An end - 2

Gabriel fell silent, his shaky hands falling to the side as he thought, for moments and moments more. The day passed quietly like that, an existence that barely constituted more than a few movements.

One to eat, and one to sleep. That was all he did for the better part of the day.

Yet when he opened his eyes it was not the blank ceiling that he was used to, nor was it the wall that he sometimes blankly stared at.

It was to a void, so similar to the one that he had conquered only a day before.

It was then that a symbol appeared in his vision. One that he had seen thousands of times, a thing that had been a symbol of his life.

It was the character creation screen, a symbol that would bring it up.

'This can't be… I have to be hallucinating…' Gabriel thought to himself. But there was no denying it, not after constant attempts to wake up, to break the veil of the illusion that he thought to be hallucinating.

Eventually, with a sigh and eyes that shone with excitement, he breathed one more breath and poked at the symbol.

Immediately it expanded and showed Gabriel a picture of his body, a character customization screen. One that was strangely locked, as if something had taken away his choice.

"That's…" Gabriel whispered, his hand ghosted upon the picture, it was the exact same body that he had worn as [Space] down to even the wings that he had gained as a [Trait]

He clicked to the next screen where it showed his stats, the place where most people would go wrong.

But this one was also picked for him.

[Gabriel]

[0]

[HP: 100]

[Mp: 200]

[strength: 1(2)] 

[dexterity: 1(3)]

[vitality: 1(1)]

[intelligence: 1(2)]

[SP: 0]

[Traits:]

[Mythical Trait: One who has traversed the void - a level beyond normal, beyond even extraordinary, a man who has conquered more than a single one should ever be capable of. I gift to thee a boon created with the last vestiges of my life. May it help you grow ever stronger, for the man who had killed me should bow to none, be lesser than none.]

[Rare Trait: Angelic Wings - gain the ability to fly and the beauty of an angel sculpted by a master sculptor. +1 str and int +2 dex for every level]

…

A gasp woke him from his slumber, a terrible scent, one that spoke of flesh burning to the ground. A person, no, some sort of animal or something.

Yet in his hand was only a mere stick, not even sharpened. To his left and right were two other people. Both of them were, what would you call it, a bit thick headed. A middle aged man with a suit and tie holding what looked to be another stick but longer this time and with a bit of an edge.

Then there was the other person, a girl, similar in height to the man and with a more pointed stick, one that if you squint a bit, could sort of look like a scythe.

A beat, another and then all hell broke loose. As Gabriel looked to the ground, his nose sniffing at the prints that were left on the ground, the other two looked at him, at the wings on his back and found a mutual agreement.

"YOU!" The man yelled, his voice raised so loud that it startled Gabriel from his search. 

Gabriel turned and looked at the man and woman that had disturbed them. Both of them had discarded their sticks to the ground and were now pointing at him with angered and confused faces.

"What is this place, send me back, I don't want to be here" the woman finally said, her voice much quieter than the man but equally if not more entitled than the man himself.

Yet Gabriel ignored them, instead his focus was on the distant land. They were in some sort of swamp or wetland, he could not tell.

But just by the burning of his nose that signaled that flesh was being burnt. He could tell that they were in danger.

Instincts and reflexes born of over twenty years of playing the same game kicked in and he flapped his wings. A gust tore through, it broke the tentative silence that the two had left for Gabriel to respond and shone wind on them. 

GAOOO

A howl echoed through the area and with it a bug, one with an ugly head that tried to mimic a wolf burst from the foliage and charged towards them.

"What!" The woman yelled, "the fuck!" 

She closed her eyes and raised her arms just as the man scrambled over himself to flee. But not the angel in the sky, he turned his head and tightened his grip on the stick in his hand.

'A mimic bug, level 2, 800hp, weak points. Fire and the softer tissue under its carapace, strategy, pierce the eye and fall back, let it bleed out, sticks won't be effective otherwise.'

With that thought racing through his mind he burst forth with speed of a level three, and strength of a level two. The stick in his hand was held steady and with precision that was only born of thousands of hours of practice he precisely placed it into the eye of the bug.

It shone with light and a screen popped into his vision.

[Mimic Bug]

[2]

[HP: ?/?]

Blood poured from its face and pooled to the ground. Gabriel backed back into the sky, his wings flapping with great force, yet not enough to cause any significant noise.

He looked to the two that were watching him with fear and merely scoffed.

They may have been new to this and disoriented but they should have at least run away or done something.

It was like they had some sort of death wish rather than the survival and lives they had raved about earlier.