Heading Out!

Those that have chosen to be on his side were few. None of the people who are considered "weak" have decided to join them.

Why would they join a group where they will be treated as a nuisance? It was simple, those stronger in his group mainly decided to go with him.

Rosa, Harry, Rick, Chris, Amber, Kaylee, Gavin, Tony, Aria, and Mary. A total of 10 people not including Baladan had chosen to stay with him. Of course this meant they couldn't take all the supplies they brought, if they did that then a riot would start in the gym.

Those people they consider weak might swarm them like the horde from before. Except this time their opponents could actually think where to hit and if they had abilities, it would be even worse for the group.

With them moving their beds over to the corner they each decided to have a private chat.

Bal: "Ok then, I think we need to make a ranking system. I have came up with an idea for the first 4 rankings, with me being the leader I will name those who follow me with a special title. The first 4 ranks will be named the four horsemen of the apocalypse! With me being Death, Harry being Famine, Rick being Conquest, and Chris being War!"

The 3 of them had mixed emotions about this, with Chris and Rick enjoying their titles Harry was a little on the fence about being named "Famine"

Harry: "W-Why am I famine? I am a little confused about that…"

Bal: "Look at it this way Harry, I am Death. With my nickname as the Grim Reaper back then it should be like this right? Well Rick is conquest, with all the girls he has been with and everything it's only natural for him to be "conquest." Chris on the other hand, he is war because of his temper! You say something wrong he's ready to throw hands on a moments notice!"

For now Harry was slowly understanding why they had been given those names. Though it made him laugh a little for his reasoning but it was still understandable.

Bal: "Now we only have 1 horseman left, that's part of the reason you got it but then I started thinking of your ability. Famine usually means a shortage of something right? Well then with your shadow ability wouldn't it only be possible with a shortage of light? I know it's a bit of a stretch but I do think it fits some what at least"

He only sighed a little, he understood that with there only being 1 horseman left he was bound to keep that name but hearing the explanation made him feel a little better.

Harry: 'Shortage of light huh…'

Rick: "Well if we are going with that then what should we name our group?"

Bal: "Uhhh… I'm not really good with names like this but how about The Stray Reapers? I don't know if it's good or not but it can work for now"

(If you want to help pick out a cool name for their group send a comment with a name I could use ^^)

While they had been talking Rosa had been sitting on a bed near them meditating. She seemed to be following the tutorial and using this free time to prepare by absorbing mana to increase her max.

———

Bal: "Hey Chris can you take first watch. I don't trust Ryder for even a second! If he's going to try something then it will be while we are still here!"

Chris: "Of course I will! I wouldn't be able to sleep with all these people looking over at us with hateful glares anyways. Granted the privacy curtains help but… I feel like I'll get stabbed in the middle of the night if I close my eyes for even a second…"

He had been more sensitive to these kinds of things. In the past he even saved Baladan when one of the gang had turned into a rat and tried to take out Baladan for a rival gang! That day he was always feeling something had been off, if he didn't trust that feeling that day Baladan might have been dead by now.

Bal: "Ok then, I'll trust you to watch for a bit. I'll swap out with you or one of the horsemen will in a little bit"

Instead of sleeping right away after leaving Chris he decided to start transferring his Mana and Death Energy into Pure Mana. He had wanted to hit the maximum as soon as possible, with Rosa absorbing Mana he decided to join her.

Chris had sat there watching the group from the stands. His back to a wall he kept an eye out for any suspicious movements from the group of weaklings.

Fortunately nothing seemed to happen, that was until from underneath the bleachers a single word was spoken to him.

???: "Sleep"

Instantly his eyes felt heavy, his mind began to slip as he struggled to stand. Finally he stood up while fighting back against the sudden assault from Ryder's Command. Finally his mind gave in making him pass out before falling forward with large bashing sounds as he began to fall down the bleachers!

At that moment the sound of a tongue clicking could be heard before the person left their hiding spot. With the unexpected resistance to the Command the person got away quickly as Harry got up with Rick to see what the sound was coming from.

