Death Clones

Alexander was convinced that this monster had been lying in wait for him to arrive here. What made him dizzy was how it managed to get here from the house even faster than him.

Even though he was sneaking, his movements weren't slow. After all, this wasn't a cartoon where he would tiptoe dramatically and slowly for comedic effect. Yet this monster had managed to drag the woman in and secure her before crossing ahead of him to get comfortable while waiting for him to arrive.

Alexander immediately understood. If the giant pitbull's attribute was strength, then this one's was definitely speed or agility. Probably, there was an element of silence or shadow movement given the coloring of its fur that seemed to contain darkness.

In fact, looking closer at it with its dark yet glowing fur and purple eyes, it looked a lot like a color variation of Umbreon, yet slightly larger and more cruel aesthetically due to the prevalent claws.

Alexander did not want to die. This was an obvious and very predictable sentiment, but it was more than that. Alexander absolutely did not want to die at the hands of this specific monster.

If he were forced to choose with absolutely no chance to escape, he would choose the giant pitbull for sure. It would be gory and painful, but relatively short. From the way this cat treated its owner, coupled with what Alexander had heard about cats, he definitely did not want to be captured by it, as he would likely spend a long time in agony before death.

Making this decision, Alexander did not hesitate. He immediately released his two death clones towards the monster and then made a run for it. What happened next was quite surprising, as two humanoid shapes that matched Alexander's emerged from his body, but they were like undetailed 3D models.

They were dark black but not shadow-like, looking very corporeal with two red trapezoid-shaped eyes on their faces and the outline of a nose but no lips nor mouth. Immediately, the two death clones flanked the monster on either side and pounced, making the beast feel alarmed.

It had come here to toy with its prey and relish in its despair and futile struggle, but it never expected such a scene in all of its lives! As such, it was slow to react and was grabbed by one of the clones around its torso and lifted up.

The other one grabbed its two front legs while the first one grabbed its two hind legs and held them tight. Immediately, the cat-like monster began to thrash and struggle to break free, but the two death clones held on without stopping at all.

Alexander, who was halfway over the fence, paused with surprise at the 'report' he was receiving in his mind. He was half-shocked because he finally learned that his Death Clones were semi-autonomous, in that they could act on their own based on his thoughts or best interests and because they had actually subdued a monster that Alexander had watched slaughter one of his own kind with ease.

Alexander hesitated greatly but rushed back because the death clones were struggling to keep the feline beast pinned down as it went crazy with fear. It even began frothing at the mouth and meowing crazily, trying to bite anyone it could see.

Rather than stand around uselessly, Alexander rushed to grab anything with a sharp end and found a lawn rake. He then unscrewed the shaft from the head and rushed towards the trapped feline with bloodshot eyes.

Knowing that it could not easily pierce its skin given its blunt edge, Alexander simply - and surprisingly accurately - plunged the stick down the feline's gullet and through its rear as he cruelly shoved it in all the way.

This was easy enough to do since the monster had been screaming crazily without a care for its surroundings. When Alexander made his move, its struggle peaked as it was filled with agony, but then its body began to shake and twitch as it looked on, and innards leaked from both ends.

In the end, its eyes cleared of its previous vicious needs and radiated helplessness as it meowed pitifully one last time before all movement ceased. Alexander was panting, less from tiredness and more from the surging emotions in his body as he had secured what would be his first real kill.

He made his death clones hold the corpse for a longer time until a minute or two passed and the blood stopped flowing out. Alexander had watched a few Nat Geo documentaries and knew that some animals would deliberately play dead to either escape or lure its assailant closer for a fatal blow.

Alexander did not usually remember such things in just any situation, but he really did not want to die right now, not after all this. Eventually, his anger peaked and he began using his hand to beat against the corpse of the feline, smashing its head and body until his fists were covered with blood, both from himself and his target.

The Death Clones simply stood by the side protectively but looked on silently. One could not see any expression on their faces, but one could almost imagine that they could visualize expressions of sadness.

Alexander eventually vented all his anger and fear on the corpse and then sat down beside it, breathing heavily while his thoughts rapidly cleared. He glanced at the house where the woman should likely be, but he had no intention of going inside to check on her well-being.

Who knew if she was a stereotypical cat lady? That would mean that she had more than one of these things prowling in her house, and they could be 'playing' with her currently, which was why the ongoings out here had not caused a commotion.

Besides, if Alexander wanted supplies and shelter, he had his own house as the best option. As long as he could deal with that giant pitbull, it was entirely possible for him to reclaim and fortify his home.

