《Re: Apocalypse! He Who Devours Monsters》 RE: Reboot
[Warning¡­ You''ve entered Critical State!] [Warning¡­ You''re suffering from Laceration, you must staunch the blood flow before you bleed out!] [Warning¡­ You have lost 50% total mobility, you have been slowed by 80%] [Warning¡­ Your body will enter into Shock in twenty seconds] [Warning¡­ [Warning¡­ ¡­
The innumerable notification continued popping as I gazed at the massacre that my own arrogance caused. Here, in the depth of what could be described as hell on earth, I watched, with one leg, and one arm left, with many broken ribs, and a burnt face, I watched with whatever minuscule vision I had left. I watched as my beloved was split in half in front of me while I couldn''t move a muscle to help. I watched as my friends and comrades were crushed, broken, bent and twisted, I watched. I watched with the inability to even mourn, or cry, not to mention try and save them, I was unable to, for no man can witness this atrocity and remain sane. My own greed, my own pride, my own blind trust in my oh-so-meager power¡­it was the cause of this. We fought, for twenty years, we fought, battled demons and creatures that came and ended life as we once knew it in our world. But we still fought, banded together, made friends and many enemies, yet we all fought for one cause, to end this suffering and finish off the reason for this invasion once and for all. We grew mighty, we grew strong but ultimately, we grew complacent, full of hubris and the fake notion of power. How can a person be proud of being able to lift a truck, when this monster can easily shake a skyscraper? How can a person be proud of being able to heal a broken arm in a day when this monster can reverse cause and effect and make the same wound never to have happened in the first place? How can a man be proud of being able to control the elements when this monster can easily manipulate the Soul of Elements? How can we be so blind to think that these weak, utterly laughable, and utterly useless powers we have were even worth using against it? We would have had no different end if we had washed our necks for him, or if we struggled for our lives. Because, not even the accumulation of all of our power, experience, and might was even worth it for this thing to even consider us as a threat. We were, utterly, completely, and totally out of our depth, league, and level. We''re nothing but ants in the presence of the mighty, no matter how vexing, no matter how irritating, no matter how unfair, I had to admit. For today, the very day that I''ll die, I saw true divinity, I saw power beyond what I could have ever dreamed of, and I saw defeat plain and simple. Here and now, as I gazed upon this abomination. A creature that was as tall as a regular person, with skin as white as porcelain, a face without lips and jaws that held razor-sharp fangs, it had a tail behind it that swayed leisurely like a cat on the hip of its owner, another insult to our futile attempts. The creature looked at me and it smiled, a smile that was so wretched, so ugly and so frightening that my heart felt like it was gripped with fingers made of steel and colder than ice. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Its smile grew and stretched until the very skin on its face broke, as his smile reached his face. "SSSS-struggle well, SSS-strugglers, for you''ve come and met your-rrrr ends-ssss" the creature spoke in that very same voice that caused us nightmares the moment we stepped into this place. "For-rrr my king had ordered me-eeee to come and cleansssse this placeeee, out of fear for humanity''sssss potential, but my king is too cautioussss, for¡­I see nothing but weaklingssss¡­" the creature said and I couldn''t refute him. The creature came and stood in front of me as I gasped for breath. My only functional knee could barely carry my own weight as I looked up at the creature that none of our weapons could heavily wound it. The creature laughed as it looked at me, "You were the one that had the most promisssssse, so I had to break everyone around you, so that you''ll see how futile, how vainnnnnne and how utterly incapable can you beeeee, have you learned yet, humanssssss? You''re nothing but sources of food, slavesssss and a workforccccce that should never raise its head. The creature walked towards me with hands held forward, mocking my very existence, "This position, kneeling, is all you should have done from the day you were born. Kneeeeeeel to your bettersssss, kneeeeeeeel to your lordsssss, kneeeeeeeel and forever kneeeeeel, kneeeeeel until your bonessss break, kneeeeeel and beg for mercyyyyys, for your life''ssss, value is nothing more than the dirt on the very ground you''re kneeeeeling on." While his words sounded true in his head, he forgot one thing. I looked at the monster and said, "In any other case, I would have knelt, but you know there is one thing you don''t understand about humans." I said as I grit my teeth and looked at the yellow piss-like color of his eyes, "Is that we''re the most spiteful motherfuckers in the universe," and I jumped the creature. Even with a single-arm, and a single leg, even if I couldn''t fight or win, I had to, at least, land a blow, no matter how small how insignificant, and how futile, I''ll never go down without at least landing a blow. But the creature was fast and immediately grabbed my extended arm. "Fool," he said and thrust his hand into my abdomen, easily breaking my armor and penetrating into my innards. Though I spat more blood than I thought I had in my body, the fire in my eyes was still lit. Even if I were to welcome death today, I''ll never go down without a fight. As he had my only hand caught in his hand, the only weapon I had left was my teeth, and I bit on the motherfucker''s neck like a vampire that hungered for a thousand years. I bit my teeth into his skin that felt like it was harder than stone, but mere spite, and anger, not against it, but against my weakness, helped me clench my jaws tighter, even while my teeth broke, I bit harder until I drew blood, I bit, until tooth connected to tooth, I bit and pulled while the monster screeched and threw me off. As I fell, dying, and with a disgusting piece of meat from the monster''s neck In my throat, I smiled, for the first time this day. Even if I were to die, I''ll at least die knowing, that I landed a blow against it. Though not many strong people remain in this world, if they see the damage on his neck, they''ll know he is not invincible¡­ I closed my eyes as I breathed my last. For I no longer had any attachment to this world. Perhaps I''ll meet my friends again, in hell or in heaven. Right now¡­I''ll rest. I deserve it, I fought for a long time, I fought enough, I deserve a bit of darkness. ¡­ ... ... ... "Hey wake up! You slept enough already, you''ll miss your exams!" I heard. It was the voice of someone that I''ve missed, it was the voice of someone that I haven''t heard in more than two decades. Though tired as I was, I forced my eyes open, even if it was an illusion, if it was her, it''s more than worth suffering this illusion. University? Exams? how long was it since I attended university? It''s been so long I can''t even remember. I opened my eyes into a room that I was way too familiar with, as looked forward, there was a middle-aged woman with small wrinkles on her face but they never dulled her beauty, for me, she was the most gentle and caring person in this world. "Mom," I said as I smiled "I missed you." "Wow, that''s some creepy stuff to say right as you wake up, are you not feeling good? Are you sick?" she said as she placed her hand on my forehead. The moment she touched my forehead, I felt her hand, and the sense of touch is impossible within illusions, and I shot up from my bed, looking around like a cornered cat, unbelieving of what was going on, "What the hell? I''m¡­ no way!" I said as I looked at my skinny forearms. "There is no way!" I said as I looked at my still alive mother. I grabbed her face, as if afraid that she will disappear the same way she did back then, as I looked at my stunned and slightly frightened mother my tears couldn''t help but fall. "I''m¡­back¡­." Mishaaa "Honeyyyyyy!!! I think Lucas is sick." Mom said. A few minutes later, a slightly fat but well-shaved and well-dressed man came in, he looked me in the eyes and said, "He''s just faking it, I did that a lot to skip school." He said while eating a juicy piece of waffles with too much syrup than any doctor should ever advise. "Dad!" I said as I jumped from my bed and hugged him tightly. "Holy shit, this is serious, I think he hurt his head or something!" my father said, sounding very concerned. "Stop with the jokes, I really missed you guys¡­" I said as I looked at the two of them, who both looked at each other, weirded out of their minds but at the same time they smiled and patted me on the back. "Well I missed you too son, but you better get going, you''ll miss your exams, and no sweet-talking will ever get you out of working for a living, I don''t want no squatters in my house." "The only sweet thing here is the amount of syrup you put in those waffles, hell you''re dripping on the floor, who''s going to clean up this mess!" mom said sounding slightly irritated. But this nagging, this bickering, and random awkward family moments¡­ I missed them so much. "Right exams, well those are pretty damn useless right now¡­" I said. My dad immediately swung an open palm towards my head which I didn''t even notice but still easily dodged. He looked at me weirdly, because that was probably the first time I ever dodged his sudden smacks from his perspective he then said, "No swearing in a house where the lord oversees." ''Lord? Sigh, how will I even explain to him what''s about to happen.'' "Sorry sir, I''ll watch my mouth, anyway, anyone knows what''s the date today?" I asked. "It''s the twenty-second, august," "No, year, what year?" I asked. Dad looked at me strangely once again, "2018" "Damn, first contact is just around the corner." The second slap I didn''t try and dodge. And it felt rather¡­well, enjoyable, he had a wide grin on his face this time, satisfied from the slap connecting "No swearing," he said with a devilish grin. "Yes sir!" "Anyway, you should go, you''re late." He said, "Yeah, yeah, I should," I said and went down the stairs then stopped, I went back up, hugged them both, and said, "I really am glad to have met you, this time, it''ll be different." I said then went down. The two of them looked at each other and I could swear I heard them seriously talking about bringing psychiatric aid. I shook my head as I walked out of my house and realized that the streets were still there, the ground and grass were still green, the skies were blue and the birds still flew. The whole world was breathing once again alive as it should be, away from that foul authority that descended upon this beautiful world and decided to destroy it. ''I don''t know if this is going to work, but¡­ let''s try.'' "Mishaaa, Show Status Screen." No reaction happened. Perhaps the system is still not live¡­ or it''s because I''m using her nickname. "Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance! Show status screen!" I said and immediately my eyes blurred as a familiar blue screen appeared in front of me.
[Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance Enabled] {Congratulations on being the first person to have achieved contact with the Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance) You have obtained the title, "First among the Many." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Would you like to see your Title Details? Y/N?
"Title already? Yeah, why not."
First Among Many, you have a passive Exp Gain of 15%
''Huh, not bad, for a starting buff. Though it isn''t much help early on.'' "Right, I request a nickname change, To Mishaaa."
Request Accepted, Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance has been renamed Mishaaa.
"Good, now show me my status screen." Status Screen.
Status Screen
Name Lucas Newman
Race Human
Job N/A
Potential S Class
Current Awakening N/A
Owned Skills: [Feast] -Untapped Potential- [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted]
Owned Titles and respective passives and bonuses: [First Among Many] +15% EXP [He Who had Seen the End]. Reduced pressure effect from all foes that are under level 800 [He Who Devours Monsters]- SSS tier Skill, {Feast}
That''s a powerful sounding skill, I thought, but when I looked around, there were a few people moving about. It''s not yet the time for the First Contact, so if I were to use a skill, everyone here will freak the hell out. I might as well save the energy, I don''t even know how long its cooldown is, nor its effects. I might as well wait and try it out when no one is around. Also, I''m an S class potential now. Huh, I was barely a B class my past life, and it took me god''s effort to increase my rank to A¡­ how come I''m S class now? Also, why are all my skills redacted¡­ it''s as if my body knows them, but the system hasn''t approved them yet. my level is the same as a trash mob. But what the hell is this feast thing? And it''s Triple S that''s not something I had ever seen in my past life. I think the highest skill I''ve ever seen was hers¡­ and it was only S.'' I thought, and then reminded of her once again, I took a deep breath. It''s okay, this time it won''t go as terribly as it did last time. ''Mishaaa, can you tell me about the integration, when will it happen and when is the first point of contact,'' though I didn''t really need her to tell me since I already know, I wanted to make sure of something.
{Due to the severe lack of mana on planet Earth, Mishaaa''s functionality has been greatly reduced.} {Currently, Earth is still not fully adequate for Full Integration, in the next few integegrations Earth Will be slowly introduced to higher forms of Mana so that it can be integrated fully into the Great System.} {The First Point of Contact¡­[Redacted]}
''hmm, I kind of figured it out. Seems like Mishaaa itself isn''t the one replying to me, but a backup system is in place. I can only get the status screen from Mishaaa herself since she is primarily responsible for the Great System¡­or, she is the Great System. But since Earth currently has zero mana, she isn''t even bothering to answer me directly.'' Anyway, I don''t really need to worry about this today, I still have a couple of weeks. I still have one more chance, I can make things much better. I just need to be smart about how I go on about things. Though I have no damn clue on how to beat that white monster. But with my past knowledge, I should be able to sail through early contact and consolidate my standing. I need money, and sadly I don''t know any lottery numbers and wasn''t interested in sports so gambling is out of the picture. Nor can I manipulate the stock market this early, especially without sufficient money. All I can do is get to the first contact area first and get my hand on some mana crystals. But judging by the date, it''s still a bit early for that, I still have a couple of weeks before it happens. Good, with a plan set up, I decided to head to the university. Exams and all that crap can eat my ass. Not like it''s gonna be relevant in a month or two. When shit hits the fan, it''s everyone for the fences. But still, that doesn''t stop me from wanting to go and meet a few good friends, and many an enemy. I Am No Hero As much as I was tempted to test out [Feast] I was more worried about the reaction of the people around me if I started shooting spells and showing superpowers before the time of the integration. I don''t wanna get caught and experimented on, and that shit happened too many times last time for me to even bother with risking myself. People are afraid of change and strange. And if they see it, they''ll either run away or fight with all they have. And since I''m just one weak man, I''ll be jumped on the moment I show something out of the ordinary. So, might as well wait until I''m in an empty location at the darkest hours of the night. I didn''t realize that I had walked all the way to the university door when I looked up. Oakland University was pretty huge, but since I was living near it I never bothered with signing up for campus life. I majored in Biomedicine¡­ now that I remember, I was pretty damn good at it. But I never managed to graduate, since hell broke loose soon and the world went into shambles in less than a few months. As I was reminiscing the past, I walked up to the amphitheater areas, I was in a complete trance, because every building here was far too familiar for me, only it was run down, broken, and destroyed. Barely supported with beams. But now, it''s clean, and perfectly standing. The university had become one of Michigan''s state''s strongest bunkers for a time. Until it was assaulted by a wave of endless undead¡­ now that I remember. The Zombie Apocalypse was pretty damn scary. Thankfully it''ll only happen after the majority of the people would learn abilities and understand what the hell is going on. Otherwise, I fear for the world and what might happen to it if they were suddenly thrown into a world-ending event from the get-go¡­ I should probably not raise any flags and give Mishaaa any ideas. As I was walking through the halls, aimlessly and thinking about a million things that will happen in the near future. Someone grabbed my shoulder. My instinct, of twenty years of constant vigilance, kicked it, and it kicked in hard. I had grabbed whoever touched my shoulder, twisted their arms then slammed them against the nearest wall. "I give I give!" spoke a very familiar voice. Thankfully, I didn''t kill him, as whoever it was that jumped me didn''t seem to have any bad intentions. "Will Franklin?" I said. "What the fuck? Lucas!" Will replied. I let go of the¡­ kid, which is an awkward thing to say since I remember Will as an older man with more gray hair than black. And now, his younger version is looking me straight in the eyes. Will was an African American man, with a very sturdy build and a slightly short stature. He was pretty damn sensitive about his height if I remember, but he was a good man and a very, very reliable friend. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "The heck is wrong with you man, you could have killed me there," Will said as he rubbed his shoulder. "You shouldn''t have jumped me," I said. "If I wanted to jump you, you''d never see it coming, also where the fuck did you learn all that Bruce Lee shit. You''ve been away from uni for a long time and you''re back with a black ass belt or something?" Will said as he readjusted his backpack and gestured for me to move forward. I smiled at will and said, "I was busy with saving the world." I said to him. "You white people are crazy you know that," he said and headed first to the amphitheater where we will have our exam. Will was one of my fewest friends, he died due to something in the very room we were walking towards. I wasn''t gonna let that happen again. "Will. I think I can agree with the crazy part. Because what I''ll tell you might sound pretty damn crazy." "What are you talking about man? You''ve been away for a couple of weeks but now you''re acting pretty strange. You okay?" "Yeah, I''m damn fine," I said as I looked up and saw a redhead looking at us for a few moments before she turned her face away. "And I''ll have to advise you to not get friendlier with that bitch anymore," I said. "You must be tripping, why the heck would I do that, took me three days to finally get her to come over, and now you telling me to stop, you must be mad bro, I''m serious you must have hit your head or something," Will said. "She invited you? To a party in her home right?" I said. "Yeah, were you invited too," Will said. "¡­ Yeah, but I have better things to do tonight." "Bro, what could be more important than a party held at Jennifer''s house, you know how many bitches are gonna be there? Stop acting like a damn virgin man, and let''s get some pussy." Will said while over-extenuating using his hands. Which looked pretty perverted. Can''t blame him though, because even if Jennifer was one of the most poisonous of hoes, he was right, she did have a damn fine ass. "It''s not about getting laid, Will, those chicks are snakes, you''ll get bitten." "They say birds die for food and men die for sex," Will said. "I''m pretty damn sure you just botched that idiom, but whatever. Just be careful," I said. I took my seat and waited for the exam to start. Though I pretty much didn''t even care or bother with it. this whole thing was going to be useless in a few months. But I was here for something else. Soon, she came. A woman. No, more like a young woman now, as pretty as I could remember. She had a small nose, beautiful green as emerald eyes, and a thin jawline that made her face look cute, right now, she still had a girlish and youthful look to her. Though the one I remember was a fully grown woman, molded by the flames of war and survival, where whenever she smiled the world turned brighter as the world itself would miss seeing her smile This one I''m looking at was younger and looked like she still had a joy for life. She hasn''t been scarred by the endless battles. She hadn''t lost her family yet. She hadn''t been betrayed and stranded to fend for her life. She hasn''t been¡­ there is no need to think about that now. For now¡­ I''ll do my damn best to make sure nothing bad happens to you, and I''ll do that starting with that ass. From behind her came a young man, who was the definition of a ''frat-boy'' childish in action, self-centered, and arrogant. Willing to be the topic of discussion in every conversation and would attempt to lead everyone to do what he wishes on their own expenses. Though, these traits might sound like selfish ones. In a matter of fact, these very actions were the reason he survived for so long. And grew complacent and vile. If I had many friends, I had a few enemies. And this man, I hate him for a single reason. Not that I''m a good person and would have to provide a holy reason why I hate someone, or if I have to prove that someone is pretty evil to prove my intentions, no. I''m not that kind. I''m jealous of him because he is currently her boyfriend, but by the end of the week, I''m sure that''ll change. Yes, I''m a spiteful, jealous motherfucker who won''t stop until he gets what he wants. Because I''ve seen the worst in people, and believe me, compared to them, what I am, is a saint. Preparation As I sat down and waited for the exam to start alongside everyone else in the room, I couldn''t help but sneak glances toward her. Which eventually had me caught. Our eyes met and I couldn''t help but let out a wry smile. However, the person sitting next to her turned and noticed me where he had a nasty scowl on his face. Sigh. I turned away and made it look like I was focused on my exam. What is this stuff? Man, it feels like I haven''t seen this in ages and I have absolutely no idea how to answer any of this. Not that it matters. But since I didn''t have much to do I gave the exam a shot anyway and answered whatever I could remember, which wasn''t much. It wasn''t long before the exam time ended and I stood up and walked away from the exam room. But before I got to the door I realized that that dickhead stood up and was about to start following me. Man, this is going to be annoying. Just as I was in the hallway, I heard from behind me. "Lucas! You piece of shit, wait!" he said. Everyone in the hall parted ways as they waited for the ''confrontation.'' "Why the fuck were you ogling my girl like that before? You got something you wanna say." "Just drop it, I don''t want any troubles," I said and was preparing to leave. "Like hell you are!" he said and came stomping his way towards me like some sort of enraged gorilla. Everyone around us was ''happily'' spectating what''s about to go down, I mean it''s exam times and they all want some entertainment. "Joe! Stop! Don''t cause any trouble!" she said. And behind him, I saw her, with a very worried look on her face. She looked worried, for him, and that slightly pissed me off. Right next to her were Will and Jenifer. Once will saw Joe coming toward me, he tried to rush over to help, but a couple of Joe''s friends stopped him. "Let me go you, dimwits!" Will said. "I''ll fuck you up!" he shouted again. Sadly, with his shorter posture and the massive size of Joe''s friends compared to him, his threat wasn''t that much to worry about. "Just let him have it, it''s good to see someone getting his teeth knocked out," Jennifer said and Will heard that. Which didn''t really translate all too well in his head. ''Good that''s one way to show how toxic and venomous that chick can be.'' Once Joe was too close for comfort to me, he stared down, as if he was about to squash a bug. "The fuck you want with my girl, you fucker." He said as his hand grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. Now, I have two options, try and defuse this situation, apologize, or beat the living shit out of him. The first will be less troublesome, I won''t have to worry about anything but some pride, and then I''ll leave in all peacefulness. The second option is, to beat the living hell out of his ass. But that will be very problematic and will make my situation of trying to befriend ''her'' even more annoying after beating up her boyfriend. Tough call, tough call. "Are you fucking deaf!" Joe said and sent a punch towards my face. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. As I was still processing which option to choose, my body, of its own volition took matters into its own hand. In one move I pulled myself back easily dodging the blow then with a small push forward, I had the big oaf stumble back on his ass. It was definitely not painful to him, but it must have hurt his pride big time. ''Ah shit, guess option one is out of the window.'' He stood up as fast as he could as if to make it that it had never happened. Then like a wounded bull, he charged me with hands opened up as if he was about to grab me in a bear hug. ''Aaaaand there goes your nose,'' I mumbled as I had my knee and his face go on a speed date. The contact was crunchy, to say the least as he fell down screaming as blood started to drip from his broken nose like a fountain. Everyone around me was too shocked to speak. "DAYUM!" spoke Will as he finally got away from the group that was holding him. "The fuck man, I knew it, you went and learned some Bruce lee shit when you were away didn''t you!" Will said. "Joe!" she spoke, and with pain and worry in her voice, enough of it that I felt even worse about what I had just done. ''Shit.'' "Why did you have to hit him that hard!" she said as she got up to my face. I was about to argue, but decided not to, I turned and decided to leave. "The fuck you think you''re going!" one of Joe''s friends said as he blocked me from leaving. "I''ve got no time to waste with you, piss off," I said. I noticed his shoulder twitching, he was about to punch me, but before he could even do anything. "What the hell is going on here!" someone said. It was a teacher, and once he saw Joe on the floor. "Bloody hell, who did this to you!" he said. Imagine his reaction when he realized that the uni''s best football player got done in by someone half his size. "You and you!" the teacher said to Joe''s friends, "Get him to the infirmary!" "And you Mr, Newman Lucas! I''ll have a few words with you about violence in the sanctity of university!" "I don''t have time for this shit," I answered and left. Leaving the teacher boiling in rage. Shit was about to go down soon, and I only came here to see her. But I doubt that was a good idea now. "Wait Joe," Will said. "Will, if you go with him, you can forget about coming to the party," Jenifer said. Will looked at me, then looked at her and said, "Bros over hoes, bitch," he said and left her looking at him staggered and shocked. "Dude that was some awesome shit, you''ll probably get a suspension, but that do be damn cool!" Will said. "You gave up free pussy for me man, that''s what I call a good friend." "Hah, it''s a shame, but I ain''t no simp." Will said. I smiled as I walked out of the hall. "Will, today I''ll show you something, something that you''ll probably be spooked about, but it will be worth it," I said. I walked alongside Will until we reached the exit of the university. "Now what?" Will said. "How about we meet up at my house, say 23:00h. I''ll show you something nice." I said. "Right¡­" Will said while he sounded slightly skeptical. "What are you going to do now?" he asked. "Oh, no, I''m gonna save a life." "Huh?" "You''ll understand later, go now, we''ll meet up later." I then called a cab over and told him, "Take me to Dunkin Hospital." It took us a thirty-minute drive before I arrived at one of the largest private hospitals in the region. It was owned by a great man, someone who helped stabilize the entirety of humanity the last time. Before he was taken out by one of his rivals. However, right now he should still be in a coma. And I can cheat my way into making him owe me. Because I''ll need his help. Desperately. Once I arrived at the hospital, I walked in and was asked about the purpose of my visit. "I''m a distant relative, I''m here to check up on Mr. Dilbert Jonson." The woman in the reception hall frowned at me and asked me for my identity. This is not going to work, so I decided to leave. Once I''m revealed as a person not related to Dilbert, I''ll be kicked out. She made a call after I gave her my identity and said, "Sorry, Mr. Dilbert isn''t accepting any visitation today." Which was a subtle way to say, piss off. "It''s okay. I''ll come over later." I said and I backed off. There was no way I can force my way into a private institution like this without getting my teeth knocked in. Once I was outside, I started to feel the urgency. Also, I realized that without an actual way to save the man no one will believe my words. I need the treatment in hand before I can actually be taken in consideration. Annoyed by my own lack of planning, I decided to leave the area but had to stop when I noticed a very expensive-looking car stop by. A young woman, probably the same age as me dropped off, she wore large shades and had a very expensive-looking coat covering her. And in one of her hands, there was a flower bouquet. She was visiting someone. After taking a second look, I smiled. ''Bingo.'' I approached the woman but was immediately stopped by a couple of bodyguards. "Where are you going?" one of them asked. The woman took note of what was happening, and once our eyes met I said, "Vivian, I know a way to wake your dad." I said. She frowned and ignored me. While the other guys pushed me away from her, "Another damn leech, get the fuck off!" one of the guards said. "In another couple of weeks, he''ll enter into cardiac arrest and constant seizures, by that time, if you don''t find me, he won''t make it!" which was a partial lie. Of course, he will survive, but they don''t know that, however, the cardiac arrest and seizures part is true. I was then shoved off the institution grounds. Good, that went better than expected. Though I know my words now fell on deaf ears, soon, they''ll become haunting words that will plague her and there will be no one else to go for help but me. It''s underhanded, dirty, and very shameless, but at the same time, this is the only way for me to grow my strength fast enough. Once I was outside the hospital grounds, I called another taxi to drive me back home. I still need to do a couple of other things first. Night Time Adventure It took me some time before I got home, mainly because of traffic. And once I was there, I heard "LUCAAAS!" Dad''s voice was so loud it sent me back in time reminding me of every single bad thing I''ve ever done. ''Shit, I''m technically older than him and I''m still getting the jitters when he shouts.'' "Yes Dad, what''s wrong, also what are you doing here shouldn''t you be working?" I asked as I was met face to face with his scowl. "What is wrong with you today? This morning you were acting all strange and now you go around beating people up? Are you out of your mind? Don''t you care about your future? You could be suspended or get expelled!" Dad said with worry in his voice. ''Ah, seems that news does travel fast.'' Just as I was about to open my mouth I heard the voice of another person coming from the living room. "It''s alright, it won''t go that far, apparently it was Joe Muller who instigated it, but still, next time when a teacher tells you to do something you do it!" came the voice of the same teacher I left gawking back at school. Damn little snitch. "Now I see here a good family and good parenting, since you''ll take care of this matter at home I will see that Lucas won''t get any heavy punishment. You''ll get a warning, for now, next time we won''t be so tolerant." The teacher said. "Now if you''ll excuse me, madam Newman, that was a very delicious pie, I would appreciate if you could send my wife the recipe." The teacher said. "Ah yes, I''ll call Hanna soon, I''m sure she''ll make a good one, she is a good cook," mom intervened and immediately the situation was defused. Moments later the teacher left and I was left face to face with dad and mom who were looking at me like I was some sort of monster. "What?" I said. "You, you really beat that football player?" dad asked. "He was asking for it, I told him I didn''t want any trouble. It doesn''t matter if you don''t believe me¡­" I said as I was already getting some flashbacks, why would they even care, I mean I was almost suspended, and Joe is like a model and a famous person in school, no matter what I say, I''ll always be the villain. "Good Damn job son!" Dad said and slapped me on the back. Which was surprising in two ways. The first, "You just cursed," I said to dad, the second was "And why are you so proud of me for beating someone else?" I added. "I never liked that prick, and I get a curse pass. It''s my house," my dad flashed me a devilish grin. "You two are incorrigible." Mom shook her head, "There is still some of that pie left if you want, how was your exam Lucas?" mom asked. "So, and so," I replied still confused at why they actually supported my ''rebellious'' behavior. "You see Lucas, I''ve always thought you were a wuss, no offense," Dad said. "Bro, that''s not something you say to your son," I said. "And Bro is not something you say to your dad. Still, good job on standing your ground. Getting roughed up isn''t bad if you can stand your ground and prove your point." "Don''t you start filling my son''s head with your anarchy! I''ve had enough of that from you." Mom said as she served us the pie. "But you loved me for it," Dad said teasingly. "You kept getting beaten up in high school that I felt sorry for you," my mom berated "Nah, you loved me for it," dad said grinning. Mom could only shake her head while trying to hide a shy smile. This awkward and familiar family atmosphere is something I missed so I couldn''t help but smile. ''Good to see you two happy like this. No matter what, I''ll never let this family be torn by the upcoming events. No matter what.'' "How is work?" I asked. "It''s alright, I''m not getting any new contracts, and a couple of guys had to leave. Seems like the economic depression is killing businesses. No one wants to build houses anymore, and still, the prices of rent are growing like crazy." Dad kept going on about work, and mom pitched in some ideas about what to make for dinner completely throwing away dad''s rambling and making him think of food. She was the best when it was related to switching dad''s mood for the better and I couldn''t be happier for them. "I''ll be staying tonight at Will''s is that okay?" I asked. "Partying tonight?" Dad asked. "Euh, why would you say that?" I asked. "Well, a little bird told me that there will be a party. Will there be girls? Drinks and drugs?" "No, none of that," I said shaking my head. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Then why are you going?" Dad smirked. "I''m not going to that party dad," I said. "Oh, that''s surprising. A college boy not going to parties." He said. "I don''t have time for that, It''s something else. You''ll know later." "You''re a grown man, you don''t need to ask me for permission, just be careful," Dad said. "Thanks, dad," I replied. Later that day, I picked up my phone and called Will. "S''up," he replied. "Ready?" I asked. "Well, hope that whatever you''re going to show me is better than a party full of chicks, I''m risking my popularity for this," he said. "Like you were ever popular, don''t worry, it''s damn worth it. I''ll wait for you outside, bring your car." I added. I went downstairs, picked up some water bottles and some snacks, and packed them all in my backpack. I pulled out a saving jar I had hidden in my room and picked everything inside it then went outside to wait for Will. Soon, I heard the backfire of a rundown car that should belong to a historical museum. That''s definitely Will. Once I was out I shook my head, "You should throw that thing in the junk, you''ll one day get arrested, beaus that thing sounds like someone''s playing with a loaded gun." "I''m too broke to fix that, also see this," he said pointing at his face, "I get pulled over for less." Dark jokes, I shook my head. Will was and always has been a funny guy. And I respected him for it. "Where are we going homie?" he asked. "First off, we''ll need to head to a pharmacy," I said. "Okay, sounds sus, for a first stop, but you call the shots." He said and he drove me over. Once I got to the pharmacy, I took some things. Pure Alcohol, bandages some other of counter meds. Once I paid for everything I went back to the car. "Now what?" Will asked. "Head to Old Town, I''ll need to get a couple more things from there." "That place is full of weirdoes you sure you want to go there this late at night?" he asked. "This is the best time, it''s perfect for trade." "Trade? Man, you''re acting very strange man." Will said. "Just trust me on this," I said. Soon the two of us headed out to Old Town. It was almost like a town where a lot of people gathered. It was a few dozen miles away from the city. It hosted a lot of homeless people and had some eccentric others in it. Not that I was interested in any of the people there, but I wanted to get to a specific shop in there. After half an hour''s drive we got to Old Town. The two of us got out of the car in front of the town. It was a gathering of pitched tents, cardboard houses, and a lot of open fires. It looked something out of this world and more like my old world. A lot of people lived here. The economical depression wasn''t kind to everyone and a lot of people were chased away to the suburbs of the city, homeless and unable to find jobs. They gathered here because they had no other place to go to. The city couldn''t take care of all of them, so they made a place for themselves. Though sad as it might sound, they still had some amazing stuff. "Bro I''m not really feeling this place," Will said. "Just follow me," I said and navigated through Old Town. We stood out like sore thumbs in this place, many people ogled us, since we were relatively wearing cleaner clothes than they did, and I knew what went on in every one of their heads. We needed to hurry. "Follow me," I said to Will and guided him through this maze-like place. ''Found you.'' I grinned as I found the tent I was looking for. "Granny Yang," I said. And since no one answered me, I called again, "Granny Yang!" this time slightly louder which caused many of the people around us to fully take note of us. "Lucas, you sure we''re in the right spot, this doesn''t look like the right spot, how about we come back when it''s morning," Will said. "Just wait¡­" I said. "Who the hell is your granny!" came the reply of a slightly older woman, but far younger than the one I remember. "Oh, sorry, my bad, aunty Yang," I said. "Humph, that''s more like it, what do you want? You don''t look like you''re from around here, and how do you know about my name?" she said. "Let''s call it, a Faithful Encounter In the Midst of The Night." "How do you know that?" she said as her eyes widened. "Never mind that, get in," she said and looked around before closing the tent. The tent looked slightly different than what I remembered, but still, there were many things here that were pretty familiar to me. The awkward dolls, the skulls, and the small spherical crystal that Granny Yang used to scam people and call it fortune-telling. "I guess you''re not here to read your fortune." She said. "I already know my fortune," I said. "Humph, what do you want, brat." She said as she sat next to her table. "I''ve come here to do a trade." "Good, I like trades, what do you want and what do you have to offer." "Well first things first," I want that," I said as I pointed at a faraway object behind her. She looked around and saw my hand pointing at a dull-looking piece of crystal, full of blemishes and stains. "That''s a heaven''s crystal, it absorbs evil energy and gives positive energy, it will be a thousand dollars for it!" she said. Will''s eyes widened at the price of an old-looking crystal. "I''ll give you twenty bucks." "What, you think I''m some old crone, nine hundred or no deal." "Twenty bucks," I replied as emotionally as I possibly could. "That''s not even how one makes trade! Are you mad?" "I''ll give you an extra five dollars if you tell me where you found it," I added. "God damn it, city folks you do know how to drive a hard bargain. Five hundred dollars." She said. "No shot, thirty dollars. Is the best I can go, however, if you pitch in those two rusty old swords I might up it to fifty, that''s as far as I can go, take it or leave it." The old woman looked at me with disgust, and then stood up, she picked up the rusty old decorative swords, squeezed her eyes even thinner than they already were, and said, "These aren''t even worth the price of scrapping them. alright, deal." She spoke. "Thanks," I replied and pulled fifty dollars from my pocket. "Now, can you tell me where you found the crystal?" I asked as I got everything from her into the bag. "Up north, right next to the abandoned factory there was a cave-in, some sort of hole opened up, this was found on the ground, it looks like quartz probably." She said, "Why do you ask?" she said. "We''re just geography college students. We''re looking for strange rocks and antics, it''s a project for school", I said. "Humph, College students don''t go wandering around at this hour of the night in Old Town, and they definitely don''t know the Pass. Still, you came for a bargain¡­" she said and waited. "And a Bargain I got," I replied smirking. "Leave, and if you ever want a hand reading¡­" "I''ll definitely not come here," I replied. "Smart man," she said smiling. "Let''s go, Will," I said and the two of us headed out. Many stared at us as we walked out of Granny Yang''s tent, but no one dared follow after us. Because if I hadn''t known the pass, the moment we left, we''ll get ganged and had everything stolen from us. Not that I would have allowed it. The two of us left, while Will constantly looked over his shoulder afraid that we might get jumped. While I on the other hand was shaking in ecstasy. I was desperately hoping that she would have that there, and never in my wildest dreams would have I ever believed that I''ll get such a good Mana Crystal Piece so early before the Integration. Yes, that dull-looking crystal, is nothing but a none activated Mana Crystal. "What the heck happened in there?" Will asked. "Oh, we just got a super needed power-up, now we''ll go dungeon hunting." "Huh?" Will tilted his head. Unable to understand what I was saying. The Past Future "Dungun hunting? Like in games? What? Dude, you didn''t get me all the way here to play a game?" Will said. "Oh no, not a game, more like life and death shit, you''ll know when we get there," I replied. Will stomped on the breaks and said, "Bro, I''m not your girlfriend, and I''m not someone you need to hide shit from, I''m your bud, and if you''re not feeling like telling me what the fuck we''re doing, or where we''re going, then I''m not really a fan of this shit." He then got out of the car and waited for me to get out. I took a deep breath, opened the door, and stood on the other side of the car looking at his face to face from over the hood. "You really want to know?" "Yeah." He replied. "You won''t chicken out on me?" I said. "Bro, you think I''m a wuss?" he said. "You''re a grown-ass man and still afraid of rats." "Bro, the rats I''ve seen are as big as a fucking football, ain''t no way I won''t get freaked out by that, and that''s irrelevant to what we''re talking about, why bring up old shit man, that''s a low blow," Will said. I smirked in his face and said. "The world is going to end in two weeks," I said. Will, looked at me, sternly for a moment then said, "Man if you really are that worried about telling me just don''t spew out bullshit." I shook my head because I knew this was going to be his reaction, "Mishaa," I said. To which he was still confused as why I was speaking to empty air. Then suddenly, I waved my hand and aid "Reveal Status Screen" Immediately Will jerked back when he saw the blue screen popping in front of him. "Good, now show me my status screen." Status Screen.
Status Screen
Name Lucas Newman
Race Human
Job N/A
Potential S Class
Current Awakenings N/A
Skills ???
Titles First Among Many. He Who Devours Monsters. He Who had Seen the End.
