4 Chapter 4: Kyoto Headquarters
The next day, Kenshin woke up a little later than usual. He had walked a lot and therefore mentally exhausted. By having his usual lunch with bread and jam with a glass of milk. It was his routine despite the apocalypse, he was not going to deprive himself of eating his fill. It is above all thanks to his inventory that he can eat without worries because the notion of time did not impact his size.
"I'm selfish but I can't help it. The strong have what they want and the weak have to do all they can to survive, it's a supernatural world that has become calm, and then exploded. My past life is n 'was surely not the best experience, but I would rather live in a society where the true selfish man nature is shown than to live in mine where the society was completely untrue with actions in the shadows. * Sigh *, I think too much. I'll just gain strength and not be ruled by the rules of this world. I will be the strong that devours the strong and not the other way around."
Kenshin looked up with determination in his eyes then pulled out his Kuroken dagger to go hunting for zombies. He had taken his full black C-level outfit, he wanted to get a new one but he didn't have good equipment in the store or in the lottery, it was armor all the time or things useless to him.
He was even starting to doubt the system for its such bad luck despite his stats.
After a few minutes of walking, he saw a large group of zombies a hundred yards in front of him. It was getting dangerously close in the middle of the northwest area, so it was normal to find a lot of zombies as this was where the most inhabitants were concentrated there.
"I can't see their exact numbers at this distance but this group is certainly several times bigger than yesterday. I don't feel a big magical presence among them apart from a few levels 3 but it's not interesting. My dragon blood is unstimulated which means there is no Draconian presence nearby..." He suddenly felt 4 large magical presence that was not far from his own amount of magic.
He quickly glanced at the group of zombies narrowing his eyes, his reptilian pupils gazing intently at the figures that seemed to be looking for something.
He did not use {Divine Vision} as it was not necessary to know their strength as he was already feeling their powerful aura through his dragon instincts.
'They are not rank 5 otherwise I would have clearly felt it, but they still remain 4 monsters of rank 4. I cannot take them all at once, I need a way to separate them or to them kill without their having time to react. I will use the knives to kill them discreetly without causing unnecessary trouble.' He summoned his knives by putting 2 in each hand.
He ran while concealing himself so as not to be noticed. He was now about twenty yards from them while hiding behind the wall of a small alley. The monsters hadn't noticed, as an assassin, it was the minimum to be able to infiltrate.
He charged his four knives with magic, waiting for the right moment to throw them at the same time. He did not want to take the lead and preferred to use the "cowardly" method of killing them discreetly. He wasn't fazed by this considering that it was his former job to quietly kill his targets. Rich people, celebrities, even nobles of his day, he killed many people in different ways depending on the situation and the difficulty.
After waiting 1 minute, he finally saw the opportunity to draw his knives at his targets. With a movement of his arms, he threw his knives at high speed at his prey which had stopped moving.
* PFFFFFFFFIUM * a slight high-pitched noise crossed the atmosphere, the rank 4 zombies heard the noise but did not have time to react. Blood gushed out of their skulls like a fountain, they fell to the ground without realizing the situation.
"Well, it was easier than yesterday since they can't defend against the speed of my throws. My long-range throwing skills haven't rusted. I'll get their core back and to leave here, they don't have any Draconian properties so I won't absorb their blood. But before that, I have to put them all to sleep."
He took a breath of air, circulating his magic to his vocal cords and stimulating his dragon blood.
* GROAARRRRRR * He unleashed his dragon roar at a lower radius, just enough to knock any nearby zombies out.
He quickly left to collect the cores and then headed straight for the central Kyoto area. He will kill monsters on his way to gain strength. He still hadn't had a lead for his hybrid form, so he ultimately decided to head to Kyoto headquarters to observe people mastering their hybrid form instead of sticking around.
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Meanwhile, in the middle of the northwest area in a large abandoned structure that looked like a factory, a humanoid was furious and began to swing magic all around him. He had black colored dragon wings. He also had two black horns protruding from his forehead. His black hair went down to his back where there was a tail. It was about 2 meters.
"Shit! Those bloody humans...They killed the rare-blooded dragon that I was going to use after it got mature...I sent four beasts to fetch me responsible and it turns out that he was just a weak human !
