“You would think that with monsters crawling out of every possible hole, people would stop the needless fighting… I couldn’t be more wrong. No matter the race, no matter the planet, the survivors will always find a reason for conflict. We call ourselves the awakened beings and yet we cannot even unite in the face of extinction. After all, no matter how bad the situation gets, conflict is in our blood.”

~ New survivor of 26th Outbreak

No matter how much Leo feared closing his eyes when the storm raged outside, he had to get some rest before the big day. The house never stopped shuddering and Leo knew that the moment he succumbed to darkness, everything could go to shit any second.

And so he fought the urges of his body and mind for another few hours, just sitting in the corner of the bathroom and bending the Essence to his wishes. It flowed steadily, giving Leo more and more confidence at wielding this new mythical energy.

From simply pushing Essence through his body to forming shapes of light in his hand. Leo did it all in those few hours, but not even the constant practice could stop the drowsiness building within him. His eyelids grew heavy, yaws threatened to break his jaw and so Leo finally gave in, letting his eyes close as his head fell on the large backpack.

Not even an hour passed before Leo was sprawled on the floor, covered in a cold sweat. He trashed on the broken tiles, watching countless images pass through his mind. Some of them gave Leo momentary hope, only for the nightmares to crush it as he became an unwilling witness in his family’s slaughter.

Lily, Nick, Adam, his parents, Ava. Leo saw them all. Massacred by the monsters that now plagued the world. With their remains in the maws of creatures that he hoped to never meet outside his dreams. Dreams that Leo couldn’t wake up from.

And so he slept, writhing on the floor as quiet sobs shook his body every once in a while...

Shit. Leo groaned, head in hands as he gazed into the broken piece of mirror lying on the floor. The same grey eyes stared back, but after a sleep filled with unwelcome nightmares, they were now accompanied by dark circles.

Leo might have gotten his much-needed rest, the lack of pain from his back only attested to that, but his mental health just degraded with every hour of the continuous nightmares. Even when he woke up, for a moment Leo had trouble with recognizing his surroundings.

Going by the lack of constant tapping against the roof, the roaring thunders in the distance, and the System’s notification, the night had come to an end. And yet Leo still kept sitting in the bathroom watching his reflection for much longer than he probably should.

Not that he was even focused on the image staring back. Instead, his mind kept replaying what he saw in his nightmares. Bloodied faces of his family, their broken bodies. They all begged him for help and Leo could do nothing apart from watching as the last light left their eyes.

Ever so slowly, Leo’s gaze shifted from the broken mirror to the fighting knife lying on the side. It would be so easy. One quick move. His hand touched the cold steel and Leo shook his head. No, I can’t. Whatever brought those nightmares can fuck off. I’m so close now and I won’t give up because of a stupid dream. They are alive and I will find them.

Sheathing the knife, Leo climbed to his feet and slowly slid the door open. Like a cat, he sneaked through the dark house into the attic and removed the makeshift cover on the small window.

“Holy fuck.” The words left Leo’s mouth without a thought as he scanned the visible part of the neighborhood, eyes widening more and more with every second.

In most cases, the houses still stood firm, almost untouched by the previous night. It was the flora that managed to earn such a strong reaction from Leo with its transformation in the span of a few hours.

Before Leo entered the house, the majority of the plants in the area still possessed their natural color, but now it all changed. Even without the light of the red sun, somehow the entire flora evolved, going from a myriad of colors to a mix of crimson, violet, and black.

The strong brown barks of trees shifted into an intimidating black that consumed the light from the nearest area. While the leaves and flowers went in a completely opposite direction, glowing with eternal crimson or deep violet light. Truly a magnificent yet scary sight. It just gave Leo even more proof of how the world was changing with every hour. Sooner or later nothing would remain of the old world.

Not good. Leo scowled, leaving the attic. He quickly consumed the leftovers of yesterday’s meal and with a heavy sigh unbarricaded the backdoor. Only a thirty-minute walk separated Leo from Nick’s flat. Though with Voidlings waiting at every corner this short trip could easily take three or four times as much.

Opening the backdoor, Leo stepped into the palette of the new world. With the black shirt and pants, he blended pretty well into the evolved flora and so with a flicker of true stealth, Leo quickly moved to the front of the house.

Just like the day before, the street was completely empty. If it wasn’t for the screeches in the distance, Leo would have thought that even the Voidlings from the dead woman’s house also left. Maybe there is a way to get inside now. He mused, sprinting across the street and jumping over the first fence.

Leo had no clue what class the woman had chosen, but he really wanted to see what tool or weapon the System gave har. Hell, even if she was an assassin like him, Leo wouldn’t say no to another dagger. Broken it might be, but it still served him well.

Let’s see. Leo peeked around the fence and frowned. Still here. Two Cursed Humans and a single Hound still guarded the woman’s house and Leo didn’t fancy his chances against the horde of monsters that was probably waiting inside.

