“Rishi! On your left!” Alex yelled.

Rishi shouted a command and his three-foot clay golem rushed the goblin that was moving towards him. The golem tackled the black skinned goblin like a linebacker, letting its heavy frame make up for its lack of weapons.

Silvia flashed forward, dressed in a leather cuirass, skirt and vambraces with her spear ending the goblin’s life.

“More are coming from behind!” She yelled.

Toby turned to face the new mobs. Leading with his shield, the man barreled into the three goblins, knocking two of them down. Swinging with his sword, he cut the still standing goblin across the chest. Black blood splashed out, covering his shield and he visibly gagged.

“These guys smell worse on the inside!” He yelled. “Hurry up and finish that Boss, Alex!”

While Toby’s team was dealing with the constant stream of goblin adds, Alex and his team were locked in battle with the Goblin Boss. She was a head taller than the three-foot tall goblins and several times wider, her rolls of fat jiggling with every strike. She was also deceptively quick, given her size.

She also smelled worse than anything Alex had ever faced before.

“If you want to trade, be my guest!” Alex yelled back, dodging another swing from the Goblin Boss, her long claws barely missing his head.

Alex and Ty were basically fighting the Boss alone since Danny had to save her mana for healing.

Coming out of his roll, he shot the Boss in the knee, barely visible beneath the rolls of fat that hung down below her waste. Four blue glowing bullets hit her left knee within half a second and Alex was sprinting off again.

Ty fired another black arrow, its sharp arrowhead slamming into the Boss’ face and stunning her for a moment. That gave Alex enough time to close in behind her and unload his Soul bullets into the back of her head.

The shots rang out like an automatic weapon and the Goblin Boss fell forward, giving Alex an unwanted view at her naked rear end before disappearing as the large golden orb popped into existence.

“That was nasty.” Alex said with a grimace.

Once the Goblin Boss died, the adds stopped flowing into the room. The others joined Alex to loot the orb.

Experience: 500 (3,000xp per Mommy Goblin Boss /6)

Souls: 200 (1,200 Souls per Mommy Goblin Boss /6)

Boss Loot: Rare Goblin Reproductive Organ

Congratulations! You have reached Level 5! You have 3 available Attribute Points!

Quickly placing his new points, Alex looked over his Status.

Name: Alex Donner

Age: 24

Race: Human

Level: 5

EXP: 300/2,000

Class: Soul Survivor

Soul: 1,150

HP: 170

MP: 95

Vitality: 13

Strength: 8

Agility: 20(30)

Dexterity: 20(30)

Wisdom: 5

Intelligence: 7

Alex whistled. “2000xp to hit level 6. That’s gonna suck.”

“Why are all the Bosses Loot disgusting?” Danny asked.

“Don’t knock it!” Ty exclaimed. “I think this might work for our weapons!”

“Doubling your arrows or my bullets?” Alex mused. “Might even double up your spells, Danny.”

She eyed the black orb suspiciously. “What if it cost more mana?”

Rishi, who had just finished adjusting his stats, joined the conversation.

“You will never know until you try.” He spoke. “If it can double the golems I create, then it is worth it since the cooldown for the spell is significant.”

“Or automatically striking twice with my spear or Toby’s sword.” Silvia added.

“I plan on using it on one of my guns so I will let you know.” Alex said, pulling out his handgun and the black orb out of his ring. As soon as he touched the orb to the gun, he received a notice.

Do you wish to apply Rare Goblin Reproductive Organ to your handgun? The ability gained will coincide with the deceased Monster and cannot be removed until another orb takes its place!

He confirmed his choice then inspected his gun.

Baby Maker (Upgraded to Rare): This gun doesn’t shoot your typical bullets. Instead, each bullet is created with a piece of your Soul. You won’t need to reload but you definitely don’t want to run out! Upgrades available in the System Shop!

This gun now has a chance to shoot two Soul bullets at once! When this ability procs, you will be charged the cost of another Soul bullet! Worth it, as long as you don’t accidently kill yourself!

“It only gives a chance to shoot two bullets at once.” Alex explained. “And it will cost the same amount as firing two Soul bullets. I still think it’s worth it though.”

The other’s nodded and applied it to their weapons.

“Baby Maker?!” Danny complained. “Oh, that is nasty. Now I’m going to think about that Mommy Goblin Boss every time I cast.”

“At least you didn’t get a full backside view like Alex did.” Ty said happily.

