For a few minutes it sounded almost like the world had turned upside down outside the gymnasium. The building stopped rumbling but only a few were able to move properly.
It was almost as if the majority of natives around Liam were unable to form a coherent thought, or as if their mind was still blank.
Liam took note of their reactions but he was more focused on the commotion that happened outside. They were not able to see anything outside anymore but the sounds reaching his ears were more than enough for him to draw a conclusion.
"The monsters are clashing now," He mumbled to himself before he walked back to the inner layer of the gymnasium. They had to seal the other side entrance and block the main entrance of the outer layer as well.
"What do you mean by that?" Olivia asked in response to Liam's mumbling but he just waved his hand away at her question, "Forget it."
He didn't really feel like explaining that the intimidating roar came probably from way beyond the city, presumably from the mountain range across the valley. Others would start asking him questions and they would start doubting his knowledge. It was already weird that he knew so much about the Arcane System, the Arcane Apocalypse, and all these monsters, to begin with.
No native from Haltan should possess the level of knowledge he had right now. The Arcane Apocalypse had just begun after all!
It was also quite hard to explain that the monsters of the Nine Realms would fight each other as well. Every being wanted to instinctively use the Arcane System to get stronger, establish and reign over their own territory, which could be accomplished with the help of the Arcane System. It was a great opportunity that allowed beings to break their racial limits and become terrific existences that were feared by everyone!
He didn't really want to explain that, let alone the source of his knowledge.
Instead of bothering to answer Olivia's question, Liam ended up returning to the inner layer of the gymnasium. He was greeted by identical expressions that were overflowing with pure terror. Most natives were not in a state to fight or retaliate since they were not in their right minds and they would turn into a huge burden rather than helping hands. Liam chose to ignore those humans and to take a look at the remaining sports equipment and other materials they could use to seal the entrances.
"Let's seal the last two side entrances quickly before we then pay attention to the main entrance. There might be more monsters in the gymnasium since they were scared and fled away from the thunderous roar but that shouldn't be too difficult to deal with!" Liam suggested with confidence, not even looking behind him to see how many people followed him.
In the worst case, he would just seal the entrances by himself. It wouldn't be a perfect seal that would hold for a long time but that was not necessary, to begin with.
For Liam, it was more than enough if the sealed side entrances were to hold out until the rain stops. He took everything into consideration and picked up a few metal pipes with his free hand. However, it was no sooner when a few people took the pipes out of his hands, allowing him free reign in the fights that awaited them.
"We will take care of that, Sir…please focus on fighting…" One of them added hastily, his expression ghastly pale but his eyes showing traces of hope as he stared directly at Liam.
'Don't hope too much, kiddo.' Liam thought but he didn't say anything out loud. He walked past the young athletes who were likely in their early teenage years just to hear the sound of dozens of footsteps behind him.
Felix appeared by his side with a forced smile on his lips.
"It's good that we have you by our side. Your calmness is contagious, to a certain extent at least," He told Liam, who looked at the martial artist for a few seconds before muttering,
"Panicking will just kill you guys. Wasting time stressing out won't solve all problems magically." Liam reminded them to get their act together with a shrug as he made his way through the inner layer of the gymnasium.
It was already a great surprise for him that no monster had charged inside the gymnasium's inner layer but it was a good sign.
Despise that, he was not surprised when he encountered a few dozen rats fighting a handful of Meheks in the hallway of the gymnasium's outer layer.
Meheks were a type of monster that evolved from Moles. They were larger, their height reaching almost that of 10-year-old kids when standing straight up on their two feet. Their claws were crimson and their fur was dark-brown, and there were many different types of Meheks with a variety of different capabilities.
Three of those different types of Meheks appeared in front of Liam's face, which caused him to frown lightly.
'I face these ugly bastards everywhere, whether it's in the Overworld or here…you guys are so dead!' He thought as he charged at the two ordinary Meheks, the bulkier Mehek and the two skinny Meheks who were totally focused on slaughtering the ordinary huge rats.
Liam triggered his Soultrait for a moment to decipher the movements the Meheks were about to make before he intercepted them cruelly.
His arrival was a great surprise to the Meheks, whose back was facing him, and it was near-impossible for the skinny Meheks to evade them.
They dashed to the side when they sensed an opponent from behind. This allowed them to evade the battle-axe that cleaved down toward them by a few centimeters.
However, one of the skinny Meheks ran straight in the direction where Liam's left hand was already waiting for it.
Liam slashed out with his left while his hand morphed into a claw. He pushed closer to the monster while the Mehek squealed out in terror seeing the white claw that was about to cut into its body.
Liam's left hand pierced cleaning through the fur of the Mehek that let out a blood-curdling wail, making the hair on the back of Liam's neck stand up. But he could not afford to stop.
His claw cut deep into the monster's flesh. The inside of the Mehek felt extremely warm, almost as if the monster was boiling, but Liam ignored the familiar warmth as he finished driving the claw deeper inside the monster that stiffened only moments later when he pierced its heart.