"Challengers!, you have been chosen...….ds...… complete the trials and emerge victorious. May the [Emperor] have mercy on you.........…"
"Well then… that's quite unexpected. Could Father have done this? ...No, he is not fond of fantasy — in fact, he despises it with all his heart. Then who could've done this? One of my siblings? …No, I would've known about it…"
Damian looked around at the sights before him. He was standing on top of a marble platform far up in the sky with stairs leading down. On this platform there were other people besides him — twelve to be exact, counting himself, of course.
Damian was deep in thought, trying to figure out who could have put him in this place. (They even changed my clothes… They must have been very capable. I wonder if I should hire them or kill them.)
Before he could decide, he saw a figure running down the platform in a panicked manner. (That looked quite realistic… Maybe he's not an actor or maybe he is just a really good one… Haha, what fun! Let's go have a look.)
With a smile on his handsome face, Damian walked off the platform, leaving the confused and dazed people there to their own devices.
------------------------
(nonononononoonononononononnon this can't be real how does it know how does it know how hwohowhhowhowhwohhowhowhowh)
Alex was having a not-so-great time as he huddled next to a marble pillar, its smooth and cold texture bringing little comfort in this moment.
Alex wasn't concerned about his sudden appearance inside this palace nor about the disembodied voice's command. Instead, he seemed to be concerned about something only he could see.
[alex]
[class] = [conduit]
[archetype] = [magically inclined]
[level] = [0]
[skills] = enhance.
[stats]
Str = 2
End = 4
Sta = 3
Int = 6
—
[mp] = 100
—------
As Alex looked at the description of a specific word, his mind was slowly slipping from his control. For a moment, he thought he heard the sounds of many people speaking all at once, but Alex didn't pay it much attention, instead re-reading the words of the description once again to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
[skills] = [enhance]
[enhance] = if ordered, this ability can be forced to activate at the cost of the owner's MP/HP. [Be careful who you befriend].
"Hahaha… this is some cruel joke, right? This can't be real. It—it can't, right…?"
Alex was slowly losing his mind as the sounds of thousands of people resounded in his head. This only lasted for a moment, as soon he felt a different sensation.
This one was similar to being submerged in cold icy water then being dried by a cold breeze. This sensation slowly overtook his mind and body and then seconds later settled and dissipated.
Alex, who was now reasonably calmer than before, though still very much shook and confused, decided to have a second look at his stats screen.
[alex]
[class] = [conduit]
[archetype] = [magically inclined]
[level] = [0]
[skills] = enhance.
[stats]
Str = 2
End = 4
Sta = 3
Int = 6
—
[mp] = 100
"It's real… but if I'm here, then… I should be safe, right? This thing… this thing was just messing with me, that's most likely it… Alright, let's have a look."
Alex looked at his stats screen then clicked on each of the words he saw.
First, at his class.
[class] = [conduit] = [The ability to empower others and oneself to a lesser extent]
"That's… odd. In all the novels I have read, I have never seen a class like this before… weird."
He dismissed the thought and clicked on a different word.
[archetype]
Alex looked at the word with a raised eyebrow. "That's… certainly a word…"
[archetype]
[archetype] = describes one's capabilities in a broad sense based on one's class and stats.
"Huh… that doesn't sound right at all for some reason."
He clicked on another word.
[stats]
Str = 2
End = 4
Sta = 3
Int = 6
"How come these ones aren't in bold?… and there doesn't seem to be a description for some reason… What the hell?"
Alex looked at the stats, then scoffed.
"I am not that weak! What the hell, system!? What kind of crap is this? What did I do to deserve this, huh?"
No one responded to Alex's annoyed ramblings, so he moved on.
The last word was:
[mp]=100
[mp] = 100
[mp] = ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????.
"Ah… is this the system's way of telling me to fuck off? Neat. Just perfect! Come on, it's just mana — I know what it is! You don't have to be a prick about it!"
Alex criticized the system, not caring if it heard him or not.
"Okay… let's figure this out. I'm in some strange place, likely in some kind of novel-style fantasy world with RPG elements… Did the writer not have anything Better to write? Anyways, there were other people — not sure how many but there were quite a few. I should go back and check on them. They might know more than me. I doubt it, but still better to be sure.
And levels! Right… how do I get those? Just by killing? But I don't have any attack skills or anything! What the heck, system! There's been a mistake! Where are my starter skills!? My Power Strike! My Dodge! My Punch?! Anything?! What the hell kind of system is this? You're the worst! A disgrace to all other systems!"
Alex yelled and pointed toward the sky, which was covered by a marble dome of some sort, though weirdly enough light still shone through it and he could even tell what time it was.
"Now what's all this shouting for? Are you perhaps talking to someone?"
Alex jolted and stood up, looking toward the direction of the voice — and he saw:
A tall man with broad shoulders, dark hair and eyes, a deathly pale complexion, and a smirk that said "I'm better than you — and I know it."
—-----------------
Damian looked at the person standing before him. Their height was… below average. Their looks were… well, if he had to say anything, it was exotic but in a mundane way — kind of like those people that owned stray dogs instead of those specialized breeds.
To be more specific, Damian thought the person in front of him looked like a stray dog: brown hair, brown eyes, slightly tanned skin, nervous eyes, no real presence to speak of… (Was this really someone his family would hire to trick and deceive him? Unlikely. Then that left only one answer… this was real — all of it. The voice, the platform, this absurdly large place, and the weird thing in his mind with words and numbers. What the hell was that, anyway?)
Damian smiled, then asked, "Mind telling me your name? Mine's Damian Lee. It's… nice to meet you," he said as he looked at the person in front of him.
Damian looked on as the person shuffled awkwardly then said, "A... Alex. Just Alex! Nice to meet you, Damian…"
After his introduction, Alex stayed quiet, making Damian rather confused as Alex looked to be staring at nothing with intent.
