In school, the trio had always been treated as people out of the ordinary.
They had excellent grades especially in the subjects they seem fond of, and when they got caught up in an academic discussion with the teachers, the rest of the students felt as if they were listening to two professors.
Everyone thought that if life were a story, they would no doubt be the main characters.
But at this moment, Vincent was actively leaning in the opposite direction. He had read enough apocalyptic mangas and novels to know that none of the main characters had an easy life ahead.
They were clearly not favored in this scenario, as they hadn't even been the first to turn into players. Assuming it mattered, they had lost the chance to have an overpowered start.
Taking into account his bugged state, his cautious nature kept him humble.
Right now, Vincent's priority was the siblings' safety and finding a way to reunite them with their family.
That morning, the cell towers were still working, so he managed to get a hold of Garret Gilroy, their father, who was in New York.
The situation on the other side was worse. Animals mutated into Revenants and Elementals were common enough that you could see one simply by looking out the window.
"This is our fifth building. We're attempting another rest before heading out to the hanggar. How are the little ones?"
"Arguing over who's getting the last bottle of whipped cream. How long do you think we need to wait? I doubt the military will pass by here."
"They won't. It would be too risky for them to pass through a Level 2 zone. Hah… You're too close to Alberta, so the animals there had time to evolve earlier. Anywhere near the meteorites is considered inhospitable by the military."
The fact that reality was turning into a game had spread exponentially. Players who could afford to be careless were popping up on the internet, showing off their skills, analyzing the game's mechanics, and planning party meetups for leveling.
This was how Vincent learned to add the siblings to a party and almost cried when he saw the party window appear.
It had all their names, health, and mana. He didn't have to obsess over his missing HUD anymore.
"Meridith and I will be there in a week." Garret's steady tone wavered despite himself. "If we don't…"
"You will."
"I know. But listen to me. If a week passes and you don't hear from us, head to Vancouver. I know it's far, but I know an active marshal who owes me a life debt there. He will take care of all of you on my behalf."
Vincent's lips pursed. He was in the dining room with the siblings, and their arguing had stopped. In the silence, Garret's voice bleeding through the phone was loud enough for them to hear.
Angel gestured for him to hand over the phone, and Vincent wordlessly complied.
"Vincent will keep it in mind as always, but know that if you fail, I will hunt your corpse and shave you bald."
Garret sounded taken aback, and the melodious laughter of their mom echoed in the background.
"H-Honey, can you not laugh while your daughter is planning to desecrate my head when I'm dead?" The sound was muffled—Garret was futilely covering the phone's mic.
Angel handed the phone back to Vincent with a roll of her eyes, and after Garret was appeased by his wife, they continued their discussions.
Regarding Vincent's plans to stay inside for the whole week, the siblings had no complaints.
They spent that time getting used to their skills, learning that the basic rate of mana regeneration was 10 per minute and that modern tech was indeed part of a tinkerer's expertise.
Daniel mourned for an hour over his broken gadgets but was overjoyed that his skills were working.
The issue of the broken front door was left as is, and the heater was simply running in the master's bedroom.
The internet died the next day, along with the cell towers. It was so unexpected that Vincent worried the power would cut off prematurely as well.
But before he could ponder it, the system made another announcement.
[Shadow Bullet Level Up +1]
-----------------------------------
Shadow Bullets lvl 2 | 100 -> 90 mana | 3 seconds cooldown
-> Dark Attribute
-> Requires a gun
-> 1 hr -> 2 hr Shelflife
-> Weak to light
-----------------------------------
Vincent shot up in surprise, 5 shadow bullets in hand. This was his maximum amount of bullets so far, as when he materialized the 6th, the first would reach the 1-hour expiration. And he had been keeping it that way.
The siblings saw his movements, but when they noticed him closing his eyes, they kept quiet. They realized he was calculating.
