And while we're on the subject of our mother.
"Since you mentioned mother, what exactly is her 'job'?"
Mari was a [Tamer], father was a [Craftsman], it made sense considering their personalities. But I have no idea what our mother would be, maybe something like [Guardian] or [Protector]?
"Yeah, well, in mother's case it was a bit unusual, but it also made a little sense. She chose the [Civilian] job."
"....."
"….."
"….. What do you mean?"
"There's nothing more to say, it's absolutely true, mother chose the [Civilian] job for her."
"....."
"....."
...
Okay, I'll have to do this, won't I?
So here goes: WHAT THE HELL IS A [CIVILIAN] JOB IN THE MIDDLE OF AN APOCALYPSE, HOW IS THAT A JOB?????!!!!!!.
It took a titanic force not to actually scream that; If I did it, the shout would surely attract monsters like a giant neon sign saying, 'Free Food Here.'
"Hey, don't look at me like that, she'd already chosen it before I could explain how this job usually worked. But to be fair to her, there weren't many options, it seems. [Civilian], [Cook], [Architect], [Organizer], and [Dressmaker] were all on the list."
"Regardless of which one she chose, do any of these jobs seem useful in an apocalypse?"
No, not even a little bit. None of those things have any use in the world as it is now.
"Exactly. So there's no point complaining about it now. Besides, it seems this [Civilian] job has some pretty interesting and unexpected perks."
Honestly, I was really, REALLY curious to know how something like [Civilian] could have anything remotely interesting. But there's something more important that needs to be discussed.
Where are those two? And why haven't they shown up yet?
"While you're talking about them, where are they?"
"Did you hear me talking? They got in the car and went after Juli and her aunt."
"Almost five hours ago? By car? Even if they stopped every kilometer and only drove in first gear, I think they'd still be able to go there and back, right? And why are you so calm?!"
"1. Us getting stressed out won't help anything.
2. You need to calm down to understand what I'm saying, you stressed-out pessimist."
I just stared at her after that.
She snorted, rolling her eyes before continuing.
"Okay, okay, to answer one of the questions. Did they go by car? Yes, but they didn't drive it."
I raised my eyebrow and waited for her to continue, but being my sister, she decided to keep it suspenseful as she took a bottle of water (I don't know what she did with the Coke can) from the item box and deliberately opened it slowly. Making me want to punch her again.
"Ahhhhh~, want some?"
I just stared at her, drumming my fingers on my arm.
"Okay, you're the one who knows. Like I said, the power grid is dead, but the batteries still work. But apparently, not all electrical systems were saved."
"My personal theory is that the more complicated and/or larger the system, the worse the interference of magic or something like that. The fact is that small things like watches continued to work, while larger and more complex things like the electrical systems of cars, notebooks, smartphones and computers, these broke down, oh, and that includes TVs."
Wonderful, but also not surprising. I dare you to name a zombie apocalypse, a magical apocalypse, or any other apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic scenario where people drive around all the time (Mad Max doesn't count).
"That still doesn't explain this calm. Even on foot, they wouldn't take that long; yes, it would take longer since they'd be careful against threats, but five hours on foot for a distance of ten kilometers?"
"Besides, they should have a better idea of what's going on after finding the dogs, right?"
"True, but they also insisted they'd stop at that hardware store and the nearest gas station to see if there was anything useful on the way. Plus, their father said he'd try to fix the car after he found a repair shop, or somewhere quieter and farther from home. And you know how he is when he's determined to fix something."
Yeeeeeeeeeeee.... I know well, he could very well wake up at 9 am on Sunday and start working on some things at 10, only stopping completely at 7 or 9 pm if he's lucky. Of course, not counting the breaks to eat, go to the bathroom and have at least one coffee. But then again, that would be from 10 am to 8 pm..... on a Sunday….
Okay, assuming they found such a place, 5 hours might not be that long. But with the world the way it is now, any concern that seems exaggerated is perfectly reasonable.
"And the reason I'm so calm is because they promised to let me know if there were any problems."
She looked at me with a smirk.
