I don't own RWBY.
Longest chapter yet. 10k words. I was too lazy to split it in two.
Ding!
The [Willpower] stat has increased by one.
Ding!
The [Wisdom] stat has increased by one.
Ding!
You have acquired a new title: - Dungeon Killer -
Title: - Dungeon Killer -
Description: You have taken advantage of the dungeon's effect, and killed another person for XP. May you find more power through your kills in dungeons.
Effects: Killing people gives +50% XP to stats and skills. Increased Strength and Dexterity according to your Kill Count.
Kill Count: 1 (+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity) (Only increases in dungeons)
Ding!
[The Gamer]: Through having to kill one of your close friends for the first time, you have acquired better understanding of the value of life, and of what needs to be done when the time comes.
[The Gamer]: Reward: +10 Willpower, +10 Wisdom
I chuckled bitterly at the windows.
On one hand, I had the dungeon that rewarded me for killing, and egged me on to continue.
On the other hand, I had [The Gamer] skill that almost empathized with me and understood what I just went through. Though, it still grimly specified 'when' the time comes, instead of 'if'.
Furthermore, it described a Caitlyn as 'close friend' even though I had never recognized her as such.
Maybe the skill was right. Maybe she had been a close friend. But I was too dumb, too bitter, to realize it.
"…"
I looked at Caitlyn's body for a moment, before turning away to look at the mirror.
"…"
I stepped forward, putting my hands on the sink for support, and leaned forward into the reflection, staring into my own, light-green eyes.
A moment passed as I glared at myself through the mirror.
"…I better head back." The reflection whispered.
Like that, I grabbed my bag, and sneaked away from the second floor's bathroom, leaving Caitlyn's body to bleed on the floor.
Later.
After I came back, it was quite awkward for a bit. Sylvia didn't look at me, and I didn't look at her.
It was a fine arrangement.
Caitlyn's face was still engraved into my mind. I still couldn't believe it happened.
I had her gun hidden in my bag. Although Ebony could probably use it, I did not talk about it. It would be best kept hidden as a trump card.
My eyes fell on the short sword that was still in my hand. It was bloody.
I exhaled slowly, and quickly put the short sword away into a nearby shelf, before closing it. I paused for a long moment, my hands remaining on the shelf's handles.
I suddenly felt a hand patting my shoulder. "Shean?"
I blinked, and turned to look at Ebony who had come to me. "What?"
"I just asked you… what should we do now?"
I stared at her. "Huh?"
"Should we go looting?"
"…" I looked around the room. Steele was watching me, and Sylvia was clearly listening in without meeting my eyes.
"…Shean?"
"No…"
"What?"
"We stay here."
"…Uh… Why? Don't we need to move?"
A flash of annoyance surged within me. I used my willpower to push it down.
"Because… I'm tired." I sighed.
"Oh…" She blinked, and looked at me worriedly, "Okay." She nodded with a kind voice, "Do you… want to talk about it?"
I frowned at her. "About what?"
"About… you hitting Sylvia."
I stared at her for a long moment, the words not registering in my mind.
A chuckle escaped my throat.
"Hah… Hahaha." I laughed at her, and turned to look at Sylvia, who was now looking at me with fear. "Hahahah!" I laughed even harder at her face. "You… You think I give a shit about that? Hahaha!"
I continued laughing at the three of them. Oh, they were so naive, these three.
"…What happened?" Ebony asked anxiously.
"Aaah…" I sighed, still grinning, "Nothing happened… That didn't have to happen."
"What did you see in that bathroom?" Steve asked.
"I saw…" I paused for a moment, wondering what to tell them.
Caitlyn's face flashed in my mind. Her smile. My reflection in the mirror.
A wave of emotions crashed onto me. Oh shit. It was all coming back to me. Everything.
I needed to stop talking. Right now.
I summoned every ounce of willpower I had, and forced some words through my lips.
"…A… a big pile of shit. That's what I saw."
"…"
"…"
"…"
Ding!
The [Willpower] stat has increased by one.
"Anyway. Let's… take a break, okay?" I asked them, suddenly feeling dizzy for some reason. "Cool."
I lied down on the hammock and closed my eyes.
Later. With Ebony Arc.
Ebony Arc didn't need a degree in psychology to tell something was extremely wrong with their group's leader. She had known him for two days only now, but she had noticed he didn't let much emotion show on his face, except anger.
So when he came back in looking like a haunted soul, she knew something was wrong. At first, she had assumed he felt guilt about slapping Sylvia, but that didn't seem to be it.
They needed to figure it out. Their lives depended on it.
"Something's wrong with him," Ebony whispered to the two others, not loud enough for Shean to hear.
"Obviously," Sylvia scoffed, still rubbing her cheek painfully.
Sylvia Lavender, one of Pia and Lia's friends - those were Ebony's twin sisters, age 15 - had always been the sarcastic, brutally honest type, telling what was on her mind without a filter. Ebony liked that about her, she was a good influence on her sisters.
Her getting angry at Shean and slapping him had been warranted, all things considered. Sylvia was still injured, after all, from that monster from yesterday. Fighting a goblin might have been too much for her. So she got upset, and slapped Shean on the face to try to 'wake him up', to make him realise that he was playing with their lives.
But with Shean, you just couldn't do that. After they split up, Ebony had talked to Sylvia to try to make her understand that, as well as offering what little comfort she could provide. The poor girl had genuinely thought that Shean was going to kill her.
Ebony empathized with her. However, after seeing her first goblin take advantage of her pity, right before she managed to kill him and make a mess of blood and guts of his body, Ebony knew they couldn't afford to be soft anymore.
"No, I mean… Aside from the usual." Ebony specified.
"Yeah," Steele, the nerdy Faunus of the group, nodded along. "He's not usually like this…"
"You were in his class. You're the closest one to him here," Ebony pointed out to the Faunus boy, who stood straight, as if proud of that fact. Adorable! "And you were out there with him on the second floor. What do you think happened?"
"No idea. He... He went into a bathroom and I just had to leave before the troll saw me." Steele frowned guiltily at the memory. "I had no choice!"
"No one is accusing you of anything, sweetie," Ebony reached over with her hand to pat his shoulder.
