It's dark.
…Am I alive? Or perhaps dead?
No, it can't be either, perhaps I've fainted. Yes, that's right. My arm was chopped off, I've lost so much blood…
I was in a state of reverie when I heard it, a distant sound that gradually grew clearer. It was the ethereal voices of a choir singing Gregorian chants, mostly sung by women. Though the sound was faint, I could sense the profound significance of it, even from so far away.
…
Maybe I didn't faint. Presumably you wouldn't hear voices after you pass out. Am I in my stage of reincarnation? I doubt it. This place…I can't feel any of my body. I– I can't see anything.
This wasn't the first time I've encountered such events. No, I believe this is the second. Rather I might've gotten a grip on what's going on.
'Haaa, you seem rather pleased, Alan.' I could hear them, but their voice echoed in my head, like a distant thought.
"Pleased? Are you saying that I'm glad? Genuinely, don't you mean I'm quite in a discouraged state? Didn't you see what happened to me?" W-what the? Did that just come out of my mouth? You, who might you be?
They ignored me, but only to address my previous remark earlier.
'Ooh~ but I wouldn't quite say that is quite true. In fact you possess an absurd amount of emotions flirting within you at this moment. Rage, despair, terrified, regret, and so much more. The emotions held on could be used to thrive in your battles. So it can make you stronger. Want to grow strong? Start thinking through your thick skull infant. Keep failing to use these traits and you'll face consequences.'
…Okay that hurt.
"Does that really all that matters? I'm out here alone. I can't depend on anyone at the moment and I'm afraid. I already admit defeat." My mouth. I couldn't control the muscles of my own lips. What's going on!?
'An outcome requires tenacity. Without it, repercussions will occur. Because of your foolishness, because of your ignorance, and because of your cowardness. How miserable you can still be. Yet you question, 'Why can't I get any stronger?'. I implore you to consider your ways.'
I attempted to close my mouth, the tension in my jaw made it impossible to keep it shut which I couldn't hold. I thought for a moment, But, I guess it isn't bad. I've been wanting to chat with someone either way.
"I'm human." Aside from that, if I'm being genuine, humans make mistakes so why couldn't I at least go forward without the help of tenacity? Not all of us have the perseverance to continue forward. All of us are different in other ways. It doesn't make me any different from them nor they aren't from me. Isn't that at least something a human should take pride of, despite going through a little mis called misery?
'Irrelevant. But you'll understand very soon. Today is not the day to answer, neither mine nor yours.' Their words echoed into nothingness, I tried reaching them but I don't think my voice was enough to penetrate the walls of emptiness that separated us. Perhaps, I was too cowardly to think straight forward that I might be losing my mind.
'What are yo–' Worst to say, evidently, the last thing I remember before they faded was trying to call them back. Going through various self-deprecating rationalizations, I hesitated from arguing any further. I wanted an answer out of them. I wanted to know what my purpose for fighting. I…I want to know why I was chosen.
The emptiness I was surrounded with started to emit a light brightly. The unfortunate light was inevitable. It was useless, there was no point in arguing.
I closed my eyes. I guess my break is over, but I can't say the same for the upcoming combat. I wanted to talk a bit more.
With the light getting brighter the nearer it came towards me. A large flash was released, engulfing the entire void of nothingness. Gradually, the evocative feeling collided with me once more.
I hate being so weak.
FLASH!
***
Crunch.
The sound of a mirage crispy wind hits through the endless forest in the cold dark that isn't visible to the human eye to observe.
Crunch.
With the breeze howling softly over the environment, the tree moved as the winds rustled through them, along with the leaves, grass and branches. The only sounds that were present at the moment were the sounds of crunching.
Kiieeek…
Lying face flat on the ground unconscious, blood was filled around his surroundings as they were tainted in red puddles.
Badump….
The beating of a heart, their body was weak and their pulse was faint. Seemingly as if it were unconscious, by some miracle, Alan's heart nerves send signals towards the body. Alan was recovering.
Crunch.
Unbeknownst to him, the creature had already sensed his presence. It abandoned whatever it had been feasting on and began to approach Alan. Though it remained a short distance away, it seemed to possess a remarkable ability to perceive the nerves and movements of the human form.
What a ridiculous perception the b*stard has.
As the creature drew nearer, it became increasingly attuned to the sound of Alan's breathing and the pressure of his presence. When it finally stood over him, it fixed its gaze on him with a fierce intensity. Suddenly, its long arms morphed into sharp blades, which it then brought down towards Alan's lower body with deadly precision.
It was then.
'4 points to stamina, agility, endurance, and perception!'
Anticipating the danger, with his hand crawled into a fist, Alan immediately launched a sharp blow towards the creature's body. Veins popped through his arm towards his shoulders.
