When Henry finally finished assigning all of his attribute points, a little text box appeared on his system screen.

"Attribute points will be permanently assigned once confirmed. Are you sure of your choices?"

Reading this text, he pressed yes without much thought. Wasn't this just your standard confirmation screen, anyway?

But just after selecting the option from the textbox, he began to develop a throbbing headache. Followed by an itchy sensation that began to spread throughout his entire body. The itch was so bad it felt like ants were living under the skin and behind his eye sockets.

Luckily, this uncomfortable experience only lasted for about ten seconds before it finally ended.

Henry let out a long breath of air, "Fucking hell, I didn't expect... that."

He reached over, got a tissue from the nearby dispenser on the wall, and cleared the saliva and sweat from his face.

Only after finishing this did something begin to feel... different. It was as if his body had become slightly lighter than before, his limbs quicker and easier to move around. Swinging one of his arms, the difference wasn't massive, but it was definitely there.

Looking in the mirror, Henry couldn't see any change appearance-wise. He still had those deep green eyes and the same defined jawline... However, now everything seemed to stand out a little bit more than before. His brain felt more aware of the surroundings—the dirt on the floor, rust on the dispenser, cracks on nearby windows and even the sounds from the diner outside, everything slightly easier to take in.

Slowly adapting to all these subtle changes, he stretched his fingers to test their newfound flexibility.

This... isn't this amazing? I literally just upgraded a part of myself as if I were in a game!

All sorts of ideas began to race through Henry's mind. If he managed to get strong enough, couldn't the storyline of Resident Evil also be changed for the better?

I could interact with all of my favourite characters and even help them out. Sure, it'd be dangerous, but I'm already stuck in this world with no other way, so why the hell not.

Now, he just needed to raise those pathetic stats more. Henry pondered the issue while opening his status page again...

Strength: 1

Dexterity: 1 → 2

Agility: 1 → 2

Constitution: 1

Perception: 1 → 2

They still sucked, but at least it was a start.

I also still have those perk points, too, whatever those are used for. So, I suppose I should sort that out next.

Thinking about this, Henry noticed that the system screen had already changed to the perks menu.

The background of the new menu contained a full-on galaxy spread out before his eyes. The stars within seemed almost alive in the way that they shined and glistened, filled with an undescribable vibrance that was hard to put into words.

Sitting in the centre of this galaxy were two unique star formations with words underneath them—each letter shined brightly as the mist rolled off in waves. The one on the left spelt out the word 'Body,' while the other was 'Proficiency.'

The main difference between the two was that proficiency appeared to be locked, the words greyed out, whereas body had the usual plus symbol next to it.

Left with little choice, Henry focused on the plus symbol.

Then, the system zoomed in on the body formation, expanding upon cluster after cluster of stars. Inside each cluster were multiple nodes, each one currently having a singular shining star with numerous greyed-out nodes connected to them through faint lines similar to a great tree, branching off into all kinds of directions.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

At the end of these lines, in the greyed-out nodes, different options existed that could be selected. For example, strength had a line connecting to a perk called 'Iron Grip.' Apparently, this perk only improved Henry's grip strength, but later on, it could also be further developed when meeting specific requirements and investing another point. Sadly, the tooltip didn't mention what these future developments would be, but it did tell him the maximum level of the perk and its prerequisites.

Seems simple enough... though, I probably won't go for iron grip. At least not yet, anyway. I need something a bit more practical, something that can increase my overall strength and survivability...

Henry knew roughly what he wanted as he continued to skim through more options. Eventually, he managed to find three that stood out the most to him.

The first one was called Quick Reload, and like its name suggested, it increased the speed of reloading by 10%. This was a passive under agility that would only activate when in the middle of reloading and could be further upgraded two more times.

Secondly, Henry liked the look of Adrenaline Boost. "Adrenaline boost not only raises my reaction speed by 10%, but it also boosts my movement speed by that amount as well. Unfortunately, I can only use this ability when I'm in danger, and its time limit is only ten seconds with a two-minute cooldown..."

Then came his favourite of the three, Sharpshooter. Unlike the previous two, this perk was passive and remained active no matter what. He could gain a permanent 10% boost of accuracy with EVERY ranged weapon, and to make the deal even sweeter, it scaled with his perception.

