《Parallel World Collision》 Day 0 - Monsters out of nowhere What the hell is happening in this world? I was just sleeping inside my room two hours ago, but when I woke up and get out of my door, three gigantic mantises were looking at me, as if eyeing on a prey. Below them, I saw a mutilated body which I recognize - the neighboring old man just next door. Ihastily ran away due to panic, making me evade their sharp-looking sickle-hands which was about to cut me into two. They hastily followed in pursuit, but I was able to escape from them. Now, I''m hiding behind an alley, peeking at the edge of a building while looking at the city''s road. If I would describe everything, I could only say one thing: it was a disaster. The three human-sized mantises who were pursuing me awhile ago already found another target, which they easily mutilated with their arms. Imagining that I was in that person''s situation awhile ago, I can''t help but throw up. On the other side, there was a strange dog, feasting on the bloody remains of a dead girl in the sidewalk. I looked away, trying to avoid to look, but I know that this would be etched deeply into my mind. I looked for an escape, and immediately saw an emergency ladder near me, which lead to the top of the five-story building. I carefully climbed it, and saw an incredulous scene. In the middle of the city lies a very large tree, larger than any structure I ever saw. If I were to compare it with anything, it was akin to the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. I never been there, but it was the only structure I could easily point out to be similar with the tree I am seeing right now. The world has been fucked up. *** I entered the building through the door in the roof, which was actually unlocked. First thing I should do is to think of a plan on how to leave this place. I thought that maybe, if I get away from that gigantic trees'' vicinity, these monsters wouldn''t chase me. I instantly knew that the building I entered is an apartment building, so I thought that maybe one of the residents have car keys. I carefully walked through the hallway and suddenly saw something. Maybe the gods still didn''t forsake me - for I saw an emergency ax embedded on the wall. Rather than walk barehanded, I feel much safer holding a weapon. I started look around for any apartment tenants, just to find out that the apartment building is void of people. All I found was two car keys, but I don''t know where the cars were placed. Still, it is a good thing these two had analarm, I can easily search the location of the car. I peeked out of one of the apartment''s window, just above the city road below. I became confused - the road wasempty of monsters,unlike the horde I saw a while ago. I decided to push one of the car alarms I had in hand, which made one of the cars below me ring. But that time when the car''s alarm sounded, a very scary thing happened. A large horde of different kinds of monsters - both aerial and land - charged towards it and easily flattened the car. "Oh shit." I hastily closed the window and hid under it. Then, a giganticsilhouette coming from outside covered the floor of the room I am in. I remained on my position, thinking that a single misstep will spell my doom. After a few minutes, the shadow vanished. I still didn''t move for almost an hour, scared that the monsters might still be in the area. I didn''t notice that night has already fallen. *** "What should I do..." I nervously thought before closing the blinds of the apartment. Now that I think of it, I already felt my stomach growling. I woke up at lunch, but didn''t eat it and I eventhrew up the remaining substance inside my stomach. I looked around the apartment room and found a refrigerator. Inside it were three cups of instant noodles and a pack of orange juice. Just beside the fridge, I found a thermos containing hot water. I poured hot water inside the instant noodles and waited until it was ready to be eaten. "Hmm... maybe I''ll start to eat this kind of food for a while." I thought because there''s no one in their right mind to prioritize eating delicious food instead of thinking a way to survive, especially that one shall always remain vigilant. "Hmm?" Just when I was about to finish my meal, I noticed asilhouette of a personjust across the street, carefully walking without making a sound. The person was cloaked with dark cloth, blending with the darkness of the night while avoiding the street lights. I see, that person''s testing the waters. I watched the person walk through the street and hide in a crevice between two buildings. Then, that person took out something - an car alarm just the same as mine. "That''s-" Before I could mutter a sound, he pressed the button and ducked, acting like a stone in the roadside. I also hid below the window, but I noticed something incredible. There was no movement - no monsters, no mantis - nothing. "Shit... that''s one courageous man." I said as I watched the man ride the car and left, moving away from the large tree. After that event, I realized two things: One, these monsters are diurnal - active only during the day. Two, they don''t care how loud you are during the day - you can do anything you want. Just as I was about to decide that it was like that, I heard a large explosion coming from the direction the car went. I opened the window and peeked outside, just to see a large fire emerging from the car, as if it hit an invisible wall. "Goddamn... now what the hell is this..." These monsters might be inactive during the night, but a large barrier, coming from the tree, blocks both entrance and exit from it''s vicinity. Itforces the peoplewithin it to move during the day, when monsters ran rampant and easily kill people. What the fuck happened to this world? *** Thankfully, I found out some good clues, thanks to that person''s sacrifice. During the night, I can stock food by scavenging around the city while I stay put in one place in the morning. I can do that until help arrives... Yep! A wonderful idea! "I should start moving." The more I could stock, the higher the chances I have to survive. Of course, I can''t cross out the idea that there might be other people inside this city, which could become my competitor on food. People might call me selfish, but I think anyone would do this just to survive. Of course, I won''t reach the point that I would sacrifice human life just to survive... probably. Well, only time could tell if I would resort to that actions, but as long as I can, I would liketo avoid it. Now back to my present situation, I thought on the nearest supermarket near the area. Food shouldn''t be starting to spoil right now, since electricity was still running. Anyway, I got to move. I looked around the apartment room for black clothing and found one. It was a bigger by a size, but it was already sufficient since I was only using it to blend with the darkness. Luckily, I saw a large black handkerchief which I used to hide my face. If it was any normal day, people would think that I''m a robber. After wearing black clothes, I took the ax and left the room. Then I thought of where to go, back to the roof or to the main entrance? I realized that maybe leaving using the emergency exit might be a better idea than the wide open main entrance. I can easily blend through the darkness when I came from the roof and the alley, where light was absent. But then, I thought... where does these monsters rest? Suddenly, an idea arose from my mind. Maybe, these monsters might be resting on the rooftop or in the alley. I was at loss on what to do when I noticed something hanging on the wall. It was a thick rope used for rappelling, durable and versatile. Maybe, I could use this... I thought and took the rope and wore it inside my neck and my shoulder. Let''s go exploring!.. Is what I was about to say, but I know I can''t be careless. It''s either I die a miserable death or live to last another day. With this state of mind, I carefully walked to the rooftop. "Whew... I was worried of nothing..." I wiped my sweat as nervousness vanished from my body when I opened the door towards the rooftop. Fortunately, it was empty. I entered the roof and looked at the alley below, which is also void of monsters. I wondered - where does these monster rest, actually? I was curious, but I know that the saying "curiosity killed the cat" exist for a reason. I don''t want to be another cat that would be killed by his own curiosity. It was called Schr?dinger''s cat... or something like that? Maybe it was different, but... whatever. By the time I reached the ground, a very unexpected event happened. A monster appeared from the road and entered the alley. