4 Goal

Bruce was on the third floor, there was a staircase that would lead him directly to the exit of the building, and then he will complete his first quest. However, he could feel that something was waiting for him on the second floor, blocking his path to the exit.

"Figures…" Bruce muttered. "I should have known that things wouldn't be easy. Just a couple of minutes have passed since things started to get messy, and I will already have my fourth encounter against the monsters… it is good to level up, but it is troublesome since I can only deal with them in a limited number of ways."

Although it wasn't exactly a silent way to deal with the goblins, Bruce decided to keep using his suitcase. It was better to stick with what was working instead of experimenting with new things when his life was on the line.

"I will enjoy the thrill of experimenting with new fighting styles and weapons when I have some leeway against the monsters," Bruce muttered.

Without wasting any more time, Bruce began to cross the corridor. However, when he arrived at the apartment closest to the staircase, he stopped when he heard a nerve-wracking sound. A rhythmic sound where sturdy things were hitting against each other and another soft thing was being squished between both. Even Bruce couldn't help but feel shivers while imagining what was happening inside that apartment… he wasn't smart, but Bruce had a vivid imagination. Still, he was having a hard time believing that goblins attacked him to eat his flesh.

Bruce shook those thoughts out of his head and then proceeded to the stairs; there was no time to hesitate or think about the situation of others. He certainly wasn't a hero; a hero certainly wouldn't smile and feel excited in such a situation. Bruce was a bit worried about his parents. Still, if he, who was a lazy gamer, managed to fight off the monsters, his parents certainly would survive.

Slowly, Bruce began to climb down the stairs. He took a peek at how things were on the second floor, but he saw nothing. His field of vision was obstructed in such a position, so Bruce didn't have any other choice but to go down. However, when he reached the midway point, Bruce saw half the figure of a goblin. For some reason, the creature was sitting on the floor while his upper body was slightly trembling. Near the beast, Bruce saw a trail of blood, and his body froze when he felt a terrible shill. At the side of the beast, Bruce found a small shoe… a kid's shoe.

"Shit…" Bruce bit his lips in exasperation.

The enemy was showing his back to Bruce, it was the perfect chance to gain some experience points, but Bruce couldn't bring himself to feel excited. He was supposed to have felt some terror when the first goblin appeared before him when his life was on the line. However, Bruce only felt his heart getting cold at that moment.

Bruce went down the stairs while grabbing his suitcase with both hands. When the monster finally entered his range, Bruce raised the suitcase. The big movement gave away his presence to the beast. The monster turned around only to see Bruce looking at it with vicious eyes and a darkened expression of rage. In the next moment, Bruce made the suitcase fall with all his might.

You obtained 12 experience points.

You obtained 01 spiritual coin.

In a single strike, Bruce made the head of the beast turn into something unrecognizable. Despite all that, he still felt a small hand inside the monster's head. Bruce felt the strength leaving his legs, and then he felt as if a nod was forming in his stomach. The next instant, he threw the little liquid that he had drunk that night.

"Shit… what a sick joke," Bruce muttered while cleaning his mouth. "Man-eating goblins? Things weren't supposed to be like this…"

That whole situation caught Bruce off guard to the point where he didn't even notice the slight change in the notifications that he received. Soon, he recovered without even noticing it. Bruce got up and then shook those dark thoughts out of his head; he couldn't let himself become enraged; he had to keep his mind clear because he was weak. An enraged weakling is a person who is easily killable.

When one of the doors on the second floor opened, Bruce used it as a sign to go down the stairs. He is about to complete his first quest, and when he receives his reward, Bruce will feel more secure about himself.

"With a decent weapon… maybe I will even be able to help one or two people," Bruce said to himself and then sighed. "This is more depressing than I thought it would be."

Things had been more intense and bloodier than Bruce thought they would be. It was only obvious that it was reality; the stories he heard about magical apocalypses were fiction. In any case, if Bruce was still capable of feeling angry or sad over the death of strangers, perhaps he wasn't a lost cause. He still was excited about the new world of possibilities that appeared before him, but not to the point where he could or would completely ignore the death of others.

Regardless, when Bruce arrived at the lobby of the building, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. After opening the door in front of him, he saw the blood covered with blood and several pieces of flesh in all directions. There were numerous human corpses there, but there was also a fair share of dead goblins. However, as if the creatures were aware of the quest Bruce received, three of them were blocking the exit.

"You have got to be kidding me," Bruce muttered.

Goblin – Lv 02

HP: 14/14

MP: 05/05

SP: 11/11

As if things weren't already difficult enough, Bruce saw that when he looked above the monster's head. Until now, all the goblins he saw were level one, so Bruce felt safe to assume that humans weren't the only ones who could level up. That was bad in many ways…

Since Bruce made sure to open the door slowly, the goblins didn't notice him. However, it was clear that they were waiting for the people in the building to leave and then attack them there. If every single person there received the same quests Bruce did, then it was evident that those creatures knew about the quests or received orders from someone who knew it.

"There is also another possibility," Bruce muttered. "Just like humans and monsters can level up, they can also receive quests, and to complete theirs, they need to stop everyone from completing that quest."

Things were as complicated as they could be, and despite that, Bruce began to grin again. If anything, things had to be interesting as that. It would be nice if things also could be a little less bloody, but that was just Bruce being greedy.

"Things have gotten a bit quiet above…" Bruce said. "Only twenty minutes have passed since the monsters appeared, so I cannot afford to wait for more than forty and then obtain Fireball Skill Book."

Since Bruce got attacked by goblins that had appeared inside other apartments, it was clear that those creatures could freely walk anywhere they wanted. So, it was only a matter of time before the monsters up above left those places and headed down the stairs, and then attacked him from behind. Fighting against three goblins already was bad enough; fight fighting against two groups in two directions would be disastrous. Yet, Bruce couldn't think of any way to solve that dilemma, at least not with his skills or the things in his possession.

The lobby was only fifteen meters long and ten meters wide. There was a chance that Bruce could kill the three beasts with his crossbow, but not before at least one of them got close enough. It was impossible to reload it two times in less than a few seconds. Besides, Bruce didn't want to bet everything on his aim. He already missed once, and the beast was in front of him at the time.