Chapter 16
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'Buy the 'Agility Booster' Skill Book and put it in my skill slot.' I said.
'You want to use the skill right now?' Lily asked.
'Yes.'
'Very well then.' She replied.
Although I didn't have any white coins, I still have not used my right to buy a free skill book worth 50 white coins. And now was the perfect time to do it.
After a few seconds Lily's voice rang in my mind once again. 'It's done. You can use it whenever you want.'
'Thank you.' I said and looked at Rahul who was currently taking off his tracking bag. From the start till now that old man had been pointing his gun at him.
'I cannot start my plan until and unless that old man points the gun at me. The fact that the old man had not pointed the gun at me so far also implies that he was more wary of Rahul than me which would work to my advantage.'
"And you. You want to me send you an invitation. Take your bag off and throw it at my feet. But do it slowly. No funny movements." The old man finally pointed his gun at me.
I took of my bag and was about to throw it at his feet when I said in my mind.
'Skill Activate.'
Suddenly, the world seemed to have become a bit slower and I realized that it's my speed instead which has increased tremendously.
I suddenly changed the trajectory of the bag so that it would hit his hands instead and changed my direction quickly just to be safe.
After going two meters to the right, I closed the five meters of distance between us at 4 times the speed of a normal human.
It all happened in an instant.
By the time the old man realized that he'd been fooled, I was already staring him in the face. I sent a sharp punch to stomach. The punch seemed to be a bit too powerful as he spat out a mouthful of blood and his body bent in an arc shape.
BANG!!
The loud sound of the gun being shot suddenly reverberated in my ears.
I looked at his hands and realized that he'd reflexively shot the gun when he was punched his stomach. And although the bullet hit nothing but air, it's loud sound must have been heard by every living creature in the radius of a kilometers.
'Shit! I should have disarmed him first.' I cursed in my mind and took the gun from his hands.
The old man seemed to have lost conscious after the punch and fell to the ground weakly.
'Well, I should throw this old man out of the store. It should be enough to distract the Abnormals for a few seconds and we can use this chance to run away.' I thought and picked up the old man when I heard Rahul voice from behind me.
"Don't kill him." He said.
"What?" I turned around and asked in puzzlement.
"He's an important person. We can't let him die." Rahul said "You must have used the 'Agility Booster' skill just now right."
"Yeah. What of it?" I asked.
"Go and lead those Abnormals to the other side of the road." He said. "There a hill up there. Lead them there and then make a large detour before coming back here. Make some noise to make sure that every Abnormal sees you when you go out."
'What the hell? Why does it has to be me.' I cursed in my mind but since time was limited, I trusted his judgement and ran to the front door while breaking it's glass.
It must have looked rather awesome if I didn't have such a hurried look in my face.
'Well, that should catch their attention.' I thought as I took a glance at the abnormals around me.
Although they are far apart from each other, there should still be more than a hundred of them within this petrol pump area.
Just as I looked at them, the Abnormals seemed to have noticed me as well and they all started shrieking in unison before they raced toward me.
'Well, they seem really hungry.' I mused in my heart but didn't waste any time as I ran through them to the opposite side of the road. I could see the hill that Rahul had talked about. It was not really as big as I had imagined but it should be enough.
I ran toward the hill with hundreds of hungry abnormals following behind me.
I lead them to the hill and before they could reach the top, I reached the bottom on the other side after where I made a sharp turn to run in a half circle so that I could reach back to the store where Rahul was hiding in.
I knew that time was against me so I ran past the trees without any pause.
I glanced at the top of the hill where more and more Abnormals were appearing and rushing toward the end of the hill where I had been a few moments ago.
'Aren't they making a bit too much noise for just a single person. Even if they caught up to me, it's not like I'll be able to fill everyone's stomach. How inefficient.'
Although the trees around this area were not very dense, they still won't be able to see me clearly from such a distance even if their eyes fell on me. Not to mention that not only is their eyesight very weak, they are not very smart either.
'Just because the guy in the front lost me doesn't mean they'll all stop at once. The horde will probably run a few hundred meters before they all realize that they have been running for nothing.' I mocked in my heart and was about to come out of the forest when my heart almost jumped out of my mouth as I saw the five Abnormals running in my direction.
It seemed like they were also shocked when they noticed me and forget to shriek like they usually do.
'Shit! The shrieking and howling of those hundreds of Abnormals must have caught the attention of these five who must have been lurking around somewhere else. Damn my luck.' I cursed in my mind but my body didn't pause for a second.
Time was running out and the Speed Booster skill will stop working any second now.
At this point, if the horde realized that I'm here then the situation will turn very dangerous.
I jumped at the first Abnormal, swung my sword as I made a clean cut in his throat. Before I head could even fall, I had already jumped at the second one at an incredible speed and the sword pierced through his neck as well.
The third one finally reacted and tried to swing it's hands but by that time, I had already sliced his head in half.
By this point, the two who were left came out their stupor and realized the situation at once.
The fourth on was about to shriek when I threw the sword at his throat which pierced his throat and came from behind his neck.
The fifth one looked at me and howled as he swung his hands. Having faced against such a simple attack for many times already, I dodged it quickly and threw a jab at his throat.
His wind pipe broke immediately and his Adam's apple was crushed.
