'' Take him to the edge of the Nega forest. '' The bulky head guard with tanned skin commanded and left the open space where Jerouch was being tortured.
Jerouch had been starved for five days straight while being occasionally beaten.He had lost the strength to think, let alone see any strange thing up in his head.However, he could still hear little things from his environment amidst hallucinations.' Nega forest, eh? ' he lamented inwardly.' Embracing death for the second time I guess is not that bad with this daily torture uh? '' A soft self-mocking chuckle left his mouth but could barely be heard by even someone staying very close to him.' However, if there's something they call third chance, I really want to step on these pieces of shit and let them know that they messed up with the very wrong person. '' he couldn't even vent out his anger due to the intense fatigue He could only watch as he was untied and pushed in a cart pulled by a horse alongside two guards who were beaming with glee.'' This insect really thought he was smart haha, for real, did he think that boss wouldn't know about the strangeness in the guards' patrol? Pfft! '' One of the guards pulling the cart snorted.He looked at the sorry figure of Jerouch with unrestrained contempt, as though he were looking at a moron.The other one that was walking alongside the cart laughed boisterously and looked at the body wrapped inside the straw condescendingly.'' Hmph, I'm still wondering who could've helped him reach that far though. '' he spat in disgust as he thought of one of them betraying the slave house.'' Who cares, I'm sure boss will soon fish them out anyway. '' The other one laughed it off without putting much thought into it.The Nega forest was where they dumped slaves' corpses whenever they were tortured to death after being caught trying to escape or steal from the warehouse.Although slaves trying to escape wasn't a common occurrence, it wasn't rare either.There were also F-rank monsters and dungeons at the edge of the forest who fed on these corpses whenever they were dumped.However, if one treaded too deeply, they would start to encounter high-ranked monsters that were dangerous.'' It's here, drop the son of a bitch here. '' The other guard that was now pulling the cart spoke.'' You know you're actually right, his parents are indeed bitches of all bitches...'' The first guard that was now walking replied as he pulled Jerouch's unconscious body out of the cart.Thud!Jerouch landed on the ground heavily. He hit the back of his head on a large rock and he started bleeding profusely.Even in his unconscious state, his face still twisted in pain.'' Let's do the final rite, you know. '' The guard with a messy beard spoke creepily as he started unzipping his fly.'' That's gross, can't you just find somewhere else to piss, at least respect the dead. '' The other guard frowned, but he was already unzipping too.'' Hmph, acting as if you haven't… ''[Second requirement made, system initializing…][1… 2 … 100][System activation successful.][Commands sequencing in progress…][Host structural analysis in progress…][Analysis results… host is in a half-dead state, initiating emergency recuperation.][Three lives detected nearby, emergency Mana reprogramming transference initiated.]Boom!A sudden dense cadaveric Mana wave burst out from Jerouch's body which enveloped the two guards and the horse, stopping one of them mid-sentence.All the notifications that were ringing only took a few seconds before what was happening now began.'' Argghh! '' The two guards screamed as their bodies started ageing rapidly.The horse also screeched as its body too aged.The dark cadaveric Mana was sucking out all their life force and converting it to Mana which was then reconverted to life force as it entered Jerouch's body.It wasn't even up to five seconds when they all turned to dust that was blown away by the winds.***Jerouch squinted his eyes as the sunlight made its way to them. He opened them slowly, a bit light-headed.' Where's this? ' he thought as he looked around confused.' Um? ' His eyebrows furrowed in disarray as he saw his surrounding.Everything twenty meters around him was completely barren and made of ash. Beyond that were thick trees and shrubs, which looked greener compared to the barrenness that surrounded him.' This must be the Nega forest they usually talk about, but what am I… ''' Eh? ' Jerouch's right hand dived into the air but grabbed nothing.' What's this? ' he asked no one particularly, still waving his hands mid-air.He could see two notifications written in black fonts and gold background.The notification on top said that the first requirement had been made [Grow strong willpower. ]The notification below said that the second requirement had been made. [Survive a near-death situation twice. ]' What the heck is this, why am I feeling as if someone is playing a prank on me? ' Jerouch again tried to touch it but failed in his attempts.' Have I fallen that low that my mind is now playing tricks on me…' he gazed at the two notifications thoughtfully before his eyes perked up.' Wait, fallen? Beaten? Wasn't I suppose to be…''He grabbed his legs and began to check for any sign of injuries. His worries and confusion rose as he started checking other parts of his body too.'' No wounds? ''That was his first observation.' And I don't feel any weakness, don't tell me this is some kinda dream before crossing to heaven. ' he tried to make a joke out of this, but he knew it wasn't funny one bit.Ding![Host structural analysis completed, the host can now check their stats…]Jerouch finally calmed himself after thinking about the whole situation. He was supposed to die, but somehow, he managed to come back to life with a screen clouding his vision. He was not new to the idea of dying and coming back to life. Furthermore, he was a specimen of that, anyway. However, he had woken up in the same body, although with little changes. And to cap it off, there was this screen that stuck to him like a louse. This was too familiar for him not to get an idea of what was happening. He used to be a game developer on earth, and he sometimes read novel to get inspiration for his gaming projects. ' So, a system of some sort? ' he frowned as he felt into deep thought. ' But why now? And most importantly, why me? ' His eyes sharpened as he read the previous notifications again. ' I guess my strong will to rip those rats apart triggered the system, and as for the two near death situations…' he smirked and his eyes twitched in excitement. ' Open notification' Jerou
