Though it was a bit of a risk to expose the claws that enlarged the fingers of his left hand by close to ten centimeters, Liam could simply say that his claws, horn, and eyes were part of his Soultrait.
Nobody would be able to tell for sure whether he was lying or not, even less if he were to give others permission to see his status panel. Liam didn't plan to show his status panel to anyone but there was not exactly much for him to hide, except the 'Halfling' part which could be considered a bit of a hassle to explain.
However, worrying about getting exposed was not exactly his biggest concern right now.
He charged at the group of a dozen Blazing Tooth Rats and pierced his claws through the eyes of one of them. The group of a hundred ordinary huge rats and dozen Blazing Tooth Rats were too focused on the ill-armed students, teachers, professors, and athletes that were using all means to survive.
That allowed Liam to sneak up and reach the center of the enemy's group where he wreaked havoc by moving nimbly with his weak and exhausted body.
[Blazing Tooth Rat has been slayed]
[+0.5 Arcanium]
[+0.5 Arcanium]
[+0.5 Arcanium]
Using the opportunity, three Blazing Tooth Rats turned into lifeless bodies before they could react properly.
Liam was not yet done wreaking havoc but he took a moment to take a deep breath before resuming his killing spree.
"Use your spare Arcanium to buy proper weapons!" He shouted loudly.
His voice traveled to the dozens of people who were fighting with all kinds of objects, except proper weapons. The only somewhat useful weapons were the javelins that were usually used by the spear throwers in the gymnasium.
However, they broke easily, leaving the athletes without any other weapon to protect themselves. This forced the athletes to retreat and rely on other people to defeat the rats.
"Don't act like braindead idiots and buy some weapons!" Liam thundered imposingly while his eyes stared mercilessly at the useless people who were quivering in fear and retreating.
The people stopped in their tracks, but none of them followed Liam's commands.
"Useless trash," He muttered quietly before using traces of the Arcane Power his body had replenished to use his Soultrait.
The Devil's eyes were activated and the sealed galaxy in his eyes sprang to life as they began glowing in an iridescent hue. The already frightened unarmed humans stared blankly at Liam who turned back to the monsters whom he slaughtered mercilessly.
He didn't move much anymore but that was not necessary to kill his opponents. His claws were razor-sharp and strong enough to pierce through the fur and flesh. This made it easier to inflict small yet severe wounds upon the rats whenever he evaded their attacks with small and agile movements.
He was trying to avoid wasting his already scarce stamina and moved around only in a radius of five meters where the bodies of the dozen Blazing Tooth Rats ended up lying lifelessly. A few ordinary huge rats accompanied the Blazing Tooth Rats but they were not noteworthy to someone like Liam.
Less than two minutes passed before the fight with the group of rats ended. None of the students who were equipped with his steel spears turned into a lifeless body, which was a great success.
However, Liam was more focused on the wounds scattered all over their bodies.
"Everyone who was bitten by the rats, buy a lesser detoxification pill if you feel unwell," He suggested before approaching the main entrance of the gymnasium.
He didn't bother paying attention to the people who hadn't even mustered the courage to buy a weapon from the Arcane Shop. They were still blankly staring at him, unmoving as if they had been petrified by a Basilisk.
Only when Liam walked past them did they dare to breathe again. Their hearts were beating rapidly and they turned around in terror, just to realize that a bunch of 30 or so students and their teacher were quickly rushing behind the masked man.
The students didn't even bother to tend to their wounds as they ran behind Liam. Their need to stay around their savior and protector overwhelmed their earlier anxiety and they kept close to Liam, following him wherever he went.
It was almost as if Liam was the golden compass that would lead them through any perilous situation.
He was their beacon of hope and the students didn't want to lose him at any cost.
Upon stepping Inside the entrance area of the gymnasium, Liam quickly noticed a few things.
"Five floors with the first two floors being open fields? Alright then…" Liam mumbled mostly to himself as he read the signboard of the gymnasium. There were running tracks, a bunch of rugby fields, and many other stations for all kinds of sports spread all over the five floors.
There was even an underground floor where several swimming pools had been built. Liam was not sure what he should think about that but he was pretty certain that the gymnasium was a great place for athletes and sportsmen to play and hone their skills.
That was great before the Arcane Apocalypse and it was even helpful now that the Arcane Apocalypse had started. After all, the entire gymnasium could turn into a fortress as long as the main and side entrances would be well-secured.
But even if the main and side entrances of the gymnasium were to take a hit, it was not as if monsters could flood the inner halls of the gymnasiums easily. The gymnasium had two layers, the outer layer was where the elevators, changing rooms, showers, infirmary, and the resting places were located. It surrounded the inner layer of the gymnasium where all kinds of 'stations' for the different types of sport were located.
