17 Cracked Egg

Azuma was panting on the ground, a sheen layer of cold sweat covered him as his vision blurred and became cloudy.

There was only blood around his fingers, the monster coiled around his body like a snake laced in venom. It didn't let go even as Azuma dug the glass into that rubbery skin.

His breath hitched as the grip suffocated him.

And he could feel the rotten scent invade his lungs, the monster opened his large beaks and let out a painfully loud scream.

He had no weapons, no AI, and no squad to save him.

Everyone said he was a failure and a weakling to not even complete the trooper's training and as Azuma saw the small head come at him at a frightening pace, he was believing all of them.

The stone hard skull bashed against Azuma, nearly blacking him out. A sudden dizziness was clawing upon him, making his body unable to struggle as much as before.

Azuma closed his eyes, trying to steady his uneasy heart and the unhinged memories that haunted him once again.

When the next hit came crashing down, Azuma jerked back and somewhat dodged the attack.

He concluded that this monster must prefer to knock the opponents out before pecking them to death.

His mind was numb and he could hear the voices of the past, the glimpses of memories shrouded in darkness.

"Not…the right time…" he grumbled, desperately trying to free himself from the remaining strength he had left.

But all Azuma managed to do was somewhat drag himself away.

He heard the distant voices of awe, from the time when he was a new trooper. The place in his mind was foreign yet familiar. There was some strange sort of comfort and peace.

And there, he was not unseen.

"Woah! Azuma–san got ranked as an alpha!"

"Did you really win against Jaxon?!"

"You're so cool!"

The irony would have made Azuma bitter, but he was slowly falling into a state of an absolute nothingness. He was losing his sense of reality.

It made him feel pathetic and hopeless.

So much for wanting to become a seeker and tame the Abyss.

The voices changed but the words now stung him.

"You will be the best amongst them. There is something special about you, my son."

He didn't recognize that voice.

But Azuma knew it was not his father.

Then, just as the final hit was coming down, Azuma shoved all his weight down and dropped on the floor.

A sickening crack spread right next to him when the monster bashed his head down.

Their eyes met, his black ones being eerily held by one large and empty golden eye.

"Damn… you… " Azuma gasped out.

His one eye was now barely open, his face was swollen with bruises and stained in his own and the monster's blood.

Azuma looked like a cracked egg with dripping insides.

For the first time since coming to the building, he was truly scared. His face was one of his only redeemable qualities!

The monster started a low deep growl as it raised his head and Azuma knew he was gonna die or be even more of a virgin his whole life if he did nothing.

Just as the head was raised, Azuma tried to wriggle and then stared at the coiled hard neck around him before he chomped down with the bits of remaining strength.

Nothing happened.

Until he tasted hints of the most rotten and disgusting thing he could ever imagine.

A deafening scream made him break down in cold sweat.

The monster uncoiled and shrieked back.

Azuma's mind has turned blank long ago, but an instinct told him that rage filled scream could promise nothing good.

He moved from the ground and the dull pain sharpened. Biting back a wince, Azuma grabbed the shard of glass again. A shiver of cold rushed inside his blood as Azuma drove the glass down on the neck.

It was too thick.

But he did that again, again, and again, not even pausing to take a breath. The glass dug deeper into his already marred skin, and he couldn't bring himself to stop.

The shriek died some time ago.

The neck was severed.

But the pounding terror didn't leave his heart.

Azuma couldn't stop.

By the time he realised he was truly the only one alive in that room, Azuma's fingers were painfully clenched around the glass.

"You will be the best among them."

That annoying unfamiliar voice whispered again.

Azuma couldn't leave his only weapon even as he got up. He dragged the severed parts of the monster one by one and dropped them down the window.

There was emptiness in his thoughts and heart, and the emptiness was made up from his lingering fears.

He refused to relax.

"There is something special about you, my son." The man had said.

"I don't understand," Azuma responded.

"You're a prodigy—praised, and powerful. Of course you're special."

Azuma's gaze clouded with some complicated emotions. He was not sure how to feel about that senseless memory.

There was a blue translucent notification in front of him all of sudden.

『 Dear user, your Neuralink Assistance Service have been re activated. Kindly re-login into your account to enjoy complete features. We hope you have been enjoying your time. Please click below to leave a feedback.』

There was a dry gush of wind as Azuma just stared at the notification. The timing couldn't have been more excellent.

〙Congratulations! Penalty Quest Completed.〘

A screen popped in front of him. The cyan screen soon dissolved into another one of similar kind.

〙Experience + 99〘

The small interaction was followed by a soothing feminine voice. It seemed angelic under the hellish sky Azuma was staying under.

「 Hello Azuma, it's been a while. Congratulations on completing the first quest. This will be a memorable and beneficial journey for you. 」

"Are you… " he muttered hoarsily, "fucking kidding me?!"

「 I am having trouble understanding you. 」

"I nearly died! What the hell is all this quest bullshit??? I never signed up from some idiotic suicide game!"

「 You will not die. 」

"Yeah all cool until I am breathing," Azuma threw his hands in the air and then hissed at the flaring pain.

「 I am glad you like it. Would you like to check out the other features now? 」

"No!" Azuma shouted, "Remove this codex!"

「 I am afraid I can not do that, Azuma. 」

"Is there anything useful you can even do??"

「 There is a medical facility around two hundred metres away. Would you like me to start the navigation? 」

"..."

「 … 」

"Fuck you!"

「 You sound angry. My database says that is a normal reaction. There is nothing to worry about, Azuma. You do not need to pay for psychological help yet. 」

"Money is not the concern," Azuma bitterly spat out, "I want to get rid of this deathly codex!"

「 Earlier, you mentioned money was important. 」

He took in a deep controlling breath which did nothing to calm him down. But it was stupid to argue with a bot and so he decided an urgent visit to the tech support is the only thing that can save him.

「 The codex is designed to help you unlock all your hidden potential. Do you not want to be strong, Azuma? You mentioned being the strongest is one of your desires. 」

"I have mentioned way too much to you then," Azuma grumbled.

「 The penalty quests have a higher difficulty level but you will not need to do them if you complete your assigned daily quest. 」

Azuma creased his brows.

"Yeah, as if some exercise—"

His one bloodied hand was over the window sill when something wet dropped nearby. The small drop melted the metal in the matter of a few seconds.

Azuma stiffened and hesitantly glanced up.

His face turned pale.