He had changed back to the hallways after getting below by one level down the tiled stairs.

The previous floor should be enough to delay Tristan. Suspecting his background, the bastard should have some details to clear the area.

He wanted to head down to the floor below, but first, he had to get some hands on Essence crystals to increase his strength. He hadn’t seen the first mantis appear, so he didn’t know what to look for exactly, but he was keeping out.

After walking a few steps, he paused in front of a classroom. Slowly putting his ears on the door, he could only hear the sound of something shuffling inside.

Hopefully, it would be a monster. Not that it was a good thing for the students inside.

After opening the door, Zain felt a shiver run up his back, not just from the darkness but from the horrible scene in front of him. Body parts, remnants of the students here, littered the floor— a reminder of the slaughter that had taken place.

What immediately garnered his attention wasn’t this, though, but rather the monster rifling through a broken body.

If it once looked like an overgrown mantis with blades for forelimbs, this thing was now twice that size, almost reaching his chest. The blades also got half upgraded with serrated edges. The edges didn't seem fully formed, though. The transformation was monstrous, slowly converting to the living nightmare that the system introduced to the earth.

The electricity had turned off in the last few minutes, and the visibility had lessened considerably, causing the scene more macabre. The whole class was slaughtered, and now the monster had grown into something even more terrifying.

Not grown. Its exoskeleton, once a mottled green, now shimmered with a sinister red sheen that caught the ambient light, pulsating as if it were breathing.

Growing. The light hinted that the creature was in the middle of its evolution.

He took short, quick breaths, his heart beating fast as he ready himself for action. Zain's mind raced, every instinct screaming for him to flee, but it was too late for that. The monster was stronger for his skinny body.

The mantis perked up before Zain could leave the hell out. Its compound eyes met his, a chilling gleam of recognition of food passing between them before it let out an enraged chitter. With terrifying speed, it charged, the room echoing with the clatter of its limbs.

Ah, crap.

Instead of facing the monster in the hallway, Zain barely had time to duck into the classroom, slamming the door behind him just as the mantis reached.

[ HP: 33% ]

[ MP: 37% ]

Looking at his status, adrenaline coursed through his veins, sharpening his senses. Zain took a snap to make his decision and pushed past one fallen desk after another toward the right of the room, shoving aside body parts that got in the way.

Zain loosened his grip on the gnarled spear fashioned from desk legs, the makeshift weapon ringing as it clattered to the ground. There was no way it would be effective against the exoskeleton.

Only the joints would be vulnerable, and he would get only one chance to strike. His hand tightened on his makeshift mantis blade, his eyes tracking the monster's newfound speed. It was at least twice as fast as the previous monster.

His stats were not enough to face it head-on, so after entering the room, he moved to a corner, giving the blade mantis only one side to attack from. The mantis changed direction, but Zain noticed the delay and the momentum propelling it forward. The change caught it off guard, as the monster could only reach with outstretched serrated blades.

Mana begins moving inside his body, ready to power up his abilities. With the most potent boost he could muster, he waited for his chance to land a perfect hit. There was no other option; he had to risk it. Even as the mantis blade neared, Zain waited, letting his mind enter a focused state.

At the last second, he directed the mana inside his body to flow into his legs and threw himself to the side, slashing his blade at the charging mantis.

The serrated blade stretched to catch him; he overcharged his swing, changed his direction mid swing, felt his arms protesting, and connected with the joints behind the mantis blade. Even a crude swing like that contained enough power to throw off a giant beast.

The impact reverberated through his arm, making them tremble and loosening his hold as his blade got struck in the joint.

At the same time, the blades of the monster latched on to him, and with the combined momentum of Zain’s strike and its own, the blades drew a deep gash on his midriff and left leg. Large wounds were ripped open, and blood immediately started pouring out.

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The pain was immediate and intense, a burning reminder of the monster's power. Zain staggered, his vision blurring as he fought to stay conscious. The fight wasn't over, but his body was rapidly reaching its limit in only the first strike.

He shook his head in an effort to clear his mind. It worked a little. His body was still that of a scrawny boy, without any training, it was pathetic.

Even though his mind could ignore the pain, his body was still not up to the pain resistance that he previously enjoyed.

When the blade's edge met the monster’s exoskeleton, he thought he’d meet similar resistance before punching through, but he was wrong.

Fortunately, wrong in a way that benefited him. The blade jammed into the joint, causing the insectoid forelimb to hang useless, preventing the monster from using its serrated blade that was near him.

The evolving monster shrieked angrily as Zain reoriented himself.

This time, Zain was slightly more prepared, putting weight on his right leg to jump out of the way. But before he could, he heard a snarl and felt a gust of wind sweeping by him before he unceremoniously landed in a pile three meters away.

