Ren watched the distance close between the zombie and the humans. He knew he didn't have much time if he wanted to warn them.
To accelerate the transformation process, he had to sync his spirit and body—letting in the pain and feeling it to get himself in tune with Whole Blood.
Ren slowly merged his spirit with his body to prevent all the pain from bursting in at once. He focused on letting just a small trickle through.
Clench!
Ren clenched his teeth so hard he thought he heard a crack. The response was minute, but Ren felt the transformation speed up.
Gaining more control over his senses, Ren endured the sting, tear, and pressure all at once. All he could do was hold on and hope
Ren had no way to check that now, since he couldn't divide his spirit during the process without causing further delays.
Outside the Cave
Slade and Olivia sat facing each other, about five meters from the cave—far enough to keep their points and lives safe.
Catching their breaths while staying alert for ambushes, Slade was still dazed that they'd pulled it off and saved themselves.
Olivia, meanwhile, panted from the exertion. She knew her abilities suited the task perfectly, but it still stung that she hadn't earned any points for her efforts.
"Let's rest, recharge, and get out of this place. We're exhausted, and I don't want to spend the night—or morning—here without knowing the average power levels of every being around." Slade remarked.
Olivia knew what he meant and agreed. They pulled up the map to check the explored area and plan their return.
Thump! Thump!
Both Slade and Olivia felt their hearts start to thump harder and deeper with the incoming footsteps.
They looked toward the destroyed foliage from where they'd previously rushed toward the cave with the four beasts on their heels.
A human-like silhouette was forming, growing clearer. Thinking someone had come due to the noise they'd caused, Olivia moved to wave and shout.
A hand clamped over her mouth, stopping her with a finger to her lips.
"Shh! Don't make a sound," Slade whispered, looking toward the figure.
In this apocalyptic world of cowardly humans, any fighting sounds or noise would generally spook someone and send them running.
So whoever had come was either foolish—someone they didn't need to associate with—or powerful, someone they dared not approach until they understood the person's intentions.
Slade pulled out his Streno Shot, ready to fire at any sudden movement.
Still trying to identify the newcomer, the first thing they saw was a bar above its head. Their hearts galloped—anything with an info bar was generally an enemy.
Whoever was coming might be an enemy. But this being the first time they'd seen info atop a humanoid figure's head, both felt a spark of curiosity.
That vanished after reading the bar:
Slade couldn't shoot. Olivia fell back, legs bent, hugging her knees. Both were frozen—likely under the incoming zombie's abilities.
Their gazes locked on the zombie, bracing for it to twist at unnatural angles and charge to devour their brains.
But what emerged left them speechless...