I strode towards the park, almost dashing because I wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible. What did I even think about when I asked her to come with me? I looked at the system message that still floated in front of me.

As much as I wanted to curse the system it was right. I only got my strength through rage in the last decades. There was nothing else left for me after all.

The part about it being partly unsealed made me curious however. I opened my title window which I ignored the last time I checked my status.

I stopped after seeing the first title, looking at a nearby window. Or better said my reflection inside. While the black flames receded, the golden flames were still there, crawling over my skin, reaching outwards. Meanwhile my hair was completely set ablaze, shining its light around me.

Guess I don’t need a torch anymore. As I mocked myself, I looked over my status window, confirming my fears. Seems like my humanity is slowly disappearing. It stood there in my status. The ninety-eight percent of two days ago already went down to ninety-two. Ha… Haha… “Hahahahaha.”

If I need to be a monster to fight against them then so be it. I strode onwards, quickly reaching the park. I saw other survivors on my way, some were civilians, searching for anything edible or another shelter, some were players, fighting against groups of monsters, but most were soldiers, pointing their little guns at me, fearing me like the monsters they were sent out to hunt.

When they realized they couldn’t hurt me they backed away. I let them go. It wasn’t worth my time to scold every single child. Still I made sure to remind them, that their guns weren’t worth that much by now.

When I reached the settlement once more, I heard gunshots coming from inside. Did the military already reach this place? I stepped inside, hearing bullets being fired in rapid succession. Shortly before the portal I saw a little girl, maybe a teenager.

Goblins surrounded her, coming from all side, trying to tear her apart. The first reached her from her right, its claws closing in on her head. She stepped backward, the claw passing before her head, while pointing a pistol at its head before pulling the trigger.

Its brain blasted outwards as she already spun around, pointing another pistol at a goblin beside her. It continued like this, as she danced around the battlefield, filling the surroundings with corpses, one time even shooting blindly behind her back, stopping one with a shot in his chest. She stopped, sweat running down her face.

When the last goblins died, I finally got a good look at her, standing there in a yellow dress with brown accents, matched with a brown beret. I applauded her fight, making her shot around, releasing a shot in my direction. Nothing my shield couldn’t block, given the plenty practice the soldiers gave me on my way.

“Don’t be so scared.” I said as I walked up to her. “I’m not the one you should watch out for.” I erected another Flame Shield beside her, making her jump away before an arrow crashed into it. “You should look out for ambushes. These monsters are getting more intelligent.” I reached outwards towards a dark area, flames shooting outwards before coiling around something, dragging it towards us.

A goblin was pulled outwards, its skin the same dark green color as the general, but far smaller than it. In its hand was a bow, still crudely made as it was a product of a goblin, but enough for now. I smashed my fist downward as flames crawled over it, caving its chest inside, and burning everything my fire licked over. I released my flames before grabbing the bow and throwing it out to her.

“You better stop relying on those two.” I pointed towards her guns.

“They are working, aren’t they?” She said as she holstered the guns. “But thanks for saving me earlier.”

“Not a problem. You spared me the time taking care of these small ones.” I continued onwards towards the portal. “And you better take another look at that bow. Even if it looks weaker by now, what are you going to do if another one comes out who can stop your bullets and isn’t friendly. You will need weapon skills by then, not only ‘Fighting Sense’ and ‘Accuracy’.”

She turned around, looking at me. “How did you…”

“It shows in the way you fight.” I stopped in front of the portal, its light covering me. “And don’t step inside this portal. You’ll die the way you are now, all alone.” Without waiting for another answer, I stepped inside.

How can he be so fast? It wasn’t long before I went after him, but even though I rushed I didn’t seem to get closer to him. Only the marks of fire, accurately burned monsters, or other soldiers left with nothing but their body, allowed me to trace him.

Allured by the screams of their dying brethren or the shouts of the soldiers other goblins came into my path, hindering me from following him quicker. I relied on my growing strength and agility, snapping their necks or caving their bodies inside before realizing that the handcuff and chain could become powerful weapons by now, allowing me to strike them from afar or blocking their attacks without hurting myself.

At last I reached the park, seeing clearly which way he went as flames smoldered in the grass. I dashed forward, soon encountering one group of goblins after another. I didn’t need to think about were he tried to go as he told me about his plans to hunt inside the dungeon.

When the tents of the settlement finally came into view I was once again stopped by goblins. Four smaller ones came out of hiding, led by a bigger one, its skin a deeper shade. It grinned sinisterly before licking over his sword, probably imagining the taste of my blood.

It sent its four underlings forward, but only managed to get them killed quickly. But even at the death of them it only smiled, happy about finding a prey worth his time. Then it jumped forward, its speed far quicker than those of the other goblins.

I barely managed to jump aside before the sword crashed down at my last position, digging itself deep into the ground. My chance! I rushed forward, smashing it into its face only for my fist to stop shortly afterwards, not continuing onwards like so many times before.

Its eyes shot at me, after having been pushed into another direction along with his face. Then his body spun around, its fist crashing into me and pulling me of the ground. My breath was pushed outwards when it hit me, followed by a moment of inertia as I flew back, before rolling over the ground.

I raised my arms in front of me, just in time as the goblin already stood before me, swinging down its sword. It swung downward, the sword clashing against the handcuff spreading a metallic clank. I didn’t know why Agni told me to get a skill for blocking but now I knew. A sharp pain spread through my arm from the sudden force it took. If I didn’t block it there it would have killed me instantly.

I lifted my feet and kicked at the goblin, the force making me roll backwards and lifting me to my feet. Seeing the goblin rush forward I stepped towards him to make him unable to swing his sword while I struck him with my knee, making him step backwards. That had to do some damage!

But opposed to my thoughts the goblin just grinned at me, spitting out some blood. While he took some damage, he clearly was healthy enough to continue fighting. While I thought about what to do, as I was clearly at a disadvantage without a weapon, I heard a young voice shout out.

“[Power Shot]!” Something whistled through the air, followed by the goblin falling on one knee. As it tried to stand up again, I saw an arrow pointing out of its chest before another lodged itself through it.

When it fell to the ground a young girl came out of the settlement, a crude bow in hand along with a dirtied quiver. “The fiery man was right.” She said while looking at the bow in her hand.

Fiery man? “You saw Agni?”

“You know him? Didn’t seem like a person one could get close too.”

“So he did go here. When did you see him?”

My abrupt questions startled her for a moment before she answered. “A few minutes ago. He jumped inside the portal. But if what he said was right you better stop here. If you can’t even kill these things yourself, you won’t survive.”

Maybe she was right, but I didn’t care about that. If he didn’t save me that time, I wouldn’t be alive by now. It’s my time to stop him from getting himself killed. I grabbed the sword of the goblin. “Sorry, I’ll need this.”

When I rushed forward, I heard her shouting after me, stopping me in my tracks. “Hey, wait up.” She followed after me, a grin on her face. “Maybe we’ll survive together. I want to see what’s going on in there too.”