Chapter 53 (2/2)

Alana, the tall woman who handled most of the dirty work for the convoy, looked up as Glendel hurried towards Regina’s RV. After a second of terse silence, she waved him into the interior.

Slightly breathless, Glendel stepped forward.

Regina Northwind, former surgeon, current leader of their expedition, was frowning down at a ledger in front of her. She didn’t immediately notice his presence, and Glendel hesitated, unsure of whether to disturb her. But she coughed lightly into her hand and said “Report” without looking up from the papers in front of her.

Glendel recounted his experiences of the day, about how the first location refused him entry, and how he had gone to the second, Donnyton. Although they were much more tribal, they also seemed more active. Most of the other refugees apparently came into Donnyton, with the other town closed.

He explained how their numbers appeared to be around 1000, and then he showed Regina the powerful mana potion, and examples of the different crops that the administrator woman was willing to trade for tools and clothes.

At this, Regina sighed lightly. “Not interested in the medicine at all, huh… I suppose it makes sense. How much of this did you say they had?”

“Around a cooler full. And from the way they talked about it, it wasn’t too difficult to create. They are even harvesting the energy crystal trees. They are growing a grove.”

Regina’s eyes narrowed. “And they have classes, yes? What do classes do? How strong were they?”

“They didn’t all have classes,” Glendel explained slowly. “From what I could gather, classes gave you something like a special path that also provides skills; in addition, you get a stat growth rate. As for how strong they were….”

Glendel hesitated. After a long pause, he just shook his head. “I do not know how to explain. Strong. So strong that I can’t comprehend their strength.”

Regina was silent for a long moment. “Compared to Alana, how strong are they?”

Glendel reflexively looked back towards the door, where Alana sat. Then he released a long sigh. “As far as I can tell, there are 3 ranks of people, with special individuals above that. Alana… is likely comparable to the first rank. Maybe a little stronger, more skillful with her spear. But the people at the second level…. They surpass the human limits.”

The air was very still. It didn’t even seem like Regina was breathing. Then something loosened, and she leaned back in her chair.

“How are women treated there?”

“It seemed normal. There were female warriors. The head of the…. NCCs, they call it, non-class characters, was also a woman. I also met a very strange woman named Lyra, who seemed to have a fair amount of influence…. But there were definitely more men than women. Outnumbered them about 2 to 1.”

“...If that’s the case.” Regina rubbed her forehead. “We have no choice, and there’s no reason not to trade with them. Let’s gather everyone up and head closer tomorrow.”

“Ah, there’s one more thing, but I don’t know what it means,” Glendel added.

Regina arched an eyebrow, and he continued. “They kept referencing something called a ‘Ghosthound’. At first I thought it was a monster or something, but it seemed like they were talking about a person. Not to put it bluntly, but a lot of the men there seemed like brutes or thugs. But as soon as the Ghosthound was mentioned, they got as quiet and well behaved as christian school children.”

“You think this… Ghosthound is the reason that these villages formed so quickly?” Regina asked, rubbing her chin.

“Maybe. That’s the only thing I can guess.”

“Thank you for your time. And for agreeing to scout. You are dismissed.”

Glendel backed out of the room, a lump in his throat. She made it sound pretty now, but Glendel would rather have not been the scout. But Regina had a very compelling reason why it had to be him; he was the only remaining male in their group.

Immediately after the system arrived., most of the male doctors has stormed out of the hospital, demanding answers, only to be mauled by the waiting monsters. Regina had gathered up most of the nurses and organized them, working through their new series of problems.

Most of the remaining men had either died, or had run off, unsatisfied with taking orders from Regina.

At the end of 10 days, Glendel was the only remaining man, surrounded by 70 women.