Second World

When the Goblins were down to three, they did the call again. This time Jack didnʼt bother to escape. He stood his ground to kill the three Goblins and then waited for the last pack to come. Without any further complication, he dispatched the last pack as well.

During the fights, he had noticed several coins dropped, but he didnʼt have the time to pick them up. He now went around collecting the spoils. There was no equipment nor item drop, the drop rate was still as stingy as ever.

He then proceeded towards the Trigitech building. When the entrance came into view, he stopped and observed its surrounding. It was a stark contrast against when he was last here. Before, it was full of people lining up to go inside the building. The crowd in the surrounding neighborhood was also innumerous with their activities, with vehicles going back and forth on the main street. Now it was dead silent, just some monsters were seen roaming around infrequently in the distance.

He checked his radar, there was no monster around the main entrance to the Trigitech building. He was having a doubt now. If the building was supposed to be some kind of important event location, then usually it had a boss or at least a guard. While here the entrance was completely devoid of any monster. Could he have guessed wrong? That this building was just a common building as any others, and there was no clue here as to what had happened to the world?

Well, he had traveled a long way to reach this place, it would be a waste if he didnʼt at least check inside. Also, he had a gut feeling that there was really something inside that had a connection to the worldʼs change. He took out the container in which he had stored the Egg Fried Rice. He opened it, expecting a foul smell due to a few days had passed already since the food was made, but it appeared still fresh.

Wow, the game system was really convenient, he thought. If he could keep game food indefinitely, he could stock up on them to be used in an emergency. He then proceeded to eat the food before going into the building. If he met with resistance inside, the stamina and mana recovery for the next three hours would be helpful.

After finishing the meal, he took out both his weapons and proceeded into the building. The courtyardʼs appearance was still the same as before, with an added serene look due to its alluring yet deserted landscape. The pond and garden decorating the courtyard were tranquil. He pulled his mind from the urge to admire the view, and advanced into the building. He went past the sliding double glazed doors and stopped beneath the main stairs at the central hall.

It was the place where the first person he met was killed, and where he received his God-eye monocle. The Monocle was called Administrator God-Eye. In other words, it belonged to an administrator. In this case, he assumed the owner should be the intended game administrator for Second World game. He looked up, the departed administrator came from there when he was being chased by the zombies. He figured he should follow the trail.

He climbed the stairs into a long hallway filled with glass-walled offices lining both sides. Some round aluminum-cased trash-bin was on the ground, with some of its trashes spilled out. Through the transparent walls of the offices, he could see some chairs and small cupboards had fallen on the floor, with papers scattered around the office.

He glanced around, the building looked totally deserted. Not even any monster was visible. He remembered when he first put on the monocle, the building was teeming with red dots, which had caused him to hightailed out of the building in haste. Now, there was not a peep on his radar. Wait, there was one at the furthest point of the radar. With how large this building was, that red dotʼs position should still be within the building.

After some thought, he decided to go towards that sole red dot. With the whole area this vacant, there must be a reason for the existence of that one red dot. After further observation, he also found out that this red dot was darker than normal.

Could it be another Elite monster? It seemed to be stationary. It didnʼt roam around like the monsters he had met all this time. Was it sleeping? Could a monster even sleep in this game? Or Could it be because it was guarding something? He thought that the last guess was highly probable. If so, then if there was a clue inside this building, it would be at the place where this Elite was. He increased his pace along the hallway.

He arrived in front of a large double door made of stainless steel. Unlike the offices behind, the walls around this door were solid concrete with white paint finish, there was no window nor opening to peek inside. He readied his weapons. A stationary monster in a room highly probable to signify a Boss. Every RPG game would have Boss monsters. He didnʼt believe that this world that was governed by game rules would be exempted from this law.

He took out the Whetstone in his backpack and applied it onto his sword. The whetstone disappeared upon usage as the damage on his sword rose by ten percent. A pity, but he had a feeling that he needed every edge to get through the room behind this door. He readied himself for a tough fight as he pushed on the door.

It didnʼt budge.

Itʼs locked? He looked around the door, there was no keyhole. And then he noticed a small box beside the door. It was some kind of card reader machine. It was a highly secured room, this one. He was even more sure now there would be something valuable inside, even if it was not the clue he was looking for. Now, where would he find the card to use on this reader machine? Should he riffle through all the office rooms here? It would take a very long time. He was depressed.

Suddenly he remembered something. His mind dived inside his storage bag. Where was it? Where was it? There was a lot of stuff inside, he just threw everything he found inside. He took a mental note to sort through his possessions in a neat arrangement once he got the chance. Finally, he found the thing he was looking for.

A metallic-looking card materialized in his hand once he summoned it out of his inventory. It was the Administrator key-card he got from the past owner of the monocle.

Please work, he prayed as he swiped the card onto the small card reader machine. The prospect of shuffling through the building looking for the correct card did not excite him. The machine blipped a couple of times before a green light flashed on it. He heard a click, and the door beside him opened ajar.

He let out a relieved sigh and then readied his weapons again. Didnʼt dare to be careless, he cast Magic Shield while his sword hand opened the door further. He stepped into the room which was a large spacious hall. It was devoid of furniture and decorations. The room was simply empty with the exception of a single figure in the middle of the room.

Heck, how much of a Boss setting can you make here? He thought in his mind.

The sole occupant of the room was sitting down on the floor. Its whole body was covered by red scales. Its hands and feet had claws at the end of its fingers. It was bare-footed and bare-chested, but on his left hand was a round shield and his right hand was a scimitar. It has a thick tail behind and its face had an elongated mouth like a crocodile. Its eyes which were closed, abruptly opened revealing snake-like yellow pupils. It stood up slowly as it faced the intruder.

Lizardman Blood Guard (Special Elite monster, Reptile)

Level 12

HP: 4800

His God-eye monocle showed the monsterʼs description. Special Elite? Did it mean that it was a stronger classification compared to that Skeleton Captain he fought before? From the look of it, it was not a slow type like the Skeleton Captain. He didnʼt expect his kiting technique which had defeated the Skeleton Captain before would be effective here.

Furthermore, its HP was enormous, it was roughly four times than normal monster of the same level. Observing the crimson scales covering its body and the round shield, he was sure its defense would be tough as well. He was having a headache now.

While he was contemplating how he should deal with the monster. It came forward with a frightening speed.

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