< Vegabond (Part 1) >
Zin did not talk any more, because he knew that the tired and whiny kid would keep on bickering anyways.
Leona became so exhausted that she stopped yapping and just continued to walk. Her head was getting burned by the sun, and as she climbed the mountain, she could feel muggy humidity.
One of the things to watch out for while wandering the wilderness was the climate.
"Mister, are you not feeling any heat because you are a machine?"
"No way."
"What? But you are not sweating at all."
"I can control my sweating."
"Huh?"
Leona stood still and wondered what he meant. She seemed to really believe that Zin could control his sweating.
"… Just kidding. Don't think about it too long. I can control unnecessary biological functions."
"… I feel hotter now."
Because of the hot weather, Leona was struggling to think straight. Anyway, Zin felt the need to change his clothes. During the last battle, his chest was pierced and his coat had a hole in it. He had the option of sewing it up, but the cloth was getting very old.
Getting frustrated of the heat, Leona took out a knife and cut off her sleeves and pant legs, turning them into a short sleeve shirt and shorts.
"Phew, now that's better."
"You'll regret it."
As Zin spoke, Leona shrugged. "As long as I am happy now, I am good. I am more than happy the way it is."
"Well, if you say so."
Leona toss away the pieces of cloth that she had cut off, and started walking with more energy.
"But, don't tell me that it's going to get hotter?" Leona looked gloomy as she asked the question.
Zin looked up in the sky, and shook his head after checking the air condition and wind direction. "It will get hotter in the next two days."
"Two days? Hotter?"
"Yeah. Well… It looks like it's going to rain after two days." Zin spoke with conviction, and Leona shook her head after looking at him.
"Are you a sorcerer, mister? I mean, not that it's surprising."
"Hmm… I am able to utilize sorcery, but this has nothing to do with it. It's based on my experience."
"Are you sure it's going to rain?"
"Well, as a matter of fact…" Zin shrugged. "I think a storm is approaching."
Zin was hoping to reach a good shelter within two days. Although the climate wouldn't affect him too much, it was terrible to walk through a storm and heavy rain. Leona was scared after hearing him mention a storm was coming.
"Last time, I almost died because of a storm." Leona could get blown away by a storm because she was small and light. She had almost been killed several times because she was swept by a storm.
In such ways, the climate of the Earth had deteriorated greatly. Unfortunately, they were passing through an area where there were no buildings or underground facilities that they could shelter in.
"Let's… hurry, mister."
"To where?"
"Anywhere!"
Leona started walking faster in front of Zin.
They picked up the pace after Leona learned about the storm coming.
Two days later, the weather cooled off considerably with overcast clouds, and Leona started to panic, as it looked like it was going to rain as Zin had predicted.
"Crap! Why is there not a single building!"
There was no building to seen anywhere around. There were only ruins or mounds of concrete rubble.
"Well, we are in such a place."
Zin was considering explaining to Leona how there used to be a South Korea and North Korea, and how the two countries differed in terms of development, but he didn't because she wouldn't understand even if she was told about it.
They had passed Seoul, and were entering the northern area of the Korean peninsula, past the DMZ. Unlike South Korea where there were marks of buildings and roads, the lands of North Korea were barren, with nothing much around.
"I hate facing a storm in the streets…"
Leona was able to survive the storms by entering buildings and taking shelter. Leona panicked as she thought that she might get swept up by the storm out in the middle of the wilderness.
Zin had noticed that there were no cities or villages as he headed south before. Humans would be living in places where there was at least rubble. The surrounding area had no recyclable things to build a trash wall.
Zin reviewed the maps of the pre-apocalypse days from the Darkborn data. There were a couple of areas that might still be intact.
"A military base might still be fine." He located a military base that used to exist about two days away. At the good news, Leona jumped for joy.
"Really? Awesome!"
"Follow me. I do not like walking and holding a kid through the storm."
As Zin started walking away, Leona poked him in the side with an evil smile.
"Mister, you know, you are not that honest."
"That's what makes me charming."
"... well you are honest about being conceited."
