Abrupt Encounter

The Baldie moved forward. His rather hard to look at face grew cold and impassive, while the glare in his eyes intensified. He raised the metal bat up to his shoulders, gripped the handle tightly, and made a rather threatening pose.

I inwardly cursed as I quickly ducked down and gripped Efhermet at the ready.

The people next to the Baldie noticed his abrupt change in atmosphere. They each shot quizzical glances towards one another, before finally, one of the others - the Brown haired kid, spoke out, “Oi, Ryuuji, what’s wrong?”

Baldie - Ryuuji didn’t bother answering, instead opting to point at the infirmary by jutting out his chin.

This motion shifted the other three’s attention over to our current hideout. Glancing at the infirmary window, then at themselves, it might be due to fear or experience, but they quickly caught on. They gripped their weapons, as each of them moved to follow the Baldie.

“What is it?”

“A monster?”

“Was it those Bastards from the cafeteria!?”

As they muttered amongst themselves, I shifted my focus towards the two next to me.

“Fuu….” Cielle had a barely noticeable, one second scowl flash before her face as she turned to me. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes were clearly saying, ‘What do we do?’

As if to voice out her sister’s thoughts, Hina whispered, “What do we do?”

After thinking for a bit, I replied back. “For now…. we’ll wait and see what they do. We won’t make the first move, but if they attack… If they attack…” I let my words trail off, implying that we would obviously retaliate, if it ever came to that.

The sisters correctly interpreted my intentions as the both tensely gulped.

“M-maybe we can talk things out with them?” Hina quickly suggested. From her facial expression, I guess it was a bit more discerning to have actual people as our enemies, rather than monsters. Plus, considering Hina’s own earlier eagerness about survivors, this situation might be a bit too much for her.

Before I could reply, unexpectedly, it was Cielle who responded. She took a quick breath, before saying, “...Enemies...there dangerous… probably….”

Her speech sounded choppy and broken, mostly because she spoke in such a soft and quiet voice that even with my increased hearing, it was hard to make out. Despite that, Both Hina and I fully understood what she meant.

“Just like Cielle said, it’s best to be cautious… plus, I don’t think those four are the most friendly of people.”

Hina unconsciously nodded at my assessment, but her face still showed signs of hesitation.

Before I could say any words of encouragement, an abrupt voice from out the hallway suddenly called out.

“Oi! You in there! Bastard, there’s no use hiding, I saw you!”

The heavy set voice indicated it was Ryuuji, the Bald guy with the large build. The hostility in his voice was clearly evident, but at the same time, I could make out a feeling of anxiety interlayered between his words.

Without bothering to respond, I turned back towards the girls.

“From what I can tell, it seems like he only saw me, so for now, you two stay here. Prepare your magic just in case, but unless it looks like my life is in danger, don’t use it. You might -”

I abruptly cut off my quick set of orders at this point. What I was about to say was something along the lines of, “You might accidentally kill them,” but for some reason the words caught on my throat.

“We might what?” Hina asked worriedly, her eyebrows knitted together.

“... No, it’s nothing… For now, just stay still, wait for my orders.”

After parting with those words, I abruptly shot out from underneath the window, and glared at the four of them from within the room. My sudden appearance caused their eyes to bulge out in surprise. Even Ryuuji, who knew I was in here, couldn’t help but stagger back in slight astonishment..

I took a moment to appreciate their reactions. From what I could tell, the four in front of me seemed to have had a bad day. Their faces were hagard, their skin rather red in anger, and their eyes had the bloodshot glare of a cornered animal. Rather than a bad day… it would have been more accurate to say these four had a bad week…

After regaining their senses, the group quickly donned on their previous “intimidating” glares, as they resumed the earlier atmosphere from before. The Baldie scowled, clearly angry with himself, before once again gripping his metal bat and shooting a glare at me. Although the man was naturally ugly and had a face that would scare any child to tears, he contorted his already ugly face to make an expression that truly brought out his hideous aesthetics. He swaggered closer, taking two steps forward, he yelled, “Oi, get out here!”

I didn’t move at first. It wasn’t like this person scared me. His intimidation wasn’t all that intimidating, in fact, I played with the thought of just staying in here, purely as a means of annoying him. In the end, I decided against that. I quietly moving across the room, I kept my eyes firmly on the four outside as I opened the door and took a step out into the hallway.