His howls ended prematurely, before it could do anything else, I took the sword from the fourth Abnormal's neck and decapitated him immediately.
'Damn it!' I cursed in my mind. I had not been able to completely stop them from making any noise. I looked at the hundreds of howling and shrieking Abnormals on the other side of the hill and hoped that their noise would cover any noise made over here so that no other Abnormals would be able to notice my presence.
I had no time in my hand so I picked up the five heads by their hair and quickly crossed the now empty highway before I entered the store when I heard a notification in my head and a sharp pain coursed through my whole body as I fell to the ground.
'User's skill time has been used up. Extensive muscle damage noticed in user's body. It'll take the user one day to recuperate from the damage. The skill cannot be used for the time being until the user recuperates completely. Until that time, user's Agility stat will decrease by half.'
'Damn it! This day is only getting worse.' I cursed in my mind and got up quickly. I could see that the door of the store room was open and Rahul was looking at me from inside.
"Come in. Quickly." He said.
"Yes." I ran toward him but suddenly realized that I was running very slowly. 'Guess this is how anyone would feel if their speed is suddenly dropped by four times.' I chuckled and ran inside the room after which Rahul quickly shut the door.
"Did you suffer any injury?" Rahul asked in concern.
"No." I shook my head. "I'm alright. Plus I got so loot as well." I showed him the 5 heads proudly.
Indeed, I was feeling very proud at this moment. Although I had used a skill when I killed them, I did indeed kill 5 abnormals on my own without any outsider's help.
I was sure that I could have killed more than 5 if I had more time. This made me feel really awesome. I was reveling in my might when I suddenly heard a shrill laughter from behind which suddenly destroyed my mood.
"Kukukuku. Killing 5 of those devils in such a short period of time. I'll give it to you kid. You've impressed me."
I turned back and saw the old man sitting on the ground and laughing while he held his stomach but in the middle of his laughing he seemed to have suffered some severe pain and started coughing loudly instead.
He had removed his t-shirt while I was away and I could see that he had a very well maintained body despite him being so old.
But right now, there was a fist sized red mark in the middle of the stomach. Presumably where I hit him. He was holding that part and had sprawled on the ground like a shrimp.
"Why did you save him?" I asked. 'If Rahul didn't provide me with a reasonable explanation this time then I'll really pummel him to death.'
Rahul glanced at me and then sighed. He then said something that completely baffled me.
"I want him to join our team."
'What…' For a moment, my mind went blank. Him saying such a thing was beyond my expectations.
"But… He just tried to kill us." I said.
"I know."
"Then… why?" I asked in bafflement.
What happened to the 'we won't take any survivors with us'.
"I know you have a lot of questions. But I need you to trust me this time. Alright Ashok." He said softly.
I thought for a while before saying "Alright. But I won't talk to him whether he's on our team or not. And be careful. A man like him must know a lot of tricks."
"Don't worry. I'll be careful." Rahul said and took out a spray from his tracking bag.
I went to the side and realized that I was still very thirsty. If anything, my thirst had reached a whole new level by this point.
I took the bottle Rahul had brought with him and emptied it in one go before sitting heavily on the ground.
I was suddenly feeling very tired. Using that Speed Booster skill had really exhausted me by quite a bit.
'Isn't that the healing spray he used on me?' I asked as I saw Rahul use the spray on the old man's wounds.
'It is.' Lily said.
'That thing is worth 5 white coins. And it can only be used 5 times. Why is brother using it on him.' I grumbled. I really didn't like the way Rahul was treating this man despite what happened just a few moments ago.
'Because your brother is smarter than you.' Lily said.
'What do you mean?' I asked in an irritated voice.
'Your brother said he wants to recruit that man. That's a very wise move from my perspective.'
'How's that a wise move?' I asked 'I don't like that man. He tried to kill us. I don't think I can trust a man who just tried to kill me. It would be stupid to take him in the team.'
'Despite that. You can't refuse the fact that such a man would make a great addition to your team. Right?'
'Hmph.' I turned the other way and ignored any words from Lily.
But even though I was a bit angry over the that fact that old man tried to make use of us earlier, and was even more irritated by how Rahul treated him, I couldn't deny the fact that if that old man wholeheartedly joins our group then that would be really beneficial for us.
But that still didn't change my impression of the old man.
'Well, let's not think about such complicated matters anymore.' I thought and took out the 5 heads I had collected recently.
I then took out my Razor sharp sword and started to butcher those heads.
After two minutes, I had 5 different colored crystals in my hands.
I looked at them and gulped in excitement. After using them my Stamina will increase exponentially.
I excitedly exchanged them for 5 green colored Crystals and just when I was about to eat them…
"Ashok can you lend me those 5 crystals." Rahul said.
I looked at him and then looked at the old man suspiciously and asked "What for?"
'Rahul's stats were probably close to that of my own or maybe even a bit higher than me. He would definitely not ask for the crystals to use for himself. The only reason he could ask for those crystals was…'
"I'm giving them to Grandpa Patel." I felt like a thunder had resounded in my ears when I heard those words.
"Grandpa Patel? Since when did you to become so close." And not only were you close, you were even planning on giving him some crystals.
'What have these two guys been talking about when I was not paying attention.' I thought.
