ã€ŠThe Man Who Killed the First Monsterã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Jason Park thought, freaking white-collar bastards.

    Stepping out from the revolving door, he threw his striped ties on the pavement floor. He left it and stood by the side of the street. He raised his hand and hail a cab in the middle of the busy street of New York.

    ¡°Mister, you dropped your tie,¡± a girl dressed in a scout uniform handed over his tie.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it,¡± Jason said.

    A cab arrived on time as Jason went inside leaving the scout girl dumbfounded.

    ¡°Where to?¡± asked the cab driver.

    ¡°Van Horn Street, Queens¡±

    The driver wanted to have a little chat and kept on talking but Jason, on the other hand, didn¡¯t care about it as he took out his phone and played a mobile game. His action shuts the driver¡¯s mouth. The driver grumbled but Jason turned deaf to those sounds. Jason focused on his game trying to forget about those bastards.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Jason cursed out loud making the cab driver jumped out of his seat in surprise. The man didn¡¯t care one bit about the displeased glance of the cab driver. Soon, the cab stopped by the street in front of an apartment building.

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± said the cab driver.

    Jason glanced to the side and saw the old apartment building. He got out and paid him the fare. The cab driver grabbed the money and stepped on the throttle.

    ¡°Hey, my change,¡± Jason was fuming seeing his money being robbed like that. All he could do was waved the middle finger at the leaving taxi. ¡°Damn it,¡± he raged out by the side of the street swinging his fists like a mad man.

    As if his day couldn¡¯t get any worse. Like stepping on a pile of dog shit, one after another. He stomped on his feet making his way to the apartment building. He got inside his home and slouched on the couch. He stared at the empty air in a daze, emotionless like a puppet.

    But then he heard loud moaning coming from the other side of the wall. It seems someone was having fun during the day. The question was, what kind of people moan that loud? The wall of his studio apartment isn¡¯t that thin.

    ¡°Argh,¡± he couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. Listening to someone having the pleasure of their time only pushed his irritation to the maximum. He stood up and kicked the innocent couch.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± he jumped and grabbed on to his big toe, clearly in immense pain.

    Foul words kept on coming out from his mouth, cursing everything. From the couch to the white-collar bastards, the couple from next door and last but not least his shitty life. Jason sat back, resting his head on the out-dated couch. He remembered the words of his grandmother.

    ¡°Jason, no matter what, you¡¯ll always have us in Toronto. Come back home whenever you like.¡±

    That smile of hers only gave warmth to the cold dull heart of Jason. Just remembering it carved a smile on his face.

    ¡°What the hell am I doing?¡± he said.

    A confusing time for Jason as he didn¡¯t know whether to give up in his dream. A dream of becoming big on Wall Street. It¡¯s been six months since he had been living in this bustling city of New York and his job hunt wasn¡¯t doing good. The silence was broken by the sound of a grumbling stomach.

    ¡°Out N In burger sounds pretty good right now,¡± said Jason.

    Although he¡¯s Asian Canadians, yet his favorite food is the all American food known throughout the world, the burgers. He got up and changed to a sweater and a pair of khakis. He grabbed his phone and wallet and went out of his studio apartment.

    Walking down the corridor leading to the lift, a door opened to his side.

    ¡°Hey bro,¡± someone greeted Jason.

    Jason glanced to the side and saw a man standing a head taller than him with a beanie on top. He noticed the reddened eyes and the lingering smell around this neighbor of his. Jason caught a slight glance within his room and they were a few people who were no doubt relaxing to their utmost in a rather weeded way.

    ¡°Hi, frat guy,¡± replied Jason.

    ¡°It¡¯s Fred, man,¡± said Fred, ¡°So where you going?¡±

    ¡°Burgers.¡±

    ¡°Oh, nice. I¡¯ve been starving,¡± just like that, Fred tagged along.

    Jason indulged this carefree man while chatting along the way. He didn¡¯t mind the company since he did have known Fred for quite a while. In his opinion, Fred isn¡¯t a bad guy.

    They walked by the side street pavement for a few blocks as the fast-food franchise wasn¡¯t that far from where they were living. They ate and satisfied their hunger, but not without having a few more rounds of burgers complementary of the frat guy.

    ¡°That was radical man,¡± said Fred as he licked his fingertips.

    Although Jason was grateful. He wondered how this man got all this money, considering how he looks and his daily activities.

    ¡°Fred, where do you get all the money?¡± asked Jason as he pointed at the empty trays on the table.

    ¡°Business man, business,¡± smiled Fred.

    He took something out from within the inner side of his pocket. A small plastic packet with something dry inside of it. Fred slid it on the table. His action caught Jason off guard.

    ¡°Dude, keep it,¡± he was flustered and shoved the packet back at Fred. That was definitely not an ideal business idea for him to put his hands on. Going to jail in the states was not one of his aspirations.

    ¡°Relax man, I do this all the time, nothing is going to happen,¡± said the man who was waving his merchandise in the air. Jason looked around as he was nervous. A cop popping out of nowhere would be the most disastrous thing.

    ¡°Hey, over here,¡± Fred called out to someone.

    ¡°Wait, why is he coming over here?¡± Jason was getting suspicious.

    ¡°He¡¯s a customer man, don¡¯t you know about customer satisfaction and service? You need to be polite at all times when dealing with a customer,¡± out of sudden he was explaining like an expert in customer service.

    For Jason on the other hand, being involved in an illegal business deal wasn¡¯t an option.

    ¡°Fred, thanks for the burgers. I got to go,¡± Jason got up and was planning to leave.

    ¡°Cool man, we should do this often.¡±

    Definitely something Jason didn¡¯t agree with. Jason passed by the customer who looks quite shady with bleakness all around him. Walking down the street he was heading home without much thought. It was cold as he kept his hands inside his sweater pockets. Only the street lamps accompanied his way back home as night had already covered the sky.

    For a man like him who was close to reaching thirty years of age, the meaning of success was like a burden to him. He couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the unknown future since the day he had been living in New York. Jason thought of screaming his lungs out but he wasn¡¯t that type of person.

    An introvert at best, never much of a people kind of person. Not that it was bad but everything has its pros and cons. Jason was having thought of quitting his attempt in reaching his dream but then something else disturbed his lonely walk.

    ¡°Help,¡± a woman¡¯s voice rang in the air.

    A dark alleyway was a few meters away from him. He assumed that the voice probably came from there. He walked in a casual manner as he wasn¡¯t in a rush. While passing by the dark alleyway, he glanced and was quick to turn his head back straight towards the road.

    He walked down the pavement as his pace quickened. His pupils were quivering as he recalled the face of that woman. Although it was only for a slight second, the despairing look on that woman was burned into his memories. She reached out her hand towards Jason yet something else dragged her away deeper into the alleyway.

    Jason saw it all and his body was trembling. He knew the crime rate was incomparable compared to back home. He shrugged it off after knowing the statistics but seeing it happened right in front of him made him realized the atrocity of a human being could reach. Yet his legs stopped walking as he stood in silence. His fists were clenched tightly to the point of shivering.

    Should I save her?

    He thought of saving her. But he knew he wasn¡¯t the heroic type. Back in the day when he was just a high schooler, he was like any average student. Minding his own business and didn¡¯t care for any bully situation among the students. He was like the rest of them, a looker and not a do-er.

    I should call the cops.

    But that thought stops right there as he knew even if he called at the moment, it would all be over when the blue blood come. He should have just left like he used to. He was about to take another step but the voice came back.

    ¡°Please, help,¡± the voice dragged out as if haunting Jason¡¯s ears.

    At that moment, a terrible idea just came. Even Jason himself felt it was ridiculous but at that moment, he felt he needed to do something. Not because of the woman.

    But for himself.

    ¡°Damn it.¡±

    He turned and ran back to the alleyway. The faint scream of that woman was resonating within the alleyway. His throat felt dry and his body felt cold. This was the first time for him to attempt such a thing. He ran inside the alleyway as he shouted.

    ¡°Let her go.¡±

    ¡°He..lp...¡± a disembodied voice echoes through the darkness.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you, let her go, or else I¡¯ll call the cops,¡± said Jason as he took out his phone and opened up the flashlight feature as the alleyway was too dark for him to see anything.

    Yet the moment the light shined upon the alleyway. His whole body froze. The woman¡¯s hand reached out to him yet he was rendered speechless seeing the scene in front of him.

    What the...

    The woman¡¯s body was being mauled by this creature. A humanoid creature squatting right beside her body. He could definitely hear the sound of something being munched and crunched. Then the humanoid creature turned its head around as it shocked Jason¡¯s entire being.

    ¡°Goblin?¡±

 Chapter 2

    What kind of nonsense am I saying?

    Jason reprimanded himself for spouting such nonsense. There¡¯s no such thing as a goblin in real life yet the person or whatever creature in front of him was rather similar to the appearance of a goblin. Bald headed. Dark greenish skin. Pointed nose and ears. Child-like stature and a revolting stench.

    He wanted to deny it but all of those features were exactly shown by this murderous creature. Jason was sweating buckets as he stared at the illogical scene. The so-called goblin stared at him while its jaw was munching down on the intestines of its prey.

    Run, damn it.

    He cursed at himself for standing motionless. He wanted to run but he couldn¡¯t, he simply couldn¡¯t. Jason was the type of guy who constantly berated those characters in horror movies. He would always mock them for being stupid since they would only stand still waiting for their killer to come and hack them into pieces. Yet here he was now, in a similar situation like those stupid characters. Frozen like a statue.

    In the end, the hand of the woman dropped as her eyes turned lifeless. Even in her last moment, she was still hoping to be rescued. Jason didn¡¯t even notice the death of the woman as he was battling against the fear of encountering this creature. The goblin stood up walking slowly towards Jason.

    Jason was getting anxious seeing the action of the goblin. He even heard the goblin cackled as if this creature was laughing at him. As time ticked by the goblin came closer to Jason. He still couldn¡¯t move and he didn¡¯t know why. But then.

    CLANG

    The sound of a trash can lid dropping on the ground echoed within the alleyway. A stray cat came running out of the alleyway catching the attention of the goblin. It turned its head around to the opposite direction. In that split moment, Jason''s whole body relaxed and ran to the open street. His own body knew that he had a chance and he didn¡¯t let his own body down. He ran like his life depended on it.

    Jason didn¡¯t even take the chance to glance back as his thought was none other than to just flee. His breath was becoming ragged over time. His sweater was drenched in his own sweat. His legs were becoming weary and his flank started to hurt. Jason wasn¡¯t the running type, more of a couch potato. Considering his body state, he ran pretty far without collapsing. Yet as his strides started to slow down, he heard a creepy noise approaching from the back.

    ¡°Ki ki ki ki...¡±

    Jason didn¡¯t want to look but out of reflex he glanced behind him and what he saw shocked him. He took a deep breath and rushed once more, running for his life. Again a haunting memory just burned inside his brain. A figure of an ugly creature chasing him with blood dripping from its jaw. He even saw a part of an intestine within the grasp of the goblin. He didn¡¯t want to imagine what would happen if that creature happens to catch him. He was puffing for his breath and saw something.

    The apartment.

    At the end of his sight stood the old apartment that he had hated for the last six months. But now in this dire moment, he came to long for it as his life was in peril. But life would always have a twist in the end. Before Jason can even smile, something hit him on the head. In an instant, he fell unconscious not knowing what had just happened.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Jason groaned as he started to regain his conscience.

    Where am I?

    His head was aching and the first thing he saw was the night sky. Yet his view always shifted as if he was moving but his legs weren¡¯t moving. He felt pain over his back like something scratching over the back of his skin. He looked around and saw the bare back of a person. His sight was still hazy as he could barely see a blur but as his vision recovered by time, he noticed who this person was.

    The goblin.

    He was frightened out of his mind. He thought he was dreaming from before but now he knew it was all real. He remembered everything that just happened and that thought alone made his whole body shivered. The goblin was dragging him by the side of the street. He knew where he was, it was the direction towards the dark alleyway from before. He didn¡¯t know why the goblin didn¡¯t just kill him on the spot.

    But whatever the case is, the ending wouldn¡¯t be so sweet for the likes of Jason. His eyes turned frantic as he looked around hoping for help from a pedestrian. But to his dismay, the street was empty and not a soul in sight.

    Shit, where the heck is everybody? Shouldn¡¯t the street of New York be filled with people?

    His opinion was far from the fact and the fact itself was making him despair. Jason started regretting over his foolish heroic attempt, in the end, it all came biting him from the back. The pain from being dragged was torturing him but he kept his mouth shut knowing that things would only worsen if he let this bastard goblin knew he had turned conscious.

    Soon they reached the alleyway and the goblin dragged him inside. Jason¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t stop wandering as he knew this was the only chance that he got. With the goblin having its back at him, it was the only opportunity that he had.

    Found it.

    He spotted something on the ground as his hands grabbed it. A broken glass bottle with a sharp pointed end. Jason silently took a deep breath preparing for what¡¯s about to happen.

    You got this Jason, you can do it. It¡¯s do or die.

    It was time. He put his strength over his unattended left leg and kicked the goblin right on its butt. The goblin stumbled surprised by the sudden force from behind. Its grip over Jason¡¯s right ankle went loose and it was enough for him to take back his own leg. Jason didn¡¯t stop and stood tall as he rushed at the startled goblin.

    He stabbed the goblin right at the back with a craze look within his eyes. It was all in the name of survival. But the goblin was quick in its reaction. It turned trying to avoid the sharp end of a broken glass bottle. Alas, it was too late even for the goblin. The sharp end pierced right to the side of the goblin¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Kiiii,¡± a piercing shriek coming from the goblin echoed in the dark alleyway.

    Jason felt the resistance of the goblin¡¯s flesh over his hand. He knew it wasn¡¯t the time to hesitate. He felt nauseated just thinking about it. He had never stabbed someone before but he knew he had to do it. He regained his mental fortitude and pushed it deeper into the goblin. The shriek of the goblin was becoming louder as the pain was unbearable even for a creature like it. Like a cornered animal, the goblin retaliated.

    ¡°Argh,¡± Jason winced in pain as the goblin bite him by the shoulder.

    Jason glanced and saw blood came gushing out of the jaw of this goblin and at the moment he saw the ferocious glint within the eyes of this creature. Its stare was like a madden rabid dog. Jason was scared seeing such eyes but he buckled up and shouted.

    ¡°Die.¡±

    He was pushed to the edge as he stabbed the goblin deeper. Both sides were not giving up as both were fighting for their lives.

    Shit.

    He cursed as he was being pushed back by the goblin. Jason knew he was losing strength. For a creature known to be the weakest within the fantasy realm, Jason was astonished by the strength of it. The goblin started to claw at Jason as they were both closed at each other. Pain spread all over Jason¡¯s body as he endured. He couldn¡¯t give up, not at this point in time. Jason took his chance and opened his mouth wide. He was taller than the goblin and that was enough to allow him to bite it by the ears. He clenched his jaw tight as he tore the goblin¡¯s ear apart. He spat out the flesh of the goblin¡¯s ear as a rather revolting after taste lingered in his mouth.

    As if he just ate a pile of shit. In an instant, he puked out those burgers he just ate and vomited over the goblin¡¯s face. The goblin was in intense pain as it ignored the puke covering its head and cried out of pain. Blood came gushing out of it¡¯s bitten ear and Jason didn¡¯t stop. He ignored his weaken state after vomiting as his hands reached out towards the goblin¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Die, damn it,¡± Jason shouted like a madman.

    Both of his hands gripped tightly over the goblin¡¯s neck as he forced his entire weight at the small stature goblin. Both fell on the asphalt ground as Jason didn¡¯t let go of his hand. The goblin started squirming on the ground as it clawed at Jason¡¯s arms while trying to reach for Jason¡¯s head. But sadly, its reach was far too short.

    In the end, the goblin stopped moving as its arms fell lifeless on the ground. Jason didn¡¯t move an inch from where he was. His hands still strangulating the dead corpse of the goblin. His eyes were staring at the lifeless face of the goblin. His breath was ragged and blood was dripping over his left shoulder. Pain riddled his body but the coursing adrenaline within his body numbed those pain. He didn¡¯t move until something appeared within his sight.

    Jason¡¯s hands loosened over the goblin¡¯s neck. He rubbed his eyes hoping to stop from being delusion yet those blue windows were still floating right in front of him.

    What the...

    Yet before he could question what he was seeing, a familiar sound entered his ears. He stood up and dragged his feet going deeper into the alleyway. His legs stopped as he saw something. Something unbelievable. A crack on the empty air. A crack similar to a mirror being cracked and what made his eyes quivered were those things sitting in front of the cracked air.

    ¡°More of them?¡± he didn¡¯t believe it but the fact was in front of him.

    Goblins numbered up to five were sleeping on the asphalt floor. They were smaller and younger than the one that Jason had just killed. Simple to say there were goblin babies. He gulped down a mouthful of his saliva as he felt the terror of going against the lone goblin. Just seeing these sleeping goblin babies made his skin crawled.

    He spotted something in the corner of his eyes. He dragged his feet and picked up the broken wooden plank lying next to a garbage dumpster. Jason came closer to these sleeping goblin babies. He raised the wooden plank in his hand. The glint in his eyes showed no hesitation. Gritting his teeth he slammed down the wooden plank at them.

    Jason didn¡¯t even notice the new announcement as he kept slamming down the wooden plank. He was ignoring everything as his sole intention was to eliminate these creatures of danger. Even the small shrieks coming from these babies were left ignored by the man driven by rage. It ended as the wooden plank dropped on the ground.

    Jason dragged his feet leaving the alleyway ignoring the new announcement. He didn¡¯t even glance at the crack anomaly on the air as he just left. He noticed his phone not far from the corpse of the woman. He picked it up and kept it inside his pocket. He left the alleyway behind not caring about what had just happened. He was just too tired.

    Jason walked on the side of the empty street heading back to his apartment. His mind was too fatigued to even think about a good solution. At the moment, he wanted only one thing.

    My bed.

 Chapter 3

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Jason groaned.

    The sunlight came breaching through the balcony glass door shining over Jason¡¯s face. He grimaced. His eyes slowly opened. The first thing he saw was the white ceiling of his apartment. Jason could feel the hard floor on his back. No wonder his back was aching.

    ¡°Shit, did I got hit by a truck or something?¡±

    He groaned like an old man getting up from the hard floor. He was being careful as every time he moved, the pain only got worse. Not only his body even his head was aching. As if a hammer kept on hitting him on the head. He was staggering as he tried to balance himself while standing.

    ¡°Whoa,¡± Jason leaned on the wall.

    As he glanced to the side, the body size mirror reflected his current appearance. In an instant, his eyes turned out wide. He noticed his bloody sweater in a pathetic state. There was even a bite mark on his left shoulder with a big dark red mark on it. Seeing his reflection made him remembered what happened last night. A night that he thought was a nightmare. Yet to his despair it was all real much to his denial.

    His body started shivering as if remembering the dread he had experienced. His legs gave in as he dropped on the floor with a thud. The image of that woman flashed by as sorrow engulfed him. He couldn¡¯t save her. Then the memory of that goblin resurfaced and he felt goosebumps all over his body. He hugged himself as if comforting himself.

    ¡°I killed it,¡± he muttered.

    ¡°I killed them all,¡± he remembered those innocent goblin babies.

    He couldn¡¯t believe it but he knew he killed them without having any sort of remorse.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s all over,¡± he tried to soothe his own anxious heart.

    Who could he ever believe that something as ridiculous as a goblin attacked him by the street? Even if he told someone, there was no doubt no one would believe him. He leaned his head on the wall, deep in his own thought.

    A lot of things went through his mind and most of it was about his family back in Toronto. He missed them, more so after experiencing a death-defying experience.

    I should probably clean up.

    After much trouble, Jason managed to walk to the small bathroom.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± his jaw clenched as he removed his bloody sweater.

    ¡°Ah, ah,¡± he couldn¡¯t help himself as he winced in pain.

    The pain on his left shoulder was too much for him to bear. He threw the sweater on the floor as he saw himself through the bathroom mirror.

    ¡°Shit, this is pretty bad,¡± the bite wound on his left shoulder was pretty horrific.

    Some kind of blood and pus-like liquid oozing out from those teeth marks. Even the color looks rather revolting. In a sense, it was definitely bad. He abandoned his thought of a good shower and returned back to his own room. Dragging his feet across the floor with his body stiff like a wooden board.

    A hardship that he had never experience before and over the course of this experience he could only grit his teeth and endured it. He changed into a set of new clothing and made a Zuber request.

    A Prius stopped by the side of the street.

    ¡°So where you¡¯re headed fam?¡± asked the Zuber driver.

    ¡°The nearest hospital,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re sick man? Got the flu or something?¡±

    For a Zuber driver, he was quite talkative. Jason was having a hard time enduring the pain and entertaining someone was at the bottom of his list.

    ¡°Please, to the hospital,¡± Jason said.

    The Zuber driver who has some sense noticed Jason doesn¡¯t want to be bothered.

    He shrugged his shoulder and drove off.

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± said the Zuber driver.

    Jason opened the door and got out. He stumbled on his feet and fell on the ground.

    ¡°Woah, you¡¯re okay man?¡± the Zuber driver was quick on his feet.

    He got out and helped Jason up.

    ¡°Thanks but it¡¯s okay,¡± said Jason. He was grateful but he didn¡¯t want to make things difficult for the Zuber driver.

    ¡°Heck no, you look like shit. My mama always says, help those in need, no matter what. So let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll get you inside,¡± the Zuber driver lends his shoulder and helped Jason inside.

    Jason¡¯s lower lip quivered a bit. For the last six months, he had never received such kindness before. He turned his head around as he was fighting back his tears from dropping.

    ¡°You¡¯re okay man?¡± asked the Zuber driver who has a pretty distinct Jamaican accent.

    ¡°I..I¡¯m fine,¡± said Jason.

    With the aid of the Zuber driver, Jason got to sit in a wheelchair. At least he won¡¯t have much difficulty in moving while inside the hospital.

    The phone of the Zuber driver rang.

    ¡°Oh shit, I¡¯ve got a customer waiting. So, you¡¯re good man?¡± asked the Zuber driver.

    ¡°Yeah, good. Thanks by the way,¡± Jason flashed a smile. Something he hadn¡¯t done for the last six months.

    ¡°No problem man, no problem,¡± the Zuber driver handed out his hand.

    Jason reached out and shook his hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m Lamont by the way,¡± said Lamont.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Jason replied.

    ¡°See ya around Jason,¡± Lamont left as Jason stared at Lamont¡¯s back.

    Although he heard that New York doesn¡¯t have the nicest people around but at least among the many, there would always be a few like Lamont.

    ---

    Jason removed his clothes to the order of the doctor in front of him. Even the doctor grimaced seeing the bite wound on his left shoulder.

    ¡°So what bit you?¡± asked the doctor.

    He was about to say something but he stopped himself. It was idiotic of him to say something ridiculous like a goblin bit him but in this situation, he didn¡¯t know what kind of animal to use as an excuse.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, probably a raccoon? It was dark last night and I couldn¡¯t see it properly,¡± said Jason.

    The doctor clearly didn¡¯t buy the excuse from Jason. There was no way a raccoon bite mark this big. She even noticed a few faint claw marks on Jason¡¯s abdomen. She wanted to ask further but her mind was fleeting about something else at the moment. The door to the examination room opened.

    ¡°Ariel, Dr.Smith is looking for you. He said it¡¯s an urgent matter,¡± a fellow colleague of hers dropped a message before leaving in a hurry.

    Jason was intrigued by her name. He couldn¡¯t help but stare at her flowing red hair. He could clearly see why she was named as such.

    ¡°That pervert really had the nerve,¡± Ariel mumbled.

    Jason definitely heard the complaint as she muttered it while doing the dressing for his wounds. An awkward silence filled up the air. As a matter of fact, Jason was the only one feeling the awkwardness as Dr.Ariel was pretty much focused on doing her work.

    ¡°Shitty boss, huh,¡± Jason broke the silence.

    Ariel jabbed the cotton rather roughly on his wound.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Jason winced in pain. He glanced at the doctor and saw a smirk on her face.

    ¡°You really need to brush up your pick-up line,¡± said Ariel.

    Jason sat there dumbfounded by her comment.

    Wait, what? Why did she assumed I¡¯m hitting on her?

    Jason didn¡¯t understand the logic behind her reasoning. He only spoke a few words that barely depict any sort of infatuation towards her. While Jason only sat there in silence. Ariel finished up bandaging his wounds.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be prescribing antibiotic medication for one whole week and if you¡¯re still having fever after finishing up the medication please come again for further treatment,¡± Ariel turned around and went to the door. She was rather callous for a doctor.

    ¡°and he¡¯s a pretty shit doctor as well,¡± Ariel left a remark before leaving the examination room.

    Jason sat there listless not knowing what just happened. He had a thought, did the last remark pertaining to her comment from before about her boss? Well in his case, he¡¯ll never know the answer.

    What a strange doctor.

    Thought Jason. But then something else surprised him.

    A blue window appeared in front of his very eyes. He jolted out of surprise seeing it. Then he remembered he had seen this before, seconds after defeating the goblin.

    Shit am I going crazy?

    He was thinking about whether he was hallucinating or something. But deep down he knew something else was going on. He sat there thinking. The death of the woman. The goblins that he killed and the anomaly. His memory was pretty hazy since he wasn¡¯t in the right state at that point in time. But now he remembered.

    ¡°The crack in the air,¡± Jason mumbled.

    That¡¯s right, there¡¯s a crack in the air and a small hole at the center. A black hole?

    He wasn¡¯t sure but he knew what he saw was real. Everything that happened across his body was proof that he needs. A single thought floated in his mind. Correlating everything from the goblins and the blue notification windows floating in front of him. He had only thought.

    An RPG?

    His lips parted as he spoke two words out of reflex.

    ¡°Status open.¡±

 Chapter 4

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± said Jason.

    He stared at the blue windows for a whole ten minutes.

    ¡°Mr.Park, you can get your medication at the pharmacy counter,¡± a nurse came in breaking him from his daze.

    ¡°Ah yes, thanks,¡± Jason replied.

    He put himself back in clothes yet his eyes still lingered upon the blue notification window depicting his so-called statistic.

    ¡°Close?¡± he wasn¡¯t sure but it worked.

    The status window closed disappearing from sight. Jason tilted his head while adjusting his shirt. He left and grabbed his medication. He popped a painkiller to stave off the ache on his body. It took him for a while for the medication to kick in but as soon as the pain faded off, he walked out of the hospital¡¯s door.

    ¡°At least I¡¯m not hospitalized,¡± standing there in front of the busy entrance of the hospital, it got him thinking for a while.

    On second thought, shouldn¡¯t I be hospitalized or something? Didn¡¯t I lose quite a lot of blood?

    A second too late since he was already out of the hospital. From what he recalled, he lost quite a lot of blood. He glanced upwards seeing the blue sky.

    ¡°Well for better or worst, at least I save some of my money,¡± said Jason.

    Being hospitalized would be worse for him since he didn¡¯t have any insurance. Compared to Canada, the states really had a pretty mess up way in the health care sector.

    ¡°The alleyway,¡± Jason said as he figured something out.

    He hailed a cab and went his way back to the alleyway. A rather stupid move but he figured that it might be related to the thing he¡¯s experiencing. The cab was driving through the street and Jason was about to go out from the cab before seeing a group of people flocking by the side of the street. Jason saw a few police cars parked by the side of the streets as well as a news van.

    ¡°Hey, where¡¯s your stop?¡± asked the cab driver.

    Yellow tapes were set-up around a perimeter with policemen keeping the reporters away from the crime scene. A few curious pedestrians flocked around. From the look of it, it was definitely a bad idea for Jason.

    ¡°Ah, never mind. Just drop me off at Out-N-In,¡± said Jason.

    The yellow cab drove off leaving Jason standing there alone. He stared towards the direction of the alleyway. He scratched his head and went inside ordering a take-out.

    --

    A burger in his right hand and cola in his left. While his pair of two eyes staring at his status window. Jason was calm, trying to accept this new reality of his. He was trying his best not to judge this merely as a hallucination. If he was hallucinating, then were those goblins part of his hallucinations? He couldn¡¯t tell since the other eyewitness was pretty much dead with her intestines sprawling out.

    I don¡¯t think my family has a history of mental illness.

    He tried to convince himself, since taking a psych exam would be torturous and a hassle.

    Hmm, but there is a way to find out whether this is all real or not.

    He had an idea in mind.

    --

    There¡¯s a gym close by to the apartment. A bit rundown but quite famous for those oldies gym junkies. The sound of men grunting and barbell dropping filled up the air. Jason smelled the sweat and tears lingering within this old gym. His appearance in the gym was mostly ignored. Since he was kind of like those gym newbies dressed up pretty much like going for a morning jog.

    Back in Canada, he was definitely not one of those people who care about muscles and a healthy lifestyle. Jason stood in front of the bench press as he stretched his body from top to bottom. He wouldn¡¯t want to get a muscle injury from a lazy habit.

    Like they always said, the bench press is the man¡¯s way of testing strength.

    His reasoning was flawed, influenced by those macho-genre movies. But it wasn¡¯t that far from the truth.

    ¡°Time to bench,¡± said Jason.

    He loaded up the barbell and benched for the first time.

    ¡°Oh shit, too heavy. It¡¯s too heavy,¡± with his hands trembling like chicken feet, he placed the barbell bar back on the rack.

    Propping his body up, his chest was heaving up and down. Jason heard a few chuckles around him. He was definitely being ridiculed by these oldies around him.

    ¡°Too much for you little boy? Haha,¡± a rather buff grey-haired man teased him a bit as he was loading up some heavy plates at the squat rack just beside the bench press.

    Jason could only laugh it off. He didn¡¯t mind since his reason was to determine whether he was insane or not. He checked his status once more and confirmed his strength at the measly number of three. A few plates dropped on the floor as Jason lightened the barbell bar. He tried a few times and determines his limit was at 10 kg excluding the weight of the barbell. At least he wasn¡¯t shaking like before.

    ¡°Fuh, let¡¯s do this,¡± he opened the status window and sat there staring at it.

    Shit, how do I distribute the points?

    He has no clue on how to use this game like status. It wasn¡¯t like there was a manual for the whole pseudo-hallucination.

    Add one point to strength?

    A muttered in his subconscious mind and to his surprise.

    Oh, it works.

    He saw the number changed right in front of his very eyes. From three turned four. The plates are locked and loaded with the total weight numbering thirty kilograms. His back lay on the bench seat. His fingers wrapped around the metal bar. Taking a few breaths, he pushed it.

    Jason was tilting his head.

    How come it¡¯s lighter than 10kg? Did I load the wrong plate?

    He benched a few times, with his arms going up and down in an effortless manner. After placing it back on the rack, he checked the weight and it was definitely heavier than before.

    Can it really be true?

    He was still unsure and went on to loaded more plates. Jason was testing his strength and kept on going until reaching his limit. Each time he did, he put another point in his strength. The most newbie looking guy in the gym was putting on a show for these old gym rats.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damn, this kid is not playing around. Wasn¡¯t he trembling with those weak ass stick arms of his,¡± said the grey-haired man who was squatting while witnessing Jason¡¯s feat of strength.

    After spending five points in strength, Jason was benching 150kg without breaking a sweat. He even completed a set of ten reps.

    ¡°Fuh,¡± Jason was smiling from ear to ear.

    This pretty much seals the deal. There¡¯s no way I can bench 150kg with this flimsy arms of mine.

    Even he admitted he has skinny arms but results are results. At least now he knew, he didn¡¯t need to go to a mental asylum. Jason packed up his things and was about to leave.

    ¡°Hey kid, are you on some kind of new steroid or something? There¡¯s no way you can bench like that,¡± the grey-haired man questioned Jason while pointing at his weak-looking arms.

    ¡°Organics. Eat healthy organics, sir,¡± Jason left after spilling some bullshit at the old-timer.

    The grey-haired man only chuckled with his hands on his waist. He stared at the back of Jason who made him pretty intrigued by his feat of strength.

    ---

    Scrolling through his browser, Jason was searching for something. He just got out of the shower, clean and tidy after working out a sweat. Well, he wasn¡¯t sweating hard but at least a few drops made it count.

    Let¡¯s test something out.

    A new idea in mind. For the twenty-eight-year-old Jason, his younger days were filled with games. From consoles to pc, every known RPG was like the back of his hand. He adored the RPG-genre more than anything, and the fantasy series was definitely his favorites. Yet for every happy time, there would always be an ending. He abandoned playing, in hope of making it big. Big in a world where the money, is the power to do anything that you like.

    But here he was now, excited like a little kid again. As if he found a new game. He even forgot the sight of the gruesome death of that woman that pleaded for his help. Well what could he do, he encountered a ground-breaking ability that defied common sense itself.

    ¡°Bingo,¡± Jason¡¯s lip other end curled upwards as he was staring at his smartphone.

    On the screen was Amazonian, a shopping website catering to numerous customers throughout the whole world. You can buy particularly anything from this site and for Jason, he found what he wanted to buy. His finger clicked the buy button without hesitation. On the screen, showed his desired item.

    A katana.

 Chapter 5

    I spent all these years honing myself to be the best. Not for the sake of reputation or medals but for the good people living in this city.

    A man got up from his bed as the alarm clock rang just in time as it struck eight in the morning. He got up and did a few push-ups on the floor. A habitual routine of his, a way to start the morning. According to his terminology, it was a way to prepare for the worst.

    RING...

    His phone rang, the tune was rather old since it did come from a flip phone back in early 2000.

    ¡°We need you detective,¡± a simple and short sentence coming from the call.

    ¡°You got it,¡± the detective affirmed the call and quick to change to his work attires.

    ---

    Driving his old beige mustang, the detective parked by the side of a street. He was notified from the precinct station, that his case was here down in the Queens. He got out his mustang dressed in a dull grey suit with wide pants. Definitely from the 80s, the detective was out of fashion in a sense. Walking by the crowd as well as the noisy reporters, he was still wasn¡¯t clear about the case. All he knew was it was a homicide case.

    ¡°Moretti, over here,¡± a lady clad in a suit with a pink undershirt called out to the detective.

    ¡°It¡¯s a miracle, Lopez being early and with a pink shirt at that,¡± Moretti threw a sarcastic remark as he walked over to Lopez.

    ¡°Stop messing around Moretti. We¡¯ve got work to do and when the hell are you going to stop dressing like those characters from mob movies,¡± she threw one back at Moretti.

    Truth to be told, Moretti was in his late twenties.

    ¡°First, they are not characters. They are living embodiment of a true man. You, Lopez, have no right degrading them,¡± Moretti was getting a bit too antsy.

    ¡°Enough of your tantrum, look at this. Female, in her early thirties. Judging from her attire, I assumed she just got back from some late-night clubbing,¡± Lopez was focused on the job, in turn, he did the same.

    Moretti already noticed the pathetic state of the victim. That little skirmish of words he had with Lopez was like a normal routine of theirs whenever they met. So much for being partners.

    ¡°Guts all over the place, the lunatic must be pretty mess up gutting her right at the back alley,¡± said Moretti.

    ¡°Well, that isn¡¯t the best part. Crime scene did a sweep before I got here and their early hypothesis on how she was gutted was through nails.¡±

    ¡°Nails? The murderers these days are pretty much psychotic.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand Moretti. What I mean by nails are fingernails,¡± Lopez added her statement.

    Moretti glanced at her giving a doubtful pair of eyes.

    ¡°What kind of sick bastards do that,¡± Moretti was getting revolted by the idea of being torn apart by fingernails.

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s there,¡± Lopez pointed further back in the alleyway.

    Moretti was dumbfounded but followed Lopez¡¯s lead. His first response to what he saw was his mouth gap wide open. He even forgot to act out his persona as someone living in the era of mobsters.

    ¡°A freak? Or just a good costume made out of high-quality silicone,¡± questioned Moretti.

    ¡°Real skin, the CSI confirmed it. What you see there, is a dead mutated human,¡± said Lopez.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit far fetch Lopez, we¡¯re talking about reality here,¡± her partner didn¡¯t agree much with her opinion.

    ¡°True, probably not a mutant. But if you ask me, I say this thing here is a goblin,¡± there was shine within Lopez¡¯s eyes.

    Moretti shook his head from side to side.

    ¡°Are you hearing yourself, Lopez? That thing you just said, is more ridiculous than the idea of mutants,¡± Moretti condemned his partner¡¯s ridiculous idea.

    Moretti had been disappointed by having this partner of his from a long time ago and today was giving him more disappointment.

    ¡°Baldhead, pointy big nose, large pointy ears, and short stature. Besides the dark green skin tone, this thing here perfectly described a goblin,¡± said Lopez.

    She¡¯s a Potterhead and she can¡¯t deny her overwhelming zealous about the mythical world.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about facts here. If this thing here is the killer, then why is it dead?¡± Moretti was not playing along with his partner daydream.

    He got a case to solve and his reputation was depending on it. Lopez kept quiet as she observed the definite suspect. She found one of its ears being torn apart and stabbed wounds on its flank. She could only see it as the victim fighting back against the goblin.

    But in the end, it all ended up as both sides being dead.

    She wasn¡¯t sure but she had no idea what happened here.

    ¡°I suspect it¡¯s the victim retaliation against the goblin, with both ended up dead,¡± said Lopez.

    ¡°Stop saying nonsense things, that thing there is not a goblin,¡± Moretti was adamant in not involving himself in some utter bullshit.

    He continued.

    ¡°Are there any eyewitnesses? Security camera? Who reported the incident?¡±

    Moretti needs answers. Even if up against nonsense shit like this, the procedure of investigation was all the same. Yet before Lopez can answer him, a police officer called out to them.

    ¡°Detectives, we¡¯ve got something here.¡±

    Both went and both were shocked. A pile of mush of blood and gooey stuff stuck on the ground. The policeman who found it flashed the light at a certain spot.

    ¡°A small hand?¡± Lopez saw for itself.

    ¡°A baby? Did the thing do this too?¡± Moretti was getting anger seeing this. He has a soft spot for babies and seeing one in a state like this only fueled his anger.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°Why did you say that?¡±

    ¡°The skin, it¡¯s the same as that goblin,¡± said Lopez.

    ¡°Again with the goblin, are you freaking out of your mind Lopez,¡± Moretti couldn¡¯t stand it anymore.

    He was at the edge seeing a disfigured hand of a baby and now his partner was spouting nonsense about a magical creature that doesn¡¯t exist.

    Moretti was about to give a piece of his mind to his partner a group of people caught his attention.

    He could definitely see their identification from their clothes alone.

    ¡°FBI, we¡¯ll be taking over this case,¡± a man flashed his whatever-I-can-do pass and someone else came into the fray.

    ¡°This is under the jurisdiction of homeland security,¡± a new group of people came crashing to the crime scene.

    Moretti didn¡¯t know what to say seeing this scene. Two government agencies butting in with their homicide case. He was about to retort, but Lopez was quick on her feet as she hauled him away from the bickering scene between two agencies.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do something stupid, Moretti,¡± she warned him. She¡¯s the type that was quick to catch on. ¡°There¡¯s something fishy going on here, and that goblin there might be responsible for it.¡±

    ¡°Enough with your-¡± before Moretti could finish his words, Lopez intervened.

    ¡°Two big agencies coming down here for a street homicide isn¡¯t that a bit too much. Listen up partner, I think I smelled something big is going on.¡±

 Chapter 6

    Inside a studio apartment down at Queens, a man was swinging a cheap steel katana bought from an online store. Bathing in his own sweat, it showed his determination. His whole concentration was focused on the katana he was holding. Yet deep down, he was getting frustrated.

    Shit, I¡¯d been swinging this damn katana for the last four hours, why is there nothing happening?

    Not only RPG, Jason too was a fan of MMORPG and one of the games he was fond of had a unique feature whereby the player¡¯s character can learn skills purely based on their actions.

    I should have learned something by now or is it doesn¡¯t work that way.

    Both of his hands relaxed as Jason sighed. He flopped on the couch not knowing what went wrong.

    Am I getting way over my head? This game-like system probably wouldn¡¯t work like I thought it would.

    Staring at the ceiling, he wondered whether he could gain any skill.

    On second thought, I do have something else, don¡¯t I?

    Jason opened up the status window and his eyes traced down to the bottom where the parameter for unique trait was located.

    Rapid growth.

    Jason tried touching the interface hoping to get an elaborate description of this unique trait of his.

    I can¡¯t even touch it.

    He even gave a command hoping it to work as same as the point distribution method. But it still didn''t work.

    Hmm, I can only assume that this trait of mine can either affect my leveling rate or my skill growth.

    With him giving up on swinging the katana mindlessly, he thought of something else.

    ¡°Oh, free class trial for one month. This doesn¡¯t seem so bad,¡± Jason was looking at an advert regarding a kendo class.

    ¡°Done,¡± in a jiffy, Jason signed up for the free class.

    ¡°Just my luck, there¡¯s a class this evening.¡±

    ---

    Panting for his breath, Jason was covered in sweat. With his hands on his knees, his endurance was rather pathetic.

    People attending the kendo class gave him a few glances as they went inside the entrance door.

    Shit, I ran that much and my stamina still didn¡¯t change.

    Life was full of tests and obstacles. He was testing out more theories of his trying to get even a little bit stronger than before. Although he has five points left to distribute, he still wanted to find out an alternative way in raising his status besides using the points.

    He had run from Queens to Upper Westside of Manhattan., The distance was no joke and he himself was close to collapsing.

    But he persisted hoping to gain a point yet ending in failure.

    ¡°Need some water?¡±

    Someone handed him a bottle of water. He grabbed it and gulped it down in a rush.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Jason handed the bottle back and saw her.

    ¡°You look new,¡± said the woman.

    ¡°I signed up for the free trial,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Oh, then I hope you won¡¯t be one of those anime nerds,¡± her words were rather harsh. ¡°Kendo is a sacred art, people who only treat it as something childish like imitating a cartoon are only tarnishing the reputation of the art.¡±

    She left after saying her piece.

    ¡°Harsh but hmm¡­¡±

    Jason pondered for a while.

    But I guess she isn¡¯t far from being right. I did sign up hoping to get a skill in return.

    Wiping the drool off his face, he went inside joining the kendo class. Even for a beginner, he was treated quite well by the teachers. There were a few like him, new to the whole class, yet they were all dressed in proper kendo uniform. Although the uniform smelled a bit, it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°Listen up, kendo is a sacred art. One needs to¡­¡± a familiar-looking person was giving a brief introduction regarding the class.

    Oh, she¡¯s the sensei, no wonder she¡¯s so uptight. She probably had a lot of those students asking about some secret sword skill or something.

    After going through a long and boring speech, Jason and the whole beginner class finally had their chance of going through the practical training. Jason felt his grip on the wooden handle of the bamboo sword. It was lighter than the cheap katana back home but as he went through the practice course, the once light bamboo sword felt heavy.

    A step forward and a step back, with each step he struck his bamboo sword on empty air. Others besides him were already collapsing on the floor, fatigued to the point of sweating buckets. Jason was the only one left standing even he was being driven to the point of exhaustion.

    Isn¡¯t she being a bit too hard on us beginners? She¡¯s a sensei and not a freaking drill instructor.

    He was complaining but he knew he had to remain on his two feet. For the sake of gaining a skill, he had to endure this.

    ¡°Get up you lazy bums, aren¡¯t all of you here for the sake of the sword? Stand up on your two feet and swing the sword with all your heart,¡± said the sensei.

    ¡°Aiko sensei, isn¡¯t this too much?¡± one of those laying on the floor complained.

    Aiko sensei swung the bamboo sword in her hand, showing her expertise.

    ¡°Hmph, if this all you guys can amount to, better off quit then pursuing the path of the sword,¡± said Aiko.

    This sensei is going a bit overboard, isn¡¯t this bad for business?

    ¡°Hoo, it seems we have a sole survivor. Come and let¡¯s spar,¡± Aiko said.

    She pointed the end of her bamboo sword at Jason provoking him for a spar. Rather than a spar, it was more like her picking a fight. Aiko''s whole body flew as if she was flying through the floor. The bamboo sword was coming right at him in breaking speed. Jason held up his bamboo sword and deflected Aiko¡¯s strike. He grunted feeling the heaviness behind this woman¡¯s attack.

    He had trouble believing it, but this kendo instructor really packed a punch behind that thin body of hers.

    I ain¡¯t going to go easy on her.

    Time for some payback. Jason stepped forward and acted out the only move he learned from the one attacking him, a clear frontal strike. Aiko chuckled seeing a straightforward attack. She prepared to defend herself seeing it would be wasteful of her to try and evade the attack.

    Their bamboo sword clashed together and the look on Aiko¡¯s face changed drastically. Her eyes widened as she wasn¡¯t expecting such heaviness coming from a newbie. Her legs were growing weak and about to fall on the ground. Yet she reacted quickly, Aiko diverted the force away from her. But another strike came at her, Aiko avoided the attack by a slight margin.

    Yet pain spread from the right side of her cheek, Jason¡¯s attack barely grazed her. The gaze on Aiko¡¯s eyes changed as if a flame of determination burned behind those eyes. Her pride as a kendo instructor couldn¡¯t take being beaten up by some mere beginner, who walked inside their sacred dojo just for some free lessons. From the beginning, she had planned to drive these people out from the dojo since she never tolerated those who came for free lessons.

    She lunged at Jason piercing her bamboo sword right at him. She expected a counter from this beginner but he just stood there in a daze. Even though he wasn¡¯t moving, that was no reason for her to stop her attack. Yet seconds before her attack can land, someone stood in the middle of their fight.

    ¡°Aiko, stop this,¡± a middle-aged man wearing a hakama, a traditional garment wore by a senior practitioner of kendo who stood on Aiko''s path.

    Aiko halted her attack.

    ¡°You¡¯re going overboard Aiko, again,¡± said the man.

    Aiko gritted her teeth knowing she couldn¡¯t finish her strike.

    ¡°I apologize Ken sensei,¡± Aiko bowed at Ken sensei and left the dojo hall.

    Ken turned and faced the man who stood there in a daze. Under the cover of the helmet, he couldn¡¯t see Jason¡¯s face.

    ¡°I apologized on behalf of our instructor. She¡¯s a bit hot-headed when it comes to kendo,¡± said Ken.

    Yet Jason didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°Hello, mister?¡± Ken probed further.

    ¡°Ah, sorry,¡± Jason jumped a bit in reply. He didn¡¯t expect to see a grey hair man out of a sudden.

    Ken was a bit confused by Jason¡¯s reaction but shrugged it off.

    ¡°To the new students of our class, since you¡¯ve gone through a rather tough course of ours. On behalf of the whole Manhattan Kendo dojo, we would like to extend your free classes for another month,¡± to Ken¡¯s words, those people who were annoyed by the hardship of Aiko were already smiling.

    Who in the world wouldn¡¯t like free stuff?

    At least this new instructor knew how to attract potential new customers, unlike the spartan instructor from before. Ken put his hand on Jason¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I saw your moves before, you got talent, another month of free lessons would be good for you,¡± Ken said.

    ¡°Ah, thanks,¡± Jason replied.

    He didn¡¯t mind much about the compliment since he was smiling for another reason. Unlike the rest of those people, his sight was quite different since he saw a floating blue notification window in front of him.

    Jackpot.

 Chapter 7

    While other participants were resting and socializing, a man stood out. Unlike the others, Jason¡¯s fatigue was blown away merely by the fact that he had gained something. Something so precious that others won¡¯t even dream off. He struck the wooden straw dummy with a smile underneath that helmet.

    ¡°Nice,¡± muttered Jason.

    He felt his heart beating faster than ever, excited by this new prospect. Just a while ago, he had received this new skill. Although it was a passive skill yet it was still worth a lot to Jason. Not only that, his proficiency in this skill was rising at a monumental pace. It leveled up to level two a while ago just after Jason hit it around ten times.

    He didn¡¯t understand the experience curve of the skill, so he couldn¡¯t relate it with his unique trait. He had an inkling about the fast pace of his leveling but overall, everything was good for him.

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it for class today. I hope you all have an enjoyable time and I hope I¡¯ll see you guys next week,¡± the replacement instructor bade farewell to the whole class.

    Jason felt reluctant to leave but he had to. At least now he knew there was a way to gain a skill. He hailed a taxi and sat back on the back seat. He didn¡¯t want to waste time running back to the apartment since he knew it was fruitless to do so. Jason stared at this newfound skill of his.

    - ATK +9

    - Boost sword skill final damage by +13%

    - Str +1

    Attack boost as well as a free status point. This skill is too good to be true. Even those skills found in games are rubbish compared with this one.

    Vzzzzzt...

    Jason heard and felt the vibration of his phone.

    Mom?

    A call from his mother. He picked it up and answered the call.

    ¡°Yeah mom, is there a problem?¡±

    ¡°Is that how you greet your mother? It¡¯s been six months and you¡¯ve never left me a call,¡± from the voice of his mother, he was definitely in trouble.

    ¡°Mom, you know I¡¯ve been busy. Finding a job in Wall Street isn¡¯t easy.¡±

    ¡°Jason are you sure you won¡¯t change your mind? Me and your father-¡±

    Jason intervened.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine mom,¡± a single sentence from Jason and there was silence between the mother and son.

    Jason could hear the light sigh coming from the other end of the call. He didn¡¯t want to admit it, but it pained him to hear as such.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine then. In fact, I called you for something else. Your uncle is having his 60th birthday, he¡¯s celebrating it down at a hotel in New York this weekend. I and your dad couldn¡¯t attend the celebration, so be a good son and attend it on behalf of the family.¡±

    A bomb dropped on him.

    ¡°Wait, mom. Why can¡¯t Ted or Esther do it?¡± Jason was hoping to get away from this. One thing he didn¡¯t like the most was extended family gathering.

    ¡°Ted is busy with his preparation for his orchestra concert and Esther is busy with her finals. I don¡¯t want to disturb them at the moment, you know what I mean, right?¡±

    Jason shut his mouth as he didn¡¯t want to yell out in response. He too was busy with his life but his parents probably saw him chasing his dream as a big joke, seeing how they didn¡¯t take him seriously.

    He was agonizing inside as both of his fists were clenched tightly.

    ¡°Your father is calling me. I¡¯ve got to go. Be sure to attend the birthday party on behalf of us, okay son. Goodbye,¡± she hung up.

    She just hung up, didn¡¯t she?

    Jason¡¯s face contorted to a shocking degree. He was on the verge of throwing his phone outside of the taxi but he stopped himself from doing so. As of now, he couldn¡¯t afford to buy a new one if he threw it. He returned back to his apartment as It was already night and his stomach was grumbling. Alone in this big city made him missed those friends of his back in Toronto. But the thought of what happened before made him cursed out loud.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± shouted Jason.

    Just thinking about it made him boiled in anger. He was the eldest of his siblings yet he was also the black sheep of the family, it was something he knew the moment he told his parents about his dream. It shocked him but he couldn¡¯t deny his own ambition. He paced around the apartment trying to cool off and shook off this feeling. Yet at the corner of his eyes, he saw the katana.

    He grabbed the hilt and unsheathed it. The blade was rather dull but he didn¡¯t mind, its cheap, to begin with. Forgetting everything else, he swung the katana while he remembered the words of Aiko.

    Swing the sword with all my heart.

    In a matter of minutes, he attuned himself with the katana. Focusing solely on his action. Swinging the katana in perfect form, as if the basic form he had learned just now was ingrained into his body. He wasn¡¯t a genius but merely someone aided by the skill of Basic Swordsmanship. The skill itself influenced him in multiple ways. Deep in his own world, Jason forgot about the anger he held in his heart, replaced by the sole intention of the katana.

    The first of light dawn broke through the darkness. The light of the sun shone on the figure of a man with a katana in his hand. He had been up all night, swinging that damn katana on his hand. His hands were blistering from the constant swinging he had done. Yet he didn¡¯t mind it at all. He kept on swinging to the point of even his sweat had been dried out. A new notification appeared.

    His knees grew weak and he fell on the floor with a thud. Jason¡¯s head rested on the cold floor as his eyes started to slowly close. Exhaustion was an understatement as his fatigued body was telling him to go to sleep.

    ¡°Just a little nap,¡± he muttered as his eyes closed.

    He slept on the floor with the hilt of the katana still in his grasp.

    ---

    Jason woke up with the day coming to a close. It was late in the evening and the sun was about to set.

    Shit, how long did I slept?

    He checked his phone and saw the time. He wasn''t surprised and flung his phone on the couch.

    ¡°I slept the whole day,¡± his stomach grumbled. ¡°Pizza sounds good, I heard a new Othello branch just opened near here.¡±

    He got up and ordered his dinner over the internet. Slouching over his couch, he was staring in a daze. He didn¡¯t feel like doing anything at the moment.

    ¡°Status open,¡± his status window opened up.

    He saw his skill under the skill parameter. He smiled seeing his sole skill at level six. It had been a long time since he felt a sense of achievement. His late-night training wasn¡¯t put to waste as everything was calculated for the sake of his skill. It made him pondered for a while.

    I think skill attainment involves a teacher and a student. Then I might be able to learn something else from a person. Can I get a skill different from the basic skills in-game?

    What came into mind was production base skills, like alchemy, mining, smithing and etc. Put it into the modern perspective, then he might be holding a golden goose in his hand.

    Should I try learning trading then?

    He opened up the wetube channels pertaining to trading. He watched and learned, hoping to gain another miracle like back in the dojo. He even took out a pen and a notebook, jotting down this knowledge. As if he was back when in college.

    Time passed by and Jason himself didn¡¯t notice that his dinner was coming in late. Usually, twenty minutes was enough for the pizza to arrive but two hours already passed and there was no sight of any pizza on his doorstep.

    Ding Dong...

    The alarm bell of his apartment rang.

    ¡°Pizza,¡± he got up and went to the door. He opened the door and received his dinner.

    ¡°Sorry for being late, here¡¯s a complimentary coupon. This is triple the amount that we gave since we¡¯ve pretty much late because of that news,¡± said the delivery man.

    ¡°Late? News?¡± Jason didn¡¯t get what the delivery man just said. He glanced at the delivery man¡¯s name tag and saw his name.

    Glen? Quite an unusual name for an Asian.

    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t check the news? There¡¯s this crack in the air above New York. The news outlets are all reporting about them. They said the cracks are becoming bigger. I¡¯ve even seen those crack while doing the deliveries,¡± said Glen the pizza delivery man.

    ¡°Crack? In the air?¡± hearing those words made Jason remembered something traumatic.

    He went inside, shutting the door right in front of Glen.

    ¡°Well, there goes my tip,¡± Glen left with a dejected look.

    Meanwhile, Jason was panicking. He left the pizza on the table and darted out to the balcony. He glanced upwards and immediately his expression hardened. Both of his fists clenched hard, his eyes widened apart. His chest was heaving rapidly and his heart was beating like mad.

    ¡°Goblins, those goblins...¡±

    The thought of those goblins returning back was like a nightmare to him. He knew first hand the terror those little critters could do. He even fought to the death with one of them. The sight of the crack in the air made him recalled the crack back at the alleyway. He felt goosebumps crawling over the back of his neck.

    ¡°I need to check,¡± Jason was worried.

    He ran to the door, not before grabbing the sheathed katana. In a matter of a few minutes, he arrived in front of the alleyway. A yellow tape barred the entrance to the alleyway. It was still deemed as a crime scene. But for now, it didn¡¯t matter to him. He crossed the yellow tape not minding the repercussion that would hit him back if any authority caught him on sight.

    His pace slowed down as he remembers the pitiful woman. Although there was nothing there but his memory was as clear as day. Gritting his teeth he walked further to the spot where he killed those goblin babies. He saw nothing was there and for once he sighed out of relief. Yet a voice came from behind him.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

 Chapter 8

    Early Thursday morning in Precinct 98th police station.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with the long face?¡± a woman just came out from the elevator with a cool ice americano in her hand.

    She slapped a person on the head with the folder in her other hand. The unfortunate man woke up from his daze.

    ¡°Lopez, what the hell are you doing?¡± a frown on the face of this man, known as the 80s detective, Detective Jake Moretti.

    ¡°Still moping around because of that case being snatched by the feds?¡± said Lopez.

    Her words only stabbed deeper into Jake Moretti¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Under the law, the homicide case was supposed to be dealt by us the 98th precinct,¡± Jake Moretti couldn¡¯t let such a thing slide. He felt his reputation was being tarnished.

    ¡°Put a sock in it, Moretti, there¡¯s a ton of other cases left on that desk of yours and our captain want it to be done,¡± a hulking mass of brutish masculinity went passed Lopez and Moretti. He went to get some donuts and coffee at the pantry.

    ¡°See, you just made Johnson mad,¡± said Lopez with a smirk on her face.

    ¡°Leave me alone Lopez, don¡¯t you have some case to be solved or something?¡± Jake Moretti trying to shoo her away.

    ¡°We¡¯re partners unless you start something on that desk. I¡¯m not going to do all the hard work while you sit here moping around like an eight-year-old girl,¡± she clearly didn¡¯t like being used.

    ¡°Since when the hardworking and diligent Lopez turned this lazy,¡± Jake Moretti replied back.

    True to his words, Lopez wasn¡¯t like this.

    ¡°and that¡¯s none of your business Moretti,¡± her face turned stoic as she threw the folder on Moretti¡¯s table.

    Jake Moretti opened up the folder and saw black and white images of a familiar location. He grabbed the folder and went inside Lopez¡¯s office room. For someone being his partner, he still didn¡¯t understand why Lopez has her own office room.

    ¡°Where did you get these? Didn¡¯t the FBI and homeland took everything?¡±

    "Unlike you, I got a few friends within the agencies," the smirk on Lopez showed her utter confidence.

    Jake Moretti glared at her as he couldn''t refute her abilities. Thinking back, she indeed always held the bigger card whenever they did an investigation together.

    "So is the guy in the picture, our suspect?" Jake Moretti changed the topic. He didn''t want to feel inferior over his own partner. She having her own office was already like a big slap across his pride.

    "I''m not sure, the only CCTV that managed to get the picture of the suspect is the one near the street. The CCTV back at the alleyway is too dark to see anything. Except there''s something else caught in the picture," said Det.Lopez.

    "I don''t see anything else in here," replied Jake Moretti with his hands shuffling the pictures on the desk.

    "Because it''s with me," Lopez took out a single picture from within her inner suit pocket. She slid the picture on the table letting the irritated Jake see.

    His expression hardened as he couldn''t say anything about it.

    "What is this?" he threw it back at Det.Lopez.

    She held the picture in her hand, observing the thing inside the picture.

    "Well, that''s the question we need to solve right?" said Det. Lopez as both ends of her lips curved upwards.

    "But-" Jake Moretti wanted to say something but the door to the office banged opened.

    "Hey, did you see the news? There''s something going on above NYC," a colleague of them barged in and alerted them.

    Both Det. Lopez and Jake Moretti rushed out and stood in front of the wide flat screen tv along with the rest of the department''s personnel. Lopez read the title of the news.

    "Breaking News, the end of the world? The sky showing signs of breaking?" her eyes glanced back at the picture she held in her hand.

    Her eyes darted around between both the picture and the news. The resemblance was uncanny despite the difference in scale of it. She nudged Moretti gaining his attention.

    "Moretti," she handed over the picture. "It''s the same, and I''ve got a bad feeling about this."

    ---

    Moretti and Lopez stepped out of the beige mustang as their sight was attracted by the sheer size of the crack in the sky. It was right above Central Park, a place of fun and recreation for the people of New York. Yet all eyes were on the anomaly in the sky.

    "What the hell is that Lopez?" asked Jake Moretti.

    "I don''t know, I really don''t," the tone of her voice couldn''t hide her nervousness.

    Soon, black SUVs came rushing at Central Park. The FBI and Homeland security came rushing into the scene as they take control over the perimeter of the park.

    "Lopez, I think the FBI already knew something was up," his gut was telling him so. "You think one of your guys in the agencies could give us a few insider''s intel?"

    "I doubt it," Lopez replied shut down whatever Jake was thinking.

    "Come on, get in the car," he tapped her shoulder and went inside his mustang.

    She sat beside the driver''s seat.

    "Where we headed?" asked Lopez.

    "Where else, we''re going to Queens," said Jake as he throttled down the accelerator.

    ---

    A pair of men and women dressed in their own fashion sense was walking around the crime scene in the back alley of some street in Queens.

    "What are we looking for? You know those goons already take everything as evidence," Lopez didn''t get the point of coming back here.

    All shreds of evidence here were swiped clean by the FBI and Homeland. They probably fought over it.

    "We''re not looking for evidence," said Jake in response.

    "Then why the hell are we even here? We could go find a professor at the nearby university, they might get an inkling about that crack in the sky," replied Lopez.

    "We''re waiting for the fish to bite the bait," he was smiling as if he made a perfect plan.

    Lopez with both of her hands on her waist was definitely not approving of this plan of his.

    ¡°Suit yourself, I¡¯m going to get a cheeseburger,¡± she left her partner alone waiting behind a dumpster in some unknown back alleyway.

    The sound of a mustang being driven away made Jake to rummaged through his pockets.

    ¡°When did she take my keys?¡± he ran out from behind the dumpster and saw the back of his car being driven by Lopez.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t crash my baby,¡± he muttered hoping for the best.

    With nothing else to do, Jake Moretti hid behind the dumpster. For better or worse, he needs to stick to his own plan. He waited and waited, time ticked by and soon night came. He nods off while waiting but rustling sound coming from the alley woke him up. His groggy eyes were half-open but he maintained his vigilance.

    He took out his revolver and prepared for the unknown. It was dark and he could barely see a thing. Yet he could saw a silhouette standing there staring at something. Jake noticed the silhouette was holding on to something.

    A weapon perhaps?

    He didn¡¯t know but it was now or never. He stood up and aimed the nozzle of his gun at the suspect.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± he shouted as his voice echoed through the alleyway.

    The suspect turned around as he faced Jake Moretti. Jake couldn¡¯t see a thing, he could barely saw the shape of his figure.

    ¡°This is the police, hands up in the air,¡± Jake ordered the suspect, following his usual protocol.

    But out of sudden, the silhouette ran.

 Chapter 9

    Shit, it''s the cops.

    Jason burst out into a sprint. He ran like his life was depending on it. The thought of being caught by the police would be the worst-case scenario for him. Not only he was trespassing a crime scene, he even brought a sharp weapon along. He didn''t know whether it was enough to put him behind bars but he won''t take any chances playing a good samaritan at this point in time. Desperate time needs desperate measures.

    "Stop, or else I''ll shoot," Jason heard the warning from the Det.Moretti.

    It was dark and there was no light. He couldn''t see the policeman but knew enough that he had already made the first move. He had already run and it was best to continue without stopping. Jason stumbled a few times as he couldn''t see the path he was running. Yet every time he fell, he picked himself up in an instant. There was no time to cry about the pain when he fell. The last thing he need was a criminal record under his name. His breath was ragged and the pain over his left shoulder started to act up. The painkiller was starting to wear off.

    Not now, damn it.

    He was just about to run out of the dark back alley but then a strong force slammed him from behind. His feet were off the ground as he fell on the asphalt ground.

    "You''re under arrest on the charge of trespassing a crime scene-" Jason heard the voice of this policeman who was about to tell him his rights.

    But he ain''t going to play around. His future was at stake here. Pinned down on the ground, Jake Moretti thought Jason was helpless, but boy, he was wrong. Jason shrugged Jake off from sheer strength alone. The strength that he had obtained from those five points. Det. Moretti was caught off guard as he fell on his face right on the asphalt ground. He tasted payback right at this instant. The gun in Jake Moretti''s hand fell on the ground lost within the darkness of the alleyway.

    "Stop," Jake Moretti shouted.

    But he was left ignored by Jason. Jason stood up, within his subconscious mind. He said.

    Distribute four points to agility and one point to stamina.

    With newfound strength welling up inside of him, Jason ran off like the wind leaving the alleyway. Jake Moretti got up and rushed to the street.

    "Damn it, he''s already gone," said Jake Moretti.

    He couldn''t believe it. Just a while ago, he could catch up to the speed of the suspect. But from the look of it, there was no way he could even see his back by now.

    ---

    Jason was running by the side of the street with only the street lamps accompanying him. He didn''t dare look back even for a glance.

    One thing he knew off, he should never let the policeman see his face. Even in a dire situation, his mind was still thinking logically. He saw a fast food joint not far from where he was. Thinking back, he still didn''t eat his pizza.

    It must have gone cold by now.

    He lamented that fact but right now, all he wanted to was to go back home. The more time he lingered around the street, the higher the possibility of that cop could find him. The grumbling noise of his stomach bothered him. His eyes stared at the fast-food restaurant but his line of sight brought him over to an obscure restaurant.

    He thought it would be better if he didn¡¯t eat at the fast-food restaurant. That place was rather public in the eyes of the people. Who knows when those cops would pop out. The best choice right now was an obscure restaurant. He catches his breath first and walked towards the obscure looking restaurant. From the outside, all he saw was darkness. Only the small neon sign hanging above the restaurant made him known that it''s a restaurant. He looked around hoping that there were no cops. Jason went inside and was amazed by what he saw.

    He had never seen an establishment like this before. The overall interior was close to the 70s. Yet the lights were rather dull and barely illuminate the whole place.

    "What can I get you?"

    Jason jumped out in surprise as a woman stood behind a counter appeared out of nowhere.

    "Uhm, what''s on the menu?" Jason asked.

    "Can''t you read the sign outside, this is a pizzeria. We sell pizza," said the woman.

    Judging from her voice, Jason assumed she''s rather old, close to the age of his grandmother.

    "Ah sorry, I didn''t notice," he said.

    "You''re running from the cops or something?" a direct question hitting straight at the bullseye.

    Jason couldn''t help but shake in his boots. He didn''t know that this old woman could be so keen on her sight. Should he run? The old woman might call the cops on him. Numerous thoughts ran inside his mind. Unknown to him, his forehead was drenched in cold sweat.

    ¡°Stop standing there like a dumb mule and pick a pizza,¡± the old woman¡¯s voice broke him from his constant wild thoughts.

    ¡°Hawaiian pizza please,¡± he ordered.

    Something was thrown on his face.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± something just him right at the eye. He didn¡¯t know what hit him.

    ¡°You dumb Americans, Hawaiian pizza is a blasphemy. Get out, if you don¡¯t want a perfect Italian pizza,¡± she was scolding the heck out of Jason.

    But I''m Canadian.

    Jason grumbled. Now he knew who threw at him in the eye. His poor random selection of the menu brought him this misfortune.

    ¡°Sorry ma''am, I¡¯ll order a pepperoni pizza please,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s more like it. Go take a seat and make yourself at home,¡± she left the counter and was about to start cooking. ¡°and don¡¯t mind the lights, we¡¯re trying to save some pennies for the electricity,¡±

    Jason let out a wary smile and found himself a seat by the side of the window.

    For now, there''re no cops in sight.

    He glanced at the night sky hoping to catch a glimpse of the so-called crack in the sky. But thankfully, the crack hasn¡¯t reached yet to Queens. He took out his smartphone and watched a few videos posted on the internet. The crack in the sky was similar to what he saw before. He couldn¡¯t help but imagine what kind of monsters would pop out from that crack.

    If the small crack in the alleyway let out a goblin, then would the huge crack in the sky let out a...

    He stopped himself from thinking about it. If that thing he thought emerges from the crack, then it would only spell out the doom for him and the whole of New York.

    "Here''s your pizza," the pizza was served.

    "Thank you, ma''am," said Jason.

    "This isn''t charity, you got to pay. Got it?"

    Jason was taken aback, did he look like a bum to her?

    "Yes ma''am, I''ll pay later," replied Jason.

    She left him to himself and Jason appeased the hunger of his stomach. The moment he took his first bite, an explosion of flavor fill his mouth.

    This is damn delicious.

    He didn''t have much expectation but the taste of this normal looking pizza was mind-blowing.

    Did she dope it with something?

    He was still skeptical about the pizza. With a taste like this, shouldn''t the store be overrun by customers by now? His curiosity was poking at him, telling him to ask the old woman. But being cursed and yelled at wasn''t his cup of tea at the moment. He had enough mistakes for the night.

    After finishing up, he sat there on his seat not budging away. He paid first to the owner and sat there with his eyes looking around through the window. The wall clock was close to reaching midnight.

    "Boy, I''m closing up the store. So get out," a blunt way of telling him to get out.

    "Ma¡¯am may I go through the back door?" asked Jason.

    "Knock yourself out," said the old woman.

    He went to the back and the back door was locked. He came back to the front and saw the incoming old woman.

    "Get out of the way," Jason complied and stayed away like a pitiful kitten. He watched the old woman unlocked the backdoor and followed suit. He stood under the only light at the back alley.

    His sight caught on to the old woman getting inside an old chevy. The condition of the car was top notch, well kept for something built forty years ago.

    "Boy, what are you standing around for? Get inside," said the old woman.

    "Me?" Jason pointed at himself as he didn''t expect to be called out by the old woman.

    "Of course dummy, come on. I can''t be late for bingo night," said the old woman.

    Jason hesitated at first but seeing he had no other option at the moment, might as well hitch a ride with this old woman. He sat at the passenger seat. He felt awkward sitting inside a stranger''s car.

    "Where to?" asked the old woman.

    ¡°Van Horn Street, Queens,¡± Jason replied.

    The old engine revved up and the old chevy entered the street of New York. At first, Jason was a bit worried about being driven by an old woman, but as he arrived in front of his apartment, he was impressed by the old woman.

    "Thank you, ma''am," Jason said.

    "Enough with the ma''am, Call me Betty," said Betty as Jason felt a sense chicness from this old lady.

    Before he could even tell her his name, the old chevy already drove off leaving him in the dust.

    "For an old-timer, she really living in the fast lane," said Jason.

    ---

    Sitting on the couch, he grabbed a slice of his Othello''s pizza. Although it was already cold, he definitely ain''t going waste it. He turned on the television and saw a live broadcast of the news reporting about the crack in the sky. His mouth didn''t stop chewing and his eyes kept on to the sight of his television screen.

    "Good evening folks, it''s twelve-thirty past midnight and Central Park had never been this lighted up. As of now, leading experts in the field of physics is still currently debating regarding the current phenomenon happening here above Central Park. Dubbed as the Crack, social media have run rampant with multiple videos and eye-witness regarding this amazing scene of the century..." the news reporter, a blonde in her mid-thirties was reporting live at the scene.

    Jason kept on watching as he prayed within his heart. Hoping that nothing came out from that crack. The blonde reporter fell silent for a while as something was relaying through her earpiece.

    "Citizen of New York, we are not alone. I have received reports that countless countries throughout the whole world are experiencing the same thing here in New York. Major cities like Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Madrid and etc, are reported to also experiencing the Crack..."

    Jason stopped eating as the television screen was showing multiple images from different locations and all of it had one thing in common.

    "A crack in the sky, this..."

    He was left speechless not knowing how to anticipate the future. He doesn''t know whether he''s the only person who knew what was about to come. Should he tell a news outlet? Or should he just spread it through the internet anonymously? But for some reason, he was sure about one thing.

    Would they even believe me?

 Chapter 10

    Standing in front of a mirror, Jason adjusted his tie a bit. He looks dapper with the suit although he kind of hated that tie. To be frank, he hated all sorts of ties. In a sense, tie and he didn''t mix well.

    "Shit, I can''t do this," he loosened up the tie and threw it on the floor.

    Jason adjusted his collar making him at least presentable for the birthday celebration this evening.

    "Why couldn''t they cancel the whole thing, aren''t they worry about the damn crack in the sky?" Jason didn''t understand the mindset of his extended family.

    Although nothing had happened for the last three days since the appearance of that crack in the sky, much to the relief of Jason. But shouldn''t his uncle and the rest of his families be worried about what would happen if something bad happened due to the crack?

    Yet he knew, the stingy uncle of his wouldn''t dare cancel his birthday celebration since they did pay a lot of money to rented a whole event hall in one of the most highly-rated hotels in NYC. Like a family motto of the Park clan, money is precious more than anything. Although, Jason did saw money as a necessity but not to the point of endangering his life over a few bundles of green paper.

    He, having a dream to work at Wall Street was kind of for the sake of freedom rather than being a money-loving capitalist. Jason walked out to the balcony and stared at the crack in the sky. True to the rumors, the crack was increasing in its size, day by day. Alarming to the point of worrying those physicists debating on the television screen.

    But unknown to the rest of the world, Jason was the most worried. Since he knew what would come out of that crack. Yesterday, he decided to post something on the internet anonymously. He told of what might came out from that crack. He explained from his experience of what went down from the beginning to the end, omitting certain facts such as his name as well as the location. He wouldn''t want to risk being found.

    Jason took his anonymity to another level, using a cheap smartphone he bought from a store and used an unknown cafe''s wifi to post his encounter with the goblin. He decided to go through the hassle of doing as such for the sake of mankind itself. Who knows what would happen?

    If there are people out there that believed in his story, some might prepare themselves for the worst. But like he expected. Jason checked his phone.

    "As I thought, these people wouldn''t believe me," Jason said.

    He read a bunch of comments under the post he made and every one of it was ridiculing him. They ridiculed him to the point of cursing him with harsh words unbefitting for a humane person. Thankfully, he didn''t post it using his own smartphone.

    "Status open," he said out loud as the blue window appeared.

    His eyes were focused on the skill section.

    "The quick leveling starts to die down," he said.

    For the past three days, he abandoned the thought of learning the trading skill in the hope of making a fortune. Instead, he pushed himself to the limits training himself in the way of the sword. He kept on swinging the katana after returning back to his apartment hoping to be at least prepared for whatever might come out of the crack. Since the appearance of that crack, every day the nervousness he had intensified. Jason didn''t know why but his gut was telling him as such.

    "Status close," the blue window disappeared.

    RING RING

    His smartphone rang and he saw the name on the screen. He couldn''t help himself but frown after seeing that name.

    "What?" a single word and his tone were definitely cold.

    "Pick me up at JFK airport," the voice of a woman was at the other end of the call.

    "I don''t even have a car, why should I pick you up? Can''t you just take a Zuber?" said Jason.

    "Pick me up or else I''ll tell your mom about-" before she could end her threat Jason said.

    "Fine, I''m coming."

    "Be sure to be there before I arrive," the call ended.

    "She hung up?" Jason looked at the phone, "hmph, typical."

    He snorted and grabbed whatever he needed. He stood there in front of the door as he was reminded of something. Jason looked back and saw his katana laid on the table. He shrugged his shoulder while thinking.

    I might need it.

    ---

    Jason clad in his black suit stood in front of the airport entrance. He drew quite an attention since he had something clothed strapped on his back. It looks traditional and didn''t fit well with his modern look.

    "Jaedong, I''m here," a woman came out from the entrance dressed from top to bottom in a rather glamorous fashion. A summer hat on top, a pair of large lens sunglasses, and everything else on her body that doesn''t suit the season of fall.

    "Gina, can''t you at least dress appropriately with the season? and another thing, stop calling me Jaedong. It''s Jason," said Jason.

    Not a pleasant greeting for someone who came from far away.

    "Shut it Jaedong, I''ll call you by your Korean name. You know how fond I am with that name of yours, Jason just seems too plain," said Gina.

    She handed him her bags which only irritated him further. He wouldn''t act so servile like this if it wasn''t for that thing.

    "About the clothes, Miami is always sunny. I just can''t get used to the weather here in New York," Gina replied.

    Gina Park, another cousin of his. Made to be the representative of her family to their uncle''s birthday celebration. An outgoing type of lady, social to the point of partying every weekend in some kind of beach party. Jason and Gina didn''t see things eye to eye, most of the time she''s the one who leads him much to him disagreeing. But at this current point of time, he couldn''t reject her since she has leverage on him. Jason watched her from the back, as she was quick on her feet and was already inside a cab.

    "Get inside Jaedong, or we''ll going to be late," she pressured him much to his annoyance.

    He got inside the cab after packing her bags at the back. He was about to tell the driver his home address but was stop by Gina.

    "What are you doing," said Gina.

    "Telling my address," Jason maintained his patience.

    "No, we''re not going to coop up inside that gloomy apartment of yours. It''s time to shop," to her words, Jason''s face tightened. He could already imagine the torturous hours of spending shopping with her.

    Two hours later.

    In front of Marion Latte Hotel, one of the top luxury hotels in New York City stood Gina and Jason. Gina was smiling and Jason, on the other hand, was miserable with sunken eyes. He had a few bags held in his hands courtesy of his cousin¡¯s shopping spree.

    ¡°Uncle is really spending a lot for his 60th birthday, still loaded with that money huh,¡± said Gina with a condescending grin.

    Jason stood silent, not bother to comment on Gina¡¯s remark. He knew what she meant.

    ¡°Oh, the party is about to start,¡± Gina was about to rush off but her Jason called to her first.

    ¡°These things Gina?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°Oh, let me get a room first.¡±

    ---

    A single queen bedroom perfect for Gina Park. Jason was impressed by the interior decoration but his priority right now was to threw these useless things on the floor.

    ¡°Hey, careful with those things,¡± Gina shouted.

    She couldn¡¯t stay idle seeing Jason throwing her things around on the floor. All of those branded things are brand new.

    ¡°Not my problem,¡± said Jason.

    Gina glared at him in response.

    ¡°Come on, the party is about to start,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to leave that thing behind?¡± Gina asked pointing at the clothed elongated thing strapped behind Jason.

    ¡°It¡¯s important,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Just put that thing on the bed, I don¡¯t want our uncles and aunts reprimanding you for bringing a thing like that inside a party,¡± Gina took matters into her own hand.

    ¡°Hey, wait,¡± Jason couldn¡¯t retaliate.

    Gina already took off the clothed thing from behind him and threw it on the bed. Before Jason could get it back, Gina pushed him from the back until both of them were out. The sound of the door being locked rang inside Jason¡¯s ears. He tried to open the door, twisting the doorknob like a frantic man but nothing happened.

    ¡°You,¡± Jason¡¯s face was flushed.

    He grabbed Gina by the shoulder and pushed her to the door. A coquettish look was evident on Gina¡¯s face. A stark difference from the fuming Jason who was restraining himself from lashing out. A gentle hand caressed Jason¡¯s face accompanied by the seductive gaze of Gina.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± said Jason.

    His deadpan expression didn¡¯t welcome the action of Gina.

    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m just remembering a certain night in summer,¡± replied Gina.

    Their eyes stared at each other with both souls didn¡¯t share the same feeling.

    RING RING

    A playful tune coming from Gina¡¯s smartphone broke the silence between them. She picked it up while her eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of Jason¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Hello,¡± she greeted.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m already here. I¡¯m with Jason, we¡¯ll be there in a minute,¡± replied Gina.

    ¡°They¡¯re waiting,¡± said Gina.

    She shrugged her shoulder releasing herself from the grasp of Jason and walked away.

    ¡°You¡¯re not coming?¡± asked Gina.

    Jason let out a long breath. He tidied up himself and walked towards Gina.

    ¡°This is the last time,¡± said Jason.

    Gina chuckled in response as both of them headed towards the birthday party venue.

 Chapter 11

    Since Jason is a Korean-Canadian, there''s a bit of Korean language mix in within their conversation. Name-hyung is used to address someone for the men to an older man, while name-oppa is used to address someone for women to an older man. While name-nuna is used to address someone for the men to an older woman, and name-unni is used to address someone for man to an older woman.

    --

    Music was in the air. The first thing that came through his mind.

    Too loud.

    Jason wanted to shut his ears, but a nudge from Gina made him stopped.

    ¡°Try not to die,¡± said Gina.

    She showed him a fake smile and went off mingling with the other cousins. Jason definitely knew what she meant by that. Jason stood there all alone, surrounded by people having the time of their life. He, on the other hand, had a stoic face not bother by the joy surrounding him. Like a boulder in the middle of a torrential river.

    ¡°Jason hyung, is that you?¡± someone from the crowd called out to him.

    ¡°Stop speaking in Korean, you know I¡¯m bad at it,¡± said Jason.

    Yet the cousin kept on talking in Korean.

    ¡°Hyung, come and meet my dad.¡±

    ¡°Dan, you don¡¯t-¡± Jason was dragged much to his annoyance.

    Closer and closer, Jason was getting nearer to the main table which was right in front of the stage.

    ¡°Dad, I brought Jason hyung,¡± said the young cousin of his.

    ¡°Jason,¡± a wide smile on the birthday man himself.

    A pair of arms wrapped around him as he felt the hug from his uncle.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I met you, how is it going. I heard you¡¯re trying your luck at Wall Street,¡± said Jason¡¯s uncle.

    Trying my luck?

    Those words were not pleasant to hear but he flashed a fake smile.

    ¡°Yeah, it''s all good,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Well, good luck. Things will get better,¡± his uncle patted him by the shoulder.

    Jason could only smile not saying a word. He then greeted the rest of his uncles and aunts. A few were asking about his parents while some asking about his accomplished siblings. Short answers were enough to satisfy these uncles and aunts of his. It was all smiles and laughter along with the same words of encouragement.

    ¡°Things will get better,¡± said one of her aunts.

    Jason left with the fake smile still hanging on his face.

    --

    Sitting at the far end of the hall at an empty table, Jason was eating in peace. His eyes glanced around and saw these people having fun, it got him thinking.

    These people really don¡¯t care at all about the crack in the air.

    The buffet, on the other hand, catered much to the client¡¯s desire and Korean food was nothing for this five-star hotel.

    At least better than deliveries.

    Since his tongue grew accustomed to delivery food, these high-class foods were cleansing his palate from those artificial flavors.

    ¡°Oppa,¡± Jason tilted his head to the side seeing a cute lady dress in casual attire sat at his side.

    ¡°Oh,¡± he didn¡¯t say much and continued on eating.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so mean oppa, it¡¯s been a long time since we last met,¡± said the woman who was in her early twenties.

    ¡°Speak in English Eugene, you know how my Korean is pretty rusty,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°No can do, my mom''s going to smack my head if she heard me talking in English, she said English is off-limits during the party,¡± said Eugene.

    While they were conversing another lad appeared and sat at the opposite end of the table.

    ¡°Yo, hyung. It¡¯s been a while,¡± a cousin of Jason who was also in his early twenties.

    ¡°English, speak in English,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Sorry hyung, my English is kind of rusty. My Korean is better,¡± said the guy.

    ¡°Yaa, Park Paul. You¡¯re born in New Jersey and you said you can¡¯t speak in English?¡± Eugene reprimanded Paul.

    ¡°Shut up Eugene, I¡¯ve been studying at Seoul University for the past two years. You can¡¯t blame me for having rusty English,¡± said Paul.

    ¡°Hmph, studying? From what I heard, more like every night drinking until you freaking faint,¡± said Eugene with a smirk.

    ¡°What? You want a fight?¡± an annoyed look plastered across Paul¡¯s face.

    These two started bickering while Jason sat there eating his meal ignoring these two.

    ¡°Hey, hey break it off you two,¡± a man dressed in a fancy suit sat in the middle between the cat and mouse.

    ¡°Hyung, how¡¯ve you been? Have you found a job yet?¡± asked the guy with a two-block hair cut.

    Jason didn¡¯t bother telling this cousin of his to speak in English since the rest of them already ignored it.

    ¡°No, not yet,¡± replied Jason as he munched down a rice ball.

    ¡°Ah, too bad. It¡¯s fine hyung, the economy is pretty bad lately, but hyung you want to try out a job in my company? The pay is pretty sweet but you¡¯re going to be under me, is that fine? Well, that doesn¡¯t matter right, as long as you got the money. We cousins need to help each other out, right. We...¡± this cousin of his kept on blabbering on with that condescending tone of his.

    It really put Jason in a bad mood. He was already in an anxious state due to the crack in the air and now these cousins of his were driving his emotion to the edge. The sound of his fork dropped on the plate rang in the air catching the attention of these three noisy bunch.

    ¡°Oi, can¡¯t you piece of shits talk somewhere else? I¡¯m freaking eating here and you guys got to mess it up huh. Eugene, why the heck are you here, go and talk with those people at Gina¡¯s table, and you Paul go f*ck off to Seoul if you can¡¯t speak English,¡± he paused for a while taking a breather.

    ¡°and you David, f*ck off and mind your damn business,¡± Jason stood up and left the hall after letting out his frustration at these younger cousins of his.

    While the rest of the three sat there with a blank look on their faces. They didn¡¯t expect that to happen. After a few seconds, Eugene pouted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like the people at that table.¡±

    ---

    At the emergency staircase, Jason sat there alone with a can of cola in his hand. He stretched his head in every angle before letting out a sigh.

    ¡°Those cousins of mine really annoyed me, at least Gina isn¡¯t there,¡± said Jason as he complained to himself.

    He opened the can of cola as the foam burst out. He frowned as he cursed out loud. Things aren¡¯t going well for this man. Then the door from behind him opened up. He glanced out of reflex and saw a person dressed in a rather glamorous dress. Their eyes locked at each other as silence surrounds them. It took him a while before something just clicked inside his head. Both of them spoke at the same time as their eyes opened up wide.

    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Two people were staring at one another in silence. Neither expected to meet each other, more so at the emergency exit.

    ¡°Jason?¡± asked the woman.

    ¡°Maria,¡± he replied.

    Jason scanned her from top to bottom. Her attire was rather too revealing in his opinion. Perfect for clubbing down in New York trending clubs. Maria sensed his gaze and she too looked at him. In her eyes, he too was dressed to impress.

    ¡°On a date?¡± she asked.

    ¡°A family event,¡± Jason replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s new,¡± she walked over and stood beside Jason against the staircase railing, ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    Asking permission was a bit too late since she already stood beside him. Jason only gave a slight glanced and continued to drink his cola. He was a bit conflicted at the moment. Seeing this woman after many years felt rather surreal.

    Things just get better and better. Why on earth do I have to meet my ex today of all day?

    He saw her open palm in his sight.

    ¡°Mind if I take a sip?¡±

    He handed over the can.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a fan of something else,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I¡¯ve changed,¡± a simple answer.

    ¡°That, I can definitely see,¡± he gave her another body scan from top to bottom.

    Maria¡¯s countenance flushed in beet red. She covered those which needs to be cover with her faux animal fur.

    ¡°It¡¯s not what it looks like,¡± said Maria.

    He took back the cola and took another sip.

    ¡°So, it¡¯s been like what? Nine years? Ten perhaps?¡± her expression soften remembering a time in the past.

    ¡°More or less,¡± Jason remained nonchalant. Yet his heartbeat was getting faster by the second.

    His heart couldn¡¯t lie. Although he remembered a rather painful memory after seeing her, yet the pleasant sweet memories kept on resurfacing in his mind.

    Shit, stop thinking about it, you idiot.

    He reprimanded himself.

    ¡°So how are you doing? Did your family open a business here in New York?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m here looking for a job at Wall Street,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t expect that. So you¡¯ve been here long?¡± asked Maria.

    ¡°Six months and counting,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Oh, we should meet up sometime,¡± said Maria.

    His heart skipped a beat. He can¡¯t believe how Maria was acting right now.

    Isn¡¯t she a bit too relaxed? Considering this our first meeting after the breakup, shouldn¡¯t she be at least bothered by it.

    Jason was hoping for some rowdy argument between them but seeing this beautiful ex of his again only made his feeling swayed.

    Get it together Jason.

    He hated himself, just because of being this weak after seeing her. He was too soft-hearted.

    Don¡¯t forget Jason. The thing she did to you.

    In an instant, the memory of his breakup resurfaced. He couldn¡¯t help but felt disgusted.

    No, not now.

    ¡°What about you? An es-¡­ I mean a model? I thought you would be in the police by now,¡± Jason said.

    Acting on his emotion right now would be disastrous. He diverged their conversation to another path as he contained his emotion. Sending those bad memories deep in the recess of his brain.

    ¡°Oh, you remember? Now I¡¯m a¡­¡± he caught her off guard, she didn¡¯t expect him to remember after those long years. But she couldn¡¯t tell him, not now.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Nothing fancy just working in an office,¡± Maria blurted out whatever she could think of. ¡°Uhm, my office kind of having a party. It¡¯s like a tradition for my company.¡±

    Maria turned her head away scowling at herself for giving out a stupid excuse for wearing such a gaudy stripper like clothes. She didn¡¯t want to look like this, not in front of Jason of all people. She cursed herself for taking that dumb assignment. The door to the emergency exit opened up. Both Jason and Maria glanced at the door.

    ¡°Oh, what do we have here,¡± Gina appeared with a smirk on her face.

    She definitely knew something was up after just seeing this man and woman alone in the staircase. Her eyes cast a glance at Jason.

    ¡°Sorry to bother your little fun time, but uncle is calling us for a family photo,¡± said Gina.

    Jason found his escape. He walked over to Gina leaving Maria behind. He didn¡¯t even glance at her.

    ¡°See you later perhaps?¡± Maria asked.

    She forced herself and took the first step.

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Jason.

    ---

    ¡°You clearly have a type don¡¯t you cousin,¡± Gina said.

    ¡°Put a sock in it,¡± Jason replied.

    ¡°Ouch, no need to get emotional.¡±

    She chuckled seeing Jason brooding.

    ¡°Oppa over here,¡± Eugene called out to Jason.

    He stood beside her and the camera flashed away. After a few more candid pictures, the photoshoot ended and the party continued with a little twist of Korean tradition.

    ¡°Karaoke time,¡± shouted the uncle, the birthday man himself.

    He stood on stage with a mic on his hand. On his left and right were his brothers and sisters. Singing on stage to the melody of trot, a folk-genre from South Korea. Jason sat at an empty table watching from afar.

    ¡°Thank goodness our parents isn¡¯t here,¡± Gina sat to his side, ¡°I would die out of embarrassment if they sing on stage, FYI their enthusiasm is not normal.¡±

    Jason remained silent with his sight towards the stage. It would be fun if his parents were here. It had been a long time since he last saw them. At least the place they went to didn¡¯t have a crack in the sky.

    ¡°Hey, are you still mad I cock block you back there? If you don¡¯t mind I-¡±

    Jason intervened.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about the crack in the sky?¡±

    Gina fell silent. She stroked her chin with those elegant feminine fingers as she pondered.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯d be stupid if I said I¡¯m not worried. Think of it in this way, you never know what¡¯s going to happen. So better to enjoy things while it last,¡± said Gina.

    What an idiotic way of thinking, thought Jason. It was best for him to never speak such words directly at Gina.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you at least stay away far from potential danger,¡± he tried to convince her.

    ¡°Ugh, can¡¯t you stop worrying about stupid stuff like that. The scientist on the tv said it¡¯s just an amazing anomaly. Nothing is going to happen,¡± Gina was getting annoyed.

    But as if fate playing a prank on her words. Something happened.

    BOOM

    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°Hear what? Them, singing out of tune are loud and clear,¡± Gina didn¡¯t hear what Jason just heard.

    ¡°Oppa,¡± Eugune soft voice called out to Jason who wasn¡¯t that far from one another.

    She stood there in front of the glass wall staring at the nightlife of New York City. But she was far from being at awe. Jason glanced at Eugene and he too saw something. He stood and his legs dragged his body to the glass wall. Standing beside Eugene, he saw what she saw.

    ¡°Is that where the explosion came from?¡± asked Jason.

    Eugene nodded as she too heard it and saw what happened just now. Bright flames like a match light seen from afar but Jason knew that a big raging flame was on the street of New York. Black smoke arose blending in with the night sky. He knew something big just happened. An explosion couldn¡¯t have happened out of anywhere. He could feel his heartbeat wilder than ever. Even more so from meeting Maria.

    Please don¡¯t, please not because of that.

    He prayed it wasn¡¯t because of that thing in the sky. His eyes traced towards the direction of Central Park and his eyes turned wide apart. Eugene noticed the shock look on Jason¡¯s face. But she was more surprised seeing both of Jason¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Oppa, why are you trembling? Are you okay?¡± Eugene asked.

    ¡°Eh?¡± he looked down and noticed his hands couldn¡¯t stop shaking.

    He tried to forget those memories but his body remembered the trauma, inflicted on him. He clenched both of his hands intending to stop the tremors. Jason glanced once more at the sky above Central Park.

    They are here.

    ¡°Eugene, we need to get out of here. Do you have a car?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°Eh, what? Why?¡± she was flustered by Jason¡¯s request.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Gina joined the troubling duo.

    Jason ignored her and grabbed on both of Eugene¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Eugene this is important, do you have a car?¡± asked Jason.

    She nodded, nervous by the sudden change of behavior by Jason.

    ¡°Go get your parents and your siblings to the car, where did you park it?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°At the underground second level, it¡¯s right in front of the elevator,¡± Eugene said.

    ¡°Stop scaring the kid Jason. Why are you being like this?¡± Gina butted in seeing how ridiculous Jason was acting.

    ¡°Hi guys, what¡¯s going on?¡± another person came with a plate of nachos in his hand.

    It was Paul, who was still speaking in Korean. He kept on blabbering about nonsense from the outdated music to the food not suiting his taste. Gina was talking about something but her voice was being muted by the ears of Jason. He was getting anxious by the second, these people are not trying to understand him even a little bit. Little by little his anxiousness was transforming into anger. Then the lid pop opened.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Jason shouted.

    ¡°All of you shut up and listen to me!¡± his voice rang in the air. Those who were closest paid attention to him.

    While the elder members of the family were singing their lungs out at the stage as they were drowned by the music.

    ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± he paused, ¡°or else we¡¯re going to f*cking die,¡± said Jason.

    Most were confused but Gina had to ask.

    ¡°Jason, don¡¯t-¡± her words cut halfway as Paul chimed in.

    ¡°Hey, is that a bird?¡±

    He pointed and all eyes were on the thing gliding through the sky. Jason couldn¡¯t believe it. Something was heading towards them.

    ¡°Everybody duck,¡± he shouted and grabbed on to Eugene who was closest to him. He threw himself on to the floor along with Eugene.

    ¡°Kyaaa,¡± Eugene screamed.

    Then a loud high pitch screech reverberated in the air.

    KAWWW

    The glass wall started to crack and the massive creature flew towards them. Everyone was frightened in their shoes. Not daring to even move. Some already ran away while those closest could only watch. Paul ran away but tripped and fell. Gina stood there frozen in place as a big shadow approached the building. A trickle of fluid trailed down her thigh pooling below her. Seconds before the massive creature collided with the hotel building, it made a swift turn.

    Swissh...

    The powerful air draft from the creature¡¯s flight brushed over the crack glass wall and then it shattered. The glass wall broke and the whole crowd in the event hall fell into disarray. Eugene¡¯s head was under the body of Jason still confused over what just happened. She thought Jason was going to do something to her but now she knew that it was for her sake. The weight on her head was lifted as she noticed Jason standing up.

    ¡°Oppa, what happened?¡± she asked.

    Slowly she raised her head seeing the aftermath of what just happened. The whole event hall was in chaos with the tables and chairs flipped over and a whole lot of mess spread on the floor. The thought of her parents and sibling came to Eugene.

    ¡°Oppa, I-¡± she wanted to ask Jason for help.

    But she fell silent as she traced her sight to whatever Jason was looking at. The creature with the massive wings struck down the roof of the building opposite the hotel. It wreaked havoc over the roof building as the cry of the people rang in the air.

    ¡°Oppa, what is that?¡± unconsciously she stood close to Jason and grabbed on to his arm.

    He answered her question.

    ¡°Something not good.¡±

 Chapter 13

    ¡°Jason,¡± a soft trembling voice called the man who stood by the broken glass wall.

    He turned his head and saw a hand reaching out to him. Eugene saw who it was and rushed to her side.

    ¡°Gina unni,¡± she called out to the person lay on the floor.

    Jason knelt beside Gina as his eyes were shaking seeing the state of his cousin. Although he didn¡¯t always agree with her, she was still his cousin. Glass shards riddled across her face and body. Blood seeped out from those wounds as she had trouble to even talk.

    She didn¡¯t even know what hit her as it all happened in an instant. She stood way too close to the glass wall at the moment of impact and received the full force of the glass shards hurled by the might of the air draft coming from the flight of the creature.

    ¡°Jason,¡± she called him as her hand kept on swaying in the air searching for Jason¡¯s hand.

    He grasped her hand, not letting it go.

    ¡°Help¡­ me¡­¡± she pleaded at her cousin with her eyes glistening. Tears ran down with her lips quivering.

    Jason could only gnash his teeth, helpless after seeing Gina''s current state. He took out his phone and called for an ambulance.

    ¡°The number you have called is not reachable. Please try again.¡±

    The line he didn¡¯t want to hear resounded at the other end of the call.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± he said.

    Thinking back, if more of those things were outside then it made sense that the emergency lines were flooded with calls.

    ¡°Oppa¡­¡± Eugene called Jason.

    He gazed at Eugene who was fidgeting around. There was definitely something wrong. His ears picked up the sound of people groaning around him and he realized why she was acting like that.

    ¡°Go find your parents,¡± he said.

    Eugene stood up and left in a hurry. He was about to stand up but the grasp in his hand tightened. Jason could see the message in Gina¡¯s eyes. She was telling him not to go.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go get help. Trust me, I¡¯ll be back,¡± said Jason.

    He let go of Gina¡¯s hand and ran across the hall. Everything around him was in utter chaos. Some fainted on the floor while some were in dazed, disbelief of what had happened. They were mumbling as if in a trance. While others started to ran away. It was every man for himself as they forget about others and prioritized their own. He stopped as he felt something tugged his pants.

    ¡°Hyung, help me,¡± it was Paul.

    Jason helped him up, the man who was eating snacks as if it was his last meal was standing there frozen like a statue.

    ¡°You¡¯re not hurt are you?¡± he asked.

    Paul didn¡¯t respond as he just stood there with his eyes quivering. He was in shock.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to get help, go look for your parents and then go take care of Gina. She¡¯s there near the broken glass wall.¡±

    Jason needed to go.

    ¡°Hyung,¡± Paul grabbed Jason by the arm.

    Jason glared at this pathetic sight of a man. Although he was still a student, shouldn¡¯t he at least man up. He didn¡¯t hesitate and gave a resounding slap right across Paul¡¯s face.

    ¡°Hyung,¡± the look on Paul¡¯s face was as if he was about to cry.

    ¡°Get it together Paul, I don¡¯t have time for this. Man up and go find your parents.¡±

    Jason left leaving Paul behind. He opened the door and people were running around from left to right. He almost collided with those frantic people. He ran around until he reached the lobby. The receptionist was nowhere in sight. Made sense since he or she should be running for their lives by now. Jason noticed the phone on the receptionist''s desk and called for the emergency line hoping it would connect.

    ¡°Damn,¡± he threw the phone as the reply was the same as before.

    Clueless and not knowing what to do, Jason didn¡¯t think it would be this hard to get help.

    What should I do?

    As if a light bulb lightened up above his head.

    I need a car.

    With Gina¡¯s condition, he needed to send her to the nearest hospital immediately. Glancing towards the direction of the elevator, he saw people squabbling over a spot in the elevator.

    ¡°Definitely the stairs,¡± said Jason.

    --

    The emergency staircase was more or less the same. From the hotel staff to the hotel guest were all rushing down.

    The moment he joined in with these people, he couldn¡¯t stop moving. As if swept by the wave of people, stopping would only mean him being stomped on the ground by these people.

    Shit¡­

    From the 50th floor, he was now on the ground floor in just mere minutes. He was sweating buckets with the whole staircase jam-packed. It sounds unreasonable but that was what had happened when people are in danger. He was wobbling on the floor trying to get his footing after escaping the staircase. A few people bumped shoulders with him from behind, yet he stood still unfazed. The additional five points in strength really did wonders for his average looking body. He was like a strong pillar standing tall, it was the other people who stumbled after bumping into him.

    Walking around the lobby, it was chaotic. In every direction, people were running. A pair of eyes were frantic searching for the staircase leading to the underground parking lot. But then something caught Jason''s attention.

    BANG

    Sound of gunshots came from the street in front of the hotel. His attention turned towards the front entrance and saw a woman entered the hotel with a Glock 17 in her hand. Blood trickled down from her forehead staining the faux fur around her neck. The glint in her eyes was fierce, different from what he had seen before.

    ¡°Everybody, get inside,¡± she shouted at the people around her. Yet no one paid attention.

    She shot another time in the air towards the ceiling. People screamed and panicked, ducking down out of instinct.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous. Don¡¯t go outside,¡± said Maria.

    ¡°You¡¯re the dangerous one,¡± a person among the crowd spoke out and rushed out through the hotel entrance.

    The others hesitated at first but seeing him getting out just fine, they all followed through. Maria gnashed her teeth in spite. If it wasn¡¯t for that idiotic man these people wouldn¡¯t go out there exposing themselves to danger.

    ¡°Maria,¡± a man¡¯s voice called out to her.

    She turned and saw a man from her memories from years ago. A man she once loved.

    ¡°Jason?¡± the tension piling over her head freed after seeing this man.

    Out of instinct, she threw herself at Jason. Hugging him tight with no intention of letting him go.

    ¡°You¡¯re bleeding, are you hurt?¡± Jason parted himself from Maria. His hands look all over Maria¡¯s head. Worry to the point of forgetting something.

    A second later, he realized what he was doing. He took away his hand in an abrupt manner.

    ¡°You need to treat your head,¡± said Jason.

    Maria noticed what he did. A tint of disappointment flashed across her face but now wasn¡¯t the time.

    ¡°Jason, we need to get to the upper floor. There are-¡±

    Jason intervened.

    ¡°I can¡¯t Maria, Gina¡¯s injured. I need to take her to a hospital,¡± for some reason his words pricked her heart.

    Who is Gina? Why is Gina? What is Gina?

    The unknown person known as Gina kept on revolving inside her head despite the chaos she just went through.

    ¡°Go up and treat yourself. I need to go,¡± Jason turned around and was about to search for a car.

    But the sleeve of his suit was tugged hard as Maria grasped it tightly. He turned to meet her gaze as if pleading not to go. No sooner than a second as their eyes met, a terrible growl rang out in the air catching Jason¡¯s attention. Screams and cries for help filled the air as they ran like ants being stomped by a boot.

    A four-legged creature with scales covering its body and a snout similar to a crocodile. Yet it stood on all four like a tiger prancing over its prey. Its limbs were strong and muscular similar to feline predators except bulkier and stronger. As if it was a creature coming out from a fairy-tale.

    ¡°Shit,¡± the only word Jason could say.

    He saw for himself a man being mangled by the snout of this creature who was standing tall at eight feet. Blood splattered across the asphalt road as the gut and organs of that man spilled on the road. People were scared out of their wits. Horrified to the point of a few fainting and a few pissing on their pants while running for their lives.

    That¡¯s definitely not at the same level as a goblin.

    Jason¡¯s hand was tugged hard.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Maria was desperate as her eyes were shaking. Jason himself could feel her trembling hand transmitted over his.

    Both fled towards the elevator. Jason glanced behind him and saw people coming back into the hotel laced with fear across their faces. Yet something else came along.

    The sound of metal and glass broke apart as the crocodile-like predator burst over the hotel entrance. Swinging its snout from side to side. A few unfortunate hotel guests were slammed over the wall by the might behind its snout. He didn¡¯t know what happened to them but they might have died.

    The duo arrived in front of the elevator with a few people alongside them. By their luck, an elevator door opened up.

    The people who waited rushed inside the elevator not caring about those who were inside. They were hoping to get out but seeing these people desperate to get inside. They were confused and didn''t know what was happening.

    Jason didn¡¯t know why they were taking the elevator in the first place. A slight glance and his heart were beating like mad. More of those reptilian creatures entered the premise. He saw that people were fighting over a spot in the elevator. There were shouting, yelling, screaming, crying and a few throwing some punches. It was chaos. There was no way for them to get inside the elevator.

    ¡°Stairs, we need to take the stairs,¡± he pulled Maria and she flew into his arms.

    Maria was surprised. A slight pain over her arm as she didn¡¯t expect Jason to pull her that hard.

    ¡°But-¡± she wanted to refute but the sound of an elevator opened up just opposite of them.

    Empty with a not soul in sight. It probably came down due to someone randomly pushing the buttons. They were lucky. Jason and Maria didn¡¯t need to speak as both of them ran to the empty elevator. Her hand was quick as she pushed the button to the upper floor. Her finger didn¡¯t leave the panel as she repeatedly pressed the close button. Then a growl trembled in the air as both of them backed away to the far end of the elevator out of reflex as if their bodies were stuck to the elevator wall.

    A scene of carnage unveiled in front of their very eyes. Those people at the opposite elevator were living in hell as the creature ripped a few of them apart. The elevator door to Jason and Maria started to close not before another creature appeared right in front of the door. Both of them saw the eye of the crocodile-like creature moments before the elevator door closed. Their bodies were shaking as goosebumps spread all over their bodies.

    DING...

    The door closed and finally a little time of relief.

 Chapter 14

    A lucky break? Perhaps. Only the sound of their breaths was heard inside the confinement of the elevator. Neither talk with one another but Jason¡¯s hand was still grabbing on to Maria¡¯s arm. Staring at the sight for a quite a while, he wondered why he wasn¡¯t feeling repulsive about holding hands with someone like her. The grip turned loose and he let go. Maria was silent like a doll. Her hair draped over her face blocking Jason¡¯s view.

    Shit, what do I do now?

    He was supposed to get a car and right now he was just returning back to the starting point. The image of that quadruped reptilian was still fresh in his mind. Comparing the goblin he fought with these creatures was like comparing an ant with an elephant.

    How the hell am I going to defeat those things?

    A question that he desperately needed an answer.

    I need my sword.

    It took him a while and he remembered. He pressed the button to the 38th floor. He took a peek at Maria who was still sitting on the elevator floor with silence prevailing the whole situation. Taking out his phone, he tried to see whether he could make a call. He didn¡¯t pay much mind to Maria since a while ago she seems pretty okay to him.

    There¡¯s no line. Go figure, I¡¯m still in the elevator.

    His line of sight brought him to the Glock in Maria¡¯s hand. Jason didn¡¯t expect her wielding a gun around. In his memories, he didn¡¯t remember whether she was a pro-gun or not. Although she did have a dream of being in the police force.

    It might be a way to fulfill a small part of her dream of being a cop. What am I thinking? That doesn¡¯t make sense at all. She might bring it along for safety purposes. I did read about the increasing crime rate in the city.

    ¡°Mmmm...¡± a groan coming from Maria.

    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± he asked.

    But there was no response. His hand stroked her hair to the side revealing Maria¡¯s face. Her eyes were closed and blood still trickling down from the side of her forehead.

    ¡°Maria, listen to me,¡± he held her face with both of his hands, ¡°You got to open your eyes, you need to stay awake.¡±

    The back of his hand touched her forehead. It wasn¡¯t hot nor cold. To be frank, he didn¡¯t have a medical background to even deduce anything.

    ¡°I can¡¯t feel anything,¡± Jason was clueless.

    Gently, he massaged her face while he kept talking to her.

    ¡°Wake up Maria, wake up,¡± he said.

    ¡°Jason,¡± her voice came back.

    Her eyes slowly opened, still hazy as if she just woke up from her sleep. She felt the warmth of Jason¡¯s two hands, surprised seeing him doing so. A dream perhaps? Thought the lady with the gun.

    DING...

    ¡°Get up, we¡¯re here,¡± he helped her up and walked out of the elevator.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± she asked.

    ¡°38th floor,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Why here? Wait, we need to get help Jason, I need to call backup,¡± her confident tone returned once more, shaking her head from the haziness of her head.

    ¡°To get something,¡± standing in front of the hotel room. He rummaged through his pocket searching for the card key.

    It¡¯s with Gina.

    But time was of the essence.

    ¡°Maria, lend me your gun,¡± asked Jason.

    Maria¡¯s eyes narrowed by the sudden request. She knew better about guns more so in a dire situation like this. Holding on to one was a lot better than giving it to someone else.

    ¡°Why?¡± she asked.

    Jason wasn¡¯t a dunce, he noticed straight away.

    ¡°Then help me open this door, shoot it near the doorknob,¡± rather than taking it from her, he asked for her help.

    She noticed it a bit too late, misunderstanding about Jason¡¯s intention. Guilt was pasted on her face.

    ¡°Jason, I...¡± She didn¡¯t know what to say, she was quick to distrust him. Him, of all people.

    ¡°Maria, a little help here,¡± Jason snapped her over her complicated thoughts.

    He didn¡¯t have time to indulge with petty thoughts at the moment. What he needed right now was a weapon to keep him safe. Shots were fired and the doorknob turned into a hole. Jason pushed the door opened and went to grab the elongated object on the bed. He unclothed it and revealed the sheathed katana.

    A smile carved on Jason¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t know how he would fare against those reptilian with his katana but at least he had something. The blade left the scabbard as the cheap steel glistened in the eyes of Jason.

    ¡°A sword? Where did you get a sword?¡± asked the dumbfounded Maria.

    He sheathed it back inside the scabbard satisfied after seeing his weapon.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter,¡± said Jason as he pointed at the edge of the bed, ¡°sit down.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Maria asked.

    ¡°Just sit,¡± He grabbed her arm and dragged her down to bed.

    She didn¡¯t resist and sat there with a blank look. Jason left her alone and went to the bathroom. He came back with a few small towels in his hand along with a first aid kit.

    ¡°Lie down,¡± said Jason.

    She still had that vacant look confuse about what Jason was doing. Yet she still did what she was told. Jason fiddled with her hair a bit, revealing her forehead. Taking the wet towel, he cleaned up the blood.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± Maria winced in pain.

    Realizing she was hurt, she didn¡¯t know how it happened.

    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m hurt?¡± She saw the bloodstain on the wet towel, ¡°am I bleeding?¡±

    She started to get nervous seeing blood coming from her. Her hands couldn''t keep still as she probed around her head trying to see where it hurt. But Jason swatted her hands at bay as he was cleaning the wound.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± he said.

    Maria pouted puffing her cheeks out. For a grown-up, she was acting like a child. Her act wasn¡¯t left unnoticed by Jason, yet he kept silent and focus on the task at hand. Those emergency seminars he took on behalf of his parents was really becoming useful. At least he knew how to at least treat minor injuries. The cut on her forehead wasn¡¯t big. He took an alcohol swab and warned her beforehand.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to sting a bit,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Eh?¡± before she can even ask, she winced as it stung quite a bit.

    The alcohol swab swiped over the small cut. After making sure it was clean, he bandaged it up.

    ¡°Are you sure this is how you supposed to do it?¡± asked Maria in doubt.

    His bandaging skill was a bit lackluster seeing how messy it made Maria look but at least he got the job done.

    ¡°Yeah, at least it stops the bleeding,¡± he packed the first aid kit and prepared to go out.

    ¡°Where did you find a first aid kit?¡± asked Maria with her hand kept touching the bandage on her forehead.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? Every hotel room has one, it¡¯s kind of like a law,¡± he replied.

    ¡°and how do you know that?¡± Maria remained skeptical.

    ¡°Don¡¯t everyone know that?¡± he asked her back.

    Her eyes narrowed, still doubtful about that fact.

    ¡°Where¡¯re you going?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I need to go check up on Gina, as well as the others,¡± he replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming along,¡± she got up with resolute looking eyes.

    Jason stared at her for a while, unsure of what he was feeling. It was complicated but seeing the situation was rather chaotic at the moment, he decided it would be best to stick together.

    ¡°Go change your clothes, there¡¯s a bunch of new clothes in those shopping bags. Wear whatever you like,¡± her clothes were all bloody and rather unsuitable attire for a doomsday situation, it made sense to let her changed clothes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting outside,¡± he left the room leaving Maria alone.

    He waited outside with eyes darting around the corridor. It was silent yet he could hear a faint chaotic sound coming from outside of the hotel. Five minutes passed, then it was ten minutes. Maria was still inside the room, Jason was getting impatient with his finger kept on tapping the hilt of his katana.

    He didn¡¯t bother asking the woman inside as he walked towards the end of the corridor. Standing in front of the glass wall, the scene in his eyes felt surreal. It was night yet the street was like bright as day. Raging flames and black smoke were scattered across the city.

    Buildings and cars were burning. People were running around the streets chased by creatures beyond their wildest imagination. Jason couldn¡¯t see it well from above but at least he knew that they, the humans are now the prey. He waited and watched from above, waiting for time to pass. Slowly, he was becoming out of tune with the world itself. Drowning in the chaotic sounds of the city being ravaged. Then the sound of a door opened.

    ¡°Jason?¡± a voice familiar to his ears.

    ¡°Here,¡± he said, walking back to the room. Looking at his watch, he only shook his head.

    Typical of a woman, even during an invasion they still took way too much time changing clothes.

    A comment best kept inside. He waited thirty minutes and it was enough to irritate him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°By the way, whose clothes is this? and these sports shoes I took it from the suitcase, I hope you won¡¯t mind. Running in heels is a bit of a pain right now,¡± Maria said.

    ¡°It¡¯s Gina¡¯s, come on we¡¯re running out of time,¡± Jason walked over towards the elevator.

    Maria stood beside him while eyeing him from time to time.

    ¡°So she¡¯s your girlfriend?¡± a sudden question.

    ¡°Huh?¡± a confused look appeared on his face with both his brows drawing together.

    ¡°She¡¯s your girlfriend?¡± she asked him again.

    ¡°Who?¡± still oblivious to who Maria was referring to.

    ¡°Gina,¡± she said with her body leaning towards Jason.

    ¡°She¡¯s my cousin,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Oh,¡± she dragged her voice with Jason not knowing what she was thinking about.

    DING...

    The elevator was just in time, yet the moment it opened. A strong smell attacked his nostrils as he backed away in disgust.

    ¡°This is...¡± Maria lost her words as she couldn¡¯t say any words regarding the blood and gore within the elevator.

    Even the most horrifying thing she saw in her line of work never reached up to this level.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take the stairs,¡± said Jason.

    Reaching the staircase, compared to before it was pretty lax. Only a few people were running up and down the stairs. Minding their own business. After a while, they reached the 50th floor, the event hall floor. Stepping inside the lobby, he heard something.

    ¡°Kyaaa,¡± a woman¡¯s voice.

    He came closer with wary steps.

    ¡°What are you doing? We need to help them,¡± said Maria. For some reason, justice was flowing from inside of her.

    ¡°Shh,¡± he shut her down with a simple gesture to his lips.

    Both of his hands grasped tightly on the katana. He was ready for action. Yet the sound of a woman crying filled the lobby. It sounds familiar to Jason.

    Soon the elevator entered his view. He saw someone sitting on the floor in front of an open elevator. Jason noticed the reddish color from the elevator wall and knew what had happened. He relaxed and walked over. Noticing the dress of that person, Jason called out to the person sitting on the floor.

    ¡°Eugene,¡± he called.

    The person sitting on the floor turned her head around. Eyes were red with tears trailing down her cheeks. Eugene definitely had a difficult time.

    ¡°Oppa,¡± she stood up and rushed at Jason.

    With her arms opened wide, she hugged him. She cried letting out her frustration while hugging this ¡®Oppa¡¯ of hers. Jason wasn''t used to this, but he let it be since he knew that she must have gone through a lot. He hugged her while patting her back. On the other hand, a woman had a sullen look with her hands on her hips, staring at the sight of these two people.

    ¡°Where''re your parents?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Mom¡¯s fine, but dad sprained his ankle,¡± her eyes started to turn teary. ¡°Oppa, I can¡¯t find Emily.¡±

    She started to cry once more, leaving Jason dumbfounded. He really didn¡¯t know how to handle this sort of situation.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s go treat your dad first,¡± he didn¡¯t ask about why she was at the elevator. It must have been to search for her younger sister, Emily.

    Jason and Eugene walked a few steps together and he stopped. Glancing backward at Maria, he said.

    ¡°Cousin,¡± no need for an explanation just a simple fact. It caught Maria off guard as she didn¡¯t know how to react to that. But then loud screams were heard not far from where they stood.

    A few people rushed out of the event hall. Jason recognized a few of them and they definitely came from their event hall.

    ¡°Oppa,¡± Eugene started to panicked seeing the sudden event. She ran, worried about her parents.

    Jason and Maria followed her from the back. The moment they reached the door both Maria and Jason were shocked. A creature was dragging a body towards the broken glass wall. Jason''s eyes narrowed focusing at the body and in an instant, he knew who it was.

    ¡°Gina!¡±

 Chapter 15

    Dread filled the eyes of Jason. He saw a creature dragging Gina¡¯s body with its long narrow beak. In the corner of his eyes, he saw a black object targeting the creature.

    ¡°Stop, you¡¯ll hit Gina if you miss,¡± shouted Jason.

    Maria held her Glock 17 but still not budging away. Gritting her teeth, she asked him.

    ¡°Then what are we-¡± before she could even finish her words, Jason was running towards Gina.

    ¡°Jason, stop,¡± Maria was too late to stop him. She ran following his back. She couldn''t let him die.

    With his speed, Jason reached Gina in a few seconds. A remarkable feat only those Olympic athletes could reach. Those four points in agility really made a difference. The grip on the katana¡¯s hilt tightened. From instinct alone, he knew the creature was within his range. The creature noticed the appearance of this human a bit too late as something came at it.

    He drew his katana and the katana blade tore through the air as it met with the neck of the creature. Yet no blood was shed.

    Clang...

    Only the sound of something broken. Jason¡¯s eyes quivered seeing a metal blade flying past him as it was inches away from his head and the feeling of relief wasn¡¯t what he felt. His only weapon had broken into two.

    Kawww

    The creature let out a shriek loud enough to reached the entire hall. Its sound was rather hoarse, affected by the ambush on its neck.

    Jason stood there frozen in place. He knew he wasn¡¯t a match against this creature. The goblin looks like an ant when compared to this creature. He felt goosebumps all over his body seeing this creature up close. This creature was identical to the fossil of the ancient. A pterodactyl except there was something different about it.

    It had six eyes as compared to two. Its scales were dark ebony, a perfect color for a nocturnal predator that roamed the skies. Standing at five feet nine, it¡¯s a menace that should never be confronted.

    Those six eyes glared at the one who had attacked it. Disturbing its moment of retrieving its food. The ebony pterodactyl spread out its wing attempting to show dominance against Jason.

    ¡°Get down,¡± Maria shouted.

    BANG...

    Her gun roared as shots were fired. But it was useless. Jason saw it first hand, the bullets didn¡¯t do anything against those tough scales of the ebony pterodactyl. Only the sound of metal clashing together was heard as those bullets dropped on the floor.

    ¡°What are you standing around for, run!¡± Maria grew desperate as she herself knew her gun was useless.

    She shot again and again at the ebony pterodactyl hoping to give enough time for Jason to run. But. He just stood there staring at the ebony pterodactyl.

    Kawww

    Maria gained the attention of the ebony pterodactyl, annoying it with her relentless bullets. Those six eyes turned away to another target leaving the sight of the frozen Jason. Yet a second was all it took.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Maria shouted as her heart pounded faster than ever as she saw Jason doing the most foolish thing.

    He ran towards the ebony pterodactyl and stabbed it with his broken katana right at the eye.

    Kawww

    The ebony pterodactyl shrieked out of pain. Blood flowed from one of its eye socket shocking the creature. Jason didn¡¯t let go as he locked the ebony pterodactyl¡¯s neck with his other arm. The fearless man had no intention of letting go. The avian creature flapped its wings as it had no intention of letting itself kill by a wingless mammal. Its beak rattled from side to side flinging the human around like a rag doll. But Jason didn¡¯t let go as he held on with all his strength.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Maria was dead worried and her eyes were quivering. She couldn¡¯t help in any sort of way since her gun proved to be useless.

    ¡°Oppa,¡± Eugene cried out as she saw from afar Jason being lifted up in the air.

    The ebony pterodactyl tried countless times to bite Jason with its beak but to no avail, it didn¡¯t work. Jason clung at a strategic point just below its head leaving the ebony pterodactyl unable to use its beak to its fullest potential. Yet being pummeled by the beak was hurting Jason tremendously.

    With a yell, he responded by wriggling the hilt of the katana making a mess of the inside of the ebony pterodactyl¡¯s head. He put every strength he had and stabbed deeper into its head. The ebony pterodactyl was flying, reaching up the high ceiling while swaying in the air. People around the hall were gasping as they couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing. A man fighting with his life against an ebony pterodactyl.

    It was about to fall but regained flight in mid-air. Jason felt the gravity and inertia rocking his entire body as he swayed in the air clinging on to the neck of the ebony pterodactyl. He was like a thorn in the ebony pterodactyl¡¯s flesh. His head felt woozy, but he snapped out of it and tightened his lock at the ebony pterodactyl¡¯s neck. Then the ebony pterodactyl did the unexpected.

    ¡°Oh no,¡± Maria held her hand over her mouth as she saw the ebony pterodactyl taking its flight to the outside sky.

    Shit.

    Jason too knew about it as he noticed his back was against the open night sky.

    He had to let go or else, it would only spell his death.

    But he couldn''t, it wasn''t the time to give up. He had something else in mind while hanging on to the creature¡¯s neck. He would live if he let go but a far better plan was inside his head.

    ¡°Jason! Let go!¡± a desperate shout from Maria¡¯s lips.

    The lock on the ebony pterodactyl¡¯s neck loosens as Jason did the unthinkable. His other arm let go yet he didn¡¯t fall, he grabbed the hilt of the katana with both of his hands. In an instant, his entire weight hung from the point of the stab wound. The sudden shift in weight caught the ebony pterodactyl off guard.

    Its wings were helpless as it couldn¡¯t balance in the air and a few seconds later, it fell as it was dragged by the weight of a mere human. They crashed on the buffet table which miraculously was still intact. Plates and buffet foods were thrown on the ground by the impact of the fall.

    People scattered away from the crash site, afraid by the ebony pterodactyl presence. Who knows if it still lives. Yet one brave woman approached the crash site with the Glock 17 in her hand.

    ¡°Jason?¡± she called out to the man who injured this ebony pterodactyl.

    But something else responded.

    Kawww

    A faint growl coming from the ebony pterodactyl as it raised its head in a groggy manner. The people who were still inside the hall ran out fearing the rage of the ebony pterodactyl. Maria was alarmed by the sudden movement and aimed her gun at the still living avian creature. The katana was still embedded in its eye socket with the owner not seen.

    Her eyes darted around hoping to find Jason¡¯s body. But the creature¡¯s action was disrupting her focus as it tried to raise its body off from the floor. Should I run? Thought Maria, as she saw it was hopeless to go against this creature. But her heart wouldn¡¯t give in. She couldn¡¯t just run not after seeing him again. Even after he dumped her, she still couldn¡¯t throw off this feeling.

    ¡°Maria,¡± a voice called out to her.

    It made her heart shook hearing his voice. Her eyes glanced at the source of the voice and saw a man standing up just below one of the wings of the ebony pterodactyl.

    His breath was ragged and he was pretty beaten up. He dragged his feet out from under the wing. He held his hand reaching out to Maria.

    ¡°The gun,¡± he said.

    Two words and she knew what he meant. Maria didn¡¯t hesitate and threw her gun at Jason. Not in a million years would she ever lent her gun to someone else, even to her partner. But for this man it was different. Putting every ounce of his strength on his two-leg, Jason moved.

    He caught the gun in his hand and leaped towards the ebony pterodactyl¡¯s head. His other free hand grabbed on to the hilt of the katana and his weight was enough to bring down the weaken ebony pterodactyl¡¯s head to the floor.

    Jason removed the katana and blood spurted out like a fountain. Yet the avian creature still didn¡¯t die. It was still moving, trying to get up. Sadly for it, there was a man wanting its death. The sole of Jason¡¯s shoe stomped down on the ebony pterodactyl¡¯s head to the floor impeding it from getting its head up.

    Jason lodged the gun nozzle at the open wound over its bloody eye socket. With a pair of cold-looking eyes, he said.

    ¡°Die.¡±

    The trigger was pulled and shots were fired. The ebony pterodactyl wriggled its entire body but soon it went limp turning lifeless into a corpse. Jason removed the gun from the ebony pterodactyl¡¯s head as the smell of gun powder lingered in the air. He didn¡¯t move from where he stood, standing there waiting for something. Then it appeared the blue windows. Making the end of his lips curving upwards.

    But he wasn¡¯t alone.

    ¡°Ahh,¡± a scream from a woman.

    Jason turned his head and saw Maria falling on the floor with a surprised look on her face.

 Chapter 16

    Maria stared at the empty air in a mindless daze. Jason walked over to her.

    ¡°You okay?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Uh, ah. Yeah, I¡¯m fine,¡± she definitely wasn¡¯t fine considering the countenance on her face. She kept staring in front of her as if something was there. Even after rubbing her eyes, she still kept on staring at the same place.

    Jason stood there staring at her every movement. He had an assumption in mind since it might be possible.

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m... No, I¡¯m fine. Just a little a bit dizzy,¡± Maria replied.

    He noticed her hesitation.

    ¡°See a floating blue window?¡± he asked. Throwing in the bait.

    ¡°No, its,¡± she stopped talking and turned over towards Jason. ¡°Wait, you can see it too?¡±

    So it¡¯s true. But how did she gets it? I¡¯m the one who killed the bird. Unless she shooting at it counts the same as an assist? Or was it because I killed the bird using her gun?

    Too many questions with no answers. Although he was curious, yet he has other matters to attend to. His sight brought him to the view of a woman laid on the floor.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this later,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What do you mean later? I-¡± her emotions were in a state of chaos. She didn''t know what was happening to her and Jason seemed to have the same condition as hers.

    She needs answers, answers that could put a little bit of peace in her mind. But Jason intervened as he shut her down.

    ¡°I need to check on Gina,¡± speaking about Gina, was enough to silenced Maria.

    She followed him from behind and noticed that Jason was limping, dragging his other feet around.

    ¡°Jason, you¡¯re hurt,¡± said Maria as she walked beside him.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± he waved her off and arrived in front of Gina.

    His brows knitted together, frowning after seeing the state Gina was in. A few cut and bruises over her body with a few parts of her dress torn apart. A huge bite wound was seen on her left shoulder, the perpetrator was none other than that damn ebony pterodactyl. He stood there staring at her feeling guilty. He didn''t know whether she was still alive or not, afraid of checking her pulse.

    What if she was dead was one of the thoughts fleeting in his mind. Maria noticed Jason clenching both of his fists tightly. She knew that this ex-boyfriend of hers was hesitating. Maria took the lead and checked on Gina¡¯s pulse.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± said Maria.

    Her fingers touched Gina¡¯s neck just above the carotid artery. Jason waited for Maria as his heart beats faster than ever.

    ¡°She¡¯s alive,¡± said Maria. But she wasn¡¯t in the best of condition. Her face was pale and her breathing was becoming shallower. Although Maria didn¡¯t say anything else, yet Jason knew her condition.

    But that was enough for Jason. He stood there staring at the unconscious woman. He told her, he would come back with help. But what did he brought along?

    Nothing.

    It pained him to saw her like this.

    ¡°Maria, help me get the first aid kit. I left it in front of the door,¡± said Jason.

    Maria was worried about seeing him like this. She wanted to reach out her hand at him but she didn¡¯t know what to say. She left and came back with the first aid kit. To her surprise, Jason made an improvised stretcher from the tablecloth and a few things around the area.

    ¡°Help me lift her up,¡± said Jason.

    They brought her out of the event hall and found a smaller room with all four walls. It was too cold to let her lay there close to the broken glass wall. Along with the three of them were Eugene and her parents.

    ¡°Eugene, take this bandage, it¡¯s for uncle,¡± he handed over a few things to Eugene.

    His aunt and uncle thanked Jason out of gratitude, he nodded in response. Taking a swab of alcohol, he cleaned his hands up preparing for what he was about to do.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Maria asked.

    ¡°Pulling a few of these glass shards from her body, I¡¯ll leave the big one inside. She can¡¯t heal if these things still stuck inside of her,¡± said Jason.

    Although his reasoning a bit flaw not following the medical standards but at least he was doing something.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help,¡± said Maria as she removed her coat.

    But her phone rang. She saw the caller ID from the screen and her eyes turned jubilant. She was impatient and quickly received the call. Jason glanced as Maria left the room. He was curious since the expression she had was rather surprising in a time like this.

    A loved one? Wait, why should I even bother about it. It¡¯s none of my business.

    He scrambled his thought, shaking off from thinking the unnecessity. Then thinking about love one made him thought about a few of those in his life.

    I wonder how mom and dad are doing, I hope they¡¯re okay. What about Ted and Esther? I probably should at least message them later.

    He had decided and for now, he remained focus at the task in hand. One by one, those small glass shards were removed. His hands were moving quickly closing up the wounds with the bandages in hand. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t make a mistake taking out those small shards. If he had taken a big one, it would have been bad.

    ¡°Fuh,¡± a sigh out of relief.

    A touch felt over his forehead. His eyes saw someone wiping down the sweat on his forehead.

    ¡°Oppa, I hope you won¡¯t mind. It¡¯s the least I can do,¡± said Eugene.

    He stared at her for a while, seeing every inch of her face closely.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong oppa?¡± she asked, noticing the stare from Jason.

    ¡°Nothing, where¡¯s Paul? I didn¡¯t see him in the hall,¡± he asked. Remembering the man he slapped.

    The countenance of Eugene turned pale as her eyes appeared cold and flat. A drastic change after he mentioned the name Paul.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention that bastard name, a useless piece of shit,¡± she didn¡¯t restrain herself as her words filled with anger.

    Something definitely went wrong. Jason didn¡¯t bother asking more since it would only sour the mood but Eugene gave him a piece of her mind.

    ¡°That bastard just left along with those scumbags uncle and aunt of ours. Like father and son, all of them were alike. I begged on my knees asking them to help my father yet they left us in the dust,¡± said Eugene.

    Jason got the gist of the situation.

    He did act like a man, but more of a scumbag than a gentleman.

    True to what they said, in time of peril was where we could saw the meaning of a bond. It seems being relatives was meaningless in their eyes.

    Every man to themselves, touche Paul.

    He didn¡¯t agree nor disagree with Paul¡¯s action. It was a basic instinct to preserve one own¡¯s life. Thinking back, he was more or less the same. Saving himself leaving those people down at the elevator to died by the jaws of that reptilian creature was much crueler than what Paul did.

    All possible thoughts lingered in his mind. He could have stopped them from fighting and do it in a rational mind. But that thought never cross his mind, only his own life matter. He pondered on his own while maintaining his silence. Eugene left after seeing Jason sitting there in silence, a tint of disappointment flashed on her face. The door to the room opened with a bang catching everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Jason,¡± said Maria with a smile on her face.

    ¡°The military is on their way,¡± to her words the rest of the people inside the room changed for the better.

    ¡°Mom and dad, we¡¯re saved,¡± Eugene leaped into the arms of her parents. The thought of leaving this dreadful place was like a beacon of light for her.

    Jason stood close to Maria and whispered in her ears. He didn¡¯t want to sour the mood with his question. He remained skeptical about the whole situation. Maria wanted to back away as she was surprised by Jason¡¯s sudden action but he grabbed her arm not letting her do so.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a friend in the police, they told me the military had been mobilized. They¡¯re on their way,¡± Maria replied.

    The police? Since when she had a friend in the police.

    ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± Jason asked. For some reason, he always had thoughts that when there was good news there would always be bad news.

    Maria turned serious as she didn¡¯t want to actually tell them this other piece of information. Her lips came closer to Jason¡¯s ear as she whispered in her raspy voice.

    ¡°There¡¯s a possibility of aerial bombing from the air force,¡± his countenance changed with his eyes trembling. Jason¡¯s hand reached out to his throat lightly clasping it. All of sudden he felt his throat dried up.

    He knew the implication of bombing an entire city. If the situation worsens, the lives of people living in the city will be abandon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, things like that won¡¯t happen. I¡¯m sure the military can handle it. My friend said it would be better to hold up in a secure place until the rescue team arrives,¡± Maria saw the change in Jason and she tried to smooth things out for him, reassuring him that things would get better.

    She thought Jason had changed into this courageous brave man but she could see that he was still a worry wart like he used to be back when they were dating. Maria felt both her shoulders grabbed by something. It was Jason standing in front of her staring at her dead in the eyes.

    ¡°Where is this friend of yours? Do they have a base of operation?¡± he asked.

    She hesitated to tell him but seeing those eyes staring at her. She gave in.

    ¡°The military told him to set up a base at Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth. He was told to gather any policemen and armed force near these two locations to secure a perimeter.¡±

    In a word, there¡¯s no base at the moment. To be frank, they were already acting fast enough considering the sudden situation. But at least, Jason had a destination in mind.

    ¡°We need to go,¡± he said.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s dangerous. Don¡¯t you see out there? We¡¯ll die out there, we need to stay here until help comes,¡± she replied with her loud voice rang through the whole room.

    Eugene and her parents turned their attention to them along with a few stranded people in this room. Again, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close. Their bodies stuck together as Maria could felt her skin touching Jason¡¯s clothes. Her heart skipped a beat regardless of the situation.

    ¡°Gina needs medical attention, if they¡¯re setting a base then there will also be medical personnel. She won¡¯t last if we just sit here,¡± he whispered into her ears.

    She couldn¡¯t refute his words, more so in this sort of distance between them. They were too close.

    ¡°Come with me,¡± Jason dragged her out of the room much to Maria¡¯s surprise.

    ¡°Jason, what are you doing?¡± she asked with her tone rather meek. They stopped walking after a few steps out of the room standing in the middle of the corridor.

    ¡°Say status open,¡± he said.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Maria didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Just say it,¡± Jason ordered.

    ¡°Status open,¡± she hesitated but did it none the less.

    To her surprise, the blue window appeared once more. Astonishment was underestimating the feeling she had right now. She looked back at Jason wanting an answer. He only said a few words.

    ¡°Time for a crash course.¡±

 Chapter 17

    Maria slumped on the floor with the wall behind her back. She still couldn¡¯t believe it. Yet the floating blue window was right in front of her. She saw her name down to her middle name, which she hated. No one else knew that middle name except for her and her parents.

    Her eyes wandered to the sight of this man who was deep in thought. He was the one who told her everything about what she was experiencing. She wondered how he could be so calm over an experience like this.

    I¡¯m impressed by her status. Her dexterity and stamina are way better than mine. She must have been working out a lot.

    He took a peek at Maria who was still in a daze. Since she was sitting, he couldn¡¯t see the evidence of her going to the gym. A hand reached out to Maria. She tilted her head and saw Jason¡¯s nonchalant face.

    ¡°Come on, we''ve got to get going,¡± said Jason.

    She grabbed on and he lifted her up to a stand. They went inside the room but not without a surprise.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Jason halted in front of the doorstep.

    Eugene standing just beside the door entrance from the inside. Her eyes kept on staring at him.

    ¡°Are you not going to tell me?¡± she asked.

    The man stood there confused.

    Tell her what?

    ¡°Jason, I think she heard what you just told me,¡± Maria shined the light over Jason¡¯s confusion.

    It hit him as he acknowledged it.

    Oh, that¡¯s what she¡¯s asking about.

    ¡°Well since you heard it already, now you know,¡± he patted her by the head and walked passed her.

    Maria face-palmed herself, seeing how ignorant this man could be at times. Sometimes he was as sharp as a detective and sometimes ignorant like a buffoon. Eugene wasn''t satisfied with how he responded. She blocked his path and with both her hands on her waist, she demanded to be treated properly.

    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on oppa,¡± said Eugene.

    Her voice was loud and clear, a few eyes in the room paid attention to her.

    ¡°We¡¯re going out, simple as that,¡± said Jason.

    It caught Eugene off guard, it wasn¡¯t the answer she expected. Eugene¡¯s father took the liberty of speaking out.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we stay here until the military arrives?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t uncle, Gina needs a doctor. I can¡¯t let her die,¡± said Jason.

    His uncle fell silent as he too felt pity about Gina¡¯s situation.

    ¡°Okay then, we won''t¡¯ be following you,¡± his uncle made a decision.

    ¡°But Dad,¡± Eugene was surprised by her dad¡¯s decision.

    Eugene¡¯s dad waved his hand off at her daughter. A sign that he had made his decision.

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not going to tell them?¡± Maria whispered beside Jason.

    ¡°Tell them what?¡± said Jason as he packed up the first aid kit.

    ¡°The airplane bombing?¡± she replied.

    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t know if it¡¯s going to happen. So why bother telling them? It will only make them more anxious,¡± said Jason.

    Maria fell silent as his words do make sense. But she couldn¡¯t rid this gut feeling she had. After what Jason told her about the blue window, this bad feeling came knocking on her conscience. It was just a simple thought, could the military handle these creatures?

    ---

    Jason returned back to the event hall. The corpse of the ebony pterodactyl laid there on the floor. His cheap katana laid just beside the dead living fossil.

    I need a better sword.

    The shine of the ebony scales pulled his attention. He stroked his chin with a thought in mind. Maria arrived behind Jason while still staring at the blue screen. No matter how many times she looked at it, she never ceased to be amazed. A slight glance at Jason and his action made her thought it was odd.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    With the broken katana in his hand, Jason was trying to pluck the scale off the dead pterodactyl. But to no avail, he couldn¡¯t even get one off of this damn pterodactyl.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± the sound of a broken katana clanged on the floor.

    He thought of trying to use some part of the pterodactyl as a weapon or an armor. Like in a game using materials looted from dead corpses of animals for the sake of building a stronger item. But he forgot about one thing.

    ¡°Shit, what level is this dead bird,¡± said Jason.

    Even after death, it¡¯s defense was still unbreakable. Jason needs a sharper blade or in a sense more level to strengthened himself up. As of now, the level gap was too huge.

    ¡°Jason?¡±

    ¡°Fuh, it¡¯s nothing,¡± he grabbed the katana and stood up once more.

    He grabbed something behind his back and gave it to Maria.

    ¡°My gun,¡± said Maria.

    ¡°I forgot to give it back,¡± Jason walked passed her brushing her shoulder in a gentle manner. It wasn¡¯t intentional.

    ¡°Are you going now?¡± asked Maria.

    ¡°Nope, but first thing first. We need a ride.¡±

    ---

    After a heated debate, Maria managed to tag along. Eugene, on the other hand, was forced to stay behind. She was snooping around following them behind their back and the moment Jason found an elevator for the hotel staff, Eugene popped out in time. He wanted Maria to take her back to the room with her parents but it sort of backfire since now both of them stood inside the elevator.

    The staff elevator can go down below the ground floor and Jason thought it would be a better choice compared to the hotel guest elevator. There would be less chance of the elevator door to suddenly open and meet with an unwanted reptilian. While inside the elevator, both of them didn¡¯t open their mouth as silence enveloped them. Jason was still mad at Maria.

    ¡°You still mad at me?¡± she broke the silence.

    But the man in question didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°I can take care of myself, Jason. I¡¯m a grown woman with a bad... I mean I can handle things when it gets rough,¡± she stuttered in the middle but she ended it well.

    Jason glanced at her finding something peculiar. From his memories, she wasn¡¯t the type to stutter her words.

    ¡°So is the silent treatment still going on?¡± she asked.

    DING...

    They arrived at their destination. The elevator door opened and revealed the underground area. A storage area for housekeeping from bedsheets to new pillows. He took a peek and there was no one around. The place was deserted.

    ¡°Stay in the elevator,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± she talked back to him.

    For some reason, he felt Maria was getting bossy, different from the days he dated her. He glanced at her with narrow eyes, much to his surprise. He saw firsthand, Maria holding on to a gun in a posture far from being an amateur.

    Hunched slightly forward with her knees bent a bit and her arm extended straight. Her movement was natural as if it was second nature to her. Her line of sight leveled with the Glock she was holding. It got him thinking.

    It can¡¯t be, can it?

    But he shrugged it off, seeing it was useless in their current position. Even if it was true, then did it even matter to him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave my back,¡± he whispered.

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± she replied.

    He held the broken katana in his hand as both of them tip-toe around the storage facility. Jason thought of finding something useful to replace his broken katana but replacing a broken blade with a pillow was definitely a no go. They checked the rooms around the area, and it was empty. Not a soul in sight.

    ¡°Coast is clear,¡± said Maria as she checked the last room.

    Seeing her in action made him think. From the way she moved and acted, Jason had a tough time ignoring this ex of hers who was mimicking a cop. Acting? Perhaps, but he of all people knew that acting wasn¡¯t Maria''s cup of tea.

    ¡°Jason?¡± she called out to him, breaking him from his daze.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the parking lot,¡± he said as he led the way.

    The sound of a door open rang in the air. Jason, winced as he would have preferred silence.

    ¡°Keep it quiet Jason,¡± Maria reprimanded him from the back.

    There was no possible way to keep it silent, the door was made like that. He wanted to defend himself but he kept it to himself as he peeked out his head from the small gap between the door. From side to side, it was nothing but an empty long corridor. A few boxes stacked to the sides here and there but nothing worth mentioning. He noticed the lights kept blinking on and off much to his dismay.

    This kind of place is definitely in one of those horror films.

    Like a perfect set for a slasher to chase down their victim. But enough of that, the only killer here are those monsters lurking above ground.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± a silent whisper.

    Both walked out to the corridor. Jason noticed the green exit sign plastered over the huge door at the end of the corridor. A light jog as time was of the essence. Maria at the back was keeping watch for the rear with her Glock neatly grasped in her feminine hand.

    They were just a few feet from the exit door but then the door opened up from the outside. Someone was coming, or something. For a slight second, Jason saw through the open gap of the two doors. A man with a bloody face with fear-stricken eyes.

    ¡°Run back,¡± he shouted.

    Maria didn¡¯t dawdle and made a run for it. He followed her from the back. Waiting around to see what was going on wasn¡¯t in his plan of action.

    The bloody man entered the corridor. As he saw the two people running away from him. He shouted to the top of his lungs.

    ¡°Help!¡±

    Jason glanced for a second and saw what was coming from behind the bloody man. A shining silver luster that was hard not to see. A creature with two muscular legs covered in big silver scales. But what came next was the unexpected.

    The huge single horn of that creature was shining for a brief second before it swung its head at the fleeing bloody man. Jason couldn¡¯t see it, but the fleeing bloody man felt the brunt of it. Right in front of his very eyes, the bloody man was split into half as if a very sharp blade cut right through him. But it wasn¡¯t the end.

    Shit.

    A quick glance to the front and he wasn¡¯t confident enough to escape from this attack not until his subconscious mind reacted.

    Five points to agility.

    A new surge of strength swelling inside of him and he leaped in the air towards Maria. The woman who was running without looking back felt a force rammed over her as both she and Jason flung to the floor close to the wall of the corridor.

    ¡°Ugh, Jason?¡± her head ached a bit from the fall but as she glanced at Jason. She saw him staring at the floor.

    ¡°Maria, run,¡± he said after seeing what he saw.

    The floor was split by a sharp invisible projectile.

 Chapter 18

    A pair was sitting with the wall behind their back. Both of them were covered in sweat not because of exertion but because of something from another world.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Maria asked. She too noticed the fine crack on the floor and her quick eyes saw the split bloody corpse.

    ¡°An obstacle,¡± Jason replied. His mind was scrambling after seeing the event that just happened.

    Shit, it has an ability? How the hell am I supposed to defeat that?

    A broken katana and a passive skill. Neither was helpful in a time like this.

    On second thought, isn¡¯t this level gap a bit too much. The goblin I fought was more or less a level one or two but these creatures running around the city are definitely not around that level range.

    He had an inkling about it for a while, after seeing the dragon-like creature shattering the glass window with only the aftereffects of its flight to the crocodiles like reptiles on the ground floor. All of those creatures didn¡¯t seem to fit the criteria for a beginner level creatures.

    Him, killing the ebony pterodactyl from before might be a fluke. If it wasn¡¯t for him going at its eyes, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do a thing at that nasty bird. Maria stared at Jason who was lost in his thought. She held his shoulder and shook him a bit.

    ¡°Ah, sorry,¡± he apologized seeing that it must have made her worry.

    ¡°So, what are we going to do? Fight or back to the elevator?¡± Maria who was still oblivious to the might of the creature had a simple thought of fighting against that creature.

    He wanted to say retreat but the thought of Gina made him having second thoughts. Lowering his body posture, crouching close to the floor. He slowly pushed the door open. From the slight gap, he saw the silver two-legged creature with its head down, feasting upon the dead corpse of the man. His head retreated back and the door was shut close.

    ¡°So?¡± Maria asked.

    But he didn¡¯t have an answer. His status opened once more as his eyes searched for an answer. He stopped searching as he laid eyes on a word.

    One point to energy.

    One of the two status with zero number. He didn¡¯t put much thought on it since in this world, what matters was the physical aspect. Since he didn¡¯t want to waste points on an unknown parameter, he stayed away from it. Until now.

    Blue windows kept on emerging in front of Jason¡¯s eyes. An unexpected development in desperate times. A new window emerged displaying a bunch of words for Jason to pick.

    Restoration, alteration, elemental, and another a few more terms. There¡¯s a few he could grasp the meaning behind those words and a few he doesn¡¯t. It excites him just thinking about it. Like in the games, throwing fireballs at their enemies.

    But now wasn¡¯t the time to rejoice. A decision had to be made since this chance might be the way to go against that silver two-legged creature.

    Elementals are the generic terms of fire, water, and etc. I doubt I can do anything to that freaking creature with a newly obtained ability. Restoration is like it sounds, healing spells. Definitely not useful right now. Hmm, alteration might involve the body. Strengthening perhaps? Or is it like the half-metal alchemist anime of alchemy?

    Jason was racking his brain, trying to figure a way out of this mess. A mess that just had to appear in dire time like this. A time where someone¡¯s life was on the line. Wait, something just struck Jason¡¯s mind.

    Idiot.

    Out of the blues, he slapped himself right on the cheek. Maria shook out of surprise seeing him acting like this. Did he just go crazy after not knowing what else to do? Thought the beautiful Latina. The thought of helping him cross her mind but what could she do in a time like this?

    I choose restoration.

    In the end, he chose the healing ability. Thinking back, the reason he was trying to get out of here was for the sake of someone¡¯s life. He couldn¡¯t think straight with that beast just a door away from them. A narrow mind couldn¡¯t see the big picture. Thankfully he didn¡¯t make a silly mistake.

    Although he won''t know the capability of a restoration type ability but at least he had to try. Even taking her across the city would be more dangerous as compared to picking the restoration ability. A plethora of information appeared in his mind right after he made his decision.

    The corner ends of his lips curved upward as he couldn¡¯t help himself. A skill like this was definitely worth it. He turned to Maria.

    ¡°We¡¯re retreating,¡± Jason said.

    Maria was taken aback by his decision. She thought Jason would definitely go for it, no matter what the cost but it seems she was wrong.

    ¡°Okay, but should we find another route? I think there¡¯s another-¡± her words stopped as the creaking sound of the door behind them opened.

    The door opened slow. Yet the sound trembled as the vibration made both of them felt goosebumps crawling down their skin. Jason didn¡¯t dare glance back and shouted at Maria.

    ¡°Run.¡±

    Both of them sprinted down the small corridor of the storage facility. Down their line of sight was the sole escape path, the elevator. Jason didn¡¯t think the creature would know of their existence behind the door. The only question was, since when did it notice them?

    Did it know from the beginning? But why didn¡¯t it chase us down from the start?

    A question that didn''t matter at this point. Out of instinct, he turned his head back. His eyes started to shook seeing the horn on this creature shining bright.

    It¡¯s coming.

    He rushed at Maria and grabbed her waist from the back. Pulling every ounce of strength he had, he threw her at the direction of the elevator. Thanks to his enhanced strength, he managed the unthinkable.

    ¡°Argh,¡± his yell rang in the air and Maria lifted off from the ground.

    She didn¡¯t know what was happening, her body twirled in the air as she caught sight of something brightening from behind her.

    ¡°Jason!¡± she shouted seeing something coming at her ex-boyfriend.

    Her whole body dropped on the floor as she took a pretty nasty fall. But she didn¡¯t care about the pain as something else hurt her more.

    ¡°Jason,¡± she shouted once more at the direction of the wall crumbling after being hit by something.

    She wanted to rush but she held herself as something moved from underneath those broken rubbles. A person came out underneath the rubble with his left arm bloody. The side of Jason¡¯s face was trickling with blood as he had a cut right on top of his forehead.

    Shit, I can¡¯t feel my arm.

    He looked to his side and saw his bloody arm. Numbed to the pain as blood kept on gushing out from the big wound. A nick from the blade caused this much damage. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say he was lucky. If it had hit him straight on, he would have died.

    Damn it.

    Out of sudden, he forced himself to jumped to the other side of the room.

    BANG

    A loud crash spread in the air as the creature missed its mark. Jason stared at the sight of this creature who attacks without hesitation. Like hunting prey for a little snack.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Maria called Jason with her Glock pointing at the creature.

    A beast covered in huge silver scales. Its body structure was similar to a velociraptor seen in those Spielburger movies, except it had no upper limbs. Just those two massive muscular legs were enough to tell others not to mess with it. The single silver horn on top of its head was like a single edge blade, designed to cut through its prey.

    ¡°Maria, get ready at the elevator and throw me the gun,¡± Jason shouted back at her as his eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of the beast, or what he identified it as, the silver raptor.

    ¡°What?¡± confusion riddled all over Maria¡¯s face.

    ¡°Just do it,¡± he shouted once more with his body ready to dodge another tackle from this silver raptor.

    The head of the silver raptor raised up high with its nostrils smelling something. Its head turned towards the woman in front of the elevator.

    Damn it, not her.

    ¡°Throw it,¡± again Jason shouted as he made a dash at the silver raptor.

    Maria noticed the silver raptor changing its target at her and she knew she made a mistake.

    ¡°Hey over here, you scaly bastard,¡± Jason threw his broken katana at the silver raptor hoping to gain its attention.

    CLANG.

    It turned and saw the little human coming at it as if offering himself to its belly. Jason retreated after regaining the attention of the silver raptor. He was shaking in his shoes going head to head with this creature. As if his entire body knew that this creature was too dangerous. After assuming there¡¯s a huge level gap. He couldn¡¯t help but imagine them being too strong for his current state.

    ¡°Jason,¡± he turned to the voice and saw a black metal object flung in the air.

    He didn¡¯t catch it as intended. Rather he hit it away as he jumped to his side. Something just went past him. Jason avoided it by a hairbreadth but it wasn¡¯t the end. Something came flying at him and smashed him. His whole body flew in the air and smacked against the wall. He could hear his bones broke. Standing inside the elevator while pressing the button, Maria waited for Jason. Yet the moment she saw him crashing on the wall, her heart went cold.

    Is this the end? Thought Maria.

    Should I go? Thought Maria.

    Should I leave him? Thought Maria.

    She couldn¡¯t decide and it costed her. The silver raptor with its immense leg strength rushed at the sole woman in the elevator. Another snack wouldn¡¯t be bad, would it? But to the mind of a beast, more food the merrier.

    Her knees grew weak seeing the incoming silver raptor. She was unarmed with no weapon to protect herself. Even if she knew the gun was useless, but at least it gave her a peace of mind, abling her to keep her composure.

    ¡°Come on,¡± she pressed the close button numerous times hoping to speed up the process. But like any elevator in the face of the planet, it was slow as hell.

    The silver raptor was coming closer.

    ¡°Close, damn it,¡± she grew desperate as her eyes shifted from the sight of the button to the sight of the silver raptor.

    Just a foot away from the elevator, Maria was frightened as if her death was approaching her.

    BANG.

    BANG. BANG.

    Someone pulled the trigger. The silver raptor halted from its charge and turned towards the source of the being who attacked it. Maria pressed the open button and the elevator door slowly opened. At the far end of the corridor, a man stood on his two feet pointing a gun at the silver raptor. She wanted to shout his name but the silver raptor was too close. Even though it was showing its back at her, she still didn¡¯t dare to gain its attention.

    ¡°Go, Maria,¡± someone mentioned her name.

    The only person in this area besides her. She heard his voice. Her cheeks felt wet as tears trailed down. She felt something, something she lost years ago. Her hand covered her mouth as she couldn¡¯t let a sound came out. Her other hand was trembling hesitating to push the close button. If it was in her daily life, pushing it didn''t even matter. But right now, it meant the life of a person. A person she once loves but was it really was and not still?

    ¡°I¡¯ll catch you later. I promise,¡± she heard his voice once more and it shook her heart. As if a bolt just went through her left chest.

    Soon only the sound of bullets rang as the door to the elevator closed. Her knees grew weak and fell on the floor as she cried in her own tears. Thinking about a man.

    A man called Jason.

 Chapter 19

    She really left me.

    Jason''s heroic attempt only gave him regret.

    Snap out of it you fool. You¡¯re the one who asks her to go. To begin with, she¡¯s useless and can¡¯t do anything.

    A feeble attempt to encouraged his wounded heart. His slight aggressive pep talk did motivate him in a sense.

    How the hell am I going to get through this?

    The Glock was still aiming at the silver raptor. Although it did nothing to the beast, Jason still held the gun at it. His other free arm was unusable, injured to the point of bleeding from every cut and wound.

    That last attack from the silver raptor was blocked by his injured arm which only aggravated the injuries. Every bone in that arm of his was fractured from every angle. At this point, he didn¡¯t feel he has a left arm anymore. The silver raptor stared at the sight of this human, who still persisted like an ant. It¡¯s horn shined bright as another attack was coming.

    Dodge.

    He leaped to the side and the wall behind him crumbled into pieces. A devastating attack with no way of surviving. Jason got up and ran through the hole at the wall. He mustered every ounce of his energy and sprinted through the hole.

    Again he leaped outside as he felt something just flew by him from the back. The wall to the outside corridor had a huge crack. His countenance paled seeing this.

    Shit, why is it becoming more aggressive?

    BOOM.

    The whole wall to the storage facility broken apart as the silver raptor emerged delivering a powerful tackle. Dust and little rocks flew apart as everything was being destroyed by this silver raptor.

    Jason got up and ran to the other door. Jason didn''t know what was on the other side but staying here was not an option. Tucking the gun in between his pants and belt, he made a mad dash.

    Growl...

    A baritone growl filled the corridor but Jason didn¡¯t have the luxury of seeing where it was coming from. Then another growl rang out. Same but a tad different. Jason¡¯s hand grabbed on to the door handle and pushed it down. He went inside and right at that brief moment, he saw what was happening in the corridor behind him.

    Another one.

    There it was, another silver raptor entering the scene. The hair on Jason¡¯s back raised up high as if he felt he received a death sentence.

    Another more of this silver bastard. How on earth am I going to survive this?

    Yet something else happened.

    Growl...

    A loud growl coming from these two silver raptors as both of them did the unexpected.

    They¡¯re fighting?

    To his surprise, those two creatures battle it out swinging their tail and slamming their horns at one another. The result.

    Terrifying.

    The corridor was turning into a battlefield as the walls kept on cracking and breaking apart piece by piece. These two silver raptors duking it out was something he had never expect.

    I need to run.

    Another chance in life like a light at the end of a tunnel. Jason didn¡¯t waste time and ran away with all his might. His eyes went side to side as he noticed this was just another corridor to a bunch of new rooms. His sight focus on the huge door at the end of the corridor. His next way out. His eyes went around seeking for something. Yet he couldn¡¯t see anyone else. But for some reason, his vision started to tilt at an angle.

    Eh?

    Before long, the floor was already within his sight. Jason¡¯s head was on the cold floor as he could felt the coldness right away.

    How did I fall?

    He tried to get up but his feet were giving away, fumbling like a baby. Jason felt light-headed with his vision started to blur.

    Why am I getting dizzy all of a sudden?

    Shaking his head off, he saw something underneath him.

    Blood?

    A pool of blood. His vision brought him to the sight of his severe arm with blood trickling down from his fingers.

    I lost too much blood.

    It just hit him. He was to focus on running away from those monsters that he didn¡¯t pay attention to his own body deteriorating at every second.

    Shit, what am I-

    Right about that time, something just struck his mind. His other hand reached out to his left arm as his hand started to glow.

    ¡°Minor Heal+,¡± said Jason.

    A warm gush of sensation was felt across his numbed left arm. Before long his whole left arm was engulfed in pale green light.

    This is incredible.

    The pale green light died down and his arm was looking better. The cuts and wounds were smaller and the bleeding had stopped. His arm was still red and pain kept on coming every now and then. Overall, he felt better.

    I¡¯m not fully healed.

    He didn¡¯t expect the heal to fell short. Again, he tried to heal his arm.

    BANG.

    It gave him a fright, Jason turned his head to the back and saw the whole door dropped on the floor.

    Growl.

    That hideous growl was like a nightmare to his ears. But his eyes turned out wide as he saw two of those silver raptor came inside side by side.

    Shit.

    There was no time to recuperate as he ran like his life depends on it. Two silver raptors were chasing him down in a frenzy.

    Why did they suddenly cooperate?

    Even if he knew the answer, it was useless in his current predicament. The growl was becoming louder from the back and his heart beat faster than before. He raced towards the door and slammed his entire body at it after pushing the handle down. The door opened and what entered his sight, was something he didn¡¯t expect.

    A group of people staring at him with fear in the back of their eyes. A few of them were sitting on the flight of stairs while more of them were hiding underneath the staircase. In that split second, he hesitated.

    Should I tell them to run? Or leave them as...

    His thought fell short as he himself didn¡¯t want to say those words. Gnashing his teeth, he ran up the stairs. Those who saw him felt relief seeing it was a human but none of them question why he was fleeing up the stairs. But after ten steps on the stairs, guilt riddled his heart.

    Damn it.

    He turned and shouted.

    ¡°Run. Monsters are coming.¡±

    BANG.

    He was too late, two heads of silver raptor barged through the door. They were like a walking destruction, breaking everything in their path.

    ¡°Kyaaa.¡±

    ¡°Ahh.¡±

    Screams rang in the air as they were terrified by the appearance of these monsters. Some fled leaving the others behind without looking back while some fear-stricken, frozen in place staring at the sight of these monsters.

    While people were screaming, Jason noticed one of the silver raptor missing their bladed horn. While the other raptor had its blade horn intact. An assumption popped out inside his head after seeing these two creatures side by side.

    A dominant pack leader.

    Screams filled the staircase as these two silver raptors killed all surviving humans underneath the staircase. Jason didn¡¯t look back and ran up the stairs. He wished it would go upright to the top, but sadly.

    Damn it.

    It was only up to the ground floor. The door was right in front of him opened by those who ran before him. But he stopped there staring at it knowing what was on the other side. Those quadruped crocodile-like reptiles were something he didn¡¯t wish to come in contact with. Yet the baritone growl made him turned around. He saw it. Their eyes made contact. The silver raptor with its blade horn still intact climbed up the stairs staring at its prey.

    He didn¡¯t know why, but he felt the silver raptor there was the one from the beginning. As if seeing him as the main prey. Left with no option, he took out his gun and pulled the trigger.

    BANG.

    Only a spark made on the silver raptor scale. A useless attempt but he had to do it.

    ¡°Come at me,¡± he ran outside the door.

    He didn¡¯t look around and just ran straight forward. The growl kept on coming as he knew he was being chased down. Fatigue started to kick in, Jason was getting out of breath.

    One point to stamina

    His condition stabilized and he ran. He twisted and turned through the furniture and before long he could hear screaming from up the front. Rather than turning around, he sped up seeking that source of the sound. Then there he was in the lobby. To be more precise, right in front of the elevator where he once was.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t think I would meet you so soon,¡± muttered Jason staring at the sight of this living being.

    Another familiar growl deeper than the silver raptor rang out in his ears. It turned its head around with its long snout filled with bloody human pieces. There was even a living man still living within its jaw.

    ¡°He...lp me...¡±

    Disembodied voice pleading for help. Jason gulped a mouthful of his saliva seeing this creature. He didn¡¯t care about that man between the creature¡¯s jaw. He himself had a tough time surviving.

    Growl...

    That low baritone growl was heard, he knew that the silver raptor was right behind him. Raising the gun at the crocodile-like reptile, he pulled the trigger.

    BANG.

    It didn¡¯t do a thing at that creature, yet he managed to agitate the creature. Its jaw went loose dropping whatever inside its mouth. It was time for another prey to go inside. Those four thick legs pushed off the marble floor cracking it into pieces as it lunged its long snout at Jason. He dropped himself to the floor as he felt his head smacked on the marble floor.

    He withstands the pain as he just brushes against death itself. The low baritone voice was becoming louder from behind Jason¡¯s back. A quick glance and he saw the sight of the silver raptor staring at the crocodile-like reptile. Its blade horn started to glow and Jason knew he did it.

    Need to run.

    He got up and fled to the side. The moment he did, a loud growl rang. Blood spurted on the floor and Jason was thrown towards one of the elevator doors from a random swing of a long snout.

    Shit, that hurts.

    Turning around with his back on the elevator door. He saw it firsthand, the crocodile-like reptile bleeding from its snout. A cut wound was seen on its snout. It wasn¡¯t deep but enough to injured this creature who was immune to bullets. Then, it happened.

    These two creatures duked it out in front of him. The silver raptor lunged forward leaping on the crocodile-like reptile, piercing it with its sharp blade horn. Both were fierce in their attacks, biting and clawing their way to their opponent''s body. Never did he thought, that these monsters would fight among themselves.

    In a sense, they were similar to animals or to be exact predators. No predators would let their prey snatch by another predator. A random thought that he managed to pull it off.

    I need to get out of here before I become these things collateral damage.

    DING...

    A familiar sound entered his ears. The sound of an elevator door opened. Jason couldn¡¯t believe his own ears. He looked at the opposite end and saw all elevator doors were shut close. Thus it made sense that the door sound came from his side. It was either left or right. He wanted to glance to each side but a voice entered his ears.

    ¡°Jason, are you there?¡± a woman¡¯s voice. One that he couldn¡¯t forget. He hoped he wasn¡¯t being delusional.

    It came from the right side and in an instant, he crawled on the floor on all four and stepped inside the elevator.

    ¡°Close it,¡± he shouted.

    The one who was dumb enough to go down through the elevator pressed down the button. Soon, the door closed and the sound of those two creatures fighting drowned out by the closing of the door. Jason¡¯s breath was ragged and his head was facing downwards. He didn¡¯t believe what he just went through.

    Did I survive?

    He questioned himself but then he remembered something. He tilted his head upwards and saw a figure of a woman who leaped at him. She caught him off guard but he didn¡¯t dodge nor resist. A deep warmth filled his entire body as being hugged was a blessing for him. It meant something to him, proof that he survived.

    ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re alive,¡± said the woman as her raspy voice was clear to his ears. Her head rested upon his own, leaning to one another.

    He wrapped his arms over this woman, hugging her tightly as he said.

    ¡°Thank you, Maria.¡±

 Chapter 20

    The door to the elevator opened. Two people walked out with Maria lending her shoulder to Jason.

    ¡°Oppa,¡± said a woman in her early twenties. She saw the pathetic sight of this man covered in blood with his suave suit, now turned into torn up clothes.

    ¡°You¡¯re hurt,¡± Eugene saw Jason¡¯s badly injured arm. Her hand covered her gaping mouth in shock.

    She rushed to Jason¡¯s other side and tried to help him.

    ¡°Eugene, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m okay. I can walk on my own,¡± said Jason.

    But her sharp gaze glancing over to Maria was like an alarm bell for Jason to see. He would be too much of a dunce if he couldn¡¯t see it right in front of his very eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind her. She¡¯s just too overprotective,¡± said Jason.

    Her expression didn¡¯t change as if he said something wrong.

    Did I say something wrong? I thought I was clear about it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you to a couch in the guest room. You need to rest,¡± said Maria, knocking him off from his thought.

    ¡°No,¡± he took his arm off from Maria¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I need to see Gina.¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for those two as his feet brought him over to the room. A few people were surprised after seeing Jason¡¯s state but none of them knew, that they were about to see something that defied common logic.

    ¡°Jason, you shouldn¡¯t move around. You¡¯re still hurt,¡± said Maria as she appeared from the door.

    ¡°Help me with this,¡± he handed over the first aid kit to Maria.

    The first aid kit was in her hand but she was clueless about what she was supposed to do.

    ¡°What should I do with this? Didn¡¯t you said, she needs a real doctor to treat her?¡± asked Maria as she had a bad feeling about this.

    ¡°Status open,¡± he said, ignoring Maria¡¯s words.

    A brief glance at his EP parameter and he noticed it was down by one.

    A single usage used one point, fair enough. At least it''s much simpler than within the games.

    For an RPG lover, he couldn¡¯t help but compare between these two.

    ¡°Maria, wear your gloves,¡± said Jason as his eyes were on the pale looking Gina.

    ¡°Jason, think about this for a second. Aren¡¯t we endangering her life if we attempt whatever you¡¯re trying to do?¡± although she was against him being reckless yet her hands were in the process of wearing those latex gloves.

    ¡°Get ready to pull out these shards, I need you to be fast and quick. Got it?¡± said Jason who turned deaf to whatever Maria was talking about.

    Gritting her teeth, she was about to lash out at this ex of hers. Just a while ago, they had a moment together and now he was making her do an irresponsible act.

    But Maria didn¡¯t falter. She remained calm and held on to the tweezer. She was hoping to use a medical forceps but she had to put up with whatever she has. Her days of working in a stressful environment had at least honed her to be focused at critical times.

    ¡°Maria,¡± Jason called out to her.

    She glanced at him breaking off from her focus time.

    ¡°Sorry I made you do this, but-¡± he showed off his injured arm. ¡°My arm is kinda useless right now, so thank you.¡±

    He smiled and for some reason, it had to affect her in some way. Butterflies in her stomach perhaps or her heart fluttering? Well, who knows only Maria knew what she felt.

    ¡°Then promise me, you won¡¯t do it again,¡± said Maria.

    Jason who was smiling turned confused. He didn¡¯t know what she meant. There was a lot of things that he could think of but nothing rings a bell, she only made it worse sending him into a brainstorming session.

    ¡°So what do you want me to do?¡± asked Maria as she broke Jason¡¯s time of thinking. It was brief but enough to made him felt a headache.

    Jason shook his head and concentrated on the matter at hand.

    ¡°One shard at her flank, and two more shards at her abdomen. I want you to take it out fast but don¡¯t break the shards,¡± he asked for the impossible but failing was not an option.

    Maria used the tweezer in her hand and pulled out the shard from the flank.

    ¡°Faster,¡± Jason urged her.

    She was trying her best to pull it out using a freaking tweezer but then...

    ¡°No-¡± her hand slipped and the tweezer fell to the ground. She was about to pick it up.

    ¡°Stop, don¡¯t touch it. It¡¯s already contaminated. Use your hands,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡± Maria couldn¡¯t help but raise her tone.

    ¡°The gloves are already sanitized by the alcohol from before so it¡¯s probably safe,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Probably?¡± she stared at him with her eyebrows scrunched together.

    ¡°Maria, please. There¡¯s no other way,¡± he said.

    Maria swallowed a mouthful of her saliva and pulled out the shard with her hand. The shard was halfway out but Gina started to move. The pain might be kicking in as she started to groaned in her sleep.

    ¡°Eugene, help me hold her down,¡± said Jason.

    Eugene was flustered at first but soon enough she restrained Gina¡¯s leg from moving.

    ¡°Maria, hurry up,¡± Jason pressed her on.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying here,¡± she shouted. It seems someone was having trouble with being patient.

    ¡°Got it,¡± Maria said as she pulled a bloody shard off from Maria.

    ¡°Oppa,¡± Eugene called out to Jason as she saw blood spurting out from the wound at the flank.

    ¡°Maria, hurry up. The other shards,¡± to Jason''s words, Maria moved and removed the other big shards at the abdomen.

    Three big glass shards were removed but blood was spilling out from those wounds as Gina¡¯s condition worsened.

    ¡°Jason, she¡¯s-¡± before she could say anything to Jason, he acted out and used his right hand placing on top of Gina¡¯s abdomen.

    ¡°Minor Heal+,¡± said Jason.

    Greenlight emerged from within his hand and soon surrounded Gina¡¯s entire torso. Maria was speechless and Eugene sat there with her mouth gap wide open as she couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing. Not only them but those who were in the room, witnessing the event fell in a numbing daze staring at the green light coming out from Jason¡¯s hand. They were shocked to the core as too much had happened in a span of a night. A night full of surprise, surprise that could kill you in a heartbeat.

    She¡¯s not healing fast enough. Shit, I only got one more point left to use.

    A trace of worry on Jason¡¯s face. Beads of sweat trickled down from his forehead as he watched his skill being used healing his cousin. Soon the green light faded and the injuries on her body did not fully heal, but then he received a surprising message. Something that he had hoped for.

    He smiled and for some reason, he felt a sense of confidence.

    One last time.

    ¡°Minor Heal+,¡± Jason said.

    Once again, his hand glowed in pale green light engulfing Gina. The light was brighter than before and soon, it ended. Jason glanced at Gina¡¯s body and saw her wounds closed up with only a small tiny scar. The look on her face looks for the better, different from her previous pale complexion.

    ¡°You did it,¡± Maria said after seeing it in front of her very eyes.

    ¡°Jason, you did it,¡± she turned to Jason and saw him smiling but then.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Maria shouted.

    ¡°Oppa,¡± Eugene too shouted.

    Jason fell on the floor as his eyelids slowly closed. Maria placed Jason¡¯s head on her lap, with her trembling hands stroking Jason¡¯s face.

    ¡°No, no, no, no. Please don¡¯t,¡± tears started to swell up in her eyes. She promised to herself she wouldn¡¯t cry after meeting him after so long but seeing him like this only pushed her to the point of tearing up. A hand raised up and wiped away those tears before it could fall to her cheeks.

    ¡°Relax. I¡¯m just tired. Just need a little... bit of... sleep,¡± relieving words coming from a man who was always close to death.

    In the end, he slept on her lap, dozing off while the world going through an upheaval.

    ---

    ¡°Ugh, my head,¡± waking up from his sleep, the first thing he did was complaining about his headache.

    ¡°Where am I?¡± the barely open his eyes looking around but there was only darkness.

    His sight brought him over to the windows as the noise kept on scratching his ears. New York was still under attack by creatures from another world. Even under the night sky, he could saw few creatures flying through the air.

    ¡°Oh,¡± he felt something underneath his hand. He turned and saw a woman sleeping while sitting with the wall behind her back.

    His hand was quick to move away from the sleeping lady¡¯s thigh.

    Did I sleep on her lap?

    The last thing he remembered before he dozed off was the sight of teary Maria right above his face. It made sense for him to assumed that he slept on her lap.

    But where the heck is this?

    Yet this place was rather strange. He didn¡¯t remember this place. A small office-like room with the lights out.

    She probably brought me over here. I wonder why.

    Jason looked around the room and saw a landline phone. He picked the handle but there was no line.

    ¡°I guess the lines are down, I might try my-¡± he heard something.

    ¡°Mmm, please...¡± it was Maria. ¡°Please don¡¯t go...¡±

    She was talking in her sleep.

    Well, that doesn¡¯t change.

    He remembered it like it was clear as day. Then his face frowned after that happy smile. A big change one might say.

    Nevermind, the world is ending and here I am thinking about the past.

    Jason saw Maria shivering a bit and went to search through the drawers in the room.

    Found it.

    A blanket, enough for a single person. He covered her up as she snuggled with the warm blanket. A slight smile arched up against his lips as he couldn¡¯t deny what he felt, but then.

    An explosion just went up, it was a couple of blocks from where he was. It wasn¡¯t loud but he heard it like a whisper. But he indeed saw the towering flames rising up from the explosion. Shaking his head, Jason knew that New York City was done. Nothing could save it. Looking up at the night sky, he said.

