"You all deserve death!"
Pale faced and frightened, Shawn's words scared them to death, their legs shaking and about to kneel down.
"No, no, no. Y-you've got it wrong, lit- I mean big brother. We didn't talk about those awful things at all. I p-promise. W-we promise," the wretched-looking man said, his voice trembling from fear.
Shawn just sneered after hearing those words, one can see from his countenance that he didn't believe him at all.
"You, you have to believe us, please. In fact we've g-got some secrets to share with you."
The so-called Boss Craig's voice is also trembling, but he was speaking softly and quietly, as if this secret were only known to them.
"You see, we're actually from the village next to this, but we fled from there after some people transformed into zombies. We realize that it's dangerous if we continue to stay there, so we plan to go to the next village. For us to arrive at the adjacent village, we need to pass through this small forest," he paused, swallowing his saliva.
Continuing his story, he said, "When we get here, we notice that the forest is littered with corpses of monsters. We got curious since the appearance of those monsters became different; their bodies grew bigger and looked fiercer. When we examined a corpse, we discovered a crystal in their body."
After reaching this part, Boss Craig becomes more excited, inching closer and closer to Shawn.
"We still didn't know its uses, but we're sure that it's definitely valuable. In fact, we don't have any problem giving it to you right now. I mean, some idiot just killed these monsters and left directly. We basically got them for free," he said, even joking at the last part of his sentence, seemingly trying to light up the mood.
The other three laugh drily, supporting their boss.
"Oh, really? You're just going to give them to me?" Shawn asked.
"Yes, yes, big brother. We'll really give all of these crystals to you," Boss Craig replied, one of his hands in the back while his other hand was pounding his chest, trying to look more reliable.
"But why wou-"
Shawn didn't even finish his sentence when Boss Craig suddenly charged at him. He pulled out a knife from god-knows-where and slashed at his throat.
Just when his knife is a few inches closer to Shawn's neck, it suddenly stops, and both the knife and the arm holding it drop.
"Ahhh! Fuu*kk! My fu*king arm!"
Boss Craig screams, his left hand holding his right arm, or rather, his already chopped right arm.
Blood can be seen leaking out of his arm; panic and pain consume his mind.
"I was just playing with you, and yet you just have to test my patience. I'll definitely kill you, but before that, let me tell you something first."
Shawn approaches the man and squats beside him. He brings his head closer and only stops when his breath can be felt beside the man's ear.
"I am that idiot you were talking about."
Then a sword pierced the man's throat, the sword's tip soaked in blood.
He took out his sword and looked at the other three. Once he did that, the man's body collapsed and convulsed on the ground, only stopping after a few seconds.
The wretched-looking man kneels down directly, wanting to beg for mercy. He and the other two let go of the weapon they just took out, obviously about to follow their boss's actions.
His knees just touched the ground when a sword light flashed and penetrated his heart.
"Don't bother begging for mercy. I want to puke every time I look at you all."
After saying that, he proceeded to finish off the last two remaining lowlifes.
These kinds of people who already show their true colors when this apocalypse has just begun deserve their deaths. Shawn can't feel remorse for killing them.
Of course, Shawn is still hesitating at first, but these guys just had to act like evil bastards until the end. Hence, causing their end.
Shawn is not a saint who will forgive these bastards and give them another chance.
As long as his conscience is clear, Shawn would be able to sleep peacefully at night.
At this very moment, the world is definitely in chaos, and the world's order has collapsed. He doesn't have the time to feel pity and sympathy for every person he meets.
After this episode, Shawn took the sack where they stored the crystals.
These crystals were, in fact, beast cores that mutant beasts form when they first absorb origin energy.
The beast cores in the sack vary in size. They ranged from pea-sized, bead-sized, walnut-sized, etc. The biggest one, however, is the egg-sized beast core that came from the Level 25 Mutant Snake.
These beast cores have a wide range of uses. Different beast cores have different uses. They can be used to evolve skills, be an energy source, and craft items and elixirs, just to name a few.
Some cores, however, can enhance one's abilities and even grant skills.
The most common use of these cores is actually to replenish a person's origin energy. If your origin energy is exhausted, then absorbing beast cores can fill up your energy once again.
After inspecting the beast cores for a while, Shawn just left the scene directly. He can't be bothered to clean up this mess, and he just wants to take a rest.
From the moment he woke up and up until the end of his fight with the mutant snake, he was always in a tense state. That's why even his strengthened body is feeling tired.
**********
Finally reaching his house, Shawn found nothing much had changed in the neighborhood. The people who live here always leave for work very early in the morning. The only ones left are the now-dead zombie couple and Shawn.
