Waking back up to the real world, leaving the spiritual world behind, Damon once again looked at the apocalyptic scene in front of him.
"Urgh..." Groaning in pain as he got up by himself, Damon slowly made his way out of the group. It was nighttime, and the guards were at their maximum alertness.
The majority of the people were asleep, some meditating. Those awake didn't even glance at Damon, their swollen eyes filled with tears. Those who had lost their loved ones couldn't escape to dreamland even if they wanted to.
Dragging his injured leg, Damon, though limping, made his way out of the group, walking through the walls of the base and looking around.
Damon wasn't the only one roaming the base; magicians, healers, and those who couldn't sleep wandered as well. Even at night, the hallways were lively in a way.
Coming out of the camp surrounded by mages in military uniforms, Damon tried to walk out, but before he could, a loud shout startled him.
"Who's there?!" A military mage shouted as the other mages also went on alert.
"U-uhm, D-Damon Morningstar, sir! A third-year student of Tian Lan Magic High!"
Stuttering and startled, Damon identified himself, causing the military mages to lower their guard. The one who shouted first came forward, eyeing Damon.
"What are you doing out here? Civilians aren't allowed out of camp at this hour! Go back inside and rest!"
The man ordered, and Damon could only nod in response, retreating back to the camp.
Night is the time when the beasts are most active. For this reason, and for the safety of the people, the military banned anyone from leaving the camp—even mages.
At night, only military personnel were allowed outside to guard the perimeter. Unless there was an emergency, civilians were advised to stay inside until everything was resolved.
Damon had gone out of the camp hoping to try his new abilities. Having obtained heaven-defying powers, he couldn't help but want to test them. Unfortunately, the present moment didn't allow him to put them into action.
He couldn't use his powers in front of others, and outside, the military wouldn't let him leave.
That's why Damon could only shake his head and sigh, going back to the group he was with to rest and await the sun to reach its peak and the military to lift the curfew.
With that thought in mind, Damon's consciousness slowly drifted into dreamland amidst the chaos and wreckage the monsters had caused.
***
"Where should we move to? Shanghai? Hangzhou?"
"Leave Bo City? I can't. My house, my shop, my land—they're all here. I can't leave Bo City!"
"Our families are dead, our homes gone, and now the government just wants to send us to some rural area even more dangerous than Bo City?"
Morning came, and with the sun, chaos also rose in the camp. With the death of the Commander-level Winged Wolf, the military now claimed full control of Bo City.
Everyone in Bo City lost their rights to land and property to the military. With the extermination of the remaining monsters and the bombardment of the city, careful rebuilding would soon begin.
Many were displeased but helpless before the power of the military and government. Waking up to the chaos, the first thing Damon saw was a long queue—people lining up to register for the government's relocation plans, which provided them with basic housing in rural areas.
Getting up, still limping, Damon first looked toward the washroom, which also had a long line, before sighing and making his way out of the camp.
The curfew had lifted, and some people began leaving the camp toward areas declared safe by the military.
Limping, he made his way out of the camp toward the safe zones of the city that had been successfully retaken and guarded.
Answering nature's call outside the sight of others, he moved forward. Even the reclaimed parts of the city were filled with debris and wreckage.
Blood and remains of both monsters and humans still littered the ground—a truly gruesome sight.
Entering a building with a worn poster of a large grocery store in front, Damon looked inside the abandoned structure.
It was a large supermarket. The shelves were empty—likely taken by the military during the reclamation. Wrecked shelves, bloody handprints, and trails of blood marked the scene.
Spotting a prominent trail, Damon followed it. It led to the washroom with a broken door and shattered mirror, shards of glass scattered across the floor.
For the first time, Damon saw himself in the mirror—a tall figure, around 6'3", he guessed. Black hair, blue eyes.
Skinny and thin, but with a handsome face marred by acne and dark circles. "At least I look good," he muttered.
Not jade-beauty-level good as one might expect from a Chinese novel, but handsome nonetheless.
'I did write the MC to be handsome…' Damon thought to himself as he entered the washroom. Turning on a faucet that still worked, he cleaned his hands and splashed his face with water.
Looking around the large washroom, Damon thought of using the other facilities. Opening the nearest stall door, he checked the still-functioning fixtures.
"That was refreshing..." A proper bath and a moment to relieve himself were luxuries for the survivors of Bo City. Feeling refreshed, Damon made his way out as more and more people gathered outside.
In the sky, giant eagles carrying magicians could be seen flying back to base, their claws gripping monster corpses.
"…Monsters." Watching one of the beasts carrying a corpse, Damon muttered.
His goal in coming outside was to find a monster corpse. Even the weakest one would do, but the safe area was devoid of any.
'Well, duh… it's a safe area for a reason,' he sighed to himself.
He couldn't find what he needed here. To get a monster corpse, he'd have to venture outside the safe zone. But did he have the courage to do so?
'Honestly… no.' He was literally limping, with severe wounds on his chest. Venturing outside the safe area was something even intermediate magicians feared, let alone a novice magician like him who couldn't even run properly.
"What to do…" The corpses of warrior-level monsters were all being gathered near the base under heavy security. It was impossible for Damon to go there and experiment with one.
Servant-class monster corpses weren't being brought back; they were either destroyed, removed, or left where they were found—outside the safe zone.
"Do I have to go?" Damon thought to himself. Beyond the borders lay what he sought, but the dangers matched the rewards.
'After the bombardment of the city… I don't think I'll have another chance soon to get my hands on monsters or their corpses.' Once the calamity ended, life would return to normal. It would take months for him to heal enough to even walk properly, let alone encounter monsters again.
In such a situation, what should Damon do?