Everyone was giving a wide berth to Geneva, who was now spiritedly talking to Jacob.

“It feels so good to fight!” had been her first words after she was done killing the wolves.

“Liberating, really,” Jacob nodded. He knew what she was talking about.

“I also feel like my Qi is now flowing smoother,” she told him.

“It’s natural. Battle has sort of an aligning factor. They bring you to a closer understanding of your body. It’s different for Mana, though. Killing off people with Fireballs doesn’t make much of a difference in your Magical Cultivation.”

Jacob saw Geneva nodding, but she was clearly high on the adrenaline and only barely listening. What pleased him was the abject fear in the eyes of the others. No one had said one word since the fight, and they only sneaked glances at her.

A pack leader has emerged.

The woman was so drunk on the feeling of the fight that she had barely paid attention to her wounds. Jacob made her sit on a rock and took a good look at them.

Her Qi is quite strong and invigorated after this fight. The wounds have stopped bleeding and will start scabbing in an hour, I think.

“You can’t engage in battle for an hour. So the next Demonic Beasts that we meet have to be fought by the others.”

She started protesting, but Jacob didn’t listen to her.

“I have to perform a small ritual, Geneva. Don’t move and stay quiet, please. My ability lets me understand the potential of people,” Jacob had been very mysterious and vague with his words, but it seemed to play well with this crowd. In a more rational environment, people would have asked what the hell you are rambling about.

He raised her shirt a bit and placed a hand on her belly, then focused his own Qi through his fingers.

Talent Reveal Technique

Nothing unusual.

She had a 7th level talent, which was quite good, but nothing particularly stood out. 7th level for both Qi and Mana. No Hidden Constitution, no weird Meridian composition, or anything like that.

She’s just a battle freak, isn’t she?

His own hands itched a bit. Geneva would give him an exciting fight, even more than Juliet or Frederick, in his opinion. She might not be as strong as them, but her battle instincts were off the charts.

Talking about battle instincts, he had yet to see Frederick fight for real.

“Fred!” Jacob screamed since the other guy was still roaming the woods in search of threats.

Half a minute after, the kid re-emerged from the forest and waved.

“No threats in the vicinity. We can go forward!”

I still want to punch the guy, but I have to say he’s been pretty dependable so far.

Jacob’s grudge spanned from his past life, and he was not going to let it go quickly. Finally, however, Frederick had been behaving. After Jacob saved his life, the guy had been even tamer compared to his usual cockiness.

It might be a farce, however. If it is, Fred, I’ll dismember your limbs one by one with such a pleasure…

While engaging in these gory thoughts, Jacob finally saw the trailer for the Ancient Ruins.

“We are going to find weapons, armor, and other things. My ability lets me divine some of this stuff,” he announced to the group. “I’m going to be the one splitting the treasure among you. We will discuss it if anyone tries to start a fight or make a fuss out of their choice. However, I’ll give the most appropriate weapons to each of you, understood? I’m doing this because I can help you survive this goddamn apocalypse. Not everyone here is like Geneva, and some of you might not like what we will have to do in the future to survive.”

He gave a brief speech as soon as they crossed one monolith. People started murmuring and, probably, wondering why they should follow him, a kid. Geneva was silent, however; therefore, no one sought to challenge Jacob’s choice. The battle-crazy woman couple with Frederick and that Juliet were significant deterrents.

Jacob remembered how the Ancient Ruins were mapped out and started walking toward the main entrance.

Monoliths and half-broken walls started to appear and stand out in the wild environment. More than one person had already been here before the change to seek out mushrooms or hike, but no one had ever seen such things.

While everyone marveled at the scenery and the ancient feeling of the ruins, Jacob started sniffing the air. Something metallic tainted it.

Sh*t.

As soon as they turned a broken wall and arrived at the big temple’s entrance, a harrowing scene introduced itself.

Tens of bodies peppered the ground with mangled limbs, broken bones sticking out of the skin, and still-bleeding exposed flesh and organs.

Jacob exhaled and bit his lower lip.

He stepped forward, ignoring the multiple people who had started to vomit behind him. Then, kneeling beside a corp, he examined the wounds.

Other humans killed these poor bastards.

Most of the deadly wounds were on the back of these men or their necks. Most of the damage was probably done after the death as if a band of savages had reveled in breaking limbs and bones post-mortem.

Another thing that did not fuc**ng happen in my past life.

Jacob tightened his fist and gazed toward the dark entrance to the temple. His anger started boiling dangerously.

Few things made him lose control, and one of these was seeing other humans being so ruthless and cruel toward other humans.

Whoever had killed these people had not just betrayed them but also enjoyed the carnage. And now, he needed to take care of this problem.