“Wait. You didn’t know?” asked Arvind.

  “That they were humans? No…” replied Uruvi.

  She could see his face freeze with fear.

  “I am sorry… Maybe I should not have…” he said before being interrupted.

  “It’s fine. Either they kill you or you kill them. Such are the times…” Uruvi appeared to be holding herself on the outside, but in reality, her head was spinning just trying to process.

  “You look pretty beat up. Are you going to be alright?”

  “Yeah… Don’t worry about it.” The level up had reset her health and MP, but not her worn-out clothes. She, however, felt immense hunger. “I am a little hungry, though.”

  “There is a vending machine on the ground floor,” he said.

  “Oh yeah. The one near the cafeteria!” she recalled.

  ***

  The vending machine was stuffed into a corner, hiding behind a pillar. It had no slot for money, instead it had a QR code stuck on the side for payments.

  Arvind tried to wiggle the door loose, but to no avail. “Nope. No use.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Uruvi gently pushed him aside before taking a swing at the glass panel with her bare fist. The glass shattered, exposing the contents of the machine. “I remembered how one of the men from my team accidentally broke the glass once. I figured with the upgrades I got, I could do it too.”

  They picked up a can of soda and a packet of salted nuts from the machine. Uruvi took a second to savor the fizzy pop when she opened the can. She felt like a river had just passed through a desert. In the heat of battle, she hadn’t realized how hungry and thirsty she was.

  “So…this system. How did you get it?” asked Arvind.

  “I don’t know… Everything is a blur at the moment. One moment, I am waking up from getting smacked on my head, and the next thing I remember, I am being chased by this monster… Pisacha. All the while, words are plastered to my vision. Initializing system…” She proceeded to talk about the crazy events that happened since morning.

  “So, yeah. I kinda missed all the carnage,” she said, concluding her story.

  Arvind quietly nodded. “It is for the best that you did.”

  “Did people really transform into those monsters?” she asked.

  “After the explosions, a lot of people began to rush out in blind panic. Many did stay back, and that was when it happened. A bunch of them…including someone I knew well…began turning into those things. They began fighting and devouring each other at first, before turning towards the humans who didn’t.” He shook his head. “What a nightmare…”

  “How did you escape?” she asked.

  “I work on the second floor. I jetted upstairs because it was my only option. By the time I reached there, I guess the whole process was completed. Because the only monster that remained was the one you say. I snuck into the boardroom while it was feasting… I guess. Since yesterday, I managed to stay out of its sight. Until you showed up.”

  “Yeah…that would have been a nightmare… Well, now you are safe. You can rest here while I clear up the floor above,” she said.

  “Thank you, but… I know it is time for us to stick together, but I think it is better we part ways now,” he said. He wore a very somber expression on his face.

  “What? Why?”

  “I am already at the end of my life, and I don’t want to be a burden to you,” he said.

  “But…”

  “And I will be honest with you…” he interrupted her. “After what I have witnessed, heed my advice and trust no one.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  She fell quiet, looking on with deep regret. “Where will you be heading?”

  “I have a son who lives a little further down the street. I will head over to him.”

  She simply nodded, but she kinda felt bad parting from someone whom she had just met.

  He put on a cheerful smile and said, “Don’t worry about me, and promise me that you will watch your back.”

  ***

  Arvind exited the giant glass doors and disappeared into the garden. Her heart ached, like she knew it wasn’t going to end well for him. She took in a deep breath and turned back towards the elevator.

  "Right then…” She opened her screen and saw her health and MP were back to full again. It was a much-needed break. But she needed to move on. Level 4 was very close by.

  “Hey, Robot. You were able to tell me how many humans were in the building. Can you tell me about the pisacha as well?” she asked.

  “Negative. Enemies are obscured from my sensors by the fog of battle. I can give you details of them only when you are able to look at them.”

  “Oh…” she said and thought, ‘Well that was just a bunch of nothing…’ Despite her experience playing games, Uruvi wasn’t exactly the thinking type of player. Action preceded planning.

