Gacha Leveling

The gate closest to where Sarah was was a gate to a pocket dimension called the Land of the Gnoles. It was a land of forests and tall mountains where lived an intelligent race of humanoid creatures called Gnole.

Gnoles were humanoid creatures that measured between 4 and 5ft, their bodies were covered in a short fur that were usually black or gray that turned white during winter. Their faces were like the faces of gnome bats, with pointy red noses growing upwards that looked like horns. Their legs were thin and short and their feet were small but with very long fingers from where claws sprouted. Their upper torso was much bigger than their lower. Their arms were thick and muscular and their hands were similar to their feet.

They had very large ears and small eyes. They were adapted to hunt at night and they compensated their poor eyesight with an incredible hearing capability. Though they were intelligent enough to have their own language, they were still very primitive and most of them could only do basic math being incapable of understanding complex concepts like negative numbers.

They worshiped a god called Nuth, a violent god that rewarded sacrifices. Though some commerce was made with them, the relationship they had with Earth was mostly hostile. When the Land of Gnoles gate first opened 54 years ago, the Gnoles tried to invade Earth several times until the country built a defensive structure inside the gate that kept them away.

That night, however, there were thousands of them roaming the streets breaking cars and other things they didn't understand, and kidnapping people dragging them back inside the gate. Most likely, to sacrifice them to their evil god.

When Eric stopped his bike, Matthew jumped off and ran towards the GPS signal his sister's phone was still sending. They were at a suburban neighborhood filled with single family homes. Eric soon followed him close.

The house where the party was happening was a mess. The front lawn had two dead people laying on the grass. The inside of the house had turned furniture, other dead people and blood sprayed all over the floor and the walls.

"Be careful, Matt." Eric warned. "Gnoles are prone to laying traps and ambushes. They love hiding in high places. Be cautious."

"Are they strong?" Matthew asked.

"Not particularly. They're usually level 5 to 10… But these are real ones, not dungeon simulacrums. So there's always a possibility of a particular strong one appearing." Eric said. "Let's split up. You look for your sister upstairs and I'll go to the basement. If you find one, scream for me."

Matthew nodded and climbed the stairs slowly with his gun on his hand. He was working the corners as he was taught in the battle strategy classes with Orpheu. Matthew went room after room and all he found was more blood and dead bodies.

On the last room he entered, he found Sarah's phone discarded on the floor. She was nowhere to be seen.

He picked up the phone fighting hard to keep the demonic mana inside him in check as his emotions flared up with anger and worry. The window was opened and not broken. Perhaps she escaped from climbing out and left the phone behind?

Eric found Matthew looking outside through the window.

"I didn't find anything." Eric said. "The basement was empty."

"I found her phone. I'm hoping she escaped through the window. But I can't be sure." Matthew said trembling.

"If she's not here, she either escaped or was kidnapped." Eric said. "Either way, she's alive. The Gnole keep their victims alive to sacrifice to their evil god." He explained. "If she escaped, she'll find help somewhere. But, if she was kidnapped, she's in danger. We should hurry to the gate."

"There's still a lot Gnole out there. If she's hiding somewhere, she's in danger." Matthew said still looking outside at a dead body floating in the pool making the water red.

"What you want to do, then?" Eric asked.

"I want to bet she escaped. I'll try searching for her." Matthew said. "You go to the gate, help the people there and save the ones that were kidnapped. If my sister is among them you call me."

Eric looked at Matthew thinking about what he said.

"Okay, kid. I'll be going to the gate, then. Be careful out there. Remember they like ambushes." He said after weighing the options.

Eric took his bike and drove to the gate leaving Matthew behind.

"Can you help me search my sister, Ffyr?" Matthew asked the fairy while going outside the house and to look for clues.

"I can't". She answered him from her hiding spot in one of his pockets.

Matthew looked around the backyard trying to put himself in Sarah's shoes. Where would she run? Would she try to hide? Where? Was she alone? Was she helping someone?