"What the heck is this, it looks so damn cool," Will said. As he looked intensely at the screen. "You have some sort of projector under your arm? How is this working?" he asked. "None of that, this is Mishaaa, Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance. Apparently, we''ve been too egocentric thinking that we''re the only ones living in this universe, we''re wrong. Deeply so. There live many, many things in this universe and Mishaa was protecting us from them by hiding our world. Now, the protection period is over. And we''re going to fend for ourselves from now on." Will still looked like he didn''t believe me. "You still doubt me right? I mean why would you believe me, I just revealed to you how insignificant our lives could be and how the world is dominated by something that is far bigger than the thought of an omnipresent omniscient deity." Will''s mind was still reeling from the revelation and he was still trying to process a way to refute what I just said. "Just so you''re convinced. Let me show you this," I said as I went to my backpack. I pulled the mana crystal I got from Granny Yang and the two rusty old swords. I grabbed a small rock from the road and said, "This is a bit of a waste but at least should be enough to convince you." I said as I slammed the rock on the crystal chipping a bit of it. I grabbed a few pieces of the crystals in my hand and then placed the swords on the ground next to each other. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "Repair," I said, and immediately, the crystals in my hand shone bright, activating the dormant mana inside them. The two swords shook and rattled as they became bright for a moment, and shook away all the rust and dust covering them, returning the two swords back to their original form. Will''s eyes were wide as heck and before he could speak, "This isn''t some street magic, this is true magic. Here," I said as I handed him one of the swords. He grabbed the sword with a shaky hand and said, "I''m dreaming? This can''t be true right? Tell me this is just some high-quality magic trick man." I shook my head, "I told you, shit is about to go down." "How do you know all this?" he asked. "Do you remember what I showed you earlier? The status screen? What was the title at the bottom of it?" "He who had seen the end¡­" Will replied mechanically. "Yep, I''ve been there, I''ve seen it all. From the start to the end, to our very own deaths. And I came back." "You mean, you regressed you''re a time traveler?" "Not exactly, I didn''t travel through time, I had my doubts at first at what happened¡­" I then began telling will about the monster I fought at the end. ¡­ "So¡­ a monster that can switch cause and effect? But how is that related to you?" "Perhaps, when I bit at the monster''s neck he tried to reverse cause and effect, and since I had a piece of his own flesh stuck inside my mouth I was affected. And I was sent back due to his reversal in time. I don''t fully understand why I was sent back to this exact time period, but I couldn''t be more thankful. Because with prior knowledge of what''s about to happen, we have a fighting chance." "Why not tell the government this? I mean they can help?" "No shot, the moment this stuff goes public we''ll be caught and experimented on. Or worse. I don''t want to have my freedom in another person''s hand, though I doubt they''ll be able to hold me down. Anyway, now you know what''s about to happen. What do you want to do now, follow me, or go back." I said. I looked to the distance and said, "It''s only a couple miles left to get to the abandoned factory. You can go back, I don''t mind walking there." Will''s mind began reeling still trying to figure out what was going on, but his answer was exactly what I expected. "This is still sounding like some clich¨¦ plot, but to be honest¡­ I don''t know why, I''m actually excited to see what''s going on. How dangerous can this be?" "I don''t really know, but since Mishaa isn''t awake yet. Perhaps the dungeon will not be that hard. Also, it''s still the first integration." "You mentioned integration when you were speaking about that white monster, but what''s that." "I''ll tell you on the road," I said as I got back into the car after picking up everything. Will then drove us off to the factory as I began explaining. "Integrations, they''re phases that Mishaa will take us through to improve our powers. Every integration is an apocalypse-level disaster. And the first¡­is going to be the nastiest and will probably kill off the majority of the planet''s inhabitants." "Damn, that deadly? What''s in that integration are we going to fight dragons or some shit," Will said, I could see his hands squeezing on the wheel. He was afraid, but still taking what I said seriously. "Oh, no, dragons, god forbid, if there were dragons at the start nothing will be left alive. No, it''s a zombie apocalypse." I said. "Bro, fuck that, give me dragons, I don''t want to deal with zombies, what the fuck, I''m not the kind of guy who will hide a Zombie bite, but I damn sure don''t wanna deal with one," Will said. "Oh, not those zombies, these do bite, they will also kill you if you give them the chance. But they aren''t the worst. Because Once a Necromancer Class Zombie is born or is nearby, you won''t become just a mindless zombie, you may turn to something worse, but it''s definitely still better than dragons" I replied. I took a small pause and added, "The worst thing about the first gen Zombies, is their rapid growth, they can have sonar like vision, and superhuman strength, but the worst thing is...they are fast as fuck." "No fucking way, Sprinters?" Will said his eyes almost bulging. "Oh, you got the name right. Yep, we used to call them Sprinters. They''re fast, strong, and can climb heights like they''re cockroaches. They''re physically weak though and can be taken down with guns only at the beginning though. Since the more they mutate, the less relevant modern weaponry become." "What do you mean?" Will asked. "Once the world''s mana levels increase, using anything that doesn''t have mana in it will not even scratch a monster. I''ve witnessed a nuclear explosion that only ruffled the hair of a zombie wave not even harming a single one of them." "Fuck¡­" Will said. "Then how the fuck are we going to fight if not even a nuclear explosion can do anything?" Will asked, despair clear in his eyes. "Swords and magic my friend. The sword I just repaired now has been touched by mana, and it can now be used to kill monsters." I said. "Like baptism?" he said. "Something like that, and before you ask, you can baptize a gun, bullets or a nuclear weapon. Or anything that has been made using machinery and wasn''t forged by hand, that is only at the beginning, then that method will soon become obsolete and only items created by the system or forged by hand using mana crystals will work. That''s why I''ll need to go find that man... " the last part I spoke in a hushed tone. "Damn¡­ we''ll practically be sent back to the dark ages. That''s not good," Will grumbled "Don''t worry about that, I''ve seen people shooting arrows that shot faster than the speed of sound. It''s not that huge of a difference and using magic is liberating," i shrugged. "You mean I could use magic?" he asked. "Oh yeah, you were pretty damn good at it too. But let''s not be hasty, your magic was one of a kind but I''m sure the dungeon you got yours from isn''t opened yet." I said. "Oh tell me, tell me what did I use? Was I shooting fire and calling down meteors from the skies?" Will asked, "I always picked Wizard class when playing D&D" "Ah, well¡­ more like rocks." "Huh, that doesn''t sound as impressive," Will said. "No, it really was great, you were the party''s tank. You could support us all in a pinch, call walls from the ground, and coat yourself with stone." "Like the Thing?" he asked. "Slightly improved version but yeah, you got the idea." "That sounds cool." "Yep." "What about you?" he asked. "Oh, me, I was a sword master. I never had a Quirk. I could also only use weak magic, but was very nimble." "Damn, sound cool still." He said. "Yeah, it was," I said reminiscing about the past. "But was not enough. Not nearly enough." Will felt the heaviness of my words and said, "You said I was the party''s tank, that means there were others, who?" "Oh, yeah, well¡­" just as I was about to tell him about the members "We''re here," I said as I looked over the side. "Right, let''s check this out." "This will mostly be a dead dungeon or empty one since the mana crystal that was on Granny Yang was not activated yet. We''ll just check the place at first also, be on your guard we don''t know what''s hidden in that dungeon yet and we don''t want to die during the tutorial phase." I said. "Man you make this sound like a game." "If you think about it like a game you won''t stress out as much, but remember, this game, you don''t get do-overs¡­ well, unless you''re me, still be careful," I said as I pulled the sword from my bag. "Right, let''s go", Will said. "Follow me." First Dungeon We got out of the car in the chilly night and walked up all the way to the rusty gate of the old abandoned factory. The caution sign looked old and rusted over, as this whole place seemed too eerie for even some homeless people to think of using it as a refuge. Not that I would blame them not to, this place stank of the smell of decay and gave me the creeps. "Be careful, and use this," I said as I pulled a flashlight I had on me. "You came in prepared," Will said. "I''ve been doing this for a living. So don''t worry about it." I replied. "That''s comforting, but why are we going to the factory? Didn''t the old woman say that she found the crystal in a cave near the factory?" he said. I shook my head, "Dungeons usually have a gate that''s always inside a building, you''ll never find a Tier One integration dungeon out in the fields, and if a dungeon is out on the fields it will have a construct that will be the entrance." "Oh, then what did the old woman talk about?" Will said. "Probably the exit, which is a good thing. A dungeon usually will usually have its exit hidden, but since this is probably a dead dungeon there is nothing but the structure." I said. "What''s the point of going into a dungeon that doesn''t have any monsters? Not that I''m complaining I don''t wanna fight any monsters." Will asked. I pulled the gate back and it screeched as it opened up, rattling whatever type of birds nestled in some nearby trees. "A dead dungeon, later on, will be useless to everyone, however, if we''re lucky we''ll find a few mana crystals which was the main reason why I came here." "Alright, it''s good to have a professional, though I still have my doubts that all of this is one twisted dream." "The proper word you want to use is, Nightmare, but don''t worry, I don''t think anything before the integration would be dangerous enough for us. But still, be careful," I said as we walked up to the entrance of the factory. I made sure to scan my surrounding, lighting every corner and checking things before I walked forward. I don''t have any of my sensory abilities yet, so I might as well be careful. The two of us followed the main path to the worn-down gate of the factory and walked inside. There were dozens of old machinery and debris all over the place. Broken glass that rattled against the night''s wind made this place a perfect spot for a ghost story. "Bro, you know in situations like these, it''s always the black man who dies first, right? Right?" "Just get your shit together, we''re still not inside the dungeon yet, and don'' worry, nothing will happen if you stay close." "Don''t worry about that I''ll be sticking to your ass like a controlling girlfriend. Black men don''t like the dark." I shook my head at Will''s statements, though I like his antics he can sometimes be a scaredy-cat even if he could handle the situation pretty damn fine. "Look over there," I said as I pointed my light at a wide hole in the ground, there was a smoky screen covering the hole. "What is that?" Will asked. "That''s the dungeon''s entrance, apparently¡­ it''s active. Which shouldn''t be possible, not this time at least. Mishaaa! Dungeon Inspection" I called and the system propped up, inactive still but gave me basic information.
Horned Rat''s Den Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Dungeon tier: [F]-Easy- Location Monsters: Black Rat- White Rat- Gray Rat. Mini-Boss: N/A Boss: Horned Rat Specifications: Rats have come in contact with mana, and it caused a mutation in their genetics, making them part of a world that is yet to come.
"Shit¡­ guess you jinxed it," I said. "What do you mean? What?" "It''s a rat dungeon." "Ah fuck this, I''m out," Will said. "Don''t worry man, like I said I''m with you, let''s move. If it''s a rat''s dungeon, we should be able to clear it and get rewards. Early rewards even. Let''s move in." I said as I pulled one of the swords I enhanced earlier." "I don''t know how to use this!" Will said. "See this?" I said as I pointed at the tip of the sword, "Poke the rats with this, and you''re good." "You make this sound easy," Will said. "Because it is, at least this early on, even a 14-year-old with a knife can clear this, are you weaker than a fourteen-year-old?" I said grinning. Will''s pride wouldn''t allow him to say he was so he gathered all his courage and said, "Alright, but if I die, I''m coming back to haunt your ass." "I won''t be surprised if you do, once the zombie apocalypse starts that''s gonna be a huge possibility," I replied. "Man, I never win against you," Will said. "Difference in experience, but let''s go," I said and jumped right into the hole which clearly made Will scream "WAIT!" Once I was at the dungeon''s entrance, I realized that it was a tunnel about ten feet long, and wide, which wasn''t really good for swinging a sword but was still decent enough to have some mobility. Will soon appeared behind me. "What the fuck! Why''d you jump? Use a rope or at least know how far the drop is! What if you jumped right into a damn lava pool or something!" will say. "Oh, don''t worry about that, all dungeon entrances are safe areas. Not only that not even monsters can attack you as long as you don''t leave this line," I said as I pointed to the ground. There was an ethereal fog rising up, it was thin and looked like a barrier. "What''s that?" Will asked. That''s the Point of No return. Once you go past it, you have to clear the dungeon or die trying. You can still leave as long as you don''t step a foot into it. And no monster can break it. if you want to leave, just say the word dungeon Exit, a window will appear in front of you." I removed the window as it appeared to me when I spoke the words. And when will said the words, he was surprised to have the same thing appear in front of him. "I have the same thingy that you showed me earlier!" Will said. Will hesitated before he declined the exit. I nodded at him acknowledging his courage, many would have left. But not him. "let''s go," I said as I turned my back to him and took a step into the dungeon. Will followed me soon after and we moved forward but the moment we stepped outside. Our flashlights died. "Dude what the fuck!" "Don''t worry, I thought this wouldn''t happen until we''re in higher tiers of dungeons, but it seems that I was wrong, still I came prepared." I pulled a lighter from my pocket and lit up the lighter, "Here, keep this on for me." I said as I pulled my backpack and pulled out an old oil lantern. I took the lighter back from the will and lit up the lantern and closed its small door. "All electronics don''t work in dungeons, I''m surprised that even something as simple as a flashlight is disabled but it is what it is. Don''t try and use your phone it''ll get fried and you''ll have to buy a new one." I said. "Yeah, like I was that carefree to try and take damn selfies inside a dungeon," Will said. I grinned and nodded towards the rest of the dungeon, "let''s keep moving." I said. The lantern light gave us good visibility over where we were moving but the most annoying thing was that I was unable to use my left hand, though I wasn''t really that bothered by it, for now, it was better that I''m the one holding it, I can handle using one hand, but inexperienced Will can''t. Suddenly, something flashed running ahead of us and Will yelped in fright. "The fuck was that!" "A rat, man, that''s a rat, it''s a dungeon that only has rats in it." I said. "Right right¡­" will said calming himself down. "Just be careful and don''t stab me in the back, we''re still far from the exit." "Right don''t worry! I''m cool! I''m cool!" The two of us continued walking forward until we arrived at a small clearing where the light from the lantern couldn''t reach all the way to the edge but at the same time, it revealed us to everything that could be in this clearing. "Is it a wise idea to have that thing on¡­" Will said as he noticed some shades moving in the distance, where the dim light reflected on them. "The rats already know we''re here, it won''t make a difference to them if we have this or not, but without the lantern, we won''t be able to see anything. Also, remember what I told you? Poke them with the pointy end, because they''re coming." I said. And suddenly Will realized what I was talking about, as dozens of red eyes glimmered as they reflected the dim light of the lantern. I twirled the sword in my hand in a far too familiar manner as I grinned : "It felt like a long time since I''ve done this¡­ alright, let''s Get Killing!" Too Much Power Just as I took a step forward, the rats began screeching at my approach. Two of the closest stood on their hind legs and screamed their lungs out calling out their members to group up. I rushed forward and swung my sword slicing the head of the first one without encountering any resistance. Blood sprayed out like a fountain as the headless corpse of the rat shuddered then slumped on the ground. But immediately after I screamed in agonizing pain. "AGHHHH!" "LUCAS!" shouted Will. "What''s wrong! What happened?!" he asked with terrified worry in his voice. I stepped back from the second rat, placed the lantern on the ground then tightly grabbed my right ribs, gasping for breath "Cramp, fucking nasty ass one!" "What? The hell? Why the fuck would you get a cramp now?" he asked. I huffed forcefully stuffing breath into my lungs, as the world felt like it blanked for me for a moment. "Damn this cursed body," I said, "I''m using moves and abilities that only my original body could do, I almost tore myself in half with that sword swing. Hold them off, just for a bit until I catch my breath," I said. "But I don''t know how to fight!" "You better start learning now," I said "I just need a few minutes." I cursed as I took another breath. Fucking uncool what just happened right now. But its good that this happened now. If this happened against a boss, it''ll be laughable that I end up dying this early on. I need to get in shape, this is damn embarrassing. Will, with the responsibility of protecting both of us thrown at him, looked to be panicking, but it was alright. "To your left, strike down now!" I called, and Will immediately turned and struck down slashing his sword right into the head of a rat causing his sword to be stuck. Right after that, Will''s face turned paler, if that was even possible, then he threw up. ''Shit, this isn''t the time for this!'' "Get back!" I said but Will''s nausea was too much for him to even listen to me nor realize that another rat was rearing to jump at him. With whatever breath I could muster, I got a step closer to will and pulled him back helping him evade the rat''s lung at the price of throwing him into the ground and probably a couple of bruises tomorrow. Will was in no shape to talk but so was I. Gasping for more breath, the pain from my right ribs slowly subsided, and I was able to move without feeling that I had a searing spear pierced right through my side. Another rat came over, but this time, instead of ''overkilling'' it, I swung my sword far less power and it still did the job. However, I could already feel my arm numbing from just a couple of swings and my body in extreme exhaustion after this short bout. How the fuck did we ever survive the first integration is beyond me. Because the human body, unmodified by mana is nothing but a complete joke. This is frustrating. I began feeling the weight of my sword, which in my former life, was the beginning of exhaustion. And look at this, we barely took a few steps into the dungeon and we''re already tired. Damn. If only I had a stamina potion. This is complete dogshit luck and situation. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Will!" I shouted, "Are you okay!" I asked. Will wiped his mouth, looked at me dead in the eyes, and said, "We won''t talk about this!" "Don''t sweat the details, shit happens, and this is probably the first time you ever killed anything. I don''t care about that, but get your shit together man!" "Right. Cough, right; I''m good!" Will said as he grabbed his sword with a shaky hand. "Just keep up behind me, it''s my fault for not realizing that I''m using moves I''ve yet to have the body for. Just follow for now," I said and the two of us moved forward. More rats came our way, and I stabbed and slashed at them with as little power as I could, trying my best to preserve stamina. But even then, I was already sweating buckets, feeling suffocated from my own lack of energy and power, battling damn rats. Will, on the other hand was grabbing his sword with both hands, tight enough that I could see his knuckles turning white in the dark. "Relax your grasp, you''re not holding a hammer," I said "And breathe, god damn it!" I said. Taking a deep breath Will said, "Damn I totally forgot that I was holding my breath."" "Bro¡­" I said shaking my head. "Let''s keep going," I said as I kept killing rats. Will''s eyes swam for a moment, he was about to throw up from seeing all the dead bodies of the screeching, screaming and squeamish-looking rats. Shaking, and shuddering, Will suddenly stopped, and made a loud gulping sound, "Yeah, just had to swallow it back." he said. I sighed, though the situation for any other person might look desperate, for some reason Will always finds a way to make a joke about something. "Good, stick close to me, if you notice any rat behind us just point them out if you can''t handle them yourself," I said. "Right, right, I''m on it," he said and the two of us continued moving back to back. "There is a tunnel up ahead, it should lead to the deeper part of this dungeon, we should get there," I said. "Won''t we be pinned and trapped," Will asked? "It''s better than fighting mobs of rats in an open room, where we''ll only need to fight on two fronts," I said. "Right lets hurry up, there are too many damn rats my side" Will said. "Aight, I''ll pick up the pace, keep up," I said as I began using a bit more stamina than I could afford but it would be better in the long run. Killing more rats as we walked forward one of them dropped an item. "What''s that?" Will asked, "That''s a dropped item, don''t grab it, it''s not worth wasting your life for it. We''ll get everything the dungeon drops as a reward once we clear it." "Oh, right, then let''s keep moving," Will said as we continued moving on deeper into the dungeon and got to the tunnel. Soon, we arrived at the deeper tunnel and we only needed to fend one side. "There are no rats coming in from the deeper side of the dungeon. Will, I have a plan, let me hold off the rats, and you open my bag." I said. Will immediately went to the safer side that didn''t have any rats and I faced off against the ones that were grouping at the mouth of the tunnel. "What do I need to grab?" "There should be a bottle of pure alcohol, I got that from the pharmacy in case of an injury but we''ll need to use it now, grab a piece of bandage and shove it into the bottle," I said. Will immediately understood what I wanted to do and immediately, made a Molotov Cocktail. He then lit it with the lighter and threw it at the rats¡­then nothing happened. "What the heck? Why didn''t it blow up." "Give it a moment," I said as I sliced at another rat coming our way. Then immediately, the alcohol bottle lit up in flames, unceremoniously so, however, it did its job perfectly. The rat''s fur is extremely flammable, and with one of them being less attentive than it should, flames caught on to its fur, and then it began running around like a headless chicken causing, even more, fires to spread to the rest of the rats which ended up creating a snowball effect. "let''s move deeper into the tunnel, or we''ll get suffocated from the burnt smell," I said. "Go then," Will said as he headed forward while I followed after him. The two of us moved ahead into the tunnel. I grabbed a water bottle and drank then handed it back to Will, "Much more fun than a party full of chicks, right?" I said. "Bro, I''m never ever coming with you ever again!" he said. I grinned at Will and said, "We both know that''s a lie. Anyway, there should be a rest area very soon, we''ll get our shit together there and head deeper." "Rest area? What''s that?" Will asked. "Low tier dungeons usually have a rest area, same like the entrance spread out in the dungeon. We can use it to rest and replenish ourselves, even repair broken gear that''s why some classes like crafter class and support class are valuable, they can use the energy there to recover the party to top condition. Look," I said as I pointed forward. There was a blue light coming from the ground, "That''s a rest area, let''s go there and rest up. We''re lucky it''s still before the integration, these areas will become scarcer and scarcer in the future. "Right let''s rest up, I felt like I ran a marathon, and to be honest I didn''t even move much," Will said. "That''s mental exhaustion, from trying to figure out this whole new world and surviving. Veterans don''t exhaust easily not because they have a higher stamina threshold, though it does play a part, but because they still breathe, and function ''normally'' in abnormal situations. Sadly, I messed up because I was still functioning on the fact that I was as strong as I was in my last life." I said. "How strong were you?" Will asked. "I wasn''t the best, but I was still well known. Among the top hundred even." "Oh, that''s impressive still." "Not really, even with all that, we still all¡­ never mind that," I said. I didn''t want to share more details, because even the ones at the top, still died oh so easily to that abomination, and that White Monster was not even a boss class¡­ I need power¡­ a lot of it, and what I am now, is nothing but a laughable copy. I tightened my fist on my sword, ''I''ll need to risk it for more power, and this dungeon is my first step towards it.'' Deeper Into The Hole (Hehehe) We sat within the rest area for half an hour. Usually, half an hour is not enough to shake off the exhaustion as right after a workout session your body will go into a fatigued state where you can barely move. Not to mention our workout session was basically risking our own lives increasing the mental stress over the physical one. However, within these rest areas, the energy regained is much faster and the body rests easier and you can get to top shape in no time to continue your progress. A small blessing in a merciless land. These things were very rare in my old world and every one of them was a little piece of heaven in a merciless hell we had to tide through. "So how does this Mishaa thing works?" Will asked. "You can try for yourself, though I doubt you''ll have more information than what I showed you." Will then spoke, "Mishaaa," then kept turning his head around as if looking for something, "Mishaa!" Same thing happened again, he then turned to me and said. "I see nothing." "Try Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance." I said. "Wow, that''s a mouthful, Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance, show status screen!" Will said and immediately a notification window appeared in front of him, clear from the jump back reaction he did. "Oh this is interesting¡­" Will said. "I can''t see what you see, if you want, ask the system to change its long name to the abbreviated form, then ask her to share status screen." Will spoke to the system and immediately after having it change its name to the abbreviated form, he showed me his status screen.
Status Screen
Name Will Franklin
Race Human
Job N/A
Potential Unknown
Current Awakenings N/A
Skills N/A
Titles N/A
"Bruh, this is looked too damn dry, I don''t have anything on my status screen." Will said disappointedly. "Don''t worry about it, it''s just the beginning. You''ll have more than you can keep count of later on," I said. "Then why do you have ''skills'' and a title?" Will asked. "I only have one skill, the rest apparently are skill I haven''t learned yet, and the title I own is from my former experience. The skill is also a part of it, but I haven''t tried it yet." "Then why not try it now?" Will asked. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "I don''t know what it will cost to use, nor its effect. Skills aren''t really something you throw around, they''re powerful but the cost is great sometimes, I also don''t have a good mana pool, nor enough stamina to actually use it, if the cost is more mana than I have, I might fall unconscious, or if the cost is stamina I might get instant exhaustion, so I might as well try it when I''m in a safe area then see how the skill functions." "That''s a lot of restraints for using a skill." "Not all of them are like that though," I replied, "Most Skills come with a clear description of what they do and how they function, but this one, is a bit special, since I didn''t actively get it. So I might as well not risk anything for now." I replied. "Fair enough." Will replied. "I think we rested enough, how about we keep moving?" I asked. "Sure, I''m with you," Will said as he pulled up his sword. I replaced the candle on the lantern and we both moved forward and deeper into the dungeon. "So how was the first integration as you called it?" Will asked. "It wasn''t nice, a lot of people died, like¡­ a lot. No one was prepared and everything came crashing down in one single day." I said. "What about the army?" Will said. I shook my head, "The army needs proper communication to function, and with the first integration a lot of major power points were hit, and they were hit hard. The loss of electricity and the sudden uselessness of fire arms made everyone rattle unable to come to accept that their technological advancement was all thrown against the wall, useless. The worst part weren''t the monsters though," I said. "There is something worse than monsters?" Will asked questioning me unbelieving of such a statement. "Yes, it''s us. We humans, when afraid, are very, very dangerous creatures. The world government fell and everything went to complete chaos. Law and order were nothing but a notion back then, and everyone was for themselves. People killed other people in fear, masses gathered and made private societies that lasted for a long while before the new World Order was formed. The private societies were lawless zones where murder, rape, and even worse things were happening daily. But people did what they had to, to survive." "Man, what you''re saying feels pretty incredible and distant, but seeing that we''re facing three foot sized rats in a dungeon and all this shit is making it more and more believable. What''s this World Order?" asked Will. "Think of it as an Adventurer''s Guild, an association with several dozen powerful guilds that took over the government job. They assigned Skill Users such as us to help organize the world. We were sent on missions to exterminate monsters or liberate gang held areas and free the people from their oppression. It was hard work at first, but once the ''guilds'' were established things turned slightly back to order. But it was still not enough, people found ways to make their greed prosper at the expense of the misery of others. Those were dark days, and they''ll be coming very soon." "Shit, I don''t want my family to go through that." Will said. "Don''t worry about that, I''m already planning a countermeasure against that, I can''t help everyone, but I can help those close. So stick close and I''ll make sure you won''t regret this." I said as I pulled my sword and nodded forward. "Rats?" Will asked. "Yep, let''s Get Killing," I said as I headed forward towards the closest rat. The two of us moved at a slightly fast pace as rats came at us, thankfully one by one. We took turns taking them out, and I was surprised to see how adaptive Will was, he no longer was squeamish about killing some rats. Apparently Facing your fears is the best way to get over them. And he was proving that by valiantly stabbing a few rats more than enough times to kill them. "It''s already dead bro," I grinned "Save some of that stamina we''ll need it later." I said as we continued on until we arrived to a branching path. "What now?" Will asked. I got closer to one of the paths and crouched down. Pressing my hand on the ground I turned to Will and said, "The ground here is sturdier, rats frequented this place often enough that it''s solid now." I said. "Bruh, you''re a tracker now?" Will asked. "One of the few tricks I learned before. We''ll take this path now, hopefully we''ll find the boss and get this dungeon cleared. The early rewards should be plenty and worth our trouble." "Right let''s go," Will said. The two of us moved through the rightmost path and found what we were looking for after a bit of walking. We were in a wide room that had several newly born rats in it, hairless and blind and in the middle was a rat so big that I had trouble believing that it could even be able to move. The rat noticed us as the glaring light from my lantern was an odd addition to the dark atmosphere where this rat lived. "Holy shit!" Will said. "Indeed," I said as I twirled my sword out of habit when preparing for battle. "That''s the boss, get ready!" [Feast] "Inspect!" I spoke and immediately a status screen appeared in front of me.
Name: Gray Rat brood mother Race: Rodent Difficulty level: Simple Skills: Crunch: Gray Rat Broodmother''s basic ability, crushes its foes with its powerfully razor sharped fangs, causing laceration effect if the prey survives the initial bite. Tail Swipe: Rears Back then spins around itself, whipping a powerful tail swipe capable of breaking stone and bone alike. Cleave: Comes Down crashing with poisonous claws at the enemy. Lore: The first Rat to come in contact with mana, a creature mutated and morphed by the power of a world that is yet to come, if left to achieve its full potential it might become a great disaster that can threaten the survival of mankind.
"Oh my god." I spoke as my eyes were wide open. "What?" "This is actually the Gray Rat Broodmother. This thing was one of the most annoying little fuckers we ever had to deal with, and we found it early. GOOD!" "Why, what did this thing do?" "I think that in my past life, no one ever found this, and this creature overgrew its potential, and sent armies of rats to swarm all over the country. The rats caused massive damage and killed many many people. If we can take it out while its weak, it will save a lot of lives." I said. "That''s some butterfly effect shit, you don''t know if this will be good or bad." Will said. "These rats were a nightmare, you couldn''t even use the sewer system due to them when shit hit the fan, but if we take them out, we''ll have better chances at getting to some objectives later on in the future. Trust me, we need to take this thing out right now, while it''s still weak." I said. The rat decided to stand up and screech, notifying every other rat in the dungeon to the danger. "Will, can I trust you with holding the entrance?" I said. "Don''t you want me to help you with this?" Will asked. "Holding of the incoming rats is more than help enough, also you''re not trained enough to dodge away from this thing''s blows. I don''t want you dying on me so early on." I said. "If you say so," Will said. I pulled another alcohol bottle and poured it on my sword then lit it up. The fire damage will be negligible because its just alcohol, but if I''m lucky it''ll catch on the rat''s fur and that''ll help me greatly. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. I handed Will the bottle and said, "If too many of them come at you at once, light them up." I said then moved towards the rat as fast as possible. The rat held its both arms up and came down crashing at where I would have been a second ago, but I forced myself to dodge to the side avoiding the blow and struck against the rat''s thick fur trying to take her head out instantly. But sadly, the sword was far too weak to cut through the thick fur and only caused a small nick in the rat''s neck. But that was good enough, even if the fire didn''t catch to the rat''s fur, it was enough to know I can wound it. And like the old adage says, If It Bleeds¡­ It Dies. The enraged rat screeched in pain as swung another claw at me to which I pushed myself back, straining my ankles a bit but not enough to sprain them thankfully. This reminded me that I wasn''t who I used to be, so I needed to use minimal moves and power otherwise I''ll kill myself before the rat does. The massive rat found me annoying to kill and decided to head towards will who apparently already started engaging the enemy rats coming to support their mother. I can''t let her ignore me, so when I looked at where I landed I realized I was close to one of the still not so mature and defenseless newborns. I stabbed the newborn rat in the stomach enticing a pained scream that immediately pulled the mother''s attention to me. It came charging at me even with its hulking size, opening its wide razor-sharp mouth trying to crush me in between them. Taking an injury right now isn''t good, so I rolled away regretting it instantly, as doing rolls on the ground is fucking painful for the body especially since my body isn''t as strong as it used to be. But it was worth a few bruises in the morning than being rat shit tonight. I sliced off another newborn''s head making the rat enraged at me as it came disregarding all prudence, running with its four legs and lashing with its tail around her. The flames on my sword were soon dying out so I might as well use them now. I ducked under a horizontal claw swipe and thrust the sword into the rat''s armpit, landing a clean blow, blood poured out from the rat and thankfully some of the fire from the sword caught on to the fur. I moved back while the rat screamed and screeched in agonized pain. The flames caught on the fur-like it would do to a dry wheat field. But apparently, the rat already knew how to get rid of the flames as it rolled over and snuffed them out. But it looked already wounded unable to move well, whimpering from pain but still not at the point where it would not lash back. It''s a wounded animal now, and this is the most dangerous they get. Suddenly the rat jumped me and as I was about to move, I realized that my foot was stuck, looking, there was one rat who was apparently slightly more mature had already bit into my ankle, I didn''t feel the bite because I was probably too focused on the massive rat, and this will probably be my end. A laughable end to a life that had just started. "LUCAS!" Will''s shout was all I could hear as the wide fang of the rat was closing on me.
[You Who Have Feasted Upon Monsters, Hunger for the tender Flesh of a wounded prey]
Suddenly, I felt my stomach falling as if I hungered for a thousand years, the feeling was so sudden and strong that I felt that I was about to faint. Immediately afterward my hand shuddered as a dark substance coated it and the sword along with it, shooting forward towards the incoming rat. The substance shaped itself into two massive jaws that covered half of the incoming rat then clamped tight, locking fang to fang. For an instant I could see nothing but the spine and internal organs of the massive rat hovering in the air then they dropped pooling around the half mangled body a massive pool of grim and blood. The substance that manifested from my arm looked nothing but that of a demonic jaw, slowly crunching a disturbing sound of bones inside them, as blood dripped from between its jaws while it crunched, and crushed the bones and organs of the rat inside them. Then it swallowed it. And suddenly my insane hunger dissipated.
[You have ''Consumed'' and obtained a new skill, [Crunch] ] You have replenished your stamina. You have healed some of your wounds. [Congratulations! You are one of the first to clear a dungeon. Please wait for your rewards.]
"What the fuck was that?" Will said. Magic Potion
[Hunter Lucas, Hunter Will, please wait to receive your appropriate reward.] [Calculating¡­]
"What''s going on?" Will asked as the notification kept popping in front of him. "The system is calculating an appropriate reward for our effort, and since we''re probably among the first to clear a dungeon before the integration, we might get something good," I replied. "Wait, what do you mean with among the first?" Will asked. "Yeah, if we were the first the system would have already acknowledged it. Apparently, someone else had beaten us to the pot. Still, we''ll get good rewards never the less. Also, this kill right now directly hampers a huge pain in the ass that we were going to have to deal with in the future. Let''s see¡­"
[Reward calculation complete, are you ready to receive your rewards?] Y/N?
"Yes," I replied and immediately a new window appeared in front of me.
[For having defeated an enemy that would have proven quite a difficult challenge left untended for, you will receive an appropriate reward based on the damage that has been mitigated.] [Please receive the following] [ Gray Rat Broodmother''s Claws X 20] [Gray Rat Broodmother Fur X 5] [Gray Rat Broodmother Tail X 2] [Activated Mana Crystal X 40] [Fabolous Enhancement Gem x 10] [Normal Healing Potion X 10] [As an additional Reward for the feat of defeating what may have become a detrimental obstacle in the path of humanity, you may choose one of the following items to take with you along your journey.] [Universal Bag storage capacity 10 by 10 meters.] [Skill Book: Infestation] [Gray Rat twisted Fang: Dagger] Please choose one.
"Take the storage bag," I said before will could even ask. "Wouldn''t a skill book be good, I mean you just used a skill right now. That looked awesome." Will said. "I would have recommended the skill book if it was something unique or rare, but this thing is really useless, it summons rats that can hinder a few enemies, but facing stronger foes in the future the summoned rats aren''t really that worth it. also don''t waste one of your precious skill slots for something this crappy." "Okay, then why not the dagger?" Will asked. "Admittedly, the dagger is better than the skill book since it''s more usable in any situation, and it''s already made by the system, meaning that it can easily cut through the flesh of monsters. The problem is, without an appropriate storage space where do you think we can carry the rest of the loot? Also, I still remember some recipes from my last time, I can make better things than this dagger, at least good enough until we get the Godsmith in our party." "Godsmith, sounds pretty important." "He was a man of little words and would be very easy to make an enemy of. Also, he was very dangerous, however, if you end up on his good side, he''ll make weapons for you that''ll make gods fear," I said. "You mentioned a party earlier, are you going to tell me who they are?" Will asked. "All in due time, don''t worry about it. Now let''s gather these mats. We''ll need them pretty soon." I said as I picked up the Storage bag relic and immediately received a notification of it being bound to me. A small leather bag appeared strapped to my side. "That looks nice, but kinda out of style don''t you think?" will said. I moved my hand above the bag and it disappeared from view, then moved my hand in the opposite direction and it appeared again. "Oh, that''s handy," Will said. "Don''t worry about fashion, all that will disappear in thirteen days from now," I said. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Right, right, the apocalypse and whatnot." "Collect half," I said as half the materials disappeared from the ground and appeared inside my bag. "Emm, what are you doing?" Will asked. "Splitting loot, what do you mean?" I replied. Will shook his head, "You think I''ll know what to do with some scavenged rat remains? You can take all of this, I don''t need it nor know what to do with it, just make sure to split the ''profit'' afterward. I can''t handle raw materials, nor have any idea what to do with them, I might waste them¡­" Will said. "True, Mana Crafting and Smithing isn''t yet known to the world, okay I''ll handle the loot," I said. "So, how do we leave?" Will asked. "Right, Mishaa, exit please," I said. Suddenly, a blue warp gate appeared next to us.
