"Hey, look at the sky outside. The world is turning red. Do you think this is some kind of stunt?"
Reina immediately looked outside the window and felt a sinking feeling in her chest. Unlike everyone else, she knew why the sky was turning red.
The apocalypse was finally here.
'I need to go and check on Amelia. Is she alright—'
Reina's feet carried her out of the classroom and through the school gate. She immediately noticed the other students stopping to look up, but it did not take long for the static to fill the air.
This was also something Rin had told her would happen, so Reina immediately looked for the system interface.
[Welcome to the apocalypse, user. Congratulations! You are one of the first ones who have awakened in this new world.]
[Please check your stats and your first task. I hope the user will be able to survive.]
[Hunter Name: Reina Swan (lvl 1)
Hunter Rank: ?? (Rankings are not open yet)
Strength: 20
Stamina: 20
Intelligence: 20
MP: 55
HP: 300/300
Special Skills: Medical Hand (increases the effect of healing by 50%), Long-Range Shot
Special Traits: Medical Knowledge (has the talent to awaken obsession)]
[First task of the apocalypse: Survive until tomorrow morning.]
"Is this…the system? It's a little different from what I expected."
When Rin had told her about what was going to happen, Reina had started to search online for information. But all she had found were web novels depicting the same thing.
In those novels, people often either struggled to get used to the system or immediately understood how to use it. But Reina felt it was more dependence than trust.
Rin had told her that she could trust the system. But in reality, did she have any other choice?
"O-Oh no—! W-What are those creatures? Are those humans? But they're walking so w-weirdly—"
Reina recognized the figures and recalled what Rin had told her. According to him, the first task was to survive the waves of zombies.
Fighting was useless—they wouldn't stop coming. All they could do was run and survive..
'I need to find Amelia. She's all alone—'
But Reina had only taken one step when she recalled Rin's words. He had told her again and again that once the apocalypse came, she should not go to her sister. Instead, she needed to come find Rin.
It went against her instincts and her teachings to leave Amelia alone. But Rin had been right about everything so far, so he had to be right about this.
For the first time in her life, Reina decided to go against her instincts and headed toward Rin's place as she had been asked.
__________
"Darn it. The apocalypse started a week sooner. What about the MC? Will he arrive a week earlier as well?"
Not that it would change the major plot points. The only thing changing dates would change was…actually nothing.
[Please don't worry. The major events of the timeline are preserved. The system was joking about bringing the apocalypse forward by a week. Unfortunately, this small and weak system doesn't have that authority.]
Rin glared at the system, felt like the system was toying with his emotions. The system quickly defended itself against his anger.
[What? Did you think a single human could change the course of fate? User, you need to reevaluate your importance in this world.]
The system was making Rin angry. Those mocking words helped him calm down, and he forcefully reeled in his anger and cleared his mind.
Ignoring the system, Rin turned his attention back to the current situation.
"Reina must have headed back to my place. Those ENC guys will be there soon as well. I should start heading back…"
But instead of heading home, he found himself heading toward Reina's house. He felt compelled to check on Amelia and make sure she was fine.
He arrived at Amelia's house, and it was surrounded by monsters. Rin needed to clear the horde before he could reach her.
Rin currently didn't have enough firepower, but his title had somewhat resolved that issue for him.
With the apocalypse so close, Rin had taken to carrying a few weapons in his bag. They were all kept inside a safe that only opened with his fingerprints. He opened it and took out a small bomb.
He clutched it before deciding to try and use his title's influence.
'Let's try and modify this bomb using Perfect Craftsman.'
[Perfect Craftsman has been used on a modern bomb. Firepower has increased by 500%. Additional effect: Paralysis has been added to the bomb's effects.]
[Wow! Aren't you lucky? You have not only managed to successfully power up your bomb a bit but also gained a status effect. You should dance to show off your happiness.]
"Is this truly a bit? Suddenly, I don't want to end up in a situation where I need to power up a weapon by 'a lot.'"
500% was not a small increase in power, but the system was downplaying it. However, Rin had no way of knowing whether the system was exaggerating.
For now, he took the bomb and threw it toward the zombies before running to a safe distance. He pressed the detonate button, and the bomb went off.
Despite its firepower, the bomb had a small radius, which was why he chose it. It successfully took out two zombies and left the house intact.
The few zombies that were not caught in the blast near the door were easy to take out, and Rin cleared the way before opening the door.
There was no one else in the house except Amelia. The original novel had never mentioned her parents being alive, so Rin assumed they'd been caught elsewhere and met their end.
But their safety was not his concern—Amelia's was. He hurried toward the room at the end of the hall and opened the door.
Amelia was lying on the ground, unconscious and struggling to breathe.
"This is not good. Is she hurt? What do I need to do? System—"
[Oh my! This is a dire situation. Unfortunately, I am not obliged to help anyone but the user. So he will have to find a solution on his own.]
Rin tried to think of ways to make the system help, but his mind was blank at the moment. looked at the girl and noticed her eyes flicker open as she spoke.
"I-Inhaler—"
Her words were barely audible, but Rin heard her clearly. He also looked at where she was pointing and saw her inhaler lying there.
Rin quickly grabbed it and brought it to her.
Relief instantly flooded Amelia's face as she took her medicine, and her eyes fluttered closed. Rin was not sure whether she had noticed him or not, but he decided to stay with her until he felt another presence in the house.
He looked through Amelia's window and noticed a maroon-haired boy step inside..
There was only one person in the novel with that hair color—the MC.
The MC had regressed, and he had come to take Amelia with him. It was time for Rin to head back home and prepare for his survival.