Familiarity

We walked down the empty hallway and amidst all the scar stained walls, and blood soaked floors, I quietly reminisced. It really is quite amazing, how familiar, yet all the same, how foreign these halls are. It brought on a sense of nostalgia, a sort of quiet whisper in the back of my mind that kept saying; “It’s all so familiar!”

Although that might just be me getting too sentimental.

As we continued walking, we passed by many of the familiar halls and classrooms - though at this point, it would be more appropriate to call them “battlefields” rather than places of learning. The walls were thick with marks and the lockers, riddled in violence- really, it was quite a scene, and if I wasn’t already so desensitized, I would have surely gasped out in surprise, among other things. Although in retrospect, it was only natural to see so much destruction, after all, rather than the helpless deaths that many of my classmates were subjected too, we actually fought back, resulting in these lasting impressions spread out all over the place.

Speaking of battles, the week old enemies which we fervently faced don’t seem to be here. Not one, not a single Minotaur could be seen. This struck me as odd, considering how fever pitched the three of us had to be in order to keep up with the rapid paced spawn rate those bipedal bulls had. In comparison, today lacked that normal sense of danger. Rather, it makes one wonder- did they stop spawning? Has someone else already killed the big boss Minotaur somewhere else?

Either way, it’s not really of concern to me, it might be a good thing actually, a few less monsters for me to worry about.

While comforted by the fact that no harm would come my way as we made our way to our destination, I monopolized on this opportunity, and took this time to check my stats. Truth be told, ever since the week long double experience ended, I haven’t really opened up my window panel. I was quite preoccupied, not to mention I was also quite frustrated at the bottleneck I was facing. Without the bonus, it was a difficult task to increase my level any further.

Now was the perfect chance to check on my progress, as well as distribute the unallocated/bonus points I acquired from the Werewolf raid.

With a simple thought, I brought up the familiar status window, and after briefly glancing over the contents, I then proceeded to make the appropriate changes.

Before I fully dismissed it, I went over the window with a scrutinizing eye. In the end, it ended up as such;

Status WindowNameHide MayoAge17RaceHumanLevel24GenderMaleTitlesPioneer, PyschopathHealth100/340(16)Health Regen.0.005 / SecMana

(unavailable)340(16)Mana Regen.0.01 / SecStamina24/340(16)Stamina Regen.0.05 / Sec-Strength45(16)Agility60(16)Vitality17(16)Dexterity60(16)Intelligence26(16)Wisdom17(16)Leadership0(8)Luck0(8)-SkillsEquip (Active)

Identification (Active)

Dissection(Active)

Sensory Remapping + (Active)Current Status Effect(s)n/aUnallocated Points0

I went with my usual distribution, putting more points into what I considered the most necessary stats; strength, agility, and dexterity. They proved useful as of now and I wasn’t quite ready to make any drastic change to my current build. Although I did do one thing that slightly veered from my normal course of actions. Considering the fact that the intelligence stat did augment reaction time, as well as the fact that my current character was one that valued that sort of thing, I invested more than a few points towards here too.

I also put in a few in vitality and wisdom, since I didn’t feel quite comfortable leaving these two stats so low in numerical value.

I noted, with mild satisfaction, that I was only one level away from reaching the level requirements for my Efhermet Dagger. The dagger itself gave amazing boosts, so this was something I was excited about. After one final nod of approval, I quickly closed the panel, as I once again focused on the path ahead of me.

My foot steps heavy from fatigue, I pressed forward.

****

A few more minutes of silent walking took place before we finally arrived at our destination. The familiar door frame, now decorated in blood and splinters greeted me. Maybe it was due to my new found skill, but the bitter scent of blood was more vivid than usual. I smiled vaguely as I took the handle with outstretched hands and entered my old classroom.

Like with the hallway, the familiarity was an unmistakable emotion that welled up inside me. From the arrangement of chairs, to the still present paint stain on the ceiling, everything reminded me of those days I spent in dreary solitude. A time I would rather not recall, but all the same, something I missed.

I took a firm step forward, as the quiet mumbling from behind me finally broke the ensuing silence.

“This is what your old classroom looked like, huh Hide….” Hina spoke, with all too curious eyes.

“Hide...2nd year…” Cielle muttered while her gaze stayed transfixed to the sign above the doorway.