"Are you perhaps looking at that weird wall of text and numbers? Do you know what it is?"
Damian wasn't confident that Alex would know, but perhaps he gleaned a bit more information than he did… as unlikely as that may be. Alex didn't seem to be the intelligent type.
Alex looked at him with a confused look then said, "Huh? You mean the stats screen? You… don't know what it is?"
Alex looked genuinely surprised by this revelation, which made Damian a bit irritated.
"Sadly, no. Mind enlightening me then?"
Damian was a bit surprised — it seems that Alex not only knew what it was but what it could do. (Interesting.)
Alex looked at him for a few seconds, then sighed and spoke.
"Well… it's not too complicated. But l-let's start at the top then. Firstly is your name," he said and motioned for Damian to look at his stats screen.
"Okay, I see. What's next?" Damian sat down.
"Next is your class, which is like your uhhh… job? Role? It's the thing you do well and the system is supposed to help you get better at doing that thing. It's also different for everyone… I think anyway.
After that is archetype, which is like other things you're good at or just like a broad description of things you can do or something like that. Im honestly not too sure… Then there are levels — they're pretty self-explanatory, but basically the higher that number is, the stronger you become and the more abilities and skills you get.
As for how you get stronger — usually by combat! Killing monsters or doing certain tasks can get you experience which helps you level up! I think that also differs per person.
Next is skills — I mentioned them before! But it's basically like, uhh… actually how do I explain this… Basically, it's an ability that allows you to do the thing it describes.
For example, if you had a skill that said something like [Power Strike], it would allow you to use a powerful strike that's stronger than what you usually would be able to give out.
Let's see, what's next… Stats are, well, it's the simplest of them all. It's just a way to showcase your current strength. The higher the number, the better you'd be at the specific stat. That's pretty much all of it, I think.
Oh actually, there's also MP, which is basically magic — or rather, it allows you to use magic! Some skills need it, I believe."
Damian compiled all the information he got from Alex and put it away in his mind. Then he asked Alex an important question.
"I see! Thanks for the explanation, friend! But can you explain what these stats mean, one by one?"
Alex looked at Damian with a horrified expression. "Y-you really don't know? What rock have you been living under?"
Damian just smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "What can I say! Haha, I guess I'm just ignorant is all. So mind teaching me the ropes?"
Alex sighed and then sat down as well. It seems he felt a bit safer around Damian… (Big mistake — not that I'll tell him that. I need this person to tell me as much as possible. I'm surprised they're this knowledgeable about this. It's a good idea to keep someone like that close by. Shouldn't be too hard to make him my underling.)
Damian looked at Alex who was explaining what 'stats' were.
"Well. STR stands for Strength — of the physical kind. END is Endurance, which is like defense — physical as well, though that might change to magic as well, I'm not sure. STA is Stamina — that's self-explanatory. And INT is for Intelligence, which is usually associated with magic.
Remember levels? Well, as you level up, you'll probably get the chance to increase your stats. So that's pretty much it… Any more questions?"
Damian looked at Alex's expectant face and smiled, then said, "No, I believe that's all. Say… we're in the same boat, right? Both stuck in this mysterious place. Why not stick together — at least until we figure out more!"
He stretched his hand out in front of Alex.
Alex looked at it, then after hesitating for a second, he took it. "Sure… friends until we figure out what the hell is happening!"
"Perfect," Damian said in a delighted tone, then looked at his stats screen, making sure Alex didn't notice.
[damian]
[class] = [??????]
[archetype] = [noble lineage]
[level] = [4]
[skills] = [command], [ruler], [martial arts], [sword arts], [natural predator]
[stats]
Str = 8
End = 8
Sta = 9
Led = 5
—
subordinates = 0
(It's different than what he described… I don't think he's lying. Then maybe I just got my hands on a valuable piece of info… How fun… Let's see what these skills are.)
[command] = Ability to command people with your voice. Must have some level of familiarity with the individual for this to work.
(Useful, though situational. Overall not terrible.)
[ruler] = You're a natural born ruler. Dominate those weaker than you or those who think they are weaker than you, making them less capable.
(I see… that could be useful.)
Damian thought before clicking on the third one — but before he could, something happened:
[skill evolution] = martial arts & sword arts = weapon expert
(...what?) Damian clicked on the new skill.
[weapon expert] = You're capable of using just about any weapon of physical damage with relative ease.
Current skill level=novice=currently able to use all physical weapons at novice level barring pre-existing ability to use weapons at a higher skill level .
"So, what do we do now? Should we explore?" Alex asked, pulling Damian out of his thoughts.
Damian hummed for a second, then an idea struck him. "That's exactly what we should do! Great idea. The more we know, the better. Not to mention, we'll get a head start on the others! Haha, I knew becoming friends with you would be a great idea!" He put a hand on Alex's shoulder. This action made Alex jump and stand up.
"Well then, I'll lead the way." With that, Damian stood up and started walking further away from where they had woken up, leaving the rest of the people behind.
(The weak are destined to fall. As such, it's the duty of the strong to lead them, like a shepherd does his sheep. Ha... I wonder if Alex is a shepherd or a sheep.)
Damian smiled ear to ear and gained a pep in his step.
It doesn't take the duo much time to find something interesting. In front of them was a smaller corridor with a white door. Damian didn't hesitate to open it, despite the possibility of danger. Past the now open door lay a hall—a large, marvelous, and light-filled hall. Inside were a dozen or so statues, all broken with only their feet remaining. You couldn't tell anything about the statues, though Damian could probably guess that this place held some type of importance (perhaps people of high standing? Or maybe religious figures? Both? Doesn't matter right now.). They kept walking as they looked at the statues on both sides in the warm, light-filled hall.
