After reflecting for a few moments, I reached an inevitable conclusion. If I kept wandering around with just an old knife at my waist, it was only a matter of time before I became monster food. That grotesque creature… that two-meter rat… that had only been the beginning.
I needed real weapons.
Firearms.
And the only place I might find something like that would be a military base. A depot, or maybe a facility, if any were still standing.
["It won't work."]
The voice echoed in my head, sharp as a razor.
"Huh? Alter?"
"I thought you'd decided to sleep forever."
["Unfortunately for you, I'm still here. And lucky for you too… because that idea of yours is idiotic."]
"What do you mean idiotic? Firearms are our best bet, aren't they?"
["Before you open that mouth again, let me say this... I didn't mention it before because I thought it was something minor, but... firearms don't work on these evolved creatures."]
I stayed silent for a moment, reflecting on the information I had.
"What do you mean they don't work? Even if their skin is tough, bullets should cause some damage, especially now, in the early days. Monsters shouldn't be that resilient."
["You're right. Some bullets might injure them… or, if you're lucky, even kill them. But that's not the issue. The real problem… is that if you kill one like that, the experience... the soul, dissipates. Disappears. Goes straight to the void. Back to the source. You gain nothing. No experience, no skill. Nothing. It's as if the monster never existed."]
The information hit me like a bucket of cold water.
"What? And you still call that a minor detail?"
["If I told you everything at once, your head would explode. So yes, it was a minor detail… compared to the rest."]
More and more, I had the impression that this new world didn't follow fair rules. Or rather... it did have rules, but not ones a normal human could accept.
"So… how should I kill them?"
["Melee weapons. Close combat. Swords, spears, axes, bows… those kinds of weapons."]
"You've got to be kidding…"
The only weapon I'd ever used that even came close to that... was a crossbow. One time, at a camp, my aunt had taught me how to shoot. Other than that? Nothing. I'd never wielded a sword. Never even touched a spear.
"So you're telling me… that if I use a firearm, even if I kill the monster, I get nothing?"
["Exactly. The soul simply evaporates. Gone. As if the monster never existed."]
"What kind of rule is that…?"
["The rule of this world. Here, you have to get involved. Fight for real. Feel the danger. Evolution only happens when you face blood head-on."]
"That's ridiculous…"
["Maybe. But it's reality. And whining won't change it."]
I went quiet for a few seconds. The idea of fighting monsters with a sword sounded absurd… but if this world followed its own laws, clinging to old logic wouldn't help me.
"So… where can I find a real weapon? A sword, a spear… anything…"
["Museum. Kendo academy. Hunting shop. Medieval reenactment warehouse. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to cut."]
I took a deep breath and looked around. The city was eerily silent. Just yesterday, this place buzzed with people, cars, the usual urban chaos. Now… only the wind. Papers fluttering on the asphalt. And the distant sound of something heavy moving between the buildings.
Here and there, signs of recent chaos: a car on the sidewalk, deep scratches on the metal. Dried blood stains at a diner's entrance. But no bodies. No people. Just absence.
After a few blocks, my eyes found what I needed.
'Gran'Ferro Hunting & Fishing.'
The storefront was cracked, the display glass fractured, but still standing.
"It'll do."
I crossed the street, careful with every step. The light poles still stood tall, shattered windows reflecting the dull sky. The marks of destruction were like fresh scars on this abandoned city.
At the store's entrance, I pushed the door slowly. A muted bell rang.
Tring.
I moved between shelves. Fallen boxes, camo mannequins on the floor. In the back, a wall of melee weapons. Machetes, hatchets… and a few hand crossbows.
That's when I heard it. A faint shuffling, muffled. Behind the shelf on the left. My heart raced. My hand gripped the old knife.
["Behind you."]
Alter's voice was a cold whisper.I spun around immediately—and saw it. A quick shadow slipping beneath a toppled shelf.
Without thinking, I dashed to the weapons wall. My eyes locked on a sheathed katana. Next to it, a few crossbows mounted on a rack.
"This'll have to do."
I grabbed the katana. Its weight settled into my hand better than I expected. Balanced. Natural.
The shadow moved again. I raised the blade and prepared myself.
THUMP
A dull impact. The blade struck something large, a dog. No, more than a dog. A massive abomination. Charcoal-black fur stretched over grotesque muscles. Red eyes stared at me like I was a slab of meat.
The shock made me recoil.
"What the hell is that…?"
As if in response, a translucent screen appeared before my eyes.