[Please make sure to have taken everything you need before leaving the dungeon. After being cleared the dungeon will self purge]
"What does self purge mean?" asked Will. "Killing the boss makes the dungeon disappear along with all the mobs that were still inside it, ejecting everyone from within it," I said. "And since there are no hidden rooms or hidden bosses in such a low-tier dungeon, it''s not worth staying here any longer. Let''s leave." I said and the two of us took the portal and appeared inside a small cave. The light from my lantern lit up the cave walls that had small crystal-like gems embedded in them. "Diamonds?" Will said as his eyes glistened in obvious greed. "In your dreams," I replied, "This is none activated mana crystals, they''re pretty small and with the dungeon dead now, they''ll also disappear. This is where grandma Meng got the crystal from." "What''s the difference between an activated Mana Crystal and one that isn''t active." "An active mana crystal can be used to enhance materials to a far greater degree than one that isn''t active. Also, there are different grades of crystals, this one that grandma Meng gave us was pretty common and the weakest among the bunch, but it was enough to hone a weapon to be of use. Now, with the drop from the rat, we have better grade crystals that we can use to make more items, enhance gear and make better grade consumables such as potions and more destructive weaponry." "Sounds so complicated¡­" Will complained. "It is at first, but don''t worry about it, you''ll get the hang of it pretty soon. Let''s head back. We need to prepare for the upcoming turmoil." "Yeah, I can''t help but worry about my folks¡­" Will said. "I''ll make something happen, don''t worry, I can''t save everyone in town, but I''ll make sure to save those that I care about. I still have something to take care of in the following days, make sure to not reveal anything that happened tonight. Before the integration happens, if you showcase any of this, you won''t realize it when you''re bagged and dragged into an underground facility for tests and experiments¡­ you know what I mean." "Yeah¡­government stuff." "Yep." The two of us moved ahead until we got in Will''s car. "I still can''t believe what just happened¡­" Will said. "It''s always like that the first time," I replied. "Right now, all I can recommend for you is to hit the gym," I said. "The gym? You think I got time for that?" Will said. "Yeah, any moment spent gaining more stamina is gonna be extremely helpful in the next few weeks. I''ll also give you something that''ll make your gains pretty significant. But It''ll take me a couple of days to make. For now, let''s just get home." I said to will. The two of us drove off in the night, listening to some rap music which clearly made Will feel much better about what just happened earlier as he seemed to completely get into the vibe and forget all about the gruesomeness of the night. We arrived back home soon, and once I was out, I made sure to remind Will to clean up as he looked pretty scary with dried blood all over his clothes. "That''s enough to get you arrested, be careful and wash up," I said. "Right don''t worry," Will replied. Let''s talk more comes the morning," "Yeah, sure. Have a good night, if you can that is," I said grinning. "With this much fatigue, I''ll be surprised if I can''t sleep," Will replied and drove off. I walked back inside, thankfully no one was awake. I didn''t want anyone to see me with all this scum and dirt on me. So I walked upstairs and washed off the grim. Soon after I hit the bed and didn''t even realize when I slept as I was already woken up by dad''s constant shouts for me to get down and join them for breakfast. "Coming!" I said and got down. The daily family routine seemed so nostalgic and yet so familiar that I was once again thankful for getting yet another chance at correcting what I couldn''t fix the last time. And this time I''ll be damn sure to make everything work right. *** A couple of days went by already, and in those days I made a few purchases that cost me all my savings. The first of, are a few herbs that were being sold on the internet, for a far too cheap price than their real value. These herbs and flowers I bought looked ''pretty'' but their real value is what I''m about to do with them. The second thing was keeping in contact with Will and subscribing to the closest gym. Usually, it would be impossible for a person to think that they''ll get any workout done in ten days, but with the bought herbs I managed to make the impossible pretty possible. Doping. But not the bad kind. One of the Herbs, Spirit''s Breath, a rare, yet not so expensive herb I bought online is one of the greatest enhancers to human stamina. It can only be consumed once and will amplify the natural body''s stamina and elevate a body''s exhaustion limit to a new level. The only problem was, the recipe was discovered far too late down the timeline. And sadly many people had died due to exhaustion, or the inability to run the last mile or land the last blow. With the Spirit Breath Potion, a lot had changed, but in my opinion, the discovery of such a recipe was far too late. Yet, now, I''m remaking the same potion, far too early for its time. And it only needs a couple of things. An activated Mana Crystal, and the herb itself. The crushed and filtered essence of the herb needs to be mixed with the activated crystal''s mana, and unless someone actively uses the crystal it''s impossible to mix the two. Potion Quality wouldn''t also be a problem since just ingesting the mixture will enable the effects. Not only will this increase my overall stamina and reduce the strain on my body when I use more body taxing moves, but it''ll also help build the body to a far greater degree than it is humanly possible. Though I won''t hulk up, I can get jacked up in less than a week hitting the plateau of body evolution in one week. Though the body can still be improved upon later using other tools, I''ll have a body capable of sustaining my moves without it breaking very soon. I had Will drink up one of the potions though he reluctantly did so, he was pretty thankful when he was able to hit the gym for hours on end without feeling slightly exhausted after sessions that no human body could sustain. I made sure however to have Will train and do the bulk of his workout hours in the privacy of his home because I didn''t want him to get reported for being a freak of nature capable of doing eight continuous hours of weight lifting without breaking a sweat. Today marks the first week''s end. We only have one more week left before shit hits the fan. I haven''t been to school for a long time. Nor did I have the intention of going right now. Because I was patiently waiting for something to happen. As I was revising some of the old recipes I remembered and noted down some of the dungeons that I needed to hunt down after the integration happened, I received a phone call. Looking at the strange unfamiliar number I grinned. I picked up the phone and waited, "Mr Lucas I presume." A slightly agitated, shaky yet trying to act firm womanly voice replied back. "Yes, Vivian. Come get me at this address." I said I didn''t even need to explain any further after giving her the address I needed her to get me and hung up the phone. Things are starting to move, and now I need to take the wheel. Though it''s scummy and a really nasty way to do things, it is the only way I have left. Today I''m going to save a billionaire, and I''ll make him owe me, big time. Deal With The Devil I got my hoodie on and went out. I took off until I arrived at an alleyway where I had the location for the pickup set up. I didn''t need them to know my personal address. Though I have to admit if they tried hard enough it shouldn''t be a problem. However, the Dilberts weren''t that diabolical. After all their company was one of the pillars that aided in sustaining humanity for as long as they could. It didn''t take much time before a large SUV dropped by, it was your typical pretty expensive-looking, black, and darkened glass type of SUV, the one you see in movies and often used to kidnap people. The door opened up for me to enter, an invitation without an invitation. So I took it and got into the car. The driver didn''t look back at me and drove off after I closed the door. We drove through downtown for a bit, though the traffic was awkward, it soon won''t be an issue anymore. We arrived at the residence of the Dilberts, far away from the private hospital where John Dilbert was in. I knew this would happen but I prepared accordingly. The car door opened up for me to leave, and once I was out, I looked up to a massive mansion with two special security members standing on the door''s entrance. One of them spoke into his sleeves, reporting my arrival at the house. It took a few minutes before a butler came out the front door and invited me in. I followed after the butler who took me through the massive hallway of the mansion. Noticing my lack of interest in the absurdly expensive decoration the butler spoke "You seem rather used to luxury perhaps, not many would not spend a second or two wondering how expensive these vases and paintings are." I sorted in retrospect to his statement and replied, "Material object''s value is only decided by the people who value such work. One day, the only use of these paintings will be firewood to keep one warm from the cold bite of winter¡­" though my words were spoken as if reminiscing about the past, the butler took them in a rather not so nice way. "You seem to find art rather distasteful, that would be rude to speak of the hard work of people as nothing but firewood." The butler said. I stopped moving, and the lack of another pair of boots stepping on the expensive hardwood of the mansion was loud enough to have the butler stop and turn to look at me. "You believe that this art here has value?" I said. "Of course, it is of the greatest value it represents mankind''s ability to turn the intangible and abstract to physical form." "Yeah yeah, you and all your fancy words." I said, "But answer me this. Strand two people in an arctic desert, one, the poorest person in the world, and the richest man in the world. Give the rich man all his material belongings, and give the poor man nothing. However, they have no food or water. Then, can you answer me, how valuable is that art?" The butler looked perplexed at first and tried to come up with an answer. "Alfred¡­ don''t, he already trapped you with that question. It''s not something that can or should be answered¡­ Lucas, I presume." Spoke to a woman who looked far too mature for her age. She was the same age as me that''s for sure, but running a company at such a young age, and with the pressure of her father''s imminent doom at hand, it''s bound to wrench away the joys of life from a person. I nodded at the woman, and said, "Money is good to have, I''ll never say no to free money, don''t get me wrong," I told the butler, "But at the end of the day, money is nothing but a tool to subvert Time. Money can get you a car that you need to save up for ten years to get. That''s it. it''s nothing less nothing more. Money is time, and in a world where money has no value, money-" I pointed at the painting, "Is nothing better than firewood." The woman came down the stairs and said, "You seem to know a lot of things." She said. "I''ve been around," I said. "You know what''s wrong with my father." She said. "Yes." "You can cure him?" "Cure him? he isn''t sick though¡­" I said. The butler frowned, "Young man, I''ve heard that you were invited to help sir Dilbert and now you claim he isn''t sick, are you a swindler?!" the butler said. I didn''t reply to the butler and looked Vivian in the eyes which were as blue as the ocean, it took me a while to get my bearings before I said. "He never was sick, and all the doctors in the world will have said that he has nothing wrong with him. Yet, they can''t help the seizures can they." Vivian nodded. "What he has isn''t a sickness. And I''m sure you''ve seen many, many cases like this." I said. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "None of them woke up, and after thorough investigations, many of them had experienced the symptoms you said will happen. Seizures, bleeding, and lastly cardiac arrests." Vivian said. the last word, however, she spoke reluctantly. "So, I presume you brought me here instead of the hospital for a reason," I said. "You''re sharp." She said. "And I suppose the guards outside are a way to intimidate me into giving you the answer to this very deadly riddle. But don''t worry, I''m not planning to hold off the answer however, what I''m about to say might sound like the words of a mad man." "Speak then," Vivian said. "Oh, definitely not. There are some things I need before I give you the answer." I said. "What speak, if it''s money, you can name your price." I snorted, "After all the stuff I just said you think I need money?" I said. "Then what can one of the richest people in the world give besides money?" Vivian said. "Favor. A favor that I''ll be calling when the time is right. That''s all." I said firmly. "Your words sound like a deal with the devil¡­" she said. "Right now, the Devil is your only salvation, because God will soon give up on this world." In the last sentence, I spoke rather in a hushed way, however, I''m more than certain that Vivian picked it up. "How sure can I be of this ''treatment'' you can give," Vivian asked. "How long has it been since he had his last seizure?" I asked "About two hours now." "Good, perfect timing even, I believe you can contact the hospital right now right?" I asked. "Yes." "Ask them to place as many flowers and roses as they could put next to your old man." Vivian frowned. "Trust me, you won''t regret it." I said. For a girl, her father is her pillar, him gone would destroy her world, and for even a sodding chance at him getting better, she''ll turn the world upside down. Vivian made the call and invited me over to sit at a table with her facing the other way around. The butler served us some drinks, and I enjoyed a taste of good expensive alcohol. "You seem rather relaxed and enjoying your drink, so much for the esoteric personality," Vivian said. "An offered drink shouldn''t be ref-" "Refused¡­" she finished for me. "That''s what my father used to say. How do you know that." She said. "What can I say, great minds think alike," I said. Not before long, Vivian''s phone rang. It was the hospital, the moment she picked up the phone, her facial expression changed, "Are you certain!" she said. Then she looked at me like I was some sort of monster. "What? It worked didn''t it." "How did you do it?" she asked. "Oh, I''ve done nothing," I said, "And this is only temporary, you should head to the hospital, you have about an hour tops," I said. "An hour before what?" "Before he goes to sleep again," I said. "Come with me." She insisted. "With pleasure," I replied after downing the drink then stood up. She walked hurriedly towards the exit, and I followed after her. We got into a limousine that drove us all the way to the hospital, it took some time and especially with traffic, Vivian was feeling anxious if she were to get there late. Just from the way she was gripping her fist tightly one could see the concern in her eyes. "Don''t worry, we''ll make it," I said. And soon traffic jams seemed to get less and less and the car began zooming past everything until we arrived at the hospital. If it wasn''t for keeping her ''dignity'' and appearance as the ''princess'' I would swear that she would be leaping and running to get faster to her father. But she kept her calm and walked confidently as I followed after. The receptionist welcomed Vivian and once she saw me again, I grinned in her face. Frustrated that she can''t kick me out this time, she just gave up and had me go along with Vivian. We arrived to the floor where her father was placed. There were many people there, probably company shareholders who heard of John Dilbert''s ''Miraculous'' recovery and were here to be the ''First'' to welcome him back to health. Bunch of hypocrites, but I wasn''t one to talk. "I told you before, visit hours are over, you can''t get in there, let him rest please!" a nurse spoke. But once she saw Vivian, her complexity changed. "We can''t allow anyone in right now please," she said. "Get¡­out¡­ of the damn way!" Vivian said. A doctor soon came by and intervened, "Kathy, let her in. only family members though, and please try not to agitate him much, he is still having a hard time trying to talk." The Doctor said. Vivian walked in and I was stopped by the doctor, "I''ve never seen you before, who are you?" Vivian turned back and said, "He''s family," she said. "Excuse me then," I said to the doctor and got into the room. Once inside I was honestly surprised by how many flowers, they had placed in his room it was a bit too much even. However, it did its job. "Dad!" she said as she gazed at the frail appearance of her father, fully tubed up with life sustain machinery "Vivian¡­" her father spoke rather weakly. "How have you been¡­" He said. And for the first time in my life, this one, and the last one, I''ve seen the cold queen cry. Apparently, the sight of her meek-looking father was too much for her to bear. This only made me feel a bit bad about myself since I know he could get up on his own, but it would be a long while before this happens. The absence of John Dilbert caused a lot of strife in his company for the couple few years to come. A youngster managed to take the opportunity to control his company in his absence and even caused the ''disappearance'' probably death of Vivian later on. And when Dilbert woke up and took back control, he had no one to offer his company to as he was alone in the world. A sad story, for a man who did so much for such an ailing world. "Who is this¡­" her father said as she finished weeping. "Ah, I''m sorry¡­ this is Lucas Newman" ''Oh, they know my last name so they did a background check already'' "Your boyfriend?" he asked. "No" she immediately refused. "But he seems to know about your condition." "Oh, I suppose these flowers have something in them that''s why I woke up. ''Sharp as always,'' "Something like that, but their effect will soon wear off and you''ll fall asleep soon again," I said. "Ah, is that so? I suppose waking me up was for a reason¡­" he said. "Yes," I replied firmly. "What I''m about to say will probably sound very absurd¡­ however, if you''re willing to believe me, things will change," I said. I then turned to Vivian and said, "I know you don''t trust me, but I''ll have to ask for your cooperation for this, could you please give me a moment with your father? I''ll leave soon after and you two can talk all you want." Vivian hesitated for a moment, before she looked at her father, "You said you can help him." "I can, and I will." She took a deep breath, "I''m only doing this because you seem to know what you''re doing and managed to wake him up, but if something bad happens to dad¡­ I''ll end you." She said. I didn''t take the threat seriously, but still, I respected her wishes, "Nothing bad will happen." I said, "Now please." I said. Vivian stood up and left the room, and immediately after, the swarm of people there began asking her who I was and how well her father was. Sharks¡­ I turned my head to the ailing man. "So¡­ ready to make a deal?" I asked Though I didn''t realize it, I probably had a nasty grin because the moment I finished my words. "Hah, seems like a Devil''s Deal. Right, what are the terms," he asked. The Pillar "So, Mr Dilbert. How about I tell you a story. A story of a distant, yet oh so close world. A story about monsters and beasts, about death and more death, about gods, and devils, and about a world that is soon to face its end." I spoke. "You don''t strike me as a man who is speaking fiction or preaching a religion, I suppose your story has something for me to hear, but if I only have one hour, you better start telling," John said. I smiled, "I always liked your straightforwardness." "You talk as if we have met before," John said. "Oh, we did, and we worked together, a lot, sadly, things didn''t end as we all wanted," I said reminiscing for a moment about a past long gone. Yet a future is yet to come. John didn''t speak and waited for me to finish. "The world as you know it, will end in about three years," My words spoken, however, John didn''t seem too perturbed by them. "I suppose that someone with your background would be more than capable of knowing that things aren''t going too well, right?" I said. John nodded. "This makes things much easier. In a sense, I came from the future, though it''s slightly wrong to say that, more like I got reverted back to my younger years." "In one week from now, the first integration will happen, and shit will hit the fan. People will die, by great and grave numbers. And not me, you, the army, or anyone can do anything about it. The economy will take the biggest hit it ever had, and markets will break." I said. "Monsters will start appearing, people, will die. And a great many will starve to death. A few lucky and elite people will remain however, and will rebuild, they''ll try to sustain life for as long as they could. And companies such as yours, somehow will manage to offset this first Integration and will become one of the pillars that will support the imminent breaking of the world." "Your words, seem certain," John said. "You had a hunch something will happen, so why not believe me?" I asked. "It''s not just believing. What you''re saying is absurdly incredible. I need proof." He said. "Mishaa," I said, and immediately a blue screen appeared in front of me. "Showcase status screen," I said. Then I displayed the status screen to John. He frowned then said, "With today''s technology something like this is easy to make." "Sword," I said and the sword from my inventory manifested in my hand. "Party Trick." He said. I frowned. "You seem not too keen on believing me," I said. "I''m a rational man, if I were to believe anything anyone says to me, I''d be out of business a long time ago." Though I could show him a skill, the only one I have is too volatile and might end up eating him. "Right then, how about I make you better," I said This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "You mean cure me?" "You''re not sick," I said. "That''s not what everyone is saying," John said. "You''re suffering Mana Deficiency. Without my intervention, you would one day wake up. Because you''re lucky enough that your Mana Deficiency happened close to the integration. When Mishaaa fully integrates with the world, the Mana Gates will open up, and you''ll wake up a bit later down the timeline, but you''ll wake up when the world is already destroyed, and your only daughter will be long dead." I said as I stood up. My last words made him immediately change his expression. "Are you threatening me?" "No, but in my last life, your daughter died due to an inside job. Someone, apparently from your company got her, and when you woke up, you were devastated. You can sleep if you want. I won''t stop you, I managed the last time, and I''ll figure something this time. It would have been better with your help, but it seems that you''re not believing me either way." "Because what you''re saying is nothing but absurdities!" he said. "I told you before, what I''m about to tell you will not be easy to digest, it is basically telling you that all you worked for your entire life is meaningless, no one likes to hear that, but it is the hard cold truth. Either way, you have about half an hour, I''ll leave you and your daughter to talk. But before I go," I said and pulled a small glass vial with a green glistening liquid inside it. I placed it next to his bed and said. "This is a magic potion, it will rebuild your muscles, refill your energy reserves and stop the Mana Deficiency from putting you back to sleep," I said. "That could be poison," he said. "Why should I try and poison a man who will die anyway?" I said. "You said I''ll wake up from the coma later, aren''t you being contradictive!" he said. "Yes, you''ll wake up, but only because in my past life, I happened to arrive to this very hospital and found you asleep and about to get mauled by zombies and saved your ass. That''s how we got to know each other. Maybe this time I won''t. The choice is yours." I said. I then stood up and left the room. "He wants to see you," I said to Vivian, and then I left. I didn''t know what they talked about or what she wanted to ask him. But I did all I could. Sadly Mishaaa isn''t allowing me to use any of my old abilities, perhaps I''ll need to re-venture in the same dangerous places and re-learn all of that. Before I''m able to use all my skills. However, with this newfound power I have, I''m probably going to pick a different Job this time. Being a Swordmaster had its perks, but it was far too close in far too many occasions. I might not survive this time if I were to underestimate my opponents due to my former knowledge. I''ll still need to train and practice, and also, I need to get my hand on a few dungeons before some very wicked people manage to get their hands on them first. This will be a very dangerous journey because I''ll basically be offending some of the very nasty gods that will be coming to this world soon after. I headed out to the nearest coffee shop and had a shot of espresso to wake me up. I needed to start working on some things. Mainly figure out a way to get some crafting done with my materials. I have to make an armor set from the Gray Rat I killed last time, and I don''t have much time left. As I was figuring out ways on how to make such a thing. I received a call. "Hello." "Lucas¡­" Vivian spoke. "Yes." "He fell asleep again. And no matter how many flowers I place, he didn''t wake up." I sighed inwardly. "It was his own decision, I gave him something to wake him up, but he probably didn''t take it." "Something?" she wondered, then I heard her rummaging through objects. "There is a vial here, it''s empty though. Is that poison or something." "You rich people and your conspiracy theory minds, no of course it''s not poison! Also, can you check his eyes, see if they''re reacting to light. His pupils should contract if exposed to light." I said. "One moment, I''ll use my phone''s flashlight." She said. Soon after, "They''re reacting." I smiled. "Good, he drank it. Tomorrow, he''ll wake up. Don''t worry about it, go and rest. Your dad is healed up." I said "Really?" she questioned, a bit of worry in the tone of her voice. "Yeah, don''t worry about it. He''ll wake up in the morning feeling better than ever. And once he''s ready, he can call me then. We have much to talk about." "Okay, I hope what you''re saying is true. I''ll trust you since you kept your word the first time." "Don''t worry about it. You should also rest up. You''ve been through a lot today." "Thank you¡­ for everything." "Don''t thank me yet, I still haven''t really earned it. All in due time." I said then hung up. Good. With Dilbert, all good and dandy, the next phase should be far easier to deal with. Especially with his support. As much as I want to gather my old team, I can''t do it now. They need to get introduced to the true terror of the upcoming world. And getting to them right now will probably creep them out. Especially her. She is still with her current ass of a boyfriend. But once everything clears up for her, then it''ll be my time. I won''t let what happened last time happen again. Contract Comes morning, I woke up and joined pops and mom at breakfast. "What were you doing at the hospital yesterday?" Dad asked. His question almost had me choke on my coffee. "How did you know about that?" I asked. "A little bird told me¡­" dad said. "Bruh, you have too many birds¡­" "I''m not your ''bruh''," he said. "He could have probably been visiting a friend, just let it go," mom said. "Something like that, a friend." "Interesting friend you got there, Rembaldi Private institution isn''t something that you can get to just because you have a cold, nor can anyone afford getting hospitalized there unless they''re loaded¡­" "Something like that¡­" I said. "You''re not doing anything shady, right Lucas?" Dad asked. "Nope, don''t worry about it. like I said, just visiting a friend." I said. Just as I finished my words, my phone rang, it was Vivian. "Give me a moment," I said and left the table. "Did you see that?" mom asked in a hushed tone. "Yep, Vivian was it?" Dad replied. I was damn surprised at how they picked up the name from a single glance at my phone¡­ but whatever¡­ "Hey, how is it going?" I asked as I made sure to keep my distance, my parent''s love for gossip isn''t a laughing matter. "Good morning, Lucas¡­" came the reply, though a bit cold, it was normal for someone like her. "Dad is asking to see you¡­ again.," she said. "Oh, I''ll be on my way soon," I said. "There is a car waiting for you outside your home," Vivian said. I frowned at the fact that my privacy was being invaded. "I''ll come, when I''m done with breakfast with my family," I said. After a moment''s wait, probably out of shock from having been refused she said, "You know that the man waiting for you doesn''t have much time." "None of us has much time anyway, that''s exactly the reason I''m trying my best to enjoy the precious little time I have left. You wouldn''t understand, not now at least. I''ll come when I''m done with breakfast and that''s final." I firmly spoke. I could hear a humph from the other side of the phone, a frustrated reaction to being told to wait, but I''m not about to go running like a puppy every time I''m being called. It took me a lifetime''s worth of effort, death, pain and struggle to get back to this table, like hell if I were to even waste a moment of this time for something that can wait. Even if it''s the request of one of the richest men in the world, family comes first. Above all. I went back to the table and resumed my breakfast. "There is a car waiting outside¡­" dad said as he nodded towards the window with his head. "Just ignore it for now," I said. "That''s a pretty expensive car¡­ probably belongs to someone pretty important," Dad added. "Not as important as spending time with you guys, so he can wait," I said. "You''re a good lad¡­ you matured," Dad said. "It happens," I said and we continued talking about all random stuff. The only reason I had to go to the car after was that my father had to go to work and mum had to start cleaning up the house. So, I regrettably stood and left the house. The car''s back door opened up for me and I walked in. Soon the car arrived at the hospital and I moved until I was inside John Dilbert''s room. Vanessa was there, with a brand new set of pretty expensive-looking clothes. Her dad was already dressed in a full tuxedo and was buttoning the last one on his vest. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Hey," I said as I entered. The man, feeble, old, and wrinkly was no more, instead, there was a healthy-looking middle-aged man in front of me, with more meat on his face than yesterday. His cheeks were no longer sunken, and his whole stature exuded confidence enough to challenge the world. "You know¡­today, I could finally believe you," John said as he adjusted his tie and looked me in the eyes. "I guess the potion was proof enough," I said. "No, not by a long shot," He said. To which I was surprised. "Then how come you don''t believe a miracle potion that restored your body, rebuilt your flesh, and bones, and believe that something else was proof that I was telling the truth?" I asked. "It''s your answer to my daughter over the phone." He said. "I don''t get it," I said. The man smiled and said, "Do you know how much I am worth?" he asked. "I dunno, probably a few billion dollars¡­" I shrugged. "A few billion dollars is a huge understatement, but yes, something like that. And do you know what''s my greatest wish?" he asked. "Ah¡­that I know, and I think I''m starting to get what you''re going for," I said. "Oh, please do tell me¡­" "You told me once that you''d give everything you ever had, everything you ever owned for a chance to see your daughter once more¡­ but that''s because¡­ well you know, I told you yesterday¡­" "He told you what?" Vivian asked. "He told me that you''re going to die," he dad said. "Could you be any blunter? The heck man, now she''ll think I''m weird¡­" I said. "I''ll die? How? What are you guys talking about?" she asked. "I''ll explain later," her dad said. You better explain¡­ god damn it. "So I suppose now¡­" I said, "You''d give all you have for a chance at sitting with your family, parents, once again." I said. "Yes. And won''t hesitate for a second. Today, you proved that you truly did come from the future." "Huh? Future? What kind of lie did you tell my dad, and he looks completely hooked on it? future? Dad, I think you still need to get checked up." "Please Vivian." Her dad said. And she quieted down but was still giving me the ''eye''. Damn this is gonna be annoying to explain, but I''d let him finish. "Most, if not all of the people I know would come running to my beck and call like you saw yesterday and today, they''re grouped up at the door waiting to ''congratulate'' me for my recovery and be the teacher''s pet. I don''t like that, I never did. You on the other hand adamantly refused me, to stay with your family, a young man your age, a teenager, would definitely not have the same reaction as you did. You''re older. Not in body, but in mind," "I''ve seen the worst, and come to appreciate the little things I have. Having a chance to see my parents again, sitting with them, and this time, being with them when it happens, and protecting them is the greatest gift I''ve gotten since I''ve been sent back. and I won''t let anything take that away from me, not even God himself." I said. "Good. Now that I''ve decided to trust you, I''ll have to share some things with you but I''ll need you to share some things with me too." He said. "I suppose that will require a lot of paperwork," I said. "Indeed, I have a few contracts already prepared," he said. I shook my head, "No written contracts," I said. "Oh, why not?" he asked. "Law will be a very flimsy thing a few weeks from now on, how can a contract be upheld if it''s written based on a world of peace when the world turns upside down?" I said. "You guys are scaring me¡­" she said. "It''s okay Vivian¡­ right?" he said. "Yeah, you guys don''t need to worry about anything." "Then, back to our point, how do we uphold a deal? Shaking on it seems less plausible¡­" he said. "I might have to disagree on that one, do you have the contract on you?" I asked. "Yes." "Can I have it?" I asked. He then went to one of the drawers and pulled it, taking out a thick-looking contract from it. "I picked it up and said, "Misha, begin contract verification and explanation." Suddenly, the papers in my hand disappeared and I closed my eyes for a second. I nodded a few times before I spoke, "There are a few terms I''m not very fond of." I said, "Also a few loopholes that are very exploitable you wouldn''t mind me adjusting some of it?" I asked. "But¡­ you haven''t read it yet," he said. "Oh, I already did. I said, try it yourself, Contract!" I spoke and the contract appeared in my hand again. "How do you do that?" he asked. "Say this; Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance, Begin Contract Verification and Explanation," I said The old man did the same and was stunned as information began pouring into his mind. "You already changed some of the terms¡­ and it''s looking more solid right now¡­" he said. "But what was that?" "That''s what you called a party trick yesterday. Anyway, the TLDR, is basically we work together when or if the world turns apocalyptic if nothing happens I get a fat paycheck for the potion and we part ways, but if we''re partners, I''d like a few shares in your company and the right to a couple of buildings¡­" "Seems simple enough, your terms don''t seem too overbearing. But now what?" he asked. "Now I''ll ask Mishaa to approve the contract, however¡­ there is a risk in using Mishaaa to validate our contracts." I said. "What might that be?" "Well, breaking the contract is instant death, I hope you''re okay with that," I said smiling. "Ah¡­ no problem, in fact I think with your knowledge, it''s worth it." he said. "Good, Mishaaa, I approve of the contract. Setting Contract of Equals," I said. A notification appeared In front of me to finalize my acceptance of the contract. "What''s this contract of Equals?" he asked. "There are several types of contracts, a contract of equals allows the two to void the contract if the two of them wish it at any point, a Contract of Advantage will only allow only one person to break a contract if they''re the advantaged person, however¡­" I said. "Oh, that''s more like a slave contract." "Yes, those are very bad, thankfully they cannot be forced on anyone unless someone accepts it with their on will. For example, taking a family member hostage in order to get an Advantage contract will never be possible." "Who would ever sign such a contract then?" John asked. "A lot will, you''ll see it later down the line, anyway whenever you''re ready, also just so you''re heart is at ease, you can ask Mishaaa to explain more about contracts," I said. Though I regretted that a bit later, once John understood that he too could contact Mishaa, he began asking her all sorts of questions, making this contract signing take too much time. It took about an hour before he finished, thankfully Mishaaa wasn''t fully awake otherwise we''d be here all day. "Contract Signed!" he said. "Good, now we''re in business," I said. "Yes, however, I have a few things to take care of as I just woke up. I''ll call you later so we can finish up with the rest of this," he said. "Yeah, I need to get to Uni anyway," I said. "You seem interested in study even at these times, I''m curious about that," he said. "Oh, not education I have a few friends I need to recruit for what is to come, don''t worry about it." "You''re making me not worry about a lot of things," he said. "That''s how it should be." I said, "Now if you''ll excuse me." I said and left the room. Shark like Smile I took the bus to school and hopped off at probably not the right time, as the moment I was in front of the Uni''s gates I saw Joe and his buddies chilling on his father''s Porch. I tried to act like I didn''t see them, but one of the guys nudged Joe on the shoulder and pointed at me, causing the rest of the group to stand up and come with hurried steps towards me. ''Fucking hell man¡­'' I cursed inwardly as I tried ignoring them and moved into the uni, but one of them was fast enough to stand between me and the gate. "Where you think you''re going, nerd?" he said. "Nerd? Really, what are we in kindergarten?" I replied. "You fucker, just cause you got lucky with that low blow you think you''re something? Huh?" Joe said. As I turned to him, I could see the blue discoloration of his eyes from behind the overly large shades he was wearing. "I told you last time, I don''t want trouble," I said. "JOE! STOP!" I heard her voice as she shouted, looking at her, coming over with hasty steps she said. "Why are you picking up fights again!" she called out. "None of your fucking business, I got beef with this fucker, and he ain''t going back home in one piece today!" he said. "Just drop the matter, you started it in the first place!" she said. "Man, you gonna let that bitch tell you shit?" one of Joe''s friends said. "No," he said as he looked at her, "Fuck off, this is none of your business," he said. "Fuck off?" she said, her eyes almost wallowing up in tears. ''Damn it, what the hell do you see in this guy¡­'' "You really think I should, fuck off? Right," she said. Joe didn''t reply, and one of his friends said, "Take a hike, shit is about to get ugly you don''t wanna see this," he said. One of them had his hand over my shoulders and said, "We''re better off changing spots, how about it? I''ll show you something real good!" he said as he tightly gripped me. "Joe! This is the last time I say this! Let him go! You''ll get in trouble with the police," she said as she tried to drag him away. However, something happened that almost had me snap, in the ugliest way possible. Joe''s reaction to her was a slap to the face, powerful enough that I felt my soul was being snapped out of my own body. "Nadia!" I shouted reflexively. "Oh, calling my woman by name, what you two are close huh?" Joe said. In that moment everything started turning a dark shade of gray for me. Seeing her there, barely able to hold her tears. She picked herself up, looked at me half sadly and half apologetically. "You want to go, right?" I spoke, as cold as the Winter in the arctic portion of the world. "Yeah let''s go then," I said as I walked away from the university. "HAH!" one of Joe''s friends jumped up in joy, "This gonna be fun, let''s fuck him up!" he said. A few students realized what was happening and informed many more. Joe''s pals, him included ''walked'' me to an empty alley near the university, the alley happened to lead into a new construction site that was currently vacant so they pushed me into the site to start their assault. Once we were away from onlookers Joe''s friend shoved me away and the three of them began circling me like hyenas. "You little fucker, got no fucking shame walking back to Uni, you think you''re some kind of hotshot, but good, now I''ll mess you up real good for what you did to me back then. Josh, grab him;" Joe said. One of them, the bulky-looking one tried to go for a grab which I easily stopped as I gripped his wrist, I didn''t even pay attention to the guy I was grabbing, not for his wincing as I tightened my grip further and further. "You know, I wouldn''t have even bothered with you now, at least while everything is still normal. I wouldn''t have given a fuck to what you''re doing, but now, I''m fuming." I said as I wrenched the guy from where he stood and sent him tumbling on the ground with one pull and push. "But you really had to go that far and hit her. Alright, I guess it''s time to show my true colors," I said. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. *** Moments later, several students came rushing towards the alleyway with smartphones at the ready. Only to find me standing at the entrance of the alleyway fixing my collar and passing between them util I headed to the university. The students didn''t understand how I was able to ''escape'' the group, a few of them walked into the alleyway and looked into the construction site unbelieving of what was happening they were all shocked. "What the fuck happened here?" one of the students spoke as he saw the moaning, groaning, and desperately gasping for breath group of Joe. Joe himself was at first nowhere to be found, but after a bit of looking around, one of the students spoke up, "Someone is in the trash" he said and once they opened the trash they found the foaming half unconscious Joe with his right arm completely dislocated and twisted out of position in the trash. The rest of his group all had what you would currently call grave injuries. Broken knees, arms, and ribs all over the place. None of them was in a condition that would have them move in at least a few months, enough time for them to die at the hands of the first integration. Mercy? Fuck that, they came at me, they deserve to die. I would have easily killed them all and not cared one bit if it was after the integration, but now, there is still law, so I''ll have them die a slow death at the hands of monsters they cannot escape. These broken ribs and bones are nothing but a death sentence. A sentence delivered by an executioner over a prolonged time period. However soon after, the police came and I knew shit was going to get ugly. Once the police sirens began blowing I stopped in my tracks, sighed and held my hands over my head. The cops themselves didn''t understand what was going on, but seeing someone ''surrendering,'' means that he probably was the cause of the call. "What''s going on here kid?" one of the cops said. "Oh, I beat up a few kids, they need an ambulance." "You know you just incriminated yourself," the cop said. "I don''t really care right now," I said. In fact, I really didn''t, even if I get locked up, in a couple of days, I could easily leave prison, also I still have Vivian, I could call her to bail me out or have my parents placed under protective custody since the integration was going to happen very soon. "Lucas!" I heard Will''s voice from far away. "What''s going on?" he asked as I was being pushed into the police car. "Nothing, don''t worry about it, try and calm my parents I don''t want them to be sad," I said as I got into the car. "No matter what don''t say shit!" Will said. "Shut up kid," said the cop, "He already admitted it." I silently sighed as I shook my head inside the vehicle. Soon, the cops came back as I was chilling in the back of the car, one of them asked me, "Kid¡­ are you some kind of monster? Any of those guys is easily bigger than you, how the hell did you do that?" the cop asked. "Oh, I watch a lot of Bruce Lee," I said smiling. The cop shook his head, and hopped on the driver''s seat. Soon after, we headed to the police station where I was seated next to oh so many criminal-looking people. I sat there for a while before my dad walked in looked at me and sighed, "Your first mugshot," he said grinning. "Guess so," I replied and he sat next to me. "I heard of what you did," he said calmly. "You''re not mad?" I said. "Nah, I did the same when I was younger. Got a hell of a beating though, unlike you," dad smiled. I shook my head at how awfully comforting it was being with dad here right now, not that I cared much about the consequences, but all I feared was my parents being worried. "Don''t say anything though, we''ll wait until a lawyer comes in okay?" he said. Not long later, several parents came over, and with them came Nadia. The parents all of them I knew, they were the parents of the kids that I beat up and they all were calling me out for assaulting their precious babies, not that I was being ganged upon, but having somehow ambushed four grown men larger than me at the same time¡­ somehow. Some parents can be ridiculous when it comes to their children. Aah shit, this is going to be a pain. Dad tried to calm some of them down, but the finger-pointing and accusations were too much for even him, and I had a feeling that he was going to snap soon. "Dad," I said, "Just ignore them." "You little bastard!" one of the parents spoke, he was Joe''s father, "I will make sure you put your criminal ass in a maximum security prison! You ruined my son''s future! He was going to be a football superstar! I''ll sue you all for every damn penny! I''ll make you all beg in the streets!" he said, with his veins about to pop. ''Eeeeh this guy is angry,'' "There will be no suing, there will be no prison, in fact, all of you here are in the wrong." A man came in and spoke, he said as he was wearing one of the most expensive tuxedos I''ve ever seen in my life. He had a black briefcase on him and went to the officer that was recording the reports. "I''m Lucas Newman''s attorney," he said. I leaned over to my dad and said, "The heck is this guy? Where is Fred?" "I don''t know, Fred is still stuck in traffic, this isn''t our attorney." "What the fuck are you saying? Do you have eyes? Did you see what happened to my son! Do you know-" The attorney held his hand up and said, "Calm down and let me explain," he said. "Don''t tell me to calm down!" the man said as he grabbed the attorney by the collar. "Officer, this is physical assault," The attorney said. Immediately the officer stood up and said, "Put your hands away Mr, Maroon, next time I''ll put you behind bars." This was enough to have the man remove his hands but not his venomous gaze. "Anyway," the attorney said, "The reason I''m here is to state the fact that not only did my client act in self defense, in fact the whole group assaulted him in the sanctity of his own home, so he was in all his right to defend himself." "HUH? The hell are you blabbering about?" one of the parents spoke. "This," the attorney said as he held up a contract. "This is the deed to the plot of land, or the construction site that the skirmish happened upon, and it has the name of my client as the owner, so he was not only defending himself he was also defending his property, he was in all his right to act the way he acted." "What is this guy talking about?" dad said to me. "The hell would I know," I frowned when the fuck did I ever sign that, but that''s clearly my signature¡­ oh wait, ah shit, that logo over there¡­ that''s the Dilberts. I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I felt a headache about to well up. Bruh. "Not only am I here to clear my client from all charges, but I''ll make sure to have all your kids charged with attempted murder, assault, and breaking and entry to my client''s property," the attorney said. That was enough to have all of the people in the room quiet down. "Who the hell are you?" asked one of the parents, "You clearly someone who these people can''t afford!" "It''s not a matter of them affording me or not and that is not your business, I''m also called Rudolph Mephist ." "Mephist¡­" one of the parents said, he looked like he was thinking hard then said, "Mephist, as the nicknamed Mephistopheles, one of the leading Lawyers of the Silvana Lawyer company?!" he spoke. "Yes," he said grinning a demonic grin. "Though I don''t like the name much, we''re also called The Devil''s Advocates." "Son¡­what the hell did you get yourself into¡­" "Beats me¡­" Preparations I couldn''t yet understand what was happening. In fact, I wasn''t too worried about the jail situation worst-case scenario I''d get dad to bail me out for beating up these kids, and if there was ever a trial, it would be too late since the Integration is only a few days away. But what''s this with me being the owner of that site and who is this guy? I''m damn sure my dad can''t even afford an hour of this guy''s time, he clearly looks like a bigshot lawyer. This only leaves one answer to this question. The Dilberts. Not half an hour later, the situation was completely reversed and it was the lawyer now that was throwing accusations and threatening jail time at the parents. Suddenly, an officer came over and asked me if I want to proceed with charges against the kids that assaulted me. Which was completely mind-boggling to me. "Nah, I''ll let them off the hook this once," I said as I looked at the parents. "This once only. If they come at me next time, they''ll have to take full responsibility for their actions." I said. "Can we leave now?" I asked the officer. "Yes, you can, I''ll just have you sign some agreements and you can be on your way." The lawyer took the agreements in hand, made a quick skim through the contents, and nodded for me to sign. Once everything was done and handled. I and dad left the station leaving the group of parents behind us talking among each other about what happened and how they should ''Discipline'' their children for screwing up big time. "Son, you''ve been acting very strange lately. I don''t want to pry into your personal matters, but are you okay? You''re not doing something illegal?" he asked. "No, hell no, why would you say that?" I said to dad. "Well¡­ you''ve been going out late at night, hanging out in places like that private hospital, and apparently you have some pull to manage to get a lawyer from such a prestigious company to back you up. Also what the heck is that site ownership thing? You have land in downtown, a single square foot of a plot like that is about five grand¡­" "Well, that part I still don''t understand yet, but don''t worry I''m not doing anything shady," I said. "I trust you son, but be careful," he said. "Don''t worry pops," as we were talking, a car stopped in front of us, it was a black SUV and the back door opened up. "Isn''t this the same car that was waiting for you this morning?" Dad asked. "Yep, let''s hop on," I said as the two of us walked up the car. "Mr, Newman," "Yes," "Yes," Both I and dad answered at the same time. Which would be awkward from now on. "Just call me Lucas," I said. "Right," the driver said, "Your presence is requested. But only you," he said. "This is my dad, the least you can do is offer him a ride home," "It''s okay son, I''ll take a cab," dad said. "Hell no, he''ll drive us home first, won''t you?" I said. "Yes, of course." The driver then moved forward and took a detour heading towards pour home. "Does mom know about what happened?" I asked dad. "Oh, no, thankfully no." "Well, we might as well try and keep it a secret from her, she''ll only worry for nothing." I said, "After all, nothing bad happened so what she doesn''t know won''t hurt her." "Yeah, I''ll keep it in mind." Soon, we arrived at our house and dropped dad off. "Son, be careful." "Stop worrying so much," I said, "I''ll be fine. I''ll come back for dinner, so don''t worry." "Right, take care." He said and left. The driver then continued on, driving me through downtown until he arrived in one of the highest buildings in the vicinity. "Get into the lobby, someone should be waiting for you there," he said. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Right," I said as I walked out of the car. And headed into the building''s entrance. Before I could even walk in, security came and stopped me. "I''m afraid that I haven''t seen you here before, what business do you have here?" he asked. "I''m invited, Lucan Newman, I should have an appointment here," I said. "One moment please," he said. Then he talked through his sleeve, mentioned my name, and soon nodded. "Please, excuse me, you may come in," he said and opened the glass door for me. I walked inside and looked around. It was a massive lobby with not a single seat in sight and only one desk where a receptionist was waiting. "Mr. Newman," she said, "Please follow me," she said and I did as told. Soon the two of us arrived at an elevator, she swiped a card and the elevator opened up for us. Destination, top floor. The elevator sped through the floors until we arrived at the highest floor. "Please go in, Mr. Dilberts is waiting for you." The whole floor had a single room that had faded glass. Which I presumed to be where Dilbert was. So I moved towards the room and knocked. "Lucas, come in," he said. Once I was inside, I was surprised to see the lawyer from earlier here again. "That will be all," the lawyer said and took his briefcase and walked, "Now if you''ll excuse me," he said and left. "Good, sit, Lucas," Dilbert said as I took a seat in front of him. "I never thought you were a guy that makes trouble like this," he said. "Oh, believe me, I was very kind to them. You seem to forget that I lived in a lawless world for twenty years, life becomes very, very cheap without laws. They got out of this practically scot-free." "That''s some dangerous stuff you''re saying." I sighed, "Unfortunately, you''ll get used to it. Anyway, I don''t suppose you called me here for just this?" I asked. "Not really, but the material you supplied us, it would have taken us an incredible amount of research before we can get some results but thanks to your input, we can begin production next week." "Well, before you start production, I''ll need to talk to you about some matters. I told you before that the integration will start in about four days. But it''ll hit Oakland in at least a month. You''ll have one month to pull something really really ugly." "What do you mean?" he asked. "You should have a facility northeast of old town right?" I asked. "That''s highly classified information, how did you¡­ oh, from the future. Right right," he said. "Anyway, Get your trucks armed up and ready, welded steel protection on the windows and bladed sides. You''ll need them when the time comes for transporting materials. Also, you''ll need to fortify this building. How many floors are empty here?" "A great majority of them are empty why?" he asked. "Once the integration starts, money will be pretty flimsy, and won''t even be enough to give anyone loyalty to you. What I ask you to do is, to bring all your security personnel and their close relatives here. They won''t betray you then, and won''t run away when shit hits the fan, because their family is here." "That''s close to extortion and hostage." Dilbert''s said. "They''ll thank you for it," I said. "Okay, that can be done easily. What about the crystals?" he asked. "The integration will start with many dungeons popping out, a lot of them will come from within the city. For the first few weeks, nothing dangerous will happen, but unless cleared, a dungeon break will happen." I said. "Could you explain it better?" he said, "I practically don''t understand half of what you''re saying." "Right, I don''t think you were into games a lot¡­" I said. "Games?" "As ironic as it might sound, yes, games. But only you don''t get a redo. Game over means you''re dead. A dungeon is basically a location, it could be underground or overground, it could also be underwater, it has its own ecosystem and monsters living in it. A dungeon hosts monsters inside it, and a boss most of the time." "Most of the time?" "Yes, sometimes there could be multiple bosses and even hidden bosses, those are very annoying to deal with because hidden bosses are usually far stronger than bosses." "Okay, so what''s a boss? Like leader?" "Something like that, he is the master of the dungeon, and the rest are his minions. To clear a dungeon, one needs to kill the minions and take out the boss. Once a boss dies they won''t come back again and one can close the dungeon then." "Okay, what is the dungeon break then?" he asked. "A dungeon break is when the Boss Monster is left unattended for a prolonged period of time. Once that happens, they can overpower the protective barrier that is holding the monsters in, and unleashes all the monsters inside the dungeon into the world." "That sounds very dangerous, but if that''s the case, wouldn''t it be best if we assault the dungeons before they release the monsters and kill the boss wouldn''t that be for the best?" he said. "Yes, that''s basically what we should be doing, but the world is unfair. We can''t kill the bosses with guns and bullets, and all electronics are disabled inside the dungeon. Gunpowder is useless, C4 and explosives that aren''t System made are completely harmless to the monsters. You can even nuke a level 1 rat and he''ll shrug it off." I said. "Then how are we supposed to fight back? isn''t this an execution?" he said. "That''s where the second unfair thing comes in. Not all monsters are from dungeon break. The integration is basically a release of monsters into the world, unfairly into civilization. The people who''ll manage to take out monsters will get their first gear and weapons that''ll help them fight the dungeon creepers¡­ but those who can''t kill the monsters¡­" I didn''t need to finish my words. "You said that casualty rate is going to be pretty big." "The first integration will reduce the world population by half," I said. This made John take a deep breath, it wasn''t something easy to accept. "That''s why to save as many as you can, you need to be prepared. Anyway, there is something you need to obtain." I said. "What is it?" "There was a dungeon in the middle of the city that opened up and caused a huge deal of problems later on, but it was a good source of crystals once it was suppressed. The idea is, you need to obtain it now. And fully control it. Once you have the supply of crystals funneling into your personal storage I''ll help you make gear that can kill monsters. You''ll be able to arm many people and that will increase their survivability. Not only that they''ll be able to take control and push back the monsters. The idea is to take down the dungeon as soon as it manifests." "Tell me, where is this potential dungeon," he asked. "You already bought the deed to it and ironically, it''s under my name for some reason." "Huh? That construction site?" he said. "Yes. Dungeons don''t usually spawn in habitable areas, the abandoned dungeon site near the university was left unattended for a while and caused a lot of chaos. But once it was suppressed, the university, since it was close to it, became a powerful base against monsters since the people who lived there could easily mine for the crystals and create weapons and armor in the university to fight back." I said. "Hmm. that was a stroke of good luck, still, it is yours for now," he said. "Don''t worry, once that dungeon opens up, I''ll make sure to clear it. But since we signed the contract, I''ll need you to process the crystals and supply your security staff with magical weapons. I''m also not greedy, we''ll split the profit. Since I won''t be needing the entirety of the crystals in that dungeon anyway." "Good, that''s handled, how about you tell me more about what''s going to happen." "Gladly. Now listen well." The Beginning of The End After a few hours of talk, John seemed quite pleased and distraught at the same time. Pleased with the information I''ve given him, but at the same time worried about all of what is to come. Anyone wouldn''t have believed me if I had spoken to them, but what I showed John and his recovery with complete muscle function thanks to the potion was enough that I was someone worth believing and taking a shot on. It would be an expensive and very dangerous ordeal, and probably, any sane man would think that I was actually planning to bankrupt them with the amount of stuff I asked John to prepare and make sure that they''re ready when the time is right. However, he trusted me and decided to stop all meetings with the board so they didn''t start harassing him on how he was doing something that shouldn''t be done and wasting money. However, he had to use some of his own personal funds to buy a few items which weren''t really that cheap, and it was for the best, this way no one can have a say on why would a multi-billionaire is buying used tanks and some prototype military service vehicles. Looking at his watch, John said, "I guess you missed university today." He said. I shrugged, "I only wanted to see someone, and I did, it''s okay now. I can still go there tomorrow." I said. "Right, anyway, I''ll send you back home, there is a driver waiting for you outside. Tomorrow, I''ll send you details on the matters that I could acquire and we can work on production of the potions." "Yes, that would be for the best. Today marks the end of the fourth day before the integration," I said. "Right, we should have a month to prepare, but I''m sure I can handle the bulk of the more important stuff in just a few days," John said. "I thought bringing heavy objects from over long distances would take a long time," I said. "Not if I can get air carriers, I should have a majority of the vehicles in less than a couple days," "The power of money, huh," I smiled. "Yes." "Well, that would be for the best, since some of the vehicles could get delayed in case one of the breakouts happened on roads." "Yes, that''s why I thought of getting them here as soon and as fast as possible. Also another thing," John said. "Yeah?" "Your family, what are you gonna do about them?" he asked. "I''ll protect them." "I know you will, but I think it would be safer if they too can come over. With my personal guarding the main company building they shouldn''t be in any danger for the foreseeable future." John said. "Hmm, it''ll be hard to convince them. But I think I have an idea on how to handle that." I said. "Right then, keep in touch," he said. I nodded then left. Like John said, once I left the building, there was a car waiting for me at the building entrance. It took me all the way back home and once I left I dreaded the moment I''ll need to explain things to dad. But, just as I got in, he was sitting on the couch next to mom, watching TV and casually talking. "Lucas," Dad said. "Yeah," I answered back. "Everything good?" he asked. "Yep, all is good." "How was school?" mom asked. "Like always, boring," I said. Then dad never brought up the topic again. I smiled at how understanding he was and went upstairs. Once I was in my room, I opened up my status screen.
