Part Two

I wasn’t the only one who’d grown during our journey. Both Alicia and Cameron had come out of it much stronger than when we started.

Status (Michael)

Race: Human

Archetype: Warrior

Age: 22

State: Healthy

Titles: Razor's Edge, Way of the Warrior, Conqueror of Trials, Murderer,

Rank: C

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Survival Instinct, Sword Aura Rank D,

Equipment Skills: Mind’s Eye,

Special Skills: Skanda Rank E,

Authorities: Insight,

Equipment: Demon’s Third Eye, Scaleblade Armor, Moray Gauntlets, Striker’s Pants, Moray Boots, Warrior’s Bracelet

Status (Alicia)

Race: Human

Age: 18

State: Healthy

Titles: None

Rank: D

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Stealth Rank E, Accuracy Rank D,

Unique Skill: Observer

Equipment: Archer's Helm, Archer's Lightweight Armor, Rapid-fire Gloves, Archer's Skirt, Archer's Boots,

Status (Cameron)

Race: Human

Age: 35

State: Healthy

Titles: Razor’s Edge,

Rank: D

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Crushing Aura Rank E, Survival Instinct,

Equipment Skills: Charge,

Equipment: Brutal Full Metal Armor,

So much had happened. We’d been through so many things, that it would take forever to list them all.

First was Survival Instinct. I’d long had suspicions about the skill and Title associated with it. Alicia hadn’t acquired it even after we’d gone through far more than ten fights. This led me to believe that the specifics of what constitutes a life-or-death fight were rather vague. This was only further confirmed when Cameron got the Skill and not Alicia.

Furthermore, the skill had several defects. I’d started to notice them before, but once we had more ways to collect data, it became clearer. Since the skill primarily reacted to threats to the user’s life, it wouldn’t trigger in certain situations. Monsters that were far outclassed by us would be ignored. And while I had no evidence, I figured that natural threats that you could gain resistance for, like poison, also might not trigger it.

Most of our new equipment came from Dungeons. We’d come across about a dozen E-Rank ones. Which was good because we had needed to regularly replace damaged armor. But it wasn’t until we’d found a D-Rank Dungeon that things had become interesting.

That particular Dungeon had been crawling with Goblins. And every. Single. One. Had been D-Rank. It was a challenge to even survive. But the rewards we’d unlocked were worth the danger. We’d discovered that the generic D-Rank armor drops came in several types. Each set emphasized a different attribute, giving us greater options to diversify our abilities.

Alicia and Cameron had both acquired a unique piece of equipment each from completing that Dungeon. Alicia’s Rapid-fire Gloves appeared to be a normal pair of fingerless gloves, except that they greatly improved Dexterity. This allowed her to more easily rapid-fire arrows, a feat which was rather chilling to watch. If you couldn’t close in on her, you would soon become a pin cushion.

Cameron, on the other hand, had gotten a full body suit of armor. Yes, like the kind medieval knights used to use. Strangely, it actually suited him. The whole suit was considered to be one piece of equipment, so if he wanted its effects, he had to wear all of it. Though thankfully, it was rather lightweight, meaning it didn’t hold him back all that much.

The scariest part was the Charge Skill. Cameron was a big guy, so watching him brutally run over smaller monsters was chilling. Even more so when he was using an axe big enough to split a person in half.

Throw in the Crushing Aura Skill he’d learned and he was a real powerhouse. The Skill worked similarly to Sword Aura, but instead of strengthening a sword, it gave any weapon a Crushing attribute. This meant that his weapons could not only cut you, but also smash you into a pulp. It was rather odd to see a monster be simultaneously cut and crushed.

Hmm? You’re wondering what I got for completing that Dungeon? Only the best thing ever! A C-Rank MAGIC BAG! It has over a thousand cubic meters of storage! If I could fit a car inside the mouth…... well I don’t know what I’d do with it, but If I could I would.

Most of our rewards from the other dungeons were far more lackluster. I think it was because they’re the lowest rank of Dungeon, so they give the lowest tier of rewards. Add in that we had three people, all of who were contributing on close to the same level, and no one got extremely useful items. Most of what we did get, were one-use consumables or extra items like Alicia’s arrows.

It was a good thing we were constantly finding new items too. We went through quite a few during our battles, especially knives. I always made sure to keep a dozen or so F-Rank knives with me. Since I used them as disposable tools, I usually broke them pretty frequently. But I did still have my Paralyzing Knives and the Gleaming Dagger. They were far tougher than the lower ranked stuff, so they lasted longer.

But we didn’t only break knives. During a fight with E-Rank Steel-Shelled Ants, Cameron had broken the Acidic Axe. I didn’t blame him, as those ants had exceptionally hard carapaces, so he had to use an acidic weapon. Even if it was one of my first weapons.

Alicia had gone through two bows as well. While the first one had been broken during a sneak attack by a Wolf Pack, she’d broken the other one. Admittedly, it was because she hadn’t gotten used to her enhanced strength and accidentally overdrawn it. It also didn’t help that that one was greatly inferior to the one she had now. But that still didn’t stop me from teasing her for it.

It wasn’t all fun and games though. We’d come across plenty of destroyed towns during our travels. We also found other survivors. Some of whom were not so friendly.

There had been one particular encounter, after we’d set up camp inside some concert hall, where we’d met a group of other people. They’d acted friendly, even trying to share food with us. However, Survival Instinct had sensed the poison in the food they were offering. They’d kept insisting when we refused, and when I pointed out that the food was contaminated, they’d attacked.

