Step by step we treaded lightly as we approached the doors leading to the outside world. Currently I carried my backpack which basic medical supplies for just in case, we got some snack bars from the cafeteria as well as a pen and paper…that was Lydia's idea though, she said she wanted to record the creatures we had seen so far and honestly I didn't see any problem with that at all so I let her do what she want.
With me in the front and Lydia and Ms. Camille at my sides, I pushed the double doors infront of me open to the outside world. I was greeted by cold wind, the atmosphere was overall dark and cloudy. It seemed it would rain soon.
Bringing my stinger up to my chest acting as an impromptu blade, I took an alert stance with each step as I surveyed the surroundings. My eyes darted all over the place.
There were corpses of beasts and ravids littered around, the ground was broken in multiple places as well as remnants of some buildings that were practically demolished at this point as if a massive earthquake had hit the place. It was clear that a battle had taken place here as there was still lingering mana around. Walking a few more meters in the direction of the gymnasium my body trembled mildly when we came across a large corpse of a dead beetle-like beast. At the sight of a giant beetle corpse lying within a crater that was about 5 meters wide we couldn't help but be shocked
The dead creature still had lingering energy around it which was slightly affecting us especially the girls as they were of a lower level than me. This was proof of just how powerful this beast must have been when it was alive. Everyone froze up at this point, it hasn't even been 10 hours since the apocalypse and there were already creatures as terrifying as this?
Dread overwhelmed me at this point. Given my current strength, if I had encountered this creature on my own then the chances of surviving would be close to nil. And even if I did manage to kill it I would have probably been rendered injured to the point that I wouldn't be able to move on my own.
I shook my head to get rid of these useless thoughts. It was a fact that I was lucky enough to not meet such a creature so thank my lucky stars.
Straightening myself out I stood confidently with resolve. Looking behind me, I could still see that the two girls were still frozen in shook.
"Hey lets keep moving" I said and the both silently nodded. Nodding as well I started walking towards the direction of the gymnasium that was about 50 meters from where we stood.
We barely moved 10 steps when out of nowhere the feeling of uneasiness shook my very soul. My heart pounded erratically and I turned around in a desperate attempt to find whatever was causing me to feel this terrifying unease. But I couldn't spot anything.
This only made me feel even more uneasy so I turned to the girls.
"Quickly can you tell me about your skills and special traits?" panic evident in my voice. The girls gave me a quizzical look but they told me about their skills regardless.
Just when Lydia finished explaining about her summoning skill…
A shadow passed over us from above. Looking up I could see a large bird close to a thousand meters above us in the dark sky. Its dark eyes looking onto us like heat guided missiles.
Caw!
It opened its beak and let out bird cry that sounded like a roar before it swooped down towards us at an incredible speed.
I don't know how but somehow I knew that this creature wasn't in the First Star Realm/Order.
Based on the aura surrounding its body this beast was definitely in the Second!
…maybe I wasn't so lucky after all