Demigod Class Ascension Chapter 8: Turmoil

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After stuffing his Bag of Holding full of Spirit Crystals, Will safely made his way back to the Safe Zone, where he walked toward the bed he had secured from the furniture store, resting there after taking a quick shower using his own water magic. Water magic was sure convenient—and in more ways than one.

The water he produced was completely safe to drink. He could also easily wash himself and even warm or cool it at will. He didn’t even really need to boil water after he learned more. So if he had rice on him like back then with Evelyn, he would’ve probably cooked it with magic alone. 

The next morning arrived without any annoyances either. There were no creeps trying to kill him while he slept, no monsters, and no one screaming that the world was ending… even though they wouldn’t be wrong for saying so. 

“Master, good morning. It seems that today it’s quite sunny compared to the other days… Despite the tragedies happening throughout your world, it’s a beautiful day,” Cube floated near one of the store’s windows, looking at the ruined city and then the beautiful blue sky. 

“Hmm…” Will groaned, scratching his head. He wanted to sleep a little bit more, but he quickly felt something weird on his back. “Ah!” 

He panicked, thinking it could be someone sneaking up on him to stab him in the back or something. His hands moved toward the person, only for him to stop a second from crushing them with a powerful blow. 

“Maria?” 

It was little Maria. She was sleeping by his side, hugging his huge back while he slept… 

“Mhm…”

Maria quickly rolled to the other side of the bed and pulled the sheets to her side, sleeping as if nothing was happening. 

“Hey, Cube, how did she even get here?” 

“Ah? I didn’t… Hm, she must have sneaked in the middle of the night. I apologize, Master. I cannot stay active all the time; I had to rest at least a couple of hours… I am a Novice Administrator, after all. If I could Rank Up, my need for sleep and such would probably go down.” 

“Hah… Okay then.” 

Will quickly began poking Maria’s little head with his huge fingers until the girl slowly woke up. He looked rather annoyed that she was there, though. 

“Eh? Ah… Mister… good morning…” 

“Why were you sleeping in my bed? What if I moved and ended up crushing you?” 

“Hehe, that would have never happened. Mister is big and gentle…” 

“No, I’m not gentle.” 

Will sighed, standing up and doing a few stretches. 

“Don’t do that ever again, understood? I want my own bed; you can find your own.” 

“B-But there weren’t any…” 

“What about Vivian? You should stay with her, not with me… I’m a dangerous guy. I’m not a good person either.” 

“That’s not true! Mister is nice… you gave me food! And you’re kind…” 

“I am not nice, and I only gave you food so you would shut up.” 

“But…” 

“No buts. Don’t do this ever again, okay?” 

“…Okay.” 

Maria lowered her head, looking rather saddened, but Will didn’t have the time to worry about what a girl he had only known for about three days would think of him.

This was a harsh world, and it was better she started taking things more seriously.

And yet… 

Will sighed. 

“Maria, why did you do it? You should know that it’s important… to give a person their personal space, alright?” 

“Yeah… sorry, Mister… I won’t do it again.” 

“Hm…” 

“And… I did it because you remind me of… of Daddy…” 

“…” 

Will looked down, feeling slightly bad, gripping his fists tightly.

He walked away after that without saying a word as Maria remained on the bed, looking sad and sleepy.

But then Will returned with Vivian, Ralph, and Evelyn, bringing food, a table, and seats. 

“Maria! Good morning, how are you? So that’s where you sneaked off to!” Vivian said. 

“She didn’t annoy you, did she?” Ralph asked. “Sorry about that, Will. We were supposed to take care of her, but she ran off in the middle of the night. We were sleeping and didn’t see her…” 

“Sneaky brat…” Evelyn crossed her arms, sitting down while drinking a can of soda. 

“She was annoying, yes. Next time, don’t let her sneak into my bed,” Will sat down. “Now come over here, Maria. It’s time for breakfast.” 

“Eh? But…” Maria felt confused. Will had acted all distant and cold before, but now he was inviting her to eat breakfast even though he’d said he gave her food so she would “stop being annoying.” 

“Don’t worry, Maria. Will can be a bit… cold sometimes, but he really doesn’t mean it. He’s kind—kinder than most people,” Vivian smiled at Maria. “Just… he’s a bit weird in his own way.” 

“Ooohh! I get it!” Maria nodded, realizing what Vivian meant. “Mister just has a hard time showing his feelings, right?” 

