Vol. 1 CH. 2 - A change...

 

Mark returned to the garage of the university with full effort while skimming through his collected drop items. Unfortunately, there were no recovery potions such as HP and MP potions to recover Mark's lost stamina and heal his wounds.

 

However, there was a large variety of bones and meat there. There were also some accessories and clothes along with few weapons. The gold he has increased slightly but he has no idea where to spend it. In any case, Mark went back to his hideout in order to stay away from the prying eyes of the school.

 

However, there were people following behind him. Unlike earlier when only two of his known acquaintances followed him, now there was about 20 of them which were his classmates from the same course and several just barely knew him.

 

They were following Mark for their protection but Mark had no energy left to spare to talk to them. Instead, he just ignored them while walking in order to save some stamina. His passive skill [Battleground] has long since ended its function.

 

But still, his classmates and several unknown students following him pursued him and followed him to his hiding place. For the time being, following him was their best bet of surviving.

 

"Hey Mark, tell us where did you get a weapon and did you kill those monster's?"

 

His classmate, Lyon asked him curiously about the method of gathering weapons and how to kill monsters. There was no way it was possible a gun would lose to a sword but after witnessing the event earlier, he didn't take any chances.

 

"Yeah, you killed those monsters like they were nothing!! How did you do that!!?"

 

"Come on, tell us!!"

 

Philip and Josh, another two of his classmates asked him persistently. They were trying to make Mark tell them his secret so that they can use what they learn in order to become heroes or leaders in the university. Sadly, they couldn't see that Mark was already exhausted and beyond past listening to their pleas. If anything, Mark wouldn't even tell them about the [UL] app even if they asked him too.

 

"Hey Mark, you alright there?"

 

A girl that Mark knows just last year asked him about his condition. Mark's state was terrible as he sustained wounds and fractures from the fight he did just earlier. Mark's uniform was torn here and there and blood was clinging to his body. It was plainly obvious that Mark was not in a proper state to hold a discussion.

 

Mark entered the garage through an open gate and sat on a corner them closed his eyes. His breath was terribly ragged thanks to his [Battleground] passive skill as it exhaust a fourth of his SP and cost him most of his MP.

 

Cornelia supported Mark's body who was already asleep by the time he sat down.

 

"He's out...."

 

"Looks like it"

 

"Well, with what he did earlier, it’s only normal right?"

 

"Definitely…Still, what we'll we do now?"

 

"Probably wait for him to wake up. The bugs here are gone and the breeze is terribly cool. There is still electricity powering the whole university so we can still manage"

 

"How about going back to the others?"

 

"They won't know we're gone anyway. We'll just wait here till Mark wakes up"

 

While the others were talking to each other, Cornelia was busy wiping off the blood on Mark's face. It was truly bad to sleep while drenched in blood and juices of the monsters he killed since he'd smell but as Mark was already asleep that was nothing to worry about.

 

Cornelia stood up and faced Ron, who was trying to reach his lover, who was back at main university lobby. He was worried that his lover would get mad if he went missing all of a sudden.

 

"Ron, do you have any idea where was Mark until earlier?"

 

"No, I don't. He went missing ever since the commotion in the lobby happened"

 

After the whole warping incident just this afternoon, most of the students were hiding in the classrooms they were using during their class. But since this world where they were taken to be unknown, most of the students got mixed up after Mark caused an incident back at the lobby.

Even if Ron wasn't there, the word has already spread before he could even see Mark's face. Cornelia took out her phone as well and looked at her empty phone registry.

 

"I still can't contact my parents"

 

"We all can't for some reason"

 

Despite numerous attempts of calling their families, the numbers they enter whenever they dial seems to always disappear. The cell service were obviously out and aside from having no contacts, they can register other phone numbers as well; like 911 or 110 to call for help.

 

"Do you think Mark knows anything about this place?"

 

"I don't know. Whatever the case, all we can do is wait. He was the only one that warned us to close the gates so he must know something"

 

And so, like that, Ron, Cornelia and the others stayed with Mark in the garage until he woke up....

 

-

 

"Nn...?"

 

For well over two hours Mark finally woke up. The feeling of fatigue and pain finally left his body and he finally regained his energy to move again.

