System Awakening Era: I Have 10x Skill Effects-Chapter 25: The Warmth of Light in the Morning.

Mia and the other women arrived after successfully freeing many male survivors who had been locked inside the warehouse.

In total, there were 18 hostages held by Darren’s raider group, five women and thirteen men.

"Let’s just kill them! They treated us like animals!" one of the men shouted.

Aamon lifted his head, looking at the 18 people filled with burning anger. They had been holding onto their frustration for a long time.

Now, they had a chance to take revenge, even though only two raiders remained.

"See? They’re just waiting to take your lives," Aamon said.

Realizing death was certain for them made the two men tremble in panic. One of them dropped to his knees before Aamon, begging for mercy.

"Please forgive us. We’ll follow you," he said.

Aamon turned to Mia. "You heard them? Take them to the apartment building. Strip them of all their equipment."

"Of course, Aamon."

Mia followed his order, telling her friends to take all the items from the two men and bring them away.

Many of them began leaving the raiders’ headquarters. One of the women with a priest staff stopped beside Aamon.

"I never imagined there would be a day I’d be saved."

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Aamon."

Aamon gave a faint smile and simply nodded. She and her friend walked away, leaving Mia alone with him.

"Just like them, I never expected you to come and save us," Mia added.

"I came here because of Selena."

The young man turned and glanced sharply at Mia. She froze.

"Selena was crying alone, worried about you. She came to me with swollen eyes, begging for my help," Aamon said.

"Damn it! I really can’t refuse when a kid cries and begs me like that," Aamon muttered.

Mia was deeply moved. She closed her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks. There was a reason her heart felt so touched, especially remembering how close they were.

Selena was the only family Mia had left, and it was the same the other way around. It was only natural their emotional bond was so strong.

"Selena..."

She wiped her tears slowly, her cheeks flushed and her nose running. Mia turned and said she had to leave right away. She couldn’t keep letting Selena feel lonely and worried.

Aamon let her go without stopping her. She walked out of the raiders’ headquarters, leaving Aamon alone as the last person there.

Aamon had no intention of leaving yet. He tilted his head up, looking toward the stairs leading to the second floor.

Not a single raider was still alive. Their bodies were scattered across the floor, soaked in blood.

He walked up the stairs and arrived at the second-floor corridor, filled with corpses. His destination was the treasury room, where the raiders stored all the items they had taken.

The treasury door was open. Aamon saw many items inside, lying in physical form. Coins in gold, weapons, equipment, and potions.

From the amount, I can tell they’ve been looting since the start of the Planetary Trial.

Aamon extended his hand, pulling all the items and converting them into a digital panel. Most of the items were low to common quality. There were no medium or rare ones.

Still, items were items. Even if they weren’t useful in battle, they were valuable when sold to a merchant.

[Congratulations! You obtained drop items:]

[572 Coins || 15 HP Potion || 10 Blue Sapphire || 5 Red Sapphire || Cloth Equipment Set (Low) || Common-Tier Pet Egg || Wolf Slash Sword (Low) || Aqua Magic Staff (Low) || Lion Roar Sword (Common)]

Those were the only items Aamon took. The rest were useless and left behind. If he met a merchant again, he would sell everything.

He walked out of the treasury, moving alone through the second-floor corridor. But he stopped again in front of Darren’s office door.

It was unlikely they were backed by a larger group. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to check.

Aamon opened the door and stepped inside. There weren’t many documents. Just a few scattered papers on a wooden desk, messy and neglected.

He reached out and read them.

It shocked him. The first document he saw was a map of the city of Chicago, marked with points in several locations.

One of them was this raiders’ headquarters.

What... is this a map of raider group distribution? I didn’t know they were sharing information with each other.

Could this mark their territory?

There was no point in guessing. Aamon needed to give the map to Robert and have him analyze it. If his suspicion was correct, the army in Chicago had a much heavier task ahead.

Not just fighting monsters, but also raider survivors.

Aamon took all the documents and stored them in his inventory. There was nothing left for him to do here.

I should leave before monsters show up.

He exited the headquarters and stepped onto the city street. His steps stopped beside his motorcycle. Aamon started the engine and rode away from the area.

Mia and the other survivors had already gone far, reaching the apartment building. Aamon was the last to arrive. The sound of his motorcycle engine echoed from a distance, and they all turned toward him. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"That’s Aamon! He’s back."

Mia, still holding Selena, walked toward the gate. Not just her, but her friends and the other survivors came to welcome him.

Aamon stopped his motorcycle and turned off the engine. Mia smiled brightly, no longer cold or dismissive toward him. He had saved her and many others.

"Welcome back, Aamon," Mia said.

Aamon nodded, looking at each survivor in the apartment. "A pickup team from the army will arrive tomorrow. Get some rest."

"They’ll provide everything you need. Food, shelter, and security. You’ll become elite members of the army, just like me."

"That’s better than struggling on your own."

***

The next day.

The morning at the apartment was calm and safe. Survivors and the elderly resumed their daily activities, drying clothes or cooking.

Aamon sat on a chair in the front yard, right beside children who were playing. From the side, Mia approached unexpectedly, bringing him a glass of cereal for breakfast.

"Breakfast is important for your energy," Mia said softly.

"You don’t have to do that, Mia. I’m used to skipping breakfast."

"The best breakfast is no breakfast," Aamon replied.

"I disagree," Mia said. "We need energy in the morning. We get that from breakfast."

Aamon kept watching the change in her attitude, then sighed and took the glass. Some of Mia’s friends noticed her behavior, clearly surprised.

"Do you see something different about Mia?" one woman asked.

"No. What?"

"She’s gentle and kind to Aamon, but before she was cold and looked down on him."

"That’s normal," a man at the gate replied. "Aamon saved her ass from Darren. Of course she owes him."

Aamon ate the cereal while opening his system panel, especially the basic attribute panel. He had gained attribute points from leveling up. That morning, he started allocating them into important stats.

[Basic Attribute Status]

[STR: 20] [+3]

[AGI: 20] [+4]

[INT: 10]

[CON: 20] [+3]

[SPI: 10]

[AP: 0] [-10]

"I can’t wait to level up and get my first class. Which one should I choose?"

"You’re skilled with a sword. Your options are knight, assassin, or guardian."

Mia looked confused. "I... don’t understand."

"No need to rush," Aamon said, drinking his cereal. "You can read the detailed class descriptions later."

Someone from the gate shouted and ran toward them.

"What is it?"

"The army is here," the man said.

So they’ve finally arrived.

Aamon nodded and told Mia and the others to get ready to be picked up. The man nodded and informed the rest of the survivors.

"They’re finally here," Mia said, glancing at Aamon. "You’re coming too, right?"

Aamon finished his cereal, then shook his head while looking at her.

"No."

"No?" Mia asked, shocked.

"I’m not going, because I have somewhere else to be."