Zin headed towards the military base.
Two days later, as the strong gusts started blowing, Zin arrived at the location. As soon as Zin told that they arrived, Leona shouted,
"… I don't see anything?"
"Yeah, looks like it."
In front of them were the ruins of a military base. There were signs of buildings, but all were destroyed. The tall grasses around the base suggested that the place had been raided a long time ago.
"… well, if it had anything left, somebody would have looted long time ago, "Leona murmured hopelessly. It was not that surprising for someone to loot concrete or metal, as resources were scarce.
—hewwwwww!—
The wind was blowing harder, and it was only a matter of time before rain started pouring down with the wind.
"I shouldn't have ripped my clothes…"
Leona was getting frustrated for ripping her clothes because of the heat before. Zin clicked his tongue, as if he knew this would happen, and Leona hated Zin for that, but she had nothing to say.
"Well, you were briefly happy back then, so isn't that good enough?"
As Zin taunted Leona, Leona started to look devastated. "It's good to be happy at the moment, but it's no use if I am not happy right now…"
Zin laughed at Leona, who was very simplistic. In any case, Zin and Leona started walking towards the ruins of the military base.
Although everything was taken apart, there was a basement facility where they could take shelter from the storm. They were not sure if it was a basement of a barracks or a different building, but there was stairway leading down to the basement.
Zin spoke up in a serious tone, "You decide."
"Decide what?"
"We can look for other places to shelter from the storm. We will get wet from the rain, but the storm doesn't look too bad, and it'll be better than this place."
"And what's the other option?"
"We can go into the basement to take shelter. But if the basement gets flooded, then we will need to leave. We will have to look for a new shelter in the middle of the storm."
Both options seemed to be bad options. It was unclear how strong the storm would be, but it was clear that the basement would get flooded by the rain. Leona was thinking what to do, but she hated that she had to make a decision.
—kururrrrr!—
A lightning bolt flashed in the sky covered with green dust, and the thunder shook the ground.
—flash! flash! —
As three consecutive lightning bolts flashed, Leona grabbed Zin by his arm. The storm was approaching and it was too late to run away for a new shelter.
"I, I think we should take cover right now."
Leona rushed down the stairs, and Zin was dragged down after her. As they went down into the dark basement, Leona realized that her decision was the right one.
—crack!—
The rain was falling so hard that Leona could hear trees snapping. The howling sound of the storm could be heard from the basement, and Leona shook her head in fear.
—plop! plop!—
And just as Zin had predicted, there was water falling from the ceiling.
"Oh no! Argg… can't I get a break… Ah!"
A water drop fell on Leona's head, and she stared at the ceiling, only to be hit by more drops. At this rate, it was clear that the place would get flooded. However, even with the water leak, it seemed like they could stay in the basement for a while.
"By the way, what is this smell?"
Leona frowned and sniffed. The basement was filled with a wet and unpleasant odor. Zin was looking around the boiler room.
"Are there any monsters?"
"Why do you even worry? We won't get attacked."
"Doesn't mean that the monsters are all good, you know?"
Leona kept on complaining and Zin continued to look around. The basement was filled with an unpleasant and ominous smell. Such basements were good locations for monsters to nest. Therefore, monsters lived in the cities rather than the wilderness. It was very likely that nests in the middle of the wilderness were inhabited by powerful monsters who could withstand the weather.
But Zin was not too worried after smelling the odor.
This is not the smell of just one kind of monster… there's a mix of different types.
The foul smell was all around the basement, but Zin was able to distinguish the smell of different monsters.
Corpse hunter, garbage slime, poisonous dogs…
And he also spotted fur, dried up mucus, bodily fluids, and bloodstains. It was possible that a monster could have been eating here, but he was not able to smell any trace of a powerful monster.
"What is it? Did you find something?"
Zin slowly nodded at Leona's question. "I think it's camouflage."
In this basement full of the ominous smells of monsters, Zin was able to find a hole at the edge of the boiler room. It was located in the far corner of the room, dark and alone.
"Somebody lived here, or is living here."
