After the bout with the eyeball monster, John forced himself to leave blue monsters to the others. Giving up that Aura sucked, but he consoled himself with the knowledge that his sacrifice would ultimately yield greater gains. Hogging all the kills would just build resentment against him. If he was going to keep these people around for the multiplier they put on his Aura, he couldn't alienate them.

Besides, he'd already pretty much established that stronger monsters meant more Aura. It almost meant greater danger, but, he supposed, that was the whole point.

Thus, he stayed back and watched as the others farmed blues on their steady advance northwards. They utilised the same tactics as they had against the eyeball monster, and it quickly became incredibly dull to watch. John tried his best to keep diligent in case he needed to step in, but he couldn't help his mind wandering a bit.

As they tripled-teamed a three-foot tall scorpion, he was thinking about which Spells and Skills he wanted to try out next. There was so much to choose from already, and he also had to consider upgrades. Mana Sense had doubled its range twice over from being levelled up, and the others had yielded similar improvements.

When they ganged up on an emerald lizard thing, he was debating whether to invest some Aura into his Stats, since he was starting to gather higher amounts of Aura now, and didn't need to worry so much about holding back a reserve for the healing Levels gave him—in particular, he wanted a look at the higher Level Spells and Skills. With Arcane at Level 3 and Talent only at Level 2, it wouldn't require much Aura to upgrade them. Practically nothing.

While they bullied a pitiful ghoulish bunny rabbit, he was considering the implications of the new stuff unlocking Inventory had revealed to him; he was impatient to find out what it all let him do. Some were more obvious than others, and the most opaque one was the most interesting. Portal World costing 100,000 Aura just made it all the more enticing to him.

And throughout it all, he couldn't help theorising on the precise nature of the madness that had invaded Earth. Nearly twenty-four hours had passed since the apocalypse had begun, and no reason had presented itself. Why was this happening? What was even happening? Where had these monsters and their portals all come from?

How many people, if anyone, were even alive at this point? London boasted a population in the millions, but he'd seen less than a dozen human beings since he first started fighting monsters. Was anyone he cared about still out there?

They were weighty questions. It seemed like a small part of him grew heavier with each new one he reluctantly asked.

The day's grinding didn't leave his thoughts completely free to wander off on various tangents, though. While he was making sure to direct them to a good number of blues for the others to farm, he still had to take care of his own growth, too. It was clear they didn't resent him doing some solo training, as long as he framed it right.

Well, maybe they did resent it and he was missing the warning signs. Either way, they didn't explicitly say anything when he told them to stand back and let him take on the green monsters he led them to, so he figured it was all okay.

The first green came after they'd already been through three blues, about an hour in to their grind. John had seen his opportunity when he'd noticed one moving alone across an adjacent street with no others nearby, and he'd taken it, hurrying the group along the moment Jade dealt the finishing blow.

It turned out to be an actual skeleton creature. Standing at about eight feet tall, it appeared to be the approximate shape of a human, but the bones themselves seemed far too thick to John's untrained eye. They were slightly twisted, too, like someone had grabbed them and wrung them out, somehow. The skull was horned like a goat, with pinpricks of green light glaring out from its otherwise-empty eye sockets. Teeth clacking as if it was talking to itself, it shambled along the street, staring straight ahead.

John stepped out into the street ahead of it, feeling like he was sweating buckets. If his heart beat any louder, he was certain the others would be able to hear it from their hiding spot. Without his sunglasses, his wide eyes definitely would have given away his nerves.

The problem wasn't the monster itself. John felt like he had more than enough abilities in his locker to handle some bony undead twat.

No, it was what he knew he had to do. An inescapable duty he'd resigned himself to once, but been interrupted just as he worked up the courage. Now, it somehow seemed even harder. It was being out in the open, he realised. Nonsensical as it sounded, his brain was telling him there was potential for more observers than just the three who he'd already managed to build up some decent cred with. Having them see this go down was bad enough, but utter strangers bearing witness too? Horrifying.

His gaze swept over the houses on either side of the street. They were pretty bog-standard terraces, all with their doors broken down and many of their windows smashed. Blood stains marred the walls, front gardens, and pavements here and there. There was no sign of anyone watching. Somehow, that brought him no comfort.

Come on, he told himself. Stop being an idiot, man. Get on with the job. If they end up thinking you're a weirdo, what does it matter?

John swallowed. Cleared his throat. Took a deep breath.

Then he called out to the monster: "I'd say 'prepare to die', but it seems you're already a step ahead of me."

Silence fell over the street.

+400 Aura

John was filled with such relief that he almost forgot to keep his posture casual. If not for the scant points in Mind, he probably would have given in to the urge to let out a relieved laugh.

