I jolted awake from the notification sound I received. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I reached and clicked on the screen.
"One thousand two hundred coins? How did I get this? What the heck, where did it even come from?"
Nowadays, you can't just accept things given to you by an unknown source, you'll never know what they will ask in return if you do. That's why I'm being skeptical.
"Even if these coins will help me…"
I checked my SUP window again. There was a red dot at the edge of the button for 'Bank', indicating that it had an unopened notification. I clicked on the button and the screen revealed its contents.
[>>>>Bank
>>>Stars: 0
>>>Coins: 1200
>>>Stones: 0
>>Mana Stones: 0
>>Energy Stones: 0]
I never really explored this system profile, so seeing those words left me wondering.
"Stars and stones? What are they for?"
I pressed the 'Stars' and a description appeared.
[Stars can be used to acquire high-grade weapons/can be exchanged for the maximum potential of abilities]
"Ahh, now that I recall, isn't that teleportation skill given by the escape system required 1000 stars?"
I pressed the following icon.
[Coins can be used to upgrade your levels/can be exchanged for acquiring stars <1000 coins = 1 star>/can be used to buy stones and any other item purchasable by coins]
What? So, stars are not easy to acquire, huh? I should buy as many as I can, in case I need the teleportation skill again. But to that, I must first gather one million coins.
Click.
[Stones can be acquired from the monsters you slain.]
But how? Are those stones automatically transferred to the bank once you kill a monster? If that's the case, all those ants Daniel Bran killed would have stones.
I'm not sure. There was no explanation on how to acquire those stones. Maybe it was a physical stone gained from the monster's corpse. Should I go back and check those ant corpses?
I shook my head. There's no guarantee that those monsters wouldn't come to their comrades' dead bodies. Ant corpses emit a new scent that alerts live ants. They will surely come and bury their dead.
I clicked the next icon.
[Mana Stones can be used to boost your Mana/can be used for any magic-related abilities]
How do I acquire this? Right now, my magic is the highest of all. However, I don't even know how to use it. Is there, perhaps, a chant I need to perform to activate it?
I pressed on the last stone displayed on the screen.
[Energy Stones can be used to boost your weapon's abilities/boost your Stats]
Again. Where do I get this stone? Out of all the stones, this one is what I need the most. My stats are average. I need to level up and gain strength. At least, until I haven't figured out how to use magic.
I stretched my back and peeked out the window.
It was already dawn. I stood and warmed up my body, then I started rummaging through the kitchen. I found an old backpack in the storage next to the kitchen. I filled it with canned foods, bottled water, and a knife, and then I went back to the living room.
I tried to turn on the flat-screen TV, but there seemed to be no electricity running.
"A phone."
I went room by room to find one.
I find it strange that the house seemed to be uninhabited.
My eyes moved to the stairs in the corner, and my curiosity got the best of me. I carefully and silently went upstairs, but even the second floor was as quiet as below.
Like a typical two-story family house, there were four bedrooms on the upper floor.
"It seemed occupied though. I wonder where are the people living here."
I noticed the third door on the right side was slightly open.
Thinking that it was probably just an empty bedroom without any corpses, I went inside to look for more comfortable clothes. But my body froze when my gaze landed on the corpses next to a crib.
I gasped loudly.
"This…"
I finally found out why there were no corpses downstairs – because the entire family was in that room.
The nursery.
The dead body of the father was lying face down on the floor, and the mother and a young girl were embracing each other next to the crib. I moved closer, and my face darkened when I saw a tiny corpse inside the small wooden crib.
My jaw clenched in anger. I was tempted to go back and mutilate the corpse of the killer. I punched the wall in fury. I shouldn't have killed that bastard so easily. I should have tortured him until he begged for mercy.
My eyes found what I was looking for.
"I'm sorry, but let me borrow this."
I took the phone from the father's pocket and immediately went downstairs, unable to linger in that room any longer. However, the image of the family was plastered on my head.
"This…is unbelievable…"
I muttered to myself; my voice hoarse from restraining my anger.
