One of them lunged forward, wrapping its arms around Sophie and pulling her off her feet. She squirmed in its grip, struggling to get free. Lance ran toward them, firing his gun--utilizing precious ammo--at the monster's head. The bullet bounced off its skull, and the beast roared in anger.

It swung its arm around, hitting Lance in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Lance landed hard on his shoulder, the pain shooting up his spine. He rolled onto his back, trying to push himself up.

At least Sophie had managed to escape in the heat of the moment.

The monster stood over him, looming over him with one foot raised. It brought its fist down on Lance's chest, pounding him into the floor.

Lance gasped for air as he lay there, unable to move. His vision blurred as he tried to force himself to stay conscious.

"Help," he whispered.

Sophie stood over him, her face pale. She looked terrified.

"I'm here," she said.

The monster looked down at Lance. It seemed puzzled by his presence.

Sophie let out an inarticulate scream, and Lance watched as a spear punched straight into the monster's chest. The creature staggered backward, the spear lodged deep inside of it.

Lance rushed forward, grabbing the spear and yanking it out of the monster's chest. The creature collapsed to the ground, and Lance gave it a good, strong kick for good measure.

[Enemy defeated (cooperative)!]

[Level up!]

Name : Lance Samson

─ Race : Human

─ Level : 3

─ Class : None

─ HP: 19; Magic: 21; Strength: 18; Agility: 23; Luck: 20

─ Status Points: 4

─ Skills : Speed (S) +1; Perception (P); Stealth (E)

─ Skill Points: 10

─ Gear: Leather Jacket; Brown Belt; Black Trousers; Blue Shirt; Gun; Knife; Ring.

─ Special Abilities : Lance has the ability to read minds. When he touches someone or if his eyes meet theirs, he will have an idea of their thoughts. He also can sense the presence of any other person within a ten-foot radius. He can use this skill to spy on people without them knowing.

He could deal with this mysterious status later. There were still enemies nearby.

Lance stood up, panting from the exertion. He looked around, trying to figure out where the other monsters were. He could sense them nearing his location. He scanned the room, seeing several holes in the wall, along with piles of rubble. The civilians he'd noticed earlier were still here, a terrified group cowering in a corner.

"Where did they all go?" Lance wondered aloud.

"They're coming," Sophie said.

Lance whirled around, only to see two more monsters charging at him. He raised his gun and shot one of them in the head. The bullet tore through its skull, sending it crashing to the floor.

[Enemy defeated!]

The second monster charged at him. Lance dodged around the creature, firing at it. The bullets ricocheted off its armor, but it didn't slow down.

"Fuck!" Lance cursed.

Maybe now was the time to deal with that status.

Time seemed to slow as he focused on the skill points.

[Acquire random skill or boost existing skill?]

he thought.

Everything stopped now, the odd text in front of his eyes the only remaining moving object.

[Select a skill to boost. Speed, Perception, or Stealth. Cost: 1 skill point.]