Back in the Financial District Hiro leaped down to the streets, bounced once, and landed.
He dropped his katana, his bag of supplies, and immediately triggered {Lupine Shift} as the first horned tiger lunged for him.
Umph!
He met its attack head-on, Hiro able to tackle the tiger, wrangle it using its own horns, and snap its neck back.
Lupine Hiro roared, the world around him a blur as the second tiger released a poison mist from the tip of its tail. To avoid the mist, Hiro jumped onto a parked SUV, crunching its roof. The tiger leaped from an overturned car to the SUV, its tail continuing to release a green mist that corroded everything it touched.
Hiro bolted away and the horned beast threw itself toward a building, where it ran along its sidewall in pursuit of Hiro, whose mind was reeling from his transformation. He could feel his heart thumping; Hiro could feel the monster inside him crying out as he stood his ground.
The tiger slammed into lupine Hiro, its claws grazing against the skin but not drawing blood.
He hit back, first with a fist, then his own claws. Rage filled Hiro as he hopped on top of the tiger, where he was quickly bucked off.
The beast moved in for the kill as it landed on top of him, where it tore into his shoulder, and shook its head left and right in an attempt to rip a good chunk of flesh off Hiro. All the tiger ended up doing was shredding his hoodie even more as Hiro bit back.
He tasted blood. Hiro bit harder until he could feel the tiger’s neck giving way.
The tiger lost its power and Hiro kicked it off. He staggered to his feet, turned back to the beast, and roared until it felt like someone had drawn their fingernails against the inside of his throat.
Even with the pain it felt good to scream like that, good to be so primal. Then came the hunger pangs.
No… Hiro tried to tell his wolven body. But he had lost control, his world a blur of viscera and blood as he started to feed on one of the tigers. It all stopped once Hiro transformed back.
He fell to his knees, belly swelling, Soul Essence pouring into him.
You have new followers!
Performance upgrade!
Level up!
Skill Level up!
Sword Proficiency, E-Rank > D-Rank
Sword Proficiency, D-Rank
Upgrade Available: 0/100 Kills
[Sword quality based on skill level.]
His phone buzzed. Hiro managed to check the message as he stumbled away:
There was no time to recover.
Even as the tiger bodies faded away, Hiro knew that they could attract attention.
He grabbed his katana and his bag, and hurried into the parking garage, unaware that he was leaving a trail of blood behind him.
Almost back, Hiro thought as he found the ladder that led down to the fallout shelter. Navigating the dark with ease, he yanked the pull cord on the rusted generator, its engine sputtering to life. He flicked on the floodlights and sat for a moment, his arms clutching his knees as the transformation fully left him.
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What a mess.
Hiro wiped fresh tiger blood from his lips and tried to ignore its metallic taste. To distract himself, he checked his status and saw that his performance grade had improved. He also noted that there were less Survivors in both the city and the world.
Makes sense, sadly, he thought as his eyes traced over his family altar.
Followers: 1,497
Interim Performance Grade: C-
City Survivors: 851, 089
World Survivors: 379, 239, 814
Beast Death Count: 95/791
Hunter Death Count: 9/89
“Good. Fuck these monsters.”
I don’t actually know what time it is, yet I am able to track the passage of time through the countdown… Hiro pulled out his phone.
02:12:21:36
02:12:21:35
02:12:21:34
“Companion, will I get a Sentry count?”
The text appeared on the screen.
Hiro drank some water to ease his pulsing throat. “Great. I have to deal with Sentries, Hunters, monsters, and asshole Survivors.”
“Easier said than done.” Hiro wiped his mouth again with his arm. “Anyway. Whatever, for now. Tell me more about these enemy health bars I now have access to.”
“Will I see health bars for Survivors?”
“That means they would have to attack me first, or be a known enemy, like the bitch in the yellow raincoat.”
Hiro unpacked the items he had taken from the rooftop apartment and arranged them in his fallout shelter. He thought about what needed to happen next.
Being able to jump to the top of some of the largest buildings in the world makes me want to head to Central Park, toward Billionaires’ Row. There will definitely be some good loot in those condos.
Some of the buildings in Billionaire’s Row were over seventy stories tall, which would make it hard to get to the top. Hiro was used to jumping down to the ground and heading back up to a rooftop with this power, but he didn’t know what doing it from that high up would look like.
Even if using {Bounce} is possible from a seventy-story building, it would be scary as shit. I definitely wouldn’t be able to jump to the streets. I would have to work my way up and carefully work my way down. Fucking carefully.
Over the last year, Hiro had mostly kept to the subway beneath the city until he’d discovered the long abandoned fallout shelter, a product of the Second Cold War. Yet now, he felt as if the Big Apple was his oyster, especially with his newfound powers.
Better safe than sorry, his dad said constantly.
A Japanese proverb his mother had been fond of saying came to him:
石の上にも三年 - Three years on a stone.
The proverb implied that persistence and patience would eventually pay off.
Does it, though? he had thought numerous times after seeing both his parents suffer for following these concepts.
It was no wonder his parents had liked each other in the beginning. They were more alike than they knew, which also led to their eventual separation.
Hiro glanced back over to his family altar, which had a picture of the three of them before the separation. It also had a picture of his grandfather. Maybe I should stay here. For just a bit. Three hours on a stone.
Hiro needed just three hours for {Lupine Shift} to reset. In the meantime, he could plot his way toward Central Park using a few maps he had procured.
He examined his maps, which were plastered against one of the walls. There was a subway map, followed by tourist maps, and even a few hand drawn parts noting where the rail line went and where the tunnels had collapsed.
Hiro’s eyes fell onto another famous landmark, the church on Fifth Avenue not far from Billionaire’s Row. That could be a place to start.
There will be Hunters, monsters, Sentries, and other Survivors. Kill more, and I’ll get more followers.
As frightening as these prospects could be, they brought a smile to Hiro’s face. The outside world was exciting, even if it was extremely dangerous.
He recalled what his Companion had said about banding with others.
Tomorrow, or in about eight to twelve hours judging by his understanding of time, Hiro planned to meet with Valeria. He would let her know that he had found two Survivors, Juan and Marcello, brothers who had agreed to join their cause.
“Is there anything else I need to know?” he asked his phone.
“Why do I need followers for a merchant?” Hiro asked, thinking of the prompt he often got after a fight or a daring exploit.