[center][h1][color=AFEEEE][b]Sora[/b][/color][/h1][img]https://i.imgur.com/NadKhuX.png[/img]

《 Level 1 Tamer 》
[b]Location:[/b] Ruined Inn[/center][hr][hr]
As absorbed as he was in his self-assigned work, and distracted by the very real danger of being eaten (or worse, infected) by [i]zombies[/i], Sora barely registered the little elf’s protest that she wasn’t a child. [color=AFEEEE]“Huh?”[/color] he glanced at her. He paused mid-step, and where he might have usually sort of flailed at being caught unaware and thrown off balance, the inborn athleticism of his body led him to performing a needlessly graceful half-spin. [color=AFEEEE]“Oh.”[/color] He looked her up and down. [color=AFEEEE]“Yeah, sorry, you look about 12 to me,”[/color] he shrugged. 

What a fate, though, to be put into a child’s body – or into one that [i]appeared[/i] very much prepubescent. [color=AFEEEE]“I guess…”[/color] he put a finger to his chin. [color=AFEEEE]“Your face is kinda adult-ish. Tough to tell with elves. I know I look younger too.”[/color] He twitched his shoulders again. [color=AFEEEE]“You sound adult enough, so you really must be one. Sorry,”[/color] he smiled at her, slightly embarrassed at having acted so parental – or brotherly – towards an adult woman.

Once the zombies were successfully distracted by his mirror-throwing feat, Sora continued the conversation with the others. [color=AFEEEE]“Really, you were on the plane too? Maybe we all were…”[/color] He frowned as she immediately termed their experience an isekai. [color=AFEEEE]“It’s another world for sure, but I don’t know about [i]reborn[/i]. There wasn’t really any birthing involved, we were just [i]put[/i] here. These bodies don’t look like they were dead – thank god – so it’s possible they were just,”[/color] he waved both hands, [color=AFEEEE]“created.”[/color]

He sighed. [color=AFEEEE]“Maybe it’s an isekai, or the afterlife, or the spirit world, or a super-secret military experiment on immersive virtual reality back on our world, I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t really matter.”[/color] It’s not as if he didn’t want to know, but finding out the hows and whys of where they found themselves was so far down the list of priorities, it might as well not even be an afterthought.

He just shrugged at the hammer-lady’s question. [color=AFEEEE]“Who knows? But I don’t want to be bitten, that’s for sure.”[/color]

He watched as the not-child went on to explore her room, and emerged with an honest-to-goodness mage staff. [color=AFEEEE]“Lucky,”[/color] he whistled. Rather than jealousy, there was pure and simple excitement. They’d been placed in a dangerous situation, sure, but there were ways for them to deal with it. Rather than search the remaining rooms on the second floor, he descended downstairs.

On the first floor, the situation was much dire. [color=AFEEEE]“Urgh.”[/color] Sora grimaced as he caught sight of the numerous undead lingering outside. Thankfully, even though he could see them through the windows, it was clear they operated based on sound rather than sight. There wasn’t any logic to it, honestly, but then, there wasn’t much sense to this situation in the first place.

There was only one other person inside, and they were dead. Sora approached cautiously, and knelt down. The body wasn’t moving. That was a plus. It was lying down there, but since it was the only one, the question was; how did this person die?

As Sora investigated, the answer became clear. The visor was lowered, specks of rust gathered on the floor, the area of the neck…the body’s hand, and the blade next to it. [color=AFEEEE]“Oh, no.”[/color] He fiddled with the helmet, removing it from the person’s head. The throat was slit. They must have done it themselves. [color=AFEEEE]“You poor thing…”[/color] He wished he knew who they were. He felt great empathy for this person, even though they were a stranger. [color=AFEEEE]“Were you the last one? Or just left all alone?”[/color] he whispered. His fingers gently touched the face; by now, it was bits of dried skin clinging to a skull. [color=AFEEEE]“I’ll take care of you, alright? Just…wait a bit longer.”[/color]

He picked up the weapon, then. It was a dagger, and all the blood on it almost made it seem rusted. [color=AFEEEE]“I’ll put this to good use,”[/color] he promised. [color=AFEEEE]“Is that ok?”[/color] There was no answer, of course not.

Oh, well.

Sora figured it’d be fine. He wanted to give her – he wasn’t sure why, but he got the sense it was a woman – a proper burial. Maybe that’d make up for the stealing. 

It wasn’t just the dagger he took; tied around her waist was a belt with a sheath to go with it. It took some work, but he pried it loose. He wanted to clean it before using, which led him to the kitchen. There were many knives here, even cleavers, but…It was sentimentality that drove him to hold onto the dead woman’s things. He’d never known her, but he wanted something to remember her by. To ensure that the brave, lonely, desperate soul who’d secured this area wouldn’t be forgotten.

There weren’t any signs of modern plumbing; no water faucets in sight. However, there were several barrels. At least two he found bore water. He ladled some of it into a small basin, found a washcloth, a scrubbing brush, and got to work. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard. Once done, Sora put on the belt, and sheathed the dagger.

[color=AFEEEE]“Now, then…”[/color] There were so many thoughts racing around his mind, it was difficult to focus. The meditative cleaning procedure had helped some, but Sora still felt overwhelmed. [color=AFEEEE]“Ok, zombies, zombies…”[/color] he turned around, eyes flitting here and there. The kitchen was too chaotic to help him organize his mind.

What did people fight zombies with in the movies? Guns. Chainsaws. Bombs? 

Fire.

[color=AFEEEE]“Fire,”[/color] he repeated out loud, marvelling at his own idea. [color=AFEEEE]“That’s right, maybe we can burn them, or…”[/color] Or find more things to throw at them.

[color=AFEEEE]“Molotovs!!”[/color] he suddenly exclaimed, then slapped a hand over his mouth. Obviously, they’d have to be hella careful not to burn down the city or themselves, but Sora thought it could work. So, he started gathering whatever could be useful for starting a fire. Candles, broken lamps, and lamp oil. Jars of cooking oil. Pieces of cloth. Small, dried pieces of wood. He set the items on a relatively clear countertop in the kitchen. Problem was, he’d tried fiddling with the lamps, but either they were too broken to function, or he just didn’t know how to use them right. There were also no matches he could find. If there were any anywhere, they’d probably be too small to find easily.

So, Sora wandered back to the main area. [color=AFEEEE]“Does anyone know how to start a fire?”[/color] he asked casually. Even if they couldn’t do that right away, they could still reinforce the doors. Thus, the elf started gathering up larger pieces of wood, and smaller pieces of broken furniture to barricade the doors with. There was a persistent scratching noise coming from the cellar, but he chose to ignore it. Whatever was in there, he didn't think it could come out by itself. They [i]would[/i] need access to the cellar, but first, he wanted to make sure nothing else would be joining them inside.

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