Ozias froze, his heart threatening to leap out of his chest and into his mouth.
'So fast!' he could only think of that, his eyes faintly catching the lingering pinkish energy that trailed behind him.
The pink haired man hadn't teleported. He had only moved so fast that he almost seemed to teleport in Ozias' vision.
He gulped inaudibly, still maintaining his courage even though he was scared shitless.
"You're too close to me," Ozias uttered, causing the man to smile and step back.
"You're quite brave. I commend that,"
"The name's Cole… Cole Morvane."
***
A few minutes later, Ozias and Cole were making their way into the city, passing through a marketplace and hunting down Zombies one by one.
Cole took the lead most times, but if he saw an opportunity for Ozias to learn more about the Apocalypse, Zombies and the System, he gave him the chance—to the dismay of Ozias. He really was tired.
"So you're saying, that everything going on was… planned?" Ozias asked skeptically, not believing his ears.
"Yes," Cole replied. "The Apocalypse should have happened a long time ago, but it was stalled by the interference of someone… Or something. And due to that, what should have occurred before even our grandparents were born, is happening now."
Ozias nodded his head, seemingly staring into space. But only he could see what was hovering in his vision.
___
[Apocalypse System]
—
>[PROFILE]
-[Name: Ozias Draven]
-[Race: Human]
-[Race Grade: F+]
-[Title(s): —]
-[Lineage: ???]
—
>[STATS]
-[Physical: 2%]
-[Mental: 0.1%]
-[Spiritual: 0.9%]
-[Flow: 1]
-[Karma: 1]
-[Affinity: ???]
—
[Comprehension(s): Basic Spear Mastery]
—
>[Inventory: —]
–––
"Uh…huh," Ozias huffed out a steamy breath, not knowing what to say. He understood most of the things he saw, but a few still confused him.
"Here, drink this," Cole stretched his hand towards Ozias, handing over a bulbous bottle with a cork blocking its narrow neck.
"What's this?" Ozias asked, enjoying the satisfying feeling of his palm wrapping around the bottle's body.
"Antidote for the infection," Cole replied, pointing his fingers at Ozias' cheek and body. "We don't want you turning into one of them."
Ozias eyes widened slightly, and he uncorked the bottle without further ado, downing the content in one go.
Cole suddenly gasped. "You weren't supposed to drink it!!"
Ozias' eyes widened again, and he panicked, his hands reaching for his mouth in horror.
He tried to induce nausea by sticking his finger in his mouth, only for him to catch Cole laughing his ass off on the ground.
They were in a random shop—probably a hair salon. It was still in good shape, with some things scattered about when the occupants were rushing out, and they had stopped there for the time being.
Ozias watched Cole laughing like a madman, clutching his belly and seemingly letting it all out.
This weirdo of a man was insufferable. He really had time for jokes.
"..I'm so.. sorry about that," Cole eventually said, his voice breaking in between little bursts of laughter.
"But you should have seen the look on your face!" Cole said again, almost starting another bout of laughter but barely stopping himself.
Ozias looked to the side, staring at the pink furred cat looking at its owner incredulously. Even the cat seemed bamboozled by his behaviour, but with the way it looked, it appeared to be used to it.
"Haaa," Cole let out a deep breath, calming down completely.
'It wasn't even that funny,' Ozias thought, but he refrained from saying anything aloud.
"Your body should be back to its peak in no time," Cole spoke, looking up with a smile on his face.
Ozias suddenly had the urge to punch him, but he once again restrained himself. He couldn't beat him even if he wanted to. Cole was stronger than him by far.
"I've explained everything I can to you, so you should be able to survive better than the average man out there."
Ozias paused, his head ringing alarms.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" He asked. "Where are you going?"
Cole only stared back at him without saying anything. Then, he picked up his cat and placed her on his shoulder.
Rising to his feet, Cole placed a hand on Ozias' shoulder and said.
"Finding you was my goal, but leading you to the base wasn't truly a part of it. I only wanted to out of goodwill, and truth be told… If you want to survive in this new world, you have to learn it,"
"You are equipped with knowledge—what most lack at the moment—and if you use that knowledge to the max, coupled with your Lineage Ability, I doubt anything in this city can stop you… unless it's another of the Three Rulers."
Ozias shook his head, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Cole vanished, the door to the salon swaying with the gust of wind.
"And just like that, he left," Ozias muttered, a little exasperated.
If he was being honest with himself, Cole helping him earlier felt shady. But he had followed him regardless because he was strong and seemed to know what he was doing.
He had also made mention of gramps and their family name, but that was something he still believed could be found out if one looked deeply.
Ozias sighed, tightening his grip over his makeshift spear.
He couldn't refute Cole's words though. If he wanted to survive, he had to learn it. Not everything would be presented to him on a silver platter.
He had to fight, get his hands dirty even, just so he could find true peace.
And what better way than to have great strength.
He was powerless against Cole, not even being able to match his speed, and if he had that kind of power—or even more—then he could take control of his own life and make the rules.
The smile on his face widened.
He hadn't even known when he began smiling, but parts of himself he didn't know existed, was slowly being revealed.
"Maybe… just maybe… I might be one of those adrenaline junkies."