“Hey, what the hell are you telling the kid, Vivian?” Ralph asked her. He looked a little upset on behalf of Will, who was eating a sandwich in silence. 

As Maria and Vivian sat down around the small table to eat—mostly cookies, juice, or chips from the convenience store—Will served them some clean water as well. 

“Drink water and always stay hydrated too. My magic water also has Mana, so it should help you feel more refreshed and restore your Mana faster, I think,” Will explained. 

“Thank you, Will,” Vivian smiled gently. “You’re always so kind.” 

“I’m not… I simply want my team members to be in top condition, that’s all,” Will said grumpily, finishing his sandwich and then eating a lot of chimera jerky to fill his stomach some more. 

“Mister, why do you eat the dry meat? Eat more of these cookies…!” Maria offered him some. 

Will took the ones she offered from her hands and ate them, but he didn’t take more. 

“I’m fine. Eating monster meat is not as unbearable as before, and I’m the only one who can safely consume it, so I might as well,” he said. 

“You’re doing this for us, aren’t you? Food is running short…” Evelyn said. 

“Think whatever you want,” Will quickly started practicing some magic to kill time. 

“Don’t worry, Mister. I can make berries! With this, I can feed everyone…” Maria said, showing the berries to everyone and sharing them. 

“No, I’d rather you not abuse that power. It drains your own energy and mana—probably also your nutrients and calories…” Will said. “Only use it like anybody would use a skill, not to replace our food. We’ll find another way.” 

“O-Oh? But… the Mister Baldie and his friends always asked…” Maria muttered before falling silent. 

Then Will and the rest looked at her with worried expressions. 

“What did they ask, Maria?” Vivian asked. 

“N-Nothing…” Maria said, looking down. “Um, the cookies are really good, hehe…” 

“…”

“…” 

Evelyn and Ralph looked at one another. They knew there was something Maria was keeping secret.

Will, too, thought about something but didn’t say anything.

Until now. 

“Tell me what they did to you, Maria.” 

“Eh?” 

“Don’t worry. I promise they’ll never hurt you again.” 

“B-But… But you said I was…” 

“From now on, you’re part of my team, and I protect those who are part of my team.” 

“Mister…” 

“So tell me what they did to you.” 

“Um…” 

“Will, you’re being a bit forceful with the girl…” Vivian sighed. “I know where you’re getting at, and I’m glad you said that, but—” 

“T-They forced me to make berries… and… until it hurt and I bled… from my nose and eyes… and I fell asleep… and when I woke up, they would ask me for more…” Maria sighed. “For the… the two days before getting here…” 

“…” 

In that moment, everyone glanced at Will with shock.

His aura grew immensely strong, blazing with the flames of the underworld.

His face, although calm, showed great fury. 

“Who did this? The whole group?” 

“No… Mister Baldie and his friends… Um, you aren’t going to hurt them, are you? Please don’t…” 

“And what if they try to do that again?” 

“But…!” 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt them… I’ll talk with them.” 

Will walked away as Evelyn and the rest panicked a little. 

“Yeah, right, he’s going to talk with his fists!” Evelyn said. 

“Are we really going to let him do that?” Ralph asked. “I mean, they’re bad people if they did that to Maria, but… aren’t they Awakened too?” 

“He said he wasn’t going to hurt them…” Vivian sighed. “Okay, let’s go see what he does… at least.” 

With Maria, the group chased Will around the mall. Will quickly found the group with the “baldie,” whose name was Clark. He and his group of three other Awakened were annoying an old couple. 

“Well, I mean, you’re not really going to make it till the end, you know that? So you could instead share your food with young people like us who will make it, right?” 

“B-But we’re hungry…” 

“That’s…” 

The grandma and grandpa trembled before his presence, even though he tried to act calm and nice… From the moment Will met the bastard, he knew there was something weird about him. 

“Hey.” 

“Huh? Ah! Will! Nice to meet you. I was just about—” 

BAAAM!

Will punched Clark in the stomach, sending him flying with immense force. His body crashed into the glass of a nearby abandoned store, shattering it with fury. 

“W-What the…?”

“Hey, what the hell is your problem?!”

“Clark!” 

Clark’s friends ran to see him while the old couple looked at Will with shock and a bit of fear, quickly running away after he looked at them in silence. 

“Don’t worry, he’s not dead.” 

Will walked toward Clark, who was vomiting his breakfast while covered with glass piercing his skin and bleeding all over. 

