This Unit has levelled up
Unit: Alexa Hugo Francis Lv 7 Exp: 405/3645 Health: 15/15 Mana: 20/20 Strength: 7 (+1) Endurance: 3 (+1) Spirit: 4 (+1) Resistance: 1 Dexterity: 8 (+1) Charm: 7 (+1)
Alex took another bite from the stale sandwich she’d grabbed from her backpack. It wasn’t the best thing she’d ever eaten, nor was it the worst. Which was fine. She’d eaten a variety of horrifying things she would rather forget.
She frowned. The night had come sooner than she wanted. Hunting a combination of Svels and Vlaids took longer than she’d anticipated. It certainly didn’t help that monsters began to run away when she came into their sights.
It was an odd experience, really. Svels and Vlaids are relentless in their pursuit, yet hesitation would appear when she came before them. Was it all the blood dripping from her sword? Or maybe the many corpses around her? That shouldn’t have mattered. Though they didn’t eat their own kind, they would gladly do so if prompted.
She had a hunch that it was her Charm playing into it. She still wasn’t sure why her Charm was increasing as quickly as her Strength and Dexterity. She wasn’t even sure what Charm could really do. But perhaps an increase in Charm also increased a Unit’s intimidation factor? It might be.
It still didn’t answer why her Charm was even increasing in the first place. Her Charm from her previous life had been pitifully small, and it only increased due to Rewards from Scenarios.
She shook her head. That didn’t matter.
Not compared to what she was about to do next.
She held a triumphant smile as she pulled out a glass of strawberry jam from her backpack. Just before she retired from her hunt, she passed by an abandoned grocery store. The door was slammed open, and the glass at the front was cracked. There were still items inside however, and pulled by curiosity, she went in.
It was the best decision she could ever make today.
They had a set of strawberry jam sitting at the back shelves, and like a greedy raccoon she nabbed a plastic bag and began stuffing all the strawberry jam she could. She also grabbed herself a couple loaves of bread to compliment her recent gold. With spoils gathered, she returned to her roof, eager for the first time in quite a while.
She twisted the lid open and was greeted with that familiar sweet hue. This was her little comfort. Her little share of warmth. If others turned to drugs to forget, she turned to strawberry jam, and sweets. Anything sweet really.
Her smile fell slightly.
A little share of warmth. That wasn’t easy to find.
She shook her head.
She pressed her palm over the glass. Calling her mana, her palm began to glow a bright blue. Then, like snowflakes, blue sparks began gently falling into the glass and mixing into the jam. A glitter of blue and purple lit within the strawberry jam, as if there was a party of fireworks exploding within it.
She kept doing so for the next hour, sweat gathering at her brow as her Mana continued to tick down. Her hand shook slightly as the minutes passed on. Her body grew colder as more Mana left her.
Then, with just 3 Mana left, the strawberry jam glowed a bright white, and Alex lifted her hand with a sigh.
She’d done it.
Mana-Induced Strawberry Jam
Rank: F
A glass of industrially-made strawberry jam. It was then slowly induced with Mana, enhancing its taste and extending its shelf life.
When fully consumed: Permanently increases maximum Mana by 1
She didn’t really care about increasing her Mana. It was nice, she supposed, but it’d quickly lose its purpose after her Mana breaches past the hundred mark. She cared more about its taste.
She gave it a quick little taste, and she melted back with a happy sigh. It tasted wonderful. The sweetness, accompanied by that little fruity tang of mana. It was something to die for.
Her eyes glanced at the loaves of bread she’d nabbed.
She assembled a strawberry jam sandwich in seconds. It was then consumed in seconds. She made a little whimper as she ate the last chunk, and a weak sigh left her lips as she sealed her strawberry jam close and placed it back into her backpack. She wanted to eat more, but she’d be wasting it. She’d leave it for tomorrow.
…Hmm. She wondered if she could substitute all those drugs sold on the black market with strawberry jam. All those infamous drugs she’d come to know were mostly consumed for pleasure anyways. Maybe she could intercept the entire competition and exchange it with sweets?
