An artificial like... a robot?
"Hey system, explain in detail, will ya?" Ethan asked impatiently. He knew if this system gave him a warning, then it can't be a good thing.
"It's an artificial thing summoned by a human. Not a living thing. Not alive," the system explained and went silent again.
Not alive?
Should I get closer?
Ethan braced himself and went a little deeper into the alley.
The alley was completely dark, and the only sound that could be heard was of something being eaten. As Ethan got closer, he was able to see its level.
"Level 13 (Undead of Lord Benjamin)"
Wait, why's that name so good sounding!?
Is he some real lord or king-like person?
Am I stepping in some deep shit again?
Maybe I should turn away... yep, I should.
As he was going to turn away, the undead looked at him directly into his eyes.
How did he notice me? I didn't even make a noise!
"Aaaa"
The undead made some unrecognizable noises that made Ethan cringe. But he suddenly felt like running because the undead was coming towards him.
Beep...
"Hostile artificial creature detected!"
"Wow, system! How useful. Like I couldn't see it!" Ethan rebuked the system angrily.
But as usual, the system was being obedient and remaining silent.
"Yo, bro, shouldn't you give me some help in dealing with the creature?" Ethan asked the system anxiously, but no response from the system.
"Fine, don't you dare utter a single thing when I'll heroically die!" Ethan kept running while the undead was gaining on him.
Ethan looked around to find something that could help him but couldn't. He kept running, but he knew this isn't the solution.
As he came out of the alley, he didn't see a single person around. He thought something was amiss but still couldn't pinpoint it. As he was going to run again, he saw a metal pipe.
His eyes shining, he picked up the metal pipe and set it on his shoulder, posing like a lonely warrior.
"Who shall come, shall not be allowed to pass!" Ethan thought of himself as a majestic being by saying that line.
But the undead didn't stop at all. He kept charging at Ethan. As he got close, he swung his arm towards Ethan's head, but it wasn't that fast, so Ethan was able to dodge it.
After dodging, he pierced the stomach of the undead but to no avail. The undead wasn't affected. But Ethan was still serious and didn't show any kind of confusion.
"System, how should I deal with it?" Maybe seeing Ethan serious, the system also replied.
"Host should try to lure the artificial creature into water, as this one is low level," the system gave Ethan a way to deal with the undead.
"Let's go to the downtown stream then, shall we, Mr. Undead?" After saying this sarcastically, Ethan started to run again.
Downtown stream was only a few minutes' walk from here, so it was easy for Ethan to do this.
As he reached the stream, he stopped and turned around to face the undead again.
As the undead approached him and was going to attack, but Ethan simply dodged him. As the undead wasn't too high level, he didn't have any intelligence except for basic instinct.
Ethan pushed the undead from behind, and the undead fell into the river. Ethan also jumped into the river and stabbed the undead right into his head.
"BAHAHA WHAT A DUMB CREATURE." Ethan laughed like a dumb person himself but nobody was there to tell him this.
Beep...
"Congratulations to host for killing a creature 10 levels above himself for the first time. A small gift pack has been given."
"Host's level has been increased to 7."
"Stats points have been given to host. Host may allocate the points according to his own wishes."
Many notifications came from the system one after the other. Ethan felt like his whole body had been washed by something; it was too comforting.
"Phew, that was tough, but in the end, I, Ethan the great, have emerged as the victor!" Ethan role-played again to show off.
Beep...
"Remaining time for daily mission: 10 hours!" Suddenly, the system gave him another notification.
Shit!
He went back to that alley to get in-depth details of the whole situation.
When he went back into the alley, he saw a person, or it's more accurate to say, a dead person. The person was a bit chubby by his figure, but right now, his whole stomach was opened up, and the scene was too gruesome.
What the, was that undead eating a human?
I never heard such a thing!
"Hey system, do you know anything why that undead was eating a human being?" Ethan asked, as he thought that it was too cruel of a thing to do. He himself wasn't a good guy, but he still had some morals.
He didn't know why this Lord Benjamin's undead did something like this.
Beep...
"Host's level is too low to know the mechanism of the undead!" System replied in a stern voice.
This system is quite cheap too, never tells a thing when asked!
Anyways, let's check my own level...
"System, my stats!"
Name: Ethan
Level: 7
Stats points: 12
Strength: 10
Agility: 9
Vitality: 10
Intelligence: 12
'Now shall we allocate these points, but what should I concentrate on?'
Well, let's go with strength, yes! Strength is important. Every hero is powerful. They always have great strength. Agility is important too, but if a person is not strong enough, too much speed can hurt the body too. Vitality can be a bit late, and intelligence? I don't wanna be a magician. Then...
"System, allocate all points to strength!" Ethan gave the system an order and waited excitedly.
Soon he felt a warm flow through his body again.
So it works actually!
Ethan felt extremely happy and excited at the same time! If he can fight and gain levels, then he will become stronger, and if he completes missions, he will get experience and will get level up!
Show stats system!
Stats points: 0
Strength: 22
Agility: 9
Vitality: 10
Intelligence: 12
Hooo, looking pretty good if I say so myself. Now shall we try this power out?
As Ethan looked around, he saw an iron pole. He went to it and punched it lightly. The pole was dented inwards.
I don't feel anything! And it's powerful! If I'm not careful, I might kill a human with this punch. But...
Yes! Now I can get girl---save the world!!
Then Ethan went home.
...
"I'm mentally tired, sigh!" Ethan sat on the couch in his room and drank Red Bull.
"Now what should I do about the chest?" At his left, there was that creepy chest. He didn't know what to do with the chest, but he knew he had to do something eventually!
Oh, yeah, I'm forgetting something!
The system gave me a small gift bag after killing that undead!
Open that bag, system!
Beep...
"Congratulations to host for getting a fist technique 'illusion tiger.'"
"Congratulations to host for getting a special weapon from system 'stone breaker'!"
"Congratulations to host for getting a black fox mask that hides the level and strength of the host!"
Ohh, a fist technique, weapon, and a mask!!
Let's check it out, shall we!
Illusion Tiger (C rank): A fist technique that creates an illusion of a tiger with every punch. Increases the power of punches by 9%. Illusion will depend on the strength of the attacker.
Stone Breaker (B rank): Anything related to stone can be broken by this hammer. It's not that powerful but depends on the strength of the wielder.
Red Fox Mask (S rank): A mask used to hide the identity and strength of the host. Can conceal the presence of the host. Unbreakable if the attacker doesn't attack with a weapon from the system!
How should I learn the fist technique? Just as Ethan thought that much...
Beep...
"Does the host wanna learn 'illusion tiger'?"
Ohh, that's convenient. "Yes!" Ethan said with great enthusiasm.
A warm liquid flowed inside his body, and he could feel that he was much better.
Fist technique is useful, and the mask is op. But what's with the weapon? Can it be useful? Ethan kept pondering about it. Then he looked at the chest and then at the weapon.
*Bulb blinking* I know what to do, yes!
He thought of taking the Stone Breaker out, and it came out swiftly. It was an invisible inventory. There were box-type spaces in space. The hammer wasn't big. It was ordinary-looking. Ethan came close to the chest...
Shall we give it a try!
Then he used his full strength and hit the chest!
"Boom!"
A loud noise resounded...
...nothing happened to the chest!
Useless!!
What am I going to do? Even this hammer is useless.
As Ethan thought that much, he fell back on the bed and fell asleep. The hammer went back into inventory