The black screen of his Aspects was displayed in front of him, and Xander thought about what he wanted to upgrade.

• Ichor Infusion •

Ichor: 26 mL Body (Tier I) 15 / 20 Mind (Tier I) 14.5 / 20 Anima (Tier I) 11 / 20 Psi (Tier α) 4 / 10 Total (Tier I) 43.5 / 80 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

What is your wish, human?

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

I have 26mL of Ichor, so I should have more choice now.

The question was what to get.

He could put a level in Body and Mind, or he could level his Anima and Psi.

Xander was extremely tempted to do the latter, but after some internal deliberation, he chose the former.

Body and Mind are more important to my present situation. I can splurge on the other two when I have more resources.

Xander mentally assured himself that this was the right course of action.

I’m ready now, Harby.

“What is it you desire?”

I wish for more power, I want to take advantage of the momentum boost of my hammer, and I need the strength to do that. I also want my mind and senses to be sharper so that I can be more perceptive of my surroundings.

• Ichor Infusion •

Body I (15 >>> 16), Mind I (14.5 >>> 15) will cost 24 mL of Ichor. Proceed?

Proceed.

In an instant, Xander felt as if his body and mind were set aflame.

Despite preparing himself for the sensation, he couldn’t help but groan as he floated in the warm fluid.

His muscles became denser, Xander looked down and saw specific sections being cut into shape. He likened himself to a marble statue and the Ichor was the chisel that shaped his body. His body fat was burning away rapidly, and the young man couldn’t help but feel amazed once again.

However, what was more apparent was the sensation happening between his ears. His fives senses were becoming more refined and his brain was rewired to be more efficient in processing the new information coming in.

Xander felt like he was born anew, and a fog in his mind that he never knew existed began to fade.

After a couple of minutes, the sensations ended, and Xander was left exhausted.

Urgh, I feel like I came out of a spa and had a deep massage. I’ll never get used to that.

“That is a natural reaction to the infusion process. You will find that the more changes you apply to yourself and the more Ichor you use, the recovery period will be directly proportional."

That was a problem that Xander could foresee. If ever he reached Tier II, he would have to take into consideration how long he would need to be away from doing anything.

How long would recovery time be for higher tiers?

"It may take hours, days, months, or even years."

Years!?

Xander couldn't imagine having to rest for years. How much would he miss out just if he ever upgraded at such a high level?

The young man shook his head in the viscous fluid he floated in.

I shouldn't even be worrying about that kind of stuff. It's not like I have a guaranteed chance to live that long.

Xander proceeded to look at his new numbers and nodded approvingly.

• Ichor Infusion •

Ichor: 2 mL Body (Tier I) 16 / 20 Mind (Tier I) 15 / 20 Anima (Tier I) 11 / 20 Psi (Tier α) 4 / 10 Total (Tier I) 44.5 / 80

A long way to go before hitting the next Tier. Though it has only been over a day.

It felt more like a year had gone by than over a day. Xander couldn't believe that his biggest worry before was how to pass an exam

Comparing that to tackling mad cultists, an alien abomination, and spider-crab monsters, it was woefully tame.

Eventually, Xander was evacuated from the Harbinger and deposited on the ground in a wet heap.

The young man shakily stood up as he groaned.

Now that he was out of the comforting properties of the Infusion Pod, he could feel how raw his body and mind felt.

"Oh, fuck me," Xander muttered under his breath as he tried to acclimate to his change, “this is so much worse than in there.”

As he stretched his newly empowered muscles, he opened his eyes to see everyone looking in his direction in bewilderment and a touch of fear. Xander could only sheepishly rub his neck as the fluid covering his body slowly evaporated.

“‘Sup,” Xander casually greeted which elicited a peeved groan from Anna.

The young woman was well aware of what was happening and didn’t react much to it. She knew it would be her turn in the future, seeing as how she had a few mL of Ichor in her.

Xander walked toward his companions with a slow gait. The new strength within him was a bit jarring as if he was wearing someone else’s clothes. Though after a few experiences, it only took a little time before the uncanny feeling lessened into a mild annoyance.

A few steps later, Xander was standing before Anna, Ben, as well as a surprised Isaac. The hotel guard’s security friends also had similar expressions.

