Brooms and Mops, Let's Go Monster Hunting!

"Lackluster is an understatement, but I guess I have no choice but to go and kill monsters with these until I find some proper equipment," Cassius sighed. Yet, he immediately thought of another way he could utilize these brooms and mops.

First off, he kept one mop and one broom, then he picked up the rest of them and snapped them in half with his knee. Normally, this would have hurt him quite a lot if it were his past self, but for the current him, he didn't feel a thing. And even after repeating this for 3 brooms and 1 mop, the pain might as well have not even been there.

"Now I have 6 half brooms and 2 half mops. Next is…" Cassius took the sweeper and mop parts off of the items, leaving just the splintered half wooden pieces. "With this, I have 8 wooden spikes that I might be able to use more than once. And then I have 2 wooden staffs, which I already took the cleaning parts off of."

Looking at his Monster Hunter arsenal, Cassius couldn't help but be pleased with himself. However, as there was certain danger awaiting him, it was no time to be celebrating. "Even with this, taking on monsters will be tough, especially considering that I am not an awakened…"

Hunters, even the weakest among them, were still far stronger than regular humans. And although Cassius had gained quite a lot of power through 'Advanced Character Development Training,' he had no idea where he stacked up against Hunters or Monsters.

[Remaining Time until E-Rank 'Savage Jungle' Gate break: 23 minutes 3 seconds]

But seeing as how the clock was ticking down, Cassius had not the luxury to second guess things. It was time to move out.

After packing up his weapons in a backpack that he was wearing when he got into the truck accident, Cassius once again snuck out of his room. He made his way toward the building's Northern staircase, which he descended down, all while hiding from the watchful eyes of the nurses and doctors maneuvering through the Hospital. Eventually, though, he found himself outside of the Hospital, which he got to by exiting through a side door on the first floor. The main doors were automatic, and someone would surely notice him, look at his attire, and call security to bring back the escapee patient, so he opted for the side door exit.

"The fresh air feels good," said Cassius as he bathed in the luminescent moonlight of the big, beautiful moon hanging above him.

Suddenly, his gaze hardened, with his senses picking up on intense energy fluctuations palpating a bit above the front gates of the Hospital. "The night is a pretty one, but it is soon going to be flowing in blood."

A cold gleam passed through Cassius's piercing blue eyes as his grip on the two wooden staffs tightened. Just as the Gate's energy fluctuations intensified and it started to open up, he glanced at the system descriptions of his staffs and spikes.

BLING!

[Staff (Melee)] - [F-Rank]

|—[Attack: ~3]—|

[Spike (Melee/Ranged)] - [F-Rank]

|—[Attack: ~2]—|

There was also an effects section for each item, but seeing as neither of them had any sort of special effect, Cassius overlooked the section for now. More importantly, however, was the formation of the E-Rank Gate, which had already materialized and blown intense winds throughout the area. A few people walking around saw this happen in real time, which caused a great amount of color to drain from their faces.

"Ahh!! It's a Gate! A Gate has appeared!!"

"A Sudden Gate!? Why would one of those appear around here!?!? Monsters will begin escaping the Sudden Gate within the next thirty minutes!"

"Quick, call the Hunters!!"

People began to panic, with several of the Hospital staff leaving the building to see what the commotion was about, only to have horror creep up their faces as well. They ran around in just as much of a frantic manner as the pedestrians. And for good reason; after all, everyone, from the youngest of children to the elders, knew what a Sudden Gate meant.

Unlike a regular Gate, which would contain the monsters inside it for a week, a Sudden Gate had the monsters come out in waves. The earliest of the waves consistently happened around the thirty minute mark, with the waves becoming increasingly tough the more time that passed.

When the system said everyone in the Hospital would be dead by the eight-hour mark, it meant that literally every single person would die by that point. It never said people wouldn't still die before the eight-hour mark…

Unbeknownst to all the screaming people outside, a young man with blue eyes and jet black hair had already entered the flickering bluish-orange Gate. His back passed through to the other side, throwing him into an entirely different landscape than the outside world.

The first thing Cassius saw upon entering the Gate was a verdant forest that stretched in every direction for dozens of miles. A couple of hills stood above the mostly flat area, with countless unnerving animal noises bleeding his ears, leaving the stunning scenery as a mere afterthought.

Realizing that he had been immediately found out, Cassius dashed away from the boundless darkness of the forest.

"I don't know how they were able to discern my presence as soon as I entered, but they are definitely watching and chasing," he analyzed while paying close attention to his surroundings. Even though this was his first time in a Gate and his nerves were put on edge, he still managed to keep his mind calm enough to hear the rapid rustling of bushes and leaves. Several glowing red eyes zipped throughout the forest, producing blood-curdling monkey screeches that had the Effect of 'Fear' imbued into them.

"Shit!"

...….