While observing their surroundings with great vigilance, Xavier and his parents took in every little harrowing detail of the destruction caused by the earthquake and the blazing boars.
Now that they truly stepped out of their home, they could see and experience their new reality which was staring them in the eye. The only indication that this was their once quiet neighborhood were the familiar houses and street lamps that now stood half-destroyed and abandoned after the calamitous event.
Seeing everything from the bathroom window was different than being surrounded by rubble, and debris.
The scent of death was thick in the air and Silvia tried hard not to stare at the mangled, half-eaten corpses, rotting and attracting fleas. Xavier looked up at the sky to see the last rays of the sun dip below the horizon, blanketing the world in the night.
Even the stars and moon that would otherwise make it feel like a dreamy scene were nothing short of a nightmare given the visceral carnage all around them. But oddly enough they had gotten accustomed to it.
Humans were resilient and their exceptional tenacity when it came to adapting to new situations was often surprising, but neither Xavier nor his parents had expected to overcome their fears and accept the world-altering changes to the entire world this fast.
Not even a full hour had passed since the world changed yet they walked through the devastated street and killed Inferior Infected as if it was one of the most ordinary things to do.
It made them feel weird and uneasy, but there was nothing they could do about it. Their lives would be in even more danger they decided to deny the reality that had been forced upon them and the rest of humanity. No matter how cruel it was, Xavier and his parents wanted to survive and overcome all ordeals together and survive.
As they walked through the streets, they noticed that they had many more Infected to deal with. However, this time Silvia and Mark didn’t allow Xavier to rush ahead alone. He was injured and his wound might tear open if he moved hastily.
Xavier felt that his parents were a little bit overprotective since he could clearly feel that his wound was healing, but he didn’t say anything. His parents were stubborn like bulls once they made up their minds.
Furthermore, Xavier knew that his parents had to grow stronger as well. It was better if the three of them grew strong enough to fight together as a team. That way, they might be able to deal with stronger opponents and gain more Soul Essences and Cards while increasing their chances of continued survival.
Maybe we’ll be able to deal with the blazing boars after fighting the Inferior Infected and Mutated Cats a little longer. They might drop Cards of better quality…maybe even a Fireball Spell Card or something like that. That would be quite amazing!
Xavier began daydreaming a little as he moved vigilantly through the surroundings. His eyes surveyed the surroundings and he quickly located not one but seven Inferior Infected moving slowly in their direction.
To be precise, they were advancing toward him. Xavier had a bad feeling about the number of Infected approaching him since he had been injured, but he had yet to confirm one of his theories.
He tore the long sleeve of his blood-soaked shirt and crumpled the cloth together to form a ball before he threw it far away in an attempt to distract them. Droplets of blood trickled onto the ground, and a few caught a whiff of blood in the air but the Inferior Infected focused on the blood-soaked cloth – most of them, at least.
Out of seven Inferior Infected five moved to the blood-soaked cloth. The remaining two continued to move to Xavier, probably because they smelled that the blood drenching Xavier’s bandages was fresher.
Their senses are pretty high. Earlier they heard me when I barely made sounds while stepping as well. And they love blood, the fresher the better. That is quite problematic with my injury…
Xavier had his eyes glued on the Inferior Infected while tightly holding onto the ruby katana with his right hand. He didn’t want to use his left hand because he knew that hasty movements would tear the wound open, which would then result in more Infected taking note of him. Xavier was not too sure how many Infected they had to kill to reach their grandmother’s house, but it would be better if they could get rid of as many as possible.
They wouldn’t have to deal with the Infected later then, after all.
Using Dash to gather momentum, Xavier charged ahead. He appeared next to one of the two Inferior Infected that tried to claw at him. He swung the ruby katana over his head and used as much momentum as possible to amplify the force of his attack.
With only one hand pulling down the katana in an overhead strike, Xavier would have doubted that it would be enough to split open an Infected’s head – under normal circumstances.
Fortunately, he had the ruby katana. It was otherworldly sharp; the perfect tool to use against the Infected and the Mutated Animals that they would encounter sooner or later.
Xavier was not sure how long he would be able to use the ruby katana, but he would make use of it as much as possible. The ruby katana and the emerald dagger set had cost their family a fortune, after all.