'Even if not all places are protected well, there are only six entrances to the inner rings of each floor. One at each corner, and directly next to the elevators…it's like having two defensive lines…' Liam realized, nodding his head in satisfaction.
"A natural fortress…let's see what we can do with that!"
He was quite surprised by the structure of the gymnasium since it felt uncannily similar to the Colosseums he had been to in the past.
The inner layer of the gymnasium had to be replaced with the arena and the outer layer would have to be altered a little bit…but other than that it looked like a near-identical replica.
It could be turned into a hideout until the rain stopped and it shouldn't be too hard to turn the gym into an actual fortress as long as nobody allowed monsters to raid it first.
Liam entered the sports hall on the first floor, where he was greeted by several rugby fields, some basketball rings, and various other fields. However, all of that turned insignificant since his gaze focused on the desperate humans, who were lying on the fields. Some were covered with blankets, unmoving, while others were trying to tend to their wounds with trembling hands.
The majority of survivors were in a state of shock. Their brains seemed to have lost the ability to function as they were unable to get over the fact that their lives had been turned upside down. Even if some of them had yet to face monsters than the dog and sheep-sized rats, it was quite obvious that life wouldn't be the same as before.
A few people were walking around the inner hall, wielding ordinary steel weapons and it didn't take long for Liam and his group to be noticed.
They were drenched in water that had intermixed with the blood of the monsters they had killed as it trickled down their clothes, splattering on the floor. It was rather difficult not to take note of them.
Liam and the unwanted followers who walked behind him like ducklings attracted more than enough attention, especially since they were one of the few groups who were soaked wet. Soon enough, a young man who was clearly an athlete approached them with a faint smile on his lips. He wielded a longsword whose blade rested against his shoulders as he approached them calmly.
The young man was just about to say something when Liam lifted his hand.
"If you guys have weapons, why didn't you help the people outside? Are you guys even thinking of blocking the gym's entrances with monster corpses or other means, or are you guys too afraid to leave?" Liam asked coldly, without an ounce of mercy in his voice.
He knew that nobody was obliged to help others and he wouldn't do it either if not for his customized mission…but that didn't mean he couldn't provoke others by indirectly calling them immoral and cowardly.
After all, a brutal confrontation was probably one of the easiest ways for him to find out more about their personality and attitude!
Liam took note of the changes in the young man's expression, not missing on noticing the noise of the footsteps of close to a hundred people who entered the inner hall of the gymnasium from behind them.
"He is over there!" A young woman shouted out loudly, attracting lots of attention as hundreds of pairs of eyes darted over to the newcomer that rushed over to Liam and his ducklings.
Close to a hundred emerged from Liam's left and right. They looked at him with various emotions gleaming in their eyes and nobody uttered a word for a few seconds.
The people just stared at him without saying a word. Their eyes sized him up from head to toe which took in a flawless sculptured figure of a human being with steel-like muscles that were visible through the transparency of his white shirt, which was drenched in rainwater and blood.
His mask was a huge contrast to the pale white body, but the same could be said about his black hair and the large purple eyes that could be seen through the hollow eyesockets of the devil mask.
The mask's horn almost looked like it was alive but that was not something the people thought much about.
"H-How…How can we thank you for rescuing us?..." A woman asked hesitantly after she realized that a mere thank you wouldn't be enough to appease the cold-looking, mysterious savior.
Liam looked at the short woman who was two heads shorter than him. She had short brown hair and looked rather plain. However, she had found the courage to speak up to him, which was not even something most of the ducklings behind him dared.
At that moment, Olivia Jellin from behind stepped forward as well. Liam turned around when he noticed her movements, just to see her pointing at the spear.
"I want to repay my debt as well…what do you need?" She asked straightforwardly with a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face. This discomfort didn't stem from the fact that she was subjected to weird stares by her classmates but more from the fact that someone had to rescue her, hand her a spear and force her to adjust to the new and unexpected situation.
Without Liam, she would be dead for sure. That debt was not something Olivia wanted to carry on forever.
'I am already getting paid for saving you idiots…but you can always get more, don't you think?' Liam wondered as he realized that many had identical looks of reverence and gratitude, similar to the woman who had spoken up first and Olivia.
Only now did the people Liam had indirectly saved by killing the dozen Blazing Tooth Rats and some more ordinary huge rats realized that their savior had rescued the students as well.
He even provided them with weapons to make sure that they could fend for themselves. That was the work of a true Hero, not just a good person!
His actions made all of them feel certain that Liam was a good person.
Little did they know that their misconception would be crushed the moment Liam opened his mouth.
"Pay me with Arcanium then!"
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