Chapter 12: HOTD 11
Footsteps echoed around us. A runner had caught up to us most likely drawn by the terrifying fight that had echoed throughout the lifeless city.
And I was willing to bet that there were more that were coming. Haven tried signalling Yukio to leave him but he paid no heed to his plight, preferring to do as he pleased with the small amount of time left.
Before we could move to another spot however, a roar rang out from behind us. The roar of a Runner. We turned around to see one sprinting towards us with all its might. At this point, Yukio had barely recovered to having the strength of a normal person. It wasn't enough to block off the Runner but with his battle experience, it didn't pose much of a problem to dispatch it.
He grabbed the sword, hanging from his back and unsheathed it. A gleaming black obsidian colored blade greeted Haven's eyes. Moving to the side, to avoid the leap, Yukio cut down with his sword, timing it perfectly so it could reach the zombie's neck.
The sword seemed to slightly resonate with the air, taking on a slight hum as it swung down onto the Runner.
The blade sliced through cartilage and flesh with ease, readily decapitating the runner, as it leapt through the air to greet him.
Its headless body rolled forward, stopping just shy from Haven's own.
Before Yukio could go back under cover however, more roars resounded through the surroundings. The other Runners seemed to have caught up with the first one and heard its cries.
Seeing Yukio with his blade at the ready, they charged at him with all their might. Haven could count at least 10 of them running towards him.
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Yukio: Shit! Well...Haven the plan of forgetting the gun is shot now.
Haven: (wheezing)F*cking terrible pun. You... should leave. Go
Yukio: Even if I leave now, there's no point. They've already seen me and are probably going to try to kill me any way. Stay there, you'll be fine... probably
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Yukio, unwilling to take the chance of close combat anymore, prepared his gun and switched off the safety. Aiming, he shot down three of them before they got closer. The others started swarming him as soon as they got close. He rolled backwards, avoiding a leaping zombie from catching him unaware. He was unable to aim properly when he had to avoid another Runner from getting too close, lest he be bitten and piled up on.
Getting up from his disadvantageous position, he leapt off a wall to climb onto the broken floor above him. The zombies paid no attention to Haven. It might have been due to how camouflaged he looked surround by the debris and dust but in any case, they weren't aware of him.
Haven on the other hand, was worried about the outcome of the fight. He believed that the zombies only weren't paying heed to him due to Yukio distracting them. Once he falls, it was inevitable that they would look to face off against him next, and because of virus coursing through his body, he wouldn't even have a smidgen of a chance at defending himself.
Mustering his willpower, he forced his body upright and to move forward. As much as he had kept urging Yukio to leave him, the truth was that Haven never wanted to die. He wanted to live. He never wanted to feel as helpless as he was currently feeling now, barely able to move with the meager strength left in him. He vowed, speaking up with his last few breaths of consciousness, as he forced his body to stand amongst the debris, blood and sweat rolling off of his body in waves.
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Haven: I won't fall... this... I refuse, to die here. Not like this. When I die... it will be on my own terms... do you hear that devil? Or whatever shitty f*cking God that runs this place!
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And through his efforts, a small miracle happened.
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- LONGEVITY REALM LIMIT BROKEN!
REWARDED 500 POINTS, CELL VITALITY INCREASED BY 10 POINTS AND IMMUNIZATION STRENGTH INCREASED BY 50 POINTS!
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He did it...
I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but our body's condition spurned us otherwise. Haven's will to live, his final show of willpower gave us just the perfect reward we needed, just enough to survive.
Unknown strength filled his veins, surging through his muscles and through his body whole. Energy returned to us and our breathing changed from rasping blood filled to clean and strong. Haven was by no means healed to perfection, in fact he still felt like crap but at least he had the strength to walk once again.
The virus that was slowing killing away at his body appeared to have halted its momentum, giving him a reprieve to keep on going.
Before he could think on anything else however, another notification rang out.
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- HIDDEN GOD'S QUEST COMPLETE!
AS A NEW PLAYER, YOU HAVE REALIZED THE THREE BREAKTHROUGHS IN THE FACE OF HORROR AND LIVED, COMING EVER SO CLOSER TO THE NEXT STEP IN THE EVOLUTION OF MAN.
REWARDED 3000 POINTS, RANK B REWARD AND AN UPGRADE CERTIFICATE!
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- UPGRADE CERTIFICATE!
A RARE CERTIFICATE GIVEN TO PLAYERS BY GOD.
ALLOWS FOR THE UPGRADE OF A LOW OR INTERMEDIATE LEVEL NON-GENETIC ENHANCEMENT, IGNORING POINTS AND REWARD REQUIREMENTS. CONSUMABLE: ( 3 ).
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[Haven! You... I actually... you did it!]
Haven: I... shit. This...
[Do you know what this means?!]
