Chapter 7

{3 days later}

Three days had passed and Andre found himself shirtless and drenched in sweat, hiding behind a pillar in a shopping mall he had tried raiding for resources. How he found himself in his current predicament, well…it was a long story.

Since he woke up he did nothing but roam a hopeless city reminiscent of an abandoned wasteland; and all he had for it was a half empty water bottle and a new scar marking the side of his neck, three slits going downward. A reminder of his battle against the prowler, one he had barely won. He leveled up twice, bringing his stat total points to ten.

Having decided from the close battle with the overgrown housecat, weakness was a luxury he couldn't afford; He allocated five into strength and agility respectively, bringing strength to 14 and Agility 10.

During the time he spent exploring, he realized the search for human life was moot, although, he had made some other discoveries.The Awakening had spread not only to humans, but other living beings, the Feline wasn't an outlier.

For every abbreant horde he saw, he also noticed some other, more unique creatures roaming about. Mutant Looking dogs that hunted abbreants in packs, rats that zoomed about with no care in the world, nocturnal birds with feathers as dark as the abyss and eyes that always seemed to exceed two, and most dangerous of all were the giant insects that were akin to tyrants in the area.

Every single creature he saw, avoided them like the plague. He had no clue as to why and had no desire to find out why.

He spent his first day running around looking for any sign of humans. He broke into houses and some stores near his former abode, half looking for people and half for food, water or any other resources that could prove useful.

Try as he might, he found nothing but rotten food, water pipes that no longer functioned and even the occasional bloodstains that he grew more and more apathetic to. He continued looking around, late into the night as he couldn't bring himself to sleep.

The day after, he slowed down, his hunger grew from a constant pang to something more unbearable. His lack of sleep made him feel lethargic and while he could still function, he knew he was on borrowed time.

Out of desperation he began hunting aberrants. Picking off the weaker strays in hopes of leveling up, the first one had almost killed him but he managed to lop off its leg with a lucky strike, finishing it was a breeze after.

With his newfound strategy he hunted 4 more and managed to level up twice once more.

Dumping eight points into constitution and the remaining two into mind, his Health was shot up to 320, stamina 90 and Mana 30. It staved off the hunger and fully healed his wounded ribs, better ensuring his survival.

He didn't worry about his lack of investment in strength as his ability allowed him to make short work of any aberrants he ran into. After some searching he found an empty house devoid of any beasts to rest up for the night. His only solace being the comfort the extra points in constitution provided.

The morning after He started experimenting with other forms. He began with a hammer. It required more concentration and time than the blade but he managed regardless. Finally changing his hand into something that resembled a sledgehammer.

It was also obsidian, a constant with his ability. It reached 3 foot, one more longer than the blade. The hammer also required more effort to use than the blade and tired him out quicker but made for a more devastating impact.

His experiments lead to him discovering that although all the transformations cost 10 mana points, some required more time to form than others. He felt it probably had something to do with the mass but then quickly realized he wasn't as smart as he thought and dropped the matter altogether. He'd have more time to figure out how later, now all that mattered was survival.

On the third day, he no longer ran, opting to hide from the beasts in hopes of conserving energy. The search continued,though his spirits were low.

He wanted so desperately for someone, anyone, to explain things to him. Someone to tell him he wasn't going crazy and that everything would be fine; but alas, they were nowhere to be found.

His desperation grew alongside his hunger. The water had kept him from dying but the thought of spending another day without food drove him mad.

Just as he thought of hunting to raise his constitution and stave off the hunger he stumbled upon a mall and relief flooded his body.

The doors were locked tight but the glass doors that made up the entrance were shattered. Carefully angling his body sideways so as to not get scratched, he slipped through uninjured.

Andre's right hand melded into a blade as he readied for any potential meeting. He now had enough mana to change transformations on the fly, he no longer had to worry about conserving energy.

Tiptoeing around, he scanned the halls Hoping to find a food shop. Alhough he was in desperate need of a change of clothes he couldn't spare the time. His focus was starting to slip, he needed food, Now!

Walking around for a few seconds he finally found it. A grocery store, feeling giddy at the discovery he hastily made his way inside. Hunger further gripped his mind as he forgo all manner of stealth And made a mad dash to the canned food section.

And there it was, dozens and dozens of them, he could no longer bear it, he sliced one open and greedily devoured it. It was mango, the juices flowed into his throat and before he knew it, it was empty. Tossing the can away he went through five more, another mango, two cans chicken noodle soup, a whole can of spam and finished it off with a can of beans.

He came back to his senses to discover the mess he made, 6 cans layed haphazardly over the floor alongside bits of beans and mangos. His jacket and shirt were also among the mess, having been sliced off to eat more efficiently.

Finally feeling satisfied since he woke, he staggered out the store while holding his stomach with an expression displaying nothing but content. He made for the clothing shop while letting out short burps along the way.

It took a while to find but he couldn't care less, for him all was right with the world….atleast until he discovered it. The reason every manner of beast had avoided the insects.

The moment he laid eyes on the creature, all the hairs nn his body stood up, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead As he struggled to process what he saw. A quick slap to the face confirmed he wasn't hallucinating on some sort of food high.

It was towering, an unholy monster—it was a whole head taller than him which most likely made it seven feet tall. Its spindly legs were like skeletal stilts, unnaturally long and rooted to the ground.

He could only see its back, the segmented body covered in a chitinous exoskeleton that gleamed a pale green under the dim light. Its wings were folded, twitching occasionally as if swatting the air. The silence was suffocating, broken only by his own ragged breathing.

Then, without warning, its head jerked around, those enormous, bulbous red eyes locking onto him with an unsettling precision. The sudden movement sent a jolt of pure fear through Andre's body. Instinct took over, and he leapt behind a nearby pillar

He only caught a short glimpse before he dove behind a nearby pillar, though one look was more than enough. He panted as silently as he could when a new screen appeared in his vision.

[Level ?? Insect Queen:

Mind is too low to fully examine. Treat with extreme caution.]