"..."
It took a while, but Zac was finally able to calm down and accept his fate.
"..."
[Passive Skills:
<Walking Aphrodisiac Lv. N/A
Basic Info: Once an intelligent life form intentionally, voluntarily, knowingly, willfully, and genuinely comes in contact with your bodily fluids, their Affection level towards you will increase. The effects will vary depending on the type of bodily fluid and where it touches >
<Har*** Progress more to unlock Hidden Skill.>
<Ski*** Progress more to unlock Hidden skill.>
More skills will be unlocked once you reach a certain level.]
There were still two skills that haven't shown themselves — Hidden Skills. And as their name suggests, they were skills that he wouldn't be able to use until he performed the requirement to unlock them.
In this case, the requirement was fairly obvious — gain Affection.
How he was going to do that right now, he had no idea. Intentionally, voluntarily, knowingly, willfully, and genuinely? This… means what it means, right?
Did the goddess give this power to him because he was able to satisfy her? But that was completely by accident, he didn't even know what he was doing. He specifically told her that he wasn't going to be a degenerate, and then she went and gave him a System like this…
…that goddess, really is playing with him.
"..." Zac could really only sigh at his fate. It was already here, the only thing left for him to do was fully accept it… and the fact that he was naked.
He seemed to have lost his robes and any of his decency along the way inside the Curtain. Although he didn't really mind running around naked, other people do.
And so, Zac made his way to the nearest shopping center. He had already scouted the area while preparing for the arrival of the Curtains — he had the entire vicinity mapped in his brain so he would know where to go if he needs anything.
But now that he was inside the mall, he found himself surrounded… by absolutely nothing.
"...Why isn't there anything here?"
Everything has been emptied out, even the clothes were all gone — not even a bath towel was left.
Some of the shops were even caved in, hinting at signs of battle.
It… shouldn't be like this. Zac doesn't remember much about his past, but he was sure that there should at least be some items left inside the mall.
He was sure… because he was one of the people hiding here at the start of the apocalypse. They hid here for months; it was slowly coming back to him now… even with the System, he hid with the others like a coward.
And by the time he decided to act… people were already dead — a monster was able to get inside because someone forgot to roll down the doors.
"..." Zac let out a small sigh as the memories of the tragedy started surfacing in his mind; but after a few seconds, he shook his head and started to check further.
Where… were all the people?
Did him changing what should have happened altered everything that much?
He became the first to close a Curtain.
He gave his mother the [Tome of Mage] that was supposed to be his.
And then he entered a Gold Curtain to meet a god.
…Were those enough to change things drastically? Did… they get wiped out because… Adam Lee did not get the first clear?
"..." This is a problem. He couldn't continue walking without any clothes — he also couldn't buy anything from the [Shop] because he consumed all of his zenny back in the Gold Curtain.
Should he just—
Zac's eyes then slightly squinted as he glanced to the side; and with a small but deep breath, he suddenly kneeled to the ground.
"..." He then looked up, only to see a shadow brushing above him; carrying a set of eyes that might as well be marbles made of blood.
And before this four-legged shadow could completely pass over him, he grabbed it by the ankle on its left hind leg… and then struck its knee with his fist.
A sharp yelp whistled in the air as the beast's knee completely shattered — and with its momentum continuing, its leg completely twisted in a way that it shouldn't as it landed on the ground.
"...A Black Wolf?" Zac squinted his eyes as he looked at this… feral-looking beast– A wolf whose fur seemed to have been badly shaven, revealing its dark hide,
"...Identify."
And as soon as Zac uttered those words, a translucent window popped up in front of him.
[???]
And it showed nothing — something that only happens if one were to <Identify> a being 20 levels above one's level.
"Why… is something like this here?"
The apocalypse just started — and if anything, the nearby area should have been considered as a Beginner's zone; there shouldn't be any strong monsters here yet. And very soon, a conclusion was slowly forming in his mind… and he wasn't liking it.
"..." Zac decided not to think about it for now, as he suddenly leaped into the air like a cat. And as soon as he did so, another shadow passed — this time, beneath him. He already knew there was going to be another one.
Black Wolves always hunt in pairs.
"..." Zac then gripped the stone in his hand – something he grabbed on the ground before jumping in the air. And with a slight squint of his eye, he threw the stone… not on the wolf, but on the ground.
One would think he missed, but no. The stone bounced and hit the wolf right on its throat; the wolf violently rolled on the ground because of this, but then swiftly recovered as it ran straight to its partner.
"..."
The two wolves did not really attack, and just stared as Zac landed back on the ground.
"..." Zac returned the wolves' glares, and then very slowly… a small smile grew on his face; his red eyes almost seemed as if it was glowing.
He just solved his zenny problem, he thought as his smile grew even wider.
