Kill, Kill, Kill, and Kill
When Arthur opened his eyes, his vision was blurry. It took him a few seconds to discern the gloomy gray sky with dark clouds looming above. Arthur's stomach growled, a stark reminder of his current condition. He shifted his head, and before his eyes, he saw two scrawny hands. His current body was skinny, which made sense since the previous owner of the body had died of hunger.
[Warning!]
[The host is dying. Please find shelter and sustenance for the host's body]
[Warning!]
Once again, his vision was obstructed by the red warnings. Arthur rubbed his eyes, still grappling with the notion that he was in another world. Everything felt like a dream.
"So, this is the world I have to live in now," Arthur mumbled as he gathered the strength to pull himself up from the ground.
As he stood up, his vision was interrupted by his status window.
"Interesting," Arthur said calmly, his gaze fixed on the floating golden letters before him.
Name: Arthur
Age: 21
Status: Dying
Rank: None
Powers: None
Settlement Rank: Unranked
Subordinates: None
Soul Points: 0
Current Objective: Survive and rebuild the shattered world
System Rank: One
"The host needs to upgrade the system to unlock more functions of the system," said the system in its robotic voice.
Arthur understood that to survive in any world, whether it was Earth or an entirely new apocalyptic world, he must understand the resources available and how to utilize them efficiently. Learning everything he could about this system was crucial if he wanted to survive and perhaps even attain immortality. There was no way Arthur would accept the fate of going to hell again; he would do anything to avoid that.
"The system can be upgraded by completing certain requirements," the system informed him.
"To upgrade the system to Rank Two, the host must build a basic settlement, recruit a subordinate, and survive in this world for five days," the system continued. Arthur absorbed this information and then turned his attention to the powers.
"What are these powers? How do I obtain them?" Arthur asked with excitement and a deep desire for power in his voice.
However, the system remained unresponsive to Arthur's query, leaving him disappointed.
"Okay, now would you tell me what these soul points are?" Arthur inquired after receiving no response to his previous question.
"The Soul Points are the currency of the system. The host can obtain Soul Points by completing objectives, constructing specific buildings in the settlement, and defeating the creatures in this world," the system explained.
"Soul Points can be used to purchase blueprints for new buildings, powers, and much more," it added before the status window disappeared.
[Warning!]
[The host is dying. Please find shelter and sustenance for the host's body]
[Warning!]
"Damn it," Arthur growled as he scanned the desolate world around him. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but barren land with patches of dark green grass, ruined buildings, and no signs of life.
He didn't even know which direction he should go. Therefore, Arthur picked a random direction and began walking.
"Thank you, God, for sending me to this shit hole and giving me this scrawny body," Arthur complained, glaring at the dark clouds.
"I need to find someone to learn more about this world," Arthur muttered to himself as he traversed the barren land.
After nearly fifteen minutes of walking, Arthur spotted a campfire in the distance, nestled under a half-destroyed building.
"Finally," Arthur whispered with excitement coursing through his veins. He moved cautiously toward the building, unsure if the individuals by the campfire were friendly or not.
As he stealthily approached, using the ruined structures as cover, he came upon three figures dressed in tattered brown robes. Unlike Arthur, who only wore ripped black trousers with no shirt, these three had their bodies and faces concealed.
"Fuck this barren land, Mark. We need to head west if we want to find some settlements," one of the brown-robed figures grumbled. The view of the others was obscured from Arthur's vantage point, but he carefully maneuvered to get a better view, and his eyes widened with delight and surprise.
To Arthur's sheer delight and surprise, the other two were in the process of skinning two rabbits with crude knives.
"Relax, Jacob. We did rob a few survivors, didn't we? You even killed that boy yourself. It should have been enough to release your pent-up anger," the one called Mark remarked while deftly skinning one of the rabbits.
"I know, but there is nothing in this part of the land unless you want to scavenge for fucking rabbits and snake grass," Jacob complained.
Eavesdropping on their conversation from behind a nearby building, Arthur learned that these three were scavengers. So, he doubted they would greet him with warm smiles and offer him food.
"Once we're done mapping this place, we can leave," the taller one suggested.
"Oh, how I miss my gun," Arthur sighed. He couldn't help but think about how easy it would have been to deal with these three if he still had his weapon. Since that wasn't the case, Arthur realized he needed to engage them in close combat.
"The only advantage I have is that they don't know I'm here," Arthur mumbled to himself.
Arthur slowly and meticulously moved from his current cover to a nearby building. He had to crouch down and move with utmost caution to avoid alerting the three scavengers.
