Blood and bodily remains were scattered throughout the university.
As Zold went down, he saw several students panicking and running.
If they calmed down a little, they would realize they weren't in any danger at all.
But he understood, this was the primary reaction of living beings towards something unknown.
Later on, when things settle down, they would understand that they could be considered lucky.
The First Era Ending Calamity was one of the few calamities that had a certain death trial.
Its trial was one of the worst too—relying completely on luck to survive.
After all, having the potential to awaken was out of an individual's control.
Zold shook his head.
Then again, it was still uncertain who was lucky and who was not.
Even if one survives this time, they may not necessarily survive the next.
After exiting the university, Zold looked around for a while, coincidentally finding a vehicle with a bloodied driver's seat.
He covered his hand with spiritual energy and slammed it on the window, shattering it on one attempt.
Crack!
Swiftly opening the car, Zold's operations were seemingly practiced, an expert on the craft.
Not minding the blood and bodily organs, he sat down on the seat as he familiarized himself with the car.
It was not that he didn't know how to drive, but it had been a while since he saw something so outdated.
After testing it for a while, he was completely familiar with it.
"Alright, let's see the direction to the Zoo…"
He took out his phone and looked at the Maps.
With everything ready, Zold didn't waste anymore time and cranked up the car.
Broom!
***
Letran National Zoo, 3:00 PM.
A young man wearing a staff uniform desperately covered his mouth as he hid underneath a desk.
A low growl resounded in the room.
Hearing the familiar growl, the young man's face went pale, tears threatening to release from his eyes.
'Please! Please! Someone save me!'
On the opposite side of the room, a large lion had broken out from its captivity,
However, something was different about this lion in particular.
Strange fire patterns streaked across its fur, and its tail was covered in flames,
Undoubtedly, humans weren't the only ones who benefited from spiritual energy.
The Pyre Lion sauntered through the room, knocking down the objects along its path.
Hearing the fallen objects, the young man's hair stood on end.
'Damn it!'
Overwhelmed by fear, he accidentally caused the desk to shake.
The Pyre Lion's ears perked up, sensing the commotion on the other end of the room.
Grrr…
Letting out a low growl, the Pyre Lion smiled sadistically, slowly walking towards it.
The young man had no clue that he had already been discovered.
'Please…!'
But while the Pyre Lion stalked the young man…
A silent figure suddenly appeared behind it.
Leaning against the door with his arms crossed, Zold quietly looked at the Pyre Lion's back.
"Pyre Lion, a Tier II Beast. You'll be the first one then."
Thinking of this, he immediately acted.
He raised his finger and pointed at the Pyre Lion's head.
Whoosh!
With his masterful control, he sent out a sharp, concentrated attack.
The Pyre Lion's fur stood on its end, sensing an immediate threat.
It immediately jumped forward in panic!
However, as soon as it jumped, the sharp spiritual energy precisely landed on its head.
The Pyre Lion felt a sharp pain in its head, instantly dying.
Thud!
Its corpse fell on the ground pathetically, causing the young man on the desk to shriek.
"Ahhh!"
The young man decisively stood up and looked at the room with a shaky resolve.
'Fine, so be it if I die! But I'm not dying without fighting back!'
However, the Pyre Lion was not where he expected it to be.
It was on the ground, lying pathetically, almost as if it were dead.
Not almost!
It was dead!
The young man's eyes widened, and the tears that had been threatening to release since earlier immediately broke out.
"Hick… hick…"
He quickly noticed Zold and pieced the dots together.
"You… you saved me, thank…"
"Save your thanks for later, it's still dangerous here. Look at your phone and go home."
Zold replied indifferently, walking towards the Pyre Lion.
The young man looked at his phone, seeing a Red Alert warning from the government.
[NATIONAL EMERGENCY ALERT – RED LEVEL]
[A large-scale mass casualty event has been reported across multiple regions. The cause remains unknown.
Citizens are advised to immediately shelter indoors…]
Reading the message, the young man's face went pale.
"Is this real?"
But then, he immediately slapped himself for asking such a question.
Of course it was real!
"How about you?" The young man tried to calm himself down, looking at Zold with a worried expression.
"I have something to do here." Zold shook his head, "Hurry up."
The young man nodded his head and hesitantly glanced at Zold. But after a moment of hesitation, he clenched his teeth and warned him:
"If you're planning to stay here, be careful. All of the animals have transformed. I don't know how you killed this Lion, but still, if you see the gorilla outside…"
Thinking about that gorilla, his throat itched, feeling a great deal of fear.
"Please run and save yourself! I'm going!"
As he left behind those words, he immediately ran away.
'Gorilla? Could it be a Tier III Beast-class?'
Zold crouched down to caress the Pyre Lion's fur, thinking about the young man's words.
In his previous life, once the Awakener Association was established, a threat-class system was created to assess disasters and measure a threat's capabilities.
Hostile monsters were divided into escalating tiers and threat-classes, ranked by their strength and destructive potential.
There were three Tiers, corresponding to Tier I — Ordinary, Tier II — Strong, and Tier III — Lord.
Additionally, there were seven Threat-Classes: Beast, Demon, Arch Demon, Dragon, Dragon King, World Calamity, and Extinction.
This Pyre Lion, for example, was classified as a Tier II Beast Class.
With Zold's current strength, he could easily handle Tier I and Tier II Beast Class monsters, though Tier III would require considerably more effort.
It wasn't that Beast Class monsters were weak, it was simply that he was too strong.
In fact, during the First Era Ending Calamity, even Tier II Beasts had required a full squad of trained Awakeners to eliminate.
He manipulated his spiritual energy and split open the body of the Pyre Lion.
Inside, a red glowing orb was stuffed between its organs.
"Spirit Orb."