Did the title mean to say that things wouldn't progress in the way I had written them? Did someone use it to warn me about the future?
I did not know the answers to these questions.
I pressed on the document to open it, hoping it would clear some of my doubts.
Unfortunately, another strange thing happened.
---
[ Error 404: Document not found ]
---
"…"
I took a deep breath and tried to open the novel again but it didn't work. Frustrated, I checked for the file in every corner of the laptop including the trash bin in case the file was deleted.
Minutes passed, increasing my frustration. No matter how much I looked, the novel's file did not exist in any other location.
With a sigh, I decided to try the oldest trick in the book. I turned my laptop off before turning it on again. This usually fixed all kinds of errors.
"Oh come on!"
The document containing the edited novel name was no longer present on the home screen. The document had vanished from the laptop.
My willpower and patience were exhausted. I turned off the laptop and put it back inside the bag.
As I laid on the bed to sleep, I started thinking about the next day.
The Entertainers would soon realize that humans could simply use their skills to reach the city center and would prohibit all skill usage until the day after tomorrow.
It was the day when the free days ended and monsters appeared.
This was a major flaw in the novel. Quite a lot of people managed to reach the safe zones without providing any major entertainment.
BangKok and the other Entertainers immediately tried to counter the damage that was done but it was too late.
Considering that, one could say that lying on the bed was a stupid move. Sadly, the fight with Bash tired me.
Another fight might knock me out.
It was not safe for me to head towards the city center in such conditions.
Most humans would use their powers to do whatever they wanted. Moral values no longer existed. The horrible things humans would do to their fellow humans…
Enough overthinking. I need to sleep now.
Somehow I forced myself to stop thinking. As my body was tired after the events that occurred today, immediately fell asleep.
***
A few minutes ago.
"He is still the same," Vin muttered while looking at Michael.
For the past five minutes, Michael stared at the flame of the lighter without doing anything. Vin had no idea what he was trying to achieve.
Since she couldn't sleep, she decided to check up on Michael. She didn't want to talk to him since she was the one who sent him away.
'I have to admit, he isn't half bad looking though. His eyes still have that purple shade.'
Vin thought after turning around.
She was heading back to her bed while thinking about Michael's features. His hair were long enough to fall over his eyes yet his vision didn't seem to be blocked.
His eyes were also blue like hers except it was a different shade. Sometimes his eyes glowed purple when the light hit them from a certain angle.
This led to her thinking about the days they used to spend together in high school. Back then, she couldn't have guessed about the current situation she was in.
'Snap out of it Vin! You are no longer a teenage girl who spent most of her time thinking about a boy.'
Vin knew that she couldn't let herself be distracted during the apocalypse especially when the apocalypse was from a novel she dearly loved.
She couldn't remember the amount of times she wished for that novel to come to reality. Whenever her life would become horrible, she would wish for the apocalypse to begin so that she could use magic to enjoy her life.
And now, her dream has become a reality.
'I just need him to…'
Vin had just reached her bed when she felt an incoming headache. It was immediately followed by a numbing sensation spreading throughout her body.
'No, not again! I just had one before!'
Vin cursed internally before lying on the bed. Her entire body froze after a few seconds. Her eyes slowly lost their focus as her consciousness slipped away.
Once again, Vin entered a trance-like state…
***
Morning arrived quicker than I expected.
*Tan-Tan-Tara-Ra* *Tan-Tan-Tara-Ra*
Unfortunately, my alarm was the reason I woke up. It was that horrible default alarm sound that any person waking up in the morning would hate.
With a sigh, I turned it off and stared at the 10 am written on my phone screen. I closed all the alarms present on my phone before turning it off.
To preserve its battery, I limited the usage of my phone. Well, it was not like I could scroll reels on it or do anything else that consumed a lot of battery.
Before I got up from my bed, I opened my laptop to check whether the novel file was present there or not.
Much to my disappointment, the file was nowhere to be seen. Someone was definitely messing with me.
