As he walked down the corridor of the dormitory, Gabriel felt the nerves in his body tighten, his muscles tensing slightly from the pressure, because the scene in front of him was worse than he expected.
The hallway lights flickered weakly above, casting uneven shadows along the walls, and blood and flesh were splashed everywhere, staining the surface in dark streaks that were beginning to dry. Doors were broken open, some hanging halfway off their hinges while others were completely ripped off, and blood slowly flowed out from the rooms, spreading across the floor.
"…Did you do this?" he asked, his gaze turning toward Grim behind him, but the wolf only tilted its head in confusion. Shaking his head, Gabriel continued down the hallway, each room he passed revealing bodies that had been ripped apart and half-eaten, the smell of blood hanging heavy in the air. His grip tightened around the bat as he turned his face slightly, wincing under his breath. "…Glad that wasn't me."
Grim stopped briefly at the entrance of one of the rooms, lowering its head to sniff the air as it stared at a corpse, its ears twitching slightly as if reacting to Gabriel's words before its gaze shifted toward his back, something unreadable passing through its eyes, and with a low growl it moved back to his side as they continued forward together.
Then suddenly, three figures appeared at the far end of the corridor, walking slowly toward them. Because of the flickering light, Gabriel couldn't clearly see their faces, but Grim immediately stepped forward with a threatening growl, its body tensing as it locked onto the figures, ready to attack. "Hey—stop! Don't hurt them!" Gabriel shouted, reaching out to hold the wolf back, but Grim refused to budge.
"hh—rugh…"
A wet, gurgling sound echoed through the hallway as the figures suddenly moved faster, and Gabriel's head snapped forward as they stepped into the flickering light. He froze instantly.
They were students—but their faces were twisted, covered in decay and rot, parts of their bodies missing with flesh hanging loose and lifeless eyes staring ahead as they rushed toward him with trembling, unnatural movements. Gabriel felt his body turn cold, but his voice still came out. "…Grim—attack!"
The command was immediate, and Grim shot forward like a blur, its body surging with speed as it activated [Dash] and closed the distance in an instant. It reached the first zombie and clamped its jaws onto its neck, tearing through it with brutal force before the body could even react, dropping it instantly.
Grim slid back, already turning toward the remaining two, while Gabriel didn't hesitate and stepped forward with the bat raised, swinging down hard.
CRACK.
The strike landed against the second zombie's skull, snapping its head sideways as it staggered back, but the third lunged forward immediately, targeting his outstretched arm.
Gabriel barely managed to raise the bat in time as its teeth clamped onto it, the impact nearly forcing it out of his hands. "Damn it—!" he cursed as the zombie pushed forward, its hands slashing wildly, forcing him back. "Help!" he shouted.
Grim reacted instantly, lunging from the side with a growl as its claw struck the zombie's head with precise force, and in the next moment the head burst apart like a watermelon, black blood splattering everywhere.
Gabriel fell backward from the force of it, his face covered in blood as he breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling as silence settled for a brief moment.
Then—
[Ding]
[You have gained 20 EXP for assistance]
[Your beast has gained 50 EXP from Zombie (Level 3)]
[Your beast has gained 50 EXP from Zombie (Level 3)]
[Your beast has gained 30 EXP from Zombie (Level 3)]
[Evolution Points Gained: 3]
[Authority Gained: 1]
The smell hit him again, stronger this time, and Gabriel quickly staggered to his feet before rushing into a nearby room, heading straight for the toilet as his face turned pale and he vomited into the sink. He lifted his head slowly, staring at his reflection in the mirror for a moment before turning on the tap and washing his face, grabbing a towel to wipe himself down.
"…You know you could've gone easy with that strength," he muttered, his face still partly buried in the towel as he spoke toward Grim, who stood quietly at the entrance of the room. "Hey… you listening to me?" he added, but there was no response, and frowning slightly, he walked closer only to see Grim's gaze fixed on the zombie corpses outside.
"Hey," Gabriel called again, stepping in front of it, and the wolf turned its head toward him before looking back at the bodies, its eyes carrying something close to expectation. Gabriel paused for a second before realization hit. "…You want to eat that?" he asked, and Grim responded with a low growl.
"…Go ahead."
Grim didn't hesitate and moved toward the corpse, ripping open the skull of the first zombie before consuming something inside it, then doing the same to the second, while its gaze shifted toward the third body but stopped when it saw the head was already gone. Gabriel let out a small chuckle at that. "…Told you so."
[Ding]
[Your beast has devoured Zombie Essence ×2]
[EXP Gained: 100]
Gabriel's attention shifted to the system message, and without wasting time he opened Grim's panel.
[BEAST PANEL]
[Name: Grim]
[Species: Iron Wolf (Fenling)]
[Rank: Mid 4 —iron]
[Potential: Silver]
[EXP: 230 / 500]
[Bloodline: Sealed Ancient Fragment]
[State: Stable]
[Loyalty: Absolute]
[Instinct: High]
[Talent:]
[Devour – Consumes essence to gain growth and EXP]
[Skills:]
[Iron Fang:
The user bites the target with fangs as hard as steel it has a 20% chance of lowering the target defence]
[Dash:
Increase the users speed stats by 1]
[Savage Bite:
A high-intensity bite that often includes a 30% chance to flinch the target.]
[Evolution: Available]
[Description:
A beast born from a corrupted fragment. Its true nature remains sealed.]
[Note : System beast rank : Iron , silver, Gold,Platinum, Diamond …increase power to unlock]
"…You've got interesting skills," Gabriel muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly as he focused on the panel. "That Devour talent… that's basically a cheat." His gaze shifted to the evolution tab and he tapped it.
[Evolution Points: 103]
[Iron Wolf (Grim) → Gold Rank]
[Required Points: 200]
"…As expected," Gabriel said under his breath before looking back at Grim, a faint excitement creeping into his expression. "My talent can increase your potential… so all we need now is more points, and you evolve." Closing the panel, he began searching the room, quickly finding a mountain bag which he filled with supplies—water, snacks, anything useful—before slinging it over his back.
He took a quick drink, then tightened his grip on the bat, his gaze shifting toward the hallway again.
"…Alright," he said quietly, glancing at Grim.
"Let's move."
And together, they stepped back into the corridor.