Capítulo 38: Encounter in the Wilderness

Over the next few days, their journey remained uneventful. Adam continued teaching Rebecca the basics of swordsmanship. He helped her improve her skills by battling with beasts of similar levels. As a result, Rebecca gained a few more levels and reached level 7, while Sophia also advanced to level 4. Adam figured that part of the experience Rebecca gained from defeating beasts also contributed to Sophia's growth, as she provided buffs to her before each battle.

To Adam's surprise, Rebecca quickly grasped the fundamentals of swordplay. He believed that her choice of the warrior class and the inclusion of one-handed weapon mastery in her skill set facilitated her learning process. However, he knew that further training and experience would be necessary for her to truly excel.

On the third day, around noon, they stumbled upon a half-eaten human corpse. Adam recognized that these injuries were inflicted by zombies, evident from the bite marks that closely resembled human teeth. They encountered a few more remains along their path, with some victims falling prey to zombies and others becoming victims of the beasts. Adam deduced that the town survivors likely utilized these woods as an escape route, fleeing toward Boston to evade the zombies.

Adam checked the map once again, and in his estimation, other towns should be on the way. Although they have passed many of them by simply staying in the woods, they should be coming upon another town again the next day.

The following day, coincidentally marked the tenth day since the system's arrival, Adam, Rebecca, and Sophia received a system message that perplexed them.

[System Notification: Attention all inhabitants of Planet Earth! A Trial Dungeon event will be activated in ten days to commemorate the system's arrival. To participate in this event, reach a minimum level of 15 within the next ten days. This event can be attended solo or in a party of five participants. More details will be available upon activation of the event.]

Upon reading the message, Adam couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. Having recently completed his first dungeon, he wasn't sure when he would encounter another one. However, this event also fueled his desire to reach Boston quickly and find his parents.

On the other hand, Rebecca felt uncertain about participating in the event. She didn't want her daughter to be exposed to any danger.

As they continued their journey, the two contemplated their options. They decided to stay in the woods and avoid any towns until they reached Boston. Later that same day, they heard voices that sounded distinctly human in the distance while traveling. Rebecca grew slightly excited and wanted to approach them. Still, Adam immediately halted her, urging both her and Sophia to remain quiet.

Adam instructed them to climb a tree and stay hidden while he ventured closer to investigate. He couldn't trust anyone at this point, as people often revealed their darker side in challenging times. He didn't want Rebecca and Sophia to face that.

Equipped with his sword, Adam silently moved closer to the source of the voices. The sounds became clearer as he approached.

"Just kill the brother, Billy, and we can be done with this situation. At least she looks pretty. Hopefully, she'll last longer than the last one."

Then Adam heard a slapping sound followed by a cry, and another voice spoke up.

"Who else is there with you? Tell me, was it only the three of you? You must have more supplies than this. This isn't even enough for one person."

However, there was no response.

Adam crept closer, and the sight before him turned his stomach. Five men, likely older than thirty, had cornered a young man in his early twenties and a girl who appeared to be between 18 and 20. Adam also noticed the body of an older man with a bullet wound on his forehead lying on the side of the two youngsters. The girl sobbed while the boy glared at the person Adam assumed was responsible for killing their father.

Adam surveyed the group and realized they were all low-level, around level 5. The person in front, the leader, had the highest level at 8. As Adam observed, the leader pulled out a gun and prepared to aim it at the boy. Without hesitation, Adam decided to intervene. He grabbed a rock from the ground and, summoning all his strength, hurled it at the leader's head.

To his surprise, Adam had underestimated his own strength. The stone struck the man's head with a sickening crack, causing him to collapse to the ground with a dent in his skull and blood pooling around him.

Without wasting any time, Adam unsheathed his sword and swiftly charged at the remaining four assailants.

In one fluid motion, he severed the wrist of a man holding another gun, and with a single slash, he decapitated him. The scene he had witnessed filled him with rage. Instead of aiding others and working together to survive the apocalypse, these people had resorted to killing and assaulting innocent people.

In less than 30 seconds, Adam dispatched the remaining members of the group and sheathed his sword, breathing heavily.

Adam turned towards the siblings, their faces etched with shock and terror. He surveyed the scene and realized it was quite gruesome.

"Ah, I apologize for this. I made quite a mess here. I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner to save him, assuming he's your dad. I want you both to know that you're safe now, and I have no ill intentions. Do you know if there are more of these people?" Adam asked, motioning towards the lifeless bodies of the five goons with his head.

Snapping out of their daze, the girl, still crying, hurriedly approached her father's body, while the boy looked back and forth between his dad and Adam with sorrowful eyes. Eventually, he turned to Adam and replied, "Thank you for saving us. We only saw five individuals, and they never mentioned anyone else in their group." With that, he joined his sister by their father's side.

Adam let out a sigh, realizing they couldn't stay there. The thick scent of blood in the air was bound to attract creatures from miles around. He swiftly checked the bags and supplies of the goons, finding two handguns and a substantial amount of ammo, food, and clothing. It seemed they didn't have a hidden camp and were likely on the move themselves.

"Okay, I can help you bury him later, but we need to leave this place immediately. Beasts will start appearing any moment now," Adam said, moving towards the siblings and their father's body. He knelt down, looking at the siblings while gesturing to pick up the body. The boy nodded, and Adam swiftly lifted the lifeless form as they began retracing his steps.

Once they reached the tree where Rebecca and Sophia were hiding, Adam called out to them, and they climbed down. Rebecca closed Sophia's eyes with her hand, glancing at the dead body and the siblings. She was about to ask a question, but she was immediately cut off by Adam.

"No time right now. We need to get out of here like yesterday," Adam asserted.

They continued their journey for approximately 30 minutes until Adam signaled for a halt. He advised the siblings that it would be better to burn their father's body instead of burying him. This way, beasts couldn't dig him up as a potential food source. To his surprise, the siblings agreed. Adam swiftly felled a tree, leaving the body with them to bid their final goodbyes. He then started a fire, and together they cremated the body, ensuring that it wouldn't attract any unwanted attention.

They learned that the siblings were named Leo and Lyra. Their mother had transformed into a Mana Zombie when the system arrived, and their father had to make the difficult decision to end her life. They were now heading towards Boston in search of shelter.

Coincidentally, Leo and Lyra hailed from the same town they had passed through a few days earlier. Leo shared the harrowing account of what had happened there. When the system arrived, most of the town's population succumbed to the Zombie transformation, including their mother.

Leo described their narrow escape from the city with few possessions. The Mana Zombie outbreak had left them with no choice but to flee into the nearby woods. While on the run, they encountered Mana Zombies numerous times, engaging in intense battles with these creatures and other survivors. Their group was fortunate to have emerged from those confrontations unscathed.

Considering their experiences, Adam pondered the whereabouts of the Mana Zombies. Leo explained that for several days after their escape, they could frequently hear the grunting sounds of Mana Zombies and the chaotic noises of their encounters with beasts and other people.

The Mana Zombies had seemingly pursued the survivors into the woods, hunting them relentlessly. However, as time passed, the encounters became less frequent, leading Adam to deduce that either the Mana Zombies had moved ahead of their group or had become prey to the beasts inhabiting the forest.