My vision became black but I didn't stop crawling because I have something to protect but no benefits of it. Legs dragging, arms numb, lungs on fire—gotta keep moving... can't stop... something's waiting... The spider caught me and sliced my head away from my body. Then suddenly everything becomes dark.
Everything stopped. No pain, just... nothing. Then it hit me like a punch: I don't want to die now. I have something to do. I left something beside me—something precious but no use now. Shit... I promised... Throat felt tight even though there was no throat left. Regret burned worse than the death.
Then I saw a system window which changed my life.
Death Reaper System
"Do you want to increase your lifespan? You have no choice. Either die or agree with me."
Yes. Yes—please. I can't leave it like this. Not yet.
He says yes.
After that, he gets one more chance and his body is healed. Neck snapped back together. Breath came in ragged gasps. Hands shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.
Then a system window appears.
[Death Reaper System Activated]
[Lifespan: 3 Hours Remaining]
The system says:
"If you want to live longer, you must kill monsters. Killing monsters will increase your lifespan and give you rewards."
Demonic sword appeared in my grip—heavy, cold, like it knew I was scared. Temporary ability: Copy Skill.
Rules:
Copy Skill can only be used once.
It can copy any skill with one look.
The copied skill becomes permanent.
Another message:
After killing your first monster, you will gain the ability to see monster details.
Also, after killing monsters he can receive random skills.
No time to read more. Spider attacked again, web flying to trap me. I barely dodged—heart hammering in my ears, not again, not when it's still out there waiting for me. Sword out, swung wild at the spider.
Deflected in one instant into a stone. Rock cracked behind me. Pain shot through my back. Still too weak... can't even scratch it... I'm gonna die again...
So I ran. Legs pumping, fear choking me. If I die here, whatever I left behind... it's gone forever.
In the deep part of the dungeon, a goblin jumped out. I froze—very scared, hands trembling on the sword. No... no more... please... Then suddenly a group of goblins rushed in when I entered.
System pinged:
"Do you want to use any skill now?"
Like the one I just gained from the spider.
Yes—god yes. Web Shooting—webs shot from my hand, trapping all the goblins. They thrashed, screaming. I took out the sword and started killing them. This is for that thing I left. For the promise I can't break. I won't die again.
While killing them, three level-ups hit. 35 stat points + 6 bonus. I kept them—didn't know what to do yet.
Stats became:
Strength: 15
Speed: 15
Intelligence: 15
Permanent skill: Noise — distracts opponent for a short moment.
Lifespan +2 hours.
[Lifespan: 5 Hours Remaining]
Checked the bodies—system hovered:
"This is a defeated monster. Do you want to exchange it for coins or obtain the flesh?"
"I want to store them."
System stored them.
After that, I continued killing monsters. Almost all the monsters in that area were killed by me.
Used Noise to distract them—sharp burst in my head, they froze. Web to trap them, sword to finish. Each kill made my arms ache less, legs stronger. More time... keep going... can't stop... for what I left...
Gained 10 levels and 59 status points.
Stats became:
Strength: 50
Speed: 70
Intelligence: 79
Skills:
Web – shoots webs to trap enemies
Noise – distracts the opponent
Poison – can poison weapons
Night Vision – can see in the dark
Lifespan increased to 5 days.
[Lifespan: 5 Days 5 Hours Remaining]
110 E-rank monster bodies stored in the bag.
I held the sword in my hand and entered the place I had run from earlier while fearing the spider monster. Fear was still there, twisting in my gut, but now it was mixed with something else—anger, need, the stubborn thought: I won't run again. Not when it's still waiting for me out there.
Now the system showed the monster's details:
Name: Spider King
Rank: D Rank
Attributes: Dark, Poison
I took a deep breath—chest tight, hands steady for the first time. Rushed toward the monster, with hope of survival in my eyes. This time... I fight for what I left beside me. This time I make it back.