AN: This will be the last chapter for ETA, until next week. I figured this week was a good one for a double post for it, since Galactic Fist got that treatment last week. The next stories to be updated are Origin and Blackthorne. I'll need to update Nocture and Galactic Fist once more before the next update for ETA. :)

Personally, I think this chapter could use a little more detail and definition, but it's ready enough for a rough draft. Enjoy. :) The blue-screen wall at the end comes to mind... hmm.

Chapter 7: That'll Clear Your Sinuses

The horde meandering in the street below generated a stench so terrible that Scott thought that his nose hairs might burn away. It was a stench so vile that he wanted to take his time to think about his situation while well away from the window. He had only a few minutes to think of a plan before it would become too dark to do anything. The problem was that any idea that he came up with would require far more time than he had.

While he considered his options something surprising happened. The ghouls began to shuffle off in a singular direction. It took Scott a moment to realize it, but he heard music.

It was not the dulcet tones of a love-struck and murderous mermaid. It sounded a bit like 80s glam metal. After a moment he understood enough of the words to recognize it as Detroit Rock City by KISS.The monsters moved toward the sound of the music, clearing the area of all but a few stragglers.

Four men wearing police uniforms appeared from around a corner and they began to clean up the remaining monsters. “Clever.”

Scott felt like a dumb ass for not thinking of it himself. Though, he noticed that the men fighting below had to attack each ghoul as a team to take one down in less than three turns. There was no sign of magical attacks being utilized. One man even used a shotgun, but it did not seem to be any more effective than any other weapon save for the fact that he could fire at the ghouls from a greater distance.

The observant slayer slipped back out the back window and moved down to the ground once more. It was becoming darker by the minute. He needed to make contact with these guys to see if they were friendly. It would suck if they were bandits or worse. The shopping area probably wouldn't give a damn who got inside.

“Hold it.” said one of the uniformed men, after Scott made his presence known by tossing a plastic bottle out onto the street.

“Come on out here where we can see you. Hands up.” called a strong authoritative voice.

Scott complied and the men visually inspected him from a distance. He did not much care for the situation, but he needed to get into that building. Who knew whether or not these guys would just leave after they did the same?

“Who are you? What you doing here?” asked one of the men.

“Scott. I planned to do a little shopping after the sun set.”

They glanced at each other. “You got a letter, too?”

“Yeah. Is this really a conversation you want to have on the street?” asked Scott.

“Damn, no.” muttered the man.

They gestured for Scott to come over and all five of them moved over to a building on the other side of the street. They’d had a similar idea. Find somewhere close and wait for nightfall.

“Hey, you guys really cops?” asked Scott.

“Yeah. Not that it matters anymore.” muttered one of the younger men.

“It might. Do any of you know a cop named Daniel Sauros?”

Three of the officers looked over to the one cop who had not spoken yet. “I’m Sauros.”

Scott eyed him for a moment. “Can you show me your tattoo? Someone asked me to find you, and I wanted to be sure.”

He immediately perked up. “Someone asked you to find me? Who?”

“Show me your tattoo, and I’ll tell you.” said Scott evenly.

Daniel rolled up his left sleeve and showed him the tattoo on his arm. It read, “Tammi.”

“Works for me. I’ve got your family at my place. Told them I’d look for you while I was on the way here.”

“Your place? How? Who are you?” asked Daniel with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Scott shrugged. “Just a guy. I received a mission letter that told me that some people were in a barn and in desperate need of help. I went to help them.”

“Mission letter?” asked Daniel.

“You don’t know? Every now and then when you kill a monster, a letter will pop up. Like the one that told you to come here. Some of them offer rewards for doing things like saving people.” said Scott.

Daniel closed his eyes and placed his hand over his face. “They’re really safe? You’re not lying?”

“Tammi, Wayne, Daisy, and Anna. I even helped Daisy get her inhaler.” said Scott.

“I can’t believe they made it across the river! How far are they? Is the bridge clear?” asked Daniel.

