Maria's Reasons

As they made their way back to the medical center, Rael couldn't help but reflect on the path he had chosen. His act of betrayal had propelled him into a position of power within Donovan's group, and with the newfound skills and items, he was on the fast track to becoming a formidable survivor in this post-apocalyptic world.

'The lie I've woven managed to make those guys let their guard down against me. And all I had to do was swing my sword around for a bit. Why are humans so dumb?'

'Was I really that good with my act? They didn't even ask me if I was a guard or not, all I had to do was wear these clothes and they believed I was one of them.'

Shaking his head, Rael didn't give it much thought anymore. Maria and Ron who were beside him looked at each other but didn't say anything. They knew better than to interrupt Rael's mood.

Rael needed to stay vigilant and continue to build his strength and connections, so he would be prepared against any threats that might arise in the future.

Upon reaching the medical center, the group was met with a mix of relief and concern from their fellow survivors. Rael chose to play the hero, relaying the story of their valiant battle against the zombies and the 'rogue' guards, conveniently omitting his role in their demise.

"I'm just glad you made it back alive. We were extremely worried about you and Maria, since it's already been a few hours since you two left." It was Robert who spoke, it seemed that he and Rick got closer during these few hours.

"It's not something worth mentioning, also, these supplies can help us for a while. We tried to take everything we could, but the thought of getting cornered by the zombies prompted us to return."

One couldn't find any flaw with Rael and his process of thought, since everything he said sounded so logical.

But from a different standpoint, it was also full of flaws. How could he or the other two, Maria and Ron, remain unscathed?

Why was it that the guards died and they were perfectly fine?

As the group settled in and tended to their injuries, Rael knew that he had to be double careful in the future. After learning that the zombies could evolve, Rael was not only a bit more reserved in his actions, but also excited about the prospect of fighting a super powerful zombie.

"Maria, can we talk about something?" Asked Rael. He was curious about Maria's motives of following him in the first place, but knowing that she didn't complain about his actions, not even once, made him feel suspicion about her.

Seemingly knowing why Rael wanted to speak with her, Maria quickly agreed and the two left the room without anyone seeing them.

Going to another secluded room, Rael casually took a seat before inviting Maria to stay in front of him, "I have something to ask you. Since you didn't seem to be too surprised about my past decisions, what is your true goal?"

His eyes were filled with profound curiosity as he asked this.

Maria seemed to ponder Rael's words for a while, she seemed unsure of what to say, proof being the sweat that started to accumulate on her forehead," To be honest with you, since the first time I saw you, I thought you were cool. Also, the speed and power you showed when kicking Matthew made me gasp; it was then that I knew you are not normal."

"Not in a bad way! I mean…you seemed to hide your power and intentions. So I became curious about you, and not only that, I used to play a lot of games before so I may know a thing or two about a 'System'."

"Taking all these factors into consideration, something inside me screamed to follow you. I knew that by doing that my future would change, and I could get myself a backing during this Apocalypse."

Breathing a sigh of relief after finishing her words, Maria nervously glanced at Rael, afraid that the man would get angry at her after hearing her true thoughts.

Especially the part of using him to secure her safety, this was no different than saying 'carry me' for no good reason. The woman knew how shameless she sounded, but at the same time, Maria also decided to come clean with Rael and wait for his verdict.

"Good answer. From now on, just listen to me, and don't trust anybody else. You're officially a part of the team. You can partially trust Ron, because he's afraid of me."

"I'm currently in a sort of an alliance with Evan and his two lackeys, Jacob and Sofia, but they are only going to follow that prick's orders. So you don't have to bother with them. I'll personally take care of the situation, depending on how their final response to my 'kindness' would be."

For a reason, Maria shivered, she knew that Rael was basically condemning their fate as if playing a game, but she couldn't do anything about it.

Her own life was more important to her than a stranger's. So she would act like a good girl and follow Rael's orders, no matter what. Even if he had some other requests from her, other than loyalty…

"I understand that, you don't have to worry about me. I'm ready to follow you wholeheartedly, without question." Smiling as she said this, even Rael was a bit caught off guard by Maria's beautiful smile.

He didn't have the mood to check her appearance before, but now that he thought about it, Maria was a top class beauty. Her curves would be enough to entice any other man into wanting to make Maria theirs.

But Rael wasn't any other man, he was a psycho that loved to corrupt and manipulate people to do his bidding, not to mention his newly discovered passion for killing.

'I'll think about other problems later, for now, I just want to sleep for a while.' Thinking so, Rael told Maria a few other things before telling her to leave him alone so he could rest.

After Maria left the room, Rael checked his System once more to see his new gains after killing so many people and zombies.

[System's Interface]

**Character Profile**

[Name]: Rael Hamartia

[Bloodline]: None

[Level]: 8

[Experience Points](XP): 9144/25600

[Title]: Slayer

**Attributes**

- Strength: 26(+9)

- Stamina: 27(+10)

- Intelligence: 19(+6)

- Agility: 29(+8)

- Perception: 24

- Attribute Points: 0

**Bloodline Abilities**

- None.

**Skills**

[Common Skills]: Slash.

[Uncommon Skills]: Dash.

**Inventory**

[Weapons]: Uncommon Sword

[Equipment]: Uncommon Shoes. Rare Luscious Armor. Uncommon Gloves. Uncommon Pendant.

**Quest Log**

- Main Quest: Survival

- Objective: Survive the next 24 hours.

- Reward: Unique Skill.

- Side Quest: None

- Objective:

*Skills Upgrade Menu*

- Slash(Common) - (100 XP) needed to level up.

- Dash(Uncommon) - (1000 XP) needed to level up.

'That's completely different from ten hours ago when the world was thrown into chaos. And I'll continue to make it different each time I'm going to check on it.'

Nodding to himself for doing a good job in such a short time, Rael finally had time to lean for a bit on the sofa inside the room and close his eyes.

After so much hard work, a good sleep was needed…