As the moon climbed into the night sky, Jason stepped out from the burning building, his body aching with exhaustion.
"That place is overrun with ants," he muttered, glancing at the sword in one hand and the fading parchment in the other. "I don’t have the stamina or strength to clear it completely, but at least I got something useful."
[Iron Sword] (Dropped from Level 10 Ant)
+8 Strength (A low-grade blade, slightly dulled but still reliable.)
Skill Slot 2: Overdrive (Lv.1)
Effect: Converts one point of Endurance into Strength or Agility (1:1 Ratio) for up to 30 seconds.
Jason took a deep breath, feeling the new power coursing through his body.
Name: Jason Cole
Level: 12
Health: 29
Agility: 24
Endurance: 5/27
Strength: 25
Mana: 29
Unassigned Stats: 22
"I'm definitely a lot stronger now," Jason thought, clenching his fists.
But strength meant nothing if he collapsed from exhaustion. His stamina was dangerously low, and he needed to find shelter before morning.
Checking his mini-map, he spotted a cluster of green dots near the gymnasium.
"Survivors?" he guessed, making his way toward the building’s entrance.
As he neared, he noticed the glass panes had been reinforced with wooden planks—clear signs that people were barricading themselves inside.
Just as he raised his hand to knock, a flashlight beamed down on him.
Jason squinted, looking up at the source of the light.
A young man, three years older than him, with blonde hair and sharp blue eyes, stood above, watching him carefully.
"Hey, I’m Luke," the man called down. "If you don’t already know me, I’m the student president of the university."
"We’ve set up a temporary shelter inside. Limited food, but if you need a place to stay, you’re welcome to join us."
Jason hesitated for a moment before responding. "Sure, I’ll take a look."
Luke raised an eyebrow—the response was casual, almost indifferent. Most survivors had been desperate for protection, grateful to find shelter.
But Jason wasn’t like the others.
As he stepped inside, dozens of survivors turned to glance at him, their eyes flicking toward the bloodstains on his clothes and the weapons at his sides. But after a few moments, they returned to what they were doing, too tired or numb to care.
"Follow me," Luke said, leading Jason toward a separate room at the back of the gym.
Inside, three people were arguing over the remaining rations.
"We have to start kicking people out," a red-haired guy snapped, frustration clear in his voice.
"Or we could raid the minimarts on campus," a black-haired girl countered. "That’ll buy us some time."
Knock. Knock.
Luke pushed open the door. "Hey guys, we’ve got someone new."
The three stopped arguing for a second, their eyes shifting to Jason.
"This is Jason," Luke introduced. "He just arrived, but looking at the blood on him…" He eyed the stains, the still-wet streaks running down Jason’s sleeves.
"He’s definitely fought before. And recently. He should be able to help us out," Luke said, trying to convince the others.
"Do you have any abilities?" the girl with black hair questioned.
Jason didn’t reply. He wasn’t about to reveal anything.
"Sorry, how rude of me," the girl said with a smile. "I'm Emma, a final-year student and one of the university’s student ambassadors." She crossed her arms. "I'm level 5, and my ability is 'Charm.'" She winked at Jason.
"The redhead over here is Ryan. He’s level 6, and his ability is Fire Blast."
"Sup," Ryan said.
Jason nodded in reply.
"You’ve met Luke. His ability is Swift Stride, which increases his agility. And over here is Hannah," she said, motioning to the last girl. "She has a healing ability—it’s saved us more than once."
"We were originally having a meeting with the rest of the student ambassadors when the spiders in the room suddenly grew and attacked us. We fought our way out and ended up leveling up quite a bit."
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Then we guided most of the students into the gym, but now we’re running out of food. So now that we’ve told you about us, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?"
"Yeah, sure," Jason replied. "I'm level 4, and I have an ability called Strengthen. It lets me increase my power—similar to Luke’s ability." He lied effortlessly. No way he was revealing his true strength.
"Although I’m not sure I want to be stuck with all these people who are too scared to fight a few insects, relying on you to feed them," he added, arms crossed. "Seems like they’re just extra baggage."
"I can understand why you’d say that," Emma replied. "But you’re almost as strong as us, probably stronger once you use your ability. You could do some real good here if you helped us out. We’re planning on raiding the minimarts across campus. There are five of them, and they’ll help everyone—including you."
"Yeah, I’m not too sure about that," Jason commented. "I just came here to check things out. I’m not really inclined to help. I was just looking for a place to stay for the night."
"If you want to stay, you have to help us gather food tomorrow," Ryan said, arms crossed.
"Ah, then I’ll find someplace else," Jason replied, already turning away.
Ryan’s eyes burned with anger at the rejection, his pride wounded. "Fine, leave. But don’t come crawling back when you’re cold and hungry."
"Ryan!" Luke and Emma snapped at him.
Luke exhaled. "Jason, you’re welcome here anytime, but like we said, we need people to help. We can’t support everyone on our own."
"Won’t you help us?" Emma asked, her voice soft as she channeled her Charm skill.
Jason felt the effect immediately. A sudden wave of compliance, of agreement—it made him want to say yes.
But then, something deep inside him resisted.