“They’re not over here. They’re in the suburbs at my house across the way.” said Scott.

“The fuck? How are you here then? It’s impossible to cross the river. Those damned things swarm every time, and the bridge is overflowing."

Scott shrugged. “I’ve used a raft to cross twice, but it’s definitely not safe. There are worse things than lizard men in those waters.”

“Like what?” asked one of the other men.

“Mermaids.” said Scott seriously.

The man snorted. “Come on…”

“One of them nearly drowned me on my last crossing.” said Scott.

“Fuck.” said Daniel. “Every time we tried to cross the river, those damn scaly lizards or the fish men attacked.”

“Maybe it’s a little safer further down? Where are you crossing?” Scott asked.

“We tried all over the place. Lost a man last time.”

“What about the south bridge? If we could get a vehicle, we could probably get there.” said Scott.

The officers looked at each other then back to Scott. “We’ve thought about it, but every car we’ve found is deader than hell. It was like all the vehicles suddenly stopped on the first day.” said Daniel.

Scott frowned. “So, that’s why my ride died on me.”

“Probably. Nothing with a motor works for some reason, not even a generator.”

“How do radios and TVs work then?” asked Scott. He had assumed that since a battery powered radio worked, that a TV would as well.

“Fuck if I know. Maybe it’s just vehicles and portable generators. The power stayed on for a while.”

“The water was working out at my place when I left, but I doubt it will much longer.” said Scott.

Daniel nodded. He then hopped up and went to look out of the side of the curtain they had used to block one of the secured windows in the room. “Doors are open.”

The men scrambled out of the room quickly and headed over to the open doors to the shopping arcade. There was a white screen of light encircling the store. The moment the group took a chance and entered, they heard a perky song echoing through the area.

“The hell?” asked Scott.

“Shopping mall music?” asked Daniel.

They walked into the shopping arcade and were greeted to a carnival atmosphere. The place was empty, but there were several booths throughout the area. Each of them was labeled with various titles such as Happy Weapon Fun Time, and Guardian Bob’s Big Armor Bonanza.

The five men wandered through the shopping arcade for a moment before Scott separated from then and went over to check the weapon section. The cops watched him, uncertain of what he was doing.

Scott stepped up onto a little rectangle in front of the weapon store. A light rose up from the rectangle and a holographic display appeared before him. Several weapons were listed, two of which were highlighted in red and had a lock symbol over them. They had a level of nine and ten. Weapons purchased here had level locks!

After looking through the selections he opted to purchase a level eight weapon similar to what he already wielded. It had a normal price of twenty-five hundred daemons, but Scott purchased it for twelve hundred fifty.

A weapon known as [Steel Kaiser] appeared in the air before him and he took it in hand. It was heftier than the blade that he had been using, but had far better stats.

[Weapon]

Steel Kaiser

A kaiser blade forged by a competent smith. It comes with a keen edge that can slice through bone and sinew alike.

Type: Blade/Pole Arm

Attack: 22

Defense: 12

Value: 2500 Daemons

[--]

It was a difference like night and day between his old weapon and his new one. After accepting his new weapon a small box appeared in the air. It was his reward for completing his mission. He received a thumb sized salvation crystal and an upgrade point. Scott sold off his old bush axe for a single copper daemon then moved on. He could only store one weapon in his ring, and the new and improved bush axe was far better than the older version.

“So, we just stand on the rectangle?” asked Daniel.

“Looks like it. Weapons are level locked, though. So, even if you have money you can’t buy anything you can’t use.” said Scott.

“Level-locked? How do you know what your level is?” asked Daniel.

Scott stared at him. “You don’t know? How are you guys even alive without checking your stats?”

“Checking our stats… What are you talking about?”

Scott looked around and spied a convenient mirror by itself near the back. “You do know that if you look at a weapon that can kill a monster, it has stats, right?”

“Yeah, we know that much.” said another officer, Craig.