I responded to their mumbling with only a silent nod as I proceeded forward. I was a bit too transfixed to pay the two any heed at this point.

For sentimental reasons, I took this opportunity to take a slow turn around, as if to properly view the classroom in all its entirety. This small, rectangular room which I’ve spent the worse part of a year locked up in… It looked strangely nostalgic, yet undeniably alien. Although, no matter how much nostalgia leaked out, it was indisputable that the once familiar classroom setting was replaced by what could only be described as pure, unadulterated carnage.

Broken desks, blood stains, and even the ever present corpses. So many corpses. The scene before me was quite familiar actually, something that wouldn’t be out of place anywhere else in the school - probably - but for some reason, these corpses were… different. They left a stronger, more lasting impression on me. They were, for all intents and purposes, a much more impactful sight to behold.

Of course, the reason was quite obvious, after all, there was one fundamental difference that these corpses had that the others, the ones I had grown complacent of, lacked. That was - familiarity. I knew the people that died in this room. Despite my rather, solitary position, nonetheless, the people whose corpses riddled this very classroom, were the same people I saw on a day to day basis.

For example, Shizuku, a loud and rather obnoxious girl whom I never paid any particular heed to before. She was someone who decorated herself with gaudy accessories and heavy makeup. The type of female who wouldn’t seem out of place around the arms of a wannabee gangster, Currently, her corpse was before my feet; legs ripped out, and her usual heavy makeup smeared by dry tears and blood. Her hollow eyes were quite a contrast to the usual scorning look that used to flash her face.

Another corpse, towards my right and under a pile of splintered chairs - A man named Rinage. He had a brawny physique for a Highschooler, although that didn’t come as much of a surprise, considering he was an avid rugby player. While he was apparently a good enough guy, he had a rather unremarkable face, even now I could hardly make out the expression he - ah, oops. He doesn’t have a head anymore. For some reason or another, it's missing.

As my eyes kept spanning throughout the room, I saw more and more corpses.

Inadu, a delinquent boy with blonde hair, Liliana, a person who was probably pretty, Tristen, Mina, Yuzuki, Fuuka, Rin - the names kept flashing through my head as my eyes swerved and gleamed over each and every one of their corpses. On normal occasions, I wouldn’t have an inkling as to what to call these ‘classmates’ of mine. I wasn’t particularly good with names after all, but… but seeing them in such a state…

.... Well, for one, it's a very depressing scene.

After the wave of initial nostalgia came and went, I began examining the room with a little more scrutinizing glare.

From what I could tell, I’d say a minotaur or to be more precise, more than just a few minotaurs came barrelling through this room. This doesn’t surprise me all that much though, considering the initial spawn point for minotaurs wasn’t all that far from here. In fact, this was one of the reason’s why I hesitated going here before, but conveniently enough, the minotaurs stopped spawning, so it all worked out.

Despite the obvious signs of minotaur destruction - from the glaring hole marks, to the embedded hoof prints on the floor, one thing did concern me. Some of the injuries on the bodies… they were different. They weren’t the usual ripped limbs or pierced abdomens that was more common on the corpses outside this room. Rather, the best words to describe them with would be gashed, or slashed. Something you’d more likely to see from a knife wound rather than a giant half-man half-bull creature.

It left quite an uncomfortable feeling of concern and paranoia to well up inside me, but for now, I managed to push it aside. While those types of wounds did hint to something a bit more sinister than your common, everyday Minotaur scout, I didn’t want to dwell in such things right now.

My mind was a bit too tired for any serious concern, plus, truth be told, I had one other goal in mind which I wanted to put my utmost focus in. Rather than coming here to sightsee at the familiar corpses, this goal was a bit more practical, and hopefully, a bunch more useful than just moping around and lamenting in front of the dead.

With thoughts such as these, I cut my focus away from the bodies, as I sidestepped over the corpses and made my way through the classroom. I fixed my gaze on a familiar desk, one I had grown attached to over the three months I’ve spent on it - as evident by my idle doodling on its surface.

Luckily enough, my old desk escaped much of the destruction that seemed to be quite prevalent throughout this room. Maybe that was due to the fact that it was isolated from the rest, located towards the corner of the room and near the windows, but nonetheless, this type of outcome might be considered lucky. Although it didn’t really matter, what I wanted wasn’t the desk, but rather, what laid beside it.

