Adam and Sasha returned to lounging on the living room couch while watching the news on a big flatscreen TV. Meanwhile, Aya made use of her D+ Rank Agility stat to make it to Hoshito General Hospital at breakneck speeds, even surpassing the speed of most cars.
However, when she arrived, she felt a newfound sense of terror upon staring up at the massive bluish-orange Gate. It was roughly the size of a small building, and although the size of the Gate did not determine the strength of the monsters inside, it was still a horrifying sight to behold.
"No! I must stay strong!" Aya shook her head to clear her mind of distracting thoughts, then rushed through the crowds of frantic people evacuating the area. Upon squeezing through the packed front entrance of the hospital, she constantly looked around, trying to find Cassius amid the chaos. Yet, seeing as he wasn't anywhere to be found, she approached the front desk.
"Can you tell me where patient Cassius is?!" she asked the distraught woman on the other side of the desk, forced to raise her voice due to the chaotic turbulence.
"Patient Cassius?? Hold on, I will check the records!" The female receptionist quickly scrolled through the database on her computer.
Seeing that he had not been emergency discharged like the rest of the non-terminal patients, she dejectedly shook her head. "He hasn't left yet, miss! And he appears to have gone missing sometime in the pandemonium!"
Though, to throw a seed of hope, she continued, "His room is 406, and you can feel free to check, but make sure to return as soon as possible and vacate the area! The Sudden Gate's first wave will commence in less than fifteen minutes! Don't stick around after it begins!"
As she finished speaking, the receptionist completed packing her belongings and left, joining the sea of people exiting the hospital.
Left by herself, Aya's eyes flashed with worry and fear, but those emotions were suddenly overwhelmed by a profound sense of resolve. Cassius was her family, and family helped each other, no matter the danger involved.
Clenching her pearly white teeth, she thought, 'I just need to find him and leave with him!' She sprinted through the hospital, racing up multiple flights of stairs.
By the time Aya ascended to the fourth floor and reached Room 406, she quickly realized that no one was there. Not knowing what else to do, she ran to the room's window, checking to see if he had pulled a Rapunzel stunt. Yet, as there was no sign of such an escape, her face turned ashen. A dark shadow hooded her eyes as she slumped to the floor while sniffling, "W-Where are you, Cassius…?!"
SHING! SHING!
Multiple rays of razor-sharp light cut through the air, taking off the ends of several strands of Cassius's hair before dispersing. He swiftly dashed to the left, narrowly dodging the claws of a large black, four-legged animal.
[Deadly Panther (E)]
The name tag was colored orange, indicating that this monster was a life-threatening danger to Cassius. If it were the him of twenty minutes ago, then it would surely have been categorized as a red threat. However, after killing dozens more Savage Monkeys, he had just barely managed to level up twice and reach Lvl 5.
'If I used up the AP I have stored, then I should be able to beat this monster. But if I want to truly improve, then I need to continue fighting at a disadvantage.'
Cassius dodged another claw slash from the horse-sized black panther, trying his best not to lose his life. He sustained minor scrapes as the fight dragged on, but his eyes swam with concentration, seemingly discerning something about the panther's movements.
"A pattern…!" Cassius blurted out as he stepped off to the side, and just as expected, the Deadly Panther slashed out where he had been moments ago. Testing his theory, he backstepped twice, allowing him to evade a lethal side swipe. "The pattern is there, but my eyes are having a hard time keeping up. Or, rather… my Perception."
Realizing where the deficiency lay, Cassius clicked the up arrow next to his Perception stat three times, bringing his total AP back down to 10. Almost immediately, everything became much clearer. The ferocious Deadly Panther now appeared slower, with its set attack pattern fully on display.
A cold glint flashed across Cassius's eyes as he ducked, which just barely enabled him to evade the panther's lethal full-body strike. Taking advantage of its momentary confusion and air stasis, Cassius clenched a sharp, jagged nail he had extracted from a Savage Monkey. Without an ounce of mercy, he stabbed the nail into the Deadly Panther's soft underbelly before ripping forward. Entrails and blood sprayed the area red, but at the center of it all was a handsome, apathetic expression staring at the panther's corpse with a gaze bereft of emotion.
*Ding!*
[You leveled up!]
[You obtained 1 Stat Point in all of your Main Attributes!]
[You obtained 2 AP!]
[P.S. The 'Main Attributes' do not include the Charisma stat, so if you think you can become the sexiest man alive overnight, then think again! You require more Character Development!]
"I had already guessed that after not seeing the stat go up. No need to rub it in," said Cassius, slightly perturbed.
He pushed the system's shenanigans to the back of his mind as he approached the Deadly Panther's corpse. Although it was gruesome, he needed those sharp claws. Swallowing his disgust, he ripped them out one by one. Each claw, roughly the size of a short dagger, was far sharper than the Savage Monkey nails.
As he was about to toss them into his Inventory—blood and all—a system notification suddenly appeared out of the blue.