I checked every other apartment and, after receiving no answers, embarrassed myself by trying and failing to kick open a couple of their doors. Apparently, six points of strength wasn’t enough for such a mighty feat.

I went back to Earnest, who suggested rather insistently that I try entering the neighboring apartment via the balcony. I almost protested about how dangerously absurd that was before I remembered my acrobatic skill. Provided my dexterity level was high enough, then theoretically, it should be a piece of cake. It did mean leaving the kitchen knife behind though. Both hands needed to stay free to catch myself in case I slipped. The katana went into its scabbard and then onto my back. Further solidifying the ninja look that the System was encouraging me to cultivate against my will.

I stepped out onto Earnest’s balcony. The gap between balcony apartments was around four and a half feet. An easy jump to make on the ground, even for an average person. But failure here meant certain death, and suddenly I wasn’t feeling so confident.

I asked Earnest if he had any kind of climbing supplies, but he assured me that he did not. He also pointed out that any improvised attempt at safety gear was more likely to hinder my movements. Thus, making the jump more difficult and reducing my ability to fight if another dog appeared.

Eventually, I stopped arguing and rationalizing with myself and climbed up onto the balcony's edge. My balance remained perfect and standing there felt no different from being on the ground. I smiled and jumped over to the next balcony, with my feet landing flawlessly. It was barely even a jump. It was more like a gentle hop and my balance was so keen that I didn’t know what I was worrying about.

The sliding glass door to the other apartment was locked and looking through revealed little information. None of the lights inside were on and with no daylight outside, the apartment interior was pitch black. Luckily, my Nights Eye ability kicked in and I could see enough to know that the place was either empty or the goblin dog inside was hiding in wait. Either way, the possibility of a creature represented upgrade points and was too big of an opportunity to miss. With my stats leveled, my confidence rose, and I was eager for it to taste the finest steel Larry’s Kung-fu Emporium had to offer.

I kept the katana in its scabbard and used the end of it to strike at the glass door. It cracked a little on the first attempt. I waited and when no one heard the noise and came; I resumed stabbing until I’d broken through and was able to smash my way inside.

The apartment was eerily quiet, and I was on high alert until I realized a dog wasn’t going to magically appear. Maybe this resident was outside when the tutorial began and that’s why there’s no dog? Regardless, it didn’t stop me from going through this person’s stuff and stealing anything of value that wasn’t nailed down. Primarily, that ended up being their food that I carried back to my apartment. Though this time I just used the front door.

[Party leader Earnest Johnson: DID YOU FIND ANYTHING?]

Ow! fuck, that’s loud. Why is he doing this when I’m right next door? I can’t believe it’s both audio and visual.

I brought up the menu and in addition to the stats and inventory options, there was now a third one called party chat. I selected it and mentally sent back a message.

[Lucas Hudson: The apartment was empty and there was no sign of a dog. I’m taking all of their food back to my place. We can talk about sharing it later, but we may have to consider rationing it. I don’t have enough to last me more than a couple of weeks, and there’s no guarantee that the other levels will have food or even apartments. If the System can alter this place and give it two freight elevators, then the other floors may be wildly different from what we’re used to.]

[Party leader Earnest: Good thinking. Let me know if you find anything in the remaining apartments.]

I jumped over to the next apartment via the balcony and it was the same story as before.

With one left to go on the right side. I was about to jump when an alert popped up that nearly made me stumble.

[ALERT!]

[Golden Elevator will open in fifteen minutes]

Truthfully, I was kind of relieved to hear that. Other than getting the food, the apartment search seemed to be a waste of time. But more than that, I could feel myself itching for a fight. Eager to feel the rush that I’d felt when I’d upgrade my stats and gotten stronger. If this next place proved to be empty, then it was time to move on and hunt for a bigger challenge.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

I hopped across and silently drew my sword. The sliding glass door for this apartment was open, and it seemed unlikely that the person living there would leave it like that to go to work. Not unless they wanted to encourage the birds to take up residence.

The lights were off in this place too. My Nights Eye ability activated automatically as I stepped inside. As soon as I did, a baseball bat swung towards my head. With my enhanced reflexes, I dodged it and was prepared to return the favor with my katana when I stopped short.

The one holding the bat wasn’t a monster at all but a terrified young man who eyes were so wide I thought he might pull a muscle. He was a few inches shorter than me, good looking, wearing a dark tracksuit, and looked like he was around nineteen. His slight muscular frame suggested that he played sports regularly and knew how to swing that bat for maximum impact.