' Where's this? ' Jerouch muttered in a sceptical tone. He was still checking what the system was all about when the notifications rang non-stop. A few seconds after that, he felt as if space was twisting and by the time he regained his senses, he found himself here. The room looked like a traditional Japanese training dojo. It was fifty meters wide and long, with earthen walls that smelled of antiques. At the centre of the dojo, there was a brown cylindrical punching bag that hung down from the dark earthen roof carved with different runic symbols, which allowed no sunlight. Instead, there were oil lamps fixed at strategic places to illuminate the room. In one corner of the room, there was a section that appeared to be where weapons were kept, but currently, there was no weapon there. The floor was made of matte buttermilk stones that were a bit smooth, but not too smooth to make one slip. Jerouch walked closer to the centre, stepping on the brown mat that covered five meter
[New active skill unlocked.]Dash- +10 increase to host agility stat. Mana cost- 5 MPDuration- thirty seconds. ' Well, that was unexpected. ' Thought Jerouch as he picked himself up. He began to look around wondering where he was. Because of the chase, he had gone a bit deep in the forest. ' Ahh, I forgot. ' he dusted his hands as his focus went back on the system interface. [Status Page][Stats] [Skills] [Quests] [Shop]Choosing the stat panel, the figures were like this. Host- JerouchHealth: 60 Mana: 25Race- ???Level-2(5/200)Class-???Rank- FStrength - 2Agility- 2Mind- 15Perception-1( Stat point- 2 )Seeing the stat point, Jerouch didn't think much before he decided on what stat he needed to increase. His mind was already leading with great numbers and his strength and agility had already increased, hence he chose to spend one stat point on perception and one on agility. ' Better awareness and the ability to escape quickly. ' he smirked. Now his perception was 2
[New quest received.]Build the strongest force. [Reward] @$#@#$' Is this system a stalker? ' Jerouch rolled his eyes while reading the notification. ' And just tell me what the rewards are,' he muttered, a bit annoyed. He had already left that place that was brimming with battle, and he was currently some couple of meters away from a dungeon entrance. Dungeons were said to be pocket worlds that served as bridges between this plane and the nether plane. It was believed that there used to be no dungeon before, and their origins were still unknown to many. What happened eons ago had been lost to history and no one fully understood the event that transpired. Dungeons had monsters of different levels depending on the rank of dungeons, and they were to some extent different from the monsters of this world. Each dungeon had different floors and the more the floors, the more powerful the dungeon is. Jerouch could see a red monolith and on top of it was one star shimmering with blu
In a distant location that was unknown to many, two people were discussing in a serious tone. They both were clad in white robes with hoods that obscured their facial features, and the aura they exuded was overbearing. '' Are you sure of what you just said? '' One of the figures resting on the wall of the dark cave they were currently in questioned. '' Being sure of myself is an understatement. '' the other figure who was opposite to the figure that questioned him replied. '' Although it was brief, I definitely felt that Mana. '' he added, his voice a bit shaky. '' Is it happening again then… '' The first figure murmured, but the other one could still hear him. '' Just the thought alone is giving me nightmares, I think it's time we let others know of my findings. '' '' No, not now, we can't throw the balance into shambles because of what we are not even sure of yet. '''' But… '''' No but. '' The first figure reprimanded. '' For now, you should widen the search. '''' And rem
A thick, dark book with no extraordinary features appeared in thin air. A white page opened, and Jerouch picked up the jet-black pen he found on the Grimoire. Enoch. Ding![Target analysis in progress…]It wasn't even up to a few seconds when he saw the results. Target- EnochRank- FClass- Tank[Passive skills]Hammer- Lvl 5Hand to hand combat- Lvl 6[Abilities]TremorEarth spikeEarth wall. [Copy ability] Yes/No' Who in their right mind says no? ' Jerouch laughed as he said yes in his mind. The next thing, he felt as though he was connected to something. Opening the status page, he went straight to the grimoire tab, and there he saw it. [Grimoire. ][Copied abilities.] Tremor. Earth spike. Earth wall.Focusing on each skill, he soon got their description. Tremor- an earth related ability that made the ground two meters around the host vibrate, making his foes lose their balance while being unaffected. Rank- FEarth spike- the power to summon a couple of spikes made
Jerouch stepped inside the new floor and just from the interiors, he could tell that this place was far different from the previous floors. The wall here was smoother, and the flame torches were bigger too. The ground was covered in cobwebs and so was the roof. There were also rusty weapons scattered all around the place, and Jerouch could smell something familiar in the air. He focused his eyes on the distance, and he couldn't help but frown. He saw fresh corpses at the centre of the room and, counting them, they were four that lay on the floor. Krack!Jerouch subconsciously turned his head backwards, and he found the door to have locked by itself. He could feel that something ominous was brewing, which made him clench his fists and blood rushed to his face. '' Ggrrhh! ''At the end of the room, what seemed like an elevated platform suddenly shook. '' Fuck. '' Jerouch swallowed hard as he saw the three-meter-tall spider. Just looking from the distance, one could tell that i
Jerouch shielded his eyes as a white light enveloped his figure, leaving him no room for retreat. The eyes of the supposed-to-be dead spider were wide open, which made him gulp. The eyes were no longer glowing red, instead, they were radiating powerful white radiance. The rest of the spider's body was also radiating this white light of unknown origin. The figure of the spider slowly began to rise in the air, and it looked down at Jerouch as though he were nothing of importance. Jerouch could feel the change in the demeanour. The aura that the spider exuded was nothing like before. It felt majestic, terrifying and as well calming. All those mixed feelings wanted to make Jerouch go crazy, and he grabbed his head tightly. A massive pressure soon mounted on him, and he felt as if his heart would rip apart. His bone started cracking and blood oozed out from his orifices. '' W-what is t-this…'' His mouth clattered as he struggled to stand properly. Jerouch kept falling to the grou