《Beasts & Demons [Survival Progression Dark Fantasy LITRPG Story]》 Chapter 1: The 96th "Monsters!" Cried a woman, her voice pitched. Holding her child in her arms, she ran through the cobbled streets. "This way, hurry!" Shouted a guard in half-plate armor. Sweat beads covered his face, his hands tightly grasping his pike. He and three others held guard before a stone temple. Behind them were civilians of the town. They stood behind makeshift barricades made from various furniture in the temple''s lobby, curled and close to each other. "This is no time to cover!" An old priest shouted, holding a brass goblet. "Pray, and call for our gods, call their names to push the darkness away-" From the skies, a giant winged beast landed before the temple stairs. The thundering sound and shaking ground quickly shut the priest. The beast''s acidic green scales glowed under the burning town, and a corrosive liquid dripped from its long, reptilian mouth, sizzling and eating the ground. "Deathwing!" One of the guards shouted. "Close the doors." The beast roared, droplets of corrosive saliva splattering across the cobblestones as it charged forward. His fangs slashed the stone stairs, leaving cut marks behind with each of his steps. "Curse you, beast!" The remaining guards pointed their pikes toward the charging monster. The Deathwing didn''t stop. Guards'' pikes failed to pierce his scales, and their handles snapped after the tension, sending their tips and splinters all around. He bit the closest guard, its teeth cutting his armor, and ripped the man''s body in half. Blood and flesh scattered across the temple stairs. "Ah!" The other guard backed until it stumbled over himself and fell to the ground. He tried to crawl back away as the Deathwing approached. "Stay... Stay away! No-" He screamed one last time as the beast quickly took his life. The last guard standing before the closed temple doors reached to his neck and opened a copper amulet. Inside were dried petals of his wife''s favorite flower. He kissed the amulet and embraced his pike. "For you two!" Beast stopped, its neck grow large, like a creaking frog, and glow brightly. The Deathwing leaped into the air and shot down a green corrosive goo ball from its mouth. The attack hit the helpless guard, smashing and gluing him to the temple door. "Ah! Get this off me! It hurts, it hurts!" He screamed until his voice cracked as he tried to push the goo away. But whenever his fingers touched it, the armor turned to vapor and slowly melted. The goo ate through the metal plates and fabric before melting the soldier''s flesh and organs into nothing. "My goddess, help me-" He gave one last desperate cry, his voice turning into meaningless gurgles halfway through. His molten flesh released a putrid stench as Deathwing''s saliva mixed with blood. The door behind him was no different. Deathwings fluid melted and opened the door, leaving all the civilians helpless. The Deathwing landed on the spot where it killed the last guard, splattering its half-molten remains, and slowly entered the temple, its mouth open, saliva dripping. Damian watched all of that unfold from the second-floor window of the house he was hiding. He lay on the ground and curled up. "This is not real, this is not real, this is not-" Piercing screams of the dying townspeople rose from all across the town. "Hahaha!" Damian clutched his head, his laughter turning to ragged gasps as the screams outside grew louder, sharper "No, this is just a bad dream. I am not from this world. I am supposed to be at home lazing around." He got up. His fist pumped. "Yes, this is a dream! I only need to wake up." He climbed to the window and stood on the edge. "Alright, I will wake up, never waste time in games, help my mother with chores, and call my grandparents more." Damian took a deep breath. "Time to wake now." He stepped forward, and the wind caressed his skin as he gained velocity toward the ground, and just inches away, he stopped. Time slowed to a crawl. The colors drained from the world. Then, a voice cut through the void, casual and condescending. "Let me stop there." The voice echoed inside his mind as a fireball appeared before him and slowly took shape. It twisted in a manner defying the laws of physics until it resembled a human figure, except for no defining features like eyes, ears, and nose. "What is with you people and trying to take your lives whenever you spawn in a dangerous area? Have some will, will you!?" It nagged. A gilded walking cane appeared out of thin air, and the flame creature grabbed it.