I stare in awe at the destruction happening outside. The sky was a strange shade of crimson and looked like glass with cracks appearing all over its surface. Some sort of dark liquid was seeping through the gaps. I watched as the substance dripped down and transformed into various monsters and behemoths. Abruptly, the sky shattered and the whole world went dark. Before my startled emotion could fully manifest itself, the world went back to “normal”. The sky resumed its previous shade of red but the liquid and the cracks mysteriously vanished. I puzzled over this for a second but ultimately decided to exit the school.
I hummed a little tune as I skipped past wrecked buildings and crazed riots. My school is right next to a freeway with shops and the such dotting the sides. Looks like with the sudden apocalypse and the breakdown of order, people are degrading to their primal instincts. I shake my head. Crazy people. I started whistling as I observed the scenery. Even as they’re getting hunted by the monsters, they still find time to loot a shop. These idiots. In this new world, what value would such items hold?
A jewelry store passed my eye. I stopped, went in, and took a few of their wares. If the old world was gone, then it would be very important to preserve our cultural heritage, no? I walked down the freeway, absentmindedly ripping apart the level five wolves that keep throwing themselves at me. It was then that I noticed a new species of monsters. Zombies. I thought it was strange back then when I saw a dude bend down and rip open a screaming guy’s chest. I had passed it off as depravity in its most extreme cases. I stared for a sec at all the zombies walking around. Then I started laughing. Couldn’t help it. I realized that they were all overweight. Made sense I guess...in a mortifying way. I stayed on the freeway wiping out the zombies which strayed a little too close when I suddenly noticed a small, suspicious hill in the middle of the road. I stared at it for a second and then silently skirted around. Once I put some distance between us, I started sprinting across the freeway. Too late. I glanced behind me as a powerful roar shook the skies. A dragon extracted itself from the hill and stretched its wings. The thing was brown in color and its wings spanned the length of several buses. I squinted my eyes and a small indicator flashed. “Lesser Earth Drake Lvl ???”
I went back to running. While being buffeted by the gales from its wings, I noticed a few idiots up ahead cornering a girl on the highway. They were currently in a state of shock as they stare at the thing chasing me. Without pausing, I threw the dudes at the dragon, watching it tear them to pieces. I turned around intending to throw the girl too but she was already gone. Sighing, I continued running, taking a ramp onto the highway. Amongst the scattered, abandoned cars, I saw an oil tanker. An evil smile crept onto my face and I hid behind a dark green SUV some distance away. The drake lept onto the highway and barreled through the cars as well as the oil tanker. But the expected outcome didn’t happen. Other than snarling at the foul liquid sullying its scales, the dragon largely ignored the tanker and continued its search. I frowned. Did the movies lie to me? Wait a sec. Engine. Fire. Fire! I facepalmed myself. Then as quietly as possible searched for a car with a lighter or box of matches. Finding a BIC lighter in an abandoned Ford, I quickly smashed my hand through the passenger window, grabbed it, and threw it at the oil spill. S**t! I forgot that I had to light the damn thing. Before I could lament on my idiocy, the drake turned around to face me, its tail coincidentally smashing the tanker’s engine. I barely had time to put my hands up before an inferno swallowed up the dragon midst its angry roars. A huge heat wave then swept over me. I quickly crawled behind a car and waited out the fire.
After a while, I cautiously glanced over the hood of the car. The blackened asphalt had a crater in it and the surrounding cars were reduced to scrap metal and ash. In the middle of the crater, the drake was laying on its side, still breathing but barely. The indicator had its health at 1%. Just enough for the finishing blow. The drake looked at me, a low growl in its throat. I took out my weapon- the scissors that had slayed four minotaurs and about to end the life of a dragon- and shoved it into the thing’s eye. It let out a weak whimper of pain, but I persisted. Again and again and again. Finally, the beast died and a few items flashed into existence amidst the dings signifying another rise in my power.
You are level 41!
Stat pts +300
You have killed a monster over 50 levels higher than you. Title earned: Challenger II
Effects:
Level suppression reduc -30%
Str +30
Congratulations! You are the first person who killed a member of the dragon species. Title earned: Dragon Slayer
Effects:
Lesser Draconic Aura
You have been blessed by a god!
Unique slot unlocked: Wings
Unique item earned: Wings of Darkness
The blood of an ancient race [DRAGON] has entered your bloodstream. The bloodline transformation will begin in [10].
Well, sweet! Looks like I get a nice powerup with no effort at all. Haha, who was it that said “no pain, no gain”? Just look at me! These idiots always believe in the “equivalent exchange” system and “karma”. Well, I can say for a fact that that crap doesn’t exist. I watched excitedly as the countdown approached zero. 3...2...1...0
Then I screamed as I felt my body tear itself apart. It felt like my nerves were on fire. A split second of this, and I blacked out from the pain. My last thought was karma’s a b*tch.
