Mutagen

Hidden under the giant tree\'s shade lay the Mountain Base, one of the very few bastions of safety left within the country.

Usually, midnight meant rest. Only those people tasked with guard duty would be around at this time, except for those with special circumstances.

But this night was different.

There was an occasion that needed to be addressed this time.

It was the first anniversary since the apocalypse began.

This was an occasion bound with different emotions.

To some people, it was the day they lost everything.

To others, it was the day they started anew.

It was the day the modern world collapsed, replaced by a world filled with dangers and uncertainty.

But as sad as this occasion might have been, people also needed to celebrate it.

It was because, despite all the dangers and struggles they faced in the past year, they still managed to stay alive to this day.

And this night, a celebration occurred within the Mountain Base.

With the best food they could prepare and the drinks they had in stock, the festivities began like Christmas and New Year\'s celebrations combined.

Although Christmas and New Year\'s would come in a week or so, those did not matter anymore.

To most people, the clock had been reset. The beginning of the apocalypse was zero, and as midnight passed, the count moved to one.

A new calendar that started with the apocalypse, devoid of most things everyone celebrated in the past.

The first anniversary of the apocalypse was a significant one.

It was the first year of the new world.

It was the first celebration to honor the dead and celebrate the living.

It was the first, and one thing on everyone\'s checklist was to celebrate more.

It would be the first and not the last.

***

"Everyone\'s pretty lively, aren\'t they?"

Mei said to Mark as they sat around the most decorated table within the base\'s central plaza.

"Well, it\'s better than being gloomy," Mark replied. "Well, some of them are drowning their sadness with liquor, though."

Mark looked around the table.

Abbygale and Iola were eating calmly, focused on their food. On the other hand, Miracle, who was already used to eating normal food, was eating messily because of how wrongly held her spoon.

"Hold it like this. Remember, alright?"

Mei spoke to Miracle with a smile as she corrected her grip on the spoon and wiped the mess around the little girl\'s mouth.

Mark watched the interaction between Mei and Miracle before turning to his left.

"Is something wrong, Elder Brother?"

Elise noticed his gaze and looked at him while holding her spoonful of food.

"Nothing," Mark shrugged. "Just eat slowly. No one will take your food away."

"I have to eat more, or I won\'t grow."

Elise said as she energetically shoved her spoon into her mouth.

Mark sighed as he watched the girl who was too attached to him. The seat to his left side would usually belong to either Miracle or Abbygale. But this time, Elise jumped to steal it first. His daughters were a bit displeased, but since it was one of the rare times Elise could cling to Mark, they had to compromise.

Elise sure was attached to Mark ever since the events in New Jersey ended. Her relationship with her family barely improved, however. Even though Elise lost several years of her memories and reverted to the mind of a thirteen-year-old, she was not too keen on interacting with her real family at all. Elise\'s family was sad about this development, but they could not really blame anyone.

They could only watch from another table as Elise showed smiles at Mark, which she would never show them.

After taking his eyes away from Elise, Mark looked at the center of the table. There, Amihan sat while stuffing her face with fresh fruits. One could never really tell that she was an incarnation of a Goddess at a single glance.

Mark looked at a different table. Emika was waving at him. There was also Annica on an adjacent table. The two of them were spending the celebration with their families.

Hannah then passed by. Instead of eating, she was helping her aunt, Odelina, serve the dishes.

"You keep looking around."

Someone spoke to Mark. It was Spera, who was sitting in front of him across the table.

"Can\'t help it," Mark replied. "I\'m facing them all, unlike you, whose back faced everyone."

"I\'m not the one who arranged the seating, alright?"

Spera argued.

"Don\'t be rude to Elder Brother."

Elise chimed in as she berated Spera.

The two then began glaring at each other.

Mark could not help but look at Mei with eyes containing complaints about the antics of the two.

If Elise was the overly attached younger sister, Spera was the one sister who was always grumpy for no reason. Thus, when the two girls were in one place, this kind of situation was always the result.

Responding to Mark\'s stare, Mei gave a smile and a slight shrug. There was nothing they could do about the two.

"Master," Odelina passed by. "Do you want more drinks?"

Mark did not notice since he was not paying attention. He had already emptied his glass while looking around.

"Another glass of soda, I guess."

Mark replied, and Odelina refilled Mark\'s glass before leaving.

Taking a sip of his drink, Mark sighed. The soda was slightly flat, not having the right amount of kick for a carbonated drink. It was not surprising since these were the last bottles of soda they had, which were already a week past expiration.

It pushed Mark to think of wanting to make a magic-powered carbonated drink machine next time. It sure was a bit of an out-of-the-way goal.

***

The celebration lasted for several hours. Most of the residents joined the celebration, even including the non-humans. Even the two [Sirens] joined, although they spent their time at the corner of the venue, barely interacting with anyone.

Milielle, the [Mermaid] was also having a good time since the plaza was literally beside the pond around the tree she resided in.