Seeing their faces, Xander coughed into his hand before he spoke.

“Sorry, that must have been a sight to see.”

Isaac snorted, “you don’t get to see someone get casually devoured mid-conversation.”

Xander pursed his lips while Anna laughed beside Isaac.

The young woman walked next to Xander and patted him on the back.

“Don’t worry about him, Isaac, I’m getting the feeling he’s starting to like being eaten every—”

“Oh, shut up,” Xander groaned as he hit Anna on her shoulder, to which the woman stuck her tongue out.

“In any case, I assume that has something to do with Ichor?” Isaac asked.

“In essence, yes,” Xander scratched his goatee as he turned toward Isaac, “You’ll be put through what’s called an Infusion where you can use Ichor to increase your Aspects.”

“Interesting,” Isaac hummed in response and Xander saw the bespectacled security guard adopt a thoughtful expression, “that’s quite an important resource if it can raise our numbers.

Anna came closer to Xander and started poking at his arms.

“It’s bigger,” her lips turned into a smirk as she inspected the new changes on Xander’s body, “I know a bit about what’s going on in there, but what exactly did you ask for this time?”

“I asked for more power basically. Take a look at this.” Xander raised his hammer before the gathered group. To his expectations, Anna whistled at the pristine battle hammer, while everyone else looked it over with various degrees of interest.

Xander smiled as he expounded what he got from HNH.

Ben rubbed his chin as he read the description on his hammer upgrade and gave a thumbs up.

“That seems like it could do a lot of damage.”

“I’d like to see how that Senior Acolyte would like a hammer to the face,” Xander spoke with a smug look as he hefted his weapon on his shoulder.

Anna nudged him on the side before the young man could grow overconfident, “that is if you can get close enough to it.”

Hearing that put a serious damper on his mood. Xander sighed dejectedly.

“You’re right, I don’t think running headfirst and hoping my shield and Second Skin would last until I’m right in front of the bastard would be good for my health.”

That would be utterly idiotic in fact. Xander was currently waiting for a decent plan on how to storm the building.

While he was contemplating, the final team of Tier Is arrived on the boulevard. A group of 3 men and a single woman made up this last team. Xander looked them over and saw nothing special about them apart from their ages being in the late twenties or so.

The reason he knew this was the last was due to a prompt resounding in his head.

Xander and everyone else opened their ONIMs and saw the update.

• Missions • Priority Extermination Mission: Robins Supermarket

Robins Supermarket has been turned into a beachhead for the Cult of the Damned. The initial assault has failed. Additional teams called. Please wait until everyone has gathered before proceeding to the mission objective. It has been reported that there are approximately one dozen cultists of which a few are Thralls. A pack of six voidlings are present in the building. A Senior Acolyte is leading this mob. Warning: Ranged attack detected. Read further for more details (+).

Threat level: Substantial

Rewards: 20 Nexus Merits, 400 Lumina Shards (Rewards may vary)

Objectives

- Stand by until all teams are present (Completed) - Eliminate all cultists - Eliminate the Senior Acolyte

Xander, Anna, and Ben had already read through the mission details. At the time Xander felt the rewards were too little, but with the number of people joining, he realized the reward pool was adjusted for everyone.

The young man put that thought aside as he focused on the first extermination team who was now going toward the center. The three civilians seemed to put some distance from the two police officers.

A bald middle-aged man wearing a plain shirt and cargo pants stood and called for everyone’s attention.

“Maayong buntag (good morning), I’m Walter and I’m going tell all of you what we’re doing.”

Before he explain it further, one of the police officers stepped forward and interrupted him.

“I’m telling you we can’t do that! It’s a private building and what you’re planning is too destructive.”

Walter looked incensed at the officer's word and threw a scornful look at the man.

“It’s because we didn’t go through with my original plan that we failed! We let you go through with your ‘safer’ approach and look where that got us.”

Walter poked hard at the irked police officer’s chest.

“You got my friends killed or in the hospital. Not to mention some of your own buddies.”

The middle-aged Tier I shoved the police officer which sparked a confrontation between both groups. The police officers were ready to draw their pistols as they stepped back.

