The message repeated three times before the screen vanished. Connor had been staring at the screen, then shifted his gaze to Elena. Both stood up, steadying themselves by grabbing onto the pillars of the buildings. While Connor appeared outwardly calm, a whirlwind of thoughts raced through his mind.
Elena fared worse. She felt as if the world was ending—which, according to Uriel, it actually was. A new world was rising, one without law, order, or any sense of morality.
'I need to find my friends and ensure my safety first. Then I'll figure out how to contact dad and save my mother in hospital' Elena resolved after a prolonged moment of introspection. Just as she was about to move, she caught sight of Connor.
He was in the midst of removing his shirt, which immediately set her on edge. To her, men were dangerous creatures, especially when their thinking was clouded.
*Smack!*
"Ow! What's wrong with you, you rowdy woman? Have you already lost your mind and already become a zombie?" Connor exclaimed.
"Stay away from me, you disgusting animal. I won't let you touch me!" Elena retorted sharply.
It was only then that Connor grasped what was going through her mind. "You're quite the naughty woman, entertaining such thoughts when the world is falling apart."
Elena felt her face flush with embarrassment. "You're the naughty one here, you pervert! Why are you stripping?"
"Look here," Connor pointed at his bruised abdomen from the fight, he was hit once when they had all rushed to attack him and began applying ointment which he took from his bag. "It was starting to heal until you jumped on me and made it worse. And then, you even punched me in the face, you dirty-minded...!"
Connor's words trailed off into a furious glare directed squarely at Elena, as if he wished to tear her apart.
Though Elena felt a pang of guilt, it quickly gave way to anger at being called names. She took deep breaths to calm herself and spoke firmly, "For now, let's move and find a safe place"
"No shit, genius," Connor grunted, still unforgiving, and started running after her, albeit at a slower pace.
As they hurried along, he asked, "Where are you headed?"
Elena replied "Toward my friends, together we can discuss and find out where to hide'"
She tried to call her friends but to no avail, as cell phone towers were already falling apart, they were met with a throng of students rushing out in a panic. Some had fallen, trampled by their fleeing peers.
'Those students will likely meet their end soon' Connor thought to himself as he watched all the people running around mindlessly in panic while the buildings started falling.
He was thinking of his elder sister when a screen popped up, followed by the voice of URIEL.
[ Hello, Connor Lennox ]
[ I have detected your weak soul-body synchronization. To be fair to all beings in the integration phase, you will have advanced access to the Uriel system before others. ( before the start of the Phase 2: exploratory phase) ]
[ Normally, your record would only be viewable after integration, but due to your challenging circumstances, we're granting you this privilege. ]
"What?!" Connor finally lost his composure and yelled out loud, though amidst the chaos, no one heard him—not even Elena, who had been separated from him by the crowd.
"What's going on, Uriel? Answer me!" he shouted inwardly, hoping for a response.
[ As I said, you have the privilege to access all information from the system that matches your authority level. Speak "Record" in your mind to view your profile panel. ]
He followed the instructions, and a screen appeared.
[
Name: Connor Lennox
Race: Human
Class: None
Subclass: None
Rank: Unranked
Level: -1 ( 0/3)
AP: 0
Attributes:
->Strength: 12
->Endurance: 9
->Stamina: 9/11
->Agility:14
->M.P: locked
->Mana: locked
Weapons(0) Equipments(0) Skills(0) Weapon Arts(0)
]
"Oh, so this is my profile. Will this be visible to everyone? And why is my level -1?"
[ No, unless someone has a skill or artifact allowing them to view records, they cannot see it. As for your level, it's due to your weak soul-body synchronization. you can also ask me all your doubts and queries as there is nothing i can't answer that matches your question's authority]
Connor was taken aback by Uriel's direct response. 'Will you answer all my questions? Do I have to call you Uriel?' he asked not believing the system's claim.
[ For a limited time, I can answer questions based on your authority.
After that, you'll need to purchase a Coupon using SP (Soul Essence Points), which can be cultivated for Evolution.
A single Coupon costs 5000 SP, enough for a Level 1 Evolver to reach Level 20, the maximum for Authority Rank 0.
As for my name, I am a sentient entity known as the URIEL System, not Uriel itself. You can call me System. ]
"Alright, I might have more questions later. For now, I need to find a bunker. But where does one find a bunker in an English university?"
[ You don't necessarily need a bunker. A safe zone near your location is approximately 1380 meters to your right. ]
"Holy crap, isn't this a bit of an advantage? Why didn't you provide this information to all these students?" Connor realized his blunder as soon as the words left his mouth, Elena stared at him wondering if he had lost his mind.
but he paid her no heed and awaited the system's justification.
[ Such spaces are limited, and not many people can occupy them. In this fight for survival, we let individuals discover these safe spots themselves. ]
"Alright, great. Where can I find food?" Connor tried testing the system's knowledge to determine if it really was an all-knowing entity that could be of help to him.
He was provided with all the available locations in his vicinity where food was available to stock.
While the system guided Connor through the chaos, Elena reunited with Alya as she found her running in the direction of the law department building.
"Where's Furina?" Elena asked, concerned.
