Approaching the center

It had been 8 days since his first apppearance in the Central Park danger zone.

That meant he had killed another 7 Monsters and today he would kill another one.

Since he was just a new and freshly awakened Player, his level went up pretty rapidly.

Sitting at a comfortable level 6, Elijah felt way stronger than he was when he just started.

The Monsters in the outer area of Central Park were no longer a danger to him.

He confirmed this yesterday when he used his full minute on dodging attacks, just to see the limit to his skill.

The skill had gotten stronger as he leveled-up since every time he saw the experience bar fill up to the max, a +1 Thinking stat appeared on the interface.

The poor, unexpecting Monster Elijah had chosen as his target didn't stand a chance as he was left hitting nothing but air.

The last 3 seconds of his [Intense Concentration] were used for 5 swift attacks with near-perfect precision.

His artifact didn't even have to activate it's ability to deal critical damage, as the Monsters died quickly just from his well-aimed slashes.

Since he had leveled-up 4 times, he upgraded his Stats aswell, not saving up any points for later.

'Status' Elijah thought as the system interface opened up before him.

[The Thinker System]

[Level: 6]

[HP: 40/40]

[MP: 50/50]

[Quest]

[Stats]

[STR: 2(+2) AGI: 3]

[INT: 3 CON: 2]

[CHA: 2 THI: 8]

[Skills: Intense Concentration]

[Inventory: 3/10]

[Equipment: Commoner's Sword]

'Looking good, I think my next point will go to strength, though.' Elijah said, feeling like his strength was lacking as a physical fighter.

Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Consitution had all been upgraded by one.

Elijah was preparing for the next beast and felt like he couldn't stay harmless for every fight so he upgraded his constitution.

He also wanted to prepare for his new skill, which would obviously cost more MP than the first, so he invested a point into Intelligence aswell.

He felt confident that he could take on Monsters a tier stronger than he had been fighting now, so he decided he would break past the outer edges of the danger zone and enter towards the middle parts.

Since he had been coming everyday for a week now, the entry was easier than the first time, as the guards recognized him and let him in.

Elijah had the same plan as usual, stay on your toes and be as quiet as possible.

Like this, he started approaching closer to the centre than he had ever before.

Making sure to be as quiet as possible, he noticed the area changed slightly.

This was it.

The middle parts of the danger zone.

Just as he was about to take a deep breath, he heard a shout from far away gradually getting closer.

"RUN, THIS IS ONE CRAZY ASS STRONG MONSTER"

Elijah followed instructions without even checking who it was that yelled at him as he sprinted to the side and hid behind a tree.

He peeked around his cover to see what was happening.

"You filthy Monster, how dare you hide and surprise attack me!"

"Let's see if you can win when I'm looking at you from the start!"

It was a girl squaring up with a Monster.

The girl looked to be about his age with bright red hair and eyes.

Elijah immediately guessed she had a fire-type ability, and he was right.

"Take this!" The girl yelled as she threw fired a flame towards the Monster.

The Monster wasn't a weak one however, being in the middle parts of the danger zone, Monsters here had grown accustomed to the environement, and knew how to hunt the 'Hunters' otherwise known as Players.

It easily dodged the fireball as the girl cursed in annoyance.

'She's not winning in a million years' Elijah could see the difference in strength.

'It's not that fast, but it's sturdy as hell!'

Elijah didn't know if he wanted to help, his life would be on the line.

He wasn't used to a Monster with high Constitutuion, as they were rare in Central Park.

Just as he wanted to walk away, hoping the girl would be able to fight off the beast alone, he heard another yell.

"F*ck! This b*tch really is persistent."

Elijah looked back and saw the girl who was now bleeding, she had been hit.

The Monster was approaching to finish it off as the girl struggled to get up from the ground.

'Oh fuck this!' 

Elijah activated his ability and sprinted towards the girl with his sword readied to attack.

The Monster was focused on the girl and didn't notice him, since he was approaching from behind.

'I won't make it in time, she'll die at this rate.' 

Elijah bent his body, gripping his sword like you would when throwing a spear.

The sword flew at a high pace, the monster still oblivious about the danger.

'Please hit.' Elijah could only pray.

The Monster had arrived in front of the girl, ready to throw its final attack.

These humans had become more of a nuisance than ever before.

It was his duty to eliminate them!

He swung he sharp claws towards the chest of the girl.

He was about to feel that sweet feeling of his claws tearing through flesh, when he noticed his body wasn't even connected to his head anymore.

[Critical Hit!]

[Level-up!]

[Level-up!

Elijah was delighted when he saw the message pop up.

It seemed the Monster was already weakened by the girl, a healthy Monster in the middle part of this place wouldn't die so easily.

Elijah's ability was still active, since not even 10 seconds had passed.

He noticed a lot of things.

The girl, who's life he had just saved, wasn't looking at him with a thankful look at all.

She looked at him like he had just taken a dump in her backyard!

"Who the f*ck are you to steal my kill like that!" The girl uttered.

Elijah just now realised with his ability active, this girl had some expensive clothes and artifacts!

This was a big opportunity if he played his cards right!