Cats, we wouldn’t face those cute animals. Instead, we would fight against his mutated version. But for a single one of them be more dangerous of twenty rats, I doubter Rose’s words, but she didn’t seem to be joking around. Besides, Harry and Sarah looked tense when the creature was mentioned.

However, before I first met that creature, we walked a few kilometers in that part of the city. Again, Efficiency sure is a wonderful thing; we almost crossed half of the eastern part of the city in a single day. We only stopped to eat and to let Sarah heal a few scratches.

Just like me, all of them already broke their limit twice. Thanks to that, the fight against the rats were easy. First of all, Harry broke his physical limit twice. Because of that, he could block the full body slam of the rats with his sword, and when he attacked, his sword would pierce the monsters’ head like butter.

Rose was even more amazing than Harry, using her telekinesis, her knife always pierced the rat’s foreheads. But, it would take some time for her to pull back the knife. Her attacks weren’t as fast as my arrows, but, they were deadly.

And finally I could see Sarah’s skill in action, she could heal scratches in seconds, and according to Harry, she could heal broken bones in a few hours. But then she would soon collapse thanks to the exhaustion; it seemed that happened on the first day. Martin tried to block the attack of a "cat," and his arm snapped. Since he was the front line, they barely survived that fight.

It was the end of the fourth day that I saw the ‘’cat’’. The monster indeed looked like a cat, but it was two meters long, had red eyes and a red horn. Also, the creature had sabretooth’s fangs. Forget the name cat, forget about the eyes color, the horn, the claws, and fangs, then the monster would look like a tiger.

Luckily, I could see his power before the fight. For some reason, the mutant cat was fighting against a group of rats. But they didn’t offer any resistance; ten rats died in a few seconds. They got split in half when the mutant cat used its claws.

“Are we going to fight that?”

Using a large three as a cover, we watched the mutant cat one hundred meters away from us. That was stupid. If anyone makes a single mistake, all of us will die. Besides, could even Harry block that creature’s attack? He looked pretty strong without considering that he broke his physical limit. All of us also managed to break the limit once again that day, but that didn't make me feel confident.

“We can defeat it;" Harry declared. "I can block that thing attacks. Two or three of them, probably.”

According to Harry, when he breaks his physical limit, he becomes stronger and sturdier. He said that he could feel it, besides his HP and STA increases by 20% every time he breaks his physical limit. That was insane, my senses got better, but I didn’t believe that it was by that much.

“So, we will have three chances to kill that thing when Harry block the monster’s advance," Rose said, "we will approach and attack the head. We don’t know yet if the crossbow bolts or my knife can pierce the head and kill it with a single attack. That’s why we have to aim at its eyes. Sarah, you stay behind and warn us if another monster gets too close.”

We all nodded, even though she didn’t look much worried, I could see the tension in Rose’s eyes, besides she was sweating a lot. Harry looked calm, but he was too quiet. Sarah was with her whip in hands ready to use, even though she didn’t have any confidence in being useful with it, but she wouldn’t hesitate to save her sister or Harry. That monster only represented one thing to them: a bad memory.

Even though Sarah didn’t say it, I knew that I would be the one to attack first. That’s why I put the bow in my back and picked Martin’s crossbow.

“Let’s see how much damage I can inflict at this distance.”

Even though it was a powerful weapon, the crossbow bolt would lose a lot of power at that distance, but that didn’t matter. I just had to hit one of the eyes; easier said than done. Slowly I left behind the safety of the three and walked towards the center of the street, I could see creature’s eyes, but the monster couldn’t see me since it was too busy eating a rat. After a few deep breathes I aimed the crossbow, the aim was steady, since I didn’t have to regulate the angle of the shot. But it wasn’t stable enough; I had to see one of the creature’s eyes in the center of the crosshair. I didn’t know how much time passed, but I began to sweat a lot while slowly focusing my senses on the target. However I took too long, suddenly the creature looked at me. But it didn’t run to attack me, because at the moment the monster looked at me, I pulled the trigger.

My senses improved, not only that; it seemed that my reflexes improved as well because at the very moment the creature raised its head, the center of the crosshair was

where I wanted, on the creature’s right eye. A perfect shot, I knew that I had succeeded when I pulled the trigger. But it took two seconds for the others notice, they noticed because of the mutant cat’s scream.