"Maybe nothing happened," Sylvia stated with a sad scowl on her face, "Maybe, he's just a giant asshole with mental issues."
"He's not an asshole." Steele hissed back at her.
"But he does have mental issues?" Sylvia replied, raising her eyebrows.
"I… Well, maybe. B-but he's not an asshole." Steele glared at her.
Coming from the boy that had been supposedly beaten up by Shean, Ebony was pretty surprised. Why was he defending him so much?
"How can you say that?" Sylvia muttered back at him, "I heard he beat you up."
"You heard wrong!"
"Shean said so himself." Ebony pointed out. "He said he beat you up and finds you creepy."
"He... He said that?" Steele mused, as if relieved that it wasn't worse. "But… It wasn't just me."
"And that is supposed to make us feel better?" Sylvia asked.
"What happened then? Just tell us your version." Ebony requested, her interest peaked.
"Well…" The boy looked up to the ceiling, trying to remember, "It happened right after he went missing."
Ebony paused. Shean had gone missing? What for?
Now she was even more curious.
"Why?" She simply asked.
"Um. I don't know much about that…" Steele frowned, "But, eventually, after a month of absence, he came back. And he was extra pissed. It was like he was constantly seething with anger on the inside. Then, one day, I was behind the school, and I had some troubles with, uh… some people. One of them slapped me. And Shean saw that, and he…" Steele hesitated.
"…protected you?" Ebony finished for him, hopeful.
"No," Steele snorted, as if finding that idea particularly funny. So much for that. "He just stared at them for a long time until they noticed. When they did, they tried to intimidate him to make him back off. He stayed still, without blinking, it was quite freaky. So they started insulting him. But he didn't react. Something was clearly wrong with him. It was when they gave him a little slap on the cheek that he… He just… kinda lost it. He destroyed them."
"Good," Ebony couldn't help but say, and Steele nodded at her with a wide grin.
"…Huh? So, how did you get beat up?" Sylvia raised an eyebrow at him.
"Ah… I was worried he was going too hard on them." Steele blushed, "So I... It was stupid. I tried to stop him. In the frenzy, he just… He just beat me up too. Anything he could get his hands on, really. He… He wasn't in his right mind... It was my fault."
"It wasn't your fault." Ebony replied kindly, patting the boy's shoulder. "It was Shean's fault for losing control of himself, and those assholes' fault for... being assholes."
"But… Shean isn't a bad person…!" Steele insisted. "After that fight, I would just hang around him and no one would bother me anymore… Even though Shean didn't like me at all."
"…And he didn't beat you up?" Ebony asked, a little skeptical, "He tolerated you, without, you know… bullying you?"
"Yeah. He never touched me again after that… E-even though I got a bit, uh, clingy." Steele flushed embarrassingly, scratching his cheek sheepishly. "He insulted me sometimes, but that was about it. And I knew he doesn't mean what he says to me; he just wants me to leave him alone. Which... is fair. S-so you see, he's not a bad person."
Ebony reflected on the story for a moment. It was much better than she had expected, to be honest, even if it was worse than she had hoped.
"Maybe not." Sylvia mumbled reluctantly with her soft voice.
"He clearly has issues." Ebony added, before humming, glancing at the boy that seemed asleep. "…He's not as bad as I thought, though. There is hope. Lots of hope!"
"I guess." Sylvia admitted. "But he still hit me."
"You slapped him first." Steele replied.
"Nowhere near as bad as he did me." Sylvia shot back, irritated.
"…So what. You survived, didn't you?" Steele said condescendingly.
Sylvia gaped at him indignantly, "That is not a good reason to-"
"QUIET!" Shean suddenly groaned from the hammock.
The three of them tensed up, pausing for a moment.
"Man, is he moody." Ebony sighed quietly.
"…Yeah." Even Steele admitted. "But he's not usually like that. I think something bad happened in the bathroom. But we shouldn't push him to share it with us. He's not the kind that shares easily."
"What do we do, then?" Ebony hissed.
"We do what he says." Steele replied, staring at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He just needs a bit of time. I'm sure he'll be back to his usual self soon enough."
"Oh, that's great…" Sylvia sighed sarcastically.
Back to waiting? During this apocalypse, with goblins, zombies and trolls roaming around in the building?
Ebony was not doing that.
"We have limited time, and we need food." Ebony frowned, determined. "I'm not waiting around doing nothing."
"What will you do then?" Steele asked her.
"Talk to him." Ebony smiled, standing up. "Get him to move."
Steele and Sylvia looked at her skeptically.
Ebony smirked, caressing her waist, emphasizing her curves. "Don't worry." She winked, "I have good arguments~"
"Uh." Sylvia blinked at her, her face getting a little red. "Don't you have a boyfriend? What was his name. Dwayne? Dane?"
"Uh." Ebony blinked back at her, raising her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, last time I checked, an apocalypse happened. Did I imagine that?"
"And that gives you a pass?" Sylvia raised an eyebrow at her, while Steele looked uncomfortable at the conversation, glancing between the two of them.
Ebony stared at the small girl for a moment.
"In my book? Yep." She shrugged, "And that's the only book that matters. Don't forget, Sylvia, we can die any day, so I want to enjoy each day to the fullest."
"What a hopeful perspective that is." Sylvia sighed. "I understand, Ebony, but I would rather not live my life like that. I want to believe that we'll make it. All of us."
"Death flag," Steele commented.
"…See? Steele gets it." Ebony smirked, "And you two are even younger than me. You should try to experience as many things as you can before it's too late."
This caused the two of them to blush bright red, and they looked away from each other. Satisfied of her little teasing, Ebony left them alone and walked towards Shean purposefully.
"Watch," She heard Steele whisper to Sylvia, "He's gonna blow her off sooooo hard."
"Oh I hope so." Sylvia giggled quietly, "I would love to see that."
Ebony's eye twitched for a second. But she did not let her confidence sway.
Contrary to what she had just said, she did look far into the future. And she had plenty of hope.
See... Ebony Arc was absolutely smoking hot, and she knew it.
So she would wield that weapon to her advantage... To find her family, and survive the apocalypse.
Back with Shean.
"Ah shit. Here we go again." I sighed when I saw Ebony's pretty face above me, her posture leaned over so that some strands of her golden hair tickled my cheeks and her breasts were angled in a suggestive position.
