[CYA] Chapter 111: Wave 1, Back Inside

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<Alex, Real - Endure (Wave 1), Street beside High School>

Alex’s headlong sprint back toward the school only lasted about a hundred yards before UVMs started swooping down at him.

He had no idea why they were ignoring the wall defenders for the moment, but he was grateful for that fact, even if it meant that he needed to fight them himself at the moment.

His danger sense made dodging the swooping figures simple, and with time between each swoop, he was able to prepare shaped force bursts.

It strained his mind to swivel the symbol sets into the right orientation for any given dive-bomb, but it was good practice. It also highlighted just how much practice he still needed.

He hit the first in the knee instead of the chest as he rolled out of the way, the four-fold punch equivalent breaking the joint and driving the beast toward the ground, as he had angled the hit downward.

He was able to come back to his feet and behead the thing before it recovered.

The second was only hit in an outstretched hand, but that was thankfully enough that it hesitated, not rising quickly enough to escape and allowing Jacob to run it through from where he followed behind Alex.

Alex missed the third entirely, even though he was still able to dodge out of the way.

The fourth came at an awkward angle, but he was actually able to peg that one in the chest, driving it back toward Jacob.

Unfortunately, the spear wielder had been fending off two of his own at that moment, so he couldn’t finish it off.

Alex lunged back, managing to take off a leg as the creature took back to the air, frustratingly mostly ignoring its indented chest.

He then used his fifth shaped force burst to take down one of those harassing Jacob, having a bit more time to ensure it hit the head, even though doing so required closing to within striking range of the beast’s talons.

There were several others dispatched or driven off with spell or blade from Alex or Jacob before they reached the closest entrance back into the school, and from there, they left the UVMs to be someone else’s problem.

Alex had a sneaking suspicion that the fact that the creatures were uncommon meant that they wouldn’t directly attack the main defenses until that part of the wave reached the walls.

If the glimpse he’d gotten in the lightning strikes was any indication, that could be as soon as twenty minutes.

It might be sooner on some walls if the clearing out of the commons with fire and other spells allows the uncommons to advance more rapidly.

He hoped that wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, the timer made him think that it wasn’t about killing a certain number of enemies, and they could definitely make things worse for themselves if they weren’t careful.

If there were Zombie Plague Witches among the attackers, it might become increasingly difficult to hold the walls, given how exposed the defenders really were to attacks as long range and quick as those monster’s black beams of light.

Kaylee’s got it handled, I’m sure.

As if in confirmation of that sentiment, sixteen non-Initiates, protected by five Initiates from Stephen’s group, pushed past them, out into the rain, each one clutching a phone in some sort of water-proof case. For one of them, it looked like little more than a press-and-seal bag closed tightly around the phone.

Communication people so Initiates don’t have to worry about it? Alex nodded to himself even as he continued to move through the school. It was a good idea, and he wondered if his own lack of paying attention to his phone had been part of the inspiration for it.

There was a seemingly constant stream of non-Initiates flowing into the locker rooms and on into the gym, where they should be safe for the time being. It would be crowded, but that wasn’t the main concern for the moment.

Regardless, his thoughts were cut short when he heard screaming from up ahead.

He rounded the corner into the hall outside the cafeteria and found a group of UVMs streaking toward him in hot pursuit of a group of students.

One of the creatures was flying forward, but the other three were clambering along the walls and floor, lunging forward and gaining ground with horrifying rapidity.

The door to the outside at the far end of the hall had been ripped off its hinges, making it plain how the creatures had gained entry.

Alex pointedly ignored the blood and bodies near that far door, showing clearly that these were not the UVMs’ first targets.

Focus on the living, Alex.

Jacob shouted, and four streaks of mana shot out from him.

The spells manifested as blunt impacts of air, not enough to break bone, but they were sufficient to knock the creatures backward, buying the kids a few precious seconds.

Alex took those seconds to pass by the students and close on the creatures. A multi-strike and shaped force burst took care of three, leaving only one to be stomp-kicked from the air as it tried to lunge at him.

Alex’s powerful body and now well-trained movements allowed him to drive the thing to the floor, a resounding crack testament to just how the head could suddenly rest at such an odd angle.

He split the skull of the prone creature just to be safe before straightening and taking stock of the hall once more.

The kids were fleeing around the corner toward the gym. At the moment, the front of the school was still closed, and if it stayed that way for even thirty seconds, they could gain the windowless safety of the locker rooms and gym as so many already had.

Raised voices coming from the cafeteria let him know that his destination was still populated, and with that in mind, he had no time to lose.

Alex burst into the cafeteria—Jacob stopping in the hall to keep watch on the point of ingress from the school yard—and found eleven people within.

Kaylee had her crossbow out but held in a mostly relaxed grip, and the others were mostly in sets of three, with two initiates each holding down a third. The final person had mana pouring off of her, flowing into the three clearly infected people.

The woman with the oddly golden mana flowing from her was visibly sweating and shaking.

Nine sets of eyes locked onto Alex as he entered, Kaylee’s crossbow twitching his direction before lowering once more when she recognized him. “Alex! Thank the system. Please heal them as quickly as possible. Brianne can’t hold the plague back for much longer. We were about to have to use some of our few cure disease potions.”

Brianne was somewhat obviously the healer then, and she was so focused that she didn’t seem to even register Alex’s entrance.