"Don't fucking call me a Grandpa." That old man's shout at that moment broke all my thoughts. Seems like they're not so close after all. I chuckled in my heart as I gazed at the old man.
I marvelled at how stubborn this old man was, even though he was our prisoner right now.
'Dude, shouldn't you show the least bit of respect to your captors. In case they get angry and… you know… kill you.'
"I am not interested in joining this merry little group of yours." The old man said in annoyance. "If you don't like my answer then cut my throat and be done with it. Don't waste my fucking time."
"There are worse ways than dying than that old man." Rahul said as he looked deep into the old man's eyes. "For example, I could just cut your legs and throw you in between those Abnormals. I'm not sure if they would like the taste of your flesh but we won't know until we try now would we."
The old man shuddered for a moment when he heard the threat, but then his eyes became resolute once again. "Then what are you waiting for boy. Go ahead and do it. Or do you need your mama to do it for you as well."
'This old man is stubborn. But he has a lot of willpower.' I thought. At this point, even though we were enemies, I was starting to get impressed by him. Just a little bit though.
Rahul on the other hand shook his head and expressed his disapproval. "Is joining my group really that unbearable to you that you'd rather choose to die."
The old man spat on the ground and said "I won't take orders from you. Not from you. And not from anyone else."
Rahul looked at him for a long time and they both kept staring each other when he finally sighed and shook his head in pity.
"Ashok. Pass me those crystals." Rahul said.
'Damn it! Didn't that man made it clear that he doesn't want to join our group. Why are you so still being so nice to him.' I reluctantly thought in my heart but still passed on the crystals to him.
"Here. Take them." Rahul said and passed on the crystals.
The old man looked vigilantly a the crystals and said "What are you playing at now? What kind of trick is this?"
"This is not a trick." Rahul said. "I'm giving these crystals to you as a sign of my goodwill."
"Hmph. Like I would believe something like that." The old man said and spat on the ground.
"Whether you believe me or not is up to you." Rahul said and kept the 5 crystals on the ground. "You're free to go now."
The man's face twitched when he heard that, then he gritted his teeth and stood up. "What about my gun."
"It stays with me." Rahul said.
The old man stared at Rahul for a long moment then he stood up, turned around and started to walk to the back door. But all of this steps were firm and slow. As if he was expecting to get shot any moment now.
When he reached the door Rahul said "Zakopur. If you change your mind, then meet me there by the end of the week." The old man stopped suddenly when he heard. But then he opened the door and walked out.
I went to the windows and looked outside. I could see the old man running toward the forest and after a few seconds, he vanished out of the sight.
Then I turned back and looked at the 5 crystals lying on the ground. Truth be told, I was a bit surprised by this turn of events. But then I looked at Rahul who was looking back at me. He smiled bitterly and shook his head.
It seemed like he really wanted to recruit the old man.
I picked up the 5 crystals from the ground and said "I tired. We should rest here for a while and continue our journey at night."
"Yeah." Rahul took a deep breath and said. "You must be tired from all the running. Today has been a really bad day for us. Let's rest here for some time. At night we'll hunt the few remaining Abnormals outside before continuing on our journey."
I nodded and took out the thin blanket from my bag and spread it in the ground.
Then I went to the freezer and brought four more bottles of water.
The thirst I felt today really made me cherish water even more. I kept the water beside me and just as I was about to lay down I heard a knock on the door.
'What the hell! Did that crazy old coot return or what?' I thought and then saw Rahul stand up and go to the door.
He removed the heavy boxes aside and opened the door. And lo and behold, who else could it be aside from the old man.
He pushed Rahul aside and entered the store like it was his own house, sat down on a corner and said discontentedly "I'll join your merry little group."
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'Buy the 'Agility Booster' Skill Book and put it in my skill slot.' I said.
'You want to use the skill right now?' Lily asked.
'Yes.'
'Very well then.' She replied.
Although I didn't have any white coins, I still have not used my right to buy a free skill book worth 50 white coins. And now was the perfect time to do it.
After a few seconds Lily's voice rang in my mind once again. 'It's done. You can use it whenever you want.'
'Thank you.' I said and looked at Rahul who was currently taking off his tracking bag. From the start till now that old man had been pointing his gun at him.
'I cannot start my plan until and unless that old man points the gun at me. The fact that the old man had not pointed the gun at me so far also implies that he was more wary of Rahul than me which would work to my advantage.'
"And you. You want to me send you an invitation. Take your bag off and throw it at my feet. But do it slowly. No funny movements." The old man finally pointed his gun at me.
I took of my bag and was about to throw it at his feet when I said in my mind.
'Skill Activate.'
Suddenly, the world seemed to have become a bit slower and I realized that it's my speed instead which has increased tremendously.
I suddenly changed the trajectory of the bag so that it would hit his hands instead and changed my direction quickly just to be safe.
After going two meters to the right, I closed the five meters of distance between us at 4 times the speed of a normal human.
It all happened in an instant.
By the time the old man realized that he'd been fooled, I was already staring him in the face. I sent a sharp punch to stomach. The punch seemed to be a bit too powerful as he spat out a mouthful of blood and his body bent in an arc shape.
BANG!!
The loud sound of the gun being shot suddenly reverberated in my ears.
