From left and right, up and down from the holes into the earth, the Facehuggers lunged at him. But not one of them could reach Kai and get flung away like a mere stone.
It was then did Kai see pieces of what could have been giant Queensguards once, and behind them, some hundred meters away into the tunnel was his backpack.
Pain, he could ignore, but not blood loss. Stars were shining in his eyes, and with every other jump, darkness was getting to him. Every next Facehugger approached him nearer before Telekinesis threw it away.
The last he had to cut down, acidic blood almost licking his Afro's Tachi.
Just as he reached the limit of 10 meters, Kai directed the entire Advance Ability to lift the backpack and threw it towards him. He hastily took out one of his most potent HP pills, given to him by 9th-floor Contestant, and gulped it down.
A rush of heat coursed through his veins.
The entire pill's potent power concentrated on the bloody stump, and Kai saw his flesh squirm like bubbling water. Gradually, the entire leg grew back, and even then most of the pill's effect had yet to vanish.
As the Facehuggers kept dropping on him like raindrops, Kai's injuries and wounds healed. Then his HP bar shot, hitting the limit with a bang.
He took out the Tablet, went through all the images his Self from this timeline had taken in the last 24 hours, and smiled. Kai threw his backpack over his shoulders, looked at the second wave of the Facehuggers, and his smile widened.
"Home…" he said, grinning ear to ear.
With the Queen Xenomorph and Blooded Yautja gone, the island had lost its apex predators. But just now, a third Predator had taken their place.
And this predator had only one purpose — To annihilate all life.
*
*
Midnight,
7th Day
A bright blue shimmer brought Kai back to the hall with white walls.
In front of the tall screen, there was only one chair. Kai helped himself to it, sat down, and leaned back.
There was a smile of prime satisfaction on his face, speaking of the murderous song he had sung in the last five days.
By the end of the third day, their Bad Luck had wiped all Candidates clean off the island, except Kai, of course. He had kept himself in the cave's vicinity, as the highest number of Ovomorphs spawned there.
Soon, even all the Yautjas had started to come to the cave's location in search of the single living Candidate.
Carnage, yes. That was the word the island had come to know in the next 4 days.
Invisibility was as useless to the Yautjas against Kai as the acidic blood and stealth to the Xenomorphs.
By the end of the week, Kai had become bored killing the same creatures over and over. It didn't mean he hadn't killed the very last one of them at the mere sight. The final Points tally dictated rewards, and Kai hadn't forgotten the same fact, either.
Yet, the thing for which Kai was thankful the most was Selene's upgrade.
After eating the Blooded Yautja, his Ghost Basilisk had finally undergone another shedding on the 5th day, becoming a D+ ranked magical creature. Her Stats had changed little, Kai knew. But it was a step forward, and he was happy to take it, especially knowing that with every level up, it would become harder to upgrade her.
The screen came to life now, and the two voices spoke along with the appearance of the text.
…
[[
Congratulations Candidate Red upon surviving 1st Stage
Please submit everything other than your Items
]]
…
A table sprang up from the floor between Kai and the screen. He put his swords and other Items back into the Inventory and put the backpack on the table.
The table slid down, disappearing under the floor.
…
[[
Processing Tablet's contents…
Analyzing images, drafts, map routes, and points tally…
Analyzation complete
Generating results…
]]
…
"Hahaha!" The moment Kai saw the words images and drafts, he threw his head back and laughed like a maniac.
He had questioned himself what was the need for the camera and messages on the Island. He could understand the function of sending messages to other Candidates, but then why the addition of keeping drafts?
Seldom had the Systems done anything without a purpose to it, Kai had thought then.
Thus, as a precautionary measure, he had decided to keep detailed data of the incoming week as images and drafts.
The caution seemed to have paid off, Kai reflected.
…
[[
The results of the 1st Stage are as follows:
Candidate Red ranking (Group-T009) - 1st
Candidate Red ranking (Overall) - 1st
…
Congratulations Candidate Red on obtaining the top score in the 1st Stage.
The Rewards are divided into two categories:
1. Customary Rewards - Depends on Candidate's Point Tally
2. Ranking Rewards, - Depends on Candidate's Ranking
Note: Being the top-ranking Candidate, you can choose two out of the three Ranking Rewards freely
…
Customary Rewards:
1. +10 Attribute Points (Not applicable to the Set's quota)
2. +5 Title Status Points (only applicable to a select few Titles)
Ranking Rewards:
1. Yautja Genes (Consumable Item)
2. Yautja Weaponry (Set Item)
3. Royal Facehugger (Non-Magical Creature)
…
Please state your free choice first…
]]
…
Whoa! 10 Attribute Points? Out of Set's Quota?! Damn!
Still, Kai was half-happy and half-mad.
Even if the Systems had only given him the Customary Rewards, he would have made his peace with it. 10 Attribute Points and 5 Title Status Points weren't something even 6th-floor Contestants could ignore, let alone him, who had yet to gain a single one in his Mission.
But why then present the Ranking Rewards and limit him from having them all?
Sigh! Kai let out a breath, bringing his attention to the screen. Let's see what these rewards are, then I will decide.
All Ranking Rewards had a bulge about them, so Kai knew they each had additional info.
He thought of the first reward, and a new window popped open on the screen.
…
[[
Ranking Reward - Yautja Genes (Consumable Item)
1. Grants the Contestant one vial of ?#?#%?# substance
2. Once swallowed, changes the species permanently to Yautja
3. The Contestant can participate in Yautja Clan's ritual
4. The Contestant can form his own Yautja Clan
5. The Contestant can divulge the knowledge about the Primordial Tower to Clan members
6. Children of the Contestant, within the Clan, will be granted Primordial Tower's citizenship
Note: Yautja Genes is equivalent to a Top Rare-Grade Potion
]]
…
This… Kai's eyes shone like two pearls. This is mind-blowing!
For Kai, it didn't matter if looked like a Yautja or a Xenomorph. As long as he could continue to climb toward the Peak of Absolute Power, without giving up on his current abilities, then there was no point remaining limited to this human shell.
That's why if it had been Xenomorph's Genes in place of Yautja, then Kai would have considered giving up on it. However, the Yautja Genes were just too appealing, especially the Yautja Clan's ritual and forming his Clan parts.
Yautja gains strength, status, and experience through these rituals, Kai remembered the info on them. Doesn't this mean that even though it's a Consumable Item, it can also be considered a Growth Type, letting me gain secondary power-ups…
Kai grinned. "Interesting!"
Another window opened up above the first reward, then.
…
[[
Ranking Reward: Yautja Weaponry (Set Item)
…
***************
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