*CRASH. BOOOOM.*
The ground shook as a fifteen-meter demon tore through the apartment complex next to mine with one sweep of its mangled arm.
"Keep it down, assholes!" I yelled, eyes still locked on my favorite MMO.
A small system panel floated beside my monitor.
[ COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE WORLD ]
[ 11 minutes 12 seconds ]
The numbers dropped by the second. I ignored them and kept playing, favoring the video game world over the hell being unleashed by the imminent apocalypse just outside my window.
If the world was going to end in eleven minutes, I sure as hell was going to spend what was left of it doing the only thing I actually loved.
*WOMP WOMP WOMP*
The noise that meant death in the game played as giant red and bloody letters spelled out GAME OVER.
"See what you dickheads have done!" I shouted at the TV. The timer was down to seven minutes now. "God damnit… I can't even pass on while truly happy. If I get the ability to, I'm haunting all of your asses!" I shouted out the window, assessing the damage next door.
The building collapse had knocked over the power pole adjacent to my apartment complex, and my generator had run out of fuel weeks ago.
"I swear on everything… whoever is responsible is going to pay."
At the moment of my great proclamation, the timer reached zero, and the world fell out as I found myself swallowed by a greater demon.
A bright and obnoxious light broke through the dark, revealing a welcome message.
[ WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE ]
[ You have been chosen to participate in |EARTHS| death games. Good Luck! ]
[ Do you wish to have the chance to attain great power ]
[ YES ] [ NO ]
Outside of the panel being forced into my vision, I could see nothing else. Reading over the message again, my mind began to wonder if someone had heard my spite-filled announcement just before the timer hit zero.
I sat in this space for what felt like hours, wondering if I had drifted off into a game-induced coma or if I really had met my demise. In favor of making true my proclamation, I mentally pushed the yes button.
When I did, the world's colors rapidly began to accumulate into my vision. Before I could metaphorically blink, my entire apartment had been remade with me standing in it. The system panel was still bright in front of me. Looking closer, several more windows had opened next to the first message.
[ Sam Shaver LVL:99 ]
[ You have been brought back: 29 days 23 hours before your last life ended. ]
[ Would you like to be shown to the tutorial area? ]
[ YES ] [ NO ]
"What the fuck, my level is already maxed!" Reaching up to press the button, excitement built up, almost bursting out. "Reborn with a cheat code… Hell yea!" I shouted as the world warped again.
Once my vision landed, the ground shook, and the sky resembled a fiery abyss. Creatures could be seen flying around the clouds. Some of them were diving down, grabbing their prey.
"Oh shit… this doesn't look like any 'tutorial' I've ever played." At that moment, I felt a looming presence not far behind me. Turning, I saw a human-sized demon. It was walking toward me, its eyes brimmed with fire and a desire to kill.
Our eyes met, and it launched itself toward me. I dove to the side, narrowly avoiding its strike. Sprawled out on the ground, I grasped for some kind of release, something to explain what I had gotten myself into by deciding to seek revenge.
"Okay… uhhhh," I said as I got up and began running away, the demon close behind, its steps almost as fast as my running. "If I'm level ninety-nine, why the fuck am I so weak?" Turning down the alleyway, two more humanoid demons spotted me.
"Shit, shit, shit…" I turned around only to find the one demon had grown to three. Both sides were closing in quickly. "Come on, gimme something, you piece of shit!"
The earth split as the demons lunged forward, causing me to lose my balance and trip over the garbage cans on the edge.
A window appeared.
[ ACTIVATE ABSOLUTE DOMAIN ]
Without even waiting for any details, I clicked the accept button. As soon as I did, power rose inside of me, begging to be set free.
The area around us shifted. We were no longer in the alleyway. The skill had transported us to what appeared to be a secluded pocket of space.
In the center of the area, a blood-red sword was plunged into the ground. A single beam of light was shining down, setting off the golden accents on the back and the hilt. I could feel it calling to me, asking to be used.
Ripping myself forward, my hand landed on the blade. System messages shot up around me, quickly dismissing themselves. Only one was left after the wave.
[ SWORD OF THE ARBITER ]
Pulling the sword from its resting bed, techniques and fighting styles forced their way into my psyche. Hundreds of years of training being learned in seconds, it left my mind fuzzy as I readied the weapon, somehow understanding how it worked.
"You guys are so fucked…" "Y'all don't understand the jar of whoop-ass you just unleashed…"
I brought the demon blade down in a solid arc and spoke the words to activate its true powers.
"Slash of Annihilation!"
In a blink, the demons in front of me were cleaved in two, dissolving shortly after, leaving in their place a tiny gem.
"You guys really are weak as fuck. It barely takes anything to kill you," I said as I twisted toward the remaining threats.
Instead of using the same move a second time, I rushed in, cutting down one of the demons with ease and picking up the gem that was left in its place.
The system responded.
[ SOUL GEM ]
[ Used to refill your fully depleted mana supply: delivers a small amount of mana. ]
"I have a lot to learn about what's going on…" I began as I took out the final demon with a wide swing. "Sorry, man… it's not personal, I just can't think with your ugly ass staring at me."
My vision became blurry following the bout. My legs felt like they would give out any second. Fighting to stay aware, another panel appeared.
[ MANA 0/100 ]