“Derek, get ready! Five minutes until the portal is up.” Silvi was exhausting all her mana to provide one chance for Derek. One chance for him to make it to the others and just maybe save them from death or capture.
A squad of invaders had ambushed Silvi’s team while she was in the city. While rushing out, thinking of a way to save her wayward group, she ran into Derek. Derek had completed a couple of missions with Silvi and her team before, but mostly, he preferred being alone.
“Once you’re through the portal, you’re only going to have a few minutes to find them. I don’t have the mana to hold it open for long. I’m using my Mana Sense to lock on to Ali. When the portal opens, it should be close to her location.” Sweat dripped from Silvi’s brow as she put all her concentration into opening a portal to her friends.
Derek rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. How did I end up in this mess? I’ve barely even met these people. Why did I agree to risk my life to save this group? Derek shook his head. He had gotten caught up in the heat of the moment. When Silvi saw him, she had rushed over, frantically explaining what was happening. Before he knew it, he was following her out of the city to save her friends.
Derek struggled with the decision he was about to make. When the system arrived, he was alone, and by relying on nobody but himself, he had become one of the strongest individuals in this new world.
The system had even offered leadership roles to him on multiple occasions. Whether it was to establish a city or create a fighting force to defend other cities from alien invaders, he had refused. On his last refusal to establish his own base, the system had even rewarded him with a title. But, somehow, he ended up in a situation where he was going to risk his life to save a group of people he barely knew.
“Hey! Are you even listening to me?” Silvi yelled at Derek. “Stop daydreaming and get ready!”
Derek jumped. Why is she so commanding? I’m the one risking everything to help her. He shook his head. Whatever… “Yeah, yeah. I’m ready whenever you are.” And he was ready. He just didn’t want to do it. Thinking about what was about to happen, he went over his stats one more time. Status, he thought, and a box of text displaying his information appeared before his eyes.
Status:
Name: Derek Hunt
Level: 79
Class: Bronze Tank
Race: Human
HP: 4750
MP: 2380
Stamina: 5790
Stats:
STR: 275 (343) [412 Solo]
DEX: 210 (241) [294 Solo]
END: 351 (491) [579 Solo]
VIT: 297 (400) [475 Solo]
INT: 177 (203) [247 Solo]
WIS: 170 (195) [238 Solo]
Free Stat Points: 0
Titles:
First of Many: Not only have you obtained your first kill, but you were also among the first on your planet to obtain a kill. +10% to all stats.
I Have Class II: You survived to level 75 and upgraded your class. +35 to all stats.
Lone Wolf III: You feel free when you are alone. You have spent so much time alone that you are better when not in a pack. +10% to all stats when alone.
Meat Shield III: You have taken an incredible amount of damage and yet continue to look for more. You have taken over 100,000 damage and lived. +15% END and +10% VIT.
Monster Bane III: You are not scared to fight the strong. Single-handedly slayed a monster 50 levels or more above your own. +10% STR, +10% END, +10% VIT.
Not Dead Yet: You have taken a fatal wound, yet you are still alive. +25 VIT +15 END.
Rare: You have obtained a Rare class. Now you can live like a one-percenter. +25 to all stats.
Slayer III: You have slain more monsters than you can count. +15 STR +10 END.
Solo King IV: You enjoy the feeling of fighting alone. You stand one versus many. +25 to all stats. +15% to all stats when fighting alone.
Stat Collector: You have acquired over 1000 total stat points. Here, have some more. +25 to all stats.
Unacceptable: You have been asked to build a safe haven for those of your kind but have refused on multiple occasions. +25 to all stats.
Uncommon: Your class is a step above most classes. +15 to all stats.
Upgraded: Somehow, you were able to upgrade an Uncommon class into a Rare class. Though not unheard of, it is still a feat. +5% to all stats.
Skills:
Glaive Mastery (3): You feel more comfortable with glaives and other polearms. Efficiency increased when using Glaives.
Heavy Armor (4): Slow but steady. The armor you wear is like yourself. Heavy armor scales based on your END stat. END stat increased when wearing Heavy Armor.
Heavy Blow (7): You put all your might into a single blow. Attack deals 70% more damage.
Heavy Weapon (5): You choose to wield weapons that most cannot even lift. Efficiency with Heavy Weapons increases by level.
Identify (8): You have looked beyond the surface of many things. You can identify targets at increasingly higher levels.
Impenetrable Skin (7): You have been battered and bruised by all sorts of weapons. Defense increased by 35% when active.
Iron Stomach: There is not much that can harm you when it comes to food. Decreased chance of foodborne illness.
Meditation (10): Become one with yourself. Recovery of HP, MP, and Stamina increased by 100% while meditating.
Wide Sweep (11): You project a sharp edge half-circle up to 15 feet in front of you.
I’ve always wondered how my stats compare to others at my level. I’d like to have a look at Jace’s status one day. Derek sighed as he examined his stats, making sure he was as prepared as possible to go on this poorly planned rescue mission. Which gave him a thought.
“This portal you’re making… it’s safe, right?” he asked. “I mean, I’m pretty durable and have survived my fair share of bad situations, but I would rather not be done in by a faulty portal.” Derek realized what he’d just asked. I didn’t just give myself a death flag, did I? Oh, God, I hope not. Maybe I should just leave.
“Yes, Derek. My portals are perfectly safe. You jump in, and it takes a couple of seconds to travel from the opening to the exit. While you’re inside, you’re in something like a tunnel made of space. Nothing will harm you while you’re traveling. We’ve used my portals dozens of times, and nothing has ever gone wrong,” Silvi explained to Derek through gritted teeth while channeling mana into her spell.
