It was the first time that Sarah saw Anichka lose her composure. Regardless of how many creatures had rushed at them or what type of mysterious item they found, her companion was always nonchalant and collected. But something had the diminutive girl freaked out.

“Sarah, you need to go there. We need to go there now!”

“Ani, you realize there is a literal horde of creatures between us and them, right?”

Same as on the second wave, they had decided to fight in a building close to the large group’s base. They stood on the second floor and a couple dozen orc corpses were strewn on the floor. Some of the creatures would often dislodge from the moving mass under them and rush the building. Sarah knew this was going to happen, but it still surprised her how the seemingly feral creatures could show such behavior.

“We need to, Sarah! I can feel it… He… He is going to die if we don’t do something!”

“He? Do you know someone in the group?”

Anichka looked down and Sarah saw the girl’s white cheeks flush.

“Look, sis. Your decisions have always been great, you know where things are, you know when and where to join the fights, and all that.” Sarah was fully decked out in riot gear. It had been one of Anichka’s finds. “But your current behavior is throwing me off. I had never seen you like this… so freaked out. And over someone? A dude? I thought I was getting used to your weirdness and starting to figure you out, but this is a whole new level of bizarre when it comes to you.”

Sarah immediately regretted some of the things she said. Anichka stared at her with deep blue eyes, but Sarah couldn’t figure out what the girl was feeling.

‘Shit. Was I too hard on her?’

Anichka took a deep breath.

“Miss Sarah. You trust my intuition, correct?”

Sarah nodded.

“Good. My intuition is telling me that there is someone behind that barricade that is vital for our survival in the long run. His life is at risk and we must go save him.”

“Now, that is much better. Let’s get moving then, we have a lot of these things to kill.”

Sarah spoke as a few of the orcs rushed them through the stairs. She cut them down with practiced ease. Her sword skill had already increased from (Initiate) to (Beginner) after two more days of fighting and practicing. She had also levelled up and was training like a madwoman. She had gained three stats on the last two days by training, two in dexterity and one in strength. She had been an agile fighter, so her natural stat was high, but she could feel she was at the verge of breaking into the eighth point.

She initially hadn’t cared about the system or the stats, but when she found she could raise them by training, she couldn’t resist. She had always been a training addict, though she was at a point in her career when it was taking her months or even years to see any significant difference. But in this place it took mere two days for her to feel stronger. She felt thrilled.

They left the building and the street opened before their eyes. The density of creatures had greatly decreased since the beginning of the wave, but they were still coming.

“Stay close, Ani! This is going to be rough.”

Sarah felt the girl holding tight on a piece of her armor. She moved around the edges of the street silently cutting any creature that came at her or stood in the way. The orc’s flesh offered barely any resistance to the sharpened edge of her sword. Sarah still preferred to use her arms and legs, but she couldn’t deny the practicality of the weapon. It took Sarah almost two minutes of intense cutting before she reached the barricade. It was a loose assembly of furniture, but it had been toppled at some point.

More creatures seemed to finally catch onto their presence and started rushing them. Anichka stood between her and the wall of a building. Sarah cut and kicked the creatures, if she allowed them to pile on, it was going to make things really hard. Anichka didn’t have the mobility to move properly in a fight, which made things extra hard for Sarah. She welcomed the challenge.

“Miss Sarah, we need to cross the barrier. I can feel we are running short on time.”

“A little bit busy here.” Sarah decapitated an orc that lunged at her. “You need to remove some of that rubble so we can cross.”

Sarah was so focused on keeping the creatures at bay that she failed to pay attention when Anichka crossed the barrier by herself. When she caught sight of the girl and her backpack on top of the pile of broken furniture it was too late to intervene. Sarah wanted to say something, but she could only manage a shout as she had to cut an orc and kick another. 

Without Anichka to protect, Sarah made her way towards the barricade. Sarah stood beside it, trying to put a foot on the thing, but it would be almost impossible to fight on such uneven ground. She would have to either turn her back to the creatures and hope she could make it over the rubble before them, or stay put. Sarah worried about her companion’s safety. She had crossed alone and by the sound of things there had been trouble. Sarah took a deep breath, she was going to run for it. This whole thing was insane, but she drank into the adrenaline.

“Miss Sarah, here, quick!”

Anichka’s voice distracted Sarah and a creature bit her shoulder, but the riot gear was tough, tougher than it should’ve been. Sarah barely registered any pain. She pummeled the creature's head with her free hand and looked at the long plank that now stood on top of the barricade. The creature let go of her shoulder, head split open, and Sarah pushed it toward its oncoming brethren. With one broad step and a jump she leveraged on the plank and fell to the other side with a somersault. A relic technique of her childhood as a gymnast.

Fresh blood oozed out of two dead creatures with knives in their foreheads. Sarah turned and looked at Anichka, wide eyed. Paying more attention to her companion, she saw that Anichka had a belt across her chest with some throwing knives. Two slots were empty.