Aaaahhhhh, I already see where this is going. In fact, seeing that smirk, I think I already understand how. Looking at her waist, I was sure.
"Okay, I get it, then let's-"
"Nana, no. You start, you finish. Go ahead and ask. :3 😏"
That smirk, aaaahhhhh, she's not going to let me leave here without bragging, ggggrrr.
"... How? 😮💨"
"Fufufufu, with this here!!!"
She said triumphantly, pulling a walkie-talkie out of her pocket, which I hadn't noticed until just now.
The same walkie-talkie she bought when we went hiking a few years ago.
And I may or may not have teased her about it. After all, walkie-talkies are largely outdated these days.
"Ehehehehe, who wasted money now, huh, huh. Who has a vision for things? Huh, huh."
I could very well retort by saying that bragging about something you bought years and years ago and that's only useful now because of an apocalypse isn't something to be proud of.
But if I did that, one of two things would happen. Either she'd retort, and we'd get into an argument that would attract all the monsters in the neighborhood and maybe beyond (no one in this family can "argue" in a low voice). Or she'd just silence me by sending me straight downstairs (of the house, of course... I hope), or both.
There's one thing I almost forgot.
"Hey Mari, do mom and dad have unique abilities too?"
Luckily, she still managed to hear me, amidst all the fun of teasing me. And I can't guarantee it, but it seemed like the plants on the second floor were pretty happy about it, too.
"Hmmmm~, it's kind of complicated."
"How complicated? The status clearly shows whether it's there or not, right?"
"Well... yes. But in their case, it seemed a little different."
She started gesturing as she spoke, a little twitch she had when she couldn't quite express what she wanted to say.
"Strictly speaking, they do, but they're not activated or know what they look like."
...
Huh?!
She tried to elaborate, after seeing my expression.
"When I checked their status, they had a unique ability section, but it was grayed out and had a lot of question marks. So, they do have unique abilities, but they don't know what they are, what they do, or how to make them work."
Okay, pretty exciting.
In short, the world suddenly turned into a magical apocalypse, and not only can people use magic and fight monsters like in RPGs, but they also have translucent screens like in RPGs. My family and I, for some reason, went to sleep one afternoon and woke up three days later, and we were no longer human, but almost manifestations of many of our habits, individual customs and hobbies.
And not only were people affected, but animals and plants as well. If my sister's numerous pets aren't proof enough, there's also the sentient orange tree in front of our house, or this tiny jungle on the second floor.
We have no power or water (aside from the pool and pond), and our house has been largely ransacked. Besides, we have no contact with our other relatives or friends in this—
WAIT A MINUTE!!!!
WHOA WAIT!!!!!
"MY ROOM!!!, I HAVEN'T EVEN HAD TIME TO SEE MY ROOM YET."
I jumped up quickly and flew (almost literally) to my room. I jumped from the second floor and dashed through the kitchen/living room, the hallway, and the bathroom, and soon arrived in my room. And as expected, everything was chaos.
My bed was gone, my closet had been ransacked and almost completely destroyed, leaving only a pile of wood vaguely shaped like what had once been my closet. Luckily, there were still a few clothes scattered here and there on the floor (they probably didn't fit the thieves). But my necklaces and rings, my books, and the money I kept in my room were all taken.
They even took my Xbox One and several of my games. What would anyone want with a video game when the world was literally ending around them???!!!!. And in a way very similar to the games they took?!!!!.
The worst, but also the most expected, was that they took my swords. Yes I have a set of Japanese swords in my room. A Katana, e Wakizashi and a Tanto.
Of course, they weren't real swords, just blunt replicas. But even those could very well be useful in the world now, so it's no surprise they're gone.
....
But maybe they didn't take.....
I lay down on my stomach and looked under what was my closet. Normally I'd need a flashlight to see, but thanks to my abilitys [enhanced senses] and [night vision], I could see right down there. And I was quite happy to see that they hadn't taken all my weapons.
I got up and used all my strength to move the closet, as quietly as possible, of course. With a good crack, I squeezed under there and grabbed the last weapons I had in my room: some bronze-tipped arrows and a Sai.