A Universe of Bloody Evolution

“Survival is a broad topic. For one, it can mean running away from all of their problems. For another it means living day to day, barely reaching the next light of a star. And then there are those that want to thrive. Fighting against anything that stands in their way… And so the question stands, who is in the right? The answer is quite simple. None of them are.”

~ Into the Abyss by Lone Traveler

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The survivor stilled, his mouth opening just a bit in a silent scream. Like a puppet with its strings cut, he slumped against the wall once again as Leo removed the dagger from his head. The corpse slid to the side slowly, head meeting the ground in a heap.

As if alerted by the death of its host, the body spasmed, spitting out blood from every possible wound. From a few places, bits of blackened liquid flowed out, mixing with the crimson pools on the floor. It was similar to Voidling’s blood, but not even Leo, who possessed an entire tainted arm, bled anything other than red.

Definitely not natural. Leo grimaced as he watched the blood form crimson rivers that extended in every direction of the shed.

So much blood. Just a few days ago, a sight like this was reserved for horrible accidents or crime scenes, but now? It was the new reality. Blood flowed everywhere, painting the world in shades of red. Monsters could come out from every corner, ready to tear out the throats of anything that still breathed. And now the first survivor I met just died, by my hand no less…

Leo’s deeply rooted morals tried to push the growing guilt to the forefront of his mind. But as his empty eyes fell on the bodies of Voidlings and the dead human, Leo had to ask.

Why?

Why did his emotions try to punish Leo for doing what was right? Why did it really matter? The world he knew was dead. Gone forever. So why was his mind trying to judge him by the rules and morals of the old world?

Because I’m still a human.

Only a bit over a day passed since the world changed, and while it was not enough time to shift Leo’s entire mindset, he didn't even try or want to change it. He could repeat a thousand times that he had to find and protect his family no matter what. But did he really mean it?

Despite the need to get stronger, Leo’s plan of survival depended on avoiding most of the Voidlings. Killing only those that noticed him or stood in his way. Hell, if this little shed had any alive monsters inside, Leo knew he would have never tried to kill them. Better to run and leave them behind than have more blood on his hands.

A path like this might prolong his life for a bit longer, but in the end, it didn’t make him stronger. Didn’t make him more capable of finding his family. And even after the System warned him, Leo still instinctively followed this path. His morals and fears had stopped him from doing what was necessary to survive and thrive.

“But now I see,” Leo murmured, his eyes glued to the fallen body.

This man indirectly showed Leo that his old mindset had no place in this new world. It only held him back. To truly survive, Leo had to truly adapt, and find the best way to deal with every single situation.

Easier said than done, but that's what it's all about, eh? Those who can change and adapt faster to the new way of the world will thrive. While the others will struggle to see the light of the next day. Was this what the clone meant with its warning?

Leo sighed, head in his hands as the dagger fell into his lap. This apocalypse really didn’t want to give Leo a break. Although maybe this was for the best. Deal with all of the problems now so he could focus on his goals after.

Either way, Leo had to change his attitude toward survival. It might take hours, days, or even weeks, but he had to try. Too much was on the line to continue acting like a scared boy that hid behind morals.

With the decision made, Leo let his gaze wander to the notifications that still required his attention. Reading the first line, he grimaced.

Awakened Human (Warrior LVL: 2) slain | Experience awarded | 2 Ether absorbed

Changing his mindset to become better accustomed to this new reality was one thing. But killing humans, other survivors? This was a line Leo hoped to never cross again, even if it was just wishful thinking. After all, he could never know how some of the survivors dealt with the end of the world.

Enough of that. Leo shook his head, trying to once more focus on the other notifications.

Level 3 reached. Class attributes distributed. Please assign your 2 free attributes.

Leo’s advancement to the next level was probably the only positive thing that came out of this entire encounter. Every bit of additional strength was welcome, even if the way Leo received this power boost was sketchy, to say the least.

As for where the two free points were going? One to Might, just like Leo planned yesterday, while the other went to Mind. The attribute responsible for the control and regeneration of Essence was just too important.

