Chapter 275 - First contact (Patreon)

Keeping up with strengthening her body, I realize that I'm not very good at it, unlike Sophie. It seems I lack the ability to help others effectively.

My body? No problem, I can move my mana however I want, I can even change my heart and slowly turn myself into a construct or whatever the end is. To help someone else, I would need much more time to examine them, as unlike Lily or Sophie, I don't have that instinctual feeling and ability to do so.

Another thing to work on, as I dislike having weaknesses. Sure, personal power is the most important, but situations like this shouldn't be something that's happening to me.

The little body in my arms is still shaking, and I can feel that she is getting warmer and shaking a bit more.

How weak she is, how delicate her body is. Was I also like that when I entered the 1st floor at level 0?

Once again, I go through the system shop, but there isn't anything that could help me.

Another thing I could do is to sell my last remaining rare passive and buy some weaker passive that would allow me to heal others, but I do not find anything like that. I barely got any offers to keep myself healed, so I guess it makes sense partially?

I speed up a bit more and on purpose, I cut my arm and examine the healing process my passive skill does. Then I stop the passive and try to move my thermal energy in a similar way to actively heal myself.

In the middle of my third attempt, I reach the city and land on top of one of the buildings.

As far as I can see are old, broken, cracked, or straight-up destroyed buildings covered in greenery. Nature taking its hold over the area back now that there are no humans around. The city is big enough to house a few million people, yet it is empty. The trees growing from the roads, windows cracked, water damaging the buildings, and car-resembling things rusting down there.

It all reminds me of Earth, yet it is so different at the same time. Nearly every building and every road has some sort of circuits going through, that used to be powered and interact with mana.

[Perception] reaches as far as I can, and feeling a moment, I move there only to find a few monsters. Sensing my examining, they get out of one of the buildings, letting out screeching noises.

All of them are humanoid-like. They have gray skin, red eyes, and tatters of clothes all over them. Through their bodies, blue-colored veins go through, all of them starting at the hearts.

[Veilshrieker - lvl 123]

[Veilshrieker - lvl 98]

[Veilshrieker - lvl 113]

I watch as they screech, summoning more of them out of the buildings. Turning their red glowing eyes at me, they start running and burrowing their limbs into the walls of the building just to climb to me. They move aggressively, pushing each other away in a show of immense anger and lust for blood. They wound each other, they drool, they hurt themselves, and strain their bodies just to reach me quickly. There is no hesitation in them, and their eyes are full of one emotion only.

Pure hate.

I create a field around the little half-demon in my arms so she won’t hear the screetches and wait.

Two dozen veilshriekers reach me, and the moment they step into my domain, I activate [Redistribution], immediately stopping them, and all of them freeze in the middle of the movement.

I feel them push against me, hurting their bodies to do so, and the blue veins over their bodies become darker, eyes letting out a deeper glow.

But they can't move at all.

So, with my disciple in my arms, I step arm’s reach away from the closest one and examine it.

The monster reminds me of a human, and when I cut its chest open, a heart looks similar to mine. A heart turned to a mana heart under the influence of the system, now used to power this being.

My own heart beats, and I move the kinetic energy I collect, and a blast of it explodes the monster's head, throwing all the blood and pieces away from me thanks to the pressure.

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 123]

The moment the monster dies, I notice its heart moving weirdly, and it attempts to send something like a signal.

In a different situation, I would let it happen just to see what it is, but right now, I'm not in such a state to do so. So I disrupt the signal, and when I kill the remaining monsters, I disrupt their signals as well.

A warning maybe, or a signal to summon more monsters towards the killer of one of them.

The little half-demon mumbles something from fervent sleep, and I hug her tighter before stepping over the edge of the building and falling to the street where I absorb the inertia of my fall and softly land. The absorbed kinetic energy I release in a circle around me.

Walking through the post-apocalyptic-looking city, I try the Community a few more times and then my Mana Wavelength Iris, all to no success. My attempts with trying to learn to heal actively also fail as expected, as it's something I already expected would take months to bear some fruit.

So I continue to move while sending my senses ahead through the city.

***

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 6]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 15]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - lvl 2]

My flames burn more of the monsters as I get into an area of the city where there are more of them, just much weaker.

Most of the lower-level ones are much shorter, their figures reminding more of kids than adults. But even they show pure hate anytime they see me.

In the eerie silence of a modern city overgrown by vegetation, their shrieks sound unnerving. The way they jump and attack me, not caring about wounds or the difference in our strength, is uneasy too.

Hundreds, thousands of them turn to ash in my golden flames that are now easily produced thanks to my improved heart. The flames melt the sides of the buildings, turn vegetation into dust, and evaporate the monsters.

And every time any of the monsters die, I cut off the signal they send.

The young half-demon clinging to me doesn't allow me to move properly, not even use much mana, as I try not to kill her with one of my bursts of power. It’s a valuable lesson, and I gradually learn how to fight carefully not to hurt her just from being so close to me.

As I delve deeper into the city, I finally feel some presences that feel human.

I take a step to go to them, but then another presence can be felt nearby.

Immediately I control my mana and pull it back, using my [Mana Domain] and [Resonance] to hide the mana I and my disciple are leaking. Quickly after, I jump into one of the buildings and step into the shadows.