A Skill. One with Alacrity.

Quickly scrambling to his feet, he saw the monster had skidded past his original position in an effort to stop, continuing on for a few meters.

Zain noticed that the monster was a little dizzy.

Skill not fully integrated. Being forced to use a new skill in the middle of evolution should give the monster a disoriented feeling.

The red sheen on the exoskeleton started pulsating, and the monster shrieked. The low amount of mana passed around Zain, leaving behind a hollow feeling, and rushed toward the beast. When the mana reached the evolving monster, it focused on a spot directly center and slightly above its eyes.

Right where its essence crystal should be located. Forced evolution, he thought as he realized what the monster wanted to do.

That energy condensed into a perfect sphere, crimson red swirls that began to glow from its forehead. Zain thought he’d failed to stop the evolution, so he crept backward toward the door.

Contrary to his expectations, the monster started thrashing around. And he realized that the mana was not enough for the beast to forcibly fasten its evolution.

The whole process happened in a few seconds, not giving him enough time, and the mantis stopped thrashing. Its compound eyes had lost some of its intelligence as it shrieked at him with bestial instinct. It wasn’t dissuaded at all from continuing its pursuit, though it looked more disoriented. The mantis reoriented itself and was getting ready for another charge.

Its speed was somewhat slowed, though it was still quickly catching up to him.

Zain realized the monster had high speed but low maneuverability, and with its blinding instinct, he started to frantically figure out a way to use this to his advantage. His burst in the speed was the only way to trick the monster; he had already used it twice.

There was a chance that it would adapt to his fighting style, so he could at most get one chance to injure it drastically. He checked his status, to check his consumption.

[ HP: 12% ]

[ MP: 18% ]

Monsters follow a unique evolutionary system driven by their natural instincts. Fortunately, he arrived just in time to disrupt this process.

He looked around the room, taking in the blood and flesh splattered everywhere. He needed a weapon, something reliable. His eyes quickly spotted several system given rusted weapons scattered about. Instead of trusting an unknown weapon, he moved and picked up his steel spear once more, feeling its familiar weight.

“Come on, come on…” Zain whispered, once again readjusting his grip on the desk spear. This was it, do or die time.

When the monster was just three meters away from him, he once again dove to the side. This time, the beast was somewhat ready for him and managed to swipe at his calf. It wasn’t as deep as his last gashes but it still burned like hell.

The momentum of the insectoid propelled it forward, crashing straight into the classroom wall. Its bestial instinct seemed to override any semblance of intelligence, and Zain noticed that the head injury made it dizzy. This was his chance.

This was the small window he created for himself, and if this didn’t work, he had no other recourse.

[ HP: 11% ]

[ MP: 15% ]

Moving forward, he burned the last of his mana, his legs and arms protesting from the severe mana usage. His flesh had still not adapted to the strain, and the forced strengthening was taking a toll. Ignoring the pain, he thrust the spear with all his might.

It struck true at the joints and lodged into the mantis's neck, digging in further than he had hoped. A great spurt of blood and a pained shriek accompanied the successful strike.

The mantis thrashed wildly from the strike, its powerful torso slamming into Zain's stomach. He was thrown backward, losing his grip on the spear.

Losing his weapon twice, he felt a pang of shame. All the air fled his lungs as he hit the ground hard. He didn’t dare take stock of his steadily worsening wounds and immediately got back to his feet.

The world spun for a second as he scrambled up, but he forced himself to stay conscious. The sight that met him was more positive than he had dared to hope.

[ HP: 8% ]

[ MP: 6% ]

The wound Zain had managed to inflict must have severed a couple of veins as green blood poured unceasingly from the gash in its neck, far more profusely than the shallow wound on its arm. The blood pooled on the floor, creating a slick, gruesome mess around the thrashing creature.

Not daring to take any risks, Zain gingerly stepped forward, gripped the spear, and with a swift, decisive tug, ripped it out of the monster's neck. Green blood sprayed from the wound, but he held firm, ready to strike again if necessary.

He cautiously retreated a few steps, just in case the monster thrashed around again. This time, though, only a weak shriek accompanied the action.

Blood started gushing out even faster from the gaping wound, and it seemed increasingly unlikely that the monster could survive even if left alone.

To be sure, he stabbed it twice more, and finally, it stopped moving. He sat up and caught his breath, trying to calm down. As he did, he realized the harsh reality: he was hurt, really hurt.

This frail body of his was proving to be more of a hindrance than he was prepared to handle. He had nearly forgotten how a single glancing blow could cause so much pain and blood.

[ HP: 7% ]