“Are you insane? Putang ina ka (you son of a bitch). Attacking a police officer is an offense!”

Everyone else watching was growing worried about the increasing tension. Xander looked on as Walter scoffed.

“World’s ending, who gives a shit?”

“You—!”

Isaac stepped in and placed himself between the two groups.

“Easy, friends. Let’s not be at each other’s throats, we still have a mission to do,” Isaac looked at Walter with an entreating expression, “right?”

The middle-aged man looked at Isaac and the police officers behind him and grunted.

“Fine.”

Walter gave a final glare at the officer before he spoke, “As I was saying, this is what my plan is for getting in.”

Xander, Anna, Ben, and everyone participating in the mission listened attentively as the man spoke. When Walter told them of the crux of his plan, everyone widened their eyes. Isaac who was standing next to the man couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

“You want to ram the entrance with a truck?”

“I do. There was a 6-wheeler truck in a nearby parking lot,” Walter then pointed to one of his companions, “Marky here can hotwire the thing and we’ll use it as battering ram to crash through the front entrance.

“We can have a couple of people at the back who’ll exit the moment we’re through. It’s pretty simple. Get truck, ram truck, get out of the truck then kill everyone and everything inside.”

Everyone went silent as they thought over the plan. Xander contemplated for a moment before whispering to Anna and Ben.

“What do you think?”

Anna pursed her lips, “Well it’s something I would think of, that’s for sure.”

“It’ll get us through that’s for sure,” Ben grunted with crossed arms, “though I’m not too keen on being inside the truck when it crashes through the entrance.”

“Yeah, not too keen on that either,” Xander rubbed the back of his neck before walking toward Walter, Isaac, and the police officer.

“Xander, hello to you all,” the three men before him all nodded in greeting, “I wanted to ask some questions and suggestions about the plan if that’s alright.”

“Go ahead, boy,” Walter gestured for Xander to proceed. Not wasting time, Xander spoke.

“Before I begin, I think we need to organize ourselves into teams. From what I can see, there are 6 teams all in all.”

“Oh?”

“Team A will be led by Walter and his guys, Team B will be Isaac and his buddies, Team C will be me and my friends, D will be the college juniors, E’s the police officer—”

“Nathan.”

Xander nodded his head in recognition, “Right, E’s will be officer Nathan and his partner. Finally, Team F will be those guys over there.”

Xander pointed at the latest group of four, Isaac whistled toward them and the college group which got their attention.

“Send your team leaders over,” Isaac called out, “we need to talk.”

And so they did, the leaders of all six teams deliberated on what role each would play.

A tall young man in a plain shirt and jeans from the college group named Renz voiced his concerns.

“Hey, this is new for us, what are we supposed to do exactly?”

Walter, Isaac, and Xander looked at each other for a moment before Isaac spoke up.

“You’ll be following after the truck. Team A and Team B will be the spearhead, while the rest will be following through the breach.”

Xander patted the junior on the shoulder, “you guys seemed to have a lot of shields on you, my two other members and I are marksmen so we’ll be relying on you to protect us.”

Renz nodded as he listened, “that sounds good enough for me, I’ll tell the guys.”

Afterward, the one woman from the latest group came forward with her own suggestion. She had light-brown skin and dark brown hair tied into a ponytail.

“I think we should have two teams attacking from the rear.”

Walter raised an eyebrow at the leader of Team F, “and you are?”

“Kathy, po,” she extended her arm for a handshake which the other five all returned. After the greeting, she expounded on what she had just said.

“Attack from two sides is smart. I think all of you are smart enough to know that.”

Xander crossed his arms as he thought about her suggestion. It was the smart move for sure. The enemy have to fight on both sides, which meant that the front teams will have less resistance. Xander uncrossed his arms as he gave a thumbs-up to Kathy.

“Well, if you and your group are volunteering you have my approval.”

“We were planning on doing it regardless,” Kathy retorted

Walter scoffed, “the hell’s your problem?”

Kathy said nothing and ignored the middle-aged man

Isaac sighed as he motioned toward Nathan.

“What is it, Isaac?”