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.It was a small rodent-like monster with enlarged fangs and red eyes looked at me. Fuck! Even Po*¨¦mon''s R*tic*te was much cuter than this monster! I hastily returned to the emergencyladder and climbed it with my fastest speed. But when I looked back, the monster was moving, but in a very slow pace, unlike those monsters during the morning, which easily surpassed the limits of human speed. Maybe it was one of those monsters that aren''t very fast, but has steel-like bodies that could even endure a bullet? Of course I don''t want to risk my life to find out, so I returned back to the apartment room I was in before. "Damn... the street''s not completely empty..." I cursed my dumb self that thought that it was safe because it was night. I, who was a normal twenty-five year old salary-man just a few hours ago, was acting wise just now. Well, I can''t blame myself... It''s either I die from hunger or die from those monsters outside. A slow death or a painful death... I don''t like either one. Now that I remember... where did I drop my ax? "Oh shit..." Well, I just dropped it out of panic when I saw that rat monster. In other words, I left it at the alley. "Hahaha..." I can''t help but laugh at my foolish self. I think my stupidity would be the reason of my own death. Now, now... get a grip, me! First of all, that ax is valuable - it was already a miracle I obtained one especially in this situation. I should retrieve that ax, no matter what. I just hope that the rat monster doesn''t know how to climb ladders... I returned to the roof and looked back into the alley. There, I saw the rat monster looking at the ax with curiosity. Hahaha! I''m screwed! Just when I thought of that, I suddenly had an idea. I returned to the apartment and looked for heavy objects that I could use. Exactly! Since I have the height advantage, why not use it to the fullest? After a few minutes of scavenging, I foundthree heavy objects -a dumbbell, twobarbell plates, and acement blocks. I hope this would do the trick... I took the dumbbell I had and aimed at the rat monster just below me. Steady... Steady... and wooosh! Maybe due to laws of gravitation or something, the dumbbell and the rat monster''s collision made a crisp sound. :You have dealt 52 damage to Ratatoskr: Eh? Eh? Is this what I think it is? A system notification? I work in a software development company, and like to play role-playing games so I know what this notification that popped out in front of my eyes mean. This place is a dream! I once dreamed that one day, I would get into an RPG world! If this really a dream, I should wake up soon enough! I closed my eyes for a minute, trying to force myself to wake up from this dream, but by the time I opened my eyes, I felt was not awakening nor happiness. I fucking saw the rat monster named Ratatoskr slowly climb the ladder! Fuckkkk! I hastily took the barbell plate and dropped it towards the Ratatoskr''s head, and another system notification emerged in front of my eyes. : You have dealt 105 damage to Ratatoskr (Weakness Hit): Hoh? So my attacks that hit the weakness will deal double the damage... as if I have time to appreciate that! I took the last object I have, which is a cement block, and dropped it towards Ratatoskr. :You have dealt 201 damage to Ratatoskr (Earth Damage, Weakness Hit): What the hell, is this really Po*¨¦mon? It''s a fucking scary P*k¨¦mon version then! Seeing that Ratatoskr continued to climb the ladder, I madly rushed towards the roof''s door but suddenly halted my steps. If I entered the apartment, won''t I be cornered? With that sturdy body, it can easily destroy the roof¡¯s door and chase me. Noticing that Ratatoskr''s speed was pretty slow, I couldn''t help but think of another idea. Rope + High Building = Rappelling. No no no! What the hell am I thinking right now? Esc*pe R*pe? Hahaha! Stop being a retard, myself! But my other self easily refuted - as if I have another way that I could think of! Yeah, a retard can only do things the retarded way! I looked for a good place to latch and easily saw a sturdy metal near the edge of the building. I fastened the rope on it and prepared myself to go down... Scary! Scary! I''m not afraid of high places, but these kind of things greatly triggers my fear of death. Just as I have time to fear the act of rappelling, Ratatoskr was already on the roof! Damn it! I moved and hastily moved my body like a firefighter during training until my foot reached the ground. I hurriedly took the ax and looked at Ratatoskr and made a smug look at my face. Hah! In your face! As if I''ll let you kill me before this dream ends! Now... what should I do? As I pondered, the next thing that happened scared me shitless again. The Ratatoskr, which was in the rooftop, suddenly jumped. Oi, Oi! You won''t fly nor glide, aren''t you?! I ran again towards the emergency ladder,and a loud boom sounded throughout the alley. This is imposs- huh? The only thing I found when I looked at the sounds source was a weakened and bloodyRatatoskr, which hide was mangled and messy while it''s red eyes started to lose it''s luster. Are you a fucking idiot? I didn''t risk my safety and climbed the emergency ladder again. I looked at Ratatoskr for a while, before I received another system notification. :You have killed aRatatoskr! You recieved 520 Experience: :You have leveled up! You reached level 4!: :You have gained a new passiveskill - Ax Proficiency (Beginner): :You have gained a new passiveskill - Climbing (Beginner): :You have gained a newpassive skill - Precision: :You have gained a new active skill - Observation: :You have gained a new title - Underdog: :You have gained a new title - Ingenious: :You have gainedtwenty (20)stat points: Hmm... that was soooo unexpected... Of course, if system notification exists, user notification also exist - a basic RPG knowledge. But... how should I access it? "Status! User! System Menu! Abracadabra! Open Sesame!" I shouted everything I could think of, but what I was expecting to appear didn''t appear. Hmm... What a troublesome system. There should be some hint or something, right?! I retrieved the rope I used and strapped it back between my neck and arm. I hurriedly left the rooftop, because I thought that maybe the blood of the dead Ratatoskr might lure other monsters towards the alley. It''ll be dangerous if they notice me or if they climb the emergency ladder, but I can''t block it since it was the only way I could leave if they entered from the main entrance. I scratched my head in helplessness but a large image suddenly appeared in front of me. Ohhhhh! It''s here! Status Menu!!! ¡ºName: Error¡» ¡ºLevel: 4¡» ¡ºJob: Error¡» ¡ºStatus: Error¡» ¡ºMana: 21/21¡» ¡ºExperience: 520/750¡» ¡ºStrength: 10 |+|¡» ¡ºAgility: 10 |+|¡» ¡ºIntelligence: 10+0.4 |+|¡» ¡ºUnused Stat Points: 20¡» ¡ºPassive Skills¡» Ax Proficiency (Beginner) | Climbing (Beginner) | Precision ¡ºActive Skills¡» Observation ¡ºTitles¡» Underdog|Ingenious ¡ºPassive Skills¡» Ax Proficiency (Beginner): Increases damage, accuracy, and attack speed when using ax-type weapons by 5%. Climbing (Beginner): Increases speed and stability when climbing or descending by 5%. Precision: Increases the accuracy of subsequent attacks by 10%. ¡ºActive Skills¡» Observation: Shows the user a brief observation to the target, can upgrade into Identification, Consumes 15 mana. ¡ºTitles¡» Underdog: Unlocked after defeating a higher level enemy. Increases experience when defeating higher level enemies. Ingenious: Unlocked after using a unique way of defeating an enemy. Increases intelligence by 4% and increases the chance of trapping an enemy. So, that did the trick... but why are my name, status, and job are labeled as error? I have a name, status, and a job, you know! Well, it might be useless to argue so I left it alone. Now, for the thing I have been waiting for... stat distribution! Of course, I don''t know how adding points to strength, agility, and intelligence might affect me, but I have some idea after playing a lot of RPGs. Strength is self-explanatory, it increases my body''s strength and physical power. Agility is also self-explanatory, it increases my body''s speed and reflexes. The only thing I was unsure of isIntelligence, it might increase the speed of my thinking process, or it even might give me chance to use magic, whichis