Kenji stepped back, observing the scene with a calculating gaze, his demeanour as cold as ever. Survival was the only thing that mattered now.
The antidote was a yellow powdery substance, glimmering faintly in the bag. The student fed the poisoned student the antidote, and the student started getting better; Kenji was able to know after the long experimentation he had been doing over the past few days.
By now, Kenji was completely immune to goblin poison. Over the past few days, he had deliberately cut himself with poisoned arrowheads, relying on his adaptive skill to build resistance.
The first few attempts nearly broke him; each dose sent fire through his veins until he was forced to use the antidote. But he didn't stop. Again and again, he exposed himself, enduring the agony until his body began to change, adjusting to the toxin's rhythm.
The skill's grade hadn't evolved, yet its effect had. Now, the poison meant nothing to him. The same toxin that could cripple others was useless against him.
He glanced at the small medicine bag in the student's hand and smirked. This is what they mean when they say another man's trash is another man's treasure.
As the antidote took effect, the poisoned student's breathing steadied, and the green marks around his wound began to fade. A sense of relief washed over the group caring for his health, but tension hung thick.
Kato stood firm, his eyes locked onto Kenji, a newfound determination radiating from him.
"Kenji, drop your weapon!" he commanded, bringing out a blade from his own inventory. This was the same blade he had taken from Kenji.
"I see, you have no intention of returning my blade," Kenji said casually.
Jin, Akio, and several others stepped up beside Kato, their expressions a mix of fear and resolve. They were ready to confront the cold-hearted figure who had caused so much chaos.
Kenji regarded them with a detached expression, his grip tightening on his weapon.
"Do you think sending him out of the bunker will yield any other result other than death ?" he replied, his voice flat. You were delaying the inevitable."
Kato took a step closer, the blade glinting in the dim light.
"You will put us all in danger, Kenji. We can't trust you with a weapon in your hand. You need to answer for what you've done."
A tense silence enveloped the room as the standoff escalated. Kenji's eyes narrowed, calculating his next move. He was surrounded, but he didn't seem fazed.
"If you want to fight me, then do it," he said coolly.
"You'll only be getting my weapons on my dead body," Kenji shot back, his voice icy and unwavering. The room seemed to hold its breath as both sides stood their ground.
Kato's eyes narrowed, determination hardening his features.
"We're not afraid of you, Kenji. You've already shown what you're capable of, and we won't let you put anyone else in danger."
Jin and Akio exchanged glances, gauging the tension as they positioned themselves closer to Kato, ready for whatever might unfold.
Kenji regarded them all with a cold calculation, the smirk fading from his face.
"You're playing a dangerous game. I'm not the enemy here. The real threats are out there. I was only helping to remove the trash from your mist."
"Maybe you are the enemy," Kato retorted, his grip tightening on the blade.
"You've chosen your path, and now you'll face the consequences."
The students around them gave a huge distance
Kenji shifted into a fighting stance, ready to strike, but Amaya dashed between him and Kato before he could move.
"Stop!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the tension like a knife.
This was the first time Kenji saw her. She was beautiful, like a goddess who had fallen from the sky and taken the form of a human. She had bright skin, and her light blue eyes were like crystal.
The room fell silent, all eyes on her as she stood firm, arms raised on both sides to defuse the situation.
"This isn't the way! We can't let ourselves be consumed by fear and anger and act irrationally."
"Kenji is right, sending him up and killing him is not different, and it's good he's dead here; this should be a warning to anyone else with ill intent towards others."
Kato hesitated, lowering his blade slightly as he processed her words.
"Amaya, he—"
"I know what he did!" she interrupted, " We're in this together, whether we like it or not. We need to focus on surviving. If surviving is eliminating threats like this, I'm all in,"
Kenji's posture relaxed just a fraction, intrigued by Amaya's intervention.
Kato's blade hung lower, but his intentions remained unchanged.
"I don't think anything you say will change the murderous looks they're giving," Kenji said, his voice steady.
Amaya's gaze drifted toward Kenji.For a moment, their eyes locked, close enough to touch, yet the distance between them felt immeasurable.
