Chapter 14: A City in Ruins

  As we walked through the ruined streets, the devastation of the city hit me all over again. 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 recognized a few remnants of the past—a half-destroyed sign of a café I used to pass by, a convenience store with its shelves overturned, its logo barely clinging to the cracked gss. But beyond that, the city was unrecognizable.

  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 beneath 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 new techniques,” 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 nickname 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. “Come on, man, you know how much he’s been training. At least give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he really did come 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 for fighting, 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 come up with?”

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

  “Tsk.”

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

  Instantly, all chatter ceased.

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

  These mutated wolfs had become more and more common ever since the wolf with an ability appeared. Unlike zombies, which were slow and predictable, 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 degenerate into mindless husks. The good news was that they couldn’t turn others into zombies, and most of them were weak.

  Mutated beasts, on the other hand… they were an entirely different story.

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

  Normally, Lay and Will would only let injured monsters through 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, positioned at the front, raised his massive shield just as the first wolf lunged at him. The impact sent a deep boom echoing through the air, but Larry barely budged, absorbing 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 slicing through a wolf’s neck in one clean motion. A faint sizzle accompanied the strike—the heat from her spear cauterizing the wound instantly.

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

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

  I didn’t have time to observe for long.

  A wolf, completely 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 chance.

  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 second—

  “Weave of Origin, First Style: Phantom Edge.”

  My sword vanished.

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

  Now!

  “Weave of Origin, Second Style: Bzing Surge!”

  I drove my bde straight into its torso, triggering a controlled 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 carnage, no excessive energy wasted.

  Perfect.

  [You’ve sin a Level 15 Grey Wolf.]

  I exhaled, taking a moment to process what just happened. That… had gone even better than expected.

  Since I didn’t need to 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 approaching from my right. I turned to see another wolf charging at me—seems like Will had no intention of letting me rest. But there was another downside to Bzing Surge: the energy consumption. I had to be mindful of how much I used. Thankfully I hadn’t overdone the 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 managed to step back in 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 corner of my eye, I spotted Will watching me with a smirk, clearly entertained. But what about Lay? I was surprised she wasn’t stopping this. I gnced at her—she was frowning, tense, her grip tightening around her spear. She was ready to intervene at any moment, but she wasn’t stepping in.

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

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

  I needed to 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 scold me ter…

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

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

  As one of the wolves lunged at me, aiming to sink its teeth into my torso, I met it head-on, locking my bde against its cws. It was stronger than me, and I had no intention 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 second wolf leaped at me from behind.

  Exactly what I wanted.

  As its fangs neared me, I activated my ability.

  “Weave of Origin, Second 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 second, I turned to deal with the second wolf charging at me from behind. This time, I wanted to 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 piercing 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 changing my weapon 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 concept was promising.

  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 second, just as the wounded wolf lunged at 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 sooner that it was still alive.

  The wolf staggered forward, its once-gray fur now bckened 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 channeled my Phoenix ability into my legs, using the burst of energy to propel myself forward. Then, redirecting 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, lowering my sword as the body colpsed onto the ground with a dull thud. No wonder it survived—level 17. That was stronger than I expected.

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

  “Congratutions,” Will said, walking toward me with an approving grin. “At the very least, I can tell you’re creative with how you use your techniques. That was… interesting.” 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 clenched my fist, a small smile forming. I had come a long way.

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

  I turned to her, finally noticing the rest of the team watching 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 punch on the shoulder. “No wonder you were so confident! You’ve gotten at least twice as strong, man.”

  Lary, on the other 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.}

  CLANG!!

  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, scanning the area as my breath came out in short, controlled bursts.

  This… this wasn’t over yet.