Chapter 69: Let’s talk
They spent the next hour or so planning how they’d actually hunt those things. First off however, Ryan asked for any changes to their skills to take into account during the plan.
Naturally, he couldn’t force anyone to give the full details of their skills, so he didn’t even try, settling for just asking about their effects.
Having already been through so much together, they weren’t as guarded with their answers anymore.
The process helped Miles learn a great deal about the others.
Ryan went first, largely repeating what most of them already knew: the fact he had the [Cold Resistance] skill. Mia was next.
Apparently, she had three skills now. [Cold Resistance] was naturally one of them. Besides that, her original skill, the one that had her snapping ghouls’ necks, was something called [Sanguine Heart].
According to her, the only thing it currently did was allow her to strengthen herself by manipulating her own blood. She wasn’t entirely sure of the mechanics behind it; that was just how the skill reacted the first time she’d tried using it.
The last was a skill she’d gotten from assisting in killing Maxwell’s friend. Miles still hadn’t bothered asking for the boy’s name. [Pulse Punch], a rather simple name with a similarly simple effect. A punch that sent vibrations through a target’s body.
It had been what did Morgan in. The boy wrecked his organs.
Mia wasn’t looking exactly pleased to have the killer’s abilities, but she wasn’t complaining either. Any help would be accepted.
The girl didn’t name what kind of EGO she had unlocked. But her description of its effect largely matched with what Miles’s own told him. Reduced costs for skills and a new trait. She said nothing about her traits.
With that, she sat back down, letting Chloe pick up from her.
Chloe had even less to say than her. She only had two abilities, [Inspection] and [Cold Resistance], both of which were pretty well known by the rest of them already.
Her description of her EGO was similar to Mia’s, no names, just the fact that it reduced the cost of her skills. Naturally, she said nothing about either of her traits.
Sarah was up next. The girl looked nervous, shrinking under the weight of their collective gazes, mostly Miles, Mia, and Brandon. Still, she spoke her piece.
She had only one skill, due to the fact that she hadn’t even killed a single ghoul all this while. [Support Pillars] was the only thing she had going for her, so she simply re-explained it again.
When it came time to discuss her EGO, she grew even more nervous, then tried to brush it over just like the other girls.
Brandon almost went off at her right then and there. He was only stopped by Ryan. The girl shot Ryan a deeply appreciative look before hurriedly sitting back down.
After her came Brandon. Still fuming from being stopped by Ryan, he gave his information half-heartedly.
His two abilities were already known. He hadn’t gained anything from helping take down Maxwell. With the same standard line about his EGO improving costs, he went back down.
The last two were Miles and Grimm. After quickly glancing at each other, Grimm shrugged before going first.
With everyone giving away the names of their skills, the reticent boy finally decided to divulge his as well.
He had three skills, now tying with Mia. One was obviously [Cold Resistance]; it was the next two Miles found more interesting.
[Eagle Eye] and [Shoot to Kill].
[Shoot to Kill] was what turned his projectiles explosive; it was the original ability he had been given. As for [Eagle Eye], it improved his aim. He said the system had offered it to him when he’d first tried using his gun.
His EGO’s effect was the same as the rest.
That was all he said, leaving just Miles remaining.
There wasn’t much leeway to hide his ability anymore, and truthfully, he felt no need to. They’d have already started forming their own understandings from their observations of him so far.
He only felt apprehensive about giving them the name of the ability itself: [Delusion]. If skills were based on the person they were gifted to, then the skill’s name certainly didn’t paint him in a great light.
In the end, he still gave them the name. What they thought of him didn’t matter much, as long as they could help him get to Lincoln.
No one made any comments at the name, so he went on to repeat his vague description of the ability. Controlling his mental state.
Beyond that, his EGO description was the same as theirs, along with his traits.
With that out of the way, they gathered in the middle of the room to finalize the details of the plan.
Kneeling in the center of the circle they formed, Ryan pointed to a crude map scribbled on a piece of paper. Three large squares sat in an even larger circle. Lines connected their centers to each other, forming a sort of triangle.
He labeled the circle "fence", the squares "blocks", and the lines between them "walkways".
The boy tapped the back of one square.
"Let’s say we are here. The second-year and third-year blocks are the other two. How do we even hunt those things? Do we just stand in the storm and wait for them to come to us or what? Move around the school to find them?"
Gone was the energy he’d had when they first woke up. He was still focused on the map, but his gaze felt duller.
Chloe shook her head.
"It’s too dangerous."
Retrieving her own pen, she marked the area behind the first-year’s block.
"The kitchen exit leads directly here. We can scout the area, even check the fence for ways out of the school. If anything attacks us, in ways we can manage, then we deal with it. If we can’t, it’ll be easy to retreat back to the kitchen."
Ryan considered it for a moment before replying.
"That’s not a bad idea."
Chloe simply nodded, though she failed to hide the hint of satisfaction on her face. Ryan looked to the rest.
"Any other ideas?"
They all fell silent.
’It’s really the only sane plan... well, besides not going out.’
The only other alternative would’ve been luring the ghouls from other parts of the building through the cafeteria door, and funneling them into the kitchen, dealing with them there.
Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, they’d locked the cafeteria door to escape the four-armed ghoul.
"Ok. Then it’s settled. Do we head out now?"
This time he got an almost unanimous reply.
"No."