Chapter 8
{-5 HP}
{15/20 HP left}
"TCHWK!" Zen coughed out a mouthful of blood as his body twitched uncontrollably. The chipped sword remained gripped tightly in his hand, but his vision blurred slightly from the immense hit he had just suffered.
"Wh... where am I? Wh... what is going on?" he muttered, clutching his head in a daze, trying to clear his spinning thoughts. The distant sounds of screams, chaos, growls, and heavy footsteps snapped him back to reality like a slap across the face.
"Right! I'm in the game," Zen said as he quickly pulled himself up, just in time to see the same beast from earlier charging at him again, its spiked club raised high and ready to crush his face.
"Seriously? Isn't there anyone else you'd like to kill right now?" Zen cried out as he rolled away instinctively. The club slammed into the ground where he had lain moments ago, smashing it with a loud, cracking thud.
Before Zen could properly catch his breath, the beast regained its footing and spun around, its heavy foot swinging toward him with terrifying speed.
"Shit!" Zen cursed, bringing his sword up just in time to block. But the force of the kick sent him flying. He was hurled out of the hut like a ragdoll, his body tumbling and bouncing violently across the open ground outside.
GROWL!
The guttural roar of the beast echoed behind him.
Zen groaned in pain, blood dripping from his mouth as he struggled to rise. His trembling hands clutched the now half-broken sword. His arms screamed from the strain, and every muscle in his body ached with agony.
'I don't want to die here. No! I can't and I won't die! I need to figure out a way to beat this beast before it kills me.' His thoughts raced, desperate and frantic.
'But what can I do? I could barely even react in time. Thanks to my keen observation from years of gaming, I know when the beast is about to attack but even with that, my body isn't quick nor strong enough to respond. What can I do?'
Before he could think further, the beast appeared in front of him once more. It swung its club from below, like an uppercut—directly aimed at Zen's chin.
'If that hits me, I'm dead. I don't have much HP left!' Zen's instincts kicked in. He forced his legs to leap backward, narrowly dodging the attack. The club grazed his cheek, slicing it open. Blood trickled down his face, warm and sharp against the cool air.
GROWL!
The beast, seemingly enraged by its failure to kill the frail-looking human, began slamming its club repeatedly into the ground. Its growls deepened as it entered a berserk state. Then, in a sudden burst of speed, it lunged at Zen again.
"This beast... Where have I seen it before? It looks familiar!" Zen shouted to himself, frantically thinking. "Think, Zen, think!"
There was no more time to ponder.
The beast appeared in front of him, swinging its massive club horizontally toward his neck with lethal precision.
"Duck!" he yelled, more to himself than anything else, and hurled his body downward with every ounce of strength he had left. The club whooshed above him, missing by a hair's breadth. He could feel the violent rush of air as it passed overhead.
"Pheww. I'm sa—"
Smash!
The beast didn't wait. Its knee shot up with brutal speed, smashing directly into Zen's face. His head snapped back violently, and blood exploded from his mouth as his eyes fluttered, trying to stay conscious.
His body followed, flung backward like a discarded toy. He tumbled and bounced across the ground several times before crashing to a halt, face down in the dirt. An all-too-familiar, mocking message appeared in front of his blurry vision.
{-5 HP}
{10/20 HP left}
"Cu... curses!" Zen groaned, his voice barely above a whisper. He twitched on the ground, his limbs refusing to move properly. His strength was draining rapidly, sapping away with every second. He could feel the weight of death crawling closer.
But even in that moment of despair, the will to survive burned fiercely in his chest.
He grit his teeth, blood staining them red, and began to rise. Slowly, shakily, painfully... but with purpose.
Blood dripped from his nose, mouth, and wrists. But regardless, he stood upright, hands still clinging to the half-broken sword in his grasp.
"Huh?" Zen muttered, raising an eyebrow at the beast. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Now I know where I've seen this beast before. It's a Troll."
GROWL!
"Yes. I'm right. It's a Troll. Weakness, weakness, weakness. What's its weakness?" Zen mumbled to himself, scanning the creature from head to toe when he saw the Troll suddenly dash toward him, kicking up a thick cloud of dust in its wake.
'Shit! I can't think of any weakness. Come on, don't fail me now, brain! I need to prove that I'm the strongest gamer there is!' Zen roared internally.
