The Fool's Freedom

Alan felt as if he had just closed his eyes when he woke up to the sound of loud voices. He was lying face down on the grass, a bunch of it having found its way into his mouth. He spat as he tried to get up, his body stiff and difficult to move. In his sleepy state, he tried to activate [Efficient Basic Movement] and cursed at it for not being a passive effect like his goddamned traits.

He managed to sit up. It was bright. Too bright. His fears of burning alive would thankfully not come true as there was only a single sun in the sky. Thank fuck.

As his eyes got used to the light of day, he saw a few more bodies stirring up around the smoldering remains of the fire. Most of the group though, was already up and yelling encouragements while Eldon and Matt were poking a big lizard that looked almost the same as the one he and Emerson had killed with their own sharpened sticks. Alan saw Florence to the side, focused on the action, but still ways away from the rest.

The two men were doing fine, dodging the lizard's attempts to bite at them. The poor creature was getting confused and kept hissing and throwing itself in random directions. Emerson was giving them pointers, as an expert on the subject, while Tim stood close, clutching the handle of Salla’s cleaver.

The fight lasted a while and the lizard seemed to rethink its choices. It turned to flee but Eldon’s stick finally found its eye socket. The young man screamed and pushed. Matt joined him from the other side and in no time the monster stopped moving, the sharpened sticks lodged deep inside whatever brain it had. There was a cheer from the two of them and a ‘Good job’ from Emerson.

Alan checked on his wounds. The scratches on his chest were mostly closed, only pink lines reminded him of what had happened. His leg was a bit worse, as some of the punctures were deeper and wider, but they had healed nicely too. All he felt was some itching. Tim’s healing skill was doing a lot.

As he finished checking his body the group retreated from the lake and came back to their barebones camp talking excitedly. Eldon passed by Alan and bent to slap him on the shoulder.

Why does everyone do that?

“Hey Alan, right? Great idea man! We just leveled up! So awesome!”

“Glad to be of service.” Aren’t you a gamer?

The excited man smiled and rejoined his buddy, talking about fighting one alone next time.

Tim came over next, followed closely by Ashlyn. Alan stood up as they neared him, silently cursing his stiff back.

“Sorry for brushing you off yesterday. It is indeed a good idea. We need to be stronger to… go through whatever this is.” Tim said and offered his hand. Alan shook it.

“It’s nothing. I am happy it worked out,” he said, trying his best to act normal. Farming the lizards was indeed a great thing. Everyone could get a few levels which would boost their attributes and the more squeamish of the group would start to get over their ‘I can’t kill’ mentality. “It will work for a while until everyone is caught up. Then we will need to find different prey.”

Tim nodded. “We will deal with that later. For now, I am thinking of finding or making shelter. The weather has been awfully consistent, even through the night, but we don’t know how long that will last. I don’t suppose you have any expertise in this area?”

“Sorry man, fantasy and painkillers only.” Wops. They could probably manage some crude wooden huts, but that didn’t resolve the issue of being out in the open. “We should probably find whoever else is out there first, though. The Quest reward might be handy.”

“I agree,” Ashlyn said, taking a step forward. “I think a few of us should go look, while the rest remain here and deal with the meat. It doesn’t have to be all of us looking considering the fact that I am the only tracker. And I am probably the only one that can easily find their way back.”

“Sure. Pick a few volunteers. I will stay and help with the meat and maybe organize people to hunt axolotls.”

“I will go,” Alan said. Both looked at him with surprise. “I am not very good at helping around, but I can walk just fine with the help of my skill. I need to practice it, not sit around.” I need to fight and level faster.

There were no objections and after a brief snack of cold grilled boar, Ashlyn, Alan, Emerson, and Walter, a chubby middle-aged man with the [Spark] skill, headed out.

Alan traded some pleasantries with Emerson and Walter while Ashlyn was focused on finding a trail she hadn’t followed before. Apparently, the skill helped her keep track of that too.

Walter apparently needed to vent and chose Alan and Emerson for that purpose. Thankfully, he was awfully brief when he spoke and his sorrows were summed up in a few sentences. He worried if this was the government’s doing and how his family would fare without him. Pretty normal concerns for a regular Joe. Emerson spoke a lot on each topic, trying to reassure Walter and maybe himself by being overly positive and even throwing words like ‘home’ and ‘safe’.