Spraying the scent of monsters in the entrance could scare away other monsters, as well as robbers. The basement had become a place where the different kinds of foul odor were unbearable.
"Secluded groups of people use this type of camouflage. It is usually better to camouflage the area in such a way, as monsters can find the entrance rather easily."
"Oh… that's smart."
The residents in this place made the basement look like the nest of an extremely dangerous monster. Most of the people would not realize this, and low level monsters would be scared away by the scent of the other types of monsters. However, Zin dealt with many types of monsters, and easily noticed the disguise.
"So what are you going to do?"
Leona was asking if Zin was going to go inside the hole or not. It was very likely that the residents formed a very small community and that there would not be many resources. There were many times where people requested help, but could not pay up properly. Zin had seen people ask the hunter for free work. It was something that he did not want to deal with.
"Alright, we'll be better off staying here."
At his words, Leona sat down on the floor, and Zin also sat down nearby. They didn't know how long it would take for the storm to go away.
And they could only hope that the basement would not get flooded before then.
—drip! drip!—
The rain was pouring down hard with lightning.
Leona thought that this would the only chance, and she went out to wash herself in the rain. She came back to the basement all wet, and dried her hair.
"Phew, I feel better now after taking a shower. I felt so dirty."
Leona washed her spare clothes and threw them on the ground. Because she was not able to shower on a regular basis, Leona washed herself using rain water. Feeling refreshed and clean, Leona wore the wet clothes and laid down on the floor of the boiler room. Zin thought how weird Leona acted as she showered in the storm.
"… muddy water is falling down."
As she was hit by the muddy water from the ceiling, she murmured hopelessly. Zin thought that Leona would have survived even though she didn't have the power of the Witch. Then Leona stood up as if she had thought of something. She took out her knife, cut her hair, and kept herself busy.
And then she started to sharpen the knife against the concrete floor. The small knife that was probably used in the kitchen looked very dull. The knife was her only weapon, and helped Leona survive in the wilderness.
Even though she never learned how to sharpen a knife, she was diligently sharpening hers while pouring water over it.
"Use this."
"Huh?"
Zin approached Leona. "You won't be able to cut through a vegetable using that knife. This is a knife!" Zin handed over a knife with a leather sheath to Leona. He only used it to trim meat, it was a spare.
"Oh…"
Leona pulled out the knife from the sheath and marveled. The knife was in an excellent condition, the grip was covered with good quality leather, and the knife was light enough for Leona to use.
More than anything, the knife was small enough for Leona to conceal it in her clothes. Leona wrapped the old knife with cloth, and put it away in her bag. And she put the knife around her waist. Leona smiled brightly, very happy with the new knife.
"Thank you, mister."
"Don't be too happy about a piece of metal."
"Ah, I am starting to understand that this is what makes you charming, mister." Leona giggled as Zin spoke indifferently, and Zin, dumbfounded, went back to his place. Leona kept on looking at the new knife that was glinting with a metallic light.
"Let me teach you how to sharpen a knife, as well. If you sharpen it how you did before, the blade will be ruined in no time."
"Ohh!!"
Zin had asked to make Leona a hunter, and had already received the chips for the request. He didn't want to give a firearm to a small kid, so he decided to teach her how to handle a knife.
Zin pulled out a whetstone, and started to sharpen the knife slowly.
"Hold this area, and be careful not to get a cut…"
Zin showed Leona how to sharpen the knife slowly, and Leona paid close attention.
After learning how to sharpen the knife completely, she nodded with a pleasant smile.
"I got this now. But, you know, I don't have a whetstone."
Zin realized that he had forgotten something very important.
< Vegabond (Part 2) >
It rained for a long time. The rain did not pour into the basement, but it did drip into the basement slowly. More importantly, water did come into the basement, but the basement didn't get flooded.
Leona watched the water flow into the hole in the room.
"Mister."
"What's up?"
"Whatever's inside that hole, don't you think that they're screwed?"
Several days had passed, and the water kept on flowing into the hole. The area past the hole was probably getting flooded. Zin nodded without replying.
