Chapter 14: People's hope.

"Man... I couldn't get any sleep last night..." A soldier yawned as he sat down next to his friend who was eating his breakfast. "Can I have the crackers?" He looked at the crackers lying on the ground.

"No, that's my dessert. Don't you dare take it or I'll cut your hand," The friend responded and put the crackers in his pocket. "Why don't you ask Rigel? He doesn't eat his snacks," he pointed out and looked at Rigel doing a handstand.

The soldier looked at Rigel pulling his right hand and did a handstand with only one hand. He then watched Rigel do push-ups in that position, making him baffled.

"So nobody won the bet yet?" The soldier asked.

"Nope. Nobody knows his background and everyone guessed it wrong. Honestly, I don't care because having him here makes things so easy," The friend answered as he put his plate down. "He killed 143 monsters in just a week on his own. He's the real monster here," he added and grabbed the crackers.

"He's not a Player, and yet he's this strong. I wonder how terrifying he was during his duty in COS if he could deal with monsters that easily," The soldier said.

"Maybe he's not from COS, and it's just his cover to hide his real job. He could be a hitman, or infamous mercenary that only super rich and secret service government know about. You know, like someone they would call to do the dirty job," The friend responded and gave a cracker to the soldier.

"That sounds about right," The soldier nodded in agreement and ate the cracker.

The sun blinded Rigel's eyes during his training, and he didn't realize it was morning already. He was trying to grow even stronger by relying on his muscles alone, but he couldn't tell if it worked or not. He couldn't see progress at all, but he believed it did affect him even if it was a tiny bit.

Rigel grabbed his equipment and strapped it on his body because it had become his daily routine. He would go hunt monsters on his own while at the same time scouting the area for the soldiers. It was a win-win situation for everyone, and since he only received orders from Franc, nobody could stop him from doing what he wanted.

"Be careful out there, Rigel," A man looked at Rigel walking out of the building as he nodded his head to show respect.

Rigel didn't give any response and then left to hunt monsters.

A month had passed, and the checkpoints had been secured because of a single person. Rigel's name was well-known by every soldier from France, Belgium, and Germany. He was called the people's hope, but he didn't care because his goal was to get stronger before the final invasion came.

"You're leaving?" Franc furrowed as he looked at Rigel.

"My job here is done, and I believe there are still a lot of people out there trapped and afraid because of the monsters," Rigel nodded as he gave all the guns he possessed, leaving only a combat knife on his thigh.

"I guess you're the only one who can do something like that," Franc nodded with understanding. "Thank you for your service, soldier," he gave a salutation to Rigel.

Rigel saluted and then left, and his departure was heard by all the soldiers from the Battalion. They were saddened because he was their assurance of safety. Without him, their lives would be even more at risk.

The place that Rigel headed to was the place where the final invasion occurred. Berlin, Germany, was the portal which countless monsters beyond everyone's expectations. Monsters that could move and hide undetectable, spreading like a virus and killing the majority of humankind. The monsters humans had dealt with would be like a child's play compared to what was about to come.

The portal only appeared in Germany for the European continent. There were a total of 7 continents which meant there would be 7 portals that would appear. In Rigel's past life, nobody could push back the monsters that came from those portals.

"I have 2 months before the final invasion appears, I need to be strong enough to kill one of the leaders to become an Adapter," Rigel looked through his phone and marked the date which was August 24th. "I need to find that man before the invasion," he muttered and put his phone in his pocket.

The final invasion had so many types of monsters that came out of the portal. Each type had a leader who commanded their kin, just like a goblin leader. Those leaders possessed something inside their bodies, a glowing stone with varied colors. Those who got exposed to the stone absorbed the power within the stone.

That power allowed them to enter the Tower of Player, and everyone speculated that the power resonated with the tower. That was why they could enter the tower because they possessed something that belonged to the tower or something otherworldly. The people called those who got exposed by the stone as an Adapter because of that.

The man that Rigel was looking for was a blacksmith, a master in making medieval weapons. The man's name was Anselm Tillmans, the only person who could create such masterpieces that were strong enough to cut Drake's skin. Rigel needed him to help him deal with those leaders since they were on another level, but the problem was he didn't know where Anselm lived.

Another month flew by in the blink of an eye, and Rigel had hunted all the monsters in Berlin. He had lost count of how many monsters he had killed, and he had encountered countless soldiers, and all of them knew who he was immediately.

"Someone, please help!" A little girl's scream echoed throughout the city.

Rigel followed the scream and found an 11-year-old girl looking around for people. When the girl saw Rigel, she immediately pointed at the distance and it turned out she was asking for help because her father was fighting monsters on his own.

When Rigel arrived, there were dozens of ghouls trying to bite the flesh of an old man. The old man only had an umbrella in his hand, and he couldn't even push those ghouls away from him. Rigel immediately came in and showed his swift hands as the knife in his hand moved like winds that made leaves fall.

Rigel cut the ghouls in half or decapitated them with a single strike, and how he could move the knife from one hand to another as he wished. It was amazing to watch because his moves were unpredictable and made the old man forget that he was in a dangerous situation.

"Thank you, for helping me..." The old man held Rigel's hands. "That was amazing. I have never seen anyone with such skills like you," he pointed out. "You must be Rigel, right?" He asked.

"Yes," Rigel nodded as he looked at the opened manhole and realized those ghouls came from there.

"I'm Anselm, and this is my granddaughter, Elise," The old man introduced himself.

Rigel was surprised to encounter Anselm, and he never thought he would meet him in Berlin. He had been asking people about Anselm, but nobody knew who he was and yet there he was standing in front of him.

"Do you live here?" Rigel furrowed.

"No, we're not from here. We came here because we heard Berlin is safe now thanks to you. That's why we moved here a few days ago," Anselm answered as he looked down at Elise who was hugging him tightly. "But even the safest place isn't actually safe," he chuckled as he comforted Elise.

Rigel never thought his action would bring Anselm to him, and it was perfect timing because he needed him.

"You moved here, but what about your stuff?" Rigel asked.

"My stuff?" Anselm furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're a blacksmith, right? You can't bring all your equipment here," Rigel answered.

"Ah, yes. I left them back home, but how do you know that I'm a blacksmith? I don't see a reason why my skill can be useful in this since those monsters are easier to kill if we just use guns," Anselm responded.

"The truth is I'm looking for you and I need your help to make me a sword. Guns and bullets are limited, and the only thing that we can rely on in the future is any melee weapon," Rigel explained.

Anselm looked at Rigel's knife and how it was already in a bad condition. He could tell that Rigel relied on his knife, and seeing how Rigel could deal with monsters with a single knife made him understand.

"Since you saved my life, I'll help you make a sword," Anselm nodded with understanding. "But, it's quite far to go back to my house," he pointed out.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll be your bodyguard," Rigel smiled as he sheathed his knife. "Your safety is my priority," he assured.