It was the seventh day.
It was morning now. The streets were eerily clean of monsters. As if they had all run away. As if they had all hid themselves. As if they could feel the tingling in the air.
The seventh day. At noon, the Gramatoa would arrive. It would come at the heart of the city, stepping out of the rift that’d form atop a deserted junction. A Gramatoa would arrive in each distinct region on the earth. The planet would tremble on their arrival.
So she sat upon the edge of a roof. Her sword was leisurely placed on her left, its steel edge beginning to chip from all the stress it’d endured. Grace’s pack was slung over her back. It was filled with a couple dozen bottles, each filled with water that glowed an off-putting silver.
She glanced at her phone.
11:12
The siblings were back at their apartment. She’d told them to stand outside, in case the apartment toppled over. They agreed with no hesitation.
She bid them a quick farewell. Their trust was still deeply uncomfortable.
The siblings. Grace and James. Something nibbed at the back of her mind at those names. A familiarity. Caution. Hope. She wasn’t sure. You know them, something inside her whispered. It sounded desperate, like a plea. You know them, it came again, softer this time. Like it was fading.
The siblings. Grace and James. Kids forced to fight. Kids that could’ve died.
She could imagine their deaths. She could’ve easily come just a minute too late, coming to see their mangled corpse being eaten by the Svels. She could imagine the blood pooling beneath them, the terror permanently etched on their face. She could easily imagine it.
She gripped her chest. She knew them now. She knew how excited Grace could be. She knew how exasperated James could be. She’d seen their care. She’d seen their trust.
She imagined them dying.
Her fingers lit a bright blue. The concrete she was gripping shattered.
11:25
She closed her eyes. The First Scenario would soon end. She would have a month before the Second came. A month to find a new home. A month to push the siblings’ Endurance to six. A month to make sure she and the siblings wouldn’t get involved in the death spiral that was the Second Scenario.
A month. It was both too long and too short.
11:32
Or they could create their own base. Their own haven against the increasing threats. There must be a cottage or two in the nearby woods. They could even build their own.
Or perhaps they’d take shelter in one of the many abandoned factories. Perhaps she could even turn it into a production line for her special strawberry jam. It’d be the beginning of her empire. Of her conquest to rule the world through strawberries.
She smiled thinly.
Or not.
11:41
She frowned slightly. What did she do when she first encountered the Gramatoa? She couldn’t really remember. She couldn’t remember much about the First Scenario really. Most of it was a blur. Fogged by terror and desperation. Washed away by the horrors of the Scenarios that were to come.
Had she run away? Maybe she’d hid in one of the few underground stations in the city? Or had she done that after the First Scenario ended? She tried to recall. There was nothing but fog and a spike of pain.
11:47
She took a breath. She was…nervous. She’d slain greater beasts. Overcome larger monsters. But that was a different her. A her that had died under that blood red sky. There were many ways things could go wrong. Many ways she could meet her end.
She thought of the siblings. Of Grace and James. She thought of their words, of their smiles and of their laughter. She thought of the way they’d turned to her, of their trust, as if she would remain even as the sky fell. She thought of those moments when James would turn still, of those moments when Grace would hide herself away.
She remembered the nightmare Grace had woken from the day before. Of the way she screamed and yelled and cried. Of how she grasped onto Alex and cried for a name she didn’t know.
She thought of dying.
She frowned.
It didn’t feel as appealing anymore.
11:58
She pulled one of the bottles in her pack. It felt cold. She flipped over, holding it like a knife she was about to throw. Her sword was in her other hand. Her arm was taut, ready to throw.
11:59
She took a breath. Heat coiled under her chest as her mana began to move. Her fingers began to glow with blue sparks, and the edges of her eyes burnt a faint blue.
12:00
The air shifted, and a giant rift formed before her. It towered over her, towered over even some of the taller buildings in the city. A crack in reality, its edge a blinding collage of colors. A giant leg stepped onto the planet, its skin a deep, tanned bronze. Another leg joined it. Arms as thick as trees came. A massive torso. Then, a head, with a single eye shadowed by horns circling its head.
Its eyes turned to her. A feral smile came onto it, and it roared.
Blue veins lit up her arms. And with all her strength she threw the bottle straight into open jaws. Just as it passed its fangs, she threw her sword.
The sword cleaved the bottle in half. Its contents spilled into it.
The Gramatoa screamed. Its breath stank of rotting flesh.
She smiled.
Bottle of Water -Enchanted-
Rank: F
A factory-made bottle of water. It was later mixed with the magic of a Rune and induced with Mana.
