William opened his inventory and equipped the Leather Bracers, feeling them materialize on his forearms with a faint shimmer. Then he crushed the skill book, absorbing the knowledge directly into his mind.
[YOU HAVE LEARNED: QUICK STRIKE]
[RANK: UNCOMMON]
[COST: 10 MP]
[EFFECT: Your next attack is 150% faster and deals 200% damage]
[COOLDOWN: 8 seconds]
He quickly allocated his stat points—twenty into Strength, ten into Agility, five into Vitality. His body thrummed with newfound power.
[STRENGTH: 24 → 44]
[AGILITY: 22 → 32]
[VITALITY: 18 → 23]
[HP: 180/180 → 230/230]
"Mrs. Iven," William said, not looking at her. "Barricade your door. Don't open it for anyone. Stay quiet."
"But William—"
"I can't protect you," he said bluntly. "Not yet. If you follow me, you'll die. Your best chance is to hide and wait for help."
It was harsh, but it was true. In Infinite Descent, escort missions were suicide for undergeared players. Right now, he needed to level up, get stronger, and understand this new world. Dragging along someone with no combat ability would only get them both killed.
Without waiting for her response, William moved toward the fire escape at the end of the hall. Another roar shook the building—closer now, coming from below. Whatever that Flesh Render was doing, it was moving up.
He pushed open the window to the fire escape and climbed out into the chaos of the new world.
The streets of Seattle were unrecognizable. Purple rifts hung in the sky like wounds in reality, each one spewing monsters into the city. Buildings burned. Cars lay overturned. Bodies littered the pavement, some human, some not.
And everywhere, there were monsters.
[Corrupted Rat - Level 2]
[Lesser Imp - Level 3]
[Void Spawn - Level 4]
[Razor Hound - Level 5]
William's enhanced vision picked up their health bars, levels, and aggro ranges. It was overwhelming, dozens of monsters within sight, hunting through the streets like they owned the place now.
Because they did.
A scream drew his attention to the street below. A man was running from three Lesser Imps, stumbling over debris. William watched dispassionately as the man tripped and the imps pounced.
He could save him. Maybe.
But should he?
The thought disturbed him, but William forced himself to think logically. That man had no gear, probably a low-level talent, and no understanding of the system. Saving him meant risking his own life for someone who would likely die anyway in the next encounter.
No. Right now, William needed to focus on himself. Get stronger. Learn the lay of the land. Once he had real power, then he could think about saving people.
The fire escape groaned beneath him as he descended. When he reached the second-floor platform, he could see into the building through a broken window.
The Flesh Render was there, its massive form illuminated by emergency lights. It was tearing through apartment doors like paper, hunting for survivors.
[Flesh Render - Level 15]
[HP: 2,500/2,500]
[ELITE MONSTER]
William gritted his teeth. It's still too strong. He needed more levels, better gear. Fighting that thing now would be suicide, multiplier system or not.
A chittering sound made him freeze.
Three Corrupted Rats were climbing up the fire escape toward him, their claws scraping against metal. They had picked up his scent.
[Corrupted Rat - Level 2] x3
William smiled. Perfect.
He activated Quick Strike, feeling his MP drain as power flooded his muscles. The first rat leaped at him. William's bat moved in a blur, too fast for the creature to dodge.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[QUICK STRIKE ACTIVATED!]
[DAMAGE: 48]
The rat exploded into dissolving pixels, dead in one shot.
[YOU HAVE SLAIN: CORRUPTED RAT - LEVEL 2]
[10,000× BONUS REWARDS ACTIVATED!]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: CORRUPTED FANG ×10,000]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: RAT PELT ×10,000]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: BRONZE COINS ×100,000]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 200,000]
[LEVEL UP!]
The second rat lunged. William sidestepped with his enhanced Agility and brought the bat down on its spine.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[DAMAGE: 28]
[CORRUPTED RAT HP: 52/80]
Another swing finished it.
[YOU HAVE SLAIN: CORRUPTED RAT - LEVEL 2]
[10,000× BONUS REWARDS ACTIVATED!]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: SKILL BOOK - DODGE ROLL (COMMON)]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 200,000]
[LEVEL UP!]