There had been eight of them, so they naturally thought they had the advantage. But the three of us were used to fighting swarms of much tougher monsters. A few half-starved weaklings like them posed no threat. After we’d tied them up, we couldn’t decide what to do with them. Or at least, my companions couldn’t.

They didn’t speak to me for two days after that.

“Hey! You done daydreaming over there?”

Alicia’s yell broke me out of my stupor. I’d let myself get too into my own thoughts, and I’d inadvertently ignored what they were asking me.

“Ah, sorry. I was just thinking. What’s up?”

“Cameron was asking if there’s been any news. And you wouldn’t tell me about anything you saw online, because you were waiting for him. So start talking.”

None of it was very good. There were six areas that had experienced monster invasions. I said areas because some affected multiple countries. Most had become war zones, with volunteers trying to keep the monsters from spreading further.

This effort was being spearheaded by an emergency organization created by the UN. This group, commonly called The Committee online, had created defensive lines in order to protect the rest of the population. The Committee consisted mostly of volunteers from various militaries and those who had survived the initial disaster.

The Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations had attempted to rescue any survivors still trapped, but every attempt met with failure. The monsters were simply too numerous for large scale rescues to work out. Most settlements on the edges of the disaster sites had successfully evacuated, but those that were further inside were on their own.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, several countries had been almost destroyed overnight. England was basically gone, with London having been completely destroyed. Worse, the monsters had left and started to migrate towards Ireland and Scotland. While a defensive line had been created to hold them back, many feared it was only a matter of time before they broke through. There had been a mass exodus from nearby countries, as many were trying to get as far away as they could.

The only other sites of notice was Kyushu Island and the Island of Crete. Both had been completely overrun by monsters, though they differed in the details. Getting trustworthy reports was near impossible, as anything actually reported would soon be blown out of proportion.

I did have a reasonable idea what had happened. Crete had been occupied by Dragons of all things. They had claimed much of the Island, driving off all attempts to reclaim it. Even the other monsters had been decimated by them. Currently, no one wanted to try again, as that would likely only bring greater casualties. Thankfully, the dragons seemed content to stay where they were.

Kyushu meanwhile, had been destroyed much the same as anywhere else. An enormous army of monsters had either killed or driven everyone out. Details about this were even sparser than elsewhere, as there were even fewer survivors than normal. There was one story about a group who’d managed to escape from deep within, but again, details were slim-to-none.

“And that’s most of what I could find.”

They weren’t happy. And how could they be? They had just found out that tens if not hundreds of millions of people had died within the span of a few months. Entire countries were pushed to the brink of oblivion and the world was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

“It’s bad alright, but we already knew that. We experienced it first-hand. We know what to expect and how to overcome it. But we also know it’ll just keep getting worse. This won’t stop here. There’s already been rioting in some parts of the country. And a number of others have proclaimed Martial Law. The way I see it, we should focus on our own survival. Worrying about others will just stress us out.”

My words may have sounded callous, but I knew I had to say them. With each new piece of information they heard, their faces fell even more. I didn’t want the two of them to become depressed because of something they couldn’t help, so I tried to give them a push in the right direction. We weren’t heroes. All we could do was try to live another day, and even that took its toll on us.

“It’s starting to sink in. Nothing will ever be the same. Even if no more monsters appear, we can’t undo the damage that’s been done. And it sucks! I don’t want to be powerless! I don’t want to be afraid! I don’t want to live every day in uncertainty, hoping it all goes away. Michael, I want to get even stronger, strong enough to push through anything that tries to kill me.”

“The lass is right. If we hadn’t met, neither of us would be alive and even if we were, we’d be terrified of what’s to come. We’ve come a long way, but we’ve got even further to go.”

“Oh don’t worry about that, I’ll make sure you can survive even if dragon attacks. But forget that for a second. We’ve got a bigger issue right now.”

“What!? Michael wants to talk about something that’s not killing monsters? Who are you and what have you done to our battle junkie friend?”

I’m not a damn battle junkie! I just get a little carried away now and again. Sure, I like fighting monsters, but only because it ensures that I won’t die! I’m not a battle junkie! And why do you know that term?

“I’m going to ignore that bit of slander.” I cleared my throat. This was far more important. Though I will get you back for that.

“We’re going to need money. Soon. We can’t just live off what savings we have, because they’ll run out eventually. Prices are only going to go up. And scavenging what we need is both risky and unreliable. So we need a plan. I don’t plan on getting a normal job, as I want to keep getting stronger. Having normal responsibilities will just get in the way of that, so we need an alternative.”

“You’re right. We do need some way to earn a living. Getting food and other supplies will cost a lot. But we don’t have many options.”

“What about joining the Committee? We’d be sent to fight monsters and we’d be compensated. Plus we’d be helping out other people. It sounds like a win-win.”

“Vetoed. That’s a sure-fire way to get responsibilities. They’d probably have us fighting the weaker monsters that threaten the defensive lines. I’d prefer to explore Dungeons. They’re much more lucrative. And we can monopolize all the rewards and monsters inside.”

“Hmm, what about aiding rescue efforts? While they’re mostly focused on finding those who’ve been stranded, they do assist in fighting monsters.”

“Hm, it’s not enough. There’s little demand for rescues right now. Perhaps if another incursion happens, but we’ll have bigger problems then.”

“Erm, then we could…. I’ve got nothing. There’s just no demand for freelance monster hunters.”

“We might be outta luck. I’ll look around some more, but we might have to compromise on something.”

Nothing worth doing is ever easy. I’ll just have to stay the course and hope I can find something.