In-fighting

While Ben had done all the tasks in the house, he had used all free points and waited for his body to improve.

´Status open.´

<2/110>

´I begin to have the status of a beginner adventurer. I can easely toy with the best athletes. How exciting. A high resilience would be very helpful against any fights with level 0s, but wasting my points for a stat like Resilience & Intelligence, which won't increase my survival chance in the calamity are worthless.

Every attack of any higher-leveled monster would kill me, so it is better to increase my other stats. Althrough my strength won't be as lethal as my handgun or my grenades, but I need to slowly accumulate strength for any situation or for when I don't have any grenades or ammunition.

One of the best ways to use strength is climbing. Many monsters are too heavy to climb and so climbing is a good method to surprise certain monsters.

Naturally one needs a good technique to use the stamina, the agility and the strength of the body to climb efficiently. Thankfully, as a child I have quite a history with the climbing sport.´

Just then Ben heard an irritating sound of an insect outside of the house. Just when he wanted to open the door, he heard multiple similar sounds. Having some memories related to big insects, Ben knew of the imminent danger.

He took his bag and went to a window.

As he was opening the window, he heard the destruction of the front door.

As he climbed outside, he could hear the sound a lot louder. He even saw a enormous insect flying over the house.

It didn't seem to be interested in Ben.

Ben didn't wait any further and jumped down. Using his parkour skill, he ran on and between the houses. From one of the houses, he saw what happened.

Ben wanted to slap himself. He forgot that any carcasse would attract monsters. Especially, big and high-leveled ones.

All the monster were flocking to the giant boar, he had killed.

The boar attracted a lot of different small species, which ate together peacefully.

Ben was disappointed that he couldn't just kill all the monster with his rifle.

´I can't not use the opportunity to kill such easy prey. But I also can't go and provoque so many monsters. They may seem small and weak, but their speed and lethality are high.

My handgun won't be a great help for this situation. Should I just throw my explosive grenades and hope that I can kill some of them? No. The monsters surround the carcasse. Even if I throw something, I will only endanger myself. So what do I do?´

Ben soon came to a relatively risky plan. Using the stupidity of low-leveled monsters, he wanted to provoke a fight between different species. This would distract and weaken the monster group. Using grenades, he could surprice and decimate the different monsters.

Like planned, Ben slowly advanced near the carcase of the boar.

Seeing the different species from near, Ben evaluated their danger.

You could class the monster between insect and beast type.

While insects were known for their speed and strength, beast were known for their well-rounded stats.

Beast and insects were relatively hostile in the wilderness, so it was rare sight to see them feast together.

Taking two stones as large as his hand, Ben prepared to throw them. Just when he felt that no insect flew around. Ben threw one stone at a white-furred, ape-like creature with a bright red face. It appeared to be a mix of a Mandrill and a Japanese macaque.

Ben had chosen this target as it seemed to become easily aggressiv.

The ape was hit by the stone. Turning to the direction from where the stone came the ape saw a group of yellow-and-purple wasp-like insects roughly the size of a housecat. They have barbed stingers at the end of their abdomens, and fly using three pairs of wings.

Already being extremly irritated from the sudden change of environment, the ape became enraged from the attack of a weak bug.

With one jump the ape travelled over 20 meter and landed on the bug, completly crushing it into a green stinky fluid.

The camerade of the bug without any fear attacked as a group.

Shortly, the ape teared the second bug into two.

While a fight became more and more intensive on the back-side of the boar, Ben travelled to the other side inconspicuously and caused another fight.

Observing the speed and the fighting style of the different monster, Ben was looking for the perfect moment for a grenade. It was facinating to see nature fight against itself. One of the more usefull monster was the wasp-like monster. After injecting with their barbed stinger a venom, the target is paralysed.

While their speed was monstrous, their weakness was apparent, low strength, low defence and low intelligence.

Ben was somehow afraid of going into a direct confrontation with higher leveled monster. Using the Sarin grenades on the beast as they were still fighting. After a few minutes their weakness was apparent.

The beast began to show typical symptomes of low and moderate exposure:

Runny nose, Watery eyes, Small, pinpoint pupils, Eye pain, Blurred vision, Drooling and excessive sweating, Cough, Chest tightness, Rapid breathing, Diarrhea, Nausea, vomiting, and/or abdominal pain, Increased urination, Confusion, Drowsiness, Weakness, Headache, Slow or fast heart rate, Low or high blood pressure.

While Ben couldn't exactly see the symptomes on the best due to his position and their fast movement, the result of his interference made the insect type monster suddenly have the advantage.

The next moment, Ben used a smoke grenade at his own location and threw a Flash grenades in the middle of the group.

Taking the flashed monster at surprise, Ben shot with his trusty handgun 10 times, finishing with each shot a monster.

Just as he finished the whole magazin, a hoard of insects came at a speed unimaginable for normal insects.

Their speed seemed almost like they instantly speed up to 60km/h.

Ben jumped inside the smoke field, which had been generate in the short time.

The insects didn't wait for the smoke to clear and just threw in.

While the smoke completly took away the visibility, Ben had memorised the way to a very small alleyway and now was slowly crawling to it.

Using the field to your advantage has always been an helpful phrase for adventurer and Ben was like never before applying this lesson.

While Ben crawled, he felt that some insects had flew over him or just a few meter behind him.

