Chapter 51: The Ignition of Potential

Watching Julian kill that monster with the help of his summon, Michael nodded in approval and admiration. "This ability is really overpowered. Controlling monsters so that they fight and bleed for you is practical. It completely nullifies the danger and creates an immediate opening."

Julian pulled his spear back, wiping his brow. "I still took longer than you."

"I cannot imagine how far this talent will go in the future," Michael replied, his eyes tracking the dark streets ahead. "It definitely has an enormous potential."

Julian was completely blindsided by the statement. He hadn't expected such a validation from someone as talented as Michael. But more importantly, the words acted as a profound psychological trigger, sending a wave of intense realization through his mind.

*My potential...* Julian thought, his chest tightening as he looked down at his glowing hands and the loyal, surreal beast waiting at his side. *Am I actually aware of my own true potential?!*

For a fraction of a second, the crushing weight of the apocalypse seemed to lift from Julian's shoulders, replaced by a strange, intoxicating spark of ambition. He had spent the last few hours merely trying to survive, running like a cornered animal. He had viewed his summon as a handy helper, and a desperate shield between his fragile flesh and the horrific claws of the monsters. But hearing Michael’s words made him realise and see the bigger picture. He already knew by himself that his talent was way stronger than others but now he could see more possiblities.

For now he might only be a survivor but everything would change the stronger he became. He was a variable that could change the entire strategy of war or even reshape the whole world. *If there are boss monsters and I manage to kill one, how powerful would I be?!*

"We need to move," Michael’s voice sliced through Julian's internal monologue like a scalpel, instantly shattering the brief moment of contemplation. "The tumult from that engagement must have already alerted a lot of beasts in the surroundings."

Michael’s assessment was correct. Their previous kills had been completed fast but were still not quiet.

Some distance away predatory eyes flickered into existence. Simultaneously, the low clicking of claws against concrete echoed from the opposite direction. The hunting packs were closing in, drawn by the scent of fresh blood and the vibrations of combat.

"Let's move," Michael said, dropping into a low stance, his Level 5 shortsword held in a relaxed but perfectly optimized low-guard position.

They advanced down the cracked asphalt, their movements accompanied by a mutual understanding of the escalating threat level. A pair of Level 2 Razorclaw Scavengers lunged from the debris of a shattered tram stop. Julian didn't wait for a prompt. With a sharp mental impulse, he directed his summon forward. The beast threw its mass into the first scavenger, pinning its torso to the ground with a sickening crunch of fracturing bone. Julian stepped past the interlocking struggle, his beginner's spear flashing forward with disciplined velocity, driving the ash-wood shaft through the skull of the second scavenger.

[You have killed a Razorclaw Scavenger – Level 2]

[You have received 25 Experience Points]

Even as the blue notification text flickered in his peripheral vision, Julian could feel his breathing growing heavier. The sheer physical output required to sprint, thrust, and maintain mental synchronization with his summon was taking a great toll. The atmosphere was thick with the acrid stench of blood.

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"We must get off the street!" Julian told, his voice strained as he parried a desperate swipe from another emerging monster, his summon tearing the creature's throat out a split second later. "There are simply too many monsters. The more we kill, the more we attract!"

"You're right," Michael agreed and continued. "We need to find a building with no or at least low monster activity. We can hide there temporary and come up with a plan."

Michael’s eyes picked up the structural layout of the surrounding street. To their immediate left stood a mid-rise commercial office building. Some of its windows were shattered, but the rest of the building appeared perfectly fine, providing a highly defensible perimeter and a narrow entry point.

"The office building looks viable. Let's head for the lobby," Michael suggested, shifting his trajectory seamlessly to match the new route.

They broke into a hard sprint toward the entrance, but the invasion of the unknown enemy was not designed to grant easy safe havens. Just as they reached the threshold of the building’s outer plaza, three distinct silhouettes appeared from the side strees next to the entrance. They were Level 3 variants—grotesque, multi-limbed horrors with elongated claws and hyper-extended jaws that slavered with acidic saliva. They stopped before the two of them, completely blocking the entrance to the lobby.

Michael’s current mana reserves had finally regenerated, providing him with enough energy to execute a spatial displacement step. However, calculating the pros and contras he immediately rejected the option. *Save the mana. A spatial jump right now is nothing but a waste. If I burn my reserve here, I will be completely blind if stronger monsters cut off our retreat. I should always have enough spare mana for at least one jump as a life-saving card*

Bracing his core, Michael adjusted his stance, getting ready for the upcoming fight and raising his shortsword, preparing to engage the nearest variant.

But before he could commit his muscles to the initial thrust, a sudden, violent distortion shattered the ambient silence.

"FIREBALL!" a powerful and confident shout echoed in the lobby.

A flash of intense, orange-red light illuminated the dim plaza. A concentrated sphere of roiling flame hurtled through the shattered glass doors, tracing a trajectory directly toward the central monster. The projectile impacted the variant squarely in its upper torso.

*BOOM!*

The explosive force and expansion of heat stopped the creature abruptly in its tracks. The monster let out a deafening, agonizing shriek as the flames instantly scorched through its dense hide, burning it alive.

The remaining two monsters froze for a brief moment, their predatory instincts moving from the hunter to the hunted. Until now they were the attacking and killing party while humans were pathetically running for their lives.

Even Michael was profoundly surprised by the sudden fire attack. Even though he knew of the existence of such skills through the shop, he never thought that someone already purchased them. What’s more, being aware of the existence of a skill and witnessing it in action were totally different. However, his iron discipline and high willpower prevented him from being awstruck. He could not afford to remain motionless. In a warzone, a moment of hesitation was a definitive death sentence.

Utilizing the absolute confusion of the monsters, Michael exploded forward. His shoes dug into the concrete, channeling his enhanced strength into a sudden burst of lateral speed. He targeted the monster on the right, which was still trying to process the firey blast that was burning its packmate alive.

The monster’s registered Michael's approaching silhouette and it also attempted to react, coiling its rear limbs to execute a desperate, backward evasion, but it was already too late.

Michael’s shortsword sliced through the air in a flawless, low-angle horizontal arc. The edge of the dark sword cut clean through the creature's left rear leg, severing it and fracturing the bone structure. The monster collapsed onto the concrete, its mobility utterly ruined, its movements reduced to a slow, agonizing crawl.

Without a single tick of hesitation, Michael utilized the rotational momentum of the initial swing to pivot smoothly. He brought the blade up in a swift, vertical reverse-thrust, driving the tip of the shortsword directly through the vulnerable soft tissue of the monster's throat and upward into its brain stem.

The creature stiffened violently, its sensory eyes going hollow and dark.

[You have killed a Multi-Limbed Stalker – Level 3]

[You have received 50 Experience Points]

While extracted his blade, Michael was ready to attack the remaining monster, but to his surprise Julian had attacked it with his summon right after he shot that fireball at the frist monster.