Erik's Arsenal

Just one minute had passed since both Erik and Jay were sent to the ground. While Jay was still unconscious, Erik and Scarlet were chasing after the mutant that was flying further into the city.

"Didn't I tell you to leave it to me?" Erik reprimanded Scarlet.

"How could I after your sorry performance? I had high hopes, you know?" she retorted.

"If you had fought other monsters and run from the Western Woods all the way to the Rookie Dorms, you would surely be exhausted, too!"

"Western Woods? How did you know about this thing then?"

"Someone had sent me some footage of this beast. Considering the timing and the description, we were certain that it was the thing we had to defeat for our quest." Erik answered. "Anyway, I'll leave the people to you. I'm going after it now."

"Wait! Do you even have a plan?!"

Erik did not respond and instead picked up his pace. The monster in front of him did not pay him any attention and focused on causing havoc. It shattered windows, tore down buildings and lamps, and terrorized the people with its deafening roar.

Then, Erik clenched his axe and threw it at the mutant. And just like he had anticipated, the mutant turned around to dodge the flying axe. This allowed Erik to sneak up on it from another angle. Erik formed a fist and launched a barrage of punches. The mutant was caught off guard and tried to slap Erik away as if he were an annoying fly.

"That was close..." Erik muttered between heavy breaths after he jumped away. He glanced at the monster that was clenching its abdomen—the same spot Erik had punched multiple times. "So you're finally feeling it, huh?"

The mutant growled before it rushed toward Erik. It attempted to punch him, but Erik simply jumped up, and after landing on its arm, he ran upward, landing a kick on its face. It screeched loudly and staggered.

Following that, Erik went after his axe, which was stuck in a nearby building. However, the mutant would not let go that easily. It immediately caught up to him and tried to tear him apart with its sharp claws, which Erik dodged by jumping up once more.

"Ugh!" Erik moaned painfully when he was hit by its tail while being in the air. He was sent flying into a building in the opposite direction from his axe.

The creature slowly walked toward Erik and raised its fist. However, just before it could throw the punch, Scarlet appeared and landed a deep cut on its back.

"Catch it!" she shouted as she swung Erik's axe over to him, leaving her back wide open.

Growling furiously, the monster directed its hostility toward Scarlet and was about to squash her—but it stopped.

"Hm? Did it..." Scarlet murmured pensively, surprised that the monster halted. If it had continued, its hand would have suffered the same fate as its tail.

Still, despite avoiding one bad fate, it did not mean it avoided the other one. Grasping that chance, Erik—with his axe in his hands—closed in on the monster and instantly swung his axe vertically. The monster cried in agony as it barely dodged the finishing blow and lost its left arm instead.

"Wow... That cut was smooth." Scarlet remarked with widened eyes. However, it was then that she finally recalled something.

[Exclusive Skill: Follow Up (Stage 2)
Until the opponent dies or gets defeated, every successful hit will increase the dealt damage by an additional 10%.]

"No wonder, I guess." she snorted. When Scarlet had taken a look at both Erik and Jay's status windows last night, she managed to learn about their skills as well.

Erik readied his stance once more, but the monster immediately adjusted and flew to the sky again.

"Is it running away?" Erik wondered aloud, sharpening his gaze in frustration. But just a moment later, Erik lowered his axe, appearing unusually calm.

"What are you doing?" Scarlet asked dryly, her arms crossed. "Finally giving up?"

"No. Not at all." Erik chuckled as he raised his hand, pointing with his palm to the street in front of them. "Just preparing for the finisher."

Scarlet squinted her eyes, trying to see what Erik was seeing—and it did not take long until she confirmed a familiar silhouette heading their way.

"I leave the rest to you!" Erik shouted with a wide smile as his comrade, Jay, was running toward them with an equally wide, confident smile.

Once Jay was in clear sight, Erik and Jay's bodies were engulfed in an orange glowing layer. And whereas Erik appeared like he was drained, Jay seemed like he was overflowing with power. Then, Jay jumped onto Erik's axe, which he held like a springboard.

"You only have 30 seconds." Erik said, to which Jay nodded. He then launched Jay up in the air by swinging his axe.

Erik fell backward and heaved a sigh.

"Was that a buff?" Scarlet asked.

"Yeah... It's a Stage 2 buff. It's the only magic spell I have." Erik answered with an exhausted smile.

"Even though you're clearly a vanguard, you've learned supporting magic?" Scarlet remarked, flabbergasted.

"It's a long story..." Erik chuckled wryly.

