A Sudden Pain

The strong wind hit his face and hair, making his eyes somewhat watery, but he remained focused. For Haru, time suddenly slowed down. He ignored the Zombies falling from near the window he had just jumped from and the startling scream of his System.

His mind and will were concentrated as he turned his body facing the window the second after taking a huge leap into the air.

"Black Chain," he said, summoning the black chain which shot straight toward the same window.

His target wasn't the Zombies near the window but the small pillar-like wall that separated and supported the two window frames.

Because Haru took a big leap, and before he could start to descend due to gravity, within a matter of seconds, the chain flew at a high speed and immediately coiled around the wall by breaking through two windows, providing Haru support for his drop.

But despite having the support already, Haru didn't stop his descent; instead, he let himself fall freely by extending the chain.

["ARE YOU STUPID!? STOP!!!! MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!"] But his system couldn't handle the fear of height and the drop from the fourth floor.

"Don't worry, I got experience," Haru said, staring at the distance between him and the ground decreasing at an incredible rate.

["WHAT EXPERIENCE STUPID!? This is just your second time jumping!!! AHHHHHH!!!"] His System screamed.

'She knows, huh?' Haru thought but didn't say anything as he was more focused on achieving whatever he had planned.

"This is it!! Now!!" Suddenly, as Haru was just two floors away from the ground below, he abruptly stopped extending the chain.

As he stopped, his body ceased descending further, but his body didn't stop there. Due to the abrupt stop and his body's high momentum, he was able to swing parallel to the building.

Then, with the help of the very same momentum and pivotal support of the chain, he willed the black chain to thrust his body upward high into the air.

Within seconds, he crossed not just the third floor but even the fourth floor from where he had just jumped, quickly reaching his intended target – the terrace.

Spotting the outer edge of the terrace near his reach, he released the chain, promptly seized the edge, and propelled his body forward onto the terrace.

Haru did not waste a second as he stood on top of the terrace and quickly scanned for enemies.

Finding no immediate threats, Haru swiftly approached the terrace entrance. As he cast Black Chain, he tightly coiled it around the two door handles, effectively barricading the entrance.

"Ha..." When the terrace was secure, he let out a breath and sat on the floor to control his beating heart, which was racing for some reason.

But he didn't dwell on it much and rested as he quickly checked Aki's condition by turning his head behind. He cared more about Aki's well-being than his own and thankfully found her still asleep with nothing abnormal.

Seeing Aki was fine, he let out a sigh of relief that his plan worked well and they were away from being surrounded by Zombies.

["Woah... stupid... I thought my heart would give up on me..."] But his system didn't feel the same.

"...You got a heart now? Besides, why did you even scream so much? Aren't you just a spirit dwelling inside the System?" Haru asked after checking up on Aki, but he didn't release the chain that bounded them together since he couldn't risk being careless.

["How rude! And what do you even know! I am not a senseless AI like those low-tier systems but a Spirit with feelings and emotions! Besides, I see, feel, and hear everything you see, feel, and hear!"]

"Oh... Ah!" Haru nodded, somewhat getting closer to understanding her, but stopped when he suddenly felt a sharp pain within his head.

"What the heck?" The pain was so strong that he clenched his head with both hands, not knowing why he was suddenly in such a state.

["I was thinking when it would arrive, but even you are affected by it, huh?"]

Hearing her words, Haru asked with a little trouble as he felt like his head was being drilled, "What... do you mean?"

["This is the cost of extensively using the spell or rather manipulation technique for the first time."]

"I don't understand... Don't I still have more than a quarter of Prana remaining?" Haru asked as he looked at his Status Window where despite repeatedly using the Prana for the spell multiple times during the fight, he still had a quarter of Prana remaining. 

["I am not talking about that, but rather the thing you were using to manipulate those chains – the mental connection. You must have noticed it, right? The Mental connection that was sending Prana to the chain to manipulate them was, in fact, putting a lot of strain on your brain, right? That was why I was surprised at how quickly you were able to freely use it on the second try. But I guess even you have a limit, huh?"]

"Why didn't you warn me?" he asked.

["Look, I am not omnipotent, okay? Nobody is. Besides, who could have predicted that you'd take a daring leap off the building, swinging yourself up to the terrace? I did try to warn you before you jumped, sensing that you might be pushing your limits, but you didn't listen to my words!"]

"All I heard was you screaming loudly in my ears..."

["I was startled, ok!? I-It couldn't be helped! Anyways, just rest for now. The pain will go away, and you'll be able to use the spell again. Besides, Zombies won't easily be able to breach inside for the time being, not with that chain locking the door."]

After giving one last look toward the locked door, Haru moved away and sat near the edge of the terrace to rest for a bit while being careful not to make it uncomfortable for Aki in any sort of way.

While resting and waiting for the pain to subside, Haru's eyes landed on his stats which were increased by a lot of points.

"I didn't think it would increase by this much..."

["That is to be expected! After all those Zombies you crushed or smashed to their death with the poor Corpse!"]

Haru fell silent as he heard her words. Not because he felt awkward about her words, but he realized something after hearing them.

"Say... do you think I was enjoying slaughtering those monsters?" he asked.

His System fell silent for a bit before asking, ["Why are you asking? Did you not kill monsters before as well? You even burned and stabbed a Beast to its death! Why are you worried about something pointless right now?"]

"It might be pointless, but... The Zombies... I only killed them to survive up till now... but now, as I gained a bit of power, I feel like I am starting to enjoy slaughtering them." Haru then asked the one thing he was the most doubtful about, "Do you think I am changing?"