The eastern wall of the Buena village still shook with the impact of bodies and the wet, hungry hiss of the wave of monsters when Lys finally broke away from the main line.
He had left Pell and the others holding the worst of the pressure. John and Bezos were also somewhere in the thick of it now, spears in hand, the old priest's voice cutting through the noise like a whip.
As the western stretch still needed checking, the reports of monsters circling instead of charging head-on had sat wrong in Lys's gut ever since the first party staggered back, so he was now running back there to check the situation by himself. If a second mass of monsters were building there, the thinner defenses there would fold before anyone realized. And he couldn't let that happen. That gate was very close to his own house.
So he was running there now.
The streets closer to the center were still half-empty and dark, lanterns swinging in the houses sideways, doors barred, the occasional pair of eyes watching from upper windows. His boots struck the packed dirt hard enough to send small jolts up his legs. Breath burned in his chest.
While running, thoughts ran rampant in his mind; how everything was moving too fast.
Just some days earlier, the forest had been quiet. The next, traces of a great dungeon were discovered. Then the undead, the hobgoblin, the strike team, and now the wave of monsters itself. The walls, which are the only things protecting the village from monsters outside, were under direct assault. It was as if everything was slowly getting out of Lys's hand in this village.
'Fuck, how can things turn out this way? I know this is a different world; but what is this absurd situation, that keeps happening to me again and again? And this fucking system…' he cursed the system screen that was now open in front of him.
While running, he kept one eye on it. To figure out if there was any way he can kick-start the quests or something. Though he and Selene tried many things the nights before, nothing happened. No new quests were coming, his SP remaining as it was before, at 160. He even feared using it to buy any new skills now might potentially risk erasing any traces of quests from the system itself, as it was the only thing that proved there was once a function like quests.
Instead of finding any solution to him getting stronger, the situation around him keeps slipping further out of his hands with every hour, making him realise how weak he really was in this barbaric world, where people and monsters- everything- listens to the might of the individual.
And currently he had barely any.
He needed to do something. Anything. To get stronger.
Of course, there was his sword. The last system update showed a new type of leveling-up system centered around his sword, but he hadn't managed to use it yet.
He checked his eyes again through the system screen once again.
<< Milf Breeding System >>
<< Host: Lysander Veyne >>
Title: Wielder of the Strongest Sword
Strength: 42 -> 44
Stamina: 55 -> 57
Mana: 240/240
SP: 160
The usual stat of his remained not very impressive even after all this time. Though he wasn't the sickly boy from before anymore, he was nowhere near as strong as even an average adventurer from this world.
He hovered his eyes over the skills menu too.
<< Skills >>
Basic Mana Breathing (Tier 1)
Basic Hunting (Tier 2)
Basic Herb Knowledge (Tier 1)
Basic Regeneration (Tier 2)
Enhanced Stamina Skill (Tier 2)
Appraisal (Tier 1)
Iron Skin (Tier 2)
Aura of Intimidation (Tier 2)
Persuasive Master (Tier 2)
The only useful skill among them was basic regeneration, which was always running passively. Appraisal helped occasionally, but it would not help him when a situation like monster waves occurs. There was also the Enhanced Stamina skill, Iron Skin, and the most powerful skill of his, the Aura of Intimidation. Though he had managed to use it briefly back in the fight against that hobgoblin in the forest, he was still afraid of using it. It was only as good if the user had the strength to back up the charged attack from its target. Provoking a stronger opponent wasn't as easy as he had thought before that happened. Plus he hadn't been so lucky till now.
The rest of the skills were good, but they were not enough to make him invincible or something against a horde of monsters.
Lys opened the full system interface while his legs kept carrying him forward.
Menus slid past in the corner of his vision: Status, Skills, Shop. All of them were the same as before. With no quests coming in these days, all of them remained almost like before.
'Oh, I have that.'
Just as he withdrew the screen, he remembered he still had something, even though his quests were not there.
With that simple thought, his sword's screen came up in front of him, blocking his vision, making him almost trip on the road.
---Cursed Sword of the Fallen Witch---
Level 1: 128/200
Skill Points: 10
Skills: Sword-Shield (Level 1 - Upgrade requirement: 5 Skill Points)
Cursed Object Attributes: Corrupt Mana Absorption, Experience Absorption
As the familiar dark window expanded, he saw that this screen was also the same as before. With no fighting against any kind of cursed monsters with his sword, this screen wasn't going to change on its own, he knew that. Still, the thought of fighting by himself settled a cold feeling on his body after that last fight he had, which almost killed him.
'Heh, have I developed trauma from the last fight?'
Lys's stride almost faltered when this thought came to mind.
If the sword could gain strength from the monsters it cut down… if that leveling was not a one-time fluke but a real function of this cursed object system… then he did not need the old quests. But that also meant he had to actively fight monsters to gain Experience from them. Without absorbing corrupt mana, he can't level up this system.
'Plus, there is the question of whether leveling up in this sense means me leveling up, too, or is it just my sword leveling up? How does that work, that is yet to be known, too.'
He gave a long sigh. 'Well, the only way to know it is by fighting a real monster by myself, I guess.'
A cold, practical hope of being strong enough to protect everyone around him settled in his chest. He can't always be protected by others. Back there villagers and adventurers were fighting monsters as best they could. Though he was in a position to lead them in this situation, so that they don't get hurt, they still were the ones who had to fight.
He couldn't in a conscious mind let them do it. While he handles the most crucial part; leading them, he still refuses to be protected by others. That just doesn't suit him.
Thoughts of wanting to get stronger settled in his mind, as he realised this system was his only way to get stronger. Even if it was the hard way to do it, this was also a direct way. One kill at a time, and he would be stronger for sure.
The thought was still settling in his mind permanently when the familiar shape of his own house came into view at the end of the lane.
Lantern light spilled from the open front door. Figures stood in the yard, Elara with her arms wrapped around herself. Alongside were Helga and Mitsu.
They were all looking in the same direction: toward the rear of the village, where the night sky glowed faintly with the distant flicker of mana lamps and the occasional orange flash of fire.
As he glanced beside his house, other houses along the street showed the same scene. People clustered in doorways and small front gardens, faces tight, eyes fixed on the same dark stretch of wall.
They simply stood there, talking to themselves, and some just listening to the distant crowd of people that was gathered some distance from here. It was very close to the western gate, which was his destination.
Lys slowed without meaning to.
Elara's head turned first as she also noticed him. Her eyes found him across the short distance, and the worry in them sharpened a little bit.