Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 137

Chapter 137

Heavy-caliber bullets zipped through the air like crazy hornets. Jake continued to run, ignoring the chaos unfolding inside the room. Just as he reached the doorway leading deeper into the building, a translucent bluish surface popped up in front of him, completely filling the entrance. Unable to stop in time, Jake slammed into the semi-transparent wall, bouncing back. He morphed his right hand into a smashfist and struck the bluish magical barrier with all the strength he could muster.

To his surprise, the powerful blow didn’t do anything at all. The magical barrier turned out to be as strong as a stone wall. Scratch that, it was even stronger. While punching a stone wall with a smashfist might not have been enough to shatter it, it would at least have left a dent. The magical barrier in front of him, however, showed no visible damage at all. With his only escape route blocked, Jake pivoted to the right and sprinted away as the Demon continued to unleash gunfire.

Heavy-caliber bullets ripped through the debris strewn across the room, drilled into the ex-humans milling about, and punched through the replication pods dangling from the ceiling. Rounds slammed into the floor and walls, sending fragments of concrete and clouds of dust flying in all directions. Every second bullet exploded on impact, tearing huge chunks of flesh out of weak, low-level ex-humans and causing replication pods to burst apart, splattering liquid everywhere and destroying the embryos of undeveloped creatures.

Jake continued to run in a semicircle, gradually closing in on the pickup truck. He was moving so fast the gunner struggled to track him with the mounted weapon. Suddenly, Jake felt his speed begin to wane. Immediately afterward, a system message flashed through his mind.

An Ethereal Grasp has been cast on you.

One of the bandits, likely the person manning the machine gun, had just used a magic spell on him. Jake didn’t need to read its description to know what kind of spell it was. It was meant to either freeze him in place or slow him down. If it was intended to fully immobilize him, it had failed. Still, he certainly felt his movements becoming sluggish, but thankfully not too much. The points he had invested in the Magick attribute definitely paid off, likely increasing his resistance to such spells.

Still, now that he was affected by Ethereal Grasp, it became somewhat easier for the gunner to target him. Jake felt a round slam into his right shoulder, staggering him momentarily. It wasn’t an enchanted bullet, so it didn’t inflict much damage. But the next one that hit him was. It drilled into his side and exploded inside, tearing a chunk of flesh from his body. Jake was starting to get pissed. Why couldn’t Los Demonios just leave them alone? Did they have a death wish or something? For all their trouble, it could end only one way.

Another system notification emerged in his mind.

A Shadow Tether has been cast on you.

Jake had no idea what this spell was for. He didn’t feel any change in his body, so he mentally summoned the description of the spell.

Shadow Tether: Creates a thin, invisible thread that links the caster to a target, either a nearby object or person, allowing the caster to feel their general direction and distance as well as see their outline, even through obstacles. The effect lasts a few seconds, and the caster can also break the spell with a thought.

Jake wasn’t sure why his enemies had cast such a spell on him. The answer came shortly afterward. A shimmering mist enveloped the area, slightly reducing visibility. Again, likely due to his advanced Magick attribute, he could still see quite well. He realized that the Mist spell—or whatever it was called—hadn’t been directed at him specifically, because unlike the previous two spells, he hadn’t received a notification about it. Instead, the Mist spell must have been cast over the entire room, affecting every creature within. He could see other ex-humans looking around in confusion. Despite having limited visibility, the mutants dashed toward the pickup truck, using the sound of the firing machine gun for direction, although some tripped over debris and fell.

Jake knew that survivors could learn magic from scrolls, each containing a spell for one-time use. Scrolls were extremely rare—probably the rarest items in this game-like world. For that reason, he rarely used spells himself when he was a survivor. However, the two bandits in the pickup truck didn’t seem to lack spells, having already cast four different ones. That wasn’t all that surprising, considering the gang they belonged to had an abundance of various resources. It was also possible that after the rest of the gang learned about the defeat of the two Demons who came at him first, the others realized how dangerous he was and felt compelled to use everything at their disposal to stop him. This seemed plausible, especially given that different groups within the gang were now collaborating to hunt him down.

Now that Jake was under the effect of the Shadow Tether spell, the gunner—who must have been the one to cast it on him—could clearly see him through the magical, sparkling mist enveloping the area. However, Jake had no trouble seeing through the mist, too. His Magick attribute and Enhanced Senses allowed him to see well even in poor and difficult conditions. He navigated through the debris, dead mutants, and torn replication pods scattered across the floor, drawing closer to the pickup truck with each step.

Some of the walkers had already made it to the large vehicle, but neither the driver nor the gunner appeared concerned. A second later, Jake understood why. The first walker that reached the pickup truck spotted the driver through the driver’s door window and raised a clawed hand toward the glass. As soon as the hand touched the window, a sigil flared to life at the contact point. In an instant, a crackle of electricity erupted, sending the walker flying back with great force, half of its body charred.

So, the pickup truck was protected by wards. However, Jake doubted they would have the same effect on him as they did on weaker, low-level ex-humans like walkers. The Ethereal Grasp spell no longer affected him, and his movements returned to normal. He ducked as he approached the pickup truck from the front. The gunner was now unable to target him, and all the bullets he fired zipped harmlessly over Jake’s head. He darted around the front of the truck and drew closer to the driver’s window.

The person at the steering wheel stared at him with a mix of apprehension and confidence, as if he weren’t entirely sure whether the wards on the vehicle were powerful enough to protect him.

Let’s find out, Jake thought as he threw his right hand, which was transformed into a smashfist, toward the window. The moment his fist made contact, a crackling sound began but quickly faded as the glass shattered into thousands of shards, cascading down on the screaming driver. With the window shattered, the ward was broken, so nothing prevented Jake from reaching inside the cab and grabbing the driver by his head, dragging him through the shattered window. The driver screamed in pain as several shards of glass still jutting from the door raked across his body. Jake dropped the bandit to the floor and immediately stomped on his head, causing it to burst apart like an overripe melon.

He then leaped into the truck bed and with his left hand, which was transformed into claws, lashed out at the gunner’s throat, opening it up. The gangster staggered backward and tumbled over the side of the bed, hitting the floor hard. Bullets suddenly poured into the room from the street through the entrance and shattered windows lining the front wall. The large SUV sat directly outside the building, its occupants unleashing a barrage of fire into the room with everything they had. A machine gun mounted on the roof was blazing away, while the driver’s-side windows were rolled down, weapon barrels sticking out and muzzles flashing.

Rushing out of the building and sprinting toward the SUV, with all its occupants firing at him, would likely have resulted in his death or serious injury. So Jake opted for a different strategy. He seized the machine gun mounted in the truck bed, pivoted it toward the SUV, and unleashed a deadly torrent of gunfire on it.

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