Shun POV:
My head flopped forward. I wheezed.
I tried to infuse my blood with more oxygen to keep my muscles moving, but everyone had a limit; I was reaching mine. Sweat poured down my face, soaking into the dark clothes I wore.
A pounding heartbeat warned me of the incoming danger I would face if I continued. It blurred what remained of my vision in an attempt to bring an end to this madness.
I refused.
The side effects from the new solution had subsided a while ago. The dark curtain that loomed over the right side of my eye was removed, along with the symptoms of sluggishness that dragged half of my body to the ground.
However, no matter how much I ran, I seemed incapable of getting out of this dense forest. Trees covered the open stretch of road on either side. They extended as far as the eye could see, crushing the little fragments of hope I was clinging to.
[Time Remaining: 00:30:15...]
I didn’t even have the energy to curse the system anymore.
I ignored the intense throbbing pain in my head and continued onward. If I stopped once to take a break, I wouldn’t be able to move my legs again.
[Chloe Ravendawn has begun her pursuit.]
It came.
The dreaded system message really came. I dispelled the large red window that flashed into my view. My heart sank so low, I thought I had died for a few seconds.
[Expected time of arrival: Calculating...]
I gulped.
I wanted to wet my parched throat, but the little saliva I had left only emphasised how raw it was as a sharp pain made me cough up bits of bloody flesh.
[Expected time of arrival: 5 minutes.]
‘Ah.’
My body almost collapsed in defeat. I barely managed to hold on to my sanity and push forwards. I had run for over 2 hours, but the system was telling me that she would catch up to me in under 5 minutes?
Just how much of a superhuman was this damn woman??
[The mission timer has been updated. It will now reflect the time left until Chloe Ravendawn arrives at your location.]
[Time remaining until capture: 00:03:20...]
‘Wait, what? Why did it suddenly drop by 2 whole minutes??’
I bit my cracked lips, resisting the urge to scream in frustration.
‘This system is absolutely useless. How could it not even calculate the time properly?!’
Unless... Even at a time like this, the system was still screwing around with me. A croaky sigh tumbled out of my mouth as I gazed at the blurry horizon. No cities, no villages, and no signs of any nearby civilisation. I had no clue how far away I was from my destination as the system had no map features, nor did it indicate the distance left for me to travel.
“...H... He... Hey, Mister!”
“Huh?”
I creaked my head to the side and saw a girl? Or rather, a small boy with feminine features running by my side. I stared at him for a couple of seconds before welcoming the incoming hallucination. It was better to go insane here than go back to that hellhole.
“Just so you know, I’ve been running by your side for the past hour. Your lack of awareness is truly pathetic.”
“Haha...”
A small chuckle escaped my bloodied lips.
‘What kind of roleplay was this? Ah well, might as well accept it. Either way, we had a good run, right?’
“Keep running like this, and you’ll die from overexertion. You’re just a normal human.”
The tone in his voice sent a chill down my spine; it snapped me back to reality. This person wasn’t a figment of my imagination: he was real.
My eyebrows quivered while my lip trembled at the fact that I finally came into contact with another human being... That proved to be a more than likely useless little boy.
‘Sigh...’
“I don’t care. If I don’t escape her now, it’ll be the same as dying anyway.”
“Her?”
“Chloe Ravendawn.”
His lips spread into a thin smile while his white spiky hair swayed. He wore a long black cloak that had a circle and dot slashed through by three claw strikes. For his size, the cloak was big. Two purple eyes that almost seemed to glow tracked my movements.
“She will catch up to you in a couple of minutes.”
[Time remaining until capture: 00:02:10...]
I let go of the last shred of sanity I had left. Just like that day when something snapped inside of me; I felt like I had reached my final breaking point.
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“HELP ME!!”
I tried to grab hold of his arm with the abysmal amount of strength I had left. My mind shattered into pieces. Blood gushed out of my nose when I stopped moving.
He stared at me with a face devoid of emotion. It resembled that of a white demon incapable of feeling anything. It opened its mouth and did what any demon would do.
Crush hopes.
“Why would I do that? I was merely passing by when I saw a crazy person running for his life like an abandoned dog chasing after its owner. It made me a little curious.”
I dropped to my knees in front of him. I prostrated myself before him as I whimpered.
“Please... Please help me... Help me... Help me...”
[Time remaining until capture: 00:01:10...]
“What will I get in return?”
His piercing purple eyes glowed as he peered down at me.
“Damn it. I’ll do anything you want... I’m already at rock bottom anyway...”
The smile on his face widened. He seemed a little too pleased by what I was offering him.
“Anything?”
Nothing was wors-actually there were worse things than being the plaything of a twisted sicko like Chloe. Regardless, things wouldn’t get worse than what I had already been through.
I still said a silent prayer though.
“Anything.”
The corners of his mouth rose, forcing the edges of his lips to almost touch his curved eyes. I observed the long black space formed by the parting of his sadistic smile.
“Your words can’t be taken back.”
[System Alert: You have made a deal with ‘The Last Will of Enigma.’]
‘Huh? Enigma? What’s that?’
Before I could question the dark purple window that popped into my view, a large bang shook the entire area. I fell backwards as dust clouds washed over me.
‘!’
“SWEETHEART, I FOUND YOU!!~”
My heart froze.
Tremors spread all over my body as the dust clouds vanished, revealing Chloe doubled over with her fingers bent inwards. Her eyes bulged, accentuating the deep red flush occupying the middle of her face.
