1 On the path to revenge

From beneath the earth's surface, dwells a prison… far worse than any hell. It was a place, where even the devil himself would avoid. In the darkness that comforted him when no one else could, lay a young boy by the name of Eli. In a way the darkness was a sanctuary, no one could hurt him, no one could lie to him, because he had no one. He laid on the stone-hard floor that scraped his skin, leaving cuts whenever he slept. The pain didn't bother him, especially when it was his heart that was aching. The longing for another became a lump in his throat… only to vanish away.

"I hate you… I hate you… I HATE YOU!"

Resentment towards his only brother Kyle, was all he had left when his reality died. Soon, his mind followed along with his body covered in stitches. He vowed to himself that if their paths ever crossed, he would kill the man who sold him off.

Days continued to pass, trapped like a bird in a cage with nowhere to run. Even if he could escape, he had no home to return to. Sold off by his brother for petty money and used as a lab rat each day, that was his life. Without realising it, Eli was losing what little sanity he had left but refused to believe it. He didn't want to be like those who gave up their sanity, just to be freed from reality.

Upon waking to the sounds of shouting, Eli reluctantly opened his half lit eyes rubbing them with the palms of his hands.

"Get up!" the guard yelled.

"What?! I already had my experiment yesterday!"

Without listening to the boy, the guard dragged him off to the laboratory.

"Damn it!"

In the laboratory, stood a scientist with his white lab coat stained in blood. His name was Dr. Miller but those in this prison called him "the reaper".

"Why am I back already?"

"It's just that I just got an idea and wanted to try it"

"You psycho"

"Say whatever you please but do so afterwards"

Eli laid himself down before placing a gown on.

"Did you know the soul is somewhere in the brain? I wonder what would happen if I placed another inside the human body"

"... to hell with that so-called idea"

Just as he was about to escape, shackles bound him.

"Let me go!"

The shackles grazed against his ankle, scraping his skin and soon cutting into flesh. Blood, crimson red, dripped across the floor as Eli knelt on his knees. Steadily, Eli got up wincing with each step he took, grabbing onto the table but soon collapsed.

"It's really annoying when test subjects don't know their place"

From inside his pocket, Dr. Miller took out a knife ready to stab. The blade sank deep into Eli's flesh and the once crimson blood dripped down the butcher's blade.

"Now that was a waste of time"

"I… can't…. die… like this… not now"

In front of Eli appeared a screen, with the words "Do you want power?" in bold.

".. yes"

Hesitated at first, Eli accepted, hoping to gain the strength he needed. In a matter of seconds, the wound started to heal and he found himself in a forest.

"W-wasn't I in the laboratory just a few moments ago?"

[Welcome, Player

Name: Eli Neil

Race: Human

Titles: None

Status: Alive

Inventory: Dagger, stale bread, water

Level: 1

Hp: 10/10

Strength: 1.5

Defense: 2

Skills: none

Skill points: 2

Status points: 1]

[Quests: Defeat fanged wolves]

Rewards: 20 status points, title: Wolf Slayer

Penalty: Death

"... a game screen?"

"Wait a minute.. why am I so weak?!?

Sounds of bushes rustling, only to reveal under the rays of light, a grey wolf. It's piercing gaze sent shivers down his spine, staring into his very soul. The wolf was eying its prey, ready to attack at any given moment.

"Wait... that's what I'm killing?!, and where's that dagger!"

Eli took a few steps back before running for his life, cursing under his breath.

"Damn it!... Damn it!... DAMN IT!"

"Dagger, where are you?! Appear! Open Sesame?! Just come out already!"

The wolf continued to chase after its prey, closing the distance in a matter of time. Eli, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown suddenly recalled seeing the word inventory from his window.

"In-inventory! Dagger?!"

The dagger appeared in his right hand, ready for use. Eli turned to face the wolf, recklessly slashing everywhere. Only a few hits landed, leaving the wolf vulnearble. It's health points were slowly decreasing before it died.

"I.. did it"

Eli sighed a heave a relief before noticing that the quest wasn't completed.

"Wait… didn't it say wolves so… more than one?"

Emerging from the shadows, a pack of wolves could be seen growling at the predator.

"... you have to be kidding me"

Eli braced himself for the massacre to come, slashing , stabbing... until the battlefield was engulfed in blood.

"Just die already!"

Alarm! You have killed a fanged wolf

[Quests: Defeat fanged wolves]

Alarm! Completed

Reward: 30 status points

You have earned the title Wolf Slayer

Eli with his back on the corpse, slumped down huffing and puffing. His face was flustered red and his hands were covered in blood, gripping onto the dagger. He slowly fell asleep, waiting for the sun to rise again.

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