Peter glanced at the stray normal-sized Boston Terrier huddled in the corner of the main entrance. A puddle of blood formed where its right paw would be. The Terrier trembled when it saw a long shadow getting closer.
“At least you won’t have to suffer any longer…” Peter murmured, and stabbed his machete towards the Terrier.
“Ding”
[Act of Mercy]
Hearing the system message, Peter waited in anticipation of a reward. Disappointed by the SYSTEM’s silence, he scolded, “You dropped the bait, but you don’t deliver!”
After fruitlessly waiting for the SYSTEM to respond, he shrugged his shoulders and pouted.
“Fine, I’m going then,” his voice trailed, before picking up again, “This time, I’m REALLY going.”
Sensing no response again, Peter stared into the distance. Goblins, wolves, boars, gigantic ant insects, orcs, giant birds, giant rats could be seen fighting between themselves. The traces of red blood and human corpses on the floor said a million words about the new world order and hierarchy.
Peter’s thoughts turned grim. Everyone’s probably waiting at home for the government to save them or dead. But, before he could get lost in his thoughts, he felt someone or something watching him.
Clink
Turning his head towards the noise, Peter discovered what appeared to be a gigantic rat.
“You gotta be kidding me.” Peter looked up at the 2-meter-tall grey-furred rat standing in an upright position on its hind legs and slowly backed up. Its hideous eyes flashed with glee, and its long snout began pulling back to reveal sharp teeth.
“SCREECH!” The rat got on fours and bolted at lightning speed towards Peter. Two bullets ripped through the air, and the rat’s body slid across the floor, stopping in front of Peter.
“Ding”
[You have killed a giant rat using an unauthorized weapon. Penalty: Confiscation of used weapon]
Unauthorized? Am I missing something here? It’s a friggin’ monster invasion out here
He badmouthed the system again. With no one to vent his anger toward, his eyes unconsciously swerved toward the dead giant rat.
“DAMN SYSTEM! First the empty reward, now you’re confisc—” Mid swing, Peter felt rumbling in the distance. He turned toward the sound, and the mental image revealed hundreds of giant rats and normal-sized rats charging in his direction.
His instinct switched to full survival mode, and he ran towards the nearest alley. Glancing back, he saw the horde hot on his heels. Sweat began to leak from his hands as his head swerved in a dozen different directions.
Finally, he located a somewhat intact pipe. Climbing up like a monkey, he reached the rooftop of the Santiago Bar. Staring back down from the roof, he could see the red-eyed rats rushing past the building and towards their next available fresh meal.
“Ouch.” Feeling a slight pain in his left calf, he discovered a rat biting into his clothes. His face soured. Grabbed the rat, he lifted and hurled it off the 2-floor bar. A moment later, a sickening crunch ensued.
Peter looked up after hearing a peculiar buzzing sound.
No way...
Living along the coast of the Hudson River of New York City, dragonflies were a common sight. However, unlike the harmless dragonflies of the past, this monstrosity floating in midair was double the size of the previous giant rat. Its wingspan alone stretched farther than the former six-time NBA world champ.
“Ding”
[Elite monster: Greedy Blue Dragonfly. Level: 11. Skills: N/A]
Peter’s mouth went slack.
Aren’t you a wonderful blessing, system.
Sensing the menace above, he lowered his hips, waiting for the dragonfly to swoop in. Yet, before his [Mind’s Eye] could process the dragonfly’s movement, a mixture of pure instinct, fear, and adredaline took over as his hands struck down.
Puchi!
The dragonfly’s thorax slammed uncontrollably into the ground, and a gush of blue liquid spewed out of its wounded wings. Peter rubbed his neck and felt the cold sweat pouring down his back. His body involuntarily shivered when he thought back to the moment the dragonfly disappeared from his senses.
Peter clenched his jaw tightly and let a murderous aura flow out. Like a bear provoked out of hibernation, killing intent exuded from every pore in his body. The dragonfly on the floor began shuddering from the blood loss from its severed left appendage. It flailed with all its might as it watched Peter approach its body.
Staring into the dragonfly’s kaleidoscopic eye, Peter showed no mercy.
“Ding!”
[You are the 19th person to kill an elite class monster]
[Reward: Random Skill Book OR Random Item]
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He felt a wave of nostalgia. It took him back to the days of gaming on the PC.
Weren’t skills handed out freely by NPCs in the MMORPGs? Are there going to be NPCs now? Ah, that’s a problem for future me. The more important issue at hand is that my machete and daggers are getting dull. I already have the skill, [Mind’s Eye], so lets pick an item, hopefully something useful comes out.
“I want a random item.”
A light blinded Peter’s vision and a floating ring appeared by his side.
[Ring of Strength - Rare]
[Effects: +10 STR]
[Skill: Sacrifice 10% of stamina per minute for double strength. Three times per day.]
“Oh hoh hoh I see, is this a marriage proposal system?” Peter laughed toward the cloudy night and attempted to goad the system with a smug grin. Seeing that nothing happened, Peter scoffed. Then he turned his attention back to the ring and wore it on his ring finger.
Within several seconds, his body began to heat up and fill with strength. As the steam produced from his body fizzled, he couldn’t help but stare into his palm. His pupils dilated as his breath turned turbid and his mouth opened in awe , “No bloody way. I got stronger from putting on a ring.”
No one will take away my precious!
Soon, he got his thoughts in order and kicked open the roof door. The path down was pitch black. With his palm along the wall, he walked stepped into the darkness.
Zzz
Pushing open the flimsy door, he saw an outline of the bar illuminated by the fluorescent lights flickered on and off. The two small windows by the entrance were barricaded by tables and chairs. In terms of size, the dingy bar wouldn’t fit any more than 75 customers at once. In terms of décor, any run of the mill bar on the upper west side could do better. The exception was the large bar stool counter. Overall, 5/10.
