Stay Safe

"Now, what do I need to do?" Aezir thought audibly. "Aha!"

Aezir quickly moved to the backyard of his home. There, a vast grassland can be seen. There were a few trees here and there, but not enough to be called a forest. This is common in provincial residences in the Philippines, especially those that are not yet urbanized.

"Time to dig."

For the rest of the day, Aezir spent most of his time digging underground. He was only 17 and was alone, so it took him about 8 hours of on and off work before he finished digging a pit large enough for him and his supplies to fit. He reckoned that the underground is the safest place to be since infrastructures there are some of the safest places in the event of an earthquake. Additionally, this will also save him from the incoming storms. He was not afraid of floods since he was in Trece Martires City, Cavite. A city in his province is situated at a higher altitude than other parts of his region. He figured that if he would be drowned in a flood underground, he would still be inside his house. However, he still did not dare to be carefree and spent the whole night digging a canal that moves the water flow around his made-up basement.

Alas, exhaustion kicks in, and Aezir inevitably falls asleep out on the ground.

"So bright," Aezir complained. "Damn!" He exclaimed upon a sudden realization. He could not help but run back home to see what time was on his old phone passed down to him by his dead mother. He rushed to his house and picked up his black phone beside the stove-top.

11:27 am

"I slept through the entire morning!" Aezir could not help but lament all the time wasted. He swiftly fetched the casserole and started making rice. After putting it on the stove, he collected all the canned goods left. These were all he saved from working a night job in tandem with his studies. He could not help but praise him for storing food. After 30 minutes had passed, he ran back to his basement with his backpack containing the rice that he cooked and all the canned goods. Afterward, he spent the whole day polishing his hideout.

When the night came, he moved inside and covered the pit that he dug with the galvanized corrugated aluminum sheet (yero) from the roof of his house. Then there, inside, he lay with only his phone as the light source; he hugged his pillow as he snuggled in his blanket, waiting for the calamity to pass. As time passed, Aezir began to get sleepy. He ultimately shut his phone down, with the last thing shown on his screen being 11:27 pm.

"Woosh!" The violent tempest raged through the world. No country was spared from the might of countless typhoons that are without a doubt the strongest that are ever recorded in history. Volcanoes erupted left and right as the continents literally shook. Trees bowed, mountains broke, and even the ocean separated. The greatest disaster that modern society ever faced began. Humanity paid for its actions as nuclear power plants exploded left and right. Mass devastation that killed innumerable amounts of people happened across the globe. The surge of Mana caused the satellites orbiting around the Earth to fall back where they came from. In just three days, the thousands of years' worth of hard work of humanity were devastated in a span of three days.

May 4, 2022, 8:00 am

"At last," voiced Aezir while staring at his low battery phone. He wanted to get out and see the world, but his body did not permit him to do so. He swiftly fell asleep right after his mind calmed down.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" resounded under a pit with yero covering it. After a while, a man came out of it with large black rounds under his eye that he was covering with his hands. The dusty and soiled man walked out of the pit and faced the Sun despite its glare.

"Free at last!" He shouted with joy and excitement. When he finally opened his eyes, a devastated surrounding greeted him. The land was still wet from the rain, but it was not evident since it was covered by thick films of leaves. However, despite the destruction, Aezir could not help but utter, "How beautiful."

He was mesmerized by the look of the world. It seemed to be free and vibrant. He expected flames to be raging around. "I guess I am lucky because I came from a province with no nuclear power plant and from an area filled with trees instead of houses." He then proceeded to check his System.

***

Name: Aezir

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Attributes:

Strength: 1.3 => .8

Vitality: 1.6 => .7

Speed: 1.3 => .8

Mana: 0

Luck: 1

Note: Mana is not quantified based on the average of an Earthling but rather as a unit of amount.

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***

"Well, there is my exhaustion," he said. He knew very well that his stats would decrease, so he was not surprised. Aezir decided to remove his surname since he did not want to be part of his lineage. He was still bitter about his father leaving him, and his mother, although differently, still left him all alone.

***

Notification (1):

{Basic Quest: Stay Safe [Cleared]}

Clear Rank: S (Congratulations on clearing the quest without sustaining any injury from the disaster.)

Reward: S tier Beginner Pack (x1)

Notification (2): Congratulations! You obtained {Basic Title: Escape Artist}

[{Basic Title: Escape Artist}

Description: With little to no resources at hand, you managed to escape the effects of the calamity unscathed. What an escape artist!

Effect (1): Unlock the stat "Agility."

Effect (2): Increases Agility and Speed by 1

Effect (3): When in a perilous situation, further increase Agility and Speed by 1]

Notification (3): The Shop had been unlocked.

Notification (4): Congratulations, Earthlings! You survived the calamity, hence triggering {Reward Quest: Soar to the Future}

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***

Aezir was delighted. All things went right for him. It crossed his mind, but he did not think that he would reach an S rank achievement. He assumed that it was an excellent rank since that is how the rankings on Earth work, and the System seems to base its actions on Earth's processes and norms.

"Soar to the Future, huh? Let me as well!"