When they found Chris bruised from the fall they took a look around the dark gymnasium. Without seeing any moving shadows they picked up Chris and moved him to a bed before both of them started their search.

Rick had stayed back with his sword and armor out, the man wasn't taking any chances! Harry on the other hand touched his hand on the floor, with it being too dark to see in the room no one could see what he was doing but he knew clearly what was happening.

Harry: "I as the commander of shadow demand your help. Rise my shadow and do my bidding! [Shadow Summon Minion!]"

With those words a being akin to an actual shadow mixed in with the darkness before going out to search and watch the people laid across the floor and bleachers.

With his minion out there protecting them he went back to the others. He was sitting close by on a bed with the curtains open. Now that he was up he couldn't just feel safe enough to go back to bed especially with someone who would cause Chris to pass out and fall like that!

Harry knew Chris very well, the man couldn't let his guard down for a second when he is near an enemy. It wouldn't surprise him if Chris had stayed up all night watching the 600 individuals making sure him and his friends are safe from harm.

Rick: "I will say this now, to those who are still awake out there thinking of doing something to us I have a warning. If you step too close to our area I will be the first to cleave you in half, you have been warned"

———

With Rick and Harry on guard Baladan didn't need to come out after Chris fell. Instead he spent his time absorbing Mana and changing his energy to Pure Mana. He wanted to be completely ready before heading out into the town.

[Congratulations! You have completely changed your energy to Pure Mana! Removing Mana and Death Energy from Status]

Pure Mana: 41 —> 100 (100)

[Congratulations! Your Aura has passively increased your stats! +5 to all physical stats]

[Status]

Strength: 21/26 (+5 Jacket)

Agility: 19

Health: 21/36(+15 hood)

Stamina: 20/25 (20) (+5 Jacket)

Feeling the boost to his stats he felt more energized as he got out of bed. The first thing he did was count everyone, what he saw made him frown.

Bal: "Where is Gary?"

Harry: "Oh, he got a call on his phone then got up saying he was heading for the bathroom. I don't know what is taking him so long but he's been up for an hour or so"

Bal: "I'm going to go check on him. Keep an eye on the group I'll be back in a second"

He walked away from the group before opening up the bathroom door. There it looked empty but with Gary in one of the stales he walked over before knocking on the door.

Bal: "Hey man you good? You have been gone for an hour"

Gary: "Uhhh… huh? W-where am I? What, oh! Wait I remember… I-I'll come out now"

His mind was a mess at the moment, he must have fallen asleep on the toilet some how. When he stood up an image appeared in his mind.

Gary: 'Why am I seeing the principle?'

He had no idea what was going on but all he knew was the more it happened the more his head hurt! The more he tried to remember why he came in here the more pain he was put through.

Gary: 'Let's just stop thinking about all that…'

Bal: "You good?"

Gary: "Yeah I'm fine"

———

Ryder had been laughing his ass off in the office situated in the gymnasium. He couldn't help but smack his knee as he thought about what happened.

Ryder: "Aura huh! So that's your secret to power! Fine then I'll also get it and put you in your place boy! It's a good thing I had a copy of the files here, if I didn't I wouldn't have been able to command that boy so easily! You wanted to make an enemy out of me now when I get strong enough I'm going to beat you in the ground as I make you watch as I fuck all those women in your group right in front of you!"

Carson: 'Man, this guy is crazy. I wish I could leave but I won't, I'm not leaving! He currently has more people and the equipment I need. If only that Baladan fellow had something like that, if he did I would have left as well.'

He sighed before walking away from the office door to continue his experiments.

———

Bal: "Pack up! We won't be able to bring the beds so take the backpacks and fill them up with essentials! If we can find a car working out in the parking lot we will strap a couple beds to it and drive slowly through the city till we find a safe place for the night!"

With that they gathered everything they could carry before heading out into the blood soaked battlefield looking for undamaged cars. With the horde having just come through here many of the cars had been damaged or destroyed from the bird falling on them.

Bal: 'Let's hope we can find a truck. I wouldn't want to sleep on the floor that's for sure'