Void Lycan's Advent

A Helping Hand

Orion panted as he slumped onto the floor, his chest heaving as he did so. He glanced at his surrounding more than once before finally sighing and searching the bag on his back, bringing out a bottle of water and some snacks before greedily devouring them.

Only after a while did he reveal a satiated expression. A curse then left his lips as he touched his tongue, the taste of the food was off. ‘Those bastards couldn’t have added in expired food, could they?’

‘It doesn’t matter anyways. An Evolver barely gets sick. The next line of action would be to increase my strength, but…’ A bit of hesitation appeared on his face as he stared at the crimson colored System panel. He had never used this system before after all. And worse, the being responsible for the changes to the system couldn’t exactly be considered trust-worthy.

A lot of things could go wrong should he choose to strengthen himself with the True Ether System. But in the end, Orion steeled his gaze with determination before speaking in his mind. ‘Increase Etheric Power by 5 attribute points.’

Immediately, a wave of energy flowed into Orion’s body, strengthening a certain part of it located around his navel, making his body scream with joy and ecstasy as the energy seeped into its muscles.

Orion could feel it. His energy reserves had experienced a surge – a tangible confirmation of the upgrade. This realization steeled his resolve even more. This True System could very well be his path to the top of the human race!

After sensing that his energy reserves had been refilled fully for the umpteenth time, he nodded with satisfaction before heading out. Now that he had confirmed that the system did indeed work, it would be a shame to not lay waste to the Aberration while they were still weak.

Orion glanced down at the street now teeming with humans that walked about in a disorderly manner, searching for alive humans to devour. Some basically had only one functioning hand while others limped about. No matter how you looked at it they seemed to be zombies, but there were many differences to the two.

Aberrants all had fully white eyes with no pupils and there was no zombie virus that risked turning a normal person into their kind. But there was a consequence of having them bite one. The Ether of the monsters flowed through their teeth and claws which would cause the Ether within the injured rebel and implode, inflicting a lot of damage.

The only way around it was cutting the wound off at the surface fast enough, relying on an expert level control of Ether which was impossible for most below the Mid Stage of the 1st Stratum. And the third was immediately expelling all the Ether in one’s body if the injury was in too deep. In doing so, the foreign Ether would also be expelled.

Orion didn’t need to be worried though. As a regressor, his control over Ether was at least above average.

This was why he felt no fear as he fell from the first floor of the building he had hidden and rested in, crashing onto an Aberrant and crushing its head underneath his feet.

The monster’s Ether flowed into his system while his claws revealed themselves once more, digging into the skins of the surrounding Aberrants around Orion.

*****

Orion's claws ripped through the first wave of Aberrants with ease. Their movements were predictable – remnants of human behavior twisted by failed evolution. Some still carried bags or wore tattered attires, a grim reminder of their former lives.

A screech pierced the air. Orion's enhanced hearing picked up the sound of multiple footsteps approaching rapidly. His Void Sight activated automatically, revealing three Aberrants with unusually high Ether concentrations rushing toward him from different directions.

Dark energy pooled in his palm as he channeled his Ether into his [Dark Manipulation] skill. The Aberrant to his left lunged first, its speed far exceeding its brethren. Orion pivoted, allowing the creature to pass him before launching a beam of darkness through its spine. The elite dropped instantly, its Ether flowing into Orion's system.

The remaining two attacked simultaneously. One from above – it had somehow scaled the building's wall – and another charging straight ahead. Orion's muscles tensed as he partially transformed his legs, gaining the raw power and speed of his werewolf form. He leaped backward, creating distance while maintaining sight of both threats.

Tendrils of darkness erupted from his hands, wrapping around the airborne Aberrant. It struggled violently, its strength threatening to break free. But Orion wasn't aiming to hold it.

With a sharp gesture, he slammed the captured monster into its companion. Both crashed into the pavement with a sickening crunch. Before they could recover, Orion's claws found their marks, ending their existence.

