Chapter 62: Rank Advancement

"Hm, it's weird that we haven't run into any Wolf's Fang member so far." Jay said as he walked through the dark streets of the deep South Zone followed by Colt. "And the state of these streets, I don't think this is just due to neglect..." 

After unexpectedly easily convincing Colt, the two took a grand turn, bypassing the area where Metal Body and Wolf's Fang were facing each other until they reached the district which Jay remembered had felt the connection, District 4.

Unlike other urban parts of the South Zone which showed very obvious signs of abandonment and lack of human presence, the district they were currently in was on another level entirely.

There were no streetlights illuminating the road, mainly because there was no electricity in this district, but also because most of the streetlights had been rendered useless. Unlike the district where the Metal Body prison was located, the streetlights were not broken, but the inside of each streetlight, where there were supposed to be wires, was completely empty.

That was not all, since they had entered this district, they had seen almost no sign of plant life. And even when they did, they were only small branches or trees that were completely dry and broken, as if something had been breaking the wood little by little until it left only the shell of an empty trunk.

"...I knew Wolf's Fang was a lot more disorganized than us, but I really didn't imagine it was this bad..." Colt replied with a worried look on his face.

As a Metal Body member who was in charge of clearing the South Zone of monsters, he knew very well what could be the cause of all this destruction, and for that reason he couldn't help but be extremely concerned about what he was seeing.

"They're Gray Rats, and judging by the damage all over the streets, I'd say there's at least about 2 or 3 nests, this is bad..."

Among all the monsters that sometimes crept into the South Zone, the most annoying type to deal with were undoubtedly the Gray Rats.

With an average size of 1 meter tall, tough fur, claws and sharp teeth capable of easily cutting through flesh like butter, this alone made these monsters already a great threat if they were to encounter any normal human.

However, what made them truly dangerous was not their deadly physical capabilities, but their incredibly fast reproduction rate, being able to form not only nests, but colonies of rats as long as there was enough food, making their numbers skyrocket.

Although fortunately this district was considerably far from any settlement of South Zone residents, that did not detract from the fact that they were still a great potential danger.

"...Let's hurry then." Jay said as he quickened his pace, Colt nodded and followed behind.

They were already only a district away from where Jay felt the connection, so even if they walked and took their time, they would arrive fast. Still, Jay decided not to waste any more time.

After all, even though he knew that Noah would most likely also be in a prison or something similar, he had to hurry as he felt that his body was growing weak with each passing second, most likely for having used more force than he should have when confronting the members of Wolf's Fang.

Fortunately for him, now that he had gotten 10 more parasites, the amount of energy the parasites granted him had doubled, making him able to use his body's true strength temporarily.

While the effect was limited only to the place where there were a minimum of 10 parasites gathered and did not help his body's healing at all, he had no choice but to take full advantage of this.

*Ping*

Just then, his smart watch vibrated, indicating that a message had arrived, as for the sender, thanks to the fact that he had turned off all message notifications except for Jenny's, it was obvious who it was.

As for why she would contact him at this time, it was because Jay had sent her to investigate the district ahead to see if there were any prison-like buildings.  That way they could head straight there without wasting time figuring out Noah's location.

Turning on his smart watch, Jay went into shock as he read the message that appeared on the screen.

[Jay, I found Noah! He's in trouble!]

***

"Urgh..."

Back at the abandoned apartment complex, Noah was still in the same position he had collapsed in.

Thanks to the wound on his arm and his skill working relentlessly, draining his energy constantly, he was finding it harder and harder to stay awake.

"Eek!"

Suddenly, the sound of a shriek reached his ears. It had come from the stairs below, and although it couldn't be heard very close, it wasn't far either.

'...F*ck...' He thought, again trying to move. Pitifully, he could only lift his arm slightly.

The shrieking didn't stop, approaching slowly and noisily, as if it knew a desperate Noah was on the stairs and wanting to make him feel as much distress as possible.

As a last attempt at wanting to move, Noah began to remember again the moment he escaped from the abandoned warehouse.

Although it had been an incredibly short time compared to the rest of his life, it didn't take away from the fact that it had undoubtedly been the only time that he had felt he had control over his life.

And this small memory that might seem insignificant to anyone else, made Noah strive to superhuman levels.