Finally, they reached the end of the hall and saw... a door.
A giant, absolutely gigantic door made of white marble. Its size and thickness were odd. (Who could even open this? Maybe it's operated by some mechanism? Then again, if this palace was made by people who had access to this so-called stats system, maybe they were strong enough to outright open it. Ha, what a neat idea! If the other members of my family knew what treasure trove I found, they would die of jealousy. Of course, I won't tell them... Only I am allowed to kill them... They all will die by my hand and mine alone.)
Damian whistled and walked up toward the marble door. When he was only a few feet away from it, he noticed that it was slightly ajar. (…How... convenient! I must be blessed by the world… Ha, as if!)
Damian chuckled and stepped through it.
As both he and Alex stepped through the door, they soon saw a sight that would change everything.
"This palace is... bigger than I thought... Interesting. What do you think, Alex... Alex? Where did he go?" Damian looked around and noticed that his newly acquired serv— ahem, he meant friend! And absolutely nothing else, haha.
As Damian caught the slip of the tongue, he finally noticed that Alex had descended down the steps and headed toward the town beyond them.
Indeed, past the giant door stood a town. The houses looked very small, like that of a children's playset—at least from this distance and compared to the door.
Another thing was that the buildings looked different from their surroundings. They looked like they were built from whatever the builders could find. It was as if whoever built the magnificent marble paradise and the people who built the town below were completely different groups.
Past the town stood what could only be described as a wall as tall as a mountain, made entirely of seamless marble.
"Whoever built this palace had an odd obsession with marble... There are better materials out there, you know?!" Damian criticized the architect who built this place—not that they were here to hear it.
Damian ran down the stairs and finally caught up to Alex, who rushed inside one of the buildings and started rummaging through it. Damian looked at this scene with a raised eyebrow. (I was joking when I said he was like a stray dog... now he does this?)
He shook his head then yelled, "Alex! What the hell are you doing? Last time I checked, breaking and entering are crimes!"
Damian, of course, didn't care too much about the crime his... 'friend' had just committed—more so that they might get caught and he would be implicated.
"What? Dude, this palace is a ghost town! Haven't you noticed? Come on, let's loot this place before the others get here!" Alex yelled back.
Damian looked around and indeed noticed how quiet it was. (No smoke, no light, smell or sound. The ground doesn't seem disturbed. There's dust on the steps of some houses and on every window I can see... this place really seems abandoned... Great, I won't have to worry about stealing then!)
With that, Damian rushed inside a house of his own and did the same as Alex.
—-----------
"Well, would you look at that! The others finally caught up," Damian raised his voice as he spotted the group that had finally reached the town past the giant door. Most of them seemed to still be confused or scared—understandably so! It's not every day a bunch of people wake up in a new world altogether.
The larger group of about ten or so people was being led by an older gentleman. The man spotted Damian and Alex and said something to the others, who then began to quicken their pace.
Finally, they reached the duo. Now that Damian could see the older gentleman better, he looked to be in his early thirties, with deep eyes, light brown hair cut short, and a sharp face.
"Did the two of you already go through the town?" That was the first thing the older gentleman said.
Damian smiled and stepped forward.
"Yes, we did. Is that going to be a problem?" He looked the older gentleman in the eye, and the man met his gaze.
(Not bad. This person is quite strong, and he seems to have great leadership skills… I wonder if I can kill him.)
Damian kept his face straight, making sure not to show any signs of weakness.
The older gentleman spoke. "Not at all. I doubt you got everything. Name's Henry."
Henry reached out his hand, and Damian took it without a second thought.
"Damian Lee! Pleasure meeting you, Henry. Looks like you led these people here. And yes, we left most of the loot for the others! It would be unbecoming of us to just take everything for ourselves. We're all in this together, no?" Damian said in a calm and jovial tone.
(Ha, he's not buying it… Clever. How troublesome.)
Damian was slowly thinking about the best way to remove him from the equation. However, before he could form a plan, Henry closed his eyes and smiled.
"We are. Since the two of you seem to have better weapons than everyone else right now, how about you two and I go look around while the others get themselves situated and armed? Who knows what dangers lurk in this place."
Henry was still looking Damian in the eyes.
(I really hate this type of person the most. He already forced our hands to work with him—otherwise, we might get killed by the others. They outnumber us ten to two; no chance we could do anything against those numbers… even with weapons.)
Damian nodded, then motioned for Henry to lead them.
"It's good to see such… agreeable people here. You made the right decision, son!" Henry said as he led the duo into a house. He looked around and picked up an axe and a belt. That was all he took—nothing else.
(Is he that confident in his combat skills?…)
Damian gave Henry a once-over and realized the man had a strong build, though it was hidden behind his clothes. He could even see a few scars here and there.
(Bullet wounds?… Curious.)
"Uhh… Henry, sir? Where are we going? Shouldn't we look for clues inside the town first? Me and Damian were kinda busy looting to really look for any ourselves," Alex spoke, slowly growing quieter as Henry looked at him.
Henry smiled and laughed. "Easy, son! No need to be scared, I'm not gonna hurt you. As for where—well, see that tower? I bet we'd get a vantage point at the top, maybe see more of this palace and build a map. Something tells me we'll be spending a long time here. What's your name, by the way?"
Henry's tone was different when speaking to Alex. It was still calm, but unlike with Damian, it was almost… fatherly.
"Oh, uh—Alex. My name's Alex. I'm a magic class, by the way. What about you?" Alex's question prompted a "Hmm?" from Henry.
"Class? What's that?" Henry asked.
Alex looked at him and sighed. "Really? Another guy who doesn't know what's going on... Right, well—"
Alex spent the next few minutes explaining everything he knew about the system as they walked toward the tower in the distance.
