For a few minutes it sounded almost like the world had turned upside down outside the gymnasium. The building stopped rumbling but only a few were able to move properly.
It was almost as if the majority of natives around Liam were unable to form a coherent thought, or as if their mind was still blank.
Liam took note of their reactions but he was more focused on the commotion that happened outside. They were not able to see anything outside anymore but the sounds reaching his ears were more than enough for him to draw a conclusion.
"The monsters are clashing now," He mumbled to himself before he walked back to the inner layer of the gymnasium. They had to seal the other side entrance and block the main entrance of the outer layer as well.
"What do you mean by that?" Olivia asked in response to Liam's mumbling but he just waved his hand away at her question, "Forget it."
He didn't really feel like explaining that the intimidating roar came probably from way beyond the city, presumably from the mountain range across the valley. Others would start asking him questions and they would start doubting his knowledge. It was already weird that he knew so much about the Arcane System, the Arcane Apocalypse, and all these monsters, to begin with.
No native from Haltan should possess the level of knowledge he had right now. The Arcane Apocalypse had just begun after all!
It was also quite hard to explain that the monsters of the Nine Realms would fight each other as well. Every being wanted to instinctively use the Arcane System to get stronger, establish and reign over their own territory, which could be accomplished with the help of the Arcane System. It was a great opportunity that allowed beings to break their racial limits and become terrific existences that were feared by everyone!
He didn't really want to explain that, let alone the source of his knowledge.
Instead of bothering to answer Olivia's question, Liam ended up returning to the inner layer of the gymnasium. He was greeted by identical expressions that were overflowing with pure terror. Most natives were not in a state to fight or retaliate since they were not in their right minds and they would turn into a huge burden rather than helping hands. Liam chose to ignore those humans and to take a look at the remaining sports equipment and other materials they could use to seal the entrances.
"Let's seal the last two side entrances quickly before we then pay attention to the main entrance. There might be more monsters in the gymnasium since they were scared and fled away from the thunderous roar but that shouldn't be too difficult to deal with!" Liam suggested with confidence, not even looking behind him to see how many people followed him.
In the worst case, he would just seal the entrances by himself. It wouldn't be a perfect seal that would hold for a long time but that was not necessary, to begin with.
For Liam, it was more than enough if the sealed side entrances were to hold out until the rain stops. He took everything into consideration and picked up a few metal pipes with his free hand. However, it was no sooner when a few people took the pipes out of his hands, allowing him free reign in the fights that awaited them.
"We will take care of that, Sir…please focus on fighting…" One of them added hastily, his expression ghastly pale but his eyes showing traces of hope as he stared directly at Liam.
'Don't hope too much, kiddo.' Liam thought but he didn't say anything out loud. He walked past the young athletes who were likely in their early teenage years just to hear the sound of dozens of footsteps behind him.
Felix appeared by his side with a forced smile on his lips.
"It's good that we have you by our side. Your calmness is contagious, to a certain extent at least," He told Liam, who looked at the martial artist for a few seconds before muttering,
"Panicking will just kill you guys. Wasting time stressing out won't solve all problems magically." Liam reminded them to get their act together with a shrug as he made his way through the inner layer of the gymnasium.
It was already a great surprise for him that no monster had charged inside the gymnasium's inner layer but it was a good sign.
Despise that, he was not surprised when he encountered a few dozen rats fighting a handful of Meheks in the hallway of the gymnasium's outer layer.
Meheks were a type of monster that evolved from Moles. They were larger, their height reaching almost that of 10-year-old kids when standing straight up on their two feet. Their claws were crimson and their fur was dark-brown, and there were many different types of Meheks with a variety of different capabilities.
Three of those different types of Meheks appeared in front of Liam's face, which caused him to frown lightly.
'I face these ugly bastards everywhere, whether it's in the Overworld or here…you guys are so dead!' He thought as he charged at the two ordinary Meheks, the bulkier Mehek and the two skinny Meheks who were totally focused on slaughtering the ordinary huge rats.
Liam triggered his Soultrait for a moment to decipher the movements the Meheks were about to make before he intercepted them cruelly.
His arrival was a great surprise to the Meheks, whose back was facing him, and it was near-impossible for the skinny Meheks to evade them.
They dashed to the side when they sensed an opponent from behind. This allowed them to evade the battle-axe that cleaved down toward them by a few centimeters.
However, one of the skinny Meheks ran straight in the direction where Liam's left hand was already waiting for it.
Liam slashed out with his left while his hand morphed into a claw. He pushed closer to the monster while the Mehek squealed out in terror seeing the white claw that was about to cut into its body.
Liam's left hand pierced cleaning through the fur of the Mehek that let out a blood-curdling wail, making the hair on the back of Liam's neck stand up. But he could not afford to stop.
His claw cut deep into the monster's flesh. The inside of the Mehek felt extremely warm, almost as if the monster was boiling, but Liam ignored the familiar warmth as he finished driving the claw deeper inside the monster that stiffened only moments later when he pierced its heart.
