Chapter 52: Seven Day’s Later; Threat On The Horizon

One Week Later.

RUMBLE

KRAK

The sky screamed above a broken street that lay shattered in ruin; buildings collapsed, and vehicles were discarded. Cascading thunder poured down like divine judgment, bolts of lightning spearing through the sky in blinding fury.

Hundreds of mutants charged mindlessly, their flesh blackened mid-stride as lightning tore through them, shredding the weaker ones to ashes. The stronger mutants carried on relentlessly with their charge, as if hell-bent on meting out vengeance for their fallen comrades.

However, they only managed to withstand a few more thunderous hits from above before being turned to charcoal. At the center of this raging storm of blinding thunder stood a lone female figure— Her hands stretched to the heavens, as her chest thumped rhythmically; perspiration running down her brow.

She wore form-fitting, reinforced black combat gear and leather boots that shimmered in iridescent blue—Long ashen hair that reached her back, still doused with lingering streaks of white lightning— Her eyes glowed deep purple, like finely polished amethyst.

"Phew!... glad that finally did it." She perspired heavily, as her breathing came in ragged gasps.

"These guys are getting so much stronger.... I can feel my mentality stat was nearly emptied." She lamented as she collapsed heavily on the ruined concrete rubble, breathing heavily. Then a bottle of water appeared in her hands out of thin air— She gulped down ravenously as the storm around her steadily dissipated.

"If I had known this area was so swamped with mutants, I would have come more prepared— but this is the only way to quickly reach them," she mumbled weakly, then pulled up her status window, something that has now become a habit for most awakened.

[AWAKENER STATUS]

[SELENE DARKSPIRE]

ALIAS: RAINBOWJUBILEE

RACE: AWAKENED HUMAN

TIER: 0

MENTALITY: 1 (66.5)

PHYSIQUE: 53

CLASS: STORM BORNE [ UNIQUE (MYTHICAL) ]

[CLASS SKILL 0: THUNDER INVOCATION (ACTIVE) ]

[CLASS SKILL 1: LOCKED ]

[CLASS SKILL 2: LOCKED ]

[CLASS SKILL 3: LOCKED ]

[CLASS SKILL 4: LOCKED ]

[CLASS SKILL 5: LOCKED ]

[??? ] ]

"Fuck!. I was almost taken out." Selene cursed as she observed her mentality, which was almost at zero.

"No wonder I was feeling dizzy. Passing out while surrounded by hungry mutants would have been a horrific way to go," she murmured with a forming smirk.

"At least I made a fuck ton of crystals this time," she said as the smile on her face got wider, staring at her current origin crystal balance.

[Balance 716 oc]

"Sigh... maybe I shouldn’t have made all those purchases. Still, quite a decent balance."

The mutants had become more deadly, and the rewards had improved to match. Selene had fought and destroyed over a hundred mutants in less than an hour. There were no more weak variations of mutants anymore. All of them were stronger; with some particularly being terrifying.

Selene had come across one a day before, and even with her incredible power, she not only fought to a draw; she had to run off when her mentality stat began to bottom out.

"Damn. Still gives me goosebumps. What was that thing ?" she mumbled; the memory of that weird mutant who acted completely different from the others was keeping her on her toes. Even the way it located her was almost like it knew where she was.

"It’s embarrassing to say for a ranker such as myself, but I hope I don’t come across that thing again anytime soon. At least until I am ready to destroy it completely. Creepy-ass mutant," she uttered in a shudder.

"I have been very active recently; I should have moved up to second place on the ranking, right?" Selene muttered excitedly as she pulled up the Global Leaderboard ranking list. However, her smile soon turned into a deep frown at what she saw....

[Global Leaderboard Rankings]

1. Solgarde

2. AllFather

3. NaxinTheVixen

4. CelestialGoddess92

5. RainbowJubilee

6. AbyssWhisper

7. Adam Wright

8. Xander

9. Newdawn

10. Katarina

"Damn it!. I have been hunting non-stop for the past week as I try to locate my family. How am I still behind Celestial? —- this person wasn’t even on the charts a week ago...." Selene was feeling very competitive. She used to be known as the most powerful individual in all of Blackridge, but out of nowhere, this person was just jumping through the rankings.

"Sigh.... Back to it then. I must at least maintain a strong position in the top ten of the rankings since there will be bountiful rewards at the end of the month, which also marks the end of this first trial." Selene pumped herself up, dismissing the negative thoughts and focusing on her mission. She still needed to go be with her family. Though they are relatively safe now after being secured by the military in a shelter, she still doesn’t trust the intentions of the military and would better reach there fast.

She got up, dusted herself off, and resumed her journey; the cries of mutants drawn by the chaos she unleashed were already so near.

Back at The Grand, a lot had happened in just that span of seven days. The areas surrounding the building were still filled with mutants who kept coming endlessly, though less packed than it was before. Brad had begun implementing the tenancy plan, requiring everyone to now pay an adjusted amount of two origin crystals per apartment to live in the building.

A few residents were forced out by him and his crew; their fate unknown. Damon and his crew also went along for the meantime since Brad had been looking for any opportunity to get at Damon even when he’d moved out of the penthouse. And since Damon never went out with them to hunt, such an opportunity never came.

A lot was happening, but something more concerning was on the horizon; according to sightings, there were reports of a massive mutant horde; sweeping through Redmont, and the Grand being right on its part.

It was becoming evident that they would soon have to abandon this building, or they would all perish in it, considering the unusual nature of that horde, and the growing strength of the mutants.

And their escape would also involve breaking Tessa out of confinement, which meant a confrontation with Brad was inevitable.

Luckily, it was time for Damon’s skill to show just how broken it was.