[POV – Theo]
[In the afternoon of the next day]
I found some watches, all of them were stopped.
The batteries in the TV remote and the DVD player had also stopped working again. Although it was still possible to play movies without the remote, it was still better to have it than not.
It was really frustrating.
However, in the apartment on the 3rd floor, while I was exploring with Emily in search of resources, in a box, I found several sealed packs of batteries, both small, medium, and large. Moreover, they were all rechargeable, and there were even two battery chargers.
I brought everything with me. After plugging them into the generator to charge, I went back to exploring with Emily down to the second floor.
The mold and spiderwebs were more present on the lower floors.
And, for the first time, I saw a mutant rat.
[HP: 550/550]
It had large, round red eyes with gray, dirty fur. The mutant rat smelled terrible and was about 30 cm tall and 50 cm long. Its teeth were enormous.
The rat didn't run when it saw us, nor did it try to attack us. It stood still, with a fierce expression, as if it were studying us.
"Emily, step back," I said.
I wasn't doing this to protect her, really. I knew how strong she was. My reason was simple: I wanted to use this rat to test my new ability, but I was afraid I wouldn't have enough control and might end up hitting Emily.
"Yes, daddy~~"
When Emily flew back and got far enough away, the rat, which had only been watching before, lunged in my direction.
That's when I understood—it wasn't worried about me per se, but about my daughter, who must have triggered the rat's warning senses.
I wanted to use my bare hands, but something told me, or maybe I was just prejudiced because the rat was dirty, that its ability might be related to poison.
Because of that, I made the iron bar with concrete appear in my hand and then channeled lightning through the iron bar and entered stealth mode.
The room was darker; the windows had curtains, which helped me hide. But of course, I was transforming my Mana into lightning. I used stealth mode not just to make less noise, but because the lines showing the best routes, avoiding obstacles, were very useful.
The rat found me easily, and when it landed on the floor and looked in my direction, with the iron bar raised and the concrete part nearly hitting it, the rat jumped back.
On the floor, I saw a puddle of some green substance.
'I was right, this rat can really produce poison,' I thought.
"Emily, tell this rat not to move!"
I didn't want to take risks when I didn't need to.
Poison wasn't something I had the ability to cure.
Or so I think. I don't know if it'll be like in a game, where it consumes some of my HP until my immune system fights off the poison and I survive.
"Bad rat, don't move!" Emily said in a scolding voice.
In the air, lunging toward me, the Mutant Rat seemed to freeze mid-air and started to fall stiffly.
"I knew you could do it," I said, dodging and stepping to the side.
Then, I hammered the rat's head with the concrete part.
*POW!*
"Kiiiiiiiii!*
[HP: 501/550]
I used a lot of force, but this rat's health was barely affected.
I gave it two more hammer blows, and the concrete shattered.
[HP: 412/550]
Holding the iron bar, I created even more lightning. Now the iron bar started crackling intensely, and I struck the tip into the Mutant Rat.
[HP: 402/550]
[HP: 391/550]
[HP: 370/550]
[HP: 349/550]
The Mutant Rat's health began to melt, but this caused it to break free from Emily's mental control. But since I had pierced its stomach with the iron bar, I lifted it into the air while generating even more lightning.
"KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIh!"
Letting out a piercing scream that must have echoed throughout the entire building, the Mutant Rat spat a glob of goo in my direction.
I didn't panic. I kind of expected something like this and grabbed a sofa cushion to use as a shield.
"Daddy, dodge!"
When I heard that, I didn't hesitate and dodged instead of using the cushion as a shield.
When I dodged, I had to drop the iron bar, or else I wouldn't have escaped in time.
Behind me, there was a television, and when the green goo hit it, I saw that the goo wasn't poison but acid!
When I looked at the floor where the rat had hit before, I saw that part of the floor had been corroded by the liquid the rat expelled.
I broke out in a cold sweat.
I thought I was being cautious enough, but if it weren't for Emily, a good part of my arm would have been hit by that acidic goo.
Emily looked furious!
She appeared in front of the rat with her mouth open, sucking out the rat's soul.
It took her just two seconds, and the Mutant Rat's soul was swallowed by her.
*Burp!*
"Hmph! Nobody messes with my daddy!" she exclaimed in an angry tone.
'I really am loved,' I thought.
I scratched my head. The rat had dried up, and I didn't know if it would still have a core.
To confirm, I went to the Mutant Rat and touched its head with my index finger.
[It has been identified that the Host found a special level 5 core, 59% pure... level 4, 81% pure, do you wish to absorb it now [Yes] or [No]?]
I clicked 'yes' upon seeing this abnormality.
[+24 Essence]
I sighed when I successfully absorbed it, though I felt a pang of regret because it was a core from a possible acid-generating ability.
While it's not something I wanted to have, I could trade it with Violet's group.
Progress to the next level: 5.6%
'It increased by 5%,' I thought.
Looking at the iron bar still piercing the shriveled body of the Mutant Rat, which looked like a dried prune, I gave up on it.
If it was an iron bar, I had better options.
I had seen some construction materials not far from my building. There should be those solid iron bars that aren't hollow and easy to bend. Although they're heavier, I was strong enough now to lift even a ton without breaking a sweat.
"Emily, thank you, you saved me," I said.
"Hehe~ You can count on me~" She returned to her usual cheerful self.
This wasn't the first time Emily had saved me. I started to think I should treat this little girl even better.
...
After searching the apartments, we found nothing unusual.
I was both relieved and disappointed at the same time.
Part of me wanted to find something like the Mutant Rat, but on the other hand, I preferred fighting zombies, which were easier to deal with.
"Let's head back," I said to Emily, and she hummed softly in agreement.
...
When we reached the apartment on the thirtieth floor, the sky was already dark.
Taking the battery charger out of the outlet, I put batteries in the remote controls and turned on the television, then the DVD player.
'Yes, everything's working perfectly,' I thought.
I also put a battery in a wall clock.
I set the time to 6:30 PM.
For now, that was better than nothing.
Little by little, I could adjust it as I saw fit.
Maybe set it to 6:00 AM when the day started to brighten?