After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Juno Village, a few days prior

Not long before the heat wave ended, more and more people had reached the end of the rope.

Among these people was the beautiful—or at least she was—Hana.

At this time, she held onto Tim, her new boyfriend, who helped her keep going.

Like everyone else, they were pale and thin as skeletons. The pains of hunger and thirst had already made them numb and weak.

”If we had known things would be like this, we would’ve escaped the territory as soon as the enemies announced the attack.”

”We should’ve escaped even before the heat wave,” another said. ”Like Eve and the others.”

1

They said this in regret, hearts filled with ’what-ifs’, but they were too afraid to do much at the time. They were just thankful they didn’t become slaves like the others.

They hid in fear and it took a day to realize the enemies had really left them alone and had left the territory. They had no idea what it meant for them, but they could only live life with what they still had.

Sadly, they weren’t given much time to feel relieved.

The intense heat came and starvation became prevalent as early as a couple of days into the disaster.

Juno had a slower regeneration rate even before the heat wave—though it was mostly due to terrain—how much worse did things become when the extreme heat actually hit?

A few weeks into the Heat Wave, hundreds had perished from the heat, the mob, or human greed. They were attacked again, and they were even more helpless this time than before.

At the time, when the war was ongoing, Hana hid deep in the room, hoping never to be found. When they lost again, she actually heaved a sigh of relief, thinking at least it was over.

She was lucky enough to avoid becoming a slave, but after the heat wave hit she thought she wouldn’t mind becoming one after all.

Stronger territories should’ve been able to handle that heat better, right?

Anyway, the war was over and more people were taken away. Fortunately, the mobs there were thinner and weaker in their area. Otherwise, Juno had long been infested by beasts.

Still… being eaten by beasts would’ve been less painful than the excruciating hunger and thirst they felt.

It was horrible. They lacked food and water and they could barely breathe with the heat. Even the insides of the houses were steaming.

One time, she even witnessed people drinking blood!

At some point, they found out that there was even a group who started eating people.

She was almost kidnapped by them as well. They raided her dorm and took out everyone. Their sense of smell seemed strong and they found her hiding place.

It was Tim and another man named Atlas—a brave young man her age—who protected her. Although the level gaps weren’t high, people didn’t have much energy anymore and they didn’t bother with anyone who required too much energy to kidnap, and thus she was saved.

Time passed slowly and torturously, with more and more people dying of different causes.

It was fortunate that during this time, a few people reached level 10 and gained elements, so they—a group of a thousand or so— could survive the village-level mobs they encountered, for the most part anyway.

Then, they were attacked yet again, this time by a village called Suka Village. When the announcement rang they could only sob in despair. They knew there was no way they would win this one!

Their options were limited: Die of hunger or thirst, die by becoming a meal (human or beast), or become slaves!

However, unlike others who had lost hope, Atlas shook his head.

”There’s a way,” he said. Since the last war, he managed to find out more about the war. He did this by pretending to be a corpse near the gates, and he overheard a few things.

For instance, there was a teleportation array that connected to their territories during the entire 28 hours.

He devised a plan to cover himself with earth—he was an earth user—and sneak into the enemy array, and then run as fast as he could.

However, he had a soft heart and had the sense of justice of a police officer before he had to be dismissed, so he shared the plan to the other survivors, though they were responsible for protecting themselves from the sun and from the monsters.

A total of about 30 people went out half an hour before the war started. No one cared. Everyone was just trying to pass the day, who cared about what others did?

Some people wanted to escape as well, but the heat was too much and they had begun to consider that it might be better to be a slave.

After all, they would have better resources. Even if it was only a little, food and water should still be given to them, right? Probably?

What they didn’t know was that the enemy Village this time was not just selling slaves—they were selling meat and blood.

It started as a minority practice in the village, but the need due to the tragedy made most people of that village to adopt the practice.

But they didn’t know this yet and these people just stayed put while Atlas, Tim, Hana, and the others went out of the territory in the extreme heat.

Atlas had some survival knowledge and taught them how to camouflage as they waited for the array to open. They didn’t know where it’d appear, but they had to be well-hidden regardless.

Otherwise, wouldn’t they just be throwing themselves into the enemy’s swords?

Atlas created a sort of shell made from soil, using much of his remaining mana. It wasn’t even that big—he couldn’t do much else—but he chose a place with existing rocks and shrubs (albeit dried ones) so they could also help shade them while they waited.

It was a tense 30 minutes, and everyone struggled to breathe under the boiling atmosphere. They were also squeezed together, making it even more torturous.

Atlas’ jaw clenched as he concentrated on the task at hand, ignoring the mumbles and whispers of complaints behind him.

He didn’t care, eyes fixed on the array, making approximates at the enemies they would have to deal with soon.

He only stayed in Juno for so long because many people misled him! He realized they lied to him just to keep him in the territory!

Many of them had become slaves or were now dead though, so he couldn’t do anything to them.

The Heat Wave arrived before he could leave, but this time, he would make sure to get out.

No matter what: He

will

find his brother!

Eve = Evelyn. Remember her? She just got married..