astaple element in Fantasy RPGs. Since there is the so-called mana in mystatus, using magic is possible, if Ihave magic skills. So... I have decided on where should I allocate them! Day 1 - Meeting Foreigners "Hmm... My body feels lighter and stronger." I thought as I tried punching a pillow and executing some basic rhythmic exercises. I allocated my unused stats on both Strength and Agility, which I thought would show more visible effects than Intelligence. I don''t know if my conjecture was true, but I felt that my choice is a good one. When I tried to swing the emergency ax around, I felt much more comfortable to the point that it was almost a part of me. It must be the effect of Ax Proficiency and increase of my strength stat... Either way, everything was good... except that I didn''t have the chance to get some supplies before the sun came up. When the sun came up, like a swarm of insects leaving their nest, a large group of air and land monsters spread out from the large tree from the distance. I instantly thought that these monsters use the tree as their hive during the night, but the case of Ratatoskr made me have some doubts. The large barrier that surrounds the whole city was already gone, so the only thing that I was sure of was that this barrier was only active during the night. Still, I can''t relax knowing that these monsters are active again, so I blocked the apartment room''s door with a large cabinet and looked for something... Looks like my fortune isn''t bad and saw what I was looking for - a pair of headphones! I connected the headphone to the television, so that the monsters won''t be attracted by the sound. But even though I had good luck on finding things, I had bad luck on other things... Just as I thought - electricity might be present, but all television channels are down. Now to my present predicament... I ate one of the three instant noodles in this apartment room, and this building is composed of ten apartment rooms. If I am lucky, I could scavenge more food on the other rooms that were locked by using my ax. Well, if no one knows who took the food, it wouldn''t be robbery, right? Not that someone could arrest me in this god-forsaken situation... After eating another noodle, I stood up and moved the cabinet blocking the door. Damn... I shouldn''t have blocked it in the first place... nevermind. I carefully checked the corridor for signs of monsters and instantly relax when I noticed that my worries were unfounded. One by one, I scavenged the rooms from fourth to second floor, leaving the first floor alone because it was an open space, like a parking lot or some sort. After an hour of search, I found supplies that could last me for a month... making me think that the residents of this apartment were pretty well-off. But above everything else, I found something that could greatly aid me in this situation... Tada! A handgun! With twenty bullets! and... a riot shield! I was looking for car keys in a hurry last time, so I only checked the cabinets and drawers of each room, making me neglect searching other areas. This riot shield was made of fiberglass and some kind of hard plastic, yet it was very light. Maybe it was because of the increase in my strength... But the best was this handgun! This .45 calibre pistol can be a powerful tool especially if I hit monsters with it''s bullets on their weak-points, greatly injuring or disabling them. But when I remember the Ratatoskr''s thick hide, I instantly knew that this handgun can only be used against monsters that aren''t leaning towards defense. Anyway, having this baby here in my side gives me more assurance towards my own safety. Still, bullets would be the greatest problem I''ll face if I use this gun recklessly. I also found a walkie-talkie, but I couldn''t find it''s pair, so I deemed it useless. Still, where are all the damn people in this city? It won''t be weird if there are corpses of people throughout the city... but the weird thing is that there were very few of these corpses. I''m not sure because I never left the apartment building''s vicinity since yesterday, but I looked around the area and only found about five corpses. Maybe these monsters eat them, but it won''t be possible that there are no signs of struggle and blood, I think? Forget about that, I don''t know why but I feel that it was good omen that people aren''t around... That''s because if they were around, wouldn''t I have to share or fight for resources with them? Either way... I continued to laze around, waiting for evening to come. I regularly check the situation outside, just to see monsters roaming around the area without a general direction. There were one-eyed flying monsters, human-sized mantises, Ratatoskr, and elephants which trunks turns into a mouth with very sharp fangs. There were also large ant-like monsters flying around the place. These monsters sometimes fight against each other, some weren''t moving an inch, but some were just roaming around. The only thing that I was confused of - why are all of them so large?! Well, I''d rather have a gigantic enemy than very small ones, which could easily enter through cracks and crevices of houses. Those monsters would be much more dangerous than the ones outside, I think. But as I continued to laze in the apartment room, I suddenly heard another large explosion. I checked the wristwatch I stole- borrowed, I saw that it was still three in the afternoon. Sounds of clashing steel and explosion sounded from the road below. "*@#!%!$!" "@$!@$@#%!" Following the explosion, I heard unintelligible shouts coming from a group of people below. Yes, people! I slightly opened the blinds of the window and watched the commotion outside. There, I saw a group of people, numbering about fifty, clashing with the monsters with swords and bows. No, I''m not kidding - they wield swords and bows. They formed a circle where in the outer part were people holding sword and wears silver armor, clashing with the monsters on their way. Inside the circle, archers aimed at the monsters in the sky, shooting them down with hails of arrows. Together with the archers were people holding staffs... Wait... staffs?! "@#!%!$!" One of the people holding a staff shouted, and a large ball of fire flew towards the sky. Like a meteor storm, the ball of fire divided into numerous fragments, shooting most of the enemies on the sky. It decimated more enemies than what the archers have taken down. I can''t help but get excited as I continued to watch their team. In Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) terms, this is a Party Raid! Wooow!! I wanna join! I wanna join! Can you guys carry a noob? I can carry your stuff! After releasing myself from my own delusions, I looked at them seriously. The only thing I could say - they''re a balanced party... not that I have to point that out. What I should think right now is that... should I expose myself? First of all, I noticed that they''re using a different language - something that doesn''t belong to earth. Why do I know, you ask? Because... hmm... I just felt it? Either way, if they speak a different language, there''s a high chance that they won''t understand me. Second, they might attack me and consider me as a monster. Why again? In RPGs, there are monsters called Shape-shifters. I know that I''m being too nonsensical, but I don''t want to die just because of not considering such situations. And finally, they came from a different race. Why am I so sure? Well, there aren''t humans which had pointed ears like elves nor white angelic wings on their heads, right? I am very sure, 100%, that these people, or humanoids, came from another world. Just see how adept that magician on using spells, those archers on shooting with bows, and those knights on slaying with different kinds of weapons. No normal citizen of earth would adapt to this situation as easily as they are, no matter how much courage nor talent they have. Even I am still afraid of encountering, moreover clashing against them. But... my survival rate would increase if I would join them. High risk, high return, just like gamblers believe. Rather than staying here and wait for my death, might as well risk it all! I left the apartment room and walked towards the road... but when I was just made my resolve, I saw something that made me furious. A large rat - Ratatoskr, was blocking the main entrance! Goddamn these rats! Do you really want me dead?! When Ratatoskr noticed my presence, it''s blood-red eyes lighted in a strange glow. Suddenly, it suddenly