'Screw this, I can't be bothered.' An eighteen-year-old man was sitting behind a desk with a laptop in front of him. His name was Magnus, and he had light blonde hair and blue eyes. He was meant to be doing some work for his creative writing course at his University and was sitting in the library to try and get it done. But no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to start typing.
He didn't know if this was because of the eerie quietness of the library or if he was lazy, but he decided to go home to see if a different environment would do him any good. his home would be just as quiet, with his parents having passed away the year before in a terrorist attack, with their final messages to their son telling him to live on and follow his dreams for his future. At least he would be able to listen to music at his house though
He started to pack his bag, shoving his laptop into it as well as his pens and paper which he was brainstorming ideas with. He swung the black bag onto his back and began to walk towards the exit of the building. The library was a large, mostly glass, building and was generally regarded as one of the more beautiful University buildings in England.
Magnus had worked incredibly hard to make his way to this prestigious University, and it saddened him that it wasn't all that everyone, including himself, had made it out to be. As he walked further on, the day began to get darker, the winter air growing cooler with the rapidly approaching darkness.
He entered a seemingly empty road, and the darkness was only cut through by a row of street lights illuminating circles on the ground. The quietness of the empty night was both reassuring and terrifying, and Magnus felt as though he could gain some inspiration for his writing from the serene environment.
He continued walking down this road, and the further he got, the more the reassurance turned into confusion, not quite fear, just a level of confusion, unlike anything he had recently felt. He had turned a corner which he had taken a multitude of times, but it was different.
One of the lampposts had been bent, not as if it was hit by a car at the bottom, but bent at the top, as if something had grabbed it and bent the solid metal. Magnus knew this was impossible, and there would be a reasonable explanation, albeit not one that he would have to investigate.
He continued walking, and the further he got the more seemingly destroyed things he saw, he hadn't heard anything loud enough to imply that this was recent, but his fear was growing with every second that passed.
He took another corner, more destroyed trees and lamp posts, except this time there were almost foot-shaped craters in the ground, and he was starting to feel as if there was no other possible reason for this than something supernatural. On the same road with the footsteps in the ground, just a little further along, Magnus saw what looked like bloodstains covering the ground.
Upon seeing this, it became too much for him, and he began to run in the direction of his home. He was only around ten minutes away and running would give him a better chance of survival against whatever had caused all of the destruction than walking slowly would.
He turned another corner, and before he could see anything he felt himself being smashed by something heavy. He could feel that all of his ribs were broken, and had punctured his lungs. As he wheezed, attempting to stay alive, he widened his closing eyes to see what had hit him, expecting a car or potentially an explosive.
What he saw was nothing like this though, there was a humungous humanoid, larger than the houses it was standing next to. It had pale grey skin and would be considered overweight for a human, with a large stomach which was not covered. It was wearing what only seemed to be a rag around its waist, and some fabric-made shoes. The creature only had a single eye in the middle of its head, and it had a large mouth full of blunt teeth, probably made so due to the amount it had eaten.
Magnus recognised this creature as a Cyclops, one of the most famous monsters from mythologies from all around the world. He had never expected to see a monster such as it in real life, but clearly, it was real somehow, and it made sense considering all of the destruction he had seen before, as well as the blood stains.
He could tell that he didn't have long left to live, not just due to his pierced lungs and broken ribs, but also because the Cyclops was approaching him at what looked like a slow pace, which was quite fast due to its humungous body.
The weapon in its right hand, a large wooden club, was what smashed into Magnus, and he was surprised that he hadn't instantly died due to the size of it.
Once the cyclops got close enough, it reached its long, chubby arm down and grabbed Magnus's body. It raised him, and lowered him to its mouth, smashing its blunt teeth through his body, splitting him in two. For a brief second, Magnus' consciousness remained and he witnessed the chewing of his own body in the monster's mouth before his vision went entirely black.
'Unique Skill Return From Death Has Been Activated. The User Will Return To A Safe Point In Time'
'First Death Trophy Has Been Received +5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Speed'
Magnus opened his eyes to what, at best, he assumed to be Heaven or Hell, at worst the inside of the Cyclops' stomach. However, instead of any of these, he opened his eyes to see the desk he was sitting at in the library, and the first thing he did was throw up involuntarily at the memory of being eaten alive.
Everyone around him was startled by this and tried to ask if he was okay, but he got up and sprinted to the bathroom to throw up some more.
After a few minutes of being sick in the toilet, Magnus stopped feeling the need to and thought about everything that had happened and what he was going to do.
The monster that had killed him surely wouldn't be the only one, so there would likely be more around which could potentially kill him.
What confused him even more than this though was how he was still alive, he started to think to himself, 'What was it that it said right as I died, return from death? Something like that.'
When he said 'return by death', a strange screen appeared in front of him. It was dark orange and had writing on it.
'User Has Returned To A Safe Point In Time.
User Has Unlocked The Status After Encountering A Monster.
The First Death Trophy Has Been Received +5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Speed'
Name: Magnus
Age: 18
Level: 0 (0)
Unique Skill: Return From Death
Stats:
Vitality: 6
Strength: 6
Speed: 6
Luck: 1
Stat Points: 0
Skills:
Level Points: 0
'What the hell is all of this?' Magnus thought to himself.