"Sure." He straightened upright and looked at the rest of his classmates. They stared back at him. Only vague familiarity registered in their eyes.

[ HP: 28% ]

[ MP: 34% ]

He took a moment to collect his thoughts. Everyone waited for him, their eyes wide, shining expectantly.

Zain took a step and hesitated for a moment. He needed time to recuperate a little. While he had survived with less than 20 HP in more than one precarious situation, it would be better if it could recover till its filled one third.

The addition of System to the earth would increase people regenerative properties and it would He planned to check his energy body without prying eyes but the devour skill took too much of the time.

And even though he had decided to go solo, he could still provide a little help to increase the survivability of people here. A few minutes should be enough…

His eyes then drifted toward the back of the room, scanning the cabinets filled with stationary supplies. "But can I make some makeshift weapons?” he added, already moving towards his new objective.

His actions turned methodical as he rummaged through drawers and cabinets. Each item he tossed onto the growing pile in the center of the room—anything sharp, long, or heavy—suggested a grim readiness.

The other students caught on quickly, spurred by his initiative, and joined the scavenger hunt for anything that could serve as an impromptu weapon.

Meter sticks, glue and tape dispensers, scissors, and even a few heavy textbooks joined the assortment, each item selected for its potential lethality.

There were several meter and yard sticks, glue and tape, and an assortment of other various items that might be useful. They all had sharp edges or weighed a decent amount.

Despite the variety, Zain’s efforts were far from over. His gaze fell on a desk, evaluating its structure before he decisively flipped it over. The curiosity of his classmates turned to understanding as he focused on the metal legs screwed into the wooden frame.

With determined force, he wrenched one free, the metal bending slightly under the strain but forming a gnarled, sharp end perfect for combat.

As Zain examined the makeshift weapon in his hand, he appreciated its rudimentary effectiveness. The bent metal leg, sharpened to a dangerous point, felt solid and menacing. He weighed it in his hand, testing its balance and imagining its potential impact against the relentless creatures they faced.

Their exoskeleton might hold against a regular knife but a hit to the head is still a hit to the head.

Zain, sensing the urgency, gestured to a few others, encouraging them to dismantle more desks. “We need more like this—strong and sharp. ”

Around him, the makeshift arsenal grew. The other students, inspired by his example, worked feverishly to create their own weapons. The atmosphere was charged with a focused energy, each participant understanding the stakes. They fortified their defenses with whatever was at hand, transforming ordinary classroom materials into tools of survival.

Zain advised, watching as one of the students fiddled with a makeshift weapon. "If you don't have to worry about a weapon, focus on protecting yourself. Tear a bunch of textbooks in half and stuff them into the rim of your pants. Tuck your shirt over them and tighten your belt as far as it will go. That'll keep your sides and stomach protected."

It was not much, but it could save one's life. There was not much protection in the textbook armor, with the way he was going to fight. And he could always steal some armor from the corpses in other classrooms. He had more important things to do.

While others were making their weapons, Zain was busy with practicing his Arcana.

Many thought that the stats represented a static change in their prowess, and to a certain degree, it was right. The strength stats would define your maximum output, same with vitality and resilience.

But arcana was different. It defines the mana a person could command for the skills. He was far stronger now compared to pre-integration levels thanks to the stats. Even though most of his stats have replaced Soul. His knowledge to utilize aracan should be second to none in this world. Like Essence energy, there was more to mana than simply using it. Learning to circulate his mana in his energy body opened up a whole new world.

The energy body and physical body both support each other providing a base to to become stronger. The energy body is the main reason for getting the super powers and the physical body gradually adapts to help with the mana usage of the person.

But there are ways to increase the adaptations of physical body.

Now he just had to figure out how to move the mana inside his body… only to realize four seconds later that moving mana was way easier than he had anticipated. His ability to manipulate mana should not be this easy.

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Only half an hour had passed since integration; it would still take some time for the body to adapt to the new energy, though that was not the case for him.

Maybe it was due to his Soul stats. Overall, it should affect his physical body, and having high Soul stats might boost his control over it. He was not sure, but everything different from his expectations was always related to the soul.

He just had to move mana in his hands and then think really hard about doing it. It was almost instinctual. Circulating mana would help in his health recovery, though there would be some loss in the process.

As the mana slowly circulated, it felt a little weird, but not really uncomfortable. There was a resistance that should not be there. That was not what he would have expected. Mana was his strongest stat, and he should be intimately familiar with using mana to enhance his body.