In a corner of the room, Sylvia and Steele giggled quietly at my words. Had they made a bet or something?
"…Listen, Shean." Ebony started diplomatically, putting a hand on my shoulder. "We need you."
"All right." I sighed, standing up. "I got it. Break's over." I said, stretching my limbs. "Aaaah~..."
"Wh-what?" Ebony gasped, eyes wide. "Th-that easily?"
"If it spares me your little performance special?" I raised a mocking eyebrow at her, "Sure."
"Th-that's…!" Ebony blushed, before huffing and looking away, crossing her arms. She seemed almost disappointed. "I-I wasn't going to…!"
Sylvia and Steele broke into a laughter in a corner of the room. It quickly died down when I turned to glare at them.
"Just… Spare me your bullshit, Ebony." I sighed. "I'm not in the mood, it's tiring."
"What bullshit?" She asked, shaking her head. "You're imagining things. Whatever it is, I'm not doing it on purpose!"
"You know what I'm talking about." I rolled my eyes at her, and thought back at how she sniped the goblins with her arrows. "I liked you much better when you were slaughtering goblins."
"Oh?" Ebony widened her eyes in surprise, before smirking, "So… you admit you like me then?"
"No," I frowned at her. "I don't."
"But you just said it."
"I didn't say that. I said I liked you better – that doesn't mean -"
"It means you already liked me before, and that now you like me even more!" Ebony grinned at me with a shit-eating grin.
"Absolutely not!" I lost my temper, stomping my foot on the ground. "If you think a single moment that I will do anything special for your ass, you-"
"Why are you so fixated on my ass?" Ebony mused pensively, scratching her chin. "You sure you won't do anything special for it?" She grinned, turning her back to me and striking a pose.
My eye twitched in annoyance as they instinctively looked down.
Okay. That's it.
I raised my foot, and kicked her ass – literally.
"Bwaah~" Ebony gasped as she fell onto the hammock. "Harder~!"
"You…! You slut!" My eyes widened as I felt intense heat warming up my cheeks. Fuck, that one got me. "Have you no shame…?! Just… shut the hell up, damn you."
She laughed at me as I walked away from her. Fucking hell. I just killed my friend. I was not in the mood for that shit.
"This bitch..." I groaned under my breath as I sat down next to Sylvia, who noticeably leaned away from me.
But the bitch had the right idea, as much as I hated to admit it. We needed to do something, we couldn't stay idle.
I felt like I rested long enough for me to 'recharge' my willpower. I assumed that was why I got dizzy. I couldn't keep pushing on forever without taking a little rest, and Caitlyn's death had hit me hard. I had needed that time to think about her for a while, gather my thoughts, and process it. So from my point of view, it was not wasted time.
However, now, we needed to move.
And in order to do that, I needed to be able to communicate properly with all my teammates, to lead the team efficiently.
And fuck me, Sylvia was in the team.
Why was my team such a group of deviants? A thirsty slut, a pompous bitch and a nerdy, clingy dog. Why did I do to deserve a group like that?
It sounded like the beginning of a joke. And I was part of that joke. In fact, I was probably the punchline!
I sighed heavily as I looked at the small, quiet girl sitting besides me, and noticed Steele had left us to go lie down with Ebony. Did he want to give us privacy?
Fucking hell. Even he knew what I had to do? All right, back to work, then. I needed to settle things with this insufferable girl.
"Hey." I grunted.
"H-hey." Sylvia mumbled back.
How should I start this conversation?
Maybe asking something completely unrelated was the way?
Like…
"I never asked, but… How did you get injured?" I questioned, "What kind of monster slashed your belly like that?"
I asked something practical.
After all, if there was a third type of monster in the building, I needed to know.
"I-It… It wasn't a monster." She stuttered, not looking at me. "Or, it was...But..."
"…Huh?"
"...It was a Faunus." She revealed, "He had retractable claws, and when he saw the dungeon's effect rewarding kills, he…"
She didn't finish. She gulped, breathing heavily.
"…I knew him… I thought we were close enough to be friends." She sniffed, caressing her injury on her waist, "Ebony… She was there when it happened. She defended me, but he escaped..."
"…Shit…" I cursed, at a loss for words.
I remembered the events of yesterday, when I first met the two girls. Ebony did have trouble trusting me, and had tried to appeal to me by trying not to look like a burden. And the whole thing about not sharing stats... Suddenly, her behavior made a lot more sense. As did Sylvia's.
"I, uh… I'm sorry." I grunted awkwardly.
"M-m-me too!" She gasped, as if she'd been waiting all this time to jump on the bandwagon of offering me an apology. "I'm sorry I -… I slapped you…"
"It was a normal reaction," I said as I looked at her carefully, "But I… don't handle slaps very well."
"I'm sorry," she repeated stiffly, her eyes fixed on the floor.
She still wouldn't look at me.
"…"
I felt a sharp ping of guilt in my guts as I recognized the expression on her face.
I had seen it all too often in my family. Could it be, I was actually behaving like the same as… him?
I shook my head and scowled, feeling a wave of disgust crash onto me.
No. Absolutely not. It can't be… I refuse to leave things in such a state.I have to fix this.
"…Come here," I groaned and grabbed her chin, turning it towards me. She froze, her eyes widening in fear. She was still scared of me, no doubt about it.
I tilted her head towards me. She actually had a black eye, I realized, when she stopped hiding it with her hand. A black eye... I did that.
I stood up, and walked to the metallic shelf. I opened its doors and grabbed an Ice Dust Crystal from one of the boxes. Then I picked up an improvised bandage and drenched it in the sink, before wrapping it around the crystal.
I walked back to Sylvia, but I didn't sat down next to her. I stayed standing in front of her, with my head on the same level as hers, since she was sitting on an elevated table.
"…Uh… Can I…?" I asked, trying my best for a kind expression.
"…U-um…" She paused to look somewhere else in the room. Towards Steele or Ebony. "Y-yes…?" She eventually nodded with a very soft, quiet voice. "Please be gentle…"
I blinked, the face of Caitlyn superposing itself with Sylvia's for a second. They looked similar.
'Please.'