I looked at his hands and realized that he'd reflexively shot the gun when he was punched his stomach. And although the bullet hit nothing but air, it's loud sound must have been heard by every living creature in the radius of a kilometers.
'Shit! I should have disarmed him first.' I cursed in my mind and took the gun from his hands.
The old man seemed to have lost conscious after the punch and fell to the ground weakly.
'Well, I should throw this old man out of the store. It should be enough to distract the Abnormals for a few seconds and we can use this chance to run away.' I thought and picked up the old man when I heard Rahul voice from behind me.
"Don't kill him." He said.
"What?" I turned around and asked in puzzlement.
"He's an important person. We can't let him die." Rahul said "You must have used the 'Agility Booster' skill just now right."
"Yeah. What of it?" I asked.
"Go and lead those Abnormals to the other side of the road." He said. "There a hill up there. Lead them there and then make a large detour before coming back here. Make some noise to make sure that every Abnormal sees you when you go out."
'What the hell? Why does it has to be me.' I cursed in my mind but since time was limited, I trusted his judgement and ran to the front door while breaking it's glass.
It must have looked rather awesome if I didn't have such a hurried look in my face.
'Well, that should catch their attention.' I thought as I took a glance at the abnormals around me.
Although they are far apart from each other, there should still be more than a hundred of them within this petrol pump area.
Just as I looked at them, the Abnormals seemed to have noticed me as well and they all started shrieking in unison before they raced toward me.
'Well, they seem really hungry.' I mused in my heart but didn't waste any time as I ran through them to the opposite side of the road. I could see the hill that Rahul had talked about. It was not really as big as I had imagined but it should be enough.
I ran toward the hill with hundreds of hungry abnormals following behind me.
I lead them to the hill and before they could reach the top, I reached the bottom on the other side after where I made a sharp turn to run in a half circle so that I could reach back to the store where Rahul was hiding in.
I knew that time was against me so I ran past the trees without any pause.
I glanced at the top of the hill where more and more Abnormals were appearing and rushing toward the end of the hill where I had been a few moments ago.
'Aren't they making a bit too much noise for just a single person. Even if they caught up to me, it's not like I'll be able to fill everyone's stomach. How inefficient.'
Although the trees around this area were not very dense, they still won't be able to see me clearly from such a distance even if their eyes fell on me. Not to mention that not only is their eyesight very weak, they are not very smart either.
'Just because the guy in the front lost me doesn't mean they'll all stop at once. The horde will probably run a few hundred meters before they all realize that they have been running for nothing.' I mocked in my heart and was about to come out of the forest when my heart almost jumped out of my mouth as I saw the five Abnormals running in my direction.
It seemed like they were also shocked when they noticed me and forget to shriek like they usually do.
'Shit! The shrieking and howling of those hundreds of Abnormals must have caught the attention of these five who must have been lurking around somewhere else. Damn my luck.' I cursed in my mind but my body didn't pause for a second.
Time was running out and the Speed Booster skill will stop working any second now.
At this point, if the horde realized that I'm here then the situation will turn very dangerous.
I jumped at the first Abnormal, swung my sword as I made a clean cut in his throat. Before I head could even fall, I had already jumped at the second one at an incredible speed and the sword pierced through his neck as well.
The third one finally reacted and tried to swing it's hands but by that time, I had already sliced his head in half.
By this point, the two who were left came out their stupor and realized the situation at once.
The fourth on was about to shriek when I threw the sword at his throat which pierced his throat and came from behind his neck.
The fifth one looked at me and howled as he swung his hands. Having faced against such a simple attack for many times already, I dodged it quickly and threw a jab at his throat.
His wind pipe broke immediately and his Adam's apple was crushed.
His howls ended prematurely, before it could do anything else, I took the sword from the fourth Abnormal's neck and decapitated him immediately.
'Damn it!' I cursed in my mind. I had not been able to completely stop them from making any noise. I looked at the hundreds of howling and shrieking Abnormals on the other side of the hill and hoped that their noise would cover any noise made over here so that no other Abnormals would be able to notice my presence.
I had no time in my hand so I picked up the five heads by their hair and quickly crossed the now empty highway before I entered the store when I heard a notification in my head and a sharp pain coursed through my whole body as I fell to the ground.
'User's skill time has been used up. Extensive muscle damage noticed in user's body. It'll take the user one day to recuperate from the damage. The skill cannot be used for the time being until the user recuperates completely. Until that time, user's Agility stat will decrease by half.'
'Damn it! This day is only getting worse.' I cursed in my mind and got up quickly. I could see that the door of the store room was open and Rahul was looking at me from inside.
"Come in. Quickly." He said.
"Yes." I ran toward him but suddenly realized that I was running very slowly. 'Guess this is how anyone would feel if their speed is suddenly dropped by four times.' I chuckled and ran inside the room after which Rahul quickly shut the door.
"Did you suffer any injury?" Rahul asked in concern.
"No." I shook my head. "I'm alright. Plus I got so loot as well." I showed him the 5 heads proudly.
Indeed, I was feeling very proud at this moment. Although I had used a skill when I killed them, I did indeed kill 5 abnormals on my own without any outsider's help.
I was sure that I could have killed more than 5 if I had more time. This made me feel really awesome. I was reveling in my might when I suddenly heard a shrill laughter from behind which suddenly destroyed my mood.
