Kyle could feel his blood turn cold out of fear as he sensed tremendous danger coming from his side. He was so terrified that his heart seemed to temporarily stop beating.
When Kyle was stuck in a moment of reflection prior to death, he vaguely saw the sharp talon puncturing the air beside him instead of his body.
"Eh? Why am I not hitting anything?" The voice sounds a bit lost and confused.
Kyle immediately returned from his dazed state, realizing the opportunity had arrived. Driven in immense fury and willpower to live, he agilely stepped backward and poured the jerry can' fill onto the sound's direction.
"Ah!! What's this stink liquid you poured to me, you despicable lowly creature?!?" The alien cried in rage.
Paying no heed to the alien's curse, Kyle carried on his plan by quickly throwing his lit lighter onto the gasoline.
A bright flame was ignited in that instant, flaring almost like a firework.
Kyle, who was nearby, was forced to take several back steps as he could feel his skin lightly grazed by the fire.
"Ahh!! You wretched creature!! How dare you harm this great one! I swear if I get my hands on you, I will torture you mercilessly, tearing your body parts into several pieces!" Due to his body being shrouded in flames, the alien's appearance was instantly exposed. It turns out the creature's body was extremely spooky, with its whole body wrapped in black substances. He also has no facial features, leaving only his talon part that looks normal. At a glance, the creature's characteristics resemble a shadow.
While the alien continued to swing his talons randomly, Kyle poured more gasoline on the alien's body and constantly avoided the incoming attacks.
"Ahhh!!! Help me, Lord Azgalore! Help!!" Even until the end, the alien refused to die peacefully. His resentful voice still lingers in Kyle's ears.
It was Kyle's first experience committing arson to a living being. Although the creature he killed wasn't human, it was still once a live being after all. He didn't feel a sense of satisfaction, even an ounce from it. Instead, it was an empty and nauseating feeling.
Kyle ended up consoling himself, saying that if he didn't kill the alien, the circumstances might change with him becoming the one who lies on the ground now.
Slowly, the guilt that consumed him lessened. He took several deep breaths and walked closer to check the alien's remnant.
Since the alien's body was pretty much looked like a shadow, completely black. Kyle was having a difficult time figuring out the alien's condition. However, seeing it remained motionless, it should be dead, right?
Suddenly, a white orb thing emerges from what he believed to be the alien's chest area. Kyle, who witnessed it, couldn't help but take several cautious backsteps.
"A bomb?" Kyle muttered in suspense.
A minute has passed, but no reaction was ignited. Soon, Kyle grew impatient. Abruptly, Godking Roshan's words flashed across his mind.
"This... Could this be a Soul Matrix?" The more he thinks about the idea, the more he is convinced.
"That person said Matrix Band was the thing that was supposed to collect the Soul Matrix. But, how do I collect it? Could bringing the two closer would do the work?" Because Kyle had no idea how to perform collecting motion, he decided to attempt whatever method came to his mind.
He wanted the first test was by pushing his left arm closer to the burning corpse. Although it was fairly dangerous due to the flames that shrouded the corpse, he got no choice but to try.
Just when he wanted to execute the idea, a wind was blowing fiercely, causing the white orb to roll from its original position in Kyle's direction.
"W-what kind of luck is this??" It had to be noted that he had been literally saved twice. The first one is when he almost gets pierced to death by the alien. For some reason, the alien missed its attack. And the second was what just happened.
It feels a miracle how he manage to pull through those two meaningful events unscathed.
The white orb continued to roll until it was stopped by Kyle's unmoved feet.
"What a stroke of luck. I might have spent the next years' luck for this phenomenon to transpire." Kyle shook his head in amusement and pressed his left wrist against the white orb.
Instantly, the white orb transformed into a single white-colored ray, entering the Matrix Band in a flash.