  The next level up would give her 5 attribute points. She had been thinking about it for a while and decided that all her points were going into the ones connected to her two main chakras until she leveled them up.

  ‘I need to learn to use all the tools I have. The battle is only going to get tougher…’

  ***

  Up and up she went, along the winding path of the stairs. “While coming down, I am definitely taking the damn elevator…” she said to herself, panting.

  She stopped before the door that led to the fourth floor and examined the occupants of the floor. The floor was littered with Level 3 Pisacha. But once again, there were no more humans in sight. Her eyes could see six of them.

  ‘They are my level and don’t look very different from the ones on Floor Two. If I do it right, I can easily level up to four. Let’s try that skill.’

  The skill she was thinking about was Calm Mind – reduces heart rate and clears the user's mind. It also increases Special Defense.

  She leaned back, away from the window, and shut her eyes. For a moment, the world around her turned dark, and her mind became calm as the sea on a windless night. Just a few seconds later, her body was pulled back into reality.

  ‘Wow. That is not a skill to be used in the middle of a battle. Robot, you can hear me, right?’

  “Affirmative. You can summon me by just thinking of me.”

  ‘Wonderful. An AI in my head. Make sure tell me if a skill or spell cannot be used in battle.’

  “Affirmative. Will set a reminder when picking any skills or tasks.”

  She turned back towards the door, her hand ready at the handle. “Just as before…” she whispered.

  She pulled the lever down and swung the door open, stepping into the arena with much more vigor and confidence. The Pisacha on the floor immediately drew towards her like moths to a fire and, much like moths, began to circle and dance to the beat of her actions.

  The Pisacha here were much better coordinated. Keeping their distance from her and each other, they coordinated their attacks, trying to make sure she did not have any room to breathe.

  ‘I can feel it. Their intimidation. It isn’t as strong as one on the third floor.’ Her Calm Mind skill had increased her special defense, raising her protection against such tactics.

  She spun and dodged their attacks, hitting each one with a Charged attack and followed it up with a perfectly-synced Domino. As the monsters' health bars began to drop, their frustration began to grow. They turned more wild and unpredictable. However, it was too late. Red aura surrounded her, and the speed and power of attacks quickly began to empty the health bars of the creatures.

  By the time the dust of the monsters had settled, she was breathless and fifteen percent short of her health, but felt energetic and eager for more.

  “Uruvi?” a very familiar, shrill voice called out to her.

  Suddenly, all the positivity she had built up escaped into the void. She looked to her right and saw several people coming out of hiding. One of them was her sharp-nosed manager.

  ‘Oh come on!’ she screamed on the inside.

  Her eye caught a glimpse of the surviving folks, and only two were from her team, one of whom was waving at her cheerfully. She swallowed hard, trying not to think that she may have killed a few of the people she once knew.

  “What…where…how?” her manager asked as she approached her.

  “Perhaps another time. I think it is best to get to safety.” She looked towards the folk behind her. “All of you.”

  They all nodded in unison.

  “You are not coming?” her manager asked.

  Uruvi simply shook her head.

  “Suit yourself,” she said and walked out the door. The others followed her, casually bowing their heads as they passed Uruvi. Except for the other teammate.

  “I don’t know what you are up to. But keep safe, okay? And…” she leaned in and whispered, “that was fucking awesome!” She followed the others down the stairs and out of her sight.

  Uruvi wore a soft smile on her face as she turned her attention to the screen. She had a new level and with that came a new set of upgrades. She had thought it out, at least where her attribute points should be going. She chose to upgrade her Strength, Renewal, Valor, Dynamism, and Serenity.

  ‘I wonder if I will get more peace of mind with this one…’ she wondered in jest.

  Skill and Spell were a little trickier. There were two more options for her in Body, one in mind, and she had yet to open up the Spirit skill tree. She pondered on it for a few more minutes and finally decided to upgrade the Charge skill and get a new spell, Thunderclap.

  Only one more floor was left, and if video games taught her anything, the last level was always the hardest.