> You’ve defeated Wretched Angel (Level 22)
>
> Experience has been awarded
>
> +100 Energy
> Leveled up!
>
> Jenny Huang Level 14 -> 16
>
> +6 Stat points
The notifications filled her mind, lingering while she stared wide-eyed at the Wretched Angel’s cracked-open head. The thoughts faded away till the only thing left was a blunt emptiness. Her hatchet dropped, clattering to the floor. The sound startled her; it seemed much too loud in the now quiet stairwell.
“Fuck,” she whispered. It was too hot. Too damn hot under her armor and the helmet and everything. She tugged on the strap beneath her chin, feeling like she was suffocating. A trembling began in her core before spreading through her chest and into her arms and legs. After a struggle, she unlatched the strap and wrenched the helmet off. Her hair was drenched with sweat.
The stairwell seemed to close in on her, pressing from every side. Her heart raced so quickly, she thought it would burst. She was too aware of the blood pulsing through her body. She could feel it in the fingertips of her right hand. She felt it in her neck. Felt it in her navel and her toes.
In her head, she kept replaying images of the Angels. The fight. The empty eye sockets and the blood running down its cheeks as it attacked her. She pictured the boy, lying on the floor beside the pile of dead people and Angels. He was just a pile of bones and ashes now. She’d killed him. She was a murderer. I’m a murderer.
It wasn’t the same as killing Angels. They wanted to eat her. They’d kill her without a second thought. But the boy was alive. He was human. He just wanted help. He just wanted to get away. And she’d burnt him to a blackened skeleton. Had he felt any pain? Did he suffer? Had he been screaming in agony while she’d set everything on fire?
Could I have saved him?
> That participant was named Joshua Bennet.
>
> His status was critical when you discovered him. The chances of fending off both Wretched Angels and healing him were extremely low. He would have perished within minutes regardless of your actions given the circumstances.
Eve’s words didn’t make her feel better in the slightest. She still blamed herself. She kept hearing his strained voice begging the Angel to stop.
If that wasn’t bad enough, she glanced down the stairs and saw the girl. She’d thrown her body onto the Angels to distract them, and now it lay motionless underneath the ruined wall. Her pink sweater was shredded to bits. Jenny couldn’t see where the girl’s head was.
Was there any justifying her actions? What delusion am I convincing myself of right now so that I can pretend I’m okay? It was something she read once in a story or book or maybe a poem. A line she thought about all the time, wondering how she was lying to herself so she could pretend to be normal. But that was much easier to do when thinking about fighting with her mom, or her crush on Susan, or the stupid things she’d say or do. But what the hell was she supposed to do about this? I’m a murderer.
The female Angel’s skeleton lay face down on the floor. Between its ribs was another set of smaller bones, the baby it was trying to protect from the flames.
Jenny stared for a long time. The other sacs were burnt away, leaving behind smoke, ash, and a sulfuric odor that stung her nose. Her breaths came quick and sudden, her shoulders shaking. Panic climbed up her chest, burying its claws deep into her flesh before clogging her throat. She grabbed her injured hand and raised her shield so that she could rest her forehead against its cold metal inside.
For a moment, she wasn't here. She hadn’t done what she’d done. She was in a tiny little space that was just her own. Like she was under her blanket, safe from any monsters crawling underneath her bed. She inhaled deeply through her nose and held her breath. Tears threatened to overwhelm her, but she squeezed her eyes tight and tried to will them away.
I can’t unravel right now. Not yet.
After several deep breaths, Jenny managed to focus inward. She focused on how drained she felt. Ignite used up a lot of her stamina, and there was no way she’d survive another fight like this. She wondered if there was a potion for that. If she could restore health and heal wounds, then why couldn’t she think of something to recover stamina?
> A Minor Potion of Rejuvenation will cost 100 Energy. Sufficient Energy.
Makes sense to me, she thought, and light took shape in her hand. A vial of emerald-green liquid shimmered in the light. She held it up and swirled it, wondering what it would taste like.
Then she yanked out the stopper with her teeth, tipped her head back, and downed the entire potion in one go. It tasted like strong coffee with no sugar or milk. The bitterness made her wince as she swallowed, but nearly instantly, her breathing slowed.
A little tremor went through her arms and legs. Her shoulders relaxed, and her head stopped spinning. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, her shield retracted. For a long moment, she stood where she was, eyes shut tight, trying to figure out what to do next.
Are they still okay?She didn’t have to clarify who she was talking about; Eve already knew.
> Susan Brown remains an active participant in the Survival Challenge. Her current location is the first floor, the room designated as the library. There are several Human participants with her.
>
> Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
> Oliver Spencer remains an active participant in the Survival Challenge. His current location is the southwestern end of this floor. There are several Human participants with him.
> Human population remaining: 67
She felt the tiniest bit of relief but held the thoughts in her mind. So many, many people had died already. She remembered how quickly the number dropped earlier, but now it seemed to be slowing down. Earlier in the library, the count had been 72.
Were the remaining people fighting? Or were they hiding like the others in the library? And how many of that count were people kept alive by the angels to feed their young? She shuddered, remembering how the boy had begged the angels to stop. She’d remember that for the rest of her life.
“I’m sorry,” she said finally, forcing herself to look at Joshua’s skull. “I’m sorry.” I’m sorry I killed you. But that part she couldn’t say out loud.
Jenny glanced over at the female angel’s skeleton. It had clawed its own eyes out to avoid the light. It was just trying to protect its young. But it was torturing Joshua. It was going to do the same to her. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.