Besides the desk was my old backpack. A worn down and overused piece of grey baggage which accompanied me throughout school. Before anything else, I quickly opened it up and checked its contents. Considering the fact that school had been practically over, the pouch contained none of the familiar books or folders, although the items which I did expect were still present.

I carefully took out the contents, and laid them bare on top of my desk. I couldn’t help but flash a rather triumphant smile as I glanced over at this assortment of knick knacks.

Items. To me, these were more than just simple, useful tools. They tied to the very reality of my most prevalent Skill, and I figured it was about time to monopolize on this fact. One key thing I wanted to abuse was the “familiarity” feature of my skill. It only ever showed up on one of the items, but nonetheless it was more than just useful, considering the fact that it gave various extra stat boosts. And going by the all too obvious name, I’d say the best chances of getting “familiar” items was with stuff I owned.

Alongside my backpack, an old jacket, a pair of spare headphones (although I lacked the actual music player), as well as some tennis shoes (a spare I kept for gym class) riddled the table.

With poorly restrained enthusiasm, I began identifying each and everyone of the objects in front of me.

[Identify!]

ding!

One after another, blue window panels opened up in front of my eyes.

Grey Backpack

An old, worn out backpack. It can be used to store objects.

+10 (+9) HP

-5 (+9) Agility

Familiarity: 9

Special Effects:

(???)

Durability: 16/30

Hooded Jacket

An article of clothing. It is heavily used.

+10 (+5) HP

+5 (+5) Defense

Familiarity: 5

Durability: 10/25

Headphones

A tool used for listening to audio signals, such as music.

Familiarity: 20

Durability: 5/6

Tennis Shoes

Footwear. The grime and dirt indicates that it has been heavily used.

+10 (+2) Agility

Familiarity: 2

Special Effects:

(???)

Durability: 6/12

I looked over each and every panel carefully, making sure to fully comprehend all the information it outlined.

The backpack was a useful item. Not only could I store items inside it, I could also carry it into battle without fear of any combat demerits. This was made possible due to the item’s familiarity being so high. Not only did it cancel out the -5 in agility, it completely turned that demerit around, resulting in a slight boost in agility.

As if to test this theory, I immediately donned on the bag, and quickly felt the slight boost in agility take effect. The lightness in my step confirmed these effects.

Satisfied, I then turned my attention to the jacket and the pair of headphones. While it was quite disappointing that the headphones didn’t provide any actual stat boost, I was too intrigued by what the jacket had to offer to really care. The jacket had a decent familiarity score, but what drew my attention was the stat boosts, or rather, a certain stat that I have never seen before; defense.

Defense was a stat that was easy enough to guess as to what its effects were, but the key point here was that it was something I don’t have.

I stopped and thought for moment.

While I may not have the specific stat, maybe if I….

Without a second’s hesitation, I removed the backpack from my back, and immediately wore the old jacket with the peculiar bonus. The familiarity of its woolen interior was something I missed, but other than that, I didn’t feel any different.

I nodded to myself before I inwardly spoke out,

[status!]

Status WindowNameHide MayoAge17RaceHumanLevel24GenderMaleTitlesPioneer, PyschopathHealth100/340(31)Health Regen.0.005 / SecMana

(unavailable)340(16)Mana Regen.0.01 / SecStamina24/340(16)Stamina Regen.0.05 / Sec-Strength45(16)Agility60(16)Vitality17(16)Dexterity60(16)Intelligence26(16)Wisdom17(16)Leadership0(8)Luck0(8)Defense0(26)-SkillsEquip (Active)

Identification (Active)

Dissection(Active)

Sensory Remapping + (Active)Current Status Effect(s)n/aUnallocated Points0

My eyes quickly scanned over the text, until I came to rest on the one thing that had change.

Like I expected, a new stat has appeared. I grinned at myself as I admired it in all of its glory. Aside from the bonus given by the jacket itself, the Defense stat was marked down with a gloomy zero points, but right now, that didn’t matter, I’ll make sure to properly invest a few bonus points into that stat later.

After confirming the jacket’s effects, I removed it once more, in order to confirm something else. After removing the jacket, I checked my window panel once again, and smiled to myself. Despite not currently equipping the jacket, the Defense stat remained, meaning this type of stat was definitely here to stay.

Aside from the jacket, both the backpack and the tennis shoes were good finds, so after placing the pair of headphones within the backpack, I immediately wore my new (well, more old) items.