After all, now that he was calm, he realized how stupid it would be to rush out. This was a typical suburban area, and apart from a very neat and well-maintained road that was open on all sides, the nearest mart or police station was miles away.

Luckily, this was America, and Alexander felt that some deceased neighbors might have guns or weapons in their houses. He would try to acquire them later, but right now, he needed to absolutely settle down and hide.

His goal should be to acquire soul points and increase his stats, and the best way to do that was standing on either side of him. His death clones were resurrectable, which meant he could afford to experiment with them, and if they could successfully get what he needed every time they were deployed, then Alexander could fight 'remotely'.

Gathering supplies, scouting or spying on enemies, performing diversions, and acting as tanks in battle (assuming Alexander was in the fight as well) or acting as fighters while he watched from the rear.

However, all of this was predicated on two facts: how long could he maintain his death clones in their manifested form, and how far from his body could they go? The answer to these would decide Alexander's plan going forward, but he had no way of getting them easily.

He would have to manually experiment, and he definitely could not and did not dare to do so at the moment. There were three reasons for that.

First, even though a number had not been stated, Alexander did not know if there was a cap to the number of death clones he could have. After all, his ability to come back from death was only a side effect of his ability to generate death clones.

Alexander would be a fool to think that this ability, which had been graded A, granted him immunity to death. If so, then what was the point of this entire apocalypse? Or the death game? They might as well pack Alexander up in a VIP lounge and let him wait until the other 99 were decided.

Secondly, even though Alexander was currently safe, that could change at any moment, and without these death clones to give him options to escape, death would await him. More importantly, if they were sent away and they could go far, how quickly could Alexander recall them? Was it instant or did they have to be within touching range?

Thirdly, and finally, Alexander simply did not want to experience the pain of death. If it was something swift and instant like his first death, he wouldn't mind. If it was anything like his second death, he would rather keep the number of his death clones at this amount forever.

Alexander then paid attention to the notifications from the Omega System after he had gathered his rapid-fire thoughts that were going everywhere but here.

<Congratulations 150 on your successful kill of the F+ grade Mutated Feline (Domestic)! Gained Soul Points!>

Alexander gained a single attribute point he could allocate with his soul points bar resetting to 50/200. It seemed that every time one 'filled the bar,' it would increase? Whether that increase was linear or exponential could decide the fate not only of Alexander but every human, as their growth would be attached to it.

Also, was the soul point gain fixed per grade, or did it vary? Could killing the same monster give the same amount each time, or did it change depending on how it was killed? Also, did it increase the more of that monster you killed?

Alexander found himself asking more and more questions that he could not even answer right now, which left him frustrated. In the end, Alexander thought about his current circumstances and decided to add his new point to his Potency.

He did not need Vitality right now since he could 'respawn' for a while. Besides, having a stronger body in terms of defense was useless because, in the case of the giant pitbull, he would be a slightly bigger ant.

Meanwhile, in the case of the Mutated Feline, all it had to do was imprison or constrain him if it couldn't kill. Choosing acuity wouldn't help in this case either.

Putting aside the fact that Alexander already had slightly above-average acuity for the human race, no amount of IQ could help an ant beat a dinosaur in a plain environment with no assistive installments.

With more strength and speed, Alexander could deal with situations better. Even more importantly, his death clones benefited from it and would be able to restrain monsters like the Mutated Feline much easier next time.

Alexander's mind was not clouded. He understood that in order to get stronger, he needed to invest in his method of harvesting soul points, which was his killing ability, which was Potency.

With more Potency, he could kill more beasts and do it faster, easier, and more skillfully overall. This would lead to him harvesting more points which he could then invest into his ability, and there began a virtuous cycle.

Alexander felt the difference when the point was allocated. His lackluster physique that had gone slightly chubby instantly evened out as if time was reversed on his body, and he became as lean as he had been in senior high school.

[Participant Name: Alexander Bane

World: Gaia

Talent: Death Clones (A Grade - 2 Clones)

Potency: 0.8 -> 1.8

Vitality: 0.6

Acuity: 1.5

Soul Points: 50/200.]

Alexander was currently almost twice as strong and fast as the average man, so it made sense that his entire physique changed to reflect that. No, not to reflect it, but rather to facilitate it.

This meant that his clones were now about as strong as a perfectly healthy adult male. With this in mind, Alexander hesitated but still decided to send one of his death clones into the house where the cat came from while he and the other one retreated near the wall.

This way, if anything went wrong, he could vault over.