Days passed.
Some people left the school, hoping to find safer places.
Some returned, terrified of what they saw outside.
Some simply stayed, accepting that the school had become their temporary world.
During those days, James didn't rest.
Together with Ark, Martis, Sampon, and a small group of volunteers who had grown brave enough to fight, they hunted monsters around the city. They cleared streets. Raided abandoned stores for supplies. Rescued stranded survivors and brought them back to the school.
James distributed runes to those willing to fight.
Food to those too afraid to.
The school slowly turned into something like a base.
Something like hope.
---
One afternoon, while scouting a farther district, they entered a part of the city that felt… wrong.
Too quiet.
Too still.
Then they saw it.
Orcs.
Dozens of them roaming the streets.
And on the ground-
Human bodies.
Some torn apart. Some crushed. Some barely recognizable.
Ark swallowed hard.
James' jaw tightened.
Then-
A scream.
They turned.
A girl, maybe around twelve, was running blindly down the street, an orc chasing her from behind, its heavy steps cracking the pavement.
"Sampon. Martis. Now!"
Before James even finished the command-
Sampon had already possessed him.
Martis shot forward like a black streak.
The orc raised its crude blade, about to cleave the girl in half-
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
James' arm moved on its own as Sampon blocked the strike with the dagger. The impact sent vibrations through James' bones.
Martis appeared behind the orc and, without ceremony, drove his hand through its neck.
The orc collapsed instantly.
Sampon slipped out of James' body.
James hurried to the girl. "You're safe now. You're safe."
She was shaking so hard she couldn't even speak.
James looked at the others.
"There are probably more survivors here."
He reached into his inventory and pulled out the remaining runes he had.
He handed them to the hunters.
"All of you. Take these."
Then he handed the mana runes specifically to Ark.
Ark nodded and activated his skill.
A faint wave spread from him.
Everyone felt it.
Their bodies felt lighter. Stronger. Sharper.
And then-
They moved as a team.
For the first time, they weren't just survivors.
They were hunters.
---
Half an hour later, after multiple skirmishes with orcs-
Sampon floated silently beside James.
"…Master. I sense killing intent."
Martis' expression darkened slightly. "I feel it too. Strong. Concentrated."
James looked around. "Orcs?"
Martis shook his head.
"No. Humans."
A pause.
"…A clan," Martis added.
The weight of those words made James' stomach sink.
Martis turned to Sampon. "Scout."
Sampon vanished instantly.
---
The group continued clearing orcs.
But James couldn't focus.
That feeling.
That heavy, suffocating presence.
Then Sampon returned.
His expression, for once, wasn't cheerful.
"There are five of them," Sampon said quietly.
James' heart thudded.
"They have a camp nearby. Based on what I saw… they kill players."
Silence.
"They take their runes. Their food. Their skills. They force captured players to steal supplies from other camps."
James clenched his fists.
Sampon added one more thing.
"…There's a healer among them."
James looked up.
"They use the healer to keep their captives alive… so they can continue torturing them."
James felt something cold settle in his chest.
A different kind of anger.
Not rage.
Something heavier.
Something darker.
Martis spoke calmly.
"Then kill them all."
James raised a hand. "Wait—"
But before he could say anything else—
Sampon suddenly lunged into him.
James' vision flickered.
Sampon had possessed him again.
But this time, it felt different.
Heavier.
Darker.
Sampon stretched James' arms slowly, as if testing the body.
"Ohhh… this one is expensive," Sampon muttered.
James could hear him inside his head.
"What did you just do?"
Sampon replied casually.
> "Evil Possession. I can forcibly possess someone lower level than me against their will. They fall unconscious so they can't interfere."
James' eyes widened.
"That… that's—"
> "Yes. Very bad," Sampon said cheerfully. "Consumes a lot of mana too. So we should hurry."
Martis stepped forward.
"Let's go."
James didn't argue.
This time, he didn't try to stop them.
Before he even knew it, he lost control of his body.
And then-
He lost consciousness.