I wasn’t really complying to the Baldie’s demands, but more that I wanted to keep Cielle and Hina concealed. In the case that the mob in front of me ended up being stronger than expected, surprise attacks would be rather convenient.

Closing the infirmary door behind me, I took a small step forward. My left hand was firmly held behind me, grasping Efhermet tightly.

The four of them began to encircle me, their weapons raised and pointed. The hostility was quite evident, and not at all one sided. I exchanged hostile glares with each of them.

After a moment of silent intimidation, The group of four were the first to break the quiet.

“You, what the hell are you doing here? You Cafeteria trash should know that this whole area is BOSS’s territory!” Ryuuji glared menacingly.

Next to him, the Brown haired kid tilted his head in suspicion. “Oi, Ryuuji, I don’t recognize this guy…” Upon saying that he glared at me aswell, and took another step forward, as if to get a better look.

Ryuuji also stepped forward. “...You’re right.. I didn’t see anybody that looked like this guy 4 days ago….”

“Agh! Who gives a fuck! He’s obviously with the Cafeteria Bastards!” The girl with the scissors shrieked. From up close, I could fully see how erratic the girl was. Her bloodshot eyes twitched randomly, and her shoulders constantly shook. She didn’t even seem to notice the blood that had collected on her hands.

“Ah, oi Cher…” Ryuuji cautioned at the girl, attempting to keep her calm.

“Why are you here?” The Slanted eyed student asked, ignoring the commotion between the other two. He was the furthest one back, and from my perspective, was probably the most cautious of the bunch. He had one leg pointed towards a corridor to the left, ready to sprint away at a moment’s notice.

I didn’t bother answering, instead I discreetly used [Identify] on the four of them. In between glares, 4 blue window panels floated up from over their heads.

Ryuuji Nakamura - Level 6

HP : 140/160

Cher Greenley - Level 4

HP: 90/140

Bentley Rhodes - Level 8

HP: 180/180

Kenta Katsu - Level 6

HP: 130/160

I inwardly chuckled to myself. The level difference between them and I was quite large, enough so that it took away most of my earlier tension. But, despite that, knowing that the four of them aren’t level one showed that they at least had experience in killing… be that monster or otherwise...After calming down, I looked at their status panels once more. [Identify] barely gave out any information, but nonetheless, it was helpful. Normally I wouldn’t have been able to see another person’s status or level, at the very least, this gave me a vague idea as to how strong they were.

Like I half expected, the Brown Haired kid with the short sword was the highest level, although compared to me, he was still lacking….

“Oi, what’re ya grinning for, you bastard!”

I must have made a weird face, since when I looked at Ryuuji's expression, he was snarling quite fiercely at me.

I didn’t bother answering, instead I remained quiet. While my earlier tension had diminished, it wasn’t like I could completely let my guard down, after all, cornered animals are the most dangerous beings a person can encounter.

The silence that persisted between the five of us, caused sweat to trickle down the group’s faces. The girl was the one most affected by it, seeing as how she looked like she would attack at any moment.

Finally, as if cutting the silence like a hot knife on butter, I spoke, “... Can the boss use magic?”

It was a simple question, one that nonetheless put the four of them on edge. Their shoulders stiffened, and their breath caught short as they were once again reminded of the being they apparently feared.

Since they didn’t answer me, I proceeded once again with another question, “The monsters here… what happened to them?”

This time I asked a question that had been bugging me. It was glaringly obvious that something had passed through here, evident from all the blood plastered all over the walls, but so far, I hadn’t seen a single one.

Hearing my words, a look of understanding apparently passed through the Baldie’s face, as if he just remembered something important. The moment passed however, and he countered my interrogation with another question of his own.

For a while now, the four of them had been scanning me quietly with their eyes, no doubt they noticed all the peculiarities to my appearance, such as the hand I had behind my back, so it didn’t come as a surprise that the next thing he asked concerned my appearance.

“Th-that backpack… what’s inside?”

Greed quickly passed through his eyes, but unlike before, it stayed, masking his ugly face in a shade of green.

Since I was getting relatively bored of the one sided questions both parties had been asking, this time, I answered. With a slight smile on my face, I said, “food.”

