The boat slid against the sand with a muted scrape. Kane killed the engine, scanning the coastline as the morning mist clung stubbornly to the world. The ruined silhouettes of houses dotted the nearby fishing village. Once, this stretch of coast had been alive with children's laughter and fishermen mending nets by the water. Now, it stood silent—too silent.
Kane stepped off the boat first, rifle slung across his back, his senses sharp. The salty air carried a foul undertone, a rotting stench that churned his stomach. Behind him, Lena and Maya hopped onto the sand, weapons ready, while Reina clutched her stuffed rabbit, her big eyes darting across the unfamiliar landscape.
"We're not heading into the city yet," Kane murmured, his voice low. "Too many unknowns. We'll test things here first."
The group advanced slowly toward the village. Cracked wooden fences leaned at odd angles, windows were shattered, and faint claw marks carved across the walls. Even the gulls had abandoned the coast.
Then, from the broken alley between two cottages, came the sound. A wet, dragging shuffle. Then another.
Kane raised his hand—stop.
Six figures staggered into view. They were once human, their frames still vaguely familiar, but twisted by decay and mutation. Their flesh was mottled with dark patches, and their eyes glowed faintly red under the blood moon's lingering light. Two of them twitched unnaturally, their limbs jerking like broken puppets.
The creatures sniffed the air, their heads snapping toward the group in sudden unison.
Kane didn't flinch. He gave orders in the same calm tone he used in military drills:"Lena, Maya—take the two on the left. Test your coordination. Don't waste ammo."
Both women nodded without hesitation.
"Reina," he said, crouching slightly so his sister could see his eyes. "Your guardians—two on the right. Show me how strong they've become."
Reina's little hands clenched around her rabbit. "O-okay."
The toy guardians leapt from her lap and expanded instantly, their forms stretching and warping until the small soldier stood tall like a living knight clad in armor, and the once-cute action robot towered nearly three meters, its eyes glowing with mechanical menace. They took formation beside her, roaring to life.
Kane straightened, his gaze locked on the two in the middle. "The rest are mine."
With a thought, he summoned the experimental Gatling gun from his infinite storage. The weapon materialized in his hands with a metallic whir, its barrels spinning idly as if eager for carnage.
The mutated creatures shrieked in unison and charged.
Lena fired first—one clean shotgun blast that blew half a skull apart. Maya's pistol barked in rapid succession, each bullet precise, punching holes in her target's chest until it crumpled. Their movements were smooth, trained. Kane felt a flicker of pride.
On the right, Reina's toys slammed into their enemies with terrifying force. The armored soldier cleaved through rotting flesh with a glowing blade conjured from its own body, while the robot grappled another creature, crushing its ribcage with brutal mechanical strength. Reina gasped, her face pale but her eyes shining with determination.
And then Kane squeezed the trigger.
The Gatling roared. A storm of lead tore through the air, shredding the two central creatures into nothing more than shredded meat in seconds. The sheer power rattled the ground, the barrels glowing red-hot as smoke and the smell of gunpowder filled the air.
Kane released the trigger, the last echoes fading into silence. The weapon hummed, still hungry, but he dismissed it back into storage.
For a moment, none of them moved.
Maya exhaled slowly, eyes wide. "That… was not a normal gun."
Lena glanced at the smoking remains of Kane's targets. She said nothing, but her grip on her shotgun tightened.
Reina ran up to him, clinging to his arm. "Bubba! That was so loud! But… you beat them!" Her toys, now bloodstained and hulking, stood proudly behind her, awaiting their next command.
Kane nodded once, though inside his mind a note burned itself into memory:
The Gatling is too destructive. Good for clearing hordes—but only in desperate situations. Otherwise, it'll draw every monster within miles.
He looked over the smoking village. This was only six creatures. There would be hundreds more deeper inland.
The real hunt was only beginning.
The acrid scent of burnt flesh lingered in the air as silence settled over the ruined village. Kane kept his rifle drawn, signaling the others to regroup.
"Stay close. We search the whole area," he ordered. "If there's anyone alive, we'll find them. If not… then we clean out whatever's left."
They moved through the narrow streets of the coastal village, houses standing like skeletal husks. Windows were broken, doors torn from hinges, and dark trails of dried blood painted the stone paths.
Every shadow felt dangerous.
The first creature lunged out of a collapsed fishing hut, its jaw unhinged wider than natural as it shrieked. Lena reacted instantly—one shotgun blast turned its head into pulp.
