Investment
Years ago, when Bruce looked for those trash items that might come in handy in a zombie apocalypse, he looked in all kinds of stores across the city for those items, but he didn't find them. So, he bought those things on the internet. Then, Bruce recalled something.
"Hey, Diane," Bruce said. "Where did you buy those night-vision goggles?"
"…In a shop on the city's eastern side," Diane replied after thinking for a while. "It is a bit far away, but we can find some useful things there."
"Like combat knives?" Bruce asked.
"Combat knives, night-vision goggles, heat-vision goggles… that crazy guy even sells katanas, real katanas," Diane frowned. "Do you want to go there? I'm pretty sure that place must have been destroyed or scavenged. If that guy didn't die trying to play hero, they must be hidden in their bunker."
Bruce frowned when he heard that; putting the bunker history aside, he sure was interested in the other kind of things the owner of that store had. Considering the real katanas, perhaps Bruce would find some shurikens in there, and those would be even more useful than combat knives, but in the end, he decided not to raise his expectations all that much.
In the end, Diane and Chris filled the back of the truck with all kinds of food before Bruce could even level up or break one of his swords. In any case, thanks to that, he will have to return to return while standing on the cargo of the truck. Those three only left for one hour, but they had hoped that things would have gotten better with the survivors, but they were still arguing about what they should do. As for Lucius, he was showing a complicated expression while thinking about something.
"Welcome back," Lucius said, and then he decided to help Diane and Chris unload the truck. "It seems the first trip had been a success."
"Did you use the potion?" Bruce asked while he was keeping an eye on things around the hotel.
"… I did," Lucius hesitated. "The potion worked, and until now, I didn't identify any sign effects. Not only the strong cold disappeared, but the potion also made the HP of the boy increase."
"Really?" Chris said, surprised. "That is fantastic!
"Calm down," Bruce sighed. "His HP didn't increase; most likely, it only returned to its normal level. The cold probably decreased his overall status."
"That is also what I concluded," Lucius nodded while he rubbed his chin. "However, to think that symptoms and his overall condition would improve instantly without causing any issue is… abnormal."
"Just like the arrival of monsters and the fact that we can get stronger by…" Bruce said but then decided to shut up. "Let's keep that information hidden. That being said, it is only a matter of time before other people discover this."
"Anyway…" Chris said. "We have forty or so survivors here. This place has a decent amount of food, but it will only last for a few days; even with the things we brought, we can only keep everyone fed for one week. We need more hands to help us; every second we waste, we might lose the opportunity to explore some stores and the things that we find in there."
"I fully agree, but…" Lucius said while watching the first survivors to arrive at the hotel. "Might patients might help if you lend them those potions that you have. I guess it is a good opportunity to see if they can heal chronicles diseases."
Bruce was also interested in that. Although the potions had magical effects, he doubted that they could perform miracles like healing those who were on the verge of death due to some diseases. That being said, Bruce would have to hand over the things that might save his ass in the future if he messes up, but in the end, Bruce gave him the potions. It was an investment; not only would he have the time instead of looking for supplies, but he would also make some people feel indebted to him. Although they were only at level one right now, eventually, those people would be the force that would guard their hideout while Bruce slept.
Status
HP: 41/46
MP: 08/15
SP: 46/46
Level 08 (221/1200)
STRENGTH: 29
P. Attack: 29 + 12
VITALITY: 10
P. Defense: 11 + 20
AGILITY: 02
Movement Speed: 6 meters per second
INTELLIGENCE: 4
M. Attack: 5
DEXTERITY: 3 + 2
M. Defense: 5
LUCK: 5
Range: 6 meters + 1
Free Points: 00
Spiritual Coins: 361
Social Status
Level 04 (60/500)
Karma: 00
Intimidation: 02
Charisma: 08
Persuasion: 05
Insight: 05
Perception: 05
Presence: 05
Allies: 25
Enemies: 01
Skill List
Magic: Fireball Lv 01,
Physical: Bash Lv 01, Dash Lv 01,
Passive:
Production:
"I knew it…" Bruce frowned after checking his status. "My social status went up quite a bit."
Maybe it was because Lucius wanted to make the group notice that they had to work together. Still, he made sure to give the options in front of everyone, and he also said that those belonged to Bruce. Things got a bit less noisy when his patients suddenly looked so full of vigor, but if anything, Bruce felt the stares annoying. He finally felt that the effects of his social status were really working; some people looked at him as if he was a Hollywood star.
"Well, now that you have more hands to help you, I will do something else," Bruce said. "Can you tell me the way to reach the store you mentioned before?"
"Don't you want to go tomorrow morning?" Diane asked. "We will be able to recover a lot more things by doing so. Besides, we only have a single vehicle, and most of us are at level one."
"I'm going on foot," Bruce declared. "There are plenty of cars on the roads; I'm sure you can find some with the keys. Anyway, I want to save time, so I will go now."
At that point in time, Diane and Chris didn't even have a reason to doubt Bruce's behavior. So, Diane just gave him the proper directions. Lucius still found him a bit odd, but given that the siblings knew how much the goblins leveled up in the last few hours, it was only obvious that they also had to work hard, or they would be screwed.
At that moment, Diane and Chris were wondering the best way for them to look for supplies and strength for Lucius' patients, who had just got healed. Bruce was running toward the Eastern side of the city. His current goals were to find a dungeon, see what was wrong with the crows and find the weird shop Diane mentioned. It would be quite difficult to do all that before it gets dark, but Bruce had a feeling that things would work out in the end.
Rat – Lv 05
HP: 22/22
MP: 14/14
SP: 25/25
Giant Bat– Lv 06
HP: 18/18
MP: 25/25
SP: 23/23
As Bruce had expected, goblins weren't the only monsters that leveled up. Even the other small fries increased their strength quite a bit… that being said, Bruce split them in half with a single attack whenever they got too close. Things got a bit messy when some bloody crows appeared, but since Bruce had to leave his things behind and only carry the things he was wearing, he tried to run away from them and choose the routes to which they weren't flying close to.
"Avoiding enemies seems like a waste of time, experience, and coins, but it can't be helped, given that they are out of range," Bruce muttered. "I really need some throwing projectiles… or a long-range attack that doesn't consume SP or MP. I guess I can always damage monsters by swinging my sword fast and strong enough and causing a shockwave that will split the enemies in two… but I need to get stronger and faster first."