Scott looked to Craig and said, “You should have learned about it when you swallowed that sphere. You just say 'Show status'. You’ll get a lot stronger if you upgrade your stats before you level-up.”

“Hell yeah!” Craig cried after he checked his status for the first time. The other men followed suit.

Scott went on to the armor store while the officers started looking at what their status had to offer. While they were shopping two more people popped up. An older man, and a tired looking woman.

“People!” said the woman excitedly.

“Yeah, join the party.” said Daniel. He told them how to buy things.

“Hey, I guess I’m level four.” said Craig. He looked over to Scott. “Is that good?”

“Better than level one.” he replied while checking the armor selection. Scott idly wondered how he did not know his level when it was low enough that he should have just remembered the number of times he had seen a level-up screen.

“I had thought we were the only people left.” Said the woman, tears coming to her eyes. The older man placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a grandfatherly smile.

“So did we, until Mr. Answers over there popped up.” said Daniel before jerking his thumb toward Scott.

“Mr. Answers?” asked the old man.

“Yeah, he’s been explaining a few things to us while we shop.” said Daniel.

“You know what’s happening!” exclaimed the woman before running over to Scott.

He looked over to her then shook his head. “No. Just figured out a few things. By the way, I highly suggest you buy something if that invitation you received told you that you’d receive an upgrade point and a salvation crystal.”

“Why is that?” asked Craig.

“I haven’t used one yet, but those salvation crystals supposedly grant a twenty-four hour safe zone against monsters. Probably works like whatever is keeping the ghouls from coming in and eating us while we shop. The upgrade points increase your stats.” he said.

“No shit! That’s… Damn, we need something like that!” exclaimed Craig.

“Buy something then.” said Scott after he finished looking through the armor selections. He wanted more gear, but he had limited funds, all told he still had around fifteen hundred daemons worth of money left. A silver daemon seemed to be worth one hundred of the copper ones. He would check the rest of the shops before he bought anything.

He moved on to a few more booths and discovered an arms and armor shop. It was a shop that sold items that acted as both arms and armor! Gloves and shoes were common items, but there were also specialty items like claw weapons and elbow blades. Scott was sorely tempted to purchase from that shop, but he needed to see everything.

The accessory shop had expensive rings and other pieces of jewelry that would be useful later. Scott stopped cold when he arrived at the skill store. His eyes widened and he had to stop himself from performing a happy little dance of joy. There were skills that he could purchase at a further discount that meshed with his profession! There was also a cheap profession book that could be purchased by the people in the store who did not have one.

Scott purchased the skills [Lightning Bolt] and [Fireball]. Normally they would cost one thousand daemons each, but between his professional discount and the store discount they only cost him seven hundred fifty daemons total. He also splurged six hundred daemons on [Minor Restoration].

The lightning bolt skill was a spell linked to his lightning strike skill. Basically, if he had lightning strike activated he could concentrate on that connection and hurl bolts of lightning at an opponent for additional mana costs. The fireball skill was basically the same.

Minor restoration magically restored health at the cost of mana. The amount healed changed with the strength of his arcane stat. Unfortunately, it only healed hit points and stamina. Actual system generated injuries required a stronger healing power to effect a proper restoration.

Scott glanced down at the information window that told him how many daemons he had currently. It was much simpler than counting them out. “Three hundred eighty-seven left.”

What could be buy for that much? He could probably buy another profession skill, but there were other things to consider. Scott searched the shopping arcade’s remaining booths. Surprisingly, he discovered that there was an upgrade store hidden behind a light screen. He thought nothing of it as he stepped through the light and onto the glowing square in front of the booth.

He read through the list and whistled at the prices. The abilities here were something not available on his normal list.

Primarily, things like lifespan enhancement, music talent, and so forth. There were also things called lore upgrades, and system items such as working cell phones. There was even a portable mailbox. The only problem was that everything was hideously expensive, even with a discount. That is, everything was expensive except for one item labeled as a self-help brochure. Scott purchased it for five daemons.

