DubbAlina whistled the entire way back to the house. I would ask her to be quiet, but I didn't want to ruin her fun. My head was still filled with thoughts of that encounter.
Whatever attacked me had not been an ordinary rat, obviously. That was why it was called a 'mutant'. Perhaps it was created by some sort of genetic modification by freak scientists? Or maybe it was created when radioactive materials from a nearby factory was leaked. This world was similar to Earth- so perhaps that would explain it.
Sahar immediately left for the kitchen. I plunked all the supplies down on the kitchen table, then left for my room. I flexed my arms. Nothing seemed different after the levelup, I thought doubtfully. Did it even do anything?
“DubbAlina!” I called as soon as I was in my room.
“What?” She answered.
"I don't feel different." I said. "You said if I levelup, I'll get stronger."
DubbAlina was silent for a while. I wondered if she was still listening to me. Or maybe she was ignoring me. I hoped not. Since nobody else could see my status, she was the only person I could rely on right now. I heard her voice after a few seconds.
“I checked.” DubbAlina said. “Everything’s running smoothly. Oh, wait.”
DubbAlina sighed, then grumbled, “It’s cuz you’re such an oddball. Idiot. Why can’t I just have a normal host? Why does it have to be a bratty human?”
"Hello?" I said unhappily. "You didn't answer my question."
DubbAlina ignored me. Her voice sounded far away as she talked, "I thought you'll never kill anything." She mumbled, as if in a trance. "I thought I got the trash in the lottery. Trash beyond saving. Finally. Even if you aren't a normal host, you have to promise me, okay? To earn levels the normal way."
"The normal way?"
"Fighting, of course."
“So there is another way?" I asked. "If I do ever need levels?"
DubbAlina sounded almost disgusted. "Of course you need to kill to earn levels!" She snapped indignantly. "It's just that there are special circumstances, you know. Some prefer to seek the way by enlightenment. A slow and limited way. Takes forever."
"I don't need to kill things?" I repeated. "There is no point?"
DubbAlina's voice was firm, with a hint of concealed but visible delight, “You’ve never read a martial arts novel before?” She asked.
What was she talking about?
“All the enlightenment in the world doesn’t matter. If you want to level up, you need a brilliant close battle against a powerful person. Your victory will grant you status and power.” Her voice was dreamy.
DubbAlina had quite a bloodthirsty personality, I thought. I didn’t think it was healthy, but she was a system. Maybe it didn’t matter. She seemed to be in a great mood today after I killed my first thing. A mutant rat. My level had gone up, though I couldn’t feel anything different about myself, at least DubbAlina was happy.
I jumped up and down and stretched. Yep, there was little difference.
There was a knock. It wasn’t coming from my door. It was coming from the one at the entrance. The knock seemed magical. It rang through the entire house, as if coming from secret speakers.
“A customer.” DubbAlina said.
I peeked outside of my room. There were no sounds of familiar footsteps of Grandpa or Cahil.
“Where are they?” I wondered out loud.
“Who?” DubbAlina asked curiously.
“Grandpa and Cahil,” I said. There was another knock, louder this time.
“They’re gone for the day.” DubbAlina said dismissively. “Why do you think your childhood friend took you outside today?”
I blinked. So Sahar… lied? I walked outside of my room to where the knocking sound was coming from. It was in the direction of the Crafts room.
“Zahid?” I heard someone call. “It’s me, Melias.”
That was my Grandpa’s name. The call came from the right, where a small wooden door stood. Through it was an entrance room that looked like the inside of a shop. Iron and metal scraps were on the table, along with some sparkly things at the back. They still paled in comparison to the stuff in the Crafts room. The tips of my hairs stood up as a tingle of electricity passed through my body.
There was a person standing there at the entrance of the shop, looking impatient. He didn’t look as old as Grandpa. He looked, or so I thought, like he could be someone’s father. Not older, not younger. He was around the same height as I was, and wore clothes like he spares in my closet. I opened the door.
“Grandpa’s not here.” I said truthfully. I looked at the ‘Closed’ sign that hung in front of the door, in front of a glass panel. “We’re closed.” I pointed. “See?”
The man glanced me up and down. “You’re his grandson?” he asked.
I nodded.
The man sighed, “When will he be back.”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. Would DubbAlina know? I wondered. Well, since she said they were gone for the day, “I think he’ll be back around evening?” I said with uncertainty. “But I’m not sure.”
The man frowned. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead. “This evening,” he muttered. “Well, if he comes back tell him Melias was sent by the Royal Palace-”
The door opened. Grandpa stood there, eyebrows raised. Cahil stood behind him, carrying a bucket. Grandpa didn’t look very happy.
“Melias.” he said. “What brings you here?”
Melias looked at Grandpa, equally unhappy. “You know what it is, Zahid.” he answered. “The mana detector?” His tone was irritated. He looked at Grandpa, who bowed his head.
“Apologies,” Grandpa muttered. “It’ll have to wait. There’s been a small problem with one of the parts.” Cahil shrank back as Grandpa talked. He snuck a look at me with a complicated expression on his face. I smiled back, wondering what the problem was.
“Which part?” Melias asked. He looked worried.
“The Golem heart.” Grandpa answered. Melias sighed as the heard his reply. “There’s been a slight issue with the cooling process. The pressure gave out.” Grandpa said. “I’ll have the detector ready for you in two weeks. The King will have to put up with the spare in the meantime.”
“The spare isn’t very reliable.” Melias said. “The King suspects there’s a problem with it. Isn’t there a way to speed up the process?”
“What problem?” Grandpa asked.
“The mana levels are too low to quick. It’s not natural. With the current measurements, we’ll have an apocalypse on our hands within a year. The King…” Melias hesitated.
“He can’t accept that, can he?” Grandpa said.
Melias didn’t answer. His expression was dark.
“Ahmad.” DubbAlina hissed. “Stop freaking out. It’s showing on your face, you’re too noticeable.” But I didn’t listen to her. There was something more important on my mind.
“What do you mean by an apocalypse?” I blurted out. It sounded weird. If it was in my original voice, I would have sounded indignant, but my current voice was rich and low. It didn’t sound surprised, merely questioning.
Melias was the one who sounded surprised, “Didn’t your Gramps teach you anything?” he asked. He laughed. “The apocalypse is the end of the world. Or so people say. There’s been problems recently due to declining mana levels, and your Gramps-” his voice was teasing. “Is tasked with the very important job of measuring the amount of mana in the air.”
Another apocalypse? So DubbAlina was right. There was no way to avoid the apocalypse back on Earth by running away, or escaping into this world. I would only be trading one apocalypse for another. Hmm, I mused. I could understand how a zombie epidemic was a potentially world-ending event, but declining mana levels? How could that cause the end of the world?
What did mana do, anyway? I remembered the ‘mana points’ on my status. Would mana levels decreasing meant my stats in that area was going to disappear?
Grandpa was not happy with Melias’s teasing. “Ahmad, Cahil.” he said. “Back to your rooms. Now.”
How could one prepare for a ‘declining mana’ apocalypse? I wondered. Was it possible for a person to die of ‘mana deficiency’? Should I stock up on mana beforehand?
This was so complicated. At least with the zombie apocalypse I knew what to do. Urgh. It appeared I had a lot of work to do.
