*HISSSSS!*

A massive reptilian head surges by.

Lvl. ?? Corrupted Snake

There’s no time.

I just see fangs gleam as it opens its mouth before the strike. One of the worst types of ambush predators to face in the dark. Especially this early in the Calamity. If it has a high concentration of virus, one bite is fatal and these snakes are incredibly fast! Landing one strike is their specialty!

“L-Level 20?!” Yin stumbles and I quickly reach out and shove her to the side. My cleaver swings, clanging against a snake fang the length of my head.

*HISSSSS!*

The underside of its jaw brushes against me just barely but it’s so big that I’m shoved aside. My arm is bruised as I tumble to the ground. Little rock chips dig into my elbows and stones scatter.

Stupid! Stupid! Yin doesn’t have Basic Tracking so she can’t see well in the dark! But since she’s a higher level I got careless and let her walk in front!

“Hei! It’s hard to see! Are you okay?” She calls out to me from the other side of the snake’s massive body. It’s like we’re separated by a living, breathing wall. I hear something smack into wet flesh as Yin launches a counterattack before the Corrupted Snake can pull back. “Hold on! I’m going to blow this thing away!”

“It’s an ambush specialist!” I yell back, “Don’t let it recover! This is our chance!”

*Shing*

*Shing*

*Shing*

“HAAARRRG!” I press off with both hands and leap to my feet smoothly. To my left, I can see the snake’s eyes gleam a golden yellow in the reflection of the lamp down the track. It sticks out its tongue in rage as Yin attacks it from the other side. “We’re not letting you get another shot!”

*Smack*

I raise my cleaver and let it chop into the snake’s hide. It’s literally twice as thick as my body, I carve a great gash into its body, but it’s hardly a fatal blow. The snake thrashes and the tail strikes me. I’m sent spinning away before hitting the wall.

“HAAH!” The coppery taste of blood fills my mouth. Spitting onto the subway tracks, I raise my hoarse voice. “You done yet, Yin?”

“Ready!” The worried girl’s voice makes it sound like she’s in much better shape than me. I did my best to distract this thing and keep it from withdrawing while she charged up her System Skill. Now it’s time to see if all our hard work will pay off. “Take this!”

*Snap*

The little click as Yin brings her fingers together is matched by an explosive bang as every strike she’s laid on the snake is activated all at once.

*PUCHI!*

*HISS-?!*

Instantly, the entire length of the Corrupted Snake stretches out. It’s hard to see in the darkness, but I feel warm disgusting reptile blood land on my face as each cut explodes. After I wipe my eyes with a sleeve, the monster has been turned into many pieces. Yin flourishes her sword before leaping over one of the giant chunks. Running to my side, she quickly extends a hand.

“You okay? I was worried that wouldn’t kill it, but I didn’t want to wait any longer!” She breathes heavily from using the System Skill. “It looks like eight marks was more than enough though…”

I take her hand and let her pull me to my feet. Gingerly, I stretch each part of me, feeling the deep bruises from before mix with new ones.

“It’s fine. That thing’s level was just a bit high. Plus, I wasn’t expecting a monster that focuses on one shot kills down here. Those are the worst. From now on, I’ll walk in front. My Basic Tracking Skill gives me better vision in the dark.” I let out a sigh of relief.

If I lost this girl right now, and had to start over from the beginning, I’d probably lose my mind. No more risks. Gotta get my head in the game! Can’t afford to die here. Worse, Yin almost died first. Imagine if she died before I did and there was no one left to kill my zombie? That snake was too high level for me to finish with a cleaver! Then I’d be stuck down here with no way to reset!

Shuddering at the thought of spending eternity in the darkness of the sewer as a zombie, I gratefully send a prayer out to whatever god is watching over us. Though Yin almost died just now, she doesn’t realize why I’m so scared. It’s not that I’m afraid of death. It’s just that, this situation would have been the worst possible death. Still, the girl is surprisingly unfazed by the ambush. Is she just unaware of how close we were to biting the dust, or has she really grown that much?

“Hei? Are you okay?” She asks me softly, and I see the way her shoulders are shaking ever so slightly in the darkness. I smile, knowing she can’t see it.

How stupid of me to think that Yin’s really become that cold when she was just a little girl not long ago. She’s just gotten better at hiding it. Heh…maybe she learned that from me?

“Yea, I just remember something. Let’s go!” I charge forwards into the darkness, heading for the throne room with my cleaver out.

Keep growing, Yin. Until you’re strong enough to protect me. So, one day I can lay down my butcher’s blade and leave all the bloodshed behind. I wonder, when that day comes. What will you choose if the System gives you a chance to escape? Will you hang up your sword as well, or will you be like I was, addicted to battle?

I’m not ready to think about the secrets of Lvl. 100 and what lies beyond. To be honest, I’m still not sure what happened when I became the first to break the limit. I don’t know why I became a zombie and even thinking about it could bring about the curse. Until Yin grows strong enough to carry this burden with me, I won’t tempt fate by trying to unravel its secrets.

#

*Chop*

*Snap*

*Chop*

*Snap*

*Graaaaawwwr*

A giant Corrupted Crocodile the size of five Yins falls over. Her Ghostblade Asura has severed both its front legs. Before my eyes, she snaps again and the slight cut on its head explodes sending bits of crocodile everywhere.

“What level are you now?” I ask. My own level rose to eleven after defeating the Corrupted Snake earlier. Since crossing over to the sewer system through a hole in the subway wall, we’ve been hunting these oversized crocodiles. Despite their greatly oversized bodies, they’re less dangerous than the Corrupted Snakes, and because of all the of sewer grates which open up to the surface, there’s more light so it’s less risky. Occasionally, I still glance at the sky though, worried that somehow Belziarde’s lightning will find a way in.

“I’m Lvl. 20 now. These aren’t giving very much experience anymore, either.” Yin brushes a strand of hair back with her fingers. Her beautiful brown eyes reflect the moonlight from the surface now that the storm has faded. It’s a strange sight seeing someone so perfect in the sewers…

“Alright, we’re getting pretty close to Tiendas Tower. I think there should be an underground entrance nearby. Also, put some of your points into intelligence. You’re going to need more mana regeneration plus magical power with your System Skill. Additionally, once you hit Lvl. 30, you’ll need to level up your stamina stat a few times.” I instruct her as we approach a big hole in the sewer walls. We enter a section of the subway which is newer and fancier, clearly more recent construction. Up ahead, several lanterns illuminate the platform. A run-down escalator leads up into what I assume must be the base of Tiendas Tower. “We found it!”

“Huh, I get intelligence, because Ghostblade Asura will get more powerful, but why stamina? If I get bitten by a zombie isn’t it game over anyways?” She grins, as we advance towards a pool of light under a ring of torches. Hoppings up onto the subway platform, we leave the underground behind. The escalator isn’t running since there’s no electricity. So, we clamber up to our future, one step at a time, on our own.

“Not necessarily. Yes, weak zombies with high concentrations of the virus will instantly infect you with a single bite. But starting at Lvl. 30, the amount of virus most creatures possess will decrease as the lifeforms on Earth adapt to the System. The point is, if your stamina stat is higher, it will be harder to infect you. Also, the higher-level System monsters do not fight by biting a lot of the time. For instance, the Daemonic Minotaur used an axe. Thus, you need a higher defense stat to survive or you’ll just get killed in one hit even if you’re not infected.” My explanation leaves nothing out. I make sure Yin understands what she has to do now, and more importantly how she needs to develop in the future.

“Oh, I see. That’s genius, Hei!” She compliments me which I find funny. If only I could tell her why I know so much…

“Your Ghostblade Asura is an incredible skill. You barely need to put any points in strength because as long as you can touch the enemy a little bit and mark them, when you detonate it, they’ll take massive damage. Agility to get the first hit, intelligence for damage, and then stamina to survive will be your most important stats, in that order!”

We ascend the escalator and enter the base of Tiendas Tower. The first thing I notice is all the light. The ultrabright moon looms in the sky like some sort of gleaming white sun. Ever since the Calamity began, it’s guided us Hunters at night. Right now, it has led every skilled Hunter in the city here, to the boss’s lair. As we come over the top of the escalator, dozens of hungry eyes stare at us. Instantly, I reach over and pull up Yin’s hood. Then I do the same, hiding my face.

There might be people who know we got the reward for slaying the Eighth Servant!

“Hei…why is everyone waiting?” Yin gasps lightly as she sees how many Hunters are milling about on the ground floor of Tiendas Tower. The entire first floor is circular, surrounded by glass. There’s enough room for thousands of people in here. One of the waiting Hunters, a man with curly dyed purple hair and a scar on his lip smirks. Without saying a word, he points at one of the jumbo flatscreen television screens on the ceilings and walls. They all say the same thing, in glowing red corrupted text.

Tiendas Tower Welcomes Its Visitors In:

00:10:05

“Jeez, the System sure is fancy. Using electricity during the Calamity.” Yin mutters indignantly. “I miss my phone. Not that I have many people to call left. But at least I could see if my cousins are alive.”

“At Lvl. 30, you’ll gain access to a limited messaging system through the System. It doesn’t work outside of cities without a Heavenly Mandate, but it helps.” I whisper in her ear to try to cheer her up. Her sad face perks up a little bit and I feel warm inside.

“Oh…that sounds cool. Only ten more levels!” Yin grins widely, and I quickly put a hand over her mouth as the purple-haired dude next to us gives us a curious look. “Oops, sorry, too loud! I forgot.”

“Let’s wait. It seems like most people didn’t have as much trouble with the storm as we did.” More people are pouring into the ground floor with every second. Tiendas Tower is so wide that it’s impossible to see to the other side, but I’d estimate there are at least twenty entrances. In the middle of the building, a massive spiral staircase with doors on each side is currently surrounded by blue light. The screens on its walls all display the countdown timer, and people are fighting with each other to get a closer spot. Suddenly a thought occurs to me.

“Watch the escalators coming from the underground entrances!” I scan around, seeing three other entrances like the one we just came through on the first floor. “If someone defeated one of the Eight Servants, the lightning will have forced them to come underground like we did!”