City 01, near the deserted city wall exit/entrance.
Slade still wore baggy clothes to hide his figure, weapons, or any surprises. He gazed toward the brightening dawn and the long shadow cast by Olivia, who was walking and stretching—like she'd just woken up or never slept properly—as she approached the city wall.
She was covered in a cape-like shawl that looked restricting but was more flexible than it appeared. Slade scanned for any weapons she might be hiding as she stretched, staying prepared for surprises. After all, any being would desperately fight for survival without holding back once cornered—so would he, if it came to that.
While Slade analyzed her and checked for threats, Olivia did the same to him. She still half-considered slipping out from the opposite side of the city.
"Are you ready?" asked Slade, his voice still gravelly.
"Yes, let's go," Olivia replied, gazing toward the wall as if she could see what awaited on the other side.
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Olivia and Slade made their way out. Slade didn't seem to be carrying anything—or it might have been hidden within his baggy clothing or even in Roulette Storage.
Olivia had some kind of pouches at her waist. Slade would have liked to know what was inside; however, he might see her use them later, so he stopped himself from asking to avoid showing any weakness.
Both sized each other up warily while scanning the surroundings for movement. Olivia was more attuned to the forest, so she thought, so she volunteered to act as the guide—having spent more time in the wild.
First, they covered the area that had already been explored—rarely visited by any beings. It took more time than expected because they also checked spots explored by others, which was also updated on the map in the corner of their vision.
It showed a red dot whenever a beast or organism appeared in the explored area of the map.
Slade and Olivia moved toward those spots to gauge the level of organisms they might deal with in the future.
They came across different plants and small insects that either did not appear to be leveled or had levels much lower than their own.
They finally covered every area after 2-3 hours from their departure. Now they had to decide: would they work toward extermination or exploration?
However, Slade made it easy and decided on exploration—if any mutant or beast showed up, they would deal with it then.
Olivia activated her physique, drawing energy into herself and expanding it outward to create a sonar-like pulse with her energy, letting her detect any dangers. This was how her group had survived until they returned to the city.
Slade showed no movement or reaction when she sent out the wave—a detail that didn't escape Olivia. It relaxed her a bit, making her feel she was still in control, or at least safe.
Unbeknownst to her, the moment she sent the waves out, it also revealed their location to the wild creatures hit by her magic pulse. Olivia had never explored further from the city walls before, always prioritizing the group's safety. But this exploration would bring new surprises.
Slade showed no reaction when the energy hit him, maintaining a poker face as he tried to identify the element Olivia had released. He couldn't pinpoint it—it seemed like some kind of nature energy, at least for now.
He thought, Since I can sense her location through this, won't the mutants and other beings detect it too? "It seems their survival was wild luck," he muttered.
He sighed and prepared, pulling out a pistol that didn't look human-made—sleeker and more advanced. Olivia sensed the movement and glanced back at the pistol, which Slade held sideways close to his chest, ready for any attack.
Olivia suddenly looked ahead and sensed something coming from the trees—swinging or jumping between branches before leaping high above and plunging down toward them.
She channeled energy through her body, and tendrils shot out from the surrounding trees, wrapping around the organism and binding its limbs.
She pulled it closer to identify it. Above its head floated:
Before she could act, a muffled shot rang out—silenced by the pistol's suppressor: Puit! Puit!
Two shots struck right between the beast's eyebrows, penetrating deep.
+3 points! (Olivia)
+4 points! (Slade)
Olivia lowered the dead leopard, planning to extract whatever they could. But before she could even bend down to touch it, the ground swallowed it whole.
The sight startled both Olivia and Slade—they jumped back and stood shoulder to shoulder, eyes fixed on the nearly vanished leopard and scanning the area for more threats.