[Current Time: 17:59:59]
[Test Time Remaining: 06:00:01]
[Kill Count: 420/33]
Looking at these numbers, an inexplicable emotion coursed through me. I had long reached a bottleneck in my strength, sitting at the peak of F rank. It was very much unlike Emerallia, where combatants usually encountered their first bottlenecks at the peak of Rank E.
Ding—!
It was in the next second, when the clock struck eighteen hundred, that a notification chimed into existence.
[Something is looking for you.]
"There you are," I muttered while a small smile appeared on my lips. I couldn't help but look around the ruined city I was strolling through.
John and company were carving a path straight through a small swarm of Level 1 zombies. The intoxication wrought by power was clear on their flushed faces. They could finally vent all their heavily pent-up emotions on all these undead.
Whenever they had the opportunity, they would also pierce through those zombies that had fallen. They would then fish out a Virusian Pearl from those corpses to restore their stamina, allowing them to battle without rest and increase their strength.
I couldn't help but chuckle. With the six of us, it was now possible to clear [ Hunter ] with relative ease—as long as nothing went terribly wrong.
Thus, after avoiding a stray drop of blood, I gazed at the system notification once more.
Five words for one hell of an anxiety-inducing announcement. If I hadn't known just what was looking for me, I would surely be caked in panic.
Bang—!
I shot a bullet out of my gunblade, attracting the attention of my five companions. I waved at them to follow me before sprinting out at maximum speed. I slashed through all the zombies in my way without looking back.
Ella followed me right away, swiftly arriving at my side and accompanying every slash I sent out. Gunther laughed heartily before brandishing his newfound iron staff and striding forward.
Jennifer glanced at John and Jane. The three nodded at each other before eventually making their way through the path that Ella and I had carved out.
"Where are we headed?" As usual, Jane wanted to know what was going on in my head.
"A place where we can battle safely," I answered.
"Is it regarding that Hunter you mentioned earlier? Is it close?" John's expression was one of worry, "Do we really have to fight it?"
I gave him a side glance, "It's close, and we really don't have a choice in this matter. It's faster than all of us and has a unique set of senses. We can't run and we can't hide. All that is left to do then is fight."
"Well," Gunther happily bashed a zombie's head in as he spoke. "Whatever it is, we can surely crush them!"
"..." Jane was still as sceptical as ever, with a certain look of doubt on her face. In the end, however, she kept her silence and poured strength into her legs.
It was clear to me now, that as long as I did nothing that threatened the safety of the group, she would put her trust in me. That was a good sign.
...
A few minutes passed.
I lead the group into an abandoned museum. Paintings stained with blood were vivid, haunting sights. Sculptures with missing limbs and cracked faces lay on the floor, lying motionless together with several mangled, rotting corpses whose heads were shattered and unidentifiable.
I could feel the hesitation in everyone's stride.
"Relax," I told them as I kicked away a broken, worm-riddled head like a soccer ball. "Nothing here is alive."
"...Easy for you to say," Jane commented from the side. "You know everything as if all future events are set in stone."
"...Haha," I could only laugh those words off as I led them deeper into the museum.
Bloody gazes bore into our very beings, birthed by the many portrait paintings we passed by—as if analysing if there were any delicious souls to devour. Those gazes sent chills to run up our spines.
The stench of corpses bothered us less and less as we went in. The many bodies had mysteriously completed their rotting processes and were now just bones and hair.
Eventually, we arrived at a room. It wasn't that big, but it wasn't small either. Perhaps only a few hundred square metres. A bit smaller than a basketball court.
I glanced around and nodded to myself.
Indeed, this was the best place to fight [ Hunter ]. There was enough space for us to move, but not enough for the high-level zombie to isolate us from each other. The ceiling wasn't that high, preventing Hunter from throwing us into the sky and assassinating us from there.
"Like we discussed," I spoke, eyeing each member of the group, "Let's take point. After this, there will be nothing that can stop us."
They all nodded, putting their trust in my words. Their expressions were that of seriousness as they prepared to fight with their lives on the line. It wasn't that different from their days in weakness and supposed helplessness.
Thus, we had all laid in ambush. We were alert as we awaited Hunter's arrival.
...
Taka— taka— taka— taka—!
The rapid rhythm of approaching footsteps echoed throughout the museum's hallways. Each footstep was a dull-sounding thud of bone on concrete and tiles. Hunter wasn't much of what you'd think a hunter would be.
He was more of an... eternal pursuer in a sense, but I made it so that Thystaina deemed it more preferable to name him [ Hunter ]. He was noisy, unbecoming of a hunter who stalked his prey, but incredibly swift and persistent.
"The bastard is close," I spoke, "Do not be shocked by its abilities and just follow the plan. Putting your trust in me has never gone wrong thus far, right? As such, I implore you all to not second guess anything and just execute, like robots, flawless and with grace."
"We will all survive this, I promise you that."
I ended my short speech there. If they doubted me, even for one moment, and things go horribly awry, then...
...No. I trusted that they trusted me. This battle was going to be a success.
"Ready your weapons!" I roared.
Hunter had arrived.