"I see. I get it now."
Jonathan rubbed his chin with a look of realization. 'That explains how he suddenly became powerful, but his sword… How did he get it?'
The mystery about Mark's strength is finally solved, but I still don't know how he got his sword.
While I was absorbed in my thoughts, someone disrupted me.
"Sir Jonathan, do we really have to kill those monsters? We are safe inside the safe zone. We would only endanger ourselves if we go out to fight them."
The one who spoke was a guy called Luke. According to him, he was a construction worker. He had a buff physique and rough skin which was most likely caused by being constantly exposed under the heat of the sun. This man's physical condition was above the average adult male, but he was timid. However, what I like about him is his honesty and willingness to listen.
Looking at him nervously fiddling the handle of his sword, I responded. "If what Mark said is true, then we need to grab this chance. We don't know what's happening out there. There could be more monsters in the city. Perhaps even the whole world is already invaded by those monsters. Without sufficient strength, we will only be prey in their eyes. We must become stronger to live and to protect the people important to us!"
Luke might be timid, but his strength would be crucial for us to survive this monster-infested world.
"I agree with the professor. We shouldn't rely on one man to protect us. Besides, isn't it appealing that we can increase our physical abilities by killing those monsters?' Kevin remarked with a chuckle. He was a bodybuilder and he was obsessed with making himself stronger. Knowing that they could increase their physical abilities by killing the Devourers made him eager to try it out.
'This guy is one of the fearless ones in the group. He even dared to fight one of those monsters without a weapon. He is more muscular than Luke and is probably stronger as well. However, Luke's muscles are the result of physical labor as a construction worker so his stamina and speed should be higher than this bodybuilder.'
"In that case, I should be the vanguard. You guys better stick to me." This time, it was the police officer, Martin, who had spoken.
He was a brave police officer. He was even willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of saving the civilians. He was a selfless man.
That was my first impression of him.
'Luke, Kevin, and Martin. These three are physically gifted people, but compared to that guy, they are still nothing…' I thought while looking at Mark who was calmly standing at the edge of the safe zone.
He was a complete enigma.
After some heated discussion with the others, we finally decided how we would fight those monsters.
"Are you guys ready?" I looked at everyone. I could sense the nervousness in their gazes. I was also nervous, but I had to remain calm since these people would panic if I showed even a hint of weakness.
"We're ready!"
"Let's get this over with!"
Seeing them pretending to be calm, I smiled. "Remember what we planned. Let's go!"
There were sixteen monsters outside the safe zone. Fighting them individually was impossible so we planned to fight as a group and kill them one by one. We also decided on who would get the last hit.
We planned to put those with high endurance and vitality at the front to block the monsters' attacks. The ones with higher speed and strength would then attack the target and inflict serious damage.
The moment we stepped out of the safe zone, the monsters immediately rushed in our direction, growling aggressively to intimidate us.
"Don't be afraid! Follow the plan! Trust your companions!" I immediately shouted when I noticed that some were faltering.
The monsters didn't have any intention of fighting one by one. We had the advantage in numbers, but everyone was a greenhorn. We didn't have any battle experiences so the first clash was a mess.
"Vanguard team, block them! Attack team, focus your attacks on that monster! Support team, prepare to assist us!" I was one of those with the highest speed in the group so I volunteered to be part of the attack team.
The vanguard team had six people. I put Kevin in charge of them since he was a better leader than Luke. Three of them chose the shield as their weapon so they should be able to hold off those monsters for some time.
As for our attack team, we have eight people including me and Martin. Our weapon of choice was diverse, but most of us in the team chose the sword. That was also one of my options, but I ended up choosing the spear since I could maintain a safe distance when using it while fighting the monsters.
The rest were in the support team. Their task was to support whichever team needed assistance. They were the most versatile in the group. Their leader was a woman called Rose. She introduced herself as a black belter in taekwondo. Her speed stat was also 12 which was even higher than mine. With her leading the support team, I felt that they would do well… Hopefully…
While the vanguard team was blocking the advance of the monsters, I led the attack team to our target. "Aim for the tendons on its limbs!" I shouted.
With a thrust of my spear, I managed to penetrate the target's chest which made it scream in rage. Following my attack, the others also brandished their weapons which caused serious damage to the monster.
"Martin! Go!" I turned my head at the police officer who was quietly waiting for an opportunity to strike. We agreed to give him the last hit.
"Roger!" Martin pounced at the flailing monster and swung his sword to its neck.
With one strike, he managed to leave a deep cut, but it wasn't enough to kill the monster. "Still not dead! What a tough guy!"
Martin lifted his sword, grunting as he stabbed its head with all his strength.
[You killed a 1-star Devourer.]
[You received 1 EXP.]
[You received 5 Chaos Coins.]
[5 bonus stat points have been given for your first kill.]