Chapter 21: First kill in Nexus
Once inside the building, Samuel led Thorez up the stairs. Thorez struggled to climb the stairs due to his injuries. "Pant! How are you here? I saw you go distract the horde. So how?" Thorez asked in confusion. "It was a hologram," Samuel said as they reached the second floor. Thorez paused for a second ridiculing himself for forgetting that Samuel could somehow use holograms.
As soon as they got to the second floor. The creatures that were chasing Thorez broke through the entrance gate. They instantly locked onto Samuel and Thorez's position. Samuel and Thorez made it a few more meters into the second floor.
But it only took 2 seconds for the creatures to make it to the second floor. "I won't be able to run for long. We have no choice but to fight. There's only 5 of them, I'm sure I can kill them" Thorez said as he raised his arms and aimed at the monsters. This time he had two pistols. "Ok let's do it" Samuel agreed as well as he aimed his gun at the monsters. The two fired their weapons "Bang! Bang!..." most of Thorez's shots hit their mark but Samuel missed most of his.
The creatures were fast and agile. They jumped from wall to wall to dodge the bullets. Out of the 5 monsters, three of them got injured enough for them to stop moving. While the other two continued to chase after them with unrelenting aggression. They had holes all over their bodies but they kept moving. Samuel concentrated on the one closest to them. He aimed for its head. At a distance of 3 meters, he wouldn't miss.
"Bang! Pop!" the closest monster now had a hole in its head. The light in its eyes faded and it fell to the group motionless. Seeing this Thorez and Samuel understood how to take them out. 'Aim for the head' they both simultaneously thought as the last monsters reached them. "Roar!" it roared in fury as its clawed hand slashed toward Thorez.
Just at the last second. The pistol in Thorez's right hand changed into a dagger. "Clang!" a sound similar to that of metal clashing against metal was heard. "Grunt!" Thorez grunted in pain after blocking that strike. The strain from blocking that attack made his wounds ache. The monster did not hesitate to attack with its other claw. But Thorez wasn't going to let that happen. He fired the gun in his left hand and the bullet pierced the monster's attacking hand.
It roared in pain only to have its voice cut as a bullet pierced its skull. Samuel delivered the final blow. The creature fell to the ground. Samuel stared at the seat creature for a second. Its black and grey skin resembled scales in some areas.
It looked human but was far from it. Samuel was breathing slightly harder than usual "What the hell is this thing?" Samuel questioned.
"I don't know, I've never seen such a thing or even heard of it," Thorez said as he held his stomach in pain and set down to rest. Samuel wanted to ask him more questions about how the Vashins have Karnas and how they know about Nexus. But his thoughts were interrupted when a golden panel appeared in his mind.
[You have slain Aurora mutants (Mortal, Stage 3) x2. Your legend raises slightly]
Samuel knew this was the Will of Nexus informing him that he had absorbed some energy from the creatures he just killed. It's similar to exp in video games. Where the more monsters you kill and the stronger they are, the more exp you get. This energy accumulates and then when it meets the necessary amount it will increase the user's legend.
The fact that these creatures were 2 stages higher than him made Samuel sweat. Luckily he never got into close combat with them or else he would have been ugly right now. The difference between stages was not something that could be easily overcome. A one-on-one fight with a 3rd stage mortal legend would be a difficult fight for Samuel.
Samuel's attention then went to Thorez and saw his attention was on a golden panel in front of him. Samuel was stunned. Through the use of his perception ability "Halo," he can see what others are looking at. That is how he instantly notices whenever someone is staring at him or is focused on him.
But he never expected that his ability would allow him to see the notifications that others get from the Will of Nexus. It is common knowledge that people can only see their notifications and those of others are invisible to them. Yet here Samuel was as he could perfectly see the notification Thorez received.
Thorez received the same notification as he did. As the energy/exp was distributed according to how much they contributed to the killing of these Aurora mutants. "growl!" the 3 remaining monsters were rising back onto their feet. Their wounds were healing quickly and they would soon attack them again. "Hey, human pant! Take care of them will you" Thorez said while panting.
"Are you sure? You won't get much if I kill them myself." Samuel said. "It's fine these things won't give me much energy. You need it more than I do considering you are only at stage 1 of the mortal legend" Thorez said plainly. Samuel felt slightly embarrassed by those words.
