ENERGI: THE PRIMORDIAL CONDUIT[OP MC, APOCALYPSE, SURVIVAL, AND LITRPG]

AN: Come on, guys, show me some love! The novel only has fewer than 40 favorites. It’s honestly starting to feel depressing 😭

*****

Kael’s laughter faded into a sharp, focused silence as he cast his consciousness inward.

The interior of his spatial ring unfolded...a ten-cubic-meter void of pristine storage. Unlike the cluttered mess of standard bags, this space possessed a chilling, unnatural precision.

Stretching into the darkness were rows of vials, aligned with the geometric perfection of a military parade. Dozens of potions...crimson, azure, violet, and amber...shimmered like captured stars.

"That’s… close to a hundred…"

The sheer wealth of it stole his breath. But the ring wasn’t finished.

The space rippled. Two artifacts drifted into the center of his mental vision.

The first was small.

Unassuming.

A thin black earring hovered quietly in the air, its surface smooth and matte, absorbing the surrounding light. Despite its simplicity, a faint pressure lingered around it...subtle, yet undeniable.

A message appeared.

---

[MIND EARRING (RARE)]

A simple earring imbued with mental resonance.

+2 Mind when equipped.

---

Kael’s gaze lingered on it for a moment before shifting.

The second item…

Was different.

The space itself seemed to grow heavier.

A pair of gauntlets emerged slowly, forged from a dark metallic alloy that gleamed with a cold, muted sheen. Intricate lines ran along their surface like flowing currents, faintly glowing with a deep crimson light that pulsed in steady rhythm.

They weren’t bulky.

But they felt…

Powerful.

Ancient.

As though they were built not just for combat...

...but for domination.

The fingers were segmented, each joint layered perfectly for movement, while the knuckles were reinforced with slightly raised ridges that gave off a quiet, oppressive aura.

As Kael focused, the system responded.

---

[BLACKFLARE GAUNTLETS (EPIC)]

A weapon forged for overwhelming force.

+5 Strength

+5 Vitality

Active Skill: Impact Surge

- Increases damage dealt on impact by 20%

- Cost: 5 Mana

---

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly. He was pondering on how formidable the item he received was when...

The screen flickered.

Once.

Twice.

And then, the text distorted.

---

[BLACKFLARE GAUNTLETS (EPIC)]

A weapon forged for overwhelming force.

+5 Strength

+5 Vitality

Active Skill: Impact Surge

- Increases damage dealt on impact by 100%

- Cost: 3 ENERGI

---

The silence that followed was absolute.

Kael froze. His heart, previously steady, slammed violently against his ribs as he stared at the impossible correction.

'What... was that?'

No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn't come up with much. The only cause he could think of was that his Energi was so overwhelmingly powerful compared to mana, and its own usage seemed to alter the effects of his items. At least, one that had a skill, and required an energy source to work.

'Now that I think of it, every time I tried to augment Alice's blade with my Energi, the construct would simply decompose. Yet I have seen Nathan do so with his mana, though the effect wasn't that noticeable. After all, the sword itself is made of mana. But that is beside the point. If my Energi can really bolster any epic rank and above items I have, then it would be game changing.'

Not willing to waste more time on this, Kael sent his consciousness back to his body. He sent his intentions to the system and equipped his new items.

Bright flashes of light bloomed around him, as a black long earring hung on his left ear, and his new gauntlet appeared around his right fist.

'So only one appeared, huh? Makes sense.'

"Wow..."

Before Kael could even test his new item, Rose had already grabbed his covered fist and admired the gauntlet. The others' reactions were not so different. They couldn't see any information on the gauntlet, but what they could see was its name and rank.

---

Time slowly passed as the group rested after such a big fight. With most of technology no longer working, whether they ran on electricity or were simply mechanical in nature, the group had no choice but to measure the time by how high the sun was in the sky.

They were already in the late afternoon, and seeing that most of them needed much rest, with them not having slept for over a day, they decided to abandon their other plans for the day and simply stay put. Not to mention, the unusual state of the campus put them at unease, so they didn't want to risk venturing out for the moment.

Despite his Energi now being full, and his body mostly recovered, Kael still found himself craving sleep. But with the two little girls sleeping beside him, each using his legs as their pillows, Kael couldn't find it in himself to rest. He knew there was no immediate threat to their life, but the thought of something threatening appearing unnerved him a great deal.

He raised his hand and caressed his sister’s glistening dark hair, against the little girl's comfort, as she shifted in her sleep, with an annoyed expression on her face.

Kael laughed lightly and was almost tempted to pull her nose, but still decided against it.

The others were also getting rest as they each stayed rested in their quiet corner, Alice and Natalie being the only other ones together. Kael noticed the younger of the sisters was a bit dejected, and Alice, being who she is, merely embraced her by the shoulders without offering any word.

