Chapter Two: Winning and Losing
The door opened as the staggering Dusken entered the room. A man sitting on a chair and operating a magical screen instantly raised his head, glancing at the yawning Dusken.
"Dusk, what are you doing here?" the man asked, tilting his head. "It seems you have just finished your training. Have you taken your bath?"
Dusken glanced at his father as he massaged his eyebrows. The echoes of today's training weighed down on him.
"Dad, I'm tired. I'm just eight years old. Is it compulsory to undergo this training?" He yawned once again, feeling exhausted. "Every child must start this training at eight years old, but I don't care; I just want to rest."
The man paused his actions and let out a heavy sigh.
"Dusk, in this world, who doesn't want repose? But those who don't train to survive shall die. The Calamity Codex is cruel, but you must be crueler to survive." The man lingered for a moment, then added, "And getting strength is survival."
***
The oppressive heat of the sun bore down on the area as Dusken ran forward, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. The memory flashback played in his mind as he moved.
He had undergone perilous training, and running away from a level-one awakened creature was not only pitiful but also embarrassing, if his father were to see this, a horrifying punishment awaited him.
Even so, as someone who had reincarnated from Earth, Dusken had naturally played video games and always saw level one as weaklings but now he was being chased after by one.
The creature that pursued them had five stumpy legs and a robust exoskeleton that provided strong, stable protection. Its long antennas - two of them - were like the tendrils of a plant swaying in the wind. It also had two long multi-jointed pincers, each ending with a set of horrifying sharp claws.
On its head, two large ball-like white eyes stared at the two with condescending indifference, as they burned with furious madness.
Beneath them, a terrifying open maw occupied by razor-sharp teeth constantly dripped with vicious saliva on the golden sand of the desert.
This grotesque sight was enough to send any ten-year-old reeling back in shock and fear.
'Curse it, move faster, damn it.' Dusken gritted his teeth; he may have reincarnated, but right now, his body was still that of a ten-year-old, and it was beginning to reach its limits.
Not far behind him, Kyle ran while trembling in between his movements; his painting could be heard even from Dusken's location.
Dusken had to say that he was curious about what Kyle's side ability was, but he knew that this wasn't the right time or place to ask.
The creature chased not so far behind them, its razor-sharp teeth glinting under the sunlight in cold, murderous anticipation for the meal ahead.
'Well… this is just too much.' Dusken thought in stupefaction while navigating the rough terrain of the desert, especially the bones pointing out of the ground.
The desert stretched on endlessly as he and Kyle ran.
'Curse it. Such pain,' Dusken groaned while running through the hard desert ground as his feet inside his shoe felt pain with every step.
The craggy bones in the area seemed to increase as they ran past boulders and hills.
After reaching a small boulder, Dusken finally arrived at his limits. This was real life, not video games; no matter how firm his willpower was, his body was just too weak. Kyle also stopped alongside him, his body was drenched in sweat while he panted heavily.
In the distance, the grotesque abomination, which was still a harrowing sight to behold, was walking leisurely towards them; the insanity in its eyes was unmistakable.
Dusken shook his head; he refused to die this way; he had reincarnated, so this meant that he was a protagonist.
However, the looming shadow of the level one creature cast him into doubt. In the hands of a level one opponent, death was almost certain for him.
Even so, he was resolved to struggle till his very last breath. So he stood up, fighting against the exhaustion from lack of stamina, and began to move once again, albeit slowly.
"I, can't, go, any, further!" Kyle shouted from behind Dusken; his tone was anxious, and his words were said one at a time, displaying his tiredness.
The creature strolled toward them, its steps leaving heavy imprints not only on the desert ground but also on the hearts of Dusken and Kyle.
Inhaling deeply, Dusken relaxed his stressed muscles; he was tired but couldn't give up because surrendering meant death.
Kyle trembled visibly as the creature drew nearer.