Satisfied, I nodded to myself as a voice from behind called out.

“You’re looking pretty cool right now, Hide.”

I jumped at the sudden sound. I was a bit too preoccupied, but I had completely forgotten about the two people I was with. Turning around, I saw Hina flashing me with an aloof smirk while Cielle squirmed around.

“Your face looks like you completely forgot about us.” She continued

I opened my mouth as if to reply, but instantly closed it. I thought for a moment. I wanted to say something back. A witty comeback or something, but ultimately I ended up responding with a simple, “Let’s go. I’ve finished my business here.”

Hearing my reply, Hina looked at me for a second, before she shrugged and made her way out the room. Cielle in contrast, looked like she was about to say something in response, but seemingly gave up on it, as she moved into the hallway as well.

After the two had left, I sighed, and motioned to follow them. As I moved through the room, my eyes couldn’t help but scan over the classroom once more. They made their way through the broken chairs, through the stained floor, through the dead bodies, through my dead classmates.

Really, I was once again reminded how depraved of a scene it was, and by extension, how depraved of a situation I was stuck in. Although, outside from the usual despair, something… felt off about this room, no, more specifically, something felt off about the bodies.

After looking through the corpses a few more times, I finally came to realize why I felt something wrong. Amongst the corpses, a few bodies - a few classmates were missing.

Kido and his archetype harem weren’t among the dead. After thinking about this fact for a bit, I unintentionally let out a slight smile. As expected of a protagonist. He somehow managed to escape, and with his harem in tact no doubt.

It was weird. I certainly didn’t like him, he was my polar opposite after all, but knowing that someone else other than Cielle, Hina, and I may have managed to survive… Well, it was good news. The last thing this school needed was more dead bodies.

With those last thoughts, I left my old classroom and followed the two girls down the hallway.

****

Night had fallen.

Instead of going back to the art room, which was located on the other side of the halls, we decided to camp out at another room. One closer to my old classroom. This one was a spare room that the literature club had been using as their clubroom. As expected of a culture club, the room’s walls were lined with shelves that were stacked with numerous books. There were also two rectangular tables, joined together, as they supported pages of poetry and amateur novels.

Surprisingly, this room was left virtually untouched. Apparently, since nobody was actually present here during the apocalypse, the Minotaurs hadn't bothered destroying the place up like they did with the rest of the old school wing. It was quite refreshing. Instead of the constant smell of decaying corpses wafting throughout the place, this sanctuary had a nostalgic scent of crisp pages, and bitter coffee. I guess the literature club members had a fondness for caffeine.

Currently, the two girls had huddled themselves up in a corner of the room, snugly between two adjacent book shelves. They were using a wool blanket we had found inside the room, and had already drifted off to sleep.

I on the other hand, laid awake, staring apathetically at the unmoving ceiling fan.

We discovered this only recently after we left my old classroom, but it seems like the electricity finally stopped working. Hina seemed quite surprised by this. She was sure that this school’s generators were enough to light every nook and cranny of this building for at least 4 weeks, but it hasn’t even been two and it already stopped working. Although truth be told, I didn’t really care. I was too preoccupied with thoughts about our plans for tomorrow.

Earlier, we had decided before hand that it was finally time to move on. We were finally going to leave the old building. While it is true that all three of us share the same bitterness about being confined to one place for so long, each of us had different objectives. Hina for one, wanted to search the school for survivors, while Cielle was content with just following both of us around.

In that regard, I also had my own reasons. The minotaurs were gone now, so I needed a new hunting ground. It’s the same train of thought as leaving the newbie area in a game and venturing off into the higher level areas. I didn’t want to stagnate my growth.

In the end, we decided we were going to go downstairs and stop by the infirmary, before venturing deeper into the main building. And if we were lucky, tomorrow, we might meet new people… or at the very least, new monsters.

I continued to stare at the ceiling as I thought about this. There were too many unaccounted variables, too many possibilities for danger, but most importantly the element of the unknown scared me, which was funny, considering the psychopath title supposedly negated my fear.

“....”

Well, for now, there’s no use thinking to hard about things. What happens, happens. I can’t do much of anything but just adjust to the events to come. With that, I finally broke eye contact with the fan, as I shut my eyes closed.

That night, we slept, without the background chorus of howling to comfort us.