rushed towards me with insane speed! What the heck!? Aren''t your kind slow-moving?! What''s with this cheat-like speed?! I hastily rushed up as it continued to follow me. I took the handgun from my side and started firing on my pursuer. :You have dealt 36 damage to Ratatoskr: :You have dealt 32 damage to Ratatoskr: :You have dealt 40 damage to Ratatoskr: What the hell''s with this rat! Why is it so sturdy?! Finally, I reached the room I used as my base and closed the door shut. Just when I thought I was safe, a large number of spikes pierced the door. Ratatoskr, you don''t have spikes, right? You only had hair... did you just made your hair stiff and launched it?! Are you a god?! When I noticed that the Ratatoskr was about to bust the door, I made another decision - escape by the window! You''re wondering why I can only think of escaping by rappelling? Well, I also don''t know. After taking a bag which contains food supplies, I opened the sliding window and tied the rope on a secured latch. Just as the Ratatoskr destroyed the door completely, I already started rappelling. This time, I can''t retrieve the rope anymore... So long, rope. Thank you for saving me twice. After a melancholic farewell, I looked around and saw the group of... people? Well, I''ll just call them foreigners right now. Now that everything''s done and there''s no more going back, let''s communicate with these foreigners! I don''t have any other fitting term aside from that... because if I used the term ''another'' or ''outsiders'', I felt it was weird to call them that way... Nevermind. I hastily ran towards the group while waving my hand up high, trying to send a signal that I''m not an enemy. The group which saw me first became alert, but when they saw my figure, they held curious gazes on their faces, like I was some kind of rare animal or some sort. "Ahem... Ahem... H-Hello, foreigners! W-Welcome to Earth!" Ahhh! This is stupid! ''Welcome to Earth''? What am I posing as? A tour guide? Nervousness overwhelmed me, so I just blurted out the most shameful line I could ever say. But when I was drowned in my own embarrassment, the group of foreigners in front of me made signs of confusion. Maybe they didn''t understand my speech, just as I thought a while back? While I was contemplating, a young woman with little white angelic wings on her head holding a staff suddenly walked between the group of people. She had golden hair and pure blue eyes - a true work of art and epitome of perfection. Her figure was perfect, and her aura was very charming, seductive, and serene at the same time. As if something was stuck between my mouth, I was taken away by her breath-taking beauty and allure. During the time I was still entranced with her appearance, she waved her staff, making a small shower of light flow into my body. "Hello? Do you understand me?" I broke from my trance when a sweet voice emerged from her cherry-colored lips. "Ah? Ah?" I can''t speak clearly, still unable to process my own thoughts. "Seems that Universal Language Magic wasn''t effective. It might be a mimic. Be ready." When she said that, the surrounding knights made a stance and pointed their weapons towards me. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "W-Wait! This is a misunderstanding!" I suddenly shouted to my lungs when I noticed their eyes full of hostility. So scary! "So, you can speak." The woman giggled as she signals the knights to be at ease. "That was cruel..." "Sorry. By the way, my name is Eclasief Carmlotte. Can I ask you some questions?" "G-Go ahead." "Why are you here? Who are you? To be much precise, What are you?" A barrage of questions flowed out of her mouth. I slowly answered her. "This world is called Earth, and I am a human - one of it''s inhabitants. My name is-" *Screeech!* A loud sound coming from above interrupted me before I could say my name. "My name-" *Screeech!* "My-" *Screeeech!* "Goddamn it!" In my rage, I fired a hail of bullets towards the source of noise, which is a one-eyed flying monster flying above us, waiting for it''s chance to attack. :You have dealt 4,105 damage to Tyrios (Metal Element, Weakness Hit, Critical Hit, Piercing Damage, Instant Death): :You have killed a Tyrios! You received 2,235 Experience: :Level up! You are now Level 10!: :You have gained a new passive skill - Projectile Proficiency (Beginner): :You have gained a new passive skill - Hawkeye: :You have gained a new active skill - Rage: :You have gained a new active skill - Lucky Attack: :You have gained a new active skill - Swift Attack: :You have gained a new title - Abandon All Hope: :You have gained a new title - Nameless: :You have gained a new title - One Shot, One Kill: :You have gained a new title - Rage Killer: :You have gained a new title - Level Jumper: :You have gained forty (40) stat points (Level Jumper Title Effect): What in the world? I just shot a bullet towards that flying monster and I instantly killed it?! Why is there a huge disparity in defense between Ratatoskr and Tyrios? Still, I just gained six levels, two passive skills, three active skills, and five new titles which is nice. Normally, I would only get thirty stat points because every level grants five free stat points but it seems that a title granted me ten more stats, which I am grateful, of course. By the way, the woman and the knights around her had their faces full of shock while looking at me... to be precise, the handgun on my hand, with disbelief. Well, I can''t blame them because I just killed the flying monster above us with one bullet, while I watched their archers have to hit it twenty or more times before it would drop into the ground. After a brief shock, the woman coughed and regained her composure. "No matter who you are, you''re pretty strong. Are you familiar with this place?" She thought that it was my own power that killed the monster... well, if she thought it like that, why would I refute it? It would save me the trouble of making them aware that I can''t be taken advantage of. "W-Well, I am a native, so I''m very much familiar... Where is your destination?" "That Gryworth up there." She said while pointing towards the tree in the middle of the city. So that tree''s name is Gryworth. "Are you sure you can reach it before nightfall?" I curiously asked the woman because I know that when night comes, a large barrier would be erected around the city. "Of course not. We''re looking for a place to stay for the night. Do you have any good place in mind?" She looked at me with expectant eyes. Oi, Oi! Even though you''re beautiful, I won''t get fooled! But, there''s nothing that I could lose if I joined them and give them some directions, right? "I could help you, but can you help me in turn?" "Hmm? What do you need?" "I want you to kill a monster." Of course, now that I can communicate with them and they want my help, why won''t I ask their help in turn? "What kind of monster?" "That rat- Ratatoskr. I just left some of my items in that place, but a Ratatoskr attacked me." "Oh, I notice you weren''t a mage. Of course you wouldn''t beat it with physical attacks." Really? I thought that they could be killed with physical attacks, the fact that I killed a Ratatoskr by making it jump off the building. The woman made a group of knights follow her and enter the apartment building. I followed behind and saw how they dealt with the Ratatoskr with ease. "It''s done." She said before moving downstairs. I hastily opened the door and took the rope, which I thought I would never be able to retrieve again. I''m back, rope! We''ll never be apart, ever again! After making some ridiculous behavior, I took the rope and wore it again on my body. Of course, as long as I know that an item was very useful, I wouldn''t abandon it easily. This rope was proven itself to be useful just by saving my life twice. One of the reasons that I was very reluctant to leave it behind is that I could train my Climbing skill with this rope. When I returned to the group, I communicated with some of the people inside the party. Seeing that I don''t wear any metal gear to protect myself and I could attack monsters from a distance, they let me be one of the long-ranged attackers. Meanwhile, I had the luxury to check on my stats. After allocating my unused stats evenly, placing ten on both agility and strength and twenty on intelligence, now my status looks like this: ¡ºName: Error¡» ¡ºLevel: 10¡» ¡ºJob: Error¡» ¡ºStatus: Error¡» ¡ºMana: 64/64 ¡» ¡ºExperience: 2780/3300 ¡» ¡ºStrength: 30¡» ¡ºAgility: 30¡» ¡ºIntelligence: 