Zain crouched in the shadow, watching as more D-Rank thugs started gathering in the street.
They were drawn by the unknown roar from the mutated thugs.
"They're clustering… Perfect targets."
But his brow furrowed.
This ability's draining me faster than I expected.
He looked down at the faint smear of blood still trailing from his palm.
His body wasn't critically injured, but he could feel it deep in the muscles, in his heartbeat.
"I'm not even bleeding that much… but it feels like I'm running dry."
He clicked his tongue, wiping his hand on his coat.
"This is definitely part of the ability's side effect."
"Blood Rage drains more than just blood—it hits stamina hard too."
He leaned his head against the wall behind him, letting out a breath.
"I can't afford to use full regeneration every six or seven kills. That's not sustainable."
"And worse…"
He held up his knife, eyeing the blood-dried edge.
"I'm infecting them one by one. Too slow. Too risky."
Then an idea hit him.
He sat up straight.
"System, give me two more low-tier abilities."
"One that increases my blood volume—lets me lose more without dying."
"And another… one that lets me shape blood into small things."
"Like darts. Needles. Something I can throw. Something I can infect with."
---
[Hack Initiation: Ability Acquisition]
[Target: Zain]
[Ability Acquired: Small Blood Shape (Low Tier)]
[Effect: Solidifies a small amount of blood into throwable or usable objects like needles, nails, or darts for quick utility or light attacks.]
[Ability Acquired: Blood Overflow (Low Tier)]
[Effect: Grants an abundant blood supply, allowing the user to endure greater blood loss and regenerate it faster over time.]
[Total Cost: 200 Hack Points]
[Status: Executing...]
---
Zain smirked as the surge of power flooded his veins.
His chest felt lighter. His pulse stronger.
The feeling of weakness was already fading.
He opened his palm and concentrated.
A line of blood pooled at his fingertip.
It then shaped into a thin, sharp needle. It hardened, gleaming dark crimson.
Zain twirled it between his fingers.
"…Sweet."
He looked up toward the gathering thugs.
"System… you're the best."
Zain rose to his feet, flicking his wrist.
Three more blood needles formed between his fingers.
"I've got more blood to burn…"
He eyed the needles for a moment.
Then crushed them between his fingers, the red liquid splashing harmlessly to the ground.
"No," he said with a grin.
"I've got something better in mind."
He held out his hands and focused.
More blood surged from his palm—this time condensing into denser shapes.
Small. Heavy. Deadly.
Blood bullets.
He turned and pulled two sniper rifles from behind his back.
He loaded the blood bullets into one rifle.
Then gave a single round of Blast Breath into the second rifle's chamber.
Zain let out a breath slowly.
"System. Enable auto-absorption on kill."
---
[Hack Initiation: Automatic Absorption]
[Target: All People Killed by Zain]
[Effect: Converts corpses into Hack Points upon death]
---
Zain's grin widened.
He slung both rifles over his shoulders, cracked his neck, and looked out over the edge of the building.
A cluster of Rust Rat thugs gathered around a burning dumpster below, unaware.
Zain's crimson eyes lit up with hunger.
"Time for cooking some thugs."
---
The thugs gathered in the middle of the street, drawn by the echoing roar from a nearby alley.
"The hell was that?"
"I don't know. It sounded like—like one of ours, but messed up."
"Someone better check it out."
The group crept forward, weapons drawn, eyes darting between shadows.
Then—CRACK!
One of them suddenly screamed.
"AH—!! My shoulder! What the hell—?!"
Blood sprayed across the ground. A round had torn through his arm.
Another thug rushed over. "Bro, you good? Where'd that come from?!"
"I—I don't know, man! I didn't see anything—"
But the wounded man suddenly convulsed.
His eyes rolled back, veins blackening.
His body began twitching violently, bones cracking.
"What the hell?! What's happening to him?!"
"BACK UP!"
The injured thug let out a distorted roar.
His skin mutated, jaw scretching unnaturally, arms thickening into clawed limbs.
"WHAT THE FUCK—?!"
"THAT'S NOT NORMAL! THAT'S NOT A HEALING QUIRK—THAT'S A MONSTER!"
Before they could react—
BOOM!
His head exploded, blood splattering across three nearby thugs.
"WHAT THE FUCK?! WHO SHOT HIM?!"
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! TAKE COVER!"
Then—
CRACK!
Another shot.
This time, it hit a second thug in the shoulder.
He screamed and fell, gripping the wound—but the others were already panicking.
"RUN! RUN! WE'RE BEING HUNTED!"
One of them turned and bolted, but the second thug was already twitching, mutating on the ground like the last.
"Oh no—oh no no no—!"
"HE'S CHANGING TOO!"
And then—BOOM!
His head burst just like the first.
The entire group scattered, shouting and screaming as the alley was filled with chaos.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!"
"IT'S CURSED! WE'RE CURSED!"
"I'M NOT STAYING HERE—SCAVRATT DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!"
Then came the final horror.
Their corpses vanished—dissolving into black mist.
"Wh—where'd the bodies go?!"
"They just… vanished?!"
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!"
---
Zain crouched on the rooftop ledge, watching the thugs below scatter in all directions like terrified insects.
He laughed—low at first, then louder, sharper.
He slipped another blood bullet into the chamber of his first rifle with a click.
He then brought the second rifle up to his mouth and exhaled softly—charging it with Blast Breath.
Both rifles were ready.
He aimed down the sights, tracking another group panicking near the alley exit.
"No matter what you do, all of you are going to die."
He fired again.
CRACK!
Another shoulder pierced.
"They'll mutate. Scream. Flail."
Another shot.
BOOM!
A berserker's head exploded just as it turned on its own comrades.
Zain reloaded, still grinning.
"And when they die… they become my food."
His voice rose as more footsteps and shouts echoed down the alleys.
"Come on then, scream louder."
He stood now, arms wide like welcoming a crowd to a performance.
"Gather more food for me, will you?"
He laughed again.
Louder, crueler, echoing over the rooftops like a demon's chorus.
The thugs below looked up, eyes wide, frozen in horror.
"Th-the hell is that?!"
"He's up there—he's watching us!"
"IS THIS A TRAP?!"
Zain's voice rang out over them.
"You're not in a trap…"
He pulled the trigger—another shot fired.
"You're in my kitchen."