Opening his eyes, he found himself somewhere similar to when he got his Class.
Seichi Kurotachi, Class Chosen Undead, experienced his first death within the Tower.
'Ah… I'm dead…'
He recognizes the same ceiling, or rather place he's in. It was the same as when he's about to die, or rather he did die and appear here?
'I wonder… if I'm in Hell…'
He's no religious person, but he'd heard of the talks from the churches he used to stroll by. Something about God giving graces and whatnot related to punishment. It's no topic that interests him of course, but he couldn't help but remember such fanatic words of devotion.
'...It's no time to think about that.'
Before his mind could dwell on the fragmented past any longer, he stands up. The space was pitch black, but his body could still be clearly seen. His white skin that stuck to his bones, the little amount of muscle that he had was almost on par with that of females, and his gray hair was longer than the usual boy, making him being viewed as a girly-boy to the others.
'Where… am I?'
Wondering where he is, the answer came quite quickly.
[Activating Path of Undeath]
[A challenge is being generated based on recent and past data]
After that, the windows stopped for a moment. The boy looked around his surroundings in hope that it'd reveal something about his situation. But, nothing could be found.
[Generation complete]
[A Quest has been generated instead of a Challenge]
[A voice message is attached: Chosen Undead, unfit yet for the journey, I pray that this will provide you with the strength you seek]
{Undead Rite}
[Quest Difficulty: S]
[Quest Goal: Test the limit of your tenacity, one that intrigues even the mysterious figure who runs the Tower. You will be beaten, pummeled, but if you do not falter, then the peak is nothing but just steps for you]
[Quest Objective:
+Defeat the monsters the Quest generates (0/???)
+Complete the Quest with your own strength
[Quest Reward: 5 Stat Points, 100 EXP, a Weapon (selection option based on your performance)]
[Quest fail condition: Giving up]
It was a rather strange Quest for the boy to look at, but an uneasy feeling creeped up his back as he finished reading the contents.
'Well…'
[Do you accept the Quest?]
'...Yes.'
No matter the challenge, the boy was prepared. He learned a lesson when he reviewed his life back when he was with Charles. He is weak, but he is aware of his tenacity that made even Charles comment on it.
'Mister Charles… I won't let you down.'
[Quest accepted]
[Starting the Quest {Undead Rite} for the challenger]
[A voice message is attached: Well done, I expect great things from you, Chosen Undead]
He doesn't know who the 'voice message' is, but he was glad someone believed in him. And so for that, he was able to try and push through this sudden situation.
[First set of monsters has appeared]
"Hohoho, look at what we have here."
Children, small, deformed faces that resemble the children that tormented Seichi in his past life.
''Look guys, it's our favorite sandbag practice tool. Ready for another workout, guys?"
"Haha, you bet, boss!''
[Defeat the monsters of your past]
[Improve upon your past weakness]
Nightmares, nothing short of it. Seichi was paralyzed with fear as the distorted faces of his bullies stride forward towards him. He could hear the repetitive taunts and ridicule from both the present and the past.
'...No, I must persevere.'
He realized it in the end, before a punch was aimed at his stomach.
[Activating Undead Perseverance]
[Your Strength has been adjusted to your will]
'I'm going… to smash away my past!'
Determined to prove himself, to prove to himself that he's better than his tragic past, he activates his power of hope to do just that.
"Ohhh, look, look! The punching bag wants to increase the difficulty for us!"
"Woah! Nice!"
The taunts were quickly washed away with the first one knocked down, then it withers away into the darkness.
"...."
Silence enveloped the air, making Seichi gulp in nervousness as the distorted faces became blank heads.
Moments became an eternity, but soon laughter began to fill the air.
"HahahAHAHAHAHA!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!''
"....."
Seichi was tense as he put up a flimsy guard.
[The first set of monsters have been defeated]
[Moving to the final challenge]
The laughing distorted bullies began to melt back to the darkness. It was quite an eerie scene to watch for the kid. But as soon as they were gone, he let out a sigh of relief.
But relief was short lived, as his next challenge emerged. And it was his most recent struggle, one that he'd died from.
"Hrraaaaa…"
It made its eerie, hoarse sound again, triggering Seichi's fear as he trembled backwards.
[You've been inflicted with Fear!]
[Calm your mind!]
'...I… I must, persevere…!'
Summoning forth whatever's left of his 'perseverance', Seichi activates his Skill once more to try and rewrite the past.
[Activating Undead Perseverance]
[Readjusting your Stats]
[Adjusting Vitality slightly]
[Fear has been dispersed]
[Your Spirit has been reinforced]
But, his perseverance was only meager at most. He was able to clear his head of his fears, but with just a small Vitality boost this time, it looked like he wouldn't make it. Despair was creeping underneath.
"Hrraaa…"
The monster began moving. It was slow at first, taking each and every step slowly as it shifted the knife in its left hand around in the air. Suddenly, as a show of slight intelligence, the monster lunged forward with a downward slash.
Luckily, it was a short knife, so Seichi was able to move quickly to avoid getting killed like last time.
"Hrraakkkk!"
Seemingly enraged, the corpse charged at him, swinging its knife frantically to try and get a clean hit on Seichi. But, the latter was able to properly control his movement and observe the attacks calmly. He dodges sluggishly, barely avoiding the knife attacks with his very wide and improper footsteps.
"Hrrrrr."
It seems like the monster has a concept of fatigue, as it slowed to halt after a barrage of attacks. Seichi uses this chance to finally let out his own attacks in retaliation. He punches and then moves to disarm the monster. With a knife now in his hands, he stabbed the monster repeatedly in its chest, abdomen, slashing apart its legs and chopping its left arm away.
A savage depiction, one fit for a psychopath-to-be. The creature surprisingly had fluids inside of it, as black liquids started to splatter around as the maniac of a child slowly revealed a grin.
With one final stab at the creature's forehead, splattering a large amount of black liquid that got onto the child's face, he finally let go of the knife and mentally stabilized himself.
'.....'
No thoughts rang through his head. Just the view of his carnage that stems from the desperation to survive.
[You have completed the {Undead Rite} Quest]
[Your challenge is complete, calculating your reward with an Overseer Admin]
[Reward has been generated]
Before he could examine the display of cruelty any more, streams of windows blocked his view and promptly snapped him back to his senses.
{You have received 100 EXP}
[You have gain 5 Levels]
[All your Stats have been adjusted to your Level from the Class Chosen Undead]
[You have gain 5 Stat Points]
{You have developed and displayed an instinct for carnage}
[You have learned the Passive, Burst Instinct]
{You have faced your fears and conquered them without the need for outside help}
[Additional EXP of 30 has been given]
[An additional Skill has been given as a reward from an unknown person]
{You have gain the Skill, Dark Impulses}
[Your rewards has been given]
[Transporting the Chosen Undead back to his Grave]
The surroundings became dark, and this time he could no longer see his limbs.