I blinked again, frowning as I pushed away the only memory I had of Caitlyn's soft voice, begging me to kill her. My heart sunk. I did my best to not show it.
"…"
I tried to be as delicate with Sylvia as I could. Gently, I put a hand behind her neck, and with the wet piece of cloth wrapped around the Ice Dust crystal, I carefully touched her black eye.
"Hn…" The frail girl winced.
"…Did that hurt?" I whispered.
Man. I was really too much of a brute to do something like this.
"A-a little… But… it's fine…"
"Should I stop?" I asked, almost hoping she said yes.
"N-no… It feels good now actually…"
I applied the cloth on her swelled cheek again, and I physically felt my pride protesting as I did so, aware of the two other pairs of eyes in the room that were watching us. It was humiliating to take care of someone like this. Someone like me, doing this? Ridiculous. I was much better at beating people up. This? This wasn't me. I only did this kind of thing with Carl. Only him.
But with my willpower, it was nothing I couldn't power through.
Sometimes, I involuntarily pictured Caitlyn's face instead of Sylvia, and… I did not know if made it harder or easier, to be honest. But I couldn't help it, and I certainly wouldn't fight it.
Sylvia shifted nervously under my touch.
"…How's your injury?" I asked, to break the unbearable silence in the room.
"…It's doing okay, I think." She whispered softly, one of her hands raising to rest on her waist. "You… wanna see?"
"Uuh…" I paused my movement for a second, surprised at the offer. "Sure."
She raised her shirt, exposing her waist.
It was not pretty.
Three long purple scars across her waist, forming the distinct shape of a claw. I felt my heart squeeze painfully when I looked at it. Her body would be marked forever by the claw of an asshole that had turned against his friends at the first occasion.
"…Is it still not fully healed?" I asked quietly.
"No," She shook her head.
And I made her fight a goblin like this…?
"It still hurts a bit, and it's itchy," She continued, before looking into my eyes. Hers were an intense light green, unlike Caitlyn's. "Could you… with the cloth?" She asked quietly, her face mere inches from mine.
"…I, uh…" What was the point of doing that? "I don't know if cold is going to do anything to that kind of wound."
"No, it's going to do something." She insisted again, "I… am sure of it. Please."
"…" I looked down at her little knees for a moment, exhaling slowly.
This was for the good of the team. For the sake of the team.
"…Okay…" I forced the word out of my mouth, and she guided my hand to her waist.
I touched her scars as softly as I could. She shivered, and I looked into her eyes to see if she was okay. She gave me a shy, encouraging smile, and raised her hand to touch my face.
"I slapped you, too," She muttered quietly.
"It's already healed." I flushed, pushing her hand away. "Let's just stick to your face, okay?" I decided carefully, raising the cloth from her belly to her cheek, and resuming the initial treatment.
"Okay…" She nodded, closing her eyes and shivering under the touch.
"I don't think cold does anything for scars anyway." I said.
"Me too," She admitted hesitantly. "But… It got me to see a new side of you."
My eye twitched. This girl was really pushing her luck today, huh. "What side…?"
"Uh… I… don't think you're that bad of a guy anymore." She game a tiny, shy smile. "I mean, a bad guy couldn't be this… this…" She hesitated, unsure.
"This… what?" I asked dangerously, stilling my hand.
"…Um…"
"…This cute." Ebony finished from behind me.
I almost turned towards her to throw the towel in her face. But I remembered there was a Dust crystal in there. Best not to throw that.
"…I was going to say caring," Sylvia said sheepishly, trying to soften the blow.
Somehow, it did.
"Hmph…" I snorted, sighing heavily, "I like that one much better." I smiled at Sylvia, and continued to work.
I almost expected her to be scared of my smile. But she smiled back. Her eyes seemed to be filled with relief.
In turn, I felt myself relax as well. I wasn't the big bad wolf anymore.
I had to admit, it felt good to not be seen as some kind of serial killer. Really, this small girl wasn't as bad as she I had first thought. Our personalities had clashed, and I had been looking for flaws.
Maybe I should be kinder to the people around me. Not just Carl. People didn't deserve to be treated like… to be abused like that. Especially if I was going to team up with them.
There might even be people around me that were in a bad place without me noticing, like Caitlyn had been all this time. You never knew what people went through, so… it might be best for me to be less of a dick… Just in case.
It was easier said than done though. Old habits die hard.
Ding!
The [Wisdom] stat has increased by one.
The [Leadership] stat has increased by one.
Seeing the window pop-up, I was reminded of the huge wisdom boost that I had gained from… from… killing Caitlyn.
The weight in my heart came back. I tried my best to not let it show.
I still wasn't sure what the wisdom stat was exactly, compared to intelligence. But it seemed to greatly help with self-reflection and finding a path to change oneself.
After all, I was pretty sure that if it had been the me from a couple days ago, I would have never been able to mend the rift between me and Sylvia.
Yet, I did. I could feel I did. This was the result of an increased Wisdom, Willpower and Leadership.
The Wisdom helped me see I needed to stop acting like a dick – even if I didn't necessarily liked it - and the Willpower helped me act on it despite my cold personality.
I smiled bitterly. I could almost be grateful for this apocalypse. But I knew better. This was all the work of my skill [The Gamer]. The apocalypse itself had nothing to do with it.
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked Sylvia.
"Y-yes." She flushed, "But… I, um, I don't mind if you continue…"
"Okay." I replied easily. "I'll continue then, Sylvie."
We shared a chuckle at the nickname.
Somehow, taking care of her had become much easier. I didn't feel ashamed of doing this anymore.
I felt relaxed, and so did she. It almost felt like we were healing each other.
Ding!
You have acquired a new skill: [Nursing]
[Skill: Nursing (Active)]
Rank: Common
Level: Beginner Level 1
Description: You can nurse and care for other people, making their injuries heal more quickly.
Effects: Gives the target +1 Vitality and +20% Heal Rate as long as the skill is active.
"Oh…" Sylvia blinked, probably surprised at the window displaying the new effect as the skill had activated itself. She looked at me in surprise.
I gave her a slight shrug, read the window and closed it, before continuing my work.
The two of us didn't comment on it.
[Nursing].
A skill to 'care for other people'… Huh.
How fitting.
Later.
