“They say that y pert of the popution dies during the outbreak and initially that’s the truth. But how many of those ten pert survive the awakening? The first Night? It all really depends on the survivors' lud their will to survive. After that? Well, they either adapt or die. There is no pce for weaklings in the Void, or at least that was ohe case.”

  ~ Loraveler, 31st Outbreak

  Cursed Human (LVL: 2) sin | Experience awarded | 1 Ether gained

  Cursed Human (LVL: 3) sin | Experience awarded | 1 Ether gained

  Level three. Of course, it had to be level three already. Leo grumbled, his chest still heaving up and down. Though the shovel really came in handy. I will o find something simir o breaks.

  The bloodied tool still id in Leo’s hands, ready to rise at any moment as he tried to catch a breath after a fight he probably shouldn’t have survived. What a mess…

  A frontation with one Voidling was dangerous enough, a Leo went straight ahead and fought two. His only saving grace was the fact that he didn’t have to beat the two monsters at the same time.

  Leo sighed, dismissing the notifications as he forced himself to look at the two dead Voidlings. As much as he didn’t want to know who he'd killed, the knowledge of where they came from was too important.

  Despite some of its body already turning into dust, Lehe monster with a dagger in its head almost instantly. It was another elderly man, one who lived alone in a house just a few steps away from the entrao the forest.

  Not good. Leo gulped as he stood up and approached the headless body. This thing grew more monstrous just after one day and had already reached level three. Was this what the eant by saying that Voidlings grew stronger with each day?

  Isn’t this a bit too fast? I already fought four of those things and only reached level two after killing the sed one... No, this one must have killed someone before the night had even begun… Same situation as with Mr. Gibson.

  Leo grimaced, not liking the sound of his thoughts o. If he was right, then another survivor died before they even had a ce to fight back. Just hoeople died because they were unlucky?

  Leo’s already bad mood pummeled at the thought. He had been fortuhat Edward decided to visit the bathroom before the Outbreak, but what abe families or atherings in public pces?

  A shiver ran down Leo’s spine as the images of people awakening to hordes of Voidlings fshed in his mind. What a fucked up way to die… Be lucky to survive the Outbreak, only to open your eyes to a couple of monsters ready to make a snack out of you.

  Lucky indeed.

  Leo closed his eyes momentarily and pushed those thoughts away. He was still in the open and had enough depressing thoughts to st a lifetime, he didn’t need more. Better to focus on something that could help him survive.

  With another look at the headless body, Leo flexed his cws and buried them in the corpse, Essence immediately rushing towards his body. He did the same thing to the other half-drained Voidling and nodded when the System informed him that the taint was sated for another seven hours.

  The process of draining the bodies of his neighbors still weighed heavily on Leo’s mind. On the one hand, he his to survive and to keep the bonus from his taint active. Oher hand, Leo felt like he took everything away from those people when their bodies colpsed to dust.

  It was stupid, Leo khat. They all were long dead, taken away by the so-called Void. Nothing Leo did to them afterward could ge that.

  I’m doing what I have to survive. Leo repeated once again, leaving the piles of dust and the blood-stained ground behind him as he followed the feo its edge. Morals regarding the bodies of monsters should be the least of his worries right now.

  Peeking around the end of the fence, Leo sed the entire neighborhood. No more Voidlings were in sight, but from the muffled growls eg in the distand some broken windows in sight, Leo khat sooner or ter more monsters would e out.

  Hopefully, I won’t be here to see that, Leo thought and dashed right towards his home.

  In the long run, Leo had only two goals. To survive and find out the fate of his family.

  The e and the System provided Leo with enough tools to survive as long as he didn’t make some rash and stupid decisions... Which would be fine and dandy if Leo’s sed goal could be achieved without a bunch of not-so-smart ideas.

  To find Nick’s family, Leo had to travel deep into the den of the lion, a city full of monsters. And for all his bravado, he didn't fancy his ces against hordes of Voidlings. At least not yet.

  As such, Leo needed a pn. A pn that gave him a ce to prepare, thus increasing his ces of survival, but at the same time brought him closer to Nick’s home. The ao this problem was surprisingly easy, even if a lot of things could g.

