"Hmm... My body feels lighter and stronger."
I thought as I tried punching a pillow and executing some basic rhythmic exercises.
I allocated my unused stats on both Strength and Agility, which I thought would show more visible effects than Intelligence.
I don't know if my conjecture was true, but I felt that my choice is a good one.
When I tried to swing the emergency ax around, I felt much more comfortable to the point that it was almost a part of me.
It must be the effect of Ax Proficiency and increase of my strength stat...
Either way, everything was good... except that I didn't have the chance to get some supplies before the sun came up.
When the sun came up, like a swarm of insects leaving their nest, a large group of air and land monsters spread out from the large tree from the distance.
I instantly thought that these monsters use the tree as their hive during the night, but the case of Ratatoskr made me have some doubts.
The large barrier that surrounds the whole city was already gone, so the only thing that I was sure of was that this barrier was only active during the night.
Still, I can't relax knowing that these monsters are active again, so I blocked the apartment room's door with a large cabinet and looked for something...
Looks like my fortune isn't bad and saw what I was looking for - a pair of headphones!
I connected the headphone to the television, so that the monsters won't be attracted by the sound.
But even though I had good luck on finding things, I had bad luck on other things...
Just as I thought - electricity might be present, but all television channels are down.
Now to my present predicament...
I ate one of the three instant noodles in this apartment room, and this building is composed of ten apartment rooms.
If I am lucky, I could scavenge more food on the other rooms that were locked by using my ax.
Well, if no one knows who took the food, it wouldn't be robbery, right?
Not that someone could arrest me in this god-forsaken situation...
After eating another noodle, I stood up and moved the cabinet blocking the door.
Damn... I shouldn't have blocked it in the first place... nevermind.
I carefully checked the corridor for signs of monsters and instantly relax when I noticed that my worries were unfounded.
One by one, I scavenged the rooms from fourth to second floor, leaving the first floor alone because it was an open space, like a parking lot or some sort.
After an hour of search, I found supplies that could last me for a month... making me think that the residents of this apartment were pretty well-off.
But above everything else, I found something that could greatly aid me in this situation...
Tada! A handgun! With twenty bullets! and... a riot shield!
I was looking for car keys in a hurry last time, so I only checked the cabinets and drawers of each room, making me neglect searching other areas.
This riot shield was made of fiberglass and some kind of hard plastic, yet it was very light.
Maybe it was because of the increase in my strength...
But the best was this handgun!
This .45 calibre pistol can be a powerful tool especially if I hit monsters with it's bullets on their weak-points, greatly injuring or disabling them.
But when I remember the Ratatoskr's thick hide, I instantly knew that this handgun can only be used against monsters that aren't leaning towards defense.
Anyway, having this baby here in my side gives me more assurance towards my own safety.
Still, bullets would be the greatest problem I'll face if I use this gun recklessly.
I also found a walkie-talkie, but I couldn't find it's pair, so I deemed it useless.
Still, where are all the damn people in this city?
It won't be weird if there are corpses of people throughout the city... but the weird thing is that there were very few of these corpses.
I'm not sure because I never left the apartment building's vicinity since yesterday, but I looked around the area and only found about five corpses.
Maybe these monsters eat them, but it won't be possible that there are no signs of struggle and blood, I think?
Forget about that, I don't know why but I feel that it was good omen that people aren't around...
That's because if they were around, wouldn't I have to share or fight for resources with them?
Either way...
I continued to laze around, waiting for evening to come.
I regularly check the situation outside, just to see monsters roaming around the area without a general direction.
There were one-eyed flying monsters, human-sized mantises, Ratatoskr, and elephants which trunks turns into a mouth with very sharp fangs.
There were also large ant-like monsters flying around the place.
These monsters sometimes fight against each other, some weren't moving an inch, but some were just roaming around.
The only thing that I was confused of - why are all of them so large?!
Well, I'd rather have a gigantic enemy than very small ones, which could easily enter through cracks and crevices of houses.