The moment he went inside, he suddenly heard a rumbling sound coming from his stomach. Only then did he realize that he hadn't eaten anything since the moment he woke up.
He then went to the kitchen in search of food. He was only halfway there when he suddenly remembered the carcass of the rabbit he killed earlier.
He left it in his bathroom and has forgotten all about it until now.
Quickly, he made his way to the bathroom and took the rabbit's carcass. The smell is quite bad, but considering that this is the only ingredient he had, he can only put up with it.
He first began to clean the rabbit thoroughly, removing the remaining fur and taking out some spoiled meat. He wants to ensure that it's ready to cook.
He then proceeded to the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinet, taking out the seasonings—salt, pepper, soy sauce, and a few dried herbs.
He cut it into pieces and then seasoned it in every corner. He took out a pan, put some oil in it, and began to fry the rabbit meat.
While cooking the rabbit, Shawn's mind reflected the newfound knowledge he gained from the Origin Source Encyclopedia.
The world was changing rapidly, and he needed to adapt quickly if he wanted to survive and thrive in this new reality.
After a short wait, the rabbit meat was cooked, and its aroma filled the whole kitchen. He transferred it onto a plate, sat at the table, and began to eat.
Taking his first bite, he found it to be surprisingly good, considering the circumstances.
This is because the rabbit has already absorbed origin energy; hence, its meat is very delicious and tender.
Mutant beast meat is nourishing to the body and can enhance the physique if one eats it.
He quickly finished eating, cleaned up the kitchen, and headed into the living room.
Sitting on a small couch, Shawn took out the Origin Source Encyclopedia once again. He needed to understand the full implications of the Origin Source's arrival and how to navigate the evolving landscape.
Flipping through its pages, Shawn read more about the dungeons and secret realms. These were places where survivors could find powerful items, valuable skill scrolls, rare materials, and opportunities to further their evolution.
However, these places were also fraught with danger, filled with terrifying monsters and deadly trials.
He even managed to find some information about something that was puzzling him.
When Shawn was in his last bout with the snake, he broke free from the mutant snake's entanglement. His sword was covered in white, silvery light, which allowed him to break the snake's defenses easily.
Compared to his previous attacks, this attack seems to be far, far more powerful.
This puzzled him greatly since, even with a Precision Strike, his attack shouldn't be that powerful.
Only when he obtained the Origin Source Encyclopedia and read it did it hit him.
He awakened a weapon force. The Sword Force, to be exact.
At that moment of life and death, he was enlightened, and he comprehended the Sword Force. With Sword Force, he managed to kill the mutant snake.
If he managed to comprehend it before that battle, then even if that Level 25 Mutant Snake wasn't wounded, Shawn would be able to kill it.
That's how powerful Sword Force is. Its powerful might is enough to help him overcome the gap in levels.
The reason is that Forces are very difficult to comprehend. Average people can't even come close to understanding it.
Force can be divided mainly into three types: Weapon, Elemental, and Abstract Forces.
Those under Weapon Forces are related to one's mastery and understanding of weapons such as Sword Force, Saber Force, Spear Force, and etc.
The Elemental Forces, on the other hand, encompasses the mastery of the natural elements like Fire Force, Earth Force, Wind Force and others.
Lastly, the Abstract Forces focuses more on the esoteric concepts. For example Slaughter Force, Death Force, Light Force, and even Time Force and Space Force.
If regular Forces are already very difficult to comprehend, then the last two would be almost impossible. Very few people can comprehend them, hence, making their strength be much more powerful compared to the rest.
Shawn was able to leap into the Sword Force realm directly because of his talent and insane comprehension ability. That life and death battle really helped him breakthrough his limit.
He close the book, and with a thought, Shawn's status window popped up.
[Shawn Turner]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 15]
[Origin Energy: 412/500]
[Realm: None]
[Job: None]
[Skills: Precision Strike Lvl 5 (Tier 0)]
[Talent: None
"I can't see my Sword Force? Is it because I comprehended it myself? Anyway, my Precision Stike actually leveled up twice during that battle. That's good, the 15% bonus in addition with my Sword Force will definitely be powerful," he thought, pleased about his rising strength.
Shawn then leaned back on the couch, thinking where he should go next.
"That big simpleton should still be in Harper Town right now. I should meet up with him so that guy won't be taken advantage of by others. It will be for the best if I have some companions in these trying times," he concluded, already deciding his next destination.
With that, he got up and went to bed. He needs to travel quite a journey tomorrow, after all.