“W-Why…?! I didn’t do anything to you…!” Clark screamed, crying in pain. 

“You were annoying that old couple, but that wasn’t all. You abused a little girl, you piece of shit,” Will quickly kicked his head, sending him pummeling deeper into the store. 

CRASH!

“Stop, you motherfucker!”

“Kill him!”

“Damn gorilla!” 

Clark’s friends attacked Will. Two of them were magicians—one fired fireballs, and the other small rocks, bombarding him constantly. Meanwhile, the other two tried to hurt him with their spear and sword; both seemed to be Warriors.

And yet… 

“W-What the fuck is this guy?” 

They couldn’t even hurt him. Magic was ineffective, and even their sharp weapons couldn’t pierce his skin, which felt like stone to their weapons. 

“Don’t attack me again if you want to keep your lives.” 

Will’s aura erupted, transforming into flowing seawater and dividing into four small whirlpools, sending all four of the Awakened thugs flying away and then making them fall from high above the ground. Whether they died or not from that wasn’t his problem.

He walked toward Clark, grabbing him by the head. 

“W-We…! We just did it because we were hungry…! C-Calm down, man…! It wasn’t…! We didn’t do it because we’re bad guys… Uggh…” 

“I should kill you right now.” 

Will’s eyes shone bright blue as Clark started sweating. He was sure his arms were broken; he couldn’t even defend himself.

Two blows were all it took for him to be at death’s door…

He quickly realized just how ridiculously strong this man was, above all other people.

There was no other word that could describe Will other than…

Monster. 

“P-Please, no…! I’m sorry…!” 

Will looked behind him, noticing Maria and the rest of his group.

He knew he could do it right now and end this.

He could simply get rid of this annoyance forever and… not worry about him ever again.

But what would Maria think of him?

She said he was kind; she said he reminded her of her dad.

It was stupid for him to even consider her feelings, but… 

“Don’t you dare touch her ever again—or anybody, for that matter. If I see you trying to extort people again, I’m not giving you a third chance.” 

Will dropped him to the ground and, out of mercy, healed his arms. 

“Aahh… I was just trying to survive, man… Why do you have to… act like that… you think you’re a damn hero or something? Fucking hell…” 

“No, I don’t think I’m anything like that. I just know I have the strength to do whatever I want. I don’t care what you think either. You either do what I say, or I’ll kill you, understood?” 

“Y-Yeah… I get it… I’m sorry…” 

Clark coughed blood, looking tired and miserable. 

“Let me say one thing, Will,” Vivian stepped forward. “Clark, in this community, we will not tolerate thugs or people trying to take advantage of others. Not even Will goes around robbing people, and he’s the strongest. We don’t abuse power here, and we try to work together and survive together… Because we think that’s the only way to get through this hell.” 

Clark looked at her with annoyed eyes, although he had to admit he could see where she was coming from. “Through all my life, the only thing I’ve known was to take what I wanted by force… You think I was some sort of normal citizen like you guys? I was a drug dealer, a thief, a criminal… I’m not a good person… It’s in my nature to do these things to survive, you know?” 

He looked at Will walking away. 

“Not everyone had it easy like him.” 

And then, in that moment, Will stopped walking and looked back at him with anger. 

“Had it easy?! I didn’t have anything easy in my entire fucking life! What do you even know about me, you piece of shit?!” 

He suddenly snapped, walking angrily toward Clark.

Vivian, Ralph, and Evelyn knew he had snapped and was going to do it. 

“Will, stop!” 

Vivian put herself in front of Clark, followed by Evelyn and Ralph. 

“Move!” 

“N-No!” 

“…” 

Will stopped walking, glaring back at Clark, who was almost about to shit himself out of fear. 

“You think that just because we have a bad upbringing, we suddenly have to turn into a criminal piece of shit? Some of us just work ourselves to death every day, living paycheck to paycheck in whatever the fuck we can…! You know who had it easy? You! You took the easy way out because you’re a pathetic piece of shit who couldn’t endure the world.” 

“…Listen, man, I didn’t know—” 

“You didn’t know shit!” 

“Yeah… yeah… okay… sorry… Thank you… for not killing me… I… I’ll try to be better… okay? I’m sorry…” 

“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me.” 

Will looked at Maria, who was behind him.

She slowly looked back at Clark. 

“I’m sorry, Maria… what I did… was wrong.” 