"I don't know. She ran away saying she wanted to meet her older sister, you know, the professor in the psychology department. She said she would try to find us as long as we don't leave the university. But where do we go now, Elena?"
Elena had no immediate answer amidst the chaos—buildings collapsing, ground splitting, and fierce winds blowing.
A tornado loomed in the distance, its roar adding to the chaos as students panicked.
Elena scanned her surroundings, and her eyes locked on to Connor running ahead. Instinct urged her to follow him, though she hesitated due to her pride and reluctance to trust or follow a man.
However, realizing the urgency of the situation, she swallowed her pride and made up her mind to chase after him, with Alya in tow.
"Where are we going, Elena?" Alya whispered as they hurried along.
"Just follow me quietly," Elena replied, adding a polite "please" to silence her friend.
***************************************
Connor soon reached a food stall near the park and gymnasium. He swiftly gathered a surplus of food—far more than necessary for four days, but survival now took precedence.
Elena and Alya watched quite impressed about Connor's thoughtful actions as he raided the food stall. Alya seized the moment to gather some food herself.
"Elena, hurry. We need to stock up as much as we can," Alya urged.
Elena marveled at how Connor had calmly assessed the situation and pinpointed the food stall without hesitation. She was impressed, though now wasn't the time for admiration—action was paramount.
"Right, the food," Elena snapped back and started storing some food in a bag when alya interrupted her, "Hey, could you grab some donuts and ice cream from that truck over there? I prefer the butter-scotch flavor and triple-cone wafers."
Connor paused briefly, casting a bemused glance at them, he only noticed their presence after hearing Alya's rather absurd request.
"Why would you want ice cream? You could get sick," Elena replied skeptically.
Upon hearing their conversation, Connor facepalmed but continued with his task. "Spoiled rich kids," he muttered with a click of his tongue, before turning to leave.
"Wait!" Elena and Alya exclaimed simultaneously.
Connor halted, turning to face them, silently questioning their intent.
Elena wasted no time. "Where are you going?"
"Where do you think? To find a safe place to hide from all this chaos," Connor retorted.
"And where is this safe place?" Elena pressed, wanting assurance that wherever he led them would indeed be safe, despite somewhat trusting his judgment after witnessing his actions with the food.
"None of your business," Connor replied bluntly, then ran off.
"Hey! Wait for us!" Elena called after him, not wanting to be left behind. She and Alya hurried to catch up, though they couldn't pack as much food in their backpacks.
Connor himself wasn't entirely sure where the safe place was, simply running with the hope of stumbling upon it. As the thought crossed his mind, he decided to ask the system about its location.
************************
[ The safe place is known as Boathouse Island, surrounded by the River Thames, River Cromwell, and Old Cut River. It's a secure area covering 1.3 sq. km, with collapsed wooden houses due to earthquakes. However, A log cabin still remains standing, supported by a central tree and safe for up to five people. ]
"Great, so I'll have to swim to get there," Connor muttered to himself, feeling the pain in his abdomen worsen.
He glanced back at Elena and Alya following him. "Can both of you swim well?"
Both girls looked baffled but managed to reply, "We can swim moderately well."
"Let's see," Connor said simply. After a swift run, they finally arrived at the Cromwell River. Elena and Alya stared at Connor as if he were a madman.
"Are you crazy? You expect us to swim in this strong current? There are rocks in there that could knock us around and hurt us," Elena protested loudly.
Connor lost his patience. "Am I crazy, or did I force you to follow me? You're free to do as you please. When I said swim, did you think it would be in a pool?"
Elena had no retort. She realized it was her choice to follow, and she bit her lip, weighing her options and moving forward.
Meanwhile, Connor wasted no time securing his bag of food in a waterproof container. In contrast, the girls had packed theirs into backpacks, including the ice cream—yes, they had indeed taken the ice cream after bickering over it.
Elena sighed, realizing they might be in over their heads, watching Connor swim skillfully through the strong currents.
Alya, however, was paralyzed with fear, sinking to her knees and paling with dread.
"Alya, pull yourself together," Elena urged, yet Alya's response came out cold. "This is all your fault. I never should have followed you," she accused Elena.
Elena's pride stung being blamed for something she had no control over, and she argued back, both girls started bickering and exchanging curses amidst the storm.
As their argument intensified, a hooded figure approached, delivering quick punches and kicks to both and snatching their bags of food before fleeing.
Both Elena and Alya were left stunned and groaning, their frustration mounting as they watched Connor swim back toward them with a long rope.
He had somehow found a sturdy rope and secured it with a tight knot to a rock on one side, then repeated the process with a tree on the opposite side. With the gap between the two lands being the smallest on the Cromwell river side he called the two girls over there.
"Use the rope to swim across," Connor instructed sharply, and they obeyed instinctively, their minds on the brink of shutting down. It was pure instinct to follow his command.
Only upon reaching the safe spot did they breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Connor had his reasons for saving them—they would prove useful for his own safety, though they were unaware of it at that moment.
He was also injured but they were just scratches for him that would completely heal in a day after applying some first aid.
He confirmed that the first aid kit existed in the cabin of the log house on the island
After carrying and dropping both girls in bed, he started treating himself, As a former National Cadet Corp in his school days he knew how to treat wounds and give first aid.