Once again, Barry found himself flush with Value. Though the second Roid-Bull he'd ever killed had been worth significantly less than the first one, it was still worth a lot. He'd even gotten some of its bones and skin put into his MAFT after looting it, though he wasn't yet sure what to do with those.

Considering that there was no particular Ability Barry was in immediate need of, he decided to invest another 1000 Value in his Stats and PE Capacity, keeping the rest in his wallet in case of need. Depending on what he found in the next green zones, there might still be a reason to go on a sudden shopping spree.

Tier 7 (Next: 8000)

Stats

Strength: 35

Durability: 40

Speed: 60

Senses: 40

Intelligence: 25

PE Capacity: 1700 KJ

Abilities

[Halt Wave - Sphere]

[Cast Wave]

Direct Manipulation - Waves

[Blur Image]

[Camouflage]

Direct Manipulation - Light

[Reflect Momentum]

[Project Image]

[Charge Muscles]

[Infuse Momentum]

Unallocated Value: 1140

Value allocated to Stats: 4270

Value allocated to Abilities: 1980

Value spent on items: 6360

Wanting to get an overview of the next zones, he'd climbed all the way to the top of a huge redwood tree at the edge of the last yellow zone. There were plenty of lines of smoke coming up from between bushes and trees, but as he estimated where those locations would be on his map, none of them seemed to quite align with where the MAFT should be. He wasn't sure what to make of that.

There would be nothing for it but to comb through those zones, investigating every group of people that he could find. But first, he'd head to the MAFT, which was still the most likely place to find his family.

It didn't take long for him to come across people. The first group he encountered was even more agitated than the spear-throwing madman he'd met earlier.

"I can tell that you're dangerous," a stern-faced woman said as she looked at him with cold, calculating eyes, holding a bow with a drawn arrow aimed straight for his heart. "Otherwise you'd be scared. But it won't matter how high your Tier is, when all of us come at you with everything we have. And that's exactly what we're going to do, if you're not out of here in ten seconds." The calm certainty in her voice left no doubt that she would follow through.

"I'm just a guy looking for his family," Barry said, hands held up as his eyes roamed, picking out four people that were spread out, hiding in the bushes, on top of the three that were standing in the clearing, arrows trained on him.

"Eight," came the only reply from their leader.

"Are there bandits around here? Is that why you're so distrustful?" Barry asked, considering the best approach. He thought he could probably dodge their attacks without harming them, but would that get him answers? It should at least prove that he meant no harm, if he didn't fight back, but would they listen to reason?

"Six."

He took a few steps back, hoping it would count as a show of goodwill.

"I'll trade you. Goods for information. Anything you want," he said, then immediately regretted it when he noticed her eyes narrowing. That offer had been too generous. Come to think of it, they were quite geared up already, with multiple modern-looking bows, boots and backpacks. There wasn't a mobile MAFT on them as far as he could see. Could they have gotten that stuff from the stationary MAFT?

"Can you at least tell me if there's a settlement nearby? Where the MAFT is?"

"Four."

She drew her bowstring further back, taking a step toward him.

He let out a defeated sigh. Letting them shoot at him in exchange for a small chance at answers was not a smart move. Besides, he had other options.

"Fine. I'll go. I wish you good luck."

He turned around and began to walk into the bushes, then picked up his speed into a jog. After running what he hoped was far enough, he activated his stealth Abilities and walked slowly back to the group, coming to a stop by a tree trunk, still a good distance away but close enough for him to pick up what they were saying.

"We better move and set up camp elsewhere. The risk that he might return at night with more people is too high."

He thought that was the voice of their leader.

"You think he was one of the raiders? He didn't look like the type. Also didn't have any of the usual gear."

"Did you see how calm he was? We had five arrows trained on him and he didn't even break a sweat. I could see him picking out everyone in the bushes, too. I don't know who he is, but that guy is bad news. Let's get out of here."

Barry frowned as they packed up and left. What was going on in this zone, that people were so distrustful of each other?

***

He decided to find out for himself, heading straight for the MAFT while simply passing around any people he saw. There was always the possibility of doubling back later.

But as he jogged through the forest, close to where the MAFT should be, he found out firsthand why people were so cautious here.