But the weird feeling was new. After wasting a minute to search for the source, he gave up as there was no clue. Mostly it should be related to his Trait, but he didn't have time to check on it.

[ HP: 32% ]

[ MP: 33% ]

His arcane stat was way too low for him to use it for a prolonged period but it should be more than enough for fighting one or two mantis.

Other than the resistance, there was nothing different about his body. He moved the mana inside his body to better adapt it for abrupt bursts of fighting prowess. Each motion felt deliberate, as if his body was now a finely tuned instrument. It was not much, but that was all he could to gain some edge.

He could actually force more mana into different parts of his body, strengthening them. For example, he could force energy into his arm and back muscles when swinging a dagger, which resulted in a far more powerful swing.

Forcing energy into his legs increased his speed significantly, allowing him to move with a swiftness that was only slightly less than the mantis. He had even managed to imbue his skin with mana for a while, making it more durable and resistant to damage but the mana cost was high. There were many different ways to utilize this newfound power, but his low mana stat would hinder him for now.

The strengthening wasn’t limitless, however. It acted as a multiplier on his base stats, but the multiplier was limited.

At most, he could output almost twice his normal power while circulating his mana into a specific part of his body.

To go above this amount once, would result in being incapacitated for days. He had experienced this firsthand when he increased the amount of energy in his arms too much to perform a particularly mighty swing. His muscles couldn’t withstand that much mana forced into them and ruptured into a fountain of blood. The pain was excruciating, and he was left helpless, unable to move for days as his body struggled to heal from the severe injury.

There were advance ways to overcame them like fractals, and runes but it was in the future. He could only improve so much in such short time.

He grunted as he looked at his watch. Long ago? It felt like it, but it was only now eight five.

He looked around the busy students. The work would take quite a bit of time. They had a lot of things to work with. It will keep them a little busy while he cleared any nearby monster.

The silence in the room carried a heavy presence, a guillotine lingering over their heads. Any whispered words received reprimanding glares from others.

After securing his makeshift spear, He straightened up and looked at the rest of his classmates. They stared back at him, vague familiarity and pity in their eyes. Last thing to do…

Instead of moving toward the door, he walked to the mantis corpse on the ground.

The monsters in this world had specialized body parts that could be used as tools, like the mantis blade arms. The half of the monster's body had turned to ashes, but its blade arms remained intact. He knelt down, carefully extracting the blades, the weight of them reassuring in his hands.

The small exoskelten attached to the blade remained a little. Using some torn fabric from the nearby corpse, he fashioned a makeshift handle, his movements precise.

Several other students shifted in place uncomfortably as he made a weapon with monster parts. But they would learn the lesson soon. After waiting for a few seconds, he moved toward the door, feeling the eyes of his classmates on his back.

He didn't wait for them to agree to come with him— he'd said his piece. Given a minute of his time. The words were mostly to test the students in the room. And he was thankful as nobody followed him.

Zain definitely didn’t want to get attached to anybody else here. He wouldn’t risk his life to save any of them.

It was horrid, but that was the truth. Getting to know them more personally would make things more…

Personal.

And getting personal led to betrayals.

Before they could wrap him up in further talks, he bared his knife in front of him and slowly opened the door, peering into the hallway.

The walls oozed darkness that warped the world around them. All the lights were switched off, and the hallway was lit through dim natural lighting. The hallway was still long, but the darkness made it seem much longer.

With a lurch, he dashed forward. No reactions. There was no ambush near the door. He looked around and couldn't find anyone else in the hallway.

As he walked down the hallway, the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Zain's mind raced.

He was relieved Tristan hadn't insisted on keeping him close.

He needed to hunt monsters, gather soul stats, and grow stronger. The apocalypse was just beginning, and every second counted.

He passed silent classrooms and some with sound of students arguing.

Instead of stopping, he turned around the corner to stairs.

Opening the door slightly, Zain .

To his left, the back stairwell was in sight, but there was sound the little monsters meandering around. They chittered and cooed, filling the halls with ominous low echoes. The sound was sufficient to remind the state of school but far enough that there was no immediate threat.

Looking down at the stairs, he nearly groaned. It was far enough to make him wonder if monster waves would swarm him before reaching the floor.

For now, he would make do with what he had. Idly, he wondered what he looked like in a mirror. With the mantis blade in his right and his big spear in his left, he imagined he cut a rather sorry figure.

It didn’t matter. Stepping onto the stairs, he made sure to mind his step. Taking a fall probably wouldn’t damage anything but his pride, but he didn’t know what might be lurking around every corner.