I encountered some problem after leaving the gymnasium...
I was being chased by a dog monster.
Normally, they were very fast, but right now, even if I walk, they can't catch up with me.
Just like the Ratatoskr last night, it seems to be weakened right now.
I shot the dog monster between its eyes with my handgun, and penetrated its head with ease.
Even though my hands were unsteady and my feet were shaking, I'm glad that all of the passive skills and titles raised my accuracy into a frightening level.
Mwuhahahaha! No one can beat me now! I'll make this idiot monsters know the price of fighting against me!
:You have dealt 1,755 damage to Hellhound (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage):
:You have dealt 2,914 damage to Hellhound (Weakness Hit, Critical Hit, Piercing Damage):
:You have dealt 1,693 damage to Hellhound (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage):
:You have dealt 1,492 damage to Hellhound (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage):
:You have killed a Hellhound! You received 3,102 Experience:
:Level up! You are now Level 14!:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Tranquility:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Fortitude:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Trueshot:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Shaky hands:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Pierce:
:You have gained a new active skill - Silent steps:
:You have gained a new active skill - Rapidfire:
:You have gained a new title - Beginner Monster Hunter:
:You have gained twenty (20) stat points:
After allocating my stats again, I looked at my newly acquired skills and title's descriptions.
Passive Skills
Tranquility: Removes "Fear" status when entering combat.
Fortitude: When in combat, enhances all stats by 20% of the enemy's level - own level.
Trueshot: Passively displays enemy weakness.
Shaky Hands: Decreases melee and ranged accuracy, but increases chance of attacking twice.
Pierce: Damage has chance to inflict piercing damage with non-piercing attacks.
Active Skills:
Silent Steps: Decreases chance of being detected by enemy by 25%, Consumes 10 mana.
Rapidfire: Unleashes three continuous shots, damage dealt by second and third shots is 90% of damage, Consumes 15 mana.
Titles:
Beginner Monster Hunter: Unlocked after killing three different monsters. Grants additional base damage against monsters.
I just noticed that handgun inflicts flat damage instead of damage affected by stats.
It means that the gun's damage wasn't affected by my increase in stats, but was affected by hitting monster's weakness, landing a critical hit, and the type of attack.
I am glad that it was the case - because when I think of it, the damage I could inflict without this handgun would be very small compared to my hand gun's flat damage.
One more thing... I think that monsters get weaker during the night... but does that party knew that?
Why do they have to rest in the night and fight during the day when monsters were very strong?
After allocating my gained stats on both Strength and Agility, I turned back to the high school but at that time...
*Boooooom*
A large explosion coming from the tree appeared.
I suddenly jolted back to reality and saw a large number of fiery meteors were falling towards the tree.
Now, I think that they knew that monsters are weak during the night.
I looked around and saw a tall clock tower nearby.
Fortunately, I didn't encounter any monsters this time, so I was able to climb the tower with ease.
I looked at the tree's direction using the Dragunov's scope and saw a scene unfolding in my very own eyes.
The group which I left, was being slaughtered by one monster without giving them a chance to fight back.
A monster which has the form of a giant bone dragon, with blood-red eyes and very durable bones
The leader of the group, which always had a stern expression in his eyes, was decapitated with ease by the monster.
Then, I noticed in one corner was a very familiar face.
The woman, Eclasief, was on the ground, quivering with eyes full of fear and hopelessness.
If I didn't know her personality, I would think that she wasn't the bubbly and energetic woman I know.
The slaughter continued up to the last man, until it was only Eclasief was the only one left.
The bone dragon held her up, while Eclasief struggled to released from its grasp.
Then, what happened next was the most blood-chilling thing I saw since the world turned into this kind of hell.
The bone dragon directly looked at her deadpan eyes and started to absorb something from her.
I don't know what it is, but I felt that she was suffering intense pain.
I avoided to look from the scene and was also quivering in fear when I accidentally... pulled the Dragunov's trigger.
"Ah!"
*Groooooooowllll!!*
:You have dealt 12,755 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage, Critical Hit):
I don't know if I'm lucky or unlucky, but the shot I pulled pierced one of its blood-red eyes, which easily shattered upon impact.