[You've extracted Darkling Soul Matrix]
[All your stats attributes have been increased by five]
[You've gained Darkling's Nucleus]
[You've gained Feather Of Darkness]
[You've gained Horn Of Hellish Rhinoceros]
[You've leveled up to level 2]
[You've leveled up to level 3]
[You've leveled up to level 4]
...
Several system notifications simultaneously appear, leading Kyle to be momentarily stupefied.
'Did I just get plentiful rewards for killing one creature?' Kyle was distraught for a moment before deciding to wait until the alien was utterly incinerated in order to secure the piece of evidence.
He was in no hurry either since he got things to check in his Matrix Band.
[Name: Kyle Crestfallen]
[Race: Human]
[Class: None]
[Title: None]
[Level: 7]
[Attribute Points: 6]
[Strength: 9]
[Agility: 8]
[Endurance: 7]
[Force: 6]
[Items]
[Darkling Soul Matrix], [Darkling's Nucleus], [Feather Of Darkness], [Horn Of Hellish Rhinoceros]
"Woah, so much loot coming from just a monster?" Kyle muttered in marvel. In games, his encounter could be considered a rare occurrence.
"Well, I almost died. Of course, the loot should be this much. Otherwise, God must be messing with me." Kyle said righteously. The terror of almost getting penetrated by a sharp talon is still vivid in his mind. He didn't know the cause behind the alien's missed attack, but he was glad it happened.
"Now my stats have improved drastically. I wonder what effect it would bring to my body? Will a fist of mine be able to bore a hole in walls?" Kyle was entertained by the idea and wished to attempt it.
As he searched for the wall, Kyle discovered a shocking truth. His night vision was improving! He even distanced himself from the burning corpse, just in case the flame's illumination influenced his sight. However, the result was still the same. His night vision was somehow indeed enhanced.
"Maybe my high stats have something to do with it? I don't know what force represents, but it's unlikely that." Kyle guessed.
He eventually shook that thought off his head and concentrated back on his objective.
Facing the wall, Kyle swung his fist, full of violent intention. Within a second, his fist reached the wall's surface, and soon, a rather loud thud sound resonated in the vicinity.
As Kyle pulled his fist back, he was shocked beyond words when he saw a small hole established underneath the spot he had just smashed.
Although his fist was mildly bruised, Kyle was in no mind to care about his injury. He was more focused on the damage he had just delivered to such a sturdy wall.
"Holy sh*t! Do I have a superpower right now?" Kyle excitedly clamored. 'If I could penetrate the walls with only nine strength attribute points, just imagine having one hundred of them. Won't the earth quaver under my grotesque strength?'
It took him a minute to finally be able to suppress his enthusiasm.
He then recalled that he still had six attribute points he could spend. At first, he was almost blinded by greediness and assigned most of the points to the Strength Attribute. However, after careful consideration, he resolves to hold his spare points until he learns the Force Attribute's utility.
Afterward, he composed himself and went to inspect the alien's corpse.
The corpse looks pretty much the same, but darker.
With his improved night vision, Kyle quickly went inside the storage room to grab a shovel and bury the corpse.
He ended up spending the next ten minutes wiping all the traces of evidence.
"Phew… Finally done." Kyle sighed in relief and wiped his imaginary sweats. Fortunately, the storage room was located on the corner of the university area. Hence, no one saw the commotion they made.
Kyle then glanced at his phone's clock and saw he had gone for over twenty minutes. "I shall return now."
He was about to head for the gymnasium when he recalled about the Aegis Monolith's market.
Since he had gained a lot of stuff, why won't he try to check it out?
In addition, creatures like darklings might have secretly infiltrated the dome, and it was impossible to know their numbers. He couldn't afford to be weak and acted hopelessly every time he faced them. Hence, he needs to grow stronger. To do that, the only thing he could do at the moment was visit the monolith.
Without hesitation, he stepped in the direction where the monolith stayed. However, along the way, he couldn't help but mutter in uncertainty, "I feel like missing something important…."