"This is horrible." Ffyr said flying out of his pocket and looking around all the blood on the floor and the dead body floating in the pool.

Matthew looked over the fences into the neighbors' yards. One one of them there were traces of people jumping over and falling hard on the grass. Judging by some shoe prints on the soft dirt.

He jumped over to that house's yard. There he noticed the backdoor was broken and down on the floor.

He entered the house slowly and searched it for more clues. There had been a fight inside, there was some blood in the kitchen, but no bodies.

The rugs in the living room were crumpled and the furniture tumbled over.

The front door was unlocked. Did they escape from here? Did they leave the door open and the wind closed it or did they take time to close it themselves? If they did run from a Gnole, where would they go?

Would Sarah ask for help from the neighbors? No. She wouldn't risk putting them in danger too. Also, the whole neighborhood had traces of destruction. Did the Gnoles take everyone they didn't kill? More likely some people managed to run.

They'd run to safety. Sarah would likely use her presence to lead them somewhere safe.

Where's safe?

Would she go to a police station?

Matthew took his phone and searched for police stations nearby. There was one 4 blocks away following the road to the left.

Would they run down the street to the police station?

Following the road he found more dead bodies, more blood on the floor.

Someone tried to use a car, but it seemed the Gnoles killed him before he could speed up and the car hit a tree when the body pressed against the gas pedal.

Sarah could've tried to hide in any of these houses. But it seemed unlikely. They didn't have time even to drive away. The Gnoles must've been running close and taking the stragglers.

Sarah was the type to give herself up to save someone. Was she really kidnapped?

When Matthew was lost in those thoughts looking around, his eyes shot up to the branches of a large tree that hovered over the street. And there he saw, hanging upside down holding a branch with its feet like a bat, a Gnole.

Before Matthew could aim his gun up, it fell on him with its claws. Matthew was not wearing his armor. He didn't have the time to put it on. He was lucky, though, that his Vital Shield was strong enough to ward off that Gnole. Only his shirt was slashed leaving 4 huge holes on his vestment's back.

Matthew used his elbow to hit the Gnole on the face breaking its nose when it landed behind him. The force of his strike shoved the creature back making distance between the two. On the same movement, he turned around and opened fire with his gun. Three bullets was enough to kill it.

The sound of the shots echoed through the empty houses.

Suddenly, another Gnole put its head out from a hiding spot under a car. Another from a tree and then other from inside a house. They were really great at hiding.

Matthew ran towards the police station with more and more Gnoles running after him shouting things on their language that Matthew couldn't understand a word.

When he turned a corner to a little business district with taller buildings, he saw the police station. It was surrounded by Gnoles. They were so many, Matthew couldn't count. On the roof of the police station, few officers were keeping the Gnoles at bay with heavy guns.

Most police officers were also adventurers, but, as they chose the law enforcement career, their levels weren't very high for lack of dedication to leveling up as professional adventurers did. Last survey within the force showed an average of level 15 among the police officers. In a small police station in a safe suburban neighborhood like that, he doubted any officer would be above level 5.

If the Gnoles were surrounding a single building like that, it meant that's where a lot of civilians ran to. Sarah could be among them. And even if she weren't, he would not just leave them to face that horde alone.

"Matt! They're coming." Ffyr alerted Matthew about the Gnoles behind him approaching fast.

He needed to open way and get into the police station. There he could help defend the people inside.

Matthew ran towards the mass of Gnoles using his gun to kill two more and drawing attention from the others.

When the Gnoles surrounding the station noticed Matthew, they charged him roaring slurs in their tongue. But then Matthew covered himself in unholy mana creating a miasma cloud around him that made the Gnoles open way afraid of touching the black mist.

That way Matthew reached the station. The cops inside hurriedly opened and closed the door to let him in.

"Are you crazy kid?" One of the cops asked.

"I figured you could use my help inside." Matthew said using purify to get rid of the effects of the unholy mana.

It is then that Matthew looked inside to the civilians hiding all around the station. Packed like cattle.

"Sarah!" He screamed.