Mana System In The Apocalypse

The Town

I crouched behind the burned-out remains of a truck, looking towards the town. It was the first sign that some bad shit had gone down but not the only one. Number two of the poo parade was the roaming groups of armed Sulid and other humanoids I could see. A once thriving community of nearly fourteen thousand people reduced to roaming mobs of monsters and other things. They say trouble comes in threes and the third would be the numerous sounds of gunfire in the distance.

"Well this is just wonderful," I sighed.

"Paul, what are you doing?"

I nearly leaped out of my shoes and I definitely didn't scream like a little girl when the unknown person managed to sneak up behind me unnoticed. I turned around to see someone I was not expecting to see again. Standing there without a care in the world was the green-skinned merchant extraordinaire.

"Frathsar? What... How...? I saw your corpse," I said in surprise.

"Apologies friend Paul, you weren't meant to see that scene. I was forced to abandon my cart and use an illusion scroll to escape the Sulid war party, knowing my shield would not outlast them. I had to keep far off the road. Turns out your people shoot first and ask questions later as well. Then I spotted you heading into town. How did you make it past the war party I expected them to arrive by now?"

"Well, I finished off the goblins then went to catch up to you. On my way, I found your burned out cart. As I approached the town, I ran into the same group that attacked you and had to fight them off. With a bit of luck on my side, I managed to catch them in a trap, killing them all."

"Well... I'm unsure how to respond. Thank you for dealing with that threat but you shouldn't put yourself in such dangerous conditions. You may also want to buy a skill to see through illusions. I would sell you one myself but alas I cannot access the majority of my wares until I can gain access to the Bazaar."

"The bazaar?" I asked deciding to wave away the merchant's concerns over my safety.

"Ah yes, forgive my forgetfulness. The Bazaar is the System market where all worlds can trade amongst all others. The building only appears in certain cities which is why I still have a job. I buy items from the Bazaar and sell them amongst cities that cannot or do not have access to this resource. My cart only contained a small selection of items I was bringing to a city up north in my previous world. The wares I was carrying were based on what those towns normally bought in the past. The loss of such goods will be a blow but I will survive and recover."

"Not sure this town will have a Bazaar," I said as I looked over the hood of the car. I could see some fighting in the distance, "I am not even sure this town is safe to enter."

The merchant glanced in the distance and pointed, "There are Royal Guard soldiers they should be able to quell the fighting and bring stability to this area in short order. Or at least provide us with someplace safe for the night."

I looked to where he was pointing but the distance was too far for me to make out the individuals he was referring to.

"Your perception must be higher than mine. Who are these Royal Guards?"

"They come from the previous world I was part of, it seems they have been transported as well. If I'm not mistaken I see the tower of the barracks in the distance. The whole building must have been transposed to your world. The system likes to do things like that. I suggest we make our way there for some safety."

Frathsar looked me up and down. "You have become much stronger since we parted ways but what happened to your armor?"

I looked down having completely forgotten about the large hole burned through my armor.

"Oh right, yea I took an acid orb to the chest in the goblin dungeon."

"You took on the entire dungeon? I had assumed you only killed the goblins outside the dungeon. That was foolish of you. Death was almost certain, how did you survive?"

"It wasn't all that hard," I muttered, "I have the ability to heal."

Frathsar looked at me in astonishment.

"The ability to heal outside of clergy is rare indeed," he looked around to make sure nobody was close enough to hear then leaned in towards me, "You should try to keep that a secret, people from my world, especially the clergy, would try to kill you. For them, healing is the domain of the gods, and only the devout are allowed to channel divine powers."

I chuckled..., "Wait you're serious. Hmm, it seems like a limited world view but who am I to say. It's not like my world didn't have its fair share of religious persecution. Alright, I will try to keep the skill hidden from people of your world."

I thought it would be unlikely to remain hidden long. I wouldn't sacrifice my safety or those of friends for the sake of some unknown deity or priest. I thought there might be a way around this but would have to think about it some more.

"With our combined skills, I think we shouldn't have much to worry about if we travel together. Although I do not have any combat based abilities, I do have some illusion and misdirection skills that should keep us from most of the fighting. Do you have any of the potions left?"

"I have the healing potion left."

"Good, good. Use that if you have to heal. Let us make haste to the barracks."

I shrugged and stood up.

"Alright, let's go."