As their Ether flowed into him, a notification appeared:

_

75 Ether points gained. (Total Ether points: 137)

_

'More than regular Aberrants, but the cost...' Orion checked his reserves. That fight had drained nearly 80% of his Ether. The True Ether System granted him unprecedented control over his growth, but his current capacity was still far too limited.

Sighing, he used up 100 Ether points to increase his Etheric Power by another 5 attribute points, his Strength by 3 points and his Agility by 2 points. Immediately after a wave of energy filled his body once more and since he had used the upgrade function once, his guardedness towards it had reduced, allowing him to experience how heaven defying the process of enhancement went.

But before he could explore his new limits, a sudden sound was picked up by his now sensitive ears. Orion hesitated for a while. After all, meetings with other humans wasn’t guaranteed to be peaceful. But he soon shook off his hesitation and moved east, heading towards the sounds of battle.

The sounds of panicked breathing and hurried footsteps was sensed by Orion once he got close enough. His eyes settled on a group of students about his age battling a wave of Aberrants, but those weak individuals never attracted the teenager’s attention.

His attention was on the leading figure of the students. It was a beautiful teenage girl, with black colored hair that matched her deep blue eyes. Her hands were moving about in the air, controlling two spinning blades made of metal revolved around the Aberrants slicing them in two.

Orion recognized her due to how famous she was in the future, becoming one of the few individuals that spearheaded humanity’s fight against the Apocalypse. Her current stats made Orion marvel. She had surpassed him despite his head start with the True Ether System – a true prodigy.

_

Name: Evangeline White

Class: Unknown

Ether Scale: Lower Stage, 1st Stratum

Cumulative Attribute: 287

Skills:

Metal Manipulation (Level 1)

Dispersion (Level 1)

_

Orion could only click his tongue with wonder. Her Cumulative Attribute had even passed his, someone who had received what could be considered a head start before the Apocalypse.

He watched as she desperately tried to protect about fifteen students, most of them still in their school uniforms. Only three others besides her showed any combat capability, and even they were clearly novices. Metal shards floated around Evangeline as she used them to keep Aberrants at bay, sometimes sinking these sharp objects through their skin but he could see the strain on her face.

'She's burning through her Ether too quickly,' Orion analyzed. 'Trying to maintain a defensive perimeter around too many people.'

A scream pierced the air as one student stumbled, attracting three Aberrants. Evangeline's metal shards shot forward, but her attention split meant the defense on the other side weakened. More Aberrants were already moving to exploit the gap.

Orion cursed under his breath. He had planned to avoid any major groups this early, but... 'The School Sanctuary,' he remembered suddenly. 'She converts that abandoned school into a cultivation ground in the future. The mineral deposits under it resonate with Ether in a unique way.'

That decided it. "Dark Manipulation!" Black energy surged from his hands, forming spears that impaled the Aberrants approaching the fallen student. Before the rest could react, he dropped from his position, landing between Evangeline's group and the incoming threats.

"You're losing Ether trying to protect too wide an area," he called out, his claws extending. "Focus on your side. I'll handle this one."

Evangeline's eyes narrowed, but she was too experienced – even at this early stage – to reject help when needed would be stupid. She had seen the way he had easily destroyed the Aberrations and knew that his class was probably not a low grade one. She nodded despite her distrust and pointed at the high school behind them. “We’ll retreat there.”

Orion glanced at the building and nodded when his enhanced senses picked up nothing within it. His bones shifted before claws jutted out his fingernails as he turned to face the Aberrations with a smile on his face.

Evangeline studied him for a moment before nodding sharply. Her metal shards reformed into a more concentrated defense. "Deal. But if you try anything..."

A serious expression appeared on Orion’s face as he heard her speak. “I would never.” His legs tensed before he shot out with a powerful kick, sending him to the side of the Aberrants, allowing his claws be within reach.

It was time to grind, I guess.