As we had expected, soon after we received our rewards at the midnight of the fortieth day, it stopped snowing. The clouds disappeared, and we finally could see the blue sky again on the next morning. All the survivors welcomed that change, even though I didn’t think the same, to some people, rain and snow were quite depressing.

We could see the snow melting at a fast pace, and soon we saw the entire city again. Well, almost. Even that cold weather didn’t stop the growth of the vegetation. It would be easier to find those plants now, but not everything was good news. The snow-white monsters disappeared, but the old ones returned, and they had a surprise for us.

Mutant Rat (Poison) – HP: 60 MP: 60: STA: 60

Mutant Cat (Thunder) – HP: 300 MP: 250 STA: 400

Mutant Crow (Wind) – HP: 150 MP: 300 STA: 200

I shared what I saw with others, and their conclusion was pretty much the same: the monsters got stronger and now had more attacks, probably they could even use magic. While I already saw the mutant fish and anaconda using magic, their attacks were quite simple. But, it would be even more troublesome to collect information about the way these monsters could use their new powers. Not mention, the mutant fish and anaconda probably also got stronger. Their attacks would be many times more powerful, so, I had to be even more careful. My experiences with these monsters could cause some problem.

“So, what should we do now?” Claire asked.

The truck could still kill most of those enemies, but they still had to be careful and collect info before they could go to the camp in the north.

“I think you, Rose and I should walk outside a little and see what these monsters can do. After this, we can use the information to make the necessaries changes on the truck.”

“I guess this is the best we can do,” Harry said. “You three are our best ranger fighters, but I’m going too. To avoid any problems, I will create a larger version of my shield.”

We didn’t know how fast the monsters attacks had become, so Harry was right in going with us, he would offer the defense that we might need. His round shield disappeared, and now he had a rectangular shield which could protect almost his entire body. However, the part where he would put his arm wasn’t made of metal anymore; it was made of rubber.

“Let’s go,” Harry said after opening the entrance door.

As soon as we left the hotel and closed the door, three mutant rats welcomed us. However, we were already expecting that, so we killed all of them in just a second. Claire killed one with a single arrow in the head, Rose impaled another with her glaives, and I put two metal bolts in the last one.

You have obtained 04 Evolution Orbs.

You have obtained 04 Evolution Coins.

“This was easier than I thought it would be,” Harry said while frowning.

“Don’t relax yet,” Rose warned. “We should observe their attacks too.”

That was our intention, but the monsters wouldn’t let us do our job progressively. A mutant crow appeared, but when it was twenty meters away from us, the creature stopped midair and vigorously flapped its wings. That move had been so powerful that I saw the wind become blades while it headed toward us. Harry put himself in front of us and raised the shield. The attack hadn’t been powerful enough to knock down Harry, but I saw the shield trembling every time he blocked the wind blades.

“This had been tougher than I thought it would be,” Harry said, showing an expression of discomfort.

Another crow appeared, but this time the creature flew toward us in high-speed. Harry stopped the monster’s advance, but this time, the attack made him stagger a little. On the other hand, the beast fell on the floor with its beak destroyed. What a dumb bird. We got enough info with those birds for the time being, so we killed them before they could attack again.

You have obtained 10 Evolution Orbs.

You have obtained 10 Evolution Coins.

The monsters had become stronger, but now they also gave us more orbs and coins. It was good for us who were strong enough to deal with the small fries, but it was hard for the other survivors who didn’t have enough experience. If every ten days the city changes, it would be hard to train the new survivors. It was almost like the whole situation was telling us not to get too comfortable. New ones would eventually appear, and the old ones would reappear and cause much more problems.

Another mutant rat appeared, but instead of approaching the creature spat a purple hand-size ball toward us. All of us knew that was poison, so we get ready to dodge it, but Harry blocked with the shield. The attack didn’t have any power behind it; however, we heard, and we felt the smell of the poison slowly corroding the metal shield. It would take a few more for shots for that poison surpass the shield’s defense. But, just a small ball of poison like that would make any of us scream in agony.

“Ethan,” Rose said with a very serious expression. “I want you to tell me every single new word these monsters has on their names.”

“Understood.”

To our surprise, we found other monsters which had this kind of skill, but most monsters which could do that were the rats and bees. The same pattern applied to the other monsters, for example, most of the mutant birds could use wind attacks, but a few of them could also use electric attacks.

“I guess we will have to close the holes in the truck,” Rose said.

She was right in doing that; after all, those electric and wind attacks could pass through those holes and cause a lot of damage. But that was only the beginning of our discoveries; things got really messy when we had to fight a mutant cat which tried to attack us using its tail covered with electricity. The attack surprised all of us, and Harry almost got hit. But the creature didn’t have a second chance, Rose, Claire and I destroyed the monster’s head. But that was just the start.