He looked up as Jay was finally on eye level with the beast. The buff he had applied to Jay would boost his physical stats by an additional 25%, but only for a limited time. A buff would only last twice the amount of mana one possessed in seconds—in other words, since Erik's buff only lasted for 30 seconds, his mana stat was 15.

However, Jay used that short amount of time efficiently. He launched a kick at the surprised monster and followed up by hammering both of his fists down on the arm that the monster raised to defend itself. Nonetheless, the mutant was pushed down from the sky and landed on the ground again.

"You still have 20 seconds!" Erik reminded Jay from afar.

The monster swung its fist quickly, but Jay was able to dodge. He countered by closing in on it and landing a heavy punch to its chest. It took a step back from the impact, but it also used its tail like a whip to hit Jay.

"Ugh!" he groaned as he was slapped despite blocking the attack.

Afterward, it attempted to strike back once more. However, this time, Erik and Scarlet entered its path with their weapons readied. They circled around him, making it spin on its heels.

Amidst that, Jay appeared again and kicked its back twice before the monster's tail captured him and slammed him to the ground.

"Jay! 5 seconds!" Erik shouted as he jumped with his axe raised.

Meanwhile, Jay stood up with his body still wrapped by its tail. With a hazy vision, he looked at the still deformed tail. While counting down the last remaining seconds, Jay raised his foot and, with all his strength, stomped on the tail.

It arched its back as it screeched—and then it fell. All its strength was leaving its body. The creature that caused destruction the city of the Tutorial Section had never seen before was now lying on its back, unable to move. It could only growl weakly.

"And that's it." Erik declared as he was about to land on the monster. He swung his axe down on it, splitting its head open.

[Congratulations! You have cleared your seventh quest!]
[You have been given 1 Status Point. Do you wish to allocate it to one of your stats?]

"Good job, Jay." Erik sighed, exhausted. Even though the monster's corpse was right beside him, Erik decided to lie down. "Will you use your Status Points now? I mean, you must have a lot of them by now, am I wrong?"

Although obtainable through different means, clearing quests was the least complicated method of getting Status Points. Those points could be used to permanently boost a stat of one's choice.

"I will give it a thought after a rest." Jay replied weakly. "What about you?"

"Same here. I'll think about it later."

It was definitely strange to see two men resting right beside a horrendous monster, but Scarlet decided to let them since they had deserved it. The streets and buildings were in a terrible state, but all of that could wait for now. Not as a policewoman, but as a fellow participant in the battle, Scarlet wanted to watch over the two a little longer.

"Greetings, Challengers. Let me congratulate and thank you for defeating the monster that was rampaging inside our city."

However, a dazzling light suddenly shone behind Scarlet. Just a second ago, there was no one in their vicinity, but now, all of a sudden, a woman in a pure white gown appeared from where the light came from. Like an angel, the fair-skinned woman descended on the roughed-up concrete, her gown floating softly around her. Her long and beautiful blonde hair reached her feet, hidden by her gown, and her perfectly round emerald eyes, peeking through her bangs, gazed at them gently. She emitted a warm aura—almost like a mother—and at the same time, she seemed untouchable.

"The Messenger...?" Scarlet murmured, flabbergasted. She reflexively took a few steps back and even broke into a cold sweat, as it had been a while since she was in the presence of an individual like her.

The person who had appeared was one of the mightiest beings in the tower—ranking even above Conquerors. She was called The Messenger, one of the tower's ten Supervisors. Working directly under the one ruling over the tower, she was given command over the Tutorial Section. Just like the other Supervisors, her primary role was to navigate Challengers by giving them their next quests, and in case of an emergency—if something were to truly endanger their assigned section and people—they were to eliminate the source of danger immediately.

"You have truly deserved the rest, and it saddens me to interrupt said rest; however, I am here to bestow upon you the next quest." she stated, facing Erik and Jay, who were keenly listening. "Defeat the assigned party."

Without them initiating it, Erik and Jay's status windows popped up.

"You will find the details of that party in your status windows." The Messenger added before the light intensified.

The light grew so intense that no one could look at her directly.

"I wish you good luck." she said. Her voice began to fade mid-sentence, and soon, the light and the woman disappeared from the area.

Erik and Jay instantly got up even though their bodies needed to rest. Their faces were stern, and their gazes were still fixed on their screens.

"Do you know any of them, Erik?"

"Just from hearing, though." Erik responded, deep in thought. His eyes were glued to a certain name. "This could be troublesome. It seems they have a Conqueror in their ranks."