Estimating my distance from the dragon, I just shot its weakness from one and a half kilometers away.
The damage I did shows that Dragunov inflicts much more damage than the handgun I had.
The bone dragon dropped Eclasief's lifeless body and looked towards my direction.
Crap! It found me!
In my panic, I released two more shots before hastily descended the tower.
:You have dealt 5,561 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage):
:You have dealt 5,102 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit, Piercing Damage):
I didn't mind the notifications that appeared on my head as I ran away from the Necrogoria.
When I looked back, I saw a towering Necrogoria charging towards my direction while demolishing all buildings in its way.
In just five minutes, it traveled almost seven hundred meters, even though I was running away from it with all my power.
"Silent Steps, Observation!"
This was the first time I used my obtained skills, Silent Steps and Observation.
:Necrogoria:
:Level: 49:
:HP: 29,213/102,000:
By consuming 25 of my 64 mana, I felt my presence decreasing while also gaining some knowledge against my enemy.
Maybe because of the battle between the Necrogoria and the group before, its life greatly decreased near half before I shot it with a sniper bullet.
Either way, I was lucky to decrease the remaining life by one-fourth before it charged towards me.
Why lucky, you ask? Because I already made some preparations beforehand, but these preparations were reserved to those in the party who were thinking of chasing and killing me after leaving.
Of course, I am a cowardly person, so I do things in a cowardly way.
I ran towards the hotel which I thought of using before.
When the Necrogoria was just a block away from my place, an explosion emerged on its forefeet.
*Boooom!*
:You have dealt 3,569 damage to Necrogoria:
:You have dealt 2,923 damage to Necrogoria:
:You have dealt 3,452 damage to Necrogoria:
:You have crippled Necrogoria! Necrogoria's Movement Speed has been decreased:
Heh! Good thing I had two years of experience in military due to the country's compulsory military service, which gave me a lot of skills that I can use in a battlefield!
I just used a simple military trap that is also easy to set up- using a thin wire which would set off the grenade when the wire is stretched.
Just to be sure that I would inflict large damage, I even used three of the ten hand grenades I obtained from the police station.
Back to the present... it seems that my trap didn't deal that much damage compared to my Dragunov's three shots... maybe it's because of additional damage of Piercing Damage, Weakness Hit, and Critical Hit?
Still, I triggered a negative status on the Necrogoria, so it's all worth it.
Now... If I could only find a good vantage point...
Huh...? Since when did I get this confident fighting a monster?
It wasn't just a day ago when I was scared shitless by a small Ratatoskr, much more a Necrogoria which is as tall as a three-story building and as wide as two buildings combined.
Maybe because I saw earlier that monsters aren't that invulnerable?
No, no... of course that's not the case - I just saw this monster massacre a whole team of strong elites from a world that could use mana with ease and fights with great coordination.
Is this the effect of Tranquility passive skill? I think this skill is a double-edged sword - it can greatly enhance my capabilities, removing my fear towards monsters, but it could also make me careless, making me think that I could fight any monster even higher level ones.
Just look at my situation right now... I accidentally pulled the trigger of my rifle in my nervousness, which made me engaged into combat.
The instant I entered the combat, Tranquility passive skill's effect has turned on, but I didn't realized that until now.
The Tranquility's description is a little confusing because it said it removes fear status... so the fear I felt when fighting monsters is a negative effect?
Either way, I should finish this Necrogoria quickly...
"Observe."
:Necrogoria:
:Level: 49:
:HP: 19,179/102,000:
I shaved off ten thousand HP by using that trap so I only have to do at least twenty thousand damage to end this fight.
I looked at my watch and saw that it's already three in the morning.
I know I should increase my pace and defeat this monster before sunrise, or I would be totally screwed.
I returned my handguns to their sheaths and took the Dragunov from my back.
Let's get this party started!
I knew that this Necrogoria's anger was at the highest because it continued to forced its humongous body by using its two hind legs.
Now, it looks like an oversized bulldozer ramming everything on its way.
It was very favorable to me, since I could do some basic maneuvers by making a sudden sharp turn or passing in between two small buildings, greatly hindering its chase.
After a few more sharp turns, I saw an average-sized building that is just as high as the Necrogoria.
After some analysis, even an idiot knew that to kill that bull-headed Necrogoria, I need to aim at its remaining eye, hoping that I could render it blind.
But there are still some doubts in my own mind... what if it doesn't have to use eyes to detect its target?
I'd be screwed if that was the case...
It isn't my style to leave my own uncertainties to fate, but I have no other choice!
I scaled the building with ease, but when I reached the middle floor of the building, a strong tremor made me lose my balance.
But before I fell into the ground, I used my newfound reflexes from my increased Agility stat and recovered easily.
If I didn't add points in both Agility and Strength, I wouldn't be confident to carry around a heavy bag containing different kinds of items while sprinting around the city with a large bulldozer on my tail.
I won't hesitate to abandon my items, which is a waste since most of them were food supplies, ammunition, and weapons.
I even secretly looted some of the items left by the deceased members of the party, especially their weapons.
Without letting the tremors affect my speed, I scaled the building until I reached the top in just three minutes.
At the top, I saw the Necrogoria ramming the building as if its life depends on it.
Its actions cause a deep dent to the building, which could collapse in any second if rammed a little more.
"Hey, stupid dogfood! Am I the one you're looking for?"
I tried taunting the Necrogoria while throwing two more grenades inside its body.
*Roaaaaaaar!!*
As if answering my taunts, the Necrogoria loudly roared which heavily pierced through my ears.
Oh shit! This level of sound can be higher than hearing an airplane engine run up-close!
I suddenly lost my balance and started to throw up all the food inside my stomach mixed with blood.
I coughed blood again twice before I could finally stabilize myself with difficulty.
With my ears are busted and my eyes are bloody-red as a result, I could say that I became careless and didn't consider this possibility to happen.
With our level difference, it is highly possible that even a shockwave from this monster's claw swipe can easily cut me into pieces.
I should end this before I lose my consciousness...
My vision is spinning, my ears are not working, my body aches all over... I think I'm about to die...
Of all things to fear, what I feared the most is dying.
People have an instinctive fear of death, yet mine was a magnitude higher than normal.
It stemmed from my father, a fan of splatter horror films who forces me to watch with him those movies full of bloody deaths.
This gave me slight schizophrenia, making it hard for me to adapt with the society.
I had no close friends, neither at work, in my school days, nor in my days as a military personnel.
I have deep distrust against strangers, yet uses everything in my disposal to preserve my own safety.
That's why before I joined the group of foreigners, I weighed the pros and cons of joining them.
But all of it is in the past now..
It's either I die as food or I die while taking this oversized lizard with me.
Of course, like any man wanted - I will die with style!
I hanged all of the remaining hand grenades in my body and took the riot shield and ax.
Since my childhood days, this is my dream - to become a warrior that will slay a dragon.
But instead of a living dragon, I'm facing an undead dragon with an axe and riot shield.
Maybe this scenario is pretty different from my dream, but as long as I do this, I could lighten my unwillingness to die... either way, most of my organs are already failing.
With my blurry vision, I charged to the edge of the building.
I didn't notice back then, but the building was actually about to collapse because of Necrogoria's constant ramming.
Like an action star, I jumped away from the collapsing building and landed on top of the Necrogoria's head.
I used the riot shield to protect myself from the building's falling debris as I approached the Necrogoria's remaining eye.
"Heh... I hope you're ready... oversized bone lizard..."
I smirked unconsciously and licked by bloody lips before throwing the riot shield away.
I held the emergency hands with one of my hands while I used the other to cling on it's head.
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"Rage!"
I used my remaining mana on the skill Rage and started to hack the Necrogoria's eyes without caring my own well-being.
"HOW MUCH MORE DO I HAVE TO SUFFER!"
*Ting!*
:You have dealt 545 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit):
Heh... my strength really isn't enough...
"IS THE SUFFERING I FELT IN A NORMAL EARTH NOT ENOUGH!"