Enchantment: Rotting -Extremely effective against unenhanced flesh-
It shouldn’t have been anything noteworthy. The Gramatoa’s bronze skin wasn’t a simple color swap. It was a product of its life. A constant renewal of blood and mana caused its skin to harden. She’d most likely snap her sword in half before she could cut even an inch through its leg.
That defense was not shared by its insides.
So she recalled her sword, still covered in blood and grime. The Gramatoa finally turned to her, eye glaring, and it swung its arm as it roared.
She threw another bottle into its mouth and threw her sword. The Gramatoa cried out in pain.
She called her sword back into her hand. More blood splattered onto the roof. Her fingers sparked blue, and she threw it straight at its eye. The Gramatoa was quick to defend itself, and her sword bounced harmlessly from its palm.
It didn’t see another bottle entering its mouth, nor the sword she threw just moments after she recalled it.
Her sword cut true. Enchanted water splashed into its throat. It screamed.
She reached into her pack. Another bottle was pulled out. Her fingers burnt a bright blue, and the bottle glowed as she threw. It sailed right into its mouth, but the Gramatoa quickly closed its jaws before she could throw the sword she just recalled. Her eyes widened slightly, and it grinned in return.
She smiled wanly. And in its surprise, it did nothing as her sword slammed against its eye.
It did little. The liquid sloshing over its cornea was as thick as sludge. Her sword did nothing but a little graze.
It was enough for its enchantment to activate. The Gramatoa screamed once more. It didn’t realize as another bottle sailed into its mouth, and its scream grew as her sword spilled its contents all over its inner jaw.
It swung its arm at her. She leapt over to the building to her left. The building she’d been standing on was flattened. She pulled out another bottle and threw. Wind splashed as her sword was thrown, and it screamed again.
It began to wobble slightly.
Her fingers were burning a bright blue, and her blade glowed a dim blue. She threw it at its eye. It blocked it. She recalled her sword, her other arm reaching to her back. Its eye went wide and it quickly slammed its jaw shut, expecting her to throw another bottle. She threw her sword at its eye instead.
Another graze. It cried out in pain. She threw a bottle through its jaw. Her sword followed. Enchanted water splashed down its throat. It screamed.
Ecstasy coursed through her head. Excitement burnt through her veins like lightning. Her fingers were twitching slightly, and the blue around the edges of her eyes grew brighter. Her breaths came a little heavier. The urge to leap and spill the titan’s blood all over the streets grew exponentially.
She restrained herself and threw another bottle into its mouth. She threw her sword after it. It struck true. The Gramatoa continued to scream.
It swung its arm at her. Its other arm smashed through the building to her left. She simply leapt onto its arm and threw her sword at its eye. It made another graze. It screamed, arms flailing, and she leapt to the roof on her right. She reached into her pack.
She had just half a dozen left.
She threw her sword at its eye. Her sword bounced harmlessly from its palm. She recalled her sword and threw it again. Her sword sailed through the gap between its fingers and slammed into its eye. Another graze was made. It screamed in pain. She threw a bottle and her sword after it. Its scream grew. Its legs were shaking.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Five left.
It was still screaming. She threw another bottle through its jaws. Her sword stabbed right through the plastic. Liquid splashed onto its tongue. It screamed.
Four left.
It slammed a palm onto its chin and slammed its jaws shut. It glared at her, daring her to throw another bottle. She threw her sword at its eye. It defended with its hand, fingers closed. Her sword bounced off harmlessly. She called her sword back, and waited.
It moved its hand away to see what happened. She threw her sword the moment its hand moved. Her sword made another graze on its eye. Its hand fell away as it screamed. Another bottle was thrown. Her sword followed. Its scream grew. Its head was tilted back and forth.
Three left.
Its jaws had fallen open. Its arms were hanging aimlessly. All the pain it’d gone through had sapped away its strength. She threw her bottle, and her sword followed behind. The enchanted water splashed all over its insides. The Gramatoa shook silently. Its voice had run out.
Two more.
Another bottle. Her sword was thrown. It cleaved straight through the middle of the plastic, and the scent of rotting flesh filled the air. The Gramatoa shook, head tilted to the left. Its legs were shaking terribly. It attempted to step back. But its knees gave away, and it fell onto its back. The ground below her shook at the impact.
One left.
She stared at the downed titan, breaths heavy as the urge to kill grew and grew. Veins of glowing blue crept all the way up her arm, their pattern similar to stress fractures. She glanced down at her sword. Its blade had bent slightly. The unenhanced steel that it was forged from had finally begun to bend from all the impact it suffered.