Mm. She sort of hated how much she wanted to do that.
She smiled thinly. Even if she were to do so, she wouldn’t be able to spare the time. She could hire another Unit to do it all for her, but who would even want to do that?
…
Ah. There’d probably actually be someone willing to do that for the rest of their lives. This was the apocalypse. Anything could happen.
She turned to the starry skies above. It was a clear night. The stars were clear to see, glimmering like an array of diamonds. A rare sight, and one that would become even rarer as the Scenarios progressed. The red miasma would corrupt the skies, and the stars would be hidden by the unchanging dull red.
A shame.
She took out her phone and snapped a picture of the stars. She stared at it for a few moments, before she went over and changed it into her wallpaper. A nice little reminder of the days before the apocalypse. A memento of the past.
She sighed. Her mind was wandering again.
----------------------------------------
Mm. She hated being in a basement. The enclosed space made her feel somewhat nauseous. It wasn’t quite claustrophobia; she didn’t hate being underground, but she far preferred the freeing feeling of sleeping under the open sky.
Not something she’d be able to do in a while.
It was the morning of the third day. She’d woken up around five, an hour before the Svels would begin waking. She slung her backpack over her back, picked up her sword, and leapt onto the streets below.
The roads were still empty. Svels would wake at dawn, and the Vlaids an hour or so after that. An empty street surrounded by empty buildings. Some were unharmed. Some had their windows shattered. Some had their doors slammed open. Some had their walls broken through. All had no one occupying them.
A perfect still image of an abandoned town. She would’ve snapped a picture if the reason hadn’t been so horrifying.
She began running. The buildings blurred as she ran past, moving faster than any normal human ever should. The weight on her back and the sword on her hip did little to slow her down.
She eventually made it back to her apartment. It looked as it did three days before. Untouched. Undamaged. Just empty.
She went in, walked around the main desk at the back of the first floor, and nabbed a key to one of the rooms down below. She went down the stairs, walked over to the room tagged with the same number as her key, and went in.
There was little in the room. Nothing but a bed and a desk. It’d do for the time being.
She set down her backpack and sighed. She hated being here already. The lack of windows added to the slow suffocation she felt. But there was little she could do. This was the best place to make her base. She’d rather not have her face bit off while she slept.
It’d do. She just hoped the ceiling wouldn’t come crashing down.
She gave her backpack another thorough check, just to see if she was missing anything. She wasn’t. Setting it atop the sole desk in the room, she left her room and locked the door behind her. She stuffed it into her pockets as she climbed up the stairs. She squinted as light fell onto her eyes.
The sun had risen.
She glanced at her status. She’d need just over eighty Vlaids slain to ascend to the next level. That wasn’t a small number. She could probably bridge the gap if she hunted with all the remaining time she had, but that’d leave her with no time to rest before noon came. And fighting a new enemy with an empty stomach just wouldn’t do.
She frowned.
…
No. She shouldn’t. Overexerting herself wouldn’t be beneficial.
Her mind made up, she leapt up to the roof of her apartment. The streets were beginning to fill with packs of Svels. No Vlaids could be seen yet, which made sense. The Vlaids should still be sleeping at this time.
She began running from rooftop to rooftop, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary as she ran.
She didn’t find anything odd for a while. The Svels acted as they did the day before. The streets were empty of any human life. Some places were destroyed. Some were not. The Vlaids were hidden in the shadows of the alleyways, drool trailing down their chins as they slept on their backs.
She leapt down and silently stabbed them through their abdomens.
Slain: Vlaid Lv - 4, Vlaid Lv - 4, Vlaid Lv - 4, Vlaid Lv - 4 Gained 160 Exp
She left soon after.
Hunting the Vlaids down as they slept would’ve made quite the strategy, but there were far fewer Vlaids compared to Svels, and they didn’t live in large packs like the giant rats did. Finding them would be hard, and it wouldn’t be long before they woke up.
She kept moving, leaping from one roof to another, eyes trained on the streets below.
And then stopped.
