Loud snoring sounds, accompanied by occasional growls from those creatures, started to move away from the front of the store.
Kael stayed still, leaning against the cashier rack, waiting until the noise from those creatures faded completely.
'The effects of that Paracetamol will only last for a few hours...' he thought to himself, forcing his legs to move slightly faster towards the door while trying hard not to make any noise.
His weak body made him curse himself repeatedly in silence.
'I should've made time to exercise back then...' he thought regretfully.
When he reached the back of the door, he carefully opened the glass door that was placed behind the rolling door, making sure not to make a sound.
He could still hear the creatures' noises, though they sounded farther away now.
He waited for a moment until the noises faded even more.
Once it felt safe, he slowly opened the rolling door, and as soon as he could slip his body through the gap, he quickly stepped outside.
His eyes reflexively blinked as he stepped out of the small and dark convenience store, trying to adjust to the light outside.
Once his eyes adjusted, he looked around in every direction.
There were ruins scattered everywhere, and the strong smell of blood still lingered in the air.
But the corpses that had been lying all around earlier were gone. Instead, he noticed scattered bones here and there, with small pieces of flesh clinging to the surface of the bones.
He also saw several human heads lying in various spots.
It seemed that all those creatures had moved elsewhere, and this was his chance to escape.
He half-ran, wincing occasionally as pain shot through his legs, heading in one direction—towards the subway.
There, he would find what he needed to fight back against those creatures.
Without glancing back, he ran with all his strength towards the subway, leaping over rubble, scattered bones, and pools of blood along the way.
Halfway there, he glanced at his watch—it showed that thirty minutes had already passed.
His breathing was ragged, and his legs felt like lead.
"D*amn, this weak body!"
But from behind him, faint growls began to emerge, growing louder with every second.
He grew more panicked and tried to run faster.
"Almost there, almost there..." he repeated to himself over and over.
A few minutes later, the sign above the stairs leading to the subway came into view.
He pushed himself to run even faster and finally reached the stairs, rushing down them as quickly as he could.
Once he reached the floor, he slowed his pace then walking cautiously with his back pressed against the wall.
The subway was pitch dark, not a single light was on, and he knew he had to be careful.
Inside it, there were bound to be some of those creatures feasting on the dead humans scattered within.
When he reached the end of the wall, he arrived at a large room. It was the ticketing area and passenger waiting lounge.
A few lights flickered dimly, partially illuminating parts of the room.
He noticed some collapsed sections of the building's ceiling, but there wasn't a single human corpse to be found.
He walked slowly, carefully avoiding the spots with faint light.
Suddenly, a loud noise came from ahead, and he immediately rolled toward a piece of debris in front of him, taking cover behind it.
The sound echoed only once, and it seemed like it was caused by part of the ceiling collapsing.
"Hufffttt..."
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, cursing himself silently for being a coward.
He hadn't been a coward before he returned to his current frail body. But now, this weak body made him feel slightly panicked, as he was unable to do anything with this body.
Sighing, he looked towards the area where the railways were. He needed to get to one of the platforms there—Platform B.
After checking in all directions one more time, he crouched slightly and hurried as quickly as he could.
Finally, he reached the large area where the railways were located.
Carefully, as it was darker there than in the ticketing room, he made sure not to trip over the train tracks.
Arriving at Platform B, he immediately began searching under all the benches on the platform, feeling around beneath each one.
Under the fourth bench he searched, his hand touched an object shaped like an aluminum drinking bottle.
He grabbed the bottle with a slight grin and inspected it for a moment.
It was just an ordinary aluminum bottle, but its contents were far from ordinary.
Inside was a potion that had appeared out of nowhere. It was one of many unusual items that had started appearing on Earth after the attack by the tentacles.
He quickly opened the aluminum bottle and drank the liquid inside.
The liquid tasted slightly bitter and had an unpleasant smell.
But its effects were felt almost immediately. His body felt lighter, and his wounds began to heal, even the bruises on his left hand disappeared.
His body felt stronger than ever before.
The potion was Ambrossia, one of the most sought-after items on Earth among the Awakened.
The potion not only healed all illnesses and injuries, but it also instantly turned the person who drank it into an Awakened.
And now, Kael, in this lifetime, had become an Awakened. Perhaps the very first one on Earth.
With a grin, he moved his body, feeling a newfound power surging within him.
He knew his strength and speed had increased fivefold compared to a normal human, thanks to the effects of Ambrossia. However, obtaining god-like powers would not come from the potion alone.
Now, he just needed to find a weapon he could use to fight the monsters.
But before he could finish his thoughts, two figures appeared at the intersection of the platform, which were taller than an average human, around two and a half meters, with heads resembling a round form with tentacles.
Their arms were unnaturally long, reaching all the way to their legs, even while they were standing.
Strange noises, like snoring that resembled gurgling sounds, echoed loudly—especially as the two creatures seemed to be quarreling with each other.