*Ting!*
You have dealt 533 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit):
"I DON'T WANT TO FUCKING DIE!!!!"
*Ting!*
You have dealt 729 damage to Necrogoria (Weakness Hit, Piercing Attack):
After hacking its eyes thrice, the Necrogoria started to thrash its head around, trying to make me get off.
I let go of my ax and clung harder on its head... but I didn't expect it to violently lift up it's head, making me fly into the air.
In the air, I saw its head getting ready to catch my body like a crocodile getting ready to devour its prey.
But this stupid lizard didn't know... a person who knows that his time is near is ready to do anything!
"HAHAHAHA! HERE'S A PRESENT, LIZARD!"
I threw all five hand grenades towards the Necrogoria's mouth with a sinister smile.
"Ahhhh! Stylish death, achieved!"
I laughed without restraint, but inside me is the unwillingness to die and the curiosity towards the afterlife.
I am a Catholic, but I'm not a frequent church-goer and I don't follow some of the doctrines of the church...
I believe in an existence called God, but I knew he isn't a merciful one.
People call my sufferings a challenge of faith, but in my eyes, life is a sadist-masochist game.
Either you step on people to gain advantage, or be stepped on by others because you wanted to play fair.
I don't believe in reality shows that shows how only hard word made people successful.
Because I know, along the way, they bumped into other people's lives.
Away from that topic... Now that I'm a death's door, I would let my own curiosity work this time.
I've been trying to play safe since the day I became independent, so I shall indulge myself this time... in the afterlife.
*BOOOOOOOOOM!!!*
I knew that the five grenades created an earth-shattering explosion, but my eyes were already close and my ears were already busted.
The only thing I felt was how every inch of my skin tingled for a second and starts to get hotter and hotter until my senses failed to recognize pain anymore.
Then, a sudden blow from my back made my body ache and spew out more blood from my lips.
I didn't realized that when the grenade exploded, I flew towards a nearby car's hood.
The impact made me open my eyes briefly and see a headless Necrogoria that isn't moving anymore.
When the tension in my body relaxed, bit by bit, I realized that I don't feel my feet anymore.
With my remaining ounce of strength, I looked at my lower body... which isn't there anymore.
Only some scattered blood and intestines... which are of course, mine.s
"Heh... I should have known..."
My strength was gradually sapped away as I finally lost my life.
Notification sounds flooded my weakening consciousness, but the only one I saw in the end...
:You are dead.:
***
Is this the afterlife?
Previously, I believed that I was living a dream a moment ago... but why is everything I see now is just darkness?
:You have died with your own weapon. -12 Level Penalty.:
:You have killed a Necrogoria! You received 22,419 Experience:
:Level up! You are now Level 29!:
:You have received an item - Soul Gemstone.:
:You have beaten a sub-boss! You inherited the active skill - Soul Siphon.:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Explosives Proficiency:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Trap Proficiency:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Iron Will:
:You have gained a new passive skill - Profound Madness:
:You have gained a new title - Undead Slayer:
:You have gained a new title - Dragon Slayer:
:You have gained a new title - Sub-boss Slayer:
:You have gained a new title - Death's Player:
:You have gained a new title - Champion:
:You have gained a new title - Savior:
:You have gained one hundred sixty (160) stat points (Level Jumper Title Effect):
I'm sure I died, right?
Who the heck will live after having half of his body busted off and all five senses critically injured.
Even I made some cool dying remarks... so embarrassing...
Ah, not that I wanted to die or anything, okay?
I'm just shocked to know that not all people die when they are killed (LOL).
Why am I happy?
Of course, I'm happy - because I'm alive.
As long as I'm alive, I am happy.
Still, I didn't think that I would survive that in the first place.
Was I revived? No... because there wasn't anyone around when I woke up.
Is it the system? I'm hundred percent sure that it was the case.
After all, the system announced my death and the penalties.
But still... I revived with my clothes intact as if it considers it as a part of my body... I don't really get how this system works...
By that idea, I can conclude that to be revived, one needs to pay the proper amount of levels that would act as penalty for dying.