The street below was oddly deserted, with nothing but a single Svel. The rat was suspiciously still, as if it was nothing but a statue. There was a niggling feeling in the back of her head. A soft whisper of familiarity. As if she should recognize what this was.
Her eyes went wide.
A Sub Scenario.
There were two forms of Scenarios. Main and Sub. Main Scenarios were like the one this one. An obligatory mission forced onto every Unit. A necessary thing to be completed lest a Unit meets their deactivation. Sub Scenarios were different. They were off-side missions, created either by chance or by some special circumstance. Failing them didn’t mean death, but failing would still incur some negative effect on the Unit.
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To accept, the Unit must simply step in close. To deny, the Unit must simply leave the special area.
Alex took a breath, then another. To accept or deny.
She glanced at her phone.
08:38
Three hours and a half before noon. Maybe even less if she wanted to rest. She turned back to the still Svel on the deserted street below. A possible reward attached with a risk, or definite safety with nothing to gain?
She pondered over her two choices for a full minute, before she decided.
She leapt down onto the street.
The Unit has entered a designated space. Presenting Sub Scenario...
Rodent's Dream
Threat: F-
Requirements: Break the odd statue and defeat what's unleashed
Success: 300 Coins, +2 to all Attributes
Failure: The unleashed beast roams free
Time Limit: One Hour
A threat of F-. The same difficulty as the first Scenario. Not impossible, but not easy. She turned to the still Svel. It was incredibly lifelike for a statue, but she wasn’t surprised. Nothing was impossible under the aid of the Monolith. A lifelike statue was hardly the strangest thing she’d ever encountered.
Her task given, she leapt back up to the roof of one of the many buildings around the street. She eyed the statue below, and with a small breath, she took her sword from her hip. She raised it over her head, arm pulled back, and with all her strength she threw.
Her sword smashed right through the statue’s head.
She quickly called her sword back into her hands and hid, just in time for the ground to begin trembling. She peeked her head just above the edge of the roof, and she saw a pitch black smoke begin to rise out of the broken statue. It rose high into the sky, higher than even skyscrapers, before it crashed back down. It gathered into a large sphere as it began to squish.
And slowly, it began shaping into something resembling a Svel. Thick legs were formed under its body. Sharp claws grew out of its feet. A head stretched out from its front. A tail from its back.
Then the smoke solidified into a reflective black metal, and it shattered to reveal a giant Svel the size of a large truck.
Her eyes were wide.
A titan. A monster that had grown far past its original size. One of the many mutant variants that could appear among the monsters. The one that’d just formed was a small titan, but it was a titan nonetheless.
Stronger, tougher, and more durable. But in the end, it was still a Svel.
A thin smile came onto her face.
After all, it hadn’t looked up at all.
She stood, and with her sword raised over her head, she stepped forward and threw. Her sword sailed through the air, and the shrill sound of cutting winds finally caught the giant Svel’s attention. It turned towards her, eyes narrowed at an enemy.
It shouldn’t have turned at all.
Her sword stabbed right through its left eye, and it screeched. It stomped around in pain, its flesh decaying from her sword’s enchantment. It quickly shook its head to fling the sword away. She called it back into her hands before it could hit the earth.
It screeched and charged at the building she stood on. She threw her sword at its head and leapt to the roof on her right. Her sword landed just right of its injured eye. It screeched in pain as it barreled straight through the building. The whole structure shook before it crumbled down on the giant Svel.
She stared at the ruined remains as she called her sword back.
A single charge had brought a building down.
Dangerous. She couldn’t get hit.
She peered over the edge and saw the giant Svel rise from the pile of rubble. It shook off the chunks of concrete covering it as it glared at her. It looked positively murderous.
She responded by throwing her sword. It landed right on its nose this time.
Blood soared through the air. It screeched, pained and angered, and it charged straight at the building she stood on. She quickly turned and leapt onto the next building.
The building she stood on crumbled.
She glanced at the buildings around her. There were three buildings left before a park came.
She peered over the edge and threw her sword again. It landed right on its other eye this time, and it screeched as it began thrashing around. Its ears then twitched, and it shook off the rubble on its body and crashed right through the building she stood on. It crumbled seconds later.