"All right, guys." I whispered to the others. "We can do this."
The three others gulped, readying their weapons, while I took a deep breath of my medicine to prevent a potential asthma attack.
We were back on the third floor. Five zombies were in the corridor. One more than what Steele and I had seen this morning.
And we were going to take them out.
Steve was equipped with a crowbar that he used with two hands. Ebony had her bow and a hammer. Sylvia had a spear in her hands, and another attached in her back. I myself wielded the short sword in my right hand and a goblin shield in my left, which gave me a lot of stats.
In addition, we all had a backup goblin knife in a pocket. I also had the dagger attached to my belt, in case I wanted to drop the shield and try dual wielding. As for the gun, I had let it at our base.
"You all know the plan." I said, stepping into the corridor.
Steele followed to my right. Then the two girls behind us. The spear had enough reach to strike from behind. As for the bow…
"Stop," Ebony called from behind me.
We stopped, and I stepped to my left to give her a clear view.
She drew an arrow and aimed her shot.
"[Prepared Shot]". She whispered.
The [Prepared Shot] skill, a sub skill of the [Archery] skill that Ebony had acquired earlier today, gave her next arrow shot a bonus in damage, arrow velocity, and accuracy, and these bonuses increased further if she was undetected. However, it took five seconds to charge, so it was not suited for combat; but it was good for engaging a fight.
Ebony released her bow string.
The arrow flew across the corridor, and landed cleanly in a zombie's skull.
It dropped limply to the ground.
I smirked as the other zombies looked at their friend dumbly. This was a pretty convenient way to kill enemies. I would need to learn archery eventually.
Ebony used [Prepared Shot] again.
Another head shot. I raised my eyebrows, impressed. She must have quite a high level in archery. That, or the [Prepared Shot] skill was just that precise. Probably a combination of both.
"Grraaahhh!" The zombies growled angrily, finally noticing us.
The three dashed towards us.
I tanked my feet, and raised my shield, quickly analyzing the situation.
Two human zombies to the left, a goblin zombie to the right.
"Steele, take the goblin. Sylvia, the middle one. I take the left!"
Just as I finished saying that, the zombies closed the distance on us.
As I noticed Sylvia's spear stabbing forward between me and Steele, I tanked the impact of my zombie, maintaining my shield on its chest, before slashing my sword through its skull vertically.
Ding!
You have defeated a Zombie (Human).
As its body dropped, I turned to my right, seeing a zombie impaled on Sylvia's spear, who was helped by Ebony as they combined their forces to keep it away. With a quick move, I stabbed it through the mouth, and it stopped moving.
Ding!
You have defeated a Zombie (Human).
I looked at Steele, to find that he had handled his goblin zombie as well, having smashed its head cleanly.
"Aaaarrr!"
Zombies rushed out of all the classrooms of the floor, crashing against the wall as they did so.
Oh shit. They easily added up to a dozen!
"Retreat! To the stairs!" I yelled, and we ran for our lives. Screams echoed behind us.
After stepping into the staircase's room, I slammed the door behind me, and went after the others.
Crack!
The door almost instantly gave away under the weight of the zombies. Still, it gave me enough time to reach the fourth floor, where we had set up a defensible position, and I positioned myself behind a table.
"Aaargh!" The zombies ran up the stairs, eyeing us hungrily.
With a powerful kick, I sent the table tumbling down the stairs.
It crashed on a good majority of them, but still let a few through.
I welcomed one of them with a stab of my sword through its skull.
Ding!
You have defeated a Zombie (Human).
As I did that, two zombies jumped on me from both sides. Shit!
Widening my eyes in panic, I kicked one them back in the chest, making him fall back, and raised my shield to block the other.
Before it could reach me, a spear stabbed through its throat and drove it back. I turned my attention to the one I kicked back, only to find Steele hitting it with his crowbar. I looked back at the stairs, and gritted my teeth as I saw another few get free from the table and dash towards the Faunus boy.
I yelled a battle cry, distracting them towards me. One of them was shot in the leg by Ebony and fell back, making another stumble on its body. I welcomed the remaining one by bashing my shield against him and cutting off one of its legs as it was destabilized. It dropped to the ground, but another one was on me, and I slashed it through the eyes while Ebony's hammer smashed the head of the one that had fallen besides me.
Ding!
You have defeated a Zombie (Faunus).
Meanwhile, Steele was struggling against one of them, a few steps down.
"Steele! Back away!" I ordered, before cursing under my breath as the boy looked back at me desperately, and the remaining zombies freed themselves of the table.
Am I going to kill two people today?
Without thinking, I flexed my legs and jumped-kicked the zombie he was struggling against.
"Back!" I groaned as I landed and grabbed his arm to yank him backwards.
While we did that, an arrow landed on the chest of a zombie, barely slowing him down.
Four zombies were dashing towards me. Too close.
I dropped my short sword and yelled defiantly, grabbing the one in front by the collar of its shirt and using him as a shield, tanking the impact of the others, one after the other, before I threw it back into yet another zombie down the stairs.
Ding!
The [Physical Resistance] stat has increased by one.
Drawing my dagger from my belt, I stabbed one in the mouth while it was down, and an other through the skull.
Ding!
You have defeated a Zombie (Human).
You have defeated a Zombie (Human).
They were much easier to deal with once they were on the ground. A zombie managed to stand up, but I kicked its leg and stabbed it through its temple.
Ding!
You have defeated a Zombie (Human).
I looked back to the others.
Sylvia stabbed a zombie on the ground in its head.
Ebony smashed the skull of another with her hammer.
And Steele did the same with his crowbar.
There were still a couple of zombies stuck under the table. Two goblins. I picked up my short sword, walked to them, and killed them cleanly.
Ding!
You have defeated a Zombie (Goblin).
You have defeated a Zombie (Goblin).
Ding!
The [Vitality] stat has increased by one.
"…" We all panted for a moment.
"Good job…" I grinned, nodding my head.
"W-we did it!" Steele smiled widely, and the two girls let out a small laugh of relief.
I patted Steele on his shoulder. "You did well, Steele. Sylvia, you came in clutch with your spears. Ebony, your shots were badass."
Ding!
The [Leadership] stat has increased by one.
