The sky was a bruised blend of blue and red, its piercing gaze accompanied by the distant cawing of crows. A man lying on the ground, motionless.
Bloodied and bruised, his face was half-destroyed, his muscles strained and worn out. His eyes were closed, and his skin had a pure white pallor, like a corpse.
"..."
A crow landed on his face.
Peck. Peck
"..."
He was dead.
Peck. Peck.
"....."
CRUNCH
GASP
Oh. Guess not.
"...Ahh."
He tried to raise himself upright, his body trembling with effort.
"Where in the name of the Kaiser am I?"
He attempted to stand, only to stumble and collapse.
SLAM
"Ah, fuck..."
He looked at his hand, covered in blood and dirt.
"Wha...?"
His fingers were decayed, rotting.
Panicked, he tried to feel his body, but there was nothing—no sensation, no warmth.
Then he looked to the right.
A graveyard stretched out before him, rows of crooked tombstones silhouetted against the blood-red sky.
"....Am I in hell?"
".....Hahahaha... ahhh...."
He plopped himself down, utterly defeated.
"In the end, nothing ever mattered, I guess."
He looked down, dejected and hopeless.
".....I guess I'll never know peace."
He sighed, the sound heavy with resignation.
PING
He looked up, startled.
INSTALLING... 40%
He stared at the prompt, dazed and confused.
"....Is this some kind of joke?"
ZAP
"AH, FUCK!"
He lay charred on the ground, smoke curling off his body.
"What in the world—"
A prompt appeared directly in his face, glowing ominously:
OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE
He scratched his head for a moment, only to hear something behind him.
Grrrrr
He turned to look—and froze.
".....Me and my shitty luck."
They were zombies, clawing their way out of their tombs, their decaying forms illuminated by the eerie red sky.
"Never stops disappointing me," he muttered under his breath.
Without another thought, he started running.
He ran and ran, dodging and weaving through the lunging zombies.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
His breath came in ragged gasps as he kept moving, but then he heard it again.
PING
He looked up.
INSTALLATION... 70 PERCENT
He squinted at the glowing blue screen of light, as he called it, trying to make sense of it.
"Wait a minute..."
He skidded to a stop near a path winding into a dark trail.
"I know you," he muttered, recognition flickering in his eyes.
But before he could say more, a sudden bash to the head interrupted him.
"Ack!"
The blow sent him tumbling across the field, his body rolling through the dirt.
"Ahhhhh—"
He tried to stand up, his body trembling with effort.
THUM THUM THUM
As he rose, he looked toward the source of the sound—a giant zombie, towering and grotesque. Its body was stitched together, oozing green goo, and its mouth was a gaping, jagged hole.
"..."
For a moment, he didn't focus on the inevitable horror closing in. Instead, his gaze locked onto something comforting—something familiar, like an old friend.
But the zombies were everywhere now, surrounding him, their gnarled hands reaching out.
He looked up, defiance burning in his eyes.
".....What are you waiting for?"
He straightened himself, his voice rising to a roar.
"COME AT MEEE!"
The giant zombie charged, its hulking mass smashing through tombstones as it sprinted toward him, the ground shaking with every step.
He closed his eyes, bracing himself for either sweet relief... or a miracle.
PING
INSTALLATION... 100%.
A voice echoed in his mind, calm and commanding:
"Welcome back, Oligarch."
"Hell yeah!"
He immediately tapped into the system interface:
_____________ ______________
- Stats
- Item Shop
- Skills
- Roulette
____________ __________________
"ITEM SHOP!"
But before he could navigate further, the giant zombie grabbed him.
BANG
It slammed him into the ground with crushing force.
"ACK!"
The system interface spiraled wildly, seemingly gravitating toward chaos.
"RANDOMIZER INITIATED."
The world around him slowed to a crawl as the system morphed into the shape of a gun.
Click Click Cick Click
BANG.
The gun fired, the shot piercing him straight in the chest.
"WEAPON ACQUIRED: Kensei Katana."
"SKILL ACQUIRED: DANCE OF THE DEAD."
"..."
The zombie grabbed him again, its massive hand tightening around his body as it pulled him closer. Its grotesque mouth opened wide, revealing jagged, broken teeth dripping with saliva and decay.
"Dancing Betty," he muttered under his breath.
SLASH
In an instant, he was free.
Now, he stood at the edge of the street, breathing heavily. He looked back to see nothing but a bloody pulp where the zombie once stood.
"LEVEL UP"
"....Heroes of Old Earth," he whispered, his voice tinged with nostalgia and bitterness.
He checked his weapon, the blade gleaming in the dim light.
"20 years, has it?"
He felt the weight of his sword—sharp yet light as a feather.
"Huh. Wait a minute... If I remember correctly, the Kensei Katana cost around..."
He quickly checked the shop.
"-20,000 Coins."
His jaw dropped.
"....I'm a poor bastard," he muttered, shaking his head.
Then it hit him.
"Also, what was the cooldown for this ability again?"
He navigated to the skills menu.
"Cooldown: 2 days."
"...."
He sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair.
"My luck never stops disappointing me."
_________________ ________________
Name: Ethan Cross
Level: 2
Status: Decrepit Undead
Attributes:
- Strength: 4
- Agility:6
- Intelligence: 7
- Dexterity: 4
- Perception: 8
- Endurance:10
Coins:-20,000
Status in Effect
1. Undead Hunger
"The curse of undeath gnaws at your very essence, leaving you perpetually ravenous."
- Gradually reduces Strength over time.
- Mitigation: Consuming food temporarily halts the decay.
2. Debt Trap
"The weight of unpaid debts shackles your every move."
- Prevents access to the Item Shop until debts are cleared.
- Penalty: Reduces Move Speed by 2.
Skills
Dance of the Dead
"The blade sings, and death dances to its tune."
Ability: Active
Type: Targeted Area of Effect (AoE)
Cooldown: 48 hours
Mana Cost: 100
Description:
Eathen Cross channels his undead energy into a devastating flurry of slashes, striking all enemies within a targeted area. Each slash deals physical damage and reduces the target's armor for a short duration.
Effects:
- Damage per Slash: 50/75/100/.... (scales with level and agility)
- Number of Slashes: 6
- Armor Reduction: -2/3/4 per slash (stacks up to 6 times)
- Duration: 8 seconds
Custom Activation Phrase:
"Dancing Betty "
Lore:
"Forged in the fires of death and honed by despair, the Dance of the Dead is a lethal art passed down through generations of cursed warriors. Few have witnessed its fury and lived to tell the tale."