It had been a week since the group managed to leave the island, acquiring knowledge along the way that aided them in their journey. John, Tadiwa, Clarice, Malcolm, Tinashe and another individual they came across known as Manyuchi, the boxer, were now looking for mana. In the randomness of Goshem, acquiring this magical supplement meant a great deal, especially when an individual had an ability that would give them the upper hand in a fight. It had been a while since they left the island; learning new things as they traversed the plains. As soon as most of the members reached level 2, they were granted their ability names.
John had the ability called 'Critical Darling'. Malcom's ability name was 'Change the System', Clarice's ability's name was 'Aphrodisiac' and Manyuchi's ability was called 'live to fight again'. Tinashe and Tadiwa were still level one with fairly average stats. Regardless of them being the weakest links in the team, they managed to cohabitat and assist each other regardless of their differences in strength. Their new member, Manyuchi, was determined by all means for them to get a supply of mana so that they wouldn't be vulnerable to any of the other individuals in Goshem. Their union came about as a result of an expected meeting. A meeting that involved him dying.
The 5 of them were wandering in the jungle, scrounging for food at the same time trying to find cover from the heavy rains of the forest. After they unanimously decided to leave the island, they came across different kinds of fauna and flora which boggled their minds. Many of their encounters were with benign creatures, mostly grass eating animals. What they did not expect was the violent sight of a man being brutally murdered by a cloaked figure in the rain. As the group approached the crime scene, they merely got a glimpse of a silhouette of an individual fleeing from what they had done. Manyuchi was lying on the ground, eviscerated and many of his limbs were slashed. It was a sore sight, something akin to cruelty without restraint, but in a matter of moments, a purple aura began to emanate from his corpse and his wounds began to regenerate. All the mared flesh reconstructed and he stood erect as if nothing happened.
The entire clique was greatly vexed and felt alarmed by his resurrection. Manyuchi was also a bit confused, as gazed upon these 5 strangers, whose intentions were unknown to him. 5 against one seemed like unfair game considering that 3 of the members of the unknown group were the same level as him. Their specific affinities such as where they mostly allotted percentages were not clear so he simply talked to them.
"Are you friends or are you my enemies?" asked Manyuchi, at that time.
"No man, we don't have any gripes with you. We are just, well, shocked by..." said John, who went in front, distancing himself from the rest of the team.
"Did you see the asian man wearing a black garment? Did any of you see him?" shouted Manyuchi.
"No, we haven't seen anybody like that. Is that the guy who attacked you? Was it the man who ran away?" asked Clarice, who was slightly petrified by his question.
"Yes. That man is dangerous. If you see him, kill him. He was after my experience points. I was lucky, but tell me, where did you guys come from?" asked Manyuchi, who was now clenching his fists as if ready to initiate violence upon hearing unsatisfactory answer.
"Well, we travelled from afar. An island that should be at least 30 to 40km away from here. The three of us have leveled up so we are looking for mana. You seem to be at level 2 so have you already found mana?" asked Malcolm.
"You haven't had your fill of mana yet? Weren't there any mana plants on your island?" asked Manyuchi.
"Not that we know of. None of them appeared on the radar, well, the custom goal mechanic." stated John, who watched him closely, gauging whether or not Manyuchi was a threat. Manyuchi didn't trust them and simply mumbled into his custom goal whether there was an island 40km away and if at all it had manner. The group noticed him whisper and wondered what it was all about, but as soon as the man had his suspicions proven wrong, he became less tense.
"So you seek mana. Well it's important that you have it to maximise your chances of survival. Your story checks out so for now, I will trust you strangers. Your names seem to be all appearing above your names, so I am guessing John should be the leader of this group, right? Mr with the thick beard." said Manyuchi who had left his guard open. Tadiwa and Tinashe were quivering as they watched the adults deal with this potentially dangerous individual. Tadiwa moved in close to Malcolm and used her amputated arm to tug him. Tinashe ended up close to Clarice, awkwardly hiding behind her as if to use her as shield if things were to go to shit.
"I wouldn't call myself the leader of this group. I am just a man of agency, helping out fellow survivors like myself to navigate this unknown world." he replied.
"Well, if you really want to show agency, then it would be best to get access to mana. I am sure your abilities will be interesting, hopefully more useful than mine. There are freaks out there, who came here on this planet with intentions of doing wicked things. I guess it's their own way for atoning for their past lives. It's pure sarcasm made with bad taste. So I tell you what, we can always get to know each other and become friends, but sure as hell have to be well equipped for any surprises. If mana is what you seek, I know a place that has a huge supply of it. A location that has a high amount. It's a bit far but if the ladies don't mind a little bit of exercise, we can get there in maybe 2 days of hiking. The choice would be yours." said Manyuchi, who sounded smoldering in his delivery.
"Wait, you said have an ability. Is it healing yourself?" asked John.
"Not healing per say, but I can be resurrected when I die. However, since I am out of mana, I will probably die permanently this time. So I am just as eager as you lot to get your fix." stated the man, with a brazen look.
"That sounds scary." whispered Tadiwa.
"So are you telling us that without this mana we are basically sitting ducks?" asked Malcolm.
"Those without mana are sheep for the slaughter. The man who attacked me was a part of a group of new recruits. That solely convince high leveled individuals to join them and enslave weak leveled people such as the boy and girl you have behind you lot."
"What? What are you talking about?" asked John who seemed disturbed by this information.
"There is a colony that is ruled over by this guy who calls himself 'Hive Mind'. He apparently is high leveled and managed to do so in a short amount of time. One of my guys got picked up by the group of recruiters. I killed 2 of them but the other guy managed to get me." said Manyuchi.
"You killed them?" sighed Tinashe, who became frightened by the existence of this man.
"I could call it self defence, but sometimes evil needs to be uprooted from the ground. Like a weed, I separated them from the good fruit of the soil." he said, with a firm gaze. The group became worried about their association with a murderer. Tinashe, Clarice and Tadiwa were convinced that he was bad news, but the other two were still willing to converse with this mysterious figure.
"You mentioned this Hive Mind fella. What level is he?" asked Malcolm.
"From the rumours I heard, probably 6 or 7, which makes him the highest leveled individual so far from what I have heard. You must understand that he has cronies who do his dirty work. Seeking weak leveled individuals and using them as slaves. Getting stronger and getting access to mana is the sure way of protecting yourselves. As matter of fact, regardless of how high leveled anyone maybe, if you end up with a very good special ability, the level difference won't matter in a fight. So if you guys wish to protect yourselves, I will be your guide." he said, glancing at both of them.
"Well slavery, I didn't think people would be this radical to resort to this. So the assimilation method is not the only problem we will be facing. Darn." said John.
"So what's it gonna be, we make our way there now or we wait. Don't forget that mana is quite the scattered resource. You have to travel far and wide to get access to little rations. So let's be quick." he demanded.
"I know usually as strangers meeting for the first time, we would get to know each other first, but i guess in our current predicament, we might as well be quick. So we will follow you." said John. As soon as he said that, his group murmured, going back and forth on the idea of going with the guy. John assured them that they had the numbers and on the plus side, he was really confident in his combat abilities. Though they were at first resistant, they soon caved in to the suggestion of John.
The group ended up following this unknown person, heading towards the home base of Tanatswa and Shami.