“All you have to worry about is the portal closing before you come back. If that happens, you’ll be stranded with the invaders and will have to make your way back alone. This is why you need to get everyone through the portal before I run out of mana. Remember, I can only hold it open for a few minutes at best,” she explained.
Derek watched and waited for her spell to be ready, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. Finally, with a flash, the portal fully formed. The portal was inky black in the middle with purple wisps of visible mana emanating from the edges.
“That’s it! It’s open!” Silvi shouted. “Remember, you have to be quick. We only get one shot at this.”
“I’m going in.” Derek flicked his wrist and a shiny black, full-faced helmet appeared in his hand. He placed the helmet on his head and took a step forward. Derek may have been hesitant about the plan, but when it was time to do something, he gave it his all.
Derek kicked off the ground and leaped into the portal. Inside was pitch-black nothingness, only the rapidly increasing light at the end of the tunnel was visible in the darkness. Within seconds, he was next to the light. Then the tunnel disappeared, and Derek was through.
The first thing Derek saw when he stepped out of the portal was a broken Allison on her knees, tears running down her face. Derek took a step in her direction and lifted her off the ground. He would have preferred to be gentle, but his time was limited, so without so much as a word, he threw her over his shoulder.
“N-no! Stop! W-what are you doing? Who are you?” Ali’s fists fell on Derek’s back as he moved back to the portal. “No… no, no, no, no… please don’t take me. Kill me.” Obviously, she thought Derek was there to capture her. Who knew what her fate would be if that happened? Her fists pounded harder into Derek’s back armor.
“Shit! Stop hitting me. It’s Derek… Derek Hunt. I’m here to get you back to Silvi.” Derek sighed. I can’t blame her… She must be terrified… Stepping next to the portal, Derek tossed Ali in and turned back around. One down, three… erm… one to go…
As Derek scanned the battlefield, he saw John’s head lying separately on the ground from his body. He could also make out Andrea’s lifeless body sprawled out in a pool of her own blood. A dagger had penetrated her chest and pierced her heart. Without proper endurance and vitality stats, there was no surviving that.
Finally, he saw Gerard. The older warrior was being toyed with by a handful of invaders with swords and shields. Derek gritted his teeth and shot toward the group. The warriors saw Derek approaching and prepared for battle.
Without warning, an arrow landed on Derek’s chest, bouncing off his armor. With support from their archer, two men moved away from Gerard and rushed head-on at Derek.
With his arm held out, Derek summoned his glaive from his storage bracelet and thrust forward. The first warrior never stood a chance as the gleaming black blade on the end of the staff pierced the man’s chest and continued all the way through his back.
The blade brought with it a pulse of blood as Derek ripped it from the heart of the warrior. Another arrow struck Derek as the other warrior made his attack. Derek deflected the arrow with his armored bracer before trapping the warrior’s blade between his steel-covered body and arm.
Before the invader could retreat, Derek kneed him in the gut, causing liquid to spew from his mouth. With the warrior staggered, Derek released the man’s weapon, choked up on his glaive like a javelin, and drove the tip through the back of the invader’s skull.
With both opponents down, Derek scanned the area, looking for the archer. Finally, he saw the glint of an arrow coming his way, along with the female archer standing behind, reaching for another arrow. Derek sidestepped the arrow and picked up a now ownerless sword with his dominant hand.
Derek took aim with his newly acquired shortsword. The archer’s eyes went wide as she recognized what Derek had planned, but it was too late. Derek hurled the shortsword toward the archer, and before the woman could evade it, the hand of the sword crashed into her skull, causing an eruption of flesh and blood.
Derek winced at the gory scene but continued forward towards Gerard. Before any of the invaders could kill or injure Gerard further, Derek made it to his side. “Gerard! The portal.” Derek pointed at the flickering portal. “Run, there’s not much time left. I’ll be right behind you.”
As Gerard broke away from the melee, Derek blocked a sword meant for him. Gerard hobbled toward the portal as fast as his injured leg would let him, occasionally glancing back at the fight.
Derek was chopping enemies down one by one. He split one man at the waist, while another laid legless to his side. The problem with a glaive was that it was a weapon with a long reach, and, as such, it was harder to use in a close melee—such as the one Derek was in.
As Gerard approached the portal, an increasing number of attacks landed on Derek’s armor. Occasionally, a blade would make it through a weak point and leave a cut. Derek continued fighting, but for each invader he cut down, two more appeared.
Derek glanced back to see Gerard taking his first step into the portal. Finally, he thought. The two people who could be rescued were safe, and he could finally leave. Derek looked past his enemies, only to see more people flooding over the hills. Is this an encampment? he wondered, but there was no time.
Kicking one last invader, Derek turned and fled.
The portal shimmered, and a rugged body fell out.
“It’s Gerard!” Ali screamed. “I thought you were dead… like Andrea and…” she trailed off mid-sentence. Ali and John had been together since before the system appeared, so Gerard could only imagine the grief the woman was feeling.
“Where’s… Derek?” Silvi muttered between ragged breaths. “I’m… almost… out… of mana.” Sweat dripped from her brow, and her face was pale. She was using everything she had to keep the portal open as long as possible.
“He’s not too far behind me,” Gerard answered. “Hold on for a little longer.” The last thing he wanted was for his savior to be stranded in an army of invaders.
“Can’t… keep…” Silvi mumbled, then fell to her knees. “I’m out.” The portal in front remained open but was shrinking at a rapid pace.
As Derek hurried to the portal, he could see it shrinking and turning translucent. The damage to him was minuscule and didn’t affect his movement, but he was quickly running out of mana and stamina. Finally, he arrived at the rapidly closing portal and dived in.
As he flew through the tunnel, the light at the end grew dimmer and dimmer. Just as he reached the light, it disappeared, leaving him surrounded by nothing but darkness.
“Ah, fuck me!”