That was fine.
She leapt onto the streets and approached the downed giant. Its chest was slowly rising and falling, and she could see smoke rising from its mouth. She walked past its jaw, wincing at the horrid smell of rotting smell, and stepped just to the right of its sole eye. Its pupil turned to her, shrinking slightly.
She plunged her sword down. It dug through the sludge and grazed its cornea. The rune on its guard began to glow. The Gramatoa shook in pain.
She raised her fist, fingers burning with mana, and slammed it down on her sword’s hilt. The sword dug an inch deeper into the eye. She brought down her fist again. It dug another inch down. Another hit to the hilt. Another inch. Another hit. Another inch. The hilt snapped as she slammed her fist down. It dug another inch down.
Large blobs of green liquid were falling from its eye. It took a moment to realize it was crying.
She smiled thinly.
She pulled out the last bottle she had left. The usual chill she felt was missing, replaced by an electric eagerness at what was to come. She took a breath and twisted its cap open. The enchanted liquid was exposed to the air.
She crouched down, and poured the enchanted water into the wound her sword had carved.
Finally, it screamed. Louder than it ever did. With more agony than it ever did. Its body shook tremendously.
She slammed her fist onto her sword’s hilt. She heard something fracture, and she looked down to see her sword snap in half. The hilt flew off to the right. The snapped blade dug deeper into its eye.
A moment passed, and with one last breath, the Gramatoa stopped shaking.
Slain: Gramatoa Lv - 76 Gained 95,000 Exp
This Unit has levelled up
Unit: Alexa Hugo Francis Lv 10 Exp: 63,955/98,415 Health: 35/35 Mana: 45/45 Strength: 12 (+1) Endurance: 7 Spirit: 9 (+1) Resistance: 5 (+1) Dexterity: 13 (+1) Charm: 12 (+1)
She gently dropped onto the streets. She glanced at the massive corpse behind her, and she couldn’t help but smile slightly. She did this. She did it. A Gramatoa, defeated by a steel sword and bottles of water.
A small laugh escaped her lips. It sounded rather ridiculous really.
She began her journey back to her apartment. Everything was aching. Her Mana had gone dangerously low. Her arms felt like they were melting. Her chest felt like it was burning. Pain wracked her feet with every step she took. Only the slowly fading Battle Fervor rushing through her body was keeping her afoot.
Then, she came across that familiar street, eyes laid onto a familiar building, and hearing two familiar voices. They sounded happy, amazed, tinged with worry. A pair of hands held onto her. Then came another.
She took a breath, and the sparks of blue on her fingers finally died away.
She fainted then and there.
----------------------------------------
An unprecedented event has occured. This Unit has-
...
...
...
Command Lost. Rerouting...
Unit Alexa Hugo Francis has overcome an adversary far beyond the norm. Additional Rewards added. 30,000 Coins gained
----------------------------------------
Her right arm hurt.
It’d been an hour since she woke up. She did so with a massive headache, and when she rose from her bed, her arm screamed in protest. She’d done it again. Overstrained herself. Applied too much Strength for a body with too little Endurance. Which meant a day of rest. Or two.
She sighed.
The room she awoke in wasn’t her own. It was the one the siblings settled into. They’d left it seems. Most likely gather some supplies. Most monsters would be hiding away until the First Scenario ended.
She’d frowned slightly when she realized they hadn’t locked the door. She could reason why. She was resting inside. Locking the door meant locking her in the room. But they should’ve. Letting the door be unlocked meant someone else could’ve entered the room while she was asleep. It was a miracle no one hadn’t.
She’d tell them when they returned.
The room was…disorganized. The supplies she’d shared with them were scattered all over the room. The small trash bin by the door was already full. And the desk had been moved from one side of the room to the other.
It felt rather homely, really.
She moved to her own room after that. A small sigh left her lips as she gazed at her bed. She was home. She was alive. She could scarcely believe herself from being relieved to find herself in a basement, but here she was. She opened her status, curious as to what Attributes had increased due to her level up.
That was when she noticed the Coins.
Over 30,000. Over 30,000 Coins. How did-, did killing the Gramatoa early give her this? A small wry smile had made it to her lips. Was she the only one who got this bonus? Did anyone else did? Then again, she wasn’t sure if there was anyone out there who’d somehow managed to do what she did.
30,000 Coins.
An idea formed.