Lucian Ransol L41
Race: Human
Age: 16
Gender: Male
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Vit: 20
Spr: 20
Life: L2 100%
Mentality: L2 100%
Str + Agl: 140
Int: 25
Stamina: L3 99%
Dex: 25
Stat pts: 300
Used pts: 110
*Ding*
The sounds of the system chimes woke me up. As soon as it did though, I wish it didn’t. I felt like sh*t. My whole body felt extremely sore like I had gone through a meat grinder and patched back up by a group of grade-schoolers. Grade-schoolers with very rudimentary knowledge of the human anatomy. Groaning, I attempted to use the side of a car to pick myself up. My eyes widened as my hand crumpled the metal like it was paper and passed through the car with no resistance. Unfortunately, as my weight was relying on the hand, my head followed through shortly after and slammed through the floor of the car into the cement. Before I blacked out- again- I heard the sound of the road cracking.
I didn’t know how long I was out this time, but the sky was dark by the time I woke up. I was about to use the same car to support myself again before I remembered what had happened the last time I tried. Groggily, I got up by myself and groaned as my bones cracked as if it was my first time using them. I quickly checked my messages:
Congratulations! You somehow managed to survive the bloodline fusion! Following the body composition of the dragon, your vitality stat has merged with your strength. Following the strong soul of the dragon, your spirit has merged with your vitality. Life and stamina stat now follow new calculations. The following stats will now scale off of a dragon’s base stats instead of a human’s.
Vit
Str
Spr
I stared. What the h*ll did they mean by “somehow”? After thinking for a little bit, I brushed it off and brought up the stat screen.
Lucian Ransol L41
Race: Hybrid
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Vit + Str + Agl + Spr: 180
Int: 25
Life: L36 100%
Mentality: L18 100%
Dex: 25
Stamina: L36 100%
Stat pts: 300
Used pts: 110
I started grinning. Then I leapt up and laughed with joy...which quickly became a scream of terror as I found myself almost 30 feet in the air. I screamed the whole way down until I went through the ground leaving a human shaped hole on the cement. Groaning, I slowly pulled myself out of my hole. At least, digging graves would become much easier. I started laughing again at the morbid thought as I pictured myself jumping to make a grave. It was then that I realized my health percentage didn’t even go down a fraction of a point. Holy sh*t. I quickly splurged all 300 unused stat points into the combined stats.
Glancing back at where the dragon disappeared, I noticed a few items. Sweet, drops. A weird-looking sword, a black book, and a shiny, obsidian ring.
Deceiver Sword (mystic)
A sword wielded by the footmen of Astarog. It features a very thin blade that is able to camouflage into the surroundings to appear almost invisible to enemies except for a slight ripple in the air.
Effects:
Str +150
Agl +300
Dex +300
Skills:
Phase Shift (Active)
The user can channel energy into the blade rendering it incorporeal and able to pass through solid objects.
Energy consumption may vary.
Devourer Skillbook (GOD) (passive)
Consuming your enemies will give you some of their stats and skills. Additionally, all beings of energy or spirits can be devoured directly- depending on your spiritual strength and mentality.
Warning: Energy beings stronger than you can either resist this skill or overload your energy capacity, causing an explosion inside you.
World Ring (ANCIENT ARTIFACT)
Comes from beyond the age of gods and have assumed many different forms throughout the ages. This ring contains an infinite dimension and can fit universes inside.
Effects:
???
???
???
Skills:
Storage (Active)
The user can store anything inside the ring. Size of object to be stored is dependent on amount of energy invested.
Withdrawal (Active)
The user can take anything outside of the storage space previously put inside instantly.
Mask Presence (passive)
No creature is able to sense you if you do not wish to be sensed. Nor see you if you do not wish to be seen.
???
???
???
I was shocked. Suddenly, I felt something ominous- something powerful- descending towards this planet- to my location. Quickly I shoved the ring onto my finger as an archaic voice echoed out to all four corners of the Earth, GIVE IT TO ME! The earth trembled. I KNOW YOU ARE HERE! Suddenly, a being of pure light descended from the sky. The world dimmed in front of its radiance. I felt the thing scan through this entire area before roaring and turning around, flying into the distance. I smirked. Suck it. It’s mine now. I looked at the ring on my finger. How the hell did this shit drop from a lesser mob like this? Why am I so lucky? Whatever.
Standing up, I wondered what I should do. The most emotionally appealing option according to normal people right now would be to reunite with my parents. However, my father is some bigshot in the military and my mother is head of forensics. They’re definitely in control of some base somewhere and sending out patrols to look for me. Hm, that won’t do. I’m not going to give up my newfound freedom.
I started walking on the freeway again when I quickly noticed something wrong. The game’s sensitivity is too dang high. My body felt too fast for my brain to process. Like, I expect my foot to move to one spot and as soon as the thought was thought, my foot was already there. It’s very disorienting. Could intellect and dexterity affect my reaction speed? That would suck. I’m stuck in an overpowered body that I can’t even fully utilize because I think too slowly. I need to hunt down some speed type monsters and [Devourer] their stats. With this goal in mind, I continued on my merry journey in an apocalyptic world.