All this time, the skeleton monster had been staring at him. If it had a face, he was sure it would've been incredulous. John found himself wondering what monsters thought when they saw this guy with his high-collared red leather jacket and sunglasses, looking for all the world like he was completely unconcerned with the situation. Had any of them possessed a psychic ability, showing them the truth before they died? Did they feel any indignation that the guy killing them was completely faking his confidence? He wondered if they desperately desired to expose him.

Whatever the skeleton monster thought, if anything at all, it evidently decided that the time to begin hostilities had arrived. Opening its mouth wide, it raised its arms to reach for him and broke into a dead sprint. Its long legs ate up the distance between them, and John immediately knew at a glance that it was faster than him. Without any flesh or blood or organs, it probably weighed much less than its sheer size made it look. How it was moving at all was anyone's guess. Magic. It didn't need logic.

The giant skeleton made for an intimidating opponent, John had to admit. Something that big moving that fast felt viscerally wrong, but an animated skeleton probably would have been unnerving even if it was two feet tall. He had no doubt it could do serious damage. If it got its skeletal hands on him, it would definitely rip him apart. Those teeth looked sharp, too.

Fortunately for John and unfortunately for the skeleton, he had Accelerate.

The increasingly familiar feeling of dilated time settled over him, and he darted out of the skeleton's path, circling behind it. Mana Blade shone, and he slashed at its leg as he passed, aiming for the knee. With that job done, he kept going, tracing the skeleton's path back to its starting point. Once there, he took a moment to ensure his breathing was steady, crossed his arms, and waited for Accelerate to end.

The skeleton was just turning to track the beginning of his movement when the Skill finished. Its right leg collapsed under it, and it stumbled to the ground, forced to catch itself on its hands. There was a nauseating crack as its arms snapped. The monster stared down at them. Its mouth shut with a clack.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

John didn't need to fake a wince, but he took advantage of the reflex. "Damn. Didn't your mum ever tell you to drink your milk so your bones would grow up big and strong?"

+400 Aura

Every neuron in his brain was screaming at him to check on the others and see how they were reacting to this nonsense, but some subconscious part of him managed to withstand the urge. He'd deal with their incredulity later.

Right now, he had a monster to kill. The green soul immediately proved its superiority over any blue. A sickly green glow shone out from within the cracks in the skeleton's bones, and it slowly rose back to its full height. The damage wasn't fixed, but that didn't seem to matter. In a handful of seconds, it was ready to charge John down once more.

But it had taken long enough for Accelerate to come off its cooldown, and John rushed in to meet it before it had crossed even half the distance. To his alarm, he could see the green pinpricks in its eye sockets swivelling to track his movements, and its bony body was slowly manoeuvring to reach for him, seemingly attempting to anticipate the path he would take. But it wasn't fast enough. John changed course well before he would've been in trouble, pivoting to pass the skeleton on its other side.

Even then, it still began to react. It leaned its body to the other side, turning its skeletal hands to reach for him. Without accelerate, this thing was clearly way faster than him.

This time, he peppered it with ranged attacks, keeping a few metres of distance just in case it had a surprise burst of speed in its locker. Aqua Shot was the fastest ranged attack he had, and Marksman let him fire off a veritable barrage of water bullets with a decent enough level of accuracy, aiming for its head. At the same time, he slashed a few Wind Shears at its arms and legs, hoping to force it to deploy more of that green necromantic energy.

He sped past the monster, making sure to put as much distance between them as possible before Accelerate ran out—that speed it had showed was way too much for his baseline body to handle. Once again, he ensured his breathing was even and his posture was casual when he came to a stop. He even put his hands in his pockets.

With his time dilation ended, the Aqua Shots blurred, battering the skeleton like a hail of shrapnel. The Wind Shears followed a beat after, and the skeleton went toppling as they slashed its legs out from under it. The Spells weren't enough to slice right through its leg bones or break open its skull, but they were chipped and cracked enough that it had to spend more of that green energy.

"You okay there, bro?" John called out. "You look like you're exhausted down to your bones. Be careful not to break anything."

+400 Aura

John found himself wondering if it could understand him, because its green pinprick eyes certainly seemed to brighten. Surging to its feet, it ran for him once more. This time, it kept low to the ground, its arms hanging loose rather than reaching. It appeared almost off balance.

John didn't believe that for a moment.

It's definitely planning something.

Activating Accelerate, he launched Shadow Stream right at its face with one hand, while peppering its body with Aqua Shots with the other.

The skeleton again displayed its speed and reflexes, twitching its head fractionally out of the way like a boxer. Given how fast it had to react to do just that, John mentally upped his estimation of its agility and mind. Clearly, whatever equivalent of a brain it had could move faster than most of its body.