"I'm leaving the bunker," Kenji declared.
Amaya was shocked hearing this, she wasn't expecting such an anouncement. Some students visibly relaxed as he spoke, relief washing over their faces. Ryu wasn't surprised, as if he had already calculated Kenji's leaving.
"Don't you think you're making a good decision? Staying out there isn't that counting death?" Amaya asked, concern lacing her words.
"It's stupid to sleep in the same room as your enemies; we both know I'm not wanted here," Kenji replied, turning his back on her.
As he walked away from Amaya, his thoughts churned in a low, bitter current.
"At least monsters stay true to their nature, he mused. All they want is to kill you. Simple. Honest. Far better than humans who smile at you… Then slip a knife into your back."
He paused, glancing over his shoulder at Amaya, a faint, mocking smile tugging at his lips.
"I'd rather take my chances with them," he said.
He walked toward the heavy door leading out of the sanctum. A group of students guarded it, their faces pale as he approached. Fear flickered in their eyes, and one by one, they stepped aside, creating a path for him.
Kaga stood among them, watching Kenji with an unreadable expression. He felt no fear; instead, he felt a strange sense of respect for Kenji's courage.
As Kenji stepped outside, a thick silence filled the room. No one spoke; they were all left in stunned silence, the weight of his decision hanging heavily in the air.
Kenji stepped through the first sanctum door.It slammed shut behind him, an iron finality. Locks clattered. No going back.
The silence pressed in, thick and heavy, clinging to him like a second shadow. Even the air outside felt charged.
He paused, casting one last glance over his shoulder at the sanctuary he had just abandoned.
It reminded him of the old world when survival felt just as precarious. The chances of making it long-term in the sanctum were slim; the walls felt like they were closing in. He thought,
"I'd rather take my chances out here than remain trapped down there." The uncertainty of the outside world was daunting, but at least the system and its power offered a glimmer of hope.
As Kenji walked far away from the bunker doors, he took a left turn and walked cautiously down the narrow hallway. His footsteps were quiet, and he scanned his surroundings intently.
The place where the blood of a falling student but no bodies, clean and beautiful, Rose High School was now looked scattered if it had been abandoned here
Suddenly, he paused at a bloodstained tray on the floor.
"The goblins killed someone here," he thought, noting the drag marks that suggested the goblin had pulled away bodies. His expression remained cold as if this were a routine sight for him.
Looking around, he spotted several other bloodstains on the walls and floor, as well as the classroom's chairs and table scattered in awkward positions.
The thought of goblins feasting on humans flickered in Kenji's mind, but he brushed it aside, unfazed. He tightened his grip on the bloodied blade in his hand.
With a measured step, he pressed on. The surroundings were tattered and worn, the remnants of violence echoing around him. To Kenji, this was just another dark chapter in a world he had long since accepted.
As Kenji approached, he soon encountered two paths: one leading straight ahead and the other to the left. With enhanced hearing, he picked up the faint sounds of two goblins from the left, a nimble archer and a brute wielding a heavy club.
They seemed lost in their conversation, giggling and exchanging glances, utterly unaware of Kenji. Their guards were down, giving Kenji the perfect opportunity to act.
It was so sudden when an arrow hit the archer by the right on his head; the brute was shocked, not expecting any sudden attack; before he could react, Kenji struck his neck cleanly, leading to his head falling off.
["You have defeated an archer goblin; you have gained one mana stone."] The system alert echoed in Kenji's mind.
["You have defeated a brute goblin. You have gained two mana stones."] Another notification followed, confirming his swift victory.
Kenji quickly searched the bodies for anything useful, his fingers deftly probing for weapons, supplies, or clues.
He found a few arrows and a club, which he pocketed in his inventory without a second thought.
Once satisfied, he resumed his path, moving like a predator searching for prey. His senses heightened as he navigated the dimly lit corridor, ever alert for the next threat that might emerge from the shadows.
"The moon rose high, its pale glow spilling across the path, offering only the faintest sliver of light."