章 5: Priorities

Vlad's eyes widened as he saw his stats and realized why he felt so strong all of a sudden. They had grown immensely, and it seemed he had become a Level 1 Warrior. As for the reason his stats were so well-rounded, it was most likely that the power of Origin Force pushed him to the base stat of a Level 1 Warrior, but that was only a hypothesis, and he could not be sure.

What truly mattered to the young man was that now he had the power to face the enemies that would come in the future.

Vlad turned to the corpse of the rat monster, and his eyes narrowed as he attempted to pierce the head. Even with his enhanced strength, it felt very hard, and it seemed the knife would break first.

However, the next second, his Force materialized and covered the knife. Now, Vlad was able to pierce the monster's head without exerting too much strength, even going through the hard skull, showing just how immense the upgrade this new energy could grant.

Now that he had this new power, Vlad felt a little more secure in facing the threats that would come in the future. While remaining inside the building and waiting for the military forces to arrive might sound like a good idea, it was not so simple.

First of all, there was no military base anywhere near the college, but that was the least of his worries. Vlad had checked his phone, and it was no longer working. It was not that it didn't have a signal, but it did not turn on at all. It seemed that the same force that took down the lights affected his phone, meaning there were no communications.

Terra's military was similar to Earth's, and Vlad knew the forces would not make a move without first understanding the situation and taking orders from higher-ups, and who knew how long that would take.

However, as he analyzed all this, something worried Vlad even more. It was fine if the communication systems and technical devices went down, but if the force went beyond that, it would be a problem.

The monsters rising from the ground were strong, but a barrage from a high-caliber rifle would be more than enough to kill them. However, what if the changes affecting the world also affected how gunpowder worked, meaning there was a fundamental change in the physical laws?

While that was a crazy idea, Vlad could not forget how the guard did everything right, yet the bullet did not come out of his weapon. Deep down, the young man hoped that the gun had just jammed since the alternative was terrifying.

Right now, the best course of action was to reach the police station, which was much more prepared to face this type of threat than a college. Remaining in this building, where he could easily be surrounded by those monsters, was not a good idea.

Without wasting time, he went to the bed and moved the pillows, revealing a small yellow cat looking at him with worried eyes.

Vlad took him with care, showing a smile and eyes full of affection.

"Don't worry, Jormungandr. I will never allow anyone to harm you."

"Meow."

Vlad took a backpack and surrounded the exterior pockets with thick towels before carefully putting Jormungandr in the main pocket.

"Stay there and be quiet."

"Meow."

After showing one last smile to the yellow cat, Vlad closed the pocket and put on the backpack. Slowly, he made his way out of the room, trying to keep quiet. He heard screams from the other rooms, but his eyes were sharp.

"The world owes you nothing, and you owe nothing to the world."

Vlad uttered his motto as he went down. While some might think he should go and save those people, this was not a game, and there were no do-overs. If he went to fight and draw attention, he might very well be surrounded and die.

He owed nothing to the other people in those rooms and would not risk his life for them. If someone else wanted to play the hero, they should, but his only priority was to bring himself and Jormungandr to safety.