The Unforgiving Path (1)

3RD PERSON

Note: I've been sleep-deprived so creating chapters has been a hassle, and there also may be inconsistencies because I intend to change the earlier chapters.

'System,' Vane called through the haziness in his mind, his head feeling cold from losing blood.

[Updates installed. Host recommended to find an isolated space.

Integrate updates: Yes/Postpone]

'… Yes,' Vane responded.

[Intergrating updates... ERROR! Magical interference detected!]

[Attempting overriding...]

[Overriding possible: Override/Cancel]

A surge of pleasant coolness surged through his body as he looked at the options. 'Override!' He willed.

[Overriding magical interference… 1%…2%…3%]

The progress bar advanced slowly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come, Ma," Vargos said, trudging heavily without trying to speed up.

"Var— COUGH," Vane said, interrupted by a fit of coughing, catching Vargos' attention, as he turned towards Vane.

'Just a little while longer, please hold on Vargos,' Vane hoped. "Run," he said hoarsely.

Vargos tilted his head slightly, furrowing his brow in a gesture unseen by Vane.

"What?" Vargos asked, unable to hear Vane clearly.

'R—COUGH Run!' Vane said.

"Run? Marco, did ya say run?" Vargos asked, and Vane hummed.

"We're goin' to die, Marco, why run?" Vargos asked, his voice tinged with haste.

"Please," Vane said weakly, yet, with equal haste.

"Is it the thing yer talkin' about before?' Vargos asked, and Vane hummed slightly.

"Yer sure it'll work?" Vargos asked, and Vane hummed again. Vargos stared at Vane's eye briefly.

"Al'ight then," Vargos said, no longer questioning Vane, seeing how he didn't waver his eyes.

"Hold on tight," Vargos said, jumping slightly to get a better hold on Vane, and slightly bent forward.

DASH

He dashed off, holding Vane with one hand, and his sword in the other.

Vargos flailed his sword on the ground, dodging debris and charging through webs. He paused occasionally, clutching Vane tightly.

Meanwhile, Vane struggled to keep his heavy eyelids from closing, watching the progress bar advance. His stub was also clotted, and the cloth prevented it from bleeding too much.

[Overriding magical interference… 23%…24%…25%]

'It's faster…?' Vane thought, as the progress hastened as it increased, inexplicably so, but he couldn't deduce it, nor did he have the time to.

PANT PANT PANT PANT

Vargos' gasps resonated audibly, his pace slowing noticeably.

"UOH, SH-!" Vargos screamed as he lurched forward, stumbling on the rocks, but he planted his sword just in time.

"I-I'M GASP FINE!" Vargos screamed, but that didn't slow down Vane's heart, racing from potentially hurting his stub.

Steadying himself for a few seconds, Vargos continued his jog and flailed his sword often now.

[Overriding magical interference… 57%…58%…59%]

'… Almost, just a little longer!' Vane hoped, praying to no specific entity to let them survive, but Vane could feel Vargos' back rise and fall continuously and felt his heart beat loudly.

"HAA—HAA—HAA—GULP, I'M GASP SORRY KID, GASP," Vargos said, as his knees gave out, almost sending the duo tumbling.

Planting his sword on the ground right on time, he stopped and gasped for a while, before he bent and neared his back against the wall.

Vargos released Vane and collapsed onto the floor beside Vane with a heavy thud, his legs outstretched.

[Overriding magical interference… 89%…91%…92%]

GRAAAAAAHHHHHHH

'Please let them be far,' Vane hoped, feeling only the quaking ground to gauge the distance between themselves. Nevertheless, Vane's heart beat rapidly, as his body used all resources to keep him alive.

[Overriding magical interference… 97%…98%…99%]

[Magical interference overridden, integrating updates]

[Updates integrated, System is now online]

'Yes!' Vane rejoiced, feeling a pleasant cold pulsating in his body, as he looked at the series of blue boxes.

[Update log:

-Transitioned from trial mode

-Unlocked mana resonance

-Unlocked the skills section

-Miscellaneous changes]

[Distributing remaining rewards:

-Body awakening procedure (Pending)

-Combat optimisation (A-)]

[Body awakening procedure: Ascend/Postpone

-Peak-Mortal stage—>Amateur-Novice stage]

Processing them rapidly, Vane looked at the Body awakening procedure tab. 'Ascend!' He willed immediately.

[Beginning body ascension…]

The air around Vane trembled as the atmosphere thickened around him, while debris, dust, and black blood splattered around him as he remained seated.

"Huh!? What's happeni— Vane!?" Vargos asked, sensing the atmosphere change right by him.

Vane didn't respond, occupied by the cold embrace of mana as he ascended. Vane's left wrist tingled with a cool sensation, and his body regained its energy, gradually.

'This… is mana,' Vane thought about the cool sensation rejuvenating him, instinctively understanding the nature of the energy, and closed his eyes.

Normally, a peak mortal would need to actively guide the mana and channel it to forge mana veins. It was difficult to sense, let alone guide the mana to create functioning mana veins, and mistakes led to being crippled or dying.

However, the System itself was guiding Vane's ascension with virtual perfection, creating perfectly efficient and functional mana veins.

"—VANE!—VANE!" Vargos screamed, finally pulling Vane's attention. "RUN!" Vargos screamed.

GRAAAAAAHHHHHHH

'SHIT! SYSTEM!' Vane screamed.