“I think Team F will need help attacking the rear, and seeing as you and Walter are still tense with each other, I think we can kill two birds with one stone right now,” Isaac raised an eyebrow toward Kathy, “that should make it easier for you.”

Kathy remained impassive as he gave a slight nod, Xander, however, felt that the woman was not content.

Unfortunately, Isaac’s remark caused the leaders of Team A and E to narrow their eyes at each other before looking away.

“I still don’t agree with this plan, we should wait for my police officers before tackling this problem.”

Walter sardonically laughed at his suggestion, “You police will take too long to arrive, by then the disaster will be over and all that’s left are ruins!”

“At least it won’t be in the hands of some puffed-up militia like you.”

“Why you fuck—”

“Damn it, stop it both of you!” Isaac and Xander went to block the two from approaching and pummeling each other. Xander was beginning to be irritated by the hostile relationship between the two. As much as he sympathized with them for losing people, this was not the time to duke it out.

“Look, this is why we need to separate the two of you. So quit it!”

Walter and Nathan had clenched their jaws and fists, before moving away from each other. But not before Walter spat on the police officer’s general direction. Nathan shot the man a vindictive glare before pointing at him.

“When this is over, I’ll be sure to put you in jail!”

Walter merely responded with a rude gesture. Isaac and Xander waited for a moment before relaxing, It seemed the two ran out of steam to antagonize each other any further.

“Alright, I think we got everything down. A and B are the truck team, C and D are the follow-ups, and finally, E and F will be the rear teams. We attack at exactly 10:30. Settle whatever you have left, we leave as soon as possible.”

Everyone nodded before heading to their own people.

As Xander approached Anna and Ben, the former eagerly began questioning the young man.

“So what’s the plan?”

Xander began to retell the strategy to his two teammates. Anna and Ben seemed receptive to it as they listened.

“I think that’s alright, we’ll basically be the ones to support those in the front while also remaining in cover behind those college kids,” Anna remarked with a smirk.

Ben also approved as he rubbed his chin.

“It’s the safest place to be, so I have no objections.”

“Well, if that’s that, we should get going.”

The Robins Supermarket was a staple choice for affordable goods. Xander and Anna usually got their groceries here as the available items sat in a sweet spot between quality and convenience. It also helped that there were a few food stalls inside the store that served delicious snacks and fresh bread.

Now, however, there were signs of a fierce fight. Most of the windows on the white and red building were shattered, while bullet holes were present throughout the walls.

Xander, Anna, and Ben were all waiting for the signal in their SUV. The hot summer sun blazed through the translucent membrane high in the sky, and the crimson tinge cast an eerie atmosphere.

“Come on…”

Xander muttered as his knuckles were going white from how tight he was gripping the steering wheel. Anna had a visible bead of sweat running down her forehead as she clutched her slugger, while Ben was at the back looking ready to pounce.

Before Xander could complain any further, the rumbling vibrations of a heavy six-wheeled vehicle passed by his left and rushed like a rampaging elephant toward the hapless supermarket.

There has always been a saying that it’s difficult to look away from a car crash, and that was most definitely true as the grey-metal truck with a moving company’s logo on the side barreled through the entrance.

The truck blared its horn as it easily battered the glass double doors

The ceiling caught the top portion of the truck and sheared it off, but did little to stop it as it disappeared into the building.

Xander unparked his car and pushed his foot on the pedal.

“Let’s go!”

The trio in the car hyped themselves up as they crossed the pavement and stopped beside the breach. They immediately exited their car, and already began to hear a hail of gunshots from the inside. Before they headed in, the three began looking around in frustration.

“Where the hell are those juniors!?”

Team D was late, much to their dismay. Before they could curse any further, they saw a blue van coming from the side and stopping before them.

The doors of the vehicle opened, and a crew of anxious-looking college students came out. Xander couldn’t help but groan as one stumbled on his step as they came forward. Anna shouted at them in irritation as she waved for them to move faster.

“Hurry up! Get those shields going, and don’t do anything else.”

“R-right! Sorry, po!” Renz frantically spoke as he turned his gauntlet on. The familiar glow of the verdant energy barrier popped up, and Xander went behind Renz. Xander placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder and raised his revolver through the shield.

