From where Lothe stood near the pear tree, the world looked fractured.
In the distance, black smoke rose in thick pillars against the purple twilight. Faint, distorted screams and the occasional dull echo of an explosion drifted over the campus walls.
Lothe turned to Seana. He reached out and took Old B’s heavy iron rod from her hands.
"If whatever released in the air could mutate insects, the water lines will get contaminated and unsealed foods are going to spoil fast," Lothe said, his voice flat.
"We need to gather sealed provisions before they contaminate."
He glanced at the iron rod in his hand, then at the brass rod Seana held. "And we need better weapons."
He knew the military would act immediately to secure the city, but Lothe wasn’t the type to put his life in someone else’s hands. He would carve his own path out of this place.
As the librarian, he knew the layout of the campus perfectly. The library was close to the main cafeteria, which housed a small supermarket.
More importantly, the back of the library bordered a dense, preserved forest used for student research. If normal animals were mutating, that forest was already a breeding ground for monsters.
The library was no longer safe, but they needed a secure base to store food and rest before they could escape the campus.
"Wait for me here," Lothe said.
"No," Seana cut him off, her grip tightening on her brass rod. "If you are going for food, I am coming with you."
Lothe stared at her for a second, then nodded. "Alright. I’ll get bags."
He slipped back inside the library lobby and returned shortly with two heavy, thick plastic garbage bags, handing one to her.
"The library will be our stronghold for now," Lothe said, heading down the concrete steps. "We store the food there, rest, and then we move."
They walked in silence, keeping close to the walls of the brick buildings.
The campus was eerily quiet. Lothe’s senses were noticeably sharper since his system integrated, his ears picked up the rustle of leaves fifty meters away, and his eyes easily tracked the dim shadows.
When they reached the cafeteria building, the doors were smashed. Inside, tables were overturned, and half-eaten meals lay scattered on the floor, already smelling of sour rot.
They bypassed the main dining hall and headed straight for the convenience store at the back. Lothe began grabbing canned meats, sealed water bottles, and high-energy bars, stuffing them into his bag.
Seana worked with silent efficiency beside him. She filled her bag with sealed water, canned goods, and, to Lothe’s surprise, several sealed steel plates and spoons from the kitchen rack. Her medical mind was already thinking of utility and survival.
They had just filled their bags to the brim when the hair on Lothe’s arms stood up.
A sudden, cold pressure spiked in the air behind them.
"Move!" Lothe barked.
He didn’t turn to look. He grabbed Seana’s collar and lunged to the side, throwing both of them over the metal counter.
Boom!
A heavy weight crashed into the concrete floor where they had been standing seconds ago, shattering the tiles.
Lothe scrambled to his feet, raising his iron rod. Standing in the dust was a beast. It looked like a panther, but it was easily twice the size of a normal one.
Its fur was obsidian black, broken only by faint yellow stripes along its ribs.
Glowing yellow eyes locked onto Lothe, and from its lower back, two thick, muscular tails whipped the air, their tips ending in sharp, bone-like spikes.
The beast growled, a low vibration that rattled Lothe’s teeth.
It lunged, its massive front claws sweeping forward.
Lothe and Seana split, rolling in opposite directions.
As Lothe hit the floor, his spatial sense flared. One of the panther’s spiked tails was snaking toward his chest, the hair on the tail stiffening into sharp needles. Lothe channeled a portion of his Qi into his iron rod and swung.
Thud! Crack!
The impact vibrated violently up Lothe’s arm, numbing his fingers. His boots slid three inches back on the dirty tile.
Before he could recover, a massive black claw swiped down, tearing a deep trench into the concrete where he had stood.
He jumped back, his breath coming faster. That was one use of his Qi. He had to be careful, his pool was only ten units.
To his left, the second tail whipped past Seana’s face. The sheer wind pressure cracked the frame of her glasses, sending them clattering into the debris. The panther hissed, its yellow eyes locking onto her.
Lothe saw the beast shift its weight to spring at her. He didn’t hesitate. He ran forward and struck the beast’s rear tail, forcing it to coil back.
But the panther was fast, the tail snapped back toward his throat like a coiled spring.
Just when the spiked tip was three meters away.
Spatial Perception!
Lothe commanded in his mind.
