Chapter 76: Settlement

'What the fuck are they doing..?'In front of his eyes were a handful of people, however, they were all red dots with only a single green dot remaining.

That was not what shocked him though, it was the fact that the red dotted people were in fact not people at all.

They were some kind of humanoid monsters that appeared to be munching on the humans they killed, it was definitely not a beautiful sight.

Even at his full speed, he wasn't able to get here in time, the whole settlement was filled with civilians and close to no combatants.

And then there were these monsters, who even at their weakest, seemed to be in the high Level 180s with some even having Mana Cores.

However, Michael was not exactly worried, he might have been in trouble if they fought when he first created his Mana Core, but now, they were simply stupid monsters that were slightly powerful.

He cast a shield and a heal on the remaining human who appeared to be in pain, his expression immediately softened before finally passing out.

The monsters tried scratching at the man, however, the shield completely negated their attacks, causing them to scream in frustration before lunging at Michael.

He decided to test out the system's capabilities, more so the speed at which it can react, he wanted to make sure he could trust it to have his back. seaʀᴄh thё NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Just before the humanoid monster connected their sharp nails against his body, a small shield appeared, the size of a nail.

However, that did not matter as it was able to completely negate the attack while also blowing off the monster's arm, sending it flying high into the air.

'Damn, that was nearly perfect' Michael whistled and continued watching the monsters, the strongest of them had weary looks.

What do you mean nearly perfect? It was perfect.

The system snickered at him in a gloating tone.

But the weakest ones seemed to not care as they dashed at him with full speed, claws stretched out, ready to kill him.

There were multiple this time, he was not sure if the system would be able to handle them so he adjusted his body, preparing himself to dash away in the case of them piercing his defenses.

The system swiftly reacted, casting a shield right in front of their attacks before they even managed to get close to him, sending them backwards.

Michael widened his eyes upon that realization 'You can intercept their attacks like that as well?'

Yes, but they are not as powerful as the ones closest to your body.

He nodded and glanced at the monsters the system had just blown away, they still had their arms attached, however, their fingers appeared to be broken.

Just as he thought that, the previously broken fingers quickly mended themselves, making popping sounds while the monsters slightly groaned.

'That healing ability is a bit insane..'

Michael did not know what kind of monsters they were, however, their healing was certainly no joke.

If he had to compare them to another monster, it would be like a troll, just one the size of Michael himself.

Their strength was fairly sufficient as well, definitely enough to make even him have troubles if he were to fight with his strength alone.

But that was only because he hadn't focused on strength in the slightest, it was basically his lowest stat.

Well, besides charm, he was not sure why it wasn't going up.

I wonder why.

'Shut up..' Michael sighed and waved his hand down, finally getting tired of this charade.

Suddenly, the whole sky was replaced by a golden color, the Swords of Light raining down on each of the monsters.

They attempted to dodge but were unsuccessful, most being instantly killed.

However, there was a single one that was still somehow alive.

Michael walked up to it and summoned a Sword of Light, holding it in his hands before slashing down.

But something unexpected happened, making his expression turn sour

"W-Wait!" The monster screamed, its bloody body shaking while it stared at him.

"You can talk?" He asked in an unsure tone, for all he knew, it could have been some kind of a mimic, talking monsters were not exactly common.

There was Meph, but he was not exactly sure if he could be categorized as a Monster, he did look one, but he didn't act like one.

"Y-Yes.. p-please spare me..." The monster begged for its life while blood was pouring out of its mouth.

'What a shitty situation' Michael grumbled and put his Sword of Light away.

"What are you?"

"I-I am a s-shadow.."

Michael tilted his head in confusion "A shadow?"

"Y-Yes, we come from the people who have died, a portion of their souls were separated and we inhabited them" It said while its eyes were beginning to slowly blur.

Are you planning on saving it?

'Are you an idiot? Of course not' Michael shot back before looking down at the monster with cold eyes.

"Why do you deserve to live?"

The monster seemed startled by his question "W-Why? I-I..." it kept trying to speak but it couldn't find the words.

It knew better than anyone that what it was doing, was absolutely wrong and undeserving of life.

"Can't find the words?"

Michael kept looking down at the monster as it was stammering, trying to think of any sort of an excuse to be kept alive.

"You make me sick"

With those words, Michael resummoned his Sword of Light and sent it right at the monster's heart.

As much as the monster did not deserve to live, he would not prolong its suffering for his own entertainment.

He wiped off some of the blood that managed to end up on his clothes and looked at the only alive human left.

'What it said about being a shadow, was it the truth?' He asked the system.

In a way, they actually appear once an undead reaches Tier 1, they cast out some former impurities, that being their shadows.

'And the shadows can get as strong as the undeads?'

They can't go above Tier 1, however, the sheer number of how many there were, compensated for that.

Michael looked around and noticed around 22 monster corpses, it seemed the system was right.

He massacred a small pack of them, well he was still a bit late.

At least you saved one.

'At least I saved one...'

Michael walked up to the still unconscious human who upon closer glance, appeared to be a child.

He could see a bit of dried blood around his waist, the monsters must have bitten him.

The more he looked, the more he began disliking these monsters.

Too bad it was a type that never goes away, they were like parasites.

When there are humans, there are also undead, and when there are undead, there are also shadows.

He picked up the child by the collar, tossing him over his shoulder.

Michael was not really sure what to do with him but it beats leaving him alone, if he finds a settlement he could take him there.

'But there doesn't appear to be anything nearby..' He thought while glancing at the map, the settlement that had just existed, was raised to the ground by the monsters and Michael's Sword of Light attack.

The closest town was back up in the floating islands, however, it was easier getting down than climbing up, it would take him quite a while to do that.

Even longer while he was carrying the child.

Michael walked around the monsters and out of the settlement, choosing a location that seemed desolate enough to not be bothered.

He took a glance at the child on his shoulder and sighed.

'Guess you are with me for now...'