Chapter 2- Powers Beyond The Mind
*Back at the main headquarters*
Violet stared in horror at the scenes in front of her on the screen. All across the globe, on countless news channels and websites, scenes of burning buildings filled the entire place. At the same time, helicopter footage and on-ground cameras showed people who looked far from normal chasing after others.
The cries of horror and pain filled the entire world. Even more footage of these weird humans biting and killing citizens appeared in front of her as she searched more and more.
Her hand was on her mouth as she tried to make sense of what was happening.
"Violet. I'm seeing so many of these things here in this town. What is happening?" He asked.
"I…"
"Violet. Snap out of it."
"I-I…" She sucked a deep breath as she finally replied. "I don't know. I'm seeing the news, and I'm also seeing what you're talking about. Many cities around the world are facing the same thing. What is happening?"
"I don't know. But I don't plan to sit around and wait. I'm heading back to the headquarters immediately." Rein replied. "I will talk to you when I'm on the road again."
"Hey, wait, Rein!"
But before she could speak, the call was disconnected, and Violet found herself alone again. As she tried to gather her thoughts and start looking up things, her office door was opened as a man rushed in.
"Miss Violet! It's an emergency!"
***
Rein disconnected the call as he tried to walk back to his car. However, before he could take a step, something completely odd happened.
[Your body has entered the Evolution cycle.]
[You have been granted the blessing of Essence.]
[You have killed a Level 1 Undead.]
[You have gained +1 strength, +1 agility.]
[You have gained 1 Rune scroll.]
"..."
Several hovering boxes appeared before his vision that made him stop. They were blue in color and looked quite futuristic, akin to holograms.
Rein instinctively tried to touch them as he curiously read the content. 'This is…'
His hand ran through it without any resistance as if he was touching thin air. However, Rein was certain that it was real. He wasn't hallucinating.
"This appears to be some sort of video game system? Hm, it says I entered the evolution cycle? What does that even mean?"
Even more than that, it said that he had killed an 'Undead'.
"Undead… Was that thing an Undead? That explains why it had no pulse." He muttered. 'And killing it seems to have given me a reward?'
Rein was vaguely familiar with games, so he could somewhat understand all of this. It still didn't make it any less confusing what he was seeing. Why did he get such a system? Where did it come from?
"RAAAA!!"
As he was reading the content, he suddenly snapped out of it when he heard the sound of a grunt. Looking up, he saw one of the Undead rushing toward him. So, he quickly ignored the notification and aimed his gun at the monster.
*BANG*
The bullet hit it in the head, making its head recoil back. However, it didn't seem like it stopped as it recovered and rushed toward him again. So, Rein shot it again. The bullet hit the head perfectly.
This time, it dropped dead.
[You have killed a Level 1 Undead.]
[You have gained +1 Stamina, +1 Charisma.]
[You have gained 1 Artifact rune.]
"... This isn't a coincidence. It seems every time I kill one of these things, this system appears." Then, Rein felt a subtle good sensation run across his body. He didn't notice it earlier, but now that he was focused, he did.
'That feeling. Is it the result of the increase in my stamina and charisma?' He frowned. 'Just like a game. My body is being treated like a game character.'
It seemed so absurd, but at the moment, he decided to take the reality as it is.
"Raaa!!"
"I need to get out of here before they gather around me. The bullet has caught their attention." He muttered as he saw several more Undead approaching him in a hurry.
Rushing toward his car, Rein turned it on as the engine roared. At the same time, these Undead reached his car and jumped on it. They slammed and tapped on the glass violently, threatening to crack it.
But, Rein simply pulled the gear as the car shot forward at a fast speed. The monsters were yanked off the car as they fell, only to be stomped by the car's wheels.
Moving through the road, Rein saw even more of them coming out of houses and buildings as they looked around, seemingly searching for a target.
He couldn't find any way to dodge through these Undead, so he was forced toward the second option.
*SLAM*
His car ran through them without stopping, slamming into the Undead and stomping them mercilessly.
