Advancing to the Next Nightmare

In a dark and silent space, [Shen] appeared to be floating with unfocused eyes as if he had been crying a moment ago. The reason for this was as simple as it sounded: his Death.

He was thinking about everything that had happened a moment ago, and now, he was facing gigantic numbers amidst the huge void. Numbers that seemed to represent Seconds: 120.

They had started at 180, but are now at 120. Slowing down at a speed considerably fast but slow enough that he can have a lot of thoughts in the process. Deep down, [Shen] was very grateful, he was sure he would die again if he just went back in time to the beginning of the disaster.

'' I can not. This is very scary! ''It was the only thing [Shen] could talk about. He didn't consider himself the most cowardly Man in the World, as whenever he saw some Movies and Series in his spare time he used to say 'Hah, what a stupid decision! I can do better!' and other such bullshit, ignoring how different it is to see something on TV and witness it. ''I'm so stupid...coward...!'' Anger, Fear, and Hesitation. These were [Shen's] emotions currently.

He was angry with his past self for disregarding the frightening situations that Series and Movie Characters went through. He was afraid of dying and of going back to witnessing that whole place of 0 after his death. And he had Hesitation, Hesitation to relive because it would bring him the same dread sensations as before.

Time had slowed down to an incredible 69. And all [Shen] could do so far was think and curse. Fortunately for [Shen], her current situation and emotions defined the moment as 'Dreadful', 'Dreadful' and several other characteristics, which forced her [Blur] Ability to activate, making [Shen] able to at least give some thought to the what to do instead of cursing and whining until the time is up.

''Focus...focus! '' He tried to repeat this to himself, to try to focus his mind. But it was almost impossible to just forget about everything, with the Skill only helping him to think more clearly. ''My rewards for leveling up, if I only get this...! '' He spoke into the void, even though his voice simply didn't echo through any place, after all, Sound couldn't exist in a place like this.

He tried to move his hands to make the System appear, and luckily for him, it did. The Status screen was the thing that was being shown, as if the System knew what it wanted, something that wouldn't be so surprising if that was the case.

-[ Strength+: 10 ]-

-[ Dexterity+: 8 ]-

-[ Agility+: 10 ]-

-[ Intelligence+: 5 ]-

-[ Senses+: 10 ]-

-[ Charisma+: 10 ]-

-[ Points available: 20 ]-

He without wasting a single moment, clicked on the '+' sign of the appropriate statistics, to read them as quickly as possible. He might be desperate but he didn't want to act hastily, putting Points on the wrong Stats...he had already done this a few times in certain games and regretted it in the future, so he thought the same would happen here if this was done.

( A/N: I made these Attributes with a mental limitation. If you don't like something or think that some other type of Description would be better, you're free to say so. I can implement this in the future, in a logical way. )

-[ Strength: How strong a person's physique is. It increases resistance to diseases and viruses, body resistance, and stamina and makes muscles much harder. ]-

-[ Dexterity: How flexible a person's body is. Spends less Stamina in exhausting actions, makes the body more flexible and lessens the chances of the bones in the Body breaking. ]-

-[ Agility: How fast a person's body is. Allows the Body to move faster in all kinds of Situations, accelerates the speed of thought, and forces the body to get used to higher speeds faster. ]-

-[ Intelligence: How evolved the mind is. Accelerates the speed of Thought, Increases Understanding of Things, Increases resistance to supernatural things, and Makes it easier for the body to get used to completely new things. ]-

-[ Senses: How strong are the 5 Senses. It sharpens the senses, increases detection, increases the ability to see in situations that would impair vision (dark, smoke), and can feel more things with the other senses. ]-

-[ Charisma: How amazing is the body. It makes your body purer, makes your skin more beautiful, improves your body's scent, makes your hair silkier and smoother, and strengthens all other beauty attributes. ]-

Having read it all with a slight delay, [Shen] moved his eyes to Time and saw that the 69 had shrunk to a mere 16 seconds. His heart was beating faster and nervousness mounting, with slightly trembling fingers he raised some statuses that he thought were the best choice. He didn't know how much this would add up, but he hoped it would at least be a little.

With two seconds remaining, all Points had been spent. When the last stitch was placed, [Shen] suffered a great deal of Pain that lasted a single second, but it was enough to wake up [Shen's] mind and make him feel the differences in his body as if he had been placed forced into his mind the details of the changes his body had undergone, alongside his new abilities.

-[ Strength+: 15 ]-

-[ Dexterity+: 15 ]-

-[ Agility+: 15 ]-

-[ Intelligence+: 5 ]-

-[ Senses+: 13 ]-

-[ Charisma+: 10 ]-

-[ Points available: 0 ]-

[Shen]'s last action was to widen his eyes in surprise, realizing how much more powerful he had become. He was without a doubt beyond the limits of humans (normal), it was as if he had become a Superhuman in a non-exaggerated way (of course).

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Opening his eyes, he found himself in the same room as before. His heart was starting to beat faster and he was nervous, knowing that soon the Monster would appear. Somehow [Shen's] tired state had completely recovered, almost as if his death had rebuilt his body from scratch, in the best possible condition. Or, if it were possible, this being the result of putting Points into Status, which rebuilt his body. This was the cause of the intense pain he felt for a single second. The answer? [Shen] didn't know, and didn't feel like thinking about it. At least not now.