He remembered the Queen Ant’s psychic control—the sheer power she had forced upon him. Compared to that, Emma’s ability felt like a mere suggestion. A trick.
He snapped out of it, his gaze turning cold.
"Thanks, but I’ll have to refuse," Jason said, turning away.
Emma froze, she couldn't understand why her charm ability didn't affect him.
As Jason stepped into the dark, moonlit night, he checked his mini-map, heading toward the mini-mart to grab some food.
But just as he got close, he froze.
A red dot had appeared.
It was moving fast—straight toward the gymnasium.
“Shit.” Jason’s heart pounded. He didn’t care enough to bring them food, but he wasn’t about to let them die needlessly.
He sprinted toward the red dot, intercepting it 200 meters away from the gym entrance.
A loud, bone-rattling buzz filled the air.
Then he saw it—a two-meter-tall black-and-yellow wasp, its giant stinger dripping with green venom.
Level 14: Elite wasp
Jason drew his blade.
The monster screeched, its red eyes flashing with aggression, before firing a volley of acidic pellets from its stinger.
Jason rolled sideways, dodging as the green liquid sizzled against the pavement, burning holes straight through it.
“Yeah… definitely can’t let that touch me.”
The wasp shrieked again, wings vibrating violently as it charged forward faster than Jason could track.
Hunter’s Instinct screamed at him.
Jason barely managed to raise his sword in time, deflecting the stinger mid-air—but the sheer force sent him flying, crashing into the ground.
Pain flared up his arms. A few grazes bled where the pavement had torn through his skin.
He gritted his teeth. He wasn’t fast enough.
“I can’t fight it while it’s airborne I need to get it on the ground.”
His eyes darted around, searching for a way to turn the tide. Then he saw it the library, twenty meters away.
Without hesitation, Jason sprinted. The wasp shrieked and gave chase, unleashing another barrage of acidic shots.
Jason zigzagged through the parking lot, barely dodging, his blade deflecting some of the acid.
The moment he dove into the building, he pressed himself against a bookshelf, controlling his breathing.
The buzzing grew louder.
The wasp blasted through the entrance, its crimson eyes glowing with hate for the lesser being that had dared to deflect its attacks.
Jason peered from behind the shelf.
No weak points.
The wasp let out an irritated screech before spitting acid randomly, dissolving bookshelves, sending paper flying.
Jason stayed motionless—until the bookshelf next to him was hit, collapsing instantly.
He was exposed.
Jason gritted his teeth.
“No more holding back.”
He activated Exoskeleton.
His body grew taller, his muscles hardened, and his agility surged as he dumped 12 of his 22 stat points into Agility, with the remaining 10 into Mana.
Health: 35 (29 + 20%)
Agility: 36
Endurance: 27
Strength: 30 (25 + 20%)
Mana: 34/39
Unassigned Stats: 0
A rush of power surged through his veins.
Now he could see it.
A single white weak point at the base of the wasp’s stinger.
“One shot. That’s all I need.”
Jason dashed forward, sword raised.
But the wasp reacted instantly.
It twisted mid-air, dodging effortlessly before beating its wings, creating a violent gust of wind that sent books and debris flying.
Then, it lunged, stinger aiming straight for Jason’s heart.
Jason barely managed to deflect it, his blade scraping against the hardened stinger but the force sent him skidding backward.
Even with his enhanced body, Jason was barely keeping up. 20 seconds left before his mana ran out.
He lunged again, swinging at its weak spot. Again, the wasp dodged effortlessly, countering with a rapid-fire flurry of stinger strikes.
Jason’s Exoskeleton absorbed some of the impact, but not all. He could feel his arms growing heavy. The wasp buzzed back, preparing another acid shot.
Jason dove for cover, but... Ssshhhhhhhhhh. A splatter of acid grazed his back. His body burned. The pain was unbearable, even with Exoskeleton, it felt like his flesh was melting.
He had 10 seconds remaining until his mana depleted. Jason clenched his fists. He had no choice but to give it his all.
“Overclock.”
A rush of burning energy exploded through his body. His last 15 points of Endurance instantly converted into Agility.
His vision blurred and his body felt like fire, but he was faster, much faster.
The wasp lunged again but this time Jason moved first, faster than the wasp could react. His blade sliced straight through the white weak point at the base of its stinger. The wasp shrieked, its movements sluggish and panicked.
Jason didn’t let it breathe. With blinding speed he slashed across its thorax sending green insides splattering.
However the wasp was a warrior, and before Jason could retreat, it thrust its broken stinger forward, piercing his left arm.
Jason gritted his teeth, suppressing a scream. The pain was unbearable. His left arm felt like it was on fire but he wasn’t done. With every ounce of his remaining strength, Jason drove his blade deep into the wasp’s abdomen, twisting.
Green fluid gushed out, the wasp’s wings sputtering. The creature screeched in agony, desperately trying to escape.
Jason wouldn’t allow it. He lifted his blade one final time and decapitated it.
The wasp’s massive corpse crashed to the floor.
Jason staggered, barely standing.
Then, a small parchment materialized before him, he reached out to grab it, stuffing it into his bloodstained shirt pocket.
His vision blurred.
Poison. Exhaustion. Mana depletion.
He collapsed.