Sitting in a lotus position on the floor in the room across from where he had left the man to rest. A noise made him open his eyes lazily. The noise of the bed creaking alerted him to the man's awakening. He rose up slowly, and walked towards the door. He grabbed it and gently pulled it open. There he saw the man leaning against the back of the bed. His short, fiery red hair was messy and dirty, same as the rest of him, but his eyes held the most crimson of pupils, clear as glass. They brimmed with a silent but deadly confidence. This man, he had killed before. The man turned his head fully towards the door and his face lit up when he saw Samael. "I don't know who you are, but thank you! You saved my life out there, and no matter how optimistic of an outlook I try to have, I know not many would've done the same." Genuine happiness and gratitude radiated from the man's voice as he spoke. The contrast from the look in his eyes and his voice wasn't lost to Samael. "I see. What is your name?" Samael spoke. "I believe that it would be best to know the name of the one whom I will likely spend the foreseeable future fighting with. Things are unlikely to get better after all, especially once the System fully descends." His words were careful and measured. He did not know the man's temperament, nor the degree of knowledge about this apocalypse he held. As such he offered a piece of the knowledge he had gained from his early awakening in the hopes that the man would be more inclined to work together. A couple of seconds pass in tense silence before the man reaches out with an open hand. "I'm Augustus, a businessman by trade. Though I doubt that will be much help anymore since the world has ended. What about you? His crimson eyes locked with Samael's pitch black. A small smile, an attempt at being friendly graced Augustus's face as he gestures with his hand once more. Samael grabs his hand in a firm handshake, cracking a light smile. "I'm Samael, I hope we can have a fruitful cooperation in this hellhole of a world." Samael let go of Augustus's hand and sat down on the singular chair in the room. It creaked a bit under his weight, but ultimately held. "I'll let you rest a while longer then we need to get moving. We'll use this place as a temporary base of operations for now, however I will need your help in fortifying it against the abominations roaming the area as best we can." He said. "Sounds like a plan!" Augustus exclaimed with gusto. "I believe I will be back up and running as normal soon. The healing factor granted by my awakening has allowed me to mostly recover already." Augustus said, confirming that he too had awakened the Proto-System. That would allow them to proceed far faster with his plans for gaining strength. "Be ready to move out at dawn, it's time to hunt." Samael declared.
Several hours later, just as the sun was beginning to illuminate the ruined city, Samael opened his eyes once more. Grabbing the fang he had ripped out of the infernal crocs mouth as well as a particularly long bony scute he began to fashion a makeshift spear. Despite having several more steel weapons stashed away in his bag, he decided that to fight these abominations he'd need something far more heat resistant. Just getting close to one of them had nearly destroyed his weapon yesterday, and he wasn't foolish enough to make the same mistake twice. This should be far more resistant to the lethal heat of the infernal crocs. It may even be able to damage them. About 25 minutes later he had fashioned 2 spears, one for himself and one for Augustus. It was unlikely that the man would have any weapon capable of injuring these beasts at the moment, and any help would be invaluable at this point. He could only hope that Augustus was capable of resisting the power of the infernal crocs for long enough to be of help. Behind him, Augustus stood ready. His body had completely healed despite the severity of his wounds the day before. "Let's go. I want to reach level 10 today!" Augustus exclaimed, his face bright with anticipation. They exited the old house and began stalking the streets, searching for signs of monsters. It wasn't long until they found an infernal croc seemingly resting in a shielded debris field. All around it the ground was melted and a haze of fiery heat enveloped the creature like a shield. Its eyes were closed and it didn't seem to react to their presence. Sneaking closer Samael lifted his new spear and drove it deep into the eye of the infernal croc. Unlike before, this time the weapon held up and glowing blood flowing like magma poured out from the eye. With a snarl it attempted to rise up from its lying position. From behind, Augustus jumped on top of the creature and drove his spear into the small gap between the scutes on its back. The spear pierced the armor with a bang and sunk deeply into its body. Ripping it out Augustus stabbed back in a different spot, and once again it slammed through the protective layers of the creature. As it sunk in Augustus felt hard resistance. Realizing he had hit the spine of the croc he pushed harder, severing it right above its back legs. At the same time Samael lifted its head and slammed it into the ground hard enough to shatter the broken asphalt beneath, creating a several meters large crater around its head. It hadn't stood a chance.