“Did you-”

“We don’t have time to waste, Miss Sarah. Later.”

Anichka jogged while her large backpack wobbled on her back. Sarah frowned, but followed. Somehow, the area after the barricade was mostly empty. There were some climbing it, but they were far too clumsy to pose any immediate threat. Sarah saw a mass of them banging the reinforced windows and trying to break through the central building, but the defenders seemed to be holding well. She wondered why Anichka was in such a hurry, everything seemed to be fine. Anichka made a sharp turn and Sarah finally understood the hurry.

Further down the street a mass of creatures huddle on top of something. They clawed and bit, even when they were shoved, others would fight for the space. There were easily a dozen of them, but it was hard to count when they were so tightly packed. Anichka picked up her pace and Sarah was sure she heard a squeal.

“Sarah, there! He is there!” Anichka pointed frantically toward the assembled mass of orcs.

Sarah didn’t answer, she sprinted like a cannonball, hurling herself towards the mass of creatures. Now that she understood what she had to do, Sarah was laser focused. She was too afraid of using her sword and somehow cutting the person underneath. She used her momentum to tackle the creatures who were trying to find space, instantly clearing almost half of them. They fumbled to get their feet under them, but Sarah easily recovered her balance. 

With uncanny precision, Sarah delivered blows to the back of the head of the creatures who still clung to whoever was under. She kneed one to the face when it turned to look at her. The creature's mouth had a piece of flesh and dripped blood. Anichka soon approached and Sarah turned to the creatures that she had tackled earlier. They were already rushing at them.

Skidding to a sudden halt, Sarah saw as Anichka dropped her backpack and started pushing the unmoving creatures. She couldn’t keep looking, but she was curious to see who was under that pile. The remaining orcs rushed at her, but this was too easy now. She cut them down in mere moments. Anichka’s low voice carried emotions Sarah didn’t expect to see from the girl. She turned to see what was happening and the girl was practically sobbing. 

A battered, bitten and torn young man lay on the floor as Anichka pulled a vial with silvery liquid. Sarah stared at the liquid sloshing in the glass vial, it seemed to flow. Anichka muttered something under her breath as she pushed it down the throat of the injured man. It was hard to tell how much of the blood on the floor was his, but with the way he bled and the amount of wounds, Sarah thought him a lost cause.

Whatever was going to happen, Sarah knew there was nothing she could do for the man. Protecting Anichka was the only thing she could do. Turning to face the still coming creatures, Sarah realized that they were largely ignored. The wave had become a trickle, stragglers that were late to the carnage. One or two turned to them, but they were far and in between. A few minutes had passed when she heard a coughing fit from behind her. Quickly dispatching the last creature, she turned and looked in shock at the visibly closing wounds on the man’s body.

---

“Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die. Please, don’t die, don’t die…” I heard someone muttering. Was I hallucinating? Probably. Was I dead? Most likely. I opened my eyes and saw an angel. Deep blue eyes, white skin and blond hair cascading down her red flushed cheeks. Had a Valkyrie come for me?

She was almost crying, wet eyes peering straight at me. I instinctively raised my hand and touched her cheeks. Her warm skin was smooth, and she held my hand. Tears streaked down from her eyes and into my bloody fingers. Slowly, my senses were coming. First there was a muted sense of pain, like some far away part of me was hurting a lot. Like a car coming from a distance, the pain got increasingly louder. 

Eventually I couldn’t help but groan in misery. Everything hurt, everything. I looked at my mangled hand as the skin knitted itself and the bones slowly fell into place again. A flashing message under my vision coerced me into giving it some attention.

[You are under the effects of (Minor Healing Potion).]

I understood that there was no angel and I was quite alive, the pain convinced me so. The girl spoke to me, but I was too focused on the pain to understand. I squirmed and groaned, but I could feel that my body was slowly remaking itself. Then it ended. There was no flashing message and the pain subsided, but I still hurt everywhere. The girl spoke again and I could finally make out her words.

“Leo, spend your point in vitality. You need to reach 10 points.” She repeated a few times, until I finally understood the meaning. I finally recognized her, she was backpack girl. I ignored the fact that she knew my name, and all the other questions.

“I don’t have any points left.” I was laying with my head on her lap, and I was suddenly uncomfortable by this. She seemed worried, but not bothered by our current proximity.

“You have leveled up, Leo. You have two points to spend.”

I was about to rebuke her, but I decided to check my sheet before I answered. I had been so focused on the fight it was possible I missed the level up message. Did I miss it? I did. I was level three with two points to spare.

“Vitality. You need to get to 10 vitality or you won’t survive.”

Things were happening too fast. I thought I was dead a minute ago, now I had leveled up and this girl was telling me where to spend my points? Even in my confusion, I knew I had to take pause here. 