I saw his face through the beasts I sent, I will not forget his face! I will slowly torture him before I kill him, he seems to have dragon blood too hahahahaha !" He was starting to laugh madly at the thought of torturing him as he left to sit on a throne made of human bones.
"I will wait until he grows up to taste it slowly...He will suffer for keeping me from moving up to rank 8 with this blood."
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Kenshin was currently on the buildings jumping and running building by building. He had managed to climb using an outside ladder from the top floor of the building he had climbed to. After killing these zombies, he walked around the buildings for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, it had absorbed only one of the cores and sold the rest, which brought it up to 900 MP and 65,800 SP. The reason he got that 50 MP is that the cores were starting to get less and less efficient. He had an extraordinary quality of magic with a phenomenal amount including almost perfect control thanks to his dragon talent, what else did he need ? The system had also told him that a magician could naturally also evolve like monsters and become stronger. This evolution breaks the core of the body to recreate a stronger and resilient one to contain better quality magic. He wasn't at that level yet, but he wasn't far away either. His potential is unlocked little by little, this is his biggest advantage because some people may no longer have the opportunity to gain strength while he could become as strong as the ancestor of the Bloodline.
"So this is the so-called 'headquarters' I have to admit, it's pretty big. And to say that they built this in just a few months is impressive." Kenshin still had his indifferent gaze when he saw a great stone wall a few miles away from him.
According to him, the wall was at least 2km long with a height of 20 meters. It might not have seemed like much for a survivor town, but you have to take into account the fact that this base was built in less than 2 months.
He could only see one side, but he assumed it was a rectangular structure, so 2km by 2km. He also saw the dome protruding high above the wall. He couldn't know the exact size as it still looked small from his position, but he estimates that the structure is at least 50 meters high. The dome was made of glass for the top and the rest was made of normal building materials like cement or limestone, it was white.
After 10 more minutes, Kenshin had soon arrived at the base. He had put his hood over his head so as not to be too visible at the entrance, it made a shadow that covered his face.
He was less than a mile from the base. Upon closer inspection, it seemed imposing, especially the dome which was gigantic. He had put his weapons away in his inventory, but he still wore his battle gear in case things went wrong for him.
Another 10 minutes later, he had arrived at the wall. The first thing he saw was not zombies waiting outside, but a queue protected by people. There were no zombies nearby, he assumed these people were in charge of exterminating the monsters that attempted to approach.
'Their magic is pretty high, I would say they have at least 300 MP. It might sound like a lot, but if the quality of the magic is low, it is useless. Guess I have to line up in that waiting line ? There are many people. Old people, adults, young people in a bad state. It's very unfortunate for them, but that's life.' He got out of the building where he was and then went straight to the line.
There was a queue of about 40 meters, it was quite large but it was quite normal for survivors to disembark at these times.
Kenshin was behind a middle-aged man and waited without saying a word. But he wanted to know the questions that were going to be asked at the entrance and the conditions necessary to be ranked as a magician, so he spoke to the man in front of him.
"Sorry to interrupt, but what exactly are they doing at the entrance?" Kenshin's mature voice echoed through the middle-aged man.
He turned to face his, he smiled and replied quietly without being angry.
"These are the guards who take care of the entrance. They take our information before entering town and being registered. They also look at people likely to be a magician thanks to one of their own who has a magic allowing to measure the talent of a person. Wizards who are new to the city will automatically get a rank and be treated better than us pathetic humans with no powers." the man said with slight sadness.
"You're not pathetic, they're just people who are just a little talented compared to you, that's all." Kenshin said indifferently but the man smiled at his words.
"Thank you young man, but that will not change the fact that we are powerless. But we are still lucky to be able to live in a city like this even if we are not treated in the best possible way, hahahaha..." the man said with a nervous laugh without noticing that it was his turn.
"Looks like it's my turn, fate will be, we'll meet again." He smiled at him then walked over to the office of the man looking after the new residents.
The place of registration was just a man with glasses with a desk full of papers. The guards weren't very far from him, they were in charge of looking after the 3-meter-long gate that was open to welcome new people and people already living in the city.
After 5 minutes it was around Kenshin. He was greeted by a man to take him to the office. He followed him then he found himself in front of the secretary's office.