Those monsters would be much more dangerous than the ones outside, I think.
But as I continued to laze in the apartment room, I suddenly heard another large explosion.
I checked the wristwatch I stole- borrowed, I saw that it was still three in the afternoon.
Sounds of clashing steel and explosion sounded from the road below.
"*@#!%!$!"
"@$!@$@#%!"
Following the explosion, I heard unintelligible shouts coming from a group of people below.
Yes, people!
I slightly opened the blinds of the window and watched the commotion outside.
There, I saw a group of people, numbering about fifty, clashing with the monsters with swords and bows.
No, I'm not kidding - they wield swords and bows.
They formed a circle where in the outer part were people holding sword and wears silver armor, clashing with the monsters on their way.
Inside the circle, archers aimed at the monsters in the sky, shooting them down with hails of arrows.
Together with the archers were people holding staffs...
Wait... staffs?!
"@#!%!$!"
One of the people holding a staff shouted, and a large ball of fire flew towards the sky.
Like a meteor storm, the ball of fire divided into numerous fragments, shooting most of the enemies on the sky.
It decimated more enemies than what the archers have taken down.
I can't help but get excited as I continued to watch their team.
In Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) terms, this is a Party Raid!
Wooow!!
I wanna join! I wanna join!
Can you guys carry a noob? I can carry your stuff!
After releasing myself from my own delusions, I looked at them seriously.
The only thing I could say - they're a balanced party... not that I have to point that out.
What I should think right now is that... should I expose myself?
First of all, I noticed that they're using a different language - something that doesn't belong to earth.
Why do I know, you ask? Because... hmm... I just felt it?
Either way, if they speak a different language, there's a high chance that they won't understand me.
Second, they might attack me and consider me as a monster.
Why again? In RPGs, there are monsters called Shape-shifters.
I know that I'm being too nonsensical, but I don't want to die just because of not considering such situations.
And finally, they came from a different race.
Why am I so sure? Well, there aren't humans which had pointed ears like elves nor white angelic wings on their heads, right?
I am very sure, 100%, that these people, or humanoids, came from another world.
Just see how adept that magician on using spells, those archers on shooting with bows, and those knights on slaying with different kinds of weapons.
No normal citizen of earth would adapt to this situation as easily as they are, no matter how much courage nor talent they have.
Even I am still afraid of encountering, moreover clashing against them.
But... my survival rate would increase if I would join them.
High risk, high return, just like gamblers believe.
Rather than staying here and wait for my death, might as well risk it all!
I left the apartment room and walked towards the road... but when I was just made my resolve, I saw something that made me furious.
A large rat - Ratatoskr, was blocking the main entrance!
Goddamn these rats! Do you really want me dead?!
When Ratatoskr noticed my presence, it's blood-red eyes lighted in a strange glow.
Suddenly, it suddenly rushed towards me with insane speed!
What the heck!? Aren't your kind slow-moving?! What's with this cheat-like speed?!
I hastily rushed up as it continued to follow me.
I took the handgun from my side and started firing on my pursuer.
:You have dealt 36 damage to Ratatoskr:
:You have dealt 32 damage to Ratatoskr:
:You have dealt 40 damage to Ratatoskr:
What the hell's with this rat! Why is it so sturdy?!
Finally, I reached the room I used as my base and closed the door shut.
Just when I thought I was safe, a large number of spikes pierced the door.
Ratatoskr, you don't have spikes, right? You only had hair... did you just made your hair stiff and launched it?! Are you a god?!
When I noticed that the Ratatoskr was about to bust the door, I made another decision - escape by the window!
You're wondering why I can only think of escaping by rappelling? Well, I also don't know.
After taking a bag which contains food supplies, I opened the sliding window and tied the rope on a secured latch.
Just as the Ratatoskr destroyed the door completely, I already started rappelling.
This time, I can't retrieve the rope anymore...
So long, rope. Thank you for saving me twice.