"How come nobody's getting out of there?"
"Either everyone's dead, or they moved out from there. There could be multiple exits."
"Really?"
As Zin spoke, he was sure that there still were survivors in the area. The stench in the area was too fresh for a base that was destroyed long time ago. He thought that the survivors probably escaped to another place. But he was also thinking about a third possibility.
"But… something smells even worse, and I don't like it."
As the rainwater flowed into the hole, the air inside was pushed out. And a different type of stench started to come out.
"I'll need to verify."
They wanted to stay in the basement for couple of more days, and Zin wanted to find out what the foul stench was about.
"What about me?"
"You wait here."
Zin entered though the hole that the water was still flowing into. It was dark, and Zin crawled through the narrow passage. He moved forward along the wall, and it was leading him further below the ground.
It smells like CP.
The smell coming out from the passage was very eerie. Zin continued to crawl through the muddy water.
As Zin came out of the narrow passage, he pulled out his Saiga rifle.
I'll need to use night vision goggles.
Zin took out the goggles that operated with chips. He could have used a flashlight, but it would be a foolish to reveal himself in the dark.
A stairway…
The narrow passage connected the building's basement to another building's basement. The top of the stairway was blocked with concrete rubble.
It looks like they drilled the passage to utilize the basement...
—kuuuuu!—
A large amount of water was flowing out from under the piled concrete. The stairway led down a wide passage.
Is this a bunker?
The stairway leading downstairs was quite wide, and it looked like the bunker was built before the apocalypse. The concrete wall was old but looked sturdy, and the rainwater kept flowing downstairs.
Hmm… I'm pretty sure this is a bunker for the VIP's.
Zin could not understand why such a bunker existed even though the military base was not a large one. However, it was not surprising to see bunkers of this size in the regions of North Korea.
Well, whatever it was used for, the important matter is who is in there.
As Zin was about to enter the bunker, he felt very uncomfortable. He was pretty sure that there was something in the underground facility. The entrance was the narrow passage, and air flowed through the concrete. It was an ideal location for someone to hide.
—kuuuuu!—
Luckily, Zin's footsteps were cancelled out by the sound of the water flowing down. There was only one way leading down, and smell of the rain and the foul stench was getting stronger.
I am pretty it's the smell of CP, but there's something more to it…
As he reached the bottom of the bunker, someone spoke to him with a warning.
"Stop, do not move forward any more, hunter."
"There is nothing of interest to you in here. So turn back now."
A voice could be heard from somewhere that Zin could not see, and the voice had an ominous tone.
"Did you know that I was here?" Zin asked, waiting for a reply.
"You were blocking the entrance, so why would I not know?
Anyways, leave now. I will let you stay here through the storm. But get lost after the storm dies down."
"If more rain comes down, this place is going to get flooded. Aren't you worried about it?"
"That is our problem. It's none of your business, hunter. It's not a problem that can be solved by a hunter, anyways."
'Our'… there must be a group of people.
The other person knew about Zin and Leona, and blocked off the entrance so that they wouldn't come inside.
"Well, I'm not a scavenger, so I know when to stop being curious. But, I have no intentions of staying with a suspicious group of neighbors through the storm."
"Look, you are the ones who entered our shelter. You have no right to say that we are suspicious."
"Pal, it is two hundred years late to proclaim this place as your shelter. I have no intention to fight you, but I need to know who you are."
Zin did not have to learn who they were, but as he had decided to stay at the basement through the storm, he had no intention to mess around with unknown people. As long as he was going to stay in the basement, he had to identify what the strange smell was about.
"So you regard safety as a priority. Fine. I know the ways of a hunter. But keep in mind," the person started to warn with a hoarse voice, "You are not the only one who thinks that attacking is the best defense."
"… you a hunter?" As Zin asked, someone started walking towards him. And as Zin saw the man through the infrared goggles, he frowned. The man continued to talk.
"I once was. But no more."
"… Vegabond."
The body of the man was covered with black smoke. He had a hood on his head, and he was covered with darkness all around. All Zin could see was a big mass of darkness.