The last store was the item store. There were items there such as upgrade points, which cost twenty thousand daemons and could only be purchased once per month, to health restoratives. Cook books that included cooking certain monster parts for permanent stat increases were also expensive but available. “What’s this?”

Scott looked at an item that was labeled special sale. “Pet Collar?”

The little information blurb was not particularly helpful. It merely informed him that it was worn by pets. “Whatever, it’s only fifty daemons…” Who knew, maybe he’d be able to get a dog or something that will be able to help him fight monsters?

He went back to the arms and armor section and purchased a few low-level items to finish off his night’s shopping. He purchased a level three set of Ace Boots, and a level two stud-knuckle set.

[Arms & Armor]

Ace Boots

These boots were created by a competent craftsman. They are easy to wear and allow for great mobility.

Attack: 5

Defense: 3

Special: Agility +2 | Speed +3

Value: 400

[--]

[Arms & Armor]

Stud-Knuckles

A set of fighting gloves crafted by a competent craftsman. They are perfect for delivering that knock-out punch.

Attack: 4

Defense: 2

Special: Small Increased Chance to Stun

Value: 210

[--]

He only had a handful of coins left, so he wandered over to a corner by himself. He equipped his new items and then checked his status. Afterward, he took out his upgrade points and began the process of turning them into stat boosts. There was no point in saving them. Upgrading his ability stats before a level-up would allow him to have much higher increases when the level-up happened. He had two upgrade points and decided to roll to increase his charisma and reflexes. His charisma increased by two, and his reflexes increased by three.

His power had increased by a great degree after buying new equipment. Compared to who he was early that morning, he was an entirely different person. Between his class and item bonuses he was strong enough to easily cut his way through any number of low-level monsters.

He glanced at his charisma, however. It was once his lowest stat, and his greatest weakness. He had not thought that it would be important to upgrade it, yet, but after his run in with that mermaid he knew the truth. It was a critical issue. He could have died because he had considered charisma a less important stat. Yet, without higher amounts of it, he would be at the mercy of monsters that used charm and sensory attacks that directly assaulted the mind or spirit.

The arcane stat was the main component in most magic related activities. It played part in protection against raw magical damage and also increased magical power. Intellect would allow him to see through illusions and to think more clearly during tense situations. Basically, he could handle more stress and learn things better as well. Charisma, not only increased his ability to use charm attacks but it would keep him from being drowned by a love-struck and murderous fish girl. It was basically defense against compulsion.

Scott felt like a fool. This was his new life. In a game it might be safe to minimize one stat while maximizing another, but in the real world he had almost been drowned because he had not focused on developing every aspect of himself. He had allowed the fact that he had never faced a charisma based opponent to cloud his judgment. Sure, he could not easily increase charisma through training, but that did not matter to him. Despite the lack of training options, he still had to increase charisma if he wanted to live. Upgrade points would need to be prioritized toward stats that were difficult to increase. He had no choice in the matter, not if he wanted to live.

He went to check the accessory section. Items that increased charisma existed. If he did not want to spend upgrade points on that stat on a continual basis, he would need to constantly upgrade equipment that protected against compulsion and increased charisma.

“The shop closes in the morning.” mumbled Scott. It was dangerous to hunt in the darkness, but he could purchase a charisma accessory for half price at the moment. The least expensive one only increased charisma by one point, and it would cost twenty daemons. He could get that easily before dawn. If he was lucky, he could do much better. He sold off his old pair of gloves and then headed toward the door. He had enough money for the charisma ring now, but he wanted more.

“Hey! Where are you going?” called Daniel.

“Hunting.” said Scott.

“In the dark? Don’t be stupid.” said the man.

“This is the best chance we’ll get to upgrade ourselves. I almost got killed today because I disregarded one of my stats. I need to fix that while I can.”

“Look, you aren’t going out there.” said Daniel. He clapped Scott on the shoulder to emphasize his meaning.

