Void Lycan's Advent

Mid Stage Advancement

Orion's hands changed into claws as he started to fight and kill the first wave of Aberrants. Evangeline's actions also mirrored Orion's as she also moved towards the left side of the Aberrants and started attacking.

The werewolf already knew how draining using the [Dark Manipulation] was so he decided against using it anymore, unless he found himself stuck in a precarious position. He took out the knife he had taken away from the trio he had killed after the Apocalypse began. It wasn’t sharp enough to deal with the tough skin of the stronger Aberrants but he had a way to work around that.

His legs morphed tearing away at his pants while his bones shifting multiple times to adopt a digitigrade shape, increasing his height as a by-product. A muffled grunt left his lips though, the feeling of morphing his legs was completely different from his arms which didn’t need any major modification so a burst of pain kept attacking his nerves.

Orion merely gritted his teeth. He wasn’t new to the concept of pain, feeling this much in exchange for power was acceptable to him. Instead he focused on the knife in his hand and deployed a technique no human at this early stage of the apocalypse possessed – Ether Enhancement.

It was a fine tuned technique that allowed Evolvers enhance objects with their Ether through a precise manipulation of the Ether within their body and controlling that Ether to coat said object to enhance its attributes.

The technique couldn’t grant the power that coating an object with your actual element would be, but the massive advantage it did bring was that it reduced an Evolvers Ether consumption so a lot of experts in the future had made it a vital core of their arsenal. Orion included.

The moment his knife began glowing a dull grey, Orion dashed forward his morphed legs granting him an increase in his Agility stat. He flowed through the waves of Aberrants with ease, his knife gleaming with a sinister grey that reaped the lives of the Aberrants it swept through, tearing through their skin like hot knife through butter.

Of course, Orion wasn’t doing all the work. There were two other students fighting against the Aberrants as the group retreated. The first was obviously Evangeline. Her control over the floating metal blades was quite terrifying for someone who had just adjusted to the environment of the apocalypse.

The second person was a male who Orion recognized as Marcus Kim, a half Asian student in his class who usually kept to himself. ‘He seems to have a class related to speed.’ Orion thought as he watched the boy ran at an even faster velocity than he did.

The last echoes of battle finally faded, replaced by the ragged breathing of terrified students. Orion's legs shifted once more, returning to their original state, his system sucking in the Ether in the bodies of the Aberrants lying unmoving among the carnage around him. Their bodies lay scattered, their white, pupil-less eyes still open in a grotesque stare, as if able to stare at him even now that their life force had been snuffed out.

Evangeline White moved with practiced efficiency, her metal shards reforming into smaller shapes that fused into the door before them and reinforced it after making sure everyone had gotten in. Her deep blue eyes constantly scanned the environment, a survivor's awareness etched into every movement.

The students all around her fidgeted nervously as they listened to the occasional screams coming from the outside of the School sanctuary, which served as the school clinic. Most of the noise came from the guttural groans ringing out from the wandering Aberrants. But some also seemed to originate from unfortunate humans meeting their ends.

Hearing this, some had even begun to break down, prompting Evangeline to speak out in hopes of calming them down.

"Everyone, stay calm," she called out, her voice steady despite the chaos. "We're secure" She paused in calculation. "At least for now." She added.

Orion watched silently, his Void Sight automatically scanning the students. The system's holographic panel flickered before his eyes, revealing fragmented information about each survivor.

Most of them were unremarkable. Weak. Frightened. But a few caught his attention. The boy who had fought alongside he and Evangeline. Marcus, had a flicker of potential. His skill named Kinetic Manipulation seemed to spark an interest within him.

Marcus could of course sense the stranger’s focus on him – he had never focused much on his classmates so he was currently unable to recognize the boy before him, making him shift uncomfortably. His eyes betrayed a hint – no, a lot of guardedness as he stared dead straight at Orion. As if scared that he would make a sudden move.

Orion nodded in admiration. This sort of attitude was indeed perfect for a proper survivor. “I’m not going to act out, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Marcus stiffened a bit, surprised that his intention had been that obvious. Still, he quickly recovered from his embarrassment and surprise. “You’re strong.”

“I was merely lucky.”

