The monster's body hit the street with a thunderous crash.
Dust spread through the air as its massive corpse collapsed across two lanes of the road.
Arjun stood still for a moment, breathing heavily.
The plasma rifle in his hands hummed softly as the weapon cooled down.
Then the system notifications continued appearing in front of his eyes.
[Hostile Unit A1 Eliminated]
+500 Combat Points
Commander Rank Increased
New Rank: E
A new interface window appeared.
Commander Status
Name: Arjun Mehta
Rank: E
Combat Points: 500
Planet Civilization Rank: F
Arjun blinked.
"Wait… that was enough to rank up?"
The system answered calmly.
[Commander progression depends on combat contribution and threat level.]
Arjun looked at the corpse of the monster.
"Threat level… yeah, that thing was definitely dangerous."
His drone suddenly rotated toward the sky.
[Alert Detected]
Multiple Hostile Units approaching city sector.
Total Count: 147
Arjun slowly followed the drone's gaze upward.
The alien warship still floated above the city like a dark mountain.
More creatures were falling from its massive underbelly.
Each one crashed into different parts of the city.
Distant explosions echoed through the streets.
People were screaming.
Sirens began wailing somewhere in the distance.
Arjun exhaled slowly.
"So killing one monster barely matters."
The system responded instantly.
[Correct.]
Earth Invasion Phase: Active
Current Hostile Units on Planet Surface: 12,843
Arjun stared at the number.
"…You're joking."
The system remained silent.
The drone suddenly projected a holographic map in front of him.
The city appeared as a glowing grid.
Red dots filled the map.
Each one represented a hostile creature.
Arjun's location blinked as a blue marker.
[Nearby Hostile Units Detected]
Distance: 420 meters
Threat Level: Medium
A loud crash echoed down the street.
Arjun turned.
Another monster had landed nearby.
This one looked different.
Smaller than the first creature but far faster.
Its body resembled a massive insect with long blade-like limbs.
Its glowing eyes locked onto him immediately.
Arjun groaned.
"Seriously? Already?"
The system responded.
[Hostile Unit A2 Identified]
Threat Level: Medium
The creature suddenly sprinted toward him.
Its movement was incredibly fast.
Arjun raised the plasma rifle and fired.
The first shot missed.
The creature jumped sideways with terrifying agility.
"Great… this one's quick."
The insect-like monster leapt onto a nearby car.
Then it launched itself toward Arjun.
Its blade-like arm swung downward.
Arjun barely dodged the attack.
The blade sliced through the hood of the car behind him like paper.
Metal flew everywhere.
"Okay… definitely quick."
The drone hovered beside him.
[Combat Suggestion Available]
A new interface appeared.
New Ability Unlocked
Combat Skill: Target Prediction
Effect: Enhances aiming accuracy by predicting enemy movement.
Energy Cost: Low
Arjun smirked.
"Now that sounds useful."
He activated the skill.
Instantly, his vision changed.
Faint blue lines appeared in front of the monster.
They traced the creature's possible movement paths.
Arjun adjusted his aim.
The monster lunged again.
But this time Arjun fired exactly where the creature would land.
The plasma blast struck its side mid-air.
The monster screeched and crashed into the pavement.
"Got you."
But the creature quickly stood up again.
Its glowing eyes burned with rage.
It charged once more.
Arjun fired again.
This time the blast hit its head.
The insect creature collapsed instantly.
[Hostile Unit A2 Eliminated]
+120 Combat Points
Arjun lowered the rifle.
"That was easier."
But the drone suddenly emitted a warning sound.
[New Threat Detected]
The holographic map zoomed out.
Arjun's eyes widened.
Three large red markers were moving toward his location.
Hostile Units Approaching
Distance: 900 meters
Threat Level: High
Arjun sighed.
"Let me guess… bigger monsters."
The system answered immediately.
[Correct.]
A notification appeared.
Emergency Commander Directive
Secure Sector 17.
Reward: Advanced Equipment Unlock.
Failure: Civilian Casualties Increase.
Arjun looked around the ruined street.
Cars were overturned.
Buildings were damaged.
In the distance, people were still running in panic.
He tightened his grip on the plasma rifle.
"Looks like I'm officially on monster-hunting duty."
The drone hovered beside him.
Its scanning beam swept across the street.
[Multiple hostiles approaching.]
Estimated arrival time: 2 minutes
Arjun cracked his neck.
"Good."
He stepped forward into the middle of the street.
The glowing armor on his suit pulsed faintly.
The rifle charged again.
"Let's see how many of you I can take down."
Above the city, the alien warship slowly rotated.
More monsters began falling from the sky.
And the battle for Earth had only just begun.