The third rat tried to flee, but William was faster now. He caught it on the stairs and crushed its skull.
[YOU HAVE SLAIN: CORRUPTED RAT - LEVEL 2]
[10,000× BONUS REWARDS ACTIVATED!]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: UNCOMMON ITEM - STEEL SHORTSWORD]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 200,000]
[LEVEL UP!]
[YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 11!]
William grinned as he absorbed the Dodge Roll skill book and equipped the shortsword. The weapon felt perfectly balanced in his hand, infinitely better than the baseball bat.
[STEEL SHORTSWORD]
[DAMAGE: 25-32]
[DURABILITY: 80/80]
[QUALITY: UNCOMMON]
[EFFECT: +5 Agility]
His Agility jumped to 37. He felt lighter, faster, more responsive.
A massive crash from inside the building made the entire structure shake. Through the window, William saw the Flesh Render tear through a support wall. Cracks spider-webbed across the ceiling.
The building was coming down.
William didn't hesitate. He jumped from the second-floor fire escape, using his enhanced Vitality to absorb the landing. He hit the ground hard but rolled with it, coming up in a sprint.
Behind him, his apartment building groaned like a dying giant. The Flesh Render's roars intensified as the structure began to collapse. William ran, not looking back, as concrete and steel crashed down where he'd been standing seconds before.
Dust and debris exploded outward. Screams cut short as the building pancaked onto itself.
Mrs. Iven. His neighbors. Everyone who'd been hiding in their apartments.
Gone.
William forced the thought away. He couldn't afford guilt. Not now. In Infinite Descent, players who hesitated died. The same applied here.
He ducked into an alley, catching his breath and checking his status.
[WILLIAM CROSS]
[LEVEL: 11]
[HP: 280/280]
[MP: 150/150]
[STRENGTH: 44]
[AGILITY: 37]
[VITALITY: 23]
[INTELLIGENCE: 12]
[UNSPENT STAT POINTS: 15]
[SKILLS: QUICK STRIKE (UNCOMMON), DODGE ROLL (COMMON)]
[BRONZE COINS: 500,000]
Half a million bronze coins. In the game, that would take weeks of grinding to earn. Here, he had done it in minutes.
The sound of combat echoed from the street ahead. William crept to the alley's edge and peered out.
A group of five people were fighting a Razor Hound, a wolf-like monster covered in blade-like protrusions. They were losing badly. One man was already down, bleeding out. The others were panicking, swinging pipes and improvised weapons with no coordination.
[Razor Hound - Level 5]
[HP: 380/450]
One of the defenders, a young woman in a business suit, screamed as the hound's claws raked across her shoulder.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[HP: 12/60]
She stumbled back, about to be finished off.
William watched for a moment, thinking. The Razor Hound was wounded. Five versus one, and they had barely done 70 damage. They had no idea what they were doing.
But if he helped...
[ESTIMATED EXPERIENCE GAIN: 500,000 (50 × 10,000)]
[ESTIMATED LEVEL UP: +2 LEVELS]
That decided it.
William burst from the alley, his shortsword gleaming. The Razor Hound's head snapped toward him, aggro shifting instantly.
[AGGRO ACQUIRED]
The beast lunged, blades extended. William activated Dodge Roll, his body moving on instinct. He tumbled under the attack, coming up inside the creature's guard.
Quick Strike.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[QUICK STRIKE ACTIVATED!]
[DAMAGE: 96]
[RAZOR HOUND HP: 284/450]
The hound howled and spun, but William was already moving. His enhanced Agility made him a blur. He ducked under a swipe, rolled past a bite, and drove his sword into the creature's flank.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[DAMAGE: 38]
[RAZOR HOUND HP: 246/450]
The five survivors watched in shock as William systematically dismantled the monster. Every movement was precise and efficient as though he had done this before. This wasn't his first time fighting a Razor Hound, he had killed thousands of them in the game. He knew every attack pattern and every weakness.
Thirty seconds later, the hound collapsed.
