Ep. 5 — Chapter 18: Forest of Mist (1)

Daybreak came and both me and Leon left the area as soon as the sunlight pierced through the horizon. We didn't get the rest we would've wanted, but it was sufficient for us to start moving again. I wasn't able to get much sleep that night, being suddenly awakened moments before sunrise.

We moved in another direction. I wasn't able to get any lead on where Lia headed to. Our only source of communication, her phone, had broken. Now in my hand.

Leon and I had cleared several waves of monsters along our way. Though the night had ceased and the purple fumes had subsided, the Outbreak managed to spawn great amounts of creatures all throughout the city.

Not that I'm complaining. After all, not only is it beneficial for me, but also Leon as well. I couldn't count how many times we had passed a horde of monsters, but we surely did level up tremendously. His Skills had improved greatly as well, even though I would say his brute strength is more than enough to clear through the first parts of the Game.

There was something else I realised as more time passed. The cube was now gone. It was still somewhat visible, but above the clouds. Only a section of it was able to be made out.

"Where is the cube?" It seems that I wasn't the only one who noticed it. Though it is certainly something that is hard to miss. After all, a giant cube was floating around the past two days, counting down a timer that spelt out our doom.

"It's up there. You can barely make it out through the clouds."

"Ah, ah I see it now." Leon nodded his head. From some time ago, he had been collecting different variants of weapons to use.

"That Skill of yours, what level is it at currently?" I asked him.

There shouldn't be much confusion. After all, Leon currently only possessed a single Skill. And that is [Weapon Mastery], a pretty rare Skill. In fact, it was amongst the best of the beginner Skills. After all, you can't learn that Skill. You either start with it, or you don't.

[Weapon Mastery], a Skill that allows its user to proficiently utilise any sort of weapon. It doesn't matter if they ever held said weapons before. Perhaps, Leon isn't such a bad person to bring along with me. After all, if he's trained properly, he might even awaken sooner than I will. And judging from his growth rate, that might just be the case.

"I have it at level 6 now." He replied, a subtle smile on his face. "And it's thanks to you, Sir Rayes. I can't thank you enough…"

"No need. You've helped me enough already up until now."

"You're too humble. It's really thanks to you, Sir. Ah, would you be my 'master' then? I mean, technically you're teaching me now, that is."

"What? Hold on…"

"Master Rayes. It sounds nice."

What is he…?

"Or Master Kim. Ah, it's hard to decide." Leon rubbed his chin in between his thumb and index finger, humming along like he's giving it a serious thought. This big bastard.

"Let's not. Let's just stick with what we already have now, instead." I quickly stepped in, sounding like I was pleading at this point. I only received a mischievous giggle in reply. I wasn't sure how serious this guy was. After all, he's already gotten used to the habit of calling me a 'Sir'. I doubt I can handle much more than that.

It has been a while since we started moving. Still, it was early day. I checked the time on my phone. The time was still around 11 a.m., not even noon yet. Besides that, there's something else that's starting to become a problem.

My phone battery was less than 30%. The only reason it was still alive was because I haven't been using it the past few days. Only to check the time or for any other notifications. And it's not like there is any to come in either way. At this time, I don't think anyone in the world would be busy writing and updating their web novels. It would be funny to think about that though, chapters still regularly updating. Just in what world are they living in, honestly.

The sun reflected off my phone screen and hit my eyes, causing me to flinch a bit. It really has gotten colder now. Leaves shook from trees and started to fall, some even landing on Leon's big shoulders.

Leon leaned down, looking at my screen. "Where is your sister at now, Sir Rayes? You did say we came here for her."

"She's gone."

"What?"

"That house was the last location she sent me. And I found her phone there." I said, waving around her broken phone.

Leon's face turned into a saddened frown. I shook my head before he got the chance to say anything else, however. "Don't worry about it too much. She can hold up on her own. Besides, there's someone I had to take care of her."

"Ah, if that is the case, she should be fine, right?" Leon asks, his voice filled with concern and worry for someone he had never seen. Was it because of me?

After walking several more blocks down, we soon reached near the highways. Abandoned cars could be seen scattered all around. It was dead silent, however. No cars that drove by or police sirens like there would be usually. Even the trucks were left there. I glanced around, looking for possible ways to transport ourselves, but it just seemed to be impossible.

I walked up and made for the highway, Leon quickly following behind. We reached the first vehicle, a red sedan. Its windows were rolled down, allowing me to unlock the car from the inside.

Of course, it started blaring the alarm and locked again.

There seemed to be no monsters near us, so we shouldn't have to worry about being heard for the time being. Leon did seem annoyed by the continuous blares of the car alarm and I stared at him. He gave me a pleading look and I tilted my head.

