Chapitre 39: A Deal
The dilapidated roads in front of me were a far cry from the highways in Delhi. Improper construction materials and poor maintenance had long since deteriorated the road that lead to the village named Karnera.
It was a good thing for me.
I walked in the empty road at a leisurely pace and killed any abnormal that crossed my path.
There were hardly any vehicles to be found in this road. And the ones that I found were few and far from each other.
After travelling for five kilometers, I had only been able to kill 13 1st tier abnormals.
The sky up above was getting clouded, but I was never among the ones who hated rain. Instead, I welcomed it's arrival with excitement.
A rain would degrade the already degraded sense of the abnormals. Under the cover of rain, I would be able to kill as many of them as I want.
I drank some water to quench my thirst and kept the bottle back in the spatial ring. Then I took out a map from the bag and looked at the diversion in front of me with a frown.
There was no such diversion in the map.
I looked at the two roads and couldn't tell which was the main road and which was the diversion as both were in equally bad conditions.
I sighed deeply at this predicament and took out a coin from my pocket. I tossed it in the air and caught it in between my palms before it could fall to the ground.
Head for right.
Tail for left.
It was a tail.
I kept the coin back in my pocket and took the road leading to the left.
It was the first time I was travelling alone in this apocalypse. And it was not as bad as I had earlier expected.
In fact, I was starting to like this feeling.
'If not for the constant attacks from the abnormals and the once in a while mutant beasts, then this would have definitely be counted as a great adventure.' I thought and wiped my sword from the clothes of the abnormal I had just killed.
'This can still be counted as an adventure you know.' Lily's voice rang in my mind.
I was rather thankful for her company this time as the journey would become far more boring without a companion.
'Yeah. I guess it can be counted as such.' I said continued to walk after taking out the crystal from the abnormal.
After walking for five minutes, I was sure that this was not the right path as it was starting to go in the northern direction.
But since I have already come this far, then I might as well go all the way and see what lies at the end of this path.
The path would most likely lead to a village where I would be able to gather a few crystals.
True to my thoughts, after I walked for another five minutes, a small village came in sight.
It was situated under a hill and all the huts in the village were surrounding a small stream. There were a lot of trees around the village so I was not able to get a clear view of it, but I was still able to hear the guttural sounds coming from the village.
I climbed a tree and counted the huts in the village. It was a small settlement with around 30-40 huts.
The large amount of trees that were growing in the vicinity made me realize that these people most like lived by selling the fruits from the trees.
A few farms could also be seen in the distance and I was able to see a few fishing nets in distance as well.
'A poor village.' I thought and climbed down from the tree.
Most of the huts in the village needed repair and a few were so badly damaged that I could have never imagined that people still lived there if I had not seen the abnormals outside those huts.
It was the first time I had seen such a poor village. Even the hamlet I had seen earlier was in a far better condition than this one.
'It seems like the difference between the rich and the poor in this country is rather large.' I thought.
'Isn't that the case everywhere?' Lily said.
I paused for a moment before I chucked and shook my head 'You're right. That is the case everywhere.'
I unsheathed my sword and walked in between the trees as I approached the first abnormal.
It was a small kid that was playing with the dirt on the ground.
I felt a bit emotional at this sight but I still swung my sword before it could notice me.
'That was not a human.' Lily's consoling words rang in my mind as I hid behind a hut and peeked at the other abnormal who was jumping on one leg from one place to another.
It was a small girl. Should be around 7-8 years old when she was still alive.
I looked around and when I was sure that no one was looking in this direction, I moved as quickly as I could and beheaded her before she even realized anything.
I took out the crystal and gave one last look to the small body before I hid behind a large tree once again.
'I don't like this village.' I thought in sorrow as I confronted another truth of the apocalypse.
'If the sight disturbs you so much then you can always leave.' Lily suggested but I shook my head at her suggestion.
'I need to become stronger to ensure that the same thing will not happen to my family as well.'
I moved quickly and jumped inside a hut where I could see another abnormal having sex with his bed.
