They killed their way toward Sunset Boulevard, the location indicated by the text in their vision that they had to visit.
Barry seemed to be the most eager to kill zombies or mutated animals they encountered. The notification stating that he could upgrade his skills was, of course, the most significant motivating factor for him.
With his Gravity Manipulation and Martial Arts skill, Barry killed anything in their path with a terrifying ferocity.
Elaine, Victoria, Anna, and Danny could only watch from behind without saying anything, responding only when Barry spoke or asked something.
They had never known that Barry could appear so ruthless. They also knew that what made him like this was the notification about upgrading his skill.
But isn't the motivation too intense? Barry mercilessly slaughtered every zombie and mutated animal that happened to appear in front of them without mercy.
Yet, he knew that they were all once citizens of this cursed city, suffering an unfortunate fate to become cursed creatures like this.
[ 77 ]
'Just a little more!'
But none of that concerned Barry. His eyes lit with a glow of determination, and a grin was etched on his lips.
If no one understood it better, one could tell that Barry was just going mad. And right now, no one understood him. So, no one knew that this was how Barry could be when he was determined to do something.
"Is he alright?" Anna asked, her eyes staring at Barry with worry and even fear.
"Uhm, yeah. He should be alright, right?" Danny said, then turned to Elaine.
Now Danny, Anna, and Victoria looked at Elaine as if she were the only one who could provide them with answers about Barry's condition during his killing spree.
"Don't look at me," Elaine said. "I don't know him that well. We just met at school and decided to work together."
"I think he's gonna be alright," Victoria commented, looking at Barry. "He's just excited because he can upgrade his skill."
Elaine shifted her eyes towards Barry. When she thought about it, it actually made sense.
Someone who, she assumed, enjoyed playing games like Barry would be excited when they found out he could strengthen his skills by upgrading them.
It's like strengthening their character.
'Why didn't I think of that earlier?' Elaine slightly cursed herself. Maybe because she hadn't reached Level 10 yet, so she hadn't figured out how to upgrade her skills.
'I also need to increase my Level so I can upgrade my skill!'
A smile appeared on Elaine's face. She also became more enthusiastic about fighting zombies and mutated animals that Barry missed.
Body parts and intestines were thrown into the air and then fell onto the streets and roofs. The perpetrator, who did all of this, was floating in the air with sharp eyes, searching for another prey.
Barry breathed quickly. He chugged a bottle of Magic Potion while floating casually.
[97]
"Tsk!"
Barry felt annoyed, although the number of creatures he had to kill wasn't too much anymore. But the number felt like a distance that was too far.
'Where are they?'
Especially now, Barry no longer found any zombies or mutated animals.
He floated higher and scanned the surroundings, furrowing his brow. Annoyed and confused.
But then he saw something that caused the absence of zombies and mutated animals.
On his west side, a whole street was filled with something black like ink. But it's alive and continuously moving.
Barry was sure that it wasn't ink but some kind of shadows filled with cursed energy, making it seem alive and resembling tentacles.
Those shadows trapped a lot of zombies and mutated animals within their blackness. So, they only appeared as walking shadows with shapes of humans or giant animals.
[Kill the shadows. Obtain the key to the Library!]
Upon seeing this, Barry quickly returned to his group to convey it.
Those who saw Barry's stiff expression immediately knew that what he had found was not something good.
"There's a street filled with living shadows..."
Barry explained what he found along with the next steps they needed to take. After learning about it, the others fell silent.
"What are you suggesting?" Elaine asked.
Barry pondered for a few seconds, then said, "I'll check it out with Danny first."
Initially, Danny thought Barry would investigate it on his own. But he realized that with his bow, he was already much stronger and could be a useful aid for him.
"Okay, let's go," Danny nodded in agreement.
Barry carried Danny and they landed on a rooftop, carefully observing the street filled with shadows.
"How do we defeat it?" Danny asked.
"I guess, since they are shadows, we should use light. What do you think?" Barry replied.
Danny shrugged. "I guess you're right. So, where do we get a light strong enough for them?"
Barry opened his backpack and took out a pouch containing skill crystals.
For now, he had no choice but to show it to Danny because he couldn't take another skill. He had to give one of his skills to him to defeat that shadow.
Hopefully, Danny is someone trustworthy.
"Here." Barry handed a skill crystal to Danny after using Insightful Gaze on it. "This is a skill that allows you to create light."
Danny looked at the crystal with a puzzled expression. But then he accepted it.
"Crush it, and you'll get the skill."
So, Danny crushed the crystal in his hand. A moment later, he saw red text saying he obtained a Normal grade active skill named Gleaming Aura.
Danny read the description. It said the skill could make the user create a glow of light on parts of his body or objects he touched.
Since it's just a Normal grade skill, the light it creates isn't very strong. But Barry only had that as the only skill with a light attribute.
"Well, let's make good use of it," Danny said.
Barry nodded.
A few seconds later, after they mentally prepared, Barry floated toward the shadow.
The living shadow sensed his arrival and slithered toward him. But a moment later, an arrow seemingly made of light shot next to Barry and hit the shadow, causing a hissing sound and black smoke.
---