"I see… That's quite a lot to take in. Thanks for explaining. As for my class, it says 'Warborne.' Not sure what that means, but it probably has something to do with my job back home."
Henry rubbed his chin as he looked at his stats screen.
"Oh! Were you in the army?" Alex asked.
"I was, actually. You think that has something to do with it? You're about the closest thing we've got to an expert in this," Henry said with a slight chuckle.
Alex laughed awkwardly. "Haha, not really. I just liked reading bad novels, that's all. Oh—and I guess playing games, but that's about it."
Damian looked at the two but remained quiet.
However, inwardly he was having a great time. (Good going, Alex. Already proving your usefulness! Not only did you get him to expose his class, you even managed to get him to like you! I'll be sure to reward you once we're out of this.)
His thoughts were interrupted by Henry raising a hand, signaling them to remain quiet.
Damian stopped in his tracks and immediately started looking around. (There's nothing… No, wait—the path ahead… there are foot tracks. But everyone's already back at the town, so where the hell did these come from? They don't look like they came from us or the others. Everyone was wearing similar sandals. These tracks look like they were made by proper shoes… Hmm.)
With that realization, Damian took out his weapon and readied it. He had picked up a short sword in what looked to be a blacksmith's shop. It wasn't the best weapon for someone like him, but it would do for now.
Henry also readied his axe but remained calm as he looked around. The only thing that changed was the look in his eyes… that was the look of a fighter.
Alex, seeing both his companions brandishing their weapons, struggled to draw his own, which was a large curved knife that he held in both hands.
Henry took the front and walked forward silently, looking between different buildings and houses in the deeper parts of the town.
At first, everything was quiet, which only made the trio—or rather Alex—more anxious.
However, the silence was soon broken.
(What… what is that sound? It sounds like gurgling… is someone choking on water or something?)
Alex was positively terrified at the sound—same for both Damian and Henry, though they were more concerned with whether there was more than one thing making the noise.
And it seemed they were right in their assumption, as more sounds began to emerge… and they were getting closer.
Henry moved in front of Alex and Damian—only for Damian to step up next to him. Only Alex remained in place, shaking slightly at the sound.
They raised their weapons, ready for whatever it was that was making those noises…
"E… emm… eroro…"
As the gurgling drew closer, the sounds the trio heard began to resemble slurred, distorted speech.
It didn't take long for them to see the source: it emerged from an alleyway, wearing what looked like tattered robes and carrying a broken sword hilt—rusted and bloodied with dried, rotten blood.
As soon as the undead creature saw them, its demeanor changed. Before, it had limped forward with confused, uncertain steps. Now it ran—raising its weapon, ready to kill whatever was in front of it.
Henry was the first to react. He rushed forward. The undead creature raised its weapon for a strong overhead strike—
At the last second, Henry stepped to the side, grabbed the creature's arm, twisted his body, and kicked it back. Then, with all his might—and slightly enhanced by his class and skills—he threw it to the side.
The undead creature groaned in pain as it struggled to get up. It was clearly disoriented.
"Stay down, if you know what's good for you!" Henry yelled at the creature.
Though it didn't seem to care. Soon, it was back on its feet—and rushed them again.
"H–Henry! It's a zombie! It's dead—it can't understand you! Just kill it—uh, go for the head or something!" Alex shouted.
Henry's face contorted in confusion, then, with a sigh, he batted away yet another attack—a thrust this time, from the creature's broken weapon.
This time, he didn't dodge. Instead, he grabbed the creature's arms, raised his axe in his dominant hand, and struck with all his might at the creature's head.
The axe met its target—splitting skin and skull with a loud crunch.
Sadly, that wasn't enough. The creature groaned and tried to bite Henry despite the axe buried in its skull.
Before it could reach him, however, the undead creature was stabbed in the brain with a straight sword—and finally stopped moving after a few seconds of struggling.
Then, both Henry and Damian got a message:
[You have killed: Undead Monster] = [Ten experience awarded to all combat participants!]
"Are you guys alright? Is anybody hurt? Or bitten?" Alex asked as he rushed to the other two, worry clearly showing on his face.
Henry responded first with a slight huff, "We're fine. Good job with the quick thinking!" Henry was calm despite the fight he was just in, not worried about the fact his life was in danger.
Damian cleaned his sword on the creature's tattered robes. "Well, this thing gave us quite a scare, only to be this weak? I'm a little disappointed."
Alex looked at him with shock, then said, "WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?!"
Damian looked at him and asked, "What? What's wrong? I just said—"
Before he could repeat his words, a cacophony of gurgles and slurred speech could be heard.
"Em...p...emero..."
"So...l...maa…"
Five or so similar undead creatures could be seen walking towards them, then stopping as they saw the trio, before rushing forward with loud screeches as they raised their weapons—from pitchforks to sickles and axes.
"Ah... I see my mistake…" Damian calmly commented as he raised his weapon.
Henry was looking around, then took Alex and Damian's hands and yelled, "Quick! Inside that house! Once we get in, barricade the door! We'll try to funnel them into the doorway—that way we don't get surrounded!"
They rushed inside a nearby house, throwing the door open. Once they were inside, Henry quickly grabbed a large wooden table and brought it towards the door. It barricaded half the door. Then he grabbed more and more furniture and used it to support the table. Soon though, the horde of undead was upon them.
"Damian! Use your sword! You've got more range than me! I'll try to grab their weapons and disarm them! You finish them off! Alex! Look around and see if you can find something sharp and long! And if you can, find another entrance and make sure it's open!" Henry barked out commands, his tone no longer calm.
He grabbed the pitchfork off the leading undead and, using his axe, chopped its hand off. Unfortunately, the axe couldn't cut all the way through and the undead only let out a maddened yell as it thrashed and tried to scratch Henry's face. Before it could, Damian stabbed it straight through the skull, right between the eyes.
