Aldric stood frozen, eyes wide in horror. Just across the street, a man tripped while trying to run. One of the monsters pounced on him, its jaws snapping down with a sickening crunch. The man's arm was torn clean off. Blood sprayed across the pavement as his scream cut short into silence.
"Run!" Thane shouted. He yanked Aldric's arm, pulling him out of his frozen shock.
Aldric grabbed Eira's trembling hand, pulling her close. The three of them bolted down the street together. The bag of noodles Aldric had been carrying was left behind, forgotten. Nothing mattered now except staying alive.
They ran with the crowd, weaving through the stampede of terrified people. Shouts, screams, and sobs filled the air. Sirens wailed in the distance. Behind them, the monsters let out deep, guttural screeches.
Aldric's lungs burned. His chest felt like it was on fire. He had never been strong or athletic—the only running he ever did was when he was late for his delivery jobs. But this time he wasn't running to save his job. He was running to save his life.
Then—THUD. THUD. Heavy claws slammed against the street behind them. One of the monsters had locked onto them, and it was closing in fast.
"Faster! It's right behind us!" Thane shouted.
"I'm trying!" Aldric wheezed, gasping for air.
They dashed into a narrow alley—but stopped dead in their tracks.
A wall. A dead end.
"No, no, no, no…" Aldric muttered, clutching his knees as he fought for breath in panic . His eyes darted desperately around the alley for a way out, but all he saw were overturned trash cans and useless scraps of junk—nothing that could be useful.
The monster caught up to them, only a few steps away. In the dark, it's many glowing eyes stared at them. Its sharp claws scratched the concrete, making a terrifying sound as it came closer.
"Eira, get behind me!" Aldric shouted, pushing her back with shaking hands. His heart raced. He didn't know what to do—he thought this was the end.
The monster jumped at them with full speed. Aldric closed his eyes, ready to accept the fate.
RAHHHH!
Suddenly, Thane roared. He grabbed a metal Rusty pipe from a pile of trash and swung it as hard as he could. The pipe smashed into the monster's head, knocking it away and sending it crashing to the ground.
"What the hell, how did you do that?" Aldric gasped.
"I… I don't know," Thane muttered, staring at the pipe in shock. He could feel the newfound strength. The system had made him stronger and faster. It was like his body reacted before his mind did.
The monster wasn't finished. It slowly stood up again, its yellow eyes now glowing red with anger. It growled, louder than before, and took a step toward them.
Thane gritted his teeth and held the pipe tighter. He raised it over his shoulder, ready to fight. "Go! Take Eira and run! I'll hold it off!"
"No!" Aldric yelled back. "I can't leave you behind!"
"Just do it, you morons!" Thane shouted.
The monster didn't wait. It lunged at them again, and Thane swung the pipe desperately, blocking its attack. The impact rattled through him as the beast pushed forward with terrifying strength.
Aldric pulled Eira back, but there was nowhere to run. The walls of the alley trapped them in, and Thane was struggling hard to keep the monster back.
Then, out of nowhere, the glowing box flickered in front of Aldric's eyes again.
[Scavenger System]
[Ability Unlocked: Search for Tools]
"What… what the hell?" Aldric muttered. He didn't understand what it was saying—until the glowing screen shifted Into an arow, pointing him toward the nearby pile of trash.
Aldric dashed to the pile of trash where the arrow was pointing. He shoved his arm in, digging frantically, hoping to find some kind of treasure that could help defeat the monster. But all his fingers touched were rusty cans, broken glass, and the slimy, stinking mess of garbage.
He kept digging deeper—then suddenly, his hand closed around something cold and heavy. He pulled it out. It was… a kitchen knife. Not what he had hoped for, but it was better than nothing.
Meanwhile, Thane was still struggling to hold the monster back with the rusty pipe in his hands.
"Thane!" Aldric shouted, tossing the knife.
Thane caught it mid-swing, and in one swift motion, he drove the blade into the monster's neck. Black ichor sprayed from the wound as the beast gave a horrible screech.
Its strength failed. The monster staggered, then collapsed to the ground, its body twitching and jerking across the pavement before finally going still.
Seeing the monstrous creature finally fall, Aldric let out a long breath of relief.
In front of Thane, a glowing screen appeared:
[Monster Defeated]
[Points: +10]
[Loot: Broken Fang]
Thane dropped to his knees, exhausted. "Holy shit… did you see that? I killed it!"
"Yeah, man. I still don't know how you pulled it off, but that was incredible," Aldric said, stepping closer and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.
Thane's tired eyes flickered with unease. "Whatever this real-life game is… from the look of things, a lot of people aren't going to last long. I think… the world's ending."
Before Aldric could respond, his gaze caught on something above the fallen monster. A new line of glowing text hovered in the air, identical to the system box:
[Wave Monster Defeated]
[Monster Class: Average]
[Monster Strength: Level 1]
Aldric's breath caught. "Wave monster…? Is that what these creatures are called?" he muttered, staring at the strange words.
Thane frowned at him. "What are you talking about?"
But before Aldric could explain, a faint glow rose from the monster's corpse—shades of blue light drifting upward. Aldric's body moved on its own, as if drawn to it. He reached out, and the fragments of light sank into his palm.
Instantly, a fiery jolt shot through him—like fire and lightning running together in his veins. His muscles tightened, his sluggish body suddenly alert. His vision sharpened until he could almost pierce the darkness.
For a moment, he felt alive in a way he never had before—power coursing through every fiber of him. Then, another system box appeared before his eyes:
[Congratulations you have Scanvage your first monster]
[Monster Fragments Absorbed]
[Power Level: +2]
[Strength Level: +2]
Aldric staggered back, clutching his chest as his heart raced—not just from fear, but from something far more unsettling. Something inside him had changed.
"What the hell are you doing?" Thane asked, staring at how strangely Aldric was acting near the monster's corpse.
"I don't know… my body just moved toward the light. I—I feel different."
Thane frowned, confused. "What are you talking about? What light?"
"You didn't see it?" Aldric asked, his voice low. It quickly became clear that he was the only one who could see—or experience—whatever had just happened.
"See what?"
"Never mind. Just my imagination." Aldric brushed it off with a silly smile, trying to mask the unease in his voice.