Hearing the single word, their eyes bulged out in surprise as drool almost salivated down from their agape mouths. From their conversation earlier, I could get a gist of the situation. Apparently, food was becoming quite scarce, which wasn’t really a surprise. Even back in the old school building, when there were just three of us, we had a bit of trouble regarding food. I don’t doubt the situation here in the main building was much more severe.

Although in hindsight, provocating them might have been a bad idea, but… it would be easier to ask questions once they knew our difference in strength. Plus, truth be told, I was also a bit arrogant, considering the level difference between us.

The first to react to my words was the girl with scissors. She took a shaking step forward, as her eyes grew larger and her pupils dilated. She constantly muttered choppy words such as, “F-food...food...give…” as she moved forward ever so slowly.

The three others weren’t any different though. They exchanged looks between each other, before a cold glint surfaced in their eyes. Wordlessly, as if in sync, they each drew closer.

“If we can take that backpack...maybe BOSS won’t kill us…” The Slanty eyed one muttered to himself with a widening smile.

“In the process, I don’t think the BOSS’ll notice if we take a bit or two though….” The Brown haired kid spoke, while constantly rubbing his stomach.

As they approached slowly, they repeatedly muttered similar lines, as their minds filled with possibility, completely forgoing the fact that they might not be able to take my backpack in the first place.

In an instant, the girl was the first to move into action. She bolted forward, and with a growl, rushed towards me. Her scissors reflected the light as she made an arc in my direction.

It was an easy enough move to dodge, and frankly, when compared to the Wolves from last time, a bit too slow of an attack.

Taking a quick step to the side, I avoided the bladed edge by a hair’s breadth.

As I avoided, the girl, with a look of surprise flashing across her face, instantly stopped her momentum. She turned and glared towards me. Her teeth gnashed, saliva splattered everywhere, and her eyes bulged in anger, as she once again picked up speed and attacked.

Just the same, I easily avoided, this time by taking a quick leap to the side. My one jump quickly expanded the distance between us by a good meter or so.

The other three, by this point, also decided to enter the fray; their bodies moved forward, a bit slower than the girl.

I quietly looked at them with a passing glance. Truth be told, these four were such low level, that it was a bit difficult to tell the finer details, such as how they distributed their stats, and so forth. It would be like fighting the goblins all over again.

Pushing that needless comment to the back of my mind, I quickly ducked left, as the Baldie’s metal bat whizzed over my head, hitting nothing but air.

The sword wielding kid also initiated an attack, swinging his sword down with tremendous force. Although, I didn’t give him much of an opportunity to attack. I readily stopped his downward slash by rushing forward. My sudden action, caused his eyes to widen in initial surprise. Those eyes got wider, and he reflexively uttered a shocked, “Wha..!”, as I stopped his attack by gripping the hilt of the sword.

With his initial attack neutralized, the brown haired kid’s eyes flared in anger as he tried yanking the sword free. My arm didn’t budge of course, and quickly, our difference in strength became apparent. His muscles tensed, and his breath grew heavy as he put in added force to free his weapon, although the results stayed the same.

“You little…!” He grimaced and cursed under his breath as he threw an angry glare my way, which I met with an indifferent glance.

With one hand still firmly grasped onto the hilt, I quickly sent a kick towards the middle of his abdomen. With a deafening *thwack*, the force of my kick sent him flying a good meter or so, as his hands limply parted from the black sword.

I apparently kicked him a bit too hard though, since the moment he stopped rolling on the floor, his back instantly hunched down, and with his hands and knees on the floor, puked out what little he had in his stomach. He keeled over shortly, a trail of vomit running down his chin.

The remaining three were rather shocked upon seeing the spectacle before their eyes take place, although the girl was the quickest to recover. Be it recklessness, or the driving force of fear, but she instantly rushed at me once more, this time with much more added vigor in her stride.

Her metal scissors whizzed past my face repeatedly, all in an attempt to gouge out my eyes and cut up my face. I dodged each successive swing carefully, all by a hair’s breadth away. Growing frustrated, the girl threw one of her scissors my way. Unfortunately, it whizzed lamely past my face, not an ounce of accuracy in her attempt to injure me.

With one of her weapons gone, I took this opportunity to move forward. In two quick, and short steps, I was directly in front of her. The rage and bloodlust in her face went over my head as I hit her right between the ribcage, directly at her solar plexus. Using the hilt of my newly acquired sword, I added in a sufficient amount of force as a dull satisfying sound entered my ears.