That wasn't enough.
"They're sturdy! Stay back! I'll push them back a little! You try to take your weapon back out of its skull!" Henry said as he let go of his axe and kicked the undead in front of him, making the others behind it stagger for a moment as Damian struggled to take his weapon back.
Alex was rummaging through the house, looking for a weapon with long reach and a secondary entrance. The former was found rather quickly—Alex had found it next to a fireplace. It was made of iron with an odd hook-shaped head and another straight head. He quickly grabbed it and rushed to the other rooms searching for another entrance.
"Crap! The front door is the only entrance… we'll have to fight through the horde if we want to escape!" Alex rushed back to Henry and Damian and told them his discovery as he handed the fire poker to Henry. He immediately used it to stab an undead monster in the eye, making it stop and scream as it grabbed its face in pain.
Alex looked on, feeling useless as both Damian and Henry were fighting.
(What do I do? What do I do?! Can I do anything? Crap! Come on, maybe I have something that can help!) With that thought, Alex looked at his stats screen, looking for something that might help in this current predicament.
[Alex]
[Class] = [Conduit]
[Archetype] = [Magically Inclined]
[Level] = [0]
[Skills] = Enhance
[Stats]
STR = 2
END = 4
STA = 3
INT = 6
—
MP = 100
(That's it! Maybe I can do something with that!)
Alex clicked on one of the words and soon its description appeared.
[Magically Inclined] = You're naturally inclined towards magic and have an easier time understanding and using it. It is said those who have had this archetype often seem lost in their heads, muttering about the sound of God.
(Maybe… maybe I can use spells! Right, just because it's not in my system doesn't mean I can't do it… I hope at least!)
With that, Alex tried to calm himself down and focused on figuring out how to do magic.
He instantly felt a memory resurface—that feeling of being submerged in icy cold water and then dried by a breeze… soon the feeling came to him and enveloped him, calming him down and increasing his focus.
(Right… what can I make with this! What can help us right now...?)
Alex thought as he studied Henry and Damian's fight.
(Those undead… they feel pain, if only some of it, so maybe… fire! Fire can help!)
With an idea in his head, he tried to conjure fire.
Friction, fuel, air… the things associated with fire all came to his head. Then memories flooded his brain—those of him burning his finger on a candle, or those from a campfire.
That familiar acrid smell of burning soon took shape, and a small marble-sized ball of fire was at his fingertips. Then, just as it manifested, he threw it at the undead—center mass at their tattered clothes.
The dry cloth of the undead didn't need much to catch fire and quickly spread, making the undead—both the one in front and the ones in the back—yell out in pain!
Henry spared a quick glance back and nodded toward Alex. Then, with the attacks of the undead lessening, he took the fire poker, grabbed his axe that was stuck to one of the undead's hands and pulled it forward. Then, with all his might, pierced its skull and plunged the fire poker into the brain of the undead in front through its eye.
[You have killed: Undead Monster] = [Five experience awarded to all combat participants!]
[You have killed: Undead Monster] = [Ten experience awarded!]
[You have killed: Undead Monster] = [Fifteen experience awarded!]
Those last two messages were for Alex only—it seemed the monsters were weak to fire, as the flames on their skin seemed to burn brighter and brighter as though the creatures were made of flammable material…
[New Skill Unlocked!] = [Fire Marble]
[Level Threshold Reached! Go to the statue of ??????? to level up!]
Alex looked at the words and felt a rush of energy course through him as he smiled then laughed, "Haha! I did it! I leveled up!"
However, he was quickly brought back to reality by Henry. "It's not over yet! There are still two more left! Seems the fire didn't reach them—only slightly singed them."
Alex looked out the door and, lo and behold, there were two other undead left that were struggling to rise to their feet. The pain of the fire was driving them mad as they thrashed and screeched.
Damian vaulted over the makeshift barricade and went to engage one of the undead—with surprising success!
Henry, who was surprised by Damian's sudden suicidal tactic, quickly regained composure and did the same, rushing to the other. And with both his fire poker and axe, crushed the head of the other undead.
Alex received two other notifications:
[You have killed: Undead Monster] = [Five experience awarded to all combat participants!]
[You have killed: Undead Monster] = [Five experience awarded to all combat participants!]
"I think that was the last of them. Good job, everyone… I don't think we can make it to the tower—not if there are more of them… unless… Alex, how many more of that magic fire can you make?" Henry was tired. His muscles ached, though not too much—he was used to arduous tasks. It was just his age catching up to him.
Alex looked at his stats screen. "Uhh… like maybe two more? I'm not sure how much the first one took. I'm pretty sure I used too much MP for it… does anyone else feel light-headed?"
Alex knelt on the ground. He somehow looked worse than both Henry and Damian combined.
Henry sighed. "Alright, we're heading back… we'll come back when we're more prepared. We'll also have to warn the others about those undead things… barricade the town if we must. Here, give me your hand." Henry walked up to Alex and offered his hand. Alex took it, and with Henry's support, stood up and started walking back to town.
Damian stood there for a moment, grabbed the undead monsters' weapons, and joined the other two.
--------
"Guys! They're back! They look hurt!" one of the survivors yelled when he noticed that the trio had made it back.
Once they reached the town, they were bombarded by questions:
"How was it? Are there monsters?"
"Can we go back home?"
"Okay everyone, calm down! We have a lot to talk about. For now though—" Henry spoke, raising his voice. Then he full-on yelled, "Everyone prepare! There is danger deeper in the town! Undead monsters! We killed a few, but they're dangerous! Barricade the houses you'll be staying in and lock the doors if you can! Don't make any noise! Tomorrow, we will try to prepare and go deeper into town!"
Henry's words tore through the crowd and brought panic with it.