The entire car shook and swayed as he kept stomping more and more Undead, cutting a path through the road.
'What a bumpy ride.' He clicked his tongue. Many Undead tried to latch onto the car, but since there was nowhere to grab, they ended up failing and falling.
Eventually, Rein emerged from the mess at the town's exit. The path became a lot clearer as he increased the car's speed.
'Dammit, they broke the windshield. I will have to fix that.' He sighed as he tapped a button on the side of the car.
"Activating auto-driving." A robotic voice spoke as the car suddenly started driving itself. Finally, Rein put his hand on his ear and called Violet.
It took a few seconds for it to connect, only for him to hear loud noises on the other side.
"Rein! You're finally back!"
"It seems things are quite messy there." He said. "Did you figure out what is happening?"
"I… It seems that many people across the world are suddenly starting to turn into these violent animals that attack and eat humans." She said. "I've been searching for any reason for it, but nobody knows for now."
"Tsk, how many have turned into this?" He asked.
"I don't know, Rein. But it's a lot. There are too many. So many are dead!" Violet's voice wavered.
"Take a deep breath, Violet. I want you to calm down."
The woman listened to him as she took a deep breath. "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm heading back. I should be there soon. How is the situation in the headquarters?"
"It's a mess. Everyone is running around like a madman. Our city seems to have been attacked, too."
"Listen, I know this might sound weird. But…" Rein took a moment to think before he replied. "Grab your gun, and I want you to kill every Undead that comes your way. Aim at their heads, that's possibly their weak points."
"Why?"
"You will understand when you see it. Anyway, head to a safe hiding spot. We will meet later."
"Hey, Rein, wait!"
"What?"
"One more thing. I'm not fully sure of it yet. But, it seems whatever affected these people affects animals too."
"What?"
As she finished those words, and out of seemingly nowhere, a large silhouette emerged in front of Rein's car. His eyes shot up as he grabbed the steering wheel and tried to steer the car away sharply.
However, he was a split second late.
*BANG*
The car slammed into the silhouette as it drifted into the bushes before slamming into a tree violently.
"Rein?! Rein?! What happened?! Can you hear me, Rein?!"
The echoing, subtle voice of Violet filled Rein's mind as everything around him turned into a blur. He felt his entire body numb, and his ears were ringing.
'Dam… it…' He cursed in his head as he grabbed the steering wheel and tried to pull himself out of the car, kicking the door open as he fell to the ground. His vision was so blurry that he could barely see ahead of him.
Blood dripped from his head as he forced himself up from the ground and rested against the car, breathing heavily. A sharp headache assaulted him out of nowhere.
'I think I've been concussed.'
Trying to see through his blurry vision, he looked around the car at what he had hit. There, also recovering from the hit was what he assumed to be an animal… A deer, to be exact.
Except that the deer was quite large, almost twice the size of a normal deer. The hit had knocked it out but didn't kill it.
"Damn…" After a few seconds of blinking, Rein's vision returned to its previous state, somewhat. He quickly grabbed his pistol and aimed it at the deer.
He could see the saliva dripping from its mouth, its eyes that looked completely unnatural. It reminded him of the Undead back at the town he had just left.
The monster stared at him, and he stared back. Then, he shot the bullet, aimed at its head.
*BANG*
The bullet hit the target, only for it to deflect as if it hit a stone wall. The monster swayed back from the impact as it glared at Rein.
"..." The man was taken by surprise.
The monster shook its head and then started running toward him, its long horns aimed at his car.
*BANG* *BANG*
Shooting several shots in succession didn't work as they all deflected from its head.
'A skin that can stop bullets. Great.' He clenched his teeth as he dashed out of the way.
*SLAM*
The deer hit the car violently, pushing it into the tree as it tore a hole through it with ease.
Rein rolled on the ground as he landed on his feet.
'And it can throw my car around as if it's nothing.' He frowned.
It didn't take a genius to realize that this animal had become stronger due to the change that had happened to it, and that thing was now locked into him…