“I guess I also deserve to be lucky once in a while.”

After three seconds, a bolt suddenly appeared in the crossbow, and without my help, the crossbow was ready to be used again. The price of that was me getting dizzy for half a second; also at the same time, the mutant cat began to run towards me. Even from afar, I could see that expression of rage. But before the monster could attack, we entered in formation. Harry was in front of us, and Sarah was behind. Harry used his sword to stop the monster advance using both hands; he didn’t even try to attack. He used all his strength to defend. But the monster’s charge had been more powerful than he thought, he got knocked down with the swing of the creature’s left paw.

The creature was almost crushing Harry with its weight. But before that could happen, the creature attacked with the other paw. But again the beast screamed, Rose’s knife pierced the paw before it could hit Harry. Rose probably used a lot of power because the knife almost crossed the entire paw. That paw wouldn’t be used anymore, the momentum was in our favor and didn’t waste that chance. The creature was just five meters away from me; at that distance, the crossbow could show its maximum potential. I didn’t miss, my attack hit the mutant cat’s forehead and pierced deeply, and like a doll, the creature fell on Harry.

You have obtained 05 Evolution Orbs.

You have obtained 05 Evolution Coins.

The fight didn’t last more than ten seconds, but it looked like we fought a lot more, and I was exhausted, thanks to the tension. It took quite, but Harry managed to free himself of the massive weight of the creature’s body. After that, Sarah healed Harry’s wounds, I didn’t see it, but the mutant cat’s claws managed to scratch him, and he also hit his head on the ground.

“I guess your crossbow can do the job.”

Even though he was visibly in pain, Harry managed to say that smiling.

“I don’t think we should trust that much in your predictions; you said that you could block three attacks, but a single one managed to knock you down.”

“Ugh… that’s true.”

“I don’t think that is the case;" Rose said thoughtfully, "something was different. I guess that your shot enraged the monster and the anger made the creature more powerful, I’m pretty sure of it.”

I guess that makes sense; some animals become more dangerous when they are wounded.

“Well, sorry about that.”

“No need to apologies," Rose said, "you did what that to kill the creature as fast as possible. But since your crossbow is powerful enough to kill this kind of creature at this distance, I guess we should change our strategy.”

It was a little less effective, but Rose could use her telekinesis to control living beings. Instead of attacking, she would support Harry and slow down the enemies. And I would be the only one attacking.

“It’s a very convenient skill, why don’t you just explode the monsters brains or something.”

“What a scary imagination you have…" Rose frowned, "I already tried that, but I’m not powerful enough. Maybe if I break my mental limit a few more times, I’ll be able to do that, only against the rats.”

It was useful, but that skill wasn’t invincible.

“You aren’t totally useless, so don’t disappoint us and don’t hit Harry,” Rose said

“Hahaha, there’s no way Ethan would do that. Right, Ethan?” Harry said, laughing

“Who knows, maybe I’ll hit you since you are too big.”

Harry laughed, but I was serious, he was big after all. Besides, I wasn’t all that proficient using the bow or the crossbow. That was a big responsibility, but it was also the best way for us to fight.

But Sarah was right, and her strategy was very effective. The mutant cats that we faced after the first one didn’t manage to knock down Harry, after the creatures’ first attack, Sarah approached Harry from his left side and used her skill to slow down the monster and to keep Harry safe. At the same time, I would move to his right side, and when I was at five meters away from the creature’s I used the crossbow. At that distance, a single crossbow in the head was enough to kill it, and I wouldn’t miss.

However, that strategy was only possible because all of those mutant cats walked alone; they were quite the gluttonous, these creatures. Always fighting against many rats and always eating them soon after the battle ended, we even saw one mutant cat attacking another mutant cat because of food. They had more than enough, but they refused to share with their kin. But it was only convenient for us, Rose was smart, but she couldn’t form a plan to fight against two mutant cats, and we all knew that.

However, we couldn’t use that strategy for a long time. Soon the night came and soon I was dizzy. The crossbow was powerful, but after using it for fifteen times, I could barely walk. My MP bar was almost empty because to create a single crossbow bolt; I had to spend the same amount enough to create four or my arrows.

On that night, we stayed in a hotel that hadn’t been attacked but still was empty. Since the entrance door was made of glass, Harry used many objects to block both the entrance and the secure exit door. We didn’t find any food, but we found some clean clothes and of course, many beds free to be used.

