Hibiki expected monsters to be running through the streets in no time, but nothing seemed to have changed a week later until an urgent announcement echoed through the country.
People started getting sick all over, but the virus would be out of their bodies in mere days, leaving behind abilities that they never had before.
Strangely enough, given the number of novels, manga, and anime there were about something like this happening, most people easily accepted it and some even encouraged the change.
Guilds were formed in no time and when news of a dungeon entrance in an old warehouse was revealed, groups eagerly flocked to it, but by then Hibiki had already cleared through the first 5 floors.
Since he'd done it before, it went quite quickly, and as planned, he used the time to test out his abilities only to find that he needn't have worried.
He still had the same abilities and techniques that he'd had before he'd been sent back, and he was relieved, but he knew it wouldn't be enough to be able to make it to the deeper dungeons and he didn't want to have to join a group to do it.
He mostly kept to himself and avoided the rest of the groups since he also couldn't allow himself to get sucked into group schematics.
Besides, even if it's only been a week, most people viewed the psychic class as rare but useless anyway and he wasn't going to correct them since it would ensure they left him alone.
But that is where the problems started.
None of the people truly knew how to fight monsters and even the gamers struggled because it was one thing to fight monsters on a screen and something entirely different when you actually need strength in your arms to block an attack or strength and dexterity to both parry the attacks or to strike.
And no one really knew how to train, improve, or even properly use their abilities.
Sure, Hibiki could have gone out to try and help a few given his prior knowledge, but it didn't take a genius to know that he'd be mocked and laughed at since most people would simply say, "What does a psychic know about tanks?", or whatever class they were.
Thankfully, Akio hadn't managed to unlock any abilities yet since he woke up, otherwise, Hibiki knew he'd be demanding to accompany him.
As hard as it had been, Hibiki had been forced to tell his otouto the truth about the sudden change in the world, given that Akio had stayed conscious long enough to see what had happened and since then he'd quit his job and started raiding the dungeons instead.
Which brought him to where he was now.
Hibiki glared at the giant insect before him as it let out a keening cry, forcing his thoughts back to the present.
Of all things, the system just had to make the boss of Floor 7 a 12-foot-tall spider.
A giant leg came down, intent on simply squashing him and he quickly jumped out of its way, 'Is this how a spider feels when we try to squash it? Oh, the irony.'
Hibiki carefully dodged as he placed special pre-prepared tags on the spider's legs.
It was dangerous, given that the legs could move individually and he also had to avoid the acid dripping from the spider's fangs, but it was doable as he used aerokinesis to enhance his speed, making him lighter on his feet and he was also wearing a special cloak that would stop the acid from reaching his skin.
It had been one of the drops from the previous floor.
Finally, the last tag had been placed on the spider's abdomen and Hibiki quickly used gyrokinesis to try and slow it down a bit so that he could get out of its way.
Once he was a safe distance from it, Hibiki made the hand sign for 'Tora', just because he'd watched too much of a certain ninja anime, and gave a small grin as he activated the tags with pyrokinesis, causing them to explode and taking the spider's legs with it.
Naturally, the spider still tried to spit acid at him, but by then Hibiki was already standing on its head and driving a sword through its skull.
The sound of voices startled him and he looked up to see a group of about ten people standing at the entrance of the boss room.
'Well damn, I didn't think they would catch up so soon.'
He glanced around the group and realized that many of them were badly injured, and he frowned until he noticed the leader of the group.
'Of course, it would be him. Even in the past, the guy had a reputation for driving his guild too far too fast and they suffered many losses because of it.'
He could clearly see greed shining in the man's eyes, luckily it wasn't his problem.
He used his cloak to hide his actions as he pulled his sword from the spider's skull and subtly pocketed the small stone that had come loose from the spider's head during the attack.
Then he completely ignored the group as he walked to the next floor, knowing that they would be unable to follow him because they needed to beat the spider before the dungeon would allow them access.
"Hey, you! Wait! Who are you?! How did you-?"
The words were cut off as the barrier allowed him through, but his thoughts were troubled.
'If they made it this far already, then things are happening at a faster pace than in the past. I need to speed up as well.'
Luckily his current abilities were enough to quickly get him through the current levels. The only reason that he'd taken his time so far was because he'd been trying to train while absorbing the boss stones that he found in preparation for the final fight.
He removed the small stone from his pocket and placed it inside a secure pouch.
'I'll have to absorb them tonight. For now, let's get ahead.'