Level 3

After scavenging supplies from the mini-mart, the two survivors embarked on their journey once more. Alex looked back upon his truck for the last time with a solemn expression. He did not own it for long, but he still had fond memories of the vehicle. With a heavy sigh, he said goodbye internally and pushed forward on his quest for survival.

The two cautiously strode down the seemingly abandoned street. Alex heard a disturbance that was not far from his position, and he immediately became alert. Alex unslung the gym bag from around his shoulders and handed it to Emily.

"You stay here. I'll go check it out!"

Emily nodded and hid behind one of the abandoned vehicles in the street. She stayed alert as Alex cautiously approached the sound of disturbance. As he neared by, he could hear voices.

"You dumb bitch!"

"You nearly got us killed!"

"I swear I didn't mean to!"

Then there was a distinctive sound of a slap and the cry of a woman. Alex felt as if his soul was on fire,

'did the morals of humanity just fly out the window because of an apocalypse?'

Thinking about the situation, he couldn't just leave it alone. He appeared into the alleyway where a group of three guys was surrounding a woman who appeared in her 30s. She was wearing a skimpy outfit and had excessive makeup on, which was now overrun with tears. Judging by her attire, Alex figured she was probably a stripper.

The men were not necessarily large but were heavily tattooed with hate symbols and had shaved heads. By the looks of it, they were probably skinheads. They were dressed in wife beaters, jeans, and combat boots. Alex had a rough estimation as to what the situation was. Nevertheless, he felt obligated to help the poor woman.

Alex gripped his ax tightly as he approached the men and roared at them with fury.

"Knock it off!"

The three men turned around to see a 19-year-old kid in torn and blood-stained clothes carrying a stone ax marred with gore. Despite Alex's age, there was an air of intimidation about him. The men couldn't help but shiver at the thought of what this kid had done. Nevertheless, there were three of them, and they didn't take kindly to someone cutting into their business.

"Who the fuck are you?" the largest of the trio asked in an agitated manner.

Alex smirked as he stared down at the three men "Just some asshole who couldn't leave well enough alone."

Alex was delighted internally. He always wanted to use that phrase while acting tough. Now he finally got a chance to do so.

"Mind your own business, kid; this has got nothing to do with you!"

the three men started crowding Alex while clenching their fists. They were itching for a fight, and this kid showed up at the right time. Still, they had to be wary about the ax in his hands.

"Why don't you drop that ax, and we handle this like men?" one of the thugs stated in a provoking tone.

Alex grinned and tossed the ax to the side. "I thought you'd never ask."

Alex immediately activated charge and rapidly rushed towards the largest guy, directly slamming his knee into the man's groin. He swiftly followed up with a verticle elbow to the back of the head, instantly KOing the man.

Though Alex was not experienced in fighting multiple attackers, he still knew how to deal with the situation.

The other two men immediately reacted, seeing their boss get knocked out and swung their fists at Alex at the same time. Alex stepped back out of the way and pushed kicked one of the men into the wall. While rapidly following up with a jab and a cross towards the remainder.

The man Struggled to deal with Alex's striking and thus attempted to take him down with a tackle. Though Alex saw it coming a mile away and sprawled, eventually getting behind the man and taking his back, putting him into a rear-naked choke. Within seconds the man went unconscious.

Finally, the man who Alex kicked into the wall got up and attacked Alex once more. The two swung it out with Alex adeptly evading his attacks while landing some significant strikes of his own. Alex grabbed the man into the clinch and kneed him in the head three times, putting him to sleep.

The fight didn't last long; after all, Alex was a trained fighter, and these men were mere street thugs. He looked over to the woman who lay on the ground and offered a helping hand; however, she slapped it away to his surprise.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Alex was confused; he just helped this woman out of a dangerous situation; why was she acting this way?

"I'm sorry? I don't understand."

the woman berated Alex further

"It's not like they were going to hurt me; those men were protecting me. Now they're going to be furious!"

Alex furrowed his brows and thought to himself.

'Protecting you? Didn't one of them backhand you? What the hell is your problem, you ungrateful bitch!?!'

Never the less he choked back the words and turned his back on the woman picking up his ax as he did so.

"Fine, be that way,"

he said as he walked away from the scene of the violent assault and returned to Emily. He would never understand how women think.

Emily greeted Alex upon arrival, "Are you okay? I thought I heard a struggle?"

Alex shrugged his shoulders. "Just some thugs, nothing I couldn't handle."

