In the midst of their goodbyes, Sebastian thanked the couple and gave the kid a smile. Having been given treatment, food, and yet another pair of new clothes, Sebastian felt good enough to make their way towards Goodman’s.

Zachary made it clear to him that his face, while mostly healing, would still have tiny small holes in the cheek. Apparently his increased constitution made it heal too quickly, so some edges of the wound had healed, which would fuck the process over pretty bad. He wasn’t sure how many of the small holes would remain once the stitches can be taken out, but either way, the permanent disfigurement was unfortunate.

For the next few hours, the group had mostly been safe. The few groups of beasts that attacked them were quickly dispatched, earning them some more experience. Whenever they weren’t fighting, Sebastian was practicing his manipulation of mana.

He hadn’t forgotten that the body breathes in some mana as one inhales and exhales, making him feel that the body might interact with the body somewhat. The strange energy in his body, what he now deemed Vitality, strengthened the body. Maybe mana strengthened the mind?

He wasn’t sure, but he felt that continuously attempting to manipulate the mana in the air was the way to go. Occasionally he’d be able to lower the temperature of the air, just like before, so he focused on trying to continuously recreate that feeling.

Mana governed the mind, Vitality governed the body. He could control neither really well at the moment, but it just gave him more to look forward to as he continued levelling up. Hopefully he was right in believing Perception would help him control both energies.

Sebastian couldn’t control Vitality at all at the moment, actually. It seemed to do it’s own thing, similar to mana in the atmosphere. He did wonder if Vitality only appeared when all his physical stats reached 10, though. It wouldn’t surprise him, considering mana control required a similar achievement with its mental stats.

The energy within his body seemed to grow slowly, and it saw a slight increase that he noticed when he ate. It proved it wasn’t entirely reliant on stats, so growing it even without levelling up was probably possible once he figured out how. It was a shame that Sebastian could only focus on one of the two energies at the moment, and he deemed mana the more important at the moment.

Ken quickly levelled up once they were back on the road, a soft sound escaping him as he killed the last monster of the next group. Sebastian still killed the most, but the second Lv. 5 was a pleasant surprise, especially considering he felt he was close to Lv. 6 as it was.

He was proven correct when he killed the last Corrupted Squirrel in the fifth pack they were attacked by, the blood-red text living up to his expectations.

[You have slain a Lv. 8 Corrupted Squirrel]

[Defeated Higher Level, Equal Tier.]

[Awarded 60 xp]

[Congratulations on reaching Lv. 6]

Five packs of monsters, each monster usually Lv. 5 or above, each pack with about a dozen each, he liked the rate he was levelling up now. No more surprises with super powerful ‘higher tiered’ demon birds, or randomly huge rat swarms. Even Mariah levelled up again to Lv. 4 from the leisurely slaughter.

The resulting scene was a familiar one to Sebastian as he saw Mariah suddenly stand still after the fight, a small pebble forming within her palm. Clearly she had also.. what would the term be called? For now he’d just call it reaching the threshold. Clearly she had also reached the threshold for magic, a sight that made him nod with some approval. She seems to be planning her future with a goal in mind.

He didn’t ask about Ken’s stats but he clearly hadn’t taken magic yet, if he was planning it at all. The teen focused solely on the sword and dedicated himself to it fully, something Sebastian found respectable.

Humming softly as the crimson text appeared in front of him, he topped off his perception and then placed it all into agility. He felt his muscle control grow even stronger, and his senses improve towards the surroundings, body, and mana. His stitched together face slowly formed into a smile as he felt the changes.

[Attributes]

Strength: 20

Agility: 12

Constitution: 20

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom:10

Perception: 10

Having ten or more in every attribute gave him a weird sense of achievement, with some stats even being twenty. His physique was rather well rounded so far, and the levels are so low at the moment that he isn’t too far behind those who just push all stat points into physical or mental attributes.

He knew he’d have to figure out the path he wanted to take sooner rather than later, but for now, going both paths seemed to be good enough for him.

Do the beasts have Vitality too? Would eating them be better than normal meat? The thought crossed his mind suddenly. If that was the case, the monster meat would be much better for the people back at Dallas’ Deals, and it would be a superb food source.

Assuming they returned, that is.

It wasn’t long before they reached the barricade they had once set. Somehow still standing, the group breathed a sigh of relief. If it was already destroyed about a day after being set up, they really wouldn’t have any confidence in finding this pharmacy.

The rat horde had left too, but everyone treated that like a given. There was no reason for such a large swarm to just linger around the piled up furniture. They had a small inkling as to where it could be, but they all just ignored the ominous feeling growing in the back of their heads.