  His brother lived on the pletely opposite side of the city, just a few streets away from the town square. The fastest way there would be to ght through the town, but Leo could also go around the city’s periphery and theer it from the industrial side which should have fewer Cursed Humans active.

  It didn’t solve all of Leo’s problems as he still had to make his way through some Voidling-ied streets. But at least the risk was much lower, and it also gave Leo some time to get ready for the iable.

  He could kill a few Voidlings on his way there and hopefully grow strong enough to reaiside the city. It was far from a well-thought-out pn, but Leo couldn't stay in his house any longer.

  Not when every seattered. Leo gritted his teeth, stopping the flow of water from the tap and leaving his bathroom. Electricity might be down, but at least the flow of water was still there as long as the water towers didn’t colpse.

  Walking into the living room, Leo grabbed a ge of clothes. Simple cargo pants he found deep in his wardrobe and a shirt along with a bck hoodie to offer some warmth just in case the weather decided to flip once again.

  Fully clothed, Leo approached the table where all of the supplies waited and put what he needed inside his bag. His father's rifle once again found its pce at the backpack’s side, while his rusty dagger slid ly into a makeshift sheath made from scraps of clothes.

  This might be the st time I see this pce, Leo sighed as he gave the room a final look. He had no reason to ever e back here beyond resupplying, and even then, it probably wouldn’t be worth the trip back. Besides, living so close to a city full of Cursed Humans and Collectors was just asking for trouble.

  Shaking his head lightly, Leo approached the small dresser in the er and grabbed the lone photo of his mother. This was one of the things Leo just couldn’t leave without.

  He opehe frame and put the picture into one of the many pockets on his pants. A deep breath, followed by a loud exhale led Leo toward the door.

  Without looking back, Leo stepped outside.

  It’s time to go.

  With the sun behind him, Leo stalked towards the forest, Essence again enpassing him in a protective bhe day just began, so Leo had about eight to ten hours for a trip that normally shouldn’t take lohan an hour on foot.

  For some reason, Leo doubted that those few hours would be close to enough.

  The forest near Leo’s house exte least two or three kilometers in every dire. Usually, Leo only ran around its edges, albeit in the plete opposite dire from the one he was going in currently. Oh, he knew where the forest led from this side, but it didn’t mean he erfectly familiar with the path.

  This is beyond creepy, Leo gulped as he took his first step into the blood-red woods. His shoulders tensed, eyes darting in every possible dire. He really hoped he made the right decision when he decided to gh the forest.

  At first, it seemed like a good idea. Leo always loved to spend time in nature, but now, this transformed forest didn’t inspire any positive feelings in him. The song of birds and the soft breeze that always apanied him during the daily runs were gone, as if someone killed everything ihe woods. Which probably wouldn’t be far from the truth…

  Only the g of the forest soil and occasional branches kept Leoing pletely mental from the silence. Well, that and the gut-wreng screeches that sometimes pierced the air. I get it that this forest never had too many animals, but this is just a bit too much…

  All throughout the way, the shovel in Leo’s hands always remained raised, ready to intercept an attack that just might e from some creature of nightmares.

  Leo weaved between trees and bushes, stig close to a well-trodden path created by a forester’s truck that he sometimes saw entering the forest.

  If he remembered correctly, this path led to a at the other end of the woods where the main road eg London and Wolford id. From there Leo could either go bato the city or travel through some farmnds that led to another road just o a small residential area at the edge of the city.

  Just a few more minutes and I should see…

  “Argh!”

  Thoughts fotten, Leo’s gaze so his left as a loud, human scream echoed through the forest. It was close, closer than any other Leo heard before.

  Freezing for just a moment, Leo cursed his curiosity and ran towards the scream, the barrier of Essence around him thied.

  For a short moment, the mad dash toward the scream tinued. Leo stopped only when a familiar shed standing in a clearing ahead came into sight.

  He jumped behind a tree, his mind rag.

  A few years back, the shed was used by a local forester, then after a few months, some homeless people decided to make the shed their new pce of residence. Leo heard about it in the loews and wasn’t surprised that no one cared enough to try and kick those people out.