"I hate rabbit meat, man. We've taken fishing for granted," complained Jacob.
"You should be grateful for this, Jacob. Survivors die of hunger every day and eat far worse than rabbits just to stay alive," remarked the taller one.
"Besides, we didn't even catch these. We took them from that scrawny kid. Do you think he would have survived?" asked Mark, causing Arthur to frown.
"No doubt. If the beating we gave him didn't kill him, hunger surely would have," Jacob chuckled, and Arthur began to piece together that the scrawny kid they mentioned might be the previous owner of his current body.
"We should have burned his body," said the taller one, his tone tinged with regret and fear.
"Nah, don't worry. We'll be long gone before he turns into an undead," reassured Mark.
Arthur, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, was stunned in shock.
"Undead? Does he mean a zombie?" Arthur pondered silently.
"Let's just eat in peace without all your complaints, shall we?" Jacob snapped before moving closer to the campfire and settling onto a log. The taller one and Mark joined him, skewering the skinned rabbit on sticks and placing them above the fire to roast.
As Arthur stood behind cover, planning his next move, the enticing smell of roast meat wafted over, causing his stomach to growl audibly. It was a sensation he hadn't felt in many years. As a powerful warlord who had ruled over several countries, Arthur had never experienced hunger during his reign. Now, the reminder of his childhood days as a street urchin, scraping for food in the alleys, flooded his senses.
Wasting no time, Arthur carefully moved forward. The three scavengers were preoccupied with tending the flames and were enjoying a few moments of silence. Unaware of Arthur's approach, they continued their activities.
"This should work," Arthur mumbled to himself as he picked up a jagged stone. He reached the backside of the building where the scavengers were stationed, with only one tall wall separating him from them.
Summoning all his strength, Arthur silently scaled the wall and reached the top. From his concealed vantage point, he had a clear view of the three scavengers directly beneath him. Arthur clenched the jagged stone tightly in his hand, his gaze fixed on Mark, who held a crude knife.
Before making his move, Arthur picked up a small pebble and threw it to the opposite side to create a diversion. The pebble hit the floor with a subtle clatter.
The three scavengers froze in their tracks upon hearing the sound.
"What was that?" Mark asked, his brow furrowing.
"Jacob, go check it out," the taller one instructed.
As Jacob obediently moved away from the campfire to investigate the noise, Arthur seized the opportunity. He descended upon Mark with the jagged stone in hand.
"Argh!" Mark let out a pained howl of shock and agony as Arthur struck him in the head with the jagged stone. The pain caused Mark to release his grip on the crude dagger.
"YOU!" The taller scavenger froze in shock as if he had seen a ghost. Seizing this moment of surprise, Arthur swiftly grabbed the discarded crude dagger, slit Mark's throat, and darted toward the taller one.
Filled with adrenaline and possessing a scrawny but agile form, Arthur plunged the dagger into the tall scavenger's groin, followed by a quick knee strike, and finally, he slit the man's throat. The two kills happened within mere seconds. Arthur exhibited no reluctance or hesitation when it came to taking lives. His years of warfare, the act of killing his enemies, and his battle-hardened skills provided him with a deadly advantage over the scavengers.
"What have you done?! You... bastard!" Jacob, the last surviving scavenger, roared at Arthur. Fear overtook the scavenger's heart, causing his body to tremble.
"UNDEAD!" Arthur suddenly shouted as Jacob instinctively turned around. With a sly grin, Arthur grabbed a handful of dirt and hurled it at Jacob when he faced him again.
"Son of a bitch!" Jacob shouted as the dirt forced him to close his eyes.
In the next moment, Arthur lunged at Jacob, rapidly stabbing him wherever he could while deftly avoiding Jacob's frantic swings of his arms and legs.
Arthur showed no mercy as he continued to stab Jacob. Blood sprayed from Jacob's body as Arthur used it as an outlet for his pent-up emotions.
Finally, Jacob collapsed to the ground, riddled with wounds. Arthur, as though nothing had happened, wiped the blood from his face and picked up the roasting rabbit.
"Hot, hot, hot, hot..." Arthur blew on the rabbit before sinking his teeth into the searing meat. His hunger couldn't wait for it to cool down. Arthur devoured the meat while receiving new notifications from the system.
[Successfully killed a scavenger. The host has earned 100 Soul Points]
[Successfully killed a scavenger. The host has earned 100 Soul Points]
[Successfully killed a scavenger. The host has earned 100 Soul Points]
[Congratulations to the host for killing creatures of this world for the first time. The host will receive a new power for free as a reward]