Maids VS Apocalypse

"KAAAAAAA!!!"

The fat prisoner let out a sharp cry as he lunged in Mark’s direction. For someone who looked to be 300lbs (136Kg), the prisoner was quite agile. With about a hundred meters between them, Mark thought that he had enough time to react, but that turned out to be a miscalculation.

The prisoner was not in his right mind, and as if to hammer in that point, he went down and started sprinting on all fours. He crossed half the distance in just a couple of seconds and it looked like he wouldn’t take more to close what remained.

Struck with panic, Mark turned to the Sergeant for instructions only to realize that he was gone. In that short moment, the fat prisoner reached his position and lunged at him, his mouth spread so wide that his jaws dislocated.

Mark jumped out of the way at the last moment, barely evading the bear-sized man attacking him. But of course, that was not the end of it.

Though he slammed face-first into the wall, the prisoner was quick to recover, turning around in the youth’s direction while huffing and puffing, his shoulders raising and falling like an enraged beast.

"Idiot! What are you gawking at!"

"KKKHAAAAAAA!!!"

The fat prisoner raised his right hand and swiped down. Mark’s first reaction was to raise his arms up to guard, at the same time increasing the output of his Force Field to the maximum. Several cries later, the cell block suddenly went silent. Mark was confused until a message appeared in the corner of his field of vision.

[You have defeated a Fallen Human (Fallen)]

[+15 AP]

Opening his eyes, Mark lowered his arms and saw the pool of blood that had formed at his feet. Swimming in it was the headless and limbless corpse of the fat prisoner.

The sight would have looked terrifying to most people, but as he stared down at the round remains, Mark couldn’t help but think that their shape was a little funny.

’Did I... did I just kill a person?’

"YOU-" A fist came swinging down like a meteor. "IDIOT!"

The strike rattled Mark’s brain and sent him diving into the pool of blood. While in that state, he was forced to listen to Ramsay ranting about something. The words barely registered and it was only a couple of minutes later that he began to understand the reason behind the Peace Keeper’s anger.

"It’s barely been an hour since I taught you! And it was for the second time! How many times do I have to tell you!? Never consume your MP unless it’s absolutely necessary!"

Hearing the last part ignited Mark’s anger and he quickly pushed himself up.

"The fuck do you mean?" He scooped some blood with his right hand and splashed the Sergeant with it. "You didn’t give me a fucking warning! How did you expect me to react!!?"

"You think the things trying to kill you give a damn about warnings!!?"

"Of fucking course! That’s why I used what I had!"

"It literally came at you head-on! All you had to do was take out the damn gun and shoot it in the head!"

"I never shot anyone in my fucking life!"

Even if he was bloodied and acted like a rabid dog, the fat prisoner was still a human. Being asked to shoot someone out of nowhere was simply too much.

’This... isn’t what I expected...’

~[ ]~

"Since you weren’t listening the first time I did it, I’m once again going to teach you one of the most important lessons when it comes to being an Awakened."

Mark looked at Ramsay then at the rifle he placed on the counter. After a second of thought, he pointed at the latter and asked.

"Is this about saving MP?"

"You catch on pretty quickly." Ramsay sighed. "Your memory on the other hand..."

"You make it sound as if I have been going around spamming magic or something." Mark scoffed.

Ramsay held him with a stern look and spoke in an even tone.

"During the fight against the red hoods, you ran out of MP and passed out."

"Technically the fight was already over." A thought flashed in Mark’s mind and he looked up abruptly. "Speaking of the red hood, why did no one bring them up last night?"

"Exactly." Ramsay clicked his tongue and tapped the counter. "We already had that conversation, it’s just that you were knocked out the entire time. You can’t keep going like that."

"You think I had that option?"

While fighting the hooded woman, Mark had to consume two MP potions in order to get the funds needed to repair Lara’s uniform. Even then he was left with a small amount that kept declining while he was buried under the rubble. It was a big gamble, but one that paid off.

"It’s because you didn’t have options that we’re here. Have you checked your stats at all today?"

"No, not really."

"Take a look." Ramsay said.

Mark gave him a scrutinizing look then pressed the start button on his imaginary controller.

[

Name: Mark White

Race: Human

Rank: Awakened

Stats:

Level 02

HP: 100/100

MP: 64/100

Strength 7

Endurance 6

Agility 6

Dexterity 11

Focus 15 (-8)

Mind 151

Soul 117

AP:

0/30

Equipment:

Abilities:

Force Field.

Lunar Arts (Novice)

]

’Huh?’

Mark was quick to notice the changes to his status screen, but the Sergeant threw a question at him right away, drawing his attention away.

"How much are you missing?"

Mark glanced at him momentarily then turned his gaze back to the numbers.

"A lot." He said.

"And your focus?" Ramsay followed after a brief silence. "Is there anything beside it?"

"Yeah..." Mark grimaced. "How the hell do I have a debuff?"

He remembered that Lara’s uniform gave her a boost in physical stats. That was his first hint on how buffs are displayed in the LRGS’s status screen, but he never expected to have a debuff.

"Remember what MP stands for?"

The question drew Mark’s attention back to the counter.

"Mind Power, right?"

"And what’s the stat that affects how much of it you have?"

"Focus?"

"Exactly."

The pieces started to fall in the right places and Mark finally understood what’s happening to him.

"Are you telling me depression gave me a debuff?"

"Took you long enough." Ramsay sighed. "Listen, Mind Power isn’t just a resource you consume when using abilities."

"It isn’t?"

"It’s not." The Sergeant sighed again and mumbled something about shutting it and listening. "In a way, MP represents your mental state. The worse it gets the less MP you have to work with. Do you get it now?"

Silence filled the abandoned gun store once more. Mark gathered his thoughts and arrived at a conclusion in a few seconds.

"Just to be clear," Ramsay cut his train of thought. "Feeling sad isn’t the only thing that would give you that debuff. Stress, fatigue, lack of sleep. If you don’t take good care of yourself, you won’t be able to focus when the time comes. And when that happens-"

"I won’t have the MP to spare..."

It was yet another shocking discovery, even when it made perfect sense. After giving it some thought, another question spawned in his mind.

"I get the debuff, but... why did my MP decrease? I don’t remember using my Force Field..."

"And it seems you made another misconception." Ramsay shook his head. "Using your abilities isn’t the only thing that consumes MP. In fact, the same things that give you a Focus debuff will also eat at your MP little by little."

"Seriously?"

"Yup. You’ve been awake for almost twenty-four hours straight and your emotional state hasn’t exactly been good. If this goes on for too long you’ll be in a far worse state in just a few more hours."

MP, Mind Power, wasn’t set in stone. It fluctuates based on one’s mental state, meaning one wouldn’t always have the maximum amount to spare. That’s what the Sergeant has been trying to convey.

The idea came through and Mark felt like he understood where the conversation was going.

"And that’s where the first lesson of being an Awakened comes in." Saying that, Ramsay rummaged under the counter some more then took out an ammo box. "Never use your MP unless it’s absolutely necessary."