The space around him seemed to ripple like water.
Within his three-meter domain, the world slowed down.
He could see the exact trajectory of the incoming spike, the dust drifting around it, and the micro-vibrations of the beast’s muscles.
Lothe focused his mind on the space directly in front of the tail.
Stop.
The air seemed to thicken. The panther’s tail hit the invisible boundary of his spatial domain and froze mid-air, as if held by an invisible hand.
The effort drained Lothe’s Qi instantly, but it gave him the split second he needed.
Lothe stepped in, his speed explosive within his domain.
He coated the tip of his iron rod with his remaining Qi and drove it down like a hammer onto the base of the frozen tail.
Splat!
The bone-shrunk joint ruptured under the heavy strike.
Lothe deactivated his ability and rolled out of the way.
The panther let out a deafening, agonized roar, its severed tail thrashing on the bloody floor.
Seana, standing five meters away, stared at the dark red blood pooling on the concrete.
Her pupils dilated. Her gaze locked onto the liquid, and she slowly raised her hand.
The puddle on the floor trembled, then rose, condensing into three razor-sharp crimson needles.
With a flick of her wrist, the needles shot forward, driving straight into the panther’s open wound.
The moment her bloody needles entered the beast, Seana’s mind mapped its internal structure. She could feel its rapid heartbeat, the rush of its blood, and a glowing yellow core in its brain guarded by a strange, swirling energy.
She also spotted the weakness, the nerve joint of its remaining tail was trying to heal, drawing energy from the core.
"Lothe!" Seana shouted, sweat dripping down her temples. "Hold it still!"
"Alright!" Lothe grit his teeth.
His Qi was nearly depleted, but he ran straight at the roaring beast. The panther opened its maw, its long fangs dripping saliva as it lunged.
Six meters. Five. Four. Three.
Spatial Perception!
The space rippled again, locking the panther’s head in place for a fraction of a second.
In that moment, Seana focused all her strength.
The blood inside the panther’s own body suddenly boiled. Under her command, the blood condensed into a sharp spike inside its body and thrust outward, completely severing the remaining tail joint from the inside out.
Puchi!
The tail fell, and the beast collapsed to its knees with a painful whimper.
With the last of her energy, Seana drew the blood from the floor, formed two needles, and drove them straight through the panther’s yellow eyes.
The beast thrashed once, then went completely still.
[You have slain a Level 1, Tier 3 Twin-Tail Dusk Panther.]
[Experience gained: 50 EXP.]
Seana sank to her knees, panting heavily. Her face was pale, her hands trembling. "There’s... something in its head," she whispered.
Lothe walked over, using the sharp splintered edge of his iron rod to wedge open the skull. A small, glowing yellow stone rolled out onto the concrete.
[Level 1, Tier 3 Mutated Panther Core detected.]
The moment Lothe’s eyes fell on the core, an intense, savage hunger flared in his stomach. His Core felt completely dry, screaming for fuel.
He looked at Seana. She was staring at the core with curiosity, but she felt no urge to consume it.
"Do you feel the pull to absorb this?" Lothe asked, his voice tight.
"No," Seana said, looking at him. "Do you?"
Lothe didn’t answer. He picked up the warm, glowing core.
[Warning: Raw Tier 3 Qi detected. Host is currently Level 1, Tier 1. Direct refinement of unpurified Qi from a higher tier beast will cause extreme physical danger.]
Lothe ignored the system’s red warning. They were in a ruined cafeteria, surrounded by blood, and his Qi was entirely gone. If another beast showed up, they were dead.
He needed power now.
He squeezed the core.
The yellow energy drifted from the stone, sinking directly into his palm.
Argh!
Lothe collapsed to his knees, his jaw locking as a violent, burning agony exploded in his abdomen. The raw, wild Qi of the Tier 3 beast rushed into his unrefined Core like liquid fire.
His veins bulged against his skin, and his body began to spasm on the floor, sweat pouring from his face.
"Lothe!" Seana scrambled over, kneeling beside him.
She placed her hand on his shoulder, her palm instantly feeling the burning, unnatural heat radiating from his skin.
"Lothe, what did you do? Are you okay!"
[Warning: High-density energy detected. Core threshold exceeded. Refining...]