Each of the initiates under her ministrations was practically frothing, as if they’d already turned, trying to attack the two that held them down, but Alex’s quickly casted detection spells put them as both alive and undead. So, not a perfect counter but holding them from fully turning?

Regardless, he didn’t waste another second. His dadao was stuck into his Inventory, and he was to the closest in less than a breath.

His hand came down and his HP washed through the person, targeting the unlife and seeking to purge the turning plague.

It was something he’d done dozens of times by this point, and his instructions to his health were clear and to the point. As such it was both quick and efficient, verdant power washing through the patient.

With one final arched back and a snarling scream the previously infected Initiate fell limp. Alex’s HP also worked to heal the clear claw-slash in the man’s side, but Alex hadn’t sent in enough to fully repair that.

The golden light took care of the wound a moment later, allowing Brianne to shift her focus to the remaining two, clearly lessening the burden upon her.

As Alex quickly moved to the next patient, the freed up initiates went to Kaylee where the woman gave them quick, quiet instructions.

They sprinted out, purpose in their steps. The healed man was groaning, but clearly not quite coherent yet. Kaylee went to his side even as Alex arrived at the next victim.

Less than a minute later, all three had been healed, and Brianne was slumped back against one of the long tables, resting on a bench. She smiled tiredly at Alex, clearly recognizing him. “Thank you, Alex.”

He smiled in return. “Thank you for keeping them alive, Brianne. It would have been much harder to help them if they’d turned.”

“That’s what Kaylee said, yeah.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure I was really that much use. I chose holy magics, thinking that would be a counter to the undead, but it turned out that ‘holy’ just means ‘right’? Or something like that… The System is odd… I basically am able to put things back to how they ‘should be.’” Her tired smile returned. “Unfortunately, eradicating something, even a plague, would be counter to that. I can strengthen the body’s ability to fight back, but I can’t give it that ability if it doesn’t exist within to begin with. Out of all those affected, these three didn’t have any resistance to the plague at all. So, all I could do was continually force their bodies to move back toward a base state, only to continue turning again. Trying to affect the plague just strengthened it for a short time.”

Alex frowned. “I’m sorry. That must be really frustrating.”

She nodded, her smile fading a bit. “I really wanted to help people, to drive away the evil of undeath, but I’m useless.”

Alex shook his head. “You can heal so many things, if I understand your power correctly from the description. You can make any person more of what they are. Don’t fault yourself for this plague being a bad match-up for you. We’ll have wounded that you can heal soon enough, and you seem to be able to remove wounds that would be incredibly expensive for me to fix comparatively."

That brought the smile back, if just a bit. “Thank you, Alex. That’s kind of you to say. I suppose we might be a good team then? I can handle what I can and you fill in the gaps?”

“That could work, yeah. I can heal, but I would bet it’s far less efficient.”

She tutted. “I can heal ten HP for one MP spent. How are your ratios?”

Alex grimaced. “I have to spend four HP and one MP to heal four HP. Or I can spend more HP and have no MP cost.”

Brianne’s eyes widened. “You have to spend your own health?” He nodded and the woman shivered. “I would not like that. Not at all.”

He gave a small smile then. “Well, it seems like you chose the right class, then.”

She gave a slow nod. “Maybe I did at that.”

Kaylee had been able to get the three healed initiates back to their feet by then, and she’d already sent the six helpers on their way. Once she assigned tasks to the newly recovered people, she came over to where Alex and Brianne were catching their breath. “I need the two of you. The walls are being overrun by commons, and we’ve been able to see uncommons closing in whenever the lightning flashes. We’re going to need to have healers on hand, but we also need you to help shore up the gaps, Alex. You’re one of our better close-in fighters. Natasha is sending another two spear wielders to be with you, and she’s leading the other two herself, begrudgingly. She wants to be where you are fighting.”

Alex quirked a smile at that. “Experience junky.”

“Indeed.” Kaylee smirked. “Are you ready to run again? Both of you?”

Brianne grimaced. She wasn’t fat by any means, but she was on the heavier side, and it was clear that she hadn’t put many stat points into her physical stats. Still she clearly steeled herself as she stood and nodded. “I’ll do my best. And when I level again, I’m putting all my points into physical. I didn’t need it when traveling all in a group, but in a situation like this?” She motioned around her. “I was a fool not to invest in that side of things.”

Alex patted her shoulder. “We’ll do what we can.” He then turned to Kaylee. “Where do you need us?”

“South central wall. It’s the least in danger so I didn’t prioritize it. Those I could spare are struggling, and I suspect they’ll need healing by the time you arrive. I have backup to relieve you that will be there in ten.”

Alex nodded. “Quickest way?”

She pointed toward the kitchens. “Loading bay has a person-door. That’ll put you less than half a block from it.”

“We’re on it.” He glanced toward Brianne. “Let’s go. Jacob!” He called to the man in the hall. “We’re going out another way. Come or don’t, it's up to you.”

The man kicked open the door, while actively fighting something in the hall. “Be with you in a moment!”

The door swung shut once more, and Kaylee cursed having not noticed the all but silent fight. “I’ll help him and get that hall covered.”

Alex nodded, turning and jogging beside Brianne toward the kitchens. “We’ll get to the wall.”

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