"M-Monsters? There are monsters?!"
"...Is this like a game? Are we in a game? Can we die? …Someone test that!"
Henry felt his patience thinning, so he raised his voice, "No. No one test that! From here on out, I'm your leader! If you have a problem, you come to me! Now go inside a house, grab whatever weapons you can, and look for anything that might be useful. Alex, was there a big building in the town when you and Damian were looting it?"
Alex was a bit surprised to be mentioned, but quickly responded, "Yeah—the smithy! It's large, made of stone, and has weapons and a big storage room. It's in the back most corner to the right, near the wall!"
Henry nodded.
"Good. After everyone gets themselves weapons and armor, grab everything else that might be useful and bring it to the smithy. That'll be our HQ for now. I, along with a few others, will stay there. We'll also patrol at night to kill any monsters that might come near. Now get to work!"
Henry had taken the position of leader in their little group. There were only around twelve people total, but that was still better than nothing.
Night had settled over the town.
Everyone had barricaded themselves inside one of the houses. Only Henry, Alex, and Damian remained in the blacksmith, watching over the quiet streets.
"Guys… did anyone else get the level-up message?" Alex asked.
Damian nodded, saying nothing.
Henry looked at his stats screen, then nodded as well. "Yes, I did. It says to go to the Statue of the Warrior to level up. Same for you, I presume?"
Alex noticed Henry's statue wasn't hidden like his was. Weird.
"…I have an idea. Can we go to the hall with the statues? I've got a feeling that's where we need to go to level up. Each class probably belongs to one of the twelve statues—we just have to find the one for us," Alex said, humming as he looked out over the calm town.
"That's too dangerous. We should wait till morning. There's no rush," Henry chided Alex for his impatience.
Damian, however, spoke up, "Actually, I think we should go now. The sooner we figure this out, the sooner we can leave this place altogether. Maybe you haven't noticed, but those five undead were stronger than the single one we killed earlier. I'm guessing they weren't all the same level. There's a chance there's a… like, a super undead out there, and it's pretty pissed we just killed its underlings. So we'll need every skill and level we can get. I say we rush to the hall and level up. If we're wrong, nothing's lost. But if we're right? We get stronger."
Henry looked at Damian for a moment, then sighed.
"Fine. Lead the way."
"So, which of these is your statue?" Damian asked Alex as they moved through the ruined, desecrated hall of statues.
"I'm not sure… I guess just try all of them?" Alex shrugged.
Damian huffed and moved to one of the statues. Henry had already found his—it was the first one, right next to the giant door. He was kneeling in front of it, likely trying to figure out how to allocate his stats.
Damian moved from one statue to another with no success.
Alex did the same, until he reached one near the beginning of the hall—next to the normal-sized door that led back to the raised marble platform where they'd first appeared. This statue had only its legs left, and a third piece next to it that looked like the butt of a staff or spear.
He felt a connection to it and stepped forward, then knelt.
[Level up?]
"Yes."
[Five points available]
[Stats]
Str: 2
End: 4
Sta: 3
Int: 6
MP: 100/48
Which one should I increase? …Wait, I can increase MP?
Without a second thought, he put two points into Intelligence, and the rest into MP.
[Updated Stats]
Str: 2
End: 4
Sta: 3
Int: 8
MP: 130
Once that was done, Alex stood up and immediately felt a change. His mind was clearer. He could feel that cold, magical sensation again—only more consistently. His thoughts felt like they moved faster, though it was barely noticeable.
"Woah… that's something. I only put two points into Int, yet it had this much of an effect... I wonder—Hey, Henry! Are you done? Can you tell me how many points you put into your stats, what you put them in, and how you felt afterward?"
Alex watched Henry look down at his arms in confusion, clenching and unclenching them.
Henry looked up and snapped out of it. "Ah, yes. I put them in—"
------
Alex interrupted, lost in thought.
"I see… I think I figured something out! Everyone's stats scale differently!"
"To explain—someone like you, a warrior class, is going to feel a much bigger change from increasing physical stats like Strength. Meanwhile, someone like me—a magic class—will feel more effect from increasing Intelligence!"
"So for example: if you put points into Int, you'd barely feel any difference. And if I put points into Strength, I'd barely feel any stronger. I'd need to put dozens into it to notice anything. But for you, even a tiny increase in Strength makes a huge difference—and for me, that's true of Int!"
Henry looked surprised.
"I see… That's good to know. We'll tell the rest once the sun rises. We might have to bring more people with us tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Damian was frustrated.
Where the hell is my statue? Huh? Why does it only show question marks? Gahh, what bullshit is this?.. No no, calm down. It's fine. Look—there are only two statues left. The one Alex used… and the one in front of that one…
He stepped toward Alex's statue.
Nothing.
He sighed and walked to the other statue—and then—
"Gah—!"
[Welcome… Please allocate your stat points]
[Damian]
Class: [??????]
Archetype: [Noble Lineage]
Level: 4
Skills: [Command], [Ruler], [Martial Arts], [Sword Arts], [Natural Predator]
[Stats]
Str: 8
End: 8
Sta: 9
Led: 5
Subordinates: 0
"Huh? Why's the color different? Red isn't my favored color …Who cares. Let's just get this over with."
Damian felt oddly agitated. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted out of this place as soon as possible.
"Let's see… Looks like I can increase both my archetype and my stats… hmm. Weapon Expert might be a good idea…"
He put a point into Weapon Expert, and the rest into Strength and Endurance.
As soon as he finished, he felt the difference—his body felt solid, like stone. He grinned.
[Damian]
Class: [??????]
Archetype: [Noble Lineage]
Level: 5
Skills: [Command], [Ruler], [Weapon Expert = Novice (44/100)], [Natural Predator]
[Stats]
{Str}: 10
{End}: 10
{Sta}: 9
{Led}: 5
{Subordinates}: 0
(D...does my stats screen look different? Weird... Should I tell the others? No, better keep this to myself.)
