Chapter 3 Black Scales

"Monster--" Su Yu screamed, drawing strength out of nowhere, he coiled his legs and sprung upwards, kicking the descending green-skinned monster. Extending his hands, he snatched the wooden club that the creature was swinging. Then, he let out an agonized scream.

Besides his left hand, he had no special power elsewhere. His kick, that had hit the green-skinned monster, had nevertheless recoiled and sent a tremor up his legs. It was as if they were about to snap, a terrifying sensation.

Moreover, his right hand was badly injured. The moment he held the club with both hands, Su Yu was able to hear the clear crunch of breaking bones from his right hand.

By his estimates, he had broken at least two fingers.

The saying goes that each finger is connected to the heart, so one can only imagine the pain when the finger bones were broken. Su Yu was in such pain that he howled, but he still held onto the club tightly. The black scales on the back of his left hand reappeared, with his power bursting forth, Su Yu instinctively threw a punch.

With a loud "pom", a mix of greenish fluid and blood exploded from the monster's eye, alongside a green pearl looking object. The monster's eyeball had been knocked out of its socket by the sheer force.

Su Yu screamed in defiance, grabbing the club it was carrying, lifting it, then fiercely smashed it onto the green-skinned monster's head.

All the students in the classroom were stunned as they looked at Su Yu.

Qin Jiagui, who was just picking himself from the ground, saw Su Yu, who resembled a blood-drenched demon, holding on to the green monster's club and smashing it down onto its head.

There was a "crack", the green-skinned monster's head was shattered like a rotten watermelon, dousing Su Yu in its greenish fluids.

From the shattered head, a tiny black crystal-like item flew out, rushed into Su Yu's left hand, and dissolved at a speed the naked eye could hardly follow, eventually disappearing.

Su Yu let go of the club, swaying as he collapsed.

Su Yun cried as she rushed towards Su Yu, shaking him and screaming: "Su Yu, Su Yu, wake up--"

"Never thought Su Yun would care so much for me..." Su Yu's thoughts were hazy. An idea formed in his mind before a loud "boom" resounded, shocking the male and female students. Su Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he became alert once again.

Lei Xin and a few others had fallen to the ground. The desks that had been piled up had collapsed, and the door to the classroom was lying on the ground.

Finally, the front door had been smashed and fallen, the other two green-skinned monsters had stopped banging on the windows and rear door, and turned around to dash towards the front door. Including the monster that had smashed the front door, three monsters, slowly entered inside.

Two crushed green-skinned monsters were lying in the classroom. It seemed that it slowed down the three monsters, their gazes filled with uncertainty, before they all turned towards Su Yu.

It was Su Yu who had killed the two monsters.

At this moment, the outside seemed silent. As the three monsters stepped in, a sense of fear engulfed the hearts of the remaining ten-odd survivors in the classroom.

A female student crawled towards a window on the other side, looking at the three floors below, her face pale with fear. She was only waiting for the monster to pounce on her, ready to bite the bullet and jump. Jumping off the third floor might not be fatal, even if she broke her arms or legs, it would still beat having her skull crushed.

Others were frantically trying to make a distress call on their phones, but there was no signal at all.

Some male students were trembling in fear, clutching the desks and chairs, readying themselves to fight back with everything they've got. Fear had reached its peak, but bizarrely, they no longer felt fear.

There were those who were eying the rear door, wanting to move the desks blocking the door, open the door, and escape. However, they were afraid that their actions might draw the attention of the monsters and that they would be the first ones to get attacked.

"Retreat." Su Yu gritted his teeth. His right hand, abdomen, legs, his whole body, were in agony. His face contorted with pain, he extended his left hand to yank Su Yun behind him.

Su Yun stumbled back in panic, she was thrown away by Su Yu's surprisingly forceful pull.

"Ah--" Su Yun landed and screamed in pain. Almost simultaneously, the three monsters attacked. It was three monsters against one, Su Yu, in an onslaught from three directions.

"Run--" Seeing this, several students yelled. They didn't care about Su Yu, they took the opportunity to scramble away.

