Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain
Chapter 177 - Second Chance

                                    Ryan wasn't planning to build an army of humans, but he could learn a thing or two from Alissa, it seems. Those thirty survivors who a few days ago were about to die of starvation completely wiped out the red bats in less than one hour… they even defeated the fifty or so bosses that were nearby. When they noticed that they had won, the survivors shouted to the skies to celebrate their victory. Since they were covered in blood and monster's flesh, they looked like lunatics.

"An army of humans… is Alissa planning to build her own army? Why? She said that she doesn't care if humans live or die, so this doesn't make any sense."

                                    Before Ryan could replace a proper explanation for that, he heard the sound of something approaching… after a few seconds, dozens of succubus appeared and began to move toward the survivors.

"I knew things wouldn't be so easy…" Ryan sighed.

                                    However, before anyone could do anything, Alissa used her powers and make a wave of earth appear out of nowhere and completely smashed that group of monsters. Although she seemed pretty crazy, Alissa was smart enough to know that the survivors wouldn't be able to fight the succubus close by. It was too risky.

"Good job," Alissa said after approaching the survivors. "You guys recovered a part of your hometown. You can feel proud about yourselves."

                                    It was even weirder to see those madmen and women smiling so cheerfully in that kind of situation. Regardless, it was time to defeat the last boss of the red bats' dungeon and then receive their new classes… but then that scene repeated itself again. However, this time, several groups of survivors approached them at the same time.

"Where in the hell those people were hiding? I can't imagine that every single of them had a bunker beneath their homes…"

                                    Although those guys would be a fine addition to Alissa's army, she didn't seem very pleased by seeing them. Alissa stood in front of the group with her arms crossed and with her chin quite raised.

"What do you want?" Alissa asked. "Don't tell me that you want to join the others. If that were the case, you wouldn't have watched us for several days."

                                    The survivors gulped when they heard that. It looked like Alissa gained more than just raw power from Orgar… maybe it was because he was too focused on his task ahead, but Ryan never noticed them and that was worrisome. He needed new tracking skills, if he doesn't get them, he will become an easy target for ambushes.

"Sorry, we were scared, and…" A middle-aged woman stepped forward and spoke.

"Spare me of your excuses," Alissa interrupted. "Just say what you want. Be quick about it, I don't have much patience with cowards."

"We are tired of waiting for the government to rescue us…" The woman said. "We want to fight and regain our freedom."

"You can do that somewhere else," Alissa said. "You won't have my help with it."

                                    In the end, even the other survivors agreed with Alissa. Noticing that this new group had just watched everything and waited for them to do most of the job, they didn't feel even a shred of pity toward them because they imagined the first group would die in that battle. Although they got hurt pretty badly, no one died.

                                    Now the atmosphere got a bit weird thanks to Alissa. The new group didn't want to risk leaving Washington, or at least the areas that were free of monsters now. However, Alissa didn't leave any room for discussion on that matter and once their business is over, most likely, the group that trained with Alissa will force the others to leave.

"I guess I will have to intervene…"

                                    Ryan couldn't care less about those who didn't have the will to fight, but in the end, he couldn't just let those people go away knowing that they will die. Besides, it would be a good idea to make Mark owe him a few more favors by letting those people join his side. They made a mistake and decided to run instead of fight and now they couldn't fight anymore since the monsters'' strength increased. However, if they try to compensate by showing their guts… maybe there was hope for them.

"She isn't going to help you," Ryan said. "So, what are you guys going to do?"

"…. We don't know," The middle-aged woman hesitated to wonder if that answer wouldn't make things even more complicated.

  "Then think harder and faster," Ryan raised his voice. "You guys don't have the luxury to take your time anymore. Make your decision and move on."

                                    The survivors whispered among themselves and although that annoyed Ryan, he decided to at least give them that much. Thinking fast was important, but thinking too little wasn't good either. Regardless, after everything they experienced, the survivors knew that looking for guns wouldn't help them. Most monsters could endure the damage caused by several bullets and guns fails all the time. So, their only options were to rely on someone stronger, which Alissa just said no, or develop the few skills they had and learn new ones before Alissa and the others clear the remaining dungeons.

  "We will… use our remaining time to get stronger here," The woman said.

"Yeah, you should do that," Ryan said. "Show me that you aren't all talk."

                      Alissa didn't seem very pleased when Ryan turned around and entered the dungeon. It was hard to know if she was reading his thoughts again or if she didn't like the idea that he gave a second chance to those people. Ryan could understand that since he didn't give a second chance to Alissa, Mia, and Daniel. That was unfair, but at the same time, the things in the balance were different. Those people didn't want to die while those three wanted to be close to Ryan. In any case, if she couldn't understand that by herself, explaining would be a waste of time.