The apartment corridor was now filled with that strange silence that comes after a battle.

  The screams, impacts, and roars that had echoed here not long ago were completely gone.

  Black blood stains covered the floor.

  Part of the wall had collapsed, and chunks of concrete were scattered across the ground.

  The massive body of the Ghoul Brute lay motionless beside the stairwell.

  Lucas stood a few steps away, staring at the creature.

  The metal pipe was still in his hand, but he no longer had the strength to fight.

  “Look at that…” he said with a tired breath.

  “I can’t believe we actually fought that thing.”

  Kaelion didn’t respond.

  He was examining the creature’s body.

  Predator Instinct was completely silent.

  That was a good sign.

  It meant the creature was truly dead.

  Lucas raised his head and looked toward the window at the end of the corridor.

  A faint light was coming from outside.

  He stayed quiet for a moment.

  Then he spoke slowly.

  “Hey… Kaelion.”

  Kaelion turned his head.

  Lucas pointed toward the window.

  “The night might be over.”

  Kaelion walked toward the window.

  The sky was no longer black.

  A pale orange glow was rising along the horizon.

  The sun was rising.

  But the city didn’t look like morning had arrived.

  The streets were empty.

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  Some cars had been overturned.

  Thin smoke rose from a distant building.

  Everything looked abandoned.

  Lucas shook his head as he stared outside.

  “This city isn’t normal anymore.”

  Kaelion looked out the window in silence.

  Then he pushed aside the thought forming in his mind.

  There was no going back now.

  At that moment a purple light appeared in Kaelion’s vision.

  Lucas noticed nothing.

  But Kaelion saw it.

  A translucent system screen opened before his eyes.

  [Hidden Quest Completed]

  Survive the First Night

  Kaelion stared at the screen for a few seconds.

  So the quest had truly been completed.

  A new message appeared.

  Reward Received

  Skill Card

  A moment later, purple light gathered in Kaelion’s palm.

  The light solidified into a card.

  The card felt cold.

  Its surface had a crystalline glow, with thin purple symbols etched across it.

  Kaelion examined the card carefully.

  This was the second one.

  The first card had been used on the corpse of the Blood Fang Wolf.

  And that card had given him Predator Instinct.

  Lucas was still standing by the window.

  “Looking at the city gives me chills,” he said.

  “It’s way too quiet.”

  Kaelion quickly hid the card.

  “Lucas.”

  Lucas turned.

  “What?”

  Kaelion pointed toward the stairs.

  “Can you check downstairs?”

  Lucas raised an eyebrow.

  “Again?”

  “I want to be sure.”

  Lucas thought for a few seconds.

  Then shrugged.

  “Alright.”

  He gripped the metal pipe.

  “If there’s something down there, I’ll shout.”

  “Okay.”

  Lucas walked toward the stairs.

  His footsteps soon disappeared down the lower floors.

  The corridor fell silent again.

  Kaelion took the purple card from his pocket.

  His gaze shifted to the massive corpse of the Ghoul Brute.

  “Let’s see…”

  He slowly walked toward the body.

  Then placed the card on the creature’s chest.

  For a second, nothing happened.

  Then the card began to tremble.

  Purple light started leaking from its surface.

  A system message appeared in Kaelion’s vision.

  Extracting ability from Ghoul Brute…

  Purple energy spread across the creature’s body.

  Cracks appeared across the card’s surface.

  After a moment, a new screen appeared.

  Possible Abilities

  Rotten Smell

  Carrion Taste

  Rotten Endurance

  Brute Strength

  Ghoul Frenzy

  Kaelion studied the list carefully.

  So the system chose a skill randomly.

  The names suddenly began to flicker.

  As if an invisible wheel was spinning.

  Kaelion unconsciously held his breath.

  Finally the screen stopped.

  Skill Acquired

  Rotten Smell

  Rank: E

  Kaelion remained silent for a few seconds.

  Then he sighed softly.

  “Luck…”

  “So it really matters.”

  The card suddenly shattered into purple light.

  The energy flowed into Kaelion’s body.

  For a moment, his sense of smell sharpened dramatically.

  The scent of rotting flesh.

  The smell of blood.

  The damp scent of old concrete.

  After a few seconds, the sensation faded.

  The system screen disappeared.

  Footsteps echoed from the stairs.

  Lucas was coming back.

  “Hey!”

  Lucas stepped out from the stairwell.

  “Lower floor is clear.”

  Then he looked around.

  “Did you do something here?”

  Kaelion shook his head.

  “No.”

  Lucas shrugged.

  “Good.”

  Then he looked toward the window again.

  The sun was higher now.

  “So what do we do next?”

  Kaelion thought for a moment.

  Then looked at the corpse of the Ghoul Brute.

  Then toward the door.

  “We’re done with this building.”

  A small smile appeared on Lucas’s face.

  “Finally.”

  Kaelion walked toward the door.

  He placed his hand on the handle.

  Then paused.

  On the other side of that door…

  was a completely different world.

  Then he opened it.

  Morning light poured into the corridor.

  And for the first time—

  Kaelion was truly ready to step into the city.