Then everything descended into chaos as people scrambled to escape the mall. I grabbed Emi’s hand, trying to run with her away from the gunfire. As we rushed out of Jollibee, I looked around, trying to pinpoint where the shots were coming from. That’s when I saw it — on the second floor, a security guard was aiming a pistol at something I couldn’t make out from the ground level.

  I tried to pull Emi away from whatever the guard was shooting at, but it was too late. He fired again, and I saw something get hit, but it kept moving, leaping towards the guard. They both tumbled over the railing and crashed in front of us. The guard didn’t survive the fall, but the creature stood up, more damaged by the fall than by the bullets. It shook its head, recovering from the shock, then its eyes locked onto us — first me, then Emi — and it snarled.

  I saw its sharp teeth just as it leapt toward Emi, claws outstretched, ready to tear her apart. My instincts kicked in — I had to protect my daughter. Without thinking, I selected the "Brawler" advantage, knowing my fists were the only weapons I had. As the creature’s claws came within inches of Emi's face, I clocked it with a hard left hook, sending it flying five feet away from her.

  I didn’t stop there. Fury surged through me as I pounced on the creature, beating it relentlessly until its face was nothing more than a bloody paste. The only thing that pulled me out of my rage was the sound of Emi crying. I rushed to her, my heart aching.

  “Emi, what's wrong? Did you get hurt?" I searched her for wounds, but found none.

  “Pop, I’m scared,” she whimpered, her voice breaking my heart. Was she scared of me and what I had done?

  “Emi, I’m sorry if Pop scared you. Pop will always be with you, remember that.” I picked her up and began looking for a way out of the mall. The sight around us was pure carnage. Blood was everywhere, and the creatures were tearing through anyone they could reach.

  I saw the exit, but it was blocked by a pile of bodies. Outside, larger creatures were devouring anyone who got too close. With no safe way out, I bolted toward the supermarket, punching, kicking, and choking any creature that came near us. Each time I struck, I felt claws and teeth tear at my skin. Blood trickled from my wounds, but I ignored the pain and kept moving toward the barricade the people inside were trying to close.

  As I neared the barricade, I saw fear on the faces of those around us. One of the people closing the barricade was being mauled by a creature. I set Emi down and told her, “Pop will be right back. Stay here and stay safe.”

  I ran to the barricade and kicked the creature off the man, dragging him inside. As I helped close the barricade, a claw shot through the gap, slashing my stomach. I screamed in pain but forced myself to keep going, and we finally shut the barricade.

  I frantically searched for Emi and found her huddled with the other children. I ran to her, relieved that she was okay.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  After a few minutes of checking to make sure I wasn’t injured, I managed to calm myself down. I looked around the grocery area, and it seemed as safe as it could be. Then I heard another ding in my mind, and I brought up the status sheet.

  I looked at the sheet and stared at my HP, or health points, if I’m guessing correctly. I was closer to death than I thought. But what does my title even do? I tried pointing at it, but nothing happened. Next, I tried thinking about what "TIGHALANGDON" meant, and another box appeared in front of me.

  What the... That is overwhelmingly good for me, isn't it? I then feel a tug on my tattered clothes and see Emi, still sobbing. "Pop, I feel tired, can I sleep please?"

  Without anything else to do, since I don’t have any skills to heal someone, I propped myself up to be Emi’s pillow as she rested. While she was sleeping, I opened my status sheet again, noticing the free attribute points hanging at the bottom. I saw that my free attributes were now sitting at 11, and I also had a pain resistance of 15. Damn, that’s a lot—no wonder I barely felt the wounds plastered all over my body.

  But deep down, I knew that even with all my attributes, it wouldn't be enough to keep my daughter and me safe. So, I dumped 3 points into Strength, 4 into Instincts (since I’m pretty sure it’s what helped with my reaction to all these problems), and 2 each into Constitution and Vitality. As I willed the changes, my body started heating up. I felt it coming from my very heart and spreading throughout my body. Then, I started spasming uncontrollably.

  Overwhelmed by worry, confusion, and exhaustion, I passed out. ...