[Merfolk x2 slain, 20 experience points gained]
[Current Experience: 1000/1000 points]
John picked up the rag hanging on the wall and wiped the blood off his hands.
His experience points were now overflowing. He needed to collect monster cores quickly to advance his class, or it would all go to waste.
"Jo...John?"
Coco, witnessing the scene, struggled to calm her shocked heart.
The events had unfolded too rapidly, almost like a scene from a movie.
Those three terrifying creatures had been killed by John in a mere five seconds!
"Coco, I hope you can keep my being an Awakener a secret," John spoke softly. There was no need to hide anymore.
Besides, Coco had always been wholeheartedly supportive, and John trusted her.
Returning to her senses, Coco had come across information about Awakeners on Tiktok... But she never imagined that an Awakener would be right beside her. Let alone that it would be John.
Coco nodded, her nervous gaze softening as the unease in her heart dissolved. She revealed a charming smile, "John, I like you even more now."
"Why bring this up all of a sudden..." John couldn't help but laugh, "Come on. Let's hurry and find Victoria."
" Yes! You are right! We need to hurry up!" Coco's mind was still filled with the image of John's heroic figure, momentarily forgetting the task at hand.
They quickly sprang into action.
Victoria's mansion was like a vast exhibition hall. It took John some effort to find the elevator leading upstairs.
In seaside houses, the owners typically lived on higher floors to better enjoy the ocean view.
The elevator was stopped at the fourth floor, which John suspected Victoria had just gone up to. He pressed the button, and the floor numbers on the elevator display began to change, quickly returning to the first floor.
The elevator doors slowly opened, releasing a strong smell of blood.
Inside the blood-soaked elevator lay the bodies of two adult men. Their broad shoulders and long bodies indicated they exercised regularly. They were likely Victoria's bodyguards.
Even so, they still died tragically. They should have just opened the elevator door and suddenly encountered an attack. They were stabbed through their necks without any precautions, and a huge cavity was carved out in their chests. Their internal organs completely devoured.
"Ugh—"
Coco, witnessing the scene, covered her mouth, feeling slightly nauseous.
Even as a medical student who had performed human dissections, the brutal scene churned her stomach.
John dragged the bodies out of the elevator. It seemed Victoria's bodyguards weren't armed. Without firearms, it was nearly impossible for ordinary humans to confront these monsters head-on.
These monsters not only have rich combat experience, but their physical fitness also far exceeds that of ordinary humans. There are many unexpected attack methods, including magic that is difficult for ordinary people to understand.
"Hold it in. Don't throw up. Merfolk have a keen sense of smell and will lock onto your location." John advised Coco, looking at her as she covered her mouth.
Coco nodded with a pale face, fighting down the urge to vomit.
They entered the elevator, and John pressed the button for the fourth floor. As the elevator began to move, he pulled out his poisoned dagger, ready for combat as soon as the doors opened.
With a "ding" sound, the elevator doors slowly opened.
John looked into the hallway. It was already a mess. On the ground, there were many corpses of humans and merfolk lying upside down. The beige wallpaper stained with splotchy blood marks.
" Croak… Croak…Croak…"
The sound of combat was unmistakable ahead, clearly indicating that Victoria was already fighting the merfolk.
John and Coco exited the elevator, rushing towards the noise.
...
In the mansion's fourth-floor hall, a swarm of merfolk had completely surrounded Victoria.
She was wounded, sweat drenching her beautiful face, her chest heaving with exertion. Her left arm, bleeding profusely, hung uselessly at her side.
Though Victoria was an Awakener, this was her first battle against monsters.
Consequently, she was still level 1. She equipped only with the swordsman's basic skill, [Thrust].
Initially, dealing with level 1 merfolk was manageable, thanks to her superior swordsmanship, allowing her to level up to 2.
However, once the merfolk realized an Awakener was among them, they quickly rallied.
Scores of level 3 to 5 merfolk, their bodies covered in hard scales, soon appeared. Without using her skill, Victoria found it difficult to breach their defenses.
Despite the short cooldown of her swordsman skill, she gradually fell into a disadvantage under the onslaught of the encircling merfolk.
Three merfolk Fishman Tide hunters rushed at her, their sharp claws aiming for her vitals. Dodging one, she activated [Thrust], her dueling sword piercing the shoulder of another.
But outnumbered, she was wounded by the last, its claw slicing her back open, blood spraying forth.
"Damn it!"
Victoria gasped at the searing pain in her back, her face turning even paler.
The merfolk Fishman Tide hunters didn't pursue their advantage, instead retreating a few steps back into the crowd.
Their grotesquely ugly faces, mouths full of sharp teeth stretching to their eyes, seemed to wear a look of gleeful amusement.
Victoria's gaze turned icy. She realized these creatures were toying with her... much like a cat would not immediately eat a caught mouse but play with it first, savoring its fear and despair.
"You damned monsters, what have you done with my mother?" Victoria struggled to suppress her anger. Seeing so many human corpses along her way and fearing for her mother's fate had left her feeling increasingly disturbed.
" Croak… Croak…Croak…"A large, muscular blue merfolk stepped forward.
[Level 7: Bluegill Warrior]
Its head adorned with yellow tendrils that quivered continuously, something seemed to wriggle in its chest, as if about to regurgitate its stomach contents. With a " Croak" sound, a chunk of flesh was expelled from its mouth.
The flesh landed in front of Victoria. As she looked down to see it clearly, she froze.
It was a half-severed palm, the skin that remained on the back of the hand was smooth and delicate, indicating that it belonged to a woman who took great care of her hands. The broken half of the ring finger still bore a green emerald ring.
Victoria recognized it instantly as her mother's severed hand.
A profound sorrow drained Victoria of her strength, her legs buckling almost causing her to fall to the ground.
The death of her mother threw her into utter disarray.
The Bluegill Warrior's eyes gleamed wickedly, its mouth emitting a gurgling, mocking laugh.
"You damned beasts!" Victoria shouted, lifting her dueling sword and thrusting it towards the Bluegill Warrior with all her might.
[Thrust]!
But the disparity in their levels was too great, the difference in strength too vast.
The Bluegill Warrior easily dodged Victoria's attack, her reckless assault leaving her injured back completely exposed, and a swarm of merfolk surged forward.
Surrounded and in pain, Victoria was determined to take the Bluegill Warrior down with her.
Just then...
A familiar figure suddenly appeared before her.
John's sharp dagger swiftly wounded two merfolk Fishman Tide hunters. The poison on the dagger, mixed with the active agents in the healing potion, entered their bloodstream through their wounds and rushed towards their hearts almost instantly.
" Croak… Croak…Croak…"
The two Fishman Tide hunters let out agonized howls, dying painfully before the eyes of the other merfolk.
Seeing the demise of its subordinates, the Bluegill Warrior's large fish eyes filled with confusion. Sensing danger, it stepped back. Under its command, the surrounding merfolk also retreated a distance, reforming their encirclement.
Victoria, looking at John who had suddenly appeared, and noticing the familiar daggers in his hands, softly exclaimed in surprise,
"Are you... the apothecary from last night?"