An ear-piercing howl ripped through the air as a shadowy beast charged at William, its fangs gleaming, claws tearing chunks of asphalt with every bound.
"Tag me in if it's too much, alright!?" Samuel shouted from a distance.
"This is the fifth time you've said that! I've got it—"
"Watch out!"
William barely had time to turn before the creature lunged with lightning speed. He dove forward, dodging the claws by inches. Springing to his feet, he shifted into a fighting stance. Reckless—maybe the worst decision he could make—but what choice did he have? He needed to adapt to this broken, savage world.
"Come on, focus... I got this."
He steadied his breath as the creature spun, its eyeless face locking onto him. Those empty sockets sent a chill down his spine, but he shook it off. The beast crouched, muscles coiling beneath shadowy tendrils, preparing to strike. William clenched his fists, blue light flickering around them. With a shout, he sprinted at the beast, his fists glowing brighter with each step.
The creature sensed his intent. Its claws tore into the asphalt, sending debris flying. William darted through the shards, his movements sharper than ever before. Was this his Blessing kicking in? His mind raced, but his body acted on instinct. Within moments, he was in front of the beast.
The monster swung first. William raised his left arm to block, the impact rattling through his bones. The creature's strength was terrifying, its claws raking against his skin, but William pushed through the pain. Gritting his teeth, he retaliated with a glowing uppercut from his right fist. His knuckles burned from the force of the strike, but he welcomed the pain. The beast staggered, and William didn't let up.
He unleashed a flurry of punches. Every blow shook his arms, the shockwaves traveling up to his shoulders, but adrenaline drowned out the agony. His muscles screamed, but he poured everything into one final punch, slamming his fist into the creature's abdomen. The force sent the beast crashing backward, tumbling through the rubble.
"Good job, William!" Samuel's voice rang out, excitement clear.
Still holding his stance, William allowed himself a brief moment of triumph, grinning as the creature skidded across the ground. But his smile faltered when it twisted mid-air, landing on all fours with unsettling grace. The beast was unscathed.
Dark tendrils rippled across its body, and it let out a deafening howl. The air shimmered as shockwaves blasted toward William, carrying jagged debris like shrapnel. He raised his arms to shield himself, bracing against the onslaught, but the force was overwhelming. Razor-sharp fragments slashed at his skin, blood streaking down his arms.
"Of course, it wouldn't be easy..."
As the shockwave subsided, William stood panting, blood dripping from his torn clothes. Samuel watched, concern etched on his face. Could William endure any more?
A faint blue glow began to emit from William's body. Tiny embers flickered from his wounds, knitting the skin together, the bleeding halting as his Blessing worked its magic. The ache in his limbs dulled, but his mind was focused.
He stood tall, locking eyes with the confused creature, his right arm drawing back.
"Blue Flame Cannon!"
His fist erupted into roaring blue fire, and with a sharp motion, he hurled a blazing fireball toward the beast. The projectile streaked through the air, slamming into the creature's abdomen. Blue flames engulfed it, and its anguished howl echoed across the ruined city. Then—silence. The monster collapsed in a heap, smoke rising from its charred remains.
The battle was over.
"Hahahaha! Amazing, to think you're a natural at this too! How envious I am!" Samuel ran over, wrapping his muscular arm around William's neck, and ruffling his hair roughly.
"Hey, hey! Stop it, you brute!"
"Come on! Built-in healing? That's just cheating!"
"It's not like I wanted it, ya blockhead! Now let me go!"
"Alright, alright!"
Samuel raised his hands in surrender, stepping back with a grin.
"I'm still getting used to this, so don't flatter me too much…" William muttered, still catching his breath.
"But still, you held your own pretty well."
[You have leveled up.]
A glowing screen popped up in front of William, informing him of his progression. He sighed, swiping the notification away.
"Leveled up?"
"Yeah... so it is like a game."
"You're still hung up on that, huh?"
"A little. Maybe we'll wake up one day and realize the whole world had the same crazy dream."
"Right. Talk about denial," Samuel chuckled, clapping William on the back. "Come on, we've got to keep moving. Maybe we'll find others."
William winced from the slap, shooting a glare at Samuel, who just grinned wider as they continued down the broken road.
The crunch of debris underfoot echoed through the empty streets as they moved toward the city center. Once alive with people celebrating New Year's Eve, it was now a wasteland. Skyscrapers toppled like trees, lined the streets. The air smelled of charred remains, and monster carcasses lay scattered, blackened, and twisted.
"Where did everybody go...?" William asked, worry threading his voice.
"I've been asking that too. Since I left my respawning area, there hasn't been much sign of human life."
Just as Samuel finished, a ripple passed through the air. In the middle of the square, a purple portal shimmered into existence. A group of people stepped out, armed with weapons, sacks of loot slung over their shoulders.
"Hey there, you two!"
