ENERGI: THE PRIMORDIAL CONDUIT[OP MC, APOCALYPSE, SURVIVAL, AND LITRPG]

The group's faces turned white when they saw the horror at the other end of the hallway.

Standing at the end of the shattered corridor was a bloated, grey-skinned corpse, its flesh translucent and pulsing with a sickening rhythm. It didn't roar; instead, it released a wet, gurgling hiss as its jaw unhinged to an impossible degree.

From its mouth, eye sockets, and the weeping gashes in its torso, a black tide of leeches erupted. Each parasite was the size of a human forearm, lined with concentric circles of needle-teeth and dripping with corrosive bile. As the Level 16 horror stepped forward, the compromised floorboards groaned under its weight, the surrounding intact walls becoming carpeted in a writhing, level-climbing carpet of hunger.

The leeches pouring out of it were of varying levels. Kael noticed some as low as level three, though the great majority were around level ten. Only a few were at level 12, 13, and 14.

Seeing this sight, the cautious light in Kael's eyes slowly gave way to a calculating one, an light smile soon tugging on the sides of his lips.

"If we play this right, this might just turn out to be a blessing in disguise." Seeing the others still wore unsure looks, Kael calmly added: "Isn't this the best chance for us all to level up?"

It took a few moments for the others to process what they heard. The group couldn't help but doubt their ears. Even now, they could only watch as tens of these squirmy leeches poured out of the undead—and this was supposed to be a good thing?

Kael didn't seem to care about their reaction as he calmly brought the remaining mana potions from his inventory and handed them to the silent Alice.

"Here. I want you to create three shields as big and durable as possible," he explained quickly. The first wave of worms was already approaching, the half-destroyed path funneling them and reducing their speed.

Alice didn't hesitate. She consumed her entire mana pool and created a massive bulwark—blue, thick, and simple in design but possessing great defensive power. She handed the first one to Kael, eliciting a surprised look on his face.

'So heavy? Then how is she able to lift it?' Kael couldn't help but give the silent girl a thorough look despite the situation. He watched as she consumed a mana potion and swiftly worked on forming another construct.

'It must be her class traits,' Kael surmised as he quickly instructed: "Make this next one smaller and less heavy."

It took barely ten seconds for Alice to create the shields. Soon, Kael, Nathan, and Alice were each holding one, with Nathan carrying the smallest of the trio. They moved to the forefront and watched the first line of leeches appear from the side of the collapsed corridor.

"The plan is simple. Shove as many as possible to the side, and let gravity do most of the job!"

Even as he spoke, Kael had already lunged forward, his body completely shielded behind the blue bulwark.

- BOOM!

- BOOM!

A cacophony of slimy bodies slamming against the massive shield mixed with angry screeches. Many of the frontline worms were of lower levels, so upon slamming against the bulwark, they simply splattered into black ichor that coated the blue surface. Yet, many more rushed forward without a hint of fear, their disgusting bodies piling against Kael until they formed a writhing, meaty wall.

Seeing that enough had congregated before him, Kael suddenly shouted: "Rose and Sophia, come forward!"

The two girls moved forward, their faces pale. Sophia could barely even stand; her body trembled so violently it seemed she might collapse. The sight was already too much to bear, yet she was being asked to step closer?

"Big brother, don't worry about me! Help someone else!" Rose shouted, her voice surprisingly steady.

Kael, grunting as he felt the crushing weight on the shield increase, narrowed his eyes in displeasure, but he chose to trust his sister and called out another name.

"Ms. Claire!"

Rose threw the small blue blade she was holding aside and grabbed her best friend's hand. "You can do it, Sophia!"

"B-but what about you?"

"Hehe, don't worry. I have a zombie I can use."

Sophia nodded weakly as Rose tightened her grip. They both moved to the right side of the struggling Kael, near the edge of the broken wall.

"I-I..." Silent tears streaked down Sophia's face, but Rose whispered beside her, her soft grip firm. "Don't worry, Sophy, I am right beside you."

Then she took her friend's hand, and through the small gap Kael had intentionally left for them, she guided the knife in Sophia's hand into the meat wall beside her.

Black ichor splattered on both of their faces. The two girls clamped their lips shut and kept thrusting the blade, a disgusting, wet sound drifting into their ears.

- SQUELCH!

- SQUELCH!

- SQUELCH!

The blade plunged into the soft, slimy bodies of the leeches, who could only screech in pain and anger. Because the gap Kael left was tight and they were packed so densely, the leeches at the front had no space to maneuver; they could only die under Sophia’s blade.

Both girls held their breath throughout the entire endeavor. Sophia trembled greatly, the fear not abating even as system messages continued to flash before her eyes. Her EXP increased at a staggering speed, and not even ten seconds later, a notification signaled her level-up.

Still, they kept at it. Sophia could feel the way the slimy bodies gave way to her blade, a sensation that made her skin crawl. At this point, both girls were soaked in black ichor.

Ms. Claire, on the other side of Kael, was facing a similar ordeal. She had to watch her footing carefully, fearing that a single slip would send her plunging from the building. However, the sight of the monstrosities before her and the terror of being engulfed by them made her usual fear of heights fade into the background.

The scene played out for an entire minute. At this point, leeches were already being squeezed off the open side of the corridor, their bodies hitting the ground far below with wet, disgusting thuds.

The main zombie stepped closer slowly, the still intact ground cracking from it's weight. It's body swole, with more parasites bursting out from within.

After two more minutes, the weight pressing on Kael became unmanageable.

"Retreat!"

Rose and Ms. Claire didn't hesitate, the former grasping her friend and scrambling back. Natalie and Alice quickly rushed to the two girls and wiped the ichor from their faces. With their awakened bodies, holding their breath for a few minutes was no longer a struggle.

Kael, still at the forefront, released a battle cry. He dumped two of his three remaining ENERGI points into his Strength stat before shoving forward and to the side with all his might.

- FWOOM!

- FWOOM!

- FWOOM!

Several long, pulsing bodies were launched into the air, falling outside the range of the destroyed corridor. A cacophony of wet thuds resounded below, like heavy rain beating against a car window.

Several messages flashed before Kael's vision, but he ignored them and retreated, calling out to Nathan and Alice.

"Your turn!"

Alice and Nathan’s faces turned serious as they moved to retake Kael's position. They were tired of only supporting from the sidelines; they wanted to get stronger, too.

*****

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