30+1.2¡» ¡ºUnused Stat Points: 0¡»: ¡ºPassive Skills¡» Ax Proficiency (Beginner) | Projectile Proficiency (Beginner) | Climbing (Beginner) | Precision | Hawkeye ¡ºActive Skills¡» Observation | Rage | Lucky Attack | Swift Attack ¡ºTitles¡» Underdog | Ingenious | Abandon All Hope | Nameless | One Shot, One Kill | Rage Killer | Level Jumper Now, checking my newly-obtained skills and titles... ¡ºPassive Skills¡» rojectile Proficiency (Beginner): Increases damage, accuracy, and attack speed when using projectiles by 5%. Hawkeye: Increases accuracy and projectile attack range by 15% ¡ºActive Skills¡» Rage: Increases attack damage, attack speed, critical chance, and movement speed by 10%, decreases defense and resistance by 10%, 40 mana cost.: Lucky Attack: The next attack''s critical rate will be increased by 15%, 20 mana cost.: Swift Attack: The next attack''s attack speed will be increased by 20%, 10 mana cost.: ¡ºTitles¡» Abandon All Hope: Unlocked after making a fatal decision. Increases luck. Nameless: Unlocked after being interrupted to introduce oneself. Monster aggression decreased by 20% One Shot, One Kill: Unlocked after killing a higher level enemy with one shot. Weakness hit damage increased by 50%. Rage Killer: Unlocked after killing an enemy in a fit of rage. Damage increases with mental status, decreases rage after killing an enemy. Level Jumper: Unlocked after leveling by five after killing one monster. Grants additional 5 stat every 5 levels. I considered increasing my mana now that I have some attack-oriented active skills that requires mana. Well, I don''t have any problems with my newly obtained skills and titles, but why is there a ''Nameless'' title among them? Well, I have to declare it now, or else I would remain ''Nameless'' through the rest of my life. My name is-! *booom* My name is-! *booooom* Where the hell does these explosions came from?! I looked around and saw large lizards flying above us, spouting large fireballs that explodes upon contact with physical objects. Fortunately, the mages inside the circle are adept on using some kind of Barrier Magic, making the whole team safe against these lizard''s attacks. "Formation Beta, Black Fortress!" One of the old mages instructed the whole party, making them move accordingly and create another formation. Strong and impenetrable, this are the words that entered my mind when they created the new formation. In the vanguard, a line of knights moving in a phalanx position, blocking the access of any monster. In the middle, lines of archers and mages shot their skills and arrows towards the enemies outside the formation. In the rear, another line of knights holding a phalanx position blocks enemy attack that came from the rear. In the sides, there were also knights barring monsters from doing sneak attacks against the people inside the formation. If their formation before was like a flower with mages and archers inside the circle while the soldiers are the petals, this formation is like a sandbox - the soldiers acts as the box while the mages and the archers are the sand within it. I watched them with awe as I gave the leader of this group a place which I think would be the best place for this number of people to rest safely. The place I recommended was a nearby high school''s gymnasium. It was a very large enclosed structure that could contain a large number of people. With that kind of structure, it could shield them from outdoor weather and unexpected attacks from monsters. After that traumatizing encounter with a Ratatoskr at night, I don''t dare to make myself stay outdoors, either. Actually, I also have a hidden motive why I suggested staying in the highschool''s gymnasium... It''s because... beside the school was a police station. "Hahaha! I struck it rich!" I found sixty pieces of .45 caliber bullets and a Dragunov sniper rifle with twenty-five bullets! I don''t think that police stations are authorized to store sniper rifles like the army, but it was a great blessing to have this gun right now so I won''t question this police station''s credibility or anything. With my increase accuracy, precision, and range due to title effects, having long-ranged weapons is the best path of fighting I could take right now. Fortunately, I also saw ten hand grenades. By the time we reached the gymnasium, it was already near midnight. Each of them rested while their leader assessed the number of casualties. "We lost fifteen knights... this place is harder than we thought..." He frowned while looking at the remaining people. Most of them were out of breath and exhausted, some had slight injuries while some had some of their limbs torn off from it''s sockets. I just realized then that this mighty group in my eyes wasn''t invulnerable against those monsters. I continued my contemplation until I was snapped out of it by a sweet voice. "Hello, how are you doing?" Eclasief smiled while looking at me. There were beads of sweat on her forehead, showing how taxing the battle against the monster was. "I-I''m fine. I just want to rest right now. I''ll leave right away after I catch my breath." I nervously said. "Leave? Why?" "I-..." I can''t say it. I can''t say that actually, I don''t trust anyone here. I... don''t belong here. Three hours ago, we were just strangers to each other, and I joined because I felt that they are useful. I am a paranoid, selfish, pessimist, and mistrustful person. My mind runs wild and always thought of every possible outcomes that could happen, but most of it were negative ideas. I want myself to be safe, even at the expense of the safety of others. I don''t trust people easily, because simply, everybody lies. Maybe some of them had bad intentions towards me, maybe some wanted my items which I depend upon for survival.It''s just that I felt that something bad would happen if I remained here. "I''ll leave for tonight and will return by morning. Please take care." I made a wry smile before leaving the gymnasium. I didn''t notice that everyone except Eclasief sighed in relief. Day 2 - Solo Battle I encountered some problem after leaving the gymnasium... I was being chased by a dog monster. Normally, they were very fast, but right now, even if I walk, they can''t catch up with me. Just like the Ratatoskr last night, it seems to be weakened right now. I shot the dog monster between its eyes with my handgun, and penetrated its head with ease. Even though my hands were unsteady and my feet were shaking, I''m glad that all of the passive skills and titles raised my accuracy into a frightening level. Mwuhahahaha! No one can beat me now! I''ll make this idiot monsters know the price of fighting against me! :You have dealt 1,755 damage to Hellhound (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage): :You have dealt 2,914 damage to Hellhound (Weakness Hit, Critical Hit, Piercing Damage): :You have dealt 1,693 damage to Hellhound (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage): :You have dealt 1,492 damage to Hellhound (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage): :You have killed a Hellhound! You received 3,102 Experience: :Level up! You are now Level 14!: :You have gained a new passive skill - Tranquility: :You have gained a new passive skill - Fortitude: :You have gained a new passive skill - Trueshot: :You have gained a new passive skill - Shaky hands: :You have gained a new passive skill - Pierce: :You have gained a new active skill - Silent steps: :You have gained a new active skill - Rapidfire: :You have gained a new title - Beginner Monster Hunter: :You have gained twenty (20) stat points: After allocating my stats again, I looked at my newly acquired skills and title''s descriptions. Passive Skills Tranquility: Removes "Fear" status when entering combat. Fortitude: When in combat, enhances all stats by 20% of the enemy''s level - own level. Trueshot: Passively displays enemy weakness. Shaky Hands: Decreases melee and ranged accuracy, but increases chance of attacking twice. Pierce: Damage has chance to inflict piercing damage with non-piercing attacks. Active Skills: Silent Steps: Decreases chance of being detected by enemy by 25%, Consumes 10 mana. Rapidfire: Unleashes three continuous shots, damage dealt by second and third shots is 90% of damage, Consumes 15 mana. Titles: Beginner Monster Hunter: Unlocked after killing three different monsters. Grants additional base damage against monsters. I just noticed that handgun inflicts flat damage instead of damage affected by stats. It means that the gun''s damage wasn''t affected