Christmas passed with everyone binging the entire Marvel series, using Bluetooth headphones with the newly repaired television.
The middle and bottom-class folks were instantly numbed by the rich right after. And they enjoyed the entertainment to its fullest with the last batches of popcorn.
During the wait, Daniel succeeded in fixing their high-frequency radio and camped it day and night, even sleeping with it waiting for any news.
But even after denying an extra day, by December 27th, Garret still didn't appear.
Only the howling of periodic blizzards and the occasional distant tremors and roars reached them.
"We can't leave for Vancouver with our current strength."
Vincent stated as he leaned with both hands on the table, where Angel's map (one from her elementary days) was laid out and scrutinized by multiple people.
"That's more than 1,500 km away." Daniel's breath hitched, his head aching.
"To be fair, we only had to watch out for random deer and moose passing by the highway before the outbreak. But if all the animals are affected like ants…"
Vincent exhaled deeply, the weight of the difficult decision pressing on his mind, as he realized that winter wasn't so bad after all. At least most animals hibernated through the season.
"We'll need to get stronger. Strong enough to take down the Frost Troll before we leave this place."
Shock rang in the silence, and the people listening to their conversation couldn't help but shift uncomfortably. But they had already understood in the past days that these young adults knew what they were doing.
They had the kind of presence you simply couldn't ignore, like natural-born elites. So they quietly waited for the conclusion.
Talia pointed at Wascana Park despite remembering the traumatizing scene of hundreds of geese chasing them all the way downtown. Their tenacity was terrifying.
"We can farm this spot. But we risk getting trampled if we pull the entire flock."
"Can't we have you and Angel shoot them from the back of the truck? The XP is split anyways." Daniel suggested.
"Take a look outside. Your winter tires are nothing against waist-level snow." Angel rolled her eyes before tapping at the University of Regina. "We might as well move our base of operations here. It's near Wascana and the place is big."
"And we might meet people." Vincent's eyes narrowed, the suggestion was tempting but dangerous.
He knew he shouldn't use the Homeless Crew as an example of what type of people he might encounter, but there was honestly no way for him to think otherwise.
It was the apocalypse. People were bound to gravitate towards survival of the fittest.
'I should be grateful my hands are still clean.' He re-evaluated himself.
After an hour of debates stretching past dinner, a decision was finally made.
"We'll go." Vincent carefully said. "But we're going on foot and moving from building to building. And if we see mutated animals on the way while the troll isn't in the vicinity, we'll fight it. And if we meet people, we'll decide then."
Party invitations were sent right away, and Vincent explained to them why even the non-combatants had to level with them.
Numbers were very important in every video game. Leveling up guaranteed an increase in HP.
"Which means, if you can stay alive longer until combatants show up, that would be ideal."
Hesitations disappeared instantly, and talks about who was going to protect who began.
There were twelve of them. Besides the main party, there were 3 clerics, 2 paladins, a pyromancer, an archer, and an enchanter.
And these were their basic skills.
[Clerics]
-----------------------------------
Healing Touch | 100 mana | 3 seconds cooldown
-> Light Attribute
-> Requires touch
-> Restores minor health
-> Weak to dark
-----------------------------------
[Paladins]
-----------------------------------
Radiant Aegis | 100 mana | 3 seconds cooldown
-> Light Attribute
-> Requires courage
-> Summons a shield of light that reduces incoming damage for 6 seconds
-> Weak to dark
-----------------------------------
[Pyromancers]
-----------------------------------
Blazing Bolt | 100 mana | 3 seconds cooldown
-> Fire Attribute
-> Requires user motion input
-> Summons a bolt of fire
-> Weak to water and earth
-----------------------------------
[Archers]
-----------------------------------
Lock-On Shot | 100 mana | 5 minutes cooldown
-> Air Attribute
-> Requires a bow
-> 30 seconds duration
-> Weak to earth
-----------------------------------
[Enchanters]
-----------------------------------
Searing Enchantment | 300 mana | 6 seconds cooldown
-> Fire Attribute
-> Requires any weapon
-> 1 hr duration
-> Weak to water and earth
-----------------------------------
Vincent froze when he heard this part, facepalming right after. "That was one of my choices," he groaned, before freezing again. "Wait, none of you had bonus passives?"
