Startled, the professor's mouth hung open. He was about to scold him for being careless again, but in a moment, he frowned.
From the memories he had with Vincent, he knew the boy was a reckless individual—free-spirited and self-assured.
The only way he and the Gilroy couple could restrain him was through the companionship of the Gilroy siblings.
'This boy is a bit of a control freak. To have this level of confidence… How long have they been traveling outside? What has this party gone through…'
Meanwhile, the seven people were snickering, disdain evident on their faces.
William's guard relaxed. The invisible pressure he had felt from Vincent completely vanished.
'What a fool. With only eleven meatbags, he thinks he can survive outside? As I thought, he's nothing like the powerhouses.'
"Go, go! The fewer people to feed, the better!"
A couple of people burst out laughing at William's remarks, his words resonating with them. But Rissa couldn't relate to their amusement. She still remembered how this group managed to take down the Revenant Spider with only one casualty.
At that reminder, she froze.
Her trembling eyes locked onto Rusty, who looked nothing like his headless and torn form.
Fear darkened her vision, and she clutched at William's clothes.
But William was too distracted to care about her state. Ultimately, he thought she was simply being coquettish.
Nobody from the party said anything, a contrast to the rowdy crowd.
Their faces were calm, undisturbed, and faintly guarded. They actually had a lot of things to say back, but one look at Vincent and the security they felt from him dissolved the interest to correct the ignorant.
"Can your friend move, Professor? Let's continue our talk inside." Vincent's steady voice pulled the professor back from the past.
"F-Friend?" Professor Adrian glanced at Finnley, who was no longer snarling. Nobody had ever acknowledged that fact, no matter how many times he introduced Finnley as such.
The dog made a soft bark in response, and the professor's heart warmed. He smiled. "Yes, my friend can move. Let's head to the library. I've claimed a spot for myself there."
Without hesitation, they left the field to the seven people, ignoring whatever insults they tossed their way in an attempt to garner their attention.
Though as soon as the doors were closed, the homeless crew started throwing insults back in their general direction.
Naturally, they gained no reaction, as they were screaming at a wall.
"Now tell me," the professor spoke as he sat down on the ground, exhausted. "Why must you level up? Did Garret tell you to?"
Vincent didn't reply right away. He and Daniel made room for Angel's campfire before sitting down next to the professor, who marveled at the warmth.
"The military won't be coming here," Vincent began, handing him his own thermos with coffee that Angel made at breakfast.
"Ha! Don't tell me those lousy folks have even lost their compassion for their citizens?!" The professor slapped his thighs before accepting the thermos. "Thank you."
"Who knows? But Regina is too close to Alberta, and that place has become a forbidden zone. We'll be heading toward Vancouver as per Garret's suggestion, but the main quest is also another reason."
"Main quest? Why don't I see anything like that?"
Vincent explained the game's HUD fully, including the contents of his skills and side quests. But he withheld speaking about his mutation title, as he had yet to figure out what it was all about.
The professor's frown was making his wrinkles prominent. "So that's the reason why William wants Rissa to pass level 3? Why have none of the leaders spoken about this? This is vital information!"
"No? Not even the fact that before level 3 is just a tutorial?"
"Nothing! I've seen those brats pulling those who have reached level 4 to a secret meeting—now I understand why. Hah… Are they planning to leave behind the low-level folks?"
Daniel shared his anger, waving his pliers. "You should join us, professor! After we kill that troll, we'll be on our way to Vancouver! Fuck these powerhouse bullshits. Seriously though, powerhouse? Couldn't they have come up with something better?"
"Kill the troll?!" The professor turned to Vincent. "Are you serious? And here I thought your overprotectiveness knows no bounds."
Angel giggled. "It's exactly because of that, professor. He doesn't want us to leave Regina unless we can take on a boss. Can you believe this guy?"
Vincent was exasperated. "This is reality, and we know nothing of this game. If this was Stardew Valley, then I wouldn't have minded letting you guys go wherever."