Swoosh!
Alan gritted. Alas, to his failure, the creature was able to invade his attack. Without thinking twice, in exchange, the creature charged a sharp blow towards Alan as well. He quickly dodged aside.
Boom, Boom! Ka-boom!!
With a sharp blow that could penetrate through human skin effortlessly, the monstrous strength it released, wiped out most of the surroundings of the forest. Leaving the forest completely wiped out, nevertheless the endless amount of trees in sight. Cold sweat ran across Alan's face but only continued to attack single-handedly.
Boom, boom, Boom!
[Fatigue: 71]
"Haah…Haah…for god's sake, why am I still alive….?" His chest puffed in and out in weary, Alan shot one more bullet before being caught by the grasp of the hideous creature. In a state of exhaustion and struggle, Alan was then thrown, flying across from his opponent.
Crack, crack! Snap!
Colliding against the trees, a message was immediately alerted. Blood spurted out of Alan's mouth.
"Blur-ha!"
[HP:10/2442]
Tti-ring!
[Because your HP has dropped below 20%, 'Skill: Overcome' has been activated. Your HP has recovered by 1000.]
'About time…!'
With no time to waste. Clenching his teeth, Alan quickly gets back on his feet fully energized, ignoring the blood on his lips, he lets out a cool breath and rushes at the creature. Formed in a horrifying sight, it sucked in his guts, opened its mouth and released an amount of big thick sharp needles as they spinned.
Foreseeing this, Alan only sprinted straight towards his opponent, dodging every single need that came on sight of his vision thanks to his perception.
'Left, right, down, right, up, right.'
Closing the gap between himself and the awful being. Alan then uses his gun to launch a hook with the rear sight of his revolver.
Swoosh!
Knowing the creature would dodge, right away, Alan twisted his waist around 90 degrees and kicked the creature's body before shooting 4 times. A clean critical hit in that exact moment.
Pow! Bang, bang!
The monster let out a blood-curdling howl as it was flung through the air, its claws digging into the ground in a futile attempt to slow its momentum before hurtling towards Alan at an impossible speed.
'Fast!' Caught off guard, Alan raised his arms assuming that it was aiming towards his chest.
Slash!
With its long and sharp appendages, it emerged behind Alan and tore into his flesh, creating a gaping wound on his back. Using its other limb, it clawed viciously, attempting to burrow into Alan's spinal cord, and then contorted its head in a frenzied manner.
[Warning: A vital spot has been hit. Your HP has dropped by 500. Your stats have been reduced by 60%.]
Alan simply ignored the message, only to curse under his mouth.
"Ack…! Piss…off!!"
Alan thrust his head backwards, causing the creature to release its grip just before impact. Its face broke into a wide grin that reached the corners of its eyes.
Tightening his body in ache, Alan hurriedly leaped a few feet back trying to cover his second wound.
"Haha…ah sh*t…..I'm done for…."
A nervous chuckle escaped from his mouth. His passive skill may have been activated at the right moment and his HP recovered just barely. To a certain extent, no matter how much effort he puts into his attacks, there doesn't seem that there's not a single ounce of struggle this thing expresses.
Drip. Drip.
Alan points his gun at the ghoul figure's face and fires a few more rounds.
Bang, bang, Bang!
The creature absorbs the bullets into its eyes before pouring out dark blood. Still having that creepy smile, Alan was gone.
The creature's neck convulsed violently before its eyes began to flicker about in a frenzied manner. It was searching for Alan.
Its dreadful eyes searched all over the entire surroundings, even to the small things, it started to wander throughout the dark forest.
Keeeiiiaaaaaak…
So disgusting and sickening.
[Mana: 415]
When Alan first entered this dungeon, or at least it was supposed to be, he started off with 450 mana in total. Given the shots he had wasted, each of them should've taken away a decent amount of mana and partially ought to give incredible damage. Even though having 415 is still quite a lot, would it be sufficient?
He'd already sustained unbelievably injuries and suffered an absurd load of blood.
And his back. The bleeding is getting too severe. There was a possibility that the monster's claws had drugged deep into his spine, revealing itself. There was no need to confirm it. Just the cold breeze hitting was enough to justify it.
As much Alan wanted to quickly finish this, it doesn't look like he'll be able to. No, he can't.
Ba-dump, badump, Ba-dump, ba-dump…..
His heart was racing while his body throbbed in torment while his lungs popped out of his chest for more oxygen in silence. He tried lowering his breathing under his clothes.
Alan swallowed his salvia. His mouth and his throat was dry as the desert.
His blood was gushing out of his missing arm relentlessly the more he pressured his body. Unsummoning his weapon, he tears apart a piece of cloth from his joggers gently, wraps it around his missing arm and calls back his revolver.