“Point.” Danny said laughingly.

“Are we heading back?” Toby asked. “It’s almost dinner time.”

Silvia laughed. It seemed she had loosened up after the first week since being brought into this game. She, Toby and Rishi formed their own team and it seemed that her and Toby had been hitting it off quite well. The only reason they were all together today was to explore the new door they had found that morning.

Most doors near the Bellevue were made of old wood with peeling paint. As far as they could tell, these were the easiest buildings to clear. The door leading them into this building, which turned out to be a burnt-out grocery store on the inside, had had a far sturdier looking wood door. It seemed that the doors were the only way to tell the difficulty of the inside since the buildings all looked like the same rectangle concrete blocks from the street.

“I don’t think you have missed a meal since coming here, Toby.” Silvia said. “And don’t think I don’t know about all the food you have stored in your storage pack.”

Toby smirked at the tall woman. “I once was homeless. I never go anywhere without food.”

Silvia was taken aback but Toby shook his head.

“No reason to apologize.” He said assuredly. “You couldn’t have known and I am not ashamed of it. It was a long time ago when I was just a kid. Once I was finally put into foster care, I was adopted by a good family. I count myself lucky.”

Alex smiled as he followed everyone out of the building. Toby was polite and well-spoken but he didn’t talk about himself that much. Maybe Silvia was chipping away at the man’s defensives just as he did with her.

They were only a few blocks away from the Bellevue so they walked along the empty streets easily. No one had seen a monster out in the streets yet so they enjoyed the walk and the fresh air.

“Does anyone else hear that?” Danny asked, looking up and down the street.

The others stopped, glancing around. It wasn’t long before everyone started to hear it.

“It sounds like an avalanche.” Alex said. “But muted somewhat.”

“Do you think one of the buildings collapsed in the city?” Rishi asked, looking behind them.

“No.” Danny said. “It’s too constant. Like a river of…”

“Monsters!” Alex shouted.

Three blocks away, a tide of monsters had turned down the street, heading their way. There were hundreds of them. From dust bunnies to goblins, to huge ogres and werewolves. Alex felt the pull on his arm as he noticed Danny grabbing him.

“Run!” She shouted. “Get to the Bellevue!

Snapping out of their shock at seeing the tidal wave of monsters approaching, the group took off at a sprint. They all had decent agility except for Danny and Rishi. They were both heavily Wisdom and Intellect based and couldn’t run half as fast as Alex or Silvia, who both had the highest Agility of the group.

The mob was gaining and at the speed Rishi and Danny were going, they wouldn’t make it. Looking back at the mob, Alex could only think of one thing to do.

“We have to distract them.” Alex shouted. “Lead them away. Silvia and I are the fastest. If we can gain their attention, we can swing them away and circle around.”

“That’s crazy!” Shouted Toby.

“It’s crazy but it’s the only way Danny and Rishi will make it!” Countered Silvia, understanding Alex’s thoughts.

“Keep going straight for the Hotel.” Alex said. “Silvia, we will stop at the next intersection and head right.”

“Bro, you ain’t going kamikaze on us, are you?” Ty asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Alex laughed. “I have never flown a plane.”

“You know, Alex.” Ty said with a grin. “You are alright for a white guy.”

“Ty, you are adopted and both of your parents are white.” Alex yelled.

Ty shrugged. “True.”

“Alex!” Danny shouted. “You better come back!”

“Same for you, Silvia!” Toby said.

They reached the intersection and Silvia and Alex stopped, turning around to see the wave approaching. They were only a block away now.

“You think we can out run them?” Silvia asked, staring down the mob.

“I was only running at half speed back there.” Alex said, unholstering his guns. “As long as there aren’t any surprised, we should be fine.”

Silvia pulled out three javelins from her storage pack. Apparently, upgrades connected to your Class can give you additional weapons and even specialized armor. She had received the upgrade from a hidden Accomplishment but she wouldn’t go into the details of what the Accomplishment was.

“Aim for the front?” She asked.

“Yep. If we can swing the front lines then the rest will hopefully follow.”

Pulling back her javelin, she threw with a great deal of force and it flew over fifty feet, much further than Alex’s Soul bullets could reach. She didn’t wait to see where the first spear landed, instead she threw the next two in quick succession. Each of her javelins hit their mark. Two in the chest of what looked like ant eaters and one in the head of an unfortunate goblin that was trampled by the mob when it fell.

Alex held out his guns, waiting for them to come into range. It was nerve wracking watching the swarm of monster closing in on them. The roar of screams of the approaching horde was only drowned out by the blood pounding in his head.

Now that he broke the 1000 mark on his Soul stat, he would try to condense it again. So far, he had been unsuccessful, so his range was still only five meters which gave them very little time to start running. The moment they reached his range, he fired along the entire front line, the dual handguns snapping out rounds far faster than he could ever accomplish in his old life. He didn’t bother aiming but he did see one of the goblins go down after the glowing projectile slammed between its eyes. One sweep was all he had time for and before he had time to holster his weapons, he and Silvia were running for their lives.

As they put down their heads and sprinted off, Alex could clearly hear that the mob had taken the bait. He wanted to feel relieved that their plan had worked but the monsters were right on their heels. Just the thought that he and Silvia were just out of reach of the wave of claws and teeth, made him shudder as he ran as fast as he could.

Pouring on their speed. They slowly started to pull away, gaining precious distance with each passing second. He didn’t bother shooting behind him as it wouldn’t stop the horde. He already had their attention which was what he had wanted. Turning right at the next intersection, the mob continued to follow them. They were now almost thirty feet ahead of them when a goblin flew between the two, turning into a black smear on the street in front of them.

“They’re throwing monsters at us?!” Silvia shouted.

“Zig zag!” Alex yelled, heading a little to the right as Silvia went left.

Their weaving run was slowing them down but they were still widening the distance between themselves and the mob. Bodies of goblins, dust bunnies and several other smaller size monsters were landing all around them, splattering into the pavement.

Turning right down the next intersection, a toad had flown right behind Silvia and she barely managed to avoid the toad missile. Out of sight from the mob, they stopped their zig zagging and poured on the speed again, pounding the pavement as fast as they could. There were a few more monsters being thrown but the pair had finally outdistanced their range.

They turned again, coming back to the street that led to the Bellevue. It’s black awning visible in the distance. Surprisingly, there was a golden orb floating on the ground ahead of them.

“Don’t stop.” Alex shouted. “Just loot while we run by.”

Silvia didn’t bother to answer and swiped her hand at her orb while Alex did the same to his. Looting was thankfully quick and easy and they both made it to the Bellevue with time to spare.

Once they were both safely inside the Bellevue lobby, Danny slammed into Alex, hugging him tightly. He was out of breath but wasn’t about to complain. Who needed air? The others were also waiting, and soon they were all congratulating each other and laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Alex wasn’t laughing however. Danny and Rishi could have died and if it wasn’t for the fact that he and Silvia could outrun them, someone would have fallen today.

Congratulations! You have survived a Monster Stampede! Many players have died over the centuries to similar waves of teeth and claws but where they failed, you have survived! For this Accomplishment, you have gained 5,000xp!

“Did everyone check their notifications?” Alex asked.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they read. Whoops and cheers had other players looking into the lobby to find out what the fuss was about.

Congratulation! You have reached Level 6! You have 3 available Attribute points!

Experience: 600 (600xp per Goblin)

Souls: 150 (150 Souls per Goblin)

Loot (Specialized): One free spin of the Wheel O’ Mazing! (Please see Jeffrey to claim your prize!)

“Silvia, did you get the free spin as well?”

“Yes.” She said happily. “Did anyone else get it?”

Everyone else shook their heads.

“Well, let’s go ask Jeffrey.” Alex said.

Jeffrey was standing where he always seemed to be, right behind the concierge desk. That just fueled his anger even more. If the System wanted them to survive, why wouldn’t they tell them about this?

“I see we have two free spins of the Wheel O’ Mazing.” Jeffrey said happily.

“Jeffrey. What the hell was with the Monster Stampede? Why didn’t you warn us?!”

“I am unable to warn you about certain interactions within the City Zone.” Jeffrey answered. “Needless to say, now that you have survived the ordeal, you should tell your fellow players.”

Alex sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Then what about these tickets?”

Jeffrey nodded and lifted up a section of the wall behind him. Behind the dark wood was a large spinning wheel with several prizes listed on each piece of the wheel. A small arrow at the top indicating what you had won.

“Now, if I may.” Jeffrey said, pulling out a small red button and placing it on the counter. “Ladies first.”

