CHAPTER EIGHT
A bittersweet freedom... Wait, what is it now?!
~
~ Name: Twig ~
Title: Dying
Class: Stubborn [lv4]
HP
[2⇨ 1]
MANA
[3⇨ -4]
ATK
[0⇨ -3]
INT
[4⇨ 3]
DEF
[3⇨ -12]
SPD
[0⇨ -1]
Guess what, even if you train your power on your own
I can undo every skill that you’re able to hone
All I have to do is add a negative sign there
And make up for any strength you have without a care
The world was blurred and spinning but he kept swinging his fist
Even after he lost his left hand above the wrist
The stingers and their venom came at him from all around
But no matter how it hurt, he wouldn’t touch the ground
He had no words of hatred for the god who he ignored
The messages had even stopped, perhaps he’d just grown bored
His stats just silently descended, even past zero
And their true effect on his strength soon began to show
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Stats were like a multiplier of a person’s skill
Buffing them accordance with their deities’ will
But now his strength was multiplied by negative numbers
It took most of his strength to move his remaining fingers
But still as monster stingers pierced his feeble, weakened frame
He’d reach out and kill one more insect as another came
He must have killed a hundred by the time the world went black
Even after he went numb they kept up their attack
~ Name: Twig ~
Title: Dying
Class: Stubborn [lv4⇨ 5]
HP
[1⇨ -1]
MANA
[-4⇨ -5]
ATK
[-3⇨ -4]
INT
[3⇨ 2]
DEF
[-12⇨ -13]
SPD
[-1⇨ -2]
It looks like this is where you story ends you stubborn boy
I always knew this was a moment that I would enjoy
If it’s any consolation, this is for the best
In the end, you only would have failed the final test
Finally his bloody knee made contact with the earth
And the last thing he could think of was what strength was worth
If only he’d survived to push his limits a bit more
Then he might achieve the dream he’d long been fighting for
As it was he’d die right there alone but full of pride
Somehow he felt pity for the god who he defied
“Looks like I’m at least a little stronger than you thought
Look at all I did despite the awful stats I’ve got”
He’d heard of many heroes who had died in many ways
And many who were injured in the act of saving days
The portals that appeared weren’t always easy to defeat
But people always pulled together till their foe was beat
He thought of many things as he felt his blood drain away
If his mother had been there, he wondered what she’d say
Would he brag of all he’d done despite his unkind god
And ask if his futile efforts were something to applaud
He lay down as if he were sleeping, smiling and relaxed
He felt like a great hero with great stats and levels maxed
A light shone in the the darkness as he drifted off to sleep
Contented that the seeds he’d sown were his alone to reap
Achievement: Now’s Our Chance
Can you reach him? Almost, just a little more and... there!
Can the System reach him? No, the System wouldn’t dare
Can you hear us, child? We have been waiting for this day
We don’t have much time, so listen well to what we say
~