Capítulo 20: Dalia's Guilt
John had spent a good ten minutes browsing and considering his options. The machine had it all, from construction materials to massive buildings, devices, vehicles and even living beings in the form of familiars.
However, John's measly 800 points did not allow for much. He had narrowed down his options to the following items:
[Venomlash]
[Strength Ring]
[Health Potion]
The Venomlash was a dagger with the power to inflict a corrosive venom that could slow down and chip away at the health of those it touched. This was a good weapon that could allow John to take down bigger opponents. His thoughts drifted back to that colossal nightmare he encountered near the convenience store.
The Strength Ring would increase his strength by 4 points, which was substantial, but John was confident he could gain those points by himself as long as he had the means to kill monsters, which made the Venomlash a better option.
Lastly, the Health Potion spoke by itself. It could heal the user of almost any non-fatal injury. It was useful, to say the least, but again, John had confidence in his abilities.
With that in mind, John pressed his finger on the Venomlash's name and a sleek, dark dagger materialised in his hand. Its blade was a dark obsidian colour, reflecting almost no light. It felt cold to the touch. It was an unfriendly cold.
A smirk tugged at his lips and turned around to face his new companions. Their eyes widened in shock at the device's magnificence.
"What... what is thing?" Dalia asked, disbelief cracked her voice. Julia chuckled and Dalia cleared her throat, a rosy hue colouring her cheeks.
"It's called a System Shop, apparently," John said, his companions' attention all focused on him.
John thought that would be enough of an explanation, but seeing their expectants gazes, he continued, "you get points for killing monsters, these points are the currency you use to exchange items from the shop. That's it," he concluded, his words stilled the air.
With that, the group all went to inspect their points, but as expected, their point tallies read zero.
"Let's set up a perimeter around this store and grab any resources we can get. We will keep the formation we agreed on," John commanded. As he turned to leave, Dalia caught his wrist.
"Um, John... Can I go with you?" She pleaded, her gaze scanning the floor. John understood. She did not want to be left alone with Martin.
"No, at least not until you guys get some experience. For now, we will do as we agreed." John's words cut through her hopes, but she understood and left with a detached expression.
As the group surveyed the mall, a low growling sent a shiver down their spines. John tightened the grip on his new dagger and stopped Julia's march with his arm.
"Wait," he whispered, his gaze scanning the area. He turned to his right and saw nothing but abandoned stores and debris everywhere. To his left was much the same, but there was a broken glass wall that suggested something had broken into one of the stores.
"Julia, try your buff on me," he ordered, prompting the teacher to close her eyes. As her eyes snapped open, a gentle teal glow enveloped her and rushed towards John's body. John felt his muscles tightening, gaining newfound strength.
"Dalia, keep an eye out and provide cover if possible. Martin, protect Julia and Dalia," he barked, glaring at Martin with peril. Martin gulped and managed a nod.
John crept towards the shattered wall, footsteps muffled on dust-strewn tile. He faded into the dark store as the group held their breath. A flash of sudden movement. The screech of claws on concrete. John dove out of reach just in time, spinning to face the attack.
John strained his eyes in the darkness as the massive beast lunged from the shadows. It was the stuff of nightmares - part lion, part scorpion and a writhing tail tipped with a menacing stinger. The beast roared and swiped its massive claws at John.
He ducked and rolled, his muscles pulsing from Julia's buff. "Shockwave!" John thought, slamming his palms down and blasting the beast back, toppling shelves in a domino effect.
It crashed into the wall, but quickly righted itself, hissing and trashing the store. John braced and tightened his grip on his Venomlash. He conjured his new spell, Muscle Strengthening, courtesy of his latest conquest and the veins bulged under his skin. He felt supernatural might surging through his body.
The beast charged and its massive jaw yawned on John's direction, but John swung his arm wide and collided with the beast's head. He lunged and stabbed the beast's sides. Corrosive venom spread. The beast shrieked, black blood spurting.
Sensing an opening, Dalia stepped forward, hands glowing with flickering flames. "Fireball!" she cried, hurling a ball of fire. It hurtled wildly, missing the beast and exploding against the wall beside John's head. He dove for cover, cursing as heat singed his hair.
Dalia's heart sank. Worthless, useless, just like always, her inner demons sneered at her. Since childhood, there was always a voice within that whispered doubts and hurled insults. She blinked back tears, awaiting John's anger.
But his shout rang out steadily. "Again, Dalia! You've got this!"
She glanced up, stunned. John believed in her, just like he always used to do. She had forgotten, but John's encouragement reminded her, of how he always looked out for her, how he made her feel. Guilt split her in half. Thoughts of their childhood rushed to her - thoughts of how she abandoned him, how she looked down on him.
But before the demons could whisper once more, she grit her teeth. John was fighting for her, and he believed in her. As the monster charged John once again, she summoned a swirling ball of fire. Focusing with fury, she hurled it forward.
The fireball whizzed through the air and smashed into the creature's chest. The beast staggered sideways towards John. Sensing the opportunity, John blasted himself through the air with a Shockwave and drove his dagger deep into the beast's throat. With a gurgle, the beast dropped still.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Anaesthetic_Dawn
Anaesthetic_Dawn Alright, that's it for today. Somehow managed to write the remaning chapter yesterday. Hey hey, I pulled off something here, reward me with a comment or a review. I kinda deserve it, don't I?