"What is it?" I asked him. He didn't catch it over the sounds, so I raised my voice a second time.

Leon shook his head and walked around the car over to me. He had this annoyed expression on his face. Perhaps it was because of the car alarm blaring nonstop. To think such things could agitate even Leon himself.

"I don't think we'll be able to get anything from here." Leon said as he came up to my side.

I nodded my head. He was right. Most likely, all of the cars here were locked. And even if they weren't, we don't have the keys to start the engines anyway. That is, unless by some miracle that we'd be able to somehow obtain a key to a car.

Nevertheless, I continued walking down the highway. Leon followed me quickly and we walked past numerous empty cars and trucks and other vehicles.

Ahead, there is even a plane. The wings had been torn off, crushed under its own weight. It must've crashed since the start of the Game. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the system that caused it to crash, allowing the survivors to be admitted into the Game.

After all, an entire bridge collapsed and I barely survived. It was merely by luck.

To think that the reason I was still standing here now was because of this enigmatic factor known as luck. It is a horrifying concept to think of. Especially since luck is a thin line between good and bad. It could work against you, or not.

And you are not the one who decides the outcome…

​​

"How many have died, I wonder." I suddenly blurted out in a quiet whisper. Leon turned to me slightly but didn't give me anything in response. After all, it isn't something neither he nor I would know.

As if to change the subject, Leon asked me a question in response. "Where are we headed to, then?"

"A safezone. Now, we should have accumulated around enough Points for a certain thing we'd need as soon as we get there. Even in a world like this, currency rules everything, you know?"

"Hm-mm, seems about right."

"Greed isn't something that can disappear overnight. No. Humans wouldn't be truly human without greed."

Damn. I sounded a bit too philosophical there.

"Either way, we're going there." I raised my arm with an extended finger and pointed ahead of us, into the distance. I didn't need to clarify where, as the giant Guild Tower could be seen from across the city even. It's obvious that the Guild Tower would be where I'm pointing to. After all, it's a building that never existed before the Game began.

Leon nodded his head a few times without saying anything.

After what seemed like an eternity, the highway split off into an exit, but we kept walking forward instead. Along the way, we checked every car we passed by for access. Leon moved towards the left side, allowing him to get a clear view on the entire city. It was desolate. Like a ghost town, with no living beings present. Like the highway, cars were left abandoned.

Leon suddenly shot a question in my direction, "Where are the bodies? I mean, we saw dead monsters, but where are the people? And the Mindless we saw in the beginning. They're all gone."

"Yeah. That's what an Outbreak does." I replied. He raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. I sighed and continued on with my explanation. "An Outbreak doesn't only summon more monsters in areas with low monster concentration. It's also like a cleaning system that resets it."

"Ah. Meaning?"

"Meaning that the bodies that monsters and humans killed before the Outbreak will be removed from the Game."

Leon's expression darkened at my words.

"Unless if they're buried or their bodies are kept somewhere unexposed to the purple fumes that come in during Outbreaks." I added on. "Only then will they not disappear."

"I see…"

We walked for a few while longer. For some reason, the cityscapes from the distance became hazy and somewhat obscured. The Guild Tower is still visible, but less clearly. I thought it was smoke from an explosion or some other things that happened early on.

Who knows what kinds of disasters happened to the people.

"What about your sister then, Sir Rayes?" Leon asked, sounding a lot more worried now.

Was that what this guy was thinking about all along?

"You did say she's with someone. But what will happen to them if they stay in the 'wild' for too long? Food…we were barely able to find food. What about them?'

"If it's them, I'm sure they'll find something." I replied to Leon, trying not to sound panicked. No, I really wasn't worried.

"Will…will they know where to go, then?"

"..."

Leon bit his lip. No matter what I said, he still upheld that expression on his face. He looked down on the ground and continued walking. He even almost ran into a car in front of him, but he stopped and turned to me.

"Does she know we're headed there?"

A smile came over my face at that moment. I suppose it was unexpected, since Leon was wide-eyed, shocked at my expression to the current situation.

"Wha…"

"She's my sister, Leon." I declared, like I was giving an honourable speech. "I'm sure she'll know without me even telling her. Besides, she knows how to take care of herself better than I do. She will definitely be heading towards the Guild Tower. She might even be on her way now, as we speak. So don't worry too much about it."

Leon nodded a few times, now looking forward.

By now, it was clear that we were walking into a thick fog. The view from the distance was greatly obscured now, and the Guild Tower was barely able to be made out.

"What now…?" Leon whispered, thinking that something would pop out if we were too loud.

It was then when a message appeared.

[You have entered the 'Forest of Mist'.]

[A new Quest will be imposed due to your current situation.]