    ¡°Need to get out here,¡± said Jason.

    Taking out his phone, the clock was 5 o¡¯clock. He didn¡¯t know how long did he slept, but from the look of it, definitely not a good night''s sleep.

    Can we go before dawn?

    He didn''t know how the streets are doing, was it safe? Could a car drive through the road? Was he sure about surviving while taking these people? He didn''t know a thing and that scared him.

    ¡°Ah,¡± a slight pain felt over his left arm.

    I forgot about this arm of mine.

    A casualty from his flight away from those freakish monsters. He thought he would only be a one-arm man but now he had hope.

    ¡°Status open,¡± said Jason and the blue window appeared.

 Chapter 21

    Standing in front of the elevator, Jason took a few deep breaths. Loosening up his arm, Jason was prepared to do something. Something rather idiotic in a sense.

    You can do this Jason. You got this. Just go in and out.

    He himself knew the stupidity of his action but he needed to do it.

    DING

    The door to the staff elevator opened and down he went. No one knew about this reckless attempt of his since most were dreaming in their sleep.

    I¡¯m here.

    The door opened and his eyes witnessed upon the room in shambles. Broken walls and concrete covered the floor and a few faulty lights flickering through the corridor. To think he had survived through this mess, Jason himself was impressed by his own achievement.

    Jason didn¡¯t go out immediately. Crouching on the elevator floor, he focused his hearing trying to listen to whatever he could hear. Nothing, only the buzzing of the flickering light kept on knocking on his eardrums. He didn¡¯t mind at all as long as it wasn¡¯t a growl.

    Since the coast was clear, he stepped out from the safety of the elevator and walked through the broken down storage facility. It took him a while but he managed to walk across the corridor to the hole on the wall. Cautious was like his new personality, built-in within him in a matter of hours after going through a hair raising experience. Taking a peek through the hole in the wall, he saw the corridor.

    Really bad.

    The result of the scuffle between those two silver raptors brought upon a catastrophic change in the corridor. A much worse state compared to the storage facility area.

    Please let it be here.

    An assumption, made out of a whim. A simple thought after remembering something from those hard times he went through. He rummaged through the rubbles, with his eyes kept on going back and forth watching his front and back. For some reason, the word paranoid was getting instill in this soul of his. He definitely didn''t want to be surprised by the sudden appearance of a creature with jaw fill with razor-sharp teeth.

    Going from one side to another, he was diligent. Searching for something that he wasn¡¯t sure about. He barely made a sound while turning over the broken-down walls and such. But luck found its way.

    I can¡¯t believe it. It¡¯s really here.

    A stroke of luck found amidst the destruction of monsters. His hand reached out to the thing on the floor. But he stopped at the last second. He took off one of his shoes and pulled out his sock. Ignoring the smell, he wrapped it over his hand. A precautionary act that might be rather worthless. Grabbing the wider end of the thing, he lifted it off.

    I didn¡¯t think it would be this heavy.

    A glistening shine even under terrible lighting conditions.

    For a horn, it¡¯s quite long.

    Seeing it up close, Jason could saw the full length of this broken horn. The horn from one of the silver raptors. Twenty-one inches in length, a marvel sight to behold. On top of that creature¡¯s head, it looks like a horn but in Jason¡¯s hand, it definitely had the image of a sword.

    ¡°Ow,¡± yelp Jason as his thumb was cut a bit just from a minor mishap while stroking the broken bladed horn. While sucking his blood from his thumb, Jason was deep in thought.

    Could I use the hilt from my broken katana? Wait, to begin with where the hell is it?

    He went back inside the storage facility area and searched for his broken katana. A pitiful attempt of him throwing at the silver raptor. Looking around, turning over one block of rubble to another. He saw something at the corner of his eye.

    ¡°Found it,¡± said Jason. The thought of wielding a genuine katana-like blade was a dream to him. But as he turned it over. His face fell.

    There goes my luck.

    What left of it, was broken into pieces. Even the cheap steel couldn¡¯t bear the might of the silver raptor rampaging. Jason plopped on the floor with a dazed look. Raising the broken silver raptor¡¯s horn in his hand, he smiled.

    Let¡¯s be grateful for whatever I have.

    He stood up and dusted off his pants. Thinking about it for a second, his clothes were rather tattered like a rag.

    ¡°I really should-¡± before he could even finish his monologue, a low growl echoed through the room.

    Jason stood there frozen in place. The hair at the back of his neck was standing up as he knew something was not right. His eyes glanced at the elevator and it wasn¡¯t far compared to the open hole in the wall. A chance for him to regain safety. Putting every strength he had in those two legs of his, he darted off the ground and ran towards the elevator.

    His finger kept on pushing on the button while his eyes maintained its sight at the gaping hole at the opposite end. He prayed nothing would appear from that hole.

    DING.

    A sense of relief flew in as he went inside the elevator. A slight smile hung on his face, a testament of him escaping another crisis. But then he stopped his hand. Just a slight distance away from the close button, but the man in question felt it was odd.

    ¡°Why is it so silent?¡± Jason said.

    Any normal man would go up in just a second but he just stood there like a statue with his ears perk up.

    Growl...

    The low growl echoed in the corridor yet his brows knitted together as if something was wrong.

    That¡¯s weird.

    Jason felt the growl was rather bleak. Unlike the trembling growl full with dread he heard a few hours ago.

    That two-legged monster is quite fast, shouldn¡¯t it appear right about now?

    He kept staring at the gaping hole waiting for something to appear. But ten minutes passed, yet nothing.

    This is odd.

    Something didn¡¯t match up with what he knew about those creatures. A thought appeared in the midst of his thinking.

    I know this sounds kind of dumb but I need to check it out.

    A man that needs to be persuaded by his own self. It wasn¡¯t wrong but going back to the den of the tiger was something he shouldn¡¯t have to think about. Yet here he was now. Peeking through the broken wall to the corridor, he didn¡¯t see a thing. Even with the lights flickering on and off, he still had his pride regarding his perfect vision.

    Nothing in the corridor.

    Growl...

    That tone again kept on echoing through this corridor. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken then the source of the sound might be coming from the corridor across the broken-down door. He walked down the corridor with his heart beating faster with each step he took. Jason swore he could even hear his heartbeat loud and clear, a testament of his anxiety about this action of his.

    Soon he stood there right in front of the broken-down door. This other storage facility area was no different from the previous one. Broken down as if a bulldozer went through. Yet something caught his eye. A pool of darkening blood in the middle of the path. Something laid on top of it with its eyes staring at Jason.

    He felt goosebumps as his eyes met with the creature¡¯s eyes. Frozen in place, he didn¡¯t dare move but the low growl echoed once more coming from the jaws of the creature on top of the pool of blood.

    It looks badly injured. I think I know who¡¯s the victor between that crocodile-like thing and this two-legged armor lizard.

    The silver raptor was badly injured even the pointed end of its blade horn was broken. More of its metallic scales were scraped off from its flesh revealing the grievous wounds underneath it. The fight between those creatures was indeed to the death. Jason gulped down a mouthful of his saliva. The thought of running went away as in front of him stood a free meal.

    If I kill it, I might level up once more.

    One thing he knew. If he wanted to survive through this catastrophic ordeal, the only chance he had was through the game-like system. He knew the immense benefit regarding it and walking away from a creature at the point of death was a stupid notion.

    Since within his sight was a big lump of experience points. His shaking lower limbs brought him closer to the silver raptor. A small rock hit the wall as the sound bounced in the area. He stopped as he saw the creature laid its eyes on him. He was having second thoughts as he met those penetrating slit eyes. Beads of sweat rained down his forehead. But as soon as the creature closed its eyes once more, he let out a breath of relief.

    Come on, you got this.

    Pumping himself up, he walked closer to the dying silver raptor. Then there he was, standing right in front of the head of the silver raptor. Being this close with the creature, he could feel the difference in size between him and the creature. He still wondered how he got away from a creature like this.

    Hmm?

    Something caught his attention. Raising his right hand he noticed blood trickled down from his close grip.

    Shit, I¡¯m bleeding.

    Letting go of the broken blade horn. He saw the sock covering his hand was dyed in the color of blood. Due to the anxiety and the nervousness, Jason didn¡¯t even felt the pain of gripping the blade horn too tightly.

    ¡°Minor Heal+,¡± said Jason.

    He healed his injured palm and within seconds not a scar could be seen.

    ¡°Ah shit, why the hell did I use it?¡± he grumbled as he did it without a thought.

    There was only one point left to use the skill and he wasted it for a cut on his palm. He didn¡¯t things through and just used the skill thoughtlessly.

    Get it together, Jason.

    Shrugging off his own lack of rationality, he looked around to see something of use for the blade horn. He didn¡¯t find anything but looking down he saw the black leather belt wrapped around his pants. He smiled. Taking it off in an instant, he wrapped the wider end of the blade horn making a safer grip compared to the measly sock.

    ¡°Fuh, it¡¯s time then,¡± his eyes turned over to the sight of the dying silver raptor. He could saw the shallow breath it had, second by second it was reaching closer to its own death.

    Jason held on to the blade horn with both of his hands, raising it up in the air. Like always, his target was none other than the eye. Even with it closer to death, he didn¡¯t think he has the ability to pierce through those silver scales.

    Then he swung his arm with the intention of piercing it through the eye. Moments before he earned his prize, something else came.

    ¡°Jason?¡± a voice called out to him.

    He stopped in the middle of his attack and turned around in an instant. Jumping on his feet, he was prepared to fight but as he saw who it was, his shoulders loosened.

    ¡°Maria? What are you doing down here?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°I can ask the same to you,¡± said Maria with both her arms crossed over in front of her chest.

    ¡°Wait, how did you find me?¡± something made him curious.

    ¡°I tracked you through the Glock GPS,¡± answered Maria with a straight face.

    Jason couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. The Glock was still tucked between his pants, he found it after removing his belt. It fell off after he removed the belt.

    ¡°You put a tracker in your gun? Who in the...¡± he stopped his mouth as he shook his head. Now wasn¡¯t the time to bicker about tracking your own gun, ¡°Nevermind, just forget what I said.¡±

    She wasn''t pleased with Jason¡¯s reckless action. He did it again right under her nose. She only slept for a while and the moment she woke up, he was gone. At first, she felt comforted by the blanket covering her but the moment she couldn¡¯t find him on the same floor, she started to cuss him internally.

    ¡°Why are you doing this Jason? Why are y-¡± she stopped talking seeing the thing behind Jason.

    She realized a bit too late and her whole body froze.

    ¡°Jason, get out of there,¡± she shouted, panicking after seeing a monster this close.

    She didn¡¯t see it the first time since the light kept flickering on and off and her eyes were only focused on Jason.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s harmless,¡± said Jason.

    Maria wasn¡¯t buying his words. While Jason had a thought in mind. Something he could put to the test.

    ¡°On second thought, come over,¡± said Jason.

    Maria shook her head side to side, refusing to come over.

    ¡°Come on, this is about the blue window,¡± his words piqued her interest.

    Although she hesitated, her feet still walked over to the side of Jason. She stood a step back behind Jason as if seeing him as a protective shield. She didn¡¯t notice her own behavior but Jason definitely could see it. Being a shield did cross his mind for a while but he shrugged it off as it was pointless to think about.

    ¡°Here,¡± he handed over the Glock back to its rightful owner.

    ¡°What for?¡± said Maria taking back the Glock in her hand.

    ¡°Shoot it,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡± Maria had to ask him back, she thought she misheard him.

    ¡°Just shoot it at the head. Come on, hurry up. It¡¯s dying already,¡± said Jason.

    She thought about saving her bullets since the silver raptor was already closing to death door but since Jason pestered her about it, she aimed the shot a few times at the silver raptor. Yet like both of them thought, only a few sparks on its metallic head. The bullets didn¡¯t even scratch the surface of its scales.

    ¡°Jason, let¡¯s go back. I¡¯m getting the creeps down here. Besides, it¡¯s pointless trying to kill it,¡± Maria beckoned him while pulling the sleeve of his shirt.

    Jason didn¡¯t mind whatever Maria did and raised up the blade horn once more. In a swift moment, the pointed end of the blade horn pierced right at the eye of the silver raptor. The silver raptor wriggled its head trying to retaliate over the attacker. Even at death door, it won¡¯t go down without a fight.

    Maria panicked a bit and fled a few steps away. Seeing this silver raptor moved gave her a fright. Jason held on and put on more pressure from the back of the make-shift hilt. Soon, the silver raptor stopped moving as its head laid on the floor. Lifeless like a corpse.

    Both Maria and Jason stood there in silence, neither one talking to one another. Then the thing he waited arrived.

    A wide smile hung on his face. He earned his free prize and was enough to bolster his motivation to earn more.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Maria called out to him from the back.

    He glanced at her and saw her staring at the empty air.

    ¡°So what does the blue window said?¡± he asked.

    She didn¡¯t answer for a few seconds since she was in a daze. But as soon as she snapped out she said.

    ¡°I¡¯m level 2,¡± said Maria.

    Another thing that made him smiled. His hypothesis was proven to be true.

    Like I thought, this whole thing is definitely like a game. Although she didn¡¯t kill it, she still gained a portion of the experience.

    He had his answer yet he still had something else left in his mind.

    But¡­

 Chapter 22

    ¡°Jason, what¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t leave me out of the loop here,¡± Maria followed Jason from behind.

    Walking down the messy crumbling corridor. He stopped at the middle, staring at the only intact door. The door leading to the underground parking lot.

    A chance to get out of the hotel, a chance to leave the city.

    ¡°Jason?¡± her voice woke Jason up from his daze.

    Without him knowing, he was already in front of the door.

    ¡°We need to get back upstairs,¡± said Maria.

    Jason turned around and saw Maria with her eyes shifting around.

    ¡°I thought I heard something back there,¡± staring at the other side of the bleak-looking corridor, it gave her the creeps hearing that unknown sound.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back,¡± he replied.

    Standing inside the elevator, both of them stood in silence.

    ¡°So, what happened back then?¡± Maria broke the silence. Her eyes kept glancing at the blade horn in Jason¡¯s grasp.

    ¡°Listen to this with an open mind,¡± he said.

    Maria gave a curious glance and before she can even say a word back, Jason spoke.

    ¡°The whole world is changing, including us. I don¡¯t know how to explain it but, what you see the thing floating in front of your very eyes is the key to surviving this whole thing,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± she replied. Maria couldn¡¯t grasp what he meant.

    ¡°A game,¡± he answered back.

    ¡°A game?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the whole world is changing into a game and us humans are turning into the players,¡± he finished his word with that stoic look stuck on his face.

    ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re joking,¡± Maria was not taking it. Even with the thing still floating in front of her, she still didn¡¯t want to accept it. Normal was fine for her, normal to begin with was the most acceptable.

    Yet normal was yesterday as now was the present. The present was definitely not normal.

    Jason looked at her giving her a deep stare right at her eyes. Maria didn¡¯t budge away meeting his stare straight on.

    ¡°So to distribute your points after leveling up, I advise you to focus on strengthening your physical parameters. Agility and stamina are the major ones considering it will boost your chance of getting away from those monsters. One more thing, use one out of the ten points and put it into the parameter known as energy. The green glow you saw back then where I heal Gina was from putting a point in that parameter. So, if you¡¯re lucky you might get something good,¡± he finished his word and saw Maria still staring at him in silence.

    They stay in silence as both stared at each other''s eyes.

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not trying to convince me?¡± Maria said.

    He didn¡¯t reply. At this point of time, convincing others was a waste of time. Even if the other was his ex-girlfriend.

    The evidence was all around them. Lurking creatures beyond imagination running rampant through the city. The unimaginable glowing green arm that can heal and last but not least the floating blue window.

    If people still couldn¡¯t take all of these as the new reality, then it wouldn¡¯t worth one second of his time.

    ¡°I¡¯m not convincing, I¡¯m just stating the fact. It¡¯s up to you to believe or not.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    His words left Maria speechless. She looked away with her arms over her chest. She was definitely not pleased with how Jason responded.

    The mood turned sour as the elevator was silent once more.

    DING...

    Just in time, they finally reached their floor. Jason walked away but he felt a tug on his worn-out shirt.

    ¡°You said there are ten points, but why do I only have five?¡±

    Both his eyebrows raised. Something he didn¡¯t expect came out from Maria¡¯s lips.

    ¡°Are you sure? It¡¯s under the points tab,¡± Jason asked just to make sure.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s five. The points tab is under the E.Resist tab, am I getting this right?¡± Maria scratched the left side of her temple wondering if its right.

    This new information brought Jason to a daze. Then something crosses his mind.

    Can it be due to my title?

    He opened up his status once more and searched for the elusive title that he vaguely remembered. But no matter where his eyes went, he couldn¡¯t find the title tab.

    Where is it? Title open?

    Yet with another whisk of his mind, another set of the blue window opened up. It was simple with only one heading right in the middle of the box.

    The First Killer

    Pioneer of Energy

    He tried finding a way for an explanation regarding his title but to no avail, there was nothing he could do.

    He stood there staring at his first title. A title he earned after killing a murdering goblin. That painful experience flashed by in an instant.

    His whole face grimaced just thinking about it.

    ¡°Jason? You okay?¡± Maria called out to him as she saw the drastic change in his expression.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. Come on, let¡¯s find a room,¡± he held out his hand telling Maria that he was fine. She followed him from behind as both of them ended up back at the corner end office room where they once were.

    Yet as he reached the doorknob, someone called out to his name.

    ¡°Oppa, Gina woke up,¡± Eugene panting for her breath told about the good news.

    Jason didn¡¯t dawdle and went to see Gina. The door to a conference room opened up. It was a place used by both Eugene and her parents.

    Eugene, a good person in heart. Although at times she was at odds with this older cousin of hers, yet she still took care of her.

    Jason locked eyes with the person sitting on the floor. Gina stared at him in a daze, speechless of what to say.

    Her evening dress was torn in shred by the glass shards yet it still couldn¡¯t hinder her beauty. A bit of tan from a woman living on the west side of the United States only to bloom her beauty even further.

    ¡°Jason,¡± she got up and flew into Jason¡¯s arms.

    Those arms of her wrapped over Jason¡¯s neck as he replied with a hug of his own. Seeing Gina was fine, soothed his heart. A light smile spread over his face, yet something felt wet over his shoulders.

    His ears caught the sound of Gina trying her best not let out the sound of her crying. His hands gently pat over her back as both of them shared a silent moment.

    But for some reason, Jason felt someone was staring daggers at him. It was weird, he felt it was coming from the back. His gut was telling him not to look back since for now it was best to just go with the flow.

    Then something else entered his view. A bright light penetrating through the blinders of the conference room windows.

    ¡°The sun is coming up,¡± said Eugene as everyone turned their eyes towards the first light that broke dawn.

    Even Gina with her red eyes turned her head around seeing the first light of the sun.

    For some reason, people were elated seeing the dawn. Never in their life, they would be this happy seeing the sun but after going through a hard night, the sun itself was like the first sign of hope.

    Eugene went towards the window and pulled the blinders up. As if attracted to the morning view everyone feet brought them closer to the window. Yet the smile on their faces disappeared quickly like the floating dust.

    Clouds of black smoke rose from burning buildings and numerous scaly creatures could be seen flying through the sky of New York City.

    Seeing from on top only made their hearts shook. Jason frowned after seeing for himself the magnitude of last night''s invasion. Everything broke apart, from the buildings to the roads. There was even a tall building broken in half.

    He didn¡¯t want to imagine what had happened to the building. In a sense, he and the rest of the people in this building were quite lucky. The attacks weren¡¯t that severe at his location.

    His heart was beating faster as a single thought pressured him of doing so.

    We really need to get out of here.

    Jason glanced to his side seeing the woman who was still within his embrace. Her hand covered her mouth as she was in shock. She was seeing for the first time what had happened after she collapsed from that frightening misfortune.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Gina asked.

    Jason could saw her eyes shaking. She was in denial as she couldn¡¯t believe what was happening.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get away from the windows,¡± said Jason as he brought her away from the room.

    Maria who was staring at the view of the city felt something vibrating to the left side of her pants.

    She took out her phone and saw the caller ID on her screen.

    ¡°Just in time,¡± said Maria.

    She picked it up and left the conference room, not without leaving a curious pair of eyes trailing behind her back.

    Jason and Gina sat on the black leather sofa just outside the conference room as Jason could felt the shivering hands of Gina.

    ¡°I need to call my mom,¡± said Gina as her hands scoured through her body searching for her non-existing phone.

    She was panicking and her eyes landed on Jason. He knew what those eyes meant.

    ¡°Sorry, my battery is out,¡± his phone had died several hours ago.

    Her eyes droop down as her heart was in turmoil. The thought of her parents weighed heavily in her heart.

    Then a voice entered their ears.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem, evacuation from my current location is too high risk. I need...¡± Maria went away further from the duo as both of them could hardly hear anything afterward.

    ¡°She has a phone,¡± Gina stood up and chased Maria from behind.

    Meanwhile, Jason sat there staring at Maria¡¯s back. From those last words he heard, he had a strong notion in mind.

 Chapter 23

    Maria stood by a window in the lobby area talking to someone through her phone.

    ¡°You need to help me out of here, these monsters are crawling at the ground floor. I¡¯ve got no way out of here,¡± said Maria.

    ¡°There¡¯s bad news and also good news, so which one do you want to hear first?¡±

    ¡°Quit playing games and cough it up, I¡¯ve got no time for games,¡± the frown on her face was enough to tell what she felt.

    ¡°...¡±

    The caller fell silent. Maria didn¡¯t expect him to respond like that. She grew nervous seeing there was no response.

    ¡°Hey, sorry about that, I-¡± her words cut off as the caller spoke back.

    ¡°Maria, the Pentagon is sending in the bombers.¡±

    That one line alone left her speechless with her jaw wide open.

    It took her a while to snapped out of it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t joke around. They''re still people in the city, are you telling me the government is abandoning New York City? It had only been a single night, and the whole damn government already gave up on us?¡±

    Maria burst into a fit of anger and the victim was none other than the caller at the other side.

    ¡°Maria, me and the guys had abandoned Fort Hamilton. Right now, we¡¯re holding off at Outerbridge Crossing.¡±

    The caller paused for a while and continued.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie, the situation is pretty bad. We¡¯re not going to be able to take back the city.¡±

    His solemn voice intensified Maria¡¯s frustration. She was at the brink of giving up as she knew the implication of not getting any aid.

    ¡°What about the military? I¡¯m sure they can-¡± the caller cut her off as he said.

    ¡°What left of the police force at Fort Hamilton have joined up with the military. We¡¯re taking refuge under their care.¡±

    His words only dug Maria¡¯s frustration deeper.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Maria, but we can¡¯t do a single thing to those monsters. Every bullet we throw at them did nothing, even explosives are like fire-crackers to them,¡± said the caller.

    Then Maria realized something. Something only she and another person had experienced. The memories were still vivid in her mind.

    ¡°The eyes,¡± said Maria as the tone of her voice raised up.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You need to shoot them in the eyes,¡± said Maria.

    She remembered how Jason killed those two creatures and she didn¡¯t forget how he did it. A stab right in the eye of the silver raptor and shooting at point-blank range at the gouged-out eye of the ebony pterodactyl.

    It was hard to believe seeing how someone she knew deeply acted out like that. It made her think of how much he had changed.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± the caller was confused. Her words didn''t make any sense to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s for the damn monsters. You need to shoot it through the eye to kill it off,¡± her tone was raised up by a notch. She knew her words are hard to believe considering the situation they were in. But she didn¡¯t lie.

    She saw it with her own two eyes. The act of a man who was neither police or a soldier, killing off those freakish monsters like no one else could do.

    There was a long silence as the caller had a hard time believing it. Even though Maria is his partner, he still had his doubts.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put that aside for now,¡± his words irked Maria and she was about to burst her lid.

    ¡°What-¡± before she could even say anything else, he interfered.

    ¡°Listen up, you¡¯ve got a window of opportunity here. Those bombers won¡¯t be sending any explosive not until someone gets out of the city.¡±

    ¡°and what¡¯s that supposed to do with me? Do you think I can use that time to run away from this hotel? are you out of your mind?¡± Maria was complaining hard at this partner of hers.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re in luck. The son and daughter of Rawlings conglomerate are staying at your hotel. I¡¯ve heard the military is sending a rescue team at the hotel rooftop by this evening,¡± his words made her heart thump louder.

    A smile couldn¡¯t escape from her face as this news was the only path for her survival.

    ¡°Be there and get in the chopper,¡± his words were cut off as Maria could hear a loud voice through the phone.

    ¡°Hey, I got to go. Be sure to get on the chopper, bye.¡±

    In a split second, the call ended. Maria didn¡¯t have time to thank him but knowing this piece of information was enough.

    ¡°I need to tell Jason,¡± said Maria. She paused and fell in deep thought, surprised by what she just said.

    The first thing that ran through her mind after hearing the good news was the thought of that man.

    Her ex.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going through this again,¡± she shook her head side to side.

    ¡°I¡¯m just doing my job. I need to protect the people,¡± she tried hard to convince herself.

    After taking a deep breath she prepared to step out of the room. The door handle turned and as she stepped out, a person stood in front of her.

    She took a few steps back surprised by the sudden appearance of this woman.

    ¡°Please,¡± Gina stared desperately at Maria.

    ¡°Can I use your phone?¡± she asked.

    Maria was speechless for a while, as she didn¡¯t expect to see Gina. Yet before she can answer to Gina, Jason appeared walking behind Gina.

    She walked passed Gina and went straight to Jason.

    ¡°We need to talk,¡± said Maria.

    She grabbed Jason by the arm and dragged him into a room. Her hand was quick as she locked the door to the room. A few seconds later, a banging noise came from the outside.

    ¡°Hey,¡± it was Gina. She kept on knocking making a scene outside of the room.

    Maria gave him the eye hinting at Jason¡¯s noisy cousin.

    Jason turned the knob opened and opened the door.

    He only showed a glimpse of his face.

    ¡°Gina, give us a minute here,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But-¡± before Gina could say anything else, the door was shut closed in front of her.

    Both Maria and Jason could hear the loud stomping footsteps of Gina going away.

    ¡°Your cousin definitely got an attitude,¡± said Maria.

    ¡°She¡¯s family, I don''t have a choice,¡± he paused taking a glance at her.

    ¡°So, why dragging me here?¡± Jason replied.

    ¡°A helicopter is coming this evening. That¡¯s the only choice we have to escape, before¡­¡± she fell silent before she could finish her words.

    Jason could sense something was up.

    ¡°Before what?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± she replied. She tried to feign ignorance but Jason wasn¡¯t an idiot.

    He knew when she was lying.

    Jason stood there thinking about what was possible. Then something bad just flashed inside his head.

    His eyes turned wide open after having that thought. The possibility of that thing happening was too much for him to just let it be.

    His hands grabbed on to both of Maria¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°Is it the bombing?¡± he sounds agitated.

    She averted her eyes away from Jason. Her light nod affirmed the worst possible outcome.

    In an instant, his forehead was sweating buckets. The thought of being bombed from the sky was definitely not within his plan. He knew even with the game-like system, he wouldn¡¯t survive being bombed at.

    ¡°Then we got to move,¡± Jason was quick in his action as he left the room.

    Maria followed from behind.

    From a distance, Gina saw these two came out from the room. She was about to ask for Maria¡¯s phone but Jason already grabbed her by the arm.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We can¡¯t waste any more time,¡± said Jason.

    Gina couldn¡¯t say anything as she saw the look on Jason¡¯s face.

    They were about to arrive at the room where Eugene and her parents were staying but something else was happening.

    Loud noises came from the elevator area.

    ¡°What is that noise?¡± asked Gina.

    Jason¡¯s eyes narrowed, he glanced at Maria.

    ¡°Take Gina and those inside the room. Use the staircase at the other end,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Jason, what are you going to do?¡± she wasn''t pleased hearing those words.

    ¡°Just do it. Go now, I¡¯ll catch up later,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m staying with you. You need all the help you can,¡± said Maria as she showed off the gun in her hand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. You know how useless that thing is. Just go and bring them to the rooftop,¡± Jason fired back at her and left without looking back.

    Maria gnashed her teeth as she knew Jason spoke the truth.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Maria as she glanced at Gina.

    ==

    Jason walked closer to the elevator area. His steps were slow and careful. Trying not to make a sound. He took cover behind the wall as he peeks towards the elevator area.

    He snooped down the moment he saw something.

    Shit. Where the heck did these things came from?

    His eyes didn¡¯t leave the elevator area particularly in front of the staircase door.

    Something was eating the fresh corpse of a human.

    A velociraptor? But I think it looks much smaller than in the movies.

    From sight alone, the thing he saw looks like a velociraptor but the size was definitely at the smaller side. Comparable to the height of an average Doberman.

    I think I can take it on.

    For some reason, he had the confidence to fight against this miniature size velociraptor. After going against a few large monstrous beasts, his experience made him pretty bold at the moment. He didn¡¯t even realize that the mini-velociraptor just killed an adult man.

    His grip tightened around the belt hilt. His heartbeat went faster as his eyes maintained upon the sight of the mini-velociraptor.

    Let¡¯s do this.

    The moment he fully exhaled his breath, he sprinted with his eyes on the target.

    Three points to agility.

    A simple whim of his own thought and within an instant, his speed accelerated like never before.

    He was about to close the distance but mini-velociraptor noticed his sudden ambush. Its head raised up high looking at the incoming Jason. The mini-velociraptor released a sound within the air before it pounced at the incoming human.

    It felt no fear against Jason as within its instinct, humans are merely food. A single pounce from the mini-velociraptor and the distance between them came closer to a meter.

    Shit, it¡¯s fast.

    He didn¡¯t expect the mini-velociraptor to be this agile. Yet the moment the distance narrowed down, his arm swung at the incoming mini-velociraptor.

    A horizontal sword swing coming from the side.

    Die.

    Thought Jason but something else happened contrary to his expectation.

    Shit.

    The blade missed its target as the mini-velociraptor ducked down at the last second. What came next was a butt load of pain.

    Mouth wide opened, and both his feet raised from the floor. He definitely didn¡¯t expect this to happen. The mini-velociraptor exploded in its speed and headbutt Jason right at the pit of his stomach.

    He spouted a mouthful of blood as the damage was immense. Jason was about to blackout from that single attack but kept his conscience as he grit his teeth.

    Staring down at the sight of the head of this mini-velociraptor, rather than fear, he felt an immense amount of anger. Rather than running away, he did what he does best.

    His arms lock across the neck of the mini-velociraptor with no intention of letting go. The mini-velociraptor struggled as it tried to break free from the headlock. At close proximity, its claws ravaged across Jason¡¯s body. But it wasn¡¯t the only one attacking.

    Bearing the pain, Jason stabbed the mini-velociraptor multiple times with the blade horn in his hand.

    ¡°Argh,¡± he yelled.

    Different from the katana he bought from an online store. The blade horn pierced deep within the small body of the mini-velociraptor without a problem. Both battled it out with blood pooling underneath them.

    From afar, a woman saw the scene as blood kept spouting like a fountain from these two bodies. She was one of the lucky ones that managed to escape from downstairs just a while ago.

    Then, the last stab right across the body of the mini-velociraptor.

    Jason stared at the mini-velociraptor as he mumbled a word.

    ¡°Die.¡±

    The mini-velociraptor went limped as its body fell on the floor. Yet the winner doesn¡¯t seem like the winner. Jason looked down and saw huge claw marks riddled across his body with blood pouring out from those wounds like an open tap.

    A new blue window appeared but his attention was somewhere else.

    ¡°Ah, shit.¡±

    His knees grew weak as both dropped on the pool of blood. His vision started to blacken out but it wasn¡¯t time for him to drop dead.

    The left hand touched his torso as he mumbled.

    ¡°Minor Heal+.¡±

    Greenlight engulfed his whole torso. A second later those wounds started to close and heal. But a single time wasn¡¯t enough.

    With no EP left, Jason was crawling back to death¡¯s door.

    Three points to energy.

    At the brink of death, he relied upon these unused points.

    ¡°Minor Heal+, Minor Heal+, Minor Heal+,¡± three times he spoke the same words.

    The result, his whole body was engulfed in bright green light.

    A blue window appeared during the whole healing process as it only gave Jason good news.

    Minor Heal+ level up to level 3

    His whole body was recovering at a rapid pace. As the light dies down, it revealed Jason¡¯s body in his tattered bloody cloth. Rather than riddled with wounds, his whole body was fully healed.

    Jason regained his composure as he stood up once more.

    ¡°Fuh, that was close,¡± said Jason.

    But before he could enjoy his survival, a scream came from across the lobby. His eyes glanced at a woman who was hiding underneath the receptionist''s desk as she was terrified by the thing in front of her.

    ¡°More of them?¡± said Jason as another mini-velociraptor appeared.

    The mini-velociraptor who was scaring the poor woman let out a familiar sound in the air and a few seconds later, more of those mini-velociraptors appeared out of nowhere gathering in front of the elevator area.

    Then these mini-velociraptors kept on releasing these sounds as if communicating with one another. Then one of them noticed the dead corpse of its brethren. It let out a cry catching the attention of the rest of the whole pack.

    Jason gulped down a mouthful of his saliva as he saw the whole pack staring at him. He knew the situation doesn¡¯t look good. He didn¡¯t even pay attention to the woman under the desk as she was being mauled by a few of those mini-velociraptors.

    The only thing that was going across his mind was only one thing.

    Run.

 Chapter 24

    BANG

    The door shut closed behind Jason. He leaned back heaving for his breath. Sweats riddled across his forehead.

    Shit, I almost die just now.

    An escape from death. A pack of mini-velociraptor chased him through the whole floor. Their numbers reaching twenty, it was suicidal if he had stayed behind and fight.

    They almost caught up to him but Jason threw ten points to agility boosting his speed to a whole other level, leaving them in the dust.

    His eyes wandered across the new room he took shelter in. A common office room, catering to those hotel admin workers for the event hall. The mirror wall at the other end illuminated the whole office room with the morning sunlight.

    It would have been beautiful if it wasn¡¯t for those little ancient lizards chasing after Jason¡¯s life. Yet something caught his eyes.

    At the far end corner of the office room, he saw a door slightly open. His gut feeling was telling him that something or someone was staring at him. The grip on the blade horn hilt tightened.

    Someone¡¯s there.

    He saw it. The door slowly closed. Jason moved in an instant. He locked the door behind him and ran towards the door. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

    It¡¯s locked.

    ¡°Hey. Open up,¡± Jason said.

    But there was no response from the inside.

    ¡°Open or I¡¯ll bust this door down,¡± said Jason.

    Jason didn¡¯t knock on the door, making noise wasn¡¯t acceptable at the moment. Who knows whether those mini-velociraptors could catch on to the noise or not. Yet a few seconds later, he heard the door unlocked. He twisted the doorknob and opened it up. What entered his line of sight was rather baffling.

    Two men were wrestling on the floor. Two other people were just looking. While close to the door was a woman with a frightened look. The situation alone was telling him that something bad just happened.

    ¡°Eek,¡± the woman close to the door saw the long blade horn in Jason¡¯s hand. She was frightened as her feet shuffled back until she trip and fell on her bum.

    The two others also turned wary as they saw Jason with a sharp weapon. Jason remained silent and didn¡¯t speak a word.

    ¡°Enough,¡± one of the men wrestling on the floor backed away and stood up.

    The man dressed in a suit and tie dusted off his clothes as he stared daggers at the one opposite of him.

    ¡°Look at what you did Matt. You opened up the door to a psycho. I¡¯ve warned you didn¡¯t I?¡± said the man who just got up with his attire a bit more luxurious than the one before.

    Matt glanced at Jason with wary eyes. He was expecting the rescue workers to come and save them but alas, it¡¯s only a man.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Matt asked.

    Jason didn¡¯t respond as he stared back at these people. He looked around the whole room and noticed how cramp it is with these people inside. He stood there contemplating. A minute later, he made his decision.

    ¡°Hey, are you deaf or-¡± the man who opposed opening the door spoke but Jason intervened.

    ¡°Get on the rooftop. The military will be sending an airstrike by tonight,¡± he said his piece and left the room.

    Those inside the room were left dumbfounded. He went to one of the cubicles and sat on the seat. Then came Matt standing beside him with his eyes looking desperate.

    ¡°Hey, what do you mean an airstrike?¡± Matt asked.

    Soon the rest came out of the small room and came closer to Jason.

    ¡°Like I said. If you don¡¯t want to die, go to the roof,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°No, that wasn¡¯t what I meant. How did you know? The government wouldn¡¯t let just that to happened,¡± said Matt.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not the government,¡± said Jason. Talking was turning into an inconvenience for him.

    He still had problems waiting outside of this office room.

    ¡°You believe this psycho bastard? Who in their right mind would send an airstrike to New York City?¡± said the man who was at odds with Matt.

    The rest agreed with the man. People wouldn¡¯t accept such a thing since being in denial was better than nothing. The three people went back into the room. Matt wouldn¡¯t budge until he gets his answer.

    ¡°Please, I need to know,¡± said Matt.

    ¡°Someone I know had intel probably with the military perhaps,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Probably?¡± Matt replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care whether you believe me or not. I¡¯m only here for a while,¡± said Jason. His tone and words were enough to tell Matt that he had no intention of talking.

    Jason remained silent. Matt didn¡¯t know what else to do as he returned once more to the small room.

    Status open.

    Jason Park

    Job : None

    Level 5

    EP : 6/12

    Strength : 8

    Agility :?26

    Dexterity :?5

    Stamina :?4

    Energy :?4

    E.Resist :?0

    Points :?7

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills : Basic Swordsmanship Lv.9, Minor Heal+ Lv.3

    My stats distribution is definitely mess up. Too much agility perhaps?

    He stared at the blue windows thinking about his path in this new world. One thing he knew about, that he could gain double the points compared to normal people as exhibited by Maria. Thus, in essence, he was more like level ten than level 5.

    But his stats distribution wasn¡¯t helping him much.

    Should I just put it all into agility? Running seems helpful at the moment.

    He knew the advantage of gaining a level but up against the mini-velociraptor, he barely stood a chance against them in a one on one. A pack is far too much for him to handle. He didn¡¯t even know their level to be fair. Then his eyes noticed the attribute below energy.

    E.resist? Energy resist perhaps?

    He put a single point out of curiosity and to his surprise something was happening.

    Jason discover the existence of Anti-Energy

    A random Anti-Energy ability will be given

    Jason has learned Energy Guard

    Jason fell speechless. It lasted for a whole minute before he realized something.

    Damn it. You dumb piece of shit.

    Grabbing his hair, he was frustrated beyond the normal limit. A second later, he started banging his head on the desk while mumbling.

    ¡°Stupid, stupid, stupid-¡±

    He knew his careless stupid mistake. If he had been a slight sooner, he would have gained a tremendous amount of benefit equal to when he first put a point in energy. A full day had passed and there would definitely be someone else out there who had the luck to kill one of these monsters and gained points to distribute to E.Resist.

    Jason knew the advantages of choosing his own ability and gaining one by random was definitely rely upon luck.

    Argh!

    He was screaming inside his head. Agonizing about the fact to miss such an opportunity. A while later, he was staring at the ceiling in a daze. His eyes were blank as he stared at the blue window.

    Jason Park

    Job : None

    Level 5

    EP : 6/12

    E.Guard : 30/30

    Strength : 8

    Agility :?26

    Dexterity :?5

    Stamina :?4

    Energy :?4

    E.Resist :?1

    Points :?6

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills : Basic Swordsmanship Lv.9, Minor Heal+ Lv.3, Energy Guard Lv.1

    A new attribute appeared.

    Hmm, from the look of it, perhaps its similar to health points? But how do I activate this?

    A whole bunch of questions for this new ability of his but before he could figure it out, a voice called out to him.

    ¡°Why are you glowing?¡±

    Jason glanced to the side and saw a woman. Young probably in her early twenty. She was the one who was nearest to the door. Jason had an inkling that she might be the one who had opened the door. From her appearance alone with the office clothing and the name tag around her neck, she definitely one of the workers here.

    ¡°Glowing?¡± Jason realized what she had said.

    He raised both of his arms and saw a fine thin light covering his whole body. It¡¯s barely visible, close to a pale yellow light.

    Passive perhaps?

    Before he could dive even deeper the woman came closer as she said something.

    ¡°Can you please take me with you?¡±

    Jason looked at her and saw the desperation behind her eyes. Having her along would only mean unnecessary baggage. He knew about that fact and as he was about to answer her.

    BANG.

    ¡°Eek,¡± the woman jumped in surprise by the loud bang at the door.

    Jason kept his eyes on the door. Soon the door kept on being bang by a powerful force. The woman was quick to move behind Jason. The people in the small room peek out from the small gap of the door. But Matt came out from the room as he stood there staring at the door. Then the banging stop. Matt glanced at Jason.

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    Jason glanced back at him with daggers in his eyes. He signaled to Matt to shut his mouth with a finger on his lips. But it was too late.

    ¡°Aupp¡­¡±

    ¡°Aupp¡­¡±

    A familiar sound ringing inside Jason¡¯s eardrum. A sound that was calling for reinforcement.

    Shit. They found me.

 Chapter 25

    Scratching noises were heard all over the whole office room. Jason winced in annoyance as he couldn¡¯t stand the scratching sound. It reminded him about his younger days when his annoying classmates scratching the blackboard with their nails. Those pesky little dinosaurs are trying to get inside and people started to panicked.

    ¡°Let me in,¡± Matt shouted as he slammed the door to the small room.

    But those who were inside didn¡¯t even falter. Matt was frantic as he turned the doorknob multiple times. While the female office worker kept moving closer to the glass wall. Her eyes were shaking as she couldn¡¯t get her sight away from the only door to the outside.

    She thought she could finally get away from this place with the help of this man. A man who deserved to be called a man compared to her male colleagues who were hiding inside the small room. But the situation seems bleak considering those things trying to get inside. She didn¡¯t know what was outside but just the thought of it made her close to wet herself.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± Matt said as he slammed one last time to the door.

    The fear was creeping up on him. He knew, sooner or later those things outside will barge inside. Just the thought of it made felt goosebumps all over his body. Then a thought flashed by in his mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s you,¡± Matt turned his body towards Jason as he pointed his finger at him. The scrunched eyebrows of his only made it apparent that he was mad at Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who brought them over here, aren¡¯t you?¡± rather than a question, Matt was bluntly accused him.

    Well, he wasn¡¯t wrong in a sense.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you. Those things wouldn¡¯t notice us hiding in here,¡± Matt said.

    Matt was pushing the fear away by diverting forcing his anger to Jason. At desperate times, anyone would do anything. Matt was just about to grab Jason by the collar but Jason turned his direction towards the office woman.

    ¡°Do something for me and I might consider bringing you along,¡± said Jason out of the blues.

    His words caught both Matt and her by surprise. A blank confused look on her face.

    ¡°Come on. I don¡¯t have all day, you want to escape from here or not?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± she replied without a tint of hesitation.

    ¡°But Laurel¡­¡± Matt called out to the woman¡¯s name as he couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard.

    ¡°Good,¡± said Jason as he turned his attention to the door once more.

    Him, being silent all this time wasn¡¯t for nothing. An idea flashed by and he wouldn¡¯t let it go to waste.

    I guess it¡¯s not a bad idea.

    Jason readied his blade horn-cum-sword as his grip tightened. The noise from outside didn¡¯t stop and Jason had enough of it.

    ¡°Laurel was it?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Laurel¡¯s voice trembled as she replied.

    ¡°Go towards the door and open it,¡± he said.

    ¡°What?¡± both Laurel and Matt replied in unison.

    ¡°Are you crazy? If you let them in, all of us are going to fucking die,¡± Matt said.

    Laurel, on the other hand, was having second thought after hearing what Jason just said.

    ¡°Hey, are you going to help me or not?¡± he asked one more time.

    Seeing there was no response from the lady herself, an idea just popped inside. Jason started pushing the office desk towards the door. He didn¡¯t block the door, leaving a small gap for the door to be open. He then stacked another desk making sure the door won¡¯t open that much.

    ¡°See, a makeshift barrier. They won¡¯t get to you. I just need you to open and close the door according to my signal. It¡¯s pretty safe, you know,¡± he tried to convince Laurel.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let-¡± Matt tried to stop Jason but the sharp edge of the blade horn stopped his feet from coming closer.

    ¡°My horn sword doesn¡¯t have any eyes. It¡¯s best to keep your distance,¡± said Jason. A tint of intimidation behind his words.

    Who would have thought Jason would give a name to his blade horn-cum-sword. Matt stepped back as a man with a sharp object calling it a horn sword was definitely not something he should confront with.

    ¡°You want to die here Laurel?¡± a question that pricked Laurel¡¯s heart.

    ¡°No,¡± she replied, and it did come with action.

    She walked past Jason and stood in front of the door. It was nerve-wracking for Laurel as she could hear the noise even more clearly. She toughened her heart and grabbed the doorknob.

    ¡°Laurel. Don¡¯t,¡± Matt tried to reasoned with her.

    But her eyes were showing that it was do or die. Jason couldn¡¯t help but let out a smile.

    ¡°Open on my signal,¡± said Jason.

    Laurel nodded.

    ¡°Open,¡± he said.

    To his voice, she turned the doorknob and a powerful force slammed over the door. Laurel was caught by surprise and fell on the floor on her bum. She didn¡¯t expect it to be this strong.

    ¡°Arp,¡±

    ¡°Arp,¡±

    The barking sound of the mini-velociraptors was focused at the open door. From the look of it, those little dinosaurs caught on to the opening at the door.

    ¡°Close it,¡± Jason shouted.

    He rushed towards the door and saw a few heads of those mini-velociraptor popping out like a mole in whack-a-mole.

    Jason was a step to slow as a single mini-velociraptor managed to slip inside through the gap.

    Shit, that slippery bastard.

    ¡°One of them got inside,¡± said Matt as he was sweating bullets seeing it up close.

    The lone mini-velociraptor ran around the office. While Jason ignored it as his target was none other than those stuck heads. He arrived in the nick of time and swung his horn sword.

    ¡°Arp,¡± the mini-velociraptor yelped out of pain as blood spilled on the floor.

    The horn sword was sharp but it was not enough with a single strike.

    ¡°Tough little bastard,¡± Jason didn¡¯t stop as he hacked and slashed the heck of that single head. By the fourth time, a head dropped on the floor.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 6

    A smile hung on his face. Who wouldn¡¯t be happy obtaining another level this easy.

    BANG.

    The pack of mini-velociraptor was getting stronger as they tried to break down the door.

    ¡°Hey, close the door,¡± Jason said.

    Laurel didn¡¯t move an inch after falling down as she was frozen in place. Her determination was rather short-lived.

    ¡°Laurel,¡± Jason shouted.

    The shout snapped her out of it. She stood up with her staggering legs. Laurel tried to close the door, pushing with all her might. She saw it herself those heads jutting out from the door gap. A terrifying experience but she fought on.

    Jason continued hacking down those heads as he put another three points into strength to bolster his attacking force. But the door gap was becoming wider as those mini-velociraptors outside were pushing like their lives were depending on it.

    ¡°Hey, push harder,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I can¡¯t, it won¡¯t budge,¡± Laurel replied.

    ¡°You there,¡± Jason called out to Matt as his attention was still on those raptor¡¯s heads.

    ¡°Me,¡± Matt said pointing to himself.

    ¡°Help her out, or else all of us are going to die,¡± said Jason.

    Matt gulped down a mouthful of his saliva as he nodded in response. His eyes were still wary about the unseen mini-velociraptor which went off under the radar within this office room. Matt got up and slammed his body towards the door. Jason stabbed multiple times through the door gaps hindering those mini-velociraptors outside from pushing.

    ¡°Push,¡± Jason said.

    Matt and Laurel pulled every strength they had and pushed the door with all their might.

    Kachink.

    The sound of the door locked from the inside.

    ¡°Nice,¡± Jason said as the door was finally shut tight. He didn¡¯t stand around as he went and pushed the office desk from behind blocking the door completely.

    Matt and Laurel slumped down on the floor with their backs behind the door.

    A nerve-wracking experience and definitely something they wouldn¡¯t like to experience again. Jason piled another office desk to the door with his strength that baffled both Matt and Laurel as they saw it first hand of how this man managed to do the impossible. But then Matt realized something.

    ¡°The one inside. There¡¯s another one inside,¡± he repeated his words as he grew nervous once more.

    ¡°Argh, help,¡± a cry for help rang in the air.

    The three of them turned their attention at the far end corner of the office room.

    The door that was shut was open wide.

 Chapter 26

    ¡°Boss, what¡¯s going on out there?¡± asked a man dressed in an office suit.

    ¡°Shut up Dylan, how the heck would I know that,¡± replied the angsty team manager.

    They were three people huddling inside this cramped room with chaotic noise coming from the other side of this door.

    The only woman of the three was hugging her knees at the end corner of the room, mumbling something incoherent.

    ¡°Abby. Stop mumbling, you¡¯re annoying me,¡± said the team manager. These two colleagues of his were definitely getting on his nerve.

    ¡°Arp,¡±

    ¡°Arp,¡±

    ¡°Arp,¡±

    The barking noise of those mini-velociraptors was like death calling for these three.

    ¡°Eeep, what is that?¡± asked Dylan frightened in his shoes.

    ¡°Shuush,¡± the team manager tried to shut him up.

    Then the sound coming from the other side of the door died down. It piqued the interest of those in the cramped room.

    ¡°Boss, I can¡¯t hear anything,¡± said Dylan.

    ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t you be glad?¡± replied the team manager.

    ¡°Boss, please check out what¡¯s happening outside. I¡¯m getting out of breath inside the room,¡± Dylan¡¯s anxiety was getting the better of him.

    ¡°Are you an idiot? There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to open the door. That troublesome Matt is-¡± before he could finish his words, Dylan already made his moves.

    He grabbed the handle of the door and twisted it open.

    ¡°You idiot,¡± said the team manager as he tried to close back the door.

    But the door was open wide and something greeted them in a rather strange way.

    Both the team manager and Dylan saw the small dinosaur. They were frozen in place as they didn¡¯t think they would meet with such a creature. The creature looked at them for a few seconds before it happened.

    ¡°Eek,¡± Dylan yelped out of fear. He tried to retreat back into the room.

    But the mini-velociraptor jumped on him leading to a rather gruesome scene.

    The team manager saw in front of his very eyes the sight of Dylan being eaten alive by a prehistoric creature.

    ¡°Argh, help,¡± pleaded Dylan.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Laurel covered her mouth both of her hands as she couldn¡¯t believe what was happening.

    Matt too was dumbfounded as his mouth gap wide open.

    The sight of someone they know being mauled by a little dinosaur was nothing short of terrifying.

    ¡°Hey, over here,¡± but Jason wasn''t fazed. He called out to the creature.

    He knocked on the surface of the table with his horn sword making a sound trying to attract the attention of the mini-velociraptor.

    The mini-velociraptor glanced at him for a few seconds before continuing to mauled back the unfortunate Dylan.

    In front of a meal, a mere sound wasn¡¯t enough to attract its attention.

    ¡°So be it,¡± said Jason.

    He rushed towards the mini-velociraptor and the moment he arrived he swung his horn sword.

    The mini-velociraptor was agile and noticed the moment it was being ambushed. It leaped to the side dodging the sharp blade of the horn sword.

    ¡°Arp,¡± it barked at Jason.

    Jason maintained his stance as he stared at the mini-velociraptor.

    For the first time, he was calm going against a creature from the crack in the sky.

    With him killing them a few times in a row using that simple tactic was enough to bloat his confidence.

    He rose a few more levels attaining level eight. In his eyes, these mini-velociraptors was like a treasure trove. There was no greater opportunity in gaining level than fighting against something that he knew that he can win.

    Five points agility and five points strength.

    For precautionary sake, he boosted his attributes. A surge of new strength filling up inside his body.

    ¡°Arp,¡± the mini-velociraptor jumped and pounced at Jason taking the initiative to attack.

    But rather than succumbing to those deadly sharp claws, Jason dodged it.

    Yet the mini-velociraptor didn¡¯t stop attacking. It pounced and pounced trying to claw and bite this elusive opponent of it.

    Jason¡¯s speed was remarkable dodging every attack that came at him.

    Woah, I can see its attack. This is incredible.

    For the first time, he felt the benefit of using those points. All this time, he was having a hard time. From the silver raptor to the ebony pterodactyl, those were opponents that he knew that he won through a fluke.

    Mere luck, one might say.

    ¡°Arp,¡± the mini-velociraptor grew frustrated and started barking at Jason while keeping on pouncing at him.

    Hmm, how about I try that. How does it go again? A step forward and a step back.

    He tried to remember the thing that Aiko sensei once taught him. A clear frontal strike.

    With all the time he had, he took up his stance and grabbed the hilt with both of his hands.

    His mind was focused on executing that simple skill he learned in the dojo. Considering how everything that had happened, he had never once used the skill in a fight before.

    Most of it was him just hacking his horn sword away like a mad man.

    But now, it was different.

    His breathing was calm as his sight was focused solely on the mini-velociraptor.

    In this room, it was only between him and the mini-velociraptor.

    Then the mini-velociraptor pounced once more leaping in the air at Jason baring its teeth and claws.

    Jason saw the incoming attack as he stepped forwards while bringing down his horn sword in a vertical slash.

    Both sides collided.

    Jason¡¯s horn sword met with the snout of the mini-velociraptor. He expected resistance from those powerful scales covering the mini-velociraptor but his blade went through smoothly like cutting butter with a butter knife.

    His motion turned fluid and swift. He didn¡¯t stop as his whole body was focused on this single vertical frontal strike.

    His horn sword had ended his attack. Jason didn¡¯t forget to take a step back like in practice.

    It took him a while as he was still in focus like state.

    He snapped out of it as he saw the sight of Matt and Laurel staring in amazement and confusion at the sight of him.

    Then he noticed the thing in front of him.

    The result of him executing his technique in a flawless manner.

    Woah, I cut it into two.

    The mini-velociraptor was split into two laid on the office floor as blood started pool underneath its corpse.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 9

    He smiled seeing the blue window but then something else made him elated.

    Basic Swordsmanship level up to level 10

    Basic Swordsmanship has reached the maximum level

    Upgrade into Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.1

    Jason couldn¡¯t believe it. His stagnant passive skill which he tried to level up had finally gained another level but that wasn¡¯t all, it also upgraded into Intermediate Swordsmanship.

    For some reason, his mind started to blank out as something went deep inside of his head.

    A torrent of knowledge burst into his grey matter as it embedded deeply into the recess of his mind.

    All of a sudden he felt enlightenment in the way of the sword.

    Ah, this is how I¡¯m supposed to use a sword.

    ¡°Hey. You okay there man?¡± a voice called out to Jason.

    He snapped out of his daze and realized Matt and Laurel were right in front of him.

    ¡°Oh. Yeah, I¡¯m fine,¡± said Jason.

    Jason glanced at the horn sword he held as the feeling he just experienced was something mind-blowing. A feeling he had never experience before. A soothing and calm like feeling but bursting with energy and vitality.

    It was something he couldn¡¯t describe that easily.

    Then something else surprised him.

    Jason is the first to upgrade a skill

    Jason obtained a new title, The First Upgrader

    He couldn¡¯t hide his smile. He knew the benefit of a title. One more title wouldn¡¯t hurt, in fact, he welcomes more of it.

    ¡°Hello, are you really okay?¡± asked Matt as he saw Jason suddenly smiling at the empty air.

    In his heart, Matt definitely thought Jason was like a psycho.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m fine,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I¡¯m really impressed man, I didn¡¯t know you can kill these freaking lizards with that weird-ass sword of yours,¡± said Matt as the fear he felt just now had long gone went away.

    ¡°But Dylan,¡± Laurel turned both of these men''s attention to the corpse on the floor.

    Dylan had died with all the blood pooling underneath him. His wounds were too severe for him to survive that attack.

    Laurel burst into tears seeing a colleague of hers dying in front of her. Matt stared at Dylan and he too felt sad seeing it first hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s you,¡± suddenly a voice rang in the air.

    The team manager came out of the room pointing his finger at Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who leads Dylan to his death,¡± said the team manager.

    ¡°Stop it, team manager. If it wasn¡¯t for him we all would have died,¡± Laurel defended Jason.

    ¡°Stop covering for a murderer Laurel, if it wasn¡¯t for him coming here in our office room. Those things outside won¡¯t even notice us in this room like I said he¡¯s the one to blame for Dylan¡¯s death,¡± said the team manager.

    He was enforcing his belief to his colleague.

    But the man in question did the opposite.

    ¡°Laurel, go back to the door,¡± said Jason.

    His words caught everyone off guard.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Laurel didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Are you even listening to us, you damn murderer,¡± said the team manager.

    ¡°I need to get on the roof and those things outside are blocking my way. So help me out, would you,¡± said Jason with a smile on his face.

    A smile that these people in the room wouldn¡¯t understand.

    A smile that shivered the hair on their back.

    A smile that creeps them out as if the man in question didn¡¯t even realize that a man was dead in the room.

 Chapter 27

    The door to a staircase slammed behind Maria. Yet the moment she turned around, Gina stood in front of her.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to leave him?¡± asked Gina.

    Gina¡¯s eyes stared right into Maria.

    ¡°We need to move,¡± said Maria as she passed by Gina.

    Maria climbed up the stairs and stopped as she noticed something was wrong.

    ¡°What are you all waiting. Come on, we¡¯ve got to hurry up,¡± said Maria.

    ¡°But what about Jason?¡± Eugene asked as she too was worried about Jason. The deadpan expression on her face was definitely not comfortable leaving behind Jason.

    Maria gnashed her teeth knowing she too didn¡¯t like leaving behind Jason. But what could she do?

    The man himself volunteered and within these desperate times, she got to do whatever it takes to live through this ongoing nightmare.

    ¡°I¡¯m going back for Jason,¡± said Gina out of the blues.

    She held the handle of the staircase door but Maria shouted at her.

    ¡°Stop,¡± said Maria. She ran back to the door and slammed her body over the door blocking Gina any chance of leaving.

    ¡°Get the hell away,¡± Gina said.

    ¡°Or else what?¡± Maria replied staring back at the one glaring at her.

    ¡°Even if you go, you could do nothing. You¡¯re just useless like a damsel always being saved,¡± said Maria as her words pricked Gina¡¯s heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you, let me go,¡± said Gina as she fought back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Jason is out there fighting for us to get a head start and I won¡¯t let you put his effort into waste,¡± said Maria.

    ¡°I won¡¯t-¡± Gina didn¡¯t agree although she knew Maria was speaking the truth. Before she could even finish her words, Maria grabbed her by the arm.

    Both sides have their own reason and both thinking about the well being of Jason.

    ¡°Three points to strength,¡± mumbled Maria to herself.

    ¡°Hey, let me go,¡± Gina demanded.

    But Maria didn¡¯t play along with Gina¡¯s selfishness. With a sudden surge of strength, Maria easily dragged along Gina much to her disapproval.

    Gina started shouting trying to resist whatever unbelievable strength coming from this woman who owns a Glock.

    Eugene felt like interfering between these two. She too felt the need to fetch Jason along. Just leaving him behind made her felt rather guilty. But a hand grabbed her by the shoulder.

    Eugene turned her head and saw her father shaking his head from side to side.

    She glanced at her mother and saw she too was shaking her head in disapproval.

    It soured her mood but she couldn¡¯t help it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go up the roof,¡± said her father.

    The three family members followed along the trail of the duo who was bickering while climbing up the stairs.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you shut that pie hole of yours. Those things might hear you,¡± said Maria as she began too worried about Gina''s constant yelling. It made her nervous just thinking about those things out there.

    ¡°I can shout whenever I-¡± she stopped speaking as an unknown sound echoed within the staircase.

    Everyone stood motionless, stiff like a board. All of them held their breath as that unknown sound echoed once more.

    It sounded like an animal. An animal that they wouldn¡¯t like to encounter. Eugene took the courage to see downstairs over the stair railing.

    Once again the sound echoed. Eugene pointed down telling them it was coming from downstairs.

    Maria gulped down a mouthful of her saliva. She put her finger on her lips telling them to stay silent. Her hand kept on waving about as she signaled them to climbed up the stairs.

    Everyone didn¡¯t dare let out a sound not even Gina.

    Slowly they moved towards the roof, one floor to another as silent as possible.

    Soon the disturbing sound faded disappearing into the distance. The whole group stood in silence making sure they didn¡¯t hear those sounds again.

    They stood there like wooden dolls for a whole ten minutes before they finally let out a breath of relief.

    Maria slumped down sitting on the floor with her back on the wall. Beads of sweats covered her entire forehead as the whole experience was nerve-wracking.

    She glared at Gina, knowing all of this happened was probably because of her. Gina looked away as she knew what that glare meant.

    But then¡­

    BANG.

    The loud sound of a door being opened frightened the heck out of the whole group. All of them stood upright in a flash, readied to flee at any moment.

    The sound came from upstairs and as they looked above. A bunch of people was staring back at them in surprise.

    A father and mother with two children.

    The father seems like wanting to speak but Maria signaled at him not to.

    She beckoned her group to continued climbing up the stairs. They went passed the family but Maria waited behind for a while.

    ¡°We¡¯re going up to the roof,¡± whispered Maria.

    ¡°Why the roof?¡± the father asked.

    ¡°A rescue team is coming tonight, it¡¯s best to wait on the roof rather than down there,¡± said Maria.

    Maria was about to leave but Eugene''s father held her shoulder.

    ¡°Please, can we follow you?¡± said the father.

    She nodded and four people came along as they climbed up the stairs.

    Then the unknown sound came back haunting the ears of those in the staircase. The sound was clearer as if closer to the whole group.

    Maria turned frantic swinging her hand around as if telling them to pick up the pace.

    They started running up the stairs knowing they were approaching closer to the roof.

    The unknown sound that was closer to a snarl was becoming more vivid as each second passed.

    ¡°Just a little bit closer,¡± said Maria trying to uplift the spirit of the whole group.

    The door was within Maria¡¯s sight. Her hand reached out to the handle and the moment she grabbed it, she pushed it down.

    Kachink¡­

    The door opened and the sunlight breached into the mild darkness of the staircase. A sense of hope bloomed within the hearts of these people.

    People went through the door one by one. Yet something else appeared in front of them.

    BANG.

    A loud gunshot rang in the air.

    Maria saw a man falling on the floor. Blood spurted out from the gun wound as the man was dying, wriggling around on the floor.

    She glanced at the source of the gunshot. A man dressed in a suit with a pair of sunglasses on. He held a gun in the air directed at the falling man.

    She was about to take out her gun but she remembered the unknown snarling sound.

    ¡°A monster is coming,¡± Maria shouted at the top of her lungs.

    Her voice was heard and people dressed the same attire as the one who shot the bleeding man on the floor hurried towards the emergency door.

    They were fast and in unison. The door was shut and secure with random things blocking the door.

    Maria stood and watched these men in black doing their work. Her mind was boggled by it. She knew the capability of these men.

    In-ear earbuds, black suits, loaded with P320 gun and not to mention the teamwork between them. These people are not ordinary people.

    Her eyes scanned the surroundings as she saw many of these men numbering up to twenty guarding a certain area on the roof. One might say they guarded the lounge area of the roof with a certain person relaxing on a sofa.

    Even from afar Maria could saw that was man seeping his drink in leisure as if nothing was wrong with the world. Her eyes darted around to the counter and saw another person having a blast chugging down whatever drink she had with more bodyguards around her.

    They¡¯re definitely the son and daughter of the Rawling conglomerate. But¡­

    Her eyes focused at a certain location where a lot of people were taking refuge. They were confined to a rather uncomfortable space devoid of any luxury like those two siblings were having.

    In fact, Maria saw these men in black were rather guarding the whole perimeter against being breach. Both monsters and people.

    Then her eyes glanced back at the dying man with another woman crying beside him.

    She couldn¡¯t stand seeing it. The urge for her to take out her gun was high right now.

    But thinking about her survival, she restrained herself.

    Yet trouble kept on walking on her.

    From afar, the man who was seeping his drink came over after being notified by his men in black.

    He walked towards the group who had just arrived.

    While walking, Maria saw how soft these people are. The men in black opened up an umbrella for the son of the conglomerate covering from the sunlight.

    She could feel the annoyance of dealing with these people just by seeing this spectacle.

    Soon, the man arrived in front of Maria.

    ¡°Well, well. What do we have here? A bunch of new people but definitely a few gems around more than the pebbles¡± said the son of the conglomerate.

    His eyes kept on darted around and Maria for some reason felt rather disgusted by how he looked at people.

    She didn¡¯t miss the eyes she was looked at. Being scanned up and down like some kind of merchandise.

    The urge to punch this scumbag was going through the roof.

    But she bites down on her lips and endured it all.

    She stepped forward towards the son of the conglomerate.

    But the men in black blocked her path.

    ¡°Step aside,¡± said Maria.

    As both Maria and the man in black had a stare-off.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay Mario, let her stand in front of me,¡± the son of conglomerate spoke.

    The bodyguard stepped back giving leeway to Maria.

    ¡°So are you going to repay the gratitude of being saved?¡± the son of the conglomerate was smiling from ear to ear.

    Sincerity was not definitely seen on that face.

    Maria put her hand inside the inside of her jacket. The man in black was alarmed by her movement and was quick to aim the gun at her.

    Even the son of the conglomerate.

    Maria paused her movement as the situation turned rather serious at the moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m just going to show you my credentials. I¡¯m going to get it out slowly,¡± said Maria.

    Her eyes darted around and saw she had already been circled by these men in black.

    There was silence in the air but as Maria took out the so-called credential.

    She flashed it out in front of the son of the conglomerate.

    ¡°I¡¯m Detective Maria Lopez from New York Police Department 98th Precinct. I¡¯m here to escort you back to Outerbridge Crossing military base camp.¡±

 Chapter 28

    The door to the emergency staircase opened. A pair of eyes peek into the mild darkness of the staircase. He opened it wide and stepped inside. His steps were careful, trying not to make a sound.

    ¡°What¡¯s the holdup? Come on, there might be monsters chasing on our backs,¡± an annoying voice echoed within the staircase as it betrayed Jason''s attempt in going stealth mode.

    It pissed him off just hearing that voice. He turned around and grabbed the team manager by the collar.

    ¡°Why the fuck are you here?¡± the irritation in his voice was clear as day.

    ¡°Eek,¡± Abby the one who had been hiding at the corner dropped on the floor surprised by the sudden aggression of Jason.

    The team manager fell speechless but he regained his wit.

    ¡°I can be where ever I wa-¡± his words fell short.

    Jason punched the team manager right at the pit of his stomach. His patience was running thin. Entertaining people like this team manager was not within his plan. The team manager felt like puking out everything within his stomach. That simple punch was like an iron ball slammed across his body. He knelt right away with his mouth wide open.

    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you being a bit too much,¡± said Matt as he came in between Jason and the team manager.

    ¡°Step aside before I do the same to you,¡± Jason didn¡¯t mince his words as he stared right in the eyes of Matt.

    Matt faltered seeing those eyes. His eyes had a quick glance at the sharp horn sword in Jason¡¯s hand. He gulped down a mouthful of saliva, nervous confronting this man. A man, who wiped out the entire pack of mini-velociraptors that targeted their office room. He saw it for himself of how Jason handled those creatures of nightmares with that horn sword in his hand.

    Matt aided Laurel in opening and closing the door. A logical tactic of confronting them one by one. Sometimes Jason slashed them in one stroke when a head peeked out through the gap door while at times, a single mini-velociraptor managed to get inside but Jason handled it swiftly battling against it in an overpowering manner.

    Matt never stopped being amazed by the power of this man. Right now, going head to head with this man was no doubt, suicidal. Matt backed away with his head down.

    ¡°You¡­ can¡¯t¡­ do-¡± the team manager tried to fight back with words but nothing will stop Jason.

    Jason picked him up and punched him one more time in the gut. He didn¡¯t stop and continued to barrage that flabby stomach with countless of his punches. The team manager dropped dead on the floor. Well, he wasn¡¯t actually dead but fainted with the white eyes visible. Jason kicked at the unresponsive body just for the sake of venting his anger. He held back quite a lot while venting at the team manager.

    Last but not least, Jason grabbed the team manager and flung him. With his strength, the limp body flew in the air before falling back on the hard carpet floor at a distance. The three people who saw this were shocked. Right now, within their eyes, Jason was like a monster.

    That idiot. I¡¯m trying to be silent as possible and he just had to be an idiotic loudmouth.

    ¡°You,¡± Jason pointed at Abby who was still on the floor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t follow us,¡± said Jason.

    Abby turned frantic hearing those words. She crawled on the floor as she tried to grab on to Jason¡¯s leg, hoping to beg to tag along. But, Jason was quicker. He dodged it.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you if I even see a shadow of you,¡± he pointed at the sight of the limp body of the team manager at a distance.

    Abby shivered out of fear. She knew that this man wasn¡¯t playing around with his words. The color on her face turned pale knowing that being left behind was the same as being thrown into death itself. Jason turned back towards the door and went back into the emergency staircase. Matt and Laurel stood there like statues not knowing whether to follow or not.

    ¡°What are you guys standing around for, come on,¡± Jason stepped out for a while as he beckoned them to follow along.

    The door closed behind Jason. Three people were inside the staircase.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make a sound,¡± said Jason.

    The two office mates nodded. The trio climbed up the stairs with Jason leading the group. The two behind him were anxious at every step. Who knows what would jump out at the corner if they didn¡¯t pay attention. Meanwhile, Jason, on the other hand, was having troubling thoughts.

    My leveling speed starts to slow down a bit after killing those mini-velociraptors. Their overall level might be close to mine considering how I need to kill more than just one of them to level up.

    He was staring at his own status thinking about what to do with these unused points he had.

    Jason Park

    Job : None

    Level 14

    EP : 6/12

    E.Guard : 30/30

    Strength : 16

    Agility :?31

    Dexterity :?5

    Stamina :?4

    Energy :?4

    E.Resist :?1

    Points :?83

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills : Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.3, Minor Heal+ Lv.3, Energy Guard Lv.1

    Although he felt kind of bad with the decreasing speed of his leveling but knowing he was coming closer to these creatures level was like a light at the end of the tunnel. If he used his points properly he might be able to contend with those ridiculous monsters roaming on the ground floor.

    Even his skill managed to level up quite a few times as he demonstrated his ability to wield the horn sword while going up against the monsters.

    Should I focus more on speed and strength or gamble on with energy? I still don¡¯t know yet the extent of using energy. Since healing is possible then making fireball out of thin air might be possible but the question is, how on earth am I going to learn an ability like that?

    But then his line of thought paused as something was happening. All three of them tilted their head upwards as an unknown snarling sound echoed from above. Jason glanced the two behind him. Both shook their heads side to side denying themselves from making a sound. Jason knew that too since the three of them were trying their best to walk as silent as possible.

    Jason quickened his speed to the next floor as the two followed. He opened up the door and urged the two to come inside. As soon as Matt passed through the door, Jason shut the door. He didn¡¯t even think about blocking the door since he couldn¡¯t find anything big enough in this corridor. Jason ran to the other end of the corridor with the two trying to keep up with his astonishing speed.

    Where the heck is it?

    Jason was trying to find another staircase. Soon, the two people behind him disappeared from sight. They were too slow compared to the frantic Jason. He was too focused on searching for the other staircase that he had forgotten about his speed compared to the normal people.

    Matt was trying to catch up with his face reddened and breath gasping for air. While Laurel was crying in tears as she was the one at the end of the line. Her silent tears didn¡¯t hinder her effort in trying to catch up with those guys. She was even running in high heels. Her feet started to ached. Looking down she noticed those heels of hers. Realizing how stupid it was running in heels. She took off her heels and was ready to run once more but a loud bang came from the back.

    BANG.

    She glanced at her back and saw the door to the staircase laid on the floor with something standing on top of it. She gasped in shock as she saw what it was. A bipedal creature standing on two legs with a hunchback. Scales covered its entire body, yet the ominous thing about this creature was the sharp long claws on both its upper limbs and lower limbs. Enough said if Jason saw this creature firsthand he would have definitely felt that it resembled a lot like the creature from Resident zombie series, the hunter.

    She was about to cry out but she restrained herself and ran like her life was depending on it. The creature deemed as razor hunter sniffed something in the air. It turned its head and saw the fleeing woman.

    The lower limb of the creature started to bulge as it then burst into a tenacious like speed as it bounced over the wall and ceiling. Its target was none other than the unfortunate Laurel. In mere seconds it reached Laurel¡¯s back. She herself could felt the ominous air behind her as the creepy snarl made her known that something was behind her.

    Her legs gave out and she fell. Dropping her entire body on the floor. Something just swung by at the empty air. Laurel¡¯s hand grabbed on to something on the floor and noticed it was her hair being cut apart.

    She didn¡¯t turn her head around as she knew what was standing right above her. She didn¡¯t have the nerve to move at all. The razor hunter didn¡¯t wait for a second as it struck down its claw at the motionless body in front of it. But then a force came out of nowhere striking it from the front. It felt pain for the first time being here and backed away in a flash.

    A shallow cut on its torso as blood dripped. It glared at the newcomer that disturb its moment of killing its prey. A man holding on to a horn sword. A man staring at the sight of this monstrous creature with a glare.

    It didn¡¯t work. My strength is too low. How about this?

    Twenty points to strength.

 Chapter 29

    Damn this bastard, thought Jason. Jason confronted the razor hunter with horn sword yet but to no avail, it was rendered useless. Only the sound of his horn sword clashing against the long claws of the razor hunter was heard within this hotel corridor. Jason ducked his head, dodging an incoming slash. He felt like losing ten years out of his age as a huge claw mark was seen over the wall on his other side.

    Shit, keep it together Jason. Keep it together and don¡¯t let that claw hit.

    He repeated those words multiple times inside his head trying to keep his concentration in check. But the bout between them was becoming harsher as the razor hunter¡¯s attacks were becoming more powerful by the second.

    Shit.

    His balance threw off by a powerful blow and then it came. Jason managed to see the incoming attack but it was too late. He only managed to raise his shoulder and the full slash made him swept off his feet. He was thrown to the wall with a powerful blow. A crack was made on impact.

    E.Guard down to critical level. E.Guard : 4/30

    No pain?

    Jason was baffled by the sudden discovery. Rather than pain, he felt a strong force pushing over him. He thought about checking over his wound but the opponent he faced didn¡¯t give him the time.

    Dodge it.

    He threw himself to the floor as another slash slammed over the wall. Jason took a quick glance and saw the wall thinning. The slash almost made the wall crumble down. Jason glanced at the blue window and within that split second, he took action.

    ¡°Minor Heal+,¡± said Jason.

    Greenlight enveloped his entire body and soon another new blue window appeared.

    E. Guard restored.

    E. Guard : 24/30

    A smile carved on his face. He knew something was going down on the right path.

    ¡°Snarl,¡± the snarling sound snapped Jason off from his excited state.

    He got up and pushed himself off the floor making a back jump. It was something he had never managed to do in life but at that moment, he executed it flawlessly. Both of his feet landed on the floor but the razor hunter was already right in front of him as it slammed Jason with the entire weight of its body. Again, Jason was thrown in the air before rolling on the floor.

    E.Guard down to critical level. E.Guard : 1/30

    Again another notice for him to take note.

    ¡°Shit, Minor Heal+,¡± once again his body glowed in green.

    ¡°This thing is too¡­¡± his voice trailed off as he witnessed a scene.

    With Jason out of the picture. The razor hunter impaled Laurel who still didn¡¯t budge from her spot. She witnessed everything that had happened and now an excruciating amount of pain riddled across her body. The long sharp claw of the razor hunter impaled her right through the torso.

    She looked down and saw that glossy claw went through her body. Blood seeped out from her wounds as she was still dumbfounded on what was happening. Then the pain started to felt real.

    Laurel was about to cry out in pain but a huge jaw set with razor-sharp teeth blocked her entire vision. Then, what was left was only darkness.

    From afar, Jason saw Laurel¡¯s head being chomped off by the razor hunter. He could hear the crushing of her skull coming from the jaws of the razor hunter. The hair at the back of his neck stood up straight seeing this scene first hand. Seeing it in person was definitely different from seeing in a movie.

    Blood spurted out from her chomped off neck spraying her blood towards the razor hunter. Yet the creature wasn''t fazed by it. For some reason, Jason¡¯s hand was shaking. He noticed it too and he couldn¡¯t deny what he felt.

    I can¡¯t die. I won¡¯t die.

    With his trembling hand, Jason stood up once more and rushed at the razor hunter who was too busy having its snack.

    Ten points agility and strength.

    Jason sped up like a speeding bullet closing the distance between them in mere seconds. Jason swung his horn sword and cut off the forearm of the razor hunter. It didn¡¯t know what was coming.

    ¡°Arrlll,¡± its nasty snarl echoed within the corridor. The hand that pierced over Laurel¡¯s body dropped on the floor. Jason didn¡¯t stop attacking. He even ignored the blue window popping in front of him.

    Intermediate Swordsmanship level up to level 4

    The razor hunter backed away retreating while covered in the blood of Laurel. Yet Jason pressed on, chasing after it while delivering numerous shallow cuts at its body. The razor hunter shook its head flinging off the blood from its eyes. Seeing the human who chopped its hand off only made the razor hunter boiled in anger. Rather than swinging its long claw, the razor hunter jumped around to the wall and ceiling. It retreated further away from Jason.

    I¡¯m winning.

    Jason¡¯s confidence was ignited by the scene of this scary monster fleeing with its tail between its leg. But then its motion turned strange. Jason stopped on his track as his gut was telling him not to pursue. The razor hunter crawl on all four of its limb. Then its jaw opened up. Jason could hear its bone crack as the jaw opened wider than ever.

    What is goi-

    His thought was cut short as a deafening sonic blast exploded within the corridor. Jason flung in the air helpless like a rag doll. He couldn¡¯t see it coming.

    What left of the corridor was mere destruction. The carpets are long gone and the wall of the corridor was broken apart revealing the rooms inside. Everything was in shambles like a tornado just went through the whole corridor.

    But the sight at the end of the corridor was the most gruesome. There was a hole to the outside. A freaking huge hole to the outside of the hotel. That sonic blast destroyed everything in its path including the wall to the room that was blasted open.

    Jason was nowhere in sight. The headless corpse of Laurel was also long gone. Probably thrown off outside. While the perpetrator of this whole scene was limp on the floor.

    The razor hunter laid on the floor with steam coming out from its scales. It remained motionless as the sonic blast it just did definitely put a toll on its body. Even a monster in rage would put aside in having a meal to decimating its opponent without restraint. Such was the instinct of the razor hunter.

    On the other hand, a lone person witnessed everything. Matt grieved for the loss of Laurel but seeing Jason and the razor hunter fight was definitely the most unbelievable thing he had witnessed. Yet when that sonic blast occurred, Matt managed to stay away from the path of the blast. He saved himself from imminent death not without consequences. His pants were soil but it didn¡¯t matter to him. Any normal man would react like he was if they experienced the same thing as he did.

    Matt remembered the loud vibrating sound that rumbled his eardrums. The deafening sound was loud and powerful. He was still hearing a ringing sound in his ears even after it all ended. Yet what came next baffled him even more. In front of his eyes, something just walked out from the hole in the room.

    ¡°You,¡± Matt was speechless and didn¡¯t have any words to say seeing a man just came out from the hole. A man riddled in blood and debris.

    Jason was alive with his hair in a mess. His shirt already torn off with what left of it was only the collar. His pants turned into shorts and numerous cut wounds riddled his entire body.

    I almost died.

    Thought Jason. He fainted for a few seconds after being flung off. He found himself buried underneath the rubble of everything from furniture to carpets. His condition was bad, he could felt his body was weak and fatigue. Yet he knew what just saved him.

    E.Guard disabled.

    Time to recover; 60 minutes

    The energy guard took the full brunt of the sonic blast leaving him only injured from the minor part of the attack. If it wasn¡¯t for that, he would have been long gone following the trail of Laurel. The thin visible glow that surrounded his body had disappeared leaving him defenseless to external attacks.

    Yet that didn¡¯t matter for Jason at the moment. His eyes were at the razor hunter sprawling on the floor. Gritting his teeth, he dragged his entire body across the devastated corridor with vengeance in mind.

    The razor hunter saw the human surviving its special attack. It tried to get back up on its feet but the side-effect of the sonic blast was too much. All four limbs were trembling while trying to get up. The creature won¡¯t go down without a fight even when it too was in a defenseless state.

    But Jason was approaching faster with his body glowing in green. With each step he took, his body was recovering from his injuries.

    Soon, he stood in front of the trembling razor hunter. Staring it dead in the eyes with his body fully recovered.

    He raised his horn sword and muttered.

    ¡°Time for you to die.¡±

    A single stroke and the razor hunter¡¯s vision turned dark.

 Chapter 30

    A head rolled on the floor.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 15

    Jason fell on his bum as he looked at the bloody corpse of the razor hunter. He sat there in a daze with his mind wandering. His whole body was fully healed but his mind was weary. From morning till now, he had been fighting with his life on the line. A second later, he laid on the floor staring at the ceiling.

    I¡¯m tired.

    The roof was a few more levels above but he didn¡¯t know whether more of these razor hunter might be waiting for him upstairs. Dealing with one had already pushed his life to the brink of death. If it wasn¡¯t for a defensive ability of his, he would have been dead.

    He just lay there on the torn-up floor while staring at the ceiling for a good fifteen minutes. But a voice caught his attention.

    ¡°What is that?¡± after Matt regained his sense of self, he walked back to the corridor of carnage and saw the man he called the monster lay on the floor.

    He walked closer to call out to him but something caught his sight. The moment he spoke about it, Jason propped his body up. Jason¡¯s eyes turned up wide. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. A scroll was floating above the corpse of the razor hunter. He rubbed his eyes out of reflex trying to see he wasn¡¯t hallucinating. But there it was a scroll floating a few inches above the dead corpse of the razor hunter. He got up with his eyes kept staring at the scroll.

    A game loot? But it isn¡¯t possi-

    He stopped his train of thought. At this point in time, anything was possible. If monsters started appearing out from a crack sky, what does it matter a foreign object suddenly showed up after killing one.

    ¡°Is that a scroll?¡± Matt asked as he walked passed Jason.

    It caught Jason by surprise seeing Matt going for the scroll. A sudden sense of ownership fueled his desire, Jason ran towards Matt and slammed him across the wall. His sudden action caught Matt by surprise. Matt was lifted in the air with the wall behind his back. He groaned in pain as he didn¡¯t expect Jason to do such a thing. Glancing at Jason, he saw those eyes staring right through him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it,¡± said Jason.

    Matt nodded in response. Jason let him down and turned his attention to the scroll. He grabbed it in his hand. Yet he felt nothing. He was expecting to see a blue window popped up but nothing.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Matt was curious but kept himself at a distance.

    Jason opened the scroll. Unknown letters bombarded Jason''s sight. Reading it was impossible but the moment he opened it to the fullest, the letters started to glow in shining white light.

    Matt retreated a few steps back. He had enough of strange things and who knows what might happen with those letters starting to glow. Yet for Jason, something else happened. He smiled seeing the blue window appearing.

    Wind Cutter

    Fires off a wind element small projectiles.

    (Dex and Ene influenced dmg range)

    Lv.1 : EP cost 1,

    Damage : 82% of combination of both Dex and Ene.

    Number of attacks : Three

    Would you like to learn Wind Cutter?

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied without hesitation. There was a tint of excitement behind his voice.

    Obtaining a new ability with the potential of attacking from a distance was a gift from above. Although he had been fighting at close distance, Jason does prefer fighting with no risk of dying. This new ability put his range of attacking to be more versatile as compared to before.

    The scroll started to whither turning into white glowing ashes. It gathered spiraling in front of Jason before it dived down into the middle of Jason¡¯s forehead. Again a jolting sensation trembled across his entire body. A new knowledge embedded itself into the deep depth of his brain.

    Skill; Wind Cutter acquired

    ¡°Wind cutter,¡± Jason mumbled.

    His left hand glowed in pale light green. He swung his left hand and a crescent shape light green was released into the air flinging across the air as it struck across the opposite end of the corridor. It was far but Jason could saw the mark left by the wind cutter. The glow in his left hand dimmed down and Jason knew what it meant.

    Two more.

    He swung his left hand two times in succession. Two crescent-shaped projectiles flew across the air and both hit the glass wall window. The window cracked a bit displaying the strength of the skill.

    It does lack power, perhaps because of my low dexterity and energy.

    That wasn¡¯t all.

    I need to improve my aim.

    Jason was intending to hit the same mark from before but both strayed far away from the target. Using it consecutively does diminish the accuracy of the skill. He definitely needs more training in order to fully maximized the Wind Cutter potential.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? How did you do that?¡± Matt kept on being surprised time after time.

    Seeing Jason pulling out a skill like that only instilled in Matt¡¯s mind the notion that Jason himself was like a monster.

    ¡°The world is changing, try to keep up with it,¡± for the first time Jason answered something.

    Matt was confused. But those words kept on revolving inside of his head. He followed Jason around, scavenging through the rooms opened up by the sonic blast. A few bottles of water and a few cans of soda. They also found a few packets of peanuts. Other than that, there wasn¡¯t much that they could find.

    Jason found a change of clothes. A t-shirt and a pair of khakis. A bit too big for him but he didn¡¯t mind. As long as he has something to wear then it was enough for him. The owner of the room probably didn¡¯t make it in time to fetch his luggage seeing how he left everything.

    Seeing Matt chugging down the water, Jason picked up a bottle and emptied it out in mere seconds.

    ¡°Don¡¯t finish it all, save some for later,¡± said Jason. Matt nodded in response.

    Jason found a few unused laundry bags in the bathroom. He tossed one at Matt.

    ¡°Pack things up, half and half,¡± said Jason. For some reason, Matt felt warmth from Jason¡¯s words. He didn¡¯t think Jason would have the heart to share.

    In this dire time, food and water are resources that shouldn¡¯t be taken lightly off. Who knows what would happen in the near future. Jason hoped it didn¡¯t come to that but anything was possible. He just hoped that the rescue helicopter would come by tonight. If not, he didn¡¯t know what else to do other than resigning to fate. He doubted his energy guard could defend against an airstrike. Even if he did manage to guard against the first one, the second one would definitely send him to the grave.

    ¡°Where to?¡± asked Matt.

    ¡°Going back to the staircase,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡± Matt couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard.

    ¡°But what if those things appear again?¡±

    ¡°It would have appeared by now since that blast did make a whole lot of noise. So since nothing popped out, it probably is safe by now,¡± a solid reason by Jason.

    ¡°Probably?¡± yet Matt wasn''t convinced.

    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± said Jason.

    He left in a nonchalant mannered. The only reason he allowed Matt to followed him was due to him assisting Laurel in helping Jason leveled up.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Matt didn¡¯t have a choice knowing that this man could defeat every monster that they have met. It would be stupid of him to not tag along with Jason.

    The duo returned once more at the staircase. Peeking left to right, Jason made sure the coast was clear.

    They climbed up the stairs one by one and a few minutes later, they reached the door to the rooftop.

    Both felt relief. Jason was getting tired meeting the unexpected while on the way to the rooftop. Now he just had to wait for the rescue team to arrive.

    Yet things weren¡¯t that simple.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Matt asked.

    Jason tried his utmost to open up the door. But it wouldn¡¯t budge. Even with his strength, the door wouldn¡¯t open.

    ¡°I can¡¯t open the door,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Try pulling it,¡± Matt said.

    It would have been stupid of Jason if the door was a pull and not a push.

    But both resulted in the same.

    ¡°I can¡¯t, something is blocking the door from the outside,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Matt tried to open it up but to no avail, the result stayed the same.

    Jason was loitering around in a circle while rubbing his head.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± he shouted as he kicked the door out of frustration.

    But even with his full force kick, the door wouldn¡¯t budge an inch.

    ¡°Hey, try it with your sword or with that glowing green hands of yours,¡± Matt tried suggesting a method as he too had enough of encountering monsters.

    Jason didn¡¯t spare his EP as he started flinging his left hand throwing those wind cutters at the door. Yet it only left a mark at the door. A mark that let them see the other side of the door.

    ¡°Something is blocking the door,¡± again Jason kicked the door out of spite.

    ¡°Then what are we going to do?¡± Matt was losing hope.

    ¡°What else, we need to go back downstairs and find another route to the roof,¡± said Jason.

    To his words, both of them glanced downwards at the staircase.

 Chapter 31

    A floor below the roof. Jason and Matt were walking through the high rise restaurant. It was empty without a soul. A few tables had leftover food on the table but judging by the smell, it wasn¡¯t safe for eating.

    In his hand was a can of creamy corns. Jason did go through the kitchen and looking up for supplies. The pantry was full and the kitchen fridges were filled to the brim. It would have been good if it wasn¡¯t for that airstrike. All this food will be gone to waste, blown up into smithereens by an airstrike.

    He continued eating up the corns as his eyes wandered around the restaurant. The outside view was the same as usual, black smokes kept on rising. Jason didn¡¯t bother looking down on the street as it didn¡¯t matter to him. Matt didn¡¯t have the appetite to eat but seeing Jason chowing down those golden creamy corns made his stomach growled. He had his chance but he wasted it over his anxiety.

    The restaurant was huge covering the whole floor. In fact, this floor houses two prominent high-class restaurants. Both dubbed as Michelin Stars restaurants. Well for the scouring Jason, that tidbit of information wasn¡¯t known to the man.

    He walked across the carpet floor, the modernized chandelier on top of him was still on but the ambient didn¡¯t matter to Jason. Yet something made him halted his movement.

    ¡°Get down,¡± shouted Jason.

    He threw himself on the soft carpet floor and rolled his body underneath the table. Matt long accustomed to Jason didn¡¯t question his order and dropped down on the floor. Jason kept his eyes at the glass wall window. A huge shadow hovered at the outside. He didn¡¯t see it but seconds ago, he heard a sound. A familiar sound that once almost threw him out from the hotel building.

    It¡¯s that damn ancient bird again.

    It was the ebony pterodactyl flying outside hovering around as its eyes were glancing within the inside of the restaurant. Judging from its size, it was bigger than the one Jason managed to kill.

    Poking his head out right now would only invite more trouble and that trouble wasn¡¯t something he wants to deal with. He laid there on the carpet floor keeping watch on the persistent ebony pterodactyl flying outside. The flapping noise it made was loud and clear to Jason¡¯s ears. At times, it went away but it came back in a short notice. Jason didn¡¯t have the time to move from his current spot.

    For some reason, he felt rather comfortable lying down on the carpet floor. It felt rather warm too underneath the table covered by the tablecloth. His eyelids grew heavy and as he tried to focus his sight on the ebony pterodactyl, it only made his drowsiness even worse.

    He didn¡¯t even realize it but his body was tired and his mind weary. His minor heal+ didn¡¯t have the property to cure fatigue and his stamina was too low to adapt to his strenuous actions. In a matter of a few seconds, his conscience was drifting in his dream as he slept underneath the table.

    ¡°Wake up man,¡± someone¡¯s voice was bothering Jason.

    ¡°Hey, wake up. We¡¯re in big trouble,¡± that annoying voice kept on blabbering to his ears.

    ¡°Wake up, damn it,¡± in order to wake up Jason, Matt resorted in slapping him as the last line of way to wake the heavy sleeper Jason.

    But before Matt¡¯s slap could even reach Jason¡¯s face. Someone gripped his neck rendering him fighting for air. Jason opened up his eyes and saw the struggling man trying to catch his breath.

    ¡°Staph...¡± Matt¡¯s face grew pale and his voice turned slur.

    Jason released the grip on Matt¡¯s neck as the man in question try to take a deep breath. He coughed out a few times before taking a few more deep breathes.

    ¡°Damn... you...¡± Matt tried to speak as he took in a huge amount of air.

    ¡°I fell asleep?¡± said Jason as he yawned out of reflex. He was still groggy as he was forced to wake up from his sleep.

    But then he noticed something. His half-closed eyes saw the change in outside. Unlike the blue sky and white clouds, all he saw now was only darkness.

    ¡°It¡¯s night and what is that noise?¡± Jason was still having a hard time adjusting.

    Then a man grabbed on to Jason¡¯s shoulders. It was from Matt.

    ¡°Dude, we got to get on the roof. There¡¯s a freaking huge bird terrorizing the whole place,¡± said Matt.

    He too fell asleep as if like a spell befell on them. But Matt woke up first. He didn¡¯t bother waking up Jason as he was still a bit scared at Jason. He found the stairs leading up to the rooftop and decided to go first. But as he opened the door, he could only close it back as he was trembling in his shoes. The sight of a big ancient bird, killing people with its long snout was too much for him to witness.

    He rushed back downstairs and tried to wake up Jason and now it leads back to the present. The image of Maria and his cousins surfaced at that point in time. He didn¡¯t dawdle and rushed towards the staircase. But he stood motionless after a while as he didn¡¯t know where it was.

    ¡°Over here,¡± Matt beckoned him to the right path.

    Jason followed Matt¡¯s lead and as he grew closer to the roof, he heard gunshots and loud shrieks. The image of a woman wielding her Glock, shooting at the flying dinosaur kept on cycling within his mind.

    He ran up the flight of stairs. The door was within his reach. He slammed his body on the door as he pushed down the handle. His ears were bombarded by the loud screaming and gunshots. They were all over the place. Jason¡¯s vision saw things that were far from normal.

    The hell is going on here?

    Blood spilled all over the place. Disembodied bodies with guts spilling over were seen left and right. Men dressed in black suits with black shades were firing their guns at the flying creature hovering over the rooftop.

    Jason didn¡¯t expect to see a bunch of people coming out from the Man in Black movie shooting at a prehistoric bird. It was like Man in Black meets Jurassic Park. While his eyes witnessed these people shooting against the flying creature. His sight saw a familiar-looking gal holding on to a Glock in her hand. She was desperate with her back consisting of people that Jason knew. Maria was trying her best to protect the people from danger.

    Jason turned his attention back to the humongous ebony pterodactyl. He knew the bullets firing at it were useless. It was like throwing a stone at a tank. This flying creature was strong. Stronger than the one he once fought.

    Each time those wings flapped, a strong turbulent wind rendered these people from doing anything. They already desperate in trying to keep themselves from rolling around on the ground. Jason had a simple thought.

    Why didn¡¯t they just move downstairs?

    Within this chaos, right or wrong didn''t even matter at the moment. Everyone on the rooftop was fighting for their lives on the line. Another man in black eaten by the long snout of the ebony pterodactyl. The rest were unfazed, emotionless even after seeing their colleague being eaten.

    Their fingers didn¡¯t stop pulling the trigger. Jason stood there as the harsh wind brushed over his face. He was deep in thought, trying to think about how to take on this big flying monster.

    Aim for the eye again? But can I even reach it?

    The ebony pterodactyl was hovering sixteen feet above the rooftop. Jumping over that height was not easy and Jason himself didn¡¯t know whether he can do it or not. He didn¡¯t actually test out his capabilities to the fullest.

    Jason scanned the rooftop trying to find a spot where he could jump at the flying beast. Even if he did manage to jump at it, there¡¯s a possibility of him being fly around by that damn animal. Risking his life wasn¡¯t in the plan.

    Should I gamble on using Wind Cutter?

    The thought of using every point that he had into energy and dexterity came into mind. But a voice snapped him out of his train of thought.

    ¡°Jason,¡± he turned and saw Maria running towards him.

    The loud deafening sounds from the ebony pterodactyl''s shriek and the sounds of gunfire drowned out the voice of Maria. He couldn¡¯t hear what she was saying. But then his line of sight caught on something. A huge tail came out of nowhere as it slammed over the oblivious Maria. It struck her by surprise bringing her feet off the ground. Along with the strong turbulent wind, Maria was flung in the air.

    Jason saw it happened right in front of him. As if times slowed down, he saw Maria being swept by the wind. His heart beats faster as he shouted.

    ¡°Maria.¡±

 Chapter 32

    Maria¡¯s body was coming closer to the edge of the roof. Jason ran with everything he got. Pushing those two legs of his trying to catch up to Maria. But the wind was faster.

    Thirty points to agility.

    His speed went through a monumental change. A speed unknown to the realm of man. A speed that no man could ever encounter. But Jason just did it. His hands grabbed on to Maria''s ankle by the nick of time. Her whole body went past the border of the roof. The wind died down and gravity took place. Maria¡¯s weight pulled her body towards the ground and Jason braced himself as he pulled her over.

    With his immense strength, he brought her over the ledge as she dropped on him on the rooftop. He pulled himself together and checked on Maria¡¯s condition. His hands were trembling, he was clueless about what to do. His eyes were shaking as he saw the pale face of Maria.

    He came closer to her face and he could feel the slight breath brushing over his cheek. Maria was still alive. A smile just carved right on that face of his. But the situation was critical.

    Recalling what happened just now, Maria was hit from the side. Jason pulled her shirt and what he witnessed made him frowned.

    A huge black bruise across her flank traveling up to her torso. It was bad and the kind of bad that don¡¯t mingle well with the living. Jason turned frantic as he placed his hand over to the bruised area.

    ¡°Minor Heal+,¡± said Jason.

    But nothing happened. Again and again, he shouted but nothing came out. The glow that he relied on didn¡¯t show up.

    ¡°Shit,¡± he cursed.

    The status window opened up and he saw why nothing was happening. His EP was empty with no points to spare.

    ¡°Ten points to energy,¡± he didn¡¯t hesitate and threw a bunch of points to the energy attribute. Right now, points didn''t even matter to him as her life was on the line. A life that he had once cherished.

    ¡°Minor Heal+¡­¡± again and again, he repeated those words as the glowing green light enveloped Maria¡¯s body. He kept on repeating until there was no more of his EP left. It was stupid of him to do so but nothing matters to him at that point in time.

    He slumped down on the floor as he stared at the woman bathed in green light. He knew she would be healed by his ability but he couldn¡¯t help but be worried.

    Ignoring the commotion of where the men in black fighting against the dreaded ebony pterodactyl, Jason just sat there with his eyes on Maria. He didn¡¯t give a damn about that ugly flying beast until he saw this woman healed to the fullest.

    The green light faded down and emerged a body of a woman laid on the cold concrete floor.

    ¡°Maria?¡± he came closer and tried waking up the damsel.

    He shouted her names a few more times and finally got a reaction.

    Maria winched before her eyes slowly opened.

    ¡°Ugh, my head,¡± a massive headache right after waking up.

    She propped her body up and saw Jason.

    ¡°Jason?¡± her vision cleared and saw the face of a man smiling.

    Jason leaped over and hugged her. His arms wrapped around Maria¡¯s body. His action caught Maria by surprise yet she didn¡¯t deny the affection coming from this man.

    Her eyes were wet on the verge of crying. Although it was blurry, she did remember being hit by an enormous force. Something that she shouldn¡¯t be able to survive through. She knew she¡¯s alive and breathing right now was because of this man.

    It had been so long since she felt this way. But the noise coming from around her snapped her out of her momentary bliss.

    ¡°Jason, the flying monster,¡± she urged the man to kept their priorities check.

    Both parted away and both stared at the sight of the ebony pterodactyl. It was playing around with the men in black and at times ate one of them like they were snacks on the counter.

    ¡°Have you put a point in energy?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°No, not yet,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Have many points do you have left?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, two,¡± she replied after checking through her status screen.

    ¡°Put one into energy and another into e.resist,¡± said Jason.

    He watched as Maria reacted to the surprising new development. She stared at Jason in astonishment, speechless about what to say.

    ¡°So, what did you got?¡± Jason could saw the thin white glow enveloping Maria¡¯s entire body. He had a hunch about it and he didn¡¯t miss it.

    ¡°It says here, energy guard,¡± the same as Jason.

    Same as mine. It might be a common skill that was easy to get.

    ¡°and the other one is, Identify? I don¡¯t get what it actually means,¡± said Maria.

    Jason was disheartened. He was expecting Maria to earn an offensive type of ability that might be useful in tackling that flying ancient bird over there.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jason¡¯s disappointment was plain for Maria to see.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing,¡± he turned his sight at the ebony pterodactyl.

    He still had no idea how to deal with that creature. He even wasted his EP into overhealing Maria.

    I was really caught up in the moment back then.

    He scoffed at himself thinking about how emotionally driven he was during healing Maria.

    ¡°Why are you suddenly smiling,¡± Maria felt it was strange for Jason to suddenly smiled out of nowhere.

    The current situation wasn¡¯t looking so good for someone to smile. Well, everyone had their own reasons.

    ¡°Are the others safe?¡± he asked.

    ¡°They¡¯re fine,¡± she paused for a while thinking about something. ¡°If it¡¯s about Gina, she¡¯s more than fine.¡±

    Maria rolled her eyes just thinking about it. She must have her fair share of difficulty in handling the high maintenance lady.

    ¡°Get them down to the restaurant below, it¡¯s safer down there than up here,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Roger that but,¡± she glanced at Jason. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°What I do best. Put extinct animals down,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Wait, what? You¡¯re going to fight that?¡±

    ¡°Enough talk,¡± he caressed her beautiful bronze cheek.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for action,¡± he left as Maria reached out her hand at him.

    She didn¡¯t call his name knowing it would be useless.

    What best for her right now was to stick with the task at hand.

    Keeping the others alive.

    Enough of the bravado, how the hell am I going to take this down?

    He sounds confident and he acted confident. But deep down, he still didn¡¯t know what he was supposed to do.

    The battle environment wasn¡¯t suitable for the likes of him considering he was up against a flying beast. In this open-air, the ebony pterodactyl was in its element.

    Jason rushed at the hovering ebony pterodactyl. The men in black were hanging there pretty good considering there were using useless weapons.

    Running towards the back of the ebony pterodactyl. It would be stupid of him if he didn¡¯t use the opportunity for an ambush.

    ¡°I¡¯m out of ammo, cover me,¡± said one of the men in black.

    But the others didn¡¯t do a good job in covering him. A long snout pecked from above and the man was screaming before being swallowed alive.

    ¡°Shit, it got Smith,¡± said one of the men in black. A close friend of his since he had worked with him for a long time, he was about to grieve but his sight caught something.

    ¡°A man? Is that a man running towards the bird?¡±

    Another man in black shouted.

    ¡°Watch your six.¡±

    The man who saw Jason running from behind was hit by the long tail of the ebony pterodactyl.

    Yet everything happened for a reason.

    Jason leaped on top of the lounge roof. A single leap was all it took.

    I need to be higher.

    Just about then he saw the tall communication tower. With the blinking lights illuminating in the darkness of the night.

    He ran and leaped, walking through the air before he collided with the iron steel bar of the communication tower.

    ¡°Woah,¡± his hand barely gripped over the bar. He was hanging there with the sole strength of his right hand.

    Jason pulled himself up using the strength of a single hand. If it was him before, this feat of strength wasn¡¯t close to possible.

    I had been dreaming of trying to do that. Never thought I could do that.

    He smiled.

    Jason climbed the communication tower until he reached the top.

    ¡°Shit, this extinct bird is big,¡± even with him at the tallest point of the tower.

    The size of the ebony pterodactyl was too huge. Jumping right above its head wasn¡¯t possible right now.

    ¡°There goes my one hit one kill ambush,¡± his confidence was going down but that didn¡¯t¡¯ stop him.

    ¡°Now or never¡±

    With all his strength.

    Jason jumped.

 Chapter 33

    Jumping down from the sky-high tower, his heart beat wilder than ever. A gush of excitement filled up his entire being. Doing this kind of thing doesn¡¯t play well for his heart more so for his mind. Extreme activities weren¡¯t within his bucket list. But things changed and he himself didn¡¯t realize it.

    The fear replaced with excitement as the adrenaline pumped over his body. He held his horn sword with both of his hands, with the target in sight. It didn¡¯t matter where he hit as long as he makes it bleed.

    The horn sword stabbed right into the flesh of the ebony pterodactyl. It jerked out of pain and a loud shrill resounded in the air. It flapped its wings in a violent mannered, erratic in motion. It never expected to felt pain while fighting against these weak soft flesh creatures.

    Jason was barely hanging on at the back of the ebony pterodactyl. His body was swinging from left to right like a pendulum in motion. His hands gripped tightly on the hilt of his horn sword.

    The stab is too shallow.

    Even with the added force from leaping plus the gravity, his attack was rather meager in result. His horn sword barely stabbed into its flesh. It was bleeding but it¡¯s too little. It was akin like pricking a needle at the end of a fingertip. It hurts but it wasn¡¯t enough.

    ¡°It¡¯s injured. Rain down more bullets,¡± the men in black were eager in seeing it wailing in pain. They thought they finally did some damage to it but it was far from the truth. Jason was holding on to his life.

    This isn¡¯t fun.

    Gritting his teeth, he let go of one of his hands from the hilt.

    ¡°Woah,¡± the ride was turning more violent. It was even worse than riding the mechanical rodeo bull.

    He pressed on and dug his free hand into the flesh. Slowly his hand went on deeper into the open wound. Pain jolted across its body. The ebony pterodactyl landed on top of the roof as the entire roof quaked under its weight. The men in black staggered on their feet, while those people who were holding were screaming for their lives.

    A sudden quake made them fell onto their knees. The ebony pterodactyl stood upright opening up its wings showcasing its large wingspan. Its head and long snout directed towards the sky as it let out a high pitch shriek.

    Jason dug deeper until half of his arm was inside the flesh wound. He grabbed on to the muscles as he did the unthinkable. He dislodged the horn sword from the stab wound and in turn, he stabbed at another part on its back.

    ¡°Kawww¡­¡±

    It shrieked in pain, not knowing where did it come from. But as its head stoop up high, its eyes saw something clinging in the middle of its back. A soft flesh creature stabbing into its flesh like fire ants biting over human trespassers. It was enraged, furious by that simple thought of being injured by a human of all things. It bent its neck to the back as the long snout began to counter attacked the silent attacker.

    One of the men in black saw Jason clinging on its back. He was astounded by what he was seeing. Yet the moment he saw ebony pterodactyl trying to attack Jason. He shouted alerting the courageous man.

    ¡°Hey, watch out.¡±

    But Jason couldn¡¯t hear much less pay attention to his surroundings as he was knee-deep in stabbing the heck out of this creature. With little time that he had, he was making sure every second count.

    Yet his gut feeling told him to glance to the side. He did so and he knew it was too late. The long snout slammed over his dangling body as he felt the full force behind that sudden attack.

    E.Guard disabled.

    Time to recover; 55 minutes

    E.Guard level up to level 2

    He welcomed the new level up but turning useless after gaining it was rather disappointing. The faint whitish glow that protected him vanished into thin air.

    Jason was in a predicament. It shook him as he tried clinging on to the back of the ebony pterodactyl. He was starting to feel the pain over his left hand that was stuck inside the wound of the ebony pterodactyl. Rocking from left to right with only his stuck hand anchoring him unto the ebony pterodactyl put a heavy toll on his hand. His eyes went all over the place trying to see where the long snout was.

    Here it comes.

    Its snout tried to peck from above. Jason saw it coming and flung his body to the side, brushing it against the long snout. The friction made his skin burned and bruised. Jason frowned and endured the pain. The hand holding on to the horn sword stabbed at another place. The creature wailed once more.

    Yet Jason didn¡¯t stop at once, he stabbed at the same spot deeper and deeper. Blood spurted out from the wound, oozing out in its crimson red color. The ebony pterodactyl pecked once more and Jason dislodged his stuck hand and leaped to another spot.

    He dodged the incoming attack and this time he grabbed on to the muscle of the new open wound. A new method in harassing the creature as he repeated the same process time after time. The men in black stopped firing as they witnessed the battle between these two.

    Those who were fearing their lives were staring at this battle. Even those who were in hiding came out from their hiding place witnessing a fight that can no doubt be called similar to David versus Goliath.

    One of them was the son of the conglomerate. Hiding underneath the counter of the lounge, he appeared and saw the unbelievable spectacle.

    ¡°What on earth,¡± he was speechless.

    On the floor below the struggling ebony pterodactyl, blood pooled over. But the creature was still strong fighting against the human on its back.

    ¡°Arkkk,¡± the shriek of the ebony pterodactyl resounded in the air.

    It had enough of being tormented.

    Its wings flapped hard as it started to hovered once more. The wind generated by the flapping was stronger than before.

    ¡°Arkkk,¡± once again it shrieked. Like it was a signal, the ebony pterodactyl took flight.

    It disappeared from the rooftop as it flew above the night sky.

    Damn it.

    Jason''s brow furrowed and gritting his teeth, Jason held on. His hand stuck deeper into the stab wound as his legs were flailing around. While his other hand held on to the horn sword.

    The temperature was going down, as Jason could feel the chill creeping on his skin. The higher it flew the faster the temperature was dropping.

    Jason was hoping to continue his attack but he had enough trouble trying to hold on and not fall from this ridiculous height. He didn¡¯t dare to look down, looking to the side was enough for him. The ebony pterodactyl flew passed the lining of clouds and there it was the bright moon unhindered by nothing.

    Jason had a glimpsed of the beautiful moon. Even during this turmoil, he was amazed by the beauty of the moon.

    It¡¯s beauti-

    Yet before he could further appreciate its beauty. The ebony pterodactyl made a sudden drop.

    Damn this bird.

    The speed it was dropping was at a whole other level. The rough air pressure was pricking his skin like numerous sharp needles. He couldn¡¯t even keep his eyes open, squinting throughout the whole flight.

    Shit, this is bad. If it starts to roll, I¡¯m¡­

    Speak of the devil, as if the creature could read Jason¡¯s mind. The ebony pterodactyl started to roll while diving down. His legs swayed left to right like a piece of rag doll. Helpless against the strong turbulent of the air pressure.

    I¡¯m going to kill this bird.

    He had enough of being played by this oversized bird.

    To hell with it, all remaining points to energy.

    The last gamble for the man hanging for his life.

    ¡°Wind Cutter, wind cutter, wind cutter¡­¡±

    He mumbled those words repeating it like no tomorrow.

    Within the stab wound, his stuck hand glowed in light green. He swung his hand within that stab wound and it didn¡¯t matter how minimal his movement was as light green projectiles started pouring out.

    Crescent shape projectiles started cutting down those muscles and flesh within the inside of the ebony pterodactyl.

    ¡°Arkk,¡± it shrieked yet it didn¡¯t stop rolling in the air. The ebony pterodactyl was determined in squashing the human behind it. It didn¡¯t stop rolling no matter the pain it''s experienced.

    Soon, the hotel roof was within sight. The people on the roof were relief seeing the dangerous threat was gone but their relief was short-lived.

    Someone who was tending to their own wounds accidentally glanced upwards and its eyes turned wide.

    ¡°It¡¯s coming back.¡±

    To his words, everyone stared at the sky. Eyes wide open, with their jaws gaping wide. Fear came back plastered across their face.

 Chapter 34

    Maria stood by the staircase door as she prayed for the man who was fighting for his life. Her eyes didn¡¯t leave the night sky. While others were crying in joy as the threat was no longer above their heads. She, on the other hand, was hoping to see that big bird again.

    Then something caught her eyes. Not only her, a few attentive people around the rooftop saw the descending object from above. The speed it was dropping was astonishing.

    ¡°Jason,¡± she called his name out loud.

    Yet she wasn¡¯t sure whether that man was still hanging on to that ancient prehistoric bird.

    Please be safe, thought Maria.

    The sight of the speeding ebony pterodactyl scared the wits out of all people on the rooftop. Those who knew better took the chance and ran for their lives downstairs.

    Then it came.

    BANG.

    A loud thunderous bang exploded as the whole hotel building shook. People screamed and shouted as chaos ensued. Cloud of dust covered the whole rooftop and as minutes passed by the dust dispersed revealing a huge hole on the roof.

    One of the men in black took the courage to see what was inside of the hole. What he saw was too much for him to explained.

    Maria was on the floor as she tried to regain her balance. The sudden quake from the fall caught her off guard. She didn¡¯t bother about the hole on the roof as downstairs she heard people pleading for help. While some screaming and crying.

    A bad feeling caught up to her as she fled downstairs. The moment she exited out the door, her pace slowed down and her eyes wide open.

    ¡°Woah,¡± she almost lost balance as her reflex was fast enough to retreat a few steps back.

    Maria almost fell into a huge hole. With the sole cause of it was the ebony pterodactyl laid there among the rubble and debris of the rooftop. The fall impact made it gouged out a hole three-floor deep.

    ¡°The guys,¡± Maria remembered about the people she left behind. Her feet were light as she made her way near the windows. A breath of relief seeing the whole group was safe. They were cowering at the corner in fear.

    ¡°Maria, what¡¯s going on?¡± Eugene saw the arrival of Maria and didn¡¯t hesitate to ask.

    ¡°It¡¯s the¡­¡±

    Her words fell short.

    ¡°Kaww,¡± the ebony pterodactyl let out a shriek that echoed within this damage restaurant. There¡¯s nothing left of the so-called Michelin star eatery.

    That single shriek made the people to cower in fear, Maria included. She turned and stooped down her body. Her hands automatically reached out for her handgun. Her eyes stared at the creature immobilized by the debris on its body.

    Its head which was the only part of it free of anything weakly moved around.

    It tried to move its body but it¡¯s too weak. Each time it tried to moved the people gasped in fear. Even in fear they didn¡¯t run. The sight of the creature close to death at least made them brave enough to just see it up close.

    While the people on the rooftop saw it firsthand from above.

    ¡°The creature is still alive, send some men downstairs,¡± said one the men in black.

    Soon the restaurant floor was filled with people dressed in black suits and black shades. They circled the monster from every angle with their gun aiming at the creature.

    At this point, most of them knew that their guns were useless. But seeing the flying dinosaur was weak, who knows, it might do something.

    Maria approached closer to the ebony pterodactyl. Her steps were slow and cautious.

    ¡°Step aside, this is under the jurisdiction of us,¡± one of the men in black saw Maria approached the circle they have made.

    ¡°I don¡¯t take orders from a bunch bodyguards protecting a snob. Block my way and I¡¯ll put a bullet on your head,¡± Maria wasn¡¯t the type to back down. She had been dealing with criminals for ten years and those people are more aggressive than these bunch of stoic men in black goons.

    The man in black flinched while those colleagues around him didn¡¯t bother backing him up. A sour feeling and he let Maria go.

    Maria came closer to the edge of the hole. The ebony pterodactyl was still trying to move its entire body but failing at each time.

    While others were interested in the bird, Maria was looking elsewhere. She was trying to find clues about the whereabouts of a man.

    But then, the ebony pterodactyl let out a powerful desperate shriek.

    ¡°Kawww.¡±

    BANG.

    Someone just pulled the trigger. Like domino falling one after another, the men in black pulled their trigger.

    Shots were fired hitting the beast. It swung its head a few more times crashing against the edge of the hole. But in the end, its head fell on the floor. Limp with no energy left.

    Then a rubble on top of the ebony pterodactyl moved. A shadow was emerging from underneath.

    BANG.

    Some dumb piece of shit just shot another round at the moving rubble. Afraid of what might appear from underneath the rubble and debris.

    But contrary to the nervous people, a loud humane voice echoed through the surroundings.

    ¡°Argh, the fuck.¡±

    A shout full of pain and anger. People were bewildered but not Maria. She recognized that voice and curse.

    ¡°Hold your fire,¡± she shouted.

    ¡°Jason, is that you?¡± she asked while shouting across the whole pit.

    A person emerged underneath the rubble. Dust covered him from head to toe. Crimson blood dyed his left shoulder as some idiot just shot him.

    ¡°Who the fuck shot me?¡± his voice rang in the air. People couldn¡¯t believe a man just appeared from within the hole and right on top of the dead beast.

    One of the men in black retreated a few steps. Beads of sweats drenched his forehead. If it wasn¡¯t for the black shades people would have noticed it much easier.

    The man within the hole kept turning around as his eyes were looking for the perpetrator. His hand glowed in green as it covered the wounded shoulder. Seconds later it healed.

    Jason couldn¡¯t find the one who shot him but now wasn¡¯t the time for meaningless things. He swung his right arm that was holding on to the horn sword. Flicking off the dust from it. He made his way to the head of the ebony pterodactyl.

    Standing just a foot away he stared down at the greatest adversary that he just fought. Although he fought in a crude and cheap manner, it was still a win no matter what. He almost died from that fall and if it wasn¡¯t for him healing his entire body at the moment impact, he would have the same fate as this prehistoric bird.

    Unlike last time, I made sure to keep a few points for healing.

    A self-praising comment for himself as Jason held the horn sword up high. His stare at the ebony pterodactyl gave only one meaning.

    Die.

    The horn sword stabbed right through the eyes of the ebony pterodactyl. The people around the hole didn¡¯t understand why Jason stabbed the creature in the eye but the moment he did, everyone understood.

    ¡°Kawww,¡± it was still alive and breathing.

    It wanted to retaliate but the horn sword struck it deep inside its head. The merciless man pushed it even further deeper until half of the horn sword was lost from sight. Jason made sure to angle it further towards its brain. It was best to make sure it stays dead.

    Soon, it stopped moving.

    Jason stood motionless with his hands still on the horn sword, waiting for something.

    Then it arrived.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 16

    Jason is the first out of the many to fight against monsters that went beyond his capabilities. An achievement, unknown to the rest of the world.

    A courageous lad that push himself to the limit. Jason has gained this honor.

    Jason obtained a new title, The First Level Usurper

    ¡°Oh, interesting.¡±

    From the beginning, he had fought against monsters that were beyond his level and those experiences didn¡¯t go to waste. A title was born that befit the man that held it. He, like always smiled. Who wouldn¡¯t smile obtaining precious goods? Yet it wasn¡¯t only him.

    Maria stood at the edge of the hole with a smile on her beautiful face. Yet a blue window popped up in front of her.

    ¡°Level 3,¡± she muttered as her eyes traced back to the sight of Jason. Her meager assistance in shooting down the ebony pterodactyl, albeit it was useless it was still deemed as a contribution. Then she realized something.

    ¡°Not only me but the others,¡± her eyes darted around.

    ¡°Something just popped up in front of me,¡± the one who shot Jason stumbled on his feet and fell on his bottom.

    He was surprised but he wasn¡¯t alone.

    To his words, every single person who shot at the ebony pterodactyl experienced the same thing.

    The first awakening of the many.

 Chapter 35

    Jason climbed up from the hole and someone greeted him warmly. Maria hugged him the moment he was within reach.

    ¡°Can you loosen up a bit? I¡¯m hurt here,¡± said Jason.

    She didn¡¯t let go.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just heal yourself?¡± Maria replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m out of EP, my wounds aren''t fully healed,¡± he said. She let go with her brows knitted together.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just let me rest a bit,¡± he said.

    Jason and Maria were about to walk away yet a man blocked their path.

    A man dressed in a black suit with a black shade. The wrinkle underneath that shades of his didn¡¯t hide his late age. He¡¯s one of the men in black.

    ¡°I need to talk,¡± said the man.

    ¡°Beat it,¡± said Maria.

    He frowned underneath his shades.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking,¡± over the years, no one dared talk back to him. He¡¯s the chief staff of protection for the whole Rawlings Conglomerate, Simon Price. If it wasn¡¯t for the big man himself asking him a favor to protect his obnoxious bratty son, he wouldn¡¯t have been in this situation. But this city detective had the nerve to talked back to him.

    ¡°Me neither,¡± Maria was quick with her hand as her handgun was already out and aiming at the man.

    Simon had to admit, this woman was quick in her action. He was a step too late more so he was out of ammo at the moment. In times like this, rather than posturing with his dignity and pride it was best to be on the same page. Raising both of his hands up in the air, he offered a truce.

    ¡°I¡¯m not here for trouble. From what I¡¯d seen, you defeating that creature is related to this floating blue window,¡± said the man while pointing at Jason. The one he saw fighting while clinging on the ebony pterodactyl¡¯s back.

    ¡°Am I right?¡± Simon asked.

    Jason stared at this man. He couldn¡¯t see Simon¡¯s eyes but knew that this man wasn¡¯t an ordinary man. Even so, he too wasn¡¯t ordinary. Far from it.

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said.

    ¡°Then what are these-¡± Simon wanted to know more but Jason intervened.

    ¡°You can figure it yourself, I need my rest. Unlike you guys doing nothing, I¡¯m the one who did the heavy load,¡± Jason said his piece. He and Maria walked past Simon not before Simon spoke up once more.

    ¡°One last thing, what is that thing you are holding? I think I saw it appearing on top of the dead bird¡¯s head,¡± a man with keen vision. Even from afar he noticed everything.

    Jason simply replied.

    ¡°None of your damn business,¡± he and Maria, both returned to the group.

    Leaving Simon standing there with his expression stoic and calm yet underneath no one knew what he was feeling.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Gina stood up and leaped for a hug.

    ¡°Ow,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Gina asked with her eyes moist.

    Maria was annoyed by this cousin of Jason. Who in this world right now could hurt Jason, she herself knew that.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Need some rest,¡± said Jason.

    Eugene helped Jason out as he lay on the floor. He was about to rest his head on the carpet floor but a soft sensation met against the back of his head. He titled upwards and saw Eugene smiling in a refreshing way. She was giving him a thigh pillow.

    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t mind,¡± said Eugene.

    It bewildered Jason, wasn¡¯t he the one who suppose to say that. For some reason, he felt a red hot glare coming from the side. He took a peek and saw Maria with her arms crossed over her chest glaring at him. Although he had broken up with her a long time ago, he still remembered what that look and posture meant.

    Shit, am I more afraid of a woman than a big prehistoric bird?

    It was a ridiculous thought but he couldn¡¯t deny such feelings. He turned his head to the side towards the glass wall mirror. At least this way he wouldn¡¯t need to see that face again.

    Damn, I forgot about the reflection.

    He tried but he couldn¡¯t escape. The glass wall mirror reflected the look on Maria¡¯s face. She was definitely staring Jason through the mirror itself. In mind, he was hoping another pterodactyl would show up so he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with this. Then he remembered something.

    The scroll.

    After defeating the ebony pterodactyl, he waited for a bit hoping for some miracle to happened and it did. A scroll similar to the one he obtained from the razor hunter appeared. He snatched it up the moment it appeared. He didn¡¯t want prying eyes knowing about this. But unfortunately for him, someone else already did a while ago.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Eugene asked. She was curious about the scroll Jason was holding.

    ¡°It¡¯s a scroll,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I know that but is it important?¡± she knew that Jason wasn¡¯t the type to favor books and literature. Him, holding on to an old looking scroll was weird enough.

    ¡°See for yourself,¡± Jason opened it as the letters were familiar from the last one. Then it glowed in a grayish light.

    Maria and Gina were intrigued as they too came closer hoping to take a peek. Then the blue windows appeared.

    Shadow Hide

    Allows you to hide in the shadow for a short time.

    Lv.1 : EP cost 1,

    Duration : 30 seconds

    Would you like to learn Shadow Hide?

    Jason clenched his fist tightly as he restrained himself from shouting in excitement. An ability that can hide one¡¯s presence was the epitome of survival. It can even be used both ways, defensive and offensive. An image came into mind.

    Ninja!

    Rather than the blonde hair with blue eyes wearing an orange jacket, Jason was more of a fan of the teacher. The one eye silver hair ninja, an all-rounder ninja that excelled in everything. Eluding enemies and spying are the most crucial skill set that a ninja needs to have and Jason having this new ability in hand would provide him a basic framework of how he progress himself further in the future.

    ¡°Oppa, you¡¯re grinning with that creepy smile again,¡± said Eugene.

    It snapped him off from his daydreaming and brought him back to reality. He turned back to the blue window and accepted the ability. Like before the whole scroll turned into ashes spiraling in front of him before going straight into the middle of his forehead.

    The whole scene shocked the heck out of everybody who was around him. Eugene¡¯s parent was calling Eugene to come over, afraid of something will happen to her. While Eugene, Gina, and Maria stared at the sight of Jason who has his eyes closed. They were worried but seeing that calm and serene look on his face, at least he¡¯s not in trouble.

    Then something appeared from the night sky with the lights blinking from afar. Someone caught sight of it first and shouted.

    ¡°Something is coming.¡±

    All eyes were on the sky above. Then they came closer. The sound of the rotating blades blaring across the night sky. These choppers went above the hotel building as people started rushing to the staircase as the hope of survival was within the distance.

    ¡°Oppa, wake up. The rescue chopper is here,¡± said Eugene. She shook Jason¡¯s body as she was brimming with excitement. She couldn¡¯t stand inside this nightmare any longer. All she wanted was her normal life, peace, and quiet.

    Gina too was elated with the corner of her smile reaching up to her ears. She cast down her sight to Jason who just woke up and looked at him with a caring look. Maria sighed out of relief. The thing she hoped for came true. She stared out into the night sky thanking her partner, Moretti, in her heart.

    But her bliss was short-lived. Screams and gunshots came from above. The noise jolted everyone off their feet.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Jason as he stood beside Maria.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Maria ran to the staircase with the others following her from behind.

    The staircase was blocked with people sitting down on the stairs, no one dared step out from the door.

    ¡°Make way, coming through,¡± Maria took the lead as she plowed through the people.

    The moment she stepped outside of the door, corpses of dead people littered across the roof. From the sight of these men in black aiming their weapon at her, she knew who was the cause of it.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± shouted Maria as her blood was boiling.

    Jason stood to the side and saw the gruesome scene. Man, woman, children and even the elderly were shot down without remorse. He didn¡¯t feel sad seeing this and rather apathetic, he knew what the world was becoming and these people in front of him would be the norm.

    ¡°Oh, Det.Lopez, you¡¯re right in time. Come along, you¡¯re supposed to escort me, am I right?¡±

    The son of the conglomerate stared at Maria with dirty intention in mind. He licked his lips like a viper preparing for its meal.

 Chapter 36

    The son of the conglomerate was still alive and obnoxiously well.

    ¡°Why did you kill these people?¡± she shouted at the top of her lungs.

    ¡°Why else? They¡¯re trying to jump inside my ride, of course, I¡¯m going to shoot them,¡± said the son of the conglomerate in a nonchalant manner. As if taking a life was the norm for him.

    Maria was seething in rage. The injustice she saw was pushing her rational mind over the edge. Even the sake of survival was pushed aside.

    She was about to grab her gun but a hand grabbed her wrist. She turned and saw Jason shaking his head side to side.

    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Jason whispered.

    ¡°But,¡± she wanted to refute.

    ¡°The airstrike,¡± those words made Maria realized the reality.

    Gritting her teeth, she pushed the urge of killing that son of a bitch deep inside her heart.

    ¡°Chop, chop, Det.Lopez. I don¡¯t have all day,¡± the son of the conglomerate hopped aboard the helicopter as he waited for Maria.

    ¡°I need to bring my people with me,¡± said Maria.

    She brought over Gina, Eugene and Eugene¡¯s parents. The son of conglomerate barely glanced at them. He saw Gina and Eugene and he wasn¡¯t disappointed. Again his tongue licked his moist lip.

    ¡°Sure, whatever. The old people can go to my sister¡¯s helicopter. While you three can come here and have a little chat with me,¡± the son of the conglomerate scooch over as he tapped the empty seat beside him.

    The son of the conglomerate was pushing Maria¡¯s nerves to the maximum. His obnoxious acts simply irritated her.

    ¡°Ow,¡± Maria felt pain on her wrist. She noticed Jason¡¯s grip tightened.

    She traced back to Jason¡¯s face and saw him at his limits. He too was enraged by the attitude of this man. Something rekindled inside her heart. Maria wasn¡¯t the only one annoyed by the action of the son of the conglomerate.

    ¡°Hey,¡± she called out to Jason.

    He glanced at her. Out of sudden, her face drew closer to Jason, catching him off guard. He felt something caressing over his lips, a sense of nostalgia swept him over. He didn¡¯t deny the bold approach as he responded in the same manner.

    Eugene and Gina gasped in surprise. While the son of the conglomerate who saw this farce was clicking his tongue annoyed by what he saw. The sister who saw it from the other helicopter laughed at his brother. She knew that the act they just did was slapping her brother''s pride right across the face. She definitely didn¡¯t mind seeing her brother raging around since his so-called future woman had been stolen.

    Jason and Maria shared a bit of time ignoring the looks on other people''s faces. Their lips parted away as they shared a gaze. A gaze filled with longing.

    ¡°That¡¯s for leaving me,¡± said Maria as she chuckled.

    A dumbfounded look flashed across Jason¡¯s face.

    Wait, what does she mean by that?

    ¡°What do you-¡± he was about to ask her but someone interfered.

    ¡°Get on. We¡¯re wasting time here,¡± the son of the conglomerate was impatient.

    He didn¡¯t want to see those two being lovey-dovey again. Although he wasn¡¯t that attracted to Maria but him already declaring Maria as his own within his own train of thought already put Jason on his chopping block.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get on first.¡±

    Maria grabbed Jason¡¯s hand and dragged him to the helicopter. The rest followed them from behind. The other people who were waiting at the staircase looked at them in envy. Out of desperation, a few people rushed over towards the helicopters. They knew the only way out of this city was through these helicopters. If not, only death awaits them. The men in black opened fire as they saw the incoming unwanted visitors.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Maria turned and was about to stop them from shooting. But Jason held her by the waist, holding her off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t Maria, keep it in,¡± he tried to talk some sense into her.

    She turned her head down resting upon Jason¡¯s shoulder. She couldn¡¯t bear to see it happened. Her justice fill heart was at a junction. Her morality was questioning herself, was it worth it? Her life for the rest of theirs. Soon, they were a few feet away from the helicopter.

    ¡°Maria, get inside,¡± said Jason. But seeing Maria still affected by the meaningless killing, he held her face with both of his hands.

    ¡°It''s going to be fine, let''s get out of the city,¡± he said.

    Maria nodded in response. Jason wiped her wet eyes from breaking into tears. She turned around and took a seat inside the helicopter. Jason was about to sit beside her but a hand blocked his path. It was one of the men in black.

    ¡°No, no, not you. You¡¯ll be hoping with my sister,¡± the son of conglomerate spoke and his intention was clear.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s coming with us,¡± Maria didn¡¯t agree to this.

    ¡°Maria, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s only for a little while,¡± Jason calmed Maria down.

    For a moment, he thought back of how he was disgusted by this woman. Someone who once cheated on him. But that lost emotion was coming back at him, was he this stupid to fall for someone like her again? Or was it the sentence that she last spoke made him thought otherwise. He held her hand for a while and let it go much to both side''s reluctance.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving my parents,¡± Eugene didn¡¯t agree with the seating arrangement.

    The son of the conglomerate gave her some leeway and waved off with a gesture of his hand. Both parent and daughter hugged in joy. Being separated was the worst-case scenario for them.

    ¡°If your sister is here with us right now, we would have been a whole family,¡± said Eugene¡¯s father.

    Their search for their younger daughter came to naught. They couldn¡¯t find her and within these pressing times, searching for her would be impossible.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry dad, Eunice is a fighter. She¡¯ll survive through this,¡± Eugene tried to soothe the hearts of her parents. Although she herself didn¡¯t know whether that was possible or not.

    ¡°am I paying you to wait? Get a move on it,¡± the son of the conglomerate shouted at the soldier driving the chopper.

    To be frank, if it wasn¡¯t for his superior orders he wouldn¡¯t do this kind of job. Being told what to do by a snobbish rich brat was tarnishing his pride. Yet what the soldier could do. He followed orders like usual. The chopper flew off the rooftop as they took their flight first. Meanwhile, Eugene and her parents took a seat at the last chopper strapping up their belt buckles waiting for lift-off.

    Jason was about to sit beside Eugene but his instinct was yelling at him. He ducked down and a gunshot rang in the air.

    ¡°No,¡± Eugene shouted seeing the man in black taking a shot at Jason.

    Maria who was a few feet up above the rooftop turned her head downwards after hearing a gunshot. She saw Jason being shot and she shouted from above, ¡°No!¡±

    Jason was brimming with anger. Someone took a cheap shot at him and he won¡¯t play nice. He grabbed the horn sword tucked behind his back and unleashed a wild swing at the one behind him.

    ¡°Argh,¡± the man in black staggered in his steps before his whole body fell into two. He didn¡¯t know what just sliced him. But it didn¡¯t stop there. The men in black who sat inside the chopper aimed their guns and shot at Jason.

    Shit.

    Out of desperation, Jason leaped up to the sky and twirled his body around. But these men were professional as they easily adjusted their aim. Eugene who was at first frightened by the first gunshot calmed herself down and took the initiative. She tried to disturb the man in black that sat beside her from shooting.

    But she was helpless. The back of the gun struck her at the head knocking her out cold. Jason, on the other hand, dropped on the floor as pain wracked his entire body. He knew his attempt in dodging a bullet at this short range was impossible. The helicopter started to lift off as the men in black didn¡¯t stop shooting at Jason. Bleeding from the gunshot wounds Jason ran as he tried to take cover.

    All points to energy.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± he fell on his knees as a few more shots made their way to his body.

    If it wasn¡¯t for his energy guard on cooldown, he wouldn¡¯t have been in this situation. He would have slaughtered them all like cattle. Bright green light enveloped his entire body as he managed to found cover behind a stone statue.

    Minor Heal+ level up to level 4

    His skill leveled up but he wasn¡¯t in the mood to enjoy it. He should have seen this coming, being backstabbed by a degenerate. Jason ducked down as they kept shooting at him even after lifting off. Soon the helicopters were out of reach. Jason emerged from behind the stone statue and stared at the sight of his path to salvation leaving him through the air. Jason stared at the first helicopter as he saw Maria yelling out something that he couldn¡¯t hear. They were people trying to restrain her and it made Jason¡¯s blood boil like magma.

    He thought about using Wind Cutter but that would endanger the lives of Maria and Gina. But then out of nowhere, a loud explosion deafened the air.

    BOOM.

    Eugene¡¯s helicopter was blown into pieces.

 Chapter 37

    Jason witnessed the sight of Eugene¡¯s helicopter being blown into bits. He definitely saw something hurled over at the helicopter at breaking speed. Something even his eyes couldn¡¯t catch.

    He stood there in a daze as he never expected that to happen. The memories of Eugene flashed inside his head before something dropped over his cheeks.

    Trail of tears rained down as he couldn¡¯t believe what just happened. He fell on his knees as he couldn¡¯t felt any energy on his lower limbs. His mind was distraught, he thought he did his best fighting for them, making sure they were safe. But in the end, he failed.

    I¡¯ve failed them.

    The blown bits of the helicopter struck the tail of the helicopter rode by Maria and Gina. The helicopter was having a problem balancing itself and just when the soldier was about to regain his control over the aerial vehicle, something struck the helicopter blade.

    Jason with tears in his eyes saw it from below. The blade of the blown-up helicopter twirled in the air before striking right at the spinning helicopter blade. His whole face contorted seeing these things happening. The thought of Maria flashed by and he soon got up on his two feet.

    His feet slowly brought him over in the direction of the helicopter as the aerial vehicle started to spun around. Then the top of helicopter blown up as the whole thing started to dive down.

    Inside the helicopter cabin, the whole situation was a mess. The helicopter was spinning around and Gina along with the son of the conglomerate was screaming for their lives. If it wasn¡¯t for the belt strapping them down, they would have been thrown outside.

    Maria was sitting there seeing the sight all around her becoming a blur. Everything was spinning around and she doesn¡¯t know what to do about it. But as soon as she heard the explosion from on top, she knew the whole helicopter was going to crash.

    What am I going to do? Thought Maria.

    Then she saw someone that sat in front of her opening up the helicopter door. She barely recognized him as everything was spinning.

    It was Simon.

    She saw him jumping out of the helicopter without hesitation. If she wasn¡¯t wrong, did she just saw him having a bag behind him?

    The thought of parachute came through. At this altitude, she doesn¡¯t know whether it will work or not but it was better than nothing. She tried to find a parachute bag but she couldn¡¯t find it. Seconds ticked by and the chopper was close to crashing.

    She was out of ideas. The only thing left was to just jump. But jumping at this altitude was suicidal even if she did manage to get on the roof, her whole bone frame will be broken into pieces.

    But then she remembered something. She opened her status and saw the energy guard. An ability she obtained besides from the useless identify.

    Can this protect me from the fall? A thought of hers.

    Nonetheless, that¡¯s the only chance she got in surviving this situation.

    It¡¯s now or never.

    Then the thought of Gina came in mind. She looked back and saw the screaming lady already fainted out of fear. She didn¡¯t want to leave her but in this situation what the hell can she do? Even her own safety was not reassured.

    Then she glanced at the man screaming like a girl. For a man-child indulging in his father¡¯s wealth, there wasn¡¯t a tint of courage inside of him. She thought about pulling a trigger on him, but that wasn¡¯t within her code of justice.

    Nevertheless, he won¡¯t survive this.

    She unbuckled herself and as soon as she did. Her whole body turned weightless and ramming over the whole cabin like a pinball. She didn¡¯t know what just hit her. By some luck, she was thrown out through the open door and her body was falling in free fall.

    Her mind was blurry as she was hit by the head. She didn¡¯t even know she was falling. Everything happened so fast that she didn¡¯t know what happened after unbuckling herself.

    Is this my death?

    She had given up. There was no way she could escape this. But then she heard a voice calling her name.

    ¡°Maria¡­¡±

    A familiar voice, one that once etched inside her heart. Then something yanked her over. She screamed out of the pain. A pain that she never had experienced before. Her eyes opened wide and saw her whole arm above her.

    Something was grabbing her as she could feel her feet were dangling in the air. As her vision cleared she saw the one who made her yell in pain.

    It was Jason.

    ¡°Jason,¡± she didn¡¯t want it to be a dream.

    But Jason didn¡¯t respond like she wanted. Then her sight saw for what it was. Jason was holding on to her by the hand. Yet Jason¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t looking good.

    Both of them were over the ledge of the rooftop. Jason''s other hand was hanging by the ledge of the building while his other hand was holding on to Maria. If it was any normal man, they wouldn¡¯t last a second in this position before falling to their death.

    Now she knew why he didn¡¯t respond. He was trying his best not to slip. Jason¡¯s face reddened as every vein bulged as he tried to pull themselves up.

    He groaned as he slowly pulled himself up through one hand. Maria who had her whole arm dislocated was trying her best to endure the pain. She knew she was just being a burden right now, the only thing she could do was to just endure.

    Soon, a man appeared from over the ledge of the roof. After pulling most of his body on the roof, she pulled Maria up.

    Fatigue was catching up to Jason as his mind and body were getting weary once more. He was getting tired more easily even after taking a nap during daylight.

    I should have put some points into stamina.

    A thought that he should remember. Maria''s whole body was on the roof as she immediately lay on the roof huffing for her breath. Jason did the same laying beside her staring at the night sky. He was out of breath and his mind was about to fade away.

    ¡°Argh,¡± yet the sound of pain from Maria woke him up.

    It wasn¡¯t time to sleep yet. He spun his body around towards Maria as he was too tired to even drag himself.

    He bumped into her and Maria glanced to her side. Jason¡¯s hand reached out to her shoulder and glowing green light enveloped her whole upper body. The light faded and Maria was healed. The whitish glow that surrounded Maria had vanished telling him that something might had happened inside the helicopter.

    But that didn¡¯t matter as long as she¡¯s alive.

    Maria propped her body up and she saw Jason laying there on the floor with his eyes closed. She brought him closer to her as she hugged his upper body. She cried, letting out all those tears flowing out. She thought she¡¯s going to die but again this man came to save the day. He saved her no matter what. It pained her seeing him like this.

    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± whispered Jason.

    He was too tired that even his voice turned hoarse.

    She was deep in her thoughts as they were too many things she was crying about. Then Gina came to mind.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Jason. I left Gina,¡± she barely finished her sentence as she was crying with tears and snot raining down on the unfortunate man.

    He knew what she meant.

    Gina¡¯s dead.

    The memories he had about this particular cousin of his was numerous. From young until old, he recalled those memories. Then a memory of a single night resurfaced. A mistake from both of them but nonetheless, it was still memories.

    Tears fell once again. Too many had died. Eugene and her parents, Gina and everyone else at the banquet hall. Then the thought of his parents surfaced. He hoped nothing happen to them in this time of turmoil. He missed them. He missed his parents, he missed his siblings.

    He hoped everything that happened to him would never happen to them. It was painful, too painful to bear.

    Yet in this moment of solemn, a horrendous noise broke everything apart. A noise that spread throughout the whole city, a noise that made people trembled. Jason tried his best to propped his body up and Maria helped him up.

    They turned their attention to the source of that hellish roar and both couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.

    In the direction of the crack on the sky. A monstrous head just emerged at a scale that went beyond their wildest dream.

 Chapter 38

    Kaiju a term originated from the Japanese language. A term that defined disaster itself. Monsters that only existed in the realm of fiction. Yet what Jason was seeing was the exact definition of a kaiju. Its head was jutting out from the crack. Even from afar he could saw how massive it was, even the ebony pterodactyl he fought paled in comparison. Like comparing an ant with an elephant. Shimmering reddish scale glowed even in the darkness of the night. Its yellow topaz slit eyes were moving around as if searching for something.

    ¡°Is that a T-rex?¡± Maria asked.

    The resemblance was uncanny, Jason stared at it for a while and saw the huge snout that bore a resemblance to a tyrannosaurus. It was hard to notice but slowly the huge head was coming out from the crack. The hair behind his neck stood upright as he felt goosebumps just by seeing it. An ominous thought went by and he didn¡¯t like it.

    If that thing comes out, I don¡¯t think America can survive this.

    He even skipped New York City, knowing that a creature with that kind of size, a swing of its tail and every skyscraper will topple down like dominoes. Then something flew by above their heads.

    A plane?

    --

    It wasn¡¯t a plane but a drone. The military was having a hard time monitoring the whole city. They were blind here. Even with their satellite positioned above the city, none of them could get a clear picture as all of their images turned into a blur. As if something jammed their recon tech.

    Inside a secluded military base armed with the most technologically advanced equipment. The whole operation room was in disarray. It had been two nights and none of their tactical actions did a thing.

    ¡°How¡¯s the ground team?¡± a man standing at the end of a long table demanded a report of their ground team located at Outerbridge Crossing. General Grant was the one heading this operation and his options are getting fewer with the intended airstrike approaching.

    ¡°Not good sir, the UCs are advancing through the blockages. Our guns are ineffective,¡± a communication expert relayed the information.

    ¡°Then bomb the hell out of them, do anything as long as you kill these UC bastards,¡± dubbed by the military as UC or unidentified creature. They were at their wit ends trying to kill these creatures from another dimension but everything they did was useless.

    ¡°Sir, every type of explosive we throw at them is ineffective,¡± he didn¡¯t want to say it but he had to relay the information.

    Gen.Grant slammed his fist on the desk as he couldn¡¯t understand how their weaponry couldn¡¯t do a thing to these creatures and he wasn¡¯t the only one having these problems.

    ¡°Any useful news from San Francisco?¡±

    ¡°No sir,¡±

    ¡°Jacksonville?¡±

    ¡°No sir,¡±

    ¡°LA?¡±

    ¡°No sir,¡±

    ¡°Give me something, damn it,¡± another fist on the desk. The whole operation room turned silent. Every military combat force was sent throughout these specific cities as the whole invasion from another world was happening and none of them were prepared.

    ¡°Sir we managed to get eyes in the city,¡± at last, some good news.

    ¡°Bring up the feed on the big screen,¡± yet the moment the image was brought up, every person in the whole room turned slack-jawed.

    The drone was broadcasting a live feed of a huge head coming out from a crack.

    ¡°What in the world¡­¡± Gen.Grant didn¡¯t have anything else to say. He was desperate to keep these things in check but the sight of this monstrosity made him give up. There was no way for him to save this city. He, of all people, didn¡¯t want his name to be recorded in history as the one who blew up New York City but it seems he doesn¡¯t have a choice.

    ¡°General, the live feed,¡± Gen.Grant turned his sight back to the big screen.

    The drone caught sight of the T-rex staring right at the flying drone.

    ¡°It spotted us,¡± said the communication personnel.

    But before Gen.Grant could deliver his commands, the live feed was cut off.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    His only eye in the city was gone and there¡¯s was nothing he could do.

    ¡°The drone is destroyed, sir.¡±

    Gen.Grant stared at the static screen as deep down he hoped the airstrike would be the last resort.

    Since nuclear warfare on U.S soil would be the most unfortunate thing.

    --

    Jason saw something coming out at the opposite end of the crack. A long serpentine-like tail with a cudgel shape like thing at the end. It swung at a ridiculous speed and what happened next blew his mind.

    BOOM.

    The drone that was flying around Central Park was destroyed by an unknown projectile.

    It¡¯s him.

    He swore he saw something flying through the sky and striking the drone. He set his eyes at the cudgel like shape and saw it was missing the sharp end.

    It regenerated.

    A sharp-pointed end came out from the cudgel.

    Then he recalled the moment he saw Eugene¡¯s helicopter being blown up. His heart shook and inexplicable anger emerged from deep down of his heart.

    ¡°Jason?¡±

    Jason tried to stand up. Maria aided him lending him her shoulder.

    ¡°He¡¯s the one who killed them,¡± he muttered. Maria was confused.

    ¡°He? You mean that thing?¡±

    ¡°I saw it blow up Eugene¡¯s helicopter, if it wasn¡¯t for him,¡± Maria saw the look in his eyes. Jason was enraged. Whether it¡¯s true or not, she let it be as though nothing at this point matter. Soon the airstrike will come and maybe that T-rex over there won¡¯t survive the attack but neither will them.

    They waited there on top of the rooftop along with the unfortunate others. In the end, no one manages to escape the hotel building. Not even the snobbish rich kid. Both Jason and Maria stood there staring at the sight of the T-rex.

    ¡°It¡¯s coming out,¡± said Jason as a thick humongous leg appeared from the crack. The moment its feet touched the ground, the whole city quaked. Jason and Maria were staggering on their feet as the sudden quake caught them off guard.

    That alone made Jason¡¯s heart beat faster. The thought of going up against the kaiju-size T-rex was ridiculous. Him right now, wouldn¡¯t hold a candle against it. Then a roar echoed throughout the city as if announcing its arrival. Like a greeting to those who will witness its undeniable might. Both Jason and Maria turned slack-jawed as they saw the full size of this T-rex.

    No, the name T-rex paled in comparison to the grandeur of this gigantic creature. Standing tall at a massive height of 390 feet, its sight alone made people trembling in fear. It bore a resemblance to the tyrannosaurus, two bulking mass of legs with a huge claw resembling a velociraptor. Its two tails swung in an erratic manner slamming against the buildings and at both ends revealed the pointed end cudgel. A menacing weapon for a behemoth like it.

    Where there should be two small arms fitting for a T-rex, it was not there replaced by a golden hue membrane-like capsules glowing in the dark in an interval. Like the beating of a heart. Those huge membrane capsules were giving Jason a bad vibe. Yet that wasn¡¯t the end, on its back two huge scaly wings spread out in the air. Wings full of scales unfit for a creature to fly but for this one who knows what might happen.

    Again, the menacing creature let out a booming roar towards the sky. The whole sky cleared off by that single powerful roar, revealing the moon bare for others to see. The moonlight shuns over the creature as it illuminated the scarlet glow of its scales.

    ¡°Scarlet Rex,¡± muttered Maria.

    Jason was surprised by her naming sense as he turned over to her. In the moment of death, her naming sense somewhat improved.

    ¡°Your naming sense improved,¡± said Jason as he chuckled. He was scared seeing this thing but with death approaching, nothing matters.

    ¡°No, it''s his name. Scarlet Rex the Emperor of Saurian,¡± muttered Maria as her eyes were glued at that creature. Narrowing her eyes she saw a glow surrounding this creature. A crimson glow that covered its entire body, if it wasn¡¯t for the moonlight she wouldn¡¯t have seen it.

    ¡°But how did you know?¡± Jason turned serious as he questioned her.

    ¡°I used identify on it and I think there¡¯s something else,¡± said Maria.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡±

    Yet before she could answer, people pointed up in the air as they saw numerous planes flying up the skies above New York City. Both Jason and Maria stared at the sky as they witnessed the bombs being released. Their end was coming and nothing can stop it. Jason pulled her close and hugged her.

    Life is too short.

    Then it exploded.

    A symphony of explosions.

 Chapter 39

    Bright orange light illuminated the night skies above New York City. It would have been a beautiful set of fireworks if not for those being bombs sent by the U.S military. All surviving citizens of New York City looked up to the sky. The thundering roar of those explosions kept on coming yet they couldn¡¯t see any of the bright light from above their heads. As if something was blocking their view.

    Jason who was waiting for his imminent death was surprised, it took so long to feel the pain of death. Minutes passed by and nothing happens. Only the cascading sounds of the explosion kept on ringing in the air. He opened his eyes and noticed he was embracing Maria a bit too tight. But then he glanced upwards and noticed why it was so dark. Something was blocking the sky. He was about to be surprised as he traced his eyes back to the Scarlet Rex.

    It¡¯s blocking the airstrike but¡­

    He was rendered speechless, he didn¡¯t have anything else to say. His sight told of how Scarlet Rex saved his life from the brink of being bomb into pieces. The scaly wings of the Scarlet Rex enlarged to a frightening degree encompassing the whole sky of New York. Something that shouldn¡¯t be possible unless it too harbors a skill.

    ¡°We¡¯re still alive, am I right?¡± Maria spoke those words as she turned her head to the Scarlet Rex. Jason saw the look on her face and she wasn''t surprised, even for one bit. It begged the question.

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°Identify. I saw the red glow surrounding the Scarlet Rex and used identify. It showed me,¡± she paused, making Jason who was waiting for the answer to grew impatient.

    ¡°So. You¡¯re not going to tell me?¡± his impatient won him over.

    ¡°An aura,¡± she replied.

    Both of his eyebrows raised as Jason was clueless. Aura could mean a lot of things, if it related to games then it opened up a whole lot of different possibilities. But his question was answered as Maria continued.

    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know how to explain this but it says here that it¡¯s a terrain type aura and one of its effects is rendering all firearm and explosive type damage into zero,¡± that explanation was enough to clear every doubt that Jason had. Now he knew why the military couldn''t do a thing against these things.

    But a terrain type? Does it mean its aura encompassed the whole city?

    Once more he stared at the Scarlet Rex in shock. That single notion alone told Jason how powerful this monster really was. In a way, what he was looking at is none other than the final big boss kind of monster. The type of big boss that can easily decimate low-level people like him with a single swing of its tail. Yet a question flashed by.

    Then why does it spread its wings and defended the whole city?

    Looking up at the sky, a possibility came into mind. The terrain aura might have a height limit. A single possibility that might be the only chance human had in fighting back against these monsters from another world.

    ¡°Jason, it¡¯s doing something,¡± Maria''s voice brought him back to reality.

    Turning back to the Scarlet Rex, he saw the scale wings being retracted back into its original form. It cocked its head upwards and opened its jaw wide.

    It can¡¯t be.

    Jason had an inkling of what it might do. It was something he only saw in the movies, dragons breathing out fire and his eyes hadn''t glanced away. He saw for himself the glowing yellow light, concentrating within its open jaw.

    ¡°Why is it glowing?¡± Maria was too clueless in regard to this type of things but Jason knew it well. He tightened his embrace over Maria as he remained vigilant.

    Then a bright pillar of light emerged from within the jaws of the Scarlet Rex. Firing straight into the sky as if attacking the empty air. The sudden release of that blast released a powerful shock wave. Jason braced for himself as he held on to Maria, their clothes flapped violently by the powerful wind brought forth by the shock wave.

    Maria was dumbfounded seeing a ludicrous scene like this and she wasn¡¯t alone. Those who were still surviving within this chaotic city looked up into the sky as they witnessed the powerful ray. Then it died down. The blast was like the bright sun giving light throughout this dark night as it dispersed, the night cloaked the sky once more.

    Jason saw the aftermath of the blast. His eyes were shaking staring at the sight of the Scarlet Rex standing on barren land. Just a few seconds ago, Central Park was brimming with life and greenery. The shock wave and the residual heat coming from the blast were enough to turn Central Park into ashen barren land. Then Maria pointed up to the sky.

    ¡°Something is falling,¡± she said.

    Jason tilted upwards and saw flaming fireballs falling from the sky. One of them fell close to the hotel building and he knew what it was. The char remains of a stealth bomber plane.

    It was shooting down the bomber planes. Then it wasn¡¯t a random blast.

    ¡°are those military planes?¡± Maria had to ask.

    Jason nodded in response. He was still fearful about that blast. If the Scarlet Rex targeted the blast at the whole city then within seconds it could level down the whole city in a single swoop. His eyes couldn¡¯t leave the sight of that kaiju-size creature. They survived the airstrike but surviving him was another matter. Then something happened.

    ¡°Everyone, watch out,¡± he shouted out of fear as he saw Scarlet Rex disappearing from sight. He ducked down while grabbing Maria as both of them were close to the floor. He didn¡¯t know why he did it, but his instinct was yelling strongly at him.

    People who were on the roof were confused but a second later a huge shadow dropped from above. The ground shook like an earthquake going above 9 Richter in scale. The whole hotel building was shaking and swaying from left to right. People started to scream once more as they were wobbling on their feet while some already rolling on the floor.

    A second later, a shock wave of wind hit them, blasting them off their feet. The powerful wind was beyond comparison to the flapping wings of the ebony pterodactyl. Jason and Maria were swept off the ground. At the last second, Jason grabbed on to the railing of the roof while Maria was hanging there by the link of their arms.

    But then Jason saw what was coming and he knew he couldn¡¯t survive this. A huge tail slammed the whole hotel building as everything started to broke apart. The whole roof crumbled. Pieces of the roof were thrown in the air by the might of this tail swing. He lost his grip and everything flew apart.

    ¡°ROAR.¡±

    The Scarlet Rex roared once more as both its twin tail knocked down every building within proximity. A single random huge debris knocked Jason in the air pushing him across the night sky like a baseball being hit for a home run.

    His hand was still grabbing on to Maria but the knock against that huge debris took a hard toll to both his mind and body. He was already in a weakened state and that knock was like the last straw. His consciousness was fading with his vision slowly turning dark.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Maria¡¯s voice was fading.

    Her voice goes furthered away as the grip on her hand loosened.

    Then, he blacked out.

    --

    ¡°Good morning, this is Robin Stinson bringing you live the most leading news of the hours.¡±

    ¡°We begin today, giving our deepest condolences and our heartfelt prayers for the lost souls from the devastating attack that struck a few of our major cities. Again, this is a repeated message coming from the authorities, warning all Americans to stay away from these major cities. I repeat, major cities that include San Francisco, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Miami¡­.. and last but not least New York City.¡±

    It was the news coming from a television mounted on the white wall.

    In the background, people were busy. Moving around outside the room with a few people in white robes attending to their patients. Meanwhile in a double bed shared room close to the nurse''s counters, a man lay on the bed. There was no chatter in the room nor voice of any men, except for the beeping machine by the side of the bed indicating his heart was still beating.

    Above the bed held a sign regarding his condition.

    ¡®Coma¡¯

    But then, his index finger started to move.

    =====

    Ok guys that''s it for arc one, hope you guys enjoy it.

 Chapter 40

    He opened his eyes.

    Hmm?

    It was dark yet the noise down the street and lights from outside made the shared ward a bit illuminated. He stared at the white yet dark ceiling caught up in a daze. The sound of the machine right next to him made him glanced to the side. The vital sign monitor machine kept beeping at an interval in tandem with his heartbeat.

    I¡¯m alive?

    That realization suddenly struck him. He still couldn¡¯t put his head together as his mind was still clouded. Out of nowhere, tears came down like a gushing river.

    I¡¯m alive.

    He couldn¡¯t believe it. He knew the last thing that he remembered was being smacked into the air by a giant tail. Now, he was here. On a comfy bed in a safe place. It didn''t feel real yet it was.

    I¡¯m alive.

    He repeated those words time after time. Never he had thought of being grateful for being alive. He thought life was boring but him, feeling the sensation of being alive was the best thing in the world. Living and breathing without pain and anguish. Yet something emerged from the recess of his memories.

    Maria¡­

    He stopped breathing as the image of that woman appeared once more. Yet the last scene he remembered about her only left him in more tears. He couldn¡¯t even listen to her explanation about ¡®him¡¯ leaving her after the kiss they shared. It left him clueless, leaving him thinking, was he wrong? Did the thing that happened ten years ago was a misunderstanding? The truth he seeks was far away. As the truth was now out of reach separated between the world of the living and the dead.

    Only the sound of sobbing filled up the ward. The thoughts of others resurfaced. Gina, Eugene, and her parents. It only made it harder to stop crying. Regret, desperation, sadness and all of it jumbled up into a state of perpetual sadness. In the end, he could only cry.

    The nightmare he went through felt like a fleeting dream as if it ended after he woke up in this monotonous color room. But he knew that wasn¡¯t the case. He was lucky, or in another way to interpret it, death came knocking and made a U-turn.

    He cried until he fell asleep once more.

    --

    Who''s talking?

    The sound of people chattering was loud and making him woke up from his sleep. He frowned as his eyes slowly opened up. The doctors were having their morning rounds around the ward. A junior resident with her new white coat was eager to learn despite everything that had happened in the last week. While listening to her senior doctors talking about the patient¡¯s condition her eyes drifted away for a second, glancing at the patient. But that act alone made her stumbled on her feet, surprised by what she saw.

    ¡°Dr.Allen, the patient,¡± out of surprise, her tone was a little bit higher than normal.

    Her seniors cast a scrutinizing glance at her while Dr.Allen took note of where this junior of hers was looking at. He turned around and faced the patient and his eyes went wide open.

    ¡°He woke up,¡± said Dr.Allen.

    To his words, the rest of those over-worked doctors turned their attention to the awakened patient. Jason saw these doctors staring at him like a caged lab rat. It felt extremely uncomfortable, and he had to break the ice.

    ¡°Hi?¡±

    --

    Rather than the whole ward, the whole hospital was in an uproar. They knew who Jason was, a survivor from the invasion of New York City. There were others like him that had been saved but his situation was a rather interesting one different from the rest.

    Throughout the whole morning up to the afternoon, Jason was kept busy with the constant medical check-up and a lot of questioning. Questions in regard to his health of course. From the basic question of how he was feeling today to whether he piss any blood color urine this morning. Jokes aside, his condition wasn¡¯t that good. After waking up this morning, his body felt like he had been hit by a truck. Thankfully he wasn''t sent to another world.

    Every muscle on his body was aching and he noticed a few appendages of his were wrapped in thick bandages. His left leg wrapped in a cast and he swore his ribs kept on hurting as each time he breathed in, he felt pain over his chest. He was informed that when he was found, his condition was in a near-death state. If it wasn¡¯t for the first aid emergency as well as the quick action of the coast guard that found him, he wouldn¡¯t be alive right now.

    Again, Death made a U-turn.

    ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind me asking, how long was I in a coma?¡±

    The doctor who was checking on Jason maintained her silence, she was about to say something but a knock came from the open door. Both Jason and the doctor turned around and saw a man adorned in an office suit. Yet Jason had a hard time believing this was a normal salary office worker.

    ¡°Hello, Mr.Park. May I come in?¡±

    Alongside him, they were two others and from the look of it seems like henchmen. Jason didn¡¯t manage to say anything as the request he received are merely pleasantries. This man with an island bald head piqued Jason¡¯s interest. He had a hunch that the man is a government official but shouldn¡¯t he at least got the paycheck to do something with that bald head of his? Medical advancement had really improved these days and hair implants were not that rare.

    The island bald man gave a signal with his hand prompting the doctor to leave the room with only four of them. Jason didn¡¯t want to ask how the island bald man knew his name, he probably did some research over him before coming by. Yet he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off that bald spot and he didn¡¯t even try to cover it up.

    ¡°Ehem, Mr. Park?¡±

    The bald government official took Jason¡¯s attention from his receding hairline.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to ask how we know your name? Considering how we found you without any IDs or credentials, are you not curious about who we are?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be dead and here I am still breathing. That¡¯s enough for me to care,¡± he replied with a slight smile on his face.

    The bald man was speechless, he wasn¡¯t thinking from Jason¡¯s perspective. In a sense, he was rather ignorant.

    ¡°I apologize Mr.Park, that is not our intention. Just seeing you alive is great and well, surviving through the disaster is a miracle itself,¡± the bald man paused after giving his fake heartfelt message. Then came the business part.

    ¡°I¡¯m Agent Bond and these are my colleagues. We¡¯re from the NSA, and we have some questions for you Mr.Park,¡± said the bald man, now dubbed as Agent Bond.

    Jason couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by that name. It didn''t actually match how he thought of the name called Bond. The absence of hair really played a part.

    ¡°Bond?¡± Jason had to say it.

    ¡°Well, uhm. Mr.Park, although I know you had gone through a lot of adversities for the past whole week. But I hope you can answer a few questions for us for the sake of our nation,¡± Agent Bond ignored that mischief look on Jason¡¯s face. He maintained his professionalism and did his job. In a way, he had been teased quite a lot for having that name along with his appearance. He wasn¡¯t ugly, it¡¯s just that his average appearance didn''t really match the grandeur of that name.

    ¡°Since you know my name. Shouldn¡¯t you rephrase the word our nation?¡±

    He¡¯s Canadian and that¡¯s a fact. Agent Bond stared at Jason before he continued.

    ¡°Mr.Park, enough of this charade. Rather than the nation, the whole world is at stake here. Including Canada,¡± Jason jolted as he tried to prop his body up but failing as the pain was too much to bear. He knew beforehand that a crack was reported above Canada but his hometown wasn¡¯t included in the list unless he missed it.

    ¡°You mean Toronto?¡±

    ¡°Oh, Toronto is safe. What I meant is the other cities, Ottawa, Quebec, Victoria, and others,¡± that stoic look on Agent Bond was rather cold as he listed down those cities.

    ¡°Gone?¡±

    ¡°Invaded,¡± Agent Bond replied.

    Deep in thought, he realized the distance between Ottawa city and Toronto was not that far. Then a sudden thought emerged, as his head started spinning around. Left to right, searching for something.

    ¡°Mr.Park?¡± the sudden change in behavior alarmed Agent Bond.

    He moved around ignoring the pain, then out of patience he turned to Agent Bond.

    ¡°Where am I?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in a hospital, Mr.Park. Can you please calm down,¡± Agent Bond usually handle this type of situation with a gun in his hand but considering Jason was a sick patient on the bed, he doubted it would be the method to deal with this situation.

    ¡°No. What I mean is, is this place close to New York?¡± the vital sign monitor was showing his heart rate going up and up with no sign of going down.

    ¡°We are in Bayshore Community Hospital, it¡¯s in New Jersey,¡± said Agent Bond.

    Jason stood motionless as he was in deep thought. He wasn¡¯t a U.S citizen and the only thing he knew about New Jersey was, it was just New Jersey. Then he remembered something related to New Jersey.

    ¡°Are we close to any beach that¡¯s facing New York City?¡±

    Agent Bond looked up to the corner of his eyes before he answered.

    ¡°Union Beach is the nearest and its definitely facing the city,¡± his casual tone in answering Jason¡¯s question left Jason¡¯s mind numbed.

    ¡°The fuck? Then get me out of here. I need to get out of here,¡± the image of that Scarlet Rex terrified his whole being. His sense of urgency was going up the roof as well as his heart rate with the machine keep on beeping faster.

    ¡°The monsters are coming,¡± Jason said as his eyes looked around.

    I lost my sword.

    The horn sword he used to slashed his opponent to death was no longer by his side. He remembered how he lost it when that gigantic tail struck.

    ¡°Calm down Mr.Park, the monsters are not coming,¡±

    Jason stopped and turned to agent baldy here.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The monsters or what we called them as UC, an abbreviation of unidentified creatures. They have stopped advancing after invading both Staten Island and the whole length of Long Island. To the north, they also stopped after reaching the border of White Plains. As of now, we are safe.¡±

    Jason couldn¡¯t believe it. How could those monsters stop advancing? Then a thought flashed by.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t invade New Jersey?¡± just above Staten Island was a landmass resembling an island but under the state of New Jersey.

    ¡°Strange of how it seems. Yes, they didn¡¯t invade New Jersey,¡± Jason wasn¡¯t the only one, the whole nation was wondering why they didn¡¯t proceed on advancing. The numerous intelligence agencies couldn¡¯t put their heads together regarding this fact.

    Did the UC themselves know the worth of New Jersey? It was as if the UC were New Yorkers themselves.

    ¡°Not only New Jersey. Other invaded cities also show that their advancement had stopped at a certain border that doesn¡¯t cross into another state. As if something is¡­¡± Jason cut him and continued.

    ¡°Directing them.¡±

    Agent Bond nodded affirming it was aligned to their own hypothesis of this whole UC invasion. It was definitely wasn¡¯t random, considering the place they attacked were major cities.

    ¡°Mr.Park, may I have a turn in questioning?¡± for someone working in the bureau. Agent Bond showed patience, unlike Jason, who had seen in the movies. Well, movies do show a fake portrayal of everything.

    ¡°One last question, how long was I in a coma?¡± his first question that was left unattended.

    ¡°A week Mr.Park. You have slept for one whole week.¡±

    Rather than surprise, Jason looked down in solemness.

 Chapter 41

    Jason retold the story of how he survived the two nights in the nightmarish city of New York. From picking up his cousin to attending his uncle¡¯s birthday party and in the end, facing against a three hundred and ninety feet monster. He told these three men everything except leaving a few details out.

    The three men were shocked listening to the story of this bedridden man. They were other survivors from New York City but they were unlike Jason who survived from the center point of every dangerous thing.

    They knew about the existence of the kaiju size UC but they didn¡¯t know what it could do. Jason retelling about its capabilities of shooting high-density laser beam and blocking airstrike with its scaly wings was enough to make them speechless.

    Their high power video camera could only get an image from afar and it wasn¡¯t helpful except for describing its physical structures. Drones, on the other hand, were useful until it turned into a pile of junk. Jason told them of how the Scarlet Rex shot down aircraft with the spike end of its tail, like a slingshot. They had a hard time believing but considering this man who went through hell and survived, at least they had to trust him even for a little bit.

    Jason didn¡¯t spare the details of meeting other monsters from the Silver Raptor to the Ebony Pterodactyl. Yet these three men couldn¡¯t help but question him. How did he survive through all of this?

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think surviving all of this, is a bit too weird? From the way you tell me, these UC you met are all dangerous creatures that can easily kill you.¡±

    ¡°People,¡± he replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand Mr.Park, what do you mean people?¡±

    ¡°People died, while I ran. Damn lucky I guess,¡± said Jason as he spread his arm wide with a melancholic smile on his face.

    Agent Bond knew what Jason meant. All those people dead and the only one left was him. Still, it was an impossible tale from this man. He survived being blasted from a hotel roof. A tall hotel building nonetheless and Agent Bond did his homework. The coast guard that saved him, found him drifting in the water on top of a remnant of the hotel building, floating across Lower Bay drifting further into the Atlantic ocean. When Jason said it was luck, he couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge it. Bond knew the distance between the river and the hotel, it was close but it didn''t mean any sense seeing how a man was able to survive being flung in the air before dropping into the water.

    ¡°One last thing, Mr.Park.¡± Agent Bond paused for a while staring at Jason¡¯s face. ¡°During your ordeal, had you met any people that can do strange things?¡±

    A rather vague question but Jason knew what he meant.

    ¡°Strange things? People do a lot of strange things in tense situations. I saw my own relative fleeing away leaving his own family behind. If that wasn¡¯t strange enough, I saw a man fleeing naked before being eaten alive by small dinosaurs. Strange things happened Agent Bond,¡± he said his piece.

    Yet Agent Bond wasn¡¯t at the point of giving up.

    ¡°What I meant is something like throwing a fireball from an empty hand, things like that.¡±

    ¡°I know those monsters can but I don¡¯t think a human can. Unless a humanoid came out from that crack, then it might be possible,¡± Jason gave his opinion feigning ignorance to what he knew.

    ¡°You¡¯re right Mr.Park. Just forget about it, I¡¯m just blabbering some nonsense. Things get a little bit crazy over the past week and I hadn¡¯t get a good night''s sleep for the last couple of days.¡±

    Agent Bond got up from his seat as he was about to leave.

    It only had been a week and they already knew about the game like status. I should have expected that much considering they¡¯re an intelligence agency. Meaning¡­

    An idea flashed by prompting him to call out to the agent.

    ¡°Agent Bond can I ask you a favor?¡± it came out of the blues but he had to. Who knows what might happen, him alone couldn¡¯t find her.

    Agent Bond turned around hesitating a bit.

    ¡°You have helped us a lot, Mr.Park. But, doing a favor is breaching protocol, I can¡¯t-¡±

    Jason cut him off.

    ¡°If you have the time, please look out for Maria Lopez. She¡¯s a cop. No, she¡¯s a detective in New York City.¡±

    Jason¡¯s gaze was like a hollow empty void. Agent Bond could saw the gloom within those eyes. This is why he felt more comfortable dealing with criminals than disaster victims, he wasn¡¯t the type that soothes other people¡¯s hearts. He sighed as he said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll look it up.¡±

    Jason couldn¡¯t hide his smile.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not promising you anything,¡± said Agent Bond. He has no obligation of doing this favor thus he reminded the patient on the bed.

    ¡°Thank you, Agent Bond,¡± the three men excused themselves and left the room. The smile on Jason¡¯s face returned back to his stoic appearance. Him asking that favor was a long shot, but it was better than nothing. Yet a troublesome matter crossed his mind.

    Should I stay in the hospital?

    The only way for him to get news about Maria was by staying at the same exact spot and only if the agent plays his part. But something worried him.

    The city is too close. Those damn monsters can easily come here if they want to and that Scarlet Rex¡­

    Jason didn¡¯t even want to think about it. The worst-case scenario, the Scarlet Rex blasting beam of yellow laser at the surrounding of the city. He had no doubt that the laser can travel across the body of water and landed at his place.

    His gut was telling him to further the distance between them but was it worth it? Shouldn¡¯t he find a way to search for Maria? He didn¡¯t want to tell himself that Maria died after that incident. He was lucky and considering his status, it might play a part in his survival. But Maria? She only raised his level up to level three and he doubted it would help in surviving from falling from a tall building.

    Probably just for another day.

    He decided to stay with little hope that Agent Bond will get back at him. Turning on the TV, every channel was about the invasion of monsters. No soap operas or reruns of Jimmy Falcon¡¯s show. He changed channels every few seconds while seeing news about people across the world. Most were in mourning as the death toll exceeded far above any natural disaster type of incident. The thought of his parents came by.

    I don¡¯t remember their numbers.

    In this age, memorizing telephone numbers was things of the past. He lost his phone and it probably sunk at the bottom of Lower Bay. Cutting him off from any known contacts. Like they always said, in times of disaster people will always go back to their roots.

    Should I go back to Toronto?

    He himself couldn¡¯t say the answer to that question. Even if he did want to, without a passport he doubted it would be possible. To get a new one, if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, he needs to go to the Canadian embassy in Boston. It¡¯s the nearest one compared to the NYC embassy which was probably out of service at the moment.

    ¡°Huh, why bother.¡±

    Tired of thinking, he lay his head on the comfy pillow while his eyes shifted to the screen. It was still the news but it showed something else. Jason saw various images caught on video from a far distance, showing different invaded cities across the world. His eyes couldn¡¯t leave the screen as he saw a vague silhouette depicting their sizes similar to the Scarlet Rex.

