Chapter 50 - Followers

A fire could be seen dancing in the middle of a field giving light from the darkness of night. Around it were four people eating quietly together as they only had small conversations from time to time. Perhaps it was the food but looking closely, three of them could be found staring at the last person as if they were cautious about him. 

"So, what are your names?" Zach then finally breaks the awkwardness as he asks the three what are their names even though he already knows them after using Appraisal to each one of them as it not only gives him their names but also shows what Tier and level they are at the moment. 

"I-I'm Patrick." One of the men immediately introduced himself. 

"Kazuya." Another man also introduced his name 

"Maria." The only woman of the three also introduced herself. 

"Why are you three so uptight? It's not like I'm not going to hurt you unless you make anything funny. So feel free to say anything." Zach said with a smile after seeing them so tense while eating dinner with him. Also, he could tell that the three of them were probably more or less the same age as him and it made things awkward seeing them looking at him as if he was older than them 

"I heard you talking a while back. Your English is quite good." Zach followed as he could tell that Kazuya just from the name itself signs that he was from Japan, while Maria, though the name sounded normal, the figure of her face clearly showed that she was also an Asian, Patrick, however, looked American to him but he felt like he's from European countries. 

"W-Well. It's not like that. We just actually can understand each other." Patrick said as he looked at Kazuya and Maria after hearing Zach's words.

"What do you mean?" Zach asked as he didn't understand what he was talking about as he clearly heard them talking in English. He then just looked at Kazuya and Maria and saw them nodding at what Patrick had said. 

"We also thought the same as you when we met each other but we have come to know that we are using our own languages to talk so it's probably the work of the system that allowed us to understand each other." Patrick answered while also giving his idea of what was happening. 

Hearing this, Zach then just accepted it since the system really was a mystery. With that, he then just asked them where they came from and Patrick said that he came from France, Kazuya which obviously came from Japan, while Maria came from the Philippines. He then familiarized himself with them since they might be living together from now on. 

"Did the three of you transported here at the same time?" Zach then just asked curiously since it would show how lucky they were to have come or meet each other unlike him who had been living alone for the past week. 

"No. We just came to meet each other for the past week and decided to band together since it's too dangerous to be alone." Patrick replied as he looked at Kazuya and Maria while remembering the days that they fought together in order to survive. 

"Yeah, especially at night. The Undead were quite active during that time. Well, I'm Zach. Nice meeting you three and I hope we can get along with each other." Zach said as he looked at them with a smile upon feeling good knowing that he could now have a person to talk to and would not be bored every night. 

"By the way, we were grateful to you for saving us back then but is it really alright to camp here and make fire?" Kazuya suddenly said as he kept on looking at the surroundings as he couldn't get out the idea that they were everywhere after not having any good rest for the past week. 

"Don't worry. The surrounding Undead were already dead and even if they came, we could just kill them again, right?" Zach answered since he was sure that there were no Undead around after killing them all a while back, but it was still unclear if they would get attracted to the fire and come here. 

"If I may ask, how come you're so strong? Have you already reached a high level?" Maria butted in after seeing Zach wasn't afraid of the Undead. She just felt like Zach might have leveled up quite a lot to have that kind of speed and strength. 

Hearing Maria's question, Patrick and Kazuya were also curious about it as they looked at Zach waiting to hear an answer. In fact, they have also leveled up for the past week but doing something like what Zach did was completely out of their reach. 

'I indeed leveled up but that wasn't the reason. I was just way luckier than the three of you. That's all." Zach answered while keeping the secret behind his abnormal stats and the Super Survival System that he had. Following that, he then just continued to talk with them wanting to get to know more about each other before finally deciding to rest as they each climbed a tree so they could have the energy to spend tomorrow. 

The next morning came, and everyone was woken up by the snarling sound of the Undead. Patrick, Kazuya, and Maria took their weapon out ready to take them on before many more arrived however, they were a step behind upon they saw Zach already jumped down and killed them all by himself. 

"Get down and take these. These will help you a lot." Zach said before taking out three pairs of Speed Boots and Strength Gloves from his inventory. All of them were not enhanced in order not to create suspicion. He had decided to give them such things as he had the chance to duplicate Patrick's Heavy Axe and Maria's Bow and Arrow last night. 

Curious about what it was, the three jumped down and saw three pairs of boots and gloves. They thought it was just something that Zach had bought from the store however, after seeing the small description of the items, their eyes widened in disbelief thinking just how many Undead he had killed to get them all since they drop very rarely. 

"I forgot to ask last night, does anyone of you have a skill yet?" Zach suddenly remembered and asked them since it was something of great importance so that he would know the exact capability of those who were with him. 

"N-Not yet. Did you already gain one?! How can we acquire them?" Maria while still surprised answered Zach immediately which she then also asked him in return as the excitement she was feeling was completely off the charts right now after hearing Zach started talking about skills. 