Haven: D-do you really think that God will...?
[Yes. It's almost all but guaranteed now...]
Haven: I see... I...
[We'll discuss this later. You should have enough strength to help Yukio out now.]
Haven: This is really going to hurt isn't it?
[Yep. You won't die though.]
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His body felt slightly more responsive then it did before. The realm breakthrough enhanced his immunization strength by a grand total of 50 points which had massively increased his abilities, resulting in his body acquiring enough strength to actively fight off the weak zombie virus invading his body.
Haven breathed in a deep breath before yelling out.
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Haven: Hey! Zombie F*cks! Im here, an all you can eat buffet! Come and get some, you bastards!
Yukio: Haven?! What the F*ck?! What the hell are you doing? Or rather, what I should be asking is how the f*ck are you still standing!?
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In response, Haven merely smiled towards Yukio before bracing himself against the Runners. They had heard him and turned around to regard the new source of the commotion.
Seeing his bloodstained appearance and haggard look, they immediately switched prey and jumped towards him instead of the nimble and hard to catch Yukio.
Unable to even put a shred of resistance to them, Haven was jumped on by 5 Runners(Yukio killed one while he had his internal struggle), immediately getting bitten and used as a chew toy for them to gnaw on.
He screamed out in pain as multiple sharp teeth and claws started rending the flesh from his body.
As the virus was already inside his body, Haven wasn't particularly afraid of them infecting him anymore but he still had enough common sense to push them towards biting against the spots of his body which weren't vital such as his neck or ribs.
As Haven was stabbed over and over again by the Runners, Yukio capitalized on his chance and shot them down, one by one. Soon there was only one left, which Haven shoved his hand down its throat to choke it while it bit him.
Yukio, quickly ran over to that one and ended it as well, before it could sever Haven's arm from his elbow. He was slightly worried seeing Haven's condition but took out a hemostasis spray from his hammer space and started treating Havens wounds.
Haven had officially exhausted every ounce of his strength, in addition to having lost a large amount of blood, it was all he could to barely stay awake at the moment.
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Yukio: Shit. Why did you do that for? Are you mental or something!
Haven: (coughing) No, not mental. Just a gambler.
Yukio: (frowning) You... what?
Haven: I took a gamble. At the rate you were going, you were bound to make a mistake in dodging one of them Runners attacks. I took a gamble that you would be able to finish them off before I died, if I could successfully attract them. Seems I was right.
Yukio: You're a crazy bastard, you know that right? You're going to die at this rate.
Haven: Probably, but it paid off, didn't it?
Yukio: ...Sigh. You're body's running off of adrenaline right now. When it fades away, you're going to be in a world of hurt.
Haven: Eh, I'll deal with it when it comes.
Yukio: ...How did you even have enough strength to stand?
Haven: (Cough) Break...through.
Yukio: A breakthrough? Shit. That was some serious luck.
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Yukio took out bandages from his hammer space and started carefully wrapping them around the wounds which the spray wasn't able to close.
Once that was done, he carried Haven over and quickly ran into a different, building. This was to avoid the zombies that would be crowding the old one which the sound of the gunshots would have echoed around.
They were finally safe.
The last ten minutes passed by quickly and a prompt appeared.
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[GOD'S MISSION]
HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD, 10 MAN MISSION
ALTERED STORY PLOT SURVIVED!
MAIN QUEST:
[Objective Complete!]
Base Survival Reward: 1000 points
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[Side Quest: Bonus Points]
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1. Kill Zombies - 1 Point = 10 Zombies.
2. Kill Runner Zombies - 10 points = 1 Runner Zombie
3. Kill Evolved Zombies - 100 points = 1 Evolved Zombie
4. Kill Rioters - 5 Points = 1 Rioter.
5. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points. ]
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[Penalties: Negative Points/Death.]
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1. New Players - Negative 1000 points for killing a New Player.
2. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.
3. Main Character Deaths - The death of main characters reduce points.
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[TOTAL SCORE: Haven Crest / eRIn* %$](Error)
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Base Survival Reward = 1,000 points+
Seventy-three Zombies Killed = 7 points+
Thirteen Runners Killed = 130 points+
Two Evolved Zombies Killed = 200 points+
Five Rioters Killed = 25
Saving Hisashi Igou = 2,500 Points and two C rank rewards+
Saving Alice Maresato = 2,000 Points and a C rank reward+
Physical Realm Breakthrough = 500 Points +
Mental Realm Breakthrough = 500 Points +
Longevity Realm Breakthrough = 500 Points +
God's Quest Triple Breakthrough = 3,000 Points and B rank reward+
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FINAL SCORE: 10,362 Points, 2B rank rewards!
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Erinies
Erinies HOTD END
Oh, and I have decided on the abilities Haven/Erin will exchange for.
I'll give you a hint.
Its black in color.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone