In my school classroom, I was on the second last desk. My head was down with my hands ahead. Beside me were four guys talking and laughing, they were having fun insulting each other.
Then another guy entered the classroom. He was drenched in sweat and was wearing running clothes.
"Hey you came back, how's the training?" One of the four guys asked the runner guy.
"Yeah, the training was best as always." The runner guy replied with a smile.
"Ugh. You never get tired of running like a bitch?" said the fat guy in the group.
"You should run too, you will lose these." The runner guy smacked the male breast of the fat guy, and all of them started laughing.
"Running makes me feel alive, like I am really existing, that's why I will never get tired of it." The runner guy gave a thumbs up to the fat guy with a wide smile.
(It makes him feel alive? So if I run, can I feel alive too?)
From that day I started running everyday. Orphanage kids watched me running all day and said, "Don't you think you should stop? Your body looks completely red."
(If it's what will make me feel alive, I will do it to my end so that I don't have to end myself again... For a reason as useless as me.)
I ran... I ran every single day, even on some days when I couldn't sleep at night... I ran.
I ran in the school sports week and won the first prize. I ran in the district tournament and won the first prize, but even after that I am still empty.
(You are a liar, you lied to me. You said I will feel alive.. no wait, he never said that.)
But throughout my running history, even now, i am running, running away from the wolf monster to protect my life. I turned my head back to see whether I lost the monster, and the monster was nowhere to be seen.
(Wait did I lose it?)
Grahh!
The building ahead of me burst from the hit of the creature. He was already infront of me, and he charged at me again.
Bang! Bang!
Grahh!
Bullets hit the stomach and head of the monster. Though it didn't even faze him, he turned his head towards the direction where Sia was standing.
She was laughing as she fired more shots at the monster, "You fucking monster, come at me I will handle you!"
[Skill 'Ragebaiter' is Activated!]
The monster roared at Sia in anger and rushed toward her. Its claw was about to hit her, but she jumped on its claw, then higher to hit the head of the monster.
(What can I do here?)
I thought as I watched the fight of rage and dodge between Salthas and Sia. My gaze was calm as i searched to find something useful.
But i couldn't find anything there. I turned my gaze towards Japan's ruins and saw a store. I couldn't read what was written on the board above it, but there was a katana drawn on the board.
(Is this a?)
I ran toward the store and kicked the locked doors. They were already ruined, so my kick threw the door off.
And as i expected, the store was a katana store. There were many sharp katanas there in showcases. I picked one up with a purple flame like texture on the scabbard.
I came out of the store and located Salthas and Sia, who were still fighting, but it looked like Salthas was dominating.
I held the scabbard and aimed it at Salthas.
Tak!
Sia, who was about to get torn in half, looked surprised as the scabbard hit the monster's eye and it stumbled back. She took the chance and ran away from the monster.
"Great aim, buddy!" Sia yelled with a smile.
Salthas roared and lunged at me. It had the expression that it will tear me off the second it reached me, but i wasn't planning on dying by his claws.
I raised the sword up and got in a stance i saw in a manga about the greatest samurai. Though I never used a sword, this wasn't the time to make an excuse.
We both charged at each other. Its claw was about to reach me, but somehow i dodged it by centimetres. I didn't stop and started slashing the leg of the wolf.
Grahh!
It jumped and threw me off with a huge force and i slammed into a ruin. The force was enough to shatter my ribs.
"Argh!" I groaned and coughed blood. I slowly raised my hand to touch my chest. It hurt like hell.
(My ribs, they are shattered. I can't even stand with this pain.)
My eyes started closing. I tried my best to keep them from closing. I could see the wolf rushing toward me. There was nothing i could do except getting eaten by this beast.
Grahh!
The wolf's sharp teeth were about to shatter me, but it didn't. There was someone who fired a bullet at the teeth of the monster.
It was Sia. She had a revolver in one hand and my sword in the other. How did she get my sword?
(Oh, I remember it got dropped when I got thrown off by Salthas.)
"Are you planning to hurt an already injured person? How lame." Even in that situation she had that wolf-like smile on her face. It was like i was seeing two wolves fighting each other.
[Skill 'Ragebaiter' is still in effect!]
But this time Salthas didn't move, it was still and observing her. She would be thinking why it isn't attacking her. It was maybe because it had something bigger in mind.
[Salthas Skill, 'Predator Beam' is charging!]
Suddenly a blue dazzling power blast started forming in the wolf's mouth. Sia looked shocked, maybe it wasn't what she expected to happen.
"Fucking hell." It was her last word before the beam hit her, or it looked like it hit her.
[Skill 'Copycat' is Activated!]
"Hah! You can never defeat me, foolish wolf!" She had a wide smile on her face before she started laughing.
The wolf's 'Predator Beam' was being opposed by the 'Predator Beam' of Sia Zeliang. It was because of her skill 'Copycat'.
She was able to copy the skill of her opponents, but there was a limitation. She could only copy skills that are in her level of capability.
[Salthas Skill 'Predator Beam' is increasing the Firepower!]
"Ahh!" Sia got thrown off by the force of the overwhelming 'Predator Beam'. She clutched tight on a ruined slab, her left arm was stinging like hell.
"What?" She soon realised her arm was burned from the beam. Her skin was peeling out like the skin of a boiled potato.
She stood up and started firing bullets at the wolf, but it didn't even make him flinch. And soon the bullets ran out. She reached out to her pocket, but it was empty. She had already used all the bullets she had.
***
I was observing the fight between Sia and Salthas. It was certain that she won't win even with the skills she had. Maybe it was related to what I was seeing.
[You both are unawakened, even an Ephemera Class Dream 'Salthas' is way ahead of your league!]
[But the Quest is already accepted by Dreamer 'Sia Zeliang']
[There is no turning back!]
I coughed more blood and started feeling dizzy.
(If this continues then I will die from blood loss... But isn't that what I want? I want to die, right?)
I mustered up courage to look up at the sky even though my neck was feeling like it was on fire.
Even though it was morning already, i could see stars in the sky. It was a beautiful sight.
(Dying below such beauty is an honor for me.)
I looked down at Sia who was getting beaten by the wolf and was barely protecting herself. She was exhausted too, her energy to even dodge was slowly fading.
(She protected me and now she is going to meet her end...)
At that moment, I could feel the snowy mountain inside me getting bigger. I could feel the snowy storms again, on berserk.
In that moment, I had questions.
"..."
Is she going to die?
I asked myself.
Will I live alone?
I asked that too, to myself.
Why am I even living?
I asked that to the world.
[Ding! Ding!]
[The Order has made a decision to assign you temporarily as a Dreamer until you die!]
[You should be grateful!]
[Exp: 250/500]
[You have attained half the Exp for awakening!]
[Seeing the seriousness of the situation, The Order is giving your influence the authority to awake!]
[Because of half Exp, the influence awakened is imperfect!]
[Your Influence — 'Imperfect Void Body' — has been forcibly activated.]