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Anyways, my name is Diablo, the vice moderator. I am here to help you understand the situation so you won''t kill yourself early and destroy the entertainment of our dear patrons! After all, people who managed to clear their trail are less than a hundred even after fifteen years." Damian tried to talk, but his body didn''t respond. "Your body not moving? Well, I can''t let you hit the ground and splatter now, can''t I?" Diablo gently pushed Damian into a more comfortable position and then made him sit on the floor. "Much better, right? You don''t need to try talking, as I, Diablo, already knows how thankful you are! Now, if we wasted enough time, let me explain why we chose you to join Beasts & Demons!" *** Damian woke up early. His alarm clock showed 5:45. He pulled his computer chair and sat down, his eyes shining like stars. "Today is the day!" He shouted. "I have been waiting for such an opportunity for months, studying extra hard so my family would allow me this." He pushed the open button, and his computer turned to live, illuminating the room with RGB lights. When the login screen opened, he typed in his password lightning fast. "I am just a couple of steps away!" He quickly dragged the mouse on the only icon on the screen. "Beasts & Demons. The infamous open-world survival game is known for its impossible difficulty and ultra-realism. Today, I will end you!" When he logged in, his character stood before a menacing, massive double door at the end of a giant, black, stone gothic bridge above a lava river. Both sides of the if were adorned with shattered statues of gigantic gargoyles. Damian cracked his fingers. "I killed twelve of the demon lords, defeated the twin guard gargoyles, each said to be stronger than a demon lord, and now, I am coming for you!" He pressed the ''F'' key, and his character slowly opened the doors. "The rumored throne room of the demon king. Only a thousand players reached here, and only 95 killed you." Damian moved closer to the screen, his grip on his mouse tightened. "And I will be 96th one!" The demon king, an onyx-skinned giant with goat legs and twisted horns, his flesh covered in ancient runes carved on them, glowing with strength, wearing only a trouser adorned with skulls and jewels. The battle opened without cutscenes, and Demon King suddenly got up and unleashed a flurry of magical attacks. Each explodes with blinding brightness. "Ha! My uncle''s writings already warned me about this!" Damian grabbed his sunglasses and approached the screen even closer. His fingers skipped between his main keyboard and the modified keyboard he filled with potion and buff macros in a captivating rhythm. Slowly but steadily, he chipped the demon king''s health. Whenever Demon King cast a spell, Damian used its counter, and whenever he debuffed him, Damian used the nullifying potion for it, and after a long grind, Demon King fell to his knees. Damian suddenly pushed himself away and jumped up from the chair. His computer screen glowed golden. "Victory!" Written on the screen. "I did it." He spoke, his voice slow and gentle, as he fell to his knees. "For years, I grinded for this victory." He smiled. "Ever since my good-for-nothing uncle started my addiction to it, I dreamed of this day." He got up. "I can''t be on my knees on the day of victory." Damian approached his computer. A small icon box was under the victory screen. "Start the real game, yes or no." He smirked, nose high. "This should be a secret mode previous winners never told anyone. Of course, I accept such a generous offer!" Damian clicked the ''Y'' key. His chest puffed out. "Uncle, I cleared this damned game!" "I just wish you were still here to see this." Damian smiled. "Well, he would probably mock me, saying I could have done it much easier with a different strategy, but even that would be nice." The second he pressed it, the victory screen flickered, and his entire computer whirred louder than ever before. The RGB lights on his tower flashed wildly, and his usually silent fans roared like industrial ones. "What the hell?" He reached for the power button, but his screen went dead before he touched it. Damian stood still, eyes wide open, hand mid-air. An eerie silence filled the room. He slowly turned to his computer. "Don''t tell me you broke down now." He glanced at his equipment. They still glowed, "Alright, there is still some light. Maybe it''s just a software problem." He leaned in, just about to press the power