"Kukukuku. Killing 5 of those devils in such a short period of time. I'll give it to you kid. You've impressed me."
I turned back and saw the old man sitting on the ground and laughing while he held his stomach but in the middle of his laughing he seemed to have suffered some severe pain and started coughing loudly instead.
He had removed his t-shirt while I was away and I could see that he had a very well maintained body despite him being so old.
But right now, there was a fist sized red mark in the middle of the stomach. Presumably where I hit him. He was holding that part and had sprawled on the ground like a shrimp.
"Why did you save him?" I asked. 'If Rahul didn't provide me with a reasonable explanation this time then I'll really pummel him to death.'
Rahul glanced at me and then sighed. He then said something that completely baffled me.
"I want him to join our team."
'What…' For a moment, my mind went blank. Him saying such a thing was beyond my expectations.
"But… He just tried to kill us." I said.
"I know."
"Then… why?" I asked in bafflement.
What happened to the 'we won't take any survivors with us'.
"I know you have a lot of questions. But I need you to trust me this time. Alright Ashok." He said softly.
I thought for a while before saying "Alright. But I won't talk to him whether he's on our team or not. And be careful. A man like him must know a lot of tricks."
"Don't worry. I'll be careful." Rahul said and took out a spray from his tracking bag.
I went to the side and realized that I was still very thirsty. If anything, my thirst had reached a whole new level by this point.
I took the bottle Rahul had brought with him and emptied it in one go before sitting heavily on the ground.
I was suddenly feeling very tired. Using that Speed Booster skill had really exhausted me by quite a bit.
'Isn't that the healing spray he used on me?' I asked as I saw Rahul use the spray on the old man's wounds.
'It is.' Lily said.
'That thing is worth 5 white coins. And it can only be used 5 times. Why is brother using it on him.' I grumbled. I really didn't like the way Rahul was treating this man despite what happened just a few moments ago.
'Because your brother is smarter than you.' Lily said.
'What do you mean?' I asked in an irritated voice.
'Your brother said he wants to recruit that man. That's a very wise move from my perspective.'
'How's that a wise move?' I asked 'I don't like that man. He tried to kill us. I don't think I can trust a man who just tried to kill me. It would be stupid to take him in the team.'
'Despite that. You can't refuse the fact that such a man would make a great addition to your team. Right?'
'Hmph.' I turned the other way and ignored any words from Lily.
But even though I was a bit angry over the that fact that old man tried to make use of us earlier, and was even more irritated by how Rahul treated him, I couldn't deny the fact that if that old man wholeheartedly joins our group then that would be really beneficial for us.
But that still didn't change my impression of the old man.
'Well, let's not think about such complicated matters anymore.' I thought and took out the 5 heads I had collected recently.
I then took out my Razor sharp sword and started to butcher those heads.
After two minutes, I had 5 different colored crystals in my hands.
I looked at them and gulped in excitement. After using them my Stamina will increase exponentially.
I excitedly exchanged them for 5 green colored Crystals and just when I was about to eat them…
"Ashok can you lend me those 5 crystals." Rahul said.
I looked at him and then looked at the old man suspiciously and asked "What for?"
'Rahul's stats were probably close to that of my own or maybe even a bit higher than me. He would definitely not ask for the crystals to use for himself. The only reason he could ask for those crystals was…'
"I'm giving them to Grandpa Patel." I felt like a thunder had resounded in my ears when I heard those words.
"Grandpa Patel? Since when did you to become so close." And not only were you close, you were even planning on giving him some crystals.
'What have these two guys been talking about when I was not paying attention.' I thought.
"Don't fucking call me a Grandpa." That old man's shout at that moment broke all my thoughts. Seems like they're not so close after all. I chuckled in my heart as I gazed at the old man.
I marvelled at how stubborn this old man was, even though he was our prisoner right now.
'Dude, shouldn't you show the least bit of respect to your captors. In case they get angry and… you know… kill you.'
"I am not interested in joining this merry little group of yours." The old man said in annoyance. "If you don't like my answer then cut my throat and be done with it. Don't waste my fucking time."
"There are worse ways than dying than that old man." Rahul said as he looked deep into the old man's eyes. "For example, I could just cut your legs and throw you in between those Abnormals. I'm not sure if they would like the taste of your flesh but we won't know until we try now would we."
The old man shuddered for a moment when he heard the threat, but then his eyes became resolute once again. "Then what are you waiting for boy. Go ahead and do it. Or do you need your mama to do it for you as well."
'This old man is stubborn. But he has a lot of willpower.' I thought. At this point, even though we were enemies, I was starting to get impressed by him. Just a little bit though.
Rahul on the other hand shook his head and expressed his disapproval. "Is joining my group really that unbearable to you that you'd rather choose to die."
The old man spat on the ground and said "I won't take orders from you. Not from you. And not from anyone else."
Rahul looked at him for a long time and they both kept staring each other when he finally sighed and shook his head in pity.
"Ashok. Pass me those crystals." Rahul said.
'Damn it! Didn't that man made it clear that he doesn't want to join our group. Why are you so still being so nice to him.' I reluctantly thought in my heart but still passed on the crystals to him.
"Here. Take them." Rahul said and passed on the crystals.
