"Autumn Cicada Fist? Master, have you heard of this martial art?" Bertram asked the dojo master beside him.
"I've only heard about it from her, and I've only seen it from her!" The master shook his head.
That made the mysterious girl's identity even more confusing.
No matter what, Bertram had gotten his hands on a powerful martial art, which seriously boosted his close-combat skills.
Even though he had only memorized about thirty percent of it, it was fine. He could practice it over and over in his infinite life simulation, and then challenge the mysterious girl again.
He should be able to fully master it eventually.
"By the way, Master, what exactly is that battle intent she unleashed?"
"Uh… well… this, this thing, I've only seen it from her too!" The master rubbed his forehead, clearly getting a headache.
What was with this kid? Why was he asking him every little thing?
Why did Bertram think he had all the answers?
All he knew was that the mysterious girl was insanely strong, but the details?
Way out of his league!
At that moment, the mysterious girl, still dressed in a white training outfit and wearing a white dog mask, slowly exited the dojo through the back door.
Once she stepped out, she let out a long sigh of relief.
She patted her money pouch.
"That was close, I almost ran out of money!"
Under the mask, the mysterious girl pouted.
"Guess I'll have to take on more odd jobs to earn some extra cash!"
She jogged away from the martial arts dojo.
---
Bertram walked out of the dojo, still thinking about the mysterious girl's Autumn Cicada Fist.
Every move she made showed how terrifying and powerful it was.
She had defeated him using just the most basic techniques from the Autumn Cicada Fist.
Even his Silver Threads couldn't hold up against it!
"If I master the Autumn Cicada Fist, I'll have sword energy for long-range, fists for close combat, and Silver Threads for support. I'll be unstoppable!" Bertram grinned to himself.
As he walked back to the apocalypse base...
"Wait, the base got blown up, and the new one isn't even done yet. Where am I supposed to go?"
"Looks like I'll have to go back to school for now," Bertram sighed softly.
He could still stay on campus for a few more days.
Hopefully, the new base for the apocalypse squad would be ready before the school officially "kicked out" the graduates.
Bertram walked back toward school.
At that moment, he felt something had changed.
Just a few days ago, he had been stressing over his future and the college entrance exams. Now, he had earned the right to stay in the city.
But the city… it wasn't as safe as it used to be.
Yet the people around him acted like nothing was wrong.
They kept living like the city was still 100% safe, just like always.
When Bertram stepped onto school grounds, though, the mood was anything but peaceful.
As July approached, the graduating students were getting more and more desperate.
Not everyone was as lucky as Bertram, who had gotten an invitation from the Doomsday Squad, letting him avoid the crisis ahead.
Most ordinary graduates still had to go out and fight those dangerous otherworldly monsters.
And most of them would probably die, maybe in ten days, maybe twenty, maybe a month, taken down by some terrifying being.
The human population kept shrinking, and there were even rumors that the higher-ups were researching embryo tech just to keep humanity alive.
The freshmen and sophomores weren't in immediate danger yet, but they still showed respect for the graduating class's final peaceful days.
After all, what the seniors were going through now... would eventually be their future too.
In the training room, Bertram repeatedly practiced the Autumn Cicada Fist he had learned from the mysterious girl, going over it again and again.
With each repetition, Bertram began to gain some insights.
"Good thing my martial arts talent has been upgraded to a D-level. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to grasp this Autumn Cicada Fist at all!" Bertram marveled at how big of a difference talent made.
While Bertram was practicing, a few students outside headed to the restroom together.
"Hey! This jerk never washes his hands after using the bathroom, and he loves to cover our mouths with his filthy hands!" one student said, smacking another on the head as he tried to walk away without washing.
"Fine, I'll wash my hands!" the student grumbled, reluctantly heading to the sink with the others.
The faucet released murky water, and suddenly, a metallic clanging sound came from the drain below.
"What's wrong with this drain? Is it clogged?" one of the students asked, even thinking about reaching in with his hand.
Just then, a scarlet tentacle squeezed out of the drain, pushing everything in the sink aside. A scarlet octopus, the size of a millstone, crawled out.
The students stared, frozen in shock. This thing looked like something out of a monster book or one of those freaky specimen jars.
"It looks like a creature from another dimension..." one of the students whispered, their voice shaking, eyes wide with fear.
Screams broke out near the sinks, echoing through the whole school.
The scarlet octopus extended its long red tentacles, grabbing the students by the nose. Within seconds, their bodies shriveled up, dried out completely.
At the same time, in other parts of the school, scarlet octopuses burst from the drains, crawling out with devilish eyes fixed on their prey, beginning their hunt.
The whole school fell into chaos.
---
In the training room, Bertram was still practicing the Autumn Cicada Fist when the drain suddenly twitched. A scarlet tentacle, lined with sharp little teeth, shot out.
Bertram's spine tingled with alarm, and he instinctively punched toward it, his fists glowing with a faint cicada aura.
The teeth on the scarlet tentacle bit into the aura like they were chewing on rubber.
Bertram's punch pushed the tentacle back, but whatever was down there got seriously pissed.
It smashed through the floor and came up, a huge demon blood octopus, as big as a millstone, letting out ear-piercing ee-yah ee-yah screeches.
"Devil Blood Octopus!" Bertram's heart pounded in fear.
No way. He had been working so hard to change his fate, and yet he still ran into another Devil Blood Octopus... at school?
Meanwhile, outside the training room, there were nonstop screams, explosions, and those same creepy ee-ya ee-ya sounds echoing everywhere.
It wasn't just his training room, these monsters were everywhere.