Chapter 20 20: Meeting Is Inevitable

"I told you not to go back, didn't I?"

She was relieved beyond belief to hear his voice again. She already related being near him to being safe unconsciously, more than she did so with Derrick originally. It isn't hard to imagine why, since Noah was selfish and strong so he would most likely not put himself in harm's way for someone else or make rash decisions based on others opinions.

The relief of being safe instantly vanished after discerning what he said. It made her not only re-live the traumatic experience again, but it also made her realize something more important.

"Y-yo-you…co-could-ve…sav…ed…Der-Derr-ick…"

Her throat was too parched and sore even now that it was a chore to get her words out. Noah found it slightly annoying since now it was taking her longer just to speak and even more so because he could barely understand her. He wanted to 'advise' her to stop talking and was about to proceed to retrieve one of the bottles of water from his bag, but that was before he realized that she fell asleep. The constant fear and trauma she experienced drained her far too much and now that she was safe again, her body had to shut down to recuperate from the emotional and mental stress.

"Well I guess that works too…you plan on sleeping as well or should w-"

He turned towards his spider companion to find that it was no longer moving. Originally he was worried that maybe he pushed it too much. No one but the spider knew how much effort was put into jumping that large distance and to be able to pull itself back with its own web. The spider 'sat' near the trunk of the tree with its legs closely tucked near it while its many eyes were always open since it didn't have eyelids.

Noah's first instinct was to rush over and check on it, since if he didn't know any better, he would assume it to be dead or at the very least, dying. Thankfully, the bond was there to help him make out somewhat that the spider was only resting.

"Phew! Maybe that's how everyone else feels when someone close to them dies, man that's a little bit too uncomfortable for my taste. I guess I'll have to keep watch then…hopefully that bird goes away sometime soon."

He didn't know how long they would be stuck under the tree, but for now he didn't mind waiting. Having the bird circle them continuously kind of acted as a temporary guardian. Its presence alone should be able to ward off most animals, even those who were mutated greatly like his spider and the bird alike. He doubts any of the mindless zombies would care about the figure in the sky as long as they could eat it then they would gladly 'die' trying.

…..

In the passing time Noah and his small group were able to get a short time of peace, the first hostile group he encountered, Mark's group, was able to achieve their goal. Unlike Noah who was a loner, Mark held a 'hero's' persona which led him to choose the route of saving as many people as he could along the way.

From a Small group of four, it grew to fifteen by the time he reached the dormitory. He was already strong in his own right, especially given the power of his first achievement. Now that he also had a larger group, Most of which didn't really contribute, but were there to leech off his strength. Yet, the few who did contribute, lightened the load on him immensely along with the fact that the 'leeches' actually made a really good distraction, providing cover for the others to secure their safety.

As of now, he, along with his original group were sitting in the common area of the girls dorm, seated with another fairly large group that was led by a female. Right now an uncomfortable silence permeated the room. Chaos could still clearly be heard outside the building but it barely affected the mood. Soon, the initial silence was overcomed by the sound of metal constantly tapping against the floor, the rate at which it was being tapped increased, reflecting the frustration of the one responsible.

"Why do we have to hide? We've been given these powers for a reason! We should be getting stronger and then we can save even more! Jas…I just can't agree with it…"

The repeated clunking sound stopped after the source of that sound finally spoke.

Mark had finally found his sister and unsurprisingly to him, he found her in one piece and she seemed to be adjusting to the situation just as well as he did.

But unlike Mark, she didn't become overly prideful due to the powers they were giving. She's always had to be the responsible child and grew up to be the responsible adult. She felt that it was justified that Mark wanted to save people, but she also felt he wasn't ready to take on the responsibility. He was ready to bask in the glory of his deeds but he would also have to accept the responsibility for the bad that comes with being a leader. This is why she felt that they should secure an area and wait out for help.

But she couldn't say that to him directly, she knew that would question his pride and would only make him annoyed. Worst case scenario, he would try to prove her wrong and do everything by himself and worry her even more which is why they are in the position they are in now.

Mark impatiently looked onwards to his older sister, but he couldn't tell what she was thinking.

His sister Jas, which was short for Jasmine, also had similar jet black hair and brown eyes as he did. Differently from her brother, she didn't get into the school due to sports and was more of an intellectual. She had a larger frame than most girls, standing around 5ft10". She couldn't be defined as sexy but many would still consider her beautiful because of her mother-like appeal. Her hair reached just past her shoulders and even though her hair was jet black, she also had a dark tint Of blue dyed underneath. Three bangs flowed down her face, two on the side and one in the center. Her eyes were gentle and so was her face but instead of making her appear fragile, she seemed more of a sage. But what stood out the most in her appearance that even Mark couldn't help but notice was the growth and shape of her ears. Both were now pointed and longer than normal which made Mark believe that she also benefited from the same achievement he did or maybe she knew something he didn't.