I was a bit amused at this sight but still swung my sword before it could notice me.
'That's one lecherous abnormal' I thought and chuckled at the sight before taking out the crystal from it's head.
I peeked outside and found that one of the abnormal was looking in my general direction.
'Shit!' I cursed in my mind and hid back inside the hut.
After a few seconds, there was still no sound from the outside and I realized that the abnormal had not noticed me.
I took the head of the abnormal and threw it outside the hut.
After a few seconds, I peeked out once again and realized that the abnormal was now looking in another direction.
I quickly ran out and hid behind a tree before searching for another target.
—————
I laid on the bed and stared at the wooden beams that supported the roof.
'This bed is really uncomfortable. How the hell does anybody ever sleep in it.' I complained as I took the blanket lying on the floor and wiped the blood on the sword with it.
'Stop complaining. You still have to kill those abnormals out there you know.' Lily said.
'I know. But… why the hell are those guys standing so close to each other.' I cursed in my mind and peeked at the group of 30 or so abnormals that were surrounding the largest hut in the village.
'Must have been some survivor that attracted them there.' Lily said.
'I was not really asking a question this time. Even I can tell that they were probably attracted by the survivor. But that's not the point right now.'
I looked at the corpse lying on the ground and let out a light sigh.
I had killed about 80 abnormals that were roaming around in the village.
The numerous trees and the huts made for perfect hiding places. A lot of abnormals died from my ambush and the ones that were out in the open were lured in before I could finish them off.
By now I had already finished every thing that moved in the town. And now, only the 30 or so abnormals who were surrounding the hut remained.
'You don't really need to take the risk you know. You can always leave the place. You'll probably find a lot of abnormals on the road to Karnera.' Lily said.
But her words made me even more determined.
I picked up a large piece of rock and threw it in the direction of the stream.
A large splashing sound resounded as the rock sank to the bottom of the stream.
I looked at the abnormals surrounding the hut once again and this time, they were looking in the direction of the stream.
I got out of the hut and sneaked behind their group as quickly as I could.
I was able to kill five of them before they finally heard the sound and noticed my presence.
Instantly, the whole village was filled with the shrieks and howls of the abnormals as they pounced at me all together.
'This is why it's so hard to kill them in the day.' I cursed in my mind and stepped back to avoid being surrounded by them.
I was faster then them and would normally be able to run away from them easily. But my Agility skill was still going through the recuperation time so I was only a bit faster than them.
But that was enough.
I ran in between the huts and trees as the abnormals chased crazily after me. It was a really crazy scene.
Soon the tightly knit group of the abnormals broke as the faster ones climbed on top of the slower ones to get to me.
'This much should be enough.' I thought and hurriedly ran behind a hut.
The group of abnormal came after me but when they reached the hut, their target was already gone from their sight.
I peeked from inside the hut as the abnormals shrieked even loudly and then continued to run in the direction they were previously running in.
'Sigh! This is going to take some time.' I thoughts in my mind as I saw the abnormals getting out of my view rapidly.
After they had gone out the view, I started running in their direction and found them scattered in the dense forest.
From there, it was rather easy to kill them.
Distract the whole group with a sound and start killing them one by one from the behind.
After five minutes, the fight ended with me killing an elderly abnormal.
'Well… that was a great harvest.' I thought and fell down on the tree because of exhaustion.
For now, I had not counted how many crystals I had gained from the village, but I was sure that it was above the 100 mark.
Adding the crystals I gained earlier, it should gain me more than 900 crystals easily.
I put all of them in the interface and checked my wealth and got a pleasant surprise.
Wealth:- 14 white coins, 126 Crystals (1st tier), 4 Crystals (2nd tier)
I looked at the number of 2nd tier crystals and got excited at the number for a second before I became puzzled at it.
Before the fight, I only had one 2nd tier crystal. That means that I got three 2nd tier crystals in this fight alone.
'But I don't remember fighting any 2nd tier abnormals. Lily, can you explain what this is all about?' I asked in puzzlement.
