After a tense moment, Clover determined they weren’t in any immediate danger. Sure, he kept his guard up, but he felt more comfortable moving now. He retrieved Mr. Cat, who was stuck – impaled on the edge of a metal pot – swinging its paws around wildly – still trying to fulfill his command.

He dismissed the command and placed the golem back on the floor. The small palm-sized golem was missing a chunk of clay on its side, and a few of its claws were cracked. Other than that, the small golem was in surprisingly good condition. If he was back at the factory, he could repair the damage in a couple of minutes, but he wasn't, so he’d just have to make do. The cat could still fight just at a slightly reduced rate.

He approached the Bone Rat and tried to take its horn, but he couldn’t break it off – it was too tough.

“What are you doing?” Claire asked, more inquisitive than concerned. With all the things she had seen in the last day, looting monster corpses didn’t even register as something weird.

“In video games, monsters are supposed to drop loot when you kill them. If I use this horn to make a golem, it will probably get some sort of bonus. Or at least it should work that way.”

“Makes sense,” she violently swung her bent golf club, smashing into the bone horn till it broke off. She handed him the horn, her smile a bit too wide – she enjoyed swinging around weapons more than what was healthy.

Well, everyone needs hobbies. It was probably a beneficial one to have in the apocalypse.

He looked over all the notifications that had popped up during the short fight - it seemed that Skills leveled up much faster while in combat. He filed the information away.

They continued exploring the store. On their search, they stumbled upon a clothing aisle where Clover took the opportunity to change out of his blue hospital robe and finally put on some real clothes. He decided on a thick black jacket and a dark pair of sweatpants. Originally, he had wanted to wear a highly fashionable pair of pajamas, but Claire had talked him out of it.

Bah, she wouldn’t know style if it hit her in the face. He had watched two seasons of America’s Got Fashion, so he felt he had the more qualified opinion. Really, was there any real difference between a thick pair of cartoon pajamas and sweatpants? He didn’t think so, but apparently, there was.

Now comfier and slightly better protected, they returned to their search for the gun section at Walmart. As they walked, Claire stuffed various useful items into a backpack she had pilfered from the clothing aisle.

Strange distorted sounds rang out in the back of the store. Against his better judgment, they approached to investigate. In the electronics aisle, a row of TVs all played the same static-filled movie, casting the white laminate tile floor in a faint blue glow. On the screen, a man stood in a desert of red sand, facing an army of monsters alone. The actor looked familiar, but he couldn’t place his face.

Just as the man on the screen opened his mouth to speak, Clover heard a familiar shifting of bone. His heartbeat accelerated; there was another monster to deal with.

Clover’s eyes narrowed as he alerted Claire and searched the darkness for the Bone Rat. Mere seconds later, a level 2 Bone Rat scurried out of the darkness and charged at him on four legs. Clover took control of his golems and sent them to intercept in the same formation as before. Clover’s focus narrowed as he prepared the cat-golem to pounce, his surroundings fading from focus.

However, in his rush to stop the Bone Rat, he didn’t notice the approach of another. A second Bone Rat with a protective layer of bone covering its entire face like a mask leaped towards Clover from behind the tv display, causing it to topple over.

Clover froze as he watched the monster soar through the air in what felt like slow motion. Is this how I die? He dismissed his despair and burst into action.

Clover moved the joystick on his wheelchair back. Tires squeaked against the smooth floor as he accelerated backward at full speed. The monster landed two feet away from Clover. He would have been crushed by the beast's landing if he hadn’t moved. Even though its initial ambush had failed, the bone rat was tenacious, possessing a clear spark of intelligence in its empty dark eyes.

It lunged forward, swinging its heavy bone claws at Clover. Clover leaned back, but there was nowhere to go in his small chair – he couldn’t avoid the hit. The monster’s claws dug into his forehead, cleanly slicing through the outermost layer of flesh. The bone claw continued its swing, carried by its momentum till it hit the floor, slightly chipping the white tile.

Now, with the monster off-balance, Clover used this as his chance to counterattack. He thrusted his free hand forward, stopping a few inches away from the rat’s bone-covered snout.

“Mana Bolt,” he whispered. A blue ball of Mana formed and then smashed into the monster. Immediately, Clover resumed wheeling away from the monster, trying to keep at least some distance between him and the imminent threat to his life.