After a melancholic farewell, I looked around and saw the group of... people? Well, I'll just call them foreigners right now.
Now that everything's done and there's no more going back, let's communicate with these foreigners!
I don't have any other fitting term aside from that... because if I used the term 'another' or 'outsiders', I felt it was weird to call them that way... Nevermind.
I hastily ran towards the group while waving my hand up high, trying to send a signal that I'm not an enemy.
The group which saw me first became alert, but when they saw my figure, they held curious gazes on their faces, like I was some kind of rare animal or some sort.
"Ahem... Ahem... H-Hello, foreigners! W-Welcome to Earth!"
Ahhh! This is stupid! 'Welcome to Earth'? What am I posing as? A tour guide?
Nervousness overwhelmed me, so I just blurted out the most shameful line I could ever say.
But when I was drowned in my own embarrassment, the group of foreigners in front of me made signs of confusion.
Maybe they didn't understand my speech, just as I thought a while back?
While I was contemplating, a young woman with little white angelic wings on her head holding a staff suddenly walked between the group of people.
She had golden hair and pure blue eyes - a true work of art and epitome of perfection.
Her figure was perfect, and her aura was very charming, seductive, and serene at the same time.
As if something was stuck between my mouth, I was taken away by her breath-taking beauty and allure.
During the time I was still entranced with her appearance, she waved her staff, making a small shower of light flow into my body.
"Hello? Do you understand me?"
I broke from my trance when a sweet voice emerged from her cherry-colored lips.
"Ah? Ah?"
I can't speak clearly, still unable to process my own thoughts.
"Seems that Universal Language Magic wasn't effective. It might be a mimic. Be ready."
When she said that, the surrounding knights made a stance and pointed their weapons towards me.
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"W-Wait! This is a misunderstanding!"
I suddenly shouted to my lungs when I noticed their eyes full of hostility. So scary!
"So, you can speak."
The woman giggled as she signals the knights to be at ease.
"That was cruel..."
"Sorry. By the way, my name is Eclasief Carmlotte. Can I ask you some questions?"
"G-Go ahead."
"Why are you here? Who are you? To be much precise, What are you?"
A barrage of questions flowed out of her mouth.
I slowly answered her.
"This world is called Earth, and I am a human - one of it's inhabitants. My name is-"
*Screeech!*
A loud sound coming from above interrupted me before I could say my name.
"My name-"
*Screeech!*
"My-"
*Screeeech!*
"Goddamn it!"
In my rage, I fired a hail of bullets towards the source of noise, which is a one-eyed flying monster flying above us, waiting for it's chance to attack.
:You have dealt 4,105 damage to Tyrios (Metal Element, Weakness Hit, Critical Hit, Piercing Damage, Instant Death):
:You have killed a Tyrios! You received 2,235 Experience:
:Level up! You are now Level 10!:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Projectile Proficiency (Beginner):
:You have gained a new passive skill - Hawkeye:
:You have gained a new active skill - Rage:
:You have gained a new active skill - Lucky Attack:
:You have gained a new active skill - Swift Attack:
:You have gained a new title - Abandon All Hope:
:You have gained a new title - Nameless:
:You have gained a new title - One Shot, One Kill:
:You have gained a new title - Rage Killer:
:You have gained a new title - Level Jumper:
:You have gained forty (40) stat points (Level Jumper Title Effect):
What in the world? I just shot a bullet towards that flying monster and I instantly killed it?!
Why is there a huge disparity in defense between Ratatoskr and Tyrios?
Still, I just gained six levels, two passive skills, three active skills, and five new titles which is nice.
Normally, I would only get thirty stat points because every level grants five free stat points but it seems that a title granted me ten more stats, which I am grateful, of course.
By the way, the woman and the knights around her had their faces full of shock while looking at me... to be precise, the handgun on my hand, with disbelief.
Well, I can't blame them because I just killed the flying monster above us with one bullet, while I watched their archers have to hit it twenty or more times before it would drop into the ground.