'I'm not sure… but my guess is that those 2nd tier abnormals must belong to the one of the… little abnormals that you killed.'
'You mean the children.' I said in sadness.
'Well… yes. Usually children are very weak, and even if they become twice as strong and fast, it's not necessary that they'll become as strong as a human adult. So you might have thought of them as 2nd tier abnormals and killed them without realizing it.'
'Your conjecture does make a bit of sense.' I said as I fell in deep thought about the whole thing.
Failing to come up with any other answer, I accepted Lily's conjecture and took out the four 2nd tier crystals before exchanging them for the black crystals and eating them immediately after that.
'Shouldn't you increase your your Perception or Agility stat instead?' Lily asked.
'I should.' I replied 'But if I increase the Mana stat before them, then my skills will upgrade faster than before and my Mana regeneration speed will also increase with them.'
'So you're doing it for the skills?'
'Yes. Although it might seem a bit reckless on my part, as I'm neglecting the other stats, I believe that in the long term it'll be much more beneficial for me.' I said
'If you say so.' Lily replied.
'Yeah. Hey! Do you think there would be mutant fishes in the stream down there?'
'There might be. Why do you ask?' Lily said
'Nothing. It's just that… I've never seen what a mutant fish looks like so I was a bit curious about it.'
'Well… I doubt you'll find one but if you are so interested in them then you might as well take a look at them. Who knows, you just might find something in there.'
'Hmm… Hey Lily. Are those mutant fish edible?' I asked.
'No.' Lily replied instantly.
'Why no?' I asked.
'It's not that you cannot eat it. It's just that, mutant meat is not something a human is able to digest. Nor is it particularly tasty. But if you still want to eat it, then be my guest.'
Her words dampened down my mood a bit but regardless, I started walking toward the stream.
I knew what was important. I knew that I had to go and find Gaurav as quickly as possible.
But waiting for a few more minutes can't wait.
But just as I started walking toward the village, my foots stopped at once as my ears picked up the sound coming from the largest hut in the town.
Is it an abnormal that I missed?
Or is it a survivor?
I had no idea.
I guess I'll just have to check it on my own.
—————
I looked at the 102 coins left in my account and sighed once more.
There were survivors.
One young man and two kids.
They were afraid when they saw me.
That was perfectly normal.
After all, I was wearing black suit from top to bottom and my whole body was covered in blood and gore.
But after I removed my helmet, they calmed down a bit. And that's when everything went downhill.
They begged me to take them with me. But I knew that they would only be a burden for me.
It might sound harsh but I would rather protect my own loved ones than care about other people.
Still, I was not capable to being totally heartless so I gave the young man 10 Blue crystals and 10 Yellow ones. Beside that, I also bought a 1st tier swords form him.
I also gave them a lot of information about the world and what they should do to increase their chances of survival.
This much should be more than enough for him to protect himself and two teenagers.
There fates were in their own hands. If they live then it's good. If they die then that would mean they only amounted to that much.
I lost 24 1st tier crystals back there.
Although I didn't regret my decision, I was not happy about it either.
I would have rather fought a dozen of 1st tier abnormals then talk with that group of survivors.
In fact, after the incident, I understood one thing.
It is best for me to stay away from other survivors.
Otherwise, I would start to sympathise with them and give them my own resources.
I looked at the cloudy sky up ahead and felt a bit depressed for some reason.
'You can stop thinking about the 24 crystals that are gone. Instead, think about the 102 crystals that you still have.' Lily advised.
'I understand. It's just that, earning 10,000 white coins is going to take a lot of…'
Before I could speak any further, I heard a 'Bing' sound in my mind.
'What was that about?' I asked.
'You've got a message.' Lily replied.
'From whom?'
'It… It's Chen Li.' Lily's words rang like a thunder clap in my ears and for a few moments, I didn't know what to say.
After a long wait, I broke the silence 'What is the message about?'
After a few seconds, Lily replied 'He has a deal for you.'
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone