Chapitre 8: The Second Wave

Laura was about to move on to her next target when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She spun around, knife at the ready, only to see the young boy she had saved earlier.

He was trailing behind her, doing his best to stay out of sight and avoid drawing the attention of any nearby monsters. His face was pale, and his blue eyes were wide, darting nervously from side to side.

She sighed and took a step toward him, lowering her weapon. "Why are you following me?" she asked, her tone calm but firm.

The boy hesitated, then stepped forward. Up close, he looked even younger than she had thought—probably around sixteen, with messy blue hair that fluttered in the chilled wind. His gaze met hers with a mix of fear and anxiety.

"I—I couldn't find a weapon," he admitted, glancing down at the ground. "And… I figured the safest place would be near you. You… you saved me."

Laura's expression softened as she looked at him more closely. There was something about him, something familiar.

For a moment, he reminded her of someone—someone she would have once given anything to protect. But that person was gone, lost in the chaos of her past life, and now wasn't the time for nostalgia.

She offered the boy a small smile. "What's your name?"

"Eric," he replied, his voice trembling slightly. "I'm Eric. I… I got separated from my parents when this all started. We were coming back from a family trip. I don't even know if they're… if they're…" His voice trailed off, and his eyes grew misty.

Laura felt a pang of sympathy but quickly masked it. She knew better than to offer false hope in a situation like this. "Alright, Eric," she said, her tone more pragmatic now. "If you're going to stick with me, I need to know your class. Did you get assigned one, or did you choose it?"

Eric's eyes brightened a little at the question, as though it reminded him of something exciting amid the horror. "I—I chose it," he said quickly. "When the class selection came up, I picked Elemental Mage. I've always been into fantasy stuff, you know, magic and all that. I've read a ton of novels about it, watched anime… I just thought… maybe this was my chance."

He managed a sheepish smile, then added, "I guess I kind of wished for something like this… before it actually happened."

Laura didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him. "So you're an Elemental Mage?" she echoed, raising an eyebrow. "That's actually one of the better classes. You'll start off with a high mana attribute and have a lot of potential, as long as you can survive these first waves."

Her mind began working quickly. She had seen how powerful Elemental Mages could become if they managed to unlock multiple elements. Most started with a single element, like fire or wind, but with high enough mana and some luck, it was possible to master two, or even three elements.

She'd been around enough powerful mages in her previous life to know how dangerous they could be in the right hands.

"Alright," she continued, her tone now carrying a hint of urgency. "What's your level? And your stats? I need to know exactly what we're working with."

Eric hesitated for a moment, then opened his status screen, reading off his stats. "I'm… I'm still level one," he said, glancing at her nervously. "But my mana is at thirty-nine already. And my other stats are… uh, strength is seventeen, agility is nineteen, vitality is twenty, and luck is twenty-one."

Laura's eyes widened slightly. Those stats were absurdly high for someone who hadn't even leveled up yet.

She had never encountered anyone in her past life who had started with such high attributes at level one. Is this kid some kind of natural prodigy? she wondered, feeling a mix of surprise and suspicion. It was as if fate itself had handed her a rare gem in the middle of the apocalypse.

"Thirty-nine mana at level one?" she repeated, half to herself. She could hardly believe it. For a moment, it almost felt like she was in one of those fantasy novels Eric had mentioned—a story where he was the protagonist and she was just a supporting character guiding him on his path to greatness.

She wasn't about to let that happen. If this boy had such potential, she'd make sure he reached it—and if that meant keeping him close, then so be it. She immediately revised her plans, seeing the benefits of training Eric as an ally.

"Alright, Eric," she said decisively, reaching into her inventory and pulling out a sturdy dagger. She handed it to him, hilt first. "Take this. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. Stick close to me, and listen carefully. If you do exactly as I say, you'll live long enough to use those ridiculous stats of yours."

Eric's eyes lit up with a mixture of relief and determination as he took the dagger. "I'll do my best," he said, though his voice still shook. "I—I won't let you down."

"Good," Laura replied, already scanning the station for more monsters. "Now, let's get you some real combat experience. You're going to need it for what's coming."

The two of them began working their way through the station together, hunting down the smaller creatures that continued to terrorize the fleeing civilians.

At first, Laura took the lead, incapacitating the monsters and leaving them weakened for Eric to finish off. He was hesitant with his first kill, his hands trembling as he drove the dagger into the creature's throat. But with each successful attack, his confidence grew.

"Again," Laura urged, guiding him toward another creature that was preoccupied with a fallen commuter. "Strike quickly. Go for the neck."

Eric followed her instructions, his strikes becoming more fluid and deliberate. As they moved through the station, he managed to take down three more creatures on his own, and his level rose to two. Laura kept pushing him, testing his limits and gauging his potential.

"Don't hesitate," she said, as he hesitated to deliver a finishing blow on a wounded monster. "The second wave is coming soon. If you can't handle these small fries, you'll be overwhelmed."

"I know, I just…" He swallowed hard, glancing at the blood-stained ground. "It's still hard to wrap my head around all of this."

"Trust me," Laura replied, her tone softening slightly. "It gets easier. And you'll have to get used to it fast."

With every minute that passed, Laura could feel the tension in the air intensify. She checked the clock—it had been almost twenty minutes since the apocalypse began. The second wave was imminent.

Just as Eric raised his dagger to signal his advancement to level three, a low rumble resonated through the station, followed by the sharp crack of the sky splitting open again. Laura's eyes snapped up as larger rifts formed above, and this time, the creatures that emerged were far more imposing.

Massive beasts descended—hulking monstrosities with bulging muscles, sharp claws, and thick hides.

One of them landed not far from where they stood, its impact sending a tremor through the ground. It was nearly three meters tall, with the head of a bull and the body of an ape, each movement exuding raw power.

Laura tightened her grip on her knife. "Stay close to me," she instructed Eric, her voice low but steady. "These things are stronger, faster, and a lot harder to kill. Don't try to fight one head-on."

Eric nodded, his expression a mix of fear and determination. "What do we do?"

Laura's eyes narrowed as she calculated their next move. "We survive," she answered simply. "And we take down as many of them as we can."

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