This might be a cheat-like system in the surface, but it wasn't the case.
First, you revive at the place where you died.
This is a very flawed one - what if you die in the middle of a monster horde?
They can easily whittle out all your obtained levels every time you revive.
Second, the time one needed to revive is about three minutes if you died like me, with busted lower body and multiple organ failures.
During that time, the monster or person who killed you will notice something amiss in your corpse and just kill you once again as soon as you revive.
Finally, I felt that there is not invincibility buffer for newly-revived people.
I want to reach a proper explanation, but I'd rather not die again.
Nevermind.
I lifted up my body from the car and looked around my surroundings.
A demolished building buried half of the Necrogoria's body while the head was non-existent, flew into bits of pieces after the explosion.
My ax and riot shield was below the debris, both looked destroyed beyond repair.
The rope was torn and the Dragunov... snapped into two.
The final result - I don't have any decent item remaining to use except my handgun which miraculously survived the explosion.
My carelessness made me pay a heavy price.
I'm back from when I started? I don't think so.
I obtained decent number of skill and stat points which greatly increases my survival.
It was a waste that they were destroyed as a result, but all of these weapons have durability - they will still wear and tear like any weapons do.
It's just sooner or later... so I'd rather think that them being destroyed right now is for the best.
Actually, I threw my bag one block away from here to increase my speed back when the Necrogoria was charging towards me.
That contained some foreign weapons which were mostly in good condition.
A bow, fifty arrows, and a sword.
I carefully returned to the place where I threw the bag with a handgun in my hand.
There were no incidents that happened and I was able to retrieve my bag safely.
I entered a decent house through its window and looked at everything I obtained after fighting that Necrogoria.
First... my stats!
Name: Error
Level: 29
Job: Player
Status: Error
Mana: 21/21
Experience: 22,596/23,250
Strength: 15 |+|
Agility: 15 |+|
Intelligence: 10+0.4 |+|
Unused Stat Points: 160
『Passive Skills』
Ax Proficiency (Beginner) | Projectile Proficiency (Beginner) | Climbing (Beginner) | Precision | Hawkeye | Tranquility | Fortitude | Trueshot | Shaky hands | Pierce | Explosives Proficiency (Beginner) | Trap Proficiency (Beginner) | Profound Madness
『Active Skills』
Observation | Rage | Lucky Attack | Swift Attack | Silent Steps | Rapid Fire | Soul Siphon
『Titles』
Underdog | Ingenious | Abandon All Hope | Nameless | One Shot, One Kill | Rage Killer | Level Jumper | Beginner Monster Hunter | Undead Slayer | Dragon Slayer | Sub-boss Slayer | Death's Player | Champion | Savior
『Passive Skills』
Explosives Proficiency (Beginner): Increases explosive's area of effect, duration, and damage by 5%.
Trap Proficiency (Beginner): Increases the damage, concealment, and
Iron Will: Decreases Pain Sensitivity by 10%.
Profound Madness: When Rage skill is on effect, Pain Sensitivity is decreased by 70%
『Active Skills』
Soul Siphon: Evil art that converts absorbed souls into mana. Decreases target's mana by 100 per second, the user gains the mana. Requires a staff to use.
『Titles』
Undead Slayer: Unlocked after killing an elite rank or above undead-category monster. Increases damage to undead by 15%, Increases Undead aggression by 10%
Dragon Slayer: Unlocked after killing an elite rank or above dragon-category monster. Increases damage to dragons by 15%, Increases Dragon aggresion by 10%
Sub-boss Slayer: Unlocked after killing a sub-boss monster. Increases resistance to negative effects by 10%, Increases drop rate by 5%, Increases experience gained by 10%
Death's Player: Unlocked after dying once. Job turns into Player, grants access to storage.
Champion: Unlocked after defeating an evil being. Increases elemental resistance by 30%
Savior: Unlocked after saving an important character. Increases charisma by 15%
Cool... I gained a lot of stat points, skills, and titles.
I distributed my stats evenly again when I noticed my status has a new entry.
