Chapter 23  - Compromise

 The monsters tried to surround and attack Jason from all angles, but that didn't work. When he was too busy dealing with the ones on the ground, he just fired Mana Arrows at the ones flying, and that finished the job.

 With a full horizontal swing, he beheaded all the ones that approached from the sides. As expected of bird brains… they died like dogs without accomplishing anything… The fact that Jason was at a higher level and also had extra points clearly affected that.

"Their claws look like they could be useful, but I can't carry them now…" Jason thought once the battle was over. I should focus on finding my home, making some defensive equipment, and fighting against other bosses."

 Jason didn't want to interact with other survivors, so he moved toward the next road and began to cross that piece of the city like that. Along the way, he found a bunch of places that looked far worse than the other area where he took a nap. While the weird bird monsters couldn't crash down houses, they certainly were good at killing humans and leaving their bodies behind in a state that was hard to look at for more than a couple of seconds.

"Can't a guy just have some fun slaying monsters like the black swordsman and the dragon slayer? Why does everything have to be bloody and filled with carnage?" Jason thought, wondering if some part of his brain had fried up.

 In any case, it seemed that the group of monsters he dealt with was the only one in the area. He stopped hearing the sound of bullets being fired… Jason wondered how a spell could work with a gun… then again, axes and spears weren't supposed to fire magic as well, and he was doing that.

 Jason wasted some time looking for a bike or a pickup to use, but he didn't find any that hadn't exploded. To make things more bothersome, he found footprints on the grass of those creatures. A large number of them were heading south, and there were no footprints of them coming in that direction.

"I guess they are looking for more food ahead… their base must be East of here," Jason thought while looking around, and then he found another large forest in that direction. "At least I will have the chance to master the ax the next time… changing weapons often is a pain, but the bonuses in parameters and the skills aren't something that I can ignore."

 In the end, Jason sped up again since he wanted to reach his home before sunset, and he only had four hours for that. The odds were against him, though… since he had to run four hours before finding another piece of the city, and while the residential area was there, his home wasn't; as if things weren't bad enough, he found another obstacle.

"What the fuck…" Jason muttered.

In the aftermath of the destruction, the once-peaceful residential area was now in ruins. Buildings stood in disarray, reduced to crumbling facades and heaps of rubble. The air was thick with the acrid scent of smoke, a constant reminder of the devastation that had unfolded. Once teeming with life, the desolate streets now echoed with the eerie silence of abandonment.

Within this desolation, a group of formidable orcs took their place. Their muscular frames towered over the wreckage, their rough, greenish skin bearing the scars of countless battles. Their presence was imposing, their rugged armor adorned with primal symbols that spoke of their ferocity. Each orc wielded a weapon, its edges jagged and gleaming, reflecting the pale sunlight that filtered through the haze.

Their growls reverberated through the shattered landscape, a chorus of raw power and primal brutality. They stomped their heavy boots on the cracked pavement, creating an ominous rhythm that seemed to shake the very ground beneath them. 

 On the other side of the piece of the city, Jason could see the vile tooth itching to fight the beasts, but it was clear who had the upperhand there. Jason was too far away to check the parameters of the orcs. Still, even without confirming those, anyone with weapons would have the upperhand… it was a pity that they were too big for human hands. It's too thick as well.

"I can't imagine a single survivor there if those things have been clashing against each other," Jason thought. "At least this confirms that the monsters from different species aren't allies."

 In any case, that was too much for humans. Where the hell are the slimes? Humans won't level up if the monsters that show up in the middle of that mess are level fifteen trolls, at least. Even people with weapons would have a hard time. Jason saw some bodies of people who worked in security, and they had guns with them. They were basically as strong as crossbows that fire stones now.

 In any case, the Viletooth were on the east side, and the orcs on the right side… Jason couldn't pass through that area while they were fighting. He might take his time decreasing their numbers and leveling up, but he will have to give up on mastering the axe and finding his home before nightfall.

"I can't have my cake and eat it too…" Jason thought and then transformed his weapon into a bow.