So she sat by her desk, a sandwich in hand as she scrolled through the LIVE Auction. 20,000 Coins wasn’t all that much in the end. More than a new Unit could gather, but a small drop for the rich. But it’d be enough.
Upgrade Weapon Rebound?
Two prompts appeared. To agree or to dismiss. She chose neither and gave the panel a flick instead.
Changing Options. Upgrade Weapon Rebound to Highest Rank
Prompt accepted. Calculating Bulk Discount...
Cost: 28,500 Coins
Just under 29,000 Coins. It’d leave her with a couple thousand Coins to her name. She hummed. That should be enough for a weapon. Or three. Because she wasn’t letting the siblings go without some proper equipment. A bat and a knife was…passable, but far from enough.
She Agreed.
Command Accepted. Applying upgrade…
Upgrade applied. Weapon Rebound has changed to Forged Nexus
Forged Nexus
Rank: EX
May this bond last under the light of the stars
Allows the Unit to bind weapons to their persona. Bound weapons can then be recalled to the Unit’s hands. Distance between Unit and Weapon is irrelevant. Weapon Bound Limit: 5
Bound Weapons will have their Ranks increased by one. Applicable only to Rank E or below. Added information can be seen on the Bound Weapons’ Descriptions.
Bound Weapons can no longer be lost. If a Bound Weapon is broken, it can be recreated after a delay. Delays vary depending on a Bound Weapon’s Rank.
Skill Evolution. When a Skill is upgraded to its maximum Rank, there’s a chance it would change. Evolutions would trigger based on the Unit’s usage of the skill. Which meant a Skill could evolve in an infinite number of ways. It just depended on how they were used.
She smiled. A pleasant surprise. She hadn’t expected the Skill to Evolve. That third effect was the best of them all. Losing a weapon no longer mattered. She could always bring them back. There’d be a delay, of course, but that weapon would be eternal.
It wasn’t an especially powerful Skill, in the end. She wasn’t surprised. She’d bought it from the Shop for only 2000 Coins, after all. Some Skills would only take tens of thousands of Coins to max out. Others needed billions. The cost depended on how powerful the Skill was.
She moved onto the Shop and bought another enchanted steel sword. Light shone, and from it came a sword forged from steel. She caught it, and that familiar weight settled inside her. Her mana swirled gently beneath her chest, as if welcoming back a recently departed friend.
(Bound) Steel Sword -Enchanted-
Rank: E*
An ordinary steel sword forged through fire and effort. It was later enchanted. Bound to the Unit Alexa Hugo Francis, its blade shines a bright silver.
Enchantment: Rotting -Extremely effective against unenhanced flesh-
Bound Effect: Silver -Extremely effective against unholy beings-
Silver, was it? Most unholy beings would be introduced in the Fourth Scenario. It’d be some time before that would come.
…
Mm. She was still hungry.
----------------------------------------
The siblings returned an hour later. Excitement came when she greeted them. Shame replaced it when she reprimanded them for not locking the door. Happiness outshone them all when she forgave them.
She couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable through it all.
----------------------------------------
It was just past midnight. Alex couldn’t sleep.
She sat on her bed. She idly gave her right arm another prod. Pain was returned. It was duller, less immediate. She’d kept her mana swirling through her arm ever since she awoke. She should recover fully by the next day.
She considered teaching this to James. It’d take the wound on the side of his stomach weeks before it’d heal. She gave the thought a second or two before she shook it away. James didn’t have Mana. Not yet. And even if he did, the pain he would experience was not something anyone could handle.
It was…odd, really. She wasn’t sure whether the siblings had latched onto her due to her Charm or something else. She wasn’t sure why she had gotten attached to them so quickly. She wasn’t sure who the siblings would compare her to when they thought she wasn’t listening. She wasn’t sure why they felt so familiar.
…
She wasn’t sure about many things. Too many. She wasn’t sure what had sent her to the past. She wasn’t sure why she was the one chosen. She wasn’t sure what happened to that previous world of hers. She wasn’t sure if anyone else had returned with her. She wasn’t sure if she wanted anyone to.
She closed her eyes.
The First Scenario would soon end. The restrictions beset on the monsters would be lifted. Survivors would gather. Monsters would grow. A month would pass. The Second Scenario would begin. Groups would be forced into a deadly game of defense. Those unaffiliated would receive a different Scenario instead.
The First Scenario would soon end. A week would soon pass. It’d soon be a week since she died. A week since she returned to the past.
Nearly a week had gone by.
…
Something about it made her feel somewhat sick.
Her rest was fitful that night.