Training

Once Grant walked out of the building to turn around and close the door, he saw not just Richard but also Robin standing there ready to go.

He smiled at the conviction the two were showing on their face and in their eyes. He could tell that although they may be scarred from all the previous fighting and they weren't quite past the trauma it had caused, they wouldn't let that stop them from doing what they needed to do.

Since Robin told Grant that she didn't have any experience with bows, they decided that in the initial stages of their training arc, Robin would be the one to fight as long as she could handle it without help. If she became overwhelmed with the enemies then Richard would step up to assist her as well as train with his new weapon.

And if all else failed, Grant would step in and destroy any threats they couldn't handle.

At first, they made little progress because it took Robin multiple shots to take down a lone zombie. But as the day progressed they began to move faster and take on more enemies.

When they reached the point where Robin wasn't able to handle the larger groups alone, Richard would attack from the side of the group to keep the monsters from advancing towards Robin.

With Richard attacking perpendicular to Robin's firing angle, she was allowed to continue attacking even while Richard was fighting.

When the both of them engaged enemies they started to take down groups in quick succession. Allowing for them to gain experience at a fairly decent rate.

While they were traveling around the neighborhood, they ran into another group of survivors that were headed towards the settlement at the University. Apparently they had all been hiding out in a house further into the neighborhood but just like Ethan's group they started to run out of food and their only option was to try and reach the settlement.

Since they had seen Grant's group fighting the monsters with relative ease, they tried to get them to join and lead their group the rest of the way but Richard immediately rejected them.

During the entire interaction with the survivors, Richard seemed like someone who was standing on a battlefield, staring at the enemy across from him. He never once let the tension in his body or the vigilance in his eyes to wane.

After chatting with the group for a few minutes and providing them with directions on how to get to the University, Grant and the two kids resumed their fighting.

Throughout the rest of the day, they ended up crossing paths with more than five groups of people that could no longer survive in their current living conditions. Some of the groups were few, while the largest group reached upwards of 50 people.

The one constant with all of these groups, however, was that no more than 1 or 2 people had even managed to kill so much as a zombie at that point.

Grant couldn't understand how these people could go five days without comprehending the significance that levels and strength were going to play in this new world.

Were they just that ignorant or were they just that cowardly?

When the sun started to go down, Grant and the kids decided to return to the gun shop to fill their stomachs and rest.

When they returned, Ally looked like she had been sitting on pins and needles all day long, doing nothing but worrying. But after she saw that her kids were safe, a small hint of light returned to her dead eyes.

Grant couldn't help but sympathize with her pain but he knew that if she was going to move past her fear and depression, she would have to do it on her own. He could only promise her that he would protect her kids so many times before it served no purpose anymore.

While the four of them ate dinner they talked about their experiences during the day. The kids told their Mom all about their new weapons and the monsters they had fought. They also told their mom about all of the people they met and how those people seemed to admire them for how strong they were, which naturally made Ally proud of her kids.

Towards the end of dinner, Richard and Robin even began to discuss how they could better fight together, which was impressive to Grant because not only had they started to accept the fact that they would have to fight, they were actively trying to improve their cooperation and teamwork to increase their efficiency while fighting.

After a couple hours of discussion, they all retired to their cots to get some rest. Grant could hear crying sporadically throughout the night and eventually he decided he should try and help in any way he could so he walked over to where Ally was sitting with her head in her hands and gave her a hug.

Neither of them said anything, they just sat there with Grant holding her while she cried and cried. After awhile she managed to gain some control over her emotions and stopped crying so much.

A few moments of silence passed before Grant decided to speak up.

"I know you're scared Ally. But you need to be there for your kids. After spending the day with them, I can tell that they are doing everything they possibly can to improve themselves so they can protect not only themselves but also you. You are now the most important person in the lives of those two kids and at some point they will need you to be strong for them."

Ally just sat there in silence for a few more moments before she looked up at Grant and gave him a slight nod. He could tell that she had taken his words to heart.

After a few more moments, Grant decided that he should return to his cot and try to get some sleep.

He only managed to sleep for a few hours but it was enough for all of the exhaustion from the past few days to wash away.

While feeling refreshed, Grant noticed that Ally had actually woken up before him. She was using the camping stove he brought back with him yesterday and was preparing what appeared to be pancakes.

"Good morning Ally . Breakfast smells good. It'll be nice to have cooked food rather than something reheated or prepackaged."

"Good morning Grant. Look forward too it, I'm actually a pretty good cook!

I also wanted to say thank you. I am eternally grateful for your help preparing the kids for what they may have to face in the future. Without you, we would all be goners by now."

"Think nothing of it, I enjoy spending time with your kids. They have bright futures ahead of them whatever they choose to do. Today will be the last day I take them out with me and then you will be able to spend more time with them while I am dealing with my own issues."

Ally just nodded her head and smiled. Grant could tell that she had taken his words to heart and was trying her best to put on a brave face and move past her traumas.

The two of them ended up eating and talking for awhile before the two kids woke up and joined them for breakfast.

Once everyone had their fill of breakfast, Grant and the two kids prepared to head out for the day. Unlike yesterday though when they left without so much as a word from Ally, she walked the three of them to the door before giving her kids a hug each and then telling them to stay safe and listen to Grant.

That small act seemed to light a fire in the kids eyes', as if their mothers affection gave them strength.

After the hugs, the three of them once again departed for their day of training.

Instead of starting slow, they dove head long into any group of monsters that they could find. Each type of monster provided them with different training options.

Only occasionally would Grant need to step in to dispatch monsters too strong for the kids which was nothing but a good sign for Grant because it meant that the kids were getting closer and closer to being able to survive on their own against any threats.

With the stats they had managed to absorb as well as the teamwork they had cultivated over the past two days, even if they couldn't fight a monster they should be able to find a way to escape, unless it was an Enlightened Tier monster of course, in which case, they would need luck to be on their side.

As they were fighting throughout the day, they started to run into more survivors than they had the day before but since the three were no longer surprised by the groups and knew how to handle them, they just greeted them curtly before moving on and getting back to their fighting.

While the team was fighting, Grant finally found the opportunity he had been waiting for. An Enlightened Tier monster was standing at the end of the street they were walking down, staring directly at their group.

Grant flexed his slowly healing arm as well as the rest of his body, preparing to use everything at his disposal for the fight to come.

It was time to reach level 25 and choose his Path.