"If this place doesn't have something good stashed up. Then I don't know which building would." Zaen mumbled as he used his final building key.
[You have used a building key to open: The Special Force Headquarters]
The doors flung open as soon as the notification appeared. A strong gust of wind gently kissed his face as he walked inside. His luck had been supporting him till now, but lady luck wasn't anyone's partner and could leave any moment. He had used the four keys to open various different locations like a gas station, a supermarket, a restaurant, and an apartment complex.
He had used a key to open the gas station in hopes of finding a functional vehicle because walking on foot was making his fatigue even worse. The energy drinks could get rid of his fatigue but he didn't want to use them unnecessarily as their drop rate had fallen a bit. If he continued to use them recklessly, he could get in trouble later.
Thankfully, he managed to find a bike in somewhat decent shape. He had to find and replace a tire and a few other parts, but there were more than enough vehicles to gather the required parts within the gas station itself. He had a hobby of maintaining his vehicles himself and thus knew his way around when it came to vehicles. But then there was the issue of fuel.
There was enough fuel in the gas station, however, there were ghouls as well. In order to get to the refuelling station, he had to kill all of the ghouls which lead him to level up once again.
He got the fuel from the place, hopped onto his new bike, a black Yawaha YZF-R2 and raced towards his second destination, the local Supermarket.
He wanted to get some ready-made snacks. He had been surviving on energy drinks till now but for once he wanted to have some real food. And the supermarket was the best place to get some food from.
There were even more ghouls wandering around the supermarket than the gas station. But Zaen had his eyes set on some instant noodles and water, and no ghoulish horde was going to stop him from getting what he wanted.
He made his way through the ghouls killing them left and right. But his luck was as rotten as the food in the supermarket. Much to Zaen's dismay, there were no instant cup noodles inside.
He went deep into the basement, hoping to find some stock of ramen. In the end, he found a couple of boxes of his favourite ramen but... they were way beyond their expiration date. But he did end up finding a couple of packs of potato chips and a few protein bars along with 12 sealed water bottles.
That was enough to last him for a while and he decided to look for a place to sleep comfortably so he headed towards the nearest apartment complex. He was sure there would be even more ghouls there, but surprisingly, there were none.
It was too good to be true, hence Zaen spent 3 hours searching the apartment building looking for a ghoul or something. But despite his extensive search, he couldn't find a single ghoul.
Still, Zaen wasn't going to take any chances. He took refuge in a room on the highest floor. He blocked all the exits, except for one that he was going to use in case of an emergency. He only slept for a couple of hours, but it was the best sleep he had had in weeks.
He was thinking about turning the apartment into his permanent residence within this other realm as it had a running water supply as well as having enough resources for stable sustenance. Also, while looking through the closet, he finally found some cup ramen.
After a quick shower and meal, left his castle behind before slaying some more ghouls and levelling up yet again. But this time, most of his abilities levelled up as well.
[Ability: Tough Love has been upgraded to level 3. Stamina and Agility have been increased by 50 points.]
[Ability: Novice Slasher has levelled up to level 4. Damage dealt while using dagger increased to 20%]
[Ability: Powerhouse has levelled up to level 3. Attacks against Elite monsters and boss monsters now deal 15% more damage.]
[Ability: Scare Tactics has levelled up to level 2. Weaker enemies now have a 5% chance of fleeing from battle instead of engaging in combat.]
[Ability: Veracity has levelled up to level 3. The accuracy and damage dealt by throwing weapons have now been increased to 8%.]
[Ability: Shadow Step has levelled up to level 3. Striking the enemy after using the ability now deals 2.5x more damage. The cooldown has been reduced by 2 seconds]
[Ability: Dual Wielding has levelled up to level 2. Deals increased damage to the target while using two weapons of the same type by 5%.]
[Ability: Stunner has levelled up to level 2. Targets are now stunned for 3 seconds.]
The levelling up of the abilities not only signified their increased power but also acted as the measurement of Zaen's increased adaptability to his abilities. He could comfortably use the abilities even in his sleep. That's how far he had adapted himself with the artifact.
He was confident in his skills, and that's why he decided to use the last key to enter the Special force's HQ in the other realm. The involvement of the special force with ghouls had been giving him odd vibes for quite a while now. Thus he knew if he was to find something related to his second mission, he had to check the special force's HQ.
He couldn't enter the real HQ in his realm, because of the Impounders and other high-security measures, but in this realm, there wasn't anyone who could stop him from investigating the secrets hidden within the HQ.
Moreover, since the buildings within the other realm was a replica of the ones in the true realm, Zaen could also end up finding a passage which he could use to avoid detection and enter the headquarters in the real realm when he got back.
With these reasons in his mind, Zaen entered the building where a ghoul welcoming committee was waiting for him.
"Killing them is not even fun anymore..." Zaen smiled as a hunter ghoul charged at him, "But I guess I don't have a choice in the matter either."