Emily smiled fervently and thought to herself, 'he really is reliable.'

Alex had already started walking down the street as he hollered to Emily, "Hurry up!"

She quickly caught up to Alex, and the two went on their way.

After traveling down the street for a while, Alex and Emily came across a small squad of Goblins. They mostly appeared to be lightly equipped, much like the Goblins he came across in the dormitory. However, there was one exception. There seemed to be a Goblin in charge who wore tattered robes and carried a staff made of bones. Adorned atop his head was a headdress of feathers and bones.

Alex didn't think much of it; he figured the robed Goblin was merely the group leader and decided to take him out first. His plan was simple. He would hug the line of cars and hide behind them as he approached the group. Then ambush them when he was close enough.

"I'm going to sneak up on them and take them out. Keep an eye on our surroundings in case more of them show up."

Emily nodded and grabbed his hand as Alex turned away. "Be careful"

Alex chuckled lightly before approaching the Goblin squad. As he made his way towards the group of Goblins, he could hear them quarrel. However, Alex couldn't understand them; it became increasingly apparent that they had their own language. Alex pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he reached engagement distance.

Alex swiftly popped out from behind his cover and charged the Goblin in charge, swinging his stone ax with all his might towards its skull. Though it collided, it didn't kill it immediately upon impact, which shocked Alex. The robed Goblin was knocked down to the floor and dazed, though; it showed signs of getting up.

Taking the initiative, Alex pounced on top of the robed Goblin and swung his ax towards its head once more before the little monster's skull split apart. It didn't even have time to respond.

[You have slain a Goblin Shaman and gain 46 xp]

[Level Up! You are now Level 3!]

Alex did not have time to relish his advancement as the other three Goblins rushed towards him with their weapons in hand. Alex stood up and instantly kicked the closest one in the head, sending it to the ground. He followed up with a vertical strike to the next one's head, killing it on the spot. The familiar messages flashed across his peripheral

[You have slain a Goblin and gain 23 xp]

[Your skill in 1H Axes has increased to 3]

The remaining 2 Goblins attacked Alex simultaneously. One thrust his spear towards Alex's abdomen; the other attempted to attack his shin with its hammer. Alex parried the spear thrust by using his forearm to push the shaft away from himself and used his spare hand to grab ahold of the Goblin's neck. Lifting it into the Air and hurling it towards the other one who attempted to smack his shin.

The two goblins collided, and Alex used this moment to smash their skulls with his ax. Blood and grey matter spilled all over the street asphalt, leaving a pile of fresh Goblin corpses. Alex smiled intensely after his victory. He was beginning to get used to the feeling of killing monsters.

Emily rushed over to check on him, but aside from the fresh blood of the goblins splattered on his clothes, there were no signs of injury. She sighed heavily

"Thank god you're alright!"

Alex grinned as he took a victory pose.

"It's just a few Goblins. There's no need to be so worried!"

Emily frowned; she had seen what those Goblins were capable of doing when in large numbers. She began to scold him.

"You got lucky and caught them off guard; you shouldn't be so reckless in the future!"

Alex sighed and thought back to the enormous swarm of Goblins he witnessed earlier and nodded.

"You're right. I'll be more careful from now on."

Emily smiled and began chatting with him casually. However, he didn't take notice. Instead, he opened up his level-up screen and began to ponder as to how he would spend his points. The familiar screen appeared before him.

Name: Alexander Smith

Class: None

Title: None

Deity: None

Hitpoints: 150/150

Stamina: 140/140

Attribute Points [2] Skill Points [1]

Attributes: Skills: Proficiencies:

Strength: 15 [+][-] Charge: Level 1 [+][-] 1H Axes: 3

Dexterity: 14 [+][-] Suffer Agony: Level 1 [+][-] Unarmed: 10

Constitution: 15 [+][-] Dual Wielding: 3

Intelligence: 12 [+][-]

Wisdom: 8 [+][-]

Charisma: 8 [+][-]

He decided to put an extra point into Strength and Dexterity and leave his skill point for later. He didn't have the time right now to examine all of the skills presently available to him. After clicking accept, he could feel a rush of energy overtake his body; after it was settled, he noticed his body appeared stronger and faster than before. He grinned like a child on Christmas.

'I wonder how powerful I will be when all of my attributes reach 20!'

He couldn't wait until he was stronger. With this system he and Emily appeared to possess, he would surpass his human limits. He began to wonder if everyone had this system, or just he and Emily. If everyone had it, then maybe humanity had hope for survival after all.