Silvia stepped forward and pressed the red button. The wheel started spinning so fast, you couldn’t make out what was written on it. The blur of colors almost became painful to look at. The wheel came to a sudden stop and they all leaned in to see what she had won.

“Armor Upgrade!” Jeffrey stated. “Congratulations Miss Silvia! There are several levels of upgrades to your armor. It will not change any of your armor that has been upgraded via Loot. The same with weapons. Armor Upgrades become very expensive once you get into the higher tiers but they are worth it since you will not find new armor like you did in your games from Earth.”

Silvia’s armor shimmered, the leather cuirass she was wearing becoming slightly more ornate and a few metal plates appeared on her bust, accentuating her…assets. Toby was left speechless, trying to stare anywhere else and Silvia’s smile brightened when she noticed.

Alex stepped forward. Not waiting, he pressed the red button and the wheel started its dizzying spin again. He was still a little angry that Jeffrey wasn’t able to tell them about the Monster Stampede. He just needed to get stronger and this Wheel O’ Mazing could help him do that.

The wheel spun faster than his eye could track. When it came to an abrupt stop, he looked anxiously to see what he would get.

“Immediate Ding!” Jeffrey announced. “You are automatically taken to your next level; your experience points will be brought down to zero.”

Alex hissed through his teeth.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Danny asked.

“I was only 100xp from my next level.” Alex said through gritted teeth.

The rest of the group winced.

“Hacks, Jeffrey!” Ty shouted.

“I do apologize, Alex.” Jeffrey said. “This is normally one of the better prizes, especially when you get into the higher levels.”

“Whatever.” Alex sighed. “Let’s get some dinner, guys.”

Before he could follow the others into the room, Danny stopped him.

“Don’t you ever do that again!” She whispered. “You scared us half to death with that stunt.”

Maybe it was just the bad spin or the fact that he had almost been trampled to death, but Alex started fuming.

“I did what I had to do to keep everyone alive! In what way do you think I had any other choice? Would you rather be dead?!”

As soon as the words passed his lips, he immediately regretted saying them. Danny looked angrier than he had ever seen. Her perfectly pale skin turning red and her green eyes were filled with unshed tears.

“Danny, I’m-”

“Oh, I know what you are!” Danny countered; her accent thicker than he had ever heard before. “You’re a Jackass!”

She turned and ran up the stairs. Alex closed his eyes, mentally kicking himself.

Nice move! Way to be an asshole.

No longer hungry, Alex went up to his own room. Laying on his bed, he put in his new stats.

Name: Alex Donner

Age: 24

Race: Human

Level: 7

EXP: 0/6,000

Class: Soul Survivor

Soul: 1,300

HP: 200

MP: 110

Vitality: 16

Strength: 8

Agility: 20(30)

Dexterity: 20(30)

Wisdom: 8

Intelligence: 7

It was probably a pointless move, but he threw three points into his Wisdom in hopes that he would be wise enough to never repeat that mistake again. The last thing he wanted to do was push Danny away.

She was the first person he had spoken to in this new world. She had helped him start dealing with his friend’s death and she was out in the city with him and Ty every day, literally keeping them from death’s door. She didn’t deserve to be the target of his stupidity.

He threw the other three points into Vitality. More health was always a good thing. With nothing left do, he laid there, staring at the ceiling until he finally fell asleep.

Blinking his eyes opened, he found himself back in the cave. With everything that had happened, he had forgotten that he was planning on trying to condense his Soul tonight.

Getting up, he made his way through the dark cave, finding the glowing puddle that represented his Soul exactly where it always was.

Looking closely, he realized that the puddle did look a little bigger than before but he didn’t know if he would be able to concentrate tonight. He could still see how much he had hurt Danny. A vision of her green eyes filled with tears flashing in his mind.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he stared into the pool of light, feeling the connection to his Soul.

“Condense.”

His chest was filled with strain, as if something was squeezing his heart. The puddle shrank but the light was visibly stronger.

Catching his breath, he rubbed his chest. “Worst heart burn ever.”

His chest still felt like it was on fire but he pushed away the pain and did it again.

“Condense.”

As the puddle shrank, the pain in his chest intensified. Each time he condensed his Soul, he thought his heart would be crushed. The pool continued to shrink and the light continued to shine brighter. No matter how much it hurt though, he kept going until he felt his Soul snap.

He looked down to find a small golden marble shining at the bottom of where the puddle had once been. Unable to take anymore, he let himself lay back on the ground and pass into painless unconsciousness.