Chapter 101: Aria!

Time soon passed, and after the initial awkwardness of the night, the three of them had grown much closer.

Despite the age gap, Maya and Viktor would occasionally share stories about the past that made Ethan laugh, and Ethan in turn shared memories of growing up with Elena.

Overall, the journey went quite smoothly, with only periodic landings to replenish their mana reserves and sweep the area using Mana Sense.

Fortunately, there were no hiccups.

Thanks to their 2nd-Circle stat boosts, none of them felt even remotely tired.

In fact, Ethan felt he could go at least three full days without needing rest.

’At this rate, as I get stronger, food and water will become a choice rather than a necessity,’ Ethan mused, slowing his aerial pace slightly.

By now, morning had arrived. The sun had risen, bathing the world in a bright, bloody hue beneath the perpetual crimson sky.

Walking through the air, Ethan found it hard to get used to the ruined vista, even having seen it countless times across two lifetimes.

"Grandma Maya, Grandpa Viktor, do you see anything?" Ethan called out to the two veterans beside him.

"It’s just rubble over here."

All three of them were actively using Mana Sight to survey their surroundings, trying to spot any residual mana signatures.

Unfortunately, even after hours of searching, there was nothing, only piles of collapsed buildings and abandoned cars.

It was hard to imagine that this had once been a bustling metropolis inhabited by millions.

Just a month after the apocalypse started, it had effectively turned into a ghost town.

"Nothing over here, kid," Viktor replied, air-walking over an abandoned bridge as he scanned the terrain.

"Did that Lucian guy really rally up all the monsters in the area? Although we didn’t fight him ourselves, I heard he beat that old fellow Kenjiro."

The battle against the Monster King had been one of the most talked-about events among the veterans, especially the fact that Kenjiro was the first to suffer a loss.

"Haha! Ever since he came back, that old fellow has been polishing his sword morning, noon, and night," Viktor laughed heartily.

"Now that he’s training your sister, I’m sure she’s going through the wringer with him. Hopefully the little girl doesn’t get frustrated and quit!"

Hearing this, Ethan couldn’t help but smile.

If it were the Elena he knew, "giving up" wasn’t even in her vocabulary.

Ever since they were kids, she was a battle addict who always got right back up no matter how many times she was knocked down.

Viktor’s worries were entirely unfounded.

’Plus, this might be a good thing for her. Maybe she can use this opportunity to better control her emotions and battle intent.’

Recalling the serene, eye-closed Kenjiro alongside his fiery, duel-obsessed sister, Ethan felt they were actually a perfect match.

"Hey, you two, let’s head down to the ground," Maya interrupted, her tone turning solemn as she pointed northeast.

"I’m picking up mana signatures over there, at least twenty of them. And one signature seems quite faint."

Nineteen signatures were actively pursuing a single, weakened one.

If nothing else, someone was currently being hunted by a group of monsters.

Ethan and Viktor immediately focused their Mana Sense in that direction.

After confirming the signals, they plummeted straight toward the ground.

"Let’s go! Hopefully we can resolve our crystal shortage and figure out what happened to the rest of the city’s population."

At Ethan’s command, the trio dashed forward, speeding toward the park.

As their only potential source of local information, he absolutely could not let whoever it was die!

......

[Emerald City, Gold View Park]

Rewinding slightly to just before Ethan and the others picked up the mana signatures...

On the ground, a girl of around twenty or twenty-one was currently running for her life.

Her jeans were shredded, her right leg was bleeding heavily, her yellow top was torn in several places, and her blonde hair was caked with debris.

Just looking at her, it was clear she hadn’t had a proper meal or bath in days.

Yet despite her condition, she pushed forward through sheer willpower, clutching a single tin of canned tuna tightly to her chest.

’Damn, zombies!’

’I absolutely cannot die! Lily is waiting for me at the base... I can’t let my little sister starve!’

Gritting her teeth, she pulled the blood-soaked cloth wrapped around her thigh tighter to staunch the bleeding.

Her name was Aria Bennett, and she had ventured out of her survival base to scavenge food for her younger sister.

Unfortunately, during her run, she had stumbled directly into a pack of mana-mutated zombies and taken a nasty gash to her leg.

"Come on, Aria... you cannot die! Keep moving!" she muttered to herself, her vision blurring dangerously from rapid blood loss.

If she didn’t get first aid soon, she would collapse from blood loss long before the zombies even reached her.

’Damn it! I thought everything would change just because I awakened an ability... I was way too naive. If only I had practiced more before coming out here!’

Activating her ability, a localized gust of wind sliced forward, cutting into the dirt.

Aria was a natural Awakener with Wind Control. Unfortunately, at F-rank, her mana pool was extremely limited, allowing her to project only a few minor gusts or two or three sharp wind blades before running completely dry.

’I already used two wind blades to ambush and take out two zombies, but I only have enough mana left for one final attack...’

ROAR!

Before she could finish her thought, a loud, corrupted screech shattered the silence of the park.

The undead pack had closed the distance, they had found her!

Yes, despite her attempts to hide, she had unfortunately been found out

Feeling their footsteps getting nearer, her heartbeat began to increase

Thump! Thump!

With every second that passed, she could feel her adrenaline rise

Her blood rushed through her head as all kinds of thoughts raced through her mind

No matter what, she could not die here!