    One was worst enough and now, we got more of them. Can humans even survive through this?

    At first, he thought they had a chance fighting back considering they have game-like status on their side. But with that kind of monstrous beings on standby, he wasn¡¯t sure they could grow stronger unless those kaiju like existence let them be. Either way, he could only rest for now.

    --

    The wall clock showed it was half-past ten p.m. The door to his room opened up. It was the junior resident from this morning. She came inside the room with a yawn carrying a medical log along. Her shift was going to be over soon and Jason was her last patient. The doctor cast a few glanced at the monitor, jotting down the current vital signs.

    ¡°Mr.Park?¡± she called out to him.

    Jason who had been comatose for a week turned into a light sleeper. He woke up by the simple call. He saw the red-headed woman with a white lab coat on. He propped his body with much difficulty. His whole body was aching and he wasn¡¯t a guy who likes feeling the pain. If it was up to him, he would have use heal a long time ago. But seeing the bewildered look of the modern doctors wasn¡¯t in his list of agenda.

    ¡°I need to check your lungs for a little while,¡± the doctor puts on her stethoscope and place it around Jason¡¯s chest and on his back. She leaned forward not to make Jason feel uncomfortable.

    She was close to him and he couldn¡¯t help but smelled the strong fruity lavender fragrance she put on.

    ¡°All done,¡± the doctor leaned back with a smile on her face. Her job was almost over and a comfy bed was waiting at home. Then she remembered something.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Mr.Park,¡±

    ¡°Yup, you can just call me Jason,¡± Jason tried to be friendly.

    ¡°There¡¯s a chance that you might be transferring to a military hospital later at midnight,¡± that news caught him off guard.

    ¡°Why a transfer? I thought I¡¯m all okay?¡±

    Okay wasn¡¯t the best description of his current situation. With a few broken bones and harsh bruises on his body, he was far from an okay.

    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure about that. But I do know that the military had paid your medical fees, they probably felt it was better for you to be in their care,¡± said the doctor. She was seeing the military in a different light.

    Even paying my medical bills? What¡¯s going on here? I know the relationship between our countries are pal and all but why the military wants me to transfer to their facility? I¡¯m a nobody.

    Him mentioning himself as a nobody made him recalled about those three agents that visited him.

    Further interrogation? Or the states have the technology to extract my memories for their own use?

    Jason¡¯s imagination was going wild and he wasn''t pleased by this sudden news. Who knows whether he will be sent to a proper hospital or the military secret lab.

    Unless they knew I¡¯m not like them. They knew I had awakened with the game like system?

    His paranoia was getting him further away from the truth. The vital sign monitor recorded his elevating hear beat and the beeping sound wasn¡¯t miss by the doctor. She noticed something was wrong with Jason.

    ¡°Mr.Park? Are you okay? I see your heart rate is increasing, is there something wrong?¡±

    Jason glanced at her and with a smile, he said.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m okay,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Okay then. If there¡¯s something wrong, you can press the red button above your bed. Someone will come and check up on you. Good night, Mr.Park,¡± she left the room leaving Jason on his own.

    Jason opened up his status and witnessed the growth that he had obtained.

    Jason Park

    Job : None

    Level 16

    EP : 111/111

    E.Guard : 30/30 (Inactive)

    Strength : 46

    Agility :?71

    Dexterity :?5

    Stamina :?4

    Energy :?37

    E.Resist :?1

    Points :?0

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills : Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.4, Minor Heal+ Lv.4, Energy Guard Lv.2, Wind Cutter Lv.2, Shadow Hide Lv.1

    His eyes traced down on the skill, Shadow Hide.

    His one-way ticket of getting out of here.

 Chapter 42

    Jason smiled from ear to ear, seeing the total number of his EP. It was time to end his suffering. Jason pulled out every IV line on him as well as the lines from the machines. Blood dripped over from the needle holes in his arms yet he ignored it.

    He clenched his fist and raised it up high before smashing it down at the plaster cast on his left leg. It broke into pieces revealing his bruised swelling leg filled with ugly stitches. Ugly to the point of even making Jason frowned. But that didn¡¯t matter. Both of his hands glowed in green and as he touched his body while mumbling out.

    ¡°Minor Heal+.¡±

    A green light engulfed his entire being and a few seconds later the light faded. Jason jumped out from the bed and as both of his legs touched the cold floor, his whole body was in perfect condition. Even the nasty stitches on his left leg were gone leaving nothing but his skin. He stretches his arms left to right as it had been too long laying on the bed. Then a blue window emerged.

    Energy Guard reactivate

    The pale whitish light returned once more as it covered Jason¡¯s entire body.

    I see. I need to be in perfect health before it can reactivate.

    A new discovery and best to keep it in mind.

    Man, I feel like I''m naked.

    He glanced down and saw he was only wearing a hospital gown with nothing else under it. Going full Rambo wasn¡¯t a problem for him but he does indeed needs proper clothes.

    I¡¯ll think about it later. First thing first, let¡¯s get out of here.

    He stood behind the door and opened it wide. He peeked through the open door and saw the hallway empty with only the flickering lights barely illuminating the corridor.

    ¡°Shadow Hide,¡± said Jason and in an instant, his whole body faded and turned into nothingness. He stepped outside of the room and jogged. He slowed down a bit as he walked in leisure and while at times taking a peek inside one of the patient¡¯s room.

    Out of sudden, a nurse walked by heading towards his way. He stopped on reflex, alerted by her presence. Yet the nurse passed by ignoring him, who was unseen by the naked eye. Jason couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    Damn, this is really good. I should have chosen this one from the beginning.

    Pointless regret, the past is the past and now on to the future. Then thirty seconds were up and he didn¡¯t even realize it.

    ¡°Hello there,¡± someone called out to him.

    Yet Jason paid no heeds to it.

    ¡°Ehem. Hey mister, can you please return back to your own room, it¡¯s bedtime,¡± a nurse came out from a patient¡¯s room. She noticed Jason walking around with his expose butt wiggling by.

    Jason turned around and saw the nurse who stood in front of a door. Jason looked from left to right.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to be dumb, I¡¯m looking at you,¡± said the nurse as she pointed at Jason.

    Jason didn¡¯t speak a word and pointed at himself.

    ¡°Uhuh, stop playing around and go back to bed.¡±

    Jason didn¡¯t expect to be discovered this early. He was panicking and immediately used Shadow Hide once more. He disappeared into thin air shocking the nurse who saw her.

    ¡°OH MY LORD,¡± the nurse jumped in fright as her hands raised up high and the kidney dish dropping on the floor. Covered in sweat from top to bottom, frightened by the disappearance of Jason.

    ¡°GIRLS! there¡¯s a ghost in here!¡±

    The nurse turned around and ran while shouting at her peers down the corridor. She stumbled on her feet and fell while rolling on the floor. Jason saw it all and restrained himself from laughing. The nurse didn¡¯t give up and stood once more, running back to her colleagues. Jason looked back at his Shadow Hide description and he saw the duration of being invisible.

    I should have remembered.

    He continued his journey while keeping count on the clock. Every twenty-nine seconds he renewed his Shadow Hide and continued searching for the way out. The third time he used, a blue window greeted him.

    Shadow Hide level up to level 2

    Shadow Hide

    Allows you to hide in the shadow for a short time.

    Lv.2 : EP cost 1,

    Duration : 40 seconds

    The duration just went up and he was grateful for that unique trait he had.

    I''m glad I have Rapid Growth. It wouldn¡¯t be this easy in increasing the skill level.

    Soon he found the elevator. The one, far away from the nurses. He pressed down the button and waited.

    ¡°Thirty-nine seconds is up, Shadow Hide,¡± he disappeared once more with the clock keeps ticking.

    DING.

    The elevator door opened and he stepped inside as if it was natural. He pressed down on the ground floor and waited for it to close.

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait, please wait.¡± a voice called out from a distance.

    Jason reacted and pressed the ¡®open¡¯ button. A second later, he slapped himself at the forehead realizing how stupid he was. He couldn¡¯t help himself from being polite.

    Idiot. Why the hell did I open it? I¡¯m supposed to be in stealth mode.

    A red-headed woman appeared with both of her hands stopping the elevator door from closing.

    That¡¯s not going to work.

    Jason wasn¡¯t sure whether this red hair knows anything about elevators. Doing it like that won¡¯t really stop the door from closing. He recognized who she was. It was the doctor from before, she just finished her shift and on her way back home.

    ¡°Thank you for¡­ Eh?¡± she thanked the empty air and realized the elevator was empty. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as her feet shuffled her away from the elevator.

    She hugged her handbag close to her heart and stared at the empty elevator with her pale stricken face. The elevator door closed once more and Jason was happy she didn¡¯t come inside. But then the door opened once more. Jason couldn¡¯t help but frowned seeing this. He saw the red-headed doctor waiting outside while her eyes kept darting around within the elevator.

    Can¡¯t she make up her mind already? I¡¯m in the middle of breaking out of the hospital here.

    As if she can hear Jason¡¯s mind, she stepped inside the elevator with much reservation. Jason moved closer to the corner of the elevator.

    In the first place, why is she using this elevator? There¡¯s more of them close to the nurse¡¯s counter.

    Jason kept on complaining while being hidden. The door slowly closed once more but again a hand just had to stop the elevator door from closing. Jason was losing his patience.

    Why are all these people stopping the door? Can¡¯t they just fucking wait for another elevator?

    A man entered his sight. He wore a white coat with a stethoscope hanging around his neck. A middle-aged doctor who has quite a good look. Jason wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the male doctor is popular among his female colleagues. But what unfolded in front of him caused Jason to frowned.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised, Bryce. You didn¡¯t even say goodbye to your own senior,¡± he stepped inside the elevator while pressing forward to the red-headed doctor.

    Bryce backed away to the corner and much to Jason¡¯s relief she went to the other corner.

    ¡°Please stop,¡± said Bryce.

    Jason could hear her voice trembling and looking at those green eyes of hers. He knew what was behind those eyes.

    She¡¯s afraid.

    ¡°Stop? But why? I¡¯m not doing anything, don¡¯t you think so?¡± said the male doctor.

    The male doctor stood in front of Bryce with both of his hands on the elevator wall. A sign telling Bryce that she wasn¡¯t going anywhere. The male doctor leaned closer to Bryce as his face came closer to hers. He was disregarding the boundary of a human as he made sure she could hear him taking a sniff at her smell. Jason saw Bryce shivering from top to bottom.

    ¡°You really smell great,¡± said the male doctor, as he whipped out his tongue licking Bryce on her cheek.

    ¡°St¡­o..p,¡± said Bryce.

    Her voice couldn¡¯t come out in these desperate times. She was at her wits'' end. She didn¡¯t like this. She didn¡¯t want all of this to happened and someone else felt the same.

    I can¡¯t stand this anymore.

    Jason swung his arm and punched the male doctor right on the face. The male doctor didn¡¯t even know what just hit him as he fainted instantly. The male doctor¡¯s head smacked on the elevator wall before dropping on the floor turning limp like a ragdoll.

    Bryce was shocked. She didn¡¯t know what just happened. All of a sudden the senior doctor that assaulted her went down to the floor. Her knees grew weak as she slumped on the floor with her back on the wall. She stared at the sight of the unconscious doctor. She wanted to say serve him right but then she saw something unbelievable.

    Jason who was still invisible didn¡¯t stop his attack, he was utterly disgusted by this doctor that he had to kick it where it hurts. His feet kept on stomping at the male doctor¡¯s crotch, as he swore he heard something being broken.

    Bryce saw the male doctor¡¯s crotch stomped by an unknown invisible force. Her eyes were quivering and goosebumps were felt all over her body. She too heard something being broken and she knew what it was. The limp body of the male doctor was kicked out of the elevator and that sight only made Bryce even more afraid by this unseen entity. A poltergeist was the likely culprit as that thought kept on circling inside her head.

    Then the elevator door closed much to her horror, she was too late to exit the demonic elevator. Her mouth was opened wide as though she was screaming but nothing came out. Yet as time passed by within the elevator, nothing was happening. Her fear faded little by little as she started to think logically.

    Did the ghost save me? Thought Bryce.

    Although logically ghost doesn¡¯t exist, yet she had to think of it in that manner. Seeing nothing was happening to her then that hypothesis she just made might be true. Her trembling finger pressed on the underground floor button where she parked her car. She arrived on her floor and the door opened. She fled the moment the door open. She was about to run but stopped after a few steps. Turning around, she stared at the empty elevator and said.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    After that, she went to her car, a Nord Bigo. She opened the door and threw her handbag inside but then her phone rang. She took it out from her handbag and answered the call. She walked away from the car a few steps while glancing at the vast empty car park.

    ¡°What? He¡¯s not there? But he¡¯s just there a while ago,¡± it seems there was trouble in the ward.

    Unbeknownst to her the backseat door opened by itself before closing it on its own.

    ¡°I just finished my shift, can you please let the on-call doctor handle this,¡± she hung up her phone and sat on the driver¡¯s seat.

    She started her car and made her way to the exit.

    Jason who snuck into the backseat saw something by the exit. He didn¡¯t like it even one bit.

    A bunch of soldiers was blocking the exit of the car park. Bryce rolled down the side window.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am your identification please,¡± Bryce let them see her doctor¡¯s tag.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am we need to check your car, please open the back trunk,¡± Bryce had an annoyed look on her but she didn¡¯t refuse the request from the soldier.

    She popped up the back trunk and the soldier checked with his flashlight. It only took him a few seconds before closing it back. He peeked through the door windows flashing the flashlight in his hand. The backseat was empty.

    ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am. You may go,¡± Bryce drove off, pressing down the throttle as her car sped away into the street.

    Meanwhile, back at the backseat. Jason was staring at those soldiers who were standing guard. His eyes caught notice of some soldiers patrolling around the perimeter. That alone told him that they wanted him for something. Yet he had one word for them.

    Scumbags.

 Chapter 43

    Jason stayed still inside the car even after Bryce had gone back into her townhouse. He looked around and saw the neighborhood was silent. Different from the bustling city.

    She chose a good place to stay.

    It was like any suburban area. Front lawn, neighbors on each side and a whole lot of houses.

    She¡¯s probably renting.

    He doubted that she bought the house. She¡¯s still young judging by her appearance, settling down here with a creep like that at her workplace was a sign that she will move sooner or later.

    Time to bust myself out of here.

    Rather than kicking the side window, he unlocked the door and there he was. Standing outside without much fuss. Yet the alarm started blaring with the lights kept on blinking.

    ¡°Shadow Hide,¡± he said.

    Jason vanished into thin air as he took covered underneath the shade of a tree. He saw Bryce opening up the window on the second floor. She was only wrapped in a towel and Jason who looked from down below felt a sudden urge. He slapped himself out of sudden.

    Get yourself together, Jason. You¡¯re not going to become the second hollow man.

    He reasoned with himself while sitting down at the front lawn. He could feel the thin sharp grass prickling his buck naked ass.

    ¡°Why is the alarm went off?¡± she said. Bryce clicked on her car keys and the alarm turned off.

    She returned back leaving the window open. Jason sat there staring at the window while deep in his own thought.

    What¡¯s next? Still haven¡¯t a clue on where to go right now.

    It wasn¡¯t like him to do something this random. It was always planned first and act later but desperate times need desperate action. He didn¡¯t want to be locked up in a cage by the military. Feeling the breeze from down under. He made up his mind.

    I need to get some clothes.

    He was about to leave the front lawn but a scream shattered the silent night of the neighborhood. Glancing behind his back, he saw shadows scuffling through the open window. Before he could even leap into action, the scream died down. A silhouette of a person came out from the window with a naked woman hanging on its shoulder.

    I¡¯ve already saved her, and now I need to do it again? This woman really has rotten luck.

    Jason couldn¡¯t see the silhouette¡¯s face clearly, hidden under the darkness of the night. But a slight glimpse made him shudder.

    It¡¯s not human.

    The faint moonlight let him saw spikes protruding out from the silhouette¡¯s shoulders. The silhouette landed on the ground with no noise as if it had noise-canceling boots on. It was about to break into a run but held its steps. The silhouette suddenly glanced towards Jason¡¯s direction, catching him off guard.

    It can see me?

    Jason was still in his hidden state. The silhouette stared for a few seconds and left after noticing nothing was wrong. It broke into a run, with its speed flashing by like a shadow. It didn¡¯t make a sound even with a full-grown adult body on top of its shoulder.

    Definitely not human.

    Jason was about to give chase but stopped for a while.

    Didn¡¯t anyone hear her scream just now?

    The neighborhood was peaceful and quiet. Even those neighbors from both sides didn¡¯t show a reaction to the scream. It got him thinking.

    Definitely not a good neighborhood.

    Jason gave haste chasing the silhouette that was faster than he had expected.

    He¡¯s fast.

    But Jason¡¯s speed wasn¡¯t something to be scoff at. His agility shined as the distance between them shortened. They were running through the neighborhood and the kidnapper took a sudden turn. Jason followed him close by shortening the distance between them by the second. They escape the confinement of the suburban area and headed into the tall trees. The suburbs were close to a park with tall trees covering the entire land.

    The moment they entered, Jason lost sight of the silhouette. They were barely any light. He has Shadow Hide but that doesn¡¯t mean he could see in the shadows. Jason focused himself as he was chasing them by following the red hair fluttering through the wind. He could barely see it within this darkness. He pushed himself putting every strength he had in these legs of his to run closer. Jason was a few feet away from the kidnapper. He was contemplating whether it¡¯s a good time to ambush it or not.

    Should I? But what if that thing suddenly does something at the redhead?

    Then from the darkness of the park, he heard a strange voice echoing through the forest.

    What¡¯s that?

    It came from left and right and after the sound ended, he heard it once more right in front of him.

    It sounds like a conversation.

    An assumption of his and it wasn¡¯t far from the truth. He didn¡¯t recognize what language it was but the presence of more of them spelled troubles.

    They¡¯re more of them?

    Jason postponed his ambush and kept on trailing by the kidnapper in front of him. At this point onwards, he had a bad feeling about this. They ran through to the park which looks more like a forest, with nothing blocking their way. Along the way, Jason stumbled a few times as he was smacked by a tree branch and tripped from a tree root. Every time he stumbled he kept his mouth shut, didn¡¯t want to alert the sensitive kidnappers.

    It would have been great if the Shadow Hide could allow him to weave through the shadows like he himself was the shadow but for now, the only thing it can do is just make him invisible. Soon, Jason was out of the trees and ran into a clearing. A clearing made into three soccer fields. There were no trees blocking the mild moonlight and it was enough for him to opened his eyes wide in surprise.

    The hell is going on here?

    He was expecting two or three kidnappers but now the numbers reached more than two dozens of them. They were all running at the same pace in the same direction. Some were carrying two people on their shoulders while some carried one. Enough for him to see that something bad is going on here. Then, the cloud that covered the moon passed by as the moonlight shined over the plain. Jason who was looking from left to right suddenly stared at the kidnapper running at the side. He saw the face of that kidnapper and it was no man.

    Goblin?

    The first thing that came in mind after seeing that horrendous looking face. Yet it was far different from the goblin he first fought back in the dark alley. Taller, similar to an adult human. Under the darkness, he couldn¡¯t see the tone of its skin but it was different from the dark green skin tone of a goblin. These tall goblins have navy skin tone and for once they have hair on top of their head. Some were tied in a top knot while some in mohawk style while some let it loose. One more thing that Jason was sure about these creatures.

    No doubt, they¡¯re definitely stronger than a goblin.

    If he has the identify skill, he would have known its species. A hobgoblin.

    How did these things get here? They said the monsters stop advancing at Staten Island. Did they swim across the bay?

    If they really did as he thought then this revelation would only mean more trouble. Swimming across the bay undetected by the coast guard, while kidnapping people like some covert op. The thought of them acting as a unit scared Jason. He followed them close as they entered through the tall trees once more, heading deeper into Veteran Park. The prolonged run was depleting down Jason¡¯s stamina, his breath was getting rougher and his condition was deteriorating.

    Shit, I should have put more into stamina.

    The sign of his unbalance point distribution was starting to show. Unlike his survival time back at the hotel, he didn¡¯t actually have to run this much. His fights are all rather fast pace and ended quite fast thus the lack of stamina didn¡¯t really show. But now he saw the effect of not allocating it.

    He was keeping a distance but the distance is slowly getting wider. But then something the unexpected happened. Something tore apart the air and a swooshing sound went passed him.

    The heck?

    He stumbled and stopped moving. An unexpected pain started to erupt from his right shoulder. It was excruciating unlike he had ever felt before. He wasn''t supposed to felt pain since his energy guard was still active. But then a blue window popped out.

    You have been poisoned

 Chapter 44

    Poison? What the heck?

    Jason opened up his status as his eyes scanned from top to bottom.

    Jason Park

    Job : None

    Level 16

    EP : 65/111

    E.Guard : 24/30 (Poison)

    Strength : 46

    Agility :?71

    Dexterity :?5

    Stamina :?4

    Energy :?37

    E.Resist :?1

    Points :?0

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills : Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.4, Minor Heal+ Lv.4, Energy Guard Lv.2, Wind Cutter Lv.2, Shadow Hide Lv.3

    He saw his energy guard was still active but dwindling in number. He just saw it dropped down by one but he wasn''t attacked by anything.

    The poison is corroding my energy guard.

    Jason didn¡¯t wait as he used Minor Heal+ recovering back his energy guard to the fullest. But it didn¡¯t stop decreasing. That wasn¡¯t the only problem he had. He heard a thud to his front as if something just fell from above. He didn¡¯t move an inch as he felt something was approaching. He heard the rustling grass and then right in front of him a hideous face emerged from the darkness.

    He backed away, surprised by the sudden appearance of this creature. His sudden movement alerted the creature. It swung something in his hand and Jason ducked down close to the ground. He didn¡¯t saw what weapon it use but he knew the creature couldn¡¯t see him.

    How the hell did this thing notice me? Did I trigger an alarm or something?

    That strange voice appeared once more. The foreign language was unknown to his ears. It was the same entity as the hobgoblin. Jason focused himself while slowly standing up. The hobgoblin that attacked him came into view as the distance between them become closer. He saw the action of this particular hobgoblin. It was sniffing the air as if searching for something, it then ducked down on the ground sniffing the earth itself.

    It came closer to Jason as they were only a foot away. Jason avoided the path of the hobgoblin maneuvering himself around the hobgoblin in a discreet manner. The sensitivity of this hobgoblin was amazing compared to the one that kidnapped the red-headed Bryce.

    Shit, the hell is this stench.

    As they grew closer, Jason couldn¡¯t help but smell the stench coming from the hobgoblin. Its stench was nothing like he had ever smell, it was even worse than being inside a garbage dump. Who knows how long it hadn¡¯t taken a bath. Jason glanced at the crouching hobgoblin as he noticed the bow in its hand. Now he knew what hit him.

    A poison arrow. Tch, this smelly bastard.

    If it was up to him, he would have smack this hobgoblin by the head. But he restrained himself. If there were other hobgoblins around, it would be bad news for him. He observed this hobgoblin who was still sniffing up the ground. The hobgoblin only wore a dirty loincloth on. It wasn''t a pleasant sight to see and Jason didn¡¯t have the stomach to watch it any longer.

    Let¡¯s get this over with.

    Seeing that they were no other hobgoblin within the proximity, Jason prepared for the ambush. He stepped closer to the hobgoblin going at it behind its back. With his hands readied to snapped its neck into two. He always saw it in the movies, so it might be possible to do it. Then he went for the ambush. Both of his hands grabbed on to the head of the hobgoblin by surprise. Putting every strength he had, he twisted it. He was hoping to hear the neck crack into two but his hands slipped.

    ¡°Kiiii.¡±

    Shit.

    The hobgoblin managed to let out a sound and Jason was quick in his action. His arms wrapped around the neck of the hobgoblin into a chokehold. He pulled it up as the hobgoblin began wriggling itself. It was flailing around with both of its arms clawing at Jason, trying to escape from this strengthened chokehold. It was running out of air but it didn¡¯t give up. It clawed the arm that wrapped around its neck but Jason didn¡¯t budge, maintaining himself in a calm manner. His energy guard was depleting fast but he didn¡¯t forget to heal himself.

    Soon the hobgoblin stopped moving and its whole body went limp. Jason released the chokehold as the hobgoblin¡¯s body fell to the ground. He turned to the side and started to retch. Thankfully, nothing came out. Being that close to it, the smell was too much. He was on the verge of puking at the hobgoblin¡¯s face while choking it. He took a few deep breaths trying to get the fresh air in and filtering the bad smell out. He calmed down as his gag reflex stop working.

    ¡°Shadow Hide,¡± he said.

    He didn¡¯t forget to hide. A new message came out but that wasn¡¯t enough for him to smile.

    Shadow Hide level up to level 4

    The sound the hobgoblin probably attracted the attention of the others. As he waited in silence, the thing he was waiting for didn¡¯t come.

    Just my luck, I didn¡¯t level up.

    He was waiting for the congratulatory note from the system but seeing it didn¡¯t pop out it was safe to say that the hobgoblin was low level. Yet he didn¡¯t come out empty-handed. Grabbing on to the bow and the quiver filled with arrows, at least he has something to replace his precious horn sword.

    I miss my horn sword.

    The thought of that precious horn sword that he used to kill those powerful monsters would only be a memory in the past. He slung the quiver to his back and held on to the bow. He didn¡¯t know what it was made off but judging by its shape, it looks simply like a composite bow. He searched the corpse of the hobgoblin one more time.

    Shit, it doesn¡¯t have the antidote.

    Jason was running out of options here. The poison was still there and his EP was slowly decreasing with both usage of Shadow Hide and Minor Heal+. He didn¡¯t even want to think about what would happen if his energy guard deactivated. His life was on the line here.

    Something is coming.

    Jason stepped back as he put a few feet away from the corpse. Soon, two more hobgoblins appeared around the dead hobgoblin. Both of them had bows and a nocked arrow in their hands.

    They¡¯re definitely the sentries keeping watch over the perimeter.

    Jason came to a conclusion seeing that those kidnappers that took those humans probably brought them towards a base of operation for these hobgoblins. Then it was more logical to think that these archers like hobgoblins to be the sentries that guard the perimeter. Monsters that work as an organization weren¡¯t something he should take lightly.

    Both of the hobgoblins checked on the dead corpse of its kin. They didn¡¯t check its pulse rather they just turned the body around and slapped its face. Seeing there was no response, one of them grabbed its arm and lifted it up. It released the arm and saw it fell. Limp like a doll. From what Jason saw, their intelligence was definitely not up to par. Then, he shouldn¡¯t be that worry over these creatures.

    Both started to talk with one another. On the other hand, Jason was in deep thought thinking about how to deal with these two.

    Should I shoot it with the bow? But do I even know how to use one? Even if I did, am I fast enough to nock another arrow and kill the other one?

    But then he saw something inexplicable. He turned slack-jawed seeing the things unfolding in front of him. Out of sudden, the two hobgoblins started eating the dead corpse of its kin. They were eating the dead corpse as if it was a rotisserie chicken fresh from the grill. Jason¡¯s gag reflex was acting up again. He turned around and took a few deep breaths.

    Shitty cannibals.

    He was always caught off guard by these hobgoblins. He had enough of these smelly bastards. He nocked an arrow on the bow and stepped closer to the feasting hobgoblin. His aim would probably be off if he was far and that was why he came closer. The arrow was aimed at point-blank range, a sure way of not missing.

    Die.

    He released the arrow and it shot right through the back of the head of the hobgoblin. The other hobgoblin noticed its brethren turning limp with an arrow lodged inside its head. It tilted its head and saw a human but it was too late. Jason was fast as he turned to the back of this dumbfounded hobgoblin and strangled it using his bow. He pulled the bow as it strained across the neck of the hobgoblin. Jason pressed down on its body with his feet making sure it didn¡¯t stand up.

    Seconds later, another dead body flopped on the ground. The blue window didn¡¯t appear as it only made Jason frowned. Not only that, the bow he used to strangle the hobgoblin was bent over and out of shape. But good for him, these two left two spare bows for him to use. He threw the broken bow and looted the two dead hobgoblins.

    No antidote.

    He didn¡¯t like his current situation. The only option left was to travel deeper into the park. He slung one bow across his body and use the other one in his hand. He stored the rest of the arrows into one quiver. His sight stared at the darkness of the park.

    Time to kill some smelly goblins.

 Chapter 45

    Jason was crouching on top of a branch. His sight was focused at the tribal looking camp. He didn¡¯t think it was even possible to build a tribal camp inside the Veteran Park. Lamp torches illuminated the camp as wooden fences barred the camp perimeter.

    How the hell did no one notice this?

    A good question, but with no answers.

    They¡¯re holding hostages?

    Close to the center of the camp, a smaller fenced area was made. They were people inside, some already awoke while some still unconscious. Even if they are awake, they couldn¡¯t do anything since the whole camp was crawling with hobgoblins. In Jason''s eyes, something felt weird.

    Why do they need fire torches even when they have good night vision?

    The answer to that appeared as a silhouette emerged from the teepee like structure. Garbed with a clay color robe, it held something in its hand a wooden staff. Its back was hunch but its identity was clear for Jason to see. A hobgoblin but unlike those he had fought, it was old with a wrinkling ugly face. The tone of its skin differed from the navy tone of those other hobgoblins as it was a copper-like shade.

    From above the tree branch, he saw the copper hobgoblin ordering around the other hobgoblins while pointing towards the humans trapped within the fenced area. One of them opened up the fence and dragged one of the humans out. People started screaming, as their plea for help echoed within the darkness of the park. They were terrified as the screams didn¡¯t stop.

    Yet one brave man tried to run away making use of the open gap in the fence but his attempt fell short as an arrow struck him on the knee. He fell to the ground screaming in pain. Tears rolled down from his eyes as both of his hands grabbed on to his injured knee. His eyes were frozen open as he was devastated.

    Soon, he couldn¡¯t felt his legs, numbed by the poison. He was shouting and yelling as he dragged his body over the ground. He was relentless in trying to escape but the copper hobgoblin looked down upon this man. It raised its wooden staff in the air and manifested a huge fireball. A fireball the size of a beach ball and those humans who were trapped in the fence stared at the spectacle with their jaws wide open.

    The copper hobgoblin threw the fireball at the fleeing man as it set him into ablaze. He screamed in pain being burned alive, soon his voice drowned by the searing flame and in the end, it only left a charred body. Even after death, things took a nasty turn. The hobgoblins who were loitering around the camp jumped towards the charred body and devoured like it was some prime roasted beef. Those humans within the fence saw what happened as they witnessed a human being devoured by these creatures. Some soiled themselves while some passed out.

    That¡¯s got to hurt.

    Jason witnessed everything from above. Seeing someone being eaten was like the norm for him, since he did experience that hellish two nights. He cast a glance at the base camp of these hobgoblins. From what he had observed so far, the numbers within this camp only amount to 4 dozens of them. Half of it he saw when he was chasing Bryce¡¯s kidnapper. The rest were patrolling around the camp area.

    I can handle them all if I did it discreetly but the problem is...

    He glanced at someone.

    That hobgoblin mage.

    Jason was worried about the hobgoblin mage. He was still blind about the skill set of the mage. It would be troublesome if his ambush fails and leading the mage to rally the other hobgoblins. But then, an archer hobgoblin came rushing from outside entering the camp as it reported to the Copper Hobgoblin.

    The Copper Hobgoblin responded, yelling in its own language calling those hobgoblins to gather at the center of the camp. These four dozens hobgoblins listened well to the Copper Hobgoblin before they left the camp in all directions. A dozen were left to guard the base camp.

    At least they¡¯re not that stupid. That archer hobgoblin probably found those dead hobgoblins that I killed. I guess I¡¯ll save the best for last then.

    Jason abandoned the thought of assassinating the Copper Hobgoblin. It was best to eliminate any possible risk before he confronts the Copper Hobgoblin. Jason leaped down to the ground and began his hunt. He was quick in chasing behind these hobgoblins and chose the one that was farther from the rest. He kept his distance close as he pulled the bowstring as far as he possibly can. When the distance reached a foot away he let the arrow fly.

    An arrow lodged into the skull of the hobgoblin as Jason grabbed it before falling. The stench was unbearable but he endured it for the sake of not alerting the others. Slowly he let down the corpse and chased the back of those who were still visible in his sight.

    ¡°Shadow Hide,¡± he said.

    He blended with the shadows disappearing from sight. He was getting the hang of seeing in the dark albeit the vision was terrible and the distance he could see was limited but at least he was able to see something rather than being blind.

    Another one dropped dead as he motioned himself like the previous kill. Slowly he let down the corpse as his eyes searched for the next victim. One by one they fell silently without anyone else knowing. They departed from this world not knowing who just killed them. He hunted them down like they were defenseless rabbits hopping on the plains. A dozen fell to their death and finally the thing he had been waiting for had arrived.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 17

    I guess they probably at the same level as those mini-velociraptors.

    An assumption of his as he considered these two species experience gains. Although he couldn¡¯t see it but by comparing the numbers that he killed, it might not be too far off from the exact number.

    Five points to stamina.

    Jason didn¡¯t wait long and allocated it to stamina. It was one of his current weakness. With these five points, at least he would be able to stay longer in battle.

    This is getting too easy.

    A smile was difficult to hide, Jason himself was rather enjoying this hunt of his. The difference between fighting against the strong and fighting against the weak was like a huge gap. Jason hid once more but not without good news.

    Shadow Hide level up to level 5

    Just a while ago, his Minor Heal+ had leveled up to level five. The rate of leveling of these two skills of his was astronomical. It wouldn¡¯t be strange since he had been spamming it repeatedly for quite a while now. But one thing he wasn''t pleased with was the rate of his energy guard dwindling. The poison was too much of a bother.

    It can¡¯t be helped then, five points to e.resist.

    He didn¡¯t want to use it recklessly but his life was on the line here. Living was more important than point hoarding. He saw his EP being raised at a considerable amount. Enough to satisfied him, in a word enough to keep him long enough for finding the antidote. He had been killing a lot of those hobgoblins but neither one of them had an antidote.

    Do these goblins don¡¯t even use an antidote? Then what if one of them accidentally prick themselves to a poison arrow? Then would they let themselves die just like that?

    That sudden statement brought a clarification in his train of thought. His assumption sounds awfully convincing considering the intelligence of these hobgoblins were rather low. He shook his head from side to side as he didn¡¯t want it to be true. If it did, then he might as well shoot the arrow to his head.

    I¡¯m going to kill these bastards.

    He was mad and his target of rage was none other than those hobgoblins who were searching through the park. He scoured through the park as he searched for those hobgoblins. He found one and he didn¡¯t hesitate to approach it fast with his nimbleness. He nocked an arrow to his bow and released it when the distance was at close proximity. An arrow flew and struck through its head. Jason was getting used to the bow as he found it was rather easy to use. He had no trouble pulling the string as his strength was more than enough to resist the tension. In a way he kind of like it.

    Like always, Jason was going to hide once more after he had done his deed. The only drawback about the ability is, it exposes Jason after making any contact with any other living being but he was skeptical about this. He shook his head as it wasn''t the time for such a thing. Then he heard a slight rustling from behind, Jason jumped to the side as he saw something coming down towards the ground.

    He glanced towards the spot where he once stood and there it was, a hobgoblin emerging from the darkness. A scimitar sharp blade was on the ground. The thing that passed by was definitely the scimitar. The hobgoblin raised up the scimitar in its hand and charged forward at Jason.

    ¡°Shadow Hide,¡± Jason vanished as his hands were moving quickly nocking the arrow on the bow.

    As he glanced up, the sharp blade of the scimitar was slashing at him. Jason dodged the incoming strike and shot the arrow. The arrow missed the head but went through its neck.

    Close call.

    But it wasn¡¯t the end. The hobgoblin dropped the scimitar in its hand as blood poured out from the leaking hole made by the arrow. It tilted its head upwards and released a deafening shout.

    Damn it.

    Jason aimed his arrow and shot once again as this time it hit right at the head. The hobgoblin fell on the ground and received its death. But Jason had a bad feeling creeping up over his shoulders. He hid once more using Shadow Hide. The arrow was nocked and he was ready to shoot. But his body kept on shifting in every direction as the faint sounds were becoming louder.

    Soon the source of the sound appeared within his sight. It was hobgoblins. Everywhere he looked they were only hobgoblins. He was surrounded by these creatures, some wielded scimitar while some carried iron mace. A few perched on top of the tree branches preparing their bow. Even when he was hidden, he couldn¡¯t help but felt nervous about this situation.

    I¡¯m fucked ain¡¯t I.

 Chapter 46

    The hobgoblins that circled around Jason charged at him simultaneously. A good tactic considering they were up against an invisible opponent. Jason, on the other hand, was in a pinch. He pushed off from the ground jumping into the air. He glanced down as he heard the clashing of weapons.

    If that was me, I would have been dead.

    The hobgoblins locked their weapons together at the center, seeing no man trapped within their attacks. One of them shouted in the air. Multiple arrows were shot, crisscrossing in the air as they sliced whatever in between. Jason emerged floating in the air as a few arrows struck him. His invisibility vanished when the arrows made contact. The force from the arrows pushed him a few times in the air as his energy guard was depleting fast. He coughed up a few times as the force behind the arrow was not something to scoff at.

    Damn it.

    He focused himself as his eyes darted around the ground. All he could see were those hobgoblins.

    ¡°Shadow Hide,¡± he vanished once more as gravity pulled him down. He fell on his feet landing on top of a hobgoblin. Using the creature as a platform he lunged himself further away from them. He hid once more with Shadow Hide. The hobgoblins scrambled, searching for the invisible enemy.

    Jason ran as he was cursing at these smelly bastards. A single mistake cost him his element of surprise. Nevertheless, it was now or never. Taking cover behind a tree, he waited there as the hobgoblins came rushing forward going past him. Staying still was the best option as he realized they had a hard time finding him when he wasn''t moving. A few stood close searching within their surroundings. One was close to him while another a few feet away. Jason didn¡¯t hesitate and shot another arrow at point-blank range.

    The hobgoblin let out a muffled scream before dying on the ground. Jason turned invisible but the one closest to him saw him vanishing. It threw the scimitar at the spot where it last saw Jason and stabbed into the tree trunk. It missed. Jason walked closer and turned behind the hobgoblin that was retrieving its stuck scimitar. Another arrow let loose from the back and another one more fallen. Like it was a habit, Jason muttered ¡°Shadow Hide.¡±

    But out of nowhere, an arrow came from above hitting his shoulder. He stumbled and dropped on one knee. He glanced the things above him especially the trees that were close to him and he saw it. An archer hobgoblin perched on the tree branch as it let loose another arrow. Jason rolled to the side and picked up the scimitar on the ground. He leaped off the ground and unleashed a vertical slash. The archer hobgoblin dodged but the scimitar sharp blade along with Jason¡¯s incredible strength cut down the tree branch in one swoop.

    The archer hobgoblin lost its footing and fell to the ground. Its luck was running out as the tree branch dropped on top of it. It was stuck. Jason stepped on top of the tree branch pinning down the archer hobgoblin from trying to escape. His cold eyes hid a deep burning rage. He nocked an arrow and pierced the head of the archer hobgoblin. His hands were fast, looting the arrows to compensate his own diminishing ammo.

    I have to hurry, those things might hear the noise.

    It was impossible to hide the noise of a fallen tree branch. Jason hid once more with Shadow Hide but a surprise message caught his eye.

    Skill: Basic Archery acquired

    What?

    He was dumbstruck. Something impossible turned possible. According to his knowledge, one needs to learn from an expert in order to learn a skill or through a scroll looted from a monster but this sudden message told him otherwise.

    Now is not the time.

    Brainstorming about the matter was postponed at a later date. He jumped on top of a tree branch as he waited. When the first one arrived, the others gathered quickly. They were talking with one another with their rude interaction of hitting one another as if determining something. One of them shouted in elation as it gorged down on the dead corpse of its kin. Even when hunting down the enemy, they didn¡¯t forget to eat their fill. Even when the snack was one of their own.

    Freaking cannibals.

    He loathed these creatures, disgusted by their nature. But then he heard something was coming. He turned his head to the back and saw an archer hobgoblin leaping towards him.

    Did it saw me?

    He reacted and jumped up. But contrary to his expectation, the archer hobgoblin was only finding a spot for a good aim. Jason who was still in the air noticed the oblivious archer hobgoblin. His hand was quick and the motion of him nocking the arrow was smoother, thanks to the aid of the new skill. Bowstring pulled and he released. It was his first time executing a shot in mid-air but he did it effortlessly.

    The arrow missed the head and struck its shoulder. It yelped, gaining the attention of those on the ground. Jason stomped on the archer hobgoblin from above and leaped towards the ground as he disappeared in mid-air.

    The hobgoblins chased him down no matter if he was invisible or not. Their nose kept on sniffing the air trying to find Jason. But the moment he vanished, Jason turned around. Rather than going straight, he took a detour and came back to the scene of a hobgoblin eating the corpse of its kin. He drew his bow ready to kill another one but at the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the wounded archer hobgoblin. It was doing something and it piqued his interest. He came closer to it and observed.

    The archer hobgoblin broke off the arrowhead stuck on its shoulder. It knew how to removed an arrow. It winced as it pulled out the arrow shaft in one stroke.

    With the poison, it¡¯s dead already.

    Contrary to his assumption, the archer hobgoblin was not giving up on death. It tore some leaves from the loincloth that covered its crotch and consumed it without hesitation. The moment it swallowed, Jason swore he saw a faint purplish light covering the archer hobgoblin before it faded after a second passed.

    Jason was utterly horrified.

    His eyes were quivering as his hand covered his open mouth. He was shocked by the revelation of this. He knew what it meant. But the notion of it caused him to shivered. He was breaking a sweat as the thought of just doing it was making him retching without a noise.

    Fuck.

    He was cursing his fate. Nonetheless, he still had to do it. He turned his head and glared at the archer hobgoblin who was picking up its bow. The rage inside of him erupted like a volcano. He drew his bow and approached closer to the archer hobgoblin. As their distance was only a foot away, Jason stared at it with menacing eyes. The bow of the archer hobgoblin bumped into Jason as it revealed Jason into the open. But it didn¡¯t matter to Jason as he released the arrow. Another one put into the grave.

    Jason turned around as he didn¡¯t even want to look at the archer hobgoblin. He nocked his arrow once more and aimed at the oblivious hobgoblin who was too occupied in eating. It didn¡¯t even realize one of them had been killed. Jason stood and aimed his sight at the hobgoblin. He didn¡¯t go for his usual point-blank range as he got the feeling that his aim was much improved. He let it loose and the arrow struck right at the head. It fell on the half-eaten corpse of its kin. Dying together with their unbearable stench.

    Now, it was time.

    Jason stood in front of the archer hobgoblin. His hand reached out to its loincloth, trembling as he didn¡¯t want to do it. He tore apart the leaves at the exact same spot. The leaves look exactly like the one eaten by the archer hobgoblin. Slowly he brought over the leaves to his mouth but suddenly he pulled his head back in disgust.

    Fuck.

    He cursed once more, hating the fact that he needed to do this. The stench was much worst that he had ever smell. It was closest to the dirtiest spot on the hobgoblin. It made sense that the smell would be intensified. His hand leaned over to the tree trunk, supporting him to stand. Jason was in deep conflict. He wasn''t a neat freak but that didn''t mean he was dirty. He was like any average clean man. But this¡­

    It was like a nightmare to him. He knew what was in stake here. His own life.

    Fuck.

    The last curse and then he did it. He put those leaves inside his mouth. The taste, the smell, everything was vile and disgusting inside his mouth. The second he put it inside, he started retching continuously. He slammed his chest with his fist trying to stay focus. He munched down on the leaves as he started to cry. Crying with tears falling over like a torrential river. Then he swallowed it down. A purplish glow enveloped him and that damn blue window appeared.

    Your poison has been cured

 Chapter 47

    A man fueled by anger and hatred was hunting down hobgoblins within the darkness of the park. Then there were five. Jason was perched right above them as they didn¡¯t notice his presence. This was the last time he was using Shadow Hide for these five. Although he saved a lot from not using Minor Heal+, yet his EP was at its lowest. He couldn¡¯t afford to use it since there are a dozen of them waiting for him at the tribal camp.

    Jason was calm as he drew his bow. His Basic Archery had leveled up to level three giving him an accuracy boost up to thirty meters. He was gaining confidence in using the bow. Silent but deadly. One went loose as his hand was quick as he nocked another arrow. One fell down and the other four scrambled. Jason followed the back of one of the hobgoblin. He already determined his next target. He released it.

    Swoosh.

    It struck right at the back of its neck. Jason shot two more arrows making sure it stayed down. His head looked around for other potential victims.

    ¡°Kiii,¡± the war cry of a hobgoblin rang. A hobgoblin jumped from another tree branch swinging its rusty mace. Jason jumped up and the hit smashed the tree branch into pieces. Again, he exhibited another mid-air shoot. It struck it on the shoulder but the hobgoblin was relentless. It looked up and saw Jason falling down. It readied itself and prepared to swing. Jason couldn¡¯t draw as he was falling. He was still not skilled in handling a bow and arrow in any sort of situation.

    Jason frowned to an idea.

    His hand glowed in light green. He swung three times as crescent projectiles flew and struck the hobgoblin. The projectiles cut it into pieces as its limbs fell down and the torso into two. Jason landed on the ground.

    Two more.

    He was just about to search for them but a scimitar slashed right at him. A heavy pressure landed on his body as he was pushed at a distance. He felt a minor ache to his side as he stared at the hobgoblin wielding the scimitar. Jason peeked at his energy guard and noticed it went down by one-tenth. It wasn¡¯t bad but he was hoping not to use any healing for the leftovers.

    ¡°Come,¡± he said.

    The hobgoblin charged while Jason nocked an arrow and shoot. The hobgoblin blocked it by putting the wide blade in front of its face. Jason was surprised with wide eyes. The horizontal slashed came at him. Jason ducked and let go of his bow.

    Don¡¯t mess with me.

    He punched right at the right side of its ribcage with a left hook. Slamming it like Tyson. His forty-six strength was nothing to joke about. The hobgoblin flinched as it didn¡¯t know what was coming. It didn''t expect a weak-looking human who resorted to sneaky tactics being able to punch like this.

    Then all of a sudden its vision was parallel to the ground. Jason connected the liver punch with another hook slamming it right at the side of its face. Bringing it down to the ground. Jason didn¡¯t stop and drew his bow. A shot to the head as he finished his job.

    Then there was one. Jason stood as he looked around. It might be going for an ambush like the rest of them. But as he waited, it didn¡¯t appear. Jason hid once more with Shadow Hide. He made his way to the tribal camp. He had grown accustomed to the night. Yet the moment, the light from torches appeared, he squinted his eyes. It dazzled his eyes as he blocked with his hand. Jason climbed up a tree taking advantage of higher ground. After his vision adjusted, he saw a hobgoblin talking with the Copper Hobgoblin. Judging from how frantic it was, he assumed it must be the last one.

    Can I reach it?

    Jason wondered as he pulled the string of his bow. He carefully aimed at the frantic looking hobgoblin. He didn¡¯t know whether he could shoot accurately since he had a hard time telling the distance. But his instinct was telling him he could. rather than instinct, it was the confidence boosted by the Basic Archery skill. Even without his knowledge, his subconscious mind knew the distance was just right. Slowly, he let his fingers go. The arrow flew through the distance tearing apart the night air. Then, it hit.

    Bullseye.

    The hobgoblin turned limp as it fell to the ground. The Copper Hobgoblin stared at the direction of the shot. It started yelling as a dozen hobgoblins gathered. It pointed towards Jason but unfortunately for it, Jason had already moved to another tree branch.

    Three hobgoblins were sent out to searched that area. The three hobgoblins looked around while sniffing with their noses. Those three were close to Jason. He won¡¯t let this chance pass by as he shot all three of them one by one as they fell to their death. The Copper Hobgoblin noticed its troop dying. It sent another three and Jason made short work of them. A blue window screen appeared once more.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 18

    He had been killing them and finally after close to three dozen kill counts, he finally raised another level.

    Five points to stamina.

    He didn¡¯t waste time and threw another five points to his pathetic stamina. Killing those hobgoblins with all the jumping and dodging while trying to maintain focus really sapped his stamina for both mind and body. The fatigue was building up. He watched over from above as he waited for the hobgoblin to act. Fifteen minutes passed and neither did anything. The Copper Hobgoblin has no intention of sending its kin to its death as it noticed the prowess of this hunter.

    Soon, he detected movement from within the camp. A woman was yelling as she was dragged out from the fenced area. Jason observed with watchful eyes. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw what they were doing. Grinding his teeth, he was utterly enraged by their action.

    The helpless woman was butchered starting from her feet. Her screams and wailing echoed within the park. A horrendous sight to see and Jason was riled up seeing this spectacle. The woman was dead by the time it reached her pelvis. Those other people trapped in the fenced area were horrified seeing such thing in front of their eyes. Some scream in horror while some fainted just from seeing it. It was a cruel way of ending one¡¯s life.

    Yet even after death, the hobgoblin didn¡¯t stop butchering the corpse. It was humiliating the human race and Jason was engulfed by rage seeing this ongoing. Out of reflex, he drew his bow. The distance was farther away as it was deeper into the camp. Jason didn¡¯t think twice.

    Five points to dexterity.

    For some reason, he felt something within the arrow he was holding. The three fingers holding on to the string let loose as the arrow flew. The speed was different. Jason could feel the difference. The points allocated was worth it. An arrow struck the middle of the hobgoblin¡¯s head. The Copper Hobgoblin saw its kin dropping lifeless on the ground with an arrow stuck in its head. It started to get nervous as if the whole camp was within the shooting range of Jason. A needless assumption as the shot he took was a lucky one. Even Jason couldn¡¯t believe it.

    The hostages fell silent as they saw one more of this horrific being dropped dead. They wondered whether the cavalry had arrived or not. But the savior they expected didn¡¯t come. This savior of theirs only attacked these creatures from within the darkness of the park. No matter who this savior was, they only hoped that they would come and save them faster.

    The Copper Hobgoblin was frustrated by this slippery enemy, it took out something from within its robe and placed it on top of his wooden staff. A dull yellowish color gem. It muttered something in its strange language as it then struck the other end of the staff to the ground. A pale yellow shock wave was released as it hit Jason before he could do anything. It was fast and it caught him by surprise. The yellow gem crumbled into pieces as Jason was in for a surprise.

    He checked himself from top to bottom with his eyes wide open. He hoped nothing happened to him. Thankfully he didn¡¯t find any injuries. But then, his sight turned towards the big ball of flame heading towards him.

    Oh, shit.

 Chapter 48

    Jason jumped.

    The big fireball smashed the tree as it burned it into a cinder. Jason watched the tree being burned, but a second one was coming. He glanced towards the tribal camp and saw another fireball heading his way. He ran as the fireball exploded upon contact to the ground. He dodged it as he was fast. Yet another one was heading his way. No, two more giant fireballs charging over at him.

    The heck? It can see me? But I think I¡¯m still invisible.

    He ran along the perimeter as those fireballs exploded from behind. The ground shook and he felt the shock wave from the explosion from behind. The moment he stopped and glanced towards the camp was the moment he saw more of those fireballs coming at him.

    It can see me.

    ¡°Shadow Hide,¡± said Jason he felt the energy being used as he was concealed once more. But the same thing happened again. Fireballs kept on coming at him as he ran around the whole tribal perimeter with fireballs chasing him down.

    The hell. How the heck is it seeing me.

    He was bewildered but he didn¡¯t panic. He ran as those fireballs kept on blowing up and burning down the ground. But then in front of him, stood a group of hobgoblin readied to clash against the hunter, Jason.

    A well-thought plan never thought they could do that.

    Jason didn¡¯t even realize it, but he had run a full circle around the tribal camp as he avoided those searing fireballs. Nocking the arrow, he shot at the group taking one of them down in a blink of an eye. The rest charged at him swinging their weapons at him.

    Jason took another shot but it was blocked. Then their distance was a foot away and they clashed. A scimitar swung at his head and Jason dodged it. He replied with an arrow he grabbed in his hand and slammed right behind its knee. The hobgoblin fell on its injured knee. Jason continued his attack intending to punch it right at the face. But another scimitar was coming at him.

    He leaped to the side dodging it. But another hobgoblin came at him smashing the mace from above. Jason rolled on the ground, dodging its attack. His hand was glowing in light green as he swung his hand delivering three Wind Cutter. Those three projectiles cut apart the mace wielding hobgoblin into pieces as it dropped dead.

    Yet an ambush from behind caught him off guard. A mace struck him right at the back as he dropped on the ground. Jason turned around and saw more weapons coming from on top. He quickly stood up and rammed to one of the hobgoblins. Both fell to the ground, Jason lunged forward as he knew that someone might already be swinging their weapons once more. He heard the unfortunate cry of the hobgoblin that he rammed into. They missed Jason by a second and instead, killed one of their own by mistake.

    He ran but a fireball was closing in. Jason wasn¡¯t aware of it. He dodged it but the fireball was too close. The moment it made contact with the ground, it exploded shoving Jason in the air as he impacted over the nearby tree. He felt an ache as he opened up his status. His EP was down by one fourth.

    It wasn¡¯t time to make any more mistakes. Jason got up and ran into the trees. They were too many and that Copper Hobgoblin was being a nuisance throwing those fireballs. Jason ran deeper and climbed on top of a tree. He tried to remember his kill count and if he was correct then there were ten more of those smelly hobgoblins and one incapacitated. He just hoped that the incapacitated one would die due to the poison.

    While perched on top of a tree branch he saw seven hobgoblins approaching in a group. Jason drew his bow and prepared to ambush but a second later, the seven hobgoblins saw him on top of a tree branch. Jason was surprised. He didn¡¯t expect them to be this fast in finding him.

    Shit, that yellow shock wave might be some sort of tracking ability.

    A scimitar was thrown at him as if it was a throwing ax. He jumped down and shot his arrow. It hit one of them on the chest. It wasn¡¯t a killing shot but enough to be a ticking bomb. The arrows are laced in poison, at least he was assured that one of them will die sooner or later. Considering that they were no archer hobgoblin alive, then their source of cure wasn¡¯t present.

    He was still in mid-air and seconds from reaching the ground. But a hobgoblin was thrown by its kin as it rammed Jason in mid-air. An immense force slammed over him as Jason was helpless.

    Both tumbled on the ground as Jason attempted to kick it while rolling around. It hit, and Jason propelled himself further away from the hobgoblin. His hand glowed in green as he healed himself. He took a peek and his energy guard was full once more. But his EP was down to single digit. The situation wasn¡¯t looking good and to top it off, he heard people screaming from a distance. The thought of them butchering those humans surfaced in his mind.

    Just great.

    He shot an arrow at the hobgoblin that was just about to stand up. It hit right in the eye, piercing straight to the skull. Six more came charging at him. Jason slung the bow over his body and ran towards them. He picked up the scimitar on the ground belonging to the dead hobgoblin he just killed.

    Rather than resorting to range attack, he opted for melee. The situation wasn¡¯t letting him be. It was a race against time as those fellow humans are counting on him. Scimitars clashed against one another as sparks fly. Jason gave a frontal kick pushing the hobgoblin away, he followed it up with a slash but another two flanked him from both left and right. He jumped to the back, flipping himself like an acrobat.

    I can do a backflip.

    Never did he thought it was possible. Considering his status, a back slip was an easy maneuver. Jason still didn¡¯t have a chance of testing his current body capabilities.

    A mace and a scimitar came at him. Another flank attack by another two hobgoblins. He rolled to the side and slashed the leg of one of the hobgoblin. It fell and screamed. The other took the opportunity to slam its mace one more time. Jason was quick and defended with his scimitar. The force from above made him knelt. But it didn¡¯t feel that heavy. Jason pushed upwards and the mace wielding hobgoblin had its two hands thrown in the air.

    Jason sliced its belly as its gut popped out. It dropped its mace and shocked by its open belly. Blood kept spewing out and whatever it had eaten before was spilling out. The hobgoblin with its injured leg pounced as it swung its scimitar. Jason leaned back and pushed it to the side. He was about to deliver an attack but four hobgoblins charged at him from the front. They collided against the gut-spewing hobgoblin as it was trampled by its own kin.

    Four simultaneous attacks and Jason did another backflip. It was a success, he dodged the four attack but they were relentless. One of them swung its mace and Jason blocked it. Another scimitar coming from the side, Jason kicked the mace wielding hobgoblin to the ground and parried the scimitar slash. His free hand formed a fist and punched the living daylight out of the hobgoblin at its temple.

    It was a success but a mace slipped through the crack in his defense as it struck him right at the chest. He flung back as he coughed out a few times. A hobgoblin jumped from the back of the one who managed to land its attack on him, a vertical slice of its sharp gleaming scimitar.

    Jason blocked using the scimitar with both of his hands. The weight pushed him down but he didn¡¯t kneel. He redirected the force of the hobgoblin to the side as it pushed the hobgoblin forward. With its back in front of Jason, it didn¡¯t stand a chance. Jason stabbed him from the back as it pierced through the abdomen.

    The mace wielding hobgoblin slammed another attack right at Jason¡¯s back. Jason was pushed forward as he rolled himself on the ground. He glared at the mace wielding hobgoblin as it had managed to succeed in hitting him twice. It charged once more swinging its mace. The creepy smile on its ugly face showed that it had the confidence to deal with Jason. Jason ducked over the simple attack. With a wide swing like that, anyone can see it from miles away. His hands were empty but it didn¡¯t stop him. A punch right at the right ribcage, a precise liver blow. The overconfident hobgoblin felt its insides churning. Its legs got weak as it staggered in place. Another fist right at the temple and the hobgoblin was down to the ground.

    Jason¡¯s breath was getting ragged. He grabbed on to the mace held by the down hobgoblin. He stared down at the hobgoblin who was still confused, shaking its head from side to side. But it wasn¡¯t time to show mercy. He pummeled down the mace right at its head. He heard cracking noise but he didn¡¯t stop. After the tenth blow, he stopped and glanced at the three hobgoblins who were getting up from the ground.

    One who was still shaking its head after that blow to its temple. Another one limping on one leg and another having trouble standing with a lodged arrow on its chest. From what he was seeing, these three are already dead meat. He dropped the mace and pulled the scimitar that was stuck on the hobgoblin¡¯s corpse.

    With a smile, he charged. Against these three, Jason was confident. A minute later, three more dead bodies lay on the ground. Jason was spent. Dealing against seven opponents in a row was tiring. He felt like sitting down for a while but then he heard those screams echoing once more. He turned facing the tribal camp direction.

    It was time to deal with that old wrinkly hobgoblin.

 Chapter 49

    I woke up on top of dirt as my memories were a bit fuzzy. The last thing I remember was getting out of the shower but then¡­

    The redhead remembered the tall silhouette with a nasty smell lingering around him. Then she was knocked out cold. As her mind cleared, she noticed the things around her.

    Where am I? Who are these people?

    They were others beside her some fainted while some had fear in their eyes. Seconds later, she realized she was stark naked with nothing on her. Her hands covered both her chest and crotch. The reddish blush on her cheeks was hard not to notice.

    ¡°Hey, I¡­¡± embarrassed with her situation, she tried to ask for help.

    ¡°Shush,¡± the lady dressed in her pajama robes silenced Bryce. The lady¡¯s eyes were darting around fearing for what was outside the fence. Bryce turned flustered. She still didn¡¯t understand the situation.

    But an unbearable stench wafted in the air. Bryce frowned and when she saw the hideous looking humanoid, her whole body froze. She was slack-jawed seeing it first hand. She was about to scream as one of the hobgoblins stared at her.

    At that moment, a hand closed her mouth. A dirty hand as Bryce could taste the dirt in her mouth. Bryce was trembling, her eyes glanced to the side and saw a little girl with her index finger on her lips. She was signaling to Bryce to keep it quiet. Bryce nodded. The hobgoblin smirked and left. The sight of that face was enough to scare the wits of any living person.

    ¡°What is that?¡± her voice trembling.

    ¡°It¡¯s the monster under the bed,¡± whispered the girl.

    ¡°The one that kidnaps me has a beard,¡± she whispered as she giggled in the end.

    Bryce stared at this girl. Both in amazement and confusion. For a girl, she was rather fine for getting kidnapped. Bryce sat there as she contemplated her life. Today was a bad day. The heavy workload at the hospital, rude patients, and just before getting out of work she was harassed by a pervert. Not to mention, she was scared by a ghost. But at least her luck wasn¡¯t that bad, as the ghost rescued her. Yet her problem didn¡¯t end as even at home, bad things happened. Kidnapped by an ugly humanoid that goes beyond the norm. The thought of those monsters in New York came to mind.

    Are they from New York?

    Her trail of thought was cut short as the fence opened. The moment the hobgoblin set foot inside, people started screaming. Bryce frightened at the point of screaming yet the girl by her side gripped her hand as she signaled at her to stay silent.

    What is it doing?

    The hobgoblin grabbed someone by the ankle. But a man saw it was a chance to flee. Bryce chewed her lower lips while staring at the fleeing man. She hoped she was courageous like him. But then a flash of bright light emerged from within the darkness of the night. A big ball of flame appeared out of thin air and flew towards the fleeing man. Bryce''s eyes bulged open with her mouth hanging seeing the man being burned alive. Her mind turned numb and sat on the ground in a daze. She didn¡¯t even bother covering herself up.

    My life is going to end here.

    She had given up. What kind of logic was that for a fireball to appeared out of nowhere. It defied any sort of logic that she learned in school. She sat on the ground staring at the forest floor in a daze.

    Time passed by.

    She heard a commotion outside the fence. Bryce noticed these creatures could communicate with one another. The realization of them communicating like humans scared her. A new species of humanoid that may replace them the ruling species on earth.

    An invasion from these creatures?

    Although she thought her fate was already sealed yet the thought of being invaded scared her. But out of nowhere, one of the hobgoblins was dead with an arrow in its head. A surprise was clear on her countenance yet a sudden tint of hope was blooming in her heart.

    Did the police found us? Is it the military?

    The thought of dying left her mind. She was hoping to see either two of those combat forces to raid the entire camp but nothing. Nothing happened. She waited and waited, thinking that they might be planning for a better plan to assault these creatures. But it only led to more heartbreak. Seconds seem like hours, minutes seem like days. The torture of waiting only made her hope slipped away slowly.

    A commotion started to break out within these creatures. Bryce noticed the leader of these creatures as she identified it through the different tones in color as well as its commanding tone. It drove these hobgoblins out from the camp. The almost vanish flame of hope burned once more.

    They really are out there.

    Both her hands clasped together.

    Please, save us.

    Bryce prayed in earnest hoping for whatever out there to save her. Time flew and the situation only turned worse for the hobgoblins.

    What is going on here?

    The fence opened once more and one of the humans was getting dragged. Bryce held her breath as she saw the woman who was clawing the ground, screaming for help. They made eye contact out of coincidence, the woman mouthed her words.

    Save me.

    Slowly Bryce turned her head to the side, breaking their eye contact. She knew it was cruel of her to do so but she couldn¡¯t help her. Then the most atrocious thing happened in front of her very eyes. A living breathing human was being chopped into pieces as her screams filled the air. Bryce looked away as both her hands pressed against her ears. It was too much for her. Those few seconds she saw would always be embedded inside her memories. Nightmarish memories that will haunt her sleep for the rest of her life. She closed her eyes hoping for all these nightmares to end, yet it did not.

    Then an explosion made her snapped out of it. She saw for herself the copper skin hobgoblin throwing massive fireballs one after another. All around her, everything was burning. She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes seeing the magnitude of this destruction. Soon, it stopped throwing fireballs.

    Once again, she saw the sight of the copper skin hobgoblin infuriated by whatever out there. Then the fence opened once more, Bryce was terrified as she stayed close to the fence. Another victim was dragged out and again she tried to resist but failed. Bryce looked away and shut her ears. The slight screaming and the sound of metal clashing against a rock made her imagined the sight of a woman being butchered alive.

    She shook her head trying to forget those memories. Her head turned around trying to get away as far as possible from these barbaric creatures. It was the only thing she could do besides escaping the fenced area. Then out of nowhere, a man entered her sight. He was alone yet he walked towards the tribal camp. As if he didn¡¯t even fear the likes of these hideous creatures.

    Who is he?

    His appearance piqued her interest. As she focused her sight at him, she noticed something. The clothes on him were rather familiar in her eyes.

    The hospital gown? He¡¯s a patient?

    She recognized what it was yet the rustic looking bow and the scimitar in his hands looks out of place. It didn¡¯t fit at all with the hospital gown. The Copper Hobgoblin gave the order and the three hobgoblins rushed at the human. Fearing for his fate, Bryce wanted to shout. But her voice didn¡¯t escape her throat, she restrained herself knowing that it might be her on the chopping block if the Copper Hobgoblin noticed her.

    He¡¯s going to die.

    She already determined his fate. No way a human could ever contend with creatures like these with mere bows and swords. Glancing down to the ground, she didn¡¯t want to see another meaningless death. But the loud scream of the hobgoblin caught her off guard. An agonizing horrible scream different from a human. She glanced at the source of the scream. What she saw made her eyes wide open. Her jaws dropped and her eyebrows raised. She couldn¡¯t believe it. One of those tenacious hobgoblins was on the ground lifeless as an arrow was stuck on the head.

    Did he kill it?

    She was still in disbelief.

    He really did kill it.

    The second time, she tried to convince herself what she saw was the truth. Then she led her gaze fell upon the sight of the man. Two more hobgoblins charged at him brandishing their scimitars. Bryce was close to closing her eyes, afraid of what she was about to see. But contrary to what she expected, another shrill scream from a hobgoblin. It dropped on its knees as it screamed due to the forearm being cut down.

    Oh my goodness.

    Bryce was amazed. Her heart was beating faster as she witnessed these events unfolding before her eyes. Without her knowing, her hands were already clasped together as if praying for the victory for this man. She saw the man clashing scimitars against the hobgoblin. Neither was backing down. She was surprised. The hobgoblin was taller and bulkier than the man in a hospital gown but he was at ease.

    A horizontal slash came and the man ducked while simultaneously slashing at the hobgoblin feet. Blood splattered across the ground as the hobgoblin fell on its knee. Her heart rate was rising as the battle between man and monster prolonged.

    Kill it. Wait, did I just thought about that?

    She even surprised herself. The notion of wanting someone else to die had never crossed her mind since she was a doctor of all people. But some certain situation has the knack to change people. Some for the worst while some for the good. The man kicked it right at the center of the torso as it fell on the ground with a thud. He was about to end the life of the hobgoblin.

    ¡°Kiii,¡± the hobgoblin with its missing right forearm came charging like a mad bull.

    The man parried the reckless stab and countered with a slashed on its flank. It fell face down on the ground and Jason didn¡¯t dawdle as he pierced its neck. Another died and then, there was one.

    Yes! Just one more.

    The naked red hair maiden cheered for the death of the creature. Her fist was clenched tightly raising a bit to the sky as if it was a ceremony of victory on behalf of that man. A dazzling man, unlike others. The surviving hobgoblin got up and threw itself at the man. Both clashed with their scimitars. Sparks flew as neither had the notion of giving way to the opponent. At the corner of her eyes, a bright light emerged. She turned her head and saw the massive fireball lifted off the sky. Bryce had a bad feeling seeing this. She turned towards the man and shouted at the top of her lungs.

    ¡°Watch out.¡±

 Chapter 50

    I heard something.

    Jason turned around and saw the fireball heading his way.

    Damn it.

    Gritting his teeth, he delivered a devastating kick right at the crotch of the hobgoblin. Its attack turned loose and Jason broke away from the fight as he backflipped. The fireball came and engulfed the unfortunate hobgoblin who was still withstanding the pain of being hit at its private part. It screamed as the flame drowned its voice until what left of it was only a burnt corpse.

    ¡°Kikikiki, kiki kiiiii,¡± the old rambling of a wrinkled ugly hobgoblin. Even with its shiny luster of copper skin, it was still ugly. It stomped its feet many times, frustrated over its failures. It even wasted a precious yellow gem just for the sake of hunting down the human who was foiling up its plan.

    Jason grabbed on to the bow and nocked an arrow slowly. He was calm and collected. Yet the moment he saw those chopped dead corpses of people, something tugged his heart. A hidden rage silently burning his desire to kill and burn everything in this tribal camp. He glared at the leader of all this bloody nonsense. It was fine to see people died because of being killed and eaten by monsters. But being humiliated like this and treated like livestock irked him.

    The arrow tore through the air, headed towards the middle of the Copper Hobgoblin¡¯s forehead. Yet a dull sound rang as the arrow hit an obstacle. Jason saw it, even for just a second. A light-based shield manifested in front of the Copper Hobgoblin.

    It has an energy guard.

    Jason wasn''t fazed. He had expected as much considering it was a mage. The arrows didn¡¯t stop. Jason walked slowly as the bowstring kept on stretching. Only the dull sounds of his arrows being blocked echoed in the night.

    But the Copper Hobgoblin didn¡¯t just stand there like a scarecrow. It twirled the staff in its hand and slammed it on the ground. Three spikes made out of dirt launched off from the ground. He saw it and with his nimble feet, he dodged the dirt spikes. More spikes came flying down at him as they were like short spears being thrown by a legionnaire. He couldn¡¯t maintain his slow pace as he burst into a sprint. Running away as those dirt spikes impaled the ground in a single line.

    He replied with a projectile of his own, shooting the arrows while sprinting. The light shield kept on appearing blocking his arrows. Then a blue window greeted him.

    Basic Archery level up to level 4

    A smirk on his face. His hand reached out to the arrow on his back but he couldn¡¯t grab a thing. He shook the quiver and heard nothing.

    I¡¯m out.

    He thought he could rain more arrows at the Copper Hobgoblin but everything had a limit. Jason made a turn and sprinted towards the Copper Hobgoblin. More and more dirt spikes flew at him. It came at him in a straight line, like a Gatling gun being fired. He dodged the first and the second but the third barely grazed his cheek. The speed was getting faster. The fourth one came close but he ducked and rolled to the side. He pushed off from the ground and jumped as a dirt spike pierced the spot where he just rolled.

    I need a shield.

    His eyes scanned the whole camp as he ran around dodging the dirt spikes. He grabbed something on the ground and ran towards the Copper Hobgoblin. Again, he dodged those dirt spikes and when it was the fourth one he raised the mace in his hand blocking it from reaching his face.

    It made contact and the mace he held was thrown to the back. The force behind these dirt spikes was nothing short of powerful. He felt an ached over his shoulder but he continued his run. The fifth one came and again he blocked it. This time, the mace flew to the sky as he lost his grip. Jason was at a fair distance away from the Copper Hobgoblin. With what left of his EP, his hand glowed in light green. Three times he swung his arm as crescent shape projectiles flew over the direction of the Copper Hobgoblin.

    A dirt spike that was coming was cut in half as one of the green crescent projectiles went through it. One made contact as the light shield appeared. Yet Jason noticed the fading color of the light shield. The bright yellow was turning duller. Another hit the shield while the other one missed. The Copper Hobgoblin ran to the side avoiding the last one.

    Jason''s eyebrows raised. He didn¡¯t expect to see the Copper Hobgoblin to moved. Again, he threw another three Wind Cutter as it spliced through the air. One hit and another two missed.

    It dodged again.

    He saw the frantic look on that Copper Hobgoblin¡¯s face. Now, he noticed the heavy breathing of that old coot. It was leaning towards the staff as it used it to balanced itself. Jason sprinted forward seeing it was his chance. He readied his scimitar as the distance between them shortened.

    ¡°Kiii,¡± again it slammed the staff to the ground and dirt spikes came catapulting from the earth. Jason dodged and the last one grazed him. But it didn¡¯t matter to him as his target was a few feet away.

    He was smiling as he knew that range attackers are weak in melee combat. Another dirt spike hit him right at the shoulder. His upper body was thrown back as the force behind it almost brought him to the ground. He endured as green light engulfed his body.

    ¡°Minor Heal+,¡± he pressed on not caring about those dirt spikes that kept on coming faster as the distance shortened. Running forward without looking back, a dirt spike flew right to this face but the scimitar slid over the dirt spike as Jason subtly changed the course of its flight. It barely went above his head.

    Skill: Parry acquired

    He didn¡¯t expect to learn a new skill at this critical time. Nevertheless, he welcomed it with open arms. Over the course of the night, he indeed parried a lot of attacks from the hobgoblins. He did it without much thought, as he just remembers seeing those moves he saw on television and in the movies. He thought it was logically possible thus he succeeds in doing it time after time. In the end, in his last bout for the night. He earned a skill much to his ignorance of how he obtained it.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s fight,¡± he shouted as he rushed at the Copper Hobgoblin.

    The Copper Hobgoblin grimaced and threw a big fireball right at him. The fireball encompassed a wider range of attack compared to the pinpoint attack of dirt spike. Jason jumped, as the close range fireball was too close. The ground burned as smoke rose to the sky. Three wind cutters emerged from behind the rising smoke catching the Copper Hobgoblin off guard.

    One, two, three.

    All three hit the shields as the shape itself started to fade. Jason leaped from behind the smoke and swung the scimitar from above. An aerial attack for the unaware Copper Hobgoblin. The blade of the scimitar was blocked by a fading floating shield. It only lasted for a second as it broke into a thousand pieces as everyone near the proximity could have heard it. The blunt edge of the staff was inches away from Jason¡¯s face. He ducked as it barely touched him. He brandished his scimitar at the Copper Hobgoblin and it blocked using its wooden staff. For a wooden staff, it was quite sturdy and strong. From the look of it, it was no ordinary staff.

    I want it.

    His desire was fueling up his attacks. Both scimitar and staff clashed with one another. Much to his surprise, the old hobgoblin coot was handling itself well in a close combat situation. He attacked at every angle but the old Copper Hobgoblin blocked it without a flaw in its defense.

    Geez, this old thing is better at fighting than those hobgoblins I just killed.

    Jason had to admit this Copper Hobgoblin was a lot better in fighting compared to its lesser kin. Once again they clashed, scimitar meet staff and they were at a stalemate. Jason released one of his hands from the grip and flung a fist right at the Copper Hobgoblin. He made contact right at the temple. Yet a dull aching pain spread out as if he just punched a lump of copper ore.

    He saw the smirked on the Copper Hobgoblin. It pushed Jason away as he gained the advantage over Jason''s slight mishap. It slammed the end on the ground and three dirt spikes launched at him at point-blank range. Jason jumped as high as he possibly can. Those three dirt spikes flew below him missing him by a mile yet a bright flame ball was in front of him. He was still in mid-air and defenseless. The Copper Hobgoblin flung the fireball. Rather than defending, he stared downwards at the smiling bastard. His hands glowed in light green as he swung his hand as fast as he could.

    Then the fireball slammed over him.

    ¡°No,¡± the scream of a red-headed woman echoed in the night. Her last hope fell upon the blazing fury of the fireball. But she wasn¡¯t the only one screaming. The old coot screamed in pain as he lost of one his upper limbs. A clean slice right at the shoulder. Jason''s random wind cutter hit its mark. Yet the owner was still unseen.

    The wooden staff fell on the ground along with the cut off arm of the Copper Hobgoblin. Again the old hobgoblin coot screamed its lungs out over the pain of losing his main arm. It was left-handed by the way. The Copper Hobgoblin fell on its knees as it slammed its fist on the ground multiple times. Venting its anger and rage at the innocent dirt on the ground.

    Then it remembered a voice. A female voice echoing in the air as it fought the human. It glanced towards the fenced area and saw the red-headed woman who was staring at it. A malicious light flashed by behind its eyes. Its leftover hand grabbed the wooden staff as blood kept on spurting out from the sliced off arm. It didn¡¯t care about the blood loss as it raised its staff in the air as multiple fireballs appeared on the night sky.

    It was hovering above the fenced area and Bryce knew her life was at its end. One by one the fireballs fell upon the fenced area. People screamed and shouted as they ran in every direction trying to flee from the rain of fireballs. Some tried to climb up the sharp edges of the wooden fence. But the fireball was too fast as people were burned alive. The stench from a human corpse being burned was unpleasant yet due to the raining fireballs some parts of the fences were burned making the whole fence to toppled down.

    The surviving people ran with their lives depending on it. Bryce too saw her chance but a massive fireball was heading her way. She gawked in horror seeing it coming at her. She was scared shitless to even move. Standing there like a scarecrow waiting for her own doom of being burn.

    But a gentle push came from behind. Bryce moved and jumped. As she fell, she glanced behind her and saw the smiling face of that little girl.

    ¡°No,¡± she yelled yet it was too late.

    The fireball descended upon the little girl as she burned. She watched in a daze realizing she was saved by a girl who was too young compared to her. Then another fireball struck closed to her. The impact forced her to flung in the air before rolling on the ground. He hit her head as she fell. Her vision slowly blacked out until there was nothing but darkness.

    Bryce fainted.

 Chapter 51

    The Copper Hobgoblin unleashed a rain of fireballs to its own tribal camp. Setting ablaze every teepee within the camp. It didn¡¯t care about what would happen next as long as it decimates every last human within the area.

    ¡°Kii,¡± it spotted a naked red-headed woman laying on the ground unconscious. A vicious grin etched on its face. It walked closer to the fainted woman as something between its crotch was raging. Despite being a mage that demonstrated calmness over any situation, yet as of now it lost all rational and let the wild inside of it to go unrestrained. Like its name, the hobgoblin. The next evolution line of goblin which was known to be a sexual deviant.

    In old tales as well as those modern works of literature, goblins are depicted as bandits of the monsters. They pillage what they stumbled, the kidnapped any woman on sight and they raped whoever they want. Indeed a terrible creature that shouldn¡¯t exist. Even when it turned to a hobgoblin, its notoriety in releasing its sexual desire to a human woman was known to all. The Copper Hobgoblin stood a foot away from the fainted Bryce.

    It licked its lips as it scanned her body from top to bottom. It had a plan after coming here. It planned to kidnapped women and men and stocked them for both as slaves as well as livestock but with all of it went gone into flame, it surrendered to its own primal desire. Its hands reached out to Bryce but an inch before it could touch her. Someone appeared behind it. Jason emerged from within the smokes of the burning camp. Wielding the scimitar in his hand, he ambushed from behind. He swung the scimitar as he unleashed a horizontal slash.

    Swish¡­

    A clean-cut as he beheaded the Copper Hobgoblin. It didn¡¯t know how it died. Truly, a pathetic humanoid. Its exclusive survival skill, Copper Skin was put to waste as he was distracted by his own carnal desire. If wasn¡¯t for that it wouldn¡¯t have died in this pathetic manner. In a fight, one should never let their guards down.

    The headless body of the Copper Hobgoblin fell to the ground, jerking around before it stopped. Jason stood in front of Bryce staring at her as he pitied her fate. In fact, he was butt naked with the hospital gown he wore long gone being burned into ashes by the fireball. Jason looked around the whole camp as it was reduced into a burning field of nothingness. Yet his eyes found a single teepee still standing without a hint of burning.

    Did this bastard keep the fireballs away from it? But why?

    Before he has an answer, a blue window appeared.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 19

    Jason is the first to kill a Mini-Boss

    With matching courage and valor.

    A leading man to a new era.

    A man that does not falter against the strong.

    A man befitting to be the first of the many.

    Jason obtained a new title,

    The Prime Conqueror

    This old thing is a mini-boss? For a mini-boss, he¡¯s kind of weak.

    For someone who called the old Copper Hobgoblin weak, he had a pretty tough time beating it. His combat skills were even on par with the ugly old coot. If it wasn¡¯t for his double points, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to take on this mage solo. He swiped off the blue windows as his attention was focused at the sight of the untouched teepee. He was about to walk towards the teepee but halted seeing the doctor that he was supposed to save was laying on the ground.

    Carrying her in his arms, one arm under her legs and another to support her back. It¡¯s the so-called princess carry. With both of them stark naked, he should be thankful that no one was around. Explaining things would be a hassle. He entered and scrunched his face. The smell inside was nothing short of worst compared to those hobgoblins. He couldn¡¯t pinch his nose as he was carrying Bryce. He even had the thought of throwing her down just for the sake of blocking his sense of smell. But since he still had a conscience, he just endured it while cursing inside.

    His sight was immediately attracted to the familiar-looking crack. His expression was grave as now he knew how these hobgoblins got here. It wasn¡¯t swimming through the Lower Bay but it was through a new inter-dimensional crack. A simple thought flashed by, more monsters will come out of here unless he does something. The question is, do what exactly?

    Shit, is New Jersey also doom?

    The thought of another state being run over by monsters scared him. If one of those kaiju-size monsters popped out in New Jersey, then he doubted anyone can do a thing.

    On second thought, I don¡¯t think Americans will complain about it.

    In the first place, why should he care? Jason, although he had been living for a year in New York City. It had transformed him into New Yorkers himself and the loathing he had for New Jersey had also been birthed due to it. The reason why New Yorkers don¡¯t like New Jersey? Well, who knows. Even he himself didn¡¯t know why New Yorkers didn¡¯t like New Jersey. His moment of thinking was disturbed by the crackling noise coming from the crack. He could saw plasma sparks flying around the crack. He didn¡¯t know what was happening. The situation was calling for a red alert.

    Should I throw her down now or wait first?

    A meaningless contemplation. His body lowered itself as his stance was showing he was ready for another fight. Although it was short, the constant battle made his body reacted on instinct. Yet as he waited, nothing appeared. The only thing that happened was the crack itself mending on its own.

    It¡¯s repairing itself.

    The crack was already small at palm-size. But with the ongoing spark, the size reduced until it was only the size of a finger. Jason remembered back when he returned to the dark alleyway hoping to find the crack but it wasn¡¯t there.

    It¡¯s vanishing.

    The mystery behind this phenomenon was still not yet known to the clever bunch of people on earth. For the like of average people like Jason, it was best to just be aware at all times. He exited the teepee and stared at the night sky. The cloud of smokes kept on rising. He had a feeling that it was better to leave now before someone else gets here. With Bryce in his arms, he ran back into the tall trees heading his way to Bryce¡¯s home and he didn¡¯t go back empty-handed.

    --

    Jason silently stepped inside Bryce¡¯s room through her window. He didn¡¯t saw anyone on the streets, so at least he was sure that no one going to see two naked people entering a house through the window. If the police show up, then at least he knew that someone saw his naked white ass.

    Gently, he lay her on the bed. He scanned her top to bottom. He had to admit, she definitely has a bombshell body. No wonder that pervert tried to make a move on her. Unfortunately for her, the aftermath of that rain of fireballs made a few burns on her body. A pity for a woman like her. He placed his hand on her abdomen as a green glows spread across her body.

    ¡°Minor Heal+,¡± said Jason.

    He continued healing her until his EP was zero. The discomfort look on her face vanished replaced by a calm smiling countenance. At least she won¡¯t be having nightmares for the night.

    I¡¯m beat.

    Even with added stamina, he was still pushed to the limit. He lay beside Bryce on the bed as it was quite comfortable, enough to turned his eyelids heavy.

    She really knows how to pick a bed.

    His slowly closing eyes glanced at the loot he obtained. For a mini-boss, the old coot really dropped quite a lot. Two scrolls and a ring. He didn¡¯t think it was possible for these creatures to drop something like a piece of equipment but seeing the ring changed his mind. Jason also didn¡¯t forget to bring along the wooden staff of the Copper Hobgoblin. He thought about bringing along the robe that the old coot wore but since it was too smelly, he abandoned the thought of bringing it.

    ¡°A good day,¡± said Jason.

    His eyelids closed as was he swept into his dream. Sleeping with a smile.

 Chapter 52

    ¡°Ahhh,¡± an early morning scream as a red-head was in shock. The first thing she saw after waking up was a naked stranger lying on her bed. She scrambled on her feet as her hand grabbed on to the duvet, covering her nude body. Her feet retreated until her back was on the wall. Her eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of the man who was sleeping comfortably.

    Did I sleep with him?

    She had to ask herself. Her memories were fuzzy yet staring at his face, she pondered on why did he look familiar. Then something just clicked inside her head.

    He¡¯s the patient who just woke up from a coma. But how?

    Speechless as she didn¡¯t remember them hooking up, and that wasn¡¯t even the most important part.

    How did he get out of the hospital? His leg supposed to¡­

    As her eyes trailed down to his leg. Her sight stumbled upon a rising flag. She turned her head fast enough to avoid looking at it. She peeked to the side and saw the leg was out of the cast. It was fine, without any scars from the surgery done on his fractured leg.

    Bryce stared at him once again as something felt familiar about this man. More than just being a patient of hers. A sudden flash of memory jolted her off the floor. She grabbed her head shaking from left to right. Her legs grew weak as she fell on her bum.

    A sudden intense fear was swallowing her. She didn¡¯t know why she was feeling like this, but she remembered a silhouette making a fireball out of thin air. It sounds ridiculous but that was what she remembered.

    Thud.

    She heard something fall. Her eyes crept towards the source and she saw a wooden staff lain on the floor. She turned speechless with jaw wide open. Her eyes were quivering as those repressed memories came back like a flood. She remembered everything from the time she was kidnapped to the time she saw a little girl sacrificing herself for the sake of saving her.

    Tears broke out like a dam. She was sobbing hard as she remembered those unfortunate souls especially the girl. She didn¡¯t even bother covering herself up as she cried and cried. The guilt she felt was immense. She was supposed to die that night but an innocent soul saved her from the fireball of purgatory.

    The weeping of a red-head woman woke up the man on the bed. He shifted his body from side to side trying to get himself to sleep once more. But the constant sobbing made him too annoyed to fall asleep.

    He got up from bed with his half-opened eyes and terrible bed hair. He was about to complain about the noise but his morning wood made him flustered.

    Shit.

    He grabbed on to the pillow and covered his crotch.

    Shit, is she crying because she thought I raped her? Damn, this is so going to put me in jail. Shit, what should I do? Should I try to smooth things out?

    ¡°Ehem,¡± he tried to gain her attention.

    She turned around to Jason as her tears didn¡¯t stop flowing.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, I didn¡¯t even touch you. Let alone look at you,¡± he tried to convince her but it doesn¡¯t sound right.

    ¡°Well, to be more precise I did touch you and look at you but it was necessary. I mean, necessary like¡­ I did it to save you. So, we¡¯re cool?¡±

    His effort to smooth things out only brought the situation to turned even worse. She cried even harder as the bedroom was filled with only her voice.

    Oh boy.

    Jason gave up with his head down. He waited for her to let it all out. Crying until your tears dry out was the best option. Half an hour later she stopped crying.

    Thank goodness, I can¡¯t stand it anymore.

    He was grateful for the peace and silence but Bryce was deep in thought. Although she didn¡¯t want to, she recalled those memories about last night. One particular thing she couldn¡¯t forget was the man who fought against those monsters. He killed them all using their own weapon against them and the most important thing was, the clothes he wore. The hospital gown.

    ¡°It¡¯s you,¡± she stared at the sight of this man.

    ¡°Like I said lady, I didn¡¯t rape you. You can sue me all you want but justice will always prevail,¡± said Jason. In the end, he spouted nonsense, trying to appear innocent.

    ¡°No, not that,¡± she stood up and came closer to Jason.

    ¡°Woah,¡± Jason looked down once more as he didn¡¯t want to be label as a pervert. Bryce was standing there going all out full commando as if she wanted him to see her like this.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who killed them. You¡¯re the one who killed all those human-like monsters,¡± she spoke her words loud and clear as if trying to assure herself that what she remembered was right.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me. I killed them. So¡­ can you please at least try to cover yourself?¡± he confirmed her memories as well as pointing out to her going hippie freedom.

    Bryce looked down and noticed she wasn¡¯t wearing a thing.

    ¡°Ahhh,¡± she screamed and covered herself up with her hands.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look,¡± she shouted.

    Jason didn¡¯t want to respond to that and kept quiet. He was already in a position of not looking. He would have been grateful if she at least recognized him trying to be a gentleman.

    She went on to put on some clothes. A sweater and a pair of hot pants.

    ¡°So. What are you? And how did you even get out of the hospital? You just woke up from a coma in a critically injured state,¡± a lot of questions spiraling inside her mind.

    ¡°Ehem. Before that, you wouldn¡¯t mind lending me some clothes, would you? If you can see here, I¡¯m quite defenseless right now,¡± the lack of clothing diminished his confidence in doing anything. Jason was definitely not an exhibitionist.

    ¡°Oh, yeah. One second,¡± she went through her closet rummaging through her stuff.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will fit. But, that¡¯s the only thing I have,¡± a pair of washout jeans and a football varsity jacket.

    ¡°Heh, at least now I know you prefer dating a taller guy,¡± said Jason. His deduction was spot on. The clothes were a bit dusty and judging by its size and measurement, it was definitely owned by a tall guy. Her cheeks flushed in beet red.

    ¡°It''s my ex. I forgot to throw it out after we broke up,¡± said Bryce with her arms crossed over her chest. She didn¡¯t feel comfortable talking about that ex of hers but she needed to clarified things.

    ¡°A football jock, huh. Now, I definitely know your type,¡± Jason raised the football varsity jacket as he pointed out the logo on the back.

    ¡°You went to Stanford. That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± he couldn¡¯t miss the Stanford University logo at the back of the jacket.

    ¡°Can we please get back to the main topic here,¡± she grabbed a chair and sat close to the edge of the bed.

    ¡°Yeah, well. Let me dress first, I¡¯m still naked,¡± a big ¡®oh¡¯ on Bryce¡¯s face. She turned around as Jason wore the clothes. He saw a pair of scissors on top of the vanity table. It was close to the bed and he grabbed it. He adjusted the length of the jeans as he cut the useless part.

    ¡°Are you done yet?¡± Bryce was impatient. She was still in the shadows about all that had happened.

    ¡°Hey, do you have something to eat. I¡¯m starving,¡± Jason walked passed her as he went to the door.

    ¡°Hey. Wait,¡± she ran after Jason who was going downstairs.

    Jason opened up her fridge and took out a bottle of milk along with a bag of cereal. Bryce was staring daggers at him while leaning at the counter with both of her arms crossed over her chest. Jason was making himself way too comfortable inside a stranger¡¯s house.

    While picking a bowl and a set of cutlery, Bryce spoke out.

    ¡°You do know that is my house and not yours. I can easily call on the cops on you.¡±

    ¡°Well, I did save your life twice. So you should at least be grateful for that,¡± his comeback rendered her speechless. He sat on the dining table and started munching down on those good chocolate cereals.

    She took a seat opposite of him.

    ¡°What do you mean twice?¡± her wrinkled nose and the crease between her eyebrows showed her exact state of mind.

    ¡°I saved you from that pervert rapist in the elevator,¡± Jason continued eating up the cereal as he slurped the milk on the spoon.

    ¡°You¡¯re the ghost? But how?¡± more confusion for the woman who only believed in logic.

    ¡°I can turn invisible,¡± he said.

    ¡°Stop playing around with me. That¡¯s not possible,¡± she didn¡¯t believe him.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, you already saw some ugly monsters throwing fireballs. At least bend that logic of yours,¡± said Jason.

    Bryce knew he was right. Yet she tried to cling on to the logic that she knew and understood. Then a sudden realization struck her. If he had turned invisible then did he followed her from the hospital and went along inside her car all this time. Then, she remembered herself taking a shower before being kidnapped.

    ¡°You peek at me while I''m taking a shower didn¡¯t you?¡± She stood up and leaned forward to Jason as if interrogating him.

    ¡°That¡¯s your biggest concern? Me, taking a peek at your body? FYI, I didn¡¯t need to peek at you. I¡¯d already seen everything back in the forest,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡± she shouted.

    ¡°You¡¯re a doctor right. Can¡¯t you at least be reasonable? I had to carry you while running through a dark forest to come back here and both of us were naked. I saw everything and it didn¡¯t even matter. There are bigger things than skin exposure that you need to worry about,¡± Jason straight up lectured her.

    She sat back on her seat while deep in thought. While Jason continued eating. She knew what he said was the truth. She was only playing the peeping card just for the sake of not facing the reality of it. The reality of people dying. She knew that a lot of people turned out dead last night and she was one of those lucky ones.

    After a while, she spoke out.

    ¡°What should we do?¡±

    She looked at Jason who was having his second bowl.

    ¡°We¡¯ll do nothing.¡±

 Chapter 53

    ¡°What?!¡± Bryce stood up.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we report it to the police or something?¡± Bryce started to panicked.

    ¡°Calm down. It will be fine, I bet those people are already there securing the perimeter,¡± another spoon of chocolate taste cereal went inside his mouth.

    ¡°But how? Did you already tell them?¡±

    ¡°No. But let me tell you this. With New York being occupied by those monsters. I¡¯m thinking the U.S military isn¡¯t just going to stand by watching. At least they must have secured a way to detect any known anomalies for better reaction time,¡± Jason spouted nonsense based on his wild assumption. There was no way the government would do nothing. A countermeasure must have been made during this one week period.

    Nevertheless, he was right. All U.S government and private satellites are being used to monitor any strange phenomena from the skies. If anything happened on the ground, the satellite will pick it up.

    ¡°Go turned on the tv or something. I bet the reporters are already flocking at the park,¡± convinced by Jason. Bryce went to the living room and turned on the television. She changed the channel a few times until something piqued her interest.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s already on the news,¡± Jason spilled the cereal in his mouth as he was surprised that he was right. Wiping the milk on his mouth, he carried the bowl along as he walked to the living room.

    Both watched the news reporter reporting on sight. News reporters from different channels were flocking at the entrance of Veteran Park but the authorities had already barred their entrance. The DHS and FBI were working together as the looks on their faces were rather grim as they saw through the television screen.

    The news reporters went crazy as one of the agents dropped a stretcher. The black vinyl that covered the corpse slid away revealing the thing underneath it.

    Cameras flashed and the news camera filmed the sight of the dead creature. The news reporters were demanding a statement from the authorities. In the end, the representative told them to stay calm as the situation was under control.

    A bunch of bullshits thought both Bryce and Jason, yet neither spoke a word. A reminder to those out there, never trust the government, no matter what countries they are. Everyone was more or less the same. Jason scoffed hearing that sentence. The situation was under control since he already handled it in the first place.

    ¡°Hey, are you hearing this? They¡¯re lying.¡±

    Jason didn¡¯t care about it as it didn¡¯t matter. What matters was, what is he going to do next? The man with the cereal returned to the dining table, sitting in leisure as he took another spoonful of energy rising cereal.

    ¡°aren¡¯t you mad about this? You¡¯re the one who defeated that fireball humanoid, right? Wait, on second thought how did you defeat it? I think I saw you being burned by the fireball,¡± Bryce sat by his side. She was getting a little too chatty.

    ¡°I just chopped his head off,¡± his reply made Bryce to jumped in surprise. Hearing something that vicious made her nervous. She began to worry about being under the same roof with this man who easily killed.

    Jason noticed the change in her eyes.

    ¡°Miss doctor, you¡¯re missing the point here. It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m the one who kills it or not. What matters right now is, more of these cracks keep popping out at random. Those monsters that kidnapped you last night, they didn¡¯t come from New York.¡±

    His words tugged something in Bryce¡¯s heart.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she was getting anxious. If possible, she wouldn¡¯t like to hear the answer. Denying reality was like the easiest thing to do.

    ¡°There¡¯s a crack in New Jersey. To be more precise, there was a crack in New Jersey,¡± Jason didn¡¯t know why he was entertaining this doctor. Unbeknownst to him, he was dying for communication with another human. Being alone would only make him remember those nightmarish two nights in New York and thinking of her would only ache his heart.

    ¡°Was? You mean it disappeared? But how?¡± she was showing her habit of being a doctor. Questions after questions it was as if she was taking the history of a patient.

    ¡°How the hell would I know. I¡¯m not a physicist specializing in inter-dimensional string theory,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s all good then. Thank goodness,¡± she was relieved. But Jason just had to burst her bubble.

    ¡°I advise you not to relax that much, considering that at any time a giant size crack may appear above New Jersey. If it really happens, then I had no doubt in my mind that it will be the same as New York.¡±

    The good feeling she had disappeared into thin air. She only felt goosebumps all over her body as she realized the destruction that these monsters could bring. She herself experienced it over the course of a night. It was short but memorable in a bad way that is.

    She turned speechless gazing at the table as if her sight could saw through the wooden oak table. Jason ignored Bryce who was deep in her own thoughts. He stood up and washed the dishes. He ate it as he owns it so the least he could do was to washed the dishes.

    ¡°Hey. You got a towel? I need to take a shower,¡± the fight from last night left his body lingering with a variety of smells. Rolling on the ground, grappling with smelly humanoids and lastly the smell of blood and ashes.

    ¡°Left side cupboard in the bathroom,¡± she replied as she was still in a daze.

    He left her downstairs as he took a shower. Cleaning every inch of his body. He scrubbed hard against the skin with orange-scented gel body wash. He came out refreshed as if being birthed again from the womb of her mother. Yet the moment he came into the bedroom, he saw Bryce fiddling around with the scrolls he had looted. He didn¡¯t pay much attention since it didn¡¯t matter who holds it as long as they didn¡¯t go through the awakening. But contrary to his assumption, the opposite happened.

    ¡°What are these letters?¡± she mumbled to herself.

    The letters began to glow and much to Jason¡¯s surprise, the scroll turned to ashes and came spiraling towards Bryce¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Nooo!¡± he shouted as his hand reached out to the inevitable. It was too late. He was gobsmacked by the sudden turn of events. His knees fell on the carpet floor and the towel hanging on his waist turned loose. It fell, returning Jason to a state of utter nudity.

    ¡°Hey, put some clothes on,¡± Bryce covered her eyes bewildered by Jason¡¯s indecent scene. Then something else appeared in front of her.

    The blue window. She jumped in surprise and fell on the carpet floor.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? I see something floating in front of me,¡± she said as her gaze fell back to the sullen Jason who was picking himself up while barely covering his crotch.

    He picked up the leftover scroll and the ring. He didn¡¯t even glance at Bryce and left the bedroom.

    ¡°Jason? Where you going?¡± she was in need of help and also an explanation.

    She was left alone as she stared at the blue window hovering in front of her. Meanwhile, Jason locked the door behind him. He found her study room, with shelves filled with thick medical books and journals. He was cursing internally but he kept his mouth shut. Arguing won¡¯t make the scroll come back.

    He dressed himself up with Bryce¡¯s ex-boyfriend clothes. He took a seat on the chair and opened up the scroll. Jason was expecting a skill related to the Copper Hobgoblin. Fireball wouldn¡¯t be bad, dirt spikes seems cool, the ethereal shield seems great for the second line of defense but the thing he desired the most was the copper skin. The moment his fist ached while punching the Copper Hobgoblin, he knew that he needs a physical base ability. It would increase his survival rate to another level and he wouldn¡¯t feel nervous after his energy guard dies out.

    But life didn''t go that way. The scroll was opened and what left of him was only a blank expression.

    Identify

    Reveals information about the target.

    Lv.1 : EP cost 0.5

    Would you like to learn Identify?

    It was too normal. His hope crushed in pieces. He shed invisible tears as he knew he had rotten luck. Although he was disappointed. A skill was still a skill. He accepted and identify was added into his repertoire of skills.

    He turned his attention to the ring. A ring made out of dark hue wood. It was edgy as the craftsmanship looks kind of amateurish. The surface wasn¡¯t smooth as he could feel the edges. It wasn¡¯t fancy looking but at least it has a small greenish pearl embedded at the center of the ring.

    How the heck am I going to see its wor-

    His train of thought stopped there as he realized he had the ability to see its worth. Jason used identify and he saw what it could do.

    Wise Man¡¯s Humble Ring

    A ring carved by a sage in his early days of delving into the path of energy. A memento from the old days, for the sage to never forget his humble beginning.

    Effects: EP +10, Energy based defense +30, Energy +2

    Not bad.

    The corner of his lips raised as he was satisfied with the loot. It wasn¡¯t that good but it worth something. The ring slipped into his left middle finger as it was a perfect fit. His time of adoring the ring in his hand was stopped by the heavy knocking on the door. He opened the door and saw the dissatisfied look on Bryce.

    ¡°I need an explanation,¡± for someone who was meek in front of a sexual predator, she was being quite haughty right now.

    Seeing the determined look on her eyes, Jason had no way out of this. It was a hassle but there he goes. He explained about the blue windows and how it related to the monsters. The explanation also went on about the abilities and the requirement of using it.

    Bryce was deep in thought as her hand was on her chin. Jason didn¡¯t cut corners about explaining the whole thing and being the doctor like she is, Bryce was processing everything she heard to understand every little bit. Detail-oriented was one of the reasons she became a doctor.

    She glanced at Jason as now she knew how he was able to survive within the inner side of New York City. She got to admit, all of this seems ridiculous and she too was on the verge of diagnosing herself of having visual psychosis but from what she had experienced and the things that happened over the last week, she had no choice to believed in this new sense of logic.

    ¡°Then this skill I have, it¡¯s called Copper Body? How-¡±

    The moment Jason heard Copper Body, all his cells within his body was screaming. The thing he desired the most was snatched by this red-headed doctor. He felt like cursing out loud at this thief in front of him and she didn¡¯t even realize what she had done.

    ¡°Stop,¡± he said, raising his hand at her signaling at her to just stopped talking.

    He sighed and it was a big sigh. Standing up and walking to the door, he turned towards Bryce who was still sitting and staring at him with that ignorant look on her face.

    ¡°C¡¯mon. You¡¯re buying me whatever I want,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What? Why?¡± the talk about money made Bryce confused.

    ¡°Why else? You stole my skill. Now, get downstairs and start up the engine. We¡¯re going shopping.¡±

 Chapter 54

    After a bittersweet argument, Bryce lost the verbal fight. Jason¡¯s counter-argument was too strong for her to counter. She had to admit, that his points were convincing. He saved her twice, he killed all the monsters using his own strength alone with no shred of help from her and last but not least she picked up things that weren¡¯t hers without permission. The biggest reason was the fact that he said.

    ¡°I¡¯ve given you a chance of surviving the new world. With an ability like that, at least you won¡¯t die being bitten by an oversized wolf.¡±

    She was driving her Nord Bigo with a pout on her face. Jason, on the other hand, was having fun listening to the music and checking out the streets of New Jersey. On the surface, he was having fun and jolly but underneath, he was still cursing at the fact that he just lost a precious ability like that. He glanced to the side and saw that vex look on her face.

    ¡°Just be thankful that you¡¯re going to buy me a few stuff. FYI, the ability you stole from me would be sold more than just a million, even ten million won¡¯t be enough,¡± he said.

    Jason just had to rub salt on her opened wounds. She started to felt regret over opening that scroll of his. If she knew she was going to be hounded by his salty words, she would have just ignored the scrolls laying on her carpet floor.

    ¡°I can¡¯t understand one thing,¡± said Bryce.

    ¡°What?¡± he said.

    ¡°Why are we going to American Dreamyard? It¡¯s too far. Can¡¯t we just go to the nearest mall?¡± she didn¡¯t understand why they were going to American Dreamyard. Although she had to admit it was the most gigantic mall in New Jersey but was it necessary? The place itself was just two bridges away from the monster-infested Manhattan.

    ¡°Just drive. Remember, you owe me ten million dollars,¡± his words shut Bryce¡¯s mouth. She mumbled by her lone self cursing at the person sitting beside her.

    While driving through the 35th route state highway, Jason couldn¡¯t keep his eyes off the sight of New York City. Even when most of the time he couldn¡¯t see the city but he didn¡¯t change the direction of his gaze.

    Scarlet Rex.

    He frowned while remembering that colossal beast. Everything went under because of that creature. He feared it but now, with the distance between them, Jason had a thought in mind.

    Can I kill it?

    He knew in his current state, defeating that colossal creature was only a pipe dream. Nevertheless, the thought of it alighted something inside of him.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange, there aren¡¯t many cars on the street like I expected,¡± the usual traffic was rather light.

    ¡°People are afraid. Who in their right mind would drive close to monsters? If they suddenly want to cross the bridge, who in the world can stop them.¡±

    She pouted. She herself knew that fact. Him, reminding her of that fact seems like calling her stupid or something. A sudden realization passed by.

    ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t we also stay away from those places?¡±

    ¡°Relax. There¡¯s an island in between the mall and New York City, even if they start to move, we got plenty of time to run away,¡± he never takes no as an answer.

    ¡°There¡¯s a saying in the medical field. Prevention is better than cure,¡± said Bryce as she tried to smack Jason with her knowledge.

    ¡°Then you should have prevented yourself from stealing my skill,¡± he fired back rendering her speechless once more. Jason was definitely the best in raking up the past.

    Soon, they arrived at American Dreamyard. The parking lot was rather lax in numbers. Getting out of the car, Jason could saw a few people running to their cars.

    ¡°is something going on?¡± Bryce too saw them.

    ¡°They probably just saw the news,¡± said Jason in response.

    ¡°Are you sure? There might be something going on inside the mall,¡± Bryce was rather worried.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. As long as it¡¯s not monsters. C¡¯mon and don¡¯t dawdle, I¡¯ve got things to buy,¡± he motioned her to follow while taking the lead to the mall.

    Stepping inside the mall, there weren¡¯t many visitors walking around. A few here and there but the retail stores are still open despite the dwindling number of customers. Bryce was still worried but Jason didn¡¯t pay mind to her.

    First thing first, he bought a few decent clothes. Decent meaned expensive clothing brand, she stole his ability and he won''t let it be paid by mediocre clothing. The jock like clothing didn¡¯t really go well with him. Let it be just Bryce¡¯s ex-boyfriend clothes and not his.

    ¡°Did you really have to buy this brand of clothes,¡± Bryce complained.

    ¡°Ten million. C¡¯mon, move faster.¡± Bryce followed behind with resentment all over her face.

    The duo went around the mall buying high-quality sneakers, a solid mountain hiking backpack, some survival tools like compass, flint, hand axe and every related thing with camping. To top it off, Jason bought the most expensive compound bow. The carbon base RZ-3 manufactured by Zoyt company.

    Bryce was crying tears of blood as she lost one thousand and eight hundred dollars just for the sake of a bow. Her saving was being shredded just because she opened up a scroll. She felt like throwing a tantrum but the obnoxious gaze from Jason made her stopped.

    ¡°Are we done yet?¡± she asked with the corner of her eyes getting teary.

    ¡°Yet? Of course not, let¡¯s go eat. I¡¯m famished,¡± Jason led the way to an all you can eat buffet.

    Two people sitting across each other in an empty buffer restaurant. It''d been half an hour since they sat there and Jason was still eating. She watched him eating with one corner of her lips rising. She was amazed by seeing how he could eat that much food. But then she sighed, looking down at her smartphone screen. She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes seeing the almost empty bank account of hers. Again, she felt like she wanted to cry. But Jason had the knack to stop her from crying.

    ¡°Look at the bright side. At least now you can manhandle that pervert senior doctor of yours whenever he tries that stunt again, and you won¡¯t be worrying about needle prick injury with that copper body of yours. See, two birds with one stone,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°One stone that equals ten million,¡± she whispered in a small voice as she didn¡¯t want Jason to hear her.

    She just sat there while deep in her own thought. Too many things to processed and she herself wasn¡¯t familiar with this man that saved her life, twice.

    ¡°How did you get out of the hospital? With your body all broken, you walking like this isn¡¯t possible,¡± she was really curious about that. Since she was a doctor of all occupations, Jason''s current state was like a miracle to her.

    ¡°I healed myself,¡± said Jason in response as he gobbled down the chicken wing.

    ¡°Heal? Meaning? A skill?¡± asked Bryce.

    He nodded.

    The look in her eyes showed she was shocked. Since childhood, she had never played a game in her entire life. Surrounded by books and more books. All she had ever done was reading. Thus the reason she couldn¡¯t understand the simplest thing about a game like skills. Compared to being strong like copper she was more interested in healing.

    ¡°Then you can even heal cancer?¡± she asked.

    ¡°How the hell would I know that. I don¡¯t have cancer,¡± said Jason.

    She was annoyed by the answer but she pressed on.

    ¡°Can you heal another person?¡± she asked.

    He nodded.

    ¡°Then it must be possible,¡± she responded. Jason didn¡¯t get the big deal about this healing cancer thing. Those monsters there in the city can kill you anytime compared to cancer that can kill you after ten or twenty years.

    ¡°Listen up Bryce,¡± she perked her ears since its the first time he called her name after she properly introduced herself.

    ¡°A word of advice, try not to let other people know about your ability,¡± he said.

    ¡°But why? Shouldn¡¯t people have the right to know? This possibly can save their lives,¡± she said.

    ¡°Do you know why the military wants me?¡± he asked her.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re supposed to be transferred to a military-sponsored hospital.¡± she just realized that Jason avoided being transfer to a military hospital.

    ¡°They paid your bills and insist on taking you under their care. The military is really great,¡± she complimented the force that protects their beloved country.

    ¡°You really believe that?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°Of course, why else would they want you to be transferred.¡±

    ¡°Because of this,¡± he showed his hand glowing in green.

    Bryce really couldn¡¯t hide her surprise. Then it got her thinking.

    ¡°Your abilities?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Why else would they want me.¡±

    ¡°But how would they know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure but at least I have the assumption that they knew I have these abilities. Since no human can survive a fall from a collapse sixty-floor building and washed away into the bay and still breathing,¡± his words left her speechless. She didn¡¯t know the backstory behind how Jason survived through the calamity in New York.

    She was slack-jawed staring at Jason.

    ¡°One other thing, with the military incapable to kill even one of those things. What do you think would happen if they knew you have an ability.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll conscript me into the army,¡± she was quick to catch on to things.

    ¡°Bingo.¡±

    Speechless. She wanted to refute those claims. But she knew that the government at some point was corrupted in certain areas and with the current turn of events, those claims made by Jason might turn out to be true. But then.

    BOOM.

    Something exploded from inside the mall.

 Chapter 55

    Bryce stood up on her feet.

    ¡°Monsters?¡± she shouted.

    ¡°We should get out of here,¡± she turned to Jason who was still deboning the drumstick within his mouth.

    She couldn¡¯t believe how calm this man was. But considering how he single-handedly killed all those monsters back in Veteran Park, it made sense on how he behaved. Then loud gunshots trailed behind the explosion. From the sound of it, something else was going on.

    ¡°Relax, it¡¯s not the monsters. Probably a heist or something,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°More reason for us to leave, don¡¯t you think?¡± she leaned forward at Jason with both her hands on the table. As if telling him, this wasn¡¯t a discussion.

    ¡°Fine,¡± he got up.

    Bryce picked up her coat preparing to leave.

    ¡°If the restaurant¡¯s staff ask me where I am, tell them I went to the toilet,¡± his answer wasn¡¯t what she had expected.

    ¡°What?¡± she thought they were going to leave.

    But then in a blink of an eye, Bryce saw him vanished into thin air. She literally jumped on her feet and fell down on the floor. Her capability of withstanding surprises was rather low and pathetic.

    ¡°Stay here,¡± a whisper fleeting into her ears.

    ¡°Jason?¡± she called out to him but there was no more response. She turned left to right like a clueless child.

    --

    A man walking by the aisle, his eyes were darting around the retail stores to his sides. A few things piqued his curiosity while his mouth was still chewing the food he had from the buffet. The source of the noise was becoming louder as his steps brought him closer. He was nonchalant as if taking a stroll in the park. With hands inside his pocket, he came down on the escalator. Standing there while staring at the people downstairs.

    These people were dressed in a street gang like attire with their face covered by skull masks, by the look of it they were doing more than just a heist. It was a raid.

    These guys got balls.

    It wasn¡¯t a measly number of six people heist but a raid made by more than a hundred gang members. With more than just handguns, a quick scan showed one-third of them were holding on to submachine guns. These people were going through one store after another with a three-man team. They were divided as the hundred men spread throughout the floors of the mall. For a bunch of fake street gang, they were quite organized.

    A few gang members were in the vast area of the mall. Making noises and shooting indiscriminately in the air. The ornaments hanging on the ceiling fell one after another. The sound of those ornaments breaking into pieces pierced the air of the mall. Visitors fled in a hurry as they fear these dangerous men. Jason had his own suspicion but did it even matter?

    He just stood there on escalator waiting for the man-made invention to bring him down on the lower floor. He wasn¡¯t in a hurry as compared to monsters, men felt too easy. One of the reasons for his overconfidence was none other contributed by the active energy guard as well as him being invisible. He doubted whether they had infrared or thermal vision goggles. Besides, do they even work on him?

    He reached the lower floor and immediately stumbled upon a team of three street gang members. Looking at how they moved and positioning themselves, only raised his doubt even more. With them coming right in front of his doorsteps, he ain¡¯t going to be rude to his guests. In a blink of an eye or to be more precise, in less than four seconds, three punches went digging into their abdomens. Those three flipped their bodies like boiled shrimps and the moment the fell to the floor, they blacked out. A non-lethal punch, it was Jason''s first time doing it, and he pulled it off quite well.

    Three down and more to go¡­

    He was about to activate the skill but he stopped himself as he saw the reflection of a mirror just in front of him.

    I¡¯m still invisible? That isn¡¯t possible.

    But as he stood there thinking. He remembered when he kicked the nuts out of the rapist doctor and realized he was still invisible afterward. The only time he realized his invisibility was off was when he was fighting against those hobgoblins. It got him thinking.

    Does it only happen because of the hobgoblins? Or is there something else I¡¯m missing here.

    A gunshot and a scream made him snapped out of his brainstorming session. It was loud and it was close. He made his way to a Gator retail store, a footwear brand that was famous selling ugly footwear. Standing in front of the store, he saw a bloody scene.

    ¡°Why the hell did you shot him?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±

    ¡°The heck man, Cap isn¡¯t going to like this.¡±

    The three-man team was bickering with one another over a mishap.

    I guess killing isn¡¯t one of their MO.

    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault man, I thought he was taking out a gun from under the counter,¡± the man who shot the bleeding Gator¡¯s worker tried to defend himself.

    ¡°It¡¯s a sock. He pulled out a freaking sock, damn it,¡± judging by the harsh tone, his team member wasn¡¯t going well with this.

    ¡°So. Do we kill the other one?¡± the gruff like member spoke out. His words freaked out the cashier.

    The female cashier was trembling shaking her head side to side while mumbling ¡®no¡¯ all the time.

    ¡°No, you idiot. We¡¯re just here for the freaking money, not kill a bunch of people,¡± it seems the only rational member had his hands full dealing with these two numbskulls in his team.

    The gruff like member snorted.

    ¡°Money? Shouldn¡¯t we go to a bank or something? Who the heck raid a mall?¡± the gruff member spoke out his opinions.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Cap¡¯s decision. Don¡¯t judge him. Besides, he probably has his own reasons,¡± a loyal and good man indeed.

    But Jason who was standing there listening to their conversation wasn¡¯t pleased. He too felt it was stupid of them raiding a mall for money. The bank has a lot more, no doubt. It was either the Cap was an idiot or he has other motives in regard to the location. He came here hoping for a nice time of relaxation and shopping, after an endless time of killing monsters. He deserved a break, he was just an ordinary man with a blue window.

    I had enough of this.

    Three men suddenly sprawled on the floor shocking the female cashier who had already soiled herself. She was dumbfounded seeing these men fainted on the floor as if all three had a cardiac arrest at the same time.

    --

    Time passed. Jason was moving at breaking speed while hiding himself in plain sight. He was hunting down these fake street gang members, fainting them one by one. From floor to floor, he was ending this little raid of theirs. Then there was only one floor left.

    ¡°Team leader G, respond, over,¡± someone was talking through the walkie-talkie.

    Yet no voice comes out from the other end.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± he threw the walkie-talkie to the floor.

    ¡°Cap, the others won¡¯t respond,¡± said another member of their five-man squad.

    Different from the rest, these fives were on a task far from the simple looting of money through the stores. Down at the underground floor far from the parking lot. These fives were in front of a vault hidden within the area that only allowed for securities and specialized personnel. No one knew about this place existence except for the owner and a few, until these five found them.

    ¡°How¡¯s the vault?¡± Cap asked glancing towards the man who was trying to open the vault.

    ¡°Needs time, and silence,¡± Cap ground his teeth with a rigid expression. He disliked this man who was given to them by the informer.

    An informer who gave a precious intel that tugged the greed of this Cap.

    ¡°Hello, this is team Z over,¡± a voice came through.

    ¡°Cap, someone¡¯s responded,¡± one of the fives relayed the event to Cap.

    ¡°Ask him, why the hell is no one responding,¡± Cap was fuming as he tried to keep his hot temper in check.

    ¡°Roger that,¡± the team member asked team Z as they waited for a response.

    ¡°This is team Z, requesting your current whereabouts, over,¡± the voice came.

    ¡°We¡¯re currently within the underground security inner facilities, what¡¯s your-¡± the team member responded as if it was not a big deal.

    But Cap who was trying to cool down, blew the top of his lid as he listened to this underling of his.

    ¡°Why the hell do you give our location away?¡± Cap shouted and ran over kicking the walkie-talkie in the team member¡¯s hand.

    ¡°But Cap, he¡¯s one of us,¡± said the team member.

    Cap grabbed on to the walkie-talkie.

    ¡°Team Z, what¡¯s your status, over,¡± he waited.

    ¡°Team Z responding to immediate threats from store workers, over,¡± the replied was making Cap¡¯s cautious nature itching.

    He didn¡¯t know why, but the way Team Z responded was rather odd. It wasn¡¯t wrong per se, but his gut feeling was telling him something.

    ¡°Team Z this is an order, make sure to reduce civilian casualties and report immediately about any presence of police force,¡± Cap calmed himself down while telling himself, that he might be just too paranoid.

    He already had intel that the police force around the mall, as well as the whole region, was focused on securing the bridges and tunnels connected to New York. More of them were sent to patrolled the shore area for any sign of monster activities. They had an assumption that those creatures might cross the bay.

    To be frank, he was sure of this operation since he only needs the thing inside of this vault. The thing inside could fetch him a hefty sum of money. Ten million? That¡¯s too little for the value inside this vault. The Cap didn¡¯t even care about the money stole from the retail stores. The rest of them who were stealing upstairs are just collateral.

    Cap glanced at the vault hoping it to be open sooner.

    --

    Meanwhile, an invisible shadow was making his way to the underground staircase. The moment he heard about the location, he pressed the button on the walkie-talkie and replied.

    ¡°Roger that, over.¡±

 Chapter 56

    A door creaked open. Seconds later, it closed back on its own. Jason was taking things too easy but who could blame him. At first, he only thought of teaching these people a lesson. But as he went to the underground facilities, he had an inkling that the things happened above was just a ruse. His brows knitted together after stepping inside this hallway.

    These guys are not playing around.

    One dozen bloody dead corpse lying around on the floor. Jason walked through the hallway while looking at these security guards that were just killed not too long ago. Bullet wounds riddled their bodies as if they were target practice. He was unfazed by the scene and moved along.

    Several same scenes kept on greeting his sight. After a while, he noticed that for a mall, they had quite a lot of security guards. Say yes to job opportunities, but again, he doubted once more after seeing the facilities down here. Rather than a simple security office, it was more like a tech lab. He passed a few rooms and his curiosity made him peeked a few times. Several times, he saw most of the rooms were filled with supercomputers. It got him thinking.

    Why on earth does a mall need supercomputers?

    The other rooms are like any office rooms. That itself was rather weird.

    Who in the right mind built an office underground?

    He walked further deep inside this unknown facility with white walls, white floors, and white ceilings. Like a mental facility but with more dead bodies splashing a tint of red into these white parade. The kill count downstairs was like an arcade game compared to upstairs. The no-shoot civilian probably only applied to those upstairs. A feeble shout came from afar, and he didn¡¯t miss it. As if someone was celebrating something.

    The door to the far end of the corridor was already opened. The dangling wires beside the open door told him he was right about this fake street gang. Well organized, skillful in both infiltration as well as silencing the enemies and last but not least a well-played strategic plan of sending decoys. Jason didn¡¯t know much about military stuff but looking at this from his average-man point of view, these people are not your everyday man.

    Jason stepped inside the door as the white interior changed into an all-black surrounding. Only the green neon lights at the bottom of the wall illuminated the dark hallway. In the end, he reached the end of the pathway. He sneaked up on them while maintaining his invisibility. Walking inside the vault room as these four men were celebrating while the one who stood in front of the vault had his back in front of Jason¡¯s line of sight.

    The moment Cap turned around, Jason¡¯s eye went round to the point of bulging out. His whole body shivered, trembling like he was facing some kind of trauma. Sweat showered his forehead and drenching his back. All of this was because of the palm-size gemstone in Cap¡¯s hand.

    It can¡¯t be¡­

    He would never forget those shimmering red scales. Scales belonging to that damn creature. The creature that killed the ones he loved.

    ¡°Identify,¡± Jason said.

    Failure

    Something unpleasant to read. But Jason didn¡¯t stop. He tried and tried again. After ten times. A new blue window emerged.

    Identify level up to level 2

    A good sign, but it was still a failure. He kept spamming the skilled until the twentieth time. Another level up.

    Identify level up to level 3

    This time, he got what he wanted.

    Fragment of a piece of Scarlet Rex¡¯s scale

    A little piece of a shard, broken from a scale of the ancient one. The dream of many legendary blacksmiths yet it was out of reach far from the hands of humanity. Even the shed scales of the ancient one was beyond their reach. Only those who have a courageous and powerful heart can snatch this away from the ancient one¡¯s nest. Lower quality compared to the scale on its body. Material use for forging.Unknown effect to forge material.

    Grade: Phantasmal

    It¡¯s true.

    Jason couldn¡¯t take his eyes off from the broken scale. He was having mixed feelings seeing this. Anger started to rise from the depth of his mind, the thought of that Scarlet Rex made him scared and at the same time making him mad. His whole body was trembling as if on the verge of having a seizure. Then, he erupted.

    ¡°Haha, you got mad skill man,¡± said one of the fake street gangs to the one sent by the informer. An expert in lock picking especially vaults.

    The picklock man only grinned in response. But then, something hit him.

    A powerful blunt force smashed right across the face. His whole head was slammed to the floor, as his head cracked. He jerked on the floor a few times before winding up dead.

    The four other men who were in a jolly mood froze. Cap was frowning seeing the man loaned by the informer turned up dead. The informer''s commission only rose with his subordinate being dead.

    ¡°Weapons hot,¡± said Cap.

    All four of them didn¡¯t see what attacked the picklock man. Sweats rained down their foreheads as they were clueless about where to aim their weapon.

    Then, another loud bang as one of them was sent hurling to the wall as they heard the crisp sound of bones being broken. All three were panicking seeing this ridiculous sight. Cap was confused with his eyes darting around the vault room. He held a gun in his hand while the other held on to the precious raw gemstone. This alone was worth more than ten million. He ain¡¯t going to give it up over this sudden disturbance.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move-¡± before he could finish his words. One of them screamed.

    ¡°Help,¡± one of theirs was floating in the air as if something was grabbing on to him. He wriggled his arms and legs trying to land back on the ground but it was fruitless. Cap had an idea in mind.

    ¡°Shoot under Miles, shoot the space under Miles,¡± he repeated his words as both pulled the trigger.

    The submachine gun and gun roared within this small vault room. The loud gunshots echoed within this room yet they stopped. They watched Miles riddled by their own bullets.

    ¡°That thing is behind Miles,¡± said Cap. He was quick on his feet and jumped to the side taking a shot from the side.

    BANG.

    He saw the bullet ricochet away from something. Something unseeable.

    ¡°It¡¯s invisible. Holt, shoot at it,¡± Cap shouted. He didn¡¯t have time to be amazed as his fortune was on the line here as well as his life.

    Before Holt could heed to Cap¡¯s command. Miles¡¯s body was thrown at Holt bringing him down to the ground. Then something stomped him from above.

    ¡°ARGH,¡± Colt screamed as his gut was being squashed by an unseen force.

    ¡°The fuck are YOU,¡± Cap shouted as his gun, shot at the thing above Colt. Again the bullet only ricocheted. Cap saw no hope of killing this invisible thing and he ran to the door.

    But it was too late. Something pulled him by his back collar stopping his early sprint. Before he could react, his whole body was thrown in the air and collided against the titanium vault door. Cap heard his ribs broken as he fell to the floor face down.

    The raw gemstone escaped his grasp and rolled on the floor before something unseen stopped it. Within the shroud of the unseen, Jason stared at the raw gemstone with hate underneath his eyes. Another reason why he was engulfed in anger, it was because he felt fear. Fear against the creature that killed his family and friend. It showed to himself that he was still weak.

    The thought of destroying it came into mind but he wasn¡¯t that stupid. With a grade called phantasmal, it would be stupid of him not to use it for his own benefit. He picked it up and the raw gemstone disappeared from Cap¡¯s sight.

    Cap was dumbfounded. Jason glanced at this lone man. He wanted to know more about how Cap knew that this thing was inside the vault. But as he looked around the vault, he spotted the cameras. Exposing himself wasn¡¯t the best option right now. He came closer to Cap and stared at his relentless eyes.

    Jason got to admit, this Cap was no average man. In the end, Jason twisted his head and this time he made sure the neck snapped. After killing him, he didn¡¯t leave as he stood there staring at both of his hands.

    His face remained stoic, expressionless. But deep down he was questioning himself.

    What have I become?

    He remembered back when he was attacked on the rooftop. He killed those men in black without hesitation as he was defending himself. But what about this? He left those upstairs fainted but here, five men went to their deathbed. There was no logical reason for their death except for Jason losing control consumed by his anger.

    Let¡¯s just go, my stomach is already growling.

    Jason didn¡¯t forget to loot the gun owned by Cap along with the ammunition that he had. He thought about bringing along the submachine gun but that huge thing disappearing would definitely be seen in the CCTV. All in all, the result was not that bad. A phantasmal grade forging material, a SIG Sauer M17, and seven clips of ammo. Not bad indeed.

    --

    Back at the buffet restaurant, Bryce was sitting down while biting her nails. Her left leg kept on fidgeting as waiting for Jason was nerve-racking. All the noise and gunshots were long gone and now she was waiting for him.

    Then out of nowhere, he appeared while in the motion of sitting down on his seat. It caught Bryce surprised. Her body jumped backwards as she was close to falling from her chair. Bryce exhaled a huge pent up breath that she had been holding for the past half an hour. She leaned forward with her eyes darting around hoping that no one was around.

    ¡°So? What is it? Monsters?¡± she asked.

    Jason twirled the spaghetti with his fork and ate it in one bite. She waited for him in anticipation. After taking another bite, Jason glanced at her.

    ¡°Just a bunch of street gangs.¡±

 Chapter 57

    The whole police battalion surrounded the whole premise. SWAT teams are readied at every entrance of the American Dreamyard. The distress call from one of the fleeing visitors along with the mall alarm system wasn¡¯t ignored by the police force. But their response team was held up by the large scale operation of securing Bayonne Bridge, Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge.

    The SWAT teams commenced their operation barging at all possible entrances. But as they entered, the situation wasn¡¯t like they expected. The squad leader relayed a message through the tactical headset.

    ¡°Captain, we¡¯ve got a situation here. You¡¯re not going to believe this.¡±

    --

    While the law enforcement sorted out the mess inside American Dreamyard. A couple was driving away from the mall, just a few minutes before the cavalry arrived. They even passed by each other, side by side with the blaring sound of the police siren filling the air. Jason who was sitting in the passenger seat stared at the sight of police cars driving by at the side lane.

    ¡°Did you kill them?¡± Bryce asked. It had been in her mind for quite a while now. Jason killing monsters was fine but if he was a murderer, then that was a line that should never be cross.

    Jason maintained his silence. Bryce stole a few glances. She swallowed a gulp of her saliva as the silence was suffocating her.

    ¡°Keep your eyes on the road,¡± said Jason.

    His words didn¡¯t actually calm her down, only made the doctor more jittery on her seat. Jason glanced sideways and it wasn¡¯t hard to discern how she was feeling.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill anyone,¡± he said.

    She nodded and the silence prevailed once more. Jason stared at the direction of New York City. Curiosity egged him towards the city direction.

    ¡°Cross Hackensack River,¡± he said.

    ¡°What?¡± she said. Her tone raised by a notch, surprised by the sudden change of direction.

    Jason didn¡¯t say a thing. He only waved his hand signaling at her. Her lips pressed together with her eyebrows lowered. She wasn¡¯t pleased to be pushed around by this stranger. Nevertheless, she was indebted to this stranger. The ¡®ten million¡¯ kept on echoing inside her head. Again, the regret over opening that scroll kept on haunting her.

    The Nord Bigo drove through Port Imperial Boulevard. Jason stared at Manhattan that was just across the Hudson River. He saw a few big silhouettes walking at the side of the river. It wasn¡¯t clear but enough to tell him, that it was monsters. Running around the decimated city like they owned the city. It was like a different world between these two lands separated by a river.

    Bryce¡¯s forehead was bathing in sweats as the thought of being this close with a city filled with monsters made her nervous.

    ¡°Can we go now? Please?¡± she said.

    She couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. That single night of being abducted was enough experience for her. She knew the absurdities of those monsters. Then a thought popped up inside her head. Her eyes went wide with the whites showing.

    ¡°You¡¯re not thinking of going there are you?¡± she asked.

    Jason¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t leave the sight of the city. Then he spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m not that idiotic. Let¡¯s go back,¡± he said.

    To his cue, the car turned back heading towards Secaucus Bypass.

    --

    A car went into the driveway. The engine stopped as Bryce took off the key. Yet they still sat inside the car in silence. She stole a few glances at Jason as she could felt the situation turning awkward.

    ¡°I. Uhm,¡± her fingers kept on tapping the steering wheel as she hesitated. ¡°My shift starts tomorrow morning. So, I am¡­¡±

    Jason cut her off.

    ¡°Can I use your computer?¡± said Jason.

    Bryce stepped out of her study room and closed the door behind her. She breathed out a sigh and she didn''t seem to be relieved. Rubbing her forehead she went back to her bedroom.

    Jason was on the laptop. Creating a new email account. Although he didn¡¯t remember his family''s phone number at least he knew their email address. He didn¡¯t use his old one since he was too paranoid. Paranoid from being detected by the NSA. It was better to be safe than sorry.

    He sent an email to his parents telling them that he was fine. A bit of a white lie wouldn¡¯t hurt as he typed in the email that he was lucky not to be in the city during the time of the invasion. He told them he was currently staying with a friend¡¯s house far from the city. Cracking his knuckles, he leaned back on the chair. He was in a daze staring at the empty air.

    I should go back.

    That thought came to mind.

    Status open.

    Jason Park

    Job : None

    Level 19

    EP : 88.5/111

    E.Guard : 50/240

    Strength : 46

    Agility :?71

    Dexterity :?10

    Stamina :?14

    Energy :?37

    E.Resist :?6

    Points :?15

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills : Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.4, Minor Heal+ Lv.5, Energy Guard Lv.2, Wind Cutter Lv.2, Shadow Hide Lv.5, Basic Archery Lv.4, Parry Lv.1, Identify Lv.3

    Two bullets and the energy guard is almost gone. I shouldn¡¯t underestimate guns. Hmm? Why is it fifteen?

    His eyes traced down to points. What should have been ten was now fifteen. He swore he used all of it the last time he leveled up, unless¡­

    You¡¯ve got to be kidding me? Did the new title really give me an extra five points?

    Jason still had trouble believing this but yes it is true. He knew the significance of gaining another extra five points, it was as if he gained another level unofficially. In a gaming type of explanation, he was turning OP. He was at the head of the pack, in front of others like him who discovered the blue window system. It wasn¡¯t fair to the rest but for him, he gladly received it with opened arms. Another extra five points mean another chance of survival.

    Glancing at the new bow leaning on the wall, he had a thought in mind. The bow that made Bryce¡¯s bank account bleeding was his main weapon as of now. He got a knack of using it back in the park. If it wasn¡¯t for all those fireballs burning everything, he would still have a bow without draining Bryce¡¯s money. But everything had a silver lining. A compound bow designed for hunting seems like his best bet. He just prayed that the expensive bow wouldn¡¯t be like the fragile katana he bought from Amazonia.

    Although he still has the staff looted from the Copper Hobgoblin, he still wanted to focus on using the bow. Fighting at long distances didn''t seem bad considering it puts him out of the range of danger. Besides, he got the skill that related to it, he didn¡¯t want to waste it.

    On second thought, should I hunt those monsters?

    The thought about the hobgoblins came to mind. They appeared out of nowhere from a random crack. It would have been good if he knew how these cracks related. But considering finding one of those random cracks by himself was literally impossible. The thought of grinding his level went out just like that. Although he still had the option of going back into New York City yet knowing that the Scarlet Rex was there only made him want to stay further away from that site.

    Never mind, let¡¯s put that on hold. I think it¡¯s just better to go back home first.

    Jason went downstairs and slept on the couch.

    --

    Bryce was dressing herself up for work. She tied her long hair into a bun while watching herself through the body length mirror. She picked up her stethoscope and her white lab coat before going downstairs. Yesterday day off was like a day at work, a night of suffering and a day full of mishaps. Her bank account was close to being nil and she almost lost her life back at the mall. Overall, things seemed to be great for today. She was just happy that things going back to normal again.

    But as she reached downstairs, she saw Jason fully clothed with the mountain hiking bag strapped over his shoulder. Another long bag was in his hand, that stored the expensive compound bow she bought for him. While his other hand, he held a long wooden staff. She recognized it since its the staff that was previously owned by the Copper Hobgoblin.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to work and-¡±

    Jason cut her off.

    ¡°Can you drop me at Newark airport?¡± he said. He spoke so nonchalantly as if everything that he wishes would come over to him in a blink of an eye.

    Bryce froze while staring at Jason. That airport was further away from the hospital. If she sent him, then she would definitely be late, and for a junior intern like her, being late was a big no-no. She wanted to say something, but Jason was quick to say something first.

    ¡°You owe me ten million,¡± those two words were like a slap to her face. She couldn¡¯t comprehend how ridiculous it was for a scroll like that to cost ten million. Again, she felt like defending herself. She had her own priorities.

    ¡°Drop me off and I¡¯ll be gone. No more nagging about ten million,¡± said Jason.

    Him? Gone? That thought kept circling in Bryce¡¯s head. Although she was grateful for him saving her, but she has her own life. A life that doesn¡¯t involve her following every whim of Jason.

    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go,¡± she said. She sighed one last time as Jason noticed it clear as day. He just grinned seeing her like this.

    A Nord Bigo was on the road making its way to Newark Liberty International Airport. She couldn¡¯t wait to drop off Jason, to the point of she was humming while driving and the radio wasn¡¯t even turn on. Jason sat by her side amused by her actions. She was too easy for him to read compared to someone that he knew. The thought of it made his little grin vanished and replaced by his lips arching down. He turned his head to the window staring at the sky. He didn¡¯t notice it but his eyes were moist.

    Bryce was too oblivious by the changes in Jason. She was humming while getting in the groove. Just a while ago she answered her phone. It was a call from her colleague back in the hospital. She spouted some nonsense about being late and told it was a family matter. She would have scowl since this act of hers would only get her being reprimanded but today was her lucky day, the colleague told her that morning round was canceled so she won¡¯t be scolded by her boss.

    Finally, they arrived at the airport. Jason pointed out to just dropped him at the departure gate, but Bryce went to the parking lot confusing the man himself. She parked her car at the parking lot and both sat still in the car.

    ¡°So? What¡¯s going on? You can just leave me there, you know,¡± he said.

    Bryce unbuckled the seat belt and opened the door. Jason didn¡¯t get this woman. At times she was easy to read and at times she was like any other woman in the world, a complex creature with a complex thought process.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯m going to escort my savior till he reaches the boarding gate,¡± said Bryce with a smile. As if the burden on her shoulders was lifted.

    Jason raised his eyebrows curious about what was going on with this redhead doctor. But since she wanted to do it so he let it be. They walked side by side entering the main entrance of the airport. Like always the airport was a busy place with people going in and out with bag strolling on the floor.

    Bryce took the lead and led him to closer to the LCD board showing the flight information display. On second thought, she hadn¡¯t heard of where Jason wanted to go.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re taking a flight to where exactly?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Toronto, I¡¯m Canadian by the way,¡± he said.

    A big ¡®O¡¯ her lips as she just realized he wasn¡¯t even American.

    ¡°Any particular airline?¡± she knew that she was the one who needs to pay for his ticket and she asked like it was natural.

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t need to. I¡¯m fine,¡± he said. It caught her off guard hearing what he said. As if he broke his own image that already had been embedded in her mind.

    ¡°Oh, okay then. So, this is goodbye then,¡± she said. She was barely making eye contact and don¡¯t know what to do in this current situation.

    ¡°Yup. Thanks by the way,¡± Jason reached out his hand for a handshake. Bryce shook his hand and looked into Jason¡¯s eyes for a few seconds. That few seconds made her remembered that this man saved her life. Thinking back, she never really thanked him sincerely. She only kept whining and grumbling over his annoying attitude.

    ¡°Thank you for saving me,¡± said Bryce. Her eyes turned moist and she fought back the urge to cry. If wasn¡¯t for him, she wouldn¡¯t be here right now. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked down in embarrassment.

    ¡°Sorry. Something got caught in my eye,¡± a lame excuse but Jason didn¡¯t mind. He smiled gently at her. For a woman that went through hell, she was quite a positive person. He just hoped she won¡¯t get caught up with anything in the future.

    She shook his once more and let go.

    ¡°Good luck and have a safe flight,¡± she said.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said.

    Bryce walked past Jason heading towards the main entrance. Jason just stood there as he let out a sigh, thinking about his next step.

    So where do I go next?

    As if the universe was answering him, Jason noticed the commotion around him. People were looking towards something. Everyone was staring at the big screen hanging on the ceiling. Usually, it would be an airline advertisement but now it was showing the news. A live-streamed one.

    ¡°Breaking news, we are here live at Essex County Country Club. As you can see in the sky, there¡¯s a huge crack similar to the one in other major cities. What are we seeing here? Is it the same? Or our fate is similar to New York City? Is this, the end of New Jersey?¡±

 Chapter 58

    A man got up from his seat as he saw a soldier coming into the room.

    ¡°Clark? Any news?¡± he said.

    ¡°Jake, sorry man,¡± said the soldier as his words forebode something terrible.

    ¡°Say it,¡± Jake said. Both his hands grasped over the broad shoulders of the soldier.

    ¡°The two choppers we sent didn¡¯t respond,¡± said Clark the soldier. Jake froze in place staring at Clark like in a daze. He didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    ¡°No, there¡¯s probably something wrong with the comms-link?¡± he said.

    ¡°Sorry man, but the choppers are gone. They¡¯re no rescues,¡± said Clark.

    Clark tapped on the shoulder of Jake as he left the room. Jake stood there staring at the empty space still in disbelief. It took him a while as he sat down on the nearby chair, slouching as his eyes were still in a daze.

    ¡°No, no, no, no!¡± he got up and kicked the chair out of anger. His fists were clenched tightly as if at any moment he would burst into a fitting rage.

    ¡°No!¡± he shouted slamming the desk with both of his fists. Jake sat back on the chair as his hands grabbed over his hair. He remembered it clearly the first day he met his partner, Detective Maria Lopez. They were at odds with each other like Tom and Jerry, he remembered the days he bickered with Det. Lopez over the cases they were investigating. They were constantly at odds but the end result was best for both of them.

    Case after cases they were known as the star duo of 98th precinct police station. Even though they always fought with each other, Jake Moretti knew that when in the danger she would always have his back. Jake remembered the shootout at the Bronx, it was some leftover drug cartel who was at the brink of extinction. Moretti and Lopez took the lead of arresting those drug dealers but the unfortunate happened. He was shot, bleeding profusely. He thought he was dying. But his partner didn¡¯t give up on him. Det. Lopez fended off those drug dealers and cartels while at the same time dragging his sorry ass away from the dangerous scene. She saved his life and he owed it to her.

    But now, he failed her. He couldn¡¯t save her life. What kind of partner left the other behind? He massaged his head a few times as he tried to keep it together. They¡¯re still a lot of people counting on him. Both he and the rest of the surviving New Yorkers that are under his wing need to escape from this hell hole city.

    A man came in a rush.

    ¡°Detective, the military is on the move. Those monsters are advancing,¡± said the man.

    The man noticed Det. Moretti being out of it. Out of concern, he asked.

    ¡°Detective are you okay?¡±

    Det. Moretti got up from his seat and straightened up the tactical vest over his shirt.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s get out of this city.¡±

    --

    Two days after the invasion stopped.

    In a motel somewhere in New Jersey, a man was on the floor surrounded by piles of empty bottles. The leftover pizza on the table was at the point of being close to rotten. Clothes were all over the bed. The sunlight breached the gap between the curtains shining upon the man who was half-naked with his white undies.

    He frowned as the sunlight was annoying him. His hand swung around at the sunlight, a futile attempt of chasing away the sunlight. The door to his room was knocked. But the man lay there motionless with no intention of getting up. The knock kept on coming and out of annoyance the man stood up and opened the door. A soldier stood at the door front. It was Clark.

    ¡°Jake,¡± said Clark. He scanned Jake from top to bottom and with that stench getting out of the room, Clark knew this old friend of his wasn¡¯t in his best condition.

    ¡°What?¡± Jake asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be transferring to Miami, they said the situation isn¡¯t that bad compared to New York,¡± Clark said.

    ¡°Oh, okay,¡± Jake replied. He turned his head around and closed the door not bothered by the appearance of this soldier. Before the door was shut close, Clark held the door. He opened it wide as he saw the whole room. It was a mess.

    ¡°Jake, you need to snap out of this. You need to move on,¡± said Clark. Yet the man in himself didn¡¯t bother listening to words of his own friend. He was picking up bottles on the floor trying to see whether there was anything left.

    ¡°People died man, a lot of them. You need to wake up, those things, those UC are out there preparing who knows what,¡± said Clark as his tone raised by a notch.

    Clark¡¯s attempt to helping his friend was useless. This friend of his refused to accept the reality of it, drowning himself in sorrow in a rather unhealthy way.

    ¡°Sorry man. That¡¯s all I¡¯ve got to say. Good luck and try not to get yourself killed,¡± Clark left the room leaving Jake by his own self. Jake stood there motionless staring at the beige wall with his eyes looking like a dead fish. Lifeless with no hope.

    The growling stomach made him put his clothes. He wore a thicker coat as the weather was turning rather chilly. Winter was just around the corner. Jake got out of the motel and walked by the street side. His mustang was crushed into nothing by a damn monster and his favorite clothes no longer adorned his body. He lost all motivation to dressing himself into the 80s fashion.

    The only thing that remained was guilt over his partner¡¯s death. He remembered that day when he was supposed to tag along with her to a hotel. She was going undercover as an escort while he would be acting as a pimp. But he bailed out on her and went to the other side of the city doing his own investigation. If he had just gone along with her, at least both of them had the chance to survived.

    While deep in thought, he stumbled on his feet and lost his balance. He fell to the side of the road tumbling down to the Memorial Waterfront Park. There was dirt in his mouth as he spat it out. He looked around and saw the park was empty. It made sense since it was close to Staten Island which was now infested with UC. A glance at the landmass across the river made him lost his appetite.

    He dragged his feet over to the end of the park. The calm water was just a foot away from him. Yet his eyes were staring at New York City. Some tall buildings were no longer there while a few survived whatever calamity that happened. The stoic dead look on his face changed. He was scowling directing whatever anger he had to those monsters in that city. He picked up pebbles on the ground and throwing towards the city.

    "Fuck,¡± he said.

    ¡°Fucking die,¡± he vented his anger.

    All those pebbles fell into the river. He kept on throwing, repeating this useless action of his until his breath was ragged. His nostrils were flaring and his face flushed in red. The fatigue took over his body and he slumped on the ground trying to catch his breath.

    He couldn¡¯t move on. He left his partner and that was a fact. Yesterday, his mother called him many times trying to get him fly back to his hometown. But he refused. He preferred being swallowed up by his own remorse and guilt. He laid his eyes on the body of water yet something caught within his sight.

    An oddity that piqued his interest. He came closer to the fence that separated him between land and river. He looked down and saw something being knocked to the edge of the port. It looks familiar, like a dog or it might be a cat. Jake looked around and found something useful, an old fishing rod thrown into a trash can. It seemed to be broken as the line was bundled up into a mess. Probably a novice fisherman fed up on not catching anything.

    Jake grabbed the rod and went back to the thing in the water. Using the rod he reached out to it trying to see whether that thing is alive or not. Although he was grieving, he still couldn¡¯t let an innocent cat or dog drown in the river. Yet, the moment the end of the rod touched the thing, it moved.

    His whole body was pulled towards the river as something was tugging the old rod in his hand. Jake looked down and saw it was biting at the rod but then he noticed the creature looking up at him. His whole body shivered as he knew what this thing was.

    He was about to let go but it was too late. The creature pulled itself up using the rod and leaped into the air. Jake backed a few steps as he witnessed the thing landed on the ground. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. A small dinosaur, similar to a raptor. If Jason was here, he would know what this thing was, the mini-velociraptor. It was drenched by the water of the river but it was still lively opening and closing its jaw of razor-sharp teeth. It was staring at Jake with those slit eyes.

    Jake didn¡¯t know what to do. His hands were scouring all over his clothes trying to find his gun. But then he remembered, he left it at the motel. He didn¡¯t know what else to do. He should have been running by now but his body was too weak. The late-night drinking last night was showing its terrible effect.

    Then the mini-velociraptor moved.

    Jake closed his eyes fearing the creature in front of him. But after a while, nothing happened. He opened his eyes and saw the mini-velociraptor on the ground. It wasn¡¯t moving as it barely let out a soft growl. Jake grew closer to it and saw that this mini-velociraptor was weak. It was at the end of its life as it had no more energy to even move. That last jumped on to the ground might probably be the last spurt that it had. Seeing this thing at death bed, the fear he had slowly vanished.

    But something else replaced it. Anger enveloped his entire mind. He dropped down to his knees and punched the hell out of the dying mini-velociraptor. Both of his fists slammed over the feeble creature.

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. Fucking monsters,¡± said Jake. He kept on cursing at the creature while delivering his own sense of justice. But unknown to him, his punches were worthless to the creature. It felt like a massage, a going-away present before it met death. It didn¡¯t even bleed by Jake¡¯s punches.

    Yet after a few minutes passed by, the mini-velociraptor drew its last breath as its life ended.

    Meanwhile, Jake couldn¡¯t stop his rage as he kept on punching. But then, he stopped. His eyes were shaking as something appeared in his line of sight.

    ¡°What the hell?¡±

    The blue window greeted him as he has been awakened.

 Chapter 59

    Jason stood in the middle of the airport still staring at the big LCD screen. The live news was still ongoing yet the people around him didn''t share his attention span. They were running all over the place. Most of them were on their phones, yelling and shouting. The looks on their faces were covered in fear. The incident that happened a week ago was still alive in their mind. A monster invasion was a hard thing for people to forget. The people realized their mistakes, they knew their priorities when that crack appeared. Man-eating monsters were enough to scare them out of their minds. A few bumped into Jason but he remained standing like a pillar.

    Again?

    Those two nights resurfaced as he remembered only deaths. A drop of sweat trickled from his forehead. The thought of reliving those days was making his body sweating. He felt a tug on his jacket. Turning around, he saw the pale stricken face of a redhead.

    ¡°The crack,¡± she said.

    ¡°I can see that,¡± he said.

    Jason turned around heading towards one of Air Canada¡¯s ticket counter. Bryce chased him down with no intention of leaving. The thought of going back to work was long gone with the appearance of that crack. It would have been stupid of her if she went back to the hospital and worked like everything was normal.

    He couldn¡¯t get close to the counter as he stared at the sight of people crowding around the only open counter of Air Canada. The flustered ticket agent couldn¡¯t handle the sudden influx of customers.

    The ticket counter machines were not that different as people pushed around trying to buy their way out of here. Jason''s attempt in finding the earliest flight to Toronto was put on hold. As he glanced around trying to find a screen showing the flight information, someone held both of his shoulders.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked.

    His eyebrows pulled together while looking at the redhead woman.

    ¡°Trying to find the earliest flight,¡± he said.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to do anything about the crack?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing it, I¡¯m trying to get out of here. Like the rest of them,¡± he said while pointing at the panicking people.

    ¡°But why? You can kill those monsters, you can-¡± before she continues any longer, Jason cut her off.

    ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding something. I¡¯m not a savior. My job isn¡¯t to save people,¡± he said.

    ¡°But you saved me,¡± her words left him speechless. A gulp of saliva swallowed down his throat.

    He tried once but he failed miserably. His cousins and friends died under his protection. Some may say it wasn¡¯t his fault but guilt had a way of playing into the mind.

    ¡°Listen up, I¡¯m not the guy you think I am. Me, saving you is just because us being at the right time and at the right place,¡± he said.

    ¡°Then what about now? The crack is there, out in the open,¡± she said.

    Jason raised both of his hands in surrender. He was not going to play along. Once was enough.

    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, I¡¯m not going to do anything. If you want to play hero be my guess, you¡¯ve got the ¡®ten million¡¯ ability, I¡¯m sure you can do it,¡± his pep talk was rather contradicting. But Bryce didn¡¯t receive it well. The grip on his shoulder loosened as her knees fell to the floor. She fell into a silence of devastation. She had hoped for this man to save the other as he saved her but she was wrong.

    Tears fell down as she felt scared for what was about to come. Her first-time experience left a trauma on her and it wouldn¡¯t go away anytime sooner. She muttered those two words and the blue window appeared. She glanced at the only skill she had, the Copper Body ability. Turning mere flesh into as strong as copper. Then the image of a little girl flooded her mind, she saw the small body being burned into cinder by the atrocity of the monsters from the crack. It left a strong image inside of Bryce and she couldn¡¯t forget it.

    A little girl saved her from the brink of death yet here she was, an adult who has the ability to fight against the thing that endangered the lives of the people in New Jersey yet she does nothing. The feeling she had when she treated her patients resurfaced within her heart. The reason she became a doctor was for the sake of the people. To save lives, no matter who they are, strangers or not.

    A resolve forming within the gentle heart of this redhead doctor. She stood up and stared at Jason eye to eye, with her eyes, reddish and swollen. She cried a lot in that short time but it was enough for her.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to save them,¡± she said.

    She was resolute in this newfound determination of hers. Jason could saw it in her eyes. In Jason¡¯s eyes, it was stupid but admirable. Even he didn¡¯t dare to try for round two as what might come out of the crack was still uncertain. There was a possibility that it might be low-level compared to the monsters in New York City, something he would definitely welcome but another big ¡®if¡¯ made him wary. What if a stronger horde of monsters than New York City came out? Would he even have a chance to survive again?

    Jason doesn¡¯t think so. He acknowledged the fact that he survived New York City was based on pure luck. Rather than luck, he preferred to rely on himself and facts. He has the tools but he wasn¡¯t ready. Not yet.

    ¡°Good luck then,¡± he said. He tapped Bryce¡¯s shoulder once and went passed her. She didn¡¯t glance back and went on to the airport entrance with a determined look. Two souls fell apart but who knows maybe in the future they might meet up again.

    --

    Jason boarded one of the flights to Toronto. He was standing in between the flight attendants who were having a serious conversation about the crack and the monsters. No choice for the man who doesn¡¯t have an ID nor a passport to legally buy a ticket. The only way for him to board a plane was to go incognito. Jason was invisible with his hands full and his time on board of the plane revolved around avoiding the flight attendants while they were doing their job.

    Not having a seat while flying was indeed torture for the man from Canada. While he was testing his patience, the people in the cabin were in a commotion. They were staring out from the window looking at the huge crack right down below them. It was getting bigger and they could discern it through their eyes.

    Jason didn¡¯t even look as he was reminded of Bryce. He didn''t know whether she was up to the task, considering how meek she was in front of danger. But deep down, he just hoped she won¡¯t die.

    One hour and forty-five minutes later, the plane landed on Pearson Airport. He was the first to got out as he didn¡¯t want to stumble with the other passengers. It would be awkward if they felt there was a ghost on board and spending in the air while invisible does have its charm. Shadow Hide raised to level six and he wasn¡¯t even mad that his EP was down by quite a lot. What matters was getting stronger.

    The Pearson International Airport was like any other airport, bustling with people. Jason walked among the crowd of people and slowly the invisibility that hide his body was lifted. No one noticed the sudden appearance of the man carrying a bag of a bow and wooden staff on his other hand. They were too engrossed with their phones checking the recent news about new cracks appearing all throughout the world.

    People around him were worried as no news about Canada. It would be good if there were no new cracks in Canada, but if there was one they should know about it for safety purposes. As of now, people in New Jersey are trying their best in staying away far from the crack appearing on top of a golf course.

    Jason got out of the airport and stood by the side of the street, watching taxis come and goes. He realized a bit too late as he has no money in his pockets. The taxi fare won¡¯t be cheap considering his home was quite far from the airport. He sighed knowing that it was another round of hiding and running. But then, he heard someone called his name.

    ¡°Jason?¡±

 Chapter 60

    A man was hugging Jason out in the open as though they were long lost brothers. After a while, the man finally let him go. The man was smiling from ear to ear. He was tall, comparable to a professional basketball player and according to Jason¡¯s estimations, his height was probably six feet five or six feet six inches. In another word, he was like a giant in front of Jason.

    ¡°How long has it been?¡± he said.

    ¡°Long enough. So, how you¡¯ve been? I thought you would¡¯ve been in the NBA by now,¡± said Jason.

    Jason was tactless as always, but the tall friend of his wasn¡¯t affected by his words. He replied with a smile, devoid of any ill-feeling.

    ¡°Nah, I gave up. Things just didn¡¯t work out,¡± said the tall man while shrugging his shoulders. ¡°So you just got back?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, just got back from New Jersey,¡± he said.

    ¡°New Jersey?¡± the tall man said with his jaw dropped down. ¡°I heard from the news there¡¯s a new crack over there.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here,¡± he said.

    The tall man¡¯s gaze showed he was impressed. ¡°You really didn¡¯t waste time running from that future hell hole,¡± said the tall man.

    ¡°Well, I still want to live you know,¡± said Jason. ¡°Hey Hakeem, I¡¯m kind of short on money. So would you mind if I hitch a ride?¡±

    Hakeem didn¡¯t mind and Jason hitched a ride on Hakeem''s car. While on the road, he and Hakeem caught up with one another. They talked quite a lot and Jason was more amazed by what he heard about this old friend of his. The basketball star of high school abandoned the path of going professional and now, he worked at Pearson Airport in the IT department of all things.

    ¡°You¡¯re into tech right now? Sorry, but that sounds so weird coming from you,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Nah man, It¡¯s cool. People around me thought the same but tech has their own charm,¡± said Hakeem.

    A while later, the car stopped by the side of the street. Jason turned to the side mirror, as he glanced at the two-story detached house. It had been a long time since he got back home.

    ¡°Hey, Jason. Here,¡± Hakeem handed him a piece of paper. ¡°Call me up when you have free time. Let¡¯s hang out like back in the old days,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason stared at the number written on the paper. He turned towards Hakeem and smiled.

    ¡°See you later,¡± he said.

    Hakeem waved his hand as he drove down the road. It was in the afternoon and the sun was at the top of his head. His whole body was facing the two-story house. He exhaled loudly as he tried to calmed himself down.

    ¡°Fuh, here goes,¡± he said.

    Standing on the doorstep, his gaze was set on the unfamiliar digital door lock.

    A new one, dad did it again. Mom probably pissed about dad¡¯s spending habits.

    He swiped up the cover of the door lock but his finger was frozen in the air. Jason tried to remember the previous digit code.

    Shit, I forgot.

    His hands were grabbing his hair as he was trying hard to thought about the code. But then, the door opened from the inside. A man entered Jason¡¯s sight, the man was holding on to a bag of trash probably on his way to dump it into the trash can.

    ¡°Who?!¡± said the man.

    But the man stopped as his feet shuffled a few steps back. He was surprised by the sudden appearance of a stranger. He was about to scream at his wife who was cooking in the kitchen but he stopped. The man took a closer look at this stranger who was standing still, after adjusting his glasses his eyes narrowed down.

    Then the man¡¯s eyes turned wide open. The trash bag fell on to the floor with a thud. The man was quick on his feet and hugged Jason who was standing still. Two men who were at the same height shared a hug.

    ¡°You¡¯re back,¡± said the man.

    ¡°Yeah dad, it¡¯s good to be home,¡± said Jason as tears dripped down his cheeks. His father silently cried as both son and father shared a moment together.

    It was a big deal for Jason since he survived those terrible days with the thought of his parents kept on circling in his mind. He remembered the time before he blacked out completely, the image of both of his parents flashed by for a few seconds. Jason really missed them.

    ¡°Honey? Are you done? I need some help in the kitchen,¡± the voice of a woman reached the front door. She was oblivious about the current situation.

    Both Jason and his father separated themselves. The father grabbed Jason¡¯s shoulders while taking a good look at Jason¡¯s face. His eyes were reddish and teary, even his face was a bit flush. Both of his father¡¯s hands held on to Jason¡¯s face as he lightly caressed it. Those eyes that were shown in his father¡¯s face was unlike he had ever seen.

    Jason was surprised by the caring action of his father. In his whole entire life, his father had never done these kinds of things before. In a way, he was touched by his father''s gesture. His father didn¡¯t say a word as he only kept on gazing at Jason. He lightly tapped one side of Jason¡¯s cheek and turned around.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go see your mother,¡± said the father.

    Jason nodded with a smile and followed behind his father. The moment they reached the kitchen, Jason saw the back of his mother. She was busied chopping some things on the chopping board.

    ¡°Honey, come here and help me stir the eggs,¡± said the mother as she didn¡¯t even turn her back.

    Jason''s eyes turned moist once more after seeing his lovely mother. His lips were trembling as he tried to hold back from crying like a river.

    ¡°Mom,¡± he said.

    The sound of chopping stopped, his mother stood still like a statue. She froze the moment she heard that familiar voice. Turning around she was already on the verge of tears.

    ¡°Jason!¡± she called her son.

    A touching moment of mother and son as they embraced one another. His father stood by the side while watching his family with a smile on his face.

    Later on, Jason spent time with his parents as he constantly tried to soothe their worries. He told about how he escaped the city through a lie since the truth would be too much for the hearts of both of his parents. His mother gasped a few times hearing the retelling of those dangerous moments. Again, Jason calmed his parents down and told them that he was safe now since he was back at home.

    The three of them ate lunch after his mother cooked a feast to celebrate the safety of her son. What was supposed to be a simple lunch turned into a grand feast. They shared a few laugh and smile together, and in the end, Jason returned to his room on the second floor.

    ¡°Son, if you need anything just tell me,¡± said his mother who was still worried about him.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine mom,¡± he said.

    The mother who was about to close the door came inside the room and gave Jason another hug. He didn¡¯t retort and accepted it with open arms. Then his mother left the room leaving him by his own self.

    His head was moving around as he scanned the entire room. It was untouched as everything was the same as before he went to the states. Jason¡¯s head dropped on the bed as he stared at the ceiling. He was calm and relax, being at home really made a difference.

    But then a slight frown appeared on his face. He knew things won¡¯t last even at home. He counted himself as lucky since Toronto wasn¡¯t hit by the first crack. He knew he has to become stronger.

    His first step?

    He glanced at the piles of books on the bookshelves. Then he muttered.

    ¡°Identify.¡±

 Chapter 61

    A week had passed.

    The alarm clock assaulted Jason¡¯s ears as his body moved around under the blanket. He got up with his half-open eyes while scratching the itch on his back. His empty stomach prompted him to go downstairs. Passing by the living room, he didn¡¯t see his parents who were watching the flat-screen television.

    Jason opened up the fridge and took out his morning staple, cereal, and milk. He took a seat at the dining table and ate calmly with his eyes barely open. After two to three spoons of cereal, he heard his mother called his name.

    ¡°Jason,¡± she called.

    He remained silent yet he stood up with the cereal bowl in his hand. Walking into the living room, he saw why his mother called him. Like he had expected, monsters were pouring out from those cracks, as they invaded the land below. Jason glanced away as he already knew the outcome of it. It was just like back in New York, after a week all hell broke loose. He returned back to his own room and sat at the study table.

    ¡°Status,¡± he said.

    Jason Park

    Job : None

    Level 19

    EP : 127/127(+10)

    E.Guard : 470/470(+30)

    Strength : 46

    Agility :?71

    Dexterity :?15

    Stamina :?19

    Energy :?39(+2)

    E.Resist :?11

    Points :?0

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills : Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.4, Minor Heal+ Lv.5, Energy Guard Lv.2, Wind Cutter Lv.7, Shadow Hide Lv.9, Basic Archery Lv.9, Parry Lv.1, Scan Lv.3

    While munching down the cereals, his gaze went up and down over his status. The result of one week of grinding brought a light smile on his face. Shadow Hide and Basic Archery reached a plateau and remained stagnant for a while as the situation seemed similar to his previous stagnant Basic Swordsmanship. Wind Cutter had improved considerably but due to the constraint of his limited EP, that was as far as he could reach for one whole week. On the other hand, Identify leaped beyond level ten and turned into a new skill called Scan. By far, Scan was the easiest to level up. He just spammed it throughout the whole day using it to whatever he saw.

    But he was still wasn¡¯t satisfied. This much wasn¡¯t enough to strengthen himself as he needed to level up. Jason changed his clothes to a pair of sweatshirts and sweatpants and went downstairs.

    ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll be going for a jog,¡± he said as he left through the door.

    Both of his parents grew accustomed to Jason''s sudden change. At first, they were worried since Jason wasn¡¯t the active type but as he kept on doing it regularly every day, they got used to it and saw it as an improvement. Jason being healthy was better than just sitting around in front of a computer.

    He lightly jogged around the neighborhood as he saw the same thing as yesterday. After he had enough of warming up, Jason sprinted down the side of the street as his speed turned up a notch. He was fast but he kept his speed at a normal pace of a human, if he had really given his all then the world record of everything that involves running would be broken by him.

    Soon, he reached a park that was ten kilometers away from his home. His breathing was still mild despite the speed he ran to the park. The extra five points he allocated to stamina was definitely showing some wonders. It was late in the morning and a few early morning people just finished their run in the park. It was a good time for Jason as he has more than just running to do in this park. He ran for a while until he reached deep in the park where no one was around.

    After making sure the coast was clear, his hand glowed in green and as he swung it, projectiles appeared slashing through the ground. He did it a couple of times until the glow disappeared from his hand. With Wind Cutter reaching level seven, he now has six projectiles to shoot for just one usage of EP. In a way, it only got more tedious to level the skill. Jason kept hurling those green projectiles on the ground and made no attempt of hitting the trees around him. He made a big error on his first day of coming here, he threw Wind Cutter at a tree and it resulted in a few trees toppling down. A single Wind Cutter could do such damage and if he kept on grinding at the trees, he had no doubt there would be no more trees in this park.

    He wanted to become stronger and not be a culprit for deforestation. After spending half of his EP digging the ground using Wind Cutter he returned back to the entrance of the park. His whole body was drenched in sweat as he kept on swinging his arm without taking a break. Lucky for him, he did gain a bountiful result.

    Wind Cutter leveled up to level 8

    He smiled but it only lasted for a second. A frown etched on his face as his current level wasn¡¯t enough for him.

    Should I?

    A dangerous idea came into mind. It had been lingering in his head for two days now and his rational mind was leaning towards that idea. He opened up his status once more and saw his level being stagnant at level nineteen. Over the week, he was grateful for feeling safe in the enclosure of his own home but the looming threat that wasn¡¯t far kept poking at his conscious. He knew sooner or later, those things would come knocking on the door.

    I better prepare myself.

    The idea he has was in need of preparation. He also needed a proper excuse for both his parents. While he was deep in thought, a horn kept on blaring in front of the park. At first, Jason just ignored it since it was probably someone lacking common sense and ethic but the moment he heard his name being called, he turned around and saw who it was.

    A head popped out from the side window of the car that kept on making noises with its annoying horn. He recognized who it was.

    ¡°Esther?¡± he said.

    ¡°Get in the car,¡± Esther said.

    It was his sister who was supposed to be in Kingston. His mother complained that Esther didn¡¯t want to go back home since her finals were just around the corner. His mother was dead worried about this sister of his since Ottawa, one of the monster-infested cities in Canada was close to Kingston. His mother begged for her to come back but like always that stubborn sister of his was adamant in her own way. Jason took a seat at the passenger seat while glancing at this sister of his.

    ¡°Let me guess, the exams were canceled?¡± he asked.

    She leered at him as he got it right.

    ¡°You¡¯re really weird, to think you¡¯re more afraid of an exam rather than man-eating monsters,¡± he said.

    ¡°Say the one who came back home as a failure,¡± she shot back at him and she wasn¡¯t wrong. He indeed didn¡¯t manage to get a job at Wall Street thus a failure. It stabbed him through the heart. Her words reminded him about the things that he hated about this sister of his, a sharp tongue and one that didn¡¯t hold back.

    Jason took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

    ¡°Fuh, I¡¯m not going to argue. So, how did you know where I am?¡± he asked.

    Esther was surprised as she didn¡¯t think Jason would just stop at that. Usually, both of them would argue for a long time before neither one of them stopped speaking. A surprise that she didn¡¯t expect.

    ¡°Mom told me,¡± she said.

    She drove the car back to the main road heading to their home. Esther stole a few glances at her brother. Just before she went out to picked him up, their mother told her about her brother¡¯s circumstances. She knew Jason had gone through a lot since the incident in New York City. She had to admit, she too worried about this brother of hers after hearing New York has been invaded.

    ¡°I heard about it. You okay?¡± she asked out of the blues.

    Jason glanced at her with both eyebrows raised. He couldn¡¯t believe it, his sister was worried about him and it was a first for him.

    ¡°Uh, yeah. I¡¯m fine,¡± he turned to the side, glancing at the scenery outside of the window. Then he remembered his other sibling, Ted.

    ¡°You heard anything about Ted?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Probably practicing in Hamilton, he won¡¯t bother going back home,¡± she said.

    True to her words, his younger brother, Ted was similar to Esther. He preferred to cooped in his own house practicing for the upcoming concert. It really blew his mind of how people really didn¡¯t get how scary it was for these cracks to appear throughout the whole world. Peace has made the people of this world way too weak. They didn¡¯t even realize they¡¯re in danger unless danger itself was right in front of their very eyes.

    Soon, they returned home and once again Jason had a feast. The occasion was none other to celebrate the return of his sister. After family time had finished, he entered his room and sat at the study table. The computer was turned on, a gaming rig he made when he was still absorbed in playing games. Now, it was just used to search through the internet.

    Jotting down a few pieces of information, he got a destination in mind.

    Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park, one of the new cracks in Canada.

    The crack at this destination was found a bit late since it was in the middle of a forest. One of the park rangers saw the crack in the sky. Two days ago, Jason saw the news about it and with the swift action of the Canadian Armed Force, the residential area that was close to the park had already been evacuated. From what he had found on the internet, the roads that surrounded the whole park have been blocked by the military. But for Jason, Shadow Hide was enough to slip through the security around the park.

    How am I going to tell my parents about this?

    He thought about making an alibi but that wasn¡¯t possible considering he lost contact with most of his friends. He has a few friends around the neighborhood but he didn¡¯t bother announcing his arrival since he was too preoccupied with grinding his skills. But then, one person came into mind a friend that he had been ignoring for the last week.

    I got his number here. Then I guess he won¡¯t mind if I ask for a favor.

    Jason found the paper with Hakeem¡¯s number. He used the old E-phone 11 courtesy of his gadget mania father, he dialed the number and wait for the call to go through.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°Hi, this is Jason. You want to hang out tonight?¡± he said.

    --

    In McRonald, a man sat opposite of Jason. It was Hakeem and from his eyes darting around the place, he didn¡¯t expect Jason wanted to hang out here. Jason even finished a set meal while waiting for Hakeem.

    ¡°I¡¯ll cut to the chase, I¡¯ll be out of town for a couple of days and I need you as an alibi,¡± he said.

    Jason went full-frontal, telling Hakeem in honesty as he didn¡¯t have time to play games.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Hakeem was confused. Jason¡¯s words threw him off. He thought Jason had forgotten about him but he never expected the situation to turn out like this.

    ¡°As I said, I need you as an alibi. I¡¯ve already told my mom that I¡¯ll be staying out with a friend so if she ever contact you I need you to cover for me,¡± he said.

    Hakeem looked at Jason in a daze as he still couldn¡¯t comprehend what was going on.

    ¡°Wait, why can¡¯t you just tell your mom?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°A secret, I can¡¯t let anyone know,¡± he said.

    Hakeem was left speechless by the weird behavior of this friend of his. Although both of them grew apart during high school, he still didn¡¯t forget how Jason used to be. But this Jason in front of him, who has a confident pair of eyes and aloof air around him felt different to him.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you at least tell me?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s best if no one knows,¡± he said.

    Jason¡¯s answer only made this thing more difficult for Hakeem. But before he could process everything that was happening, Jason stood up. Hakeem glanced at him.

    ¡°Where''re you going?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s late, I need to hit the road,¡± he said.

    In Jason¡¯s mind right now, all he could ever think of was about increasing his level. Throughout the whole week, nothing else crossed his mind except for becoming stronger. Little things like hanging out with his friends were at the bottom of his to-do list. Jason tapped Hakeem¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m going. So, help me out,¡± he said.

    Jason left the franchise restaurant and drove into the main road. Hakeem was speechless throughout the whole thing as he just stood there and watched.

    ¡°Why is he acting like this?¡± Hakeem asked himself. Everything about Jason was strange and for some reason, it made Hakeem curious. He had never seen Jason acting like this, from his point of view Jason wasn¡¯t the mysterious rebellious type of person. Hakeem was having mixed feelings about this, his friend was acting too strange. Although he has work tomorrow, this feeling he has was pushing him into a certain direction. Then, he had decided.

    ¡°I¡¯m going after him.¡±

 Chapter 62

    Two hours on the road, Hakeem was trailing behind Jason¡¯s car. It wasn¡¯t hard to catch up with Jason since the pink minivan was hard not to notice. The everyday car for the Park family and Jason hijacked it for the sake of his own desires.

    ¡°Where on earth is he going?¡± said Hakeem. He was leaning towards the steering wheel as his eyes focused on the minivan in front of him. He made sure to followed Jason at a distance. He didn¡¯t want to get caught red-handed, thus a game of hiding while driving.

    Hakeem was getting nervous as everything around him was just plain old darkness. The street lamps were positioned at a ridiculous interval and there was no sign of humans around him. A tint of regret started to bloomed inside of him. He thought Jason was into recreational drugs or something related to prostitute since those two things are the most likely thing man would do when they are snooping around but boy he was wrong.

    A sign just passed and he managed to read it. The leg that was pressing the throttle took off after seeing the sign. His eyes were trembling and the grip on the steering wheel tightened. The car he was driving started to slow down and the sight of the minivan was getting farther away.

    ¡°Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park, isn¡¯t that the place where they spotted the new crack?¡± he asked himself while deep down he already knew that fact. Hakeem glanced back at the windshield as the red light from the back of the minivan was getting fader.