“You’ll stop me if I choose to go?” asked Scott quietly.

“Yeah. You aren’t going anyw-” began Daniel, before Scott almost casually twisted around used a quick arm bar takedown to drop the man to the floor. Basic unarmed combat skills for the win.

Scott kept pressure on the fallen man’s arm while he calmly said. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Hey, let him go!” snarled Craig before running forward with his shiny new weapon in hand. It was another shotgun.

“He’s the one who didn’t want to let me go.” replied Scott casually. He was more than a little unsettled by the appearance of a gun. Would his jean jacket really count for much against something like that? True it had done poorly against ghouls, but he was no ghoul.

“You aren’t going anywhere, and you’ll let him go.” said Craig. He took a step forward for emphasis.

“How about I go about my business instead?” asked Scott with as much calm as he could muster.

“Look asshole. You don’t get it! I have the gun, you do what I say.”

“What good is a fucking gun anymore?” asked Scott. Even if it was a system item, it shouldn't be that powerful. Not if someone could use it at level four. At least, that was his current hope.

Craig snorted at him and the other two officers closed in to try and corral Scott. “You don’t have to do this man. Let him go.”

“Go ahead and shoot me, Craig. I’m not taking orders from people who didn’t even know how to check their fucking level an hour ago when everyone should have known how to do it.” Scott wanted to live, but at the same time death would be a release from this permanent nightmare. Either way, he was not going to live in fear of people with guns. Release or vindication, he would soon know the truth of how useful a gun was now.

Frank, one of the quieter of the four officers rushed in to try and tackle him. Scott released Daniel just in time to catch the larger man mid-tackle. He picked him up and spun with him before he practically chunked him at Craig. The momentum of the moment helped a lot, as Frank was a big guy and Scott could feel the strain in trying to counter his movement and throw him. The shotgun went off almost as an afterthought. Scott took a shotgun blast to the face and was sent flying back. He hit the ground hard and went still.

“God dammit!” snapped Craig. “Dammit, shit!”

Daniel got up off the ground and shook his head. “Dumb bastard. All he had to do was stop.”

Scott blinked then sat up. “Seriously, that’s all it did?”

Everyone, the old man and tired woman included, drew back in surprise. Craig’s hands shook a little. “T-the hell, man! I shot you in the fucking face.”

“Yeah, I think it cleared my sinuses.” said Scott with a great deal more confidence than he actually felt. He did his best not to visibly shake.

He stood up and brushed the buckshot from his cheek. “That gun, what kind of attack power does it have?”

“Wha-?” asked Craig.

“I’m helping you out here. You need to be reminded that the old ways are over. We aren’t normal people anymore.” said Scott, covering his ass a little. He had just bet long odds on a vague guess and won. He had been stupid, but he had also wanted to know the truth. During the earlier fight with the ghouls, Craig had used a shotgun. It did not seem to be incredibly effective for anything other than knocking the ghouls down.

Regular guns, the non-system ones, did nothing to a monster. He had doubted that a system generated gun would be super powerful compared to other things. It was time to capitalize on how right he was.

“What do you mean?” asked the old man after his jaw started moving again. It had been slack for a moment.

“We’re the same as those things out there, don’t you get it? The moment we swallowed our little marbles we became something other than what we were.” said Scott. He was not one hundred percent certain of that, but it made sense. In a way, if the creatures outside were game monsters then the people in the shopping arcade were game characters.

“That… What does that mean?” asked Craig.

“It means that injuries we take are based on things like attack and defense. That gun, what is its attack value?” asked Scott.

“Twenty…” said Craig.

“Not bad, but you wouldn't even one-shot a first level ghoul with that. My defense rates higher than that weapon. It can't do shit to me outside of a perfect shot.”

“Bullshit!” exclaimed Frank, no longer quiet.

“Am I even bleeding Frank? My raw defense is nearly enough to negate that thing. Add in my modifiers and that shot in the face hurt about as much as a light slap, I didn't even lose hit points." Scott leaned forward and punched at the air.

