[Remaining Time: 0 seconds.]
"Shit," Damian hissed under his breath, his heart pounding as the final moment approached.
[Monster invasion has begun. Good luck.]
"It's time."
Damian ignored the red gate that had manifested behind him and the wolf-like monsters standing on two legs emerging from it.
He hoisted the axe he had carried on his back, disregarding the sharp pain coursing through his frail body.
Not even two seconds had passed since the system's last message appeared, and the rat, the flytrap plant sapling, and the corruptant had already finished their metamorphosis.
The leveling and achievement system had finally activated for the first time on Earth, or rather, the second time for Damian.
The corruptant had yet to open its eyes, and the woman standing beside it was reaching out to touch it.
At the same time, Damian's axe was mid-swing, its blade arcing toward the creature's neck.
Using every ounce of strength his weak body could muster, Damian swung the axe with all his might.
The blade struck the creature's neck, slicing halfway through.
Blood splattered across Damian's face and onto the corruptant's horrified girlfriend, who stared in shock.
To her, it wasn't a monster being attacked; it was her boyfriend.
The impact was enough.
The corruptant's neck snapped, and it collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
[You have killed a Level 1 'Corruptant' that was much stronger than you.]
[Extracting the life force of the 'Corruptant' that was much stronger than you and using it as experience to level up.]
[Every time you kill a being, their life force will be absorbed and used to level you up.]
[You have reached Level 1.]
[For every level, your physical attributes will gain a point.]
[Congratulations! You are the first person on Earth to kill a Corruptant.]
[Achievement Unlocked: First Killer of Corruptants.]
[Reward: +5 Free Stat Points.]
Damian had no time to rest. There were still three more achievements he needed to unlock.
To gain all four, he had to be the first person on Earth to kill a corruptant, a mutated plant, a mutated beast, and a gate monster. Time was of the essence.
Before his regression, while working for the Awakener's Society, he had learned about these achievements and how they could be unlocked.
Those who had achieved them in his previous life reported they were obtained mere minutes after the system's descent.
He had just claimed the [First Killer of Corruptants] achievement mere seconds after the system descended.
"No time to read the system notifications," Damian muttered.
Ignoring the warm sensation spreading through his body as he leveled up, he grabbed the knife from his pocket and turned toward the mutated rat struggling to escape from its cage.
Without hesitation, he stabbed the rat, plunging the blade deep into its body.
[You have killed a Level 1 'Mutated Beast' that was stronger than you.]
[Your experience has increased.]
[You have reached Level 2.]
[Congratulations! You are the first person on Earth to kill a 'Mutated Beast.']
[Achievement Unlocked: First Killer of Mutated Beasts.]
[Reward: +5 Free Stat Points.]
Damian yanked his axe free from the corruptant's neck and turned to the mutated flytrap plant, now standing four feet tall.
He swung his axe repeatedly at its stem, striking it a dozen times until the system's notification confirmed its demise.
[You have killed a level 1 'Mutated Vine.']
[Your experience has increased.]
[Congratulations! You are the first person on Earth to kill a 'Mutated Flora.']
[Achievement Unlocked: First Killer of Mutated Flora.]
[Reward: +5 Free Stat Points.]
Damian breathed heavily.
He could feel himself growing stronger and faster, but the pain in his chest hadn't lessened in the slightest.
He had achieved the first three milestones with relative ease, thanks to the preparations he'd made in advance.
The real challenge, however, lay ahead: the moment he had to kill the monster emerging from the gate.
It wasn't going to be easy.
For others, slaying such creatures and claiming the achievement might have been more straightforward.
But the system imposed strict conditions for recognizing an achievement, making the process far more complex.
Take the "First Killer" achievement as an example: the kill must be made using your own strength.
Firearms, or any weapons that don't rely on physical effort, were strictly prohibited.
Any kill made without personal bodily strength wouldn't count.
That's why, even though hundreds of people might have been capable of killing these creatures as soon as they appeared, they didn't receive the achievement.
Damian, on the other hand, used only a knife and his own physical prowess to eliminate the monsters.
It was this reliance on his own strength that allowed the system to acknowledge his achievement.
Rules like these were also the reason Damian had yet to use the free stat points he had earned.
They were reserved for leveling up.
Even leveling up came with its own set of conditions.
While experience points could be earned by killing beings, certain factors influenced how much experience was gained.
Meeting these conditions maximized the experience obtained.
For instance:
1. The fewer the number of Awakeners contributing to the hunt, the greater the experience earned.
2. The battle power of the Awakener had to be lower than that of the opponent.
3. There were also special condition that can improve the experience gained.
Battle power was calculated based on the total attributes of an Awakener relative to the average attributes or power level of the opponent.
Notably, the battle power calculation didn't account for enhancements from techniques, talents, abilities, or titles.
If Damian had used his free stat points to increase his attributes, the difference in battle power between him and the monster would have diminished, reducing the experience he could gain.
Two minutes had passed since the System descended.
"That person from Japan who earned the achievement [First Killer of Monsters] was said to have killed the monster seven minutes after the System's descent," Damian thought, glancing at the cracked watch on his wrist.
He still had about five minutes left to claim that achievement, an achievement that, in his previous life, had gone to the Japanese man.
"Monsters are coming!"
"Run... run away!"
"Run for life!"
Damian looked around. People were screaming and scattering in all directions, panic consuming the streets.
His gaze turned to the monsters emerging from the red gate.
They resembled wolves, with long muzzles and pointed ears, though their monstrous features set them apart.
Quadrupedal and unnervingly large, their yellowish fangs glistened as they snapped, and their oversized claws gleamed like razors.
Their dark, soulless eyes radiated menace, locking onto the humans with a ravenous hunger.
"I need to kill one of them within the next four minutes," Damian muttered to himself as he hid in a corner, observing the chaos.
The beasts were savagely attacking, tearing flesh from the still-screaming humans.
It was a grotesque, unforgettable sight, a cacophony of pain and terror.
The carnage stirred his hesitation, the horror momentarily overwhelming his resolve.
After a tense moment of searching, Damian's eyes landed on a lone, vulnerable-looking monster.
________________________________
[Name: Nameless Savage Lycan]
[Level: 3]
[Origin: Lupinoria]
________________________________
"It's a level 3 monster," Damian thought. "That'll be easier to handle for my current self, but the problem is, it's not alone."
He clicked his tongue in frustration.
Three more level 4 monsters surrounded the weaker one, feasting on a human whose blood-curdling screams were growing weaker by the second.