165 Flying To Muwin
<Author's note: The things (racism, sexism, political views, etc.) depicted or mentioned in this story do not reflect the real world and are purely coincidences. If they do, please keep in mind that they are simply for world-building and are only work of fiction. Thank you for your understanding.>
7:30 am.
Nathan wasn't wearing his System items except for the ring, amulet, boots and the [Artifact] Gold Spatial finger as he prepared breakfast in the kitchen.
Some of the food that he was preparing needed to be cooked so he was using a portable gas stove, while the others were MREs.
The MREs was among the boxes of food he had taken from the Saint Holy Child Hospital.
Last night, he only slept for less than 3 hours because he had to prepare things while Zita was asleep.
As someone who used to exercise regularly before the zombie apocalypse, he preferred to sleep at least 5 hours a day for a calmer and clearer mind and a more energized body. But with the current VIT he has, it was enough for him to function properly.
Ka-cha!
Zita stepped out of her room.
Her hair was a mess and she was rubbing her eyes.
The room that she slept in was one of the bedrooms inside the apartment that Nathan chose for himself.
Last night, due to her near-death experience with the zombies, she was too afraid to sleep alone inside her own apartment so she asked to sleep in Nathan's apartment.
Nathan didn't mind and agreed. Last night, the main reason why he decided for them to have separate apartments in the first place was to be able to do that test with Dylan.
"Breakfast is ready. Have a seat."
"I can help, mister," Zita said and approached Nathan.
He turned to her and said, "It's okay. Just grab a seat."
"Okay," Zita said and took a seat at the dining table.
Nathan grabbed a few plates and other eating utensils and then placed them on the table along with the food.
He wasn't exactly sure what Zita eats so he prepared a generic Caucasian kid breakfast he could think of that was available in his stock.
Her meal consisted of two slices of bread and a glass of chocolate drink which were taken from his MREs. There were also 4 slices of cheese, a bowl of cereal, and a jar of peanut butter.
Nathan's meal, on the other hand, was 3 cups of rice, corned beef, mushroom soup and a cup of coffee.
There were also two bottles of water and an opened can of pineapple for dessert.
Unfortunately, he doesn't have any fresh vegetables or fruits because they're already started to rot in the food markets that he came across.
"Let's eat. If you don't like the food, just tell me," he said and then started eating.
Zita was amazed at the meal presented to her.
Ever since the zombie apocalypse began, although she was still able to eat, the food was always rationed that it was just enough for her small stomach not to starve.
In fact, last night, it was the first time in days she has eaten candies.
Moreover, traveling with Nathan outside the Government Shelter gave her this some sort of bubble of peace and relaxation which is both a weird and scary feeling because once you stay away from him, that bubble would immediately pop and quickly reveal to you the sad and scary reality of the world they currently live in thanks to the zombie apocalypse.
Nathan noticed Zita not eating.
"Is the meal not to your liking? Don't be afraid to be honest."
Zita shook her head and said, "No, it's fine."
She grabbed the glass of chocolate drink and poured it into her bowl of cereal.
"You don't have to finish all of them if you can't."
"Okay."
"Also, you can have some of my food if you want. Don't be shy. I have a lot."
"I'm fine with this."
Nathan resumed eating.
"Mister, is there a spellbook that makes me sinvinciblek like you?"
"What?"
"Sinvinciblek, like how you can be gone."
"Gone?" Nathan thought about it for a second. "You mean like disappear or invisible?"
"Yes."
"As far as I know, Chosen Ones like us can't learn other spells or skills aside from the one that we're given."
"Okay."
There was a 30-second silence before Zita asked another question.
"Mister, what's your full name? You haven't told me your full name yet. My name is Zita Vestergaard."
Nathan swallowed the food in his mouth and then answered, "Nathan Mahkad."
"Makhad? It sounds like a last name of a brown-Caucasian. There are many of them there back in Iskaldia. I always see them on the TV. But you don't look like them."
Nathan swallowed his food and then said, "It's because I'm Asian, not brown-Caucasian."
"You're not Xudonian?"
"Asia is a continent, Xudonia is a country in Asia, a Xudonian is from Xudonia. I'm Muwinian from Muwin which is also an Asian country."
"Oh… You're the first Muwinian I know."
Nathan didn't answer and just continued eating.
"Why do Muwinians and brown-Caucasians have the same last name but don't look the same?"
Nathan swallowed his food and then said, "I don't know. It just happens."
