"No we won't do that." Jack, predictably, rejected Elias' and Kiki's plan.

  Urgh~! Kiki fought to keep the annoyed groan and eye-roll to the confines of her mind.

  "Look, Jack, I can see where you are coming from. You are supposed to keep me safe, and I also have people I want to keep safe." Kiki said, trying her best to project an aura of understanding.

  Switching her presence to give off confidence instead, she continued: "But Elias told you what he found on the internet, right? If we want to survive, we can't allow ourselves to get overwhelmed by the Hedge Hounds," It was a name Elias had come up with since they couldn't keep referring to them as just 'monsters' in case they encountered others, "or whatever other monster decides to come at us. For the first, we need to deal with that Dungeon that they are coming from. And for the second, we need to get stronger, for which we need Blank Achievements, which we can also get from that Dungeon."

  Supposedly, at least, if Elias sources can be trusted. Though even if not, checking out whatever Elias saw would probably be worth it. She thought to herself.

  Not that I’m going to say that out loud. The moment I start saying things like ‘maybe’ and ‘probably’ he is only going to use that to argue against me…

  "I will say this again," Did I actually say this before? Anyways...

  Contrary to her inner thoughts, Kiki infused her words with as much certainty as she could: "Whether you like it or not, I will do this. Whether you come along or not, that is up to yourself."

  Of course, Kiki was aware that using her presence in the way she was doing might be a bit manipulative. But she also knew that it was one of, if not the greatest weapon she currently had. A weapon she had experience wielding in its most mundane and basic form through appearance and behavior, but not so much on the esoteric level she was just starting to discover.

  Kiki needed all the practice with it she could get, and she was trying to use it in the least offensive way possible: reaffirming the things she was trying to convey anyways.

  "Fine!" Jack bit out. It would have been hard to miss how much he didn't like it.

  Just a bit, it made Kiki feel bad. Not about the fact that she would do this and put herself into danger in the process. This was something she was growing increasingly sure of was necessary, and at least to herself she couldn't lie and had to admit that there was something incredibly thrilling about the fights.

  No, Kiki was feeling bad about the fact that Jack felt like he had to come along despite the fact that he clearly didn't want to out of some sense of... Well, she didn’t want to call it ‘missguided’ since it would be a disservice to Jack, and while 'misplaced' was closer, it made herself and her daddy sound like the bad guys... loyalty and duty.

  I think the word I was searching for is ‘incredibly inconvenient’...

  Any other time, the... consistency of his character would have been highly sought after. But the world was changing so fast that this consistency was little more than a hindrance.

  The oak had been bent to the breaking point and beyond already, but reality saw fit to continue bending what remained of it further.

  Now, if she could just get into contact with her dad and have him give Jack a different set of orders, she could supplement the adaptability he lacked. Now that would make him a great ally to have.

  Kiki had even considered waiting for contact with her father, and to hunker down until that happened. But not only was she afraid that it would be far too late by the time that happened, she was also starting to have some ideas. Ideas she couldn't wait putting into practice as every moment wasted was another moment where someone might die.

  "Anyways, if you want to come along, start preparing yourself. We will be leaving in... about two to three hours. I still have some stuff I need to do beforehand."

  *****

  First on the list of things Kiki needed to prepare were in regards to her weapon and armor situation.

  As great as her armor Skill was, Kiki didn't like the fact that she had lost her right gauntlet and vambrace, or that one of the belts had snapped.

  In regards to the belt, she could probably improvise a fix. It would be far from perfect, but with the tools and materials from her mothers textile workshop, she could probably get something put together.

  The bigger problem, at least in regards to armor, was her, well, actual armor. While the loss of her right arm protection didn't seem to put her below the threshold of having half her body covered in armor, she could feel that it was dangerously close.

  Had she even lost one more piece, she would no longer be completely covered. And whether that would leave part of her head or fingers exposed first, neither option was good for keeping her alive and in one piece.

  This time, the solution was probably resident to either her moms metal or wood workshop. And yes, her mother had three separate workshops, all of which she got to use only on the rare occasions that she wasn’t busy with work, family, or on vacation. Kiki suspected that she knew her way around them better by now then their original owner, purely because she had tried to make at least some parts of her cosplays herself and not commission everything always from professional costume designers.

  Not that she was particularly good at it.

  Finally, there was her weapon. It almost felt physically painful when she secured it in the vice and had to bend the blade back into shape. It wasn't perfect, far from it. She could still see that the blade was only mostly straight and its structural integrity was probably compromised, but it was better than nothing.