Damian looked at his stats and noticed how different it looked after leveling up.
He hummed, feeling his mood come down a bit, and walked toward the others—then immediately felt an odd sensation.
[New skill unlocked] = [Loved by "The Sword"]
[Loved by "The Sword"] = ["The Sword" loves you. All swords will bow to you and lend you their full strength at the cost of their "lives".]
Damian nearly toppled over. The feeling he got from the skill unlock was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was invasive, wrong, and profane—like being stabbed in the head with a rusty knife.
(What the hell was that? God, it gave me a headache! What is wrong with this damned system? Does it like torturing its users or something? And why are the words "The Sword" in quotation marks? What's so special about it?)
—----------------
"I thought you said we would bring more people!" Damian questioned, frustration edging his voice.
Henry sighed. "I talked to them, but not even the promise of power made them want to come. I don't blame them. You only get one life—I doubt they'd risk losing it to some undead creature." He closed his eyes, exhaling as he, Alex, and Damian walked out toward the tower again, hoping to make it further this time.
"It sounds like you weren't trying hard enough," Damian snapped. "You can't keep them safe forever. The sooner they face reality, the sooner they'll stop pretending they can hide from it!"
Damian's criticism hit Henry deeper than he expected, bitterness rising in his chest. "I'm not gonna send a bunch of children to their deaths!" he shot back.
Damian wasn't moved. "Ha! Then what exactly are you doing right now? Look, I get it—but if you let them keep running from reality, they'll die. So what would you prefer? For them to die weak and incapable, hiding and waiting for the end? Or for them to face it head-on and have a chance at survival?"
He stepped forward, eyes sharp. "You're the leader. So make a damn choice. If you won't, I'll gladly take your place."
Henry held back, calming himself. (This kid… he really knows how to get under people's skin. But he's right. I'll have to think of something soon.)
He glanced ahead and noticed Alex had passed both him and Damian. Something seemed off—Alex looked distant, almost dazed. Frowning, Henry quickened his pace and put a hand on Alex's shoulder, gently shaking him. "Alex? Everything alright?"
Alex stopped, blinking rapidly as if snapping out of a deep thought. "Huh? Oh, uh—yeah. I'm fine. Just… lost in thought is all. Magic is… weird."
Henry raised an eyebrow. He had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but let it go with a sigh. He gave Alex's shoulder a firm pat. "Be careful, alright? We need your magic—it's the only real weakness we know of against those undead."
Alex nodded meekly and continued walking forward.
—––
"We're here again. That's the house we were in yesterday. We didn't really look through it all that well," Damian said, peering through the doorway, which was still blocked off by an overturned table.
"I don't see any other undead around," Henry added as he stepped past the charred and butchered corpses.
"Let's hope it stays that way," he muttered under his breath, leading the group deeper into the quiet, eerie town. The tower's marble dome loomed in the distance, still ever-present no matter how far they walked.
"Have either of you found food? I'm getting kinda hungry…" Alex asked, patting his stomach with a concerned look.
"None. Not even a morsel," Henry replied grimly. "The town looks completely empty of food and water. That's another reason we need to reach the tower—maybe we'll find supplies or at least a clue about where they could be."
His voice was calm, but his eyes betrayed a deep weariness. The absence of food was something Henry had noticed almost immediately, but at first, he assumed they had just been unlucky. Now, after searching house after house, the truth was sinking in: this place was unnaturally devoid of anything edible. The possibility of starving to death was becoming more real with each passing day.
Alex, noticing the shift in Henry's expression, felt bad. He tried to lighten the mood—or at least change the subject.
"Hey, Henry, what level are you? I'm still level one."
Henry blinked, pulled from his grim thoughts. "How do I check that again… wait, no, don't tell me. It's… hold on, give me a minute. Ah! There! I'm level nine."
Alex stared. Damian glanced at Henry too.
"I'm sorry—did you say nine?" Alex asked, voice rising in disbelief. "How? Wait—hold on. What level are you, Damian?"
Damian hesitated, a complicated expression crossing his face. Finally, he sighed and said, "Five."
Alex's eye twitched. "What?! Why?! How?! How come you're higher level than me? Didn't we all start at zero?!"
That question hung in the air like a thunderclap. Damian's eyes widened in sudden realization. Henry's expression tightened—he understood it too.
Henry answered first, slowly. "…No. I was already level eight the first time I checked my stats. After killing those undead, I gained a level."
"I was level four when I started," Damian added quietly.
Alex's mouth opened, then shut, then opened again. "System, what the hell!? How is that fair?! Why aren't I at least level three?! Huh?! Bastard, give me some levels! At least some skills!"
—
Damian smiled faintly, his thoughts curling into something sardonic.
(I see… so we didn't all start at the same level. That means something from the old world must've given us an edge—or not. Maybe it was something we did… or didn't do.)
(Could it be the people i killed before? If so, how worthless are human lives that it only translated to four levels?)
He scoffed internally, his tone bitter. (Ha. Talk about depressing.)
Shaking his head, he strode past Henry with a sharp edge in his voice.
"What's the hold-up?! Let's keep moving! We don't know when those ugly bastards will show up—let's try to push further in and map out the area a little!"
His words snapped both Alex and Henry out of their haze, pulling them back to the present.
—––
"On your left! Alex, some help here!" Damian shouted, steel clashing as he locked swords with another undead.
But this one was different. Instead of tattered rags, it wore an iron helmet and a battered chestplate. The helmet's visor fully shielded its decaying face, making it nearly impossible to land a killing blow.
"One second!" Alex called, already forming another fire marble. Sweat beaded down his forehead as he focused, his breathing quick and shallow.