Down in the streets, I can see three humans passing. All three of them have clothes that seem to be some sort of equipment as it makes it hard to even see them, their bodies hard to focus on without using skills. Still, I do not even try to do so and just stare at them with my senses.

All three of them move skillfully, moving between buildings and constantly aware of their surroundings.

[Blurblade - lvl 121]

[Shadow Weaver - lvl 146]

[Spectral Scout - lvl 123]

Same as me they also feel the presence and freeze their movement. Even though they tried to be hidden until now, their mana activates at full force as they try to run away.

Not even for a second do they think about fighting, and there is a reason for it.

[Veil Guardian - lvl ??]

From the street between two tall buildings across the road cracked and covered by grass, a monster takes a step.

The monster looks similar to the Veilshriekers from before; it's taller, and the biggest difference are blades it has instead of hands. The blades start at the elbow and are as long as I'm tall, both of them made of metal that has a faint blue shine to it.

For a short moment, humans run but then the monster takes a step, and the humans falter and fall down. An effect reminding me of a strong gravity field.

Desperately the men try to escape and activate their skills, but the monster seems to disrupt their mana, and while observing the area, it reaches them.

The screams reach even to me as the Veil Guardian lowers its body and opens its mouth, eating humans alive.

I can hear everything, and I can see how desperately two of the humans struggle while the monster devours the first one. Exactly like the monsters from before, the Veil Guardian screeches and is full of hate as it devours the thrashing man.

When the man dies and stops moving, the monster stops eating too.

The same situation repeats with the second human, just this time the monster seems to be more careful. It eats slower and starts with the limbs so the human won't die quickly.

Once again, the moment the man dies, the monster loses interest and does the same to the last one.

Then it stands up, a tall pale figure, blue veins going through the body starting at the heart. Two long deadly-looking blades and blood that drips from the chin of the monster. Its senses, like a sonar, examine the area and then it moves again.

And I, without a speck of doubt, know that it's the monster that found me back near the lake.

***

I give it one hour, and even during that time, my disciple doesn't wake up. No, she seems to be getting worse. She is shaking more, and her body is hot to the touch.

Well, good job, I guess. I really suck at this, don't I?

Using the least possible amount of mana to perceive the area around me and to absorb my kinetic energy as I jump from the building, I walk towards where the three men died.

The blood is already dried, and their bodies are cold.

Trying not to look at their faces, I examine their bodies and try to search for anything useful.

I find a small bottle of water, a tiny pack with some dense food, and some items, most of them broken, that I take just in case.

Quickly, I leave again, reaching the rooftops and continuing from there as the sun starts setting down slowly.

I think it's called the golden hour, isn't it? When the sunrays at the end of the day glow in a golden color that can make any view beautiful. And even this dead city is no different.

As far as I can see, there is building after building covered in green vines, some of them having trees growing at the tops of them.

Buildings cracked and fallen, streets unusable and overtaken by nature. Yet in some weird, sad way, it's a beautiful view.

(Attempt number two, Owen, can you answer?) sounds in my head.

One of the items I hold tried to connect to my mind in a way that shows communication only, and I allowed it to do so.

Looking through the items I took, I take out an oval metal item with two mana stones inside of it and a set of inscriptions I didn't understand until now.

(Owen, please, can you hear me?)

I examine the item and easily find a switch-like inscription.

(Hello, I'm Nathaniel.)

A moment of hesitation before another message reaches me.

(Hello Nathaniel, I'm Darren, can I ask you why you have Owen’s Transmitter?)

The tone of his voice is not nice at all, but there is no wonder.

(I saw a Veil Guardian eating three people, and after it left, I searched their bodies,)

A silence this time is longer. I don’t think he trusts me.

(Darren, I won’t jump around it. I have a level 6 child with me, and she needs medical help, a healer, or an item. She drank and bathed in the water in the lake far away from the city.)

(What group do you belong to? No, you can’t belong to any, you wouldn’t be asking us for help. Are you a wanderer? Merchant? Courier?)

(I can’t tell you.)

(You just told me three of my friends are dead, and I’m still not sure if you didn’t kill them. Then you immediately ask for things from me?)

Well, if he puts it like this, it’s obvious it would sound bad.

(I will pay you back. I’m a bit strong, so I’m sure there are things I can do for you. We don’t have to meet eye to eye if you don’t want to. Just leave some medicine somewhere and tell me where it is.)

The start of this floor is far from optimal and starts proving to be annoying.

Out of nowhere, I start missing the silly doggo. Being able to pet him or boop his snout would at least allow me to alleviate some of my stress.

Still, I continue, (There were some things I found on their bodies. A few mana stones with encrypted information, a weird-looking bracelet, and a small sealed wooden box.)

Seeing how dangerous it is outside and their lower levels, I think most of the survivors are of similar strength, and for them to go out, they must have some important mission. Maybe one of the three items.

Darren takes a bit longer to answer, but that confirms it. One of the items I have is important for him.

(Give us the location where Owen and others got attacked. When we confirm your story, we will leave medicine in some buildings, and you will leave the items there. No need for contact at all.)

(Okay.)

After that, I describe the area where I'm as best as I can, and the transmitter turns off.

***

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