CHAPTER 540: MAKE HERSELF STRONGER

On the other side of the battlefield chaos also ruled and devastating the city.

Clyde—still in Jack’s body—cut through the tide of monsters and mutated humans with grim precision. Each swing of his spear landed with brutality that immediately killed his enemy quickly.

Gore sprayed, limbs and heads fell. The ground beneath him was slick with blood but he never slowed. He moved with incredible ferocity of a warrior through those violence. He was mostly silent but looked unstoppable.

But beside him, Mina was still trying to keep up.

Her breath came in ragged bursts. Sweat clung to her brow. Her movements were much slower than him, more hesitant.

She had no trouble burying her dagger into the neck of a monstrous beast that lunged at her, twisting it with enough force to drop it instantly. But when it came to the mutated humans, she froze.

A man staggered toward her. Half of his face melted, his eyes fogged and limbs jerking. His jaw unhinged unnaturally, and yet he still wore the bloodstained uniform of a policeman.

Mina couldn’t move.

Her hand trembled around her dagger. Her feet refused to step forward.

He still looked like a human. He probably had a name, a family. He had a whole life.

He was just doing his job before this happened.

She flinched back, the dagger rattling in her grip.

Clyde saw it happen in the middle of a sweep. He turned around while cutting down a charging beast, then leapt over to her side.

Another mutated human lunged toward Mina from behind.

Clyde moved faster.

SLASH!

Blood sprayed as Clyde severed the creature’s arm and kicked it away. Then he turned to Mina.

"You hesitate, and you die," he growled, voice low and direct. "I know they look human, but they’re not anymore. They can’t be saved. You need to strengthen your heart, Mina. This is only the beginning and it’ll get worse!"

Mina’s eyes were wide. Her body shook with every breath. But his words hit something inside her.

The trembling didn’t stop but she didn’t back away either. She looked at him, her mouth slightly open.

Then she looked down at the dagger still clenched in her hand.

All around them, the chaos didn’t slow. Screams, growls, and the sound of claws on concrete echoed through the broken street.

Then a mutated woman lunged at her, arms outstretched, mouth frothing.

Mina shouted, eyes wide with terror and defiance both.

"Get away from me!"

She stepped forward and stabbed the dagger straight into the creature’s forehead.

SPAK!

Blood spurted, hitting her face and dripping down her cheek. The mutated human collapsed in her arms then went still. A notification appeared before her eyes.

[EXP Gained: 35]

Her eyes flickered. Her breath gasped suddenly.

She didn’t scream. She didn’t drop the blade.

She just stood there stunned and shocked for a few seconds.

But she was still standing.

She looked at her bloodied hands. At the body. At Clyde, who stood just a few feet away, watching in silence.

Her legs nearly buckled, but she held herself upright.

"I have to fight," she whispered to herself. "If I stop now... I’ll die!"

Clyde didn’t say anything. But his gaze lingered on her for a moment longer. He saw it.

The trembling was still there—but something else had begun to settle in. Resolve.

He gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. Approval that didn’t need words.

The next wave came fast.

Monsters burst from the ruined buildings and underground like a flood. The monsters now have more variations. Twisted wolves with spiked limbs, mutated humans with jagged bone growths and howling mouths, and things that no longer resembled anything Clyde had saw.

Clyde stepped forward without hesitation.

His spear spun and stabbed, each motion brutal and efficient. He didn’t waste energy. Every thrust pierced a skull, every sweep dismembered or destroyed their bodies.

Blood rained around him like mist as he carved a path forward.

Behind him, Mina fought to keep up.

Her body ached. Her breaths were short and quick, but she was adapting. Slowly.

Clyde didn’t shield her entirely this time. He kept her from being overwhelmed and intercepting anything too fast or too dangerous but he let through the rest. She needed this. She needed to fight, to learn, to earn her Exp.

So she did.

One by one, the creatures came, and one by one, Mina killed them. At first with hesitation. Then with focus.

A mutated dog leapt at her. She stepped aside and drove the dagger into its skull.

A crawling mass of fused bodies reached for her—she tore through it with three quick slashes.

The EXP notifications blinked again and again.

Time lost meaning. It could’ve been minutes or an hour but eventually, her body shook harder than before. Her arms felt so heavy. Her legs barely moved.

Then it came.

[Level Up: 10]

She gasped and stumbled back behind Clyde, who had just impaled another creature through the chest and kicked it off his spear.

"I... I hit level ten," she said between gasps, sweat dripping down her jawline. "Jack, I’m level ten."

Clyde didn’t speak right away. He scanned the street, then nodded once.

"We need to hide."

Without wasting time, he turned and sliced through a collapsed fence, opening a narrow path between two ruined buildings.

Mina followed, staggering slightly but staying close.

They found a small room. An abandoned café kitchen with metal counters, scattered pans, and broken glass everywhere.

The noise of the battlefield was muffled behind layers of collapsed stone and steel. The brief silence felt unnatural.

Clyde stood near the door, guarding it. Mina collapsed onto a crate and wiped blood and grime from her face.

"You got attribute points from that level," Clyde said, glancing her way. "Do you need me to explain the stats?"

Mina shook her head, still catching her breath. "No. I remember. I’ll handle it."

She opened her status window and stared at the blinking notification.

[Stat Points: 20 Available]

Without hesitation, she began allocating them.

[+10 Agility. +10 Strength.]

She felt it immediately. Like an invisible surge under her skin. Her arms tightened, her legs lightened, and her pulse steadied.

The fatigue was still in her body but now she could breathe deeper. Her grip on the dagger felt firmer. Her balance becoming more solid.

"This is incredible..."

Clyde didn’t answer, but a faint look crossed his face—something between recognition and approval.

He watched her closely, then turned back to the door with spear in hand.

They didn’t have long and have to fight again in the next second.

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