CHAPTER 12 — Insane Bastard
ELION — POV
I woke to the feeling of sunlight gracing my skin.
Slowly, I opened one eye.
Lily stood three feet away from the couch, leaning forward, hands on her knees, her ponytail drooping toward the floor. Her bright pink eyes were wide… and uncomfortably focused on my face.
I stared back, waiting to see what she needed. I was sure she had a bunch of questions to ask.
She just stared back at me. With blank look on her face so I didn't know what she was thinking.
She did not blink.
At all.
"…Morning," I said flatly.
She smiled.
Not sweetly like her sister.
No this wasn't a smile I've seen on Alexiy.
No—Lily's smile held mischief. Sharp curiosity. Like she was trying to figure out what buttons she could push.
"Good morning," she whispered back, wiggling her eyebrows. "You're… cute when you sleep."
I stared.
She giggled.
"LILY!" Alexiy's voice blasted down the hallway like a panicked siren.
Lily jumped back just a step before her sister came rushing out, hair messy, cheeks instantly turning bright red when she saw me awake.
"I—I'm sorry—she's—she just—"
"It's fine," I said, sitting up. "She's harmless. Trouble? maybe , but harmless."
Lily grinned proudly. "See? He likes me better."
I blinked. Alexiy sputtered. Sarah, their mother, walked in from the kitchen rubbing her temples. And telling Lily to wake up Aaron for breakfast.
It was too early for this.
"Breakfast is ready," Sarah said gently. "We don't have much, but… it's food."
We sat around the cramped living room table—instant oatmeal, canned peaches, crackers Sarah had some rationed food but not enough for long term. We had to eat carefully. It wasn't tasty, but it was stable.
While we ate, Lily kept sneaking glances at me.
Alexiy kept whacking her under the table.
Aaron, however, stared at me like I was Superman.
After a few minutes, I set my bowl aside.
"Alright. Time for the plan."
They all straightened.
"We're hitting three places," I said. "In this order:
Grocery store a few blocks away. Foodstuff and daily essentials are our main priority.
Then the Pharmacy across the street. Pain meds, epipens, penicillin, I don't know jsut meds and drugs and anything else useful.
And if things go perfectly, we should have time to push to a gun store an hour south."
Sarah inhaled sharply. "A—A gun store? Is that safe?"
"No," I said. "But it's necessary. Guns will be priceless soon. You'll soon see that it's not just zombies that are our enemies..."
Lily nodded vigorously like she was ready for war.
Alexiy looked calmer now—focused, determined.
"We'll take alleys and side streets," I continued. "Avoiding main roads. Less noise, and traffic means fewer zombies, fewer scavengers... hopefully"
Then—
I reached into my Inventory.
Three red orbs dropped into my palm—glowing, warm, pulsing faintly.
Alexiy's eyes widened. Sarah froze. Lily gasped. Aaron leaned forward like he was about to rocket out of his seat.
I extended my hand.
"One each," I said. "A skill won't save you alone, but it gives you a chance. A starting point. I'm not giving these for free. I want information, you will tell me and only me the skill, I need more info about them; are there types like offensive, defensive, utility? Are there ranks; F,E,D,C,B,A? S? SS? SSS++? I've played a few gatcha games with high star ratings..." I started off strong then slowly started to murmur under my breath, about colors, and passives, and if they can upgrade, or double of the same as let my thoughts raced about the unknown.
All four looked at me as I sat in my thoughts until I realized we were in the middle of a conversation. "Sorry I let my thoughts get away from me. Here take them" I handed the orbs to try to cover up the embarrassment I felt for what just happened.
Sarah's hands trembled as she took her orb.
"…Elion… thank you." Her voice cracked. "I don't know how to repay—"
"I just want to know the skill," I said simply. "And don't become to reliant on them either focus on stats too. Anything to stay alive."
Lily snatched hers eagerly. "This is SO COOL—"
Aaron held his with both hands, wide-eyed. "I'm gonna get superpowers!"
"Maybe," I said. "Could be defense. Could be utility. Could be trash. It's random. But something is better than nothing."
Alexiy stared at me.
Her eyes seemed to contain a mix of emotions, surprised, grateful, and a flicker of something deeper that I couldn't quite read. She smiled in a way that made my cheeks warm.
**********
We packed up.
I stepped into the hallway first—bat ready, Danger Sense humming.
I couldn't hear anything, I cracked the door open and peered down the hall. Old blood stains and dead bodies, but no movement.