The old man looked vigilantly a the crystals and said "What are you playing at now? What kind of trick is this?"
"This is not a trick." Rahul said. "I'm giving these crystals to you as a sign of my goodwill."
"Hmph. Like I would believe something like that." The old man said and spat on the ground.
"Whether you believe me or not is up to you." Rahul said and kept the 5 crystals on the ground. "You're free to go now."
The man's face twitched when he heard that, then he gritted his teeth and stood up. "What about my gun."
"It stays with me." Rahul said.
The old man stared at Rahul for a long moment then he stood up, turned around and started to walk to the back door. But all of this steps were firm and slow. As if he was expecting to get shot any moment now.
When he reached the door Rahul said "Zakopur. If you change your mind, then meet me there by the end of the week." The old man stopped suddenly when he heard. But then he opened the door and walked out.
I went to the windows and looked outside. I could see the old man running toward the forest and after a few seconds, he vanished out of the sight.
Then I turned back and looked at the 5 crystals lying on the ground. Truth be told, I was a bit surprised by this turn of events. But then I looked at Rahul who was looking back at me. He smiled bitterly and shook his head.
It seemed like he really wanted to recruit the old man.
I picked up the 5 crystals from the ground and said "I tired. We should rest here for a while and continue our journey at night."
"Yeah." Rahul took a deep breath and said. "You must be tired from all the running. Today has been a really bad day for us. Let's rest here for some time. At night we'll hunt the few remaining Abnormals outside before continuing on our journey."
I nodded and took out the thin blanket from my bag and spread it in the ground.
Then I went to the freezer and brought four more bottles of water.
The thirst I felt today really made me cherish water even more. I kept the water beside me and just as I was about to lay down I heard a knock on the door.
'What the hell! Did that crazy old coot return or what?' I thought and then saw Rahul stand up and go to the door.
He removed the heavy boxes aside and opened the door. And lo and behold, who else could it be aside from the old man.
He pushed Rahul aside and entered the store like it was his own house, sat down on a corner and said discontentedly "I'll join your merry little group."
'Buy the 'Agility Booster' Skill Book and put it in my skill slot.' I said.'You want to use the skill right now?' Lily asked.'Yes.''Very well then.' She replied.Although I didn't have any white coins, I still have not used my right to buy a free skill book worth 50 white coins. And now was the perfect time to do it.After a few seconds Lily's voice rang in my mind once again. 'It's done. You can use it whenever you want.''Thank you.' I said and looked at Rahul who was currently taking off his tracking bag. From the start till now that old man had been pointing his gun at him.'I cannot start my plan until and unless that old man points the gun at me. The fact that the old man had not pointed the gun at me so far also implies that he was more wary of Rahul than me which would work to my advantage.'"And you. You want to me send you an invitation. Take your bag off and throw it at my feet. But do it slowly. No funny movements." The old man finally pointed his gun at me.I took of my bag and was about to throw it at his feet when I said in my mind.'Skill Activate.'Suddenly, the world seemed to have become a bit slower and I realized that it's my speed instead which has increased tremendously.I suddenly changed the trajectory of the bag so that it would hit his hands instead and changed my direction quickly just to be safe.After going two meters to the right, I closed the five meters of distance between us at 4 times the speed of a normal human.It all happened in an instant.By the time the old man realized that he'd been fooled, I was already staring him in the face. I sent a sharp punch to stomach. The punch seemed to be a bit too powerful as he spat out a mouthful of blood and his body bent in an arc shape.BANG!!The loud sound of the gun being shot suddenly reverberated in my ears.I looked at his hands and realized that he'd reflexively shot the gun when he was punched his stomach. And although the bullet hit nothing but air, it's loud sound must have been heard by every living creature in the radius of a kilometers.'Shit! I should have disarmed him first.' I cursed in my mind and took the gun from his hands.The old man seemed to have lost conscious after the punch and fell to the ground weakly.'Well, I should throw this old man out of the store. It should be enough to distract the Abnormals for a few seconds and we can use this chance to run away.' I thought and picked up the old man when I heard Rahul voice from behind me."Don't kill him." He said."What?" I turned around and asked in puzzlement."He's an important person. We can't let him die." Rahul said "You must have used the 'Agility Booster' skill just now right.""Yeah. What of it?" I asked."Go and lead those Abnormals to the other side of the road." He said. "There a hill up there. Lead them there and then make a large detour before coming back here. Make some noise to make sure that every Abnormal sees you when you go out."'What the hell? Why does it has to be me.' I cursed in my mind but since time was limited, I trusted his judgement and ran to the front door while breaking it's glass.It must have looked rather awesome if I didn't have such a hurried look in my face.'Well, that should catch their attention.' I thought as I took a glance at the abnormals around me.Although they are far apart from each other, there should still be more than a hundred of them within this petrol pump area.Just as I looked at them, the Abnormals seemed to have noticed me as well and they all started shrieking in unison before they raced toward me.'Well, they seem really hungry.' I mused in my heart but didn't waste any time as I ran through them to the opposite side of the road. I could see the hill that Rahul had talked about. It was not really as big as I had imagined but it should be enough.I ran toward the hill with hundreds of hungry abnormals following behind me.I lead them to the hill and before they could reach the top, I reached the bottom on the other side after where I made a sharp