The sunlight seeped through the reporter box, waking Kael who had fallen asleep inside it.
He blinked several times and turned to look beside him.
A table was there, broken in various places, surrounded by fallen monitors, all shattered, and most of its surface was covered with glass fragments from the box.
After taking a deep breath, he got up and grabbed his backpack.
His food supply would last him only two days, while his water supply would run out by the end of today.
He needed to find more supplies and transportation before he could head back to his hometown.
In his previous life, he had traveled back to his home, which was about 146 kilometers from his current location.
But his return only led him to discover his house flattened to the ground, with no trace of his family.
This time, however, he wasn't just returning to see the ruins of his home—he was determined to find the girl who could defeat the second type of monster.
The girl lived not far from where he used to reside and was a good friend of his sister.
He ate his breakfast, just a big piece of bread and a cold bottled coffee and then climbed down from the reporter box.
Upon reaching the ground, he didn't immediately leave the stadium. Instead, he walked towards the center field where the gate had appeared yesterday.
Last night, one of the second-type monsters was killed by the first-type monster. He remembered that the second-type monster carried something highly valuable for Awakened individuals.
Slowly, he moved around the corpses of monsters scattered across the stadium, searching for the first-type monster among them.
All the bodies had black skin, and many were piled up together, making it hard for him to tell them apart.
What struck him as odd was that none of the monsters seemed to eat one another.
"Is it because their blood is green and smells bad? Or maybe they taste awful?" he wondered.
Even though this was his second chance at life, he had no desire to try eating these monsters.
Finally, he spotted the first-type monster beneath another corpse on top of it.
He pushed the monster off and climbed onto the body of the first-type monster.
Since the apocalypse, certain types of monsters had been known to drop mana shards or divine shards.
The shard levels depended on the monster's level.
The first-type monsters didn't drop any shards, but the second-type monsters dropped mana shards.
Mana shards were incredibly useful for activating skills, especially those tied to mana.
The first shard found, whether it was a mana shard or a divine core—helped form either a mana or divine core.
Kael found a shard with a light blue color and tucked it into his pocket.
He planned to form his mana core later. He wasn't in a rush, especially since he hadn't found any items related to skills yet.
Then, he walked towards the nearest exit, or more accurately, a warehouse.
He needed to return to his hometown soon and locate the archer girl.
Once outside, he spotted a brand-new pickup truck, still in great condition.
He climbed in and tried to start it manually. To his relief, the engine roared to life.
With a slight grin, he steered the pickup westward, heading toward his hometown.
***
At a gas station not far from the stadium, one that wasn't too damaged, he stopped in front of the gas pump. He needed to fill the tank to make it all the way to his destination.
He was thankful the truck ran on gasoline. If it had been electric, he wouldn't have had a clue how to recharge it.
After pausing for a moment to scan his surroundings, he stepped out of the truck and began filling the tank.
He stayed alert, keeping an eye on the area, but there were no signs of any monsters.
Once the tank was full, he left the truck by the pump and hurried to a small convenience store next to the gas station.
The store was partially destroyed, but Kael managed to gather more food and drinks.
He grabbed a decent amount of supplies, including some cans and bottles of beer.
He stuffed his backpack to the brim and carried the rest back to the truck.
"Lucky me, not a single monster in sight," he muttered as he started the engine.
The gates had appeared in many cities, unleashing countless monsters. These creatures roamed the earth, hunting for prey. And so far, only two types of monsters had emerged.
With a deep sigh, he drove the truck westward again.
But just a few meters out of the gas station, a monster suddenly leaped from the roof of the gas pump onto the back of the pickup.
"Oh, shit!"
The truck shook violently as a second-type monster landed hard on the truck bed, making a loud thud.
Kael gripped the steering wheel tightly, struggling to keep the pickup from spinning out of control.
"Damn it!" he yelled with sweat dripping down his forehead.
He glanced at the monster through the rearview mirror. It was crawling toward the cab, its claws digging into the truck's body as if it were cardboard.
Its glowing red eyes and drooling mouth made Kael feel sick.
He slammed the gas pedal, forcing the pickup to speed up. The tires screeched as the truck accelerated.
"You think you can hitch a ride? Wrong damn truck, pal!" he growled.
But the monster held on tightly, its massive claws gripping the truck's body with ease.
Kael noticed a sharp turn ahead.
"Let's see if you can hang on!" he muttered.
He yanked the steering wheel to the right, making the pickup swerve sharply and briefly ride on two wheels.
The monster shifted but didn't fall off. One of its claws reached through the passenger window, trying to grab Kael.
He quickly grabbed the shotgun he always kept on the passenger seat and aimed it at the creature's grotesque face.
"Chew on this, freak!"
A shot blasted into the monster's face, causing it to let out a deafening roar and tumble to the back of the pickup.
But it wasn't dead. It began crawling toward Kael again, its claws screeching loudly against the truck's rear.