Well, as much relief as one can feel when surrounded by zombies, who are trying to tear a chunk out of you—and yes, the stench was still absolutely awful. And I was certain there were some slimes heading my way, however slow they might be.
'No thanks; one acid burn was enough.'
Now, the question was how to reach the canopy. I was atop a structure just over 3 meters high, but the canopy was still 5 meters off the ground—plus a few extra centimeters.
Question: how do you clear a vertical gap of nearly 2 meters when there's a 5-meter span below you filled with zombies?
'The easiest way would be to get a running start and jump, but...'
As far as I recall, even Olympic athletes needed a good running start to generate the momentum required to cover a distance of nearly 1.70 meters or clear a height of over 2 meters.
I didn't have that kind of space; at most, I could take two running steps on top of the display.
In short, my chances of making the jump weren't good.
[MP: 35/145]
'Hmm, I need to boost my mana a bit to activate [Ice Wall] again.'
'If I increase the size and reduce the thickness, I should be able to reach almost the base of the canopy (height-wise), but the horizontal distance is still an issue.'
'Aaaarrrhhhhgggg... mana first, math later.'
I took one of the oranges I still had out of the [Item Box]. Fun fact: Mari, Pomo, and I discovered that mana-rich fruits can restore a bit of mana in addition to being more filling.
If this were a game, I'm sure a little "tatararan" jingle would have played, accompanied by a notification about some obscure achievement—like eating in the middle of a zombie horde.
'It's almost a shame that didn't actually happen.'
[MP: 45/145]
'Note to tell Mari: one orange restores 10 MP and is as filling as a ham sandwich.'
Speaking of her, this would be a great time for that wall of thorns, but unfortunately, both she and Pomonja had exhausted themselves yesterday and made it clear they couldn't help today.
And even if they could, I doubt their range would extend that far from home—especially in a place lacking plant roots.
'And a note to self: don't eat near a huge pile of rotting corpses. The smell literally made its way into my mouth.'
[Skill: Stench Resistance 2 —> 3]
[Experience Gained]
'Yeah, I think anyone could have seen that coming. I guess I can congratulate myself for not throwing up while eating.'
I moved to the edge of the painted display, tensed my legs, and sprinted toward the opposite edge, keeping my eyes fixed ahead on the zombies. I was timing the exact moment to activate [Ice Wall].
[Skill: Fear Resistance 1 —> 2]
[Experience Gained]
Stomping down hard for my second step, I activated [Ice Wall] at maximum height, but only in the area directly beneath my foot. It felt like someone had given me a shove—but upwards.
I ended up rising higher than I expected, landing on top of the gas station's awning. I did a somersault in the air and managed to land almost in the middle of the gas station roof.
'Hmm... Unexpectedly easy; I was actually expecting something to go wrong.'
[MP: 5/145]
I mean, aside from my MP being practically depleted.
'Irrelevant; the worst part is literally over. Now, the office is... right there!!!'
Finally—after two days of frankly intense and unnecessarily stressful work—it's all coming to an end, and I'll be able to see how my parents are doing.
I practically bounded over to where the office was located.
The "brilliant genius" manager of this station, apparently thought it would be fun to use two and half dry cargo container—the kind cargo ships are packed with—to create an office right above the convenience store (probably to play the "eco-friendly" card and ensure the money kept rolling in, if you catch my drift).
It's literally just a hop from the roof to that spot. So, that's exactly what I did.
Now that I'm here, I could probably punch a hole in the container's roof with my strength or slice it open like a tin can using my claws. But I think I'll go with the quieter option this time and just knock on the window.
*Knock, knock, knock*
I waited a few moments, but nothing happened. I knocked again.
*Knock, knock, knock*
I waited again, but still nothing.
'Don't tell me they're actually sleeping in there? With all this noise and—more importantly—with this stench out here?!'
Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if that were the case. My mom used to sleep right through my dad sawing metal or ceramic pieces in the backyard (you know, right by the pool, next to their bedroom). A few zombies might not bother them, but the smell…
'Well, they might have passed out from the smell, so I can't really blame them.'
Slightly worried now, I decided to be a bit rougher and use the spear to punch a hole. Two moves later, I'd cut a circle around myself and dropped into the container/office suspended above the gas station.
'That last part would make for an interesting tongue twister.'
The office inside the container was unexpectedly—or perhaps predictably—ordinary. I'd actually expected it to be cramped (since it was inside a shipping container), but it was quite spacious.
I only had time to notice that the place was surprisingly roomy and predominantly gray and white before everything around me went dark; I felt intense pressure all over and heard muffled sounds.
For a moment, I thought I'd been ambushed by some monster, but I quickly realized that wasn't the case; the pressure remained strong, but aside from that—and a few thumps against my back and head—nothing else was happening. When I finally managed to lift my face, I saw my father's eyes staring back at me.
But I only recognized him as my father by his eyes, because the rest of him was nothing like the dad I remembered.
'Yeah, he really is different, just like Mari said.'
I thought this while looking at the mass of muscle—standing at least 2.20 meters tall—hugging me hard enough that I could (literally) hear my bones slowly being crushed. And that wasn't an exaggeration.
But what surprised me most was his face—and I swear I'm not being superficial here (though who would I even be swearing to?). He had been a man in his mid-fifties, with a somewhat weary face and often sporting a scruffy beard.
But now he seemed to have reverted to his mid-thirties, sporting a full beard that reached almost to his chest. Crouched down, his beard nearly blinded me just as much as his muscles did (and to be fair, I'm no short guy myself, standing at a respectable 1.77 meters).
Beyond looking younger, his features seemed a bit rougher, yet he remained approachable.
The ears visible beneath his straight, slightly tousled hair also caught my eye; they were pointier than they should have been. They resembled Mari's in her Pixie form, though less pronounced—like the ears of people who had "elf ears" back before the world changed.
But his eyes remained the same—the very eyes I'd known for as long as I could remember: a pale blue with a hint of green. And with the tears welling up, they seemed even larger.
As happy as I was to see him, I think he was squeezing me a bit too hard.
[-3 HP]
'Okay, that's a little worrying.'
With some effort, I managed to move enough to pat one of his arms.
"Dad... *gasp*... I'm so happy... *wheeze*... to see you. But... *ugh*... let me go a little. *Argh*... before I pass out—please!!!!"
He didn't seem to hear me; in fact, he actually tightened his embrace.
[-4 HP]
'Okay, this isn't good. How am I going to get him to...'
Another hand touched his arm, and a voice spoke calmly, though I could detect a slight tremor in it.
"It's alright, dear; he isn't going anywhere. Let him breathe a little."
Only then did my father seem to hear me and finally let go, though he didn't step back even an inch. I barely had time to catch my breath (or realign my skeleton) before being embraced again—this time with far less force, but no less intensity.
"I'm so glad you're okay—so glad. I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry you had to go through this. I'm just so glad you're safe."
She kept repeating this for a while without letting go, and I could feel the fears she'd been harboring as she held me tight. With a bit more freedom of movement than when my father had been crushing me, I returned the hug, trying to sound as calm as possible.
"It's okay, Mom. I'm here. I'm fine, really."
I doubt she heard a single word; she just kept hugging me, while Dad stood right there, looking like he was holding himself back from joining in.
'I know this is going to hurt, but...'
I gestured with one arm, and he didn't hesitate for a second before wrapping us both in a hug. He was gentler this time, though his strength was still crushing. I had to keep reassuring them both that I was okay until they finally calmed down.
Usually, I'd find this sort of thing annoying, but right now...
"Thank God they're safe."
I'm going to make sure to keep my cynical side locked deep away in the back of my mind and just enjoy some time with my parents after these past two days.