After eliminating the goblins, Kenji shook his head, still grappling with the strange turn of events. The voice chimed again, calm and methodical.
.
["You have acquired a low-tair crossbow. Would you like to add it to your inventory?"]
"Yeah, sure," he replied, his curiosity piqued.
He focused on the crossbow, a swirl of blue energy materialising around it. The crossbow vanished from sight.
The crossbow instantly dissolved into shimmering particles, leaving no trace behind.
Suddenly, a translucent screen appeared before Kenji, prominently displaying the low-air crossbow at the top. Below it, several empty boxes waited to be filled, each labelled with different categories: Weapons, personal description, missions, Armor, Items, and Abilities.
"Inventory interface activated," the voice chimed. "You can manage your items here. Each box represents a potential addition to your arsenal."
The last chubby student around Kenji was scared shitless by Kenji, but he mustered the courage to approach Kenji. Kenji didn't feel any threat, so he allowed it. The chubby boy looked at the system and immediately said, "It's like a video game, an adventure video game."
"I don't understand," Kenji said. Kenji had never played a game so he couldn't understand the concept of a game.
"The only way I can increase my survival chance is with him, telling him anything I can might prove useful towards him, and he will take me along, wait, he is not a student, he definitely doesn't know where the bunker his." The chubby student thought.
The Chubby student also went to pick a crossbow from the dead goblins and placed it inside his inventory. He was not familiar with the system, but his years of gaming and gadgets helped him, and he was able to quickly understand the system.
" I think I understand the situation we are in. It's like the whole world has turned into a video game. If I'm given enough time, I can tell you everything about this system," the chubby boy said with a slight smile.
"Kill monster, get reward. I think the mana stones you got are like a currency, and also maybe used for refinement. I'm sure there are more features than this.
He looked into Kenji's system and instructed him to click the crossbow image.
Kenji stared at the screen. He tapped on the crossbow's image, and a description appeared:
Low-Tair Crossbow
Type: Weapon
Damage: Moderate
Special Ability: None
Kenji felt surprised, a tingle in his mind, a confirmation of his inventory.
"Congratulations on acquiring your first stored item," the voice noted, and another screen image popped out.
" A game," Kenji thought, a mix of disbelief in his voice. "Don't get killed; kill monsters, get rewards."
Kenji couldn't help but feel excitement. As he gazed at the screen, something caught his eye: a button labelled Instructions. He clicked it, and a series of concise, clear steps unfolded before him.
The chubby boy, seeing Kenji, clicked the instruction page and became scared. He planned to use the information to show he had worth so Kenji would protect him, but now there is an instruction page for him to get information.
"Shit, I have no choice but to use the bunker as my leverage.
The chubby boy tried to talk, but Kenji paid no attention.
"Okay, this is straightforward," Kenji muttered, absorbing the information quickly. The instructions detailed how to equip items and manage inventory effectively. The surroundings were still clear, no one on site, but he could hear the loud noise coming from below.
Kenji moved close to the dead archer's quiver. He approached and carefully grabbed the quiver.
The screen flickered again, showing:
Archer's Quiver
Type: Item
Capacity: 17 bolts
Special Ability: None
"This could be useful," he said.
"Store", Kenji said; immediately, the item vanished like the first one, appearing in his inventory.
Kenji grabbed the other quiver, its leather worn but sturdy. He slipped it around his waist, feeling a rush of readiness as it rested comfortably against his hip. The weight of the quiver sparked a thrill within him, igniting a sense of purpose. He didn't feel like a rabbit running away from the pack of wolves. The crossbow was a fang for Kenji to bite back, increasing his survival odds.
No goblins were around, but chaos erupted from below; the screams of students echoed from the first floor. Kenji took a deep breath, his expression calm and plain, long hair falling over his left eye. He looked at his last companion, who seemed frightened, and took several steps back.
The last step he took made him step on a pool of blood, looking back and seeing the blood of the student Kenji killed.
Looking back at Kenji, his companion felt a wave of fear, thinking he might be next.
"We should get to the bunker first before worrying about the system," he said, voice trembling. "You don't know where it is, do you? I can guide you." Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
"We?" Kenji echoed in his mind, almost scoffing. "Whatever. I still need to know where the bunker is, so he is useful," he thought.
