The broken blade clattered onto the alley floor. Nadine stood frozen, her breath caught in her throat as panic surged through her.
Myles saw it immediately the brief but dangerous moment where fear took hold.
"Nadine! Get back here!" he shouted with urgency.
But she didn't move. Her eyes were locked onto the grotesque creatures.
"Nadine!" Myles shouted again, sharper this time.
The second call snapped her out of it. She realizing that the Shadow Bind was still holding the creatures in place. Without wasting another second, she turned and sprinted toward Myles.
Myles didn't wait for her to reach him. The moment she was clear, he raised his hand, mana surging through his veins then he activated Fireball.
A swirling sphere of flame materialized in his palm, casting flickering orange light against the alley walls. The bound creatures thrashed harder but the Shadow Bind still held them in place.
Then, Myles launched the Fireball.
The fiery projectile shoot forward, colliding directly with the cluster of restrained monsters. Fortunately, they were close to each other.
BOOM!
The explosion was instantaneous, flames engulfed them, the intense heat scorching their flesh. They screeched and convulsing as the fire burn them.The acrid stench of burning flesh filled the alley.
Myles didn't stop there. He immediately deactivated Shadow Bind, releasing the creatures from their restraints. And then he shoot Fireball again.
The moment the tendrils disappeared, the burning mutated humans staggered forward, their bodies collapsing one by one as the fire consumed them. Finally, they stopped moving altogether.
A notification flashed in Myles' mind.
[You have defeated F-Rank Mutated Souls.]
[You have defeated F-Rank Mutated Souls.]
[You have defeated F-Rank Mutated Souls.]
[EXP gained: 60.]
[Level Up: 4]
He exhaled, shaking off the lingering heat from his own spell. His depleted Mana now restored again.
Behind him, Nadine was still catching her breath, her hands trembling slightly from the rush of adrenaline.
Myles turned to her. "You okay?"
She swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah... I just—" She glanced at the remains of her broken knife, frustration flickering in her expression. "Damn it. That was my only weapon."
Myles sighed. This wasn't good. She needed something to kill and those three high schoolers sure as hell weren't going to help in a fight.
"We'll find another weapon," he said, already scanning their surroundings.
They needed to move. The Fireball explosion had been loud and if the creatures nearby would be drawn to the noise.
"Let's move again now," he said.
The high school boys erupted in excited shouts behind Myles, their eyes wide with amazement.
"Dude, that was insane!" one of them exclaimed. "Where the hell did you learn to do that?!"
Another boy grinned. "Are you some kind of mage from another world or something? Like in the anime?"
Myles barely spared them a glance. "You want power like this?" he asked. "Then kill something."
The excitement drained from their faces immediately. The grins vanished, replaced with uneasy expressions.
One of them swallowed hard. "W-Wait... but if we stick with you, we won't need to fight, right?"
Myles stopped mid-step and turned to face them fully, his frown deepening.
The audacity of that statement.
He narrowed his eyes. "You're saying I should protect you?"
The boys hesitated, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze.
"You should protect yourself," Nadine cut in, her voice sharp.
"B-But—"
Before the boy could finish his sentence, another growl reverberated through the alley.
Myles' head snapped toward the alley entrance.
The huge mutated dog was standing menacingly there. The same grotesque beast they had seen earlier — its massive body that covered in horns and tumor looming in the dim light. Its glowing bloody eyes locked onto them, saliva dripping from its deformed maw.
And behind it... more mutated creatures emerged from the street.
"Shit!" Myles hissed. His instincts kicked in immediately.
Without hesitation, he turned on his heels and ran.
"Move!" he shouted.
Nadine didn't hesitate and bolted after him.
The three high schoolers stood frozen for half a second before panic overtook them.
"Crap—go, go, go!" one of them yelped, and they scrambled after Myles.
The alley wasn't long, but with the creatures closing in fast it felt endless.
Myles heard the heavy pounding of the mutated dog's massive feet. The smaller creatures screeched and howled as they pursued.
Myles suddenly skidded to a stop and spinning around in one swift motion. His hand shot up then he activated Fireball. A blazing orb of flame ignited in his palm again.
Without hesitation, he threw it straight at the mutated dog. The fireball slammed into the creature's deformed chest and face.
BOOM!
The explosion sent a hotwave through the alley, flames bursting outward as heat washed over them. The high schoolers yelped and ducked, shielding their faces from the blast.
For a moment, the massive beast staggered and slightly jerking from the impact. But Myles already knew that wasn't enough. That thing was still standing.
Gritting his teeth, he immediately conjured another Fireball and threw it — not at the dog, but at the smaller mutated creatures swarming around it.
BOOM!
The second explosion ripped through the alley.
A few of the creatures were engulfed in flames and they collapsed, their charred remains twitching on the ground.
But the mutated dog? It took steps forward.
Myles clicked his tongue. The fire clinging to its body was already dying out.
It should've been burning and writhing in pain but instead, the flames were dissipating.
"What the hell?"
Myles felt a cold dread creep up his spine. Maybe this thing was resistant to fire.
The moment the flames fully died out on the mutated dog's body, it galloped forward and charged straight at them.
"Run!" Myles said, already pivoting on his heels.
Nadine didn't hesitate, sprinting alongside him.
Few second later while running, she could hear the three high schoolers struggling behind them.
"Shit, shit, shit!" one of them panted. "I can't... my legs...!"
They weren't fast enough.
Myles knew it immediately. They hadn't awakened their System yet. They had no stat boosts, no enhanced agility, no strength pushing them beyond human limits. Unlike him and Nadine who had already distributed points to their stats, the three boys were just ordinary humans and in a world like this? That meant they were prey.
Nadine glanced back, her expression tightening as she saw them falling behind.
"Myles! They're not gonna make it!" she said.
"Let them," Myles said coldly.
Nadine's eyes widened. "What?"
Myles didn't slow down. "If they can't keep up, they die."
"But—!"
A sharp snarl ripped through the alley, cutting her off. The mutated dog lunged, its deformed body closing the distance alarmingly fast.
Nadine's stomach twisted. She saw the dog already caught up to the three high schoolers.
---