A New Routine

The next morning, upon waking up, everybody was greeted by a slow and emotional piano tune echoing across the apartment walls. It turned out that Victoria had found an old piano in one of the rooms on the second floor, and she started playing it with the door open. Said she needed to find a way to channel her emotions, and the best way to do it was through music.

Owen walked into the room and wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulders from behind, taking in the fresh lavender scent of her shampoo. Thankfully, there was still water running in the apartment, though hot water was no more.

Feeling her husband's warm embrace, Victoria lifted her fingers from the black-and-white keys, sending the room back into silence. She put her hands on his veiny arms, her long fingers softly caressing them. She looked up and gave him a tender smile.

Owen, like his son, wasn't a very expressive man. His face was stoic most of the time, looking as if nothing could faze him. His cold demeanor often made him hardly approachable at work, causing some people to harbor ill feelings. However, in front of his wife, the ice covering his persona melted. His dark brown eyes, that normally exuded a mysterious intensity, softened when meeting the pair of grey eyes before him. He returned her smile and kissed the side of her head. "I've missed that song. And your piano playing," he said, his deep voice reverberating close to Victoria's ears.

The woman closed her eyes, enjoying her husband's intimate presence. "It indeed has been a while since the last time I've played. I've gotten a bit rusty."

"I noticed. But I love listening to it, regardless. I'm sure the others found delight in your playing, too. I was outside and the sound traveled through those thin walls."

Victoria smiled softly, imagining the melodies she just played alleviating the weight in everyone's heart. Even though their lives had been turned upside down and they'd had to mourn their friends too soon, Victoria believed the future wasn't going to be as bleak as it seemed now.

She stole a glance at the window and sighed. "Our son didn't get any sleep last night, did he?"

Owen pulled away from her wife and turned to follow where her eyes were looking. His hands started to gently massage her shoulders. "He's obsessed with training. I did ask him the same thing, but he said he's already had a little nap. I guess the fact that he has much higher stats than us means he will need less and less sleep. Have you seen Magnus sleep at all?"

Victoria shook her head. "It seems the boy can go on for many days without one." She then chuckled. "I can't believe we're now discussing stats, magic, skills, and everything as if it was the most normal thing in the world."

"The world as we know it is no more, Vicky. I just hope that no matter how powerful Tyler becomes in the future, he will never forsake his humanity. Magnus is a great example for that."

Victoria frowned at her husband's last sentence. "I'm not so sure about that. Have you noticed how easy it was for him to kill people?"

"Being human doesn't mean you can't kill, honey. Especially in this changed world, I think our values of what is right and wrong have to be adjusted. In fact, him being willing to end the lives that could threaten our safety just makes him all the more human."

Despite the logic behind her husband's words, Victoria was still a bit torn. On one side, she admitted that all Magnus had done was for the sake of protecting the people he loved. However, shifting one's mindset was never a walk in the park. Society's perspectives on life were still undergoing adjustments after the Prolog. The term 'us vs them' had never become so relevant until now. And it would come to light more and more as sets of morals kept experiencing drastic changes.

---

It was still early in the morning, and Magnus was sitting down in the 'conference room' as everybody liked to call it, waiting until everyone was ready to begin training.

He clicked his tongue after listening to what the system had to say. Apparently, despite The Viewers' Satisfaction Level increasing by five percent, he was still behind the gods in this race. He was told that it was simply because the gods had been the one taking the initiative to come for him, not the other way around. They had been trying out creative ways to harm him and his group.

And seeing most of them fail spectacularly had been such a joy for The Viewers. Well, the fact that Terra was the only god who had managed to inflict pain on him and his group was a bonus. And Azrael's opportunistic action was a comic relief for them.

Magnus rolled his eyes and closed the Mission screen. 'Do you think we should send them out today?' he asked his copy.

'Honestly, dude. Why bother asking? Our answers will always be the same, anyway,' replied Magnus 2.0.

'Right.' He pondered for a bit before shaking his head. 'Maybe tomorrow. I don't wanna risk anybody dying again. Besides, the military still needs time setting up camps, and we're not really short on supplies as of yet.'

'Speaking of the military, soldiers will start moving out to clean up the streets from monsters. In case they travel all the way here, I don't want any unnecessary conflict.'

'They're probably not gonna leave us alone, though. I'll ask dad and Mr. Haysmith to do the talking.'

'And what are you gonna do?'

'Just...stand there, look menacing and whatnot.'

About half an hour later, everybody was back at the training ground. Magnus did a bit of supervising for a bit before he sat down and started practicing [Language of Magic]. The sticky notes pad he'd snatched from TJ's house had been reduced to a thin stack. Fortunately, he had found a couple stacks of A4 papers next to a printer in one of the rooms.

At the moment, the skill was still stuck on level two. He was planning to reach level three today, though.

Everyone went through their usual training routine and Magnus was passionately scratching the papers with writings that glowed silver for the whole morning. At noon, Summer suddenly proposed an idea for some sparring sessions. She thought that everyone's skills had improved well since yesterday's training, and they had enjoyed enough boosts from Magnus. However, their fight reflexes still left something to be desired.

Summer threw a look at Magnus that said, 'Do you agree with my idea?'

Yes. Yes, Magnus totally agreed. He very much welcomed the idea. In fact, he berated himself for not thinking about this earlier. Oh, him and his short-sighted thinking.

And so, everyone was divided into two groups, the members decided by drawing straws. Magnus then tore several pieces of paper and prepared them for everyone to draw lots. It was to determine who was going against whom.

The results were as such:

Gina Williams vs Nikolai Alexandrov

Markus Helvig vs Owen Haysmith

Katja Alexandrov vs Amy Wang

Fiona Helvig vs Garrett Williams

Tyler Haysmith vs Lisa Wang

Summer Murphy vs Henry Williams

Victoria Haysmith vs Patrick Murphy

It went without saying that lethal attacks were forbidden. Nobody wanted to seriously hurt anybody. Which meant, all kinds of projectiles were to be aimed away from the head and heart, and dark element skills were to be used moderately. This sparring session would also hopefully grant everyone the [Pain Resistance] passive.

At the center of the parking lot, Gina and Nikolai stood facing each other, with about four-meter of distance separating them. Or maybe a bit less. Gina had equipped [Fortitude] and Nikolai had put on his [Giant's Stomp] boots.

Nearby, Magnus and Summer were ready to use their healing skills on anyone who got injured. This would also serve as Summer's chance to improve her skill level.

Magnus clapped his hands. "Alright, I guess you can start now!"

However, neither Gina nor Nikolai immediately started attacking each other. They both gave Magnus an odd look after seeing the awkward way Magnus announced the start of the battle.

At that, Magnus could only scratch his head. "Ahem, sorry but I'm not really good at this. Seriously though, you can just begin casting a spell or...whatever."

Both participants sighed. They looked at each other before Nikolai stomped the ground once. At the same time, Gina planted the bottom of her shield on the ground.

[Seismic Path]!

[Earth Wall]!

And so, began a new routine for everyone to improve their fighting abilities.