“Um, does it hurt?” 

“Not anymore…” 

Ralph had managed to heal the rest of his wounds and removed the glass that was piercing his wounds as well. 

“Here…!” 

Maria gave Clark a little red berry, which restored health. 

“You can have this, but don’t ask for more, okay? I’ll give… when I feel like it.” 

“M-Maria…” 

Clark held the little berry, suddenly realizing that despite everything he did to her, the little girl still wanted to get along with him.

Without realizing it, he started crying even more. 

“I’m sorry… I used to have a little sister like you… I… I lost her when she was young, from the epidemic… Since then, my entire fucking life became bleak… I didn’t care about anything anymore… I bet she would get angry at me if she knew what I’ve done.” 

“…At least you had a family to remember. I had nothing.” 

Will looked at him for another second before walking away, his team following him quickly after. Clark’s friends ran to his side to check on him; they seemed mostly fine. Will did indeed not kill them this time. 

After that, Will returned to his “home,” the abandoned electronics store, where Vivian, Evelyn, and Ralph tried to reprimand him while trying to sound as gentle as possible. They didn’t want to touch a nerve and bring up the reason why he snapped, but they could already guess that Will didn’t have a nice childhood either. 

“Look, Will… Um, I don’t really want to bring up the reason why you snapped, but…” Evelyn muttered. “If it… helps a little, I also went through my own shit… you know, before all of this happened, I was… I was homeless.” 

“…You were?” Vivian asked Evelyn. 

“Why?” Ralph asked. 

Will remained silent, but he was listening. 

“I… I didn’t have a nice family… my dad was a fucking alcoholic bastard, and my mom was really abusive with me…” Evelyn sighed. “So I ran away after I got fed up with them… like three? Four years ago.” 

“What?!” Vivian looked shocked. “Damn… I’m sorry, Evelyn…” 

“It’s fine…” Evelyn shrugged. “I survived the first few years moving from friend’s house to friend’s house, but eventually, nobody wanted me around… even my friends left me behind, so I just… well, I started living on the streets. What else could I do? I didn’t really want to sell myself, though… so I just barely survived the last year. I always knew I would probably die young, that someone would find me dead after a really cold night behind a trash can or something… For some reason, this apocalypse happening and giving me the opportunity to change and even… get stronger, it’s kind of… made my life better? In a way… I know it’s weird, and it might sound rude to everyone else… But that’s the truth.” 

“Hmm…” Ralph was pondering for a while. “Well, I can’t even begin to imagine what you went through to think that… but at least you’re better now.” 

“Yeah, it’s weird…” Evelyn sighed. “I know lots of people who had their nice lives had everything torn apart from them… I guess people like Clark and me, who had nothing… well, we can work pretty well in this world… maybe.” 

“I also felt that sensation, that this world was made for me…” Will said. “For the first time, I found out my parents were somewhere out there, but that I would have to get through hordes of monsters and other horrible things to even get close to them.” 

“Y-You mean your parents…? Wait, what?” Vivian was confused, but Will didn’t elaborate. 

Will then sighed, looking back at Maria and the rest. “Sorry about that. I snapped like an idiot. I let my emotions control me. That’s not like me.” 

“Hey! That’s why we’re here,” Vivian winked at him with a cheerful smile. 

“Yeah, I guess… I mean, you saved our lives… we owe you a lot,” Ralph nodded. 

“Me too…” Evelyn said. 

“Yeah! So we’re getting along nicely now?” Maria wondered, smiling. “Maybe we could be a big family!” 

“…No,” Will said. “Our relationship is purely out of convenience.” 

“There he goes again…” Vivian rolled her eyes. 

“Will…” Evelyn sighed. 

Will stood up after being on the floor for a while, looking back at them. 

“But I wouldn’t mind having you stick around with me for longer… After all, I have an ability that I need to test, so you’re going to be my guinea pigs,” Will said. 

“G-Guinea pigs?!” Ralph asked. “What the hell are you talking about?” 

Will checked his Status Screen, glancing at the information of the Skill he was talking about. 

[Pseudo Divine Blessing (Tier 1: 0%)]: [Use your Divine Power to bless a target, allowing them to awaken to new power. As this Blessing grows within them, a part of their Power and Earned EXP is shared with you, and their loyalty may increase. Limit: 0/3] 

“It’s a Skill named Divine Blessing. It says it can make you stronger and help you grow,” Will explained. “And in exchange, I gain a part of that Power and also your EXP.” 