 

"Hnn~"

 

Mark shook off the stiffness of his shoulders, back, and hips as he was asleep while sitting. His took off his uniform and did light stretches as he felt somewhat tight on his back. After doing stretches for two minutes, Mark heaved a sigh and checked on his phone.

 

"Yo"

 

But, a voice stopped him from doing so. A few meters away, his classmates were there, leaning on cars and sitting around as though waiting for something. His close friends, Ron, Cornelia, Ean and Earl was there as well, which made Mark question just how long did he slept.

 

Nevertheless, Mark returned with a greeting despite being dumbfounded with the current situation.

 

"Ron.... when did you guys get here?"

 

"Huh? Didn't you lead us here?"

 

"Did I? I don't remember anything besides fighting those monsters though..."

 

Mark was trying to recall as much as he can before he fell asleep earlier. However, as nothing came to mind, Mark just shrugged his shoulders and put back on his uniform. The shirt his was wearing was torn here and there as well, it was fine as long as he covers other parts.

 

Mark then turned to Cornelia, who was standing beside Ron with her hands crossed together.

 

"What is it?"

 

"Isn't it about time you tell us what you know about this world?"

 

"Huh? What do you mean?"

 

Mark has no idea what Cornelia was talking about or more like, he doesn't even get why almost everyone he knows in and out of his course was with him. Mark couldn't get any more clueless than he already was.

But Cornelia took that very differently.

 

"Don't act like a fool, Mark!! We saw what you did earlier and it's obviously not human like to move like that!!"

 

What happened earlier? Mark was fighting indeed but even a child would be able to take down those monsters with their slow movements. Even the people here would be able to kill one or two if they put their mind into it.

What's more, there was nothing to tell even if he wanted to. Everyone had their phones so it was even obvious that the [UL] should appear in their phones as well. Moreover, there was the message that was sent earlier. If that was sent to everyone then no one would be clueless about this world.

Mark's eyes narrowed as he felt he was being interrogated.

 

"I don't get what you're talking about..."

 

"Wha.... Are you trying to play dumb after seeing those people die?!"

 

As Cornelia shouted, Mark's classmates became all ears with the two's conversation. They were curious as to how Mark acquired his power. Because fighting an amount as great as earlier alone was a great feat no matter how you think about it....

 

Mark bit his lower lip and looked away from Cornelia's gaze...

 

"They died because they didn't listen. It’s their fault not mine"

 

"What....just what are...."

 

Mark said was obvious. He did give his warning but no one listened. It wasn't his job to force his opinions onto others and it wasn't his fault that they were too self-centered that they didn't even listen to one warning.

It was obvious that this world was a mystery and it was unknown what kind of beings lurks in the land of this world. More importantly, they didn't even read the message that was sent throughout everyone else. It wasn't Mark's fault that people died in today's incident.

 

Cornelia walked briskly towards Mark and slapped him on the face. With tears in her eyes as her emotions were slowly gushing forth, her uncontrollable urge to cry burst out.

 

"How can you say something so horrible?!"

 

"....."

 

"We don't what this world is and how did we even get here!! How can you say that to the people that only wanted to save us?!"

 

There was no way that the adults that tried to find out what this world was died in vain. Indeed, their work should be given credit as they sacrificed their lives just to look into what kind of place they were in.

 

But Mark bad mouthed them just because they didn't listen to his warning. Cornelia couldn't help but get mad at him who was selfishly hoarding information that could save everyone's lives.

Even so, Mark stayed silent. His words may be harsh but it was not him that should reflect in his actions....

 

"Say something!!"

 

"Cornelia, that's enough"

 

Finally, Ron came in between and held back Cornelia's shoulder. He too was getting angry but he was trying his best to endure his anger. Mark was a friend and if he took out his anger on him then he was way worse than a scum.

Cornelia's face cramped but she stepped back and calmed her emotions down...

 

"Dude, all of us here are scared. We can't even get a hold of our families from here. We don't know what will happen and after what happened earlier, we don't know if we'll even survive.... Mark, please at least tell us what you know?"

 

"Kh..."

 

Ron persuaded Mark, he was still feeling reluctant. But, Mark clicked his teeth and gave up. If any more than this should continue then Mark would just lose those important to him....

 

"Fine, I'll tell you guys..."

 

"Mark..."