Meanwhile, Patrick and Kazuya also feel the same as Maria since they still have no clue where and how to acquire them, and thinking that Zach might have one makes them excited as he might have information about it. 

"Yes, I have. You can gain a skill through a skill book which I happened to acquire after killing an Undead but it's not useful for fight. I have the very same skill book here, I can give them to any of you if you want however, think really well since there's a limit as to how many skills you can have." Zach replied. 

"C-Can you tell us what skill it was?" Kazuya asked this time. 

"It's an appraisal skill which allows you to discern the information of things. But don't expect that everything could be discerned since it has its limitations. However, I suggest you learn it because a skill is still a skill after all." Zach said before taking out a skill book from his inventory and seeing whether they wanted it or not. 

Hearing Zach, Patrick, Kazuya, and Maria think carefully about it, and not before long, the first two rejected saying that it won't bring much use. Maria, on the other hand, still couldn't decide, however, since Zach suggested learning it, she might as well take the risk of losing a slot in her skill section. 

"I'll take it." Maria said from which she then took the skill book from Zach's hands and immediately learned it. After knowing its function, she then just looked at Zach and used the skill on him which surprised her upon seeing how it worked and from the fact that Zach really had a much higher level than them. 

"It's great, right? You can also use it for any items which will allow you to see its whole description." Zach asked with a smile as he could tell Maria probably used the skill on him which he didn't mind. He then just told them that it was now time to eat breakfast as each one of them immediately went to the Evolution Store and bought something they could eat. 

Gathering around, Patrick and Kazuya keep on asking Maria how the skill really works since Zach didn't really explain it clearly and they immediately regretted not learning it by themselves. The appraisal skill, though not a combat type of skill like Zach said, it, however, greatly helps you not just to discern information about the items but also to avoid facing an opponent that has a higher level than yourself thus saving your life. 

With that, they then ate breakfast peacefully before Patrick Kazuya, and Maria started following Zach as if they decided to treat him as their leader knowing that he just didn't save them yesterday but also gave them precious items to wear added to the fact that he's stronger than any of them. 

Zach, however, felt like he could now do more now that there were people following him after he had given Maria a Remoter Control Drone that he bought from the store and had her become their eyes that would watch the situation from above while having Patrick and Kazuya to stand by and prepare at all times while protecting Maria. 

With the help of the drone, Zach's hunting of Undead has increased as he had now someone to report to him the place where they were staying. On the other hand, Patrick, Kazuya, and Maria couldn't believe how fast the progress of their level had increased after following Zach and they felt that they were so lucky to have met him. 

All day, what they did was hunt Undead while also trying to find more survivors like them, however, what they didn't expect was that after traveling for a while, they finally found something to be concerned about seeing them all watching the projected video from the drone camera in the sky. 

"Oh my god. What is that?" Maria couldn't help but exclaim after seeing a horde of Undead gathered in one place where a number of Glutton could also be found, however, that wasn't the most concerning at all because there could be seen something like a hut and three of them at that while two weird totems could be found at the center where a new type of Undead that they have never seen before could be found guarding it. 

Not wanting to get close and attract them, Maria continued to stay at a distance while still observing the horde as they couldn't count properly just how many Undead were there and what was that place seeing them gathering around it. 

"Do you think this is the shelter that the system mission has told us to occupy?" Kazuya said while thinking about it since there was no reasonable reason as to why those Undead were gathering in the area if it wasn't the shelter since it also explained the three huts, never-before-seen totems, and the Undead guarding it like it was something important. 

"It's possible but with that many Undead, occupying such a place would be very difficult and dangerous at the same time." Patrick said while also thinking of the possibility that it was the shelter that the system was telling them. 

With that, Patrick, Kazuya, and Maria then just looked at Zach knowing that he had the final say on what they would do about it but they all knew that it would be suicide to tackle it with just their numbers however, they also knew that they couldn't just let it be knowing that it would finish their mission if somehow they have occupied it. 

"I am certain that I can escape if anything happens when we attack it. You three, on the other hand, might not. So, have yourselves leveled up first and gear some other items before deciding what we will do." Zach then said as he looked at the video. In fact, he was also not sure if he could occupy it given the stats he had now. He, however, wasn't worried about himself, as he was more concerned about the safety of others. 

Hearing this, Patrick, Kazuya, and Maria nodded in agreement as they were sure that they would be dead when that horde came to them and so it relieved them to hear that they would not disturb them now. It also makes them happy to know that Zach was concerned about their safety and not just thinking about himself. 

With that, Zach and his group then just headed somewhere far from the horde to find a place to camp for the night as it was now getting darker. They eat dinner while talking to each other before finally taking a rest as they now had a clear goal of what to do for the following days.