Arya opened her eyes slowly.
It hadn't been sleep—just a gap in time long enough for her body to register that the fighting had stopped. The sugar's warmth was beginning to seep through her blood, but it didn't erase the deep, settled pain in her shoulder. The numbness from the Rank D monster's shock was still there—a physical reminder that a mistake here cost dearly.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and tossed the empty can aside. The apartment was perfectly quiet, but her mind was still running like an automatic gear that wouldn't stop.
Let's see what my hands have earned... she murmured, her voice hoarse.
She pulled her leather satchel toward her. It was heavy, its weight pressing into her exhausted muscles. She unzipped it and began laying out everything she had harvested since yesterday—since the world had collapsed, right up to this moment—arranging it on the wooden floor with methodical precision.
The Rank D metal bow first. Cold to the touch. Sleek.
Then she lined up beside it: twenty rough wooden arrows and five sharp, white bone arrows. Along with the Lightning Cat fur.
After that, she brought out two books, their covers made of a material that didn't belong to this world's paper: the Rank D Void book, and the Rank E Ice Arrow book.
And finally—the Core Shards. Rank F Core Shards ×16. Rank E Core Shards ×7. Rank D Core Shards ×1. And the Lightning Core Shard, still pulsing with faint, precise sparks.
As for the coins—she didn't need to take them out. The moment she thought of them, the system interface responded, and the translucent screen slid into view, listing her totals with cold accuracy.
---
[Current Status: Arya | Level 2 (115/200 XP)]
[Strength: 11.1 | Agility: 11 | Constitution: 11 | Health: 99/105 | Spirit: 20/55 | Mana: 110]
[Companions: Shadow Cat | Level 2 (170/200) | Shadow Wolf | Level 1 (90/100)]
[1 Silver Coin + 37 Bronze Coins (100 Bronze Coins automatically merged into 1 Silver Coin)]
[Mental Power: Devil — Form 1 (Shadow Legion)]
[Active Entity: First Shadow (Shadow Cat) | Level 2 (170/200)]
[Active Entity: Second Shadow (Shadow Wolf) | Level 1 (90/100)]
---
Arya stared at the cold blue numbers on the system screen for a moment... then lowered her gaze slowly, as if trying to read what lay behind the light.
Just a little more... she thought, calm.
The Shadow Cat needed only thirty points. The Shadow Wolf was ten points away from leveling. Which meant that wiping out a few more Rank F or Rank E monsters would be enough to noticeably increase her striking power.
There was no feeling of accomplishment. Only assessment.
She reached toward the scattered Core Shards in front of her. She picked up one of the Rank F fragments, turned it between her fingers. Light... its energy barely perceptible.
Then she shifted her gaze to the Rank E shards. Heavier. Deeper.
And finally—the Lightning Core Shard.
She touched it.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQLtNVPoeW
The tip of her finger trembled instantly, as if the electricity lived in the skin before reaching the nerve.
...Still unstable.
She pulled her hand back slowly, her eyes narrowing slightly. This kind of power... couldn't be handled like the rest.
Then her thinking stopped.
She leaned back, rested her head against the wall behind her, and closed her eyes.
The fighting. The image of the Rank D monster returned to her mind: the charge... the spark... the mistake.
She opened her eyes suddenly. Her hand rose to her injured shoulder, pressed on it slightly. The pain was lighter now... but still there.
...I was slow.
Not a complaint—a diagnosis.
If I hadn't noticed the charging... I would have lost my arm.
A slow exhale left her lips. Speed alone isn't enough. I have to read the attack before it begins.
She was still for a few seconds... then her thoughts shifted direction.
She looked toward the window. The sunlight was slanting slightly now.
...Two in the afternoon.
She whispered it. Day two. Which meant—
...Five days left.
Silence.
That number wasn't comforting. It wasn't just time. It was a countdown.
Day one—the electricity stopped. Day two—the water.
She looked at her hands. ...What's next?
She didn't need an answer. Everything... was vanishing, step by step. She looked around her. The apartment. The furniture. The walls. The window.
...And all of this... will disappear. She whispered it quietly. Not a possibility—a certainty.
She lowered her gaze slowly to her clothes. The fabric was filthy. Dry bloodstains. A tear at the shoulder. Dust... and friction marks.
She lifted her foot slightly. ...And nearly barefoot. She smiled. But this time... it wasn't just faint sarcasm.
...Great.
If this kept going—
After five days... nothing will be left.
No clothes. No satchels. No resources hidden in houses. Only what she had earned from fighting... or what the system produced.
Stillness.
Then she exhaled slowly. ...I have to prepare.
She looked at her satchel. It was full. Clearly full. The arrows pressed from one side. The books took up space. The shards scattered inside.
...Not enough.
It wasn't just a comfort problem. It was a survival problem.
I need another satchel... one made now, in these remaining days.
She paused, then added in a low voice: ...Before everything vanishes.
She looked again at her clothes. ...And clothes too.
But this time, the thought wasn't superficial. It ran deeper.
Not just for protection...
But—...for continuation. Clothes that could withstand combat. That wouldn't tear easily. That wouldn't disappear—if that was even possible.
She stepped back in her mind. Everything here... is temporary.
Which meant—anything from this world... would decay.
She lifted her eyes slowly. ...Except what comes from the system.
The bow. The arrows. The shards. These... were different. Stable. Real.
...Then the solution is obvious. She whispered it. Rely on the system. Make them.
Then her thoughts shifted again. Food. The water had ended today, and the remaining supplies: a few cans, some candy.
Food... She paused for a moment, then looked toward the street. ...There are animals.
But the thought wasn't comforting. She remembered the animal monsters. The Lightning Cat. And she asked herself with complete seriousness: ...Are all of them edible? Or poisonous?
