The red-haired man looked pleased with their reactions.
He closed his fist, extinguishing the fire.
Then he opened his hand again.
Another flame sprang to life.
"As you can see, I'm not exactly an ordinary person."
He looked around.
"If we're going to fight monsters, wouldn't it make sense to have someone strong leading the group?"
Some survivors appeared convinced.
After all, an ability to create fire could be extremely useful against monsters.
However, not everyone agreed.
"Hah!"
A deep voice came from the crowd.
"You think you're the only mutant here?"
A bulky man stepped forward.
He was considerably larger than the red-haired man, with broad shoulders and thick arms.
The red-haired man glanced toward him.
"What?"
The bulky man raised his right arm.
"Watch."
CRACK!
His muscles began swelling.
Dark fur spread across his skin, while his fingers grew thicker and his nails lengthened into sharp claws.
Within seconds, his entire hand had transformed into something resembling the limb of a large beast.
Several survivors stared.
"What the hell?"
"His arm!"
However, the transformation wasn't finished.
Dust and small stones began rising from the ground.
They circled the bulky man's transformed arm, creating a small vortex of debris.
The man flexed his claws.
"See?"
He looked toward the red-haired man.
"You're not the only one with special abilities."
The red-haired man's smile faded slightly.
"And?"
"And why should you be the leader just because you can make some fire?"
The two men stared at each other.
The nearby survivors began moving away, apparently unwilling to get caught between them.
Faust watched the exchange with interest.
'Fire manipulation and beast transformation.'
His gaze shifted toward the floating debris.
'And some degree of earth manipulation.'
The bulky man's ability appeared more complicated than a simple physical mutation.
However, before Faust could examine it further, a woman's voice interrupted the argument.
"Enough!"
BOOOOM!
The ground suddenly shook.
Dust erupted into the air as cracks spread across the dirt.
Several survivors stumbled backward.
"What the hell?!"
"Another one?!"
A muscular woman stood near the center of the crowd.
She had struck the ground with her fist.
As she slowly straightened, pieces of broken earth fell from her knuckles.
Both men turned toward her.
"What are you two debating about?"
Her voice was sharp.
"Are we seriously going to waste our preparation time fighting over who's in charge?"
The red-haired man frowned.
"And who are you?"
The woman ignored his question for the moment.
She looked toward the crowd.
"If we want to survive, we should group the strongest people together and let them organize the rest."
Several survivors exchanged glances.
The woman continued.
"Those with combat abilities should handle the dangerous tasks. The others can gather supplies, repair buildings, and prepare defenses."
She pointed toward the surrounding village.
"We don't have enough people to waste time arguing about every little decision."
A few survivors nodded.
"That makes sense."
"She's right."
"We need someone who knows what they're doing."
The woman waited for the murmurs to settle.
"My name is Aphelia."
She glanced toward the red-haired man and the bulky survivor.
"Before the apocalypse, I served in the military. I'm no stranger to situations like this"
Several survivors became more attentive.
"Military?"
"That explains her strength."
"Maybe she can organize us."
Aphelia folded her arms.
"Listen carefully."
She looked around the crowd.
"Our survival depends on cooperation."
Her gaze moved toward the forest.
"We don't know how many monsters are coming tonight, how strong they are, or which direction they'll attack from."
She paused.
"If we start fighting among ourselves now, we'll only make things easier for them."
The red-haired man remained silent.
Aphelia continued.
"And don't be fooled by the rewards that creature mentioned earlier."
Several survivors turned toward her.
"The system offers points and items for killing other players. It even rewards you with a chance to refresh your profession cards."
She shook her head.
"That's a trap."
"A trap?" someone asked.
"Yes."
Aphelia pointed toward the timer.
"Think about it. Every person we lose means one fewer survivor to defend this village."
She looked toward the nearby buildings.
"We already have limited manpower. If we start killing each other for rewards, who's going to stop the monsters when they arrive?"
The crowd grew quiet.
Aphelia continued.
"Even if you manage to steal someone else's points, what good will they do if the entire village gets destroyed?"
Several survivors exchanged glances.
Her argument was difficult to dismiss.
After all, the objective was to defend the village for three days.
Losing too many people before the invasion even began would only reduce their chances of surviving.
Faust observed Aphelia as she spoke.
'So the mutations have already begun.'
His gaze shifted between the three survivors who had demonstrated their abilities.
'Fire generation, beast transformation, and enhanced physical strength.'
Each ability appeared to operate through a different mechanism.
'Interesting.'
He examined the surrounding crowd.
Most of the survivors still appeared relatively normal.
A few carried unusual weapons or wore reinforced clothing, but there were no obvious signs that they possessed supernatural abilities.
'Most of them haven't undergone significant mutations yet.'
Faust considered the changes that had already occurred across Earth.
Animals and plants were developing increasingly unusual characteristics.
Humans had also begun displaying abilities that couldn't be explained through ordinary biology.
'It's probably only a matter of time before more of them develop something.'
He paused.
'Unless this new system interferes with the process.'
That was another possibility worth investigating.
If the profession system could modify human biology, it might affect how natural mutations developed.
Faust glanced toward the red-haired man.
'And they're calling themselves mutants.'
He found the term rather amusing.
'I've always thought awakened would be a more fitting name.'
Then again, what people decided to call their abilities didn't particularly matter.
What interested him was how those abilities worked.
Faust looked toward the countdown timer.
[11:51:42]
'Now, how should I approach this quest?'
He considered several options.
He could reveal some of his abilities and attempt to take control of the group.
Considering what Agony was capable of, dealing with the other survivors wouldn't be particularly difficult.
However, doing so would attract unnecessary attention.
Especially now that the Imagin were watching.
'There's no reason to reveal anything yet.'
He glanced toward Aphelia.
The woman appeared capable of organizing the survivors.
Whether the others would follow her was another matter.
'Let's just observe for now.'
Meanwhile, Aphelia had finished explaining her proposal.
She looked around the crowd.
"So, does anyone object to us taking the lead?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Several survivors glanced at the red-haired man, while others looked toward the bulky survivor.
Neither appeared particularly pleased.
However, after witnessing Aphelia's strength, most people seemed unwilling to challenge her directly.
The silence continued for several seconds.
Then someone stepped forward.
"I don't care who leads."
Everyone turned toward the speaker.
It was the young man carrying the makeshift spear.
He looked toward Aphelia.
"My name is Nex."
He rested the spear against his shoulder.
"Whether you lead or someone else does doesn't matter to me."
He glanced toward the forest.
"I'm heading out to gather some food."
Then he gestured toward the young woman standing beside him.
"This is Leslie. She's coming with me."
The woman held a weathered book against her chest.
Her clothes were worn and patched in several places, and she had remained quiet throughout most of the discussion.
Aphelia frowned slightly.
"Wait a moment."
Nex looked back.
"What?"
"You mentioned something called Orcs Must Die earlier when you were questioning that creature."
"Yeah?"
"What exactly is that?"
Nex blinked.
"A game."
"I gathered that much."
Aphelia crossed her arms.
"Could you explain how it works?"
Nex looked around the crowd.
"Seriously? Has nobody here played video games before?"