Even the two points Leo gained after advancing to the second level increased his grasp on Essence enough to activate stealth a bit faster. With another two points, Leo hoped to lower the time even more and maybe, just maybe improve the skill, as for now, it didn’t help a lot. Leo’s previous encounter with the Voidlings proved that much.

On top of that, he also wanted to finally figure out how to activate Reinforcement properly. For now, Essence had always slipped in between his fingers when Leo attempted to force the skill to form. In addition, Mind was supposed to speed up the regeneration rate of Essence so it could never be a bad choice. Not when Leo wanted to have stealth active permanently.

Nodding, Leo accepted his choice, a grunt instantly leaving his lips.

Every muscle in his body tightened as burning Essence flowed through every inch of his frame. Leo almost collapsed to the ground when his muscles relaxed, letting him breathe once again.

I really hope it won’t always be like this. It would be inconvenient if I ever had to assign my points during a fight and collapsed like a sack of potatoes…

Standing up, Leo flexed his arms, his joints snapping back into their place after sitting in such an uncomfortable position. His lean body didn’t change suddenly after another point in Might, but he could feel his muscles working overtime without any additional strain.

This little fact made Leo wonder how the state of his body affected his physical attributes. Could he manually train his body to gain attributes or was he locked in his current state forever? Something definitely worth testing out later on.

Now let’s see if my Essence will finally listen.

Like always, Leo closed his eyes and reached deep into himself. A phantom hand grabbed tightly onto the flowing crimson energy and forced it to come out. Unlike the last time, his Essence only fought for a brief moment, like a child that didn’t get their favorite candy. Then it realized that there was nothing it could do and obeyed, surging out.

The familiar barrier encompassed his body almost instantly, a silent gasp leaving Leo’s mouth as he finally understood a bit more about both his ability and Essence.

Incredible…

Stealth wasn’t magically making him less noticeable. No, from what Leo noticed with his very limited understanding of Essence, the barrier was trying to imitate the natural energy of the environment. Thus it created a weak effect of blending in. Or at least that was what Leo observed when the skill formed once again.

It would also explain why the ability felt so unnatural in the beginning. Leo was only used to his own Essence, not the almost unnoticeable energy in the air.

Without even opening his eyes, Leo slowly touched every single inch of the barrier, hoping to understand even more about his most used ability. From head to toe, he left nothing unchecked.

Even during his first search, Leo noticed some irregularities. Holes that left the barrier incomplete. Places where the layer of Essence was too thin or too thick. Or spots where Leo’s energy formed the barrier, but remained unchanged, refusing to do its job.

That’s probably the reason why this skill is only a common one and doesn’t work too well. I wonder…

Keeping a tight hold on his Essence, Leo poked one of the many holes in the barrier and forced his Essence to fill the gap. Sweat formed on his brow as Leo’s soul energy moved, slowly entering the hole. It fought against his command, but he pushed until no sign was left of the gap.

With one of the many holes mended, Leo knew that his job was far from done. His Essence might have fixed one mistake, but it still refused to act like the rest of the barrier, and with Leo’s current knowledge he had no clue how to correct that.

It doesn't matter for now… With that single thought, Leo moved on to the next hole, and then another and another. He probably stood in the same place for a few minutes, trying to improve his ability. Only when Leo was about halfway through his task, he gasped for breath, eyes opening as Essence escaped from his grasp.

Leo leaned against the wall, hand on his knees. He tried too hard without enough control. As such, when he reached the breaking point, the energy turned on him, the barrier disappearing and leaving him breathless.

Definitely too early. Leo coughed.

His newfound understanding of Essence and Stealth made Leo restless, and so he had pushed a bit too hard before he was ready. The hopes of a new and improved skill pulled him in, but it seemed that the current state of his Mind attribute was far from enough to achieve such a feat. And now, as he once again reached into himself, into the small pond of Essence inside his soul, Leo realized that it was almost dry, with only droplets of energy remaining.

