There was an instinctual knowledge ingrained in his body that already knew how to activate the obtained ability, though he saw no reason to use it yet.
Once again, he tried using his phone, though the connection was completely out.
'No internet…I'm not surprised with the chaos that's going on outside, but damn,' he thought.
Instead, he grabbed the remote to his television, tapping it on—BEEEEP.
A noise blared from it, displaying a red screen that presented a national emergency. It gave the basic steps of staying inside your home and locking the doors, though that hardly seemed beneficial.
He quickly turned it off, though it felt as if such a loud noise may have attracted unwanted guests. From the corridor of the apartment complex, he could hear the rapid footsteps of not just one, but a number of light-footed fiends.
The gargled laughs were unmistakable; a haunting orchestra of unpleasant noises.
'Goblins,' he thought, knowing that sound well.
Slowly, he approached his doorway, or what was left of it after the orc's intrusion. It was naturally easier for him to move with quiet steps, attributing it to the class bestowed to him. Without stepping out into the hall, he pressed himself by the doorway so as not to show himself, not knowing exactly where the enemy may be.
He placed his hand against the ground, letting his fingers press against the door's threshold as he steadied his breathing.
["Lesser Shadow Recon"] [4:59]
A subtle pulse emitted from the palm of his hand, extending both directions through the narrow corridor. The beginner spell for the assassin was used to quietly scout around corners.
'Roughly ten meters is the reach…I feel it–there's a large group of goblins down the left corridor, ransacking one of the rooms. I think somebody is in there, but they're long dead,' he felt through the recon skill.
He knew he couldn't just sit around in his apartment, only making him a sitting duck if he chose to do so. Slowly, he walked outside of his home, entering the corridor as he saw the state of it with his own eyes.
"Ah–"
He quickly covered his mouth and nose, feeling immediate nausea at the sight before him; the mutilated corpses of those that lived in the apartments were strewn throughout the hallway.
Right by his own door was his neighbor, an older man, drenched in blood with stab wounds covering his body.
It felt as though the world he knew was crashing down, remembering the minuscule, but impactful memories; that kind neighbor that always offered him pastries, left disemboweled; the young woman who told him all about her dream of finishing school and becoming a lawyer, now left facedown in a puddle of blood.
'This is terrible…What the hell is going on?' He questioned yet again, having to steady his breathing at the gruesome sight.
The best he could do was keep moving, carefully stepping over the bodies with silent steps as he kept his mouth and nose covered. With his methodical steps, he felt the warmth of the puddles of blood beneath his shoes; a repugnant sensation.
Though much confusion stirred within his mind, wanting answers, he knew that what was more important was surviving. He moved through the bloodied hall, carefully checking the next corner for any wandering fiends.
'Is there nobody else alive? Just how long has this been going on?' He questioned, peering down the left corridor where another row of apartments stretched.
To the right was the stairway leading down into the parking lot, bringing him to look over the railings at the city block that was engulfed in utter chaos. As he peered over, he brought his gaze up towards the night sky as the loud roar of wind met his ears.
An assembly of helicopters flew overhead, passing by the skyscrapers. It was a brief sense of hope he felt, seeing the defense forces of his nation come into action before another terrible sound met his ears.
A bestial roar; one that was familiar to him, only its terrible impact sent a tremor through him when heard in the flesh.
'That sound…it's…' He realized.
Intercepting the path of the militaristic helicopters was a colossal creature that flapped its wings with a tempest; the beast of grand scale, coated in obsidian scales unleashed another roar.
It soared like a natural disaster itself, with a wingspan large enough to cast a shadow over the city block.
'An Abyss Dragon—?' He recognized.
The choppers opened fire, though the hail of bullets seemed only to bounce off the disastrous creature's scales like drops of rain.
In a matter of moments, the dragon that did not belong in the modern world, swept in, using its massive jaws to catch one chopper in its fangs.
It made little sense seeing a chopper—a representation of human ingenuity and combat power—be nothing more than prey to such a creature.
The massive tail of the beast swept around, crashing through the remaining airborne vehicles.
"Shit!—" Finn let out, raising his arm to shield himself from the blinding view.
Explosions ignited from the crashing helicopters, only blending into the chaos in the city. Fortunately for him, the calamitous beast continued on its path, soaring away with a flap of its wings directly over the apartment complex.
He could only look up in astonishment as it passed, seeing the obsidian cloud pass overhead as his hair was brushed by the wind.
