As Corey reached the stairs, he stopped and looked at all the corpses on the stairs. He took in a deep breath and gripped Smile Reaper tightly.
He then walked softly towards the first corpse and knelt towards it.
His heart beat quickened as he looked at the corpse and wasting no time, he stabbed the corpse through it's head. He repeated it a second time since he was not sure if the corpse was truly dead.
'Fuck. What kind of useless system is this? There's no notification to know if I killed something. How will I know if I actually killed a Smiley now?'
'Also, at least absorb whatever is used as exp automatically instead of me having to hold a soul stone.'
Corey cursed the Universal System endlessly in his mind since there was no way he could know if what he stabbed was a Smiley or a just a dead body.
Although the reason for Corey's anger at the Universal System was somewhat valid, that was only for games and novels where the System automatically absorbs the energy that would be used to make a character stronger and also where the system would inform the person of the death of the people they killed.
Assuming there was no system and this apocalypse happened, this would be what Corey and the other humans would face.
The system does not have to tell Corey that he has killed a living being and the system definitely does not have to absorb the energy used to strengthen humans automatically especially when Corey was just a tier 0 trash with a low level brand in it's eyes.
It would definitely not give any special attention to somebody like Corey even though he had a high level talent.
Although Corey did not know all this, he still kept on cursing the system in his mind.
Corey now knowing he had no way to be a hundred percent certain if he had killed a Smiley or just stabbed a dead body decided to move to the next corpse.
He didn't bother with the corpse he killed since he knew if it was actually a Smiley or even alive, it would have shook or attacked him, but it didn't, so he was safe from that corpse at least.
As he was moving down the stairs, he noticed that there were six more corpses on the stairs.
After observing their positions, he kept on walking quietly and softly until he reached the next corpse.
He crouched towards the corpse and stabbed It's head twice. After seeing no movement or translucent mist coming out from the corpse, he walked towards the next corpse and repeated the same actions for four corpses.
Step
Crouch
Stab
Stab
Despite the fact that none of the corpses he had stabbed were Smileys, he was still cautious and didn't lower his guard.
Why?
Because he really wanted to kill a damn Smiley!
He would not rest till he kills at least one!
The physical and mental stress his fragile heart and mind went through must be repaid by blood!
He was in fact hoping for one of the last two corpses to be a Smiley so that he could have an easy kill.
And with that mindset, Corey moved towards the next corpse with the same vigilance he had from the start.
When he got close to the corpse, he crouched and then stabbed twice.
He made sure the corpse was not going to make any sudden movement and then planned to move on to the next, but just as he was about to get up, he noticed a crystal in the torn chest of the corpse and his breath stopped for a second.
'Is that?'
Corey pulled out the crystal from the chest with a lot more strength than he expected. The crystal was stuck the inner flesh of the corpse which made it harder to pull out.
'It's actually a soul stone!'
Corey exclaimed in his mind as he looked at the soul stone in his left hand. Although he was tempted to absorb it, he remembered that he was currently not in a safe position, so he put it inside his pocket.
He then stood and turned towards the last corpse which was close to where he was, but the moment he did, he got the fright of his life and his fragile soul almost left his body.
Just a few meters away from him was the corpse standing on it's two feet with a creepy smile on it's face as it looked at Corey.
"Uhmm. Hey there Smiley. What a nice weather we have right?"
Corey spoke with a very strained smile as his heart beat faster than a horse on steroids. Just as he was to take a step back, he saw the mouth of Smiley widen and he had a sense of déjà vu.
"Oh fuck." Corey cursed.
Roaarrrrr!!!! Smiley roared.
And Corey?
He ran
He ran faster than he had ever ran before.
"If you don't like the weather just fucking say so!! You don't have to shout all the time!!"
Corey shouted as he ran up the stairs like a mad man. He looked back and he let out a strange yelp when he saw Smiley close to him running on all fours.
As Corey kept on running, he was thanking the Lord or whatever higher power was there for him getting stronger through the soul stone.
He was sure he would be dead by now if he didn't get stronger since the Smiley was close to him and it's speed was higher than Corey's.
As Corey kept on running up the stairs, he saw that the stairs would soon end and he would eventually reach the corridor which had those sealed monsters.
His mind spun rapidly as he kept on running, trying to think of how to kill Smiley.
He did not want to open any of those doors anymore ever since the door with the creepy voice and multiple hands passed through the door and almost killed him.
If not for luck, he would be dead by now.
As his mind spun, he realized something he didn't notice previously, something he thought was insignificant.
He was calm inside
Smiley was close to him, like 7 meters close, but he was calm
He was not as scared as he was the first time he encountered Smiley.
His mind then recalled an ability he had on his status screen.
Fear resistance
He didn't bother trying to check out the detailed description of it since he thought the name described it enough and it wasn't that important or useful, but it seemed he underestimated how useful it was.
Like for instance, if not for the skill, he would never have figured out the method he planned on using to kill Smiley.
Two seconds later, Corey reached the end of the stairs and turned to the right immediately, stopping behind the wall.
