Arthur woke up feeling refreshed, this time without the aid of a cat intent on making a meal of him. He stretched his arms upwards and realised he hadn’t been hallucinating before he passed out; his arms were perfectly fine. Arthur was shocked. He knew the world was now nothing like how it used to be, that magic actually existed, or at least something near to it. Heck, he’d come back from the dead. But it was one thing to wake up to a blue message telling you you’d been revived, and another to actually witness the magical effects of ether on himself.
A debilitating injury that would have left someone crippled before the system's arrival had been healed in less than half a day if his scuffed watch face was anything to go by. Speaking of system messages, Arthur checked to see if he had any new notifications. They no longer randomly appeared in his vision since his earlier complaint, but he wasn’t sure if that was due to his request or the system activating its ‘preserving protocols’ to save energy.
Bobcat, Level 5, defeated
147 ether absorbed…
Current progression: 265/43,000
That wasn't right. Arthur clearly recalled the cat only possessing 92 ether, yet he had absorbed 55 more from it- 60% more than stated by the system. He didn't know if that was because his system was defective or if there was something unique about him. So many inconsistencies and so few answers. It was enough to drive him crazy. Perhaps it was tied to why his teleport had been delayed, or maybe he was reading too much into something of little importance. What Arthur did know, though, was that he was in desperate need of a shower. He stank of shit.
Literally.
Looking at the pool of blood around him, Arthur noticed that it was now much darker and had a thicker consistency. Identifying it, he realised it had changed state and become Ether-Infused Blood Gel (Rare), though its description remained largely the same, with only a line detailing how it had congealed after time spent under the sun.
Arthur stood up on his recently mangled foot and tentatively tested to see if any hint of injury remained. Finding it perfect, he quickly made his way to the truck that had caused him so many problems. Years spent on the wrong side of the law had taught him a host of skills, primarily among them the art of breaking into cars, but none of his unique skill set was required to enter this particular vehicle as its door was already unlatched.
Clambering into the interior, Arthur looked around to see if there was anything of use. His luck seemed to finally be looking up as he spotted a backpack containing water in a metal bottle as well as a packed lunch on the passenger seat. Wolfing down the beef sandwiches, he quickly drank the water to stop himself from choking due to his brisk eating. It tasted like a damp sock left out to dry- wet in the worst way possible and salty enough that he questioned the sanity of its maker. He couldn't help it, though, as whatever healing that blood had done for him had left him ravenous, as if he hadn't eaten anything for days. It seemed that extensive ether usage needed to be supplemented with lots of food, at least for a normal human like him.
Speaking of his blood, the healing aspect it contained would be incredibly important for his survival, as it didn’t take a genius to tell him he’d be getting injured a lot soon enough. Climbing back out of the crashed truck, he made his way back to the scene of his recent demise at the hands of said vehicle, with the liberated backpack in tow. Getting down on his knees, Arthur began to collect all the blood gel into the metal bottle. It was a lot easier than he’d expected it to be, as the blood was no longer as sticky and viscous as it should have been, having taken on the consistency of a jelly-like substance.
Quickly finishing his task, he looked down at the small feline that had almost killed him. Was every animal going to end up like that? The thought was accompanied by a rush of despair. If a household pet was now able to kill him, Arthur didn’t even want to consider what the future had in store for him. The system wanted him to hunt these creatures down to unlock its full capabilities, whatever they may be. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself down. Worrying would get him nowhere, so Arthur decided to be as proactive as possible in these absurd circumstances. That cat fur will be extremely useful if I can do something with it. After all, the fur had stopped a shard of glass swung at full force.
That meant it was pretty much stab-proof to any mundane mode of attack. Deciding he might as well take the corpse with him, he grabbed it and placed it in his backpack, wincing as its blood dirtied the formerly clean interior. Thankfully, the cat was small enough to fit in with room to spare. Pacing along the sidewalk, Arthur considered his options. He knew he was far out of his depth. Heck, he’d almost been killed by a domesticated cat. If pets could reach such a high threat level with just a little contact with ether, he despaired at what true predators would become in this post-system world. What humans may become? What he couldn’t become because of his ether-hogging system that didn’t seem to be working properly.
Taking a deep breath, Arthur tried to calm himself down. The world wasn’t ending, at least not yet, and he was still very much alive, which was definitely a plus in his book. Shit, Earth isn’t the only planet with sapient life anymore, at least I don’t think so. It was the only conclusion he could come to with the information he had available. The system must have come from somewhere, and it most definitely hadn’t originated on Earth. That meant someone, somewhere in the universe, had created it. He highly doubted it had come about by random chance.