Alex watched it all from the next building, her sword appearing back in her hands with a small blue spark.
Its eyes were gone. Its nose was gone. Two senses damaged. Only its ears remained, and it’d become unable to tell where she was. But its ears were sharp. And from where she stood, there was no way she could hit its sides and damage its ears. She’d need to jump down.
So she threw her sword at its head and leapt onto the street. A pained screech sounded, and the building she’d just stood on crumbled onto the ground. She called her sword back into her hands and waited. The giant Svel was still buried under the rubble and a cloud of dust shrouded the entire place.
She waited, silent.
Then she heard the sound of falling concrete, and the cloud dust parted to show the giant Svel. Its face was completely drenched in blood, and it was wiggling its ears. It was trying to find her. It was letting its ear be shown.
She threw.
It tried to turn, but the sword had already stabbed through its left eardrum. It screeched in pain, and she let her sword stay for a few more seconds before she called it back. If its sharp edge hadn’t torn its eardrum, then its enchantment would’ve rotted what was left.
It turned to her, growling, teeth barred and claws scraping against the ground. It was angry. It was in pain.
Alex returned it with a simple stare.
It began charging. She leaned forward, sword held at the ready. With just inches between them, she jumped to her left, and turning, she threw her sword right at its right ear.
Her sword stabbed true.
She softly coughed as she made several steps back. Her arms were hurting. She threw her swords in rapid succession, and her low Endurance didn’t like that. Her Endurance was too weak for her to fully use all her Strength, and if she did, her body would quickly tire. Raising her Endurance was a must.
Still,
She sucked in a sharp breath. The giant Svel was thrashing around, the ground trembling with every stomp it made. Her sword was still lodged in its ear, and she could see its flesh flaking off like shreds of paper.
She called her sword back into her hands. A sprout of blood came from its right ear as she did. It didn’t notice. It was too taken by its pain to notice anything else. It didn’t notice as she hopped onto its back. It didn’t notice as she raised her sword above her head. It did nothing but thrash around, desperately trying to find the thing that had injured it.
She swung.
It cried out, surprised by the sudden pain in its neck.
She swung.
It cried again, more pained, more terrified. It began shaking its body to get rid of whatever was hurting it. She crouched down and held onto its thick fur. She didn’t fall. She raised an arm.
She swung.
Another splash of blood. Some made it onto her leg, soaking into her shoes. It’d remain there until she could clean it. It was fine. She had worn dirty clothes for far longer.
She swung,
Her sword continued to dig deeper and deeper. The giant Svel began running round blindly. Trying to attack. Trying to flee.
She swung.
It flinched and tripped, falling and scraping against the street. She pulled her sword out of the growing wound, blood soaking its every inch. Her fingers glowed with bright blue sparks. Her mana swirled in her arms, rampant and needy.
She swung.
It didn’t move. It did nothing but whimper. The wound had dug too deep now. She could see its spine, laced between pink flesh and globs of blood. Her arms were shaking, worn and tired, and not even her mana could keep it completely still.
She raised her sword.
It whimpered.
She swung.
It died.
Slain: Titan Svel Lv - 22 Gained 2000 Exp
She leapt off the dead Svel. Her legs wobbled as she landed, and she let her sword slip from her shaking hands. She’d overdone it. Her entire right arm hurt.
Unit Alexa Hugo Francis has finished the Sub Scenario, Rodent's Dream
Gained 300 Coins
Attributes increased
But she did it. And maybe she wouldn’t be able to hunt today. And maybe this arm of hers would be aching for the rest of the day. But she’d done it.
Unit: Alexa Hugo Francis Lv 7 Exp: 2565/3645 Health: 25/25 Mana: 30/30 Strength: 9 (+2) Endurance: 5 (+2) Spirit: 6 (+2) Resistance: 3 (+2) Dexterity: 10 (+2) Charm: 9 (+2) Coins: 300
She’d reached 10 Dexterity on the third day. 10 Dexterity in just three days. That was leagues faster compared to her previous life. Her Strength and Charm weren’t far behind. She’d probably reach it by the next day.
