Only I know that this world will end – 038 | Sousaku – 創作

The Second Dawn

　Dawn broke.

　It was Akira’s second time experiencing the dawn in a world full of monsters.

　The number of Man-eating Plants that Akira had dealt with in the past few hours was five. The results were neither satisfactory nor inadequate, with two level increases.

“Haaー…………”

　Letting out a loud sigh, Akira sat down in a coin-operated parking space.

　He then quenched his thirst with a plastic bottle of water he had in his hand and looked up at the sky in a daze.

“……Morning already, huh?”

　Akira’s words were tinged with deep fatigue.

　He regretted his decision.

　Certainly, his leveling-up speed had increased since he started fighting against Man-eating Plants. However, their fighting style was incomparably more difficult than that of goblins, and with the countless tentacles that attacked him――In addition, Akira’s fighting style, in which he continually avoided the ivy, was sure to cause fatigue to accumulate in his body.

“I’m tired.……”

　Akira let out another sigh.

　As fatigue built up, combat moves became increasingly sluggish.

　Attention and vigilance were diverted, and accumulating fatigue eventually led to gaps. More than once, while leveling, he received a painful blow from the Man-eating Plants. Akira’s body was now covered in blue bruises and whip marks, and the blood that flowed from his torn skin was more than just from one or two places.

　Although he managed to avoid being preyed upon, which was an alarming situation, it would only be a matter of time before he would be caught if he continued to fight like this.

“Haa……”

　A sigh escaped Akira’s mouth for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

“Status.”

　Akira stared at the screen that appeared as he mumbled.

　――――――――――――――――――

　Ichijou　Akira　25 years old　Male　Lv4 (11)

　Stamina：１３

　Strength：２８

　Endurance：２７

　Speed：２２

　Luck：１２

　Earned points：１６

　――――――――――――――――――

　Unique Skills:

　・Return from Hell

　――――――――――――――――――

　Skills

　・Physical strengthening Lv１

　・Analysis Lv１

　――――――――――――――――――

　Damage bonus

　・Goblin races　＋３％

　――――――――――――――――――

(I received many attacks from the Man-eating Plants. My body is also covered in scars. ……But even so, I’m still alive like this because my Endurance and Stamina values are higher than before… I guess).

　Letting the words slip from his mind, Akira let out another hefty sigh.

(4 more levels left to reach 20 points…… Come to think of it, a quest hasn’t occurred yet this time around. When I met the minotaur and when I met the goblin, it said ‘the monster that defeated you last time,’ so if you meet the monster that caused you to die in your last life, you’ll have a quest in this life― Is that so? )

　If so, the opponent with whom this quest will occur would be the Minotaur.

　To confirm this hypothesis, he would have to encounter the Minotaur once.

(……Yeah, not happening. I’ll die the moment I meet him.)

　Laughing helplessly, Akira exhaled.

　For the moment, let’s leave this as a hypothesis. With that thought in mind, Akira switches his attention.

“It’s…… 7 a.m. now? Last time I died, it was after… eight o’clock, if I remember correctly.”

　Akira mumbled as he took out his phone and checked the time.

　The gunfire that had been echoing throughout the night was beginning to die down as it had the last time. This meant that, once again, the Minotaur was attacking and devouring people.

(Last time I saw him, he was in town around 8:00…… Assuming I don’t go in that direction by that time.)

　Akira knew from his five revivals that people and monsters basically repeated the same behavior as before in this world, which had been repeated by the 『Return from Hell』.

　The change in that behavior occurred only when Akira voluntarily made a change to his actions.

　For example, those two policemen who were killed by the five goblins.

　Akira in this world has not received a quest. As a result, the two policemen who would have stopped him, passed by that street without stopping the police car and thus were spared from the goblin attack at that spot.

　Akira confirmed that this was definitely the case when he went to that street on this night and found no bodies of the two policemen. Perhaps the two policemen had died without Akira’s knowledge, but he could not be that certain.

(For now, let’s go back to the office once and escape in the opposite direction of the minotaur with water and food.)

　Akira decided to stop leveling and, whipping his screaming body, he got up and proceeded toward the company, which he used as a base of operations again this time.

ToC