button, when the screen lit up again with a blinding golden glow. The light pulsed and swirled, forming intricate, rotating runes around the edges of the screen. Before Damian could react, the screen seemed to stretch outward, bulging like a balloon. The air in the room shifted, vibrating with energy as the glow sharpened into a perfect circle. "Wait, is that a?" A sudden, powerful gust of wind blasted from it, scattering his strategy notes and knocking over his empty soda cans. "No, no, no!" Damian yelled, trying to fight against the vortex as the pull intensified. The force was irresistible. He tried to grab his wardrobe, but his hands slipped. His feet left the floor and dragged into the light. He barely had time to scream before the portal swallowed him whole. The reality warped around him as he passed through a seemingly endless tunnel of infinite colors before fainting from sensory overload. *** Damian slowly opened his eyes. He was standing over warm, golden sands. "Where am I." He murmured as he pushed himself up. "It is blurry." He squinted his eyes with his elbows. The sun beat down from a perfect blue sky, and waves gently hit the shore in a rhythm. The sand he stood above was warm. He was undamaged, still in his pajamas and slippers. "This is nice, but where am I?" He turned around. Beyond the beach, black smoke clouds covered the town. Flames covered entire buildings, and columns of fire spiraled into the sky. On the town''s entrance, a giant statue stood broken. It was shattered, with only the bottom piece left behind. Damian shivered as a scream blasted like a bomb in his head, pulling him back to reality. "No way," he whispered, eyes wide. His heart raced, and he recognized the town from mere moments ago. Unknowingly, he was taking steps back. "This... this cannot be. The cobblestone streets, the stone temple, and that statue. I know this town from- Agh." He was so focused on the town he tripped on a driftwood and hit the ground. But before he even processed the pain, a piercing screech came from the sky. Massive winged beasts circled the town in groups, their scales radiating an acidic green glimmer. "A- ar- are these Deathwings?" He stuttered. Not just one, but a pack of them, enough that they blocked the sun with their bodies. One of the creatures dived sharply, slamming into the side of a stone house. It broke through the stone wall. Screams followed its attack. Another Deathwing spat a ball of corrosive goo to a group of unlucky townsmen trying to escape. It exploded on impact and consumed them slowly, leaving vapor and an unbearable smell in their place. Damian''s legs shook, his mind racing but unable to keep up. He gagged, holding his mouth to puke, as the unbearable smell of the corrosing flesh entered his nose. He clawed himself with his trembling arms and shrieked in pain. "This isn''t a dream," he muttered. The Deathwings shrieked and locked eyes with him. "Shit!" Damian rushed forward, running in zig-zags to blur the monster''s view. His slipper slipped out of his feet. "Why is there a late-game mob here!" He shouted as he used smoke as his veil and charged into an empty building. He quickly climbed to the second floor and hid in a closet while old Deathwing searched the first floor. Damian closed his eyes and held his breath as sounds of wood shattering and metal hitting the floor echoed infrequently until old Deathwind gave up on chasing him after finding the pantry in the basement and taking his share. "Out of all games, why it had to be this one!" He said, his fingers clawing the sides of his head. Chapter 2: Bloody Hands From outside, the sounds of the victims were coming. Damian tried to keep himself in the closet but couldn''t bear the pressure. He slowly opened the door and crawled out. He slowly moved through the corridor of the building and looked at the first floor. There was a large, Deathwing-shaped hole leading to the pantry in the basement, and the vapor was rising from clumps of corrosive goo. "At least it left me alone." He murmured. Unable to find what he wanted from the first floor, he moved between rooms until he entered the master bedroom, which had a window perfectly aligned to watch the situation. Damian slowly made his way there and peeked outside. "This is not a hunt. It is a massacre!" He wanted to shout, watching hopeless guards get decimated as they tried to protect the townsfolk. "But why there are so many Deathwings here? They never leave Wastelands and never hunt in packs." He said. His eyes locked on a man trying to sneak