He was. Orion knew he was supposed to be dead at that moment, serving as food within that towering wolf’s stomach, awaiting inevitable death. Though, his situation could potentially qualify as misfortune in the future, depending on that being’s use for him.

“I might be strong. But not enough to single-handedly take care of all those monsters lurking out there.” He added before glancing at the improved door serving as their exit and entrance into the clinic.

The boy stepped back, intimidated by Orion's honest words, letting down a bit of his guard. Evangeline intervened, placing herself between them. "We don't have time for disputes," she said sharply. "Our priority is survival."

With practiced efficiency, they began securing the school building. Orion's enhanced strength proved invaluable, moving heavy furniture to barricade the windows and such, luckily the ventilation system still seemed to be working well. Evangeline used her Metal Manipulation skill to reinforce weak points, creating makeshift barriers that would slow down any potential Aberrant attacks.

After doing this, Orion walked to a corner of the main lobby within the clinic, staring at the meek students, staying as quiet as they could before focusing once more on his system.

_

Name: Orion Russell

Age: 17

Class: Lower Stage, 1st Stratum Void Lycanthrope

Ether Points: 826

Health: 89%

Ether: 61%

Strength: 33

Constitution: 50

Agility: 42

Etheric Power: 45

Intelligence: 40

Perception: 50

Skills:

Werewolf Transformation (Active) – Level 2

Grants host the ability to transform minute parts of his body into that of a werewolf. Can only transform 20% of Host’s body. Drains Ether depending on the usage.

Dark Manipulation (Active) – Level 1

Grants Host the ability to create and control darkness as a weapon. Can be reshaped at Host’s will. Drains Ether depending on the usage.

Transcendent Regeneration (Passive) – Level 1

Host’s regeneration factor has increased to a new level, ordinary injuries will be healed immediately while Ether caused injuries can be healed at a moderate pace. Drains excess nutrients within the body before Ether consumption begins.

Void Sight (Passive) – Level 2

Grants Host the ability to see through the materials of the world through the void. Allows Host to better see the system statuses of other beings. Added abilities include night vision and far sight. No Ether consumption.

_

Orion nodded with satisfaction as he read through his status. ‘I gained over 800 Ether points. This is more than enough to progress into the Middle stage of the 1st stratum. But that’d also mean…’

He pensively stared at his side, catching sight of Evangeline and Marcus on the other side of the lobby, chatting lowly while watching over the students – judging by their friendly disposition, they had obviously known each other before the apocalypse. ‘They’ve both also progressed to the Middle stage then. But to do so without making a sound. How tough.’

Advancing to the Middle stage would, no doubt, cause a bit of pain for the Evolver. The two had probably proceeded in secret so as to not reveal a moment of weakness before him. He didn’t find it excessive though. The current him understood their standpoint. Which was why he focused his gaze back on the system before deciding to advance as well. ‘Increase Constitution, Perception and Intelligence by 10 points. Agility and Strength by 15. Then Etheric Power by 20.’

A burst of energy seeped into Orion’s body, strengthening his overall attributes. Then, as if a chain had snapped, he felt his power rise up even further. His body shifted, trying its best to adapt to the painful changes happening to his body as he advanced into the Middle stage of the 1st Stratum.

Not a single grunt left Orion during this time. The only possible giveaway being his strained eyebrow as he stared fixatedly at the floor, though to others it’d only look as though he were deep in thought.

Only after a good 5 minutes did Orion feel the pain vanish, allowing him respite once more. He breathed in deeply, before exhaling while massaging his forehead in an exhausted manner, hoping to ease his creased skin. ‘Status.’

_

Name: Orion Russell

Age: 17

Class: Mid Stage, 1st Stratum Void Lycanthrope

Ether Points: 826

Health: 89%

Ether: 100%

Strength: 58

Constitution: 70

Agility: 67

Etheric Power: 75

Intelligence: 60

Perception: 70

Skills:

Werewolf Transformation (Active) – Level 2

Dark Manipulation (Active) – Level 1

Transcendent Regeneration (Passive) – Level 1

Void Sight (Passive) – Level 2

_

Orion revealed an exhausted but thrilled smile as he glanced at his attributes. His steel like gaze then landed on the cowering students that huddled together flinching at the slightest sound emanating from behind the steel door.

It seemed he had to push things forward.