It was a good thing that Xavier’s maternal grandmother lived nearby. If he jogged to her place, it would hardly take a minute. But, of course, that was not possible under the current circumstances. Xavier and his parents didn’t want to visit his grandmother with a following of dozens of Infected, after all.
Far more Infected than initially expected were roaming through the small street. Therefore, they had to slaughter them before the Infected could gather and become truly problematic. Dealing with a handful of them was still possible. But what about dozens or hundreds of Infected moving in one big group?
Xavier didn’t want to find out if he could run from hundreds of Infected. A single scratch was enough to turn him into one of them, after all. It was much more secure to decimate them now that they had the chance.
Using Dash to emerge in front of a group of three Infected, Xavier slashed the ruby katana through the air in a beautiful arc. His attack cut through the air and one of the Infected’s heads in one go. Right after the first attack, Xavier continued to use the momentum and speed provided by Dash to kill the second Infected. By the time the head of the second Infected rolled over the ground, his parents had reached the third Infected.
I shouldn’t keep all of them for myself. It’s better if everyone grows stronger.
Instead of killing them all selfishly, Xavier chose to let his parents fight the third Infected. He wanted to grow stronger, but it wouldn’t help anyone if he was extremely powerful while his parents still struggled to even hold a katana and swing it at the enemy. Xavier wouldn’t always be by their side to protect them. They would have to fend for themselves sooner or later even if Xavier would do his utmost to ensure his parents stay safe.
Inferior Infected has been slain. +1 Soul Essence
Inferior Infected has been slain. + 1 Common Card Shard
Hmm? Why did I not get a Soul Essence for the second Inferior Infected? I should have gotten one Soul Essence…Wait…
“Is it because I am stronger now? Did the increase in my Foundation Stars decrease the amount of Soul Essences I can obtain from ‘weaker’ foes?” Xavier wondered. If his theory was correct it would be like an experience drop in games. A Level 20 Player won’t gain much experience for killing a Level 1 Mob. To gain more experience points he would have to kill something at or above his Level… How annoying.”
Xavier couldn’t prove his theory yet, but it made sense. Killing Inferior Infected was much easier than before. Therefore, he didn’t gain a Soul Essence from each of them. That was a shame, and also why Xavier fell deep in thoughts.
If I stop investing Soul Essences into my Foundation Stars for the time being, I should be able to continue harvesting Soul Essences rather easily.
Theoretically, Xavier’s plan was good. Practically, it would be problematic once he encountered a foe more powerful than the Inferior Infected. It would be even worse if a more powerful foe would attack him when he least expected it.
As if fate played Xavier like a fool, he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
A black shadow flashed through the surroundings, right where his parents were tackling the last Inferior Infected.
Xavier’s eyes narrowed and he used Dash a second time to charge ahead, the razor-sharp ruby katana raised high.
One moment Xavier stood a few meters behind his parents and the next moment he blocked the shadow’s path with the ruby katana. His parents’ eyes widened in shock, and they froze in their tracks. They didn’t even notice that something was about to attack them from the side until Xavier appeared out of nowhere.
It was only fortunate that they had killed the Infected in front of them before they froze in their tracks, otherwise, they did not even want to imagine what must have happened.
But their lives were not yet secure. Xavier had used his presence of mind and sharp eyes to block an unknown threat.
Silvia and Mark peered intently at the bushes, wondering where the hissing sound was coming from. Was there a large snake somewhere? They didn’t have to look for long as two yellow eyes blinked open, startling them. It was a black cat. At least it looked like one. Though it was a bit bigger than regular cats.
Xavier had blocked the claw that ambushed his parents sneakily. And it probably had a good reason to do so. Unlike its gleaming eyes, Xavier noticed that its fur was dull and clinging to its bony frame. Xavier could see the ribs beneath its scarred flesh. The trio bent a little to get a good look at the cat and noticed that it had a burn mark beneath its right eye.
A Panther? No, wait. Isn’t that the cat Mr. Sandro saved a few years ago? It has the same burn mark! Did his cat turn into a monster? For real now?!
Xavier’s eyes narrowed, feeling the immense pressure weighing down on the ruby katana. The black cat hissed loudly but Xavier didn’t even think of letting the cat get closer to him. On the contrary, he steadied his legs and pushed the ruby katana forward using his weight.
Despite being bigger than an average cat, this one was not as heavy or ferocious as a panther. It was quite far from that. Therefore, Xavier made use of his size to intimidate the feline and push the cat away with the ruby katana.
The razor-sharp blade of the katana dug into the paws of the cat, drawing the monster’s blood. Yes. Xavier considered the cat a monster. Even though he was certain that it was the pet of Mr. Sandro, Xavier couldn’t consider it a tame pet anymore. It was far too strong and ferocious to be just a cute little cat he would want to give belly rubs!
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Did all animals turn into something like…that?! Xavier wondered, feeling extremely exhausted and slow all of a sudden.
If all animals had turned into monsters the Inferior Infected might be their smallest issue. Their small village was adjacent to two different forests that were filled with wildlife. If all animals underwent mutation and became monsters they would have to deal with far more monstrosities than Infected in the near future.
Xavier didn’t have the luxury to think about this for too long. He was busy dealing with the starving cat monster that landed on the ground before it circled him with great agility. It was nimble and much faster than an ordinary cat.
Xavier used Dash and shot forward to slice the cat monster apart. Unfortunately, the cat’s naturally extraordinary reflexes were displayed. It jumped to the side, easily avoiding the katana slash. Not even a moment later, it jumped at Xavier with its claws extended to tear him apart.