    ¡°What the hell are you up to man?¡± said Hakeem as he shook his head from side to side. He was having second thoughts about his action. He was worried and curious about this friend of his since Jason never acted like this but now seeing him going towards the park only made his heart beat even wilder. He saw those footages on the internet, where monsters trampled over everything in the city. People dying left and right without restrain and being eaten alive by a humongous monster. It made his whole body shivered just thinking about it.

    ¡°I should turn around, I really should turn around,¡± he tried to convince himself. If it was like usual, it was a no-brainer for him to just turn around but this time, Jason was involved. Hakeem couldn¡¯t help but remember those days when in high school of how he had treated Jason. They were supposed to be the best buddies since elementary but things changed so fast that he didn¡¯t even realize that their friendship had broken apart.

    The unexpected meeting between them at the airport was the first time since high school. He spotted Jason first from far away, he hesitated to approach him since the word ¡®friend¡¯ seemed a bit foreign for him. But the guilt he felt over the years made him took a step towards redemption. Their first greeting wasn¡¯t bad as Jason even asked for a lift home. Hakeem was elated and they talked in the car remembering about the old times except during the period of their high school lives.

    He thought he could mend the lost friendship he once had with Jason, a chance that came out of nowhere. He gave him his number expecting a call to hang out like buddies. But a week passed and he thought of giving up yet a call came. Hakeem was expecting to have a drink together but everything went sideways. Jason was heading straight into the mouth of the tiger. Hakeem was weighing his options as he still wanted to live. But he couldn¡¯t abandon Jason, not again. He needed to be a friend that he used to be.

    ¡°I ain¡¯t going to let you die bro,¡± he said to himself, trying to pump his motivation to saved Jason from going suicidal.

    Meanwhile, in the minivan, Jason opened up a bag of chips as he munched down those savory fried potatoes.

    ¡°Damn, this is good,¡± he said.

    He was eating as if he was on a road trip for camping. Out of habit, he glanced at the back mirror and saw a pair of lights following him from behind.

    ¡°Never thought there was someone crazy enough to go straight to their death,¡± he said, not knowing that the one behind him was a friend of his. As he glanced back to the front, he saw a blinking light at the far end of the road. With his Basic Archery reaching level nine, his vision somewhat improved considerably.

    ¡°It¡¯s the military,¡± he slowed the minivan as he had already anticipated for the road to be blocked. He turned the steering wheel to the side taking the left path of the road as he saw a sign. He drove a few meters before stumbling into a cabin-like building. He stopped the minivan right in front of it.

    ¡°The Far Outpost, not much of a name,¡± he read the sign. It was a general store just by the side of the road. Everything else was just trees. He took out his phone and looked through the Zoogle map. He was within the perimeter of the park, all he needed to do was just to walk through the trees until he reached the site of the crack. To be more precise he wasn¡¯t here to go to the crack, he was here for a hunt.

    Jason parked the minivan behind the general store. He didn¡¯t want the military to suddenly find the car during their patrol. Jason grabbed the bag bought by Bryce and checked the inside. He packed enough food and water for the journey. Next, he checked for his weapons. The expensive compound bow was unleashed from within its bag. A slick design perfect for hunting. Next, was the hip quiver filled with thirty new arrows. The weight didn¡¯t matter to him as he didn¡¯t feel a thing.

    He took out a fixed blade knife, a new and sharp one, again it was courtesy of Bryce¡¯s money. One last weapon he brought along, the hatchet sponsored by Bryce. These two things are for a situation that needed to go close combat, he packed it up inside of the hiking bag. The staff he looted from before was left at home since it was too long and didn¡¯t really fit with his current battling style.

    Before he got out of the minivan, he slung the bag to his back and equipped the hip quiver to his waist. He got out of the minivan and held on to the compound bow. Jason was lock and loaded. He grinned as this reckless attempt of his was making his heart beat faster. Staring into the dark forest in front of him, he was readied to dive in.

    ¡°Jason?¡± he heard someone calling his name. Jason reacted and within a second an arrow was already nocked on the bow. His motion was flawless as his whole body turned towards the source of the voice.

    ¡°Woah, Woah, hold up, don¡¯t shoot, it¡¯s me!¡± this person turned frantic seeing an arrow was aimed at him.

    There was barely any light and both of these people couldn¡¯t see one another. But Jason felt the voice was rather familiar.

    ¡°Can you please get the arrow off from my face? It¡¯s me man, Hakeem,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason withdrew his aim and stored the arrow back into the quiver. He took out a flashlight in his pocket and flashed it in front of him. The tall man in front of him dodged the light as the dazzled his eyes.

    ¡°Hakeem?¡± he said.

    ¡°Dude, you¡¯re flashing the light on my face,¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Jason replied as he faced the flashlight to the ground. He looked at Hakeem while in thought.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Why am I here?¡± Hakeem¡¯s tone turned a bit sarcastic in nature. ¡°Let me ask you that, why are you here? Are you trying to get yourself killed?¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°You should go back, it¡¯s not safe here,¡± he said.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s not. I¡¯m here because of you man, let¡¯s go before some shit happen,¡± Hakeem said. To his words, shit really did happen.

    A loud deafening explosion trembled the night air. Jason and Hakeem turned their head towards the source of the explosion. Hakeem¡¯s eyes widen apart while Jason still maintained his calm.

    ¡°Yo, we have to get out of here. The military already fighting with those UC,¡± said Hakeem. He grabbed on to Jason¡¯s shoulder hoping him to follow along but Jason wouldn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°Jason! What are you standing around for man? We got to go,¡± Hakeem was fidgeting as his body was telling him to run away. His eyes kept on glancing from Jason and his car, he was getting impatient waiting for this friend of his. Hakeem was readied to bolt out of here. Jason sighed, he didn¡¯t expect the one trailing behind him was Hakeem.

    ¡°Listen up Hakeem, I¡¯m grateful that you¡¯re here but I¡¯m going. So, go back,¡± said Jason as he turned towards the dark forest. Hakeem didn¡¯t understand why Jason was doing this, he saw the bow in Jason¡¯s hand as well as the plump hiking bag on his back. From what Hakeem saw, Jason was prepared for whatever he was going to do.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Hakeem went back to his car leaving Jason alone. He was just about to start the engine but he hesitated. He glanced back at Jason who was walking towards the trees.

    ¡°The hell man, why are you doing this?¡± Hakeem said. He rested his head on the steering wheel as he fell deep in his own thought. Then out of sudden both of his hands kept on slamming the steering wheel as if he was venting his frustration at the poor innocent steering wheel. Then he stopped as his breath was getting ragged. His gaze went back to the fading back Jason slowly disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

    Gritting his teeth Hakeem got out of the car and slammed the door behind him. He exhaled a loud breath as he tried to calmed himself down. He felt more nervous compared to his last basketball game.

    ¡°I¡¯m so going to die doing this,¡± Hakeem said.

    Hakeem ran towards Jason.

    ¡°Wait up,¡± a voice came from Jason¡¯s back. He halted himself and turned to the back, it was Hakeem. This tall man looked down at him with his tall height. His gaze was serious, different from before he was panicking.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you, I¡¯m not going to let you die out here,¡± said Hakeem.

    It sounded stupid in Jason¡¯s ears. He wasn¡¯t here to die, he was here to live.

    This going to be troublesome.

    He wasn''t expecting Hakeem to come back. He was still confused about why was this man was trying so hard to save him. If he remembered it correctly they were friends but wasn¡¯t that close. Well, his memories are kind of blurry seeing it posed no importance to him. What mattered right now was to get stronger. Seeing it was impossible to leave Hakeem behind, he accepted the extra baggage along.

    ¡°Fine. Keep close to my back and don¡¯t make a sound,¡± Jason said.

    Jason took the lead, leaving Hakeem behind who was surprised by the assertiveness of Jason. Hakeem snapped out of it and trailed behind Jason. The duo went deeper into the forest as all around them went dark. At times, they heard the faint sound of explosions. Hakeem was alarmed each time he heard those explosions, deep down he started to regret following Jason.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m getting the creeps here man and I ain¡¯t like it,¡± Hakeem said as he couldn¡¯t see a thing within this dense forest.

    Jason remained silent and walked forward.

    ¡°Can you see anything? I can¡¯t see a thing in here. I¡¯m not being racist but do Asians see well in the dark?¡± Hakeem kept on talking as if it was one of his ways of coping with his nervousness.

    Jason, on the other hand, paid no attention to him. He too couldn¡¯t see a thing, although his eyes were starting to slowly adapt to the darkness, yet it was too dark even for him. At least there was a bit of moonlight during his last hunt for the hobgoblins.

    Shit, it¡¯s too dark in here. I can¡¯t see a¡­

    But then out of nowhere, he heard a few branches snapped on the ground. Jason crouched low to the ground as he nocked the arrow on his bow. Hakeem bumped into Jason as he was surprised.

    ¡°What¡¯s going¡­¡±

    ¡°Shush,¡± Jason silenced Hakeem from making a sound. Hakeem mimicked Jason as he too crouched low to the ground but his tall stature made no difference.

    Hakeem was nervous seeing the action of Jason. Beads of sweat drenched his forehead as his heart beat faster. He swore he could even hear his own heartbeat.

    Jason let down his bow for a while and rummaged through the bag. He took out something and wore it on his head. Hakeem who noticed Jason¡¯s every movement saw the thing that was worn over Jason¡¯s head. Again, he was surprised by Jason, out of nowhere he pulled a night vision goggle from his bag as if it was the norm.

    ¡°Where did you¡­¡± before Hakeem could finish his words, a loud moaning filled up the air of the forest. He froze as the moan was loud and clear. Hakeem was sure of it that it was an animal. His feet were readied to run if whatever out there started to attack them.

    But then he heard a light subtle sound of an arrow flying through the air. Then a loud thud echoed in the dark forest just a few feet away from his location. He didn¡¯t know what had happened. Jason who was in front of him stood up and Hakeem followed him.

    ¡°What was that?¡± he asked while following Jason¡¯s back.

    Jason stopped as he was staring at something on the ground.

    ¡°Dude can¡¯t you at least answer me something,¡± Hakeem stood beside Jason trying to gain anything from this silent friend of his but then a strong musky odor assaulted his nostrils. He backed away while flapping his hand in front of his face.

    ¡°The hell is that smell?¡± Hakeem asked. But his question was answered even before he got it, he looked down on where Jason was looking and saw what it was. His jaw dropped as he saw a mammal lay on the floor of the forest.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear!¡±

 Chapter 63

    ¡°Relax, it''s dead,¡± Jason said.

    Hakeem calmed down and as he looked closer at the bear, it was indeed dead with an arrow sticking on its skull.

    ¡°Did you kill it?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Jason grabbed on to the shaft of the arrow and pulled it out in a single swift motion. He flicked the arrow a few times to get rid of the blood.

    ¡°Yup,¡± he said.

    Hakeem had a troubling time believing this. The game lover Jason could kill a bear with a bow was too much for him to processed.

    ¡°But how?¡± Hakeem said with his voice turning meek.

    ¡°Are you blind?¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Hold up, I got a lot of questions man. How the hell did you turn up like this?¡± Hakeem asked while pointing at Jason from top to bottom. In his eyes, Jason was a different man. Explaining things was a hassle for Jason, he stored the arrow back into the quiver and proceed in his journey.

    ¡°Are you going to be a dick for the rest of this journey?¡± Hakeem couldn¡¯t handle the silence. He was in need of answers.

    Jason turned around facing Hakeem.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m doing this because I want to and I¡¯m not forcing you to follow me. You can leave whenever you want, but if anything happens just know I might not be able to help if I¡¯m busy,¡± Jason said his piece. His goal was to venture further until he met a UC, killing the bear didn¡¯t give him anything.

    Hakeem fell silent, and Jason was right. He could go back whenever he wanted but after seeing this new side of Jason, his curiosity was itching at him.

    ¡°At least tell me where you get those night vision goggles?¡± Hakeem recognized the thing Jason was wearing. It wasn¡¯t hard to recognize it since it appeared many times in the movies.

    ¡°Oh, this? I got it from Amazonia,¡± he replied. A couple of days before deciding to go into this venture of his, he ordered a night vision goggles from Amazonia. He learned his lesson from the previous night hunt, and it was better to be prepared rather than just winging it.

    Even amidst the turmoil of the whole world, the online shopping world was still alive and well. Even in the face of global danger, money still reigned supreme. There was no way they could stop doing their business. They had already been affected by these invasions and they weren''t going to stop since the money comes first.

    ¡°Amazonia sold these things?¡± Hakeem was bewildered, he never knew one could buy such a thing from the internet.

    ¡°I got it at a bargain price, three hundred bucks for a piece,¡± he said, ¡°so you¡¯re tagging along?¡± Jason asked.

    Hakeem nodded and the duo ventured deeper into the cold dark forest. Jason was walking carefully with the aid of the night vision, while Hakeem was stumbling at every step as he could barely see a thing. The darkness of everything around Hakeem sensitized his sense of smell, the soil beneath him and the decomposing leaves on the ground made the atmosphere close and thick. With his sense of vision impaired, all of his other senses were heightened.

    Jason, on the other hand, was accustomed to the night of the forest. The second time would always be more comfortable than the first time. After walking through the forest for four hundred meters, both of them saw the light. He turned the goggle up as he saw a clearing right in front of him. Hakeem was smiling seeing light for the first time. Both of them walked closer to the edge of the clearing, the moonlight was shining bright under the night sky. It was a full moon a blessing to those who couldn¡¯t stand the dark.

    Hakeem couldn¡¯t wait to get out of the dark forest but Jason held him by the back of his collar. The tall man stopped on his track as he regained his balance from falling. He was about to curse at Jason but Jason¡¯s words made him stopped.

    ¡°Get down,¡± said Jason.

    Both crouched even closer to the ground.

    ¡°Lie down,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°You¡¯re too big,¡± Jason said. Hakeem did what he was ordered to and lay on the ground.

    ¡°What is it? Is it a bear?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°No, even worse,¡± Jason grimaced seeing the creature appearing at the opposite edge of the clearing. It was standing upright on its two hind legs with a buckler attached on its left hand. It was standing like a human but it was far from being one. Dense fur covered its entire body as its head was the head of a wolf. But what caught Jason¡¯s gaze was the bunch of heads hanging on its waist. He couldn¡¯t see it properly but he knew that it might the victim of this wolf humanoid. It kept those heads as if they were trophies.

    ¡°Scan,¡± he said.

    Kobold (Scout)

    Humanoid creatures resembling a wolf said to be descendants of Beast of G¨¦vaudan. Strong and agile yet their biggest strength was their ferocious teamwork. It also boasted a high sense of smell even stronger than a common wolf.

    Species: Demi-human

    Level : 31

    Elemental Weakness : Fire

    S.Ability : Howl, Call of the Wild

    It was a first for him to use this skill at a monster and seeing the description, his eyes glanced back at the kobold. Jason saw the kobold was sniffing up in the air and as the wind breezed over the clearing, the kobold suddenly turned at the direction of Jason and Hakeem.

    Shit, it spotted us.

    Jason turned down the night vision as his sight gained a clearer picture. The kobold was running towards them. It was fast and so was Jason. Jason got up and within a single motion, an arrow tore the air apart. Hakeem was nervous and as he saw Jason got up and shot the arrow, he thought it was another bear being killed. But again, he was wrong.

    ¡°Awoooo,¡± a terrible howl rang in the air. Hakeem out of curiosity shifted his body into a crouching position, then he saw what it was that let out that ear trembling howl. His eyes went wide opened as he saw what it was.

    ¡°A werewolf?¡± Hakeem said. His whole body was trembling from the sight of the creature speeding up towards their way.

    Shit, I missed it.

    Jason frowned as he missed the head. His arrow managed to hit it right at the shoulder. He nocked another arrow and walked slowly towards the charging kobold. Another arrow flew and struck the kobold at the torso then the third one came striking the torso and then fourth piercing through the kobold¡¯s thigh. Jason was shooting non-stop as if he was on rapid-fire. He didn¡¯t falter facing against the kobold.

    Soon, the kobold was only a few feet away from Jason but it was already on its knees. They were fifteen arrows jutting out all over its body. The frown on Jason¡¯s face showed he wasn¡¯t happy. This kobold here has good instinct, it couldn¡¯t dodge the arrows fully but it could misdirect the arrow to another path. Jason was aiming for the head and not even one of it hit the head. The frustration was clear on his face.

    ¡°Woah,¡± Hakeem said with jaw gaped open. He glanced back to the sight of Jason who was approaching the wounded monster. Hakeem was speechless as he has no words to describe Jason¡¯s incredible skills.

    But right at the moment, Jason was a foot away, the kobold suddenly attacked slashing at him using the dagger hidden behind its waist. Hakeem was about to alert Jason but it was too late, the slash was too fast.  Yet what he had expected to see didn¡¯t come.

    ¡°What?¡± Hakeem said. The kobold''s last attempt for its survival turned into naught as it hit only empty air. Jason appeared from behind as both of his arms wrapped over the thick neck of the kobold. With Jason¡¯s strength, the kobold slowly fainted.

    Thud.

    The kobold¡¯s body flopped to the ground. Without realizing it, Hakeem already stood tall on his two feet. He stared at the sight of Jason who was five feet seven inches, who managed to defeat a kobold using only a bow and his two arms. It was too shocking for Hakeem that it felt surreal. He was already surprised seeing Jason killed a black bear but now defeating a monster from the crack, this was on a whole other level. It went beyond common sense, as he himself knew that even soldiers couldn¡¯t even defeat these things.

    ¡°Hakeem, come here,¡± Jason said.

    The tall black man approached the fainted kobold with hesitation. Soon that hesitation brought him right in front of the fainted creature. His eyes were wide open as he still couldn¡¯t believe that he was in front of a monster. A monster that came out from a crack.

    ¡°How did you?¡± Hakeem had a lot of questions.

    ¡°Kick it,¡± Jason said as he didn¡¯t have time to answer Hakeem.

    ¡°What?¡± Hakeem fell into confusion once more.

    ¡°Just kick it,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°But why?¡± Hakeem hesitated. He didn¡¯t fear going up against people since he did play quite aggressive during his days as a basketball star of his high school but this was a whole other situation.

    ¡°Just kick it, I¡¯ve got no time to explain,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem kicked the kobold right at the head. The kobold winced and let out a sound, Hakeem bolted a few meters away out of fear. Since Hakeem did his part, Jason stood in front of the head of the kobold. He took out the fixed blade dagger from his bag and plunged it right into the skull of the kobold. Jason twisted the dagger a few times before the kobold finally let out its final breath. Jason stood up and wiped the blood off from the dagger.

    Hakeem was about to walk towards Jason but then something appeared in front of him. He retreated a few steps back out of surprise and saw what it was. He read it from top to bottom and then a sudden realization just hit him. Glancing at Jason, he asked.

    ¡°Is this how you defeat it?¡±

    Jason grinned at Hakeem as he said.

    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna babysit you, so if you want to follow me, get stronger.¡±

 Chapter 64

    Both Jason and Hakeem took shelter in an abandoned cabin. The cabin was close to the only road in this rural area. Jason took a peek through the window and scanned the road for any possible monsters. He didn¡¯t forget to use the night vision goggles, although it wasn¡¯t in high quality at least it got the job done.

    Clear.

    There was no monster on sight and Jason turned walking back towards the wooden table. He sat down as he saw the sight of Hakeem staring at empty air. He knew Hakeem wasn¡¯t in a daze since the man was probably looking at the blue window. After a few seconds of silence, Hakeem glanced at Jason with his eyebrows arching like an eagle.

    ¡°Is this why you changed so much?¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°Yup. You get how it is, it¡¯s just like a game,¡± he said while taking out a bottle of water and chugging it down. He was relaxed and unperturbed by the dull occasional explosion coming from a distance. It seemed the Canadian Armed Force was fighting hard against the monsters.

    Hakeem fell into silence once more. With his arms crossed over his chest he was still having a hard time processing through all of these impossible events. He was like any rational person in this world but seeing is believing. The man that sat opposite of him showed that this blue thing floating in front of his sight was the real deal. Just a few minutes ago, he saw Jason killed a kobold in front of his very eyes.

    A furry beast unlike he had ever seen. A tall wolf humanoid standing tall even taller than him at two meters in height. He himself had no confidence in dealing with a creature like that other than running for his life. Once more, Hakeem glanced at Jason.

    ¡°What level are you at?¡± Hakeem asked. In his younger days, he had experienced playing these types of games. He didn¡¯t ask more questions than needed.

    ¡°Nineteen,¡± Jason replied as he sipped the water bottle in his hand.

    ¡°and that werewolf?¡± Hakeem asked. One thing he needed to know was the level of those monsters. In any game that involves level, fighting something that was beyond your current level was considered stupid unless you have the ability of the top one percent.

    ¡°It¡¯s a kobold,¡± Jason corrected Hakeem.

    ¡°A kobold? That freaking huge thing is a kobold?¡± Hakeem couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. In his previous gaming experience, the kobold was a small size creature similar to a goblin except they were furry like an Alaskan Malamute. Hakeem got worked up hearing that name as he stood up in place.

    ¡°It¡¯s was level thirty-one,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Thirty one!¡± Hakeem couldn¡¯t calm down, with this new revelation it only brought him cold sweat. The huge gap in level told him, he would die the moment any monster touch him.

    Jason took his time wiping the blood away from his arrows. Out of the fifteen, he shot, two was rendered useless, leaving him with twenty-eight left. The high-quality arrows did a good job as expected from the price that Bryce paid.

    ¡°I¡¯ll die, man, if I go out there!¡± Hakeem shouted out of the blues. Now, he realized how stupid his action had been. He thought since the crack was still far away, he could still persuade this friend of his to turn back but now it was impossible. Since now he knew the truth.

    ¡°Be my guest, I ain¡¯t stopping you,¡± Jason said.

    Hakeem still couldn¡¯t comprehend the nonchalant attitude shown by Jason.

    ¡°You could have died man, you¡¯re like level nineteen and there¡¯s a ten-level gap between you and that kobold,¡± Hakeem said. After he finished that sentence, he realized something was odd. He glanced at Jason with a strong gaze.

    ¡°How did you kill it?¡± he just realized that Jason who was low level managed to kill a stronger level monster.

    ¡°With this,¡± Jason showed him the bow. It wasn¡¯t the best explanation but he sent the message across.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense and how did you even dodge that last attack? You suddenly disappeared in front of it,¡± Hakeem was pressed for answers.

    Jason''s whole body vanished in front of Hakeem¡¯s eyes, the tall man jumped in surprise as his eyes were quivering.

    ¡°Jason?¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Jason popped out from behind and Hakeem jumped once more in surprise, his hand suddenly swung to the back on reflex.

    Jason ducked as he dodged the unexpected slap.

    ¡°The FUCK! You scared the hell out of me man, don¡¯t do that. You know I got a weak heart,¡± said Hakeem as his hand massaged his left chest, calming down the rapid beating of his heart.

    ¡°Tone down a bit, you don¡¯t wanna attract any monsters around,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem immediately on guard as his body went low and his head turned to one side and another. After making sure no monsters were coming, he then sighed out of relief. He glared at Jason.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± he pointed at Jason, ¡°and how the hell did you that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an ability,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Ability? Like in a game?¡± Hakeem asked for confirmation.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Jason replied.

    ¡°Man, this is crazy. This is really crazy,¡± said Hakeem as his head was shaking from side to side.

    ¡°Get a grip, you¡¯re like an All-Star high school basketball athlete. This kind of thing shouldn¡¯t bother you that much,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem stared at him with annoyance plastered across his face. He didn¡¯t want to retort of how this situation had no relation with him being a basketball athlete.

    ¡°So, I¡¯m about to go, you want to follow or what?¡± Jason asked Hakeem.

    ¡°Are you listening to yourself man, I¡¯m like level one. The level one. You really want me to die?¡± Hakeem exaggerated both in his words and also his motion. Jason understood what Hakeem said, he was expecting more from this athletic friend of his but his reaction was far too different.

    At first, he didn¡¯t want to drag anyone else into his mess but with Hakeem already here and experiencing the whole thing. He thought it wasn¡¯t bad if there was another person capable of doing what he could do. The more the merrier.

    ¡°A bit of advice, the world is changing and not in a good way. From what I see, those monsters are going to keep coming out from those cracks, and no matter you like it or not, one day they¡¯re going to step in front of your doorstep. It¡¯s either you run back to your home or you stay with me and try to get stronger,¡± Jason paused for a second before he continued, ¡°Your choice.¡±

    Jason stared at Hakeem who was deep in thought. A few seconds later, Hakeem got up and stood in front of Jason. He got his game face on and Jason could saw it clearly. Jason grinned seeing that this old friend of his had made a decision.

    ¡°I need a weapon,¡± Hakeem said.

    Jason handed the fixed blade dagger to Hakeem.

    ¡°Try not to lose it, its a gift,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem grabbed the hilt of the dagger and stared at it with a slight frown. He readied himself for what was about to come.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Hakeem.

    Both made their way out of the cabin and walked along the paved road. It was brighter since the moon was out. At least both of them aren¡¯t blinded by the darkness like before. Hakeem followed Jason closely to the back with his eyes kept shifting around all over the place. He was still nervous about all of this.

    ¡°By the way, what¡¯s your stats?¡± Jason asked while keeping his eyes to the front.

    ¡°Strength seven, dexterity six, stamina six, both energy and energy resist are zero,¡± said Hakeem while he hesitated to tell Jason the last one.

    Jason sneered listening to those numbers, as he had expected from an athlete. Hakeem¡¯s average base stats were higher than him but he didn¡¯t hear about Hakeem¡¯s agility.

    ¡°You forgot about your agility,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Its one,¡± Hakeem whispered.

    ¡°What?¡± Jason turned around in surprise. He didn¡¯t expect Hakeem¡¯s agility to be that low. If he remembered correctly, Hakeem was quite a sprinter.

    ¡°You¡¯re not lying to me are you?¡± Jason asked.

    Hakeem hesitated as he didn¡¯t want to say it.

    ¡°Back in college, I ruptured my Achilles tendon,¡± said Hakeem.

    This wasn¡¯t like Jason expected. He thought he got an agile partner in the making but it was more like a lump of extra baggage.

    ¡°Then how did you run just now?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s painful but I can barely run like I used to,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason was having a headache, then his senses were tingling. He pulled down the night vision goggle as his vision went green. He turned around in a full circle as he saw what was around him. Multiple gleaming eyes shined under the night vision. They were hidden between the trees readied to ambush the two humans standing on the road.

    Hakeem saw Jason¡¯s reaction and he too turned flustered. Looking around, he caught sight of a pair of eyes staring at him within the darkness of the forest. He slapped Jason by the shoulder trying to tell him something. Hakeem didn¡¯t dare speak a word. While on the other hand, Jason grinned as he said.

    ¡°Try not to die, we¡¯re being ambushed.¡±

 Chapter 65

    Two men with their backs behind each other were waiting for the incoming ambush. Hakeem couldn¡¯t contain his nervousness as his eyes darted around. Six pairs of eyes were staring at them who were in the center of the silent road. Jason looked at each pair of eyes as his skill ¡®Scan¡¯ did its job.

    Most are scouts at level thirty-one but these two at the front, they¡¯re a bit different.

    Kobold (Vanguard)

    Humanoid creatures resembling a wolf said to be descendants of Beast of G¨¦vaudan. Strong and agile yet their biggest strength was their ferocious teamwork. It also boasted a high sense of smell even stronger than a common wolf. Specialize in close combat, basic mastery over blunt type weapons.

    Species: Demi-human

    Level : 33

    Elemental Weakness : Poison

    S.Ability : Howl, Call of the Wild

    This isn¡¯t going to be easy.

    Two other kobolds dubbed as Vanguard Kobold are both stronger and higher level than the Scout Kobolds. Jason''s hand slowly grabbed the arrow, but the moment he did so those six patient predators charged out from the darkness of the forest. The low grumbling tone of their growls echoed in the air.

    Jason maintained his cool and within a second he launched an arrow into the air. He won¡¯t let these mangy mutts get the upper hand. It hit and one of them went down with a yelp. This time he didn¡¯t miss the head, yet the other fives didn¡¯t even flinch as they assaulted Jason and Hakeem simultaneously.

    ¡°Brace yourself!¡± Jason shouted. He grabbed Hakeem by the arm and swung him across the road. Hakeem¡¯s eyes bulged out of surprise as he didn¡¯t expect Jason to throw him. Hakeem thought Jason was throwing him at the kobolds as bait but contrary to his assumption, Jason saved him from the five-prong attack. Hakeem rolled on the asphalt road as pain riddled his entire body. He got up and glanced at Jason. His eyes were trembling to saw his friend being attacked by five towering kobolds.

    E.Guard down to a critical level.

    E.Guard : 40/470

    Jason felt the intense force pummeling him from five directions. Before these five kobolds went for another attack, Jason healed himself multiple times. ¡°Minor Heal+!¡± he shouted while pumping himself up. Adrenaline was coursing in his veins as he won¡¯t let these kobolds pushed him around.

    Minor Heal+ level up to level 6

    His energy guard was filled up to the brim. Jason prepared to attack but a hammer and a spiked mace smashed him right at the chest flinging him across the air. The other three leaped in the air and clawed at Jason sending him hurling down on the road. Again, glowing green light engulfed Jason¡¯s entire body. The moment he got up those five kobolds were already a few feet away, they were relentless like rabid dogs with eyes gunning for Jason¡¯s head.

    The targeted man held up his bow and shot an arrow. It missed the head of the kobold but it went down anyway as the kobold struggled with an arrow piercing through its neck. Jason¡¯s accuracy was at top form and he wasn¡¯t done yet. He broke into a run fleeing away from those four kobolds making sure there was a distance between them. Jason looked back and drew the bow, one more arrow ripped apart the air flying straight at the Vanguard Kobold.

    Damn.

    His accuracy was spot on but the kobold was experienced in battles, it blocked the arrow using the head of its iron mace. It howled at Jason as the sound itself carried something within it. Jason suddenly stopped in his track as he was baffled.

    You have been stun for 1 second

    A stun effect? You''ve got to be kidding me!

    One second was all it took for the Vanguard Kobold to reached Jason. The ferocious glint in its eye showed it had no mercy for its enemy. The head of the iron mace struck right at the side of Jason¡¯s head. Jason saw it coming but it was too late. His head turned to the side by sheer force of that strike, then came the spike head of the morning star bludgeoning it right on Jason¡¯s face.

    Jason felt light-headed with his vision blurry and being hit at the head was far different from being hit at the body. If it wasn¡¯t for the energy guard his head would probably be smashed by now. Five razor-sharp claws came slashing at him continuing the combo attack, but Jason leaped up pushing every strength that he had on those two legs of his. He used Shadow Hide as he leaped into the air while vanishing as if it was a magic trick.

    The four kobolds were stunned seeing the human disappearing into thin air. Their noses started sniffing the air as they searched for the missing human. Their sense of smell shouldn¡¯t be underestimated, these canine humanoids were known as a perfect tracker. Nothing could escape their heightened sense of smell. The four of them glanced at a particular spot in unison, but it was too late.

    An arrow emerged from thin air and struck down one of the kobolds, Jason appeared with his brows arching like a drawn bow, his frown was as a signal that he had enough of this charade.

    ¡°Shadow Hide,¡± once again he vanished into thin air. The Vanguard Kobold charged and slammed its mace at the spot where Jason just vanished, but it was just futile. Once more, they raised their noses up in the air searching for Jason.

    This time, Jason didn¡¯t wait. The last Scout Kobold fell to its knees with an arrow went straight into its eyeball, Jason shot at point-blank range dealing an immediate death. The Vanguard Kobold that held the morning star lunged at Jason while swinging the morning star right at him. The silhouette of the human vanished once more as the cowardice tactic of this human started to infuriated the furry humanoid. It swung the morning star randomly in every direction as it howled into the sky.

    Jason who thought about ending this pitiful raging creature stopped in his track as even when he was in hiding mode, the howl still did affect him. Thankfully, his cover wasn¡¯t blown as his presence was still undetected by these two kobolds. While he was immovable, he saw the other Vanguard Kobold rushing at its madden brethren. At first, Jason thought it would join in with the random attacks but he was wrong.

    The mace Vanguard Kobold ran past its kin heading straight down the road to another direction. Jason glanced further down the road and saw Hakeem standing there like a scarecrow staring at the incoming kobold. Hakeem didn¡¯t hesitate as he turned and fled, but he could barely run with that meager agility that he had. He was sweating buckets as he didn¡¯t dare turn around and look. Tears trailed down his cheek as this wasn¡¯t how he pictured himself to die.

    ¡°Momma,¡± he called out his mother. Then out of nowhere, he felt pain over his shoulder. His eyes glanced to the side and saw the head of the kobold biting over his left shoulder. He knew that death had called him but then he heard something, like something flying around. He heard it just for a second but that didn¡¯t matter to him. What could be more important than death itself?

    Then he felt a heavy mass toppling down on him from behind. Hakeem couldn¡¯t move and before he knew it, his face was already facing the asphalt road. The heavy body of the Vanguard Kobold pressed down on him as he thought that he was about to be maul by a rabid beast. It got him thinking that his death might not be that different from being mauled by a cougar.

    Hakeem closed his eyes and accepted his death. Seconds passed by yet the pain of death didn¡¯t greet him. He questioned himself on why wasn¡¯t he feeling any more pain? Seconds turned into minutes and soon he heard a howl resounding in the air far from where he was. The howl was terrifying but it didn¡¯t matter to him, in his mind Jason was probably dealing with the other Vanguard Kobold. Then he felt weird about this situation of his, he opened his eyes out of curiosity and as he glanced to the left, he saw the head of the kobold. It was still there yet he felt something was odd. The jaw didn¡¯t move and its eyes felt lifeless.

    Is it dead? Thought Hakeem.

    Then the thought of being alive made him smiled from ear to ear. The problem right now was he was stuck there with a dead corpse pinning him down.

    ¡°Jason!¡± he shouted the name of his friend. He shouted a few more times before he heard a voice from his back.

    ¡°Be patient,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Get this thing off of me,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason turned the corpse of the Vanguard Kobold around and not without inflicting some pain at the trapped Hakeem. The tall black man winced in pain as the moving jaw of the kobold only made the dull pain to be more excruciating. His shoulder was still stuck within the jaw of the kobold. Hakeem turned upside down as his body faced the sky. He saw Jason looking at him from above.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m in pain here?¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason opened up the jaw of the dead kobold with his two hands and Hakeem rolled to the side escaping from the jaw of a kobold.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± he looked at his mutilated shoulder and it was bad. Blood was dripping over as the kobold¡¯s fang probably pierced a large artery. He glanced at the dead kobold and saw the tail of an arrow at the back of its head. A realization struck him and he knew why he survived. Jason''s accurate shot saved the day, he timed it well as it managed to stopped the kobold from ripping Hakeem apart.

    Hakeem glanced at Jason who was walking towards him, Jason¡¯s hair was a bit ruffled but other than that there was nothing wrong with him. It only amazed Hakeem even further seeing how capable this friend of his.

    ¡°Let me take a look,¡± said Jason as he knelt beside Hakeem.

    ¡°I need to go to a hospital man, the bite wound looks bad,¡± said Hakeem as he was worried at his condition.

    Jason didn¡¯t say a word as he reached out his hand at the bite wound.

    ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t-¡± Hakeem turned speechless seeing the event in front of him. He was about to reprimanded Jason but now his eyes were fixed at his wound which was glowing in green. A few seconds later, the glow vanished and he saw his left shoulder.

    ¡°It healed,¡± said Hakeem as his left shoulder was in a pristine state as if it was never been bitten. He looked at Jason in amazement as the respect he had for him only intensified.

    ¡°Get up. I¡¯ve got something for you,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem got up and followed Jason. It was just a few meters away and under the moonlight, he saw at a distant a squirming body on the road.

    ¡°It¡¯s still alive!¡± Hakeem shouted.

    ¡°Relax. I immobilized it,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem took a closer look and saw the kobold in a gruesome state. His whole face reacted in disgust with a big ¡®O¡¯ forming on his lips. He glanced once more at Jason as he had never thought this man was capable of doing such a vile act.

    The Vanguard Kobold was hanging by a thread as its breath was becoming shallower by the second. It couldn¡¯t move as all of its limbs were cut off by this monstrous human that stood a few feet from it. Its eyes were still alive as it glared at Jason.

    ¡°Hey, it still glaring at you,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Ignore it. Go and kick it,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem was still a bit wary about the kobold yet he knew he had to do it. He kicked the immobile kobold and retreated a few steps back. Jason didn¡¯t wait around and hacked the Vanguard Kobold¡¯s neck with the hatchet in his hand. Blood spurted out with each hack on the furry neck. Hakeem watched Jason as he couldn¡¯t help but compared Jason with a butcher. After three swings, the Vanguard Kobold was decapitated. The blue window greeted Hakeem once more.

    ¡°I leveled up,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Distribute one point to energy and another to e.resist,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem was about to ask how to do it but with a whisk of his mind, he managed to do it on his own. Several blue windows bombarded his vision as he tried to read it through.

    ¡°What do you get?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°It says here, Iron Body and the other one-¡±

    ¡°Stop! Let¡¯s move on,¡± said Jason as hearing those two words soured his mood.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to know about the other ability?¡± Hakeem said.

    Jason ignored him and went further down the road. Inside of him, he was constantly cursing everything around him, especially at Hakeem¡¯s luck. Hearing Iron Body made him remembered the ability that slipped away from his grasp.

    Freaking dumb luck.

 Chapter 66

    The two friends reached the end of the road and what laid in front of them was the vast sea of trees. The dull sound of explosions kept blasting at a distance. Someone out there was still fighting against the monsters, and it made Jason curious.

    On the other hand, killing those kobolds didn¡¯t bring him anything beneficial except for the experience. The only thing he looted from these kobolds were two curved daggers along with its sheath which were now wrapped behind his back. The dagger bore a resemblance to jambiya, a middle eastern type of dagger, but it was a lot longer in length fitting for a big creature like the kobold.

    ¡°Wait up,¡± from behind, Hakeem was barely running towards Jason.

    Jason glanced to the side and saw this tall friend of his who was smiling. His gaze fell over the thing within Hakeem¡¯s grasp, it was the mace from the dead Vanguard Kobold.

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Jason asked while pointing at the mace.

    ¡°This is just perfect for my skill, I can-¡±

    ¡°Stop, just stop. I don¡¯t want to hear it,¡± said Jason, stopping Hakeem from saying another word.

    Again, he was cursing at Hakeem from the inside. He still didn¡¯t know about the other skill that Hakeem had obtained but knowing it was related to a weapon it was definitely an offensive skill. Just the thought of having a flashy attacking skill made him envied Hakeem.

    ¡°What about the leftover points? You think I should distribute it to agility?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Jason remembered the past injury of Hakeem¡¯s ankle.

    ¡°Let me try something first,¡± said Jason.

    He reached out to Hakeem¡¯s ankle and once again green glow emitted from his hand. While at the same time, his ability scanned Hakeem.

    Hakeem

    Lv: 2 Job: None

    Status Attributes :

    Status Condition : Defective right lower limb

    The green glow intensified as Jason cast the healing skill multiple times, stacking the effect on top of one another. His eyes kept on looking at the ''Scan'' screen to see whether the status condition could improve or not. Hakeem stood there staring at his glowing green leg, as he felt warm energy concentrating at his ankle. It got him thinking about Jason trying to heal his old injury, was it even possible? Yet seeing this unbelievable scene made hope bloomed within him.

    ¡°Done,¡± said Jason as he stood up while brushing off his hands.

    ¡°You mean?¡± Hakeem looked down on his feet as he was still unsure about this. At first, he stretched his foot a few times and seeing it was fine, he started to jump around on the spot. Then the corner of his lips started to curve upwards.

    Hakeem showed some fancy footwork as if he was dribbling an invisible basketball. His eyes were focused as if he was reenacting those plays he made during a basketball game. The curved only went higher as the white of his teeth started to show. The tall black man started to sprint along the paved road as he finally ran like he used to. At this point, Hakeem was enjoying the feeling of running once more uninhibited by any past injuries.

    Smiling from ear to ear, he was living the dream. A dream that he didn¡¯t think was possible. Once again, he sprinted back to Jason who was waiting for him. His breath was ragged audible to the ear and as he stood in front of Jason, his height trounced over him. Hakeem looked down at Jason with a stoic face, a staredown between two old friends.

    ¡°Done having fun?¡± Jason asked as he was itching to continuing on his journey.

    Yet the reply he expected didn¡¯t come as rather than verbal, Hakeem responded with his body. It caught Jason off guard as two long arms wrapped around him for a hug.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Hakeem as his voice was trembling. He kept on repeating saying his gratitude as Jason could feel the back of his left shoulder getting wet.

    Since when is this guy is such a crybaby?

    Jason didn¡¯t speak out his mind as he just patted Hakeem at the back.

    ¡°Okay man, you can stop hugging me now. It¡¯s getting weirder,¡± said Jason.

    They both separated as Jason saw the unbelievable crying face of a gigantic adult man with snots and tears messing up Hakeem¡¯s whole face. Jason didn¡¯t think his act of healing Hakeem¡¯s ankle was a big deal, but to Hakeem what Jason did to him was as if he had given Hakeem a second chance of chasing his dream. A dream of playing under the spotlight of the NBA. A dream that he had buried in the past but now resurfaced once more.

    ¡°If you want to follow, stay close and about the point distribution. I recommend you put some into e.resist, it kinda like HP so the more the better chance of surviving,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem who was still sniffling could only nod in response. Jason took the lead and entered the forest with his night vision goggle turning the darkness of the forest into a massive view of a greenish hue.

    I think I should have got a thermal vision since it would be a lot easier to spot an enemy.

    A point jotted down in his mind as he was sure about becoming more prepared. Then they went deeper into the forest and at times, they would be stumbled across Scout Kobolds. Jason made quick work of it as his arrow flew straight into their heads. He didn¡¯t have the luxury of handing these kobolds at Hakeem on a silver plate since being in this dark forest, he was sure that he was at a disadvantage if the first arrow didn¡¯t kill it immediately. Hakeem didn¡¯t mind about it since he was already satisfied with his recovered ankle.

    Yet for Jason, he was disappointed over his kills for the last forty-five minutes. Every kobold that he killed didn¡¯t give any loot to him except for whatever they were wearing and wielding. These kobolds mainly wore roman gladiator skirt for the lower half and the upper half was merely shoulder pads strapped with leather across their body. With their sizes bigger than Jason, he wasn¡¯t going to try on an oversized skirt. Even the buckler was left untouched by both Jason and Hakeem. For Jason, it didn¡¯t fit with his overall offense tactic that mainly relied on his bow, while for Hakeem he already had a tough time wielding the mace with both of his hands. Even after pouring two points to strength, Hakeem still didn¡¯t have the capability of wielding it with only one hand.

    Deep down, Jason was hoping to gain another scroll, and he was praying for an offensive weapon-based skill, having one would definitely boost up his attacking prowess.

    ¡°How do I look?¡± asked Hakeem as he showed off the Kobold¡¯s Leather Skirt at Jason. With him having more or less the same height as those kobolds, the roman gladiator type of skirt fitted well with his body size. Jason didn¡¯t say a word as it was ridiculous in his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re giving that look,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°What?¡± Jason replied.

    ¡°The look that told me that I look ridiculous,¡± said Hakeem, ¡°I¡¯m gonna take this off.¡±

    ¡°Better leave it on, the defense stat might come in handy in preventing your death,¡± said Jason.

    Gael Pteruges Skirt

    Category : Lower Armor

    Strip like leather armors made out of the hide of Bumi Bison. Sturdy and reliable.

    Defensive Block : +16

    Energy based defense : +50

    Seeing through his scan ability, the description itself told him that it was a skirt. Rather than telling Hakeem, he might as well sugar-coated it with just telling him that the stats were pretty good. On the other hand, Hakeem who heard about the word ¡®death¡¯ made him swallowed a mouthful of saliva. It didn¡¯t take long for him to abandon the thought of throwing this skirt away. Right now it was better to just endure and survived through this ordeal.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Jason as it was enough time for rest. They still had a long journey ahead of them.

    Both of them hiked up the slope, rather than taking a safer and much more comfortable path around the slope, Jason was starting to get impatient. He wasn¡¯t leveling up and loots are not drooping as he expected. But as soon as they reached the top of the slope, Jason¡¯s night vision goggle picked up something at the far end of his sight.

    ¡°Hold up,¡± Jason said preventing Hakeem from going forward.

    Hakeem reacted and prone close to the ground. He didn¡¯t even mind getting dirty as staying alive was the most important thing.

    ¡°What is it? Is it a kobold?¡± asked Hakeem as he whispered, he paid mind about his tone. He learned many lessons during this eventful night, and one of them was too tried your best to stay quiet.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s a person,¡± Jason said as he could barely discern the shape of a human.

    ¡°Oh, it might be a soldier,¡± said Hakeem.

    Hakeem''s assumption was reasonable since the only stupid people daring enough to go close to the crack were them and the soldiers who were being forced out of their own will.

    ¡°It could be, but he¡¯s alone. There¡¯s no one else,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What? Are you sure about that?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Jason was just about to reply but he fell silent seeing the things behind the person. His eyes were bulging out and if it wasn¡¯t for his eyelids it would have popped out from the socket. Jason was shocked by seeing the things chasing that man.

    ¡°Hakeem, run to your car and drive as fast as you can,¡± said Jason as his eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of those things.

    ¡°What? Why? Listen here man, I know I¡¯m a burden but we friends need to stick together,¡± said Hakeem and after he said those things, he felt the ground starting to shook. ¡°Hey, do you feel the ground moving?¡±

    Jason ignored Hakeem¡¯s question and crouched low to the ground, he grabbed Hakeem by the collar of his t-shirt.

    ¡°This time, I¡¯m not sure if I can protect you while fighting,¡± said Jason as his falcon-like eyes stared right at Hakeem, ¡°You¡¯ve done enough, go now before it¡¯s too late.¡±

    Hakeem sensed that the tension around Jason was at a higher level compared to when he fought against those kobolds. At first, he thought about bringing him back and then he stuck him for the journey and now he was about to leave him. He swore to himself he would be a good friend after he last treated him back in high school but he knew he was still useless.

    Hakeem fist-bumped Jason by the shoulder as he said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t die, man, you still owed me a proper hangout,¡± Hakeem left and ran as fast as he could towards his car.

    Meanwhile, Jason moved closer to the person who was running away. Through the night vision goggles, Jason saw multiple creatures forming a line charging across the forest floor. In his eyes, it was no different than a stampede. Jason reached the person who was running away and Hakeem was right, it was a soldier and he was drenched in sweat while trying to get away from this stampede.

    Jason who was invisible ran close to the soldier side by side. He thought about taking a shot at those monsters but for some reason, he was curious about the circumstances of this soldier. At first, he had no thought of saving him but a question in his head needed to be answered. With that decision, he unveiled himself and greeted the soldier. Jason tapped the soldier by the shoulder.

    ¡°Hi.¡±

    ¡°ARGH!¡±

    Jason''s voice came out of nowhere startling the soldier who was running for his life. Then the unexpected happened.

    BANG.

    BANG BANG BANG.

    Out of surprise, the submachine gun in the soldier¡¯s hand released a torrent of bullets raining down at Jason at point-blank range. At that point in time, Jason knew one thing, he messed up.

    Fuck.

 Chapter 67

    E.Guard down to critical level. E.Guard : 15/470

    Jason rolled on the ground as his body felt a dull pain over his torso. A dry cough escaped from his mouth as a glowing green light engulfed his entire body.

    ¡°Stop!¡± said Jason as he held up his hand towards the soldier. The panicking soldier calmed his nerve as he saw who it was.

    ¡°Human?¡± the soldier asked, ¡°Who are you?!¡±

    The soldier shouted at the suspicious man as he felt wary of seeing a human male within a forest lurking with monsters.

    ¡°Hold up, I¡¯m human. Don¡¯t shoot,¡± said Jason as his body started to glow in green. The strong glow of greenish hue was hard not to notice within the darkness of the forest.

    ¡°Why are you glowing?¡± the soldier asked yet something else came into mind, ¡°You¡¯re one of the Awaken.¡±

    Jason¡¯s ears perked up listening to that single word. A word that was referred to him.

    ¡°What do you mean by Awaken?¡± Jason asked.

    The answer he wanted was put on hold as the vibration he felt underneath was getting stronger. His eyes glanced back at the sight of those monsters who were closing in on them. The line of monsters that span across the whole forest was something he wasn''t prepared for.

    ¡°They-¡± the soldier wanted to answer but Jason cut him off.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this later,¡± Jason reached out his hand at the soldier, ¡°we¡¯ve got to go. Now,¡± said Jason.

    The soldier hesitated since an unknown Awaken popped out of nowhere, but hearing the nightmarish growling of those monsters from behind made the soldier decided. He grabbed on to Jason¡¯s hand. Jason didn¡¯t just aid him in standing up as he grabbed the soldier by the waist.

    ¡°What are you-¡± even before he could say a thing, the soldier was lifted off his feet and a rush of wind blew over his face. Jason ran through the forest as he put a distance between them and the incoming stampede.

    The soldier was amazed by the feat shown by this stranger. Jason threw his caution away as there was no time to sneak around. He was fully sprinting down the forest floor leaping over shrubs and jumping over overgrown roots. The night vision was like a deliverance for Jason.

    Ten minutes was all it took for him to left the stampede in the dust. Yet, Jason wasn¡¯t smiling about the situation. It didn¡¯t make any sense of how a stampede could be slower than him, even the kobold was much faster than them. It begged the question of what kind of monster could be that slow?

    He stopped behind a tree trunk while catching up to his ragged breath. On the other hand, the soldier was down on all four as he vomited everything inside his gut. The rough ride was too much for him as it gave him motion sickness. Leaning on the tree trunk, Jason took out a bottle of water and chugged it down. He glanced at the pathetic sight of the soldier who was still vomiting as he grimaced. Jason wasn¡¯t fond of dirty things.

    ¡°So, why do you call me an Awaken?¡± Jason asked.

    The soldier wiped his mouth and took a seat on the ground. Glancing at this man who just saved his life, it made him forgot how Jason was the cause of him vomiting everything out. He was deep in thought thinking whether it was a good idea of revealing this to a civilian since the information he had was considered classified even within the military itself. While deep in thought something else crossed over his mind. He glanced at Jason.

    ¡°How are you still alive? Didn¡¯t I just shot at you?¡± said the soldier. He remembered it well of how he pulled the trigger and released numerous bullets at this man yet here he was standing tall as if everything was okay.

    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject. What¡¯s an Awaken?¡± Jason had no time explaining about his defensive capabilities. With this soldier indebted to him, he had the chance of obtaining information pertaining to the military.

    The soldier had some sense in him as he saw Jason had no intention of explaining anything about surviving those bullets.

    ¡°The military dubbed people with special powers as Awaken¡­¡± the soldier continued explaining how the Awaken came out from the shadows after the end of the first invasion.

    Unknown to the soldier, most of these Awakens are found through videos posted on the internet, some showed off in front of a camera while some accidentally caught on camera. The military themselves are quick in acting out, and with the aid of the government intelligence agency, these videos never see daylight as they were quickly deleted. It wasn¡¯t only happening in Canada but all throughout the rest of the whole world, every technologically advanced nation had the upper hand in dealing with this new phenomenon. Within two weeks, Awaken citizens were recruited under the highest security. No one knew except for the military. As of now, the general population had no idea about the existence of Awaken, the only hope of humanity.

    The soldier even told of how their Colonel encouraged to kill any monsters as they were told of how it was the only way of turning them into an Awaken. Yet killing one was hard enough seeing all their weapons are rendered useless.

    As expected, the military already knew about this.

    It wasn¡¯t surprising to Jason as the advancement of technology was enough for them to know that such phenomenons are emerging within the world.

    ¡°and there¡¯s this Awaken assigned to our company, he was quite a dick since even the Captain had to show respect to him,¡± a look of loathing on the soldier¡¯s face.

    Jason was intrigued hearing about an Awaken like him except he wasn¡¯t an arrogant person or is he.

    ¡°So how is he?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°Dead,¡± said the soldier.

    Jason was surprised hearing that, he wasn¡¯t expecting such an outcome for someone who might have survived through the first invasion.

    ¡°But how?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Our company was stationed to the southeast of the provincial park, we¡¯re getting to ready fight against the UCs which were heading on our way but the moment those monsters came, that dick ignored the Captain¡¯s order and went on charging by his own self. He said that he ain¡¯t going to share anything, whatever that means. So this dick kept throwing out these floating lances made out fire at the UC, it was amazing it was just like ma-¡± the soldier was getting too excited and derailing from the main point, Jason had to cut him off.

    ¡°Get to the point,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°So, he kept throwing these fire lances, and a few UCs caught on fire while some kept on charging, but then something else appeared,¡± the soldier paused as if he was reliving those scenes inside of his head. Jason waited patiently.

    ¡°This man, no. It¡¯s more like a werewolf and even from afar he was huge and that wasn¡¯t the best part. This wolfman was riding on top of a sabertooth tiger with a huge crossbow in his hand, he was the one who killed that dick. Well, to be fair that dick did provoke him or it. He was throwing those fire lances at the wolfman and that wolfman didn¡¯t even budge as he took it straight on, but what came next was impossible. One of our snipers relayed a message that the wolfman¡¯s crossbow started to glow and the moment the wolfman took the shot, a laser beam came out decimating everything in its path. If you were there, you would know. A number of our soldiers went down and that dick was wiped out from the face of existence, not even a shred of that dick¡¯s skin survive that blast,¡± the retelling the story of what had happened made Jason felt goosebumps all over his body.

    In Jason¡¯s opinion, the flame lance dick was an idiot but the more pressing matter was the kobold riding sabertooth tiger. For a crossbow to unleashed a laser beam that itself didn¡¯t make any sense. It reminded him about the Scarlet Rex terrifying laser breath. It got him thinking.

    Can I take on that kobold?

    He wasn¡¯t sure since he didn¡¯t know the level of that kobold but for now, it was safe to say that he wasn¡¯t ready to face off against that type of opponent.

    ¡°So where are the others?¡± Jason asked, curious about why this soldier was alone.

    The soldier swallowed a big gulp as he said.

    ¡°I¡¯m the only one left, the whole company is dead.¡±

 Chapter 68

    Jason remained stoic unchanged by the devastating news. He kind of expected such a thing to happen, but their fate was way worse than he imagined.

    Didn¡¯t expect them to get wiped out, don¡¯t the army have a tactical retreat or something?

    On the other hand, the soldier saw the unchanging face of Jason as if the news of the defeated Canadian Army didn¡¯t even bother him.

    ¡°If you trek down in a straight path, you¡¯ll find a road. It won¡¯t take a long time before you reach it,¡± said Jason as the soldier understood well of what Jason was trying to say.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to fight?¡± the soldier asked.

    Jason simply nodded. The soldier frowned as both of his hands grabbed on to Jason¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°Look around you, there''s a freaking stampede behind us, you alone can''t do anything. You¡¯re just going to throw your own life away,¡± said the soldier as he tried to convinced his savior.

    Jason maintained his silence.

    ¡°Let me go,¡± he said.

    Those cold eyes made the soldier took his hands away. Jason was about to leave but the soldier spoke out.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming along,¡± the soldier said.

    Jason turned his head back as he felt this soldier was rather ridiculous. Just a moment ago the soldier was running for his own life but now he was ready to go back into the forest full of monsters.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not. I¡¯m not gonna babysit you like that dead dick you told me about,¡± Jason dismissed the soldier.

    ¡°But I can¡¯t go, my whole company was wiped out. If I¡¯m the only one who survived, they¡¯ll label me as a deserter,¡± said the soldier.

    Even if the soldier survived he would be questioned by the top brass of the army. The crime of deserting was a harsh one and death wasn¡¯t far fetch in some countries.

    ¡°That¡¯s not my problem,¡± said Jason as he vanished into thin air.

    The soldier was gobsmacked seeing the thing happening in front of his very eyes. Jason left like a speeding bullet heading back to the direction of the stampede. Crouching on top of a tree branch he observed the incoming stampede with the night vision goggles. They were slow-moving compared to the kobold and after seeing them closely, he noticed they resembled a variety of bovines. Some were similar to yak while some to a bison. He tried using ¡®Scan¡¯ but the distance was too far.

    There¡¯s no sign of kobold but, how should I deal with these things?

    He only had twenty-five usable arrows left and considering the herd of monsters, he doubted it would be enough.

    Let¡¯s just go with it.

    The bowstring was pulled and the arrow flew between the trees. An arrow struck right at the head of an unfortunate bison. It moaned as it fell to the ground before the others stomped over it quickly turning it into a mesh of flesh.

    There goes my arrow, I guess there¡¯s no way of recycling those again.

    The herd of monsters kept on toppling down the trees turning everything that went behind them a vast plain of deforestation. Jason leaped off from the tree branch and sped right at the stampede. As the distance shortened, his eyes scanned the monsters.

    Bumi Bison

    A big mammal known to roam the plains of Urungard.Big and bulky, their sizes easily triumphed over five meters in height. Underneath the dark brown fur hides a tough skin similar to iron. No mere weapons can penetrate the skin of the Bumi Bison. Known for its tender meat as well as its leather use for armor making.

    Species: Bovine Mammals

    Level : 24

    Elemental Weakness : Wind

    S.Ability : Head Charge

    Quadhorn Yak

    A docile heavy built mammal with a huge frame and four sturdy legs. Long shaggy hair with dense wool-like coat covered their entire bodies except for the eyes and lips. The Quadhorn yak is known to sometimes eat their own hair while grazing the grass. The maximum height possible for growth is at four meters. Known for its fur and leather, best materials for making cold season type of armor and clothing.

    Species: Bovine Mammals

    Level : 27

    Elemental Weakness : -

    S.Ability : Head Charge

    Well, that¡¯s a lucky shot. I might have shot through one of its eyes.

    The arrow that he shot really did go through the Bumi Bison¡¯s eye. If it wasn¡¯t for that, it might have been still stampeding around with the herd. Jason focused on these huge cows as all he could see in his eyes was just free experience. They were lower level than the kobold and judging by their low speed, he foresaw that it won¡¯t be a problem for him.

    He stashed the compound bow in his bag and wielded one of the jambiyas like daggers. His eyes turned sharp as he rushed at the closest cow monster. The blade of the dagger stabbed right into the neck of the Quadhorn Yak. It moaned in anguish recoiling its head upwards. Jason fought back and pushed down the dagger as the blade sliced right through the flesh of the yak''s neck. Blood spurted out gushing over the forest floor. The yak fell and disappeared within the stomping hooves of the stampede.

    His feet retreated back a few feet away from the unstoppable stampede. His free hand glow in green as he swung it six times. Six wind cutters flew through the air hitting a few yaks and bison. The thick fur and long shaggy hair made the yak unaffected by the wind cutter but all the bison were the unfortunate one. They fell like dominoes as it went right through the iron-like skin. They were still alive but with the stampede stomping over them, it only helped Jason finishing them off. He smiled seeing how easy it turned out to be. The lone man fired off those wind cutters at the stampede while still keeping a safe distance. More and more bison fell to their death. Then the sweet of sound of the notification window emerged in front of him.

    Wind Cutter level up to level 9

    The good news only motivated him more as he unleashed a flurry of Wind Cutters at these bovine monsters. They didn¡¯t care about the deaths of their own species as they kept plowing through the forest as if they were commanded by another force.

    The kill count kept on rising until the bison he had killed reached up to forty-nine. He lost count but that didn¡¯t stop him in targeting his next kill. He turned invisible and rushed at the yak, he leaped and landed on top of a yak. The tip of the dagger stabbed right on top of the crown of its head. He could hear the cracking noise of the skull being pierced by the oversized dagger. As if it was music in his ears, the yak wounded up dead and as Jason leaped in the air. A new blue window appeared which only made him grinned but that wasn¡¯t the end.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 20

    You have reached the required level

    Please choose a job

    He was slack-jawed as this was a big surprise even for him. The empty job in his status was forgotten since he had no idea about it, not until this particular blue window popped out. He landed on his feet and rushed at a distance before slowly turned to a stop. He thought he was at a safe distance but when one''s mind was focus on something they lost any sense of time and space. The stampede was long gone inside of his mind. He didn¡¯t pay any attention to it as his eyes were glued at the list of jobs available to him.

    l Warrior

    l Swordsman

    l Assassin

    l Ninja

    l Energist

    l Healer

    l Archer

    l Tracker

    l Scout

    There¡¯s a lot but which one should I choose?

    It came out of sudden that Jason never thought about it. The choices themselves were pretty explanatory and some did overlap with one another. He just stood there while deep in thought, and not realizing his invisibility was gone. The mooing of those bovines monsters was becoming louder as the stampede was becoming closer. Yet the man didn¡¯t budge an inch engrossed by the blue window.

    Then, an ear-piercing crackle ripped apart the forest air. Jason didn¡¯t have the time to even glance at the source of the sound as something just hit him straight through his body.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Jason shouted. The sudden pain felt like a bomb that just dropped on him.

    E.Guard disabled.

    Time to recover; 50 minutes

    Energy Guard level up to level 3

    Jason fell on the ground as his left shoulder was stinging in pain. He even ignored the useless notification of the blue window, as he got up and ran far away from where he was.

    ¡°Shadow Hide,¡± he said. He turned invisible but the moment he did so, another ear-piercing crackle went by and a sharp pain made him fell to his knees.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± he said. The invisibility was gone and his body was in utter pain. He turned invisible once more and dragged his body behind the back of a tree. His eyes glanced at the spot where he just fell and saw something stuck on the ground. It was cylindrical in shape, bulkier than an arrow but its tail was similar to one. Jason knew what it was, it was a crossbow bolt. He turned his attention to his leg and saw a hideous abrasion at the side of his shin. It was merely a graze and his leg was already banged up like that. Jason glanced at his shoulder and saw a big chunk of his left shoulder was gone. He felt goosebumps ran over his entire body. The thought of this attack hitting him straight at the chest would have spelled out his eternal doom.

    A  light green glow emitted from his hands as he healed himself. While inside his head, the thought of that kobold who rides a sabertooth tiger came into mind.

    Unknown to Jason, a couple of meters behind the line of the stampede, a kobold was reloading its crossbow. It was calm and collected, as it made its last check over its crossbow, it grinned as it finally was having fun hunting the people of this world.

 Chapter 69

    Hiding behind a tree, Jason managed to heal himself up. The injury to his shin was healed perfectly with no sign of any scar, but his shoulder was another matter. Even after fully healed, those chunk of flesh he lost was hard to recover with only about fifty percent of his flesh was recovered. His shoulder looks deformed when compared to his other normal shoulder.

    Shit, my shoulder is freaking ugly.

    The state of his shoulder made him downcast. The fleeting joy he felt while getting the chance of choosing a job was gone the moment he was struck by the sudden ambush. Jason rested his head over the tree trunk as he finally could take a breather, but then the ear-piercing crackle returned. Jason winced as the tree bark was smashed as something shot through the thick tree. Splinters rained all over him as he closed his eyes out of reflex. Prickling sensation stabbed over his exposed skin.

    Damn it.

    He cursed at the attacker that was targeting him. His hands brushed off the dust and wooden pieces from his face as he disappeared into nothingness. He didn¡¯t run like a coward as he took higher ground on top of a tree branch. While under the guise of his invisibility he scanned the surrounding searching for that damnable attacker.

    Once again, that annoying sound came rushing through the air. Jason saw how another one of those crossbow bolts toppled down a single tree, the tree he previously hid behind. One thing for sure, the attacker didn¡¯t know his current whereabouts. He traced down the trajectory of the attack and it came from behind the line of the stampede.

    Got you.

    A silhouette jumped over from behind and landed on top of a Bumi Bison. It was getting impatient waiting from behind the line. Jason saw who it was and it was no doubt a kobold. Under the lenses of night vision, it looks slender while retaining its superior huge body. It was reloading another crossbow bolt while standing on top of the bison. As the stampede coming closer to where Jason was, he saw the face of that kobold.

    It¡¯s grinning.

    Seeing that look on its face, infuriated Jason.

    Freaking mutt.

    Jason took out the compound bow from the bag and nocked an arrow. He aimed his sight down at the head of the kobold, bidding his time waiting for the right moment. His breathing slowed down as his mind was focus on the target.

    Stay there little dog and don¡¯t-

    The kobold gazed right into the eyes of Jason.

    Shit!

    The arrow went loose and dived right at the head of the kobold. It jumped forward on to the ground as the arrow hit an unfortunate Quadhorn Yak. The kobold rolled on the ground before steadying itself in a crouch position. Its eye aimed down through the crossbow and shot another bolt. Jason leaped off the branch as he heard the tree bark behind him exploded. He looked up and saw the upper half of the tree falling down. He turned invisible once more and aimed another arrow at the moving kobold.

    Jason lost his chance as the kobold knew how to move within the forest as it took cover behind a tree. Its hand was nimble as it was quick to reload another more bolt, within seconds it was readied. The kobold peeked out from the side of the tree but an arrow flew by. It jolted its body back behind the cover, not before a slight pain over its furry cheek. Its hand brushed against its cheek and saw the tint color of its crimson blood. It grinned as this prey of it was pretty fun.

    The arrow shot by Jason merely grazed the kobold. He immediately turned invisible and rushed at the tree. His hand glowed in green as he unleashed a swarm of wind cutters. The buzzing sound of the wind cutters didn¡¯t escape the sensitive ears of the kobold. Out of instinct, the kobold leaped to the side as the tree fell down on the forest floor, it rolled itself on the ground and prepared to run. Yet a slight pain radiated from one of its legs, as a huge cut wound was on its ankle.

    Then things were about to get uglier. An arrow struck the kobold right at the shoulder as it howled out in pain. It glanced at the sight of the human who was crouching on the forest floor who was nocking another arrow. It had enough of playing hide and seek, the kobold rushed at Jason as it shot its crossbow. Jason rolled, dodging it as he sent another arrow as a reply. The kobold raised up its arm and blocked the incoming arrow. The arrow lodged halfway into its forearm before stopping. It didn¡¯t care being injured as its motive was to kill the human.

    Jason turned invisible fleeing away from the kobold¡¯s sight, but he froze in place as the howl of the kobold sprang up in the air.

    Shit, cursed Jason, as even his eyeball couldn¡¯t move. He couldn¡¯t see what was the kobold was trying to do. He had forgotten about that stun skill that these species have, but it didn¡¯t matter as he was still invisible. Then he heard another howl of the kobold, he couldn¡¯t see it but he had a bad feeling about it.

    The kobold activated one of its special abilities, Arrow of the Wild. Its whole crossbow was glowing in dense blue light. It pulled the trigger and dozens of bolts came flying through the air. It was like a machine gun spewing out crossbow bolts with just a press of a single trigger. The kobold was laughing with its hideous laugh that was like a mashed up between a wolf¡¯s howl and an old man¡¯s cackle.

    Jason could hear the air being ripped apart but he couldn¡¯t see what it was. The moment the stun was lifted he bolted as fast as he could but it was too late, a few bolts pierce through his legs as he fell to the ground screaming out in pain. His face was contorting to a ridiculous degree as the pain was unlike he had ever felt before. It was way worse from the previous shot at his disfigured shoulder. In the absence of energy guard, feeling the pain was like a bitch. He looked at the kobold who was approaching him in a casual manner. The crossbow returned back to its previous state as the kobold rested his oversized crossbow on its shoulder. This action alone showed that it was the victor between their deathmatch.

    The glowing blue bolts embedded in his legs disappeared leaving numerous gaping holes. Blood poured out like crazy from every major artery in his lower limbs was pierced. Jason reached out with both of his hands as he healed those wounds.

    Minor Heal+ level up to level 7

    A welcoming notification but the situation wasn¡¯t the time for him to celebrate. The upgraded skill hastened the rate of his leg healing yet danger was still in front of him and the back. The stampede was behind him and this humanoid wolf was at the front. Then it stood right in front of Jason staring from on top as if looking down at this puny human in front of it.

    The kobold saw the glowing green light as it knew Jason was healing himself up but it didn¡¯t mind as it chuckled. Jason saw this kobold laughing at him as his mood soured. This kobold behaved similarly to a human who looked down on the weak. Jason saw how it was toying at him and it only burned the light of revenge inside of him. While glaring at this kobold who was still laughing at him in its obnoxious howl like laugh, Jason was deep in thought thinking up of a way to get out of this situation.

    If he turned invisible the kobold would just do the same as before, stunning him and then released a barrage of bolts at him. Going in for a sudden ambush with his sheathed daggers might be possible but was he faster than a crossbow bolt? At this distance, he wasn¡¯t sure since this kobold itself was a pretty good fighter. Then he was only left with one chance but it was too risky unless.

    ¡°Die, freaking monsters!¡± a familiar voice rang inside his ears.

    Jason heard the sound of a submachine gun flaring with bullets flying in the air. He saw a soldier shooting with his submachine gun at random and then he threw a grenade at the stampede.

    BOOM.

    It exploded as dust and dirt flew up in the air. The soldier spotted the kobold from afar as he was equipped with the military high-grade night vision goggles. He aimed down his sight and shot at the standing kobold. It hit right at the head, but the bullet merely sparks and deflected upon contact with the fur skin of the kobold. Even the stampede wasn¡¯t affected by the explosion as they came out unscathed as if nothing had ever happened. It showed how terrifying the effects of Terrain Aura.

    The kobold turned its attention to the sudden entrance of the soldier. It recognized the green streak clothing and it knew this one was the enemy force of this world. It aimed the crossbow at the soldier and prepared to fire but as it tried to pull the trigger the bolt didn¡¯t come out. It wondered what just happened. Then it felt odd as if its body was tilting sideways. Then it spurted out blood from its snout, then it realized something went wrong.

    It turned towards Jason who was still lying on the forest floor. It saw this man grinning while showing his middle finger at it, then it knew it had made a mistake. Its vision blacked out as it fell and turned lifeless. It didn¡¯t even know how it just died, yet Jason knew. The moment the kobold turned its eyes away, Jason unleashed wind cutters as it cut apart this kobold into pieces and with this distance, it never knew what just sliced it apart.

    Jason, on the other hand, escaped death due to a perfect diversion from a soldier he shooed off and he wasn¡¯t happy about it. The fight against this Archer Kobold made him realized how unprepared he was. He got up and picked up the compound bow in his hand. His grip over the bow tightened as he knew this victory was a mere fluke.

    ¡°I¡¯m an Awaken!¡± the voice of the soldier rang in the air as something must have happened.

    Yet for Jason, something else caught his eyes.

    It can¡¯t be.

    That night he was very lucky, a scroll was floating on top of the Archer Kobold¡¯s carcass. Jason didn¡¯t hesitate and picked it up. He looked back at the incoming stampede but tonight he had enough. He ran back to the soldier as the soldier caught was surprised by the sudden appearance of Jason. As if it was reflex, the muzzle of his submachine gun was already aiming at Jason.

    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°It¡¯s you,¡± said the soldier, ¡°you¡¯re okay?¡±

    The soldier noticed how banged up Jason look. Holes riddled all over the clothes with bloodstains everywhere on his clothes, and the deformed looking shoulder was a gruesome sight to behold. From what he saw, Jason didn¡¯t have a great time out here.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, thanks to you,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Me?¡± the soldier didn¡¯t realize how he had saved Jason, yet for him, that didn¡¯t matter since there was a bigger thing he had obtained.

    ¡°Listen up, I don¡¯t know how I did it but I just turned into Awaken. How cool is that?¡± the soldier was elated as if he hit the jackpot.

    Something cross Jason¡¯s mind as he had thought that the army probably didn¡¯t know about the experience sharing system.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, the stampede is coming,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Oh, yeah. I¡¯ve forgotten about that,¡± said the soldier.

    Jason grabbed on to the soldier¡¯s waist as if it was natural and the soldier gave him a wary look.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got to move quickly,¡± he said.

    The soldier gulped down as he knew his future fate.

    ¡°Fine but you need to stop three hundred feet ahead,¡± said the soldier.

    ¡°But why?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got something for these monsters,¡± the soldier said as he grinned.

    Jason did as he was told and stopped after reaching three hundred feet. The soldier was puking a bit before regained himself quicker than before. Jason wanted to ask why they were here but then the soldier took out something from his pocket. It was some sort of button and without warning the soldier pushed it as he saw the stampede went past a virtual border in his mind.

    A loud deafening explosion came from the front. Jason covered his ears as he watched the dark forest exploded with dust and dirt rising up in the air. It was just a hundred fifty feet away from them and he could feel the heat and the shock wave. He glanced at this soldier and thought he was a mad man. He saw the soldier was smiling from ear to ear as if he had accomplished something. Jason had to break the bubble of this man.

    ¡°You do know that this isn¡¯t going to do anything to them,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I know, I¡¯m just hoping I can slow it down with a trench from the explosion,¡± said the soldier.

    A clever idea.

    This soldier was rather different than what he saw. It seemed he should never judge others by appearance.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m ready now,¡± said the soldier as he was nervous for another round of being lugged by Jason.

    Jason stared at this soldier for a while before he disappeared once more. The soldier noticed it and was confused.

    ¡°Again?¡± being left like that really tested one¡¯s patience and the soldier wasn¡¯t having fun experiencing it another time. He kicked the dirt with his boots but a minute later, his vision was bombarded by numerous blue windows.

    ¡°What the heck is going on?¡± said the soldier. He read through the text and all he saw was just messages about leveling up.

    Then another minute later, Jason appeared.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± asked the soldier, as he knew whatever that just happened to him was related to this unknown Awaken.

    ¡°A gift,¡± said Jason.

 Chapter 70

    Two men riding inside a pink minivan. Their rather rugged features didn¡¯t really match with the overall look of the car. Jason was driving the car while the man next to him was the soldier. He was singing a tune while tapping the hilt of his submachine gun. He was in a good mood considering how he had turned into an Awaken along with gaining five levels in a row, albeit he did lose his whole company.

    ¡°You¡¯re good?¡± asked Jason. Tonight was probably the worst night for this soldier. Jason thought this show of happiness was probably one way of trying to forget the loss of his comrades.

    ¡°Never better,¡± said the soldier.

    The duo managed to escape the forest as there were no other obstacles blocking their path. A lot of lives were lost tonight but these two were the lucky ones especially the soldier.

    ¡°What change your mind about leaving? You said you didn¡¯t want to be a deserter,¡± Jason asked out of the blues.

    ¡°Oh. That,¡± the soldier fell into a silence for a while as he continued, ¡°since I turned into an Awaken, I might have some leeway for being the only one who survived.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Jason said. The silence returned once more inside the car. It took a while before Jason had something else to ask.

    ¡°Still no contact from the other companies?¡± Jason asked.

    The soldier did attempt to communicate with the other three companies involved in the mission, but up until now, they were no response.

    ¡°Nothing, they probably retreated already,¡± said the soldier as his words were just a facade for the undeniable truth. Both him and Jason knew the fact that escaping the forest wasn¡¯t easy considering the things chasing them from behind.

    Even the soldier himself admitted that he was lucky to be able to escape through the massacre that befell on his company. He himself didn¡¯t know how to explain it as he only remembered the screams and yell of his comrades dying one after another.

    Jason kept quiet as it wasn¡¯t his business to consider the feeling of the soldier who sat beside him. They met purely by chance and what he did before was just to repay a favor. If it wasn¡¯t for the soldier''s accurate timing for distraction, he probably wouldn¡¯t be alive by now.

    They were driving through the lonely road with nothing but the darkness around them. Unlike the bustling city of New York, the invasion this time picked pretty much in a rural area. At least, there was some luck for the people of Canada.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jason noticed a familiar looking car by the side of the road. The lights were on and he knew who it was. He stopped immediately much to the surprise of the soldier.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the soldier asked.

    Jason got out of the minivan and walked towards the car. Someone came out of the car and ran towards Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re alive,¡± said the tall, dark man.

    Hakeem hugged Jason as he was thankful that this friend of his managed to survive. Jason didn¡¯t think this friend of his would wait by the side of the road.

    ¡°Why are you still here?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Sorry man, I just felt guilty leaving you behind,¡± said Hakeem.

    Then the soldier approached the duo with his submachine gun in his hand.

    ¡°Woah. Woah, hold up,¡± Hakeem raised both his hands up, wary about the deadly looking submachine gun.

    ¡°Ah, sorry about that,¡± the soldier turned the muzzle away from the duo.

    ¡°Who¡¯s the soldier?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Jason glanced at the soldier and pondered. He just realized, he didn¡¯t even know the name of the guy that just saved him.

    ¡°Sergeant Ryan Rogen of the Canadian Army, please to meet you,¡± the soldier introduced himself.

    ¡°Please to meet you too, I¡¯m Hakeem Jaabar, uhm¡­ IT manager for Pearson International Airport,¡± Hakeem replied.

    Jason looked at these two in oddity.

    ¡°So you¡¯re an Awaken too?¡± Sgt. Ryan asked.

    ¡°Awaken? The hell is that?¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°Awaken is¡­¡± Jason cut Sgt. Ryan off as he didn¡¯t want to stand by the side of the road listening to these two chatterings.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this somewhere else,¡± said Jason as he pointed them to the surrounding.

    ¡°Yeah, sure, sure. My place?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Jason said. He didn¡¯t want to go back home looking like this, with his clothed riddles with holes and bloodstains.

    ¡°Hmm, guys,¡± Sgt. Ryan called out to both of them. Both Jason and Hakeem glanced at the soldier.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll walk,¡± said Sgt. Ryan.

    ¡°You nuts man? The closest town from here is probably seven or eight miles away,¡± said Hakeem.

    Sgt. Ryan didn¡¯t say anything as he just smiled at Hakeem. Jason grabbed Hakeem and made him walked to his car.

    ¡°Go,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But,¡± Hakeem was still worried about this nice looking soldier.

    ¡°Just go,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem got inside the car and started up the engine.

    ¡°You sure about this?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure,¡± said Sgt. Ryan as he looked up into the night sky with a smile.

    ¡°A bit of advice, distribute one point each to the Energy stat as well as the E.Resist stat. It will give you a random ability,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Got it, thanks by the way,¡± Sgt. Ryan said.

    They shook hands and both of them stared at each other eyes. Jason saw the gleaming moist eyes of Sgt. Ryan. He knew that this soldier was probably having a hard time.

    ¡°See you around,¡± said Jason as he left the soldier alone.

    Both the pink minivan and Hakeem¡¯s car drove through the road leaving the soldier behind. The man clad in green streaks clothes, a man that protects the nation from adversity. A man that knew the meaning behind sacrifice and responsibility.

    As the two vehicles disappeared within the darkness of his sight, his knees grew weak as he fell on the ground. With no one around, he bawled out his eyes as tears kept on falling. His body curled like a shrimp as only the sobbing sound echoed within this silent isolated part of the road. Guilt was buried deep within his heart as he knew he didn¡¯t deserve to be the only one living.

    He remembered his comrades as one by one flashed inside his mind. Then he tilted his head to the sky as he screamed to the top of his lungs. That night, a soldier was drowned by his own sorrow.

    --

    Jason was driving the minivan, along with Hakeem¡¯s car leading the front. Too many things happened tonight and definitely a memorable night for a man who was an inch close to death. The crease on his forehead furrowed as he realized he made too many mistakes going up against that gloating kobold. If it wasn¡¯t for it being too prideful, he wouldn¡¯t have been alive. Thinking back, if the one he faced was cold-blooded and level-headed, he would have died with his head pierced by a crossbow bolt. Just the thought of it made his whole body shivered.

    ¡°I can¡¯t be careless,¡± said Jason.

    A lesson he learned through the hard way. Before long, Jason reached Newcastle and what laid in front of his eyes was Lake Ontario. As he drove on the road, the sun started to rise from the east. He glanced to the side and saw the magnificent view of the lake shined by the first light of the sun. He smiled that at least he lived for another day. A few hours later, both reached Toronto. The door to an apartment opened up and Hakeem went inside.

    ¡°Come on in,¡± the apartment owner invited the guest to come inside.

    Jason came inside as he saw the interior of the apartment. It was normal for a single man, nothing fancy just an average bachelor pad. The only thing that gained his attention was the expensive-looking computer rig in the living room. Just a glance alone he knew that it was the most expensive thing inside this apartment. But for Jason, first thing first, he needed a shower.

    ¡°You got some fresh towels?¡± he asked.

    ¡°You can use mine,¡± Hakeem said.

    Jason shook his head side to side as that was definitely a big no. He ignored the need for a towel and went for a shower. The hot shower drizzled over his body as the dirt and grime flowed down washed away from the body. Jason had his head down the hold time as he just stood there receiving the warm water. The thing was, he didn¡¯t shower absentmindedly.

    A blue screen floating in front of his view. It was a list of available jobs for him to select. He stared at it as he took his time as he recalled the things he went through. In the beginning, things were good then it turned bad and in the end it was good. But the question right now was, which job should he choose?

    Then he made his decision.

    I choose you.

 Chapter 71

    Jason has chosen Assassin

    Re-calibrating user potential skills

    Initializing...

    Jason''s whole body froze while showering, his whole body stood up straight as he was stiff as a board. He couldn¡¯t even move his eyeball as he felt irritated by the water passing over his eyeballs.

    The heck is happening?

    He was confused and nervous at the same time as this kind of thing never happened before. As if the blue window took control of his entire body. He couldn¡¯t even open his mouth as if they were glued together. Then a vast amount of information flowed within the mind of Jason. His head was throbbing as he couldn¡¯t deny the pain. He didn¡¯t think having a job would be this painful.

    A minute later, the unexpected torture ended. Jason fell on the bathroom floor as his head leaned over the tile wall. The warm water droplets kept raining down on him as he tried to calmed himself down. Then more blue windows appeared.

    Congratulation. You have become an Assassin

    Assassin

    Job Description: Killer within the shadows, excels in killing the enemy in a single blow. Strong stealth-type energy abilities and specialized in defeating the enemy without a head-on battle. Known to utilized poison

    You have learned three new abilities

    You have learned Basic Projectile Throwing

    You have learned Blood Edge Strike

    You have learned Shadow Hide. Since Shadow Hide had already been learned, the current Shadow Hide level will be increased

    Shadow Hide has reached the maximum level

    Upgrade into Shadow Sneak Lv.3

    Everything happened too fast, the moment he read through all of these blue windows, he realized how he had hit the jackpot. But it didn¡¯t end there as another blue window appeared.

    Jason is the first to obtain a job

    Jason obtained a new title, Job Pioneer

    Jason still didn¡¯t have a clue about the effect of titles as he pondered upon this new one.

    Hmm, Job Pioneer sounds tacky, is it even useful?

    To his wish, another new window popped up.

    The prerequisite condition has been fulfilled. The title description menu is now available.

    Job Pioneer

    Title description:

    Gifted to the first person who obtained a job.

    Title effects:

    Increase growth of job-related skill by 25%

    Increase the chances of learning a job-related skill by 25%

    Increase power output level for job-related offense skill by 25%

    Increase defense for job-related defense skill by 25%

    Jason didn¡¯t know what to say seeing the description of the title. This one title alone gave him too many benefits. In a sense, it was way too overpowered. A quarter of additional benefits was a lot, more so considering he now had an offensive skill in hand. Out of curiosity, he opened up the description for the other titles.

    The First Killer

    Title description:

    The first to kill a monster from another dimension.

    Title effects:

    Additional +5 points for each level up

    Permanent +25% damage increase

    Permanent +25% body resistance to any damage

    Increase skill growth rate by 40%

    Increase the chances of learning a new skill by 40%

    One single chance of survival from imminent death(Disable)(24480)

    Jason¡¯s mouth was hanging open as he didn¡¯t believe the things he was reading. The benefits he earned from these titles were ridiculous to the point that he thought of himself as cheating. He read through every title descriptions that he had and in the end, it left him in utter silence. There were no words for him to say other than he was damn lucky. Now he realized why he could fight those strong monsters even with the disparity of his low level. It wasn¡¯t because he was a skillful fighter but it was more to these benefits of the titles helping him out. Then his eyes came back to the last effect for The First Killer.

    One single chance of survival from imminent death? A life token? But why is it disabled?

    Then something just struck him as he recalled how he survived that ridiculous height when being blown away by the Scarlet Rex. Thinking back, there was no way of surviving a fall from such height then being drifted away to the Atlantic Ocean. If what he thought about this effect was right then this must be the reason why he was still alive.

    He stared at the wall in a daze while still buck naked under the shower. There were too many things to processed and knowing he survived was partly due to his luck, dented his confidence a bit regarding his fighting ability as well as his survival skills. This revelation was like a sledgehammer right at his head. He snapped out of it after a full thirty minutes, his skin was already wrinkling as he showered for far too long.

    He came out of the bathroom half-naked wearing the sweatpants filled with holes. His whole body was still wet as he didn¡¯t have anything to dry himself up. Droplets of water trailed behind him as he walked into the living room. Hakeem was holding on to a hammer as a sparkle of blue electricity surrounded the head of the hammer. He thought about showing it off to Jason but seeing him making a mess in his living room changed his mind.

    ¡°C¡¯mon man,¡± said Hakeem as he rushed to his bedroom rummaging deep inside his closet as he found something. He went back to the living room and threw the pink towel at Jason.

    ¡°It''s my ex and don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s already clean and hasn¡¯t been used for a long time,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason dried himself up on the spot and Hakeem couldn¡¯t help but noticed the deformed look on Jason¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your shoulder?¡± asked Hakeem.

    Jason glanced at the shoulder while drying up his hair.

    ¡°Oh, something shot at me,¡± he said.

    ¡°Shot at you? That¡¯s not a freaking bullet wound,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°It¡¯s a crossbow bolt. It messed up my shoulder pretty bad, but I¡¯ve already healed up, so it¡¯s fine,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem''s intention of bragging about his ability watered down as he took a seat while staring at Jason. Hakeem scanned Jason from top to bottom as he also knew about those holes and bloodstains on Jason¡¯s clothes. He couldn¡¯t imagine what this friend of his went through last night.

    ¡°Got any spare clothes?¡± Jason asked.

    Hakeem went back to his bedroom and took out his old clothes.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty big,¡± said Hakeem as his clothes were all beyond extra large.

    Jason didn¡¯t mind as he just ripped it apart with his bare hands with ease, altering it to fit his body size. Hakeem turned speechless seeing him doing like it was easy, more so it was his clothes and this guy just tore it apart as if it was natural to do so. He kept his mouth shut and didn¡¯t want to complain as it was merely clothing. Since Jason did heal up his ankle, it was the least he could do.

    Jason took a seat as his whole body relaxed on the old dark brown couch. He felt comfortable as his head rested on the headrest.

    ¡°So?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Jason glanced at Hakeem without removing his head from the headrest.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°What happened after I went back? You look like shit after coming back,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Oh, well¡­¡± out of consideration for his friend, Jason told the story of what had happened. From the encounter with those cow-like monsters to the fight against the Archer Kobold, as well as meeting the lone soldier Sgt. Ryan.

    At the end of the story, Hakeem was grabbing his head with his jaw wide open. Listening to Jason¡¯s story felt like it came from a movie, yet he knew it was all true since he experienced it first hand. He remembered how Jason fought against six of those kobolds by his own self, just thinking about it made him realized how incredible this man really was.

    ¡°You really think the army been wiped out?¡± asked Hakeem. It was a sensitive thing to say considering he was hoping for the army to put a stop to these menacing threats, but being hopeful was far from the reality of it.

    ¡°Probably,¡± said Jason. He himself wasn¡¯t sure about it but no matter what at least he knew that sooner or later the military would realize the importance of training up their new Awaken recruit.

    Hakeem couldn¡¯t accept that simple answer. One of his legs kept on shaking as he was deep in thought.

    ¡°You think those monsters will come to Toronto?¡± asked Hakeem.

    ¡°Relax, the previous invasion stopped after reaching a certain border. The same thing might repeat again for the one at the park,¡± said Jason. At least his words calmed the anxious Hakeem.

    ¡°Then, what should we do? Should we tell anyone about this?¡± asked Hakeem.

    ¡°About what?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°About this game like thing, shouldn¡¯t other people know about this and the military," something just clicked inside Hakeem''s head, "we should tell the military,¡± Hakeem was getting ahead of himself as the social justice inside of him started to surface.

    ¡°The military already knows,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Remember what the soldier asks you about whether you¡¯re an Awaken or not?¡±

    Hakeem was a bit confused as he couldn¡¯t really remember it clearly.

    ¡°Go on, I¡¯m listening,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°The military already knew the existence of the game-like system. They dubbed us as the Awaken, so a few of these Awakens had already been recruited within the military and you know how it goes,¡± said Jason as he getting tired of explaining things.

    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t they making it public?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°You think the rational mind of a human would believe such a thing? Unless it happens right in front of your eyes, no one would believe it,¡± said Jason as he stretched out his head from side to side.

    ¡°Besides, if this news went public there might be a few crazy people wanting to obtain this. FYI, this sort of the same thing as obtaining a superpower and I bet that any person who has eight-grade syndrome might want to try it out,¡± said Jason.

    Jason¡¯s words made sense but Hakeem couldn¡¯t deny the life-saving potential of having this ability. After he realized how guns didn¡¯t work on these monsters, he knew the only way of killing it was through this superpower like abilities.

    ¡°So are you going back tonight?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Jason glanced at Hakeem as he saw the glint behind his eyes. It seemed that this whole game like thing might have affected this friend of his. Then he remembered something.

    ¡°You mind if I use your computer? I¡¯ve got to check my email,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Hakeem.

    Hakeem turned on the desktop as Jason took a seat. Hakeem didn¡¯t leave as he stood beside Jason. After opening up his email, Jason saw that he had received a reply. Hakeem read through the email.

    ¡°Forge your own axe. A blacksmith class?¡± Hakeem turned to Jason with a confused look.

    ¡°Want to tag along? You might learn a smithing skill,¡± said Jason as he let out a grin.

    ¡°You can do that?¡± said Hakeem with his eyes on the verge of bulging out.

    ¡°It¡¯s just like a game, you can learn skills from an expert. You might want to try out with your basketball skills, who knows you might get one relating with it,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem calmed himself down as he was getting a little too excited about this.

    ¡°But why smithing? Shouldn¡¯t you learn martial arts or something,¡± asked Hakeem.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you. I just want to learn about it,¡± Jason said as he kept a secret about that phantasmal grade material he had stored inside his backpack.

    Jason stood up and went to the door.

    ¡°You¡¯re going now?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± that simple two words made Hakeem¡¯s stomach growled.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming along,¡± said Hakeem.

    --

    Sitting beside the window of a simple diner, Jason ate the breakfast plate with gusto. Hakeem stared at the sight of this man, eating as if he had been starving for a whole week. The image he had about Jason was long gone as this new version of him was far different.

    ¡°Slow down man, the food ain¡¯t going anywhere,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°If you have gone through New York like I did, then you''ll realize how food is the best thing in the world,¡± said Jason as he continued chowing down those sunny side eggs with garlic toast at the side.

    Hakeem had a hesitated look on his face as he was still wasn''t sure about telling this to Jason. But in the end, he felt it was right of him to do so.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna pass the smithing class," he paused as he took a breather, "I¡¯ve got to tell you this, I think I¡¯m gonna tell this thing to the public. The people deserve to know man,¡± said Hakeem. All this time Hakeem was thinking deeply about the matter. In the end, he made a decision not caring whether people would believe him or not.

    Jason continued on eating as he didn¡¯t even glance at Hakeem.

    ¡°Suit yourself, I¡¯m not stopping you. Just be sure to do it anonymously, you don¡¯t want a bunch of black suit agents knocking down on your front door,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem fell into his own thought for a while before he ate his breakfast without talking. After a while, both of them finished their breakfast and Jason even had seconds. Both Jason and Hakeem came out of the diner as both looked at each other.

    ¡°Here, it¡¯s a spare key,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason accepted it with a nod.

    ¡°I might be trying what you said, learning a few skills wouldn¡¯t sound so bad,¡± said Hakeem as he had a plan in mind.

    ¡°See you later,¡± Jason said as both parted ways with their own way of trying to get stronger.

    --

    ¡°Here I am,¡± said Jason as he came out of the pink minivan.

    He glanced at the nameplate of the building.

    ¡°Osborn Metalwork sounds catchy.¡±

    He entered the building.

 Chapter 72

    The smell and sound of metals permeated in the air. A rather strange vibe that was unfamiliar for the likes of a man like Jason. He looked around in an awkward manner. Feeling out of place, he didn¡¯t know what to do. There was no receptionist or someone that could greet him. Even the people walking around him paid no attention to his presence as if he was invisible in the eyes of these people.

    As expected of a place filled with only men.

    With that stoic face plastered across Jason¡¯s face, he walked inside before a brown skin man noticed the odd man who was out of place.

    ¡°Mr.Park?¡± said the brown skin man.

    Jason glanced at him and walked over.

    ¡°Gondor Smithy?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Come with me, our designated workplace is at the back,¡± the brown man led Jason to a rather small area filled with equipment enough for smithing.

    ¡°Sorry about this, usually our place is a lot bigger than this,¡± said the brown man, ¡°With that crack near Kawartha park, we¡¯ve got no choice but to moved here.¡±

    This particular smithy wasn¡¯t from around here as the supposed location was close to the park. Jason himself has a reason for choosing this particular smithy. He found out from the website of this smithy, that they promoted on how to make an axe from scratch.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Jason said as he didn¡¯t mind as long he could learn the smithing skill.

    ¡°So are you the only one here?¡± he asked.

    ¡°The rest are on leave since most of our projects required the proper equipment back in our smithy,¡± said the brown man.

    ¡°I see,¡± said Jason as he looked around the place. The equipment was similar to the things he saw on wetube. At least the smithy wasn¡¯t cutting corners.

    ¡°I¡¯m Mateo by the way, nice to meet you,¡± Mateo reached for a handshake.

    ¡°Jason,¡± said Jason as he shook Mateo¡¯s hand.

    ¡°So should we start?¡±

    Over the course of a few hours, Jason learned everything about blacksmithing from the beginning to the end. Through hands-on practice, he was getting the hang of it. From heating up the metal to how to hold the metal as well as hitting the metal and to finished it off, he learned how to shape the metal to his own desires.

    The end result wasn¡¯t bad as he took out the finished product from the quenching bucket. A complete head of an axe. The edge was still a bit blunt but it was enough to make Jason felt satisfied.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty good,¡± said Mateo. He then taught Jason how to sharpen the blade of the axe. After a while, Jason attached the head of the axe to a wooden handle and voila, there it was his first blacksmithing product.

    ¡°Scan,¡± he said.

    Axe

    Category : Axe

    Grade : Inferior

    Normal iron axe made out of the effort of a noob blacksmith.

    Attack : +19(-3)

    His smile froze before it turned into an expressionless face. Seeing the detail of his handmade axe being regarded as inferior grade made his mood sour. The description itself told him he was a newbie and that was something he couldn¡¯t disprove. He clicked his tongue and turned back to Mateo.

    ¡°How is it? It¡¯s feel good to make your own axe right,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°I want to make another one,¡± said Jason.

    Mateo froze as he didn¡¯t expect such words coming out from Jason¡¯s mouth. Usually, after finishing the axe, the customer would be satisfied and readied to go home but it seemed Mateo was wrong as this customer was a different breed.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll get you the materials,¡± said Mateo.

    Jason went through another round of blacksmithing. This time, he gritted his teeth pummeling down the hammer at the red burning metal. He hit with precision while restraining his strength. The first time he did with his full strength, he broke the hammer into two.

    Mateo was surprised by Jason¡¯s strength but seeing him concentrating back into hitting the heated metal, he let the incident slide. It was just a hammer.

    Jason spent more time tempering the metal as his whole body was drenched in sweat. He already went half-naked with only an apron covering the front side of his body. Two hours and he was still tempering the same metal. Mateo himself was rather impressed as well as confused by the action of this customer.

    But for Jason, he had his own reasons. The reason itself showed up right in front of his eyes.

    Skill: Basic Smithing acquired

    He smiled as his efforts were rewarded. He continued his smithing and finished it up with another dunk in the quenching bucket. After sharpening up his axe, another blue window emerged.

    Basic Smithing level up to level 2

    That grin showed he was satisfied as again he scanned the new axe hoping for the best.

    Axe

    Category : Axe

    Grade : Inferior

    Normal iron axe made out of the effort of a less noob blacksmith.

    Attack : +19(-2)

    Sadly for him, it was more or less the same. He froze and just stood there like a statue.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± he said as he threw the axe on the floor.

    Mateo who was watching didn¡¯t understand the behaviour of this strange customer of his. He regretted his choice of having to work today of all day. At first, he was quite happy seeing how there was only one customer for the day but that one customer was a really strange one.

    Right now, that customer was more or less making himself at home and from the look of it, he wasn¡¯t going to leave anytime sooner. Jason chugged down a glass of cool water as he was perspiring through the whole smithing process. He rummaged through the bag he brought along and took out a piece of scarlet mineral.

    Mateo¡¯s eyes were drawn to the sight of that scarlet ore. He had to ask out of curiosity.

    ¡°What kind of metal ore is that?¡±

    Jason glanced at Mateo and didn¡¯t say a word. He sat in front of the forge and threw in the Scarlet Rex¡¯s scale into the fire. He stared at the sight of the huge scale which was perfectly fine even when surrounded by the hot burning coals. He stood there for a whole thirty minutes until there was a tint of redness on the scale.

    ¡°I think the forge isn¡¯t hot enough,¡± said Mateo. Yet Jason didn¡¯t care about that opinion since he has a plan in mind.

    Taking out the scale he placed it on top of the anvil. Raising up the hammer in the air, he slammed it down while restraining his strength. The sound of hammer clanking against the strong scale of the Scarlet Rex resounded in the air. Mateo had enough of this ridiculous scene and went to the pantry for another drink.

    Fifteen minutes later, the thing he had waited appeared.

    Basic Smithing level up to level 3

    The increase in level came faster than before. Rather than taking four hours, fifteen minutes were enough. That grin on his face wouldn¡¯t disappear anytime sooner as the rate of him hammering turned faster. If Mateo was here to observe Jason, he would have freaked out since Jason was laughing at an interval in a rather strange way.

    Outside of the building, the sun started to set. Dusk was on the horizon while inside a building filled with sweat and metallic smell has a man who was hammering down a scarlet scale. The man was drenched in sweat from top to bottom as his whole attention was towards the scarlet scale.

    Mateo the only smith working for today was dumbfounded by his only customer for the day. Too much thing had happened and right about now he had grown accustomed to Jason¡¯s acts.

    ¡°Uhm, sir. We¡¯ve got to close for the night,¡± said Mateo. For some reason, he referred to Jason in a rather polite way. Although he grew accustomed to this man he still felt nervous about being around with this man.

    Jason glanced at Mateo as sweat dropped from his eyelid. The strong gaze from Jason took Mateo by surprise, he retreated a few steps hoping that a hammer won¡¯t suddenly be breaking his skull.

    ¡°Ah, sure,¡± said Jason.

    Mateo sighed out of relief as his wild assumption about this customer was rather unneeded. Jason packed his stuff and wore back his shirt. Walking out of here without a shirt wouldn¡¯t be the best idea.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Jason as he shook hands with Mateo. He left while Mateo stared at the back of Jason. Mateo shook his head as the day was too weird even for him.

    Jason got inside the minivan and threw the two axes on the backseat. In the meantime, he stared at the blue window that appeared right before he stopped.

    Basic Smithing level up to level 9

    His ridiculous grinding brought an incredible leap for his smithing skill. Then he cast his eyes at the last axe he had made. Unlike the inferior grade axes on the back, this one was different.

    Axe

    Category : Axe

    Grade : Normal

    Normal iron axe made out of the effort of a beginner blacksmith.

    Attack : +19(+1)

    It wasn¡¯t a fancy axe but at least it wasn¡¯t inferior in quality and no penalty in the status of the weapon. Moreover, he was satisfied seeing that at least the system didn¡¯t mock him as noob like before. Being called a beginner blacksmith was more uplifting than being called a noob.

    Yet there were more surprises for this auspicious day. He also earned another skill. Along the path of his constant grinding, he earned the Basic Blunt Weapon Mastery and managed to level it up until reaching level three. At the end of the day, he was satisfied.

    ¡°Today is a good day,¡± he said as the engine of the minivan started rumbling.

 Chapter 73

    The door opened and Jason went inside with a box of pizza in his hand. It was dark and silent. It seemed the owner was still outside. Flipping the switch on, the bachelor¡¯s apartment lightened up.

    This place really needs a few things to spice it up.

    Jason sat on the couch and dug in the flavorful deep dish pizza. A long time favorite of his in Toronto, although it originated from Chicago, Toronto¡¯s version had a little kick in it different from the original. Enough to swooned the heart of this man and the thousands living in Toronto.

    I really miss this.

    While he enjoyed the food, the door opened once more.

    ¡°Jason!¡± Hakeem shouted.

    The man in name turned his head to the door. Both his eyebrows arched as the wrinkle on his forehead was apparent. The sight he was seeing was rather surprising. The Hakeem who was supposed to be healthy as a horse now looked like a beat-up donkey. One of his eyes was swelling, a few bruises on his face, one corner of his lips was bleeding and his body wasn¡¯t in a good condition considering how he looks.

    Jason didn¡¯t stop chewing the stringy cheese as he just stared at the sight of Hakeem. Rather than speechless, he was more like busy eating the pizza. He definitely has his priorities straight.

    ¡°You¡¯re just going to sit there eating? Look at me,¡± Hakeem didn¡¯t expect this friend of his to act so unresponsive.

    ¡°So,¡± Jason took another bite and then he continued, ¡°who beat you up?¡±

    ¡°Beat up? I almost die man!¡± Hakeem said as if he just went through hell and escaped it through sheer luck.

    ¡°is it the mobster or something? Wait, do Toronto even had one?¡± he was asking the wrong question and Hakeem couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    ¡°Stop playing around man. We¡¯ve got a situation here,¡± Hakeem dragged his body to his bedroom.

    Jason, on the other hand, was still laying on the couch while continuing to eat his pizza. The nonchalant man didn¡¯t bother about the sound of anguish that came in an interval. Hakeem probably had trouble changing his clothes with those injuries riddling across his body.

    The moment Hakeem came out of the room, Jason already finished up half of the whole pizza. Hakeem saw it and he just couldn¡¯t put words into his current emotion.

    ¡°You ate half of it?¡± said Hakeem while pointing at himself.

    ¡°Dude, I¡¯ve been missing out on this deep dish pizza for the last six months. Cut me some slack,¡± said Jason while justifying his action.

    ¡°The heck man, I¡¯m all bang-up and shit and you''re here¡­¡± Hakeem fell silent as he realized something. Something crucial.

    ¡°Heal me up,¡± said Hakeem. He just remembered the ability of this lounging man.

    ¡°Fork it up,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Healing isn¡¯t free you know,¡± said Jason with a smirk.

    ¡°You¡¯re charging your own friend? The heck is wrong with you man?¡± Hakeem was flustered and confused.

    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯m just kidding,¡± said Jason as he reached out his hand to Hakeem.

    Hakeem wanted to retort how kidding about that kind of thing was messed up but he repressed those words and just walked towards Jason¡¯s hand. The moment Jason¡¯s hand touched Hakeem, a light green glow engulfed Hakeem¡¯s whole being. In just a few seconds, Hakeem was good as new.

    ¡°I really can get used to this,¡± said Hakeem as he stared at his own perfect hands, free from any wounds and bruises.

    ¡°Dude, you got to follow me down to the Port Lands. There¡¯s¡­¡± Jason cut him off.

    ¡°Slow down,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°There¡¯s no time for that. There¡¯s freaking monster running around in Toronto city!¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason was intrigued hearing about this, but he wasn¡¯t that alarm considering it was in Port Lands. His home was far away from that place. He has an assumption in mind and it was probably the closest to the truth.

    ¡°Those freaking creatures from Kawartha Park have come down here man. We¡¯re so screwed. We should have told the police or the military,¡± Hakeem was panicking.

    The silent man knew that this sudden monster appearance had nothing to do with the invasion coming from the Kawartha nature reserve. Since the only explanation left was only one thing.

    A random crack.

    A similar situation back when he was in New Jersey. Jason took another pizza and munched it down.

    ¡°You¡¯re eating again?¡± said Hakeem as he thought that this friend of his would take action.

    ¡°Calm down and explain from the top,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem realized he had no way of convincing Jason thus he just followed along Jason¡¯s train of thought.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this¡­¡± Hakeem explained from the beginning and Jason listened with open ears and also an open mouth.

    Hakeem was training basketball with his old coach. He got together with the old coach for old time sake and fast forward after a training match, he met his old pals back in high school. While catching up, one of them spoke about a rumor regarding a particular abandoned warehouse in Port Lands. The rumor said that people driving near that place encountered unexplained things. Like huge shadows moving around and bumping into one of those things. Those who bumped into them by car told of how they heard something was being broken similar to a twig.

    Yet that wasn¡¯t the fun part as this friend of Jason had the balls of going there without any backup. For some reason, he felt rather confident in himself and didn¡¯t want to rely on Jason. Jason applauded over his bravery but it was still stupid.

    Hakeem told him of how he went inside the warehouse and got surrounded by a bunch of trees.

    ¡°Trees?¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Yup, f*cking monstrous trees,¡± Hakeem said.

    He then continued of how these trees which have the face of a human on its bark beaten him down to the ground as he was literally being gang-banged by these moving devilish trees. Hakeem told of how he fought bravely swinging the iron mace while unleashing his attack skill, the light¡­

    ¡°Skip that, I don¡¯t want to hear it,¡± Jason said, as he still didn¡¯t have the mood of hearing other people¡¯s abilities.

    So, Hakeem narrated how he managed to fend them off for a few minutes but too bad for him, he couldn¡¯t finish even one of them. Being attacked from all directions was like a nightmare for this man, as after his Iron Body ran out of juice, then came a world of pain.

    He told of when Iron Body was disabled, those vines and rough tree branches hit the heck out of him. Thus led to his previously beaten state. If it wasn¡¯t for him being so close to the entrance door, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape out of there alive.

    ¡°You took a beating for quite a long time,¡± said Jason as he was rather impressed by the durability of this friend of his.

    ¡°Yeah, Iron Body increase my defense as well as my stre-¡± Jason again cut him off. He didn¡¯t want to hear even one word of it.

    ¡°Stop,¡± he said.

    Hakeem shut his mouth as he felt weird by the strange behavior of this man.

    ¡°So, they¡¯re trees huh,¡± said Jason as his fingers brushed over his chin. He was deep in thought thinking about a plan.

    He had two things in mind right now. One, the reason Hakeem managed to stay alive might be due to them being low level and two, he has an idea on how to deal with these overgrown weeds.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it,¡± said Jason as he stood up with a pizza in his hand.

    ¡°What?¡¯

    ¡°We¡¯re going shopping,¡± he said.

    They went to a nearby supermarket and bought a bunch of stuff. The main thing they bought was alcohol. They went back to the apartment and sat in the living room.

    ¡°You sure about this?¡± Hakeem was skeptical about the plan.

    ¡°Of course. It definitely going to work,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Have you ever made one before?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Nope, that¡¯s why we have wetube,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem had a dumbfounded expression on his face as if he was saying, oh shit. He just hoped that the cops won¡¯t suddenly knock on the door. It was rather stupid for a cop to suddenly knock on an innocent man¡¯s house but when someone was paranoid, all kinds of impossible things kept on bugging them.

    Jason typed on the keyboard on how to make your own molotov cocktail and voila the videos explaining how to do it was numerous. Out of the many, he picked the one where the wetuber was a pure Russian dude who looks like he knew what he was doing.

    ¡°Seriously man?¡± said Hakeem as it was rather racist of Jason of doing so. Yet Jason turned deaf to those complaints as he just followed along to the instructions.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, help me out here,¡± said Jason.

    In the end, Hakeem followed along to Jason¡¯s plan. After roughly two hours, they had finished their jobs.

    ¡°Look at that, isn¡¯t it beautiful,¡± said Jason as for some reason he was having fun doing this. In front of him laid thirty Molotov cocktails, ready for battle.

    ¡°Dude, you¡¯re weird,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Pack up, we¡¯re going to burn some freaking trees,¡± said Jason.

    Twenty bottles were carried by Jason while the other ten went to Hakeem. As they were readied for tonight¡¯s battle, they opened up the door and both of them froze in place.

    Three unexpected people were right in front of the door with a rather sour expression and one of them was on the verge of bursting their lid from a fit of full-blown anger.

    ¡°Mom?¡±

 Chapter 74

    Jason and Hakeem sat opposite to these three people who barged inside the bachelor¡¯s apartment. Both Hakeem and Jason didn¡¯t dare to look straight as a middle-aged woman was glaring at them. Yet Hakeem took the lead of breaking the awkward silence.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time Mrs and Mr.Park. How have you been?¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Please be quiet Mr.Jaabar, I¡¯m already frustrated by the fact that you didn¡¯t pick my call,¡± Mrs.Park shut Hakeem in just an instant.

    Jason lightly punched Hakeem by the shoulder. It seemed he realized the reason why his parent and Esther was here.

    ¡°I told you to cover me,¡± whispered Jason.

    ¡°Don¡¯t whisper around Jason. I and your father are very disappointed by your reckless action,¡± said Mrs.Park as she gave a stern lecture at him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you see the news? Those UC are traveling down from the park and you¡¯re here doing what? Drinking and messing around? Can¡¯t you be more considerate about your mother¡¯s feel-¡± Mrs.Park suddenly broke into tears.

    Jason felt guilty about seeing this. This wasn¡¯t the reason why he went hunting down those monsters. Not to see the tears of his mother but in a way it was necessary. Rather than seeing his mother lying in a coffin, the sight of his mother crying was enough.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know how hard both of us try to search for you? We went through a lot of people to find this address if it wasn¡¯t for your father¡¯s connection, we-¡± again she broke into tears.

    Mr.Park handed out tissues to Mrs.Park while Esther was glaring at Jason and he didn¡¯t miss that particular glare. A glare that told him, she was here wasting time because of him and he should be expecting a repercussion due to this.

    ¡°Son, just go back with us,¡± said Mr.Park.

    ¡°Fine,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?!¡± said Hakeem as he stood up in surprise. ¡°But dude.¡±

    Jason raised up his hand stopping him from saying anything.

    ¡°Later,¡± he said as he turned to his parents.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± the parents stood up and Mrs.Park hugged her son tight. The father joined in as well and the daughter of the family just stood there with her arms crossed over her chest.

    The family of four went out of the apartment one after another.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Hakeem called out to him.

    ¡°You can handle it,¡± said Jason as he patted Hakeem by the shoulder.

    ¡°What? But how?¡±

    ¡°Just throw and it would be fine. I guess,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem wasn''t reassured by that half-ass answer.

    ¡°Dude, the monst-¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go Park Jaedong,¡± said Mrs.Park as she cut Hakeem off. She only used his Korean name when things are urgent.

    Hakeem was down as he watched the sight of Jason leaving. He thought they would be ambushing the warehouse yet the plan went down the drain by his slight mistake of ignoring the phone calls. He was too busy throughout the day that he didn''t have the time to even see the screen of his phone.

    He just stood there for the last fifteen minutes staring at the empty hallway. His mind was in a blank state. Right now, he didn''t have a clue of what to do.

    ¡°Snap out of it Hakeem, you can do this,¡± said the tall man wearing a worn-out NBA jersey. A long time fan of the late Black Mamba.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get it, let¡¯s do this,¡± he suddenly tried to pump himself up.

    He could have just let those monster be but for some reason, he held the notion of being responsible more so after obtaining these amazing abilities. If it was before he wouldn¡¯t dare of doing such a stupid thing, yet remembering the scene of Jason reigning supreme over those kobolds made his dormant strong competitive spirit alighted.

    Packing up those Molotov cocktails at the backseat of his car, he drove to the warehouse in Port Lands. He took a brief stop at a nearby convenience store and chugged down a couple of cans of Monster just for the sake of spiking up his blood sugar level.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get it,¡± he said.

    A car parked a few feet away from an abandoned warehouse. The car door closed behind Hakeem as he stared at the bleak-looking warehouse. There was no one around here as most of the areas are secluded. Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, he went to the backseat and carried out a bag of Molotov cocktails. He was careful about it as he didn¡¯t want any of it to break. Since it was the only possible weapon he has to fight against those trees.

    On his other hand was a can of a flame torch, newly bought from the supermarket. As he moved closer to the warehouse, the clanking between the bottles filled up the silence air. He tried to minimize the noise but there was nothing else here except for him and the Molotov cocktails that kept on alerting his presence.

    Standing in front of the warehouse door, he hesitated as beads of sweat rained down his forehead. He didn¡¯t even do anything yet but the anxiety was getting to him. This door was further away from the previous one he used. He wasn¡¯t an idiot and he wasn¡¯t going to go through that open door.

    He left the torch on the floor and grabbed on to the handle of the door. He tugged it hard as the door slammed wide open, his hand snatched the torch on the floor as he rushed inside the dark warehouse.

    The torch was turned on as the searing blue flame continuously burned at the muzzle end. He grabbed on to a Molotov from the makeshift sling-bag as he fired the cloth wick of the Molotov.

    ¡°Prepare to die mother-fu¡­¡± he fell short of finishing his words as the warehouse was empty.

    The first time he came here, the moment he opened the door he saw those trees crawling on the ground with their roots moving like feet. Yet there was nothing on sight. It was probably due to the darkness as he couldn¡¯t see very well in the darkness.

    What was that? Thought Hakeem. He turned around as he heard rustling noises. He swore he heard it sounded like the rustling tree branches. Hakeem turned around multiple times as his eyes started to shake. Not being able to see the opponent was making him nervous.

    ¡°Come out!¡± he shouted. A bad move but in his situation, he was getting the jitters of just waiting around.

    Then he heard something. He tilted upwards and saw something.

    ¡°Shit,¡± said Hakeem.

    He leaped to the side as his whole body dropped on the floor. His athleticism made those Molotov cocktails still in a perfect state even after that sudden dynamic move. If Jason had seen that, he would have cursed out loud by the athleticism of his friend. Hakeem glanced over the spot where he once was. A looming shadow stood upright as Hakeem recognized the shape of this tall silhouette.

    ¡°Die,¡± he threw the molotov cocktail and as it made contact, the glass bottle broke.

    A bright light emerged within the deep darkness of the warehouse, the liquid drenched over the body as the fire burned everything that made contact. He saw what it was and it was definitely a tree. A squirming tree being burned alive as the screeching sound it let out was a high pitch noise that could shatter one earbud. Then his sight saw something that he could never believe.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± said Hakeem. As the tree was being burned turning it into a bonfire, he saw what was inside of this warehouse. Now he knew where they went.

    The ceiling, and the walls, everywhere he looked and all he saw was the bushy top of trees. These tree-monsters were rooting themselves on the surface of the ceiling and the wall. A great idea of taking unexpected victims by surprise.

    Then more of those trees fell from the ceiling as Hakeem could hear the cracks on the concrete floor. He looked around and more of them were coming at him. His frantic hand grabbed on another Molotov as he lighted it on.

    ¡°Stay away,¡± he said as he threw the molotov cocktail and hit the incoming tree with deadly accuracy. Again the scene of a screeching tree being burned etched in his eyes.

    His past experience as a basketball athlete aided his throwing capability to a high degree. The burned tree stop dead on their track as they squirmed like an animal being burned. The smell of charcoal wafted in the air as Hakeem prepared another lighted up cocktail.

    ¡°Haha, come and get it,¡± said Hakeem as the outcome turned out pretty good and in a way it bolstered his confidence in dealing with these trees alone by his own self.

    He threw out those Molotov cocktails in quick succession as his accuracy burned these trees like it was the fourth of July. At this point in time, the whole warehouse was alighted and Hakeem saw the numerous trees which were still rooted on the walls and on the ceiling.

    Gritting his teeth, he didn¡¯t know whether he could do this with these amount of trees still remaining passive while their friends of the forest are being burned into cinders. Then something greeted him.

    ¡°I level up?¡± unknown to Hakeem, the first tree he burned finally died after much torture, it laid on the floor like burnt up wood, as black as charcoal.

    This method was effective but it took to long to finish off even a single tree monster. Motivated by the new level, Hakeem grabbed another bottle and threw it at the tree. The continuous burn of the trees raised up smokes into the air and within the confinement of this huge warehouse, it started to affect Hakeem¡¯s breathing.

    I need to get out of here, thought Hakeem as he coughed up.

    Yet no matter where he looked, burning trees surrounded him at every angle. He didn¡¯t have anywhere else to run and even the entrance door was too far. Out of excitement, he ventured in too deep into the warehouse.

    His lungs were being burned by the toxic carbon monoxide as Hakeem kept on coughing. More and more tree monsters fell on the floor making their way to the lone human. Their roots scratched over the concrete floor as the screech annoyed the ears of Hakeem.

    Am I going to die? Thought Hakeem.

    He was running out of options. His defensive skill was on cooldown and his offensive skill couldn¡¯t be used without the iron mace which was kept back in his trunk and what left was only through charging the blazing field of trees. The burns he would get would definitely be painful but it wasn¡¯t the only way out. It was either suffocated by the smokes or being burned by these freaking trees. Dying wasn¡¯t an option.

    The glint in his eyes showed that he hadn¡¯t given up on living. He lowered his stance preparing to sprint over these burning trees. Tightening his fists, Hakeem burst into action. He ran and dodged the first burning tree yet the burning tree from behind rushed at him without a second to waste.

    Hakeem felt the searing heat as he was drenched in sweat yet he didn¡¯t stop on running. The incoming second tree came charging at him and the distance was already a few feet away. Hakeem ran and made a swift move.

    He feinted the burning tree to the left and quickly made a swift turned to the right. The swinging burning branch missed him by a hairbreadth as he dodged it using that step. He passed the tree and ran towards the door.

    A blue window emerged within this dire time as Hakeem was too tensed to even realize read through the text. His eyes were dead center on the door with a bunch of burning trees blocking his path. He got a long way to go, but if he read through the text he would have known that the skill he got back when he practiced basketball this morning had leveled up to level two.

    A favorite move of his while dribbling a basketball called Euro Step. He made it into his own skill and used it effortlessly to dodged these monsters. If Jason knew about this, he would have freaked out even more out of jealousy.

    A little bit more, thought Hakeem.

    He ran as he dodged a few more of those burning trees with the aid of his new movement type skill, Euro Step. Yet, for this ex-star athlete, the usefulness of his Euro Step was put on halt as there was no gap as the trees blocked every possible narrow path.

    For the man who never knew the word giving up, he ran with all his might and leaped through the tiny gap. His two feet left the floor as he tumbled towards that small gap, but out of sudden two branches whipped towards him like a slingshot. Those two sturdy branches hit him in mid-air as he was thrown back on the hard floor with a thud.

    ¡°Argh,¡± he yelled as the pain was intense. He managed to put up his arm to guard his face and the result was both of his arm beaten with purplish bruises.

    A few more blue window emerged in front of his eyes as some of the earlier burning trees finally turned to dead charcoal. He rose up to level five but the future looked bleak.

    Should I pour everything in agility and gamble for another run? Thought Hakeem.

    Those levels came at a perfect time but he wasn¡¯t sure whether it was enough for him to make a breakthrough. Gritting his teeth, Hakeem poured all of his points into agility as it was the last gamble. The surge of new energy flowed within his body as he broke into a run. He ran and dodged every branch that was coming at him. His Euro Step shined as he didn¡¯t forget to make use of it, but again as these trees were stacking their line of defense over and over again, as they became an impenetrable wall of trees.

    Out of the many branches that were trying to him, a random branch hit his ankle as Hakeem rolled on the floor. He stopped rolling as his head hit a hard surface of the bark. He angled his head above and saw the creepy face of a baby carved on the bark of a tree. It was smiling at him as those little screeches made the hair at the back of his neck raised up. The tree monster swung its thick branch hoping to end the life of this human.

    Hakeem couldn¡¯t get himself to stand up as he froze. As if he knew his life was about to end, he just lay there and watched.

    Yet three white glowing arrows appeared out nowhere as it struck the tree continuously at the same spot drilling a huge hole. It went limped as the tree tumbled on the floor as it didn¡¯t move like an ordinary tree.

    Hakeem turned his head over the ruckus at the other side of the warehouse. His eyes saw the sight of a man standing on top of railing that was close to the window roof. A familiar silhouette as the man was shooting glowing arrows at the trees that surrounded him. They were rushing from the walls and the ceiling as it saw this human as a plague. Hakeem saw the broken window at the back of the man as it showed how this man entered the warehouse.

    Then he saw the compound bow aimed at him. Three glowing arrows flew in the air as it struck something behind Hakeem. The cracking noise was loud and clear as Hakeem turned around and saw three trees being pierced by these unique glowing arrows. Then he heard the voice of that man whom he called a friend.

    ¡°Get up! It¡¯s not over yet!¡±

 Chapter 75

    ¡°Jason, I¡¯ll go with you,¡± said Mrs.Park.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine mom. You should go with dad, Esther will accompany me,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?!¡± said Esther with furrows in her brow.

    ¡°Okay, son. Esther, be a good sister and tag along with your brother,¡± said Mrs.Park.

    Esther wanted to refute yet she remained silent knowing the personality of her mother. She stared at the back of her parents going inside their car. She turned around and glared at Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re dead when we get back,¡± Esther said with her hands on her hips.

    ¡°Get in,¡± said Jason as he ignored whatever feeling his sister had.

    Driving on the road following the back of their parent¡¯s car, both siblings were silent. They had no intention of talking with one another not until Jason turned the wheel, swerving the car to the left at a junction.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Esther as she felt suspicious.

    Jason remained quiet but then Esther¡¯s phone rang. He glanced at the phone and saw their mom¡¯s number.

    ¡°Tell mom, we¡¯re going for a quick bite at Burger Queen,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°No,¡± she said.

    Jason gave a side glance and saw the glare coming from Esther. He saw her picking up the phone and he decided to do something.

    ¡°Mom, Jason-¡± her words cut off as her mouth was left hanging.

    Her eyes were staring at the empty driver¡¯s seat, as her whole mind went blank.

    ¡°Esther? Hello?¡± The caller was left unattended as Esther was too shocked to reply.

    Then something snatched her phone off from her grasp. She saw her phone levitating in the air as her breath just stopped.

    ¡°Mom, this is Jason. I and Esther are going to buy some supper at Burger Queen, do you want anything?¡± Esther heard her brother¡¯s voice yet she could not see him.

    After a few seconds, the call ended and the invisible Jason put the phone back into her hand.

    ¡°Jason?¡± she called out to him, staring at the empty seat.

    Then he appeared from thin air. Esther jumped on her seat in surprise as her heart was beating wildly. Her hand was on her chest trying to calm herself down.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± she said. Esther felt wary about this man as she knew her brother couldn¡¯t be this invisible guy.

    ¡°I¡¯m your brother,¡± he said.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not. My dumb brother can¡¯t turn invisible,¡± she said.

    ¡°Well tough luck, now he can,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°We¡¯re you taking me?¡± said Esther as she grasped her phone tightly.

    ¡°Port Lands,¡± he said.

    ¡°Are you going to kill me?¡± she said. Her train of thoughts was pretty chaotic. Esther was an avid reader of novels especially the thriller and mystery type and right now what she was experiencing was the likes of those in her novels.

    In this modern age, turning invisible might not be that difficult and she herself assumed that those kinds of tech had already existed and was kept from public knowledge. A rather random assumption with no basis but that was how some readers think through things.

    In her eyes, this man wasn¡¯t her brother. In her mind, the thought of someone stealing her brother¡¯s face came alive. Stealing someone¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t that hard considering the silicone mask technology, although in the movies they did kind of exaggerated it.

    ¡°Calm down, I¡¯m your brother you dimwit,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Prove it,¡± she said as her back was drenched in sweat.

    ¡°Hmm, remember that time when you were seventeen I think. Dad took us camping at the reserve park, and hiking involved in our list of activities, you hated it. So, while dad took the lead, he left both of us and for some reason you had to take a dump while hiking. So, me being the good brother I had to wait for you, so you went along going behind a bush but then out of sudden you came running towards half-nake-¡± as Jason was telling the story for proof she suddenly cut him.

    ¡°Stop, I get it. You don¡¯t have to remind me,¡± she said.

    Jason giggled by his own self remembering that embarrassing moment. That sister of his ran half-naked while shouting a bear was chasing after her. Yet the thing she heard was merely just a few tree branches being broken.

    ¡°Stop giggling or I¡¯ll punch you,¡± said Esther.

    Jason ignored her and kept on giggling. Esther on the hand was flushed in beet red. The only one who knew about that incident was this damn brother of hers. Thus conclude her wild imagination about him being someone else.

    ¡°So, how did you do it?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°What?¡± he said.

    ¡°The invisible thing,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°It¡¯s my superpower,¡± said Jason as he grinned at her.

    ¡°Stop bullshitting Jason, or else I¡¯m going tell mom,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°You better not or else I¡¯m going to kill you,¡± said Jason with a dead cold expression on his face.

    Esther noticed the change in her brother¡¯s face as she couldn¡¯t help but gulped down a mouthful of her saliva.

    ¡°Under any circumstances, you can¡¯t tell mom and dad. They are safer without knowing about it,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Why did you tell me?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Because, I had to, or else Hakeem is going to die,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Hakeem? But why him? What¡¯s he got to do with this?¡± she asked while her body was shaking. This was a first for her to see a different side about her brother. He spoke about killing without batting an eyelid as if it was something normal and that made her nervous about this whole situation.

    ¡°He¡¯s fighting against the monsters, so unless I get to him then he might not survive,¡± said Jason.

    The word monster made Esther remembered that news she watched in wetube. The death toll from these monster invasions was getting out of hand, she too knew the severity of these things.

    ¡°You mean the UC? But why Port Lands? They aren¡¯t there, the news said they were at the Kawartha Park,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Well, there is now,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding right,¡± said Esther as she couldn¡¯t grasp the situation that kept on escalating. ¡°Then why the hell are we going there? We should drive back home. No, we should call the police.¡±

    ¡°No need, I can handle it,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± said Esther as she swiped her phone preparing to call someone.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call anyone Esther,¡± said Jason as his tone was commanding.

    Soon, tears fell down from Esther''s cheeks. The pressure was getting into her. She couldn¡¯t handle it any longer as she hadn¡¯t experienced such a situation before and with one that involves life or death, it indeed put a burden on her.

    ¡°Stop crying, you¡¯re not going to die,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But¡­ but¡­ you¡¯re taking me to the monsters. Wuahhh,¡± she suddenly started crying and wailing in the car. As if she decided to revert into a child and crying like one.

    ¡°Relax. You¡¯re just going to drop me there and then you can drive back home,¡± said Jason.

    His words calmed her down yet the sniffling sound came at an interval. As Esther calmed down a bit, her rational mind kicked in.

    ¡°What happened to you in New York?¡± she asked.

    Jason gave a glance at her and remained his silence. Esther kept her head down as she never thought about how her brother survived through the chaos in New York City. She thought it was simple as the military saving the day yet it was far more worse.

    ¡°How did you-¡± she wanted to ask more about her brother''s current circumstances but Jason cut him off.

    ¡°There,¡± he pointed.

    An abandoned warehouse with black smoke coming out through the windows. He even saw flickering flames from the distance.

    Esther cast her sight to the place pointed by Jason and saw the state of the abandoned warehouse. The closer they got, the more worried she felt.

    ¡°It¡¯s burning,¡± she said.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Jason said as he got out of the minivan.

    ¡°Jason!¡± she called out her brother.

    ¡°Drive back,¡± he said as he opened the back door of the minivan and took out his bag while filling it up with the three axe he made.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± asked Esther.

    ¡°Saving a friend,¡± he said.

    ¡°But-¡±

    ¡°Just go back Esther, it¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll be back home before sunrise,¡± he said as he closed the back door.

    Esther watched from within the car the sight of her brother taking out a bow and arrow. She saw him ran at incredible speed before she saw him climbing up the wall without a ladder as he smashed through the window. She stared motionless at the incredible feat of her brother. She couldn¡¯t believe it but the truth was in front of her.

    --

    Jason dropped on the metal railing by the side of the window roof. He kicked and pushed the tree monsters that surrounded him before he saw the sight of Hakeem on the floor with a tree monster right on top of him.

    This better work.

    He pulled the bowstring without and as he reached full draw, three white glowing arrows emerged from thin air. He aimed and released the bowstring.

    Three glowing white arrows struck the tree at a single point delivering a death sentence in an instant.

    ¡°Nice,¡± he said as he was satisfied seeing his new skill, Triple Strafe. A skill he gained from the scroll dropped by the Archer Kobold. He didn¡¯t forget his previous mistake and used it as soon as he obtained it.

    Now was the first time he had unleashed the power of this offensive skill.

    ¡°Get up! It¡¯s not over yet!¡± he shouted at Hakeem as the latter got up and continued on surviving.

    Jason turned to his side as he shot Triple Strafe at these pesky trees taking them one by one. He scanned through his ability.

    Oaken Haunted Tree(Misty Abyss Forest)

    One of the terrifying floras in Misty Abyss Forest. A forest known for misleading visitors as well as killing them for nutrition. The Oaken Haunted Tree is a tree possesses by the lingering evil aura that was once owned by one the long-forgotten Djinn Commander. The story told of how the Djinn¡¯s arm was buried within this forest thus the reason for these trees being alive and moving.

    Species: Plant

    Level : 10

    Elemental Weakness : Fire

    Jason saw the level of these tree monsters, enough to made him assured about his impending victory. He blasted a hole right through them as he continuously shot Triple Strafe. Having an offensive skill really made a difference as he was killing them without a cinch.

    At times, he glanced at Hakeem who was desperate in his attempt to dodged those attacks. Jason didn¡¯t forget about his friend as he kept on shooting from the metal railing to the trees surrounding Hakeem. But more and more of the Oaken Haunted Trees came down from above blocking Jason¡¯s path in attempting to save his friend.

    He noticed the cloud of smoke filling up the air inside this cramp warehouse. Only a few windows were broken for ventilation but it wasn¡¯t enough. Jason saw Hakeem coughing as his speed was dwindling.

    Shit, he¡¯s suffocating.

    Ignoring the trees that were surrounding him, he leaped off the metal railing as he turned invisible as these trees turned confused. He ran and jumped over these trees making his way to Hakeem.

    He arrived as he jumped in the air and kicked the tree that was about to strike Hakeem. He put a crack on the bark of the tree as he then pulled the bowstring releasing three white glowing arrows delivering a quick death.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Hakeem said as he was still coughing.

    Jason made a sweep as he shot Triple Strafe multiple times as he took down those trees near them. Hakeem again baffled and amazed by the strength of this friend. Jason grabbed on to Hakeem¡¯s waist as he turned invisible. One of the features he learned about Shadow Sneak, he could turn anyone who was touched by him to turned invisible. Carrying Hakeem, he ran towards the open door and within a blink of an eye, both of them were outside the smoke infested warehouse.

    Hakeem took a deep breath as his lungs finally had the chance of breathing fresh air and not carbon monoxide. Jason, on the other hand, turned his attention to the trees who were trying to get out of the door. He kicked and punched them barring them from getting out.

    ¡°Jason,¡± a female voice reached Jason.

    He turned around and saw Esther.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing here? You¡¯re supposed to go back,¡± he said as he didn¡¯t expect Esther to still be here.

    Esther¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t glance away from the sight of those trees moving around like they were animals. Her whole body was shivering as she felt the urge to run away. Now, she felt she made a mistake coming here and not driving away. She who felt she was the smartest out of the Park siblings now felt she was the dumbest.

    For some reason, she couldn¡¯t go away because of the man who she called brother. She glanced at Jason who closed up the door and blocking with the big slab of concretes that was stacked beside the door. For now, the threat was gone as one of the sources of the exit was blocked. Jason sighed out of relief but the situation hadn¡¯t ended yet.

    ¡°You okay?¡± he asked Hakeem.

    Hakeem nodded as his breathing finally calmed down. Hakeem got up on his two feet and hugged Jason.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet, we¡¯ve still got unfinished business,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Dude, there¡¯s a whole warehouse of them. Both of us can¡¯t take them,¡± said Hakeem.

    BANG!

    Both Hakeem and Esther jumped in surprise as they heard the warehouse wall being knocked continuously by the tree monsters inside.

    ¡°Jason, let¡¯s just go,¡± said Esther as she didn¡¯t want to stay here any longer.

    Jason glanced at this sister of his. He had an idea in mind and it might be the safest way for the incoming future.

    ¡°No, we will stay and fight,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t say a thing as he knew that Jason won¡¯t change his mind while Esther stood there not knowing what else to say to convince this brother of hers.

    ¡°Do you still got those Molotov?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°There are twenty more left,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Good enough,¡± said Jason.

    The three of them went to Hakeem¡¯s car. Jason slung the bag of Molotov on his shoulder and passed on the flame torch at Esther.

    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re going to be the one who kills them,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What? No!¡± she denied it as she passed back the can to Jason. She was about to flee but Jason grabbed on to her waist. She struggled to get out of Jason¡¯s grasp but it was futile.

    ¡°Dude, are you sure about this,¡± Hakeem was worried seeing the sibling''s interaction.

    ¡°If she gets strong, at least she won¡¯t die in the near future,¡± said Jason as he stared Hakeem right in the eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got any spare gas?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I do but why?¡± tonight was a lucky night. Hakeem had a few spare gas container at the back, enough for Jason¡¯s simple plan.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Esther, don¡¯t make a sound or else you¡¯re going to fuck us up,¡± to his word, Esther stopped struggling. Jason grabbed on both of Hakeem¡¯s and Esther¡¯s waist.

    ¡°What are you-¡± before Hakeem could say a word, they went indivisible as Jason ran up the wall of the warehouse.

    Both Hakeem and Esther were frightened seeing the risky action of Jason. In just mere seconds, they were a few feet away up in the sky. Jason broke a window with his feet and pushed on the ledge of the window frame as he propelled himself up towards the roof.

    He made it as he ran at the center of the roof. He let both of them down as both of them flopped on the roof surface. Their knees grew weak as they weren¡¯t prepared for whatever Jason was planning.

    ¡°Stay here for a while and don¡¯t move and don¡¯t make any noise,¡± said Jason.

    The unprepared duo nodded to Jason who kept on going at a fast pace. Jason put down the sling bag full of Molotov cocktails and raced back to Hakeem¡¯s car.

    ¡°What is he doing?¡± asked Hakeem as he finally managed to at least calm himself.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to set aflame the whole warehouse,¡± said Esther.

    Hakeem glanced at Esther in surprise. Esther had seen through the simple plan. With his brother being invisible he could do almost anything with Hakeem¡¯s extra gas container.

    ¡°Your brother is crazy,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°I know,¡± said Esther.

    Meanwhile, Jason grabbed on to the gas containers. He ran again up the wall and smashed through the window. He stood on top of the metal railing as he turned invisible. The trees were agitated as they kept on trying to break down the door as well as the walls.

    On the other hand, some of them ran out through the open warehouse shutter door the one used previously by Hakeem in his first attempt. But it didn¡¯t matter to Jason as he stuck to the plan. While maintaining invisibility he drenched the floor and the walls with the gas that he had in hand.

    Soon, the whole warehouse smelled like oil gas. He could have just lighted up a matchstick and be done with it but that wasn¡¯t his intention. He escaped through the window and went to the only open door. He killed a few of those who ran away through the shutter door before shutting it down. The metal shutter door kept on being banged by the trees from the inside. He ran back to the rooftop as he saw Hakeem and Esther being surrounded by trees.

    Sneaky bastards

    A few trees who were rooted on the ceiling roof noticed the presence of Hakeem and Esther. They popped out a hole on the roof and came to killed these two humans. Jason arrived by the nick of time and slaughtered them all with two axes in his hands. Jason glanced at the frightened duo.

    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s time for some easy leveling,¡± said Jason with a smile.

    He instructed them both to lighted up the cocktails as he went on to make a few holes on the roof. With an anticipating grin, he said to them.

    ¡°Drop them.¡±

    Both Hakeem and Esther dropped the lighted up Molotov cocktails through the hole on the rooftop and the moment they fell on the floor, a burst of flames raging in every corner. The sound of trees screeching from the inside of the warehouse echoed through the night sky.

    ¡°Keep on dropping,¡± he said.

    Hakeem went on to dropped a few of them through the other holes while Esther hesitated. She heard the screams of these living creature and she couldn¡¯t help but felt mortified over what she did. Although they were monsters, seeing them suffered because of what she did impact her more than she had expected.

    ¡°Esther,¡± Jason called.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. They¡¯re screaming,¡± she said as she covered her ears.

    ¡°Think about mom and dad. Think about if those monsters are in front of our doorstep. Do you think they will show mercy at our parents?¡± said Jason, as he tried to push his little sister.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± she shouted.

    ¡°They will kill mom and dad and they will eat them until nothing is left,¡± he edged her on.

    ¡°Stop!¡± she said as she couldn¡¯t stand those screeching noise of being close to death and her brother telling this awful uncertain future.

    ¡°Will you look at the empty graves of our parents or will you kill these things before they kill us,¡± he said.

    ¡°Argh!¡± she shouted to the top of her lungs, tears like raindrops falling over her cheeks.

    Esther stood up and went on throwing the Molotov cocktails out of pure contempt. Fueled by the thought of her parents, she couldn¡¯t let it happen to them. Her useless compassion for these creatures can go to hell as in the new world, survival was for the fittest. Jason stood there watching his sister who was consumed by her own pitiful rage. He knew that compassion in this new age was utterly useless.

    Soon, the whole warehouse was being burned from the inside. The flammable trees were like snacks for the flame as the fire kept on raging inside. The trio watched from afar the sight of a whole warehouse being burned by them. Just a minute ago, Jason brought these two back on the ground far away from the sight of arson.

    These trees stood there in silence while staring at their act of arson. If the authorities were here they would have put them behind bars. But fortunately for them, the blue blood wasn¡¯t here.

    Then the reward appeared, Hakeem and Esther stared at the blue windows that kept on popping. Esther once again was shocked. She pulled the sleeve of Jason¡¯s shirt while pointing at the empty air in front of her.

    ¡°You¡¯re one of us now,¡± said Jason.

    Esther had a lot of questions in mind but then something exploded. The trio turned their heads back to the warehouse as a big hole emerged from the front side of the warehouse. A loud screech echoed within the night sky as something huge came out from the hole.

    A twenty feet tree came out from that huge hole. Some parts of it were burning and yet that wasn¡¯t the reason why it was screeching in sorrow. It glanced at the trio, the cause of all of this mayhem. With huge roots crawling on the ground, it charged towards the trio.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°Jason, we need to run,¡± said Esther.

    They were hinting at Jason to run but for him, he was smiling from ear to ear as he said.

    ¡°Where the hell have you been hiding?¡±

 Chapter 76

    Three bright glowing arrows struck the twenty feet tree. It knocked back a few steps as the sheer force of the arrows were powerful.

    ¡°Get inside the car and leave,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Can you handle it?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Of course,¡± he glanced with a grin.

    Hakeem rode in his car while Esther sat on the driver¡¯s seat of the minivan. She turned down the side window.

    ¡°Don¡¯t die,¡± she said while glancing at the sight of her brother¡¯s back.

    ¡°Wait for me at the bridge,¡± he said.

    The two people left, leaving Jason to face the big tree all on his own.

    ¡°Scan,¡± he said.

    Oaken Haunted Elder Tree(Misty Abyss Forest)(Mini-Boss)

    A long-living tree from the forest of Misty Abyss. Any man or beast that faces this tree will only end up turning into its nutrition. Its harden bark strong and durable and only the sharpest axe can cut them down. The longer it lives the higher its possibility of inheriting the Djinn Commander¡¯s abilities.

    Species: Plant

    Level : 15

    Elemental Weakness : Fire

    S.Ability : Inc.Defense

    The red lights coming from behind the vehicles attracted the attention of the Elder Tree. Its root sprawling through the ground cracking the asphalt road as it carried the huge trunk of the Elder Tree. It was gaining speed as it tried to chase over the fleeing vehicles.

    Jason ran towards the Elder Tree as his hand kept on shooting Triple Strafe. He didn¡¯t care the dwindling rate of his EP as the glowing arrows pierced the thick bark of the Elder Tree.

    Basic Archery level up to level 10

    Basic Archery has reached the maximum level

    Upgrade into Intermediate Archery Lv.1

    He smiled seeing the upgrade. The power behind his arrows was going to hit a lot harder into those hard bark. The bowstring kept on stretching as arrows rained through the sky. They were like homing missiles visible through the night sky, striking the Elder Tree from above.

    Its leaves fell on the ground as the Elder Tree turned its attention to Jason. It chased after Jason swinging the lush tree branches at the man. Jason turned invisible dodging the huge tree branch.

    The road cracked by the intense smash of the Elder Tree. Jason emerged out from his invisibility as three arrows were already flying through the air. With the target twenty feet in height, Jason had no problem with shooting it accurately.

    Triple Strafe level up to level 3

    He was having an easy time fighting against this big tree and it turned into a chasing game between these two. The ranged damage kept on piling up against the durable Elder Tree. The Elder Tree couldn¡¯t do anything against this slippery bastard. A bastard who only knew to hide and strike from afar.

    Jason kept on with this simple strategy until ten minutes later, the Elder Tree fell with a thud. He felt the rumbling beneath his feet as he could imagine the weight of this Elder Tree.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 21

    He reaped the reward over his diligence as he stood tall on top of the dead Elder Tree. His EP almost emptied out but he finished it before his ammo was out. Jason waited on the dead Elder Tree with a grin. Then it appeared, two things emerged from nothingness floating above the dead Elder Tree.

    A scroll and a pair of blackish wooden arm gauntlet. He was expecting more considering it''s a mini-boss but these two were enough for the night.

    He grabbed the floating items and wore the gauntlets immediately. The scroll, on the other hand, made his eyes turned wide.

    Would you like to learn Minor Defense Buff?

    He said yes and a new skill enlisted within his repertoire. Then he heard the sirens of the police force from afar. He turned towards the road and saw the blinking blue and red lights. Behind the police cars were huge fire trucks blaring even louder with their sirens.

    They were pretty quick as someone probably reported about the burning warehouse which was like a fire beacon from afar.

    ¡°Time to split,¡± he said while disappearing into the darkness.

    --

    ¡°Why are we here?¡± Hakeem was bewildered as they were sitting in Burger Queen. He couldn¡¯t sit still as his eyes went around the whole fast-food franchise.

    ¡°He said he wants Burger Queen,¡± said Esther yet she was unsure.

    Rather than going straight back home, she just felt it was better to wait for him here. It was a long shot since they never agree to meet up here.

    She stared at the entrance and saw a familiar silhouette entering the premise.

    ¡°Jason,¡± she shouted.

    The man glanced at her and only waved his hand as a response. He then waited in line at the counter. His eyes were already scanning the menu.

    ¡°He really is here,¡± said Hakeem as he was surprised seeing this man appeared and lining up as if it was normal.

    Both Hakeem and Esther knew what they had been through and for them seeing this man acting so normal felt surreal for them. They had been waiting here for quite a while and the only thing they bought was a sundae and chocolate pie and neither had been touch.

    They just didn¡¯t have the appetite after going through such a harrowing experience.

    They sat and stared at the sight of Jason in amazement until he sat on the table with them. Jason didn¡¯t say a thing and went straight into eating the grill-burger. He ignored the stares from these two and just munched down without a care.

    ¡°How can you even eat at a time like this?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Fighting makes me hungry,¡± said Jason.

    He gave a reasonable argument. Hakeem¡¯s stomach growled after hearing that logical reason.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll go get some burgers, you want some?¡± he asked Esther. The only woman at the table gave a glare at Hakeem.

    Hakeem raised up both of his hands as he went away. A couple of minutes later, Hakeem got back with a couple of burgers on the tray. The amount was double of what Jason was eating.

    ¡°Really?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°What? I¡¯m hungry,¡± said Hakeem.

    Hakeem was contradicting himself at the beginning but a man with an empty stomach is never wrong.

    ¡°Did you see the firefighter and the police? They passed by us when we were leaving Port Lands,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Yeah, they came after I kill that Elder Tree,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You know its name?¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°A tree has a name?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°But how?¡± Hakeem asked.

    These two kept on questioning while Jason kept on eating.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a skill which can identify monsters,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Damn, you¡¯ve really got some useful skills. You can hide, you can shoot three arrows and you can even identify those monsters,¡± said Hakeem as his eyes were twinkling.

    Esther knocked on the table staring at Jason.

    ¡°Explain,¡± she said.

    ¡°Hakeem, explain to her,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Don¡¯t shift the responsibility,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have one. So, Hakeem can explain,¡± said Jason.

    Jason remained silent ignoring the glare coming from his sister. Hakeem felt the tension between them and to ease out the situation, he explained to Esther about the game-like system.

    ¡°This is all just a game? Are you being serious?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Accept it if you want to live in this new world,¡± said Jason as he dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

    ¡°But the police and the military-¡±

    Jason rolled his eyes as he heard these things multiple times and he was getting sick of it. He had to intervene.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you this, the military can¡¯t do a thing. Those who were stationed at Kawartha Park are all dead,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Wait, you went to that park?!¡± She leaned over towards Jason surprised hearing that new fact.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go home, mom¡¯s going to be worry,¡± said Jason. ¡°See you later.¡±

    Hakeem felt dumbfounded as he was still eating. The look in his eyes was conveying why they couldn¡¯t wait for him to finish his meal.

    Two siblings were on their way home. Neither were talking.

    ¡°Why did you let me into this?¡± after a long silence, she asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know when, but if those monsters really come down to Toronto, I need someone to be there for our parents,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What about you?¡± she asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s a possibility that I might not be there,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°As I said, it¡¯s just a possibility and don¡¯t mind it too much,¡± said Jason.

    Silence prevailed once more between the siblings. They came back home and gave a fright to their parents. After calming the parents down with a bag of Burger Queen takeout, the whole family had a merry time.

    Jason came inside his room and kept the room in the dark. He stood by the window and stared at the sky. Glancing at his clench fist, he looked at his status window that was far different when he first obtained it.

    ¡°I need to get stronger.¡±

 Chapter 77

    Getting up from his bed, Jason yawned as his eyes were barely open. The sun was already up and the alarm clock beside the table was already showing it was early in the afternoon. Last night probably put a toll on his body since he did practice smithing in the day.

    Taking his steps down the stairs, he saw his family gathered in front of the flat-screen television. Judging from the space it was taking on the wall, Jason bet that this one might be a new one. His dad had itchy hands when it was about new technology.

    Jason slightly glanced at the screen and his eyes went wide open. Esther who was focused on the TV glanced behind her.

    ¡°You have to see this,¡± she said.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a bunch of reporters filming the monsters,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°No, not that. Just wait,¡± she said.

    To her sister¡¯s suggestion, he waited and took a seat on the L-shaped sofa. The news was the same like any news about the monster invasion. Big fat lies from reporters telling of how the military had the situation under control and to be rest assured by the strength of their military force, yet all of those were just a facade.

    The news station probably already knew the truth but with a little sum money under the table, it was enough to mislead the viewers.

    Then, Jason saw it. He leaned towards the TV as his eyes focused at the sight of that bright red-hair silhouette.

    --

    A reporter with her cameraman was on the Lincoln Highway. They are one of the few journalists who detested the way the military handled the press. She knew the truth, a truth that she couldn¡¯t handle. She knew the moment the reality went live on the screen then the whole United States would fall into chaos. Yet her journalism spirit made her falter about this truth, she felt the urge to tell it to everyone.

    Rather than blatantly accusing the military of not doing their job, she planned to catch it on camera but with the tight surveillance from the men in green, she was barred from coming close to them.

    But she was luckier than she thought. While getting out of the way from the military ops, she and her cameraman stumbled upon an unbelievable sight.

    ¡°Stop,¡± she said.

    The car stopped in the middle of the road, thankfully they were no cars on the road except for them. The citizen of New Jersey had a little bit of sense and ran away far from the area close to the crack.

    ¡°Megan, are you sure about this? The UC are coming at us and we need to get out of here,¡± said the cameraman.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a wuss. Drive the car closer to Walmart,¡± said Megan.

    The cameraman obliged and as they got closer to Walmart''s empty parking lot, the cameraman grabbed on to his video camera out of instinct. Now, he knew what Megan had seen.

    ¡°Get out and shoot the video,¡± said Megan.

    ¡°What? It¡¯s too dangerous. We can just shoot it here in the car,¡± said the cameraman.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a wuss Mike. A professional need to stay professional,¡± said Megan.

    She got out of the car and ran closer to the parking lot. She hid behind the big Walmart¡¯s road sign as her hand kept on beckoning Mike to come over.

    ¡°I¡¯m so going to die,¡± said Mike as he ran to Megan with a big video camera on his shoulder.

    ¡°You know, we can just record it and go back to the TV station,¡± said Mike.

    ¡°Record? Hell no, we¡¯re going live with this,¡± said Megan.

    ¡°What? We¡¯re not authorize¡­¡± Mike¡¯s word fell over as he saw Megan showing her phone. A text from the chief himself, telling to go on with it as the station was ready for a live broadcast.

    ¡°How do I look?¡± Megan readied herself.

    ¡°You look fine. We¡¯re going live by 3¡­2¡­¡± Mike gave the okay and Megan showed her professionalism.

    ¡°I¡¯m Megan Wolfe and I¡¯m bringing you live, the hope of humanity,¡± said Megan.

    The live broadcast caught the sight of a woman with her clothes at the brink of being shredded into pieces. Her bright red hair tied in a ponytail jumping around in the air as she dodged the claws and fangs of these big wolves.

    Her breath was ragged and her body was drenched in her own sweat. With all those cuts and claw marks on her clothes yet her skin was still perfectly white and healthy, but her time was close to running out.

    That Jason really knows how to jinx a person, thought Bryce. She remembered his words about her being able to survive through the jaws of a wolf with her newfound ability and here she was fighting against a pack of them.

    She had been training for the past week and indeed it wasn¡¯t enough. Her determination to protect was beginning to crumble as she felt the difficulty of fighting. Eight against one was unfair but she didn¡¯t have a choice, there was nothing fair about war and not when you put your life on the line.

    Eight wolves attacked her as she dodged and tried to attack. But it was futile. These wolves are a lot of swifter than they look and with that third eye hanging at the center of its head, it only made it worse for Bryce.

    Am I going to die? Thought Bryce.

    But then she remembered the memories at the airport. She proclaimed to the capable man that she would be the protector of New Jersey.

    I can¡¯t give up, thought Bryce.

    A wolf pounced at her and she leaped in response. They collided against one another as the wolf¡¯s jaw was biting down on Bryce¡¯s forearm. Notification windows came up one after another telling her that the limit of Copper Body was reaching to an end. It was either her or the wolf.

    Both fell on the asphalt parking lot and Bryce stabbed the wolf right in the eye. Her resounding shout fueled her vigor as she pressed the hilt further into the wolf¡¯s skull. It struggled for a while and in the end, it stopped moving. A blue window emerged as she leveled up but the battle hadn¡¯t ended yet. Seven more were left and two of them were already baring their claws at the unguarded red-hair lady.

    BANG!

    A loud noise echoed in the parking lot. The gunshot snapped Bryce out of her momentary daze. She got up on her feet and guarded herself with her two kitchen knives, one of them already had a chipped blade. She glanced at the source of the gunshot and saw a man jumping down from his cruiser motorcycle. A long barrel shotgun was in his hand as the smoke from the previous shot still lingered around the muzzle.

    He ran towards Bryce with his beige trench coat flapping by the wind. A wolf charged at him and pounced at this new prey. It leaped but the shotgun shot once more, the pounce fell short as the wolf landed on the ground. The shotgun didn¡¯t do any damage at the wolf but the force behind it was enough to render its pounce ineffective.

    The trench coat man came running at the wolf and stabbed it in the eye with a switchblade. The wolf retaliated opening its jaw wide trying to bite the man by the head, he pulled the trigger and the shotgun roared. The force from the bullets shut the jaw of the wolf from below as the trench coat man stabbed it on the eye multiple times until it was finally dead.

    It kicked the head of the wolf dislodging its switchblade. Blood spurted out as the man glared at the five other wolves. His eyes were filled with hatred, hatred towards these creatures from another world.

    ¡°Watch out,¡± a voice came from the side.

    The trench coat man noticed a bit too late as a wolf was already in motion of pouncing at him. Yet a red-hair woman leaped into action tackling the wolf to the ground. She got back up and ran to the trench coat man¡¯s side.

    ¡°Help me,¡± Bryce said.

    ¡°With pleasure,¡± said the trench coat man. His hate-fill eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of those six wolves as the pack started positioning themselves for another attack.

    ¡°Bryce,¡± Bryce said.

    ¡°Moretti,¡± he said.

    Both man and woman stood side by side as they prepared for another clash with these hungry wolves.

    ¡°Cover your ears,¡± said Moretti.

    ¡°Why?¡± she said. Yet she knew what he meant after her line of sight saw the purplish round thing forming on top of Moretti¡¯s palm.

    --

    Meanwhile, Mike who was capturing the moment was trembling seeing this surreal scene. Even Megan was rendered speechless, she knew for a fact that the military couldn¡¯t kill these damn monsters and yet here she found two people capable of killing them.

    Megan gulped down her saliva as she faced the camera once more.

    ¡°Citizen of New Jersey, two of these monsters from the crack had been killed by humans, by us and they are not even military. They are like us normal people, living normal lives and here they are now fighting for our sake, cheer and pray for them, to the hope of mankind.¡±

 Chapter 78

    Jason leaned back on the couch. He lost his interest over the news. He knew the red-hair lady but the man shooting the shotgun was a new one. Although using firearms are known to be useless but using it as a knockback deterrent was quite interesting.

    I doubt those shotgun can do the same thing against a Bumi bison. Those wolves might be weaker than the Oaken Haunted Tree.

    Jason tried to utilized ¡®Scan¡¯ hoping to use it over the monsters on the screen, and as he expected the only thing that came up was the specification of the new flat-screen TV. Esther who sat next to him leaned over to him.

    ¡°They¡¯re the same like you,¡± she whispered.

    ¡°You mean us,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, I thought you and Hakeem are the only one,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°There¡¯s more than you think,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to explain are you?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Look at the screen, that shotgun guy is doing something interesting,¡± said Jason.

    His eyes focused back at the news as the trench coat man unveiled his own special ability.

    --

    ¡°Megan, do you see that?¡± Mike who was capturing the video couldn¡¯t help but shudder to saw the unthinkable.

    Megan was staring at the sight of the trench coat man forming something purplish in his hand. It came from thin air and the rumor she heard over the past two weeks was starting to come back at her. There was a rumor floating in the journalism world, about people doing extraordinary things known as Awaken.

    ¡°Mike, don¡¯t you ever stop recording,¡± said Megan.

    A purple color orb formed on top of Moretti¡¯s palm. There was even a wick at the top of it.

    ¡°A bomb? That¡¯s your ability?¡± said Bryce.

    The wick lighted up on its own and Moretti threw the purple bomb at the center of the pack. The wolves were wary as they stared at the sight of the thing being thrown in the air. One of them howled and they ran in all directions, but it was too late.

    ¡°Go!¡± Moretti said.

    He ran towards the disperse pack. Bryce was still confused by the whole situation but she ran after him. The purple bomb landed on the asphalt ground as Moretti muttered.

    ¡°Paralyzing Bomb.¡±

    The bomb exploded releasing a purplish cloud of dust enveloping the whole pack. The moment these wolves sucked in the purplish air, all six of them stopped moving paralyzed on the spot.

    ¡°They¡¯re not moving?¡± said Bryce. She was confused but Moretti wasn¡¯t. The switchblade danced between Moretti¡¯s fingers as he then stabbed it right into the eye of one of the immobile wolves. The man stabbed it multiple times until there was no life in its eyes.

    Bryce saw the opportunity and knifed the wolf closest to her. She gritted her teeth as she too did the same thing, stabbing the shit out of that wolf until its dead.

    The growl from the wolves returned once more as they started to move. One managed to bite Bryce at the flank sending her down to the ground. She winced at the slight bit of force as its fang dug deep into her enhanced flesh.

    The window kept on blocking her view as she saw her Copper Body points dwindling into a single digit. If it ends up at zero, then she had no doubt she would end up dead.

    ¡°Argh!¡± she yelled as she stabbed the wolf multiple times. She stabbed at the head a few times but it was useless as their hide was strong. Luckily, the tip of her kitchen knife pierced through its eye.

    The wolf jerked a few time but Bryce relentless assault brought it to death. Yet she had no time to rest, another wolf bared its fangs at the unguarded Bryce. Inches from biting her at the neck, the sole of Moretti¡¯s foot kicked the wolf right at the body, knocking it far away.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Bryce as she noticed the dripping blood from Moretti. He was covered in bite wounds from top to bottom. It seemed he was in a much more worst condition than her.

    ¡°You¡¯re hurt,¡± said Bryce.

    The purple bomb manifested itself once more on top of Moretti¡¯s palm as he threw it like it was a fastball. The two still living wolves ran in opposite directions fleeing from the purple dust cloud. One of them paralyzed while another escaped by a hairbreadth.

    ¡°Take care of the paralyze one,¡± said Moretti.

    He rushed at the wolf who was charging at them. Bryce wanted him to stop seeing how bad his injuries were but she couldn¡¯t let the opportunity to go to waste. She attacked the immobile wolf while stabbing the heck out of it she glanced at Moretti.

    She stared at the wolf who was biting Morettie¡¯s arm. The wolf shook its head from side to side ripping apart the arm of that man. Both fell on the ground as the wolf was stronger than Moretti yet the man didn¡¯t know the meaning of giving up. Even when his life was at the edge of danger, his switchblade didn¡¯t stop stabbing at the wolf while trying to pierce it through the eye.

    But the struggling wolf was hard to stab and Moretti stabbed it right through the inside of the jaw. Moretti pushed it piercing the soft flesh of its jaw. He ripped through the flesh and the blood flowed down. The wolf released the bite and retreated while shaking its head.

    Moretti didn¡¯t stop as he tackled the distraught wolf. His arms and body moved swiftly as he choked the wolf. The wolf was still struggling as it still had a lot of fight in it left. Then a red-hair lady appeared as she did the finishing touch.

    A kitchen knife lodged inside the eye socket of the dead wolf. Moretti pushed the dead wolf away as he stood up on his two feet.

    ¡°is your arm okay?¡± she asked.

    He didn¡¯t reply as he turned away getting back to his cruiser motorcycle.

    Bryce ran at him and held his arm. She watched the mangled sleeve of his trench coat, she expected to see a severe bite wound but what she saw was a metal arm guard. Moretti took back his arm with force, yet before she could leave any further a big camera lens was right in front of his face.

    ¡°Citizen of New Jersey, there you have it. The heroes of humanity, they won against the unfair fight between man against UC. One of them is this courageous woman,¡± said Megan as she was smiling while broadcasting this live news.

    She hit it big and she was going to get more of it. The microphone was pointed at the confused Bryce. She didn¡¯t expect an interview and considering how ruffle she looks, this definitely wasn¡¯t the best moment for her.

    ¡°Please say a few words to the audience, tell us how you defeat these abominable creatures that even the military couldn¡¯t defeat,¡± said Megan as she put a subtle dent at the military credibility.

    ¡°I¡­ uhm¡­¡± Bryce didn¡¯t know what to say while Moretti already shoved the cameraman away from his face.

    Then she felt something inside of her.

    ¡°We can fight back,¡± she said with her determine eyes staring at the camera. ¡°Defeat any one of them and you will obtain the power to fight against these monsters, monsters that changed our lives, monsters that kill the lives of the innocent and I¡¯m not the only one. They are more powerful people out there, trying to fight against this threat. Stop relying on others and believe in yourself, I can do it and so can you.¡±

    ¡°There you have it, a great speech from our humanity¡¯s hope and your name is¡­¡± Megan faced the mic to Bryce.

    ¡°I¡¯m Bryce Hendricks and I¡¯m not going let these monsters take over the world.¡±

    --

    The live broadcast was cut off turning back to the annoying ads.

    An aoe stun ability, I really need one of those.

    He watched the crude fight and he wasn¡¯t impressed. It was like a child¡¯s play in his eyes considering the low level of those wolves. For some reason, he felt sour seeing Bryce. The lost Copper Body really put a dent in him and seeing how Bryce utilizing it in a poor manner only intensified his regret.

    ¡°So are you like her? The hope of humanity, trying to save the world,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. I¡¯m not that naive,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°So, when are you going to train me?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Train you? I¡¯ve got no time for that, you can ask Hakeem, here¡¯s his number,¡± said Jason.

    He got up and ignored the glare from his sister.

    --

    Unknown to the rest of the United States, the military barged inside the news station stopping the live feed but it was too late. The fight had ended and the citizen had all saw the hidden truth.

    ¡°Sir, we didn¡¯t manage to stop them,¡± said one of the soldiers raiding the news station.

    The high official at the other line was fuming. While those other Awaken people who still hid under the shadows saw the broadcast had their own thought in mind.

    A man was sitting on the edge of a cliff of the Grand Canyon. He paused the video of the news as he saw the rather interesting duo.

    ¡°Fighting with someone else doesn¡¯t seem bad.¡±

    Meanwhile, in one of the prestigious companies in Silicon Valley, a woman sat in front of her desktop looking at the video enthralled by the sight of Bryce and Moretti fighting. Her big round glasses were sliding down as she pushed it up back in its place.

    ¡°Others, I need to find others like me.¡±

    A farm in a small town in Texas, a man came out of his house. He whistled as a horse leaped over the fence, he jumped on top of the steed as he rode through the wind. He was smiling as he just watched the news about others like him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one.¡±

    --

    Jason tied his shoelaces as he prepared to go out for another training session.

    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m going out for a run,¡± he said.

    ¡°Be back before dinner,¡± she said.

    He ran with his headphones on and seeing how the news going to be next big thing in the world wide web, he had hunched that more people are going to come out into the open and others who desire such power would emerge.

    I better prepare before things get messier.

 Chapter 79

    A week had passed since the beginning of the second invasion. People around the globe waited for these monsters to stop dead on their track like the previous first invasion but it didn¡¯t happen. The monsters kept on invading the land of human prompting the people to flee further away from their homes.

    On the other hand, the news outlets were making a big issue about this situation while undermining the effort of the military. They were seeking a solution through the broadcast hoping for more Awaken people to come out in the open, fighting like the leading red-hair woman in New Jersey.

    After the live broadcast of the first Awaken on-screen, Bryce earned her own reality TV-show detailing her path of decimating those monsters. She became an overnight sensation, a star unlike any other. The netizen dubbed her as the Scarlet Battle Maiden, a female warrior fighting at the front line and she wasn¡¯t the only one.

    More Awakens took the internet like a big wave as a few of them took their fighting through live streaming. They were bold and courageous, trying to make a name like the woman of wonder, Bryce Hendricks.

    While some people were celebrating the rise of these Awakens, yet most of them were worried about the impending monsters coming towards their way. The monsters originating from the Kawartha Park had already invaded Peterborough as they were no humans left within the proximity of that city. The citizens were already evacuated from the quick work from the Canadian Armed Force.

    A family of four in Toronto was worried about the future. While the parents were worried about their life, their daughter had been out all week which was rather strange considering how she usually sat at home.

    While the parents were discussing at the dining room, they heard the steps of their son coming down from the stairs. The concerned mother called out to Jason.

    ¡°Jason,¡± the good son walked to the dining room with his tracksuit on ready to get out of the house.

    ¡°Your sister been acting pretty strange lately, she¡¯s going out way too often than usual. Does she has a boyfriend?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Mom, she¡¯s in university, that kind of thing is normal,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But, you know how your sister is, she isn¡¯t like that,¡± said the mother.

    Jason didn¡¯t know what else to say, he knew the fact that Esther had been spending time with Hakeem by a lot and most of it was about training. They had done a lot and learned a lot during this whole week.

    ¡°Relax mom, she¡¯ll be fine,¡± said Jason. ¡°I¡¯ll be going out for a while, I¡¯ll be back by dinner.¡±

    The son left the house leaving the two anxious parents. With all these monsters going around prowling through human cities, these kids of theirs were suddenly becoming more outgoing contrasting to their usual selves.

    Jason jogged for a few meters after leaving the house and noticing the distance was quite far, he then broke into a sprint. His speed was unlike any human as after a while he reached his destination, Hakeem¡¯s apartment.

    He knocked on Hakeem¡¯s door. The door opened up and the first thing he saw was his sister, Esther. If it was before the monster invasion he would have been worried about this sister of his opening the door to a bachelor¡¯s apartment but circumstances had changed, that kind of thing didn¡¯t matter. He stepped inside walking to the living room.

    ¡°All ready?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m worried man,¡± said Hakeem as he came out from his bedroom dressed from top to bottom in all-black clothing. A tactical vest, black leather boots, military-grade black pants and a kevlar helmet on top.

    ¡°Worry about what? You look great, ready for action,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t the problem, the problem is where the hell did you get these things? I don¡¯t think they sell these,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason just smiled not bother about explaining the minor details. With Shadow Sneak, if he didn¡¯t use it for the greater good then wouldn¡¯t it be a waste for such an incredible skill. While under invisibility he saw a few of these equipment laying around in the Police Tactical Division¡¯s vault, it would be rude of him if he didn¡¯t use those well-made pieces of equipment to its fullest capability. Thus, he took a few sets of them in the name of borrowing.

    ¡°And you, why aren¡¯t you wearing it yet?¡± said Jason while glancing at Esther.

    ¡°These things are too crude,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot, you need to wear it if you want to follow us,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Is it really necessary? This kevlar vest is useless since I¡¯ve already got Energy Guard to protect myself,¡± said Esther.

    She got a point there but as the de facto leader of this three-man group, Jason had his own reasons.

    ¡°We¡¯re going hunting and not having a picnic, that blouse and those tight skin-fit jeans of yours aren¡¯t appropriate,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You can¡¯t tell me what to wear,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Then you can¡¯t come along. Hakeem, get the bags, we¡¯re going,¡± said Jason as he took a few filled up duffel bags and proceed to the door.

    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll go and change,¡± she said.

    Jason just smirked seeing her reaction. The allure of getting stronger had already embedded deep inside of Esther. After tasting a sense of power by allocating her points to strength she came to know of what it meant to be strong. Even for a woman, having the sensation of being strong couldn¡¯t be denied. More so, his sister was the dependent type of gal who saw the woman in the age didn¡¯t need to rely on men.

    She came out of the bathroom dressed up like a SWAT team member, she didn¡¯t like wearing these types of clothing but for now, she had to.

    They loaded up the bags in the trunk of Hakeem¡¯s car, a Ryundai Tucson, an SUV that was perfect for their hunting trip. It was even black in color matching perfectly with their tactical clothes.

    ¡°Before we go, let''s do a check-up,¡± said Jason.

    They went through their things once more and after confirming everything was ready, the hit the road. Not to mention, Jason passed on the responsibility of telling their parents to Esther. She wasn¡¯t satisfied but seeing she lost rock-paper-scissors, she had to do it.

    Jason glanced at Esther and judging how she distanced herself from the phone, their mother must be furious over their sudden camping trip. But for a prodigious student like Esther, she was quick to calm down their mother. It went smoothly as their SUV drove on the highway heading to the monster-infested city of Peterborough.

    ¡°You guys sure about this?¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°You¡¯re chickening out?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°No, but we¡¯re going to the danger zone here. I just can¡¯t help but be worry,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°He just worried he can¡¯t be a proper tank,¡± Esther chipped in.

    ¡°Esther!¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re the one who told me we should have proper roles according to our abilities,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Relax you two, to begin with, there¡¯s no reason to classify yourself like that not until you reach level twenty,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Level twenty? Why level twenty?¡± Esther asked.

    Hakeem who was driving the car stared at Jason with his eyes wide open.

    ¡°You mean? You¡¯ve got a job?¡± he asked with the tone of his voice raised by a notch. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us this?¡±

    ¡°As I said, just relax. You guys are still far from reaching that level, it¡¯s best to concentrate on what you have,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re really a cheat, don¡¯t you think?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Say that back to me when you survive New York without dying,¡± he fired back.

    True to his words, although he gained a few advantages yet he did go through a lot of hell before being able to be this relaxed.

    ¡°Just be glad, I¡¯m here you watch your backs. Unlike those other daredevils trying to be an Awaken, me being here will at least make you pretty safe,¡± said Jason.

    Over the course of a few days, a few reckless teens and adults tried to seek their fortune in becoming an Awaken. They trespassed through the land of monsters and hoping to be like the one shown on the TV but unfortunately for them, they misjudged their own capabilities.

    Most wounded up dead as they didn¡¯t know that monsters too had level. Bryce and Moretti fighting against a pack of wolves which was under level ten were quite a fortune for them. If they met a stronger monster than those wolves than they wouldn¡¯t be alive.

    Two hours on the road, they finally saw the city from afar. Jason pointed at Hakeem to went off-road. The SUV bounced every now and then as then went into the trees. They parked the car under the guise of the forest. Rather than leaving the car out in the open, they chose to hide it from plain sight.

    The sun was begging to set and they got out of the SUV. Jason carried most of the bags while the rest divided between Esther and Hakeem.

    Jason glanced at Hakeem who wielded the iron mace in his right hand while his left hand wielded the tactical shield. From the look of it, he definitely took the role of a tank. Then he glanced at Esther who sheathed back the two combat knives, courtesy from Toronto¡¯s Police Tactical Division. Her ability was somewhat unique in a sense and the combat knives did complement it.

    For him on the other hand, he got his bow ready with two waist quivers fully loaded. They were a few other bunches of stuff he had but for now, he would mainly rely on this bow gifted by the Scarlet Battle Maiden herself, well she was forced to out of obligation but that didn¡¯t matter for Jason.

    ¡°Okay guys, let¡¯s rollout.¡±

 Chapter 80

    Night blanketed the sky as three blackish humans reached the border of Peterborough City. They took shelter in an abandoned metal fabricator factory.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already traveled half a mile and there¡¯s no sign of those UC,¡± said Hakeem as his eyes shifted side to side.

    ¡°You think those UC are hiding from us?¡± said Esther.

    Jason didn¡¯t say a word as he remained silent, these people are really too lax. He himself was trying his best to detect any presence beside them.

    ¡°Shush,¡± said Jason, silencing those two.

    He concentrated and heard a noise coming from within the factory. He waved his hand at the two, motioning to follow him. Yet the two were clueless.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the hand?¡± asked Hakeem.

    ¡°He watched too many military movies,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Ugh, just follow my lead,¡± said Jason. He made a mental note to include hand signal training with these two party members of his. He just did the hand motion thing out of instinct since true to his sister¡¯s words, he did watch a lot of action military movies.

    Taking the lead, Jason pulled the door with every strength that he had.

    CLANK.

    The door broke and fell to the floor, the noise scattered through the surrounding. Hakeem pushed Jason by the shoulder hinting at him with that problematic noise. Jason didn¡¯t bother turning around as he had to admit that he did make a mistake.

    He barged through the door as the inside of the huge factory was dark like a cave.

    ¡°Guys, night vision,¡± Jason said. He pulled down the night vision goggle left behind Sgt.Ryan. A piece of high-tech equipment that also featured a thermal vision. He really hit the jackpot as that soldier he saved forgotten to bring it along.

