The hospital I was taken to was also the same one where I was staying a few days ago. It was awkward when I met the doctors and nurses whose faces I could still remember, and vice versa. They even teased me that I might become a regular there.
For the checkup, they just did a little X-ray of my shoulder and treated the wound on my hand with care. From the results, it looks like my shoulder blades and socket are fine, meaning I have no business there anymore. The entire procedure didn't even last half an hour before they told me that I could already return.
Of course, the ambulance that delivered me here already returned to the school a long time ago. Having no other choice, I picked up my phone and sent a message to Kyouya regarding my bag and such that was left at school, asking him to deliver it to me after classes were over.
After pressing the send button, I checked the time. It was a little before 2 p.m. "It's still too early to head home..."
A smile naturally crept into my face before I turned around and ran to a nearby government office. From there, civilians and students were able to borrow weapons and armor for a limited time. Of course, it was free, as it was one of the few attempts by the government to provide support to the normal populace.
After showing them my School ID and presenting my current level, I was quickly approved for access to a Class D supply. It contains a single double-edged shortsword and a basic bulletproof vest as armor. It was the lowest level of supply, basically trash tier, but it was better than nothing.
After a few test swings, I sheathed the sword in the waist holster that came with it before wearing the vest over my uniform. After checking the straps to make sure that they fit me nicely, I headed out of the government office and went east.
Since it was still in the middle of the afternoon, there weren't a lot of people on the hunting grounds yet. After all, most of those under 25 are probably still in the middle of lessons. Taking this chance, I headed for a level 5 hunting ground nearby.
Although I want to enter a level 8 one, with my level being below the suggested lower limit, it'll be hard to gain permission to enter. After a short jog, I reached the outskirts of the barricaded area. The area I went to was a dilapidated part of the city, with monsters ranging from level 5 to 10. As I approached the gates, I saw a group of five go ahead of me after the two guards checked their IDs.
I was a bit too far away, so I couldn't read the names on their heads, but their uniforms were familiar. "... The Eclipse Academy?"
Even after the world turned into what it is now, where the land area that was safe for civilians is limited, private schools still exist. They were allowed by the military with express permission due to one of two things: A great contribution to society or having a powerful backer. Eclipse Academy was the former, as their principal was one of the "heroes" who protected the city during the first two weeks of chaos.
Anyway, when I approached the gate, I showed my ID to the guards before setting my status display to public once more. Without much problem, I managed to get past their screening and earn my right to hunt.
The scenery that welcomed me was a far cry from the peaceful-looking forest I had been hunting in for the past couple of days. Everywhere I looked, debris or what used to be houses or buildings were scattered. There was no stable foothold anywhere after passing the barrier; you needed to travel through the mountain of rubble scattered all over the place.
"Well, who cares?" I shrugged lightly before drawing the sword hanging at my waist, raising it before my face like a fencer. "Let's start grinding!"
With my agility stat, it wasn't hard to maneuver through the random rubble covering the path. The problem was that the enemies were taking advantage of the messy location and were always waiting in ambush for unsuspecting victims.
"Woah!"
And just as I was jumping up a pile of them, a bubbling green liquid flew, aiming for my face. I dodged it in time, but I saw the concrete it landed on get melted like styrofoam dropped with acetone. Cold sweat fell down my back as I turned to the source of the attack, an eerie-looking dark-greenish blob as large as a yoga ball undulating disgustingly.
"Acid Slime! What bad luck!"
The speed of its acid spit was definitely faster than my running speed, so now that I was within its range, it was too late to run away. Without hesitation, I picked up some random rubble and threw it at the monster.
As if in a pre-defined reaction, the slime sent another acid spit aiming for the rubble I threw. Taking advantage of this slight distraction, I kicked off the ground and closed the distance. I couldn't use the sword to hit it, however, so I just grabbed something along the way—a loose steel bar—and slammed it against the slime's round core floating in the middle of its viscous body.
*PSHEW!*
The slime melted away like a deflated balloon as the green matter composing its body spread all over the ground. The steel bar I used to poke it was already half melted, showing just how potent the acid in the slime was. After confirming the slime's death, I turned to the status screen, which was blinking with a new notification.
[
You have slain Lv. 6 Acid Slime (Mutated)!
You earned 250 experience!
]
"So it was level 6? It was higher leveled than I thought..."
Compared to the ease of defeating it, the experience it gave was a pretty delicious treat. "I should keep some disposable weapons for those slimes!"
Acid slimes were usually avoided by others since killing them would also destroy the weapon used. Ranged classes were an exception, though, as they could just attack from afar. But the terrain was a little too bad for a long-range class to express their full advantage, so not many of them came here.
In consequence, swarms of acid slime should be waiting around for me!
I didn't waste too much time standing around and running around the place. Acid Slimes love to hide behind rubble, so it was hard to see them with the naked eye, so I instead used debris and rocks, throwing them around and seeing if there was an acid spit that would fly off anywhere.
Using this method, I was able to speed up my hunting by several folds. Just before the sun had set, another notification popped up indicating that I had leveled up to level 6.
[
Name: Giza Mahiro
Level: 6
Class: Student
Badges: 50 (expand>>)
Titles: 4 (expand>>)
Skills: 5 (expand>>)
Strength: 65.5 (28 + 37.5)
Agility: 65.5 (28 + 37.5)
Intelligence: 20.5 (8 + 12.5)
Wisdom: 23.5 (8 + 15.5)
Endurance: 20.5 (8 + 12.5)
Luck: 10
Free Stat Points: 10
]
"My stat's looking nice already, but..." I stared at the free stat points, frowning. "Should I continue with increasing strength and agility?"
As it is now, I'm pretty sure I'm powerful. But like the time when Alfred used the Cursed Sword, there are times when I can't dodge an attack with my powers alone. Even my high agility wasn't of much help back then. After a short deliberation, I decided to pump all 10 points into Endurance.
"Hmmm?"
I expected to feel my skin going tighter or something, but weirdly, I didn't feel any change at all. Anyway, time was running out, so I started heading back to the gate... But suddenly, a loud roar echoed from afar.
I turned to the direction it came from and saw a gigantic cloud of dust rapidly approaching my location. Furthermore, ahead of the cloud of dust, a few figures were running desperately, fear painting their faces. It was the group of five from before, but one was missing...
As they approached, one of them saw me standing on top of a mountain of rubble. With wide open eyes, he roared with impatience, "You! Get out of here, quickly! It's the Field Boss!"
"A Boss!"
Hearing the word, my desire to run away vanished instantly. On the previous occasion inside the forest, I was left half-dead by the beetle-like boss, but this time, it wouldn't go the same!
'This is a field boss in a level 5 area, so it should be around level 10. With my stats, I can fight it on equal terms, for sure!'
I drew the sword from my waist and rushed to meet the approaching cloud of dust. Looking closer, in the middle of it was a gigantic bull, about ten meters in height alone, probably reaching thirty meters in length including the tail. It was pretty intimidating to see something as large as a house rushing at you with great speed.
"W-Wait, where are you going?! CRAZY!!!"
The same man who warned me before roared as they continued to run away. They must be thinking that I was suicidal or something... Well, having nobody distract me is better anyway.
I waved the sword in my hand, excitedly meeting the monster's approach.
"I'll be taking down this boss by myself!"