After reentering the university building, I wandered the hallways. I continued to kill goblins as I went, though they didn’t really give me much XP anymore. But as I walked, I suddenly felt a slight sense of danger. Ducking, I heard a whooshing sound as something passed through the air where my head used to be. Spinning around, I barely saw a black, shadowy figure vanishing into the dark hallway.
“Great. There are ninjas now.”
Looking at the projectile the creature shot at me, I saw a short bolt-like arrow embedded in the wall. Rolling my eyes, I sighed. Activating [Focus Senses], I stayed on guard against any more surprise attacks. However, the creature seemed too wary of me to attack again. For now, at least.
“Alright, gotta find Johnathon. He knows more about this game stuff than I do, and I have some Items for him. But where’d he go?”
However, after continuing my search, I found some other survivors. There were four people huddled together in a classroom. It was two girls, a boy, and a professor. Stepping inside the room, I held my hands up in a peaceful gesture.
“Y-you’re human! A-a-are you okay? How’d you get through the building? Are those creatures gone?” The professor asked. I noticed that he had what looked like part of a broken chair in his hands. Looking closer, I also noticed the bloodstains on the ends of the chair legs.
“Yeah, I’m fine. And no, those things aren’t gone. They’re just way too weak to hurt me,” I replied. The four people all looked at each other, then back at me.
“W-who are you?” The professor asked, caution on his face.
“Dexter Davenport. I’m a student here, same as those three.”
I gestured to the three students behind him. He nodded and slowly lowered his weapon. Closing the classroom door behind me, I began explaining what I had learned from Johnathon and from first-hand experience. The four of them looked terrified, but I wasn’t sure if they were more scared of the monsters or me.
“E-e-excuse me, but where’s your weapon?” One of the girls asked.
“Right here,” I replied, holding up my bloodstained fists. The looks of shock and fear on all of their faces only became more intense. “Anyway, what’s your plan? You wantin’ to fight or escape?”
“No, we’re going to stay here until the military arrives,” the professor replied. “I’m sure they’re on their way right now to save us.”
“But what if this is happening throughout the city? Or the state? Or the country? Or even the world? Then they would have their hands too full to come and rescue us here,” I told them. I knew that I was dashing their hope, but it was necessary for them to survive. “If you follow me, I’ll help y’all to survive. But you’ll still need to put in some of the work yourselves.”
They all nodded and walked over to me. Opening the classroom door, the five of us slowly began walking through the dark hallway. But not even two minutes later we were attacked by a couple of hobgoblin warriors. They brandished their swords and charged, but I just rolled my eyes.
Sidestepping the first one, I crushed his skull between my palms. For the second one, I karate chopped his neck. My hand sliced through its flesh and bone easily, decapitating it. My own eyes widened in surprise, not having expected that to happen.
“Guess it makes sense, given my superhuman strength and their fragile bodies.”
Turning around, I beckoned for the students and professor to continue following me. They did so hesitantly, still obviously scared of me and probably more so after witnessing that. But they still followed, the professor clutching the broken chair and the boy tightly gripped a small pocket knife.
“Okay, anything that’s a hobgoblin or stronger, I’ll handle. But if we come across any regular goblins, I want you guys to try handling it,” I told them. While they looked nervous at the idea, they agreed. And after several more minutes of walking, we came across a single goblin. “Don’t know why he’s by himself, but this is good. One of you kill it.”
The male student, pocket knife in hand, slowly and nervously approached the goblin. The monster had its back to us, crouched over a dead body. We could hear the sound of flesh tearing as it was most likely eating. However, right as the boy had snuck up on it, the goblin spun around.
It shrieked at him, blood dripping from its mouth. Swinging its wooden cudgel, the goblin smacked him in the side. He grunted in pain but kept his composure. Driving the knife downwards, he stabbed the monster in the top of its head. Blood spurted out from the wound, spattering across the floor and the boy.
Pulling the knife out, he turned back towards us. There was a look of horror in his eyes, which was understandable. But this is what was necessary to survive now. Walking up to him, I placed my hand on his shoulder.
“You did well. I’m guessing that’s the first one you’ve killed?”
“Y-yeah, that was the first monster I’ve killed. You’ve p-probably killed a lot of them though, haven’t you?”
“Sure, but I’m not like most people. Anyway, did you level up?”
“Y-yeah, I did. I’m Level 1 now.”
“Awesome. Speaking of which, what are all of your levels?”