[YOU HAVE SLAIN: RAZOR HOUND - LEVEL 5]
[10,000× BONUS REWARDS ACTIVATED!]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: RAZOR FANG ×10,000]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: BLADE WOLF PELT ×10,000]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: BRONZE COINS ×300,000]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: RARE ITEM - RING OF SWIFT STRIKES]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: SKILL BOOK - POWER SLASH (RARE)]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 500,000]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 13!]
Golden light washed over William as he equipped the ring and absorbed the skill book.
[RING OF SWIFT STRIKES]
[EFFECT: +10% Attack Speed, +8 Agility]
[QUALITY: RARE]
[POWER SLASH]
[RANK: RARE]
[COST: 25 MP]
[EFFECT: Unleash a devastating slash dealing 350% weapon damage]
[COOLDOWN: 15 seconds]
His Agility hit 45. William felt like he could move faster than he could think.
The five survivors stared at him like he was some kind of god.
"Thank you," the woman in the business suit gasped. "You saved us. We thought—"
"You're welcome," William said curtly. "What are your talents?"
They exchanged confused glances.
"Our... talents?" a man in a security guard uniform asked.
William sighed. They didn't even know how the system worked.
"When the merge happened, you should have received a talent. A special ability. Check your status screens."
They fumbled through their menus, clearly struggling with the interface. After a moment, the security guard spoke up.
"I have... Enhanced Durability? Rank C?"
"Increased Stamina, Rank D," another said.
Common talents. Low ranks. These people would be lucky to survive the week.
"Wait," the woman said. "You're leaving? Can't you help us? You're obviously strong—"
"No," William said flatly. "I have my own path. Good luck."
He turned and walked away, ignoring their protests. Cold? Maybe. But in Infinite Descent, parties shared experience. Every kill he made with them would give him less. Every moment he spent protecting them was time not spent leveling.
And right now, levels were everything.
William checked his map, yes, the system had given him a mini-map just like the game. Red dots indicated monsters. Blue dots were other players. And in the distance, he could see golden markers.
Quest locations.
One was particularly close, less than five blocks away. William's heart raced. In Infinite Descent, early quests gave incredible rewards. Starter gear, skill books, even talent upgrades.
He broke into a run, heading toward the golden marker.
The streets were a warzone. He passed players fighting for their lives, monsters feasting on corpses, buildings that were little more than rubble. The lucky ones had awakened combat talents. The unlucky ones became experience points for the creatures that hunted them.
William killed everything in his path. A Level 3 Imp gave him another 300,000 experience. Two Level 4 Void Spawns pushed him to Level 14. A Level 6 Corrupted Bear that had cornered a family netted him a Legendary helmet and two more levels.
[YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 16!]
[HP: 400/400]
[MP: 200/200]
His power was growing exponentially. Each kill made him stronger. Each level made the next fight easier.
The golden marker led him to what used to be a shopping mall. Now, it was a dungeon entrance—a swirling purple portal flanked by obsidian pillars covered in glowing runes.
[DUNGEON DISCOVERED: THE FORSAKEN MALL]
[RECOMMENDED LEVEL: 10-15]
[DIFFICULTY: NORMAL]
[QUEST AVAILABLE]
William's grin widened. Dungeons meant bosses. Bosses meant better loot. And with his 10,000× multiplier...
He stepped through the portal, and the world shifted.
The mall's interior had transformed into something from a nightmare. The ceiling dripped with black ichor. The stores were replaced by monster nests. And shambling through the corridors were dozens of undead creatures.
[Zombie Shopper - Level 12] x15
[Corrupted Security Guard - Level 13] x8
[Dungeon Boss: The Mall Walker - Level 20]
A notification appeared:
[QUEST: CLEAR THE FORSAKEN MALL]
[OBJECTIVE: Defeat The Mall Walker]
[REWARD: Epic Equipment Chest, 5,000,000 Experience, Talent Evolution Token]
[ACCEPT?]
William didn't hesitate.
[QUEST ACCEPTED]
He drew his shortsword and charged into the horde of zombies.
It was time to grind.