“Apocalypse changes everyone; some just hide it better. Sometimes even I don’t recognize what I have become, nor do I want to. There is nothing to gain from reminiscing about what is gone.”
–Batrak, the only survivor of the 2nd Outbreak
The angry howls and screeches echoed in the distance as Leo dashed into one of the abandoned houses that had a clear view of the situation near the woman’s residence. Before sprinting upstairs, he shut the door and blocked it with a broken shelf.
He couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty or bad about leaving the woman to the horde. He only wanted to once again experience some human contact, or maybe even form a group to make survival in this world easier. Instead, he was met with a lady consumed by madness, who nearly brought the entire horde onto him.
Just my luck. He sighed, sitting in front of the broken window that gave him a nice view of the woman’s house.
Cursed Humans and Runners already spilled into the backyard, scanning every inch of the building while the two Hounds sniffed and scraped at the doors. The Crawlers were nowhere in sight, but if the Bestiary didn’t lie, then he knew what was coming, especially when the woman had one of her windows broken.
The Voidlings continued to come; he had already counted over twenty. Some just walked around as if they were securing the perimeter, while the rest joined the fight against the doors or windows. Only it wasn’t a fight, and in a minute, the glass shattered and the hinges broke, opening the entire house to the horde.
No wonder the System didn’t acknowledge my parent’s house as a secure shelter if they could do that. I really need to figure something out for the next night.
“Argh!” A scream like no other pierced the air, echoing through the entire neighborhood. Leo flinched, ducking under the window as the Voidlings joined the scream like one organized orchestra.
The chorus alone sent chills down his spine. He took a deep breath, eyes closed, as he tried to ignore the dying scream.
No matter what, I hope you can find peace away from this madness.
No one deserved death like this. Even if he was almost numb to death after everything he had seen, he still recognized how fucked-up this world was.
Time passed as he listened to the Voidlings celebrate their hunt. Leo couldn’t help but wonder whether the monsters were fighting over the privilege of eating their kill when their howls and screeches became even more ferocious.
Not so high on the food chain anymore, are we, hmm?
He let out a short, bitter chuckle. Humans were never the strongest creatures on Earth, but with technology, there wasn’t much they couldn’t achieve with time. And now, humanity had been reduced to almost nothing, hiding from beasts that only waited to feast on their flesh.
More positive thoughts inbound. He shook his head and took another peek through the window. He had already wasted enough time.
The Voidlings still walked around the house, but most of them never left the building after the initial charge, and maybe, just maybe, Leo could use this to his advantage. The large block of flats seemed like a good place to find more survivors or something useful. With most of the security gone, it shouldn’t be too hard to get inside.
Just as swiftly as he entered the house, he jumped out of it, sprinting deeper into the cleared part of the neighborhood. He dropped True Stealth, releasing a deep sigh as the drain on his Essence stopped.
The skill only required a bit of energy to sustain over time, yet with his meager reserves, every second mattered. Even the few minutes necessary to travel around the area allowed him to regenerate a portion of Essence he had lost in the last few hours.
That’s what I get for having a weak Soul and a strong Mind. Definitely need to put another point there. The boost from Limit Break is nice, but it almost feels like it doesn’t affect Soul as well as other attributes…
That was something he noticed more and more with every level. While passive Limit Break constantly improved Grace and Might in the same way that additional points from levels did, the same couldn’t be said for Soul.
At first, he didn’t feel it, but now he was almost sure that while passive Limit Break made his Essence burn brighter inside him, it didn’t make his reserves bigger. No, that happened only after he added one point to Soul after the fourth and sixth levels. Although even then, the increase was barely noticeable.
Maybe I should just add two points? More Essence can’t hurt me, and with more skills constantly coming in, I will need it.
Decision made; Leo continued his journey through the only unexplored street that also led to the block of flats. The screeching continued to echo from the opposite side of the neighborhood, yet he still managed to dirty his claws and dagger with even more blood of Voidlings, whose deaths gave him precisely what he wanted.
Level 7 reached. Class attributes added. Please assign your 2 free attributes.
Two to Soul, he commanded, taking a knee behind the fence.
With just one level-up, the pain in his body from the class gains came and went in an instant—no more than a weak sting from a blunt stick. But nothing was ever easy. The two additional points to Soul pierced his entire being, knocking air out of his lungs.
He groaned as phantom hands grabbed his small pond of Essence and pulled it in every direction. He bent forward as his soul expanded with every stretch.
He coughed, his throat dry as desert. Suddenly, like with every power-up after a level, the burning and stretching stopped, leaving him panting for air as his hand sneaked into his bag.
Yanking a bottle of water out, Leo drank it in one go, gasping as the liquid traveled through his body.
All right, adding two points when I only have six wasn’t the best idea. Got it.
True Stealth, which failed during the power-up, once again formed over his body. His eyes narrowed as he felt Essence travel through his veins, burning with renewed fire. This only served to confirm his previous assumptions.
So passive Limit Break really has little effect on Soul. Weird, especially when its active counterpart seemed to work quite well. Definitely something to test later, even if I have to pay some Ether for it.
Picking up his bag again, he approached the edge of the fence and leaned out, scanning his path to the side of the block of flats.
