Chapter 9: That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

After opening the chest, I collected the Szerath and experience points. I also gained a couple of items: two demon claws and one demon blade. They weren't too useful in the long run, but I'll take it.

The best part was that I managed to reach level seven. That's right—this dungeon brought my level up by four!

I'd say it was worth nearly dying. Even though my health bar was almost at zero, it would regenerate over time when I wasn't in combat.

I opened up the skill tree and chose four new perks: increasing my Divine Siphon to a three percent regeneration per hit, increasing my defense by ten percent, increasing my physical damage by ten percent, and gaining one spell slot.

I'll need to buy a grimoire later on so that I can equip a spell.

"Let's go, now, Ayame," I said.

She nodded, and the two of us left the dungeon. I was at four percent health (I healed two percent with Divine Siphon), and Ayame didn't have enough mana to perform a heal spell, so I was stuck in a dangerous position. As long as we return to the main road safely, we should be fine.

Wait a minute.

I just remembered.

On our way here, we passed by a sign that warned people of goblins around the forest.

Shit.

"Uh...Ares," Ayame said. "Do you hear that sound?"

Ah, shit. How could I have forgotten?

Dozens of goblins surrounded us from all sides, emerging from the underbrush and swinging down from the tree branches.

"Get behind me, Ayame!" I said, brandishing my sword.

In Serial Slain, goblins weren't fully sentient—more like low-intelligence primates in our world. They tended to reproduce at ridiculous rates, and they often kidnapped and violated human women. Goblins were worse than pests.

If I had just sprinted to the main road, we would be protected by the Totems of Warding.

As the enemies converged, I used Strengthen and Whirlwind Strike. Their health was comparable to wild demons, so I killed a decent amount of them in one slash, but it wasn't enough. I couldn't let them get too close because they attacked with blunt weapons, having a chance to stun their target for every hit. If an entire horde were to attack me at once, I might end up getting permanently incapacitated. Goblins were an early-game menace.

Even though my Whirlwind strike could hit multiple enemies, it was on a seven-second cooldown. The goblins would overrun me before I could use it again.

"Arcane Missile!" Ayame exclaimed, killing four enemies.

She had recovered enough mana to use her main spell. Even though she could cast Arcane Missile without using much energy, she would only be able to do so a couple more times.

"This is the only spell I can use," Ayame said, still breathing heavily. "I don't have enough mana for an AoE attack."

Ayame and I had our back against one another, surrounded by the goblin swarm. About ten of them were left, so if one of us stayed behind as a decoy, the other might be able to run away.

Should I push down Ayame and use her as a sacrifice? She was a non-player character, so it should be fine. In the game, companion NPCs would automatically retreat from the battle when their health reduced to zero, and they would respawn in their hometown.

Alright. That's the plan. I push Ayame into the goblins and make a run for it. She's just an NPC, so it's nothing like killing a human, right?

I raised my hand, but my body didn't move.

I wanted to shove her away, but I couldn't move an inch.

Dammit.

Why can't I just do it?

She's not even a real human!

My indecision was fatal. In the time frame that I hesitated, one of the goblins jumped forward and smacked me with its club.

I lost control of my body as I fell to the ground.

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no!

No!

Not again!

My health...

...was at zero.

Before I knew it, my eyes rolled up, and everything became silent.

There was no light.

***

"Gaaaahh!"

I burst awake, smacking my head on something hard. On closer inspection, I had just rammed my face into the ceiling. I instinctively rubbed my forehead, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as I expected. It seemed that pain was dulled down in the virtual world. Thinking back, I barely felt anything when I got hit by enemy demons.

As I scanned my surroundings, it seemed that I was on a top bunk within a simple but well-maintained bedroom.

I've seen this place before. That's right! It's my bedroom in the game.

But why am I here all of a sudden? My head hurts so much that I can barely think.

From what I remember, I was leaving the dungeon, and then...

...I died.

The truth came crashing down on me all at once.

I'm an idiot. I let the katana demon do too much damage to me, and then I let those low-level goblins surround us.

What happened after that? Did time turn back?

When I first played the main quest, I respawned in Eden every time I died, but time would continue flowing like normal.

This means that Ayame is still out there! Don't tell me that the goblins...

I jumped out of bed, but upon landing on the ground, I twisted my ankle. My head was still groggy, and I could barely see anything through my cloudy vision.

"Morning, Claudia," a female voice said.

"Virgil?"

"That's right. It's me. How was your first death?"

"What about Ayame! What happened to her?"

"Relax. She managed to escape, and her parents are probably scolding her right about now."

"Thank goodness."

Virgil let out a short laugh. "How noble of you, thinking about others first."

I pressed the blue circle on my wrist and pulled up my character stats. All my levels, money, items, and gear were gone. The only thing that remained was the default armor set and default sword.

For the second time, all my progress was gone.

"Dammit," I muttered while standing up.

"Are you already feeling like giving up?" Virgil asked.

"Hell no. I just started this game. I'm gonna beat it no matter how many tries it takes."

"Hm. I admire your determination."

Serial Slain 2.0 was my life now. If I quit after a single death, then there was no point in everything that had happened. Evidently, I wasn't prepared enough against the katana demon, but I should have enough combat experience to climb back to my previous level without much effort.

I fought the katana demon when I was level three, but I could probably beat it at level two since the stats weren't too much lower. All I have to do is fight a few monsters along the way to level up.

"Well, Claudia," Virgil said. "I will be leaving you now since I have things to do. The developers are watching from above, so you better put on a good show. See ya!"

At that, her voice faded away.

I walked around and stretched a bit to get used to being alive again.

While I loosened my muscles, my ears picked up footsteps outside my room. They were rushed and erratic as if they belonged to a drunken individual.

"Is he awake, now?" a muffled voice asked. It was relatively deep, so it must have been my father.

"Yeah," one of my siblings said. "I heard a wail."

The door opened, revealing my father. His face was ragged, and he was panting. Was he worried about me that much, or was it something else?

"Ares. I'm glad your back, but..."

My father cast his gaze downward.

"Why?" I asked. "What happened?"

"It's your mother. She had a heart attack."