Thorez was indirectly calling him weak. Not necessarily trying to insult him. He was just stating a fact. It also became clear to Samuel that Thorez had inspected him. Samuel turned around and went to finish off the other creatures
Samuel had not been using his enhanced perception this whole time. Trying to save as much energy as possible. Although his surroundings were hazy outlines he could see these creatures perfectly. All it took was one bullet to the head and they all died
[You have slain Aurora mutants (Mortal, Stage 3) x3. Your legend raises slightly]
Getting stronger in Nexus was not easy. Even in the mortal rank, it takes time to progress through the stages. Samuel soon returned to Thorez and just as they were about to continue talking. One of Sai's drones flew in and said "Samuel we have to move. The gunshots attracted multiple of those creatures they are on their way."
Thorez was only momentarily surprised by the drone.
Hearing what Sai said they both grew serious. "Ok, what's our best escape route?" Samuel asked "On the 4th floor of this building there is a room labeled 4B12. Once you enter the room there will be a large hole that will lead to the neighbouring building. There will be another hole across you. It leads to a safe floor in that building. Jump into it and I'll explain more once we get there. There's no time hurry"
Sai said with urgency.
Samuel turned to Thorez and said "You heard the lady let's get moving" Thorez tried to get up only for his body to fail him. He was about to hit the ground when Samuel caught him. Thorez was stunned by Samuel's help. He was even more stunned when Samuel lifted him onto his back. "What are you doing human?" Thorez asked. "Carrying you, what else? We have to leave and there is no time to argue" Samuel said as he started running up the stairs heading to the fourth floor. When leaving Samuel glanced at some strange crystals floating over the bodies of the dead monsters.
Thorez could only sigh as he knew that he had limited options. Soon Samuel's senses caught multiple creatures approaching them. Most entered through the entrance while others climbed on the building's walls. Samuel and Thorez reached the 4th floor and with Sai's directions quickly entered room 4B12. Samuel closed the door and went to the hole in the wall.
"That's…further than I thought it would be," Samuel said. The opposite building and the hole they needed to jump into were 10 meters away. The distance itself is something Samuel could jump if he gave it his all. But currently, he is carrying another person which made it nearly impossible for him to make it.
He sensed using Halo that this side of the building had no monsters yet. But the monsters would eventually reach it. If they made it to the other building quickly they would be able to hide. "Human you won't make that jump with me on your back. Leave me here and go" Thorez said with a straight face. He knew the situation they were in and wouldn't blame Samuel for abandoning him.
"I agree with the Vashin. Your life is more important leave him." Sai said. Samuel thought for a second and took a deep breath. "I already decided to save your life. And I'm going to stick with it. You're stuck with me, buddy. If fighting is all we can do. Then there's no other choice" Samuel said as he turned to face the room door. Some Aurora mutants were on their way towards them.
"Samuel stop this foolishness leave him behind. He's not worth you risking your life " Sai said with clear frustration. "Listen to the woman," Thorez said. Samuel shook his head and said "I've made up my mind" Thorez and Sai were left speechless by Samuel's stubbornness.
"Ok, enough of this stupid talk. I have a plan. If you want us both to live you have to trust me" Thorez said. "What you got in mind?" Samuel asked. "Just jump I'll handle the rest," Thorez said. Samuel only hesitated for a second. He proceeded to turn around and run towards the hole in th. "Samuel you can't trust him just like that, " Sai said with worry.
But it was too late Samuel used all his strength and jumped. As they were in mid-air Thorez genuinely began questioning this human's sanity. 'Damn this crazy human. I could have been lying to him yet he still decided to trust me. We've gone passed the point of no return' Thorez thought to himself and then he whispered a "Wind walk"
Suddenly a gentle gust of wind surrounded both men.
Samuel felt his body get lighter and he felt faster. With a soft "thud!" They landed in the opposite building with no problem. "Nice one man, what was that" Samuel asked "I can't believe that worked, " Thorez said with surprise in his voice he didn't even answer Samuel's question. Samuel's face went dark as he said "What do you mean you can't believe it worked?"
Thorez got irritated with Samuel's tone as he responded "I've never used that skill on someone else. So it was a gamble" Samuel was very tempted to just drop Thorez onto the ground as he said, "Are you insane what if it failed and we fell?"
"Then you die. The monsters would reach us on the ground and mostly likely kill you" Thorez said like it was obvious. "What do you say I will die. Don't you mean we?" Samuel said. "Even if we fell I have my ways to stay alive," Thorez said and just as Samuel was about to respond he sensed that some of those Aurora mutants had reached the door of the room they were in. If they saw them in this other building their plans would have been for nothing.
"Sai cover the holes in the walls," Samuel said "On it" Sai responded as her drone went between both buildings and projected holograms on both holes to make it seem like the walls were not broken. The Aurora mutants soon entered room 4B12 only to find it empty. After a few seconds of looking around, they turned around and went to look elsewhere.