The professor was still not convinced that taking on the troll was the way to go.
During the afternoon until the evening, the professor familiarized himself with the party—their classes, skills, and weapons. One was to ease his worried heart, and at the same time, he wanted to know if this group could actually pull it off.
Before he could start analyzing, however, he was flabbergasted to know that someone would be insane enough to choose a non-combat class.
Yet he was quickly won over by their reasons, and what really sold him was Angel's words.
"It's not like the game is stopping us from using combat skills we learned at summer camp."
The said summer camp was the trio spending their summer at a military outpost, mimicking the soldiers' daily lives.
They were fifteen at the time, and though the adults held back in their strength, they were still beaten every day until they diligently followed the morning training.
Angel could vividly remember the darker version of Vincent—the result of training for hours under the sun.
"Very well, so you're using Vincent's skill as an ammo generator while you depend on your meager military experience."
The professor massaged the bridge of his nose, debating whether to compliment them or to berate them.
"You should add in real combat experience against the monsters, professor. We're learning every day. Now tell us about yours." Vincent arched his brows, nodding toward Finnley, who was glued to the professor's side.
The professor laughed despite himself.
"In truth, I was desperate, but I have yet to regret my decision."
When the outbreak began, he was at the University.
The professor and the hundreds of night students at the time were caught in the emergency lockdown, trapped for the rest of the night.
Ten minutes of controlled silence passed when a pack of elementals and revenants fighting reached the University.
The monsters instantly picked up on the scent and noises, splitting to chase after delicacies.
Chaos descended right after.
There were only four armed security guards to protect the students and only so much ammo to fight off the regeneration of multiple Revenants.
In a few seconds, the crowd scattered.
Limbs were torn asunder, blood painting the interiors. Burnt flesh enveloped the campus, and though the sprinklers were activated, keeping the fire elementals at bay, the others were unbidden.
The professor hid in one of the library's private rooms on the second floor, but even he was tracked down.
Finnley was originally a frost elemental, and the professor was going to be its first meal since it mutated.
Contrary to the insatiable hunger of the Revenants, the Elementals were more of curious nature—like babies who first learned that the reflection in the mirror was themselves.
Both sides were wary.
The professor managed to dodge Finnley's attacks a few times.
At the fourth try, Finnley had pinned him down, and in an adrenaline spike, the professor blocked its jaws with the nearby chair.
[Digitization successful. Welcome, player 4,554th!]
[Emergency Characterization Initiating. The classes Rancher, Paladin, and Barbarian are relevant to your situation. Please choose a class or the system will randomize it.]
"Afterward, the system flashed me the basic skills—"
"You got to choose?!"
Vincent couldn't stop himself from raising his voice in time, and Daniel was holding his stomach, laughing through tears. Even Angel was struggling to restrain her laughter, pursing her lips.
The professor patted his shoulder, deadpan, before continuing his story.
Out of all the classes, the Rancher's ability spoke to him.
-----------------------------------
Wild Whisper | 300 mana | 5 minutes cooldown
-> Psychic Attribute
-> Requires proximity to a beast (within 10 meters)
-> Bestow the ability to understand mortal language to wild creatures for 1 minute
-> Weak to Dark and Metal
-----------------------------------
The professor was convinced that he could save his life with this skill and chose the Rancher without hesitation.
"I used the skill and started shouting 'bad dog' at him. Honestly, whenever I think about it now, I'm pretty sure I could have chosen a better way to calm Finnley. 'Bad dog'? Really? Surely I'm not that stupid."
The professor laughed, petting Finnley, who barked once.
It was indeed not the 'bad dog' that made Finnley stop. It was simply taken aback by the fact that it could suddenly understand the gibberish coming out of its food.
True to its nature, and without the stain of human blood, Finnley calmed down, tilting its head at the enigma.
"Of course, the attack at school didn't end there. A Revenant Cat reached our floor."
The professor smiled, sighing lightly. "Finnley has been protecting me ever since."