One of them spoke up—a well-built man, not as massive as Samuel, but strong, his toned muscles visible under the thick fabric of his kimono. His blonde hair and sharp blue eyes gave him an almost celebrity-like charm. Two katana hung at his sides, marking him as a swordsman.
"Nice to see some new faces!" He smiled, walking toward them with a hand extended.
Samuel shook his hand eagerly, the handshake turning into a silent contest of strength. William watched, wide-eyed, as their grips tightened, veins bulging as if they were trying to outdo each other in dominance.
"Same here, I'm Samuel and this little twerp is William!"
Samuel grinned as he felt the man's grip tighten, he retaliated with the same amount of force. The man burrowed his brow a bit, feeling the pressure being put on his hand more than before.
"Haha! I'm Kiyo, nice to meet you two! And these are my team."
Kiyo pulled his hand away from Samuel's grip, his hand aching a bit, and pointed back to the rest of his team.
"The small guy there is Lye, his Blessing is Lightning Mage. The redhead girl there is Kam, our frontline, her Blessing is Axe Maniac. Last but not least, the old fart over there being all menacing is John, his Blessing is Gunslinger. My Blessing is Samurai if it's not obvious already haha!"
Kiyo patted the two swords hung on his side.
"My Blessing is Barbarian. And this guy Blessing is Child of the Blue Flame."
"Child of the Blue Flame?"
Kiyo asked, he bent down and looked at William curiously. The other three overheard and also moved closer to have a better look at William.
"What does it do or give?"
"Beats me, it's a mystery in itself."
Samuel then looked down at William, his eyes filled with mischief as he had just put William on the spot to explain his Blessing himself.
"Uh...uhm...it just makes me a mage that wields fire magic, haha..."
William laughed nervously, hoping that half-ass explanation was enough to not gauge any more questions onto himself.
Kiyo and the rest looked unconvinced but seeing how William was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, they decided to not continue digging at the poor guy. Samuel noticed the slight ease in the tension, he decided to pop a question of his own.
"By the way, what's up with that whole portal you guys just walked out of?"
"Oh, that? Those portals pop up now and then, only now have we decided to tackle one since we're somewhat strong enough. Although it did give us a bit of a hard time since we don't have a healer on our side, the damage sustained through the entire campaign..."
Kiyo grabbed the collar of his kimono and pulled it down a bit, showing a large, fresh wound that went diagonally across his upper body while the rest showed their scars and wounds all over the place, from arm's length to their back and down along their legs. Whatever they have been through, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbow.
"...But we got a lot of good loot, haha! So it was somewhat worth the pain...I think?"
Kiyo looked back at his team members with a nervous smile, seeing their deadpan and unamused expressions, as if they were telling him "No way in hell was that worth it". Samuel sensed the tension rising again so he just laughed it off and moved on to another topic.
"What was in there, Kiyo, that strong enough to wreck you and your team that bad?"
"Not the monsters we see out here, that's for sure. That portal was an undead portal, and just our luck that we have no one that has a Blessing that can beat those, we brute force it and barely escaped."
Samuel looked surprised, by the look of things, these guys didn't look that weak, yet a bunch of undead was able to give them a near-death experience. William, the only hadn't spoken a word, chimed in.
"Was there any...Lich King?"
"What?"
Kiyo returned the question, a slight confusion evident on his face.
"You know...like any RPG that has one of those portal mechanics, undead portals usually have an elite entity called the Lich King."
"...Hmm, I don't think there was anything that menacing in there, we just forced our way through the dungeon and barely completed it, that's why it opened for us to get out."
"Wait, the portal closes until you complete it? What happens if you don't?"
"As far as I know, we're the only ones that have entered one of the portals opened, can't answer that question of yours"
"Hmm...alright, thanks for the info! We'll be going now, keep in touch ok?"
William smiled and turned around, before Samuel got to say anything, he walked away from the group which made Samuel stumble a bit to catch up only enough time for him to wave goodbye to the group and follow William.
"That short kid is hiding something..." John piped up, he squinted his eyes looking at William's back.
"You thought so too, huh?" Kiyo said, folding his arms as he laid a skeptical look on William as well.
"The other guy is not too shabby either, he's strong."
Kam stared at Samuel's back, she seemed intrigued about him in particular, maybe it was a meathead thing to find interest in someone strong.
"Whatever it is, better keep tabs on them."
Lye said as he gestured his hands, conjuring a magic circle in the palm of his hand. He mumbled somewhat like a spell and small sparkles started emitting from the circle, he then closed his hand and pointed at William, signaling the sparkles' target. As if understood the order, those sparkles launched toward William and hit his back then dissipated, nothing happened after.
"What did you do, Lye?"
Kiyo asked, he seemed worried thinking that spell would have done something to William yet nothing happened and it seemed that William didn't feel it either.
"Just a normal tracking spell, this way, we will know where they are at any time."
"Hehe, sly as always. good job!"
Kam laughed out loud and ruffled Lye's hair which made him blush a bit and looked away, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Wonder if it was the compliment that made him this way or was his feelings for Kam were showing.