Her eyes narrowed slightly. I have to factor that in.
She couldn't rely on canned goods that would vanish in days, and she couldn't gamble blindly. Everything... had to be calculated.
She lifted her eyes to the loot once more. ...I need more things.
Not a wish—a fact.
Clothes... tools... a satchel... and maybe...
She stopped, and her eyes moved to the bow, then to the broken dagger.
...A close-range weapon. She whispered it clearly this time.
The bow was good... and safe... but—if the enemy got close... it wouldn't be enough.
She remembered the spark that had passed near her face. She raised her empty hand. ...I need something that ends the fight fast.
And though stillness passed through the room, something moved inside her head: the monster on the rooftop. Watching. It hadn't attacked. It hadn't fled immediately.
...It was seeing.
...And... it was thinking.
That wasn't normal.
She felt something cold pass down her spine. ...There's something bigger.
And I'm still weak.
She was silent for a moment... then, without hesitation, she opened the system interface. But not the stats this time.
She opened the Forum.
A new screen appeared, filled with scrolling text, messages that never stopped.
---
Limer: Does anyone want to trade? I have food. I don't need coins—I just want a weapon!
John_77: Selling 10 cans of preserved food for 20 Bronze Coins!
Sarah: Is there a real safe zone? I'm alone...
Max: Toilet paper ×30 for anything useful!
---135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dcjUOPBrX
She blinked once... then kept scrolling.
But the same problem: food... items that were useless now. Fear... chaos. No one truly understood what this phase meant.
And despite her need for everything, she knew the harsh truth: weapons were the real currency of survival. No rational person would trade one away for food.
...A waste of time.
She closed the screen. The blue light vanished. Silence returned.
But even in the silence, the equation wasn't finished.
She felt her Spirit energy inside her: low. (20/55). Summoning and healing the Shadow Cat and Shadow Wolf, and controlling them during the battle, had drained too much of her Spirit. She needed rest.
She leaned her head against the cold wall behind her and steadied her breathing. No fighting. No thinking. Only... recovery.
One breath. Then another. Until she felt her body begin to settle.
But her mind didn't stop entirely.
There was one thing, clear and sharp, floating above all the other thoughts: What comes next... won't be like what came before.
---
The two hours passed like the blink of an eye.
When Arya opened her eyes, there was no sudden movement, no panic. She blinked slowly, her eyes adjusting to the dimming light in the apartment. The sun had tilted further toward sunset, and the clock now read four in the afternoon.
She felt a faint, steady pulse beneath her feet.
The Shadow... had fully recovered.
She called up the system interface with a quick mental glance, confirming what she already sensed.
---
[Companion Status: Shadow Cat (Restoration 100%) | Shadow Wolf (Restoration 100%)]
[Spirit: 35/55]
---
She exhaled quietly. Thirty-five Spirit Points. Not fully restored—but enough to handle one or two battles if necessary. Her body had regained its balance, and the pain in her shoulder had dulled to a faint, ignorable throb.
She stood slowly.
She gathered her belongings with mechanical precision. The books, the shards, the arrows—all of it went back into the leather satchel, which was now heavier than ever. She lifted the Rank D metal bow and slung it lightly over her left shoulder, positioned for quick access, then pulled her jacket tight.
She cast a final glance at the safe apartment, then turned and left.
---
The descent was faster than the climb. She passed through the floors she had already cleared, all the way down to the abandoned street. The air was colder now, carrying the omen of a near night. She crossed the distance between the building and the shop in silent steps, her Shadow stretching behind her like a hidden guard that never slept.
When she reached the broken door of the shop, she didn't enter right away. She stood in the darkness for a moment, listening.
There was a voice speaking inside. Calm. Confident. Carefully measured.
Richard's voice.
She crossed the threshold slowly and slipped into one of the dark corners near the entrance. No one noticed her at first. They were all gathered around a circle of dim light in the center of the shop.
Richard stood at the center, wearing that counterfeit smile that had never left his face since she'd known him.
"The safe zone's location... it's real." He spoke with the tone of a caring leader. "We've assessed the resources and confirmed the route. Tomorrow at dawn, we'll all move together. We can't stay here until our supplies run out or those monsters break in. I'll ensure we reach safety... but I need your absolute cooperation."
Murmurs of approval and relief rippled through the survivors. Fear made them search for any lifeboat, and Richard was presenting himself as the captain.
But Arya's eyes—now Level 2, seeing the world through a colder, sharper lens—weren't looking at Richard.
She was looking at Cam.
Cam—the man who yesterday had dripped with greed and rebellion—was now standing directly behind Richard. He wasn't standing like an ally. He was standing like a shadow. His shoulders were slack. His features held no expression. His gaze was fixed on the ground with total submission, as if he had forgotten how to object or how to be angry.
Arya's pupils narrowed.
Uncle Jad had been right. Greed didn't need an invitation. But what she was seeing now wasn't greed. It was the theft of will.
An ability... Arya whispered to herself, recalling the system's classes. Humans evolve too. And Richard... Richard has a manipulation skill. Or mind control.
She sat down quietly on a wooden crate in her dark corner. She didn't step forward to expose him. She didn't retreat a single step back. She laid her bow across her knees and rested her chin on her hand with complete coldness.
She watched the scene like a shoddy play. With her new awareness, she could almost see the invisible strings Richard was weaving around everyone's necks, binding them one by one with his honeyed speeches, turning them into human shields—or pawns that served only his survival.
Arya smiled in the darkness. A smile that didn't reach her cold blue eyes.
Tomorrow, then... she said to herself, as she ran her thumb across the drawn string of her bow.
But before I warn anyone about the claws of the monsters outside... I need to watch out for the monster standing among us in human clothes.
---
ns216.73.216.152da2
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