Arriving at the allay, the smoke field had began to disappear. Not waiting for them to overtake him, Ben jumped through the window of small house.

Landing without deep injuries, Ben throw a concussion grenade just outside of the house. While Ben tried to find another way out, two insect monster had followed Ben throw the small alleyway. Just as they wanted to flew inside the house the grenade exploded and damaged mostly their thin wings.

Soon another 10 monster flew behind and they entered the house.

Ben hadn't found in the few seconds he had a way out, so he went into the living room and waited for the monster to arrive.

Just when the monster came inside the room, Ben, who was behind an upset table, activated with his thought the Vision of slow motion. Seeing the threats charging inside a room at an acceptable speed, Ben used the remaining fragment and concussion grenades. Taking the few seconds, Ben laid down on the floor in a safety position.

Then an explosion took place with an intensity Ben's body hadn't felt before.

While non of the monster died from the explosion, their damaged body parts showed more than enough that their fighting capability was more than halved.

Ben, who only had a normal table and a Resilience of 10, didn't had it much better.

The highly compressed air slamed into Ben, causing tearing and shattering of tissues, and then squash his lungs and brain, causing bleeding internally and serious concussion.

The explosion had propulsed the table into the wall, while Ben hadn't moved.

While everyone was suffering under the typical effects, Ben tried to stay focused.

Seeing that fragments had only grazed him and that he wasn't in danger. Ben took with all his remaining strength the gun, stood up and shoot.

After 8 shoots Ben had used all amunitions.

Being perprexed what to do, a large insect-like monster crawled in a fast speed to him. Ben felt death looming over him.

Still under the effect of slow motion Ben had rthe time to see what exactly was going to rip him apart.

´It somewhat resembles a devil's flower mantis in appearance and the color scheme is similar to that of a classical Egyptian Pharaoh. It looks like an insectoid sphinx. The majority of the body is golden. It has six limbs, each of which are yellow with a set of purple triangles beneath them. There are four "legs" and two "claws"; at the end of the "legs" are small claws/talons while the "claws" have elaborate wing like extensions at the base and have a pair of large hooks at the ends. It has a large headpiece that has alternating gold and blue lines like those on a Pharaoh's crown. It has a pair of purple eyes, each with a minuscule black pupil, which seemed to show a trace of intelligence and anger.´

Just as the mantis-like creature swung its two claws at him, Ben's fatigue and despair seemed to be fueled into rage and energy. Whithout even thinking Ben dodged the attack by a hair. Followed by throwing his .500 S&W Magnum, which weighted around 2 kg at the eyes of the mantis-like monster.

While Ben jumped to his bag, messages were sent to his mind, but not perceived by his conscience. Trustting his arm into the bag, he took out a grenade and throw it at the monster.

At the impact with its body, the grenade exploded. Again propulsing both away from each other. While Ben was again overcome by the pain, he gave his system the order: ´Add all points into Vitality.´

Feeling a revitalising force through his body, Ben didn't take any longer to stand up and walk over. Seeing the mantis-like monster at the ground still moving, Ben took a random metallic object and furiously attacked the monster.

After a hitting with the object for a considered amount of time, Ben stopped to look what he had in his hand.

While the object was bloody and deformed, it could have been a steel candleholder or a decorative steel object.

Looking around, Ben saw 2 insects on the ground and two fleeing for their lives. Going over to the damaged insects, Ben finished with his blund weapon the lives. As his body was slowly healing, Ben walked to his handgun and put it inside his bag.

Just as he was going to follow the fleeing insects, Ben thought about looking at his status.

´Status open.´

<124/140>

´Well I hate to have a higher Vitality than needed but I didn't have a choice. If I kill the two other I may level up to level 15. I should soon try to leave Sergy.

The car was destroyed. So? Should I just steal a car and say it was an emergency? Would it be to conspicuous? Can I even go back home without being conspicuous?

I am so dirty that people will ask questions? The military should have evacuated and made a new border to stop the advance of monsters.´

It was when Ben had time to think calmly that he realised how dirty he actually was.

His shoes were practicaly only a shell of what it had been. The shoe sole had big holes and it was completely black from the smoke, the dirt and other things.

His T-shirt had been teared appart and seemed to have burned.

His short was the cloth that survived the fights the best. It didn't have any holes and only was dirty and smelled smoky.

Looking around the alleyway he came in, he looked for any monster, helicopter or even peoples. Not seeing anything, Ben sped up in the direction of the boar carcasse. On the way, he saw a trail of blue and green liquid until he found the two insects.

Finishing them off, Ben was disappointed to not level up.

At the carcasse, Ben found other monsters feasting on the beast Ben had poisoned. Disappointed, Ben went back to the house and began to eat again.

While the higher stats made him stronger, using his full-strength also burned more Calories.

He also took a shower and took clothes from the habitants of the house as he had to at least look like he didn't fight any monster to lower the attention he would get.

After doing that, Ben searched for an acceptable weapon for future fights.

After looking through different houses, he found a baseball bat, a steel hammer, a big shovel and other unhelpful things.

Ben ended up abandoning the idea and went back to the insect carcasses in the house.

After considerable inspectation, Ben ripped the fangs away and put them inside his bag.

While insects, where known for being relatively fragile, they often had certain parts, which could be very hard and sharp. The fangs, which looked out of the bag, where one such exemple.