With a *thump* and a successive *thud*, the girl fell to the floor, groaning out in pain.

The other two, who had remained motionless as I quickly took down two of their friends, were quick to regain their bearings after I sent a glare their way.

With shaky footsteps, they hesitated attacking, involuntarily taking a step backwards. Not one to waste an opportunity, I moved forward towards the closest one, the baldie with the ugly face. The newly acquired sword drawn out, I rushed forward with a speed incomparable to the girl before.

My sudden momentum caused an involuntary, “hiii!” to escape the man’s throat. He weakly swung his metal bat in a reflexive manner.

Contrary to the man’s expectations, his eyes bulged, as the bat impacted me directly between my shoulder and neck, right at the crook of my shoulder blade.

Normally, I could have dodged such an obvious hit, but this time, I decided to take it, as a means of confirming something.

The man’s already bulged eyes widened even more so, as something even more outlandish took place. The metal bat, which he had thought would have surely caved in my shoulder, was the one to take damage. It bent awkwardly, as I shot a cold glare of indifference towards the paling Baldie.

With growing fear in his eyes, and palpable tension scrawled across his face, the Baldie let loose a cornered howl as he repeatedly assaulted me with his bat, hitting me desperately, he aimed everywhere, from my stomach, arm, head, anything he saw, he tried to hit.

Such actions only served to increase the Baldie’s fear, as each successive strike with the bat only contributed to deforming the metal weapon.

The cause of the bat bending was due to my new skill, [Hard Scale]. [Hard Scale] was a regular type skill that momentarily augmented the hardness and defense of my skin. In short, it was a temporary armor. It was the skill I acquired after consuming the stamina potion, prior before we left. Since a whole week had gone by since the start of the apocalypse, it was expected that my newest skill wasn’t anything unique. As of now, the skill could only augment a certain part of my skin, so I had to successively activate it with each strike of the bat. Despite that though, it was surprisingly useful.

The strikes from the bat felt more like slaps, and left me unfazed. It was certainly convenient, and would nonetheless, allow me to survive many blunt hits, but as expected, it consumed way too much stamina. At my current level, each use of [Hard Scale] consumed a considerable fraction of my stamina, in fact, after using it for such a short amount of time, already, about 1/3rd of my total stamina was gone. The consumption rate was too much for this new skill to be practically used.

With one last strike, the Baldie finally gave up as his hands, all the while shaking, lost their grip on the bat. It fell to the floor with a *ding*, as he took a fearful step back.

Satisfied with the earlier test, I once again focused on the enemy before me. I glared menacingly at the baldie before taking a quick step forward and letting loose a quick punch to his jaw. [Hard Scale] could also be used offensively, as I imbued my approaching fist with its power, quickly enforcing the skin to the texture and durability of metal. The hit was well timed and perfectly executed, and alongside [Hard Scale]’s effects it was like smashing a cinder block onto Baldie’s jaw line.

His body quickly grew limp and he fell to the floor with another *thud*.

I smiled to myself, obviously satisfied, while I psyched myself up for the last underling.

I turned around, ready to face the last of the quartet, but surprisingly, there was no one there.

“....huh?”

With a rather blank expression, I stood there, looking at an empty corridor amidst three passed out delinquents.

After processing what happened, I sighed while awkwardly scratching my head.

“I was a bit too careless…” I muttered quietly to myself. Now that the situation had been resolved,

I could see from the corner of my eye that both Hina and Cielle were preparing to exit the infirmary.

“Why are there only three?” Hina was the first to notice, as she looked quizzically at the other three sprawled along the floor.

With an awkward laugh, I lamely explained the situation to her.

In the end, I knocked out three out of the four, and let the last one escape due to my carelessness. I had been too focused on testing out [Hard Scale], that I didn’t even notice that the slanty eyed one escaped while I was busy.

With a resounding sigh, I looked solemnly at the three new “survivors”. By this point, Hina and Cielle had helped me round the three up and tie their hands together using pieces of clothing we had found. We dragged the trio into the infirmary, and as I looked at them once more, a tired sigh couldn’t help but escape my throat.

“Well… it’s not like one more person makes that much of a difference when it comes to interrogation….” With those words, I attempted to reassure myself as we waited for the three of them to regain consciousness.