After performing a little field triage on his wounds he performed some light stretches checking his mobility. After adjusting his bandages, he spent the next hour plucking razor-sharp feathers from the avian beast’s wings, filling a bucket with them. He then sliced open the abdomens retrieving the black mana stones from their core.

Walter lucked out when pulling out the mana stones. The beast he stomped to death while it was evolving had caused it mana core to not fully absorb the other. It looked as if one stone was eating the other leaving a perfectly pinched center. He could use this to farm some beasts.

Looking up at the sky he figured he had a few hours before Stephanie woke up. Grabbing his gear, Walter started walking towards the hospital, when he spotted a man stumbling down the street. His body beaten black and blue, he held one arm against his body as if he were holding his insides. Walter rushed to him, catching him as he stumbled.

The man kept mumbling, “need to save them, need to save them.”

Up close Walter could smell him like he had been bathing in shit. His lips chapped and split, his front teeth missing, and his eye swollen shut. His abdomen was bleeding profusely, Walter had learned about wounds like this. They would lead to a slow and painful death if not treated immediately.

Walter knew the man would be dead soon by the amount of blood on his clothing and there was nothing he could do. Laying the man down on the ground Walter did the only thing he could and sat with him. He sat there as the man chanted his mantra over and over as his breathing became faster and faster.

The man took a deep breath, grabbing Walter’s hand, “That fucking pig has my family locked up at the Police station, you gotta save them,” he said his steel-like grip crushing my hand. “Please save them.”

“I will find them and save them I promise,” Walter said while looking the man in the eyes.

The man smiled and released his last bit of breath as his eyes clouded over.

The words new quest accepted flashed across the inside of his safety glasses. He never heard of The System notifying anybody of a new quest or anything without a verbal command. Not sure if it was just his imagination, he decided to check before dealing with the dead body.

“System show new quest,” he commanded.

Save the family

Limited Time Quest: 1 hour

Quest: Locate the family being held by The Pig

Rewards: 100 experience

One hundred experience would help Walter a lot, and the family would add to his survivor quest. Minimizing the quest, an arrow was left in the lower-left corner of his vision. As he turned his head back and forth the arrow would rotate to continue pointing in the same direction.

“I really am a hillbilly,” Walter said to himself as he continued experimenting with the arrow.

Standing up he dragged the body off to the side, putting it in a street garbage can. He planned on letting the family burn the body after he rescued them. He knew this was a waste of time but it was something nice he could do and it made him feel a little better.

Picking up his spear and bow he started to follow the arrow as it led him to the quest. He had pure faith in The System, even if with these new changes.

Jogging along the street he kept track of where he was heading while watching for any beasts. One alley he saw more of the rat beasts eating a larger beast. He would clear that alley out later. He didn’t want another one of those breeding rat beasts scavenging around his place.

As he continued following the arrow it suddenly disappeared. Where it was pointing stood a short square building with windows too small to fit through if he needed. Above the wood front doors, a sign hung saying Rocklin Police.

Walter knew what police were, they even had them in Valhalla. So many battle-hardened people in one city meant fights were common and allowed but the police kept them at that, just fights.

Walter never dealt with police in Valhalla though, but he did hear murmurs about them. He hoped that this world's police were a bit less violent than the ones from home.

Sneaking up to the front doors, he noticed that the wood was splintered where the lock would be. Placing his ear against it trying to hear if anyone was on the other side but heard nothing. Slowly pulling the door open, he shined his flashlight in the dark front room.

Wood was smashed and there were spent shell casing from bullets all over the floor. As he stepped inside, he saw bloodstains on the ground, and drag marks of smeared blood leading through another door.

Following the blood trail through the door, he turned his light off for stealth. Watching his steps he crept through the office as the trail led to a door marked chief. He could hear the sounds of crunching on the other side of the door and immediately backed off. Making sure the room was empty was the wisest choice before challenging a beast he couldn’t see.

He hid between two desks in the darkest shadow. Pulling a chair in front of him to help hide him he was prepared to ambush the beast. Knocking the butt of his spear on the ground loudly, he quickly loaded an arrow and aimed it at the door from cover.

The doorknob slowly turned, the door opened and a man stepped out buttoning up his shirt up as he looked around.

“Hello, anyone out here?” he said. “I’m Officer Martinez, you can come out now. Your safe here just come out,” he said as he unholstered his gun.

Walter watched him, how he moved, how he was scanning the room. Each step he took kept him perfectly balanced, ready to react at a moment's notice. As he stepped into a stream of sunlight, Walter got a clear look at his face.

His face was covered in thin slices, each wound weeping blood. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air quickly turning his face to where Walter was. Each tiny slit on his face opening to reveal eyes staring at Walter. As he drew his gun and pointed Walter reacted.

Firing his first arrow, he quickly loaded another and used skitter. Launching himself away he slowly adjusted his aim to fire when skitter stopped. Shots were fired, bullets slamming into the chair Walter was hiding behind.

Walter fired his second arrow as soon as he landed. The beast was already dodging the second arrow as it aimed the gun at Walter and fired again.

Walter dropped the bow, using his skill to charge at the beast. His spear tip aimed at the beast face he flew. All of the beast’s eyes wide open staring at the tip of the spear as it raced at its face. Smashing the gun against the shaft of the spear knocking Walter away it followed with a hook punch to Walters's face. Walter went with the blow spinning on his heel and back kicking the beast away.

Finishing his spin Walter swung his spear cleaving the gun in half. The beast reacted by throwing the gun handle at Walter smacking him in the shoulder. Taking the hit with a grunt, Walter took a step back to put the beast in the perfect distance for spear fighting.

The beast ripped the front of its shirt open revealing a gaping lamprey like maw where its chest would be. Its tongue running across its shark like teeth, as it smiled at Walter.

“I’m Officer Martinez, your safe now,” it said. An evil glint in its eyes as its voice changed to a little girl’s “MOMMY HELP ME!”

The words barely left the beast mouth as its armed morphed into a tentacle and flipped a desk at Walter.

The desk was flipping end over end as Walter activated his skill and shot underneath the desk. As the world slowed down, he saw the beast's tongue leaving its maw, spittle flying everywhere. The beast so focused on the desk smashing him, it didn’t see him dodging underneath it. He angled his spear up at the beast the tip of his spear perforating its tongue as his skill stopped. Finishing with a swipe Walter sliced the beast's tongue off.

The tongue falling away from the creature, it swung its tentacle smashing Walter in the side as he leaped away. The force of the blow sent him hurtling through the air, through the door marked chief. The beast’s scream sounded like nails on a chalkboard as it charged Walter’s prone body.