Dusken ran his hands through his hair, knowing that running would ultimately lead to his death; the only way to survive was to fight and kill the beast.
The steps of the monster sounded as its figure drew nearer.
'Think, think, think, curse it. How? How can I defeat a level one awakened creature?' The thought alone sounded daunting and seemed like an impossible endeavour casting a shadow over Dusken's heart.
"Kyle, what's your side ability?"
His focus went to Kyle as anxiety gripped his very existence.
Kyle's voice shook slightly:
"My side ability has something to do with manipulating heat, but I can't be certain it would work since I haven't used it before," he responded with fear written all over his face.
With no time to think, Dusken quickly responded:
"OK, you'll use your heat to try to slow the creature down, and I'll handle the rest," his gaze moved to the monster that was walking towards them with steady steps.
'Somehow' he added internally.
The bones in the area shone under the sunlight; catching his attention. He glanced at them as they lay in the area like relics of a long-forgotten time and bent down to pick up one while planning to use it as a weapon.
The bone was pure white, curved in a weird 'C' shape making it look like a broken sickle with no handle as its sharp but ragged edge glistened under the sunlight.
Kyle raised his hands and the light in the area seemed to grow brighter as the temperature swelled at an alarming rate. The air became steamy as dense tropical heat covered the atmosphere.
The area suddenly felt like a furnace, and the surprising thing was that Kyle expertly controlled the heat not to harm him but to swarm at the creature and pressure it.
Suspicion rippled in Dusken's eyes as he gazed at Kyle. Had he really never used his side ability?
"Go!" Dusken heard Kyle's pained yell, and he snapped out of his thoughts; the beast stirred under the scorching heat and began to charge at their location.
Astonishingly, the monster didn't pay heed to Kyle, who was the cause of the heat, but to him instead.
'This is the apex of stupidity.' Dusken thought internally, as he held the sharp bone in his hand while studying the charging creature.
The hard desert ground was steaming under the increased heat produced by Kyle; the ground vibrated as the small but bulgy legs of the beast stomped on it.
Under Kyle's expert control, Dusken felt no hindrance to his movements at all, but this was another case entirely for the monster.
Its body was emitting smoke like it was being cooked from the inside.
It ran slowly, but its charge was faster than any speed Dusken could muster. The creature closed in on him in what felt like the blink of an eye.
The terrifying bone-sharp claws whistled through the air, swiping at his head. He immediately twisted, but the speed of a level one compared to a level zero was not to be underestimated.
Its sharp claws ripped part of Dusken's robe, grazing into non-resistant flesh and drawing slight blood which in turn caused him torturous pain.
Dust rose into the air as he rolled on the ground - the aftermath of the terrifying force behind the monster's attack. He stifled a pained groan, quickly getting up and kicking the earth to move backwards, away from the harrowing entity.
His opponent's two milky, white eyes regarded Dusken with insect-like indifference, its maw was half open as though in anticipation.
'Overly fast with sharp claws, but stops its charge to attack'
He gazed at the monstrosity and smiled crookedly. His wound was shallow, but constantly dripped out blood.
The reason for his smile wasn't due to masochism, but because he had noted down one of the beast's weaknesses that he could take advantage of.
He snuck a quick glance in Kyle's direction and saw that he was sweating profusely; a clear indication that using his side ability took everything he had.
The creature stirred once again, making him snap out of his thoughts, no time to think, he also moved, nimble and agile.
Due to the beast always stopping before attacking, it gave him precious chances of evading its attacks, the bone scattered around the desert broke apart under the creature's terrifying charge.
'Hmm, if I am not wrong, creatures like this almost have no body weakness'
He quickly sidestepped, evading a terrifying head charge of the creature while dust rose as his foot scraped the hard desert ground.
Because of his experiences in gaming, knowing most monsters' weaknesses shouldn't be a problem.
'It's the head,' he thought confidently; beasts with strong physical bodies mostly had that weakness.