She raised her leg to stomp its skull to dust, shaking with anger. But she stopped.
“It’s not fair,” she whispered, exhaling and lowering her foot. She left the angel’s remains alone.
The game was to survive. That was how she’d rationalized this nightmare to Susan. A dumb survival game. But what was the point if she turned into a monster? Again, she wished Susan was here. She would know what to say.
Jenny had to be better. Stronger. Not just physically. It wasn’t enough to raise her stats; if she wanted to make it out of this hell alive and protect anyone, she had to master her mind too. Something she’d always struggled with: self-control.
She sensed Eve was about to remind her of the Survival Challenge conditions, but she had another question for it. Why isn’t there a stat for improving the mind?
> The Human mind cannot be bound by the Guidance System. That would betray free will.
Again with the talking in riddles, but she didn’t press the question. Her throat hurt much less. The Potion of Rejuvenation had helped tremendously.
She checked her body, noting that she hadn’t been injured at all in the fight. Her armor was completely intact; none of the scales were cracked or missing.
Her helmet was scratched and dented in several places. She stared at the pink casing, realizing Susan had saved her life with this. That brought up a funny feeling, like butterflies in her stomach. Sighing, she touched her face and scalp, looking for scratches or bruises. She was fine.
She’d fought two high-level Wretched Angels in a cramped stairwell and was virtually unscathed.
Was it a mixture of dumb luck and Ignite being much more effective than she thought it would be? The flames were hot enough to burn flesh away... she shuddered, thinking about all that power inside her. The first time she used it, she’d only slightly scorched the angel’s face and burnt away its hair. But when she freaked out, it went out of control and burned several magnitudes hotter.
It was definitely connected to her state of mind and intention.
“Yeah,” said Jenny. She couldn’t keep letting her emotions get the best of her. Her lip wobbled, and she swallowed the impulse to start crying. She walked over to where the flashlight had rolled to a stop, beside the bottom step of the stairs leading to the third floor. She didn’t look at the bodies piled on the steps.
The duct tape was still attached to the flashlight’s body, looking like a set of gray wings. Jenny set the helmet back on her head. She brushed the hairs away from her face and tucked them underneath the helmet as neatly as she could. It was frustrating trying to snap the latch back in place under her chin with one hand. She’d even tried to use her left hand, only to feel the stubs of her missing fingers.
Once it clicked into place, she picked up the flashlight and placed it on top of the helmet. She smoothed down the tape on each side and prayed it would stick. Satisfied that it wouldn’t roll off as soon as she moved, she clicked the light off, and the entire stairwell went dark. Then she turned it back on, not wanting to step on any of the bones by accident.
One last thing. Her new stat points.
> Jenny Huang
>
> Human (stage ii) (Level 16)
>
> Age: 6,801 days
>
>
>
> Stats:
>
> Power: 23
>
> Durability: 15
>
> Stamina: 15
>
> Agility: 15
>
> (Stat points available: 12)
>
> (Energy available: 558)
She thought it over for a moment, then applied 2 points into power, bringing that to a neat 25. A slight shock went down her spine, but with a deep breath, the sensation faded.
She figured she could skip durability for now. Her Medium Armor held up completely against these Wretched Angels. She’d need more stamina if she had to use Ignite again. She didn’t want to be caught exhausted. Agility would also be necessary; they moved so quickly. She had to be faster as well.
Deciding that was the best course of action for now, she split the remaining 10 points evenly between stamina and agility. The tingling sensation went through her muscles, and each limb twitched slightly before relaxing. She shook hard for a moment, then stamped her foot as though it had fallen asleep, and rolled her shoulders.
Will I ever get used to that?
But at least her stats still looked neat and orderly, and she had a good amount of Energy now.
> Jenny Huang
>
> Human (stage ii) (Level 16)
>
> Age: 6,801 days
>
>
>
> Stats:
>
> Power: 25
>
> Durability: 15
>
> Stamina: 20
>
> Agility: 20
>
> (Stat points available: 0)
>
> (Energy available: 558)
Then she remembered how much Energy the boy had given her, and panic rushed up to greet her thoughts again. I’m a murderer...
Fuck.
Eve? Why do people give so much more Energy than Angels?
> Life Energy is released upon death. The amount correlates with the potential for Life.
>
> In their current state, the Angels exist in a deteriorated form, ruled by base desires and instinct, and thus have decreased potential.
This has to do with free will, doesn’t it? Jenny knew there was so much more to this whole thing. The gods, the myths, the angels, the violence, life energy... A part of her wanted to hide somewhere and write all this down.
It was too much to think about. Her head ached trying to make sense of everything, so she thought about the only thing that mattered to her right now: finding Oliver and taking him back to the library where Susan was.
“Okay,” she whispered, trying to ready herself. Her shield extended from her arm. With another flash of light, her hatchet returned to her hand. Then she pushed the metal door open, its latch clicking, and she stepped into the second-floor hallway.
She’d fully expected screaming. Hissing. A group of angels rushing at her.
To her surprise, the hallway was empty. There weren’t any bodies on the floor. Her light shone on streaks of blood. As though someone or something had dragged everything away.
“What the fuck?” she exhaled, stepping slowly and cautiously into the hallway. The door closed gently behind her. Her heart pounded as she strained to listen, hoping to hear anything, any sign of danger or Oliver or people.
Thick globs of red glistened on the floor. Flesh. Torn clothes. Bookbags ripped open with their contents spilling. She spotted a leg lying beside a classroom door.