Arthur was used to being the underdog. Life was never fair or unfair; it simply was, and Arthur would be damned if he didn't make the most of his situation. He practically had the whole planet to himself- unless someone else had been left behind on Earth too, but he sincerely doubted that. His death and subsequent revival had been caused by an error so rare it was practically impossible to occur naturally. That was certainly food for thought unless he really was an anomaly that sometimes happened when the system integrated itself onto a new planet. Unlucky but within the realm of plausibility.
Taking stock of his situation, Arthur made a list of goals, both short- and long-term. He needed to discipline himself if he wanted to survive or risk drowning in the bizarreness that was now his life.
Number 1: Survive. The most simple and important goal.
Number 2: Unlock the system. Maybe then he too would be able to get stronger like everything else seemed to be.
Number 3: Take a shower. He stank to high heaven right now.
Number 4: Get some proper post-apocalypse gear.
Number 5: Raid the university.
Number 6: Find out if anyone else is out there.
Number 7: Learn some sweet ether magic.
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Number 8: Look into the viability of resurrection.
Arthur paused when he looked at the last goal he had written down. He knew it was possible, as he himself had come back from the dead, but he frankly didn’t believe that he would be able to do what the system had done. At least not as he was now.
Maybe never. I was resurrected seconds after my death. It’s more akin to a defibrillator being used on me than actual resurrection magic.
Rize's been dead for six months.
He sighed wearily. It wasn’t worth worrying about since there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. The sky was beginning to darken, and daylight was waning. Unfortunately, he’d wasted most of it being dead or dying, and he didn’t think himself sufficiently prepared to face whatever came out at night.
First things first, I need a good weapon. America being the land of firearms, he could probably easily find a suitable gun if he searched hard enough, but Arthur wasn’t quite comfortable with using the very tool that had ended his sister's life. He wouldn't let that come between him and survival, though and he put the location of a gun at the top of his list.
Unfortunately, with the rate of the monsters' rapid advancements, Arthur feared that such weapons- all weapons on Earth, for that matter- would soon become obsolete. Besides that, Arthur also worried whether or not the system would reward him for a monster he killed using a gun.
He felt it was highly unlikely that humanity would be allowed to rapidly grow in power using modern tools. It would break whatever scaling the system used. Or maybe I should stop thinking of excuses to stop myself from getting one.
For now, at least, Arthur had an idea of where he could get his hands on some sweet apocalypse gear. Slowly stripping himself of his blood-soaked jacket, he stood half-naked in the cold evening air, his T-shirt's torn remnants clinging to his frame. He was about to rob something, and Arthur didn’t want to be identified by anyone on any cameras while committing the crime, lack of people be damned. They’d come back eventually. Soon… hopefully. He reassured himself with that affirmation. Arthur didn’t want to get in trouble when people found out there was a single deranged human running around the city while they were all away. Don't borrow tomorrow's troubles when prevention is so easy. Steeling himself, he wrapped the crimson fabric around his face.
He gagged.
It smelled of sweat and, well, blood. There was a lot of the stuff on his makeshift mask, after all. The stench was sickly sweet, with the underlying tang of iron, quite unlike anything he’d smelled before.
As ill-prepared as he was, Arthur began to move quickly through the university campus, carefully navigating around the crashed cars. Walking through the familiar hallways, he felt a pang of sorrow, knowing he would never graduate from the place to which he’d devoted so much of his time. But there was no room for nostalgia now. His immediate focus was survival.
Arriving at the storage shed, his intended destination, Arthur picked up a large stone from the ground and flung it at the building’s window. A loud alarm screeched as the glass shattered, but he paid it no mind. Careful of the jagged shards; he had just learned firsthand how deadly glass could be, Arthur climbed through the newly made entrance and walked toward the light switches. They flickered for a moment before illuminating the room in all its dirty, cluttered glory.
As an unused shed, the building had never seen much service or maintenance, and nothing of actual importance was stored there. At least, nothing of importance to a medical university. But for someone like Arthur, who was now desperately in search of tools for survival, it was a treasure trove.
Finding the object of his desires on a broken shelf, he grasped the small electric handsaw in his hand. "Yes, this'll be perfect," he muttered.