“Oh? You had such an ability?!” Ralph asked. “Wait, what? Divine Blessing? Are you like a God?” 

“No, but that’s just how it’s named,” Will said. 

“So cool! I’ll gladly be your guinea pig then~!” Vivian smiled proudly. 

“Wait, wait! What if it’s dangerous? Doesn’t it have any side effects? It sounds too good to be true,” Evelyn said. 

“Yeah, it does, but there isn’t anything else specified,” Will said. “You can simply reject the offer… Maria, do you want Evelyn’s blessing?” 

“Sure!” Maria nodded. 

“W-Wait! Okay, I’ll take it!” Evelyn stopped Will before he could give it to Maria. 

“Heheh, it’s fine. You can have it, Evelyn. I can wait my turn,” Maria nodded. 

“I can only give it to three targets so far, so for Maria… Maybe once the skill Ranks Up,” Will explained. “Alright, uh… Grant Divine Blessing?” 

Will tried an input, and it actually worked. In a second, Ralph, Evelyn, and Vivian gained golden auras covering their bodies. Divinity flowed through these auras before concentrating into a part of their bodies. 

FLASH!

Evelyn’s Divine Blessing reached her eyes, appearing as golden tattoos around her left eye. Ralph’s Divine Blessing reached his hands, turning into two golden eyes in the palms of his hands. And Vivian’s Divine Blessing appeared on her forehead, enhancing the Magic Rune and fusing with it, turning it into a small golden star imprinted on her forehead. 

As the process finished, the divine power slowly dissipated, but they immediately felt much stronger than before. They noticed their parameters had gone up, and even some of their skills had changed. 

[You have used the [Pseudo Divine Blessing (Tier 1)] Skill!]

[You have given the {Minor Divine Blessing: Starlight Sight} to [Evelyn]!]

[Her [Strength], [Dexterity], [Agility], and [Senses] Stats have increased by 10!]

[Evelyn’s Archer Class Skill: [Arrow Creation (Tier 1)] has transformed into [Starlight Arrow Creation (Tier 1)]!]

[You have given the {Minor Divine Blessing: Nirvana Hands} to [Ralph]!]

[His [Strength], [Vitality], [Magic Power], [Magic Defense] Stats have increased by 10!]

[Ralph’s Healer Class Skill: [Heal (Tier 1)] has transformed into [Holy Healing Touch (Tier 1)]!]

[You have given the {Minor Divine Blessing: Arcanist Eyes} to [Vivian]!]

[Her [Magic Power], [Magic Defense], [Agility], [Senses] Stats have increased by 10!]

[Vivian’s Magician Class Skill: [Magic Conjuration: Mana Hands (Tier 1)] has transformed into [Magic Conjuration: Spiritual Hands (Tier 1)]!]

[You have established a Divine Bond with your Divinely Blessed, giving you the ability to gain some of their Power.]

[You gained +5 Dexterity from Evelyn.]

[Your Skill: [Pseudo Divine Weapon (Tier 1)] has gained a +20% growth and a new Ability: [Divine Ocean Bow Form]!]

[You gained +5 Magic Defense from Ralph.]

[Your Skill: [Sacred Healing (Tier 1)] has gained a +20% growth and a new Ability: [Sacred Healing Hands]!]

[You gained +5 Magic Power from Vivian.]

[Your Skill: [Will-o-Wisp (Tier 1)] has gained a +20% growth and a new Ability: [Spectral Hands]!]

[Abilities can grant existing Skills new forms and powers while keeping the normal Skill mostly intact.]

[From now on, you will gain 10% of the EXP of your Divinely Blessed.] 

Will glanced at the notifications with a surprised smile. He didn’t know he would gain this much power from just blessing them—from the bonus stats to the new abilities within his skills, and even the bonus growth, it was all really amazing. 

“This ended up being better than I imagined…” Will said. “Not only did you become stronger, but I did as well.” 

“That’s great, so we can share that power, and it doesn’t feel as one-sided,” Vivian smiled. “And I think… Wow.” 

Vivian’s arms suddenly changed. From their ethereal mana forms, they glowed brightly, becoming gold, as if made of light. 

“The hell?!” 

Evelyn was also surprised as she suddenly was able to create sharp arrows made of glowing blue light, which actually didn’t cost her more than the normal arrows. 

“I think my healing got stronger, but I can’t really tell right now.” 