He was all for free loot, but with a long day before him, Leo really didn’t need any new injuries before he even left the neighborhood. Besides, a series of Identify told Leo all he needed to know about the monster’s growth during the night.

All of them gained a level. Great…

Turning on his heel, Leo raced through the neighborhood using the same path from yesterday. Today though, he didn’t even try to go for the block’s entrances and just dashed into the parking lot behind the building. He weaved between the cars, bowie knife in hand, ready to take down any Voidling in his path.

There were a few of those, all of them at least level three. Leo only killed two on his way to the end of the lot. Another street for him to pass and beyond it, rows of warehouses and different factories waited. The largest industrial area of Wolford and probably the best way into the city.

With a quick scan of the area, Leo took a deep breath and dashed forward, his feet kicking up the dirt. The Voidlings around him never got a chance to even get a sneak peek at Leo as he jumped over a stone fence as tall as him. A grunt left his lips, knees buckling ever so slightly as he landed on the hard paving on the other side.

I really need something better to carry all this shit. Leo grimaced as he crouched behind one of the delivery trucks and took a look at the parking lot attached to one of the largest warehouses in the city.

Thanks to the Outbreak happening in the evening, there shouldn’t be as many workers here as during the day. A fact that was confirmed by the small number of personal cars in the lot. Though it didn’t stop Voidlings from infecting the area, or rather one monster in particular.

Just when you thought you have seen it all.

A monstrosity never seen before stood by the gate. With the body of a human, but lacking the head. Glowing violet bubbles covered every inch of its skin, some smaller, others larger, almost breaking from their sheer size. The creature then bent forward and Leo was thankful for his stealth when a quiet gasp left his lips.

Even though the monster lacked a head, it possessed a huge circular maw in the place of a neck. The jaw opened, showing rows of jagged teeth to the entire world, ready to crush anything in the Voidling’s path.

Maniac (Voidling) | Rank: F+

LVL: 4

Bestiary?

Race: Voidling | Subspecies: Maniac

Average rank: F+ to E-

Weapon of choice: Maw, Powerbombs

Known weaknesses: Bubbles, Speed

Monstrosities that evolved from humanoid creatures. A perfect definition of a glass cannon. A Maniac hits hard but can die after a single good strike. The bubbles on their bodies grow stronger with age and can be used as offensive and defensive weapons. Maniacs never form groups, but it is advised to deal with them from a safe distance.

So not for me. Got it. Leo’s range capabilities were currently very limited and if the System thought that he shouldn’t fight the Maniac in close-quarters then who was he to disagree? Though sooner or later Leo would need to find something for range combat, especially if creatures like this one kept popping up every now and then.

Sighing, Leo gave the Voidling a wide berth and just walked by the side of the warehouse, leaving the parking lot behind. A moment later he jumped over another fence, thus continuing his journey between the endless buildings.

Just like Leo expected, the industrial area lacked a high amount of Voidlings on the streets or even in the yards of the various companies. Most of the people working there either were inside the buildings or went back home before the Outbreak even began.

Of course, that didn’t mean that Leo could just walk straight through the streets without dirtying his hands. Numerous Cursed Humans fell to his new knife shrouded in the power of the Kiss of Death. Not even the sudden growth in levels could help the weakest Cursed variant.

With the few kills, Leo was easily pushed over the edge of his evolution requirement. As such the moment he managed to jump inside a large container after a particularly tiring passage through one of the factory yards, he couldn’t help but take a look.

Risen Human (Stage: II)

You pushed past every hardship that came in your way and prevailed. The taint upon your soul was cleansed and now you can join the rest of Humanity that will rise from the Awakened Ones. Embrace your new status and push towards evolutions that no human reached before.

Effects:

Removes Tainted trait. +10% Mind. +4 Free Attribute points per class level. Mutations: Unavailable.

I expected... more? Though maybe I shouldn’t have. After all, it’s an evolution with minimal requirements...

Apart from the two more attribute points and the juicy ten percent to mind, the Risen evolution was straight-up worse than Leo’s current one. The tainted status might not be the best thing, but after draining enough monsters, it pretty much granted him nine free attributes at level six. To just lose this power without anything in return didn’t seem like the best of ideas.

No, definitely out. Being fully human again might be nice, but I want to at least see the other options. Too much to lose and almost nothing to gain.

Dismissing the evolution menu, Leo slid through the slight gap in the container's doors and made his way to the end of the current yard. The gate in the back opened to another street and Leo dashed across it before once again jumping over another fence.

Almost instantly a notification flashed into existence, eliciting a curse from Leo. Falling to the ground in a heap, he grunted as a wave of energy settled over his shoulders. It was far from the powerful aura that came crashing during the night, but Leo could still feel it without even focusing on his senses.

The hell? He scowled, taking a look at the notification.

Warning: You are nearing the Nest of Shadow Tails. Threat asserted and ranked at level F+. Good Luck.

Of course, there are fucking nests. Why am I even surprised...