It really didn't take much to level up once you got the hang of it, huh. I was really getting the hang of this.
"Thanks! But we could have never done it without you," Ebony grinned at me.
"Are you all right?" Sylvia asked me worriedly, "For a moment there, it felt like all of them were on you."
"Peachy," I smiled, shrugging it off.
It had scared me quite a bit actually, but a leader should not show weakness like that. A leader should be an unwavering pillar of strength.
Shhhtck!
Just as I was thinking that, an arrow flew right by my head, slashing my cheek.
Ding!
You have been [Poisoned]!
"Goblins!" Steele called, and we duck out of the doorway that led to the fourth floor's corridor.
"How many?" I asked, gritting my teeth as I held a hand against my injured cheek.
"Six… No, seven!" Steele counted, peeking into the corridor. An other arrow flew past his face, way too close. "A-ah!" He gasped, eyes wide. "Th-there's three archers!"
"Shit, that's a lot." I admitted.
"We can't handle seven!" Ebony exclaimed, panicking.
"What should we do?" Sylvia asked me urgently.
The three of them turned to me, waiting for my decision.
"We just killed three times more zombies." I said. "Are we going to let those seven little bitches scare us?"
"…" They frowned, but I could see them think about it.
"And they can't even one-shot us with bites like the zombies. They're not contagious." I continued, ignoring the familiar feeling of the poison spreading in my blood. I trusted my poison resistance. "We're going to destroy these little rats, is what we're going to do!" I smirked, and stood up. "Who's with me!"
"Me!" Steele accepted eagerly, and the two girls gulped and stood up as well.
"All right," I nodded and peaked into the corridor. The three archers had stayed back, shooting from a distance, while four warriors were slowly making their way towards out spot, weapons raised. I ducked my head back, narrowly dodging an other arrow.
"Stay here." I ordered the three others, "When I say 'now', you come out and charge. Without question. Okay?"
"Yes." Steele accepted without hesitation. I looked at the two girls. They nodded hesitantly, clearly worried.
"All right." I nodded, and breathed heavily, gathering my courage. "Okay… Close the door behind me." I put down my shield and short sword, and grabbed two zombie corpses. My heart hammered in my chest, pumping my body with adrenaline.
Let's do this!
I stepped into the corridor, raising the corpses in front of me.
Shtck! Shtck! Stck!
Immediately, I felt three arrows impact the corpses. I threw them to the side, and dashed forward.
"Kah kah kah!"
"Kah kah!"
The goblin warriors smirked and laughed as they saw me charging.
When I saw the archers in the back start to aim at me again, I slammed my shoulder into the nearest door. It gave away easily under my weight and strength, just as I heard two arrows embed themselves into the wall corner behind me.
I immediately dashed to the window, opening it with a trembling hand, and stepped on the ledge outside.
Compared to yesterday, I was not weakened anymore, but the poison was still spreading though me. I needed to be quick!
I quickly slid my feet on the sledge before the goblins could see that I had gone there. As soon as I was hidden behind the wall, I heard them come in and search around the room. I quickly continued, easily stepping around the usual wall protuberance.
Ding!
You have acquired a new skill: [Climbing]
I smiled excitedly as I immediately felt more confidence and moved my hands instinctively on the wall, the grips feeling more natural and stable.
Fucking perfect timing!
Ding!
The [Agility] stat has increased by one.
I continued sliding and climbing my way on the ledge around the wall until I reached my destination: the classroom right next to the archers.
Ding!
The [Poison Resistance] stat has increased by one.
I carefully but quickly stepped through the broken window without scratching my skin.
Activating [Sneak], I dashed towards the door and slowly opened it, before stepping into the corridor once again.
I ended up a few meters right behind the three goblin archers. All according to plan.
Further away, the goblin warriors had given up searching the classroom, and were trying to force the stairway's door open, while Ebony, Steele and Sylvia maintained it close.
I drew my dagger, and used [Sneak Attack] on the middle archer that was slightly standing back.
Ding!
[Sneak]'s level has increased to Beginner level 2.
"K-kah!"
"Kah!"
The two others gasped in terror as they noticed their buddy's death. I extracted my dagger from my victim's throat, threw its body on the archer on the left, and swung my dagger at the one on the right. I felt my blade slash through the goblin's chest, making him scream in pain. I shut him up by punching him in the throat, before shoving my dagger through it.
Ding!
The [Dexterity] stat has increased by one!
Ding!
You have acquired a new skill: [Short Blade Mastery]
I smiled savagely as I turned my attention to the third one, who had yet to stand up.
Huh? Where was he?
I noticed something twitching below the body I had thrown.
It seemed like the remaining goblin archer was pretending to be dead.
"…" I leaned over him.
The goblin opened an eye.
"Hello there." I stabbed him right in the chest.
What a dumbass.
These three corpses were going to rise again as zombies. I would let the goblins deal with that.
I jogged towards the four goblin warriors, who were still trying to force the door open.
I grabbed a chair in a nearby classroom, and sneaked towards them.
"K-kah!" One of them noticed me, and I threw the chair into them, causing chaos.
I dashed towards the disorganized goblins. I swung my dagger at one of them, but he blocked it with his shield.
I blinked. My dagger was stuck in the shield. This was bad. The three other creatures scowled angrily at me, raising their weapons and turning their back on the stairway's door.
"NOW!" I yelled, and the door swung open right as the three goblins lunged at me. I let go of my dagger and staggered backwards in panic.
Steele, Sylvia and Ebony each attacked a different target in their exposed back.
Clung!
One of them had a helmet that tanked Steele's crowbar, but the two others died quickly from the girls' assault.
"K-kah?!" The one I had attacked let out a panicked gasp, not knowing where to look. I feigned being distracted by the others, and so he turned to attempt a stab at Sylvia, whose spear was still impaled in another goblin.
I immediately stabbed him from behind, my blade piecing him through the chest as he let out a scream of agony.
Meanwhile, Ebony had swung her hammer on the remaining armored goblin, and together with Steele, they ganged up on him and showered many blunt strikes on his body.
We had won.
"Let's fucking go!" I grinned widely, excited by our victory. "Quick, let's loot them!"
They all nodded, and we grabbed as much stuff as we could, until…
"Kaaah!"