Status Screen
Name Lucas Newman
Race Human
Job N/A
Potential S Class
Current Awakenings N/A
Skills [Feast] -Untapped Potential- This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted]
Titles [First Among Many] +15% EXP [He Who had Seen the End]. Reduced pressure effect from all foes that are under level 800 [He Who Devours Monsters]- SSS tier Skill, {Feast}
Nothing seemed to change from the last time I''ve checked it, and my stats window is still disabled. Right now, I''m still a ''human''. And once the Integration comes in, we''ll all have HP DEX STR Stamina and the like of the substates. Which will aid in growing our power. For now, I can''t do anything besides wait. I''ve done all I could, and have to wait for that damn day. Since I had nothing to do, I went to sleep, waiting for an ugly day to come. ¡­ ¡­ Today, was the day of reckoning. Nothing happened in the last couple of days besides John asking me to come over and check up on the new toys he got. I was surprised to see him able to procure more than twenty functioning tanks, and more than a hundred military trucks, fully armed and loaded with sharp and jagged blades on the sides along with machineguns loaded on the top. The trucks were all stored all over some of the largest private underground parking lots I''ve seen. I also helped him ''Hone'' the blades on the trucks, and many, many swords, spears and battle-axes that he procured. It was the same as I did with the swords I got from old granny back in Old Town. Since guns and bullets are going to be useless, swords are the best way to deal with monsters. However, I still asked John to get firepower, and when he asked why, my answer was simple. "When in chaos, humans can become the real monsters¡­ just keep some guns on the ready, you''ll know what I''m talking about when things get ugly," I said. However, the most surprising information I got from John was the fact that the CIA was keeping close tabs on him. There was no way that national security will allow a person to own so many military gadgets even if labeled under ''Collectibles.'' However, they won''t make a move on him yet. Especially since something big happened this morning. Looking at the skies, it was clear as day, that all I was talking about wasn''t just bullshit. The first sign of integration, a massive aurora phenomenon happened all over the world. All news was talking about it, and even a few people were claiming that doomsday has come, it''s ironic how right they are and how many people only think of this as a ''natural'' phenomenon. "Dad, mom, we''ve been invited over," I said. "Hmm? what do you mean?" Dad asked. "Someone is asking to see you guys, a good friend of mine, he owns a big company and wants to hire me, however, he is a family man and wanted to talk with you guys first." "Oh, you got a job already? But you''re still studying." "It''s a well-paying job, you guys have to go, make me look good in front of him, alright?" I said. "Of course!" Mom said, she then went to her room to look for good things to wear. Dad on the other hand, wasn''t too convinced. "You have a very bad tell when you lie, Lucas," he said. You always look down when telling lies¡­ what''s going on son." I sighed and said. "Something very bad is going to happen. I want to take you both to a safe location that''s it." "You''re worried about the aurora thing?" he said. "Would you just humor me this once? If things turn out okay I''ll make sure to make it up for you." I said. "But I have work, I can''t just skip it," he said. "For me, just once, just one day, call in sick," I said. Dad took a few moments before he pulled his phone. "I caught a bad case of the flue, I won''t be coming over, you can tell the guys that today they have a day off," Dad said. Soon he hung up. I nodded to dad and thanked him for understanding. "You''ve been acting strangely for a while now. But I guess you have your reasons. If you''re not feeling that it''s the right time now, no pressure But one day, you''ll have to come clean and tell me everything." "Of course. I will." Soon, mom came out wearing a nice dress and some light makeup, dad on the other hand wore his usual shirt and trousers and the three of us walked out of the house. Dad took note of two cars near our driveway. One of them was the SUV that usually picked me up, and another was a large carpentry company truck. "Someone getting a renovation in the neighborhood?" Dad wondered. "Probably," I shrugged, then we got into the SUV. Soon, we arrived at the company where John was. And once we entered, we received a warm welcome from the man himself. Mom was extremely surprised to see one of the richest men in the world greeting them like they were old friends and was slightly flustered, dad on the other hand was unfazed and just shook the man''s hand. "Firm grip!" said John. "Well, I''m a handyman so it comes with the job." "Good, I guess Lucas told you of the reason for this visit." "He said that you asked us over to have a talk about his future in this company," Dad replied. John opened his mouth then closed it, "Yes, please follow me. I''m very glad to have met Lucas, he is a very promising young kid." John said as the three of us were moving up. Once we arrived to John''s office, he started talking but immediately was interrupted. A light earthquake happened which made mom scream in panic. However, Dad calmed her down, and the shake ended immediately, John looked me in the eyes and understood. However, what surprised me the most, what shook me the most, and what terrified me the most, was the fact that I was more than sure that Michigan won''t be hit in at least a month however, the mass panic and screams that filled the street immediately afterward meant one thing¡­something changed. Because Michigan looked like it was on fire. It has begun. First Integration
[Full System Activation Process has been complete.] [Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance is now fully operational.] [The world. {Earth} has now entered the first phase of the Integration. All of the world {Earth} natural resources have been updated.] [Commencing the Distribution of Massive System Window of Aid¡­] [Error, the civilization of the current world {Earth} is still too high. Commencing First Phase.] [System Updated] [System allocation has been changed to only be allowed those who obtain enough contribution. With the exception of the select few who already knew of the existence of such, all must now work in order to obtain their own system] [Minimum Requirement for enabling the system window 100 points] [Processing world environment¡­] [Process complete. Areas that have been deemed capable of sustaining the first impact have been allocated and chosen] [Commencing the first Impact.] [Appointing first World Quest, {Survive}]
As I watched the familiar quest information, I was surprised to see a couple of changes, I would remember, because this was the first window I''ve ever seen in my first life, and can remember it clearly, and the slight change meant one thing¡­ I fucked up. "Shit, things have changed!" I said and this caused John to be immediately alerted. Mom and dad were both too stunned to speak because they didn''t know what was going on. "John, the plan proceeds the same as before, how ready is your security?" I asked. The panic-stricken John regained his composure almost immediately, "We''re not perfectly on top of things, but it shouldn''t be a problem." Just then, John picked up his phone and realized something. "I guess, I''m really glad I had your advice on things, it''s like you said, the phone network is dead." He said as he threw his phone. It was something normal, the communication networks has crashed the same as last time, and only radio channels were available right now, and thus, having informed John to get a radio communication device for all of his security personnel worked off fine. He picked up the radio phone and spoke through it, "Commence operation! Now, secure all facilities and be on guard." John said. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Suddenly, another shaking started, and looking in the distance through the windows of the building, I could see from within the flames, a few ''humans'' walking strangely. It was so sudden, as they started shuddering, shacking, and fell to the ground. "No. no, no, no, no!" I cursed! "What is wrong, son?" Dad asked, he didn''t understand what he was looking at, and I didn''t have enough time to explain things to him. "John, my parents, are in your care!" I said. "Wait, where are you going?" he asked. "I messed up, Oakland wasn''t supposed to be hit until later. Due to my carelessness, some of my friends might be in danger!" I said. This was my fault, and I completely know why, I''m not blaming myself just because I didn''t account for the fact that things might change, but I''m blaming myself because I know for a fact that I''m the one who caused the integration to happen in Oakland. "Sword!" I called and a sword manifested in my hand. "I''ll be back! Mom dad, don''t worry about me and stay with Mr. Dilburt." I didn''t have the heart or will to stay and explain things to my parents so I rushed out before they even had a word in. I then zoomed through the building, not even daring to take the elevator. With the first integration, most electronics are highly unstable, thankfully radio devices were spared but anything with technology will be completely useless, and taking an elevator is straight up a trap. I ran down the emergency stairs as fast as I could. Many of the people in the building were security members and seemed to know who I was, not only that when I approached the building''s main gate, the security member immediately opened the door for me. Looking at the five security members at the building''s entrance fully armed up and ready-made me feel more at ease with my parents'' wellbeing. The building was thankfully secured with powerful steel gates that began closing up leaving a single entrance and exit to the main building. This meant that once that door is closed, it won''t be opened by any normal means. I left the building as fast as I could, trying to get to the university. I can''t take a car due to how traffic is going to be in a few moments. People seem to understand that some serious shit was happening and they all began running all over the street as if running away from something. Looking ahead, I saw several undead already walking the street. They were all regular people, humans workers, nuns and even salesmen all with their faces mewled and guts and intestines pouring out of them. They moved hard, and I knew this wasn''t going to last, once the undeath curse fully settles in, they''ll be able to run, sprint, and climb, right now they''re at their weakest, but the problem is that they''re blocking my path. I dove forward as a woman who was desperately running with her child in her arm fell, and behind her were three zombies about to jump her. With a quick triple sword swing, all of their heads flew, the shock from me decapitating three ''people'' was too much for that woman to even bother with thanking me as she screamed. "SHUT UP AND RUN!" I shouted back, and it was enough for her to get her bearings, she stood up and probably didn''t even notice her broken ankle as she continued running forward as fast as she could. I cursed inwardly, there is no way in hell or heaven that that woman was going to live today. But I can''t waste time worrying about others. I''ve been there, a long time ago, and I tried helping, but eventually, a single person cannot change the course of an incoming catastrophe alone. Therefore, I need my party, all of them, safe and sound, and with the impact, this early, shit is about to get ugly real fast. I can''t afford to have any of them dying on me before the real shit starts coming out, so I have to run. As I was running forward I saw a motorbike on the ground, whoever owned it seemed to have been dragged away by the many zombies on the streets. I rushed forward slicing and killing anything that came my way, and got my hand on the bike. Several notifications began dinging with every kill but I mentally moved the distraction away. I pressed the accelerator and it was loud enough to pull the attention of every zombie in sight. Yet thankfully I was able to blast through before I was surrounded. And the one zombie that tried to latch on to me got a speed date with the edge of my sword. I hit the gas as hard as I could and blasted through the packed streets, going over pedestrian walkways and the main road alike. People in cars began to understand that the panic caused too many accidents for them to move using the cars anymore, and had to give them up. I even saw cars with abandoned children in them and saw people fighting for their lives. I saw police officers shooting at zombies with panic striking their souls as they killed people who were once human. It''s not easy to take a life, I know that for a fact, and I''ve taken many, many lives. However, there was no time for me to reminisce and feel sorry for the people here because saving my party members is more important. Not because their lives are worth more, but because with their help, will be able to save many, many more lives. Mission Rescue It became harder to steer through the streets with more people finally realizing that shit was hitting the fan, and in so huge proportions that it was absurd. People didn''t understand a damn thing about what was going on, and they did their best to survive. People ran into homes that weren''t theirs, hoping to get invited in, and others refused them entry only to have the pleading people die, mauled and ravaged by zombies on porches, gardens, and in front of family homes. Then some used their guns, shooting at people trying to trespass on their properties, and against zombies too. Bullets care not for who they hit and lives were lost, left and right as I saw once again, that old terror, unfolding once again in front of me. Fuck. Oakland was hit, and it was hit hard. If I didn''t kill that damn rat if I didn''t clear that dungeon, none of this would have happened. But I wouldn''t have been able to get the support of John Dilbert. Though this situation looks grim, I have to believe, that what I have done, will help us in the long run, otherwise, I cannot shoulder the screams of so many lives. I''m responsible for this, and I know it for a fact. But at the same time, it had to be done. No matter how vile, how evil it might sound, without this what would have happened would have been far worse. A couple of undead came at me and tried to stand in my path, but I hurled my sword as powerfully as I could and managed to pierce into the head of one of them while I steered the bike a bit to kick the second in the chest away and pull the sword from the still falling corpse''s head. I continued moving forward avoiding the mobs of undead that were growing by the second and headed straight ahead. I had to drift into a sharp turn, hard enough that I felt I was about to get tipped over, but rebalanced myself and twisted the accelerator enough that it felt like I was about to break it. The bike rose up on its back wheel and I zoomed forward then crashed it against a moving undead that was dragging a screaming woman across the street. "RUN!" I shouted at the woman who was desperately trying to stand back up and sadly, she never was able to run as a group of undead jumped her, her screams were all that I could hear as I moved further forward. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" I cursed as loudly as I could, my voice overpowering the throttling engine that looked like it was about to die on me anytime soon. Yet it was enough, enough for me to arrive at the broken doors of the university, where a car crashed into the steel gate. The worst-case scenario had already happened, I had a smidgen of hope that the gate would be locked and would stop the undead from gaining access into the university, but some idiot crashed into it, hoping to hide within it, only to have the car stuck on the broken gate, while he was assaulted by the undead. I looked at the car that was about to burst in flames and saw a man inside it, no longer a person, but an undead, stuck and trapped into the car due to the safety belt. "Shit¡­" I cursed. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. This man''s personal stunt at survival broke the gate and I could see blood trails all over the campus. I rushed forward, today was a school day, I was too busy with John and the safety of my parents to come here. But I''m sure that Will is here. And by god''s mercy, he should be alive. I rushed ahead into the campus, my entrance was more than enough to draw the attention of the undead. Many of them were still struggling to control their bodies, but I could already notice, that many of them were more adjusted to their bodies. I can''t loiter around anymore. I have to move. I ran forward as fast as I could, with the sword ready. The first undead came at me with hands extended to grab me, but with two swings, I cut off both hands, and twisted my whole body, gaining more inertia force to decapitate him once the sword made contact.
[You have gained Contribution!]
"Turn off none vital notifications!" I said. It was bothering me since earlier, but I didn''t care about it before, but now I need to be completely focused. "Mishaa! Scan!"
[Error! You have not learned that ability yet!]
"Fuck!" I cursed once again, without the ability to identify, scan, and analyze, I''m unable to locate Will or Nadia¡­shit! I rushed ahead to the main conference building and noticed that it was locked and had many, many tables and chairs blocking the entrance. However, there were low windows, and from the look of the broken glass, the undead have already made it into the main building. I cursed and cursed again, today was bound to be the day that I''ll be cursing the most. I dove into one of the broken windows and found myself in an amphitheater. all the windows were covered by drapes so it was too dim to see anything. Of all the lights in the amphitheater was one small bulb that was under a projector and it flickered in and out until it died and everything went dark. The smell of blood, viscera, and innards permeated the area. There was the sound of low gasping breathing nearby. I looked around and found several students, bitten and mauled, they will turn soon. They were fighting against the curse, but without the proper ability, {Resist Undead}, there was no way for any of them to survive today. I had to ignore them, even though they will turn later, because every second I''m losing right now, is a risk for my party to die. I moved across the amphitheater from the window aiming to head to the entrance and then I was able to hear it. Something was here with me, not one, but many. They moved, slowly and were on the prowl. Then once my eyes adjusted to the dark I realized that there were many undead students all over the place. The exit to the amphitheater will allow me to get into the main hall where I can properly look for my friends. But in such a stuffed and enclosed space, if the undead were to gather at the door or block my way, I might end up dying before I could do anything. As I moved, slowly as I could, I ended up stepping on something hard. It was a piece of desk wood, broken from the shit that happened here. This gave me an idea of how I can leave this place. The Undead are usually very sensitive to Life Signatures, but those are proper undead that has been cursed for at least a few days. Not these. the first undead type should usually be unable to locate life signatures and for them, unless they see me or hear me, I''m invisible. I quickly made my way all the way to the other side of the amphitheater away from the window I entered from. I tried to make sure that I moved as subtly as I could, and as quietly as I could, and once I arrived on the other side, I threw the wooden piece as powerfully as I could. Then screams and howls of undead followed as they rushed towards the sound. ''Good, with this, I can probably make it to the door.'' Just as I took a step forward, a hand grabbed my leg, bringing all sorts of terror and panic into my will. As I lifted my sword to have it come crashing at whoever grabbed me, I heard a plea too loud for this room to go unheard by the undead. "PLEASE! HELP ME!" a guy said, while half of his body was already mutilated and eaten away. He wouldn''t survive, not even if he didn''t have the curse going through him, but he just caused my death with his scream. And now, all the undead were coming my way. Fuck Mission Rescue II The undead rushed me, and I knew it was already too late to keep playing the stealth game. I wrenched my foot away from the guy who was grabbing me, I couldn''t look him in the eyes, because I knew the look of betrayal that will be on his face will be too much for me to bear. I''ve been in these situations many times before and there is nothing I can do to make it feel less painful. I looked up, destination, the amphitheater''s exit. And I rushed forward, jumping on top of the nearest row desk, and onto the next, one after another as I rushed up towards the entrance. A few zombies came at me in an attempt to grab my legs, but with agility far beyond what a normal human could express, I jumped, twisted my body, and even front flipped away from the grabbing hands, leaving the zombies grabbing at each other. Since visibility was low, and they could only use their ears, I managed to make my way away from them and once I was far enough, I slowed down and continued creeping forward. Until I heard a snivel next to me, too close for comfort I almost killed whoever was sniveling. A girl, in her early twenties, had managed to somehow avoid all the wandering undead and hide under a desk and never moved from her spot, even after the whole class was being murdered in front of her. Fear can petrify people, and in her case, this horror made her freeze up and saved her life in the process. I looked up, there were only a few stairs left before I can reach the room''s exit, and from then on I can move in a more comfortable manner through the University, the classrooms are the best to hide in, and the halls can be a death sentence, but for me, it''s the best option since I can easily take out any undead in a well lit and not too open area. The halls will allow me to fight back against the zombies in a straight line unlike here where I can be attacked from all corners. I didn''t dare to speak or make noise, I did a quick check on the girl, she didn''t have any signs of bites on her, so she was worth helping. I gestured to the girl with my fingers, to follow me. She shook her head, fear gripping at her tightly. If she were to stay here, she will eventually be discovered or caught or something bad could happen. I sighed and grabbed her hand and dragged her. She was panicking but she knew damn well that she shouldn''t scream or yelp, otherwise it''s only death that''ll await her from the undead once they hear it. She was struggling but I was far too strong for her and once I dragged her to me, I nodded to her to trust me, and slowly made my way forward with her in toe. If she was wounded or bitten I wouldn''t have cared, but now she has a shot at survival and I can''t just give up anyone just because it will inconvenience me. She was panicking at first but seeing that no undead had come towards us, she managed to understand my intentions. We made it to the door, and before I tried to open it, I made sure to grab a piece of debris from the ground, it was a piece of a speaker that was broken. I grabbed it and hurled it all the way to the professor''s desk down at the base of the amphitheater. The noise the speaker made was more than enough to pull the attention of all the undead in the room, and thankfully, it pulled the attention of an undead that was too close to me for comfort and I didn''t notice at all. This caused my heart to almost burst from its place, as I was too close to death without even realizing it. Looking at the girl next to me, she was too terrified to speak. But once the undead own noise began drawing even more undead to the lowest part of the amphitheater I decided it was time to open the door. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Only to have the door screech and stop in its place. Causing the attention of the undead to focus back on me. "Shit, someone locked it from outside. Back away!" I called. To hell with being silent, we were already exposed. I then pulled my foot up and kicked the door so hard, whatever was blocking it just broke and the door spread open. The girl went out first and I followed after, only to realize that there was a couple of undead on the other side of the hall, and the noise we made was more than enough for them to notice us. And since the hall was well lit, once we were spotted, they came at us. I looked at the door, it thankfully didn''t break, and only a broom that was holding it together had snapped in two. I then pulled up my sword and swung it twice, taking off the heads of two undead that were coming our way. I closed the door back, grabbed the snapped broom, and used it to block the door once again. The girl next to me thankfully didn''t scream or shout but looked in utter and complete terror at a person decapitating two students of the same university that she studied in. "Hey!" I said. "Hey! Snap out of it!" I called again. "Eh, ehh, yes, yes¡­" she said stuttering and panic-stricken. "What''s your name?" I asked. This was basic stuff, since she was feeling terrorized, I needed to calm her down, and give her solace in an unexpected hell that came out of nowhere. "I''m Mary¡­Mary Sanderson." "Good, I''m Lucas. Listen, do you know Nadia Friex?" I asked. "Yes¡­ she is my friend." This was a small ray of hope that came out of nowhere. "Good, do you know where she is?" I asked. "N-not with all this shit happening¡­" "Please, anything would help? Where did you last see her, or her class, or did she even come here today?" I asked. "I remember, they had a psychology sermon this morning, it''s in the main conference room, the third floor," she said. "Good, good," I said as I turned towards the main hall. There is hope. "I''ll need to find her. But it''s not going to be pretty. What are you going to do?" I asked. "I-I don''t know¡­ I just want to go home," she said and was about to break down crying. "Don''t cry, not now, it''s not time for that yet. Listen. If you go on your own, you''ll die, one hundred percent. This shit isn''t only at uni, it''s all over the streets and your chances of survival won''t be kind." I said. The words I spoke to her came down like an avalanche crumbling her will. "But stick close, I''ll make sure to get you out of this place alive and in one piece. I would have ignored you here if you weren''t Nadia''s friend, but in a world like this, friends are too precious. Follow me if you want to live, or you can go on your own, but the responsibility of your own survival is your own," I said. It wasn''t a choice for her, she knew it well. Stay here, and die, leave and die. Follow me and maybe you live. It was obvious what she was going to do. "I''ll follow," she said. "Good, make damn sure you don''t get bitten, and if you do tell me. You''re better off with a missing limb than turning to an undead," I said as I pulled my bloodied sword. Though it''s super counterintuitive to use a sword tainted with undead blood to cut a limb, she didn''t need to know that, she only needed to know that getting bit is bad, and I can do bad things. "Follow me closely and watch my back if you see an undead behind us, don''t speak, nudge me, okay? We need to move silently from here onwards and especially away from this door," I pointed. She didn''t understand why, but a second later the door rattled causing her to yelp. "The undead there know that this is an exit, and they''ll probably break it very quickly. So let''s move before that happens," I said and I headed down the hall. She followed me closely and made sure to keep a lookout behind us. Though I didn''t need her to do that, I needed her to do something to keep her mind off the shit that went on. "They say, every situation has a bright side," I said slowly. Mary looked at me questioningly, as if I was a mad man. "Hey, at least you don''t need to worry about finals anymore," I said grinning. That was enough to melt the stressed-out and completely terrified expression out of her face. She cringed at first, but then smiled and had a hard time stopping her laugh from coming out. I inwardly nodded to myself. It wasn''t even a good joke, but it was far better than focusing on the current situation. A bit of goofing around is good in this situation. This will keep her head off of the shit that''s happening and we can proceed faster. There were many amphitheater entrances and classroom entrances that were broken down. Windows cracked and completely shattered, and bodies of students all over the place, festering with the undead curse, crawling about, and growling like beasts. There was no life in where I was, and I didn''t think that there will be. The situation is ugly right now, and most students, the smarter ones have probably grouped up together. These students were probably the same, but if there were one or two students among them with bites on them¡­ then the scenario that would develop would be this of course. This made me more anxious, I was thankful for the fact that Nadia is on the third floor, the outbreak would probably not reach all the way there as it did on the first floor. And they would relatively be safer for a while. I needed to get there fast. Universal Chaos A few hours earlier¡­ at the university of Oakland, several students were hard at work in the library studying for the upcoming finals. One of them, Lucas''s Best Friend was anxiously looking at his phone, checking the time every now and then. "Will, you don''t look too well. Worried much?" one of the students near Will said. "Emm. Not really Carter, just waiting for a phone call¡­" Will said. He didn''t really intend on telling him that the end of days was probably going to happen very soon. At least, a part of will still hoped that all of this was a badly scripted joke. But with all the status windows he spent two weeks getting used to, thanks to his incessant questioning of Lucas, he now is one hundred percent sure that today was the day that most USA states were going to be hit. Thankfully, as Lucas said, Michigan will be hit, but Oakland will be spared, for at least a month''s time. Yet, for some reason, this didn''t sit well with Will, because the mere fact that the world was going to end was probably reason enough for a lot of bad shit to happen. With the absence of law, anarchy prevails, looting, killing, murder, and worse will happen on a daily basis as Lucas explained. Thankfully for Will, Lucas was a good man, and already managed to get Will''s parents to ''temporarily'' change where they lived. Under the pretext of having won an apartment in downtown. Which was pretty close to the main Dilbert company building. It was a small apartment, but it was far more secure than their suburb house. His family went to visit the building this morning, and Lucas promised him that they''ll be ''stuck'' there for a while. Stuck as in, safe and sound from all the shit that will happen worldwide. The timer continued ticking, and Will took a deep breath after it hit two minutes past twelve PM. "Thank god, I don''t think it''s happening today," Will mumbled. It was loud enough for Carter to hear him. "You''re acting like you''re paranoid." "I told you I was waiting for an email at twelve sharp. Seems like I was wrong, it''s five minutes past twelve so nothing''s happening," Will said smiling. Carter frowned, "No it''s not," it''s still a minute left till twelve. Your clock is delayed." Carter said as he showed him his own phone. Will was about to argue, but as he was looking at Carter''s time, it switched to become twelve sharp. And immediately, the whole building started shaking. "Earthquake!" one of the students shouted, "Get under the desks!" Almost immediately, most students hid under the library desks and Will''s face began turning paler. "Bro, what the fuck! That''s some fucking timing," Carter called. Will couldn''t help but have an anxious look on his face. It seems that it was happening, especially since the internet died on him. He couldn''t check what was going on around the world. Soon the earthquake stopped, and a notification appeared in front of him.
