I rushed toward, the ape, not even looking back at Hope.
"What the fuck are your doing? Get the fuck over here and do some fucking tanking."
"Geez, enough with the curse words you old man."
"I believe I have the right to curse when I'm facing this damn beast alone while my partner is just standing there doing nothing."
I said this while ducking under a swing sent by Wukong which created so much pressure that a wall of the cavern cracked, even though its punch was nowhere even near the wall.
'This is the true strength of an SS+ ranked monster.' I thought excitedly, as this was probably the first time that my blood had started to boil in a long time with fighting spirit.
'Even the AA ranked drake is an ant compared to this monkey king.'
I stayed focused on dodging as I knew that even one hit from this monster would take me directly to the gods watching me.
"Okay, get ready to switch with me. All you have to do is attract the agro of Wukong and dodge all of his attacks, I'll be dealing the damage from the sidelines."
I used figureless shadow to safely remove my presence from Wukong, so he immediately started running towards Little Hope, the only other living thing it could sense right now.
'Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK!'
'How does that monster of human expect me to dodge the fists of a monster that I can't even see! And what will happen when the boss starts using skills?'
'Augghh, whatever.'
I dived into the fight, being barely able to dodge the fists of the monster, and tripping slightly every time the ape moved due to its weight.
"Just what is that guy doing? He hasn't attacked once during this whole time!"
...
...
...
"Shit, I'm already running low on stamina."
I glanced over to where Shin was, but couldn't seem to find him anywhere.
Suddenly out of nowhere, a stamina potion appeared in my hands.
Not even bothering to waste a second trying to figure out where it came from, I immediately drank it.
As a result of staying still for a second, I was grazed by Wukong's fist.
In an instant, a huge chunk in my arm was ripped off due to the force of the punch.
"Holy fuck! That hurts like hell!"
"C'mon, just dodge for a few more minutes."
Trying to figure out where the voice came from, I looked incredulously at the empty space.
'How was I going to last a few more against this beast, each second already felt like an eternity .'
"I am so, so fucked."
I guess my bad karma struck again, but right after I thought that, Wukong finally used a skill.
It jumped in the air, and with a force going down that actually created flames from the friction around him, he streaked towards where I was standing.
'Am I... going to die?'
All the strength that I thought I had, felt like nothing more than a single drop in front of this overwhelming power. All my confidence slipped away, like a drop of dew on the tip of a blade of grass in the early morning, as I fell down to my knees.
Time seemed to stop as the world slowed down. My memories started flashing in my head. I watched as my dad get eaten by our competitors in the business world, to when I saw him on the edge of the rooftop on our building, running, trying to stop him as he fell forward. I watched as my mom tried to deal with these monsters, only to find her in her bedroom months later, with a box of pills in her hands.
I watched as those greedy businessmen took everything from me, sending me to a remote land where I knew nothing. I watched as time and time again, bad things would happen to the people around me, all of them either dying or losing everything they had. Finally, I watched as I became a cold-blooded killer. Using my looks to my advantage to entice other players to help me through the tower, back stabbing them right after their usefulness ended.
I watched in silence, from afar, as the happy, smiling little girl, running through the sunny field of flower that was life, became no more, becoming nothing but an empty shell of what she once was, trudging through a gloomy, barren wasteland of misfortune and death.
'I guess, it's alright for me to die, I am nothing more than a blemish in the beautiful night sky. The stars were never meant to align for me anyways.'*
But, just when I had given up all hope, a voice shouted out, that was like a light shining in the darkness of this retched world,
"What are you doing kneeling there like a statue trying to stare at the heavens? Don't ever lose yourself to fear, standing still and losing your focus when facing an opponent is a recipe for death. No matter how strong you are, you have to keep your calm in all situations to find a way to at least escape with your life. You must stand up and believe in your abilities, and the abilities of your allies and the promises they made."
I felt something throb, deep in my heart. It was a feeling unlike anything else that I had experienced before. I realized that I was deeply moved by his words just now and reached what I could only call an epiphany.
What was I doing with my life? I had done nothing when I lost everything. I had killed and backstabbed so many people when coming into this tower. I had long been questioning my purpose for coming into this world.
'Did I really have the right to live? No, it didn't matter if I had the right or not, all that mattered was that I wanted to live, and that nothing was going to stop me from living. I can make my own decisions for how my life will be lived, and nothing, not even the gods can stop me from living.'
This was the conclusion I came up with in this sliver of a moment before my death. I know knew what I wanted to do, and to do that, I had to put my faith and trust into a person that I just met, but for some reason, I felt that he would keep his word, that I wouldn't die if I just believed in him.
Spurred on by Shin's words, I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact, but it never came.
Slowly opening them back up, I saw a scene in front of me that I would never forget.
The image of a man, cloaked in a tattered black trench coat that was falling apart, dissipating into ashes that flowed in the swirling dust around him, with a dagger in his arm that was stabbed right through the giant ape's heart.
I shining light seemed to be coming off of him... was he, my savior?
I couldn't help but feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
'He actually kept his promise.'
'Maybe there are some good people left in this world, covered by the darkness that is us human beings.'
It was only then, that I noticed that he had hundreds of bones sticking out of his skin, having all been snapped from the immense pressure of withstanding the force of Wukong's attack.
Although the moment that I saw him in felt like an eternity, it had only lasted for a few seconds.
And then he collapsed.
I ran up to him, desperately scrolling through the shop to see if there was anything that could save him.
'I can't let him die, no... no... no... no... no. What can I do, what can I do, what can I do?'
'I can't just let him die here right after he save my life.'
Then the system displayed a message.
[Congratulations to player "Shinubwa" and player "Little Hope" for killing the SS+ ranked named monster "Wukong", rewards will now be distributed.]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
...
Countless level up messages appeared in my eyes, and a green hue surrounded my body, releasing me from all of my pain and suffering.
It was only then that I noticed that Shin was under this affect to, all of his wounds healing in an instant.
"Thank you god, or gods. Thank you for keeping my savior alive." I whispered into the emptiness of the cavern.
Again, a stream of tears made its way down my face, this time, out of happiness.
[World Wide Announcement: Congratulations to player "Little Hope" and player "Anonymous" for being the first two to clear a SS+ ranked boss raid.]
[You have been awarded 500,000 TC.]
[World Wide Announcement: Congratulations to player "Little Hope" and player "Anonymous" for being the ones successful in killing the named boss monster Wukong.]
[You have been awarded 200,000 TC.]
[Your fame has increased!]
[Many gods are now interested in you, although they are more interested in your companion.]
[Your sponsor smiles down happily at you, commending you in finding such a good ally.]
[You have been gifted 2,000 TC.]
'I don't know why you decided to take me in, nor why you decided to risk your life for me, but I swear on all that I have left, that I will grow stronger, strong enough to stay by your side, becoming the shadow that follows your greatness. Thank you for showing me the meaning in my life, I sincerely thank you.'
Making that vow in my heart, I became resolved. I would no longer be the loser, leeching off others that my past self was. I would now become someone worthy of living the beautiful phenomenon that was life, something that Shin has shown me.
Passed out due to the exhaustion that his body went through, Shinobu never would have imagined in a million years that he had created a future monster, one that would serve him till the end of her life.
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* This is a Romeo and Juliet reference, where in the prologue, Shakespeare writes about a romance that was fated to be tragic as, "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life."
Note 1: One last thing, does anyone know why the "romance" tag is the tag that's like shown on the outside, the place where you're just scrolling looking for a novel, and also in my "Original Works" section in my profile for "Solo Tower Ranker"? It's just been really bothering me, so do any of you guys know a way to fix that?