I hear what sounds like a notification 'ping' but trying to look around or move I find myself becoming aware of the pitch blackness that seems to make up my entire world at the moment.
After an insane amount of effort I am able to get my eyelids to flicker a little and light shines through thats almost blinding. As I am able to start to connect to the real world at least by a little bit, I become aware of a constant beeping noise nearby.
My eyes slowly struggle to open but eventually I manage to pry them open long enough to adjust to the blinding light in what appears to be a white room. After moving my incredibly stiff neck toward the beeping sound I realise where I am.
I'm in a hospital room.
How did I get here? Where am I? Who am I? My head grows dizzy with the amount of questions forming in my brain. With each question the beeping gets more frequent.
I breathe deeply in through my nose and out through my mouth. It slows the beeping and my racing heart. This motion seems familiar to me somehow.
After nearly choking on the wires going into my nose I pull them out as carefully as I can but it doesn't make it hurt any less. After taking off more wires from various other parts of my anatomy (some hurting more than others) I am able to stand up and get my bearings.
The first thing I notice is just how cold the flooring is on my feet and the air is on my body that is barely covered by a hospital gown. The second thing I notice is that I can hear another 'ping' as if it is drawing my attention to it.
"Status!"
[Name - ???]
[Level: 0]
[Skills: Time Loop (5 seconds)]
I guess I need to know my own name for it to show up here. My level is 0 which is weird usually when people have levels they at least start off at 1.
Before I can wonder about my only skill though I hear a quick thudding coming from outside the room, it seems that yelling something out might not have been the best idea.
As the thudding grows nearer I panic and activate [Time Loop] right before a minotaur bursts through the door and cleaves me in half with its blade.
[Time Loop]
Right before a minotaur bursts through the door and cleaves me in half with its blade.
[~~~]
Right before a min- Hey wait a second!- cleaves me in half with its blade.
[~~~]
Right befo- I'm pretty sure this has already happened- its blade.
[~~~]
I try to sidestep the blade but I am too panicked and the movement is clumsy leading to it cleaving me in half with its blade.
[~14th~]
Successfully sidestepping the blade for the first time I gain [Dodge (Rank: Bronze)] however it then elbows me and cleaves me in half with its blade.
[~19th~]
After looping again I lost the dodge skill, it seems if I want to keep things from a loop then it needs to be my final loop. I know I could deactivate the loop at any time but right now it is the only thing keeping me alive.
I sidestep and gain the dodge skill again and this time duck under its harsh elbow putting us chest to chest. I use this small window of opportunity and try to punch it but it just almost breaks my entire arm. I stagger back and it cleaves me in half with its blade.
[~37th~]
Whilst side stepping the blade I grab the tube that is dangling off an IV. Whilst ducking underneath the elbow I yank the IV closer and instead of going straight to its chest I move under its other arm which gives me enough time to grab the IV. (After my last few attempts I figure out how to pick things up even when I am so weak) I wield the IV almost like a baseball bat and strike it's chest from the side.
It then elbows and I move to the other side and repeat the maneuver again and again. It finally slows a little and seems to be pretty exhausted, whether it be from any of the hitting I have been doing or all of the times it has moved its elbow I don't know, but it decides to swap its attacks and now begins to just sweep its blade around and manages to cleave me in half horizontally.
[~64th~]
Screw this guy, I sidestepped, I hit him with the IV and I have now spent so many loops trying to avoid his sweep but the time runs out before I get the chance so I take a gamble and after receiving the dodge skill I turn off the loop before turning it back on after the minotaur had shown it's exhaustion.
This gave me another 5 seconds of looping to figure out how to beat it.
After too many times dying I just decided that I would go for it and I sprang on top of blade and on top of its head. Holding onto its horns I simply dodge when it tries to swing the blade at me, The blade doesn't get driven into his skull so I have to leap from the horn onto the sword and whilst holding onto it the sword slices into the back of the minotaur's head.
[Deactivate Loop]
I begin to heave and hyperventilate, I would throw up if I had eaten anything.
Finally I could take a moment to relax and reflect, just what the hell has happened to the world if there are minotaurs roaming around in hospitals. I even have skills and levels, speaking of...
[Status]
[Name: ???]
[Level: 3]
[Skills: Time Loop (5 seconds), Dodge (Bronze rank), Strength (Bronze rank), Agility (Bronze rank), Weapons (Dirt rank)]
Dirt?! What the hell! At least I levelled up from that fight. At least I don't have to say status every time and alert every nearby enemy.
Anyway let's find a way out of this hospital!
And maybe find some real clothes if there's time...