"Hm?"
Lucas Kane glanced to the top of the glass door—there it was: a wind chime.
The kind shops use so the clerk knows when someone comes or goes. Bright, crisp, and piercing. Exactly the kind of sound that would get him killed if it rang now.
Good thing the prompt warned him.
Heart thudding, he rose slowly, pinched the cord, and snapped it with the lightest pull. He wrapped the chime in his shirt and set it gently on the desk, then eased the door shut.
Through the glass, the nearby mutants showed no reaction. The mall's music plus the door's insulation would mask small noises. He exhaled.
Lucas slipped past the front counter into the equipment area. Rows of machines gleamed uselessly. Why grind on iron when Energy Cores could boost your body in minutes?
No crate among the weight stations.
None by the treadmills.
He headed into the bathing area—and found it at last: a Level 2 Supply Crate in the women's showers. A black chest traced with faint, arcane lines.
His palm touched the lid.
Open now?
Yes / No
"Yes."
The lock turned on its own.
Ding! Congratulations! You obtained:
Talent Crystal ×1
Blueprint: Sturdy Beginner Energy Armor ×1
High Grade Pet Feed ×1
Talent Crystal: Consumed to gain +1 Talent Point. For dual talent survivors, grants +1 to each tree.
Sturdy Beginner Energy Armor (Blueprint): Requires Energy Cores ×200, Toughened Leather ×20, Clean Cloth ×500.
— Auto deploys when danger is sensed. Before it shatters, it negates falls up to 50 meters and impacts of similar force; reduces other damage by 20%.
High Grade Pet Feed: Accelerates pet growth; works only before adulthood.
"That's a Level 2 crate, alright." Compared with Level 1, the difference was night and day.
Beside him, Lupo stared at the pet feed, drool already stringing. Front paws pressed Lucas's thigh; the tail spun like a fan.
"Alright, alright—now."
Lucas opened the box and set it down. Lupo plunged in, head-first, devouring without coming up for air.
Lucas lifted the Talent Crystal—a small red shard—pressed, and it crumbled. Power surged through his fingers and into his core.
Ding! +1 Talent Point to Genetic Evolution.
Ding! +1 Talent Point to Energy Evolution.
The second row of each talent tree unfurled, two choices apiece:
Genetic Evolution
Catlike Reflexes (0/3): Dodge, speed, and reaction +33%.
Skill: Berserk (0/1): Temporarily boosts all attributes and reduces incoming damage by 30%. Duration and potency scale with survivor level.
Energy Evolution
Skill: Focused Strike (0/1): Fires a concentrated energy beam. Damage scales with the survivor's level up core cap—the higher the cap, the stronger the strike.
Wealth Incarnate (0/3): +20% yield to non special gathered resources; the initial +20% bonus also applies to other resources.
He had one point in each tree. The choice was obvious: take both skills first.
Upgrade: Focused Strike.
Upgrade: Berserk.
Red and blue currents rushed into him together. When he opened his eyes, a keen edge flashed across his gaze.
On the inside of his left wrist, a tiny one centimeter line appeared—red braided with blue. Genetic Evolvers bore red. Energy Evolvers, blue. His, intertwined. As more talents lit up, the line would lengthen and the pattern grow complex.
Lupo finished eating. No longer a palm sized fluff, he'd stretched to thirty–forty centimeters from nose to tail base. The wagging tail thumped Lucas's shin with surprising force.
Pet Status
Name: Lupo
Species: Mutated Energy Beast — Moonhowl Wolf King
Growth: Juvenile, Stage 1
Preferred Food: Meat, zombies, mutated animals, mutated insects…
Skills: Amplified Combat: In battle, size, strength, speed, and mass multiply.
Call of the Wild: Summon two juvenile Moonhowl wolves to assist; summons vanish when combat ends.
"Summons, huh?" Lucas smiled. "Four versus four, then. At least the numbers match."
He waved. Lupo's fur rippled—and the body ballooned, this time to half a compact car, broad as a lion, thicker with corded power.
A low rumble. The wolf dipped his head, nuzzling Lucas's shoulder in submission.
They moved to the gym entrance.
Three Crawlers had crept closer: one clung to the ceiling above the door, one paced the floor, and one by the stairs gnawed on the corpse Lucas had cut earlier. The mall's music swelled—too loud, almost grating—setting the mutants on edge.
Lucas rolled his shoulders once, feeling the new skills settle into place.
"Let's see what we can do now."