out of the town. He got up, ready to shout this place was safe, but stopped. "But what if they hear me." He thought. "But still, I have a chance-" "Mercy!" A scream pierced through his mind before he finished his thought. A Deathwing had spotted the man and quickly went for the kill. Beast slammed the man to the ground and began its feast, limb by limb, scattering blood and flesh with each bite. Damian stepped away from the window. His eyes were wide open, hands shaking. Each of his steps was weak, and his legs barely holding his body from collapsing. "They are beasts, they don''t torture." A scream shook his eardrums as if mocking his words just now. Damian lay on the ground and curled up. "This is not real, this is not real, this is not-" Piercing screams of the dying townspeople rose from all across the town. "Hahaha!" Damian clutched his head, his laughter turning to ragged gasps as the screams outside grew louder, sharper "No, this is just a bad dream. I am not from this world. I am supposed to be at home lazing around." He got up. His fist pumped. "Yes, this is a dream! I only need to wake up." He climbed to the window and stood on the edge. He swore to repent his sins and what he assumed were his wrongs when he woke back in his comfy room. And he stepped forward, his body powerlessly falling towards the ground. "And just before he hit the ground, a devilishly charming, smart, and wise being saved his ass." Diablo put his arm on Damian''s shoulder. "And with that, I recapped your story so far for our dear patrons that have missed it." Diablo made a turn around Damian. "Now, back to you, our rare and expensive specimen, the 96th person to defeat our cute Demon King, and now, you are a proud player of the Beasts & Demons''s session 8." Diablo snapped his finger. Damian felt a weight lifted from his heart. His head could move once more. Yet, he still couldn''t talk. Diablo moved before Damian, changed his size to match his, and grabbed his face. "Now, I will let you talk and even ask some questions, but before that, I want you to tell me you accepted the situation." Damian''s eyes were still shaking. "How can I accept this, you damned demon." He cursed in his mind. But after a minute or so of standing still and taking everything in, he gathered his mind, at least enough to not immediately scream. Damian nodded. "Great!" Diablo took a step back and clapped. "You can talk now." "What to ask... what to ask?" In such a scenario, he had countless questions and a strong desire to cry and beg to go home. He had to gather his thoughts. So he tried. "Alright, think it like this is a game or a bad dream. Take it slow." He took a breath and opened his mouth. "Who are these patrons?" He began. "Who are the patrons?" Diablo said, his voice stoic and slow. He then opened his arms and looked into the air. "Our dear patrons are beings of great power. They provide us with entertainment for all eyes to see!" His voice was thundering and full of energy. "Is that all?" Damian managed to ask for a follow-up. "For you, yeah." Diablo was fast in his answer. "Firstly, am I 96th because I am the 96th person to clear the game, and secondly, by session 8, what do you mean?" "Shhhs!" Diablo made a gesture by putting one finger before his lips. "One question at a time, but yes. You got the first one correct. For your second question, I will not answer it." "Then can-" Diablo shut Damian by closing his mouth. "No more questions. We already spent too much time explaining things. Our patrons are already bored and want action!" Diablo snapped his finger. A stat screen appeared before Damian. Name: Damian Level: 1 Class: CrafterUnauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. HP: 12/12 MANA: N/N Strength: 6 Endurance: 8 Agility: 8 Will: 10 Magical Prowess (MP): 3 Learning Efficiency (LE): 12 "Remember this beauty? Take it as a generous gift of our own." Diablo moved closer to the screen, scratching his chin. "Excellent LE, physical stats better than most. I assume you exercised regularly." He turned to Damian. "But what is that abysmal Magical Prowess and mana?" Damian felt a similar disappointment. "3 prowess and no mana at the start? He gulped. "Please open my traits screen." "Right away." Diablo swiped the screen to the left. "Ha! That''s the problem." [Brilliant Artisan] [Analysist] [Clogged Core] "Clogged Core," Damian mumbled. "How did I roll a negative trait this bad this early." In Beasts & Demons, all characters have a hidden trait that happens in the background during character creation. They