ch3- Desperate Encounter

It was early morning, the typical rush hour when breakfast shops along the street would be bustling with people. But today, after such a sudden and shocking event, the streets were nearly deserted, with about 70% of the pedestrians missing, no one knowing where they had gone.

The few people still outside navigated streets filled with chaos and wreckage. Many of the shops had their doors tightly shut, with tables, chairs, and utensils left abandoned. Even worse, there were a few gruesome corpses scattered about, adding to the apocalyptic scene.

This area, marked by red dots as a 'wild zone,' lived up to its name. As Alex Grant darted out of an alley, he saw a group of unfortunate souls surrounded by four or five monsters.

"Help us!" 

"Please, save us!"

Those unlucky people must have already used their **Blessing Stones**. Although they were surrounded and under constant attack from the monsters, their wounds were severe but not immediately fatal, and none of them had died yet.

Alex had already seen several scenes like this. His luck was clearly exceptional compared to others. While others had also used **Blessing Stones**, they must have inherited N-level deity powers. 

Unlike Alex, who had inherited R-level deity powers and could easily crush monsters, he had yet to meet anyone else with the same level of power.

Still, even those with N-level deity powers could fend off the monsters if they worked together. And while they might not win every battle, with their deity powers, they wouldn't be instantly killed by a single monster strike, making escape a viable option.

However, this particular group of people wasn't even able to flee.

Among the monsters surrounding them, one stood out. While the other monsters had blue torsos, this one had a purple body!

The purple monster was not only taller, but much faster. Whenever the group tried to break free, the purple monster would block their path, preventing any of them from escaping.

There was no doubt that this purple monster was far stronger than the blue ones!

Alex's eyes flickered with determination. Clenching his teeth, he let out a roar and charged forward!

The group of unfortunate souls were wearing the same uniform as Alex, but that wasn't the main reason for his impulsive decision to rescue them.

Earlier, while Alex was in the alley, he had encountered another lone monster, which he promptly defeated. As he checked the loot, he realized that there was a pattern to the drops. Aside from the first monster, which dropped three items, the three other monsters he killed only dropped a total of six.

The last monster had dropped items identical to the first: an **Awakening Stone**, an **Energy Potion**, and some **Spider Scythe Blood Essence**.

The second monster had dropped just one item: a **Luck Stone**, while the third dropped another **Awakening Stone** and more **Spider Scythe Blood Essence**.

**Luck Stone (N-Level):** A mysterious stone that brings good fortune. 

**Energy Potion (F-Level):** A low-grade potion that restores a deity's energy. 

**Spider Scythe Blood Essence (F-Level):** Special blood containing energy used for creating low-level potions.

Based on Alex's observations, the standard loot from killing a monster appeared to be an **Awakening Stone** and **Spider Scythe Blood Essence**, while **Energy Potions** were rarer.

As for the **Luck Stone**, it was undoubtedly a rare drop, something only the luckiest people—whom Alex jokingly thought of as "blessed"—would ever find.

The **Awakening Stone** had a function similar to the **Blessing Stone**.

**Awakening Stone (N-Level):** A special stone used to perform the deity awakening ritual. It grants a chance to awaken N-level deity powers and a small chance to awaken R-level deity powers.

The main difference between the two stones was that the **Blessing Stone**'s effect only lasted 24 hours, after which the inherited power would vanish. In contrast, once a deity was awakened with the **Awakening Stone**, the power would be permanent.

Being a skilled gamer, Alex quickly realized that **Awakening Stones** came in levels!

Since there were N-level **Awakening Stones**, there must also be R-level **Awakening Stones**, and perhaps even higher.

Alex had already experienced firsthand the immense strength of an R-level deity. The thought of being stuck with only N-level powers in the future was unacceptable to him.

So, upon seeing the stronger purple monster, Alex hesitated for only a moment before deciding to kill it, hoping to obtain a higher-grade **Awakening Stone** and maintain his advantage after the **Blessing Stone**'s effect wore off tomorrow.

"Alex?! Run! That monster is way too strong!"

The students being attacked were initially filled with hope upon seeing Alex charge in, but after realizing he was alone, they felt disappointed. One of them, who seemed to recognize Alex, urgently shouted for him to leave.

Hearing his name, Alex paused for a moment before recognizing the voice—it was **Charlie Lane**, the sports commissioner from his class.

Charlie was a funny, energetic guy who was well-liked in class. Although he and Alex weren't particularly close, Charlie had remained calm and level-headed in this moment of crisis.

"Charlie, you and the others take care of the smaller monsters. I'll handle the purple one!"

Seeing a familiar face among the group, Alex picked up speed, shouting as he charged directly toward the larger purple monster!

"You're insane!"

Charlie yelled, but Alex's courage stirred something in him. With a surge of adrenaline, he and another student took on one of the blue monsters, while the others, equally unwilling to give up, launched a desperate counterattack!

Facing a stronger opponent for the first time, Alex didn't dare let his guard down. He immediately activated **Stone Skin**, withstanding the monster's first scythe strike, then triggered **Heavy Strike**, delivering a powerful punch to the creature!

"Boom!"

For the first time, the purple monster's attack broke through Alex's defense, leaving a shallow cut on his left arm and reducing his health by 5 points.

The damage wasn't too bad.

Seeing his health still at a solid 426, Alex felt reassured. The monster, on the other hand, had been knocked back several steps by his punch, losing about one-tenth of its health. Alex wasted no time, continuing his aggressive assault!

Charlie and the others, seeing the purple monster knocked back by Alex's punch, were both shocked and filled with hope. Maybe Alex really could save them!

However, Alex wasn't as relaxed as he seemed. **Heavy Strike** had a 20-second cooldown, and without the skill's added power, his regular punches didn't deal much damage to the purple monster. It took two or three normal punches to match the damage of one skill-powered attack.

When Alex used **Heavy Strike** for the second time, reducing the purple monster's health to just under half, the effect of **Stone Skin** wore off.

Without his enhanced defense, the monster's attacks became more dangerous. Each scythe strike now dealt 8 points of damage, and Alex's health dropped to just over 270. At this rate, he couldn't survive more than 40 hits from the purple monster.

But the monster wasn't mindless. When its health dropped to one-third, it seemed to sense the danger and gave up its attack.

Letting out a screech, the purple monster summoned the blue monsters fighting Charlie and the others. Ignoring their opponents, the blue monsters charged at Alex, giving the purple monster a chance to escape!

Seeing the purple monster turn to flee, Alex felt a growing sense of dread.

"Forget about me! Head to the school!"

Realizing the blue monsters were surrounding him, Alex gritted his teeth and, wasting a **Heavy Strike**, sent one of the blue monsters flying. Without looking back, he charged after the fleeing purple monster's shadow!