Early Access System Volume 1: Shadow Of The Behemoth

Chapter 5 : Break A Head Arthur!

The players that have just arrived were still trying to comprehend what was happening to them. 

Most of the manhwa addicts were disappointed with the "system" that they have received. After all, there were no cheats for them to use. And the portal in front of them could potentially lead to their demise. And their stats were just horrible even compared to regular human beings who spend time at least walking and jogging outside. Everything about them was just single digits, from their stats to their skills. 

The first step to getting stronger in the tower is to survive. And it seems that they might have failed already.

"Hey, isn't that Arthur Behemoth?! I thought he died!"

"Holy Moly! It's Arthur Behemoth!"

'Crap! I shouldn't have hidden my helmet!'

The crowd started questioning Arthur.  They all mistook him for his father.

"Hey, let's give our beloved former mayor a break alright? We'll take turns to ask questions, so start lining up." A man suddenly said while ordering the people in the cave, he was very dominant and imposing with his deep and harsh voice. "I'll start first."

The man walked towards him. 

And at that moment, Arthur saw the face of the man that covered up the assassination of his father, he was Harrison Doyle, the New Nex City Police Chief.

 Alex was gritting his teeth and he could feel his heart burning. He was very tempted to punch Harrison's head off his body, but that would give Arthur a bad reputation. Arthur had to make sure that his image was squeaky clean.

"I want to ask you, mayor. Where did you disappear to?" Harrison asked. It was clear what his intention was. To destroy the former mayor's reputation and to kill him. "Now, mayor I don't know what kind of witchcraft you pulled off to escape death but if you don't want me to put lead in your chest again, you better play along," Harrison whispered.

Arthur's brain suddenly froze. 'He was the one that shot my father?!' Arthur knew that although Harrison was responsible for the coverup of the assassination, he never thought that the person who was solely responsible for his father's death, was Harrison himself. 

"What do you mean where I disappeared to? You shot me, and now I'm here."  Arthur shouted for all to hear.

The crowd gasps.

"Why you!" The police chief drove a dagger to Arthur's chest, looking angry and ashamed.

As the dagger touched Arthurs's chest.."Wait what…" Harrison was confused. The dagger couldn't hurt Arthur and he was still standing strong. 

Every weapon here only deals 6 damage points. Arthur's defense is currently at  6 points, rendering the police chief's attempt to kill him useless.

"So you want to kill me for the second time?" Arthur whispered angrily.

Arthur turned the police chief's head slightly and killed him on the spot, dropping his body on the floor without any blood spilled. Arthur wanted to crush his head in anger but he couldn't let his anger ruin his reputation, if he is going to kill somebody, might as well do it elegantly and less violently.  

'That felt cringy.' 

The crowd in the cave fell silent in an instance. Arthur didn't want to answer the questions they were possibly gonna ask him, so he headed straight toward the portal.

"Sir! Please wait! Please!" Arthur turned around to see who was calling him. It was a young man that looked about 20-ish years old and was slightly shorter than Arthur but still tall nevertheless. 

'Balls. I should have sprinted.' Arthur thought. "Okay kid. What is it?" Alex asked while trying to sound old like his father.

"Can I follow you?" The young man asked with eyes filled with respect and excitement, just like a typical fanboy.

"No" Arthur replied blankly.

 "I knew you would agree-…wait what???"

 " I said no."

"But I have experience in fighting! I can help you!"

"Then prove it. We'll meet on the first floor."

"Okay!"

The truth was that Arthur didn't want anyone on this journey together with him. And he certainly didn't want some innocent kid dying because of him. If they were going to die, it better not because of him. After all,  he had to preserve his image.

"I'll meet you on the first floor then sir!"

Arthur proceeded to enter the portal while waving his head. 

As he passed through the portal he could smell and feel a very fresh minty air pass through him, but it all disappeared as he arrived at the other side of the portal. 

He was currently in a cave, but it wasn't like the cave he was previously in. This cave was covered with mold and mushrooms around it. And it was dark.

"Crap! I should have brought a torch with me!" He regretted not coming prepared since there was no light in the cave.

He quickly equipped his shield and his spear and took each step carefully on his toes.

{Now, since you have entered the cave I'll teach you how to survive. Walk slowly with your shield in front of you and your spear pointing forward.}

Arthur raised his spear and walked forward. He couldn't see what was happening but he used his elbow to graze the wall of the cave to make sure he is walking in the correct direction.

The only thing he heard was his steps and drips of water.

A few hours later and Arthur was still walking in the dark cave. 

Tap tap tap. He finally heard something. It sounded like a step that was on his left side.

He followed the sound of the steps and was blinded by the sudden light from the torches in the bright cave.

 

Arthur pierced the air in front of him just in case any creature was gonna attack him.

"Huh?" There was nothing.  He was now in an area that had torches. But as he looked back from the area he came from. All he saw was pitch black darkness. It was almost like that area sucked up all the light that was near it. 

"Well, at least now I can see things." He continued walking but immediately halted his steps.

A huge creature was on its belly and it was staring straight at Arthur. It was a huge monster that had sharp fangs, long fur, and claws that looked very much like a wolf. 

Its body was shaped like a bear, which Arthur thought didn't make sense because bears were soft and fluffy. (A/N: I'm starting to doubt Arthur's credibility as an intellectual, but whatever. )

The beast was stagnant and was not moving one bit. Arthur moved to the right of the beast but the beast's head didn't follow, it was only staring in the front. 

"What..." As Arthur inspected the side of the beast he found something extremely concerning. "It's dead." The back half of the bear-like beast was mutilated beyond comprehension. There were marks of bites, its legs were turned so many times and the meat was rotten. This awful scene caused Arthur to gag. 

"What on earth did this to you..." The bear looked strong, and the fact that some creature was able to do this was very concerning.

"Inspect"

_______________________________

[MOB STATUS]

[CURRENT STATUS: DEAD]

[NAME: GREAT GUARDIAN OF THE CAVE]

[JOB: GUARDIAN]

[RACE: BEAR]

[LVL: 29]

[HP:0/898]

[MP: 0/999+]

[SPEED: 687]

[AGILITY: 216]

[STRENGTH: 999+]

[STAMINA: 999+]

[DEFENCE: 999+]

[DESCRIPTION: A FRIENDLY GUARDIAN BEAST]

_______________________________

"How on earth did this overpowered creature died..."

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: THERE MIGHT BE SOME MINOR GLITCHES, OUR STAFF WILL WORK TO REMOVE THEM NOW.]

"Huh?"

Suddenly a short green creature that had a large nose and an arched back appeared from the second entrance with a dagger in its hand.

{Son! You finally met your first mob! It should be a powerless goblin. All you've gotta do is stick the spear through his heart and it's dead! That's it! Simple enough!}

Arthur inspected the goblin just to be safe.

"Inspect"

_______________________________

[STATUS]

[NAME: GOBLIN]

[JOB: JOBLESS]

[RACE: GOBLIN]

[LVL: 1]

[HP: 50/50]

[MP: 0/0]

[SPEED: 10]

[AGILITY: 6]

[STRENGTH: 3]

[STAMINA: 21]

[DEFENCE: 0]

_______________________________

[SKILLS]

[PASSIVE]

[GOBLIN DAGGER ARTS: 6]

"Hooo, it's just a weak gobli-."

*Boom!*

A hand suddenly crashed the goblin's body to pieces with incredible speed.

Arthur had to raise his head to see what the creature was. 

"What the heck..."