Chapter 14: Jack the Crazy
"I wonder…"
"I wonder…
"...Where is that bastard?"
Twirling an old model pistol in his hand, Ashy walked for a full day and finally found the signs of civilization. Behind the trees, he could see a huge wall and a few guards in dark armors that were guarding the entrance of the city.
None of the guards were wielding any gunpowder weapon, instead they had weapons like swords, spears, bows and arrows.
With doubt apparent in his face, Ashy looked at the gun in his hand. It looked like the ones from the Victorian era of his old world, so it wasn't that good. However, it was still better than sword and bow, right?
'Well, the Baroness and her men didn't seem weak without using guns. So, maybe they are strong enough without guns? Or maybe the guns are for the weak?'
Ashy decided to wait for the time being. Although he recovered quite a bit, the bullet in his spine was a real trouble he needed to deal with.
The shadows of the guards were not that deep, this meant that they were the same as the Baroness and her men. They were Eclipsed Walkers who absorbed the power of the Creatures of Darkness to fight against the very same creatures they got the power.
'And as a part of Creature of Darkness, in the best case scenario they might kill me, and in the worst case they might experiment on me.' Ashy thought as he didn't let his gaze on the Eclipsed Walkers too much.
'Plus I am injured, weak, and inexperienced. However, I don't need to fight to get inside the city, I just need to pass through them somehow.'
Fortunately, Ashy had a suitable ability just for this job.
***
A man about 160cm in height was running with his mouth open and breathing deeply. His clothes were torn here and there, showing red scratches on his skin. A hole was present under his backpack, letting out his fruits of labor he collected for the whole day to make a living in this harsh world.
However, when he saw the great wall of the city and Eclipsed Walker guards, a smile found its place on his skinny face.
The short man ran to the guards.
"Stop!" One of the guards stopped him while the other ones merely observed with caution.
"Rox! A damn huge undead wolf appeared in the woods! His canine was longer than even my di— legs!" The short man sat on the ground to rest and continued to talk while showing his thin arms. "But I killed it with my overwhelming strength! You should have seen it, Rox!"
The guards whispered between themselves.
"That is 'the' Jack I know."
"I think so too. I don't want to deal with this crazy guy too much. Check this guy's tag and blood, and send him away, Rox."
"Okay."
"Throw your tag, Jack!" The guard Rox ordered the short man named Jack.
Jack did as the guard said and threw his tag from a safe distance, and then he caught a tube that was thrown by Rox.
As if he was used to it, Jack monotonously left a shallow cut on his thin arm and let out bright red blood into the tube.
"You are not cutting your wrist today, he?"
"Not today, my life is threatened a lot today already. I will just return to my wife's side and boast to her!" Jack shook his head with a smirk and wiped under his nose with his index finger.
"Go get her, Jack!"
"Your tag is valid." Rox said after inspecting the tag a few times before throwing back at Jack. "Now send the blood!"
"Catch!"
As Rox caught the tube, he sniffled lightly and then let the blood drop onto his tongue.
"It's confirmed. You can go inside, Jack." Rox said with a frown before cleaning his mouth with water.
"Thank you, Rox! Have great stamina in bed!" Saying this, Jack sprinted into the city while holding his bag.
A few minutes later, one of the guards interrupted the silence.
"Didn't Jack's wife die last year?"
"..."
"...Well, you know, he is crazy. Maybe he thinks his wife is still alive?"
"It must be that."
"I hope it is." Rox nodded seriously before leaving a small note in the book.
…
While in the city, Jack directly entered the first backstreet he saw and stabbed his arm where he just cut himself to provide blood for the test.
Gritting his teeth, Jack pulled his skin. Mix of dark red blood and bright red liquid flowed from the wound. Then soon, a few small berries fell from the wound into his hand.
They were commonly called Blood Berries.
'It is such a disgusting feeling to hide things between the skin and muscles…'
Taking out a cloth from his bag, 'Jack' wiped the blood and wrapped the wound with another cloth after putting the bloodied one back to his bag.
"Now let's see what is special about this city." muttered 'Jack' as he got out of the back street.
This world was always dark, the sun and sky were covered by a thick black veil. The light of the sun was barely penetrating the 'veil', still providing light and warmth, albeit barely. Once in a while, a few enormous, bird-like beings flew over the skies, casting deep shadows on the already dark environment.
'Jack' was already used to this sight however he wanted to know the reaction of normal people.
However, the people around him didn't show any signs of shock or fear. They just stole a look at the sky before resuming what they were doing, many of them even didn't bother to look.
It was just strange.
'Jack' wandered his gaze on the old, unmaintained houses, the citizens with bleak eyes that were walking like aimless zombies, children that were playing with each other while calling themselves "Eclipsed Walkers" or "The Great Alaric".
It was hard to not judge. 'Jack' didn't know what the hell he expected from this ruined world but he knew that this wasn't a world he would want to live in.
This was a world he needed to survive.
'Well, at least I am not sensitive to the sun anymore and I am more resilient than before.'
A group of five people donned in dark armors passed right at his side. They were a group of Eclipsed Walkers, who were carrying black dried hearts in a net. Children looked at them with obvious admiration in their eyes while adults held respect and fear.
'Right. The Baroness and her men also collected the hearts of undead as much as possible. Are the hearts of undead valuable? Or maybe all of the hearts of the Creatures of Darkness are valuable?'
A new fear crept in as the thought of being killed just so that they could sell his heart away.
'Jack' became sure once again to not let anyone learn his identity.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone