“You go to sleep every night praying that the next day will be better, that the nightmare will be gone. But then you always wake up to the same horrendous reality that only becomes worse with every single night. With time your dreams of peace become empty, but the hope still remains deep inside you. Don’t you ever dare to give up on that hope, because one day you will find a new place to call home. Remember, the Void and Universe is full of secrets.”

~ Lone Traveler to a lost survivor, 31st Outbreak

Leo ran straight to the ruined houses, not even once thinking about going to another entrance of the building. Maybe the other staircases weren’t infected with one or more monsters that planted pure terror inside his mind, but Leo just decided to go with the smart idea and stay the hell away from that place.

The Sun slowly neared the horizon and it became obvious that it was high time to find a somewhat secure place to rest and maybe even sleep. Leo really wanted to be at one hundred percent strength before going deeper into the city.

And so another hour was spent on rechecking almost every house in the neighborhood, both to clear them of any remaining Voidlings and to see which of the buildings would be the best choice for the night. Only the dead woman’s residence was omitted in the search as the Voidlings still refused to leave their new territory.

The few Voidlings Leo killed in the meantime, left him only five Ether away from unlocking the first evolution. And for a moment he was tempted to go and gather the required amount but stopped himself from making that mistake when the shadows began to settle over the empty farmlands.

Night is coming. You know what to do.

No, I really don’t. Leo scowled, sprinting through the neighborhood. He flew over a fence and landed in the backyard of the same house he used a few hours back. The backdoor shut behind him and Leo quickly dragged a broken table along, barricading one of the two easy entrances into the house.

The ancient wood of the stairs groaned as Leo sprinted into the attic. His muscles bulged, straining under the weight of the remnants of a wooden shelf. The piece of furniture collapsed against the small broken window, dragging the entire attic into almost complete darkness.

Part one done, next stop, the bathroom. Leo took a few deep breaths as he returned to the ground floor. Having more strength and constitution was nice and all, but the last few hours managed to push even his new limits.

The door to the bathroom was pushed open and Leo grimaced as his arm illuminated the small, windowless room. Odor formed by years of leaks and abandonment was one of the many surprises waiting inside. The shards of glass from the shower cabin scattered across the broken tiles, and the ceramic toilet and sink laying shattered on the ground were another two honorable mentions.

Did someone start a fucking tornado here or what?

Either someone was very emotional when moving out or some vandals decided to be nice and locked the door after trashing the entire house. Leo truly didn't know which option was dumber, and he had seen some really stupid shit during his short life.

Whatever. Leo shrugged as he left the door wide open and went back to the living room. Every single piece of broken furniture was dragged into the small bathroom. With a quarter of the room filled, Leo also hid inside and after closing the door, he stacked all of the broken wood against the door.

Not the best of my creations. Leo grimaced, gazing at the makeshift barricade. It stood no chance against a Collector, but to be honest he didn’t know what could stop a creature of that much power.

Sighing, Leo cleared one side of the bathroom from all of the glass and promptly collapsed against the wall. The backpack landed beside him, a lone hand already searching for another meal.

The crunching of cereal resounded through the room as Leo consumed yet another type of dry food. Without a single liter of milk, he could only use one of the many bottles of water as a drink and it definitely wasn’t the best addition to cereal.

To think that I would ever miss fast food that was just a call away… Leo snorted. A good kebab or burger sounded pretty nice right about now.

Throwing the halfway finished pack of cereals into the backpack, Leo leaned his head against the wall, eyes closing. He still had some time before the effects of the night came. Might as well use this moment for something useful.

Essence stirred within Leo as he slowly guided it through his body. Just like during the fight against the Runner, he let it seep into every single part of his body. Muscles, bones, organs, and even blood. Nothing was forgotten as slowly every vein on Leo’s body lit up in the same crimson of his soul.

His hand clenched as Reinforcement settled over his body, the skill providing only a weak boost of power. Grabbing even more Essence in a tight hold, Leo feed the skill. Not even a minute later, his mind and body screamed a warning as the ability reached its current limit.

So that's fifty percent. Good to know. Leo noted as a weak aching spread through all of his body. A lot easier to control than during my fight. I wonder…

Leo held the ability for a few more minutes, gritting his teeth as the aching turned into a slowly spreading inferno. It felt as if someone dipped a bunch of needles into alcohol and stabbed them in every part of Leo’s body. Gasping, he finally released the skill, the stabbing pain fading away.

High risk indeed. Leo groaned as his arm shakily raised from the ground. At least now I know to never use it at full power unless it is a life and death situation. I am pretty much crippled after I drop it and the drain of Essence is just…

Leo felt around the pound of his Essence and if his calculations weren’t wrong then he used a bit over half of his reserves for two or three minutes of full-powered Reinforcement. Not a good sign if he ever got into a sketchy situation.

More practice is in order I gue… Fuck!

A wave of Essence just as powerful as the other night crashed into the entire world. Pressure settled over Leo’s shoulders as he barely stopped his body from kissing the ground. With all of the new attributes, he should have been able to resist the pressure without having to fight for this life, but the few seconds definitely weren't enough to recover from the aftermath of Reinforcement.

Night is here. Good Luck.

Screw you. Leo scoffed and collapsed to the ground, accepting his fate. A moment to rest wouldn’t hurt anyone and he wanted to listen to the happenings outside anyway.

The wind still crashed into the house, earning a groan of wood every once in a while, but it lacked the power from the other night. Instead, a very familiar constant tapping against the roof echoed through the entire building.

Just as a small smile stretched over Leo’s lips at the thought of normal weather, thunder pierced the air, breaking the harmony created by the rain. Not even a second later another roar joined the first, shooking the ground with the sound alone.

The entire house answered with its own shudder. Alarmed, Leo used whatever strength he had left and scrambled to his feet, hands flying to the barricade as he removed it piece by piece. The night might be terrifying but Leo wasn’t planning on getting buried alive. Better to have a quick way out, just in case.

With the exit free, Leo once again sat against a wall as another tremor traveled through the ground. Even though the thunder seemed powerful, the thunderstorm couldn’t be too close as the shaking took far too long to travel to his location. Leo only hoped that the storm wouldn’t decide to switch directions and come to Wolford. No way his half-assed shelter was surviving that.

Minutes passed as Leo listened to the unnerving tapping of the rain and the continuous roars of thunder. To give his mind some kind of outlet, he focused on the Essence in his body and started moving it in every direction, hoping to get more used to bending this mythical energy.

When Leo’s reserves were halfway replenished, he stopped his little exercise and unsheathed the common fighting knife. The pressure of the night never left, but Leo still wanted to test out the most recent class skill. It just might come in handy if the current weather managed to kick him out of the house and into the darkness.

It wouldn’t help against the Collectors — nothing could help there —, but against other, weaker beasts that lurked in the dark, it just might buy Leo enough time to escape. Not that he wanted to even think about taking a step outside, but currently the choice wasn't really his. Besides, forewarned is forearmed.

Like the skill instructed, Leo led his Essence towards the knife. At first, the common item refused to budge and so he pushed harder, transferring more and more energy until the dam broke. And when it did Leo’s Essence spread, creating a thick mass of crimson aura over the entire knife.

Now to fix you. Leo tightened his grip on the weapon as he strengthened the connection with the Essence covering the knife. Slowly. Just like he did during the process of upgrading stealth, Leo extracted the overflow of energy to create a layer of Essence almost unnoticeable to the human eye.

To say that this job took time, was putting it mildly. Both Leo’s inexperience and the constant tremors required him to stop every once in a while to make sure that he didn’t miss something or break the skill by accident.

Should be enough. Leo nodded, gazing at the faint yet unpolished layer of Essence. This will be fucking hard. He grimaced, once again strengthening the connection. Moving his focus to the tip of the knife, Leo gently pushed the crimson energy against the blade, smoothing it along every edge. Slowly the entire layer became a perfect copy of the knife, pretty much creating a sheath of Essence.

Just one more thing. Please work. At once Leo grabbed the entire layer and pushed it against the knife, forcing it to enter the weapon. There were a few close calls where the energy almost slipped between his phantom fingers, but in the end, the Essence listened and did as commanded.

Leo gasped as his gaze traveled between the knife that now glowed with a faint black aura — the same color as its blade — and the notification that spawned out of nowhere.

Congratulations, your Essence Manipulation evolved.

Essence Control (Uncommon):

Hard work and determination pushed your understanding of Essence to another level. Your previous limits are gone and now you are ready to embark on the true journey of the Soul Arts.

Effects:

This skill improves the control over your Essence already granted by the Mind attribute. The efficiency of this skill is dependent on your Mind.

There was no rush of knowledge, no pain shooting through his head. Instead, the flow of Essence in Leo’s body and soul slowed to almost a crawl, before starting again, only it wasn’t the same anymore.

Even with all the points in Mind, Leo’s Essence always felt like an almost steady river that flowed without direction and just wanted to splash everything in its vicinity with its power. And now it changed. The flow gained a proper direction and became calmer than ever, the leaks of energy almost nonexistent.

Holy shit. Leo’s eyes widened as he controlled his Essence and formed a small ball of crimson light that sat in his hand. He dismissed it a second later and grabbed the fighting knife again, canceling the Kiss of Death with one sharp tug at the energy inside the weapon.

Without closing his eyes, Leo repeated the skill step by step. With no complaint, the Essence moved, rushing through every step required to form the ability like they didn’t take Leo a few minutes during the first try.

Alright, now we’re talking. Not even the constant tremors and roars could wipe the grin off Leo’s face as he gazed at the black glow that activated in seconds.