The dawn light was a cruel witness. It bled through the shattered windows of "The Corner Stop," illuminating the dust motes and the wreckage of the aisles. There were no shadows left to hide in, no dark corners for a ghost to inhabit. Ren stood at the top of the ladder, his hand gripping the edge of the trapdoor.
He didn't feel his ribs. He didn't feel the throb of the gashes the Skulker had left behind. He only felt the cold, steady hum of his Mana and the blinking 3/10 HP that told him he was one mistake away from the void.
He stepped out from behind the counter, his hands raised in a mock gesture of surrender.
The three winners were already there, and they were massive. In their blue-and-white football pads, they looked like titans of the old world. The transformation hadn't just given them skills; it had filled out their frames, making them taller, broader, and more imposing than any high schooler had a right to be. Compared to them, Ren—hunched in his stiff fatigues, breathing out thin trails of grey smoke—looked like a stiff breeze could shatter him.
“Who the hell are you?” the one in the center asked. He held a sword that didn't just glow; it breathed fire, the blade a shimmering orange that hissed whenever it touched the humid morning air.
“Just a scavenger,” Ren rasped, his voice steady. He stayed behind the counter, his boots firmly planted over the wooden seam of the trapdoor. “I heard the shouting. I don't want any trouble.”
The teenagers shared a look. It was a look of pure, unadulterated arrogance. They weren't soldiers; they were kids who had won the lottery and were looking for someone to look down on.
“You seen a girl?” the leader asked, stepping over a pile of smashed cans. “Wears a track jacket. Blonde hair.”
“I’m alone,” Ren lied, his hands still high. “I’ve been here since midnight. Just looking for bandages.”
One of the boys, a linebacker with a cruel sneer, didn't wait for permission.
Snap.
In a blur of golden static, the air beside Ren folded. One moment the boy was ten feet away; the next, he was standing inches from Ren’s shoulder, his hand already reaching out to shove him aside. It was a teleportation skill—clumsy and loud, but effective.
Ren didn't flinch. He didn't have the nerves for it.
The boy looked behind the counter, kicking a pile of trash. “He’s telling the truth, Cap. Nobody’s here. Just this walking corpse.”
The linebacker didn't notice the trapdoor beneath Ren’s feet. He was too busy laughing at Ren’s sickly appearance. He reached out a gloved hand to shove Ren’s face. “You smell like a grave, old man. Why don't you—”
Ren’s good hand shot out like a viper. He didn't punch; he gripped the boy’s wrist, his fingers digging into the gaps of the football pads.
“Siphon,” Ren whispered.
[ACTIVATING ENERGY SIPHON (LVL. 1)]
[MANA -1 (9/10)]
The linebacker didn't even have time to shout. A violent, purple light was ripped from his chest, flowing through Ren’s palm and into his blackened chest. The boy’s eyes went wide, his mouth opening in a silent 'O' as his vibrant, athletic vitality was drained into the grey void of Ren’s body.
[ORGANIC SIPHON SUCCESSFUL]
[HEALTH +5]
[HEALTH: 8/10]
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
[SUCCESSFULLY KILLED 1. LVL 1 HUMAN]
[GAINED 50 XP (100/300)]
The linebacker collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, his skin turning a shallow, sickly grey.
“What did you do?!” the leader roared, his flaming sword erupting into a column of fire.
Ren didn't get to answer. The third boy, standing near the entrance, threw his arms forward. A ripple of distorted air—a telekinetic thrust—slammed into Ren’s chest.
The impact was catastrophic. Ren was flung backward, crashing through the back wall’s shelving units. Hundreds of pounds of metal and concrete collapsed on top of him. The sound was deafening, a cacophony of screeching steel and shattering glass.
Ren lay beneath the rubble. He felt his ribs snap. He felt his left arm twist at an angle that should have made him scream. But there was no scream. There was only the blinking red HUD.
[HEALTH: 1/10]
[CRITICAL IMPACT DETECTED]
His body was broken, but his mind remained as cold and clear as a winter pond. He didn't feel the pain, so he didn't feel the panic. He simply adjusted his vision, looking through the gaps in the fallen shelves.
I should've thought of their ranged abilities, he thought. I’m still conscious. I can still move.
The two remaining winners approached the pile of rubble, their footsteps heavy.
“Is he dead?” the telekinetic asked, his voice shaking. “I hit him hard, Cap.”
“He has to be. Did you look at him, he’s a skeleton.” The leader stood on top of the very shelf that pinned Ren down, his flaming sword illuminating the wreckage. “Where’s Mike? Why isn't he getting up?”
Through the mess of steel, Ren saw an opening. A gap near the leader’s ankle.
Ren’s hand, pale and stained with grey dust, shot out from the rubble. He gripped the leader’s ankle with a strength born of desperation.
“Siphon,” Ren wheezed.
