Chapter 208: Leaving, Wandering, Hungry

Jin walked through the tall earthen walls that kept the colony safe up till this very day. He walked right through, and promptly his eyes met an awfully grim world again. The world was in ruins. Destruction saw to prevalence here. The Voids seemed to destroy what man built, everything they could land eyes upon. 

The buildings, empty of souls, were also destroyed. Jin was curious about the other civilizations. How did they survive out here in these ruins without monumental protection like the wall the Wizard had founded and continued to reinforce? 

The Voids and several other creatures confined the options for the survival of sentient beings greatly.  Other than a wall, Jin could only think of subterranean settlement as a valid means of defense and security. 

He started to walk, invisible to avoid being seen by a Void. He wanted a battle, but not from a Void. These creatures were competent but not worthy of Jin's time when the system didn't award him with points for their elimination. 

He walked with a deliberate gait. After all, there was no rush. He knew he was bound to encounter people elsewhere. When was the question he had no say to. Yet, he continued to walk. 

The Voids were all around him. Adversely, the invisibility did not conceal his presence so he was discreet in his choice of path. He avoided the nearing of Voids. Those black creatures, some in heavy armor made out of a black, hard, shiny shell-like material.

Most Voids wielded swords. It was a pity these swords couldn't be harnessed as a tool for survivors of the apocalypse. They shriveled and disappeared when their wielders—specifically the Void—perished.

Jin was not fond of weapons. Instead, he wanted to get rid of his and depend upon nothing but his two hands. Jin believed hands were the real things when it came to weapons. How could one wield one such weapon without his hands? Hands were weapons themselves in all but name. Jin recognized this. 

It would take quite some time for him to completely rid himself of the dependence upon his dagger, but he would wait patiently until the day arrived.

He was not all that patient. But patient enough. Patient enough not to get desperate in his course. He felt like he was growing stronger in the mind day by day, contrary to Cliff's say. All in all, Jin did not care about what Cliff thought.

In fact, he was no longer as frail and insecure the person he was in the past. Times were changing. Jin was getting stronger. But not strong enough to lead to his satisfaction. He needed a way to level up faster, and opponents seemed like the answer to all his problems. 

And so, to a new settlement, he was headed. 

*** 

[Consume sufficient sustenance]

The sun had fallen and the night had come. And yet through this darkness, Jin relentlessly trudged. His exhaustion was clear to him, but he neglected it. He was also excessively hungry. He hadn't eaten before he'd left the walls. 

He cursed in his tracks. He couldn't see anything at all. The Voids disappeared in the darkness of night because of what they wore. Pitch black skin, and armor. Thanks to Jin's hunger, his invisibility had also disappeared just like the Voids. He no longer had protection. The streetlights were off, he was tired, his hunger was growing, and he was left vulnerable. 

Cliff appeared next to him. 

"Well look who's back," Jin said. 

Jin couldn't see the look of horror on his face, but such a look was certainly present. 

"Jin," he said, "danger."

"What?" Jin grimaced. 

"It's her ... she's moving again. She's crossing the ocean as we speak tonight in the high tides."

Jin smirked in the darkness. "Tell me why you see that as a bad thing."

"'Cause this disciple isn't anything like me," Cliff said, "in fact, I'm leaving now. I'm just here to warn you. It's a warning to which you should definitely pay attention."

Cliff suddenly vanished. 

Jin was once again in the darkness, alone. It was a quiet journey on this straight path. But it was no good walking in the dark like this. How would he see things? What if he'd walk past a settlement and be clueless? 

With all this in mind, Jin had decided he'd stop for the night. He sighed as he began to walk away from the road. In the mild light of the moon and stars of the night sky, he was able to make out a virtually destroyed house with a rooftop that was still a trifle sturdy. 

He teleported to this rooftop upon thinking of the action alone. Ensuingly, the skill was triggered. The surface upon which he stood changed. He felt it under his shoes. This new surface was thinner. And it was louder when he walked. What's more, there were vibrations. It had to be galvanize. Not the ideal thing to sleep upon, but what other choice did he have? 

A clone walked out of his body. The clone then turned to him. "Why have you summoned me?"

"Sleep with an eye open if you can." Jin said, "If you can't, stay awake. I need you to keep watch. Can't get ambushed while I sleep."

"But it's still a bit fruitless," the clone said, "the amount of sleep you'll get will be cut in half since I'd be awake. Maintaining clones can be energy costly."

"You're right," Jin said, "but just do what I fucking told you to and stop stalling."

"Okay."

Jin sighed. He lowered down to the cold galvanize and spread his feet while lingering on his behind. Finally, he lowered his back such that he was lying supine, looking up at the stars of the night sky.

The uncountable stars of insurmountable numbers were so sporadically placed, and bright. Then, there was the moon, which was a much bigger brightness. Memories came back to Jin as he looked up at this sky. He wanted to be an astronaut when he was younger. Things had changed. For he now wanted to be a God.

The sky looked down at him as he looked up at it. 

"Its pulchritude is unparalleled, now  isn't it?" a voice said in his ears. The voice was sonorous. Strong. But most importantly, it was ominous with hissing at the end of each word while retaining a thorough clarity that made the words etch behind Jin's mind and stay. 

Jin jolted and began to look around. He looked left and then right. "Who was that?"

"I'm not playing any games ... who was that? You better come out or I'll ..."

The person behind the voice never answered. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was who was the person behind the voice.

Jin had still decided to go to sleep shortly after that. It would appear that the system was truly making him change. He was growing careless. Careless or fearless? You decide.

***

Jin woke up the next morning and sat upon his behind. The sun was out, the clouds were present, and the Voids were more active. He was surprised he hadn't gotten attacked by a Void. Those creatures seemed to never sleep on his part. 

He stood on the rooftop, jamming his pockets in his pants. He yawned. "No Void attacks last night, huh?"

The clone teleported to him. "None whatsoever."

"Mhm," Jin uttered. 

He flipped off of the rooftop and landed on his feet. He staggered. Then, he steadied. Finally, he started walking again. 

Now that the daylight was vast and widespread, Jin could have seen where he was going. He walked and walked. His hunger was quite irritating, given that chemical energies were seemingly one such energy the system used for things like recovery. 

He needed food. 

Suddenly, he heard something from behind him. It was a rumbling. Stones in the road were pitching about. Jin looked over his shoulder. It was a vehicle. A customized vehicle. It was customized with metal welded together, and bolts conspicuous. There were spikes in front of the vehicle and a ram's horn on either side of the top windshield. Lastly, the tint was incredibly black. 

Jin smirked as the vehicle haltingly approached him. He didn't get out of the road. Instead, he slowly turned around, still peering at the vehicle. 

The driver winded the glass down and stuck his head out through his window. He gestured with a hand. "Hey, over here!" 

Jin started toward the vehicle. He walked deliberately. Then, he stopped when he was in front of the man's door. 

The man was bearded with glasses. His eyes swept Jin. "How long have you been out here?"

"Two months," Jin said, "two weeks, and one day."

The man widened his eyes at Jin's response. "That long. How the hell did you survive out here!"

Suddenly, they heard the roar of a creature.

The man pounded at his steering wheel, and clenched his teeth. "Damn it! I was going away from the base. Turns out I have to go back ... in order to take you there."

Jin smirked. 

"You coming in or what?"