I widened my eyes, hearing a goblin war cry coming from behind me.
In the corridor, the goblin shaman was there, waving its staff.
A ball of blazing fire was quickly growing on top of it.
"BACK!" I yelled, and everyone dashed towards the door.
"A-ah!" Sylvia gasped, tripping on the body of a goblin and falling on the floor.
I froze. The other two hadn't noticed and had ran ahead. There was an instant of hesitation as I hesitated to leave her behind.
Sylvia looked at me desperately, tears in her eyes. I was suddenly reminded of Caitlyn, their faces superposing on each other once again.
With my Willpower, I crushed any semblance of cowardice in my heart.
"KAKAAH!"
The goblin shaman released the fireball.
I dashed in front of Sylvia, and raised two goblin bodies as a shield in front of me.
Boom!
The ball of fire impacted the bodies with a surprisingly soft explosion. However, I soon realized that the bodies were still being burnt, and the flames leaked through to caress my chest.
"Aah! Fuck!" I screamed as I quickly grabbed Sylvia's hand and ducked into the staircase.
Below us, a troll roared unhappily, as if telling us to shut up and let it sleep in peace.
"Stop! Y-your clothes are on fire!" Sylvia gasped, and I quickly took off my shirt and pants. While I did that, Sylvia poured a water bottle on me for good measure, which greatly soothed my burns.
Then we ran silently until we reached out base of operations.
"Cough..."Having inhaled some smoke, I inhaled my asthma medicine again to sooth my lungs.
"..."
The four of us panted harshly, and we looked at each other.
"…That… That was intense." Ebony breathed. "I... I didn't notice you two fell back... I'm sorry."
"Me too..." Steele nodded bashfully.
"Th-thank you… For saving me." Sylvia bowed her head to me. I looked her up and down, she didn't seem injured.
"It was nothing. We can't afford to lose anyone." I replied, shrugging it off once again.
Ding!
The [Leadership] stat has increased by one.
"Did you see that?" Steele asked, eyes wide. "It was a fireball! Like, a spell! Actual magic!"
"Nah," I shook my head sarcastically. "I missed that. My fucking clothes were on FIRE but I didn't see that!"
"R-right..." Steele flushed, looking at my body's burns. There were nothing too major as far as I could feel. The only really bad spot was my chest, which had reddened quite a bit under the heat, and it stung a little, but nothing too bad.
"Are you okay?" Sylvia asked me.
"I don't think I've been burned too bad." I answered, relieved, "I was lucky."
Ebony didn't miss a beat, grinning widely at me, "So now you're back to being topless! And without pants! Lucky us~"
"Stop…" I breathed out tiredly. I raised my hand to my cheek, where the arrow had grazed me.
"...Sorry," Ebony bit her lips, "Are you okay?"
"The fire didn't hurt me, I don't think." I said, "But I got poisoned."
"We had time to grab some goblin rations and elixirs," Steele said, putting his bag down, and taking out a flask of red liquid. "Do you need a potion?"
"I should be fine." I said hesitantly, before glancing at Ebony. "Best to save them for later, if we can."
"I got it." She grinned, winking at me. "Let the Nurse Arc take care of you."
"All right…" I sighed, and went to lie down on a table next to her.
She grabbed me below my arms and raised it so my head rested on her thighs.
"Oof! You are one heavy boy, you know that?" She chuckled.
"Yep." I shrugged.
Ding!
You are being Nursed by Ebony Arc.
Effects: +6 Vitality, +120% heal rate, as long as the [Nursing] skill is active.
[The Gamer]: +6 Vitality, +6 Willpower, +6 all Resistances(2), as long as the [Nursing] skill is active.
"How do you feel, getting a lap pillow from your senior while half-naked?" She asked with a smirk. "Cause I like it."
"It's okay." I replied, feeling the numbness on my cheek reach its peak.
"This is your reward for being so brave." She grinned at me, and started petting my hair.
Annoying. Humiliating. But if this was what I had to put up with to benefit her skill, then I wouldn't complain.
Instead, I scoffed at her words, "You consider that a reward? How far up your own ass must you be, to think so highly of yourself that your thighs are enough to compensate me, after carrying the three of you so hard?"
"Ahah…" She chuckled, getting embarrassed, "U-uh… Don't they feel good though?"
"They're fine. But I want your ass next."
She gaped at me. "Wh-what?!"
I raised my eyebrows at her as I adjusted the position of my head on her lap, putting my hands behind my neck. "What's wrong? I thought you considered your body parts as rewards? Did I misunderstand?"
"M-my ass belongs to my boyfriend only!" Ebony replied, blushing bright red.
"Ah, yes, the boyfriend excuse." I laughed mockingly, rolling my eyes, "I can't wait to meet him. I've got a lot of things to discuss with him."
"Hmph…" Ebony crossed her arms and pouted, looking away.
Looks like I win this one. I smiled in satisfaction, and closed my eyes.
"You guys are getting hardcore," Steele commented from his spot. He sounded like he had second-hand embarrassment from listening to our discussion.
Silly Steele. Those were just words. It was just flirting, it wasn't like anything would happen from it.
"..."
"Here…"
Hearing Sylvia's soft voice close to me, I opened an eye.
She had made the thing I did earlier today, a piece of wet cloth wrapped around Ice Dust, held it in her hands, and looked at me for my approval to apply it on whatever burn I had.
The prude girl was also blushing bright red after hearing our conversation, just like Steele. She was clearly different from Ebony on that front, who looked for any chance to flirt.
Hmm… Did I even need treatment? Sure, it stung a bit, but it was only some redness, it would heal quickly. I think.
"…" I noticed Sylvia's expression behind her blush.
Guilt.
"…Go ahead." I grunted. If it made her feel better, might as well.
Sylvia nodded nervously, and pushed the bandage onto my chest. I shivered at the touch, and exhaled softly. It was cold and soothing. Maybe it did need to be treated.
"It doesn't look like they followed us," Steele spoke up, peaking into the corridor.
"No. You know why?" I smirked, "Because these green little freaks are scared of us." I said, causing Ebony to snort.
"Rightly so," The blonde girl nodded.
We fell into a comfortable silence, as Sylvia continued to apply the cloth on my chest. The coldness felt very good on my skin, I had to admit.