Most of the Voidlings were gone, only leaving a few stragglers walking around the courtyard. Crawlers also weren’t there, probably too busy fighting over the right to their kill.
At least I wasn’t wrong. Leo smiled and dashed out of his hiding spot. He crossed the street and jumped behind one of the many trees strewed around the neighborhood. No more than a dozen, or so, meters and one Cursed Human separated him from the block’s side at this point.
Dagger in hand, he ran again. On his way, he slipped behind the single monster and stabbed it in the head before moving forward. If the other Voidlings noticed the body later, they would hopefully just use it as another meal, not a reason to search the area.
He hugged the side of the massive block and slowly sneaked around it, approaching one of the four entrances to the building. With electricity long gone, the advanced lock never managed to close the door again and he just slipped in, welcoming the familiar darkness of the short corridor.
He moved to the end of the hallway and twisted the handle of a door that led to the staircase. The window in the door showed nothing dangerous on the other side, but he kept the dagger held tight in his hand.
The door slowly slid open, immediately assaulting his ears with a soft creak and a sound so gut-wrenching that he froze, all the hairs on his body standing up.
What the hell?
Cries echoed through the entire stairway, bouncing off the walls. It had the tone of a small child and the edge of a Voidling’s screech.
Leo gulped, raising his cursed arm as he finally moved up the stairs at a snail’s pace.
The wooden railing and white walls lacked irregularities or signs of some creature straight out of nightmares, yet the crying continued.
Check the first two floors, and then get the hell out of here. Pop culture taught me enough about places like this…
He ascended to the slightly elevated ground floor and scanned the four closed doors, each leading to a different flat. Leo placed his claws on the nearest handle and twisted it inch by inch, not even thinking of yanking it with all his strength like he usually did.
The door didn’t budge, and he frowned as he focused on forming another ball of Essence inside his hand. The pulse entered the ground and spread outward, the entire floor momentarily flashing with a crimson light.
Keeping his eyes on the stairs, he focused on the feedback.
Plenty of alive signatures, most probably from Voidlings. He grimaced. And there should be some kind of stronger weapons in the last flat on this floor.
He moved to the chosen door and tried his luck again.
Locked, of course. He scowled and pointed one of his claws at the keyhole, focusing on the energy of True Stealth. If I could just…
Before the metal could make any sound from the invasion, he pushed the energy outward, directing it straight at the lock.
Please work.
More and more power moved through his claw, and Leo had to fight the urge to break the skill as the drain on his reserves became larger than ever.
Yet in a matter of seconds, the entire lock glowed with colorless Essence. A slight smirk found its way onto Leo’s face as he pushed more of his claws into the lock. He twisted the handle again, and his smirk grew when the door opened a bit without a sound.
I’m getting better at this. True Stealth may have collapsed at the end, but he was quick to activate it again, the monstrous crying never leaving him.
One more low-powered pulse had him closing the door as he sneaked through the house’s entrance corridor. He found doors to the left and right, yet he only stopped before the last one that should hide the only living being inside this flat.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door, only to receive a short, muffled screech in return.
Of course it’s a Voidling, he grumbled. Whatever, I don’t need to deal with you anyway.
The monster didn’t try to fight the door, so he had no reason to go through the trouble of destroying the lock and killing the creature before it got too loud.
And so, he ignored the only trouble in the flat and moved from room to room, trying to find the weapons his skill detected. Some extra food was welcome, but the slightly chipped tip of his dagger told him enough to know that the blade couldn’t last much longer.
When Leo entered the final chamber, his brow furrowed as his arm illuminated the several shelves within.
A collector? Military fanatic?
Firearms, new and old, knives of all kinds, and military decorations filled almost every shelf. He rose to his full height, snatching one of the many guns. Weird, it’s too light, even with my new strength.
Identifying the weapon, Leo snorted. Replica. Great.
The same went for any other firearm and most knives. In the end, he was left with only two weapons that weren’t fakes or items of broken quality.
Still better than I expected. He shrugged, looking at the two Common-quality knives.
Weapons had never really interested him in the past, and without Identify, he would have never known that the straight knife with a black blade was a military fighting knife. Still, the other one seemed much more powerful. Made with a clipped edge and a blade as long as one of his daggers.
Bowie knife. Interesting name.
Leo attached the leather sheath of the long knife to his waist while placing the other one in the spot of his dagger. The broken weapon might have served him well, but it was high time to part ways.
Armed with something that shouldn’t collapse at a moment’s notice, he walked out of the flat, remembering to come back here if he ever needed more broken weaponry.
One more floor and I’m out, he promised as he advanced up the stairs, the crying once again sending shivers down his spine.
The unnatural sound should have probably prepared him, yet his entire body froze when his gaze landed on the stairs leading to the third floor. A string of curses left his mouth, and he was never so happy that his stealth muffled any sound he made.
Without turning around, Leo backed off a step, his gaze never leaving the jungle of dark webs that dripped with fresh blood. Those things covered everything above him, and he only allowed himself to turn and bolt straight toward the exit only when the dark image left his sight.
No fucking thanks! Go eat someone else, whatever you are.