  Kiki felt quite regretful that she hadn't actually collected them and felt happy enough with the one sword she had. She really wouldn't mind a spare or three right about now.

  Well, she had one, kind of, in the form of a sledgehammer she actually managed to find in the manor. But it was... An option. And far from a good one.

  A Zweih?nder, despite its large size, was actually not all that heavy. Hers in particular was already on the heavier side at only a bit over three kilograms. And considering how the blade was built, its center of mass was actually very low on the blade, and close to the cross guard. That, and the very long handle granting a lot of leverage actually turned the Zweih?nder into a weapon that is deceptively fast and nimble for what its size may suggest.

  When compared to a sledgehammer that not only weighed more than twice as much, but also had all of its weight in the head... Yeah, it might be an option once her physical strength went a good bit beyond the normal limit, but for now, it would be way too slow and clumsy to use as a weapon.

  For now, she just had to be a bit more careful with it and hope that her sword held on. In that regard, she also spent about a quarter of an hour grinding out some nicks on the blade and sharpening the edge overall. It had grown way too dull.

  *****

  "Hey everyone. It's me, Kiki." Kiki spoke into the camera, her voice tired. It was hard to act against her habits like this, to not fall back into her usual perky camera personality.

  But for what she had planned, that simply didn't feel right. For the same reason, she was also not wearing any makeup, showing off her bruises in all their glory.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Never mind that after her last increase in Personal Charm her appearance had been even further enhanced, including her sizes.

  It left her actually a bit worried whether she would be able to get her armor back on.

  "So... As you probably all already know, the situation right now is overall pretty damn bad, in pretty much every way. But not everything is lost! You see these?" She said, showing some of her worst bruises to the camera. "I got these fighting monsters of all things. Fighting, and winning. Admittedly, I was lucky enough to get a combat Class…

  Anyways, none of that is what you are here for.

  Urgh, this is such a mess…” She shook her head, regathering her thoughts.

  “SO! Firstly!

  Down in the description is a link. That link will lead you to a website hosted on a server that stands at my home, which in turn is perfectly equipped to keep the thing running for a long time.

  On that website, you will be able to find a map that can lead you to the place where I currently live. I have space, food, and a good deal of security that can be the springboard to carve out an area where people can live in reasonable safety.

  Of course, for that we will need more people.

  If you think you can make it on your own, please try to come.

  If it's too far away, but you are in contact with others you know are in the area, please tell them instead.

  And secondly, this might take a bit longer to get going, but my local IT guy will soon start working on implementing a simple messenger function that everyone can use to coordinate.

  I will be dealing with a dungeon close by in a while, but I'm positive that me and my people can handle it. And once we are done, I will make sure to take another look at the comments on this video. Until the other messenger is ready, we can coordinate here.

  And by that I mean, I plan to go out and help those in need and range once I can. So, if your are stuck somewhere, or simply can't get access to a car, or... I don't know, don't have the ability to fight your way through the monsters, tell me, or anyone else willing to help and close by.

  This might sound cliche, but I believe we can live through this, so long as we work together.

  And again, if you live in Hamburg, Germany, or anywhere close to it in the western direction, feel free to come by or ask for help.

  And if you know anyone who lives in the area and can get into contact with them, please tell them about this.

  Do your best out there, everyone!"

  Kiki finished her video by projecting as much confidence and encouragement as she possibly could. Whether that could be transmitted through the video, she couldn't be sure at all, but maybe it would be enough to give even one more person the strength to fight on.

  "Now, all I gotta do is upload this everywhere I can. And hope the algorithms don’t screw me over…"

  *****

  "So, are you two prepared?" Kiki asked her two companions, eliciting a nod from the men.

  Jack was carrying not just one, but two machine guns, and a backpack worth of ammunition. Clearly, he had come to the same conclusion as Kiki had, that the few magazines he took last time had been far from enough.

  Elias, on the other hand, was more lightly equipped, with only one gun, a bunch of ammunition, and a machete. Where he had got that, Kiki wasn't sure. Also, lot's and lots of rope. For some reason.

  When she asked, all he said was: "You can never have enough rope."

  As for Kiki herself, with some time, effort, and help from Purity, she had squeezed herself back into her armor. On her right arm, she wore a vambrace she had made herself, little more than a sheet of metal she had bent and hammered into a rough tube shape, before securing it with tape to her arm. She had put in just enough work that the Skill recognized it as armor and she wouldn't hurt herself wearing it. For now, that would have to be enough.

  As for her weapon situation, she had at least an idea. On her left shoulder, she was still carrying her Zweih?nder, in case her other option didn't work out. And said option was the bar of a barbell. At ten kilograms, it was even heavier than the sledgehammer, but the distribution of the weight would make it much better to wield. It was also more than two meters of solid steel rod, giving Kiki the feeling that her Skill would affect it.

