Ding!
Congratulations! You have slain Male Myriad level F9.
Congratulations! You have slain Female Myriad level F9.
Congratulations! Your Soul Core has been upgraded.
Calculating…
Speed upgraded.
General Rank Upgraded.
New stats:
Subject: Zach Walker.
Race: Human (Earth)
Class: Mage, Rogue.
Merged Class: Undergoing calculations.
General Rank: F8
Constitution F9
Magic F6
Mana F7
Speed F5
Strength F7
The words struck me like a boulder. I wasn’t prepared to hear them. Until now, elves and demons were just aliens in my mind. But when you can speak with someone, they become something more. I had also just become something entirely new. I am a killer.
Even though I knew I wasn’t the one who struck the final blows, the words sunk into my stomach and made my sweat grow cold.
No matter what I told myself to cope, I had helped the duo beside me. I was a part of it. And even though it hurt, there was no reason to dwell on it—or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
The sweat didn’t stop streaming from the top of my head down to my forehead, and the shaking in my hands took longer to subside than I expected.
The blond man looked at me, and for a second, I thought he was going to strike. But instead, he drove his blade and shield into the ground, and they disappeared as if by magic. His eyes narrowed, and his mouth spread into a wide grin that stretched from ear to ear.
I wasn’t sure if he was speaking Russian and the system was translating it for me, or if everyone was going to speak Russian now—or English. Or maybe he just guessed I was American.
The woman beside him also dropped her weapons, and both extended their hands to me. I shook them and tried to smile. But before we could say anything, a system message popped up.
Ding! Congratulations! Zack Smith, you earned the title "Outer Worlder Slayer," the first to kill a competitor from a different planet.
Your first strike against a competitor from another planet will be a critical one.
Ding! Congratulations! Mila Martinez, you earned the title "Outer Worlder Slayer," the first to kill a competitor from a different planet.
Ding! Congratulations! Max Jankovic, you earned the title "Outer Worlder Slayer," the first to kill a competitor from a different planet.
I still had my hand clasped with Max’s as his name appeared in the last system notification. Our eyes were locked, and his grin didn’t waver, but I noticed his eyes darting from side to side.
He knew who I was—the guy with two classes. And worst of all, I knew who he was—the guy who had killed a human and earned the [Murderer] title not long ago.
“This face of yours is because of the murderer title?” he asked, as if he were deeply curious. It was hard to read the man, but I tried to remain calm.
“You know it’s hard not to notice something like that. I tightened the grip on his hand, just slightly to have a levarage in case he attacked me.
“I understand you,” Max said, releasing my hand and walking back as his smile slowly faded from his face.
Both of them no longer held weapons, but I had just switched my dagger from my right hand to my left to greet them. If a fight were to break out, I was more prepared to strike.
However, I couldn’t sense any hostility from the short, blond man. Instead of attacking, he sat on the ground near the bodies of the fallen elves, crossed his arms, and looked at me with an expression of great determination.
“This guy jumped out of nowhere,” Max started, his gaze distant as if recalling a painful memory. “He had a bow in his hands, but he wasn’t trying to shoot an arrow at me. He seemed to be in a panic, I don’t know, maybe he was just crazy. He was like one of those guys you see on the street on your way home, but you never really pay attention to them. He couldn’t stop swinging that bow toward my head. I tried to calm him down, but it didn’t work. In the end, just like now, it was me or him.” Max had his eyes fixed on the fallen elves as he finished his recollection.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
The woman beside him, Mila, stared directly at Max. There was something strange about her gaze, but after killing two living beings, it would be strange if she were completely fine.
“Is he right, Mila?” I asked, and the woman shifted her gaze to me.
“Yes, he’s speaking the truth.” Her accent was odd, clearly that of a native Spanish speaker, and her brown skin made me think she was probably South American, not European. She wore a simple black dress, while Max had on a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. The man looked like a regular guy, but there was something unsettling about him that didn’t quite fit.
“What about them?” I pointed to the elves.
“They attacked us. We were trying to ambush a rat that had just turned a corner, then we heard a thunderous noise and we were suddenly attacked from behind. Can you believe it?” Max wiped his brow with his good arm and stared at me with utter shock.
“Yeah.” Mila chimed in, but her voice was distant. She couldn’t stop staring at the dead enemies.
“I was telling her that. We need to stay together. The humans, I mean. They’re the real enemy. And the red bastards as well.” Each sentence he spoke seemed to be more loaded with pain.
Max outstretched one hand, and a small bottle appeared in his palm. He brought it to his mouth and drank it. As the liquid went down his throat, I watched in awe as the deep wound near his shoulder began to heal instantly. Even the blood soaking his shirt seemed to disappear, almost as if it was reabsorbing into his body.
“What was that? A healing potion?” I asked, moving to the opposite wall and sitting on the ground to collect myself. I had a few scratches from the fight with the goblin, and the idea of drinking a magic potion sounded pretty appealing.
“Yeah, you just need to say ‘inventory.’ At least, I had to say it the first time. Now I just think about it, and the inventory appears in my head.
“This is just like a video game, dude. How is this even real?” I pinched my forehead as I asked. The strange situation was still setting in as my hands slowly stopped shaking.
“I’ve never played a video game before.” Mila sat beside Max and checked his now-closed wound.
“Really? That’s basically what’s happening to us. There are stats, missions, titles—everything from video games. Some authors from Earth even wrote that the end of the world would be something like this. Those crazy nerds were fucking right.”
I muttered to myself as I whispered “inventory” under my breath. As soon as I did, the familiar blue box appeared once again. It showed ten slots, arranged in two rows of five. Only one of them was occupied by a bottle. When I focused on the item, a message appeared:
Small healing potion, capable of healing several minor wounds or a larger one. Use carefully; a potion can be the difference between life and death.
Interesting. Turns out that using it to heal some scratches from an ugly goblin wasn’t going to be the most optimal use.
“Two classes, huh?” Max asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, I think I was lucky,” I replied, trying to sound as dismissive as possible without coming off as a jerk. I didn’t trust Max enough to start sharing everything with him, but the system had already snitched my titles, so there was no hiding the fact that I had two classes. I just played along.
“That was really brave of you,” Mila commented. “I was almost pissing my pants when the message to choose one of the insignias appeared. Honestly, I don’t know if I was right to choose Warrior. I just thought I needed to be strong if I wanted to survive whatever this is.”
“Of course you need to be strong! All this feels like a freaking reality show,” Max replied. “I bet they’re loving it right now.”
And they were. Small messages kept appearing in the corner of my vision. These weren’t as intrusive as the others, but they were constant.
You are being watched.
You are being watched.
When I was alone in the tunnels trying to find a new enemy, I hadn’t seen a single message. But as soon as the rat rushed at me, they started popping up. And when I met Max and Mila, they simply exploded.
Now that we were talking, the messages just wouldn’t stop. I knew it wasn’t a bug because they disappeared for a fraction of a second, only to reappear again. I had no idea how many people had left the transmission and come back, but they were clearly enjoying our conversations.
I had to admit, I’d watched my fair share of reality shows.
I was a competitor myself, and seeing people fight for a prize always appealed to me. I had a girlfriend once who watched all the seasons of Ink Master, and we’d become the best artistic critics of our time.
I knew what the viewers were seeing now was gripping—people fighting and now dealing with the aftermath. This was pure and simple low entertainment, the kind of drama that kept people glued to their screens.
“Yeah, I bet some of the bastards are jerking off as we speak,” I muttered.
Mila made a disgusted face, crossing her legs tightly as she sat. Then she chuckled, and Max and I joined in, lightening the mood.
That seemed to drive off some of the spectators because the messages started to disappear.
“Looks like they’re not that interested now that we’re not killing each other. I wonder if having viewers is important to this game.” Max scratched his head, starting to be lost in thought.
“I bet it is. At least it is in most live reality shows,” I replied, getting ready to stand up. I didn’t have time to waste.
“Wait, where are you going?” Mila asked, and I noticed a hint of apprehension in her voice.
“I need to find the entrance to the second floor,” I replied, cleaning my hands again and preparing to move.
“Wait, Zach,” Max interjected, quickly getting up and rushing toward me. “Why don’t we work together? You saw the messages. If we defeat the boss on the third floor as a team, we can exit this place and have a better chance to fight.”
I pondered his words, searching his eyes for any hidden intentions. He was right, I couldn’t deny that.
At that moment, I didn’t see anything in his gaze besides a friendly resolve. I was still wary and Mila’s obvious silent discomfort made me reconsider his proposition several times before I spoke again.
Yet, I realized I had no better options. Three people together were better than one alone, and if Max or Mila turned out to be some kind of real murderous pieces of shit, it was better to be close enough to watch their movements than to give them the opportunity to attack me from behind when I least expected it.
“We can do that. But my plan is to kill as many monsters as possible, gather whatever loot we can, collect as many shards as possible, and then move to the second floor. I bet the boss on the third floor won’t be easy. And the stronger we get, the easier it’ll be. Right?”
“I agree with that.” Max extended his arm again and we shook hands for the second time that day. He and I both grinned, and Mila got up, preparing to move.
“What did you say about shards?” Max asked as we started walking down the tunnel.
----------------------------------------
As we walked, I explained to Max and Mila about the shards, and they were very grateful. It turned out they each had two skills as well.
One was a taunt to attract enemies to their shields, and the other was the thrust strike they kept performing, which seemed to enhance the ability of their swords to pierce difficult materials like metal or shields.
Warriors seemed to be a class to be feared, but I didn’t regret choosing both rogue and mage. I preferred to be fast, agile, and still able to strike harder with magic rather than being a sitting duck for enemies to hit.
With two warriors by my side, I put my abilities to good use. I noticed more than a few approving glances from both Max and Mila as we finished off three giant rats in one of the corridors.
We got no shards or level ups from the kill, but I was starting to feel a little more comfortable around Max and Mila. That was when the screaming started.