[Full System Activation Process has been complete.] [Massive Intelligent System of Aid and Assistance is now fully operational.] [The world. {Earth} has now entered the first phase of the Integration. All world''s natural resources have been updated.] [Commencing the Distribution of Massive System Window of Aid¡­] [Error, the civilization of the current world {Earth} is still too high. Commencing first phase.] [System Updated] [System allocation has been changed to only be allowed for those who obtain enough contribution. With the exception of the select few who already knew of the existence of such all must now work in order to obtain their own system] [Minimum Requirement for enabling the system window is 100 points] [Processing world environment¡­] [Process complete. Areas that have been deemed capable of sustaining the first impact have been allocated and chosen] Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. [Commencing first Impact.] [Appointing first World Quest, Survive]
"Shit, shit! SHIT!" Will cursed and stood up from under the desk. The students across the library were all panicking no one understood what was going on. Soon, explosions, collisions, and massive fires broke out, it didn''t even take a few minutes for the entirety of the city to lit up in flames and chaos, all the while everyone was desperately trying to contact their families. The University administration spoke, "To all students! Proceed to evacuate immediately, this is not a drill!" but before the line could even finish up, it was abruptly cut as static noise was the only thing that came out of the university speakers. Students began evacuating, but before any of them could even leave the library, a loud crash echoed near the library. Looking from the window, a car had broken through the main university gate, and a few men, that looked too bloodied to be alive began pulling someone from the car, only to manage and pull his arm. The scene was too graphic that many female students fainted, and a few male ones threw up. "What the fuck is going on!" Carter shouted. Not long after, several other bloodied people came into the gate and began walking towards the main university building. "Everyone! Listen up!" Will shouted, but not many paid him attention. "EVERYONE LISTEN THE FUCK UP! IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!" Will called once again this time with a voice akin to a lion''s roar. This made a lot of people listen. "Listen, and listen well. I know all you watched some Zombie movie at least once, so listen the fuck up. We need to block the building''s entrance, anyone here who has a fucking ounce of courage come help me," Will said. No one dared move. "If you don''t help, then I''ll leave, and you can all die for all I fucking care!" he said This was enough for Carter to speak up, "I''ll help, what do you need?" Carter asked. "Chairs, tables, anything you can pick up and move, we need to close the main building, hurry up!" he said. Will then pulled the first couple of chairs he had on hand and hurried towards the main gate. He placed a chair there and turned to see several students had followed him, most out of fear, and the rest out of obligation to help, but the main reason was that he took the lead. They then began by placing chairs and tables against the main door after locking it. A few teachers came to stop them from ruining the school''s property, but the mere sight of the undead coming towards the gate was more than reason enough for the teachers to bring chairs of their own and help lock the door down. Then, came the sound of glass breaking. "Fuck, the amphitheaters are too low, the fuckers can come from the doorways," Will said. "Close the amphitheaters and lock them in!" A teacher said. "There are still students there!" Carter spoke. "Let''s get them out then," the teacher replied, yet before they could even finish their words, loud screams and shouts echoed from all over the university. As it seems, the undead had managed to jump into the low amphitheater rooms and started a massacre. "What''s going on?!" a teacher that came from the upper floor asked. "Undead, Zombie shit! Get back to the top of the building now!" Carter replied. Before the new teacher could argue, one of the amphitheater doors at the far end of the hall broke open, a couple of students walked out and one of them shouted "BLOCK IT!" the other ran straight to the nearest closet and pulled a broom, and came to block the gate with it. The two students then rushed to group up with the rest of the students standing at the stairs leading to the top floors. "What happened in there?" asked a teacher. "They¡­ They started killing each other! Everyone!" a panic-stricken student spoke. "Fuck¡­ if we let any more of them out, we''ll be in danger, close all the amphitheaters." A teacher said. "But there could still be other students there!" Will replied. "If its like zombie movies, letting them out will kill us all!" Will couldn''t argue back, because as Lucas had told him many times. Don''t let your emotions take the better of you, the first integration is the survival of the fittest, unless you know for certain you can save someone, don''t risk your life trying to do so. Death is permanent and you don''t get redoes. Clenching a tight fist Will cursed. "Everyone, let''s head upstairs, we need to block all access to the upper floors, let''s use tables and chairs to block the stairways, we''ll need to wait for help," Will said. This wasn''t completely his idea, as Lucas had already told him, when the rats invaded the university, it was the best course of action to do, get to the upper floors and block the entrances to them. The students that were with them in the library had already begun making it to the top floor. And just as the two students that escaped from the amphitheater were about to climb alongside them, Will pulled one aside and then slammed his head into the nearest wall, killing him instantly. Will''s strength was unbelievably supernatural. And that caused everyone around him to scream in panic and step away from Will. "JEOFRYYYY!!!!" the guy who had barely made it out of the amphitheater couldn''t believe what just happened nor did the teachers. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" a teacher said, and as he was about to grab Will by the neck, he realized that a man with such superhuman strength was not someone to mess around with. "Why did you do that! What the fuck?!" "He was bitten! Look at his arm, and don''t fucking start shitting me about cure and shit, he was going to turn, in our midst and probably cause even more casualties," Will said adamantly. The words didn''t register however in the eyes of the dead Jeoffrey''s friend. As he was about to jump Will, Will stopped him with ease and said, "Look." Suddenly, the man with a cracked skull began shuddering, and began moving, death? It was nothing to one with the curse of undeath. Unless decapitated, they''ll still move and still hunt the living. "Do you want that shit to happen to you?" Will asked. "He''s still alive, we can take him to the hospital!" "Get your fucking shit together! He is fucking dead! And if you stay here he''ll fucking kill you. Everyone, get up the stairs," Will said as he stepped on the newly born undead''s neck, stopping him from moving. But too many were too frozen in fear, of both Will, coldly killing someone in front of them, and of the undead in the middle of the hall. "GET UP!" Will shouted, powerfully so that many amphitheaters'' doors rattled as the undead inside them heard his voice. That was terror enough for the students to rush past Will and the undead and go upstairs. Once Will knew that there was no one remaining on the bottom floor, he pressed hard with his foot and snapped the neck of the undead. ''Think of them as rats, monsters in a game, not as humans, this way you''ll feel less guilty about killing people you used to know.'' That''s what Lucas told him, and he was about to make sure to keep that in mind. Now, they needed to survive, by any means necessary, because Lucas promised Will, that once shit hits the fan, he''ll be there. Will climbed up the stairs and saw many students rushing over with dozens of chairs and tables that they placed against the stairs, to block entry. They then began dragging even heavier desks and even objects like fridges and vending machines to reinforce the entrances to the top buildings. This way they can be safe for a while at least. All that is left to do, is stay grouped, stay strong, and wait for help. Trapped I moved towards the nearest stairs leading to the upper floors, there were no more undead nearby on the bottom floor thankfully, so my worst fears of having to carve up a way through numerous students were delayed for a while. Most of the turned students are still stuck inside amphitheaters and classrooms. Once the undead curse hits, they''ll be unable to think nor process the information around them, they''ll be no more than mindless beasts unable to think logically, that is of course for the lower tier undead. The stronger they become the smarter they get, and some can grow to be far smarter than humans, capable of speech and magic. Liches, Dullahan, Bone Lords, Vampires, and worse. So far the undead curse is still too immature and is yet to set its devilish roots. But that won''t last for long, shit will get uglier soon and I need to get to my party before things get worse. "Stick close," I spoke in a hushed tone as I got to the side of the stairs and peaked There were several chairs, tables, and even a god damned vending machine blocking the access, going up from this side is close to impossible, though I can remove this, it will make a metric fuck ton of noise, enough to pull every undead remaining on the first floor to me. "Dead end," I said. "We can go to the other stairs," Mary said. As much as I appreciate her help¡­ "That''s gonna be useless, the students, or whoever was smart enough to block this side must have closed off the other sides. We need another way to get to the upper floor," I said. She didn''t seem to understand what I was going for so she asked, "But that''s the only way up." "Well, normally it is," I replied, "But we can use that," I said as I pointed up. Her eyes traced my pointing finger to an air duct. "We''ll use the ventilation system, it should be safe, so hop on," I said as I got closer to the wall and linked my fingers to boost her up. She understood and stepped on my hands as I slowly raised her up. She then began pulling the air duct''s door. Making incredibly unnecessary noises. "I don''t wanna be that guy, but I''d appreciate if you can make this a bit faster. We have company," I said as I looked to my side. An undead noticed our shenanigans and was making its way towards us. Suddenly, a nearby amphitheater door blasted open, as undead began pouring out, and I was in a situation where even a sitting duck would be an understatement. "Hurrryyy" I spoke. Suddenly the air duct''s door was flung making even more noise. "Hoist me up," she said and I did, adding a bit more strength than needed, enough that she bumped her head with the top of the metallic duct. A loud ouch that traversed through the air duct system was more than enough to alert every single god-forsaken undead that was close to the duct. Which by the way was the entire god damn school. Mary scurried into the duct and I jumped and pushed myself into it after her. The undead won''t be able to crawl into the duct, at least I hope so. I turned to move up ahead and managed to bury myself into something soft. "As much as I appreciate this reward, we need to move¡­" I said. A red beat Mary turned towards me and said, "You still find time to joke around in a situation like this," she said. "As long as you''re finding time to feel embarrassed and talk-back, yes, MOVE I don''t like it when I''m in a closed space and a mob of undead is trying to gnaw at my feet," I said smiling, though my words and tone were anything but that. Mary began moving, making even more noise than necessary. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Don''t lift your knees and hand, slide them forward as you move, you''re making too much noise," I said. "Right, right," she replied and began sliding forward. I followed after her and made sure to look behind me every now and then. Suddenly I was once again met with the same soft posterior of earlier. It''s been many years since I''ve felt the touch of a woman, but even with a teenager''s body''s raging hormones, I was not in a situation where I could ''enjoy'' this. "What''s the matter¡­" I said. "Rat¡­" "For fuck sake woman, beat it, ignore it, or just grab it and throw it away, one of the fuckers is about to climb!" I said loudly enough that it sparked some courage into her, or at least, the fact that an undead was behind us made her completely ignore the rat''s presence, and move forward. They say if strength can''t solve a problem, use more strength, here, it''s actually fear. Just as she moved up I managed to see the rat she was so afraid of, it had its neck snapped, it seems that little Mary had grown. Poor rat, you''ve become the stepping stone for this girl. Now no rat will ever be as fearsome to her. Thank you for your sacrifice. I shook my head and moved forward through the duct, suddenly Marry''s whole front dipped forward as she screamed, I hastily grabbed onto her ankles and desperately pulled her, as she screamed in utter terror. Once I pulled her back, I asked. "What happened?" She took deep breaths and said, "One of the tiles broke, I fell, there were so many zombies." "Were you bitten?" I asked. "I don''t think so," she said as she checked over her body." "Can you make it over the broken tile?" I asked. "I can¡­but there are so many of them below." "Just don''t look down and move," I said. She gathered her courage, slowly so, but still managed to move, slowly as she could she made sure to cross with her hands over the broken tile and scooched over. I followed after and managed to have a look at what was underneath, this was a section closed by the hall door, it seems all students on the western side of the building had turned. Shit. "Keep going," I said as I moved over the broken piece. Slowly we made our way toward one of the crosses in the ventilation system. One of them was leading up. Mary turned and managed to find a footing where she climbed up and moved forward. I followed after and we soon arrived at the second floor. Marry pushed against the duct and blasted it away where a couple of students noticed her. "You, what the fuck are you doing there?" asked someone. "Either help or fuck off!" Mary said. Seems like our little adventure made little Mary into a brave Mary, I''m so proud. The student didn''t understand what was going on and still aided her in leaving the duct. I then followed after and managed to get myself out without anyone''s help. "Pretty damn impressive, I thought that most of you would be dead by now," I said. "And who the hell are you?" the student asked. "Just a passerby, how is the situation here?" I asked. "I don''t know what you mean by that, but you should probably get to the main Conference room that''s where everyone is." The student said. It seems like they already have a ''system'' of sorts working in this school. Looking around I saw many students walking around as if guards, while the majority were absent. "Anyway, you should probably close up the ducts, the same way as I got in, the undead could do so too, and you don''t want that happening now do you," I said grinning, and pulled Mary behind me. "Let''s go, I need to find Will and Nadia." "I''m right behind you," she said and the two of us made it through the students. It seems that they haven''t been corrupted with power yet. Which is a blessing but that won''t last. In a situation like this, where the law is absent and chaos reigns, human nature tends to overpower morality. We can''t stay here for a long while. Many here will start abusing their little power in this little ''world'' of theirs, and shit will start getting uglier by the second. We soon made it to the stairs leading to the third floor where two students were standing guard. "Where do you think you''re going, only girls are allowed up," said one of the students as he pointed his broom at me. "You can go, you should stay and guard your corner of the school," The other said. "If you''ll excuse me, piss the fuck off," I said as I wrenched away his broom. Before he could add another word his friend pulled him and gestured with his head to my left arm. A bloodied curved sword was more than threat enough for them to not mess with me. "Thank you for understanding," I said smiling. But the creepy smile on my face was probably more terrifying than the bloodied weapon. I walked up and true as I saw, only girls were there. But there were still a few guys, mainly teachers with them. Most girls were desperately trying to contact people with their phones, an advent that they''ll soon realize to be useless. I asked the first girl I saw, "Did you see Nadia?" She shook her head "I don''t know who that is," she said. I guessed as much, it would have been a surprise to get an answer, I''m even lucky to have met Mary. Still, I moved on and continued asking. Until one of the girls replied. "She''s in the conference room," one of the girls replied, "Why are you asking?" she added. "None of your business, but thank you," I said. "Don''t go there, they''ll beat you up," she said. This made me slightly anxious, "What do you mean by that?" I asked. Suddenly another girl spoke, "Gloria!" she called. "I-I don''t know, I didn''t say anything," Gloria said her face was pale and she seemed to be grasping at her clothes in desperation. Something smells in here. I then hastily picked up the pace. "Lucas, wait," Marry said as she followed after me. Soon we arrived to the main conference room where a few students were guarding the door, males. "Where are you going?" asked one of them. "I need to speak to someone inside, move," I said. "The fuck you think you are?!" he said. But before I could add another word I heard a clear scream. Which was more than enough for me to kick the door blasting it off of its hinges. I found something that was too despicable to describe. Cold Blooded Murder Will, my best friend, and one of the few people that had gladly given their own lives for me in the past was on the ground, strapped to a chair, bleeding from everywhere. One of his arms was snapped broken and most of his face was swollen. "Who the fuck are you?" one of the students spoke, he had a bloodied bat on his hand. There was not a thought crossing my mind at the moment, and it seemed that even that person was the same since his end was far too fast for him to process. The moment he got closer, his head rolled, without anyone even realizing how I did it. "WHO DID THIS!" I spoke words of absolute wrath, fuming as I worded every letter. With the sight of a person''s head rolling no one dared speak a word as they all seemed to back off from fright. I spotted four students and a teacher. They all had blood on them. "He... he is a monster like that fucker! they both are!" spoke of the students. "Monster! Yes, you''re right, I am," I spoke in a tone as low as I could. My rage could only be matched with the same rage against that white behemoth that killed me and everyone in my party. And now, I come to save these fuckers only to find out that they almost killed one of my party members. A friend that I considered as the brother I never had. A monster you called me, then you''re right. A monster I am. But before I could tear at them, I heard a croak, "S-stop¡­" Turning, it was will''s voice, and it almost shattered my heart to pieces seeing him struggling in that state. he lost too much blood, it was pooling around him like a puddle. It was a miracle he was alive. Next to him was Nadia, desperately trying to stop his bleeding. "Lucas¡­ Don''t kill them¡­" Will said. "Who did this to you?!" I said as I got closer to him. "Don''t mind me," he said coughing up blood. "Just stop killing people. They were...afraid." "Fear is no justification to what they did!" I shouted, "Why did you harm him!" "Lucas Newman, right,you''re one of the students here, listen, you seem more...sane, Will here killed a few students and we had to put him in his place," the teacher said. I frowned for a moment, Will? Killing someone, can''t be. "He killed two students that had turned, you had no right to ambush him like that!" spoke Nadia her voice quivering. "We did not know at the time that the people actually turned when bitten, nothing bad happened, he looks like he''ll live," said the teacher. Throwing away the responsibility as if it was never his. "Nadia¡­" I said. "Will...didn''t fight back, he allowed them to hit him," she said, "And they turned to savages by then. They used steel pipes and bats..." "You dumb ass, why the fuck did you let yourself get beaten up, after all that shit, you let some weaklings beat you up like this¡­" I spoke almost cursing at him. "Stop, he didn''t want to kill anyone¡­" Nadia said. "What do you mean?" "That guy," Nadia said, pointing at the now vexed teacher who spoke my name earlier. "Was holding someone hostage, they were afraid of Will''s strength, and made Will tie himself up, then they attacked him¡­" Nadia said. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "You bitch, don''t start spouting lies! listen here Lucas," spoke the teacher and I saw him approach slowly, there was something in his hand. "Nothing bad happened, we didn''t know that people actually turned to Zombies, you only see that in movies, I''ll have to admit that we had to tie him down, for our own protection and safety, we thought that he too was turned and that his inhuman strength was a byproduct and he will attack us. But, when I wasn''t looking the kids here took matters into their own hands you can''t fault them, they are like you, young and not mature enough to know when to stop," the teacher said. A desperate sigh later Will spoke, "He was the one holding a hostage," Will said. Just as the words left Will''s mouth, the teacher''s eyes widened and he swung whatever he had in his hand at me. "Die you monster!" The moment his words left his mouth, was the moment a three-foot sword went through his brain. The teacher dropped dead instantly unable to understand how he died. I turned to the other four students who were trembling from what just happened. "Well, I guess you didn''t expect this turn of events. No one lays a hand on my friends!" I then moved forward sword in hand. ¡­ Moments later. Will spoke, through guttural words, "You didn''t have to go that hard¡­ now everyone¡­ is afraid of you¡­" he said. As I looked up, behind Will most of the people who didn''t seem to have anything to do with Will''s beatdown were too petrified to even speak. But two, Mary who was beside me, with a cold look on her eyes against the dead students and teachers. Nadia, surprisingly didn''t speak a word. "Do I look like I give a fuck?" "Clearly not," Will said and began coughing. "Don''t speak, you''ll bleed out," Nadia said, "We need to take him to a hospital, he won''t make it like this he lost too much blood." "Sorry to inform you, shit is going on all over the world, hospital, it would be a god''s given miracle to even get there, not to mention treating him there," I said. "It''s okay, trust Lucas, it''s thanks to him that I got that strong anyway," Will said. I frowned at Will''s wording, then I began to understand what went on. Will probably showed a lot of strength, and he made it so that teachers and students are afraid of him. And fear can make people do many things. The same as me, as I was just moments ago. I too was afraid... afraid of losing someone who would not only help save this god damned forsaken world, but a companion I trusted with my back. "Listen up Will," I said as I pulled a green vial from my pocket, "Next time if you''re trying to play the hero, don''t fucking soften up, if I didn''t come here, what do you think would have happened? Be more decisive you fucking idiot, shit hasn''t even started, and look at you," I said. "Why are you reprimanding him? He was the victim, they forced him with a hostage!" Nadia said. "Victim my ass!" I said, "Drink up, you dumbass," I said. "What''s that?" Nadia asked. But before I replied Will took it and said, "Cheers fucker." I smiled as I saw Will drinking the potion, and soon his complexion began turning for the better. His wounds visibly healed up, and the broken bones on his arm snapped back, causing a painful sound and eliciting a groan from Will''s mouth. Not a minute later, Will took a deep breath and stood up, dazed at first then soon able to move. "Shit, I thought I was a goner." Just as he finished his words, I slapped him on the back of the head, "Dumbass. Don''t do shit like this again, if someone tries and pulls shit on you, beat them up, or fuck em up. Don''t ever let yourself be taken hostage, if one hostage dies, and you save a dozen, that''s not failure, but if you''re caught and all of them die, then it''s your own mistake! You can''t save everyone, but at the same time, you can''t fucking give up those who can be saved! You''re not god, don''t fucking act like one!" I said further reprimanding him. After finally emptying my heart I sat down. "Teach!" one of the students spoke," We have a problem¡­ one of the students said. But even the sight of the dead teacher and a the several dead bodies didn''t seem to be stopping the guy from speaking. "Some of the undead, after hearing that shout is swarming the stairs, the barricade won''t last much longer," the student said. "Fuck¡­" I cursed. "What are we gonna do, Lucas?" asked Will. I looked around and said, "I''m taking over, you did a shit job controlling this place, I''ll need to take control of the situation." "And who might you be to take control?" a student said. Mary was quick to answer, "The only one here who actually has a clue on what''s going on and has the strength to do something, who might you be?" she said. Will nudged me and said, "Guess you got yourself a little fangirl." The word was too low for Mary to hear, but not for Nadia, so I nudged Will back "Shut up, you''re making this difficult." "Anyway, I have a way to get us out, but I need to contact someone outside," I said. "That''s not gonna be possible, internet and communication is down," Nadia said. "Yeah I know, but not radio, I''ll be back Will, I trust you won''t get fucked up as before." "Wait wait, the radio room is in the lower floor, that''s fucking suicide," he said. "Take me with you." "No can do if I die, who''s going to take care of them?" I said as I took a glance at Nadia. "Don''t die," Will said. "Don''t worry about me. I''ll be back soon," then I turned to Nadia and said, "Good to see you well." The words caught her by surprise then I remembered we''re not a thing yet. I turned and headed out. Then began cringing at myself, what the fuck was I saying! Ah, right, teenage fucking hormones, fuck this shit man I hurried out before shit got more awkward. Radio Room I moved across the main hall of the main school building and headed down to the second floor. The rustle from the second floor and the swarming undead were too much for the students to bear and they began panicking, especially when the undead began destroying the chairs, and shelves and opening up way slowly into the second floor. "Get to the third floor and block the exit there," I spoke loudly. Under any other circumstances, no one would have listened to me, but now, desperation clawing at the student''s sanity, fear of the unknown, and terror of death made my words sound like those of a commanding general. They obeyed it without a second thought and made sure to spread the word. The second floor needs to be given up, otherwise, we''ll all die here. Cut the foot to save the body. That was the necessary and only way for us to survive here. I then hurried to the closest air vent and jumped into it. There was no way for me to go down, guns blazing into a hoard of undead, I''m still not immune to the undeath curse. And don''t want to risk being bitten due to a dumb amateurish mistake. I was taught damn well, against the rats, that I wasn''t the same as I used to be. Even with the potion, I''m far stronger than a normal human, but I''m still human. I can still succumb to the bite and will fall to the curse. I slid through the vent and moved through it. I kept on moving as I heard the noise of the undead clamoring harder and stronger as they were making their way, slowly but dangerously through the stairs of the first level. I climbed down the vent into the first floor and continued navigating my way, slowly sliding across the hard metallic surface of the vents. Once I arrived at a place where I didn''t hear the undead anymore, I decided to check if it was safe to come out. Sadly, I know for a fact that the university communication room doesn''t have a vent. The installation never bothered with air conditioning throughout every facility, and the communication room had its own air conditioner. So, I''ll need to make my way there on foot, across the undead if I''m unlucky. But I have to do this. It''s basically my own damn fault, I was too rash that I came here without informing John Dilbert. I could have taken a walkie-talkie, or a radio device to contact him, but now I''m paying for it. I shook off the negative thoughts and continued moving through the vent until I arrived at what appeared to be an empty hall on the lower floor. I slowly pushed the vent''s door, making absolutely sure to keep it within my hands lest I snap it off its hinges and have it flying causing even more ruckus. Slowly but surely, the vent bent and tore off. I desperately grasped it with the tip of my fingers as it was about to fly out of my hands, and thankfully no noticeable noise came out from my shenanigans. I peeked from the vent into the corridor, only to have my nose assaulted with the rusty stench of hardening blood and innards. A lot of students died in these halls. Some didn''t even have the luck to turn to undead, as many of the bodies strewn across the hall''s floor were that of students missing their limbs, organs, and what all undead desperately seek. Brain Matter. Their skulls were crushed and their brains were eaten up completely. The reason why the undead need brains were pretty ambiguous be the first time this shit happened. But the clusterfuck that happened later with the Brain Eater Serial Killer was enough to explain this shit. All living creatures have what we call a brain. And it''s the source and storage of Mana. It can store ungodly amounts of it without ever feeling pressured. The problem is, that the Undead aren''t alive, and they can''t supplement themselves with mana. The weaker ones at it, like Zombies. They''re prone to decay and destruction with the passage of time alone. Unless a general class undead, like a Dullahan, a Death Knight or a Lich can command them, the undead will usually die out on their own. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. And without a commander, the best source of getting mana to support their bodies is the brain. Animal brain isn''t enough for them, because it has no mana, but a magical beast, or human preferably, is the best. Even if a magical beast brain is better for them since they''re more attuned to mana, a Zombie hunting a magical beast is nothing short of suicide for them, as for humans, they''re weak, slow, and can have their necks snap easily, thus they''re the best prey. You can''t make a Zombie out of a brainless corpse, the best you can have is a skeleton soldier, something even a child with a hammer can break. However, Zombies are stupidly resilient and have absurdly high stamina. You can cut them, burn them, slice them and dice them, but unless you rip their skulls off their heads, or pierce through their brains, they''ll never stop coming at you. And they easily reproduce, which was a huge pain to deal with back then. After taking another peek at the corridor, and judging that no undead was nearby, I slid from within the hatch and got into the hallway, making sure to keep my trusty sword next to me. The notification of contribution has been bugging me for a while now, but I decided to ignore them for now. There was no need for me to check up on them, and thankfully, since the first phase hasn''t started yet, my Red Hunter Status isn''t set up yet. I''ve killed a few students, though they deserved it and more, the system isn''t too nice about it. Killing someone who didn''t deliver the first blow is basically PK, Hunter Killing. That''s also a whole fucking pain in the dick that''s gonna follow up this stupid first phase. Being a Red Hunter is a huge pain. Your General Location gets permanently exposed, and the system itself will start putting bounties on your head if you start killing indiscriminately. Making a Red Hunter one of the most hated existences in the world. People who kill for the sake of killing. Dosed up on a disgustingly powerful Buff from killing. The more they kill the stronger they become and the nastier they get. The system gives them a buff to encourage their homicidal tendencies, but at the same time, the rewards of killing such people are too good to pass up. It just becomes a vicious cycle of killing, where no one benefits, and the whole damn planet ends up losing more and more chances of survival, heroes, and hunters that could have done something in the future, hunters that could have aided in abating dangerous and deadly situation, dead by the hands of a frenzied killer overdosed on a stupid buff. I moved slowly across the hall, making sure to stay below window level lest a zombie spots me from the other classes. I continued moving hunched up and making sure to move as slowly as possible and careful to look at the bodies I''m crossing over lest I end up grabbed by an undead that I didn''t notice. The system is awake but I''m still not allowed to use Scan and identify yet. We still need the system to be fully established and that will only happen when the majority of humans either get their needed contribution or enough time had passed. Or worst-case scenario, a boss monster shows up. I pray that won''t happen any time soon, no one has any way on even how to deal and manage the current situation, a boss monster is straight-up stuff of nightmares if it appears so soon. As I continued moving through the hall, I realized that I was getting closer and closer to the radio room, thankfully nothing awry had happened, so I''m patiently making my way. I arrived at the teacher''s lounge on the first floor, inside it should be the communication room. The door didn''t seem to be locked, which was pretty damn strange in such situations. So I slowly pushed it over and made sure to check up on the area before proceeding any further. Low noises from outside were suddenly cut off as soon as I closed the door behind me. Though for anyone else, this would have been a dumb thing to do. As they''ll be closing their only way of escape, or at least take a few more seconds to open the door back. For me it wasn''t the case, I could deal with anything here, but I can''t risk having a whole undead mob waiting for me outside or coming after me if the door is open. I moved through the room and realized that the teacher''s lounge wasn''t spared from the undead, it was already attacked and all the people here were dead. I took a deep breath and almost regretted inhaling all the shit and gut smells. I then continued moving, as slowly as I could, there was no reason for me to be hasty, getting the attention of a hidden undead or alerting one isn''t the best way to survive. Before I even went to the communication room, I made sure to lock all the other doors and checked behind desks, I don''t want to be ambushed if I were to lose focus even for a second. With my back covered I headed to the main room. I was soon in front of the university''s Communication room, I peeked through the rollable curtain and almost cursed. There was an undead there. A student, who had been trapped or probably caught off guard. I brandished my sword and opened the door as fast as I could. The undead didn''t even have full time to react before my sword pierced through its skull. With the room cleared, I cracked my fingers, let''s call for some help, shall we. Rescue Plan I ignored the contribution notification as I was doing before and swung the sword with the dead corpse on it to the side. I then slowly began looking across the room until I found what I was looking for. A radio station that I could use. I began tuning the channel until I arrived at the channel that I and Dilbert agreed to use. "Test, Test, John you here? Over," I spoke. No one replied¡­ which caused me to worry. I spoke again, "John, are you here, it''s Lucas, Over!" "Yes, yes, here, I didn''t know how to make this stuff work, sorry¡­oh yes, you have to say over, yes, over!" he said. It was almost comical, with all the shit that''s been happening to me here, and him acting like a complete goof made it far easier to swallow the shitty situation we''re in. "Also, where the heck did you took off? Do you know how much your parents were nagging at me¡­ oh, yeah Over!" "You don''t need to say over all the time, anyway. I''ve had my reasons. I''m in Oakland University, we''re in deep shit. I don''t know what''s the situation is like outside but I guess it''s not looking good," I said. "Yeah, the whole world turned to shit. Every major city has been hit, and from my security members, we''re Oakland is in deep shit, but thanks to your help, I managed to round up all the vehicles, and they''re on standby, my security personnel is fully dedicated to protecting the main building and the surrounding houses. Since like you said, buy them not with money but with the safety of their families," John said. "Yes, money is irrelevant now, at least for the time being. Anyway, I''ll need a few vehicles here, I have a few students stuck here with me, we can''t move and a bunch of undead is surrounding us from everywhere," I said. "How many students?" John asked. "Close to a hundred," I said. "Wait, aren''t you in a university? What do you mean by just a hundred? Shouldn''t there be¡­ more?" he said. "We''ve been hit hard. Most students turned undead¡­ we''re really screwed here. I can probably buy us an hour at most. Other than that¡­" I said. "Lucas¡­ be honest with me, what are your personal chances of survival?" he asked. "Mine? Alone? A hundred percent," I said. "Oh, that confident. Listen to me, I''ll do my best to send you a few vehicles, but if shit turns ugly¡­" he said. "Don''t worry, I know more about survival than you ever will, I know what to do when shit hits the fan, but still, there are a few people here, without them alive, we''re all fucked." "Okay, I''ll send in some vehicles, it''s going to take a little while, you know, traffic and all," he said and I could almost feel the grin in his voice. "Good, I''ll do my best to keep them alive, however, there is a problem. We''re on the third floor and I''ll need you to do something for me when the vehicles arrive, okay?" I said. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Yes, tell me." "Okay, it goes like this¡­" *** Soon I hung up and decided it was time for me to go back with the students, I can''t leave them on their own there. I began by making my way back to the vent I came from only to find out that shit has turned south way too damn fast. Loud noises of students screaming were more than enough to pull the aggro of all the undead towards the source of the scream, it was on the second floor. On my end, there didn''t seem to be any undead here, so I began by moving fast, ignoring my own self-imposed rule of carefulness. And I rushed up ahead. I arrived to one of the staircases leading to the second floor, finding it completely blocked. I heaved and kicked the first chair in front of me, powerfully so my foot tore into the chair and slammed into the rest of the blockade shacking it. I did that again, and again until the rubble shook and became looser, then I pulled a few of the chairs away. And managed to make a small opening where I could squeeze myself into the second floor. I pulled myself into the second floor and made sure to ''repair'' the entrance I made. I was not surprised by the fact that no student was near this area since I asked everyone to leave to the third floor. But I could hear screams coming from the other side. I then hurried and noticed what was the cause, an undead had managed to make it past one of the barricades on the other end of the hall and grabbed a student who was screaming as he was being scratched, bitten, and mauled, why everyone looked in desperate panic and fear. "THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT!" I shouted as I approached the student. "Sorry!" I said then stabbed him right through the head, ending his pain. My actions looked like I was some sort of a merciless murderer to everyone, but it was necessary. "FUCK OFF TO THE THIRD FLOOR!" I shouted and the students scrambled towards the top floor. The barricade on this side looked too weak to stop the undead from going in, and it was going to break in a few minutes. Looking around most furniture on the second floor had already been moved, there was no way to stop them from getting here, so I had to turn and climb up. The third floor''s had several students waiting on the top with a huge blockade of furniture waiting for the last few students to go up before they close it up. "Is everyone up?" I asked. "Yes, we made sure no one was left on the second," a student said, "Now hurry up, they''re coming," he added. "Right," I said and squeezed into the small area and then the students dragged a vending machine to block the small part that wasn''t closed off. Several other couches and large shelves were also placed next to the vending machine and blocked the way from the undead. Soon you could visibly hear the undead blasting through the second floor and pooling into it. Will soon arrived, "Man you''re still alive," he said. "Hey don''t say shit like that, that''s a red flag. Anyway, help is on the way," I said. Which made the rest of the students beam with joy. "But it''s going to take an hour or so, I hope we can survive until then," I said. "What do you mean, with the blockade this strong no Zombie can come through," a student said. "You''re oh so sorely mistaken, these guys here, they''ll start evolving very, very soon. They''ll grow stronger, strong enough to bend iron, barricades like these are nothing to them," I said. "How do you know so much¡­" spoke a female voice. Turning, it was Nadia asking, she had a skeptical look on her face. "Let''s call it a hunch, for now, I need to rest, I''m a bit tired," I said and went to a corner and sat down, slowly breathing and regulating my breath. The tension finally subsiding I''m slowly able to think more rationally now. Looking around, every student was looking at me like I was some sort of monster. "What?" I said. "You really aren''t afraid of them?" Nadia said. "What the undead? Oh, believe me, I am, but I know for a fact, that soon they''ll be the least of our worries. For now, let''s survive and wait for help. Mishaa," I said. And this caused everyone to look around. "I don''t think anyone is named Mishaa here¡­ Is that your girlfriend?" Nadia asked. "Oh, no, I''m single, no Mishaa is the name of the system," I said and then the notification began popping in front of me. As I moved my hands in the air, the students who looked at me doing that probably thought I was an idiot. Thankfully, Will came to the rescue and explained how the system works briefly. This novelty began pulling the attention of the students away from the shitty reality and had them focus on something else, which was a blessing. A panic-stricken person will only think about bad shit. Now since they''re distracted, it''ll make things a bit easier for me. Now, let''s see these notifications shall we. Rescue?
[Congratulations you have already completed your contribution requirement. You''ll be eligible to the full functionality of¡­ ''Mishaa'' once the first phase is completed.]
[You have exceeded the minimum contribution limit by a great margin, you will be eligible for more rewards. Contributing more will award a higher final reward¡­]
[You have killed several humans. However, the Red Player status effect and buff will not be awarded to you since the first phase of the First Integration has not been finished yet.]
[You have aided in saving the lives of a few people who were destined to die. Increased contribution points.] [All contribution points gains have been deferred.]
[You have gained several attribute stats, but you will only be awarded the additional attributes once the first phase is over.]
[Your weapon, Antic Normal Steel sword, has been damaged, it is close to breaking. You might want to consider repairing it.]
[Warning¡­ A strange power stirs within you, it hungers at the sight of blood.] [You are on the cusp of suffering a negative ailment effect: Dark Hunger]
The last information came as a surprise, what the heck does that mean? A strange power? And what''s this dark hunger? ''Inspect, Dark Hunger.''
[A strange Debuff that causes the user to feel intolerable Mana Hunger. To alleviate the state you need to consume Mana Heavy items or Magical Beast flesh. This ailment is not supposed to be present in the first phase. Source of the ailment¡­ unknown.]
"Bruh¡­" I mumbled. "What''s wrong?" asked Will. "Oh, nothing just an annoying debuff¡­ don''t worry about it," I said. "You weren''t bitten, right?" he asked. "Oh, no. anyway," I said as I stood up. "We need to have the situation under control, get a few guys to patrol the area next to the stairs. Keep eyes and try not to make noise, noise will agitate the undead and will have them push further," I said. "But I think that''s too late, they already know we''re here," Will said. I frowned, "That shouldn''t be possible, the undead lose interest very fast¡­ unless¡­" My heart was gripped with fear as I thought of the worst. I went downstairs and took a peek from between the barricades. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! One of the students, an undead looked me straight in the eyes, and from the glowing blue eyes on him I cursed. "Fuck!" I said. "What''s wrong?" Will asked as he had followed after me. "They''re awakening, they started evolving, Undead With Blue eyes have the ability to sense life. And we''re like a burning furnace to their heat sense eyes right now." Shit, this is going to be a fucking pain in the ass. But, I have an idea¡­ "Round up everyone," I said. "There is no way we can stay here any longer, we need to leave," I said. "Wait, why? Didn''t you say you called for help?" a girl said. Looking at her, instead of admonishing her, since I know much and she didn''t know shit. I had to explain, "The undead right now can see us, even through walls. And this is the first stage of their evolution, in less than an hour, all of their body limitations will be removed, and they''ll start using strength far superior to humans. The barricades we have here will be the same as using a paper trying to stop a charging bull," I said. "Then how are we going to run away? They have all the corridors surrounded," the same girl asked. "We''ll use their own evolution against them. Have everyone round-up right next to this staircase," I said. "What? Lucas are you sure? That''s basically a few feet away from the frenzied to be Undead. Isn''t that like a very bad idea?" will be asked. "It might sound like a bad idea, but this is the only way for us to group them up and open a path of escape for us, trust me on this," I said. Soon Will began relaying the orders to all of the remaining hundred or so students. And it took a lot of convincing to have them gather up, of course, a show of strength and underlying threats of broken bones worked a long way into convincing some of the more ''adamant'' students. Once the students were packed, I had them patiently wait here. "Everyone stay calm, and try to make the least amount of noise that you can," I said. Will nudged me and asked in a low tone, "But didn''t you say that they have X-rays?" "Not all of them, only the evolved ones. But, since they evolved, they have a hierarchy among them. Most of the undead will follow the one that is awakened, but they can''t follow its orders, the one with the blue eyes can locate us but it cannot tell the other undead to charge after us. The other undead will follow it, but they''ll not break through this barricade unless we make noise and they realize that we''re here. So far they''ll be staying there, unable to make a decision, but if more start awakening, it''ll be a problem." I explained in detail. "You know a lot about this," Nadia''s voice came from behind me which scared the living hell out of me, but thankfully I didn''t show it. No wonder she was pretty damn good at playing the Rogue class. "I can''t explain in detail right now, but all will be clear later." "He is a regressor," Will said. Which had me gawking at him, unbelievingly. "Are you serious?" "Oh¡­was that a secret." "For the love of God man¡­" I sighed. It wasn''t like I was trying to hide the fact, but the more people know that I''m a regressor, the more shit will be on my plate. "Regressor¡­ like time travel?" she asked. "It''s not like that¡­ I don''t know how to explain this¡­ but. How about we talk about this later, and can you please keep this to yourself, unlike a certain someone," I glared at Will who shied away from my gaze. "¡­" Nadia didn''t reply, not like I was expecting anything. "Anyway, stay here for a few moments, I''ll be back," I said. "Where are you going?" Asked another girl. "I''ll need to lure them into this area, I''ll be back soon," I said. "Yeah right, who says you''re not doing this, gathering us up like livestock so you can escape on your own." The girl said. "Are you brain damaged?" spoke another girl, looking at her, it was Mary, "You think someone like him, with as much strength, and ability, and knowledge would even need to use us as bait? He basically came here to save you all, and now you''re spitting on his face for actually trying his best to save you?" Mary said. "I-I" "I what? Next time think before you start spitting shit, now you made everyone panic and anxious," Mary said. Mary then looked at me and said, "You''ll come back right?" "Yes." "Good enough for me, I''ll wait here," she said and sat down. Which made everyone more accepting of the idea. "Will, same as before, make sure everyone is safe, I''ll be back soon." *** It was a huge pain in the ass, a very huge pain in the ass to do what I just did. I needed to crawl once again through the damn vents, this time it was very close since a few undead could literally see through walls. I almost got grabbed and nabbed a few too many times for comfort. Thankfully I made it to the first floor. I had to make my way to the closest staircase to the exit and began luring the undead to the other side of the school building. I only needed to get them closer to the staircase where the rest of the undead are grouped up, then jumped back into another vent. I did this several times over, and thankfully managed to group all the undead under one side of the staircase, I didn''t even need to fully pull their aggro. Because the moment I went into the vent, and then found it hard to reach me, they turned their attention to their brethren who were grouped up, and were locked on the students behind a thick barricade. Most of the undead students have been grouped up, and it took me an hour to manage all this shit. Once I was done, I climbed back up, and only God knows how exhausted I was from all that running around. I slumped from within the vent into the corridor, where Will came fast at me. "You good man?" he asked. "Fucking¡­tired," I said huffing for air. Worst Case Scenario I got to where the students were grouped up and asked one of them to move to the side. Once he did so, I kneed the glass of a vending machine breaking it, and pulled a water bottle from inside it then continued chugging it down, I was damn thirsty. Even in an apocalypse, you gotta stay hydrated. "Dude?! The noise?" "Ah, it''s already too late now, all the damn undead know we''re here. Most of them have awoken now, it''s no need to stay calm. Anyway, we''re going to make a run for it pretty soon, but we''ll need to wait a little bit. Thankfully we''re not too pressed for time, for whatever reason, none of the undead is pushing us hard." I said. "Wait what are we waiting for exactly?" Nadia asked. "Help. It''ll be here soon, I hope," I said, "But I''m not counting on it, for now, let''s wait." I said as I downed the water. We waited, minutes after minutes, that felt like damn eons when the undead began rustling even more. Apparently, more of them are awakening, and in no time one of them will be able to evolve to a leader type. Once that happens, we''re basically screwed if we stay here. Suddenly, an unwholesome scream echoed from the base of the stairs. The scream was too powerful that most students next to me were shaken to their cores, and I knew damn well what this was. White of face, pale, and beyond shocked my face was clear for all to see. Will was the first to speak, "What the fuck was that? And what''s wrong with you man?" he asked. "This¡­this is unfair!" I said, "Why the fuck is this thing here? It''s not time yet!" I cursed. This was a very poor show of confidence because the moment everyone realized how terrified, -and I truly was- I am all signs of coherence and peace disappeared and they began panicking, and most, started crying. Because they too felt it. A primordial fear built in all of us. What screamed right now, wasn''t your typical undead, more than obvious since the notification that appeared right now in front of me was more than explanation enough.
[An undead had evolved to a Boss Class!] [Low Tier Undead Boss. Hook Beast.]
