Wrath of the Re-climber

"help me!" Screaming one of the girls, her hand torn apart by the mandible of the scarab, she tried to defend herself but was soon overwhelmed by the numbers coming at her.

"No! Michelle!" Her friend shouted as she rushed towards the scarab, but her body was jerked backward; she stumbled to the ground and looked up in anger, "Why!" She screamed at Ethan.

"Are you stupid or blind?" She pointed towards the scarab, "Can't you see it's over? She's dead," He said before walking away; the scarab was busy, so he would go down to the next floor because of their strong defense; it was hard to deal with them.

"How could you be heartless, she was once our classmate!" Cried the girl; Ethan ignored her and opened the door to the next floor.

'I don't even know her,' he thought before entering; Katnese felt bad for the loss but still followed behind.

Lauren walked forward, and Damian and Dimitri followed; only the quiet boy of the group stayed behind, "Patricia, we need to keep moving; if those things come back, we will be in trouble," He said.

The girl nodded; she stood up, wiping her tears, her hatred directed towards Ethan, 'you could have saved her; I would make you pay,' she thought as she exited the second layer towards the third layer.

Ethan, not knowing about the threat on him, kept on walking down the path of the third layer; he soon saw the light.

"What's this place?" Asked Katnese; everybody wondered; they knew what this place was, but what was it doing under a building?

Mall

Ethan looked at his sword, 'I would need to sharpen it if I want to deal with those guys in the next layers,' he thought.

"There's food!" Shouted Dimitri as he ran forward; the others followed, same as Ethan; he was thirsty.

Everybody started getting what they could get their hands on; they ate and filled up their stomachs. Ethan did the same; after eating sixty canned foods, she drank a whole gallon of water.

'ha...' This might be my last time enjoying this luxury,' he thought; he needed to start a business now, so he stood up and walked towards the section of the mall.

He wasn't certain he would find it here, but seeing it with his own eyes, made him urge to shout loud.

"The workshop"

Ethan opened the door and entered; he looked around for a moment, took out his blunt sword, walked towards a table, and laid out what he gathered on the way there.

[Rabbit skin, parasite shells, scarab organs]

Katnese swallowed hard and drank a bottle of water; after having her fill, she looked around and realized Ethan was nowhere to be found; slightly worried, she stood up looking for him.

"Are you going after him?" Asked Lauren; Katnese posed; she looked at her and nodded.

"It seems like you've become quite attached to Ethan since we came here." She smiled, walking around Katnese.

"What's your point here?" Asked Katnese, not pleased with Lauren's tone; while she lifted her hand, rejecting Katnese's suspicious gaze, Lauren laughed.

"Don't get me wrong; I, too, wish to befriend him. Isn't it better we all work together?" Lauren pointed at herself with one finger and used the other hand to point to Katnese.

"Why this proposition now, aren't we already together?" Asked Katnese.

'tss, this moron' thought Katnese, but she kept on smiling, "Your naive nature is kind of cute. Didn't you realize that everybody here is fighting to stay alive? Tell me, what would happen when they become strong enough to stand on their own?" Asked Lauren; Katnese went into deep thought.

'Eventually, everybody would seek to have a monopoly over power; same goes with those out there, the issue is...'

"We can't come to conclusions this fast; the situation around us is still evolving; I suggest we wait and see," Said Katnese. Lauren smiled and nodded before turning around to leave.

Her complexion turn ugly in an instant, 'this bitch is either too stupid or just cunning'

Katnese looked at Lauren back, but soon, her attention and that of others were attracted to the sounds of hammering.

"What's that bastard doing again?" Dimitri, who was trying to rest, woke up and looked around; he instinctively knew who made those sounds since everybody was there except him.

"Help me gather all resources here; we will hide them. This is to prevent outsiders from getting a holding it." Said Damian, Dimitri nodded, and they immediately started work, even dragging the fourth boy along.

Katnese carried a bag of food and walked towards the workstation; she opened the door and saw Ethan smashing on insect remains, mixing them with the other things he gathered, he carried a pot and lit a fire under, and the strange purple-like mixture started boiling.

A putrid smell came out, disorienting Katnese for a moment; she staggered and closed her nose, "What's that?!" She looked at Ethan.

"A small mixture; don't breathe too much of it; it can cause you severe internal damage." He warned her to stay out; Katnese looked at him.

"What about you?" She asked; that's when she realized that Ethan had been chowing on something ever since he came down the second layer.

"Oh, I can sustain it; scarab organs are good material for medicines," He casually informed her.

"... I have been meaning to ask, how do you know all this stuff, and fight techniques?" She asked; Ethan, still mixing the concoction, answered without much thought.

"Don't ask me how, just swallow and survive," He said; in short, it is none of your business.

Katnese nodded before leaving the place; Ethan brought out the sets of knives he gathered, from kitchenhunting knives.

He started applying the mixture to the knives one by one, his smile widening, "I hope he appreciates my efforts," Thought Ethan.

/"Look boy, the mixture isn't that hard, just this all in a pot and that's it, there's no need to stress on measuring whatever, but be cautious, it can also affect your fighting mobility"/

"Naturally, it's a gas-like poisoning, but it can also be inflicted when coming in contact with a hard skin," He thought.

Putting the materials needed to take down the one at the end is kind of crazy.

He sharpened his blunt blade, applying the substance to it; he was satisfied; using the rabbit skin, he tied up the knives and left the store.

"What's that smell?" Asked Damian, uncomfortable, Ethan looked at him, "it's poison, " He answered.

Damian blinked for a moment; he looked inside and realized that a small quantity was left.

"Can I have some?" He asked; Ethan walked away, "Do whatever you want with the rest; it's no use to me." Damian gritted his teeth.

Ethan looked around and discovered that the shelves and all the food and resources had disappeared, 'did they displace all of them?' he wondered.

"These kids sure are greedy." It wasn't a bad thing, as people needed to be greedy and selfish to survive the upcoming war, but something, that attitude may lead to their own deaths.

He walked away, and someone followed behind him, "why didn't you go with the others for the poison?" He asked.

"Free goods are the most expensive goods that exist," Answered Katnese; she wasn't the only one; a boy and girl who glared from the back tagged along.

Ethan pushed the door to the fourth layer, which looked as eerie as ever; those behind him gulped at the unknown pressure.

"I can feel his murderous aura spread out," He thought; after making sure everything was in place, he walked down the stairs.