One Week Later.
RUMBLE
KRAK
The sky screamed above a broken city that lay shattered in ruin.
Cascading thunder poured down like divine judgment, bolts spearing through the earth in blinding fury.
Hundreds of Zombies charged mindlessly, their flesh blackened mid-stride as lightning tore through them, shredding the weaker ones to ashes.
The stronger zombies 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.
She wore a form-fitting reinforced black combat gear and leather boots that shimmered in blue----
Long silver 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 soul power 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— She gulped down ravenously, as the storm around her steadily dissipated.
"If I had known this area was so swamped with 'corrupted', I would have came more prepared" she mumbled weakly, then pulled up her status window, something that has now become a habit.
—------
—---
~~~~~[Status Window]~~~~~
[Name: Selene Darkspire]
[Age: 25]
[Life Level: Tier One]
[Race: Human]
[Affiliations: None]
[BloodLine: None]
[Physique: 8.3]
[Mind: 8.4]
[Soul: 1.5 ~ 14.5 ]
[Innate Talent: StormBorne (grade: SSS) ( Lv. 2)
___Lv 2
~Thunder Invocation :
{Call Upon Devastating Storm, 10 meters Around Yourself.}
~Lightening Incarnation:
{ * Your Physique And Mind Stat Increase Drastically.
*You Become One With lightning.
}
~[Increase Talent Level ~ 10,000,000gc]~
]
]
{System Tools} [
[Inventory (Tier 2) 28/40]
[Analyse (Tier 1)]
]
[217,341gc]
—---
__
"Fuck!. I was almost taken out." Selene cursed as she observed her soul power, which was almost at zero.
"No wonder I was feeling dizzy. Passing out while surrounded by hungry 'corrupted' would have been an horrific way to go," she murmured with a smirk.
"At least I made a fuck ton of coins this time," she voiced as the smile on her face got wider, staring at her current gold balance.
The 'corrupted' had become more deadly, and the rewards have improved to match.
Selene had fought and destroyed over a thousand 'corrupted' in less than an hour.
There were only a few 'white level corrupted'. Most of them were 'brown level', and gave out 100gc per kill.
"Now that I have over two hundred thousand gold coins, I should be able to pull down the second place from the ranking's right?"
Selene muttered excitedly as she pulled up the national ranking list.
However, her smile soon turned into a deep frown at what she saw….
—-----------
~~~~[NationalLeaderBoard Rankings]~~~~
First Place ~ Solgarde
Second Place ~ AllFather
Third Place ~ SeleneTheVixen
Fourth Place ~ NewDawn
Fifth Place ~ Dani Wu
....
—-----------
--
"Damn it!"
"I have been hunting non-stop for the past week. How am I still behind 'AllFather'? —- this person wasn't even on the charts a week ago…."
"Back to it then. I must at least hold the second place on this chart." Selene pumped herself up, dismissing the negative thoughts.
Then she got up, dusted herself off, and began heading for yet another ruined city.
—----------
—
Inside An Underground Military Base.
—---
Beneath the jagged surface of a particular desolate wasteland.
The Military headquarters of Blackridge Nation stretched for hundreds of meters underground.
In the command center, lined with fluorescent panels and vaulted walls, rows of monitors and digital readouts formed a luminous 360-degree ring view.
Maps and locations. Targets and categorisations. All were on display.
Personnel moved with disciplined urgency, tapping consoles, exchanging reports, and adjusting surveillance grids. Every action is a practiced rhythm of efficiency.
At the center, a man stood rigid, hand clasped behind his back, his gaze glued to the monitors. On the shoulders of his military uniform were nine stars in a circle, denoting the highest official rank of the Blackridge Army.
General Of The Army.
A personnel in uniform walked into the command center and stood behind the general before saluting —
"Sir. Lieutenant James. Sir."
"Report." The general voiced regally without turning back.
"Sir. The one with the alias 'SeleneTheVixen'.
real name 'Selene DarkSpire'----
Is based out of the state of 'skyReach'.
After some digging, we've uncovered she has some family in the state, and their hideout has already been picked up by our satellites.
Her personality, based on our findings, is that she's headstrong and willful.
It won't be easy getting her to join the Military.
Her talent grade is presumed to be equal to that of Lieutenant Xander. Sir.".
"An SSS-grade talent? Are you certain ?" the general spoke in surprise, but still maintained his regal flair.
"Sir. The data is 75% accurate, Sir," the lieutenant responded.
"What about 'NewDawn' and 'Dani Wu' ?"
"Sir. Both subjects are in different states of the country. We've already marked their locations, and will soon make contact to bring them over Sir."
"And Solgarde ?"
"Sir. Apologies SIr.----
We haven't been successful in ascertaining his/her identity or what their powers might be.
All we currently know is that he is a resident of the state of Newhaven. Sir."
"Hm… And where is Xander now ?"
"Sir. Lieutenant Xander is currently clearing City A, Sir."
"Send a directive to General Kane of Newhaven----
Tell him to hasten his investigation into the individual with the Alias 'Solgarde'"
"Sir. Yes Sir."
"Awright. Dismissed."
"Sir. Yes Sir." The lieutenant saluted and left the command center.
"Solgarde…." The general murmured, his eyes never leaving the monitors.
"First on the Regional charts.
First on the National chart.
First on the Global chart ."
"What sort of monster are you ?"