She’d also gotten 300 Coins. There was that too.
It was almost surreal.
She looked down. Most of her clothes were soaked in blood. Her shoes were drenched red, her shorts were similarly colored, and the lower half of her shirt was stained dark. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Its back was also caked in blood. She clicked it open.
09:22
She sighed. It was still early morning, and yet she was unfit to hunt. An entire day of resting.
…
Mm. She didn’t like doing nothing, but there was little she could do. Going further than this could lead to an injury. That was no good.
She picked up her sword with her other hand and leapt up onto the roof of a building. She gave one last glance at the Titan Svel’s corpse before she left, running before more monsters would come to see what’d happened.
Her arm shook the entire way back.
Oh. She was going to be in pain.
----------------------------------------
She was right.
Swirling mana through the body increased its capability to heal. But healing isn’t regeneration, and it certainly isn’t painless.
The ache on her arm would turn into a slow, stinging pain over the course of a week. But she had no time for that. As she’d been doing for the past hour, she kept her mana agitated and moving, pushing them to spin around the cavities of her arm.
Pain meant to be spread over a week was condensed into hours, and that dull sting turned into paralyzing heat that scorched through her nerves. It felt as if someone had injected lava straight into her veins and then proceeded to shove her entire arm into a bucket of flesh-melting acid.
The rest of the day was spent on her new bed, staring at the ceiling as her thoughts melted into a haze. She couldn’t really think of anything but the pain. She couldn’t really feel anything. Noon passed at some time, and the earth shook around her, but there was little she could do but groan at the pain stabbing through her arm.
She reached over to her phone.
18:52
She grimaced. It was night already? She hadn’t felt it. She gave her arm a cursory poke, and pain was her reward. It felt somewhat duller than it did before. Not enough for her to feel confident in fighting, but enough for her to begin moving.
She slowly pushed herself off the bed. She felt a tad off, as if the world was slightly tilted wrong. It was probably the pain.
She walked over to her backpack, stared at it for a good minute, before she sighed. She had no appetite. The cold, pre-prepared meals didn’t do anything to inspire either. So she reached down and grabbed a glass of strawberry jam instead. She slowly made her way back to her bed and sat down.
She twisted the glass open and smiled slightly. It smelled wonderful. Her appetite remained absent, but she couldn’t help but nab some jam for herself. The fruity sweetness felt like a balm against her scaling arm.
That done, she gently pressed her working palm onto the lid. She pulled away some of the mana swirling inside her injured arm, and her palm began to glow a bright blue. Blue sparks slowly began to fall from her palms, dropping into her strawberry jam and melting away like little dazzling snowflakes.
She wasn’t moving for the rest of the day. Nor was she using her mana for anything. She might as well make herself useful and induce another glass of strawberry jam with her mana.
And so another sweet delight was created, done in an hour. She waved away the description that appeared in her sights and twisted the lid close. It was another emergency supply for when she desperately needed a boost.
…
Mhm. This sounded like the perfect time.
She pulled out a loaf of bread from her backpack, twisted the plastic covering open, and began her feast. She didn’t have anything to spread her jam with. She didn’t need to. She simply folded her bread and dipped it into the jam like some horrific beast. Not that she cared. The magical strawberry jam was wonderfully tasty.
She finished half of the glass by the time she ate the last slice of bread. Her eyes turned to another loaf just sticking out of her backpack before she shook her head.
Bad thought. She just ate a loaf. Save that one for another day.
Ah, but she should get more tomorrow. More bread meant more strawberry jam. More strawberry jam meant more happiness. Or, at least, she would if the pain in her arm had dulled enough.
She stuffed the half-finished jam back into her backpack and dropped back onto her bed. She hadn’t intended to eat an entire loaf, but she was somewhat glad she did. Because she’d actually eaten something.
She sunk into her pillow and yawned. Mm. The after-meal drowsiness was kicking in. She might as well rest for the night.
With another yawn, she let her eyes close.
She dreamt of fields of strawberries.