"Ho! Slow down there," a middle-aged man in military uniform called out as he appeared from a patch of tall bushes. He was holding a pistol, the threat of it clear even though the barrel was pointing upwards.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Barry came to a stop, quickly spotting another man coming up behind him, this one holding a bow and arrow. A third man walked out from behind a tree trunk to his left, holding a short sword. Despite his confidence that he could get out of this situation safely, he still felt an anxious flutter. He'd never been robbed before.

"Where did you get that gun?" Barry asked the man in front of him, in part because he wanted to break the tense silence, though he was also genuinely curious.

The gun was likely the main thing to watch out for, though these men might have dangerous Abilities as well. His skin and bones should be about four times than a normal human's - would that be enough to stop a bullet? The bones, perhaps, but he wouldn't bet on his skin and organs to stop a bullet. He held [Reflect Momentum] at the ready, resolving to activate it as soon as the man pointed the gun at him.

"We'll be the ones asking questions and giving orders. Why don't you start by telling us what's on your back?"

"You're bandits. Raiders," Barry said, this time making an effort to allow his voice to tremble. It would be best if they thought him weak.

"Look, boy, the world's gone to shit, alright? There's no more laws. There are no fucking bandits or raiders. There's just survival of the strongest," the man with the sword said, walking closer to Barry. "And right now, if you want to survive, you're going to give us all your shit."

"Are you going to kill me?" He asked, stalling for time as he thought of how best to handle this. They were scum, to be preying on the weak, on people who would have next to nothing, but they were in a desperate situation, just like so many others.

A voice inside of him said it would be best to kill them, to rid the world of yet another danger, but the thought of killing actual human beings made him feel sick. Perhaps he should just beat them up and take their weapons away? It might teach them a lesson while making them less of a threat.

"We might if you don't shut up and give us your stuff," the man with the sword snapped.

"Hey, Terry!" The one behind him called out. "I think that's a freakin' Totem on his back. The mobile version."

The man in front - Terry - looked surprised, then promptly lowered his gun to point it straight at Barry, who raised his hands as he cast [Reflect Momentum] in front of himself.

"Careful, boys," Terry said, looking sharply at Barry as he put both hands on his gun, finger on the trigger. "That's an expensive item. Means he's gathered a good bit of Value."

Barry tensed, mind racing. Should he just go ahead and try to knock them all out? He wasn't even sure how to reliably knock someone unconscious. Punch them in the temple really hard? Or maybe better on the chin? Then again, now that they were already cautious, he might as well try to get some information first.

"Okay guys, why don't we trade instead of turning this into a fight? I'll give you some stuff if you give me some information. I just arrived and I'm trying to find out what happened here."

"This is not a negotiation," Terry said with a sneer. "You've got five seconds-"

With a sigh at once again being subjected to a threatening countdown, Barry decided to move. Before Terry had finished speaking, he activated his Abilities and ducked to the right, sprinting towards the man while being careful to stay out of the line of fire. By the time he heard shouts and the first gunshot, he was already more than halfway there.

Two more seconds passed with Terry's expression turning to fear as his eyes searched frantically for any sign of movement. But Barry was already next to him, lunging forward, twisting his right shoulder as he leaned his weight into a haymaker aimed right at the man's chin, hoping it would be enough to knock him out in a single blow.

As he watched, his knuckles connected cleanly with the man's chin and-

CRUNCH

Blood, teeth and bone were launched from a shattered mouth as the man's head jerked around from the force of the blow. His head twisted unnaturally far, until it got stuck horizontally with the ear touching the shoulder. As Terry was sent violently spinning to the ground, a bloody tongue flopped out from where the bottom part of his jaw used to be. The body landed face first on the forest soil, so that Barry could see a sickening bulge where the bones of his broken neck were pushing against the skin.

He froze, staring with open horror at Terry's limp body, not even registering the shouts from the other men. He gagged once, holding a hand to his mouth as he fought against the rising bile, but with the next heave he lost the fight and emptied his stomach. As he stood bent over with his hands on his knees, he noticed absently that there wasn't even the slightest blemish on his knuckles.