''No, no, no, no! why is this happening!'' "EVERYONE LEG IT!" I shouted as powerfully as I could, "GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CORRIDOR RUN! NOW!" I shouted once again. Thankfully, I didn''t need to convince them anymore, as everyone started running as if a fire was on their heels, which to be honest would have been a far better outcome than the shit that just happened right now. ''Fuck, FUCK, FUCK!'' I cursed. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "Will!" I called. "Get everyone out, blast through the barricade at the end of the hall, there are no undead there, and don''t fucking turn back! get them outside!" I shouted. Will didn''t hesitate to take my words to heart and rushed among the students that were running away. A few ended up falling and stumbling as the corridor was too small to allow everyone to run at ease at the same time. I remained at the back and heard the voices of both Mary and Nadia calling for me at the same time. "Lucas! What are you doing there?!" they synchronized it even. "JUST GO!" I said as I was the last person. I heard the sound of furniture being shattered, it was Will on the other side, breaking that barricade and allowing everyone to leave. The path down should be clear, if there are a few undead I didn''t account for, they''ll have to deal with them themselves. But the shit coming from this side¡­if it were to catch up to them, then no one will survive. As I looked behind me, Nadia was still staring at me waiting for the students to funnel out of the third floor. And before I could tell her to beat it. Her eyes opened up wide and were about to say something. But before her words would even leave her mouth, the barricade in front of me, full of heavy furniture and even a couple god damned vending machines blasted open like they were made of Styrofoam. A whole shelf struck me face first, causing me to slide several meters into the hall. I almost lost consciousness due to the sudden impact. My ears were ringing, and my lunges were emptied out forcefully. I gasped for breath as I struggled under the damn shelf. I pushed it away and pulled myself crawling backward using my hands. I winced as I realized that my left arm was actually broken. "Fuck," I cursed as I stood up, turned, and limped away from the monstrosity behind me. I didn''t even need to look at it to know what''s that thing. A monster of fucking nightmares. A creature at least ten feet tall, with four arms two of them, the larger ones are usually slick and slim, too long for the beast to stand without them hanging on the ground. They have long fingers with even longer sword-like black nails. The creature has red eyes and a jaw that extends all the way to its ears, not willing to hide a row of razor-sharp teeth behind a lipless mouth. It had a nose that would make Voldemort call it son, and was bald with strings of ugly scraps of red hair covering some of its head. The whole beast was skinny, too skinny for the power it possess, the bones on its chest were clearly visible under the too-tight skin that latched on to them like a desperate lover. The stomach of this beast was sticking to its back, it looked hungry and was ready to feast. As for the second set of arms, those were the most annoying of the bunch, the two arms underneath its main arms have long hooks strapped to chains that they use to grab prey. And they are fucking good at throwing those hooks. Just as I remembered the hooks I turned and realized that two of those damn hooks were coming my way. I did a matrix bend back dodging the damn things that failed to land on me. But I know one thing, this fucker never aims directly for its prey. I twisted my body until I was on all fours, or threes since my left arm was broken, then used all the power I had in me to spin my body to the side. Which enabled me to dodge the more dangerous part of this fucker''s hook attack. The two hooks that were sent before and missed their prey, were now wrenched back and thanks to me immediately twisting to the side I managed to dodge them. This was good, and really bad at the same time. The fact that the Hook Beast missed means that he is gonna be even more adamant on hunting me. Yet the best part about this whole scenario was something I was looking at right now. A couple of undead tried to bypass the Hook Beast only to have them sliced in badly proportioned salami. The Hook Beast doesn''t like sharing prey, and these undead won''t be enjoying my brain anytime soon. I continued limping and shouting, "RUN!" I said then pulled one of my last two vials and drank it. The effects were immediate and my broken bone snapped back to its correct position, it hurt like a motherfucker but it was good to have my mobility back. I hurried up to the second floor only to realize that many of the students were still struggling to get down. And since this fucker was already locked on to me, if I were to go down, they''ll all end up dead. So much for saving them. I cursed as I was forced against a situation I really didn''t want to be in. Fucking hell, and here I was reprehending Will for the exact same shit that I told him not to do. FUCK! "COME HERE FUCKER!" I said as I called out the Hook Beast and dashed into the nearest classroom. I''m basically trapping myself with this asshole, but I have a plan, a very annoying, and dangerous plan. But I hope it works. Fight And Flight I slid into the closest classroom, the ones on the third floor were slightly bigger, with some of them even having their own small labs. The Hook Beast bore through the wall as if it was made of paper, and found an interesting thing coming it''s way. A chair flung towards his ugly mug at full force. The strike stunned it, caused it to bleed, and clearly was something that such a creature never expected. After all, it is a monster, a boss class, something that even monsters themselves try and avoid, not to mention weak, skinny tasty human prey. And this one wasn''t running, oh no, it was fighting back and was making the Hook Beast''s own instinct cry out unable to understand why a prey isn''t running away in fear but fighting back. The creature, angered by my revolt threw two of his hooks my way, to which I simply ducked under the closest desk, avoiding the deadly hooks. He then pulled them back, dragging them across the hardwood of desks, pulling everything along its way and cracking then breaking the desks as if they were made of tofu. The chains on that creature''s hand were heavy, a graze is enough to break bone, so I''ll need to make sure that I avoid them. Squealing like an impaled pig, which clearly didn''t look like the screech of a predator, the Hook Beast was balefully enraged. It then began breaking through the small chairs and class tables using its main arms. It found it clearly hard to use since the whole classroom was far too short for its stature as the ten-foot-tall creature needed to hunch down in order to move along with the fact that his arms were too long, it was a pain for it to get some good force behind every swing. This gave me a good idea. To which, instead of running away, I got closer to him. Even a crazed man would think what I was doing is stupid, but this is the best course of action and the safest spot. Going farther away from the beast will allow him to use the hooks, a dangerous long-range tool. And if I were too close, he won''t have enough leeway to throw the hooks nor will they have enough velocity to grab me, thus, he''ll need to use his massive arms. And with the area around us so small and tight, it will be an even bigger chore. The creature swung both hands towards me like he was about to swat a fly, to which I dove forward using my hands against a desk in front of me to further push myself mid-dive towards the beast. And right then, I stopped about three feet from the creature''s face. "Your breath stinks!" I said then sliced at his face as fast as I could. The blow was magnificent, luck played an ungodly part in it too. The sword swing was enough to slice right through the pupils of its eyes. And it made it screech even more, in agonized pain and suffering as it clawed at its own face from the pain of losing its eyes. I desperately jumped back for two reasons. The first, my sword decided that it was time for it to retire, the impact against a magical creature was too much for the normal sword dipped in mana to handle. It shattered like a piece of glass struck against concrete. The second reason was¡­ It''s gonna start flailing. And it happened, anger, and unadulterated rage and perhaps even fear in the creature''s voice mixed up to release an unwholesome shrieking that would wake the dead and send shivers down a battle-hardened ghost. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The flailing was ridiculous, the creature''s arms swatted anything it touched in every direction, slicing desks and chairs into pieces and bits. Not even the metal making the desk frames was able to survive direct contact with this fucker''s fingers. Not only that, by some fucked up reason, the fucker''s second set of hands was also swinging their hooks all over the classroom and pulling, breaking, and crashing against every damn thing alongside them. I ducked and dodged the closest blows, and had to dive away from the rubble and dipped behind a desk at the farthest part of the room waiting for the fucker to stop flailing. It took a few minutes before the creature could stop, and in those minutes, I had a few close calls. A hook managed to penetrate right through the desk I was hiding behind, and then the creature pulled the hook back, then a chair came crashing next to me. At first, I thought I was discovered, but once I peeked from over the barely standing desk I hid behind, all I saw was ruble, massive amounts of it, the creature made sure to break everything in its radius, from windows, wooden floor, to fake roof and ceilings, even managed to break the vents and some of the walls with its flailing. This fucker was like a small hurricane. However, it seems that I was in luck, with it blind, I''ll be able to avoid¡­ Not before I could even finish my words, a hook came flying towards my face so fast that I couldn''t even think to dodge. However, it missed, by a stupidly close margin, I could honestly say that I felt death and stared right into it then. How did it realize I was here? The question came to me as fast as its answer. Fuck, it doesn''t need its eyesight it can detect life signature. There was no reason for me to stay hidden I was as obvious to it as if it was able to see. The creature looked at me, or faced me in this case since now there were no eyes on his face, but two mangled eyeballs and a bloodied face. It approached me, screeching in words I didn''t understand but could clearly tell the meaning. It was probably promising some untold suffering and never-ending pain before I would die. This sadistic fucker is really having it for me. I moved away from behind the desk and headed to the massive hole the Hook Beast left in the wall, another hook shot forward to which I ducked under and slid towards the hallway only to find it blocked by the undead. Shit, without my sword, any attempt at fighting the undead is death, going through the vents is also a big no. The hook beast can easily see me and will have no problem pulling me out while gutting me at the same time if I were to present myself in a small vent. The undead approached but didn''t close in, the fear from the Hook Beast was still too much for them to jump on his prey. Looking back, at the creature, I cursed. All paths to escape were closed and I''m trapped without a weapon. The undead and the hook beast both glared at me and closed in on me. I needed to find a solution and very fucking fast. Suddenly a loud crashing sound and the explosive sound of guns began blasting outside. "Fucking finally!" I cursed. The sound began increasing even further as the roiling sound of trucks sounded louder by the second, they were slowly closing in on us. I had no way to get help, and I couldn''t escape from this place if I weren''t to try something stupid. I dashed back into the room, and faced up against the Hook Beast, the creature lifted his massive arm up in an attempt to crush me against the floor. But I wasn''t in the mood to play whack a mole. I dove forward, right into the rubble, cursing as my back rolled over the broken glass pieces of rubble and all random shit. But that was more than enough to avoid the incoming blow of the Hook Beast. At the same time, I put my hand on a cleanly cut, metallic desk leg. In another forced twist of my body, I jerked up forward and jumped away, and landed right behind the Hook Beast. At the same time, I pulled a mana crystal from my inventory, it was the reward for clearing the rat''s dungeon. Which came in handy. I crushed the mana crystal against the metallic desk foot then struck up with all the might my body could even harness, not to kill, because I knew something like this tool in my hand will not, will never, and not in a million year would ever breakthrough it''s the body. However, it will still hurt if it hits, and my aim wasn''t his body, but one of his under arms. The tip of the metallic desk leg landed right into the wrist of the beast, causing it to screech and at the same time drop its hook and chain. I immediately grabbed the item and cursed at how heavy this shit was. However, thanks to the improved strength I gained from the vial. I was able to do something extraordinary. Grabbing the hundred or so worth of pounds chain I ran towards the closest window and swung the hook against the closest window frame, which surprisingly helped in securing the hook. I then dove into the broken glass face first. And from the third floor of the building, using the hook as a grapple and prayed for gravity to be kind. Dark Hunger At that moment, where I was diving right through the window I opened my eyes, among the shattering glass and flames rising through the entirety of the city, I looked down and saw something amazing. It was as if time had frozen. I could see a dozen military vehicles, fully armored up with a chain saw blades, Heavy Machine Guns, and a squad of security personnel wearing black lined up in a single file line shooting at hordes of incoming undead. Behind them were the hundred or so students, already secured and climbing into the vehicles. While a couple was still struggling to get into the vehicle. Everyone was desperately trying to get into the vehicles, while Will was desperately pointing at the building I''m in shouting something. Nadia''s eyes were wide open as she was looking at me diving from the window, while Mary had her hands on her mouth. For a moment everything was peaceful and slow until everything resumed and I was snapped back to reality. And oh there it ''comes''¡­gravity, (Sorry had to hehehe ). I was back to full time and my body came down towards the ground, I was, however, grasping tightly on the chain and the jerk caused me to smash into the wall once the chain snapped taught. Thankfully I didn''t lose consciousness after that blow, but a bloodied and bruised forehead and a promised headache tomorrow will be the least of my worries if I survive. I slid down the chain as fast as I could before I felt it jerking from above me. That ugly mother fucker peeked from the top of the window I jumped from and was trying to release the chains. I was still a floor too high but decided it was worth taking the jump before that ass would drag me back to him. I released the chain and came down to the ground, desperately doing an awkward roll to release the impact. My right foot, clearly sprained, again was not a good sign. I slowly limped my way towards the trucks that were desperately waving to me to come over. A few undead were too close to me for comfort but the precision of a few good shots made quick work of them. Thankfully this undead aren''t fully evolved and they can still be taken down by bullets, but that won''t be the case in a few more days. I struggled to limp forward only to have my stomach fall. My eyesight became darker, and I could barely see in front of me, my mind began buzzing a single loud an extremely high-pitched tone as if I had lost blood pressure.
[Dark Hunger Debuff is active!] [Your pain tolerance has increased to 100%] [Your Vitality has decreased by 50%] Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. [Your stamina regeneration has decreased by 50%] [All your ability cooldowns have Decreased by 100%] [Your Vitality is decreasing by 1% every second!] [Your Strength has increased by 20%] [You will die if you do not sate your Dark Hunger!]
"Fucking hell is this!" I cursed, whatever this shit that just kicked in, it was so debilitating that I felt my stomach had been pulled to my throat. My muscles became more rigid and at the same time, wounds and even shard glass that was embedded into me were no longer painful. But at the even then, I felt like I''m bleeding everywhere. "LUCAS!" came the voice of will who saw me hunched and about to keel over from this ungodly hunger. I couldn''t even speak and was barely able to move my mouth. Though will wanted to come over the security personnel desperately tried to stop him, many undead were surrounding them and if they don''t leave soon they''ll all die. And to make shit even worse I heard an incredibly loud crash behind me. With all the energy I had left in me, I turned my face to see the Hook Beast had jumped from the third floor all the way to where I was, a wide ugly, and a disgusting salivating smile plastered across its face. While I was unable to move a muscle. ''Shit.'' "LUCAS!" came the voice of many people that desperately shouted for me to move, only I wish if I could, this fucking hunger¡­this¡­hunger¡­ Why does this hook fucker look¡­tasty? No, this isn''t right, this guy is disgusting, ugly, and looks no more than skin on bones it''s not even a thought that should be thought to consider it food. However¡­ My right hand, as if it had a mind of its own began jerking, my fingers twisted in disgusting ways, my right-hand fingers began snapping, and a dark black sludge manifested from over the skin of my hand, it was too fast and too sudden that I didn''t feel what happened. My normal arm transformed, into that of a pitch-black hand, darker than coal, and I felt a sudden pain in my palm. Twisting my palm, which seemed to be mesmerizing, and so captivating as I looked at it, only to find a long sleek cut right in the middle of my arm. Suddenly the cut opened up, revealing a fearsome-looking row of teeth, and then¡­my palm fucking grinned. Then it snapped forward, against my own will, my hand pointed at the Hook Beast. Which, for some reason stopped in its tracks, and began¡­ shaking, in fear? What? Why would it be afraid? A beast of nightmares afraid¡­of me? no from this arm. The answer came too fast for me to even register.
[You have used {Feast}, Absorbed skill [Chomp] will be used!]
Suddenly, my arm expanded, my fingers disappeared and it turned to a disgusting massive sludge that was far, far, far too big, it was even bigger than the Hook Beast and this was familiar to what happened in the dungeon. The massive sludge hardened and transformed to an oppressively large shark-like jaw, though it looked more like the snout of a rat, the transformed arm gave it an even more demonic feel to it. The Hook Beast turned tail, desperately trying to run away only to have my arm come down at it, and¡­ fittingly, chomp right through it. separating it in two. The jaws had locked tight, leaving one half of the beast spasming, dying on the ground while the other half, slowly crunched and crunched under jaws so sharp even the steel chains of the beast''s hooks were nothing more than noodles that it literally slurped. Another chomp finished off the other half, and the hand-kept munching and crunching, whole blood and viscera splashed and seeped from between its jaws. Then awkwardly¡­the fucking thing burped, then slowly deflated and dissipated. Along with it the hunger Debuff as I was fully capable of motion immediately after that. I took a moment to try and understand what was going on, and looking around there were still many undead coming my way who all seemed to decide that it was a very bad idea to keep that train of thought. They all dipped and turned away and moved, some fuckers even ran away, thankfully so. My stunned self was one thing, but looking at the people who just watched what happened was another. Their figurative jaws were already on the ground, unable to understand head from tail what just happened. Shit¡­ this is gonna take some explaining, especially since I have no idea what the fuck just happened. The Door is Shut
[{Dark Hunger} has subsided.] All malus effects have been disabled. You regained your ''Normal'' state.
[Your Skill {Feast} has eaten, the Hook Beast and gained the ability, {Grappling Hook}] Currently, {Feast} has consumed two skills, {Grappling Hook}, {Chomp} you may add only one more skill to {Feast}. Your skill {Feast} has gained Experience. Current level 1 Additional attribute gains have been omitted from mention due to the first Phase incompletion.
You are the first to have slain a Boss Class monster in the First Phase. Additional Rewards will be handed to you after the First Phase is completed. You are the first hunter to have slain a Low Tier Boss Class monster in one hit. Additional Rewards will be handed to you after the first phase is completed. You are the first Hunter to have cleared the First Phase Scenario. Additional Rewards will be handed to you after the first Phase has ended. You are the first Hunter to have cleared an Open-Dungeon. Additional Rewards will be handed to you after the First Phase has ended.
Addendum Currently, the Area Oakland University has lost its main Boss. No more monsters will wander around the area. And no additional Monsters will spawn or evolve in the area until the second Phase had started, or Conditions to cause the manifestation of another Boss Class monster have been fulfilled.
Congratulations to all the Hunters who have been a part of the Oakland Scenario survival trial. You have all been awarded. 100 contribution points. All hunters who have participated in the Oakland Clear Scenario have been approved to access more of the system''s functionalities once the first phase has ended. Be on guard and be on standby once the first Phase has ended more information will be delegated to the survivors. For now, rest, for you have earned it.
After the swarm of notifications disappeared I was slowly feeling everything once again. And I almost wished to have Dark Hunger back. Torn muscles, a broken ankle, shards of glass on my back, and a bruise bigger than a baseball grew on my forehead. "What the flying fuck was that?" spoke one of the students. "Are you a monster?" another asked in all the accusing and haughty tone a self entitle brat could speak in. I frowned. Will immediately got to the guy''s face, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and said in a chilling tone, "Dude, chill the fuck down will you? The one you called a monster just saved your ass. And you don''t even need to do shit anymore because thanks to him you got the contribution points needed to pass the first phase. What, got some shit to say?" "It''s okay Will, even I don''t know what the heck was that, anyway, I guess we can head back," I said. "A yes, Mr, Newman. Mr, Dilbert mentioned that you should be picked up asap, would you come with us please," one of the people wearing a black suit said. "Yeah, I''ll get on," I said, "But I need help, I think I broke my leg," I said. Though {Feast} caused a lot of my wounds to heal, it didn''t repair broken bones. I needed to drink a potion, but I don''t want to do that right now, in case anyone might notice that I have full recovery potions by the bulk and have some strange ideas. "You don''t have any of those potions?" Will asked. Immediately ruining my mood. "No, you drank the last one," which was a lie, and Will knew of it was a lie since I showed him how many I made. Thankfully he was smart enough to understand why I blatantly lied to his face. He only needed to take a look around to realize the interest of the ''potion'' that brought Will back from the brink of death back to full health. And with my words, their interest dropped immediately. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Two of the men in black came and helped me up. Then they carried me to the back of one of the least occupied vehicles. I rode alongside Will, Mary, and Nadia. There were two more students with us who were desperately trying to contact their families only to realize that the internet''s situation was still not solved. The truck we were on rattled as its engine started. And moments later, we started moving. Two trucks went up ahead first. They were trucks that were used to shovel snow, and in this case, they were used to shove away all vehicles, debris, and anything on the path ahead, even undead. Right behind these two trucks was the rest of our crew, more vehicles loaded with guns and chainsaws that followed closely after the first two tracks, cleaning up any undead that got too close. The ride back to the Dilbert safe zone was far faster than I had believed. And I realized it after looking from a small fortified window. The reason why the rescue team took so long to get to us was simple. They needed to move through a lot of traffic, shoving it away before they could proceed. And they made a clear path for us to move through back to the safe zone. For now. Soon we arrived at the entrance of the Dilbert safe zone. In less than half a day, what I looked at stunned even me. Fortified walls of steel and concrete used to block paths have already been placed blocking all access to the Safe Zone. Many buildings have been shut down and locked. Access to them was sealed and welded, making the whole region where Dilbert''s main building was completely sealed up like a giant fortress of corporate buildings. There was no way anyone could enter this area right now. There were a bunch of people swarming in front of the gate, however, looking right above the gate, two massive tower-like structures made of military concrete had two guards with light-machine guns at the ready. "This area is off-limit, anyone who goes beyond the yellow line will be shot dead," spoke one of the people on the tower. His tone was unwavering and he meant business, the moment one of the people tried to go beyond the line, a warning shot was issued, and it was too close for comfort for that man as it shot right next to his foot "The next one will be between your eyes," the man on the tower spoke. "ARE YOU GOING TO LET US DIE HERE?!" spoke a woman, "At least let my baby through!" she said while holding a kid. "We''re not charity, if you want to survive, find ways to do so on your own, we will not take anyone in besides related people, this is a final warning, anyone who tries and enters will be shot dead, no comprises, woman children, we will shoot. Don''t make me shoot a child, because I will." The man said. The interaction, in any other place, time or region would have been something that no one would tolerate, yet here, everyone knew the severity of the situation. The world order had fallen. And weak people have no right to challenge it. I''m no saint, even against the gaze of a desperate mother, or the eyes of a crying child, I cannot save everyone. I''m not god, nor am I intending on being a saint. I''ll do my best to prevent the worst from happening, but I cannot babysit everyone. This isn''t some novel where the main character''s choice will always be the right thing. Bad shit happens, all over the damn world. Wars happen all over the world, thousands of people die every day. What makes these people different? The fact that they still wish to be saved just because they are weak is disgusting. This parasitic nature is the worst, not only do the weak wish to be saved, they expect it. They demand it. And they think they are entitled to it. They would demand food and shelter without the need to provide anything back, why? Because it was not their fault that this happened, and they were living a good life, so someone else needs to take responsibility over their own lives. Such hubris. Such hypocrisy. "Get us in," I said to the driver. "Yes," He replied. The truck then began moving until it arrived to the main gate entrance and soon many tried to rush forward to get into the safe zone. A pretty bad mistake. Since the guard on one of the towers made himself clear. The first shots were shot. And two people died immediately. This was a wake-up call, to everyone beyond the yellow line. The world they knew has already ended. And immediately, shouts and screams, people dispersed as panic and the realization of what just happened down on them. There is no hero in this story. And this world is going for the gutters. I looked at the people who scattered and noticed something. A few of them¡­ surprisingly, I could even recognize. "Drop me here, and help me out, take the rest inside though," I said as I got out of the vehicle. "Lucas, what are you going to do?" asked Will. "Something that is needed," I said. Once I got out, one of the securities personnel came and offered me his shoulder to lean on, "Thanks," I said. The man nodded and said, "What do you need help with," he said. "Just get me close to the gate," I said. Once I got closer to the gate, I spoke, "Everyone, listen," I said. The people who ran away were already forsaken, but the rest who adamantly stayed listened. A few of the security personnel spoke through their sleeves since what I was going to do was clearly outside their orders. However, I could already guess who they contacted and what the answer will be without asking. "I said listen up," I spoke once again. The people who were too terrified to go forward, but still didn''t wish to run away calmed down. "I can guarantee entry to the safe zone," I said. The words came like a beacon of hope for them, however, I''m no saint. "But, under a condition," I said. Nothing was free in this world. The calmness after my words was like the calmness of a sea before the storm, and what I was going to say was going to be more than a simple storm. "Only by getting a thousand contribution points will you be allowed entry here. It is safe from the monsters here, and you''ll be fed and shelterd. But only when you get a thousand contribution points," I said. "What? What the fuck do you mean by that?!" someone spoke. Another shouted, "And who the fuck do you think you are to tell us this! Get the manager!" Another added, "Why should I do what you say? Getting contribution means killing those monsters, do you know how hard that is? You''re just a fucking kid, what the hell would you know!" More spoke some even more ridiculous stuff. And the bickering continued. "Say, if I get a thousand points, you''ll let me in?" he said. It was the person I was hoping to speak to actually. "Yes, you''ll be granted access to the safe zone, and all your needs will be cared for," he said. "Right¡­ the thing that spoke to us, only asked for a hundred, why are you asking for a thousand?" he asked. "Consider it a rite of passage. To prove your value, one more thing, we''ll only allow a hundred people. The first hundred, anymore even if you have a million points you won''t be admitted. The spots are precious, and the food isn''t really that readily available, what do you say?" I spoke. "Who the fuck do you think you are to play god! A thousand points? Are you mad? What about my family? My son!" a woman said. "Then get a thousand for you, and a thousand for him," I said. "Say," the guy I was interested in admitting said. "It would be hypocritic of you, to ask us such a tall order. If you know what I mean," he said. "Yes it would be," I said and I then waved my hand. "Show Contribution points," I spoke. Immediately a number appeared in front of the masses.
[18,800 contribution points]
"Ah. Well, that''s more convincing, I''ll be back soon," the guy said and then turned and left. Me showing my contribution points wasn''t just a flex. It was to show how capable I was. Killing the Hook Beast awarded me a fuck-ton of them, not to mention saving everyone and claiming a region. And this was enough to prove my value and ability. There was no point in arguing anymore. Nor did I need to hear what any of the ''complainers'' had to say anymore. People began leaving, angry and wretchedly pissed, but they moved away because they knew, if they didn''t get to work, they won''t have a spot. "Curse you! You son of a bitch! You fucker!" More curses came my way, but I ignored them. There was no reason to even care about what they said. Nor should I even be bothered by the words of the soon-to-be dead. Once the night falls, it''s going to get ugly, very fast. "Take me back inside if you please," I said and turned, then the gate closed. World Order Once I was inside the main building, the first to come rushing were dad and mom. The look of worry and fear in their eyes was both painful to see and at the same time, made me glad that they were still alive. I won''t let the same shit happen as last time. "Lucas," spoke Dilbert in a very worried tone. "You have a guest," he said. "But I suppose they can wait, you look like a mess." He said. "A bit, I''ll need to clean up," I said. "I have a medical facility at the ready, I also placed all the people you brought down like you had advised everyone needs to get a thorough screening before getting admitted." "Yeah, you don''t want a bitten person inside this place. Anyway, I''ll also need you to do something else. You''ll need to close down the sewers. A lot of people might think of using them to get inside." I said. "I already thought about that, we closed all access to this Safe Zone, added a full barricade though the whole area, we locked down the buildings with cement and concrete, and also made a full motion security system in all of the buildings anyone wandering or tries to gain access to the safe zone will be immediately dealt with," he said. "This will be enough for now, but once the hunters start getting skills, getting inside here will be far easier than you think, I''ll still show you how to deal with that once the first Phase is over though," I said. "Enough with all this, get cleaned up, you''re a huge mess. Take him to the infirmary," Dilbert said. Just as we were going, Dilbert added, "Oh yeah, Vivian''s been asking about you. I wonder what you did to get that girl''s attention, she is usually very cold to people." Dilbert grinned. "Bruh, she''s your daughter," I said. "Well, she''ll need a good man in the future, and I say you''re a good candidate," he said. "Please don''t joke around stuff like this," ''especially not next to Nadia'' Dilbert shrugged and left smiling. While I sighed as I was helped into the infirmary. It took a while for me to get treated. The worst of the damage I received was my broken ankle. Though I say broken like if it was nothing serious, it actually wasn''t. In this world, anything besides a killing blow isn''t serious. Broken bones can mend easily with time thanks to Vitality, but since I don''t have access to the Stats Window yet, I can''t push my vitality higher to heal faster, so I''ll have to wait. Secondly I don''t want to use the potion yet. I''ll only use that in case of great danger or serious injury that needs immediate attention. I do have a few more, and I can even make many more. But resources are scarce right now, especially since the first Phase has yet to end. Communication and methods of obtaining more resources are currently on hold. So, I''m better off saving as many potions as I can. Once the nurse got all the glass out of my back fixed placed gauze over my wounds and around my forehead, and a cast over my foot, I was given a crutch to use. Once I was done I had to move back, it was annoying to have to use this crutch at first, but I got used to it pretty fast. Now, John Dilbert said that I had a guest, I could probably guess who the guest is. Soon, I headed upstairs and got to Dilbert''s bureau where a woman was sitting patiently there. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She was wearing a tight vest and a low-cut skirt which would be a crime if it got any bit shorter. The dream of every high school boy. However, her identity was immediately revealed the moment I saw the logo on her vest. "CIA¡­ to what do I owe this pleasure," I said. The woman looked at me and said, "Please sit, Lucas," she said. "I rather not," I said. "Don''t you think it will be easier if you sit, I mean, with the crutch and all," she said. "Just cut to the chase I don''t have all day," I said. "Oh, you seem in a hurry, let me guess, you know why this is happening do you?" she said. "And what if I did?" I said. "Then by the authority given to me, you will have to accompany me, we''ll need to be asking you a few questions," she said. "Oh, authority? Please elaborate, who the fuck do you think you are?" I spoke. The words came out rather forcefully, and she clearly didn''t expect it. "I don''t know why you''re trying to act tough, you know that we''re the CIA and you really don''t want to be playing hard to get with us," she said. "Oh, is that so, then please tell me, what is the CIA, world government, FBI, and even national security doing right now? Where is the army? How is your handling of this clusterfuck going?" I spoke. Because I already knew the answer. "You were hit very hard weren''t you?" I grinned. "Seems like you know many things, this act of terrorism, perhaps you''re an instigator," she said. "You can say whatever the fuck you want, it''s clear as day that the world order you used to know is no longer functional. If you come here trying to threaten me while your full military power is completely useless against the shit that''s happening right now, you have no value, nor does the organization behind you. You should realize it by now, you''re all, are nothing but a relic of the past," I said. My words were provocative, on purpose. Immediately she stood up and from out of fucking nowhere pulled out a gun, "Your security should do a better job at frisking," she said, "You feel like talking now." "Try me, bitch," I said. My unphased reaction was too much for her to handle, and the fucking bitch really pressed the trigger. Only for something expected to happen. The gun didn''t shoot. Well, of course, it wouldn''t, unless it was tampered with using mana, like the guns I modified personally with Mana Crystals, the guns that Dilbert owned. "Are you stupid? You really are dumb, shouldn''t you have realized that gunpowder is no longer working?" I said. "But¡­ I heard gunshots. Their guns¡­" "Oh you''re talking about the security personnel, well their guns are a bit special." "You''re holding the information that could help national security and the army! We''re unable to use firepower against these creatures! If you know how to you should share!" she said. "Why would I? what do I gain from it?" I said. "What? Are you some sort of psychopath? Of course patriotism, it is your job as a citizen to help your governem-" "Will you please shut the fuck up? Don''t you realize it, there is no such thing as governments anymore. When will you realize that this isn''t the same world you used to know? Wake the fuck up!" I said. My words were clearly too much for her, so she frowned and threw the gun away, "Then I''m taking you using force!" she said and came at me for a grab. I dodged to the side, even with a broken ankle. And easily used my crutch to trip her forward. "You? Overpowering me? Not in a million years," I grinned. My taunt was too much for her so she rushed back in. I didn''t really want to keep this any longer, so, I let her grab me. Only to grin at her face, I used my free hand to grab hers, then twisted her hand forcing her on her knees. She tried to struggle, but I pressed her down against the ground and sat on her back. She futilely tried to struggle only for me to speak, "Look," I said as I placed my open palm in front of her face. My hand began darkening and a wide slit opened up from it, revealing a disgusting row of sharp teeth. The sight of something like this close to her caused her face to visibly pale. "Before you say I''m a monster or some corny shit like that, I''m not. I cannot help you turn this situation, nor will I even help you, I know your kind, you''ll want to capture me and use me as some rat lab, sorry shit like that won''t work. I''m not someone you can handle. Secondly, if you come for a favor, you should ask nicely and not threaten me. Lastly, don''t fucking get on my nerves or I''ll eat your face off." The last words were spoken, and for some reason, the mouth in my hand snapped open and close as if trying to take a bite of her face. ''Good hand, sadly I''ll never be able to use that one to fap¡­'' "We good?" "No, we''re not! I''m not leaving this place before I know how you made your guns work!" she said. "¡­" "¡­" "How about this, I''ll show you how, though I really do advise you shouldn''t rely on it. But you''ll have to give me something in return," I said. "¡­ okay, just get off me," she said. "I won''t unless you promise to be a good girl and not attack me again," I said. "¡­" "Promise," I said smiling. "Okay, I won''t attack." "No; you really need to say the words, I promise," I added. "Okay, I promise," she said. I stood up, and I could see her struggling to get back at me, but considering the occasional gazes she took at my hand she smartly decided that it would be a very bad idea. "¡­ what do you want? Write down anything you want and I''ll see if I can make it work with the higher-ups," she said. ''Yeah right, paper contracts are useless, but.'' "Oh, a lot of things, but first, let me prepare a contract," I grinned. Brutal Reality "What is this? I can''t agree to these terms!" she spoke. "You''re the last person I would even think or need to agree to those terms, that contract isn''t for you. It''s for your boss. Give it to him," I calmly stated. "Why do you think he''ll even sign it?" she asked. "It doesn''t matter to me, sign it or not, it''s your only way to survive in such a world. Think about it, the message clearly said, this is the ''first'' phase. That means there are more phases next. This thing that''s happening right now, it''s basically a tutorial. And tutorials are easy, so think about it. Do you really wish to remain unequipped for the next phase?" I spoke calmly. "You''re a demon! You don''t even value the life of the people dying right now! The secrets that you have can save the nation!" she said. "They can''t save shit, I''m not god, don''t push your patriotism on me. It''s a world of dog-eat-dog, you can''t do shit without power. And you are desperately wanting. Listen up, either you sign that contract or perish when the next phase comes. Also, if you think you can kidnap me or threaten me or people close to me, then I swear I''ll unleash upon you something so grave that you''ll wish you were dead. This, my dear, is a real threat!" I spoke as cold as the dead to her. Because I knew these people, they think that since they were the ''shit'' in the old world they can still abuse their power and do whatever they want to the people in this new world, but they are oh so awfully wrong. But I''m not a fan of that, and I know how to screw them over badly. She didn''t take my words to heart, and I knew for a fact that signing this contract would be close to impossible, especially with the snobbish selfish bastards who still think they own this world, still operating the scenes. However, their power will collapse soon, once the hunter association begins. Shit like government and civil laws will soon be abolished. While a new force will take the reins. The Hunter Association, started by some random people, worked wonderfully in this situation, however, it was slightly too late when it began operation. The association would give Hunters ranks, and give them ''quests'' just like in a game. Where they''ll need to suppress a monster break, or dungeons, or even break civilian fights. It was like police only it had superpowers. The presence of such an association brought a lot of stability to the situation, but like I said it came too late. The woman left the office with the contract in hand and I waited for a bit before I spoke. "You can come out," I said. Soon, Vivian came from behind the door and looked at me in a wonderful type of way. "What''s wrong?" I said. "You don''t fear anything?" she said. "Why fear what can''t harm you," I said. "Aren''t you underestimating the secret service?" she said. "Hah, if they had any real power you''d see them doing work, they''re all scared shitless. Anyway, you don''t need to worry about them, their headquarters will be hit very soon, they''ll have their own shit to worry about," I said. And I was correct, the system was disgustingly unfair. It didn''t hit the civilians at first, at least in my first life. It went straight for the military, the marine forces, the police stations, and most armed forces. The system''s first objective was to make all forces capable of ''fighting'' it, null and void. Once it had taken care of all of the powerplay it would then proceed with the next phase. However, the hit on Oakland was something I didn''t expect, it was shit. "How bad were we hit?" I asked. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. "I don''t have full information, but the city is up in flames. Estimated damage is in the billions," she said. "Damn¡­" I cursed. The more damaged the city the more prone it is to being eradicated, we still need to set up a base here, anyway, I can''t do much to change the situation, the people will need to start gaining contribution points to be able to become hunters. "You need to get a hunter status," I said "What''s that?" she asked. "You''ll need a hundred contribution points at least. That will allow you to use the system in the future. If you don''t get it now, it''ll be much harder in the future. Getting the ability to use the system can be good in saving your life, you never know," I spoke. Though this advice was very strange, it was the only thing I could do. The future has already changed a lot when Oakland was hit. So, I can''t rely on it. I''m the worst regressor, I already fucked up the time flow and it hasn''t even been the first phase. Nevertheless, relying on information from the future is like using a crutch, if I were to rely on it for so much, I might end up dead without knowing it if a variable were to change. "How do you get contribution points?" she asked. "Just Get Killing," I snickered. The was my favorite catchphrase back then. And I''m still using it now. "Get some kills, take down some undead. It shouldn''t be hard since it''s still early in the phases. But you won''t get another chance in the future," I said. Though I doubt the daughter of a wealthy person would even dirty her hands. Surprisingly, she replied, "I''ll see what I can do." Oh, wait, she was the one who took over the company when her father was comatose. She isn''t a sheltered girl, she is battle-hardened, not in wars, but in the ugly corporate world. "Good, I''ll need to meet up with my parents, where are they?" I asked. "Dad gave them a floor on the building, they''re just under us, they''re as safe as they could be," she said. "No one is safe, not even this place, for now, it''s good, anyway, I''ll head to them," I said and walked up. "Shouldn''t you wait until your injuries recover, you look pretty beaten up," she said. "Don''t worry about me," I said. I''m basically done with the first phase, I''ll need to start working on my second objective. The presence of a Boss type isn''t something you''ll see every day, and I already gained so much contribution it''s stupid. I''ll need to start working on the bigger picture from now on, and its here where Dilbert''s company will come in hand. I got down to the lower floor and was swarmed with questions from dad and mom. Worry was clear in their eyes as they asked so many questions. But the heaviest question was this, "How did you know something like this will happen?" dad asked. "Let''s sit down first, and I''ll explain everything," I said. I then had them sit down then began explaining some things, and also omitting the fact that I regressed there was no need to add to their worries. The best way to explain was "I saw it in a dream," I said. No one would have believed this before. But looking at the streets, a world of convenience and logic was no more, it was only chaos and incridible things happening. My words seemed like a lie, but they had to believe it, there was no other way. "What about your aunt, your uncles," he said. I shook my head, "I don''t know dad. I don''t know, they''re not even in Oakland. I can''t help everyone dad," I said. "I see," dad replied, but he seemed in pain. It was his sister and his brother. My mom didn''t have any family left she only had me and my dad. But still, she felt his pain. "I''ll try my best to find them, however," I said. "You''re a good son," he said. "Thank you." "Lucas, Mr. John told us what you did in the university. I appreciate the fact that you went there to help your friends but why are you risking your life, stay here, where It''s safe," she said. I had a sad smile on my face when I said, "Mom, dad, there is no such thing as safe. Even in this place, walled and protected, safe is nothing but temporary, the world as we know it has ended. We only have one thing left for us to do, it is to survive. And the only way to survive is to risk it and get stronger. You don''t need to worry about me. I know what I''m doing, I always knew. How about you trust me a bit," I said. "No!" mom screamed, but I didn''t need to speak. "You said you know what you''re doing," dad said. "BUT!" "No. He isn''t a little kid anymore," dad said. "If you know what you''re doing, then I''ll trust you with it, I only need you to do one thing for me," dad said. "Yes." "Don''t die," He said. "I won''t," I smiled, I already died. Once is enough, I''m not a fan of it. The night continued even through the heavy atmosphere, dad took a lot of effort to calm my mother down, she felt like the world that had crumbled was crumbling even more because her only son is tempted to risk his life again. I couldn''t stay there anymore, "I need to do something now, it''s good that you''re safe for now. Anyway, I don''t know when exactly the first Phase will be over, but once it''s done. The internet and communication should return, you''ll be able to know more about the world by then. For now, I needed to head elsewhere. I went downstairs where a lot of students were staying. It was a large room with many people sitting desperately trying to figure out a way to contact their families. Once I got in, everyone''s eyes were fixed on me. "Lucas!" Will said as he came closer. "What''s going on here, they''re not letting us leave," Will said. "You," I said to the guard. "Will, Marry, and Nadia," I said. Once the names of the three of them were announced, they perked up. "Get these three out, I need to talk to the rest," I said. The students frowned, "What is going on?" some of the students questioned. The three of my friends got out first, I then looked at the rest and said. "Listen up, and listen up good," I said. "It''s time you wake up to reality," Value and Forgotten Past The group looked at me, "You guys, are very lucky, incredibly so, you won''t ever believe it," I said. "My first intention was to save my friends, and my friends only, then leave you all for the gutters," my words sounded heavy and they were heavy, for a reason. "I''m no saint, I''m no god, I didn''t save you because I was charitable, I saved you for one purpose and one purpose only, for convenience," I said. "What do you mean by that?" someone asked. "What is your value?" I asked the person. He didn''t understand. "How many contribution points do you have?" I asked. "I have a hundred¡­" he said. "Of that hundred, how many of them were yours?" I asked again. He didn''t dare reply. None of them were his. "Exactly, it was thanks to me, for clearing the University that you even have contribution point. It was thanks to me that you survived, it was thanks to my effort that you get a shot at breathing. So, tell me. What is your value to me?" I said. No one could answer. "NOTHING!" I spoke. "You''re nothing, not a fraction more than the people outside the gates, the people dying outside. You''re the same. But you know what, you''re just lucky," I said. "What, what do you mean! Why just us, those three from before, why did you let them out," another student spoke. "Will killed twenty-four undead by himself, and protected several students, where were you?" I spoke. "Nadia helped the wounded, healed a few of the students and protected others. Where were you?" "Marry killed twelve undead by herself inside a lecture hall where she was the only survivor, where were you?" No one replied. "You''re all sheep, guided by fear, and hoping to be saved without doing nothing in return. You have no value, you''re all worthless. But, you''re lucky," I said. "However, I fucking hate luck! Luck is the ficklest of bitches, the most unreliable thing. Just because you''re lucky, you get to be saved and live here for free, FUCK THAT! I''ll have you all work to the bones. If you can''t fight the monsters, then you''ll clean the sewers, you''ll do surveillance, you''ll train and you''ll grow stronger, only then will you be allowed to exist within the Safezone." One student was about to speak when I gazed at him with as much murderous intent as I could. It was frightening, clear from how white his face turned immediately after. "Don''t you fucking dare speak! Don''t you fucking dare say the words you''re thinking about!" I spoke. I knew what he was going to say before he said it. "Who are you to tell us this!" were probably the words he wanted to say. "In this place, I''m a dictator, a king. Do what I say, or die. I won''t ever accept anyone who has no ''value'', make yourself valuable within the safe zone to stay in it. And if you don''t, then you''ll be kicked out. That''s all," I said then turned to leave. Just as I approached the door, I stopped. Because I knew that the stick alone isn''t enough, I had to present the carrot. "Not all of Oakland was hit. Only the central region we''re in. a lot of you here are from the dorms if not all of you, meaning that most of your families live a bit far from here. If you make yourself of use, then I could invite your families over. This is all I can do for you, make yourself valuable, or die trying." I said that and then left the room. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. That could have been one of my most cringe worthy speeches to date. But, I had to get the message through because some people are too fucking stupid or act stupid to understand that a metric fuckton of shit had already hit the fan. I can''t be using slackers and people who can''t do much for me. The world is turning to shit very fast and I need reliable people I can use. Having slackers who present nothing but mouths to feed is the best way to screw myself over. Food supplies are going to get scarcer by the minute, and we need scavengers and hunters in the close future. They can be scavengers, but they need to train first. I already spoke to John about this, and he''ll be doing his best to put those kids in shape. For now, I was face to face with the three, Will, Marry and Nadia. "Will, your mum, she is already here," I said. "Huh? How?" he asked. "Remember the appartement in downtown?" I said. "Oh¡­wait, you knew this whole clusterfuck was going to happen?" he said. "I told you it will happen," I said "You told me it will happen a month later," he exclaimed. "Well, I was wrong, still they''re safe," I turned to Nadia. "Wait, my parents also got the invitation this morning to come to downtown¡­ was that your doing?" she asked. "Yes, but yours were fucking stubborn. Anyway, they''re also safe," I said. "How do you know that?" she questioned. "I had a tank at the ready next to your house. They should arrive by morning," I said. "Huh¡­ why are you so interested in me?" she asked. "Well, I think he is in-" I hit Will to the side. "Keep your mouth shut will you, you already made this shit damn difficult dude," I said frowning. "Is this related to the regression you spoke about¡­" she asked. I glared at Will. "Sorry¡­" "I''ll explain later," I said then turned to Marry. "You don''t need to say anything¡­ I understand," she said. "You do?" I asked. "Yes, I had my doubts at first, but. I suppose I could put one and one together," she said. "Care to explain?" I said. "You sure you want to hear this?" she said. "Yes I''d like to have some outsider insight," I said. "Right, first, the fact that you''re a regressor I could believe that," she said. "How can you believe that? That''s not something that is easy to believe," I replied. "From what I could see from your actions, you''re very strong and seemed surprisingly calm through all of this. It was like you knew all of this, you also gave a lot of details on the events, the undead and even the boss you fought. You also have a skill which no one had," She said. Her analogy was pretty perfect. "How¡­" will speak. "I read a lot," she said. "Huh¡­" "Anyway, secondly you''re either a stalker¡­" she said as she looked at me and glanced at Nadia. Which was a bit strange. "Or you and her, in the future¡­were an item, which is pretty probable. Though I don''t know how that happened¡­ I mean, her boyfriend isn''t someone that¡­ah." She said as if she realized something. "That''s why you broke his legs," she said. "No, you''re wrong there, I didn''t cause his death the first time," I said. "What do you mean?" this time Nadia asked. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to hear this?" I said "It''s not going to be pretty, also, it is something that you will not believe, since you haven''t experienced it yet," I said. "Just speak," she said. "You killed Joe Miller, with your own hands, in the first round," I said. She frowned. I sighed and added, "In the first time, I never made it to the University, and Will wasn''t as strong," I said. This was all I needed to say for her to understand. It was simple. I wasn''t in the university, and it was one month after, Oakland wasn''t hit so they still attended university, because the government had promised that everything was under control. It was scary at first, but once the undead hit Oakland, shit turned out the same way as today, only me and Will were missing. A lot had changed but something still remained the same. The students had spent far longer than one single day in the university then. Food became scarce and people turned more and more vicious, especially since the system and increase of mana throughout the world multiply emotional outbursts. People who used to have anger issues back in the normal world became berserkers with the influence of mana. And it was easy to understand what would happen to a bunch of people trapped with issues in the head for long periods of time with death surrounding them from all over. Back then, the people in the university tried to survive with whatever power they had, and they prey on the weak. And Nadia, before she joined my party was one of the victims. What happened to them...was unspeakable. It was a trauma that she could have never gotten over, and it plagued her until the end. She even killed the very man who did that to her, with his friends. With her own hands. And she still wasn''t satisfied. Those were some dark days. "Anyway¡­ it''s awkward I don''t think I need to explain more," I said. Marry then resumed, "Anyway, this proves it. I was probably dead in the first run. Since you never came, I would have never made it out of that amphitheater, meaning I was not someone you ever knew. And if you didn''t know me, you never had the urge to send someone to my family," she spoke pragmatically and coldly. Damn, she is smart. "Where does your family live?" I asked. "Very far away, I think they shouldn''t be in danger now, but I''ll need to bring them here. I heard what you told the other guys inside, do we need to do something?" she asked. "No. you did enough, give the security personnel your parent''s address, and they''ll make sure to bring them over if. Now, I need to work on the second part of this hell," I said. I turned to look at Nadia who was still deep in thought but couldn''t say anything. "I''ll see you guys in the morning," I said then headed up. "I''ll need to get you geared up and ready for the second Phase. Rest well, tomorrow is going to be hell." Lonely Soldier Morning came and with it, a lot of issues. The secret Service sent another agent to try and negotiate with me, only for him to end up with the same answer as before. "Sign the contract, or piss off." The distraught agent tried to pull his weight around but failed to understand the severity of the situation. Not only was the pressure from the people rising, but the pressure on the failing government was also threatening to crush it completely within the week. He had to leave with his tail behind his back, unable to reach a possible or realistic answer from his point of view. The second thing was, three people had arrived to the gate of the Safe Zone, among them was the guy from yesterday. I know this man, I''ve known him for a while back then. Harry Simons. He was an ex-marines. With a dishonorable discharge. His past wasn''t fun. He has killed someone while in uniform. It was an accident from what he told me. It happened on the day of his leave, he only wanted to get back home, he went for a drink before he could even get home. After leaving the bar, he was assaulted by some drunkard who had a deep hatred for the military. If I remember correctly, the drunk man was the father of two kids who died in service. And tried to assault sergeant Simons. The man defended himself, however, due to him being drunk, he used excessive force. The rest of the story is easy to guess. It would have been considered self-defense in any other scenario, but the fact that he was still wearing a uniform, and committed manslaughter, was considered dishonorable to the uniform. He was discharged and sent to prison. He got released a few months ago, and his personality was a bit hard to deal with. The two others, I didn''t know who they were, one of them was a woman in her mid-twenties, and another was an old man with a very grouchy look on his face. ''Perfect, this is damn good,'' I smiled as I saw Harry. The moment my eyes met the man, he spoke to me, "I completed the quota, I should be admitted, right?" he asked. "Of course, you''re more than welcome, you''ll have a room with all your basic needs. With two meals a day," I said. The man frowned at me and said, "I feel that there is a catch," he said. "Of course, there is," I smiled back at him. He frowned at first and said, "Let me guess, I''ll act as a mercenary? Perhaps sent to scavenge on the regular," he said. I shook my head, "No, someone like you, shouldn''t be delegated to something so menial," I said. "Someone like me? You''re speaking as if you know me," he said. "Of course I do, Sargent Harry Simons." The man had an ugly expression on his face. "Don''t call me that," he said. And turned as if to leave, he probably didn''t want to be ''used''. "Listen," I said calmly, "I don''t want you to spend your life outside, risking it, fighting those things. It''ll only get worse, you alone you must have realized it, you''ll not be able to survive. In face of all that stress and anger, you''ll slip up. And you''ll die," I said. He didn''t pay me any attention and continued walking away. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "I can help you find her. I know where she is," I said. He stopped there and then. He didn''t even turn and stood still like a statue. "Help me out, and I''ll make sure to bring her here within the week," I said. He turned to face me and said, "How do you know?" he asked. "I just do, now will you help me? Or are you going to keep looking, alone," I said. He didn''t move, "I can''t trust you," he said. And then decided to leave. Fuck¡­ "Wait," I said. "Wait god damn it!" I said. And followed after him. ''Damn stubborn bastard.'' "Guard, give me that," I said as I asked for one of the guard''s weapons. He frowned but didn''t dare refuse my request. "And give me all your ammo, you can get more from the storage," I said. I was cursing as I chased after Harry. "Hold the fuck up," I said as I stopped him from going too far away. "What do you want kid," he said. He was pissed. ''kid, this young guy calling me kid¡­ somehow it irked me. I was damn older than him, but let''s not be too pissed about that,'' "Here," I said as I handed him the submachine gun. "This is useless it doesn''t work on those guys," he said. "It will work, this one is special," I handed him a bag full of ammo. "There is some ammo here, and take this," I said as I handed him a green vial. "Drink that, it''ll boost up your stats and body," I sighed. I couldn''t force him to get into the safe zone, but I can''t have him die on me yet, I think I messed up trying to handle the situation using my future information, but I can''t risk him dying on me. I then wrote something on a piece of paper for him. "Santa Monica?" he frowned, I''ve been there, there is nothing there." "Because you''re looking for the wrong name, Lydia West," I said. He didn''t answer me back, but he seemed to understand. He turned and said, "Thanks, I''ll see to it," he said. He then left back to the chaos of the city. I sighed as I went back. That man''s story was very sad. The moment that event happened to him, his wife, or ex-wife in this case abandoned him and their daughter. She even changed their daughter''s name so he can''t find her and admitted her to an orphanage, the daughter was still only three years old. She has never seen her father before since he was in prison. He found her back in my first life, but it was too late then, he tracked his ex-wife who told him about the name change, and once he went to Santa Monica, it was already too late as it was plagued with the Undead. Now, he still had time, he still had a chance. I wanted to make use of his discipline to train the squatters I have, but I''ll have to suffice with helping him. Though he is stubborn as hell, he had a great character. I turned back to the Safe Zone. There were no people around it, the undead was making sure of it. Any normal person prowling the streets is one of two things, either crazy or a scavenger. One day is all it took to flip the city upside down. The concentration of the undead wasn''t too big to cause everyone to perish outright, but it was still dense enough to force people into their homes. Using vehicles is a death sentence since any normal car would outright be swarmed with the undead. So they couldn''t leave the city, and trying to do so on foot is nothing short of suicide. They stuck to their homes and scavenged for food and supplies. This will be the first Phase, the adaption phase for the follow-up. I returned to the Safe Zone and headed up towards John Dilbert. He was using his Radio Communication network to relay orders and commands to his subordinates. He mentioned that a few of them left their positions, but the great majority decided to stick with him since he protected their families in the safe zone. Loyalty was a fickle thing in this world. However, being on the side of John Dilbert meant survival. Once I was in his office he said, "I was waiting for you," he said. "Right, so your idea of a Hunter''s Association, I started the paperwork and already decided on a place where to set up the main building. But aren''t we rushing things?" he asked. "Not really, once the first phase is over, skills and power will be supplied to the people. Without something like the Association to control them, they''ll wreak havoc," I said. "We''re moving at a very fast pace, this will bring a lot of unwanted attention from world governments," he said. He was right, we''re acting like we know what''s going on, which isn''t really a good thing so early. "Don''t worry about it," I said. "That''s a very annoying sentence, you always say that when I should be worried about it," he said. "The world governments are too preoccupied with shit, the moment they figure out how to deal with the monsters and how to rebuild themselves if they could, it''ll be far too late to come and investigate or suppress us. I''ll make sure we''re strong enough to stand on our own when the time comes. I''ll need to get the kids in shape though," I said. "The students?" he asked. "Oh, no, those are nothing but mouths to feed unless they prove their Value. I''ll be recruiting some guys who will be very helpful for us," I said. "Like the person, you gave a weapon to?" he asked. He already knew. "Yes, something like that, I''ll need to leave the Safe Zone for a bit, but I have a small task for you," I said. "It''s been a very long time since someone ordered me to do something for them," John smiled. He was right, as one of the richest and most influential people of the world, no one dared ''order'' him around. "But please, go ahead. What can I do for you?" he asked. "Right, so it''s going to be like this," I began explaining. The Lonely Swordsman I was outside the Safe Zone, armed with a lot of stuff. A bike helmet, a bulletproof vest, bike gloves, knee pads, and military boots. I had a submachine gun strapped to my back, an M4A1. Very reliable Assault Rifle. And a couple of hand guns, one of them was a Desert Eagle because I liked it. In my inventory were a couple of swords with several bottles of the green potion I made. I was already fully healed up, and now ready to do the next part of my plan. The first Phase is a preparation phase, and gaining contribution is the best way to gain power early here. However, a single person cannot save this fucked up world, I need companions, and now I''m going to go find them. I have to admit, shit went way past my expectations. I''ve came back and realized that no amount of planning could have alerted me of what happened to Oakland. Everything I tried to set up was in the thought of shit going down one month from down. And it seems that my actins, of making Oakland a more fortified and more of a safer area against the first assault of the undead backfired big fucking time. I should have honestly seen it coming. Since the preemptive undead strike like last time started by hitting the areas with the most military powers and those that seemed to be capable of holding off even temporarily but finally in vain the assault, they were the first ones hit. And by asking Dilburt to make this damn area as fortified as a military base I was asking to get hit. I had plans to slowly take over the University and making it a hub for the Hunters to gather there, and make it a base. But now that it was hit so early, those plans will have to be adjusted. Damn, this is a wake up call, a good timed one too. I cannot rely on information from what I''ve witnessed. Everything seemed to have changed by just my own presence and knowledge of what was to come. So I''ll need to approach the upcoming trials with more prudence. Thankfully nothing grave happened. And my friends and reliable party are all still alive. But I can''t make mistakes like this again in the future. For now, I''ll need to gather my party and think up of how to proceed from now onwards. I can get two of my old party members right now, they both lived in Oakland. If I''m lucky, they should still be alive. I need to find the God-smith, Katakuri Sakaki. A Japanese weaponsmith is the only one who still uses the old ways of forging weapons. Though he specializes in eastern weapons. His skills were so profound the system gave him his own class. The God-smith''s methods were incredible, and he could literally make diamonds out of coal. He was a great talent to have, able to repair broken weapons and armor like they were nothing, not to mention the fact that he could also forge legendary type weapons. I didn''t need to be afraid that this person might die. Because he was the one who taught me swordsmanship. The second is the most valuable person at my old party and the most annoying in the bunch. The Cleric Class Robert Donson. The fact that he is a cleric is a joke. He has the foulest mouth of everyone I had ever known, and can spit cuss words that would make sailors blush. He fought on the frontlines even if he was supporting, he made everything ten times more problematic, and worst of all, he acted like a god at a party, refusing to heal anyone if they pissed him off. However, he had one thing that could easily sway him. Alcohol. No sane person would ever want someone like him in their party, however, I would upturn the world just to have him join. Because, unlike his disgustingly twisted personality, his supporting class was top-notch, and was among the best of everyone I''ve ever known. Until the day he died. Of all my party members, none of us had died. All thanks to him. Even if it pisses me off to admit it, he was damn good at his job, though he would make us sweat before he acted. I headed out to the north, I needed to go a bit away from the Undead concentration to get to Sasaki first, he lived in a small house outside of the city, since he was using old ways to make weapons he used a lot of coal and his forge released a lot of waste, it was impossible for him to live inside the city because everyone would complain about the fumes. So, I headed out first, I used a bike and hit the accelerator leaving the perimeter of the Safe Zone. The ride toward God-Smith''s house was uneventful, which I''m grateful for. It didn''t take me much time to arrive at his home. Thankfully, there didn''t seem to be any destruction near him. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The undead would flock to areas with a lot of noise, but this place was peaceful. And it was thanks to it that the God-Smith was safe from the events of the first Phase. Or so I thought. Just as I got closer to the shed, I could smell it. The Stench of the curse. Usually, a human body would bloat and start rotting once it hits past the third day. However, with the undead curse, they smelled like crap the moment the curse manifests in them. This stench was not just for show, it was something for the other undead to locate and know who is a friend from a foe. Since not all undead could use Life Signature to know if the one in front of them was another undead, the smell of the curse was enough to cause them to back off from eating each other. It stank here, a lot. Soon, I heard the sound of something hitting the dirt, it was behind the small house. I circled around, and once I saw the scene in front of me, I took a breath of to ease off the stress. I had feared that the God Smith would have been dead by now, but it seemed that my worries were for naught. A man in a blue bloodied kimono was slowly digging a large hole, and around him were the bodies of more than twelve undead. Looking at their clothes, they seemed to be hikers. The man with the shovel didn''t even turn and said, "I have nothing of value, I also don''t want to hurt you, please leave," he said. "I didn''t come here to fight," I said. It was enough for him to turn towards me. "Hmm, if you didn''t come to fight, what''s with all those weapons?" he asked. "Self-Protection," I said. "Is that so¡­" he said. And calmly continued shoveling. I slowly approached him and took note of all the dead undead. If any other person was here, they would be completely shocked. Because, without a weapon of ''mana'' no one would be able to cut the head of the undead, however, the God-Smith was different. Because he had ''true'' skill with the sword. A normal katana in the hand of a sword master is no less deadly than a gun. And if I guessed correctly, the System had probably approved of this man''s skill and gave him the nascent ability to slay these things without the use of mana or a weapon made by the system. "Impressive sword skills," I said. "Not so impressive, it took a few blows to cut their heads off¡­ I never thought a human head could be this hard to cut," he said. "It''s not, it''s the mana around them protecting them," I said as I approached him. He tensed up for a bit, there was a sword strapped to his waist, if I were to make a hasty move I can''t guarantee my survival, I''m powerful, strong, and fast, but against true skill, I might die. I''m not the same person from before the regression. So I''m still within the human scope of reaction and speed, against a master, I will undoubtedly die. I removed my helmet for him to see my face and at the same time expose my ''weak'' point. I placed my guns away and approached him, he was still tensed up, but not as before. "Let me help," I said as I grabbed another shovel and began digging the ground. The two of us continued digging without talking to each other. After an hour or so, the two of us had finished burying all the undead in the courtyard. He looked at me and said, "Do you require a safe house? I can''t promise much, but this is all I have," he said. "How about I''m the one to make that offer," I said. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I come here to recruit you, I want your help, I have a safe house, you can settle in it," I said. The man frowned, "I don''t know you," he said. "But I do," I said. He didn''t believe my words, I mean who would. "How about a duel?" I asked. "That came out of nowhere," he said. "I''ll challenge your dojo," I said. The man turned back to his house and said, "But I don''t have a dojo. It is but a house," he said. "So do you refuse the challenge?" I said. The man sighed and said, "No, come in," he said and walked into the house first. I already knew the inside of this house perfectly, it was a small house with not much furniture. The ground was made of hard waxed wood. The old man waited for me inside the house. I stood at the entrance and removed my shoes. Then walked inside. He smiled at me and went deeper inside. I followed after him until we arrived at a wide room inside his house. It was a simple room, full of dozens upon dozens of swords all hung on the wall. He turned to me and asked me, "Welcome, please pick a weapon," he said. I looked around and didn''t choose any of the katanas on the wall. But I took a kendo wooden sword instead. "Hmm, are you afraid of steel, or injury? I won''t hurt you," he said. "No, I''m afraid that I might hurt you," I smiled. "I like your confidence, ready up," he said. It was only fair because I knew this man, he''ll never use a real sword against humans. He then pulled a wooden sword and our match started. It took us several moments before any of us took the first step, it was only natural. I was trained by this man for a long time, and I knew most of his moves, but he doesn''t know mine. He didn''t dare make the first move until he would gauge my true strength, and I didn''t dare to make the first move since he is pretty capable and can outright counter me if I were to mess up. I needed him to do ''that''. After a few more arduous moments, he moved first. He was fast. He raised his sword over his head, anyone would think that his chest was full of openings then, but unless they knew true kendo, the moment I tried to go for the chest, the sword in his hand will bust my skull open. I dodged to the side which caused him to hesitate, that first move of his was one of his strongest opening moves but with me dodging instead of attempting to go for the ''opening'' I got the advantage. Our swords clashed, once, twice thrice, and more. We went back and forth trying to take the initiative over the other person who always seemed to retaliate by fighting back. Our battle continued for a long time where only the sound of the kendo swords clashing against each other. It continued on until one moment where both our swords struck each other, mine splintered breaking apart while he came down towards my shoulder. His sword stopped before hitting me, and he said. "Impressive¡­however you use too much strength, your sword can''t handle your power. Who was your master?" he asked "It was you," I said smiling, "Katakuri Sasaki, Demon of the Katakuri Clan," I said. The words fell like a waterfall against the man''s head. I knew his past because he was the one who taught me. And now, it''s the moment of truth, I''ll have to wait for his next words. Invitation After the spar, he invited me to his living room. I sat crossed legs next to a tea table that he had and waited for him to prepare tea. Katakuri Sasaki is a very old-fashioned man, traditional to the bone, and upholds respect and honor above all else. Showing courtesy to him and respecting his home and what many would call ''antics'' would be the best method to get closer to befriending him. Crossing him however on any of these matters is the easiest way to make a dangerous enemy. Not many had the right of favor to obtain an item created by his hands back in the day all because of a simple rude gesture, or crossing a certain line. I waited patiently until he arrived with a tray. In it was a small teapot, and a couple of clay mugs. He placed them on the table and sat down. I made sure to be the first to grab the pot before he would pour it for me, and poured his drink first. He seemed to be enjoying this. "Not many are like you, young man," he said. "I was taught to respect the elderly," he said. "You had a good teacher," he added. "It was you," I replied. "Hah," he laughed but I could still see the doubt in his eyes. We both drank tea and didn''t speak. The tea in itself wasn''t something I enjoyed, after all, I''m not a tea person. "You seem to not be enjoying tea," he said. Busted. "It''s alright," I said. "You don''t have to force yourself, I don''t like pretentiousness," he said. "And I don''t like rejecting an offered drink, so it''s okay, also it''s good for the stomach," I said and finished my cup. Soon after he was done, he said to me, "Care to explain, how you know so much, about my school?" he said. "Well, I will be telling you a story, it''s a bit unbelievable, but care to hear me out?" I said. "A story, I would like to hear one, but first," he said and stood up, pulling a long pipe and some strange-looking herbs. "You don''t mind?" he asked. I shook my head, "Enjoy," I said. Once he lit up his pipe he nodded to me to continue. And so I started telling him a story. A story of a world like this one, only much more desperate, and desolate. A world that went through tribulations and trials, and eventually failed in surviving. The story was lengthy, it took several cups of tea and a lot of pipe refills before I finished. And through the whole story, he never spoke a single word, he attentively waited for me to finish my words and once I was done he said. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Interesting story, you seemed to be holding a lot of information, but I respect that," he said. "I know it''s unbelievable," I said. "Oh, no, I believe you," he said. "How come you came to that conclusion?" I asked. "It is because of the spar earlier, your moves, if I didn''t know any better I would have sworn you were a relative of mine from the Sasaki household, but never in their history have they ever accepted¡­well, a white man, as rude as it might sound. They''re all stuck-up fools," he said. "And some of your moves, were my own personal addition to the style, and I''m sure as hell I never had a disciple before," he said. "Well, this makes things far easier," I said. "Then, the I from your world, was a smith," he said. "Yes, the best one," I said. "Good to know that in a past life, even I don''t remember, I was of help. So you wish me to help you again?" he asked. For some reason, I felt that he was going to refuse. "Yes, in all honesty, I don''t think we can win. Even if you''re with us, but without you, we''ll definitely perish, the trials coming are far too great for mere regular weapons to handle," I said. "But I only know how to make Katanas. Though a mighty weapon they are, they are not the best weapon for something like killing monsters," he said. This, the very words he spoke right now, were something that no eastern weaponsmith will ever dare to admit. "You didn''t just craft curved swords," I said, "You made everything, from broad swords to daggers, to armors, that''s is of course after you obtained Vulkan''s Stigma," I said. "What is that?" he asked, "I know Vulkan is a mythical god of the forge, but what is this stigma you speak of?" "Vulkan is a symbol, the symbol of the forge. Think of it as something that was deified after gaining a lot of recognition. A god made from beliefs, a god of the forge. And to have the stigma, you''ll need to do a trial. This trial will only be available after the First Phase is over. So for now you won''t need to do much, but I would like to invite you over to my place," I said. "Why should I?" he asked. "I have everything I need here," he said, "From the forge to the hammer, why would I change my smithy?" he asked. Of course, even in my past life he never changed his smithy, he was so good at his job, that he remained here, the people who wanted to make use of his craftsmanship actually built an entire barricade around this small place, protecting it day and night, so he could work without worrying about the creatures roaming the world. But¡­ "Because you died the last time you did this," I said. He glanced at me and took another puff of his pipe. "I suppose I was too arrogant to leave?" he said. I didn''t wish to be rude, but I had to say it, "Yes, when it comes to being stubborn, you''re the second most stubborn person I know," I said. "Oh, not the first, that''s a bit hurtful," he smiled. "Yeah, the other guy, I''ll need to pick him up afterward, he''s going to be a pain. And¡­he is someone that you really didn''t like back then, so just a heads up." "Interesting, but, I don''t think I could leave my forge," he said, "How would I work then?" he said. "I already made sure that that won''t be an issue, I said then pulled a paper, "I prepared this in advance." It was some things I asked John Dilbert to prepare. Katakuri was a great smith, and thanks to his talent he got a lot of wealth and managed to upgrade his forge later in my first round. Compared to the upgraded forge he had, the one he has now is garbage. However, by using some of Dilbert''s influence and money, I was able to make even the unmovable man Katakuri gawk at what was in the paper. "You¡­ have all of this ready?" he asked. "Yes, and more of it to come, consider it a small upgrade to your forge, once the Mana is more abundant I''ll upgrade it even more so you''ll be able to forge metals that you have never seen before in your life, what do you think?" I said. "It feels like there is a condition attached to this," he said. I shook my head, "All for free. I don''t have a condition, all I have is a request," I said. "What is this request?" he asked. "I wish that you would always give priority to me and my party when forging items. As for the money regarding your payment, I''ll be paying you full pay, and won''t ask for a reduction." "Your conditions are too good to be true," he said. "I don''t want to be greedy when it comes to my own survival," I said. "Then¡­ how about I think about it?" he said. "Of course," I said and then gave him something from my bag. "If you wish to join me, use this, channel 8008, once you make contact, someone will come to pick you up," I said as I stood up. It was a radio. "Oh, these still work?" he said. "Yes, unlike regular phones, anyway, I''ll have to leave, for now, I still need to pick up another comrade," I said. He nodded at me and stood up, leading me all the way to the exit. I thanked him and then left making sure not to turn my bike''s engine until I was far away from his place lest the sound draws more creatures. Through the Horde Next guy, this one, It''s not going to be as easy. I then headed out, my destination was a church. It was pretty far up, and almost at the other side of the town, it was going to take a while to get there. I started the engine and headed out. Unlike the peaceful road, I had arrived at Katakuri''s place, this one was far more dangerous. The roads were empty, and the streets felt dead, however they still brimmed with walkers. Undead roamed the streets and noticed my arrival from a distance away. The bike''s loudness was enough to pull the attention of every freak in the way. I sped through the roads as fast as I could, accelerating whenever needed and taking turns and curves to avoid the masses of undead. I can''t afford to be tackled by an undead. So I always made sure to keep away from the most packed groups. I even had to make stops and go back due to some streets being too full of undead. The plague of the undead curse was too much for this city and it was hit damn hard. A lot of civilians lost their lives, and many more will follow due to hunger, assault, murder, and worse. The worst monsters aren''t the undead, it''s humans themselves. Afraid humans retaliate, and they retaliate hard. Expressing the worse of their nature in the worst of ways. People would do all in their power to guarantee their survival, even at the expense of someone else. It is their nature. After a couple of hours of changing directions, the worst-case scenario happened. The bike throttled and seemed to be dying on me. It wasn''t a problem of gas; it was absurd dumb luck. The bike died due to some internal problem. I can''t fix this, because first, I don''t know how, second, I don''t have the time for it. I was not that far from the church, so I could make it on foot before nightfall. I discarded the bike after taking everything I needed from it, then moved out of the way before the undead started flocking my way. I needed to get inside a building. I looked around, most houses had their windows broken, and they certainly were infested with undead. And the few that were still preserved, were preserved for a reason. The owners probably had weapons at the ready, and I''m still not bulletproof. I moved as fast as I could towards the nearest alley and went through it. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. A couple of undead were feasting on the corpse of a young girl, a couple of swings with the mana-coated sword ended their lives as allowing me a breather to think of what to do next. I still had several blocks I needed to cross, it wouldn''t take more than ten minutes usually, but now, I was looking at very slow grinding progress since I couldn''t just run there. I slowly made my way to the end of the alley, peeked at the streets, and found no undead around, or at least not close by. So I moved up ahead. There was a metro station nearby, however, those are death traps even if it could lead me pretty close to the church, I can''t afford to go down there. I had to stay overground where I had space to move, and not down where all paths to survival were bound by luck. I hastily crossed the street to the next block, then slowed down making my way. Iwas hugging the walls of one side of the street while making sure that no undead would notice me. Safe for now. I progressed slowly, and carefully. And once I approached the porch of a certain house, I heard a voice, "BOY DON''T YOU DARE GO SNEAKING UP ON US LIKE THAT! I HAVE A GUN!" someone shouted. I looked at the man, who was peaking from a window, "I''m not here to invade your property, I''ll be leaving." I said. "You better piss off!" he said. I didn''t argue further and left the porch. No reason to get physical or angry. A man protecting his house is dangerous. Soon I arrived to the end of the street, I needed to take a turn to the left, but the moment I peeked, I realized how impossible that was. A fuckton of undead swarming the only passage leading towards the church on the end of this street. The worst part was, I was noticed. By an undead with the ability to locate life signature nonetheless. "Shit," I cursed. I looked around and was about to go back from where I came, but that''ll probably only bring trouble to that old man inside that house. I spotted a sewer entrance in the middle of the street, so I hurried towards it and stabbed my sword on the side. With a powerful pushdown, the sewer cover popped up and I was able to slide inside it while dragging the sewer cover back on top of me. Undead swarmed the space above me in no time. "Okay, looking good so far," I muttered to myself. Entering sewers was far more dangerous than the subway system. However, I had a couple of reasons why I had to. First, because they could lead me all the way to the sewers next to the church. Second, it''s because the undead won''t infest these sewers this early in the phase. So I trusted my judgment and lit up a flashlight that I placed under my sub-machine gun. I slowly moved forward through the grim and scum of the sewers. The stench was awful and would make anyone wretch. But I was used to worse than this smell, so it wasn''t much. I progressed slowly forward, making sure to clear the areas around me. I had to clear every corner and progress slowly lest I would miss a creature that could be prowling these sewers. My progress was faster than before, however, I still made sure to keep my pace steady. And it took me a couple of hours and an exhausted mind from focusing and being alert all that time before I arrived at my destination. The sewer opening I was under didn''t seem to have any undead above it, but I couldn''t be too careful. So, I slowly got up the stairs of the sewer and pushed up the lid. I sneaked a peek around and noticed that most undead were pretty far away from me. But they still managed to track me. Like I mentioned before they have life signature tracking, and even going underground wasn''t enough to deceive that gaze. Thankfully the majority were dumb enough not following after me from overground, and waited at the other side of the entrance. A good portion of them tracked me however. I only had one chance, so I pushed the lid and legged it towards the church as fast as I could. The Drunk Priest The church was in the middle of its own field, a large land that only the church occupied and was far away from any other building. The church was white as marble and didn''t seem too disturbed by what was happening. Any believer would think it was protected by God, but the moment they get there, they''ll be sorely disappointed. I rushed to the church as fast as I could. It was already barricaded and locked shut. Good. All the windows were fortified and thankfully were high enough that nothing but a fully evolved low-tier undead could get to. Meaning that so far, there shouldn''t be any means for anyone to get inside unless they could climb. I looked up at the church, there was a window on the tower of the church that was open. I then began my climb from the side of the church. I used the boards that were used to fortify the window as stepping methods and climbed upwards. Once I got to the top of the window, I hurled myself upwards to the tiled roof of the church. Then I slowly made my way toward the tower. The undead that swarmed the church stayed watching me for a long time unable to break through the church''s fortified walls. Once I got to the window, I peeked in, there didn''t seem to be anyone within the tower so I jumped inside. Once I got in, I went looking around, there didn''t seem to be anyone on the top floor. I slowly made my way down, until I heard people speaking in low tones. Sounds of scared people and worried ones were all over the place, these were the people who hid in the church from the abominations outside. Thinking that God is going to save them. "Who are you?" I heard, it came from behind me, I was even surprised that someone was actually able to sneak up behind me. "I''m just someone here to help," I said. "Help," the man said, "There is no such thing, when the world turned to shit, fuck that," he said. From his cursing, I grinned, I already found him. "Michal," I said. "Huh? Who the fuck are you, and how do you know my name?" he asked. I slowly turned around with both hands up, "Because we were partners, in our past lives," I said. Michal looked far younger than I remembered him. He was wearing the black dress of a Father and was holding a rifle to my face. The man looked at me with a face full of disgust, "The fuck are you spouting," he said. "Well, you wouldn''t know since, I''m from the future, but I can tell you a great deal about what''s going on," I said. The man looked at me like I was some weird alien but didn''t speak. "Here, a token of gratitude," I said as I pulled my backpack. "Don''t move! Put your hands away! I''m warning you!" he said. I ignored his threat but still slowly pulled something from my bag. Once he saw what I pulled he slowly put down his gun. "Huh, what do you mean by that, you know that I''m a man of church!" he said, the words betraying his greedy eyes. It was a bottle of wine, some really good stuff too. "What, so you don''t want?" I said teasingly. "I suppose a glass won''t be that much of a hassle, god is forgiving after all," he said. I smiled at him and we headed into his private chambers. There were many empty bottles of wine there, which he cleared rather abruptly and rapidly. And acted like there was nothing there. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Anyway, tell me," he said as he pulled a couple of glasses and began pouring wine, rather he poured himself twice the amount as he did for my own cup. Greedy bastard. "Who the hell are you?" he asked as he began drinking. "I''m someone who came to help, and before doing that I''ll need you to come with me, simple as that," I said. "Right, right, and I''m supposed to just say yes because of a couple of drinks? Right?" he said. "Well, to be completely honest, yes, why not, I have more where that came from," I said. Anyone with a molecule worth of brain would have outright refused me and said screw you. "Oh, okay, why not," he said shrugging. I expected this. "Nice, I have a safe place where you can go and you''ll be safe from all this clusterfuck until the first phase is over," I said. "Right, and I suppose we''ll take all the people with us, that''s going to be hard," he said. "No, I can''t take anyone else besides you," I said. The words were a cold sobering reality for him as he frowned. "So, you expect me to just walk the fuck away, and leave all these people here to die?" he said. Yep, still the same old Michal, as long as he has people to protect, he''ll never give up a single one of them. Though he can be the most infuriating person to ever be around, he, down deep is a good man. I sighed, this was going to be hard, "We can''t take them, they''re too many, I can''t even fully guarantee the survival of just the two of us, but all of the people here? It''s impossible, not to mention¡­ they don''t have the requirements." "Ah, the Safe Zone," he said. "You know about it?" I said, genuinely surprised. "Yes, rumors spread fast you know," he said, "But I don''t think I can do that, fuck that even. Who are you guys to decide the fate of people, don''t start telling me shit about the greater good, I know more about it than you do," he said. "Don''t worry, I know you do. However, I can''t take them in, they''re weak, they''re useless, nothing but mouths to feed, I''m not a saint, nor the messiah, I can''t save everyone," I said. "Then fuck off, we''ll survive on our own," he said. I frowned, he was being uncooperative, and if I make him more agitated he''ll never join my side. "If we stay here¡­" I said," The undead will soon break through, can you save them?" I said. "No, but I''ll do my best to keep them alive," he said. And I knew he was speaking the truth, although vile, and foul-mouthed, this man, as long as he lived, no one dies. I was in a tight spot, I can''t save them all, it was almost impossible. "How many are there?" I asked. "About twenty," he said. "I can take them in, but under one condition," I said. "They''ll have to earn their stay in the Safe Zone, I don''t care if they toil and slave for it, I don''t care if they end up cleaning toilets. Everyone entering the safe zone has to prove their Value. It''s for their own good," I said. "There are children there," he said. "Anyone without a status screen is as good as dead when the next phase starts. And without contribution points, they can''t have status Screens, so what''s good is saving them when they''ll do nothing to prove their value," I explained. "You''ll have to tell them that then," he said. "And unless you convince everyone to leave this place, I''m not going," he said. "You really were and still an annoying bastard," I said. "You''re acting as you know me," he said. "I told you before, I''m from the future, Father," I said, "Might as well call you by your real name, Michal Abraham," I said. Michal frowned, "How do you know my full name," he asked. "Because you told it to me, the day you died. Anyway," I said. "I''ll do my best." I then got out of his office and headed down. The people downstairs looked at me dumbfoundedly, they realized I wasn''t someone that belonged to their group. And before I could even speak, "It''s you, what happened, did your safe place get run over now you came here to hide!" it was a woman. The same woman I kicked out yesterday along with her child. ''hmm, they survived actually, impressive.'' "I came here to offer you a place in the Safe Zone, and no it''s still fine," I said. "Why should we trust you, you threw us away like we''re garbage yesterday," she said. She sure does know how to hold a grudge. "Yesterday and today are different, however, the stay won''t be free," I said. "We can''t get a thousand points! That''s suicide! You want us to die! Just leave us alone, we''re fine here," she said. That was an obvious lie. "So you think you''re fine," I said addressing her and the rest of the people here. "For how long? A day? Two? Maybe a week, then when your food is over, what will you do? Go out and scavenge? When you''re surrounded by a horde of undead? Or wait, can you even survive for a week?" I said. And immediately as a confirmation of my words, the undead began battering at the doors and windows of the church. "These are weak undead, but they''ll grow stronger every day, while you''ll grow weaker, and weaker, from malnutrition, fatigue, and anxiety. They''ll break one day, and you''ll all fall prey to them, then how are you going to survive?" I said. Then looked at the crucifix, "Pray as you may, no god will save you from this fate if you don''t save yourself," I said. The words were heavy, and they knew it because they prayed and prayed and prayed some more, but no one came to help. "I can offer you a road of survival, but unless you walk down this road, you''ll die," I said. "What do you mean? Say we agree to go to the safe zone, how are we going to escape this horde?" one of the people in the church said. "I''ll be responsible for that, but first, I need you guys to know something, I have said it before and I''ll say it again, staying in the Safe Zone isn''t free, you''ll have to earn your stay, if it''s killing monsters, scavenging for food, cleaning clothes and making food, you''ll have to work for it. Nothing is free, not anymore, now do you want to stay here, or do you want to survive," I said. The group was agitated, here looked safe, but it was only safe for now, outside was dangerous, but there was a promise of a safer place. What would they do? "If we follow you¡­" the woman said, "What guarantees that we won''t die on the way?" she asked. "Nothing, actually there is a very big chance that you all might die, but that depends on your will to survive," I said simply and clearly. The words were heavy, and the people here knew, there was no such thing as an easy way out. Live Bait Now, gather all your stuff, and prepare to leave, but I recommend that you travel lightly, we''ll need to get to a sewer system nearby, it''s the only way out of this mess, but we''ll need to cross open field before we get there," I said. The woman spoke, "Those monsters are all over the place, how can we get through them? most of us, if not all of us will die before one of us could get to escape," she declared. "No, if you''re fast enough, none of you will die, I''ll make sure of it, anyway, get your stuff packed, we''ll be leaving in half an hour," I said then turned to Michael and said, "I need a moment with you," I said. He nodded and comforted the people, when it is about his holy job, he is a saint, but anything else, this man''s mouth curses so much it''ll make a drunken sailor blush. The two of us got to his room, and he asked. "What''s your plan?" he asked. "I''ll make a diversion, is there any way out of this place? Like a backdoor?" I asked. Michael shook his head, "None of the sorts, why?" he asked. "Hmm, I''ll be using the same way I got in then, the undead will follow life signature, and would rather chase after a live bait than a hidden one. You''ll need to make the best of the opportunity I''ll be making you, there is a manhole right in the middle of the street across from the church, can you get everyone in it in say, three minutes?" I asked. "It''ll take a miracle to do that, but I''ll do what I can, but you''ll need to explain more, I can''t just blindly trust you, you know," he spoke. He had a point, "Then, don''t do anything until you see all the undead in front of your gate had left, okay?" "Right," he said still skeptical. "Anyway, you have a bible on you?" I asked. "I would hardly take you as a man of religion," he said. "Just grab one, and grab one of your crosses, the fanciest one you have, and take them along with you," I said. "For what reason? Believe me, I tried, even if I had my doubt if it would work, trying to exorcise these things was really futile," he said. "It''s not about exorcism, it''s about symbolism, you''ll need a cross and a bible, and a fuck ton of belief. Get the cleanest bible you have and the best-looking or decorated cross you can carry with you. You''ll thank me for this later," I said. He agreed and began rummaging through his stuff, making sure to sneak a chug of the wine bottle whenever he had the chance to. I checked my gear and the weapons I had on me, the ones in my inventory and on my backpack. After making sure everything was there and ready, I calmly waited for the time to start this almost suicidal mission. Time ticked slowly as if to add more to everyone''s anxiety, thirty minutes felt short, but at the same time, absurdly long. Everyone downstairs was half panicking making sure that all their belongings were packed not that they had many of them in the first place. The kids were reassured by their fear-stricken parents and were put at ease with comforting words. I then cursed myself for making an absurd mistake earlier. When I handed Katakuri my only radio. I should have kept it with me and used it now to ask for reinforcements from Dilbert, a few trucks would have made this far easier. But I immediately thought against it, they''ll need to make way into a massive horde of undead which isn''t simple, to save a few useless citizens. I couldn''t be greedy to ask those people to sacrifice their lives for people they didn''t know and wouldn''t be of any use in the near future. Dilbert would need the most he can from the people around him, and I can''t be that type of a person who''ll use that personnel for my own reasons. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. I was mostly giving excuses to myself for stupidly giving away the only radio I had, but it was worth it, Katakuri''s life is extremely important and so is his allegiance. John would probably send a large force to save him and would not have much personnel left for the Safe Zone''s safety. If I ask for more I''ll stretch his already small force too thin, and this would cause problems in case of a breach. The timer for the thirty minutes was up, and I declared, "Everyone, be ready, keep a lookout outside and make sure to only move when there are no undead or if the path is clear enough for you to make a break for the manhole," I said. The group fearfully yet adamantly nodded. "Michael, I''ll leave the rest to you," I said and I climbed up the church''s tower. Once I was outside, I shuddered at the sight. The church was surrounded by hundreds of undead and it wasn''t going to be an easy task to pull all of these away without risking it. I slowly made my way to the back of the church where there were a few undead then climbed down as fast as I could. "HEY, FUCKERS!" I shouted, "Come at me!" and then legged it. A few undead followed me, but not all, making me rather annoyed that I needed to pull the aggro off even more. I turned to the first few undead, decapitating them in an instant. And then shoved my sword in the chest of one with blue shining eyes. This was good because what happened next made it far easier to pull their aggro. The blue-eyed undead was an evolved undead of the bunch, he was still a low tier undead, but he had one thing that I needed, he had the ability to see life signature and at the same time a semblance of leadership towards the rest of the undead. The sword piercing through his chest was enough to elicit a pained screech that pulled all the undead attention towards him. I stabbed him a few more times and it was enough to cause the majority of the undead in the area to come my way. Once that happened I made my way further back to pull them towards me even more. I couldn''t see if the church''s front had been emptied out of undead, but looking at the mass of undead that were coming my way, they''ll at least have lessened the pressure there. Once I was far away after cutting the head of more than a dozen more undead I stopped and made sure all the undead coming my way had their eyes on me. "Right, it''s time to use that," I mumbled and pointed my hand forward. "{Feast}" I cast, and immediately, my right hand turned darker than black, as it gained a layer almost like a glove. I felt a sharp line opening in the middle of my palm and immediately, my hand increased in size, but not weight, and I elongated shooting towards the first few undead. The hand transformed into a massive jaw that chomped on the group of undead, then continued chomping on the rest, gulping audibly. It ate the undead without even chewing and continued biting. But it didn''t last for long, as my hand shuddered and I received a notification.