Whether it was his own shout or the commotion happening in the city, he picked up on the footsteps in the corridor behind him.
'—The goblins. Dammit!' He realized.
The short-statured fiends turned around the corner, drenched in blood. One of the sharp-eared goblins pointed at the human, yelling something to its kin.
Finn knew what was coming as he found the goblins rushing down the hall, forcing him to run. He practically slid down the staircase, reaching the parking lot as he looked around quickly.
'There!' He decided.
What he found was a small gap between the apartment building, letting him slip into the shadow-filled alleyway.
["Lurk"]
As he stood still within the darkness of the isolated gap, the passive ability activated; it made him blend into the darkness as a shadow himself, nearly imperceptible.
"Gra!"
"Ka! Ka!"
He watched silently as the goblins arrived in the parking lot, spewing out their putrid language as they looked around.
Though the orc he overcame was undoubtedly more fearsome than a goblin, a pack of the fiendish creatures was a different issue entirely. Even more than that, he was more wary of their nature itself.
'…I've seen what those things do. They're demons; they enjoy inflicting pain, tormenting others. If they overwhelmed me—I don't want to think about that,' he thought.
The group of the green-skinned deviants seemed to decide to split up, going off in different directions. From the dark gap, he watched as one of the goblins walked towards where he hid.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The aloof goblin walked straight into the shadow-crept alleyway, loosely holding its axe. It clearly didn't see him as it dragged its feet without any worry in its beady, black eyes.
Just as it came within reach—
Finn placed his hand over its mouth, using his other to sink his blade into its throat. It struggled only for a moment before going limp.
["Verdant Goblin defeated."] ["Anarch Token x5 obtained."]
[Experience Points: +150] [600/1000]
[Assimilated ability from [Verdant Goblin]: "Superior Sense: Smell" 1 / 5]
He slid the dagger out as the goblin's body quietly slumped over against the wall. It was a disgusting feeling, one that he felt he may never get used to.
'Took care of it. I got another skill for that…I'm starting to get how this works,' he thought as he looked down at the slain fiend.
As the goblins looked to be out of sight, he snuck out of the gap, quietly walking along the boundaries of the apartment complex.
Amidst the chaos, there was only one place he felt he had to go right away, no matter what.
'My mom…If she's caught up in this, I doubt she'll know what to do. I have to get to her,' he resolved, silently walking between bushes.
Her home was across town, which never felt like a long walk normally. However, the thought of traversing the distance now felt like diving into hell.
He crouched down, checking the street ahead of it was clear to cross.
'Looks good—' He thought.
BOOM
That confirmation was immediately shattered before he moved on ahead across the asphalt.
An explosion? No, it was different; like a meteor crashing down to his right. A massive weight making impact with the street, bringing him to look over at the source.
—Another gargantuan impact struck the asphalt.
What he mistook as an explosion were footsteps, belonging to a colossal figure—a cyclops.
The giant of cracked, pink skin turned around the corner of the block, exhaling a mighty breath that moved the branches of the nearby trees.
'A cyclops…Holy shit,' Finn thought, staying in the bushes.
The massive humanoid blinked with its singular, amber eye, slowly lifting one foot in front of the other as it traversed the desolated city. It was built like a strongman; muscle beneath layers of fat, though its legs were another story entirely, thicker than tree trunks.
Each step it took, the young man felt the vibrations even from down the block.
"…Rrrruuuu…" The colossal being exhaled while sluggishly walking.
There was no part of Finn that felt like earning the attention of the seaweed-haired cyclops. He waited for it to pass as it walked right in front of him, using the road itself as a simple trail.
'…Easy does it. A cyclops like that in Avalon would take a level twenty to solo it,' he thought, looking at its massive back as it passed.
As it moved down the block, he quickly and quietly passed across the street. Rather than move along the side of the buildings, opted to go into the shattered store at the other end of the asphalt.
He walked in, finding the establishment that once served frozen yogurt to be completely torn apart.
'Shit…It's gone,' he thought, finding the counter smashed and broken, along with just about everything in the store.
It was a place mostly insignificant to him on a day to day basis, but seeing the small yogurt shop he visited a few times with friends in such a state sank in the situation.
The world he knew was gone; only the hell that now swept across it was there.
'I have to keep moving…Just stay indoors, Mom,' he pleaded in his mind as he continued on.