The double doors of the university cafeteria burst open.
Kael didn't run in screaming. He slid in silently, hugging the wall, his eyes scanning the chaotic scene like a radar.
The cafeteria, once a place of overpriced pizza and gossip, was now a slaughterhouse.
Overturned tables formed makeshift barricades. Behind them, terrifyingly, students were not fighting monsters. They were fighting each other. The "Kill or Be Killed" event had turned panic into madness. A group of frat boys was cornering a terrified freshman, their eyes wild with desperation to increase their Kill Count.
But the real threat wasn't the students.
In the center of the room, near the salad bar, stood a monstrosity of stitched flesh and rusted metal.
[Field Boss: The Rotting Butcher][Level: 12][Status: Hungry]
It was eight feet tall, wearing a blood-soaked apron. In its right hand, it held a meat cleaver the size of a car door. In its left, a rusty meat hook on a chain.
"ROAAR!"
The Butcher swung its hook. It caught a student trying to flee—a linebacker from the football team. The hook pierced his shoulder, dragging him screaming across the floor.
Crunch.
The cleaver came down. Silence followed.
Kael watched from the shadows behind a vending machine. He checked the Boss's HP bar.
[HP: 92%]
"Too high," Kael whispered. "I'm not wasting my stamina on a full HP sponge."
Suddenly, a shout erupted from the kitchen entrance.
"Fire! Now!"
A group of five students, led by a tall man in a security guard uniform, emerged. They weren't panic-stricken kids; they were organized. The guard had a pistol—a relic of the old world that still worked for now.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets sparked against the Butcher's thick hide. They did minor damage, but they drew aggro.
"Magic users! Hit it!" the guard yelled.
Two girls behind him raised trembling hands. Small fireballs and ice shards flew out, hitting the Butcher.
[HP: 85%][HP: 78%]
"Good," Kael analyzed coldly. "Whittle it down for me."
The Butcher roared, ignoring the bullets and charging the mages. The security guard stepped in, trying to tank the hit with a riot shield he must have looted.
CLANG!
The cleaver smashed into the shield. The guard's arm snapped audibly, and he was sent flying into a wall. The formation broke. The Butcher began to massacre the mages.
[HP: 40%]
Kael tightened his grip on the pipe wrench.
"Not yet."
He watched as the last mage was silenced. He watched as the Butcher, now panting and bleeding black ichor, turned its attention to a cowering student under a table.
[HP: 15%]
The Butcher raised its cleaver for a final strike. It was exhausted. Its movements were sluggish.
Now.
Kael exploded from his hiding spot.
[Agility: 13.5 -> Burst Speed]
He crossed the cafeteria in a heartbeat, vaulting over a spilled tray of lasagna.
The Butcher sensed him and tried to turn, but Kael was already in the air.
"Thanks for the assist," Kael said to the corpses of the security team.
He activated his skill.
[Skill: Heavy Strike]
The pipe wrench glowed with that lethal blue light. Kael didn't aim for the head this time. He aimed for the elbow holding the cleaver.
CRACK!
The massive arm bent the wrong way. The cleaver clattered to the floor.
The Butcher howled, trying to swing its hook with the other hand, but Kael ducked under the chain, spinning his body to deliver a second blow to the monster's knee.
The giant collapsed.
Kael stood over the Field Boss, his foot on its chest. The Butcher glared up at him with hateful, red eyes.
"Any last words?" Kael asked. "No? Good. I'm starving."
He drove the wrench down into the monster's skull.
SPLAT.
[You have slain the Field Boss 'Rotting Butcher'!][You have obtained the 'First Kill' bonus for the Region!]
And then, the [Predator] feasted.
The shadow that erupted from the Butcher was massive. It screamed as it was torn apart and sucked into Kael's chest. The rush of power was so intense Kael almost blacked out.
[Predation Critical!][Strength +4.5][Vitality +3.0][Agility +2.0]
[Skill Absorbed: 'Butcher's Intimidation' (Rank F)]Effect: Emits a wave of fear. Low-level enemies will flee or freeze.
Kael exhaled, steam rising from his skin. He felt unstoppable.
He looked at the loot drop glistening on the floor. A golden ring.
[Item: Ring of Bloodthirst (Rare)][Effect: Recover 2% HP every time you kill an enemy.][Bonus: Strength +5]
Kael slid the ring onto his finger.
[Current Strength: 25.0]
He was now physically five times stronger than an adult male.
Suddenly, a giant holographic screen appeared in the sky, visible through the shattered cafeteria windows.
[Event Update: 'Kill or Be Killed'][Time Remaining: 45:00]
[Current Leaderboard - Region: University]
Anonymous - Kill Count: 1 (Boss), 4 (Common). Points: 1500
BloodKing - Kill Count: 12. Points: 120
Viper - Kill Count: 9. Points: 90
...
Kael stared at the "Anonymous" at the top. He had chosen to hide his name in the settings the moment he awoke.
The surviving students in the cafeteria peeked out from behind the tables. They looked at the dead Butcher. They looked at the security team's corpses. And then they looked at Kael.
They didn't see a hero. They saw a monster who had waited for everyone else to die so he could take the prize.
One student, a brave (or stupid) guy with a baseball bat, stepped forward.
"Hey! That ring! The guard died for that! It belongs to the group!"
Kael turned slowly. He activated [Butcher's Intimidation].
A wave of cold, red killing intent washed over the room.
The student with the bat dropped his weapon, his knees shaking uncontrollably. Others vomited from the sheer pressure.
"The group?" Kael asked, his voice amplified by the skill. "There is no group. There is only the food chain."
He checked the timer. 45 minutes left in the event.
"And I'm still at the bottom of it."
He walked toward the kitchen exit. There were more monsters in the parking lot.
"Don't follow me," Kael warned, without looking back. "Or I'll confuse you for XP."