Alan didn’t know what to say. It had been an awkward hour of walking for him. He understood the guy, he would be missing his family too, if they were not a bunch of narcissistic assholes and had any redeeming qualities whatsoever. But… Alan was mostly excited at what the world would offer. The possibilities, the magic. Was it cold-hearted of him? Maybe. He was changing already, and it had not even been a full day.

“Found it!” Ashlyn's voice made the three of them focus on her. Alan had no clue what she had seen no matter how much he stared at the point she was looking at, but he trusted her. They continued in silence, with short stops for Ashlyn to confirm they were on the right track. The walk took them about thirty more minutes, and Alan could feel a dull ache in his muscles. The previous day had taken its toll, but it seemed like he was doing much better today. He felt stronger and faster, there was less pain and he had way more energy.

Must be the stats and good meat.

Finally, they reached a small river if one could call it that. It was more of a stream or a canal. It looked oddly deep for how narrow it was, and they couldn’t even see the bottom despite the water being clear. They could all probably just step over it, and even Alan would face no issues if he used their improvised spears for support. They didn’t though, as on the other side they saw what was probably one of their targets. Alan had been skeptical about how going aimlessly around would lead Ashlyn to clues, but it had worked. Skills were busted.

A man with bronze skin, in a red sweatshirt and jeans, was simply sitting and… fishing. He was holding a branch with the drawstring of his sweatshirt’s hood tied to it. He looked like he was enjoying himself. There was a dirty jar next to him filled with something black. Where the fuck did he find a jar?

His face lit up when he saw them and he grinned, showing both rows of his teeth.

“People! Ha! Do you speak English? You guys are not aliens, are ya?” he asked, the wide smile never leaving his face. There was an accent there.

“We might be,” Alan replied.

Ashlyn gently pushed him, “Shut up. No, we are not.”

“All I am saying is, this is not our world so we might as well be the aliens here.”

All four of them jumped as the man burst into unrestrained laughter. Alan grinned.

“Good one, good!” he said, wiping a tear from his eye. “So, what’s up?”

What’s up? We’re all most likely going to die gruesome deaths. That’s what’s up.

The group looked at each other in uncertainty. Ashlyn gave the man a short version of the events so far, including the fact that they were all here with their coworkers. There was a chance he was a part of another group as not one of them knew who he was, and Emerson knew everyone. She mentioned the quest and Alan noted how she didn’t go into any details. He was not the only paranoid one here.

Thankfully the man knew all about it and even shared it with them, which was a relief. Apparently, he had been coming in for a job interview as IT and had been in the elevator as things had gone down. Alan had never seen an IT like him, but there was always a first.

“My name is Davis, by the way. A pleasure to meet you, boss lady, lads,“ Davis greeted, effortlessly jumping over to their side, offering his hand before deciding to give a small bow instead.

“Name’s Ashlyn, these are Alan, Emerson, and Walter.” Ashlyn introduced, pointing at everyone.

“Forgive me for cutting in, but… any luck?” Alan asked, gesturing towards the fishing rod.

Davis laughed again, “Oh, this? No. I just got here. My light bugs died in the jar come morning so I decided to use them as fish bait. Haven’t seen any fish, sadly.” He shook the jar. It was dirty and its screw-top lid was dark brown and looked like something an archeologist might dig up. There was a bunch of dead bulbous insects in it.

“I am so confused,” Emerson said. The big man had been oddly quiet during the exchange, apparently deciding to let Ashlyn and Alan handle the talking.

“Oh, see, I found this jar near the ruin. And I also found some light bugs, so I just went ‘woosh’ and caught a bunch. They are slow, y’know. And they glow blue! Or purple, I don’t know, I am no good with colors,” he laughed again, “Anyways, used them as a lamp during the night. Figured the moons might go away at some point.”

This man was… insane. Probably. Alan did like him more and more but it was also a bit terrifying how casual he was about all of this. But ruins and jars? That could be something.

“I am sorry, what ruin?” Ashlyn asked.

“You wouldn’t believe it, ha, there’s part of a building, that looks just like a shitty construction site that had been left to rot for decades, at least to me. I guess most of it is in the ground with only a bit stickin’ on top. I found only this jar but there’s other stuff there. Then the wolves came and I had to run. I tell ya, after brawling with that little demon and its big brother, I was not ready for ‘em overgrown dogs.”

