Chapter 13: Showcase.

Rigel fell and hit the ground in a dark alley where gunshots and roars could be heard in the distance. He groaned in pain since he fell from quite the height as he stood up by putting his hand on the wall. He leaned and looked at the street with small craters from bombs that had bombarded the street, and he decided to check his surroundings.

He was sent back not far from the tower, and there were so many soldiers protecting the front gate so the remaining Invitees could enter. Everyone was on guard even though there were no monsters nearby, and Rigel approached them since he needed information about the monster's location.

"Are you a Player?" A man asked with a lieutenant's badge on his shoulder as he looked at Rigel walking toward him.

"I'm from COS, and I'm here to help," Rigel said while the soldiers looked at him with curiosity.

COS was a special operations command, an elite unit of soldiers. Rigel's physical strength supported his words, and his black clothes, jeans, boots, and gloves convinced all the soldiers. The lieutenant looked at the ripped shirt on Rigel's chest and saw fresh bruises and scars on his abs and chest.

"Did you lose your equipment?" The lieutenant asked and saw Rigel had nothing on him.

"Yes, I came here yesterday assisting Players. I lost everything because a Drake ambushed us," Rigel lied without hesitation as he removed his shirt.

"Jack! Bring some equipment and find a shirt for him!" The lieutenant shouted at the man who was chilling and smoking.

Rigel wiped his body with his shirt as he looked at the sky where helicopters were patrolling.

"You're quite young to be COS," The lieutenant furrowed with curiosity.

"You don't want to know..." Rigel responded coldly as he kept wiping his body. "I'm an orphan and I was raised by someone for this kind of job. That's all I can tell you," he threw his shirt and looked at the lieutenant without showing any expression.

The lieutenant could see in Rigel's eyes how calm and collected he was. The lieutenant didn't need to ask anything else because he knew a soldier when he saw one.

"Pierre," The lieutenant offered a handshake.

"Rigel," Rigel shook Pierre's hand. "Any information about those monsters? I can't stay here doing nothing. I need to help the frontline," he asked and looked at Jack who came with a shirt, a vest, a pistol, a combat knife, and a rifle.

"If you really want to be on the front line, I suggest you join the 118th Battalion. They're going to Metz, opening the path to Belgium and Germany," Pierre answered. "They're leaving in 3 hours, and they need someone like you. Just go north and you will find them," he looked at Rigel putting on a shirt.

"Even better," Rigel responded as he put on a vest and all the equipment to his body. "I owe you one. Take care," he shook Pierre's hand and then left.

Rigel walked onto an empty street because all the civilians had been escorted out of danger. He looked at his right hand because he hadn't tested his current strength after Lysara'elmaris gave him a tiny bit of her current power. He looked around and the first thing he wanted to know was his grip strength.

Rigel looked at his reflection on the car door, and he put his hand on the roof of the car. When he clenched his hand, the roof bent and wrinkled like paper. He was surprised by how easy it was for him to crush it like gripping a stress ball.

Next, he needed to test his strength and put his hands under the car, wondering if he could lift it. When he deadlifted the car, it flipped so easily like he was trying to flip a coffee table. He couldn't believe how easy it was and how strong he became.

"I could be the strongest man on Earth..." Rigel looked at his palms and his ripped gloves because they couldn't withstand the force. "I'm not sure if I'm stronger than Players because they didn't come out of the tower in my past life," he muttered as he clenched his fist.

After Rigel tested his strength, he tried his speed and agility by sprinting and moving side to side to avoid potholes. He jumped and his hands could reach the street light that was 20 meters tall. His body felt so light that it responded almost instantly which was the best part of it.

"118th battalion?" Rigel asked a soldier who was guarding the post.

"Yeah? Are you going to join us?" The soldier asked as he looked at the equipment on Rigel's body. "Looks like you're prepared to fight. You can meet Captain Franc, he's in his post over there. He will tell you what unit you're going to join," he continued and pointed at the small camp.

Rigel looked at his surroundings and saw hundreds of soldiers anxiously waiting. He entered the camp and met with Franc, the man in his late 30s, cleaning and sharpening his knife.

"You don't look like a normal soldier," Franc asked as he fixed his gray hair.

"Yes, sir. COS," Rigel nodded.

"You're too young to be COS. Are you lying?" Franc squinted his eyes, staring at Rigel with suspicion.

Before Rigel could open his mouth, the ground shook fiercely and he immediately walked out of the camp. He saw a Minotaur, a 5-meter-tall human-like bull holding a massive two-handed axe. Minotaur moved swiftly for its size, and it could destroy any tank or armored vehicle with a single blow.

"Great, our artilleries' weakness..." Franc sighed. "Everyone in position! Don't let that thing destroy any of our artilleries!" He ordered.

Rigel grabbed his pistol and walked toward where Minotaur was, and it made Franc look at him with a confused look.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Franc asked.

"I'll handle it. Save your ammunition because we both know it would be a waste," Rigel answered without looking back and started running.

All the soldiers were preparing the heavy machine guns and high caliber weapons since Minotaur had thick and sturdy skin. When they were busy preparing all the guns, they saw Rigel walk past them and bravely run toward Minotaur on his own. They couldn't fire their guns because of Rigel, so they held their weapons and waited until it was safe to fire the guns.

Rigel aimed his pistol at the Minotaur's head and his aim was perfect even though he was shooting while he was running. His perception was heightened thanks to Lysara'elmaris, and that made the Minotaur furious because the bullets stung.

Rigel managed to attract the Minotaur's attention, and then he put his pistol down and grabbed his rifle simultaneously. He kept shooting until the Minotaur decided to charge at him, and that was when he put down his rifle and grabbed his knife and pistol again.

The Minotaur stomped his foot in front of Rigel and swung his axe at him, but he dodged it easily. Seeing the opportunity, Rigel jumped and stabbed his knife at the Minotaur's left arm. He pulled himself up by using his knife that was stuck in the Minotaur's arm. He moved so swiftly and in an instant he was already standing on the Minotaur's left shoulder.

Rigel aimed his pistol right at the Minotaur's eyes, and he kept shooting until his bullet pierced through its brain. He was reloading his pistol as he was dancing on its shoulder and then he shot a whole round into the Minotaur's eyes. He realized the skull was too thick for bullets to pierce through, so he used his knife and slit the Minotaur's throat and let it bleed to death.

The Minotaur collapsed and Rigel landed right in front of it as he reloaded his pistol again. He was dancing as the Minotaur tried to grab him, but he was too quick, and since it was blinded, it couldn't do anything and accepted its death.

Everyone who watched it was baffled by Rigel's skill and bravery because no human would dare to do something like that. They started to wonder who he was and what his background was that he could do crazy things like that.

Franc was speechless as his eyes kept staring at the dead body of the monster that had destroyed dozens of artilleries and killed countless lives. He snapped back to reality and realized Rigel was standing in front of him, staring at him with a cold expression.

"Which unit are you going to put me in?" Rigel asked.

"My unit... you're going to be in my unit..." Franc answered nervously.