He hadn't been thinking. These men were robbing people in a green zone, of course their Stats wouldn't be as high as his. With 40 Strength and 60 Speed, he should have reduced the force behind his punch.

But it was too late for that. He was a killer, now.

He looked up with a start, only now remembering the other two, but they were already running off into the forest. Seeing no point in giving chase, he just let them go. What was the point of capturing them? After this gruesome death, he didn't have it in him to murder two more men.

Barry sat down with his back to a tree, arms resting on his knees with his head hanging down. The image of the limp body flopping down with its broken face lingered stubbornly in his mind. Even though he'd acted in self-defense, the huge disparity in power made it feel somewhat wrong, like when a martial artist killed a drunken idiot who started a bar fight. He hadn't realized it, but even his hands were lethal weapons now.

Still, to have removed this man was probably a net positive for the people in this zone. On a rational level, he knew that this had not been some great wrongdoing. Despite knowing that on a rational level, it still felt awful. He'd killed a man. It hadn't been a good man by any stretch, but had he been completely beyond redemption? If society were magically restored, would he have been able to rehabilitate?

Perhaps, but it was a moot point, since society was gone. They wouldn't have the luxury of prisons for a long time still. As he investigated that feeling in his gut, he found that he actually didn't care so much about the man's fate or the morality of it - the bastard had pointed a loaded gun at him, after all - but more about what this meant for himself.

He'd crossed a line today. He'd taken a life.

What hurt the most was how this affected that sweet fantasy he'd been holding onto, that hopeful image of the perfect reunion with his family. Already, small cracks had begun to appear on that image as he pondered how his family would have changed. Somehow, after all he'd been through, it was only now that the image changed because of him. How would they look at him, when he told them he'd taken a life? His mother was annoyingly perceptive. It wouldn't take her long to spot the guilt on his face, asking him what's wrong. And once they knew, well, they just wouldn't look at him the same anymore, would they?

How could she still call him her sweet little boy, after he'd killed a man, even in self-defense?

"I hate this," he breathed as a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I fucking hate this place!" he yelled as he got up and twisted around to punch at the tree. The trunk cracked and split where his fist impacted. As he looked at the deep mark his fist had left behind, sap began to seep out and slowly roll down the bark of the tree. As if he needed another reminder of what he was capable of.

But the fact of the matter was, it had happened and there was nothing he could do to change it. The only thing left to do was to move on. Letting the anger and frustration run their course, he turned around and marched off with balled fists and a heavy grimace, this time ignoring all distractions as he headed to the location of the MAFT.

Instead of a bustling town, he found a graveyard.

From the first glance, it was clear that something terrible had happened here.

Barricades and a few failed attempts at walls lay broken on the ground, the ones that were still upright carrying deep grooves that were scratched into the surface of the wood or stone. A handful of wooden shacks still stood, though most looked ready to collapse, teetering to one edge with a wall or door torn out. In some places, arrows studded the ground, but mostly they were found sticking out from corpses.

Barry froze when he saw the bodies. At first, in the outskirts, there were only beasts, a mix of large reptiles and mangy, vaguely monkey-like creatures, shot dead by arrows and other projectiles. Behind the destroyed barricades was where the real horror began, clusters of people that had fallen in battle, a few intertwined with the dying beasts that had killed them. There were several dozen dead just around the walls, so the total number of dead might range in the hundreds.

Barry could see all this from a distance. Every fiber of his body wanted to just turn around and never return to this place. After all, it was plain what must have taken place: some system challenge gone wrong, like the rat assault but at a larger scale. There wouldn't be much more to learn, but there would certainly be horrifying things there, things that couldn't be unseen.

All he wanted was to walk away, but there was a problem with that.

This was one of three MAFTs where his family was likely to be. Barry was trying to take calming breaths as a deep, paralyzing fear took hold of his chest. One in three. Thirty-three percent chance that his world would be shattered, that it had all been for nothing. This one was on the outskirts of the area that Pokka highlighted, he tried to tell himself, the other two might be more likely.

He let out a shuddering breath as he came to terms with what he had to do. It wasn't an option to move along without being sure, without knowing. If they'd fallen here, he had to find them now and not a day later.

It took a while before he finally managed to take the first shaky step forward, setting out to inspect the corpses one by one.

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