Ralph, on the other hand, would have to test this on a wound or someone who was hurt. 

“Looks like everyone got a nice boost, Master! Your Divine Blessing ended up being much stronger than I had imagined. I believe this might be due to your origins. Your parents were stronger gods who left within you a stronger Legacy,” explained Cube. 

“Legacy? Wait, you haven’t even told me about that yet… What the hell is that Legacy? And that crystal my presumed ‘father’ gave to me, what is it?” Will asked with his mind, as only Cube could hear him. 

“Oh, yes, I forgot about that, Master,” Cube said. “But yes, a Divine Legacy is some sort of inheritance your parents left for you. It is within your very soul, sealed. As you become stronger, this Legacy is unsealed, giving you back the power that should have always belonged to you.” 

“So that’s how it is…” Will mused while he glanced at his team testing out their abilities as Maria watched them. “Then tell me, what is this crystal?” 

“That crystal is a small Divine Treasure your father left ‘stored’ within your Legacy. Indeed, it is not just power that is sealed; objects can also appear,” said Cube. “I believe your father wanted you to use this crystal to make a Divine Weapon… but you lack proper materials right now. You’ll need a stronger Magical and Spiritual Alloy for this—something like Orichalcum or Mithril, impossible to find in the first phase of the tutorial, unfortunately.” 

“Hmmm… Maybe I could find other ways to use it, though, but for now, yeah, let’s leave it at that,” Will nodded, even though he was sure he could feel immense power from that crystal the more he held it. 

“Anyway, are you ready? We should probably go hunt more monsters,” said Will. “We can’t waste a single day; we’re running against time, after all.” 

“Right, let’s do that,” Ralph nodded. 

“But Maria will be left alone. What if something happens to her?” Vivian asked. 

“Hmm…” Will looked at Maria. 

“I can fight too!” Maria nodded. “I-I could… um, maybe I can use the plants?” 

Leaving her here would risk someone trying to take advantage of her or abusing her, and they didn’t have anybody else trustworthy here.

So, it was safer to bring her along than to leave her here, for now… Will didn’t quite trust the people here, and he knew that as long as he wasn’t around, they would probably do anything they wanted. 

“The community is still young, so there’s not enough trust between one another… About Clark, well, I want to believe in his words,” said Vivian. “But I don’t know if we should do so blindly. For now, we should see how he and his team behave first, before we can trust him once more.” 

“Yeah… Alright, you’re coming with us, Maria, but not like that,” Will said. “You’ll get some new equipment… I’ll quickly get something done. Wait half an hour outside.” 

Will got to work, using the leftover Chimera Pelt to rapidly craft a coat for Maria and small boots. He didn’t have enough to make her pants, however, but a big enough coat to cover her entire body was more than sufficient, while the boots would help her move quickly. 

“There, I also reinforced this helmet using the Chimeras’ snake tail scales,” Will said, placing a little helmet on top of her head. She looked like a little Viking, ready for the world. 

“This is cool! I’m ready!” Maria nodded confidently. 

“Not too fast,” Will stopped her before she ran through the door. “You’ll stay close to Vivian and Ralph, understood? Don’t run into danger, and don’t run toward me when I’m fighting, or… you’ll get killed, understood? The world outside is dangerous now, Maria. Please, get this ingrained in your head.” 

“…Okay,” she nodded. “Um… I get it.” 

“Good,” Will patted the helmet, and then the group of five walked outside the mall once more, with Clark and his friends glancing from afar. 

“There they go again…”

“They’re really going to hunt once more, huh?”

“What’s wrong with them? Can’t they just stay quiet?”

“I’m sure the military will come to fetch us eventually!”

“We just have to keep hanging on in here.” 

A lot of people didn’t seem to have the courage to walk outside anymore, and Will couldn’t really blame them either way. It was indeed a dangerous world out there, where a wrong step could bring you to your death.

But this was the world he was made for. Since he was born, this is where he should have always been, and where his powerful body and his original divine powers could thrive the most.

Growing stronger, beating the tutorial, surviving, and finding food—these were all his goals.

But in the end, they were also all a means to his main goal: finding his parents. 

“Okay, so where do we go now?” Evelyn wondered. “I was thinking of returning to the highway. There were a lot of monsters there, right?” 

“Yeah…” Ralph nodded. “Maybe we could also find valuable stuff left behind? Maybe a truck full of Twinkies.” 