by my increase in stats, but was affected by hitting monster''s weakness, landing a critical hit, and the type of attack. I am glad that it was the case - because when I think of it, the damage I could inflict without this handgun would be very small compared to my hand gun''s flat damage. One more thing... I think that monsters get weaker during the night... but does that party knew that? Why do they have to rest in the night and fight during the day when monsters were very strong? After allocating my gained stats on both Strength and Agility, I turned back to the high school but at that time... *Boooooom* A large explosion coming from the tree appeared. I suddenly jolted back to reality and saw a large number of fiery meteors were falling towards the tree. Now, I think that they knew that monsters are weak during the night. I looked around and saw a tall clock tower nearby. Fortunately, I didn''t encounter any monsters this time, so I was able to climb the tower with ease. I looked at the tree''s direction using the Dragunov''s scope and saw a scene unfolding in my very own eyes. The group which I left, was being slaughtered by one monster without giving them a chance to fight back. A monster which has the form of a giant bone dragon, with blood-red eyes and very durable bones The leader of the group, which always had a stern expression in his eyes, was decapitated with ease by the monster. Then, I noticed in one corner was a very familiar face. The woman, Eclasief, was on the ground, quivering with eyes full of fear and hopelessness. If I didn''t know her personality, I would think that she wasn''t the bubbly and energetic woman I know. The slaughter continued up to the last man, until it was only Eclasief was the only one left. The bone dragon held her up, while Eclasief struggled to released from its grasp. Then, what happened next was the most blood-chilling thing I saw since the world turned into this kind of hell. The bone dragon directly looked at her deadpan eyes and started to absorb something from her. I don''t know what it is, but I felt that she was suffering intense pain. I avoided to look from the scene and was also quivering in fear when I accidentally... pulled the Dragunov''s trigger. "Ah!" *Groooooooowllll!!* :You have dealt 12,755 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage, Critical Hit): I don''t know if I''m lucky or unlucky, but the shot I pulled pierced one of its blood-red eyes, which easily shattered upon impact. Estimating my distance from the dragon, I just shot its weakness from one and a half kilometers away. The damage I did shows that Dragunov inflicts much more damage than the handgun I had. The bone dragon dropped Eclasief''s lifeless body and looked towards my direction. Crap! It found me! In my panic, I released two more shots before hastily descended the tower. :You have dealt 5,561 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage): :You have dealt 5,102 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage): I didn''t mind the notifications that appeared on my head as I ran away from the Necrogoria. When I looked back, I saw a towering Necrogoria charging towards my direction while demolishing all buildings in its way. In just five minutes, it traveled almost seven hundred meters, even though I was running away from it with all my power. "Silent Steps, Observation!" This was the first time I used my obtained skills, Silent Steps and Observation. :Necrogoria: :Level: 49: :HP: 29,213/102,000: By consuming 25 of my 64 mana, I felt my presence decreasing while also gaining some knowledge against my enemy. Maybe because of the battle between the Necrogoria and the group before, its life greatly decreased near half before I shot it with a sniper bullet. Either way, I was lucky to decrease the remaining life by one-fourth before it charged towards me. Why lucky, you ask? Because I already made some preparations beforehand, but these preparations were reserved to those in the party who were thinking of chasing and killing me after leaving. Of course, I am a cowardly person, so I do things in a cowardly way. I ran towards the hotel which I thought of using before. When the Necrogoria was just a block away from my place, an explosion emerged on its forefeet. *Boooom!* :You have dealt 3,569 damage to Necrogoria: :You have dealt 2,923 damage to Necrogoria: :You have dealt 3,452 damage to Necrogoria: :You have crippled Necrogoria! Necrogoria''s Movement Speed has been decreased: Heh! Good thing I had two years of experience in military due to the country''s compulsory military service, which gave me a lot of skills that I can use in a battlefield! I just used a simple military trap that is also easy to set up- using a thin wire which would set off the grenade when the wire is stretched. Just to be sure that I would inflict large damage, I even used three of the ten hand grenades I obtained from the police station. Back to the present... it seems that my trap didn''t deal that much damage compared to my Dragunov''s three shots... maybe it''s because of additional damage of Piercing Damage, Weakness Hit, and Critical Hit? Still, I triggered a negative status on the Necrogoria, so it''s all worth it. Now... If I could only find a good vantage point... Huh...? Since when did I get this confident fighting a monster? It wasn''t just a day ago when I was scared shitless by a small Ratatoskr, much more a Necrogoria which is as tall as a three-story building and as wide as two buildings combined. Maybe because I saw earlier that monsters aren''t that invulnerable? No, no... of course that''s not the case - I just saw this monster massacre a whole team of strong elites from a world that could use mana with ease and fights with great coordination. Is this the effect of Tranquility passive skill? I think this skill is a double-edged sword - it can greatly enhance my capabilities, removing my fear towards monsters, but it could also make me careless, making me think that I could fight any monster even higher level ones. Just look at my situation right now... I accidentally pulled the trigger of my rifle in my nervousness, which made me engaged into combat. The instant I entered the combat, Tranquility passive skill''s effect has turned on, but I didn''t realized that until now. The Tranquility''s description is a little confusing because it said it removes fear status... so the fear I felt when fighting monsters is a negative effect? Either way, I should finish this Necrogoria quickly... "Observe." :Necrogoria: :Level: 49: :HP: 19,179/102,000: I shaved off ten thousand HP by using that trap so I only have to do at least twenty thousand damage to end this fight. I looked at my watch and saw that it''s already three in the morning. I know I should increase my pace and defeat this monster before sunrise, or I would be totally screwed. I returned my handguns to their sheaths and took the Dragunov from my back. Let''s get this party started! I knew that this Necrogoria''s anger was at the highest because it continued to forced its humongous body by using its two hind legs. Now, it looks like an oversized bulldozer ramming everything on its way. It was very favorable to me, since I could do some basic maneuvers by making a sudden sharp turn or passing in between two small buildings, greatly hindering its chase. After a few more sharp turns, I saw an average-sized building that is just as high as the Necrogoria. After some analysis, even an idiot knew that to kill that bull-headed Necrogoria, I need to aim at its remaining eye, hoping that I could render it blind. But there are still some doubts in my own mind... what if it doesn''t have to use eyes to detect its target? I''d be screwed if that was the case... It isn''t my style to leave my own uncertainties to fate, but I have no other choice! I scaled the building with ease, but when I reached the middle floor of the building, a strong tremor made me lose my balance. But before I fell into the ground, I used my newfound reflexes from my increased Agility stat and recovered easily. If I didn''t add points in both Agility and Strength, I wouldn''t be confident to carry around a heavy bag containing different kinds of items while sprinting around the city with a large bulldozer on my tail. I won''t hesitate to abandon my items, which is a waste since most of them were food supplies, ammunition, and weapons. I even secretly looted some of the items left by the deceased members of the party, especially their weapons. Without letting the tremors affect my speed, I scaled the building until I reached the top in just three minutes. At the top, I saw the Necrogoria ramming the building as if its life depends on it. Its actions cause a deep dent to the building, which could collapse in any second if rammed a little more. "Hey, stupid dogfood! Am I the one you''re looking for?" I tried taunting the Necrogoria while throwing two more grenades inside its body. *Roaaaaaaar!!