    Esther used his previous night vision goggles bought from Amazonia and Hakeem had to buy his own. He got a bigger budget thus he bought a real fancy one from Amazonia. Their vision went green and as they traveled further inside the factory the noise Jason heard came once more. Both Esther and Hakeem fell short on their track wary about the noise.

    Jason pushed further coming closer to the source of the noise. He took covered behind a shelf and peeked from the side. He saw a group of huge animals herding at a single spot with their heads down on the ground.

    ¡°Scan,¡± he said.

    Iron-Bristle Pig

    A big mammal that lived near mineral deposits. One might say wherever you find a herd of Iron-Bristle Pig there you can find an undiscovered iron mine. They have similar physical features like a normal pig except for the shining iron luster of their bristles behind their back, a defining feature of the pig. Their size easily reached two meters in height and in special cases, one might find a three-meter pig. Their favorite food is iron ores.

    Species: Suidae Mammals

    Level : 14

    Elemental Weakness : Fire

    S.Ability : Reckless Charge

    Level 14, that doesn¡¯t seem bad. I think Hakeem and Esther can handle it. But, those bristles might be a problem.

    He turned around and told them about the pigs.

    ¡°They are big, you really think we can handle it?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t that big, I think we can take them on,¡± said Hakeem as for the last week he more or less gained confidence since he had been training his skills like crazy.

    ¡°Hakeem you take the lead and attract their attention. Esther, you try to hit it however you can but don¡¯t let it attack you and for the rest let me handle it,¡± said Jason.

    The two nodded and Hakeem charged straight at the team of pigs. Hakeem stopped at a distance as he raised up his iron mace and slammed it on the tactical shield. The clanking noise alerted the team of pigs as their heads rose up in unison, their ears twitched finding the source of the noise. These pigs had bad eyesight and couldn¡¯t see in the dark. They relied on their sense of smell and sense of hearing and even more so during the darkness of the night.

    ¡°Over here!¡± Hakeem shouted.

    One of the pigs sensed Hakeem as it charged straight at the human that disturbed their eating time.

    ¡°Org.. org¡­ org¡­¡±

    It snorted while heading towards the lone man. The rest of the team followed the path of the first Iron-Bristle Pig. Hakeem could felt his body trembling as fighting against a huge pig was a lot different than fighting against a tree. Gritting his teeth, he steadied his shield and braced for impact.

    ¡°Urgh,¡± Hakeem withstood the reckless charge of the Iron-Bristle Pig as he kept being pushed without any way of stopping it. His strength was still inadequate but he won¡¯t let it be.

    He lifted his iron mace and swung at its head. The heavy head of his iron mace pummeled the pig¡¯s head as the Iron-Bristle Pig stopped charging forward. It shook its head as the hit really messed up its head. But it let its guard down as a silhouette appeared, Esther brandished her daggers slicing at its head.

    ¡°Org!¡± the Iron-Bristle Pig squealed in pain as it jerked around retaliating like a mad bull. Blood dripped on the floor as the cut Esther made was deep enough to let the blood flow like crazy.

    ¡°Back away. Get ready for the second pig,¡± Jason shouted. Hakeem retreated with Esther as the second was already closing in on them. Hakeem held up his shield as he defended against that head charge. He felt the heaviness of the attack as his arm felt the brunt of it.

    Hakeem swung his mace once more hitting the pig right in the eye. He was lucky as the pig squealed. Meanwhile, the first pig was already down on the ground, with three bright glowing arrows jutting out from its head. Jason acted as the cleanup as he only attacked after his comrades made an attack on the creature.

    Esther emerged once more as she swung her combat knives bleeding the unfortunate pig. Then the same scene repeated itself, the two backed away and Jason ended it. But things didn¡¯t go smoothly as more and more Iron-Bristle Pigs attacked in unison. Hakeem panicked as he charged and raised up his iron mace in the air.

    Jason just watched as he kept on shooting down the other Iron-Bristle Pigs keeping down the numbers from overwhelming the two.

    ¡°Shock Smash!¡± Hakeem shouted as the iron head of the mace crackled with bluish lighting surrounding it. Hakeem slammed his mace down to the ground as a visible electric current ran rampant within his surroundings. Three pigs were in close proximity as they were shocked by the area of effect attack.

    The smell of burnt bacon whiffed in the air as Esther took charge and stabbed one of the shocked pigs right in its eyes. But then she was stuck.

    ¡°Get away,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°I¡¯m stuck,¡± said Esther.

    Her knife ran too deep inside the eye socket of the Iron-Bristle Pig.

    ¡°Let go,¡± said Jason as he shot down two more of the shocked pigs.

    But it was too late, the pig regained its will and slammed its head at the woman who stabbed its eye. Esther was flung in the air before she fell on the ground.

    ¡°Esther!¡± Hakeem shouted.

    Yet Jason didn¡¯t mind it as she still had her energy guard to protect her. Jason released another Triple Strafe as the pig went down.

    ¡°You okay?¡± said Hakeem as he aided Esther to stood up.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, my E.Guard only went down by a bit,¡± she said.

    The two eyed at the incoming pigs. The number went down considerably but their path was still long and arduous.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, there¡¯s a lot more pigs that need to be slaughtered,¡± said Jason as he vanished into the shadows.

    Hakeem stared at the incoming pigs as he charged forward blocking one of them with his bent up shield. He slammed his mace at the pig before releasing another Shock Smash to the ground shocking a few pigs in the proximity.

    Esther moved quickly as her hands kept on delivering a cut at these pigs. She remembered Jason¡¯s advice of just to hit the monsters. Then out of nowhere, Jason emerged swinging the mallet in his hand striking the pig at the head. Its whole head bludgeoned as it caved in like being smashed into a pulp. Its whole body flopped on the ground as it was dead in an instant.

    Jason had a change of pace as he used the mallet he earned from the mini-boss back in Port Lands.

    Oak Mallet

    Category : Blunt Weapon

    Grade : Rare

    An Oak Mallet made from the bark of a dead Elder Oaken Haunted Tree. Imbued with ominous energy.

    Attack : +39(+4)

    Effect : Str +1, Sta +1

    A good weapon.

    He smiled after inspecting the specs of the mallet. He then disappeared once more aiding his two comrades in wiping out those pigs. Their strategy was the same with Jason taking care of any mishap that happened out of carelessness. He was like a safety switch for Hakeem and Esther as they raked up their levels through killing these pigs.

    After a while, they defeated the whole team of Iron-Bristle pigs. All twenty-eight pigs dead on the ground. Hakeem and Esther flopped on the ground trying to catch their breaths. Hakeem managed to reach level ten and Esther reached level eight. Both of them realized how hard it was to fight against these monsters, and both stared at the sight of the nonchalant man who was loitering around the corpse of the pigs. He was unaffected and he did all of the killing involved in this fight.

    They glanced at each other out of instinct. Pity towards one another.

    ¡°Let¡¯s catch up to him,¡± said Hakeem.

    Esther nodded. Meanwhile, Jason was disappointed seeing that there was no loot from the Iron-Bristle pigs. They killed twenty-eight of them and he was at least expecting one of them to drop something.

    ¡°Ready to go?¡± Hakeem said as both he and Esther came close to Jason. They had enough rest and the motivation to Jason fueled their inner spirit.

    But as they were about to move, they heard a scream coming from outside the factory. It was loud and shrieking as it was no doubt a woman¡¯s voice.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Hakeem said as he already rushed towards the voice.

    ¡°Hold up,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Dude, we need to help whoever out there,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Helping doesn¡¯t mean you need to be a reckless fool,¡± said Jason, ¡°Move slow and steady, we still don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there,¡± said Jason.

    The three traveled out from the factory and the moment Jason opened up the door to the outside. A woman suddenly jumped inside. Jason dodged the woman as she fell on the floor. He saw the state of this woman covered in blood, with her eyes bawling out and he could even smell the putrid smell of ammonia a bit.

    ¡°Close it! Hurry and close it!¡± said the woman.

    Jason looked through the door as he saw something charging right at him. It looks like an Iron-Bristle pig but those shining tusks were a different matter.

    ¡°A boar?¡±

 Chapter 81

    Jason left through the door ignoring the woman¡¯s plea. His eyes already scanned the gigantic boar in front of him.

    Steel-Tusk Boar

    A bigger Suidae mammal than the Iron-Bristle Pig, its muscle denser and stronger than its domestic counterpart. One can easily find the presence of this creature when there¡¯s a team of Iron-Bristle Pig, the Steel-Tusk Boar acts as the guardian of the pigs. Their size easily reached three meters in height and in special cases, one might find a four-meter pig. Their favorite past time is sharpening their tusks over the big slab iron ore.

    Species: Suidae Mammals

    Level : 18

    Elemental Weakness : Fire

    S.Ability : Reckless Charge, Impaling Tusk

    This creature wasn¡¯t a threat to him as he smirked. The bow in his hand let loose three glowing arrows piercing straight at the boar¡¯s head. But it didn¡¯t stop, it kept on charging straight like a frenzy rabid dog.

    Jason leaped in the air dodging the charge as once again, his bow shot three glowing arrows right on its back.

    ¡°Triple Strafe,¡± he said as his hand was busied shooting the glowing arrows.

    Inches away from the open door, the boar fell on its knees as the life within its body was no longer there. The brunette hair woman yelped out of fear seeing the boar up close but after realizing it was dead, she was dumbfounded.

    ¡°It¡¯s dead?¡± said the brunette haired woman.

    ¡°He really is unbelievable,¡± said Esther as he watched the white glowing arrows jutting out of the dead boar¡¯s body.

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Hakeem asked.

    The brunette hair woman glanced at Hakeem who was tall, she felt daunted facing the tall man in front of her but seeing that smile on his face made her wariness diminished a bit.

    She checked herself top to bottom, she was riddled with cuts and bruises but other than that there was nothing serious.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you for saving me,¡± she said.

    ¡°You¡¯re thanking the wrong person,¡± said Hakeem as he glanced at the door.

    A man walked in with his back straight and demeanor nonchalant like strolling inside a park.

    ¡°Coast is clear, let¡¯s move up,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What about her?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Leave her, she¡¯s deadweight,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°No! You can¡¯t leave me here!¡± the brunette hair woman turned frantic hearing such cold words from this Asian man.

    ¡°Dude, that¡¯s cold,¡± said Hakeem as he didn¡¯t expect Jason to behave like this.

    ¡°I disagree, she¡¯s following us,¡± said Esther as she glared at Jason.

    ¡°Then I¡¯m ditching you guys,¡± said Jason as he turned around and left like it didn¡¯t matter to him.

    ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t be serious?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s not serious,¡± Jason turned back facing his sister. He stared right into her eyes. ¡°The place we¡¯re going is filled with monsters and this woman here is only going to be a liability.¡±

    ¡°But dude she¡¯s-¡± Hakeem wanted to chime in as he felt like it was inhumane to left her alone, but Jason cut him off.

    ¡°You guys are not getting this, I went through New York and you guys did not. These kind of people are the one who¡¯s going to be the reason you are dead,¡± said Jason while pointing at the brunette haired woman.

    Hakeem and Esther fell silent. The brunette hair woman glanced around at these two hoping for them to stand up for her. But the silence only prolonged the hopeless hope, then she noticed the clothes they were wearing.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the police? You¡¯re supposed to help us,¡± she said as she desperately hoped to be saved.

    ¡°Shut up before I shoot an arrow through your head,¡± said Jason as his words left her stammering in fear.

    ¡°Dude!¡± Hakeem said staring at Jason, he didn¡¯t think Jason would behave like this. Even Esther was displeased by how Jason was acting.

    But none of them knew that Jason was furious at this whole situation, he was hoping to build up these two as reliable comrades but this woman was a pain in the ass.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me,¡± said the brunette hair woman as she latched herself to Hakeem¡¯s leg.

    Hakeem looked at her in pity, he too knew of what this person had gone through. He remembered the time when he followed Jason into the Kawartha Park and it was clear that at that time he was a burden to Jason. He knew Jason wasn¡¯t wrong but leaving this poor soul alone made him felt guilty.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with her,¡± said Hakeem. He decided it would be best to bring her to safety.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡± said Jason. Hakeem and Esther stared at Jason in disbelief, this person that they knew really had changed.

    ¡°This place is at the border of the city, she can just walk back down the road and out from the city,¡± Jason said. Although he could just go solo but he needed to groom Hakeem to be reliable on his own.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see dude? She¡¯s caught up in this shit and she didn¡¯t even ask for it. We¡¯ve got to help her,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason sighed as he massaged his temple.

    ¡°Look here, this woman here didn¡¯t come alone. The rest of them had already turned into bloody mush. From the way I see it, she¡¯s the one who brought the shit to her,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem and Esther glanced at the brunette woman.

    ¡°Is this true?¡± Esther asked.

    The brunette hair woman nodded.

    ¡°But why?¡± Esther asked.

    The brunette hair woman glanced at these two not knowing how to answer them both.

    ¡°She and the rest of her dead gang are probably here because of the Awaken,¡± said Jason as the bubble had been popped.

    ¡°What? But why?¡± asked Esther as she didn¡¯t understand.

    Hakeem stood silent as he knew what Jason meant.

    ¡°You¡¯re probably one of those twitch gamer girl streamers trying to make it big with the whole Awaken thing aren¡¯t you,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°No!¡± she shouted. ¡°I¡¯m not what you think I am,¡± she said.

    ¡°My boyfriend brings me along with his friends, he said he¡¯s going to be the Canadian Scarlet Battle Maiden, the leading man of Canada,¡± she said.

    Her boyfriend was overly ambitious and Jason wasn¡¯t impressed.

    The Scarlet Battle Maiden? Bryce really hit it big. Hmm, I think I should ask some royalty from her since 99% percent of her success is because of my stolen skill.

    Jason was already thinking about how to profit from the questionable ten million debt incurred on Bryce. If Bryce knew of this, then she would have broken in tears.

    ¡°Then where is he now?¡± asked Esther.

    ¡°He ran away,¡± said the woman as her eyes were hatefully glaring at the dirt as the thought of her boyfriend was enough to infuriate her.

    ¡°What?!¡± Esther was surprised.

    ¡°That piece of shit left using me and his own friends as meat shields,¡± said the woman.

    ¡°Well you did go to bed with that piece of shit,¡± Jason chimed in and his words were like daggers piercing through the heart at the brunette haired woman.

    She realized from the beginning that her boyfriend which was now ex did have a jerk-like attitude but she didn¡¯t think he would leave her like that. She thought he loved her as she couldn¡¯t deny the sweet whispers she heard every night but now the love she had for him broken into a million pieces and what left was only hatred.

    ¡°Jason!¡± said Esther, prompting Jason to stopped rubbing on the brunette hair woman¡¯s wounds.

    ¡°Even so, we can¡¯t leave her like this,¡± said Hakeem as he just couldn¡¯t do it even after listening to the ridiculous reason of her coming here.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Jason said. ¡°You two stay here and keep an eye out for any monsters, if you think you can fight, just lure one of them to fight.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of this, just stay here,¡± said Jason. He walked up to the brunette hair woman and grabbed her by the waist.

    Then he left.

    The brunette hair woman was feeling nauseated as she saw the scene around her like a blur. The man who was carrying her was running like crazy, she thought she was riding on a motorbike.

    Fifteen minutes later, they were far away from the city edges. The brunette hair woman stood on the empty highway as she looked around in confusion.

    ¡°You can walk along the road through this way,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to leave me here?¡± she looked around the empty highway with everything else pitch blank. She couldn¡¯t help but be afraid.

    Jason didn¡¯t say a thing as he vanished into thin air leaving the woman who kept on shouting for him. He had no time for a useless things like the woman, he came here to get himself stronger and he was going to do just that as he saw something.

    After running for a distance, he found a team of Iron-Bristle pigs. He smiled as he saw them as just a bunch of easy experience. They were at the opposite road of where Jason had traveled and thus he didn¡¯t notice their presence, it seemed the monsters were crawling further into the domains of humans.

    She better run if she doesn¡¯t want to die.

    He thought about that woman from before. If she has a bright mind than she would have started running by now, who knows when these monsters would catch up to her.

    Jason turned invisible and decimated the whole team of Iron-Bristle pigs as he smiled at what he had gained.

    Basic Blunt Weapon Mastery level up to level 4

    The grip on his oaken mallet tightened as the sense of getting stronger was fueling his determination. He ran back as he couldn¡¯t wait to rendezvous with the team.

 Chapter 82

    Jason returned back to the metal factory and the sight that greeted him was rather interesting. He grinned seeing Hakeem and Esther taking on against a single Iron-Bristle pig. It was all alone and not without its team. Probably strayed off from its team. Jason didn¡¯t enter the fight as he just watched by the sideline.

    Hakeem was doing his role pretty well as he took all of the attacks of the pig. The tactical shield he used was at the brink destruction as the dents on its surface were becoming worse.

    I should have looted the kobold¡¯s shield.

    He didn¡¯t know at that time that Hakeem would take on the role of a tanker. Even his skill was pretty good, a lightning element based attack, smashing the ground would erupt bluish static electricity frying the enemy. Jason saw Hakeem unleashed it as the sole pig was electrocuted, it paralyzed a bit but compared to the stun-howl of the kobold, Hakeem¡¯s Shock Smash paled in comparison.

    Then his sister came into the fray attacking from the sides with her combat knives. Those knives are sharp and deadly, as Esther drew blood over the thick flesh of the pig. Her attempt in slicing the pig left a feeble flesh wound that barely bled. The cutaneous fat layer of this pig was indeed thick, the only way to truly injured it was stabbing the heck out of it.

    Hakeem slammed the iron mace head at the pig¡¯s head. The attack shook it a bit but it still did the reckless charge. Hakeem stepped to the side as he Euro Step the big fella dodging the charge by a hairbreadth.

    Jason couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by that move. A movement ability was rather precious considering its effects on how one dodge and fight in a battle. Jason didn¡¯t have one right now and that made him think.

    Should I ask him to teach me? Having a movement-type skill doesn¡¯t sound so bad.

    ¡°Esther! Stab it! Your cuts are to shallow!¡± Hakeem shouted as he made a sound over his shield gaining the attention of the pig.

    Esther gritted her teeth as her breath was ragged. This prolonged fight was definitely not her style. She too had the terrible notion of distributing most of her points to agility and strength. Jason did advise her to put some points to stamina but she digressed and only a few points to it.

    Rather than hollering back at Hakeem, she stayed focus concentrating at the enemy in front of her.

    The pig turned around as it recklessly charged at Hakeem. He blocked it and endured the heavyweight behind the charge, his right hand wasn¡¯t idle as he kept on smashing its face with his iron mace.

    ¡°Esther!¡± to Hakeem¡¯s queue, Esther leaped above the pig as she whispered.

    ¡°Metamorphosis.¡±

    Her eyes turned slit yellow as her nails sharpened like a claw of a feline. Her incisor teeth turned sharp and pointed like the fangs of a wild beast. The baritone growl coming from her throat was like a threat for an attack.

    Jason was amazed at seeing his sister¡¯s ability. Another thing that he envied since that metamorphosis skill that she has was like turning into beast mode. He was told from her that the ability heightened her strength, stamina, and agility as well as gaining animal-like characteristics. In a way, it was a buff type of ability.

    Esther who turned her beast mode on stabbed the heck out of the pig with her two combat knives. Her continuous growl was having an effect on the poor metal-eating beast. Blood spurted out from the holes of its body as it grew weaker. Hakeem didn¡¯t remain idle as he kept on smashing his iron mace damaging the pig even further.

    Soon, a heavy thud filled in the air. The pig was finally dead as Esther dropped down from its back and dropping immediately on the ground. Her ability ended as she returned to normal, she was panting for her breath as the fatigue kicked in.

    Hakeem was tired but he remained calm and stayed vigilant. He had his fair share of gaming experience and with Jason¡¯s advise he didn¡¯t forget his stamina.

    Then he turned around hearing a clapping sound. Jason emerged from underneath his invisibility.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare us man,¡± said Hakeem as he lightly smiled at this man. ¡°is she safe?¡±

    ¡°She might be if she starts running,¡± he said.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Hakeem was surprised.

    ¡°Jason, stop crapping on us and tell the truth,¡± said Esther as she got on her feet with the fatigue still plastered across her face.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine, I left her at the highway. There¡¯s no monster there so she¡¯s safe,¡± he said.

    ¡°Good,¡± Hakeem as his head tilted down as Hakeem was deep in his own thought.

    ¡°You¡¯ve never told us the whole thing,¡± said Hakeem.

    Esther glanced at Jason as she too was hoping to hear the worst side that Jason experienced in New York City.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do that later,¡± Jason said as he turned walking towards pig hoping to find some loot.

    ¡°You guys fought well but with that shield looking like that, let¡¯s postponed your attempt in fighting alone,¡± said Jason as he turned back to them.

    The trio scoured through the metal refinement factory as they killed off all remaining monsters. They returned to their usual formation. The iron-bristle pig isn¡¯t a problem but at times they would stumble upon the steel-tusk boar. Jason handled the boar not letting the two joining in.

    Soon, the whole premise was cleared from monsters.

    Hakeem and Esther raised up to level twelve and eleven while Jason remained stagnant at his current level of twenty-one. But he didn''t come out empty-handed as he obtained another loot from the last Steel-Tusk boar he killed.

    Steel Dirk

    Category : Dagger

    Grade : Normal

    Normal dirk made out of common steel. A common weapon used by the mountain lander in the kingdom surrounded by mountains, the Gunung Kingdom.

    Attack : +26

    He kept it for himself as he ignored the plea coming from Esther¡¯s eyes. She was amazed seeing something coming out from a dead corpse and seeing it was a dagger she was hoping to have it but sadly this was her brother. It was his first and not hers and considering how he was the one who killed it, she had no words to refute its ownership.

    They left the metal factory and jogged on the ground going through a couple of abandoned buildings. Under the night sky, they were like an ops team as they find themselves behind the huge and wide building of another metal refinement company. Their scale was completely bigger than the previous one and with that many mineral ores in deposit, there was bound to be more pigs.

    Behind the company building the whole vast area was similar to two football fields and it was filled with pigs and boars roaming around while eating their fill to the hills of unattended iron ores.

    ¡°How are we going to handle this?¡± asked Hakeem as he could saw the strength behind their numbers.

    Esther too felt worried seeing this scene. She didn¡¯t mind fighting against one or two of them but two whole fields of them were a lot.

    ¡°Relax, I think you two can handle one or two on your own. Your levels are getting closer to them,¡± said Jason, but he too felt the numbers are too overwhelming.

    There was a way through separating a few of them and killing them first before handling the rest but that would take too much time. He then opened up one of his skills.

    Shadow Sneak

    It allows you to hide in the shadow for a short time. An ambush attack will add 15% more damage. Able to bring other people into the shadow(Max:2)

    Lv.3 : EP cost 1

    Duration : 13 minutes

    I really should pay attention to my skill description.

    Jason had a habit of forgetting things and one of them was to read things carefully. He came up with a simple plan as he told these two about it.

    ¡°We can do that?¡± asked Hakeem.

    ¡°Stop talking and let¡¯s start,¡± said Jason as he grabbed on he held on to both Hakeem and Esther by the shoulder.

    Both of them felt their world changed as everything around them turned black and white. At times, they could saw shadows flickering and times they felt dizzy just by standing. Jason didn¡¯t realize it as he didn¡¯t feel any changes besides being invisible. It seemed they are unknown side effects for those who were brought into the Shadow Sneak.

    ¡°Run,¡± he said as the trio ran in unison towards the first pig.

    The moment they stood right in front of the pig¡¯s head two people emerged out of nowhere as knives and mace were hurling on the face of the pig.

    ¡°Squ-¡± the pig was about to squeal by the sudden ambush but then behind these two another person emerged baring the steel dirk in his hand as he muttered.

    ¡°Blood Edge Strike.¡±

    The blade of the dirk covered in a crimson hue. It looked ominous and let out a bad vibe. The pointed edge of the dirk pierced the pig¡¯s head right in the middle as it went in smoothly with no sound of the bone being crack. Jason pushed down the hilt of the dirk as he pierced it deeper into its brain. To end it off he twisted the blade to the side delivering the fatal blow.

    The pig flopped on the ground turning lifeless as the three that ambushed it was no longer in sight. Jason activated shadow sneak bringing along these two under a perfect disguise. Two of them were dumbfounded of how easy it was to kill that pig. They looked at Jason in amazement as within their mind Jason¡¯s set of abilities was too cheat-like.

    Hakeem wanted to ask if Jason had a cheat-like ability but he restrained himself knowing that this guy probably wouldn¡¯t let him know about such a thing.

    Frankly speaking, both of them were wrong. It wasn¡¯t because of the skill that made Jason did it look too easy but it was because of his titles. A title that neither Hakeem nor Esther had to obtain yet.

    ¡°Come on. There''re a lot more pigs to slaughter,¡± he said as the two gulped down out of nervousness.

    Meanwhile, not far from the trio¡¯s hunting ground. Ten men were crouching while going through the empty buildings. Their black attire, as well as their high-tech military equipment, put them far better than a normal soldier. They were a squad from CANSOFCOM.

    The leading man lay down on the ground as he reached the perimeter of a familiar building back area. His hand signal brought the other nine to lay beside him. One at each side maintained their sight at the side for any hostile while those who were beside them maintained their sight behind them for any incoming hostile. Those at the middle focused themselves on the task in hand.

    ¡°Fox Trot-1, what is your position,¡± the intercom on their squad leader rang.

    ¡°We are two klicks away from the landing position. The current situation, most of the area are swarming with UC, over.¡± said the squad leader.

    ¡°Good, proceed with the mission,¡± the call ended.

    The squad leader was displeased over the lacked info about their current mission. The higher brass sent them the special force to do a recon mission with a rather vague objective.

    Aid the Awaken and retrieve unknown artifacts appraise by her.

    The squad leader glanced at the only Awaken in this squad. A new recruit from just a week ago, the woman barely had training but those up in the ladder told him it was necessary to bring her along. He wanted to refuse to have an untrained individual in a mission, and unlike the armed force who didn¡¯t mind putting these Awaken into action, the special force was still skeptical about it.

    ¡°Captain, you¡¯ve got to see this,¡± the man beside the squad leader passed over the binoculars.

    The squad leader didn¡¯t question the man and grabbed on to it. He believed in his comrade and everything had a reason.

    ¡°Look there at the herd, something is happening,¡± he said while pointing at the iron-bristle pigs on the field.

    The squad leader looked through the binoculars and saw those gigantic pigs laid dead on the ground. He never saw these UC dead, those monsters can¡¯t be killed with their modern weaponry and now some of them were dead.

    He heard that Awaken could kill those UC but the operation done at Kawartha Park was a disaster, even with the aid of those Awaken every last company was wiped out. Thus he had his own reservation about those so-called humanity hopes.

    Then a voice lingered beside him.

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re dead. I didn¡¯t expect to see a level fourteen dead that easily.¡±

    The squad leader glanced to his side and saw the stranger in his squad. She too was looking through the binoculars.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± the squad leader asked.

    The woman turned to the squad leader as she removed the binocular away. Her plain face with her plain black hair was like the most normal you could see in everyday life. Yet underneath that facade, no one knew what laid inside.

    ¡°It¡¯s either there¡¯s a predator on the loose or¡­¡± she fell silent a bit.

    ¡°Or what?¡± asked the squad leader.

    ¡°Or we might not be alone.¡±

 Chapter 83

    Two people were dumbfounded by whatever was happening. Even after experiencing it they still couldn¡¯t hide their amazement. With Jason''s ambushing tactic, they had killed off almost a hundred of these Iron-Bristle pigs in just under fifteen minutes. It took only about three seconds or less to kill off one of them with Jason dealing the last strike.

    In a way, they leveled up like crazy. Hakeem reached level thirteen and Esther level twelve. Jason still stagnated at level twenty one but it made sense since all he fought were those lower levels than him.

    ¡°Can¡¯t we take a break?¡± Esther asked.

    Although being carried was easy and fun but her mind and body couldn¡¯t handle the motion sickness she felt within Shadow Sneak.

    ¡°I agree with that,¡± said Hakeem.

    Seeing these two couldn¡¯t handle it any longer, Jason brought them inside the building storage area. He opened up the shutter and walked inside, the two followed him from behind with their legs weak. It was dark but the light switched on as Jason found the power breaker. The storage area lighted up as he saw shelves of molded iron bars neatly in place.

    The shutter door behind them was closed back as they didn¡¯t want any pigs or boars to suddenly giving them a surprise. While Esther and Hakeem tried to sort out their mind and body, Jason went around the place with his gait relax. For now, the difficulty of this area seemed to be at an easy level. He gave thanks to his invisibility since it did most of the work for him.

    ¡°Pass me some water,¡± said Esther as her hand reached out to Hakeem.

    Hakeem was designated to be the one carrying the bag filled with rations. Simple snacks and water for fueling up their bodies. As he rummaged through the bag, he found the water bottle and passed it to Esther. He took another bottle out as both chugged the hell out of the bottle as the water kept flowing down their throat.

    Then they heard a mechanical clicking sound like something being locked and loaded.

    ¡°Hands in the air!¡± a gruff voice filled up the air.

    Esther and Hakeem looked around and saw a bunch of people who were dressed more or less the same as them but those big guns are the difference between them.

    ¡°If you move a muscle, I¡¯ll blow your freaking brain,¡± said one of them at Hakeem with his hands up in the air.

    ¡°No, no, this isn¡¯t what it looks like,¡± Esther turned flustered after being surrounded by these men.

    ¡°Shut up bitch! Hands in the air, hands in the air!¡± the black ops soldier shouted at Esther as she complied with eyes starting to glisten.

    ¡°Who are you guys? Somalia? North Korea? Or are you the freaking Chinese?¡± these people kept on hounding at Hakeem and Esther while asking their country of origin. None of them thought that he and Esther are just your regular citizen of Canada.

    Hakeem kept his mouth shut as he experienced this kind of thing time after time again. He knew what to do but Esther never experienced such a thing, in a matter of seconds she already broken down into tears. Although she was an Awaken but inside she was still just a normal university student.

    The black ops soldiers around them numbered up to ten people. While most of them were aiming their muzzle at these two a few of them were rummaging through the stuff. One of them grabbed on to Hakeem¡¯s iron mace which couldn¡¯t be handle without using both hands.

    ¡°Captain, we¡¯ve found something,¡± the soldier showed the squad leader the medieval weapon at him. Besides the captain was the newcomer of the squad an Awaken with a rather peculiar ability.

    ¡°An iron weapon?¡± the squad leader wasn¡¯t impressed by it. But the one beside him was already smiling.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t your ordinary iron weapon, this here is an artifact from the UC,¡± said the woman.

    ¡°Portman are you sure? I¡¯ve no-¡± the squad leader words cut off by the brave woman.

    ¡°Captain, are you the one who has an ability or is it me?¡± she said. A blunt remark hitting directly at the squad leader''s ego.

    ¡°Fine. Bag them private,¡± said the squad leader.

    ¡°So how did you do it?¡± Miss Portman asked the two of them regarding the scene outside.

    Esther wasn¡¯t in her best condition as she was sniffling her snot crying like a baby. Hakeem kept quiet as he just stared back at Miss Portman.

    ¡°Answer her,¡± a soldier struck Hakeem from the back, hitting him with the back of his rifle hilt.

    ¡°Hakeem!¡± Esther shouted his name as she cried even further. She thought she had become strong but her mind was still too weak. With her current strength, she could have taken most of them out with her speed. But seeing these big guns just terrified the heck out of here limiting herself to just a regular woman.

    Hakeem endured it as he barely felt any pain. His Iron Body took the brunt of that sudden attack as he only felt a sudden push on the back of his head.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re quite strong. I can see the lady friend of yours is an Awaken judging by the pale whitish aura surrounding her but what about you?¡± Miss Portman asked as she was intrigued by Hakeem.

    ¡°She¡¯s an Awaken?!¡± one of the soldiers shouted as all eight people aimed their muzzles at the seemingly weak-looking woman. Esther was surprised seeing the nervous looks on these people''s faces, was she being an Awaken that big of a deal? She wondered as she stopped crying.

    ¡°You¡¯re right Miss Portman, from the intel we¡¯ve got, the method to identify whether a person is an Awaken or not is to see the thin pale light surrounding them. Boys, peel your eyes open, that¡¯s enough mistake for the night. So what about him? Is he also an Awaken?¡± the squad leader asked.

    ¡°Let me see,¡± said Miss Portman as her eyes stared at the sight of Hakeem. A subtle flash of purple ran within her iris and it was enough to make her retreated a few steps back.

    ¡°But how?¡± she asked as the surprised look on her face broke her calm.

    The squad leader was alarmed as he held Hakeem at gunpoint with his finger very close to pulling the trigger.

    ¡°What is it?! Spat it out!¡± said the squad leader as he was flustered by her sudden reaction.

    ¡°He¡¯s level thirteen,¡± she said with her voice trembling.

    ¡°Level thirteen? Him?¡± the squad leader stared at Hakeem with his eyes at the point of bulging out. He and Miss Portman are the only ones who knew the significance of Hakeem¡¯s level. One of the top Awaken recruits is Miss Portman over here who was at number four and the top three were beyond the set of skills of Miss Portman. The first rank of the Awaken recruits was taken by that sole person who reigned at the top at level ten. He demonstrated his physical prowess against the special ops barehanded and the result was an utter defeat for the special ops team. In the squad leader eyes he only approved those Awaken ranked three and above, they were strong and would be a valuable asset to the team.

    Knowing this man who was kneeling on the floor having a higher level than that powerful Awaken made him felt goosebumps all over his body.

    ¡°Who are you?! And who you work for?!¡± the squad leader asked with his tone higher than ever as his own body subconsciously retreated a few steps back.

    It didn¡¯t make sense to him for someone with a level like Hakeem to be in a place like this. The squad leader had already assumed Hakeem to be from a foreign country. Hakeem remained his calmness but inside he was utterly surprised by how they reacted over his level. In Hakeem¡¯s eyes, his level meant nothing since there was a monster who kept training him in leveling up.

    Miss Portman suddenly had a bad feeling as she glanced at the woman who was no longer crying. She used her ability which was ¡®Scan¡¯ as she peeked through Esther¡¯s status. Then her jaw fell as she couldn¡¯t help but be surprised once more.

    ¡°You¡­¡± she lost her words not knowing what else to say.

    ¡°What is it now? What¡¯s happening?¡± the squad leader didn¡¯t leave his sight on Hakeem but he couldn¡¯t miss the gasp on Miss Portman¡¯s voice.

    While the rest of the squad was confused about why their squad leader and the Awaken in their squad to be this nervous. The looked at each other eyes while nudging their head as if asking themselves what was going on.

    In the meantime, while the special ops team was having a crisis of their own, a voice whispered close to Hakeem¡¯s ear.

    ¡°You know with your Iron Body, you could just knock the heck out of them,¡± it was Jason¡¯s voice. But Hakeem maintained his expression.

    ¡°are you crazy? They¡¯re probably the military, I can¡¯t put my hands on the one who protects the country,¡± Hakeem tried his best to slightly whisper.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, just let it out. I know you want to beat them, they said you¡¯re from Somalia, they didn¡¯t even ask whether you¡¯re Canadian or not,¡± said Jason as he fanning the flickering flame in Hakeem¡¯s heart.

    Hakeem felt his anger rising as he remembered those words but he took deep breathes as he calmed himself down. Jason was disappointed, he wanted to see his friend raged out like back when in middle school Hakeem protected him from a few bullies. His tall build and his agile movement were exceptional in pummeling down those bullies. But Hakeem was calmed as he didn¡¯t want to let his rage dictate his action.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to kill them you know, we¡¯re just going to knock them out,¡± Jason tried again whispering directly into Hakeem¡¯s soul. As if he was a little devil whispering to do bad deeds.

    ¡°No killing,¡± Hakeem whispered back. At last, Jason managed to do it as he grinned within his Shadow Sneak.

    ¡°You just take care of the Captain who¡¯s point the gun at you, and I¡¯ll take care of the rest,¡± said Jason. Hakeem slightly nodded.

    ¡°Go,¡± Jason said.

    Hakeem broke off the plastic cuff-link wrapped around his wrist through sheer strength. The tall black man lunged at the squad leader as the Captain responded by unleashing a flurry of bullets.

    But what the Captain saw only made his eyes bulged out. The bullets ricocheted off from Hakeem¡¯s head as if he was made out of iron. Hakeem grabbed on to the muzzle of the rifle as he pushed it above towards the ceiling, the bullets rained down on the ceiling. The Captain let go of the rifle as he took out his sidearms but he was too slow, the moment he aimed at Hakeem, the tall stature man disappeared from sight as he executed Euro Step and within seconds in that time frame, the Captain was on the ground with a strong pair of arms wrapped over his neck. He tried to retaliate but then he saw his men falling down on the floor one by one by an invisible force. He lost his motivation and soon he blacked out.

    Miss Portman stood still during the change of power, she watched everything that was happening with her two eyes. First, she noticed Hakeem assaulting the Captain but then the cry of the squad member made her turned her head around. She saw these special ops soldiers going down one by one by an unknown force, she thought it was the girl but it wasn¡¯t her, Esther too was watching.

    Miss Portman tried to used her ¡®Scan¡¯ ability at the unknown force but she couldn¡¯t do it not even until the last man went down. Then she saw Esther breaking off from her plastic cuff-link as she stood up while thanking someone.

    Her mind was boggled and her body was trembling out of fear. She wasn¡¯t the combative type but she did survive through the calamity that happened in the first crack. Her instinct was to saved herself as her hand reached out to the side arms on her right thigh but her hand stop in motion as she heard a voice.

    ¡°Grab the gun and you¡¯ll die,¡± a raspy whisper rang by the side of her ear and it wasn¡¯t the only stimulus she felt, a cold object touched her throat. It was a cold Steel Dirk dagger, with a bit of pressure then her skin would definitely bleed.

    Miss Portman didn¡¯t notice the appearance of a man coming from behind. It was careless of her but she was powerless. She tried to glance at the perpetrator from the side in order to use her ability but out of sudden, a hand covered her eyes.

    ¡°Bad move Portman, you think I don¡¯t know about your eyes? I guess you really want to die then.¡±

    To those words, Portman shivered in utter fear.

 Chapter 84

    Hakeem and Esther stared at the sight of a man threatening a soldier with a knife on her throat. Hakeem wanted to say something but Jason held out his knife hand signaling him to back down. Hakeem wasn¡¯t comfortable seeing this but since it¡¯s Jason, he might have his own reason for doing this at such length.

    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t kill me,¡± said Miss Portman her heart started to wavered upon meeting death. She didn¡¯t escape Ottawa City just to die in the hands of an unknown Awaken.

    ¡°It depends on what you can offer,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I can tell you everything just please don¡¯t kill me,¡± she said. She was confident in manhandling anyone else since she did distribute a few points to strength but against this Awaken who she assumed to be stronger than Hakeem who was at level thirteen, the thought of retaliating was foolish, she would die in a matter of seconds.

    ¡°Who are you and why are you here?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°We are the Canadian Special Ops unit and I¡¯m the only Awaken in the squad. We¡¯re tasked to do reconnaissance while trying to retrieve as many artifacts as possible.

    ¡°I see, so that makes it okay to steal other people¡¯s stuff?¡± Jason said. Miss Portman who heard it couldn¡¯t stop shaking her legs.

    Their whimsical action of taking the iron mace at first glance was a big error.

    ¡°Please, I was ordered to do it, the Canadian Armed Force is to blame for this,¡± she said not caring of her words pushing the blame Canada¡¯s military force.

    She really knew how to survive in this world, not caring whether it was right or wrong and to lie or not.

    ¡°Why do they want the artifact?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in the clear about this but I heard rumors that the military R&D department is doing research on the artifact¡¯s foreign energy, they said they might be able to weaponize it towards the UC,¡± Miss Portman didn¡¯t waste any time as she threw out whatever information that she had.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Jason said. Humans never gave up no matter the odds. The Canadian military is bumping up their odds against these creatures hoping to reverse engineer the loot from the UC and not only them every human in this world is fighting in their own way and even Jason has his own way.

    ¡°What else?¡± Jason said as he pushed the edge of the knife¡¯s blade to Miss Portman¡¯s neck.

    Hakeem worried that Jason would hurt her. The friend in need came closer but Jason waved off telling him to back off.

    ¡°Wait. Wait. Wait,¡± miss Portman¡¯s couldn¡¯t hide her nervousness. ¡°There''re two more squads sent to Peterborough.¡±

    She paused as she swallowed a gulp of saliva, she could felt the knife digging into her skin as she swallowed.

    ¡°Go on,¡± Jason said. His voice was monotonous as he was hoping to fish out more from this nervous lady.

    ¡°Their tasks are different from ours, they were told to support the Awakens in their squad to level them up,¡± she said.

    ¡°I see, do you guys have any of these artifacts?¡± Jason said.

    Again, she gulped down another one and the woman didn¡¯t stop herself from revealing whatever that this man wanted. She could have lie but she was afraid, afraid that this person might have some kind of ability that deduce between a lie and a truth. She met one before back in her time surviving through Ottawa City.

    Rather than betting he didn¡¯t have it, it was safer for her to told him the truth.

    ¡°The other two squads have some and ours none. Since they are tasked for subjugation, most of the artifacts are with them and it¡¯s theirs, to begin with,¡± she said.

    ¡°Care to tell me what they are?¡± he asked.

    ¡°They are¡­¡± Miss Portman gave the details about the artifacts. A wooden rod with the innate ability to enhance elemental based energy attack by ten percent and another artifact, a great axe imbued with fire elements energy.

    Just hearing those effects made Jason trembling in his boots. For one thing, none of his current looted equipment had those kinds of effects and second of all, he was dumbfounded by how lucky these bastards are. They were even luckier than him. He wished there was a Luck status so he could throw every point he had into it.

    ¡°I see,¡± the glint in his eyes changed as if he decided on something. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Jason choked hold Miss Portman as the thought of dying resurfaced in her mind. She struggled as her hands tried to reach out to Jason¡¯s head and her feet trying to kick Jason by the nuts but all of her attempts were futile. Seconds later, she fainted.

    ¡°Dude,¡± Hakeem reproached Jason with his gesture telling him was it necessary to do that.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue killing the pigs before these people wake up,¡± said Jason. He was outright ignoring Hakeem as if it was the natural thing to do.

    ¡°I think we should get back Jason, even the military is involved in this,¡± Esther said as she felt terrified going through such things.

    ¡°So you¡¯re going to what? Crawl back in your bed and cry like a baby? If you¡¯re a little braver back then, you could have knock these weak soldiers off,¡± said Jason. As he stated the facts.

    Esther turned silent.

    ¡°Just remember this, if the monsters come down to Toronto, who do you think is going to protect our family? These people? The military? They can¡¯t do anything,¡± said Jason. He was slapped bitching his sister with logical statements.

    Esther cast her eyes down as she could refute him back. His words made sense, she got the sense of being powerful but guns were terrifying, no matter if you¡¯re an Awaken or not.

    But Jason was different, he knew his own capability. Even Hakeem faced head-on against a bullet and survived.

    ¡°and you,¡± Jason pointed at Hakeem, ¡°you¡¯ve got something to say?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Hakeem realized it was useless to reason with this friend of his. He picked up his iron mace which was kept inside a duffel bag. He looked back at the floating window screen as his Iron Body leveled up. His Iron Body points were getting closer to breaking.

    Then a glowing green glow enveloped his body as he realized he was being healed by Jason.

    ¡°You did a pretty good job taking that shot head-on, but be mindful of your points,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Hakeem replied.

    While the two men prepared to go out once more, Esther who had been silent the whole time made a decision.

    ¡°Train me,¡± she said.

    Jason glanced at Esther.

    ¡°Train me to take a bullet,¡± she said once more as she was determined to change herself. She¡¯s a smart girl and she knew the fact the world was changing to a different course. Sooner or later with the advancement of these monsters, there would be no more land for humans to strive and prosper.

    Her future plan of being a research biologist would be put on hold for a moment not until she managed to be confident to face the uncertain future.

    ¡°Sure, but first we need to take care of those pigs,¡± said Jason. Before they left, Jason asked them two to looted these military pricks as they confiscated their two of their SMG and a whole lot of ammo.

    Esther had an idea about where her brother was going with this looting and she couldn¡¯t say no to that.

    The three people went out into the open as they continued killing the pigs and boars with their sneaky ambushing tactics. Soon, Jason leveled up to twenty-two and Hakeem reaching fourteen with Esther reaching thirteen. They were a lot more left but they didn¡¯t want to encounter those special ops team again, thus they left the place and head deeper into the city.

    Meanwhile, a few klicks from the unconscious special ops squad, another special ops squad with twenty men are fighting against a sole physornis or also known as a Terror Bird, a flightless avian. Similar in looks to a dodo bird but they were bigger, stronger, faster and deadlier.

    This sole Terror Bird stood at a height of seven feet and nine inches and it was in a state of massacring this military ops squad.

    Guns and bullets didn¡¯t work as the military had expected as such but their job wasn¡¯t to inflict damage but merely to distract the killer bird.

    ¡°Scott, you¡¯re good to go,¡± said the squad leader as he was focused on firing this gigantic wingless bird.

    A man emerged standing on top of a balcony higher than the Terror Bird. As the bird was distracted by the constant bullets raining over it, this man who was holding on to a wooden rod was deep in concentration as his eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of that overgrown bird.

    His lips were moving as he was mumbling unknown words. The soldiers who were keeping watch over this man¡¯s back felt the surrounding around them was getting cold. They knew what was happening, the glanced at the sight of this man as a subtle mist floating around him.

    ¡°I can never get tired of seeing this,¡± said the soldier who was watching Scott¡¯s back.

    Then it emerged as several sharp icicles formed around Scott.

    ¡°Icicle Rain!¡± Scott shouted he swung the glowing bluish wooden rod while aiming at the Terror Bird.

    These frozen icicles flew through the air as their sharp pointed edges pierced the flightless creature.

    ¡°Kaw!¡± the bird cried out pain as they finally did some damage to the bird.

    ¡°Scott, it isn¡¯t dead yet,¡± the message relayed to Scott¡¯s communication device.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Scott didn¡¯t think the Terror Bird would survive through this sole ability. ¡°Buy me some time, I need to get ready once more.¡±

    Again, the soldiers need to do the sacrifice as the squad leader gritted down his teeth and threw a grenade right on the feet of the Terror Bird.

    Scott turned to his back.

    ¡°Hey, Ellen¡¯s squad dropped near us, am I right?¡± he asked the soldier.

    ¡°Yeah, Miss Portsman¡¯s squad is just a few klicks from where we are,¡± said the soldier.

    ¡°Then, tell her to get butt over here. I need her to scan this thing,¡± said Scott as he could only rely on Ellen¡¯s scanning ability. He knew that the most well-trained Awaken ability in the military was Ellen¡¯s Scan.

    The soldier tried to send a message to the other squad. But back inside a storage facility, a group of people was still fainting and the message relayed was left alone with no one to answer.

    ¡°Squad gamma we need your assistance, over. I repeat, please escort Miss Portman to our current position, over. Hello! Please respond¡­¡±

 Chapter 85

    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Hakeem was nervous as he stood at the far end corner of the dead-end alleyway. Two tall buildings were on his sides and on his back was a solid wall. The width of the dead-end alleyway measured seven feet and it wasn¡¯t enough room to maneuver when right in front of him stood a three-meter beast revving to charge at him.

    A lone Bumi Bison stood at the only exit of the alleyway. It was enraged and fuming as one of its forefeet pawing the road. It didn¡¯t come here without reason as it was nonetheless provoked by someone.

    Jason appeared behind Hakeem as he tapped Hakeem¡¯s shoulder for motivation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ve got Iron Body,¡± he said as the thought of seeing this happening made him grin.

    ¡°Dude, you said that this bull is like twice my level,¡± Hakeem couldn¡¯t hide his nervousness as beads of sweats rained over his forehead.

    ¡°Relax, I¡¯m here and I¡¯ll be healing you in no time. Just don¡¯t die,¡± said Jason.

    Hearing the word die only elevated Hakeem¡¯s nervousness. The trio had been fighting against monsters along the way and now they were very close to the city center. Both of them who were being carried by their friend and brother couldn¡¯t handle anymore the ongoing motion sickness they felt in the shadow realm.

    Esther took the full brunt and was resting in an apartment building just beside this narrow alleyway. While she was resting, Jason had another plan for Hakeem and now there they were with their backs behind a wall. Hakeem was level fifteen but his skill level remained stagnant as he barely did anything. Thus the reason why Jason came up with this plan.

    A plan to fully developed Hakeem as a truly impenetrable tanker. He didn¡¯t pick the role for Hakeem but he was the one who insisted as such. Jason wandered around the city and found a suitable training partner for his friend and the Bumi Bison volunteered willingly as Jason kept on aggro the dumb beast right until here, a one-way lane for the pent-up Bumi Bison to released its aggro.

    ¡°Buckle up, here it comes,¡± said Jason as he disappeared into nothingness as Hakeem braced himself from the incoming attack.

    The tactical shield that he had was no longer there as it turned into scrap metal turning unusable. The only thing he could rely on right now was his pure Iron Body and his trusty iron mace.

    He stared at the raging bull and kept his eyes open without blinking. Then they collided. Hakeem lowered his center of gravity trying to endure the head smash by the Bumi Bison but alas he was too weak and too under level. The blue windows kept on shoving on his face detailing his Iron Body points reaching a critical level.

    ¡°Jason!¡± Hakeem shouted out of desperation.

    A growing green glow enveloped his entire body as his Iron Body points restored to normal. But that didn¡¯t last well as the Bumi Bison was rough and aggressive like a true-born rodeo bull, it kept charging at the only human it could found and released its instinct of hurting the inhabitant of this world.

    Hakeem endured the great force pummeling over his body, his Iron Body points kept on rising and decreasing like it was a see-saw. Jason who kept coming in and out of hiding while healing this man couldn¡¯t help but cheer with glee, just a while ago, his Minor Heal+ had reached the maximum level.

    Minor Heal+ has reached the maximum level

    Upgrade into Heal Lv.1

    Minor Heal+ was his first skill as he had given the choice to choose it. It was at a dire moment and he had no choice but choose it out of circumstances. But it did wonders for him as it became one of his essential skills. With the upgrade to Heal his recovery ability had improved tremendously. Even the fluctuating Iron Body points of Hakeem started to at least fluctuate in a stable manner. At least his friend wouldn¡¯t be in a risky position of suddenly breaking his only defensive wall and not be skewed by those sharp horns.

    While the man hiding behind the shield was having fun of his time, Hakeem wasn¡¯t in a good situation. He couldn¡¯t anything against this bovine monster as he kept on being attacked by it without stopping. The raging bull kept head bashing on his torso rendering him to only kept his arms up to defend his body. Hakeem had no way of retaliating back, it made him similar to a punching bag. He couldn¡¯t even stop for a while and take a breather as this Bumi Bison was relentless.

    He even hoped that Jason would help and killed this beast but his friend didn¡¯t do anything but kept on healing Hakeem up. Hakeem was at the verge of giving up, even the harsh training he endured back when he was a basketball athlete wasn¡¯t this hard. But his hardship didn¡¯t come without reward, in a blink of an eye his Iron Body had already leveled up to level four bringing him more defensive capability as well heightening his strength a bit. He could felt it immediately but the Bumi Bison was still way too strong for him.

    Two hours went by and our tall black friend couldn¡¯t endure this masochistic training any longer.

    ¡°Dude¡­ let me¡­ rest¡­ a¡­ bit¡­¡± Hakeem was reaching his limit. Jason wanted to push his friend a bit further since his own Heal skill had reached level five. The more he could spam it, the better it was for his own healing skill. But being the good guy and a good friend he helped out his friend in need.

    He disappeared into nothingness and appeared right above the oblivious Bumi Bison. The bovine was still torturing the poor soul but its time was near. The sheen of Jason¡¯s dirk was glowing in dark crimson red thirsting for blood. His eyes couldn¡¯t glance away from its neck and with a swift motion of his arm, he unleashed Blood Edge Strike.

    A clean-cut as he beheaded the bison¡¯s head. The head rolled on the ground stopping right in front of Hakeem. He¡¯s too strong, thought Hakeem. He thought he was getting strong but this man showed him something else.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get back to the apartment. I think a shower would be nice,¡± said Jason.

    The two returned back to the abandoned apartment. Well, every house in this city was abandoned so they just chose the best apartment of the bunch within this particular building. The moment they entered, they saw Esther loitering around the apartment with a bottle of water in her hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching, am I going to do the same thing?¡± said Esther as he saw the pathetic state Hakeem went through.

    It was definitely not her cup of tea. But lucky for her, her brother had something else in mind.

    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re a bit different,¡± said Jason as he watched the back of Hakeem dropping on the nearby couch. The man was in need of rest no matter how many levels his Iron Body went up.

    ¡°Come here,¡± Jason said prompting Esther to come over. Yet as the distance between them reached a foot, Esther was stunned seeing Jason taking out a gun. It was too fast and even with her agility she couldn¡¯t dodge it within this distance, her brother pulled the trigger and a bullet went straight at her torso. She flung back and dropped on the floor.

    Hakeem who was about to rest woke up immediately with alert looking eyes.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Hakeem said as he saw the gun held by Jason.

    Esther was dumbfounded as she laid there on the floor not knowing what just happened. She was speechless and frozen in place not knowing what else to feel. There was a sudden strong force pushing through her abdomen but that was all. There was no pain whatsoever but being shot by a gun was frightening.

    A blue window popped up as her energy guard went up to level two but that didn¡¯t make her happy. She propped her body up and glared at this dick brother of hers.

    ¡°You shot me? Are you crazy?!¡± shouted Esther as this time she was definitely angered by Jason¡¯s action. Although she knew that she would be shot by a firearm after Jason picked up the SMG but his sudden action of shooting her when she was unprepared caught her by surprise and she couldn¡¯t help but be angered by it.

    ¡°What? Dude, that¡¯s too much,¡± Hakeem was siding with Esther.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get workup, your energy guard went up by a level didn¡¯t it?¡± said Jason as he paid no mind to the anger behind Ester¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°But you could have¡­¡± Jason cut her off as it was pointless to argue about this matter.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who told me to help you get strong so I just did it,¡± Jason said. ¡°Now at least you know, you won¡¯t be hurt by a bullet.¡±

    ¡°But what if something wrong? You¡¯re going to take responsibility?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°Of course, if a bullet went through I can just heal you,¡± said Jason.

    Esther was getting angrier by the second, every question she threw at him there would always be an answer.

    ¡°But what if your skill can¡¯t heal me?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Nonsense, I once healed myself after being shot a few times on my body and as you can see for yourself I¡¯m still alive,¡± said Jason.

    His thoughtless remark left Hakeem and Esther to ponder. Jason had been shot numerous times? But when?

    Then the thought of Jason being in New York City came into mind in both of their heads. The sudden realization just hit them.

    Esther fell silent not knowing what to say. She was still mad at him but hearing his sudden circumstances made her a bit careful.

    ¡°But you can¡¯t just shoot me like that? You should at least tell me beforehand,¡± she tried to fight back in a milder way.

    The situation dialed down a bit but Esther was not giving up in reprimanding her brother.

    ¡°In war, did you think some soldier would tell you first before they shoot? Sounds stupid isn¡¯t it, but there it is, I¡¯m just preparing you for the worst and although I¡¯m being a dick about it but hey, at least you will still be alive when other people will be dying because of some stray bullets or being eaten by monsters,¡± said Jason.

    Esther couldn¡¯t say anything else. She turned around and left the living room going into one of the bedrooms.

    Hakeem shook his head as he didn¡¯t want to get involved in this brother-sister squabble. He lay back on the couch resting his head against the soft pillow, it was time for him to rest a bit from all the madness he just went through.

    Jason was the calmest and nonchalant in this case as he went into one of the bedrooms and took a shower, cleaning his body up from the sweat and grime.

    Dawn was approaching and the gunshot just now drew a certain person or something attention.

    On top of a building roof, something emerged from underneath a tarp, the navy color fur that was rather familiar along with a snout with the nose twitching around. A tall humanoid rose and glanced at the direction of the gunshot as its ears raised up trying to pinpoint the exact location.

    It sniffed the air a bit as well as trying to listen carefully then it determined the direction. The creature grabbed the gigantic crossbow on the floor as it attached it to the harness on its back. With a destination in mind, the canine looking humanoid sprinted towards the gunshot with an awful grin.

 Chapter 86

    An hour went by and Jason was readied for another killing spree. He wore back his overall black outfit as he barely broke a sweat, there wasn¡¯t even a bloodstain on it. Turning the knob open, he walked into the living room. Hakeem was still dozing off while Esther was staring out through the window. She sat there with her legs crossed as if she was a complex woman living in the big city.

    Sadly, she sitting right there didn¡¯t sit well for Jason.

    ¡°Get away from the window,¡± said Jason.

    Esther glanced at her brother and the first thing he did after resting for an hour was reprimanding her. She never felt this much annoyed by her brother, before this whole change in Jason¡¯s character, her brother wasn¡¯t the type to argue with her. Exchanging a few pleasantries and mocking banters were the best description of their brother-sister relationship.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you take a break from being a jerk? You know, you¡¯re getting more annoying after this whole new you,¡± said Esther as she was a girl that talked her mind out.

    ¡°Just get your butt away from the window, it¡¯s dangerous here, we need to keep cautious at every second. Who knows what might see you if you just sit there in front of a window,¡± said Jason.

    Although it was a logical statement yet Esther didn¡¯t want to back down just because she didn¡¯t want to lose to her brother.

    ¡°You¡¯re being too paranoid, nothing is going to¡­¡± but Esther¡¯s words fell short as both she and Jason was surprised by the sudden break of the window.

    Jason watched with his eyes opened wide as he saw Esther being lifted off the ground by a familiar-looking projectile. The pale whitish aura that surrounded Esther shattered into a million pieces as the already recovered energy guard was obliterated in an instant.

    ¡°Esther!¡± Jason shouted. Hakeem who was still sleeping woke up immediately.

    Esther puked out a mouthful of blood as the sudden ambush was too powerful. Even after her energy guard took the majority of the force behind the attack, it still had enough power to damaged Esther. Her internal organs were screaming as everything was damaged.

    What happened? Am I going to die? That thought flashed inside Esther¡¯s mind. Everything happened too fast and she herself didn¡¯t felt the pain yet.

    Her head landed on the floor with a thud, she didn¡¯t move as she couldn¡¯t. Even her eyelids didn¡¯t blink as she saw her brother coming towards her. He was mouthing something at her but she couldn¡¯t hear him. Jason was actually shouting as his eyes were quivering. Blood kept on spilling over from her mouth as Jason watched in horror.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Hakeem asked flustered by the sudden turn of event.

    ¡°Get down on the floor! A kobold is shooting at us!¡± Jason shouted.

    Hakeem lay down on the floor immediately. At the same time, Jason put both of his hands on Esther as the vibrant green glow enveloped Esther¡¯s entire body.

    ¡°Heal! Heal! Heal!¡± Jason didn¡¯t waste time as he healed the gravely injured Esther. Warm energy went coursing inside Esther¡¯s body as her body rapidly healed by Jason¡¯s heal.

    ¡°What happened to Esther? Is she hurt?¡± Hakeem just realized the state of Esther laying down on the floor with that vacant look in her eyes.

    ¡°Keep your eyes on the window, tell me if you see a kobold,¡± said Jason. He was having his hands full concentrating on Esther.

    Hakeem followed his order as his eyes went glancing around the windows in this apartment.

    A few minutes later, Esther regained her clarity.

    ¡°Jason?¡± she said as she propped her body up. She felt her body a bit sluggish but noticing she was still alive and breathing, it felt surreal.

    ¡°I¡¯m still alive?¡± she said.

    Then she felt two warm hands holding on to her head. She glanced at these two eyes of her brother who was staring at her.

    ¡°Thank goodness,¡± Jason said as he then hugged her sister not minding the precarious situation they were in.

    In a split second, he almost lost his sister. He remembered the lives lost back in New York City, he buried those painful memories a while back but this incident was enough to brought them back.

    Esther was dumbfounded by her brother sudden show of affection. A stark difference compared to his jerk like persona. He hugged her for a long time as she herself could felt the loving heart of her brother. A second later, she just realized her brother saved her from death. Her lips drooped downwards as she broke into tears. Feeling the sense of death was a frightening experience and she was still just a normal person.

    Hakeem who was keeping an eye to the windows couldn¡¯t help but glance at the overly sweet interaction between brother-sister, rather than being happy for them he just wished they could finish fast as they were not in a good situation right now.

    ¡°Jason, can you hurry up. I¡¯m getting nervous here,¡± said Hakeem.

    Then another window broke as something zipped through the apartment. All three people ducked down close to the floor from their reflex alone.

    ¡°What¡¯s attacking us?¡± Esther asked as the perpetrator that shot her was making her whole body trembled.

    ¡°Get behind the kitchen counter, and never stand up,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°But¡­¡± she wanted to say she could help but she knew she couldn¡¯t. Rather than couldn¡¯t, she didn¡¯t want to. That near-death experience left something in her.

    Jason went off as he grabbed on to his Zoyt compound bow. He hid with Shadow Sneak and leaped outside of the window. He grabbed on to the ledge of the window as he flung himself upwards to the roof. His eyes scanned the rooftops and the windows searching for the kobold that ambushed them.

    Then he saw it, a silhouette was leaping from one rooftop to another. Jason didn¡¯t let this chance go to waste as he aimed down sight as three bright glowing white arrows manifested on his bow.

    ¡°Die,¡± he said as he let loose of the bowstring.

    Three arrows flew and as he waited for his arrows to shoot it down, he saw the unthinkable. The kobold who was leaping in mid-air threw the huge crossbow on its back at the incoming arrows. Two arrows pierced the crossbow and one slipped away, the lone arrow struck the kobold by the shoulder as it landed on the roof while kneeling. The archer kobold winced in pain as the jutting glowing white arrow on its shoulder was something it didn¡¯t expect.

    The archer kobold glanced at the direction of the shot and saw the silhouette of a human with a bow in his hand. A slight second later the human was gone from thin air and the archer kobold couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. He who was a keen archer of the kobold couldn¡¯t see even a glimpse of that man. It was either the human was too fast for its eye or the human turned invisible. The kobold who was planning to have some fun with some humans turned sour as it didn¡¯t expect the situation to turn out like this. The exhilarating feeling it had when it hunted down those soldiers back in Kawartha Park was no longer there as the human that shot it was different. A different class than those trashy Awakens he fought.

    But then its ears jerked sensing something was coming. The archer kobold leaped to the side as it rolled on the roof. It glanced at the side of where it once was and saw three glowing white arrows piercing the roof. Once again, it glanced at the roof and there it was the human who was aiming his bow at it.

    It had to admit, this human who was attacking it had some impressive accuracy if it wasn¡¯t for its innate hearing, it would have been shot by now. The kobold leaped off from the roof hiding behind the building as being on the rooftop was simply being an open target.

    It felt humiliated by the fact that he had to resort to such an action. In its mind, humans are the weaker species and being pushed to fled like this only tarnished its pride. But rather than giving itself into the rage, the archer kobold thought things through.

    Its weapon was rendered useless and up against that bow-wielding bastard, it couldn¡¯t stand a chance if it was just it alone. Rather than letting it suffer through a humiliating defeat, it was better to gain a complete win.

    The kobold turned its tail around and left the spot. It went back with a nasty intention in mind as it won¡¯t let this humiliation be gone like this. It howled to the sky on this bright morning day. A howl that wasn¡¯t from a wolf but from a kobold calling for reinforcement.

    Jason thought about giving chase after losing sight of that archer kobold but after hearing that howl, he had a bad feeling about it.

    Jason went back into the apartment with a solemn expression.

    ¡°Did you kill it?¡± Hakeem asked. Esther was already up while standing behind the kitchen counter.

    ¡°No, it ran away,¡± he said.

    ¡°What? Monsters can run away? Shouldn¡¯t it be aggro?¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be this stupid, this isn¡¯t a game. This is real life, those things aren¡¯t dumb virtual monsters,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°So what do we do?¡± Esther asked as there was a hint of trembling in her voice. She still couldn¡¯t shake it off even after recovering from that near-death state.

    ¡°We need to move, there¡¯s more coming.¡±

 Chapter 87

    On top of the roof of a tenth-floor building, Jason was taking a sweep over the entire rooftop with his eyes glancing over the surrounding area. For now, there was no canine humanoid in sight. Jason returned back to the two who were waiting for him.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s none,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think we should head back home?¡± Esther asked. After being informed by Jason that there might be more, the previous experience she felt was making her jittery.

    Jason glanced at her and saw the nervous look in her eyes. He even noticed her left leg which couldn¡¯t stop shaking.

    She¡¯s scared.

    He could read her like a book but the word retreat didn¡¯t exist in his dictionary. With him expecting more of those kobolds to appear, he wasn¡¯t going to let those experience wasted.

    ¡°I think she¡¯s right Jason. I know you can win against them but with us two around, we¡¯re just going to be a burden,¡± said Hakeem. He remembered that night where he watched Jason slaughtered those kobolds and the memory of him being bitten by one of them.

    ¡°Enough,¡± Jason said. ¡°I know both of you are scared but you guys have to go through this.¡±

    He sat on the floor as his eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of these two.

    ¡°Think about it this way, when there¡¯s no more land for humans, how do you think we¡¯re going to stay alive?¡± said Jason. Although it was still far from the future and still uncertain, yet judging from how the invasion of the second wave of the crack wasn¡¯t stopping then his mere assumption might not be far from the truth.

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking way into the future Jason, by then the military can handle these things,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°They can¡¯t,¡± Jason said. Confident in his own words.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Esther was speechless.

    ¡°The boss monsters won¡¯t let us win that easily,¡± said Jason as the word ¡®boss¡¯ made Esther confused.

    ¡°Like that big scary tree back then?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Nope, that¡¯s just a mini-boss. The boss I¡¯m talking about is like those building-sized monsters,¡± the mentioned of that kind of size made Hakeem and Esther recalled about the gigantic kaiju-like monster roaming at every major city on earth.

    ¡°I bet one year of hard leveling won¡¯t be enough to fight against that ridiculous lizard,¡± said Jason as he remembered those crimson scales.

    ¡°Lizard?¡± Esther didn¡¯t quite get it but Hakeem did. He nudged Esther by the side as he whispered.

    ¡°New York,¡± Hakeem said and Esther immediately knew by what he meant. She saw the news back then, a short video about the towering dinosaur-like creature.

    She fell into silence once more not knowing what else she could do to convince this brother of hers to get away from here. She understood the message he was trying to relay but that near-death she experienced wasn¡¯t something easy to brush off.

    ¡°Just keep your eyes wandering around and don¡¯t relax even for a second,¡± Jason said. He was trying to teach them on how to stay alert under pressure. A baptism of some sort, a baptism that he was forced to went through in just two nights, although it wasn¡¯t long but it was enough to change into his current self.

    He didn¡¯t enjoy the experience but at least he wanted for this friend and family to at least know what they were getting themselves into. In a way his way of easy leveling them had a detriment effect on them, rather than thinking everything would be fine if Jason was around, he wanted for them to relied on themselves.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go check on the floors downstairs, you guys keep a lookout for anything. Radio me if there¡¯s something,¡± said Jason as he left the roof.

    The door clang closed and the two who were left together looked at each other eyes.

    ¡°Can¡¯t we just go?¡± said Esther.

    ¡°He¡¯s doing this for us,¡± said Hakeem as he tapped Esther¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard but let¡¯s just endure it. I¡¯ll be checking out that side.¡±

    Hakeem left Esther to her own as he stood near the edge of the rooftop. He too felt conflicted about it as he knew the kobolds were a different league than those pigs and cows.

    Before long the sun was at the top of their heads. Jason came back not without bringing something along.

    ¡°Cans of corn and bean? We¡¯re really getting similar to refugees,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Well, it won¡¯t be long,¡± Jason fired back and the two stared at him realizing what he meant.

    His remark only made these two even more downcast. Jason was being too pessimistic about the situation as if he had lost hope for all humanity.

    ¡°There goes my appetite,¡± said Hakeem but his hand still clutching on to that can of bean.

    All three sat near each other under the shade of the cylindrical water tank. They ate with silence as only their mouth kept on moving around. Hakeem glanced at the other two as he felt this situation was too suffocating for him.

    ¡°So Jason, you¡¯ve got a girlfriend? I bet the babes in New York are pretty fine,¡± said Hakeem.

    Esther glanced at Hakeem with a frown on her face. Her face said it all, while Jason only stared at Hakeem.

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m too busy looking for work,¡± said Jason.

    Then silence prevailed once more, Hakeem was frustrated seeing how emotionless Jason was in responding. He thought that Jason should have given him something to talk about.

    ¡°Oh yeah, I remember back when we were in high school. You¡¯re dating that chica right, what¡¯s her name again? Ah, it¡¯s Maria, right? Damn, when I found out you were dating that girl, I¡¯ve got to give it to you man, big respect,¡± Hakeem was excited as he turned to Esther.

    ¡°Yo, you know about your big bro here? Although he looks dull and plain, but he got game, he dated one of the top three most beautiful girls in high school and¡­¡± Hakeem was getting hyped up as he reminisced about his schooling days. He didn¡¯t even notice the change in Jason.

    Meanwhile, the moment Jason heard Maria¡¯s name, he flinched. The plastic spoon he was holding on to was trembling as the corn kernels dropped back into the can. He stared at the shining metal lid of the can as he remembered once more the sight of Maria falling. If he had stayed awake and not fainted, he could have saved her.

    CRACK!

    The plastic spoon broke into two falling on the floor.

    ¡°Dude, you heard anything about her? After she transferred to the states I didn¡¯t hear anything about¡­¡± Hakeem turned over to Jason and shut his mouth after realizing the spoons on the floor.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Hakeem asked. He felt a bit guilty seeing how he just brought up about Jason¡¯s ex-girlfriend.

    ¡°Sorry man, I didn¡¯t think you would be this upset about your¡­¡± Hakeem apologized but Jason cut him off.

    ¡°Dead,¡± he said.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Hakeem confused by that word coming from Jason¡¯s lips. Esther who was internally shutting her hearing down came perking her ears up as she heard that word.

    ¡°She¡¯s dead,¡± Jason said once more as he didn¡¯t make eye contact with either one of them.

    ¡°Maria?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Jason nodded and Hakeem reacted with his mouth gaped wide open. Hakeem got up from the floor and paced himself around the area as he just realized he made the biggest mistake. For the sake of escaping the suffocating silence, he brought up something that he shouldn¡¯t say.

    Esther found something was odd, although the news about his ex-girlfriend was dead but why did Jason had a face like that. It wasn¡¯t like him, it wasn¡¯t like the jerk brother that she knew off beside the loving and warming side she just saw back when she was shot to the brink of death but this change of face of his made her questioned something in mind.

    ¡°Dude, sorry man. I didn¡¯t know, I¡­¡± while Hakeem was apologizing with his huge hands kept moving around trying to appease this brooding friend that he had, Esther on the hand was thinking things through. She knew about Maria and she knew of how much Jason hated her after their sudden breakup, it didn¡¯t make any sense seeing Jason having a forlorn face like that for someone he hated to the core.

    Although she didn¡¯t care about her brother¡¯s love life but she still heard about the rumor regarding his ex-girlfriend. Then she realized something, when Hakeem just spoke of how she moved to the states, it gave her a clue.

    ¡°How did she die?¡± she suddenly asked going straight for it without caring about being considerate.

    ¡°Esther?!¡± Hakeem with his eyes wide open couldn¡¯t believe what just came out from Esther¡¯s mouth. Did she really just asked him that? Was one of those fleeting thoughts in Hakeem¡¯s mind. Making the situation even worse wasn¡¯t the best thing to do right now.

    Hakeem glanced back at Jason hoping that the man didn¡¯t explode hearing such a question. Now he started to regret being such a talkative man. He should have just shut his damn mouth.

    ¡°She was with me in New York City and she¡¯s dead because of me,¡± said Jason with a flat tone as his eyes stared far away into a daze.

    Hakeem and Esther couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by hearing those words. More questions kept popping up inside Esther¡¯s mind while Hakeem didn¡¯t know how to respond. Hakeem couldn¡¯t imagine what this friend of his had been through in those two nights full of nightmares.

    Hakeem was about to console Jason but then the three of them turned towards the same direction as they heard something at a distance.

    ¡°You hear that?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Gunshots,¡± Jason said.

    But then he heard the door to the roof staircase being opened. The cringing noise coming from the door couldn¡¯t escape his ears. He signaled to the two beside him with his index finger on his lips. He beckoned to follow him from behind as all three made their way to the staircase.

    They took a peek and saw a man busied blocking the door with everything that he could find on the roof. While the man was finding things to block the feeble looking door, out of coincidence he met eyes with the three of those who were peeking at him.

    ¡°Who are you?!¡± the man shouted as he took on an offensive stance.

    The man took out a wooden rod as he aimed pointed to the normal-looking stick to the three of them. Jason recognized the uniform the man was wearing and seeing that normal-looking wooden rod, he had something in mind.

    ¡°Identify,¡± he said.

    Seeing the blue window popped out in front of him, he couldn¡¯t help but let out a grin.

    Bingo.

 Chapter 88

    Betula Wooden Rod

    Category : Staff(M-Size)

    Grade : Rare

    A piece of betula wood shaped by a skilled carpenter. Ingrained with the original tree¡¯s energy essence.

    Attack : +10(+2)

    E. Attack : 27(+3)

    Effects : +10% E. Attack for energy-based abilities

    Seeing was believing, the moment he saw the description of the wooden rod he knew that this man was like him. It was the second time he met another Awakened but this time he could sense the hostility from those frantic looking eyes.

    ¡°Who the fuck are you guys?!¡± Scott bellowed at these three strangers that popped out of nowhere. He was already running away for his life but rather than finding sanctuary, he stumbled upon three unknowns.

    Hakeem and Esther were nervous but Jason was still calm. The bow in his hand was visible for the other party to see and like any man who was afraid for his life, he shouted at Jason.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the bow? Put it down!¡±

    Scott¡¯s threatening method was rather lackluster considering how he was just pointing his stick at these three. To the untrained eye, no one would know about that normal-looking wooden rod to be a precious artifact that came from the crack.

    ¡°Why is he pointing a stick at us?¡± Esther whispered.

    ¡°Stop whispering around, I can see your lips moving!¡± Scott was getting agitated by the second, his eyes didn¡¯t stop moving around glancing left to right. The gunshots coming from a distance were telling him that his squad was still fighting a losing battle.

    ¡°Dude, calm down. We¡¯re not going to hurt you. Whatever you¡¯re thinking of doing with that stick, please stop yourself and think things through,¡± Hakeem tried to calm Scott down.

    But it didn¡¯t receive well.

    ¡°Stick?¡± Scott said as his eyes narrowed at the sight of that tall man. Just being that tall was an eyesore for Scott, he got a height complex since he was just at five feet and eight inches. Driven by anger, his lips were mumbling as he recited those words that were ingrained in his mind.

    Jason saw it and he didn¡¯t hesitate to move. At first, he thought of doing things peacefully but the guy just had to flip his switch. Jason¡¯s insane agility caught Scott off guard.

    He stuttered in his words as he saw the silhouette of a man who was already a foot away from him. He tried to back away but it was too late, a fist slammed right across his abdomen as he fell on his knees.

    Intense pain wracked his entire body, he puked out whatever military ration he just ate and as his eyes glanced at the sight of a man staring at him with those eyes, he definitely knew that there was someone stronger than rank one.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ an Awakened?¡± he was close to blacking out but he kept his shit together and tried to stay conscious as there was still danger lurking around. Jason also pulled his punch a bit as he had a question of his own.

    Jason grabbed the long wavy hair of Scott as he threw him at the blocked staircase door. Scott winced in pain as his scalp was burning with a lot of his hair falling on the floor.

    Scott didn¡¯t have the time to worried about his hair as his eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of Jason. He was one of those who escaped Ottawa, a place of nightmare. He got out with his grit and gut. He knew when to retreat when he sees one.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Scott said as he knew clashing ego with this man was suicidal.

    ¡°Give that stick to me and I might consider not throwing you off from the roof,¡± Jason said as his face remained stoic.

    Scoot unknowingly frown as his only weapon was being asked for payment for his life. Even after being punched and thrown he had never let go of his wooden rod no matter what. He went through thick and thin with this wooden rod and giving it away was like giving a piece of his soul.

    But like they always said, sell your soul to the devil. His life was more precious than this wooden rod, and with no choice, he threw the wooden rod at Jason. This man who threatened to kill him grabbed on to the wooden rod and stashed it inside his bag.

    While the situation was rather tense on the roof, so did the things around it. The loud gunshots didn¡¯t stop as even Scott couldn¡¯t calm himself down as his head kept turning side to side.

    ¡°Dude, did you really need to intimidate him by mentioning killing?¡± Hakeem asked as he felt Jason was turning more like a Russian mobster.

    ¡°He¡¯s trying to kill you with his ability, and I just stop him from doing so,¡± his words left Hakeem speechless. Hakeem looked at Esther as she too didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°They¡¯re coming! We need to barricade the door behind me before they come,¡± Scott shouted hoping for these people to help him out against a common threat.

    ¡°What¡¯s coming,¡± Jason asked with his arms crossed over his chest. He was talking things slowly as the gunshots he heard didn¡¯t even matter to him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, those freaking werewolves are coming towards here. Even if you¡¯re strong, you alone can¡¯t do a thing against them,¡± Scott was giving a warning to Jason, he acknowledged the fact that he was stronger than him but against those pack of furry humanoid, one strong man couldn¡¯t hold a candle against them.

    The word werewolf piqued Jason''s interest as both of his eyebrows raised. He released a grin knowing that his prey had come.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you down there fighting with your squad?¡± Although he was thrilled by the presence of those kobolds yet that didn¡¯t stop him from questioning this man¡¯s cowardice.

    Scott turned his head around as he didn¡¯t want to meet those condescending eyes. He knew what he did was an act of betrayal to the squad and the country but his life matter first. It was ingrained in him during those moments he experienced back in Ottawa.

    ¡°You do know that deserters are sentenced to death?¡± Jason was using the word death again as even Hakeem and Esther was shocked about hearing it.

    Scott couldn¡¯t see through this man. He was calm even after Scott had mentioned about the incoming kobolds.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, I¡¯ve already told them that we can¡¯t fight against them but they won¡¯t listen, but they¡­¡± Scott¡¯s word cut off by the loud howling of a wolf. Uncommon to hear during daylight but it wasn¡¯t a wolf.

    ¡°Help me out here,¡± Scott said as he stood up with his aching scalp and body. He wasn¡¯t going to let his injured body to stop himself from blocking the door.

    Hakeem and Esther were nervous as the sweat on their foreheads told about their current state. They glanced at Jason simultaneously as they knew the only way of living through this was this man.

    ¡°How many are there?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Are you guys just going to stand there doing nothing? Help me out or we¡¯re going to be dog¡¯s food!¡± Scott hollered after seeing how unresponsive these people were, they acted like the first time Scott mentioned his game-like status to his close friends and he wasn¡¯t liking it.

    ¡°Give me an estimation,¡± said Jason, pointing the bow at Scott.

    Scott wanted to ridicule this man seeing he drew an empty bow at him but after seeing three glowing arrows manifesting from empty air, cold sweats ran down his back.

    ¡°I¡¯m running out of time here,¡± said Jason as those three arrows were intimidating enough to Scott.

    ¡°Nine or ten perhaps,¡± said Scott as the thought dying made him talked.

    Intimidation was one way of making people talk. Jason himself didn¡¯t favor of going through this way but he knew how effective it was, he knew people won¡¯t let go of their ego not until their life was on the line.

    ¡°Expecting more,¡± said Jason as he canceled his Triple Strafe.

    Jason¡¯s words didn¡¯t make sense to Scott. Scott saw the back of Jason making his way to the ledge of the roof.

    ¡°Jason?¡± Esther called out to him.

    ¡°Brace yourselves,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem knew that things were going to get heated. He readied himself as he picked up his iron mace. His shield was long gone but his strengthened Iron Body might be enough to withstand against those kobolds.

    Esther grasped both of her own shaking hands, trying to stop herself. She slapped both of her own cheeks as the mild pain at least stopped the shivering. She wielded the steel dirk in her right and the combat knife in her left.

    ¡°Metamorphosis,¡± she muttered as her eyes turned into yellowish slit eyes.

    Scott couldn¡¯t believe his eyes as he saw these people arming themselves for what was coming. He too noticed that the other two were also Awakened. He couldn¡¯t believe it but they are others like that Scarlet Battle Maiden, fighting without receiving any remuneration from the country.

    Jason stood just beside the ledge as he saw a few silhouettes running towards the building. They were fast, agile and tactical in a sense. Scanning what was in front of him he saw these kobolds coming in every direction. Ten was too small of a number, from what he was seeing, the numbers might be reaching twenty or thirty.

    Nevertheless, numbers won¡¯t stop Jason from striking them down.

    ¡°There¡¯s one,¡± said Jason as he drew his bow aiming at one who was running through the open street.

    Three arrows flew and it was struck down dead. A howl reverberated as if it was an announcement of one of their kin ending up dead.

    ¡°Unfortunate or just too amateur,¡± said Jason. A clean shot, nonetheless his accuracy was deadly even without an optic scope.

    But then he ducked down as something just flew past above his head.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± Jason said as he saw a few strands of his hair falling to the floor.

    ¡°Jason?¡± Esther saw Jason ducking down.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got archers, stay away from the ledges,¡± said Jason as he turned invisible.

    Jason stood up and searched for that archer kobold. Their crossbow wasn¡¯t something he could take lightly off, then he saw it. A kobold was crouching on top of a shorter roof with that gigantic crossbow that was hard not to see.

    ¡°I won¡¯t¡­¡± Jason aimed at the head. ¡°Make the same mistake,¡± he released it.

    Its head pierced by a bright arrow and the kobold dropped from the roof. Leaving it alive would only make things difficult. He knew first-hand the prowess of that archer kobold and heavily injuring it wasn¡¯t enough.

    Jason continued taking them down with his bow as he circled around the whole roof making sure he took down as many as possible in every direction. Scott who saw this with his own two eyes were baffled. He had a hard time believing it but seeing this man disappearing and appearing shooting those bright arrows showed to him that he had really underestimated this man.

    Did he really kill those werewolves? Thought Scott.

    With Jason shooting them down numbering to sixteen of them, his level raised up to level twenty-three. Among those he killed, he noticed something with his sharp eyesight. He felt it was too bad but he couldn¡¯t help but have the urge to loot.

    ¡°Hakeem,¡± Jason called his friend. ¡°Try to defend the perimeter, I¡¯m going out a bit.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± it took Hakeem by surprise but before he could say anything Jason was already gone leaping off from the roof.

    Hakeem stared at the ledge hoping for Jason to appeared and told him it was just a joke, but that didn¡¯t happen.

    All three people were dumbfounded seeing their hope gone like the wind. Scott glanced at Hakeem and Esther as his calm heart was starting to race back to nervousness.

    ¡°Where did he go?¡± asked Scott.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t know what to say as he just stared at Scott. Esther who grew rather comfortable after seeing Jason running around shooting them down started to shiver slightly.

    Those three stood on the roof motionless for quite a time, long enough for the staircase door to suddenly broke down with all the blockage scattered around the roof. As if it suddenly exploded out of nowhere.

    Scott was thrown a bit by the force of the door being knocked down. He fell on the floor as his eyes stared at the only entrance of the rooftop. Then from the darkness of the staircase, a tall silhouette emerged emitting a ferocious aura., an aura that was filled with the wild.

    Hakeem¡¯s grip on his iron mace tightened. The shivering Esther bared her sharp fangs like a cornered cat. At the same time, Scott stood up facing the kobold with his lips starting to mumbled incoherent words.

    The kobold glanced at all three of them and it knew that these three were scared shitless of it. It grinned as it then released a howl in the air.

    A sign for a bloody massacre.

 Chapter 89

    Jason crouched down and picked up a monocle with its frame designed like a wolf¡¯s head. A rather odd item to see as the only time he saw this kind of thing was in a British film.

    ¡°Scan,¡± he said.

    Lupin¡¯s Silver Monocle.

    Category : Eyewear

    Grade : Unique

    A gentleman¡¯s famous eyewear, only nobles of the lost forgotten Wolfstein Kingdom favored this kind of fashion. But a rather infamous enchanter imbued a certain energy within this monocle giving birth to a gent¡¯s combat prowess to supplement his deteriorating eyesight.

    Effects : Raise accuracy of ranged damage by 30%, 6x time scope enhancement, increase shooting range by half a mile

    Jackpot.

    Jason was exhilarated having such an item in his hand. Even the grade was dubbed as unique, the archer kobold really dropped some good loot. This was the third and the last he found among those that he had killed, the last two weren¡¯t that bad but it paled in comparison to this old fashion monocle.

    Jason didn¡¯t wait around as he immediately wore it over his right eye and the effect was amazing as if he could really looking through a sniper optic scope. For once he felt very lucky.

    Did I already use all my luck in this whole lifetime?

    Even himself had a hard time believing this was the truth, albeit that smiling face of his betrayed the low expectation of his own luck.

    I think it¡¯s only been a couple of minutes. I wonder how they¡¯re doing. I did kill most of them but did I miss a few or was there a lot more?

    While he was having fun picking up loots, his pondering was rather untimely considering his teammates were not having a good time right now.

    Meanwhile, on top of the tallest building in the area, three people were confronting a single lone kobold. The kobold was a scout type known to be an agiler type than their otherkin. The kobold didn¡¯t bother taking out its two jambiya-like daggers as it rushed at the mumbling Scott. It recognized the immediate threat as it bared its five sharp claws a single leap of this humanoid monster was enough to close the gap between them.

    Scott knew he started too late, one of the things he hated about his skill was the long casting time, a minute was his fastest casting time as long as he was in full concentration. But he stopped as he saw the incoming claws.

    Again, he was too late. He was at level nine and poured most of his points to energy and agility. His intention was becoming a speedy ganker with his lone area of effect skill but all those points to agility had gone to waste as he froze in front of the incoming attack. Knowing that these furry humanoids are many leagues above his own, it instilled a defeatist mentality inside of him.

    I don¡¯t want to die, thought Scott.

    Then his wish was granted. A tall man with his height coming close to the kobold creature stood in front of Scott. Hakeem defended Scott, he stood there like a knight using his own body as a shield but it came with consequences. In mere seconds, his Iron Body points were cut by half. Hakeem felt his action was stupid but backing down wasn¡¯t an option, he swung the iron mace in his hand smashing it right at the kobold¡¯s head.

    He was expecting the kobold to topple down but the kobold barely flinched. Hakeem saw the glint in its eyes as if telling him that he was merely ant in front of it.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t stop smashing his iron mace at the kobold as those continuous blows only made its head moved a bit. Then Esther came into the picture as she struck from behind. She leaped in the air jumping at the kobold, she slashed both her daggers at the neck of the kobold. But seconds before the blade could reach its neck, something powerful just slammed her right across the body. She was thrown into the air as she dropped rolling on the floor. Her energy guard dropped to zero breaking into nothingness. She was vulnerable to death itself.

    ¡°Esther!¡± said Hakeem.

    Hakeem stared back at the sight of the kobold as he swung his mace at the creature. Again, his hit did nothing. He was about to give up seeing how ridiculous it was to fight against a creature that was doubled his level.

    ¡°Stall for time,¡± Scott called out to Hakeem as both of his hands directed at scout kobold. His lips started mumbling those incomprehensible words as the energy within him started to arouse the power within him.

    Hakeem knew this guy was trying to do something and with no Jason around, Scott was his best bet.

    ¡°Iron Body!¡± Hakeem shouted as his whole body started to turn into a metallic shine. His defensive ability had also another useful internal ability, a buff type of ability. The moment he activated it, his whole body would turn and looked like a piece of iron, pumping up his overall defensive capability as well as his strength by 25% but not without a cost.

    ¡°I can only give you three minutes top,¡± said Hakeem. But within that slight second of him glancing his head back, a punch came smashing at his head throwing him off the floor as he flew before slamming across the wall of the staircase.

    Shit, he didn¡¯t even last a second, thought Scott as he braced himself over what was about to come.

    ¡°Yargh!¡± but to his surprise, Hakeem was alive and well as he ran towards the scout kobold. This time he did what Jack did to the beanstalk, he swung the heavy iron mace and slammed over the side of the scout kobold¡¯s knee.

    The kobold buckled down on one knee and its face loathed the fact that he was down because of this under level human in front of it. His claws slashed over Hakeem''s chest as sparks flew. One of the perks of activating his Iron Body was quadrupling his Iron Body points. He withstood the ferocious claws marks and once more, he swung at the knee.

    But the agile kobold dodged it and slammed a knee kick right on Hakeem¡¯s chin. He felt his whole brain trembling but with Iron Body in play he was still in the game. He kept on coming swinging the mace at the kobold bidding his hope to the man who was still mumbling.

    One minute didn¡¯t even pass but he felt like it was an hour. His swings kept on missing and his body kept on being poured by this constant claw marks as the tactical vest and black tactical outfit he wore was being ripped into shreds. But Hakeem didn¡¯t back down and with his constant yell, he took the offense to the creature.

    Then he saw a furry fist coming straight to his head. It was fast but at the last second, he unleashed Euro Step as he side-step the punch. With the kobold still playing around with Hakeem, the man saw a chance.

    He remembered what Jason mentioned when going against a tougher opponent, it was either poking their eyes or choking the hell out of them.

    Hakeem maneuvered towards the back of the kobold as he immediately did a chokehold. It was one of those things Jason taught him to do and after much grueling experience of going up against a beast like Jason, he managed to pull it off to this scout kobold.

    He pulled it tight as the scout kobold turned flustered. The scout kobold clawed its way trying to remove the entity latching behind it, but a minute just passed.

    ¡°Get away!¡± Scott shouted.

    Hakeem glanced at Scott saw those sharp spiky icicles directed at both him and the scout kobold. The numbers reached up to twelve and now he knew what Scott meant.

    The scout kobold was alarmed seeing those icicles pointed at it. It tried to run away but Hakeem pulled his hardest as the furry humanoid started choking. Even for a strong creature when they were cut off from oxygen anything could happen. The scout kobold who was gloating its superiority at these humans started going down on its two knees.

    ¡°Fucking get away, damn it!¡± Scott gave the last warning at Hakeem.

    But Hakeem didn¡¯t budge as he still hung on to the scout kobold¡¯s back. He knew that when he let this beast go, those icicles won¡¯t be able to hit it.

    ¡°Do it!¡± Hakeem said.

    Scott gritted his teeth and hurled those sharp icicles at the scout kobold. In the face of danger and for his own life, another man¡¯s life didn¡¯t matter that much to him.

    Those icicles rained down over the kobold as it pierced through its thick furry hide. The kobold couldn¡¯t even let out a howl as its neck was still being choke by a blasted black man.

    Every part of the scout kobold was pierced with blood dripping from its wound, then its head drooped down. Hakeem noticed the weakened neck of the scout kobold. Thinking it was over, he let go of his hold and drew out a breath of relief.

    Thankfully, he wasn¡¯t hurt by the onslaught of those icicles. It seemed it wasn¡¯t sharp enough to penetrate through the entire body.

    Even Scott dropped on the floor as the intense situation within those few minutes was enough to make him bathing in his own sweat. But then his eyes bulged out as something was not right.

    The kneeling immobile body of that scout kobold started to move. It feinted its own death and these two guys accepted without even confirming their kills. A rookie mistake.

    ¡°He isn¡¯t dead yet!¡± Scott bellowed as he panicked.

    Hakeem who was already relaxing his entire body wasn¡¯t quick enough to get up from laying on the roof floor. The kobold was about to rush at Scott seeing he was the most vulnerable but then a silhouette emerged from the side of the scout kobold, two sharp daggers went straight into the scout kobold¡¯s eye. It was Esther and she wasn¡¯t dead yet.

    The slit-eye of hers was shining with vigor as she resisted from cowering in fear and went straight into the action. She took her time fighting herself but she made it and just at the right time.

    The scout kobold was caught off-guard by the appearance of this woman who it thought was dead but it was wrong. An atrocious pain sprang up from its right eye. Esther didn¡¯t stop as he pushed the hilt of her daggers from behind forcing it right into its brain. She too learned this from her brother, go for the eyes and stab deep as you can.

    The scout kobold retaliated as it swung its arm around like a wild beast being cornered. It wasn¡¯t going to let itself die from these weak humans. One of its random swings hit Esther and it was enough to throw her off her feet and once more flung at a distance. This time, intense pain wracked her entire body as there was no energy guard to buffer the massive damage. She fell on the floor and rolled a bit before stopping, she folded her body like a shrimp as she yelled in pain.

    ¡°Esther!¡± Hakeem worried about Esther¡¯s condition.

    ¡°It¡¯s not dead yet!¡± but Scott¡¯s voice brought him back to the main problem, the scout kobold.

    Riddled with icicles all over its body, and two daggers stabbed deep into its right eye socket but it was still living and breathing. One word popped up inside both of Hakeem and Scott, this scout kobold was an absolute monster.

    But with their life on the balance, Hakeem and Scott rushed at the kobold out of instinct. Hakeem came from the back and Scott from the front. Hakeem once again held it back using what time left that he had before his buff was over. The scout kobold struggled while shaking its head side to side and shaking his arms and legs trying to get away from this mad lad chokehold.

    Yet Scott came to end this once and for all, he leaped and using the momentum that he had he pushed the hilt of the daggers with his entire weight.

    ¡°Die!¡± Scott and Hakeem shouted in unison.

    Seconds later, it finally went limped. Hakeem didn¡¯t felt any resistance from the furry beast. He didn¡¯t let the beast go out of precaution but then a blue window popped up in front of him. It told him three minutes were finished and Iron Body was deactivated for one hour. Then intense muscles sores came assaulting his entire body, Hakeem flinched and dropped his bum on the floor.

    But then another blue window popped up and this time it was good news. Hakeem leveled up fifteen and so did Scott. The Awakened from the special ops team finally reached level ten similar to the rank one in special ops division.

    ¡°One step closer,¡± said Scott.

    ¡°Oh, shit. Esther!¡± Hakeem who was happy for a while just remembered about Esther. But before he could glance towards Esther¡¯s direction, something caught his eye.

    ¡°Awooooo¡­¡±

    The howl of a kobold and it wasn¡¯t only one. Scott who was relief felt goosebumps all over again. He immediately turned towards the roof staircase and saw more kobolds came out, one by one until the number reached up to five kobolds. Some of them even look stronger than the one they just killed. Bulkier and more muscular.

    At that moment, both Hakeem and Scott had the same thought, they were both gonna die and there was no chance in getting through this.

    But then a clap resonated in the air attracting the attention of all who were on the rooftop. They didn¡¯t know where the sound came from but they definitely heard his voice.

    ¡°Good fight, but for now I¡¯ll take it from here.¡±

 Chapter 90

    A man emerged from nothing as he jumped in the air catching the attention of everyone on top of the roof. His arrows were shot and seconds later he threw his Steel Dirk in continuation. Four kobolds howled in response bleeding with arrows on their bodies and one of them with a dagger embedded inside their furry body.

    The kobold who was left alone jumped up as it assaulted Jason in mid-air. But Jason didn¡¯t finish yet, he swung both of his open arms as green crescent shape projectiles flew in the air as it hit the jumping kobold at a close distance. The last one received the most fatal attack. The wind cutters ripped the kobold apart until what left of it was just a corpse riddled with deep cut wounds. The kobold fell on the roof turning into a fresh corpse.

    The four which were in pain but still living understood one thing, now they were facing against the real deal, the one who decimated almost two-third of their squad sent to kill these humans breaching upon their new territory. Now, it was time for them to get serious.

    One of the kobolds howled, and the loud howl stunned Jason and the man fell on the roof on both of his feet but left immobile. The three other kobolds rushed at him in unison. Two were vanguard and one a scout. Two hammers slammed across Jason¡¯s body and a blade of jambalaya dagger struck Jason by the leg.

    Jason braced for impact, although he didn¡¯t feel the pain but he gritted his teeth knowing he couldn¡¯t do anything while being stun.

    Meanwhile, Hakeem and Scott also experienced the sensation of not being able to move. A hint of realization just struck them as they noticed the fight they just won before, the kobold didn¡¯t use the stunning ability of the howl, their body shivered in fright since they knew they would be dead if the kobold managed to howl.

    One second was up and Jason was about to move, yet another howl came once more coming from the vanguard kobold that just attacked him.

    Fuck!

    Their teamwork was terrifying. This time all four kobolds struck in unison as his energy guard dwindled once more. This time his energy guard rose to level four, but he was still in a big pinch. Another second was up and another howl was coming.

    Shadow Sneak!

    Jason was faster and he disappeared into nothingness. The howl spread in the air stunning every being in the area. These four kobolds attacked at the empty spot where there should be a person hiding in plain sight. But hammers and daggers clashed together as all four hit nothing but their own cold weapons.

    All four turned into like wolves raising up their noses into the air searching for the invisible human. Unlike before, Jason was moving freely under Shadow Sneak. One the best perk for being better than Shadow Hide was the ability to not be affected by the status ailment type ability during hiding. A perfect way to fight against those pesky stunners. Jason stood behind one of them and aimed his glowing arrows right behind their head.

    ¡°Triple Strafe,¡± he said.

    Three arrows pierced the skull of that kobold leaving it dead. The moment he released the arrows, he muttered those two words hiding immediately. He had no more points to spare to go toe to toe with these furry creatures. No matter if it was cowardice or not, he still needed to live.

    Another kobold howled once more trying to catch Jason in its stun but it failed miserably. Those three watched the dead kobold which was just among the living a second. Now, these three kobolds knew they were in deep shit. Then one of them, saw those two humans petrified by the howl.

    It grunted to two of its kin and they moved in unison. They sprinted like mad dogs as they bared their weapons and fangs at the vulnerable two humans. Yet one went down instantly with three arrows in its head but the other living two didn¡¯t stop rushing at the two immobile humans.

    It was either them or these two humans. They didn¡¯t care about living or dying at the moment as their only purpose were to just to take another one of these weakling humans. Humans that they easily trampled just a while ago.

    Jason didn¡¯t move his legs as his bow was already drawn with shining white arrows. Three flew away as two of them struck one of the kobolds by the head, and the only one left was struck by the one arrow.

    The one who was shot with two immediately wounded up dead but the one-shot by one arrow still lived holding on to its last breath, it stood in front of Hakeem as it swung its sharp claws at the man. It gave out halfway during its swing but enough to deal heavy damage at the defenseless Hakeem.

    ¡°Argh!¡± the black man screamed as the claw went from his upper torso down to his loin. Blood poured out like a fountain as Hakeem couldn¡¯t believe what just happened. He was losing consciousness by the second as his knees fell, striking the hard-cold roof with his own blood pooling underneath him.

    Scott watched in horror as it could be him if it wasn¡¯t for his damn luck. Jason let go of his bow and rushed at his dying friend. He grabbed Hakeem¡¯s body right before he could fall, he muttered.

    ¡°Heal,¡± glowing green light engulfed Hakeem''s entire being as Scott watched in awe. The man who could conjure pointy icicles had an assumption in mind.

    Heal? This guy can use heal? Thought Scott.

    An ability that can heal was definitely something to be sought over. Even in the Canadia Special Ops team, the Awakened that were conscripted had none of Jason¡¯s abilities. At first, he was impressed by the ability to shoot three arrows in unison, after that he was dumbfounded that he had a second ability to turn invisible, that single lone skill of turning invisible was valuable in a sense of espionage, attacking and retreating. But what happened next only blew his mind away, this man showed numerous more skills afterward that only left him dumbfounded. He was an all-rounded man that could do everything.

    Scott just watched seeing Hakeem being healed. A minute later the green light faded away and Hakeem was good as new albeit, there was a huge vertical claw scar on his torso down to his groin. Jason didn¡¯t know why but he couldn¡¯t heal such a scar even though he healed Hakeem¡¯s previous old ankle injury.

    The heck?

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Hakeem woke up as his eyes slowly opened. He saw the face of his friend which was frowning about something.

    ¡°Jason? Wait? I¡¯m still alive?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Jason dropped him to the floor knowing there wasn¡¯t much need to hold him on.

    ¡°Oof,¡± Hakeem said as he felt his back ached.

    ¡°Dude, can¡¯t you be a little bit gentler,¡± said Hakeem as he propped his body up.

    ¡°Sorry but I can¡¯t heal your scars,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Scars?¡± Hakeem looked down and saw there was a huge tear over his clothes. His eyes turned up wide seeing the claw mark scars baffled by it. Then he remembered what just happened, again he knew what just went down. Jason just saved his life again.

    He glanced upwards at Jason and gave a slight smile.

    ¡°Thanks, man, I owe my life to you,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get sentimental, we still need to get out of here and recuperate,¡± said Jason.

    While Hakeem agreed with Jason he didn¡¯t remember something important.

    ¡°Wait! Dude, your sister!¡± Hakeem said as he remembered Esther was badly injured.

    While his eyes went around searching for Esther¡¯s body, a voice sprang up.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± a feminine voice responded.

    Esther came out appearing behind a wall. She looks better than ever as if she was never injured. That clueless look that Hakeem had was begging for an explanation.

    ¡°Jason healed me up, afterward he hid behind a wall while telling me that there¡¯s something fun to see,¡± said Esther.

    Esther broke the news and something dawned on Hakeem.

    ¡°Wait, you were here from the beginning? Why the heck didn¡¯t you help us out? We almost die fighting against that thing,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°But you won right? So congrats,¡± Jason replied as he gave a congratulatory pat on Hakeem¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°You,¡± Hakeem restrained himself as he knew why Jason did it. He realized himself of what it meant by fighting for your own life and that fight to the death he had with the kobold taught something precious to him.

    He watched as the man who is his friend walking around the dead corpse who was picking up something.

    ¡°Hey, you did a great job,¡± a voice gained Hakeem¡¯s attention. It was from Scott.

    The man who he worked together to take down that undying kobold. Scott reached out his hand for a handshake and Hakeem watched and just stared at it.

    ¡°You too brotha,¡± said Hakeem as he ignored the hand and went in for a hug. They were strangers but they fought like they were brothers.

    Scott was dumbfounded a bit by the unexpected hug but he replied with a hug of his own. It had been a long time since he shared a hug together a hug that had meaning in it.

    ¡°So what¡¯s your plan?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, my squad was wiped out and I¡­¡± before he could finish his words, Hakeem had an idea.

    ¡°You can come along with us,¡± Hakeem said.

    Scott was smiling all over as he too felt worried about surviving in this place all by his own self. But that smile only lasted for a few seconds as someone opposed that opinion.

    ¡°He¡¯s not coming with us,¡± Jason said while he was still hanging around with the dead corpse of the kobolds.

    ¡°Dude, you got to be kidding me? He can¡¯t survive here all by his own,¡± said Hakeem as for once he felt it was right for him to stood up at Jason. For someone who fought together with him, he couldn¡¯t let it slide.

    ¡°Still a no,¡± said Jason nonchalantly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving him,¡± said Hakeem as he was firm about it.

    ¡°You¡¯re misunderstood, he¡¯s not alone. There are two more squads of special ops running around in the city, he still can rejoin with them,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem was left speechless but that didn¡¯t make him stop defending for Scott. He knew it would be hard to let Scott go search for the other squads while alone.

    ¡°He¡¯s alone, he can¡¯t¡­¡± Hakeem felt someone pat him on the shoulder. It was Scott as he flashed an awkward smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine man, I appreciate the concern but I¡¯m better off on my own,¡± said Scott. Although he felt it would be better to stay with this group but seeing the top dog didn¡¯t want him made him retreated before anything else happen.

    ¡°But dude,¡± Hakeem wanted to help Scott.

    But Scott just waved his hand off in decline.

    ¡°Relax Hakeem, you don¡¯t have to worry about him,¡± said Jason as those words only irked the frustrated Hakeem.

    ¡°Dude, I know you¡¯re powerful and all but now isn¡¯t the time to be a dick and¡­¡± while Hakeem was giving a piece at Jason, the man himself intervened Hakeem who was getting a little bit heated.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to bring him to the other squad,¡± Jason said while leaving the other three people on the roof dumbstruck by the sudden helping hand.

    This change to a good heart was a surprise for both Hakeem and Esther. But the man had his own reason.

    I still haven¡¯t got that fire-element axe yet. Hehe.

 Chapter 91

    ¡°Team Alpha, this is team beta please report your current position over,¡± a man was talking through in-ear communication device as another person was looking at him with a stoic face. They were only two of them and it was already uncomfortable enough being alone with this man here but being stared at only put him more at unease.

    There was no response coming from the other side, as Scott couldn¡¯t stop shaking his leg out of nervousness. His last bet was rendezvousing with the team alpha the only one who is still surviving, team gamma who had been tasked with scouting the perimeter of the city had retreated after experiencing a loss against an unknown force. But know Scott definitely knew who was that unknown force, he and the rest of the deceased beta team had been told the unknown force had three known individuals with each of them having a possibility of being above level ten. At first, Scott scoffed at that information since he knew to level up was a difficult process.

    But after witnessing the prowess of a lone man now he knew of how shallow his mind was.

    Scott¡¯s eyes were shifting left and right trying not to meet Jason¡¯s eyes. One thing he knew about this man that he was powerful and ruthless, he came to knew that this man watched him and Hakeem fight to the death without lifting a helping hand, all in the name of getting stronger. Scott understood why he did so but he didn¡¯t want to go through such a thing once more.

    ¡°So?¡± Jason¡¯s voice broke the silence between them.

    Scott only flashed a smile and continued pressing the little button on his ear as he repeated the same thing over and over again.

    ¡°I repeat please report current position team alpha, team beta is requesting your immediate position over,¡± said Scott.

    But his waiting finally came through.

    ¡°This is team alpha over, please identify yourself and report your current situation over,¡± the in-ear relayed the message from the other side.

    ¡°This is Scott Langdon, Awakened rank no.3, code name Iceman, the whole team is wiped out and I¡¯m the sole survivor over,¡± said Scott.

    Meanwhile, even with a stoic expression, Jason was rather amused seeing how these people in the military had their own code name. It seemed childish and judging by how this Scott had Iceman it must be related to their own ability.

    Hmm, should I also have code name to? At least I don¡¯t need to give out my name if I meet someone like them in the future. I should probably name those two also, Black Iron for Hakeem¡­ Wait, that¡¯s kind of racist, is it? I guess I should omit the ¡®black¡¯ and just use the iron¡­

    While Jason was deep in his own thought, the nervous Scott finally got a hold of team alpha current position.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got their location, they¡¯re currently at a catholic school at Woodglade Boulevard,¡± said Scott.

    ¡°Know how to read a map?¡± Jason asked.

    Scott nodded as before being sent here, the Awakened conscripted had gone through a basic course for survival that included map reading.

    ¡°Here,¡± Jason threw a map at Scott. He got it while loitering around the area, he thought it would come in handy and he wasn¡¯t wrong.

    Scott grabbed the map and he felt a touch on his shoulder.

    ¡°You¡¯re the navigator and try not to puke,¡± said Jason flashing a rather insincere smile.

    Scott didn¡¯t have the time to process what was told to him as he was suddenly being zipped into the shadow world. He felt his stomach queasy immediately and knew why Jason said not to puke.

    Jason lifted him off the ground and exploded in speed. Scott who was still baffled by everything that was happening held on tight to the map as losing it might be ending his own life. Right now, he took back his words, this man who was carrying him like he was a handbag was at a whole other level. As if he was more than just an Awakened like him.

    After a few times taking a rest in between their journey both Jason and Scott in a suburban area a bit far from the city. All the citizens had been evacuated leaving nothing but empty houses. Jason lay on top of the roof as he eyed down the surroundings.

    This is going to be a hassle.

    Next to him was Scott and he too was worried after noticing the condition of this suburb area.

    ¡°There are about five hundred meters to the school,¡± said Scott as he looked at the map multiple times as he tried to estimate the distance. ¡°The streets are swarming with UC, can we even get there?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t wrong as this part of the suburb was teeming with monsters, monsters that were hard to even describe.

    ¡°Scan,¡± Jason muttered.

    One-Eyed Crawler

    Low-class demonic creatures coming from a line of grotesque chimera breeding. One-Eyed Crawler, an agile creature that can easily outrun any normal human being with its only two legs. The huge tail on the back can make it jump in the air five meter in height with not much problem. Known to feast on humans as well as insects.

    Species: Demonic Chimera

    Level : 22

    Elemental Weakness : Light

    S.Ability : Vertical Leap, Frontal Leap, Eye Cannon

    ¡°Come on, I¡¯m dropping you off,¡± Jason said. As these creatures weren¡¯t a problem for him since he had his invisibility.

    ¡°Wait, what? Then what about these weird monsters? There¡¯s no way team alpha can fight against them,¡± said Scott. In another way, he was telling Jason that him being sent there was no different from sending him to his death.

    ¡°Relax, I¡¯ll handle it,¡± said Jason flashing that insincere smile again. Scott had seen that smile and knew what he showed and what he meant was entirely different.

    ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Scott didn¡¯t have the time to evade as Jason grabbed by his neck.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Scott was horrified as his throat was being choked. The sudden change in this man¡¯s heart was too sudden and only one thing came into Scott¡¯s mind, this man is psychotic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move, I¡¯m just gonna put a curse on you,¡± said Jason in a nonchalant manner despite the words he just used.

    ¡°What?!¡± Scott was shocked. Why all of a he turned into the enemy?

    ¡°Sit still, it won¡¯t hurt a bit,¡± said Jason while he mumbled something inaudible to Scott¡¯s ears.

    Then Scott saw his whole body engulfed in a brownish glow. He turned speechless as this man really did curse him like he said he would.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die listen to me,¡± Jason said.

    Dying was a no go and Scott shook his head vigorously.

    ¡°If you speak anything about me, my abilities, my combat capabilities and about the other two, this curse will eat you alive and gouge your heart in an instant, you understand that?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Scott said shaking his head numerous times. He should have known about it, there was no way Jason would let him go without doing something to avoid leaking of any sort of information about him. Scott realized something and swore to himself to never cross path with this man ever again, this man was more than just a monster.

    Jason tapped lightly to Scott¡¯s shoulder flashing another smile.

    ¡°Okay, now we¡¯re good,¡± said Jason.

    Jason stood up on the roof along with Scott by his side. Jason grabbed on to Scott and again they disappeared into nothingness.

    A few moments later, Scott stood in front of the catholic school entrance door. His eyes darted around left to the right hoping no monster would suddenly jump on him. He pressed on his in-ear and called out to team alpha.

    ¡°Team Alpha, this is Iceman team Beta, I¡¯m currently in front of the school entrance door, over,¡± Scott said. He turned around and crouched close to the floor. He leaned over his back to the floor ready to engage anything that might come.

    Meanwhile inside the catholic school.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me, how the heck is that pretty boy manages to make his way here? The streets are full of those one-eyed monsters,¡± said one of the soldiers who was currently hiding inside a bunker underneath the catholic school.

    What left of the team alpha are only these seven men, from twenty and now there was seven. It showed that this team went through hell and still survived.

    ¡°Corporal Lee, stand down. I don¡¯t have the energy to entertain your childish tantrum,¡± said a man with the dog tag around his neck spelled out William Martinez, the captain of this team.

    ¡°Stavs and Specks, go and retrieve Iceman at the entrance, make sure to seal up the door once he gets inside and I repeat do not attract the attention of those one-eyed, now go,¡± said William.

    The two other soldiers went out of the bunker to get Scott.

    Cpt. William glanced at the corner of the bunker, where a man was sitting facing the wall. The great axe on his shoulder had never budged away except during combat. The man known as rank no.1 of the Awakened in the special ops team, the Awakened called Frank Corallo, code name, Berserker.

    ¡°Hey Berseker, your ice cube is at the door. You¡¯re probably smiling in the inside since one of your guys still alive and ours are dead,¡± said Corp. Lee.

    The Berseker who was sitting down stood up immediately facing Corp. Lee who was trying to pick a fight. The man known as Berserker stood tall reaching six feet five. His bulky body showed he has a big muscular frame. The Berseker stared down at Corp.Lee in silence.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re trying to pick a fight with me you piece of shit? You think you¡¯re all tough since you¡¯re an Awakened? Useless piece of shit who can¡¯t do a thing at those monsters,¡± Corp. Lee didn¡¯t back down as he spurted out those words which only made tension even more suffocating for the others.

    ¡°Corp. Lee stand down you idiot!¡± Captain William reprimanded his man as making a scene in this small space would only worsen the condition.

    ¡°Puih,¡± Corp. Lee spat to the side and fled from the Berseker.

    ¡°You too Berseker, stand down and sit quietly,¡± said Cap. William. As he tried to ease up the situation.

    Berseker sat back on his seat facing the wall once more. But then, he spoke.

    ¡°If he acts up again, I¡¯m gonna chop his head off.¡±

    To those words, the four men in this bunker stood up staring at the back of this man. Their eyes were open wide and Corp. Lee who did argue with Berserker out of frustration gulped down a mouthful of his saliva as he knew he messed up big time.

    Silence prevailed for quite a long time as then someone emerged from outside the bunker door. It was Specks and he brought good news.

    ¡°Cap, you¡¯ve got to see this! The one-eyed UC are all dead.¡±

 Chapter 92

    Jason stared at the back of Scott who was heading towards the entrance of the door. He chuckled thinking about the things he said to the poor man.

    Can¡¯t believe I manage to fool that guy. Well, I do wish for a curse-like ability, but I guess fooling people with the defence buff doesn¡¯t sound so bad.

    Jason walked off under his invisibility as he ran around near the area decimating every one-eyed crawler that he stumbled upon. His steel dirk covered in the crimson hue of Blood Edge easily cut these disgusting monsters like cutting butter.

    Blood Edge level up to level 2

    Music to his ears but in Jason¡¯s case, a beautiful sight to behold. He ramped up his killing as these low-class demonic monsters couldn¡¯t stand a candle against their invisible predators. If this was a movie, then they were like humans in the Predator film.

    A few minutes later, the welcoming sight of the blue window came once more.

    Blood Edge level up to level 3

    The title ¡®Job Pioneer¡¯ was a blessing, his skill level was rising up fast and he was not gonna stop anytime sooner.

    Meanwhile, a bunch of soldiers came towards the close entrance of the school. Stavs and Scott were standing behind the door waiting for them to come.

    Captain William led the boys to the door.

    ¡°Status, Stavs,¡± said Captain William.

    ¡°You better see it yourself, sir,¡± said Stavs while pointing at the glass window on the door.

    Captain William looked through the door and saw dead bodies sprawling on the streets. He couldn¡¯t believe it but yes, it was real. Even the man known as Berserker couldn¡¯t put a good fight against these one-eyed crawlers as they ganged him up like a bunch unlawful bastards.

    ¡°Who did it?¡± Captain William asked as his eyes set upon the lone survivor from team Beta. Although he had questions regarding the circumstances of Scott¡¯s survival but escaping this place was the priority. ¡°Is it you?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not me,¡± Scott said.

    ¡°No sir, it isn¡¯t him. I¡¯ve seen it with my own two eyes, these one-eyed bastards keep on dying by themselves like something¡¯s invisible is killing them,¡± said Stavs chiming in as he saved Scott¡¯s ass.

    ¡°Invisible? Stop spouting bullshit man, there¡¯s no way¡­¡± Captain William stopped Corp.Lee from finishing his words. With the whole world going down like this, people like Iceman and berserker were considered special possessing unreal abilities. Even he and the rest of his team members managed to Awakened from assisting berserker. Yet they were still at level one and none managed to unlocked the mystery of the abilities.

    Someone who might have invisibility wasn¡¯t impossible.

    ¡°Step aside,¡± a rather gruff tone penetrated the air.

    Captain William turned and saw berserker standing behind him. The big built man pushed Captain William to the side as his hand was already on the door handle.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Captain William asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to see,¡± said the berserker.

    ¡°Stand down berserker, we¡¯re still not sure what¡¯s going on out there,¡± said Captain William as he had the right to be cautious in this situation.

    Even with Captain William¡¯s warning, berserker didn¡¯t pay heed to it. The big man came out from the door, out in the open with a great axe resting on his shoulder.

    ¡°He¡¯s disobeying your orders Captain, he deserves a court-martial,¡± said Corp. Lee. For some reason, he had a beef with Frank the berserker. He too turned into an Awakened and he wasn¡¯t satisfied being below berserker as he had read about berserker¡¯s files. A man who once worked under Rissoto crime family, a henchman with nothing else known about him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid, he¡¯s the reason why we¡¯re still alive out here,¡± said Captain William. Although he was discontented by the lack of respect shown by Berserker, but he still knew the reality of the situation. He too felt the need to become stronger with all the shit going on in the world. These guns he had on him were all useless as these bullets were even worse than rubber bullets.

    ¡°Cap, I think we better follow him,¡± Specks said. All eyes were on the Latino with spectacles as if he said something wrong.

    ¡°If he¡¯s going to start killing those UC, we better tag along before missing out on those experience,¡± said Speck as his words made a lot of sense.

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Scott spoke out, although he knew the truth behind their deaths but if there was a chance of levelling up he wasn¡¯t going to pass such an opportunity.

    ¡°Team, let¡¯s move out,¡± said Captain William.

    These seven men followed behind Berserker¡¯s steps, with their useless guns and rifles readied to fire.

    Berserker went around the one-eyed bodies trying to see whether any was still hanging on their breath. But nothing was left alive as they were all dead. A stern look on Berserker¡¯s face as it turned into a smirk.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± said Berserker.

    Something fueled his inside after seeing these massacre.

    ¡°Cap, everything¡¯s dead. He probably killed it all before we even have a chance,¡± said Corp.Lee as he tried to put the blame on Berserker.

    But Captain William had another opinion in mind, seeing these dead bodies, the fatal wound on them was nothing like the attacking pattern of Berserker. These wounds were clean different from Berserker¡¯s messy style. It got him pondering, was this an enemy or an ally? Are they even safe being out here in the open?

    Scott in the other hand was once again amazed by the sheer capability of the one who killed these things. Other than amaze he too felt fear creeping under his skin, the so-called curse put on him only strengthened the thought of never telling others about him.

    But then something happened. While Berserker was looking around the dead corpses, he felt his great axe moved.

    ¡°What the?¡± his hands moved quickly grabbing on to the shaft of the great axe. He managed to grab it by the end before it could slip away from his grasp. He saw the head of the great axe floating in the air as if someone was holding on to it and he knew something wasn¡¯t right.

    ¡°Ignite! Duroqan¡¯s Wrath!¡± Berserker activated his ability as his already big muscles bulged in size. A buff ability that strengthened himself by fifty percent of his current status points.

    ¡°Yargh!¡± Berserker shouted as he swung the great axe with one hand with the intention of flinging the invisible bastard who was at the other end of his great axe.

    Bright flames ignited from the great axe blades as it effect started to shine when it was swung by Berserker.

    Berserker¡¯s sudden shout caught the attention of the whole team. All eyes were on Berserker as they all saw him swinging his burning great axe at all direction like a madman.

    ¡°What¡¯s got into him?¡± said Stavs.

    ¡°He¡¯s probably going loco,¡± said Specks.

    ¡°You got that right, he should be lock up inside a mental facility,¡± said Corp. Lee.

    Captain William paid close attention to the Berserker as he knew that man wasn¡¯t crazy. He aimed down the sight at the Berserker trying to find out what was wrong.

    In the meantime, Scott was in a dilemma as beads of sweats rained down his forehead. He knew Jason had taken action but something popped up inside his mind. Should he alert these men that a man was trying to steal an artefact of theirs? With all the guns and rifles that these men had, he was at least sure that it could potentially kill the lone man since he knew the vulnerability of energy guard. But would he do it? It would be good if they manage to eliminate Jason since he didn¡¯t felt good about the curse put on him. He feared death but he also disliked being chained. But was it possible? The man who wiped out those kobolds had a multitude of abilities that could save his life in every manner.

    No, I can¡¯t, thought Scott as he didn¡¯t have the balls to risk it. The possibility was to slim considering they were up against a monster with human flesh.

    ¡°Show yourself!¡± Berserker shouted. He no longer felt the tug at the other end of his great axe but he didn¡¯t stop on swinging in order to unveil the invisible bastard that dared tried to steal his great axe. His words prompted the whole team to questioned their current situation.

    ¡°What¡¯s he saying?¡± Stavs asked.

    While the rest of the team were even more confused, Captain William had an inkling about the situation.

    An invisible hostile? It can¡¯t be, thought Captain William.

    ¡°Yargh!¡± Berserker didn¡¯t stop swinging his great axe in every direction with the flames surrounding him like he was at the centre of a mini fire tornado.

    Captain William made his decision.

    ¡°Team, there¡¯s an invisible hostile, shoot the empty spaces around Berserker! I repeat, shoot the empty spaces around Berserker,¡± said the Captain.

    His whole team was confused by the command and none budge from their current position. But the moment Captain William took a shot at the empty spaces, his team followed without question.

    Being the standard of a special ops team, these soldiers didn¡¯t play around as their aims were impeccable. Neither of them shoots a loose bullet at their friendly who was currently swinging his great axe like a mad man.

    Scott who had been watching the whole time had his fist clenched together. Even without him saying it, the observant Captain William managed to deduce the situation. He questioned himself, should he fight along with them? Or would Jason noticed him first and took a hit at his life.

    No, thought Scott as the risk was too big. Unless he saw for himself the man laying on the ground with bullet wounds, he didn¡¯t dare raise a hand against that man.

    Five minutes of continuous aimless shooting yet nothing was on sight. Captain William raised up his fist a signal to stop. The firing stopped and even the Berserker stopped on his track with his eyes darting around the empty street looking for that thief. His buff ability had already gone after the four-minute mark, a rather monstrous ability to have considering the effect as well as its time allocation.

    ¡°Peel your eyes boys, shoot at any foreign human on sight,¡± said Captain William as his eye didn¡¯t leave the optic sight of his assault rifle.

    ¡°Ooff.¡±

    But then a grunt was heard. All eyes went to the source of the sound and they saw the man with the big built was on his knees clutching at his nether region. But what caught their surprise was the great axe.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± said Stavs as he and the rest of the team saw the great axe floating in the air.

    ¡°Aim and shoot!¡± Captain William bellowed as he was the first to pull the trigger. Then the rest followed in unison.

    Bullets went flying in the air shooting at the invisible target. Their eyes followed the floating great axe which was moving at an incredible speed going zigzag across the street and afterwards, the great axe went flying into the air as if the invisible person went leaping high into the sky. Bullets rained down over the high sky and in the end, the great axe was gone from sight.

    Every soldier in the proximity was dumbfounded seeing it gone in mid-air like it was magic. Hard to believe but they saw it with their own two eyes. While the rest felt unfortunate about the missing great axe, one person was utterly enraged.

    He was still clutching to his groin as the pain was unbearable, he took a low blow from a despicable thief. He grinned his teeth as he was seething in anger. Frank the Berserker would remember this debt as his hatred at this thief would no longer resolve until he kills him.

    ¡°Mark my words! I¡¯ll fucking kill you for stealing my axe!¡± said the Berserker as he swore with every ounce of his life.

    --

    In the meantime, invisible to the naked eye, a man was smiling as his hand caressed the blade of a great axe. His words reflected what he felt.

    ¡°Jackpot, baby.¡±

 Chapter 93

    Two people waited for a man on top of a rooftop. Hakeem and Esther, the duo didn¡¯t dare go downstairs as the thought of facing an enemy at this point of time, scared the shit out of them. Hakeem felt naked without his Iron Body while Esther just felt vulnerable with the absence of her brother.

    ¡°He¡¯s late,¡± said Esther as waiting was mentally torturing her.

    Hakeem who was shaking his leg up and down maintained his silence as there was no point in saying something that he wasn¡¯t sure of.

    Then a silhouette emerged out of a sudden catching them by surprise. Hakeem grabbed on to his iron mace while Esther was already armed with her combat knives. They reacted out of instinct as it was instilled in them.

    ¡°Woah there,¡± it was Jason as a giant axe resting on his shoulder.

    The tension in their bodies faded out turning into relief. While they relaxed, their eyes couldn¡¯t stop staring at the huge axe on Jason¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Where did you get that?¡± asked Hakeem.

    ¡°I stole it,¡± he admitted it without hiding his bad deed.

    Hakeem had a dumbfounded look for hearing such a thing. Rather than questioning it, he let it slide as things like that should better be hidden.

    Esther couldn¡¯t take her eyes away from the great axe. The dark red hue of the shaft and the shining silver luster of the blade but what caught her attention was none other than the dull crimson gem embedded in the middle of the head of the axe.

    ¡°This is the one that the female soldier talked about, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Esther.

    She was spot on as she remembered the little details during Jason¡¯s impromptu interrogation. Jason looked back at the great axe on his shoulder as he mumbled.

    ¡°Scan.¡±

    Barog¡¯s Sigh Axe

    Category : Axe

    Grade : Unique

    An axe made by the ill-famed Barog, a golem who inherited the displeasure and ill will feeling of an unknown blacksmith. The weapon it made was known to utterly violent and aggressive. The Barog¡¯s Sigh Axe was one of its fail products as it didn¡¯t capture its vision of pure tyranny.

    Attack : +79(+1)

    Effect : Fuel by the rage of the user, once a person is consumed by his or her own rage, then the axe will burst out the flames of vexation. Add +35 fire elemental energy-based attack. May inflict burn

    Detrimental Effect : Prolong usage will increase the bloodlust of the wielder. Prolong usage will increase violent tendency

    Requirement : 30 Strength

    A beast of a weapon but there was too much at stake if someone used it. At first, Jason was delighted but seeing that there were also detrimental effects only hampered his mood.

    I guess I¡¯ll throw it in the store. On second thought, where can I find a storage ability, having one does sound useful and practical.

    While Jason was daydreaming about having an inter-dimensional storage ability, Esther reached out her hand to the shaft of the great axe. Her flimsy fingers grasped on the shaft and the moment she held on to it, an unknown bad energy flowed inside of her.

    ¡°Argh!¡± her shout caught both Hakeem and Jason''s attention.

    She didn¡¯t let go of the shaft of the axe as she tugged towards herself, but it wouldn¡¯t budge since the one who was holding on to it was clearly the stronger one. Her craze looking eyes glanced at Jason as her other free hand which was holding the steel dirk swung towards Jason¡¯s neck.

    Hakeem was shocked seeing how Esther was crazy enough to bare her blade at Jason. Even the brother himself was surprised by the sudden change in his sister.

    Jason leaped away somersaulting in the air dodging the sudden attack. But much to his surprise, he felt a force on his neck. He looked and his eyes went wide open. Esther was clinging to the great axe with her right hand while her left was slashing against his neck. This woman just followed along with his sudden jump while not letting go of the axe.

    Her determination was nonetheless incredible and admirable but Jason had something else in mind. Even if his sister wanted to release those pent up anger she had over him, she didn¡¯t actually need to slash the heck out of his neck alongside having those crazy looking eyes. Esther also kept on shouting like a madwoman trying to lowered down Jason¡¯s energy guard.

    ¡°Dude, what¡¯s wrong with her?¡± asked Hakeem.

    Jason knew the answer as her hand didn¡¯t leave the shaft of the great axe.

    A detrimental effect? Just by touching? But why am I still okay?

    ¡°It¡¯s the axe,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°The axe? You mean it¡¯s cursed or something?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Curse? Sounds plausible, but the scan didn¡¯t show anything about it, or it might be because Scan is still low level.

    Jason was dodging those attacks in close combat utilizing his high agility against this craze sister of his.

    On second thought, that guy also was fine while holding on to this axe or does it have something else that I don¡¯t know off? I guess the only answer is through leveling up Scan even further.

    ¡°Dude! Do something!¡± Hakeem said worried seeing the overkill squabble between brother and sister.

    Jason was about to punch her right at the head but stopped himself as he remembered that her energy guard was already broken. If he wasn¡¯t careful then he might blow off her head.

    Hmm, how should I do this?

    Jason yanked the great axe to the side rapidly and Esther moved along as if she was dragged by the great axe. She didn¡¯t let go of the great axe as if she was possessed by it.

    Crazy Esther was relentless even after being yanked over, she still continued with her aggressive assaults.

    Punch her right in the gut? But will she faint? Hmm, should I try?

    Jason was racking his brain trying to figure out a solution.

    I guess breaking her hand will do since I do have heal.

    A rather aggressive solution, he chose it since he was getting annoyed by these attacks from Esther. Jason then proceeded to grabbed Esther¡¯s right wrist and seconds later, he gripped it tightly as the sound of bones cracking permeated in the air.

    Hakeem who heard and saw all of this was horrified. He didn¡¯t have to go that far, thought Hakeem in his mind.

    But even her wrist broke, the hand still didn¡¯t let go. She didn¡¯t even wince from the pain. Jason, on the other hand, was surprised himself.

    Got it, the fingers.

    Jason turned his attention to the fingers grasping on the great axe. Jason broke those feminine fingers forcefully as they all bent unnaturally with the sound of bones being snapped apart.

    Hakeem grimaced hearing it one more time as if he was in a horror gore film.

    Finally, the fingers went loose and Jason yanked the great axe from her grasp. Jason threw the great axe a bit far in the distance and the moment he did so, a loud cry filled with pain permeated in the air.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Esther cried as the sudden jolt of pain was unbearable. She then saw her fingers bending in an unnatural way. Seeing it only made her cry even worse.

    She didn¡¯t know why and how it happened. Right now all she could ever think of was her brother. Jason rushed to his sister as he immediately healed her wrist and fingers. A few seconds later, the atmosphere turned back to normal but not without questions.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Esther asked. She knew something wasn¡¯t right. The last thing she remembered before feeling that intense pain was holding to the great axe.

    ¡°You went crazy,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Crazy?¡± Esther asked as the look on her face was plastered with worry.

    ¡°The axe, once you hold on to it you went bat shit crazy,¡± Jason explained.

    Hakeem, on the other hand, kept himself at a distance between those two. He learned that he shouldn¡¯t involve himself with white people horror stories and this time he reminded himself not to involve with Asian people horror stories.

    ¡°But why are you okay?¡± she asked curious about the matter.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I guess I¡¯m stronger than you then,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Hmph, later on, I¡¯ll be stronger than you. Just you wait,¡± said Esther but then her eyes glanced at the great axe. The admiration she felt over the unique aesthetic of the great axe was long gone after experienced such a thing.

    ¡°Just get that axe from me, I think it gives me the creeps,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who touches it. It¡¯s like a warning, so better keep your hands away from my stuff, hehe,¡± said Jason with a chuckle in the end.

    ¡°Idiot,¡± Esther said at her brother.

    Jason then picked up the great axe in his hand, he stared at it for a while but felt nothing. He was fine like usual.

    ¡°So? What¡¯s next?¡± asked Hakeem.

    ¡°We¡¯re going home, enough leveling for now and I think more monsters are filling up the city,¡± said Jason as he noticed while on his way back that more monsters were flocking the streets.

    Hakeem clenched his fist out of happiness as he wanted to go home already. Enough was enough, he needed some rest.

    Jason stood in between these two and said.

    ¡°Hang on, it¡¯s going to be a bumpy ride.¡±

    To his smile, Hakeem knew what was going to happen.

    The trio turned invisible through Shadow Sneak and traveled back to Hakeem¡¯s car. There was no pit stop and the moment they reached their car hidden within the trees, Hakeem and Esther went on barfing out their guts. It was definitely more than just bumpy.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do that again,¡± said Hakeem wiping out the yellowish liquid around his lips.

    He went to start the engine and Jason, on the other hand, was staring at the direction of the city. If he was alone, he might be able to level up even faster.

    I guess some other time.

    The trio disembarked on the road back to their home. At the same time, the special ops teams sent by the military were also heading back home as they rendezvoused at a checkpoint.

    Team gamma who waiting at the pickup point saw the approaching members of the alpha team and the sole survivor of the beta team. The whole team gamma was stupefied seeing the state of what left of them.

    ¡°Where¡¯s team beta?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, where are they?¡±

    ¡°Dude, look at the back. It¡¯s Iceman.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be man, he¡¯s the only one left alive?¡±

    ¡°I guess we should be grateful that our whole team is still intact.¡±

    While the gamma team had their own thoughts about the matter, Ellen Portman was nervous as her eyes scanned the incoming survivors. Then she saw it, both Frank and Scott had empty hands. Her hand immediately covered her gaping mouth. She was in shock.

    He did it, thought Ellen as she knew who was the culprit that stole those artifacts off from them. She didn¡¯t dare say a thing as she just watched the arrival of the solemn alpha team and the lone survivor of the beta team.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Berserker¡¯s axe?¡± said one of the soldiers in the gamma team.

    That alone was enough riled up the sleeping beast. Frank charged head-on grabbing the soldier by the collar as his fist was already in the path of punching the soldier.

    ¡°Stop it, Frank!¡± Captain William aimed his assault rifle at the Berserker who was about to end the life of an innocent soldier.

    ¡°He¡¯s a friendly, you don¡¯t hurt your own allies,¡± said Captain William again as the situation turned tense. Even the gamma team members were aiming their rifles at the Berserker.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Frank threw the soldier to the ground as he went on at a distance before sitting on the ground a bit further from the rest of them.

    Team gamma¡¯s captain walked to Captain William.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he asked.

    ¡°An enemy stole Berserker¡¯s artifact,¡± said Captain William.

    ¡°What? Is it a three-man team with a black man and an Asian woman?¡± asked team gamma¡¯s captain.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s only one person and we don¡¯t how he looks like,¡± said Captain William.

    ¡°He¡¯s invisible,¡± said team gamma¡¯s captain and those words were enough to caught Captain William¡¯s attention.

    ¡°You know him?¡± Captain William asked.

    ¡°No, we don¡¯t. He caught us by surprise and made the whole team black-out, we can¡¯t even do a thing,¡± said team gamma¡¯s captain.

    ¡°An enemy?¡± Captain William asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know but he did keep our lives intact, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to write on the report,¡± said team gamma¡¯s captain.

    Captain William pondered to himself about the identity of the unknown thief.

    Who are you?

 Chapter 94

    A man sat on his desk flipping around the documents in his hands. It was like any other day in an office except it wasn¡¯t an ordinary office.

    A knock on the door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± said the owner of the office room.

    The door opened and a man dressed in a black suit with a file in his hand.

    ¡°Agent Bond, we¡¯ve found him,¡± said the man who just entered. He rushed inside and slid the file on the mahogany table. A custom-made table to the liking of the almost bald Agent Bond.

    Agent Bond who had focus eyes turned his attention to the thin new file on the table. His eyes grew wide as he swapped the files in hand to the one on the table.

    He flipped it open and ignored the still standing agent in front of him. Then he saw it, a rather blurred image of a person who just walked out from the airport gate. An image was taken by the CCTV of Pearson Airport. A familiar face he saw back in a hospital.

    ¡°It¡¯s him, it¡¯s really him!¡± Agent Bond glanced at the junior agent in front of him.

    ¡°How did you find him?¡± Agent Bond asked.

    ¡°Well, one of ours managed to hack inside the Canadian intelligence agency. They managed to find a few of them before they were kicked out,¡± said the junior agent.

    ¡°They¡¯re good, didn¡¯t think they can break through their freaking iron firewall,¡± said Agent Bond. He had been asking help from the Canadian intelligence agency since a week ago and they outright refused them. Usually, they were good to go seeing they were in a friendly alliance but this time it was different. Every country was experiencing a total meltdown in terms of both economies as well as security. Right now, these Awakened were being put on the pedestal as they were the only way of fighting back against the UC.

    As his eyes kept on reading the documents regarding this man, the more dumbstruck he was.

    ¡°Did you read this?¡± he asked the junior agent.

    He smiled for a while but then he had a crestfallen look. The junior agent felt mixed feelings about the man that they had been searching for. The only way he could respond was nodding at his senior.

    ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± Agent Bond lost his words not knowing how to describe the man they had been searching for. They were too late to stop the man from leaving the borders of America. They previously interviewed the junior doctor now known as the Scarlet Battle Maiden about the man but he couldn¡¯t get anything substantial. The only thing she told was about how he saved her from a camp of hobgoblins.

    She didn¡¯t even know about the incident that happened back in the mall, the heist that went wrong, a heist stopped by a lone man. The thing that was missing from a vault, a property that should be within the hands of the American government was lost to the hands of a Canadian citizen.

    But that wasn¡¯t the only thing that surprised him. As he read on further, the Canadian intelligence agency was building up a case against the man known as Jason Park. They still didn¡¯t have concrete proof regarding this man but all of the events listed on this document showed that this man might had done the impossible.

    Two weeks ago, three special ops unit that included the Awakened suffered a total defeat. The gamma team incident, and the alpha team incident. The events might not be related to one another but the Canadian intelligence agency was trying to find a link to it.

    The unknown variable known as the Invisible Man kept on appearing in the reports. An Invisible Man knocked out the entire gamma team. The Invisible Man stole an artifact right in front of their eyes. The Invisible Man that might be responsible for killing powerful UC. Deeds that impossible at the moment were possible by this man and Agent Bond also knew the truth.

    He investigated this man long before the Canadian did. He watched the CCTV in the hospital as well as the American Dreamyard and after hours of streaming, he found him on tape disappearing into thin air. The man was meticulous trying not to get caught by the CCTV but the buffet restaurant had their own security cameras and the footage he found from the hospital showed that the man had a mishap while going invisible.

    From that alone, Agent Bond was impressed by the cautiousness of this man. But he too was a determined man.

    ¡°They still don¡¯t know about him,¡± said Agent Bond.

    ¡°Yes sir, but we too don¡¯t know anything about him,¡± said the junior agent.

    ¡°Daniel,¡± Agent Bond called out to his junior agent.

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± said Agent Craig.

    ¡°We have the proof of him being an Awakened but they still don¡¯t, they only thing they have are these two,¡± Agent Bond arranged another picture above the one showing Jason. This time, it showed the image of a black tall man, it was Hakeem. The image depicted the scene when Hakeem and Jason shared a hug in front of the airport entrance.

    ¡°From the report, this man is known as Man of Steel as he could block bullets with his body,¡± Agent Bond took a pause as his hand slide on the keyboard and opened an image file to the desktop screen.

    ¡°Scarlet Battle Maiden?¡± said Agent Craig as he saw the sight of a woman battling against a pack of giant wolves.

    ¡°From the report about her, this woman, Bryce, also has something similar to the black man,¡± said Agent Bond.

    ¡°You mean their energy guard?¡± asked Agent Craig.

    Just like the Canadian, the Americans also recruited the Awakened across the whole nation and they learned Energy Guard was a type of defensive barrier that protected the body of the Awakened. A few had other variations of energy guard but they were more or less the same except for these two people.

    Agent Bond had a hunch that their defensive ability was a notch higher in quality compared to the energy guard. Once, they tested in shoot someone with the energy guard and the result, a bloody hole in an innocent body of a person. The man survived but that itself showed that this barrier was weak to bullets.

    A few of these Awakened responded that they might be able to stop bullets if their points were higher than their current one. It was one of those things that Agent Bond couldn¡¯t wrap his head around, a few of these people spoke that these things were like a game and point distribution matters most. Even if points did matter, there was a disparity in quality. After reading the report he came to knew that superior abilities existed and his gut feeling was telling him that in the near future, those who have unique abilities were going to stand at the top of the food chain.

    ¡°So, do we get him?¡± Agent Craig blurted out a question. In the first place, Jason wasn¡¯t the first priority of the NSA, him disappearing from the hospital was a minor issue but after knowing him being responsible for the loss of the unknown artifact in American Dreamyard¡¯s vault, Jason just a put target on his back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool, there¡¯s no way Canada will let us take someone with a potential like this,¡± again Agent Bond glanced at the picture of Jason.

    ¡°Even if we did a covert op, you think Canada will just sit around and do nothing? After they find the truth about him, I bet they will go and use him to fix their problem,¡± said Agent Bond.

    Agent Craig only nodded in response as he too thought the same.

    ¡°Daniel,¡± Agent Bond called out to Agent Craig. His head was tilted downwards as he was deep in his own thought.

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± said Agent Craig.

    ¡°Although the higher up is pressuring us to retrieve the artifact, I still think it¡¯s better if you and I try to gain these abilities,¡± Agent Bond¡¯s words shocked Agent Craig.

    ¡°But our specific task is to¡­¡± while Agent Craig was stating the obvious, Agent Bond cut him off.

    ¡°You¡¯re missing my point here,¡± said Agent Bond.

    ¡°Explain sir,¡± said Agent Craig curious about the thought in his senior agent.

    ¡°Before we catch an Awakened, shouldn¡¯t we also be one?¡± Agent Bond let out a slight smile and he continued, ¡°It takes one to catch one.¡±

 Chapter 95

    A man who woke up from bed was staring at his desktop screen. His hand kept on scrolling down the news section and most of it was all bad news. Death tolls, the advancement of UC and the worsening condition of the economy. There was nothing good except for the red hair lady. Even in Canada, the Scarlet Battle Maiden was popular. She was the trend in this semi-apocalyptic time.

    Jason only smirked seeing this woman who was now dressed in a skin-tight suit. He couldn¡¯t help but found her similar to the image of a film character.

    Damn, she really looks like that marvel bombshell.

    He had to admit, he kinda regretted not doing anything while both of them were naked. But what could he do, he was a gentleman to the core.

    From the article alone, Jason got to know that the military was working with Bryce. He expected as such.

    As expected, those guys won¡¯t let her go around fighting without trying to gain credit about it.

    He was right. The military reputation was deteriorating as the invasion kept on advancing. The public dissatisfaction at them was at the highest since their lives were at stake. Like it or not, people only care about themselves and when things go south, they pushed the blame to someone to take care of it.

    But Jason had to admit, while the media pushed Bryce¡¯s image to be the savior, rather than pushing the woman away, the military did the right thing and clung on to her.

    For some reason, the public showed a good response to such a thing. In Jason¡¯s mind, he thought that the public probably thought that there was no way a woman could do it all on her own. But they were wrong since he knew the truth.

    If it wasn¡¯t for me, she wouldn¡¯t be such a celebrity.

    As expected of Jason, if he could, he wanted to take credit regarding Bryce¡¯s sudden rise to fame. Since he couldn¡¯t forget about that ten million ability.

    Well who cares, I should probably worry about myself than about others.

    True to his thought, for the past two weeks he didn¡¯t have much progress. Most of the time he polished up his numerous skills and at times he went killing monsters at the nearest UC infested area, Oshawa City. The second invasion which didn¡¯t stop like expected proceeded to push the boundaries until finally stopping around Oshawa City at exactly one week. The highway beside Lake Ontario was no longer accessible blocked by the monsters.

    He didn¡¯t go with his friend and sister since his killing activities only happened during the night as he sneaked out using Shadow Sneak. He found out, going solo was the best for him. Three nights of sneaking out and continuous killing gifted him quite a lot.

    Shit, leveling up is not easy. Three nights and I only gained three levels. The grind really is way more harder compare in a game.

    Jason Park

    Job : Assassin

    Level 25

    EP : 136/136(+10)

    E.Guard : 3180/3180(+30)

    Strength : 50

    Agility :?73

    Dexterity :?42

    Stamina :?42

    Energy :?42(+2)

    E.Resist :?42

    Points :?0

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills : Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.4, Heal lv.9, Energy Guard Lv.9, Wind Cutter Lv.9, Shadow Sneak Lv.5, Intermediate Archery Lv.4, Parry Lv.1, Scan Lv.9, Basic Projectile Throwing Lv.3, Blood Edge Strike Lv.3, Basic Smithing Lv.9, Basic Blunt Weapon Mastery Lv.4, Triple Strafe Lv.3, Minor Defense Buff Lv.9

    His status finally struck a balance except for the leading agility. He could have throw everything in a single attribute and be monstrous like being but the future was full of unexpected things and who knows the lacking attributes might be his biggest weakness.

    I wish I have a bigger EP pool, this small number isn¡¯t enough to grind all my skills.

    He had a limited EP for a single day and the past two weeks he focused it all to Heal, Energy Guard and Scan. The three most useful skills within his repertoire and when he ran out, he turned to his passive skills, Intermediate Archery and Basic Projectile Throwing. They were all brought to a few levels up but Jason wasn¡¯t satisfied.

    On the other hand, if others heard his complaint they would have gone mental. Those new Awakens throughout the world were having a hard time trying to stay alive with five points per level in their arsenal and two guarantee skills under their reign. It was like a rich man complaining that they couldn¡¯t succeed since they hadn¡¯t had enough resources to back them up.

    Well, that was how it was, the new world of earth.

    ¡°I probably should check up on Hakeem, he¡¯s probably training like mad,¡± said Jason as he turned invisible leaving the room empty.

    Approximately fifteen minutes later, a bunch of black SUVs parked in front of Jason¡¯s house. They even double-parked the family¡¯s car which inadvertently blocked everyone¡¯s cars from leaving.

    Then men dressed in a similar black suit came out from these SUVs as the one leading them spotted a navy color suit with his hair combed perfectly to the side, he walked through the pavement and reached the door of this household.

    He knocked on the door thrice with no nervousness in his countenance. The moment the door opened, Jason¡¯s mom was rather surprised and nervous seeing these men with stoic faces.

    ¡°Yes, how can I help you?¡± Jason¡¯s mom greeted them and went straight to the question. She felt uncomfortable with these strangers in front of their doorstep but she still managed to flash a smile.

    ¡°May we come in Mrs.Park?¡± said the navy suit man.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but who are you again?¡± Mrs.Park asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m Howard Rostenkowski,¡± said the navy suit man.

    ¡°Roste- what again?¡¯ Mrs.Park wasn¡¯t familiar to such name and couldn¡¯t catch on to his name.

    Howard was pretty irked by Mrs.Park¡¯s action but he kept his cool since he had dealt with this kind of situation since even before he had this job. He kept on that fake smile like it was second nature.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, we are from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, we have come here because of your son,¡± said Howard.

    Mrs.Park didn¡¯t know what those names meant but she was smart enough to know that these people were from the government.

    ¡°Please, come in,¡± she said.

    The bunch of stoic looking people that number around fifteen entered in a systematic number.

    ¡°Honey! We¡¯ve got guests! I need you here!¡± Mrs.Park shouted at the top of her lung calling out to her husband who was probably having fun with his gadgets.

    Mr.Park walked down the staircase while humming and after reaching the living room, he stopped as he was flabbergasted seeing these many unknown men in his living room.

    Mr.Park flashed a quick smile and waved his hand a bit as he then left to the kitchen.

    ¡°Who are those people?¡± asked Mr.Park.

    ¡°They¡¯re from the government, help me out with this,¡± Mrs.Park passed a tray full of empty cups and a jug filled with tea. She didn¡¯t have a teapot enough for fifteen people and jug seemed to be the best bet.

    ¡°The government?¡± Mr.Park held on to the tray as he was still confused about why some government officials were in his house.

    Mrs.Park handed out cups with tea with the help of Mr.Park.

    ¡°Mrs.Park, you don¡¯t need to do this,¡± said Howard as he wasn¡¯t here for a tea party.

    ¡°Drink it,¡± she said with a smile. Howard didn¡¯t have a choice but to just took it in his hand.

    Mrs.Park and Mr.Park then sat across Howard. There was silence in the living room and it felt suffocating for the Parks.

    ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Park, we are here because of your son,¡± said Howard.

    Mrs. Park closed her mouth as she felt something bad was going on.

    ¡°Did he did something wrong?¡± she asked afraid of what was about to come.

    ¡°Your son has stolen something from the government and we need it back,¡± said Howard.

    ¡°Oh no,¡± Mrs.Park covered her gaping mouth with her hand as she couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard.

    ¡°My son would have never done that, do you have any evidence of it? You know I can sue you for the accusation,¡± Mr.Park defended his son as he knew his son. His son would never resort to thieving.

    ¡°This is not a negotiation Mr.Park, it¡¯s either Jason Park follow us or he will be convicted for no less than ten years in prison,¡± said Howard with a calm voice.

    Mrs.Park started to crying while Mr.Park stood up glaring at Howard. Picturing their son in jail never crossed their mind before.

    ¡°What he did he stole from you?¡± asked Mr.Park as he felt wary about this situation. He knew about the CSIS but shouldn¡¯t the police be involved if it included an arrest?

    ¡°Classified,¡± said Howard. He didn¡¯t have the authority to shared such a thing.

    Mr.Park couldn¡¯t accept this. If his son really did it at least he deserved to know what kind of thing that his son had stolen. But after hearing the word ¡®classified¡¯ it only made his emotion even more unstable.

    ¡°Classified? You accuse my son of stealing and you said the information is classified. Stop bullshitting and tell me what the hell is really going on?!¡± for the first time Mr.Park let his anger dictated his tone of voice. He wasn¡¯t much of a screamer but in this situation, he just had to.

    His wife, Mrs.Park stopped crying and started taking out her phone and recording the faces of these people with her smartphone. With teary red eyes, she won¡¯t back down for her son¡¯s justice.

    ¡°This is the people that accuse my son and want to put him in jail,¡± said Mrs.Park as she knew that recording this situation would be a good thing in the long run if the case went to prosecution.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, please stop recording. It¡¯s illegal and you don¡¯t have the¡­¡± Howard warned Mrs.Park and the rest of his subordinates blocked their face from being recorded. But in his mid-sentence, Mrs.Park lashed out at him.

    ¡°Shut up! I¡¯ll record whatever the hell that I want to record and see you in court bastard!¡± said Mrs.Park. She too left her restraint and went full mother¡¯s protection mode.

    Howard had a few documents in hand to prove that their son indeed a thief but stopped himself seeing the situation turning out of hand. Right now, brute force was the answer.

    ¡°Confiscate the phone and you ten go search for Jason Park, retrieve him at any cost,¡± said Howard with his cold calculated voice.

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that!¡± shouted Mrs.Park as she tried to stopped these men from climbing up the staircase.

    Yet she was stopped as one of the tall and big CSIS agents stopped her moving an inch. Mr.Park saw this and felt enraged.

    ¡°Stop holding on to my wife and get fuck out of my house!¡± he charged at the one who held on to his wife. But another black suit man easily restrained him from doing so, a light punch at the gut and Mr.Park was on his knees.

    Howard saw this and frowned.

    ¡°Come on Stuart, I know you are new to this but we have protocols. Follow the freaking protocol,¡± said Howard.

    ¡°Sorry Agent Rostenkowski,¡± said Stuart as cuffed Mr.Park on the floor.

    ¡°Get the fuck out of my house! Get the fuck out of my house¡­¡± Mr.Park kept on repeating those lines shouting like a hysteric man. While Mrs.Park kept on shouting not to take her son.

    Yet one of the men who were sent to catch Jason went downstairs.

    ¡°Agent Rostenkowski, we have a problem. Jason Park isn¡¯t here,¡± said the black suit man.

    ¡°What?!¡± Howard was surprised as he was quick stood up on his two feet.

    ¡°Our surveillance cameras on this house had been monitoring on for the last two days and you said he wasn¡¯t here? Stuart go check with the recon team and report to me immediately,¡± said Howard as he climbed up the stairs.

    ¡°Affirmative,¡± Stuart went out of the house to rendezvous with the recon team.

    Howard barged inside Jason¡¯s room as it already turned into a mess due to the action of his men. He opened the closet and saw there was no one. He closed it down with force even ending up breaking the closet door.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Howard said. Howard knew about the high chance of Jason having an invisibility ability and they came prepared with the technology ranging down from thermal vision and EMF vision. Even the surveillance cameras monitoring this house had those technologies to see the Invisible Man.

    Yet none of them knew that their technology was worthless against Jason¡¯s ability.

    Stuart came back and reported that there was no sight of Jason leaving the house. Howard had an inkling that the Invisible Man really could become invisible and undetected through the technology.

    ¡°Abort the mission, we need to inform headquarters about the target going loose. Station some men within the proximity of the house and report back to me if the target comes back,¡± he relayed his order and went back down to the living room.

    ¡°Agent Rostenkowski what about the parents,¡± Stuart asked.

    ¡°Leave them, they¡¯re not the priority,¡± said Howard.

    These fifteen men left the house leaving Mr.Park still in handcuff and Mrs.Park sitting on the couch. As soon as they all leave, Mr.Park shouted to his wife.

    ¡°Call Jason, tell him he¡¯s in trouble and don¡¯t come back home.¡±

    While Mrs.Park phone dialed up Jason¡¯s numbers. The SUVs started driving on the road leaving the Park¡¯s house behind.

    The people inside a particular SUV were busied with Howard sitting in the middle of a sea. He was the only not calling on the phone as he tried to think about their next step of action. But then he felt something cold, pressed by the side of his temple. He jerked up in response as an unfamiliar voice filled up the air of the vehicle.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got some balls treating my parents like that,¡± it was Jason and right now he was holding Howard at gunpoint.

 Chapter 96

    Four black SUV driving on the road and the middle one swerved a bit before returning to normal. While inside, the situation was far from normal.

    ¡°Drop the gun!¡±

    ¡°Drop the gun!¡±

    Two black suit men were shouting at the newly emerged Jason. They were shouting the same thing over and over again since their superior was being held at gunpoint.

    Howard was nervous as shit but he tried to appear strong, a facade that he had developed in this line of work. Showing weakness wasn¡¯t an option. Howard raised up his hand signaling to the two people beside him to be quiet.

    ¡°Jason Park, what you are doing right now is a big mistake. This action alone is worthy of being imprisoned no less than twenty-years minimum if I were you I will surrender and accept whatever punishment,¡± Howard said as his tone was calm and collected worthy to be one of the most experienced in his line of work. His subtle threat was how he made the perpetrator give in but right now, he wasn¡¯t facing a normal convict.

    ¡°The mistake right now is you lots touching both of my parents and that¡¯s a big no-no,¡± Jason said while pressing the muzzle of the gun into Howard¡¯s temple.

    ¡°Drop the gun you narrow eye bastard!¡± said one of the agents beside Howard.

    Jason glanced at him with a glare.

    ¡°Tell your subordinate if he spouts any racist nonsense, I¡¯m going to put a bullet in his head,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand Jason Park, you¡¯re not the one in power right now. Two guns are aiming at you at point-blank range and even if you have confidence with that flimsy energy guard of yours, a spray of bullets will be enough to cost your life. So be a good chap and surrender,¡± said Howard as he still thought that he had the upper-hand. He had intel regarding the Awakened abilities, those who were under the military had their ability tested and one of the most intriguing about them was the defensive barrier they had.

    Howard believed the energy guard was too fragile to act as a defense mechanism. In his opinion, even a kevlar vest was more useful.

    ¡°Listen and fucking drop the gun you yellow mon-¡± the one who spouted racial slur at Jason had his words cut off with a bang.

    BANG!

    A loud gunshot reverberated inside the SUV as the driver once more swerved the vehicle a bit before regaining balance. Meanwhile, Howard couldn¡¯t believe it. The maniacal man really did shot one of his agents.

    The one to his right was dead with a bullet hole in his head. The one on his left was enough to know how to respond to such aggressive action.

    The agent to Howard¡¯s left shot Jason in the head but there was only a shimmer of pale whiteness over Jason¡¯s head as the shot didn¡¯t do a thing to him.

    BANG!

    Jason shot another round, leaving another one dead. Howard to his left and saw one of his agents once more dead. Now, he felt nervous as hell. The man who was dubbed as the Invisible Man went beyond the line as he killed without batting an eye. Howard thought he could put Jason in line with his words since he read the reports from team gamma and alpha that they did not sustain any injury upon contact with the Invisible Man. Right now he was regretting how narrow-minded his thought was.

    ¡°Hold on, we can discuss this,¡± said Howard as right now he feared for his own life.

    The agent who sat beside the driver was aiming his gun at Jason¡¯s head. He too felt nervous after seeing two of his colleagues were dead. The agent who was driving was the most nervous since he could only glance through the back mirror while maintaining focus on the road.

    ¡°If you kill any more of us, your punishment won¡¯t be light Jason Park. You should consider your future action, think about your parents, they wouldn¡¯t want to see you like this,¡± said Howard trying to play the blame game.

    ¡°Say one more word about my parents, I¡¯m gonna put a hole in your head,¡± said Jason.

    Howard gulped down as he couldn¡¯t shake off the nervousness. His hand, on the other hand, was sending an S.O.S message to his superior. He did it in his own pocket, a skill he had learned in case something like this happened.

    Then the phone of the agent on the passenger seat rang. The inside of the car turned to silence as every eye was on the agent who had his phone ringing.

    ¡°Pick it up,¡± said Howard to his subordinate.

    The agent didn¡¯t leave his aim out of Jason as his other free hand picked up the call. After listening to it a bit, he then turned on the speaker mode. Then a voice came.

    ¡°Jason Park, this isn¡¯t the time for meaningless killing. Our country is being invaded and you¡¯re supposed to help the country like the rest of the Awakened. Stop your action and your punishment will be light,¡± said the one calling.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even bother introducing yourself and you think I¡¯ll follow your words? Don¡¯t be so arrogant,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°This is the Director of CSIS, Sheldon Fowler speaking. Again I¡¯m reminding you, stand down,¡± said Sheldon.

    Howard didn¡¯t think that even the director got involved with this. He thought that at least his boss would take control of the situation but it seemed the big boss had come to the rescue.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I won¡¯t stand down. Your men really don¡¯t know ethics and so I thought about giving a lesson about it,¡± said Jason.

    Howard couldn¡¯t believe it. This Jason was a madman, he didn¡¯t even back down even when the director politely asking him to back down.

    ¡°Let me remind you Mr.Park, you have stolen government property and we thought about being lenient with you by waving off the punishment if you join in the fight of stopping the invasion, but if you go any further we won¡¯t hesitate to take you down,¡± said Sheldon with confidence.

    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s just wow, I¡¯m speechless,¡± said Jason all of a sudden.

    ¡°You guys thought about coercing me into fighting the monster while branding me like a criminal?¡± Jason guessed it right.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m going to say this, but I¡¯m disappointed with you lots. Even the Americans know how to attract the Awakened into their circle but you lots? Man, this is hilarious. I guess even that orange tan POTUS has a brighter mind than you people,¡± said Jason while dishing out some critics at the governing body.

    Jason let out a dry laugh all by his own ignoring the current situation. The people who were in the SUV were dumbfounded by his unstable actions. Howard was reaching the limit of his anxiety and he was an inch close from peeing himself, having his life in the hand of a maniac didn¡¯t seem promising.

    ¡°Haha, enough of this charade. Here are your options, I will help you guys out but the condition is I want every single person who raided my house to have both of their arms chop up, and the second option, if you refuse and implicate my family, I have no choice to kill every single one of you, including you Mr.Director,¡± said Jason.

    Howard felt a little bit of his pee came out. This maniac man proclamation was too violent, rather than calling it options it was following his every whim.

    ¡°Is that a threat?¡± said Sheldon over the phone.

    ¡°You are really an idiot if you can¡¯t discern a threat or not,¡± said Jason. His blatant mocking enraged and made people nervous about it.

    Sheldon who was sitting at his office desk slammed his fist on the desk out of anger. He had been holding to his position as the director for quite a long time and never did anyone threatened him in such a way. In his eyes, Jason was just a lamb who only knew a bit of power unlike him who held a different kind of power, a power that justified himself as the law.

    ¡°Mark my words Jason Park I¡­¡± Sheldon''s words cut off as another phone started ringing.

    This time it was the driver¡¯s phone.

    ¡°What is that?¡± shouted Sheldon over the speaker.

    The driver tried to neglect the phone call but a glance at the screen told him something else. He picked it up and heard the caller. He then passed the phone to the agent at the passenger seat.

    The agent was bewildered.

    ¡°Put it on speaker,¡± said the driver.

    The agent followed suit and the moment the speaker was on, a husky voice permeated in the air.

    ¡°We will accept your demands Mr.Park and we¡¯ll be sure to give you more rewarding benefits,¡± said the new caller.

    ¡°Who is that? Who is speaking?¡± Sheldon asked bewildered by the new voice.

    ¡°Oh, Sheldon, high and mighty in that seat of yours. You¡¯re more fouler than your own name,¡± said this new caller as he started to mocking the director of CSIS.

    ¡°Who are you? Mocking me will be your biggest mistake,¡± said Sheldon.

    Jason who was hearing this was baffled by the sudden argument over the loudspeaker.

    ¡°It¡¯s me Neil, Neil Stinson,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°Neil? But how did¡­¡± again Sheldon was cut off by this new person called Neil.

    ¡°Mr.Park, how is it? I¡¯ve accepted your proposal,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°and you are?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Lieutenant-colonel Neil Stinson, commanding officer of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service,¡± he introduced himself as the big boss of the intelligence agency under the military.

    ¡°Neil! This is not under your jurisdiction, you are not¡­¡± Neil cut him off.

    ¡°Stop there for a second Sheldon. You¡¯re embarrassing us in front of a civilian, both you and I know that the artifact is under the protection of the Canadian Armed Forces and since the artifact has been given to its rightful owner I don¡¯t see Mr.Park here under any violation of the law,¡± said Neil.

    Sheldon Fowler couldn¡¯t stand this man, who was known to be a thorn in his eyes. At first, he thought about gaining credit over gaining a capable Awakened for the country but now this man cut that path off.

    ¡°He killed two of our agents, he should be put¡­¡± again as if it was a routine, Neil cut him off.

    ¡°An act of self-defense, you guys did raid his house without a warrant. So if you are asking me, the one who is at fault is here you Director Sheldon Fouler,¡± said Neil. Like putting an icing on the cake he even deliberately messed up Sheldon¡¯s last name.

    ¡°You can¡¯t get away with this Neil, you can¡¯t¡­¡±

    Then the black SUV suddenly stopped. The agent who was holding on to the phone accidentally hung up on Director Sheldon. Jason glanced at the front and saw another black vehicle blocking the SUV. Then the door suddenly opened.

    Jason traced his eyes to the person donned in a service military uniform. The soldier gave a salute.

    ¡°Greetings Mr.Park, sir. Our CO, Lieutenant-colonel Neil Stinson invites to see you, sir,¡± said the soldier.

    ¡°But what about my request?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Mr.Park, we will gather these vermins at the base and you will see it first hand,¡± said Neil over the phone.

    Jason smirked seeing how the situation suddenly changed. He never thought there was such hostility even between government agencies.

    Jason followed the soldier and ride inside a bigger SUV befitting for something that belongs to the military.

    Meanwhile, Howard was shaking in his boots as to his left and right were soldiers and right now, his destination was none other than the headquarters of CFNIS.

 Chapter 97

    A line of black SUVs entered through a secure compound designated as the headquarters of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service. Jason didn¡¯t bat an eye over the heavily guarded security of this place. No matter where he looked there would always be an armed soldier.

    The SUV entered the underground tunnel leading to the basement of the headquarters. The moment the vehicle stopped, the soldier beside Jason spoke out.

    ¡°We have arrived, sir,¡± said the soldier.

    Jason got out of the vehicle and standing a not far from where he was, a man with blonde hair dressed in an impeccable looking suit. Besides him were soldiers in their service uniform standing tall and straight full of discipline.

    ¡°This way sir,¡± said the soldier besides Jason.

    While he walked towards the blonde man, the latter also walked towards him showing a hint of courtesy.

    ¡°Sir!¡± said the soldier beside Jason.

    ¡°At ease, you may go,¡± said the blonde man.

    The soldier left leaving only Jason and the blonde man with his bodyguards. While at the back, agents from Canada intelligence agencies were line up one by one with their hands cuffed.

    ¡°Pleasure to meet you in person, Mr.Park, I¡¯m the one from the phone, Neil Stinson,¡± the blonde man reached out his hand for a handshake.

    ¡°Jason Park,¡± said Jason as he shook Neil¡¯s hand.

    ¡°So what about these agents? You want to do the honors or you want me to do it?¡± Neil asked.

    ¡°Is this a favor?¡± Jason asked him back as he had something else in mind. This kind of conflict between government agencies might not be that simple. There was definitely a catch.

    ¡°Something else in mind?¡± asked Neil with a smile.

    ¡°Rather than chopping their hands off, I want you to sign a contract that you will put my parents in protective custody whenever the UC invades Toronto,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I heard about Asians having filial piety but never thought of it being practice here in Canada,¡± said Neil. A remark that wasn¡¯t a yes or a no.

    ¡°I just need an answer,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Sure, we can do that but before talking about signing papers, you have no more business with those agents?¡± asked Neil.

    Jason glanced at the line of agents, a few of their faces were ingrained in his mind since those few did hurt his parents. But right now, there was a more pressing matter in hand. He could do it himself on a later date thus he decided.

    ¡°No,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Well, come this way, please. I¡¯ll give you a tour of the place,¡± said Neil with his jolly tone.

    For a man with a bright persona, Jason didn¡¯t think such a man would be the director of the military intelligence division.

    He went around the place led by Neil and his four bodyguards. From what he was told this place was the new headquarters of the CFNIS since the previous in Ottawa had already been occupied by the UC. Neil didn¡¯t talk much about the UC invasion that happened in Ottawa but he did repeat the same thing over and over again. The matter about his fascination towards the Awakened as well as the UC.

    ¡°This phenomenon of normal people having the ability to become strong, have you ever wonder why and how it appears?¡± Neil asked. Jason shook his head side to side not knowing how to answer.

    The term touring was no longer there since Neil had been rambling on about his amazement towards the Awakened and the UC. Right now, it was a one-sided conversation between Jason and Neil. Jason himself was at the point of tuning deaf from the conversation while looking around the proximity.

    Then they reached an elevator. Both Neil and Jason went inside while the bodyguards were left to their own discretion. They were having some reservation seeing they were letting boss be alone with an Awakened stranger but to the behest of Neil, they went off without talking back.

    Jason and Neil stood next to each other in silence. The elevator stopped on the fifth floor. Neil came out and Jason followed from behind. He looked around and saw it was an office quarter with people working around the clock. Then they arrived in front of a door. He read the sign as it told him it was the meeting room.

    Yet the moment Neil opened the door, Jason¡¯s eyes went wide. He turned to Neil, as the director himself raised up both of his arms up to chest level.

    ¡°Jason!¡± two people shouted in unison. As these two just realized the new entrance of the Jason. Both stood up on both of their seats.

    ¡°Don¡¯t glare at me like that, Mr.Park. FYI, I came to them first before CSIS can get to them,¡± Neil justified himself as he then greeted his two officers in the room with a salute.

    Jason got to handed to Neil, this man knew what he was doing. He was quicker in action than then CSIS. Neil took a seat in the middle between his two officers. His hand gestured towards the empty seat between Esther and Hakeem.

    ¡°Please have a seat, Mr.Park,¡± said Neil.

    Jason took the seat while both Hakeem and Esther couldn¡¯t stop clamoring over their sudden abduction. From the way Jason saw it, it seemed the government had kept their eyes on him as well as these two. They were quite quick in finding them out but considering how these three didn¡¯t have any intention of hiding from plain sight, it made the job easier for these agencies to find them.

    ¡°How long did you guys know about us?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°To be frank, just two days ago,¡± said Neil showing no intention of bragging. Jason was rather impressed by it, it was either him being complacent not noticing these people or he wasn¡¯t aware of how they did it.

    ¡°Honestly speaking, after putting our whole manpower in searching you three, at least we got a head start from CSIS. If they really did get to you first, things would have been messy,¡± said Neil staring straight at Jason¡¯s eyes.

    Both he and Jason knew of what messy meant. Unlike those who sat at the top, Neil had a different perspective about this whole monster invasion thing.

    ¡°Can we go now? Being detain like makes me uncomfortable,¡± said Hakeem as his eyes couldn¡¯t stop looking around the meeting room.

    Even Esther was fidgeting around as being in military compound meant they did something big.

    ¡°That Mr.Jabbar depends on your friend here,¡± Neil said while pointing at Jason.

    Hakeem looked at Jason and touched him by the shoulder. That look on his face was like indirectly asking Jason what the hell was going on.

    ¡°So what do you have to offer?¡± asked Jason out of the blue.

    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s this about an offer? I ain¡¯t hearing anything about an offer,¡± said Hakeem.

    Neil smiled as the officer beside him handed out a file to Neil. He opened the file up and passed three similar documents to the three in front of him.

    ¡°Work under us for two years and help Canada take back the country,¡± said Neil.

    Jason ignored his words and read through the document. Esther who was beside him also focused on reading the document. Jason read from top to bottom and the frown on his forehead only deepened.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Esther called Jason as she too had a frown.

    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± asked Neil.

    ¡°Dude! Did you read this? We¡¯re getting twenty grand per month if we sign this contract. I¡¯m definitely going to sign this¡­¡± while Hakeem was exhilarated by the offer, Jason cut him off.

    ¡°Change it,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Change what?¡± Hakeem didn¡¯t understand. But he was totally ignored at the moment.

    The officer besides Neil gave Neil another file. Again three documents were passed to the trio. This time, Hakeem was in his concentrated state. His eyes were like a hawk reading every word to word and then he found it.

    ¡°Forty grand, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± said Hakeem with his jaw dropped.

    ¡°Satisfy?¡± asked Neil.

    ¡°Change it,¡± Jason said once more.

    Hakeem who heard his friend¡¯s words turned flabbergasted. He didn¡¯t want to lose such an offer but before he could say a word, Neil passed another set of documents.

    Hakeem read it thoroughly and he was praying deep inside hoping for the money not to be cut off. Then his eyes turned out wide.

    ¡°A hundred grand?¡± Hakeem was in disbelief. He looked to Jason and Esther but both of them weren¡¯t excited as him. He wanted to shout at them of why delaying the agreement but after noticing how meticulous both Jason and his sister were, Hakeem read it more thoroughly trying to find a fault.

    Yet before he could even read the second time, Jason spoke.

    ¡°I won''t¡¯ agree to this,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?!¡± said Hakeem as he stood up on his seat. His outside activities that involved grinding his skills led to him losing his job at the airport. He came up with a few excuses while also using his sick leave but his boss found him playing basketball during his sick leave and thus leave him unemployed. He had been racking his brain on how to earn the money for everything and now his prayer had almost been answered but a roadblock came. The roadblock was known as his friend.

    Neil who had offered a lucrative contract didn¡¯t understand the rejection. Although the monthly income wasn¡¯t high like an NBA athlete yet it was enough to attract their attention.

    ¡°Is the money not enough?¡± asked Neil. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about your parents, their protection is under our care the moment you sign it.¡±

    Neil emphasized the clause about their parents. Although the description of their parents wasn¡¯t thorough, yet he did make sure it was within the contract.

    ¡°You disappoint me Mr.Stinson, does money really matters at this point in time,¡± Jason gave him a hint.

    Neil Stinson realized it a bit late, he had been playing this political game for a long time and usually men would succumb to the temptation of money, thus the reason he didn¡¯t put a limit on their incomes.

    ¡°Apologies Mr.Park for my short-sightedness. Tell me, what do you have in mind,¡± asked Neil. This time, the blonde man was more relax in having this private deal.

    ¡°First, we will not work under you. We will work you side by side but with no one in command of our actions,¡± said Jason.