I got up from bed and stretched my body. I needed to gather some clues to find out who was responsible for fiddling with the laptop.
I continued to stretch my body for five more minutes before settling down.
"So it finally happened."
My eyes went towards the two windows that I had been ignoring from the moment I woke up.
+
[ Notice: All skills can no longer be used until midnight. ]
+
The first window confirmed my thoughts from last night.
Unfortunately, the lucky ones who took the notification seriously were already gathered in the safe zone. There was nothing anyone could do about it.
'Hmm, the majority of people would still be present outside.'
The funny thing was that not many people took the scenarios seriously. I couldn't blame them.
The two free days made it seem like the scenarios were a calm event where no one needed to do anything. Most people would take their sweet time to reach the safe zones.
Overall, people were fascinated by the appearance of skills as well as magic. For many humans, magic was the way to obtain and achieve everything they wanted to do.
Since powers were disabled, the government and police were trying to establish order. They also wanted to prevent crimes from occurring.
Unfortunately, order no longer existed in this world.
Closing the first window, I shifted my attention towards the second one.
+
[ Ways to Survive the Apocalypse(Scenarios).txt ]
[ Live Streaming has begun ]
+
This document was what one might call the tutorial or introduction to a video game. It was not an actual survival guide.
The document contained all the basic information about the scenarios, skills, mana usage, and some information on the future of scenarios.
It also explained the concept of broadcasting and how Entertainers worked.
I already had this knowledge but despite that, I downloaded the guide. The guide can be viewed at any point of time and might turn out to be useful in certain circumstances.
Though my [Author's Skill] removed the need for the document, I decided to download the document anyway.
Now moving on to more important tasks.
Moving through the destroyed Ballmart, my eyes searched for weapons to protect myself. My interaction with Bash confirmed that using knives might be beneficial for me as long as I stopped them from melting.
Upon reaching the hunting section, I took a look at the knives available for usage. Hunting knives and army knives seemed like the go to option for me.
I picked up all the knives I could see and stashed them inside my bag. I also put a knife in both pockets of my jacket in case I needed to use them at a moment's notice.
I also picked up some medical supplies for the future before heading towards Vin to check up on her.
The blond girl was calmly sleeping on her bed, a peaceful expression present on her face. I couldn't help but do a double take when I saw her.
Wait, I am being a creep.
I shook my head and called out her name.
"Vin, get up. We have to start moving."
"Five more minutes mhm… I will reach school on time." Vin mumbled.
A smile appeared on my lips. Even though Vin graduated a long time ago, she thought that I was waking her for school.
"You are 21 years old Vin. We are no longer dealing with the assignment apocalypse."
Vin's eyes slowly began to open. She suppressed a yawn and took a glance at her surroundings. Slowly, she realized what she had said.
Her cheeks slightly turned red due to embarrassment. Stifling another yawn, Vin slowly sat up and averted her gaze.
Her hair were slightly tanged while a few strands were falling on her face. I had to admit that she looked pretty even after waking up.
"Magic has been disabled. How far do you think we can get before midnight arrives?" Vin questioned.
"On foot, we might be able to cover 80% of the distance, that is if we didn't run into any problems."
"You should stop doing that." Vin glared at me.
"Stop doing what?"
"Stop raising flags, you idiot."
Oh.
I raised another flag, unintentionally of course. I felt ashamed to be an author who continued to raise flags like that.
"Sorry, I was trying to be cautious."
"I know Michael but the world has transformed into a place where raising flags might lead to our death. I can't die before fulfilling my goals you know."
"You have a goal?"
I was slightly surprised by this but then, many people developed new goals during the apocalypse. Vin might have developed a goal as well.
As for me, the apocalypse was kind of my dream as I wanted to escape my life and live in a fantasy world.
"Of course. I want to meet the characters plus I have another goal." Vin replied cheerfully. "Enough. Let's get ready to set out."
I nodded and together, the two of us proceeded to the food section.
After all, no one could fight on an empty stomach.
Wait, was that a flag?
Meh, who cares. Food mattered more than that.