[Quest: Survival 1: Survive your encounter with a Tier two Aberration: 0 / 1]
Elias stared blankly at the notification in front of him. "Survive your encounter with a… Tier two Aberration? What the fuck is this?"
He'd been given a quest so simple—yet undeniably this was impossible. His hands were mangled messes and his foot was certainly broken.
Once time resumed for him, he knew it would be over; no one in the village could contend with a Tier Two. Even adventurers would have a hard time in these parts.
"Maybe Vance could? Me. No."
He shook himself as his instincts kicked in.
"No! I won't give up."
He read over the quests description: "…Survive," He had to, he didn't know how, but he had to survive; for her.
He couldn't let her death be for nothing.
His mind scrambled through the past few moments as he tried to gauge how much time he had until he 'temporally realigned', as he did a small notification appeared in the periphery of his vision:
[03:21 – Until Temporal Realignment]
He looked down at his barely functioning body—how much did he have left to give?
Another notification appeared—this time centrally—as if reading his mind.
[Name: Elias Grey
Race: Human, Male
Age: 17
Disabled Functionality: N/A
Disabled Functionality: N/A
Life Points: 2 / 19
Mana Points: 0 / 14
Strength: 4
Endurance: 3
Vitality: 3
Willpower: 3
Intelligence: 3
Perception: 4
Agility: 2
Luck: 24
Available Attributes for distribution: 0]
A sense of wonder engulfed him, his entire childhood had revolved around fantasies of the System and the Awakening—the first step towards adventure, and power. As quickly as the wonder came, it went, replaced with the situation at hand.
Tears were still falling from his face as the timer drew closer to zero, looking at his friend's corpse and the monster ahead. He needed to think.
He looked over the statistic screen that had appeared and took in his life points. "Two out of Nineteen… that figures" he said as he breathed out deeply. The timer scrolling down as he sat in resignation.
He shook himself once more, "No, move. Maybe I can find Jacob?"
He tried to push himself off the dirt path—just as soon as he moved another prompt appeared:
[Movement restricted due to temporal misalignment]
"Shit!" he spat, adrenaline filling him as he wracked his brain for ideas; "What can I do?!"
Several houses surrounded their position, his home only a small distance ahead. The blacksmiths behind him and a few other domiciliary buildings formed a cul-de-sac, with only the Path he had come down and one to the left of the Aberration as escape routes.
[00:21]
Elias braced himself, "Maybe it is my time?" he thought to himself. He had no experience dealing with this, Jacob had never prepared him for this?
"How would he have known that a Tier Two Aberration would invade?"
The only hope for Haven's Point was the Adventurers—who would take hours to come.
[00:10]
In these last moments, his mind could only recall the memories of the previous attack, looking at his mother standing stoically against all odds. Knowing that her life would end. Hoping only to delay or distract the Aberrations from her son.
He recalled the Aberration ending her life—a rage within him began to boil.
He remembered the emptiness he felt, it was like the one he felt now; he'd just lost someone as dear to him five years later than the tragedy that had scarred what seemed to be his entire life.
The only other woman he had left in his life, who cared for him, loved him, had just been killed in front of him. his body as his emotions surged.
[00:05… 00:04…]
"Fuck it, If I've got to die, you're going to bleed for it!"
[Temporal realignment commencing now]
Everything returned to him in an instant; the wind, the screams, the pain, everything. He saw the Aberrations crimson eyes staring into his, its lips twitched into a twisted smile as purple-mottled skin bloated its face.
He pushed up, ignoring the pain shooting through his arms; he kicked off the ground with his still semi-operational foot as he trudged desperately towards the beast.
The smile on the Aberration never faltered, even twisting further as a disturbing noise came from it. Was it laughing at him?
"Damn you!" He shouted as he kept moving.
The Aberration, which had remained still, reached with its free hand and began to pull Tessa's corpse from its blood and gut-covered arm, keeping a firm grasp on her still heart.
Her corpse slid off with a gooey slurp and lifelessly collapsed onto the floor. The monster returned its stance to one solely focussing on Elias as the hand holding the heart began to tilt towards its head, his body relaxed, leaning on one leg more than the other.
Adrenaline pulsed as he realised what the creature was about to do.
"Don't do it. Don't!"
Its hand moved closer to its now opened mouth, unnaturally long and sharp, yellowed teeth fully on display.
"NO!" He roared, still clawing closer, but his body failed him; he wouldn't reach them in time.
The creature's eyes held his own as its teeth clenched around her heart.
He stretched out his arm as far as he could, his body trembling with exhaustion. His face was covered in dirt, blood, and tears, and his clothes hung in tatters. He lunged forward—everything he had channelled into the attack.
Just as his fist was about to connect, he gasped, "Agh!"
An intense force struck him, sending him hurtling through the air.
He hit the ground hard, the impact shook every bone in his body, he looked up:
"Jacob?"
Jacob stood where he had stood previously, his stance firm and battle-ready. The Aberration's arm collided with Jacob's, sending out a shockwave that tore into the nearby buildings.
"He must have pulled me to safety…?"
He struggled to move, and his body screamed in protest.
A system window flickered in his vision:
[Life Points: 1 / 19]
The message vanished as quickly as it came into view; he knew he was dancing at the edge of consciousness—but for some reason, a strange sense of calm washed over him.
He knew that Jacob was a skilled fight, but even he would have no chance against this monsters, "Surely…"
"Rest easy now, boy. You're OK," Jacob said, his voice steady and his gaze locked intently on the Aberration.
He looked on at Jacob; his weathered boots planted firmly on the blood-soaked ground. His engraved sword that used to hang on the wall in their home now in hand. He couldn't understand how his mentor could be so stupid as to stand against this Aberration, what was he doing?
The engravings on Jacob's sword were glowing orange, visible at the blade's edge as it rested only an inch or so away from the Aberration's throat.
When had he done that?
Jacob was wearing a mix of leather and chainmail, each piece was a relic from his past—relics that had sat on shelves in their home until now.
The Aberrations smile fell into a grimace that matched Jacob's own, it's frown deepening as it recognised Jacob as a threat. The crimson light in its eyes pulsed and its sickly aura gusted across the area.
Then they moved.
His breath caught in his throat as shockwaves burst from a blur of movement from both combatants, dirt flew in all directions and they seemed to pop in and out of his vision, each time they appeared another block or parry was seen—followed quickly by a crack in the air.
He saw Jacob's glowing sword slice through the air in an arc as it descended—the aberration met the attack with a sickening, meaty thud. Exchange after exchange happened and a black oozing substance began to fall from the wounds in the Aberration.
The monster lunged, its claws slashing out desperately at the air as Jacob swiftly dodged, parried and then swept his blade across the torso of the beast.
He winced and shielded his face as fragments of earth scattered in the air.
The world narrowed to just the two of them, Jacob and the Aberration, their dance of death captivating him. He felt so powerless.
His thoughts moved to his own helplessness, his aching body, his single life point. He had always believed in training and determination as the Path to strength, but he was wrong—the path to power was the System. Without a Tier, a Level, or even an ability—he was nothing.
He was struggling to understand what was happening, was it the blood loss? Was he already dead? How was this the same man that cared for him and trained him for the past four years?
The world around him began to blur. His breath was shallow and blood filled his mouth. Despite the screams in the distance and the intensity of the battle—everything grew quiet.
His head began to throb, his thoughts were foggy and disjointed. The numbing cold of the dirt beneath him. The warmth of blood pooling beneath him.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came as his senses began to falter.
"Jacob… Tess…"
Then, the darkness finally took hold as his vision faded entirely.