Uruvi stood before the door, looking into the floor to find only one Manv-Pisacha roaming the floor, a few paces away from the door. It looked like the monsters from the previous floor, less aggressive and more intimidating. However, the main thing that drew her attention was its Level. It was Level 4.

  “Psst… Robot. How much stronger is that thing? It is one level above me,” Uruvi whispered.

  “Analyzing… Level differences at lower levels are more impactful compared to at higher levels.”

  “So, basically, it is a tough opponent.” She pondered for a few seconds and asked again, “have the monsters in the lower floors spawned again?”

  “Negative. Defeated monsters will not spawn again.”

  “Wonderful. I am being forced into this fight… Robot. You said there were humans on this floor, didn’t you?” She peeked through the window once again but could not find anyone. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “Affirmative. There is one human on this floor.”

  ‘I guess he… or she is hiding. As long as they don’t get in the way, I am fine with it.’

  She rolled her shoulder and gripped the door handle. ‘Just as before…’ She clicked open the door and pushed it open before charging at the Monster. She saw it slowly turning towards her, making her heart skip a beat. A golden hue appeared around her as she smashed her bat across its face. The monster barely flinched. Its health bar dropped by about 5 percent.

  The monster slowly turned back towards her. Even without its eyes, she felt intimidated, like a cold gaze was cast upon her. It pulled its left arm back and swung it down onto her. She leapt back, missing the attack by centimeters as it smashed the tiled floor below.

  ‘Whoa! That was powerful!’ Just as she landed, the monster rammed its shoulder right into her chest, throwing her over a wooden table.

  She bounced off the table and landed onto the floor hard, slamming her helmet onto the floor, which in turn smacked her back. A large crack appeared on the visor. “Ow!” she cursed. She quickly pushed herself off the floor and peeped over the table to see it walking towards her slowly.

  Sharp pain radiated out from the point of impact. It felt like she was having a heart attack. She gripped the jacket with her free hand and gritted her teeth to fight through the pain. Her eyes shifted to the screen. Her HP was down by 10 percent.

  ‘Not only does this thing hit hard, but it is also bloody fast. Fuck!’

  A large glass divider stood behind the monster. Cracks covered the whole thing, like it was trying to smash its way through. Through the glass, Uruvi caught a glimpse of a pair of eyes, looking at her. At first, she was shaken by the sight of them until she realized they were human eyes.

  The Pisacha reached out to her, trying to grab her by her throat. She quickly put some distance between her and it by toppling the table, sending the monster staggering backwards. ‘Same as before, hit and dodge. Just remember the rhythm.’

  She crawled away from the table before scrambling back onto her feet. She stepped forward and threw a hit at it, only to be blocked by its arm. It replied by swinging its free arm at her, forcing her to jump back. However, it did not stop. It followed it up by lunging forward and taking a few more swipes at her.

  She quickly ducked underneath the arc of the swipe and slammed the bat into the beast’s chest, powered by her Charge skill. The monster let out a squeal before spinning rapidly, throwing her onto the floor. It leapt into the air and brought its claws down onto her back, only to meet the tiled floor as she rolled off to her side.

  She felt fear grip her heart as her eyes watched the claws of the monster tear the ground before her. She tried to get back on her feet but was smacked by its heavy arm into the glass divider. The glass did not break, instead it threw her back onto the floor.

  She felt like she had been hit by a car. Her whole body ached, screaming in pain from the force of a simple swing. The monster appeared to be preparing to deliver another blow when it suddenly stopped, staring at the glass divider before it. She used the window to crawl out of the narrow space before getting back up on her feet.

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  As she stood gasping for air, she noticed the Pisacha looking through the glass. She could see someone scurrying across the line of cubicles, hiding from the monster’s gaze. ‘Did they distract it?’ The monster did not move, which gave her the window to pounce on it. She smashed the bat across its head with a Charged attack, throwing the monster off balance.

  Its health was down to seventy five percent. ‘Finally, some progress. Just get the rhythm.’

  She exhaled as she jumped forward. She paused her hits, waiting for it to attack first. The monster didn’t seem to have any other moves except punches. Though to be fair, neither did she. She watched the arcs of its attacks more carefully, focusing on which direction to dodge when it attacked. However, the broken visor blocked a good portion of her vision, forcing her to rely on instinct.