People who were addicted to CP became monsters called vagabonds. And they were CP addicts. They were in danger of becoming monsters because of the exposure to CP.
However, hunters who hunted monsters and extracted chips frequently were also exposed to CP. People could become monsters through CP addiction, or they could become monsters by exposure to CP for a long time. It might be a small difference in words, but there was a big difference if effect.
Hunters who became monsters maintained their consciences. And therefore they were referred as a vegabond instead of a vagabond. They were not regarded as devils, but some became monsters deadlier than a devil. After the devils were eradicated, the deadliest monsters were usually vegabonds. The fact that a hunter survived to become a vegabond meant that he was a veteran fighter, and there was nothing more horrible than an expert hunter and fighter becoming a monster.
And Zin could feel goosebumps rise all over him. This was not a foe that he could easily fight against, like poisonous dogs.
"This is my last warning. Get lost."
"What are you doing here? Tell me that and I'll walk away."
"… You are one persistent hunter."
Veterans were able to spot other veterans. Just as Zin was on his guard against the vegabond, the vegabond also knew that Zin was no ordinary person. It was better for them to avoid any clashes.
So, they left the battle as the last resort.
"We are getting prepared to head to the Betrayer's Hut."
"Going such a long way..."
"So we need more preparation time. Now, this is none of your business. Get going now."
"Fine."
Zin slowly backed away from the stairway. The vegabond watched Zin leave through the narrow passage, but Zin did not put back his gun yet. Finally, Zin was able to figure out what the foul smell was about. It was a combination of CP and body odor coming from the vagabonds. For whatever reason, the vegabond was gathering the vagabonds to head to the BH. They were probably preparing drugs to maintain the conscience of the vagabonds.
The Betrayer's Hut was the only area where the vagabonds who were rejected by the humans and monsters could live. It was no small feat to lead the vagabonds to the BH while preventing the vagabonds from turning into monsters.
Zin didn't understand why the vegabond was doing such thing. In any case, the vegabond had no ill intentions, and that was enough for Zin. There was nothing to gain by fighting against a vegabond regardless of the outcome. Zin sighed with a relief.
Leona quickly asked Zin as he came out through the hole, "Did you find something?"
"There was something, but nothing to worry about it."
"… What was it?"
As long as the vegabond was there, Zin thought that the vagabonds would not attack Zin and Leona. Leona kept on asking what that was about, but Zin did not reply. The storm was still strong outside.
And unfortunately, the situation Zin and vegabond hoped for, where both parties would go their own ways, did not happen.
The storm was still strong, and on the fifth day, Zin woke up at strange sounds in the middle of the night.
Get inside! Now!
No, no… help me… I'm hungry…
Wait until the rain stops!
The eerie shouts along with the sound of the rain, kept Zin alert. Leona also heard the sounds, and woke up.
"What was that?"
"Something's going on."
—krraaaa! kaark!—
I need the drug… give it to me!
Not the drug! Give him the suppressant!
I've had it! I'm done with this! I don't want that suppressant anymore! I need chips!
The loud sounds were getting closer and closer.
I've had it! I am getting out of here!
—thud! thud!—
And a banging sound started to echo out.
Did the vagabonds go crazy…?
The large sound was coming from the banging of something big. The vagabond was probably destroying the concrete pile around the bunker.
"What? What the heck is going on…"
Leona could not stay still as she was getting frightened.
You told me that there was a hunter!
The hunter should have some chips!
Twenty chips would be enough to make a week's worth of drug!
Stop it, you bastards!
The vagabonds were drug addicts, and the addiction would not stop, since they were becoming monsters. Most of the vagabonds became monsters that sought chips.
—thud! thud!—
The sound of crushing concrete was getting louder, and Zin pulled out his weapon with a serious face.
There's about… seven or more. It was my mistake to trust in the vegabond's ability to control them.
Zin pondered for a while as he drew his weapon. If he fought the seven vagabonds outside, the storm could conceal his position. But the problem was not the crazy vagabonds.