The two girls answered first, saying that they were both still Level 0. However, the professor told me that he was Level 3. That was because when his classroom was attacked, he fought off a few of the monsters. However, he was quickly overwhelmed and was saved by some of his students.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Since we’re on the subject, what happened to your class?”
“Well, the students who saved me then ran out of the room. I guess they were braver than me and are trying to either escape or fight. But that left just me and the three of them. After we closed ourselves in a smaller classroom, we hid until you found us.”
“Alright. In that case, I wonder how those other students are doing? Because I haven’t seen them. The only other person I’ve really seen is the guy I left my classroom with.”
“Where is he then? Is he strong like you?”
“I’m not sure, we split up. But he’s not strong like me. However, he knows more about this type of stuff than I do, and he’s pretty smart. So I’m sure he’s fine. Actually, I was looking for him before I found y’all.”
“Okay. But where are we going? Where are you leading us?”
“Well, I was planning on beating the Quest by simply killing all the monsters. But since I’m helping you guys now, it’ll probably be better to just help you guys escape. So, we’re gonna head to the campus’ main entrance. Though it’ll probably be guarded.”
“Sounds good. I’m guessing you’ll help us make it there alive?”
“I’ll do my best. But it’ll be nice if you help fight as well, all four of you. Besides, I’m sure the monsters exist outside of campus as well. Either way, let’s keep going.”
The five of us then continued on our way. Fighting our way through the university building, we reached the front doors after a little over half an hour. All four of them had leveled up at least once, but I was obviously still much stronger than any of them. So they continued to rely on my strength for the most part. But when we reached the front entrance, a large figure a head and shoulders taller than myself blocked the way.
“What is that thing?!” One of the girls screamed. The figure stepped forward, and we finally got a good look at it. It was a large green-skinned creature wearing mismatched leather and metal armor and wielding a double-headed ax. It had an ape-like face with glowing red eyes that stared at me as it continued stepping forward, the ax dragging across the floor.
“You. Large one. You look like a warrior. Are you a warrior?” The monster asked. I shrugged and nodded.
“Sure, yeah. I’m a warrior. And these four are under my protection.”
“In that case, face me head-on in a duel, like a proper warrior!”
The monster suddenly leapt forward, its ax held overhead. The weapon came crashing down on me, but I casually sidestepped. Slamming into the ground, the ax blade embedded in the floor.
“Won’t be that easy,” I stated. Punching the monster, its burly body exploded. Gore splattered everywhere, costing me. But I couldn’t really care less.
[You have defeated Elite Monster [Orc Sentinel]]
[Boss Monster [Orc Warlord] has its eye on you]
“Huh. Guess his boss didn’t like me killing him. Anyway, loot time.”
Searching what was left of the orc’s body, I found only three Items. There was its ax, still embedded in the floor, a pair of leather bracers, and a leather belt. I examined each one closely.
[Orcish Ax]
[Type: Item]
[Subtype: Ax, Two-Handed, Heavy]
[Rank: Uncommon]
[Restrictions: 50+ Str]
[Durability: 260/260]
[Damage: 45 + Attack Power]
[Options: none]
[A large battle ax that was well used and well cared for by the orc who owned it.]
[Rugged Leather Bracers]
[Type: Item]
[Subtype: Bracers, Defense, Buff]
[Rank: Common]
[Restrictions: 25+ Con]
[Durability: 60/60]
[Defense: +17]
[Options:
1. +5 End
2. +5 Con]
[A pair of roughly made bracers that provide minimal protection to the wearer’s wrists and forearms.]
[Bull Hide Belt]
[Type: Item]
[Subtype: Belt, Buff]
[Rank: Uncommon]
[Restrictions: 30+ Str and Con]
[Durability: 173/173]
[Options:
1. +5 Con
2. +10 Str
3. [Bull’s Power] Skill]
[A thick leather belt made from the hide of a bull, it is infused with the power of the bull it was made from.]
“Here, Professor, take this ax. You’re probably the only one of the four of you who’s strong enough to use it. However, I’m gonna take the bracers and belt.”
No one disagreed with my idea. In fact, the professor dropped the broken chair and took the ax gratefully. He stared at the weapon for a few moments before trying it out. The older man swung the weapon with an ease that belied his small body. I watched while putting on my own new Items.
“Thank you very much. I’ll use this ax well to protect my students.”
“I expected nothing less. However, our journey isn’t over yet. I’ve still gotta get y’all to the campus exit so that you can successfully escape and complete the Quest.”
