Chapter 89 - Great Coincidence
"Do not move and stay where you are." One of the men who was probably the leader immediately said while holding on to his sword tightly. He then just looked at one of his companions trying to hint something as the situation has become a little tricky.
"Zach Anderson. Level 3-3-37." Understanding what the leader was trying to say, another man immediately used his Appraisal Skill and used it on Zach however, doing so, only makes them surprised and in disbelief.
"Are you sure?!" One of the women asked while looking surprised as such a level was just too high even for them. She then just looked at Zach again trying to observe him but all she could see was just a boy who just hit puberty as he was just too young.
"You're all quite good. It is hard to see people of your caliber wandering in this place. Where did you all come from?" Zach then asked while looking at them. He doesn't have a clue who they are, but they should not be nameless after seeing their levels and the items they were wearing on their bodies
"A-Are you the owner of this shelter?" The other woman asked instead as she looked at Zach wondering why he was here if not going back to his shelter to rest since it was already night.
"Sort of. So where did you all come from?" Zach answered and asked again but this time the tone of his voice suddenly turned low while taking out two pairs of Vicious Dagger upon seeing that they still hadn't put their guard down despite him showing that he did not come with ill intention.
"Brother, I thought you were some kind of rouge. Never thought that you own this shelter." Another man said while sighing in relief upon hearing that he was the owner of the shelter. He then just drops down his guard a little thinking that he might not be a bad guy.
Zach looked at them before looking at the man who just said something. He smiled and suddenly disappeared from his position as he used Blink and appeared right at the back of the man. He then kicked his leg, breaking it, before grabbing the man's head and putting the tip of Vicious Dagger on his neck.
"I have already asked a question twice and this will be the last time before someone's head will flew away. Where did you all come from?" Zach asked coldly while looking at them. He thought that they might look kind on the outside but who knows what kind of person they are on the inside after learning from Kamir's situation.
"Aarrgg..It h-hurts... B-Brother.. P-Please calm down….aarggh." The man who was being held couldn't help but scream in pain after only realizing what happened as everything was just too fast.
"Let him go immediately or else we will have no choice but to bring you down." One of the men said while holding his bow and arrow ready to shoot Zach. Just like the captive man, everything was just too fast as they didn't even see when Zach got behind them.
"Don't think this is funny. You might be Level 37 but you're all alone." One of the women said while looking at Zach holding the spear in her hand. Though she bravely said that, she was really kind of nervous since there was no more dangerous thing than fighting who was unknown.
"Brother. Let's calm down first. We meant you no harm. Please release our companion." The leader spoke as he looked at Zach seriously. Just like what the woman said, there was a group of them. Though he doesn't understand his insane speed, he felt like it was a skill and that using it might have cost quite a Spirit.
"Alone? That's funny. Even if I'm alone, you are still no match for me but since you said it. Heh." Zach said with a smile before calling out Adam, Eve, Ursa, Ursus, and lastly Diablo from his consciousness. Without even giving them an order, all of them bared their fangs as they appeared and surrounded them.
"F-F-Four bronze-class monsters and one that I couldn't even identify. Leader, this is getting bad." The man with an Appraisal Skill nervously said while looking at the beasts that were surrounding them as he just couldn't believe where they came from, but one thing is for sure, they all must be connected to Zach.
"I only asked a simple question and yet you can't even answer. Might as well kill you now and feed you all to my pets." Zach then finally gave them a warning. Though it's great to have met another human here in Pluto Sanctuary, the world right now was just too foreign that you no longer knew who could be trusted and not.
"W-We came from Russia." The other woman immediately and nervously reply after hearing what Zach just said as she could tell that he was not joking this time and that he or his pets might really kill them if they won't give him in answer.
"Thank you. That simple. Just why are putting on so many talks for such a easy question." Zach said with a bit of surprise after hearing that they came from Russia as it would mean that he now had a way to find Nikolai's family. With that, he then just let go of the man he was holding before heading back inside the shelter.
"Come inside. I want to ask you questions. This is no longer an order but a threat. You do funny things, and I will have my pets kill you. You might be able to go against the bronze-class ones but think carefully about the other one." Zach followed.
On the other hand, the group couldn't help but sigh in relief after escaping such a predicament. The able ones then just immediately looked after the injured man and gave him something. They couldn't help but regret not answering immediately as everything went haywire when they tried buying some time.
Not before long, the group then finally went inside the shelter after being given permission and was now gathered together as Zach started questioning them all the while checking all their items. The group couldn't do anything as they answered and had him go through everything to satisfy him fearing that this place might be their burial ground if they wouldn't follow him.