Capítulo 21: Rear Catch
A brilliant blue flash lit up John's vision. A notification appeared:
[Chimera Killed]
[1.0 Agility Obtained]
[0.5 Energy Obtained]
John's lips curled into a grin. He glanced sideways and noticed Julia and Dalia staring into empty air. He assumed they must have received some boosts as well.
John turned to the team. "Great work, but we're far from done. Let's finish sweeping the-"
"John, wait," Dalia interrupted, stepping closer. "I just want to say... thank you."
She shifted awkwardly, vulnerability in her eyes. John blinked in surprise, then gave a reassuring nod. "Of course. We have to stick together in all this. Now come on, we've got a base to secure."
Dalia managed a tiny smile. John's warmth and faith were a lifeline, silencing her inner demons. She had a purpose again.
With one last glance at the beast's corpse, John turned around and surveyed the store.
It had nothing.
With John leading the way, they plunged deeper into the mall, ready to face the next threat together. They continued to explore stores around the perimeter they had decided upon.
They encountered a few monsters during their scouting. John gained one more point in Strength and Julia and Dalia sharpened their skills as they gained confidence. Only Martin lagged behind, ineffective with his lack of weaponry.
They stopped at a mini-mart and decided to scour it for supplies. John was about to call for Julia when Dalia interrupted once more, "John..." she began, voice soft as silk, almost a whisper, "can I go with you this time?"
Dalia braced for rejection as John spoke, "Okay." Dalia's eyes lit up, she had been expecting rejection, but she couldn't be happier right now. She knew she was simple-minded, easily swayed by emotions. But right now, she was happy, and that was enough.
As they prepared to enter, John grabbed a bloody machete off the ground and tossed it to Martin. "Here. It's not a knight's blade, but it'll have to do." Martin caught the crude weapon gingerly, embarrassment flashing across his face.
"Wait for us here. Shout if you need anything."
Before Martin could complain, John spun around and strut off with Dalia by his side. The mini-mart's lights flickered eerily, the duo's gazes swayed on alert. There was something eerie about an empty market, something the movies could not ever convey. It felt as though the air itself carried the will of evil.
"Grab a cart," John directed. The rattle of the metal basket echoed in the stillness as Dalia complied. The duo grew confident as they explored and inspected the stalls without encountering any monsters.
"John," Dalia hesitated, her call more of a question, "can I ask you something?"
"Sure," he replied absently, his eyes still scanning for supplies.
"You know when..." Dalia began, her voice fading into a whisper, "when we drifted apart?"
John quirked an eyebrow at her, "you mean when you ghosted me?"
Dalia winced. "Yeah. I just wanted to explain..." she trailed off as John threw up a hand, eyes fixed on the darkened rear of the store. A shadow flickered. Dalia froze, words dying on her lips. A chilling groan rumbled from the depths of darkness.
John's blade glinted as he shifted into a fighting stance. "You can tell me later," he murmured. "Right now, we've got company."
"Dalia. There's a monster in the dark," John said, expecting something from Dalia, but she was unresponsive. John sighed inwardly and continued, "don't you think this is your literal time to shine?"
"Oh!" Dalia exclaimed and focused inwardly, her hands conjuring a fireball and hurling it towards the darkness. As the fireball neared its target, a warm glow revealed a hideous humanoid creature.
The creature had eyes devoid of life, they were what children feared was hiding in their closets. It moved quickly, easily sidestepping Dalia's projectile.
John lunged towards the beast. He swung his dagger as he neared the beast, but the clanking of metal followed. The beast revealed a katana and swung it towards John. He ducked, dodging the blade by a hair's breadth.
Caught in a compromising position, he couldn't dodge the incoming kick. As the nightmarish bony foot connected, John was sent flying towards the wall. The wall cracked on impact and John winced.
"John!" Dalia shouted and the beast's deathly gaze whipped in her direction. The beast lunged towards Dalia and panic struck her. Unable to move, she stood still, her arms crossed. She saw death coming and she could not even properly apologise to John, even after he believed in her, despite everything. Oh, what a way to die, she thought. Filled with nothing but regrets.
Her life flashed before her eyes, memories pouring through like a flood. But most memories were about her childhood, about her friend, John, the one she abandoned. She remembered how he always wore a smile just for her. She remembered how she always complained to him and John listened and cheered her up every time, even though John had much bigger problems.
Dalia saw the reaper coming for her as the hairy humanoid neared her. She surrendered to inevitability, but then a loud blast snapped her eyes open. It was John, still battered, but shockwaves propelled him forwards.
"Boom!" and then "Boom!" again, one after the other, John's figure drew closer. Dalia's irises glinted with hope as John plunged his dagger deep into the beast's skull.
With a thud, it dropped dead. Dalia exhaled her looming death away as the colour returned to her cheeks.
[Ratman Killed]
[1 Agility Obtained]
"John!" Dalia shouted, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes as she rushed to John's side, coiling her arms around him.
"Ouch!" John winced, his injuries still fresh.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just-" she stammered, but John cut her off, "It's fine, don't worry about it. Just don't hug me to death," he said, a chuckle escaping his lips.
Dalia smiled awkwardly, but just then, Martin and Julia caught up to them, drawn in by the noises. Martin seemed reluctant, but Julia quickly rushed to their side, shouting John's name.
As she ran, she tripped on her own feet and fell flat atop John, who caught her before she hit the floor.
"Hehe, thanks John, sorry," she chuckled awkwardly before she realised what John was holding on to when he caught her. He had, quite literally, caught her by the ass. John smirked and squeezed the squishy mounds of flesh.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
Anaesthetic_Dawn
Anaesthetic_Dawn
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