A few seconds later, he let out a breath. "It's a survival game, alright. The mechanics are forcing you to put in the effort. I've been materializing shadow bullets for five hours. That's 3000 worth of mana spent for a skill level-up."
"Yooo! We can level our skills too?!" Daniel was motivated. He had Vincent help him bring their broken tech to the master's bedroom so he could grind to the next level.
Angel's skill was tricky. The system wasn't counting a small piece of wood but a bonfire structure instead. Barbecue sticks weren't working either, so the cheapest campfire was still going to be costly.
In the end, Angel decided not to grind for it, lest she used up their supplies.
Meanwhile, at night in downtown Regina, a Toyota Grand Highlander struggled to keep from slipping on the frozen, unmaintained road while being chased by a horde of elemental geese.
From the number alone, it seemed to be the entire population of geese living in Wascana, Regina's largest park.
"Drive! Fucking drive like your balls are on fire!" Talia screamed, looking over her shoulder.
The geese's aggressive honking had been distorted after mutation, amplified and sharpened, reaching their ears even when all the windows were closed.
There were four of them in total: a woman with her daughter, Talia's new boyfriend (Xavier), and Talia herself.
Talia had black hair with bright pink highlights, white skin, and was 19 years old. Xavier, on the other hand, was 23, with messy, shaggy black hair and slightly tanned skin.
Talia was the influencer in Angel's life, being the real goth and troublemaker. But after two days into the outbreak, all her makeup and dangling accessories had been stripped, making her appear haggard.
"Hold tight!" Xavier warned as he made a sharp turn. "Are you sure your friend is still alive? In just a day, the city looks abandoned. Everyone left for the south."
"If it was only Daniel looking after her, I wouldn't have any hope, but Vincent should be with them."
"Heh, that overachiever?"
"That overachiever can keep me alive better than you do." Talia clicked her tongue, attempting to use her phone again. "Damn it! No signal, no net!"
Xavier wanted to retort, but as their lives were on the line, he gritted his teeth and focused on driving.
The horde was thinning. Those at the back started breaking off and chasing some other sounds or smells. There were still survivors in the city, some waiting for the right time to leave, while others chose to barricade themselves and wait for rescue.
By the time Talia's group reached Harbor Landing, a neighborhood for the wealthy, three geese were stubborn enough to keep up with the chase. All of them were leaving a gale along their trail—wind elementals.
"We can't stop like this," Xavier frowned.
"Can't we keep shaking them off?"
"No. We risk attracting more with how loud they are."
Just as they neared the Gilroys' house, Talia noticed three figures standing outside.
Vincent was at the front, gun raised and finger on the trigger. He steadied his breathing, aiming for the goose on the far right.
Bang!
[+40 xp]
"Did you guys get it?"
"I got 30."
"Same."
"Hmm, so it's set to prioritize the last hitter. You guys take down the rest, then." Vincent handed them four shadow bullets each. He now had a max of 13 after the skill leveled up.
The bullets were universal. Daniel ran toward one goose, shooting it once with his shotgun, while Angel stayed next to Vincent, confidently and accurately shooting her target with her revolver.
[+30 xp]
[+30 xp]
The turkey-sized geese drop dead and skid on the floor, painting the snow red.
Vincent wished he could have seen its health so he would know how much damage they did. But only its green name tag showed, fading into nothing after it died.
[Windy Goose lvl 1]
A drifting noise sounded from the car as it turned back and stopped on the road next to him. The people inside got out and Talia ran towards Angel, giving her a hugging jump.
"My Angel! Huhuhu, I should have accepted your invite for a sleepover!"
"Oof—wow, you're alive." Angel gave her a pat on the back, genuinely relieved despite the poison she was spouting.
"W-Wait, are we really safe here?" The mother, Ashley, was ashen. She had long black hair, white skin and a plump body.
Being outside had deeply traumatized her and she barely registered how her fourteen year old daughter was trying to loosen her tight grip on her wrist.