Reidar rested against the storage room wall, then slid down to sit on the concrete floor. His legs went beneath him. The mop handle clattered as it dropped from his shaky hands.
His chest lifted and sank in sudden spurts. The adrenaline that had pushed him through the battle was wearing off, leaving behind an intense fatigue that made his entire body shake. He looked at his hands. Dark fluid smeared his hands.
He had done it. He had actually killed three living beings with his own hands.
Reidar closed his eyes and tried to control himself. His body remained locked in fight-or-flight mode even though the immediate threat was gone. That made it hard to stay in control.
Five minutes passed before his breathing returned to something resembling normal. The shaking in his hands reduced to a slight tremor. He could think clearly again without the crushing surge of survival instinct clouding his judgment.
That was when he remembered the notifications.
During the fight, the system had bombarded him with messages. Damage reports. Kill confirmations. Achievements unlock. He had been too focused on staying alive to pay attention to them, but now he could process what had taken place.
Reidar focused his thoughts on the Guardian System menu.
—[«GUARDIAN SYSTEM MENU»]—
Inventory
Status
Perk Trees
Help
Group Interface
Combat Log
Crafting Log
—[«END»]—
He concentrated on the Status option.
—[«STATUS»]—
Name: Reidar Miller
Level: 0
Health: 100
Mana: 100
C.L.A.S.P: 230 / 1000
Skills: #N/A
Equipment: #N/A
Proficiencies: Basic Combat
Attributes: (S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1), (A.C.U.M.E.N.: 1), (F.L.A.I.R. : 1), (F.L.I.P.: 2)
Minions: #N/A
Survival Points: 80
Trait: Skill Sharing
Perks: #N/A
Perk Points: #N/A
Titles: The Early Riser, The First Killer, The First Apprentice
Profession: #N/A
—[«END»]—
Reidar studied the information. His C.L.A.S.P. points had jumped from zero to 230. Simple math told him he was nearly a quarter of the way to reaching level one. The idea of seriously progressing in this strange system felt surreal.
The new entry caught his attention. The new Proficiency and the two titles he had earned during the fight.
Proficiencies and titles often appeared in video games and books. The system had them too, and based on his impression of it, the system treated them like important progression markers, but Reidar had no real frame of reference for understanding what they actually did.
The man dismissed the status screen and returned to the main menu. He selected the Help option. The usual empty writing space with a blinking cursor showed up.
"What are achievements?"
The text appeared and then vanished, replaced by the system's response.
—[«ACHIEVEMENT SYSTEM EXPLANATION»]—
Achievements are permanent acknowledgment marks given for achieving specified milestones or doing outstanding tasks within the Last Will Framework. They serve several purposes:
Recognition of major feats
Provision of passive bonuses and enhancements
Unlocking special items, skills, or system features
Social status indicators when interacting with other survivors
Achievements can provide various benefits, including but not limited to:
Attribute bonuses
Skill enhancements and new skills
Unique abilities
Increased drop rates
Special access privileges
Passive environmental resistances
Titles
More
Note: Some achievements can only be earned once across all survivors, along with the titles, making them extremely valuable and rare, and most importantly, insanely powerful. First-time accomplishments often provide the most valuable rewards.
—[«END»]—
Reidar read through the explanation twice. The system treated titles like permanent upgrades that could change his capabilities. The note about first-time accomplishments being particularly valuable made sense given the names of his titles.
He cleared the text and formed his next question.
"What are proficiencies?"
—[«PROFICIENCY SYSTEM EXPLANATION»]—
Proficiencies represent the development of knowledge and practical experience in certain areas, such as skills. Proficiencies give broad core abilities that increase with further practice and application.
Basic Combat Proficiency includes:
Enhanced weapon handling across all weapon types
Improved reaction times in dangerous situations
Better situational awareness during conflicts
Reduced panic response under pressure
Increased damage efficiency with improvised weapons
Active use and practical application lead to increased proficiency. Higher proficiency levels enable more advanced techniques and passive bonuses within their category. Other survivors may evaluate your proficiency levels to determine your strengths and experience.
—[«END»]—
Reidar dismissed the information, as there wasn't more to understand. What he was actually interested in was what these titles did. These were unique rewards that no one else would ever be able to earn based on what the system explained.
"Show me details for The First Killer title."
—[<
Description: Title awarded to the first resident to eliminate a hostile creature within the Last Will Framework.
Passive Effect: Grants a 0.5% chance to learn a skill from a defeated hostile when equipped. Additional Effect: None.
Rarity: Legendary (Unique title awarded only to the first individual to kill a hostile).
—[<
Reidar stared at the text. A chance to gain skills from defeated enemies. His mind went to the magic the sprites had used. Stone bullets. Water spheres. If he could learn those abilities himself, he would have ranged attacks instead of relying on makeshift melee weapons.
"Show me details for The First Apprentice title."
—[<
Description: Title awarded to the first resident to officially learn a new skill from a System trainer.
Passive Effect: Increases the rate of skill proficiency advancement by 15% when equipped.
Additional Effect: None.
Rarity: Legendary (Unique title awarded only once).
—[<
The second title would make him advance faster than anyone else in terms of proficiencies.
Regardless of this, combined with the first killer's skill acquisition chance, he had been given a significant advantage in long-term growth.
Given what had happened, Reidar realized even a two-minute difference would have given different outcomes. If he had hesitated even 5 seconds more, maybe he would have lost this incredible title since someone might have gotten the first-ever kill.
Reidar leaned back against the wall and considered the implications. The 0.5% chance meant he would need to kill roughly two hundred more rift-sprites of a single type to have a good chance of picking up one of their skills. The math was daunting, but the potential reward was enormous.
He imagined being able to launch stone bullets at far-away threats instead of having to get close enough for physical combat. The water spheres had hit hard enough to crack concrete. Having those abilities would turn him from a hopeless survivor with an improvised weapon into something similar to a real fighter.
But two hundred kills of each sprite type to get their skills felt overwhelming. He had barely survived fighting three of them. The idea of looking for and killing hundreds more made his stomach clench.
The sprites had been level 1. If the system followed video game logic, which it seemed to, then higher-level creatures would be gradually more lethal. What would a level five monster look like? Level ten? Level twenty?
Reidar tried to imagine himself confident enough to hunt creatures for their skills. The person who had trembled in terror behind makeshift cover fifteen minutes ago seemed like a poor candidate for monster hunting. But the titles suggested the system expected him to grow into that role. The role of the first killer.
Maybe that was the point. The proficiency system would make him truly better at fighting over time. The title bonuses would speed up that improvement.
He thought about Martha and Marcus again. Wherever they were, they would be facing the same world he was dealing with. Having powerful fighting abilities could mean the difference between finding them alive or finding their bodies. It could mean he might or might not be able to get to them on time.
The idea of gaining magical abilities sounded like science fiction, yet the situation he was in went against conventional reality. The world changed itself before him. Creatures that fired blasts from their mouths wandered the remains of civilization. He could see floating symbols that tracked his life, much like a video game character.
Learning to throw fireballs seemed almost reasonable by comparison.
Reidar was starting to consider the logistics of hunting sprites when he heard something that made his body get cold.
A sound from outside the gas station. Not wind. Not settling debris.
Footsteps.
Multiple sets of them moving across broken glass and rubble.