turn to run in a half circle so that I could reach back to the store where Rahul was hiding in.I knew that time was against me so I ran past the trees without any pause.I glanced at the top of the hill where more and more Abnormals were appearing and rushing toward the end of the hill where I had been a few moments ago.'Aren't they making a bit too much noise for just a single person. Even if they caught up to me, it's not like I'll be able to fill everyone's stomach. How inefficient.'Although the trees around this area were not very dense, they still won't be able to see me clearly from such a distance even if their eyes fell on me. Not to mention that not only is their eyesight very weak, they are not very smart either.'Just because the guy in the front lost me doesn't mean they'll all stop at once. The horde will probably run a few hundred meters before they all realize that they have been running for nothing.' I mocked in my heart and was about to come out of the forest when my heart almost jumped out of my mouth as I saw the five Abnormals running in my direction.It seemed like they were also shocked when they noticed me and forget to shriek like they usually do.'Shit! The shrieking and howling of those hundreds of Abnormals must have caught the attention of these five who must have been lurking around somewhere else. Damn my luck.' I cursed in my mind but my body didn't pause for a second.Time was running out and the Speed Booster skill will stop working any second now.At this point, if the horde realized that I'm here then the situation will turn very dangerous.I jumped at the first Abnormal, swung my sword as I made a clean cut in his throat. Before I head could even fall, I had already jumped at the second one at an incredible speed and the sword pierced through his neck as well.The third one finally reacted and tried to swing it's hands but by that time, I had already sliced his head in half.By this point, the two who were left came out their stupor and realized the situation at once.The fourth on was about to shriek when I threw the sword at his throat which pierced his throat and came from behind his neck.The fifth one looked at me and howled as he swung his hands. Having faced against such a simple attack for many times already, I dodged it quickly and threw a jab at his throat.His wind pipe broke immediately and his Adam's apple was crushed.His howls ended prematurely, before it could do anything else, I took the sword from the fourth Abnormal's neck and decapitated him immediately.'Damn it!' I cursed in my mind. I had not been able to completely stop them from making any noise. I looked at the hundreds of howling and shrieking Abnormals on the other side of the hill and hoped that their noise would cover any noise made over here so that no other Abnormals would be able to notice my presence.I had no time in my hand so I picked up the five heads by their hair and quickly crossed the now empty highway before I entered the store when I heard a notification in my head and a sharp pain coursed through my whole body as I fell to the ground.'User's skill time has been used up. Extensive muscle damage noticed in user's body. It'll take the user one day to recuperate from the damage. The skill cannot be used for the time being until the user recuperates completely. Until that time, user's Agility stat will decrease by half.''Damn it! This day is only getting worse.' I cursed in my mind and got up quickly. I could see that the door of the store room was open and Rahul was looking at me from inside."Come in. Quickly." He said."Yes." I ran toward him but suddenly realized that I was running very slowly. 'Guess this is how anyone would feel if their speed is suddenly dropped by four times.' I chuckled and ran inside the room after which Rahul quickly shut the door."Did you suffer any injury?" Rahul asked in concern."No." I shook my head. "I'm alright. Plus I got so loot as well." I showed him the 5 heads proudly.Indeed, I was feeling very proud at this moment. Although I had used a skill when I killed them, I did indeed kill 5 abnormals on my own without any outsider's help.I was sure that I could have killed more than 5 if I had more time. This made me feel really awesome. I was reveling in my might when I suddenly heard a shrill laughter from behind which suddenly destroyed my mood."Kukukuku. Killing 5 of those devils in such a short period of time. I'll give it to you kid. You've impressed me."I turned back and saw the old man sitting on the ground and laughing while he held his stomach but in the middle of his laughing he seemed to have suffered some severe pain and started coughing loudly instead.He had removed his t-shirt while I was away and I could see that he had a very well maintained body despite him being so old.But right now, there was a fist sized red mark in the middle of the stomach. Presumably where I hit him. He was holding that part and had sprawled on the ground like a shrimp."Why did you save him?" I asked. 'If Rahul didn't provide me with a reasonable explanation this time then I'll really pummel him to death.'Rahul glanced at me and then sighed. He then said something that completely baffled me."I want him to join our team."'What' For a moment, my mind went blank. Him saying such a thing was beyond my expectations."But He just tried to kill us." I said."I know.""Then why?" I asked in bafflement.What happened to the 'we won't take any survivors with us'."I know you have a lot of questions. But I need you to trust me this time. Alright Ashok." He said softly.I thought for a while before saying "Alright. But I won't talk to him whether he's on our team or not. And be careful. A man like him must know a lot of tricks.""Don't worry. I'll be careful." Rahul said and took out a spray from his tracking bag.I went to the side and realized that I was still very thirsty. If anything, my thirst had reached a whole new level by this point.I took the bottle Rahul had brought with him and emptied it in one go before sitting heavily on the ground.I was suddenly feeling very tired. Using that Speed Booster skill had really exhausted me by quite a bit.'Isn't that the healing spray he used on me?' I asked as I saw Rahul use the spray on the old man's wounds.'It is.' Lily said.'That thing is worth 5 white coins. And it can only be used 5 times. Why is brother using it on him.' I grumbled. I really didn't like the way Rahul was treating