From what Peter could fondly recall, the limited seating and perverted customers who joked with the female bartender were the cherry on top. He deducted another mark to the final tally – 4/10.
Ignoring the chilly air, he strained his ears to pick up any noise. He heard faint breathing by the bathroom 2 feet across from the entrance of the bar.
“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you,” Peter said meekly at the shadow. In response, he heard a cocking noise from a shotgun. The shadow took a few more small steps while pointing the gun at Peter. The figure became clearer.
With his finger on the trigger, the person gasped after catching a glimpse of Peter’s face. A baritone voice asked, “Is that you sonny?”
Peter squinted his eyes and saw a disheveled old man with a slight hunch. He replied, “Mick?”
“Peter?!”
Peter’s lips curled upwards into a grin. “Yeah, now put your gun down old man, before you hurt yourself!”
“HAHA, you’re still alive sonny!” The old man’s wrinkled face seemed to gain a little life as he smiled. The old man grabbed Peter and gave him a bear hug and asked, “You have any idea what in the world is going on?” Peter scrunched his face and poured a glass of bourbon whiskey.
“Na. Whatever this is, it definitely took me by surprise too.” Peter then recounted his story with the goblin he found in his kitchen.
Mick laughed and asked, “Why’d you melt the ugly bastard?”
“Oh right… I forgot about that. Instinct I suppose.” Peter nervously chuckled
Peter reached over the bar and took another glass for Mick. Mick kicked over a familiar green corpse sprawled over the bar seat and downed the glass.
“Ahh, I really shouldn’t be drinking. Me old liver can’t take much more of it.” Peter laughed at the old man trembling hands before staring the old man in the face. “Did Mary leave yet?”
The old man frowned, and they sat together in silence for the next two glasses.
He waited for Mick to finish his glass of whiskey and before taking off his vest. He put it on the table and offered, “Old man, I’m heading out. If you wanna come, then come with. If you wanna make this place your grave, then rest in peace.”
Their relationship stretched a decade, so seeing Mick’s unyielding glare put a grimace on Peter’s face. Peter clenched his jaw but hid the unhappiness in his eyes.
“Well?” Peter said in a grave tone.
“Sonny, keep it. I’m taking this joint with me to my deathbed.” The old man chortled.
He bent over the table and gave the old man a firm hug before shoving a bottle of Mick’s prized Macallan whiskey into a backpack by the bar sink. Walking into the distance, Peter heard a loud gunshot and a goblin shriek.
“Damn it. Stubborn bastard.” Peter frowned
Peter shook his head and clutched his machete. He continued to roam the monster-littered town. To pass the time while searching for a functional car, he hunted down stray rats and goblins.
After years of working for clients in the darker underbelly of society, Peter felt a dangerous presence behind him. With his improved senses to reinforce his gut feeling, he turned around and whipped the machete horizontaly. The shadow dodged backward, and Peter lowered his gaze and saw a woman in black sweat pants and blood-splattered brown overcoat. A black cloth covered her delicate nose and mouth, but he could see her green eyes caked with fear and surprise.
She readied her dagger in front of her again and hissed, “What the hell are you doing?”
Hearing the irritation in her voice, he also responded with aggression, “What the hell are you doing?” The woman hesitated and decided to tell the truth. “I was going to kill and rob you.”
Peter dropped his mouth with an exaggerated gasp, but his mocking eyes gave away his feelings. The woman returned a hostile glare. Ignoring the hostility, Peter started laughing. “Little girl, you know how many times I’ve heard that before?”
“Then?” she replied with her eyes glaring menacingly. Peter rebuffed with a smile, “Let’s just cut to the chase. Walk away and I’ll pretend it never happened, ok?” The woman began to back up slowly, but out of the blue, a 5-meter-tall pelican with a wingspan of at least 12 meters picked her up like a dead fish.
“AHH!!”
“And, there goes my last gun,” Peter grumbled
He drew his pistol and unloaded the entire chamber towards the pelican. In 2 seconds, the pelican froze like a puppet that lost its strings and fell beak first.
Scree!
“Ding!”
[You have killed a Wrin Pelican using an unauthorized weapon. Penalty: Confiscation of used weapon]
He muttered over his breath, “Drat. This lady owes me a gun.”
Peter headed towards the masked female whose leg was mangled by the fallen pelican. Mustering up his best polite smile, he held his hand out and asked, “Are you okay?” Seeing Peter take the initiative, the masked woman began to laugh flirtatiously.
“Thank you, I can’t believe you saved me even though I tried to rob you.” Her voice carried a hint of charm. Peter felt his right eye twitch, but he went along with the charade.
“No problem, but you owe me a Glock,” Peter laughed as he helped the lady to her remaining good leg. However, the moment he flipped over the dead pelican, a bright light caught his attention. The tender voice from earlier turned savage, and she growled, “It’s mine!” With the short dagger in hand, she pushed off her good leg and aimed for Peter’s heart.
Peter scoffed and grabbed the lady mid-attack and pulled her arm towards his waist. Once she lost footing, Peter followed up and shot his right knee to her ribs. With the extra +10 STR, firework-like cracks could be heard from the woman as she was fell on her back.
He glanced at the woman groveling on the floor and felt a slight tug in his heart. The woman immediately looked up with eyes dripping with venom.
Coughing up blood and parts of her lungs, and as she spat, “I’ll see you in hell coño,”
He felt his last shred of pity for the woman vanish into thin air.
Seeing the woman struggle, Peter's eyes turned into crescents, and he flashed a wry smile at the woman and replied, “That is if I die.”
Ignoring the groaning woman, he headed toward the glowing white chest. Peter grinned in anticipation. The system rewards were rather generous, and this chest felt like the jackpot.