[
Level: 1
Name: Canis Abissum
Strength (STR): 6
Stamina (STA): 5
Constitution (CON): 2
Intelligence (INT): 1
Charisma (CHA): 1
Mana: 2
Abilities: (Night Vision — D) (Aggressive Bite — E)
]
The name pulsed on the screen, like a warning.
"First a giant rat… now a hellhound…"
The creature growled, its red eyes glowing like embers. Muscles tense, black saliva dripping from crooked fangs.
Then it lunged. Fast. Too fast.
The world narrowed. The wind being sliced by its open jaws hit first. The stench of rotting flesh and rust filled my nose. Instinct screamed before reason could.
I dove to the side, rolling on the dusty store floor.
Even so, I felt the hot gust of its bite graze past me. A second slower, and my head would've been gone.
The katana slashed through the air in a desperate reflex. The blade grazed the monster's shoulder, and a dark trickle of blood splattered on the ground, releasing an acidic, suffocating scent.
The creature pulled back, growling, eyes locked on me.
My heart was pounding. My hands trembled.But not from fear. From excitement.
It was strange, even wrong… but in the middle of that madness, my body reacted like it was truly alive for the first time.Every muscle alert. Every breath controlled.The katana felt like an extension of my arm.
["You're stronger than it. Don't be afraid. Trust your legs. And your arms."]
Alter's voice was cold and precise in my mind.I clenched my teeth.
"Let's see what you're made of."
This time, I charged.Feet firm, feeling the rotting wood and shattered glass crunch beneath my soles.The blade whistled through the air, aiming for the monster's flank.
It tried to leap back.
I turned, riding the momentum, and the blade sliced through the side of its belly.A dry crack, its skin tearing like old cloth.Black blood gushed out, the air filling with the stench of sulfur.
AAARGH!!
The monster howled, a guttural, primal sound that made the floor vibrate and the cracked windows rattle.It staggered.
Before it could recover, I was already on it.
Three steps.A leap.Horizontal slash.Right at the neck.
The blade cut through skin, muscle, and bone.Black blood exploded in heavy drops.Its eyes emptied and the body hit the ground with a grotesque thud.
I stood there, panting, my chest rising and falling as I struggled to reclaim my breath. The thick, dark blood spattered on my face burned slightly, like a mild acid.The air reeked of death and cold sweat, clinging to my throat.
The metallic taste still coated my tongue.
And in the heavy silence that followed, the only thing I could think was… I was still alive.
A translucent window appeared before my eyes, slicing through the silence like a blade.
[
{Attention!}
Does the host wish to extract Ability or collect XP?
]
The question lingered.
I took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind. XP or skill?
Then I remembered… that creature's ability: Night Vision.
In a world drowning in darkness, where power was failing and the nights grew longer, seeing in the dark wasn't just an advantage, it was survival.
"Extract ability: Night Vision."- I muttered.
The screen blinked, confirming my choice before disappearing.
The Canis Abissum's body began to dissolve into energy fragments, like shattered glass floating in the air. Among them, a dark brown orb formed, hovering before me.
I stepped forward, feeling the faint warmth it emitted.
"So this is how it works…"
I took the orb into my palm. It was warm, the last remnant of the creature I'd desperately tried not to be devoured by.
The abilities were ranked, and the easiest way to identify them was by the color of the ability stones monsters left behind upon death.
"Brown… Rank D."
I closed my fingers around the orb.
Its surface broke like liquid glass, seeping through my hand and turning into pure energy. A warm wave surged through my body, comforting, yet wild, as if the beast's essence was trying to merge with me.
A new window appeared.
[
Ability Acquired: Night Vision – D
Description: Allows the user to see clearly in dark environments, up to a 25-meter radius.
Type: Active
Cost: 2 mana per minute.
]
"Alright… let's see if this really works," I murmured to myself.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and with a simple thought… activated it.
Instantly, my eyes tingled.As if something inside them was adjusting, changing the way light reached my vision.
When I opened them again, the world had changed.
Though it was still daylight outside, the store's interior had corners shrouded in shadow, places sunlight couldn't reach. But now… everything was clear.The shadows dissolved into bluish-gray tones, revealing details that had been swallowed by darkness before.
I clearly saw the machete handles on the floor, glass shards behind the counter, even claw marks on the wall that had previously looked like cracks.
"Hah… nice," I murmured, almost smiling.
It was a simple ability.But here, in this now-hostile world, simple could mean the difference between living… or dying around the next corner.