The young man swallowed his fear and went for another swing. I could tell he was moving as fast as he could, but to me, it just looked so slow that avoiding the attack was child’s play.

“Enough,” I said. “I’m not here to hurt you. My name is Lucas and I’m one of your neighbors. I’ve been checking the apartments for survivors before I head to the next floor.”

The man didn’t try another attack, but he held the bat ready as if still uncertain that this wasn’t all some kind of trick. I noticed a pool of blood on the floor behind him and tried a disarming grin.

“Looks like you got one of the monsters too,” I said, pointing at the blood. “Good job.”

His face spasmed in panic as he went through several emotions at once before letting out a breath. Suddenly, he relaxed and smiled. “Thanks. I’m Martin.”

*New Player Discovered!* [Martin Weiss, Class: ???, Level: ???]

“I don’t remember you,” I said. “If you just moved in, then that’s very fortunate timing or unfortunate, depending on your perspective.”

“Actually, I live on the 97th floor. When the System stuff started, I was up on the roof smoking because I like the view from up there. Once I realized that my life was in danger and that thing explained that the top floor was the safest one, I came down here, picked the lock to this place, and barricaded myself inside. Somehow, one of those monster dogs got in and I just started hammering on it with the bat.”

He’s probably some kind of strength melee build then and considering how slow his swing was, it's safe to say that dexterity isn’t one of his strong points. I had to give him credit though, since I know how hard it is to kill one of those things. He seemed very humble about it and was growing calmer by the second, though he kept eyeing the katana that I hadn’t sheathed. I explained that it just felt more comfortable in my hands right now, what with all the potential danger. I also noticed he’d started cleaning up since his bat was spotless.

“Do you want to finish cleaning up before coming to the elevator?” I asked. “I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to come back here even after we clear other floors.”

Martin shook his head. “Nah, I’m not worried about it. I’ll just set up in a new apartment like last time.”

Fair enough, though his eyes kept darting back to the blood and he seemed more relieved when we went out into the hallway.

“Come on, you can meet the other survivor I found,” I said.

Martin stopped. “Wait, there’s another one?”

I nodded.

“Actually, can we make a quick detour first? I dropped my bag by the silver elevator when I was running to find a place to hide.”

He’s scared to even walk down the hallway alone. I guess I couldn’t blame him. Fighting that dog had been pretty intense for me.

At the end of the hallway, Martin reached behind a bin before whirling around and throwing an object at me. The object grew larger in the air until it became a snarling goblin hound dog. I slashed at it with my sword and felt the blade slice into its cheek, but the weight of the dog and its momentum knocked me back into the stairwell door. Without thinking, I grasped the handle and opened the door to give myself more room to fight. I backed up into the Stairwell but the dog only stopped in the doorway and growled.

Martin whistled. “Come on. It’s safer to get the other one.”

The dog moved further back.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t get you too,” he said, looking disappointed.

I sprang forward, but he shut the door in my face before I could get to it. I tried the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge. What had that warning message said ‘this is a partially unrestricted section.’ So in other words a free for all, which meant that the doors don’t open from outside otherwise every floor would be total chaos.

[WARNING!]

[Players who enter the Stairwell have made a commitment and must progress to the next floor down]

I guess you don’t have to wait for the elevator. A player could take the stairs right away and maybe even skip a floor or two if they’re willing to take the risk. But if you choose to do so, then the System makes you commit to the choice and prevents you from backtracking.

*Player Identified* [Martin Weiss, Class: Beastmaster, Level: 3]

Beastmaster. Instead of killing the dog like I had, he’d used his Class to recruit it. But how did he gain two levels just from that? Suddenly, I remembered the blood in the apartment and answered my own question. A feeling of disgust twisted in my stomach. He’s feeding people to that thing in order to gain levels. I have to warn Earnest before it’s too late.

There was a mild cough behind me that suddenly caught my attention. I turned and saw a four-foot green goblin with a squat flat nose and yellow eyes. It was wearing a rough-hewn tunic and was leaning back against the Stairwell railing while smoking a cigarette.

We locked eyes, and then the goblin groaned. “ugh, it’s too early for this,” he said in a squeaky smoker’s voice. He then put out his cigarette and unsheathed the large combat knife he’d had hidden behind his back.