Kenji walked closer to the boy.
"That might have been you," Kenji said, moving quickly to the stairway just around the corner.
The chubby boy was no fool; he knew the truth. He vividly remembered the ill student's hands reaching for him just as the archer goblins prepared to shoot.
He thought deeply, hesitating momentarily, but with a deep breath, he followed Kenji. Kenji was like his one-way ticket to surviving this hellhole.
As they descended the stairs, they spotted two goblins on the ground floor: an archer goblin and a close-combat goblin wielding a short, jagged blade. The goblins were moving downward; they didn't notice Kenji and the chubby boy.
Kenji took advantage of their distraction and moved in closer while his companion watched at the door they had used to enter. Immediately, Kenji fired an arrow from the crossbow, striking the archer goblin on his back of his head. He moved closer, ready to engage the second goblin.
["Congratulations, you have killed the archer goblin and earned three mana stones,"] the system said again.
The second goblin was startled and utterly unprepared for an attack. It had no time to react before Kenji struck him with the crossbow on his head.
He fell to the ground, knocked out. The crossbow broke from that attack, and Kenji immediately replaced his weapon with the unconscious goblin. He stabbed the goblin, instantly killing it.
["Congratulations, you have killed the archer goblin and earned three mana stones."].
Grabbing the archer's bow as his next tool, he looted everything he could find.
As Kenji moved away from the stairway, he could clearly see the ground floor. Through the open stairway door, chaos erupted around him. Students were fleeing from goblins, gasping for survival. He pressed on, striking down goblins chasing students or preparing to attack him and looting the goblins he could. Each swift movement helped clear a path through the turmoil.
A female student fell to the ground while fleeing from a goblin. Turning back, she saw the creature eyeing her with a twisted excitement, its jagged teeth bared in a sinister grin. Fear gripped her.
"Save me!" she cried, but no one seemed to hear or pay attention.
As the goblin drew closer, its foul, rotten odour filled the air, a disgusting mix of decay and sweat that made her stomach churn. Its mottled, slimy skin and bloodthirsty, beady eyes sent a shiver down her spine. Noticing that no one was coming to help, she began to cry, closing her eyes tightly as the goblin approached, ready to strike.
She felt utterly alone and terrified at that moment, bracing herself for the worst.
Just as the goblin was about to strike, an arrow shot through the air, hitting the goblin in the head from the side. It fell to the ground with a thud. The female student, still trembling, didn't notice at first. When she finally opened her eyes, she was surprised to see the goblin's lifeless body beside her instead of her own.
Looking up, she spotted a young man dashing forward with a crossbow, ready for the next threat. Relief flooded through her as she recognised he was there to help, a hero coming to save her.
She smiled as he approached her, stretching her hand for him to assist her in getting up. Kenji didn't even notice; he was too focused on looting the goblin's corpse, hastily pocketing its meager treasures. With adrenaline pumping, he dashed forward, intent on reaching safety, oblivious to the chaos still swirling around them, protecting the chubby student.
"Hey! Wait!" she called after him, frustration mingling with concern. But Kenji was already sprinting ahead, his mind racing with thoughts of surviving,
It might have looked like Kenji was helping the student, but that couldn't be further from the truth. He had no intention of saving anyone; he was merely taking advantage of the chaos. The goblins were distracted, chasing after the screaming students; their focus was elsewhere. That made it easier for him to move, to strike, to kill.
To the others, he might have looked like a savior, but in reality, he was only reaping the rewards of their misfortune.
"The saying was true," the chubby boy thought, trembling. "Another person's misfortune can really become someone else's gold."
Another advantage of the chaos was that Kenji had already killed a student from Rose High, right in front of another. He couldn't silence the witness now; the priority was reaching the bunker alive. His plan was simple: use the chubby boy to get inside and stay there until things settled.
Even if the boy later turned against him, it didn't matter. The number of students he had "helped" was increasing; if one or two of them survived, they'd serve as living shields, a narrative of his supposed heroism. And if the chubby boy tried to expose him, that same heroic image would turn the story in his favor.
In this word image was very powerful