Chapter 14: A City in Ruins

  As we walked through the ruireets, the devastation of the city hit me all ain. Walls were crumbling, windows shattered, buildings barely holding themselves together. Some stood at unnatural angles, on the verge of colpse. It was a ghost town, stripped of its former life, reduced to a skeleton of what it once was.

  I reized a few remnants of the past—a half-destroyed sign of a café I used to pass by, a venieore with its shelves overturned, its logo barely ging to the cracked gss. But beyond that, the city was unreizable.

  I wasn’t sure how to feel about this. It’s not like I was ever deeply attached to this pce, but it was still my home. I had lived my entire life here. My parents had, too—until they died when I was young. Even if the memories were faint, they were still here, scattered across these streets, buried beh the wreckage.

  Was I supposed to mourn this pce? Or see it as the start of something new? A rebirth?

  Like a phoenix rising from the ashes...

  I gnced ahead at Lay, her red hair swaying lightly as she walked in front of me, her spear strapped securely to her back. The thought made me chuckle internally. She really did remind me of a phoenix in a way.

  “So… I hear you’ve got some cool eiques,” Mike said, slinging an arm over my shoulder with a smirk.

  I returned his grin.

  “You’ll see soon enough. Just try not to be too surprised when I surpass you, Mr. Hawk Eye.” I nudged him slightly, emphasizing the niame I had given him.

  Mike ughed, but before he could respond, another voice chimed in—one far less amused.

  “Bah. I’ll bet you’ll be just as useless as always.”

  Larry.

  Always a ray of sunshine.

  I sighed but didn’t bother responding right away.

  Mike, however, wasn’t going to let it slide. “e on, man, you know how much he’s been training. At least give him the be of the doubt. Maybe he really did e up with something amazing. I mean, who would put in that much effort if there wasn’t something worthwhile at the end of it?”

  Larry scoffed, his expression hard. “It’s useless. This world isn’t about hard work—it’s about what ability you get. He wasn’t made fhting, don’t you get it? He’s a liability out here, and he’s risking all our lives.”

  I finally turned my head slightly toward him. “Then why don’t you judge for yourself after seeing what I’ve e up with?”

  He didn’t answer, simply clig his tongue in irritation before walking ahead of us, increasing his pace.

  “Tsk.”

  Will’s voice suddenly cut through the versation. “Alright, enough bickering back there. We’ve got ining. Ten wolves straight ahead. Get ready.”

  Instantly, all chatter ceased.

  I focused on the creatures approag us. The wolves were massive—easily the size of bears—with thick gray fur and glowing dark-red eyes.

  These mutated wolfs had beore and more on ever sihe wolf with an ability appeared. Unlike zombies, which were sloredictable, these creatures were fast, aggressive, and intelligent.

  I had heard theories about zombies—that they were failed Awakened, people whose bodies had rejected their newfound powers, causing them to degee into mindless husks. The good news was that they couldn’t turn others into zombies, and most of them were weak.

  Mutated beasts, oher hand… they were airely different story.

  I tightened my grip on my sword, exhaling slowly to calm my nerves.

  Normally, Lay and Will would only let injured mohrough for me to finish off, making sure I didn’t get overwhelmed. But I had the distinct feeling that Will wasn’t going to hold back this time.

  Larry, positio the front, raised his massive shield just as the first wolf lu him. The impact sent a deep boom eg through the air, but Larry barely budged, abs the full brunt of the attack like it was nothing.

  Just how physically strong is this guy? Simply holding a shield that huge should be difficult, but he moves with it like it’s weightless.

  I barely had time to admire his defense before I saw Lay slig through a wolf’s ne one motion. A faint sizzle apahe strike—the heat from her spear cauterizing the wound instantly.

  To her left, Will was just as brutal, cleaving a wolf pletely in half with effortless precision.

  Meanwhile, Larry tinued drawing the aggro, holding back multiple wolves with his sheer presence, while Mike picked them off with deadly accuracy, sending arrows straight into their oints—eyes, throats, joints.

  I didn’t have time to observe for long.

  A wolf, pletely uninjured, was closing in on me.

  My heartbeat slowed, my focus sharpening.

  Good.

  From the way it moved, I could tell it was around my level. This was my ce.

  The beast leaped toward me, cws outstretched, aiming to tear into my flesh. I feigned preparing to block with my sword—then, at the st sed—

  “Weave in, First Style: Phantom Edge.”

  My sword vanished.

  The wolf’s eyes widened in fusion as its cws met nothing but air. At that exaent, I lowered my ter of gravity and jumped slightly to the side, positioning myself just out of its reach while it was still airborne.

  Now!

  “Weave in, Sed Style: Bzing Surge!”

  I drove my bde straight into its torsering a trolled explosion from the tip of my sword.

  A deafening boom echoed through the battlefield.

  The wolf’s body split apart, but this time, I had successfully reguted the force of the explosion—no unnecessary age, no excessive energy wasted.

  Perfect.

  [You’ve sin a Level 15 Grey Wolf.]

  I exhaled, taking a moment to process what just happehat… had gone eveer than expected.

  Since I didn’t o make my sword phased quickly, it was much easier to execute Phantom Edge, and Bzing Surge should definitely be more viable like this. Though, I’ll have to be careful. It worked perfectly this time because I caught the wolf off guard and was just a bit faster than it.