"…"
Hmm. Should I say something else?
Instead of just trash-talking our foes, wasn't there something else a leader should say?
Thinking about it. It was their first real battle. Mine too, I guess. But I had more experience, and more willpower. It must have been really nerve-wracking for them.
"Uh…"
I spoke up without thinking. The three of them turned their heads to look at me.
No going back now. Come on. Say something nice, Shean.
"I'm… I'm proud of you, guys." I forced myself to say, "I was really impressed by how we all handled ourselves."
A heavy silence welcomed my words.
Did I say something wrong? I felt my cheeks heating up. This was so embarrassing.
"But I tripped." Sylvia spoke up.
Huh?
What did this girl say?
"So what?" I frowned, annoyed, and sat up to glare at her. I pointed a threatening finger at her. "Listen up, Sylvie. No, everyone. Every time one of us trips, I want another to be there to help them stand back up." I raised my voice at her, "That's what being a part of this group means! That's what I think. And I expect the same from you all! Got it? I don't want people to run ahead and leave others behind anymore." I continued, which made Ebony and Steele fidget nervously, "We support each other and cover our failures. As long as I'm the boss around here, that's how it's going to be." I finished my statement with a firm, annoyed voice, sent a final glare at Sylvia, and laid back down onto Ebony's lap.
Fucking annoying girl.
This kind of thing, shouldn't it be obvious? I might be a huge dick, but I wasn't going to let people die.
So, they better do the same for me in return. None of that running ahead without looking behind shit.
And that wasn't something new that I had acquired from gaining willpower or wisdom or leadership. This was a basic rule of life that I expected everyone else to fulfil if they wanted to earn my respect.
So far, only Daryl hadn't let me down. Even Carl had disappointed me sometimes. But he was family, so he got a pass.
Ding!
The [Leadership] stat has increased by one.
The [Leadership] stat has increased by one.
The [Leadership] stat has increased by one.
The [Leadership] stat has increased by one.
"…" I blinked at the windows, and glanced at the others.
Steele wore an excited, proud grin.
Sylvia's lips were slightly curled up, her expression grateful.
Ebony wasn't smiling like she usually was, but she had an expression of respect on her face.
I guess I said the right thing… Good.
This whole leader shtick might not be so bad.
Later, that night…
"…"
I fidgeted nervously in the corridor, looking around excitedly. It was my first day of middle school and the coming class was one I was particularly interested in.
"…All right! Is everyone here? Great!" The teacher clapped his hands happily. "My name is Anthony Brownie. I will be your teacher in this second-year of middle-school of yours. And I will teach you… Art!"
Everyone in the class mumbled among themselves. I looked at the man with interest. I liked drawing.
"I will introduce you to the art of drawing, painting, sculpting, and many other visual arts, even ones that you will make up yourselves." The teacher described with a soothing, dreamy voice.
Sculpting sounded interesting. Leaving behind a mark, something that will persist through the years. It sounded amazing, actually. I couldn't help but grin in excitement at the perspective.
"But enough talk. To start with, I would like you to draw something. Simply grab a piece of paper, and draw something. It can be anything. Please do not restrict yourselves! Express whatever you want to express! Begin!"
I looked at my classmates as they grabbed their pencils, glancing at each other, before starting to draw. People giggled and talked among themselves, and the ambiance was welcoming.
I grinned widely and started to draw on my paper.
"…"
The teacher walked between the tables, smiling benevolently as he commented on each drawing. Most people drew their garden and their family. Other people drew their pet. Others drew monuments like the city of Atlas floating in the sky. Others drew their Huntsman idol.
I was almost finished with my drawing when he stopped behind me to watch.
Quite proud of myself, I genuinely thought my drawing was probably the best, considering what the others did. It used the same style as comics, and I was confident in my ability to copy that style.
My picture simply showed a man – or a teen. He was glaring right out of the picture, screaming silently, eyes frowned, an angry fire visible in his eyes. He emitted some kind of red aura like a cliche power up, and the frame of the picture had sort of 'shattered' under its power.
It was badass!
Feeling the presence of the teacher behind me, I looked up at him.
"What's your name, young man?"
"Shean."
"…Shean, you… you have a lot of rage inside you, don't you?" He said softly, looking straight into my soul.
"…!" My eyes widened.
The words shook me to my core.
"..."
"…"
"A lot of rage, inside you."
"…"
"A lot of rage."
"…"
"Rage."
"…"
Caitlyn. Her head split open on the bathroom's floor.
My face, leaning forward and glaring at the mirror, screaming silently at myself as I gasped for breath, struggling to control my tears, my face twisted in an ugly grimace.
"..."
"Hngh!" I gasped, jumping up into a sitting position. "Ah…" I blinked rapidly, remembering where I was as my heart hammered in my chest. "Haaa…" I panted.
Fucking hell, this memory again, of my first art class.
At that time, I hadn't even been aware of how much rage I held back behind smiles and happiness.
Young as I was, I had jumped on the first opportunity to express myself. That teacher saw it, and forced my eyes open to my feelings.
"Are you okay?" Sylvia, who was on guard duty, asked quietly, after she came to stand near the hammock to see me.
Still panting, I glanced at Ebony who was resting on my left. Steele was right besides her, asleep.
Let's not wake them up.
"Y-yeah…" I breathed, laying down again. "It's nothing." I muttered, and turned my back to the three of them, staring at the wall and ignoring Sylvia.
"You had a nightmare." She whispered softly. "I can listen…"
"…No… Don't worry." I grunted stiffly.
I heard her sigh and walk back to her spot in the corner of the room near the windows.
"…"
Suddenly, I felt an arm go around me and a chest pressing on my back, hugging me from behind.
Ebony. Getting touchy as always. Even though I was only wearing my boxers.
Was she awake?
I felt her breath on the back of my neck. It seemed stable.
"…"
Oh well. If she was sleeping, I didn't want to wake her. If she wasn't, I would just pretend to be asleep. That way I can act like nothing happened.
I closed my eyes, feeling my heart rate relaxing. I reflected back on the blurry memories of my dream.
"…"
Even with all the Willpower and Wisdom I had gained, in my heart, I knew the truth… I needed more. Much more.
Changing myself was not going to be easy.