only appear once entered the game and usually have positive effects, but sometimes, the game gives negative traits. [Clogged Core: This character''s magic core is clogged, making them unable to store MANA in their body until an Arcanist of high proficiency opens for them.] "How tragic!" Diablo put his arm on his forehead and turned his head away. "You even rolled your main class. But fate had different plans for you!" Damian closed his eyes. Annoying as Diablo''s mockings were, this stopped time gave him enough breathing room to think logically in this situation. "I have Clogged Core, and finding a mage capable of unlocking it will be impossible in the early stages, but on the other hand, I have [Brilliant Artisan], which adds flat stat bonuses to everything I craft, and [Analysisty], which boosts my LE." "Already planning? Good, that means you are back to your senses. Everyone, we can resume!" Diablo suddenly disappeared, and Damian finally hit the ground. "Alright, that demon is gone from sight, but I am still in a town invaded by late-game enemies." Damian looked behind. "The first floor is unusable. I can''t go there now. Tisck." He looked around. "This house is rather spaced out from others. I must move fast." He thought before moving. He ran as fast as he could, closing the distance between himself and the next closest building. "Just like in a race, one, two, breath, one, two, out," Chipped cobbles scattered on the town''s roads cut his bare feet, and the smell breathed hard. "Ignore the pain, ignore the smell! One, two!" He kept his rhythm. When he arrived, Damian quickly opened the door and rushed inside but acted calmer when closing it. When inside, Damian''s first move was to look for windows and close them. After that, he finally relaxed a bit and inspected his surroundings. "Wooden floors, clean rugs, and decent-looking furniture." He moved closer to a drawer and grabbed the small woman statue above it. It was carved from a blue gemstone and had a faint glow. "Nautia, goddess of the sea and one of the seven major deities." He recalled a knowledge from the game lore. "Was the statue outside also hers? If so, does that mean I am at Southern Lyrian Empire?" Damian put the statue back in its place. "I can think all about that when I survive. He searched around the house. "Some food and tools, and a map of the region surrounding the town." He looked at the map. There were marks, doodles reminiscent of fishes, and writings in an alphabet he didn''t know. "So, I can understand the language when I hear it but can''t read it." "The first floor is over. Now to the second one." Damian moved towards the stairway, adorned with paintings. He stopped mid-way and grabbed one of them. It was on a fiber canvas and nailed to a wooden frame. "Amateurish." He said, inspecting the flower motif. "Still, who painted this must love paintings." He soon reached the second floor, and there were three rooms there. He opened the first one. It was a master bedroom, still tidy. "Will go back here later." He moved to the next room but stepped back from its door when he felt something wet on his feet. He crouched and touched the flooring. "Blood." He said, inspecting his bloodied fingers. With an unknown urge, he moved forward and slowly opened the door to the room. Inside was damp, only lightened by a single gas lamp. Paintings made on a similar canvas to what he saw on the stairway were scattered across the floor, and in the middle of them, a middle-aged woman lay still. She had a large dagger stuck on her bleeding chest and a smile on her pale, dead face. The blood around the door was from her. Before her, a man sat down next to a wall. He also had a blade hanging from his chest, but he was still alive, coughing blood and trying to reach for the weapon. When Damian entered, the man looked at him, first, with hope, but as soon as he realized something, his eyes wide open, and with a strength found in wrath, the man lunged forward. "Demon!" He cried as he fell, his intestines scattered to the floor and blood pouring out like a river. But he didn''t stop, scratching the boards with his fingernails as he pulled himself forward. Damian froze at this sight. Unable to act. "Wh- what are you doing." He asked. The man didn''t answer, only glared at him before stopping. Even with seemingly endless anger, he had only so much strength. But it was not the worst of the case. It was a thundering roar. One of the Deathwing probably heard his scream and approached the vicinity. And soon, he heard a loud crash. It