Big brother…?

Talking to the man was as fun as it was tiring. He was awful at conveying information. After a lot of patience and prodding they managed to get a picture of the story. Davis had run for hours after initially waking up, not waiting even a second apparently. He loved running so it was no issue thankfully. He had beaten the imp that had appeared when he was taking a rest, and another monster, a monkey he called Dirt Ape. It had been no match for his boxing. He had leveled up and gotten stronger so had decided to explore the forest by following the moons. Eventually, he found an old building peeking from the ground and there he dug up the jar, before hearing howling and running away after seeing a large shape. They had found him as he was trying to catch breakfast.

Davis also freely shared that he had a skill from the second selection, the first purely offensive skill Alan had heard of. It was called [Solid Fist] and it let him punch harder while simultaneously protecting his fists from the damage. It sounded ideal for someone who knew how to fight and Davis claimed he did.

Offensive skills were huge. Alan was openly jealous, both of Davis’s knowledge of how to fight and the skill. Where were his overpowered magical punches?

Even Walter could probably outdo him if they pushed their physiques, despite Alan having [Efficient Basic Movement] while the man could be a poster boy for what fast food did to the body.

“Should we go check those ruins or go back to the group first?” Ashlyn asked. That was a tricky decision. If they got back and the quest decided that was all of them, they could get some very needed and useful stuff. If there were even more people out there it would simply be a fool’s errand.

“I say we check the so-called ruin if it is close. There were way more people than what we had in the beginning.” Alan said.

“Well…” Davis rubbed his chin in thought. “I ran for like, twenty-something minutes. I’m good at estimating the time, see. Can’t really run fast through the forest, ha. An hour’s walk, tops.”

“Em? Walter?” Ashlyn asked.

Emerson looked uncomfortably at the ground before speaking. “I prefer going back, sorry Alan.”

“No point in going back just to come back here later. Too much walking. Let’s go now and save some time.” Walter barked. Alan was surprised but glad.

“I think so too,” Ashlyn said with a shrug.

“It’s fine, let’s go then. That reminds me of the time when I didn’t want to go get lunch at that place but we did and- “

Alan put a hand on the big man’s shoulder. “Em. Later.”

“Ah, right. Sorry. I’m nervous”

“So, Davis, was it? We trust you to lead us in the right direction. I might be able to pick on your trail if we get close enough, which will make things much easier.” Ashlyn said to the new addition to their group.

“Right on, boss lady.” Davis smiled, again, and threw the branch he had been using as a fishing pole to the side, but not before getting his drawstring back.

They jumped the small river. It took some time until Ashlyn managed to find the trail but once she did it was obvious that something had passed through, as low branches hung broken and bushes were completely decimated. There were also punch marks on the trees.

“I was in a bit of a hurry but I had enough brains to mark my way!” Davis said when they looked at him. He was fit, only a bit shorter than Alan but much more solid. Running at full speed with his unbreakable fists in front, punching trees, created quite the imagery.

They chatted as they walked but once Davis said they were close everyone went quiet. If there were actual wolves out there, they would have to flee. Alan didn’t want to flee, but a wolf was more intimidating than shitty lizards.

After Ashlyn made sure she couldn’t see any more tracks, humanoid or not, they advanced. The ruin itself was as Davis had described, only sideways. A forest of wide shattered pillars and crumbling blocks of what looked suspiciously like concrete. They didn’t notice any movement from between the trees, but there was plenty of space for something to hide between the various remains of civilization.

Carefully, led by Ashlyn, the group advanced. Davis’s smile had long gone away as the man was fully concentrated on their surroundings, fists at the ready. Alan hoped they would find some decent weapons. An axe. A crowbar. Anything really, preferably something semi-automatic but the chances of that were quite low. He let himself dream of slaying waves of monsters with his giant hand cannon, levels coming like raindrops. It was a good thought.

“Shit.” Ashlyn stopped and took a step back. Right in front of them was… a wolf. At least something shaped like one. It was big and had fur and a wolf’s head, but its body had patches of exposed skin covered with disgusting tumor-like growths. They pulsed and Alan could see black veins in them constrict and move. The top of its head was mostly replaced by the growths, with only a small part of the left ear remaining. It was a sorry, and terrifying sight.

Strange anticipation started bubbling in Alan’s chest.