Max Stats in the Apocalypse

"Fooo... Why is the government so complex? There is plenty of agencies and management that just hurt my head." Roger rumbled as he browsed through one mayor's memory. And as he watched again, he let out a sigh.

"This isn't helping..."

"What are you doing?" 

Roger flinched as he was startled by a sudden voice that sounded beside him. He looked at his side and noticed that it was Clara, blankly looking at him with curiosity.

She was staring at him, and as he felt bothered by it, he pointed it out.

"Clara...? What are you doing here?" After asking her, he felt odd about her gaze. 

'How come I wasn't able to sense her?' He pondered.

"What are you doing to him?" Clara pointed at the mayor, whom Roger was holding on the forehead.

"Oh, about him? Nothing." 

Roger let go of the mayor and ruffled his hair. "I think that is none of your business."

"Oh, I think you are right about that, but we are in the same group." Clara talked in a toneless voice, sounding almost monotonous.

Roger gritted his teeth and stood up. He turned his back as his suspicion of Clara was getting strong. 'I don't really feel good with this. This woman is just strange. She was able to bypass my senses.'

Not knowing about it, Clara, since at the base, followed him for some curiosity she had. She then covered her presence with her veins and watched him carefully, sensing something odd in his actions.

And as she realized that Roger was doing something as a mayor, Clara had to step up.

"Doesn't mean that we are in a group, so I am obliged to tell you what I should do." Roger bluntly said, then paced away from Clara and attempted to reach the door.

Clara became silent, her face became gloomy, and just as Roger reached the door, she retorted.

"Mean."

Roger was urged to stop and faced back at Clara with a confused expression. "What?"

"I said you are mean!"

Roger was baffled at the sudden change in Clara's personality, as she just raised her voice all of a sudden. And as he stared at her, he noticed how she had become more strange. The odd movements she had started to attract his attention. 

Clara started moving her fingers, and every movement of her fingers was followed by cracking sounds.

"What are you doing?" Roger asked, with an obvious tremble in his voice, but it was because of the change in the situation. 

Roger raised his hands, palms open, trying to keep her composed as the situation turned to where Clara seemed to be out of control. 

"What are you doing, Clara?!"

Suddenly, the floor cracked open as veins shot to the ground. It pierced through the ground, coming back to the surface with a larger size. And looking at those veins, green was what Roger could clearly see from the turn of events.

"You are mean, so you need to learn when not to be mean, Roger."

Roger's eyes widened as he blocked the veins coming at him with the intent of hurting him. Unbeknownst to him about the effects of the veins, he slashed through them unconsciously. This exchange of attacks made Clara smile viciously and strangely at the same time.

'Why is she acting like that?'

Roger dashed backward, dodging each appearance of veins that were targeting him. He was focused on making the distance between the two of them, but then, he was caught off guard as a vein behind him appeared.

However, despite a vein appearing behind him, he was able to overpower it and destroy it with his pure force. The cracks continued, destroying the building and also attracting the attention of other people outside.

'Shit! This is turning bad.'

Roger didn't want to drag this even further. And just when he looked at Clara's eyes for the second time, he finally realized that Clara might be in a ferocious state, in which uncontrollable killing intent took over the system.

This wasn't normal, but Roger knew how to defeat it.

Roger looked for an open space for him to pass through, and just as he saw one, he instantly went for it, dashing through with determination on his face. Roger's eyes turned red and reached out to Clara at the same time. His eyes totally turned red. 

Baam!

Roger had his hand snapped on Clara's nape, silently putting Clara to sleep.

'The only way to stop someone in this state is by putting them to sleep.'

Roger finally had some time to calm down, and his eyes were locked on Clara. He was devastated at the effects of their clash. And just when he thought of people coming to the scene, he carried Clara and leaped through destroyed cement and escaped from the scene.

Clara was just on his shoulders. And by the time they arrived at a secluded place, he put Clara down on a soft bed of leaves. 

After a few minutes, Clara felt groggy, which made her wake up from her short slumber. When he opened her eyes, she saw Roger intently looking at her.

"Roger...? Did you do something to me?"

Roger blinked multiple times and flicked at her forehead. "I don't do something like that."

"I apologize for the question." In a soft tone, Clara said.

Roger sighed and simply shook his hands to end the conversation. "You don't have to worry about it. It is nothing."

"But can I ask? How come we didn't feel that you were lying in the pact? The device will sound an alarm for the first minute after the pact. You lied about your ability."

With her innocent eyes, Clara stared at Roger as if an ignorant child was asking something out of mere curiosity.

"I didn't lie. You haven't asked what all of my abilities were. And I am not willing to disclose it to the group since I only thought of joining because of my family."

Clara became silent after listening to Roger's notion. She was perplexed by what Roger was implying by his tone, but she could also sense a familiarity with Roger. Was it because of her being an outcast?

Clara was an orphan, as Roger knew, but it was not all about that. Clara had a deeper background that she did not share. And as Roger continued looking at Clara, scenes played in her mind.

"Hey, are you preoccupied? You've been looking blankly in one direction for a minute. Something wrong?"

Clara snapped back to reality and looked unaware of Roger. She softly smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. Memories just flashed back."

Roger didn't pay any heed to the memory, and stood up immediately, with his eyebrows furrowing. Roger seemed to be vigilant.

"What is it?" Clara asked.

"Someone is watching us."

"Who?"

Roger didn't answer her. Instead, his eyes went in different directions, discerning where the gaze was coming from. It took him a little while before he realized that he couldn't find where the gaze came from.

He took a deep breath and continued to search. However, this time, his eyes were glowing red as his internal energy reinforced his eyes.

'Fucking donkey! Why can't I find that person? I can really feel that odd intent from that gaze.'

Roger was confused. His stats were already maxed, and despite not being fully unleashed, he was supposed to be stronger in simple detection. Detection is easy for Murim people, especially in presence.

'This person is above me. But who is this person? '

Having no other idea what to do, he leaped high, looking at the sky view, and continued to search for the bothering gaze. And as he saw something moving from a distance, getting away from him, he instantly sent a red beam, but he failed to hit his target.

"Even the speed was exceeding my average power," Roger mumbled and went back to the ground, where he faced Clara.

"You should go back by now." 

Clara was confused for a second, but she realized that Roger was being stiff because of that small event. 

"I will come with you." Clara intently said, with force in her soft voice.

"Why though? Are you curious about what just happened?" 

"Umn." Clara nodded.

"Someone saw us. They're probably interested in what happened at the mayor's mansion. But, that person is odd since that person was able to outspeed my beam and also hide from my detection."

Clara was silent for a second and said, "Are you being conceited?"

"No. I am confident in my power and I felt that person was strange. You know, I don't have to explain."

Roger turned his back and left Clara without making any further sound. But, Clara followed him, making him slightly confused about her action.

"Are you really going to follow me?"

She nodded. "I can feel that you are up to something. I am curious and you are mean, so you should know how to not be mean."

Roger was dumbfounded. For the moment, Clara just sounded innocent and childish, making him frustrated as he never wanted to talk to anyone. He was still fixated on the strange person that peeked at him.

Clara didn't move or leave Roger's position. And just as she continued to follow him, he eventually surrendered.

"Just don't bother me."