Sebastian steadied his breathing into a rhythm as he started moving the furniture aside with Ken to make a small path through. The sight that greeted them on the other side..

Scorched earth.

The asphalt was covered in ash and black stains. Charred corpses of humans, beasts and pests littered the pavement. The stench of burnt meat was overwhelming. The sight made Sebastian pale, the other two resisting the urge to hurl. He’d sympathize with them, if something much more terrifying wasn’t floating through his mind.

A beast. A beast did this.

His realization came almost immediately, and his brain put the pieces together fairly quickly. This is why the horde crossed the barrier. It was running from a magic beast. Something that would probably absolutely destroy their group of three. Bringing his companions through the barrier as fast as possible, he replaced the furniture with some haste.

The scorched pavement, luckily, didn’t head in the same direction as Goodman’s. The commercial district was to the north east of here, and the pavement led west. He could only hope that there wasn’t more than one creature like that in the area.

Or we’d be fucking screwed.

Turning to the right, the three made sure to stick to the sidewalks and watch the alleyways. The few animals they saw that didn’t attack them outright had given them a good sense of the area’s power level, and it didn’t bode well for them.

[Corrupted Racoon, Lv. 8]

[These once trash eaters have quickly adapted to the changing world around them with their dexterous advantage. Rather vicious but not overly hostile, the creature probably doesn’t taste very good either.]

Any random animal on the street being Lv. 8 wasn’t something they liked to see. There would definitely be higher level beings nearby, and even if something was lower than Lv. 8, it was probably a pack animal like the pigeons or, weirdly, squirrels. With this new understanding, Sebastian suddenly really missed the hivemind. It was much easier in comparison to whatever the hell would be in this area.

It was fortunate that most of the animals that attacked them came alone, even if there was the occasional group of rabid, corrupted creatures as they approached the pharmacy. They served only to increase their experience.

The most helpful aspect of this was that Sebastian could experience his Vitality more deeply. His increased perception gave him a much better view of the moving energy within his body as he fought. When he attacked, he could vaguely feel the warmth of it. He felt a strange sense of strength that he knew he did not actually possess, since it reinforced whatever his body needed most at the moment.

When they got back, he definitely had to share his findings with Ken, and maybe the rest of the group. Assuming the swordsman hasn’t already become aware of Vitality, that is. He wouldn’t be surprised if he had, he’d been paying much more attention to his physique than Sebastian had after all.

With a roar, the bladesman brought his saber down onto the crow’s wing, slicing it off clean. The avian opened its beak with some fury, before it’s mouth was quickly clamped shut by Sebastian’s hand. He twisted it’s body in hand and brought the saber down onto its neck, covering his right arm and torso in blood as a familiar text entered his eyes.

[You have slain a Lv. 9, Corrupted Crow]

[Defeated Higher Level, Equal Tier]

[Awarded 68xp]

[Congratulations on reaching Lv. 7]

He looked towards the glowing sky as the battle died down. A little more than three or four hours had passed, day having long dyed the sky blue, a disturbingly comforting sight for the blood-soaked man. Not only were the beasts stronger out here, but they were more numerous the further they went. It tired them incredibly, but Sebastian having levelled up yet again simply proved how beneficial it was.

They couldn’t fight forever, though. He was still happy that the three had finally reached Goodman’s, a standalone pharmacy apparently decades old. He didn’t have any attachment to the place, but apparently it was rather well known to the two natives of West Cairn.

The windows had been shattered, doors caved in, walls stained with some splotches of blood. Probably the results of an attack immediately if not shortly after The Light. The night worker there, assuming they weren’t taken, probably wouldn’t have known what was going on until it was too late, maybe even until morning if they were truly unlucky.

Sebastian dragged the Lv. 9 Crow corpse to the entrance of the Pharmacy, stepping over the debris, carefully making sure nothing got stuck in the bird as he stepped towards a rather clean area of the Pharmacy. It didn’t seem like anyone had looted the place, and it made him incredibly happy seeing that.

They quickly looked through the whole building, clearing the backroom, office, and even the closets. Nothing was left unsearched as they made sure the place was safe.

Once they were finally confident the pharmacy was safe, they let out their turbid breath. Placing their bags on the ground, they finally took a seat for the first time since they left the apartments.

Taking out a small portable gas burner that Zachary had gifted them, he started humming softly, a sound that disturbed the other two a little bit, as they hadn’t seen him so jovial yet. He cut off the remaining wing of the giant crow, defeathered it quickly, something made easy with his high agility and strength.

After gutting the beast he cut off the head, turned on the burner, made a makeshift spitroast with his saber and some debris and waited for his meal, something that made his companions look at him even weirder.

He had heard that, apparently

Crow tasted like chicken.