The ruby katana cleaved through the Infected’s head like a hot knife cuts through butter. It easily went through and a notification popped up in front of Xavier. Ignoring the notification, Xavier pushed to the side before changing his trajectory to kick the ground and propel his body to the second Infected.
He thrust the Katana through the Infected’s glassy eyes, and it easily sliced into the eye socket all the way through the brain in one go.
But Xavier noticed soon enough that his breath grew heavy. He figured using Dash too many times without proper breaks was not good for his body. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much of a choice. All Xavier could do was to use the Soul Essences he procured to increase the Foundation Star of Energy to increase his Stamina. That was not a permanent solution but it was certainly helpful, at this point.
Unfortunately, he didn’t obtain a single Soul Essence from killing two Inferior Infected. Therefore, he had to deal with the next five Inferior Infected with his drained Stamina.
Just as Xavier thought that the Infected were about to attack him, he heard a bark, which was followed by a loud hiss.
A large black dog the size of a wolf appeared from the other side of the street. It had its teeth bared and was growling angrily, its paws scraping the loose dirt. Its gaze was piercing and long yellowish white teeth glinted in the dim light when it opened its large maw to bark again.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Its huge ears twitched and a low, guttural growl left its mouth before it took off in a blur, spraying mud everywhere. Xavier froze for a second, worried that it would charge at him. But the dog was busy pursuing a Mutated Cat that was injured and running for its life.
The Mutated Cat looked similar to the one he had seen and killed a while ago. However, it seemed that the dog and the cat had been playing this game of chase for a while. Xavier noticed claw marks on the cat’s body. They were fresh and blood was oozing out of the wounds. The cat was badly injured and running hither thither. It noticed Xavier and his parents, but it didn’t charge at them.
Instead, it ran into the group of Inferior Infected, hoping that the black dog would lose it in the crowd of Infected. The Mutated Cat mustn’t have expected the Inferior Infected to react to the smell of its fresh blood. They turned around and bent down groggily with the desire to tear the cat apart.
The cat hissed, pitifully, while trying to claw at the Inferior Infected that had surrounded it. There were too many of them and the injuries inflicted by the cat didn’t seem to stop them. For a second, Xavier almost felt sorry for the cat. No living being deserved to die like that. But then he sternly reminded himself that the world was not the same anymore and that the lines between rationale and insanity blurred.
Suddenly, the black dog jumped on the Inferior Infected with its claws bared, viciously tearing at their flesh and limbs for trying to snatch its prey. For a while, the only sounds he heard were angry growls and hissing as the dog mercilessly bit into the Inferior Infected, flinging them around like a ragged doll. Its maw was smeared with blood and innards of the Inferior Infected that it continued to attack, not giving them a chance to overwhelm it.
Xavier swallowed his saliva and grasped the katana with his right hand even tighter. He retreated a few steps and steadied his breath, preparing himself mentally to face the black wol–, no, the black dog once it was done dealing with the Infected and the Mutated Cat. He almost mistook the dog for a starving wolf, but quickly noticed the collar around its neck. That was how terrifying the Mutated Dog looked and fought.
The Mutated Dog tore apart the Infected. However, it couldn’t get past the skull and squash the Infected’s brain. The Mutated Dog didn’t seem to know that it had to sever their heads from their shoulders or squash their brains to kill them. It merely tore the Infected apart in order to reach the Mutated Cat that was still trying to escape from the Mutated Dog’s pursuit.
The Mutated Cat is not turning into an Infected? Why not? Are Animals immune to the infection?
It didn’t take that long before Henry turned into an Infected. Therefore, Xavier expected the Mutated Cat to turn into a zombie-like cat as well. It had been scratched a few times already. Yet…nothing seemed to happen. The Mutated Cat escaped the crowd of Infected and continued to run away.
The black Mutated Dog noticed that and charged out of the group of five Infected as well. It had been scratched as well, but the Mutated Dog didn’t care about that nor did it seem to slow down. It looked at the Infected and growled but didn’t attack them anymore. Something was wrong with these Infected. The Mutated Dog couldn’t quite understand why they smelled like rotten flesh or how they were still moving despite being torn to pieces. It only understood that it couldn’t kill them so it decided to pursue its earlier prey.