this man despite what happened just a few moments ago.'Because your brother is smarter than you.' Lily said.'What do you mean?' I asked in an irritated voice.'Your brother said he wants to recruit that man. That's a very wise move from my perspective.''How's that a wise move?' I asked 'I don't like that man. He tried to kill us. I don't think I can trust a man who just tried to kill me. It would be stupid to take him in the team.''Despite that. You can't refuse the fact that such a man would make a great addition to your team. Right?''Hmph.' I turned the other way and ignored any words from Lily.But even though I was a bit angry over the that fact that old man tried to make use of us earlier, and was even more irritated by how Rahul treated him, I couldn't deny the fact that if that old man wholeheartedly joins our group then that would be really beneficial for us.But that still didn't change my impression of the old man.'Well, let's not think about such complicated matters anymore.' I thought and took out the 5 heads I had collected recently.I then took out my Razor sharp sword and started to butcher those heads.After two minutes, I had 5 different colored crystals in my hands.I looked at them and gulped in excitement. After using them my Stamina will increase exponentially.I excitedly exchanged them for 5 green colored Crystals and just when I was about to eat them"Ashok can you lend me those 5 crystals." Rahul said.I looked at him and then looked at the old man suspiciously and asked "What for?"'Rahul's stats were probably close to that of my own or maybe even a bit higher than me. He would definitely not ask for the crystals to use for himself. The only reason he could ask for those crystals was'"I'm giving them to Grandpa Patel." I felt like a thunder had resounded in my ears when I heard those words."Grandpa Patel? Since when did you to become so close." And not only were you close, you were even planning on giving him some crystals.'What have these two guys been talking about when I was not paying attention.' I thought."Don't fucking call me a Grandpa." That old man's shout at that moment broke all my thoughts. Seems like they're not so close after all. I chuckled in my heart as I gazed at the old man.I marvelled at how stubborn this old man was, even though he was our prisoner right now.'Dude, shouldn't you show the least bit of respect to your captors. In case they get angry and you know kill you.'"I am not interested in joining this merry little group of yours." The old man said in annoyance. "If you don't like my answer then cut my throat and be done with it. Don't waste my fucking time.""There are worse ways than dying than that old man." Rahul said as he looked deep into the old man's eyes. "For example, I could just cut your legs and throw you in between those Abnormals. I'm not sure if they would like the taste of your flesh but we won't know until we try now would we."The old man shuddered for a moment when he heard the threat, but then his eyes became resolute once again. "Then what are you waiting for boy. Go ahead and do it. Or do you need your mama to do it for you as well."'This old man is stubborn. But he has a lot of willpower.' I thought. At this point, even though we were enemies, I was starting to get impressed by him. Just a little bit though.Rahul on the other hand shook his head and expressed his disapproval. "Is joining my group really that unbearable to you that you'd rather choose to die."The old man spat on the ground and said "I won't take orders from you. Not from you. And not from anyone else."Rahul looked at him for a long time and they both kept staring each other when he finally sighed and shook his head in pity."Ashok. Pass me those crystals." Rahul said.'Damn it! Didn't that man made it clear that he doesn't want to join our group. Why are you so still being so nice to him.' I reluctantly thought in my heart but still passed on the crystals to him."Here. Take them." Rahul said and passed on the crystals.The old man looked vigilantly a the crystals and said "What are you playing at now? What kind of trick is this?""This is not a trick." Rahul said. "I'm giving these crystals to you as a sign of my goodwill.""Hmph. Like I would believe something like that." The old man said and spat on the ground."Whether you believe me or not is up to you." Rahul said and kept the 5 crystals on the ground. "You're free to go now."The man's face twitched when he heard that, then he gritted his teeth and stood up. "What about my gun.""It stays with me." Rahul said.The old man stared at Rahul for a long moment then he stood up, turned around and started to walk to the back door. But all of this steps were firm and slow. As if he was expecting to get shot any moment now.When he reached the door Rahul said "Zakopur. If you change your mind, then meet me there by the end of the week." The old man stopped suddenly when he heard. But then he opened the door and walked out.I went to the windows and looked outside. I could see the old man running toward the forest and after a few seconds, he vanished out of the sight.Then I turned back and looked at the 5 crystals lying on the ground. Truth be told, I was a bit surprised by this turn of events. But then I looked at Rahul who was looking back at me. He smiled bitterly and shook his head.It seemed like he really wanted to recruit the old man.I picked up the 5 crystals from the ground and said "I tired. We should rest here for a while and continue our journey at night.""Yeah." Rahul took a deep breath and said. "You must be tired from all the running. Today has been a really bad day for us. Let's rest here for some time. At night we'll hunt the few remaining Abnormals outside before continuing on our journey."I nodded and took out the thin blanket from my bag and spread it in the ground.Then I went to the freezer and brought four more bottles of water.The thirst I felt today really made me cherish water even more. I kept the water beside me and just as I was about to lay down I heard a knock on the door.'What the hell! Did that crazy old coot return or what?' I thought and then saw Rahul stand up and go to the door.He removed the heavy boxes aside and opened the door. And lo and behold, who else could it be aside from the old man.He pushed Rahul aside and entered the store like it was his own house, sat down on a corner and said discontentedly "I'll join your merry little group."
