Roy was standing on the edge of the rooftop, staring at the crawling traffic below.
"Should I jump?"
1 hour earlier.
"No way!"
"Yes way!"
He argued with his parents over the phone, face red like a tomato.
"Why? I made it clear that I left the house. Why should I take care of that thing?"
"Don't call your sister that, Roy."
"She has a name ok, Natalie"
"She hates me!"
"No, she loves you!"
His dad sighed: "Alright, Roy, you can drive my car".
Roy hesitated slightly then his fist clenched "…Fine. But she follows my rules!"
The phone call ended abruptly, he barely caught his parents' winded eyes, "weird, maybe the phone bill ended".
—-
"Hey dork, my teacher wants to meet you," his sister said, fingers still licking sauce.
"Tell her he's dead," Roy muttered, eyes scanning every possible idiot in the traffic.
"Why should I?" Natalie chucked softly, 'hehe, brother nothing is free in this world'
'Here we go again, she's going to try to blackmail me. Keep it cool Roy.
"Sigh…what do you want?"
"Hehe, I'm holding it for you." She said her tone was gentle and pleasant.
"I regret agreeing," he deadpanned.
—-
Back at the dance school drop-off, Natalie smiled.
"Like we agreed, my brother served in Afghanistan. Died heroically in an ambush"
"Got it. Don't forget to get me back, or I'll brag about you forever."
Roy hit the gas, freedom finally within reach. He even thought about a nap for the rest of the day.
No responsibility, no gf to nag him, he really loves being single.
He slowed, noticing the red light and his hand reached the car TV
Breaking news: "Strange activity across the globe. Green creatures attacking civilians…"
The screen cut to purple blood splattered across an officer. Roy blinked.
'What the hell?'
Then a horn blared behind him. "Move it, idiot!" he snapped back to reality, driving forward.
A voice whispered in his head. The same one he heard before things became bad.
Sirens sounded, people destroying shops and stealing. There were quite a few of them.
Roy froze seeing it
A woman abandoned her newborn in a car and ran away like she saw a ghost. 'Why would she do this!'
His blood boiled. The door slammed shut behind him, 'I swear when I catch her'
"HEY—"
Before he could finish, two guys barreled into him, followed by a horde of screaming people pushing each other.
This must be either black Friday, or a zombie outbreak.
He looked up, his head frozen in all senses.
A dragon so massive it felt unbelievable. Pitch-black skin that contrasted sharply against the clear blue sky, a crown made of horns gave him a majestic vibe.
Eyes black as the abyss, staring straight at Roy
'A sense of unease welled up inside him, that stare felt personal as if he owed him money'
Naturally, he would have bolted the hell out of here, but because of the shock, he couldn't move.
His lips curved up slightly, "Just from what hole this thing crept?"
The dragon stretched his wings open, and his roar shook buildings, pressuring Roy.
I could've sworn his roar broke the sound barrier, how? Even I found it impossible.
Reaching his ears, he saw blood oozing from them, his vision darkened, and the place became silent.
He stood there for 5 minutes, feeling meaningless against such existence. But remembering losing his sister like his mother, his heart shook.
'This dragon can't be from this world, or people would've already known'
His muscles tensed, 'fuck, you look even uglier than my ex," his eyes shone, chest buffed up.
Sensing the human action, even though he didn't understand his words, he felt angry, so he turned to him.
"fuck, let's go out of here"
Just then, in the corner, a guy was trying to free his bike from the lock, Roy reached him, tapping his back.
"Sir, did you order pizza?"
Roy stood behind him, his arm cocked back.
The guy turned around: "wait wh-" before he finished his words, Roy delivered a jaw tap and he fell cold, losing consciousness.
Roy takes the bike, searches his pocket and throws money at his face.
"Here, take this and fix your face, looks horrible", said Roy to the guy.
Before he goes, he gives one last glance at the dragon, noticing some space fluctuations around him.
He shot with the bike, like a bullet passing people, he could even glimpse some emitting lights from their hands, but he just shook his head.
'Huh, I must have been really out of place after that dragon encounter'
Thud
The ground shook beneath him, turning back his face howled.
The same dragon feet crushed his dad, car
His heart hammered in his chest: "That would've been me, if I didn't move my ass"
The dragon lifted his gaze slowly from the ground, as if he hadn't finished his job, then looked at the route Roy took.
Reaching the dance school, this familiar place had become ruins, making his way inside he saw a group of the same creatures.
There were three, followed by a taller one who looked like the leader.
"Goblins?, Good, I hate two things: kids and goblins"
Hiding behind a corner, just as the leader was about to turn, he bounced up and grabbed his throat.
Using some force, he twisted his neck, seeing the light leaving his eyes, and he stood up.
Wait, what is this?
A notification sounded in his mind.
Congratulations on levelling up, Beastbound [Lv. 1] Acquired
"System, huh can't say it surprised me after what I've been through"
And why are the rest locked?
[Combine Essence] (locked)...
"I take a moment, steadying my breath. How does this system even work?"
"And does the monster have the system like me?" Roy backed, drenched in sweat, imagining that dragon with such a system.
"And back on, I felt like that dragon was targeting me specifically"
Then a voice echoed in his mind.
"Ahem, I assume all players are awakened"