GLITCH

The One who Wields the Death Mantle

PLATINUM CITY

Monday, October 30, 2500 10:45 PM

I'm astonished as I see this lady in a lab coat able to damage the griffin who dealt heavy casualties in the city. After she shoot some kind of shockwave against that creature, she put her goggles on her neck, and from that moment her eyes, silver in color, glowing faintly. She's a black-haired maiden, 5'5 in height, and has this calm aura; perhaps the most genuine type of calmness -- that's what I see in her.

"Glad I made it in time", the girl let out a sigh after stating those words. "You're still breathing; you did well against this griffin" she added as she looked at me.

"Sven…! Goddamn kid! Don't do that ever again! Who gave me a heart attack, you know that?"

"Don't be reckless next time Sven!"

My companions rushed towards me and tried to tend my wounds by tearing off a seemingly clean piece of cloth they got somewhere in the store.

"S-sorry about that, guys; I just don't want to…never mind me. By the way", I turned my head to the one wearing the lab coat. "W-who are you?"

"Hmm…? Me…? I'm here to help you guys escape."

"Where are your companions?"

"I'm the only one."

"What…?" were all shocked upon hearing it that we said it in unison.

"Ah wait. Actually I have one. We did split up though. Oh wait, please use this". Out of nowhere, she got a medical kit on her hand. Is she some magician or something?

We accepted her offer.

"…thank you."

"Save that for later. I need to finish this task at hand" she said it in a serious tone. "Please carry him back to where you were hiding before."

"O-on it!" they responded as they carry me back to the convenience store.

"Squawk..! Squawk…!" the griffin flapped its wings and went to the sky in a high altitude. It dived again, but this time with more speed than before.

"!?"

She leaped sideways as the griffin is a few meters from her. But then the griffin started to do that technique again; that one powerful gale attack.

"Watch out--"

In just a short moment, she's already beside the griffin. Then holds out her palms again toward the beast and released a shockwave. The griffin once again fell to the ground as the girl lowered her arm clenched her fists.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know."

How did she do such bizarre movements?

•••

Huh…? Is it just me or is it the griffin approaching slower? Maybe it's because of my eyes? Oh well if it's because of that then it's a great help. Come to think of it, how am I so composed right now? It's as if this situation isn't hard at all. Griffin is a mid-tier monster so it should be difficult battling against it. Anyway, I'm here to stall time 'til Miss Ferni comes here.

Before coming to this city, I did some practice to test out my one and only skill, [Soul Read]. Now, it's functioning as what I wanted it to execute. The information that I can obtain is now narrowed down to whoever I targeted. Also, I'm able to notice the difference of using the skill to a living and a non-living being. When focused on a living one, be it a human or an animal or even a plant, the whole status just like mine; if it's non-living, it shows the name, its durability, and something called Authority. This one refers to the required things needed for one to wield it. For instance, only those who have the strength status over 30 could handle a sword with Authority STR 30.

When I got here, with my goggles removed, I looked at the statuses with my eyes; the fallen guy which I think is a bit older than me, the other guys who rushed to his aid, and the griffin. Basing on their status, it's not that surprising to see them in this state. Those guys aside from that Sven don't have the qualifications to subdue a griffin. So I guess they're also new recruits. Sven in particular is more or less an individual with great potential.

Sven Fleming *Private – Platinum Guild

HP: 140/2000

MP: 32/500

Mantle: Rogue Knight Lv. 010

Strength: 31

Dexterity: 24

Constitution: 28

Intelligence: 19

Skill:

NIGHT VISION [Toggle Status: Inactive]

- Can see well in the darkness

IRON DEFENSE [ACTIVE]

- Defense is boosted thrice

SLASH [ACTIVE]

- Attacks with a heavy slash

TENACITY [PASSIVE]

- Negates 40% of the damage taken

Oh, so he does have [Night Vision] skill; no wonder that in this dead of the night, he's able to battle against that griffin without wearing night vision goggles. He also had that [Iron Defense] and [Tenacity] skill that enables him to survive from those grievous wounds he took from the griffin's attack. He did well to protect his comrades. Now, let me share your burden for a while.

Griffin

HP: 4057/20000 MP: 540/700

Monster Lv. 025

Strength: 54

Dexterity: 30

Constitution: 42

Intelligence: 18

Skill:

SKY DIVE [ACTIVE]

- Dive down with the acceleration based on STR and DEX; more power, more speed; has recoil damage

WHIRLWIND [ACTIVE]

- Release a raging gust that can blow away anyone and anything; depends on the STR status

SLASH [ACTIVE]

- Attacks with a heavy slash

BEAK STRIKE [ACTIVE]

- Attacks with a beak

This griffin is insanely strong. An average human status can't even match up. Even with an INT stat of 18, it has a great amount of mana. I don't know if I can keep up but I must do my best 'til Miss Ferni comes.

I rushed towards its side when it tried to cast [Whirlwind] to me. I used my Tech Gloves to deal some damage to this beast. When it finally noticed that I can't be hit by its gust, the griffin changed its algorithm and used [s***h] to try tearing me to shreds. Thanks to my boots, I swiftly evaded and used the momentum to counterattack. I circled around it and shoot a barrage of shockwaves to it.

Annoyed, the griffin flew up high, and will finally use its skill [Sky Dive]. Considering the amount of STR and DEX it has, it'll be a super-fast, powerful attack. As if time stopped for a brief moment, we prepared ourselves for this clash.

"Squawk…!"

The griffin started to make its move. If it's the old me, I'll be dead in no time at all since I can't even see it all. But this time around, the griffin's movements can be seen as clear as day thanks to my [Soul Read] skill. When I tried to see my status with my G-watch, I was only able to see the vague explanation of my skill. Now that I'm in actual combat, I can see that the purpose of my skill goes beyond it. I can not only see status, I can also see movements in slow motion. I guess having Death as my Mantle brings a stockpile of buffs.

The griffin is a few meters away from me. It dived in a velocity normal humans can't perceive, and did a drilling motion to increase its destructive power upon impact I guess.

"Don't underestimate me you disgusting weakling. I also got a hidden trick on my sleeve", I spoke words that usually never comes to my mouth as I put my arms in front of me and opened my palms facing the incoming griffin.

"Tech Gloves 40% Energy Capacity: Burst Shot!"

As I shouted, a dense shockwave is released, denser than those normal ones I fired earlier. When it came to contact to the griffin, I witnessed something that looks like it's some kind of a gory fireworks show. After it happened, the rain was temporarily mixed by its blood, and its intestines scattered about on the ground.

Did I just slay it? Well at least I'm able to defeat it and protect those guys. Oh yeah, I better check their conditions.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!"

The men shouted with triumph as the battle ended. What? You still have that energy left to shout that loud? Well, I think that they're happy to see this griffin meet its end after causing havoc to their place. But the most surprised of all would be me.

I mean, how come I'm trembling with excitement while dealing with the griffin and then feel joyous after killing it?

While still having this peculiar thought weighing on my mind, I came to meet the survivors of Squad One.