Seconds ticked by without a response from his sister, who seemed to be in deep thought. He looked around and he could see that many in the room would most likely prefer her suggestion to hide it out like cowards. Gripping the hilt of his sword in frustration, he was preparing to denounce all of the cowards as such and to let them know their place. If they were to try to hold it out, who would be the one who'll have to protect them if something gets through? The people like him, who weren't able to get stronger because they were too busy hiding? Fortunately his sister spoke out before him.

"Ok Mark, we'll do it your way…but!" She had to hurriedly finish his response. Just from her opening words alone, she clearly could see the sheer terror in majorly of the people here. They didn't want to fight or be put in a position where they could lose their life despite the enticement of powers and strength they could receive.

"I think we should also compromise on my idea as well. How about the cafeteria? I can't say it's the most prominent place to secure a perimeter but it has the most essential daily need we need and that's food. I know you want to get stronger so shouldn't you at least have a base of operations to work from or were you thinking about wandering around without a plan and a place of security for when you needed to rest or if something went wrong? This way we can continue to rescue people and we can wait for help while you and anyone else can help people along the way and try to continue to get stronger…"

The people in the area all sighed in relief, her suggestion seemed like a win win for everyone. The one who was most relieved was Jasmine herself when she saw that her stubborn and hot headed brother accepted her proposal. Yet part of her felt uncomfortable when she noticed the glimmer of annoyance in his posture. She was well aware of his personality but with everything that's happened in this small span of time. She was sure that there would be many occurrences of people's character changing or perhaps they were finally showing their true colors. She was worried that her brother was one of those people and that he would do something unpredictable and more importantly, stupid.

They all started to prepare to leave. While everyone else was busy talking to relieve the tension, Mark walked over to his sister to get to the bottom of her ear issue.

"Jas, I've been meaning to ask but what's up with your ears? Does that mean you got the same achievement then? What did you get?" His excitement couldn't be maintained, no one knows if he was excited to know out of curiosity for his older sister or if he wanted to make sure that he was more unique.

"Let's not discuss it too much until we're alone, but I've received the race called elf…I'm pretty sure it's probably like some of the movies I've seen but I can't be sure. At least to my knowledge, I know that it compliments my summoner class 'and' I think the new look will grow on me, don't you think?"

Jas made a small attempt to crack a small joke in hopes of livening the mood between the two after their earlier bickering, but it seemed that her joke didn't reach her brother. He was occupied to determine what benefits her race offered to her, he only received a skill. He didn't know if a race class was a better option than what he obtained and he wasn't sure if that's all she had. He held more gaming terminology than she did and he knew that elves in general held a better standing when it came to magic and the like. Seemingly ignoring what she originally said, he motioned closer to her and asked more directly.

"But…what exactly does becoming an elf do? Does it also give you skills?"

Again, That uncomfortableness Jas felt before was reappearing. She knew he was always stubborn but he at least respected her more. She had just said that she'll talk about it in more detail later, but not now.

"Don't worry, when we reach our goal we can talk about everything, but not now. We can't slip and accidentally let others know our secrets as well." She slapped his shoulder and started to walk away. She didn't want him to come up with a half-assed excuse on why it's ok to discuss it now so she hurriedly distanced herself, but not before turning back to him.

"It's been rough on all of us so how about we rest a few mins more before we go?"

——

"Finally….you've already eaten plenty and yet you still stuck around for so long, screw you." Noah complained while watching the vulture finally leave after what seemed to be half an hour of circling them. If it really wanted to, it could've landed on the ground to challenge them and most likely overcome the group, considering their exhaustion. But, just like the spider, it seemed it also gained a bit of consciousness which is not always the best.

Just that point alone made it more aware of its surroundings before and it felt uneasy about bringing the fight to its prey in an unfavorable position for itself. After observing for awhile, it finally decided to give up and find prey elsewhere, solving one of Noah's problems.

'But…' he looked over to the spider, still appearing to be asleep and then to Isabelle who hasn't moved from where she was dropped.

'Like, I'm tired too! They are more selfish than I am. Luckily I have that skill that passively gives me stamina or I probably wouldn't have made it this far. I wish there was a way I could at least carry my monster so I...'

Smack*

"How could I be so stupid! I've seen it so many times and yet I finally realized it now. Maybe the pressure is getting to me…" He smacked himself due to his forgetfulness. He wasn't sure if he could've used it in the situation of Derrick, but it would've been nice to know that he had options.

He slowly got up out of his seated position and walked next to the slumbering spider. Now that he was somewhat out of danger, he could appreciate it more.

"I wanted a badass-monster but somehow you look kind of cute." Rubbing the top of the spider's head, he wasn't sure if the spider enjoyed it but he could feel the spider's body slightly shivering. Noah then closed his eyes before he attempted the skill. Just like before, he was aware of how to use it but having knowledge isn't the same as experience.

A minute went by, then two. Before Noah was aware, ten minutes passed before a change occurred.