Strongest Duo Part 1

Chapter 4- Tag Team

"Damn it... I'm exhausted. Let's catch our breath first."

"No...huff...arguments...huff...here..."

Isaac and I sat down next to each other with our backs up against a wall, wheezing our lungs out. We have just finished killing a group of 10 Imps that gave us a lot of trouble. They seem to be increasing in size with every encounter as we head deeper into the cave. We don't even know what time it is as our phones do not work here. It seems there's some sort of interference. If I had to guess, it's probably been around a couple of hours since we entered- at least that's what it felt like. I decided to open my Status while taking a sip of water I got from our ration bag.

"Status"

Name: Laila

Rank: Undecided

Strength:3     Agility:7

Durability:0    Mana:0

Masteries: Marksmanship Lvl 1     Swordsmanship Lvl 1

I'd say I've come a long way from how I first started. I was able to get the Marksmanship mastery when Isaac and I decided to throw the claws of the Imps we killed like ninja shuriken. The ones that dodged our sneak attacks would be met with cold steel which is how we got Swordsmanship. I'd say we got a reliable system going on. Sneak up on a group, kill them from a distance, and if that doesn't work, close-quarter combat. We would then scavenge the bodies for anything good. Rinse and repeat.

"Isaac. How's everything on your end?" I asked after crumbling a plastic bottle.

Isaac was gawking at his Status screen with an unsure expression. "Well. It's going fine, I guess. I just have one little problem."

"Which is?"

He traced his finger in the open air. "Durability hasn't increased at all since we started fighting. And for mana, I got no clue how to increase or use mana at all. I hate looking at these numbers and not make any progress."

"Well, we have been playing it safe so of course our durability hasn't increased." I reminded him. "As for mana...I have absolutely no idea either. We have never seen or experienced magic."

"Ah... this is pissing me off." Isaac crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a moment as he was deep in thought. A minute later, he abruptly stood up, stuck his arm out like a power ranger ready to morph, and shouted:

"Fireball!"

I knitted my eyebrows, unable to say a word after what I had just witnessed.

"..."

"..."

An uncomfortable silence between us grew.

Isaac cleared his throat. "Ahem! Well, it was worth a shot. I knew it wasn't going to work. My mana is at 0. I'll probably start slinging spells as soon as I increase my mana stat." After that embarrassing display, Isaac lowers his arm. I grabbed it and hoisted myself from the ground, patting the dirt off my butt.

"My poor eyeballs just witnessed someone acting a fool... I'd say break time is over. Let's keep on going." I then started my usual trek, hoping to forget the last two minutes.

"Come on Laila, it wasn't that embarrassing. Hey, wait up!" Isaac ran up from behind and went on to blabber away in my ear as we headed deeper inside the cave.

****

"Good afternoon, Mr. President."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Reed. Come in, have a seat." Accepting the Presidents invitation, I silently made my way inside the Cabinet room located within the White House. A long, polished wooden table can be seen in the middle of the room with many leather chairs on each side. There were also paintings plastered across the walls. One painting was situated above the president's chair, and it was of him posing with a family of four. I sat across from the president and waited for him to speak. The President of the United States of America was a man nearing his sixties, with stark-white hair and a bald spot on top of his shiny head. Deep tiny wrinkles were apparent near his eyes and cheeks that had a dash of wrinkles.