The Mutated Dog looked back and noticed Xavier for the first time. It tilted its head a few times upon seeing someone who didn’t smell that horrendous. That was something it was familiar with. The dog barked twice at Xavier before it heard the Mutated Cat hissing again. Its wild instincts awakened and it charged at the Mutated Cat to hunt it down, leaving Xavier staring at it.
Does that mean not all mutated animals are violent toward humans…or is there something else I don’t know?
Xavier watched the departing Mutated Dog with conflicted emotions. It was one thing to kill ferocious monsters attacking you. Xavier could do that because he wanted to survive by all means. However, it was a different thing to attack a friendly monster. The Mutated Dog might not be on his side, but it had been raised by humans before it turned. It was good to see that a powerful wolf-like dog attacked the Infected and hunted murderous Mutated Cats.
The world turned into a mess but seeing that human’s best friend was still on their side was a welcome relief amid the chaos. It was somewhat reassuring.
Watching the Infected that had been torn apart by the mighty Mutated Dog, Xavier smiled oddly. He raised the ruby katana and cut their heads one by one. As most of them were missing one or both of their legs and arms the Infected could hardly pose a threat to him at this point. Therefore, they were the easiest targets Xavier had dealt with until now.
Inferior Infected has been slain.
Inferior Infected has been slain.
Inferior Infected has been slain.
Inferior Infected has been slain.
Inferior Infected has been slain.
Inferior Infected has been slain.
Inferior Infected has been slain. +1 Soul Essence +1 Common Card Shard
Only one out of the seven Infected he had killed dropped a Card Shard. He obtained a Soul Essence as well, which quickly disappeared to improve his Stamina.
Integrate one Soul Essence into the Star of Energy. Y/N?
Xavier agreed to the integration of the Soul Essence with a simple thought and a wave of warmth and cold spread through him. The cooling sensation accumulated near his stomach, filling him with energy and vigor. The vigor aided his natural regeneration to heal his left arm even faster.
The few Soul Essences he integrated into the Star of Vitality didn’t just increase his natural regeneration by a small bit. It elevated his regeneration drastically. On the other hand, the cooling energy obtained from the Star of Energy continued to supplement him with vigor to heal him faster. It was almost as if the energy near his stomach was consumed to heal him faster.
That was a little eerie because Xavier could feel the energy moving within him as if it was alive, but he quashed the ominous thoughts that tried to pester his mind since his wounds healed faster.
He could take care of one step at a time.
“Was that a wolf just now?” Silvia asked when she had dealt with the last Infected. She was drained but still hurried over to make sure that her son was fine.
Xavier gave her a weak smile and explained the situation a little. His parents had seen the dog and cat as well, so there was not too much to explain.
“So animals are unlikely to turn into Infected? That…is oddly reassuring. I don’t want to fight a Mutated Infected Cat that cannot feel pain…” Mark said, shuddering at the thought of encountering one of those Mutated Infected Cats. He was fine dealing with the Infected.
“By the way, I collected 2 Common Card Shards,” He added, while Silvia retrieved a bunch of two Common Card Shards as well, “Me too.”
They handed their Shards to Xavier without a second thought, leaving him a little bit baffled.
“Well…It looks like we need two more Common Card Shards to create a complete Common Card. That’s nice. Dad can get a Common Card then,” Xavier remarked before he pocketed the Card Shards.
His dad had been a bit unlucky than Xavier and Silvia. He had yet to receive a Card drop from the Infected. But that was fine. They could kill more Infected and harvest Common Card Shards until they had enough to combine them.
No sooner had those words left his mouth, more Infected, and a pair of feral cats pursuing the Infected approached them. The Mutated Cats attacked the Infected now and then but the Infected ignored the cats. Their claws and bites weren’t enough to sever the Infected’s heads.
“Here they are. The last targets required to create a Common Card for Dad,” Xavier said, sighing heavily.
He would rather reach his grandmother’s house than fight endlessly.
The distance of barely a few meters to his grandmother’s house seemed like a never-ending marathon of fighting creatures that wanted to kill them.. He hoped that they would get some respite; just a few moments of silence and peace.
Unfortunately, the world didn’t want him to rest. Not yet at least.