Chapter 7 - Stage 1 Complete!

A series of notifications popped up on my holographic screen. 

[You killed a 1-star Devourer.]

[You received 1 EXP.]

[You received 5 Chaos Coins.]

[Due to the effects of your trait 'Triple Feast, the rewards you received will be adjusted.]

[2 EXP has been added.]

[10 Chaos Coins have been added.]

[You leveled up.]

[All your stats will increase by 1.]

[You killed all the monsters in your area.]

[A special reward of 5 stat points, 5 EXP, and 10 Chaos Coins has been added.]

[Due to the effects of your trait 'Triple Feast', the rewards you received will be adjusted.]

[10 stat points have been added.]

[10 EXP has been added.]

[20 Chaos Coins have been added.]

Mark Joseph Dublin [Level 3] EXP: 15/40

Chaos Coins: 180

Strength: 13 —> 15

Stamina: 13 —> 15

Speed: 20 —> 22

Endurance: 10 —> 12

Vitality: 10 —> 12

Anima: 0 —> 2

Unallocated Stat Points: 15

Just like I had thought, there was a special reward if you complete hidden tasks. 

'So far, everything has been developing just like how it progressed in the game. I can confidently say that our world has become a monster wave game and the inhabitants of the planet have turned into characters or heroes, including myself. In short, we're fucked.'

My stats have improved, but the realization made my mood somber. 

I looked around and saw everyone staring at me with a mixture of shock, fear, and awe. 

"We need more hands here! Are there any doctors or nurses there?" Jonathan shouted at the survivors. His group was providing first aid to the injured victims. There were only a few of them and half didn't even know how to provide first aid.

I walked up to them and said. "Bring them to the safe zone. There might be more monsters." 

There were three stages in the first level of the game. The first stage was to head to the specific safe zone. If the characters didn't move to the safe zone when all monsters were eliminated, more monsters would come. It was like they were being forced to follow a certain progression. This was what I experienced in the game. 

Their faces changed when they heard my words. 

"What?! There are more of them?!" 

"No way!"

"What is the government doing?! Why did they allow those monsters to invade the city?!" 

Everyone was frustrated and confused. Even Jonathan had a gloomy look on his face. 

"Let's bring them to the safe zone first. We can talk later." Jonathan told the group.

I helped them move the victims into the safe zone. 

Now that the threat has been eliminated, more people have come to help. 

It took us more than twenty minutes to move all the survivors into the safe zone. 

At this moment, I noticed someone approaching. I looked up and saw that it was the police officer. He gave me a snappy salute. "Sir, thank you for your help!"

I acknowledged his gratitude with a nod. "What's your name?" I asked. 

"I'm Police Corporal Martin Williams. You can just call me Martin, sir." I noticed that he was a bit nervous in my presence. It was probably because of my fight with the Devourers. 

"My name is Mark." I wanted to smile at him, but I can't. Seeing so many dead and injured people affected my mental state. My 'Cold-Blooded' trait might have calmed me, but the emotional shock was still there. 

Martin thanked me once again before he went back to help the others in providing first aid to the injured survivors. 

I wanted to get some rest, but an unexpected situation came up.

A woman in her forties stood before me. She was covered in tears as she tearfully shouted. "If you had that kind of power, you should have killed those monsters from the start! If you had done that, my husband… he…" 

Her voice choked up as she could no longer control her emotions. 

So it was someone who had lost her husband. I felt pity for her, but to blame me for her loss was just too much. It wasn't my fault after all.

Before I could say something, a furious shout came out of nowhere. 

"Shut your mouth woman!"

Feeling surprised, I turned my head in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the muscular man who had shouted. He was shirtless and his upper body was wrapped in bandages. 

He abruptly stood up which caused his wounds to open up. The pain made him grimace. "If it was not for him, you would have died! How dare you blame your savior you ungrateful bitch?!" He was livid. When they were fighting with the Devourer, no one came to help them so he was grateful to the person who came to their rescue. Seeing his benefactor being scolded by an ungrateful woman made him furious. 

His words made the woman feel ashamed. She fell to her knees and wailed. 

Amidst her cries, another notification popped up on the screen.

[You survived the first stage of Level 1.]

[You received 5 Chaos Coin.]

[Due to the effects of your trait 'Triple Feast', the reward you received will be adjusted.]

[10 Chaos Coins have been added.]

Chaos Coins: 180 —> 195

[Time left before the second stage will begin: 23:59:59]

"What's this?" 

"Second stage? What is going on here?"

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Everyone received the notification for the second stage and they all had different reactions to the situation. 

"Officer, have you contacted your superiors about this incident?" The person who asked was the man in the business suit. He was the guy who slapped the driver when the train came to an abrupt halt. 

Martin noticed that everyone's eyes were on him. He took a deep breath and responded. "I tried to contact them with my radio, but I'm only receiving static signals. I also tried to reach out to them using my phone, but it's the same. I believe you guys have also tried. I think someone had deliberately jammed our signal…"

His words made everyone worried and nervous.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" The man in the business suit asked. His voice was starting to sound cold. 

Martin shook his head and sighed. "We can only wait."