[MANA -1 (8/10)]
[HEALTH +5]
[HEALTH: 6/10]
The leader screamed as his legs buckled. The fire on his sword flickered and died as his mana and life force were diverted to heal the man he was standing on. Ren shoved the shelf off his body with a burst of stolen strength, rising from the wreckage like a corpse climbing out of a shallow grave.
The telekinetic tried to raise his hands again, but Ren was already moving. He pulled the rusty machete from his duffle bag.
The Swordsman scrambled back, his blade erupting in fire. He lunged with a wild, overhead strike.
Ren stepped to the side, parrying the glowing blade with the flat of his machete. The heat singed his skin, but he didn't flinch. The boy swung again—a wide, horizontal slash that left his flank completely open. Ren exploited it, driving the pommel of his machete into the boy's ribs, leaving the swordsman gasping for air.
Then the air rippled as another telekinetic thrust slams into ren's chest, throwing him back into one the empty shelves. Breaking it.
Right, Ren thought, I forgot about him.
[CRITICAL IMPACT DETECTED]
[HEALTH: 2/10]
Ren quickly grabbed the nearest thing his hands could find, which was a solid piece of broken concrete left by some other looter and threw it directly at the telekinetic.
Ren couldn't feel pain, he knows his arm is already broken but that didn't stop him. Putting all of his drive and determination on to that throw made the rock whistle in the air from sheer speed and force.
Unfortunately it didn't matter since Ren wasn't experienced at throwing, no matter how strong the throw was the telekinetic simply Dodged it.
But it didn't matter, that a few seconds of distraction was all that Ren needed. Ren quickly sprinted towards the telekinetic, tackling and pinning him down, ren's hands direct on his throat.
"SIPHON!" Ren shouted, his voice raspy and desperate.
Ren watched as the telekinetic struggled, clawing at ren's hands, trying to make room to breathe. His purple energy transferring from his body to rens chest until eventually his hand fell limp.
[MANA -1 (7/10)]
[ORGANIC SIPHON SUCCESSFUL]
[HEALTH +5]
[HEALTH: 7/10]
[SUCCESSFULLY KILLED 1. LVL 1 HUMAN]
[GAINED 50 XP (150/300)]
Ren gasping turned to see the blood shot eyes of the leader, his knuckles white as he gripped his flaming sword with both hands. Seeing Ren dispose two of his allies didn't drive him scared, it only angered him.
“I’m gonna melt you!” the leader shrieked, raising the blade of an overhead attack.
Ren stepped inside the arc. He didn't need to be a master swordsman; he just needed to be a survivor. He parried the glowing blade with the flat of his machete—the heat singeing the hair on his arms—and kicked the leader in the gut.
The boy was fast, though. He recovered, swinging the hilt of the sword and catching Ren across the temple. The machete flew from Ren’s hand, clattering into the darkness of the store’s walk-in freezer.
Ren didn't look for his weapon. He lunged.
He tackled the teenager, his weight driving them both into a display of stale chips. The flaming sword hissed as it sliced through Ren’s shoulder—a deep, cauterized wound that would have incapacitated any other man.
[HEALTH: 4/10]
Ren didn't care. He wrapped his arms around the boy’s neck, his fingers pressing into the jugular.
“Siphon,” he growled.
The struggle lasted for ten agonizing seconds. The boy thrashed, his armor sparking, his hands clawing at Ren’s fatigues. But Ren was a vacuum. He drank every bit of heat, every bit of light, every bit of potential until the boy went limp in his arms.
[MANA: 6/10]
[ORGANIC SIPHON SUCCESSFUL]
[HEALTH +5]
[HEALTH: 9/10]
SUCCESSFULLY KILLED 1. LVL 2 HUMAN]
[GAINED 100 XP (250/300)]
Ren rolled off the unconscious body, his chest heaving. The store was silent again, save for the crackling of a small fire the sword had started in a pile of cardboard. He sat there for a moment, his 9/10 HP bar mocking the fact that his shoulder was burned and his fatigues were shredded.
“Girl!,” Ren rasped, his voice barely a whisper. “It’s over. Come up.”
He tried to take a deep breath to settle his racing heart, but the [Laboured Breathing] wouldn't allow it. A sharp, violent cough shook his frame, and a thick cloud of grey smoke erupted from his lips.
[10% CHANCE TRIGGERED: HEALTH -1]
[HEALTH: 8/10]
Ren wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, seeing the faint trace of grey soot on his skin. He looked at the three winners athletes lying broken on the floor.
Different levels, Ren thought, different ex. I wonder if it's the same for monsters.
The trapdoor creaked open, and Chloe’s pale face appeared, her eyes wide as she took in the devastation.
“You... you killed them?” she whispered.
“No,” Ren said, standing up with a groan. “I just took what they weren't using. Grab your things. We have to go."