Pulling the cat's carcass from his backpack, Arthur pondered how to skin the damned thing. He wasn’t a wildlife expert and had never butchered an animal in his life, let alone a house cat. But he was one of the most intelligent students at this prestigious institution, and he’d be damned if he let something as trivial as inexperience stop him.
Turning the electric saw on, he placed the rotating blade on the cat's soft stomach. Thankfully, with a little pressure, he was able to cut into the furry skin. The magic that had made it so durable in life, at least a portion of it, had been lost in its death. What followed was a messy job that left Arthur’s hands covered in cat guts, but by the end of the arduous process, he held in his hands a small, but serviceable piece of Bobcat skin. Proud of himself, he hoped it would be enough for what he had planned.
Luckily, it was. Eighteen minutes and three broken staple guns later, Arthur had managed to tightly wrap the stab-proof skin around his throat, securing it with the staples. Looking at his handiwork proudly, he impulsively tried to identify his creation and was both surprised and irritated with the results.
Coward’s Neck Guard (Common- Poor)- The tragic works of a desperate human somehow resulted in the creation of armour at a lower level than the creature from which the materials came. Its only redeeming quality is said materials. Protects against sharp projectiles. Provides an extremely minor speed buff
Snarky system messages aside, Arthur was pleased with the result. Moving around to test the speed buff, he found there was no noticeable difference from his usual movement. "Well, it did say extremely minor," he thought. Even so, Arthur was satisfied with his makeshift armour. Now, he just needed a weapon- the main reason he had come here.
He recalled Professor Jackson's constant bragging about his recent purchase of a Boar spear, of all things, and his promise to bring it in for the students to see. Arthur could only hope the professor had delivered on his word. "I could always raid a museum, I guess," he mused.
Walking toward the staffroom, Arthur prayed for his luck to hold out. Upon entering the spacious area, he let out a sigh of relief. Lying there, displayed on a table to strategically showcase all its splendour- courtesy of Professor Jackson's vain tendencies, no doubt- was a seven-foot tool of deadly design, as beautiful in its ornate workmanship as it was lethal in purpose. An engine of death, a reaper of lives.
Or at least it would be once Arthur sharpened its dull blade.
Pulling it free from its mini sheath, Arthur admired its eighteen-inch spike, marvelling at how perfect the weapon's weight distribution was. If Professor Jackson's boasting was true, it was a seventeenth-century tool that had been restored by one of his friends interested in LARPing.
Boar Spear- A weapon restored by modern means without the usage of ether. The resulting weapon is surprisingly deadly
Arthur began to laugh. With this, his chances of survival had risen astronomically. Now, he could thrive instead of merely surviving in this dangerous world. He could become powerful, unlock his system, dest-
A deafening wolf howl from the streets quickly brought him back down to earth. He wasn't ready. Nowhere near ready. The world had dealt him a difficult hand, and he’d be foolish to play this game by its rules. With his access to enhancing himself through ether cut off for the foreseeable future, he would need to rely on his human ingenuity to compensate. Weaker than nearly everything, it would take cunning and a great plan to fill his ether goal of 43,000. With a cat at level 5 giving him around 100 ether, he would need to kill approximately 430 of such animals to unlock his system. And if a fight against a household pet almost proved fatal, he dreaded to think how bleak his future looked.
But now Arthur could plan and prepare for fights, choose the battlefield, and do everything possible to tilt the odds in his favour.
And he knew exactly what needed to be done to ensure he came out on top. With a spring in his step, Arthur quickly walked back into the university's main building and made his way to the surgery department. Entering the familiar room, Arthur took a moment to sit down and take everything in.
He had woken up that day preparing to take a medical exam, and now he was contemplating the genocide of all animals and how best to go about it. Smiling at the absurdity of the situation, he made his way to a storage room he knew held a lot of surgical supplies.
Opening it, he laughed at the sight that greeted him.
Sedatives (Mild)- A solution created to put human patients to sleep prior to surgery
It was only weak in strength, but it would serve his purposes just fine. He’d like to see how an animal fighting off sleep could hope to fend off his pointy stick. Looking outside the window, he saw how the sun was beginning to set. All his plans would have to be put on hold until dawn tomorrow. He’d need a good night's rest to wake up energised for the battles ahead. And a gun.
His dreams, when he finally managed to get to sleep, were filled with visions of stabbing sleeping cats. Mumbling something unintelligible, he rolled over and fell off the couch. Tomorrow, he'd be taking a trip to the zoo.