The System Apocalypse: Short Story Anthology I

Only a monster could have left such carnage.

I stood in the doorway of a tiny apartment, the stench of decomposition wafting out to fill the dimly lit hallway. The deputy who had opened the door had already fled down the corridor before retching and emptying his stomach. I ignored the officer. Just as I ignored his partner, who glared at me as I took in the scene inside the room. His skepticism affected me as much as the smell—not at all.

The cops may not have known me, but death was no stranger. Nearly two-thirds of humanity had died ten months ago, the day the System came online and ended the world as we knew it. Monsters spawned everywhere and massacred mankind as our lives became governed by the System’s video-game-like rules. Rules that allowed no replays or extra lives. Those of us remaining had seen plenty of death, but I may have seen more than most.

That fateful day began as I pursued a man who had skipped out on his bail. When the armed man unexpectedly opened fire and fled, I had refused to let the criminal get away, even as our world changed. The pursuit, and ensuing gunfight, led to my first experience gained under the System. Before I even had a chance to select a class, I had earned a level from killing another human. The System rewarded that achievement with an Advanced Class that matched my actions, and I had been hunting monsters ever since.

I stepped cautiously into the hotel room turned apartment. There was no avoiding the dried blood that stained the floor a rusty red, but I kept my feet away from the larger lumps. Crouched beside a pile of organic material, I let myself study the viscera that remained of a human torso. The edges of the gaping wounds were sharply cut. My eyes traced over the slashed flesh to the arcing spatters of dried blood, following the pattern backward and rebuilding the scene in my mind. I moved from one chunk of gore to another, careful to touch nothing. Slowly and deliberately, I lost all track of time as I pieced together the horrific puzzle.

Eventually, I stood and brushed aside a System notification for a skill increase in Forensics. As I turned toward the door, a glimmer of reflected light caught my eye. A framed holograph, splashed with blood, was centered on a bookshelf filled with knickknacks. I picked it up and wiped the glass covering. Crusted flakes fell free and revealed an image that made my breath catch in my throat. The six smiling faces in the image were a jarringly bright reflection of the agonizing jigsaw assembled in my mind. A family—as much as anyone had these days after the System Apocalypse—with parents caring for children not their own and children clinging lovingly to adults with no blood relation .

After replacing the holograph on the shelf, I absently pulled a flask from my inventory and took a long pull. I should have felt more for the family. Anger that their lives had been stolen. Rage at the potential snuffed out. A passion to bring their killer to justice. Instead, I felt nothing. Not even the burn of the whiskey pouring down my throat. My System-enhanced constitution easily resisted weaker poisons and dulled any sensation the alcohol may have once given me. Though I had no proof, I suspected the System similarly affected mental resilience, blunting the horrific impact of how many humans had died in the previous ten months. Despite the tragedy, people had simply moved on with their lives. Most even calmly accepted the arrival of the Galactics—aliens from throughout the wider System universe—as they settled in on Earth. In most places, these new arrivals promptly took over.

I was currently in one such location—a Truinnar-owned village in what used to be Western Pennsylvania. When I’d crossed into the town limits, I had picked up a System-generated quest to track down a killer menacing the human population. The few local law enforcement officers left alive had apparently been unable to catch this killer.

While the identity of any criminal could be purchased from the System, that criminal could also have Class Skills or spells that would assist in hiding them. The cost to purchase the identity from the Shop would increase with each obfuscating ability added, quickly making the price prohibitively high. It often worked out cheaper to hire or post a quest for someone to hunt down the criminals who took these precautions. Which led to Adventurers picking up side gigs as bounty hunters.

Turning my focus back to the room, I closed my eyes and cast a newly acquired Class Skill. The nauseating aroma of the room assaulted my nose as Blood Scent settled into place. Six distinct tangy bouquets hung heavily tangled in the air, and I spent several minutes locking each one into my memory. I wasted no time looking for the scent of the killer since no evidence had been found at any of the earlier crime scenes and I expected the same again here.

I cracked my eyes open and left the room but stopped where the two police officers waited. The younger man, sweating and pallid, stood behind his partner and looked anywhere but through the apartment door. Both noticed the flask still in my hand, neither able to hide their disdain.

Release Date: 1. November 2019

Pages: 376

Genre: LitRPG Sci-Fi

eBook ISBN: 9781989458181

Language: English

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