had attacked the wrong building. "Thank god, they are not that good at finding the exact spot of their target." Damian breathed out of relief. But this wasn''t the end of the problem. A Deathwing passed ominously close. Any sound and the beast might have heard them. "Argh..." the man growled, his voice faint but pleading. And again, this time louder. "Argh!" His voice gargled as blood flew out of his mouth. "Is he trying to call the Deathwing..." Damian clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. His breathing quickened. "Stop... we barely survived... why?" His thoughts spiraled, the weight of the situation crushing him. He couldn''t. He wouldn''t. There had to be another way. "Don''t worry, I''ll help!" a familiar, mocking voice purred. Diablo stepped out of the shadows, now as tall as Damian. "You see, for some reason, this guy wants you dead, right? And to survive, you must keep him shut, and how can you do that?" Diablo said slowly as he slowly approached the dead woman. He looked at her corpse for a second before pulling the dagger out. He inspected its blade for a couple of seconds before cleaning it on the woman''s dress and turned it in his hand before offering it to Damian. "By making sure he can''t talk ever again." Damian stumbled back, shaking his head violently. "No, I... I can''t." Diablo''s grin widened. "Sure you can. Here, let me help you." He grabbed Damian''s hands with inhuman gentleness, pressing the hilt into his palm. The man, eyes closed, growled once more, louder this time. Outside, a low clicking rumbled, too close for comfort. "Do it," Diablo whispered, his bright red flame body shining over Damian''s skin. Tears blurred Damian''s vision. He was unable to control himself. "I''m sorry," Damian choked out, his voice breaking. He got to his knees next to the man, where Diablo grabbed his hands and directed them to the side of the man''s upper chest. "From here, fast and deep." Damian hesitated. "I can''t do that, game world or not." He looked at Diablo, ready to protest, but as soon as the humanoid body made of fire entered his sight, Diablo pushed his hands and made Damian stab the man. The man gave one last struggle before quietly passing away. A screen appeared in between Damian and Diablo. [Entity killed: Adult Human. +10 XP. 10/20 next level.] "See, easy as that. Man, we could have got the woman too and leveled up if you were faster, but anyways, enjoy your experience points," Diablo said before disappearing. Damian stared at the corpse, his hands still clutching the dagger. His body refused to move, frozen in place as the sticky warmth of the man''s blood seeped through his trembling fingers. The room felt suffocating. When he finally snapped, he threw the dagger away and started vigorously rubbing his hands, trying to get blood out of his hands. "I¡­hich... I didn''t mean to," he stuttered, his voice barely audible over his hiccups. "He was¡­ he was dying anyway¡­ I just-." He stopped mid-sentence. His stomach was twitching. He leaned forward to vomit. Nothing but the dry heaves came out. He tried to get up, but his view spun. His limbs powerless and unable to control himself, he fell to the floor, splattering a blood puddle. Damian''s breathing hitched again, his hands clawing at his hair as blood dripped from them. "I didn''t want to¡­ I didn''t want to kill him," he whispered. He crawled into a ball and closed his eyes. "Get this out of me, get this out of me, get this out of me." He repeatedly whispered. Chapter 3: The Weight Of Survival Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Chapter 4: New Home Damian had been walking for three days now. The enjoyable forest walk had turned into torture quickly enough. "Just a little longer." He gasped. "As soon as I clear the quest, I stop there." He was tired, but the fact that he had come so far gave him the extra push he needed. "Eating while walking, carrying all this equipment on my back, and having to climb a tree and tie myself to its log to sleep each night safely will pay its effort. I feel it in my bones." His bones were right, and soon, he reached a small opening inside the forest. On a little hill in the opening stood an abandoned wooden shack, not too large, not too small. It had a small porch and damaged fence parts surrounding it. Next to the shack was a river deep enough for fish and other aquatic life, shallow enough not to swallow him. [Quest Complete! Reward Of Choice +100 experience] A screen appeared before him. [Congratulations, you leveled up! 300 experience to