Chapter 12: Consequences
We made it back to Cascade View by 4 PM, exhausted and battered.
The journey back was easier than the journey there, we knew the route now, and we were stronger. My level 4 stats made a huge difference. Even with a fractured wrist, I felt more capable than I'd ever been.
Maya collapsed on the couch as soon as we entered the apartment. "Never again. We are never doing anything that stupid again."
"Agreed," Lisa rasped, her voice hoarse from being choked.
I set the Stormbreaker sword on the table and pulled up my status screen:
[ETHAN CHEN - STATUS]
Level: 4
Health: 180/180
Stamina: 170/170
Mana: 100/100 (Still locked)
Strength: 25 (+15 from Stormbreaker)
Agility: 20 (+10 from Stormbreaker)
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 14
Luck: 6
Points Available: 551
Skills:
• Basic Knife Fighting (Passive)
• Inspect (Active)
• Power Strike (Active)
Equipment:
• Stormbreaker Sword (B-Rank Legendary)
Titles:
• Reader (Hidden)
• Boss Slayer (New!)
I'd gained two levels from the Boss fight, and my stats had nearly doubled with the sword equipped. The Strength boost alone made me as strong as Maya had been before her level-ups.
"Five hundred fifty-one points," I said out loud. "That's enough to buy multiple skills."
"I have 411," Maya said. "This is insane. We're stronger now than most people will be in a month."
"What about the skill book?" Lisa asked. She'd recovered enough to speak normally.
I pulled out the Enhanced Reflexes skill book we'd looted from the Boss.
[SKILL BOOK: ENHANCED REFLEXES]
[RANK: C]
[EFFECT: Permanently increases reaction time and dodge chance]
[USAGE: Single use. Consumed on activation.]
"It's single-use," I said. "One of us should learn it. I'm thinking Maya, she's our front-line fighter."
"You're the one with the legendary sword now," Maya pointed out. "You should take it."
"The sword already gives me bonuses. You need every advantage for close combat."
Maya considered, then nodded. "Okay. Give it here."
She activated the skill book, and it dissolved into light that flowed into her. Her eyes widened.
"Whoa. I can see... everything. Like time slowed down slightly."
"That's the enhanced reflexes," I explained. "Your brain is processing visual information faster."
We spent the next hour treating our injuries. I used one of the health potions we'd looted on my fractured wrist, the red liquid tasted like copper and fire, but my wrist bones knitted back together in seconds.
[HEALTH POTION CONSUMED]
[FRACTURED WRIST HEALED]
[STATUS EFFECT REMOVED]
Magic healing. The System was incredible.
Lisa used another potion on her throat bruises. Maya just needed rest, her concussion was minor, and her enhanced Constitution would heal it naturally.
As the sun set on day five, we sat together and planned our next moves.
"We've changed things," I said. "Big things. The protagonist was supposed to get this sword. Without it, he'll be weaker. He might not survive encounters he was supposed to win."
"Is that our problem?" Maya asked bluntly. "I mean, we're just trying to survive. Why do we care about some protagonist?"
"Because if Lucas Reed dies, the major threats won't be dealt with," I explained. "In the novel, he defeated a Tier-5 zombie lord on day thirty. He stopped a nuclear plant from melting down on day forty-five. He united the major factions and created safe zones. Without him..."
"The apocalypse gets worse," Lisa finished.
"Maybe. Or maybe someone else steps up. Maybe we step up."
"We're not heroes," Maya said firmly. "We're survivors. There's a difference."
She was right. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd just triggered consequences I didn't fully understand.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[READER'S PRIVILEGE ACTIVATED]
[EVENT NOTIFICATION: TIMELINE DIVERGENCE DETECTED]
[THE PROTAGONIST'S PATH HAS CHANGED]
[NEW VARIABLES INTRODUCED]
[UPDATED PREDICTIONS UNAVAILABLE - FUTURE IS NOW UNCERTAIN]
My blood ran cold. The System was telling me that my foreknowledge was now partially useless. I'd changed things enough that I couldn't predict what would happen next.
"What's wrong?" Maya asked, seeing my expression.
"My Reader's Privilege just told me the future is uncertain now. I changed too much. The timeline I knew is falling apart."
"Good," Maya said. "That means you're not locked into some predetermined story. You're actually free."
I hadn't thought about it that way. She was right—I'd been operating under the assumption that the novel's plot would mostly hold. Now I was truly on my own, making real choices with real consequences.
"Okay," I said. "Then we plan based on what we know for sure, not what might happen. What do we know?"
"Zombies get stronger over time," Lisa said. "Tier-3s will appear eventually. Then Tier-4s. We need to get stronger faster."
"Agreed. We should spend our points wisely, buy skills that keep us alive long-term."
We opened the System Shop and started planning purchases.
I bought:
• Enhanced Stamina (80 points) - Needed to keep up with Maya
• Night Vision (90 points) - For scavenging at night
• Danger Sense (200 points) - Would warn me of threats before they arrived
[POINTS REMAINING: 181]
Maya bought:
• Fast Healing (150 points) - To recover from injuries faster
• Silent Steps (110 points) - For stealth
[POINTS REMAINING: 151]
Lisa bought:
• Basic Combat (80 points)- Foundation fighting skills
• Enhanced Stamina (80 points) - To keep up with us
[POINTS REMAINING: 40]
With our new skills, we were a much more capable team. But we were also about to face an apocalypse that no longer followed a script.
"Tomorrow," I said, "we start building relationships with other survivors. We need allies, trade partners, information networks. We can't do this alone."
"Where do we start?" Lisa asked.
"There's a community forming at Green Lake," I said, remembering details from the novel. "Or there was supposed to be. We should scout it, see if it's still happening."
"And if we run into the protagonist?" Maya asked.
I looked at the Stormbreaker sword on the table. "We tell him the truth: we found it first. If he wants to fight over it, that's his choice. But I'm not giving it back."
Maya grinned. "That's the spirit."
That night, as I lay on the couch with my new sword within reach, I thought about everything that had changed.
I'd survived five days. I'd gained four levels. I'd stolen a legendary weapon and changed the timeline forever.
Park Ji-woo would've been terrified of the uncertainty.
Ethan Chen would've hidden from the responsibility.
But I was neither of them anymore. I was something new, someone who'd survived two lifetimes and refused to waste this second chance.
The apocalypse was no longer following the story I'd read.
That meant I could write my own ending.
---
[END CHAPTER 12]
Current Status:
• Ethan's Level: 4
• Ethan's Points: 181
• Maya's Level: 3
• Maya's Points: 151
• Lisa's Level: 2
• Lisa's Points: 40
• Major Acquisition: Stormbreaker Sword (B-Rank Legendary)
• Timeline Status: DIVERGED - Future uncertain
• Days Survived: 5
Days Since Apocalypse: 5
---
*Author's Note: The heist succeeded, but consequences are coming! The protagonist's path has changed, the timeline is uncertain, and our team is now significantly stronger than planned. Next chapters: meeting other survivors, potential conflict with Lucas Reed, and the introduction of new threats. The story is entering its second act!*
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