Rendell ignored their stupefied gazes and calmly walked past them. He was not afraid that they would attack him, so he showed them that he wasn't afraid of any confrontation.
"Y-You're alive? What about that… thing?" James looked like he had seen a ghost.
Rendell stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him. "Oh, you mean that Level 10 Giant Millipede? It's already dead." He muttered in a nonchalant voice.
"Dead?" Everyone was stunned by his words and they couldn't help but stare at him in fear.
Looking at their expression, Rendell smirked and walked towards the folded boxes. "I don't mind you guys staying here, but you have to ask my permission if you want to take anything." While saying this, he intentionally displayed the steel sword, an act that made everyone feel nervous.
"Who do you think you are?! Do you own this supermarket?!" Phillip couldn't stomach his arrogance.
James quickly came to his side and patted his shoulder. "I'll talk to him. You guys should rest." He had to step in to prevent things from escalating.
Phillip didn't want to fight this person. He didn't know how powerful he was or what Gift he possessed. Furthermore, he was someone who wasn't afraid to fight the Giant Millipede that killed everyone in their school. "Consider yourself lucky." He said before walking away with his hands in his pocket.
Looking at him leave, Rendell smiled in amusement. The hand that was resting on the handle of the sword eased up.
"I apologize for his rudeness. Please don't mind him." James walked closer to him, but he maintained a safe distance. He was also prepared to summon his flames in case the person in front of him displayed any sign of hostility.
Rendell waved his hand and sat on the folded boxes.
Sensing that he had no intention to talk, James initiated the conversation. "Thank you for your help earlier. If not for you, we would have been killed by that Giant Millipede."
"Yeah, and you guys left me there to be buried together with that disgusting creature." Rendell stared at him with a faint smile. From his observations, he noticed that this man was respected by the group and even the rude guy listened to him.
James smiled in embarrassment. "I'm sorry about that. Our instructor is wounded so we had to tend to his injuries as soon as possible. I hope that you can forgive us."
Rendell leaned against the wall while wiping the blade of his steel sword using a cloth. "I can do that, but I need information."
"Information?" James raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Rendell looked at him and nodded. "That's right. If the information you provide satisfies me, I will allow you guys to stay here and you can also take some food and supplies." He was unconscious when the disaster struck so he didn't know what was happening to the world.
James' expression relaxed at his words. "What do you want to know?" He asked.
"Tell me everything you know about what happened. The evolved monsters, the explosion, and the status screen…"
James arranged his thoughts and nodded. "Everything started when a meteor called Dark Meteor struck the city. It destroyed a huge portion of the city and probably only a few people managed to survive. We thought that it was just an unfortunate event, but we soon discovered that the animals were starting to change after that incident. They became monstrously powerful with some even possessing incomprehensible abilities. We tried to call the government to ask for their help, but all of our phones didn't work. To be precise, all the gadgets stopped working. Phones, computers, laptops, everything…" he shook his head and continued. "We tried to escape, but that Giant Millipede suddenly arrived and it attacked everyone that tried to leave the school. Because of that creature, we were forced to hide in the school building. We had almost given up hope at that time, but then… it appeared, a status screen similar to those in video games. We received our Gifts at that time and it gave us some hope to survive. However, more evolved creatures popped out of nowhere and attacked the school. The students banded together to repel those monsters. Our combined efforts proved to be effective and we managed to force them to retreat. We then tried to attack the Giant Millipede, but it was too powerful. In the end, many of us died and the remaining few escaped back to the school building. We are probably the last surviving students in our school." His voice was filled with grief and also a trace of anger.
Rendell processed his words. "You're saying that all of this started because of that Dark Meteor?"
James nodded. "That's right. Wait. You don't know about it?" He stared at him in confusion. There was a lot of news about the Dark Meteor on the internet and even on live television. How could he not know about it?
Rendell didn't respond to his inquiry and just stared at him in silence.
James shrugged his shoulders. "If you want to know more, you can ask my friend Kent to explain things to you. He has a better understanding than me about this entire situation. Perhaps he can give you more details."
"That can wait until tomorrow. You should go back to your group."
"Alright. By the way, I'm James. What's your name?"
"Rendell."
James muttered the name in his mind. "I'll take my leave first. If you need anything from us, don't hesitate to inform me. I'll tell the others about your situation to prevent some misunderstandings."
"Suit yourself." Rendell waved him off.
James no longer said anything and left. He gathered his group and told them about his conversation with Rendell.
"Did he kill the Giant Millipede?" Ralph asked while clutching his chest.
"It appears so. Before we regrouped with you guys, we saw him fighting with the Giant Millipede. The school building collapsed in their battle and they were both buried in the rubble. We took the chance to escape so we don't know what happened afterwards." James recounted their first encounter with Rendell.
"How could a single-armed man kill that monster? Is that even possible?" Phillip muttered in disbelief.
"Haven't you guys noticed his armor? The materials seemed to be made from the exoskeleton of the Giant Millipede." Kent commented as he wiped his glasses using the clean part of his shirt.
Everyone unconsciously stared at Rendell and the black armor he was wearing.
"You mean that armor was dropped by the Giant Millipede?" Celine asked in surprise.
"It should be…"
"We should be careful around that person. We can't underestimate someone who could kill that creature." Kent warned in a stern voice.
Everyone silently agreed with his words.