the next level 2 points to allocate] And another followed it. "Did I make something to make patrons happy, or was it just luck?" Damian thought, smiling uncontrollably at the situation. He decided to check the shack first to see if it was safe. "Some windows are broken, and the door has small holes but looks fine enough," Damian said, inspecting the front of the shack. "There probably was a small garden in the backyard, but it looks destroyed." He approached one of the windows and peeked inside. "Look at all this dirt and dust." Damian cleaned the window with his tunic arm. "Better. Now, what we got." Damian carefully inspected the interior. "Some fishing equipment, tools, a clay stove, two stools, a table, and a wooden bed." Satisfied with his findings, Damian moved to the front door. A simple lock on the outside kept the door shut. Two metal pieces, one nailed on the door and the other to the wall, held a wooden board passing in them. "I guess it''s good for keeping animals out," Damian said before pulling the wooden board out. He opened the door and moved to the side as dust rushed outside. "I need a mask for the health of my lungs." Damian grabbed a cloth from his sack, tied it around his face, and entered the shack. "Moss, dust, rotten food, this is bad." Damian rushed to the window and opened them one by one. "Before night falls, I need to freshen this place." He grabbed a bucket and a stick from the shack. "I can fill this bucket with water from the river and make a mop to clean the windows and the floors. I can think about my reward and points later." Determined to clean this new ''safe'' place he found, Damian moved to the river at the bottom and filled the bucket with water. "Damn, it''s leaking a little." He grabbed mud from the river bed and applied it around the hole. "Must do it for now." He carefully carried the bucket back to the shack. From there, it was like any regular spring cleaning, minus the song to motivate him and a mother to help him. Damian cleared the dust and cobwebs around the house using his makeshift cleaning tool: A rag tied to the end of a stick. After dusting, he cleaned the rag and dipped it in water to clean the windows before moving to the next step. Damian used his dagger and a hatchet from the town to clean most of the moss inside. "And thankfully, whoever lived here left behind a straw brush." He grabbed the yellow trusty tool and swept out the dirt, glass shards, and all the things he didn''t want on his floor.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. His arms ached, and his muscles burned. Exhaustion made his movements sluggish, but Damian felt fine. He stepped away, looked at the shack, and smiled proudly at his work. "Now, this is a house worth living!" It wasn''t. It still needed repairs, and the outside required even more cleaning, but for Damian, the abandoned shack might as be a mansion. Damian sat on the porch, watching the forest scenery. "Calm and peaceful. I can focus well enough here! Open status screen." The screen opened. This time, it had an exclamation mark on the top right corner, with a small number 2 on its bottom. Damian clicked on the exclamation mark, and two sub-screens opened, one for the unassigned points and one for the quest he cleared. "Let''s take the reward first." [Quest: Quest: Escape the town with supplies before Lyrian Knights arrive. Status: Cleared Rewards: A: Random book of entry-level craftsmanship (smithing, carpentry, sewing) B: 150 krots + 50 experience points] Damian scratched his chin. "My uncle always said take the money and XP early since most entry skills are learnable from NPCs with high relationships, but considering I am in the middle of nowhere, option A looks tempting." Damian thought a little longer. "It is not like it''s a hard choice. I already have over 2000 Krots from the town. I choose A!" A book appeared out of thin air and fell into Damian''s hands. Its cover was constantly changing. "Please be the carpentry. Please be the carpentry." Damian repeated. "I have no use for metal smithing, but I can easily grind carpentry in a forest!" The rate at which book cover changed slowed until it finally stopped. "Entry-level book of carpentry." Damian read its title. "Yes!" He pumped his fist and raised the book to the air. "Consume!" He shouted. Anti-climatically, nothing happened. "I said, consume!" Damian repeated himself, but nothing again. "Wait." He opened the book and skimmed through the pages. His eyes widened, and his head moved closer to the book with each. "This an