Ah, crap, am I going to die? He thought.
Watching his shield begin to be peeled away by the radiant, nearly blinding light that emitted from the mouth of the angelic titan, his ears began to ring.
What should I do? I was completely taken by surprise here–! It doesn't look like anybody else is around–crap, I thought living in a mostly abandoned zone would be a smart move–"more EXP for me!"--my ass! He thought.
[Radiant Shield: 50% Strength, and depleting. Activate unique ability?]
"No!...I've got this!"
He rejected the system's prompt again.
[Radiant Shield: 40% Strength. 35% Strength. 30% Strength. Activate unique ability?]
"I said no! Lay…off already!" He yelled out, strained.
–Suddenly, it stopped, just as his shield shattered into thousands of particles of golden light.
In the wind, the blue hood of his white coat fluttered alongside his scarf.
Before his eyes, a dozen cuts appeared across the snow-white hide of the End Titan, cutting the multi-story tall creature into pieces as an explosive release of blood rained down on the street.
"What…?" He questioned in shock.
Then he saw it, or rather–them.
A woman with icy, powerful eyes of a gentle, but strong blue with flowing, black hair that fluttered behind her like a grand cape.
In her hand, she wielded a thin blade, barely as wide as a leaf, yet it left such deep, lethal wounds on the enormous beast.
"Who…?"
[Request Affirmed.]
[Player Check…]
[Ma-Ri Hyeon. Level: 20.]
Level 20…? He thought.
"Somebody is already level 20?!" He let out in surprise.
Guess I shouldn't be surprised…That one guy from the beginning of all of this started at ten. Am I really lagging that behind…? No, these must be anomalies, he thought.
His yell seemed to get the attention of the cold-eyed woman, who was dressed in an all-white uniform similar to his, but ornate with black, flowerific accents.
The icy gaze she possessed brought him to a still, forcing him to swallow his fear as he leapt down from the apartment balcony, approaching the woman as he did his best to hold himself high.
"That was pretty impressive," he said with a wry chuckle, rubbing his head and nudging his glasses up.
Ma-Ri remained silent, only looking at him as she slid her thin blade into the scabbard at her hip.
Being brought closer, he got a better look at her.
She's…surprisingly small, he thought.
He was a full head taller than her, and by the looks of her blemish-free, pale, but cute face, she seemed to be around his age, if not younger.
After a few moments of awkward silence, he extended his hand towards her, "Jeong-Hui. Thanks for saving me. I really underestimated how tough End Titans could be."
Though he tried to accompany his words with a laugh, he didn't so much as budge the stoic expression on the woman's face.
"Be more careful."
–Those were the only words spoken from the quiet, pink lips of the woman, leaving almost in a whisper as she left in the blink of an eye.
It wasn't unusual to see superhuman prowess like that, and not even beyond the normal–he could perform similar feats himself, however–the speed displayed by the woman far surpassed his perception.
"Ah–"
He reached out, but reacted far too late, standing in the abandoned parking lot that was now dyed in the blood of the fallen End Titan.
Looking down, he noticed that she didn't claim anything from the mutilated giant.
I could claim it for myself. Is that what she wanted? He thought.
Kneeling down, he prepared to claim it, reaching out with his cross-tattooed hand before stopping.
…Is that her way of trying to take pity on me? I'm probably just a lowly level 8 to her. Is that how it is? He thought, Yeah...that's how it is, alright. Nobody but yourself to blame, man.
Clenching his fist shut, he retreated his hand before returning to his feet as a wind brushed against his snow-white coat.
Though that momentary frustration subsided as he realized his anger was misguided.
I can't blame her. I almost died just now. Well, if she left this behind for me to take…It'd be rude if I didn't accept it, right? Right? He thought.
[Claim "End Titan"? The "End Titan" carcass can be used to forge [Angel Tusk] broadsword. "End Titan Soul' can be used to unlock special skill: [Titan Pulse] when enough are collected. Claim?]
"Claiming" an enemy was only a feature that existed when an unaffiliated player abandoned a Defect corpse purposefully, however, there was one glaring problem with it:
"Yea—," he responded to the system, but was interrupted.
It disappeared right before his eyes: the ability to claim the spoils of battle.
It was a result of the actual player who defeated the beast leaving a certain distance, taking away his ability to claim it.
A sigh left his lips before he just couldn't help but laugh to himself for a moment.
"What a joke…"
It's better this way…If I can't do it myself, what chance do I stand? Maybe this is a sign, he thought.
He looked up towards the gray sky that was occupied by a lively sky filled only with clouds that had the lights of heaven seeping through, giving way for more of the angelic horrors to descend on the torn world.
I guess it's time to stop slacking. If I'm going to stop being a loser, I've got to stop doing just the bare minimum. If my luck wasn't what it was today, I would've been toast if that girl didn't show up. I'll start now—from zero, I'll ascend, he resolved.
As he was left with the solution to his daily quest gone from in his reach, he ventured into the shattered suburbs in search of another End Titan, or at least something sufficient.
In place of some houses, giant, ivory structures stood, usually clear of any "Defects of Heaven".
"Angel Shops"...I'm kind of strapped for Angel coins right now, so I think I'll pass, he begrudgingly decided.
Even walking down the streets, he had to keep his guard up, tucking himself against walls as he let the monstrous entities that descended from up above pass by, usually carrying fallen players in their grip.
Earth has turned into "Hell". Still, it's not all bad. I can get all the food and other items I need from Angel shops, or just ransack abandoned shops. And luckily, "Defects" can't break into player homes.
I figured out something important early on: you probably only need to do your daily quest each day to reach level 20 in time, he thought.
Keeping his plain, silver sword drawn, he continued quietly walking the streets, finding an all-black, sleek structure that was implanted into a spot in which a house used to stand.
A "Obsidian Dungeon". As an avid player of MMORPGs, he acclimated quickly to the concepts introduced in "Armageddon Game", and the existence of dungeons both frightened and excited him.
It was neighbored by abandoned houses of the suburban street, standing like some sort of alien monolith.
They replenish with loot every day, and…well, most people are too scared to go in. I don't blame them–but, I might have to take a peak myself. The thing is, you don't have to fight inside of a dungeon if you're careful enough.
And most of all, you can even find an "EXP Potion"--it's about as valuable as you can get nowadays, he thought.