But it hadn't anticipated that John's Spell could turn in the air, so it was still blasted full in the face with darkness. It clearly stumbled, and John made his second move, sprinting to one side and flanking around the monster. He moved to the further edge of the street while curving Shadow Stream so it would keep the monster blinded.

The skeleton recovered well. After only a single heartbeat of confusion, it managed to angle itself to where it had last seen John. If he'd still been there, it would've been impressive.

Two more heartbeats, and John was behind the creature, a dozen or so metres away. This angle was too far to keep blasting Shadow Stream into the monster's face, so he let it drop and dismissed the darkness. Soul Arrow replaced it, aiming with the already outstretched hand. Accelerate ran out.

"You're boned now," he said.

+400 Aura

The Soul Arrow sped across the distance in a blink. John had made sure his aim was true, and it plunged into the back of the skeleton monster's skull before it could even begin turning around. It couldn't react to something it couldn't see.

The skull exploded like an egg that had been struck by a bullet. Green energy burst outwards, propelling shards of shattered bone. Its legs buckled, and it started to fall like a discarded rag doll.

Then one of its limp arms snapped out. Green energy gathered in the limb then suddenly dissipated, and it was only when it was already too close to do anything about that John's Mind stat let him realise what had happened: there was a bony fist hurtling towards him just as fast as one of his arrows, green energy trailing it like a rocket's booster engine. It had literally thrown a punch at him.

There was barely even time to twist his body away to deflect the blow to somewhere less painful. Rock Shield was too slow. It was going to hit him right in the stomach. His mind was fast enough now to process what was happening, but not enough to prevent it. Level 3 Agility just didn't grant him fast enough reflexes for that.

But they could, at least, mitigate the problem in an entirely different way.

John saw an opportunity.

The fist buried itself in his stomach. Pain erupted. It was like getting hit by a cannonball.

Luckily, it lasted only a fraction of a second.

Increased Talent Level 2 -> Level 3

-400 Aura

The skeletal fist fell to the floor. It made a little clacking sound, like someone had dropped a bundle of twigs. Bones burst apart from each other, no longer kept in the correct shape by dark magical energy.

John inspected his nails. "Hm? Did you do something?"

+800 Aura

The skeleton's entire frame started glowing with sickly green energy. It began rising, despite its shattered skull. Green light gathered where the skull had previously been, taking its approximate shape, complete with goat horns. The spots where its eyes were supposed to be turned into black voids.

How the fuck is thing's soul green, goddammit? Fuck this.

John forced himself to let out a disappointed sigh. "Yeah, no," he said as he delved into his Aura menu.

-2000 Aura

With new knowledge implanted in his head, he casually reached out a hand towards the skeleton monster, splaying his fingers. The skeleton went still. Then, for the first time, he saw a monster try to run away. It had evidently sensed what he was about to do.

But it was too late. John started closing his fingers into a fist, grasping something invisible and intangible. There was a bit of resistance, but not enough. The green energy surrounding the monster was pulled away from its bones like it was being sucked away by the world's most powerful paranormal vortex.

The green energy tried desperately to cling to its undead body, but it wasn't strong enough; a moment later, it detached. The skeleton collapsed, bones rendered inanimate. Without its connection to the world, the green energy only lasted a few moments longer, swirling through the air, drawn irresistably into John's grip.

Then his fist closed, and it was all gone. His sphere of mana rippled, and a new compartment opened up in the sphere, where it seemed to reluctantly sequester away the soul energy. Something made itself known in John's awareness, a simple number:

17

Silence settled on the street.

+1500 Aura

John smirked to himself. As he suspected, this monster was particularly weak to Soul Drain.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, man?" Chester called out to him, hidden behind a bush a few houses away from where John stood. His voice sounded deeply distressed.

Jade and Lily emerged from the bushes, both staring at him. The former, with sheer bewilderment. The latter, with a smile that he hoped was an amused one, and not mocking. Chester followed, frowning deeply.

They came to a stop a few paces away. Silence lingered.

Jade spoke, "So, do you just enjoy playing around with monsters, or has that got something to do with the way you gain points?"

"Something like that," John said. "I—"

He cut himself off as a shadow passed through his peripheral vision. Looking up, he reflexively activated Mana Sense. There was nothing particularly close by to them, relatively speaking—the nearest monster was two streets over, maybe fifty metres away.

He'd rarely had to take the sky into consideration, so far.

Up above them, two blurry dark shapes sped through the air, silhouetted by the burning sky. One big one, clearly in pursuit of something smaller. Mana Sense told him there was a single monster up there, not two, and Soul Vision confirmed it: a yellow was chasing a silver.

The others evidently saw it too. There was a sharp intake of breath, a curse, and a whimper.

"We have to save that bird," Jade said.

John nodded in agreement as he drew a Soul Arrow.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.