The six of them continue to walk while covered in blood. The four people introduced themselves, and the woman in military pants named Vanessa was one of the militaries assigned to kill the monsters in this city; however, they lost contact with their general, and their weapons ran out of stock, rendering them unable to fight. The majority of his squads died fighting the monsters, and she is the only military member left in their squad.
They have decided to live in a 4th floor building. It is cleared and there are no monsters able to reach the building and they don't know why. When Hero reached the building where they were living, he was surprised to see a big tree which made him smile. "Oak Tree," he speaks making all of them look at him as he touches the tree gently.
"Yes, what about it?" Vanessa asks.
"The reason why monsters can't go near the building is because of the Oak tree. Oak tree had a smell that the monsters with blue and orange gems doesn't want however, red gem monsters don't have an effect on this which is why you all still need to be cautious. The one we escaped from earlier was one of the strongest red gem monsters," Hero replied and looked at Vanessa.
"Seems you had a lot of knowledge about monsters, Hero. Where did you learn that? and what about the gems you are talking about?" Lock asks, one of Vanessa's team that was attacked by the chaosmutants. Hero just grinned and left under the tree.
"A hint," he said and shrugged his shoulders. "Where is the entrance?" he asks looking at them who are just staring blankly at him. They didn't respond which made him confused. "What?"
Vanessa simply shook her head and spoke. "Nothing, follow me." Vanessa walks to the bell on the table and rings it three times. After that, she moved backward, and a few minutes later, three men approached and opened the large door for them. "Let's head in."
They all followed Vanessa and entered. Peitho was astounded by how elegantly beautiful the interior of the building is. There was no blood splatter and it was still completely intact, proving Vanessa's claim that monsters cannot really go near the building. It is the first time again Peitho has seen this kind of view after the monsters invade their city.
"We went outside to get food from the store, but we met an unusual monster that I hadn't seen since the first day when monsters invaded the city; our sword and dagger weapons broke the moment we fought it, so we had no choice but to use a gun," Vanessa explained, causing Hero to look at her as he walked beside her.
"You can't just kill every monster with daggers and swords alone, you had to see their weaknesses and use something valuable," Hero replied and turned his eyes to look in front of them. There he saw a lot of people, estimating they were around 50+ but there were no kids or elders which confuses Hero. They still at the first floor of the building.
"How about we talk about that in my office, Hero? There are a lot of things I need to know from you if you don't mind. Don't worry, I will give you room to sleep with your siblings. You are safe here as long as you are under me, okay? Have a rest first, I will see you later," Vanessa said tapping Hero's shoulder.
Lock was the one who led the way to their room and the siblings followed him immediately. "If you need our help, don't hesitate to call us. Take this as a gift for saving us, Mr. Hero," Lock said and closed the door when they reached the room with two beds. Peitho immediately dropped the bag of gems and a bag she carried in her back.
Hero looked around to check every corner of the room if there was a small camera and cctv's around, luckily, there wasn't which made him feel relieved. It is really good to have such skills he can use against enemies however, he is still weak which is why he needed to get stronger as fast as he could.
"Finally! I can sleep again," Peitho spoke and quickly jumped on the bed with a smile on her face, hugging the pillow. "Can we stay here? Since you already said that it is safe to be here because of the Oak tree I guess we had no reason to get out of here, right?" Peitho asks and sits properly looking at his brother separating the blue gems from the orange ones.
"No, we will only stay here for three days. I guess three days is enough for me to consume the source of these two bags of gems and after that, we will leave immediately. I had a bad feeling about this place the moment we entered the building," Hero stated making Peitho confused.
"And what about it?" Peitho asks and lies on her bed staring at the ceiling.
"I don't know. I really don't have any intention to be with them longer, the moment they told me they had a safe place made me follow her to consume the energy source of these gems," he replied still separating the two colored gems. "If you want to sleep go ahead, I'll guard the door," he added.
"Wake me up brother if food is ready, okay?" Peitho speaks and quickly closes her eyes to sleep. Hero just looked at his sister and smiled. He looks at the gems that are now completely separated.
"Now, I'll consume the blue ones first right away," he said, sitting properly and closing his eyes to breathe properly. Consuming the gems requires complete concentration to control the energy source that flows in your veins after consuming the black or purple gems. Without proper breathing, people with abilities will suffer devastation, almost certainly death.
Hero breathed in and out with his hands placed on his legs until he felt the energy source of his gem within him flowing through his veins, preventing it from exploding. When he finally gains control of the energy source, he places his hands on the blue gems and consumes the energy source of each gems with his hands. While consuming the gems, some of it turned gray, indicating that there was no energy source left in that gem.
Hero could literally feel the source entering his body, causing him some pain, but he endured it. It is normal for a body to consume energy from a gem for the first time, but once his body becomes accustomed to it, it will be easy for him to consume any gems he chooses.
It takes him two hours to consume 150 gems, so he has already consumed almost one bag of gems. He clenches his already tired hands. "I am too slow in consuming the energy source of the gems. I need to train my body once again, 150 gems in two hours is very slow," he said with a sigh and looked at the door.
Someone knocked and spoke. "Mr. Hero, Leader Vanessa wanted to see you," Lock speaks making him let out a sigh.
"I'll be there; I need to fix myself first," Hero said, and Lock agreed. Hero immediately replaced the gems and hid them in the bag beneath his bed. He goes to the restroom and takes a bath so that he can feel better in his body, and it is also part of the training to take a cold water bath. When he is finished, he exits the room and follows Lock behind.
While walking, Hero's eyes widen as he senses something approaching him, prompting him to grab it before it hits his head. He looked around and to his hand and noticed a bullet, which prompted him to look in the direction of where it came from. He saw a man holding a sniper rifle and grinning at him with his one eye closed holding his sniper rifle.
"Not bad, huh?" the man says, looking at Hero, who is now glaring at him, clenching his fist and crushing the bullet until it looks like sand.