* As if answering my taunts, the Necrogoria loudly roared which heavily pierced through my ears. Oh shit! This level of sound can be higher than hearing an airplane engine run up-close! I suddenly lost my balance and started to throw up all the food inside my stomach mixed with blood. I coughed blood again twice before I could finally stabilize myself with difficulty. With my ears are busted and my eyes are bloody-red as a result, I could say that I became careless and didn''t consider this possibility to happen. With our level difference, it is highly possible that even a shockwave from this monster''s claw swipe can easily cut me into pieces. I should end this before I lose my consciousness... My vision is spinning, my ears are not working, my body aches all over... I think I''m about to die... Of all things to fear, what I feared the most is dying. People have an instinctive fear of death, yet mine was a magnitude higher than normal. It stemmed from my father, a fan of splatter horror films who forces me to watch with him those movies full of bloody deaths. This gave me slight schizophrenia, making it hard for me to adapt with the society. I had no close friends, neither at work, in my school days, nor in my days as a military personnel. I have deep distrust against strangers, yet uses everything in my disposal to preserve my own safety. That''s why before I joined the group of foreigners, I weighed the pros and cons of joining them. But all of it is in the past now.. It''s either I die as food or I die while taking this oversized lizard with me. Of course, like any man wanted - I will die with style! I hanged all of the remaining hand grenades in my body and took the riot shield and ax. Since my childhood days, this is my dream - to become a warrior that will slay a dragon. But instead of a living dragon, I''m facing an undead dragon with an axe and riot shield. Maybe this scenario is pretty different from my dream, but as long as I do this, I could lighten my unwillingness to die... either way, most of my organs are already failing. With my blurry vision, I charged to the edge of the building. I didn''t notice back then, but the building was actually about to collapse because of Necrogoria''s constant ramming. Like an action star, I jumped away from the collapsing building and landed on top of the Necrogoria''s head. I used the riot shield to protect myself from the building''s falling debris as I approached the Necrogoria''s remaining eye. "Heh... I hope you''re ready... oversized bone lizard..." I smirked unconsciously and licked by bloody lips before throwing the riot shield away. I held the emergency hands with one of my hands while I used the other to cling on it''s head. Stolen story; please report. "Rage!" I used my remaining mana on the skill Rage and started to hack the Necrogoria''s eyes without caring my own well-being. "HOW MUCH MORE DO I HAVE TO SUFFER!" *Ting!* :You have dealt 545 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit): Heh... my strength really isn''t enough... "IS THE SUFFERING I FELT IN A NORMAL EARTH NOT ENOUGH!" *Ting!* You have dealt 533 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit): "I DON''T WANT TO FUCKING DIE!!!!" *Ting!* You have dealt 729 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit, Piercing Attack): After hacking its eyes thrice, the Necrogoria started to thrash its head around, trying to make me get off. I let go of my ax and clung harder on its head... but I didn''t expect it to violently lift up it''s head, making me fly into the air. In the air, I saw its head getting ready to catch my body like a crocodile getting ready to devour its prey. But this stupid lizard didn''t know... a person who knows that his time is near is ready to do anything! "HAHAHAHA! HERE''S A PRESENT, LIZARD!" I threw all five hand grenades towards the Necrogoria''s mouth with a sinister smile. "Ahhhh! Stylish death, achieved!" I laughed without restraint, but inside me is the unwillingness to die and the curiosity towards the afterlife. I am a Catholic, but I''m not a frequent church-goer and I don''t follow some of the doctrines of the church... I believe in an existence called God, but I knew he isn''t a merciful one. People call my sufferings a challenge of faith, but in my eyes, life is a sadist-masochist game. Either you step on people to gain advantage, or be stepped on by others because you wanted to play fair. I don''t believe in reality shows that shows how only hard word made people successful. Because I know, along the way, they bumped into other people''s lives. Away from that topic... Now that I''m a death''s door, I would let my own curiosity work this time. I''ve been trying to play safe since the day I became independent, so I shall indulge myself this time... in the afterlife. *BOOOOOOOOOM!!!* I knew that the five grenades created an earth-shattering explosion, but my eyes were already close and my ears were already busted. The only thing I felt was how every inch of my skin tingled for a second and starts to get hotter and hotter until my senses failed to recognize pain anymore. Then, a sudden blow from my back made my body ache and spew out more blood from my lips. I didn''t realized that when the grenade exploded, I flew towards a nearby car''s hood. The impact made me open my eyes briefly and see a headless Necrogoria that isn''t moving anymore. When the tension in my body relaxed, bit by bit, I realized that I don''t feel my feet anymore. With my remaining ounce of strength, I looked at my lower body... which isn''t there anymore. Only some scattered blood and intestines... which are of course, mine.s "Heh... I should have known..." My strength was gradually sapped away as I finally lost my life. Notification sounds flooded my weakening consciousness, but the only one I saw in the end... :You are dead.: *** Is this the afterlife? Previously, I believed that I was living a dream a moment ago... but why is everything I see now is just darkness? :You have died with your own weapon. -12 Level Penalty.: :You have killed a Necrogoria! You received 22,419 Experience: :Level up! You are now Level 29!: :You have received an item - Soul Gemstone.: :You have beaten a sub-boss! You inherited the active skill - Soul Siphon.: :You have gained a new passive skill - Explosives Proficiency: :You have gained a new passive skill - Trap Proficiency: :You have gained a new passive skill - Iron Will: :You have gained a new passive skill - Profound Madness: :You have gained a new title - Undead Slayer: :You have gained a new title - Dragon Slayer: :You have gained a new title - Sub-boss Slayer: :You have gained a new title - Death''s Player: :You have gained a new title - Champion: :You have gained a new title - Savior: :You have gained one hundred sixty (160) stat points (Level Jumper Title Effect): I''m sure I died, right? Who the heck will live after having half of his body busted off and all five senses critically injured. Even I made some cool dying remarks... so embarrassing... Ah, not that I wanted to die or anything, okay? I''m just shocked to know that not all people die when they are killed (LOL). Why am I happy? Of course, I''m happy - because I''m alive. As long as I''m alive, I am happy. Still, I didn''t think that I would survive that in the first place. Was I revived? No... because there wasn''t anyone around when I woke up. Is it the system? I''m hundred percent sure that it was the case. After all, the system announced my death and the penalties. But still... I revived with my clothes intact as if it considers it as a part of my body... I don''t really get how this system works... By that idea, I can conclude that to be revived, one needs to pay the proper amount of levels that would act as penalty for dying. This might be a cheat-like system in the surface, but it wasn''t the case. First, you revive at the place where you died. This is a very flawed one - what if you die in the middle of a monster horde? They can easily whittle out all your obtained levels every time you revive. Second, the time one needed to revive is about three