Due to this slight distraction, he was sent flying by a collision made by the creature and was embraced by the hot desert ground, the bones scattered around, and dust rose as some pierced through his skin.
A sharp sting pain shot through him but his eyes remained firm as blood flowed out of his lips. The creature's eyes gleamed with insanity as it charged at him, the smoke billowing from its body had multiplied, slowing down its movements considerably, but Dusken couldn't move away in time.
'I won't make it'
This thought solidified itself in his mind, but in this moment of death, he felt extremely calm. Before coming to the ethereal land, he had already accounted for the possibility of death, and now it was here to embrace him.
The creature was about to ram into him when Kyle charged from behind and placed his palm on the charging creature's body just before the collision.
A horrifying, bone-chilling scream erupted from the beast like it was being roasted alive.
Dusken nodded at Kyle and once again charged at the monstrosity. He had died once, and so his fear of death had considerably decreased.
His eyes blazed with fighting intent, during their earlier battle, he had made good improvements.
He was now faster, and more enduring. The fiend's sharp claws sliced through the air, aiming to cut him down.
However, its swing was slowed due to the intense pain it felt from Kyle's sudden blow and before the creature could stabilise itself, he inserted all the strength he could muster into his arm muscles as he raised the bone weapon high and stabbed down with a fiery momentum and burning determination.
A terrifying beastly scream once again resounded in the area and he was sent reeling backwards with a headbutt from the creature.
He landed heavily on his back as blood spurted out his mouth. But he had none of the pained expression one might expect, only a triumphant grin that reeked of insanity twisted his lips while revealing his blood-stained teeth.
There, in the distance, the creature had a bone weapon impaled on its head. It fell on the ground while twitching as dark red, thick blood flowed out of the fatal wound delivered to its head.
Dusken slowly got up from the ground, the adrenaline was gone, and only tiredness caressed his body.
The recent battle had drained him severely; he could barely stand as echoes of the fight lingered, sending throbbing pain through his body.
It was as expected; the Calamity Codex wouldn't just send ten-year-olds to a location where a vile creature resided, there was always fairness in its actions, and this beast may be a level one, but it wasn't as powerful as those old monsters called Cursed creatures, he shivered at this thought.
After some time of panting, he stared at the twitching creature, cold contempt radiating from his eyes.
"Ha-ha! We won," he spoke in between his pants.
Kyle's eyes gleamed while staring at Dusken:
"Yes, we won Dusk. After all odds, we finally killed this creature, but it was all due to your efforts" A smile twisted Kyle's lips as he sat, resting his back on the small boulder.
Dusken revelled in this moment, he felt many emotions but one of them was relief as well as somberness. He couldn't help but reflect while staring at the creature.
As the saying goes, life is as thrilling as a battle, while death is as sorrowful as a shadow lost in an endless night.
Just like the earlier battle, life and death were similar to winning and losing. The winner gets to live on and enjoy the excitement of life, while the dead are lonely and pitiful.
He let out a breath of turbid air while sinking into his thoughts. He had won and had successfully passed this hurdle, but all these were temporary, the real threat lingered in the god's palace.
It may be the creature who had died today, but tomorrow, one day in the future, when his tenure had ended, he, too, would die, and nothing could escape death.
Only Immortality could transcend that concept, but was it attainable? Either way, he wanted that immortality, that great eternal life.
He was the main character of this world; after all, he had reincarnated, so eternal life and absolute power would be his to attain.
A complicated feeling arose in his heart while staring at the corpse of the creature. Its body had stopped twitching, and it lay motionless on the ground.
Then suddenly, the calamity Codex whispered from the depths of his very being making his eyes widen due to its words.
'D-damn'
[You have slain a level one awakened creature.]
After some prolonged silence, he instantly felt cold air gushing through his veins as the voice added:
[You have received a scroll]
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A/N: If you like the story, comment and vote with power stones. Don't also forget to add to your library.