And in a smooth transition, he removed his bag from his shoulder and swung it like a baseball bat towards the stairs.
BAM!!
Bang Bam Bang Bam Bang Bam!
A loud sound resounded from the impact between Corey's bag and Smiley's head causing Smiley to fall down the stairs with so much force.
Meanwhile Corey panted as he looked at Smiley which was not moving a single muscle. After catching his breath, he dropped his bag and ran down the stairs gripping Smile Reaper tightly.
Not wanting to take any chances, he wanted to kill Smiley with his own hands… or through Smile Reaper to be exact.
As Corey ran down the stairs, he saw a translucent mist coming out from Smiley and he increased his speed with urgency.
Just as the mist was about to fully escape from the body, Corey got close to it and stabbed it.
Although he was not sure if he was actually meant to stab the mist, which he guessed was the actual body of Smiley, he decided to give it a shot since he didn't want the mist to enter his body and become the next Smiley.
As he was stabbing, he was also cursing the Universal System for not explaining how to use smile reaper to actually kill a Smiley.
Rooaarrr!!!
A scream of pain and anger was released from the true body of the Smiley as Smile Reaper was pierced into the body of Smiley.
Corey smiled and then pierced Smile Reaper into it's body again.
"Hahahaha!
Were you not smiling before?
Where's your smile now you bastard?!"
Corey said with excitement and repeatedly stabbed Smiley's body, which was weird considering he was literally stabbing a mist.
Despite that, much to Corey's disappointment, the mist disappeared after the fifth stab and a red crystal dropped on the floor from Smiley's disappearing mist.
"Phew. That was hard."
Corey said as he wiped off the sweat from his forehead using his sleeve. He then bent to pick up the red crystal on the floor.
"But at least I finally killed a Smiley."
Corey said with a smile as he observed the crystal in his left hand.
He noticed that the crystal had something like letters inside of it, which reminded him of the skill crystal he absorbed previously.
He wanted to absorb it immediately but first, he looked around to make sure he was safe and there were no more Smileys or powerful monsters around him.
Although he saw some corpses on the floor, he was at least 90% sure that they were corpses and not Smileys, since if it were a Smiley, it would have gotten up and attacked him due to all the noise he made before.
He also noticed the double transparent glass door which led outside of the building, but when he looked outside, he noticed a lot of corpses strewn on the ground outside.
His breath quickened slightly and his heart beat also increased slightly seeing all the corpses outside, but a few seconds later, he calmed down and decided to focus on the crystal in his left hand at the moment.
It was at this point, he realized something.
"Why isn't the useless system asking me if I want to absorb the crystal?"
Corey wondered and kept on looking at his right hand, wondering why a translucent screen was not appearing.
"Absorb the skill crystal."
Corey decided to try this method out since he knew that the Universal System was useless and unreliable, but there was no response from the Universal System causing Corey to be frustrated.
"The hell! Absorb the damn crystal for me! Is that so hard for you to do?!"
Corey cursed angrily at the Universal System but he got no response from it.
A vein popped in Corey's head and he placed Smile Reaper by his waist, then removed the crystal from his left hand and placed it on top of the eye on his right hand.
"Absorb the damn crystal you useless piece of shit! At least-"
Just as Corey was about to continue cursing, a translucent screen appeared on top of the eye on his right hand.
He was stunned at first, but then a smile broke out of his lips.
"Now I see. You like to be cursed at and abused before you answer people. Don't worry, now that I know you're a masochist, I will definitely be treating you like one."
Corey satisfied with what he figured out, felt a certain pleasure in his heart knowing this.
'Since you like people cursing you and abusing you. I would definitely curse you so much you useless and evil system.'
Corey thought with his smile widening slightly without him knowing.
He then removed the crystal from the top of his hand, wanting to read the contents of the screen. But the moment he did, the screen disappeared.
"…"
"What the fuck?"
Corey looked at the eye blankly and then looked at the crystal.
He alternated between looking at the eye and the crystal a few times before something clicked in his mind.
He then placed the crystal on top of the eye on his right hand and a translucent screen appeared on top of his right hand.
He removed the crystal and the screen disappeared.
He then held the crystal in his right palm and the screen appeared once again.
"So you're not a masochist."
Corey muttered depressingly.
A feeling of loss which could not be explained engulfed his heart.
---------
[A/N]: This chapter was sponsored by Friedhellm_Rochze due to him dropping two power stones. Please appreciate him/her in the comment section.
And from me, Thank you so much. I Really appreciate.
For been the second person to drop power stones. I'm going to use your name in my novel. If you also have a wish you want, tell me in the comment section or review and if you don't, I'll give you a wish don't worry.
Anyways thanks a lot for the power stones. And people, do not forget to VOTE!!
I'll use the names of the first five people who votes in my novel. Two spots have been taken, remaining THREE.
So VOTE!! if you want your name in the novel.
This type of bonus won't last long.
Have a good day.
Cough Cough... Also sorry for not showing the skill Corey got in this chapter, I wanted to, but the chapter was getting too long so I just decided to stop there.
Have a good day once again.