actual carpentry book." He looked around, expecting Diablo to come out and make fun of him as he explained the learning mechanic, but nothing. "Wait, do I need to learn this." "Ha, what a joke. Why do I have to endure all the hardships of Beasts and Demons with none of the advantages? Well, at least I have something to kill time, I guess." He put the book next to himself and moved to his stat screen. "Now, to what I should put my precious points on." He watched the screen for ten minutes straight without making a move. Quietly rambling as he strategized the best stats. But soon, he gave up. "If I started in a safe town, I could just dump it all in Learning Efficiency and stamina and grinded class skills for money and bonuses, but I don''t have this luxury here." He scratched his head. "Still, it is just two points, not like the end of the world." After more thinking, Damian decided to put both points in endurance. "I have no mana and no need for explosive power or lighting-fast speed since I am not a fighting class. Stamina dump it is." [Name: Damian Level: 1->2 Class: Crafter HP: 12/12 MANA: N/N (Unavailable due to the Clogged Core trait) Strength: 6 Endurance: 8+2 Agility: 8 Will: 10 Magical Prowess (MP): 3 Learning Efficiency (LE): 12] Damian closed the status screen. His body gleamed faintly. He stretched and got up. "I already feel better. Let''s find a shovel and bury all rotten food before night falls so I can sleep comfortably." *** Night had fallen. Damian was exhausted but not enough to fall asleep. He sat before the clay oven, warming himself on its flames before it died. The warmth calmed his mind. But there was no long-lasting comfort. Creaking sounds from outside gave him goosebumps. "Lurker." He whispered and quickly reached for his spear. The monster was slowly climbing the hill, approaching his shack. Its ghostly pale flesh shone under the moonlight, and its disturbingly long arms, adorned with razor-sharp claws the size of Damian''s forearm, dug into the ground as it walked. It had a large mouth reminiscent of a leeche with no visible sensory organs. "It already knows I am inside the house." Lurker was infamous amongst newbies because it either outright killed many of them or at least injured their characters to the point of no reason playing on that anymore. It wasn''t fast, strong, or durable, but it had a brokenly powerful attack that could one-shot almost all characters under level 10 and a location ability of a mid-game mob." Damian''s eyes turned to the vials of Deathwing goo, but he shook his head. "I can kill a Lurker without wasting a vial." Damian watched as Lurker approached his house. "It has a moderately long cooldown for its location ability and is too big to enter from a window. If I can bait it to attack the door, I can sneak around and kill it." So Damian did. He barricaded the door and waited for the monster to reach the door. Lurker ferociously attacked the wooden door, slowly chipping it, but Damian waited. "Not yet," He calmed himself, standing next to an open window on the back. As soon as the monster clicked, he jumped out and rushed to the front of the house. As soon as he arrived, Lurker opened the door and rushed inside. Using this opportunity, Damian lunged forward. "Die!" He shouted, his spear piercing Lurker''s flesh, scattering a brown mucus-like substance around. "Ha!" Damian cried, pushing the beast towards the still-burning clay oven. Ambushed Lurker screeched and trashed the cabin with its claws but to no avail. Damian had managed to make it fall and burn. Both sides struggled and put everything on the line, but Damian had the advantage and determination. His hands grasped the spear so hard, they turned completely pale, while his muscles stretched to the point of near tear. "That giant claws of yours give you a massive attack range but also a massive weakness!" Lurker struggled for a little more before finally dying. [Lurker Killed! First beast kill bonus activated! Doubling the experience! +500 XP] [Level up! 2 -> 3 300 XP to next level] [2 unassigned points] Multiple screens appeared before Damian. He swiped them all away. "I will look at you tomorrow." He grabbed Lurker''s half-burned body, dragged it out, and tossed it away. "Surprisingly light." He thought. "I killed my first beast." He looked at his spear, lying on the ground, its tip covered in brown mucus. "And I will kill more. This world may be hard and unforgiving, but I can survive." Chapter 5: Saving Another Player A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.