Finally, even though the movement was very slow, so much so that it might even seem like he was completely immobile, Noah, without any doubt, was getting up!

"Eek!"

"!"

Unfortunately for him, just as he managed to force his body to heed it, a Gray Rat, with red-tinted eyes that seemed to dull all the surrounding darkness to reveal its appearance which seemed even more terrifying than what Noah remembered, had arrived.

At once, he lunged at Noah, immediately sinking his teeth into the part from which came the irresistible scent that had drawn it here... his arm.

"AAARGHH!!!" 

Noah couldn't help but scream out in pain as he weakly grabbed the rat, desperately trying to shake it off. But no matter how hard he pushed, the rat ignored Noah, as if he simply wasn't here.

It was an incredibly dangerous situation for him, if this kept up, it would only be a matter of time until the rat would finish eating Noah's entire arm and start on the other parts of his body.

However, there was nothing he could do in this situation, his whole body was exhausted, and due to the loss of blood, he was already starting to feel dizzy, the only thing that kept him from passing out in this situation was the intense pain he was feeling right now.

'...I.... don't want to die like this...' He thought, looking up at the ceiling while ignoring that he was being eaten alive. "I... won't die like this...!"

Remorse, fear, helplessness, anger.

He didn't know how many times he had felt those emotions in his life, but without a doubt, he had never felt them as strongly as he did at this moment. 

"I WON'T!!"

All his emotions began to overflow, transforming into a loud yell that momentarily stunned the Gray Rat at the same time as it was heard by all the other rats that were in the apartment complex.

The next moment, his body, which no longer had any energy left, responded to him. Multiple veins began to bulge all over his body as he began to tremble, it was clear that something had been triggered inside his body.

However, what Noah was feeling more than anything else at this moment, was a searing heat coming from his chest, more specifically his heart, which began to beat frantically, pumping blood throughout his body like there was no tomorrow.

Immediately, Noah could feel how his whole body began to overflow with energy, although it was no longer only at the level of his muscles or bones, it was something much deeper, almost as if every cell of his body was being filled with vitality again.

His arm, of which even the bone could be seen due to the Gray Rat, began to heal quickly, simply leaving a large scar in place.

At the same time, his eyes began to glow very faintly, showing that the energy within his body had reached a whole new level.

Right now, thanks to pushing his body to the limit, endlessly healing himself despite not having the energy for it, stimulating his body's sense of survival by not giving up, made Noah's ability have a spontaneous growth, taking him to the next level.

From this moment on, Noah was a rank (D+) esper!

"Now, get off me!" Noah shouted, immediately tapping into the large amount of vitality emanating from his heart, pushing the Gray Rat with all his might, getting up in the process.

"Eek!"

The rat let out a squeal due to the sudden change in its prey, however, it quickly recovered and lunged at Noah, intent on finishing him off.

"Don't even think about it!"

Noah of course did not stand still and launched a kick towards the rat, hitting its nose hard, forcing the rat to back away momentarily and taking advantage of this moment to run up the stairs as fast as he could.

Although he had kicked it, fortunately it hit a sensitive part. Even though he had advanced in grade and consequently his regenerative ability in conjunction with his body had also been strengthened, the Gray Rat still remained a great danger to him, especially in a place as cramped as this.

So, he kept running, climbing step after step quickly, now he only had 1 floor to go before he reached the rooftop. In his ears the shriek of the Gray Rat following close behind, 

Regardless of that, he reached the door leading to the rooftop, as it was locked, Noah kicked the door using all his strength.

*Bam!*

Fortunately, either because the lock was rusted or because the force Noah used was enough, the door opened with a loud clang, revealing a large rooftop that had no metal fences or any kind of security around the edges.

Noah didn't stop to close the door and instead kept running until he reached the edge of the roof, so close that if he took just one more step, he would fall without stopping until he crashed to the ground.

Even if his skill had improved considerably, he was sure that the best he could achieve would be to prolong his pain until he inevitably died.

Despite that, Noah wasn't showing the slightest bit of fear right now, his eyes completely focused on the door, waiting for the Gray Rat to arrive.

"Eek!"

Until it finally appeared, quickly running towards him.

The next moment, it lunged towards Noah at breakneck speed, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards with the Gray Rat on top of him, both of them disappearing off the rooftop.