Unwilling Eldritch Horror of Fortune

Well, there was only one way to test out my only theory so far. I scanned my surroundings and walked in the direction where the buildings were least dense. It took ages, and more than a few encounters with the fast zombies, but I made it out of the urban sprawl and into a more remote location. Seeing a large hill in the distance, I climbed up and surveyed my surroundings.

Sure enough, there was a water tower far off in the distance. I couldn’t be sure that it was the one shown in Raffiel’s image, but seeing that I had nothing else to do, I walked towards it. It didn’t take long to get there, given my seemingly endless amount of energy via the Ambrosia, and even after taking a few more bites of the ration I still had most of the bar left.

The first thing I noticed when I approached the water tower was the absence of zombies. There were still a few here and there, but their numbers were way down from what I encountered getting here. Hopefully, that was a good sign. The next thing I saw was a pile of zombie bodies, all of whom had a spear-shaped hole in the centre of their foreheads.

I think I found the right location.

Thankfully the Regressor made figuring out where he went next a cakewalk. Or in this case, a corpse-walk. There was a line of neatly dispatched zombies showing exactly where he was headed towards. I was worried that the rain might have washed away all traces of where he would go, but all I had to do was literally follow the trail bodies.

...and they will know him by the trail of dead! I mused to myself.

With a clear path to follow, I figured that it would only be a matter of time before I saw the man. However, I noticed something strange about halfway through my journey. Sometime later, the zombies that all died from a single pierced forehead started to show other signs of injury before falling. There were smaller holes littered throughout one of the corpses, and looking closer, I saw the traces of a few broken arrow shafts.

It seems that our Regressor met up with someone else here. I scanned another fallen zombie and saw that this one had its legs and arms crushed, while a few arrow wounds were seen around its head and neck. Was the Regressor trying to help this other individual out by crippling the thing first so that the other person could shoot at it better? Was it to just get that other individual more experience?

No point pondering over that. I started to jog this time, noticing that the number of zombies being felled by arrows increasing the further along I went, and after a certain point, most of the dead zombies were dispatched by a single arrow to the head. I guess whoever was shooting at the zombies improved quickly, or more likely, got their confidence back with the help of the Regressor.

The first sign of the Regressor that I noticed was the sound. I followed the noise of the battle, and keeping myself out of sight, I saw two figures easily dispatching a new group of zombies. The Regressor I recognized immediately, but the girl beside him was someone I hadn’t seen before, or at least someone I didn’t have a good memory of. I couldn’t make out the details of her appearance from so far away, but she was of the same ethnicity and looked strikingly similar to the other man.

Siblings perhaps?

I was about to introduce myself when the last of the zombies were killed but felt a slight itch that caused me to turn a bit to scratch at my back. That’s when I saw that the luck charges decreased by 5 and felt something wiz past my head. Surprised by the sudden movement, I shook my head and winced, but felt something else shoot past me, missing my brain by millimeters.

Luck Charges: 217/231

Before I could be shot at some more, I quickly stepped out of the shadows with my hands raised.

“Hey, I’m a human!” I said, keeping my voice calm, “Peace, peace!”

I started walking closer, hands still up, but a sudden muscle spasm caused me to jerk back a tiny bit. Before I knew what was going on, a spear appeared just inches away from my face, and my poor Luck Charges decreased again.

Luck Charges: 200/231

The girl looked at the scene in shock, and quickly pulled the Regressor back.

“What are you doing!” She said, clear enough for me to overhear.

The Regressor said something else, but it was too far away for me to make out.

“Uh, can I come forward a bit now?” I said awkwardly.

The Regressor looked at the girl one more time, before turning to me and nodding slightly.

I wasn’t assaulted again, thankfully.

I walked closer, my arms still up as a sign that I meant no harm, and saw the girl slowly unstring her bow. Up close she didn’t look like she could be older than a high school student, but she did have a fierce look on her face. She had short, cropped hair, and even though most of her features were covered by the rain and muck, she looked cute.

“Sorry for shooting at you!” the girl said, her English unaccented, “I thought you were a zombie! And for my brother. He um, he’s not very quick to trust people, but I promise that he wouldn’t have actually stabbed you if you didn’t dodge.”

I just nodded at that. I hope she was right.

She started to approach me, a look of concern on her face, but the Regressor stopped her. He was still staring daggers into me and kept his guard up. He pulled the other girl behind him and whispered something close to her ear. Thankfully now that I was significantly closer, Noe was able to pick out what they were saying and translate everything that was being said.

“Careful Yoona,” the Regressor whispered in Korean, “people are not friendly here, don’t let your guard down.”

“But he looks friendly enough. And you almost killed him!”

“I told you already that I would have stopped it if he didn’t evade. And I don’t recall anyone that skilled on my first iteration.”

Oh, so it seems he’s told her about his particular circumstance. This was something close to the Regressor for sure. Since I probably died early on in his first life, I guess it makes sense that he would be a little hesitant to trust me. Let’s see if I can ease some of those worries.

“Hey, uh, not sure what you’re whispering about, but I’m not here to start a fight,” I said, putting on my most innocent appearance. To cement that idea, I even dropped my spear. “I was following the trail of dead zombies and just wanted to see who was responsible for them. Also saved me some trouble because I was walking right into a huge horde of the undead if I didn’t follow you guys! I would have probably died if that were the case!”