Among them, Qin Jiagui let out an angry roar and grabbed a chair to throw at the three monsters.

Squad leader Lei Rui's face was twisted in a struggle, her eyes darted anxiously back and forth between Su Yu and the exit. She, too, was consumed by fear and wanted to run, but a primal instinct told her not to abandon Su Yu.

The chance they had to escape was created by Su Yu.

When he saw the three monsters pouncing at him simultaneously, Su Yu's mind was flooded with terror. He grasped the wooden staff he'd snatched from the green-skinned monster earlier with his left hand.

The moment he gripped it, a powerful force surged out relentlessly. Furthermore, his special power was of greater strength than before.

Two black scales, each about half the size of a fingernail, protruded from the back of Su Yu's left hand. Could this be because he had killed two green-skinned monsters and absorbed two crystals?

As an unexplained thought flashed through Su Yu's mind, he fled in the opposite direction, extending his wooden staff under a table and swinging it with full force.

When his special power erupted, the table shot into the air and went hurtling away.

Two of the green-skinned monsters came to a standstill and raised their clubs to deflect the flying table while the other circled around it and lunged at Su Yu.

Suddenly, Su Yu realized these green-skinned monsters weren't very smart.

Maybe it was the unthinkable power in his left hand, or maybe it was because he'd already killed two green-skinned monsters, or perhaps Su Yu simply possessed a natural, innate talent for combat. Regardless, his mind was working faster than ever before; a fact that shocked even him - the Su Yu who always trailed behind in studies and was considered useless by his teachers.

The three green-skinned monsters charged at him at the same time. Su Yu could only run. However, after he threw a table at them, two of the monsters halted to stop the flying projectile while the third circled around it and lunged at him. This split-second diversion offered a chance, a chance which only lasted a few seconds, when Su Yu faced only one monster.

Seizing the opportunity, Su Yu directly confronted the beast, his left arm pulsing with special power. Vaguely, he felt as if his strength exceeded that of the green-skinned monster.

With a thud, the two clubs collided. His left arm ached as though it was broken, but the green-skinned monster faired worse, its grip weakened, its club flying out of its hand, and a look of shock and fear crossed its grotesque face.

Not wasting this chance, Su Yu, enduring the excruciating pain in his left arm, swung his staff wildly.

With a thud, the green-skinned monster let out a low cry. Its head shattered, and it was sent flying backward as its black crystal was discharged and, like a bolt of lightning, absorbed into Su Yu's left hand.

The surge of power that had already been flooding him augmented once again, making him even stronger. Looking at the back of his left hand, another black scale emerged, but it was only half the size of the previous ones.

"What's going on? Is the power of this green-skinned monster inferior? Or is the effect of absorbing the black crystals waning with each intake?"

Such strange thoughts popped into Su Yu's head just as the other two green-skinned monsters lunged at him, howling with madness.

His reaction was slightly delayed. Even though his blow sent one of them flying backwards, the other monster struck him with its club.

In a critical moment, Su Yu instinctively reached out his right arm.

With a thud, his right arm absorbed the impact of the hit, causing him to cry out in agony. His right arm broke immediately, but this disaster was minimized due to his wooden staff colliding with the other monster's club a moment earlier, shaking the monster and forcing him back several steps. This changed his position, and his arm didn't take the full force of the hit.

If it had, his arm would've turned into pulp instantly, but luckily, the bone was only broken.

Su Yu shrieked in pain. Seeing the opportunity, this green-skinned monster immediately pounced, raising its club to crush Su Yu to death.

Swinging his left arm and screaming in his agony with his right arm broken, Su Yu threw his wooden staff at the monster's head and lunged at it.

The monstrous power exploded, hurling the monster to the ground with Su Yu on top.

While his chest throbbed in pain from having flesh torn away by the monster's grip, Su Yu's left fist crashed down at the same instant.

The monster choked, its face shattered by Su Yu's punch. The fourth crystal was drawn into his palm.

Finally, the third complete black scale emerged.