Of course, the very first thing I did was test out the acrobatics ability. Anything I attempted suddenly felt as easy as breathing. First with a cartwheel, then a front flip, and then a backflip across the apartment. I laughed. This was amazing. My brain and body had just instantly downloaded these skills as soon as the right stat was high enough. Now it felt like my body was more fluid and graceful than it ever had been before.

After testing out a few more movements, I decided to get back to work. Not because the fun of tumbling had worn off, but simply because I felt a deep desire to gain more points and see what else could be learned. My mind raced at the possibilities of having greater strength so that I might be able to tear the next goblin dog in half or reaching a constitution level that would make me impervious to its bites. All of it was so exciting and for the first time, I knew that I was going to acquire enough power to make it all the way to the ground floor.

In the mean time, work meant trying out an experiment.

I figured that the goblin dog body may prove to still be of some value. So I took it into my bathroom, wrapped a cord tightly around its legs, and threw it over the shower railing before hoisting the corpse up over the bathtub. With the body hanging upside down over the tub, I placed a water bottle underneath it to collect the remaining blood that dripped down. My theory was that if its blood could heal me after it was dead, then that ability might persist for some time. There wasn’t a lot of blood left in the dog since most of it was now sitting on my kitchen floor, but after it hung there for a while, there was enough left to fill up one water bottle. I received a notification as soon as I picked it up.

*Item Identified!* [Rudimentary Blood Reaver Health Potion (common: F-Grade)] - You’ve discovered how to use your Class ability to craft a potion that restores vitality and heals grievous wounds.

*DING!* Crafting a new potion has increased your intelligence stat to 10

*DING!* You have received [Basic Craftworking Skill] – Mild proficiency in crafting basic items, assessing their durability, and potency has increased.

Time to test out the new skill. I turned my attention back to the water bottle filled with blood and felt a little rush of euphoria because I now knew that the blood would be able to keep healing me for the next three days before it degraded. The skill also told me that refrigerating it would extend its lifespan as a health potion for nearly ten days.

I guess I was wrong about intelligence only relating to magic. If I ever find one of those coins, then I’ll ask about the other stats too. There’s probably far more depth to them than I know.

Aside from a payphone suddenly appearing in the living room, my apartment was stranger than I’d first realized too. For instance, certain electronics like the lights and everything attached to the kitchen worked perfectly. Hot and cold water still worked too, but if I tried to boot up my computer or turn my phone on, nothing would happen. The windows and the balcony door were tested next. I’d assumed they would have been closed off by magic, but I was able to open the windows and go out onto the balcony just fine.

I didn’t linger outside though. That empty endless void still creeped me out. I couldn’t tell if that was just a natural human reaction or if there was something magical afoot that was being impressed upon me. Luckily, it did offer one benefit in the form of easier corpse disposal. Once the dog had been drained, I threw the body over the side, and watched it fall hundreds of feet before silently slipping into the darkness. Several minutes passed and yet there was no sound of it reaching the bottom. I went back inside and tried not to think about what would happen if fell off the balcony.

Cleaning the kitchen floor was the next. The task was dull and mundane, but if I was going out there to fight more monsters, then I wanted somewhere clean and orderly to return to. Plus, my craftworking ability also informed me that goblin dog blood could smell quite bad when left sitting out for too long.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

After I’d finished cleaning the floor, I caught sight of myself in a mirror and realized that a shower and fresh clothes were sorely needed. I was six feet tall and way too skinny thanks to a diet that mainly composed of caffeinated beverages. My face grimaced in disgust when I realized that I’d gotten blood into my hair and that it was starting to dry.

While the blood might have healed my body, it was the relaxing hot shower that rejuvenated my mind. I knew that with phones and computers disabled, there was no way for me to contact any of my friends and family. No way to even know if they were still alive. I hoped that they were, but I couldn’t spend too much time worrying about it when death was still hanging over me. The Officiator said that I’d end up wishing for more time, which means that I’m going to have to make every day count.

When it was time to choose my clothes, I was inundated with choice. Cosplay, as a hobby, had enabled me to acquire quite an eclectic collection of outfits. Most of which were useless. However, there was one character I’d portrayed who always rode a motorcycle. So, in addition to the jeans and t-shirt I’d put on, I also added a padded motorcycle jacket and steel-toe capped boots for protection.

*Item Identified!* [Padded Motorcycle Jacket (common: F-grade)] – A common item useful for mild protection against blunt force trauma. Less effective against sharp objects like Goblin Dog teeth. (Current state: Perfect)

Whatever. I’m still wearing it, since it’s the closest thing I have to armor.

*Item Identified!* [Steel toe-cap boots (common: F-grade)] – Useful if you anticipate your enemies dropping heavy objects on your toes as a form of attack. Otherwise, it mildly enhances kick and stomp attacks. (Current state: Perfect)

I retrieved my knife and sword before venturing once more out into the hallway.

You might have thought that in such a large, upscale apartment building that I’d have all sorts of wacky stories to tell about my neighbors, but you’d be wrong. Everybody mostly kept to themselves and at best a polite hello was exchanged in passing. Still, I hoped they were doing okay. The Officiator said that this was the easiest floor and considering how much I’d struggled with the dog, I couldn’t imagine what those on the lower floors were dealing with.

The hallway showed no signs of life at all. At one end of it, there was a large silver freight elevator that was far wider than the original had been. If the System could mess with space like this, then other floors could be similarly affected which means some might be shorter or larger than others. Curious, I pushed the elevator button to see what would happen.

[Error!]

[You are on the highest cleared floor. Clearing or entering another floor is required to access this elevator]

So this was the one that could take you back up. I guess that means that even after beating other floors, I can still use the elevator here to return to my apartment.

Next to the elevator was a solid metal door with a round crystal door handle. The sign above it said stairway. Another message appeared when my fingers brushed the handle.

[Warning! This is a dangerous zone. The Stairwell is partially unrestricted. Proceed with caution]

Given that this message of danger hadn’t come up when a monster dog had entered my apartment to use me as a chew toy, I decided to steer clear of the stairs until I’d ruled out all the other possibilities.

The other end of the hallway yielded similar results but with a gold elevator and a message informing me that it was locked until the timer had ended. Though it didn’t specify how much time was left. There was also a second Stairwell door, which gave out the same warning message.

I sighed. With nothing else left to do, it was time to try and meet some of the neighbors. I knocked on the first door, hoping to at least find someone else to talk to about all this craziness. Though I realized that me knocking on somebody’s door while holding a sword and a kitchen knife wouldn’t inspire great confidence in people to come forward, I still wasn’t willing to put them down. Not after almost getting killed by that dog. Besides, there was no way for me to know what would happen once I knocked on a door. It could be that I’m the only one left alive on this floor and that everyone else is either dead or missing. I might find another goblin dog behind one of these doors or a traumatized family hiding and not knowing what’s going on.

Either way, I decided I’d knock on every door and if there are no answers, then I’d kick them down one by one to loot for supplies.

There was the sound of footsteps approaching the first door I’d knocked on. “Who is it?” a man on the other end asked.

“I’m Lucas Hudson. I’m your neighbor. I live in apartment D. Do you know what’s going on out here?”

The door opened and a fit older black man in grey pajamas emerged. He shoved a pistol in my face and said, “yeah I got a pretty good idea.”