Evolved Mutant Anaconda (Ice) – HP: 750 MP: 900 STA: 1200

The green thirty meters long snake looked more colorful; now the monster had blue scales. The creature didn’t only obtain ice skills; it also gained a massive amount of defense.

“What should we do?” Harry asked, showing an expression that he was ready to fight and run at the same time.

“This thing is near the hotel,” Rose declared. “We have to kill it, or the survivors wouldn’t be able to strengthen themselves.”

As soon as Rose said that, Claire shot and the arrow pierced the monster’s head. But thanks to the scales, she didn’t cause much damage. While Claire was ready to shot again, the beast noticed us and began to crawl toward us.

‘Scales made of ice, huh. I guess I will use the electric bolt.’

A bolt with a green tip appeared, and without ceremony, I shot when my aim was right above the monsters heard. The bolt pierced the monster’s nose, but before it could do anything, Harry had to block the monster’s advance. He tried, but even though he didn’t get knocked down, the monster made him take several steps backward. Claire shot another arrow on the monster’s face, but again, the scales protected the creature. Rose’s glaives also didn’t penetrate the monster’s skin as much as she wanted. But soon they received the chances they wanted. A massive wave of electricity crossed the anaconda’s head, the beast squirmed in pain and suffered even more because the scales melted and that made the power of the attack even more powerful. Half of the scales of beasts’ head had melted, and since the creature stopped its advance, we had the perfect chance.

“Now!”

Claire and Rose attacked the unprotected part of the beasts’ body, and as soon as I picked the vampire hunter’s crossbow, I did the same. The creature died very fast because it received so many attacks in the head from a short distance.

You have obtained 150 Evolution Orbs.

You have obtained 150 Evolution Coins.

We all sighed in relief, but Claire kicked the monster’s head and snorted. It seemed that she had developed a grudge against snakes, but that was understandable.

‘With this, I will finally obtain an ice stone. It will be very useful if I use it on the vampire hunter’s crossbow. It’s a pity those are so much expensive.’

The price of those elemental stones were five hundred evolution coins, even the low-quality ones. Although they could be very useful on the vampire hunter’s crossbow, it wasn’t efficient enough to make me spend five hundred evolution coins. That was why I created the metal crossbow. But maybe I wouldn’t receive, I didn’t kill alone after all.

“Let’s return,” Rose declared. “This is good enough, for now.”

The survivors in the hotel saw some of our battles, but we still gave a report rich in details for them. Sandra listened to everything with an eyebrow raised, but at that point in time, few things could really surprise her.

“The monsters changed again, huh,” Sandra said, showing a grim expression. “It doesn’t matter; we won’t change our plans. Let’s act like always, but be extra careful outside.”

“Are you sure this is enough?”

“It’s not enough,” Sandra answered. “But it’s the best we can do, with the information you collected, we will modify the truck. However, we won’t change our plans. So, you, Claire, and the kids will stay here keeping this place safe while strengthening the other survivors. The rest of us will escort the survivors in the north to this place. Don’t worry; we will manage.”

While it was a bit unnerving, she was right. I was the best choice to keep an eye on the hotel and to raise the strength of the survivors while making sure they wouldn’t suffer too much damage. Besides, I still could collect more information about the monsters near the hotel. So, in the end, I decided not to protest.

After modifying the truck enough to resist most of those elemental attacks and buying a few dozen grenades, Harry and the others left to the north. If they really hurry, they will return before nightfall, but I wasn’t counting with that. Many of the survivors in the north didn’t look healthy enough to keep a fast pace while walking, much less for an entire day. So they will probably find a place to stop and rest at night.

“Are you worried?” Claire asked. “Don’t worry; they are more than enough for the job. You should trust more on Harry and the others.”

“I’m not worried, I just think it would be very annoying if a few die along the way, I almost died to make them our allies after all.”

“Anyway, we have better things to do than keeping worrying endlessly about what might happen or not,” Claire said while scratching her head. “Are you going to help the survivors while they hunt?”

“I guess I will; I don’t have anything better to do anyway.”

Although many of the survivors looked pretty uneasy, a few of them volunteered themselves to be the first group to go with us. The kids looked scared, but they wouldn’t hesitate as long as Claire was with them. Thanks to it, many of survivors felt ashamed and then decided to accept the risks.

Yesterday I leisurely gave the position of the monsters to them, but this time I decided to be more careful and keep the vampire hunter’s crossbow ready to be used. It was a pain in the ass, but I would feel terrible if one of them die in front of me. Although I wanted to help them, Claire and I wouldn’t be able to protect them from every single monster. We didn’t have enough information, after all.

In the end, even with the help of Claire’s incredible precision and the kids’ non-stop support. I only managed to protect the survivors from the wounds, which would hinder the movement and their attacks. But we didn’t hear a single complaint, even when they were bleeding. They knew it we were doing our best, so they decided to do their best to endure the pain and the hardships. That was the only thing we all could do to become true survivors: endure the pain.