[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have reached level 3]
[You have gained the title "Giant Slayer" for killing a monster more than 10 levels higher than yourself]
A surge of strength courses through Samael as the voice of the System called out notification after notification. His arm visibly healed and regained strength as his fatigue melted away. The croc's body had cooled down impossibly quickly and within minutes its skin was cool to the touch. The slight violet glow that radiated off it had all but disappeared along with the head. Samael just lied down and closed his eyes. Though the increase in level had relieved his physical fatigue, the mental strain was still enough to make his head pound. Minutes later, Samael opened his eyes once more, unable to properly rest with the dangers still lurking nearby. He had no idea what had been called by the sounds of their clash or the smell of blood and decay coming from the croc's corpse. Before he left he wanted to harvest a few of the croc's teeth to fashion some stronger weapons for himself. His modern steel weapons had been all but useless against the croc and who knows what else he might face in the area, let alone once he becomes strong enough to venture into the more dangerous zones of the former inner city. With a sigh he concentrated and pulled up his Status Page.
[Name - Samael
Age - 18
Species - Human (Common) {+2 to all stats per level up}
Level - (3/100)
Title(s) - Giant Slayer (Unusual) {+3 to Physical Strength and Physical Fortitude per level. Gain 10% more experience when slaying foes above your level.}
Attributes -
Physical Strength (26)
Physical Fortitude (29)
Agility (24)
Dexterity (29)
Mental Strength (23)
Mental Fortitude (22)
Soul Malleability (53)
Soul (368)
General Skills - Pain Acclimation Lv1 (Common), Appraisal Lv1 (Common)
Passive Skills - N/A]
Samael analyzed his Status Page with great interest. His stats had all increased evenly from the level ups and he even got a 6 bonus stats from the new title. Judging from the increase in strength he experienced, Samael estimated that each stat point increased the effect of that stat by at least 30%. This meant that each time he increased all stats by 1 he'd be a total of at the minimum 30% more powerful than he was beforehand. Based on this, his physical strength and resistance had grown 10 times stronger with just an increase of 9 stat points.
[New skill acquired: Lesser Analysis (Common)]
Shocked by the sudden new skill he activated it in order to judge its effects. A few minutes later he came to the conclusion that it was a more analysis focused version of [Appraisal]. Where [Appraisal] would give the name, level and in some cases type as well as some skills of monsters and other fauna and flora, [Lesser Analysis] seemed to give more detailed information on background and behaviors of flora and fauna in exchange for the ability to see level and other information useful in combat. In other words. It was almost like a more exploration oriented version of [Appraisal], rather than the more combat oriented [Appraisal]. Could be useful long term, but for now it's most likely going to remain mostly unused. He thought. Just as he thought that, the voice of the System rang out in his head once more.
[Compatible skills detected]
[Fuse skill: Appraisal and skill: Lesser Analysis?]
That's new. How will that affect me? He thought, then asked, "What are the benefits of skill fusion? Will I lose access to the individual abilities of the fused skills?" His voice rang out clear. The system answered in kind, its uniquely profound voice echoing in his mind.
[Fused skills retain their individual abilities while gaining a large boost in effectiveness]
[In addition fused skills will gain new abilities depending on compatibility and the strength of the base skills]
I see… Let's see what this fusion brings, then I'll try my hand at another one of those crocs. Then a sudden thought crossed his mind; How come there are these mutated crocodiles this far north? They should be thousands of miles from here in South Florida. His eyes widened slightly, betraying the surprise from the realization. He hadn't thought much of it earlier, simply choosing to believe that it was an anomaly of some kind. Like an escaped animal from a zoo, but that wouldn't explain the numbers he had noticed in the time since he slew the one he had fought. Just in the short few minutes since then he had noticed at least 10 of them from his hiding spot. There is more going on here than meets the eye. I will need to look into this once I have a proper foothold in the coming world order. He thought. But first, I will gain more levels. "Complete the fusion." Samael said. A pulse of warmth emanated from his core as he felt his understanding of the 2 skills change. No longer were they just the basic reconnaissance skills from before. They had become something greater. Something… more.
[Skill: Perfect Appraisal acquired]
He brought up the skills section of his Status Page again.
[General Skills - Pain Acclimation Lv1 (Common), Perfect Appraisal Lv1 (Uncommon).
Passive Skills - N/A]
The new skill was of the Uncommon rank this time. If he went by the common progressions often seen in games then this was the second rank after Common. From what little the System had told him, this new skill should be a stronger version of the previous 2 skills while retaining the functionality of the base skills. He definitely wished that there was some kind of skill description he could get for these skills, but it didn't seem like that was possible. At least for now. Samael rose up from beneath the small shelter of rubble he'd been hiding in and looked out at the devastated landscape around him. In the hours since he came back most of the minor fires had died down while only some of the larger ones still remained. Strewn across the ground in a thin layer was ash and bits of charred remains. Those crocs had really done a number on the area it seemed. He looked up to check on the countdown. It said 4:18:53:41. So it was about 5pm, he concluded. That means the countdown will hit 0 at 12pm in 4 days. Plenty of time to grow. He noted down mentally. I will hunt down 1 more and then try to find some shelter for the night. Even if I've grown stronger I still need sleep. I've got enough supplies to last me a couple of days, but after that I'll need some kind of consistent food supply.