But then, horror struck. His eyes widened as he saw the Troll's massive club hurtling toward his face, only inches away now.
"I'm dead," Zen mumbled under his breath, a hopeless whisper against the chaos. Still, he quickly brought his sword in front of his face in a desperate attempt to block the hit.
But the beast's strength was absolutely overwhelming. Instead of shielding himself, the club crashed into his sword, and the blade smashed directly into his face with a sickening crunch.
The impact of sword and club combined, slammed into his skull, causing blood to gush from his forehead and face. His body was flung backward like a rag doll.
One of his hands, the one that had gripped the sword, now hung mangled and twisted at a grotesque angle. Bone pierced through flesh, jagged and white under all the red.
{-5 HP}
{5/20 HP left}
"ARGHHHHHH!" Zen screamed, the agony overtaking him. His body trembled and throbbed, pain radiating through every nerve. His eyes were bloodshot, stinging as blood seeped into them.
He tried to push himself off the ground with his one good hand, gritting his teeth, but he only collapsed again, face-first into the dirt.
His mangled arm was no help as it felt like pure torment as the protruding bone scraped harder against his muscle and skin with every twitch.
"What did… did I ever do wrong?" Zen whispered, his breath ragged and weak. He lay there, broken and bleeding, his chest rising and falling in shallow pants.
All around, the sounds of distant screams echoed, followed by the thudding of heavy footsteps that grew closer with every second.
"I… I lost my parents at a very young age… Decided to game, just to forget my sorrows, to avoid falling into depression… Loo—look where that brought me. To hell. I just wanted a peaceful life, damn it!" Zen cried out, his voice full of bitterness and agony.
The footsteps halted in front of him. Then, suddenly, Zen was yanked off the ground by his hair. His one good arm still clutched the broken sword with all the strength he had left.
Forcing his bloodied eyes open, he saw the Troll standing in front of him, grinning from ear to ear like a sadistic monster savoring every second of the moment.
It lifted its massive club high above its head, ready to bring it crashing down on Zen's skull.
'Is this it? My death… My weakness was how fragile this damned body is!' Zen thought in despair. 'If only… Wait! Weakness. Weak body part!'
His eyes flared open in realization.
As the club began its descent, Zen felt a strange sense of calm flood through him. A smile tugged at the corners of his bloody lips.
"I won't be dying here!" Zen roared, defying the pain. With every ounce of strength he could muster, he swung the broken sword upward in one swift motion.
The jagged blade lunged forward—and instantly pierced deep into the Troll's eye.
GROWL!
It growled loudly as it stumbled backward, letting go of Zen's hair and allowing him to fall to the ground with a sickening thud. The creature clutched its bleeding eyes in pain, thrashing its head back and forth in immense agony.
"I... I... I'm not... not done yet. I need to finish this," Zen muttered, struggling to push himself up while the beast continued flailing wildly.
Glancing around through blurred vision, Zen spotted the club the beast had dropped during its fit of rage. He didn't waste a second.
Despite the screaming pain coursing through his battered body, he pushed past it, gritting his teeth and forcing his legs to move.
With every ounce of strength and speed he could summon, he dashed forward, ignoring the searing aches in his muscles. His heart pounded in his chest like a war drum, and his vision trembled with exhaustion, but he knew this was his only shot.
In a heartbeat, he was upon the unassuming troll. Gritting his teeth, he tightened his grip on the weapon and then, with whatever energy he had left, he swung the club with all his might.
The blunt weapon smashed into the troll's neck with a satisfying crack. Blood sprayed as the impact tore through the flesh and bone.
The beast's head was severed, tumbling from its shoulders and falling to the ground with a dull thud. Zen's own body followed suit, collapsing beside it in sheer exhaustion.
"I... I... I did it. I actually..." he whispered, breathless and trembling.
GROWL!
Another low growl suddenly reached his ears. Zen's body froze as he looked up, still on his knees. His eyes widened in horror.
Standing before him was the last remaining troll. Blood soaked its body, and behind it, the remains of the village lay in ruin. The massacre was over. And now, it had turned its attention to him.
Roaring in fury, the troll raised the club in its hands and swung it at Zen's head with murderous intent.
"Crap! I'm dead!" Zen shouted, shutting his eyes tightly and bracing himself for the end.
But instead of the crushing blow he expected, a calm voice whispered in his ears.
"It is only truly over when you have no other option or hope left."