The monster rat stumbled back, dissipating some of the damage. Blue motes of light fell like snow from the Bone Rat’s outer layer of protective bone – a lower section around its jaw had cracked, but the mask looked like it could withstand more hits before breaking.

Congratulations! Mana Bolt has reached Level 3.

At its current level of power, [Mana Bolt] was like chucking a rock at someone’s head – effective against a normal person but against a teenage mutant Bone Rat from the sewer, it didn’t quite cut it.

The Bone Rat tentatively touched its face with its claw, inspecting the damage. While doing his best to ignore the thin lines of blood running down his head, Clover used this brief moment of respite to check on the other Bone Rat. Both of his golems were standing there uselessly, leaving Claire to contend with the monster by herself.

Dammit, he had forgotten about them. He quickly ordered his golems to attack the monster. He turned his attention back to the problem at hand – hitting the Bone Rat in the head hadn’t done anything, but unlike the others of its kind, its fur coat had almost no additional protection on it. It seemed a change in strategy was in order.

Still, a pit formed in his stomach, refusing to leave. The Bone Rat had obviously watched his last fight; it knew his tactics. It knew he would send away his golems if he saw a monster, and it knew he was stuck in this chair. The ambush was too perfectly timed for it to have been a coincidence.

The monster’s face contorted in a cruel imitation of a smile, then it charged forward. It rapidly approached, eating up the approximate 40 feet between them as it lumbered forward on two legs with a hunched back.

Clover continued wheeling backward down a wide-open walkway in between rows of items. In the back of his mind, he was aware of the range limitation of [Golem Creation], but he was too busy to pay much attention to it. All he could do was hope he didn’t accidentally go too far away.

Blood dripped down into his eyes, obstructing his view. He didn’t have time to patch up the wound, so he did his best to ignore it.

Magic flowed in his veins as he shot out another [Mana Bolt] from his free hand – this time aiming at the approaching beast’s unprotected knee. The attack went wide – he didn’t have the practice or the talent to be able to hit a moving target. Not being able to see well didn’t help either.

Congratulations! Mana Bolt has reached Level 4.

With his slightly higher Skill Level, Clover tried again, shooting a [Mana Bolt] at the monster’s chest – a larger and easier target. The Level 4 Bone Rat swayed out of the way, dodging the attack but stumbling slightly in the process.

Within seconds the monster was upon him, swinging its sharp claws at his chest. Clover jerked the control stick, swerving the motorized wheelchair sharply to the side. Two of his wheels left the ground for a moment as the chair wobbled. With a screeching of rubber, the chair righted itself, and he completed the maneuver. The monster’s claw cut through the air, barely missing his chest.

The monster rat stumbled, off-balance once again from not meeting any resistance. This Bone Rats weak point was definitely its balance and coordination.

Clover accelerated straight backward, ignoring his surroundings. His focus was on his counterattack – this was as clear of a shot as he’d ever get. A [Mana Bolt] flew from his hand, crashing into the bone monster’s chest like a rock. The monster screeched in pain.

Now that he knew how to hurt the beast, Clover fired another [Mana Bolt] at the monster’s chest. With his full attention on the task, the bolt flew true – right on target. However, at the last moment, the tenacious Bone Rat raised its sharp claws to its chest, blocking the attack. One of its claws cracked.

The beast charged toward him once more, slightly slower than before. Clover attacked again with [Mana Bolt], but the Bone Rat blocked the slow-moving bolt, in the same manner.

Congratulations! Mana Bolt has reached Level 5.

Shards of bone blasted off its claw, the damage piling up. The monster couldn’t block forever, but Clover didn’t want to make this a contest of endurance. He aimed lower this time, trying to shoot out the monster’s knee.

Before he could launch the attack, he crashed into a metal shelf of items, causing a cascade of blankets and pillowcases to tumble to the ground. His head snapped into the metal, dazing him.

While seeing stars, he absently glanced over a System notification. Claire had won her battle; she would be on the way to help soon. Hopefully. He dismissed the notification, and then tugged on the mental tethers connecting him to his golems, calling them back to his side. Everything felt slower than before.