    His words were enough to enrage the two officers besides Neil. One of them smacked the meeting table showing his displeasure. While the other mocked Jason blatantly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget you are still a civilian. We still¡­¡± but Neil cut him off.

    ¡°Silence!¡± said Neil shutting both of his officers.

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± both officers replied in unison.

    Then suddenly Jason raised up his fist alarming Neil as well as the two officers. He slammed his fist on the meeting table and within an instant, it broke into two. Both Esther and Hakeem backed away while standing up and the three military personnel were already aiming their guns at Jason.

    Jason who was still sitting on the chair stared at the sight of these three men.

    ¡°This is the reason you will not be in command over us,¡± said Jason as he glared at the one who slammed his fist at the table beforehand.

    ¡°Stand down,¡± said Neil. The two officers felt reluctant but did after a few seconds.

    Neil composed himself and tidied up his suit before taking his seat once more. Again, his heart was beating wild as this Awakened in front of him showed what it meant by the evolution of mankind.

    ¡°I¡¯ll accept the first condition,¡± said Neil. ¡°is there anything else you want to add or change?¡±

    ¡°Second, any kind of artifacts that is due to the result of our killings will be a hundred percent our ownership,¡± said Jason.

    Neil started to frown as the smile started to fade away. One of his biggest idea of roping Jason in was due to the artifacts. Owning them would open their research division to a whole new level and it might fasten the process of finding out how to use modern weaponry against them.

    ¡°Mr.Park about the second one can¡¯t we negotiate on distribution percentage,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but there¡¯s no negotiation about this matter. I¡¯ll say it directly, you guys won¡¯t be any of help during the fight, even if one or two of you guys manage to put a few blows in, it isn¡¯t going to be significant,¡± said Jason.

    Neil didn¡¯t like how the direction of this negotiation was going.

    ¡°But, you can buy it from us at a reasonable price,¡± said Jason.

    This time Neil¡¯s eyes twinkled in response. But the matter regarding money was a delicate one.

    ¡°Is it going to be over a million?¡± asked Neil.

    ¡°Depends on the quality,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Quality? What do you mean by quality?¡± Neil suddenly turned a bit aggressive. He stood up and walked over to Jason.

    ¡°Do these artifacts have different qualities?¡± asked Neil.

    Jason was weird about this, he didn¡¯t think even these little details were missed by Neil Stinson.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a woman with a ¡®Scan¡¯ ability?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°You mean Ellen Portman, indeed she has that skill,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°I think you need to ask her further regarding the qualities about artifacts, ¡®Scan¡¯ is more useful than you think,¡± said Jason as he pointed at his eyes.

    Neil got the gist of what Jason meant. It seemed one of their own held up a few crucial information.

    ¡°Third, there¡¯s no need for monthly income since we are helping the country while doing some side business, right?¡± said Jason as he smirked at Neil.

    The blonde man replied with his own grin.

    ¡°That¡¯s a hundred percent agreeable,¡± said Neil.

    On the other hand, Hakeem who heard he won¡¯t have a paycheck was devastated, he couldn¡¯t say a thing between these two as if they were within their own world.

    ¡°Forth, if you want us to train your people, there¡¯s certainly needs a price,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But what about when during the battle, people are known to be Awakened even with the slightest assist,¡± said Neil as he wanted to get a clear definition of it.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, what I meant by training is full protection. In battle, I won¡¯t have the time to take care of anyone else other than my own but training is a different thing,¡± said Jason clarifying things. He glanced at Hakeem and gave him a wink. A sign that he gave Hakeem a bit of a job opportunity there.

    ¡°I understand, is that all?¡± asked Neil.

    ¡°Enough for now,¡± said Jason as he reached out his hand to Neil for a handshake.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll agree to the contract,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°A pleasure to be working with you,¡± said Jason as his eyes glanced the two officers who were still a bit distant from them.

    ¡°Ah, yes. Since you have agreed, there¡¯s a task at hand this evening, I hope you¡¯re ready,¡± said Neil.

    Jason smiled as Neil was no easy slouch. A second after agreeing, they were about to be thrown to the battlefield.

    ¡°Sure, but you wouldn¡¯t mind if we went back home for a while,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Of course, your parents must be worried,¡± said Neil.

    The three were escorted down to the basement as a vehicle was ready for their departure. While they were walking to the SUV, Jason met those agents from CSIS, they were still cuffed and kneeling on the floor. Jason walked over to Howard as he looked at him.

    ¡°Hey,¡± said Jason.

    Howard looked up as he shivered in fear.

    ¡°Tell your boss, if any of you lots is seen around my house or with my friends and family, I¡¯m gonna put a bullet in that dumb head of yours,¡± said Jason as his threat was enough to make Howard shook his head up and down.

    The three departed back to their home as Hakeem was still sullen.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± asked Esther at Hakeem.

    ¡°Hmph, leave me alone,¡± said Hakeem as he gazed out of the window with a melancholic pair of eyes. He mumbled with a saddened tone.

    ¡°Goodbye, my hundred grand paychecks."

 Chapter 98

    A tearful meeting between parents and children. Jason had been struck a few times by his wailing mother but he didn¡¯t budge. Although both of his parents defended their son yet that didn¡¯t make the suspicion of their son to go away.

    Jason took the time of explaining things mentioning that the feds made a big mistake, he even had a military officer to vouched for him who came along. Thus conclude, the wavering problematic hearts of his parents.

    They just couldn¡¯t help being worried about their son and from the look of it, even their only daughter was involved in whatever shit that Jason got into.

    After a little bit of refreshing themselves up, both Jason and Esther came downstairs as their ride had arrived. Both mother and father stood up as they walked over their two children.

    ¡°Jason, why is there a military humvee outside of our house?¡± asked the father.

    ¡°Son, what do get yourself into? And why did you drag Esther into this? She has a bright future with her studies, she shouldn¡¯t¡­¡± the mother fell short of her words, as tears kept on dropping those wrinkly face of hers.

    Jason hugged his mother and glanced at his sister. A nod was enough as Esther joined in with the hug.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you yet mom, but I¡¯m working with the military about a project, they need my expertise on this,¡± said Jason.

    Then someone knocked on their door. The father went on to open the door, and a soldier saluted.

    ¡°We are ready to depart sir,¡± said the soldier.

    The father glanced at Jason. He couldn¡¯t believe that his son was working with the military. He never knew his son could do such a thing considering his first intention was to strike rich in Wallstreet.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, I need to go,¡± said Jason. His mother wouldn¡¯t let him go gripping him tight over his arms. But Jason was too strong as he slipped through his mother¡¯s fingers.

    ¡°Mom, we¡¯ll be back by tomorrow,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Esther? You¡¯re going along? You¡¯re a woman, it¡¯s too dangerous for you,¡± said the mother as in her mind the military was always synonymous with violence and danger.

    ¡°Son, don¡¯t do this to your sister. She can get hurt being out there,¡± said the father worried about his precious daughter.

    ¡°Mom, dad, you don¡¯t have to worry. I can protect myself,¡± said Esther flashing a smile trying not to break to tears over their parents¡¯ concern.

    Jason tapped his father¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Take care of mom, dad and don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of Esther,¡± said Jason.

    He glanced at Esther.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said.

    ¡°No! You can¡¯t leave Esther!¡± said mother while blocking the door. She didn¡¯t what was going on but her motherly instinct was telling her that it was dangerous.

    Esther glanced at Jason not knowing how to react to this current situation. Even Jason didn¡¯t know how to do this, considering they were dealing with their parents. He looked away as if telling Esther it was all on her.

    Esther glared at the back of Jason who was leaving her to dealt with this situation. The soldier escorted Jason into the humvee. Jason sat while waiting for his sister. Watching from afar, from the look of it Esther was having a hard time convincing both of their parents.

    Fifteen minutes passed and Esther was running towards the humvee. It seemed the situation didn¡¯t turn to her favor. With her speed, she was fast enough to reach the humvee door before their parents could do a thing.

    The door shut once more as Esther shouted.

    ¡°Drive!¡±

    The humvee rolled out into the street as the atmosphere within the vehicle was rather grim. Jason was looking through the window, ignoring the glare from his sister. He knew he was on the wrong side of things but it was better to just ignore it. Time would make things right.

    After picking up Hakeem from his apartment building, at least the air inside the humvee turned a bit brighter.

    ¡°Why y¡¯all with the long faces?¡± his opening greeting fit the man himself. He glanced at the siblings as he could read between these two. He shook his head and went inside.

    He started rambling around trying to eased himself before tonight. Jason didn¡¯t give much of a response while Esther kept glaring at Hakeem. In the end, he only talked with the soldier that sat with them.

    After a while, they reached a military compound. They were escorted into the building as they then entered a briefing room. The moment these three entered, all eyes were on them.

    Jason looked around and noticed the numbers of people inside reached about three hundred of them. The man standing at the front was the Major of this division.

    The three of them sat in the last row. The moment they sat, a person stood up. The person walked over towards the trio and the major who noticed this called out to him.

    ¡°Berserker! Stand down, this is an order!¡± said the Major.

    Yet the man turned to deaf to his superior¡¯s order. No one dared to stop him since all of them knew he was the strongest Awakened in the special ops unit.

    The moment the Berserker reached an arms-length to Jason, he attacked. A fist went flying straight to the new guest of the military. Everyone in the briefing room was shocked seeing the drastic turn of event. They thought blood was going to be spill yet what happened next made them even more shocked.

    Jason caught the fist as Frank the Berserker was trembling to try to push his fist forward. But he couldn¡¯t. Gritting his teeth, he threw another punch at Jason as backing down was never in his dictionary.

    Jason dodged the incoming punch flawlessly as he countered with a punch of his own. He struck the Berserker right at the pit of his stomach. The resulting force was enough to broke Berserker¡¯s energy guard, then a second punch came striking at the same spot. This time, the Berserker felt the pain. Berserker knelt down on the floor as he withstood the pain. He glared at Jason as his anger was reaching his boiling point, he was about to activate his skill but then a sole of a shoe came stamping down over his face, fainting him out in an instant.

    Jason didn¡¯t stomp at him only once but a few times as he vented out some pile-up stress. The Berserker¡¯s face turned bloody as hell, even though it looks bad but at least Jason pulled most of his strength a bit. If he let loose all of his strength, it wouldn¡¯t be weird to see a head snapping out from the neck.

    The confrontation ended in a matter of a few seconds. The soldiers knew it would turn bloody but didn¡¯t think the one bloody was the Berserker himself. Right now in their eyes, this Asian man was the strongest of them all. He exuded dominance even without trying it.

    Ellen who witnessed everything trembled from top to bottom. While Scott was already shaking his legs vigorously. He just glad he didn¡¯t rat out on the trio especially Jason since he still believed he was cursed by that devilish man.

    Jason sat back down on his seat ignoring the fainted man on the floor right next to him. No one dared checked up on the Berserker as they were afraid Jason would assault them suddenly.

    ¡°Go check on Berserker,¡± said the Major. Some still hesitated but after the Major pointed to a few people, they stood up reluctantly and went on to checked the Berserker¡¯s vitals.

    ¡°Is he alive?¡± asked the Major.

    ¡°His pulse is still beating sir,¡± said the soldier.

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Go take him to the infirmary,¡± said the Major.

    The Major glanced at Jason and seeing the man himself slouching on the chair with his hand inside his pockets, the Major felt the need to discipline these civilians. But after seeing what he could do, he sealed his lips. From what he was informed, those three were just working with them in tandem and not under any of his commands. Although he didn¡¯t like being assisted by more of these Awakened but considering the situation he had to. Even the CO of the CFNIS gave a guarantee about the upcoming mission, he was told with those three leading the mission, claiming back their lands won¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°Listen up¡­¡± the Major briefed about their mission. To kill as many UC as they could in Thunder Bay City. From their drone observation along with the usage of Ellen¡¯s Scan, they managed to found a city that consisted of low-level UC. A perfect place to begin their soldier''s training. They would drop from the air and rendezvous at Welcome Island before traveling by boat to Thunder Bay city.

    ¡°That is all. I wish you all the best of luck,¡± the Major gave a salute as the rest of the soldiers stood up in unison and gave a salute.

    The trio still sat at the back seat as they were just spectators.

    ¡°Dude, am I hearing this right? Did he say we¡¯re going to jump from a plane?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Yes, why?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Dude, I¡¯ve never try skydiving before,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Neither am I,¡± said Jason in response.

    ¡°Wait, how can you be so calm about this? We¡¯re going to jump out from a plane at a ridiculous height, that¡¯s crazy man,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Relax, someone¡¯s probably going to jump along with you. Just trust these guys, they know what they¡¯re doing,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But¡­¡± as Hakeem wanted to retort a soldier butted in.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while,¡± said a soldier.

    Jason and Hakeem glanced at the soldier standing there with a smile. Hakeem didn¡¯t hide his smile as he was already standing up and greeted the soldier.

    ¡°Yo man, you¡¯re still alive,¡± said Hakeem as he was already hugging the soldier.

    ¡°Thanks to you guys,¡± said the soldier. The soldier glanced at Jason who was still sitting in his chair.

    ¡°Strong as always,¡± said the soldier as he reached out his hand to Jason for a handshake.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing good, Sgt.Ryan?¡± Jason said as he remembered the soldier''s name. Why shouldn¡¯t he? Since this soldier did save his life from being extinguished.

    ¡°You remember my name,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°Of course, you¡¯re the who saved me,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Hakeem and Esther spoke in unison. The thought of someone else saving Jason didn¡¯t make sense to them.

    ¡°In my eyes, you¡¯re the one who saved me. Besides, if it wasn¡¯t for you I wouldn¡¯t have been promoted to a Captain,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°I see, so you¡¯re joining in with us?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be leading a squad of my own, but I don¡¯t know about the arrangement for you guys,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°I see,¡± said Jason. He glanced at Hakeem and lightly nudged at him.

    ¡°What?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be going with Ryan¡¯s squad,¡± said Jason out of the blues.

    Both Hakeem and Ryan were surprised. Since Jason wasn¡¯t under their military order, he could whatever the hell he wanted and thus he had freedom of assigning his members to his liking.

    Jason glanced at Ryan.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about him. Just make sure Hakeem land on the ground with all his body parts still intact. Besides, he¡¯s level sixteen and I think he¡¯s enough to protect you guys,¡± said Jason.

    Ryan who heard the level sixteen had his jaw dropped. He stared at the sight of this tall black man who was still worried about skydiving.

    For some reason, Ryan felt the success of this mission was within his hand. He stared at Hakeem and grabbed him by both of his shoulders.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry my friend, I¡¯ll jump with you.¡±

 Chapter 99

    A fleet of military cargo aircraft gliding through the sky. In one of those aircraft, a tall black man was nervous. One of his legs couldn¡¯t stop shaking as his eyes kept shifting around from side to side.

    ¡°Hey, is this safe?¡± Hakeem shouted to the top of his lungs yet the noise from cruising at this altitude made those around him unable to hear anything.

    Ryan who sat beside Hakeem only gave an okay sign as he could read through Hakeem¡¯s lips.

    Esther who sat beside Jason was also nervous as she was never the type to be involved in extreme activities like this. For the man himself, Jason was leaning at the wall of the airplane with his eyes close. Everyone could see that he was calm and relax as if he had done this many times. Yet no one knew what lay inside his mind.

    Shit, can I do this alone? Why didn¡¯t they assign me with someone for this HALO jump? Do I look like I can do this without supervision? Shit, I haven¡¯t even try skydiving before.

    An unexpected predicament. He thought he would be treated like Hakeem and Esther yet the military saw him in a different light. To them, he could do anything on his own considering how he had manhandled their top Awakened.

    The trio was dressed in a black camo military uniform, the same as the rest of the soldiers inside the cargo aircraft. The military provided the basic uniform for protection.

    Then the green light went on as the huge aircraft door opened up. The light meant it was time. Then a voice resounded from their in-ear communication device.

    ¡°Time for the jump,¡± said Ryan as he led the squad in this aircraft.

    The soldiers went down one by one while those Awakened dropped with their partner. Then it was time for Hakeem.

    ¡°Shit! I¡¯m not ready for this! I ain¡¯t doing this shit, I ain¡¯t¡­¡± his words cut off as Ryan pushed him from behind as the duo leaped off from the aircraft together. A soundless scream of Hakeem was unheard as nothing beats the sound of the air draft.

    Then it was Esther¡¯s turn, she gave a glance at her brother before taking the leap. In her mind, if her brother could this alone then she also could do it with a partner.

    She leaped and then there were two. The second in command of this squad just below Ryan gave a tap at Jason¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Good luck!¡± he shouted as he then jumped leaving Jason all alone.

    Shit, I just miss my timing. I should have tagged along with that dude.

    Last-minute regret that was worthless at the moment. It was either arrogance or he was just too embarrassed to ask. He looked around the empty aircraft. There was no one left except for the pilot.

    Fuck it.

    With no option left, Jason took his step. One-step and he was falling in the sky. He could felt his adrenaline pumping throughout his entire body as he could hear his own heartbeat.

    The sky was dark and he couldn¡¯t see anything else besides the numerous lights from those who fell before him. He put into action the things that were taught to him during that minor briefing about the HALO procedure.

    A small lesson that Jason found to be the most important thing at the moment. He remembered precisely what the instructor taught him. It wasn¡¯t perfect but he pulled it off.

    He fell down like a missile as he tried to catch up with those who fell first. Then the moment those parachutes bursting open from one soldier to another, Jason immediately knew it was time.

    He deployed the parachute as his whole body was tugged upwards. He saw the small land that was becoming bigger as he glided down. Welcome Island, the designated rendezvous point for every soldier in this mission. A few minutes later he cut the harness and fell on the ground. His action was something no one should never do in skydiving but considering his high stats, he knew he could survive at this height. He rolled on the ground dispersing the momentum as he finally gained his balance.

    After his short run by the coast, he met up with the rest of the squad. Jason looked around and found Hakeem sitting on the ground, he looked weary from the HALO jump. Although he was tall but that didn¡¯t mean he could handle falling from such a height.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here. I thought you¡¯re ahead of us,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°We have a contract, and I better stick with it,¡± said Jason.

    Ryan huddled up his entire company consisting of a hundred fifty able-bodied men and women alike. After giving a simple order to his lieutenants and staff sergeants, these organized soldiers broke off into their own squad.

    Hakeem went with Ryan. Esther went with another squad and Jason went with a squad with no Awakened.

    ¡°Sir, Staff Sergeant Dan Johnson, it¡¯s an honor to be working with you,¡± said the soldier with a salute. He saw Jason in action and he had to admit that this man was strong.

    Then the rest of the squad introduced themselves. After the last man gave out his name, silence prevailed over the air. All of them were looking at Jason as if he was in command. Jason glanced at Staff Sgt Dan.

    ¡°I¡¯ll follow your lead,¡± said Jason.

    Staff Sgt Dan was surprised for a while as he thought he would only be the leader in name only but with Jason letting him taking command, the soldier gave his first command.

    ¡°Prepare the boat,¡± Dan said.

    --

    Every squad sailed through the rough water with their own inflatable boat. Jason sat on the boat as he stared at the sight of the nearing Thunder Bay, a city infested with UC. He was calm as he knew the opponents were not that strong according to the military intel. Yet as he glanced around the boat, he saw these soldiers shaking in nervousness. He didn¡¯t think they were these affected by the UC, in his mind, they were brave warriors prepare to do anything to defend the country.

    Then he made eye contact with one of them.

    ¡°Sir, how do you take the edge off?!¡± the soldier shouted over the loud engine of the boat.

    Jason glanced at his name and saw the name Cisco. Jason patted Cisco¡¯s shoulder and gave a grin while retaining his silence.

    Cisco gulped down a mouthful of his saliva as he was nervous seeing how this Awakened acted.

    Then the boat reached the shore. The ten soldiers were quick to get out of the boat as they secured the perimeter. Unlike usual, they didn¡¯t have their assault rifle in hand as they were only equipped with a handgun. They felt a bit awkward using a handgun but considering the enemies, bringing an assault rifle would only be a hindrance.

    ¡°Clear.¡±

    ¡°Clear.¡±

    ¡°Clear.¡±

    Jason stepped out of the boat in leisure as he was the calmest out of the bunch. He was amused seeing these soldiers acting like this, but it made sense considering these tactics were instilled in them from the beginning of their career.

    Jason took a single sweep at these soldiers one more time, they had kevlar jackets, Kevlar helmets, and a handgun in their hands. Nothing out of ordinary except for those axes and machetes sheathed on their back. They were also a lot of combat knives strapped over their thighs as if they were ammunition. This was a first for them since they never brought such weapons in their mission.

    A change in tactics to suit their current enemy, the UC.

    This is pretty amusing, it seems the military goes back to using the outdated cold-weapons.

    Afterward, Jason looked around the perimeter. He could see nothing but darkness but as he pulled down the night vision, green light let him saw it all.

    There¡¯s a few not far from here, I guess let¡¯s see how these soldiers do for their first time.

    In the meantime, Staff Sgt Dan looked through the map as their last destination was none other than the center of the city. From what he was told, the center of the city held the highest numbers of UC roaming around and since Jason was tasked to them, the squad was given the most difficult mission.

    There was a long way ahead of them as he took a deep breath preparing for what about to come. Yet as he exhaled his breath, he heard Jason¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I¡¯ll lure some of the nearby monsters over here, so prepare yourself,¡± said Jason.

    Yet before Staff Sgt Dan could say a word, Jason was already sprinting away like a bullet train. All ten soldiers were dumbfounded of what they just heard, they then glanced at Staff Sgt Dan.

    It took Dan a few seconds as he reclaimed back his sanity.

    ¡°Arm yourselves!¡±

 Chapter 100

    Jason was running with light steps. Behind him were two canines pursuing after him with drools spilling over the floor. Two normal size dogs named Wild Doggo were the first monsters he saw within his night vision goggles. The military did their research well as these doggos were definitely suitable for first-timer.

    Soon, he saw the whole squad at a distance. Looking from their stance alone and weapons in their hands, they were readied for some action. A few seconds later, Jason ran passed through the whole squad as he positioned himself furthest at the back.

    All ten of their heads turned to the only Awakened that was supposed to lead the way. Yet now, the man himself was at the back with both of his arms crossed over his chest.

    ¡°Sir?¡± Staff Sgt Dan was flustered by the action of the Awakened.

    ¡°Look to the front, they¡¯re coming,¡± said Jason as he nudged his head towards the front.

    All eyes went toward the front as within their night vision, two Wild Doggos were charging right at them. Even from afar, they could see that these weren¡¯t your normal dogs. Their defined muscles were popping out as they clearly visible even when under night vision. There were just like dogs on maximum dose steroids.

    Then one of the soldiers took aim with their handgun and shot at the incoming dog. He released round after round with incredible accuracy at the canine¡¯s head yet it did nothing.

    The soldier threw the gun to the side as he pulled a combat knife in a reverse grip. The rest of them braced themselves for what was about to come. They saw it for themselves of how useless their firearms were.

    A few took a glance at the Awakened that stood behind them. From what they were told, the mission would be led by Jason and they just needed to followed his lead yet now it was the opposite.

    ¡°Five against one, do it!¡± said Staff Sgt Dan as he assured himself that these two were the only opponents.

    The soldiers reacted well as they positioned themselves in a group of five men. The two Wild Doggos who were chasing over Jason turned their attention to these soldiers.

    One of them took a plunge right at the nearest soldier. Its pounce was quick as in an instant it was already in the air with its jaw opened wide, baring those crazy rows of razor-sharp teeth.

    The soldier was quick as he rolled down on the ground dodging the fast attack. Then another person came swinging the machete in his hand striking the Wild Doggo right at its flank. Blood spilled over the ground yet the cut wasn¡¯t deep enough.

    The Wild Doggo reacted as it jumped at the one who made it bled. The distance was too close and the soldier didn¡¯t have the time to dodge. He raised up his arm and guarded against the bite. Yet intense pain wracked his entire forearm as it was about to be fractured.

    Then came four other soldiers as all four struck the Wild Doggo with their combat knives. While one of theirs was yelling out in pain.

    ¡°Get it off from me!¡±

    The rest kept on stabbing the heck out of the Wild Doggo until it finally went limp. The situation ended in mere seconds but not without repercussion.

    ¡°Shit, I¡¯m bleeding,¡± said the soldier with a chunk of flesh missing from his forearm. The Wild Doggo really did him good in that few seconds before its death.

    While the other five-man group didn¡¯t end up pretty as well. One of them was lying on the ground clutching his bleeding thigh.

    ¡°Bowie bandage up Rooster¡¯s forearm!¡± Staff Sgt Dan gave his command and continued to do so, ¡°Hemlock, treat Twitch¡¯s thigh!¡±

    He watched the aftermath after a single battle against two UC, they won yet his men suffered some serious injuries. To be frank, rather than calling them UC, they were just over doping dogs. He couldn¡¯t imagine what would happen if they went against a UC like in those major cities.

    Then he cast his eyes at the Awakened in his team. Jason was looking around with a nonchalant expression on his face. Staff Sgt Dan went up to Jason with a heavy frown on his face.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do anything?!¡± he shouted right at Jason¡¯s face. If Jason had taken action, things wouldn¡¯t turn out this bad.

    Jason stared at the eyes of Staff Sgt Dan, as he then walked passed them. A single observation wasn¡¯t enough to see how these soldiers could perform. Although they did pretty well but it was still against Wild Doggos at level three.

    Staff Sgt Dan still had a lot to say but then he and the rest of his squad experienced the same thing. The text window appeared in front of them as all ten of them had turned into Awakened themselves.

    ¡°Dan, you¡¯re seeing this?¡± said one of the two females soldiers in this squad, nicknamed Pixie.

    ¡°Everyone report,¡± said Dan.

    Soon, all nine of them told of how they saw the same thing. Who would have thought it would be that easy to turn into an Awakened. Being fresh recruits for the Special Ops division, they heard of how terrifying fighting against these UC. They heard of how a whole company was wiped out from existence with only Captain Ryan being the sole survivor.

    That tale was enough to scare the shit out of them but now they saw a bit of hope of surviving through this mission.

    ¡°Ready up, I see another one,¡± Jason said.

    His words were enough to make the entire squad alarmed. If another two of those things comes over here, they knew it won¡¯t be easy.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Dan shouted but he was too late. Jason was already sprinting towards the monster as the whole squad laid their eyes on their commanding in chief.

    ¡°Dan, are we just going to let that guy do whatever he wants?¡± Pixie asked. She was starting to get mad over how Jason had behaved.

    They just got here and two of theirs were already in a bad state. Rather than pursuing the mission, she had the thought of sending her comrades back for further treatment.

    Dan frowned as he once again looked at the map, they were at the starting point and they already stumbled upon an obstacle. They could have maneuvered around these canines UC without confronting them but that man had to pull this off at them.

    Unknown to Jason and the other squad member, he had another objective in mind of why they were sent to the middle of the city. The most heavily infected part of the city. An objective that only he knew about told by the Major himself.

    ¡°Guys, he¡¯s coming back,¡± said Hemlock as her eyes didn¡¯t stop wandering around the perimeter.

    ¡°Twitch, Rooster, get behind the squad,¡± said Dan as his grip over the machete tightened.

    Once more, Jason ran passed them as he stood at the back with the injured. Yet the squad didn¡¯t have time to complain as the enemy had come. Lucky for them, there was only one Wild Doggo charging at them.

    The eight of them worked in unison. Dan taunted the Wild Doggo and the moment the Wild Doggo leaped at Dan, Bowie slammed the head of his axe at the dog. Bowie had impeccable timing as the sharp blade embedded deep inside the Wild Doggo. The canine whimpered over the attack.

    ¡°Attack!¡± to Dan¡¯s shout the rest of the squad came hurling their weapons at the single Wild Doggo. But before anyone could take a shot at it, the corner canine pounced at Bowie.

    Bowie didn¡¯t falter as he swung his axe meeting the canine head-on. Through sheer luck, the blade of his axe met the neck of the Wild Doggo. It hit a nerve as the Wild Doggo plummeted on the ground, Dan who was the second closest swung his machete at the canine laying on the ground.

    Dan and Bowie hacked the heck out of the Wild Doggo as within a few seconds, what left of the canine was a mush of meat with chopped up dog¡¯s parts. Blood splattered across their uniforms as these two men were heaving hard with their breaths.

    It ended in an instant but for these two men, it felt like an hour. Then another text window appeared.

    ¡°Dan?¡± Bowie called out to him.

    ¡°I know, I see the same thing,¡± said Dan.

    Then someone else voice entered the fray.

    ¡°So did you guys level up?¡±

    All eyes went to Jason who walked closer to Dan and Bowie. The duo remained silent.

    ¡°I¡¯m asking here, so did you level up?¡± Jason asked one more time.

    Dan nodded and Bowie who saw this also nodded.

    ¡°Good, you guys know what to do with the points right?¡± Jason asked.

    True to Jason¡¯s words. These fresh recruits had all been briefed about the details pertaining to Awakened provided by their Awakened recruit.

    ¡°Since both of you had the first chance of obtaining an ability, you two will take the vanguard,¡± Jason said as he patted both Dan¡¯s and Bowie¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Come on, we¡¯ve got a long way to go,¡± said Jason as he walked forward not minding the scrutinizing eyes staring at him.

    ¡°Wait, who made you in charge?¡± Pixie couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. Although she knew he was strong yet that didn¡¯t give him the license to acted like this.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got two of us heavily injured, they need immediate medical treatment. We can¡¯t go on with the mission,¡± said Pixie as she was worried about the well-being of her comrades.

    Jason glanced at Pixie for a while, before saying.

    ¡°Suit yourself, I¡¯ll be leaving then,¡± said Jason.

    Yet before he could dash away, Dan spoke up.

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Jason stopped on his track and looked at Dan.

    ¡°We¡¯ll proceed with the mission,¡± although Dan didn¡¯t like how Jason nonchalant attitude in this mission, but he still couldn¡¯t abandon his hidden mission.

    ¡°What? Dan, look at Twitch and Rooster. They¡­¡± Pixie had more to say but Dan cut her off.

    ¡°It¡¯s Staff Sgt Dan and I¡¯m your senior officer,¡± said Dan with a resolute voice.

    Pixie had her mouth shut as she stood up straight with her arms to the side.

    ¡°Sir, I request you to pay heed to our injured comrades, sir!¡± said Pixie as she relayed her words according to military-style.

    Dan glanced at Twitch and Rooster.

    ¡°Think you can proceed soldier?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°Aye aye sir,¡± said Rooster as he stood up without a problem.

    ¡°Can¡¯t let you guys have all the fun,¡± Twitch said as he stood limping on his injured thigh.

    ¡°Good, we¡¯ll proceed with the mission,¡± said Dan while looking at Pixie.

    ¡°Yes, squad leader,¡± said Pixie.

    Dan turned to Jason as his eyes stared at Jason.

    ¡°Try to keep up,¡± said Jason as he took the lead.

    These eleven people ventured further into Welcome Island as they head for the bridge that connected the island to Thunder Bay city.

    The squad encountered a pack of Wild Doggo, five of them went charging at them with no hesitation, In this open field with no trees blocking their sight, these low-level UC were quick to spot on prey.

    The whole squad stopped on their track as they positioned themselves for battle. Jason didn¡¯t follow as he charged at those Wild Doggo, rather than passing through them, in a blink of an eye two of those canines wounded up dead on the ground. The steel dirk on his hand dripped the blood of the canine. The three Wild Doggo didn¡¯t stop rushing at the ten soldiers ignoring the death of their kin.

    Dan saw Jason in action and he had to admit, that man was strong. Then a thought came to mind.

    Why didn¡¯t he finish off the other three? Is he training us?

    A simple thought that could be true or not. Yet for now, he stood at the front of his squad alongside Bowie. Both of them took one canine each while the other dog went charging at Twitch who had an injured thigh. The Wild Doggo had a keen sense of smell as it knew the bleeding one was the weakest.

    The rest of the eight handled the single Wild Doggo and in the end, the three canines were dead. Dan was huffing his breath as his life was almost ended with only a point left on his energy guard. While Bowie had most of his energy guard intact as his savage way of attacking overwhelmed the Wild Doggo.

    For the rest of the squad, three more raised up to level two. Pixie, Hemlock, and Sugar Man discovered their new abilities. While they were rejoicing inside, someone¡¯s voice made their joy faded away.

    ¡°You guys are too slow,¡± said Jason.

    All eyes went to Jason.

    ¡°You need to kill them faster,¡± said Jason as he then took the lead sprinting to the front.

    ¡°Geez, what¡¯s wrong with him. He barely helps us and he got the nerve to complain,¡± said Pixie glaring at Jason¡¯s back.

    Dan and a few others had other thoughts in mind. Some in the squad noticed Jason¡¯s hidden intention. While a few were still oblivious some still had their intelligence working.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s not get left behind,¡± said Dan. The ten-man squad followed Jason from behind.

    In a span of half an hour, they went through a couple more battles with those Wild Doggos. They fought against four and then went on against five and their last battle they fought a whole pack of six Wild Doggo, Jason didn¡¯t help this time as he let soldiers handled the rest of the pack.

    They fought with sweat and blood as going up against six Wild Doggo proved to be an obstacle. Yet they did it in the end. Hemlock clutched the ending strike, as her knife throw went straight into the eyes of the Wild Doggo ending its life.

    All ten soldiers were on the ground catching up their breath. The battle put a heavy toll on them as a few of them had their energy guards broken. They covered each other well and despite that, a few mistakes were made, Dan himself knew that as he took command of the battle strategy of the squad.

    While Dan was catching up to his breath, he looked at Jason within the distance. He saw the man looking around as if trying to find more of those canines for them. He wanted to shout at Jason to say it was enough, as they were already reaching their breaking point since close combat situation wasn¡¯t their best since most of their tactics involved using range as a weapon but now they started to adapt to the new norm.

    Then Dan noticed Twitch walking around while chugging down some water.

    ¡°Hey, Twitch,¡± Dan called out to him.

    ¡°Yeah, what?¡± Twitch said.

    ¡°You¡¯re not limping,¡± said Dan as he noticed Twitch walking normally.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice that,¡± said Twitch as he stared at his bandaged thigh.

    ¡°You¡¯re not hurt?¡± asked Dan.

    ¡°Nope, probably the adrenaline kicking. I bet it¡¯s going to hurt like hell after all of this is done,¡± said Twitch as he just shrugged the situation about his thigh.

    Yet Dan was skeptical about it, there was no way an adrenaline rush could do such a thing to that extent. Then once more, Dan stared at Jason.

    Is this his doing? Thought Dan as he still didn¡¯t know what to think about this.

    ¡°Enough rest, let¡¯s keep going,¡± said Jason.

    Dan looked stood and walked closer to Jason. He had something in mind but he didn¡¯t know whether it was good to ask of it.

    ¡°Can you heal?¡± asked Dan.

    Jason glanced at Dan.

    ¡°I see a few buildings over there, let¡¯s head over,¡± said Jason as he ignored Dan¡¯s question.

    ¡°Wait, I see something,¡± but then Hemlock¡¯s words caught both Dan and Jason¡¯s attention.

    ¡°What is it Hemlock?¡± asked Dan.

    Hemlock the designated Scout and Sniper of the squad was eyeing the terrain with her binoculars. Out of luck, she spotted something peculiar.

    She walked over to Dan and handed over the binoculars to him. Unlike regular binoculars, this one had night vision.

    ¡°Look there, ten o¡¯clock,¡± said Hemlock. She pointed out to the river banks close with the buildings that Jason saw.

    Dan looked through the binoculars and saw something that didn¡¯t make any sense.

    ¡°Woah,¡± said Dan.

    Jason who was curious snatched the binoculars off from him and looked through the binoculars. Then he saw what it was. It was a wolf, similar to the one he saw Bryce fought on TV, yet this wasn¡¯t any normal wolf as something was riding on it.

    Jason grinned as he muttered one thing.

    ¡°Goblin.¡±

 Chapter 101

    This is getting boring.

    Jason sat on a chair while facing the window. His hands were fiddling around with the only weapon he brought from home, the steel dirk. True to his thought, things were getting pretty bland considering he was fighting against UC that was lower than level ten.

    He doubted that he could fill up his unseen-able experience bar to the next level. The goblin rider he saw back then was left alone as in the end, it headed towards the bridge. He glanced at the squad who was currently taking a break. They were pretty beat up after continuous fight against the Wild Doggo. Most of them were at level three and a few at level four but considering their speed, they were just too slow to Jason¡¯s liking.

    At first, he thought about chasing after the goblin rider but the squad held him back.

    Should I just leave them? Judging from how they fight, they¡¯re pretty good already. I don¡¯t really think they need me.

    He tried to reason with himself. He walked towards Dan as he touched him by the shoulder.

    ¡°Can we talk,¡± Jason said.

    Both of them went inside a room as the door was then closed behind them.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Dan.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be leaving,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Wait, what? But why?¡± asked Dan. The leader of the squad knew the reality of it, Jason was keeping tabs on them protecting them in the background, he noticed after a few more rounds of hunting those canines. Enough said they were lucky of living because of this guy.

    ¡°You guys adapt pretty fast so I don¡¯t think you need me to babysit any longer. Besides, you can just grind your level here fighting against those Wild Doggo. It¡¯s safer and much more manageable,¡± said Jason.

    Jason was right but Dan couldn¡¯t let him go like this. He had a hidden mission to accomplish.

    ¡°But our mission objective is reaching the center of the city, we have been tasked to eliminate most of the UC there,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°You guys are still under-level,¡± said Jason. ¡°You might die there.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re soldiers, we lay our lives for the country,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°Being dead isn¡¯t going to help the country,¡± said Jason.

    Dan took a big blow as what Jason said definitely was right. But the mission. He of all people knew of what a mission to a soldier.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± said Dan.

    Jason just watched at the sight of this squad leader.

    ¡°Before we left, the Major gave me a mission of finding a certain person in the center of Thunder Bay city,¡± said Dan.

    Both Jason¡¯s eyebrows raised up as this was pretty new to his ears. As expected, it would be weird to send a three hundred men company just for the sake of eliminating enemies. Jason thought there might be other places suitable for training the troop and much more closer to Toronto than Thunder Bay, thus there must be another reason for being sent here.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± said Jason.

    Dan took out something from within his pockets and handed it over to Jason.

    ¡°A GPS tracker,¡± said Jason as he was quite tech-savvy considering he had gadget maniac his dad.

    ¡°I brought this just in case the signal turn on,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°Tracking what exactly?¡± asked Jason.

    Dan hesitated at first seeing how the mission was labeled as classified and only to his own ears until the target is confirmed to be seen but right now he had no other choices.

    ¡°From what I was told, we need to extract a person of interest from the center of the city, the last known signal emitted from her chip is here,¡± Dan took out his map and pointed at something.

    ¡°A conglomerate building? Let me guess the son and daughter of a rich guy?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the details but the person we need to find is her, Kendall Brown,¡± Dan showed an image through his phone. The picture showed an image of a young woman with brunette hair. She looked young and bright with a cheery smile.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s that got to do with me?¡± said Jason.

    Dan couldn¡¯t hide his frown.

    ¡°This is a rescue mission and time is of the essence. Don¡¯t you get it? The life of this girl is at stake here,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°Dan, don¡¯t be so naive. There¡¯s no way the military would be that simple. I bet my life that the parents of this girl are paying big bucks to the military for this rescue mission,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°aren¡¯t you suppose to help us?¡± said Dan.

    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to do my part in killing some monsters and not some hidden rescue mission. Like I said, I¡¯ve no part in this,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But someone¡¯s life is at stake here! Are you just going to turn a blind eye at this?¡± said Dan.

    ¡°Tell me something Dan, how on earth did a daughter of someone influential managed to get trap here in this city even after being told to evacuate way before the UC invades the city, have you ever thought about that?¡± Jason said.

    ¡°How long since she¡¯d been trapped and how long did they lose contact? Have you ever wonder all of this thing?¡± Jason pursued his question even further leaving Dan a bit speechless.

    ¡°Here,¡± then Dan took out something else from another pocket. Jason started to wonder how Dan had so much stuff inside his pockets.

    ¡°A key card?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I was briefed that within this building, there¡¯s a panic room in case something happens. This key card is the key that can unlock the room,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°How are you so sure that this girl is in the panic room?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but the Major told me that she might be there,¡± said Dan.

    Then there was silence between them. Jason stared back at Dan¡¯s eyes as neither budge away.

    ¡°So are you in?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°Of course not, why would I do it?¡± said Jason.

    Dan couldn¡¯t hide his anger. He couldn¡¯t believe how this person had such a lack of empathy. Dan has a daughter and he felt for the parents that were probably in distraught over their missing daughter.

    ¡°All this power you have and for what?¡± Dan said with his tone increased by a notch.

    ¡°You don¡¯t deserve that kind of power,¡± said Dan as he pointed at Jason in scorn.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go social justice on me Mr.Soldier, although I said I don¡¯t want to but it might change if there¡¯s an incentive,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Even at this point in time, you¡¯re still want to make a profit?¡± Dan couldn¡¯t stop glaring at Jason, of all people that Dan hated, the most he despised was the type to value money over anything else, in other the greedy bunch.

    ¡°Stop dilly-dallying and call the Major. It¡¯s either you value your pride or you valuing about the girl¡¯s life,¡± said Jason. The stoic face remained unchanged.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± Dan dialed the phone. Soon, he started conversing with the Major. Even when the phone wasn¡¯t on speaker, Jason could subtly hear the Major¡¯s angry voice.

    The Major hung up and Dan was left a bit clueless on what to do at the moment. Dan shifted a few glances at Jason and seeing the man still waiting without complaint made him felt a bit awkward.

    Then the satellite phone suddenly rang, and Dan picked it up.

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± said Dan. He then gave the satellite phone to Jason.

    ¡°Hello?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± a voice of a middle-aged man with a strict undertone. He¡¯s the father of Kendall Brown, known as Mr.Brown.

    ¡°Straight to the point, I like it,¡± said Jason as he let out a grin. ¡°Two million will suffice,¡± he mentioned the numbers without hesitation.

    ¡°Two million? Are you crazy? To begin with, why should I give you money? You¡¯re the military and you need to uphold the responsibility of rescuing the people of the country,¡± said Mr.Brown. Jason started to despise the man.

    ¡°I¡¯m not the military. So, stop wasting my time. It¡¯s either deal or no deal,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about my daughter¡¯s life here!¡± said Mr.Brown.

    ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t your daughter be priceless, I do think two million is a measly sum,¡± said Jason. Two million were definitely not a meager amount. Although money wasn¡¯t that important but having that much wouldn¡¯t hurt considering he could do a bunch of things with an amount like that.

    ¡°Take it or leave it, Mr.Brown. The clock is ticking and who knows your daughter might be in need of help,¡± said Jason. His words were provoking the thought inside the head of a father.

    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll pay you when my daughter is right in front of me,¡± said Mr.Brown.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid Mr.Brown, deposit the money inside my account and I¡¯ll get back your daughter,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Deplorable! Do you think I would be fool by a simple trick? You¡¯re just going to run away with my money!¡± said Mr.Brown.

    ¡°I¡¯m a trustworthy man Mr.Brown, and to begin with you don¡¯t have any choice other than me,¡± said Jason.

    Then Mr.Brown hung up.

    ¡°Cranky old man,¡± said Jason. He threw the phone lightly at Dan and the squad leader caught it in his hand.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s a no then,¡± said Jason.

    Jason¡¯s reputation only dwindled even further after that conversation he just had. Dan was there and he heard it all loud and clear. In Dan¡¯s mind, Jason was just a thug asking for that much money.

    Dan didn¡¯t say much but as he was about to leave the room, the phone in his hand rang. Dan answered the phone and heard who it was, his eyes glanced back at Jason.

    ¡°It¡¯s for you,¡± said Dan as he passed over the phone.

    ¡°A change of mind?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°How sure of you of saving my daughter?¡± Mr.Brown was at the end of his wit. Although the old man cherished money but he still loved his daughter more.

    ¡°Confident enough compared to the rest of these incompetent soldiers,¡± said Jason.

    Dan frowned hearing the mockery at the military, seeing he was part of it, he felt like it was indirectly targeted at him.

    ¡°Tell me your account number and I¡¯ll transfer the money,¡± said Mr.Brown.

    ¡°The price just went up, 2.5 million dollars,¡± said Jason with a nonchalant tone.

    ¡°What? This is extortion!¡± said Mr.Brown.

    ¡°Did you forget? You hang up on me, so that¡¯s gonna cost you, so how about it? Want to hang up again?¡± said Jason with a chuckle in the end.

    Mr.Brown turned speechless in the end as he was calming down the seething rage inside his heart. Who would have thought an accomplished man like him would be played by a peasant like Jason. But this was about his daughter and for now nothing matters other than her safety and well-being.

    ¡°Fine!¡± said Mr.Brown. He let Jason had the last laugh.

    Jason conveyed the number of his account and after he hung up the call, he waited for a couple of minutes while humming. Then he used the satellite phone once more which was more up to date compared to the old one, now it was more or less similar to a smartphone.

    He checked his account and his brows couldn¡¯t help but raised up after seeing the numerous numbers on the screen.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t think he would do it,¡± said Jason as he passed the phone back to Dan.

    ¡°So you want to tag along, Soldier of Responsibility?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s my mission and I won¡¯t back down,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°Good, I¡¯ll be waiting outside. So make your chat with the squad short,¡± said Jason.

    Dan¡¯s conversation didn¡¯t go well as he was met with a lot of opposition. But Dan stood firm with his decision and the squad couldn¡¯t fight back against the notion of them being too weak to follow along. It was the reality of it but some still wouldn¡¯t listen especially Pixie.

    Then two people went out of the building with one of them glaring at Jason.

    ¡°Why is she here?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Whether you like it or not, I¡¯m coming along,¡± said Pixie as the glare didn¡¯t stop. She still didn¡¯t trust Jason.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Dan. Ignoring the case regarding Pixie. He too had a hard time dealing with this comrade of his.

    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Jason walked away before he glanced back.

    ¡°Try to keep up, if not I¡¯m just going to leave you two behind,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Pixie scoffed at Jason, while Dan nodded.

    But as soon as Jason burst into a sprint, the two were left dumbfounded by what they saw. In a matter of seconds, Jason was already far within their sight.

    ¡°Freak,¡± Pixie said.

    In the end, the two rushed following behind Jason¡¯s back.

    Jason, who was taking the lead saw a pack Wild Doggos not far from where he was. The blade of his steel dirk glowed in crimson. He was sure that there would be a lot of enemies ahead of him and it looking at it from a different perspective, it was time for a perfect grinding session.

    Let¡¯s go, Blood Edge Strike!

 Chapter 102

    Blood Edge Strike level up to level 6

    Countless corpses of Wild Doggos littered the bridge that connected Welcome Island with Thunder Bay City. Dan and Pixie watched in silence over the numerous dead bodies of these canines. The numbers reached almost two hundred. At first, Dan and Pixie were worried seeing how congested the bridge was with these Wild Doggos but Jason didn¡¯t stop rushing to whatever enemy that he saw.

    In the end, they witnessed the monstrous strength of Jason as he decimated every wild doggos on the bridge. Dan and Pixie walked closer to Jason as they noticed the blood splashing over Jason¡¯s military uniform.

    Jason wasn¡¯t even breathless as he was still calm and steady. He flicked the steel dirk in his hand, removing the blood that covered his dirk. Jason glanced at the blade of his dagger, he saw a chip on the blade.

    The blade is starting to chip, I guess the durability has decreased a bit. I probably should learn a repair skill since I do have the smithing skill.

    A reminder for his future reference. Jason sheathed back his steel dirk.

    ¡°Distance?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°Four klick north,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°Navigate,¡± said Jason.

    The trio traveled on foot as everything around them was dark. Even the moon was covered by the clouds as total darkness enveloped Thunder Bay.

    ¡°Bogies at the front,¡± said Dan.

    All three of them saw through their night vision, a pack of wolves running towards them.

    Dire Wolf

    A carnivore that hunts in a pack. Sharp fangs and claws enough to rip apart normal people yet their prowess lie upon their pack mentality.

    Species: Canine Mammals

    Level : 5

    S.Ability : Coordinate Attack

    ¡°Eight of them and they¡¯re all at level five except that one,¡± said Jason.

    Dire Wolf (Alpha)

    A carnivore that hunts in a pack. Sharp fangs and claws enough to rip apart normal people yet their prowess lie upon their pack mentality.

    Species: Canine Mammals

    Level : 7

    S.Ability : Pack Leader

    The alpha was a little bigger than the rest of the pack.

    ¡°Think you can handle them?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Just a bunch of dogs,¡± said Pixie as the grip on the machete tightened.

    Dan wasn¡¯t sure about confronting head-on, he read through the files. The difference in level proved to be an obstacle that couldn¡¯t be easily overcome.

    ¡°Good,¡± Jason straightened his hand to Dan with an open palm. A brown light enveloped Dan¡¯s body for a while.

    ¡°What do you do?¡± Dan was alarmed.

    Jason changed the direction to Pixie. Again, the same thing happened to Pixie.

    ¡°What the fuck did you do to me?¡± Pixie was readied to attack Jason but the man only smirked.

    ¡°It¡¯ll keep you safe,¡± said Jason.

    He charged forward heading to the pack. Then as Jason was about to confront these wolves, he sheathed his steel dirk slicing one of their heads off. The whole pack was alarmed seeing of their pack member dead in an instant.

    The alpha wolf growled as it gave the orders to its underling. Two of them ran off from Jason and headed towards Dan and Pixie.

    ¡°For a dog, you¡¯re quite smart,¡± said Jason smirking at the alpha.

    The alpha didn¡¯t stop glaring at Jason with the growl coming from its snout spreading in this darkness. Then all five of them went for the attack.

    They ran around in a circle as they closed in on Jason. As the distance shortened between them, all five went for the attack in unison at every angle. A worthy attack befitting for a pack.

    Yet Jason wasn¡¯t flustered by this. The crimson glow returned to his blade as his agility was faster than these mutts. One by one, their heads dropped like flies. But one got away.

    The alpha put itself at a distance glaring at Jason. Blood dripped over its bloody neck as a shallow cut was on its neck.

    ¡°Pretty good,¡± Jason said as he flicked the blood away from his dirk.

    The growl coming from the alpha intensified. It realized it had underestimated the opponent.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder if I can tame you,¡± said Jason out of a sudden.

    Seeing this alpha wolf a clear cut above the rest made him thought of such a thing. Since man could tame a dog why not he could the same to this wolf. Although it came from the crack, it might have the same disposition as the wolf in this world.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll try then,¡± said Jason. He watched Dog Whisperer, so he thought it wouldn¡¯t be that difficult to tame such a wolf.

    The man once more confronted the alpha wolf head-on. The alpha wolf bared its fangs and claws yet none of its attacks managed to connect. Then the hilt of the steel dirk struck the alpha by the head. One hit was enough to drop the alpha to the ground.

    The alpha was about to get up from the ground but a weight pressed on top of its body as someone mounted on top of the canine. Jason¡¯s hand pushed the head of the wolf to the ground, it tried to retaliate but it couldn¡¯t budge even an inch of its head.

    At this point, the alpha wolf knew that this human was no mere human. A monster disguising as a human, thought the simple-minded canine.

    Green glow engulfed the alpha wolf. The alpha wolf was alarmed as it struggled underneath Jason to get out from the mounting position. Then the pain on its neck was gone. It felt weird by the sudden turn of even. Jason just healed its injury.

    Jason got away from the alpha wolf as the canine immediately reacted. It stood on its four legs while putting itself at a distance away from Jason. Its eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of Jason.

    ¡°Submit,¡± said Jason.

    Yet the alpha wolf only growled back at Jason.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s a no then,¡± said Jason.

    The alpha wolf then went for the attack. It was like a cornered rat, it knew the strength of Jason and to come out of this alive, it had no choice but to kill this man.

    But the blunt end of the hilt met the alpha wolf¡¯s head. Again, the alpha wolf dropped to the ground and Jason mounted on top of it. It was like Deja Vu for the alpha wolf. The same thing was happening like before. Jason healed the alpha wolf and then he let it go.

    ¡°Submit,¡± said Jason.

    Yet the alpha wolf refused as the growl only grew louder. It hated this human, it then tried to get away, but Jason was a step ahead of it as it was struck down one more time on the ground.

    The same thing happened, Jason healed it and the alpha wolf got up once more. Jason asked it one more time, but the alpha wolf refused.

    Jason shrugged his shoulder as he kept on doing this process until he received a notification window.

    Heal has reached the maximum level

    Upgrade into Major Heal Lv.1

    Not what I¡¯m expecting but still a good result.

    Even after receiving his skill upgrade, he continued on his attempt in taming the alpha wolf but if it was in the eyes of others, his action was definitely tormenting the poor creature.

    That was what came to mind to the two new spectators. They were riddled in injuries, evidence of their battle to the death with the two wolves that strayed off from the pack. They fought well as Pixie supported Dan in walking towards Jason.

    ¡°What is he doing?¡± said Dan. During their grueling fight, Dan at times hoped for Jason to come for support but seeing what he was doing, he didn¡¯t know what to say to this.

    ¡°He¡¯s crazy, that¡¯s what it is,¡± said Pixie.

    They gained a level but seeing Jason toying around with the wolf made their achievement felt lackluster.

    Jason took another notch in his attempt to taming the wolf. Rather than healing it, Jason pummeled down his fist on the immobile alpha wolf. Fist after fist, the skull of the alpha wolf started to crack. Yet even before death could greet the wolf, a green light enveloped turning it good as new.

    This time the wolf was baffled as it stood on its four legs as Jason let it go one more time.

    ¡°Submit,¡± said Jason.

    The alpha wolf didn¡¯t know what that word meant but it knew the meaning within the actions that had been done to it. It knew that this man wasn¡¯t trying to kill it but trying to establish dominance over it, yet it denied Jason every time.

    It had its pride as an alpha wolf and letting it go wasn¡¯t easy.

    The alpha wolf went for the attack one more time drove by its survival instinct. Again, the same thing happened. It was pummeled down until it was left to its dying breath, then it was healed up to normal.

    ¡°He¡¯s sick,¡± said Pixie.

    But Dan thought otherwise. He saw for himself, Jason healing the wolf. Then everything fell into pieces, Jason must have healed the injuries on Twitch and Rooster.

    His whole body shuddered as he realized the importance of having a healing ability. Just the thought of it made Dan¡¯s body shivered once more.

    Jason continued his taming session to the helpless alpha wolf but after he healed the alpha wolf, something was happening.

    The alpha wolf retaliated and managed to bite Jason¡¯s hand. A moment of carelessness on Jason¡¯s side but it didn¡¯t matter to him. Yet the alpha wolf underneath him started to glow as his night vision turned to a blur of green.

    Jason was alarmed and ran away from the alpha wolf, he watched the sight in front of him.

    What¡¯s going on?

    Then as the light slowly receded, Jason¡¯s eyes went wide. The alpha wolf that he was attempting to tame had changed.

    It evolve?

    The alpha wolf turned a lot bigger than before, the same size as a full-grown tiger. Yet what caught his attention was the lightning shape horn on top of its head.

    Jason was about to use his scan but something attacked from the air. He saw the dwindling number of his energy guard and turned his attention to incoming noises.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got enemies,¡± said Dan as he too saw the incoming hostile.

    Ten goblins were marching at them and it wasn¡¯t any normal goblins. They were riding the wolves as they were none other than the Goblin Rider. A few of them pulled their bowstring and launched an airstrike.

    ¡°Incoming!¡± shouted Dan.

    Jason went over to the duo as he engulfed them in green light healing their wounds. He then cast another minor defense buff to both of them as he swung his steel dirk smashing the arrows into pieces.

    He managed to protect both of them but then the thought of the alpha wolf came into mind. He turned and saw the evolve alpha wolf fleeing away from the scene.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± said Jason as his effort was wasted.

    Even after evolving, the alpha wolf knew it wasn¡¯t a match to Jason. It ran away leaving the three humans.

    Pixie was still confused over the disappearance of her injuries but Dan was readied for a fight.

    Jason, on the other hand, was seething in rage. He felt like he was close in taming that alpha wolf but these goblins had to mess things up.

    The blade of his steel dirk covered in crimson hue as his eyes were glaring at the incoming goblin riders. All his frustration at the moment were channeled in dealing with these goblins.

    ¡°You want to die that much? Then death shall come!¡±

 Chapter 103

    Blood dripping over the blade of the dirk. Jason stood at the center of a massacre. No goblins and wolves were left alive under his assault. Again, Dan couldn¡¯t help but be amazed. He knew the strength of a single wolf but when teaming up with a goblin, he knew the creature just turned into a different level of strength. Yet this man crushed everything with that crimson glowing dagger of his.

    Dan couldn¡¯t cast his eyes away from that dirk. He knew that dirk was an artifact but he wondered whether the glowing was due to the dirk itself or because of a skill. Either way, he couldn¡¯t help but felt curious about it.

    ¡°There¡¯s something here,¡± said Pixie as she saw something floating above one of the dead corpses of the goblin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it!¡± Jason shouted prompting Pixie to stood still.

    ¡°Our orders are to collect artifacts dropped by the UC, I¡¯m not under your command,¡± said Pixie.

    Jason rushed over and picked up the only loot among these ten dead goblin riders. He glared at Pixie with a few negative thoughts brewing inside his head.

    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s¡­¡± Pixie felt the need to complete the mission but Dan stopped her by pulling her by the shoulder.

    ¡°He¡¯s not wrong,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°What? But the mission said¡­¡± again Dan cut Pixie¡¯s words off.

    ¡°Him and the other two that came long have special privileges due to the contract, we cannot interfere with the collection of their loots since it¡¯s not under our kill,¡± said Dan.

    Pixie couldn¡¯t believe it as she had a skeptical look on her face.

    ¡°Next time read the files Pixie,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Pixie walked away as she knew she just made a mistake. She didn¡¯t have a thick face to confront Jason after making a mistake like that.

    Jason didn¡¯t bother about the whimsical soldier. His attention was at the scroll in his hand. Luck was playing its part and he managed to get a scroll. Although he didn¡¯t manage to tame the alpha but he still got a new skill in hand.

    Night Vision(Passive)

    Allows seeing in the dark.

    Lv.MAX

    Would you like to learn Night Vision?

    Not the best but useful. To be frank he was surprised seeing a skill that had already reached max level at the get-go. Jason said yes and a new ability was learned. He took off the night vision goggle on his head as he didn¡¯t need it anymore. He stashed it inside his bed as throwing it away wasn¡¯t his style.

    ¡°Why did you remove the night vision?¡± asked Dan out of the blues.

    Surprisingly for Jason, Dan had been keeping an eye on Jason for a long time now.

    ¡°I can see in the dark now,¡± said Jason.

    His brief remark about the matter was enough for Dan to understood.

    ¡°Neat,¡± said Dan.

    The trio regrouped after seeing that there was nothing to loot among the corpses of these goblin riders. They pressed on towards the center of the city with the mission of saving a girl.

    Jason was like a bulldozer, ripping apart any enemies that stumbled on their path. The man didn¡¯t even bother about trying to sneak into the city as he just walked his way through the road with enemies left and right.

    Dan was a bit apprehensive about the whole simple but reckless tactic since it may endanger both his and Pixie¡¯s life. Yet seeing Jason in action only made him more speechless along the way. He read the file about Jason and the file stated that Jason¡¯s level wasn¡¯t confirmed as it was only written as being more than level ten.

    In front of his eyes, Dan was seeing the reality of it meant to be at a higher level. Skills and tactics were important but in this new era of warfare, the level was the determinant variable.

    Pixie herself gulped a mouthful of her saliva as she witnessed the prowess of Jason time after time again. She started to felt regret about showing hostility at the guy just because of him acting like a douche a bit.

    Their journey continued as Jason took the vanguard position. He didn¡¯t let anything pass through but at times, monsters ambushed from different directions leaving Pixie and Dan to fend for themselves.

    The situation was becoming more complicated as Dan and Pixie were a bit low-level. Both at level four yet these monsters were stronger than them.

    From wolves to moving trees, they met a number of new monsters. Dan couldn¡¯t help but be surprised seeing that even plants were monsters. He saw for the first time, a child-size mushroom jumping on the road. But that wasn¡¯t the freaky part, the eerie part was seeing the face of the living mushroom. As if he was seeing a horror film coming to life in front of him.

    They fought hard but in the end, Jason saved their asses many times. Dan felt helpless as his effort in killing these monsters only ended up being killed by Jason in a single blow. Even Pixie felt her pride tarnished a bit. Both of them were motivated to become more powerful along the course of this mission but Jason was stealing the whole show.

    ¡°This is humiliating,¡± said Pixie. She too felt her efforts were wasted.

    But both of them couldn¡¯t complain at Jason straight on. First, their time was limited since they had a person to save, and second, they still earned level even when the person killing it was Jason. They were hopping on the bus whether they like it or not.

    Both raised up to level five and they didn¡¯t have a choice but to be thankful to Jason.

    Then they saw Jason standing still at a distance after killing a fleeing enemy. Dan walked up to him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Dan.

    Jason¡¯s eyes were focused on a certain area. He was frowning seeing what it was. He shifted to the side and had an idea.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get to the roof,¡± said Jason.

    Dan and Pixie followed behind him and went to the roof. They were crouching near the ledge of the roof as Jason was still keeping an eye at that particular building. Although Dan and Pixie had these night vision goggles but the range was limited. The night vision binocular was also in the hands of Hemlock thus they couldn¡¯t scout the area alongside Jason.

    ¡°He could see that far?¡± asked Pixie in a whisper.

    Dan put his finger on his lips signaling at her to stay silent. Then Jason faced these two.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem,¡± said Jason.

    Dan didn¡¯t expect Jason to spout such words. He always had an image of this man being at the top and not having a problem, yet the situation seemed to be grave to even made this man frowned.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Pixie asked. She turned a bit mellow with how things were. Turning cranky at this time wouldn¡¯t be the best behavior.

    Jason shifted his glance to Dan.

    ¡°Check the map and tell me the target¡¯s location,¡± Jason said.

    Dan showed him the exact position, the man then took a look around the place and as he confirmed their position he pointed at a certain direction, the same spot where Jason was staring for a while now. The tallest building in this city.

    ¡°Listen up,¡± Jason said as these two soldiers perked up their ears.

    ¡°We¡¯re half a klick away from that building, the target last known location. The bad news is, goblins had made their camp around that building,¡± Jason broke the news and the two were confused.

    The picture in their mind regarding goblins were those child-size humanoid riding a wolf with their behavior similar to a human in term of using weapons. They saw Jason killing them all without a problem and didn¡¯t understand why he was cautious like this.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you kill them easily?¡± asked Pixie as she was straight forward like always.

    Jason turned his attention to Pixie.

    ¡°We¡¯re going against a whole camp, and to make things simpler. Think of it like this, we three are going to raid an enemy base camp that is full of soldiers and well equipped in everything, do you think we three are enough for this?¡± Jason¡¯s words struck a chord to both of them.

    Seeing it from their perspective, after shifting the image of a goblin to a human, they realized they were about to infiltrate an enemy base camp and the knew how ludicrous it was to go through such a thing.

    Jason watched both of their expression as he didn¡¯t tell them about his Shadow Sneak. He pondered for a while regarding this matter since from the look of it, these two probably didn¡¯t know about his stealth-type ability. If they had known, they would have just straight up tell him to just to turn invisible and rescue the person of interest. But from how it looked, the military might have something to do with this.

    Over the past period of time, Jason did utilize his Shadow Sneak with a few people knowing about it. Like Captain Ryan, Scott from Beta team, and the whole Alpha team. His action seemed clear as day for others to see but in Jason¡¯s view, the military was still wasn¡¯t sure about his stealth ability. It was either, these people kept their mouth shut about him, that seemed rather impossible or the military felt the need to keep his stealth ability under a tight leash.

    A few things came to Jason¡¯s mind at the moment.

    Possibility of leaking intel to other countries seems to be a plausible reason but if they¡¯re acting like this, then am I consider as a military asset?

    An open question with no answer at the moment. As of right now, he had the task of rescuing this person of interest. Someone paid him, thus the obligation to seal the deal. While he was having his own dilemma, Dan and Pixie were racking their brain trying to figure things out.

    ¡°Call for back up?¡± Pixie asked.

    ¡°Not possible, they won¡¯t be able to travel here in this short period of time,¡± said Dan.

    Dan couldn¡¯t think of any other way other than to sneak into the building, turning this into a covert operation. But there were too many holes regarding this plan as he didn¡¯t know about the layout of the building as well as the estimate hostile in the building and their firepower. In a way, entering that building was like entering through death¡¯s door, suicide if you want to call it in another way.

    ¡°We¡¯re sneaking in,¡± said Jason as he broke the silence.

    Dan was afraid of such a suggestion and Pixie knew the truth regarding that matter.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re powerful and all but we¡¯re going inside a base camp filled with enemies, you know how suicidal this plan is?¡± Pixie asked as she felt goosebumps all over her body after hearing the plan.

    ¡°Relax, you¡¯ve got me. What¡¯s the worse that can happen?¡± said Jason in a nonchalant tone. He even smirked in the end which only made both Pixie and Dan uncomfortable.

    Seeing that they had no choice, the three proceeded on foot to the building. Meanwhile, a pair of eyes were watching the back of those three accompanied by a subtle growl. A wolf with a lightning shape horn was tracking those three from behind without Jason noticing about it.

 Chapter 104

    Hiding inside one of the buildings closest to the tallest building in this city were these three people. They were huddling around with the bright screen of a smartphone at the center of the trio.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the building map, and our destination, the panic room is here on the twenty-first floor,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°Does the building have any electricity?¡± Pixie asked.

    ¡°From the current state of the city, I don¡¯t think so but I was informed the panic room has their own set of generator that can last quite for a long time,¡± said Dan reaffirming to these two that the person of interest might still be alive.

    ¡°So the elevator is out,¡± said Pixie.

    ¡°We need to go through the stairs,¡± said Dan. His eyes traced through the map.

    ¡°Here,¡± he said pointing at the smartphone screen.

    ¡°The staircase is around the back of the building, hidden from plain view and I think it¡¯s much safer than using the public staircase,¡± said Dan. He planned their route to make sure this extraction was a success.

    ¡°Are you sure about going through this?¡± Pixie asked as she still hesitated about going into a building full of goblins.

    ¡°It¡¯s my mission, if you don¡¯t want to there¡¯s no need for you to come along,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°I¡¯m not scared,¡± said Pixie.

    ¡°No one said anything,¡± Jason chimed in.

    Pixie gave a bitchy glance at Jason.

    ¡°What? Want to fight?¡± Jason said. Pixie turned around as she cooled herself down.

    ¡°I¡¯m in, who¡¯s going to cover your back if it ain¡¯t me?¡± said Pixie.

    Dan smiled as he then glanced Jason. Right now, the unofficial leader seemed to be Jason. He felt the need to received confirmation from Jason.

    ¡°Ready?¡± to Jason¡¯s words, Dan and Pixie nodded.

    Jason watched the nervous look on both of these soldiers. He didn¡¯t think soldiers would have the jitters before starting the mission. Jason was curious and seeing how young they were, he had a question in mind.

    ¡°Is this your first military ops?¡± Jason asked.

    Dan and Pixie looked at each other. He then nodded to Jason. Both Dan and Pixie along with most of their squad members were experiencing their first time. Fresh out of the military academy and thrown into the real world when everything about the world went wrong.

    ¡°Relax,¡± said Jason as he patted Dan by the shoulders.

    ¡°The goblins are mostly at level one, you guys can definitely handle them,¡± said Jason, while trying to bring up the mood.

    ¡°But watch out for their numbers,¡± said Jason. Although they were level one yet they were still monsters and numbers could easily overwhelm anyone.

    Both nodded and the trio departed from the building. Walking through the darkness of the city, the trio traveled around the block heading towards the back of the building. Going to the front was a no-go, goblins were running around with a goblin-made barricade around the front of the building.

    The trio was weaving through the back alley hiding from plain sight but at times a bump would appear.

    ¡°11 o¡¯clock,¡± Dan said as he saw movement under night vision.

    Jason saw something rummaging through the dumpster. He ran towards it and incapacitated the thing in an instant. The body dropped on the ground dead. Dan and Pixie came closer and saw what it was, a goblin.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Pixie said while blocking her nose.

    ¡°They reek,¡± she said as the smell was overwhelming their sense of smell. In this narrow pathway, the smell intensified.

    ¡°Get used to it, we¡¯re going inside a building full of them so try not to puke,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Kiii,¡± a voice echoed in the alley.

    Then the three glanced in the same direction as they heard movement at the end of the alley.

    ¡°Shush,¡± said Dan.

    Jason with his keen eyesight as well as his night vision ability saw two goblins coming out from behind the dumpster. Then one of them made eye contact with Jason.

    ¡°Kikiki?¡±

    Jason burst into a sprint heading towards the two goblins. His hand was quick, pulling out a combat knife from his thigh and throwing it right at the goblin.

    The sharp tip of the dagger pierced right through the goblin¡¯s eye going deep into its skull. A perfect throw for a perfect death. The goblin dropped dead and its kin who was to the side turned alarmed.

    Rather than fighting, the goblin turned and fled. But Jason was already right behind it as he stabbed the goblin straight to its chest. The crimson hue of steel dirk shined even within the darkness. The goblin gurgled out blood while its body was trembling nearing death. Seconds later, it stopped moving.

    Dan and Pixie caught up to Jason.

    ¡°Are there more?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°Clear,¡± said Jason.

    Jason took a peek out from the alley, there was a cluster of monsters from left to right. Most were staying still, sleeping on the street. The back of the building was just right in front of them. They only need to cross over the street and go through that alley, that leads to the back of the building.

    ¡°Keep it quiet,¡± said Jason.

    The trio moved out from the alley and lightly jogged to the back of the building. They were cautious with their eyes keeping on glancing around the proximity.

    The entered the alleyway with the back of the building within their sight. They reached closer to the building and Jason signaled them to stop.

    A cackling laugh erupted in the darkness. Their eyes saw a group of goblins loitering around the loading bay of the building. It seemed they were wrong, the whole building was crawling with those stinking goblins. But the numbers weren¡¯t that much compared to the front.

    ¡°There are twenty-one of them,¡± said Dan. ¡°They¡¯re too many.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make a distraction, when they¡¯re gone, make a run for it,¡± Jason said. ¡°and try to keep it down.¡±

    Jason left without waiting. He ran leaving the two behind.

    ¡°What is he doing?¡± asked Pixie.

    ¡°Distraction,¡± Dan said.

    A loud clang was heard breaking the silence of the darkness. Dan kept his eyes on the group of goblins as they started to move drawn by the unknown noise.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Dan.

    The two started to move and entered the building premise. The coast was clear as there was no goblin on sight. They standby in front of the nearest door. Rather than a door, it was more like a hole on the wall. The door was torn apart with the hinges still on the door frame.

    ¡°Are we waiting for him?¡± Pixie asked.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Dan said.

    Pixie looked through the door and her eyes went wide.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got company,¡± said Pixie. She raised up both of her combat knives.

    Three goblins came out from the door. All three met eyes with Dan and Pixie. A subtle tension was in the air.

    ¡°Kii!¡± the goblin shouted while pointing at Pixie. Its nose was twitching as it could smell something from Pixie. A smell that was waking up their primal instinct.

    ¡°Kikiki!¡± the other two also noticed the presence of Pixie as they could smell it from Pixie. A rather enticing smell.

    The three goblins came rushing at Pixie with drool spilling over from their mouths. Pixie confronted the three goblins, baring her combat knives. The sole of her feet started to glow in purplish hue.

    ¡°Dash,¡± she muttered.

    Her speed went up a notch as confronted the leading goblin. Her sudden speed caught the goblin off guard and both of her knives sliced the neck of the goblin. Blood was spilled and the goblin went squirming on the ground.

    This easy? Thought Pixie.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Dan warned her.

    But it was too late, the second goblin was already tackling her by the torso. Pixie fell on the floor and what came next shocked her. The third goblin came over as its child-like hand tried to rip apart her clothes. Both of them didn¡¯t care about their dying kin as their chests were heaving like mad with drool spilling over to Pixie.

    ¡°The fuck,¡± said Pixie.

    Then a machete entered the scene. Dan hacked one of the goblins. A crack was heard as the blade went straight to the skull.

    ¡°Get off of her,¡± said Dan. He pulled the goblin away as he then kicked the last goblin by the flank.

    Dan helped Pixie out as she stood on her two feet. She was disgusted with the drool smothered over her clothes.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to fucking kill them,¡± said Pixie.

    Both of them went for the attack and in a matter of seconds, the confrontation ended with the disgusting goblins dead. The loud sound of their heaving breaths permeated in the air. The battle was easy but something lingers in their mind. Both of them knew that the action of those goblins wasn¡¯t like an attacking animal. Yet, they kept those thoughts to their own.

    ¡°Oh, you killed some,¡± Jason came out from nowhere as the two turned with their arms swinging their weapons.

    But seeing it was Jason they halted.

    ¡°Geez, don¡¯t do that,¡± said Pixie.

    Jason smelled something. He looked at Pixie and saw some gooey liquid on her clothes.

    ¡°That¡¯s nasty,¡± Jason said as he went walking through the door.

    Pixie didn¡¯t have a comeback. Dan patted her by the shoulder.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Dan.

    The trio went inside the building and found the secluded staircase. Dan and Pixie started to climbed as Jason slowly closed the door trying to minimize the sound.

    Climbing up the stairs they could perfectly hear their own footsteps echoing in the staircase. It definitely killed the word covert. But luck was by their side since they didn¡¯t confront any goblin at the staircase.

    Meanwhile, at the loading bay. A bunch of goblins loitered around and found something on the floor. Three of their kin were dead. Most of them were laughing seeing the death of their kin but one of them had an itch in its nose.

    It went close to the floor sniffing around like a hound dog and then, it picked up a scent.

    ¡°Kikiki,¡± it said to the group.

    The group turned silent as they too prone closed to the floor and started sniffing. They too picked up a scent, a scent that made their mouth salivated. In just a matter of seconds, they were all drooling as their saliva spilled on the floor.

    ¡°Kiki!¡± one of them traced the scent to a hidden staircase as it pointed it out.

    Then the glint of their eyes went mad as they were overwhelmed by their primal instinct. An instinct known to goblins. An instinct to mate!

 Chapter 105

    WARNING: Explicit scenes ahead. You have been warned.

    ¡°Kikiki!¡±

    Loud voices overlapping with each other echoing in the staircase. The trio stopped on their track as all eyes looked down. Footsteps were rushing from below as the noise becomes louder from below.

    ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± Pixie asked.

    ¡°What floor are we at?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Fifth floor,¡± Dan said. He kept counting the floor level from the beginning.

    Shit, they found us too quick.

    Although fighting them wasn¡¯t a problem for Jason but if they started swarming them, then it was going to be a problem.

    ¡°Anyone want to volunteer handling them downstairs?¡± Jason asked.

    The two soldiers looked at him with a baffled expression. The staircase was narrow, providing the best environment for a fight against a group of enemies.

    ¡°No one? I guess I¡¯m it then,¡± Jason said. ¡°Climb up and don¡¯t wait for me.¡±

    Jason left the duo behind as he rushed downstairs. A crimson hue enveloped his steel dirk. In a matter of seconds, he saw the incoming goblins. Five of them rushed up the stairs like mad. Jason noticed something about these goblins.

    Why the heck are they drooling like that?

    Jason used ¡®Scan¡¯ on one of them as a window opened up.

    Goblin

    Humanoid creatures known to be a pest in the eyes of a human. They are smelly, nasty being, and breed like a locust. They pillage any human settlement in sight from food to even women. Small stature in size.

    Species: Demi-human

    Level : 2

    Current State: High in libido

    He saw the new criteria within the text window.

    Horny? But why?

    Then something dawned on Jason.

    Don¡¯t tell me, these things are chasing over that female soldier. Did they pick up her scent?

    ¡°Kikiki!¡±

    The goblins started making a ruckus as they saw Jason appearing from upstairs. Their rowdy voices echoed even louder in the staircase.

    Jason charged forward without hesitation. In his eyes, these goblins were nothing. He slashed the first one right at the neck decapitating it instantly. A kick went right at the child-size goblin lifting up in the air slamming right at the wall. It knocked out in an instant.

    His hands moved quickly as he stabbed one of them right in the eye-piercing right through the skull. One of them clawed at his leg but Jason jumped and stomped at it from above, leaving one of them left.

    Jason was too quick in his action as the goblins couldn¡¯t do anything against him. The goblin turned and fled but Jason threw the Steel Dirk in his hand as it stabbed right at the back of its head.

    Basic Projectile Throwing level up to level 4

    But then Jason¡¯s head tilted upwards as he heard a loud sound of a door being bang open. The rowdy noises of goblins came from upstairs as he could only think about one thing.

    ¡°They noticed us,¡± said Jason. His feet rushed up the stairs as on the ninth floor, Pixie and Dan were engaging against a group of goblins who suddenly barged in from the eight-floor.

    They came in like a swarm of bees as both Dan and Pixie saw the numbers kept increasing as they entered through that small door.

    ¡°Cauterize!¡± Dan shouted as the blade of his machete lightly glowed in an orange hue.

    He hacked the goblins one by one with his burning hot machete. The goblins screamed over the intense burning pain but when one went down another quickly replaced their place. Pixie didn¡¯t dawdle around as her hands kept on moving fast, stabbing those incoming goblins.

    She managed to kill them with the superior stat that she had, but the numbers were pressuring her hard.

    ¡°Should we run upstairs?¡± Pixie asked as her breath started to heave with her stamina was on the low-side. She had killed five of them in a row and it drained her stamina just to stay alert.

    ¡°We can¡¯t, they¡¯re too many! We can¡¯t show them our back!¡± said Dan.

    Dan was getting tired. Claw marks riddled across his torn-up arm sleeves. He was winning against these goblins but he knew the future was currently bleak. His eyes glanced at the door as the goblins kept on coming inside.

    They got the short-end of the stick compared to Jason who only dealt with only five of them.

    The glow on his machete dimmed down as his skill time limit was up. He had no more EP to spare and what left was him relying on his pure body strength and willpower.

    He hacked those goblins with blood spraying all over the place. But his eyes didn¡¯t close.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Dan heard Pixie¡¯s shout. He glanced over and saw the goblin yanking the night vision goggle from Pixie.

    ¡°Pixie!¡± Dan swung his machete and sliced off the goblin¡¯s hand into two. The goblin shrieked in pain as it tumbled over the stair railing and fell to its death.

    Dan covered Pixie from the front.

    ¡°You okay?¡± he asked.

    Pixie adjusted the night vision goggle on her head as she tried to catch up with her breath. Then her eyes saw something.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± she said.

    The goblins from the back took the initiative and leaped over their brethren and went for an aerial attack. Suicidal but effective. Two of them flopped over Dan as Dan¡¯s knees buckled down over the weight.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Dan said as both of his arms were pinned down by the falling goblins.

    ¡°Dan!¡± Pixie rammed her combat knife right at the jugular of the goblin and kicked it away from Dan.

    But the other goblin was still there, it was smiling and with its wide-open jaw, it went for Dan¡¯s neck.

    BAM!

    A punch right on its face. Dan let go of his machete and struck the smelly goblin right on the face. His strength was enough to throw the goblin away from him as he quickly balanced himself on his own two feet, but the goblins didn¡¯t stop attacking.

    Their voracious claw attacks bled both of Dan¡¯s legs.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Dan shouted in pain.

    ¡°Fucking goblins!¡± Pixie shouted as she tried to protect Dan from the incoming goblins.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± but they were too many. Two hands were not enough to go against these many goblins.

    In the end, her hands were grabbed by numerous goblin hands, restraining her from moving. She tried to push but the collective strength from these goblins made her unmovable.

    Then her legs were grabbed by the goblins. Before she could do anything, the goblins pushed her on the stairs as she was left defenseless like a newborn baby.

    Dan tried to help her out swinging the machete. He hacked one of them and the machete was stuck. The few of the goblins lunged at Dan clawing right at the man. A fierce claw ravaged his face.

    ¡°Ah!!¡± he screamed in pain as blood dripped over his face. The night vision goggle dropped on the floor broken beyond recognition.

    Dan was clawed multiple times by these two goblins as the rest of them were focus at Pixie, a woman. Rather than doing the same thing to her, the opposite was happening. These goblins tore apart her thick military clothes away with hidden intention in mind.

    Pixie wriggled around trying to resist but she was helpless. These many goblins were too strong for her. Then her bare flesh was revealed to these lustful creatures as their saliva couldn¡¯t stop dripping from their foul-smelling mouth. One of them even started licking Pixie on the face as if savoring the moment.

    Pixie was horrified as tears started to trail down from the corner of her eyes. She knew what was about to happen as these goblins unclothed their loincloths. At this moment, she regretted being able to see through the night vision that was still on her head.

    ¡°No!¡± she yelled from the very corner of her heart as she didn¡¯t want this to happen. Then she felt her military pants being ripped apart exposing the lower half of her body.

    ¡°No, no, no, no!¡± Pixie struggled under restrain trying to get away for what was about to happen.

    Then she stopped struggling as she felt those hands crawling on her body had stopped moving. She traced her eyes at these monsters and saw their head being sliced from their body as the blood of these goblins showered over her naked body.

    She regained her strength as she crawled away from the bloody scene. A man entered her sight as he attacked the goblin scums into the netherworld. Pixie watched Jason killed those goblins while her body was trembling nonstop.

    Jason massacred them all until fear crept into their heart. At this point in time, their instinct was telling them to run away as a predator was on the loose. There were still many goblins in the vicinity but seeing their dead kin piling up within the staircase made them fled for their life.

    Jason watched as these goblins ran. He didn¡¯t move an inch from where he stood as blood dripped from the blade of his crimson hue steel dirk.

    Blood Edge Strike level up to level 7

    Jason turned to the back and saw the state of Pixie. Through his night vision skill, he saw this woman defenseless with barely any clothes covering her skin. She was trembling up to bottom as tears were still trailing down cheeks.

    ¡°Pixie! Are you okay?¡± Dan asked as he couldn¡¯t see a thing in this darkness.

    DUNG!

    The sound of a door being opened came from downstairs just a few floors below them. There were more coming.

    Jason walked to Pixie and picked her up by the waist as he slung her on the shoulder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± said Jason.

    Pixie kept her silence as she still couldn¡¯t forget what had just happened. Jason came near to Dan and the man panicked feeling a sudden touch coming from the darkness.

    ¡°Get away!¡± Dan shouted.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, don¡¯t move a muscle,¡± said Jason. Dan calmed down as Jason picked him up by the waist.

    Jason ran to the tenth floor and went inside. His eyes glanced side to side, searching for any hostile. The coast was clear and Jason ran around the floor until he found an office room. He stood at the door looking for anything that might seem suspicious.

    With no enemy in sight, he went deeper into the office floor and found a small room, a pantry of the office. He went inside and shut the door behind him. But the moment he turned around, he met eyes with a bunch younger goblins who were eating through the food in the pantry. They were even smaller than the goblin he just fought.

    ¡°Goblin!¡± shouted Pixie as she too noticed them.

    Jason put them both down and sprung into action. The young goblins didn¡¯t move a muscle as they were curious about seeing these people. But then a man stood in front of them and within a few seconds, those young goblins were sent to the grave.

    Jason''s breath was ragged as he watched the death of an innocent goblin kid. He thought he would wallow in agony seeing how he killed a child monster but he knew the reality of it.

    Even if it was young, it was still a damn goblin.

 Chapter 106

    Peeking through the blinds, Jason saw nothing outside of the room. But the scent inside the pantry was agonizing. The smell of dead goblin children wasn¡¯t the best type of fragrance for a small-size room like this.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Dan winced in pain. Claw marks were evident on his legs. His energy guard was long gone over the assault of the many goblins.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± Jason said. He reached out his hand and a green glow brightened the darkness.

    Seconds later, Dan¡¯s legs were healed.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Dan as he still couldn¡¯t let it go of how Jason had a healing skill.

    ¡°Shit, they¡¯ve got my night vision, I can¡¯t see a thing in this darkness,¡± said Dan.

    Their last bout with the goblins brought a monumental loss. Dan losing his night vision goggle was one of them.

    ¡°Here,¡± Jason reached out inside his bag and handed over something to Dan.

    Dan who couldn¡¯t see scrambled his sense of touch at the thing he was holding.

    ¡°Night vision goggle?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°Use it, I have my eyes,¡± said Jason.

    Dan didn¡¯t stand on ceremony as he wore it on his head. He adjusted the goggle to snuggled it fitly on his big head. Then his vision returned back. He didn¡¯t want to decline considering how important sight was in this operation. He couldn¡¯t be a liability at this point onward.

    But as soon as he got his vision back, he saw a person hugging her knees just across him. Her head was facing down as Dan couldn¡¯t see Pixie¡¯s face. Then he noticed something odd.

    ¡°Pixie why are you naked?¡± Dan asked as he was still ignorant about the situation.

    Pixie¡¯s body jerked a bit and Jason bumped his fist at Dan for his ignorance. A meaningful glance directed at Dan as Jason shook his head side to side.

    Dan whispered besides Jason¡¯s ears.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with Pixie? Why isn¡¯t she wearing anything?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°The goblins wanted to rape her and well, you get the gist of it,¡± Jason said as his eyes kept on peeking through the blind.

    Dan was shaken as he looked at his comrade with shaking eyes. He wanted to comfort her but he didn¡¯t know how. Dan turned back to Jason.

    ¡°Did they really rape her?¡± Dan asked one more time.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve saved her before that happen but I guess it¡¯s still a traumatic experience,¡± said Jason as he saw first-hand of how a group of goblins readied to gave it a go at Pixie the helpless soldier.

    He himself saw it as disturbing but seeing there were goblins, it wasn¡¯t as surprising. He guessed that fictional stories about them were quite true considering how lust bound these creatures were.

    Dan on the other hand, even after knowing Pixie hadn¡¯t gone through such an explicit situation, he still didn¡¯t know how to comfort this friend in arms of his. This delicate matter was out of his hands. Once more he turned to Jason.

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°Save the girl of course. We¡¯re on the tenth floor and there¡¯s another eleven floor before we reach the panic room,¡± Jason paused for a while staring at the expression on Dan¡¯s face.

    ¡°So what are you going to do? Follow me or what?¡± Jason asked once more.

    Dan didn¡¯t know what to answer. His mission was to retrieve the important personnel trapped in the panic room but now one of his comrades was out of commission and might possibly be a liability. He didn¡¯t know what to choose.

    Jason could saw the conflicted look on Dan¡¯s face.

    ¡°Give me the key card,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡± Dan asked in confusion.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to wait around for your answer, so might as well get the job done,¡± said Jason striking a chord on Dan.

    ¡°I can do this alone, there¡¯s no need for you to tag al¡­¡± but before he could finish his words, someone else cut his sentence.

    ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± it was Pixie.

    Both of them turned their attention to Pixie. They could visibly saw how she was trembling from top to bottom and although they couldn¡¯t see it through their night vision, Pixie¡¯s eyes were red after an awful lot of silent crying.

    ¡°You sure about this?¡± Dan asked as he saw the sight of his comrade who was naked. The only thing that covered her skin was her panties and her boots.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she said with a confident but trembling tone.

    Jason couldn¡¯t believe it. Usually, when a person underwent such a grueling and traumatizing experience they wouldn¡¯t be able to pick themselves up and continue on. But for Pixie, rather than crying and wanting to run away, she opted for the other part, she wanted to fight on against her demons. Jason couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by this woman.

    I guess there¡¯s a reason why she¡¯s in the military.

    A rather bias opinion on Jason¡¯s part since no one in the military was the same as the others. But for Pixie, she knew she had no other options at the moment, and rather than wallowing it away, she chose the path of vengeance.

    ¡°But you¡¯re naked, you can¡¯t¡­¡± Dan wanted to say something but Jason cut him off.

    ¡°Here,¡± Jason unclothed his clothes and handed over to Pixie.

    She grabbed in her hands as her eyes kept shifting between this man and the military uniform in her hand. She didn¡¯t know what to say at this man other than.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Pixie.

    Regret was a feeling most people felt in their life and Pixie was having it now. This man saved her from the brink of death and humiliation, and now he also lent an arm by giving the top of his uniform. She was in debt to him, no doubt.

    Pixie wore the clothes and as the clothes were a bit bigger, she adjusted it a bit. Dan observed from afar as he was still thinking of how to handle the situation, he didn¡¯t know whether this was a good thing or not to let Pixie into the battle.

    But a hand rested on his shoulder. Dan turned and saw Jason.

    ¡°Relax, she can handle it,¡± said Jason. The man who could obliterate anything in his hand was naked with only his brief, boots, and backpack on his back.

    A sight to behold and made Dan wondered how this man adapted so well in these circumstances. Jason didn¡¯t even bother of how naked he was considering he was only wearing his brief and boots.

    But then Dan flinched as he heard those words.

    ¡°Incoming,¡± said Jason as he saw something while peeking through the blinds.

    Dan was becoming more nervous but not as nervous as Pixie. Although she said she wanted to push through, her body was shaking like mad. Both of them knew of how weak these goblins were but their numbers overwhelmed them. It was a quantity over quality type of situation.

    Jason glanced over at these two and saw how nervous they were.

    ¡°Come on guys, you¡¯re soldiers for crying out loud,¡± said Jason trying to rile them up.

    They were soldiers but right out of the academy. Season veteran was definitely not them.

    ¡°Listen up, I¡¯m going to go full assault mode and both of you are going to finish the leftovers. So, don¡¯t worry about the numbers, I¡¯ll handle it,¡± said Jason.

    Both couldn¡¯t believe their ears. The man who acted like a dick the whole time was becoming warm-hearted out the blues. Unknown to both of them, Jason had a slight flashback of the time when he was trapped in a hotel in New York City. The situation was oddly similar considering how he was in a building of all places. He remembered the lives that were lost back then and for once he couldn¡¯t let the same thing happened to these two.

    ¡°Follow my lead,¡± said the half-naked man. He opened the door and rushed out with a shout.

    ¡°Oraaa!¡± Jason shouted. He always wanted to shout like that while charging towards the enemy. Seeing how their presence was known already he might as well make an entrance out of it.

    The goblins who were wandering around the floor took action as they saw the incoming half-naked man. All of them went rowdy charging straight towards Jason while some leaping over the office cubicles, while some fallen tripping over the LAN wire cable on the floor.

    Jason unleashed Blood Edge Strike killing a row of them in a single swipe bathing the office floor with fresh goblin¡¯s blood. He was unfazed by the sheer number of these smelly greenish creatures. A few went passed him as he intentionally let them.

    Three goblins ran towards the two who were at a distance away from Jason. Dan gritted his teeth and rushed.

    ¡°Fuck you goblin!¡± Dan shouted as he let out his vexation over these goblins.

    His machete was swung and the goblin blocked with its arm. The machete stuck halfway over the goblin¡¯s arm as it screamed in pain. Dan kicked it right at the belly button flopping it over the floor. Then he went for the kill, hacking the goblin right at the neck.

    He finished his kill and turned over to Pixie. Two of them were running straight for her and he saw how visible her trembling was. From the way he looked at it, Pixie wasn¡¯t going to step up to the plate.

    ¡°Pixie!¡± he shouted.

    Pixie who was staring at the incoming two goblins felt the nightmare all over again. Her hands were shaking hard as her legs grew weak. But then, she heard Dan¡¯s voice snapping her out. She bit her lips until fresh blood flowed. The pain jolted her out from that trembling trance.

    She gripped on the combat knife in her hand and rushed straight forward to the two goblins.

    ¡°Dash!¡± she said as the glow on her feet accelerated her movement as she caught the two goblins off guard. She stabbed one right at the neck and the other was kicked right at the groin. It fell on the floor clutching its nether region and Pixie mounted on top of it as she kept on stabbing the goblin until blood spurted out from the goblin¡¯s body like it was a damn fountain.

    Fresh blood drenched all over Pixie as she stared the dead goblin. She felt empty for some reason.

    ¡°Pixie?¡± Dan looked worried seeing Pixie like this.

    ¡°Incoming!¡± but Jason¡¯s words prompted Dan to looked to the front. More goblins were coming and worrying about Pixie should be put on hold for now. Pixie and Dan clashed against more goblins as they joined Jason¡¯s bloodbath killing every goblin on sight.

    Soon, the whole floor turned into a bloody battlefield even much more worse when compared to the SAW franchise. Dead goblins bodies littered across the floor as the stench was even more unbearable, but there stood three people huffing for their breaths as all of them were mostly covered in the reeking blood of the goblins.

    The amount was over a hundred and if it wasn¡¯t for the narrow path of the office, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle them. But to be more exact, Jason took the brunt of the majority of them.

    Nonetheless, Dan and Pixie did it. Both of them reached level six after a battle of a lifetime.

    Jason on the other hand only smiled seeing the floating window.

    Blood Edge Strike level up to level 9

    Grinding like this never felt so rewarding for Jason, just one more level until his attacking skill went up another notch. He turned to the two who were resting on an office chair.

    ¡°Come on, there''re eleven more floors to go,¡± said Jason.

 Chapter 107

    ¡°Where are we?¡± a voice coming from inside a pitch-black room.

    ¡°19th floor,¡± answered another voice. A rather heavy heaving breath.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost dawn, we need to hurry up,¡± said Jason as he glanced for a slight second at his wristwatch.

    Heaving breaths filled this dark room as neither of those people spoke a word. Too many things were circulating in their head right now and considering the hell they went through, they were surprised they managed to survive through it.

    Dan¡¯s hands couldn¡¯t stop shaking for a while now since it didn¡¯t stop moving around for the last couple of hours as three of them made their way up through the staircase until reaching the ninetieth floor and their journey wasn¡¯t easy even with the backing of this surreal man.

    Who knows how many goblins did he killed for the past couple of hours. All he could remember was the awful stench and the constant yelling escaping from his mouth. For some reason, the thought of yelling out made him invigorated with the will to battle against these goblins.

    At this point in time, his mind was too clouded to remember everything that had just happened. But his journey didn¡¯t come without a reward. Both he and Pixie found a few weapon artifacts dropped by some of these goblins but right now the two artifacts in the form of a dagger and a rusty sword were only left with their hilts and blade no longer there.

    They didn¡¯t want to use it at first considering it was their task to secure any known artifacts but their lives were on the line and with their military-given weapon turning dull and chipped, they didn¡¯t have a choice but to use it. The end result was them having hilts as their weapons.

    ¡°We¡¯re out of weapons,¡± Pixie said expressing her concern.

    She over the course of this gruesome period had learned what it meant to be a soldier in the midst of battle. Even after a horrifying experience that might end up in a bad turn, she rebounded back and transformed herself for the better.

    Although her body kept shivering while fighting against those goblins but her will to stay alive was stronger. She too found out that yelling out in a fashion of a battle cry helped her tremendously in the midst of battle. For some reason, she felt like they were brought over to a time of the medieval period where only cold weapons did the talking.

    ¡°Use your fists, as of now we don¡¯t have the time and I¡¯m worried that our extraction won¡¯t end up well,¡± said Jason.

    Pixie could only nod to the suggestion. She also knew that she could kill those goblins with her bare hands considering how much points she distributed into her strength. The constant battle brought their levels reaching eight. A bit underwhelming considering how many they fought but since their foes were goblins, the experience they earned wasn¡¯t much. Overall, she just felt naked not having a weapon to swing around.

    ¡°Besides, both of you guys got two new abilities, I doubt you¡¯ll be having any problems fighting against these guys,¡± Jason reminded them another error they had made.

    Yet considering the situation, the duo really didn¡¯t have a choice but to utilize those scrolls. It piqued Jason¡¯s interest at first but considering one of them was identical to his which was swordsmanship and the other one also similar to passive mastery that involved their fists but he let it slid away from his grasp. To be fair, he didn¡¯t kill the goblins that dropped those scrolls and since he had an agreement he might as well kept a hold of it.

    Jason himself didn¡¯t come out empty-handed after a blood bathing experience. Blood Edge Strike went up by a notch and changed into a new skill called Blood Edge Combo. Just by the name of it made Jason¡¯s heart fluttered like a teenage girl having a crush. It just went up and the power behind it was still a mystery.

    ¡°Two more floors to go,¡± said Dan as he prepared himself as he cracked his knuckles a few times.

    Pixie also stood up readied for what was about to come.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Jason said.

    The trio went out of the room as they ran back to the staircase. The moment the door to the staircase was opened a heavy stench of foulness assaulted their nostrils. They were mildly affected by it as they did spend most of their time battling at the staircase. They stepped around dead corpses of goblins making their way up the stairs.

    Pixie kicked a few corpses out of a way just because she hated the sight of them. Dan kept his eyes above as he was waiting for a new wave of enemies. But surprisingly, nothing comes out.

    Jason didn¡¯t mind the empty welcoming scene. To be frank, a welcoming community would always greet them whenever they stepped into a new floor with a drove of goblins barging out from the staircase door, but with the staircase door to the twentieth floor remained tightly shut, Jason let it be and proceed to the last remaining floor, the top floor of this whole entire building, the twenty-first floor.

    ¡°Wait, are we just going to the top?¡± Pixie asked.

    ¡°Why? You want to explore the peaceful floor? Be my guess,¡± Jason retorted.

    Pixie didn¡¯t say a word as she knew how stupid it was for her to question it but considering what she had been through, she had a thought that sweeping the whole floor first might be the proper way to avoid unnecessary circumstances.

    The door to the twenty-first door was open. Jason walked inside without fear and caution as he still had an overwhelming advantage against these goblins. Yet he felt something was odd. Looking left to right, the corridor was empty without any goblins.

    ¡°Clear,¡± Jason said.

    Dan and Pixie went through the door as their guards were up. Their eyes went around the whole place surveying for any possible threats. Pixie was holding on tight to the rusty broken hilt of a dagger.

    Dan, on the other hand, had his fists readied for a bout.

    ¡°Are they all gone?¡± Dan asked.

    The first thing that came into mind was whether they wiped out the entire goblin community living in this building. It made sense considering how many they had killed.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the panic room?¡± but Jason had one thing in mind, the life of a person. Since he received that sum of money, he felt responsible for finishing the task.

    Dan looked through the blueprint as he then navigated the trio.

    ¡°This way,¡± Dan said.

    They passed through a bunch of corridors with most doors wide open. The floor was a mess and yet something was amiss. For some reason, the awful stench of goblins didn¡¯t linger around here.

    Pixie and Dan kept their eyes peeled around the corners. Although they had Jason covering their asses they still didn¡¯t want to overly reliant on the man.

    Then they reached the middle of the whole. Right in front of them was a double door with an empty receptionist desk just beside it. Jason read at the nameplate beside the door.

    ¡°The CEO office room,¡± he muttered.

    ¡°The panic room is at the end of this entire office room,¡± Dan said.

    ¡°Office room? More like half of the entire floor,¡± Pixie remarked considering how extravagant the CEO of this company.

    ¡°Let¡¯s give them a welcome, shall we,¡± Jason said as he kicked the double door with a strong kick.

    The door was busted wide open as one of them fell out and the other hanging by the edges of the hinge. Dan and Pixie moved inside as they covered Jason from the sides. They were left speechless for a while considering how vast this office, true to Pixie¡¯s words it was too extravagance for an office. Under their night vision, they saw statues decorating the whole place with the glass wall windows showed the nighttime of the outside.

    The space was wide and unlike a normal office, it wasn¡¯t cramped and hectic.

    ¡°Dan, the girl,¡± Jason said.

    Dan snapped out from his gawk and proceeded to lead the way. It wasn¡¯t much of a big deal as they reached the end of the office or an office hall to be more precise. But before they reached the end, a light was coming out from a gap. Jason saw it and even both Dan and Pixie could too.

    ¡°There¡¯s a light,¡± said Pixie.

    Dan removed the headgear and saw a bright light coming from the far end of the office.

    ¡°That¡¯s where the panic room is located,¡± said Dan and he couldn¡¯t help but felt a foreboding.

    Jason knitted his eyebrows as seeing that light wasn¡¯t good. The light coming out from a gap possibly meant the panic room was opened and Jason didn¡¯t like what he was about to see.

    ¡°Stay on your toes,¡± Jason said as he took the lead this time and rushed to the source of the light.

    Dan and Pixie followed his lead and by the time Jason opened the metal-vault like door, he stood there staring at something.

    ¡°Is she here?¡± Dan asked but as soon as he stepped inside the panic room, his eyes shook.

    Pixie too stared at the same thing as the both of them. The panic room was in shambles, food littered across the floor with broken bottles on the floor. Then that smelly raunchy stench familiar to their noses assaulted their sense of smell. At that moment they knew what had happened.

    With the light flickering around, the trio stared at the woman lying on the floor. She was naked without a thread on her body, but the eye-catching thing about her was the big bulging belly. She was pregnant but unlike any normal pregnancy. It was as if she had eight babies inside that big bulging belly of hers.

    ¡°Pixie!¡± Dan called out to Pixie as he rushed over to the woman. Pixie followed her along and Dan started to administered first-aid emergency. He checked the well-being of this pregnant young woman.

    ¡°I can feel her pulse!¡± said Dan. Pixie, on the other hand, proceeded to check the girl from top to bottom.

    There was no injury nor a scratch on the body of this young woman, except for one place. Pixie who had been searching for any injuries on the woman saw something that she shouldn¡¯t see. Pixie saw the groin area of the young woman and saw a wide gaping hole.

    ¡°Hey, can you hear me? We¡¯re here to rescue you,¡± said Dan as he tried to awake the lifeless looking woman, except he didn¡¯t see yet of what Pixie had seen.

    ¡°What happened to her?¡± Dan asked as her hands didn¡¯t stop slapping the cheeks of this young woman.

    ¡°They raped her,¡± Pixie said.

    ¡°What?¡± Dan glanced at Pixie and saw his comrade bursting into tears.

    It was too sudden that he didn¡¯t know how to respond to this. Yet he saw Pixie¡¯s body shaking like mad as if reliving through something that shouldn¡¯t be experienced.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°They fucking raped her, Dan! Those fucking monsters did this to her!¡± Pixie shouted.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be, but why is she still alive?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°See that big belly, I doubt it coming from a dude,¡± Jason finally spoke.

    ¡°What?¡± Dan was shocked after what he just heard.

    ¡°Goblins are known to rape humans for the sake of their lust as well as their instinct to procreate,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°But that isn¡¯t possible, they¡¯re monsters,¡± Dan still couldn¡¯t believe it. He thought that the young woman was pregnant from the beginning.

    ¡°and do you see how big her belly is? She can¡¯t be pregnant by a monster with how late her pregnancy is,¡± Dan said as he was skeptical.

    ¡°Goblin gestation period is short, what you see here is possible,¡± said Jason.

    Dan and Pixie were horrified listening to Jason¡¯s words. Pixie couldn¡¯t stop her tears from flowing out as she gripped both of her fists tight.

    Dan was befuddled as he could only stare at the barely living state of this young woman.

    ¡°No, that isn¡¯t possible. How do you even know that?¡± Dan questioned Jason¡¯s proclamation. After a bit of thinking, it sounded quite bullshit to his ears.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got this eyes. I can see what¡¯s in her belly, and from what it looks like, it¡¯s definitely not human,¡± Jason said.

    An outright lie but Jason didn¡¯t have a choice. He made it up from the description he read regarding goblins through his previous scan. What spoken in the text had a high possibility of happening to this young woman here.

    Dan gritted his teeth not knowing how to respond to this situation. Everything sounds unreasonable but at the same it was real. The existence of monsters was bad enough but now he knew these freaking invaders from another dimension could even get their women impregnated. Worse was just the beginning at this point.

    ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± said Dan.

    Dan tried to get her up but her body was cold and felt too weak. He didn¡¯t know whether the three of them could get this young woman out of here.

    ¡°Pixie, help me out,¡± said Dan.

    Pixie rushed to the other young woman¡¯s side but then Jason came closer.

    ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°What do you mean we can¡¯t? are you just going to leave her after taking all of that money?¡± Pixie started to lash out at Jason once more.

    The thought of this poor woman ached Pixie¡¯s heart as she too almost experienced the same thing. It couldn¡¯t help that she would retort to her savior.

    ¡°She¡¯s not in a good state,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°That¡¯s the reason why we need to get her out of here. She needs proper medical attention,¡± said Dan.

    ¡°No, she might die before that,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Then are you just going to leave her here?!¡± shouted Dan.

    Jason¡¯s answers were starting to infuriate Dan. A precious life was on the line here and also an important mission at hand. Dan couldn¡¯t let this fail.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m going to cut her up,¡± Jason said.

    His words alarmed Dan and Pixie. Both of them went on guard against Jason with their fists and broken dagger.

    ¡°Why are you trying to kill her?!¡± Dan shouted with his eyes readied for a fight. Even if they knew the disparity in strength, Dan and Pixie couldn¡¯t back down.

    ¡°Who said anything about killing her? What I meant is those goblin babies inside that belly,¡± Jason said.

 Chapter 108

    ¡°What?!¡± Dan and Pixie couldn¡¯t believe what they just heard coming from Jason¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Are you crazy? A cesarean section? Here? In this filthy place? You¡¯ll definitely kill her!¡± Dan protested knowing of how risky Jason¡¯s plan was.

    ¡°To begin with are you even a licensed doctor? Do you even know the difficulty of what you¡¯re saying?¡± Dan tried to reason with this man.

    Yet the man turned deaf to his words.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t fret about it,¡± said Jason as he wiped the blade of his steel dirk with a nearby cloth laying around.

    ¡°We need to stop him Pixie, or else she¡¯s going to die,¡± said Dan. He hollered at his comrade taking arms against Jason for a single life.

    ¡°Like I said, stop being a fool and trust me,¡± said Jason as his eyes went towards the young woman.

    ¡°Think about this for a second, you¡¯re not a doctor, you can¡¯t¡­¡± Dan tried to reason with Jason for one more time but the man cut him off.

    ¡°Do you have amnesia or something? Don¡¯t you know I can heal?¡± Jason said.

    Dan knew about Jason¡¯s healing capability but he wasn¡¯t sure whether it was wise to proceed with such a risky attempt just because of an ability. Although Jason could heal but Dan was skeptical regarding the extent of Jason¡¯s healing capability. What if after cutting her belly up, Jason couldn¡¯t close the long incision wound? And what if she loses too much blood during the procedure? Can Jason¡¯s heal replenish those blood?

    Dan was a logical person and he knew when to stick with statistics.

    ¡°It¡¯s too risky,¡± said Dan. ¡°The best course of action is to bring her back immediately, the professional will handle it, we just need to do our job.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re forgetting something, I¡¯m being paid for doing this and you¡¯re just following orders like a dog, so I¡¯ve got the biggest stake¡­¡± Jason stopped his words as he shook his head.

    ¡°Huh, why do I even bother explaining to you,¡± Jason walked towards the young woman with a protruding big belly. In an instant, he stood in front of her.

    Dan and Pixie were alarmed as they rushed to stopped him.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Dan said.

    But it was too late. The chipped blade of the steel dirk stabbed right at the abdomen of the young woman. The motionless young woman suddenly jerked in response.

    ¡°Argh!¡± she screamed to the top of her lungs due to the pain.

    Jason and the duo turned alarmed seeing the reaction of the young woman.

    Drool spilled over the floor as the young woman was jerking with her mouth continuing to scream.

    Shit didn¡¯t expect that to happened.

    Jason composed himself as in a single motion he ran his steel dirk through the abdomen of the young woman, incising a huge incision wound. In an instant he dislodged his steel dirk, blood gushed out from the big belly like a fountain.

    ¡°No,¡± Dan and Pixie watched in horror over such a gruesome sight.

    The young woman who screamed started to turn silent, she was becoming weaker by the second with blood escaping her body like a dam being broken apart.

    Jason saw the countenance of the young woman as he immediately used his Major Heal. Warm green light full of life enveloped the young woman. Her health rejuvenated like a blooming flower. At the same time she was healing, Jason continued his job. He took a deep breath as he then plunged his arm right into the incision wound going deep into her belly.

    Then a loud shriek broke the air, vibrating everyone¡¯s eardrum.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Pixie asked as her head by instinct looked back.

    A loud shriek that didn¡¯t come from the young woman, as it came from outside of the panic room. Jason¡¯s face grimaced hearing that shriek. That was definitely not from a goblin, he thought.

    ¡°Here,¡± Jason threw his steel dirk at Dan.

    Dan caught it and glanced at Jason. He was still felt wary about Jason. Dan couldn¡¯t stop this madman from cutting up the poor young woman but seeing she was stable within the green light, it seemed Jason¡¯s healing capability had shown its worth.

    ¡°Defend us, I can¡¯t do anything until I finish this up,¡± said Jason. Whatever was out there came at a bad time, a case of bad timing.

    His hands were occupied handling the young woman and leaving her for a monster was not an option.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let any of them come inside,¡± said Jason.

    Dan and Pixie nodded at each other and stepped outside of the panic room. Their feet shuffled through the floor in a cautious manner. The night vision was still on as they scanned the entire vast office, looking for the enemy. Halfway reaching the middle of the office, the door to the office room broke as another shriek came alive.

    Dan gripped on the steel dirk tightened as Pixie too gripped tightly to the only weapon she had left, the swiss army knife in her back pocket. It was better than nothing.

    But seeing what entered the through the office made their whole body shivered.

    A huge body walked through the door while ducking down its head. Dan and Pixie saw through the night vision goggles the monster that just walked in. From that height alone, that was definitely not a goblin.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t a goblin,¡± said Pixie.

    Dan could only watch as the monster with a huge bulking frame walked slowly towards them. As he observed from afar watching in awe, a strong light came from the side blocking his night vision.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Dan was confused. But he heard Pixie¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Dan, it¡¯s dawn,¡± she said.

    Dan took off his night vision goggle as he saw the first sign of light coming from the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, seeing the sun from the top floor, at least now he knew why the CEO of the company went to build his office right at the top. But now wasn¡¯t the time for such a whimsical thing. He turned his attention back to the hulking mass of a monster who was approaching them with slow steps.

    With the first light coming from the sun, Dan could saw what the monster really looked like, and what he saw wasn¡¯t pretty.

    An ugly monster even uglier than the goblins that he fought through the night. Multiple metal piercings riddles across it face while its flabby belly jiggled with each step it took. It had the same features as a goblin, darkish green skin tone, a nasty odor, bald with a crooked nose, and the iconic loincloth hanging by the waist. Yet what set apart this creature from goblin was its hulking size and the big-ass wooden club in its right hand.

    ¡°Can we kill it?¡± Pixie asked as she threw away the swiss army knife and grabbed a broken lamp post on the ground.

    ¡°What choice do we have,¡± said Dan as he gripped the hilt of the steel dirks tighter.

    Then Dan made eye contact with the hulking goblin. A few seconds passed and the hulking goblin let out a shout with a shrieking nature. Both Pixie and Dan were dumbstruck by the sudden war cry and they felt as if their whole body turned numbed by the sound.

    Pixie wanted to shout but even her lips were tightly sealed. The same thing ran through both of their thoughts.

    I can¡¯t move!

    Then a shadow loomed over the top of Dan¡¯s head. He turned and a huge black thing was heading straight for his head.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± he heard Pixie¡¯s voice.

    But he screamed.

    ¡°Argh!!!!¡±

    --

    Meanwhile, Jason was adjusting his major heal while probing through the inside of the young woman¡¯s belly.

    Shit, I can¡¯t find any of those fucking goblin babies.

    Jason cut her a bit too shallow as he too felt a bit apprehensive cutting a young woman¡¯s body. He didn¡¯t have the experience of an experienced obstetrician and he made a mistake.

    Can¡¯t stop now, can I?

    He didn¡¯t have the luxury to find a sharp object as the young woman was depending on his constant enlightening of his major heal. The open incision wound was still there and stopping the heal might be fatal at this point.

    Jason did the unthinkable as he stabbed through the uterus of the young woman with his bare fingers. The young woman jerked a bit but soon calmed down by the nourishment of the heal. The pain subsided in an instant.

    Jason dug deep and he felt something by the tip of his fingers. He grabbed it and pulled with all his might. A huge ugly green baby came out through the huge wound. Jason didn¡¯t waste his time as he threw it away at a distance as he proceeded to find the other.

    ¡°Argh!¡± but the young woman screamed once more.

    The sedative nature of his heal was quick to wear off as this procedure he was doing was too much for a weak young woman like her to bear and yanking off a huge ugly baby from her stomach was definitely overkill. Jason pumped more of his major heal as he proceeded to find another. But as soon as he found one, he heard another loud shriek coming through the door of the panic room.

    I better hurry up before one of them die.

    One by one, Jason took those ugly babies out of the young woman. Each time he did it, it only horrified him knowing the extent of this young woman had endured. She had carried ten babies inside of her and she still managed to hold on to her dear life.

    Jason stared at the young woman with pity as he healed up the big incision wound one last time. He took a glance at the pile of stillborn goblin babies which was bigger than the one he saw back in the pantry room.

    He had an inkling about the parent of these goblins and his instinct was telling him it was something bad.

    The green light dissipated as the young woman was finally healed. Jason could felt the warmth on her skin as he could also saw her chest heaving up and down with vigor. For now, she was fine, albeit the flabby overstretch stomach she had right now might be a problem when she woke up.

    But then he heard that awful shout from behind the door.

    ¡°Dan!¡± he heard a familiar voice calling out to one of the soldiers fighting for their lives.

    Jason left the young woman alone as he stepped out of the panic room. His eyes narrowed as the blinding light from the sun took him by surprise. He covered his eyes with his arm but a large silhouette caught his attention.

    ¡°The hell?¡± Jason said.

    A brutish looking creature standing tall towering above two meters was swinging a huge wooden club around smashing the floor tiles into pieces.

    Jason saw a man fleeing around while grabbing on to his flailing arm. It was Dan.

    Pixie was on the floor dragging herself far from the battle between those two. But rather than a battle, it was more like a game of whack a mole with Dan being the mole.

    ¡°They¡¯re pretty rough up,¡± said Jason.

    His eyes observed the hulking creature as he scanned it with his ability.

    Goblin Giant(Mutant)

    A blasphemous offspring between a goblin and a giant. One never could expect such a thing to happen but a courageous daredevil goblin did the impossible. It managed to impregnate a giant much to the loss of its life bringing life to the monstrosity of this Goblin Giant mutant. It is bigger and stronger than your average goblin but nonetheless, it is still a goblin.

    Species: Humanoid

    Level : 18

    S.Ability : Giant¡¯s Cry, Blunt Smash, Thick Skin

    A level eighteen? Isn¡¯t this a bit too much of a gap between level two to level eighteen? Shit, if other people underwent this mission, they wouldn¡¯t have a good time. But sadly for this mutant, I¡¯m here.

    Jason took aim as he swung his arm releasing a multitude of crescent projectiles at the Goblin Giant. It had been a while since he last used this wind element ability of his and now was a perfect time.

    He watched as he waited for his green crescent projectiles to cut the Goblin Giant into pieces. He had confidence over his status and he had no doubt his ability could kill the Goblin Giant in one shot but then the unexpected happened.

    The green crescents stopped short as they hit something invisible. Those wind element projectiles disappeared as they fell on the floor. Jason definitely saw it.

    ¡°A barrier,¡± said Jason.

    Then out of nowhere, something came from behind the Goblin Giant. A streaking erratic light came hurling straight for Jason.

    Jason was alarmed as he leaped to the side while hiding himself within the shadow of his Shadow Sneak.

    A burnt mark was seen right at the spot where Jason once stood.

    Dan didn¡¯t see what had happened as he was still trying to get himself away from the swinging wooden club but Pixie saw it, an electrical current traveling in the air before hitting right at the spot where Jason was.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± said Pixie as she saw it clear as day.

    That electrical current just zapped him from existence. As of now, she started to shiver in fright. If a man of Jason caliber defeated in an instant like that, what kind of luck would they need to survive through this?

    While Pixie was contemplating her life choices, Jason was staring at the thing behind Goblin Giant. It emerged from the door floating in the air. It didn¡¯t look like a goblin but its stature was similar to one.

    It wore a robe over its body but its head was clear for others to see. It or he wasn¡¯t as ugly as a goblin but definitely not charming. The huge pointy ears were like a tell-tale sign that this newcomer might be an elf.

    But Jason didn¡¯t care about that as one thing for sure. This floating creature smelled like trouble.

 Chapter 109

    ¡°Scan,¡± a familiar blue window appeared.

    Trumbo Wanderfoot(Named)

    An outcast from his own halfling community. He was shunned due to his lineage. The mixed foul blood made him prone to burst into a maddening state. Talented in the art of the arcane due to his mixed blood, he dabbled in the art as he diverged further away from the lighted path.

    Species: Hafling

    Level : 25

    S. Ability : Lightning Creeper, Mournsmoth Barrier, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???

    Jason¡¯s eyes went wide. From the description, he knew what this creature was, a halfling or in a better mainstream term, a halfling. But this one was no mere halfling. A named monster. Jason couldn¡¯t believe such an existence existed.

    A named monster? Wait, can it or he really be considered a monster? It has a name and even the description is referring to it as a he.

    He couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. One after another came within the time period in Thunder Bay City. At first, he thought it would be a leisure spending the time here considering how low level the monsters were but now after seeing these two creatures, his guess was rather wrong, or to be more precise, it seemed he met the big boss of this whole city.

    Fuck, why should I even care if this thing is an it or a he. They¡¯re the invaders and I¡¯m going to kill them.

    Jason turned his attention to Dan who was dodging for his life. He sneaked within his invisibility coming closer to Dan. His hand reached out to Dan and as a glowing green light was about to enveloped Dan, his gut was telling him to duck.

    A streak of bluish electricity went passed above his head. A loud explosion coming from the side as he saw a wall broken into pieces. He glanced back at the source and saw the floating halfling staring right at him with one of its eyes glowing in a purplish flare.

    Fucking shit.

    Jason knew his cover had been blown. Dan who also witnessed the streaking bluish electric noticed the appearance of Jason unraveling from nothingness.

    ¡°Jason?¡± Dan said.

    Jason didn¡¯t speak a word as he grabbed on to Dan and threw him far away from the club-smashing goblin giant. But before his hand left the cloth of Dan, a green glow managed to envelop Dan¡¯s entire body.

    Dan dropped on the floor, rolling until he smacked onto a wall. His head was spinning but he smacked himself out from the dizziness. Dan¡¯s looked back at Jason and his eyes went wide. Another blinding flash of bluish light struck Jason by the body. The man defended himself crossing his arms together blocking the second streaking electric. Jason was knocked back a few feet away before another streaking electric smashed him head-on. His cross arm guard broken as the blue electric struck him right at the chest.

    Jason felt the strong pressure over his chest as he saw his energy guard dwindling in number at a rapid rate. But a greenish light counteracted against the reduction as he healed, yet it wasn¡¯t the end.

    The halfling''s long wrinkly index finger pointed at Jason, a small light blue sphere appeared, and then something flew away making its way to Jason. It was fast but this time Jason leaped in the air dodging it by a hairbreadth.

    His arm swung while leaping releasing a barrage of crescent projectiles. The Wind Cutters tore through the air heading for Trumbo. Yet an inch before reaching him, a barrier blocked those projectiles. Trumbo smirked seeing Jason¡¯s attempt. His lips mumbled something.

    ¡°Rawwh!¡± the goblin giant shouted as if hearing something from the floating halfling.

    The club was swung heading towards Jason. He rolled on the ground as the marble floor was smashed right beside him. Jason glared at the goblin giant. He got up and punch with every strength he had right at the goblin giant¡¯s abdomen.

    The goblin giant¡¯s back curved as it definitely felt that punch. Jason connected another right at the side of its face, but this time another barrier manifested right before impact. His punch was blocked.

    Damn barrier!

    ¡°Rawh!¡± The goblin giant swung its big arm crashing onto Jason. He was lifted off his feet, flung across the office. But another bluish electric struck him in mid-air. The trajectory of his fall changed as he was flung far back of the office. Jason dropped but he gained his balance steadying his two feet.

    ¡°Major Heal,¡± he said. His eyes glaring right at the sight of these two tag-team. A vanguard and a nuker.

    Damn giant, if it isn¡¯t for that barrier I would have killed it easily.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Dan¡¯s voice reached out to him.

    He glanced and saw Dan standing behind a marble statue close to him.

    ¡°Pixie,¡± Dan said pointed at somewhere.

    Jason saw Pixie leaning behind a pillar. She was a bit injured but it wasn¡¯t critical. She was still fine.

    ¡°How can I help?¡± Dan asked.

    ¡°Stay there and don¡¯t move,¡± Jason said. These two were way out of Dan¡¯s league. In their current state, they would only be a hindrance rather than helping.

    He got up staring at Trumbo, the halfling, He was resting his head on his hand while smirking at Jason. He was saying something out loud enough for the three of them heard him, but the language Trumbo spoke was unknown to them.

    Jason¡¯s eyes narrowed, even if he didn¡¯t understand the language of this halfling, he still understood what that smirk meant.

    He¡¯s looking down on me. Shitty midget.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you,¡± Jason said.

    As if he understood what Jason said, Trumbo laughed out loud while patting its protruding belly.

    Both Jason¡¯s arms covered light green glow and he swung it immediately releasing two dozens Wind Cutters. As expected none of it hit as the barrier blocked their path. But Jason was expecting as such, he emerged from behind the cover of the projectiles as he swung his fist at the floating halfling.

    BAM!

    The barrier stopped his fist but Jason gritted his teeth as he released a barrage of punches. Yet it was futile, not a single punch went through.

    ¡°Rawh!¡± the goblin giant swung its club at Jason. He dodged it as the marble floor beneath him smashed into pieces but his eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of this lax halfling. Again, both of his arms glowed in light green.

    Wind Cutters went shooting at point-blank range and this time he didn¡¯t fail. The barrier blocked those projectiles and Trumbo laughed once more as his legs flailed around in mid-air.

    ¡°Ugh!¡± yet a voice caught him off guard. Trumbo glanced and saw the goblin giant riddled with wind cutters on its skin. The goblin giant went down on its knees as the barrier didn¡¯t make it in time.

    Jason was smiling seeing his plan made it. He didn¡¯t know whether it would work as he didn¡¯t understand the nature of Trumbo¡¯s barrier but luck was by his side. His bet played off well and he wasn¡¯t going to let this opportunity gone by. He stood in front of the goblin giant with a smile on his face.

    ¡°I ain¡¯t going to let a level 18 goblin pull me down,¡± Jason proclaimed. His fist was clench tight ready to punch the living daylight out of this goblin giant.

    ¡°Ugh!¡± but a powerful force struck him by the side. Again he was flung away like a rag doll and the feeling wasn¡¯t pleasant. He twisted his body in mid-air as he landed on his own two feet.

    He saw a chunk of his energy guard depleted as this time it was much stronger than the blue electric, Trumbo¡¯s lightning-based attack called Lightning Creeper.

    The hell was that?

    Jason glanced at Trumbo and his eyes narrowed down. A huge eccentric-looking hammer was floating in the air and Trumbo was glaring at Jason. Trumbo didn¡¯t like how close Jason was to killing its subordinate the goblin giant.

    Jason remembered the question marks on Trumbo¡¯s description. Jason scanned Trumbo one more time and one of the questions marks revealed itself.

    Hundred-Pyon Hammer? The heck does it even mean? Nonetheless, this halfling still got a lot of abilities, befitting of a mage.

    Then he noticed the blue window at the corner of his eyes.

    Wind Cutter level up to level 10

    Wind Cutter has reached the maximum level

    You may unlock one out of these two abilities.

    - Aero Blade

    - Wind Clad

    Right on time, thought Jason. He had been waiting for this sole elemental skill to level up but it was finally time. But rather than evolving to a stronger skill, a new kind of progression had appeared.

    He waited for the description between these two skills but none appear in front of his eyes.

    Only through the name huh? I guess beggars can¡¯t be choosy.

    Jason tried to inferred of which one was better from the other. But the flying hammer was heading straight for him. There was no time to think and Jason made his choice.

    A foot away before reaching Jason. He stood up as he mumbled those two words.

    ¡°Wind Clad,¡± a slight breeze swirled around his body and as the hammer flew closer, Jason vanished.

    The hammer went by smashing another wall at the far end of the office. This time, the panic room was bare in the open. The hammer disappeared after wrecking a path of destruction, but Trumbo wasn¡¯t satisfied. It knew that the man slipped away from its grasp.

    ¡°Will you look at that,¡± a voice caught Trumbo¡¯s attention.

    He glanced near the window and saw a man leaning on it. The purplish flare returned on Trumbo¡¯s right eye as he saw what covered Jason¡¯s entire body.

    ¡°Speed enhancement, it¡¯s pretty nice if you ask me,¡± Jason said as he looked both of his arm covered by a slight pale greenish breeze that was barely visible to the naked eye.

    ¡°and that¡¯s not all,¡± Jason smirked at Trumbo as he clenched his right fist. A visible wind was rotating around his right fist.

    It was a turbulent strong wind as even his hair was fluttering by the wind.

    ¡°This time, I¡¯m going to bust a hole on that barrier.¡±

 Chapter 110

    Dan hid behind a desk with his eyes shaken after seeing what had happened. The level of this fight went beyond the norm. Far different from their meager battle against the goblins. It was like seeing real fantasy in real life.

    Sparkling blue electricity zipping in the air clashing against Jason. Even the sound of it ripping the air was terrifying, being burnt to the ground wouldn¡¯t be a surprise considering it was freaking electric. But Jason defied the odds as Dan saw this man withstanding those flickering visible electric.

    ¡°He isn¡¯t human,¡± mumbled Dan. Although he had those same thoughts multiple times during his mission alongside Jason but this time, it was different.

    This battle itself bolstered the fact that Jason wasn¡¯t some human who was stronger than usual, he was more than that, and right now Dan was about to witness something else.

    He saw Jason vanishing just before a huge hammer plowed through the wall. Then he heard Jason¡¯s voice near the windows.

    ¡°How did he get there?¡± Dan asked himself. Jason was too fast considering the distance between the place he vanishes and his current position.

    Then Jason vanished once more turning into a blur. A second later, Dan heard the loud cry of the goblin giant. He gazed his eyes over and saw Jason piercing the goblin giant¡¯s chest. It wasn¡¯t even a sword that pierced the goblin giant¡¯s chest as Jason¡¯s whole hand went through the creature. Blood trickled down from Jason¡¯s hand as he stood there with a smirk seeing the goblin giant losing its life by the second.

    The huge goblin¡¯s body was trembling as it didn¡¯t believe that it was hanging for its life. Then the gibberish noise from a halfling rang in the air. Trumbo was mad, extremely mad. It took him a few seconds realizing his henchman was about to die.

    He mocked and cursed Jason with his eyes seething in rage. Then his lips started to mumble. The air started to crackle, gaining Jason¡¯s attention.

    ¡°The hell?¡± Dan saw arrows forming around the halfling floating in the air made out electricity itself.

    Jason then caught a glimpse of Trumbo¡¯s eyes and saw it was shining in bluish light as if electricity itself was coursing within those eyeballs.

    Jason kicked the quivering body of the goblin giant to the ground releasing his hand from the huge hole on the goblin giant¡¯s body. It was time to retreat, being this close at a madden Trumbo would only spell trouble.

    His wind clad body whiffed him away from the scene. But as he ran, Trumbo started the assault. His hand pointed at Jason as numerous electric arrows went chasing after him.

    The first one caught him off guard but with his enhanced speed, he managed to dodge. Yet a graze from that electrifying arrow made his body jolted off the ground flinging him across the office floor. He saw for himself a huge chunk of his energy guard was gone and there was something else besides that huge damage.

    Shit, it can even paralyze.

    A paralyzing effect that made him unable to move for roughly 0.5 seconds but that minuscule amount was enough for another barrage of electric arrows heading towards him reaching close distance.

    Come on!

    Jason was urging his body to snapped out of the paralyze effect as he couldn¡¯t even heal right now. But then a huge statue flew right in front of Jason¡¯s eyes blocking those electric arrows. The statue exploded into pieces upon contact with the electric arrows.

    A slight glance to the side and Jason saw Dan standing there with his breath ragged. The statue barely blocked a thing but it was enough. It gave Jason a bit of leeway as he ran away as the electric arrows crashed over the window walls.

    ¡°Hide!¡± Jason shouted.

    Dan interfering with those arrows might made him a target in the eyes of Trumbo and he wasn¡¯t going to let his benefactor wounded up dead. He was grateful for what Dan had done since if that statue didn¡¯t buy him some time he would have turned naked without his energy guard.

    But a few arrows were already heading towards Dan who was running for cover. Jason who was running grabbed on to a few David-like statues and threw at the trajectory of the arrows. More artful statues exploded as Jason managed to block it off. Jason took cover behind a pillar as he healed himself.

    In the meantime, Trumbo was thumping his feet in the air frustrated by the fact that his arrows weren¡¯t hitting anyone. Trumbo glanced at the goblin giant who was reaching its hand out to him. Trumbo¡¯s expression turned cold as it stared with pity.

    Trumbo floated close to the dying goblin giant. His hand reached out to the goblin giant as if Trumbo was caring for his henchmen. Yet a small skull manifested in that hand of his, emerged from the condensation of mana. The small skull was oozing with a baleful aura as Trumbo¡¯s lips kept on mumbling.

    The empty eye socket of the small skull started to glow in a purplish hue. Then the goblin giant started wrenching on the floor as if it was in agonizing pain. A subtle flow of energy was hardly seen between the writhing goblin giant and the small skull. It seemed even in death, the goblin giant was only a mere underling in the eyes of the halfling.

    But Jason had a different idea. He emerged from behind Trumbo who was too occupied in doing whatever it was doing at the goblin giant. Jason''s hand was covered in a dense twirling wind as Jason said.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to last hit my kill, you ugly son of a bitch.¡±

    A punch pack with wind headed towards Trumbo, it was a cheap shot from Jason but who cares when life was on the line. But that sneaky punch of his collided against a barrier. Trumbo glanced behind with a glare. It was about to throw the small skull at Jason but another wind covered punch struck at the same place where he just punched.

    This time, the barrier broke.

    Trumbo surprised by the spectacle as he paused for a second and that second costed him. Jason choked him by the neck and threw him to the marble floor. The halfling cried out loud on the floor in pain but Jason didn¡¯t stop. Again, his wind covered fists punched the hell out of Trumbo. Blood splattered on the floor and surprisingly Trumbo could take those hits and still living and breathing.

    It spouted gibberish at Jason before a small blue spark erupted at point-blank. Jason was flung away at a distance.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Jason said as he saw Trumbo getting up with his bloody face. Standing on the floor made Jason realized how short this halfling was, he was more or less the same size as a goblin.

    Trumbo spitted out blood from his mouth glaring at Jason from a distance. For a runt, he was tougher than Jason expected. His barrage of punches did some damage but not enough to kill it.

    Trumbo continued to aim his small skull at the shallow breath goblin giant while his eyes kept on glaring at Jason. Jason watched the goblin giant writhing in pain as he was still wasn¡¯t sure about this spectacle. Rather than waiting, he swung his arm hurling a dozen Wind Cutter at Trumbo.

    But it was futile as the barrier came back. Trumbo smirked at Jason and as the final breath slipped away from the goblin giant, the small skull glowed in purplish hue. Jason was assuming the worst about that skull and as he saw those electric arrows coming back floating in the air around Trumbo, he knew the second round was starting.

    Those arrows went flying at Jason as Jason counteracted with his Wind Cutter. They collided but the electrical arrows won the clash as more kept on flying at Jason.

    Jason sprinted away while vanishing into his Shadow Sneak, yet a hammer came out of nowhere right from the front smashing Jason out from hiding. Jason rolled on the ground as he glanced at Trumbo. That bloody face hobbit was smirking at him and seeing that obnoxious purple flare on Trumbo¡¯s right eye, he knew that this runt had every possible way of countering him and the feeling wasn¡¯t pleasant.

    Trumbo was also the same level as him and knowing that fact only bolstered the fact that named monster was indeed stronger than the normal one. He, who could defeat a higher-level monster was stumped by an outcast halfling and that was enough to tell him something. He shouldn¡¯t underestimate this halfling.

    As he healed himself, Trumbo didn¡¯t stop his attack. Electric arrows and Lightning Creeper went ripping in the air heading towards Jason.

    Jason buffed himself with Minor Defense Buff and Wind Clad, as this time he shouldn¡¯t take any leeway against this opponent. He fled away from the chasing bluish lightning. Yet again, a hammer came from his blind spot. He ducked and rolled on the ground dodging the flying hammer.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± a voice alerted Jason.

    Jason turned his head and saw the barrage of lightning heading towards him. He Shadow Sneak to slightly lowered down the damage toll and he was right. Everything hit him as huge forces pummeled down his body. He couldn¡¯t even move due to the paralyzing nature of the electric arrows.

    He watched as his energy guard points dropped and then came the hammer once more. It hit him straight as it lifted Jason off the ground but as he was being flung away, he gained a little bit of time and healed himself with Major Heal.

    His energy guard almost replenished up to half-way but then the trajectory of the hammer changed as it dropped on the floor bringing him along. His energy guard dropped a bit but Jason didn¡¯t stop healing himself. He knew something bad was about to happen and he was right.

    Something rolled over to where he was and he saw what it was, he gritted his teeth preparing for what was about to come. It was the small skull that Trumbo held and as it stopped rolling after hitting Jason. The glowing purple skull intensified in brightness.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Jason said and boom.

    A massive explosion as the whole building shook. That small skull detonated like a stronger version of C4. That Trumbo really did the worst to Jason as it threw everything at him.

    Dan and Pixie staggered on their feet as they braced themselves but the aftershock was too strong. Dan was hurled to the wall and Pixie smashed against the wall window.

    Dan woke up after losing consciousness for a few seconds. His body was rattled in pain as it ached. Yet in his sight, everything was filled with black smoke and purplish flames burning the floor. Dan didn¡¯t expect all of this to happened and the last thing he saw was the sight of Jason being blown apart by whatever bomb that was.

    He didn¡¯t know what to do right now as all hope was lost with the death of that man, that monstrous man. But right now what he saw, a monster much stronger triumphed against that monstrous man.

    ¡°Dan!¡± a voice called out to him.

    Dan recognized who it was. He dragged his feet over to the broken wall window and saw who it was, Pixie was hanging on for her dear life by whatever left on the edge of a broken wall window.

    ¡°Pixie!¡± Dan shouted.

    ¡°Help me!¡± she said.

    Dan lie down on the floor as his hand grabbed on to Pixie¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Let go! I¡¯ll pull you up,¡± said Dan.

    Pixie let go and her whole weight pulled Dan down. Dan braced himself as he held her. If it wasn¡¯t for his augmented strength he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do this in his current injured state. One of his arms was badly injured and right now he was hoping this right arm of his would do the trick.

    But as he was about to pull Pixie up, she saw something as her eyes quivered.

    ¡°Dan!¡± she shouted and before she could say anything else.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Dan yelled in pain, his whole body dropped on the floor as he was losing strength in his arm.

    Pixie was about to fall but Dan held on to her. Then Dan heard a cackle from behind him. He turned his head and saw the halfling smirking at him with that obnoxious smile. That halfling was poking at him with his scepter in hand and it almost cost the life of Pixie.

    Dan lost hope seeing that this halfling had the upper hand. Pixie too felt the same thing, there was no more chance for them as right now they were only playthings for the halfling.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Dan shouted in pain as the halfling kept on torturing him with the pointed sharp end of his scepter. Trumbo was having a blast since he won against an annoying human who dared punched his exquisite looking face.

    Since there was nothing left of Jason¡¯s body for him to play with, Trumbo laid his eyes on to these two other humans.

    Again, and again Trumbo took pleasure hearing Dan¡¯s cry. It was music in Trumbo¡¯s ears as he kept bleeding the heck out of Dan¡¯s body.

    The soldier who treasured his comrade was reaching the end of his life with his face turning pale. Yet his hand was still holding on strong to Pixie with no intention of letting her go.

    Pixie cried seeing the things happening to her captain, a man who she always butted head during their first meeting but she came to respect him after the passing of times, and yet now she was seeing him in at the brink of death while still holding on to her. Helplessness overwhelmed her as she couldn¡¯t do anything to help Dan.

    She glared with her tearful eyes at the perpetrator of all this, Trumbo the halfling. She swore in her heart, if she dies, she would curse him and all the monsters until they vanish from the earth. But then she saw a change on Trumbo¡¯s face.

    The hobbit that was cackling while torturing her captain was now silenced by something, then that something pierced right through Trumbo¡¯s neck. A knife? A sword? No, it just a shard from the broken window. But it wasn¡¯t any random shard, it was a glass shard covered in crimson hue and she knew who was the owner of that glow.

    It was Jason.

    ¡°You let your guard down Trumbo, and now you¡¯ll die,¡± Jason said.

    He pushed the shard deeper until all of it was inside Trumbo¡¯s neck. But that wasn¡¯t the end, a few more shards went right through Trumbo¡¯s back as he was stabbed from the back by the sneaking assassin Jason.

    Trumbo fell on his knees before plummeting on the floor like a ragdoll. The named monster finally was defeated but through a rather anti-climatic way.

    Jason helped Pixie out as he pulled her up from the edge. Pixie saw the sight of Jason who was covered in blood and ashes, they were even a few open wounds with the bone visible through the naked eyes. It seemed Jason survived the explosion but not without heavy repercussions.

    Yet her attention at him only lasted for a while as she turned to the silent Dan.

    ¡°Dan, are you all right?¡± she asked.

    But there was no response. She turned him over and saw that lifeless looking eyes. She didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    ¡°Heal him!¡± she shouted at Jason.

    The heavily injured Jason knelt down and reached out his hand at Dan. The green glow engulfed Dan¡¯s body and yet after it receded, nothing had changed. Those lifeless looking eyes were still there.

    ¡°Dan, you got to get up, this isn¡¯t time to play around,¡± said Pixie with her trembling voice.

    ¡°Wake up Dan! Fucking wake up!¡± Pixie shouted to the top of her lungs as her tears fell.

    She couldn¡¯t believe it, just a few seconds ago he was still holding her hand tight. But unknown to her and Jason, Dan was already dead even before Jason came sneaking from behind. His sheer resolution of saving his comrade extended even beyond death.

    Pixie wept over Dan¡¯s body as Jason watched. He didn¡¯t like the outcome of this whole mission as he clearly underestimated this place and the monsters. He watched the holes on Dan¡¯s body and the pool of blood underneath Dan¡¯s corpse. Him taking light of this mission, cost the life of another person, a soldier who worked for the best of the country, Dan. That soldier himself also saved his life back then, not once but twice. But now, he couldn''t even pay the favor to his savior as Dan lay there lifeless.

    Jason didn¡¯t even bother healing himself up as he felt the pain of his flesh wrecking his entire body. He knew if he came prepare with all the weapons in his arsenal, then Dan¡¯s life wouldn¡¯t have been lost. On the highest floor of this building, a comrade in arms was grieving for her captain while a bystander blamed himself.

    Again, it¡¯s my fault.

 Chapter 111

    A life was lost but the rewards shouldn¡¯t be ignored. The final fight brought his level up by another notch, elevating his level to twenty-six and the loot dropped from those two monsters were more than enough to paid his effort for the whole trip. Two scrolls from Trumbo and an ankle bracelet from the goblin giant. Quite weird considering the goblin giant dropped such an item. It didn¡¯t even look pretty as it was worn out and made out of leather. But loot was still loot, he grabbed it all kept it inside his bag pack.

    Meanwhile, his eyes couldn¡¯t stop shifting around the weapons and clothing owned by these two. The club owned by the dead goblin giant seemed likes a good weapon for Hakeem and the scepter owned by Trumbo was rather eye-catching.

    But glancing over at Pixie who was still mourning over Dan¡¯s body made his intention of keeping it all turned dimmer by the second.

    I think I¡¯ll keep these things from Trumbo and the goblin giant for Pixie.

    A thoughtful and caring man or rather him just feeling guilty not being able to save the dude who helped him out twice. Debt and guilt were two things that Jason didn¡¯t like, it made his conscious itched like having a rash inside his brain. He couldn¡¯t just let it go away.

    Snap out of it Jason, this is a war. Losing a life is normal.

    He tried to convince himself that he shouldn¡¯t felt guilty but it only made it worse. His eyes couldn¡¯t stop glancing around Pixie who was burying her head on Dan¡¯s dead chest. Calling this current period of time, a time of war was not that far-fetch considering how they were right now being invaded by these creatures. Although, no one and not even the government had declared that the current state is in a state of war but deep down Jason and most of those in the military knew they were deep in war.

    Jason walked away silently without making a sound as he made his way to the panic room. The whole room was in a mess with two huge holes on the walls made by that magical huge hammer. Bricks and pieces of the wall were on the floor with dust floating in the air.

    Shit, I hope she¡¯s still alive.

    Jason forgot the well-being of the young woman. He just hoped that she wouldn¡¯t get caught in the cross-fire during his previous fight. Then he found her among the rubble that laid nicely around her. He drew closer and knelt beside her unclothed body. Miraculously, nothing had hit her.

    For once she¡¯s really damn lucky.

    Jason saw her chest heaving up and down as she breathed normally in this dusty place. He checked her pulse and it was strong, better than before.

    Let¡¯s get out of here.

    Jason carried her in his arms as he left the panic room. He stopped as he saw Pixie standing not that far from him as she stared right into his eyes. He turned away after a few seconds as he said.

    ¡°You can take the goblin giant¡¯s club and whatever that it has.¡±

    Jason walked away heading to the only door before he stopped.

    ¡°How is she?¡± Pixie asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Jason said. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here, there are still monsters running around here.¡±

    Jason a few steps more before he stopped after hearing Pixie¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you healing yourself?¡± she asked.

    Jason stood still not answering her. The bleeding open wounds kept on sending out pain signals to his brain, it was painful but he endured it. He would rather felt the pain of his wounds rather than being solely bound by the guilt in his mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I need to save up some energy point. We still have a return trip,¡± he said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting downstairs,¡± Jason said as he left her alone.

    Walking downstairs wasn¡¯t a good time as the whole staircase reeked off goblin corpses. Even for Jason, he couldn¡¯t bear the stench and started retching. The young woman who was still unconscious in his arms also couldn¡¯t help but cough out of reflex.

    Jason got out from the stairs and took a detour. He found another staircase as he descended through the darkness. The night vision skill did its job as day and night didn¡¯t make a difference for him.

    Soon, he reached the ground floor. The whole floor was dead silent and looking around there was not a soul in sight. The only thing present was the lingering bad odor. Ignoring the filth and whatever corpses laying around, he exited the building through the main entrance.

    The sun was up and the makeshift fences made out of everything were left unattended. It was like a deserted fortress yet he knew he was the cause of it. He walked slowly taking in the air while looking around the vicinity.

    Even the monsters wandering around near this building was no longer in sight as if they went into hiding. Stepping outside the fences, Jason stopped in his track hearing the gasping breath from behind.

    He turned around and saw Pixie. His eyes twitched after seeing the thing on Pixie¡¯s back. Those two dangling arms over Pixie¡¯s shoulders was enough to tell him what it was. Rather than bringing along the goblin giant¡¯s club, she chose to honor her comrade rather than taking merit.

    There was only silence between them. Pixie didn¡¯t say a word except looking straight into Jason¡¯s eyes. Her gaze was enough to tell Jason.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Jason said.

    Walking down the empty street, their pace was quicker than before. Before they even know it, they were about to reach the border of the city. They met a few monsters along the way but Jason took care of it. This time he didn¡¯t spare anything at all as he killed everything in sight without hesitation.

    There was no more intentional training as going back home was the only thing that went through his mind. Yet as soon as he stepped out from the city, something blocked his path. Unlike those weak ass monsters he decimated in mere seconds, the one that hindered him was a rather familiar-looking thing.

    A wolf similar in size to a full-grown adult tiger, yet that lightning-shaped horn was a giveaway that indicated it as a monster, and Jason knew who it was.

    Jason used scan and noticed the increase in its level.

    ¡°Level sixteen? In a single night? It seems you been pretty busy, you mangy mutt,¡± said Jason.

    He recognized the wolf. A monster he failed to tame but who would have thought a monster would come back for revenge at someone who tried to subjugate it through sheer force.

    His hand was itching for another go in trying to tame this monster but he lost his mood. Right now, all of his thoughts were about returning back.

    ¡°Huh,¡± he sighed.

    ¡°I¡¯m being generous today, so if that dog brain of yours understand my words, go away before I kill you,¡± Jason said.

    Pixie saw the spectacle of how Jason tried to communicate with the wolf. It baffled her and in her mind, she was cursing at Jason for suddenly being lenient at a monster of all things. She wanted to curse at him and mocked him but no words escape her lips as she bottled it inside of her. A small sigh escaped as Pixie knew even if she throws a tantrum, nothing would change. Her comrade won¡¯t return back.

    But the wolf won¡¯t budge. It stared right at Jason with its fangs bare for Jason to see. A sign that the wolf was ready.

    ¡°Like I said, fuck off before¡­¡± he couldn¡¯t finish his word as the wolf sprang for the attack.

    It rushed on its four limbs with the sole intention of preying over Jason. Yet as it leaped in the air with its jaw open wide, something hit it right at the side. An intense powerful pressure smacked it in the air sending it crashing over the ground rolling around for a few meters before stopping.

    Luckily for the wolf, it managed to stay alive but it went out cold from that single hook from Jason. Its rather short time of living flashed across its eyes after taking that sudden hook. In the end, it fainted with its mouth foaming.

    Jason thought it was dead as he moved along without caring for that mutt. Even Pixie didn¡¯t bother glancing at the wolf as she just followed Jason from her behind.

    After a while, they reached the bridge and to their surprise, they are people making camp near the entrance of the bridge.

    From afar, a person waved their hands at both of them.

    The whole squad came running at the two but as the distance shortened, they stood still frozen in place after noticing something was wrong.

    Bowie broke the silence.

    ¡°Why are you carrying Dan? He isn¡¯t the type to sleep behind someone¡¯s back,¡± Bowie said.

    It sounds ridiculous but he knew something wasn¡¯t right. A good joke was a way to being a conversation yet Pixie¡¯s tears trailed by her cheeks as it took everyone by surprise. No one expected to see a tomboyish person like her to cry. In their mind, she was the last person for them to expect to break into a tear.

    Before anyone could say a thing over the sudden tear-jerking moment. Pixie let Dan¡¯s cold body down on the ground as she let the whole squad saw the ending for their leader.

    ¡°Dan¡¯s dead,¡± Pixie said.

    The whole squad rushed over to Dan and after a few people checked Dan¡¯s body, reality suddenly hit them. Smacking them right at the head.

    ¡°But¡­ how?¡± Hemlock opened her mouth and Pixie narrated a concise story of what had happened.

    The whole squad listened and at the end of the story, Bowie went ballistic.

    ¡°You!¡± said Bowie as he stomped his feet right towards Jason while pointing his finger.

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault!¡± Bowie shouted. As the enraged soldier tried to throw a punch at Jason, Twitch and Sugar Man were quick on their feet as they held Bowie back.

    ¡°Let me go! This fucking bastard is the one who killed Dan!¡± Bowie couldn¡¯t stop shouting.

    While a few understood that this was war but there also a few of them glaring at Jason. In their heart and mind, Dan was a comrade they look up to, even back when they were training in military school. Harboring something towards Jason couldn¡¯t be helped considering they had to accept the death of their friend.

    Bowie kept on throwing profanities but Jason kept his cool as he kept his lips tightly sealed. He didn¡¯t say a word as he just looked at these people in the eyes.

    After a while, the situation cooled down a bit. Pixie took control of the squad as she then proceeded for the evacuation process. The whole squad turned into a muted group as they traveled back to the shore where the inflatable boat was located. Dan¡¯s body was brought along and as they departed towards Welcome Island, everyone had their own thoughts in mind.

    After reaching the island, a helicopter was already on standby. They were lucky as their timing was right. Dan¡¯s body was put in a body bag and loaded up inside the cargo helicopter. Jason handed the young woman over to the field medic that came along with the chopper.

    The young woman was being taken care of and Jason sat at the back of the helicopter with the rest of them. Dead silence prevailed over the air and as the sounds of the helicopter blade turned louder, at least it consoled Jason that he was going back.

    The helicopter took flight heading back towards Toronto.

    Meanwhile, the lighting horn wolf woke up from its unconscious state. It sprang up on its four legs in alarmed but seeing nothing was around it, the wolf remembered the pain it felt and it remembered that split second of the image of that man punching it. It was still alive yet this shame and humiliation it felt couldn¡¯t be wash away. The moon hung on the sky as it was already dark and as the wolf howled at the moon in frustration, a second horn emerged as revenge was the only path it sought.

 Chapter 112

    A cargo helicopter landed on the ground, military personnel scrambled on the ground as they prepared to greet the first arrival from operation Thunder Bay. The back door opened up and the solemn sight of the soldiers greeted them.

    Pixie and the rest carried Dan¡¯s dead body sealed inside a black bag. They walked out of the helicopter with a lone man watching from behind.

    After the squad went further into the distance, Jason descended from the helicopter. One of the ground personnel approached him.

    ¡°Sir,¡± the personnel was frozen for a second as he saw Jason was half-naked with only his brief and the backpack on his back.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°The Major request a debrief on the mission,¡± said the military personnel.

    Jason glanced behind him, the young adult woman was still unconscious and strapped on a stretcher.

    ¡°The young woman needs medical attention, she¡¯s a survivor from Thunder Bay,¡± said Jason.

    The military personnel couldn¡¯t hide his surprise hearing there was a survivor. He went off calling a few other people as they then carried the young woman away.

    Jason followed along as he then branched off guided into another path.

    The military personnel opened a door for him. Jason nodded at the personnel as he entered the room. The room was already filled with people. He saw the member of his squad and three people sitting at the front, facing toward the squad. He recognized one of them, it was the Major.

    ¡°Have a seat Mr.Park,¡± said the Major.

    Jason took a seat in the last row. He sensed a few glaring eyes but he ignored it.

    ¡°First of all, I give my condolence for the loss of Staff Sergeant Dan. A big loss to our side to lose such a brave soldier,¡± said the Major as his eyes scanned the whole room.

    ¡°Second in command, Sergeant Amelia Tremblay,¡± the Major called out to that name.

    A rather foreign name to Jason but it wasn¡¯t surprising since he only knew their nicknames.

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± a woman responded.

    To Jason surprised, Pixie was the one who answered back.

    Amelia? She¡¯s definitely not an Amelia, no wonder her nickname is Pixie.

    ¡°Report on the mission,¡± said the Major.

    Pixie proceeded to report everything from the beginning to the end. Frankly speaking, those in the squad couldn¡¯t hide their surprise after hearing about the trio journey to the center of the city.

    Then came the part where she told about them fighting against the goblin horde throughout the whole night. The whole squad couldn¡¯t hide their expression. Afterward came the climax of the report, a fight against the goblin giant along with Trumbo, the halfling.

    At this point onwards, everyone ears were listening closely to Pixie¡¯s voice, except for Jason. With his body slouching over the chair and his arms crossed over his chest, his thought wandered.

    ¡°That¡¯s the end of my report,¡± said Pixie.

    There was silence in the whole debriefing room. Although the whole squad had been fighting against those doggo and steadily leveling themselves up, yet hearing about their fight against such powerful monsters leave them baffled.

    ¡°and the young woman Mr.Park?¡± the Major snapped himself out from his bewilderment as he confirmed the well-being of the hidden mission tasked to the deceased Dan.

    ¡°Probably in the infirmary, she¡¯s still unconscious,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Is there anything else you would like to share Mr.Park?¡± the Major asked.

    ¡°No,¡± Jason answered.

    The Major and Jason stared at each other for a few seconds before the Major turned away back to Pixie. Pixie then gave a brief summary regarding the current squad status.

    To the Major¡¯s delight, everyone in the squad had turned into an Awakened and their levels were not too shabby. Most were at level four while Pixie stood at the highest at level nine.

    Everyone in the squad marveled at Pixie¡¯s achievement. It made sense after what she had been through. The Major couldn¡¯t hide his smile after seeing the accomplishment of this squad, he anticipated that the rest of them might have the same result as them. In the Major¡¯s eyes, he finally saw that the Canadian Army had a fighting chance against these invulnerable monsters.

    ¡°Everyone of you fought hard, and it¡¯s not far from the truth that right now all of you are the hope of Canada. So go and rest up and be prepared for the next mission, that is all. You may all dismissed,¡± said the Major.

    As everyone was leaving, the Major spoke once more.

    ¡°Mr.Park, may I have a word,¡± Jason stopped short as he turned around. He took a seat once more and as the rest of them went out, the Major opened his mouth.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done a good job saving the civilian, but you¡¯re not supposed to contact the father. We have protocol Mr.Park and I hope you abide by it, for this time, I¡¯ll let it slide,¡± said the Major.

    Jason stood up looking straight at the Major¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding something, to begin with, I¡¯ve no obligation of doing that hidden mission of yours, and me contacting her father is well within my own right,¡± Jason would not cower against that subtle threat.

    ¡°Second of all, don¡¯t try to even use me or else you¡¯re not going to like it,¡± Jason turned around and left the room.

    The Major couldn¡¯t hide the frown on his face and his fists were clenched tightly as he restrained himself.

    ¡°Fucking bastard,¡± but the Major couldn¡¯t hold off his anger. He cursed at Jason who was now long gone.

    On the other hand, Jason walked away. He found a military personnel waiting for him as she then brought him over to his personal room. There was even a set of clothes readied for him on top of the clean bed.

    ¡°Sir, if you need some food the cafeteria is always open. If you need anything else, you can call me through this number,¡± said the military personnel.

    Jason fetched the piece of paper with a line of numbers on it.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Jason.

    The military personnel left Jason to his own as the man freshened himself with a shower and changing to a brand new set of clothes. A military cargo pants and a plain gray t-shirt. He sat on the edge of the bed while deep in his own thought.

    ¡°Ah, I still got that two scrolls from Trumbo,¡± said Jason.

    He grabbed the bag and pulled out two scrolls from it. Then he saw the description of these two scrolls.

    Lightning Fury

    Manifest three electrical arrows with homing capabilities. May induce paralysis for 0.5 sec upon contact.

    Lv.1 : EP cost 5

    ¡°Accept!¡± Jason didn¡¯t wait after seeing the description of the skill. A rather good offensive type of skill and the most eye-catching thing about it was the effect upon contact. Paralysis which might as well be equivalent to a stunning effect.

    The EP cost is a bit high but the paralysis effect makes up for it.

    But the next one blew his mind.

    Contract

    Bind two people to a single condition. Breaching the agreement within the contract will result in an excruciating penalty.

    Lv.1 : EP cost 100,

    What the?

    Jason sat there in bewilderment, the description was simple but the things he could do with this skill were unimaginable. One thing for sure, at least now he had something to keep himself safe. Like they always said, make sure to always have a black and white for an agreement.

    ¡°Accept,¡± Jason said. Another new skill registered within himself.

    He couldn¡¯t help but smile after receiving these two new skills, especially Contract. Then his grumbling stomach caught his attention.

    Walking out of his room, he went to the cafeteria. He spotted a group of people and knew who they were. It was his previous squad yet seeing how silent they were in eating, they were probably still grieving regarding Dan¡¯s death.

    Jason fetched a tray as he piled up a bunch of food. Rather than sitting with the squad, he sat far away from them as he thought it was better to eat alone.

    He gobbled up the corn salad and he was rather surprised by how delicious the food was. Based on his understanding, the food in the military shouldn¡¯t be this good.

    I guess I¡¯m wrong then.

    Jason took his time enjoying the food but at the corner of his eyes, the squad was walking over towards him. He had a bad feeling about this. He didn¡¯t want to confront them considering that he did fail in rescuing Dan¡¯s life but if they went over the line, then he wouldn¡¯t stay polite.

    Soon three people stood in front of him.

    ¡°We want to apologize,¡± said a feminine voice.

    Jason tilted his head up and saw these three. Hemlock, Twitch, and Sugar Man. His guess was wrong yet again.

    ¡°We heard from Pixie¡¯s report and we think we went over the line blaming you over Dan¡¯s death,¡± said Hemlock.

    Jason glanced at the other table and saw Bowie sitting there alone.

    ¡°Hmm, Bowie is a bit embarrassed about apologizing since he did go overboard a bit with his action. Nonetheless, we apologize for blaming you. We know you did your best and so did Dan,¡± said Hemlock.

    Her eyes cast down after mentioning Dan¡¯s name.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, where¡¯s Pixie?¡± Jason broke the silence as these three didn¡¯t say a word after mentioning Dan.

    ¡°She¡¯s resting at the barrack,¡± said Hemlock.

    ¡°She¡¯s okay?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she has the strongest willpower among us,¡± said Hemlock.

    As silence ensued once more, the door to the cafeteria was banged wide open as a bunch of soldiers walked inside. Their appearance caught Jason¡¯s attention. They were all bloody with most of their clothes in tatters.

    Then he heard Hemlock¡¯s voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s the other squad,¡± said Hemlock.

    Then one of the soldiers noticed Jason and the trio from a distance. There was hesitation in his eyes but he decided on something as he walked over to Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re Jason Park right?¡± the soldier asked.

    ¡°Yeah, why?¡± Jason asked back as his gut was telling him something.

    The soldier¡¯s face was drenched in sweat as his lips were tightly sealed as something was hindering him from speaking a word.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Jason probed once more.

    ¡°Miss Park saved our lives and¡­¡± before the soldier could end his sentence.

    Jason already stood up and grabbed him by the collar. Jason pulled him closer and said.

    ¡°Where is she?¡± his tone was gruff as his blood began to boil.

    ¡°She¡­ she¡­¡± the soldier went nervous as he didn¡¯t expect a response from Jason like this.

    ¡°Say it!¡± Jason shouted.

    ¡°She¡¯s at the infirmary,¡± muttered the soldier.

    Jason let go of the soldier as he rushed out of the cafeteria at blinding speed.

    While the soldier was trying to compose himself after being thrown on the floor, Hemlock couldn¡¯t hide her curiosity.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Then the soldier spoke.

    ¡°Goblins riding on wolves ambushed us and if it wasn¡¯t for Miss Park, half of the squad wouldn¡¯t be alive right now.¡±

 Chapter 113

    A man barged inside the infirmary. The view was a sight to behold. They were many weeping in pain while some scream and shout. Blood splattered across the floor and on the white bed as these soldiers were in a critically injured state. It was as if he was inside an infirmary war zone.

    Jason¡¯s eyes rolled around searching for a specific person. His feet then shuffled around the floor peeking through every blinder searching for his sister. Then a voice called out to him.

    ¡°Mr.Park?¡± he turned and saw a nurse dressed in a light blue gown with her face covered by a mask.

    ¡°Your sister is in the ICU ward,¡± said the nurse.

    Jason¡¯s eyes turned wide as he grabbed the nurse by the shoulders.

    ¡°Where is she?¡± he asked.

    The nurse felt a slight bit of pain over her shoulders as Jason was losing his grip over his own strength. But rather than retaliating, the nurse kept her calm.

    ¡°Right this way sir,¡± she said.

    Jason glanced at the sign above the door. A glowing sign with three letters. I, C, U. His patience was running thin as he ran leaving the nurse behind and he slammed the door open.

    He walked inside and saw his sister lying on the bed. He was baffled seeing his sister.

    ¡°Esther¡­¡± his voice trailed down as his eyes quivered.

    He couldn¡¯t believe it as he saw Esther covered with wires and IV lines all over her body. Even her breathing was aided by the respirator machine. His steps shuffled slowly towards Esther as a few doctors and nurses noticed the appearance of Jason.

    ¡°Sir? You can¡¯t be here, this is the ICU, only¡­¡± the nurse¡¯s voice drowned out from his ears as he cared less about what these people were talking about.

    Then a rather annoyed doctor step-up to the plate grabbing Jason by the shoulder.

    ¡°Listen here bud, this is a strict military area, you are not¡­¡± before the doctor can finish his words, he saw a pair of eyes glaring straight at him.

    ¡°Get your hands off of me before I punch that fucking smug face of yours,¡± said Jason.

    That direct threat along with that powerful glare was enough to make the doctor took his hand away from Jason. Then the nurse who brought Jason over managed to reached the ICU. She was panting for her breath as she tried to speak out to Jason.

    ¡°Sir huff huff, you need to huff huff huff wear PPE first huff huff before entering,¡± said the nurse, but it was a bit too late for that.

    Jason ignored the medical personnel in the ward as his eyes were drawn to the file with Esther¡¯s name on it. He grabbed and read through the file.

    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t read that,¡± said the doctor but Jason ignored it.

    He read through it and the words were not pleasant to read. The medical report described multiple grievous bite wounds all over Esther¡¯s body, some to be from an animal, and some closely resembled humans. Not only that there were also sharp incision wounds and claw marks. Jason gritted his teeth after reading all of it and he couldn¡¯t help but imagine what she had been through.

    It seems low-level monsters should not be underestimated since a large number of them could easily overpower someone like Esther.

    Jason¡¯s rage was getting out of hand as he crumpled Esther¡¯s medical report out of a mistake. Then he glanced back at Esther. His heart ached just from seeing her like this.

    ¡°Everyone, get out,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    But the medical personnel were flustered hearing Jason¡¯s words. They didn¡¯t understand what he meant by that.

    ¡°I said fucking get out before I fucking kill you all,¡± said Jason.

    Unknown to Jason, these innocent health workers felt an unbearable force overwhelming them. They didn¡¯t know what was happening to them but everyone knew that the wisest choice was to leave.

    All of them left, leaving Jason alone with Esther. They were a few more patients in the ward but they didn¡¯t matter to Jason.

    Jason glanced around a few times and as he swung his arm, Wind Cutters went flying around demolishing every camera in the ICU. He has the ability to heal and he would like to keep it as a secret. Even Pixie had the courtesy to not divulge that information during the debriefing at least she knew what was best for her.

    Jason pulled those wires and lines away from Esther and as the vital sign monitor started beeping, showing her vitals dropping, Jason quickly put into action.

    ¡°Major Heal,¡± said Jason.

    Green glow engulfed Esther¡¯s entire being and after it receded, they were no more wounds on Esther¡¯s body, not even a scar.

    ¡°Esther?¡± He called out to her.

    He saw signs of movement from Esther¡¯s eyelids. Jason shook her body and a little moan escaped from Esther¡¯s lips.

    ¡°Wake up Esther,¡± said Jason.

    The woman on the bed slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the worried face of her brother.

    ¡°Jason? But how?¡± Esther sounded a bit delirious and as her head turned side to side, she noticed where she was.

    ¡°I¡¯m in a hospital? But how do I get here?¡± she asked.

    But to her surprise, a warm body came crashing against her face. Then she felt two arms wrapping around her as she could felt the warmth from Jason.

    She didn¡¯t expect a hug from Jason but seeing how he suddenly being caring made her remembered what had happened before she blacked out.

    A fight she would remember for the rest of her life. A fight to the death against an army of monsters. She thought her end was near considering how badly injured she was but she could vaguely remember the sound of a helicopter blade right before she went unconscious.

    They stayed like that for a couple more minutes before these two finally came apart.

    Esther noticed Jason wiping over his face. She could visibly saw the red eyes of his but rather than saying anything it was best to just kept her lips sealed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± said Jason.

    Jason aided Esther down but the moment her feet touched the ground, she felt a cool breeze swiping over her back.

    ¡°Eek!¡± Esther was surprised as her hands roamed her back.

    A single thought came to mind, she wasn¡¯t wearing anything underneath the patient¡¯s gown.

    ¡°What?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I need clothes,¡± she said.

    Jason looked up and down and knew what she meant by that.

    ¡°I know where you can get some,¡± said Jason.

    The duo came out of the ICU and surprisingly the doctors and nurses were waiting outside like scared little lambs. Yet their fears were swept off by the appearance of Esther walking side by side with the irrational man.

    They couldn¡¯t believe it but seeing was believing. Esther was as good as new, healthy as a horse. They were all staring at her in disbelief.

    Jason and Esther passed through them and as they headed for Jason¡¯s personal room, they stumbled upon someone. A rather familiar tall man.

    ¡°Woah, Jason? Esther?¡± the recognizable voice was none other than our friendly neighborhood Hakeem.

    ¡°You guys are already here? Man, am I the last one?¡± Hakeem sounded disappointed but then he noticed Esther¡¯s attire.

    ¡°Wait, why are you in a hospital gown?¡± Hakeem asked while sounding rather tactless.

    Jason ignored this friend of his and changed his glance to the military aid besides him.

    ¡°Can you get my sister a set of clothes?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Affirmative, right this way sir,¡± said the military aid.

    Jason and Esther followed her while Hakeem was rather flustered a bit.

    ¡°Wait, she¡¯s supposed to bring me to my room,¡± said Hakeem. Nonetheless, he followed them along.

    ¡°This is your room and inside you can find a set of clothes that fit you,¡± said the military aid. ¡°and the next room is yours, sir.¡±

    Hakeem nodded while giving his thanks. Jason tapped Esther by the shoulder.

    ¡°Meet us after wearing your clothes at Hakeem¡¯s room,¡± said Jason. He then grabbed Hakeem by the arm and dragged him over to his room.

    --

    In Hakeem¡¯s room, after waiting for a while, a knock came from outside the door. Esther came inside and as she took a seat, Jason opened his mouth.

    ¡°What happened Esther?¡± Jason asked.

    Esther looked down and a few seconds later, she began retelling of what had happened.

    She remembered it clearly. It all began as dawn came. Out from the horizon, a huge shadow came, a whole group of goblin riders came down on them. They responded too late and due to their negligence, more members of the squad were dying one after another.

    But they kept on fighting for their lives against the horde of goblin riders and at the forefront of them, was Esther. With her metamorphosis ability, she killed those goblin riders easily but, they were too many.

    In the end, Esther did the unthinkable. She took a risk as she blocked them all through the narrow alleyway. A rather simple plan but it worked against these low IQ creatures. She fought on all alone by her own self as she told the rest of the squad to fled away.

    Time ticked by and injuries littered across her body. Even with her blood spilling on the ground, she kept fighting against these heinous monsters to her last breath. She fought on with fear creeping up to her, she knew she could run away but with her current state, she knew the best option was to fight on until the end.

    In the end, she was the last person standing, as the whole alleyway was littered with dead wolves and goblins. She gained a few levels but that didn¡¯t matter as she was close to reaching her last breath.

    Esther dropped to her knees as she then lay on the ground among the dead corpses. Slowly, her consciousness was fading away to the realm of the unconscious. Yet she fought on trying to keep herself awake.

    She didn¡¯t know who but someone carried her away and the last thing she remembered was hearing the sound of the helicopter.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I can remember,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Damnnn,¡± exclaimed Hakeem. Their tall friend was genuinely surprised while Jason kept his silence.

    Whoever saved my sister¡¯s life, I¡¯m really grateful.

    In his heart, he was eternally grateful but now he learned his lesson.

    One thing for sure, there¡¯s no more splitting up between us three. There¡¯re too many variables in military intelligence and it might not be true. Shit, I should have never believed them fully.

    For now, Jason learned to doubt even towards the nation¡¯s military. Then he turned his head to Hakeem who was still amazed by Esther¡¯s story.

    ¡°What about you? You look pretty fine, you probably had a good time carrying those bastards, didn¡¯t you?¡± Jason said.

    It took Hakeem a bit of time to realize it as he then responded.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got our share of trouble but it¡¯s not that bad when compared to Esther,¡± said Hakeem as he scratched his head.

    While Hakeem and Esther had a friendly conversation, Jason was deep in his own thought.

    He looked at himself and the two who were conversing. From his observation, he knew one thing for sure, they were severely lacking in terms of equipment.

    I probably need to hit the furnace when we get back.

 Chapter 114

    Inside a black van, three people were minding their own business. Esther was checking on her phone while Hakeem was grooving with his music and Jason staring out through the window. He was deep in thought as he remembered the conversation he had with Neil.

    --

    Inside an office room, Jason sat in front of Neil as both were staring at each other. A rather short silence between them yet it felt like ages went by. Neil¡¯s eyes strayed away as he lost the unofficial staring match with a slight sigh escaping his lips.

    ¡°Have you read the report?¡± Neil asked as he stood up walking over to the other side of the office.

    ¡°No,¡± Jason said as he watched Neil opened a hidden fridge and pouring himself a drink.

    Neil sat back down as he chugged everything down his throat. Again, this military official let out another sigh.

    ¡°We were wrong,¡± said Neil.

    Jason didn¡¯t say a word as he just watched the action of this man.

    ¡°We knew our intelligence has its loopholes but we didn¡¯t think we would fuck up this bad,¡± said Neil.

    Jason maintained his silence.

    ¡°Nonetheless, the soldiers that survived had all been awakened,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°Sixty-nine new Awakened in the military, it¡¯s still not enough but we have to start somewhere,¡± said Neil as he flipped through the documents once more.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve got to hand it to you, the upper bracket of new Awakened is all from your squad, especially this Amelia Tremblay,¡± said Neil as he took a quick glance at Jason.

    ¡°First thing first, I apologize. I didn¡¯t know about the rescue mission, my men are investigating the Major as we speak,¡± said Neil.

    Rather than saying something, Jason kept his lips sealed. He didn¡¯t mind it much since he had been paid and seeing the major in big trouble seemed to be an icing to the cake. Jason¡¯s gut feeling was wary about that Major.

    Neil kept his eyes at Jason. He heard about the payment and thought this man would defend the Major yet Jason surprised him once more and acted as if everything was natural.

    ¡°and about Amelia, she told me everything. I¡¯m rather impressed seeing how effective it was sending you with the squad, one mission alone and she¡¯s already at level nine even beating out Miss Portsmouth. It¡¯s a shame really if Staff Sergeant Dan is still alive, he would have been the aspiring top two along with Amelia,¡± said Neil as he poured another glass for himself and took another sip.

    ¡°But something concerns me, the last UC you fought,¡± said Neil as he one-shot his drink.

    ¡°Amelia told me it tried to communicate,¡± the gaze in Neil¡¯s eyes changed drastically. ¡°Is this true?¡±

    So many things were circling inside Neil¡¯s head as this new information was literally groundbreaking. If communication was possible then it opened up a whole new possibility in this disastrous situation.

    ¡°Does trying to kill me sounds like communicating to you?¡± Jason said.

    ¡°I heard you almost die,¡± said Neil as if it was a taunt.

    ¡°Almost,¡± Jason replied. ¡°So much for a city with weak monsters,¡± said Jason as he gave Neil the eye.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the main topic here, did that humanoid UC really communicate with you?¡± Neil asked once more.

    ¡°He did. But like any foreign language out there, it sounds gibberish,¡± said Jason.

    But the word used by Jason caught Neil¡¯s interest.

    ¡°He?¡± Neil said.

    ¡°Trumbo Wanderfoot, a halfling classify as a named monster,¡± Jason answered.

    Neil stared at Jason with his eyes wide open. He then shook his head side to side.

    ¡°A halfling?¡± Neil asked. ¡°Like from Tolkien''s work?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, if you ask me, Trumbo is like fifty percent of becoming Gollum. He¡¯s definitely not like those friendly halflings from the movies,¡± said Jason with a straight face.