“You’re wishfully thinking too much, brother,” Vivian sighed. “Will, where to?” 

Cube quickly scanned the surroundings, finding some prey quite far away. It seemed that all the killing they’d been doing had scared the monsters, and they had begun wandering into farther areas. 

“Master, to the southwest, close to an abandoned clothing store… It seems there’s a high concentration of lifeforms—perhaps the nest of some sort,” Cube said. “But not from the goblins.” 

“Alright, follow me. I found something,” Will nodded, stepping forward. 

BANG! BANG!

It didn’t take long for them to hear the sounds of gunshots. Running through the empty alleyways, they found their origin—a policeman.

He seemed rather roughed up, covered in bleeding wounds, gasping for air as he shot some red-skinned little creatures resembling goblins with brown fur and tiny horns on their foreheads.

The cop seemed to be an old man, probably past his fifties, with gray hair and an old-looking yet experienced face. 

“Gyeehehe!”

The strange creatures chased him and surrounded him, carrying small blazing knives as they tried to stab and burn him. 

“Aaaagh! G-Get away from me!” 

His guns shot them in the head at almost point-blank range, killing three more, but even more of those things appeared from the other side of the street. 

“It’s a cop!” Ralph said. “We have to save him! I bet he knows if there’s another shelter or something!” 

“Calm down,” Will said. “Those monsters are new; we have to be careful. I’ll surprise them with water. That’ll hopefully turn off their flames, then you ambush them.” 

“Sure,” Vivian nodded. 

Will quickly stepped forward, raising his hand and conjuring a huge bubble of swirling seawater, firing it at the cop, who was being swarmed by the creatures. 

SPLASH!

The cold water quickly made the creatures scream, squirming around and crying, while the old cop coughed blood and water, looking at Will in shock. 

“W-Wha…?! Are you a magician, son? You saved my life!” 

“No time to talk! Everyone, go!” 

As Will gave the signal, Ralph, Vivian, and Evelyn appeared, ambushing the cooled-down fiery creatures. Ralph smashed their heads with his metallic staff, Vivian used her new magic hands to strangle them, and Evelyn was now able to shoot precisely and accurately, her magic arrows piercing the creatures’ heads one after another.

Meanwhile, Will swung his large fists, ruthlessly crushing skulls while stomping those that remained barely alive on the ground. In just a minute, his team mercilessly took out twelve of these things. As they finally stopped coming, the rest ran away back to their nest. 

[You and your Team have slain [Imp (Tier 2: Level 1)] x12. You have earned Bonus Experience for slaying a Lifeform above your Tier and Level. You earned 300 Tutorial Points.]

[You have earned Bonus EXP from your Divinely Blessed.] 

“Even with the bonus, it was still not enough for a level… Oh well.” 

After Will checked the status screen, he quickly glanced back at the cop, whom Ralph had just finished healing. 

“Thank you… Thank you… I really thought that was it for me,” the old man sighed in relief. “Hm?” 

“Here!” Maria gave him two berries—a red and a blue one. 

“Oh, well, thank you, dear… To think there’s a child with you… I’m glad you’ve protected her,” the man sighed, eating the berries and feeling better. “Ah, right, where are my manners…? I am the Deputy Chief of the Evergrace Street Police Station… But since this whole mess started, I haven’t been able to get there. A red wall stopped me. Ah, right, my name’s John.” 

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Vivian said. “I’m relieved some cops are alive…” 

“Hah, I wish I could meet someone else. Since this whole mess started, I’ve been running from one place to another, helping survivors until…” John stopped, looking down. “Ah, damn it!” 

“What happened?” Ralph asked. 

“Just half an hour ago, I was trying to look for a shelter with a group of four other people with me. They were young’uns—the oldest was probably seventeen at most,” the old man said. “But those blasted things appeared out of nowhere from underground and started attacking us! While I fought them, they grabbed the kids and ran away, and I couldn’t do anything but run for my life…!” 

“Where did they go?” Will asked. 

“O-Over there… there’s a hole that leads to an underground train station,” explained John. “When we got closer, there was this weird announcement that said, ‘Special Event: Infernal Dungeon’ or something.” 

“Hmm…” Will nodded. “Alright, sounds like a great opportunity to level up some more. We should go there, then.” 

Will was more concerned about leveling, but he didn’t mind if he could help a few people along the way, although he would never admit he cared. 

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More Will (he will get his white hair soon):