[Use Time for absorbed skill {Chomp} has been exhausted.] [The Skill {Chomp} had entered cooldown.] [Cooldown Duration (1) hour]
The massive dark form of my hand snapped back and returned to normal. "Shit," I cursed, it wasn''t a mana-related skill but a timed one these are the worst, they can be used without needing resources but they usually had long cooldowns. It''s good that I learned a new thing about this skill but damn does it suck. I ignored the notification for now because what I did was good enough to make me the center of attention. I then spotted something from between the hoard of undead. The people from the church were running across the street. Good, now I just need to keep the undead''s aggro on me for a while. And I made damn sure of that, by culling any undead that got close. If I was in my prime, I could have easily destroyed this whole undead wave in less than ten seconds, but I''m far from that. The best I can do is take out a good portion of them before I fall to exhaustion, and I can''t do that here. I cut, slashed, decapitated, and slew as many undead as I could, as I moved around, making sure to keep my distance from the bulk of the undead group, if I were to make a single mistake and get caught between them I''ll die. I then pointed my hand again, {Grappling Hook}. A massive chain with a crooked-looking hook manifested from within the small jaws in my hand. The hook didn''t seem heavy at all as I carried it, so I hurled it forward, and it shot with enough speed that it actually penetrated through the chests of several undead as if they were a brochette. I grabbed the end of the chain and yanked on it, causing the hook to snap back, tearing through the undead it had penetrated before but at the same time making sure not to pull all of them towards me. The hook snapped back into the mouth of my palm, and I used it again, this time cleaving through the undead with mighty weight. I had an interesting thought afterward, and I made sure to try it. The chains had made a good dent into the undead hoard that would be filled pretty soon if I didn''t capitalize on it. I rushed through the opening towards the church and summoned the hook again. I threw it upwards towards the church''s tower, and it bore through the concrete as if it was butter. I then pulled the hook, but instead of pulling the whole tower towards me, I was pulled towards the tower, snapping towards it with incredible speed. "Shit!" I cursed as I almost flew above the crowd of undead and headed straight for the tower, face first. What Lives In the Dark Thankfully, the chains coiled around the hook rapidly making a black cushion that stopped me from crashing face-first into the concrete. The metallic chains somehow became softer than cotton as I landed against them, and soon the skill disabled itself. It still didn''t enter cooldown as the notification hadn''t appeared. It seems I still have some time to use it again. I hurried across the church''s roof and looked at the street, the people of the church were hurriedly going down the manhole, but they clearly weren''t fast enough, there were many still out, and whoever was going down wasn''t doing it fast enough. A few undead were also coming their way. I jumped from the church''s roof and landed on top of an unaware undead, as I used him to soften my fall. I rolled forward and hurried towards the group. "Hurry! THE FUCK! UP!" I shouted as more undead were coming their way. I shot forward towards the closest undead, ripping his head off with my sword, then charged towards another. The group hurried as much as they could but at this rate, we''ll have a few casualties. I continued fighting against the undead close to the manhole but more were coming and we''ll be surrounded in no time. Michael was doing a great job using his rifle as he blasted the head off of any undead that came too close. Any other smaller gun wouldn''t have done much damage, but his rifle''s Calibur was thankfully large enough to take them down on point blank. But a rifle alone wasn''t going to save him, not even an automatic rifle could because these undead seems to have gained the ability to become immune to bullets as showcased by a few that were shot in the head and rose back up as if nothing had happened. There were more than six or seven more trying desperately to get into the sewers, but the undead were too close. I then used the hook skill again, this time I grabbed the hook and had it go right through the tunnel''s cover. "DUCK EVERYONE!" I shouted then yanked the manhole towards the nearest undead group. Then I spun around myself, causing the inertia to do the rest. Michael understood what I was about to do and immediately shouted for everyone to go under. Which they did reluctantly, but thankfully fast enough One man, however, was too slow on the uptake and Michal threw himself over the old man causing him to drop low enough for my chain to go right above his head. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The chain and manhole tore through the undead group as if they were made from soft styrofoam. This gave us a few more seconds to work with, which the group thankfully used to the best of their ability. They rushed down, one after another and some of them even decided it would be best to throw themselves inside instead of using the metalic stairs. Though the drop was painful it was far better than being killed. Michal went down after making sure everyone was down, and I followed after him and yanked the chain down, causing the manhole that was pinned to the edge to follow the chain and snap right on top of us, closing the sewers shut.
[The skill {Grappling Hook} has entered cooldown]
A notification came to inform me of the skill''s duration being over, and then the chains immediately dissolved back into my hand.
[You''re close to experience the signs of {Dark Hunger}]
''Shit, this again. The hand just consumed a dozen undead,'' I cursed. Thankfully it was just the signs of it, not the real crippling hunger. So I was still good to go. I turned my flashlight on and made sure that everyone was there. "Good, I guess we made it," I said. Everyone seemed rather happy and was cheering, but I had to cut that out, "Shut up," I said. "You''ll draw attention, though we''re technically safe from the undead, they can still see us. Anyway, let''s move," I said "If you have flashlights, or your phones, use them to light the way, stay close, and if you hear anything or see anything out of the ordinary make sure to notify us, but most importantly, stay close!" I gave the call and then headed out. I then made my way between the group and headed out to the front. Michal followed after me immediately. "That was an interesting thing you have, what is that?" he asked. "It''s a skill, something you''ll learn from the system once you have it, anyway. A reason to push everyone to gain contribution points, and means and tools to survive," I said as we moved forward. "I can guide us to a safe spot, but I don''t know if the sewers have been infested with the undead yet, so we''ll need to make it fast, keep everyone moving," I gave the order, and Michael though older than my current age, followed without a question. It was a trait of his, he has the nastiest personality, but when someone ''proves'' themselves, Michael can listen to orders, if only that usually lasted for at most an hour. Our journey through the sewers thankfully was uneventful. We kept on moving for hours, and I seriously was impressed with the sewer system, not the smell mind you. We were knee-deep in shit, and moving was pretty hard, but we still moved forward, slowly but surely we moved. We had a few jumpscares, but they were all from people who had something touching their legs, it was the sewers so of course, it was full of random crap. "I heard that there are crocodiles in the city sewer system," Michael said. "You think a crocodile would be willing to swim through shit and piss? No, also if crocodiles were here that''ll be the least of our worries, lets''s keep moving," I said as I moved up ahead. I was following a map in my hand, and we seemed to be making great progress to the safe zone. Until we arrived at a crossed section of the sewer system. I then heard something plopping from our left, and when I pointed my flashlight. "Oh C''mon! for real?!" "Ah¡­told you," Michael said as he saw what I was seeing. It was a crocodile, not your regular-sized one. One that was so massive in size I was surprised this thing could even exist. And it was looking at us, rather¡­greedily. Return "Get moving," I spoke, calmly, "It won''t attack unless we give it a reason to," I said. Michael started urging the people to move up ahead while I had to remain behind. The crocodile wasn''t your regular crocodile, like I mentioned, those don''t live in sewers that''s just a myth, this thing, however, is a system created. The crocodile growled in a low tone, it was debating whether to devour us all or let us be. Not all creatures are aggressive by nature, most are pretty self-preserving and would rather not dive into a whole mob of creatures it didn''t fully understand, nor could It recognize as prey. The crocodile''s eyes were slowly scanning the people around me, going left to right as they walked behind. I made sure to remain facing the crocodile with my sword in hand, I could probably take it out easily, it doesn''t require a great effort to kill it, even if it looked as big as a car, it was still slow and easy to eliminate. The crocodile must have realized this too, a creature that didn''t look afraid of it, didn''t escape in panic was standing calmly in front of it. It didn''t attack, but the human also didn''t attack, it was a stalemate that no one wanted to break. Soon, the group had all disappeared from behind me, and I slowly began making my way walking backward. The crocodile decided that it would be a good opportunity to take a step forward, but I immediately stopped the moment it raised its leg. There was no way I was going to show this thing that I was afraid, I am only withdrawing because I don''t want to fight, not that I can''t fight back. The crocodile seemed to have understood this, and slowly placed its foot back, hissing as it withdrew its form back. Soon, I made it away from the closed tunnel and was back with the group. They didn''t look all too good, especially after having seen something so scary. "Keep going ahead, don''t look back," I said as I made sure to keep a watch behind us for at least a while longer, making sure nothing was following us. Soon, I headed to the front of the group, "Michal, get someone to watch our backs, here," I said as I handed him a flashlight. The priest did as asked and delegated a middle-aged man to the task. The old man didn''t complain or bicker and readily accepted the job and went to the back of the group walking backward while aiming his flashlight at the end of the sewer tunnel. We took several detours, and several pathways until we arrived at our destination. It was a sewer exit that was pretty close to the safe zone. Thankfully, the sewers are still relatively safe. Soon, however, they''ll be infested with undead and rats¡­ Wait, not the rats, we already killed their brood mother. Now it will be just undead. I slowly got up the ladder leading up to the sewer exit, then pushed it up. Looking at the skies, it was already dark. Damn, we spent a long time in the sewers. "Follow me," I said as I got up and out of the sewers. Then the rest of the people followed after us. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. There were no undead in this area, thankfully, the forces of the Safe Zone did a great job at keeping the Undead at bay, and from the looks of things, the area is still looking pretty solid. There weren''t any humans walking the area and no undead either, it was quiet for now. Our group headed towards the gate of the Safe Zone and we were immediately lit up in tower lights. The guards at the gate pointed their tower lights at us and one of them spoke, "This is a private area! Remove yourself or be removed!" he spoke. "It''s me," I said as I approached and removed my biker helmet. "Oh, Lucas, one moment," the guard said and waved at someone behind the gate. Soon, it screeched open, and we were given access to the Safe Zone. Just as the people walked behind the gate, most of them fell to their knees, sobbing and crying. The pent-up stress of the days they spent in that horror having finally ended, was enough to break that dam they had raised to block the emotions of frustration and injustice incurred upon them by a world they never knew existed. I could understand that, but I had to be the villain in this story. For the survival of everyone. "Don''t relax, get cleaned up, you''ll be given a room where you''ll all be waiting in. Everyone here will go through a rigorous body search for wounds, and once you''re all set up, in comes morning you''ll be given your first tasks. As I said, the stay here isn''t free," I said. Though I sounded rude, brash, and pretty commanding, these people, who were given a new lease on life, appreciate it. "Thank you!" an old man spoke, "We''ll never forget this," they said. "Thank you, young man, you saved our lives," another said. And the thanks continued. I sighed and extracted myself from the group. I''m not a fan of drama. Sooner than later, Mom and Dad came rushing toward me. "Son, you''re back!" Mom said. "Yeah, I told you I needed to do something," I said. She looked behind me at the group of people and said, "Why are you going yourself, there are a lot of capable people here, why do you have to risk yourself, let the others do it!" she said, panicking clear in her voice. I sighed, I could understand her worry. But I don''t know how to even tell her¡­ "Honey, you know for a fact, from what Mr, Dilbert had said. No one can do a better job than Lucas, let him be," Dad said. "But he''s been going outside to where the monsters are, why can''t he just stay here. Where it''s safe!" she said, "You want to kill me with worry don''t you!" she said scolding. "Mom," I spoke, in a cold tone, I appreciate her worry, but this is too much, "Only I can do this. Do you think that people who don''t know anything can do this? Can help prepare for this? Can even stay calm in such a situation? You think I don''t also want to stay in a safe area away from the monsters?" I said. "Then why are you going out!" she said. "BECAUSE I HAVE TO!" I said shouting back which caught her and dad by surprise. "Because only I can do it, because only I can give us a sodding chance at survival. Only I can do it, so please¡­ stop worrying, I''m not the type who''ll die in a random ditch somewhere. I''m not that weak." I said. She didn''t seem to be accepting of my words and was on the brink of tears, but this had to be done. I''m not some sheltered princess, hell, relatively I''m older than my own parents if that even makes sense. They can''t be dictating how my life goes. "I''ll be heading back in, I need to clean up," I said. "We still need to talk about this," mom said. "No, we don''t, it''s done and over with, I made my mind and I''m not changing it. Life is good when one is hiding behind walls, but to keep these walls a few must work hard to keep them standing, and I''m the best one for it," I said and walked away. I soon entered the main building rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Had a fight?" I heard. It was Vivian. She was wearing a pajama and had a completely different vibe than when she was in her formal dress. "Just your regular parent-children fight, nothing to worry about," I said. "Interesting, anyway the person you asked us to bring is already here," she said. "Wait, really?" I said surprise clear in my voice. "Yes, why you weren''t expecting him to come or something?" she said. "Something along those lines, he isn''t easy to deal with," I said. "You''re right about that, he is a bit too cold and aloof, a bit too hard to deal with," she said. "Yeah, Sasaki has always been like that, but he is a good guy, anyway, I''ll need to meet up with him soon," I said. "He''s in the furnace thing room, I don''t know what''s the deal with all those hammers and screws," she said. She clearly didn''t understand the value of weaponry and armor crafting, it''s normal, people from her world wouldn''t ever think of wielding swords and carrying armor, those are the dreams of the poor. She would never wish to be a knight in shining armor or a hero, in her world she was already one. "It''s something important, needed for the world to come," I said and headed towards the smithy. Conversation The smithy was located in a building a block away from the main Dilbert building. It was a wide house with a large backyard that had the top of art smithing machines, hydraulic presses, and a giant blast furnace. Not to mention all the other tools and other things that I couldn¡¯t even name if my life depended on it. The place looked like a treasure trove for a person who knew how to use these things. And from the wide smile on Sasaki¡¯s face, I knew he liked it here. ¡°What do you think?¡± I spoke. He didn¡¯t even turn to face me and replied as he gazed at the massive furnace. ¡°Very good stuff, some of these pieces I only saw in galleries and as prototypes in magazines,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s the power of money, I hope you like it in here,¡± I said. ¡°I do, but, I can¡¯t use the whole facility alone¡­ I¡¯ll need some help,¡± he said. He turned to me only to find me widely grinning, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about help, I have some people who can assist you, you can work them to the bone, and they¡¯ll be thankful for it, I¡¯ll send you a group of workers, kick anyone you don¡¯t like,¡± I said. ¡°Right then, that would be for the best,¡± he said. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll need to show you some things regarding Mana Smithing,¡± I said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say no to a chance to learn more,¡± he said. I then got closer to him and gave him a Mana Crystal. ¡°This will soon become one of the most sought materials in the world. And will probably replace currency as we know it. Mana crystals come in different colors, for now, this clear transparent one is the basic one, it has some mana in it that can be fused with weapons to make them sturdier, can be mixed with herbs to make potions, and can also be used to regenerate lost mana,¡± I gave the old man a piece. ¡°These will be always found in mines, they are the lowest quality, but they are abundant. The higher tier will only come from killing monsters that created Mana Cores, monsters that live long enough will be able to slowly accumulate mana in their bodies and create cores, the older, or the more powerful a monster is, the purer the mana core within them become. And those can be used to make even more potent and more powerful weapons and armors,¡± I explained in detail. Sasaki never interrupted me and listened attentively to all I had to say. Once my explanation was over, ¡°Do you have any questions?¡± I said. ¡°I would be lying if I said I don¡¯t, especially with how much you know about this, but everyone has their secrets,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to keep any secrets, if you ask me something I know of I¡¯ll answer you,¡± I replied calmly. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll not ask about the future, for now, I feel it¡¯ll make me even more confused, but what I¡¯ll ask about is, how does one fuse this mana crystal into a weapon? Do I have to re-melt the whole thing and re-make it?¡± he asked. ¡°That would be the optimal and best way to make a mana weapon, however, the simple fact of breaking the crystal against the weapon will cause the steel to absorb some of it, it wastes a lot of the crystal¡¯s potential but it will allow the weapon the ability to easily cut through the mana protection of monsters,¡± I said. ¡°Mana protection?¡± Sasaki asked. ¡°The monsters, you must have realized, are pretty sturdy, and they¡¯ll get sturdier by the day, enough that bullets and grenades wouldn¡¯t harm them, then later, sturdy enough that a nuclear explosion would probably make them stronger than even harm them, the mana from the system fully negates any none-mana made item and will make the monsters invulnerable. That is why weapons made using Mana Infusion are a great tool to help defend against the monsters and slay them,¡± I said. ¡°This is an interesting topic, how many of these crystals do you have and do you know the exact ratio I need to add to the furnace to have a good weapon?¡± he asked. I shook my head, ¡°Sadly I know not of the ratio, but I do have enough for you to figure out a baseline,¡± I said as I pulled my Inventory and poured the activated mana crystals, I got form the dungeon. I gave Sasaki Thirty of them and kept ten for myself. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I know this isn¡¯t exactly enough to do full trial and error to figure out the ratios, but it¡¯s something you can use, for now, we could use some swords or any types of weapons that you can mass produce. Spears are the best since they¡¯re easy to use for the common people, and they don¡¯t need a lot of metals nor will they require a skilled person to make, even a daft urban person can make a spear if taught well,¡± I said. ¡°Well said, spears are easy to make for starting. I¡¯ll see what I can do with these, for now, I should be able to figure out good mana to metal ratio, but since I don¡¯t know what makes a good weapon, I¡¯ll be bothering you to come and take a look every now and then,¡± he said. ¡°Oh, yes of course, now I¡¯ll see if I can get you the help you need, I still have a lot of things to do,¡± I said. I soon said goodbye to Sasaki and left him to his work. I needed to make sure that the rest of the people I brought were following the guard''s orders and requests. And then I needed to have a sit with Michal. I¡¯ll be needing to explain many things to him. I left the Furnace area and headed back to the main building. Before I walked into the building, I saw something interesting. Many of the kids from yesterday¡¯s venture were moving about, cleaning the entirety of the building. From removing dust and cleaning the glass and entrance to managing some of the inventory outside the building to even outright doing combat practice in the courtyard. Though their form was weak, and they looked to be struggling to follow the commands of Mr Dilbert¡¯s military personnel, they were doing their best to keep up. I was soon noticed by the officer handling them and he gave me a salute. That must be something ingrained in him from his days in the military. I saluted back and walked away. ¡°DON¡¯T SLACK OFF PUT YOUR SHOULDERS IN IT! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!¡± came the officer¡¯s words and everyone in the courtyard did their best to follow. ¡°Things are turning out better than expected,¡± I muttered then I walked into the building. I asked a couple of the guards where I can find Michal, and was pointed to go up. He seemed to be with Mr. Dilbert for now. Once I got all the way to Mr. Dilbert¡¯s office I heard shouting. ¡°You can¡¯t be doing this! You¡¯re killing them! this is slavery god damn it!¡± I heard Michal¡¯s voice. ¡°It¡¯s not something I can control, and Lucas said that this will be for their benefit, you can¡¯t be sheltering people without expecting them to repay the favor,¡± he said. ¡°But you have enough manpower here to overthrow a damn government! Why must they also work their bones? There are elderly and young children for fuck sake!¡± ¡°Watch your tone,¡± I said as I walked into the room. ¡°It¡¯s you,¡± Michal said. ¡°I guess we have a problem?¡± ¡°Father Michal here is really not a fan of how things work,¡± Dilbert said in a sigh. ¡°I never expected him to be anything otherwise,¡± I said shrugging. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Michal said. ¡°You think that the military here can protect these people? I can assure you, that in a couple of weeks if they don¡¯t grow strong enough to protect themselves, none of them will be alive,¡± I said. Michal looked at me, then said, ¡°You speak as if you know a lot about the future, I still couldn¡¯t believe what you told me earlier this morning, and I still don¡¯t believe it now, you know of things that have yet to come and you seemed to be the most relaxed in this situation, and even had¡­what did you call it, a skill, which was demonic, to say the least, who are you?¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve been asked that a lot, think of me as someone who had regressed, though I have yet to know the reason why I regressed or how it had come to happen, I still hold all my memories of what is to come,¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t you tell us the major ones?¡± spoke Dilbert, ¡°Because if I did, I would fuck everything up, as I did with Michigan, you saw what our preparation had caused,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m really confused here,¡± spoke Michal. ¡°Lucas already knew this apocalyptic event was going to happen, he contacted me and convinced me to make this Safe Zone, we were planning on making the entirety of the Safe Zone fully operational when Michigan is hit, a month from now,¡± Mr. Dilbert said. ¡°But Michigan was hit¡­ your planning doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Michal said. ¡°It¡¯s because Michigan in my, I donno if this is the right way to say it, my past life. It was hit one month from now. We were planning on having all functionalities ready,¡± I said ¡°That makes even less sense,¡± Michal said. ¡°It actually makes perfect sense,¡± I said ¡°It¡¯s because when I asked Mr. Dilbert here to ready up the Safe Zone, the military power he procured was great enough that the system deemed the whole city worthy of being considered as a military base,¡± I said. ¡°And from what I gathered, all military bases across the United States have been hit, and they¡¯ve been hit hard. We lost more than eighty percent of our fighting power in one day. No more than a few dozen military bases still remain and are functional but that¡¯s not enough to restore order,¡± Dilbert said. ¡°Back to our topic then, if you have all this military power, why are you keeping innocent people to work and slave for you,¡± he said. ¡°Because if they don¡¯t do it, they¡¯ll die. You included,¡± I said to Michal. ¡°I hate it when I¡¯m fed half information, what do you mean by that!¡± ¡°Once the first integration is over, and the world is introduced to Mana, the system will start by giving everyone who has the system window tasks and missions. People who have the system window will be able to grow stronger and be able to protect themselves, people without, will be nothing but baggage that no one will want to help, and they¡¯ll be weak and vulnerable, how long can you protect something that fragile?¡± I said. Michal stopped talking and thought for a while, but before he could speak I said, ¡°You brought what I told you with you, right?¡± I said. ¡°The Bible and the Cross?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes, you have them?¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, I do, why?¡± he asked. ¡°Well, let me help you get your Class then,¡± I said. Witch Hunt ¡°Where are we going?¡± Michal asked. ¡°We need you to get the Cleric Class. Well, not just any regular class,¡± I replied as both me and Michal were moving up through the streets of the city. ¡°I mean, I could have at least gotten some rest before we moved you know,¡± he said. ¡°I already gave you a Stamina Reinforcement Potion, stop whinging, anyway, it should be here,¡± I said as we stopped in front of a cemetery. ¡°What are we doing here?¡± asked Michal, ¡°Especially with a Zombie Apocalypse on us, you want us to go to the Oakland Cemetery?¡± ¡°Yes, what we want is inside, we need to get to one of the Neal Monuments,¡± I said. ¡°Well, if you want to get to them, we should move this way,¡± Michal said. Michal pointed, and I nodded following after him. ¡°Why did you decide to go at night though, isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah it is, at least we¡¯ll only have to deal with Undead at night,¡± I said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what we actually want to avoid dealing with?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course, but humans are far worse. You¡¯ll see that soon when people start getting their hands on abilities and powers, human nature is going to reveal it¡¯s ugly side. So it would be best to get this done and over with soon,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re very strange,¡± Michal Said but I had to stop him from talking. I spoke as low as I could, ¡°There are two undead wandering around the Monument, wait here,¡± I said. He nodded to me and held his own, he was still holding the rifle he had from the church on him, and I wish he¡¯ll never use it. Since it¡¯ll probably save his life for a moment, only for the sound of the gunshot to attract every other monster in the vicinity, I need to do this fast. I approached the two undead as quietly as I could, and once I was close enough to land a blow one of them turned. Only to have the edge of a sword cut right through his neck. I immediately followed with a stab into the second undead¡¯s temple using a secondary knife I had on me. Both weapons are only infused with mana crystal dust. They won¡¯t last for long. I turned to Michal and nodded for him to approach. He slowly made his way through the bushes and graves and arrived at the monument. It was that of a woman and a daughter where a large cross was standing between them. ¡°Touch it, and say, start Trial,¡± I said. ¡°You didn¡¯t explain anything though, what¡¯s going to happen?¡± he asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just do it. Also, make sure you don¡¯t kill anything,¡± I said smiling. Michal didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind my words, but he¡¯ll soon figure it out when he is in trial. Michal Touched the monument and immediately disappeared from sight. ¡°Good luck,¡± I said and waited in front of the monument. Waiting for any unfortunate undead to come towards us. Time trickled by and sooner than ten minutes, Michal Came out, he was out of breath and was about to strangle me. Before he sighed and said, ¡°You¡¯re a fucking asshole you know,¡± he said. ¡°How was it?¡± I asked. ¡°You could have at least explained things to me. Damn, I was there for a week,¡± He said. ¡°That¡¯s normal, things work differently in the trial, so did you kill anyone?¡± I asked. ¡°No, it was pretty damn hard too. But why did you ask me to not kill anyone?¡± Michal asked. ¡°Because they were all innocent souls, so, did you get your class?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, Saint Class,¡± he said. ¡°It says that it¡¯s a legendary class, what does that mean?¡± he asked. ¡°Let¡¯s go back and I¡¯ll explain on the way,¡± I said. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The two of us walked back making sure that we weren¡¯t being followed or had any undead readying up for an ambush. ¡°So, what did you see inside,¡± I asked. ¡°Euh, you should know by now, after all, you told me to not kill anyone, shouldn¡¯t you know the details?¡± he asked. ¡°I do, but I just want to make sure of a few things,¡± I said. ¡°Okay, so I arrived at an empty space when I received a quest. I was tasked of saving a village ¡®Where a witch lived¡¯. I didn¡¯t understand what was going on. But after the first day of arriving to the village, I could see how dreadful and poor state it was. The people there asked me to save them from the evil Witch that was killing people and causing a lot of illnesses and diseases to spread ¡­ At first, I was confused, but once I saw a church inside the village I seem to have understood the reason why I was brought there. I managed to convince the people in the village that I¡¯m a Man of God, and they asked me to take matters in hand in hunting the witch. Michal stopped for a moment, some ugly sights were probably flickering in his memory from the sights he saw in the village. ¡°The former priest was acting as a force against the witch, but he was a greedy bastard who did whatever he wanted in the village, and when things didn¡¯t go his way, he claimed that the person was a witch or a disciple of her. The village then gathered around and burnt that person,¡± he said. ¡°But at the same time, he was unlucky enough to have tried to assault a girl from the village who ended up being the actual ¡®witch¡¯. She killed him and his spot as the church¡¯s priest was vacant. No one wanted to take it in fear of the witch¡¯s retaliation, but I grabbed it and began doing sermons. I tried my best to help the people of the village to better their lives and at the same time come to understand the ¡®Witch Hunt¡¯.¡± I realized after a while that the whole town was actually suffering a pandemic and no matter how much I asked them to go back into their home and go into quarantine, they were too strong-headed to understand the severity of their situation. More people ended up falling sick. And the village once again gathered around claiming that the witch once again started acting and we needed to burn her along with the people who fell sick as they were considered followers of the witch¡¯s teachings¡­which was pretty fucking stupid. Someone had pointed out that a certain girl who was the person that the late priest has been found with had actually tried to give him something to drink and he fell ill afterward. With this information, people acted. They had captured the girl and managed to hit her on the head with a blunt weapon causing her to fall unconscious. They claimed she was a witch and wanted to burn her at the stake. I intervened and dismayed them as much as I could by doing such a vile act. But it was difficult. The best I could do was delay her execution. Since I couldn¡¯t ask the girl what she was doing, I decided to take matters in my hand and check up on her lodging and belongings. Once I arrived to her hut, I found many herbs and concoctions all over the place. Then it all came to make sense. There never was a witch in the village. The whole town was plagued with a disease and the girl was trying to make medicine for the people. I did my best to try and confront the people and convince them that she is a healer, but the fuckers wanted to burn me along with her as I was also a witch follower that had fallen from the ¡®grace of god¡¯. It was pretty damn annoying, then something strange happened¡­¡± ¡°The cross and the book,¡± I said grinning. ¡°How did you know?¡± he asked. ¡°I asked you to take them with you for this very reason,¡± I said. ¡°Yes, so the book and the cross you asked me to take with me began shining bright, the golden glow from them immediately caused everyone to hesitate, a few even began worshipping, so I had to stop them. I also received a skill,¡± he said. ¡°Minor heal,¡± I said. ¡°Man, how do you know that?¡± he asked. ¡°Keep going,¡± I said as the two of us continued moving outside the cemetery. ¡°So, I tried using Minor Heal on one of the sick people, but it didn¡¯t work at all, and the people began hesitating and thinking that I¡¯m a quack or a fake priest, they even said that the golden light was probably a spell of the witch. So I thought carefully and decided to use Minor Heal on the girl they claimed to be a witch. Once I did, she woke up and began explaining the situation even better. She realized that the town had been tainted with a strange sickness and found a cure, the priest realized that and wanted to kill her since if the village was cured he¡¯ll lose a lot of his power. But she used poison to kill him instead. So after that, I helped the girl make more of the cure and soon began giving it to sick people. Although it was fucking annoying since everyone thought she was going to poison them. But the very sick people had no choice but to drink her concoction, and soon they were revitalized. With that, the witch had become the savior of the village and everyone had been cured¡­¡± he said. ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty nice isn¡¯t it,¡± I said as the two of us arrived at the main street. ¡°Why did you tell me to not kill anyone though?¡± he asked. ¡°The Saint class requires a person to have the ability to save a person without sacrificing another. You could have easily ignored the blight of the people and have them burn the witch since the Main Quest asks you to only to ¡°Save¡± the village. If you kill the witch, or had a hand in her death the quest will be complete. If you also had agreed to burn the people who had been considered ¡®witch followers¡¯ for only being sick. You would have also been considered to have had a hand in murder. You however managed to save everyone in the village with that tiny brain of yours, I¡¯m actually impressed,¡± I said. To be honest, I¡¯m not the least bit impressed, because he had actually done exactly what he did in his past life. This quest, anyone else who had taken it couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on. It wasn¡¯t that hard to find out the truth about the witch but at the same time when thrown in another world in a different setting and a lot of stressful shit going on all over a person, they would not be able to keep a calm and collected mind as Michal can. After all, this person, as long as he is present, no one dies. He is as smart as he is an asshole, and that¡¯s a damn genius. ¡°You now have a class and a skill, also the reason your Minor Heal didn¡¯t treat their sickness wasn¡¯t that it was a low-tier healing skill as most would think. But Minor Heal only cures wounds, if you had Dispel Disease, you could have cured the whole town without the witch¡¯s help,¡± I said. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s another skill then, how can I get it?¡± he asked. ¡°When the First Integration is over, you¡¯ll be able to upgrade yourself and your skill set. For now, let¡¯s go back,¡± I said. Beauty in Simplicity and Power in Innovation Chapter 42 We arrived at the Safe Zone with relative ease. Thankfully, the Undead roaming around at night wern''t as many as one would expect. But that¡¯s only natural. The Undead preserve their strength and use the darkness of the night to rest. Not from exhaustion, but from the effect of the sun. It doesn¡¯t outright kill them, but the sun exhausts their abilities the longer they are exposed to it. Nighttime is good for the undead to rest, but soon, it¡¯ll be their best time to hunt. The facilities of Dilbert¡¯s Safe Zone seemed to be improving daily. Many of the people who were nothing but mouths to feed a couple of days ago are now actually working their assessment off training and practicing. That¡¯s all thanks to one thing. One of the recruits got his first ability, something ordinary like a Dash. Skill. And due to that, it helped the morale and made everyone try their best to gain abilities and skills of their own. The system rewards hard work, and they¡¯ve been working hard ever since. After all, there is safety here, food water, and no danger from the monsters. But they all know that if they don¡¯t grow strong to protect this sanctuary of theirs they will lose it. Today marks one week mark after the integration. And also the day that Harry Simons had come back. And next to him was a small kid, with ponytails and a stuffed bear she held on tightly to. ¡°I see that you found her,¡± I said as I approached the two. ¡°Yes, your information was on point¡­ I also made it in the nick of time, it was too close for comfort, far too close¡­¡± he said. There was terror in his eyes but I suppose he made it safely so it was worth it. I went down as I slowly rubbed on the head of his daughter, ¡°Lydia,¡± I said smiling. The girl didn¡¯t reply and slowly backed away hiding behind her father¡¯s leg. ¡°Well, I was never popular with kids anyway,¡± I replied sighing as I stood back looking at sergeant Harry Simons eye to eye. ¡°I did my part of the deal, are you going to do yours?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ll help as much as I can¡­ but,¡± he said as he looked at the people in the courtyard. ¡°Do they even need my help?¡± he asked. Seeing them doing jumps that would have been Olympic records before the apocalypse, and sprinting faster than any human being could even dream to achieve Sargent Simons was stupefied. ¡°That¡¯s not even a fraction of what humanity is capable of. And especially you,¡± I said as I tapped on his chest. ¡°The potion you drank, did you feel its effects?¡± I asked. He nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve grown far stronger than before, enough that I¡¯m afraid of holding my child¡­ I don¡¯t need sleep as much as I used to, an hour of sleep is enough to fully invigorate me. Not to mention food and drink are no longer something my body demands constantly,¡± he said. ¡°That potion helps the body further optimize the performance, it¡¯s not that you don¡¯t need sleep or food and drinks, but it¡¯s that you only need less of it to achieve optimal function. It¡¯s a miracle drug, but it¡¯s not enough for what is to come. You still need to improve your body. Anyway, you can head over to the security personnel, you¡¯ll first join in on the training, and once you achieve adequate results, you¡¯ll be the one training them. After that, we¡¯ll start hunting,¡± I said. The sergeant struck both feet together, as he sharpened up like a stout oak tree. A salute and a loud shout, ¡°Sir, Yes Sir!¡± ¡°Euh¡­ I¡¯m not used to military salutes but yeah, go, have fun,¡± I said then turned towards the gate. ¡°Lucas, another hunting session?¡± asked one of the tower guards. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Yeah, I still need to train harder than anyone else don¡¯t I, I can¡¯t let the newbies show off in front of me,¡± I said smiling. ¡°Good luck Lucas.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be going out of town for this one, it¡¯ll take me a few days to come back. So make sure to notify Mr. Dilbert,¡± ¡°Sure thing!¡± I nodded at the man in the tower and headed out. Seven days, and still nothing. The people from the government didn¡¯t even dare come again since the last time. Either they were truly afraid, or perhaps they were too preoccupied with the shit that¡¯s been happening all over the world. Recovering civilization is not going to be a job that can be done in a day or two. But that¡¯s not my worry. For now, I¡¯ll need to do something incredibly stupid, but it¡¯s going to be incredibly helpful to me. In the past few days, I¡¯ve been trying to understand my Feast Ability. And I come to some conclusions. Feast currently is only able to store three skills. The skills in question must be of different monsters. It cannot eat more than one skill per monster. Once the skill limit has been reached, I can¡¯t add another skill unless I overwrite another one. I¡¯ve been hunting solo for a few days, I also got back to the sewers, I killed the crocodile there, it wasn¡¯t that hard. Especially since it was in an enclosed space, I just choked it to death with some smoke bombs and Mana Crystal-infused grenades. These grenades aren¡¯t that difficult to make and were pretty common back in my days. I got the ability to ¡®Harden¡¯ which can protect my whole body with crocodile scales. It improves my defenses, enough that a sharp sword can break upon contact. The problem with this ¡®transformation,¡¯ is that I become incredibly slow. Which isn¡¯t helpful in the least. I become a sitting duck and it can only last as long as my ¡®Mana¡¯ isn¡¯t depleted. Sadly I can¡¯t see my current Mana level because the system isn¡¯t fully online, and will only fully show the person¡¯s status screen once the first integration is over. Anyway, the biggest issue with Feast is Dark Hunger. A status alignment that¡¯s pretty damn overbearing. As long as I don¡¯t use Feast abilities, I¡¯ll never suffer Dark Hunger, but once I use them, I¡¯ll be on a timer. The abilities that I¡¯m using consume¡­ ¡®Satiety¡¯ isn¡¯t a stat, but it¡¯s the closest thing I could name to this effect. Once my Satiety bar is depleted, Dark Hunger takes over. The being, slime, or whatever is in my hand will start devouring me to dissipate the Dark Hunger. Meaning, if I can¡¯t eat something, I¡¯ll eat myself, which is pretty damn annoying. Right now, I have three abilities, Chomp, Grappling Hook, and Harden. Three unique abilities only monsters have. Low-tier undead doesn¡¯t have any abilities, that¡¯s for now though. Feast abilities are limited also. Even if my satiety bar is not depleted, and I have the resources to use Feast, if the ability itself is on cooldown, it won¡¯t manifest. Which is also annoyingly problematic. Another thing is, Feast is the only ability I¡¯ve ever seen that can level up. After eating the Crocodile, I managed to level up Feast. [{Feast}Has leveled up.] Current Level 2 Resources needed to use the consumed skills have been reduced. And that was it. No more details. No more storage slots, just resource reduction. It isn¡¯t the best, but not the worst. Now, I¡¯ve been thinking the past few days about how to use something like this and arrived at a very dangerous idea. Many monsters have powerful abilities, and by hunting two, relatively weak monsters. I can turn this ability I have into something that can break the power system. A cheat ability. The theory was already present in my past world. Many tried it but no one succeeded due to one thing. The inability to fully integrate a skill with oneself. The theory is simple. There exist two monsters that have something close and similar to Feast. The First was a Doppelganger. This one can copy a creature¡¯s abilities the moment they¡¯re face to face. They can freely copy their skills no matter the number of skills. Sadly, they cannot mimic a creature¡¯s form or build if it was a higher tier than them. Because the theory was, if a person wanted to become a dragon for example and use dragon¡¯s breath, they needed the [Dragon Breath] skill. Along with the Dragon¡¯s Physic. A doppelganger cannot copy a dragon¡¯s physic because it¡¯s far superior to the doppelganger¡¯s abilities. And it cannot use Dragon Breath because it doesn¡¯t have the ¡®Body¡¯ of a dragon nor its lungs to release such a powerful breath. In my past life, there were a few ways a person can have the same skill as a monster. But those who tried copying a Doppelganger¡¯s ability to mimic skills all died due to the skills they used being incompatible with their bodies and ended up burnt to a crisp the moment for example someone tried to copy a dragon¡¯s breath. This dismayed everyone from trying this method. The second monster, however, is your simple Mimic monster. A very simple creature that can take the shape of a box, chest, or anything it ever consumes, then once an unwary Hunter tries to open it. The mimic will eat the person. Mimics have many tiers and some of them can even mimic a person, the only problem for mimics is, they only mimic the person¡¯s physic. They cannot mimic a person¡¯s abilities. Yet if they eat something, they can take the shape of such a thing. However, for a mimic to eat a dragon and takes its shape, the sun has a better chance of rising from the west. Mimics are fairly easily identifiable monsters once people get used to them, and their sentience is so low a bag of rocks has a better chance of getting a Ph.D. than a mimic. Now, considering these facts. My [Feast] can consume three abilities at once. What would happen if I consume a Mimic¡¯s ability to change Form? And a Doppelganger¡¯s ability to Copy skills? Well¡­ That result is what we can call¡­ a broken overpowered skill.