Everyone looked at him silly.
"What bonus passive?" Angel asked.
"I have night vision as a bonus passive when I choose the skill. The Searing Enchantment had Fire Resistance and the Palm Strike had increased speed."
Daniel laughed his ass off, snorting as he struggled to contain his voice. Angel helped him with a smack, making him choke for a moment.
"I told you, Cents! Nothing but good gains!"
Vincent controlled his excitement, keeping level-headed. "Let's hope so." He wasn't about to let it go into his head. There had been too many lessons learned because of it.
Within ten minutes, everyone showed up in his party window, and quickly noticed the change.
[Raid Party 12/20]
A bitter smile graced his face. He didn't know if it was because they reached a threshold or if the system was listening. The change felt particularly pointed. And the latter reasoning sent a chill down his spine.
He pinned that thought.
The rest of the night was spent preparing for the move.
Daniel attempted to fix his messed-up drone for the seventh time and finally succeeded at midnight.
It was a DJI Mavic 3 Pro. With a range of about 15 km and 2 hours of battery life, it was the perfect spotter gadget for the Frost Troll. He would have to fly it high enough so its noise would disappear but there was no problem with its engines.
They left the mansion before noon.
Walking normally towards the University would have taken roughly 1.5 hours. But with the waist-high snow and their cautious approach, there was no telling how long it would actually take.
The system blessed them with no blizzard today, and the warm sun made them emotional.
Throughout their journey, it was easy to determine if an animal had passed by the area as pathways looking like trenches were spotted. It became easier to traverse but it also increased the risk.
They followed one pathway and encountered their first creature.
[Frost Rabbit lvl 2] a yellow name tag.
Vincent was starting to notice the different colors, but with little information, he pinned it.
This was a lone monster. Its head looked no different from its regular form but with a humanoid body. If Vincent ignored its icicle jagged teeth, sticking out like the Revenant bulldog, it would seem harmless.
It was also more than 2 meters tall.
Daniel confirmed the troll wasn't near, so Vincent took the paladin and the pyromancer for training.
Weapons were going to come later, as Vincent planned to stop by the Southland Mall. There was a store there that sold all types of blades. He didn't have hope for police stations, as they would definitely be the first things to be looted.
But the Cutting Edge store was rather niche. And not a lot of people visited the mall in the past few years.
[-4 Hp]
The rabbit's claws were sharp as he expected, but it wasn't dangerous enough to be life-threatening for the paladin who had 12 HP.
He urged Henry (paladin) to give it a try while keeping his gun locked onto the rabbit, ready to shoot.
Henry was a large guy with extremely short hair and dark skin. He hopped to get his blood flowing before rushing in, screaming.
The rabbit answered him with a roar, leaping to take a strike.
The skill manifested at will, an ethereal golden shield the size of a person appearing between them, tanking the strike.
Henry visibly skidded backward but happily reported that he only took 1 damage.
"Good! Now back off so Theo can fire his bolt."
"You got it, boss!"
Theo was skinny, looking normal with the winter coat on. He was younger than Henry and had black hair with white skin. He held a ball of fire on top of his right hand, but since it wasn't going anywhere, he started to panic.
"Hey, why isn't it going forward? Shouldn't it go straight to the target like in games??"
"Remember your skill description. You need to thrust it and control it."
It was, of course, easier said than done.
Vincent had experienced it beforehand with a VR game called Blade and Sorcery. It had a learning curve, so he doubled his focus, covering fire.
But Theo was hesitating in confusion.
"Doesn't matter if you fail! Just do it!" Henry shouted from behind, encouraging him.
That gave Theo the boost he needed. Clumsily, he mimicked a kung fu stance he had seen in movies, thrusting with his palms forward and even shouting, "Ha!"
Though he closed his eyes right after, his bolt successfully landed straight into the rabbit's face.
"Woo! I did it!"
A 26-year-old man cheered, high-fiving another 30-year-old man with both hands.
[+25 xp]
The rabbit burned to death, its head blackened from Theo's fire.
Palya came after, using her healing spell on Vincent, which was enough to bring him back to full health.
The successful hunt eased the tension, slightly increasing their pace.