Ark was pretty sure what the next scenario was going to be. The monsters in the first scenario might have changed but the core of the first scenario was the safe. The second scenario would probably be similar. He waited for the notification with bated breath.
[The Second Scenario has started]
[Starts in: 59:59]
[Objective: Survive the horde for 7 days]
[Compensation: 5000 coins]
[Failure: Death]
As expected the second scenario was the same. The notification did not explain much but Coscos was sure to provide a fruitful explanation. It seemed to love death and the smell of blood so the second scenario might have been right up its alley.
“Humans, my pathetic humans, you want an explanation, right? Hmm…should I give it to you though! Hmm…I shall be the bigger man here and give you that…How about you worship me in return hah! Hah!”
“The Second Scenario is about you humans obtaining a safe room for yourself. Progressively stronger hordes would attack you every day and all you have to do humans is survive by simply staying in your respective safe zone.”
“Now you might ask? But sir Coscos, what about us who don’t get a safe room? My answer to that is please die! Or an alternative is the three Combat cards that the Tower has graciously provided you. You are pretty smart for such lowly beings…I am sure you will figure it out…”
The Coscos had sped up in the last half part of its speech as if it was in a hurry. The screen was abruptly cut and a new screen replaced itself in its stead.
[The Safe rooms are located in the Subway Station]
[You have Three combat cards available]
In his past life too, the safe rooms were located in the subway station. There were many compartments and spaces where people could sit or stand and they would be protected. Even in the abandoned trains on the tracks, safe rooms were present. There were many problems too.
It began at night, the hordes for the first three days were comparatively easy. They were only slightly stronger than the Dustbroods. With the emergence of the stat points, most people would not have a tough time dealing with the beasts. The problems began on the night of the fourth day itself. The fourth day was when the tides really started to turn against them.
The hordes were not even the problem. There were countless places where they would be able to be safe but humans were their worst enemy. Humans who had nothing better to do began making unions, slowly monopolizing the safe rooms one by one and when everything was said and done, only those directly under them would be able to survive.
Ark hated those types of people the most, who only thought about their own profits, slowly wringing people dry, letting humanity fall to the wayside. It was a regular occurrence on the lower floors of the Tower. On the higher floors, people had already realized that cooperation was more valuable than individuality.
Ark had a lot of coins with him. The System shop had also been connected to the Tower. He would probably be able to obtain all five slots for his combat cards. The problem lay in what came after. Cards equipped could not easily be removed.
Once you had equipped a card, it became a part of you. Unequipping them came with immense pain and suffering. If the card was sufficiently high leveled, the user could probably also feel the original effects of the cards themselves. It was fortunate that the three cards provided by the System were cards that did not have any side effects even when discarded.
Ark looked at the available coins he had. He would probably take all three cards and discard them later. The third Scenario was made for that exact same purpose. It was to collect their card decks. Ark would probably have to buy another card when the hordes became stronger but he could rest comfortably till the 5th day itself.
Ark looked at his Status screen. There were many things he had still not seen, specifically his story card. Ark had a total of 67,000 coins. He had used many of his coins to buy the group of people knives. He had also used them to buy weapons for himself when he was fighting the Cambiums. These much coins were probably more than someone could make in their entire lifetime.
Ark decided to check out his story card first.
[STORY][5 SLOTS][1 CARD]
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
‘An Army of Thousand Men’ : You who have persevered through thick and thin and did something deemed impossible. This is your story…Killing monsters at first glance is no easy feat nor is the protection of humanity from vile monsters. You have achieved something not achieved by a thousand men. May you continue to do so. The Tower wishes you the very best of luck
Effect: For Five minutes, increase any one of your stats by 50
Cool down period: 2 weeks
Type: Legendary Active Type
Ark was fascinated. This was an ultimate ability in its own right. His Arkana was over 50. If he were to use this ability now, it would shoot right over a hundred. This was unbelievable. It really was a good ultimate ability. This was the power of a legendary story.
Ark was pretty sure he would be disappointed by the three combat skills the Tower would provide. Ark had a choice though. He could probably buy upgraded versions of those skills from the shop itself. The ability to discard them was available in every single basic card. So, it would not be a huge problem for Ark.