minutes if you died like me, with busted lower body and multiple organ failures. During that time, the monster or person who killed you will notice something amiss in your corpse and just kill you once again as soon as you revive. Finally, I felt that there is not invincibility buffer for newly-revived people. I want to reach a proper explanation, but I''d rather not die again. Nevermind. I lifted up my body from the car and looked around my surroundings. A demolished building buried half of the Necrogoria''s body while the head was non-existent, flew into bits of pieces after the explosion. My ax and riot shield was below the debris, both looked destroyed beyond repair. The rope was torn and the Dragunov... snapped into two. The final result - I don''t have any decent item remaining to use except my handgun which miraculously survived the explosion. My carelessness made me pay a heavy price. I''m back from when I started? I don''t think so. I obtained decent number of skill and stat points which greatly increases my survival. It was a waste that they were destroyed as a result, but all of these weapons have durability - they will still wear and tear like any weapons do. It''s just sooner or later... so I''d rather think that them being destroyed right now is for the best. Actually, I threw my bag one block away from here to increase my speed back when the Necrogoria was charging towards me. That contained some foreign weapons which were mostly in good condition. A bow, fifty arrows, and a sword. I carefully returned to the place where I threw the bag with a handgun in my hand. There were no incidents that happened and I was able to retrieve my bag safely. I entered a decent house through its window and looked at everything I obtained after fighting that Necrogoria. First... my stats! Name: Error Level: 29 Job: Player Status: Error Mana: 21/21 Experience: 22,596/23,250 Strength: 15 |+| Agility: 15 |+| Intelligence: 10+0.4 |+| Unused Stat Points: 160 ¡ºPassive Skills¡» Ax Proficiency (Beginner) | Projectile Proficiency (Beginner) | Climbing (Beginner) | Precision | Hawkeye | Tranquility | Fortitude | Trueshot | Shaky hands | Pierce | Explosives Proficiency (Beginner) | Trap Proficiency (Beginner) | Profound Madness ¡ºActive Skills¡» Observation | Rage | Lucky Attack | Swift Attack | Silent Steps | Rapid Fire | Soul Siphon ¡ºTitles¡» Underdog | Ingenious | Abandon All Hope | Nameless | One Shot, One Kill | Rage Killer | Level Jumper | Beginner Monster Hunter | Undead Slayer | Dragon Slayer | Sub-boss Slayer | Death''s Player | Champion | Savior ¡ºPassive Skills¡» Explosives Proficiency (Beginner): Increases explosive''s area of effect, duration, and damage by 5%. Trap Proficiency (Beginner): Increases the damage, concealment, and Iron Will: Decreases Pain Sensitivity by 10%. Profound Madness: When Rage skill is on effect, Pain Sensitivity is decreased by 70% ¡ºActive Skills¡» Soul Siphon: Evil art that converts absorbed souls into mana. Decreases target''s mana by 100 per second, the user gains the mana. Requires a staff to use. ¡ºTitles¡» Undead Slayer: Unlocked after killing an elite rank or above undead-category monster. Increases damage to undead by 15%, Increases Undead aggression by 10% Dragon Slayer: Unlocked after killing an elite rank or above dragon-category monster. Increases damage to dragons by 15%, Increases Dragon aggresion by 10% Sub-boss Slayer: Unlocked after killing a sub-boss monster. Increases resistance to negative effects by 10%, Increases drop rate by 5%, Increases experience gained by 10% Death''s Player: Unlocked after dying once. Job turns into Player, grants access to storage. Champion: Unlocked after defeating an evil being. Increases elemental resistance by 30% Savior: Unlocked after saving an important character. Increases charisma by 15% Cool... I gained a lot of stat points, skills, and titles. I distributed my stats evenly again when I noticed my status has a new entry. Now, I have a job - a Player. So, I wasn''t a player before I died? This system''s weird in categorizing players from others. Either way, I want to know what this "Storage" is. Like when I was looking on how to access my stats, which is by scratching my head, all of my attempts were futile. Either way, I''ll discover it sooner or later so I''ll just pack up my things and start to get going... Just as I insert an item inside my bag... A menu displayed in front of my eyes. The inventory menu! My bag can contain 40 items, in 8x5 dimension. When I inserted a sword, it accumulates one space of inventory. Some items, like food, are categorized into one, occupying one space of inventory Oooohhhh! It''s jackpot! Now I don''t have to worry of lacking any storage capacity! I tried putting a dozen of rocks inside, yet it doesn''t even get any heavier! This is the greatest gift I could ever have this time! After recovering from my hysteria, I collected myself as I walked towards my destination. Where, you ask? Of course, I will go where the group was wiped out. I presently lack a staff for my Soul Siphon skill and... I have a feeling... Certainly, I noticed that in my Savior title, I saved an important character. Who is this important character? Nothing comes into mind except that girl Eclasief. After all, their group was already annihilated and her soul was about to be extinguished, if it wasn''t due to yours truly''s intervention. I carefully strolled the place and saw a very beautiful staff - a root-like staff with four different-colored gems embedded on the top. I took the staff and inserted it inside my bag before returning to my search for Eclasief''s body. Oh, there it is. Her unconscious body lay on the ground, surrounded by blood and mutilated bodies... of her groupmates. If I were to put myself in her shoes, I would be devastated when I see this by the time I wake up. Let''s be considerate and take her away from here. I carried her body to a nearby house and laid her on a bed. From the first time I saw her, I really couldn''t get my eyes away from her beauty. F-First of all, I-I should look for a change of clothes! I looked around the house and found a white one-piece dress. I also felt that her lower body was wet, maybe she wet herself because of fear. T-This isn''t sexual harrassment, ya hear! This is bonafide, authentic, and true worry towards hygiene! O-On that note, I wasn''t able to take a bath for two days now... I should take one first. I left the clothes I found for her in the room and took a bath. After taking care of my own hygiene, I returned to the room and saw the still-unconscious Eclasief with a bloody dress. I slightly pinched her soft cheeks, making them a little red. People would think that this is a chance, but I don''t think I could do it. My motto is to live a long life, even at the expense of others. Outside of that, I don''t want to burden others because of my actions. I saved her once by accident, but this time, it is in my own decision. Maybe many of you might ask why I saved her this time? Because I learned the value of having companions. My battle before against Necrogoria made me think that it would''ve been easier if I had a companion to depend on. Eclasief probably isn''t a bad person, but her expertise in magic is what I sought of. But still, she isn''t waking up... I was about to do things in a pervert''s way of touching when I remembered the Soul Gemstone. Normally, monsters doesn''t give items directly - one have to collect their carcass and use them as materials. This was an exception, so I knew that this item is very important. I took out the little Soul Gemstone and used Observe on it. :Soul Gemstone: urability: 1/1: escription: A materialization of a soul. Can be used on unconscious target to rouse their souls from slumber. Consumes energy to use.: Well, that''s a vauge description. A materialization of soul and could be used to awaken people... that''s clear but what is energy? Is it what I think it is? Not mana, but energy? Oh well! Let''s just use it! I took Eclasief''s hand and held it with the Soul Gemstone between them. :Are you sure you want to use it?: "Yes." After voicing my confirmation, a stream of light flew out of the Soul Gemstone as it forcefully absorbed by energy like an empty basin and started to transfer it to Eclasief''s body. "This... is... too much..." I can''t help but mutter as my energy reached the lowest point, making me a little dizzy. The transfusion only ended when I was in the brink of losing my consciousness... Finally, I can''t help myself and fall asleep.