 

"But, don't take it out on me when you realized that what happened wasn't my fault"

 

"Alright"

 

As Mark finally agreed, all of the people in the garage had their attention at Mark. They were wondering what kind of information Mark would sharing but hopefully, it would useful. If not, then Mark won't be as useful after all.

 

Then with a *Cough* Mark cleared his throat before speaking.

 

"First take all your phones out"

 

Heeding to Mark's words, everyone got their phones out. Mark looked around first to check if everyone did what he said. After confirming that no one failed to do what he said, Mark nodded before continuing his lecture.

 

"Next find the [UL] app, that should make you all receive a message"

 

Everyone gasped at what Mark said and started to curiously fiddle with their phones in a hurry. Then, one by one, sounds from everyone's phones chimed as they received messages with the same contents as what Mark received earlier.

After reading the contents, almost everyone was lost for words.

 

"This is...."

 

"Didn't I said it? It wasn't my fault those guys died"

 

"......"

 

Even Cornelia couldn't say anything. After reading the actual proof herself, she can't refute any of the blames she gave Mark. Her face showed how much regret she felt after blaming Mark and hurting him.

Mark continued after sighing once.

 

"The rest....you can figure it out as you go. It’s basically similar to a game so all of you should understand easily"

 

Saying so, Mark changed his clothes with the ones that were inside his inventory to his current one. A slim fitted sweater with black color. Everyone's eyes widened after seeing Mark changed.

 

"My part is done with this. All of you can figure out how the rest works right? I mean, you have played games in the past"

 

After leaving those words behind, Mark collected his stuff and left the garage. He didn't wait for everyone to stop him so left without trouble. There was also nothing left to teach everyone. This much information should suffice since everyone should get how games are played.

 

Like that, Mark left behind the guys that he once trusted. Leaving his connections severed for as long as he could manage.

 

♦♦♦♦

 

The next day, the news about the [UL] app spread. Thanks to the information Mark have given Cornelia and his classmates, almost all of the adults that heard Mark's warnings couldn't help but regret what they did to him.

Even so, this was a step up for everyone else who was inside the university. The students started leading groups of their own in order to level up outside the university. With the morning suddenly shining brightly and illuminating the whole place, everyone was able to go out safely and level up.

As for Mark's classmates, they made use of what they know and horded several spots by morning. They decided that staying with the others would be just lower their chances of survival so they lead a large group of students to survey the whole place.

 

Mark's map data was getting updated every time a new landmarl gets discovered. It seems that everyone's phone was connected with each other since the map data was getting updated every hour.

 

It was noon while Mark was out of the university, slaying monsters solo diligently and safely as much as he could in order to raise his level before anyone else.

 

His sword fighting style has improved and his attribute values have increased as well. What's more, Mark's passive skills were increasing steadily. It seems that traveling solo was the right idea.

 

Nonetheless, soloing was still dangerous on its own. With Mark by his self, there was no way for him to relax his guard. Danger lurks almost at every place and Mark couldn't just let his guard down even when there are no monsters around.

 

Mark left this morning. He left the university in order to see the whole place they were in. The map data was indicating the size of the place they were in but there was definitely a limit.

 

If this was a labyrinth and they were at the first floor, then there should be certainly a second floor. A staircase or an elevator should exist to reach the second floor right? Mark was betting on the chances where there was another floor here or a door at the edge of this place would exist.

 

Either way, Mark was travelling with finding the next floor in mind.

 

"But still, this place is really wide...."

 

The ceiling where he saw nothing but rocks yesterday was now blue with clouds in it. The wide plains and prairie as well as the numerous forests here and there made up the majority of the place.

 

What's more, the location where the guys that left yesterday was found and only blood trails were discovered there. The giant flesh monsters seemed to have eaten them as it was too dark to see yesterday.

 

Anyways, the whole floor of the Labyrinth was wide. Mark was using his Map menu to look at the whole place while making sure to be alert against surprise attacks. There was a considerable amount of distance from the university and where he was right now.

 

If he estimated, he was already walking four hours the distance he usually walks to and from school. It was twice the distance. Mark surely have walked far but for some reason, he wasn't tired at all.

 

In any case, Mark continued to walk until he found a ruined city. Moreover, it was an old ruin city that seemed to have come from a modern world. Just like earth's buildings, the ones here were made of steel and cement. Towering skyscrapers were leaning dangerously low and the lower height buildings were showing signs of crumbling.