He sat down in the chair and then began to examine the bespectacled man in front of him.
'He has an amount of magic just as high as the guards, it must be in case of an assassination or ambush to aid or alert others.'
"Welcome to Kyoto headquarters. As a new resident, you must give me your name, surname, age and family, that will be all to be able to reside in this base. We will also measure your potential magistrate." the man said indifferently.
"Zakiri Kenshin. Age 18. Orphan with no family." he said calmly.
"Good, now we're going to measure your magical potential. You must have gone through the front door and a wizard should take care of you. Have a nice day."
Kenshin walked towards the city gate, he saw a man with quite a bit of magic looking at him with yellow eyes that emitted magic.
'I'm going to restrict my magic completely so he doesn't see me. I'll show up in a few days, I have to analyze the city right now.' He has concealed all of his magic from his body, making it look like a normal human.
"You don't have any magic skills, so you will be assigned to Ward number 5, which is the place of residence for all humans without magic. Take this sheet with you, it will guide you and explain all about the quarters and the rest. There will be a wizarding tournament which will take place tomorrow at noon, the information is also written on it. Have a nice day." the man said as Kenshin continued his walk through town.
He noticed that the houses were not that big and that they were made of wood. The houses were aligned in 2 rows which were separated by a road to circulate. He had also seen other more developed houses a little further away.
He walked towards the house he was assigned which was number 125. He walked for a few minutes before finding a wooden house which had the number 125 on the door.
He got into it, there was just a mattress, a toilet and a faucet. There was no shower, no kitchen...For the showers, he thought it was probably in a public place.
He lay down on his mattress and then began to read the materials the magician had given him.
"Welcome to Kyoto headquarters. You have only three strict rules to follow under penalty of expulsion or execution.
1-Not to commit crimes such as murders, rapes, thefts, under penalty of expulsion from the city or even execution.
2-Do not venture into another place higher than your own apart from the assigned district under penalty of expulsion or punishments depending on the severity.
Example: A person from ward 5 is not allowed to go to ward 4, but the reverse is possible. The rule also applies for the upper quarters.
3-You must respect a person whose rank is higher than you. Whether you are magicians or not.
There is no usable currency in the lower quarters, Kyoto's personalized currency under the name "Quartz" is only usable in quarters 3 and above. People can work or do missions to collect rewards like food or water.
Example: Prostitutes can work in exchange for a kilo of meat or a carpenter can sell shoes for 5 loaves of bread, these are just examples and may vary according to demand.
The Magical Society that is located in the center of town, simply the Dome, is a place where people from Ward 4 or more can go there to do missions for rewards. The rewards depend on the mission rank and its difficulty. Magicians can also create a guild of up to 10 who can earn a reward each month based on their ranking.
Each month, a tournament is organized for magicians below the Stars rank. This tournament gives rewards based on ranking. Only people who are magicians can register, humans without magics will be able to come and watch the tournament if they wish. Registration takes place in the Magical Society and the tournament will take place tomorrow, in the main arena which is also located in the Magical Society. The magical society is divided into several parts.
The Magicians' Part: This is the place where Magicians can take quests or create guilds.
The Arena Part: The place where magicians fight in duels or tournaments. The arena is made up of a tribune for normal humans, the upper part of the courts is reserved for magicians and the higher it goes, the higher the rank needed to get there must be.
The Large Meeting Room: Magicians can be called to be gathered in a large room with multiple seats (such as in cinemas) for a meeting or announcements. In front of these seats is a platform with a large table which only magicians of Star level or above are allowed to go.
Kenshin had finished reading the documents. He was slightly angry at the rules which were clearly unfair but understandable. He was going to register for this tournament despite. If we stop him, he'll just have to unleash all of his magic to make his presence known. As long as he has magic, he will be able to register without necessarily being spotted by others. By showing its magic, it can be done for a magician during registration. He will announce his identity sooner or later, even if he is discovered now, he will not be disturbed.
"This tournament will be held tomorrow. During that time, I will just be meditating to cast my magic and purify my dragon line. I will not sit here and do nothing. I am interested to see the performance of the wizards tomorrow." He stood up and put himself in a meditation position and then began to cast his magic.