[Agile Mehek has been slayed.]
[+0.3 Arcanium]
Liam changed his stance the moment the notification popped up in front of him. He threw the corpse toward the bulky Mehek which slashed in Liam's direction in an attempt to tear him apart.
The Mehek's claws were almost twenty centimeters long but the bulky Mehek was not able to make use of those claws against Liam since the corpse of its brethren was in the way. Liam shortened the distance to the bulky Mehek when its claws cut through the Agile Mehek's corpse almost simultaneously when he cleaved his battle axe downward with all his might.
Liam aimed precisely at the Mehek's head to kill it in a single lethal attack since it was a hassle to kill the bulky version of the Meheks by engaging in a long battle.
The two ordinary Meheks tried to close in on Liam but two spears dug into their sides, preventing them not only from moving but severely injuring him as well. Liam had already seen the spears coming his way which was why he had more than enough time to focus on splitting the skull of the bulky Mehek in front of him.
It was a grotesque sight to see the head of a monster being carved open by a battle axe but Liam was already somewhat familiar with that.
[Heavy Mehek has been slayed.]
[+0.4 Arcanium]
Brain mass and bone fragments splattered on Liam's face and the notification of his successful kill reached him, yet he was not able to take a breather.
The other Agile Mehek had changed its trajectory after one of its brethren had been killed. It charged at him with a shocking acceleration, wanting to seek vengeance. The Agile Mehek could accelerate rapidly and Liam was not supposed to be able to evade its claws…if he hadn't expected the surprise attack.
He let go of the battle-axe the moment the Heavy Mehek's skull burst open. His head flicked to the right where his Devil's Eyes unveiled the secrets of the incoming surprise attack. He twisted his upper body just a fragment of a second before the monster's claws were about to cut through his chest, missing it by a hair's breadth.
Liam felt a faint sting across his chest but it was not enough to affect the course of actions he followed up with.
His right hand shot out, grasping the Agile Mehek's claw, restricting its movement drastically while his left hand shot forward, ripping its chest apart angrily as warm blood splattered on his face.
[+0.3 Arcanium]
Liam threw the Agile Mehek's body aside after a moment before he took a look at the situation around him. The remaining ordinary huge rats had scattered and the two ordinary Meheks had been dealt with as well.
He picked up the battle axe and changed the form of his claws back to his hand before he took a look at his torn shirt. The droplets of red that trickled down the scratch he sustained from evading the second Agile Mehek's attack showed Liam that the wound was not serious.
"Let's seal it before more Meheks come over. I don't really want to fight masses of the Meheks since their combat patterns seem more complex than the rats' wild but predictable pattern." Liam muttered to himself without further ado while kicking aside the corpses to make space for the carts to pass through properly.
There were a few more monsters outside the entrance but Liam simply ignored them. He helped the others to seal the entrance before he walked over to the last of the six side entrances in the outer layer of the gymnasium.
It was slowly getting darker outside but Liam and the others continued to fight relentlessly. Liam could hardly move his body but they finished fighting a few more monsters until they had sealed the last side entrance.
As for the main entrance, they merely closed it for the time being, which hadn't been that easy either. It required Liam and the others to fight a bunch of Meheks that had been fighting an Elite Ratatuo. The Meheks fought with great finesse and teamwork, which made it seem as if they were extremely intelligent.
Liam knew that Meheks were comparable to Goblins in terms of intelligence but he didn't want to openly say that. Thus, he was quite satisfied when the others saw how ten Meheks fought somewhat strategically against the Elite Ratatuo to take it down. The Meheks defeated it in the end, just for Liam to appear in their midst when they thought that the fight was over.
He killed five of them in the blink of an eye, just for the others to join the heap of corpses a little later.
Afterward, the main entrance was properly closed. It would require several fully-grown men to move the heavy sports equipment away to open the main entrance once again, but that was intentional. They didn't intend to seal it permanently since they required a way to enter and leave the gymnasium after all.
Felix and the others only wanted the main entrance to be closed during the night since everyone required some sleep to get over their exhaustion.
That was also why their groups cleared the other floors in the gymnasium to make sure that all people found their way to the first floor and that all monsters had been killed.
A few monsters and humans had been hiding in small nooks and dark corners but everything had been taken care of a few hours later when it was already dark outside.
The noises from outside dimmed down drastically and it felt like everyone had gone to sleep.
Meanwhile, Liam was beyond exhausted. He sat in the corner of the hall with his eyes closed, letting his guard down for some time.
'This fucking Apocalypse will really kill me if I continue like this…'
He was trying to regulate his breathing but it was near-impossible for him to move or control his body anymore. If a horde of monsters were to attack right now, Liam would be just as helpless as the petrified Natives whom he had rescued only a few hours ago.
The main goal of his customized mission has been achieved by now and Liam was pretty sure that he would get his hands on an additional reward as well, but he was not yet satisfied with himself.
It was still raining, and his stats were slowly increasing.
'Let's figure out what to do tomorrow…now rest for an hour or two, then shopping and then…we will see…'
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT