Seamus Conner’s sword flashed quickly as he swung, deflecting a vicious bite aimed straight at his head. While the three-headed chimera was recovering from the parry, Seamus jabbed his blade along the hide of the beast, leaving little more than a scratch. However, even this much was sufficient to piss off the unholy monster. The tail lashed faster than eyes could follow. He sidestepped the brutal lance and let his sword trail along its scaled length. The beast retracted the limb, snarling savagely as the putrid green blood dripped from the fresh wound, befouling the air.

Seamus never had considered what he was doing to be extraordinary. He merely survived. However, when ‘just surviving’ led to becoming the last survivor of the human race, it could be considered a great testament to his ability. He might have even passed one of those job interviews, from before the apocalypse, if ‘surviving’ was a part of the recruitment process. He couldn’t remember whether or not it was.

The chimera pounced at his torso, claws outstretched, ready to shred his whole head into tiny little bite-sized pieces. This time he dove under the beast, instantly regretting it as the matted underbelly of the creature nearly flattened him. He hastily rolled out from under it, holding his weapon up to deflect the oncoming dragon mouth.

The apocalypse came unexpectedly. He could still remember that day with nearly perfect clarity. December 31st, 2020. As the end of one of the worst years in recent memory drew to an end, people everywhere sighed in relief. However, that relief was very short-lived.

He had nearly deflected the bite entirely when he felt his chainmail pinch tightly against his side. A glance told him that the deadly stinger scored a hit in his side. He could also tell that it had broken skin, as he could feel his entire side go numb. Luckily, he could still sense the familiar refreshing presence of [Regeneration] sweep through his ribs as he bit his sword deep into the side of the monstrosity, shattering its [Beast Core].

The world was decidedly unprepared for the horrors that awaited it merely minutes after one of its most celebrated holidays. After enduring the pandemic, panicking over murder hornets (which should have tipped them off already), and the murmurings of the start to a third world war, the planet was ready to relax and have an uneventful following year. However, that wish was never realized.

The beast roared, acidic blood seeping out of the fatal wound. Seamus ripped the sword out and scrambled backwards as the chimera began its death throes. Dropping to the dirt, he prodded the gash in his side as he watched the creature writhe in pain, its body beginning to shut down. He felt slightly dizzy watching the dying beast, but he swallowed down the nausea and scrutinized the forest surrounding him, confirming that no other being in the forest was curious enough to investigate the inhuman wails. His scrutiny complete, he laid down his sword, sighed, then watched the dying horror in grim fascination. No matter how many times he watched a living thing perish, it always triggered a somber mood to overtake him.

Just as people clinked glasses and celebrated the end of the year, The System welcomed itself to the party. It was met with unwelcoming stares and panicked screams. With the fateful words, ‘[Tutorial Complete. Welcome to The System, Earth #3579]’ the end of the world began. Nobody deciphered its meaning in time as portals began to open up around the planet, thousands of monsters barging out of every one of them. Those unfortunate enough to be standing next to the portals were the first casualties, but perhaps they were just the lucky ones. If that were true, then the thousands of people that passed away due to lack of any form of harnessed energy and life support were the luckiest of them all.

The nausea intensified and brought immense pain along with it. At first, he thought it was merely because he was watching the chimera die, but now he recalled that the scorpion’s tail was coated in an extremely potent poison. He used [Regeneration], but recalled that it didn’t work on poisons. He used [Purify] on himself to combat the growing sickness. Just as he began to notice the swaying in his vision wearing off, he heard a loud howl emanating from his left. He quickly glanced towards the bushes as a set of red eyes rose from the top of the centermost hedge. As he scrambled to pick his sword up off the ground, the beast stepped out from the undergrowth. It was layered in dark grey fur, contrasting with the white tufts on its chest. Its most noticeable feature was the puke-green mushrooms growing on its hide. It almost looked...infected. It might have once been a proud animal, but now it was no more than a monster that needed to be put down. Another left the underbrush to join the first. As the number of monsters quickly multiplied, Seamus switched from a cautious stance to a fleeing one. He swiveled and prepared to escape in the opposite direction, when he stopped once more. Not only were the creatures behind him, even more were snarling directly in front of him. He quickly pivoted, attempting to switch directions to his left, when they stepped out from the trees there as well.

Seamus was at home, a long walk from any portals after their initial opening. With no monsters nearby, he had plenty of time to prepare for the onslaught of beings that invaded his world. The first time he left his bunker of an apartment, he raided the nearby gunsmith. Given that he lived in America, he could always count on the fact that guns were close at hand. If he had enough foresight to have selected a sword as his weapon, gaining [Sword Mastery] might have been less of an impossibility.

His notifications pinged him that the chimera had finally died, granting him a measly 1,000 XP towards his [Survivalist] job, not nearly enough for the next level. The monsters slowly moved to surround him, their mouths salivating at the chance to savor human flesh. Their piercing crimson eyes and barely withheld bloodlust shook Seamus to his core. He turned wildly, seeking any exit. Seeing none, he slowly reached his hand behind himself into his pack, grasping around for an item that could save him from this deadly encounter. Just as he grasped a long metal pole, another wave of the poison sent him sprawling. Sensing weakness, the beasts pounced forward, teeth and claws tearing into him. As his vision began to fade, a faint echo emanated from what could only be his soul:

“At long last, my champion is ready.”

You have died.