‘These things don’t seem to have eaten any humans either. I wonder what happened to everyone in the building?’
She tightened the grip on the bat as she eyed the massive handle used to unlock the door. Her legs trembled, and fear crept into her heart. ‘Not backing down now.’ She grabbed onto the handle and pulled it down. The door clicked open, and the Pishachas on the floor turned their attention towards her. She paused and watched the Pisacha before the door approach her.
Just as it reached her, she pushed the door with all her strength, smashing it into the monster’s body. It let out a cry as it crashed onto the ground, failing like a fish out of water. Uruvi immediately jumped onto it and smashed its head with a bat. This time, the head buckled like it was made of playdough. She took another swing, bringing down the bat with all her might. The creature’s head splat on the floor, and its limbs stopped moving. Her XP bar grew by another 10 percent.
All the Pisacha on the floor began to rush towards her. However, they were slow, which gave her enough time to deal with one at a time. Her eyes focused on the one right across the aisle. It ran towards her, swinging its arms wildly. She caught a glimpse of the sharp claws. ‘They may be weak. But those things do not need much force to do damage.’
As the monster reached her, it swung its right arm at her. She dropped beneath the arc of its attack and smacked it in the belly with the J end of the bat. It let out a cry before looking down at her and twisting its body. She replied with a sharp jab with the bat to its face, causing it to stagger backwards. Hopping back up on her feet, she swung the bat at the monster’s face at full force. She felt the crunch of the monster’s inside shattering, before it crashed through a cubicle wall.
A sly smirk appeared on her face. ‘I am getting good at this!’
She turned around to see that another one of them was already up against her face. Her heart froze for a second, and in a blind panic, she smacked it in the head with the bat. The monster staggered backwards before it steadied its footing and lunged back at her. However, it was still too slow. She used the opening to deliver another powerful blow to its belly, causing it to bend over. With its head in the open, she delivered an uppercut to its head, sending its lifeless body back onto the ground.
‘Three down. Who is next!’
Three more Pisacha reached her at once, appearing to surround her. They jumped at once on her, only to bump into each other and tumble down like bowling pins. Before she could even grin at the goofy creatures, two more leapt at her with their claws at the ready. She leapt back just as they reached her, managing to avoid their claws.
As her feet touched ground again, she pulled the bat over her head and brought it down onto the head of the monster on the left. It slammed into the ground, whereupon the head cracked and turned into mush. The other monster lunged forward, head-butting her in the belly.
Blinding pain erupted from her stomach, almost causing her to puke. She crashed onto the ground, slamming her back against the floor, though her head survived the whiplash. She grit her teeth to tolerate the pain, letting out a low grunt in the process. The monster climbed over her, bringing its face against hers.
Fear gripped her heart, and her adrenaline kicked into high gear. Her body began to feel hot, as her skin felt like it was burning. The monster’s tongue shot out but was blocked by the helmet’s visor. “Get off me!” she cried out. Gripping the bat with both her hands, she slammed the head into the side of the monster, throwing it off her as she managed to get onto her knees.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Another Pisacha jumped on her, striking her shoulder with its claw. She let out an angry grunt, fury flooding her body. As it came down on her with a second strike, she dodged it by leaning back. She followed it up by lunging forward, jamming her injured shoulder into it. The monster was weak enough to be pushed back, slamming into the two others that stood behind it. All three crashed back onto the ground.
Blood oozed down her white shirt, staining it bright red. The pain was sharp but bearable. Her heart was beating against her chest, and her breathing was heavy, but she felt in control. She turned around to face the Pisacha that threw her to the ground, which was still trying to get back up on its feet. She swung the bat from below, smashing it into the monster’s face. She followed it up by bringing the bat onto its head, smashing its head onto the ground, and killing it.
“Two strikes!” she shouted.
Turning back towards the last three, one of them lunged at her head first. “Not this time,” she said, before slamming her knee into its head. The monster paused, letting out a low growl. She followed up with a sharp jab to the back of the monster’s head, before another slam from the head of the bat.