  She would first test how good it worked on the first Hound they came across, and then use whichever option was better. The other, she would have to leave behind somewhere to pick up again later, as carrying around both was not exactly convenient.

  "Then, if everything is clear?" Kiki looked at Purity, who had two of her bodies looking down on the entrance from the left and right wing. She nodded.

  "Let's go." Kiki opened the front door just a bit, enough to let Jack aim outside. Just because Purity said it was safe, there was no reason not to be careful.

  Jack went outside first, then Elias followed. If anything came at them from a distance, they could deal with it with their guns.

  After a few seconds of nothing happening, Kiki followed after the men, and they all fell into a comfortable jog as they followed the path towards the Beckers home.

  "Did I kill that many of them, or are the Hounds actually scared? I'm not even using my Presence yet..." Kiki couldn't help but wonder after a minute or so of nothing happening.

  "Please don't jinx... IT!" Elias screamed, turned and fired his gun behind them.

  Kiki didn't even try to find the Hound Elias had spotted and screamed out a challenge: "Come at me!"

  Deciding to drop her Zweihander to the side of the path, Kiki leapt some distance back to make space between her and the men as she whirled her rod around, its handling surprisingly similar to some techniques she used with her sword.

  She felt the heavy impact, the vibrations traveling up the metal rod and into her arms. Differently from her sword, the rod didn't cut through, but stopped. She thought she heard the telltale crack of a crystal breaking.

  Adjusting to the feeling took her moments, but moments were more than enough that another Hound got to her and latched onto her left leg. She didn't worry about it though, instead slamming her rod into another Hound coming at her from the right, missing its head for an instant kill, but at least breaking its front legs and mostly incapacitating it.

  Guns barked, bullets hitting the downed Hound, while the ground shifted and tripped another hound coming at Kiki from her left. It bought her just enough time to blast the hound that had latched onto her with a wave of intimidation, making it flinch and jump back, where Kiki whirled around and held her rod as long as she could, slamming it with all her strength into the Hound.

  It didn't die immediately, but a hail of bullets changed that pretty quickly.

  "See? I'm alright!" Kiki tried her best to reassure Jack while not letting her nervous excitement be seen.

  "We'll see." Was all he had for an answer.

  "Damn!" Meanwhile, Elias seemed thoroughly impressed. "I didn't know you could fight like that!"

  "I didn't either. But between my higher Stats, and just getting used to it, I feel like I'm constantly improving." Kiki explained.

  "I can see that. And that thing you did with your Charm? I admit, I didn't quite believe you, but that's some propper CC right there!" Elias definitely seemed excited.

  "What's 'CC'?" Kiki asked, not having heard that term before.

  "Crowd Control. Abilities that don't directly hurt enemies, but can affect a large number of them at the same time to give you some degree of control over how they move and behave." Elias quickly explained.

  "I see... Anyways, we should move on. According to what you said, it shouldn't be very far anymore, right?" Kiki asked as she picked her sword back up from where she had dropped it.

  For now, she would keep both on hand since she really wasn't sure which was better. The rod had a harder time killing her targets and was more exhausting to use due to its weight. But she could not deny that its simple and solid form would make it a more reliable option than a sword thats already been dent once.

  "Yes. Shouldn't be much further. Also, I think I just got an achievement for spotting that Hound!"

  "Congrats!" Kiki congratulates him on his, well, achievement.

  "Jack, you alright?" Kiki decides to ask, hoping that showing that she still appreciates his actions might help him loosen up a bit. She really needed to have that talk with him at some point.

  "Let's get this over with." he said, not acknowledging Kiki's concern.

  "Sure."

  It only took them about two minutes longer before they could finally see their goal in the distance.

  Kiki wasn't quite sure how to describe what they saw. At first, it looked like a strange cloud of steam, glowing in shades of blue, purple, and pink while spiralling into a kind of whirlpool. A whirlpool that looked strangely distorted in ways that should be impossible, and gave off the impression that it led somewhere. Where or how? Kiki wasn't sure. But something told her that it did.

  "One last check. Do we have everything we need?" Kiki asked as they stood in front of the whirlpool.

  Right about now, she would have loved to have one of her check-lists to go through top to bottom, but neither did she have time, nor the know-how to even make one.

  All she could do was to hope that each of them had prepared as well as they could individually.

  "Then let's get in there." Kiki commanded. And in accordance with her deal with Jack, she let him step in first. It was the least she could do to accommodate him.