage that Daniel Bran wrapped on me.
The wind blew and I hugged myself, then crouched on my spot to level my face with the kid.
I inhaled deeply before I rained him with my questions.
"Hey, boy, do you have a name? A father? How old are you? Do you have any relatives left? How are you going to live now? Who's going to take care of you? Did you swallow your tongue? Why—
"Are you not his father?"
Huh?
I gave him a stupid look while the kid looked up at him with displeasure. Clearly, our faces answered his question.