Chapter 6: Roll, roll, roll

Three days have passed since that battle outside the town hall.

Nark Chu was the appointed mayor of the town of Kinshin. He was currently sitting at his desk. He was busy sorting out the details of some of the concerns given by the residents. He then heard someone knocking on the door of his office. He called out the visitor to proceed inside. He glanced at the person who entered. He said,

"Alan! How's the departure of that son of yours?"

The man was around 180 centimeters tall and was around his fifties. He has a disheveled coffee brown hair. He has this meek smile when he answered,

"It went fine, mayor. Once he got fully recovered, he already left. Although he did try to ask his Mom to cook lots of food that he could take away. Bridget refused and scolded him for that."

"Is Lady Bridget threatening you again to speak about her constantly?"

"That's not the point!"

Mayor Nark pointed out this weird habit of the man near the door. In fact he had always pointed it out whenever the two men spoke. And to be honest he was getting tired of this habit – no, quirk was perhaps the better word for it.

But he would never dare to say that out loud.

"Well that aside, allow me to apologize for not arranging a proper send-off for Young Allen."

Mayor Nark had decided to change the topic instead. He did receive a report from one of the town guards pertaining to the event that occurred yesterday. He then expressed his sincerest apology.

The man near the door waved his hand to show that the issue was not a big deal. He explained,

"That's fine mayor. We wanted the send-off to be a private one anyway. My dear wife even said that it was for the best."

Mayor Nark rolled his eyes. He heard that shameless self-insert once again. He was not sure if he could get used to that quirk. But one thing was sure, he would not dare say something against that statement.

That was why he remained silent and urged the man near the door to continue.

"And besides, we're pretty sure that you would prefer to keep such events in secret anyway."

"Hmph, not really. But I appreciate the thought."

Mayor Nark harrumphed. But he would be lying if he said that he was not concerned about the repercussions of his decision. If such news reached the ears of the dissatisfied residents, then this issue could bring further complications.

But that would be something that he had to deal with some other time.

His thoughts were interrupted when the man near the door called him out. He was smiling and looking at the former playfully. He said,

"Besides, you're injured. We can't trouble you more than necessary."

"Bah! As if such flames could injure me!"

Mayor Nark had to admit to himself that the burns he received from that battle was still hurting. It might take him a few more days to completely recover. He then sighed mentally. Flames were indeed destructive.

He could not help but feel a pang of regret for not availing the Asutra brand. But it was too late for such feelings now. The first batch of vaccinations in their town offered the Xino brand. And he had no other choice than to join the first batch to set an example to his fellow residents.

Furthermore, he doubted if he would even be able to wield a such brilliant flames anyway. That young man… it was like he was born to possess such fire.

Flames that do not bring despair but instead hope.

The mayor smiled a little. He clenched his fist with renewed vigor. He had to show to everyone that wielding the Water element had its advantages too!

Unfortunately the man near the door had noticed his smile. He seemed to have understood the thoughts that the mayor was having. The former teased further,

"You say that but you did give in to his resolve."

"Enough! If you have nothing else to report then you may take your leave."

Mayor Nark gestured at the man near the door to be dismissed. Last time he checked, he was still the one sitting at the desk of the leader of the town. He needed to save his face once in a while.

But the man near the door shrugged. He seemed to not mind such display in authority. He simply replied,

"Fine, fine."

However, Mayor Nark stopped the man who was about to reach out for the doorknob. He called out,

"Alan."

"Yes?"

"Don't forget about our deal."

"Of course."

The man answered in a serious tone.

***

Both the father and the mayor knew that the world outside the fence was extremely dangerous. They were also aware that Kinshin was actually quite a fortunate town. It might not have any bountiful resources or any advanced defenses. But it had a community of residents that was relatively peaceful.

Well compared to the cutthroat environment of other allied towns around the province anyway.

That was why both men had wanted a certain young man to stay. Even if it was for a few more months. In this manner they could have taught him the ropes albeit in a roundabout way. About how to survive in the wild whether it was in the open fields or in the concrete jungle.

Optimism is good and all. But in order for that young man to succeed, he had to learn how to become more practical.

However his resolve ended up prevailing against the two grown men instead. They did realize that the young man was now 25 years old. Meaning he was 22 before the apocalypse. During those times he was sent away to study in a university in the country's capital.

If the young man survived that kind of environment then perhaps he was more capable than what they were giving him credit for.

Thus both men decided to give the young man a chance. Even his Mom had given her support. They all agreed to have faith and believe on that young man.

Little did they know, their concerns were actually correct.

***

Roll, roll, roll.

Allen Stryka was currently rolling over the open field. He was wearing a casual attire: A plain shirt, denim jeans, snickers and a backpack. There was no need for face masks and face shields.

First was because the lockdown was already lifted. Second, the vaccination program had been fully implemented. Not adding the fact that humans had already adapted to the harsh radiation levels of the mutated Sun.

The third reason was because such PPEs would be a hassle when running away.

Yes, running away!

Allen accidentally tripped while running. That was why he rolled down the ground until his momentum stopped. This was the first time he laid down after he left Kinshin. The ground was dirty but it actually felt quite comfortable.

Unfortunately he no longer had any time to enjoy lying down. The reason for his running was fast approaching. Well reasons to be precise.

Three mutated rats were chasing after him. One might raise an eyebrow upon hearing this. Rats? Really?

But imagine a field rat mutating and growing to around two meters in height. Its front teeth had also extended to around ten centimeters. Theses incisors had also grown sharp and sturdy as a combat knife. Then imagine that there was more than one of these rats. Well imagine no more because they have already arrived!

Allen stood up quickly and faced the three monsters. He breathed heavily as he glared at them one by one.

"No one else followed huh? Good! Let's do this!"

He surveyed the surroundings to verify that there were no other rats approaching. He then tossed aside his backpack on the ground. He readied his stance. He clenched his fists.

Screech! Screech! Screech!

The three mutated rats rushed forward. It was not like they were waiting for Allen to agree in the fight. It was rather because they had to change their stance from sprinting to attacking. It just happened that they required a few seconds to transition.

One of the rats attacked Allen from his right side. The other one attacked his left side. The last one rushed straight towards him.

[Fire Fist: Pugilism]!

Flames emerged on both of his fists. He was currently facing a mutated beast and he was also outnumbered. There was no need to hold back at all.

Left jab! Right jab!

Allen punched the rats in left to parry its tackle. He also did the same to the one in the right. But he was now open in the front.

Slam!

The one in the front him had successfully landed his tackle. The impact had almost made Allen lose consciousness. Unfortunately, the attack did not end with a simple tackle.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

"Aaargh!"

The pain of being slashed by the dagger-like teeth had prevented Allen from completely fainting. But sometimes it was more painful to stay awake than falling unconscious.

Allen tried to push away the mutated rat. He pushed hard and the counter force resulting from his push had made him stumble down. He fell down the ground.

Roll, roll, roll.

Allen quickly stood up. He could not afford to stay down. But the three mutated were already in position.

And thus the attack pattern started all over.

Slam!

"Aaargh!"

Roll, roll, roll.

Slam!

"Aaargh!"

Roll, roll, roll.