    Neil shook his head again and again.

    ¡°Do you think we can establish communication?¡± Neil asked.

    Jason¡¯s eyes narrowed down.

    ¡°Is there a reason we should? Just to clear things up, you do know we¡¯re being invaded,¡± said Jason.

    A fact that both of them couldn¡¯t refuse.

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± said Neil as he took something out from his drawer and casually threw it on the desk.

    ¡°This is the new report about our current status,¡± said Neil.

    Jason flipped through a couple of pages and the crease on his forehead turned tighter with each page. Most of it was maps of Canada and the highlighted color of most of it worried him.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°We map out the area using our satellite and since these UC could only appear as a blur in our picture, we can easily map the affected area. At least their jamming capability did help us in a way,¡± said Neil as he gave a helpless laugh at the end.

    The man poured another drink in his glass.

    ¡°Want to go easy on that? Aren¡¯t you still working?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Canada is losing almost 35% of our territory to the UC and we can¡¯t do anything about it other than to flee,¡± Neil replied while ignoring Jason¡¯s question. He took a sip and look out through the window of his office.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have many options here Mr.Park, and if establishing communication is one way of delaying the inevitable, I¡¯ll gladly do it until we find another way, or¡­¡± his voice trailed off as he turned to Jason.

    ¡°are you going to do something about it?¡±

    --

    ¡°Jason, we¡¯re here,¡± Esther¡¯s voice brought Jason back to the present away from his muddle thoughts.

    ¡°See you later,¡± Esther said to Hakeem as she got off the van.

    Jason was about to exit the van but Hakeem stopped him.

    ¡°Dude, you okay?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Ease up man, you did a pretty good job,¡± said Hakeem as he patted Jason¡¯s shoulder a few times.

    A smile crept up on Jason¡¯s face.

    ¡°Thanks, man,¡± he said as he left the van and walked through the front yard.

    The black van left and in front of him, his parents were hugging his sister tightly with tears falling down from his mother¡¯s eyes. He stopped on his track as he soaked in this sight for a while.

    The lives of those close to me¡­

    The love that he felt to these people in front of him only intensified as he remembered the highlighted part of the map of Canada. His teary mother called out to him as Jason too joined in with the family hug.

    Ignoring the annoying plea from Esther, he embraced this feeling once more as it reminded of him the reason for him to continue to fight on.

    --

    Lying down on his bed, Jason was staring at the ceiling. Both he and Esther got an earful of nagging from their mother as she didn¡¯t expect their new work to be that long.

    Rather than telling their mother, they were going for a camping trip that didn¡¯t make any sense considering their current situation, both he and Esther told a white lie that they were working together with the military for a special project that involved innovating their current technology.

    They were skeptical at first considering how they didn¡¯t get why the military wanted Jason of all people but didn¡¯t question about Esther at all. It pricked Jason¡¯s heart a bit but he let it slide since they were his parents after all.

    In the end, his parents were happy about him having a job here in their hometown and amid this invasion situation, their son did a pretty good job.

    A light smile surfaced while thinking about his mother¡¯s smile. Then Dan¡¯s death resurfaced within his mind shooing away all those good thoughts. He couldn¡¯t help but frown.

    He knew he was the one at fault. If he didn¡¯t underestimate the monsters roaming Thunder Bay City then Dan¡¯s death could have been prevented. His fist was clenched tightly to the point of shivering, then he remembered something.

    He jumped out of his bed and opened up the computer. He checked his bank account and saw the seven digits lining up. A number that didn¡¯t make any sense to him but now was possible through that blackm- business deal he made with the young woman¡¯s father.

    Yet rather than being elated his expression was dead serious as he had something in mind. With nothing to lose, he changed his clothes and went out of his room.

    While passing through the corridor he passed by Esther¡¯s room. He stopped as he saw a slight gap on the door. He peeked through and saw his sister sleeping on the bed even when the sun was still up.

    It made sense for her to sleep after going through such a rough night and a horrible morning. To be frank, Jason should have sleep considering how he didn¡¯t sleep a wink throughout the night. But he couldn¡¯t at the moment, not right now. Not when he had something in mind.

    Jason went out as he took the pink MPV and drove away.

    It was late in the evening and as the sun was about to set, he arrived at his destination. His eyes glanced at the nameplate of the building, Osborn Metalwork.

    He got out and went inside the building as most people were coming out as they just finished their wor for the day but then he stumbled a familiar face.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re that guy right?¡± a man called out to Jason.

    Jason took a look at this guy and although he looked familiar, Jason still didn¡¯t remember his name.

    ¡°It¡¯s Mateo,¡± said Mateo. ¡°I work at Gondor Smithy.¡± Mateo tried to make Jason remembered him but judging from Jason¡¯s clueless expression it didn¡¯t seem to work.

    ¡°Oh good, I¡¯ve been wanting to ask you something,¡± said Jason as he dragged Mateo inside much to the latter reluctance.

    ¡°I just got off from wo-¡± Mateo couldn¡¯t even finish his words as he was dragged back into his workplace.

    He tried to resist but no matter what he did, he couldn¡¯t move an inch away from Jason¡¯s grip. Mateo himself was quite confident about his physical prowess considering how physically demanding that was involved in his work. To add things up, Mateo was even a bit bigger than Jason.

    What came next, him seated across Jason. Mateo was having a confusing time as he stared at this Asian man who was looking around.

    ¡°Sir, the smithy is close. Whatever you had in mind can we-¡± Mateo turned silent as the sudden strong gaze from Jason caught him off guard.

    Mateo suddenly felt intimidated by this man and without knowing, his body was already drenched in sweat. He cursed himself for having to work today of all day, he didn¡¯t understand why of all people, he was the one to meet with such a weirdo. Then Jason smiled and the intimidation pressure went away. Mateo¡¯s breath was ragged as he tried to catch his breath.

    ¡°You okay there?¡± Jason asked.

    Mateo nodded vigorously and at this point onwards he noted to himself to mind his words to this strange Asian man.

    ¡°Mateo is it?¡± Jason asked Mateo his name once more.

    Mateo nodded with both of his hands placed politely on his knees with his back straight.

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Mateo answered.

    ¡°Do you know how to make a sword?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Mateo stared at Jason as he couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard.

    ¡°The axes I made were pretty good but I¡¯m the kind of guy who likes sword better, so do you know how to make one?¡± that strong gaze returned once more as it was directed straight to Mateo.

    The man was shivering in his boots and he didn¡¯t know whether to say yes or not. Surprisingly he knew how to make a sword but answering ¡®yes¡¯ might not be the best option for him since he had prior experience with this man but saying ¡®no¡¯ probably wasn¡¯t a good idea also since Mateo was getting a bad vibe from Jason.

    Mateo was a sensitive guy, in a different kind of way. Sensitive in terms of detecting the supernatural and rather than seeing ghost lingering around Jason, he smelled a strong odor of blood coming from Jason.

    ¡°Hey, did you hear me?¡± Jason¡¯s words snapped him back but not a word escaped his mouth as Mateo still didn¡¯t know what to answer.

    But as Mateo¡¯s mind was blank, a sudden enlightenment hit him. In that instant, he answered the question.

    ¡°Yes! I can make a sword!¡±

 Chapter 115

    Mateo Pena had a very unique family. Both grandparents were from Mexico and heavily religious. Them being religious was not without reason. Mateo¡¯s family had a history of being overly sensitive to the unseen, to the supernatural or to be more specific to the paranormal. Seeing sudden silhouette in the night popping out of nowhere was the norm for Mateo. He had a difficult childhood but growing to adulthood made him slightly desensitize a bit as most of the time he tried to ignore their existence.

    Yet in front of this man called Jason, he felt something else besides the ghost that he usually saw sitting on top of graveyards. He barely remembered the first time they met but he was sure that Jason didn¡¯t give off such a bad kind of vibe.

    But this second time was different and he couldn¡¯t put his head together of how a person could change in such a short period of time. Even for Mateo, this was a first for him to witness such a thing happening to a real-life person.

    Blurry ghastly smoke surrounded Jason¡¯s body. It was barely visible yet Mateo could felt the coldness coming from this man. It was rather weird for Mateo to felt such coldness in the smithy. There was never an occasion he felt cool in this smithy since the temperature inside was quite high.

    Mateo himself was dumbfounded by this and the eerie feeling he got after seeing these things hovering around Jason only made goosebumps crawling all over his body.

    He heard the question from Jason about being able to make a sword or not. Although he didn¡¯t have formal experience in making one, he did had a side-job of making sword prop for cosplayers.

    Yet being asked by this person made him questioned himself whether it was a good idea or not to reveal such information. Mateo felt wary about Jason as at times he could vaguely hear creepy hollow sounds but what came next astounded him even more.

    Above Jason¡¯s head, Mateo saw something. Two numbers floating above Jason¡¯s head depicting twenty-six. This wasn¡¯t the first he had seen such thing, he once saw a group of three people wearing military uniform having a single-digit number floating on top of his head.

    He heard rumors as well as looking up on the internet, that the military was finally taking a step in fighting against the UC and it was all because of these Awakened, dubbed as a new breed of human capable of vanquishing these monsters. Mateo himself saw the red hair maiden from America fighting in TV against those monsters.

    Mateo knew what it meant to be an Awakened. One of these days, he had trouble sleeping in the night, afraid of a sudden ambush from these monsters. Although these monsters were still far away from reaching Toronto, Mateo was still worried knowing that anything could happen in life.

    Then Mateo¡¯s view towards Jason changed. Rather than cowering in fear over whatever that surrounding Jason, Mateo felt it was better to accept this man. With confidence in Mateo¡¯s voice, he answered to Jason.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mateo said.

    ¡°Good, let¡¯s start then,¡± said Jason.

    The two spent time in the smithy as Mateo taught Jason his know-how on how swordsmithing. Hammer hit metal as sparks flew. These two were working together hand-in-hand and after hours enduring the heat of the furnace, cold steel emerged from the depth of water.

    Jason couldn¡¯t hide his smile seeing the double-edge blade. It was a pretty crude sword considering it was just a piece of metal with both blade and hilt altogether in one form. It made sense considering Mateo was an amateur in sword-making, cosplayer didn¡¯t ask much other than for the sword to be cool.

    Jason was informed by Mateo regarding that matter but Jason didn¡¯t mind.

    Crude Iron Sword

    Category : 1H-Sword

    Grade : Normal

    A rather crude weapon made without any formal knowledge of sword-smithing. Still capable of inflicting damage but lacking in durability.

    Attack : +21

    Jason held up the crude iron sword in both of his hands. The grip on the hilt was cold and kind of pointy. It was rather uncomfortable but nonetheless, he felt proud seeing this sword.

    This wasn¡¯t the end as Jason continued to make another one much to the surprise of Mateo. It was already late in the night and he was dead tired but Jason was brimming with energy. Mateo didn¡¯t want to waste this chance thus he put up with it.

    In the end, the clock struck midnight and another sword was born. This time Jason made the sword from scratch without any aid from Mateo and the result was far different.

    Crude Iron Sword

    Category : 1H-Sword

    Grade : Normal

    A rather crude weapon made without any formal knowledge of sword-smithing. Still capable of inflicting damage but lacking in durability.

    Attack : +21(+1)

    There was an additional damage point for the weapon and looking back on how he made the sword, he put a few ideas in mind as he tempered the sword. Jason didn¡¯t know how to explain it but it was as if a flow of knowledge coming in and out subtly as if brushing against his mind like an autumn breeze.

    He didn¡¯t know where this inspiration came but he had an inkling that it might be related to his Basic Smithing and he wasn¡¯t wrong. The Basic Smithing he had was aiding him during smithing, correcting his method as well as improvising it.

    Jason didn¡¯t stop smithing as he continued to make one sword after another. He was growing accustomed to the hammer as well as the furnace and by daybreak, there was a line of sword neatly placed together.

    Mateo who tried to keep up with Jason fell asleep in the last hour as he suddenly woke up from a bad dream, his gaze met the sight of those swords.

    Him being amazed was an understatement. Mateo noticed how every time Jason finished a sword, it would look even sharper than the previous one and even the time spent was getting shorter with each new sword produced.

    Mateo stared at Jason as if he was looking at a genius blacksmith in the making. But then something else just struck him, the first light of dawn broke through the window as he finally realized it was morning. A new day at work but he was dead tired and not to mentioned the mess in the smithy.

    Then the sudden thought of price came by. He didn¡¯t have the guts to ask Jason worrying that something bad would happen. But if he didn¡¯t, then his job would be on the line here. Getting his boss piss wouldn¡¯t be the best idea at the moment.

    Mateo pulled himself together and braced himself.

    ¡°Sir, the material cost it¡¯s¡­¡± but before he could end his word, Jason flashed a card at Mateo.

    ¡°Swipe it,¡± Jason said with the swagger of a rich person. He had never felt or act like this before but it felt good having this amount of money.

    I have to admit, I guess having a load of money really puts confidence in oneself. If a millionaire felt like this then what about those freaking billionaires?

    While Jason was lost in his own thought, he then remembered something. He turned back to Mateo who was dealing with his card.

    ¡°Oh by the way, can you prepare more material for the swords? It would be best if you¡¯ve got a lot more material other than iron,¡± said Jason.

    Mateo didn¡¯t know what to say to this man. From the look of it, it was as if Jason was planning to go another round of sword-making. But Mateo had to break the news to Jason.

    ¡°Sir, there isn¡¯t much material in our smithy considering we are renting a part of this place, the only things we¡¯ve got are iron and a few steel ingots,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°Then buy them,¡± said Jason nonchalantly.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Mateo didn¡¯t quite understand what he meant.

    ¡°Contact the supplier and buy them in bulk. You don¡¯t need to worry about money, I¡¯ll pay for them along with a fifteen percent commission for your help,¡± said Jason.

    It took some time for Mateo to registered it all but as soon as he figured it out, he was gobsmacked in surprise. A sudden business opportunity came out of nowhere. But he wasn¡¯t the one in charge, so he didn¡¯t know how to respond. Then he thought of something.

    ¡°How many do you need?¡± Mateo asked.

    ¡°Enough to make a thousand swords,¡± once more Jason¡¯s words surprised the heck out of this Latino.

    Jason approached the gaping mouth Mateo and took back his card, he patted Mateo¡¯s shoulder as he said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in the evening or perhaps tomorrow morning so try to prepare as much as you can,¡± Jason said.

    As he was walking away to the main entrance. Mateo realized he was leaving behind the swords.

    ¡°Sir, what about these swords?¡± Mateo asked.

    ¡°Do whatever you want with them, they are all yours,¡± said Jason as he left the building.

    Mateo looked around the empty and messy smithy. He got a bad feeling about this and he was right.

    ¡°The hell is going on here?¡± a shout came from behind.

    Mateo turned and there he was, his boss. Mateo immediately turned flustered as he didn¡¯t expect this situation to happen this soon.

    ¡°I can explain,¡± said Mateo.

    He desperately explained everything from the beginning to the end. His boss had a hard time believing all of this nonsense bullshit but once Mateo showed him the receipt from Jason¡¯s payment, everything cooled down a bit.

    Next, he went on explaining about Jason¡¯s request. Again, the boss felt it was ridiculous hearing about purchasing materials enough to make a thousand swords but the boss convinced once more after Mateo mentioned about the commission.

    The boss couldn¡¯t help but turn interested in this new customer of theirs. In the end, he took along Mateo and went to the security room. Both of them watched the security footage that captured the view of their smithy and as he watched it in fast-forward, he finally believed Mateo¡¯s words.

    --

    Meanwhile, Jason was back home and as per usual, his mother was worried. He came up with a white lie telling her he spent the night at Hakeem¡¯s house. For now, it was enough to soothe the mother¡¯s heart.

    After filling up with breakfast, he went to his room slept through the whole day. By the time he woke up, it was already dark. Yet he already had a plan in motion.

    He got up from the bed and drove himself to a neighborhood. He parked the pink minivan in front of a house. The light on the porch was on and Jason took a few deep breaths before he got out of the car.

    The moon was high on the sky as he walked over the front lawn, finally reaching the front doorstep. Jason knocked on the door trice before he heard a gentle soft voice coming from inside.

    ¡°Coming,¡± said the person from inside.

    Then the door was opened revealing a gray-haired lady covered with a thick knitted cardigan with different patterns on it. She wore thick glasses with a gentle smile flashing on her face. She adjusted her thick frame glasses and asked Jason.

    ¡°You must be Jason. If I must say, you have quite the eyes for a young man. Come in, let this old-timer teach you how to sew some clothes,¡± said the gray-haired lady.

    Jason went inside the house and after a few hours passed, the clock struck midnight. Jason came out from the house with a smile as well as a full belly.

    ¡°Thank you Mrs.Prada, have a goodnight then,¡± said Jason as he walked towards his minivan.

    His gaze couldn¡¯t leave the sight of the blue thing floating in front of him.

    Skill: Basic Tailoring acquired

 Chapter 116

    One week passed and nothing out of the ordinary happened in Jason¡¯s life. This whole week was peaceful with not a shred of violence in his everyday life. Hard to fathom considering how action-packed his daily routine had been in this couple of months.

    There was no bloodshed as his hands were free from the guilt of killing another life. Rather than killing, these hands of his turned to another path, a path of creation. Day and night, he spent most of his time at Gondor Smithy, and occasionally during the night, he would spend time learning the art of weaving threads from a delicate boomer, Mrs.Prada.

    It was late in the afternoon and Jason was wielding a hammer smashing the flat surface of the blunt tool to the burning metal laid on top of the anvil. Again and again, he smashed the hammer with two ardent observers watching his every movement.

    One of them was Mateo, the overly sensitive blacksmith and the other person besides him was the owner of the smithy, a middle-aged man with a full gray hair known to his peers and employees as Logan.

    Logan stood there not too far and not to close to Jason with his arms crossed in front of his chest. For the whole week, he had been keeping an eye on Jason, and day after day, Jason didn¡¯t stop amazed him.

    ¡°He¡¯s getting better,¡± said Logan.

    Mateo who heard his boss¡¯s words was piqued with curiosity. But rather than being curious about Jason¡¯s intention in smithing, Mateo was focused on the unchanging number floating above Jason¡¯s head.

    He had been dying to ask Jason regarding the number but he couldn¡¯t put himself to the front in asking such a sensitive question. He had been contemplating for the whole week whether it was good or not to ask Jason, from what he had seen, Mateo thought Jason as an impulsive type of person who did everything according to his own whim.

    Thus, he had tried to be close with Jason in order to ask the question in a more natural way but his attempt in bonding with Jason was a flop. Throughout the whole week, Jason was like a madman as he only focused on smithing. Mateo couldn¡¯t find the chance to even strike a conversation.

    While Mateo was frustrated all by his lonesome self, Logan approached Jason from the back. Just a few more steps before reaching Jason, Logan stopped short. He heard the sizzling noise of hot metal being quenched inside cold water.

    ¡°Finally,¡± Logan heard Jason¡¯s voice and as Logan¡¯s eyes gazed upon the shining surface of a newly created sword, he couldn¡¯t hide his admiration.

    Steel Sword

    Category : 1H-Sword

    Grade : Rare

    A normal double-edge sword in appearance yet it carries a hidden strength unseen by the naked eye. The continuous effort of a diligent blacksmith created this one of a kind sword.

    Attack : +27(+5)

    Effect : 5% chance of ignoring armor

    A first for Jason, this steel sword was the first sword he had made labeled with a ¡®rare¡¯ grade. A faint shimmered surrounded the steel sword and a second later the shimmer vanished within sight.

    ¡°Beautiful sword,¡± said Logan as he stood a few steps right behind Jason.

    Jason turned and smiled at Logan.

    ¡°Indeed it is,¡± said Jason as his gaze went up and down taking in the sight of his creation.

    Despite looking the same like the rest of the steel swords that he had made over the course of the whole week, this rare grade sword indeed a rather unique aura surrounding it.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Jason received another surprise as a blue window greeted him.

    Novice Smithing level up to level 4

    His effort wasn¡¯t for nothing. His blood, sweat, and tears finally paid off seeing this blue window. He had to admit, his progress in leveling smithing was rather too slow. He had the same thought of relying on the Scarlet Rex¡¯s scale to leveling his smithing skill but he was in need of a good weapon, as well as a good armor.

    ¡°Can I take a look?¡± Logan¡¯s voice reached out to Jason.

    Jason glanced at this middle-aged man. Throughout the whole week, besides making swords, this middle-aged man was one of the two people who kept trying to talk to him. Since Logan did do a favor for him in purchasing those materials, at least he had to show some politeness to the owner of the smithy.

    Jason passed over the steel sword gently with his two hands. Logan grabbed it in his hand as he felt the grip of the sword. While the owner of the smithy traced his eyes up and down on the sword, a new customer just arrived.

    Tall, dark, and adequately pleasing to the eyes, it was none other than Hakeem himself. After asking around and wandering like a lost child, he finally found Gondor Smithy in this huge building.

    ¡°Jason,¡± said Hakeem calling out to his friend.

    Jason turned around and saw his friend waving his hand at him. It was a surprise for Jason as he didn¡¯t expect to find Hakeem stepping inside this smithy.

    Jason left Logan alone with the steel sword as he approached Hakeem. Meanwhile, Mateo couldn¡¯t hide his surprise as he saw a number floating on top of Hakeem¡¯s head. Similar to Jason, it was also in double-digit.

    ¡°Dude, how did you know I was here?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Esther told me,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason was confused. He didn¡¯t actually tell anyone about this place since most of the time he just told the family that he was going out to do some business with the military yet it seemed his cover was blown.

    ¡°But how did she¡­¡± even before he could finish his words, Hakeem responded.

    ¡°She told me she saw the car GPS,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Jason said. A rather stupid mistake or to be more precise, he was careless in hiding his track. But at least he learned a lesson here.

    I better delete the navigation history.

    ¡°So you want to explain about what you¡¯re doing here for the past whole week?¡± Hakeem asked as his eyes were wandering around the whole place.

    ¡°You know about those axes I made a couple of weeks ago?¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Yeah, why?¡± Hakeem asked back.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m making swords now. Do you want one? I¡¯ve got plenty of them,¡± Jason said as he pointed out at a bunch of swords piling up on the floor.

    Hakeem couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Those swords stacking on top of another like a bunch of dirty clothes waiting for laundry and if he properly counted them all, the number wouldn¡¯t be that far from reaching sixty or seventy of them.

    Hakeem shook his head as this wasn¡¯t the time to be amazed by a pile of swords. He came to find Jason for a reason.

    ¡°Jason, this isn¡¯t the time to making swords, aren¡¯t you worry?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Worry about what?¡± Jason replied.

    ¡°The military. It¡¯s been a whole week and they haven¡¯t been calling us,¡± said Hakeem.

    Hakeem was expecting another mission into UC territory since the pay was pretty good. He couldn¡¯t wait for another one but his patience was running thin, and one whole week was the end of his limit.

    ¡°Running out of money?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Cash is good but that isn¡¯t the point here, aren¡¯t you worry about the UC advancement? We should be going out there and push back against those UC,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Relax, the military is probably handling it,¡± said Jason in his nonchalant tone.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Hakeem asked. He was confused by Jason¡¯s statement.

    ¡°You want some water?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m fine,¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°Well, I need it. Come, follow me,¡± said Jason.

    Both of them went to the pantry. Jason grabbed a glass of cold fresh water as he gulped it all down his throat.

    ¡°Ahhh, that¡¯s good,¡± said Jason.

    He took a seat and glanced at Hakeem. He gestured at his friend to take a seat.

    ¡°The military is probably grinding their levels,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡± Hakeem responded. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°Simple really, with all those new Awakened in their rank, they¡¯re probably turning more soldiers into Awakened at Thunder Bay City,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t it too dangerous? They probably need our help,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°They¡¯re fine, they¡¯re probably staying at the safer area with UC below level five. Rather than worrying about them, you should probably worry about yourself, what have you been doing in the past week, I hope you¡¯re not slacking around,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Nah man, I¡¯m grinding on my skills but there isn¡¯t much progress,¡± said Hakeem with his head looking down.

    ¡°Just keep on doing it, effort won¡¯t betray you,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I know man, but¡­ I feel the need to go out there and fight some monsters. I don¡¯t know how to explain this but sitting around and just grinding feels just too lazy and makes me feel left behind,¡± said Hakeem.

    Hakeem changed his glance at Jason staring right at Jason¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a plan or something? I¡¯m down if you want to explore the nearest UC infested city,¡± Hakeem said.

    Jason could tell that Hakeem was anxious. He had the look of a person that needs to increase his level no matter what the cost. Considering the changes that had been going throughout the entire whole world, Hakeem probably had realized the utmost importance of leveling.

    But sadly for this enthusiastic man, Jason had no plan whatsoever.

    ¡°Sorry to disappoint you but for the time being I¡¯ve got no plan at all,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem was disappointed as his head tilted down facing the floor. Both of his legs couldn¡¯t stop shaking for a while now as he had passing thought going through his mind. Should he go alone, was the bold sentence playing in a loop inside his mind.

    But before he could make a mistake, a voice interrupted these two.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a plan.¡±

    Both Jason and Hakeem turned their heads at the same time and as they saw who it was, Jason narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°What do you mean a plan?¡± Jason asked this person back with skepticism in his voice.

    ¡°Who is this dude?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Before Jason could answer, the new guest answered for his own.

    ¡°I¡¯m Mateo, I¡¯m a blacksmith here in Gondor Smithy,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°Did I heard him right? Why is he introducing himself like a character coming from a book written by Tolkien,¡± said Hakeem.

    Both Mateo and Jason ignored Hakeem as Mateo answered.

    ¡°There¡¯s a buyer who wants to buy all of your swords, Mr.Park, and to tell you the truth the one who is buying is an Awakened,¡± said Mateo.

    Jason was intrigued. Although he didn¡¯t care about what the smithy do with his swords, but hearing about an unknown Awakened piqued his curiosity.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± Jason said.

    Mateo couldn¡¯t hide his smile but it was about to turn upside down when Jason opened his mouth once more.

    ¡°But tell me this first, how do you know the buyer is an Awakened? I don¡¯t think an Awakened would give themselves out in the open with the military searching for more of them for recruitment,¡± said Jason.

    A rather sharp glare coming from Jason was directed at Mateo.

    At this point in time, Mateo was sweating bullets as he faced an incredible heavy pressure and as he braced himself from buckling his knees, he tried to fight against this cold murderous aura directed at him.

    Mateo stared at Jason with quivering eyes and rather than seeing Jason as a human, the aura surrounding Jason was turning him more like a demon.

 Chapter 117

    ¡°I¡­uh¡­¡± Mateo¡¯s tongue was tied. Facing this man who was glaring down at him made him felt the shivers.

    Then a hand grabbed on to Jason¡¯s shoulder. It was Hakeem.

    ¡°You¡¯re scaring him, cut him some slack,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason eased up his shoulders as his gaze went away from Mateo. He took a seat on the nearby chair while pouring himself a cup of coffee.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay man, he¡¯s not going to do anything,¡± said Hakeem as he patted Mateo by the shoulder.

    ¡°Come on, have a seat,¡± Hakeem guided the speechless Mateo to one of the chairs and as Mateo sat down, Hakeem did his thing.

    ¡°I¡¯m Hakeem by the way,¡± he extended his hand for a handshake. Mateo was wary at first but seeing the smile on Hakeem¡¯s face made him eased up a bit. Mateo shook Hakeem¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Mateo,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°So, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, how do you know about the buyer? Are you an Awakened?¡± Hakeem¡¯s tone changed a bit colder than usual. Despite the smile hanging on Hakeem¡¯s face, Mateo could felt Hakeem¡¯s eyes were rather sharp.

    Jason who was taking a sip of his coffee saw everything and in the end, he only smirked.

    Bastard, you¡¯re more scarier than I am if you act like that.

    He kept that thought to himself as he watched those two interacted between themselves. Mateo wasn¡¯t the type to cowered in fear no matter if it going up against a rowdy customer or some wannabe gang members but these two were different. He read through stories on the internet and also saw those videos of Awakened fighting against monsters. He knew that against these people, he couldn¡¯t do a thing against them. He calmed down his nerves a bit and answered Hakeem.

    ¡°I have this gift,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°Gift?¡± Hakeem was confused, he glanced back at Jason.

    ¡°I can see things, things that other people can¡¯t,¡± said Mateo.

    A questioning look on Hakeem¡¯s face while Jason was rather intrigued by this.

    ¡°Explain,¡± Jason said.

    Mateo explained from the beginning. From the time he saw a ghost when he was a child and to now the present seeing faint numbers floating on top of some people¡¯s heads. Mateo told these two of how he noticed the numbers on top of their heads including the buyer. Hakeem had his jaw gaped wide open as he knew Mateo was speaking the truth. The numbers Mateo spoke was the same as Hakeem¡¯s level. In a way, Mateo had gained the trust of both Hakeem and Jason.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Jason said.

    I wonder what kind of unique trait would he obtain if he manages to awaken. This ¡®gift¡¯ of his may or may not affect his unique trait, but there is a possibility.

    Jason looked Mateo from up and down and rather than asking more about his gift, he opted to ask about the matter regarding the unknown Awakened.

    ¡°So what about the buyer that you told me? Is there a reason you told me that?¡± Jason asked.

    Mateo looked around first, shifting his eyes between Jason and Hakeem. He then took a deep breath as he told these two.

    ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, the buyer is Antonio De la Cruz,¡± said Mateo as his eyes darted around between these two hoping for a reaction.

    But both of them had to disappoint Mateo as neither of them had a clue about this person.

    ¡°You guys never heard of him?¡± Mateo asked.

    Hakeem and Jason glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders in unison.

    ¡°Heard of that guy?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Nope, not a clue,¡± Hakeem said.

    Both turned back to Mateo signaling to the blacksmith to continued on.

    ¡°Well, words from the street, I heard Antonio is a nephew of some big shot gang member. If the rumor isn¡¯t wrong, then his big shot uncle might be from the La Ese gang,¡± again Mateo waited for a reaction from these two but again these two were oblivious.

    ¡°Since when did Toronto have street gangs?¡± Jason asked as this was a first for him to hear such a thing.

    ¡°Never heard of them,¡± said Hakeem and he continued, ¡°are you making this up man?¡±

    Mateo shook his head left to right while telling them that he wasn¡¯t lying.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not making this up and you have to listen to me. There are rumors going around that Antonio and a bunch of his guys are trying to break into an abandoned factory near Portland,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°Factory? Why?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the details but I heard the factory was once within La Ese¡¯s turf and now a rival gang is currently occupying the factory area. I think he¡¯s trying to win back the turf for his uncle,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°But why swords?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Both Jason and Hakeem was weird out regarding this matter. If it was a gang fight, why couldn¡¯t just they go duke it out with guns and bullets? Was sword even necessary? There was no way a gang fight shifted into an all-out melee fight in this era.

    Then Jason remembered about Antonio being an Awakened.

    ¡°Do you see what number on top of Antonio¡¯s head?¡± Jason asked.

    Mateo shook his head timidly as he answered.

    ¡°It¡¯s a single-digit but it was too faint for me to see it clearly,¡± said Mateo.

    Jason delved into his mind for quite a while as he thought about the time he fought those trees in Portland. He had an inkling of why Antonio needed the swords and the possibility was there.

    ¡°When is he coming by to buy the swords?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, probably tonight at midnight,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°Hey, spit it out. I know you know something,¡± said Hakeem at Jason.

    ¡°Remember the giant tree? I think this might be the same situation,¡± Jason said.

    Hakeem leaned forward towards Jason as his eyes were already turning wide open. He came close to Jason as he whispered.

    ¡°Are you sure about it?¡± he asked Jason.

    ¡°I¡¯m not, but it might be, wouldn¡¯t hurt to go for a visit,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°If there was a boss-type monster, you think you could let me have a go with it,¡± said Hakeem with a smirk.

    For the first time, Hakeem felt like challenging the odds. His competitive spirit back when he was a basketball athlete started to return once more. He gained more confidence after that mission in Thunder Bay, being the leader of a group of soldiers really did the work in bringing up his motivation.

    This time he had a goal in mind. The person that sat beside him, Jason. In his eyes, Jason was absurdly strong and now he couldn¡¯t wait to reach the same level as him. Meanwhile, Jason looked at this friend of his who had his eyes twinkling like gems.

    ¡°Sure, why not. Just don¡¯t ask me to rescue you if the boss has a higher level than you,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem was stunned as that thought never crossed his mind. He had forgotten about the level of the monsters. While he was staying silent trying to come up with a way to combat such a situation, Mateo spoke out.

    ¡°I want to tag along,¡± said Mateo.

    Jason eyed up Mateo from top to bottom. He was shorter than him but bulkier and a bit wider in comparison. It might be due to his occupation of being a blacksmith he still had reservation in bringing Mateo along. Although Mateo had told him about Antonio but it still wasn¡¯t a good reason for him to tag along.

    ¡°Why should I?¡± Jason asked.

    Mateo fell speechless for a while but he snapped himself out as he didn¡¯t want to lose this opportunity.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do anything, I just need to become an Awakened,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°Why?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I know sooner or later, those monsters are going to come here and when they do, I need to be ready to protect my family,¡± said Mateo with his eyes showing conviction.

    Mateo has a big family and being the responsible type of person, he felt the need to save his family considering most of his family members didn¡¯t care much about the monsters. Although most of them were fearful of them but none really did anything, except for that one particular uncle of his who kept buying illegal firearms and stocking them up. Mateo had told him that gun won¡¯t work on those monsters but that particular uncle still didn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°Let¡¯s bring him along,¡± said Hakeem. There was a bit of tear at the corner of his eyes as he felt the sincerity in Mateo¡¯s words.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll bring you along,¡± said Jason.

    Mateo hearing Jason¡¯s word felt the sun was rising in his heart. A bit of good news in these terrifying times. But it went down the drain after Jason¡¯s followup.

    ¡°But there must be a give and take. You don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be free do you?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Bro, can¡¯t you be charitable for once,¡± said Hakeem.

    Mateo didn¡¯t hesitate as he knew that everything had a cost.

    ¡°I¡¯ll accept,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not how it works. You see everything needs a black and white, it¡¯s how the world works,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Seriously bro? I don¡¯t think a contract is going to do anything good in this world situation,¡± said Hakeem as he thought a written document in this current world means nothing since going to court would be the least of their problems.

    Jason on the other hand ignored his friend¡¯s words as he muttered a single word.

    ¡°Contract,¡± said Jason.

    In that single instant, he felt a huge chunk of energy being sapped away from his body as greyish aura came whirling around his right hand. Both Mateo and Hakeem were shocked by looking at this phenomenon.

    Jason extended his hand to the sky with his palm facing up. Soon, the greyish aura combined into one big sphere and as everything condensed inside that sphere, two items manifested itself from thin air replacing the grey sphere on Jason¡¯s palm.

    A small parchment along with a quill pen. Jason felt himself brimming with energy and as he laid down the parchment on the table, he wrote something, a single clause and as he finished writing it, both Mateo and Hakeem read it.

    ¡°Obey my words for one year?¡± Hakeem read it through and he glanced at Jason with perplex.

    ¡°So, you think you can handle it?¡± Jason said to Mateo as he handed over the quill pen to Mateo.

    ¡°Bro, isn¡¯t this basically slavery?¡± Hakeem said as his undertone grew serious. Hakeem didn¡¯t like it.

    Jason ignored Hakeem while keeping his eyes at Mateo. The blacksmith was having a hard time thinking about this. He knew what this contract meant, although it wasn¡¯t written explicitly, it did mean that he was becoming a servant to Jason.

    ¡°Mateo, you don¡¯t need to do this. I¡¯ll back you up, I¡¯ll help you try to Awaken,¡± said Hakeem.

    But a second later, Mateo had decided. He took the quill pen and signed his name on the parchment. As soon as he signed the parchment, it glowed in grey light. It split into two and dove right into both of Jason and Mateo¡¯s left chest.

    Both of them felt a slight pain over their left chest that lasted for a few seconds and as the pain ended, they heard a voice in their mind.

    If Mateo breaks the clause, then a heavy punishment awaits.

    ¡°What just happened?¡± Hakeem asked as everything happened to fast.

    Mateo clutched his left chest as he started to ponder whether this was a good idea or not. But then he saw a hand directed at him. It was Jason with a smile on his face. Mateo had a hard time telling whether this Jason was smiling sincerely or not.

    ¡°Pleasure to be working you,¡± said Jason.

    Mateo shook Jason¡¯s hand as Hakeem watched.

    ¡°First thing first, set aside six swords for us including the last sword I just made,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mateo said as he went outside the pantry enacting Jason¡¯s order.

    ¡°Bro, you really went overboard this time. Slavery is not cool man,¡± said Hakeem as he left the pantry.

    Meanwhile, Jason had his own thought in mind.

    You¡¯re too naive Hakeem. You¡¯ll never know if a stranger going to backstab you, I¡¯m just doing what¡¯s needed to be done.

 Chapter 118

    Outside of a particular building, two people were sitting side by side inside a car. Their eyes were focused at the entrance of the building waiting for someone to come out.

    ¡°I¡¯m still not okay with what you did to Mateo,¡± said Hakeem as his glance didn¡¯t leave the building entrance.

    ¡°Get over it,¡± said Jason.

    Then there was silence. Then someone came out of the building and it wasn¡¯t only one person. A group of men dressed in a thug like attire stepped outside with swords in their grasps.

    Hakeem tapped Jason¡¯s shoulder as Jason scanned the entire group of people with his ¡®Scan¡¯ ability. His eyes narrowed as he was a bit surprised over what he had found.

    There¡¯s a few Awakened among them albeit their levels are too low, but that guy.

    Jason maintained his sight at a particular person and judging by his action as well as demeanor, it was none other than Antonio.

    Level eight, not bad at all. I wonder how he reached that level.

    This group of people went inside their own vehicles as they left the parking lot.

    ¡°Where the hell is Mateo? They¡¯ve already left,¡± said Hakeem.

    Then Mateo popped out from the entrance door as he ran to the car. He got inside with huffing for his breath.

    ¡°So how did it go?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Terrible, they paid below the intended price,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°I see,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem slammed at the steering wheel a few times catching both Mateo''s and Jason¡¯s attentions.

    ¡°Are we going? We¡¯re going to lose them,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason waved his hand and Hakeem pushed down the throttle. In a matter of a few seconds, the car was down on the main road.

    ¡°I see them,¡± said Mateo as he pointed to the front.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lose them, Hakeem,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Hakeem.

    The trio chased down these cars tailing them from behind like in a police pursuit. Before long they reached the secluded part of Portland. Not many cars nor street lamps, only a place abandoned during the night.

    ¡°Keep your distance, we don¡¯t want them to notice us,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Should I turn off the headlights?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Jason nodded and the front went black. Mateo was looking around left and right hoping for no sudden cars. The multitude of cars drove by Antonio and his gang stopped by the street as they came out armed with swords.

    ¡°Stop,¡± said Jason.

    The car stopped.

    ¡°Turn off the engine,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem did as instructed. Jason unwound the window and heard Antonio and his gang shouting to the top of their lungs pumping themselves up for what was about to come.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a gang fight,¡± said Hakeem as he saw none of the so-called rival gang. Even Mateo was confused by this.

    ¡°Then it might be the thing we hope for,¡± said Jason. He got out first leaving the two behind.

    Hakeem was about to step outside but Mateo held Hakeem''s shoulder back.

    ¡°Wait, what did he mean by that?¡± Mateo asked.

    ¡°Monsters,¡± Hakeem said. He got out of the car leaving Mateo speechless by himself. Mateo took a few seconds before snapping back into reality. He got out of the car and joined with the two who were already walking a few steps ahead.

    Mateo managed to catch up with the two as he heard their conversation.

    ¡°I see more cars over there,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason looked around and saw the same thing, those cars weren¡¯t the same one as Antonio¡¯s gang.

    It might be those rival gangs, but shouldn¡¯t they at least start fighting by now? Why am I not hearing anything?

    ¡°Wait a second,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem and Mateo stopped dead on their tracks as they stared at Jason.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better to equip ourselves first,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to look around first?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind about it but what about you two,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Bro, I¡¯m at level sixteen, I think I can handle whatever inside,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Oh, starting to get cocky huh,¡± Jason said with a smirk.

    ¡°Although I¡¯m far from reaching your current state, but I guess I¡¯m not that bad,¡± said Hakeem.

    While these two were exchanging banters, Mateo was still worried about this whole excursion. He thought that these two would at least be nervous and wary but contrary to his expectation, they were kinda lax in a way, devoid of any fear.

    ¡°This dude needs it more than we do,¡± said Jason.

    The trio went back to the car as Jason opened up the trunk. Jason handed out swords to Mateo and Hakeem.

    ¡°I¡¯m good, the wooden mallet you gave me is pretty sweet and besides I¡¯ve got Basic Blunt weapon mastery, so I¡¯m gonna stick with the mallet,¡± said Hakeem.

    Mateo grabbed the sword without hesitation and he could felt the heaviness in his grasp. Despite that, he could hold it in his hand pretty well. All those hammerings he did in the smithy really did wonders to his strength.

    ¡°Then you¡¯re probably going to need this,¡± said Jason. He grabbed something big and handed it out to Hakeem.

    Hakeem grabbed it in his hand. It was a round steel shield and the only one made by Jason. He made it to complement Hakeem¡¯s tanker build and he also felt bad since Hakeem lost his previous shield back in the days.

    Steel Shield

    Category : Shield

    Grade : Normal

    A normal steel shield made by a budding blacksmith.Good for defending albeit it was quite heavy. Only those who are strong enough shall wield it. Can be used for offensive purposes.

    Defense: +17(+2)

    ¡°You made this?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Of course, who else would do it for you,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem felt touched as he stared at the shining round shield. The metal material of the shield was quite contradicting to the wooden blunt weapon that he held. Definitely didn¡¯t look good in picture but useful in application.

    ¡°Here,¡± Jason took another few of these out, and this time both Mateo and Hakeem couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.

    ¡°Where did you get this?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°I made it of course,¡± said Jason nonchalantly.

    Hakeem stared at the pair of leather arm braces. This friend of his had really surprised him time after time again. Not only was he good at smithing but also good in leatherworking.

    Leather Arm Bracers

    Category : Armor

    Grade : Inferior

    A poorly made arm bracers from an amateur tailor. Despite its shortcomings, it still can be used for defensive purposes. Useful in a sense.

    Defense : +3(+1)

    ¡°Wear it, in case you can¡¯t defend yourself you might as well let any of those monsters bite the bracers,¡± said Jason.

    He wasn¡¯t proud of his creation but nonetheless it was better than nothing. From a logical standpoint, anything is useful as long it protects the wearer from harm.

    Jason closed the trunk as he wielded the rare-grade steel sword in his hand. It had been a while since he last used a sword and the feeling was never better. It made him nostalgic as he remembered the time he used a horn of a monster as a sword. It almost felt like yesterday. Yesterday that he wished he would forget.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Jason.

    The trio moved together and as they reached the front of the abandoned factory, they heard screams coming from the inside.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡±

    Mateo froze in place hearing that scream. Soon, a whole other commotion started to broke inside.

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush, let¡¯s keep it quiet,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem and Mateo nodded. The trio went inside the abandoned factory with Jason taking the lead. It was pitch black as there was no light shining inside. Jason could see perfectly clear with the aid of his Night Vision.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see a thing,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Relax, just follow my voice,¡± said Jason.

    Jason led the two behind him as he whispered silently. They went further inside and before they knew it they reached an open door. The trio went inside a vast space of the factory, with a few rusted machinery left untouched.

    Jason could see everything but the two behind them were nervous as hell as they couldn¡¯t see a thing. The commotion they heard outside was even louder in this vast open space. They could vaguely discern what these people were screaming about and as they took a sharp corner, the trio saw multiple flashes of lights in front of them.

    There was a group of people over there with numerous sources of lights flashing in different directions. Their screams were even louder and Jason could hear one particular voice shouting.

    ¡°Fucking fight them back!¡± it was Antonio.

    Jason could saw it clearly that only a few responded to Antonio¡¯s call. Yet most were already running and scrambling on the floor.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on there?¡± Hakeem asked.

    But as soon as he said it, a sudden flash of light appeared a few feet in front of them. The three of them didn¡¯t notice it as the huge machinery blocking their view and along with the light came a shrill voice.

    ¡°No, no, no! Stay away!¡± a plea of a helpless man. The flashlight he held dropped on the floor. The flashlight rolled on the floor and coincidentally flashed in the direction of the helpless man.

    The three of them saw the helpless man lying on the floor backing away from something in a frantic manner. Hakeem was about to help but then something pounced over the helpless man and mounted right on top of him.

    They saw what it was with the aid of that flashlight but Jason could see it clear as day.

    ¡°No!!!!¡± the last word of the helpless man rang in the factory as the thing on top of it took a bite right at his neck.

    Blood splattered as a chunk of that man¡¯s neck was being chewed by this humanoid with blood dripping over the corner of its lip. A nasty snarl rang from this humanoid as it continued to devour the helpless man who kept jerking on the floor inching away towards death.

    All three of them witnessed it, a gruesome sight. Mateo already puked on the floor while Hakeem couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.

    ¡°The fuck is that?¡± Hakeem asked and to that question, Jason responded.

    ¡°Zombies.¡±

 Chapter 119

    Jason, Hakeem, and Mateo froze on the spot as they witnessed a flesh-eating zombie with blood dripping over its mouth while letting out an eerie growl. Then Mateo broke the silence between the three.

    ¡°Wuargh¡­¡± Mateo puked on the floor and as the stench wafted in the air, the sound of him puking caught the attention of the zombie.

    The bloody zombie turned towards them as it growled.

    ¡°Oh shit, you fuck us up man,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Graa!¡± the zombie pounced towards them baring its foul-smelling mouth ready to bite over their flesh.

    Hakeem stepped forward with his shield ready to guard himself but a flash of shadow was a notch faster than him. Jason lunged forward meeting the zombie head to head. The rare-grade sword shined within the grasp of Jason¡¯s hand.

    His Intermediate Swordsmanship unleashed as the blade of the sword slashed right through the neck of the zombie. A clean-cut and a head rolled on the floor.

    It was fast and Hakeem took a few seconds to process what he just saw. But then.

    ¡°Graaa!¡± another loud growl came from the other side snapping Hakeem from his momentary daze.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Mateo shouted as he retreated his steps from the new appearing zombie.

    Hakeem stepped in front of Mateo blocking the incoming zombie with his new shield. A loud clang reverberated in the air as these two clashed. Neither budge from their spot but Hakeem was gritting his teeth trying to withheld the zombie from charging.

    The zombie kept on wriggling its arms trying to reach Hakeem as the zombie was fueled with the desire for flesh. Hakeem gripped his mallet tight readied to bash the skull of the zombie but then the zombie stopped resisting.

    It flopped on the ground lifeless as it should be while a sword removed from the nape of the zombie.

    ¡°You good?¡± Jason asked. It was none other than him that cut down another zombie.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see in this dark,¡± said Hakeem. He responded through the noise made by the zombie and moved through instinct alone. With the flashlight on the floor, he had no way of seeing the damn zombie.

    ¡°Then I think you better prepare yourself,¡± said Jason as his eyes kept on glancing around the place.

    ¡°They¡¯re coming,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Hakeem said as his eyes darted around the vicinity preparing for another fight.

    As Jason and Hakeem readied themselves, someone poked Hakeem by the shoulder prompting Hakeem to turned around quickly.

    ¡°Who?!¡± Hakeem said as his mallet was already in mid-swing.

    ¡°Stop,¡± Jason said as he grabbed Hakeem¡¯s arm stopping him from attacking with the mallet.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°You¡¯re about to kill one of us, you know that,¡± said Jason as he saw Mateo standing perspiring with sweat all over his face.

    ¡°Damn, I forget about him. Sorry man, I just felt nervous not being able to see,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Here,¡± Jason grabbed the flashlight on the floor and ripped apart of Hakeem¡¯s shirt much to the latter surprise.

    ¡°Hey, what are you¡­¡±

    ¡°Stay still,¡± said Jason as he tied the flashlight around Hakeem¡¯s head making a makeshift headlight. But then something greeted him.

    Headlight

    Category : Headgear

    Grade : Inferior

    An amateurish creation just from a simple piece of torn up cloth with a flashlight.Flimsy in design.

    Defense : +1

    Effect : Small area of light source

    A slight smile on his face, nonetheless it showed that his effort paid off. As of now and in the future everything in this world would revolve around the system.

    ¡°Try not to break it,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will last long,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Better than nothing,¡± said Jason. He then made the same thing for Mateo as Jason fit it on Mateo¡¯s head, Hakeem on the other hand saw something.

    ¡°Hurry up with that, they¡¯re coming,¡± said Hakeem as he saw multiple zombies limping around towards him as they were attracted by the light.

    ¡°What the,¡± said Hakeem as something took him by surprise. A glowing brown light engulfed him and the same happened to both Mateo and Jason. Hakeem turned to Jason.

    ¡°It¡¯s a buff and try not to die,¡± said Jason. ¡°You too Mateo.¡±

    Mateo held his sword tight with both of his hands on the grip. He was determined but he still couldn¡¯t shake the nervousness gripping over his mind and body. This was the path that he desired and he won¡¯t give up.

    The zombies came swarming over the trio. Hakeem swung the mallet in his hand and struck one of them right at the head. He continued to smash his shield at another one as another fell. But they were more than one or two, more came swarming over Hakeem but within the darkness, a spark emerged.

    The zombies around Hakeem went flying as Hakeem unleashed his electric AOE attack.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Hakeem shouted.

    Mateo on the other hand swung his sword to the nearby zombie striking it right at the neck. But it was far too weak. His sword was stuck on the neck. He thought he would turn into a warrior killing enemies like they were ants but the reality was far more serious than fiction.

    The zombie that was stuck charged right at Mateo. His mind was telling him to run but he was stuck in a perpetual state of fear. Then he realized it.

    ¡°Help,¡± Mateo shouted.

    In a blink of an eye, the zombie stopped moving. Its head went rolling on the floor as Jason flicked his sword removing the blood on the blade.

    ¡°Pretty rough right,¡± said Jason.

    Mateo regained his composure as the sword was finally dislodged from the zombie.

    ¡°I can do it,¡± said Mateo proclaiming his determination. A few seconds after Mateo said that his eyes bulged in surprise which then replaced by a smile.

    ¡°Hold that smile, there¡¯s more incoming,¡± said Jason.

    He kicked one of the zombies away and slashed another by the neck. More, keep on coming. Jason beheaded them all in a single swipe leaving corpses on the floor. But they didn¡¯t stop.

    Jason grabbed a zombie by the neck as he cut all of its limbs.

    ¡°Mateo,¡± said Jason.

    A zombie dropped right in front of Mateo as he flinched. The zombie was limbless yet its mouth didn¡¯t stop biting the empty air.

    ¡°Kill it,¡± said Jason as he thrashed around the zombies that came near him.

    Mateo did the deed and his level went up. Jason kept on feeding this contract-bound friend of his with limbless zombies.

    Hakeem on the other side kept on bashing them as if he was a berserker fighting in the middle of a war. Before long, the zombies stopped coming. Countless dead bodies were on the ground, thanks to this trio.

    ¡°Is this it?¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°No, not yet. They¡¯re there,¡± said Jason as he pointed at the far end of their sight.

    ¡°Should we help them?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go up the floor, rather than them, we¡¯re trying to find the big boss,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem hesitated a bit, he knew those people weren¡¯t exactly the good type of people but they were still people.

    ¡°You want to help them?¡± Jason bluntly asked.

    After spending much time with this friend of his. Jason came to know that one redeeming feature about Hakeem. He was really soft-hearted.

    ¡°I just can¡¯t let them die like that,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°You do know that those guys can backstab you,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I can handle it,¡± said Hakeem as he showed off the mallet to Jason.

    A green glow enveloped Hakeem as his health restored to peak performance followed by a brownish glow.

    ¡°Don¡¯t die, I need you,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem smiled.

    ¡°You need me? Is this really the Jason Park that I know of? Since when did you turn sentimental?¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°Shut up,¡± said Jason.

    Jason and Mateo went to the stairs while Hakeem came running towards the zombies hurdling around Antonio¡¯s gang.

    ¡°Die motherf-¡­¡± a war cry from the man carrying a shield.

    The mallet was swung cracking every skull and bone that it met. Even the shield was turned into a weapon as Hakeem kept on bashing against these mindless creatures from the realm of the dead.

    Antonio and his gang managed to fend off most of the zombies as they took the higher ground over the top of unused machinery. They were fighting for their lives poking these undead heads from the top while being cautious enough from those stretched arms and fingers.

    ¡°Who the hell is that?¡± said one of the goons.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Antonio. He merely glanced for a while at the incoming Hakeem but his hands were busied piercing these zombie¡¯s head.

    ¡°Pay attention and don¡¯t get caught! We need to level up!¡± said Antonio as he pumped up the motivation of whatever left of his crew.

    Soon, Hakeem reached Antonio¡¯s gang. He bashed another one of the zombies as he took a leap. Antonio and the gang turned towards the newcomer as they were wary about his sudden appearance. Their swords were ready as they ignored the flailing rotting arms from below.

    Hakeem landed on the unused machinery as he noticed the rather cold greeting from Antonio¡¯s gang.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Antonio asked.

    ¡°Your help,¡± said Hakeem.

    Meanwhile, Jason took the lead harrowing through the narrow stairs pushing back the zombies from above killing them one after another. He cut them down as if they were butter.

    They reached the second floor. Jason stopped on his track as Mateo stood by the side. Jason stared at the zombies wandering around the second-floor hallway and to his surprise, the numbers were quite small compared to downstairs.

    It might not be on the upper floors.

    A simple thought came in mind. Then the zombies noticed the fresh meat that just presented themselves. They rushed at the duo while snarling into a frenzy.

    ¡°Can we handle this?¡± Mateo asked as he was quite nervous considering he could barely see.

    ¡°We can¡¯t but I can,¡± Jason¡¯s hand glowed in green as he swung his hand in a horizontal manner.

    Numerous crescent green lights went flying in the air cutting apart these zombies like they were nothing. Mateo who saw this firsthand couldn¡¯t help but be amazed.

    ¡°Woah,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get careless, I only cut their body apart,¡± said Jason. ¡°Watch your step and make sure they¡¯re dead through the head.¡±

    Mateo had an easy time as his level kept on increasing. There was no doubt he was being carried by Jason. For sure he was proud of himself because he made the right decision.

    While Mateo was walking around piercing the growling head of the undead on the ground, something crossed his mind.

    ¡°Hey, it seems like you¡¯re looking for something. What is it?¡± Mateo asked.

    Jason turned to Mateo with those lazy eyes of his.

    ¡°Nothing much, we¡¯re just looking for the big bad zombie, the big undead,¡± said Jason.

    The moment he said so, a loud snarl echoed throughout the whole abandoned factory. Definitely sounds like these zombies but it was definitely louder than ever. The snarl went on and on until it finally fell silent.

    ¡°Is that what you¡¯re looking for?¡± Mateo asked.

    ¡°Bingo,¡± said Jason.

 Chapter 120

    Hakeem stood face to face with Antonio and his gang. Although he came to help, he noticed that his appearance wasn¡¯t actually welcome by these people. He didn¡¯t let his guard down as the grip on his mallet only tightened.

    ¡°Who are you? Are you with the Raptor Boys?¡± Antonio asked as the sword pointed directly at Hakeem.

    ¡°Raptor Boys? You mean the Toronto basketball team?¡± Hakeem asked as he was pretty curious about that name.

    ¡°What the fuck are you talking about? Boss, he¡¯s making fun of you,¡± said one of the goon at the back.

    ¡°Shut up,¡± Antonio said. Even if Hakeem was making fun of him, Antonio wouldn¡¯t dare take this man lightly. For a single person to carved a path against a horde of zombies without any help was enough evidence to show that Hakeem was no weak character.

    Antonio only grew weary about Hakeem, not knowing the intention of Hakeem. In his mind, the good intention was only a cover for a hidden motive.

    ¡°Are you with a gang?¡± Antonio asked.

    ¡°No,¡± Hakeem said as he finally understood of they meant. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, I¡¯m really here to help.¡±

    Hakeem¡¯s words didn¡¯t really ease the tense situation even more so with the constant snarling and growling sounds of the noisy zombies down below.

    ¡°Do you come alone? How did you know this place?¡± Antonio asked.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t say a word as he knew to mind his mouth. The prolonged silence between them agitated Antonio and his gang.

    ¡°Answer me!¡± Antonio shouted.

    But then one of his goons at the back started screaming.

    ¡°Argh! Boss,¡± everyone turned around and saw the goon being dragged down under. Before the goon disappeared into the darkness within the sea of zombies, one of the other goons came and grabbed him by the arm.

    The camaraderie goon was trying his earnest in saving the life of his brother in crime. This good-nature goon turned his head to the side with his eyes begging for help.

    ¡°Give me a hand!¡± the goon said.

    But none take action as they only stared at the helpless situation.

    ¡°Boss!¡± the goon called out to Antonio.

    Yet the boss didn¡¯t budge at all as his eyes were sight at Hakeem.

    Hakeem on the other hand gritted his teeth as he rushed towards them. But Antonio blocked Hakeem¡¯s path enraging the man.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Antonio said.

    ¡°What are you doing? Your friend needs help,¡± said Hakeem.

    Antonio still didn¡¯t budge and his hesitation paid a cost.

    ¡°Argh,¡± the good goon lost his strength as the zombies took him along as what left of him was only his scream.

    In the end, two of Antonio¡¯s gang members were lost pushing Antonio¡¯s gang to a more dire situation.

    ¡°Look at what you did,¡± said Hakeem. He glared at Antonio. He came to help and yet this man abandoned his own comrade.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are but you better fuck off, we don¡¯t need any of your help,¡± said Antonio.

    Antonio raised his sword with both of his hands as the blade started to glow in a reddish light.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t understand what was going on. Things went downhill pretty fast considering he was here to help.

    ¡°are you mad? You¡­¡± Hakeem¡¯s voice trailed off as a loud snarl echoed within this abandoned factory.

    The loud snarl went on and on creeping into the heart of those who were still living.

    ¡°What was that?¡± said one of the remaining goons.

    BOOM!

    Everyone turned their heads towards the darkness. The loud bang of something metallic caught their attention. Then another snarl echoed even louder followed by the continuous banging of metal and metal.

    ¡°Shine the light over there,¡± said Antonio. One of the goons shone a light over at the source of the sound.

    The moment he did so, everything felt goosebumps all over their bodies.

    A pale humanoid creature was at the far end of the light. Those soulless black eyes stared at the source of light.

    ¡°Raaaa!¡± it screamed, deafening the ears of those who still live.

    ¡°The heck is that?¡± said one the goons.

    ¡°Trouble,¡± Hakeem said as his heart was beating even faster.

    The pale humanoid rushed towards them as its bulking body along with its gigantic arms crashing against the metal pipes and the wall. It was still far but it was shortening the distance by the second.

    ¡°Boss, what do we do?¡± the goon asked.

    Antonio had a bad feeling about this. He thought his plan was perfect, all in order to become stronger he let the rival gang took control of this place hoping to ramp up the number of zombies for the precious experience to level up. But he didn¡¯t expect to meet such an abomination.

    Antonio looked around trying to find a way for retreat. But standing on top of this piece of machinery surrounded by a bunch of zombies, a way out seemed non-existence.

    ¡°We need to fight it together,¡± said Hakeem as his eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of the incoming bulking huge zombie.

    Antonio looked back at Hakeem the man holding a blunt weapon and shield. He looked carefully at Hakeem and noticed he was wearing some kind of protective gear around his forearms and his torso.

    With no way out, he no longer had any choice but for a team-up.

    ¡°You take the front, I¡¯ll take it by the flank,¡± said Antonio.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t like of he was ordered by Antonio but him taking the front was the better choice as he was perfect for the vanguard position.

    ¡°You, keep killing these zombies by the head and you, maintain that light over at that fucking thing,¡± said Antonio giving his orders to what left of his gang.

    The bulking pale humanoid with black eyes came nearer and as these people watched, they noticed the magnitude of the size of this creature when the distance was just a few meters away.

    ¡°What in the hell,¡± said Hakeem as beads of sweat trailed down his temple.

    He was stunned seeing it up close. Although he had seen that humongous tree fought by Jason by the port, this pale humanoid didn¡¯t pale in comparison.

    Its height reaching three meters with its bulking body wider and denser in appearance. The striking muscularity of this creature only magnifies the horrifying presence of this creature. Couple with the black eyes along with its disproportionate gigantic arms, it was enough to tell Hakeem, that this was the boss of this particular zombie infestation.

    The intense rotting smell only cemented the fact that this abomination was indeed a zombie.

    ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± Hakeem alerted the rest of them.

    The zombie abomination saw and smelled its prey sitting like ducks on top of the machinery. It clenched its gigantic smelly fist and threw a raging punch from a distance.

    Hakeem saw the incoming attack but he could only watch as he didn¡¯t know what else to do other than to put the shield right in front of his body. Being on higher ground had its perks but for close combatants going up against a monstrous creature like this only proved to be a fatal mistake.

    The fist came crashing at the grouping zombie, the zombie abomination didn¡¯t care for its rotting companion as all of them turned into mush upon contact.

    BOOM!

    The fist struck right at the machinery flinging it up in the air just from the sheer force behind it. Hakeem and Antonio¡¯s gang felt the brunt of the attack, helpless as they were flung in the air.

    Hakeem tried to balanced himself in the air but it was far too late as he slammed over the wall. He dropped back on the floor with his shield still at the front. It was painful but bearable.

    He stood up with his mallet on the right and shield on his left. It wasn¡¯t time for him to stay down and careless. The only way to survive was to stand tall.

    Yet the scream of agony caught his attention.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡±

    Screams of people nearing death echoed in the darkness as Hakeem could imagine the sight of the goon being torn apart by these flesh-hungry zombies.

    Hakeem protected himself as he swung his mallet and shield striking down those zombies who came at him. Every time he downed one of them, more kept on coming back. At times he noticed the increase in his level, but there was no time for celebration.

    He gripped tight on the mallet as he struck it right on the floor.

    ¡°Shock Smash!¡± Hakeem said.

    Electrifying bluish lightning spread in an area as his skill knocked back any zombies neared him while dealing lightning-based damage. Some burnt into crisp while some still moving partially.

    As he thought he was in the clear, he let his guard down as a huge fist came rushing at him from within the far end of the darkness.

    ¡°Garrrr,¡± a fist accompanied by a disgusting snarl.

    It was a split-second moment and Hakeem managed to raise up his shield. The fist slammed right at the shield as a loud bang exploded. He was knocked back and crashed against the wall by the sheer strength of this zombie abomination.

    As dust went up the air, blocking whatever that was still visible, Hakeem opened his eyes as he realized that he was still living and breathing. Then he noticed the green light enveloping him. It was like a symbol as he knew who it was. Then he heard Jason''s voice.

    ¡°Come on man, you said you want to handle the boss alone,¡± said Jason as he appeared from the side with his hand resting on Hakeem¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Shut up and help me out,¡± said Hakeem with a smirk.

    ¡°You¡¯re still taking the lead, I¡¯m just going to assist,¡± said Jason as his eyes stared at the sight of the gigantic zombie abomination. His eyes met those black soulless eyes as he said.

    ¡°Time for round two.¡±

 Chapter 121

    ¡°Scan,¡± said Jason.

    Zombie Gigant

    An anomaly among the undead. A rotting zombie yet the external appearance retained much of a humanoid appearance beside the overly gigantic sizes of its disfigured arms. Its huge size didn¡¯t impede the speed of this giant zombie. Possessed the ability to call other zombies for regenerative purposes.

    Species: Undead

    Level : 20

    S.Ability : Hammer Fist, Decay Breath, Screech, Engorge.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± he said.

    A couple of zombies fueled by their inherent desire for flesh ran towards Jason. A flick of his sword and heads dropped. His open palm reached out to Hakeem, a brown aura surrounded Hakeem as Jason buffed him.

    ¡°Rargh!¡± the zombie gigant let out a horrifying shout, a hammer fist went straight for the unguarded Jason.

    Boom.

    The floor crack and yet Jason was nowhere to be seen. He was in the air, taking his airtime in leisure. He stared at the zombie gigant, as it too stared at him with its black-filled eyes.

    The zombie gigant threw another hammer fist at Jason who was sitting in mid-air. But its fist stopped in mid-sequence, down on the ground Hakeem slammed his mallet multiple times right at the balls. It wasn¡¯t Hakeem¡¯s intention but with that thing dangling in the air, it only made sense for him to target the weakest spot.

    One thing Hakeem learned from Jason, was never to showed any remorse when fighting against an enemy. The zombie gigant changed its attention to Hakeem, it swung its arm and slammed Hakeem right at the side.

    Hakeem crashed on the machinery but he survived. He managed to use the shield to brace for impact. He got back up but another hammer fist went straight for him. Hakeem side-stepped, dodging it by a hair-breadth.

    He rushed forward with determined eyes. The head of his mallet started to spark jolt of blue electric. Hakeem let out a battle cry as he slammed his mallet right at its knee.

    Shock Smash erupted burning the knee into cinders. Hakeem slid across the floor just between the zombie gigant legs. He turned back and looked at the limping sight of the zombie.

    One of its knees fell apart with a burnt mark around the area. Hakeem smiled as his attack did quite a damage. Then a blue window emerged in front of him.

    ¡°Bolt Hammer?¡± to his words, the mallet started to glow in bluish light as the erupting electric current intensified around the head of the mallet. He gained another offensive skill and delight was an understatement.

    ¡°Taste my hammer,¡± said Hakeem as he rushed at the limping zombie gigant.

    The zombie gigant didn¡¯t just growl at Hakeem as it too retaliated with an attack of its own.

    Hammer Fist collided with Bolt Hammer and sparks flew.

    Meanwhile, an observer from the side was intrigued by seeing the new development between those two. A few zombies kept coming at Jason as he dealt with it quite easily. By far, these zombies were the easiest to handle, as long as he chopped their heads off, the thing won¡¯t pester him any longer. Their rotting features made him cutting them easier.

    Interesting. From the look of it, he must have learned another new skill.

    Another zombie came charging Jason and a sword pierced right through its head. It slumped on the floor and to Jason¡¯s surprise, a window opened up.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 27

    It¡¯s been a while since I saw this one.

    For a while, he had been stagnant in his attempt in leveling himself up. Considering the enemies that he fought that was vastly weak and under level, it made sense for his slow progress.

    Jason opened up his status after sending another minor defense buff at Hakeem from a long range.

    Jason Park

    Job : Assassin

    Level 27

    EP : 136/136(+10)

    E.Guard : 3180/3180(+30)

    Strength : 50

    Agility :?73

    Dexterity :?42

    Stamina :?42

    Energy :?42(+2)

    E.Resist :?42

    Points :?30

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills : Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.4, Major Heal lv.1, Energy Guard Lv.9, Wind Cutter Lv.MAX, Shadow Sneak Lv.5, Intermediate Archery Lv.4, Parry Lv.1, Scan Lv.9, Basic Projectile Throwing Lv.4, Blood Edge Strike Lv.9, Novice Smithing Lv.4, Basic Blunt Weapon Mastery Lv.4, Triple Strafe Lv.3, Minor Defense Buff Lv.9, Night Vision Lv.MAX, Wind Clad Lv.1, Lightning Fury Lv.1, Contract Lv.1, Basic Tailoring Lv.1

    He distributed the points evenly to strength, dexterity, and stamina. He scanned his status once more and noticed the abundance skill that he had.

    There¡¯s too much or am I just not being grateful at all.

    True to his thought, to be fair he might be the only one at the present to have such an abundance of skills that was rather diverse. But a high quantity came with a price.

    Grinding all of these up will be a pain, or should I just focus on one thing first and maxed it out before doing the others.

    While he was contemplating his life choices, Hakeem was in a pickle. He was underneath his shield as the zombie gigant kept on pounding his fist at Hakeem from below. He messed up his position as he stood right below the creature placing himself in a good position for a beat down.

    His Iron Body points were dwindling down as he still couldn¡¯t get away from the spot. He tried to use his Bolt Hammer once more but he only received a bad notification.

    ¡°Shit, I¡¯m out of EP,¡± said Hakeem. ¡°Do I have to use it, now?¡±

    Desperate time called for desperate measures.

    ¡°Iron Body,¡± Hakeem said.

    His skin turned into a shining luster of iron, increasing his overall defense a multiple of four times. Hakeem opened himself up and met the hammer fist head-on.

    He blocked it using his iron head and he followed with a smash of his mallet at its forearm. Hakeem went wild ignoring his defense as his mallet and shield bashed the zombie gigant head-on.

    Finally, his mallet struck the fist head-on and this time, Hakeem was the winner. The right fist of the zombie gigant smashed into pieces but his effort wasn¡¯t enough to take it down.

    ¡°Rawgh!¡± it screeched as the loud piercing sound disorienting the battle harden Hakeem.

    ¡°Argh,¡± Hakeem dropped on his knees as he let go of his mallet and shield. He closed his ears with both of his hands as the screech rattled his senses as he couldn¡¯t keep his mind clear.

    Left unguarded, the zombie gigant struck his left hammer fist right at the Hakeem. A single punch and it was enough to embed the iron Hakeem into the floor. Then came another punch and another, bludgeoning the defenseless Hakeem into the floor. If it wasn¡¯t for his Iron Body in full mode, he would have died from the onslaught of the zombie gigant.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Hakeem let out a groan as he was still not in his head.

    Then as Hakeem slowly regained his bearing, the moment he opened his eyes he saw the giant face of the zombie gigant right on his face. It took him by surprise and then the zombie gigant opened its mouth wide open.

    Shit, I got to go move, thought Hakeem as the thought of him being eaten by this zombie bastard scared him to death.

    Yet rather than eating, a vile dark green gas came out of the zombie gigant¡¯s mouth. The smell was disgusting, like the smell of a rotten egg but times that by ten. It was the Decay Breath of the zombie gigant. Besides the smell, Hakeem could felt something tickling on his skin, he looked around and saw his clothes being disintegrated along with his arm brace made by Jason.

    Before long, he was left naked without a thread of string on. The only thing left on him was the makeshift headlight and that too slowly being eaten by the decaying breath of the zombie gigant.

    The flashlight attached dropped on the floor as it left Hakeem blind in the dark. He couldn¡¯t see the face of the zombie gigant as the fear of death crept slowly in his heart. Then within the darkness, he noticed the notification window showing his Iron Body points dwindling in numbers rapidly. The moment it turns into zero would be the time he greeted death.

    Hakeem did well in his fight against the zombie gigant but alas, it was too strong. It had the advantage in level along with the boost as a boss.

    Knowing he couldn¡¯t die at this point in time, he shouted the name of his friend. A trustworthy friend that he believed to be the most powerful.

    ¡°Jason!¡± Hakeem shouted.

    His voice echoed in the darkness as his eyes couldn¡¯t cast away from the numbers on the notification window.

    ¡°You had enough?¡± said Jason. He stood not far away from Hakeem as he stood on top of an industrial machine.

    His appearance caught the attention of the zombie gigant as it stopped exhaling its rotten breath. Both stared at each other as these two could see in the dark as well as a night monkey.

    ¡°Hey Hakeem, you better run now as this thing is focusing on me,¡± said Jason.

    The naked iron Hakeem grabbed the flashlight along with his mallet. He rushed away from the site as he knew something was about to happen. He met a few zombies that popped out of sudden but a quick few swings were enough to render those zombies down.

    After assuming he reached a safe distance he turned back and flashed the light at the sight of the zombie gigant who was staring at someone within the darkness.

    ¡°Rawgh!¡± the zombie gigant growled at Jason.

    The man who stood in leisure cast a smile as he held his sword up.

    ¡°Wind clad,¡± a strong subtle wind enveloped Jason¡¯s body.

    ¡°Blood Edge Strike,¡± a crimson hue surrounded the blade of his sword.

    The zombie gigant snarled once more and threw a hammer fist right at Jason.

    ¡°Parry,¡± said Jason.

    His blade slid across the hammer fist changing its trajectory by a bit. The zombie gigant missed and before it could do anything. Jason already appeared in front of it.

    ¡°Go die again,¡± the crimson blade sliced right through the thick neck of the zombie gigant.

    A giant head dropped on the floor, resulting in the body of the zombie gigant slumping on the floor with a crash. Jason stood beside the lifeless corpse as he flicked the blood off of his sword as he said.

    ¡°GG.¡±

 Chapter 122

    ¡°Shit, shit, shit, shit,¡± a poor choice of word, but the man kept on muttering that word cursing his own choice of life. Antonio survived the brutal attack from the zombie gigant.

    He heard one of his goons screaming, a testament that he was done, eaten by some voracious zombie still lurking in the dark.

    ¡°Boss,¡± the last of his goons stayed loyal and escaped along with Antonio.

    They ran further away from the scene, bringing themselves in a desolate part of the factory. Antonio closed the door behind him and flashed the light around this tiny room. The smell of detergents was pungent, stinging the nose, and he saw a few brooms and mops hanging on the walls. They were inside the janitor¡¯s closet.

    Antonio¡¯s body slumped on the floor, leaning behind the door.

    ¡°Boss, what should we do? We¡¯re the only one left,¡± the goon asked.

    Antonio was biting his lips with his brain trying to come up with a plausible plan. Tonight was a bad night for him. Everything went downhill the moment he went inside this abandoned factory.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± said Antonio. He had become an Awakened and gained levels by defeating these zombies he found in the earlier days. He thought he struck rich, and thus he planned to increase the number of zombies to further his level at a higher number. His next step went according to plan, as his rival gang took over the factory with no fighting over the territory. Yet, every one of them descended into madness, becoming the decaying living death.

    Some might ask how did a man like Antonio manage to kill off a zombie who was frankly much stronger considering its level higher than ten. For someone like him who lived in the underbelly of society, he learned a few ruthless tricks that made him came on top over these mindless zombies. Taking the higher ground was the basics of handling against a zombie and it proved to be an effective one.

    But everything had fallen apart and now he was at the brink of losing his life. He bit more than he could chew and now he had to pay the price.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Antonio said punching the cement floor with his fist.

    The cement easily cracked showcasing his increased strength. The zombies which he thought he could easily handle turned out to be an utter pain when their numbers overwhelmed him and his crew. His plan backfired and now he was forced to abandon his dream of conquest.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t,¡± Antonio said.

    He knew the condition of the world right now and he knew the collapsing of society was not that far in the future. This was his only chance of stockpiling his strength before crude strength dictates who control the streets and the whole world.

    Antonio stood up and raised his sword above his chest. He stared at the blade as he vowed in his heart that he won¡¯t back down. The blade glowed in a reddish light.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to kill those zombies no matter what,¡± said Antonio.

    The last goon didn¡¯t dare to refuse as he furiously nodded.

    With a renewed determination, Antonio took the leap. He opened the door and slammed the pommel of his sword onto the metal pipe. The sound echoed and soon snarling, and growling of zombies approached them.

    Meanwhile, Jason was scanning the dead zombie gigant¡¯s body. The look of dissatisfaction was apparent on his face.

    ¡°Woah, you really overdid yourself,¡± said Hakeem as he ran over to Jason after the fight was all done.

    Hakeem flashed the light at the unmoving corpse of zombie gigant. The thought of him winning against this thing alone was foolish. Yet, what this friend of his had done was enough to cement something in his heart that he still had a long way to go before reaching the same height as Jason.

    ¡°The thing is dead, let¡¯s bail man,¡± said Hakeem. He didn¡¯t have a single thread on him and felt the coldness breaching beyond his skin. The only thing in his mind was to get back home and covered himself up with his blanket.

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem stopped on his track, and hearing that something was wrong from Jason¡¯s mouth was enough to alarm him. The grip on his mallet tightened.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s no loot,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Loot?¡± Hakeem relaxed. Hearing Jason¡¯s reason made him thought of how he overreacted.

    ¡°It¡¯s just loot man, even in-game you won¡¯t get it every time,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s different,¡± said Jason as his eyes didn¡¯t stop wandering around the corpse.

    Something feels fishy, there¡¯s no loot, and why I didn¡¯t get a level after defeating that freak of a zombie?

    ¡°Hey Hakeem, did you get a level up?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m at level eighteen right now¡­¡± Jason cut Hakeem¡¯s words.

    ¡°No, what I¡¯m asking is, after I killed that big zombie did you get a notification about leveling up?¡± Jason asked.

    Hakeem thought for a while, and he remembered.

    ¡°Nope, I didn¡¯t get any,¡± said Hakeem.

    Then both of them felt a bad foreboding.

    ¡°Shit, it¡¯s still alive,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Technically, it¡¯s undead so¡­¡± Jason said a few words, but Hakeem cut him off.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t the point, we have¡­¡± Once more Hakeem¡¯s words were cut short and not by Jason.

    A loud echoing screech filled up the air of the abandoned factory. Jason traced down the source of it and saw the head of the zombie gigant hanging on a metal chain in mid-air.

    There wasn¡¯t a normal thing in what he saw, and what came next dumbfounded him even more. Loud footsteps came from afar rivaling the echoes of the head of zombie gigant¡¯s screech.

    Jason looked everywhere, and to his astonishment every path that he looked, zombies were rushing over.

    ¡°Hakeem, incoming,¡± said Jason as he threw the steel shield at Hakeem as his friend picked it up and ready for a fight.

    But much to their surprise, these zombies went passed them as if they were invisible. Some even clashed shoulders against the duo, and yet they continued their path not bothered by the two living humans in this factory.

    Jason took a swing of his sword, cutting one of its arms. The arm dropped on the floor, but the zombie didn¡¯t pay attention to him as it rushed at a certain point.

    ¡°The heck is going on here?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Then Jason remembered a tidbit of information about zombie gigant.

    It can regenerate.

    He turned his head back to the head of the zombie gigant. With his night vision aiding him, he saw the head of the zombie gigant eating these zombies up in its huge mouth. It sickened the stomach of Jason to see these, but rather than calling it eating, it was as if these zombies were volunteering themselves to went inside the mouth of zombie gigant.

    The zombie gigant engorged itself over the self volunteered zombies, and soon enough, its body began to regenerate.

    Hakeem flashed the light and saw the grotesque scene of a zombie regenerating. Fluids of all types dripped on the floor as the body grew in size, and soon limbs started to sprout, and yet it didn¡¯t stop. It was seconds away from returning back to its former glory, devoid of any damage that it received.

    But Jason was a prudent man.

    A single leap and he was in front of the regenerating zombie gigant. Thanks to Wind Clad, his agility and movement capability rose another notch. Jason didn¡¯t wait long as the crimson dyed blade slashed the zombie gigant without a second of hesitation.

    Yet the zombie gigant didn¡¯t die. Its head fled, and the screech returned, the zombies ran towards the head as the process began once more. Jason didn¡¯t stop as he hunted the head down. He obliterated the head time after time again, and soon what left of them were the partial head of the zombie gigant with corpses of zombies lying on the ground.

    Jason took the easy route and dismantled the enemy before it could return to its shining glory. The zombie gigant, although a mindless creature, its instinct was telling that this man was an obstacle that needed to be eliminated.

    It screeched and leaped towards Jason. Sadly, a blade struck it down, and many more slashed appeared one after another as Jason cut it up into bits and pieces.

    In the end, Jason stomped every bit of the zombie gigant head until it turned into mush. Then the thing he sought appeared in front of his eyes.

    A scroll emerged along with a necklace that resembled a military dog tag.

    ¡°Hey, my level went up to nineteen,¡± said Hakeem.

    He wasn¡¯t surprised since he too experienced the same thing with a smile on his face.

    Jason¡¯s level increased to level 28

 Chapter 123

    Inside an abandoned factory, three people were incapacitating these walking undead. One of them was grumbling as he was who was buck naked who definitely prefer to go home.

    But despite his internal complaint, he didn¡¯t let his emotion clouded his judgment. Hakeem knew the reason they needed to do this.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s move to another place,¡± said Jason.

    Mateo and Hakeem followed along as they killed the undead, making sure they won¡¯t be a problem in the later future. They knew the implication. If they let any of these things still walking around, a zombie pandemic was the last thing they wanted to deal with, considering the bigger and visible problem at hand.

    Soon, after taking a few rounds around the factory, making sure there were no more zombies, Jason finally decided to go home.

    ¡°Hell yeah, I¡¯m sick of the smell man,¡± said Hakeem as he took a sniffed over his armpit, and the smell was revolting. He was at the point of retching.

    They spent so much time cooped in a factory. Since they were dealing with the rotten undead. The smell was bound to be stuck with them even after getting out of the place.

    The three people sitting inside a car as Jason took the driver¡¯s seat.

    The sun was rising from the horizon as dawn broke the night sky. They spent a whole night becoming zombie busters.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering man,¡± Hakeem spoke out as he tapped his hand at Mateo.

    ¡°Where have you been when I and Jason were fighting against that big ass zombie?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Jason told me to stay on the second floor,¡± said Mateo.

    Mateo felt embarrassed, thinking of how useless he was in this group.

    ¡°Woah, he left you alone?¡± Hakeem was surprised.

    ¡°You could have gotten him kill man,¡± Hakeem berated Jason, who was still driving.

    ¡°He¡¯s still alive,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But Jason, he¡¯s still new at this man. This is his first time, he would have¡­¡± Jason cut off Hakeem¡¯s word.

    ¡°He¡¯s better than you,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What did you just said?¡± Hakeem asked as he changed his glance at Mateo.

    ¡°He¡¯s better,¡± Jason repeated the same thing, which unknowingly invoked something in Hakeem.

    ¡°What level are you at?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Twelve,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°What? Twelve? You shitting me right?¡± Hakeem said.

    Mateo gave Hakeem a smile as he too couldn¡¯t deny that he was quite impressive.

    ¡°Well, he got pretty lucky considering we¡¯re fighting against zombies, those things are easy picking when compared to the other monsters,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, the zombies are pretty easy,¡± said Hakeem as he pondered about it for some time.

    ¡°But man, you really got it easy,¡± Hakeem said as he tapped Mateo by the shoulder.

    ¡°Nah, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do this if it wasn¡¯t for you guys,¡± said Mateo. ¡°and I¡¯ve to give credit to Mr.Park, he did the heavy lifting as he pretty much spoon-fed me.¡±

    ¡°Mr.Park? You don¡¯t have to be that polite with this dude,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°You want me to leave you here by the side of the street?¡± Jason asked the buck naked Hakeem.

    ¡°Don¡¯t, I¡¯m freaking naked here, man. I don¡¯t want to get a ticket because of public indecency,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Then behave then, I¡¯m still driving here, and besides, I left Mateo alone because he got a pretty decent skill,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem turned his attention to Mateo as he was intrigued by the mentioning of the skill.

    ¡°Keen Edge, a skill that increases the user¡¯s awareness as well as boosting the attack speed of the user,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Woah, that sounds useful,¡± said Hakeem as he too knew about the importance of being aware. One slight mishap and it would be their own demise.

    ¡°Couple with that eyes of his, he could handle the zombies alone pretty well,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°His eyes? What¡¯s with your eyes? Hakeem turned his attention to Mateo.

    ¡°I can¡¯t explain it well, but I kind of can sees this vague apparition even when in the dark,¡± said Mateo.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t understand it well.

    ¡°To put it more easily, he kind of has this night vision specifically for zombies and other ghostly things,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Haha, I guess my gift isn¡¯t that bad,¡± said Mateo as he laughed it off regarding his special ability. A special ability he gained the moment he exists in this world.

    Mateo looked out of the window as he reminisced the days in which he loathed this gift of his, a gift that he called a curse. Back in the days, he wished he didn¡¯t have this gift, being ridiculed and bullied by his peers just because he could see some things while the others couldn¡¯t. Yet who would have thought that the gift he had would suddenly be the thing that paved his way in becoming an Awakened.

    Mateo clenched his fist as he was determined to become stronger, all for the sake of his own family. He knew better than anyone that danger was around the corner, and it was up to him to protect his familia.

    The car stopped in front of Mateo¡¯s house. Thankfully, it was Mateo¡¯s day off, so he didn¡¯t need to go to the smithy.

    ¡°Thanks man, and thank you, Mr.Park,¡± said Mateo as he went off the car.

    As Mateo walked off towards his house, Jason called out to him.

    ¡°Mateo,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Yes, Mr.Park,¡± said Mateo.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to smith when you get back to work,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Why, Mr.Park?¡± Mateo asked.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know,¡± said Jason.

    The car drove off as Mateo waved his hand with gratefulness in his heart.

    Meanwhile, Hakeem was staring at Jason¡¯s back as he was sitting at the backseat.

    ¡°You know, man, I really can¡¯t get used to Mateo calling you that,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Heh, say the man who has his junk out in the open,¡± Jason retorted.

    ¡°Then get me back home,¡± said Hakeem.

    While these two were exchanging mockery, Jason¡¯s phone suddenly rang. He saw the caller ID on the screen, and he picked it up.

    There was a long silence in the car before the call finally ended.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Look alive, Hakeem, it seems the military need our assistance,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Hmph, took them long enough. But wait, is it now? My Iron Body is still in cool down,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re in luck. The mission is at tomorrow midnight. We better be prepared this time,¡± said Jason as he remembered how he underestimated the mission from before.

    You would never know what would happen in the future. Being prepare was the utmost importance.

    After dropping off himself at his own house, Hakeem took back his ride and went home.

    Jason walked on the doorstep. The moment he opened it, he saw a woman with her arms crossed over each other. The frown on her face was definitely a sign of annoyance.

    ¡°Where did you go?¡± it was Esther, his sister.

    ¡°Just hanging out,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Hanging out? I can smell blood on you,¡± said Esther as the iris of her eyes turned like a cat¡¯s eye.

    ¡°You went hunting, didn¡¯t you,¡± said Esther.

    The cat was out of the bag, Jason was wide open as this sister of his was really perceptive in these kinds of things. Rather than lying, might as well tell the truth.

    ¡°It¡¯s an impromptu thing. If we didn¡¯t handle it, people''s lives would have been lost,¡± said Jason. He had his straight face on as usual.

    ¡°But you left me, you could have given me a call,¡± said Esther. She felt the injustice of being left out. ¡°What¡¯s Hakeem¡¯s level?¡±

    Her true intention was revealed, and Jason could not help but felt interested in this sudden thing. He took a look at his sister and sensed something from her question. He smirked at her.

    ¡°Nineteen,¡± said Jason.

    Her jaw dropped as she was in disbelief.

    ¡°He¡¯s two levels higher than me. Jason, this isn¡¯t fair, you should have brought me along,¡± said Esther.

    Jason could sense the rivalry between Esther and Hakeem. Although in Jason¡¯s perspective, he saw Hakeem didn¡¯t see a tint of rivalry with Esther. He heard himself from Hakeem as that friend of his was making him as the target for being stronger.

    Rivalry doesn¡¯t seem that bad. At least, they''re motivating themselves to become stronger.

    The most important thing right now was to become stronger than ever. Who knows when a portal would suddenly break out in the middle of Toronto.

    Jason patted Esther¡¯s head as she brushed it off without a second to waste.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve got a mission from the military,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°When?¡± Esther asked.

    She remembered her life and death experience fighting at Thunder Bay. She still remembered it as she could felt her body went cold like a corpse, but that didn¡¯t mean she wouldn''t continue to fight on. She was a rational person when the perspective was clear in front of her. She wouldn¡¯t take no as an answer.

    ¡°Tomorrow midnight, you better prepare yourself,¡± said Jason.

    Esther nodded as Jason could saw a fire lighted behind her eyes. He could see that this sister of his was really an ambitious and determined person, a perfect defining feature for an era that would soon engulf in war.

    ¡°Oh, and there¡¯s something I made for you,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Esther asked as her eyes were gleaming with anticipation.

    ¡°A secret, you can wait until tomorrow or you can just get it at Hakeem¡¯s apartment,¡± said Jason.

    Esther didn¡¯t hesitate as she grabbed the car key and went off. Jason could only smile, seeing the actions of his sister.

    He went upstairs and cleaned himself up. He came out of the bathroom with only a towel on. He walked to his desk as a necklace laid on top of it.

    Bronze in color and looks like a military dog tag. One of the loot he obtained after defeating zombie gigant. He smiled and grabbed it. He wore it around his neck as a thought appeared in his mind.

    Open.

    Out of sudden, the rare-grade steel sword appeared in his hand out of thin air. He didn¡¯t seem surprised as he stared at the blade of the sword with a smile. Then a second later, it disappeared. Replaced with a scroll.

    ¡°This is amazing,¡± he said.

    His other hand grabbed the dog tag as he stared at it. His fingers fiddled around with the dog tag as his eyes used ¡®scan¡¯.

    Talozar¡¯s Insignia

    Category : Accessory(Necklace)

    Grade : Rare

    A peculiar bronze metalwork made by the estranged and eccentric sage from the dwarven race. Talozar wasn¡¯t favor by most of his peer due to his interest that deviated from the natural path of a dwarf, smithing. He made this simple necklace just to flaunt his knowledge blending the art of smithing along with his pure knowledge as a sage.

    Effect: Space Storage(1000 cubic feet/29 cubic meter)

    Jason couldn¡¯t believe his luck. Obtaining this necklace was like a blessing for him. Although the space provided wasn¡¯t that big, but for now, it would suffice for him. At least it won¡¯t be a problem for him to store his loots and his items.

    Then he stared at the scroll in his hand.

    Poison Coat

    Coat your weapons or projectiles with poison. Not stackable.

    Lv.1 : EP cost 5

    Duration : 5 minutes

    Would you like to learn Poison Coat?

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Jason smiled as another new skill was learned. He thought he would give it away to either Esther or Hakeem considering he had a lot of skills to grind. But seeing what it was made it harder for him to reject such a great skill.

    There was a lot of improvement that he needed to make, but it didn¡¯t matter to him for now. What he needed right now was just plenty of rest. As the fatigue started to kick in.

    He lay on his bed as sleep took over.

 Chapter 124

    Jason, Hakeem, and Esther stepped outside of their vehicle. A familiar man was waiting for them. Neil Stinson smiled from one end to another with his long white coat.

    ¡°Welcome,¡± said Neil.

    These three stuck out like a sore thumb as they came wearing in civilian attires.

    Jason reached out for Neil¡¯s hanging hand. Both of them shook hands. Neil pulled Jason closer to him as he whispered.

    ¡°We need to talk.¡±

    Neil sounded serious. Then that face of his turned amicable once more as he turned over to Hakeem and Esther.

    ¡°Been a long time, you two. Hakeem, have you eaten? What about you, Esther?¡± said Neil.

    The trio ate at the cafeteria free of charges, and a while later, Neil pulled Jason over. Jason sat in an office with Neil sitting opposite of him. Both of them were staring at each other with not a word coming out from their mouths.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°You have gotten stronger,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°I can say the same thing,¡± said Jason.

    Neil Stinson

    Lv: 5 Job: None

    EP:44/45, E.G:150/150,

    Str:5, Agi:5, Dex:6, Sta:4, En: 15, E.R: 5

    Status Condition : Healthy

    Skill: Scan, E.Guard

    ¡°Easy killing?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°More like privileges of being at the top,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°You upgrade your skill,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Upgrade?¡± said Neil. The confused look turned into fascination.

    Jason accidentally spilled the bean, yet his expression remained the same. But then he sighed.

    Sooner or later, they will find it out might as well gives them a heads up.

    ¡°Once the skill reaches a certain level, it may upgrade into a better one. I thought one of yours had an upgrade,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Interesting, no soldier had an experience of what you said,¡± said Neil with a smile, leaning forward towards Jason. But then he spoke something else, ¡°any other tips or secret you want to share Mr.Park?¡±

    You sly dog, you think I¡¯m going to give things that easily? I made a mistake, and to hell, I¡¯m going to make another one.

    Jason smirked and only stared at Neil.

    ¡°I¡¯m lucky to receive an upgraded skill, and I¡¯ve compared with Ellen Portsmouth¡¯s Identify. The function was more or less the same except for mine had a higher degree of details,¡± said Neil as he leaned back on his chair.

    ¡°Let¡¯s cut to the chase, what¡¯s the problem?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind,¡± said Neil.

    A brief silence between the two, yet it took a bit of time as Jason raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°You¡¯re into poetry these days?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Besides science, I¡¯m a man of literature myself,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°You know about the mission?¡± Jason asked.

    Neil let out a sigh as he grabbed a file inside his drawer. He passed it to Jason.

    ¡°For the past one week, our military is making our move. The sixty-nine soldiers remained as one of our elites. They are training their levels as fast as possible, while more and more of our soldiers are going through the Awakening every day,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°What you did back then really paved the way for us,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°and the bad things are?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°The bad news is, the UC are advancing without any obstacle impeding their way. We tried to block them at a certain bridge. But it proved to be useless, their levels are way higher, and we almost lost another precious member from the sixty-nine elites,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use Identify?¡± You can easily see whether they¡¯re fightable or not,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°We did, the lowest level was thirteen, and yet we can barely produce a result,¡± said Neil. ¡°Killing even one of them was hard enough, but with them moving in herds and groups, just surviving proved to be an obstacle.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m about to tell you to train your level first, but you probably knew that,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have enough time,¡± said Neil as he stood up and looked out from the window.

    ¡°We¡¯re losing 45% of Canada in just a matter of a week, and the reason we aren¡¯t being totally conquered is due to our luck. Lucky for being avoided by that damn crack in the sky,¡± said Neil.

    Jason sensed the impatience in Neil¡¯s voice. He had the same worries as Neil¡¯s, but he knew that without racking up levels, surviving would be difficult.

    ¡°And the mission?¡± Jason ignored Neil¡¯s rant and came back to the main topic.

    ¡°A squad of twenty people, including you three, will be sent to Oshawa and impede the incoming UC,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°Oshawa? That¡¯s close to Toronto,¡± said Jason as his eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Indeed, we detected the closest UC to Toronto is from Oshawa. For the last two days, their movement had slowed down almost stagnant. We need to stop them before they reach Toronto,¡± said Neil.

    ¡°What are they?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°We couldn¡¯t determine their level, meaning they are higher level. But, we can describe what they are,¡± said Neil.

    Jason flipped through the documents in his hand and saw an image.

    ¡°It¡¯s a horde,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°To be precise, it¡¯s an orc horde,¡± Neil replied.

    Then the office phone rang. Neil picked it up and put it back.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to go,¡± said Neil.

    Jason got up and shook hands with Neil. Then out of sudden, Neil went for a hug, which surprised Jason quite a bit. To be fair, they weren¡¯t that close. But then he heard Neil¡¯s whisper.

    Jason left the room and proceeded to join back with Esther and Hakeem. While walking back, he was deep in his own thought.

    Mantis stalking the cicada? Since when do Korean learn Chinese idioms? Well, thankfully I know a bit of two about idioms and that last whisper of his.

    Jason stopped on his track as his fist clenched tight to the point of shaking.

    The military is trying to take me down, huh? But I can¡¯t say its the military since it¡¯s more like some part of them since Neil is probably by my side, I think. Well, let''s just see what happens.

    Jason continued walking back to his designated room.

    Shitty humans. We¡¯re under an invasion, and they¡¯re worrying about whose dick is the biggest. They¡¯re really that afraid of me and trying to take me down? No way I¡¯m going to sit back without a fight. If they want a fight then I¡¯ll gladly give them.

    A vicious glint flashed within Jason¡¯s eyes as he finally arrived at his designated room. He walked inside and saw both Hakeem and Esther dressed up in the military uniform provided.

    Hakeem was fully clothed in a military uniform from head to toe except for the helmet.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wearing a helmet?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°Don¡¯t want to mess up with these new cornrows,¡± said Hakeem.

    While Esther was only wearing the military uniform from the waist down. There was no jacket or a helmet on her. But what caught his attention was what she was wearing for the top. A nude color sculpting bodysuit. A rather bold choice.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wearing a jacket?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s too stuffy and too big, I can¡¯t move that well in that,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± said Jason as he clapped once, taking both Hakeem and Esther¡¯s attention.

    ¡°We¡¯re up against orcs, and Hakeem, like always, I need you to take the beating and Esther hit from the flank and kill them as fast as possible,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Orcs? You mean those pig face monsters?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the one,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I read they smell bad,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°It might be true but let¡¯s don¡¯t get our hopes up,¡± said Jason.

    Esther felt dejected while Hakeem was wondering about something.

    ¡°Hey, why didn¡¯t you bring along Mateo?¡± asked Hakeem.

    ¡°Mateo? Who¡¯s Mateo?¡± Esther asked, surprised by the new name.

    ¡°He¡¯s not ready, and besides, he¡¯s probably discovering something new by now,¡± said Jason.

    Then the door was knocked, Jason opened the door.

    ¡°Sir, reporting, we ready for departure,¡± said a fully-clothed soldier.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Jason beckoning the others to follow him.

    Hakeem whispered in Jason¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Are we dropping from an airplane again? Cause I don¡¯t think I can do it again,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Relax, we¡¯re probably going by road,¡± said Jason.

    But as the trio grouped up with the rest of the squad, Jason saw the varieties of armor vehicles standing behind them, and there was even a single tank among them.

    ¡°Woah, we¡¯re going to ride a tank?¡± Hakeem was amazed.

    Esther too couldn¡¯t hide her amazement. While Jason had his concerns.

    Isn''t this a bit too much?

 Chapter 125

    A military convoy stopped a mile from Oshawa City. The soldiers were setting up camp as the trio was a bit surprised by the number of soldiers.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you said, twenty people?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I¡¯m also clueless here,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Sir, we¡¯ve prepared the tent for you,¡± a soldier came out from the tent and left.

    The three looked at each other and shrugged. They went inside, and before one of them could say anything, an unexpected guest barged inside.

    ¡°Ryan?¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Hi, guys. It¡¯s been a while,¡± said Ryan. He patted Hakeem and Jason by the shoulder.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be heading out at 1500, meet the squad on the highway heading to Oshawa beyond the base camp,¡± said Ryan.

    The three nodded, and as Ryan was about to leave, Hakeem pulled him over.

    ¡°Wait. What¡¯s with the extra soldiers? The squad is supposed to be twenty people, am I right?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re the support team. They¡¯ll be handling the logistics as well as with the communication. After we depart, they¡¯ll probably be going to build a barrier around the camp,¡± said Ryan.

    Ryan left after explaining about the extra soldiers around the camp.

    ¡°Make sense. I guess we¡¯re the elite soldiers now huh,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°We¡¯re technically mercenaries,¡± said Esther as she corrected Hakeem about themselves.

    ¡°Come on Esther, at least let me get the glory of representing Canada as a patriotic soldier,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°No soldier has a one million dollar paycheck,¡± said Esther. That remark was enough to silenced Hakeem.

    ¡°Enough talk. Let¡¯s suit up,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Suit up? With what? The only things I brought are the shield and my trusty mallet,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Me too, I¡¯ve only brought the dirk and the new sword,¡± said Esther. Her arms were already crossing over each other in front of her chest.

    Jason didn¡¯t say a word. He raised up both of his arms as things kept appearing out of thin air.

    ¡°Woah,¡± both exclaimed out of surprise.

    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Esther asked. Rather than Hakeem, it was Esther being the most surprised seeing such a thing.

    Esther came closer and grabbed Jason by the collar. Jason was a bit intimidated by this sudden change in her action. A bit too forward for him.

    ¡°Relax, it¡¯s this thing,¡± Jason showed the dog tag necklace.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the one you got from that big ass zombie,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Big ass zombie?¡± Esther turned to Hakeem.

    Esther didn¡¯t ask about anything regarding the duo hunting session as she was still sulking about it. Thus, she still didn¡¯t know anything about it.

    ¡°Enough bickering. Let¡¯s get ready,¡± said Jason.

    He stopped them before things got worse. Jason wasn¡¯t going to entertain any meaningless dramas.

    ¡°Here,¡± Jason passed a steel arm braces to Hakeem.

    ¡°When did you made this?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Your leather one got disintegrated, so I made it out of a whim. Can''t leave you defenseless,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Love you, man,¡± said Hakeem as he quickly wore the steel arm braces.

    ¡°Here,¡± Jason passed a leather arm braces to Esther.

    ¡°Why is mine¡¯s different?¡± asked Esther.

    ¡°He¡¯s the vanguard, and yours need to be lighter,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°and these are for the both of you,¡± he tossed two leather armors to both of them.

    ¡°is this wearable?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°Just wear it, it¡¯s for protection,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t say anything as he wore it while smiling. Just having to wear a leather armor was like a dream of his. He remembered playing medieval theme games and having come close to resembling the character he played really put a smile on him.

    The aesthetic was severely lacking, but it didn¡¯t matter. Just wearing one made him happy.

    Esther stopped complaining and wore it. To her surprise, the crude leather armor fit her perfectly, like it was really made for her.

    ¡°How did you know my size?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s Scan, I can see whatever status you have,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What? That¡¯s breaching privacy,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna ignore that useless argument. I''ve got bigger things to worry about,¡± said Jason as he wore his dark oak arm braces and his own crude leather armor. To finished it off, he wore a monocle on his right eye.

    He faced towards the duo as out of nowhere, a rare-grade steel sword appeared in his hand.

    ¡°Time to kill some smelly orcs,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°You got a weird fashion sense,¡± said Esther as her weight shifted over one of her legs.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? Item''s effect triumphs over aesthetic,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem patted Esther by the shoulder.

    ¡°You still got a lot to learn little one,¡± said Hakeem as he and Jason left the tent.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Esther was still confused.

    The trio got out, and their overall appearance caught the attention of the rest of the soldiers. Definitely, a stark difference to the soldiers as they were wielding swords, shield, and blunt weapons.

    They arrived at the designated spot, and the military squad was already waiting for them. A few familiar faces among the twenty.

    Captain Ryan Rogers, Scott the ice wielding guy, Pixie the bitchy soldier, and lastly, the intimidating Berserker.

    ¡°Gather up,¡± said Ryan.

    The whole twenty people huddled around along with the trio. They received quite a stare from the squad. A few among them were glaring hard at Jason.

    He, on the other hand, ignored it. He knew his reputation.

    ¡°You know what we are up against, they¡¯re strong, but we are stronger,¡± said Ryan. He bolstered the motivation of his squad as he knew what they were up against.

    ¡°Stick to the tactic and strategy we practiced, and don¡¯t get careless,¡± said Ryan. ¡°Got it?¡±

    ¡°Roger,¡± said the squad in unison.

    Captain Ryan passed something to the trio.

    ¡°In-ear comms, for the in-between squad and also with the support team,¡± said Captain Ryan.

    The squad departed, making way to Oshawa. Jason and his partner were walking at the last line of the squad. Jason¡¯s eyes darting around at the soldiers as something piqued his interest.

    Is that a grenade launcher?

    He wasn¡¯t wrong. Most of them slung a grenade launcher on their back. Rather than mocking them, he had a thought in mind.

    Do they create a new type of weapon? Or they created some kind of tactic using grenades?

    Underestimating the military would be wrong as they wouldn¡¯t enter a battlefield without a plan.

    Let¡¯s see what they have in plan.

    Jason smiled. He was anticipating a good show from the military. The walk was long, and as they entered the city, the soldiers went red alert. A few of them were already holding on to their grenade launchers, and some were loading up their crossbows.

    Yes, crossbows, and it wasn¡¯t any normal crossbow. It was like a smaller size ballista or just a bigger version of a crossbow with a bigger dimension crossbow bolt.

    Hakeem nudged Jason.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± said Hakeem.

    Jason didn¡¯t say a word as he maintained his sight on to these crossbowmen. They weren¡¯t many as only two of them were armed with such weaponry.

    ¡°Roofs clear,¡± said one of the soldiers as his eyes kept glancing the roofs on top of their heads.

    ¡°Alleyway clear, no sign of hostile,¡± said one of the soldiers.

    ¡°Front, no sign of life and... it¡¯s getting boring,¡± said one of the cheekier soldiers.

    ¡°Don¡¯t jinx us, Cooper,¡± said Captain Ryan.

    Then something flew above the squad. The trio looked up in the air and saw drones flying.

    ¡°Recon drone team scouting the front,¡± the in-ear spoke. The support team came into action.

    Back at the campsite located outside of Oshawa, underneath a single tent, five soldiers were controlling the drones as they looked through the empty streets from up in the sky. Then one of them spotted something on the screen.

    ¡°UC spotted, two klicks from your location over,¡± said the drone controller.

    Captain Ryan raised his fist in the air as the whole squad stopped moving.

    ¡°Snipers, up on the roof. Left and right,¡± said Captain Ryan.

    Those who carried crossbows separated themselves as they went inside the closest building.

    ¡°Take cover,¡± said Captain Ryan. The squad dispersed away from the road, hiding in between the buildings. The trio followed along without question.

    ¡°Drone team, can you bait them?¡± Captain Ryan asked.

    ¡°No, sir. We¡¯ve been trying, and the UC aren¡¯t moving. They¡¯re ignoring us, sir,¡± said the drone controller.

    The drone hovering above a group of orc was left ignored.

    ¡°Pixie, you¡¯re up,¡± said Captain Ryan.

    Pixie took out two combat daggers as the sheen of the blade caught Jason¡¯s interest. He used Scan on it, and he smirked.

    Titanium daggers? There goes the taxpayer''s money, but I guess it¡¯s better than hiring us.

    Pixie nodded and went running on the road. Her speed was better than before, and a few minutes later, she appeared in front of the orcs.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Pixie shouted.

    She waved her hands at the orcs trying to catch their attention. But she didn¡¯t need to try hard as the orcs were riled up in just an instant after spotting a human at a distance.

    The four hulking orcs grunted and went running towards Pixie. Despite their pudgy bodies with excess flabby fat, these monsters were running without much difficulty.

    Pixie ran, baiting them as she brought them back to her squad.

    ¡°Four orcs incoming,¡± said Pixie.

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Captain Ryan. ¡°Grenades, get ready.¡±

    As the orcs came closer. The snipers were ready to shoot.

    ¡°Got eyes on the target,¡± said one of the snipers.

    ¡°Same,¡± replied the other sniper.

    ¡°Should we take the shot?¡± asked one of the snipers.

    ¡°Not yet, we need them closer,¡± said Captain Ryan.

    Captain Ryan took a peak from the side of the building. As he saw Pixie running closer, he then saw the orcs chasing over Pixie.

    ¡°Shoot it,¡± said Captain Ryan.

    The bolts went flying. One of them struck right at the eye of an orc.

    ¡°Guargh!¡± the orc screamed.

    Then another orc screamed as it too been hit by a crossbow bolt. The other two orcs stopped on their track, surprised by the sudden attack.

    ¡°Launch the grenades,¡± said Captain Ryan. Large caliber projectiles went flying in the air. As they dropped on the ground around the orcs, yellow gas started to disperse out from the projectiles.

    The orcs were confused and erratic. A few of them started assaulting the projectiles that were emitting these yellow smoke, crushing them underneath the soles of their feet. But the effects started to kick in. The orcs coughed and retched, much to the surprise of the trio who witnessed everything. Then he heard Captain Ryan.

    ¡°Mask on,¡± said Captain Ryan.

    Every ground squad members took out a gas mask and wore it.

    ¡°Beth, masks to the hired,¡± said Captain Ryan.

    Beth, another soldier, threw gas masks at Jason, Hakeem, and Esther.

    Jason looked at the mask and glanced back at the scene of the choking orcs.

    Chemical warfare, huh? Interesting¡­

    Jason slowly wore the gas mask as he hid a smile underneath it.

 Chapter 126

    Human ingenuity was an incredible thing. No matter the odds, human beings would strive even under the harshest condition. It wasn¡¯t any different when they were now up against monsters from another world.

    A man with a gas mask standing at a distance with his arms crossed over. His companions standing beside him were waiting for instructions. Hakeem kept glancing from Jason to the battle scene while Esther stared at Jason.

    ¡°We¡¯re not helping them?¡± asked Hakeem.

    ¡°They don¡¯t need us,¡± said Jason while keeping his eyes at the soldiers. ¡°I think.¡±

    But Jason¡¯s answer didn¡¯t satisfy Hakeem.

    ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± said Hakeem.

    He remembered how his inaction caused the lives of others. Rather than waiting, he opted in taking action.

    With the shield and the mallet, he charged into the battlefield engulfed by the yellowish smokes.

    ¡°Is it okay leaving him like that?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you smarter than me? Use that big brain of yours and think about the military¡¯s new battle tactics,¡± said Jason.

    Esther glanced back at the yellow smoke battlefield, as she too realized the importance of tactics.

    The gasmask-wearing soldiers ran at the four orcs. They utilized their standard titanium cold weapons and attacked the orcs at every angle.

    Pixie rushed with glowing purplish feet. Her speed went up by another notch as she slashed the orc at the back of its knees. But the orc didn¡¯t go down.

    ¡°Too shallow,¡± said Pixie.

    The thick skin and fatty layer of the orc were enough to hinder the attacks of these soldiers. Having a good weapon didn¡¯t mean that it could compensate for the lack of power of the user, even if it meant using titanium-based weapons.

    Ryan picked up the slack as he rushed at the orc. The machete in his hand slashed the orc by the flank.

    ¡°Guoink,¡± the orc shouted in pain.

    Its flank bled, but it was hardly a critical strike. Even for Ryan, who put a considerable amount of his points to strength, couldn¡¯t cut the orc properly.

    The coughing orc turned at Ryan. Its red tearing eyes along with its runny snout showed that the chemical gas was working, but it wasn¡¯t enough. The orc reached out with its huge bulking hands trying to grab Ryan.

    ¡°Attack it from behind!¡± shouted Ryan. Three soldiers went for its back, slashing and stabbing it with their machetes and knives. But to their dismay, they barely scratch the creature. A trickle of blood dripped over the minuscule injuries on its back.

    The orc turned around while swinging its arm hard. The soldiers were taken by surprise as they were swept by the arm swing. All three were thrown to the ground at a distance as some of them groaned.

    ¡°Shit,¡± said Ryan.

    At the other two uninjured orcs, one of them noticed the sound of a screeching blade. It turned and saw a tall man with a muscular figure.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna fuck you up pork,¡± said the Berserker.

    He hoisted his great sword above his head as veins started popping up on his right arm. The orc noticed the human and charged ahead. The Berserker swung the heavy sword, and upon contact, he could felt the blade cutting the orc¡¯s meat.

    The orc squealed as half of the blade went deep into its flank. The Berserker glanced at Jason from afar, as his hate and rage fueled his strength. He pulled the greatsword with all his might and swung it another time.

    The orc didn¡¯t standstill. Even with such injury, it rushed at the Berserker. A beast who only knew to react on instinct. The orc stopped the Berserker¡¯s attack during mid-swing and tackled him straight. The Berserker dropped to the ground, but his hand didn¡¯t let go of the great sword. He looked up and saw the approaching orc with its reeking blood pouring out from the grievous injury he just inflicted. The orc raised up its fist high, preparing to crash the Berserker¡¯s skull, but it flinched. Two other soldiers stabbed the orc from behind as another hacked at the same injury.

    ¡°Die,¡± said one of the soldiers as he was hanging at the back of the orc with his machete barely stabbing at the orc. He tried to push it further, but a hand grabbed on to him. The orc found the backstabber as it threw the soldier to the front.

    The orc then turned and swung its arm, and soldiers were sent flying before groaning on the road. Gushes of blood dropped on the road as the orc still remained standing. It won''t¡¯ die without giving a fight. But then something flew at it and struck it cold. Dozens of icicles pierced the skin of the orc as it turned towards the source. A soldier with his arms pointed towards the orc, the one who unleashed a spell at it.

    ¡°Fuck. It didn¡¯t do a thing,¡± said Scott. His Ice Needle barely did any damage as he turned around and fled.

    Another group of soldiers was fighting against the injured orcs. With the orcs sights half-impaired, the soldiers struck at them from their blind spot. They used the hit and run tactic, but it didn¡¯t work. Their measly attacks barely injured the creature. The orc managed to grab a soldier. He was struggling by the neck as the orc raised him up high in the air. This soldier was one unlucky bastard.

    The orc infuriated due to its damaged eye, opened up its smelly mouth as it pulled the soldier¡¯s head closer.

    ¡°No, no, no!¡± the soldiers screamed and struggled, he tried to get free. He was terrified by the impending death as each second, his life was coming closer to death.

    But then the orc stopped, and the grip on the soldier loosened. The soldier dropped on the road before he scurried out of the way. The orc retreated a few steps as someone smashed at it right at the belly. A burnt mark on its round fat abdomen.

    ¡°Die,¡± said Hakeem as his glowing electric bound mallet slammed a few more times at the orc¡¯s torso.

    Each time his attack connected, the orc was knocked back. The orc grunted and threw a fist at Hakeem. The man moved by instinct, raising up his shield as he took the whole brunt of the fist head-on.

    CLANG.

    The sound of metal resonated as Hakeem was knocked back a few feet away. Then another fist came at him. Hakeem side-stepped while parrying the fist with his shield. He went inside in close quarter range, the head of his mallet started to glow in blue electric.

    ¡°Bolt Hammer!¡± Hakeem shouted.

    A combo of lightning-based attacks struck the orc. Hakeem kept fighting zealously against the enemy.

    The battle in the middle of the road was chaotic. The soldiers were barely putting up a fight against these orcs even when they were affected by the chemical gas. The gas indeed helped as it dropped the fighting capability of the orcs considerably. You couldn¡¯t really fight properly when you¡¯re coughing with teary eyes and a stinging pain at the throat.

    The gas started to turn thin.

    ¡°Grenades!¡± Ryan shouted.

    The soldiers with the grenade launchers shot out another round of chemical grenades as the whole road was engulfed by a massive influx of yellowish gas.

    At this point in time, Hakeem was taking aggro from two orcs at the same time, while the rest of the soldiers were aiding him with their hit and run tactic. Some of the soldiers were already down and had been taken away from the fight scene.

    To Jason¡¯s surprise, he saw a familiar-looking light. Beth, the one who handed out the masks was healing some of the injured soldiers. Jason smiled, knowing that the military was quite lucky, having a healer in their ranks. He guessed that the military''s plan in awakening more soldiers proved to be a good choice considering they found a soldier with a healing ability.

    The battle situation was intriguing to Jason as he learned a few things. He never knew that chemical warfare was capable to be of use against the UC. He even had some thoughts of using some in the future, but he shook his head. Jason had used Scan on the orc from before, and he realized something.

    Orc

    Ugly and filthy with its known characteristic of having a pig-like snout. The reeking smell of these creatures is nauseating to the point it will stick on anyone who made contact for no less than a week even after cleanly bathing.

    Species: Humanoid

    Level : 24

    S.Ability : Smelly Odour, Thick Fat

    Even when the soldiers triumphed in numbers, the disparity in levels proved to be a hard obstacle to overcome.

    The soldiers are too weak. Their average levels are way to low. The highest is surprisingly the Berserker, the one I stole his giant axe at level sixteen and the rest between the range of twelve to fifteen. The use of chemicals is a great tactic, but their firepower is too lacking. They can¡¯t take their advantage well. I guess them leveling for the whole week could only amount this much.

    ¡°Are we not helping them?¡± Esther asked once more as Jason could saw the agitation behind her eyes.

    ¡°Think you can handle them?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Wait and see,¡± said Esther with confidence. Her eyes changed into cat eyes.

    ¡°Here, a present,¡± said Jason.

    Brown light engulfed Esther. She then rushed towards the battlefield. Then a few minutes later, an orc went down killed by the combined efforts of Hakeem and the Berserker. One dead but they were still three more for them to handle.

    ¡°Hmm, that Thick Fat is really troublesome, if it isn¡¯t for that, I think they already won by now,¡± said Jason.

    But then a voice came through the earpiece. The drone controller detected movement from the east, and from the panicking voice, Jason bet that some trouble was coming towards them.

    ¡°I repeat, a group of orcs is heading towards you, I repeat¡­¡± everyone was shocked. Even their first battle hadn¡¯t ended yet, and now, more trouble was coming. Jason wasn''t surprised considering how much noise they were making while fighting against the orcs. Sooner or later, they would be bound to attract the other orcs.

    Then Jason cracked his knuckles and started stretching himself. He loosened his whole body up as he was preparing.

    "I guess it''s my time then."

 Chapter 127

    Standing on top of a building, Jason saw the incoming group of orc marching down the road. He didn¡¯t need any binoculars as the monocle zooming capability was enough.

    ¡°Eleven of them. Well, that¡¯s quite a lot,¡± said Jason.

    He was one kilometer away from the ongoing battle of soldiers against orcs. He left them without even saying a word. Leaving them hounded by the incoming pressure of more orcs would quicken up the pace of their battle, and what better way to improve their battle senses than a huge death threat coming from a klick away.

    ¡°Hmm, they¡¯re better equipped. That¡¯s a surprise,¡± it was random. Two or four orcs were equipped with crude weapons, like axes and spiked maces. Some even got a shield and torso armor.

    ¡°Hmm, but all of them are at the same level even with those gears, but¡­¡± a flash of an idea passed by, ¡°Who cares, I¡¯m definitely going to loot them.¡±

    Having the necklace was a windfall. Taking big things weren¡¯t going to be a problem as of now.

    His two swords emerged, one the rare-grade while the other a normal one. Right and left, ready to spill blood. Jason took a deep breath with his eyes closed. He calmed himself down, preparing for the fight. He didn¡¯t really need it but loosening up before a big fight wasn¡¯t a bad idea.

    ¡°Fuh¡­¡± he sighed as his eyes were determined.

    Brown light and a sliver of wind engulfed him for a while. Jason was ready. He leaped off the three-story building and landed on the sidewalk. Another green light enveloped him as he then charged right at the horde.

    The orcs went wild, seeing a human. Their pudgy feet ran on the road as they bared their weapons at Jason. A fierce glint behind Jason¡¯s eyes, he rushed straight on.

    The first orc swung the axe with pure might. Jason ducked low, dodging it by a hair-breadth. He slashed the orc by the ankle, and as he turned his waist, the second sword came slashing at the orc¡¯s flank. Blood was spilled, but Jason frowned.

    ¡°Oirgh!¡± the orc enraged as its face twitched. It swung the axe aside, but Jason was already gone.

    ¡°Orgh!¡± the other orcs started to scream. Jason was running around the horde of orcs as his blade met their fatty flesh.

    He didn¡¯t stop moving and with his speed bolster by the virtue of the wind, he glided on the road leaving behind the orcs who missed their attacks like a fool. Maces, axes, and fists cracked the asphalt road. The orcs were furious as Jason¡¯s action riled them up.

    Jason was dancing with his swords like mad, slashing every meat that he set his eyes too. Every time he cut these orcs, the frown on his face only grew deeper.

    I don¡¯t like it.

    The slash didn¡¯t feel good. It wasn¡¯t smooth as he was used to. Usually, one slash was enough to eliminate all foes that he met, except for kobold, and now it included these orcs.

    One more.

    Jason spotted the last uninjured orc. He dodged and slashed until he finally a step away from the uninjured orc.

    ¡°One,¡± the right sword pierced right through the flank.

    ¡°Two,¡± the left sword slashed at the same spot.

    He pushed his feet and jumped forward as a mace smashed right at the spot where he once stood. Jason rolled and turned as he saw these injured orcs coming at him without a hint of hesitation.

    ¡°These pigs are relentless,¡± said Jason.

    Then, he vanished. The orcs were confused. Their heads turned left and right, searching for the daring human that dared ambushed them. But he was nowhere to be found. The orcs smashed their weapons and fists at the road venting their rage.

    Meanwhile, Jason stood on top of the roof, visible for all to see.

    ¡°My strength is too low, can¡¯t get a good slash,¡± said Jason with a frown.

    If I focus only on my strength attribute, these pigs wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    He was right. Although he was at level 28, his advantages gained through titles put his point status level the same as a level 65. But balancing his status attributes did have its own pros and cons, one of those cons was lacking in the force behind his attacks. The stronger monster he met, the more apparent this weakness would be shown.

    Nonetheless, he did had a few tricks. The orcs who were searching for Jason suddenly fell on their knees. Some were retching and vomiting out their stomach acid while some were having seizures on the ground. It varied, but even so, all of them were affected.

    Jason smirked on the top of the roof as the faint violet glow vanished away from his swords.

    Poison Coat level up to level 2

    The orcs weren¡¯t dead, but they were incapacitated from fighting back. Jason dropped back from the roof, landing on the road in a hero-style manner.

    Always wanted to do that.

    He smiled as he brandished his swords. He entered the fray once more, and this time it was a lot easier. Some of the stronger orcs tried to fight back, but the poison already seeped into their veins and muscles, weakening them to an extent. Sooner or later, the poison would have killed them, but Jason wasn¡¯t going to wait.

    His swords went mad as he hacked these orcs heads like a lumberjack chopping down a tree. It was quick but took a bit of his time since the thick fat was a hindrance.

    Intermediate Swordsmanship level up to level 5

    Good news even more so after he looted those weapons and armors from the orcs. He picked the huge armor and lifted it up.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Jason said.

    It smells bad.

    The stank of the orc seeped deep into the armor. You should never underestimate the ability of an orc. Its stink ability really packed a punch.

    The smell is even worse than a goblin.

    The armor vanished as it entered his storage space. He looked up and saw a few drones hovering on top of him. It seemed he had prying eyes. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. If he wanted to, he could have destroyed them with Wind Cutter.

    But he quelled down his annoyance as he was still a partner with the Canadian military.

    Then he felt the road trembled, turning around his monocle zoomed in as he saw more were coming, and the numbers were frightening. Expressionless as he stood there for a few seconds before he ran back to the group.

    Jason came back, and the battle had ended, but not without injuries. A few soldiers were laying on the side of the road as Beth was trying her best healing them. The four orc corpses laid in the middle of the road as a few people were inspecting the corpses.

    Some were resting, leaning their backs behind the buildings. They were tired just after a single fight. Jason shook his head as these people were definitely not capable of going up against that big horde.

    From afar, Ryan ran towards Jason.

    ¡°I heard from the drone team, you killed those groups of orcs?¡± Ryan asked.

    ¡°Of course, I did. Who else would be dumb enough to do that,¡± said Jason with a smirk.

    ¡°Heh, I heard from Hakeem, didn¡¯t think you were this cocky. But if I remember it correctly, the first time we met when you saved my ass, you¡¯re not this cocky,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s life,¡± said Jason, ¡°and hey, did you bring any bombs around?

    ¡°Bombs?¡± Ryan was confused. ¡°We¡¯ve brought C4, but why are you asking?¡±

    Before Jason could say a word, the drone team responded.

    ¡°Captain Ryan, we spotted multiple orcs three klicks away from your position. Numbers are reaching more than two dozens of them,¡± said drone team.

    Ryan was shaken, hearing the news. Then he looked at Jason.

    ¡°is it for them?¡± Ryan asked.

    ¡°We need to block the road or hinder them in any way possible,¡± said Jason. The cockiness was replaced by the sharp eagle eyes of Jason, as it wasn¡¯t time for playing around.

    ¡°The explosion won¡¯t work on them, you know that,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°A trench works fine or blocking with a building seems good,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°No, a bunch of C4 can¡¯t demolish a building that easily more so if we want to use it to block the road,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°Then, the trench?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Also not possible,¡± Ryan turned grim as he felt the pressure of it.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you deal with them?¡± Ryan asked while hoping for the best.

    ¡°No, they¡¯re too many,¡± said Jason. Ryan¡¯s face fell as he was out of option. Then he felt Jason patted him by the shoulder.

    ¡°Bring me all the C4 you got,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What are you gonna do?¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°Slow them down,¡± said Jason, then he continued, ¡°if I can. It¡¯s best if you station your soldiers up on the roof, better hide on the top rather than being sitting ducks on the road.¡±

    Ryan nodded. He ordered his men to hid on top of the roof as he supplied the explosives to Jason.

    Hakeem and Ester got the news. They insisted they wanted to come, but Jason straight up told them.

    ¡°You¡¯re just going to hold me back, protect the soldiers and just wait,¡± said Jason.

    Jason dropped himself off from the roof as the soldiers watched in shock. Hakeem and Esther ran to the edge of the roof as they saw him landed safely on the ground. At the same time, Hakeem and Esther muttered.

    ¡°Show off.¡±

 Chapter 128

    Ryan stood on top of the roof, staring at the far end of the road. Rubbing his chin, he was deep in thought, thinking of a way to tackle this situation. He was briefed about the opponent, but the military intelligence couldn¡¯t get anything except classifying them as being stronger.

    ¡°Captain Ryan,¡± a voice called out to him. He turned and saw Beth.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Ryan asked.

    ¡°I managed to heal them up, but most have lost their energy guards,¡± said Beth.

    ¡°Good, how¡¯s your energy reserve?¡± Ryan asked.

    ¡°I have two-third of energy left,¡± said Beth.

    ¡°Good, go take a rest,¡± said Ryan.

    The recent fight was enough for him. They were barely able to win against a team of four, and that was after including the assist from Hakeem and Esther. A hard-earned victory, but it was far from satisfying.

    They were far too lacking if they want to confront a whole horde. Guerrilla tactics might be the best way in confronting them, and he hoped Jason could at least stopped them from moving. It would be bad news if they continue marching down on the highway.

    Meanwhile, Jason was moving with his feet while barely making a sound. He jumped from one roof to another until he stopped. He crouched down while his sight gazed upon the numerous huge bodies of orcs marching down the road. Their shoulders were rubbing with one another, showing their immense number.

    Some of the orcs were pushing around with one another while some get in a fight. The gap between them was close to nothing as if they were tight as a can of sardines. Yet one individual caught his interest.

    Through his monocle, he could see a larger size orcs fully equipped with metal armors with a huge club resting on its shoulder. It even had a pair of tusks protruding from its lower jaw.

    ¡°Scan,¡± he said.

    Target is too far

    I see. I guess the monocle can¡¯t actually extend the Scan ability. Didn¡¯t really know there¡¯s a range limit for this skill.

    Out of sudden, he saw the big orc turning its head to him. Jason turned invisible the moment he locked eyes with the big orc.

    Shit, did it saw me? Can an orc even see that far?

    There wasn¡¯t any text saying the orc could see from afar, or it might be a special circumstance for the big orc. Jason turned invisible and stood up once more at a different position.

    He looked at the big orc as he noticed it was staring at the same spot where he once stood.

    Hmm, interesting.

    Unknown to Jason, the big orc definitely couldn¡¯t see from afar, but the big orc could detect something from Jason. The big orc could detect bloodlust seeping out from Jason.

    Well, let¡¯s put him aside for a while. First, I need to deal with blocking them.

    He tilted his head a few times, thinking whether this would work or not. Ryan already told him that the explosives he had wouldn¡¯t work, but at least he got to try.

    Let¡¯s blow up some firework.

    Jason went down on the road. Under the guise of his invisibility, he stood in front of the horde. The front-line of the horde looked rather menacing with armors and big ass weapons within their hands. Unlike the leader¡¯s full armor, at least the front liner had means of defense.

    Jason lighted up the fuses and ran from one side to another, dropping down those C4 explosives like they were pebbles on the road. Jason backed down and retreated at a safe distance.

    Then as he glanced back at the orcs, a deafening boom exploded. Clouds of dust and smoke erupted, blocking Jason¡¯s view. The wailing and grunting of orcs rang in the air. Jason bolted, sprinting right towards the smoke.

    The faint violet glow was barely able to be seen as Jason swung his sword striking in a straight line from one end to another. He could felt it in his grip as his blade slashing against the fat slab of the orcs.

    Okay, I think this plan is a bad idea.

    He started to regret this explosive idea. He could barely see a thing in this dusk and smoke, and the road was uneven, probably due to the unseen shallow craters from the effect of the explosions.

    Jason¡¯s childish enthusiasm in blowing things up made him threw a bit of his rational thinking out of the window.

    Jason ran up the wall of the building as he took a leap. Leaping in the air through the cloud of billowing smoke, the ray of light returned shining on his face. He saw the horde down below riled up by the explosion. They were too caught up by the sudden explosion that they didn¡¯t even realize Jason was in mid-air.

    But one of the orcs accidentally saw Jason and Jason saw it. Even before it could shout and alert the others, Jason rained down on it, stabbing at the orc¡¯s head with two swords glowing in a crimson hue.

    The momentum from the fall along with the enhanced skill of Blood Edge Combo took the orc down in a single swoop. Jason disappeared as the orcs were confused. They saw one of them dead on the ground, and the perpetrator was nowhere to be seen.

    He thought the orcs would start sniffing him around like the kobolds but contrary to his expectations. The surrounding orcs started charging at the dead corpse of its kin.

    Shit, they¡¯re like the hobgoblins.

    An act of cannibalism, he had seen it before, and it wasn¡¯t that surprising. The orcs started fighting with one another as they fought for food. Fists went flying around while some sneaky orcs snatched the dead orc from under the radar, which ensured a more chaotic scene.

    Jason jumped in the air as they were no space in between the horde, more so when they were now fighting with one another. It wasn¡¯t much of a surprise considering they were no food source for this massive horde. The humans had fled, and what food had been left were all eaten. The orcs were a species with a huge appetite. They craved food more than anything. Even the monsters that spawned together with them were hunted just for the sake of filling up their bellies.

    In a way, these orcs were starving even with those fat bodies.

    Jason, who was about to fall, used Poison Coat as he began his distraction. He landed on the shoulders of an orc and stabbed it from above. The orc cried in pain as its arms swung upwards by the sudden attacker.

    Jason jumped once more and vanished in mid-air. He did the same thing to another orc as he went around bouncing from one orc to another, causing more havoc and chaos in the rank of the horde.

    His current plan was depleting his energy point fast. A rather reckless plan, but effective in a way. He leaped, and he disappeared as he continued with the same routine. But then he felt an ominous vibe. He jumped, but as he was about to vanish, he caught sight of a flying item heading straight for him.

    He vanished, but it was too late. He couldn¡¯t dodge in midair. The blunt edge of the thing struck him right in the gut.

    Fuc¡­

    He couldn¡¯t even complete his cuss in his mind as he crashed on one of the buildings. A big hole on the wall and Jason sprawled on the floor as he groaned.

    ¡°Shit,¡± he said.

    His energy guard was still intact, but he definitely felt the force behind that throw. He felt like throwing up after lying on the floor. That attack caught him off guard, and he definitely felt stupid about it.

    A huge chunk of his energy guard had been taken out, and seeing that big ass club on the floor, he knew who it was.

    ¡°That shitty pig,¡± said Jason.

    OIRGH!

    Then a loud grunt echoed in the air. Like it was a battle cry insulting Jason.

    I¡¯m going to kill you.

 Chapter 129

    ¡°Ryan, what was that?¡± Pixie approached Ryan.

    ¡°It¡¯s Jason,¡± said Ryan.

    Pixie narrowed her eyes, hearing about that name. A name that always did the impossible.

    ¡°What¡¯s he up to?¡± Pixie stared at the horizon as the clouds of black smoke rising up in the sky.

    ¡°Distraction,¡± said Ryan.

    Pixie turned to Ryan with a scowl.

    ¡°What do you mean, sir?¡± she asked.

    ¡°This is strictly between us,¡± Ryan, with his scrunched eyebrows, turned to Pixie.

    ¡°A horde of orcs is just down the road. In our current state, we can¡¯t take them straight on,¡± said Ryan. ¡°That¡¯s why Jason went alone.¡±

    ¡°But we can do it,¡± said Pixie as her whole body turned to Ryan with a flash of fire behind her eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see, we¡¯re able to kill four of them.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve got tactics on our side. The chemical grenade can downplay their ability to fight,¡± said Pixie.

    ¡°To an extent, yes, but we don¡¯t know whether it will work on other types of monsters. You should know this Pixie, we even tried poisoning them with lethal poison, but that didn¡¯t work. For some reason, only the chemical grenades designed for crowd control for riot purposes was the only thing that worked on them,¡± said Ryan. ¡°Hindering their movements and disturbing their thought process is the only thing we could do with our modern weaponry, but it isn¡¯t enough.¡±

    Pixie fell into silence as she knew the strength of these monsters. Yet, she wasn¡¯t the type to give up. She swore to herself that she won¡¯t forget about Dan¡¯s sacrifice. She, of all people, knew that she had to live on for herself, her family, her comrades, her nation, and for Dan.

    ¡°We can¡¯t just sit around and let him do all the work,¡± said Pixie. ¡°We need to level up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a plan,¡± said Ryan with a ghost of a smile. ¡°A guerrilla tactic harnessing the strength of the whole squad against a lone enemy, right now that¡¯s the only way.¡±

    ¡°Affirmative, sir,¡± said Pixie with a stern look on her face.

    ¡°Get the squad ready, I¡¯ve already asked the drone team to locate any group of orcs in the perimeter, and they told us a group of two isn¡¯t far from here,¡± said Ryan.

    Pixie ran off, and Ryan stared back at the location where black smoke kept on rising. He had only one thing in mind.

    Hang on, Jason, we¡¯re all counting on you. Thought Ryan.

    Jason, on the other hand, was rolling on the floor pretending to felt the pain from that sudden attack. He couldn¡¯t deny the force behind that weapon toss.

    That pig is strong.

    His whole body glowed in green light as energy guard numbers went back to full. He got up and walked to the hole on the wall. He stared down and a frown formed. The orcs on the road were staring at him back, grunting and snorting loudly at him. They were on the move heading towards Jason.

    Geez, these orcs are really getting rile up huh.

    It was fortunate for Jason as he crashed on the second floor, if not he would have been surrounded by those orcs by now. Then he caught sight of something from afar, a huge orc walking towards him as it split the horde apart with its huge strides.

    I guess I¡¯m the menu for tonight then.

    The loud sound coming from behind signaled to Jason that the orcs had arrived. He turned and grabbed his swords on the floor. It was about time to greet some new guests.

    I love staircases.

    Confronting one on one was the ideal fight for Jason. He could easily overpower one without worrying any back attacks and him loving the staircase was due to its strategic terrain. The narrow staircase would only allow one to went through and thus made him being able to focus on only one of them.

    Jason went through a few doors and arrived at a spacious floor. There was nothing on this floor except the cement floor and the ceiling.

    Shit, an abandoned building?

    It wasn¡¯t abandoned but unoccupied. The rental price was far too steep, and the owner was a bit of a money hoarder, thus leading to the unoccupied building. The whole spacious floor was riddled with orcs who were searching for Jason, and as one of them met eyes with Jason, it snorted loudly.

    Ourk!

    The orc charged at Jason while the rest followed suit. Jason¡¯s plan of using the terrain advantage burst into nothing as he was forced to confront with these orcs.

    An axe split the cement floor as Jason lunged at the orc with his sword covered in a crimson glow.

    ¡°Blood Edge Combo,¡± the sword pierced the orc by the cheek as the orc dodged the incoming attack. Jason missed his target, but his skill didn¡¯t end there. Compared to Blood Edge Strike, the combo version allowed for continuous usage up to four times with the power increasing with each blow. The only problem was he need to continuously hit them without missing.

    Ryan clicked his tongue, seeing his sword missing the eye but he didn¡¯t stop. He forcefully changed the angle of the sword and pushed it to the side. He slashed right through the head of the orc cutting the head into two. An orc was slain going down on the floor and Jason ducked low dodging a spiked club.

    The club smashed the wall into pieces but with its arm swinging it wide, it left the orc wide open. Jason pushed his legs and slashed his sword upwards. The orc¡¯s arm fell off cleanly as he cut it right at the joint, a fluke you might say, and Jason followed through with another slash at the neck.

    Shit!

    The slash went deep but it stopped midway. That thick neck full of fat and muscle was indeed a hindrance. Jason pulled his sword out and retreated as a flurry of attacks went right at him. All sorts of weapons smashed together at the same spot cracking the cement floor.

    The orc with a bleeding neck fell down on its knee as it bled to death. More orcs arrived on the second floor as they all chased over Jason.

    Jason retreated back into the room where he crashed before. Using Shadow Sneak might the best to get out of the situation, but he needed to conserve his energy points.

    But once he came back his eyes went wide, an orc was already in there as more were climbing up on the wall reaching the hole on the wall. Jason narrowed his eyes as he used Poison Coat.

    He rushed at the orc while dodging the massive swing. He ducked low as he sprang up and jumped. He slashed with his two swords making as many cuts as possible on the orc sending those poisons deep into its cells and tissues.

    Jason landed on the floor as he continued to poison every orc in the room. Right now, he was trying to poison as many orcs as possible. This would be the least effort type of method in killing them.

    But unknown to Jason, the poisons he inflicted on the orcs didn¡¯t actually come out as he expected. None of them were dead, they were merely incapacitated, barely being able to move. Those who were inflicted earlier were showing signs of being able to move like normal.

    His poison was still far too weak. He needed to level them up more in order to actualize the potential of the skill.

    Poison Coat level up to level 3

    He was still oblivious about the weakness of the poison but nonetheless, he used it without question. But him focusing on poisoning led the room to be flooded by the orcs. The loud grunt and snort made Jason didn¡¯t realize the floor getting cracked.

    Then out of nowhere, he felt his whole body dropping. The floor on the room crumbled by the cumulative weights of these big hulking orcs. In that split second, Jason realized things were about to turn ugly.

    ¡°Shadow Sneak,¡± he vanished as the whole floor crumbled down below.

    Within his invisibility, Jason didn¡¯t stop moving as he fled away from the scene. He got out of the building but the rushing march of orcs proved to be an obstacle. He tried to dodge but he couldn¡¯t make it a clean one. A slight stumble with an orc on the road made his cover blown as he was opened for the orcs to see.

    The orcs snorted as it rallied the others to strike at Jason. Axes and maces were swung at Jason without hesitation. They were out for the kill and Jason was on the menu. Out of time, he couldn¡¯t vanish in that instant. It happened all too fast.

    I can¡¯t die, I can¡¯t freaking die!

    A split-second moment, Jason grinned down his teeth as he chose a direction. Rather than backing down, he went forward while aiming his swords. He charged right ahead sliding his sword on the blade of an axe. Soon, his sword went down on the shaft of the axe as his body moved along with his movement.

    Then he stood in front of a bewildered orc. Two swords pierced right at the chest of the orc as he put every strength he had in stabbing it deeper. Then as the orc knelt down and dropped on the road, he then realized the notification window in front of him.

    Parry level up to level 2

 Chapter 130

    ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± the sound of breathing echoed in the room. It was dark, and even outside, the moon was hanging in the sky. Luckily, Jason could see in the dark.

    ¡°This sucks,¡± he said.

    The distraction was indeed a success. The orc horde slightly changed their path deviating from the original. Under the darkness of the night, they scoured through the city, searching for a person. A person that wreaked havoc among their ranks.

    He was leaning on a wall while still trying to catch his breath. He just escaped from being attack on all sides.

    An escape that was quite thrilling, since he did smiled while parrying with his two swords. A skill he had long forgotten, a skill he received during his early days fraught with danger. A time when his energy guard was constantly being broken, along with his body being bled. The past norm birthed parry in his grace, acting as a light at the end of the tunnel.

    Now, he felt the same feeling all over again. A continuous repetition of the same move over and over again, honing it to new heights. A few mistakes here and there, but his energy guard protected him well. It drove his concentration to the maximum, pushing it to the extreme. To be fair, he didn¡¯t have a choice, going up against more than a hundred orcs was suicidal enough. In the end, he still survived and not without a hefty reward.

    Parry went up to level five, a quick jump from level one. Indeed, hardship bred reward. His clothes were torn up, even his crude leather armor was far from its original appearance. At this rate, he might come back the same way like his previous mission, barely wearing any clothes, and that was something he definitely disliked.

    ¡°Note to self, I should pack extra clothes for the next mission,¡± said Jason.

    Despite feeling let down about his clothes, he did felt amazed by the durability of this arm brace of his. An arm brace he earned back when defeating a big old scary looking tree. Needless to say, a quality item was the best. That alone burned his motivation to further his skill in his production skills. Yet he had an obstacle in place, a lack of raw material.

    In a game, killing monsters could easily gain him a plethora of loots which some of them were suitable for item creation. But in this real-world event, loot didn¡¯t come easily, and even if there was some, item material was not among them. So since it wasn¡¯t possible, he thought of another way. Manually harvesting the materials from these creatures.

    Like from wolf fur to buffalo skin. The concept wasn¡¯t that different if he just exchanged the normal animals to the creatures from the portal. But right now, that plan seemed to be put on hold.

    Shit, I ain¡¯t going to make armor from an orc¡¯s skin. The smell is going to be terrible.

    He ran out of luck. The orcs were definitely strong creatures with thick skin and thick fat. But everything had a catch. The nasty odor was one of them, and even now, that odor still lingered around Jason¡¯s nose.

    Man, it still stinks. I can¡¯t do this anymore.

    His prolonged close combat with the orcs made the smell caught on him. It was inevitable. Shaking his head, Jason decided. He left the office he was in and found the toilet.

    A splashed of cold water on his face as he rubbed it hard with a decent amount of shower gel. Jason didn¡¯t play around when he meant by cleaning himself up. Armors off, he went scrubbing like mad in the midst of a battlefield.

    But then he heard noises. He stopped moving while paying attention to whatever sound he just heard. He turned the tap off, and the moment he did, the voices he heard were gone.

    A sword emerged in his hand as he gripped it tight by the hilt. He inched closer to the door, and as he did, the door was slowly pried open. A flash of light entered the dark toilet, illuminated by a single flashlight in the hand of a human.

    ¡°Nuniq, do you see anyone?¡± a voice of a girl echoed in the toilet.

    ¡°Shush, the sound of water had gone,¡± said Nuniq, the boy, who carried a flashlight.

    ¡°Are you sure you heard it?¡± the girl didn¡¯t believe Nuniq since she knew no one in their right mind would be here.

    ¡°I know what I heard,¡± Nuniq retorted, clapping back at the girl behind him.

    Both entered the men''s washroom, with Nuniq taking the lead. The girl behind him was pinching her nose as she wasn¡¯t accustomed to the smell of the men''s washroom.

    ¡°Ew, do you men always smell like this?¡± said the girl.

    ¡°Shut it Tapeesa,¡± said Nuniq as he was wary about the situation. He flashed the light on the floor and saw the puddle of water. The boy narrowed his eyes as his instinct was warning him of something.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to call me that, it¡¯s Essa. It¡¯s more modern like,¡± said the girl called Tapeesa. ¡°And shouldn¡¯t we go back by now? Grandpa is going to get piss if we stay here any longer. He said those pig-nose fat men aren¡¯t something we should confront with.¡±

    ¡°For the last time, Tapeesa shut yer trap. We¡¯re on hostile territory and we¡­¡± Nunig cut his words short as his instinct flared up.

    ¡°Tapeesa! Barrier!¡± Nuniq shouted, urging the girl behind her.

    But before any of these two could take action, a stranger''s voice rumbled their eardrums.

    ¡°Woah, there,¡± said Jason as he held his two swords at the neck of these two strangers. Then Jason noticed something.

    ¡°If you treasure your life, stop whatever you are doing.¡±

    P.S: I watched Love and Monster, a new film about a dude surviving a post-apocalyptic world with monsters running around. I was annoyed at first by the weak-ass MC but in the end, he did it. But it would have been better if they got game-like stats, haha.  Anyway, enjoy the new chap.

 Chapter 131

    A stand-off between three people and one of them had the advantage. The nude Jason held up his two swords. The moment he heard the two voices coming inside the toilet, he retrieved another sword of his.

    Seeing he was intimidating two children around fourteen to fifteen, his overall appearance looked like a bully. One thing for sure, he was quite surprised seeing Inuits in Oshawa, to be fair, they weren¡¯t that many in the southern part of Canada.

    No, that doesn¡¯t seem right. The city is supposed to be empty.

    Realizing the age of these two kids and thinking about how he was back in his teen days, he sort of understood it quite a bit.

    Ah yes. Teenage rebellion I think, got to be those hormones fault then.

    ¡°Both of you don¡¯t look like orcs, so why are you two kids running around in an orc infested city?¡± he asked.

    ¡°We¡­¡± the girl was about to say something.

    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± but the boy stopped her.

    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re keeping secrets aren¡¯t we,¡± said Jason. ¡°You do know both of you are in danger right?¡±

    Nuniq grinned his teeth, knowing Jason was right.

    Being held at sword point was indeed the clear definition of close to death.

    ¡°So, unless one of you talk, neither of you are going to come out of this unharmed,¡± said Jason.

    It was a bluff. Jason wasn¡¯t the unreasonable type, but holding them in this position made him wanted to say some weird stuff.

    ¡°So, what is it going to be?¡± Jason asked with a smug tone. He definitely watched too many movies.

    ¡°You, dying!¡± Nuniq replied was unexpected but what came next made Jason¡¯s eyes turned out wide.

    ¡°Beast Spirit on!¡± said Nuniq. A resplendent blue light emerged from Nuniq¡¯s body as it pushed away from the slight force from Jason¡¯s sword.

    Jason retreated a few steps for precaution as he witnessed the visual change. All around Nuniq¡¯s body was a faint blue light, which then formed into a huge shape.

    ¡°A bear?¡± Jason muttered.

    ¡°North Ursa awaken!¡± Nuniq shouted as the huge shape finally completed, taking shape into a huge translucent polar bear.

    This energy shape stood tall at 2.4 meters in height. A strange coldness emitted out from the energy as the naked Jason felt chilled.

    The boy glared at Jason with flame-shaped bluish energy circulated around his eyes. But then, Jason¡¯s sight was attracted by the girl beside the boy.

    Her palm was directed at him as if she was readied to do something at him. A skill perhaps which shoots something out from her palm like a hadoken or a kamekameha.

    Both of the flashlights from the girl and the boy were on Jason. Yet his nakedness didn¡¯t surprise the duo. It made sense considering this was a tense situation, showing disgust at a naked man was the least of their concerns.

    Jason observed the duo closely and seeing these two didn¡¯t make a move while having their skills all out in the open made him wondered.

    Is it because they''re kids? Or they don¡¯t just hurt people in general?

    Jason let his grip loosened, and as the swords fell, the clanking rang in the men¡¯s washroom.

    Nuniq flinched a bit as he was surprised seeing this naked man letting go of his weapon. Unknown to him, his subconscious mind made him relaxed.

    Jason didn¡¯t raise up his hands as he muttered.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not do this. I¡¯m already tired of fighting with the orcs,¡± said Jason.

    Tapeesa relaxed as she put her hand down. But Nuniq was still wary about the naked man.

    ¡°He¡¯s playing with us, Tapeesa, don¡¯t let your guard down,¡± said Nuniq. His words betrayed his relaxed body, but a reminder from his grandfather kept his wariness alive.

    ¡°I¡¯m not good with being naked in front of people,¡± Jason went off-topic, and as soon as he ended his words, he vanished.

    ¡°Where did he go?¡± Tapeesa asked as her nervousness spiked back up.

    ¡°Stay close to me Tapeesa,¡± said Nuniq as his eyes and flashlight searched around the toilet for the invisible man.

    Beads of sweat trickled down on Nuniq¡¯s forehead as even the coldness of the bluish aura couldn¡¯t negate his nervousness of the situation. A man that suddenly poof into nothingness was a threat, no matter the preference of him being naked.

    ¡°Show yourself!¡± said Nuniq.

    Then as if complying with Nuniq¡¯s request, Jason¡¯s voice emerged from behind, and this time he did things rather drastically.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with,¡± he said.

    ¡°Nuniq!¡± said Tapeesa.

    Nuniq turned to the side and saw his sister being held by Jason with a sword on her neck.

    ¡°Let her go!¡± Nuniq was about to rush at Jason.

    ¡°Back off, if you don¡¯t want her to get hurt,¡± said Jason.

    Nuniq stopped on his track while glaring at Jason. He was confused about how this man appeared behind them undetected since his Beast Spirit ability did had a built-in detection capability.

    ¡°Nuniq,¡± said Tapeesa. She felt the sharp edge of the blade caressing the skin of her neck. It was the same as before, but this time, she was used as leverage to her brother.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine Tapeesa, I¡¯ll get you out of this,¡± said Nuniq.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s stop this lovey-dovey saving the damsel kind of conversation. I¡¯ll let her go if you disable that translucent bear of yours,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Do you think I will trust you?¡± Nuniq asked.

    ¡°Trust isn¡¯t the issue here. I¡¯m just tired of getting into unneeded fights,¡± said Jason.

    Although I had to admit, if I didn¡¯t point my blade at them, things wouldn¡¯t have escalated to this point. Well, who cares. I can¡¯t blame myself, it''s my instinct to protect my own rather than be careless.

    ¡°Nuniq,¡± the sister called out to her brother while her eyes were telling him to accept it.

    Nuniq¡¯s face was twitching as his emotion was in conflict, but in the end, his sister¡¯s safety took priority. The translucent polar bear slowly faded into nothing as Nuniq kept his end of the bargain.

    Seeing all things went fine and dandy, Jason took away his sword and let go of Tapeesa. She felt Jason¡¯s grip loosened as she ran to Nuniq¡¯s side.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Nuniq asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said.

    Then the siblings turned their sight at the man that just played around with them. Then both of them noticed he was fully clothed, unlike before.

    ¡°When did you¡­¡± Tapeesa¡¯s words trailed off.

    While Nuniq had other questions in mind.

    ¡°Who are you? And why are you here?¡± Nuniq asked.

    Jason didn¡¯t reply as he stared at the duo. After a while, the corner of his lips curled up.

    ¡°Impressive, both at level nineteen. That¡¯s quite an achievement,¡± said Jason. It was a first for him to saw someone to had that kind of level without any assistance from him. Hakeem had the same level as them and with facts, he did achieve it with the help of Jason.

    ¡°How did you know that?¡± Nuniq¡¯s eyes were quivering as the same for his sister.

    ¡°People have secrets, and I bet you guys also have some too,¡± said Jason.

    The siblings stayed silent as they kept their eyes on Jason. At first, they thought they could take on Jason, but seeing him revealing their levels that easily, made them wavered.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put that aside for a while. I¡¯m Jason, and I came here with the military to exterminate the orc horde,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°This whole city is supposed to be evacuated. The problem right now is, why you two are still here?¡± Jason jumped up straight to the question after his brief intro.

    ¡°We¡¯re picking up supplies,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°Tapeesa don¡¯t. We can¡¯t trust him, we can¡¯t trust the government,¡± said Nuniq.

    ¡°Shut it Nuniq, you know grandpa is a senile old man,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about grandpa like that!¡± Nuniq replied back. The scowl on his face showed his ire at what the sister had just said.

    Tapeesa ignored his brother and turned to Jason. With her hand resting on her hips, she looked Jason up and down.

    ¡°Do you think you and the military can defeat the orc boss? Even my grandfather can¡¯t defeat it, why do you think you can?¡± Tapeesa asked. Although she spoke ill about her grandfather, but the mentioning of his name just now showed a different side of the coin. As if she had great pride over his grandfather.

    Jason, on the other hand, was intrigued.

    An Awakened that dared confronted that big ass orc. It seems I¡¯m right, strong people are starting to show up, and I wonder what level is their grandfather at.

    Then while figuring out about this unknown grandfather, something just struck him.

    They are picking up supplies? And their levels are this high even when they¡¯re still teenagers, then¡­

    ¡°Have you guys been living outside of the safe zone?¡± he asked.

    Tapeesa glanced at Nuniq, and the latter shook his head, a silent disagreement between the two siblings. But Tapeesa didn¡¯t give in.

    ¡°Yes, me and my brother, along with our grandfather had been living outside of the safe zone,¡± said Tapeesa.

    Jason was shocked. He didn¡¯t believe it was possible, but these two high levels, along with the unknown grandparent had cemented that fact.

    ¡°Then where is your grandfather? He should know that these orcs are stronger than you two,¡± said Jason.

    Then Tapeesa¡¯s countenance changed as her eyes glistened.

    ¡°Please, you need to save our grandfather,¡± said Tapeesa.

 Chapter 132

    Running in the dark night three silhouettes maneuvered through the back alleyways. Occasionally, they would leap over buildings on the rooftops when the ground was too dangerous.

    In the lead was Nuniq. His eyes didn¡¯t stop moving from left to right as he was wary about the surroundings. He ran on top of the roof, as the edge came closer he jumped without hesitation. Nuniq landed on the other roof as he rolled on the floor before standing back up and continued running. For a mere teenage boy doing what only daredevil parkour enthusiast could only do was a rather refreshing sight for Jason, who ran at the end of the line.

    Impressive. Well, with them being level nineteen, their status must be pretty high. Jumping from roof to roof isn¡¯t that difficult, but them doing it carefree at least showed they aren¡¯t afraid.

    Then came Tapeesa¡¯s turn, she ran without slowing, and at the last few feet, she sprinted hard. She jumped, floating in the air for a brief few seconds as if her body was light as a feather. She landed on the other roof, cleanly on her two feet, and continued running.

    I¡¯m not surprised seeing her doing it so easily. With her stats like this, she¡¯s definitely more of the mobile type.

    Adriana Tapeesa Igruk

    Lv: 19 Job: None

    EP:71/120, I.B:500/500,

    Str:10, Agi:32, Dex:7, Sta:10, En: 40, E.R: 10

    Status Condition : Healthy

    Skill: E.Boomerang, Ice Barrier

    So, she¡¯s one of the lucky ones. Ice Barrier seems cool enough compared to Energy Guard. I bet it has another sub-skill like Hakeem¡¯s, and from the look of it, her guard is quite higher, considering she only put ten points in it.

    Jason jumped over the ledge of the roof and landed on the other roof with ease. He grinned, seeing that the two in front of him took a glance at his jump performance.

    They must be quite proud of jumping over the roof, huh? Let¡¯s take a look at the edgy brother.

    Eric Nuniq Igruk

    Lv: 19 Job: None

    EP:27/30, E.G:1500/1500,

    Str:39, Agi:21, Dex:4, Sta:18, En: 10, E.R: 20

    Status Condition : Healthy

    Skill: Beast Spirit, E.Guard

    The brother isn¡¯t so lucky but seeing his guard, I think his energy guard level is more or less the same. If his energy guard is this high, I can imagine the hardship this kid had been through. Or he might found a training trick about leveling the guard up. Well, beating oneself up doesn¡¯t seem so bad since it does level the skill up.

    Jason followed along with the two siblings as they went further away from the center of the city but deeper into the danger zone. They fled quite well, considering the orcs were still searching for Jason through the night like a blind bat without any clues on Jason¡¯s whereabouts.

    Suburb area? Are they hiding here?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We aren¡¯t far from here,¡± said Tapeesa. She was on her knees while catching up to her breath.

    Her low stamina started to show. Doing all those sprinting and jumping over roofs were probably too taxing for the girl.

    Ah, a time when I ignored the importance of stamina. Hmm, I think it had been quite a long time since I was out of breath. I guess putting those points wasn¡¯t worthless after all.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to take a break first?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t. There might be orcs still patrolling around this area,¡± said Nuniq.

    The boy is quite level-headed. He definitely had a lot of experiences. I wonder what their grandfather is like.

    ¡°Get on Tapeesa,¡± said Nuniq as he showed his back.

    The sister hopped on Nuniq¡¯s back as the trio continued their journey. Jason was wondering which house they were living in. But out of his expectation, they exited the suburb area and continued their journey. While the man wondered, he then stopped on his track as he saw what was at the far end of his night vision.

    A freighter?

    Jason looked around and saw the waters of Lake Ontario.

    It can¡¯t be, can it?

    ¡°Hurried up,¡± said Nuniq as he noticed Jason was standing there staring.

    Jason picked up the pace, and soon the trio stood at the edge of the pier. The freighter he saw was a bit far in the lake, and with the huge body of water in between, it was a perfect barrier for any land-based monsters.

    A sliver of a smile etched on Jason as he was impressed by the simple logic.

    ¡°Hop on,¡± said Tapeesa.

    Jason looked back at the side and saw the two siblings were already on an inflatable boat. The siblings came well prepared as they must have hidden the boat close to the pier.

    Jason hopped on the boat as the duo started to row. The freighter was quite far for them to just row but thinking about their heightened status, Jason¡¯s thought that rowing might turn out to be a lot easier.

    He looked at the back of the boat and saw the engine. He wondered why they didn¡¯t use it.

    ¡°You guys are not using the motor?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s too loud. We might catch the attention of the fishes,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°Fishes?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Fish monsters,¡± said Nuniq as those two words were enough for Jason to understood.

    Then a terrible thought came into mind.

    Wait, if the aquatic monsters are already here, then are they all over the lake?

    Jason was getting worried. Although he was confident in defending himself, an aquatic battle seemed a bit daunting since he never experienced it.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, my grandpa had handled most of them. So they won¡¯t be a problem,¡± said Nuniq.

    A little while, they reached the freighter. Jason stepped on the freighter, he felt a thug on his hand.

    "My grandpa," said Tapeesa.

    Led to a room, Jason saw someone lying on the bed.

    "A fisherman?"

 Chapter 133

    Jason used scan immediately after seeing the old man with pale brownish-yellow skin lying on top of the bed, and his eyes went bulging wide.

    Jack Arrluk Igruk

    Lv: 23 Job: Fisherman

    EP:15/15, E.G:1920/1920

    F.P: 254/10400

    Str: 67, Agi: 15, Dex: 5, Sta: 65, En: 5, E.R: 16

    Status Condition : Critical Injured, High Fever, Infested Wound.

    Skill: Spirit Net, E.Guard, Fisherman¡¯s Physique, Rod Bash, Cast & Reel.

    ¡°Fisherman?¡±

    The job of this Jack Arrluk caught his interest but as his eyes went down the status screen, his pupils started shaking.

    What kind of guard is that? Ten thousand? This is ridiculous.

    Arrluk¡¯s status shocked him to the core. It was the first time for him to saw someone else like him who had a job and the old man didn¡¯t disappoint. For an old man, he focused on two attributes, strength and stamina and Jason could see why the grandfather did it.

    So, stamina influenced Fisherman¡¯s Physique? But the number is way too high that it looks ridiculous. Mine''s only one-third of his Fisherman¡¯s Physique and even his energy guard is strong. Even with a small amount of e.resist his energy guard is well more than half of mine. I can only suspect that his e.guard had gone through an upgrade. Damn, this old man is something else.

    He gained a new perspective and for some reason, he felt he was losing. He thought he was at the peak considering even the army was well below him but boy he was wrong. If he was special then there were also other special people.

    The lead he thought he had seemed small when seeing Arrluk¡¯s status.

    ¡°Please help my grandpa,¡± said Tapeesa. She was staring at him with glistening eyes. She was probably going to cry in order to move the man that said he could help her. ¡°You said you can help my grandpa.¡±

    That last sentence brought Jason to glanced over the status once more. The heavily injured state was visible through the naked eye. Jason saw the whole right arm of Arrluk being bandaged from top to bottom. The dark color stains on the bandages showed the bleeding must have been still persisting.

    Other parts of Arrluk¡¯s body were also bruised with a few purplish swelling, but his right arm was the worse. Jason could even smell something rotten lingering around the arm. He tried not to scrunch his nose as it would be too rude of him.

    Can I do this?

    Jason cocked his head a bit, wondering whether his major heal was possible in curing something like a fever or an infection. But it seemed he had to try it out in order to find it.

    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s a mistake bringing him here. He can¡¯t help grandpa,¡± said Nuniq. He was leaning on the door frame staring at the motionless Jason. Although he knew he was weak, he just couldn¡¯t help but run loose with his mouth considering it involved his grandfather.

    ¡°Shut it Nuniq. You¡¯re not being helpful,¡± said Tapeesa. She glared at her brother, and the brother glared back.

    While the siblings were having a heated non-verbal argument, Jason walked closer to the close-eye Arrluk. He stared at the old man with shallow breathing. He took another scan, and he saw the physique point was dropping by one. It seemed the Fisherman¡¯s Physique acted like a ticking death timer.

    Hmm, I wish I can use Contract. If I rope in this old man as another vanguard, fighting against that orc would be a breeze. But damn, my EP is not enough. The trouble I made at those hordes really cost me this time.

    Deep down, he was thinking about gaining benefit, and he saw this old man as an opportunity. Who knows whether the old man would help him or not even after being healed. A contract would definitely be the better choice.

    Fuh¡­ Fine, let¡¯s stop being a scumbag for once, and let''s at least be a civilized person.

    Jason made his choice. He placed his hand on top of the bandaged arm.

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± said Nuniq. He kept an eye on Jason even while glaring at his sister.

    Tapeesa turned around and saw Jason was about to do something.

    ¡°Is this safe? You sure you aren¡¯t going to hurt my grandfather?¡± asked Tapeesa. Her gaze was focused on the hand placed on top of her grandfather while her lips were pressing together.

    Her rapid breathing was becoming louder by the second as Jason couldn¡¯t help but glanced to the side a bit, seeing the anxious grandchild.

    Jason didn¡¯t want to say relax or something similar, considering he still wasn¡¯t sure the extent of his Major Heal. Giving hope would be the biggest offense if he suddenly couldn¡¯t heal Arrluk.

    Let¡¯s get this over with.

    ¡°Major Heal,¡± he said.

    A green glow emerged and engulfed Arrluk whole. Both siblings stared at their grandfather while praying inside for a miracle. Nuniq, who stood afar, came closer until he finally stood beside Tapeesa. They waited with bated breath.

    Jason, who was healing Arrluk, kept his eyes on Arrluk¡¯s status screen. He saw the low number slowly going up. At least his heal was working, but his eyes couldn¡¯t help but glanced at the fever and infected wound.

    He used Major Heal another time as the points for Fisherman¡¯s Physique was too high. Then he was done.

    The green glow receded until nothing was left. The two siblings could definitely saw the difference in their grandfather¡¯s face as the color of vibrant skin returned. Even his shallow breathing was gone as it was more stable.

    ¡°Grandpa,¡± Tapeesa called out to Arrluk as her hands were still in the air, afraid of moving even an inch of her grandparent¡¯s body.

    ¡°Grandpa!¡± Nuniq shouted as the rough boy was tearing up with his mouth smiling upside down.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± a subtle moan came Arrluk.

    The two siblings kept on calling to their grandfather, and this time Nuniq didn¡¯t mind his hands as he shook his grandfather¡¯s body.

    The corner of Jason¡¯s lips curved up a bit as he had verified from Arrluk¡¯s status screen that his condition was now healthy. The old man was probably sleeping since he did been resting all of this time. Jason didn¡¯t say a word and snuck away from the room, leaving behind those two siblings with their grandfather.

    He went outside of the accommodation area of the freighter and walked upstairs to the bridge. It was peaceful here with the billowing breeze from the huge lake. It was far different from back in the city filled with orcs.

    He looked around the bridge, and even with the lights off, he could see it as clear as day. He noticed a few bloodstains, and he assumed that the freighter must have been attacked at some point earlier during the invasion.

    Those three downstairs might have something to do with this freighter free from monsters. But I have to hand it to them. They really pick a good place to live with all the monsters crawling around. Should I hijack this place?

    While the answer to that last question was unknown, he kept walking around the bridge until nothing was of interest. He walked upstairs to the monkey island, the second-highest place beside the mainmast.

    He stared at Oshawa City covered in the darkness with no presence of light.

    I really should get back to the city. I just hope those dumb orcs were still searching for me rather than moving forward to the squad. Hmm?

    From his backside, Jason heard the sounds of the metal stairs being stepped on. He didn¡¯t turn around and waited. Soon, an old man, a head shorter than him, stood beside him. He wore his traditional Inuit garment protecting him from the cold.

    The silence was brief between them as Arrluk spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard from my grandchildren. I thank you to my savior,¡± said Arrluk as he stared at Jason with his glistening eyes.

    Jason turned over, hoping to look cool but seeing the old man staring at him with eyes closed to tearing up made him retreated a few steps.

    ¡°Thank you, sir, thank you,¡± said Arrluk as the man suddenly broke down into tears. His knees grew weak as he knelt on the floor in front of Jason.

    Oh shit, what¡¯s going on? Isn¡¯t this escalating a bit too quickly?

    Jason was hoping to exchange a few pleasantries before probing some information, but the old man made an unexpected move. Breaking down crying was definitely unexpected.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine, you can¡­ hmm, get up now,¡± said Jason as he lightly patted the old man by the shoulder. Consoling a stranger was definitely not part of his job.

    Arrluk calmed himself down as he stood back and wiped away the tears, snot, and whatever on his face.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you sir, I-I-I-,¡± Arrluk stammered while Jason hoped that the old man didn¡¯t break down a second a time.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been able to see my grandch¡­¡± Arrluk couldn¡¯t finish his words as he started crying again. It wasn¡¯t as worse as before.

    It took a bit of time, and finally. The two could finally have a conversation. They exchanged pleasantries for a while before Jason went down to the big fish.

    ¡°So a Fisher¡­¡±

    BOOM!

    A loud explosion rang in the air as Jason couldn¡¯t finish his words.

    ¡°What is that?¡± asked Arrluk.

    ¡°A tank," said Jason with his eyes narrowed.

 Chapter 134

    The loud explosion was a sign that the military was taking a step up in their action. Jason stared at the far distance, he of all people knew the uselessness of a tank, but the fact was, Ryan was a cool-headed guy, if that man started using the tank then it definitely meant something.

    They started using the tank, I can only assume that the situation turns to worsen. Better get my ass over there, since Esther and Hakeem are probably in that mess.

    ¡°Mr.Park, what do you mean a tank? Is the military in Oshawa?¡± Arrluk asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Jason.

    Arrluk narrowed his eyes staring at Jason with suspicion. The gentle outlook of an old man was no longer there replaced by an old man with an aura of a battle-hardened warrior.

    ¡°Are you with the military?¡± Arrluk asked. His stance lowered down a bit resembling an attacking stance.

    Those two grandchildren of his omitted about Jason¡¯s involvement with the military. He was only told about Jason¡¯s overwhelming might over them.

    Jason on the other hand wasn¡¯t some ordinary chum, he felt the change in Arrluk¡¯s overall manner as well as his aura.

    This old man is definitely not your ordinary loving grandfather.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what your beef with the military, but I don¡¯t like how you are glaring at me,¡± said Jason.

    Arrluk kept staring at Jason without saying a word.

    ¡°I guess you don¡¯t actually feel grateful to your savior, so much for all those fake tears,¡± said Jason.

    They kept their eyes on each other with the loud noise of a tank shooting on the background. Jason started regretting saving people at a whim, it might have been a good idea of using Contract before doing anything else.

    Arrluk took a deep breath as he exhaled it slowly. Arrluk stood up straight as he abandoned his attacking stance.

    Jason waved his hand and walked away. A passing remark threw at the silent Arrluk.

    ¡°If you hated that much from being rescued by a military, you might as well chop off that right arm of yours,¡± said Jason.

    Jason stepped on the staircase preparing to leave.

    ¡°Wait!¡± said Arrluk.

    Jason stopped and glanced at the old man.

    ¡°What is it? I can¡¯t waste more of my precious time with someone ungrateful,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Why is the military here?¡± Arrluk asked.

    ¡°The orc horde, we came to stop them from advancing to Toronto,¡± said Jason.

    Jason continued walking down until he reached the deck. Two people were waiting as Tapeesa was smiling at him with a large grin. Nuniq barely made eye contact with him as if stealing glances at him.

    ¡°Thank you for saving grandpa,¡± said Tapeesa.

    Jason just waved his hand.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Nuniq while looking away from Jason.

    Jason snickered at the still-growing boy. Nuniq was far from being mature.

    He walked away from the duo and came closer to the edge of the deck. He rubbed his chin while he was thinking about a plan.

    Can I run over water?

    Jason tilted his head a few times as he stretched his whole body. He back away a few feet from the edge as he looked at the far horizon of the lake.

    ¡°Fuh,¡± he exhaled while wriggling his hands around.

    ¡°What is he doing?¡± Nuniq asked.

    The siblings wondered about Jason¡¯s action. He was already weird from the first impression of being naked and now he was acting weirder.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s going to jump,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°What? Like I thought this guy is crazy,¡± said Nuniq.

    Jason stood there focusing himself, he cast Wind Clad as the air surrounded his whole body. It was time to go.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± the voice of an old man caught the attention of the two grandchildren.

    ¡°Grandpa,¡± said Nuniq. He was beaming seeing his grandfather alive and kicking.

    ¡°He¡¯s jumping,¡± said Tapeesa catching the attention of the grandchild-grandfather combo.

    Jason ran with every being that he had as he leaped over the edge of the freighter. His momentum dipped him closer to the surface of the water but as his feet kept on moving, the moment he touched the lake, he started sprinting like mad.

    Shit, I did it.

    Jason looked down below as he was running on water. Behind him was like the spurting trail of a jet ski. Achieving such a feat could only make him smiling wider than he used to.

    Damn, this feels good.

    With excitement beating through the course of his body, Jason made his way back to the city. Meanwhile, three people were staring in shock at the spectacle that they had just seen.

    ¡°Did he just ran over water?¡± asked Nuniq.

    ¡°Do you think I can do it too?¡± Tapeesa wondered since her agility was the highest between them three.

    Arrluk stared in his silence at the leaving Jason, while a single memory revolved in his mind. A memory of his defeat against the Orc Chief.

    Back in Oshawa, Ryan was staring down the night-vision binoculars.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± the orcs were advancing against the bombardment of the tank. The piles of rubble and broken building stopped two-third of them from advancing. But one-third managed passed by the collapsing building.

    While two-third were digging and climbing through the collapsed building and hills of rubble, one-third of the orc horde continued their advancement.

    ¡°I need the grenadiers to position themselves on the roof near to the incoming horde, we need to stop them with the gas,¡± said Ryan.

    His orders were executed as five soldiers went running on the road to the still-intact buildings.

    ¡°Snipers, whatever you do, shoot them in the eyes, I need them blind,¡± said Ryan.

    Hemlock was one of the snipers. She eyed down the scope as she aimed her crossbow at one of the orcs.

    ¡°Roger,¡± said Hemlock.

    She steadied her aim and pulled the trigger.

    Unfortunately, she missed.

    "Fuck," said Hemlock.

 Chapter 135

    Hemlock winced as she made eye contact with the targeted orc.

    With her sight on the orc, her hand was swift loading another bolt on the crossbow. She put a considerable amount of her points on strength as she easily pulled the string.

    ¡°Haha, did you just miss Hemlock?¡± a voice came from her in-ear headphone.

    ¡°Shut it, Kyle,¡± said Hemlock as she looked once more.

    Looking down the scope, she took aim once more and pulled the trigger. No hesitation as she trusted her gut feeling.

    The bolt was like a diving swallow striking the orc right at its left eye.

    ¡°Org!¡± the eyeball popped as gushes of crimson fluid spilled from within the pierce eye socket.

    Then another orc wailed in pain as it too was struck right in the eye. Kyle even the score between the only two snipers.

    Two orcs were in pain while the rest advanced caring less about their kin. Yet one of the orcs looked up as it saw the sight of incoming gas cartridges raining down on them from above. Acrid yellow smoke arose surrounding the orcs. It took awhile as the chemical gas started to affect the orcs. These pig-head humanoids felt a sudden burn from within the pit of their stomachs. Some retched, puking gastric fluid on the ground while some had trouble breathing. The gas cartridges kept falling from the sky riddling the road. The yellow smokes kept rising, suffocating these orcs as the smokes turned more concentrated.

    The military wasn¡¯t playing around as they shot those chemical gas like no tomorrow. Yellow smokes engulfed the road, then unknown to the suffering orcs, soldiers with gas masks emerged from the cover of yellowness. They drew their knives, machetes, and great axes as they went for the kill.

