"This weapon is no joke." Ben's eyes filled up with excitement. "But how do I equip it?"
The moment the desire to hold it welled up in his heart, a white light flashed in his right hand.
Immediately, Ben suddenly felt like he was holding onto an object. He looked down and saw a rapier had appeared in his hand when there was obviously nothing there before.
More than half the size of his body and as narrow as a pencil, the rapier was entirely black. Its pointed tip radiated a sharpness akin to a well-honed blade and its hilt was anything but elegant, designed to suit a twisted aesthetic. But he had no complaints as it fit his hand like a glove and was quite comfortable to grip.
"I see. I can summon it with just a thought." Ben was very pleased with this discovery.
Another question popped up in his mind.
"Can I also put it away with just a thought? If so, carrying it would be hassle-free."
He thought about putting it away, and the weapon in his hand transformed into a ray of light that sank into his body.
Happy to see it worked, Ben nodded, "Very convenient."
Ben had just finished with his tests when a warning blasted out of the school speakers.
[This is an emergency broadcast. A Gate has opened within the school premises.]
[All non combatants, please make your way to the designated safety shelters nearest to your location and take refuge there for the time being. When it is safe to come out, you will be notified!]
[All Fighters on site, please follow protocol and assist in eliminating the invaders that have come out of the gates!]
The school speakers repeated the announcements multiple times before falling silent.
Only then Ben picked up the faint shouts and screams for help coming from outside the clubroom, which made him move to the window with shaky steps to see what was going on.
Hell was unfolding outside the main school building.
From his vantage point, he had a clear view of the school playground.
There, students were running in all directions, fleeing in panic while crying for help as monsters chased after them.
The students moving away from the main school building slammed into invisible walls before falling to the ground. Before they could get back up, the monsters pierced them with their proboscises and sucked out their insides, reducing them to shriveled corpses. The monsters who killed them grew a little.
Tricky monsters had invaded Earth this time around. And they had set up a barrier to block the people inside the school from escaping!
If Ben had any doubts about what he heard over the announcements, they were completely erased after seeing what was happening outside.
The worst had come true, and it left him feeling distraught.
Loss of life was always tragic. What was more depressing was the fact that he was trapped in the same situation that had separated him from his family forever not too long ago!
"Why am I so unlucky?"
Swallowing his frustration, Ben moved away from the window before he could be noticed by the monsters outside.
Then, he planned his next move.
Because Gates opened at random, every institute, residential building, and public space in developed countries like the one he was in had reinforced shelters built inside them that could provide refuge from invaders.
These spaces were made of reinforced materials.
In time of danger, they were the safest hiding spots for humans, as weak monsters couldn't break into them.
Monsters were divided into ten ranks, starting from rank 9 and going all the way up to rank 1. Any creature stronger than that was classified as special grade, and even nukes were completely useless against them. Each rank was further divided into four grades: lower, upper, greater, and peak.
Rank 9 monsters couldn't break through the materials the reinforced shelters were made of, and most dimensions could only spawn these types of weak monsters.
From Ben's current location, the closest reinforced shelter was the underground bunker below the main school building.
While ignoring the cries for help reaching his ears, he decided to head there to survive this disaster.
His decision was grounded in logic and completely sound. After all, he was not even as strong as an ordinary adult, and trying to play hero with that kind of strength in this situation would get him killed faster than a mosquito running into a buzzsaw.
He could hold his own against a monster, but if he was besieged by a group of them, he would be cooked.
After peeking through the hole in the door and confirming the coast was clear, he cautiously made his way out of the room and moved towards the staircase with the broken window where he had encountered the first monster.
As he was about to go down the stairs, a monster flew in from the shattered window and stabbed its proboscis at him!
A white light flashed and a black rapier appeared in Ben's hands. Tightening his grip on its hilt, he swung it powerfully, deflecting the deadly attack that was aimed at his face. Then, he drove his rapier into the monster's head.
What followed was utterly magical!