 

It seems that, it has been hundreds of years since the city had been abandoned. Mark's vigilance rose up high as he entered the ruined city. He also took out a sword from his inventory.

 

"Now then, let's see what kind of world is this...."

 

Mark uttered so in a low voice as he entered the streets of the ruined city, whose age show the distance of time passed since it came to this world.

 

-

 

Back at the university, Cornelia and a bunch of the low level students and teachers were sorting out the food and drinks that was stocked within the school cafeterias.

 

In the university, there was three cafeterias available. One at the south end and two at the west end. Most of the food stocks here were untouched since yesterday since the whole incident cause a mass panic. Because of that, all the cooks’ food has gone spoiled and only the dried and canned foods were left.

 

Beverages were still enough to last everyone for two weeks or more if they shortened the portions they would be giving everyone.

 

The professors and staffs were discussing about what to do while they were in this world. There was a forest nearby so wood won't be a problem. There was a rocky plain a few kilometers away from the university so there was no problem with increasing the university's defense.

 

Water was still being searched but food can be found immediately as drop item from dead monsters. Because of that, they were in a hurry to decide on how they would go about at this time.

 

It was thanks to Mark's information that everyone was working today. Because he shared the things he found out first, everyone immediately fully understands how this world works. However as the ones that haven't played RPG games or relatively haven't played any games at all were having trouble leveling, they were being used as helpers in increasing the defense of the university.

 

For the time being, Cornelia's job was to lead the group that handles mostly the food and beverages in order for everyone to survive. Mark was missing since this morning. But with how she interacted with each other yesterday, it was doubtful that Mark would even cooperate with each other.

 

"Haah....just why is this happening.... "

 

Cornelia sighs as she kept sorting out the goods that were collected from the fridges that were still operating thanks to the working generator. The perishable goods such as meat and vegetables were being collected in one place so that they would be used for lunch later.

 

Things like dry goods like biscuits and chips were put in one place while the canned goods were separated on another place. Right now, Cornelia was among the many Food and Nutrition Technology students as well as the Hotel and Restaurant Management course students while sorting out the food and ingredients they could use for lunch later.

 

Cornelia was still unable to comprehend why this was happening to them. Even after reading the message she got after she opened the [UL] app, Cornelia still couldn't accept the situation they were in.

 

Luckily, there were still food but that won't last obviously. There are a lot of students and adults currently inside the university so the food they had would need to be saved until rescue comes.

 

The drop items that the [UL] app was talking about would be useful if food was to appear but according to the instructions she has read, food items were rarely dropped at all.

 

Anyways, Cornelia shoved her negatives thoughts in the deepest recesses of her mind and continued her work...

 

"Let see..... We’ll use the courtyard as a cooking station. The lobby is where the wounded would be placed so... I guess we'll just have the students bring their meals to their respective rooms..."

 

The president of the entire student council was murmuring under her breath as she calculates and guessed the amount of available places the students would be able to use as a place to eat. However, as there were some wounds after the attack yesterday and the court would be used as the cooking station, there was hardly enough space for everyone to rest on.

 

The university campus itself was big but it has its limits. There was even some part of the university that were restricted from students entering. As for the places where everyone can go, not much can be expected since the attack yesterday caused some walls and trees to block the driveways and were dangerous to stay on to. Currently, the workers on the new student building gladly patched up the broken walls so there were no dangers left.

 

Student body President, Clara McLaren, sighs as she immediately decided on how to work on the place where everyone could be accommodated.

 

"Clara, the sorting team is done. Are the home economics team finished setting up the kitchen?"

 

Cornelia walked towards Clara after wiping off the sweat dripping from her forehead. Clara then turned to Cornelia and called one student and asked about the H.E team if the kitchen was all set up. After a moment passed, Clara then returned to Cornelia and answered her question.

 

"Yes. It seems that the H.E. team have just finished setting things up in the courtyard. Please call for some people in taking the ingredients to the courtyard"

 

"Thank you"

 

After confirming so, Cornelia went back to work. Since it was already high noon and neither her nor everyone had breakfast yet, they hurried their work and went to the courtyard to start cooking.