“What about you? Are you not going to escape as well?”
“The Quest window said that you can complete the Quest by hunting all the monsters, not just by escaping. That’s how I’m planning on winning this.”
“Ah, I-I see. If it’s you, I’m sure you can do it.”
The five of us then left the dark building. We all had to shield our eyes for a minute due to the bright sunlight. Once we had adjusted, we started heading towards the exit. Several monsters attacked us, but the professor and myself fended them off. Now that he had a proper weapon, the older man fought much better. Though I knew from experience that there were much scarier monsters than hobgoblins and orcs out here.
As we walked, I felt a presence following us. It felt slightly familiar, and I then heard a weapon firing. Turning, I caught one of those bolts in my hand. Snapping the projectile in half, I dropped it on the ground. This time, though, the mysterious assassin didn’t just run. It continued to hide and fired again, this time aiming for the professor. Unable to react quite in time, I deflected the missile enough that it impaled his shoulder instead of his chest.
“Agh! Ow, that hurts. What was that?”
“Something I encountered earlier. No idea what it is, since it ran before. But I’ll get it this time.”
Activating [Focus Senses], I heard the twang of a crossbow. Punching outward, my fist impacted and shattered the bolt. Listening intently, I heard the rustling of leaves nearby. Honing in on the sound, I charged towards a nearby tree. Slamming my fist into the tree, the entire trunk practically exploded and brought the whole thing down. A familiar-ish black cloaked figure darted out from among the branches. But this time, it had nowhere to hide.
“You. Dangerous. Me. Assassinate.”
The creature, which I now saw was a goblin-like monster with black skin and red eyes, dropped its crossbow. Drawing two daggers, it darted forward. I raised my fists to attack, but it wasn’t going after me.
“Dumb. Brute. Target weak. First. Pick off. Cull herd.”
The goblin cackled and swung at the professor. He raised his ax to defend himself, but his injury made him slower. Deflecting the first strike, the older man was hit by the second stab. Exclaiming in pain, he bashed the attacker with the handle of his weapon.
Suddenly, the male student ran forward, swinging his pocket knife. He struck the goblin, scoring a shallow wound. Growling, the black goblin darted backwards. It made sure to stay out of their reach while rushing in for stabs. Charging, I ran up to it before it could kill any of my charges. I grabbed the monster by its head and lifted it up.
“Let go! I’ll kill!”
“Yeah, good luck with that.”
I casually squeezed my hand. The goblin’s head exploded from the pressure. Tossing the corpse aside, I decided to check to see if its crossbow was anything worthwhile.
[Goblin Assassin’s Crossbow]
[Type: Item]
[Subtype: Crossbow, Two-Handed, Light]
[Rarity: Rare]
[Restrictions: 75+ Agi]
[Durability: 450/450]
[Damage: 50 + Attack Power]
[Options: none]
[A crossbow made and wielded by an experienced goblin that excelled at killing silently from the shadows.]
“Do any of you have an Agi stat of 75 or higher? I don’t really want this thing, it’s not my style.”
The male student, bleeding a little, raised his hand.
“M-my…Agi is 83. I can use…the crossbow.”
“Perfect. Here you go. Also, sorry, I don’t really have any way of helping you heal your wounds. But you both fought well. Besides, we’re near the campus exit, you’ll be able to escape soon.”
I handed him the small black crossbow. He accepted it gratefully, stuffing the pocket knife back into his pocket. The five of us started walking again, watching for any sign of more monsters. Every time I heard one coming, I would signal the male student, and he would shoot it with the crossbow. Thanks to the ranged weapon, our group was able to move around more easily and he was leveling up faster than ever.
“Alright, I can see the exit. Y’all ready to leave the college campus?”
They all nodded vigorously. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that things might be even more dangerous beyond the campus. Either way, I knew I couldn’t change their minds. So, I continued leading them to their escape route. And after another few minutes, I saw our destination.
“There. You’re almost home free.”
“Awesome! Thanks so much!”
But as we approached, something felt off.
“Who. Tries. To Leave?”
A loud voice thundered in that halting speech I’d gotten used to. Suddenly, a massive bull-headed man holding an ax in both hands appeared. Snorting, his tiny eyes glowered at us.
“Get behind me. This one looks tough.”
The four of them all grouped together behind me, the professor and the boy standing in front of the girls. Raising my fists, I readied myself to fight.