The other two were struggling to get back on their feet, which caught her off guard. ‘They look much weaker than the others.’ She simply shrugged and proceeded to deliver two fatal blows, killing them.
With the battle complete, she stood over the bodies of the monsters, panting, as they slowly turned to dust. She took off her helmet and looked at her screen. The XP bar had reached 90 percent, and the health bar was down by fifteen percent with a drop of blood symbol on top. ‘Crap! Still not enough.’
“Warning! Staunch bleed, else lose 5 HP every 2 seconds,” said the helpful robot.
“Thanks, Robot…” she said.
“New achievement! Deathblow. Defeat a full health enemy with one single hit,” said the robot.
She saw her XP grow once again, filling the empty space. A loud ding echoed in her ears as the level changed from 1 to 2.
“New Level attained. 10 Attribute points, 2 skill points, 2 spell points gained,” said the robot.
Suddenly, the pain vanished, and her health was restored. She looked at her injured shoulder to find a lack of blood, just a torn shirt and jacket. ‘Whoa! I am healed?’ She felt refreshed once again. The feeling of euphoria slowly began to die down. As the adrenaline receded, she was left with a feeling of doubt and uncertainty.
“Hey, robot. How strong were these creatures compared to what is to come?” she asked.
“Analyzing… the Pisacha defeated by you are comparable to training dummies in the Video Games you have played.”
Her blood turned cold, and sweat poured down her forehead. “Training dummies? Are you serious?”
“Affirmative. There are no monsters on the ground floor. Floor one has enemies of Level 2. Suggestion: increase attack and acquire new skills and spells.”
She scratched her chin as she slipped into deep thought. ‘That does make sense. My stats are still at base. I should probably focus on building my character first.’ She looked towards the door next to the elevator. ‘It did say the ground floor was empty… so…’
She rushed through the door and up the flight of stairs, reaching the ground floor. As she pushed through the door, she stepped into a sunlit open space. Fresh air filled her lungs, and rays of sunlight kissed her cheeks. She felt alive once again.
The ground floor was nothing more than a glorified reception center, flanked by an office space on one side and the entrance to cafeteria on the other. At the center of the floor was a large circular table where receptionists sat. Beyond them lay a large glass-paneled front section with an eight-foot-tall double door cut at its center.
She walked past the reception table, glancing at the empty floor. There was not a soul in sight. “Hey, robot. Is there any human on this floor?” she asked.
“Negative.”
“Are there any humans in this building?”
“Affirmative. Human presence found in third, fourth, and fifth floors.”
She paused and asked, “are they also contestant?”
“Negative. No other contestant in this building.”
Her eyes gazed at the wonderful outside. A beautiful green garden sat just outside the door. It was built to block the busy road outside the building. She walked up to the door and held onto the handle when suddenly there was a loud ding.
“Warning! Leaving the building before reaching Level 5 will force you to forfeit the system. You will lose all your powers,” warned the robot.
“What are the consequences of leaving the system? Apart from losing my powers?” she asked.
“Consequences – unknown. System has been instructed to warn contestants not to leave the system if they wish to save the world.”
‘Save the world…?’ She pondered on the word ‘Contestant’. ‘There is a reason why we are called the Contestants.’ She looked at the blue sky, which was now tainted by whisps of black smoke. ‘With everything gone to shit, what normal life is there outside, anyways?’
She exhaled, letting go of the handle. “Robot. I will level up to 5 if I clear the building, right?”
“Affirmative. This building has enough enemies to reach the XP required.”
“Wonderful,” she whispered under her breath as she wiped the sweat off her nose.
[LitRPG] [Cultivation] [Crafting] [Smart MC]
Synopsis (Click to Expand)
To transcend the heavens, one must first forge the ladder.
He is a Cultivator who values volume over speed.
He is a Chronicler who will not stop at the sky.