  Then I heard quick steps approag from my right. I turo see another wolf charging at me—seems like Will had no iion of letting me rest. But there was another dowo Bzing Surge: the energy ption. I had to be mindful of how much I used. Thankfully I hadn’t overdohe st explosion.

  I repeated the same maneuver, but this time, as I reached the wolf’s side, it reacted almost instantly, snapping its jaws dangerously close to my arm. I barely mao step ba time.

  Did it see me execute the move earlier?

  Then I heard more rapid steps behind me. I spun around just in time to see yet another wolf lunging at me.

  Shit, are they serious?

  From the er of my eye, I spotted Will watg me with a smirk, clearly eained. But what about Lay? I was surprised she wasn’t stopping this. I g her—she was frowning, tense, her grip tightening around her spear. She was ready to interve any moment, but she wasn’t stepping in.

  I see… She’s respeg my decision to fight. A small smile tugged at my lips.

  Before I could get too seal, the sharp snap of jaws forced me to move. A wolf’s fangs nearly closed around my arm, and I quickly jumped back.

  I o focus. I had a few ways to deal with these wolves, but none were exactly safe. I didn’t want to give Lay another reason to se ter…

  Oion was to let one of them bite my left hand while I sshed its neck with my right. Would it hurt? A hell of a lot, but after enduring two days of repeated explosions in my face, I figured I could handle some pain. Plus, I could heal myself afterward.

  The sed option depended on my ability to trol Bzing Surge… though if I lost trol, Lay would definitely have more ammunition against me ter.

  Aaaa, screw it. I’m here to test my teiques anyway. Let’s do this!

  As one of the wolves lu me, aiming to sink its teeth into my torso, I met it head-on, log my bde against its cws. It was strohan me, and I had no iion of using my sub-ability just yet, so I undid my sword, letting the wolf's momentum carry it past me.

  Of course, right at that moment, the sed wolf leaped at me from behind.

  Exactly what I wanted.

  As its fangs neared me, I activated my ability.

  “Weave in, Sed Style: Bzing Surge!”

  BOUUUMM!

  I forced an explosion directly into the wolf’s face.

  Yes! Success! I didn't blow myself up.

  Without wasting a sed, I turo deal with the sed wolf charging at me from behind. This time, I wao try something new.

  As the wolf lunged, I dismissed my sword and waited until the st possible moment before materializing a spear straight into my grip—thrusting it forward and pierg the beast’s skull.

  [You have sin a Level 16 Grey Wolf.]

  Yes! The spear wasn’t fully formed—its creation had been interrupted by the wolf’s head—but it was enough. This solidified one of my future pns: keep ging my on mid-battle to gain an advantage.

  Of course, I wasn’t at that level yet, and I had no formal experience using a spear, but the cept romising.

  Wait... now that I think about it, I haven’t heard the notification for the other wolf’s defeat---

  A cold chill ran down my spine.

  I dropped to the ground at the st sed, just as the wounded wolf lu my back. The rush of air from its jaws was too close—if I had hesitated even for a moment, my shoulder would have been torn apart.

  Shit, that was way too close, I was reckless. I should have realized soohat it was still alive.

  The wolf staggered forward, its once-gray fur now bed and matted with blood. Deep gashes covered its body, fresh wounds leaking crimson onto the cracked pavement. Despite its critical state, its dark red eyes still burned with primal fury.

  Damn… it’s still standing?

  Fine. Let’s end this.

  I eled my Phoenix ability into my legs, using the burst of energy to propel myself forward. Then, redireg the energy into my arms, I swung my sword with everything I had.

  SLAANG!

  The wolf’s head hit the ground with a heavy thud.

  [You have sin a Level 17 Grey Wolf.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  I exhaled sharply, l my sword as the body colpsed onto the ground with a dull thud. No wo survived—level 17. That was strohan I expected.

  A slow cp echoed through the area, breaking the tension.

  “gratutions,” Will said, walking toward me with an approving grin. “At the very least, I tell you’re creative with how you use your teiques. That was… iing.” His eyes gleamed with curiosity, clearly satisfied for now.

  I could still feel the adrenaline in my veins, but his words sank in. He was right—I had improved. Before, there was no way I could’ve taken down even one of these wolves alone. Now, I had just sin three in rapid succession.

  I ched my fist, a small smile f. I had e a long way.

  Lay approached , her violet eyes sing me carefully before softening. “Are you alright, Elian?”

  I turo her, finally notig the rest of the team watg me. Right—while I had been focused on my own fight, they had already taken care of the remaining wolves.

  “Yeah, don’t worry. I didn’t take any hits.” I reassured her with a grin.

  Mike let out a ugh, giving me a friendly pun the shoulder. “No wonder you were so fident! You’ve gotten at least twice as strong, man.”

  Lary, oher hand, stood silently for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a small ‘hmph,’ he looked away, crossing his arms.

  I smirked. “See, Lary? I’m n—”

  A voice—powerful, deep, and otherworldly—suddenly resonated in my mind, cutting me off mid-sentence.

  {I finally found you, Child of Creation.}

  G!!

  A metallic impact rang out, sharp and deafening. Instinctively, I jumped back, my body tensing as my heart pounded in my chest.

  What the hell was that?!

  The atmosphere shifted. The air grew heavy, thick with an overwhelming pressure that sent shivers down my spine. Something was here.

  I gripped my sword tighter, sing the area as my breath came out in short, trolled bursts.

  This… this wasn’t over yet.