After scanning his space once again, Sylas was certain that the increase in its size was due to him absorbing the fire ability stone.
"If absorbing energy stones can increase my space size, I have to get my hands on more energy stones," Sylas thought. He was not going to hand over energy stones to others unless it was absolutely necessary.
He was sure that his strength had increased as well, but it was not obvious yet. He needed to absorb an entire energy stone to see the full results.
Sylas had not forgotten the teleportation he had achieved when he first awakened his ability.
He had tried to teleport several times during training, but he failed every time. For now, he could use spatial blades and construct a space barrier around himself for defense, but he still could not teleport. Of course, his speed was extremely fast, but teleportation was on a completely different level. He still did not understand how he had teleported on the day he awakened his ability.
However, now he was certain that if he absorbed more energy stones, he would one day achieve teleportation again.
The next day, they continued with their training.
Major Kyle's fire ability had leveled up, and he could freely use fireballs and firewalls for both offense and defense. However, his firewall barrier could not block Sylas's spatial blade attack.
"So strong," Major Kyle said after narrowly escaping Sylas's spatial blade.
Sylas quickly dodged Major Kyle's fire attack and counterattacked with a spatial blade. His movements blurred due to his speed.
The spatial blade easily cut through the firewall defense.
"Even though my ability seems to have leveled up, I am no match for your spatial blade," Major Kyle said as they sparred.
"I can't even keep up with Sylas when it comes to speed. He's very fast," Dylan added.
Serena also nodded. Even though her plant ability had leveled up, she still could not defeat Sylas. This made it clear just how powerful Sylas's spatial ability was.
"Major, I have an urgent report," a soldier rushed into the training hall.
Sylas and Major Kyle immediately stopped sparring.
"What happened?" Major Kyle asked as he opened a water bottle and took a quick drink.
"The soldiers guarding the food supplies have spotted mutated rats in the storeroom," the soldier reported hurriedly.
"Mutated rats?!"
At the same time, another soldier rushed in.
"Major, mutated rats have also appeared inside the survivors' living areas, causing panic and chaos," the soldier reported.
Major Kyle quickly put on his military jacket. "Everyone, follow me. Let's check on the mutated rats and eliminate them."
Everyone followed Major Kyle toward the storeroom first.
When they arrived, soldiers were firing their guns at mutated rats running around the area.
Large amounts of food had been damaged, and the storeroom was in complete disarray.
"Major!"
The soldiers called out when they saw Major Kyle arrive.
"Major, the mutated rats have extremely sharp teeth and claws. They can easily dig through walls and even metal," the captain in charge of guarding the storeroom reported, showing the corpse of a mutated rat.
Sylas surveyed the storeroom and saw countless torn food packages wasted by the rats.
Squeak.
A mutated rat emerged from a pile of food packages. Upon seeing so many people, it hurriedly tried to escape, but Sylas's spatial blade was faster. The mutated rat was killed on the spot.
"Hurry and seal the holes and clean the storeroom. Guard it from both the inside and outside. Stay alert and vigilant. Food is the most important thing right now. Don't just guard against mutated rats you must also watch out for other possible threats," Major Kyle instructed the soldiers.
"Yes, Major!"
Sylas, Serena, and Dylan helped deal with the mutated rats in the storeroom before following Major Kyle toward the living quarters.
Ah!
"They're here too!"
"Quick, kill them!"
Screams and shouts of people could be heard from afar.
Sylas narrowed his eyes as he scanned the surroundings. At the same time, he caught faint squeaking sounds coming from beneath his feet.
Without hesitation, Sylas made his move. He condensed his spatial ability into a sharp spike and thrust it downward.
Bang!
Dust and stones exploded upward, startling everyone at the front.
Squeak!
Major Kyle and the others watched as Sylas killed a mutated from underground.
"How did you find it?" Dylan asked, shocked.
"I heard the squeaking from below, so I gave it a try," Sylas replied as he looked at the ground.
The hole was more than a meter deep. None of the other ability users had heard the sound coming from underground, but he had. It seemed his hearing was far superior to theirs.
Major Kyle and Serena exchanged surprised looks. They had both used energy stones to enhance their abilities, strengthening their vision, hearing, and other senses, yet neither of them had detected anything.
Squeak, squeak!
Several rats burst out of the ground. Invisible spatial spikes shot out from Sylas's hand, nailing them to the ground and killing them instantly.
"Major, I'll try to locate their underground paths. Take the others and deal with the rats in the living areas," Sylas said.
"Will you be alright alone? Do you want some soldiers to stay with you?" Major Kyle asked.
Sylas waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. I'm more than enough."
"Alright. Be careful," Major Kyle said before rushing toward the building where the survivors were causing a commotion.
Once they were gone, Sylas crouched near the hole and closed his eyes, concentrating all his senses.
He had felt a powerful presence underground earlier that was the real reason he had chosen to act alone. He suspected it wasn't an ordinary mutated rat. If it turned out to be a stronger one with an ability, he might obtain an energy stone.
Sylas could hear faint squeaking sounds coming from the ground below. He slowly stood up and followed the direction of the rats moving underground. The powerful presence he had sensed earlier had already disappeared, but Sylas had no intention of giving up.
He could feel the rats scurrying beneath the earth. The rats had dug up a network of tunnels underground.