"Apocalypse changes everyone; some just hide it better. Sometimes even I don't recognize what I have become, nor do I want to. There is nothing to gain from reminiscing about what is gone."

~ Batrak, The only survivor of the 2nd Outbreak

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The angry howls and screeches echoed in the distance as Leo dashed into one of the abandoned houses that had a clear view of the situation near the woman’s residence. Before sprinting upstairs, he shut the door and blocked it with a broken shelf.

He couldn't bring himself to feel guilty or bad about leaving the woman to the horde. Leo only wanted to once again experience some human contact or maybe even form a group to make survival in this world easier. Instead, he was met with a lady consumed by madness, who nearly brought the entire horde after him.

Just my luck. Leo sighed as he sat in front of the broken window that gave him a nice view of the woman's house.

Cursed Humans and Runners already spilled into the backyard, scanning every inch of the house while the two Hounds sniffed and scraped at the doors. The Crawlers were nowhere in sight, but if the bestiary didn't lie, then Leo knew what was coming, especially when the woman had one of her windows broken.

The Voidlings continued to come; Leo had already counted over twenty. Some just walked around as if they were securing the perimeter, while the rest joined the fight against the doors or windows. Only it wasn't a fight, and in a minute, the glass shattered and the hinges broke, opening the entire house to the horde.

No wonder the System didn't acknowledge my parent's house as a secure shelter if they could do that. I really need to figure something out for the next night.

"Argh!" A scream like no other pierced the air, echoing through the entire neighborhood. Leo flinched, ducking under the window as the Voidlings joined the scream like one organized orchestra.

The chorus alone sent chills through Leo's spine, so he took a deep breath, eyes closed as he tried to ignore the dying scream.

No matter what, I hope you can find peace away from this madness. No one deserved death like this. Even if Leo was almost numb to death after everything he experienced, he still recognized how fucked up this world was.

Time passed as Leo listened to the Voidlings celebrate their hunt. Leo couldn't help but wonder whether the monsters were fighting over the privilege of eating their kill when their howls and screeches became even more ferocious.

Not so high on the food chain are we anymore, eh? Leo let out a short, bitter chuckle. Humans were never the strongest creatures on Earth, but with technology, there wasn't much they couldn't achieve with time. And now humanity had been reduced to almost nothing, hiding from beasts that only waited to feast on their flesh.

More positive thoughts inbound. Leo shook his head and took another peek through the window. He had already wasted enough time.

The Voidlings still walked around the house, but most of them never left the building after the initial charge, and maybe, just maybe, Leo could use this to his advantage. The large block of flats seemed like a good place to find more survivors or something useful. With most of the security gone, it shouldn't be too hard to get inside.

Just as swiftly as Leo entered the house, he jumped out of it, sprinting deeper into the cleared part of the neighborhood. Leo dropped True Stealth, releasing a deep sigh as the drain on his Essence stopped.

The skill only required a bit of energy to sustain over time, yet with Leo's meager reserves, every second mattered. Even the few minutes necessary to travel around the area allowed Leo to regenerate a portion of the Essence he had lost in the last few hours.

That's what I get for having a weak Soul and a strong Mind. Definitely need to put another point there. The boost from Limit Break is nice, but it almost feels like it doesn't affect Soul as well as other attributes...

That was something Leo noticed more and more with every level. While Passive Limit Break constantly improved Grace and Might in the same way that additional points from levels did, the same couldn't be said for Soul.

At first, Leo didn't notice it, but now, he was almost sure that while Passive Limit Break made his Essence burn brighter inside him, it didn't make his reserves bigger. No, that happened only after Leo added one point to Soul after the fourth and sixth levels. Although even then, the increase was barely noticeable...

Maybe I should just add two points? More Essence can't hurt me, and with more skills constantly coming in, I will need it.

Decision made, Leo continued his journey through the only unexplored street that also led to the block of flats. The screeching continued to echo from the opposite side of the neighborhood, yet Leo still managed to dirty his claws and dagger with even more blood of Voidlings, whose deaths gave him precisely what he wanted.

Level 7 reached. Class attributes added. Please assign your 2 free attributes.

Two to Soul. He commanded, taking a knee behind a fence.

With only one level up, the pain in Leo's body, associated with the gains from his class, came and disappeared in almost a second. No more than a weak sting from a blunt stick. Of course, nothing could ever be easy, and then the two additional points to Soul pierced Leo's entire being.

He groaned as phantom hands grabbed his small pond of Essence and pulled it in every direction. Leo bent forward as his soul expanded with every stretch.

He coughed, his throat dry as desert. Suddenly, like with every power-up after a level, the burning and stretching stopped, leaving him panting for breath as his hand sneaked into his bag.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Yanking a bottle of water out, Leo drank it in one go, gasping as the liquid traveled through his body. Alright, adding two points when I only have six wasn't the best idea. Got it.

True Stealth, which failed during the power-up, once again formed over his body and Leo's eyes narrowed as he felt the Essence travel through his veins, burning with renewed fire. This fact only served to confirm his previous assumptions.

So Passive Limit Break really has little effect on Soul. Weird, especially when its active counterpart seemed to work quite well. Definitely, something to test later, even if I have to pay some Ether for it...

Picking up his bag again, Leo approached the edge of the fence and leaned out, scanning his path to the side of the block of flats.

