Chapter 5 - The End Brought New Beginning

Oh boy, what those sentences brought could not be described.

Even when we were standing there, in the center of the forest, surrounded by nothing other than trees and the flowing light. Yet, we heard the wails of despair and the scream of blood-boiling rage.

The moment Thea's eyes met mine, almost instinctively, we picked a direction and ran for it.

Worse, the action brought us further into the chaos.

"Look, there's an apprentice, and a trainee too," A voice echoed out from afar.

"Too bad for you Brandley, it seemed you are out of luck."

"Shut up."

Emerged from the bushes were three vicious men, their built towered over Thea, let alone me, who was a head lower. What worried me the most, was their eyes, those were how a prey looked at its prey.

My eyes subconsciously drifted toward the floating on top of their heads.

*Bradley Fredrick*

*Class: Ranged.*

*Theodore Thact*

*Class: Apprentice.*

*Hector Thact*

*Class: Trainee.*

"A midget and a babe. How lucky." Hector laughed with his mace swing around.

"Shut up," Bradley said.

"Fuck you, Bradley," Hector yelled back.

"Why can't you be like your brother, and be quiet for once? Also, shut that disgusting mouth of yours," Bradley stated, with a bow in his hands, and a gleam in his eyes.

"Come on, bro." Hector charged at Thea, while Theodore, a burly man made a mad dash toward me, with his worn-out staff.

Like a caveman, he swung his worn staff with reckless abandonment, yet, it was enough to intimidate me, as my whole body froze up.

In a blink of an eye, I was on the ground. And my head already felt my splitting in haft, but worse was how he lunged at me, with his staff readying to poke my eye out.

With little strength I had left, I kicked his legs out from under him.

Thus, the tussle between me and the menacing Theodore began. But looking back now, I knew that calling it a tussle would be a stretch.

Why? Because even without the staff in his hand, all that I was doing was taking a beating. One punch after another, he slammed his iron fist onto my face, leaving behind cuts and bruises.

In my bloody field of vision, I saw Thea raging against the loudmouth Hector and his unrelenting barrage. Her mace swung repeatedly, causing Hector's laughter and taunting to stuck in his throat.

Each impact caused sparks to fly, and Hector was pushed back step by step.

However, under the unless beating, all of Thea's momentum was erased by a speeding arrow as it nicked her glossy cheek.

Like that Hector charged forth with a barbaric cry.

Seeing those arrows drew closer and closer to their target, as Hector's barrage never ceased. One nick gave way to two, then three until it became too numerous to count.

But what truly made my heart bleed was a mocking smile plastered on Theodore's face.

Laying there, I felt something within me click. A part of me. A part which I knew nothing of, surfaced.

With my anger and desperation, I swung my staff recklessly. Yet, out of my expectation, an earth spike sprouted from the ground and shot toward the towering on top of me. Before anyone could grasp what had happened, the earth spike had already penetrated Theodore's throat, ending his life in an instant.

Like that, everything grounded to a halt.

The clashing stopped. The yelling faded. And there was only the guttural sound of the dying man, choking on his own blood.

"Bastard..." A heartbreaking scream rang out.

Those words entered one ear and exited another. Was it surrealness that had caused my mind to empty up? Was it guilt that had frozen my body where it sat? Was it regret that had emptied out my everything?

Was it important? No really. All I knew was, my body refused to move even when an arrow was flying straight toward me. The moment it shattered my lense, instantly, I knew that how I was going to die, even more so was how dragged out that moment was.

In that split second, through my bloody vision, I saw the horror and fear in Thea's eyes. Then, it was the rage and anger as she unleashed an attack with all her might.

Sparks flew and flame erupted.

Too bad, I could not see how it concluded, as my vision already turned black.

I thought I would feel the steel tips penetrating my eyes, and I did. It was excruciatingly painful. Yet, it ceased just as fast.

All that left was darkness.

Differ from how I got here, I could feel every second that ticked by. Hundreds. Thousands.

In the silence of the endless darkness, there were only my mumblings to accommodate my deteriorating thoughts.

Until...

***

"Extra life consumed."

"Resurrection commencing."

***

Like that, my senses returned to me. And instantly, I heard a gentle soaping as the figure wailed on top of my body.

Then, I felt the tear dripping on my face, one drop followed by the next. Then another. And another. Until my chest was soaked in tears. Followed was her balled-up fist hitting my chest, as her incoherent rambling mixed within her tears. Adding how her body quaked with her sniffles and hiccups.

My heart tightened heart shattered into a million pieces. And those pieces disintegrated into plum of dust when I heard she called my name quiveringly, "Con... Conrad..."

Even when I felt my brain squirming inside my skull, as it patched up what the arrow had destroyed, I found the strength to move my arm.

Then, it was the task of maneuvering my stiff arm to soothe her wounded heart. What happened, in the end, was tragic. As gentle as I could possibly be, moving my stiffen-arm around was like waving around a measuring tape, difficult, uncooperative, and downright dangerous at times.

Miraculously, I managed to drag my arm along Thea's muscular back.

Instantly, she stiffened up. Her tear stopped flowing, along, her rambling was stuck in her throat.

Even when my eyes were closed, I could feel her moist eyes staring at me. Clearer still was how firm her grip was. They clamped onto my robe like steel as if letting go would be the last time we saw each other.

"Conrad? Conrad! Thank goodness."

Hearing the joy and relief in her voice, everything seemed to be alright.

