Dawn came, and a lifeless body was seen on the shore of the river, beside the riprap. If you looked closely, you'd see a young man with a skinny build and wavy hair, his white shirt and suit stained with dried blood and mud.
*His fingers slightly moves*
—
Soon after, he gasped for air, gripping his chest tightly with one hand and clutching the dirt with the other. Once he calmed down, he felt cold and weak.
He didn't move for a moment, then covered his face with his forearm. Tears slowly flowed down to his temple and onto the ground. "Sorry, little sister. I tried to leave you... I'm not just useless, I'm a coward too," he cried until the sun disappeared below the horizon.
—
*The water rippled*
Sam heard the sound and wiped his face as he decided to sit up. Something emerged from the water, slowly walking toward him.
Sam was stunned and puzzled by the strange creature appeared. It looked like a combination of a flea and a fish, with matte black scales, and its size was about that of a basketball.
The creature let out an eerie screech before suddenly jumping toward Sam's head.
Luckily, Sam managed to move his head just in time, avoiding a direct hit. Without thinking twice, he sprinted toward the riprap stairs, but the black creature kept pursuing him. He dodged its lethal attacks, but he continued to receive cuts from its sharp feet, and his clothes were becoming tattered and torn, looking like a ragged mess.
Sam finally reached the stairs and noticed the creature abruptly stop. Turning back, he saw its scales beginning to dry out, forcing it to retreat hastily into the water.
Relieved, Sam lay on the stairs. As the adrenaline wore off, pain spread through his body. He was covered in cuts and fresh blood. "What kind of animal was that?" he muttered, confused. Then he noticed the collapsed buildings and fires across the river.
Shocked, Sam got up and climbed the stairs. At the top, he saw wrecked cars, destroyed buildings, and bodies everywhere. Some were crushed, others torn to pieces. His face turned pale, and he froze before dropping to his knees and vomiting.
While trying to calm himself, Sam noticed a green, muscular humanoid creature in his peripheral vision, scavenging dead bodies and munching on them.
Terrified, he hid behind a thick electric pole, trembling. Holding his breath, he stayed completely silent, waiting for the monster to finish eating.
After a few minutes, the monster finished eating and walked away. Feeling relieved, Sam's body began to relax, but then something important came to his mind. "Aya!"
Worried, he wanted to go home right away to check on his little sister. However, his bike was miles away, and it was already midnight. He couldn't see if there was danger nearby, and he was afraid of running into the green humanoid again. So, he decided to find shelter in an abandoned building, hoping to find some food and a place to sleep.
—
After finishing the pack of crackers he took from the cabinet drawer, his hunger eased. He then entered the office storage room and locked the door. He slowly walked to the corner and sat down, wincing as the cuts hurt. He leaned against the wall to rest.
As tiredness washed over him, his eyes grew heavy. Before they fully closed, he desperately hoped his little sister was safe until he could return home. "Aya, please be okay... God, please keep her safe. I swear I'll never leave her side again...' Then, his eyes shut, and he drifted into sleep."
—
Morning came, and he was shocked when he checked his body. All the shallow cuts had completely healed, but unfortunately, the deep ones remained. "What's happening to my body? How did it heal so fast?" Astonished and unsure of what had happened, he decided to ignore it and began searching for food and items he could use.
While scavenging for food and items inside the establishment where he stayed, he noticed the date on the electronic clock above the office table. Dumbfounded, he realized that two days had passed since he fell from the bridge and woke up on the river shore. The realization intensified his worry even more. "I need to go home immediately," he said to himself.
Another thing bothering him was the strange, game-like message he received before he fell. He muttered, "[Your world has been invaded], [You are awakened]"
-
After placing the food and items he had gathered into a backpack he found in the locker, he glanced down at his outfit. It was ruined, so he decided to take it off as it restricted his movement. With no spare clothes available, he settled for his blood-stained, dirt-covered, and torn white shirt, paired with his black pants and worn-out shoes.
After finishing his preparations, he tried to access the message he had received before. "How can I view that message?" He paused for a moment and said, "Open Inbox." Nothing happened. "Open Messages." Still nothing. "Show Messages." No response. "Check Messages." Nothing again. He wasted a couple of minutes trying.
Annoyed, he swiped his hand upward in frustration, and suddenly, a floating, game-like interface appeared:
[Status Window Opened]
Name: Sam Torres [Level: 1]
Race: Earth – Human
HP: 100/100
MP: 0/0 [Error: Unable to use mana points]
Strength: 3
Stamina: 8
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 10
Unused points: 4
[Inventory] [Error: Can't access inventory]
[Skills] [Error: Unable to acquire new skills]
Slow Regeneration (F - Passive):
Your self-healing ability is enhanced, allowing you to recover 1.3 times faster than your normal healing rate over time, and 2 times faster while you are asleep. This ability consumes stamina during the healing process.
[System Inbox] [Tap to open]
Amazed, Sam started to read, "This really looks like a game."
"I only have 3 points in strength?" he muttered. "Thinking about it, I guess I can't even scratch that green humanoid."
Then he noticed his skill and stared at it seriously. Anger began to build up. "1.3 times faster? How is that supposed to help me survive this apocalyptic mess? And 2 times faster when I'm sleeping? So, you want me to sleep all the time? Why don't you just kill me? How am I supposed to get home in one piece? I don't even have any attack or defense skills like in the games. And why is my system full of errors?!" He ranted angrily to the system.
Calming down, he sighed, "I'm really going to die this time," feeling hopeless.