BXBX NOVEL Chapter 6: Chivalry is dead, miss.
Originally my default was wearing leather unarmed without injuries. Using this as my starting state, moving forward was stupid, so when I understood how {Rewind} worked, I quickly invoked {Auto} or Autosave to change it.
Currently, my awakening as a wraith healed my injury and stamina. Such would be the perfect state to return to. With the M1911 in my hand and a spare magazine, this equipment combo would be my new default.
Unfortunately, I didn't have {Auto} when I still had two mags. Otherwise whenever I {Rewind} I would have had two instead of one magazine.
'It is what it is,' I thought.
{Save} on the other hand was the exact point I wished to return to. Unlike {Auto} which only recorded my status. {Save} recorded my position as well. The ability to quickly change positions to a ranged fighter was a life-saving skill.
{Save} loaded {Auto} onto the position I set it in.
{Rewind} combined {Save} and {Auto} and sent me back to my save point with my default state.
While extremely powerful, it had plenty of limitations. {Rewind} could not turn back time nor undo anything that happened to anyone but me. It was a coward's power in essence. It only ensured the survival of the user.
If I did not frequently update my save point or my autosave, anything on me would be lost when I rewinded.
Next, upon my rewind, I had no control over what happened other than the location. If said I saved on the second floor and an attack broke the entire building, when I rewinded I would not go to the tile making up the save point. I would instead go to the space it used to be, in mid-air.
The consequences of falling or whatnot would not be negated. If I was not careful, I might rewind myself to my death.
Finally, {Rewind} had a cool down. I didn't know how long exactly, but the marble would warm up when the ability was usable again.
My {fates} strength lied entirely in how it preserved my {Auto}. It classified anything on my body into two groups, expendables and equipment.
Expendables were things I could run out of when I used them. My blood, stamina, and bullets all fell into this category. These could be refilled even if I used them up. This meant that if I had fired ten bullets, after rewinding I would have ten new ones on top of the ones I already spent. Naturally, the damage done by the ammunition wouldn't be undone, either.
Equipment meant things that I couldn't run out of. Clothes, armor, and weapons were included in this category. If, for example, I threw my 1911 away and rewinded, I would not suddenly have a second gun.
What would happen was that together with me, the 1911 would return to my hand. Naturally, torn clothes and broken armor would get fixed upon rewinding as well.
Because of the nature of {Rewind}, I could effectively heal any and all damage no matter how severe upon rewinding. I was not actually healing per se. The skill instead did one thing. It returned me to a pre-set state. I had no idea how well I stacked against other {fates} but I thought {Rewind} was OP as hell.
Right now, due to using {Rewind} the marble on my neck was again cold like metal. I needed to get more information about {fates} and reapers in general. I looked around and noticed that despite repeatedly firing my firearm, no new zombies approached.
Because of my fresh rewind, I did not feel tired in the slightest. While I was proud of my achievement of killing twenty zombies, compared to 20,000 of them it wasn't much.
"Stronger. I need to get stronger as fast as possible," I declared as I clenched my fist.
Unlike on Earth, here there were no limits. Who knew I would feel more alive after I died?
After a quick check on my gun, I prepared to depart. Upon scanning the platform, I noticed that the number of people fighting around it had visibly doubled. Hundreds of zombies continued to crash into the applicants.
What caught my eye were the monsters on the side of humans. Werewolves and a giant ape were pummeling the undead to dust. Around them, people carried glowing weapons, fighting as well. If I didn't know better, they would have looked like a real army to me.
Without a group, the only way for me to survive was to get on the platform and use the reaper army as a shield. Not hesitating, I began jogging towards the platform. By using the light from the burning corpses and sounds of combat as a compass, I wouldn't get lost.
As I moved, I remembered the face of the bastard who had attacked me. My emotions went wild as my fury started to build. I could feel my heart rate spiking. My body tightened up all over from the tension. Knowing such a state was ill-advised, I relaxed and took a few breaths.
"If you are among the ones there, I will kill you, Red. Even if everyone else says otherwise," I declared in anger.
At that moment, a feminine voice spoke. "It is illegal to kill a reaper. I can help you with that, though."
Surprised by the voice, I hurriedly raised my 1911 and pointed it in the direction of the voice.
"I come in peace, cowboy. As I am, I cannot even harm you," she continued.
The newcomer sounded fairly young, like a woman in her early twenties. Gone was the childish innocence younger people had in their words. Still, I already knew only demons existed here.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" I demanded, scanning the area as I spoke.
The woman complained, "How heartless. A pretty young girl with big boobs needs saving and instead of kindness all you let out is bloodlust."
Was she for real? Who the hell would have the leeway to act like a white knight in this situation? No good. I couldn't find her. Maybe this person's {fate} was related to invisibility? There was nothing around me, though, just a lot of dead zombies.
"Chivalry is dead, miss. Plus, I am incredibly weak. I don't have the leeway to take care of everyone," I answered.
In order to find her, I continued to chat while moving slowly toward the voice. As the lighting sucked, it was difficult to see anything.
"Maybe not. I could see your battle from here. Teleportation, superior healing, and detoxification. You have a lot of tricks for someone who claims to be weak," The voice continued to analyze me.
So, she saw me invoke {Rewind}? True enough, from someone else's point of view, the zombie bite tore a chunk of my shoulder and probably infected me with poison or something. Luckily, she guessed wrong and I wasn't about to correct her. I kept quiet and slowly moved towards the voice.
Annoyingly, it seemed like she found me interesting as she continued to analyze. "What I don't understand is why someone with two soul gears is using a gun. Are you a support-type reaper or something? You fight like an amateur and are reckless to the point of being suicidal. I'm sure your handler must be furious."
Soulgears? Yet another term I did not understand. Lilly also mentioned a handler, didn't she? Were they supposed to explain shit to you? The old man left me for dead after biting my neck. Maybe this was a good chance to get more intel.
'Let's play along for now,' I thought to myself.
"Apologies for my unsightly display then, my princess. As far as handlers go, I don't have one. An old man bit my neck and here I am."
"WHAT?! Old man? You can't possibly mean Roland Winchester?!" she exclaimed.
"I have no idea who that is. Also, I don't know what a Soulgear is. All I have on me is this gun and my {fate}," I added.
I stopped on the spot where I thought the voice came from. I didn't see anyone here. The woman didn't seem hostile. However, better safe than sorry. Maybe taken aback by my answers, the woman had fallen silent.
Unable to hide my irritation, I questioned her in a loud voice. "What do you want from me, Princess? I don't have time for this bullshit. I need to get the platform."
"Look below for your sleeping beauty, my sweet prince," the voice replied, now sounding seductive.
As I shifted my eyes downward, I saw a petite woman stuck under a pile of zombie corpses. More specifically, a zombie wrapped itself on her leg and tore a chunk of her calf.
The gruesome sight meant she probably could no longer move. The undead itself was dead with a knife blow to the head. Three more zombies were piled up on her torso, all with knife holes in their eye sockets.
I scanned the woman and found her left hand still holding her knife. Probably seeing my line of sight, the woman quickly threw the knife away. I looked at her face.
"You finally looked at me, cowboy," the woman said with a weak smile.