  So now it should be full of Voidlings, not screaming people. Leo narrowed his eyes and peeked around the tree.

  Nothing seemed out of po Voidlings walked around the shed, and after the one scream, Leo heard nothing else.

  Frowning, Leo crouched and crawled towards the shed’s side.

  Halfway there, Leo stiffened as a particur sound reached his ears. Something iween a groan and a sob. It seemed human, but Leo had watched enough horror movies during his life to know that sounds like this couldn’t be trusted.

  Still crouched, Leo hugged the wall and rose just high enough to take a look through a small window.

  With the limited visibility, Leo almost missed the two bodies inside. Both Voidlings, lying in pools of their own blood. A heavy metal shelf probably crushed the first one, while the sed Voidling, even if dead, seemed quite alright from this point of view.

  Leo tried to peek deeper into the room, but the window was just too damn small. He sighed, knowing what was i.

  Shovel in hand, Leo walked to the front of the building and with the help of his tool, opehe door wide. The hinges creaked, and Leo froze when a raspy voice came from the inside.

  “H-hello? P-please help.”

  Gulping, Leo gnced inside and immediately fli the sight.

  In the back er of the shed, a man id against the wall. His tattered clothes turned red at this point as blood flowed freely from the numerous wounds on his body.

  The skin on his left hand resembled a mangled mess, not that much different from Leo’s taint. Aside from that, a brokeal pipe stuck out from the man’s right shoulder, while the arm ected to it id motionlessly on the floor.

  Evehe worst was the man’s chest.

  Bare for the entire world to see, multiple scratches covered it from top to bottom. Some of them were barely visible, while others dug deeper, cutting through muscles and the insides beh them.

  How is he even alive? At this point, he is just waiting for death. Leo grimaced as his gaze shifted to the st Voidling he didn’t see through the window.

  The monster’s features were just as strong as the level three Voidling Leo killed a few hours back. The cause of its death was easy to make out from the rusty short sword stig out of its neck.

  Not good, Leo rushed towards the survivor, his bag falling to the floor as he tried to find anything to help the poor man

  “D-don’t,” The man's voice came out in coughs, his sunken cheeks, and bloodshot eyes only adding to the horrendous image.

  Leo didn’t stop, refusing to allow the first survivor to die on his watot after just finding him.

  “Don’t speak, sir. Save your strength. You asked for help and I will do my best to give it,” he gritted out.

  Another sob escaped the man’s throat as his mangled arm raised shakily and touched Leo’s searg hand. “N-not like that,” he spoke, spitting blood with every word. “P-please, kill me. J-just kill me, I ’t take it any longer.”

  Leo’s frame froze as the man's hao the ground.

  Kill him? What?

  “Sir?” Leo almost stuttered out, refusing to believe what he had just heard. “Did you just say, kill me?”

  The man gave a shaky nod, his bloodied teeth f a monstrous smile. “P-please.”

  Leo gulped, he wao turn away, walk as far from here as possible, and hope tet this entire enter. Why couldn’t the man ask for normal assistance or pany during his st moments? That Leo could do, but to kill him?

  He khat, at this point, it was a mercy, but it still went against anything Leo ever learned as a human being. This apocalypse already made him kill the remnants of his family and friends. Wasn't that enough?

  Leo shook his head, “I ca...”

  “Please,” The man interrupted as if knowing what Leo wao say.

  Leo gritted his teeth, eyes closing as his hand touched the dagger at his belt. Just leave, I don’t owe the man anything. I don’t even know him…

  “P-please.”

  Fuck! The dagger fell into Leo’s hand, his eyes opening

  The half-dead man’s smile widened ever so slightly as his gaze fell on the on in Leo’s palm. For a moment, Leo’s eyes darted from his dagger to the man’s stare, still not sure what the hell he was even doing here. A faint voi his mielling him to just leave and fet.

  Regardless, Leo still brought the tip of the dagger closer to the back of the man's skull. The fallen survivave an almost unnoticeable nod and uttered the st two words that broke through the remains of Leo's resolve.

  “Thank you.”

  And so, the dagger found its mark at st.