Now, I have a job - a Player.
So, I wasn't a player before I died? This system's weird in categorizing players from others.
Either way, I want to know what this "Storage" is.
Like when I was looking on how to access my stats, which is by scratching my head, all of my attempts were futile.
Either way, I'll discover it sooner or later so I'll just pack up my things and start to get going...
Just as I insert an item inside my bag...
A menu displayed in front of my eyes.
The inventory menu!
My bag can contain 40 items, in 8x5 dimension.
When I inserted a sword, it accumulates one space of inventory.
Some items, like food, are categorized into one, occupying one space of inventory
Oooohhhh! It's jackpot! Now I don't have to worry of lacking any storage capacity!
I tried putting a dozen of rocks inside, yet it doesn't even get any heavier!
This is the greatest gift I could ever have this time!
After recovering from my hysteria, I collected myself as I walked towards my destination.
Where, you ask? Of course, I will go where the group was wiped out.
I presently lack a staff for my Soul Siphon skill and... I have a feeling...
Certainly, I noticed that in my Savior title, I saved an important character.
Who is this important character? Nothing comes into mind except that girl Eclasief.
After all, their group was already annihilated and her soul was about to be extinguished, if it wasn't due to yours truly's intervention.
I carefully strolled the place and saw a very beautiful staff - a root-like staff with four different-colored gems embedded on the top.
I took the staff and inserted it inside my bag before returning to my search for Eclasief's body.
Oh, there it is.
Her unconscious body lay on the ground, surrounded by blood and mutilated bodies... of her groupmates.
If I were to put myself in her shoes, I would be devastated when I see this by the time I wake up.
Let's be considerate and take her away from here.
I carried her body to a nearby house and laid her on a bed.
From the first time I saw her, I really couldn't get my eyes away from her beauty.
F-First of all, I-I should look for a change of clothes!
I looked around the house and found a white one-piece dress.
I also felt that her lower body was wet, maybe she wet herself because of fear.
T-This isn't sexual harrassment, ya hear! This is bonafide, authentic, and true worry towards hygiene!
O-On that note, I wasn't able to take a bath for two days now... I should take one first.
I left the clothes I found for her in the room and took a bath.
After taking care of my own hygiene, I returned to the room and saw the still-unconscious Eclasief with a bloody dress.
I slightly pinched her soft cheeks, making them a little red.
People would think that this is a chance, but I don't think I could do it.
My motto is to live a long life, even at the expense of others.
Outside of that, I don't want to burden others because of my actions.
I saved her once by accident, but this time, it is in my own decision.
Maybe many of you might ask why I saved her this time?
Because I learned the value of having companions.
My battle before against Necrogoria made me think that it would've been easier if I had a companion to depend on.
Eclasief probably isn't a bad person, but her expertise in magic is what I sought of.
But still, she isn't waking up...
I was about to do things in a pervert's way of touching when I remembered the Soul Gemstone.
Normally, monsters doesn't give items directly - one have to collect their carcass and use them as materials.
This was an exception, so I knew that this item is very important.
I took out the little Soul Gemstone and used Observe on it.
:Soul Gemstone:
Very Happy [https://www.royalroadcdn.com/public/smilies/biggrin.png]urability: 1/1:
Very Happy [https://www.royalroadcdn.com/public/smilies/biggrin.png]escription: A materialization of a soul. Can be used on unconscious target to rouse their souls from slumber. Consumes energy to use.:
Well, that's a vauge description.
A materialization of soul and could be used to awaken people... that's clear but what is energy? Is it what I think it is? Not mana, but energy?
Oh well! Let's just use it!
I took Eclasief's hand and held it with the Soul Gemstone between them.
:Are you sure you want to use it?:
"Yes."
After voicing my confirmation, a stream of light flew out of the Soul Gemstone as it forcefully absorbed by energy like an empty basin and started to transfer it to Eclasief's body.
"This... is... too much..."
I can't help but mutter as my energy reached the lowest point, making me a little dizzy.
The transfusion only ended when I was in the brink of losing my consciousness...
Finally, I can't help myself and fall asleep.