The gas station

Ding*

________________

You have submitted a player (level 1)

________________

You have a new [Subordinate]

The player [Marie Duchatel] is now your subordinate, she is automatically part of your team

________________

I see the surprise on her face when she reads the probable sign telling her that I submitted her and that she becomes my subordinate.

"- Here, now you are mine. Well, you're with us I mean".

She looks at me with her pretty eyes and mouth wide open.

Clack !

"- No, it's not ok! You could have just asked her to be part of the team as for us !

"- Mom stop slapping me like that ! It is for her own good as is it for ours ! Those with the title [Subordinate] earn bonuses in my presence ! And like that she is also part of the team and will not betray us".

Suddenly I see her blush to the ears and whisper something.

"- .... ubjected

- Mmh ?

- It is marked that you have "subjected" me ...

- Oh yes, the kobolds have been there too".

I feel her hand, still in mine, contracting. She withdraws it quickly.

"- You better not having given me an illness with your blood, you idiot !"

(Oh, I did not think about that ...)

- Give me back your hand so that I can heal it".

She holds it and refuses to give it to me

"- You'll still do something weird, no thank you".

I roll my eyes and sigh.

"- I have a skill to heal it ! Now give it to me !"

I try to catch her again but she dodges me and runs around the house.

"- Do not touch me pervert !"

- Perv ...?! Ok that's it, you'll see..."

( Pervert ? Me? Is she out of her mind ? Yes, I got some perverts skills, but I'm not, I did not even learn [unlimited libido] !)

I quickly catch her and then block her against a wall.

"- Now that's enough ..." I say in a voice grave and more threatening than I want it.

She still resists but I hold her perfectly. My stats are way higher than her, she can not do anything.

- [Superior Heal] ...

My hand starts to shine slightly in hers and I see her surprised. I finally release it. She looks at her hand and does not even see a scar.

- You see. I can also heal".

She looks at me badly. Then sighs.

"- You really do not understand anything about human relationships ... pervert ...

- But I did not do anything to deserve th... you know what ? Name me as you want it does not matter to me".

And I go down again. I pick up my things and ask Inuyasha to follow me to the car where I'm waiting for Marie.

After a moment that seems far too long she finally comes out of the house with new clothes ... including a jacket that belong to me and the two Kobold daggers I brought back.

(she searched my room ...)

She goes to the front but Inuyasha already occupies it. New bad look for me on her part then she opens the rear door and remains silent.

(She's annoying ... that's why I do not like others ...)

I start and finally go to the gas station. We are all on our guard, in case a creature comes up along the road. The experience of the forest was enough for me, no need to find myself with a higher level creature jumping in front of me. The night is falling and we find ourselves at dusk, the worst time according to the drivers because of the low visibility. Add to that an apocalypse with monsters wanting to devour you and clearly the situation is not very favorable. We go through a village that I have not visited since the beginning of the apocalypse and it seems ... quiet.

(It's going to be a day since it started and here ... there was nothing?)

I move slowly and enter the village. No sign appears, but strangely that's what makes me feel the most uncomfortable. Marie notices my attitude:

"- What is happening ? Why do not you move faster?

- Because everywhere I've been in the last 20 hours there were monsters or dangerous areas. Here nothing. No monsters appearing, no sign saying "attention you enter a special area" ... nothing of the sort ... it's just ... calm. There is no one outside either. Not really this place reeks of danger from miles away..."

Despite what I say we do not meet anything. No dangers, monsters or humans. We arrive in view of the gas station. It is enlightened.

"- The pumps should work and there must be tanks to put the gas. The best would be a tanker truck.

- Do you know how to drive a truck ?" She asks me.

I remain silent.

"- Lukas ?

- No I do not know. I passed the car and motorcycle license, not the truck. I must admit that I did not care and it was expensive, I wanted a new machine for my forge ...

- Forge ?

- Yeah, I have an almost professional forge in my workshop at home. How do you think I have this type of weapon? I spent my money on my forge before the truck license that's the end of the story and ... what is this ?!"

In front of us is the gas station but ... there are strange black shapes coming out of the building.

"- that ... it crawls? What is Lukas?

- Wait wait , pass me my binoculars in the bag next to you, we will observe it from a distance first".

She searches the bag I brought and hands me the pair of binoculars. I put them in front of my eyes but it starts to get too dark so I don't know what these forms are.