  She had whittled the monster’s health down to 50 percent when it seemed to get more aggressive. Fear began to creep into her heart, and she began to feel fatigue all of a sudden. She grit her teeth and tightened her muscles, trying to fight the sinking feeling. ‘I am doing just fine. Why am I feeling so afraid?’ And then the realization hit her. ‘Wait. Is this thing affecting my emotions?’

  It vanished from her vision, appearing at the corner of her eyes. Before she could even raise her bat, it smashed its hand into her torso, sending her flying through the glass divider. The glass shattered on impact, seeing her through. Her fall was hard, sending her helmet flying off her head, as shards of glass rained over her.

  “Warning! Health below 50%!” said the robot.

  Blinding pain erupted from her shoulder as she laid on the ground, squirming in pain. She turned to her right to see an old man crouching under a table. He looked at her with a mix of concern and fear.

  “I am sorry. This is my first time,” she said.

  The man leaned in and whispered. “It is okay. You are trying your best.”

  Her heart felt warm all of a sudden. “Aww! That is so nice of you.” The sound of crushing glass signaled the approaching danger. She quickly began to look around. “Where is my helmet?”

  “Do you really need it?” asked the old man.

  “Yeah… it gives me protection.”

  “But it looked like you were struggling to fight with that on.”

  She knew he was right. “But my defense?”

  “Is it worth the distraction?” he asked.

  She let out a sigh and got back up on her feet. The monster stood upon the frame, looking down at her. The old man quietly scurried away. He knew that if she died, so would he.

  “Okay, bastard. Let’s see what you got…” she whispered before shouting, “Rejuvenate!” A rush of energy filled her body, and her health bar climbed into the sixties. “Yeah! That is more like it!”

  She spun the bat around once and then grabbed it with both her hands. A red aura formed around her as her HP began to fall, reaching 40 percent once again.

  “Warning! Health below 50%!” the robot warned her again.

  ‘Twenty seconds… let’s make it count.’

  She lunged forward and rushed at the monster, who appeared to be taken aback by her increased speed. Smashing the bat into his chest, she pushed him out into the aisle, where the two crashed onto the ground.

  She quickly rolled away, landing on her knee. ‘I don’t know how, but it is able to intimidate me without even trying. I wonder what the robot would say?’

  “Affirmative. Higher level Pisacha exudes a special radiant spell that induces fear into its prey,” said the helpful robot.

  “Wait, you can hear my thoughts?”

  “Affirmative.”

  ‘How wonderful!’ She cursed.

  She lunged at the monster, striking it with a charged hit. It tried to counter with a quick swipe but only met thin air. The two began to exchange hits, striking and dodging in a rhythm, as they tried to outplay each other.

  She could see the Pisacha’s health bar dipping into red while the red aura around her was fading. ‘Come on! A few more strikes!’

  The monster let out an ear-piercing shriek as it began to come at her with full fury. However, she was ready. She ducked underneath the beast, catching its leg in the J end of the bat and pulling it with all her might. The monster tripped, crashing onto the ground. She quickly got back on her feet and, in one quick motion, brought the bat down onto its back. A golden hue surrounded her as she struck the monster a second time, sending its health to zero.

  She stood over the Pisacha, watching it struggle before collapsing and turning to dust.

  “New achievement! Defeated an enemy of a higher level!” said the robot.

  Her XP bar began to fill up, reaching about 75 percent of the way through.

  “Foo! Well, that was something…” she said.

  The old man walked out from behind the divider, looking at the monster turn to dust. “Is that thing turning to dust?” he asked.

  “Pretty much.” She observed the old man more carefully. He was as tall as her, with white wrinkly skin and neatly combed grey hair. He sported a checker T-shirt with a grey jacket and green trousers. He looked a lot hipper and more energetic than she ever did.

  “You are Uruvi, right?” he asked.

  “Yes. And you…?” she was afraid to ask. She should have known all these people by now, but barely knew any.

  “Arvind.” He wore a soft smile on his face.

  “I am sorry. I should really have known all you people by now.”

  He let out a sigh, looking down at where the monster was. “Maybe that was for the best.”

  “Why do you say that…? What happened to the rest of the people?”

  “Well… you just killed one of them,” he said.

  Uruvi’s body froze, and her mind went blank. ‘All those monsters… were humans?’