If I assume that I will have to fight against the vegabond, I will have to hide first and take position.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
Without much explanation, Leona knew what Zin wanted to do. Zin carried Leona on his back, and talked to her.
"Hold on tight. It's still gusty outside."
"Okay."
Zin ran out of the basement and headed outside to the ruins where it was still storming.
—boom! babam!—
The pile of concrete on the right side exploded. It was raining heavily and dark, so Zin was not able to figure out what happened. He flung himself in the opposite direction, and hid himself behind the bushes. Zin loaded the buckshot ammo on his AKM that utilized 5.56 ammo, and looked around.
He was trying to finish the fight from mid-range.
—boom!—
Leona did not open her mouth even when the showering rain struck her face. The gusts were too strong for Leona to stand by herself.
Zin observed the location where the explosion happened without blinking his eyes.
—Kabooom!—
As the lightning flashed, Zin spotted a group of monsters that were exiting the entrance of the bunker. There were eight of them, and most of them had already turned into monsters completely. The biggest one had broken through the concrete.
Did they live inside the bunker and finally get out of it as monsters…?
They were barely under control because of the suppressant, but as soon as the suppressant wore off, they would become monsters completely.
There was nothing that could stop them. They were too addicted to the CP, and they were beyond the point of no return. It was probably because they lived in the bunker for a long period of time, or because of the sudden storm.
It looks like they were going to leave for BH after producing enough suppressants…
However, the vagabonds went mad after barely maintaining their conscience by taking the suppressants. As Zin was holding his breath, he waited for the right time to attack. The vegabond was trying to calm down the vagabonds, but it was too late. The vagabonds were losing their minds one at a time.
—flash!—
As the lightning brightened the surroundings, one of the vagabonds who was looking around spotted Zin lying flat on the ground.
Damn!
The cognitive senses of the vagabond were more alert than Zin had imagined. A giant more than thirteen feet tall started dashing towards Zin.
"Kwaaaaaaahh!"
At the screams of the monster, the other vagabonds started rushing towards Zin as well. Zin got up and was ready to pull the trigger.
—crunch! —
But right at that moment, the dark mist wrapped around the vagabond's body.
"Kiiiieeehhk!"
—crunch! crack! thud!—
Like a beast, the mist started biting and crunching the body of the monster. Blood splattered everything, and the body of the monster was mashed and destroyed. The other vagabonds did not care, and kept on running towards Zin.
And the dark mist also swallowed up the other monsters that were rushing towards Zin.
—crunch! thud! —
"Kyaaaah!"
"Keeeeeck!"
The dark mist minced and ate up the monsters. It was a gruesome scene even for Zin who was familiar with hunting. In front of Zin, the dark mist devoured the monsters. All of the monsters were gone without a trace of blood, and eaten by the mist.
"Uh… disgusting…" Leona did not take her eyes of the scene as she whispered. All the seven vagabonds were eaten up. Now only Zin and Leona were left, and the vegabond stood in front of the entrance of the bunker as he drew back the dark mist back into his hand.
—kaboom!—
In the middle of the storm, the vegabond stood still. He was planning to go to the BH with a group of vagabonds for some reason, but he killed all of them when they went mad. Zin also looked towards where the vegabond was standing.
This is like a nightmare… fortunately he doesn't seem mad.
The dark mist was a very rare power that Zin hadn't seen before. Ghost-type monsters turned into mist, but he had never seen a mist eat creatures alive.
Hunters became the most dangerous monsters, the vegabond in front of Zin was a proof of the fact. Leona was not sure what the vagabonds meant to the vegabond, but she was able to feel the sadness within the vegabond.
… What is this feeling?
Leona felt weird that she was able to notice the feelings of the vegabond. She was not judging based on his calm silence. Leona was able to feel the emotions of the vegabond flowing through her mind, she was very certain of the fact.
What came across to Leona was a deep and unfathomable despair. The vegabond also looked straight at Leona, not Zin. At the moment, a sense of compassion was shared between Leona and the vegabond.
Leona hung to the neck of Zin tighter, and the vegabond started walking into the storm, away from Zin and Leona.