"Why are you so tall? The Asians I've seen weren't tall at all. What did you eat to get so tall? Are all Muwinians tall like you?"
Thanks to the [Artifact] Divine Blood that he drank, aside from the bonus +30 stat points on a single attribute and his new body size, 20% of his skin is also covered with these white spots but they're aren't like a Caucasian person's skin. It was close to greyish or deathly pale as if he was a corpse.
Furthermore, there was also "Transformation: 20%" written on his status chart. Whatever it meant, he could only guess.
'It's best that she doesn't know everything,' he thought. "Just genes."
"What are those white spots on your skin?"
"Genes."
"And what is that gold finger on your left hand?"
"Kid, it's bad manners to talk while eating. Finish your meal first."
"Okay."
A few minutes later…
Nathan was smoking and sipping coffee as he glanced at Zita who was still eating.
She already finished her bowl of cereal mixed with the chocolate drink and was currently eating pineapples.
'This kid is a slow eater. Well, she is a girl after all.'
As for the second-hand smoke, well, he could care less about it.
There's the System stats and potions anyway.
Zita finally finished eating and was drinking from a bottle of water.
Nathan tapped his cigarette on top of a cup that he used as an ashtray.
"Zita."
She put down her bottle of water and looked at Nathan.
"About last night --"
Zita's face immediately turned pale and looked like she was about to cry, "Mister, I really want to go with you. Please don't leave me. I promise will be a good kid. I promise I'll follow whatever you say. I promise I won't get mad if you call me a kid. I want to be strong like you and I feel safer with you… Huhu…"
"Wait, wait, please don't cry. This is a very serious matter. You can't just cry whenever things don't go your way."
Zita wiped the tears off her eyes with her hands.
"Ehem!" he cleared his throat. "As I was saying, last night, you were under so much stress so I had no choice but to calm you down."
Her eyes were red and she was trying so hard to hold back her tears.
Nathan looked away and rubbed his temples.
'Ugh… This is going to be a headache. I already had a speech prepared but I don't think it will work.'
He stopped rubbing his temples secretly glanced at her.
A single tear ran down her cheek and she quickly wiped it off.
'Dammit. Whatever. I'll still use the speech I prepared,' he thought. "You mentioned last time that your parents already passed away. Do you have siblings? What about your other relatives?"
"I'm an only child. My relatives, they're all at Iskaldia..."
'There's no way I'm going to I'm going to waste my time to go to Iskaldia just to deliver this kid to her relatives,' he thought and sucked his cigarette. "Look, kid. The path I'm taking is going to be a bloody and dangerous journey and what you experienced last night is nothing compared to what I will be experiencing in the future. I can drop you back at the Government Shelter today and you will be safe there. I'll also give you a set of equipment and some weapons and potions so you won't be afraid."
"Mister, why can't I just go with you? I believe it's safer to be with you because I've never seen anyone kill the zombies so easy."
Nathan scratched his nose and then said, "You don't understand, kid. I'm going back to my home country, Muwin, to find my family. It's an Asian country so there won't be that many white people and it's nothing like Iskaldia or Womania. Do you know what third-world country or developing country, corruption and racism are? As a matter of fact, come to think of it, my home country, Muwin, is I think the 3rd or 4th most racist country in Asia."
"Yes. Third-world country and developing country is a country where there are many poor people. Corruption is being a bad leader or politician. And racism is being bad to people who have a different color from you."
'Hmm... Not bad for a kid. At least she gets the gist of it,' he thought. "Then you understand the dangers. Aside from the zombies, you'll also deal with people. Let me tell you, kid, dealing with zombies is so much easier compared to dealing with humans. And if they're Chosen Ones, it's even harder. And there's also the Armored Angels which are way more dangerous than anything else. Trust me, kid, you're better off here in Womania with Sweet Dave and the others."
"What are Armored Angels?"
"They're from the Divine Tower."
"You've entered the Divine Tower? Wow…"
That night when the Second Phase started, everyone received the message from the System regarding the Divine Tower.
"Don't be amazed. The Armored-Angels aren't what you think they are. They will kill you and killing them is no easy task."
"Do they have wings?"
"Yeah."
"Can they f--"
"Enough about that."
"I still want to go with you, mister."
Nathan stared at her as he sucked his cigarette.
He could see the determination and excitement in her eyes.
It was clear that she really wanted to go with him no matter what and there's no way he could change her mind, especially after he mentioned about the Armored Angels and Divine Tower.
"Sigh… Just don't blame me if you come to regret your decision later."