After a brief shock, the woman coughed and regained her composure.
"No matter who you are, you're pretty strong. Are you familiar with this place?"
She thought that it was my own power that killed the monster... well, if she thought it like that, why would I refute it? It would save me the trouble of making them aware that I can't be taken advantage of.
"W-Well, I am a native, so I'm very much familiar... Where is your destination?"
"That Gryworth up there."
She said while pointing towards the tree in the middle of the city.
So that tree's name is Gryworth.
"Are you sure you can reach it before nightfall?"
I curiously asked the woman because I know that when night comes, a large barrier would be erected around the city.
"Of course not. We're looking for a place to stay for the night. Do you have any good place in mind?"
She looked at me with expectant eyes.
Oi, Oi! Even though you're beautiful, I won't get fooled! But, there's nothing that I could lose if I joined them and give them some directions, right?
"I could help you, but can you help me in turn?"
"Hmm? What do you need?"
"I want you to kill a monster."
Of course, now that I can communicate with them and they want my help, why won't I ask their help in turn?
"What kind of monster?"
"That rat- Ratatoskr. I just left some of my items in that place, but a Ratatoskr attacked me."
"Oh, I notice you weren't a mage. Of course you wouldn't beat it with physical attacks."
Really? I thought that they could be killed with physical attacks, the fact that I killed a Ratatoskr by making it jump off the building.
The woman made a group of knights follow her and enter the apartment building.
I followed behind and saw how they dealt with the Ratatoskr with ease.
"It's done."
She said before moving downstairs.
I hastily opened the door and took the rope, which I thought I would never be able to retrieve again.
I'm back, rope! We'll never be apart, ever again!
After making some ridiculous behavior, I took the rope and wore it again on my body.
Of course, as long as I know that an item was very useful, I wouldn't abandon it easily.
This rope was proven itself to be useful just by saving my life twice.
One of the reasons that I was very reluctant to leave it behind is that I could train my Climbing skill with this rope.
When I returned to the group, I communicated with some of the people inside the party.
Seeing that I don't wear any metal gear to protect myself and I could attack monsters from a distance, they let me be one of the long-ranged attackers.
Meanwhile, I had the luxury to check on my stats.
After allocating my unused stats evenly, placing ten on both agility and strength and twenty on intelligence, now my status looks like this:
『Name: Error』
『Level: 10』
『Job: Error』
『Status: Error』
『Mana: 64/64 』
『Experience: 2780/3300 』
『Strength: 30』
『Agility: 30』
『Intelligence: 30+1.2』
『Unused Stat Points: 0』:
『Passive Skills』
Ax Proficiency (Beginner) | Projectile Proficiency (Beginner) | Climbing (Beginner) | Precision | Hawkeye
『Active Skills』
Observation | Rage | Lucky Attack | Swift Attack
『Titles』
Underdog | Ingenious | Abandon All Hope | Nameless | One Shot, One Kill | Rage Killer | Level Jumper
Now, checking my newly-obtained skills and titles...
『Passive Skills』
rojectile Proficiency (Beginner): Increases damage, accuracy, and attack speed when using projectiles by 5%.
Hawkeye: Increases accuracy and projectile attack range by 15%
『Active Skills』
Rage: Increases attack damage, attack speed, critical chance, and movement speed by 10%, decreases defense and resistance by 10%, 40 mana cost.:
Lucky Attack: The next attack's critical rate will be increased by 15%, 20 mana cost.:
Swift Attack: The next attack's attack speed will be increased by 20%, 10 mana cost.:
『Titles』
Abandon All Hope: Unlocked after making a fatal decision. Increases luck.
Nameless: Unlocked after being interrupted to introduce oneself. Monster aggression decreased by 20%
One Shot, One Kill: Unlocked after killing a higher level enemy with one shot. Weakness hit damage increased by 50%.
