Crash!
"Fuccckkk! Come out and face just, you annoying prick!!" Brandon yelled, his expression livid, smoke drifting from his balled fists.
He let out heavy, misty breaths, his head swaying from left to right as he examined his surroundings warily. His pale face hinted at exhaustion slowly catching up.
Flames cackled left and right. Black char, shattered desks, and broken chairs littered the classroom — evidence of his rampage.
But there was zero sign of his opponent.
"That slippery zombie… I just need one more hit. Just one." Brandon hissed, his smoking fists igniting with blue flames.
His tattered uniform fluttered as silence hung in the air, broken only by the crackling of his flames. Brandon's pupils constricted suddenly.
A tingling sensation ran down his spine. His jaw clenched, and his flaming fists blazed, fueled by annoyance and irritation.
His figure spun — and he caught sight of the sneaky bastard.
The mutant had launched a stealth attack, the ground still undulating from its exit. Its ashen claws ripped through the wind, aiming for Brandon's neck with deranged intensity.
This mutant was fast. But Brandon was faster.
An unhinged grin bloomed on Brandon's face. "Gotcha!"
This time he held nothing in reserve. He didn't know what would happen if his essence clocked zero, but he had a feeling that was still better than being killed.
He funneled his energy instinctively through his elbows. A sudden concentrated burst of flame ignited, boosting his attack speed to a whole other level.
The air rippled as his fist, carrying blistering heat, landed square on the mutant's abdomen.
The monster's eyes bulged as its attack lost all force, its figure curving under the scorching impact.
Brandon's grin widened. "This will be satisfying."
He let go of his flood of essence energy, channeling scorching flames in torrents as the mutant was sent flying and burning.
The torrent and heavy shockwave tore through everything in its path, ripping and melting the wall into another classroom.
But Brandon didn't have the liberty to appreciate the damage he dealt.
His vision spun as a red notification block filled his dwindling sight.
[Warning! Warning! User's Essence has been exhausted!!]
[Please refrain from using gene skill to prevent compromise of life force.]
Ah, I see… so that's what happens. It is better than dying, he chuckled as he slumped weakly onto the cold marble floor.
But he celebrated too early.
His grin stiffened as a smoking figure drew nearer from the fissure he had just created with his attack.
The damned zombie was still alive.
His gut clenched as he strained his muscles, only for any force he gathered to dissolve in a heartbeat.
He was spent.
His eyes rolled in their sockets, tracking the mutant as it crept closer.
The sudden emotional twist from glee to horror was jarring.
Brandon's plight was miserable. Rendered immobile, he could only watch as the mutant advanced, smoke billowing from its frame like a death reaper coming to harvest his soul.
The apocalypse had just begun, and it seemed he would be counted among the collateral.
His eyes went red. He didn't want to die. Not when things had just started to become fun.
Slowly, his flames sputtered back to life.
[Warning! Warning! Warning! Life force usage detected!]
[User is advised to halt all usage of gene skill to prevent further compromise.]
The red brick flashed dangerously in his vision, but he didn't care.
The mutant was close. Very close. Its crimson gaze burned with nothing but frenzied will to kill.
Brandon could feel the costly energy trickling through his veins.
He clenched his teeth, relying on sheer will as he slowly rose, ready for a last exchange.
This action would cost him — the system's warnings were clear. He would be burning through his life force.
But he threw caution to the wind. He'd deal with that later. For now, he had to survive.
His fists burned blue as he raised them.
The mutant paused. A vile split stretched across its jaw, its charred cheeks cracking. It was smiling.
Brandon's heart thundered. A deadly premonition gripped him.
The ground beneath the creature rippled as its frame slowly sank.
"DON'T YOU DARE!" Brandon raged, his fists punching out a deadly torrent.
Fwooom!!!
The beam burned red through the marble floor and wooden piles around it. But the mutant… was gone.
He fell to his knees, staring vacantly.
[Warning! Warning! Warning! Please refrain from further usage of gene skill to prevent further compromise!]
Brandon's hair stood on end as a prickling sensation ran across his neck.
His fists clenched, weak sparks sputtering hopelessly. He knew what was coming.
The monster's claws raced through the wind. This time, for sure, it would get its purchase. The mutant's gaze burned with murderous frenzy.
When suddenly…
"Death Sentence."
Everything went gray.
The monster froze.
Suddenly, it found itself in an unsightly situation. From charging a ferocious sure-kill attack to being bound in a wooden pillory.
The mutant struggled, its wrists and neck locked tight. Even with supernatural strength, it couldn't break free.
Slowly, heavy metal steps rang out. A figure clad in gothic, abyssal armor stepped forward, a great broadsword resting on his shoulder.
"So this is what it means by a guaranteed hit to the neck… Nice." A calm voice rang from the solemn visor.
The great sword cleaved downward, a streak of purple trailing the blade.
Puchi!
The mutant's head detached as the pillory vanished into the wind, its corpse collapsing cold.
Crimson blood pooled beneath the headless body as color returned and everything went back to normal.
[Congratulations! You have slain a Shackled Mutated Creature!]
[You grow stronger…]
[+9 Essence]
[+11 Speed]
[+5 Defense]
Meanwhile, Brandon finally turned his gaze backward, stunned at the twitching corpse.
His eyes widened as he looked at the armored figure.
"So… badass…" he muttered before passing out cold onto the ground.
Seth barely spared him a glance, turning his gaze back to the mutant's corpse.
On it hovered a glowing white orb.
Seth blinked, unsure of what it could be. "Wait a minute… a system, skills, titles… could that be a loot drop?"
His eyes lit up as he eagerly reached for the glowing orb. The moment his fingers made contact, the orb pulsed.
[You have received an Elite Grade Gene Skill Crystal: "Earth Escape"]
[Warning beings at the Shackled Rank can only have one gene skill, Do you wish to replace innate gene skill "Weapon Resonance" with gene skill Earth escape? Y/N]