1 Dead End

Disclaimer: Skip this chapter if you can't tolerate fourth wall breaking and first-person omniscient point of view.

***

Liu Kai snapped out of his state of confusion and decided to deal with the vermin that appeared in front of him. But unlike before, he was still in his powered-up state.

He hasn't felt this kind of power before, unlike in their previous encounter.

Confident with his newly found skill, he walked right up to that foul, nasty insect and instinctively thought to himself.

[View all skills]

[SKILLSET OVERVIEW]

-Berserk (Passive)

-Alter (Passive)

-Probability (Active)

Liu Kai had no idea how he knew what to do, but he can feel that it wasn't the first time he checked the [Skillset]. He just can't seem to remember when he did it.

[Check Alter]

-Alter (Passive)

If a debuff effect is cast on the user, the skill will alter the results and change it to a buff.

[Check Probability]

-Probability (Active)

This skill can be cast on anything. Based on the die (dice) result, it will then multiply or divide the effect.

After reviewing his Skillset, the only one he could activate was Probability.

[Activate Probability]

[Probability is activated]

Probability's Die(Dice) rolled inside the blue screen and resulted in number 4.

-Power will multiply by 4.

Liu Kai felt a surge of power welling up inside him and directed it to his right arm as he poised himself.

He uppercut the cockroach and blasted it 30 meters above the ground from the impact.

[You defeated a Giant Cockroach]

*****

Hi, my name is Liu Kai. An ordinary High School student. I'm talentless, and there's nothing I can seem to excel in anything in this world. Real good for nothing, at least that's what everyone says…

**Classroom***

How long has it been already? 17 minutes? I checked my watch to see if I was right.

Forty-three minutes remaining before my last class ends. Why is time so slow? It feels like forever, ugh.

I kept staring at the wall clock in front of the classroom.

I want to go home and finish that mythology book so bad. If only I could turn invisible and sneak out of here, maybe I could…

**CRIIIIIIIIING**

Woah! What was that?! Oh, it's just the school bell. Was I daydreaming again? I have to stop doing that.

Finally! All the classes are over. I can go home and read that book in peace. But as usual, I'm walking alone again.

There're a lot of students walking in groups today. They're so loud that it makes me feel irritated.

"Uggh..." I grumbled to myself as I reached for my headset inside my pocket.

I'm just going to block them out and listen to some of my rock songs. I hate this monotonous life. All I do is read mythologies and daydream about it all day.

**In the street just outside the School's Gate**

'Why is an elderly man standing on the street side, smiling while staring at me? Does he think that he knows me or something? It's creepy being stared at like he was scanning me.

Why would he even look at me like that? Can he see my soul?'

"I just better disregard him," I muttered.

I looked back to check if that old man is still looking at me, and he is nowhere to be found. Did he leave already?

I turned to look in front again, and it's that same old man trying to cross the streets.

"How did he get there? That's impossible," I said in a soft voice.

Out of nowhere, a truck suddenly appeared on the other side of the road, and it's driving at an alarming speed. I ran so fast without thinking twice to save that old man.

Everything is moving so slow, people are shouting, and everyone has a grim look on their faces. I pushed the old man out of danger, but I didn't think about myself. I landed on hard concrete and twisted my ankle as I fell.

"AAAAAAAGH!!!" I screamed from the pain.

"No, this can't be happening right now," I said while blankly staring at the truck.

I have to get out of the way, but the truck is moving so fast and closing the gap between us.

I don't want my life to end like this. I want to live no matter what. I haven't done great things in my life yet.

I wanted to find something that I'm good at and work hard enough, even if that means I'll fail a million times.

I'm trying to muster up the strength to get up and run, but I can't. My legs aren't moving!

Is nobody going to help me? If someone can drag me out of the way, I can be safe. They've already given up judging from their faces.

If only I am athletic or even better. If only the powers from those mythology books that I've been reading were real.

So this is reality, unlike in those books where the heroes can always find a way to survive. I thought I could be like that, but here I am about to die, acting cool and trying to be like them.

Just like that old man, he looks like he worked very hard to provide for his family despite his old age. I wish I could have been a great guy like him. He reminds me of my grandfather; he gave me that book that I just started reading 'Origin of the Twelve realms'.

He gave it to me because I was curious about the title, and he said I should read it.

At first, I thought it was lame, considering it was a mythology book that no one knows. But for some reason, I kept reading it because I was so intrigued.

If there's something that I regret before my mediocre life ends, is that I didn't get to finish that book my grandfather gave me. Man, I was getting to the good parts too.

My life is not that interesting anyway. Everything I did was mediocre. Maybe I am good for nothing just like everyone says.

But at least I still did something splendid before I die. If I think about it that way, contentment can be felt in my heart, so much that I can't help but smile. I still saved a life.

I can't believe I thought of all this within that short amount of time.

As I see the headlights of the truck closing in, I slowly close my eyes, and I think to myself…

'Well, I guess this is the end.'

"You really are kind, aren't you?" A voice that sounded like an old man echoes inside my head.

Is it the old man that I saved?

**END**

"HAAAAAAA!!" Liu Kai gasped for air, clenching his chest as he woke up from a deep sleep.

Cold sweats quickly dripped from his face.

His eyes darted around, scanning his surroundings.

He seemed to be inside an underground cave.

Confusion overwhelmed the newly woken Liu Kai.

"Where am I? What happened to me? How did I survive getting hit by a truck??"

Liu Kai finally voiced out while patting down his body quickly, checking if there were any injuries or still having his limbs.

There were no signs of pain or even scars that might be from old wounds.

He still wore the uniform that day, but it was all worn out and looked old.

'How long have I been sleeping here?'

Questions kept piling up inside his head.

He scanned his surroundings to look for something familiar, but it was too dark to see.

The only source of light was from a single torch on the wall beside him.

He stood up from the old and worn-out bed, then grabbed the torch.

With the torch in hand, Liu Kai walked around, the light revealing more of the walls, the ceiling, and the floor made from bricks.

The room had no windows, so no light passed through it.

"It looks like some sort of underground temple," he said while he reached out his hand to touch the cold walls slowly.

'What is this place, and how did I get here?'

'Did someone bring me here and take care of—Ah!'

A quick stabbing pain pulsed in his head.

He grabbed his head with one hand as he winced, almost falling.

'You really are kind, aren't you?'

An older man's voice echoed once more in his head as it reminded him of that day. His head throbbed less as time went by and regained his stance.

That was his last memory before blacking out.

'Why do I hear that voice again?' he thought about it but dismissed it.

He circled the room to look for something that could be useful besides the torch he was still holding.

Checking all sides of the room but he found nothing.

"Nothing, Hmmmmm… The bed," muttering as he walked towards it. He lifted the pillow to check if there was something under it, but still nothing.

And then he wondered if there was something under the bed.

He took a few steps back to get on his knees, but he stopped and couldn't help but stare at the shadow covering what may be under it.

Something was moving down there and he could hear it rustling and felt uneasy.

Curious to find out what made that sound, he continued to crouch down.

As the torchlight slowly revealed the dusty brick floors inch by inch, the sound became more distinct.

His heart was beating out of his chest in anticipation.

Swallowing the saliva that pooled inside his mouth.

Crouching more and more, his face almost parallel to the ground and as it closed the gap from the floor…

Out of nowhere, a bat flew at his face, screeching at him.

"AAAAHH!!"

Liu Kai screamed as he pushed himself back and fell on his backside.

He picked up the torch he dropped from being startled.

The bat flew in circles, then hung its feet to an aperture on the ceiling to sleep.

"Stupid bat," he cursed as he positioned himself to check the underside of the bed once more.

Investigating what's below, he found carved ancient scriptures that he couldn't understand.

Beside it, he saw a carved figure that had a crown on its head, a gigantic sword on its right hand, and a shield on its left.

"What's this supposed to mean?" Liu Kai asked himself while he traced the carvings with his fingers.

He tried to read it but he couldn't, so he disregarded his stupid questions and decided to move on.

He got up and looked for the exit.

It was a solid iron gate that had designs similar to the carvings under the bed.

He pushed it open with all the strength he could muster.

He walked a few steps forward.

Stretching out the hand with the torch and slowly moved it from one side to the other.

Outside the room was a long passageway with walls that curve and a tunnel stretching into the darkness.

He had no choice but to move forward.

*****

'How long have I been walking? I can't seem to find an exit,' he complained as he looked down at his bare feet, sore from the long walk.

Liu Kai looked back, thinking if he should've just stayed inside the room.

The passageway seemed endless, and the only option was to go back or continue to look for an exit.

He continued to stroll, checking if any passageways led to a different direction.

As he kept walking for what seemed to be hours, a wall loomed in front of him. He realized it was a dead-end—no other rooms or even a small hole, just a long and empty passageway.

"What the heck? A dead-end?! Are you kidding me?!" Liu Kai shouted in frustration.

After a few minutes of grumbling, he tried to compose himself and thought back.

'Did I somehow miss something? A different way, maybe? Should I go back and recheck it? But I'm already exhausted. I mean, it's a miracle that I could walk that far, as soon as I woke up.'

'And now that I think about it, how did I walk that far? Will I be okay?'

'How could I have possibly survived that accident, anyway?'

'How did I survive in that room with nothing?'

More bothering questions surfaced while he delved deeper into his thoughts.

His eyes wandered the walls.

He was too focused on finding the exit earlier that he had no room for thinking about the answers to his questions.

'Well, I can't find the answers here with—Wait a minute.'

Liu Kai suddenly realized something while looking at the ceiling.

He tried to think and imagine his field of vision while he was walking earlier if there's something he missed.

'That's it… The ceiling! I couldn't see it earlier because I was too busy looking at the walls and didn't notice.'

Liu Kai's eyes shined brightly as he finally identified the difference between the passageway earlier and the dead-end now.