"Clear," I said. "Let's go."
Alexiy followed, closing the door quietly behind her.
Halfway down the stairs, she spoke softly:
"W-why did you give them orbs? You said you only have a few left. I… I can pay you back—"
I cut her off before she spiraled.
"You were worried about their safety," I said. "I just thought you'd relax more if they had skills... Since you're coming with me."
She froze mid-step.
Her ears went pink. She looked down. "Thank you," she whispered.
We kept moving.
Outside, the city looked worse than yesterday.
More broken windows. More overturned cars. More trails of dried blood across sidewalks.
But fewer zombies.
Too few.
It was unsettling.
"They're migrating," I said. "Probably heading toward noise. Or warmth. Or wherever the most humans are hiding. Hell for all I know there could be a Zombie King that's sentient and can control other mindless zombies."
"…That's terrifying," Alexiy murmured.
"Yeah..." I said as I thought of possible next steps if that situation dose occur. I'm no genius, or prodigy. Hell I'm just an 'insane Bastard' who finally has magic; the one thing I've always wanted. So now i'll keep doing what I want... but that requires strength... and strength requires killing. I thought grimly.
We stuck to narrow back streets, moving quietly, avoiding open intersections. Every few minutes, a zombie staggered into view.
We handled them quickly.
Shadow Veil hid our presence enough ti sneak up, then i swung the bat. Telekinesis shoved the second one. and Alexiy practiced her Lightning Bolt.
It was slowly getting stronger. she was getting used to the feeling of mana. For me it felt natural, like I finally was complete. Feeling the mana swirling in my veins, makes a grin want to appear on my face. But I focus on the situation at hand as we contuse making our way to the grocery store about 3 miles away.
She listened to me carefully:
"Your Physique is low. Raise it until it's at least ten. Don't tunnel on Spirit just because it feels magical. You'll get yourself killed."
She nodded, cheeks puffing slightly as she concentrated.
After crushing one of her new red orbs, she gained a tiny passive: Minor Reinforcement — +1 Physique, Mind, and Perception.
It wasn't strong.
But it helped.
I hadn't tested my Frostwill yet as I wanted to wait until I had an actual good chance of time because I knew once I started playing with magic I wouldn't want to stop.
After a dozen zombies and a few close calls—but thankfully no variants—we arrived at the grocery store.
The automatic doors were shattered.
Glass crunched underfoot. The air smelled like rot and spilled milk. Shelves were overturned, aisles gutted.
Someone had looted the place already.
But whoever ransacked it didn't have an Inventory skill.
Food lay everywhere.
Boxes torn open. Cans rolling freely. Vegetables crushed and leaking. Flour coating the tiles like snow.
Alexiy looked disheartened. "Is there… anything left?"
"Plenty," I said.
I emptied my Inventory earlier into her room for exactly this reason.
"Start checking expiration dates. Packaging quality. Ignore anything leaking or swollen, we'er only taking the good stuff." I instructed.
She nodded and got to work.
I moved fast.
Inventory opened beside me like a dark portal.
I shoveled in:
gallons of water, crates of water bottles, bags of flour, sugar, loafs of bread, canned beans(baked,green,black,pinto) canned soup, noodles(Ramen, spaghetti, bowtie, angle hair, lasagna) Bags of potatoes, onions, unopened milk bottles(fat free, 1%, 2%, chocolate milk) rice bags, sealed frozen bags of veggies, fruits, coffee, ground beef, cleaning supplies, a bunch of medical kits hidden in the back, a whole carton of eggs miraculously intact, sealed spice jars(every spice of the shelve went into my inventory since "spice" counted as one item! Woot Woot!, energy bars, cookies packs, fruit snacks, chips.
Slot after slot after slot filled.
By the time we finished, my Inventory held roughly 8,000 items.
Alexiy stared at the piles we found.
And then at me.
"You're… amazing," she whispered.
I shrugged. "Storage power. Anyone with mana could do it."
"I don't think that's true…" she muttered shyly.
I smirked.
"Alright," I said, dusting off my hands. "Next: the pharmacy."
She nodded firmly.
We stepped out of the destroyed grocery store.
The street stretched quiet, wind brushing through fallen advertisements and abandoned shopping carts.
I tightened my grip on my bat.
Danger Sense tingled faintly.
Something big was watching.
I glanced at Alexiy.
"Get ready to fight or run"
She swallowed.
"...Alright."
We headed toward the pharmacy.
Side by side.
Into whatever came next.