Seeing him approaching, Isra scrambled to get away. She hurriedly crawled on all fours without attempting to stand up. Her upper arms were still bleeding from where his claws had cut into them when he grabbed her. She was probably also bruised from the fall after he threw her away. Her face contorted in pain. It was possible she had suffered a couple of busted ribs, but then again, maybe not. By that point, she had likely invested several skill points into her Constitution attribute, toughening her body and making it more durable.
Jake wasn’t sure what exactly happened when a survivor put a skill point into Constitution. Their body somehow became more resistant to damage, but how this was achieved, he had no clue. The only explanation he could come up with was that in this world with magic, perhaps after allocating a skill point into Constitution, the System infused the survivor’s body with a permanent dose of mana, enhancing their resistance to damage.
It was as good a theory as any, and he didn’t dwell on it any further.
Before Isra could grasp the double-barreled shotgun she was trying to reach, Jake closed in on her. Realizing it was futile, she sat on the ground, facing Jake who towered over her. The woman stared up at him with a mix of fear and defiance on her face.
“Come on,” she said angrily. “Just do it already. What are you waiting for?”
Jake stared down at her, making no attempt to attack the woman. He had no actual desire to kill her, just like he hadn’t wanted to take Frank’s life. It wasn’t his true self that had guided his actions at that moment. When the group leader had shot him in the back, Jake had momentarily lost control. After killing him and somewhat appeasing his inner beast’s bloodlust, he was able to continue resisting its dark urges. Standing over Isra, he persisted in mentally battling his inner beast until he finally succeeded in putting it back to sleep.
Jake wheeled around and started to make his way to the door. Passing by the lifeless body of the group leader, he paused. Crouching beside the corpse, he searched it, hoping to find a mana consumable. Yet he found none. It made sense. Survivors typically didn’t carry items like mana shards and magic scrolls since there was no point in holding onto them instead of using them immediately.
Upon reaching the door, he glanced over his shoulder at Isra. She had managed to get to her feet but stayed put, showing no sign of wanting to follow him. He gestured for her to come, but she remained stationary. After a brief pause, he started descending the stairs.
Once on the tenth floor, he walked toward the elevator shaft with the magic-powered platform. When he reached it, he paused but didn’t step inside. Instead, he turned around to the other side of the corridor. Isra should come around and join him soon. She knew that using the platform was the only safe way to get down to the first floor.
While he waited, Jake checked his remaining HP and mana. He only had 36% of his hit points left, and the number was slowly decreasing as mana continued to seep out of his body through the numerous wounds he had sustained. Mana was also being utilized to mend the ragged holes in his body, further hastening the mana depletion. Jake had a sinking feeling that he didn’t have enough magical energy left to both heal all his wounds and maintain his bodily functions. He couldn’t help but wonder what would occur if his mana levels plummeted to critically low levels. Would his body persist in attempting to heal itself, depleting his remaining mana until there was none left, ultimately leading to his death? Or would the familiar safeguard mechanism kick in, halting the healing process to preserve the little mana left within him?
Jake didn’t know the answer, but one thing was for sure—he had to get his hands on some mana consumables ASAP. There was no time to lose, so he resolved to wait no more than a minute. If Isra didn’t arrive by then, he would leave her behind to find her own way down.
However, he didn’t have to wait even that long. Just a few seconds later, the woman showed up, clutching her sawed-off double-barreled shotgun tightly. When she halted a few feet away from him, he pantomimed breaking the gun open. She understood his gesture and did what she was told.
“It’s not loaded,” she said, demonstrating the empty barrels of her shotgun. “I guess if you wanted to kill me, you would’ve done it already.”
Jake nodded and motioned for her to enter the elevator. She hesitated for a second, then did as instructed, moving to the far end of the platform to be as far away from him as possible. As soon as he joined her on the platform, it immediately began to descend.
He was well aware she could try to finish him off once the platform reached the first floor. With less than forty percent of HP left, Jake wasn’t going to take any chances. He stood facing Isra, watching her every move. He didn’t trust her one bit, and he wanted her to know that.
At first, she appeared uncomfortable but then relaxed a bit when she realized he was not going to attack her.
“Why did you kill Frank?” she suddenly asked. “You didn’t have to, you know. Sure, he shouldn’t have opened fire on you, but you could just have disarmed him. It shouldn’t have been too hard for you.”
Jake didn’t react in any way.
“Rick and Archie died because of you, too,” Isra added quietly. “You simply used us to achieve your goal. We were just tools for you, nothing more than that. You’re a monster. You have no compassion for people at all. Perhaps, a shred of humanity remains within you, but it’s buried too deep to reach.”
Jake thought Isra was being unjust toward him. As a survivor, he had come across individuals who had killed others simply to take their belongings. Maybe, some of them killed others just for the hell of it. He had encountered many who showed no respect for human life whatsoever.
Yet, he came to the realization that Isra was right about him. He was a monster. He felt no fear, no anger, no joy, no compassion, no nothing. All the emotions human beings usually experienced had been lost to him after his transformation. While he was still a sentient being, his lack of emotion was a clear indication that he was no longer entirely human. This realization had a profound impact on him. Throughout all this time, he had been contending with his inner beast out of fear that giving in to its darker impulses would lead to the loss of his humanity, ultimately transforming him into an actual monster.
However, as it turned out, he had been mistaken all along. He was already a monster. While he regretted losing Archie and Rick, it only bothered him because it diminished his chances of completing the challenge on time. Apart from that, he felt no attachment to them. His absolute lack of emotion was far from normal in human terms. It wasn’t until Isra pointed it out that he truly recognized the unethical nature of using the four survivors as mere tools. The transformation into a mutant had altered him far more than he had previously realized. The mutation had not only changed his physical form but had also altered his way of thinking.
The realization deeply alarmed him. He didn’t want to be a monster. He needed to do something to fix that. But what could he do? He was at a total loss as to how to regain his human emotions and feelings. What steps could he take to achieve this? Jake was clueless.
The platform reached the first floor at last. The four sigils stopped glowing, the magical power that had animated the platform now dissipating as the challenge finally concluded. As soon as they stepped out of the elevator shaft, the platform disintegrated into concrete pieces, reverting to its original state before the challenge was initiated.
Jake glanced at Isra one last time to make sure she wasn’t about to attack him. She wasn’t. She had even lowered her weapon. Even though the multiple wounds on his body clearly indicated his low health, she had no intention of attacking him. Fully aware of how dangerous he was, she wasn’t going to risk her life trying to avenge her friends’ deaths, even though he was severely wounded.
“Hopefully, I’ll never get to see you again,” Isra whispered.
Without showing any reaction to her words, Jake spun around and dashed out of the building.