Meanwhile, on another side of Crown Academy...
Panic reigned.
Students fled in every direction, their terrified screams echoing through the shattered campus.
Some desperately searched for hiding places, while others ran blindly, praying they wouldn’t become the next victim.
Among the fleeing crowd was a tall young man wearing glasses.
His breathing was ragged as he sprinted alongside a beautiful girl who tightly held onto his hand.
"Lucan!" she cried between breaths. "Don’t stop! We’re almost—"
A deafening growl suddenly erupted behind them.
The ground trembled.
A gigantic mutated wolf burst through the rubble, its crimson eyes fixed on the fleeing students. It lunged forward with terrifying speed, rapidly closing the distance.
Lucan instinctively looked over his shoulder.
The wolf was almost upon them.
His pupils shrank.
Fear swallowed every trace of reason. Without thinking...
He shoved the girl beside him.
"No—!"
She stumbled forward, directly into the monster’s path.
Crunch!
The wolf’s jaws clamped onto her shoulder, lifting her off the ground.
"AHHHHH!"
Her agonized scream echoed across the ruined campus.
She stared at Lucan with eyes full of disbelief.
More than the pain...
More than the monster...
She couldn’t believe the person who had pushed her to her death was the one who had once sworn to protect her.
"L-Lucan... why...?" She never received an answer.
Lucan had already turned and fled without looking back.
Tears streamed down his face as he ran.
"I don’t want to die..."
"I don’t want to die..."
His desperate mutters were all that remained as guilt and terror consumed him.
Suddenly— His foot struck a loose stone.
"Ah!"
He tumbled across the ground.
His glasses flew from his face, skidding several meters away before shattering.
"N-No..." Lucan frantically crawled across the dirt, desperately feeling around with trembling hands.
"My glasses..."
"My glasses..."
Without them, everything around him became a blurry haze.
His breathing grew heavier. Then...
A foul, hot breath brushed against the back of his neck.
The wolf had caught up.
Its enormous jaws slowly opened, revealing rows of bloodstained fangs.
Lucan’s body froze. "I’m... going to die..."
He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head with both arms.
A brilliant blue flash suddenly streaked across his blurred vision.
Slash!
Something heavy crashed onto the ground.
Silence followed.
Lucan slowly lowered his arms.
The mutated wolf’s severed head lay only a few feet away, its lifeless eyes still wide open.
Blood poured from its neck, staining the broken pavement crimson.
Footsteps echoed through the silence.
Through his blurred vision, Lucan saw only the vague outline of a person approaching, a long object held in one hand.
He blinked repeatedly, trying to make out the figure, but everything remained frustratingly out of focus.
The stranger stopped a few steps away.
Only when the familiar voice reached his ears did Lucan’s eyes widen.
"Get up."
"Pr-Professor Sy?" Relief instantly flooded Lucan’s face.
"Professor Sy... please save me!"
Professor Sy merely glanced at Lucan before turning his attention to the wolf’s corpse.
Grabbing the massive carcass with one hand, he lifted it as though it weighed nothing.
A faint blue light spread across his palm before flowing into the creature’s body.
Several seconds passed.
Then the light faded.
Professor Sy frowned. "Nothing..."
His voice carried a hint of disappointment.
He released the corpse, allowing it to crash heavily onto the ground.
Only then did he turn toward Lucan. His expression was cold, he recognized the boy immediately.
Lucan came from one of the country’s most influential families.
Because of that, he had always acted arrogantly within the academy, throwing his weight around and showing little respect to either teachers or fellow students.
Professor Sy had never liked him.
Now... The world had changed.
Status. Money. Power.
None of it meant anything anymore. If Lucan wanted to survive...
He would have to rely on himself.
"If you want to live," Professor Sy said flatly, "follow me to the library."
He paused before adding, "But understand this..."
His sharp gaze met Lucan’s trembling eyes.
"From this moment onward, your life is your own responsibility."
Without waiting for a response, Professor Sy turned and walked away, his destination clear.
The library.
Lucan hurriedly scrambled to his feet and stumbled after him, afraid of being left behind.
Neither of them knew...
Survivors from every corner of Crown Academy were unknowingly making their way toward the same destination.
And at the heart of it all... Lothe and Seana remained completely unaware that the academy’s remaining survivors were converging on their location.
Even if they did know... Neither of them would have cared.
