Chapter 13: Three Floors in Four Seconds – Are You a Pharmacist?

On the playing fields of Star Medical University.

Armored vehicles crushed the grass of the track, rolling up to a position twenty to thirty meters in front of the portal to another world.

Doors opened, and squads, each with their own tasks, quickly formed up. Some held firearms, surrounding the front of the alien portal, while others rapidly set up defensive positions.

The sudden relocation of the portal caused these armed police officers to have no idea for a while.

After having surrounded the area for three days, during which many monsters had been killed or wounded, the sight of the portal vanishing made them think they had won...

But this was a school, housing thousands of defenseless students. The potential escape of these monsters could lead to disastrous losses!

Andre, the police chief of Star City's armed police station, stood in front of several goblin corpses.

A forensic examiner, having completed his assessment, reported to him, "Chief, these creatures died from slash wounds inflicted by bladed weapons. From their movement patterns, it seems they didn't even have time to react before being killed."

Lighting a cigarette, Andre looked towards the alien portal with a grave expression and said, "We were too late. If someone hadn't stepped in to kill these monsters, they might have already spread throughout the school."

Since the arrival of the portal three days ago, Andre had been on the front line battling these creatures.

On the first day, Star City had established five emergency combat teams, and the current situation was promising.

Using firearms against these creatures was overwhelmingly effective, successfully preventing their spread and protecting the local population.

However, two issues troubled the emergency combat teams' leadership.

The first issue was that some of the killed monsters would completely disappear after about two hours, only to resurrect and emerge from the portal again three to four hours later.

At first, Andre doubted this, thinking perhaps some monsters just looked very similar.

It wasn't until two identical goblin warrior corpses were laid in front of him that he had no choice but to believe it.

The matter of the monsters' resurrection was currently classified as top secret to prevent public panic.

The second issue was even more baffling: an alien portal located inside a shopping mall had mysteriously closed without any action from the emergency combat teams.

Some witnesses claimed to have seen a man in black, wielding a katana, fighting the spider-like creatures.

Looking at the goblin corpses before him, with wounds clearly inflicted by a bladed weapon, Andre, trusting his instincts from years of experience, believed this to be the work of the same individual who had acted in the mall.

This was crucial information.

Perhaps this mysterious person in black held the key to closing the alien portals.

He ordered his subordinates loudly, "Team members responsible for clearing the monsters, keep a close watch on any beings emerging from the portal. Do not open fire unless necessary!"

"Understood!" came the loud response.

Just then, the portal fluctuated, white energy ripples splashing across its surface, as if something was about to come through.

All armed officers, their weapons at the ready, immediately tensed in anticipation.

To everyone's surprise, several human women emerged from the alien portal.

They were barely clothed, with rags wrapped around their bodies. An officer immediately recognized some of them as missing persons who had been abducted by the monsters before their arrival.

"Those are the missing persons! Lower your weapons, move to protect them, and call the medical team quickly!"

While everyone's attention was on the women, only Andre noticed a black shadow almost instantaneously leap out from the alien portal.

Just as Andre was about to speak, the portal emitted a massive energy fluctuation. The team members, while covering the women, quickly retreated.

The portal began to fold and shrink continuously, turning back into a black energy sphere. The glow of the sphere gradually dimmed until it finally fell to the ground.

By the time Andre came to his senses, the shadow had completely vanished.

"There was definitely someone. I can't have misread it." He muttered to himself as he discarded his cigarette butt.

At that moment, an armed officer approached to inspect the site, gently touching the awakening crystal with his combat-gloved hand to ensure it was safe before placing it into an evidence bag.

The officer brought the bag to Andre and reported, "Chief, we found this black-gray crystal at the site where the alien portal closed."

Andre took the bag and looked at the awakening crystal inside, which resembled obsidian. He could faintly feel it emitting a weak energy.

He poured the awakening crystal into his palm, wanting to feel it more closely when suddenly the crystal emitted a dazzling light.

Andre felt as if a force struck his soul, and then his whole body felt revitalized...

At that moment, a system panel appeared before his eyes.

[Awakener: Andre]

[Selecting the most fitting profession for you...]

[Your awakened profession: Warrior]

"Chief, are you alright?"

"What happened!? How did that crystal disappear? Could it have been a weapon of the monsters?"

"Someone from the medical team, come check on the chief. He just got something flashed in his eyes!"

Andre blinked, realizing that the people around him seemed unable to see the semi-transparent system panel. He quickly gestured that he was fine and turned to address his team:

"Stay on guard here and report to me immediately if anything happens. Sam, drive me back to the command center."

...

In the shadows behind the male dormitory building.

John was planning to return to his dorm via the same route when he suddenly heard footsteps ahead.

The moment he stopped, the footsteps from the other side ceased as well, with both parties becoming aware of each other's presence.

John held his breath. Just around the unseen corner, it seemed someone was hiding.

Could it be a goblin that had escaped the net?

John had thoroughly cleared the goblins that had left the alien portal, killing all those he could see, but he couldn't guarantee there were no oversights.

Perhaps one or two had fled while he was fighting other goblins, their likely mission being reconnaissance or something similar.

John took out a poisoned dagger from his system backpack. The opponent seemed also ready for battle, and almost simultaneously, the two launched their attacks. In the dim shadow of the building, two flashes of cold light passed in an instant.

John sidestepped, narrowly avoiding a slender rapier that pierced through his hat, while his dagger snipped off a few strands of black hair.

After a brief exchange, both had swapped positions and then distanced themselves from each other.

It was then John realized that his opponent was also an Awakener, and seemingly a female one.

Since both were in combat mode, they could see each other's professional information.

Above the slim, dark figure, the word [Swordswoman] appeared.

"Alchemist?"

Underneath her masked veil, a cold, elegant voice tinged with confusion spoke, her pale blue eyes fixed on John.

John, his face also masked, lowered his voice, "It seems there's been a misunderstanding. We've mistaken each other for monsters. May I have my hat back, please?"

"Sorry, it appears to have been pierced," the masked swordswoman tossed John's hat back to him.

"No need for apologies, we're even now. I just gave you a princess cut," John gestured near the side of his head, the swordswoman reaching to feel a section of her hair missing.

"You!" The swordswoman seemed a bit angered but took a deep breath to calm down, "What's the situation in the courtyard?"

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" With that, John nimbly climbed onto the protective railing of a first-floor window, quickly scaling up to the second floor, and with a pull, positioned himself atop an air conditioning unit on the third floor, all within a matter of seconds.

John made sure the restroom was silent before waving goodbye to the swordswoman below, then easily leaped through the window to enter.

The swordswoman, looking up at where John had vanished, stood there dumbfounded.

After a moment, she came back to her senses, her beautiful eyes slightly vacant, feeling puzzled:

"This guy... is really an Alchemist? Are you sure he's not a Rogue?"