In a desperate attempt to get away, [Shen] looked in the direction he had tried to run before and stomped to the ground, starting to run. His body shot up with a burst of speed much greater than before, it was as if he was three times faster. [Shen's] eyes squinted as the wind hit his eyes as he began to run at a massive speed, but the same eyes adapted for the light run, allowing him to keep them wide open without too much trouble.

As he ran, [Shen] heard the noise he was so afraid of.

*% #@$¨&%¨@#&%¨@#&$*¨@#&¨%@#&$!*

The Monster seemed somehow to be faster. [Shen] didn't know the reason for this and couldn't even think about it now, his mind and heart were in Chaos. He could hear the Monster's footsteps getting closer and closer, the hairs on his back stood up again and his teeth were clenched, he was trying his best to get away.

The Race went on and on for long periods, almost half an hour. [Shen] didn't have time to think about his absurd Stamina increase, he was just running around as if his life depended on it.

The creature's screams seemed to be getting more and more desperate, which forced [Shen] to try even harder, his legs feeling like they were going to explode from the amount of effort he was putting into them. At each step, two loud footsteps could be heard, these being: from [Shen] and the Monster. They were somehow running between all these office walls at top speed, with perfect curves. It looked like a scene from a Game if you exclude the fact that the Monster once found him, and never stopped following him.

More than three Notification noises came from [Shen's] System, which was starting to get more and more tired as it kept running. He believed he had already seen every corner of this place, many places he had the feeling that he had already passed through there. His run was so fast that he would leave most of the animals in his world behind with extreme ease.

He could see the Handprints he left on some walls, these being the walls he couldn't turn perfectly and thanks to that, he used his hand to keep him from hitting the wall and throwing him in the direction he wanted. This decision ended up resulting in his wrist being bruised, but it was much better than being Dead. He was perfectly aware that if he was caught this time, it was certain Death. And definitely, he would bear the pain until the end thanks to his greater stamina.

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One hour. This was the time [Shen] was running. He wasn't someone blessed or anything like that, to be able to run perfectly for so long. The Monster seemed to get angrier by the second and never seemed to get tired, which resulted in [Shen's] Body suffering. He had several deep scratches on his arms and torso, with his shirt almost entirely torn.

Many times the Monster managed to catch him, before [Shen] knocked him away with a Kick, causing the Monster to fall. This would have boosted [Shen's] confidence to turn the monster and beat him to the finish, but he couldn't turn around and do that. The cuts on his body were more than concrete proof that if it got in a vital spot, he would be killed. The monster cut its flesh like it was butter, and it never looked hurt from its kicks, it just lost its balance thanks to its extremely thin and irregular body.

[Shen] was breathing heavily with desperate thoughts, begging for a way out of this place. He found some steel doors and tried to see if he could open them, even punching them, but it was impossible. His hand came out bruised and possibly fractured, while the door didn't even dent. Which was quite an odd feat, considering [Shen's] new strength. Not that he had time to think...

As he ran, [Shen] slammed his fingertip into one of the creases in the walls, which resulted in a giant pain spreading through his body as blood oozed out of his finger. Thanks to the pain and further damage, the Monster reached [Shen]...again.

*%(#*$&%*@#&$*¨@#&$U%@#!*

The Monster grabbed one of [Shen's] arms, and with a desperate attempt [Shen] kicked the Monster in the torso again. The Monster's claws ripped [Shen]'s arm whole, bringing new unbearable pain to him, making his eyes water and his mind slightly dizzy. He had lost a considerable amount of Blood and it would only be a matter of time before he passed out, the intense pain his Body was feeling didn't help him, as well as the lack of Stamina and food.

With the Monster falling to the ground, [Shen] quickly turned around and started running. Footsteps of him leaving Bloody footprints and his body getting slower and slower, the Monster's screams had returned and were even more furious, which made [Shen] not look back at all costs. It was a terrifying sight to see an unknown entity with hands covered in its Blood, following you.

As if Satisfied with [Shen's] Progress and Survival Time, the wall he was running from disappeared, like an illusion. And behind that, there was a ladder with a square, dark hole. And [Shen] without hesitation, climbed the stairs and entered the Hole, he didn't want to think about anything else.

He saw this as an opportunity to escape this Monster, and he simply used it. He didn't want to let the chance pass, as he knew he would be killed in the next few minutes of racing...

On his knees, [Shen] walked through the completely black pipe as the Monster Screams seemed to get farther and farther away, with him banging and banging on the pipe entrance trying to get in, but becoming unable to do so. Which caused tears of hope to well up in [Shen's] eyes, alongside a steady stream of crying.

These last few times were a nightmare for him, he just wanted to rest...

Amidst so many tears, the pipe that [Shen] was in seemed to open a hole in his exact location, which made [Shen] happy and tearful to make a face of Horror, Fear, and Despair. Without even being able to scream, [Shen] suffered a long fall into a completely dark place...

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[ Congratulations on passing the First Floor. ]

[ Applied Rewards. The Level will become more difficult, the Tips will be given to each new Floor after this one. ]

[ Good luck to the 5th Floor. ]

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