"System disabled?"
Grey read and reread the penalty, refusing to believe what he saw.
"This must be a joke, right?!" he said, his voice quivering.
The system was messing with him. It had to be.
He would have to fight a zombie named Veincrusher or lose the system.
Veincrusher rose to its feet, revealing its full body—a hulking ball of muscle. It regarded him with almost human eyes and insatiable hunger, which made Grey take a step back.
"It looks strong, really strong," Grey gulped, but he gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve. Being a coward right now wouldn't do him any good.
If the system was leaving him no choice but to fight, then he had to fight.
As if provoked by Grey's stance, the zombie let out an ear-deafening roar that rattled Grey's bones, before charging towards him.
Grey's eyes widened in shock as Veincrusher reached him in seconds. It was fast, and more agile than a regular zombie.
*BOOM!
The wall exploded where Veincrusher's fist landed, inches from where Grey had just been. He had jumped back in the nick of time
Grey heartbeat raced, as he realized that if he wasted even a second, hesitating, his skull was going to turn into mashed potatoes.
Veincrusher dove toward Grey, launching several frenzies blows, but Grey kept a distance, barely staying out of reach.
He knew if he forced an opening, he was bound to get hit.
But he wasn't going to do just wait.
Grey attacked shifting his body to the left, which convinced Veincrusher to swing in that direction, but its blow met thin air as Grey had darted to the opposite direction instead.
With the zombie's side now open, Grey slashed his axe with all the force he could muster towards its ribcage, but then...
*CRACK
The fire axe shattered on impact, splinters flying in all directions, barely cutting Veincrusher's skin.
The axe wasn't made for combat, yet Grey had used it to do exactly just that. Killing more than a dozen zombies.
Now it was gone, and Grey stood weaponless before an angry, hulk-like zombie.
And with huge muscles came huge anger issues.
And he was defenseless.
"Shit!" Grey spat as Veincrusher's backhand came at him like a freight train.
And Grey despite blocking with both arms, was sent sprawling across the room, crashing into a desk piled with files, papers scattering everywhere.
Pain shot through his ribs.
"Sunovabish," Grey groaned, clutching his side.
He tried to stand, but his arms were temporarily useless—numb from the impact.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself up using only his legs, swaying as his vision blurred for a second.
"The system's trying to kill me," he laughed bitterly, wincing from the pain.
How was he supposed to beat this thing? Veincrusher wasn't just strong—it was fast, tough, and relentless.
And the clock was ticking. He had 30 minutes to clear the Battle Quest or lose the system.
The penalty was just too dire.
'I would die without the system.' Grey sighed wearily.
There was no running away from this.
Even if he tried, the juggernaut wouldn't let him.
He had to fight.
He had no weapon but he had awakened lightning element.
'Yeah I could use that...but how?'
There was time to think about it as the juggernaut roared looking eager for round two.
Grey, feeling more resolved, prepared to go at it again.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to get a feel for the energy pulsing inside him.
Energy flowed through his veins, alive and electric.
He just had to find a way to channel it out.
His arm had somewhat recovered from the blow, so he grinned and gestured with his middle finger for the zombie to come at him.
Veincrusher roared in anger and charged at him, its heavy footsteps pounding the ground.
Grey bolted forward, meeting the monster head-on.
As the zombie swung a massive fist toward his head, Grey dropped low, sliding between its legs in one swift motion.
Springing to his feet behind the hulking creature, Grey turned towards the zombie's now-exposed back and muttered:
'Here goes nothing.'
He visualized a bolt of lightning exploding from his palm, focusing all his energy on that image.
And suddenly, he felt it—a surge of power crackling through his body.
Ding!
[Arc Flash Unlocked]
Electricity erupted from his hand and shot toward Veincrusher, lighting up the zombie in a web of sparks.
The creature screamed in pain, stumbling forward. It swung its arm wildly, but Grey ducked under the blow, his fist connecting with an uppercut to the zombie's jaw, sending it staggering backward.
Not giving it a moment to recover, Grey pressed the attack, launching another [Arc Flash]. Again and again.
