In a busted down bungalow, down in the slums, a man with blonde hair and blue eyes can be seen pacing. His hands are shaking as he waits infront of his computer screen. It's not until he hears his friends yell at him through the speakers of his headset that he picks it up and puts the headset on.
"Yo, dreamcatcher. Sorry for the wait, and for your loss. How are you holding up?" My online friend named Dez says. I can see that he's not the only one on call so I keep it short to prevent myself from breaking down. "I'm fine, just tired." My hand remotes myself and brings up the message board for Dez. "Well shit if you need anything you let us know. Are you ready to play?" I freeze in thought and my hands stop typing. Would it help me right now. "Yeah, I'll play a game."
That was a mistake. I couldn't focus the whole match. I died pretty much every minute or so, Dez focused entirely on bringing me back everytime. I eventually just hid in a corner near Dez... that still didn't help. After that train wreck I told him goodnight before I texted him.
"Hey Dez. I'm not okay. I don't know what to do... it feels like everything around me is falling apart. First my mom. Now my sister. I feel like I can't breath anymore. I could do nothing but wait to see if they would..." My hands on the keyboard shook as tears spilled down my cheeks. I hit send... then the table, then the wall... I was utterly alone.
[System Connecting in Progress]
[10%]
[50%]
[70%]
[97%]
[100%]
[Congratulations User]
[Life System Unlocked]
[Unlock Conditions Met Before Apocalypse Decent]
[To Understand More Use Code Word Status]
My hands were bloody and scraped, the wails that left my mouth and the tears clouding my eyes prevented me from seeing the pop ups for a while. Suddenly my phone started to ring, must be Dez.
I start wiping my eyes, blood smears over my face as I clear my eyes to search for my phone. "Wh-what the fuck." My hoarse voice says as I look at the floating text box in front of me. I have to read it over and over again before my mind finally comprehend what I'm seeing.
"A s-system... you come after the two most important people I care about. Are. Dead?"
The system floats in place unmoved. I want to destroy that screen, burn this house down, and also curl up and cry in a corner until the tears are burned on the surface of my face. "Whats the point of a system if I can't protect the ones I love? What's the point of using said system to change anything if not for their future." I mumble, my mind a mess. I pinch my skin, then pull at my arm hair, pulling and pulling till I pluck out multiple hairs. "Status" I say dejected.
[John Grey]
[Age 20]
[Apocalypse Decent: 0 years. 2 Days. 3 hours. 33 minutes. 10 seconds]
[Hp: 100]
[Mp: 50]
[Vit:5]
[Str:5]
[Dex:5]
[Int:10]
[Unallocated Points: 0]
[Unallocated Skill Points: 1]
[Unique Skills: ]
[Skill Lists: ]
[Congratulations On First System Use]
[Recieveing Talor Made Starting Skill]
[Unique Skill: Sanctuary]
[A defence type Spell that creates a shield made of pure life magic. Once activated, any creature inside will gain life rapidly based on Vitality+10% per second. Once creatures are at maximum health gain an additional increase in health based on Vitality. With bonus Vitality to health, gain Resistance to all types of attacks, decreasing damage by 50% for an hour. Gain Regen equal to Vitality for an hour. This spell can be set up to 60 meters. This spell will activate when User has 0 health and prevents death even if on cooldown. Activates 1 hour, Cooldown 1 hour.]
As a person who plays games everyday my eyes hurt. I had to rub my eyes just to make sure I wasn't seeing things. A death prevention system. I can't die. Hell, no one can if they stay within 60 meters of me if I play my cards right. Looked at the system screen for a while before confirming the Skill. Effectively adding the broken Skill to myself. I wonder what else the system has... also what's the difference between Skills and unique skills?
[Unique Skills Cannot Be Enhanced]
[Unique Skills Cannot Be Aquired By Anyone Else]
[Most Gain Unique Skills As They Grow]
[Skills Can Be Aquired By Anyone]
[Skills Can Be Bought In The Store With Skill Points]
[Skills Can Be Enhanced With Skill Points]
[Monsters Drop Skill Books Rarely]
Huh that's interesting... so no one will have Sanctuary. Will everyone have Unique Skills?
[No, Unique Skills Aren't Aquired Normally]
[Most Will Never Recieve Unique Skills]
That's makes people with these type of skills valuable. My eyes scrolled through the System conversation and immediately I paled at the timer I failed to see.
[Apocalypse Decent: 0 years. 2 Days. 3 hours. 11 minutes. 40 seconds]
"Wh-what Apocalypse?! I can't believe I scrolled right past that!" [Apocalypse Decent Allows Systems To Enter Worlds To Aid In Preventing Mass Sentient Extermination]
So your only here because it's death day in 2 days? What about everyone else?!
[System Activation Is Dependent On Users Mental and Physical Health And Well Being]
[System Activation Usually Happens On Day One Of The Apocalypse]
Wait wait wait... so Dez doesn't know there is going to be a Apocalypse in 2 days time. My hand grabs my phone while I wipe the tear smears off my face. I get up and start calling Dez as I get my shoes, wallet, and keys. "Hey man, I got your message but you never messaged me back. I know it's hard-"
"DEZ, I need you to get your ass into gear for me. This is serious, I'm not playing. You know how I joke with you sometimes that I have people I know in the government? Well I just got information to start hauling out convenient stores worth of provisions. I need you to get your shoes, wallet, keys and get your credit card ready because that system won't even matter in a few days. I'm headed out right now to prepare. No I'm not crazy this is happening right now. You will thank me in 2 to 3 days time. Hurry!" I hang up before he can ask me any questions. I'm now out of the house and in my car. I made sure my voice was as steady as it could be and I hope he pays attention to what I was saying.
Dez's house:
"Hey where are you going, aren't you going to eat dinner?" Dez's girlfriend asks. "I'll eat it on the way. Do me a favor, clean out anything in the fridge and cupboards that's bad and save the good stuff. I'm going shopping." Dez says as he grabs his hamburger and go out the door.