And as soon as the two wolves saw this, they whimpered and slightly backed away. They knew that what was in front of them was prey — but at the same time, it felt like there was a huge shadow growing behind him… about to swallow them at any moment.
The two wolves then glanced at each other… before turning around and running away.
"...Damn it," Zac could only sigh as he immediately chased the two — but even injured, Zac couldn't keep up with them.
"Pull all my remaining Status Points to Dexterity."
And as he said that, Zac was able to dash toward the two wolves. But alas… the gap between him and the beasts did not diminish, with him just barely catching up. And soon, he lost the two as they turned to a hallway.
"..." Zac could really only groan as he tried to hasten his steps even faster. Even as a Mage in his previous life, Zac was as fast as a 600cc sportbike — and that was without any buffs. But now, he could barely even chase cannon fodders.
Zac didn't really let it bother him too much as he picked up a pole that was resting on the wall just a few steps before he would turn into the hallway. And as soon as he reached the corner, he leaped and raised his hand, but before he could throw the pole… he saw a group of people…
…surrounding the two wolves that were now lifelessly sprawled on the ground.
"..."
"This should be the last of them."
"It should be safe for the civvies to walk here again, let's go to the next area."
"...Identify," Zac then whispered as the group was busy talking to themselves.
[Name: Unknown, Lv. ??]
[Name: Unknown, Lv. ??]
And once again, Zac couldn't get any information about the individuals in front of him. There were four of them and judging by what they were wearing and their weapons… they should be at the Lv. 30s.
To reach Lv. 30 in the first month of the arrival of the Curtains — Zac was once again having a bad feeling.
And then, finally, someone noticed Zac casually standing on the edge of the hallway… completely naked.
"W… what the fuck!?" It was a woman, who completely covered her eyes with her hands — but it was obvious that she was peering in between her fingers.
Zac wasn't surprised… the goddess seemed to have 'upgraded' his little brother.
"You!" As for the others, they all raised their weapons and pointed them at Zac.
"Who are you!?"
"The hell, why is a Lv. 4 here alone… and naked!?"
"State your name!" The one that seemed to be the leader of the group, stepped forward as he pointed his spear toward Zac.
"...I'm going to place my weapon on the ground, okay?" Zac then looked the group leader in the eyes while he slowly crouched to the ground,
"I'm placing it now, okay? You children should relax, no one needs to get hurt today," he then said as he gently placed the sharp pole he was holding on the floor. He then raised both his hands in the air, before slowly standing up.
"Who are you!?"
"Calm down, kid," Zac sighed as the group leader stepped forward, "My name is Zac Baker. I… live about a mile away from here."
"Check if he is in any of the systems," the group leader looked at one of his men, who quickly grabbed a phone and started fidgeting with it.
"..."
"..."
"There… is a Zac Baker," the man then said as he looked at Zac, "But… it should be him. This is a missing person's report from 20 years ago."
"That's… the first year the Curtains appeared."
And as soon as Zac heard their words, he immediately let out a short and deep breath as he lowered his hands. He didn't want it to be true…
…but it would seem he spent 20 years inside the Gold Curtain.
"...Fuck."
_________
[Zac Baker, Level 4 | Class: Eros
Strength: 15
Vitality: 27
Stamina: 20
Dexterity: 31
Mana: 5
Remaining Status Points: 0]
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"..."
Zac was now once again a normal human — wearing clothes borrowed from one of the men from the group. The group he happened to come across with was called the Solid Dreams; quite a catchy name for a group of noobs.
They were still inside the mall, with only the light that was coming out of the fire from their camp painting the walls that were already filled with dust. The Solid Dreams were discussing what to do with Zac, almost as if they were completely disregarding that he could hear them.
"Let's bring him tomorrow, it's getting dark out. It would be too dangerous for a Level 4."
"It shouldn't be a problem if we protect him."
"Will you take responsibility if he dies? Even the slightest wind could probably kill the dude."
"..." They were treating him like a child. Zac wasn't surprised or irked about this, however. It's been like this in his previous life — the people with higher levels tend to look down on those lower than them. With good reason, of course. Hundred years into the future, it would still be the same.
20 years. Zac was gone for 20 years. He had already accepted the perverted System that was given to him by the goddess. But 20 years?
His greatest weapon just got nerfed — getting a headstart and knowing things.
Of course, there should still be a lot of major events that will still happen. But 20 years… he could only wonder how strong he would have already been compared to before. Zac could really only hide his frustration as he stared at the campfire.
"You think the dude's even telling the truth?"
"...Why would he even lie?"
"The Zac Baker on the missing person's list should be in his mid-30s already. The dude looks like he just graduated high school."
"Nate has a point… and he couldn't have survived inside a Curtain for 20 years since he's just level 4."