"Hell, my punches are stronger than that gun.” replied Scott.

He was not certain about the latter. It mostly depended on Craig’s base attack. Still, if only comparing his punches to the raw weapon output, he was at least in possession of punches that could do more damage than a level four shotgun according. Even without his gloves and boots he would still have nearly three-fourths of the power of a level four shotgun whenever he punched something.

Everyone grew quiet then. No one spoke until a few more people arrived about half a minute later. Three people, one of them limping on a badly bleeding leg, came through the doors. Two girls of about college age, and a middle-aged man.

“Can someone help us, please!” asked one of the girls. “Dad’s hurt pretty bad.”

The group of people rushed over to check the man, but other than bandaging him up, there was little that could be done for him. Scott reached into his pocket and pulled out a blood red stone and then frowned. “Does anyone have a bottle of water?”

“I do, why?” asked one of the girls.

“I don’t know how good it will do, but if you dissolve this stone in water it works like a healing potion in a game. At least, it’s supposed to work that way.” He said.

“For real?” her eyes went wide for a moment before she pulled her backpack forward. She pulled out a mostly full bottle of water and held it up to Scott.

He took it and tossed the pea-sized rock into the bottle. It began to glow with a bright light and then something like an oily fog roiled out and began to fill the bottle.

“Have him drink about a third of this bottle and see what happens.” said Scott. "That was my last bloodstone. They don't drop often." He would have tried his new health restoring ability, but he did not know if it would do much. The old man needed help now.

“You seriously expect us to let him drink that?” asked the girl.

“He’s bleeding pretty badly, and honestly I’ve been beaten all to hell today. If he doesn’t drink it then I will.” he said.

She reluctantly stretched out her hand. Scott handed her the bottle and she held it up for her father to drink. “It’s up to you dad.”

The middle-aged man referred to only as ‘Dad’ took an experimental sip of the red liquid. He blinked then drank a little more. “Tastes like tomato juice.”

The girl helping him hold the bottle gasped as she saw the bruises on his face slowly began to fade away. “Is it working?”

It took two doses to heal the man enough that he could stand up properly on his own. Soon he felt almost as good as new. They passed the bottle back to Scott afterward and he downed the rest. He’d been beaten, stabbed, clawed, drowned, and shot in the face. He needed a little healing after the events of the day. His [major injuries] stat affliction was a real downer.

“Why didn’t you use it earlier?” asked Craig.

Scott shrugged. “I’ve been fighting all day and took some system generated injuries, but my hit points are fine. This stuff was only good for one day once it is made.”

“Man that feels better.” said Scott. Minor cuts, bruises, and bite marks faded from his body rapidly as his healing factor combined with the restorative potion. “I swear, I’ve felt like tenderized meat all day.”

Scott checked his status again then grumbled slightly. The major injuries status effect was still in place. It would be a while yet, before he could get rid of it apparently.

“Look, man… I’m sorry I shot you in the face.” said Craig.

“Don’t worry about it. I’d save my ammo, though.” said Scott.

The gathered throng discussed their individual situations then, while Scott headed toward the door. He still wanted to do a little hunting.

“You’re still going out there?” asked Craig.

“Yeah, need to try and get more loot. Besides that, what about other survivors that might be trying to get here? If there’s a throng of monsters milling around out there, those people can’t get it.” said Scott.

Craig nodded. “Mind if I come then? I need to see if this thing is worth a damn.” He held up his shotgun and showed it to Scott.

Scott glanced at the gun. “That thing is going to get you killed, unless you have a ton of ammo.”

“Shit.” Craig sighed loudly. He’d thought that a gun would be the best idea, but ammunition was an issue.

“Nothing wrong with a shotgun, just can’t use it for general hunting. Got anything else to use?”

“Just this crowbar I’ve been using sometimes. It belonged to Tim...”

“If it can kill, come on.” said Scott without asking who Tim was. The foursome had lost someone earlier, and it was a safe bet that Tim was that someone.