Meanwhile, inside the quiet library, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to the chaos raging outside.
[SYSTEM STATUS]
Name: Seana
Race: Human
Class: Unassigned (Unlocks at Level 5)
Rank: Level 1, Tier 3
EXP: 0 / 400
HP: 100 / 100
Qi Pool: 35 / 35
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 30
Agility: 29
Constitution: 30
Qi Control: 34
Unallocated AP: 0
[CORE SUPERPOWER]
• Blood Manipulation - Level 1, Tier 3
Description:
Allows the host to manipulate and shape their own blood into offensive and defensive constructs. As the superpower evolves, its control, range, and efficiency increase, while Qi consumption gradually decreases.
Cost:
1 Qi per minute of continuous use.
[PASSIVE SKILLS]
• Poison Resistance Lv.1
Description:
Minor toxins, venoms, and harmful substances have greatly reduced effects on the host.
• Blood Sense Lv.1
Description:
The host can sense nearby creatures through the flow and scent of blood, making it easier to detect injured enemies and hidden lifeforms within a limited radius.
[TECHNIQUES]
None
[EQUIPMENT]
[Blood Moon Sword]
Grade: Common
Description:
A sword that grows sharper with every enemy it cuts. Particularly effective against creatures with strong vitality.
Equipment Bonus:
+40 Strength
+20 Agility
+15 Constitution
+15% Slash Damage
[Shadow Weave Cloak]
Grade: Lower
Description:
Woven from the silk of mutated Shadow Spiders, this cloak absorbs part of the force from incoming attacks while blending into darkness.
Equipment Bonus:
+10 Agility
+20 Constitution
+10 Qi Control
Passive Effect:
Reduces damage from pre-apocalypse pistols and submachine guns by 40%.
Slightly conceals the wearer’s presence in dimly lit environments.
Seana read through the entire panel twice before dismissing it.
The translucent blue screen dissolved into countless particles.
She slowly opened her eyes. Immediately, she noticed the difference.
Qi flowed through her body far more smoothly than before, coursing through her meridians like a gentle stream.
Every breath she took felt lighter, while the fatigue from the earlier battles had almost completely disappeared.
She lightly clenched her fist.
Power.
She could feel it coursing beneath her skin.
Although she was still far from being truly strong, the current her could easily defeat the version of herself from just an hour ago.
A smile unconsciously formed on her lips.
Across from her, Lothe was quietly eating a can of luncheon meat, another empty can already resting beside him.
Noticing her movement, he looked up and smiled.
"Hey."
"Hey," Seana replied with a smile of her own.
She rummaged through her own sack before taking out a can of baked beans and a bottle of water.
With a soft pop, she opened the can and began eating.
Neither of them spoke for a while.
Outside, distant growls and explosions occasionally echoed across the academy, reminding them that the nightmare was far from over.
Lothe broke the silence first.
"Our next destination is the medical building."
Seana nodded as she swallowed another mouthful.
"Yeah." There was no arguing with that decision.
Medicine, antibiotics, disinfectants, painkillers, syringes, and bandages would become priceless in the days to come. Even a minor wound could become fatal without proper treatment.
Besides...
A mischievous grin slowly spread across her face.
"My bag is still in the laboratory."
She looked at Lothe, her Phoenix eyes shining with barely concealed excitement, her earlier reserve gone.
"And I can finally bring the equipments."
She paused before adding with a grin,
"I’ve been wanting to experiment on those mutated creatures ever since we saw them."
There were simply too many questions racing through her mind.
What caused their mutations? Had their organs changed?
Did Qi alter their biology?
Could their blood reveal the source of the apocalypse?
The scientist within her burned with curiosity.
Seeing the excitement dancing in her eyes, Lothe couldn’t help but smile.
"Just a moment, please?" she asked hopefully.
He didn’t need to ask what she meant. After spending the entire day with her, he already knew exactly what was going through her head.
His gaze lingered on her cheerful smile for a brief moment.
Only one word surfaced in his mind.
Cute.
Realizing what he had just thought, Lothe quickly looked away and cleared his throat before taking another bite of his food.
"...Take your time," he muttered.
Seana, completely oblivious to his thoughts, happily continued eating, already planning which specimens she would test first once they reached the laboratory.
For a brief moment, despite the apocalypse raging outside...
The abandoned library felt almost peaceful.