“See brother!” the girl whispered again, “I told you not to be so paranoid! We probably saved his life by accident. Things are different this time.”

Definitely siblings then.

“Sorry for disturbing you.” I said, hands still up, “I can get going if you still don’t trust me. I don’t blame you, given the situation we’re in!”

The girl pushed her brother to the side and approached me with her hands out. I shook it.

“Sorry about earlier, and for the grouch by my side.” She said with a smile, “I’m Kim Yoona, that’s my brother, Kim Jae-Hyun.”

“I’m Walter, but you can call me Watt.” I replied, “And don’t worry about shooting at me earlier, I would have probably done the same in your shoes!”

Jae-Hyun frowned, before quietly pulling Yoona aside.

“There’s something wrong with his voice.” He whispered.

His sister frowned, “What do you mean? I think it sounds very pleasant.”

“No, I mean there’s a skill or ability that’s influencing his voice, making it sound more pleasing to us.”

“And your point is?”

“It means that he could be trying to manipulate us all right at this moment.”

“Look, brother, all he’s done so far is say hello and introduce himself. I know you’ve been through a lot, but you can’t suspect everyone you meet. And the people who you were wary of had spent years in this place, but we’ve been here for days. I don’t know what the future holds, but we can afford to be a little lenient for now.”

The man sighed, before nodding slightly and walking towards me. Given his body language, I highly doubt he believed what his sister was saying and was simply indulging in her wishes.

“Sorry about that.” He said, offering to shake my hand.

I did so.

“All good man, it’s important to keep your guard up, what with the whole world flipping on its head.”

He nodded, “Like my sister said, I’m Jae-Hyun. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you as well. And uh, you two seem to be doing well for yourselves.” I said, gesturing at the field of dead zombies around us.

“It’s thanks to my brother!” Yoona interrupted, “I don’t know what I’d have done if he didn’t find me so fast.”

“Wait, how did he find you so fast?” I asked, I needed to see how much he’d tell.

“I have a skill that lets me know some facts about the trials we’re taking.” He answered for his sister, lying without blinking.

Wow, even I would have a hard time lying that smoothly.

“You should have gotten something as well when that… Angel washed us in that light.”

I nodded, “Yeah, but my ability’s kind of lame. It just made my voice sound really nice, but it’s not like I could talk these zombies to death.”

Yoona laughed, “But you seem pretty skilled either way. What did you do before all this happened?”

Hmm, now how should I answer this? I couldn’t say that I was just some small-town conman, nor could I say that I dodged all those arrows through literal luck.

“I was an amateur MMA fighter before,” I said, picking the one profession that would seem the least suspicious, “Was going to make pro soon, but I guess I can scrap those plans now.”

The Regressor eyed me suspiciously but soon seemed content with my explanation.

“Wait, let’s get out of the rain first.” Yoona said, “Come on, let’s head to our shelter and talk there. My brother foraged some wild plants we can boil as tea.”

Once again, the Regressor seemed like he didn’t want to take me to this shelter of his, but his sister dragged him away before he could protest. I followed, and after a few minutes, they took me to a small, dilapidated barn. There was a small hatch that took us to the interior, and I was greeted by a cozy scene.

There was a small campfire still smoldering in the middle of a small clearing, and a makeshift bed was constructed using pieces of loose wood and dry foliage. In a small alcove was a bunch of wild edibles, and some smoked meat.

“Wow. You guys built this all by yourselves?”

“Yup!” Yoona answered, clearly proud of the little shelter, “Our family has always been outdoorsmen, so making a shelter’s pretty much in our blood.”

She dusted off a little log by the fire and gestured for me to sit.

“Come on, I’ll boil some tea for everyone. This spot’s safe, so you can relax for a bit.”

“Thank you, Yoona.” I answered and made myself comfortable by the little blaze.

“It’s the first time I’ve had a chance to talk to someone other than Jae-Hyun since all the craziness started. How are you making out so far?”

I chuckled, “I think I’ve gotten used to this by now, although I still think I’m having a bad nightmare from time to time.”

“I get that! And according to my brother, it’ll only get worse from here.”

“Because of that skill of his?” I asked.

She looked flustered, clearly uncomfortable with lying, “Y-yeah, because of that skill.”

Not wanting to make her feel more uncomfortable, I changed the subject, “But I think you’re holding up better than I am, and you don’t look that old. You’re pretty accurate with that bow.”

She blushed, “Thank you. I’m in the Archery Club in my High School, so I know a bit about using a bow and arrow.”

“She made it to the national level.” The Regressor said, finally breaking his silence, “You should be prouder of your accomplishments, Yoona. Only the top 10% of Humanity gets chosen for these Trials, and you made the cut.”

“That is impressive for a High School student.”

Yoona laughed nervously, “I still have a long way to go though.”

“And I’ll make sure you get there this time.” The Regressor said, his determination clear.

Yoona sat up and handed me a beat-up tin cup. Inside was a fragrant tea made from various berries and leaves. I took a sip and found it quite nice.

“Sorry about the cup.” Yoona said, “We found some in the barn, so they’re a bit damaged. But I cleaned it well.”

“No problem.” I laughed, “I think having a clean cup is the least of my worries given the current situation.”

We made some small chat for the next little while – although it was pretty much just Yoona and I chatting - and waited for everyone here to dry up. After about half an hour, the Regressor nudged Yoona, and they politely excused themselves to have a private conversation. Thankfully I was able to overhear thanks to Noe.