Can I blame the heavens for letting a harmonious family suffer such a fate? But when I remembered that they were only just insignificant characters inside a novel, I laughed bitterly. Is it the heavens I should blame?
Or is it the creator of that goddamn world?
It was as though the novel would remind me from time to time of my role and responsibility, deliberately showing me what the world would be like if I decided to abandon my duty.
That's right.
All I need is to save the world and kill all the monsters. To me who was suddenly given a huge responsibility and awareness of that world, any unnecessary emotions or unwarranted sympathy isn't needed.
What I need to do is level up and become stronger. Stronger enough to succeed, and destroy that door. Only then will my world continue to exist.
However, I remained motionless at the foot of the stairs. I shook my head and convinced myself it was unnecessary, yet I found myself wrapping the corpses in blankets.
The sun rose in the sky and the surroundings gradually became brighter, only in the background of that bright morning, clamps of soil were thrown in the air, and the ragged breathing of the heroic man was heard.
Yeah, that's me. I have no compassion for the living, but why am I doing this for the dead instead?
I threw away the shovel, wiped the sweat on my face, and stomped on the damp soil where I buried the corpses of the family.
Then, I picked up the bags and decided to leave. But every person I touched to acquire their roles was like my conscience nitpicking at me.
'Bury us too…bury us too…' – they would whisper in my ears, and I, frustrated with the situation and myself, would find another shovel and dig another grave.
Dammit!
[Ting!]
[Congratulations! You have reached the required number of Extra Characters!]
As I threw the shovel away again, half of the corpses in that small town were already buried by me. I saw another one waving at me, but I already had reached my goal, thus there was no need to do them a favor.
[>>>Caster's Eyes Lvl. 1
>>Default Vision > Character's Role
*Upgrade in Lvl. 2
>20 Supporting Characters Required: 2 Acquired/18 Remaining
>200 Extra Characters Required: 200 Acquired/0 Remaining
*Upgrade in Lvl. 2
>100 Star Required]
Now, I only need to gather eighteen supporting characters. I don't think someone who plays a huge part in the story will be here. I should leave for another city.
I stole a motorbike and decided to ride it rather than use my speed to run. Though my destination was still unknown, it was best to not linger any longer in that ghost town.
That digging and burying took me almost the whole day! My muscles were throbbing. It was such a relief that I thought of stuffing lots of food in my backpack. Now, I wouldn't go hungry for a few days. If I ran out of food, then robbing an empty house is no big deal. After all, that was how I managed to survive in my early years.
The system threw me into the countryside – there should be meaning to that.
Seeing that monsters haven't pervaded the borders, I decided to settle at such places. What I need to do right now isn't to face those creatures right from the bat. I need to become stronger, enough to kill monsters without getting injured.
"A place where I can train myself…"
I mumbled to myself. I swerved the bike around the corner. Not long after, I was out of that ghostly town, and the bike now trod on the highway. I stopped under the shed of a tree and took out the phone.
I searched for the news but the phone didn't have any data. I opened the last message it received, and it was an emergency alert.
Unidentified objects and creatures have appeared in the City of Alpas. The city is no longer safe. The Armed Forces of Roan had been dispatched to surround the city. If you are in the area next to the City of Alpas, please evacuate to the blue and yellow-tagged city. Red Tag Cities as of now: City of Alpas, Bradis, Chartis, and Dellis. Blue-tagged Cities as of now: City of Echis, Sierra, Gois, Hotas, Indi, Julas, and Vicos. The remaining cities unmentioned fall in the yellow tag. Please remain in your home and don't wander on the street. Soldiers are dispatched to guard the yellow-tagged city and protect it from any stray unidentified creatures. Subscribe to the news and be alert.> The surrounding cities to Alpas were already red-tagged. A zone that cannot be entered. While the cities on the borders of Roan became the places for refuge. It's to be expected. The countryside is the best place to accommodate thousands of refugees. "Following this perfectly asphalted highway will lead me to the City of Osca – a yellow zone. The blue zone is much safer, but the yellow zone will do. I have to gather information about the Awakeners too." I continued driving until I reached the boundary and the entrance gateway of the next city.