    The Berserker swung high of his great axe made out of titanium striking the down orc right on its collarbone. It went deep as the Berserker heard the crack on its bone. The orc snapped out of the pain and rage took over. It was about to swing its hand but a round shield came knocking it from the back.

    ¡°Bolt Hammer,¡± a muffled voice from a tall masked man.

    An Electric-bound hammer came smashing at the orc¡¯s head. Once made it dizzy, second turned it woozy and the last brought it closer to the ground. The Berserker and Hakeem rained down their attacks on the unguarded orc until it finally drew its last breath. The two charged at another while another one-eyed orc tried to make sense of its surrounding. One its eyes blind while another teary to the point of barely being able to see.

    ¡°Orgh!¡± a pain jolted the one-eyed orc as it turned to its back. The orc¡¯s head frantically turned at every direction searching for the one that sucker slash it from the back. It could have picked up their scent but the yellow smoke hindered their acute sense of smell.

    Kaching!

    ¡°Orgh!¡± another prickling pain from the back. The orc turned once more swinging its mace in a fan-like motion. Yet it hit nothing. A simple creature reacting to the most prominent stimulus. A stimulus of pain.

    ¡°Orgh!¡± once more pain struck the one-eyed orc, this time it fell on one knee. It couldn¡¯t stand as the tendon must have been cut by the perpetrator.

    The instinct to fight faded as it was pushed to the corner. Its instinct told it to flee yet it couldn¡¯t. A silhouette came speeding from behind with purplish glow covering her feet. A masked soldier entered the scene with two knives within her hands. She leaped and struck the orc by the thick neck.

    ¡°Orggg!¡± the one-eyed orc retaliated as death approached. It stood with all its might as it two huge hands grasping over the soldier who was twisting the knives on its neck. Blood spurted but the orc didn¡¯t give up. It grabbed on to Pixie and threw her in the air. She was lost within the yellow smokes, yet seconds later another silhouette with a gas mask emerged.

    Underneath the mask, a prominent pair of cat eyes were gleaming as the subtle noise of purring echoed. Esther leaped with all her momentum. Her steel sword pierced the orc right at the center of its neck. The sword went through as the blade bathed in the crimson blood of the foul humanoid. The one-eyed orc met its doom and fell backward, Esther kicked the corpse of the orc as she freed her sword away from the corpse. She stood on the road as she flicked the sword getting rid of the blood and fat, but then her sense tingled. She turned and raised up her guard. A large silhouette came charging out of the yellow smoke. A lariat struck her dead center as she then went along with the orc into the heavy yellow smoke.

    A figure emerged out from the yellow smoke and it was a man with the name tag Ryan on his right chest. His head panned the view in front of him as he searched for his comrades and enemies.

    ¡°Help!¡±

    A cry of help hidden within the thick smoke. Ryan didn¡¯t hesitate as he ran straight into the yellow smoke. A few more cartridges fell around his feet as he kept on running with the yellow smoke thickening. His breath was audible to his ears as breathing through a gas mask was something he wasn¡¯t familiar with.

    ¡°Help!¡±

    The request for aid came once more. Ryan took a right turn and as he ran. He lost his balance and slipped. His back fell on the hard road as he groaned.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± he was about to get up but he saw his hand. A thick viscous fluid, dark crimson in color.

    ¡°Blood?¡± Ryan said.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± a scream that was right in front of him.

    Ryan got up and rushed, yet as soon as he saw a big figure in front of him, he stopped on his track gazing at the overweight creature. It was standing there with its head frantically moving. Ryan came closer and heard the sounds of bones being crushed. He walked to the side as he approached the figure with his machete drawn. Then he saw it. His eyes went wide seeing the limping head of his comrade with the body being eaten by the pig-snout orc. It was eating the human soldier like it had been starved for days.

    ¡°Hank,¡± uttered Ryan.

    In disbelief, yet rage came swirling upwards from within the leader of the squad. He raised his machete and charged at the oblivious orc. A subtle glow surrounded his machete as he uttered those two words.

    ¡°Repeating Blade.¡±

    A slash right at the back of the orc, it was shallow yet he continued another one. The wound was deeper, then he went for another. Third time was the charm as blood seeped out and for the fourth, he missed. The eating orc got up and swung the corpse in its hand. Hank¡¯s mutilated body slammed Ryan right across the side. Ryan was thrown in the air along with the corpse.

    He rolled on the road as his e.guard trickled down. But his eyes didn¡¯t leave the sight of that orc. As the momentum died down, he got up and rushed. The orc swung its arm for an assault. Ryan ducked and rolled as he slashed it by the flank. One slash and the orc¡¯s entrails slipped out from the abdominal cavity as blood and whatever nasty fluid spilled. Ryan turned and went for another slash as his skill was still stacking. One more slash struck right at the spine of the orc. A splash of blood went spurting out from the slash wound drenching Ryan from top to bottom. He was heaving for his breath and his vision disturbed by the gunk of blood of the dead orc. He swiped the blood away yet he only made it worse.

    ¡°Shi-¡± an unfinished cuss as a huge mace struck him right at the torso. His feet left the ground and went flying through the yellow smoke. He crashed into a wall and made a hole out of it. He lay there among the bricks and rubble as he was inside a clothing store. It was dark but at least the yellow smoke wasn¡¯t there.

    Ryan took off his gas mask as he stared at the pitiful state of his energy guard. He took a lot of strong hits and he was close to being defenseless with just normal skin and meat. The squad was successful in killing these orcs but they were too many and they were not enough to handle it. A few had lost their lives and Ryan thought this situation couldn¡¯t continue any longer.

    ¡°Captain, the assault team is in dire situation. Two of ours are dead,¡± said the communication team as the life sign on their monitors showed the squad vital status.

    ¡°Shit, we¡¯re outnumbered,¡± said Ryan grimacing over that fact.

    He lamented the fact that if they had time, fighting against these simple creatures would be a breeze. Gritting his teeth, Ryan had to make this decision.

    ¡°Relay this to everyone, retreat, everyone needs to retreat,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°Affirmative.¡±

    Ryan swiped over the lens of the gas mask as he wore it back. He was about to get up but he heard the grunts that were familiar. He looked up and saw a few orcs entering through the hole.

    "Fuck," said Ryan.

    He got up and fled as the orcs chased.

 Chapter 136

    A man was on all four closed to the shore of the lake. He was panting for his breath as running across the water was no easy feat.

    I¡¯ve no time for rest.

    Jason stood up with wobbling feet. His sight was on the horizon as the bright light was the sign of something burning. The burning of a battlefield. His breathing slowly returned to normal as his high stamina was showing its brilliance. He recovered faster than usual, but then he stopped.

    A steel sword emerged in his hand as he held it up high. Around the corner, a group of orcs emerged. Three of them snorting and grunting, looking for a path to move forward to Toronto. A scout team was sent from the orc horde.

    A touch of wind enveloped Jason as he closed the distance to the nearest orc. The orc was caught by surprise, and the last thing it saw was the shine of a quick blade. The orc dropped its head on the ground, rendered lifeless by the crimson blade of Jason. A boosted attack by the combination of both Wind Clad and Blood Edge Combo. Jason was pushing his self as there was no time to waste. His act of accelerating his slash with Wind Clad just doubled the strength of his attack and with Blood Edge Combo in play, the fatty adipose tissues of these orcs won¡¯t be a hindrance.

    The last grunt coming from the dead orc attracted its kin. Its blurry eyesight during the night barely saw the silhouette of a man. Yet their nose picked up the human scent. These orcs charged at Jason. A swing of an axe, yet Jason ducked as he slid his way to the side of the orc slashing with the double-stack slash. Entrails and blood spilled out on the ground as the orc turned fluster as it tried to push it back in.

    Another two came for the assist. One charged with its shoulder at the front. It missed as Jason leaped and somersault. He landed with a swift swing as another head rolled down. But a mace came smashing at Jason, who just landed. He braced himself putting his guard. The heavy blunt force knocked him back a few feet. It was milder compared to that throw by Orc Chief. He spun his body around the arm of the orc as he stabbed his wind shrouded sword right at the neck of the orc.

    Both stood still as one was gurgling with blood coming from its stinking mouth. It dropped on its knees as another went down to Jason¡¯s blade. He flicked his blade as he noticed the blade started to chip. A frown on Jason¡¯s face, yet he could do nothing for now. Blood and fat really dulled the blade of the sword. But before he left, the corner of his eyes spotted something.

    Out of the blues, a pirate hat was floating in the air above the corpse of an orc. He smiled as it was something unexpected. The drop rate of these items was too low that he didn¡¯t expect much after killing normal mobs. He grabbed the navy tricorne hat with golden trimming. A quick scan and it showed its worth.

    Blue Ocean Hat

    Category : Hat

    Grade : Normal

    A generic hat of captains sailing the Muldone Blue Sea.

    Defense : +21(+1)

    Effect : Str +1

    Don¡¯t mind if I do.

    He put on the hat as it fit his head. His sense of fashion was definitely a sight to behold, the random style was forced considering he had no other options. From the tricorne hat to the monocle eyewear, down to the dark bark arm guards. A mismatch no doubt but reliable in times of need. Now he only needed pants and a pair of shoes.

    Jason burst into a sprint as he made his way. He drew closer to the blazing light at the distance as he finally saw the wreckage of the tank¡¯s attack. Standing on top of a roof, a huge horde was clearing the path of demolished buildings.

    Fuh, he made the right call.

    He praised Ryan as bringing the tank wasn''t a bad idea after all.

    Hmm? What¡¯s that?

    With the aid of his scope-like monocle, he saw a man who was fleeing on the road with a bunch of orcs chasing him down.

    Ryan was fleeing on the road. But a flying mace came from behind, striking him right at the back, blowing off his energy guard to complete oblivion. The captain dropped as he hit his head on the pavement.

    ¡°Shit,¡± said Ryan.

    He turned with his head bleeding. His feet pushed off the ground as he tried to crawl away from the incoming orcs. Ryan had never expected that the orc would be throwing their weapon.

    An orc saw the pitiful state of Ryan as it smirked and snorted. It rushed as it placed its axe up high and readied to mow down the enemy in sight. Ryan saw the axe coming down at him, he was about to roll to the side, but he stopped.

    Flashing blue electricity electrocuted the orc in front of him. The axe in the air was put on hold as the pig-like humanoid froze in place.

    Then a shadow emerged in front of the orc. The paralyzing effect wore off as the axe came down at the shadow, but then it stopped once more. Jason pushed the body of the orc away as it fell with blood spilling out from a hole on its neck. The other two orcs that witnessed the whole act stared at Jason as bright blue balls of lightning floated around the human. With a wave of his hand, the balls of lightning flew and struck the dumbfounded orcs. They froze, and Jason made his move. Another two wounded up dead as Jason flicked his blade once more.

 Chapter 137

    ¡°Jason?¡± Ryan called out to a name.

    The man holding on to a steel sword turned to his back. A smirk emerged as if mocking the army captain who sprawled on the floor. Jason reached out with his hand as Ryan accepted it. He aided Ryan on his feet as the two men looked at each other.

    ¡°Where have you been? We¡¯re getting our asses kick here,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°Then we¡¯re on the same page,¡± Jason said.

    Ryan squinted his eyes confused about what Jason meant.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the situation? I heard tanks while coming here,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°We tried to build a barrier using the buildings around the road, it worked but we were too late¡­¡± Ryan continued explaining of how one-third of the orcs advanced beyond the barrier.

    ¡°Two of us are dead as the orcs are too many,¡± Ryan said.

    The word of death alarmed Jason from his dastardly smirking face. A reminder of his sister made him asked.

    ¡°How is Esther?¡±

    Ryan gazed to the side dodging the piercing stare of Jason.

    ¡°We fought against the orcs, we killed a few under our tactics but they¡¯re too strong and too many,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°I said where¡¯s my sister?¡± he asked as stepped in front of Ryan¡¯s face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Jason turned and readied to run towards the danger.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve ordered the retreat, they will rendezvous back at the base outside the city,¡± said Ryan.

    Jason stopped as he gripped the hilt of his sword tight.

    ¡°Can you go back on your own?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°I can,¡± to Ryan¡¯s words, Jason disappeared into the darkness of the night running towards the danger.

    ¡°Wait for me at the base!¡± his shout rang in Ryan¡¯s ears. The captain of the squad grinned towards the darkness before he fled into the dark alley.

    On a dark road, Jason walked towards the lingering thick clouds of chemical gas. Even after the retreat of soldiers carrying grenade launchers, the chemical gas stood afloat around the area. He inched closer as he stopped.

    ¡°Sounds?¡±

    The sound of battles came from within the clouds. They were still soldiers fighting against the horde. The thought of his sister emerged once more. He held up his hand to his face as a gas mask appeared out of nowhere, like a magic trick, a sleight of hand.

    Equipped with a gas mask he ran straight at the danger. An orc came out from the cloud of gas, as both he and the creature stared at one another in surprise. They were too close at each other and yet the one who drew the first blade took the advantage. A stab right through the orc¡¯s eye. The orc was too slow as it only managed to hold on to the grip of its club. It knelt on the road and dropped on the asphalt.

    He kicked the orc as he dislodged his sword more easily. He walked further with his pace not slow nor was he fast. A few more wandering orcs came into sight, Jason took their confusion to his benefit. There was no need to act deviously with his poison, what he needed was extreme speed and nothing else.

    The sword covered in crimson gale struck these orcs as they had never seen it coming. One by one fell, as he didn¡¯t forget to loot what was precious of these orcs. Then a familiar voice was within reach. He didn¡¯t wait as he ran.

    ¡°Argh!¡± a boisterous voice pierced the chemical gases as a great axe was thrown at the head of an orc. The sharp double blade of the axe struck right at the collar bone of an orc, making it shrieked in pain.

    Then a man came forth sneaking within the cover of the gas, the head of his mallet crackled in bluish electric. Hakeem glared from below in a crouch.

    ¡°Die,¡± Hakeem said.

    The mallet struck at the knee as it knelt upon the powerful force, then another hit right at the head, turning the orc into a daze. Hakeem continued his strike, hammering his mallet at the blade of the axe pushing it deeper into its wound.

    ¡°Orgh!¡± the orc cried out in pain.

    Another strike at the neck of the axe, it went deeper until it cut into its heart. The orc glared at the man with the shield. Hakeem spitted at the face of the orc as he smashed his shield right at it before another crackling blow struck at the head. The orc dropped dead as Hakeem panted for his breath. He had fought for too long and his stamina was depleted near reaching his limit.

    ¡°Snork,¡± then a surprise came out of nowhere, a drooling teary orc ambushed from the unseen. A spiky head of a mace was swung.

    The quick reflex of Hakeem made him held up his shield at the last second. A hard hit but he endured with a lowered stance. Gritting his teeth he prepared for another battle. Yet the force in front of the shield lightened till it vanished.

    ¡°Trouble from an orc?¡± Hakeem knew that voice. He chuckled.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been killing them while you were slacking off,¡± said Hakeem as he lowered down his shield.

    A face of a friend stood in front of him. An old friend that had been missing for quite a while. Jason grinned at his tall friend who was kneeling in front of him. The smiling Hakeem turned into a scowl.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± he got up on his knees and charged right ahead. The swing of his mallet struck the foe that was still living, bringing it down for good. For assurance sake, Hakeem kept hammering at the head of an orc.

    Jason watched with a wince on his face. His friend was ruthless to a creature that was already dead. Hakeem stood tall panting for his breath, what left of the head was nothing but mush and brain matters.

    ¡°You forgot to kill it,¡± said Hakeem with the white of his teeth bared for Jason to see.

    ¡°I let you get the last hit,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem wanted to retort yet his sight was blocked by a welcoming text window.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°It says here, I can change my job,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s about time,¡± said Jason grinning back to his dumbfounded friend.

    ¡°Should I choose now?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Not now, Ryan ordered for a retreat,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Retreat?¡± another voice entered the fray. The duo turned and saw a bulky man taking out a great axe from the corpse of an orc. It was none other than the Berserker. He came close to Jason as he stared down at him.

    ¡°We¡¯re winning, going back now is stupid,¡± said the Berserker.

    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± he turned to Hakeem. ¡°Go back Hakeem, I¡¯ll see you later.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°To find Esther,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming along.¡±

    ¡°No, go back Hakeem. You¡¯ll slow me down,¡± said Jason as he disappeared into the clouds of chemical gas.

    ¡°Hmph, fucking dick. Ignore him, let¡¯s kill more of these ugly shitheads,¡± said Berserker.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s right. We need to retreat,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°What are you? A fucking bitch to a bastard slit eye?¡± said Berserker.

    Hakeem frowned hearing such name-calling. But this wasn¡¯t the time for such a useless argument.

    ¡°Back off Berserker, we¡¯re going back. Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re the army¡¯s bitch right now. If you don¡¯t want to get court-martial, you better follow orders,¡± said Hakeem as he made his way back.

    ¡°I ain¡¯t nobody slave and not to the army,¡± said Berserker as he couldn¡¯t let his pride down.

    ¡°Suit yourself. But remember this, if I¡¯m not there who¡¯s going to tank for you,¡± said Hakeem.

    He threw facts and it worked. Even the prideful Berserker knew he was outmatched by these powerful orcs without the backing of Hakeem at his side. It had been a while since he felt the thrill of killing something stronger than him and these orcs were just made in satisfying his urge.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Berserker said as he trailed behind Hakeem.

    Meanwhile, a duo of female warriors was clashing against a single orc head-on. The more prominent of the two was showing acrobatic movement while slicing the orc.

    ¡°Take down its leg!¡± shouted Esther.

    Pixie dashed with speed as her daggers sliced through the thick meat of the orc. But it was too thick like always it was a hindrance. Gnashing her teeth, Pixie was about to stab the orc right at its junk but a kick flung her away. Pixie stood up once more as she puked out blood in her mask. Then she saw her compatriot choked by the huge hand of the orc.

    ¡°Esther!¡±

    She struggled as she swung her sword but it didn¡¯t do anything. Her energy guard had long broken and now she was gasping for air. But as her conscience slowly fading, she felt the grip on her neck loosened.

    She dropped on the road as she took a deep breath. Then she heard the sound of the orc dropping on the road as her eyes drawn to the man who stood behind the orc. Blood trickled down the blade of this man as she saw who it was.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Jason asked.

    He aided her to stand as her hand rubbed over her aching neck. Green glow engulfed her as the pain she felt was relieved.

    ¡°Pixie, she needs your help,¡±

    Jason came over to Pixie as he healed her.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Pixie.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Ryan ordered a retreat.¡±

 Chapter 138

    A trio entered a bustling encampment as soldiers were running around loading up things into the back of the military light utility vehicle.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Pixie confused.

    ¡°They¡¯re packing things up,¡± said Esther. She saw a few soldiers taking down some tents. It hadn¡¯t been a full day but the soldiers were already packing up.

    ¡°Sir,¡± a soldier came saluting at the trio.

    ¡°Captain Ryan has been waiting for you sir,¡± said the soldier.

    ¡°Where?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Please, follow me,¡± the soldier led the trio to a tent.

    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± said Ryan. The rest of the squad stared at the latecomers.

    ¡°You¡¯re late man,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Pixie asked.

    ¡°We received an order from the top-brass,¡± said Ryan.

    The trio came closer to the large table with a whole map of Oshawa laid on it. They were markings on it as if a plan had been made. Jason looked around and noticed the somber faces of the whole squad.

    ¡°We have been ordered to evacuate from our current location and be on standby,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already brief the rest about the main order from the higher-up. After reporting our current progress, they have decided to sent TEL, transporter erector launcher,¡± said Ryan.

    Pixie frowned hearing the vehicle mentioned by Ryan.

    ¡°They¡¯re going to blow the city up?¡± she slammed her hand at the table.

    Esther narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°They do know that modern weaponry is useless right?¡± said Esther.

    Ryan wasn¡¯t fazed by their reaction yet Jason¡¯s calming figure was something unexpected.

    ¡°We¡¯re not blowing the city. We¡¯re using the missiles to trigger an artificial earthquake to make a man-made sinkhole,¡± said Ryan.

    He pointed at the map and crossed a line over the city of Oshawa.

    ¡°So a large-scale trench, not bad,¡± said Jason as he smirked.

    It wasn¡¯t bad but Jason had his doubt over the success of such a plan. From what his shallow knowledge knew, such an attempt had never been done by the military or any known man.

    ¡°I was told the R&D department was already planning such a thing even before we were sent here. They said it¡¯s a last resort to impede the UC advancement, excluding nuclear involvement,¡± said Ryan.

    Jason rubbed his chin as the plan might work if it managed to do what it was supposed to do. But another thought came in mind, would the orcs be affected by the sudden change in environment? Would they die after falling from a sinkhole or died being buried due to the earthquake?

    Jason frowned as not knowing the answers for all of those questions only made him more worried.

    Shit, what am I thinking? If it works then it might be¡­

    His thought fell short. There was no way such a plan would work in the long run. Knowing a huge ass lizard as tall as a sixty-floor building existed, it won¡¯t work as it would probably be like a small hole for Scarlet Rex.

    The realization hit him hard as there was definitely no easy way out of this. The present world won¡¯t allow such an easy way out.

    ¡°This is ridiculous, you won¡¯t know the repercussion of attempting such a plan. Influencing the tectonic plate without further studies might do more harm than good,¡± said Esther.

    To her, the plan was a joke. She knew better, that aggravating the layers of the earth might lead to bigger problems. A tsunami might be one of those problems.

    Esther stepped forward to the table as she was the only one who didn¡¯t favor such a plan. Jason was a bit surprised by her sudden open disagreement. In his opinion, there was no need for them to be involved with the military tactic and planning. They were only there acting as mercenaries and nothing more.

    She got some spunk. I bet she¡¯s going to lecture these guys on whatever she was studying at college.

    Jason was right. Esther was giving a lecture to the soldiers. She was determined to send across her message, no matter the look she received from them.

    ¡°Can we stop listening to this kid?¡± Berserker opened his mouth.

    Esther glared at Berserker.

    ¡°So from what you¡¯re saying, our job is done, am I right?¡± said Berserker.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, for now, we¡¯re on standby. We¡¯re told to change camp two klicks away,¡± said Ryan.

    ¡°Then I¡¯m off,¡± Berserker left the tent as he said, ¡°wake me up when we¡¯re going to move.¡±

    ¡°As I said, we...¡± Esther was about to continue yet Ryan cut her off.

    ¡°We understand what you¡¯re trying to say but orders are orders. If you want to complain, you better ask your brother,¡± said Ryan. ¡°The TEL will be arriving at 0300 with missiles launch at 0330, you may all dismiss.¡±

    As the meeting ended, Jason left the tent as he had something in mind.

    ¡°Wait,¡± said Esther. ¡°What did Ryan meant by asking you?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just messing with you,¡± said Jason as he didn¡¯t want to entertain his sister. ¡°Stay put and follow the convoy.¡±

    ¡°Wait, where are you going?¡± Hakeem asked as his friend had a knack in doing things in secret.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got to go back to the city, I can¡¯t stand feeling guilty,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Then I¡¯m coming with you,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Me too and you didn¡¯t even answer my question,¡± said Esther glaring at Jason.

    ¡°You¡¯re just¡­¡± Jason was about to give his excuse but his friend already knew his tricks.

    ¡°We won¡¯t take no answer and you know how stubborn we are,¡± said Hakeem as he nudged Esther by the shoulder.

    Esther gave a weird look due to the body signal from Hakeem but she still agreed to it. Jason looked at these two and seeing they were close to his level, he thought it won¡¯t be a big deal then.

    ¡°Very well, first thing first. Let¡¯s get ourselves a good jeep.¡±

 Chapter 139

    A jeep cruised through the dirt ground as the ride was a bit bumpier than the passengers expected. Even with their seat belts on, Esther and Hakeem were having a lot of airtime considering they were inside a jeep.

    ¡°Drive properly!¡± Esther glared from the back.

    ¡°The road man, use the road!¡± said Hakeem. His eyes kept glancing between the front and to the left.

    A few seconds later, both of their butts went off their seats as the jeep was in the air.

    DUM.

    The jeep landed on the asphalt road as it swerved left and right. Jason spun the steering wheel a couple of times until the vehicle finally ran on a straight path.

    ¡°You driving is wack, man,¡± said Hakeem. He adjusted himself on his seat as that last jump made him sprawled a bit on his seat.

    Esther who was lying on the back seat got up and smacked Jason by the head with her eyes glaring like shooting lasers.

    ¡°That¡¯s for driving like a maniac,¡± said Esther.

    Jason brushed his head as that smack barely did a thing. Rather than pain, it was a bit like a little push.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t force you guys to come along,¡± said Jason.

    He maneuvered through the empty dark street, a road that ran just beside the prominent Ontario Lake.

    Esther crossed her arms as she leaned back on her seat. Her legs crossed over like a scene in basic instinct except she was wearing military-issue camo pants and not a white one-piece short dress. She stared at the back of Jason¡¯s head with a slight frown. Jason took a peek through the back mirror and saw his sister¡¯s face. A silent chuckle as he kept his eyes back on the road.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you concern about what the military will do?¡± she asked.

    Hakeem looked back at Esther and then glanced at Jason. He knew full well that this would turn messy and as a man with a fully developed brain, he made a mental note not to get involved with these sibling''s arguments. There was silence as Jason kept his lips sealed. Her frown got deeper and Esther couldn¡¯t stand being ignored. She pushed her body to the front coming in between the two front seats.

    ¡°You know I¡¯m going to bother you for the whole ride if you keep ignoring me, so why not answer a few of my questions and then I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Jason asked. It wasn¡¯t a bad deal. Hearing his sister¡¯s nagging would definitely be torture even when he had his energy guard still on.

    ¡°Why did Ryan said I can complain to you? Did he meant that you can stop whatever they¡¯re planning to do?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°Literally speaking, I can stop them through some¡­ forceful ways and what Ryan meant was, I can relay that complains of yours to Neil since he¡¯s the big boss of some part of the military,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Then call him then! We need to stop that bullshit plan of theirs,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°No, we¡¯re not and I¡¯m not going to do a thing about it,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Why not? Lives are at stake here, didn¡¯t you hear what I said? An artificial earthquake can lead to¡­¡± Esther was vehement in relaying her logical reasons but Jason cut her off.

    ¡°Are you hearing yourself? I know you¡¯re valedictorian and all, but do you really think you¡¯re smarter than those scientists employed by the military?¡± a smack of facts right at his sister.

    Esther fell speechless. Yet she couldn¡¯t back down.

    ¡°But-¡±

    ¡°and do you think you can stop the horde? If we don¡¯t stop them in some way, that horde will come to Toronto and our parents are there,¡± said Jason.

    The mentioned of their parents left her words stuck in the middle of her throat. Although the repercussion from an earthquake might be bad, but the safety of her parents triumphed over the latter.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± she leaned back on her seat with her arms crossed.

    ¡°So,¡± Hakeem saw it was his time. ¡°Want to tell me about these people you feeling guilty about?¡±

    Esther perked her ears as she too was interested in that question.

    ¡°Nothing much, I just found a few people while fighting the orcs,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°People? You mean they¡¯re someone crazy enough to still stay here?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Rather than crazy, I think the word bold suit them better,¡± said Jason with a light smile.

    ¡°Bold? You¡¯re also turning crazy. There¡¯s no way anyone can live in a place with those things running around,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°They do, and sorry to burst your bubbles, one of them is even stronger than you two,¡± said Jason.

    Esther narrowed her eyes hearing that remark and Hakeem couldn¡¯t shake off his curiosity. To his knowledge, he was well cemented at the second place position according to level just below Jason, and hearing this new fella made him curious.

    ¡°Who is this guy?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Or a woman,¡± Esther chimed in.

    Jason smirked seeing these two getting rattled by a new player that was even stronger than them.

    ¡°He¡¯s an Inuit, a fisherman at level 23,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°A fisherman?¡± Esther was drawn to that word.

    ¡°What do you mean a fisherman?¡± Hakeem had the same thought in mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s his job, he chose to be a fisherman like I, choosing an assassin,¡± said Jason. He glanced at his pal who was a bit thrown off.

    ¡°You better step it up Hakeem, cause even I don¡¯t think I can win over him that easily,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Why? You¡¯re a lot stronger and your attacks are no jokes,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°But he¡¯s tanky, so if things come down to a war of attrition, I might lose you know,¡± said Jason as he saw that mass of points as an undeniable strength. If that man also had a restorative type of ability than he would definitely be an unstoppable force.

    For a moment Jason frowned as he was still frustrated for the lack of defensive type of skills, having a few layers would definitely increase his survival rate.

    Hakeem looked down as he thought about Jason¡¯s words. If a man like Jason gave such highly-rated comments to a person like that, then Jason was definitely telling the truth. Hakeem stared at the blue window in front of him as he still didn¡¯t decide yet.

    ¡°Did you choose yet?¡± Jason asked glancing for a while at Hakeem.

    ¡°No, not yet,¡± said Hakeem as his eyes stared at a list.

    ¡°Choose? Choose what?¡± Esther was still out of the bubble.

    ¡°Hakeem reached level twenty just now, so he¡¯s having a tough time choosing his job,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What?¡± Esther grabbed on Hakeem¡¯s shoulder and pulled it a bit, but much to her disappointment he barely budged.

    ¡°When did you level up? I¡¯m still at level nineteen,¡± said Esther.

    Hakeem wasn¡¯t listening to Esther as his full concentration was to his job picking. There wasn¡¯t much a difference between him and Jason except a few things. The basic classes were available for him to choose like warrior, healer, archer and energist, but he too had a few extra options.

    Guardsman? Battle-Energist?

    Those extra options caught his attention. Both were leaning to two extremities. One mainly used a shield and the other used element-based close combat. He was torn apart at a junction, a forked path that would determine his future. Be an exclusive meat-shield or a close combat energist specialist?

    ¡°Hey Hakeem,¡± Jason said.

    Hakeem snapped out from his daze after hearing Jason¡¯s voice. He glanced at him and saw Jason driving with his eyes on the road.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind about others, choose what you want to be, what you want to become,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem for some reason felt relieved like a burden was lifted off from his shoulders. The thought of him needing always to be the tank was rather hindering him down. He wanted to be strong, strong at the same level, or surpassing even Jason and he knew that even a tank based job could be strong but he too had an ambition, an ambition to be the strongest. He smiled as he finally decided.

    ¡°I¡¯ve chosen,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Hmph, show off,¡± said Esther. ¡°So what do you choose?¡±

    Jason stole a few glances at Hakeem as he too was curious about his friend¡¯s job.

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Swoop!

    BOOM!

    The jeep exploded in flames as the bright orange flames gave light within the darkness of the road. The burning jeep was upside down as smoke and ashes rose up in the air as the flame kept burning violently.

    Not far from the burning jeep, a person was kneeling on top of a roof. He was clad in an all-black military outfit, rested upon his shoulder was a shoulder-missile launcher, a M72 LAW. The black-clad man put down the missile launcher on the floor as it eyed through the night vision goggles. Then a voice came through his intercom.

    ¡°This is Bravo-1 reporting, target has been hit, I repeat target has been hit,¡± said Bravo-1. ¡°Commencing second assault.¡±

    The last order rang in the ears of other black-clad men standing by on top of their own rooftops. All of them shouldered the same M72 LAW as they targeted the burning jeep. At short intervals, missiles were launched in succession.

    Ten missiles went flying as it all bombarded the burning jeep. One by one, it exploded and exploded as a deafening explosion kept resounding in the air.

 Chapter 140

    A subtle swooshing sound caught Jason¡¯s attention. His instinct flared up as his hands grabbed both Hakeem and Esther. A slight second later, Jason¡¯s whole vision went bright as flames erupted.

    BOOM!

    The upside-down jeep was burning as the heat grew stronger eating up the metals and leathers inside the vehicle. There was no sign of burning bodies in the jeep as if they were never there.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± a man groaned as he woke up with a light-headed head.

    ¡°Jason? Esther?¡± his barely open eyes searched for his friends. His slight search ended as he noticed the hand grasping over his jacket. It was Jason¡¯s hand, his eyes trailed towards the body, and saw Esther lying on Jason¡¯s lap. She was unconscious but still breathing well.

    Jason¡¯s other hand brushed his sister¡¯s face with his fingers trembling. His eyes were cold lacking the empathy of his actions.

    ¡°Esther!¡± Hakeem dragged his body to the duo as his lips were shivering.

    ¡°Is she okay?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Jason said. The undertone of his voice carried deep resentment, if it wasn¡¯t for him, his sister would have died.

    The moment the jeep exploded, Esther¡¯s energy guard shattered leaving her defenseless to the raging flames. But Jason¡¯s quick hand was already on her as the green glow battled against the hot flame healing her burnt wounds while at the same time dragging his friend and sister into the shadow realm.

    He expended a lot of his energy points as healing three people at the same time was hard on him. Hakeem had a better fortune than Esther. His immediate job-change made him a bit more guarded since he received another layer of defense. He only fell unconscious due to the huge force from the explosion.

    ¡°My head,¡± Hakeem rubbed his head as his eyes scanned the surrounding. The world was in black and white as he realized he was inside Jason¡¯s ability. Then he saw the burning jeep, a few feet away from them.

    His eyes opened wide as his mind scrambled over what had happened. The last thing he remembered was the bright orange flash moments before he turned unconscious.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Hakeem turned to his friend.

    Jason didn¡¯t reply as he kept on stroking Esther¡¯s hair. Hakeem felt the need to know yet before he could open his mouth one more time, he heard the swooshing sounds.

    His head ducked down by reflex as the jeep was hit by numerous missiles in sequence.

    ¡°What the?¡± Hakeem witnessed the destruction of the jeep as it was rendered into scrap burning metals.

    Only one thing came into his mind, an ambush and it wasn¡¯t from some monsters spewing fireballs but humans. He saw it, a flying missile exploding right at the moment it made contact with the jeep.

    He turned his head up to the sky searching for the culprit. But it was too dark as he couldn¡¯t find what he sought.

    ¡°Hakeem,¡± Jason called.

    ¡°Yea,¡± Hakeem turned to Jason.

    ¡°Is your guard intact?¡± Jason asked.

    Hakeem skimmed over his status and saw his energy guard broke but another extra layer of defense was still intact and full.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Hakeem said, prepared for what was about to come.

    ¡°Put your hand over my shoulder and follow me,¡± said Jason. Hakeem followed without question as Jason carried Esther in his arms. Within the Shadow Sneak, he brought them over far away reaching the shore of the lake. She put her down as he turned to Hakeem.

    ¡°Here,¡± he took out a spiked mace from one of his loot. Hakeem accepted it as he knew the mallet and shield he had were already gone in the flames.

    ¡°Protect my sister,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°But I can help!¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Help me guard Esther, and I¡¯ll handle those fuckers,¡± said Jason as deep down he was seething in rage.

    Jason walked away but stopped at the last second.

    ¡°Hakeem,¡± he said. ¡°even if they are human, don¡¯t you hesitate when the time comes.¡±

    He left after reminding Hakeem as he once more disappeared into the shadow realm.

    Hakeem¡¯s grip on the mace handle tightened as he thought about it.

    Can I do it?

    --

    ¡°The target has been eliminated, I repeat the target has been eliminated,¡± said Bravo-1.

    The ten missiles hit the target as all the attackers were waiting for their next command.

    ¡°Arm for a ground assault, prepare for confirmation of the target,¡± the leader of this black-clad men gave out the orders as they changed their weapons into assault rifles and SMG.

    ¡°Bravo-1 ready to snipe,¡± a few snipers stayed on the roof giving cover for the men on the ground.

    Bravo-1 observed from above as his comrades were on the ground reaching what left of the burning jeep. Twenty armed men with their scopes ready to find their target surrounded the blazing scrap jeep.

    The leader dubbed as Alpha ordered a few of his men to secure the perimeter while the majority aimed for the jeep.

    ¡°Delta,¡± Alpha nudged his head over to the burning jeep.

    Delta approached the burning jeep with cautious steps. He turned off his night vision as he took a closer look at the inside of the flaming jeep. Delta searched for any remnants of the bodies.

    ¡°Status?¡± Alpha asked.

    ¡°Nothing sir, no signs of any bodies,¡± said Delta.

    ¡°The missiles probably blew them up, ten missiles in a row is too much even towards an Awakened,¡± said Bravo-1 as he had been listening through the intercom. Yet Alpha wasn¡¯t as optimistic as Bravo-1.

    ¡°Weapons hot! Assume position! Target might still be alive,¡± said Alpha as his men fanned out with their scopes searching for the target.

    ¡°Geez, Alpha is too cautious. There¡¯s no way¡­¡± Bravo-1¡¯s voice fell silent as he felt a pain prickling over the side of his neck. Then a voice tickled his ear.

    ¡°No way what? Me being alive?¡±

    It was Jason and before Bravo-1 could say a thing, the sharp edge of his sword stabbed right through the neck. Blood seeped out from the end of his blade as Brave-1 lay there dead.

    Jason looked down at the corpse with emotionless eyes. He felt nothing killing a fellow human being. He then turned his eyes at the sniper rifle.

    I¡¯m gonna snipe them to their graves.

 Chapter 141

    The sound of a high caliber sniper rifle exploded in the air. Every black-clad men turned their eyes up to the sky. The loud shot slowly receded until it turned silent.

    ¡°Sniper! Take cover!¡± Alpha¡¯s voice blared through the intercom.

    Then a second shot came through, piercing the night air. All black-clad men hid behind anything that they could find. Be it cars, pedestrian bench, traffic light, and even trash cans.

    ¡°Alpha. Echo and G-6 are down,¡± a voice came through Alpha¡¯s intercom.

    ¡°Snipers! What the heck are you guys doing?!¡± Alpha roared.

    ¡°Alpha, Bravo-1 is out. We¡¯re still searchi-¡± the voice cut off, leaving Alpha in the air.

    ¡°Shit, I knew it. That freak is still alive,¡± said Alpha.

    **

    Jason killed another sniper on the roof, yet he was not satisfied. With his heightened state, using the sniper rifle wasn¡¯t difficult. His high strength kept his body stable as he didn¡¯t even felt the recoil, yet his aim was a bit lackluster. His dexterity was high, but it was his first time using a sniper rifle. The first time would always be the awkwardest.

    Jason threw the sniper rifle away as he brandished his rare-grade steel sword. He melded himself into the shadow, clad with a brush of fresh wind around his body. He leaped from the roof, jumping high in the air as he saw his next prey.

    Another sniper, sitting at the edge of the roof, skimmed through every roof that he could see within his spot. He was chewing some gum as he was calmed and collected. A veteran in the field as nothing fazed him. What mattered to him was finding the enemy and take a shot at it.

    ¡°Come out you slippery bastard,¡± said the sniper.

    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± a voice from the side.

    The sniper turned as fast as he could and pulled the trigger. A flash of instinct that carried his motion for the kill.

    ¡°You missed,¡± but the voice was still there, coming from behind.

    A sharp pain pierced through his neck. The sniper struggled to breathe as his eyes glanced at Jason. He saw a pair of cold eyes even colder than his. A few seconds later, he went limp. Jason pushed the body aside as he cut the corpse head off. He vanished once more as being cautious was necessary. Since this time, he wasn¡¯t fighting against normal men but Awakened.

    Level twelve, adequate, but not enough.

    His eyes gazed on the ground. The numbers of these men were roughly around thirty-ish or so. Their numbers and level weren¡¯t a problem, but their weapons were dangerous.

    A few couples of hits was acceptable, but with these many people, Jason had to take precaution. Healing while being hit was the way to go, but his energy point was at the low-side. He needed to take things in an assassin kind-of-way.

    He leaped off the roof and landed in silence, like a cat falling with its feet on the ground. He sprinted and came in-between the two black-clad men. He spun and sliced off the neck of these two in a single sweep. Two dead bodies and one appearance of a man wielding a sword, less than one second later, he disappeared into nothingness.

    ¡°Enemy!¡± shouted a black-clad man. He saw it out of pure coincidence. They were not too far from each other as being in each other view guaranteed a chance of finding the enemy.

    A spray of bullets went flying at the spot where Jason appeared, yet nothing seemed to hit.

    ¡°Where is he?¡±

    Three black-clad men had their backs at each other, but it was all futile. Jason slashed through their necks like they were butter. Their pathetic energy guard was useless against Jason¡¯s sword. Another three dead.

    BANG BANG BANG

    Three shots hit Jason right at the body. He looked and saw the sight of a nozzle aimed at him. He disappeared as more bullets came. He was still too slow to vanish. He stared down at his energy points and concluded to restrain himself from healing.

    ¡°Target located!¡± shouted the black-clad man.

    ¡°Where is he?¡± Alpha¡¯s voice bellowed through the intercom.

    ¡°He¡¯s gone,¡± said the black-clad.

    ¡°Sensors! What the fuck are you guys doing? Use your fucking abilities and find that bastard!¡± Alpha was going ballistic.

    Sensors, a title given to those Awakened gifted with the ability for scouting purposes, and within this group, one-fourth of them were Sensors.

    A black-clad man touched the asphalt road with his hand. An invisible wave traveled through the ground, acting like a sonar.

    ¡°Target at three o¡¯clock, hundred-sixty feet away,¡± said the black-clad man.

    ¡°Grenades!¡± Alpha said.

    Grenade launchers started shooting at the exact position as everything exploded, smokes, and pieces of the road scattered in the air. The grenade launchers didn¡¯t stop at just one shot. A couple of rounds went out until what left was a shallow crater on the road.

    ¡°Earth-0, status,¡± Alpha said.

    The black-clad man touched the road once more as another sonar went out.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± said Earth-0 as he turned to Alpha.

    But Alpha had his eyes shook. A single blink of his eyelids and a person emerged out of thin air right behind Earth-0. The second time he blinked, a head rolled on the ground, and the figure was no longer there.

    ¡°Open fire!¡± Alpha said.

    Twenty-two men pulled the trigger of their assault rifles and grenade launchers as they blasted everything at the position of the dead Earth-0.

    ¡°Alpha, he¡¯s near,¡± said another black-clad man. Another sonar, but to use it, he needed to close his eyes and in deep concentration. The darkness of his mind saw the image of similar men around him, yet an anomaly stood right on top of the traffic light. It was glowing in a dark greyish hue.

    ¡°He¡¯s on top of the traffic light!¡± bullets rained down at the innocent traffic light as what left of it was scraps of metals on the road.

    Alpha searched for the body of that man, yet where ever he looked, there was no sign of any dead body. He ground his teeth as he shouted.

    ¡°Status, Mind-1, and other Sensors search for that damn bastard!¡± said Alpha.

    Jason was on top of a roof, standing there gazing at these men. A green glow healed himself back to the fullest. Only when his energy guard was at a critical level would he used his heal.

    Sensors, huh? They came prepared. As if waiting for me all this time. I should have known. People are hard to trust, more so if it''s the military of your own country. So much for protecting the citizen. Hmm, these Sensors are going to be a pain. Should I go for long-range again?

    He was boiling in rage from the inside, but Jason knew not to act recklessly. He felt like throwing himself right at the center and killed without care.

    Wait, should I just jump in the middle? The sensors most probably are positioned near the center for protection wise, and they wouldn¡¯t shoot at themselves, would they?

    What left of the militant grouped up as they watched their perimeter while the sensors searched for the invisible enemy.

    ¡°Mind-1, give some damn result,¡± said Alpha.

    ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± Mind-1 delved deeper into his consciousness using his ability known as Astral Search. It would have been better if he was asleep but falling asleep in the middle of a battle was too stupid. Then he frowned as he saw it.

    ¡°Alpha, he¡¯s on the-¡±

    BANG!

    Mind-1 fell on the ground as a bullet hole went through his skull.

    ¡°On the roof,¡± another sensor shouted, pointing out at Jason¡¯s direction. All saw Jason standing there for a glimpse second before he disappeared.

    ¡°Shit, he¡¯s playing with us,¡± said Alpha. ¡°Abandon assault position, take up the defensive.¡±

    The twenty-one black-clad men assumed a new formation. The sensors were at the center, trying their best to search for the constantly moving Jason.

    ¡°Don¡¯t falter! There is only one of him and thirty of us! He didn¡¯t dare to fight against us head-on as he¡¯s afraid, afraid of our guns and bombs,¡± said Alpha as he riled up his men, not only through his words but also through his ability.

    Rally of the Victor, an ability that heightened the motivation of allies and buffed up their physical prowess to a slight extent. But the most important of all, it lowered the shackling fear in the hearts of men.

    ¡°We will win this one, and we will go back as the victor!¡± said Alpha. The eyes of his men changed, turning sharp like a blade.

    ¡°Found him!¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± Alpha asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s going straight for us from seven o¡¯clock!¡±

    Alpha stared straight at the empty road, his night-vision goggles didn¡¯t see a thing, but he trusted his sensors.

    ¡°Shield!¡± Alpha said.

    A black-clad man dropped his weapons and raised both of his hands in the air. A dome energy-based shield covered the whole formation.

    ¡°He¡¯s jumping up,¡± said one of the sensors.

    The whole team aimed their guns upwards as they waited. Jason emerged out from his hiding with his back, the sight of a full moon untainted by the clouds.

    ¡°He¡¯s on sight!¡± these men readied to pull the trigger, but their patience was growing thin.

    Jason landed on the barrier as he struck without holding back. Two strikes were all it took for the energy dome to broke apart. The shattering parts of the energy-dome fell like rain as the figure of Jason disappeared once more.

    ¡°Light them up!¡± Alpha said.

    Guns went blazing as Jason dove down with great speed. A few ricochet bullets struck him as he appeared in their visions. He dropped on the one who made the barrier with his sword slashing the black-clad man right into two. Jason stood at the center of the formation as a gleam of madness flashed behind his eyes.

    The black-clad men restrained from pulling the trigger as a slight mishap was enough to turn into a mess of friendly fire.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Jason''s voice echoed in the night as some of these men grew nervous.

    ¡°Take him down! Formation Cover!¡± Alpha bellowed with the might of his ability.

    Those who were closest to Jason rushed at him with one hand holding a combat dagger and another a firearm of their choice. While those at the outside took a distance, preparing to line up their shot.

    But then.

    ¡°Argh!¡±

    Those who tried to box him at the center went down in mere seconds.

    ¡°Shoot,¡± Alpha said. ¡°Shoot!¡±

    Five men sacrificed their lives for this one chance of killing Jason, and Alpha was not going to waste it. The assault rifle in his hand went like mad, spewing out bullets right at the enemy.

    Jason swerved left and right as he tried to dodge, but the bullets found their target. His energy guard was going down rapidly, but his arms glowed in light green. He swung his arms as crescent projectiles went flying as his body glowed in another tint of green.

    A few men had their guards broken while some rendered dead. But a few who still lived gunned down the immortal-like Jason. In these men''s eyes. There was no other way of describing how Jason looks other than being a madden immortal.

    Jason grabbed a dead body and used it as a shield as he cut down more of these black-clad bastards one by one. But then a large projectile went straight at him. He saw it a bit too late as he threw the dead body in his hand at the incoming bullet.

    BOOM!

    A big explosion erupted as it flung Jason afar. It was Alpha as he shot the grenade launcher right at Jason.

    Jason was on the road as he got up without a hitch. His energy guard had broken, but his health was still okay. Only a slight pain on his back was all he felt.

    ¡°Die motherfucker!¡± said Alpha as he pulled the trigger of the grenade launcher. Jason fled with at his back a continuous sequence of exploding shells. His expression remained calm as he stared at what was left of his energy points.

    Shit, I¡¯m out.

    Things didn¡¯t look good to him. But he was not the type to give up, especially for revenge. An assault rifle emerged from his dog-tag necklace, and within a split second, he turned and aimed.

    The sight of Alpha standing there like an open target made it easier for Jason. He did not even need to aim down scope as his monocle did the job for him.

    ¡°Die,¡± Jason said.

    A spray of bullets went flying as it struck Alpha. The sensation of being hit made Alpha stunned for a few seconds. Even a veteran would react after being hit by a bullet. That split-second window gave Jason another chance, another pull to the trigger, and it was enough to broke apart Alpha¡¯s energy guard. Alpha¡¯s composure broke down as he searched for cover.

    Yet, the moment he turned his back to Jason, everything ended. Jason struck Alpha at the back of his head as the leader of this militant group fell unconscious.

    ¡°Argh!¡±

    ¡°Help!¡±

    Jason turned his head around and saw orcs appearing within the cover of night. They were attacking what left of the black-clad men. It seemed their loud battle attracted another opposition.

    Jason glanced back at the unconscious Alpha as he paid no heed to those others. Deep down, he had the urge to kill the leader of this whole team, but he had other plans in mind.

    He picked up Alpha as he fled away. What left was only the screams of the unfortunate battling against the hungry orcs.

 Chapter 142

    A trail of a man being dragged etched over the ground. There was nothing but darkness, yet the person who was dragging seemed to be able to find his way. But he stopped.

    ¡°Come out,¡± said Jason.

    He was having a bad night, and he wasn¡¯t in the mood in entertaining any new uninvited guest. Even with any energy point, he was still confident with his strength.

    Three people came into sight in every direction from Jason. The light of headlamps brightened the darkness as Jason realized who these people were.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you guys,¡± said Jason. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you lots.¡±

    It was a family of three, a grandfather and his two grandchildren. The shortest of them three stared hard at Jason.

    ¡°What do you mean? And who is that?¡± Arrluk asked. The sight of a person being dragged over the ground smelled suspicious. It would be a thing to be reported to the police if it was before the crack happened. Nonetheless, someone who saw such a thing would definitely be apprehensive about it.

    ¡°Oh, him? It¡¯s nothing, just an eye for an eye kind of thing,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°He looks like a soldier to me,¡± said Nuniq as he squatted down near the unconscious Alpha.

    ¡°We heard explosions and gunshots, what happened?¡± Arrluk sought for an explanation. There was nothing normal when it involved bullets and explosion since everyone who had common sense knew that modern ballistic was useless against the UC.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry about that, but there is something else you need to worry about,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Tapeesa couldn¡¯t contain her curiosity.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s talk about that later. I need to get back to my friends,¡± said Jason.

    He walked passed Arrluk with the dragged man following from behind.

    ¡°Grandpa, are we following him?¡± Nuniq asked.

    ¡°I think we should, he doesn¡¯t strike me like a person that lie,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°Humph, stop lying Tapeesa. Both me and grandpa know you¡¯ve got a crush him since that stunt he pulled back at the freighter,¡± said Nuniq.

    ¡°No I¡¯m not,¡± the sister glaring daggers at the brother.

    ¡°Enough, both of you,¡± the grandfather stopped the meaningless argument. Kids will be kids even in a situation like this. ¡°Let¡¯s see what he has to say.¡±

    **

    Hakeem was keeping an eye out, and at times he couldn¡¯t help but glance at the unconscious Esther. He was anxious since the loud gunfights and explosion had stopped for a time. He had confidence in his pal, but things could get to worse in unexpected ways, so he hoped his friend made it.

    CRACK!

    The sound of a branch being snapped drew his attention. It was close, and loud, Hakeem, who could barely saw a thing in the darkness took the initiative as he swung the spike-mace in his hand.

    ¡°Woah,¡± a familiar voice. ¡°Watch it man, you almost hit me at the head.¡±

    Hakeem recognized the voice.

    ¡°Jason, you¡¯re still alive,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Of course I should, you want me dead or something,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem ignored the sarcastic nature of that comment as he went for a hug. He was glad to see Jason escaped whatever that had happened. Then he saw three silhouettes from Jason¡¯s back.

    His lax eyes turned alarmed as he pulled Jason away as he grabbed back the spiked-mace on the ground.

    ¡°Enemies!¡± said Hakeem. The faint moonlight at least allowed him to see a bit in this darkness.

    The three who saw Hakeem¡¯s action responded with an act of their own. Both sides prepared to duke it out.

    ¡°Calm down,¡± said Jason as he lowered Hakeem¡¯s mace.

    ¡°They¡¯re friendlies,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Hakeem let his guard down, and the trio did the same. As he took a look at these three people, he noticed someone on the ground, lay there unconscious.

    ¡°Jason, the hell is this?¡± he pointed at the unconscious Alpha.

    ¡°Look alive, he¡¯s the perp who tried to fucking killed us,¡± said Jason.

    A menacing frown etched on Hakeem¡¯s face. He lay his eyes upon the sight of the man who responsible for that incident. For some reason, a wave of unknown anger raised upon the pit of his stomach as the grip on his mace tightened. He was at the border of lashing out his seething rage, yet his loud heavy breathing calmed his nerves and the devil from within. Hakeem turned to Jason.

    ¡°Are you going to kill him?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± said Jason as he threw the unconscious body a few feet away. He knelt beside his unconscious sister and checking her condition.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Tapeesa asked. She couldn¡¯t help but notice how tentative Jason was towards the unconscious woman.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to business, shall we?¡± Jason said. Standing over the three guests.

    ¡°Hi,¡± said Hakeem with a big smile. He tried his best to diffuse the hostility between them from their previous first encounter.

    ¡°I¡¯m Hakeem,¡± a hand reached to the eldest for a handshake. Yet it was left ignored by Arrluk.

    Hakeem felt the awkwardness as he pulled his hand back and rubbed over his pants.

    ¡°Hakeem, this is fisherman dude, and the two are his grandchildren,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°It¡¯s Nuniq,¡± said Nuniq glaring at Jason.

    ¡°I¡¯m Tapeesa, and this is my grandfather¡­¡±

    ¡°Arrluk,¡± said the grandfather. ¡°Mr.Park, you said there¡¯s something important you need to tell us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the military,¡± said Jason.

    Arrluk narrowed his eyes by the mention of the military.

    ¡°They are launching missiles to Oshawa City at 0300,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But modern weapons are useless,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°It¡¯s not for the orcs. They¡¯re intending to make an artificial earthquake to produce sinkholes acting as a barrier,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°That¡¯s freaking cool,¡± said Nuniq.

    ¡°Is that even possible?¡± Arrluk asked.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± all eyes drawn to the voice from below.

    It was Esther, she woke up from her unconscious state.

    ¡°Esther,¡± Hakeem ran towards Esther as she helped her stand.

    ¡°Miss, would you tell me why do you think so?¡± Arrluk asked.

    ¡°Enough,¡± Jason intervened as there was no time for useless chatter. ¡°Hakeem, you go back with Esther. Find a car and go back to the base.¡±

    ¡°But what about you? I¡¯ve already told you, I¡¯m not gonna let out of here alone,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Me too,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid, I¡¯m just going to handle this guy and find out what he knows,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°But it¡¯s dangerous man, you can¡¯t live out there, not with those monsters,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve got a few companies around,¡± said Jason. As he turned over to the silent three.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got room for one more in your boat? Oh, make that two.¡±

 Chapter 143

    Warning! In this chapter, there''s an explicit situation that might not be suitable for those who don''t like things that go too far. Well, you have been warned, so don''t blame me...

    **

    A man was thrown on the deck of a freighter. He was still unconscious as the hit he took was pretty serious. Jason leaped over and landed on the deck. He dusted off his shoulders as he walked up to the unconscious Alpha. Meanwhile, three people climbed up to the deck.

    ¡°Grandpa, are you sure about this?¡± Nuniq asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be rude Nuniq, he saved our grandpa¡¯s life,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°Tapeesa is right, we know how to honor our savior but we should never let our guard down. Do you hear me Nuniq? Tapeesa?¡± said Arrluk.

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Nuniq as his eyes stared at the back of Jason. ¡°I¡¯m even itching trying to duke it out with him.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky Nuniq, Jason is even stronger than grandpa. I bet you won¡¯t be able to take even a single hit from him,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°Go bring your stupid love somewhere else, and don¡¯t you know? You¡¯re underage, and he¡¯s like¡­ old or something. Wait, if both of you dated, I can send both of you to jail!¡± said Nuniq.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid Nuniq, the law doesn¡¯t work that way,¡± said Tapeesa as she glared at her brother.

    ¡°Enough you two,¡± said Arrluk as he lightly hit Nuniq on the crown.

    ¡°That hurts,¡± said Nuniq.

    ¡°Stop messing around and go pulled up the anchor, we need the freighter to be ready to move,¡± said Arrluk.

    The two grandchildren went away doing what they were told. Arrluk on the other hand went to Jason.

    ¡°Although you¡¯re my savior,  I still can¡¯t let you stay for too long,¡± said Arrluk.

    His small build didn¡¯t hinder his assertive aura. He was like any man and woman who went through the hurdle of surviving the UC invasion. He was a nice and gentle old man, but he knew when to put aside that gentleness for a more savage persona.

    ¡°I thought an Inuit knew to honor their savior, but it seems I¡¯m wrong,¡± said Jason as he looked at Arrluk from above as if looking down.

    ¡°I can say the same to you Mr.Park, don¡¯t Asians value their so-called honor over everything?¡± Arrluk replied as shots were fired.

    ¡°I¡¯m Asian-Canadian, to hell with those honor bullshit, but touche old man. You¡¯ve got guts, that I can tell,¡± said Jason as he smirked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got this far for a reason Mr.Park and backing down isn¡¯t one of it,¡± said Arrluk.

    ¡°Very well, I won¡¯t be long. After that sneaky army launches their missiles, I¡¯ll be gone the moment everything turns stable,¡± said Jason.

    Arrluk agreed to Jason¡¯s time of departure, but he still couldn¡¯t hide his anxiousness about the black-clad man.

    ¡°Is he military?¡± Arrluk pointed at the unconscious man.

    ¡°I hope not, but if he is, then there¡¯s blood to be settled,¡± said Jason as the depth of his eyes were cold as ice.

    ¡°I hope you know what you are doing,¡± Arrluk walked away, leaving Jason behind. ¡°And don¡¯t you endanger my grandchildren''s safety.¡±

    Arrluk left after a stern warning. Jason stared at the back of the old man as he felt the protective old man rather familiar.

    For some reason, why does he feels familiar? Do I know someone with that kind personality?

    He tilted his head as no one rang a clue. He turned back his attention to Alpha and dragged him away at the other end of the freighter.

    At the foremast, the unconscious Alpha lay on the floor. A bucket of water splashed over his face. But he didn¡¯t wake up, still unconscious like before.

    ¡°I thought it would work like in the movies,¡± said Jason as his head tilted.

    After getting another bucket, he another idea in mind. He grabbed Alpha by the hair and dunked his whole head inside the bucket full of water. He didn¡¯t move for a few seconds, which worried Jason a bit.

    Did I hit him too hard?

    But a few seconds later, the black-clad man started squirming.

    Oh, he still alive. Oh, shit. He needs to breathe.

    The dunk head went up as Alpha inhaled a big breath. The burning lungs were extinguished with oxygen arrival. But before the interrogation could happen, Alpha¡¯s quick hand grabbed the hidden dagger snuck inside his boot and slashed at Jason.

    Worthy for a man of his caliber, Alpha fought rather than cowered back like a lamb. But sadly, he was up against Jason. He thought his action was fast and quick, but the person in front of him was faster beyond measure.

    Alpha was slapped right in the face. The sound echoed in this small space container as the metal material made it easy for the sound to bounce back. Jason held back a bit, but it still packed quite a punch.

    Alpha dropped to the floor as he went unconscious once more. The unexpected slap came in a blink of an eye. His dagger was far from reaching Jason. Unknown to him, Jason didn¡¯t even bother guarding himself as rather than blocking, he countered it right back, delivering justice to the evil.

    ¡°Ah¡­ I went overboard again.¡±

    He kicked Alpha a bit to see if he was unconscious or not, but it seemed he had more to do.

    ¡°Ugh, didn¡¯t know doing interrogation would be this hard.¡±

    Before dunking him back into the bucket, he tied up Alpha from top to bottom. It would be a hindrance if Alpha started acting up again.

    ¡°Gasp!¡± Alpha took a deep breath as memories came rushing back.

    Alpha stared at the man standing before him. He was breathing heavily as his glare was alive. Both his hands and feet were restrained, and there was no way out for him, for now.

    Jason looked down at the middle-aged man that was responsible for causing that explosion he was in. Deep down, he was itching to kill him but the man behind the orders was more important.

    ¡°Who is it? Who gives the order?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Neil Stinson,¡± said Alpha as he spitted at Jason.

    ¡°That was fast,¡± said Jason as a smile hung on his face.

    He squatted down to Alpha as his hands reached out to him. Alpha watched with a stoic face. But then.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± he clenched his lips, not letting his scream from coming out. A pulsating pain was coming from his broken finger.

    ¡°Oh, as expected,¡± said Jason. He stared at this steadfast man of war. Seeing him taking the pain without much difficulty was rather frustrating.

    ¡°Fuck you slit-eye,¡± said Alpha.

    ¡°Wow, a racial slur? That¡¯s your best shot?¡± said Jason. ¡°You should think about a better one.¡±

    Alpha''s heavy breathing was even flaring up his nostrils. He stared at Jason as he guessed what he was about to do.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to beat me up?¡± asked Alpha.

    ¡°Beat? Well, something like that,¡± said Jason as a sword emerged in his hand. The shining gleam of the blade caught Alpha¡¯s interest.

    Before he could stare at it longer, Jason was quick in his action. The blade was gone from Alpha¡¯s sight as pain erupted.

    Alpha looked down as half of the sword was inside of him. Blood seeped out from that wound, drenching the blade in crimson blood.

    ¡°Argh!!!¡± Alpha¡¯s scream echoed within the metal container. But it didn¡¯t stop there. Jason twisted the hilt of his sword as the blade turned, inflicting more pain.

    ¡°Argh!!!¡±

    Ah, music to my ears. Now I know why the bad cop felt good beating up the criminal. Wait, is my energy point enough for him?

    He took a quick look, and two points were left for this black-clad bastard.

    ¡°You better tell me the truth or it¡¯s going to be a long night,¡± said Jason.

    Alpha¡¯s voice echoed as a remnant of his voice reached the bridge.

    ¡°Is that a scream?¡± Tapeesa asked.

    ¡°Pay no heed Tapeesa, we¡¯ve got work to do,¡± said Arrluk as his eyes narrowed at the front end of the freighter.

    **

    The freighter started to move as it sailed further away from Oshawa City. Jason came out of the metal container as he wiped his bloody hands.

    ¡°He¡¯s a tough nut,¡± said Jason.

    He took pleasure over the pain inflicted at Alpha, but the feeling didn¡¯t last long. He felt more disgusted after some time, but he persisted as his goal was for some names. He heard Neil Stinson from the beginning, he trusted him a bit, but that didn¡¯t mean Neil was trustworthy.

    Neil might be a decoy at the very beginning, but he might also be the one who was behind it. Well, who cares. At least I¡¯ve got a few people that need a personal visit.

    While he was deep in thought, the speaker of the freighter sounded.

    ¡°Look up, they¡¯ve launched the missiles,¡± it was Tapeesa¡¯s voice.

    Jason put the kill list aside as he looked up. Thanked to his night vision, he saw it clear as day as missiles were raining on Oshawa City. He smiled as he too felt curious a bit of whether it would work or not.

    He waited, standing at the front mast staring at the direction of the city. A few minutes had passed, yet nothing had happened.

    A dud?

    But then it happened. The freighter started to rock side to side. Jason made his stance wider as he fought against the imbalance.

    It¡¯s happening.

    With the aid of his monocle, buildings on Oshawa¡¯s land were getting demolished as it crumbled from the quaking earth. More and more tall buildings were falling, crumbling by the massive localized earthquake. Yet it wasn¡¯t only the earth. The freighter speaker blared with a warning.

    ¡°Huge wave from starboard!¡±

    The warning from Tapeesa made him turned his head to the side. The calm water of Lake Ontario was finally baring its unseen fangs. A historic event for Ontario as a tsunami emerged. Jason stared at the high wave as he let out a grin.

    I guess Esther was right.

 Chapter 144

    The freighter rocked towards starboard as the huge wave sucked them in. Jason leaped and grabbed a pole, hanging by a single hand.

    ¡°Hang on Jason,¡± said Tapeesa through the speaker.

    Arrluk manned the freighter as he throttled it up. The propeller spun hard, pushing the freighter forward. It fought hard against the strong pull of the waves, and it made it.

    Parting apart the lake, the freighter sailed through the rough lake as it escaped the claws of the high waves. But the freighter didn¡¯t escape untarnished. The tsunami went crashing as it roared like thunder and explosions. A small part of the wave struck the front mast as it shook the freighter hard. Freshwater drenched the topside as Jason took the full brunt of it.

    Not how I¡¯m expecting of a boat ride.

    ¡°Puih,¡± he spitted out the freshwater as he kept his grip tight.

    The freighter glided through the lake as it slowly spun around, losing control. Jason stood up with his clothes drenched. But a couple of sounds alerted him. He heard thumping noises on the deck, prompting him to look around.

    Jason smiled. A bunch of two-legged amphibians came down for a visit. They were like fish but bigger and walking on two legs that seemed like muscular-looking fins.

    ¡°Fish people. Ugly motherfuckers,¡± said Jason as a sword appeared in his hand.

    But the fishmen kept coming, jumping on board as they surrounded Jason at every angle. Jason used Scan as their status came up.

    Merrlok

    A creature of the water, living in the depth of the seas and lakes. Known to attack sailors and wandering ships that trespass their territory.

    Species: Depth Crawler

    Level : 27

    S.Ability : Aqua-Battle

    ¡°They stink like fish, and I hate fish.¡±

    The merrloks came rushing at him while some jumped and leaped, baring their barnacle-like spears at the lone human. A one against many and the future looked bleak as Jason was vulnerable and without any energy points.

    He slashed one down, chopping its fish head but another came tackling him down to the deck.

    Shit.

    Spears rushed at him as he smacked the one who tackled him and pushed it to use as a shield. Spears pierced through the innocent merrlok as these fishmen didn¡¯t hold back. Jason got up on his feet and leaped away on top of a container.

    More merrloks came leaping up alongside him as he stabbed one of them right in the head as it landed on the container. He kicked it away as the merrlok fell onto the deck as he confronted the others on the container. Another sword emerged as both hands gripped on the hilts of the swords.

    He parried those spears and struck them as a counter. Some wounded while some turned out dead. But Jason didn¡¯t come out unscathed. Flesh wounds riddled his body as pain erupted from every inch of his body.

    It had been a while since he felt real pain and it happened to made him remembered the days he spent battling for his life in New York. He went through worst and this wasn¡¯t close to reaching it.

    ¡°Die!¡± he stabbed another merrlok as his other sword chopped of the oversized fish head. A bloody battle ensued on top of the container as Jason at least minimized the number of contenders he fought.

    He spun as his blades sliced a massive wound on the merrlok. Blood spurted out from the merrlok as it retreated in horror after seeing its own blood.

    They¡¯re too many.

    Jason took down a couple of more merrloks as he jumped to a higher metal container, fleeing further away from the army of merrlok. He landed on top of the highest container on deck as he looked down as more and more merrloks came swooping out from the lake, infesting the deck of the freighter.

    Yet something worst was about to happen. A loud rumbling crack echoed in his ears as he faced the direction of Oshawa. His eyes went wide as he saw pillars of earth spiking from underneath the ground.

    What the hell is going on there?

    The result of the missile launch was still unknown to Jason except for the huge tidal waves that had swept the lands of Oshawa. But as he stared in a daze, the corner of his eyes caught something a bit too late.

    He took a step back as something flew right beside his face. He touched it with his hand and found his face bleeding, a cut from a flying spear.

    Damn walking fish.

    More barnacle-like spears were thrown at him as he dodged in every second, yet a shadow loomed over him as he turned and saw a figure of a merrlok aiming its spear right at him. His swords readied for the unexpected opponent, yet he saw the gleaming shine of something small.

    A fishhook?

    The fishhook snagged the merrlok right at the corner of its big wide mouth as a powerful tug pulled it away in mid-air. Jason turned and saw Arrluk reeling in his catch of the day.

    ¡°Cut it!¡± said Arrluk.

    Nuniq jumped in the air as his whole body suffused with the silhouette of a bear. His energy like claws scratched at the incoming merrlok, blood was spilled as Nuniq, and the merrlok went falling down onto the deck. Nuniq stabbed the heck out of the merrlok with its claw until it finally died.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Tapeesa shouted.

    Jason turned and blocked the incoming spear. It was a close call as another merrlok stepped on this metal container. Jason stabbed it right in the head and cut down the arms that held the spear.

    Jason held the spear up high as he aimed at a jumping merrlok. He spun his whole body and threw it like Achilles in Troy. The spear went right through the merrlok in the torso dragging it along until it spiked on the deck.

    He turned his attention back to Arrluk and his grandchildren. Again, he saw the fighting capability of a fisherman. Arrluk cast his fish hook and caught one of the numerous merrlok on deck. He reeled it in and then flung it like a spike-end of a ball-and-chain flail. The merrlok was used as a weapon to its own kin. It struck other merrlok down by the force of its body.

    A makeshift long-range weapon, that¡¯s pretty neat.

    Jason got to hand it to the old man. He was skeptical at first about the fisherman''s job, but seeing in action opened his eyes to interesting things.

    ¡°Jason,¡± he turned and saw Tapeesa climbing up the metal container that he stood on.

    ¡°Why you¡¯re here?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Back up. Grandpa said you looked like you need help,¡± said Tapeesa.

    He glanced at the old man who was swinging that oversized rod like a madman. The crazed look in his eyes showed that the gentleness of the old man was put aside during battle.

    ¡°Your grandfather is pretty good,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°He can¡¯t help it when it involves fish and his fishing rod. He¡¯s too much into fishing over the last couple of years,¡± said Tapeesa as she sighed a bit.

    Jason looked at her and noticed her nonchalant attitude, even when during the invasion of merrlok. To be fair, these fishmens were stronger than the orcs, except their defenses were pretty weak compared to the thick fat ability of those pigs.

    ¡°You do know that these merrloks are stronger than the orcs,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°I know,¡± she said. ¡° But we have grandpa. As long as they are fishes, it won¡¯t be a problem for grandpa.¡±

    The confidence of a grandchild, looking up to a strong figure in the family.

    He¡¯s lower level than me, but according to Tapeesa, this old dude must have some unique trait that involved fighting fishes. I wonder what it is?

    Another merrlok came, and Jason dispatched easily with a one-two pierced of his swords.

    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really strong,¡± said Tapeesa as she noticed how cleanly Jason handled the merrlok. Even she and Nuniq needed a couple more hits to take down a single merrlok.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to help or not?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Ah, yes. You¡¯re right,¡± a boomerang-shaped energy manifested in Tapeesa¡¯s hand. She winded it up and threw it. The boomerang hit and dragged these merrloks until it disappeared after a few more seconds.

    ¡°Hmm, my boomerang is still too weak,¡± said Tapeesa. She was frustrated over her lack of power. She dodged a few spears flying at her and threw more and more energy boomerangs at the merrloks.

    It was an all-out battle on top of a freighter as four people were going up against an unknown amount of merrfolk.

    Arrluk fought from on top of a metal container, flinging the corpse of a dead merrlok on the hook. It smacked the merrlok with the strong momentum of his swing to the point of disintegrating the corpse merrlok into nothing but a fish head.

    ¡°Wah!¡± a battle cry of an old man as he leaped into the fray of merrloks as he didn¡¯t fear any of these depth dwellers.

    His rod was swung hard as it bent by the powerful force, and smacked a whole lot of merrloks at the same time. It was his other skill as a fisherman, the Rod Bash. He plowed through enemy lines. His swings sent back some of them into the waters while some into the netherworld.

    Nuniq joined the grandfather, protecting Arrluk¡¯s back as he swung those bear claws at the merrloks. On top of the highest metal container, Jason killed more and more merrlok while he kept his eyes on the scene of an old man wreaking havoc at these stinky fish people.

    A smile lurched on his face as he couldn¡¯t help but saw the old man as a great vanguard.

    Fisherman, huh? That¡¯s a scary job. I think I should have picked a rather normal one if I knew it would be like this.

    ¡°Jason, behind you!¡± Tapeesa warned.

    Jason turned and swung. A merrlok cut apart in three parts as if serving into a raw plate of sashimi. Tapeesa was love-struck, seeing how badass this man in action. A girl¡¯s crush, one would say.

    Jason looked around. He saw the numbers weren¡¯t going down as if the numbers remained static with more and more popping out of the water of the lake. Yet as he peered to the side. He saw the twinkling eyes of a teenage girl staring at him.

    What¡¯s wrong with her? We¡¯re in a battle for crying out loud, can¡¯t she get her head into the game or something. Wait, doesn¡¯t she have some kind of other ability?

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to use that other ability you have?¡± Jason asked.

    The twinkling eyes vanished as she turned over to the view of numerous merrlok. There was hesitation in her eyes, and Jason wondered why?

    ¡°I can, but I need you to get as far as possible from me,¡± said Tapeesa.

    Shit, does she have some kind of amazing ability or something? Damn it, why can¡¯t I be this lucky? Can¡¯t whatever random number generator side with me for once?

    He kept his cool on the outside, but the inside was cursing his lackluster luck.

    ¡°And tell grandpa I¡¯m using it,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°You sure about this?¡± Jason asked.

    Tapeesa nodded as she said.

    ¡°Ice Figure.¡±

    A cool breeze surrounded her as her whole figure turned into ice.

    ¡°Damn,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Go,¡± Tapeesa said, and Jason went off.

    He jumped over to one of the merrlok and killed it swiftly. He met eyes with Arrluk.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Tapeesa?¡± Arrluk asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s using it,¡± Jason replied.

    Arrluk¡¯s eyes narrowed down.

    ¡°We retreat back to the bridge,¡± said Arrluk.

    ¡°But grandpa, I¡¯m still fighting here,¡± Nuniq fended off more merrlok as his claws went raging mad.

    ¡°We can¡¯t, or else we¡¯ll be hit by Tapeesa¡¯s ability,¡± said Arrluk.

    The three retreated while killing any merrlok that stood on their path. They reached the safety of the bridge after a couple of tussled with merrloks. Nuniq guarded the only door as he killed any merrlok that dared to try to get into the bridge. Meanwhile, Jason stared at the ice figure of Tapeesa. She stood there on top of the metal container as spears were deflected by her Ice Barrier.

    He waited with Arrluk as both of them looked at the teenage girl clad in ice.

    Tapeesa raised up her hand in the air as a bundle of frozen energy coalesced on her two open palms. Then she said.

    ¡°Blooming Ice Dust.¡±

 Chapter 145

    A scene straight from the ice age, Jason watched with trembling eyes. The magnitude of Tapeesa¡¯s skill was unlike he had ever seen.

    Too OP.

    Half of the freighter encased in ice as the area of effect of the skill even reached a small part of the lake. A few surviving merrloks retreated as they jumped into the water, fleeing away after seeing the devastation caused by a single girl.

    He kept his eyes at the lone girl on the container, and she saw her collapsing on the metal container as she returned to normal.

    ¡°We have to hurry,¡± said Arrluk.

    Nuniq was a step ahead. He kicked down the door as battled against what left of the merrloks.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Jason had to ask.

    ¡°She only freezes and not kill,¡± Arrluk said. His words were enough for Jason to understood.

    Jason narrowed his eyes as he followed the trail of these two. Arrluk came bashing the frozen merrloks as it shattered with merely a slight force. The long rod was the perfect weapon in killing multiple enemies at the same time.

    Nuniq was the same. The wide grin showed he was excited over the easy kill as he went wild like a madden juvenile beast. Jason, on the other hand, stood there and stared at the frozen fish people. He scanned up and down at the frozen creature as the immobile effect of her skill was beyond convenient.

    A big mace emerged in his hand as he joined in the fun and shattered the merrloks. A blunt weapon was better than a sword for a job like this.

    I guess her ability isn¡¯t that severely OP, and seeing how she collapsed on the container, I think her AOE freeze ability is a one-time kind of thing.

    The trio continued smashing every frozen merrloks until nothing was left on the deck.

    ¡°Is it done on your side?¡± Arrluk asked.

    Jason nodded.

    ¡°What about your granddaughter?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± said Nuniq. ¡°She does it all the time, and she always collapses afterward.¡±

    The brother spoke with a nonchalance attitude that made Jason wondered whether he was a brother like him to Esther. The three went on top of the container as they saw Tapeesa lay there unconscious.

    ¡°Nuniq, carry your sister to the cabin,¡± said Arrluk.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you do it, grandpa? I just reach level twenty. I need time to think about my job choices,¡± said Nuniq as he revealed his first opportunity in becoming stronger.

    ¡°Stop being smug and do it,¡± said Arrluk.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Nuniq obeyed and carried his sister away.

    Then they were two.

    ¡°So. How long does the freeze last?¡± Jason had to ask after noticing the long period of the merrloks being encased in ice. It lasted more than ten seconds, and that was enough to amaze him. Even his only disable-type of skill only lasted a fraction of a second.

    ¡°Ten minutes,¡± said Arrluk.

    The answer alone made his jaw dropped. A ten minute disable was the epitome of a disable-type skill, despite it was a one-time use.

    ¡°But it has its drawback,¡± said Jason as he deep in his thought.

    ¡°When are you going to leave?¡± Arrluk didn¡¯t mind a guest, but a person related to the military made him caution even when the person himself proclaimed that he was merely a mercenary.

    Jason met eyes with Arrluk for a while as he smirked.

    ¡°I need sleep,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m too tired after all the swinging and killing. I¡¯m gonna crash one of your empty cabin.¡±

    Jason left Arrluk alone as he headed to a cabin.

    You¡¯re not going to get rid of me that easily.

    Arrluk was left alone as he stared at the back of the leaving Jason. He let out a sigh as he turned to Oshawa with his eyes narrowed down. The sight of those spiking earth and emerging tectonic plates made the old-timer worried about the unknown future.

    ¡°A bad feeling,¡± Arrluk said as he shook his head.

    The water of the lake was calm as per usual, unlike the raging wave from before. But despite the calmness that returned, the fate of Oshawa City was still unknown.

    Morning came, and Jason got out to the deck breathing in the fresh air of the late morning. He checked on his status as his energy points returned to full after a good night''s sleep.

    People are starting to catch up, and some are stronger than I expected. Better get my game face on and see if I can level up for today. On second thought, should I focus on one attribute for a while? My offense kind of dwindling down a bit after going through the balanced route.

    He stretched his whole body readied for another day. There was nothing better than a good warm-up before venturing out into the wilderness.

    It¡¯s that pig leader. It kind of bothers me of how I can¡¯t do a thing during last night''s fight. Well, it couldn¡¯t be call fair since I did fight against a whole horde of them alongside that big-ass pig leader. I wonder if it¡¯s still alive after the tsunami and whatever artificial disaster that those missiles caused.

    Jason took a few steps as he prepared for another feat of running on water. Deep down, he couldn¡¯t help but felt excited doing it again.

    ¡°Jason!¡± a voice called out to him, stopping him from making a run.

    Tapeesa ran with her hands, swaying side to side as she reached Jason before it was too late. She panted mildly for her breath as she spurted down after noticing Jason¡¯s cabin was empty.

    ¡°Are you leaving?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yea,¡± he said.

    ¡°You¡¯re not joining us for breakfast? Me and Nuniq got some pancake mix during our last scavenge hut. We thought it would be nice to have some with our natural honey,¡± said Tapeesa.

    That sounds pretty delicious. Should I stay?

    Grrr¡­

    The grumbling of his stomach echoed as both Jason and Tapeesa heard it.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s a yes?¡± she smiled.

    My stomach really knows when to make an entrance, might as well feast before a fight.

    ¡°Fine. But you need to keep your grandfather off my back. His stare starts to bug me,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Okay,¡± her smile turned wider as the duo headed towards the canteen.

 Chapter 146

    Black Arrow Bear

    A predator that lives within the thick coniferous forest. It eats those who are weaker as it rules the forest floor. The prominent whitish arrow mark on its forehead is the reason for its name. Yet it cowers upon a stronger being.

    Species: Mammal

    Level : 35

    S.Ability : Thick Fur.

 Chapter 147

    Jason brandished his wind clad sword and tore the Black Arrow Bear apart. He heightened his speed as he ran around the bear, sending slash wounds all over it. The bear retaliated, but it was all for naught. Every time it swung its huge paw, it missed by a hair-breadth. Jason was like a slippery eel as it only fueled the rage of the Black Arrow Bear.

    ¡°Should we help him?¡± Tapeesa asked.

    ¡°I ain¡¯t helping,¡± said Nuniq.

    ¡°Stay vigilant children. There might not be only one,¡± said Arrluk as his eyes scattered over the silent woods.

    The fight of the bear and the man wasn¡¯t as silent as the woods. The noises and roars of the bear acted like a beacon. A beacon, that no one liked at the moment.

    Jason somersaulted in the sky and landed away from the bear. He eyed at the bleeding bear as his sword did its deed perfectly. The black fur of the bear hid the bloody state of its body, yet its guttural growl didn¡¯t die down. It stared at the man who escaped without even the slightest injury on him, and the bear didn¡¯t like it.

    Its gaze was fixed at the man holding a sword while the three humans at the back were left ignored. The bear knew this man was a threat, and unlike its told personality of being a coward, this one was pretty different in a way.

    The Black Arrow Bear charged once more. Its speed was horrendous, hindered by the rare-grade sword stuck on the lower part of its body. Yet the bear wasn¡¯t giving up. It had been a long time since he had tasted the meat of man.

    ¡°Feisty,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Lightning Fury.¡± Three balls of lightning emerged, circling around Jason. He could hear the sparking sound of the electrical current in these lightning balls.

    Bzzt¡­

    Bzzt¡­

    He swung his arm like throwing a fastball right at the bear. The lightning balls reacted, speeding like a bullet, flashing right at the bear, giving it a numbing zap. Its movement halted, and Jason was there. Right in front of it as he stabbed the bear right at the heart. He pushed it in further, making sure he hit the spot. A slight pause that gave a tremendous advantage to the shadow speedster.

    His sword was removed from the bear as blood spilled out like a dam being broken. Jason rushed away as a paw came swinging hard, exploding the sands into the air. It would have been easier if he just disappeared and strike the bear right at the head. But it was pointless as he was there to honed his sword skill.

    ¡°Not fast enough,¡± said Jason as he saw a small chunk of his energy guard wiped away. The claw of the bear nicked a part of him. His attempt in striking as well as retrieving, didn¡¯t work out so well.

    The rare-grade sword still stuck in the bear, but the condition of the bear was reaching the point of no return. Blood was gushing out of the wound at the heart as the bear made another rush at Jason. It ignored the instinct to survive like any normal animal would. Rather, it went all-in for the last strike hoping to give the same thing to the one who stabbed it.

    Jason leaped away as he floated in the air. The Black Arrow Bear lunged as its huge jaw opened wide, reaching out to Jason. The menacing jaw of the bear inched closer as it snapped.

    Nothing. An empty bite as the bear dropped onto the lakeshore with its heavy weight. It slumped on the sands as it saw Jason landed a bit far from where it was. Once more, he escaped unscathed. The bear was losing energy, as blood kept on coming out, pooling underneath its weaken body. For a beast, it didn¡¯t know how Jason managed to do it. But in the eyes of three people, they saw it.

    ¡°Did he moves in mid-air?¡± said Nuniq with his eyes wide open. Surprise was an understatement. The feat done by this man was unbelievable. First, running on water and now this, moving in mid-air as if they were propellers on his feet.

    ¡°He kicked it,¡± said Tapeesa. She watched Jason¡¯s movement closely as she was confident that Jason put a lot of points to his agility. She was at awed at him like always, but it wasn¡¯t just infatuation. Among the three, she was the most agility built, and seeing Jason fought like that only made her inspired in doing the same thing.

    But unlike what she thought, Jason used Wind Clad and focused on his feet. He made it as if he was kicking a platform, and he did it. Although he could survive the bite, yet he had outdone himself. He found another trick to be of use, and he was damn sure he was going to use it in the future.

    Jason walked and stood in front of the dying Black Arrow Bear.

    ¡°You almost got me,¡± said Jason. He plunged his sword right at the arrow mark on its head as he put it out of its misery.

    The bear died as it laid there unmoving. Jason retrieved his rare-grade sword and kept it back inside his inventory necklace. While he looked at the dead bear in its entirety, the three people who watched from afar came to his side.

    ¡°How did you do it?¡± Nuniq asked. Even if he was jealous due to Jason¡¯s strength, his curiosity got the better of him.

    ¡°You think he¡¯s going to tell you? Of course, it¡¯s all because of agility, even with agility, one can be stronger than a muscle head like you who dumped everything to strength,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°Mr.Park, I thin we better go. More will come as the scent of death and blood are strong,¡± said Arrluk as his eyes couldn¡¯t stop watching the trees.

    Jason nodded but not before taking along the two paws of the Black Arrow Bear. He wished he could take all the carcass along, but the lack of space was the problem. The four people group ran along the lakeshore as they were coming closer to the edge of Oshawa City.

    Tapeesa, who ran side by side with Jason was full of questions. She was in a constant state of asking herself, whether it was appropriate to ask or not. But she took a leap forward.

    ¡°How did you make things disappeared? Is that a skill of yours?¡± Tapeesa asked. She saw him taking out things like it was magic as if he got a huge pocket hiding inside his clothes or somewhere.

    Jason glanced at Tapeesa for a brief second. He could straight up tell he,r but a precious thing like his dog-tag necklace was a big deal, more so in a situation like this. In the future, there might be a surplus of things like his necklace. But for now, it was better to keep it as a secret.

    ¡°A skill,¡± he said. A lie right in the face, but a reasonable one.

    ¡°Wow. You really got a lot of skills,¡± said Tapeesa. ¡°I think the number of your skills must be higher than gramps.¡±

    He nodded as he didn¡¯t say a word. It could be interpreted as agreeing or maybe not.

    ¡°But I got a question in mind. Why did you take the paws?¡± she asked. This particular topic wasn¡¯t as a big deal as the storage item.

    ¡°It¡¯s for making things, stronger monsters have stronger materials. You can make things, like weapons or leather armors. I bet your grandfather knows a thing or two things about these kinds of things,¡± said Jason.

    It was a no-brainer. Sooner or later, people would realize the importance of a monster carcass. Jason bet that in the future, these dead monsters would be more valuable than money itself. It wouldn¡¯t be bad if him sharing this information might turn one of the three into some prominent smith or leather specialist.

    With no market for these kinds of things at the moment, giving a good push to them might bring out the artistic nature in them.

    ¡°Oh. So the things you are wearing? Is it from a monster?¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°Nah. This is just normal leather. But with those paws, I might be able to make something worthwhile,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Tapeesa said, deep in her thought.

    ¡°To tell you the truth, grandpa isn¡¯t that good in what you think he¡¯s good at. He just likes fishing and more fishing,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°I see.¡± Jason ended there as his sight saw the aftermath of a tsunami.

    The four people reached the pier, which once been used by Jason and the siblings. Yet, there was no sight of any buildings that were once stood there. What left were just rubble and a scene of destruction. They were even pieces of ships and boats laying there on the ground, far away from the closest body of water.

    ¡°This is nuts,¡± said Nuniq as he couldn¡¯t hide his surprise.

    The destruction of a tsunami was nothing to scoff about. Jason looked around, searching for any presence of orcs or any monsters.

    ¡°Keep your eyes open,¡± said Arrluk.

    The four people walked around the devastated pier as they stayed vigilant at every moment.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head to the main road,¡± said Jason, determining the status of the orcs was of the utmost importance for Jason. He wanted to know whether earth calamities were on their side or not. They left Oshawa Harbour and made way to the main road.

    They were in Farewell as they journeyed on the road. Yet all of them were stupefied. Their sight didn¡¯t betray them as it showed the current state of Oshawa.

    ¡°Geez,¡± Nuniq exclaimed, seeing a huge spiking hill piercing over a parking lot with some shop lots still intact. It seemed the big waves didn¡¯t reach the spiking hill that penetrated over the earth''s surface.

    It was unlike the place that Nuniq had visited during his days of scavenging for foods and resources. The road that was supposed to be there wasn¡¯t in sight as all manner of things scattered around haphazardly.

    ¡°This definitely looks post-apocalyptic,¡± said Tapeesa.

    Jason led at the front while Arrluk guarded at the back. They went further towards Central Oshawa. At times, they hiked a steep hill. While at another time, they climbed up against a vertical slant. But rather than calling it a slant, it was more to a section of the earth lifted upwards over another section. But they were having it easy, not as hard as it was supposed to. It was one of those things that Jason was grateful for during this progressing invasion from another dimension. If he had stayed weak like before, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to go through such obstacles.

    Jason climbed up over a part of a roof of a broken building. Yet the moment he did reached the top, his words escaped his lips.

    ¡°Stop.¡±

    The rest who were trying to climb up stopped whatever they were doing. Jason jumped back down as his feet touched the ground. It was only at the height of two floors, so it was bearable for Jason. The rest followed suit and Tapeesa couldn¡¯t stop the urge to ask.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? What did you see?¡±

    Jason shook his head side to side as if trying to deny the things that he just saw. But someone else spoke on his behalf.

    ¡°It¡¯s the orcs, isn¡¯t it? They¡¯re still alive,¡± said Arrluk as he too didn¡¯t have a good expression on his face.

    ¡°But that can¡¯t be. The tsunami and the earthquakes, they couldn¡¯t have survived,¡± said Tapeesa.

    ¡°No,¡± Jason said as he looked into her eyes.

    ¡°They¡¯re alive.¡±

 Chapter 148

Jason¡¯s level increased to level 29

 Chapter 149

Intermediate Swordsmanship level up to level 6

 Chapter 150

    Muzgonk Blackclub (Named)

    The best of the warrior of orcs, the Orc Chieftain that commanded its orc legion, ravaging everything in their path. Muzgonk, a vile orc that favored to watch its enemies to suffer until their dying breath. It once laid waste to a battalion of adventurers and came out on top while gnawing on its enemies bone.

    Species: Humanoid(Orc)

    Level : 35

    S.Ability : Foul Smelly Odour, Extra Thick Fat, Enhance Strength, Blunt Throw, ????? ????.

 Chapter 151

No content

 Chapter 152

No content

 Chapter 153

    A car was thrown like a hurling fastball, gunning at the two newcomers. Yet three streaks of lightning zapped in the air and clashed right at the flying car. Lightning Fury struck the car, and halt its advance. Another three streaks came out of nowhere, striking the car within a one-second interval. Then spark flied. The combination of flammable fluid and spark of electricity was a bad match.

    BOOM!

    The car exploded in mid-air as onlookers searched for those two who were close to the explosion. The Inuit family couldn¡¯t find them, but within the cloud of smokes, Jason and two others were lying down on the ground. Jason scanned his two allies, and seeing their energy guards were still intact, drew a sigh of relief.

    He grabbed both Esther and Hakeen as the green energy filled up their energy guards. Jason stood back on the ground as he grabbed these two by the back of their clothes. Luckily, he managed to grab these two before the car exploded. He used his Lightning Fury for the sole reason of halting the car, but he forgot that it might be the start of an explosion.

    Okay, I made a stupid decision. Better not freaking doing it again. Who could blame me right? I¡¯m just doing what¡¯s best in saving these two numbskulls that appeared out of nowhere. To be frank, these two are more of an idiot than me.

    He complained about these two while escaping the cloud of smoke. The man holding two people emerged into the sunlight as he flung these two away at a distance. A precautionary step as he searched back for Muzgonk. He didn¡¯t know why, but he had a bad feeling that something was chasing him.

    Shit!

    And he was right. Muzgonk emerged right in front of him, passing through the smokes, flaunting its fat muscular figure. The most attention-seeking part of its body was none other than the protruding eight pack abs. Muzgonk glared at Jason with its reddish eyes, staring down at the only person who managed to made it bleed.

    ¡°For a fat dude, you run pretty fast,¡± an awkward smile as he stared at this named monster. The ground cracked as Muzgonk leaped into the air. In a single leap, the Orc Chieftain reached Jason with its fist clenched tight.

    Jason saw it coming and jumped away. Muzgonk dropped a second later, crashing into the ground, cracking the earth that he landed. But it didn¡¯t end there. Muzgonk grabbed a chunk of flying earth, and threw at the fleeing Jason.

    Fuck. A fistful of earth came flying like a bullet. Jason pumped up his Wind Clad to his feet and jumped to the side. But he was too late. He was fast but not within this distance, to block a speeding chunk of earth.

    The chunk nicked Jason by the corner, and it was enough to push him to another trajectory. He flung away and rolled on the ground as a green glow engulfed him. He got up immediately as he set his sight back in the direction of Muzgonk. But his eyes quivered. Where the fuck did that pig go?

    As if drawn to the sky, he looked up and saw that hateful shade of dark green. It really likes jumping around.

    Jason was done fleeing as three crackling lightning manifested around him. With a swing of his hand, the Lightning Fury went flying. I¡¯m not done yet. More and more flashes of lightning emerged, striking at the Orc Chieftain like homing missiles.

    Jason was not sparing any of his energy as he spammed that skill.

    Lightning Fury level up to level 2

    The Orc Chieftain stagnated in the air, but the glint in its eyes was not the sign of giving up. It stared down at the man who kept throwing these annoying taser-like spell. These sparkly things barely did a dent at its thick skin, fat, and muscle, yet it was able to hold it down. The burning rage inside its orc¡¯s heart flamed like a beacon.

    It struggled to break away from the stun effect, fighting against it with sheer will. From the deep bellow of its throat, intense heat was rising. A faint sign of smoke escaped through its mouth and nose, and Jason saw it. The heck? His curiosity was answered in a split second.

    The Orc Chieftain fought its way out and opened its jaw wide. A reddish-orange hue emerged from the deep darkness of its throat as Muzgonk spitted out a wave of flames. The flames went down, filling up the sky between Muzgonk and Jason.

    Fuck! Jason fled without hesitation. The flames came down and swept through the ground as if they were chasing the fleeing Jason.

    Muzgonk dropped on the ground, succeeding in escaping the continuous stun. Yet its mouth didn¡¯t close as it continued spewing flame fueled by its hatred towards the man. It was like a wildfire burning everything within its path. There was no sign of Muzgonk stopping its intent of burning everything. But then.

    ¡°Frost Orb!¡± a meek voice from afar. A glowing light blue struck Muzgonk from the back. But it was useless. The intense heat of its body nullified the cold element of Tapeesa¡¯s skill. Muzgonk didn¡¯t stop firing, yet its eyes glanced to the side, searching for the good for nothing human that dared attack it.

    It saw Tapeesa, who was running around and shooting more of her skill, and Muzgonk made its move. A slight turn of its head and flames scattered on the ground. Tapeesa saw the incoming heat as she turned and fled. Nuniq, who was by her side, followed along escaping the incoming flames.

    Arrluk, at the other end, saw his fleeing grandchildren, and his paternal instinct kicked in. He swung his rod, and the hook went flying. The reel screeched as the speed of the hook reached the neck of the Orc Chieftain within seconds. A few twists and turns of Arrluk¡¯s rod and the hook snugged right at Muzgonk¡¯s neck.

    The old man pulled with everything that he got, trying to change the course of the wave of flames. Yet it was futile. The Orc Chieftain wouldn¡¯t budge, and seconds later, the line snapped. The intense heat surrounding the Orc Chieftain was too intense that even the factory-made line couldn¡¯t withstand it.

    ¡°No!¡± Arrluk uttered. The old man broke into a run, heading towards his grandchildren. Regret was seeping in as the enemy this time was beyond measure. He thought it would be a comeback win, but he was proven wrong as even Jason couldn¡¯t do a thing.

    Meanwhile, Hakeem and Esther woke up as they saw the scene of burning grounds and the orc that caused it. ¡°The hell is going on here?¡± Hakeem asked. His eyes quivered in disbelief, and he wasn¡¯t alone. Esther was too shock as she was rendered speechless. Then the thought of her brother flashed by.

    ¡°Jason!¡± she searched for Jason, yet there was nothing but a sea of flames. They came to help, but it looked like they were burdens rather than a helping hand. The pure intention could be fatal if there was nothing to back it up. That was the situation both Hakeem and Esther were in.

    On top of high ground, Jason sat there staring at the Orc Chieftain while hiding within his Shadow Sneak. ¡°Flame Wave? A tacky name, but it¡¯s freaking powerful. How the hell am I going to win this?¡±

    The Orc Chieftain spread out its flames as it continued to burn everything from every angle. He was like a walking flamethrower, spewing flames with the visage of a dragon. Five minutes went by, and then it ended. The Orc Chieftain stood there with its head while smokes rising up from its nose and mouth. It finally ended, and it looked Muzgonk ran out of juice. It dropped to its knees and stayed silent without moving and saying anything. Yet its action instilled fear in those who witnessed the sea of flames.

    The Inuit family were far away while Hakeem and Esther stood at the same spot, taking safety on the high ground.

    ¡°Hakeem,¡± Esther said.

    ¡°Yea,¡± he replied.

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to fight back,¡± a voice not of Hakeem entered their ears.

    ¡°Jason!¡± Hakeem dropped on his butt to the ground as Jason appeared out of nowhere.

    ¡°You¡¯re alive!¡± Esther went for a hug, and Jason blocked it without hesitation.

    ¡°There¡¯s no time for that, I think this is our chance,¡± Jason said, staring at the immobile Muzgonk.

    ¡°You sure about that? What if that orc spit out those flames again?¡± Hakeem asked while dusting off his bum.

    ¡°I¡¯m not. But we don¡¯t have a choice, do we? Imagine that thing arriving at Oshawa,¡± Jason reminded them of the possible future.

    Esther and Hakeem imagined the unthinkable sight of their homes being burnt to the ground.

    ¡°What do you propose we do?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°First thing first, we got to group up with the Arrluk¡¯s family. Like I said before, I need all the help I can get.¡±

 Chapter 154

    Three people were running. They ran without looking back even once. The flames that chased them were no longer there, yet they still ran, knowing the danger still lived. ¡°Stop.¡± Jason appeared out of nowhere. Tapeesa retreated out of reflex, while the other two swung their weapons without hesitation.

    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Jason somersaulted in the air dodging the mad swings of Arrluk and Nuniq. Both grandfather and grandson stared with wide eyes at their one and only ally.

    ¡°You¡¯re still alive!¡± Tapeesa barged in between Arrluk and Nuniq and jumped at Jason for a hug. Jason sidestepped as Tapeesa dropped on the ground.

    ¡°I need your help,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Are you crazy? That pig almost killed us,¡± Nuniq bellowed at him. They were running with their tails between their legs, and this man had the audacity to go against Muzgonk once more.

    ¡°Relax, we can do this,¡± said Jason. His tone betrayed his words. It didn¡¯t actually instill the kind of motivation that a hero would do in a time of great peril.

    ¡°Relax? Didn¡¯t you see that pig spitting out fire like a freaking flamethrower?¡± Nuniq spitted words, exerting his opinion.

    ¡°Nuniq is right, Jason. We are not enough, it¡¯s too strong,¡± said Arrluk. The old man took a seat at one of the large debris laying around. Today was a tiring day, and the fight against Muzgonk took a pretty heavy toll on him. Although Jason healed him back to health, yet his mental strength was worn out by the ineffectiveness of their assault.

    ¡°Trust me on this old man. We can¡¯t let that orc live,¡± Jason tried to reason. He knew he could run away from it, but he couldn¡¯t imagine what would happen if he let Muzgonk stayed alive.

    ¡°He¡¯s right grandpa. We need to help him,¡± Tapeesa chimed in.

    ¡°Listen Tapeesa, we can¡­¡± Arrluk stopped his words. His eyes glanced at the blade that nicked the skin of his neck. All eyes went to Jason, the man who drew his blade at Arrluk.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Arrluk asked. A glare coming from the old man.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to repeat this twice, I saved your life old man.¡± Jason was taking an aggressive stance. ¡°And it¡¯s time you pay me back what you owed.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to resort to such a path, but the situation called for it.

    Nuniq activated his skill as the fur of a bear enveloped his whole back. The glint of his eyes changed into savageness. Tapeesa, on the other hand, stood there in shock. Jason¡¯s action went far too much even to her.

    ¡°Stand down, Nuniq,¡± said Arrluk. The old man looked back at Jason with his eyes filled with intense fire.

    ¡°What if I die after against the orc?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let it,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°How sure of you?¡±

    ¡°As long as I still have energy, it won¡¯t be a problem,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Fine, but my¡­¡± Arrluk¡¯s words were cut off.

    ¡°No, these two also need to tag along,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°But they can¡¯t do a thing against that orc,¡± said Arrluk.

    ¡°No, they can. Everyone can as long as they don¡¯t give up,¡± said Jason.

    Then silence prevailed for a few seconds. Jason and Arrluk kept staring at one another without saying a word. Over the course of knowing each other, Jason and Arrluk had butted heads quite a few times, and most of it was stemmed from Arrluk¡¯s detest towards the military.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll help. But this will be the last time,¡± said Arrluk.

    ¡°Good, then we better get a move on,¡± Jason left without looking back. He trusted those words from Arrluk. He knew the old man won¡¯t go back down on his own words.

    ¡°Grandpa, are you sure about this? You don¡¯t have to listen to that scumbag. We can just bail right now,¡± said Nuniq.

    Arrluk placed his hand over Nuniq¡¯s shoulder. ¡°A man never goes back on his words.¡±

    To the old man''s reply, the three family members chased after Jason¡¯s trail. Soon, everyone grouped up as the party right now stood at six people, four melee combatant, one long-range nuker, and the last one, a jack of all trades.

    ¡°Hi, it¡¯s been a while,¡± Hakeem opened up as his hand reached out for a handshake. But the three of them ignored it, leaving Hakeem¡¯s hand hanging.

    ¡°Enough pleasantries, Hakeem. We¡¯ve got bigger things to do,¡± said Jason.

    Jason gave a rundown of what they were about to do. He only explained it once, and once was enough. Then as Jason was about to disperse them six, Hakeem reached out his hand in the middle of their circle.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s for team building,¡± Hakeem said. He was hoping for them to put their hands together for the sake of motivating themselves.

    ¡°Come on, Jason. Let¡¯s do this,¡± Hakeem stared at his one and only friend. Hoping for him to play along with his action.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to fight to our death, and you¡¯re worried about this?¡± Esther complained as she couldn¡¯t understand why this was important. But contrary to her expectation, Jason reached out his hand and placed it over Hakeem¡¯s.

    Then Arrluk followed suit, followed by Tapeesa. Nuniq, who gnashed his teeth, felt all of this was pretty stupid but seeing the glare from his sister made him placed his hand. Then what left was Esther. All eyes were on her.

    ¡°Come on, put your hand on it,¡± said Jason. ¡°We don¡¯t have time you know.¡±

    Esther clicked her tongue and did the same like the rest of them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get it!¡± Hakeem shouted as everyone hands went up into the air. A mediocre battle cry as most of it came from Hakeem¡¯s voice, but it was enough to lit the fire in everyone''s heart.

    Muzgonk, who stood there silently, didn¡¯t move a muscle. Yet its wild instinct was alerted as it opened its eyes and saw the incoming blunt weapon. It was heading right at its head, and Muzgonk raised up its arms with the full intention of blocking it.

    The metal rod bashed right at the thick forearm of Muzgonk, but another strike was coming. Crackling sparks warned the Orc Chieftain of an incoming attack. It looked up in the sky, preparing to faced the Lightning Fury that stunned it, but it then felt something smashing over its open flank. It heard a sizzle as the smell of something burning invaded its nostril.

    Muzgonk, enraged by a sneak attack, threw a punch right in front of it. A wide swing hit right at the old man. But Arrluk guarded well with his metal rod blocking the heavy punch. With Muzgonk¡¯s arm in full reach, two figures flanked it. Hakeem gunning to Muzgonk¡¯s left, and Jason going for its right.

    Jason was a whole lot faster as he slashed numerous times with Blood Edge Combo. The Orc Chieftain yelled out in pain, and then came the next strike from the left. The lightning infused mallet struck Muzgonk, and Hakeem didn¡¯t stop at only once.

    The tall man went mad with his assault, striking the Orc Chieftain until his mallet ran out of electric juice.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± a voice warned him. Muzgonk threw a punch at Hakeem, and its punch missed as someone tackled Hakeem to the ground.

    Esther came to save the day, dragging Hakeem a distance away.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Hakeem said as his mace crackled by the power of Bolt Hammer. Muzgonk wanted to chase over Hakeem, but another stabbing pain jolted it back to its current reality.

    The speedy Jason took his chance and stabbed Muzgonk with his two swords. He saw his opportunity and shoved his swords deeper into the thick flesh and fat of Muzgonk. Before even turning its head, Muzgonk swung its arm while rotating its body around. Jason ducked and took out his swords. He retreated within a flash with blood bathing both the blades of his swords.

    Muzgonk stared at Jason, fuming in rage. But it felt something striking it at the back of its knee. It was Arrluk, the fisherman who used his rod to slain monsters. The old man went up to the orc one more time even after getting that huge damage from that single punch.

    The metal rod was bashing Muzgonk¡¯s lower limbs as if mocking the powerful monster. It barely felt a thing over Arrluk¡¯s weak attacks, but at least the old man managed to enraged the Orc Chieftain even further.

    Muzgonk rushed at Arrluk sending out a massive punch. With its muscles enhanced by the power of Enhanced Strength, the power behind that punch was simply unimaginable. Arrluk dodged one of them as it cracked the ground, but another came after. It was quick and swift. The punch knocked Arrluk, sending the old man off from his feet. The old man fell and rolled on the ground as Muzgonk gave chase.

    Yet an ice spear came flying at the Orc Chieftain out of nowhere, prompting the monster to halt its advance. Tapeesa, who stood from afar, finally made her move. She was reminded by Jason to only attacked when one of the melee fighters was in danger, and she did it without disobeying Jason. She threw a few more ice spears gaining the attention of Muzgonk, and it was all for the sake of giving Jason a chance.

    The man holding two swords reached Arrluk as he immediately healed the down man. Green glow did its job, and Arrluk was back in action.

    ¡°You took a pretty nasty hit,¡± Jason said as he saw Arrluk¡¯s Fisherman Physique cut down almost two-thirds of it.

    ¡°I¡¯m going back,¡± Arrluk wiped off the dirt from his mouth as he rushed back at Muzgonk. Jason followed suit as Muzgonk was currently paying attention to Hakeem.

    The man with the mace took an aggressive act and bashed Muzgonk by the back of its head. With his career as an ex-athlete, Hakeem¡¯s jump was enough to make him reach it.

    Muzgonk felt its scalp burned by the electric, and in retaliation, it threw a heavy fist. Hakeem held his shield up and blocked it by the nick of time. He was knocked back a couple of feet away as his shield was bent beyond recognition.

    ¡°Shit,¡± said Hakeem as he threw his shield away. He watched a chunk of his energy guard went away as the punch did quite a damage at him even with the shield blocking it.

    Muzgonk came right in front of Hakeem once more as another fist came flying right at him. The Orc Chieftain was tenacious in its attack, but once more, it missed.

    Esther came to saved the day again as her timely interception did wonders for Hakeem.

    ¡°Damn it, I almost miscalculated,¡± said Esther. Jason instructed her for a single purpose only, and that was to saved Hakeem¡¯s ass. Jason put his trust in her as he believed in Esther¡¯s concentration.

    Muzgonk felt it again, the feeling of punching the empty ground. It looked at the duo who dodged its attack. The madden orc was getting even madder. But then it felt once more. Another weak attack right at the back of its knee, it turned and saw Arrluk as if seeing an old friend.

    ¡°Come on, give it all you got!¡± Arrluk shouted.

    Muzgonk took up the challenge and punched. Yet the moment it did, Jason emerged from the back. The glint in his eyes stared right at the nape of Muzgonk. Jason took his chance and stabbed the heck out of it. Two swords went inches into Muzgonk¡¯s neck, but the moment it did, Muzgonk felt its instinct flared up.

    Muzgonk strained its neck, and with incredible force, it stopped Jason¡¯s swords advancement. At the same time, it rotated its whole body and swung both its arms.

    Jason was smashed at point-blank as he went flying in the air before crashing into a car. The windows of the abandoned car shattered as he dented one side of the car.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± his hand glowed in green as he healed himself back. He thought he was inching closer to killing it, but that fat pig had some incredible trick in staying alive. One of his swords was still lodged in between the muscles of its neck. That alone was enough to show the tenacity of that Orc Chieftain.

    Muzgonk took a look around as it saw these humans fighting against it like a bunch of undying cockroaches. It knew its strength well, and it knew of how easy it was to kill other living things with its bare fists. But these people were standing back up again like nothing had happened.

    The old man was swinging its metal rod once more, and Hakeem was charging ahead with his lightning-clad mace. While Esther was standing within the distance, keeping an eye at the situation with her keen eyes. Tapeesa, who was running around, was maintaining her distance away from the fight. Then there was Jason, who stood back up again, even after the fail attempt of slicing up its neck.

    Just the act of seeing Jason running back at it again made Muzgonk enraged in its anger. Then it reached its boiling point. The intense heat was coming from the pit of its stomach as smokes were starting to come out from its nostrils and mouth. Then its mouth opened, preparing to unleash another wave of flames.

    Yet the moment it opened, a chilling sphere came flying, striking Muzgonk right at its open mouth.

    ¡°Frost Orb!¡± it was Tapeesa, and she wasn¡¯t done with only one. She threw a couple of more Frost Orb with a good accuracy right at the snout of Muzgonk.

    Some missed, but most hit it right at the snout. The flaring rage from the pit of the stomach was starting to cool down as Tapeesa managed to interrupt the cast time of Muzgonk. Even more so, she was using her ice abilities. But Muzgonk wasn¡¯t some normal monster roaming around, it was a named monster, and it had its pride.

    The rage came back again as this time, the Flame Wave unleashed itself. Muzgonk spewed out flames like a dragon from the fairy tale, but unlike a dragon, it was more like a hybrid of a Shrek and a dragon. It spun around and breathed out flames at every angle. Its sole intention was to burn its enemies, and it was the only thing that was in its mind.

    But unknown to it, the whole party was standing at a far distance away. All five of them were standing side by side as they witnessed the flames that were still far away from them.

    ¡°It works,¡± Esther said.

    ¡°Of course it works,¡± Jason said with confidence. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Tapeesa.¡±

    Tapeesa¡¯s action of hurling those chilling orbs wasn¡¯t meant to stop the flames from coming out, but it was just a method to gave the others some time to fled away before it was too late.

    ¡°I¡¯d to admit, your plan work, but it still lives,¡± said Arrluk.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Jason said with a smile hung on his face. ¡°Right now, all we need to do is just grind it down until its last breath.¡±

    A smirk as Muzgonk¡¯s death was only in due time.

 Chapter 155

Jason¡¯s level increased to level 30

 Chapter 156

    Hiding within his Shadow Realm, Jason witnessed the sky flooded by pillars of irons. Whoever that was targeting him and his allies had finally made their biggest move. Really? An airstrike? Do they really need to go to such extremes?

    ¡°Jason, we should run,¡± Esther said. She too stared at the sky as anxiety was creeping up on her. No one in their right mind could just stand there and do nothing with missiles looming over their heads.

    Every point in agility. His fresh new points were all dumped on agility. A blue window emerged, announcing something. Something that he had long forgotten about.

    Jason is the first to reach a hundred points in agility. He is stepping in the path of breaking his mortal¡¯s shackles

    Jason obtained a new title, The First Hundred(Agility)

    Jason stared at these texts for a while, but his face remained the same. There was no doubt he welcomed a new title, but the current situation looked bleak. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he could survive this one. He opened up his status and saw his energy on the verge of running out. He had a few options in mind, and one of them was just to run away with Esther. That cowardly move was definitely the highest chance of him getting out of here alive in one piece. But those people.

    Jason took a quick glance. He saw Arrluk not far away and the siblings a bit further. Hakeem was nowhere in sight but seeing there was no sign of his body, at least Jason was sure that friend of his was still alive. He couldn¡¯t leave them, not after what they had been through. He had his difference with them, but still, they fought for him.

    Fuck it! Jason made his decision. He grabbed Esther by the waist. ¡°Hold on tight. Wind Clad.¡±

    His last bit of energy ran out as wind surrounded his entire body. The missiles were coming down, and Jason made his sprint. Everything happened within a short few seconds. The speed he had was unlike before. Within a flash, he emerged out from the Shadow Realm and grabbed on to Arrluk. The old man remained motionless with his eyes still at the sight of those two grandchildren of his.

    Jason turned and burst into another sprint. The ground cracked as the force exerted by Jason¡¯s feet were undeniably strong. Cloud of dust trailed behind the man who was becoming closer in mimicking the Scarlet Speedster.

    He appeared in front of Nuniq, who was crying over Tapeesa¡¯s unconscious body. She was still in the state of her ice figure, but she wasn¡¯t moving. Jason had no time to think about what had happened as he grabbed on to these two over his shoulders.

    ¡°Arrluk! Esther! Hold them down!¡± His voice sounded, and Arrluk snapped out from his daze. He saw his grandchildren and realizing what Jason was attempting to do, Arrluk followed his order without question.

    Yet out of nowhere, a sniper round came flying. Jason heard it and moved. He ran and stopped after finding cover. He looked down on his torso and saw his flank was bleeding. Esther, who was holding the two siblings on Jason''s shoulder, panicked after hearing the sniper round. It took her a while to respond as the speed Jason was running was making her disoriented a bit.

    ¡°What happened?¡± she asked as she could only glance at Jason¡¯s face. The frown on him only showed it was a bad sign.

    With no energy to spare, Jason couldn¡¯t hide in the Shadow Realm. He was out in the open, and even with his speed, those hidden veteran snipers were being a problem. Jason took his sight into the sky, and the missiles were drawing near. He concluded that those missiles were probably targeting them in a particular area, with the snipers acting as the gatekeeper. Making sure Jason and co wouldn¡¯t leave the designated area. The best possible way of surviving this was to get through that line of gatekeepers as the snipers won¡¯t be within the targeted area. But¡­

    It¡¯s too risky. Not like this. Jason was like a big target with everyone latched on to him. Time was ticking, and options were limited. First, he needed to know where Hakeem was.

    ¡°Hakeem! Where the fuck are you!¡± Jason¡¯s voice rang as loud as he could. He wasn¡¯t a shouter, but desperate time needed desperate action.

    ¡°Here!¡± a voice coming from one of the broken buildings. Jason didn¡¯t wait and sprinted down towards the direction of the voice. He didn¡¯t know where exactly was Hakeem, but he needed to give it a shot. While he ran, sniper bullets were left in the dust. The snipers weren¡¯t going to sit and watch. Even with Jason¡¯s stupid-like speed, the snipers were quick to adjust. They were shooting bullet after bullet as they were chasing Jason from behind.

    Jason went into the first building, and he hoped he found the right one. He slid across the messy floor with his eyes scanning the inside. He saw him. Hakeem was leaning over the wall just below the broken window.

    ¡°Hakeem!¡± he shouted.

    Hakeem saw the appearance of his friend and those people Jason was carrying. He was about to say something regarding those missiles, but Jason cut him off.

    ¡°Grab on to me, and don¡¯t let go!¡± Jason didn¡¯t wait and began his stride. A blinding speed as he reached Hakeem in a blink of an eye. ¡°Climb on my back,¡± Jason said. Hakeem piggy-backed Jason as he wrapped his arms and legs around Jason¡¯s body. Jason sprinted as few bullets went through the windows but missed. Jason escaped by a hair-breadth, yet it wasn¡¯t over.

    A slight glance at the sky and he could feel his heart clenched tight. They were coming, and they were close. He ran the opposite of where he should. He turned his back on the snipers that guarded the perimeter, making his way to the closest place he could find in dealing with the missiles strike. He ran with his life depending on it. He climbed up a hill as the missiles rained down on the ground.

    His feet could feel the earth shook as the heat and shockwave were coming at him fast. Then, he took a leap of faith. The moment he left the ground, the earth crumbled under the might of modern weaponry. Time slowed down as he remembered a time when he did a similar thing. A leap of faith back in New York City. The face of a person surfaced in his mind, a person he once loved. He didn¡¯t know why he remembered such a thing at this point in time. But at least, he knew what he meant to do.

    I won¡¯t make the same mistake again.

    He fell, along with the rest of his allies. A free fall into the darkness of the deep ravine. He chose this path as it was the only thing he could think of. They managed to escape the bombardment but at what cost? Do they still live, or do they not?

 Chapter 157

    Jason hung by a sword. He was pretty calm for someone who was hanging by the hilt of a sword. Darkness engulfed his entire being. But for Jason, it wasn¡¯t a problem. Night Vision, a utility skill that shined under certain circumstances, and this were one of them. But unlike him, the others who were hanging on him didn¡¯t have the pleasure of seeing in the dark.

    ¡°Jason, are we dead?¡± Hakeem¡¯s voice breached through the darkness.

    ¡°We¡¯re not, you idiot!¡± Esther replied. She was being held in Jason¡¯s one-arm hug. ¡°What should we do, Jason?¡±

    All ears were waiting for Jason¡¯s voice. They couldn¡¯t see Jason, but they could feel the sensation of his body. After all, they were hanging on to him for their dear lives.

    Fuck, my flank fucking hurt. The bullet wound on his flank hurt like hell. It didn¡¯t even go through as the bullet was still stuck in his body. He had the strength to hold on to the sword while carrying all of his allies but the wound trickled down his strength. Blood seeped out from his bullet wound, coming down right to the tip of his shoe.

    Arrluk, who was hugging Jason by the injured flank, felt the viscous fluid clashing against his skin. He even smelled the metallic fresh blood as he kept his silence.

    ¡°Nuniq? Are you injured, son?¡± the old man turned his attention to his beloved, his grandchildren. He witnessed it for himself, Tapeesa turning into an ice figure. He saw her falling down and Nuniq screaming out loud. It was his worst nightmare, and deep down, he prayed that both of them were fine. The concern of a grandfather echoed in the darkness, yet there was no reply.

    The grandson stayed quiet as he lay quiet on Jason¡¯s shoulder. His aching hands didn¡¯t let go of his unconscious sister as he held on to her tight. Too many things were running inside his head, but one kept on rewinding in his mind. The sight of his sister guarding him against the snipers, he watched her fall as they were cracks on her ice figure. He called out to her, yet there was no response.

    ¡°Boy?! are you injured?¡± Arrluk asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s fine, old man,¡± Jason said. ¡°He¡¯s unconscious, but he¡¯s still breathing.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?!¡± Arrluk asked.

    ¡°I can feel his chest moving, and don¡¯t forget, I can see in the dark. He¡¯s still alive,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°What about Tapeesa? Is she well?¡± Arrluk asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine. Unconscious, like her brother,¡± Jason answered. He didn¡¯t hesitate to answer the old man¡¯s question. Despite telling him as such, he had no idea about Tapeesa¡¯s condition. He couldn¡¯t stretch his neck like some straw-wearing pirate, but a white lie wouldn¡¯t hurt, considering the situation they were in. An unstable ally would only be a burden, and Jason couldn¡¯t afford to deal with such a situation at the moment.

    The echoing explosion didn¡¯t stop as it rumbled from on top of the darkness. The sword hilt he held kept vibrating as Jason kept his grip tight. Fifteen minutes passed, and everything died down.

    I need a plan. I can¡¯t just be stuck like this for the whole time. Even with my status, I don¡¯t think I can keep this up for a whole day. Jason looked around. There was nothing but only the deep depth and the wall of the cliffside.

    Can I dig the cliffside and make an impromptu cave? But will it work? I don¡¯t want to get buried by some falling rocks and dirt. He thought of an idea. But achieving it might be a problem.

    ¡°Hakeem, make use of your long arm and make a hole on the cliffside,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°You say what now?¡± Hakeem couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard.

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna need a cave, or else we¡¯re probably going to die,¡± Jason said. The thought of climbing their way up was something Jason had scratched off since the beginning. Who knows? There might be more surprises waiting for them at the top, and a bullet in the head wasn¡¯t something he was looking forward to.

    ¡°But how man? I¡¯m literally clinging to you,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a bitch and just do it with that freaky long arms of yours,¡± Esther said.

    Hakeem and Jason were shocked by the sudden outburst. They didn¡¯t expect the silent Esther to be a deadly cruel spitting witch. Unlike what they thought, Esther herself was having trouble adapting in the darkness of this ravine, and to top it off, she wasn¡¯t fond of heights.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be that harsh,¡± Hakeem mumbled. He grasped tight to Jason with one his hand while the other started doing the work. The mallet that instilled fear to every UC alike was now being used fitting for its character.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Hakeem. Just trust your stats and keep your focus on holding on and digging,¡± Jason said. He threw a bit of pep talk since Esther went over the line just now. A crack on a relationship would be detrimental.

    ¡°How can I help, Mr.Park?¡± Arrluk opened his mouth. The old man knew Jason¡¯s real condition and he would do his best in aiding this man who had helped them. To be truthful, Arrluk didn¡¯t felt like it was wrong if Jason chose to abandon him and his grandchildren. Since he himself would do it in a beat as his grandchildren were his biggest priority.

    Jason startled by the sudden change in Arrluk. The old man started calling him in a polite manner, the same as before he revealed he was working with the military.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You just need to keep tight on me,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Are you sure, I-¡± Arrluk was persistent in trying to help, but Hakeem cut him off.

    ¡°Shit, I miss,¡± Hakeem complained. He couldn¡¯t see where he should hit as he was blind as a bat.

    ¡°Hakeem, more to your right,¡± Jason aided Hakeem with the direction. Before long, Hakeem was doing a pretty good job digging out a small hole with Jason¡¯s guidance. Both of them had to thank the status as no mere human could attempt such a feat. Shaving down a hill into a cave was something unthinkable for a man in a short time.

    Fifteen minutes passed, and a sizable hole was made. Not to the point of a cave, but at least it gave some room for Jason to plan his step. How am I going to do this? Two people are on my shoulders, one is at my back, one is clinging on me by the waist, and another in my arm¡­

    Jason felt his conscience slipping a bit. He shook his head, trying to stay awake. Shit, that bullet wound is becoming a problem.

    He boasted high stamina even among his peers, but even such stamina couldn¡¯t face-off against blood loss. It was already a miracle he could hang on and stay awake with such injury. But he needed to step it up.

    Ah, shit. I don¡¯t want to do this. He hated pain, and the feeling was only going to get worse as he thought of his next step.

    ¡°Hold on tight. I¡¯m going to move,¡± Jason said. He was about to attempt something stupid, but it was better than nothing. He couldn¡¯t really ask Hakeem to take a leap of faith and hopefully landed at that small hole he made. Hakeem was athletic, but in this kind of darkness, anything could happen, and losing a friend was not an option.

    Jason shifted his grip bit by bit forward. It was slow and steady. The sword was stuck on the cliffside, and he intended to come closer to the cliffside. Then, his grip left the hilt as he felt pain coursing through his fingers.

    He gritted his teeth and bore the pain. The blade of his sword dug into his skin. He tried his best to clenched it tight as he didn¡¯t want to accidentally slice off his own fingers.

    Fuck, I hate this. He stopped as he could feel his body touching the cliffside.

    ¡°Hakeem, search to your left and get a good grip,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t refute his words and did what was told. He found the large enough hole and found a good grip.

    ¡°I got it,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°You sure you get a good grip?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m sure,¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡±I need you to do this slowly. Loosen your legs around my waist and try to reach for the hole,¡± Jason said.

    ¡±Got it,¡± Hakeem said. The old friend from high school was doing his best not to make a mistake. He couldn¡¯t see a thing as he relied only on his sense of touch.

    ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± Hakeem jumped towards the hole and left the safety of Jason¡¯s back.

    But the sounds of crumbling rock echoed in the dark.

    ¡°What happened? Hakeem! Are you there?!¡± Esther asked. She was shaken the moment she heard the stones crumbling and dropping into the ravine.

    Jason kept his eyes on Hakeem, and he sweated like mad. Hakeem was hanging by the grace of his mallet, stuck in between the rocks on the cliff. Hakeem was calming himself down with his back drenched in sweat. He almost fell off to his doom, but his instinct was quick. He calmed his nerves by breathing in slowly, doing it in a rhythm.

    Hakeem was deep in focus, like the time when it was the playoff back in high school. Old habits died hard, and his winning mentality was still there in him even after leaving his past glory.

    ¡°You good?¡± Jason asked.

    ¡°Yea¡­¡± Hakeem replied. Hakeem reached out with his other hand, trying to find the edge of the hole.

    ¡°A bit up,¡± Jason helped him a bit, and just a little while, Hakeem found his footing. He pulled himself up and sat in the little hole just fit enough for him.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t take a breather as he continued shaving down the hole, making it bigger like a cave. Only the sound of a mallet hitting the rock dirt echoed in the darkness. Half an hour later, an artificial cave was made.

    Jason was about to collapse with how much blood he was losing with every ticking second. He sent Esther first and then Arrluk. The weight lightened, and last in line was himself and the two siblings on top of him. He felt the ground beneath his feet as he let down the two siblings on the ground.

    He took in the sight of everyone, who was safe and sound after experiencing a close call. He smiled as his vision slowly fading.

    ¡°I think I need a bit of-¡± his words fell off as he dropped on the ground.

    All of them heard something fallen, and they had a bad feeling about it.

    ¡°Brother?!¡± Esther said.

    ¡°Jason? You okay?¡± Hakeem asked.

    Both couldn¡¯t see a thing in the darkness, but Arrluk knew what just happened.

    ¡°Find him! He lost too much blood!¡±

    All three scrambled on all fours, searching for Jason while not taking a misstep to a deep ravine. In the end, in the deep darkness of a ravine, the hope that these people clung on was lost. Cries of desperation filled the darkness as they searched for that hope.

 Chapter 158

    Ah, yea¡­ I passed out, didn¡¯t I?

    A pair of heavy eyelids opened slowly. Night Vision activated the moment he opened his eyes. The greenish hue ceiling greeted him. It would have been better if it was the sun, but at least he felt grateful for still being alive.

    Should I just play dead at the moment? I still don¡¯t have a clue on how to get out of this mess. I wonder whether those bastards had left already. Jason kept his body motionless while staring at the ceiling. A passing thought came by.

    Ah! I¡¯ve got shot, no wonder I felt a pulsing ache at my flank. A subtle pain reminded him of his bullet wound. He thought of taking his time resting, but he had a reality to deal with.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Jason groaned, propping his body up. He stopped for a bit as the subtle ache started to worsen upon moving. Shit, that hurts.

    Jason dragged his body close to the cavern wall. His high strength made it easier to drag himself. But in doing so, he accidentally saw the situation in the cave. Hakeem was leaning at the opposite cavern wall. Judging by those closed eyes, Hakeem was definitely sleeping. Arrluk was tending to his grandchildren. Tapeesa was still in her ice figure with Arrluk¡¯s bare hand gently caressing Tapeesa¡¯s head. On his other lap rested Nuniq¡¯s head. He too was being tended by his grandfather. Jason felt bad seeing the family as he knew they wouldn¡¯t be in this mess if it wasn¡¯t for him. But he didn¡¯t have a choice. If not for their help, Muzgonk and its horde would have found a way in reaching to Toronto.

    But where¡¯s Esther?

    He didn¡¯t see his sister. But the moment he reached the cavern wall and leaned over, he felt the right side of his body touching something. He turned and saw what it was.

    Esther?

    A woman slept over the wall. She was restless in her sleep, tossing and turning every now and then. Jason stared at her and couldn¡¯t help but notice her smudged mascara. Did she cry? Well, thinking back, our situation isn¡¯t where I can say off the radar.

    Jason turned his sight to his flank. He was wrapped in some sort of clothes, and he could see the dark stains on the cloth. Blood was probably still seeping out, judging by the stain.

    Ah, shit. No wonder I feel weak. Why can¡¯t stamina be like turning my skin into iron or something? Does it not make my body stronger? Jason unwrapped the bandage, unraveling the gruesome bullet wound.

    That looks disgusting. Blood seeped out as the bandage barely did a thing. He opened up his status and saw his energy was still empty. It seemed fainting wasn¡¯t recognized as being asleep. He took his finger and poked through the hole. He felt a hard object at the end of his fingertip.

    Like I thought, the fucking bullet is still in there. I was hoping they would take it out, but I guess they wouldn¡¯t dare do it. Should I take it out? He didn¡¯t know much about medic stuff but seeing House every now and then, at least let him know that having the bullet still inside would be bad. He doubted whether the things he saw were real or not, but he had to make do with what he knew.

    Out of nowhere, a first aid kit appeared. He forgot to bring an extra set of clothes, but he didn¡¯t forget the essentials. He brought in case something like this happened, and it did, much to his dislike.

    He took out a dagger and bit at the hilt. He expected that it would hurt like hell, and he wasn¡¯t wrong. He jabbed two fingers into that hole as he groaned. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± he bit the hilt hard and pulled out the bullet with his two fingers. He didn¡¯t stop groaning with blood spurting out like a broken fountain.

    Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

    Jason couldn¡¯t stop cursing from the inside. He hated pain and more so when he was the one who inflicted it. He groaned as the long bullet escaped the bullet hole. The metal casing of the bullet clanged on the ground. Jason gritted his teeth and poured out the alcohol on the gaping wound.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± another groan escaped through his lips as another bout of pain coursed through his whole body. As if he could hear his muscles sizzled by the alcohol. Tears came rolling down his cheeks as the pain was spiking.

    Jason threw the empty alcohol bottle away and grabbed a bunch of cotton balls. He filled up the hole and closed the wound with gauze. He finished it up with a criss-cross bandage.

    Jason stared at it with his chest heaving. Enough said Jason thought this was much worse than fighting against that Orc Chieftain.

    That¡¯s done. Let¡¯s just hope the wound won¡¯t fester. Jason turned back to Esther and the rest. All of them went through hard times, and miraculously all of them were still alive. But a person worried him. His gaze landed on Tapeesa. She was still in her ice figure state, and he wasn¡¯t sure whether she was still alive or not. It was hard without his Scan ability.

    I feel bad about Arrluk and her, but I can¡¯t do a thing in my current state. He felt useless, but there was nothing he could do about it.

    Should I just sleep and hope my energy comes back? Hmm? His train of thought stopped as a voice entered his ears.

    ¡°Jason¡­¡± Esther uttered his name. Judging by the wince on her face, the poor girl must have a nightmare.

    I hope I didn¡¯t die in her nightmare. Jason felt bad, but waking her up won¡¯t be a solution to their current predicament. He looked outside, and there was nothing but a deep fall. He stared at it for a while before turning his head. Yet the corner of his eyes caught something passing by. He quickly turned back at the ravine.

    Jason doubted himself. That slight shadow he saw might be due to blood loss, but his eyes couldn¡¯t stop wandering around, searching for that glimpse of a shadow. Then, his whole body froze. His eyes tracked the sight of something.

    From the deep ravine, something waved from the bottom. It was big, and it reminded him of something bad. Bad like a huge dinosaur reigning supreme in New York City.

    A tail? Or is it a neck? His eyes kept on following the thick elongated part of a creature. The width of it couldn¡¯t be compared easily to any known things. No doubt in Jason¡¯s mind, this creature was incomparable to Muzgonk. The only thing that came to mind was only one.

    Scarlet Rex, that¡¯s the only fucker that I can compare it to. His gut feeling was screaming at him, telling him to run. But he couldn¡¯t, not at this state and not without these people. He kept his silence as he watched the thing moved side to side. Not knowing what it was only further his anxiety.

    Luck wasn¡¯t being good to him and his crew. Rather than turning for the better, it only got worse. The tail-like thing waved side to side as Jason could hear the sound of air being split apart, and he wasn¡¯t the only one who heard it.

    Arrluk gazed outside. He couldn¡¯t see a thing, but he heard the same thing as Jason. He kept his lips tight. He knew better what and what not to do. Arrluk¡¯s hands scrambled on the ground, searching for his metal rod. But the expression on his face was a sign that he remembered something. His weapon was left behind, and being weaponless wasn¡¯t doing any good to him.

    Both men kept their attention at bay. Jason watched it until the supposed tail went back into the deep ravine. Then, he saw it, the end of it. It wasn¡¯t a head as he saw what it was.

    A stinger? A scorpion? The shape of a stinger stood at the end of the huge pillar. It disappeared into the depth of the ravine, and Jason had no intention of jutting his head out to see what was down there.

    How can a UC as big as that lived down there? That doesn¡¯t make any sense, the ravine had just been created by the military, and this thing shouldn¡¯t have existed. Jason¡¯s mind scrambled for an explanation about the existence of the scorpion-like creature.

    Did it live underground? Or did it appeared from a new crack at the bottom of the ravine? Or it might come from Ontario Lake as the ravine probably reached the edge of the lake. It was plausible that the creature from the lake swam into the ravine. But it was all speculations and no concrete facts.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that noise?¡± out of sudden, Hakeem broke the silence of the cave.

    Jason and Arrluk stared at Hakeem with bulging eyes. Sweat ran down Jason¡¯s back, and compared to Arrluk, he was still in the blind about what was out there.

    The injured man got up, ignoring the pain, and ran to Hakeem. He burst with his speed as the thought of opening up his wound was less important than fearing an attack from a scorpion-like creature.

    Jason covered Hakeem¡¯s mouth and whispered in his ears. ¡°It¡¯s me, and don¡¯t you dare make a noise. Something is out there.¡±

    Hakeem, who was surprised, kept his calm, but the words mentioned by Jason made him more nervous than being grabbed at the mouth.

    Jason kept his sight to the outside. The tension never left his side as it would always be there. He prayed in his heart, hoping that thing didn¡¯t hear Hakeem¡¯s voice.

    Fuck¡­

    But he wasn¡¯t lucky as usual. The stinger tail came back, waving from the depth of the ravine.

 Chapter 159

    Hi, guys, got a new chap for you lots and FYI I''ve been binge-watching a new monster series. It''s called Sweet Home, you can find it in Netflix. It''s like a mash-up between monster and post-apocalypse. For me, the series was great, well recommended. Anyway, enjoy the new chap...

    Jason held his breath, staring at the humongous tail. The stinger went past the cave, going closer to the surface. It lingered around while the sound of its movement echoed within the small man-made cave. Jason could hear and feel his heartbeat, pushing against his ribcage, hastening at a rapid pace.

    Calm down, you idiot. The man who killed Muzgonk worried that even the slightest sound even from his heart would attract the attention of this unknown beast. And he wasn¡¯t alone.

    Hakeem sat there with his eyes shifting side to side. He didn¡¯t move a muscle while keeping his breath as slow as possible. He knew things were pretty bad, considering that even the not so touchy Jason was holding on to his mouth. One thing he knew about this friend of his was that he disliked maintaining too much contact. Shit, the hell is going on here? Hakeem thought.

    While the other person who still awake maintained his current position, not moving even a little bit. Arrluk¡¯s wide-opened eyes stared at the deep darkness, knowing that something was out there. The act of not being able to see was tormenting. It only grew the anxiousness.

    Yet, for one person, he didn¡¯t know whether it was a good thing or not for being able to see in the dark. He stared at the huge pillar-like tail swaying left and right. His forehead was sweating like mad as he could feel the beads of sweat dripping on his face.

    What should I do? Jason tried to figure out a way. But it was pointless. They were trapped inside a small cave built for the whole purpose of recuperating. The only way out was to go back up to the surface, but he knew that was an impossible feat to be done. Who knows how many hundred feet they had gone down? And with that thing out there, Jason doubted they could outrun it.

    What was that? His train of thought cut off by the sound of a groan coming from the depth of the ravine. It was subtle, but the echoes intensified the horn-like sound. Hakeem and Arrluk bated their breaths, shackled by the fear of not knowing what was out there. They wished they could run but going out there was only a deep fall.

    The horn-like groan came in a drove, continuous as it drummed the ears of everyone who was still awake.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± a person frowned in her sleep, annoyed by whatever noise that disturbed her. She opened her eyes and wondered about the horn-like sound. She was about to open her mouth, but something closed her shut right before she could utter a word.

    ¡°Ssh¡­¡± she knew that voice. It was Jason.

    Jason, who had been staring at the tail, caught notice of Esther moving around in her sleep. He was quick on his feet and stopped before anything unfortunate happened. He drew a sigh of relief¡­

    ¡°The fuck is that noise?¡±

    But things always didn¡¯t go according to plan. Esther wasn¡¯t the only one who awoke, Nuniq awakened from his sleep by that horn-like sound, and he was quick to voice out his complaint. Every anxious man in the cave felt their heart dropped. Arrluk scrambled his hand, searching for Nuniq to alert him. But, he only made it worse.

    ¡°Grandpa? Is that you? What are you doing? And what¡¯s that-¡±

    Nuniq turned silent as the horn-like sound grew louder as if something was coming from the depth of the ravine.

    Yup, we¡¯re fucked. Jason ignored the antics of Nuniq and his grandfather as he knew they were ousted. He turned back to the tail and witnessed it moved.

    BOOM!

    The cave shook as the tail struck the cliffside. Jason hugged Esther tight with his eyes staring at the sight of the tail, slamming its huge girth at the cliffside. Jason didn¡¯t know what to do other than to just watched. He didn¡¯t have an option and not within the current state.

    Hakeem was restless as the ground shook. He dragged his bum further inside of the cave, inching closer to the family of three. He bumped into Arrluk as both reacted in agitation. Arrluk held up his fist, ready for a fight. Being blind by the dark made him easily agitated.

    ¡°It¡¯s me¡­¡± Hakeem whispered. Arrluk dropped his fists down and grew closer to Hakeem.

    ¡°What is it?¡± he whispered.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I bet Jason knows what it is,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°He¡¯s alive?¡± Arrluk was surprised. For some reason, a tint of hope emerged from the depth of his heart. For someone who witnessed the brilliance of a man like Jason, he felt like that man could achieve anything, and in their current situation, he thought Jason had a way.

    Hakeem was about to answer, but his words fell short. All ears heard the screeching noise of something sharp being dragged across the surface.

    Fuck, what is it doing? The slamming stopped, yet the tail didn¡¯t stop moving. Jason didn¡¯t know what was going on, but the moment the screeching grew louder, his sight saw it.

    A pointy end of a stinger crushing the cavern ceiling, emerging within the dirt and rocks. Jason jumped further into the cave, along with Esther in his arms. He kept his sight at the tail, which stopped the moment it reached the cave.

    The stinger stood motionless as Jason had a bad feeling about it. Numerous hair strands on the stinger stood up straight acting. Jason¡¯s first thought was it was a sensory organ, but he was wrong. These hair strands grew as it expended crawling over the ground like limbs, searching for whatever source that made those noises.

    Jason moved further into the cave and tucked himself along with Esther at a corner. He had no way to run as he watched those hair strands coming towards them.

    Fuck, I didn¡¯t think this is how I¡¯m going to die. Jason took out his sword and held it in his right. Even when death approached, he won¡¯t back down without a fight. He did have an option of fleeing away as there was a chance of him surviving if he used these people as bait, but he couldn¡¯t.

    Surviving was important, but he couldn¡¯t be that despicable. That thought crossed his mind, but it let be and paid no heed to it.

    It stops? His mind grew wary. The hair strands that were coming stopped in their tracks. Jason waited and didn¡¯t make a move. He anticipated what was about to happen. The hair strands might be readying itself to do something, considering he didn¡¯t expect it to grow in size and searched the whole cave like some kind of feelers.

    Jason thought it was about to get worse, but he heard it once more. The horn-like sound coming from the depth. It¡¯s going back?

    The unexpected happened. The hair strands receded, returning back to the stinger. Jason didn¡¯t know what was going on, but whatever it was, he felt grateful for it. The stinger turned away from the mouth of the cave and went back up to the surface.

    The horn-like sound echoed once more, louder than before. Then Esther probed a question.

    ¡°Are we going to die?¡±

    Jason looked down at his sister and said.

    ¡°Not right now.¡±

    Meanwhile, to the ignorance of the whole group, the stinger tail emerged into the light of the surface. Its armor-like carapace shined underneath the brightness of the sunlight.

    The horn-like sound intensified as the stinger tail swung itself with great momentum.

    BOOM!

    It hit something and split it apart. It was a helicopter, an Apache, and it didn¡¯t come alone. A flight of Apache cruising in the sky. Every soldier who sat inside those helicopters stared in confusion at the still stinger tail. They were all confused as they didn¡¯t expect a hostile in Oshawa. But there they were, staring at the stinger tail.

    Then, the tail moved.

 Chapter 160

    ¡°Mayday, mayday. We¡¯re under attack. I repeat, we¡¯re under hostile attack,¡± an Apache gunner bellowed through the radio. His co-pilot was frantic in maneuvering the Apache, dodging the silver fluid spurted out from the giant stinger.

    ¡°Shoot at it!¡± the pilot shouted. The gunner was too occupied in relaying the current situation.

    ¡°It won¡¯t work, you idiot.¡± Both started to argued within that small cockpit. More and more helicopters went down as the giant stinger tail lay havoc to the flying vehicles.

    ¡°Fucking stall that thing or else we¡¯re going to fucking die,¡± said the pilot. He tried his hardest, fleeing away from the rampaging giant tail. But the giant tail was chasing them down like it had eyes on that freaking giant stinger.

    The gunner made his choice and missiles went flying at the giant stinger. Explosions echoed across the sky as a giant stinger went through the cloud of smoke.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± It was the last word from the Apache¡¯s pilot. The sharp end of the giant stinger smashed through the helicopter, breaking it apart as it crashed to the ground.

    It was a nightmare for these pilots. The giant stinger was longer than they expected, chasing down these helicopters with ease like there was no end to its length.

    Meanwhile, underneath the havoc surface, a group of people was digging for the sake of survival. Arrluk was at the front of the line with Hakeem by his side. Arrluk took the lead using a giant axe, while Hakeem aided with the big mace.

    With their enhanced strength, the digging was going well with those at the back shoving off the dirt and rocks away. They couldn¡¯t risk a collapse on the tunnel as Nuniq and Esther stacked the dirt and rocks, filling up the tunnel from behind. It was a team effort with those at the front who did the heavy lifting. Jason would have taken the job of being at the front, but his injuries were still taking its toll on him.

    He made a decision to tunnel their way through freedom. The others didn¡¯t refute as they knew that Jason could see in the dark and what he saw definitely warranted such a drastic plan. These people feared for what they heard, but Jason, who saw and heard it, felt even worse.

    In the middle, the injured Jason carried the ice-figure Tapeesa. He carried her with much caution, fearing that he might shatter her.

    ¡°Jason, how is it?¡± Hakeem asked. Both he and the old man were working blind. They dodged the risk of hurting each other through the sheer effort of working together in tandem, avoiding a clash between one another.

    ¡°Good enough. We need to angle upwards, or else we might suffocate down here,¡± Jason said.

    He guided these two in digging as he was the only one who could see. The group worked in silence, with only Jason¡¯s voice echoing through the small tunnel. There was no complaint as even the rebellious Nuniq, and the ever-complaining Esther was working with their lips sealed. They knew better. The situation was graver than they thought, and both yearned nothing but the smell of freedom of the air.

    Whatever that was blocking them from behind, they wished they would never meet it. These six people were digging and climbing on a slope as they approached closer to the surface. Half an hour went by, and Jason was standing on his last strand of energy. His head was spinning and looking down on his bandaged wound, it was soaked in dark crimson. It was enough to tell him that the wound was opening up with how vigorous he had been.

    Not yet Jason, not now. He fired himself up, trying to stay awake. It would have been better if he some spare energy for the sake of healing himself up. But there was none.

    Then, it came.

    The axe in Arrluk¡¯s hand struck the dirt and a speck of light drilled through the darkness, illuminating the blindness of the underground.

    ¡°Light! There¡¯s light!¡± Hakeem said. He grew excited with the mace in his hand plowed through the spot where the axe cleaved the dirt.

    One smash and the dirt went flying through the air. Hakeem was about to run out in joy, hoping to breathe in the fresh air of the surface, but a hand grabbed his clothes from the back.

    Hakeem couldn¡¯t fight against the strength that held him back. His stride was halted even before he could step out into the surface.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you smell it?¡± Jason asked as his nose picked up a heavy scent.

    ¡°I smell something burning,¡± said Arrluk. He cautiously approached the opening of their escape tunnel and poked a bit to see what was around them. His eyes went wide, and he returned back into the tunnel.

    ¡°What do you see?¡± Esther asked.

    ¡±Helicopters, Apaches. They¡¯re in pieces,¡± said Arrluk. He stared at Jason as the injured man made the right choice for them.

    Hakeem couldn¡¯t stand his curiosity and went to take a peek. Jason didn¡¯t stop him as the rest watched over the action of Hakeem

    Hakeem scanned through the surrounding. It was like what Arrluk said, it was a graveyard of Apaches, and then he froze motionlessly. His eyes went wide, with his pupils quivering like a frightened puppy. He ducked down back into the tunnel as a giant shadow loomed over the small hole on the ground. The light they yearned disappeared, and everyone grew anxious.

    ¡°Is it the stinger?¡± Jason asked at the silent Hakeem.

    Hakeem didn¡¯t say a word as he only nodded.

    ¡°Stinger? What do you mean by stinger?¡± Esther asked. She was in the dark about what had frightened them. Jason kept his silence and didn¡¯t say a word about it as it would only be a hindrance, and now the time was up.

    He toned down Esther from speaking too loud with a few hand signals. He brought the group a bit deeper into the tunnel once more, as speaking near the hole might alert the giant stinger. It was a bit paranoid, but Jason wasn¡¯t going to take any dumb chances.

    He sat them down and explained what he saw and what had happened back in the cave. He let it all out, sparing nothing but the most detailed description of what it might be. Esther felt goosebumps hearing about it, and Hakeem did too.

    Nuniq, on the other hand, looked down in shame. He knew he was the cause for them being in that situation. If it wasn¡¯t for him, the stinger wouldn¡¯t have noticed them. Then a pat rested on Nuniq¡¯s shoulder. He turned and saw the shadow of Arrluk¡¯s face. It was hard to see as the tunnel barely had any light. Arrluk didn¡¯t say a word and gave his grandson a hug. They were no need for words as the family shared their hugs.

    ¡°So? What are we going to do?¡± Esther opened up the main question.

    ¡°Make a run for it?¡± Hakeem chimed in.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Esther replied.

    ¡°What? I¡¯m just giving my opinion no need to get aggressive,¡± said Hakeem.

    ¡°Stop it, both of you.¡± Jason didn¡¯t think these two would argue in these circumstances. He thought they would rational about it, but he guessed that the mental fatigues were starting to sink in.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to stay here for a while. Our chances out there are close to zero with that giant stinger roaming around,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Hakeem, build a bigger space, and cut down the slope. We need proper rest,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Got it,¡± Hakeem didn¡¯t mind doing more labor. The digging was physically draining, but his stats kept himself standing strong. A few more swings of the club wouldn¡¯t be bad, but a worry came by. ¡°But what about food and water? I don¡¯t think we can stay here without¡­¡± even before he could finish words, Jason pulled out an ace from his sleeve.

    Simple dried foods like biscuits and crackers were laid out in front of these people with a few bottles of water. Jason came prepared for the second time, except for that set of clothes he wished he bring.

    ¡°Esther, rations these for six. We don¡¯t know how long we¡¯ll be staying here but make it count,¡± said Jason.

    Hakeem and Esther went on to their respective tasks, and then came Arrluk and Nuniq.

    ¡°Mr.Park,¡± Arrluk called him out. ¡°I know you have done a lot for us, for my family, but can you please do something for my granddaughter?¡±

    Tapeesa lay there on the ground, unconscious in her ice-figure state. Jason stared at her for a while and returned back to the sight of these two.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t do a thing, not without my energy. You all know this, without energy, I can¡¯t use my heal on her,¡± Jason said.

    Arrluk looked down as tears fell down on the ground. The sentimental old man grew soft once more. There was no more the valiant vanguard that fought against the Orc Chieftain as to the core of this old man, the fisherman, he was just a man who cherished his family.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Arrluk, wiping off the tears in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you have to see the pathetic sight of an old man crying.¡±

    Jason kept quiet, staring at the old man. He knew he was partly responsible for what had happened to Tapeesa. Then, out of sudden, the old man went for a hug. Jason didn¡¯t dodge it and accepted it.

    ¡°Please have a rest, Mr.Park, please,¡± Arrluk said. He left Jason and Nuniq and went to the side of his granddaughter. He sat beside her and stroke gently over Tapeesa¡¯s head.

    ¡°Jason,¡± Nuniq said. Jason looked and saw the burning eyes of this teenage boy.

    ¡°Can you please give me a mace?¡± said Nuniq.

    Jason didn¡¯t question him as he took out one of the maces he looted and gave it to him. Nuniq didn¡¯t say a thing and accepted it. He went towards Hakeem and aided him in building a bigger space.

    Jason witnessed in silence as he looked around and saw these friends and allies of his doing their best, not to be a burden. They were doing their own thing, and none complain.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± he staggered on his feet as the dizziness grew worse. He held himself up, leaning over the wall of the tunnel. He knew he won¡¯t be much of use in this pathetic state. He dropped down on the ground and rested his head on the wall. Slowly his eyelids grew heavy. With his vision narrowing down, he hoped for only one thing.

    Please. Please recover, dear energy.

 Chapter 161

    Jason woke up. The first thing that greeted him was the stinging pain at his flank. Propping himself only made it worse. That¡¯s not a good sign. He brought up his status window and scanned through it.

    Jason Park

    Job : Assassin

    Level 30

    EP : 45/151(+10)

    E.Guard : 0/3555(+30)

    Strength : 95

    Agility :?113

    Dexterity :?52

    Stamina :?52

    Energy :?47(+2)

    E.Resist :?47

    Points :?0

    Unique Trait : Rapid Growth

    Skills :  Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.6, Major Heal lv.1, Energy Guard Lv.9, Wind Cutter Lv.MAX, Shadow Sneak Lv.5, Intermediate Archery Lv.4, Parry Lv.5, Scan Lv.9, Basic Projectile Throwing Lv.4, Blood Edge Combo Lv.1, Novice Smithing Lv.4, Basic Blunt Weapon Mastery Lv.4, Triple Strafe Lv.3, Minor Defense Buff Lv.9, Night Vision Lv.MAX, Wind Clad Lv.1, Lightning Fury Lv.2, Contract Lv.1, Basic Tailoring Lv.1, Poison Coat Lv.3.

    He smiled. His hand ripped off the bandage over his flank, and blood spilled out. The wound barely clotted, a sign it wasn¡¯t looking good. It wasn¡¯t a small cut wound that could heal over time. Jason¡¯s immediately hovered his hand over the bullet wound. A green glow emitted as slowly his cells rejuvenated, spurning a cycle of healing.

    The glow died down and what left was a subtle scar. It was messy with blood all over the place, but at least Jason could breathe out of relief. He was out from the danger of dying, and that thought brought his sight over to a particular person.

    Tapeesa¡­

    In just a flash, he stood in front of the ice-figure of Tapeesa. He stared at her with a blue window appearing in his sight.

    Adriana Tapeesa Igruk

    Lv: 21  Job: Cryogenist

    EP:0/120, I.H.B:1/2750 (Frozen)

    Str:10, Agi:37, Dex:7, Sta:10, En: 45, E.R: 10

    Status Condition : Frozen

    Skill: E.Boomerang, Ice Heart Barrier, Frost Orb, Icicle Spear

    Her guard isn¡¯t broken yet and that status effect, frozen. It must be one of the side effects of making her guard stay intact.

    He knelt down in front of her and reached out with his hand. Major Heal activated with intense green glow encasing the ice-figure of Tapeesa.

    Arrluk, who had been sleeping, awakened by the intense light as he was the closest to his granddaughter. ¡°Hmm?¡± He woke up and saw Jason doing something to Tapeesa. His half-open eyes went wide, and his heart beat faster. He propped himself and leaned closer to them. He didn¡¯t say a word and let Jason did his thing. He knew better not to disturb someone who was trying to save his granddaughter.

    What¡¯s going on? Her guard isn¡¯t recovering? Jason couldn¡¯t hide his surprise. The green glow emitted from his hand intensified. The light brightened the darkness of the tunnel. One by one woke up, questioning the source of the annoying light.

    ¡°Jason?¡± Esther saw her brother, and so did the rest. Nuniq came closer, and he knew what those green light meant. Nuniq smiled, but the smile on his grandfather was no longer there.

    Arrluk saw the change in Jason¡¯s countenance and he got a bad feeling about it. The green glow died down and yet nothing had changed. There was silence with darkness taking control of the underground space.

    ¡°Tapeesa?¡­¡± Nuniq called out to his sister, yet there was no response.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my granddaughter?!¡± Arrluk burst forward and grabbed Jason by the collar. He demanded an answer. He knew the prowess of Jason¡¯s Major Heal as he too, was once injured and healed by it.

    Jason ignored the aggressive action of a caring grandfather with his eyes still staring at the sight of Tapeese, and he wasn¡¯t merely staring. He spammed his Scan numerous times with the same status window kept on reemerging.

    ¡°Answer me, damn it!¡± Arrluk shouted. Nuniq came to a realization. He followed the faint outline of Jason¡¯s figure and ran at him. The bottled-up frustration exploded as he smacked a punch right at Jason.

    Jason grabbed the incoming knuckle at the last second. He didn¡¯t mind getting grab by the collar, but a punch was not welcomed. The sole of his feet lunged forward, striking Nuniq by the pit of his stomach. The strength behind the kick propelled the teenager in the air and slammed right at the dirt wall.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this? Answer me, Jason!¡± Arrluk vaguely saw what happened to Nuniq, but the precious matter of Tapeesa took priority.

    Jason still ignored the old man and kept on spamming his Scan at Tapeesa. Then, it came. The thing he waited.

    Scan level up to level 10

    Scan has reached the maximum level

    Upgrade into Analyze Lv.1

    Adriana Tapeesa Igruk

    Lv: 21  Job: Cryogenist

    EP:0/120, I.H.B:1/2750 (Frozen)

    Str:10, Agi:37, Dex:7, Sta:10, En: 45, E.R: 10

    Status Condition : Frozen*

    Skill: E.Boomerang Lv.13, Ice Heart Barrier Lv.3, Frost Orb Lv.2, Icicle Spear Lv.2

    Three Size: B-33 W-24 H-34

    *The last line of defense for Ice Heart Barrier. Encased the user in hard ice thickness. The only method in unfreezing is through a full day of basking under the sunlight. Other methods include ???

    *The last line of defense for Ice Heart Barrier. Encased the user in hard ice thickness. The only method in unfreezing is through a full day of basking under the sunlight. Other methods include ???

    A plethora of new windows bombarded Jason¡¯s sight. He gambled to the fact that his Scan might not upgrade into a stronger version, but somehow he lucked it out. With his Analyze, the status window turned more detail, and he got what he sought, the method in undoing her frozen status effect.

    So a twenty-four-hour sunbath? That¡¯s easy enough to do, but the other methods¡­

    His eyes landed over the numerous question marks. He judged that his level was still low to access more information. But another thing drew interest.

    Really? A woman¡¯s three sizes? Is that really necessary? He questioned the existence of those numbers, and he doubted whether it was helpful in this warring state.

    ¡°Speak!¡± Arrluk shouted, not caring whether that stinger tail would hear him or not. His treasured grandchild lay there frozen in ice, and what kind of grandfather would he be if he just ignored it?

    Under his night vision, Jason saw the desperate eyes of Arrluk. It showed that the old man had a heart. He wondered whether his parents would do the same to him.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Jason said, finally opening his mouth.

    ¡°Fine? You call that being fine?!¡± Nuniq came back roaring, ignoring the pain that wrecked his body. No matter how annoyed he was by his sister, Tapeesa was still family and family matters, more so to the Igruk family.

    Jason grabbed Arrluk by the wrist and made him let go of his collar. The old man didn¡¯t retaliate as he slowly let go.

    ¡°Explain,¡± said Arrluk.

    ¡°It¡¯s her guard special effect. It froze her to keep her alive,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Special effect? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying. Her Ice Barrier isn¡¯t like that,¡± Arrluk countered back. He had his suspicion.

    ¡°Well, I guess she forgot to mention that her Ice Barrier had upgraded into Ice Heat Barrier. And that frozen thing might be one of its new effects,¡± Jason said.

    Arrluk fell into a deep state of thought. Then he turned back to Jason. ¡°If you had known, why didn¡¯t you tell us?¡±

    ¡°I would if I know. A second ago, my Scan upgraded into a new skill, and you know what I meant by that, don¡¯t you?¡± Jason said.

    Arrluk stared at Jason¡¯s silhouette as there was barely any light in here.

    ¡°Then how do we undo it?¡± Arrluk brought back to the main question.

    ¡°From what I got here, it¡¯s just a simple sunbath for a whole day,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Is that true?¡± Arrluk grabbed Jason by the shoulders. Deep down, he hoped Jason wasn¡¯t lying just to escape from his wrath.

    ¡°Up to you to believe it or not,¡± Jason shrugged off Arrluk¡¯s hands and went towards the hole.

    ¡°Since she isn¡¯t in danger, we better think of a plan in what should we do,¡± Jason said. He peeked through the hole and saw the sky blanketed by the starry night.

    ¡°Careful, man,¡± said Hakeem as he watched Jason poking out his head through the hole.

    Jason took a look around and saw the carnage of broken Apache helicopters. But his intention was to find the giant stinger. A few more spin, and yet there was nothing. The sky was clear from any roaming giant stinger, but he didn¡¯t let his guard down. He returned back to the safety of the underground cave.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see any stinger,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°So should we make a run for it?¡± Hakeem said.

    ¡°No,¡± Jason flat-out denied that suggestion. ¡°It¡¯s too risky, that giant stinger might have something that we don¡¯t know. It might be able to camouflage or something similar,¡± it was an assumption, and he hoped it wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°So should we continue digging? For now, that¡¯s our best bet of making out of here alive,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°I agree with Miss Park. It¡¯s better if we make our way through the underground, with our status, digging a tunnel won¡¯t be difficult,¡± said Arrluk. The old man yearned more than anyone in this underground cave to get both of his grandchildren to safety, especially for Tapeesa, since she needed an appropriate amount of sunlight.

    ¡°Digging would be fine, but I¡¯ll go take a look around outside. For now, I need all of you to stay put and rest,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Are you crazy?! You¡¯re going to get yourself killed,¡± said Esther.

    ¡°Hmph, just let that prick be,¡± Nuniq mumbled in his low voice.

    ¡°Man, if you¡¯re going out there, I¡¯m coming with you,¡± said Hakeem. He wasn¡¯t going to let Jason go alone. He knew how reckless this friend of his could be.

    ¡°I appreciate the concerns, but I can turn invisible,¡± Jason said. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯ll go out for recon, and all of you stay quiet and don¡¯t do something idiotic while I¡¯m gone.¡±

    ¡°Wait, if you can turn invisible, then just take us along with you and escape from this damn place,¡± Nuniq thought of something and threw at it for discussion.

    ¡°Hmm? That¡¯s a surprise, for once you¡¯re using your brain,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°What? I¡­ Wait, what do you mean by that? Are you-¡± Nuniq was going to blow over his top, but Arrluk stepped in and stopped him from making a ruckus.

    ¡°Nuniq¡¯s words made sense Mr.Park. Wouldn¡¯t it be easier if we go through that method?¡± Arrluk asked on behalf of his grandchild.

    ¡°We can do that, but there are still risks involved with that plan. We don¡¯t know the extent of that giant stinger capabilities. Who knows, it might even have a detection skill. Since I, for once, met a monster that can see through my invisibility, and that¡¯s a risk I won¡¯t take,¡± Jason said. ¡°And another thing, with that size of a monster, it¡¯s better to be cautious than just winging it.¡±

    ¡°Why? Are you scared? The great Jason scared of a tail?¡± Nuniq still resented the man for kicking him right in the stomach. He won¡¯t back down, not without throwing some petty insult at him.

    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m scared,¡± Jason said. His words took Nuniq by surprise. The teenager never predicted that Jason would speak such words.

    ¡°Unlike you lots, I met a monster that¡¯s big as a skyscraper, and the feeling I felt back then was the same with this ¡®tail¡¯, and a word of advice, you better be scared or else you won¡¯t know what might come,¡± Jason said.

    The whole group fell into silence. Jason¡¯s words put a big dent in their reality. Even the old man thought about the goosebumps he felt back when he heard those noises coming from the deep ravine. His instinct told him to run, and that was something he made sure to follow.

    ¡°Come on, gather up. I need to heal you guys before leaving,¡± Jason said. The whole group gathered in a circle as Jason healed them one by one. Nuniq, who was the furthest from the group, was pulled over by Arrluk. Although he acted tough with Jason, he still wanted to be healed.

    ¡°Forgive me Mr.Park. The boy is still uncouth, but he didn¡¯t mean bad,¡± Arrluk tried to mend the two relationships.

    But for Jason, he didn¡¯t care about it. What matters was keeping all of these people alive, and he owed it to them.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. He¡¯s still a kid,¡± Jason said with his hand reaching out to Nuniq. He healed the boy and hit him lightly at the head. ¡°Try not to make a problem while I¡¯m gone.¡±

    Nuniq could only stare at him as he watched Jason climbed up the hole. The moment he was out, he took in a deep breath of fresh air, and not a second too late, he vanished into thin air.

 Chapter 162

    The sky was dark and the ground littered with the corpses of Apaches. Their wings clipped, no longer flying in the sky. Chained to the ground by the ferocity of a hidden king. A king that lay deep within the depths of a man-made ravine. Yet that king was nowhere in sight as a hidden man searched for the owner of the crown, the crown of supreme dominance.

    Jason frowned. The sight of these wreckages instilled a discomfort feeling in him. Where ever he looked around, there would always be a sight of fallen helicopters. Seeing this carnage was enough to tell him that the giant stinger wasn¡¯t something he should mess with. He looked up in the sky and saw nothing but the clear night sky. He was supposed to be relieved, but he was more anxious, knowing that the giant stinger might be lurking somewhere near.

    He felt a bit safe hiding inside his Shadow Realm, but he knew better, that this trick of his could easily be overcome. Jason drew closer to a wrecked helicopter. It was split apart into two right down the middle. He looked inside and salvaged whatever he could find. But sadly, he couldn¡¯t find anything useful.

    This feels weird. Jason had a bad hunch. He looked around the helicopter one more time and noticed there were no dead bodies. There was no trace of the pilot nor the co-pilot. He did saw a few blood splatters here and there, but that was it.

    His caution brought him to a second Apache, and a quick look-around brought him the same conclusion. There was no sight of dead bodies. Jason wasn¡¯t satisfied and went to another helicopter, and the truth was unfolded right in front of him. The dead bodies were gone, and he could only think of one thing.

    It¡¯s eating us¡­

    He shouldn¡¯t be surprised considering what he had been through. New York was the best example. He saw way too many times where people were getting eaten alive into the jaws of beasts closely resembling prehistoric animals. But something didn¡¯t make any sense to him. The whole place was too clean for something of that size to eat a human and, to begin with, how did the gigantic UC eat the Apache pilots? He doubted there would be anything left if the giant stinger pierced through any of the humans.

    He imagined the stinger carrying the Apache pilots like skewers but he shook his head. It wasn¡¯t possible, not like what he imagined.

    Shit, I shouldn¡¯t think about something this useless. I better find a safe path for escape rather than thinking about how it eats. Jason made his mind and turned back to the exit of the Apache. But he stopped. His foot was halfway out from the cockpit, but he stayed motionless. He didn¡¯t even dare move a muscle, imagining himself as a stone.

    His eyes rolled upwards and saw a huge shadow looming over him. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck¡­

    A repetition of a particular word kept on circling in his head. It was the only thing that could describe how fucked he was in the current situation. For some reason, he got a bad feeling that hiding in the shadows won¡¯t help much.

    Shit, how in the hell did it move without even making a sound.

    The shadow above him went further away, moving as silently as the cloud. It would have been a cloud if it wasn¡¯t for that big-ass stinger searching for more prey. Yet, his encounter didn¡¯t end there. A feeling made him looked to the side, and boy, he felt his heart dropped.

    His eyes twitched a bit as if lacking magnesium before it turned wide open. He stared at the sky that was at a distance and saw what it was. There¡¯s another one.

    It was a carbon copy like the one that moved above him. There was nothing different about it but something bugged Jason. He wondered whether this was a tail or a separate entity. He traced it down to the base of the giant tail, hoping to see the body of the creature.

    I should have thought. It didn¡¯t look good for Jason. The only thing he saw was the massive length of the tail reaching the edge of the cliffside. The monocle aided him well in seeing from afar, but it didn¡¯t do any good in calming his nerves. One giant stinger tail was already a menace, but two? That was¡­

    Jason¡¯s thought fell short. He thought two would be the worst possible outcome, but he saw it. He damned his eyes for seeing it, but he couldn¡¯t deny that he saw it.

    Fuck¡­ There¡¯s another one.

    Two were trouble, but three was like Mr.Death reaching its hand out for a handshake. Jason just stood there in his awkward position, staring at another giant stinger roaming in the air like it owned the place.

    BOOM!

    Out of nowhere, an explosion broke the silence of the night. He turned and saw another giant stinger impaling through the ground. The bright flame and black smoke raised up in the sky, illuminating the darkness of the night. He wondered what it was, but his monocle couldn¡¯t see that far.

    No, Jason. This isn¡¯t the time to worry about others. I need to figure out a path to escape from this place. But is it safe?

    He questioned the safety of going back while staring at the direction towards Toronto City. Those people that wanted him dead were becoming bolder to the point of resorting to an airstrike. He could imagine how much those people hated him, and going back through the same road might not be a good idea. Going up against another ambush wasn¡¯t his cup of tea, considering he had people to protect. He didn¡¯t mind massacring them all after what they did to him and his friends.

    He waited for a while until the giant stinger that loomed above him went away further in the distance. Rather than being interested in the size of this unknown monster, he opted for the sensible train of thought. The search for a safe way out.

    He jumped out of the cockpit as silent as possible. He was that cautious even in a state of invisibility. Both of his feet landed on the ground as his whole body crouched close to the ground. He was at the point of crawling on the ground. Jason looked around and saw nothing change in the movement of these giant stinger tails.

    Jason made a move, taking a step. He merely took a step and stopped. His eyes wandered across the sky, hoping not to alert the giant stinger tail. The man was too paranoid in dealing with monsters of such size. He learned his lesson, and rushing wasn¡¯t going to be a help in his current situation.

    Slowly, he adjusted his steps from slow to normal. After seeing there were no changes in the action of the giant stinger tail, he concluded that it might not be able to see him in his Shadow Sneak state. A first assumption of his as he still didn¡¯t want to get carried away.

    Jason trod his path carefully. Choosing his road well and not making even the slightest mistake of bumping into something or causing even the slightest disturbance to his surrounding. He didn¡¯t even dare kick an itty-bitty pebble as he feared that the slightest sound might alert them.

    After a long period of paranoid time, he reached the edge of the cliffside. He stared down at the deep ravine while he spotted the sight of those giant stinger tails coming out from different locations of the ravine. From what he saw, these tails might not be coming from the same monster, but he was still opened to the idea of an extremely big monster that stretched out through the length of the ravine. It sounded ridiculous, but at this point in time, there was nothing impossible.

    Hmm, walking on the land under Shadow Sneak might be the fastest method in getting out of here. But I still can¡¯t help but worried. Or should we just continue our plan of digging until the end?

    Jason was deep in thought. Thinking of an escape plan wasn¡¯t easy, more so when he had numerous factors to take into consideration. An ambush from humans may lie ahead of their path back home, and these tails weren¡¯t making it easier. Then, he glanced in the direction of the lake.

    Through the waters? An idea flashed by. The thought of a freighter gliding on the surface of the lake, reaching the port in Toronto was like a grand entrance. Rather than being subtle, it was the most grandest way of saying to the enemy that ¡®I¡¯m back¡¯.

    No, not home. His head was down, looking at the ground. The open hostility shown by those men opened numerous possibilities in his head. If they dared shot him in the open, then his family might already be in their clutches. To take a family hostage was the most rational thing to do if you were dealing with someone dangerous like Jason. And considering their intelligence, they might have counted his love for his family into the equation. Using one¡¯s loved one was the oldest trick in the book for 101 Villain Guide. Who wouldn¡¯t give up their life for the one they love? And Jason was one of those guys.

    They wouldn¡¯t? would they? Neil said he¡¯ll protect my family at all costs, but¡­ can I trust him?

    That blonde hair man came into his mind. Neil warned him in the beginning that some people were targeting him. He didn¡¯t take it seriously, considering they were all on the same side, but the worst had happened. The result of his interrogation cleared Neil¡¯s name but was it enough to believe that guy was on his side? It might be a ruse or a mastermind behind another mastermind. Too many things were jumbling in Jason¡¯s mind.

    Fuck it! He opened his mouth towards the sky as if trying to shout. Nothing came out from his mouth as he paid heed not do something that stupid of alerting the enemies. But no one could blame him, too much was at stake here, and the stress was piling up.

    I¡¯ve decided. First thing first, I need to get back to the group. His small excursion ended with him returning back into his hiding hole. He went back inside the hole and saw the whole group digging a tunnel.

    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± he asked.

    His voice caught the whole group by surprise as they all turned with their weapons readied in hand. But the sight of Jason made those caution went away.

    ¡°Jason!¡± Hakeem rushed to his friend and gave him a hug. Jason didn¡¯t dodge as he just accepted it.

    ¡°So, how is it out there?¡± Hakeem asked.

    ¡°Not good, those tails are still roaming around,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Tails?¡± Esther didn¡¯t miss plural.

    ¡°Yea, there¡¯re more than one,¡± Jason said.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Hakeem said. He walked around as the revelation was a big hit to his mental state, and he wasn¡¯t the only one who felt the despair. The Igruk family was in the same spot as their eyes glanced at Tapeesa.

    ¡°So what should we do? Do you have a plan in mind?¡± Esther asked. Her words gained the attention of the rest of the group. All eyes landed on Jason.

    ¡°We¡¯re heading back to the freighter,¡± said Jason.

    ¡°Freighter?¡± Esther confused.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Nuniq was the most elated since going back to the freighter meant going back to his home.

    ¡°It¡¯s our home. We¡¯ve been living away in the UC zone through the freighter. It¡¯s not the best, but it¡¯s better than staying on land,¡± Arrluk explained to the clueless Hakeem and Esther.

    ¡°So, we¡¯re going back to Toronto by ship?¡± Esther asked once more for confirmation.

    ¡°No, we¡¯re not going back Toronto,¡± Jason burst the bubble.

    ¡°What?¡± Esther was confused, and so did Hakeem.

    ¡°You¡¯re not making sense, Jason, our parents¡­¡± before Esther could continue, Jason cut her off.

    ¡°We¡¯re in danger, Esther.¡± His voice turned colder. ¡°Do you remember those guys that ambushed us? They blast a bazooka at our jeep, and then they ambushed us with an airstrike. You think they won¡¯t touch our family?¡±

    Reality hit her hard. Numerous scenarios ran in her mind, figuring out through Jason¡¯s words. She wanted to deny it, but the most rational would think for the worst. Her knees grew weak as she flopped on the ground. Her head was down, and her eyes were glistening. She was on the verge of having a meltdown.

    But a warmth enveloped her as her dear brother gave a hug. He patted her head and consoled her. ¡°It will be fine. I won¡¯t let anything happen to our family.¡±

    She glanced at Jason with her teary eyes. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°After I send you all to the freighter, I¡¯m going back to Toronto... Alone.¡±