The glowing orb burst from his palm and shot toward the armored undead's legs—
It hit. Flames bloomed—then vanished almost instantly, snuffed out like a candle under water.
"What?!" Alex yelped, startled, just as something grabbed him from behind.
"Don't stop moving!" Henry barked, slashing his sword across the creature's side. "Circle me and Damian !, Alex—attack from different angles! Even if it doesn't hurt it, distract it!"
He ducked under a sweeping blow and continued, "Aim for the head! Some of the flame and heat might still do something—just a bit!"
"Uhh, one moment! Kinda dealing with something here!" Alex shouted, both his hands gripping the handle and the tip of his knife as he tried to keep an undead creature from biting his face off.
(Come on, come on, think... how do I kill this bastard?!)
He looked around. Both Henry and Damian were busy fighting the "Undead Knight," as Alex had come to call it.
Then it hit him.
(Duh! Of course! I'm so stupid—how come I didn't think about this before?!)
His thoughts spilled from his mouth as he spoke aloud. He raised one of his fingers and formed a fire marble at its tip, pointing it at the undead creature. It froze for a split second, almost as if it felt fear.
Alex smiled and let the spell fly. The moment it made contact, the creature jolted backward and smacked Alex so hard he was sent flying, crashing to the ground.
"Ahhh… that hurts. It hurts a lot, you bastard!" he groaned, pushing himself to his feet. He raised his hand, ready to throw another spell—only to realize there was no need.
The undead creature was thrashing and screaming violently, trying to put the fire out. But it was no use. Soon, it collapsed, and after a few more wild jerks, it stopped moving completely.
[You have killed: Undead Monster] = [Ten experience awarded!]
"Yes!" Alex clenched his fist as adrenaline rushed through him.
Then reality hit him like a bag of bricks. His MP was low—roughly fifty left. Each fire marble cost about twenty. Worse, Alex could feel that he was wasting a lot of MP due to his poor understanding of how magic worked.
(I know I can make this cost less… I just don't know how. Maybe if I level up a bit more, I'll figure it out.)
He turned toward the fierce battle between Henry, Damian, and the undead knight. They were holding it back, but they were losing ground—and fast.
"Come on, come on… that thing has to have a weakness or something, right? How did it put out the fire without even moving a finger?" Alex muttered as he started moving, circling the trio, looking for any weak point.
Clang… clang… clang. Damian's sword clashed again and again with the undead knight's. Their strength wasn't even close—the knight was stronger. But it lacked intelligence.
Sure, it had more awareness than the average undead. In fact, Damian noticed something: its attacks, its movement—they resembled a battle style. That was… interesting.
Thankfully, it wasn't too dangerous. At least, not yet. And that was mostly thanks to Damian's newly gained ability:
[Loved by "The Sword"]
Damian felt like the sword in his hands was moving on its own, like it had a mind. A will. He was starting to connect with the blade, understanding its movements. Whether this was part of the skill he gained, or the result of his Weapon Expert trait, he didn't know. But it allowed him to keep the undead knight at bay—if only a little.
(Right, left, backstep. Close the distance—no, hold on—that was a feint!)
Damian was slowly falling into a rhythm as he battled the undead knight. He was about to be split in half by the knight's feint he had misread—only, the attack never came.
Instead, he saw Henry holding the knight's blade back with his fire poker and axe, then pushing it away with his inhuman strength.
"Kid, listen… I'll distract him a bit. You figure out a way to cut its damned neck off!" Henry yelled as he dodged another attack, then intercepted a kick from the knight.
Domain scoffed as he fell into thought.
(That thing… it's learning… how annoying. We need to finish this quickly!)
With that, he rushed behind the knight, trying to bat it from the back.
The undead knight fell for the bait and tried to strike Damian, ignoring Henry in the process.
Henry kicked the undead knight in the legs with all his strength, and yet it only managed to slightly topple it—barely making the knight move.
But that was enough.
Damian lunged with his sword, trying to stab the knight through the cracks of its visor.
Mere moments from having its face pierced, the undead knight's eyes glowed an eerie blue, as though a flame burned inside them. It moved its blade with such speed that the human eye could barely perceive it, intercepting Damian's lunge—and retaliated with a fist.
Damian was knocked back. The punch from the undead knight—one he barely managed to block with the flat of his sword—sent ripples through his body, igniting with immense pain.
"What the hell!... What happened? That thing… it's different!
Henry, watch out! Step back! We need to run—damn it!
Alex, distract it!"
As Damian's words left his mouth, the knight was hit by a much larger fire marble than the ones before. It was Alex, who had been carefully studying the monster, looking for weaknesses.
The fire marble—now the size of a pebble—contained all of Alex's remaining MP. The force from this attack actually staggered the knight, giving both Henry and Damian a moment to step away and run.
Just as their backs were turned to the knight, Alex noticed something from the sidelines.
(Wait… that!?)
Before he could shout and warn his comrades to dodge out of the way, the knight let out a horrifying roar. Its blade shone with an odd blue sheen before it raised the weapon and swiped at empty air.
That air—as if compelled by magic—flew forward at such speed and ferocity that it looked visible, nearly colliding with Henry—only for him to jump and roll away at the very last moment.
The ground where Henry had stood was cut in half, sending bits of stone and dirt flying into the air with immense power.
Henry stood up and began running again.
As all three of them ran away from the undead knight, careful not to get sliced by its sudden magical power, Alex ended up deep in thought.
(That… that was definitely magic! It felt the same too! That thing can use magic… and it's much more powerful than mine! Crap! How are we supposed to fight that? How are we supposed to fight the things that come after that!? They'll just get stronger and stronger!)
Alex gritted his teeth.
The trio made it back to their makeshift stronghold and entered into the smithy with their tails tucked between their legs.