Most of the Voidlings were gone, only leaving a few stragglers walking around the courtyard. Crawlers also weren't there, probably too busy fighting over the right to their kill.

At least I wasn't wrong. Leo smiled and dashed out of his hiding spot. He crossed the street and jumped behind one of the many trees strewed around the neighborhood. No more than a dozen, or so, meters and one Cursed Human separated Leo from the block's side at this point.

Dagger in hand, Leo ran again. On his way, he slipped behind the single monster and stabbed it in the head before moving forward. If the other Voidlings noticed the body later, they would hopefully just use it as another meal, not a reason to search the area.

Hugging the side of the block, Leo slowly sneaked around it, approaching one of the four entrances to the building. With electricity long gone, the advanced lock never managed to close the door again and Leo just slipped in, welcoming the familiar darkness of the short corridor.

He moved to the end of the hallway and twisted the handle of a door that led to the staircase. The window in the door showed nothing dangerous on the other side, but Leo kept the dagger tight in his hand.

The door slowly slid open, immediately assaulting Leo's ears with a soft creak and a sound so gut-wrenching that he froze, all the hairs on his body standing up.

What the fuck? Cries echoed through the entire stairway, bouncing off the walls. It had the tone of a small child and the edge of a Voidling's screech.

Leo gulped, raising his tainted arm as he finally moved up the stairs at a snail's pace.

The wooden railing and white walls lacked irregularities or signs of some creature straight out of nightmares, yet the crying continued. Check the first two floors, and then get the hell out of here. Pop culture taught me enough about places like this…

He ascended to the slightly elevated ground floor and scanned the four closed doors, each leading to a different flat. Leo placed his claws on the nearest handle and twisted it inch by inch, not even thinking of yanking it with all his strength like he usually did.

The door didn't budge, and Leo frowned as he focused on forming another ball of Essence inside his hand. The pulse entered the ground and spread outwards, the entire floor momentarily flashing with a crimson light.

Keeping his eyes on the stairs, Leo focused on the feedback. Plenty of live signatures, most probably from Voidlings. He grimaced. And there should be some kind of stronger weapons in the last flat on this floor.

Leo moved to the chosen door and tried his luck again. Locked, of course. He scowled as he pointed one of his claws at the keyhole and focused on the energy of his stealth. If I could just…

Before the metal could make any sound from the invasion, Leo pushed the energy of his stealth outwards, directing it straight at the lock. Please work. More and more power moved through his claw, and Leo had to fight the urge to break the skill as the drain on his reserves became larger than ever.

In a matter of seconds, the entire lock glowed with colorless energy. As a slight smirk found its way onto Leo's face, he pushed more of his claws into the lock. He twisted the handle again, and his smirk grew when the door opened just a bit without a sound.

I'm getting better at this. True Stealth may have collapsed at the end, but Leo was quick to activate it again, the monstrous crying never leaving him.

One more low-powered pulse had Leo closing the door behind him as he sneaked through the house's entrance corridor. He found doors to the left and right, yet Leo only stopped before the last one that should hide the only living being inside this flat.

Raising his hand, Leo knocked on the door, only to receive a short, muffled screech in return.

Of course, it is Voidling. He grumbled. Whatever, I don't need to deal with you anyway. The monster didn't try to fight the door, so Leo had no reason to go through the trouble of destroying the lock and killing the creature before it got too loud.

Ignoring the only trouble in the flat, Leo moved from room to room, trying to find the weapons his skill detected. Some extra food was welcome, but the slightly chipped tip of his dagger told Leo enough to know that the blade couldn't last much longer.

When Leo entered the final chamber, his brow furrowed as his arm illuminated the several shelves within.

A collector? Military fanatic?

Firearms, new and old, knives of all kinds, and military decorations filled almost every shelf. Leo rose to his full height, snatching one of the many guns. Weird, it's too light, even with my new strength.

Identifying the weapon, Leo snorted. Replica. Great...

The same went for any other firearm and most knives. In the end, Leo was left with only two weapons that weren't fakes or items of a broken quality. Still better than I expected. Leo shrugged, looking at the two common knives.

Weaponry had never really interested Leo in the past, and without Identify, he would have never known that the straight knife with a black blade was a military fighting knife. Still, the other one seemed much more powerful. Made with a clipped edge and a blade as long as the one of his dagger.

Bowie knife. Interesting name.

Leo attached the leather sheath of the long knife to his waist while placing the other one in the spot of his dagger. The broken weapon might have served Leo well, but it was high time to part ways.

Armed with something that shouldn't collapse at a moment's notice, Leo walked out of the flat, remembering to come back here if he ever needed more broken weaponry.

One more floor, and I'm out. Leo promised as he advanced up the stairs, the crying once again sending shivers down his spine.

The unnatural sound should have probably prepared Leo, yet his entire body froze when his gaze landed on the stairs leading to the third floor. A string of curses left his mouth, and Leo was never so happy that his stealth muffled any sound he made.

Without turning around, Leo backed off a step, his gaze never leaving the jungle of dark webs that dripped with fresh blood. Those things covered everything above him, and Leo allowed himself to turn and bolt straight towards the exit only when the dark image left his vision.

No fucking thanks! Go eat someone else, whatever you are.