"How the hell did this shit happen?"
He stood there, covered in rubble, feeling every wound in his body ache more than it should be possible.
"Dang, I guess it got more than just the skin. Fuck, my muscles hurt."
He laid there, barely keeping his eyes open, reminiscing about the last hour. So many things, so little time—just when things started getting interesting, his life had come to an end. Despite experiencing the new system, he wasn’t satisfied. He knew, with all his heart, that there was so much more to try. Each type of magic, each type of weapon—learning to use a sword properly—he wanted to do it all.
"Oh, just how did it all begin? Heh, it hasn't been that long; what am I doing acting like a dead man for?
He coughed up blood, feeling it drip back onto his face from the shattered concrete that would become his grave.His eyes closed, his mind drifting back to where it began. That joy, fear, bravery, they all wanted to cling to him, and he wanted to cling to them.
*A few days earlier*
Dang, this math stuff is so boring, what the hell am I even doing here?
Thirty desks, all aligned in a classroom, with the teacher writing equations on the blackboard. The sound of chalk hitting against the table was the only thing that kept the students awake, with even the nerds feeling like sleeping, Mark included. He used to like math, quite a lot, yet high school made it as boring as possible. Lucky for him, keeping up with it was easy, yet the tests their teacher issued were beyond what any of the students could do.
He stood in the desk near the door, fighting his heavy eyelids to stay awake. The one thing keeping him awake was the glance he’d silently steal at the girl he liked. From time to time, she’d happen to meet his gaze, moment when he’d pretend to have been looking at his friend.
All went well, the day passed just like any other did, with Mark silently waiting for his suffering to end—not that he disliked learning; he just wanted to do something else, something he’d find more useful. Rather than listening to his teacher babble on and on about derivatives, he chose to finish the exercise and go about his daydreaming.
He was suddenly taken out, first by the shaking of the desks, then by everyone’s dreadful screams. An earthquake? Well, that’s new. If only it was that... The entire school was to evacuate, but the sound of the alarm made it so much more terrifying. Everyone was scared, yet there were some who considered the whole ordeal no more than a drill. Once outside, however, they all came face to face with something pulled straight out of a novel.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
A mountain of sorts, one which seemed to have a road leading to the top, that was the sight that met them outside. Creatures of sorts, like goblins and skeletons kept walking around, with some goblins running down while howling, aiming straight for the people below. Caught without any warning, panic spread like a wildfire.
"What the hell should we do?" asked one of his mates, his face showing hints of fear, yet their weird dynamic made for some weird situational irony.
Mark kept staring at the top of the rocky structure, seeing what appeared to be shining if looked at from the right angle. Any rational person would just get away, yet he felt different, like something was pulling him to the top, like something kept calling him from within.
"Guys, fuck this, I’m doing it. I read too many mangas to pass this opportunity, screw it."
Just as he got on his running foot, the sound of beeping filled the place. Beep after beep, everyone, Mark included, got the same strange image.
"You are now part of the system."
Mark chose to ignore it for now, rather than staring at something he knew to a certain extent, he chose to go for it. Everyone shouted for him to come back, yet he knew better. Either I die, or we all die. The army would, under no circumstances, arrive in time, and if the scenario was even a bit similar to what he had read, they would be useless.
A horde of skeletons was guarding the base of the mountain, each holding a sword, some of them more damaged than the others. The place felt like a grave of sorts, with weapons half-buried in the ground. Mark pulled out a sword—not the best choice, but the one he felt most familiar with. Instead of rushing in, he chose to catch his breath and test the sword a bit. One quick swing, then another, seemed to do the job well.
"Come here, piles of bones!"
His shout was loud enough to get the entire hoard running his way. Above their heads, just like in online games, appeared a number, which seemed to be their level. Ranging from one to ten.
Hm, to be honest, it's not that impressive; I expected more.
Each swing of his reached his enemies before they could reach him. One strike to the legs, and wham, they were on the floor. Their bones were brittle enough to crack in one hit.
His ascension began, which he saw as both a way to level up and a test that could easily kill him.
Just remember, you could die at any moment. I know you want to unlock some sort of power that would give you an edge, but dying would put an end to all that. Don’t be stupid.
With his own advice in mind and a small prayer said between breaths, he kept going, facing one skeleton after another. Their levels, despite still being low, were slowly increasing. No matter, more experience for me.
Except for this challenge, everything around him was worthless. Nothing could stop a madman who got fixated on an idea.
"Let the fun begin!"