—[STATUS]—

(HOST)

Name: Vane

Titles: Transmigrator

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Stage: Quasi-amateur-novice

(Ascension progressing)

Condition:

-Fatigued

-slight blood loss

(STATS)

Strength: E-

Agility: E-

Energy: E-

Endurance: E-

Vitality: E-

Intelligence: S-

Charm: A

(SKILLS)

Combat optimisation (A-)

———————

'Wait, why didn't the time pause!?' Vane thought and creased his forehead as he felt the ground trembling.

GRAAAAAAHHHHHHH

A heavy body lunged towards Vane, forcing him to block with his arm. "URGH," he groaned, struggling to push away the body.

CLANG CLANG

"SHIT—UARGH!" Vane screamed, as the zombies bit into his vambraces, and continuously piled up.

"MOVE MARCO—DIE, FUCKERS!" Vargos screamed, pushing Vane aside and charged into the mob with his sword.

"RUN!" Vargos screamed, slashing at the mob, however, he was getting pulled into them.

Vane stood dazed for a moment before shaking himself back to awareness. "I'M SORRY, VARGOS!" Vane screamed.

"DON'T B— KUAAARGH!" Vargos screamed, causing Vane to shudder as he ran, hearing the pained screams.

Vargos's screams echoed for a brief moment before fading into the cacophony. The scent of blood and the screams right behind Vane raised his hair.

Vane's heart clenched and gritted his teeth. 'I left him to die after he saved me!' Vane lamented, furrowing his brows while pushing himself to run even faster.

GRAAAAAAHHHHHHH

'I can't die!' Vane resolved, increasing his pace as the continuous influx of mana continued.

This was his first time facing the monsters in this world, and the fear of stumbling on something and being eaten sent chills down his spine.

'System!' Vane called, but almost immediately, he clicked his tongue, seeing how it couldn't illuminate the surroundings.

'Please, please, something- anything!' Vane hoped, drawing his sword along the walls of the corridor.

"SHIT! UGH!" Vane screamed, almost stumbling on a pile of rocks, but he immediately regained balance in an awkward stance, while using his sword to pick himself back.

Continuing to draw the sword along the wall, he felt his sword scratching into a coarse material, and stopped by it, while retracting his leg behind.

THUD

The wooden door opened with a thud, muffled by the stampeding of the mob. Vane hastily flailed his arms, searching for the door. Finding it, he leapt to grasp the top and pulled himself up.

Clearing the cobwebs, Vane lay face down on the narrow edge of the top of the door, he held on to it tightly with both his arms and legs.

GRAAAAAAHHHHHHH

Although the zombies did not know Vane was here, their sheer numbers caused many to be pushed into the new pathway, and the mindless ghoul spawn ran deeper into the pathway, their flailing limbs completely oblivious to Vane's presence.

THUD THUD

"Shit!" Vane screamed lightly, as the zombies collided with the door, almost toppling him.

'Just how many of them are there!?' Vane thought, baffled by the sheer number of Zombies, realising they must be in the hundreds.

THUD THUD

"URGH!" Vane screamed, as the zombies continuously collided with the door, and after a struggle, he fell off from the top of the door, into the mob.

GRAAAHHHH

"GUAH!" Vane screamed, flailing his arms wildly to push away the zombies, sending their bodies crashing against the walls.

THUD CRUNCH

Bending forward, he placed his arms on his head and rammed into the zombies blocking the entrance to the door.

GRAH GURAAHHH

"URGH!" Vane screamed, feeling the vambraces dig into his head as he charged into the zombies, and out of the door.

The majority of the mob already left ahead, while the few slower, weaker ones were left behind, allowing him a brief respite.

GRAAAAAAHHHHHHH

"You can do this, Vane, you can do it,' Vane said under his breath. With a deep breath, he steeled himself, eyes widening with determination, and gripped his sword tightly, quelling the trembling in his hands.

'Combat optimisation!' Vane willed, activating his first-ever skill.

[Combat optimisation (A-):

-Allocates all resources for combat

-Increases stats by an equivalent of 1 stage

Side effects: Stress proportional to the power used]

The hysterical strength Vane tapped into when he first arrived in this world had been made into a skill, now, allowing him to use his energy reserves, unbridled.

His kinetic vision increased by manifolds, and his mind steadied, clearing all unnecessary thoughts. Having reached the quasi-amateur-adept stage, his body was lighter to him.

With a look ahead, he could discern the sounds coming from ahead of him, and sensing lesser sounds coming from one direction, he turned that way.

Planting his left foot behind him, Vane crouched low, shielding his body with his arms and sword. Tensing his calf muscles, he felt them contract violently. With a burst of energy, he charged into the darkness, charging through the horde rapidly.

GRAA- THUD

The weaker ones could not oppose Vane's charge forward, and their sparse numbers allowed him to get past them easily.

Their low numbers also made them more dispersed, allowing him to mow through them quickly, but some of the zombies from the main mob noticed him, forcing him to keep using his skill.

With the exponential increase in all stats, Vane glided past the corridor in a few minutes, back towards the initial corridor leading towards the door.

The littered torches illuminated the corridor dimly, but with his enhanced senses, the features of the corridor were clear to Vane.

Dead bodies of the escapees killed by the sentinels, the crushed corpses of the zombies by the door, and the sheer volume of blood and viscera, also, reeked further.

Vane picked up one of the torches and jogged slowly towards the door, mindful of the slippery ground, marring his boots with filth and gunk.

A few of the crushed zombies continued to groan, baring their teeth at Vane. He slashed at them, lopping their heads off as he approached the door.

The stonewalls paved a similar corridor, lined with torch sconces that ran out of mana, tangled cobwebs at the top, and a slab stone ground smeared with filth and blood.

Vane jogged ahead, holding on to the walls for support, determined to escape this hell.