16. Work

Dexter looked at the two orbs in front of him. One was golden-colored while one was just plain blue.

"So, I just smash it?" Dexter asked as he looked up to see Zain nodding.

He grabbed the blue orb first and then, with not too much strength, he squeezed the ball in his hand and crushed it. Surprisingly, none of the glass pieces entered his palm, and they turned into blue streaks of energy and shot into his head.

Dexter's eyes widened as he felt new information entering his head. It was too quick! He gritted his teeth as he shut his eyes to see and master the new information entering his mind.

After almost three minutes, he opened his eyes with a smile and looked at Zain and Rina, who were looking at him with a confused expression. Even Leo had wide eyes while furrowing his brows.

"What... what happened?" Dexter asked.

"Only three minutes. It took you only three minutes to learn it," Zain said in disbelief.

"What? It took you guys longer?"

Rina nodded.

"It took Zain five hours to learn his skill," Rina said, shutting Dexter up.

Zain sighed.

"Let's just forget about it. So what skill did you learn?"

Dexter brought up his hand and then focused as he began fiddling with his fingers. Streaks of lightning began flashing between his fingers, and Dexter smiled and closed his hand as he realized something.

"Wait. This is your first time going to Heaven's tower?" He asked.

"Yup," Zain confirmed.

"Then how did you get that skill of yours if not in the tower?"

Zain sighed tiredly.

"We told you that killing beasts which are higher than you in level will give you a reward. But it's not limited to Heavenly totems, but also skills."

Dexter nodded in understanding.

He looked down to see the golden orb and he grabbed it before crushing it. This time he already closed his eyes, and a new wave of information entered his mind, automatically storing itself.

Dexter began to understand this particular general spear style. After five minutes, he opened his eyes, and Zain sighed and went back to reading a book, while Rina was still smiling at him.

"Congratulations on learning your first skills," Rina said, and Dexter nodded.

Dexter stood up to see himself in the long, shiny black coat with golden outlines and his inner black clothing, which was supposed to keep him warm. He smiled and then he wore the gloves which had no space for fingers, and he clutched the spear tightly. He now looked like a professional monster slayer. He couldn't feel any better.

*Knock Knock Knock*

They all turned to the door, and Rina stood up to go and open it. As she opened it, she saw Laurence and a beautiful woman with long, straight black hair and a Canadian look with tight, black clothing. She wore a shirt, black leggings and black sock boots, and in total, she was extremely sexy and beautiful. But her cold look slightly made Dexter feel uncomfortable.

"Hey. This here with me is Beatrice. She was a former officer in the military," Laurence introduced her.

"Now that you guys have settled in, it's time to tell you how things work here," he took the four individuals for a walk, and then he noticed their new looks.

"I see you guys just entered Heaven's tower," Laurence smiled.

"You have also entered?" Zain asked.

"No. The head of the camp and Beatrice here have entered," Laurence said, making the individuals glance at Beatrice again.

"So in the camp, there's a rule set up to control the way food is being distributed: work to eat," he said, as if it was simple to understand.

"Food is very scarce, so the ones in the camp who can't fight and scout areas for rations eat less than the ones who defend the camp every day."

Dexter nodded in understanding.

'So even in an apocalypse... I still got to work for daily bread,' he sighed tiredly. Laurence stopped as they reached the entrance of the camp, which was a wide opening in the electric fence.

"So. What do you guys choose? To work? Or to just live while eating the little that is required to survive?" Laurence finally asked.

All of them had known their answers as they have been walking for quite a while.

"I'll work," Zain shrugged.

"Yeah."

"Me too."

Leo and Rina also accepted to work, leaving Dexter, who was still busy thinking.

'If it is me stressing myself, then I think maybe I shouldn't work. The last time I felt hunger for blood was after I out ran and killed those zombies. The second time was the time that I fought those dogs. The third time was still a little bit after I fought the dogs,' Dexter pondered.

'Maybe I shouldn't work. It'll make me go longer without blood. But these three have to agree,' he thought and looked up to see all of them staring at him, giving him chills.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"Work or not?" Laurence asked.

Dexter looked at Zain and the others.

"They agreed?" He asked with wide eyes, and Laurence nodded.

'Damn. You guys just love stressing yourselves, don't you?' He sighed.

"I'll work," he said, making Laurence smile.

"So there are many groups. It'll depend on what you can and want to do, though," Laurence took a short break. "So there is the exploration team: we explore and search for food and other survival needs."

"There's the cooking squad: self-explanatory."

"There are the ones in charge of architecture and temporary houses. Do I need to continue?" Laurence asked as he already knew the answer they would pick.

'Exploration team, huh? I'll be able to kill more zombies and hunt freely to save up points for the next time I go to Heaven's tower,' Dexter smiled.

"I choose the exploration team," he said as he walked forward.

"Me too."

"Same."

"I'll join too."

Zain, Leo, and Rina also agreed, showing that they are in the same boat.