"I won't, mister~. I promise~," she said with a smile on her face.
"Sigh… Okay. Go prepare now. We're leaving for Muwin and the flight would probably last around 12 hours max so be sure to take a bath, brush your teeth, comb your hair and also use the toilet."
"Okay~" Zita said and grabbed her plate.
"Don't worry about that. I'll do that. Just go prepare."
"Okay~" she said and ran back to her room to grab some things.
'Ugh… I feel like I aged a couple of years from that conversation.'
It's been a while since Nathan had to "properly" deal with children.
During his time here in Womania, before the zombie apocalypse, he avoided them like a plague in fear of the political correctness culture of this country.
And during this zombie apocalypse, he really let himself go from the shackles of society.
If he didn't like someone, kill.
If he wanted something, kill.
If he was happy, kill.
If he was sad, kill.
If he was bored, kill.
Life was just bloody simple -- well, at least for the most part.
***
Nathan and Zita were both inside an assault helicopter and wearing headphones so that they can talk to each other during the flight.
As for their stats and items…
***
Level 27:
Exp: %
Stats:
• STR – 70 (+5)
• VIT – 38 (+10)
• AGI – 35 (+26)
• INT – 35 (+7)
Equipment:
[Grade D] Black Helm (15/15): +3 Agi +1 Int
[Grade D] Black Heavy Leather Armor (15/15): +3 Vit, +1 Agi
[Grade D] Black Heavy Leather Gloves (15/15): +4 Agi
[Grade D] Black Heavy Leather Boots (15/15): +2 Vit, +1 Agi, +1 Int
[Grade C] Ring: +6 Agi
[Artifact] Gold Spatial Finger: +5 to all stats
[Grade C] Amulet: +6 Agi
Special Effects:
• 4% Chance to block any physical attack.
Skill:
• Level X [Coward's Way]
Description: Grants user complete invisibility. User loses invisibility status upon attack. No mana required and no cooldown.
• Chosen One
Description: You are unable to learn any other skill. But each level increase gives +1 point to all stats.
Transformation:
• 20%
***
Level: 21
Exp: %
Stats:
• STR – 28
• VIT – 29 (+2)
• AGI – 31 (+1)
• INT – 32 (+28)
Mana:
•120/120
Equipment:
[Grade D] Long Dagger (12/12)
[Grade D] Tiara (15/15): +2 Vit, +1 Int
[Grade D] Heavy Leather Armor (15/15): +3 Int
[Grade D] Black Heavy Leather Gloves (15/15): +3 Int, +1 Agi
[Grade D] White Heavy Leather Boots (15/15): +4 Int
[Grade C] Ring: +6 Int
[Grade C] Ring: +5 Int
[Grade C] Amulet: +6 Int
[Grade D] Spatial Bag
Special Effects:
• 1% Chance to block any magical attack.
• 1% Chance to block any physical attack.
Skill:
• Level X [Lift]
Description: Allows user to mentally lift physical object(s) within 10 meters. Target with higher INT compared to the user are immune. Power, speed and Mental Capacity based on user's total INT. No mana required and no cooldown.
• Mental Capacity: 29.9kg/30kg
Status:
• Chosen One
Description: You are unable to learn any other skill. But each level increase gives +1 point to all stats.
***
Nathan also gave Zita all of his [Small] Mana potions, some potions including his home-made Healing Packets, dagger strap, handgun strap, a handgun, bullets, 2 hand grenades, thermal vision goggles, battery-free night vision goggles, food and snacks including one slice of Cake from the Eternal Village, a quiver, and 80% of his remaining bolts, both the normal and magical ones.
She was playing with a few bolts using [Lift], trying to see if there was any obvious physical difference between the Normal Bolt and Magic Bolt.
He glanced at her and thought, 'Hmm… I guess the normal bolts would be a good weapon for her with her Chosen One skill. She could probably make a tornado of bolts and rain them down on her enemies.'
He looked away and checked their surroundings.
'No zombies in sight, not even M2s.'
Last night, while Zita was asleep, he did a lot of preparation -- cleaning off the zombies nearby, finding an inflatable boat, etc. which gave him some extra time to hunt for more items and potions for Zita.
'Okay, this is it. I've already made the necessary preparations. There's no turning back now…'
He put away the world map and his notes.
'I just have to make sure I don't pass by the powerful countries…'
He switched the engine on.
Tutututututututututu…
The helicopter lifted above the ground and flew to the horizon.
