Chapter 30: Short-Range Teleportation

Odin blinked and found himself in a mysterious and unfamiliar space. He glanced around, trying to comprehend what had just transpired. But a thick choking fog, saturating his surroundings, blocked his vision and rendered his eyes useless. He couldn't see even a yard ahead through the silvery-white misty substance around him.

By reflex, he let his spirit energy waves flood into his surroundings, and that's when he noticed that his spatial sense was still functioning. Vivid images of the zombie corpses and the hideous form of the little monster that had almost taken his life immediately appeared within his mind's eye. And he soon noticed that he could perceive his surroundings much more clearly than during all the previous times when he'd used his spatial sense. It was as if the foggy space had enhanced his spatial meta-abilities.

"Eh!"

Suddenly, Odin noticed an astonishing detail. The formerly swift baby zombie that had almost taken his life was still in its attacking pose, moving forward at a very sluggish speed, probably hundreds of times slower than a snail's pace. Its elongated sharp claws were even still pointed at the position where Odin's neck had been only a moment ago. Obviously, it hadn't noticed Odin's disappearance from the space before it.

"Could this space filled with silvery-white mist be related to the legendary teleportation ability?"

Lightning-fast thoughts swirled around Odin's mind as he continued analyzing the situation around him. He tried taking a step forward through the fog within the mysterious space. But the next moment, he realized that the single stride had taken him almost a distance of six yards from his previous position.

Then, just before he could comprehend what had happened, he sensed a potent power begin to repel his entire being from the foggy space. The next instant, he felt his mind touch and break past a mysterious barrier once again. He immediately blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light, and that's when he realized that he was back in the marred restaurant's space.

The concentrated stench of blood and rotting corpses assaulted his senses as he oriented himself in his new reality. He spread out his potent spirit energy, and that is when he picked up the position of the baby zombie, which was at an unexpected distance of six yards behind him.

"This truly is the teleportation ability!"

Odin mused as he turned around and came face to face with the intense gaze of the baby zombie. Before he could react and ready himself, the little monster let out an agonized shriek and bounded forward almost like a streak of lightning.

The aberration's tiny legs pushed off a couple of chairs — and within seconds, its wide-open, bloodied maw soon appeared within Odin's vision. And to his horror, it was once again growing closer and closer at a surprisingly fast speed.

"Shit!"

Odin's heart leaped into his throat as he saw the gleaming sharp canines of the little monster about to take a bite off his face. Adrenaline flooded his systems, and a staggering impulse to survive stormed his mind. His potent spiritual energy stirred slightly, and he felt his consciousness touch the familiar mysterious barrier once again.

The barrier was quite clear in his mind's eye that time around. It was like a thin film that separated reality from a mysterious space filled with potent energy. Odin concentrated his willpower and pushed against it just a moment before the little monster's maw could chomp down on him. Surprisingly, he managed to break past easily and found himself in the foggy space again.

Since he already had experience, he didn't drag his feet. His spirit energy flooded into his surroundings, and he immediately took in the position of the little monster in real space. He then took a step forward and covered the distance of six yards within anything but an instant.

The familiar potent force repelled his entire being from the foggy space once again — and he immediately found himself a good few yards away from the little monster that had been just about to assault him only a second ago. He'd once again managed to execute short-range teleportation almost by pure reflex.

"Phew!"

Odin's confidence surged as he turned to face the little monster, which seemed confused by his repeated disappearances. He was no longer scared since he was certain that he could escape its fierce attacks at a moment's notice with his new teleportation ability. He just had to find a way to kill it, and then he would clear away all the latent dangers and make the resort a safe haven for his sisters.

"Let's get this over with."

Odin's eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he unholstered his Desert Eagle AE 50 Magnum from his belt. He'd already learned his lesson and decided to rely on the gun after realizing that the type-I zombie was abnormally swift and beyond what his machete skills could handle.

"Click! Click!"

The sound of the Desert Eagle cocking resounded across the otherwise silent restaurant as Odin readied himself to face off against the little monster that was already quickly approaching his position. He pushed the safety upwards before placing his finger on the trigger and pointing his gun toward the approaching little monster.

The next moment, he felt an abnormal serenity settle upon his entire being as he focused his spirit like never before. His eyes narrowed slightly as his finger started tugging on the trigger.

But just then, at the moment when he was about to send the baby zombie to the afterlife, its small body trembled slightly, and it began to adjust itself to avoid the shot. Surprisingly, the type-I aberration seemed to possess very sharp instincts, and it could easily sense the immense danger threatening its sorry excuse of a life.

Odin didn't lose his composure, though. He focused his spatial sense and adjusted his aim to closely follow the little monster's silhouette with the barrel of the Desert Eagle.

The little zombie seemed to sense its impending doom, and it panicked for a moment, going left and right, to complete a zigzag maneuver. Then, its blood-red eyes exuded a savage glint as it leaped off a table and again rushed towards Odin with ferocious momentum. It was even swifter than before as it released its claws to assault Odin's neck.

Odin remained expressionless as his eyes and the tip of the gun followed the movements of the little monster. His strong spirit combined with his improved physical fitness to work wonders, and he felt his senses transcend his body and connect with the Desert Eagle.

At that crucial moment of life and death, his confidence surged. He felt as if the gun had become a part of his body, and he could sense all its mechanical parts, from the handle to the barrel, with perfect clarity. And just as the baby zombie's claws were a couple of feet away from his arm's reach, his index finger gently closed around the trigger to fire the gun.

"BANG!"

A single .50 Action Express large caliber bullet flew out of the Desert Eagle's barrel the next moment. It zipped through the air like a streak of lightning before hitting the baby zombie right in-between the eyebrows. Before Odin could even blink, the large-caliber round blasted the aberration's small head into a gory mess of blood, brain matter, and pus. The powerful gunshot had simply decimated everything above the little thing's neck.

"Ew!"

Odin wrinkled his nose in disgust as the bloody fluids splashed towards him and stained his clothes and face mask. He stepped away from the mess, feeling drained and exhausted due to overusing his powers. He took a moment to catch his breath, and that’s when the familiar blood-red lines of text flashed before his vision.

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[Host has killed the Type-I Zombified Human]

[Pending D-Grade Mission completed]

[Origin Points +15, Current Origin Points: 51/80]

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"DING"

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[No more zombified humans have been detected within two miles around the Host]

[Initial E-grade mission also deemed complete]

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"DING"

Another chime rang within Odin's head before he could relax.

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[The Host's Spatial Manipulation Meta-Power has leveled up to the Level-1 Basic Tier]

[The User can now execute short-range teleportation over a maximum distance of six yards]

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