As two hours passed in their barricaded sanctuary, the atmosphere grew heavier with unease. Distant screams echoed intermittently through the air, keeping everyone on edge.

  Dante leaned against the wall, inspecting the injuries he’d sustained during their earlier encounters. Though Selene’s skilled care had stopped the bleeding, his health was far from optimal. He could feel the strain in his body, a nagging reminder that a full recovery was still hours away.

  Selene approached him quietly, her sharp eyes softening with concern. She handed him a candy bar she had salvaged from their supplies.

  “Dante ,” she asked gently, “how are you holding up?”

  Dante unwrapped the candy bar, taking a grateful bite. “Better, thanks to you,” he said. “But I’ll need at least ten hours to heal completely, and I don’t think we have that kind of time.”

  Selene was about to respond when a deep, guttural roar echoed from outside. The sound was unlike anything they’d heard before, primal and menacing. It sent a chill through the room, freezing everyone in place.

  Dante expression darkened. “We don’t have much time. Whatever’s out there—it’s big, and it’s coming.”

  Mr. Ron, their English teacher, stepped forward, his usually composed demeanor laced with urgency. “We can’t stay here indefinitely,” he said. “We need to find a way out and figure out what’s going on. Hiding won’t keep us safe.”

  The group murmured in agreement.

  Dante stood, glancing around the room. “We need to move together. Does anyone know a potential safe place nearby?”

  Lisa, one of the students, hesitated before speaking up. “There’s a military camp not far from here. If we can get to it, we might find safety.”

  Selene frowned, voicing what everyone was thinking. “Even if the camp is safe, the path there might not be. We’ve already faced monsters just getting here.”

  Dante nodded. “We’ll prepare for the worst. Everyone, gather your things.”

  As they began packing their meager supplies, the sound of shattering glass pierced the air. All eyes snapped to the window as two grotesque creatures leaped into the room.

  The creatures resembled frogs, but their warped forms made them unrecognizable. Bulging, glowing eyes stared at the group, and their slick, mottled skin gleamed in the dim light.

  “Lesser Frogs,” Dante muttered, activating his Eye of Appraisal.

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  The creatures lashed out with their tongues, grotesque appendages that stretched over two meters and cracked through the air like whips.

  “Everyone, back away from the windows!” Dante shouted.

  He lunged forward, summoning his bone claw. One tongue shot toward him, but he intercepted it mid-strike, gripping the slimy appendage tightly.

  A second tongue lashed out at another student who hadn’t moved quickly enough. The student cried out in pain as the tongue struck his eye, leaving a bloody gash.

  “Selene, check on him! Mr. Ron, grab something to fight with!” Dante ordered.

  Selene rushed to the injured student, her hands steady despite the chaos. Mr. Ron grabbed a wooden chair, standing ready.

  Dante gritted his teeth as the tongue in his grasp writhed, straining against him with unnatural strength. With his free hand, he formed another bone claw and sliced through the tongue, severing it completely.

  The first frog screeched in pain, recoiling. Dante didn’t waste a moment. He lunged forward and drove his claw into its skull, silencing it with a decisive blow.

  The second frog, undeterred by its companion’s fate, leaped at Dante with a guttural croak. Its tongue lashed out, aiming for his chest.

  Before it could strike, Mr. Ron hurled the chair he was holding. The wooden projectile hit the frog mid-air, knocking it off course and sending it sprawling.

  “Nice shot!” Dante called, seizing the opening. He leaped toward the fallen creature, his bone claw aimed for its head. The strike landed true, piercing the frog’s skull and ending its life.

  The room fell silent save for the heavy breathing of the group.

  Dante stood, panting as the adrenaline began to fade. “Everyone okay?”

  Selene looked up from the injured student, her expression grim. “He’ll live, but his eye… it’s bad.”

  Dante clenched his fists. He focused on the system message, deciding how to allocate his new stat points.

  Dante thoughts on his Health stat, the stat that determined his physical resilience and overall endurance. He knew that by increasing this attribute, he would be better equipped to withstand the harsh challenges of their transformed reality.

  As he made this choice, he could feel a subtle but significant change within himself, As he flexed his muscles and moved his body, Dante could tell that his enhanced Health was making a noticeable difference. His wounds, though far from forgotten, no longer hindered him as they once had. It was a small victory in the grand scheme of things, but a victory nonetheless.