 

-

 

Two hours later, the expedition team that was sent to survey the outside of the university finally returned. Most of them returned with injuries but no one died during their first expedition.

 

The Medical team led by the university's only Nurse was made to help the injured students. The ones that came back wearing good armors and weapon obviously the ones that took care of the monsters. Moreover, they only kept all the good drop items for themselves and used the lesser useful ones as fodders.

 

Almost all of the guys that came from Mark's class were the ones that were wearing good armor and using better weapons. Hardly of the other courses were wearing anything but their uniforms.

 

However right now, no one wants to bother making a scene out of that so no one even argued with how they act all high and mighty after they returned.

 

Maps were updated for everyone in real-time. Because of that, the current map was showing the forests, rivers, plains and prairies that weren't there yesterday. With this, a source of water was secured while some lands could be used as a good place to plant.

 

The survey team that was supposed to search for food such as fruits and wild vegetables were unable to find any. That might be because all monsters drop any items be it ordinary goods or raw foods.

 

It seems that even with the whole forest there, fruits can't be harvested.

 

Another two hours later, Mark came back. However, unlike the guys in his class wearing good armors and using better weapons, Mark was still wearing his black sweater with leather pants and iron sole boots. On Mark's back were three bags of iron head arrows and a long bow over his right shoulder. While on his waist were a short sword and three daggers.

 

It was enough to see that what he use were low quality ones. But even so, Mark was letting out an air that seemed visible to the naked eye. Mark felt like a true warrior compared to the others that were only showing off.

 

As Mark passed by the lobby that was being used as a healing ward, the eyes of his classmates were on him like hawks. However, Mark did not pay them any mind and just continued walking until he reached the courtyard.

 

The campus parking lots still have their cars so it wasn't that spacious around. But, the courtyard and the field right in front of the stage had enough space to hold an exhibition of skills during festivals.

 

In any case, Mark searched for the dean of the whole university in order to share the information he collected after venturing farther than expedition team. But, his efforts were in vain as he couldn't find her and just went to the courtyard where the Cooking teams were cleaning up their utensils.

 

Mark found Cornelia wiping pots and silverware on a makeshift sink.

 

"Cornelia, do you know where the dean is?"

 

"Eh? Ah... I think she and the other adults left to have a meeting... Wait, did you just returned?"

 

Cornelia was a bit surprised when Mark appeared but soon after her feeling of shock died down, she turned her attention to Mark who just arrived shortly.

 

"Yes. I just returned. Also, take care of these"

 

Mark pulled out crates of fruits, vegetables and raw meat from his inventory. The amount he pulled out was massive and it was enough to make a scene in the courtyard where there were still some students left cleaning the makeshift kitchen.

 

Seeing the multitudes of fresh fruits, vegetables and raw meat, Cornelia's eyes widened in astonishment.

 

"W-Where did you get all these....?"

 

"About four hours from here, there's an abandoned city. There's bunch of plant and tree type monsters there so I took the chance and slayed some. These crates of fruits and vegetables were the result of that"

 

When Mark entered the ruined city a while ago, Mark encountered a plant life of trees and plants. They were many so Mark too the chances of increasing the amount of food he could collect. Also, he wanted to raise his level as quickly as possible so he fought more until the ruined city became an abandoned one where even monsters doesn't exists anymore.

By the way, if one were to set their eyes at the northwest direction, there should still be a tiny smoke towering from there. Mark used fire in order to kill the plant and tree type monsters which then resulted in a great yield of fruits and vegetables.

 

"The raw meat.... they are a lot. Just where did you get them?"

 

"A few minutes away from the abandoned city, I found another university that came from our world...."

 

"?!"

 

Cornelia became lost for words as she couldn't believe Mark have said. No one actually knows where and what this world was but to find another place similar to theirs being taken to this mysterious world, even Cornelia couldn't say anything about it...

But, Mark's face doesn't have any color at all. It was as if he was drained out of blood as he averted his eyes and bit his lower lip. It seems that.... something wrong have happened...

 

"Wait... what did you see...?"

 

"It's best that I would share this to the adults. You guys won't be able to handle it..."

 

Mark didn't answer Cornelia. He merely turned his back and walked away until his ears couldn't hear the sounds of the people whispering behind his back. Quickly and briskly, Mark went to the garage where he was using as his base...