Walter spent the rest of the day working on his gathering quest. It took him 5 seconds of holding his hand above an item became a tedious task as he claimed the cement bricks 2 at a time. Discovering that bags of dry mix worked just as well made the work go a little faster. Finishing this task he started holding his hands over other items in the construction area. A toilet and sink, some galvanized pipes, lumber, and 3 gallons of paint all were added under the bonus part of his quest.

The water was a little harder to figure out. Thankfully, the water was still running but he couldn’t claim it for the system while it was running. But by filling buckets he could claim the water causing his quest to leap at a quicker rate.

While trying to claim bonus items for the quest he found stairs leading upstairs. A sign reading military surplus this way painted above it caused Walter to stop his quest farming and see what weapons were upstairs.

The rooms' windows were covered in grime just letting the barest trickle of light from outside. Taking off his shirt, he used it as a rag wiping years of buildup from the window. As the midday sun lit the room up, Walter couldn’t help but grin at what he saw.

Racks of heavy canvas clothing in different styles of camouflage beckoned to him. His current clothing stained and tight offered little protection from the environment. Finding his size to match the mottled gray of the city was a little hard. His short wiry stature causing him to once again cut the clothing to fit. He did manage to find a pair of boots that fit him when he wore a second pair of socks.

Properly attired he went through more racks pulling more clothing close to his size in different shades of camouflage. Shoving everything he found useful into a new backpack set up like the one he had in Valhalla. That bag was designed to hold more and evenly distribute its weight on his back. Perfect for long treks through inhospitable environments.

Looking around more he saw more and more items he could use. He wasn’t sure what to take and what to leave after collecting everything he wanted in a pile. He knew there were a couple items he would take no matter what, his spear, and binoculars in particular. Pulling a foldable chair over he sat down with another hiking backpack to fill. He needed to be prepared for anything when he went looking for survivors. But he also needed to be quick and stealthy. He had plenty of time today to figure out what he would need for tomorrow. Be prepared should really be a saying he thought to himself.

Walter woke the next day while it was still dark. He had found access to the roof and decided to eat an MRE while watching the sunrise. He didn’t think he could ever get over something so amazing as that. The colors shifting as the sun rose was a stark difference to the stone ceiling of Valhalla.

He sat there on his folding chair, his backpack and weapons sitting next to him. Eating his food and relaxing, he was never an arms reach of his supplies. Being prepared would be his motto even if he felt completely safe.

There was ethereal silence to this moment that Walter never experienced. The constant training his life had been never left him with much downtime. He was basking in its peacefulness, even if it was during the end of the world.

This little reprieve rudely interrupted by the sound of dull thuds hitting metal. Walter dropping his food to the side, started scanning where the noises came from. Rat beasts started pouring out of an alley down the street as if they were escaping something. The sounds of yowling and hissing could be heard coming from the alley accompanied by tinny sounds of metal being slammed. Walter would hunt whatever came out of that alley he promised himself.

Walter wouldn’t give up this opportunity for free experience and the practice he needed with his new weapon. His spear laying behind him instead he held a composite bow looking down its sights as he tested its pull.

This bow was unlike any had ever trained with before but was similar enough to the longbows he had used. His first arrow missed the rat beast, flying faster and straighter than he thought. Lining up his second shot he released, the arrow going clean through the top of its skull dropping it. His third and fourth arrow taking out the scurrying rat beast gaining him easy experience.

Lining up his fifth shot a two-headed creature exploded out of the alley all spit and vinegar tackling one of the rat beasts trying to escape it. It’s body lithe with powerful muscles, its fur calico and short. Beautiful in its deadliness the first head biting down on the rat beast it landed on it. The noise of crushing bones made could even be heard up on the roof.

The second head tracking its next prey before leaping onto it. The rat beasts scurrying in every direction making the street a madhouse. Walter watched the larger new beast as killed the smaller rat beasts indiscriminately. Its prowess and speed in wholesale slaughter would be impossible to fight up close at his current level but Walter didn’t need to be up close right now.

Taking a bead on the beast, drawing his string. Walter took a deep breath and held it as he aimed at the beast. His hand steadied and the world seemed to slow down as he released the arrow. He saw the fletching flying from him shrinking rapidly as it flew away from him. The beasts head tracking one of the rat beasts, its muscles tensing as it prepared to leap.

The arrow struck true, the beasts eye exploding in with the force of the arrow. The head he hit snapped back as it howled, its other head dropping the rat beast it was holding in its mouth. The beast pawed at its face, howling as it only pushed the arrow deeper in. The second head looking around crazily as it tried to find what had hurt it.

All the rat beasts stopped their running, hearing the cries of pain coming from their predator. Its sounds of weakness calling out to these craven beasts. Instincts screaming that their tormentor was hurt they quickly surrounded it, darting in out of its reach striking it with their barbed tails.

Walter watched the rat beasts harrying the wounded larger beast. They were going to steal his kill and experience if he just stood there on the roof doing nothing. Rushing back to his bag he pulled a rope out meant for climbing and tied it off to a metal venting pipe. Throwing the rope over the edge he quickly lowered his bag and spear to the ground before rappelling down.

He only had six arrows left from the bundle, he shot them off killing five of the rat beasts quickly. The sixth he shot the larger beast with to further weaken it. Dead rat beasts surrounded it as its wounded head lolled to the side panting. The second taking control of its limbs was now holding its own against the horde of rat beasts.

The remaining five rat beast had been driven insane with blood from the larger two-headed beast and all their dead. They charged the two-headed beast from both sides. The injured head not reacting gave the rat beasts cover from the other head as it fought. Barbed tails speared into the side of the two-headed beast. Howling in pain unaware for a split second for the jackals to pounce.

Walter watched all this and waited for this moment. He used skitter rocketing at the pile of monsters, thrusting his spear into the skull of a rat. Parting its skull, like butter, killing it instantly. Spinning the spear tip up and out of the rat beasts head, and slamming the butt of it into another rat beast’s skull-crushing it, before leaping back out the reach of the barbed tails.

Walter had killed two rat beasts this quickly with a weapon Karl had made for him just using scraps from this world. He wanted to examine the spear more after realizing how amazing it was.

The two-headed beast caught one of the rat beasts in its mouth killing it as it fell to the ground. Two rat beast were left, both going for the killing blow. Walter used his skitter skill again skewering both heads of the two-headed beast killing it instantly.

His spear stuck in the heads of the dead beast he let it go and retreated pulling his backup weapon out. The two rat beasts stared at Walter their instincts demanding them to kill him. Their tails arched over them slowly waving in a hypnotic pattern as they slowly took a step closer.

One of the beasts shot forward, using its tail as a lance aimed at Walters's heart. The second one leaped forward its tail striking from above like a scorpion tail. Walter caught the lance tail in the curve of his blade cutting into it. Using the skill by instinct he shot forward dodging the second tail losing his grip of the kukri in the process. The blade dragged the whole length of the tail bisecting it before catching in a bone.

Blood squirted everywhere, as the rat beast tail unfolded like a banana peel as Walter landed behind the two rat beasts. Pivoting as he landed, Walter spun kicking at where he thought the leaping rat beast would be. His steel-toed boot connecting with the beast’s side, driving shards of its broken rib into its internal organs leaving it to die painfully.