After Casey finished helping her daughter kill the rest of the train of monsters that she accidentally made, Ethan picked up the loot (that only he could see) and put it into his deep pockets.

'When you said that my system was different from others, I expected to get infinite pocket space. Or at least an [Inventory], but nope. I have to carry everything by hand/in my pockets! I'm kind of disappointed.'

[You won't have to worry about that soon. As long as you level up, you will receive an [Inventory]. You are getting close to unlocking it.]

'Really? When will I get it?'

[It's at or around level 20. Not going to tell you for sure though. I can't really tell when you're going to get it either. All I know is that the more proficient you are with your [Abilities], the more you will gain from the [System].] 

'Thank you for the information.'

[You're welcome.]

Ethan finishes picking all of the cores, looking at them curiously, still not knowing what they are or what they are supposed to do.

'Maybe this [System] has a store where I can sell the cores, and I get op items? I'll see in the future when I level up more.'

[...]

Seeing that everyone was ready to go, Ethan ran up to the rest of his group and carried on with their journey. Unfortunately, or maybe luckily, someone ran out of the mall to catch up with them.

It was Kara.

"Hey! Ethan! Do you mind if I tag along with you and your group? It's better to go look for my brother now rather than waiting later. Plus, I heard that you were going out to level yourselves up. Won't it be easier to help me reach my house while you guys take out the creatures to level? It's more proficient, right?"

Ethan listened to what she said and looked back at his group of friends/family, looking to see if they were fine with helping Kara go to her home. They all nod and shrug, seeing no harm in helping the 'pitiful' girl find her brother. It's still a win-win situation for them. 

After Ethan confirms with his group about their decision, he smiles back at Kara and nods in her direction.

"Alright, you got a deal. We'll help you get there."

Kara tearfully smiles and starts leading the group in the direction of her household.

'Stay alive….for me, bubba.'

Kara keeps that thought to herself, and that same thought keeps repeating for the whole walk to her home. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking to Kara house was……. uneventful. Which was scary to Ethan, who is skeptical about the silence and flow of monsters becoming less and less.

'It's too quiet. This is pretty much the universal sign that something bad is going to happen, especially when an apocalypse is going on. Which is most definitely not supposed to be quiet.'

[I do have a reason for what's going on currently. This is because creatures of the same race are starting to group up and make clans, covens, packs, and etcetera, around the world. Which is mostly bad for your kind.]

'Well, at least we are preparing for the worst to happen by starting to level ourselves up and train more.'

[.....I suppose, but just leveling up won't be enough later. You will need to start training your bodies and prepare for a world of pain.]

'Alright, I will listen to you. As soon as we get back, I will start training.' 

[Thank you for heeding my warning, Host.] 

Kara notices her home and starts to sprint towards it, unexpectedly, making the rest of the group run with her to make sure she doesn't die by the zombies in or by her home.

"Bubba! Bubba! Matty!"

Bursting into her house, Kara yells out, calling for her brother and expecting him to respond.

"It's your big sister! Respond back, bubba, so I can know where you are!"

Casey comes into the house, followed by Michelle, Kayla, and Ethan.

Kara goes silent, putting her hand to her ear, using her [Ability]. 

She stops and runs up the stairs to her home, bursting into a room. 

It was her brother's room.

As soon as she entered it, she saw something shocking, almost horrifying, and at that time her body slumped into the door frame of the room and slid down to the floor.

She starts to sob uncontrollably.

Her brother…….

Was sleeping?

Ethan made it up the stairs and saw Kara's brother sleeping peacefully. Almost as if there wasn't an apocalypse going on at all outside. 

He looked like he was heavily sleeping, snoring in fact, and didn't hear his sister calling for him downstairs.

Kara was crying out of relief and happiness. She couldn't believe that she was worried about her brother in the first place. Seeing him sleeping here as if nothing was wrong made her feel as if she had worried for nothing. 

She slowly got up and headed to her brother. She shook him to wake him up. 

Mateo slowly opens his eyes and rubs them with his hand. Looking up, he sees his big sister and his face erupts into a big smile.

"Kara! I'm so happy you're back! I was scared of being alone by myself! Can we go and get some food?"

Kara smiles and shakes her head in disbelief at her brother. 

"Of course, let's go to a safe place where we can get your stomach full of nice, delicious food."

"Yay!"

Mateo hops out of bed while his sister grabs his hand and leads him downstairs. 

…

Ethan looks surprised and looks at the rest of his group.

They all had the same look on their faces. 

Disbelief.

'Even they know that something isn't right here! How can a kid, more importantly, an incompetent kid, stay alive for this long? Being unharmed at that! Yeahhhh…..not trusting it.'

Still, Ethan and the rest follow Kara and her younger brother, making sure they are safe, and make it back to the mall.