All bloodied and weak, an infected raced through the forest like a blurry mirage into an abandoned cottage, hidden deep within the woods. The closer he got to the small thatched roof cottage, the faster he ran as a tantalising smell led him on.
With saliva dripping down his chin, he shut his mouth, hiding his razor-sharp teeth behind his wounded lips.
"Billy! What did you do to me? This is all your fault!" A frustrated voice yelled. Gary, who could no longer use his flight ability, trembled in anger as tears pooled in his eyes, clouding his vision and obstructing the sight before him.
However, as he wiped his tears away, the frenzied Billy was already upon him.
--------
Jesse woke up again, this time, however, beside a few shards of bone. Billy had already escaped since he could no longer sense his presence, so, Jesse didn't bother giving chase.
His forehead creased into a wrinkly fold as he recalled the memories from before he fell unconscious.
When the pain subsided, hunger took over, and he nearly ate a human. Thankfully, the academy had a number of animals in the forest, so, he settled for a deer before he losing the last of his sanity. The animal didn't taste or smell as good as a human would, but Jesse wasn't interested in knowing how a human would taste.
[You have extracted 30% of pure ceteorin.]
The message that lingered at the top of his sight was soon replaced by his uncompleted quest.
[You have received a main quest.]
[Defeat the infected, Billy O'Malley.]
"I didn't see this quest before." He frowned, swiping the blue translucent tab away from his line of sight.
[The quest has just been assigned.]
[You have received a sub quest.]
[How was Billy O'Malley infected? Find out.]
"Is he the only infected in the school?" Jesse asked with his head buried between his knees.
[...]
[Most probably.]
[Sane infected are rare to come across and they usually fight for territory, hence, the possibility of another infected existing in this school is almost null.]
"Fight for territory? Is that why I have to defeat Billy?"
[Yes, and if you wish not to, then he will kill you.]
Despite the system's unfiltered words, Jesse remained silent for a short while before asking, "Can the ceteorin from zombies be extracted?
[Yes.]
Jesse's eyes lit up at the system's reply.
[However, fully-turned irrational zombies will die as soon as the ceteorin is extracted as it has already assimilated with their whole being.]
That was why Gary lost his ability, if the pure ceteorin had spread any further, then he would have lost his life as well.
"Where did this ceteorin even come from?" Jesse laid on the green grass.
[...]
[I will answer any other of your questions to the best of my ability.]
Jesse scoffed, asking another question, "Where did you come from?"
[...]
[I will answer any other of your questions to the best of my ability.]
"That was my other question." Jesse murmured.
Like a tight-lipped government personnel, the system remained silent.
Jesse, who was basking in the rays of sunlight that penetrated from the canopy of trees with a calm look on his face was suddenly impaired with worry.
He cursed underneath his breath as he jerked up and ran to where his fight with Billy O'Malley took place. The once bloody ground was now covered in a new batch of fallen leaves, as if intentionally. The blood-stained, caved-in trees no longer looked so terrible, however, the only witness was nowhere to be found. Only Gilbert still laid unconscious atop the pile of freshly fallen leaves.
Jesse didn't bother much about him since he could still hear his steady breathing.
The girl was nowhere to be seen. The plant-based healer who always seemed to appear in various important moments. He ran out of the forest but paused when he noticed his bloody look.
Jesse stepped back into the forest and pulled out a set of clean uniform from the spatial storage in his wristband, quickly putting them on before stepping out of the forest again.
The entire school was still calm as everybody went on their different ways, it didn't seem like she had reported what she saw to anyone...yet.
Except what she looked like and the fact that she was a plant-based healer, Jesse knew nothing else about her.
He returned to his own dorm first, and walking through the quiet hallway, he slowed down his pace. His perception quickly identified the weak presence, following stealthily behind him. And with a dash, he was already holding this weak presence up against the wall with his fingers wrapped around her small neck.
His already agitated mind was put into further distress when he noticed the person following him, hence, he didn't hesitate to tighten his grip around her neck.
[Steel Mentality has been implemented.]
The automatic feature calmed his emotions, causing him to loosen his grip.
The seemingly harmless girl who should have ran away somehow came back looking for him. Her black hair scattered all over her face as she struggled to free herself from his grip. Even her vines that wrapped around his hand and legs, only snapped after tightening itself too much.
"What do you want?" Jesse's annoyed voice came out as a low growl, causing the girl to stiffen up.
"..."
In response to her silence, Jesse tightened his grip once more.
"I swear... I won't tell anyone... Not a soul, please," She begged, gasping for air.
[Steel Mentality has been implemented.]
"Inspect." Jesse said internally.
[Name - Mei Hui]
[Race - Human]
[Status - Awakened]
[Ability - Vines of Ankh]
[Tier - Basic]
[Level - 4]
She hasn't even broken the threshold of basic tier, yet, she could heal injuries of that sort.
"Ankh?" Jesse murmured. The abilities he has seen in both Maxwell and this girl had unusual names.
Jesse let go off her and she fell to the ground.
"Come with me." He ordered and walked towards his room.
-
Mei caressed her red, aching neck. In the split second when she was slammed against the wall, she saw her life flash in front of her eyes. She was wary of him, hence, she followed quietly behind him, but now he looked fine. Still, being alone with such powerful being whose identity she couldn't tell was scary.
However, riskes needed to be taken for certain results to be achieved. She stood to her feet and immediately followed behind him, while still maintaining a safe distance. His speed was unmatched, therefore, no distance could be considered safe unless it was the distance between the first wall and the seventh wall.