"How are you feeling? Do your eyes still hurt? Can you sit up? Are you tired? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Thea said. Her questions were rapid and nonstop. "How long ago did you come back? HOW ON EARTH DID YOU COME BACK ALIVE? You're supposed to be dead. I checked your pulse and everything... Unless..."

"I'm me... Just tired... Winey the Po-"

"Don't you dare." Thea pinched the arm of an injured man ruthlessly. "That was three years ago, can you just let it go?"

Hearing her gentle voice filled with anger and care, my heart flustered. Then, I laid there in her arms, listening to what had transpired after the arrow met my brain.

From how she vanquished the loud mouth Hector, to how close to death she was, facing the dangerous Bradley and his lethal arrows.

I could see her emotions through the story. The pain and anger she must had felt when she saw my lifeless corpse. And how they blinded her as she smashed Hector's brain in. Ending with Bradley's miserable escape only after his arm was broken.

Once the story concluded, all that came out of my mouth was, "Sorry..."

Yet, it was enough.

Thea's wrapped her strong arm tightly around me, suffocating me with love and care.

And I liked to think, it was those emotions which had brought my sight back to me, and not the clearly obvious extra live.

When I opened my eyes again, what greeted me was Thea's loving gaze, but I could only see the cuts all over her body, as well as a bloody wound on her forehead. A swallow one, but it was all that I could care about.

"It... hurts?" I asked, reaching my stiffed arm toward it.

Instead of melting into my hand with happiness, Thea burst forth with laughter. Most of all, that infectious and dazzling smile.

"You had an arrow sticking out of your brain two hours ago, and you came this close," Thea pinched her fingers together, leaving only the tiniest bit of margin, "To burying and sweeping over your tombstone. Yet, that is what you cared about? A bit of blood on my forehead?"

"I... care."

In her moment of impulse, she planted a gentle kiss on my cheek. Before freezing up like a dead fish, eyes wide, and mouth still pucker.

"Anyway..." Thea stuttered. "L-Let's get out of here."

After minutes of struggling, Thea, somehow, managed to piggyback me, as we headed to safety.

Not even five minutes later, the transparent panel popped up.

*Ding*

*For being the first to escape death. You are cursed with 'Eternal Damnation'. Your body will forever rot. Only bones and endless hunger remain.*

Before I could even understand, another panel appeared.

*Ding*

*Achieving the impossible. The Bane of Death. Reward: Dark Elements Immunity. Reward: Harden Bone.*

At which point, my senses were already messing up. Knowing what had happened could not be anything good, I mumbled what I felt was the only right thing to do, 'Status.'

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, my panel showed up.

*Conrad Graham*

*Class: Apprentice.*

*Skill: Elements Perception (Basic).*

*Dark Element Immunity (Unique)*

*Harden Bone (Rare)*

*Advancement point: 1*

*Level: 0*

*Item for advancement: Harden Bone. Elements Preception. Dark Element Immunity. Level.*

Instantly, I saw the shimmering 'Harden Bone', and the glowing 'Dark Elements Immunity', my heart could not help but beat even faster. Then I noticed the dark cracks that were all over the panel. more so was the way they spread.

That was when the curse played over and over, haunting my thoughts. 'Only bones and endless hunger remain'. The more it echoed, the more nervous and unsettling I felt.

"Did you use your advancement point?" I distracted myself.

"Yeah. I choose to level up, I allocate the stat points as well. Though I don't know if adding all of my points into physique was good." Thea answered, "But I do think my thirteen points help."

Knowing that my outburst of rage moments ago was only a fluke, even more so was when Thea's tearful voice echoed in my ears, like that I tapped and advanced my level.

*Conrad Graham*

*Class: Apprentice.*

*Skill: Elements Perception (Basic).*

*Dark Element Immunity (Unique)*

*Harden Bone (Rare)*

*Advancement point: 0*

*Level: 1*

*Physique: 6*

*Mana: nul*

*Sense: 2*

Available points: 5*

Looking at my stats, I grimaced. For a class that specialized in magic and mana, my mana was atrocious. Even more terrifying was how no matter how hard I tried, the mana would not increase.

Helplessly, my finger moved on my own, allocating 4 to physique, and 1 to sense. The moment I confirmed it, the panel flashed with a golden light, as well as a wave of euphoria bathed my body, enhancing my body in ways I could not imagine.

My weak and frail body felt more and more energetic. The pain, which had rampaged throughout my body, subsided with every wave of energy.

Once the wave of energy stopped, my body was invigorated, like that, the uncomfortable and stiffness only the matter of the past.

Then, I felt the world around me a little bit clearer, especially those dazzling and vibrant elements. I could feel the fiery pride from the flame elements, the shyness from the plant elements, the carefree nature from those water elements, and the curiosity of the earth elements.

Even more astonishing was how my vision cleared up. The hazy vision, which had accompanied me since the moment of my birth seemed to be lifted, and now, even without the bottom of the beer bottle, I could still see.

It was truly invigorating.

Too bad that my astigmatism had not disappeared with it, "Maybe a bit more sense..."

However, just when I start to feel everything was going right for once, the damn mechanical voice rang out again.

***

"Event 31 'Survival' Triggered."

"Number of participants: 329"

"The event will conclude once one of the following conditions is met."

"Requirement 1: Number of survivors 329/30"

"Requirement 2: Number of wave 0/10"

***