“Craig, where you going?” called Daniel as he saw the two men leaving.

“Hunting with Mr. Answers.”

“Dammit, what did I tell him earlier? Going out there at night is stupid!” snapped Daniel.

“You planning to kill off a few hundred of those things in the morning when this place closes down?” asked Scott. “It’s only open at night.”

“Fuck.” muttered Daniel. “Go ahead, do whatever.”

Scott and Craig headed out to do whatever, just as Daniel had said. The moment that they stepped outside of the safe zone around the shopping arcade, growls and loud hisses could be heard from all around.

A ghoul came running around the corner at normal human speed. The bright blue light of battle flared all around them.

"Mr. Badass VS Night Ghouls! Fight-O!" exclaimed the announcer voice.

"It's Mr. Badass again?" asked Scott to uncaring night air. When he had met with the mermaid before he had been referenced as Scott Keen.

"Hey, why didn't he call my name?" asked Craig, annoyed.

Scott shrugged. "Guess I'm more important."

Craig gave him a stink eye then lined up his shot. As Scott and his temporary guest party member began the battle, more of them arrived. Soon they had fought and defeated over a dozen fast moving ghouls. They were more dynamic in their movements than daytime ghouls and made it a habit to dart in and out while fighting. That forced Scott and Craig to do their best to use the terrain to their advantage. They led the monsters around to places were debris or abandoned vehicles narrowed their avenue of attack.

It was a lengthy series of battles, but nothing epic. There was no boss fight or impromptu dance number. The ghouls were a bit stronger, faster, and a bit more cunning at night. Otherwise, it was no different than fighting ordinary ghouls.

Craig received several hard strikes to the arms and one claw to the side of his face, but he took down three of the beasts in the initial flurry of exchanges. Scott guessed that he and Craig were fighting monsters roughly similar to a level four ghoul, but they had superior strength and vitality. Had he faced ghouls like these earlier this morning, Scott was certain that he would have died.

Better equipment and a higher overall level helped a lot. If nothing else, his attack power had increased drastically. He did not even need to use his special attacks despite the higher caliber of opponent that he was facing.

Scott took a few minor hits during the combat exchanges, but nothing too exciting. He was simply better than his opponents despite their upgraded status. More ghouls came, and more of them died. The battle seemed never ending. As far as Scott was concerned, that was a beautiful thing.

Several hours passed and the corpses piled up outside. Craig was forced to retire with his loot several times so that he could heal. Scott, however, found the current battles to be the exact level of conflict that he needed. He did occasionally work his way to the side in order to heal up within the confines of the white protective shopping arcade light screen, but that was mostly to quickly regain stamina if he was forced to fight several opponents in a single turn. His hit points rarely dropped below one-third of their maximum, but when they did he also took that as a reason to rest.

After a while, Frank came out to see what he could do. He was wielding a broad axe and a lot of strength. Craig had long since retired into the store. So it was just Scott and Frank outside fighting the good fight. Between the two of them, the ghouls continued to drop at a steady pace. Frank proved to be a more consistent damage dealer. Craig's shotgun had a strong chance to deliver high damage, but most shots did not do much to the ghouls. Its best feature was the fact that it knocked a ghoul down most of the time when a shot struck solidly.

Three or four hours before dawn, they called it a night and headed back inside. The ghouls had been stronger and faster at night, and had better combat sense. However, they were not much smarter. If anything, they simply seemed like normal ghouls that had been granted more attack speed and combat insight.

During the enduring battle, six more people had trickled in to the shopping arcade. Two of them had mentioned others who were in hiding, while a designated person made the trip to see what was at the arcade.

Scott yawned loudly and trudged through the area, gore and ichor plopped down to the floor below as he moved over to his private corner to check his status. A slow frown spread across his face. He’d been out there for hours and had personally killed at least two hundred or more of those things and he’d only gained two levels?