A sound system made a loud blaring noise as it fizzled out, snapping him back to attention. The monster had given him no time to recover; it was already upon him. A claw speared towards his head. With only moments to react, Clover threw himself to the side, tumbling out of the chair onto the ground. The monster stabbed through where his head was just moments before, getting its hand stuck.

Sprawled out on the floor, Clover shot two [Mana Bolt]s into the monster’s chest from below before it freed its hand from the shelf. It jumped back out of the way of Clover’s next attack.

Congratulations! Mana Bolt has reached Level 6.

The monster held a claw to its chest, cradling its bruising and broken ribs, looking at Clover with hate. Clover’s breathing quickened - short and shallow, he wasn’t getting nearly enough air. He felt lightheaded as he scooted himself back with his hands. There was nowhere to go.

It was only him and the Bone Rat in the Bedding Aisle, and the monster was blocking the nearest exit.

Additionally, his wheelchair had flipped over and crashed onto its side, bringing the situation from bad to worse. Unable to reach the wheelchair, he pulled himself back using only his hands, lifting himself over fallen store items. His System enhanced strength helped him move faster, but it still felt too slow. Down here, he was helpless.

The monster slowly approached, unable to move briskly due to its wounds. Clover’s instincts yelled at him to run away, but he knew that wouldn’t work - he couldn’t move quickly and use [Mana Bolt], at the same time.

He gripped the bone horn in one hand and pointed another out, ready to attack with magic. His heart pounded wildly in his chest. His best chance of winning would be to stand his ground and fight. However stupid and hopeless that plan was, it was his best shot.

“Clover!” Claire yelled as she ran over towards him. He couldn’t see her – the endless rows of shelves blocked his view, but from his mental connection to the golems, that were following behind her, he could tell that she was close.

The monster looked in her direction, then turned tail and ran, racing down the aisle – not liking its chance at winning outnumbered while injured.

Befuddled, Clover laid there for a moment, then he cursed. He wasn’t going to let the Bone Rat escape. Before the monster could get more than a couple steps away, he activated [Track]. Red footsteps stamped themselves into the ground charting the monster's course and recording its movements.

Congratulations! Track has reached Level 7.

“Watch out; it’s running towards you,” Clover yelled, straining to make his naturally soft voice carry well. He prepared himself to launch a [Mana Bolt] at the monster’s back, but it turned the corner, leaving his line of sight.

Dam it.

He dragged himself to the end of the row, using the bottom of the shelf as a handhold. In the time it took him to move those couple of feet, the bone rat had already plowed down the walkway between rows, passing Claire and his golems, without taking much damage. He held his hand out. From this range, a [Mana Bolt] wouldn’t work – the monster would easily be able to dodge the slow-moving attack.

From this distance, the monster looked small enough that he could grab the beast in his hand if he squinted. He should be able to catch it. At that moment, his dazed and addled mind came up with an idea.

He reached out and touched the mental tether, connecting him to Mr. Cat – it was strong and firm, larger than before. His consciousness split, and suddenly he felt like he was in two places at once. His skin itched.

With his eyes closed, he raised his hand. Instead of sending an order through the crossroad-like connection, he used [Mana Bolt] in that weird mental space. The golems contained a part of him or at least a link to him - why couldn’t he cast spells through them?

A pressure fought against him, trying to destroy [Mana Bolt] before it could form. He pushed forward, guided mostly by instinct. Something within him snapped, but he didn’t have time to pay attention to it.

Fast as a bolt of lightning, a blob of energy shot down the tether, fraying it like an old rope. It bounced around, shaking the connection violently and poking holes in it. He tried to combat the process, but the honest truth was he didn’t know how.

After what felt like an eternity but was actually only a second, the Mana reached the golem.

Mr. Cat, robotically turned, aiming itself at the monster.

His eyes snapped open. “Got you.” Clover squeezed his fist. “[Mana Bolt]!” Bright blue light arced through the cracks in the golem's body, leaking into the atmosphere. The cat-golem shook once, then exploded. White chunks of magically hardened clay blasted out, pelleting the shelves. None of them hit the monster.

Congratulations! Mana Bolt has reached Level 7.

Congratulations! Golem Control has reached Level 5.

Like that, Mr. Cat died, and the Bone Rat escaped.