One doesn't get old when inside a Curtain — it should already be common knowledge in this world since 20 years have already passed. There was also the fact that as System holders, the stronger you become, the slower you age.
There are many more factors causing humans not to age — but with him being Lv. 4, none of those reasons would fit him.
Their doubts were completely normal. If anything, the fact that they decided to even give him clothes and food proved they were good people — if this was Zac in the previous life that was 20 years into the apocalypse, he wouldn't even talk and would just kill anyone that even blinks strangely.
But all of those don't really matter anymore, he thought as he just relaxed in front of the fire — drinking the broth the group made. At least it wasn't poisoned, he would know; one of his companions at the end, Chandra, was a poison master, after all.
"..."
"..."
Chandra, Chris, Diana, Tyler, Isabel, and Ai. He could really only wonder where they were during this time. Hopefully… him changing what happened didn't endanger any of their lives — the world would need them in the coming years.
"Your name… is Zac, right?"
"..." And while Zac was reminiscing about the past, or maybe the future — a voice approached him from behind, the only woman of the group.
"And you're Laura?" Zac breathed out as he smiled; not even glancing at Laura as she stood near him, "I heard it while you were talking about me."
"Hm," Laura only giggled a little; before also letting out a sigh and nodding, "It… must have been scary, being alone out there on your own?"
"It was quite peaceful, actually."
"It was a good thing you didn't encounter the two wolves," Laura said as she lightly brushed her blonde hair back, "You… could've died."
"You children owe me for that, by the way. They were supposed to be mine."
"...What?" Laura was a bit weirded out by Zac's words, but she didn't really think much of it as her eyes… accidentally and very subtly found their way just below Zac's waist.
"..." She quickly looked away, of course. She still couldn't get the image of Zac's thing out of her mind. How could she? It was the first time she was seeing one.
Were they… really supposed to be that big?
"..." And Zac, of course, noticed Laura's glances, "...Open Skill Window."
[Passive Skills:
<Walking Aphrodisiac Lv. N/A
Basic Info: Once an intelligent life form intentionally, voluntarily, knowingly, willfully, and genuinely comes in contact with your bodily fluids, their Affection level towards you will increase. The effects will vary depending on the type of bodily fluid and where it touches >
<Har*** Progress more to unlock Hidden Skill.>
<Ski*** Progress more to unlock Hidden skill.>
More skills will be unlocked once you reach a certain level.]
He stared and once again read the description of his only skill, before glancing at Laura. And with another sigh…
…he broke the bowl of soup he was holding in his hand; causing a huge shard of it to go through his palm.
"O… Oh my god, are you okay!?"
"No," Zac muttered as he casually pulled out the large shard. His blood, almost flowing and spurting out like a fountain as he did so — still, he didn't even utter a word of pain… and instead just stretched his bleeding hand towards Laura.
"We… we need to put pressure on this!" Laura immediately grabbed his hand without a second thought; and soon, his blood started to paint Laura's arms as well.
"James, I need your help here!"
"..." And as Laura slightly started to panic, Zac just continued to watch; waiting for something to happen… but nothing.
Nothing happened. Not even a notification from his System that something changed. But didn't she intentionally, voluntarily, knowingly, willfully, and genuinely hold his bleeding hand?
By all accounts, his blood should be considered a bodily fluid. So what was missing?
"Okay, let go of his hand."
"..." The man called James seemed to be their healer; light, appearing from his hands, and flowing towards Zac's wounds... and as the warmth started to enter his flesh, Zac's wound started to close rapidly.
"Thank you, James," Zac patted James' arm as soon as he was done healing his hand, "You're a good kid."
"Yeah… no problem," James quickly backed away; his eyes squinted as he whispered to Laura, "I think… something's wrong with his head."
"He… must just be stressed with everything that's happened to him."
"Maybe…" James sighed and shook his head, "The two of you should rest up, we'll bring you to the nearest settlement early in the morning."
"Sure," Zac smiled before proceeding to pick up the shards from the floor; throwing them to the fire before just casually lying on the floor like nothing happened. He then looked at his hand, before letting out a short but very deep sigh.
This power of his… Did he really need to have intercourse with someone to make it work? It just said it could increase Affection — but aren't there other ways to gain affection from people? But if it turns out that it truly was just a perverted System, then…
"..." Zac then glanced at Laura, staring at her for a few seconds… before shaking his head,
"...Just a child," he sighed quietly before closing his eyes.
And perhaps, if he just continued to observe just a little longer… he would have noticed Laura staring at her bloodied hand, and then towards him. Looking back and forth repeatedly — her breaths, slightly shivering as she slowly opened her mouth…
…and lightly touched the tip of her tongue on her finger.
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