"- it looks animaly and it crawls on four legs ... [Eye of the predator]!"

My vision improves and I finally see what it is, although being too far to have information on their names, level or Hp.

"- Looks like lizards ... no salamander would be more accurate, the skin looks smooth and the tail is too short".

Suddenly I see one go towards ...

"- ... a tanker truck! There are two ! But ... shit ! There's one that's ... Split open ! I do not see the state of the second".

The salamander is heading towards the tanker truck then stops a few meters away from it.

( It ... licks the floor ? fuck I can not see it !!!)

My thoughts stop instantly when I see what I'm seeing. The salamander caught fire at once! The others then turn to her and all start to ignite.

"- Oh my god ... if it explodes ..."

Marie, although without binoculars, easily sees the flames, we are the evening after all.

"- That's not what worries me the most ..." I say, the face dark while removing the binoculars.

She and Inuyasha look at me without understanding.

"- They are burning in appearance ... but they are fine. I see them moving as if nothing had happened. This fire, they produce it. They are fire monsters. The first is ignited surely after drinking gasoline. Fuck we fell into a shitty place again ... if I have to speculate I would say that to live, these creatures must need heat. In this region we do not really have places that can match them so they take refuge in a place with ... fuel. They can then ignite and heat up. But this is pure speculation based on my games. Fire salamanders are common in RPGs."

Inuyasha stops listening to me when I begin my speculations, but Marie now looks at the distant little balls of fire with fear. She looks at me and says:

"- You will not be able to approach them to eliminate them so if they burn as they want ...

- Anyway these critters are exactly the type that I can not face normally. Monsters that physically attack, I can dodge, counter or even get hit with my Hp and Def. But monsters like them or who's using magic ... I have no defense. To eliminate them it will either be remotely or with water magic if it exists. And currently we have neither one nor the other. In addition we do not know what level are these creatures ....

- What are we doing then ...?"

I remain silent a moment. Finally, I say that we can not do much.

"- I'll go scout and see their level and then we'll go home. There is nothing else to do as long as we have no magic or weapons we can use at a distance"

I see her worrying but I do not give her the choice. I leave telling Inuyasha to keep an eye on ... the car.

I advance quickly and as discreetly as possible but alas the gas station is in a completely unobstructed area. To avoid any risk of forest fire in case of incident it is logical that it was built at a little distant away from it. I keep on praying that darkness and my dark clothes will keep me hidden. There are fortunately abandoned cars (voluntarily or not, as shown by some traces ...) that hide me when I arrive nearby. I reactivate [predator's eye] and am more than ever on my guard. I pass by a car with the doors open and take cover. I am close enough for my skill [Identification] to act.

________________

Fire Salamander (level 25)

Hp: 250/250

________________

(Strong ! And it's not an elite monster but a basic one ! But it has little Hp ... usually in a rpg that means it has a very high attack)

As I watch the salamander from afar, I do not notice one of this creatures in the car where I am. It is only by reflex that I suddenly move my head and thus avoid the jaw closing on it.

(Fu...!)

Up close, the creature is not what one could describe as beautiful: a charcoal black skin resembling that of a toad, small red eyes looking like incandescent balls similar to those of a chameleon on a wide and flattened head, short limbs with five "fingers" resembling those of a gecko and a tadpole tail.

(Useless tail, jaw with small crooked teeth, legs to climb safely to the walls, multidirectional eyes perfect for an ambush from above and ... damn it releases heat in an intense way ! It may be an impression but the air is hot here because of these creatures ! These mobs are the kind that wait on a wall or a ceiling and burn their victims from this position without her knowing it ...)

I began to feel the heat as I approached, and now having the creature next to me proves that they are responsible for the difference in the degrees. In the position where I am I can not quickly grasp my fighting knife, fortunately [Predator's eye] is still active, so I can see the creature's weak points. She suddenly opens her mouth and I see flames begin to appear.

(Oh no!)

I plant my weapon in his jaw, from below, and tries to press it on the top with my left hand to force it to close it's mouth. I feel incredible resistance from the skin of the creature, it is thick and hard, but I still manage to pierce it and keep the mouth of the creature closed. I feel hot liquid dripping on my hand and ...

"- Aaaaaaah !!!" I yelled in pain.