After questioning, Zach had to know that the group was five Russians, and they were all part of the military. They were one of the squads tasked to look for more people, especially Russians, and to map out the area within their shelter.
Ivan, their leader. Yuri, the one who had the Appraisal Skills. Luka, the man who Zach broke his leg. Liana, the one who bravely threatened Zach. Lastly, Helin, the one who first noticed Zach's appearance.
They group were forced to tell Zach everything about their shelter and the current situation of their base back in Russia where they shared that the Russian military base had stabilize the situation and had started to unify the country.
The group told Zach that the military base they had in Russia had already gathered 1,000 plus survivors and more than half were part of the group which they also called Evolvers. They then divided them into several groups depending on what kind of work and unit they belonged to just like them who belonged to the scouts.
The group said that they had been outside a month already and seemed not to be able to go back as they encountered a situation and got lost. They coincidentally arrived at this shelter but since they hadn't seen anyone inside, they could only camp outside while waiting as they wanted to use the shelter to go back to Earth and hope it was in Russia or even just near the country.
"I let you go back to your shelter, but I want to ask something in return." Zach, after hearing from them, then said. As he pretty much already knew about their situation, he felt like it was now time for the matter that he wanted to settle.
"R-Really?" Helin asked while looking at Zach since she badly really wanted to go back as she missed her family already.
"Yes." Zach replied.
"It's a good offer but we won't accept unless you tell us what you want something in return. I don't care if you kill us now or later, but we won't betray our country and our people." Ivan said as he looked at Zach seriously.
"Said the person who had already told me much. But no. I won't ask you to betray your people. In fact, I am looking for someone. Two of them to be exact and I want you to help find them." Zach replied while looking at Ivan with a smile as what he said was just too ironic.
Hearing and seeing Zach, Ivan could only clench his fist as what he said was right but telling and doing something was two different matters. He then just forgot about it and was curious as to who those people that Zach wanted.
"I met a Russian man named Nikolai when the tutorial happened, and we quite have a bond together, but a tragic accident befell him as a bronze-class monster suddenly appeared and killed him. He said that he had a family, so I promised him that I'll go look after them." Zach then said while reminiscing about the past.
"What are their names?" Helin asked while feeling a bit touched after hearing Zach's story.
"His wife's name is Nastasya, and his daughter's name is Natalia." Zach answered with certainty.
"If you help us go back then I'll promise to look for them. Who knows and they might already be in the military base we are in." Helin said with a smile as the thought of getting back home was something that she was concerned more about.
"Yeah, finding them might be easy. But have you wondered what kind of situation we encountered and got ourselves here?" Ivan also supported Helin's idea, however, it was still not something to be celebrated since there was still a problem at hand.
"Ohh. Then what is it?" Zach asked.
"It was something that even Yuri, with his Appraisal Skill, couldn't identify aside from what it was and what level it had." Ivan answered while looking back at how they ran with their lives for it since it was a monster that they couldn't handle.
"Oh. So, Yuri, what rating are your Appraisal Skill right now? Can you use Appraisal on Diablo?" Zach was also quite curious after hearing about a monster that they couldn't clearly identify since it would mean that it might be a silver-class, a monster that he could take on right now.
"I can't. My Appraisal Skill was only 2 stars and it can only identify up to bronze-class monsters and rare dropped items right now. Is Diablo a beast higher than a bronze-class? What is the next class above the bronze class?" Yuri immediately answered as this was something that he badly wanted to ask ever since he saw Diablo earlier.
"No wonder. Silver Class is the next class after bronze and the items it dropped were classified as Ultra Rare. You can use Appraisal Skill on my boots and see if you can Appraise it." Zach then answered which surprised him a bit upon knowing that he got his Appraisal Skill to level up since the other person he knew who also had her skill to evolve was Alisha in Spirit Garden Shelter.
Hearing Zach, Yuri then immediately looked at Zach's boots and used appraisal on them which immediately made his eyes wide upon seeing that he really couldn't identify it clearly as it was full of question marks. He couldn't help but look at Zach wondering where he got them but the most reasonable answer he could come up with was that he killed a monster higher than a bronze-class monster.
"Let us set off once Luka's leg was healed. Well, I'm sorry about your leg, by the way. I'll be going to rest. Good night." Zach said after seeing Yuri's expression. He then just stood up and looked at Luka one last time before heading towards his house so he could take a rest since it was his reason on coming here all along.