The hotel had ten floors, and we stayed on the last one, I ‘’rented’’ a room for myself and Harry, Rose and Sarah rented another one for them. I already knew that they were friends, possibly childhood friends, but for two young and single woman to sleep with a man in the same room. Probably their relationship was about to reach the next level, but they didn’t anything that night, they just talked before sleeping. And thanks to my heightened senses, I was able to hear their conversation clearly, since I was just dizzy and not tired. That was a good chance because they didn’t talk much that day, we just walked and rested.

“What do you think, Rose?” Harry asked

“It’s as you said," Rose answered, "even though he doesn’t have much experience with his weapons, he is doing a good job. At this rate, we may reach our homes the day after tomorrow.”

“I think so too," Sarah added, "he rarely drops his guard, not even after the battles, he always keeps an eye open to our surroundings.”

So Sarah noticed that, huh. I guess that was expected; after all, she is always behind us; thus, she can see all our actions. But she misunderstood my intentions; I was doing that because I didn’t want to be attacked from behind or lose my ear again. I may be dumb, but I don’t make the same mistake twice, not when I’m calm at least.

“But something smells fishy," Rose frowned, "why does he have two skills? Besides, sometimes he looks at that crossbow with a strange look on his face. Almost like he didn’t give up about the idea of killing those criminals.”

“Don’t say such a thing; you are probably overthinking,” Harry said.

Again Harry was wrong, and Rose was right. Of course, I wouldn’t give up about that; I owe Martin that much at least. If I don’t do it, who will? But that wasn’t my priority; first I had to find my parents, only after that I would help the environment and clean my city a little bit.

But still, Rose was too smart to understand with just a few actions. Or perhaps I was an easy person to read. I guess I’ll have to train my expressions, I don’t intend to do anything questionable, but my thoughts are mine, and I don’t want anyone knowing about what I’m thinking.

After that, they talked about their past, and at that time, I didn’t try to hear them. Instead, I made better use of my time and slept until sunrise.

On the fifth day, we walked at a good pace; we only stopped when I couldn’t keep my focus, that means when MP bar was low again.

“You should break your mental limit next time," Rose declared, "that way, you will be able to keep shooting for a longer time.”

“I have an even better idea, give me some lemonade, and I can keep shooting all day nonstop.”

I said that as a matter of fact, but they only showed expressions of utter confusion. Before they could ask anything, I explained to them what happens when I drink lemonade. And to my surprise, they didn’t doubt my words. In fact, Rose looked quite interested in the subject.

“How much did you drink and how much did you recover?” Rose asked curiously.

“I think I drunk one liter and I recovered 20 MP.”

“How much time it took for your MP to recover?” Rose asked.

“As soon as I drunk, my MP went up.”

“I see, that was quite informative," Rose said. "But as you already know, we don’t have lemons, much less lemonade. By the way, how can you drink so much something so strong and bitter?”

"I drink because I like it and I don't think it's that bitter, plus, I always feel relaxed when I drink."

They looked at me as if i was the weirdo of the group. However, Rose had a point, but I still wanted to keep breaking my sensorial limit. Because soon, I would be able to feel the monsters’ presence from afar. In my actual state, even when I closed my eyes, I could feel Harry’s group presence while they were thirty meters away from me. And while they were close, if I concentrate, I could even hear their heartbeats. Soon I would become a human lie detector!

“Well, I don’t think he has to change his choice," Harry said. "Our group is well-balanced as it is, besides we have to stop once in a while, or eventually we will make mistakes.”

Even though Harry wasn’t smart, he wasn’t a fool. He also had a point, thanks to that, Rose, without any problems, acknowledged his argument.

“Well, that’s fine, I guess.” Rose shrugged

I was right, for a change. When I broke the sensorial limit for the fourth time, I began to feel a slight tremor. And I also understood from where that tremor was coming; it was a few hundred meters ahead of us.

“You guys know this area, right? What is up ahead?”

I had a bad feeling about what they would answer, and unfortunately, I didn’t like Rose’s words.

“There are a river and a bridge," Rose answered, "after crossing it, we will be in downtown.”

‘’Is there another path?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“I think there’s something big up ahead, something massive is close to that bridge.”

Just after we got used to fighting the mutant cats, another problem appeared. Seriously, how unlucky can a single person be?