The First Human Enemy
933 Words
The armed men slowly approached.
There were six of them.
All carried weapons.
Two had baseball bats covered in dried blood.
Three held kitchen knives.
The leader carried an old rifle.
Their dirty appearance and cold expressions made it obvious.
These people had already killed before.
The leader looked at Arthur's backpack and the bread in Yuna's hands.
His eyes shone greedily.
"Interesting."
"You people actually have food."
One of the men laughed.
"We haven't eaten properly since yesterday."
Another looked at Aiko and Yuna.
A disgusting smile appeared on his face.
"Boss... these girls are pretty too."
Yuna's face turned pale.
Aiko unconsciously stepped behind Arthur.
The leader smiled.
"Hand over your supplies and maybe we'll let you leave."
Arthur remained expressionless.
"And if I refuse?"
The man's smile widened.
"Then we'll simply take everything."
Silence.
The city around them burned.
Distant screams echoed.
The old world was gone.
Law no longer existed.
Only strength mattered.
Arthur finally understood.
The apocalypse did not only create monsters.
It revealed them.
These men had probably been ordinary people just yesterday.
Now they looked no different from bandits.
The leader raised his rifle.
"Five seconds."
"One."
"Two."
"Three—"
Arthur suddenly moved.
Bang!
The man fired.
Arthur narrowly dodged.
The bullet struck a nearby car.
Everyone's eyes widened.
He was fast.
Far faster than an ordinary human.
Arthur immediately rushed forward.
"WHAT?!"
Before the leader could react—
Bang!
Arthur punched him in the face.
The man crashed onto the ground.
The others froze.
This injured-looking man had just crossed several meters in an instant.
"Kill him!"
The remaining men charged.
Arthur's eyes turned cold.
He no longer had the luxury of mercy.
A man swung a bat.
Arthur sidestepped.
Slash!
The machete cut deeply into the man's shoulder.
"Aaaah!"
Another attacked from behind.
Arthur turned and kicked him.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones echoed.
The man screamed and collapsed.
The remaining three hesitated.
Fear appeared on their faces.
This wasn't normal.
This man was a monster.
The leader slowly stood up.
Blood flowed from his nose.
"You..."
His expression became ugly.
"You have a system, don't you?"
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
System?
So other people already knew about them.
The man's expression turned greedy.
"Hahaha!"
"I knew it!"
"If we kill you, your system will become ours!"
Arthur's expression changed.
So the rumors were true.
Killing a system user really allowed others to steal abilities.
No wonder the future would become chaotic.
Everyone would hunt one another.
The leader suddenly laughed.
"Brothers!"
"We're rich!"
The men immediately became excited.
Fear disappeared from their faces.
Their eyes now contained only greed.
Arthur slowly tightened his grip on the machete.
This was bad.
If news of his system spread...
He would become everyone's target.
The leader raised his rifle again.
This time—
A roar suddenly interrupted them.
ROOOOOAR!!
Everyone froze.
The ground trembled.
The giant mutant from earlier had noticed them.
Its massive red eyes slowly turned in their direction.
The bandits' faces instantly turned pale.
"N-No way..."
The creature took a step forward.
Boom.
Another step.
Boom.
Its enormous body crushed abandoned vehicles beneath its feet.
Arthur's expression changed.
This thing was even bigger up close.
The leader panicked.
"Run!"
No one cared about supplies anymore.
Everyone immediately scattered.
But it was already too late.
ROAR!
The giant mutant charged.
Boom!
One of the men was instantly crushed.
Blood splattered everywhere.
"Aaaaah!"
Another man tried to escape.
The monster grabbed him and bit him in half.
Screams filled the street.
Arthur's heart turned cold.
This was the true horror of the apocalypse.
Humans were no longer at the top of the food chain.
"Arthur!"
Aiko's frightened voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Run!"
The three immediately fled.
Behind them, the giant mutant continued slaughtering the bandits.
The leader desperately fired his rifle.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The bullets did nothing.
The monster smashed him into the ground.
Silence followed.
The entire group was wiped out within seconds.
Arthur did not dare look back.
The three ran through several streets.
Only after entering an abandoned convenience store did they finally stop.
Everyone breathed heavily.
Yuna collapsed onto the floor.
"We... survived..."
Aiko was trembling.
Arthur himself was covered in cold sweat.
That monster was impossible to defeat right now.
DING!
A notification appeared.
---
New World Mission
Survive the first seven days.
Reward:
- System Upgrade
- Beginner Base Blueprint
- Random Skill
---
Arthur frowned.
First seven days?
Would the world become even worse after that?
Remembering the warning earlier, he had a bad feeling.
Suddenly—
DING!
---
New Feature Unlocked
Appraisal Lv.2 has evolved.
New Function:
Detect nearby resources.
---
Arthur blinked.
A small blue map appeared before his eyes.
Several dots immediately appeared.
Food.
Medicine.
Water.
And...
One golden dot.
Only fifty meters away.
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
A golden resource?
The system seemed unusually interested in it.
He stood up.
"We're leaving."
The two women looked at him.
"Where?"
Arthur looked toward the direction of the golden dot.
"There may be something important nearby."
Outside, smoke still filled the sky.
The world was collapsing.
But for Arthur—
This was only the beginning.
Because somewhere deep inside him—
A dangerous thought had started forming.
If his system kept evolving...
If he kept gaining supplies and power...
Perhaps one day—
He would no longer need to fear anyone.
Not zombies.
Not monsters.
Not even other system users.
Arthur slowly clenched his fists.
In this new world...
Strength was everything.
And he intended to survive.
No matter what it took.
- Writer