Pondering the three options, Henry couldn't deny that all of them offered something different and useful.

Reloading quicker might seem underpowered at first, but when considering the sponginess of most monsters in the Resident Evil world, it actually had very good mileage. The only downside to the perk was having sufficient ammo to benefit from it. Reloading would be pretty damn useless otherwise.

As for adrenaline boost, this one was more of a trump card. Because the ability wouldn't launch until he was in danger, so in the long run, it would offer him another life-saving ability if things went south.

However, that was also why Henry felt more attracted to the last option, Sharpshooter. With this ability, he wouldn't need adrenaline boost nearly as much. Since, with better accuracy, he could put down the monsters faster and maintain full control of the situation.

Because of this, he decided to go with the third option. Pressing the little plus key next to the perk, the system let out a soft chime in response.

Then, with a deep sigh, Henry closed the interface and turned towards the door.

He ran his right hand over the Beretta 92FS, otherwise known as the Samurai Edge, on his hip for some reassurance. Its wooden grip was distinctive from the usual Beretta 92FS, with a custom S.T.A.R.S. logo indented on one side.

Feeling a bit more confident, Henry looked into the mirror one last time, fixed his messy hair that he ruined earlier, and then went back into the diner outside. Sounds of chatter and laughter mixed with country music washed over him in waves.

The air was filled with the smell of greasy food and cigarettes.

Scrunching his nose slightly, he walked into the small corridor ahead. The walls were painted a grim yellow, with numerous pictures lined along each side. At the end of the corridor was a young waitress wearing a cream-coloured uniform with Hayley stitched to the font in a rather stylish font.

Taking note of all these details, Henry cautiously approached the young waitress. Trying his best not to disturb the other customers in the diner. But as he entered the room and left the safety of the small corridor, countless gazes drilled into him from around the room. These gazes seemed to be focused on the badge on his left shoulder.

Most of them looked away soon after, talking in hushed voices.

However, one loudmouthed man, who sounded pretty drunk, scowled at Henry angrily. "A member of S.T.A.R.S. wastin' taxpayers' money in a diner, what a fuckin surprise! I tell ya, them S.T.A.R.S. are a buncha useless jackasses, just like that fat-ass Chief Irons! All them disappearin' folks an' violent attacks, and what're they doin' 'bout it? Nothin'!" He spat on the floor near Henry, much to the waitress's annoyance. "When ya gonna actually do somethin' 'bout it, huh?!"

Just when George started to stand up, his friend grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down. "George, sit yer ass down! You tryna git yerself locked up again?!"

Henry paused, taking in the situation with a level head. He hadn't even been in this world for more than a few hours, and already he was getting heckled for a job he technically hadn't even started yet by a drunk guy.

"Ignore him," the waitress—Hayley—whispered as she approached, glancing warily at the belligerent man before looking back at Henry. "He's been mouthing off like that for weeks, ever since folks started going missing in the mountains. Most people around here are just scared, and… well, someone has to blame someone."

Knowing who the real culprit was, Henry could only give a wry smile. "Yeah, I figured. People always need a scapegoat." His voice was calm, trying to avoid any trouble. The last thing he needed was more trouble.

The waitress looked back with eyes of sympathy before offering a menu. "Coffee's fresh. Want a cup while you wait?"

Thinking about the drunk guy's words from before, Henry shook his head. "Actually... Can you just tell me the date? He scratched the nape of his neck awkwardly. "I... uh, kinda lost track."

Hayley blinked, looking a little confused. However, she soon snapped out of it a moment later. "It's July the 21st today."

Hold on... 21st of July 1998, wasn't that three days before alpha team gets sent to that death trap called the Spencer mansion? Shit...

By this point, the Arklay Mountain disappearances were at their highest, and things were already beginning to fall apart under the pressure. Soon, the bravo team would be sent to investigate and not long after, so would the alpha team.

And because Henry was also a member of the alpha team, courtesy of the menu from earlier, that would include him, too.

So, I have three days until im thrust into one of the worst horrors ever conceived... Great. Just fucking great.