7 First Encounter, First Kill (1/2)
Waking up was a hard task, all that training had taken a toll on him, thus partially denying him the capacity of his body motion. He groggily lifted his head, bending his elbows and leaning them on the pillow, allowing him a good view of his room.
It was Sunday, hence his last day to find his fourth quest. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly, he was kinda tired of dealing with variables that has the ability to kill him.
Albeit that armed man he dealt with yesterday wasn't that threatening; his gun, however, was. Especially since he wasn't yet at the level where he could avoid gunshots or recover from a deadly wound.
He really needed to get stronger, the prospect of dying at any moment as a result of some inhumanly strong person's whims didn't thrill him at all.
Nevertheless, he was really lost on how to even start. Regrettably, he hadn't enough time available to reach satisfying results.
Despite having free time from afternoon till nightfall, he was skeptical that with only that much time he'd get sufficiently strong.
With a grunt of pain, he gently stood up, trying to adapt himself to his aching body whilst he steadily headed towards the bathroom.
...
Jered got out of the shower with a towel covering his private parts and small drops of water trailing his hair and torso.
He sighed in contentment, all it took was a refres.h.i.+ng shower to invigorate him, yes, his body still hurt like h.e.l.l, but it was more tolerable now.
After cleaning the steamy mirror with a cloth, he looked at his build and noticed a positive improvement.
His abs' shape were more prominent as was his pectorals and biceps. Obviously, it wasn't still at a level where he could say he'd make a favorable impression in front of others, but he was getting there.
Overall he was quite fulfilled with the outcome of his training.
Nonetheless what he really looked forward to was his magic training, all he had to do was to complete his last quest and he'd finally get a taste of magic.
He smiled.
Besides, he had to find something that might remunerate him handsomely, he did mean what he said last night, and there was no way that even after getting this power he'd let her endure that suffering anymore.
His eyes glinted with a resolute light as he got dressed and prepared to go out.
It was late morning, so his mother wasn't at home and his sister wouldn't come back earlier than that night, which gave him quite a bit of time to complete the quest and get back quietly.
Well, that's if something unforeseen doesn't happen.
Once outside he kept looking around himself in the hopes of finding anything that might give him a quest, he wanted to make that awful burden on his shoulders disappear and fully concentrate on getting stronger.
However, it didn't matter how much he looked, there was nothing worthy of his attention, or at least that of his system's.
In the end, he still hadn't figured out how these quests worked or by what conditions they would show up.
Every time he came up with a theory he disowned it immediately, it was like Paranoia acted in a whimsical manner, and since he had no information about it whatsoever, whatever a.s.sumption he made was a meaningless attempt by his part.
He sighed, an action that he had been doing a lot of times recently.
Walking without aim he suddenly b.u.mped into a man, who instantly fell down, the rag-covered box that was on his hands dropped on the stone floor.
And he'd swore that he heard something inside it move.
”Oh, sorry. Are you okay?” Jered asked, feigning concern.
”Y-yeah, I am!” The man said nervously as he hastily picked the box up and stood up.
Jered noted with extreme curiosity that the stranger was heavily sweating from the haste and his hands slightly trembling, symptoms that he was in an urgent to go somewhere, maybe an important conference? Hospital?
He kept looking at the man and instantaneously discarded what he had just thought, the man hadn't shaved for days, and judging from the ill smell, showered.
The fear in his eyes hinted something though.
The man quickly excused himself and sprinted towards his opposite direction.
Jered just tilted his head, something deep inside him was telling him to follow that man. Was it his instinct? Or something else entirely? Should he really follow him?
How curious.
.
.
.
It was an abandoned place if the lack human presence and decayed buildings were anything to go by. Debris and other various sorts of broken goods were spread everywhere on the ground.
The suspicious man, however, didn't pay his surroundings any attention and arrived in front of a somewhat large wooden door. He knocked a few times.
It slowly opened, the creaking noise signaling its old age.
An aged and wrinkly hand jutted out, slightly gripping the edge of the door before a hooded head followed.
”Samuel, did you bring what we asked of you?” The hooded man asked in a croaking voice.
”Y-yes! It's here with me!” The newly named Samuel replied, motioning to the content on his hands.
”Good, come inside.” Was his answer.
Samuel nodded and followed him inside before the door closed.
...
”Mmh... how do I enter?” Jered wondered.
He had been watching from far away and witnessed the whole meeting. Obviously, he couldn't listen to what they said but he could guess it had as its main subject the mysterious box.
However, there was another thing that somewhat disturbed him.
He felt a strange energy coming from the fleeting man that momentarily appeared. It was very faint but it was there. He didn't know what it was but of what he was sure about was that the old man was definitely someone out of normal standards.
It was dangerous, the kind of situation he wouldn't get involved in, but the stir deep inside him kept urging him to get in there.
First things first, he had to find a way to infiltrate it. The possibly 'superhuman' inside hadn't found him, so his powers were either limited or he was too weak to notice him. Still, it was too early to make suppositions.
He had no information on the man, nor did he know the number of people inside, if there were any.
Everything was like a blank sheet of paper, the absolute unknown.
This was not a battle he could win by sheer luck or smarts. His enemy was certainly stronger, trying to fight him or them head-on would be plain stupid.
He took a deep breath and slowly headed towards the other side of the building, careful with his steps.
Looking around, he found a shovel on the ground. He picked it up and brought it with him. It was probably a futile effort considering his enemy, but he needed at least something to defend himself with.
Unwaveringly he approached the building, trying his best not to make any sound, no matter how small.
He gripped the shovel in his hands while observing the location the construction was in, getting ready for possible attacks as he got nearer.
Seeing that even after he was in front of the door n.o.body came out he sighed in relief, however, it didn't mean that those inside weren't aware of his presence, who knows, they might already know he was there.
That's why he couldn't calm down his beating heart.
d.a.m.n...
He kept on walking, checking the entire structure's circ.u.mference, thankfully it wasn't that large, but not that small either. There were no other doors, but he did find windows that could lead him inside. They were not that high so with a bit of strength, he could reach it.
He gathered all the stuff big enough that was dispersed on the ground and made a heap with it and placed it right under the window frame. Once done doing so he climbed it and reached the top.
Mustering all of his 13 points of strength he jumped, making a part of the pile under him fall down.
It was a leap of over 5ft, so he easily caught the edge of the window with his hands. He lifted his body and entered through it.
And then...
[ Quest received! ]
[ t.i.tle: A Dark Feather For a Dark Friend ]
[ Description: It gazes up, dreaming of being free from the burden its misunderstood origin brought upon it, free from seeing its brethren killed for the sake of a joyous laugh. It gazes down, and stopped dreaming, resigned to follow its doom. ]
[ Reward: 15 Attribute points
350 System points. ]
[ Time-limit: Until its death. ]