Chapter 29: A Dual Awakening

Despite successfully awakening my abilities, I felt no joy in that moment.

My new ability felt incredibly strange, almost absurd, as if I were caught in a dream.

Before my rebirth, when I first awakened my spatial abilities, the experience hadn’t been nearly so dramatic.

All I remembered was my vision going black, and then my consciousness was transported into a distinct space. There, the space itself demonstrated several of its various capabilities.

Once the demonstration concluded, I was unceremoniously ejected from that realm.

Later, I spoke with other ability users, and every single one confirmed they had undergone an identical experience.

This time, however, my ability awakening was anything but ordinary.

For starters, I couldn’t even pinpoint what my new ability truly was.

An ice sword had manifested initially, but what was the sudden appearance of fire that followed?

Or was it…

A daring thought abruptly surfaced in my mind, yet I immediately dismissed it, shaking my head at such an impossibility.

‘How could anyone possibly awaken two distinct abilities simultaneously?’

While I knew my idea bordered on the fantastical, trying wouldn’t cost me anything, nor would it cause me any harm.

Acting on impulse, I extended both hands.

I pictured the ice sword and flames that had just materialized, then directed my consciousness to channel my body’s energy towards my hands, attempting to force the newly awakened abilities to manifest.

As moments ticked by, my outstretched hands remained utterly empty.

‘I truly was being too fanciful,’ I thought. ‘How could it possibly…’

Just as a self-deprecating smile touched my lips and I prepared to retract my hands, an unforeseen change abruptly occurred.

My hands simultaneously grew hot and cold. Then, to my utter astonishment, both the ice sword and the flames erupted from my left and right palms, respectively.

‘Holy hell, it really is true!’

My gaze fixed on the ice sword and flames flickering in my hands, I felt a surge of certainty. ‘From now on,’ I mused, ‘I’ll definitely be able to slay more zombies, acquire more core crystals, and reach even higher levels.’

After a moment of exhilaration, I waved my hand, dispelling the ice sword and flames from my palms.

Even in my mind, these two abilities had been locked in a fierce struggle. Now, manifested in my palms, they were still vying for dominance.

Indeed, the moment I summoned them, I distinctly felt the ice sword and flames, almost as if they possessed their own sentience, challenging each other within my grasp.

It was for this reason that I had no choice but to dispel them. I feared that if they remained for even a moment longer, the ice sword and flames would erupt into another battle.

Reaching up, I patted my own face. This whole situation still felt utterly surreal, like a dream.

Yet, a sharp pinch to my thigh quickly confirmed that this was, in fact, reality.

With my abilities awakened, my body had fully recovered. There was no longer any reason to linger here and waste precious time.

Without delay, I reached out, unlocked the fitting room door, and stepped back into the main clothing store.

The store appeared exactly as I had left it. The main entrance remained undamaged, a clear sign that neither people nor zombies had breached its defenses.

After checking the knife at my waist and tidying myself, I prepared to leave the clothing store. My goal was to find and eliminate a few zombies elsewhere, gathering core crystals to help my sister level up.

If the opportunity arose, I intended to stockpile plenty of core crystals for myself as well.

In this apocalyptic world, core crystals served as the universal currency for all exchanges.

The higher the core crystal’s grade, the more valuable the items it could procure.

After my sister and I waited for the army’s arrival here, our journey from H City to B City would still involve a considerable distance.

Stockpiling core crystals during that journey would undoubtedly save us a great deal of trouble.