Instinctively glancing at his right hand, which had just blocked a scythe strike, Alex noticed that his long-sleeved shirt had been torn wide open, but his arm only bore a faint red mark. The skin hadn't even been broken, let alone his arm being severed!
This was the power of an R-level deity!?
**Character Stats:**
- Name: Alex Grant
- Health: 449
- Stamina: 100%
- Energy: 90%
Startled by his own defense, Alex quickly checked his character panel and was even more astonished to find that his health hadn't decreased. In fact, it had skyrocketed by nearly 50%, rising from 300 points to 449! After a brief moment of thought, Alex realized that health must be closely tied to constitution. Since he had used **Stone Skin**, his constitution had increased by 50%, causing his health to surge by 150 points. The monster's attack had only reduced his health by 1 point!
This defense was nearly invincible!
Even if Alex stood still and let the monsters hack away at him, it would take 449 hits to kill him!
Realizing his immense defensive power, Alex quickly regained his composure. The monster, failing to kill him in one strike, let out a furious roar and attacked again.
With newfound confidence, Alex raised his left hand in defense, stepped forward, and activated **Heavy Strike**, swinging his right fist toward the monster!
"Clang!"
"Boom!"
The monster's attack hit Alex first but was easily blocked. Alex's punch, on the other hand, sent the monster flying three or four meters, smashing into a small car on the side of the road!
After Alex's attack, he was surprised to see a health bar appear above the monster's head. His punch had wiped out more than half of the monster's full health bar!
In comparison, Alex's strength completely overwhelmed the monster!
Seeing this, Alex's eyes lit up. He jumped down from the wrecked bus and quickly approached the struggling monster, raising his fist to strike again!
"Roar!"
The monster let out a sharp cry as its health dropped again. With just two punches, Alex had knocked out 80% of its life!
This scene was witnessed by several people and monsters nearby.
Although the monsters weren't much larger than humans, seeing Alex, a lone human, beat the creature so brutally was still a shocking sight!
What was even more astonishing was that after Alex's third punch, the monster let out one last scream, convulsed, and then stopped moving entirely. It had been beaten to death by Alex!
The onlookers, unable to contain their excitement, began cheering loudly. Some even rushed toward Alex, calling for help as they approached.
Having killed a monster in just three punches, Alex himself felt a bit dazed, almost as if it hadn't really happened.
If this were a game, he was practically cheating by overpowering the monsters, and the rewards were quite substantial.
Thanks to the quest scroll's automatic loot pickup feature, Alex's previously empty inventory now had three new items: **Awakening Stone**, **Energy Potion**, and **Spider Scythe Blood Essence**.
After killing the monster so decisively, Alex had drawn the attention of other monsters. Two of them abandoned their chase of fleeing civilians and turned their attention toward him.
There was no time to examine his loot. Alex boldly charged at one of the oncoming monsters while shouting to the nearby crowd, "Check your starter packs! There's a **Blessing Stone** inside—use it now!"
Although his voice was barely audible amid the chaos of the street, a few nearby people heard him, and after a moment of confusion, they frantically searched for their starter packs.
Before long, someone successfully used a **Blessing Stone**, their face lighting up with excitement. Without thinking, they rushed into battle with a few monsters.
Although they didn't crush the monsters like Alex, several creatures were still torn apart by the frenzied crowd!
"Check your starter packs! Use the **Blessing Stone**!"
The tide of battle began to shift, and news spread quickly. After shouting his warning, Alex focused back on his fight, engaging the two monsters that had targeted him.
With the overwhelming power of his R-level deity, Alex could deal 25% damage to a monster's health with just one punch. It took only four or five hits to kill a monster, and if he used **Heavy Strike**, he could finish one off in three hits.
The monsters' attacks, meanwhile, barely scratched Alex's health thanks to the powerful defense of **Stone Skin**.
If Alex could continuously use his skills, he could have easily wiped out the dozen or so monsters nearby all by himself.
However, the **Stone Skin** skill only lasted for 30 seconds. By the time Alex had defeated the second monster, the effect wore off.
His health dropped back to 300, and without his enhanced defense, the monsters' attacks now dealt 3 points of damage per hit.
Three points didn't seem like much, but if enough monsters swarmed him, Alex could still be in danger.
After killing the third monster, Alex had lost 15 health points and 10% stamina. Staying here and fighting these monsters wasn't a good idea.
He needed to find a safe place!
When Alex had checked his inventory earlier, he noticed that the quest scroll had transformed into a small map, with scattered red dots across it. There was only one prominent white dot to the south.
The red dots represented the invaders, while the white dot marked the location of a guide.
Drawing on his gaming experience, Alex suspected that the red dots might even be "monster respawn points," meaning staying in the red zones was highly dangerous!
If possible, Alex's first choice would have been to head into the city to meet up with his brother. But given the current chaos and blocked roads, that option wasn't realistic.
So, Alex decided to head toward the nearby white dot, which happened to be in the direction of his high school. It was less than five kilometers away.
Having made up his mind, Alex immediately sprang into action. After killing the third monster, he didn't engage any more. With his newly increased speed, he vaulted over the highway barrier, leaving the monsters behind, and darted into a nearby alley.
His high school was only three bus stops away, and by taking shortcuts, it would only take a few street crossings to get there.