“Keep calm, Renz. Breathe in, breathe out. Let me guide you and you’ll do fine.”

The college student gulped nervously.

Soon five shields formed a haphazard shield wall, while the ranged team took cover behind them. The eight Tier Is slowly went through the breach where the entrance once stood.

What was inside could only be described as pandemonium.

“Ah, hell!” Xander exclaimed as he instantly shot a voidling that leapt right at them.

The college student recoiled and stumbled back, messing with Xander’s aim. The bullet grazed the voidling before it crashed onto the shield.

“Hold still, damn it!” Xander cursed as he shot at the voidling that was about to slash at Renz’s exposed legs.

“Argh!”

Thankfully, the voidling was hit before it could land its crippling strike.

Xander looked to his sides and he saw Anna and Ben already raining down fire on any oncoming voidling.

The rest of Team D however were all looking worse for wear and Xander groaned internally. He needed to get these guys on their game, as they are literally standing between him and his team from danger.

Xander slapped the man in front of him on his shoulder before calmly speaking to him.

“Renz, Renz!”

“Huh?”

“Listen to my instructions, can you do that man?”

“I—” Renz looked around him in a panic, “I don’t know!.”

“You don’t know, that’s fine. Well, I know, so you listen to my words alright!”

Renz nodded shakily. Xander turned to the rest of the college juniors and told them all the same.

“Listen to me! Keep close, your buddy is to your side, don’t think about anything else but keep that shield in front of you and NOT STEPPING BACK.”

Xander’s loud words finally jostled the students into high gear.

Or at the very least, they weren’t on the verge of fainting. That was going to be good enough.

Xander continued to fire his revolver at anything hostile. It hadn’t been a minute yet and it was already intense.

Among Xander, Anna, and Ben, they had already gunned down a handful of voidlings charging their way.

Xander looked at the chaos around him. Xander spotted the first two teams battling it out with cultists with guns and melee weapons. Just behind them was the ruined truck that had been pelted with debris and bullets.

The young man grimaced as he saw one of Walter’s companions dead right beside the passenger door.

He put that image away as he helped the shield team forward.

“We’re close to Walter and Isaac’s people, you’re doing well!” Xander encouraged Renz and his buddies as they closed in on Team A and B taking cover behind the cashier counters.

Xander spotted the ducked form of Isaac who was returning fire on the prone forms of Thralls hiding on top of the shelves.

The security guard from the Marco spotted Xander with an annoyed expression.

“You’re late!”

“We’re here now, what’s happening?”

A few counters to his side, Xander heard the raspy voice of Walter shouting at him.

“What’s happened is that we lost our momentum! Where the fuck were you, atay!”

The front assault team fired at the laughing cultists hiding behind the supermarket’s shelves. Stray bullets obliterated cans of soup, sodas, and chips, spilling their contents onto the once pristine tiles.

After a few minutes of a lack of progress, Xander spoke up.

“This isn’t working! Where’s the rear team?”

Isaac spoke through his radio before facing Xander.

“Nathan and Kathy are fighting in the back storage, they’re making good progress.”

Walter cursed from his position as he rose and fired his slugger before taking cover behind his energy shield, “that makes one of us! Something needs to change!”

Xander’s mind was in overdrive as he scanned his surroundings. The familiar supermarket was basically a flat rectangle with the cultists situated in the center.

An idea began to form and Xander called out to the assault teams.

“Pincer!” he shouted at his compatriots, earning him confused looks.

“What?” Isaac asked through the loud noises of gunfire over their heads.

“You and Walter take the right, while Renz and I hit the left. We’ll fight toward the center and hopefully, meet Nathan and Kathy at the same time.”

The Tier Is around him contemplated for a moment before Isaac nodded, “alright sounds good. Walter, you heard that?”

“Beats staying here, let’s go!”

Team A and B proceeded to move to the right while firing, as Xander to his and Renz’s teams.

“All of you still good?”

“We’re alright, Xand. Let’s kick some ass!”

Anna let out a fierce shout, raising everyone’s spirits to the peak. Fear slowly made way for adrenaline and both teams slowly went to the left-wing of the store, their gunshots constantly firing.