She licked her lips and flashed forward. Her hand reappeared inches away from my face when a torrent of air fell. It crushed her body deep into the earth before her arm could grab hold of my leg.
‘!’
I scurried backwards before observing the boy look at her with uninterested eyes. Chloe coughed up mouthfuls of blood, but her gaze rested only on me.
“Keuk...”
She groaned as the air compressed against her body. It looked more like the boy was manipulating gravity itself somehow, but I knew that probably wasn’t the case...
Maybe?
My thoughts returned, and I stumbled back to my feet. My drained knees knocked together as they struggled to support the weight underneath them. Despite all of this, I was unable to tear my eyes away from Chloe’s.
I saw her body twist in pain as she reached out to me. The sadistic smile on her face was replaced with a loving one over time.
“I love you! No matter how far you run or how deep you hide, I will find you! So wait for me! Nothing can separate the two of us!!”
I tripped over my own feet while backing away from her; fear robbing me of my ability to move. Chloe’s eyes curved into thin slits as she began clawing away at the ground in front of her.
‘S-She’s deluded...’
My body trembled with a rekindled sense of horror. I wanted to kill her, but I also wanted nothing to do with her. She...
She frightened me on a cellular level, and I hated it.
“K-kill her! KILL HER NOW!!”
I pointed toward my tormentor. Desperate cries implored the boy to honour one more request. He cocked his head to the side, shifted his gaze to Chloe, then back to me and...
Smirked.
“That wasn’t part of our deal.”
My eyebrows curved inwards as I grimaced. My quaking finger flopped back down. This was the perfect opportunity for her to die, but all I had asked was for the boy to help me get away from her...
He appeared by my side and helped me back to my feet. Even though I could stand, I still couldn’t look away from Chloe. She struggled in vain, hoping to close the gap by a centimetre—a millimetre.
Anything.
Anything that would draw her closer to me.
“I will help you escape. However, if you want to kill her, do it yourself.”
“...”
I bit my lip hard enough for blood to flow down my chin. Chloe’s bright fuchsia eyes stared into mine, and her soft lips parted. They mouthed words she knew only I would understand. Honey laced the inaudible transmission between us, carrying a message of sweetness to the hive.
“I. Love. You. Shun.”
Her loving smile pushed my anxiety to its peak. I spun around and ran. I ran until I couldn’t see Chloe anymore. I ran until I could no longer think, and I ran until I stumbled out of the forest.
A gust of wind rushed into my blood-drained face, and I was greeted with a vast green plain that connected to a large city. I stared at the sun lighting up the sky like shards of golden glitter; it beckoned a new chapter into my life.
“You’re far too weak to take on my request. Go to the nearest guild. Learn about Ki, and once you reach Jikki, come and find me.”
[‘The Last Will of Enigma’ has informed you of your current limitations.]
I ignored the purple window and bowed my head. He ran with me all the way here. He saved me from a hopeless situation. The boy didn’t kill Chloe for me, but I could understand his reasoning behind it.
Her blood was meant to be on my hands and no one else’s. I would get stronger, and I would kill her myself.
“How will I know where to find you?”
The boy’s feet rose from the ground. His long black cloak fluttered behind him, enhancing his dominance of the surrounding space. Purple eyes peered down at me before his lips spread into a thin smile.
“It will tell you.”
‘!!’
The thump of my heart was loud enough to be heard. Sweat drenched the rags I wore, forming a small puddle at the soles of my feet.
‘He knows about the system…’
The smile on his face widened at my reaction as cold sweat ran down my neck. He disappeared with the wind, and I was left alone on the grassy patches of land.
An exasperated sigh left my mouth. At the end of the day, he had saved me, so I wouldn’t worry about the other details for now.
[You have cleared the mission ‘Escape from Chloe Ravendawn.’]
[You have obtained your freedom.]
[The system congratulates you on clearing an SS rank mission despite being so horrendously weak.]
‘...’
I stared at the blue floating window. It might seem funny to some, but in reality, it meant that all of my past speculations were correct.
The system refused to aid me.
There was also another possibility that sprung into my mind. Was it possible that the difficulty of the system missions were relative to how strong I was at the time of receiving them? Or did I somehow receive far more help behind the scenes than I was aware of?
[New features of the system have been unlocked due to your ‘lucky’ achievement.]
[A new mission has been added to the mission log.]
[Mission: Revival of Old
Difficulty: SSS+
This is proof of the deal you made with the ‘Last Will of Enigma.’ Reach Jikki within the time limit, and meet with the mysterious boy once more.
Time Limit: 3 years.
Reward: ???
Failure: ???]
‘SSS+?’
I shook my head at the ridiculous difficulty. That boy overpowered Chloe with a single stare. Just what use would I be to him? Is Jikki some sort of super mode or something?
[A new mission has been added to the mission log.]
[Mission: Guild Registration
Difficulty: F
Per the mysterious boy’s instructions, head to the nearest guild.
Time Limit: -
Rewards: Adventurer license.]
[A new mission has been added to the mission log.]
...
Dozens more blue windows floated into my view. If a mission was linked to the white-haired boy, a purple tint would replace parts of the blue colour. Direct missions or system messages related to him were dark purple.
‘...’
I ruffled my messy black hair as a shadow fell over my face. These past 2 months had taught me many scarring but valuable lessons. Now that I had obtained my freedom, I wasn’t going to mess around.
I would devote every ounce of my being to training night and day without rest. I will reach the pinnacle of strength in this world and when I do...
“I will kill you, Chloe Ravendawn!!”