The largest one lunged forward with a ferocity unexpected for its size. I felt as if a truck tire were collapsing onto me; I leapt aside at the last second, narrowly avoiding the impact. The small tables in the creature's path were ground into dust. At that moment, the lumbering baby to my left swung its massive, fatty arm like a mace. I ducked under the blow and, as I rose, drove my claws into the creature’s soft flank.

  SHRED!

  The grey skin split, but my claws became stuck in a dense layer of fat about ten centimeters deep. Instead of feeling pain, the creature only grew more enraged. As I struggled to free my claws, the gust from a slap swung by the creature’s other arm made my ears ring. I threw myself backward and deployed my spear. The blade at its tip pierced the shoulder of the other fatty baby, but it felt like stabbing a swamp, severely limiting my mobility.

  The fight was more suffocating than I had anticipated. These creatures weren't fast, but they were incredibly durable. I danced back and forth across the room, landing deep gashes with my claws, yet every cut was instantly filled with that disgusting grey lard, stopping even the bleeding.

  "Damn it, they won't die!" I roared.

  The third creature had slipped behind me while I was occupied with the largest one. Taking advantage of my momentary lapse in concentration, it swung its claws to tear into my back. Though I twisted aside instinctively, I couldn't dodge completely. My hardened skin wasn't active this time; the mutated claws dug directly into my bare flesh.

  TEAR!

  I felt a deep rip extending from the right side of my chest up to my shoulder. The pain was so intense it nearly paralyzed my entire nervous system. My t-shirt was covered in warm, sticky blood within seconds. Staggering backward, I saw the largest baby monster preparing to pounce.

  "Agh! Fuck!"

  I was breathless; my vision was blurring. Elara knelt beside me immediately. "Alex! You're losing too much blood!"

  "Heal me, quick!" I said through gritted teeth. As the green light seeping from Elara’s hands began to close my wound, I regained some of my senses. "These are much stronger than the others. Without my hardened skin, even a single blow could be fatal. But if I keep running back out like this, the duration of my skill will run out and we'll lose time."

  Elara, her hands stained with my blood, looked at the corridor walls. Seeing the drywall structure, a light flickered in her eyes.

  "I have an idea," she said, her voice excited. "Alex, the interior walls of this building are drywall and plaster. They're very thin. Can you use your claws to open holes along the corridor?"

  "I can try, but what use will it be?" I asked in confusion.

  "If you open these holes," Elara said, quickly explaining her plan, "I can reach my hands through. You won't have to come all the way to the door when you're wounded while fighting inside. Just go to a hole where the monsters are far from you and call out to me. I'll heal you safely from the outside, and you won't have to break the fight."

  I tried to smile, but my face contorted in pain. "Genius idea... At least we won't be risking your safety either."

  I stood up quickly. Using my claws, I opened three holes at different points in the wall, wide enough for a human arm to fit through. As the drywall dust flew through the air, Elara took her position behind one of the holes.

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  "Are you ready?" I asked, scraping my claws together.

  "Ready. Go and finish those fatties for me!"

  I kicked the door open again and charged back in. This time, I had the reassurance of the magical hands waiting behind the wall; I was going to bury these lumbering heaps of flesh in this room.

  I dived back into the room, the door opening with the force of an explosion. The fatty babies stood where I had left them, like clumsy but angry mountains of flesh. The largest one had become even uglier with a deep gash on its face from my spear.

  "I'm back, are you ready?" I bellowed.

  The lumbering monster on my right flank made the first move. It swung its body like a sledgehammer. This time I was prepared; I dropped to the floor and slid under it, and at that exact moment, I drove my claws into the creature's knee pits—those knotted joints.

  CRACK!

  The sound of muscles and bones shattering filled the room. The creature lost its balance and collapsed with a massive roar. Thanks to its heavy body, standing back up was nearly impossible. But the other two and the massive one kept coming at me.

  The largest baby brought its massive claw down like an axe. I jumped back at the last second, but the tip of the claw grazed my arm. I gritted my teeth in pain and dashed toward the first hole in the wall.

  "Elara, now! Right arm!"

  Two soft hands immediately reached through the hole and gripped my arm. The green light shone like a lantern in the dark room. As my wound closed within seconds, the largest monster lunged toward the wall. Just as it was about to hit, I stepped aside and the monster slammed its head into the wall. The building shook, drywall fragments rained down on it, but Elara was safe on the other side.

  "We're doing great!" I shouted.

  This time, I went on the offensive. I drove my claws into the stomach of the nearest fatty and pulled upward like a zipper. The creature screamed in pain as layers of fat spurted out. I didn't kill it; I used my claws to sever the shoulder tendons, making its arms useless. It slumped aside, a pile of breathing flesh.

  [MUTANT CLAWS DURATION: 1 MINUTE 15 SECONDS]

  Time was running out. I focused on the remaining two, especially the massive one. The giant, let out wheezing growls as it lifted a desk into the air and hurled it at me. I dodged the desk, but during this, the other lumbering creature behind me grabbed my waist. I screamed in pain as it tried to sink its teeth into my ribs.

  "Agh! Get off!"

  I stabbed my claws into the creature's head repeatedly. As its brain matter spilled onto the floor with blood as black as asphalt, the notification "You gained 40 EXP" dropped into my mind. But the blow had battered me. I immediately ran toward the second hole.

  "Elara! My waist! Quick!"

  The light touched my skin once more. As the pain gave way to numbness, I heard Elara's voice from outside: "Hang in there Alex, just a little bit left!"

  Only the largest, that massive monster, remained in the center of the classroom. The other three were on the floor; one dead, two mangled to the point where they could barely move their limbs. Seeing the state of its "siblings," the giant monster let out a savage shriek.

  I ran at it with full speed. When it swung its arm, I slid under it, grabbed my spear from the floor, and struck the creature's sound leg with all my might using the shaft. As the monster fell to its knees, I pressed my claws against its throat but didn't cut. I simply shredded its vocal cords and the nerves that allowed it to move. The massive creature turned into a giant, motionless heap capable only of making faint wheezing sounds.

  I stood up, breathless. My claws were slowly retracting back into my fingers.

  "Elara... come inside," I said in a hoarse voice. "It's harvest time."

  When Elara entered the door, she paused for a moment at the sight. The room was filled with blood, fat, and shattered furniture. Three massive creatures lay helpless on the floor, half-dead.

  "I didn't kill them," I said, pointing to the bloody spear on the floor. "The EXPs are yours. Be quick, our time is decreasing."

  Elara swallowed, gripped her knife tightly, and approached the monsters on the floor. With every strike, the room grew quieter, and the cold voice of the system announced level-ups in Elara’s mind. When she finished off the largest one, a faint light shone around Elara.

  "I leveled up..." she said in a whisper.

  "Good," I said, wiping the blood trickling from my bald head. "Now let's get out of this slaughterhouse; there are plenty more rooms to clear."

  Elara looked at me while cleaning her knife. "Alex... your hair... it still hasn't come back."