Veincrusher, under the relentless assault, raised its arms in defense. Grey hesitated for a second, shocked. He hadn't expected the zombie to defend itself.
He kept hammering it with strikes, but none of them seemed to deal any real damage due to its defense. And no matter how much he hit it, the monster wouldn't fall.
Frustration crept into Grey's mind.
If he kept going at this rate, he'd eventually burn through all his energy reserves. Then it would be Veincrusher's turn to strike back.
He had to end it now.
Grey stopped attacking, his breath ragged. And the juggernaut lowered its guard, scanning the area for its opponent.
But then it heard Grey's voice from behind.
"Hey, quit wasting time, and let's get over this already!" Grey and then another [Arc Flash] exploded out of his hand. This one stronger than before.
The blast launched Veincrusher forward, sending the massive creature crashing into a wall.
Grey stared in shock, fumes rising from his arm.
He hadn't expected his attack to pack such a punch. Probably because he had fired it out of frustration.
But that power came at a cost—consuming energy twice the usual.
Veincrusher groaned as it slowly rose to its feet, towering over the battlefield.
Its heavy breaths rattled the air, and without warning, it let out a deafening roar.
The ground trembled beneath Grey's feet as shockwaves rippled outward, stirring the dust around them.
Suddenly, the creature's body began to change.
Its muscles swelled, bulging grotesquely beneath its skin, which shifted from a sickly pale white to a reddish pink, pulsating with raw power.
[Warning: Veincrusher has used Rageborne]
"Rageborne?" Grey muttered, wide-eyed.
From what he could see, Grey realized the skill was similar to Berserk which was a common term in video games. It was an ability that boosted strength, turning an opponent into an unstoppable force of destruction.
He readied himself, eyes glued to the massive zombie, anticipating its next move.
Veincrusher stopped for a moment, its body heaving with heavy, labored breaths.
Then, like a coiled spring, it launched forward with terrifying speed. Its massive fist came crashing down toward Grey.
But Grey was quicker.
He dodged to the side just in time, the impact of the blow shattering the ground where he once stood.
Rocks flew into the air, and a crater formed beneath Veincrusher's fist.
Before Grey could catch his breath, Veincrusher spun toward him, unleashing a furious barrage of punches.
Each one thundered through the air with enough force to crush bones, but Grey danced out of reach, his body in constant motion.
He couldn't afford to stop, not even for a second, as Veincrusher's relentless assault left nothing but destruction in its wake.
Every step, every dodge pushed Grey to his limits, his mind racing to keep up with the monster's power.
He was starting to see how Viencrusher had made such a bloody mess out of the zombie corpses he saw in the hallway.
Veincrusher hurled a desk at Grey, but it smashed into the wall, missing him as he jumped away.
As Grey stood to move, his legs felt like they weighed a ton, and his speed slowed.
His stamina had finally run out.
"Shit."
Veincrusher caught up to Grey and wrapped its huge fingers around his leg, causing him to trip.
It then lifted him into the air, leaving him hanging upside down.
Grey's eyes widened in panic:
"This is bad."
Before he could think of doing anything, Veincrusher mercilessly slammed his body to the ground.
Grey coughed out blood as his eyes went white, pain blurring his consciousness. If he hadn't been consuming all the shards he had gotten, than all of his bones would have been broken at this moment.
Veincrusher held Grey into the air once more, its decaying fingers digging into his skin like iron claws.
Grey's arms hung limp at his sides, his body swaying like a broken doll as warm blood trickled from his lips, staining his chin.
The ground beneath him blurred as his vision wavered, knowing that when the zombie slammed him down again, it would be over.
The monster's putrid breath filled the air as it prepared to deliver the final blow.
Panic clawed at Grey's mind, and his aching body screamed for surrender.
Every muscle burned, urging him to let go, to give up.
But deep inside, the flicker of survival refused to extinguish.
Desperation flared.
And Grey gritted his teeth, his jaw clenched with resolve.
He felt the surge of power, raw and electric, building within him and summoned every last shred of strength.
Then he channeled his energy, forcing it into his arm, and lightning sparked and crackled at his fingertips, twisting and forming a...