“Ah well, at least the loot was amazing.” Scott had gotten a lot of coins and pilfered dozens of treasure boxes. Even a few pieces of armor and some weak weapons had been acquired. “Hell, I have more money now than when I first came here.”

Scott immediately went to the accessory area and purchased the best charisma booster he could get. He purchased a level eight Charismatic Band of Splendor for twenty-two hundred coins. It increased charisma by six points.

Afterward he went to the armor section and bought an Average Black Beetle Chest Plate for fourteen hundred coins, a set of Average Black Beetle Leg Guards for another seven hundred, and a simple woven tunic for eighty coins.

[Armor]

Average Black Beetle Chest Plate

A chest plate crafted by an average smith, formed from the plates of the Black Char Beetle. It provides both reasonable protection against general injury and a minor defense against fire elemental attacks.

Defense: 14

Special: Small increase in elemental fire defense

Value: 2800

[--]

[Armor]

Average Black Beetle Leg Guards

A set of leg guards crafted by an average smith, formed from the plates of the Black Char Beetle. It provides both reasonable protection against general injury and a minor defense against fire elemental attacks.

Defense: 8

Special: Small increase in elemental fire defense

Value: 1400

[--]

[Armor]

Simple Woven Tunic

A simple cotton tunic created by an average weaver. It provides comfort and protection. Best used as an undergarment when wearing plate armor.

Defense: 2

Value: 160

[--]

The armor pieces that he’d acquired in battle were a Simple Necklace of Brilliance, Common Silk Pants of the Slayer, and a Cotton Warrior’s Band.

[Accessory]

Simple Necklace of Brilliance

A necklace crafted by an average jeweler and enchanted by an adequate magician. It sparkles in the light and makes the wearer seem more intelligent.

Special: Intellect + 2

Value: 400

[--]

[Armor]

Common Silk Pants of the Slayer

These pants were crafted by an average weaver, and are made of inferior silk. A common item for the uncommonly fashion forward arcane slayer.

Restriction: Arcane Slayer

Defense: 6

Special: Agility + 2

Special: -1 Reduction of Mana Cost for Arcane Slayer Skills

Value: 2700

[--]

[Armor]

Cotton Warrior’s Band

A cotton headband woven by an average weaver. It represents strength and virility.

Defense: 4

Special: Strength +1 | Vitality + 1

Value: 900

[--]

“Hell yeah.” said Scott lightly. He could have gone with even heavier armor, there was a type of armor available at his level that had a good deal more defense available. However, his strength was not high enough to mitigate its weight or whatever the issue was. He would have had a heavy penalty applied to his movement. It did not matter really. At his current capacity, he would be able to easily defeat most of the common ghouls with no problem. He was certain that the lowest leveled versions could not even injure him now. Even the night ghouls had rarely done more than two or three points of damage when they had hit him solidly.

Scott checked his status then blinked. “Damn right…”

Scott Keen

Age: 20

Profession: Arcane Slayer

[Level: 10]

[HP: 168[157][167/167]

[MP: 211[211][231/231]

[SP: 207[202]][212/212]

COMBAT

[Attack: 18[46][Arcane Attack: 26[30]

[Defense: 16[73][Arcane Defense: 25[28]

[Evasion: 17][Arcane Evasion: 19[21]

ABILITIES

[Strength: 7[8][Agility: 4[8][Vitality: 7][8]

[Durability: 6][Reflexes: 10][Arcane: 10]

[Intellect: 7[9][Charisma: 6[12][Luck: 4]

MANEUVERING

[Speed: 18][21]

[Counter: 24]

[Movement: 33]

[Jump: 8]

[Load: 70]

[Moderate Injuries]

That was a great increase compared to the day before! He was satisfied for the moment. Hunting had been a good idea. His night had been most productive. He was tired, but still amped up. A nap seemed like a good idea, but it was hard to trust the people in the shopping arcade. As his adrenaline wore off, he would no doubt change his mind. But for the moment, he wanted to keep an eye out for the people around him.