[You have slain Crocodylis Infernalis Lv19]
[Experience awarded for slaying a monster]
[Bonus experience awarded for slaying a monster more than 10 levels higher than yourself]
[You have level up]
[You have level up]
A surge of strength enveloped Samael as he leveled up. It was a truly addicting feeling unlike anything he'd felt before. Even when he had first killed his first monster it couldn't compare to this. A smile graced his lips as he looked over at Augustus. "What level are you now?" He asked. "I'm level 8. I gained a whole level from this!" That's strange… I'm already as strong as he is but I'm only level 5. With how much strength grows with each level he should be far stronger than me, even if his base stats were lower. He was now starting to see the benefits of his Title, Giant Slayer. The large increase of almost tripling of his Physical Strength and Physical Fortitude per level was already showing how overpowered it was. In the distance, a loud crash echoed out across the ruins. A loud roar came shortly after followed by another and then another. It didn't sound like the crocs. It was different, more primal. An unsettling feeling came over Samael as he listened to more and more of these roars appearing around them. Then he heard it. Tapping. It was everywhere. "Augustus, do you hear that?" Samael asked, the worry in his voice completely unmasked. "It sounds like… tapping? Like something is tapping the ground with a stick or something." Augustus replied, he too sounded scared. While their new strength was intoxicating, it wasn't enough to face tens, or potentially hundreds of opponents like this. Especially when they were unprepared for it. Surveying the area, an impossibly thin, almost invisible leg appeared over some rocks. Quickly, one leg turned into hundreds that then turned into thousands. Then they saw their bodies. They held the shape of fish, but with spindly legs jutting out of their body like a spider. They had thousands of legs at least and the way they moved seemed wrong, unnatural even. It wasn't like the way a spider would move. They were massive, with most reaching over 5 meters in length and some of the biggest being over double that. The horizon was completely covered by them as they approached in the hundreds. This wasn't a fight they could win. At least not as they were right now. Even so, they had no choice. They were completely surrounded, and even if they weren't the target, which they could only hope was the case, neither Samael nor Augustus had any doubt that these creatures wouldn't hesitate to have a snack on the way to whatever their target was. Activating his new [Perfect Appraisal], his mind lit up with information.
[Species: Aranea Piscium Invasor (Scout) Lv16]
[Type: Hivemind, Scout, Catastrophe]
[Species: Aranea Piscium Invasor (Hunter) Lv21]
[Type: Hivemind, Hunter, Catastrophe, Gluttony]
[Species: Aranea Piscium Invasor (Sub-Core) Lv33]
[Type: Hivemind, Sub-Core, Catastrophe, Gluttony, Ruination]
There were 3 distinct types of these horrific creatures that he could see. With his new skill he could see a lot more information about them, such as their Type, and the difference between the different ones of the same species, such as the difference between a Hunter and a Scout. The Scouts were by far the smallest ones, the only ones to not be over 5 meters in length and was between level 15 and 20. Second were the Hunters, that ranged from 5 meters to 10 meters in length and was anywhere from level 20 to 32 with the bigger ones being higher in level. There were about triple the amount of Hunters compared to Scouts and only one Sub-Core Type. The Sub-Core was immense. Remaining in the middle of the swarm it stood far above the rest at 35 meters long and over 7 meters tall. Compared to the other swarmers, the Sub-Core was like a horse compared to a small child. They both knew that they wouldn't stand a chance against something like that. The difference in level and the presence of the swarm made it impossible to stand against it. It would be tens of thousands of times stronger than the infernal crocs because of its high level. Despite knowing that. Despite the fear gripping their chest. Despite the impossible odds against them. They would fight. They would break their way through the swarm and pray that the Sub-Core didn't take notice. "We will need to fight our way through, Augustus. There is no other way." Samael spoke with conviction. They had to go now, or their chances would drop to 0. "This is madness." Augustus mumbled. "But I agree. We don't have the choice to be careful anymore. If we're lucky enough to survive this, I will see you on the other side." And so they moved. They were fast, incredibly fast. As they ran towards the building wall of swarmers the sound barrier broke around them with a bang. The world went profoundly quiet for a split second before they crashed into the first of the scouts. Spears in hand they descended into the fishy body of the swarmer, shattering it into small pieces. Blood and gore sprayed everywhere as they rampaged across the swarm.
[New passive skill acquired: Spearmanship (common)]
Within seconds hundreds had died and a trail of dead swarmers showed their tracks for only a split second before new swarmers took their place. The notifications of the System sounded in their ear every few seconds and they felt their strength grow with every life they took.
[New passive skill acquired: Endurance (uncommon)]
Suddenly the weight of every attack he made increased. The restrictions he held on his power loosened as he pushed more strength with each strike. Yet he didn't feel any more tired. In fact, he felt more energized than ever. The influx of stats and the addition of multiple passive skills allowed him to hit harder and faster without any greater cost to his stamina. Soon, it only took 2 strikes to kill a swarmer, then 1. As more and more died Samael's power continued to rise unabated. His swings produced shockwaves, sending scouts and hunters alike flying, and crushing the weaker ones outright. He had no idea how long it had been, but weariness was beginning to take its toll. Small cuts were starting to build up as they fought their way through. Augustus was starting to struggle as well. He didn't know how bad because he could no longer see him in the chaos of the battle. Slowly his mind narrowed to only himself, the battle and survival. He couldn't afford to worry about Augustus, not now when his own life was at such great risk. He could only hope that they both would make it out, but it was starting to look grim. He was tired, worn out. They had been fighting for what felt like days and he still couldn't see an end to it. Whipping around he slashed with his spear annihilating 6 swarmers. He slammed his spear into the ground, creating a shockwave that blew away all the swarmers around him. For a second he could breathe. No, he couldn't relax now. Not yet. The swarmers were closing in once more, and they looked hungry.