He checks at his ammunition
[Magic Bullets]
[0/378]
'Reload.'
With a single command. His 35 cm length Double-Forged Flintlock Revolver's cylinder opened as the mana bullets slightly hovering just above it. With practiced precision, the chamber moved as bullets were placed for each six singly by themselves.
Klak, Klak…kuuu…Shuunk. Click.
The chambers did a quick spin before Alan lifted up his gun.
'6 points to all stats except Intelligence and Endurance.'
To-ring.
[Stat]
Strength: 56
Stamina: 31
Agility: 31
Intelligence: 21
Endurance: 22
Perception: 34
(Available attribute points: 3)
This should make a change, Alan thought.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them. He takes a deep breath and puffs out stiffly. "Fuuuu…."
Instantly Alan Walker displayed himself towards the mutilated creature charging. His body tense once again. In anger, he roared.
[You have activated 'Skill: Sprint'.]
Alan clutched his Double-Forged Flintlock Revolver tightly in his hand, the only weapon he had left after losing an arm not long ago. The revolting ghoul figure, with a grotesque face that could shape shift into any horrifying form, toyed with him, moved around him in circles at the same speed as him, occasionally lunging forward to slash at him with its now razor-sharp claws.
Whoosh! Shnng!
Alan tried to keep his fear in check, but it was difficult. The dark forest was dense and ominous, and his peripheral vision was limited to just a few feet.
He couldn't see anything beyond the trees, and the darkness was so thick that his eyes can't even predict what's to come. He was alone with this creature. It was overwhelming.
The only sounds that were heard were his own ragged breathing and the occasional rustling of leaves as the creature moved along his steps, growling internally and horrifying.
"Haah, haah…."
Alan knew he had to act fast. The alarming creature was too strong, too unpredictable. It was on a different level compared to the monsters he faced. He had to rely on his instincts, on his fight or flight response, to survive this encounter.
But he couldn't run. He had to fight. In order to stay alive, he needs to fight back.
The thought of Ava, only gave him a bit of courage left.
Alan's face twitched for a second.
"Ack..…Aaarrrggghhh!!!"
With the little energy he had in his throat, his screams didn't sound human anymore. He was just as horrifying as the b*stard.
The abominable figure shifted again, this time becoming a grotesque mix of a gag character and a ghoul. Soon, its body parts started to become long stretched out like a snake's body. It made a fearful scream and gasped with smiled-open.
Alan felt a wave of dread wash over him, but he forced himself to focus. He raised his revolver and fired, the loud bang echoing through the forest. The trees were making it harder to shoot as the creature could easily dodge.
It weaved incredibly fast. Alan was having trouble keeping his eyes locked. So much for his perception being past 30.
He fired again and again only to start spamming his shots, but the creature was always one step ahead.
[Mana: 219]
Alan's forehead dripped sweat and blood. He frowned in worry.
"Ah sh*t..."
Although he already realized that his gun's attack proficiency takes away partially of his mana. None of his shots weren't properly doing damage.
Alan felt his self-confidence slipping away once again.
Why was he doing this? Why did he want to become a hero, to fight creatures like this? What's the purpose of all this? What reason would he gain from all this? Will he survive? Is he going to die? He had lost so much blood already, and this fight seemed hopeless. He was just a human, facing off against something beyond his comprehension.
The creature lunged forward, despite its skin being dark, unable to see, its claws gleamed in the darkness. Alan tried to dodge, but he was too slow. The claws raked across his chest, tearing through his grey hoodie and black joggers, leaving deep gashes in his flesh. Alan yelped, but he couldn't give up. He fired again and again even if his bullets hit it's target but did little harm.
Considering that the fight seemed to go on forever. Alan's fear and dread were overwhelming, but he kept fighting. He had to. For himself, for the person who helped him during those harsh times.
'Ava…'
He tried to rationalize his choices, to find a reason to keep going, but it was hard. The blood and fear that contained within him was a distraction. He was losing blood, losing strength. He couldn't keep this up much longer.
Alan checked his stats while gasping heavily.
[Fatigue: 98]
Almost 100. His fatigue was fading the more he fought and at an anonymous rate.
The creature shifted into a form that was beyond Alan's comprehension. It was huge and extremely skinny, with tentacles and eyes and its mouth was as dark as void, filling the entire forest. Alan fired his revolver, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off its skin this time.
Boom!!
Ka-Boom!!
The creature screeched horrifically, a sound that shook the trees and made the ground tremble. It started to twist like crazy, making a loud and hollow sound smacking its upper and lower jaw together with its wrenching teeth revealed.