“Xavier!!” His mother shouted, but Xavier could barely hear her over the angry hissing.
He let go of the ruby katana the moment he noticed that the cat monster was about to jump at him. His left arm moved upward to block the attack if necessary while his right hand moved to the sheathed daggers. He unsheathed one of the daggers and pushed it upward while his left arm was clawed. He ignored the pain shooting through his left arm and grabbed hold of the cat’s body to hold it in place.
Even if the cat monster would escape him sooner or later by scratching his arm until he lost control of his muscles, Xavier gained a precious moment to pin the monster in one place. That moment was more than enough to pierce the emerald dagger’s blade deep into the cat monster’s throat.
The cat monster hissed in pain and viciously clawed at Xavier’s left arm. Forced to let go, all Xavier could do was twist the emerald blade in the cat monster’s throat before he let go of the dagger as well.
It was only then that he noticed the blood pouring down his left arm. His left arm looked like badly butchered meat with several deep gashes running down its length, some scars so deep that he could see the bone underneath. He gingerly supported it with his right arm, holding by the elbow. The adrenaline blocked most of the pain for a moment, but Xavier didn’t really want to bleed to death. That was how much blood was pouring out of him at this moment.
Integrate one Soul Essence into the Star of Vitality. Y/N?
“Fuck, yes. DO IT!” Xavier bellowed before his eyes moved back to the cat monster. It had slowed down and tried to escape, leaving behind trails of blood. However, Xavier would not allow it to escape, especially not with the emerald dagger still stuck in its throat.
He used Dash again and pushed ahead. Since the cat monster was injured and its movement restricted with a dagger in its throat, it was slower than Xavier. Therefore it was a simple task for Xavier to reach the cat monster, get hold of the dagger, and twist it once again before pulling it out with a ripping motion.
Right after, Xavier pinned the cat monster to the ground with his right foot and viciously pierced the emerald dagger into the monster’s back. The cat monster hissed in misery, its voice much weaker than before. However, Xavier didn’t care. He pulled the dagger out and thrust it deep inside the cat monster once again.
Only after the monster stopped twitching and went limp on the ground, unmoving and blood pooling around its now dead body did Xavier pull back. He stared at the grotesque sight in front of him, realizing what he had just done.
Xavier felt bile rise in his throat and felt as if he would throw up. He was sprayed with blood and the innards of another monster yet again. However, it was a bit different this time. He felt horribly guilty.
Unlike the Infected who were basically walking corpses with no emotion or feeling, the cat had been a living, breathing being. And going by its haggard state, it looked starved and hungry.
Would I have to kill more such monsters in the future? Why can’t I just kill the Infected?
For a second, he wondered what was truly going on with the world. He was turning into a killer. But then the rational part of his brain told him that the cat would have killed him if he hadn’t. Life had now essentially boiled down to just one thing- survival. And he was glad that he was the one to have survived. But even that feeling didn’t last for long.
“Fucking hell…” Xavier cursed, drained of Stamina and feeling out of breath. The adrenaline seemed to have subsided and hot, blinding pain suddenly traveled up his arm, every single muscle and nerve screaming in agony. The katana fell from his hand as he stumbled back, reeling from the searing pain spreading through his left arm.
The only reason he didn’t panic was because he felt the effect of the Soul Essence he used to strengthen his Star of Vitality. His Vitality increased to 6/10, which strengthened his body and increased his natural regeneration. This included the regeneration of his Stamina as well.
Mutated Cat has been slain. +3 Soul Essence +1 Common Card Shard
“Should I be happy about that, or complain?” Xavier tried to joke, but neither of his parents found it funny. His mother hurried over to him and inspected his left arm. The next moment, she threw her hiking backpack to the ground and hastily rummaged through it. Silvia retrieved a simple medical kit that could be found in every car and pulled out a few bandages.
Will these bandages really be enough? We can just leave it like that. I will heal. Xavier thought but he didn’t dare to speak his thoughts aloud. His mother was too angry for him to disobey her in such a situation.
Because his mother would always turn into the daughter of the Wrath demon when she was too worried, Xavier accepted her treatment quietly. Then he used the remaining three Soul Essences obtained from killing the Mutated Cat to strengthen himself.
Integrate one Soul Essence into the Star of Energy. Y/N?
Integrate two Soul Essence into the Star of Vitality. Y/N?
The Star of Energy had to be upgraded because strengthening it would fill him with more energy and Stamina. Since he was out of Stamina after using Dash multiple times in a row, Xavier knew that he wouldn’t be able to deal with another Mutated Cat if one were to appear out of nowhere.
Meanwhile, the Star of Vitality was required to heal faster. His left arm couldn’t be used to fight for the time being. If anything he would tear his wounds open after they stopped bleeding just now.
Yes
Three Soul Essences were used up, increasing Xavier’s Star of Vitality to 8/10, and his Star of Energy to 4/10. The wave of warmth that spread through him in response was uncomfortable but Xavier ignored it to the best of his ability. He collected the emerald daggers, and wiped their blades over the Mutated Cat’s body before he picked up his third Common Card Shard.
Right after, he walked towards the ruby katana and nodded weakly.
Fortunately, we don’t have a Zoo nearby. This fucking cat was already enough to deal with. I don't even want to imagine how strong a Tiger or Lion must be after undergoing mutation…scary shit!!