In the distance, a small movement caught his attention. The rubble had shifted slightly a little more than 100 meters away. A hand became visible from underneath a large piece of debris. Samael was surprised the person wasn't crushed by it. With caution, he began to move closer to the piece of debris. Samael didn't know whether this person was someone affected by the awakening or not. The people that had attacked him while he was fleeing from the Guild, had not seemed normal. They had been extremely aggressive, and while not all that strong, would still pose a significant threat to him in large numbers or a surprise attack. Slowly he approached. He could see more of the person now. It was a man. Only about a third of his body could be seen. The rest was completely buried under the large pieces of debris from a building. From what little he could see he looked very tall, at least 2 meters or so. Covering his chin was a reddish brown beard, dyed almost completely gray with concrete dust and crushed asphalt. His eyes were closed so he couldn't tell what color they were, but his skin was tan and covered in bruises under the torn black suit he wore, likely from getting caught beneath the rubble. It was hard to tell how old the man was, but he seemed to be in his early 20s, if even that. Samael leaned down, put his chin next to the nose of the man, and felt for breathing. At the same time he put 2 fingers at the top of the man's neck, right next to the adam's apple to feel for his pulse. A small beat registered against his fingers. The slightest pulse. It was there, but weak. Very weak. Then he felt the slight breath of the man. A small sigh of relief escaped Samael's lips. The man was alive at least, tho he seemed to have lost consciousness after moving his arm and slightly shifting the rubble. There wasn't much blood around the man, but he could see many bruises on his upper body, and that was without even seeing the damage that had been done by the crushing weight on his legs. He hoped they weren't broken or he would have no choice but to leave the man to his fate. Though he had killed people before, it was never in a circumstance like this. Too many innocent lives had already been lost to the chaos, and if one more died, it would simply be one more added to the statistics. Despite that, he refused to let go of the idea of trying to help. He desperately wanted to help, not because he was a hero or a savior, but to soothe his own conscience. He wasn't a good person, not by any means, but if he could save a life, even if it was just one, without risking his life, then he would.
Samael crouched down, grabbed a hold of the largest piece of debris, and strained slightly. With a slightly surprised expression on his face, he shot back up like a bullet. The debris, that had looked like it weighed a ton at least, felt light as a feather in his hands. The impact of the increase in power from his Physical Strength stat settled within him. He finally understood the magnitude of strength he could gain from this. He was just level 3, with 26 in the stat. Imagine what he could do with 100, or 200, or 1000. The fact that it didn't scale linearly made his heart flutter slightly with anticipation. He shook away the shock and began moving pieces off the man with a renewed hope. With this, he might be able to actually get the man somewhere safe, even if the damage was severe. With unnatural precision, he moved the man onto a flatter part of the destroyed sidewalk and began properly inspecting him. He searched the body of the man for bleeding wounds, broken bones or signs of significant internal bleeding and ruptures. Somehow, despite being unconscious, the man had survived with only some severe bruising and possibly slight internal damage. To determine anything else, the man would have to wake up from his unconscious state. As long as his condition didn't worsen, he should have someone to watch his back in this hellscape of an apocalypse. Having cleared all the debris from the man's body, it was easy to simply pick him up and move away from the scene. Despite there miraculously being virtually no blood from the man on the ground, he didn't want to stay in one spot for too long. They were up against mutated monsters and enhanced people without conscience. They would be hunted after, and if they were found before the man woke up then it would not be pretty. After searching for a few hours, Samael found a relatively intact building to use as shelter. Checking the inside for any hiding monsters or those insane people he didn't find anything of concern. Having cleared the house of any immediate danger, he put down the man on the small bed inside. It was dirty with dust, small and didn't seem like it had been used in years but it would have to do. He then sat down and closed his eyes, finally resting his eyes as the sun began to set. The cold, damp air created a small cloud of fog as he breathed out and relaxed. The relative safety of this small building allowing him a peace that had been denied to him since he was just a small child.
~~~
Augustus awoke with a startle. Beneath him the small, old bed creaked. It was a jarring sound. With fear in his eyes he looked around. He didn't recognize his surroundings at all. They were completely unfamiliar to him. An almost empty room, just a bed, a small nightstand with an empty glass and a small, empty desk. There was dust covering everything around him, including the bed he was laying on. He tried to sit up, but an aching pain in his stomach region stopped him halfway. The white door across from the bed was slightly open, letting him see a little into the room on the other side. There was no lighting in this room or the one led to by the door. What little light the moon generated only served to create small shadows on the walls from what little furniture was in the room. Looking out the window to his left, he could see the moon shining more brightly than he had ever seen before. Like a star in the starless night it stood tall, nearing its peak. Judging by that, he estimated the time to be about 11pm, something that was confirmed by the countdown in the sky. "4 days, 12 hours and 46 minutes left, huh? Barely any time at all. I wonder what the end holds for us? Is it Heaven? Hell? Or something is mortals couldn't possibly understand?"