That would explain the backlash. He reasoned, taking a series of steady breaths. Next time I will do it slower. Much slower.

Sighing, Leo promised himself to come back to this subject when his Essence regenerated. For now, he still had a shed full of bodies to deal with.

He approached the Voidling crushed underneath the metal shelf. Leo grabbed the object with both hands and grunted as he dragged the bundle of metal off the body, the additional point in Might already proving its value.

Leo crouched next to the dead Voidling, and just like with every monster before, he pushed his claws deep into the creature’s stomach. The Essence flowed through his arm, but it felt like a small stream instead of the usual crashing wave of power when he drained a Voidling.

Does Essence disappear over time? If so then for how long did this man lay there, half-dead?

Leo shuddered. Was this the reason why the other survivor wanted Leo to kill him? If he had to lay there for hours, waiting for death, then Leo couldn’t even fault him. This fact also raised an important question. Just for how long could the System or Essence keep someone alive after suffering mortal wounds?

Leo hoped to never find out and just moved to the other Voidling, wanting to forget about this subject.

Like with the first one, Leo gained only a bit of Essence from the corpse, pushing the sated status back to eight hours. Not the best outcome, but it wasn’t Leo who killed them.

Stopping by the last monster, Leo grabbed the hilt of the straight short sword and pulled. The weapon slid out without a fight, black blood dripping from its rusty double-edged blade.

A quick Identify let Leo know that just like his dagger, this weapon was a gift from the System for a warrior class. He took a few test swings and frowned when, unlike his chosen weapon, the sword just didn’t sit right in his hand.

So without a respective weapon mastery, I can’t wield any other bladed weapon or what? I didn’t have this problem with Dad’s rifle, though that might be because I already shot a firearm before… This system is really making this confusing.

Sighing, Leo placed the sword on the floor and raised his claws over the monster's chest.

'Ca-Caw! Caw!'

Leo froze, his gaze darting towards the opened door. A crow? What the fuck?

With his Essence reserves still almost empty, Leo sneaked to the entrance and took a peek out. His gaze jumped from tree to tree, branch to branch as he searched for the damned bird that almost gave him a heart attack.

Leo had to take a step out of the shed to take a look at the other side of the clearing, and when he did, he also found the creature that definitely wasn’t a crow.

Shit.

The bird hung high in a tree, hugging the bark with its claws that came attached to long leathery wings. The black, almost serpentine body lacked any feathers or even limbs, other than the two wings. If it wasn't for the color and the four, ruby eyes, the creature would blend perfectly with the tree thanks to its bark-like skin.

The monster opened its large beak and cawed again, another series of similar sounds soon echoing through the forest clearing.

Leo’s heart pummeled, understanding well what this call meant.

Seeker (Voidling) | Rank: F- | LVL: 2

Could be worse. At least it is only as large as a normal crow and seems weaker than me. But just how many of you are out there?

Leo ran back into the shed, leaving the door open. In a matter of seconds, he drained the last Cursed Human, and with a bit of torn clothing, he tied the sword to the other side of his bag. The warrior’s weapon might not suit him, but it still could be useful.

Grabbing the trusty shovel with his claws, Leo’s normal hand landed on the sheath of his dagger, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice. He once again took a peek outside and cursed when he noticed two more of those weird Voidlings.

Okay, just three birds with very sharp claws and beaks. Definitely doable.

With a deep intake of air, Leo stepped out of the shed only to stop in his tracks as twelve glaring eyes landed on him, caws once again filling the woods. Just to test something out Leo took a step back inside the shed and the birds immediately quieted.

Weird. I really hope they aren’t calling for reinforcement. That single thought made Leo move out again. Three flying monsters were enough, he didn’t need an entire flock.

And so Leo dashed towards his previous path, the cawing coming back in full force. A quick look over his shoulders let him know that the birds definitely weren't planning on letting him run away

Leo jumped behind a thick trunk and flipped the shovel to his other hand as he brandished his claws.

Alright you little fuckers, you want to play? Let’s play.