As for the couple who was not present in the celebration, Chimetrice and Ilia, they were inside the [Cube] as usual. Chimetrice was not really up to these kinds of celebrations so Ilia opted to accompany Chimetrice instead of leaving him alone.

A few more not present would be Laelaps and Chaflar. Well, the two were animals who would not care much about human celebrations. As such, the two remained back in Indonesia to help guard the refugees there. Of course, Mark would bring some nice food for their pets when they get back.

Soon, the drinkers were already wasted. As for Mark\'s group, it was time to go back.

Bidding goodbye to everyone, they returned to the hellish landscape of Indonesia. Well, not with the same number of people, however.

Elise, fed up getting left behind, really pushed herself to appeal and come with the group this time. It was not really a problem for Mark and Mei if she wanted to come. However, the issue came from her family. After all, Mark\'s adventures were dangerous in many ways. Not to mention that they could not mend their relationships if she was not around.

Well, the last argument was waning in strength. Even if Elise stayed behind, there was barely any progress. If they kept holding her back, she might start hating them even more.

In the end, Elise was allowed to come, although Felicia, her older sister, and Louis Morgan, the [Inheritor] of [Stone Manipulation] and now Felicia\'s lover, would accompany Elise.

With the three in tow, Mark and his group stepped into Spera\'s portal and left the aftermath of the celebration to his trusted subordinates.

***

Day 366 - 3:06 AM - Riverside Campsite, Demak Ruins, Demak Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

Returning to Indonesia, Mark\'s nose was immediately assaulted by the combination of a musty smell and a burnt odor in the air. It was the smell of the damp surroundings and the scattered ash from Mount Muria.

From their location, Mount Muria\'s silhouette could be seen from afar, along with the red gleam on its peak as it continued to spew lava out of its crater.

The horizon to the east looked ominously red, likely due to the wildfire still continuing in that direction.

Since Spera opened the portal in a slightly hidden area surrounded by trees, the group had to walk out a little back to camp. Sensing some movements, the people guarding the camp grew alert. Luna, Edge, and the others immediately arrived to prepare for any danger. But as they saw Mark and his group, they sighed in relief for several reasons.

First, it was because they were not enemies. Second, it was quite clear that they had already begun relying on Mark and his group for many things. Since the group said they would be away for a bit and used Spera\'s portal to leave, they began overthinking that they would not return, neglecting the fact that the pets were still with them.

If Mark and his group did not return, things would be way harder for them.

The return of Mark\'s group erased their negative thoughts.

"You guys are still awake?"

Mark asked them.

"There\'s no way we can sleep peacefully in this situation, Sir Mark."

Luna replied with a sigh.

Although Mark told them to properly rest and leave the guard duty to the pets, there were still a lot of people guarding the place. The leaders were also all awake even though they should be resting for the journey they would begin tomorrow.

"Never mind then," Mark said as he looked at Mei, who responded with a nod. "Get those still awake. We brought some food and drinks."

As Mark told Amihan to create a wind barrier around the central area of the camp, the celebration area for the people here was established.

And without hiding their capability to store things in a subspace, Mark and Mei took out the food and drinks they brought.

Seeing the delicious food, liquor, and other drinks, everyone around could not help but feel hungry. The hastily prepared dinner they had sure was trash compared to the food Mark and Mei took out. What took their attention the most was the fresh vegetables and fruits.

Meat might have been a luxury in the past but it was the complete opposite in the apocalypse when it became harder to grow crops for various reasons.

Soon, the party for the residents of the 38th, 40th, and 41st Satellite Settlements began. General Wijaya, his soldiers, and their families were also present and allowed to join. Surprisingly, there were refugees from the 94th Satellite Settlement now present too. It looked like Limabela\'s brother arrived while Mark and the others were gone.

Considering the situation, it seemed that the younger brother, Silver, decided to join his family in this camp. But it seemed to be not without consequences.

Aside from Silver, there were only a few members of the Bladeshifters with him and some refugees joining them. It seemed that they broke up with their group due to the rumors spread out to the rest of the refugees by people with evil intentions.

In that case, it was their loss. The people and refugees that followed Silver were now enjoying food they never thought they would be able to eat in this situation.

"Sir Mark? Who are they?"

Nelia asked, finally noticing three unfamiliar people with Mark\'s group.

"They are with us," Mark answered, glancing at Elise who had already fallen asleep while clinging to him. "This one is Elise. She looks up to me as her Elder Brother. This one is Felicia, Elise\'s older sister. The guy\'s Louis. He and Felicia are lovers.

They can\'t speak Indonesian, so use English if you want to speak to them."

"Felicia and Louis are pretty powerful too, so they would be a great help to us."

Mark added.

Luna and the rest greeted the new people with smiles. The party then continued, becoming a bit noisy.

Unfortunately, the happy atmosphere of the party was not particularly a welcome sight to some people on the other side of the evacuation area.