Just when he was thinking of saying a few words to assure this girl, who seemed to admire him to an almost unnerving extent, Nathan suddenly stood before approaching the two sisters. A look of hesitation flickered across his face before his eyes shone with resolve.

His emerald eyes focused on Alice as he voiced his intentions:

"I have noticed how you fight, and I can tell you are very good at it."

Alice's enchanting amethyst eyes showed no reaction, prompting Nathan to continue.

"I want to learn how to fight. Can you teach me?"

Nathan shifted a bit, as he felt embarrassed at not only asking a girl but even a junior at that to teach him how to fight. But he knew when to swallow his pride and ask for help. Contrary to what he expected, Alice didn't hesitate for a moment as she nodded her head and tapped her sister lightly before standing up.

A light smile graced Nathan's handsome face as the tension in his nerves faded away.

"Thank you!"

Alice nodded once more before the duo moved to the middle of the room. The space was a bit small, but it was nothing they couldn't manage.

They both took a fighting stance, their eyes trained on each other, with Nathan towering slightly over Alice.

Seeing that she had no intention of moving first, Nathan took the bite and quickly closed in before throwing a punch. His movements was all over the place. Still, there was no doubt such a punch would hurt if it should land.

Alice calmly shifted her body to the side at the same time as she moved forward, entering Nathan's personal space. His eyes widened in surprise as he tried to retreat, but Alice suddenly pulled at his returning arm before throwing a quick hook that Nathan barely registered. The fist stopped mere inches away, causing Nathan to gulp in nervousness.

Alice gazed at him intently before dropping her hand and returning to her previous position. Nathan took a deep breath and was about to take another stance when Kael's words drifted into his ears.

"He didn't even last five seconds."

Nathan tried to ignore Kael's snicker, but when he heard Natalie's barely restrained giggles, his face flushed red in embarrassment.

Alice sent her sister a quiet glare, prompting the latter to compose herself instantly.

Alice also sent Kael a side glance before focusing back on Nathan and gesturing with her hand.

Nathan took a deep breath before lunging once more into action. The both of them wove around each other as they tried to keep their steps calm and silent, so as not to wake the sleeping girls up.

Natalie pouted as she watched the scene. She soon lost interest and carefully moved around the fighting duo before sitting a short distance away from Kael.

Kael kept his eyes focused on the fight for a while as his thoughts churned.

'Without Combat Trance, I am no different from Nathan. Relying entirely on my class might not be the best thing to do.'

He followed their every movement and took note of the silent corrections Alice offered Nathan. Only after he was satisfied did he turn his eyes and offer Natalie a light smile.

"So?"

Natalie blushed slightly at his sudden stare.

"N-nothing. I just wanted to sit closer to you."

Kael raised a brow in surprise. He was almost tempted to ask how the girl knew him so well, and why she felt so attached. Sure, Alice was her elder sister and also his classmate, but that shouldn't be anywhere close enough to why she was so attached to him. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he shook his head slightly, prompting the girl to look at him curiously.

Instead, Kael spoke of something else.

"You were the only one among us who didn't improve in the last battle."

Natalie's excitement visibly died down as she faced away from him and lowered her head, her voice now sounding softer.

"I know."

Kael lingered for a moment as he studied her reaction before he spoke once more.

"Don't worry. Next time, I will prioritize leveling you up."

Natalie's eyes abruptly turned toward him, but when she saw the assuring smile on his face, a flustered look flashed on her face as she quickly waved her hand.

"There is no need. You don't have to take care of me, you already have your sister and Sophia to worry after..."

- CRASH!

Before she could continue—and before Kael could even think of a response—the sound of glass shattering suddenly resounded within the room, causing Kael, Natalie, Alice, and Nathan to suddenly go on alert. Even the sleeping girls woke abruptly, their reactions clearly showing they had not been sleeping deeply, the fear already instilled deep within their core.

All eyes turned to Ms. Claire, who sat near the open entrance of the room, with a potion bottle shattered before her.

The group had already noticed the young teacher constantly practicing with her skill, as she seemed to want to test something. They could already guess that her skill must have upgraded, but because she wasn't a child like them, they found it a bit harder to relate with her.

They couldn't help but wonder why she suddenly dropped a mana potion, but when they noticed her eyes weren't even trained on them, but were instead fixed behind them, the group turned their heads swiftly at the same time as a feeling of unease sprung up in their hearts.

What they saw made their breaths hitch.

Just there, outside, and gazing through the gaps in the window was a creature that hung upside down, with only its head visible to them.

The creature looked at them with a clearly shocked look on its face, almost as if it couldn't believe the sight of the humans before it looking so alive and carefree.

To an outsider, the sight would almost be comical, but it didn't feel like that to Kael and the others. As they gazed at those two eerie glowing blue eyes, a suffocating scent of death engulfed their bodies.

*****

AN: Thanks for reading. Don't forget to follow the novel, and add it as a favorite.