Only I know that this world will end – 052 | Sousaku – 創作

The Rumored Man.

Sorry for the wait. Chapter 2 begins!

It was about the same time that word spread among people that a man had defeated a minotaur in a deadly fight and that the world was being flooded with monsters.

And after a while from that topic, a certain subject took center stage on the Internet.

It was the emergence of levels, status, and skills.

As time went by, the topic spread among the people and aroused their curiosity so much that it spurred some of them to voluntarily defeat the monsters, as they had to protect themselves.

It was then that a rumor was brought up amidst such upheaval.

The man who, according to some, had defeated the Minotaur must have had some special power――

"Hmm…………"

And the man of said rumor ―Ichijou Akira― was alone in his hospital bed with a troubled look on his face as he groaned.

Hours had passed since Akira woke up in his hospital bed.

His body was in such a state of disarray from the recklessness he had displayed in dealing with the Minotaur that it could be said that he had wounds all over his body.

According to what he heard he had five broken ribs. A total of seven muscle tears throughout the body. He had severe lung contusions, and a ruptured stomach, and not only was part of his skull caved in, but there were two cracks around it, and they could not figure out how he was still alive.

It was surprising to learn that, although he had been injured to the point of being rushed to the ICU directly, his general condition was still strangely stable.

Akira believed that the cause of this was undoubtedly the increase in status due to repeated leveling and the leveling up and trophies he had earned from defeating the Minotaur.

"Uhmmm…………"

On the bed, Akira groaned some more.

He was not groaning in pain. He was pondering.

Akira had been unconscious for two days.

Even that period, which may seem short in verbal terms, was subject to many changes in the midst of upheaval.

As soon as he woke up, Akira was given some information by Nao about the current world situation―― or rather, what was currently taking place in the world.

(Hmm…… A lot has changed in just two days…… Levels and statuses are now commonplace…………)

Muttering, Akira turned his attention to the screen of his phone.

Then there was the word 'out of service' marked at the top of the screen, which had not been there in the previous iterations.

(Was the internet available only on the first day? Nao-san told me that she couldn't get connected anymore after that night.)

Akira sighed, placing his phone under his pillow at the same time.

Then, staring up at the ceiling, he remembered Nao's words that he had been told.

(The damage caused by the sudden appearance of monsters is enormous. Especially in the case of Japan, the monsters first appeared in the middle of the night, thus many people were unaware of their appearance and failed to escape…… Although the estimated number of deaths in Japan over the past two days remained unknown, it must have exceeded several million on the first day alone, huh?)

It was information that Nao had been gathering until the Internet was disconnected.

If, hypothetically, millions of people had really died in the first day's commotion, the damage in Japan today would have spread to 10 million―― or even several times that number.

(Perhaps because the center of Tokyo became the place where the monsters appeared, the government functioned properly only at first. In small cities, towns, and villages miraculously spared from the monster's appearance, people poured in one after another from the unlucky city where the monster appeared, flooding the area with refugees―――― is what she said, right?)

Muttering in his mind, Akira let out a sigh.

(It seems that the people who were quick to realize the level, status, and all that stuff were working hard to level up on the first day……)

With the exception of Akira, the first people to notice the existence of levels and status were, of all people, the denizens of the Internet.

They took advantage of their community to share information as soon as the monsters appeared and quickly discovered the fact that if they defeated the monsters, they would level up, and for their curiosity and self-preservation, they steadily leveled up and gained strength.

Of course, the Self-Defense Forces also noticed the existence of levels and status, but perhaps because of the priority given to evacuating residents and protecting evacuees, it was not until ten hours had passed since the monsters appeared that the SDF embarked on a full-scale leveling-up effort.

That delayed initial response led to such a difference in their levels.

Although the weapons they could carry varied in strength, they quickly acquired absolute power in a world that had been transformed by the appearance of monsters. They were stronger than the Self-Defense Forces and continued to take on the monsters that abounded in this world.

(In areas where the monsters haven't appeared, there's a good chance the infrastructure is still intact. Though, in most of those places, evacuees from monster-infested areas are pouring in, so they may not be safe in a different way.)

It was easy to imagine what the cities, towns, and villages now looked like, having experienced an influx of displaced people and a hyper concentration of residents.

Akira let out another sigh and continued his thoughts.

(Well, it's somewhat―― no, rather it's quite severe.)

If humanity's defeat meant total annihilation, then the current state of affairs would be a cliffhanger situation.

Even overseas, the situation was not so different from that in Japan, where many countries had been victimized by monsters that paralyzed them as a nation.