‘The suggestion of spending in vitality isn’t against my plans, and the idea of surviving is incredibly enticing, but why are they here and helping? And why did this girl care so much?’

I sat up and put a half an arm distance between us. I think she was suddenly aware of how close we have been, because her body language became very uncomfortable. I was about to say something when she spoke before me.

“I know you have a lot of questions, and I know you are confused. But you need to trust me. I know this feels like too much too fast, but I am trying to save your life. The potion I gave you earlier merely closed the wounds, but you still lost too much blood and you were exposed to too much of their saliva. You need to increase your vitality, or you will die in the next two days.”

I stared at her in silence. I was tempted to take her word for it, she had just saved my life, why was I hesitating so much? Then I realized how angry I had been, how furious. It still burned inside of me, screaming to be let out. It made me suspicious of her, when she had done nothing but save my life and offer me advice that fell in line with my original plans. I pushed all that anger and suspicion down.

“Please, Leo.” She reached her hand to touch me, but stopped herself halfway.

“I will do as you say.” I grabbed her retreating hand. “Thank you for saving me. But I still have a lot of questions for you, backpack girl.”

She looked at me with an amused expression, I was afraid she might be offended by the nickname, but I had to break this somber mood. I think Noah’s infectious personality was starting to rub on me. I opened my stats sheet again. Despite the pain, I felt more relaxed now.

[Name: Leo

Level: 3

STATS

STR: 6 VIT: 9

DEX: 5 AGI: 7

WIL: 5  MAG: 0

SKILLS

Throwing (Initiate); Hand-to-Hand Combat (Beginner); Dodge (Proficient); Running (Proficient); Submission (Proficient); Club Fighting Style (Initiate); Spear Fighting Style (Beginner);

MAGIC

Language(Passive);]

Reading through it I realized I had also missed when my spear fighting had increased again, from Initiate to Beginner. Not wanting to waste too much time, I spent a point in vitality and was flooded by the system.

[Your status (Vitality) has reached 10. Please choose a deviation.]

[Improved Endurance.]

[Improved Health.]

[Improved Regeneration.]

I focused on each one and started to read their system descriptions.

[Improved Endurance:

Increases the influence of Vitality on your stamina.]

[Improved Health:

Increases the influence of Vitality on your life force.]

[Improved Regeneration:

Increases the influence of Vitality on your recovery speed and rate.]

The three choices were good. Vitality really did encompass several aspects of my body. I was tempted to choose Improved Endurance, and I almost did, if not for the girl who sat beside me.

“Regeneration. Pick regeneration.”

‘How did she know? But more importantly…’

“Why? Will I die if I don’t?”

She bit her lips.

“You won’t die, but Regeneration is the best of the three.”

“How do you even know that?”

“Just… trust me, okay?”

She did save my life and all, but I wasn’t about to make such a big decision based on her opinions alone. I hadn’t given much thought to it yet, but endurance did seem like the best option given the current trend of things. I turned my attention to the system’s message while she stared at me intently.

“Just do what she says already. She knows her shit, plus, we saved your life. If for nothing else, considering it paying the debt you owe us.”

I looked to my side and saw someone dressed in riot gear from head to toe.

‘How did I miss her?’

I recognized her face behind the visor, she was the muscle woman that I saw with backpack girl before the first wave hit. Even If I didn’t recognize her face, the sword was a glaring reminder.

“Miss Sarah, you don’t have to be so harsh.”

Backpack girl intervened and the mood suddenly felt very awkward. Muscle woman, Sarah, seemed positively surprised at the intervention. I chose not to get in between their exchange, but she did make a good point. It felt wrong to argue otherwise, even if this choice was a deeply personal one.

“I don’t know you, but you are right. I do owe you two that much at least. I will do what you advised me to.”

“Good, and can you fight? Cause I think the boss just arrived.”

I followed Sarah’s line of sight and saw a tall and muscular orc surrounded by a pack of a dozen of the skinny ones. For the first time, I had seen the anemic orcs doing something besides rushing. The creature in the middle held what I could only call a battle axe and he frothed at the mouth. Frothed. He slowly advanced toward the main building.

Choosing Regeneration without further hesitation I grabbed my spear. It was an arms length away from me, skewering a dead orc. A tingling sensation took over my entire body, it reminded me of when I increased in strength, but much more muted. Almost imperceptible.

I stood up and so did backpack girl. She seemed to want to help me up, but kept her distance. I smiled at her and stretched my body. It was painful, and I was tired, but I could fight. I tried not to look at myself too much, I was probably looking awful.

“Are you sure you can fight?” The question came from Sarah.

“Yeah. It’s painful, but I can still move.”

“Good. Let’s get moving, that one is going to be a juicy challenge.”

I am not sure if I agreed with her assessment, but I followed. I had been suppressing my anger and frustration, it would be good to have somewhere to let it out. And that creature seemed like it could take all of it.

---