New Journey
Adam sat on the porch and observed the rising sun. His thoughts went to his family and he hoped that they were watching the sun as well.
He would be on his way shortly and hopefully reach them quickly.
For now, there were some things he needed to check though. Adam took out his cell phone. It had stopped working since the Impact. There was nothing wrong with it on the outside.
Adam pried open the back panel of the phone and immediately understood that there was no way for it to work ever again. The inside of the device was covered with black, sticky soot. The delicate electronics were half-melted and distorted.
Adam wasn't an expert but he didn't believe that such damage could be created by a mere shockwave. Something more was at play here. The first thing that came to his mind was the Ouroboros System of course.
He hoped that it didn't destroy all electric devices though or he wouldn't have a reason to search for a car.
The other thing he wanted to check was his Status window. Adam recalled that after the fight on the bridge he got another message from the system. He concentrated for a second and there it was, right before his eyes.
As he inspected the screen, he noticed that the attribute values had changed.
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[STATUS WINDOW]
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[RACE - HUMAN (AWAKENED)
[LEVEL - 2]
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[ATTRIBUTES]----------[AFFINITIES]
[Strength: 13]----------[Strength: B]
[Dexterity: 12]----------[Dexterity: B]
[Constitution: 14]------[Constitution: A]
[Perception: 12]--------[Perception: S]
[Mind: 16]--------------[Mana: SSS]
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[LEGACIES]
[Blood (Greater)]
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[SKILLS]
[Blood Manipulation (Novice)]
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His Constitution and Perception both increased by one and his Mind stat increased by three. He could guess the role of the first two, with Constitution being some kind of endurance measurement and Perception having something to do with his senses. The meaning of the last Attribute eluded him though.
He concentrated on his surroundings and could immediately confirm that the increase in his Perception had affected his senses.
He had experienced it after slaying the Tainted woman and after the fight on the bridge but hadn't paid any attention to it then. Now though, the change was obious.
The world was brighter and sharper. He heard the faint noises of the Tainted coming from the distance, and smelled the stench of corpses floating all around.
Adam closed his eyes and tried to focus on this new arcane sense that had awaken inside him during the Impact. He felt it almost instantaneously.
A low noise at the back of his head, a slight nudging that irritated his mind, a gentle flow that moved slowly through his body. It was something entirely new and he wasn't sure how to describe it properly.
He realized that this feeling had been present the whole time after he had woken up on that square. He had just been too occupied with trying to survive to take notice.
A sudden noise woke Adam up and his newfound sixth sense once again vanished into the depths of his mind. His ears picked up a new sound in his surroundings, a flapping of wings.
He opened his eyes and saw a pair of pigeons looking at him from the top of the street lamp situated at the corner of the street.
He looked at the animals, noticing that they were bigger than the common representatives of the species.
"Don't tell me you have followed me from the bridge?" Adam asked the critters rhetorically.
"Cooo!" One of the pigeons answered.
He could swear that the pigeon's beak curved into a mocking smile and its eyes flashed with a green glint for a second before both birds took flight in the direction of the highway.
"Ha, I guess I will meet you there!" Adam laughed. "Talking with a bird, I'm going insane."
He took his belongings and went into the house. It was time to say goodbye.
Adam left the village and reached the highway. It was as Mark had told him. The entryway was blocked by a number of abandoned cars, two of them, a light truck and a passenger car, crashed into each other.
When he came closer, Adam saw the bloodied corpses in and around the smaller car. They all had died in the collision. The driver of the truck was still alive though, at least in some fashion.
He became Tainted. The monster was stuck in the driver seat, its torso pinned to it by the steering wheel. It growled from time to time and when Adam approached it, began to stare at him with hunger in its eyes.
Adam observed the creature for a while and wondered if there was anything human left in it. He recalled what he had told Ted on the bridge. That the Tainted were no longer humans.
He didn't truly believe it and even now he was subconsciously looking for any traces of intelligence, emotions or humanity that might still lingered in the Tainted before him.
"So, this Ouroboros wants me to kill you. Or you to kill me. I'm not sure on whose side it is." Adam looked at the Tainted with a sad smile on his face. "If I'm right it will even reward me for doing so. Make me stronger. Survival of the fittest at its finest, don't you agree?"
Adam hopped onto the step below the vehicle door. He took out his new weapon from the backpack, a long hunting knife.
"I guess i Have no other choice. I need to get stronger, you see. I'll need it in this new world," Adam turned serious. He put his armed hand through the broken window. The Tainted growled and struggled against the wheel. Blood seeped from its wounded chest.
Adam put the knife against the monster's eye. Seconds passed and the blade didn't move. Sweat was accumulating on Adam's brow and his hand was shaking visibly. He struggled as his rational and emotional sides clashed against each other.
He finally stepped away from the truck and put the knife away. He couldn't do it. Even if the creature before him was no longer human. Even though it would die of hunger in just a few days, Adam couldn't just murder it in cold blood.
If he did, he would be no better than the Tainted.
Adam began his journey. There were at least eighty kilometers before he reached Cracow and reunited with his family.
"One step at a time," Adam thought to himself. He passed abandoned cars while walking along the side of the highway. Not one of them was in the state allowing Adam to drive it.
The vehicles were crached into the railings or each other, corpses in most of them. Adam guessed that their drivers must had blacked out when the Impact had occured and had lost control over them.
Adam finally got a chance an hour later. A lone car stood on the service strip at the side of the road. It was guarded by a Tainted though. It stood by the car unmovingly.
He immediately noticed the distinctive pale skin and black veins. Its clothes were stained with blood. Adam had to deal with it before he could approach the car.
It was to risky to fight it head on. Although he managed to kill a few Tainted already, he wasn't overconfident. He won the previous fiths not because of his abilities, but due to luck and help of other survivors.
He knew that the Tainted were stronger than normal people. He wasn't sure if they had obtained other abilities though. He wasn't willing to learn it the hard way. His life was at stake.
As such, he had to create an advantage. The creature didn't notice it so he could freely chose how to approach the fight.
The frist thing that came to his mind was to distract it and then ambush it. Adam checked the drainage ditch along the road. It was covered with bushes and he immediately noticed some loose stones along its lenght.
He could lure the Tainted to the ditch and easily dispose of it there. He could also use the ditch to circle the car and sneak upon the monster from behind.
Both approaches involved a meele fight though and Adam was hesitant to engage the Tainted in close distance. He would have to eliminate it in one hit if it came to that.
Adam thought about his skill. He used it for rudimentary healing so far but its name suggested that it wasn't its primary use. Adam decided to test the skill in combat.
There were no witnesses and only one enemy. Adam jumped into the ditch and sneaked closer to the Tainted. This way, if the skill didn't work, he would still have the chance to avoid detection and deal with the monster.
They were close now, separated only by the car. Adam saw only its head above the vehicle's body. It hung low, the beast seemingly asleep.
It was time to test his new powers.