Chapter 18 Gymnasium

Though it was a bit of a risk to expose the claws that enlarged the fingers of his left hand by close to ten centimeters, Liam could simply say that his claws, horn, and eyes were part of his Soultrait.

Nobody would be able to tell for sure whether he was lying or not, even less if he were to give others permission to see his status panel. Liam didn't plan to show his status panel to anyone but there was not exactly much for him to hide, except the 'Halfling' part which could be considered a bit of a hassle to explain.

However, worrying about getting exposed was not exactly his biggest concern right now.

He charged at the group of a dozen Blazing Tooth Rats and pierced his claws through the eyes of one of them. The group of a hundred ordinary huge rats and dozen Blazing Tooth Rats were too focused on the ill-armed students, teachers, professors, and athletes that were using all means to survive.

That allowed Liam to sneak up and reach the center of the enemy's group where he wreaked havoc by moving nimbly with his weak and exhausted body.

[Blazing Tooth Rat has been slayed]

[+0.5 Arcanium]

[+0.5 Arcanium]

[+0.5 Arcanium]

Using the opportunity, three Blazing Tooth Rats turned into lifeless bodies before they could react properly.

Liam was not yet done wreaking havoc but he took a moment to take a deep breath before resuming his killing spree.

"Use your spare Arcanium to buy proper weapons!" He shouted loudly.

His voice traveled to the dozens of people who were fighting with all kinds of objects, except proper weapons. The only somewhat useful weapons were the javelins that were usually used by the spear throwers in the gymnasium.

However, they broke easily, leaving the athletes without any other weapon to protect themselves. This forced the athletes to retreat and rely on other people to defeat the rats.

"Don't act like braindead idiots and buy some weapons!" Liam thundered imposingly while his eyes stared mercilessly at the useless people who were quivering in fear and retreating.

The people stopped in their tracks, but none of them followed Liam's commands.

"Useless trash," He muttered quietly before using traces of the Arcane Power his body had replenished to use his Soultrait.

The Devil's eyes were activated and the sealed galaxy in his eyes sprang to life as they began glowing in an iridescent hue. The already frightened unarmed humans stared blankly at Liam who turned back to the monsters whom he slaughtered mercilessly.

He didn't move much anymore but that was not necessary to kill his opponents. His claws were razor-sharp and strong enough to pierce through the fur and flesh. This made it easier to inflict small yet severe wounds upon the rats whenever he evaded their attacks with small and agile movements.

He was trying to avoid wasting his already scarce stamina and moved around only in a radius of five meters where the bodies of the dozen Blazing Tooth Rats ended up lying lifelessly. A few ordinary huge rats accompanied the Blazing Tooth Rats but they were not noteworthy to someone like Liam.

Less than two minutes passed before the fight with the group of rats ended. None of the students who were equipped with his steel spears turned into a lifeless body, which was a great success.

However, Liam was more focused on the wounds scattered all over their bodies.

"Everyone who was bitten by the rats, buy a lesser detoxification pill if you feel unwell," He suggested before approaching the main entrance of the gymnasium.

He didn't bother paying attention to the people who hadn't even mustered the courage to buy a weapon from the Arcane Shop. They were still blankly staring at him, unmoving as if they had been petrified by a Basilisk.

Only when Liam walked past them did they dare to breathe again. Their hearts were beating rapidly and they turned around in terror, just to realize that a bunch of 30 or so students and their teacher were quickly rushing behind the masked man.

The students didn't even bother to tend to their wounds as they ran behind Liam. Their need to stay around their savior and protector overwhelmed their earlier anxiety and they kept close to Liam, following him wherever he went.

It was almost as if Liam was the golden compass that would lead them through any perilous situation.

He was their beacon of hope and the students didn't want to lose him at any cost.

Upon stepping Inside the entrance area of the gymnasium, Liam quickly noticed a few things.

"Five floors with the first two floors being open fields? Alright then…" Liam mumbled mostly to himself as he read the signboard of the gymnasium. There were running tracks, a bunch of rugby fields, and many other stations for all kinds of sports spread all over the five floors.

There was even an underground floor where several swimming pools had been built. Liam was not sure what he should think about that but he was pretty certain that the gymnasium was a great place for athletes and sportsmen to play and hone their skills.

That was great before the Arcane Apocalypse and it was even helpful now that the Arcane Apocalypse had started. After all, the entire gymnasium could turn into a fortress as long as the main and side entrances would be well-secured.

But even if the main and side entrances of the gymnasium were to take a hit, it was not as if monsters could flood the inner halls of the gymnasiums easily. The gymnasium had two layers, the outer layer was where the elevators, changing rooms, showers, infirmary, and the resting places were located. It surrounded the inner layer of the gymnasium where all kinds of 'stations' for the different types of sport were located.

'Even if not all places are protected well, there are only six entrances to the inner rings of each floor. One at each corner, and directly next to the elevators…it's like having two defensive lines…' Liam realized, nodding his head in satisfaction.

"A natural fortress…let's see what we can do with that!"