Rage Killer: Unlocked after killing an enemy in a fit of rage. Damage increases with mental status, decreases rage after killing an enemy.
Level Jumper: Unlocked after leveling by five after killing one monster. Grants additional 5 stat every 5 levels.
I considered increasing my mana now that I have some attack-oriented active skills that requires mana.
Well, I don't have any problems with my newly obtained skills and titles, but why is there a 'Nameless' title among them?
Well, I have to declare it now, or else I would remain 'Nameless' through the rest of my life.
My name is-!
*booom*
My name is-!
*booooom*
Where the hell does these explosions came from?!
I looked around and saw large lizards flying above us, spouting large fireballs that explodes upon contact with physical objects.
Fortunately, the mages inside the circle are adept on using some kind of Barrier Magic, making the whole team safe against these lizard's attacks.
"Formation Beta, Black Fortress!"
One of the old mages instructed the whole party, making them move accordingly and create another formation.
Strong and impenetrable, this are the words that entered my mind when they created the new formation.
In the vanguard, a line of knights moving in a phalanx position, blocking the access of any monster.
In the middle, lines of archers and mages shot their skills and arrows towards the enemies outside the formation.
In the rear, another line of knights holding a phalanx position blocks enemy attack that came from the rear.
In the sides, there were also knights barring monsters from doing sneak attacks against the people inside the formation.
If their formation before was like a flower with mages and archers inside the circle while the soldiers are the petals, this formation is like a sandbox - the soldiers acts as the box while the mages and the archers are the sand within it.
I watched them with awe as I gave the leader of this group a place which I think would be the best place for this number of people to rest safely.
The place I recommended was a nearby high school's gymnasium.
It was a very large enclosed structure that could contain a large number of people.
With that kind of structure, it could shield them from outdoor weather and unexpected attacks from monsters.
After that traumatizing encounter with a Ratatoskr at night, I don't dare to make myself stay outdoors, either.
Actually, I also have a hidden motive why I suggested staying in the highschool's gymnasium...
It's because... beside the school was a police station.
"Hahaha! I struck it rich!"
I found sixty pieces of .45 caliber bullets and a Dragunov sniper rifle with twenty-five bullets!
I don't think that police stations are authorized to store sniper rifles like the army, but it was a great blessing to have this gun right now so I won't question this police station's credibility or anything.
With my increase accuracy, precision, and range due to title effects, having long-ranged weapons is the best path of fighting I could take right now.
Fortunately, I also saw ten hand grenades.
By the time we reached the gymnasium, it was already near midnight.
Each of them rested while their leader assessed the number of casualties.
"We lost fifteen knights... this place is harder than we thought..."
He frowned while looking at the remaining people.
Most of them were out of breath and exhausted, some had slight injuries while some had some of their limbs torn off from it's sockets.
I just realized then that this mighty group in my eyes wasn't invulnerable against those monsters.
I continued my contemplation until I was snapped out of it by a sweet voice.
"Hello, how are you doing?"
Eclasief smiled while looking at me.
There were beads of sweat on her forehead, showing how taxing the battle against the monster was.
"I-I'm fine. I just want to rest right now. I'll leave right away after I catch my breath."
I nervously said.
"Leave? Why?"
"I-..."
I can't say it.
I can't say that actually, I don't trust anyone here.
I... don't belong here.
Three hours ago, we were just strangers to each other, and I joined because I felt that they are useful.
I am a paranoid, selfish, pessimist, and mistrustful person.
My mind runs wild and always thought of every possible outcomes that could happen, but most of it were negative ideas.
I want myself to be safe, even at the expense of the safety of others.
I don't trust people easily, because simply, everybody lies.
Maybe some of them had bad intentions towards me, maybe some wanted my items which I depend upon for survival.It's just that I felt that something bad would happen if I remained here.
"I'll leave for tonight and will return by morning. Please take care."
I made a wry smile before leaving the gymnasium.
I didn't notice that everyone except Eclasief sighed in relief.