Another came skittering across the rooftop, limbs stretched unnaturally long, like a grotesque spider. Maya tracked it with her pistol, firing three sharp shots. Each round punched through the skull until the creature collapsed, tumbling to the ground.
Reina, clutching her stuffed rabbit, squeaked as two more dragged themselves from a ruined storehouse. Her guardians swelled in size at her call, smashing through them with terrifying efficiency—metal fists breaking bone like brittle glass.
Kane himself cut down the last straggler with a burst from his rifle, clean and controlled. His eyes narrowed.
No survivors… only these things.
Then the familiar chime echoed in his head.
[Ding!][You have leveled up! Current Level: 6][All stats +1. Free Points gained: +7][Notice: After Level 5, Free Points per level are increased by +2.][Notice: All base stats now increase naturally by +1 per level.]
Kane froze for a moment, digesting the words. His lips curled into a thin smile.
So that's how it works. At Level 5, the growth curve jumps. By Level 10, it'll scale again. Not just me—if everyone can hit Level 5, their growth rate doubles.
He pulled up his status:
[Kane Wylder – Level 6]
Strength: 17
Agility: 18
Endurance: 20
Perception: 16
Intelligence: 18
Free Points: 7Bonus: +1 to all stats (After free stats allocation)
His team leveled too.
Lena – Level 4Maya – Level 4Reina – Level 4
Each of them glowed faintly as their system-assisted bodies adjusted to newfound strength. Kane watched closely, noting how Reina steadied her breathing, how Lena's arms flexed around her shotgun, and how Maya's movements grew sharper, faster.
They were changing. All of them.
Kane adjusted his radio, pulling the specialist frequency. The signal crackled before a clear voice answered:
"Command, this is Tech Specialist Alvarez. Go ahead."
Kane spoke firmly, wasting no time."Relay this to everyone on the island—our leveling system has thresholds. At Level 5, free stat gains increase by two per level, and every level-up gives natural +1 to all stats. At Level 10, that doubles again. Tell the trainers, tell the guards, tell the laborers. Push everyone to reach Level 5 as priority. Even if they only get 50% of the experience we gain out here, it's still worth it."
There was a pause, then Alvarez replied, awe in his voice. "Copy that… this changes everything."
"It does," Kane agreed grimly. His eyes swept over the village's corpse-strewn streets. "Because the monsters will only get worse. If the island can't keep up, they'll be slaughtered when the mainland spills over."
He cut the radio feed, turning back to his group. "We clear two more blocks, then we pull back. I want to see how many more levels we can squeeze out of this place before heading deeper inland."
The others nodded, weapons raised once more.
Kane exhaled slowly, the sun just beginning to burn through the mist overhead. For the first time since their landing, he felt a surge of confidence—not just in himself, but in what they were building.
The system had given them a roadmap. Now it was up to him to make sure they survived long enough to climb it.
And Kane Wylder had no intention of losing this war.
…
Kane exhaled slowly, the sun just beginning to burn through the mist overhead. For the first time since their landing, he felt a surge of confidence—not just in himself, but in what they were building.
The system had given them a roadmap. Now it was up to him to make sure they survived long enough to climb it.
And Kane Wylder had no intention of losing this war.
But before moving on, he pulled up his personal status screen.
[Kane Wylder – Level 6]
Strength: 17
Agility: 18
Endurance: 20
Perception: 16
Intelligence: 18
Free Points: 7Natural Growth: +1 to all stats (After free stats allocation)
He tapped into the interface, focusing. The decision had to be balanced—his body was already pushing the limits, but versatility mattered.
+2 Strength (raising it to 19)
+2 Endurance (raising it to 22)
+1 Agility (raising it to 19)
+1 Perception (raising it to 17)
+1 Intelligence (raising it to 19)
As the points distributed, a rush of heat flooded his body. Muscles tightened, nerves sharpened, and his lungs expanded with more capacity than before.
Then came the automatic boost—an extra +1 to every stat just for leveling.
His final sheet appeared before his eyes:
[Kane Wylder – Level 6]
Strength: 20
Agility: 20
Endurance: 23
Perception: 18
Intelligence: 20
Kane clenched his fists experimentally, marveling at the raw power coursing through him. He could feel the difference—it wasn't just numbers, it was reality bending in his favor.
"Good," he muttered, closing the display. "We're only just getting started."