Ark opened up the System Shop and went to the section which sold Basic Combat Cards. The System was giving away the ‘Slash’, ‘Cleave’, and ‘Pierce’ cards for free. They probably didn’t have as much damage as the original cards.
The System shop was a scam. It was one of those places where people with generational wealth went to. Even the most basic card would cost Ark 10,000 coins. That was not a small amount. Even so, Ark really needed them but could he in good conscience just fork over 30,000 coins like that? In the end, Ark decided not to.
The System shop was not really useful for Players like him, who got most of their cards through decks, achievements, or dungeons. It was only useful when Ark was searching for rare ores and minerals to make good weapons. Other than that, it only had much use during System events to buy passes and such.
There was one card though that caught Ark’s attention. Most of the basic skills were something Ark could do by himself, without any help from the System but there was one thing that even Ark couldn’t do, which was to change the rules in the tower. There was one such utility card in the shop which cost 50,000 coins. Ark would have no choice but to buy it if things got tough.
Without anything else to do, Ark decided to head inside the Subway station once again to find himself a safe room. Soon people would come flocking towards it. It was still morning so the hordes would probably not appear.
The Subway station that Ark entered had completely transformed from his previous trip. There were still signs of damage but most of it was mitigated. There were green squares all over the station where people could stand in.
Ark decided to check one out. As he approached the green square, he noticed a number written on the floor in white chalk. 12. It was probably the number of people that could stand there at once. The one Ark had examined was an outlier among the many many squares. Some only had 1 or 2 written on them. While some had 50 or above written on them too.
The Subway station was probably going to be open for the entire place and not just the city. The traces of Arkana, Ark had felt earlier were the barriers that segregated one block from another. Ark extended his senses but couldn’t feel the barriers anymore. Soon the Subway station would have more people than it could handle.
Ark decided to look around some more. The train tracks which were once overgrown with weeds and vines were no more. In its place, stood two trains only five feet apart from each other. Ark went ahead to the edge of the platform to see some squares there too. Ark had a sneaking suspicion that the trains were not just there for show.
Ark decided to put it out of his mind for now as he continued to examine each green square. As Ark walked slowly, taking in everything around him, he noticed something odd. One of the green squares had no number on it. Ark decided to look around some more and sure enough, there were certain squares where no number was written. Those unlucky enough to claim them as their own spot would feel the brunt of the force.
It had been not a long time since the timer for the Second Scenario had started to count down. The morning had not even fallen yet and so there was a chance that as soon as the timer was finished, the first horde would appear. People from all around were probably rushing to come and enter the subway station for safety. Many people would die today.
After Ark had finished examining each square individually, there were still forty minutes left till the countdown would end and not a single person other than Ark had entered the station yet. They would probably do so very soon. Ark didn’t care either way.
Ark decided to check out one of the trains. Whether it was accessible or not would influence certain parts of his plan. Unfortunately for Ark, the door to the train did not budge an inch even with Ark’s points in Strength. Ark decided to climb up over on the train and sure enough, there were green squares there too. It seemed green squares were found in the most unusual of places.
Ark heard the murmurs of some people enter his ear. People had finally come. Ark decided to lie low for the moment. He really didn’t want to attract unwanted attention. As the timer slowly counted down, Ark heard people arguing about their rightful places and other nonsense. Ark closed his eyes as he sat atop the second train. Ark’s perception stat would probably help him hear everything that was being said but he needed to prepare now.
Not everything could be easy. Ark breathed in and out as he circulated his Arkana through his entire body. His 55 points in Arkana allowed him to feel it very keenly. When the time came, not a single one of the horde would live to see the day.
It did not matter how tough they were. When faced with overwhelming power, everyone had to kneel down at least once. As Ark slowly mediated, the timer counted down. Even more number of people began to enter the station.
Long Lost friends were reunited while those who had lost loved ones grieved. The ones who had won against terrible monsters rejoiced in their victory. They had formed a sort of kinship. Malicious people were still present among them and so were people who desperately wanted to capture every square to themselves.
As time slowly ticked down, Ark opened his green eyes which glowed in an ethereal manner. The time had finally come for the second scenario to start. And just as Ark predicted, a notification rang immediately.
[The Second Scenario has started]
[The First Horde will attack now]
[Occupy your own safe room to prevent injury]
[The Tower wishes you the best of luck]