Time was up. Alan knew he had to act fast. If only he had the stone of "Runes of the Relinquish". Sticks and stocks were rarely present. While it shouldn't be hard to find since it's shine of the rune, there was a possibility that the stone was far from his reach. Then, there was that time of fleeing.
The darkness was so obscured that Alan couldn't find his way back where he lost his arm.
The stone had been taken away from him when he lost his arm, with no time to waste, Alan swiftly looked around.
'There!'
Without hesitation, Alan runs towards a shining faint light.
Screeeeeech!
Just as the distressing creature chased Alan, one more time he used his skill 'Sprint'.
[You have activated 'Skill: Sprint'.]
[Mana: 26]
After hearing that message, Alan didn't hold back to spend every ounce of mana he had left. More of his blood was pouring out like water. It was excruciating, but he needs to hold it in. Just a bit longer!
Step.
A step alone was able to give him a head boost. It might've not been to its fullest power, but Alan manages to break the space in between both him and the monster. It was a hyper-sonic speed.
While he may be human. Humans have the potential to become the strongest. Considering how Alan was the weakest to roam on Earth, that didn't mean he could improve. But this time, it seems that his growth rate has started to increase.
BOOM!!
Rummaging through the trees with only his speed, the bullets continuously bounce off its skin as Alan fires from behind.
Swooosh!!
'Just a bit more…!'
He reached out his arm with his gun in possession. But suddenly.
'–! W-what!? I'm floating?!'
Alan directly turned his head. What he saw made him cry in horror. Using only a finger, the b*stard finger-gesture as if it were commanding Alan to come forward. It was using telekinesis.
'Telekinesis!? Does this mean that this piece of sh*t was only holding back against me this entire time?!'
Unfortunately, it was true.
With just using two fingers, pinching in a facile manner, Alan's body was crushed in a repulsive way.
Kr-ka, Crunch!!
Alan shriek. His ribs began to make crack noises and his lower body began to twist in a gruesome process.
"Ack!!"
But he didn't care, at note, all that's left is to activate the stone. Yes, that is all. Then he can finally return home.
Its long arms brought Alan forth towards its face. Opening its huge mouth revealed many parasites and sharp teeth. Inside, screams of many could be heard.
Alan tried to escape but it was no use. However, there was no reason to. Not anymore at least.
Alan struggled opening his mouth.
"Cough...l-looking for this?"
By some miracle, he managed to get it back but he had to try at once. He didn't care how much his body hurts or how tired he's in. No he doesn't care, at note, all that is left is to activate the stone. Yes, that is all. Then he can finally return home.
[Would you like to use the item: Rune of the Relinquish?]
[Would you like to use this item? Yes/No?]
Focussing his energy on the stone. He felt the stone starting to glow. Alan knew this was his only chance.
Alan took one last glare at the creature's twisted face. His eyes were burning with anger. Struggling to open his mouth, he flipped off at the monster with a cold-blooded tone.
"F*ck you."
Using his strength, he immediately tightened his grip and the stone shattered into pieces. It was likely that purely his feeling only was capable of activating without an answer. Crystals of blue energy of light ejects in his body. The distorted creature took action and tightened its grasp even more.
Fortunately, Alan was no longer in its grasp due to his body starting to disintegrate in blue flares of light and quickly disappeared from sight.
Before vanishing, Alan took one more look at the creature. His heart sank deep into his chest.
Fwooosh!
***
Drip.
Drip.
The echoing sound of water weeping was lean.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Accompany with heavy breathing and heart pumping. The soft faint within the darkness was a small vague muscle twitching. The battered Alan was lying on the ground with the brick walls supporting his head. The blood still hasn't stopped gushing. It doesn't seem to stop.
Drip.
Drip.
A message was notified.
[You have learned the 'Skill: Corrupted Tenacity'.]
Alan didn't bother to look. Skill or not, he has fought for his survival and life with exhaust. What more should he do?
A couple minutes go by. Just as Alan opened his eyes, his pupils observed his surroundings. He was no longer in the forest. He has returned to his own world. Finally, home.
He laid on the ground, his body was covered in his own pools of blood. It was a tough battle of survival, that's for certain. But, was it really all that worth it? He's already lost an arm and there were too many holes on his body. His leg was twitched in a horrifying angle while a big gap showed on his chest.
Then there's his spine. The clear bone structure was in its seasoning and possibly had damaged his spinal cord.
And he already lost too much blood, his body was in a severe state making him unable to lift a finger. It's a miracle that he's still breathing to a certain extent. Truly a miracle. Even so, wouldn't this be his last?
'Why struggle…I….I'm tired…..'
Giving up, with a final breath, Alan slowly closed his heavy eyelids.
"Haaah….."
Leaning against a wall, his face could only emerge a stiff soft smile sighing. One last drop of tear leaked out of his eye.