A lone guard watched silently from a ruined house as the man who'd brought ruin and monsters to his town walked down the bloody streets proud and unguarded with a smile on his face.

The guard watched with a grimace on his face. The murderer was either a fool or simply confident that his beasts had already killed everything in his vicinity. Sadly for the murderer, they'd missed him.

The guard gripped his sword tightly, took several breaths, and slowly crept out from the relative safety of the house.

Despite his armor he made no sound on the cobblestone streets. A skill he'd learned during his days as an adventurer, and one that he fully intended to use.

He got within fifteen meters of the murderer before he'd begun to turn around. The guard swore lightly under his breath, it would have to be close enough.

He broke into a sprint. He got within ten meters before the murderer realized what was happening, and then five by the time concern began to enter his face.

And then, just as quickly as he'd arrive, the guard disappeared in a cloud of pink mist. No monster could be seen accompanying the murderer, and he'd never even lifted a finger. The guard had simply ceased to be, and the murderer couldn't help but chuckle at the mist gave way to blood, flesh and small chunks of armor spread throughout the street.

"Idiot."

------------------------

I moved through the mansion with renewed purpose, and eventually arrived right back in front of the vault I'd recently been kicked out of.

With a grin on my face, I stabbed my spear into the cold metal of the vault, and the blade sunk into the metal like a hot knife through butter. A few seconds later and I had the door open and the treasures within in my sights.

An authentic smile graced my face. A more impulsive man would have rushed in and started looting everything in sight. I like to think I'm more dignified than that. Instead I simply ran in and started touching anything and everything I could get my hands on. I didn't care in the slightest what it was or what it did. All I cared about was that I made physical contact with it.

Which meant the next time I died, my power could sort out the best of the stuff available and bring it to me. I'd always be revived to my best state, it didn't matter if I knew what I was holding or not. If it was useful then it would be with me upon my next revival, it was as simple as that.

I picked up and tossed aside book after book, some of which almost seemed to be new while others had leather covers cracked by the decades. Some were made with pages of monster skin and others on almost modern paper. It was a true hodgepodge of knowledge, and I didn't discriminate.

Then, after several minutes of trashing the room, I was done. A huge pile of books and miscellaneous items now littered the floor of the vault, and I had some decisions to make. The second I stepped outside the mansion I fully expected to be in battle. I'd gotten off light in my fight with the eyeless creature, and I was well aware of the dangers the monsters of this world pose, but hiding here would do me no good.

If there's one thing I'd learned since coming to this world, it's just how relentless the monsters here truly are. If they think there's food somewhere, they'll check. It's as simple as that. They won't simply leave a building be. Especially when they could definitely smell the blood of that eyeless creature downstairs.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I could try to reach the roof of the town. It's fake, I knew that for a fact, but most creatures probably wouldn't. It was worth a shot.

With that, I stood up and made my way to the front door of the mansion, where I slowly peered out into the streets. Bloody splotches covered the cobblestone road, and flying high in the sky was a dragon, and running across the air as if it was as solid as the ground was Harold.

They seemed to be in a heated battle. The dragon's back left leg was gone, and blood trickled down Harold's face accompanied by his heavy breaths.

It seemed to be a close fight, and one that I wanted nothing to do with. The ceiling escape plan was off limits so long as their battle continued.

I ducked back inside the mansion, and after a short moment of contemplation I sighed and made my way out into the streets. Directly to my left was the body of a young man. His skin looked to be melted to the side of the mansion despite nothing else around the corpse receiving the same treatment. The culprit was nowhere to be seen.

I began to make my way to the actual entrance of this place, keeping my body low as I moved to the nearest building. I quickly reached it and ducked into a nearby ally.

I paused. I had a view of the main street from my spot, and I could see Evelynn in the distance. Her corpse had been run through with something I couldn't even perceive and left hoisted high above the street. Her blood dripped down the length of what looked to be an invisible pole that had been rammed through her chest, letting her blood pool onto the ground beneath.

I cursed softly, this place had truly gone to shit. I backed away slowly into the recesses of the ally when I noticed something off about the ground.

There was no wind, and yet the dirt and dust of the alley floor flowed as if there were. It looked unnatural, but under normal circumstances it could be overlooked.

However, this world was far from normal. I made a split-second decision and sprinted out of the alley. I ran as fast as I could across the street towards the nearest house and slashed my spear across its door. Instantly vines formed and shattered the door to pieces. I didn't slow as I ran into the house, letting the blade of my spear drag behind me all the way.

I risked a glance over my shoulder, and sadly my paranoia had proved fruitful. The dust was following me.

My eyes shot throughout the room before me before eventually landing on a staircase. I quickly sprinted towards it and began to climb upwards. Behind me the dust flowed into the house like a river, and in its center a smiling red mouth formed.

I turned my attention back ahead of me as I willed the rapidly growing vines to tear into the creature.

The stairway led to a small hallway with a half dozen rooms lining either side. With the goal of actually living through the rest of the day I decided to ignore them in favor of the window at the far end of the hall.

I quickly sprinted down the hallway, and I could hear the creature of dust closing in behind me. The vines didn't seem to have injured it. Hell, they barely seemed to have slowed it down. Which didn't leave me any time to actually open the window.

I leveled the spear out in front of me as I charged through the glass and out in the open air where I immediately slammed into the neighboring building and fell down onto the street below.

My head slammed against the ground and my vision spun. Small cuts littered my body, but I quickly forced myself to stand up on shaky legs as the dust began to pour out of the window above me.

I cursed and began to move down the walkway when I noticed the creature tiny crouched at the end of it.

She was a small girl, no older than twelve or so. Matted brown hair stretched down her back and blood was specked all over her body. Beneath her was the body of a guard whose heavy metal armor had been torn to shreds around his stomach.

She'd been eating him, and she had pulled her head free of the corpses' gut at the sound of my approach. Her eyes soaked in light like a void, there was a hunger there. One I couldn't let reach me.

I met her gaze, and her body froze as my eyes glowed a golden yellow. Then I sprinted faster than I'd ever sprinted before. This time driven by a primal fear.

I counted down the seconds in my head, and by the time I'd reached four I'd managed to reach her. The tip of my spear bit into her throat, but only barely.

It would have to be enough.

I ran past her and out into the open street as roots took hold in her neck. During the next few seconds an ear-piercing scream echoed throughout the town accompanied by the sound of ripping flesh.

The creature's head bounced past me as I ran despite me being several dozen meters away from where I'd left her. Which meant she'd given chase despite the roots tearing through her neck, and she'd almost managed to reach me.

A shiver ran down my spine as I ran, and seconds later I felt the sensation of dust touching the back of my neck.