The air was heavy and dull. Like gravity itself had shifted positions.
GASP!
Rui's eyes shot open as he sprung out of his bed.
Rui choked on the air, grabbing his throat to hopefully open his airways. Rui strained as hard as possible to get even one breath of air to enter his lungs. His eyes were almost popping out of his head.
Rui knew it. He knew that his struggle had no use. He knew it was the end. As he reached for his phone on the nightstand beside him, his vision began to fade. He collapsed off the side of his bed as he closed his eyes. His heart was racing. Faster than ever before. Then suddenly... nothing.
48 minutes later, his mom called 911, reporting that her son (22) was lying unconscious on the floor.
When the ambulance and police arrived, they had come to the conclusion that he was dead on the spot.
Everything was blank for Rui. Not blackness. Just nothing at all.
Rui still had his thoughts. Regret. Grief. It was short lived before
DING!
Within the nothing, sat a screen. A menu. Almost from a video game.
SYSTEM NOTICE: WELCOME
You have chosen the [IDLE] system.
Perks: You will gain 15xp every 10 seconds while unconscious (multipliers applicable)
WILL YOU ACCEPT?
Rui's eyes shot downward, looking at his body. It was pale and almost decayed. He was petrified
DING
SYSTEM NOTICE: TIMER
You have [15 SECONDS] to decide
ACCEPT?
Rui stared at the screen as the timer ticked down. What happens if he doesn't press yes? Why wouldn't he?
Rui drew a deep sigh and pressed yes.
Within a split second, his greatest and worst memories flashed before his very eyes.
Rui's eyes darted around, flickering with lights of all colors as he took in what he truly had before.
He realized how much of a loser he truly was. His greatest memories involved lotion and tissues and his worst memories including the same thing.
His life was truly useless before this happened. Maybe now is a chance to be reborn. To make something of his life.
It took less than a second for Rui to reborn. Rui's eyes darted around as he took in his new environment.
He stood on a dirt path between multiple buildings. The buildings were uneven; some were made with rough stone and dark wood while others were made with straw and smooth stone. The air smelled different.
The people wore stitched cloth clothing rather than designer zip-ups.
"What the fuck?" Rui muttered under his breath.
As he looked down, he noticed his long red hair dangling.
"Pardon. Are you a stranger here?" Came from behind him.
Rui turned around to see a Fraile old lady holding a fat orange cat smiling at him.
"Uh. Hi." Rui said awkwardly.
"I-yes. I'm not from around here"
The lady turned her head to the side a bit, still stroking the fat cat's fur.
"I'm not causing any harm, am I?" Rui asked
The lady seemed to be a bit confused at that question.
"No, no! You just have a strange way of speaking, that is all." She chuckled.
Rui let out a small sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry- where i come from our English is different."
"No worries, I still follow" She patted his shoulder.
"Where i was born I-" She tilted her head.
Rui waited for her to continue her sentence, but she kept staring off into the distance. Rui raised an eyebrow and finally turn around to look.
A flock of birds flew over the both of them. Rui gazed up at the birds before looking back down.
The old lady's cat began to hiss, and a bell started to ring. Rui redirected his attention back to the old lady. Her eyes were as wide as possible, and her skin was almost pale.
"Wha- what's going on?" Rui stuttered. Not scared just confused.
"He's here" She whispered.
She and Rui paused for a moment.
"HE'S HERE!!" She screamed, her cat jumping out of her arms and running.
The lady grabbed onto Rui.
"Please… please run." Her voice cracked.
Rui looked back into the distance. He saw him.
There he stood, in the middle of the dirt path.
He wore a piece of cloth over the top half of his face with eyeholes carved within. The bottom half of his face was raw muscle, but his teeth were intact. He grinned disgustingly as he locked eyes with Rui.
DING
The system screen appeared in front of Rui once again
SYSTEM NOTICE: TUTORIAL
You have been idle for [438302 DAYS]
Complete the tutorial and defeat your first boss for your reward of [5.7 MILLION] Levels.
Rui looked around to see if anyone else could see it, but no one could.
The pillager slowly walked towards Rui, drooling and grinning the entire way.
Rui desperately looked around for any sort of weapon. Finally, he locked his eyes on a hatchet embedded in a stump.
Rui debated fighting or running. If he ran, he could live. If he fought, he'd either die or become invincible.
"Screw it" He muttered.
He dashed over to the stump and yanked the hatchet out.
The pillager licked his non-existent lips, warming up his arms as he curled his hands into a fist.
His slow walk turned into a fast walk, which turned into a jog then a sprint.
Rui took a deep sigh, preparing himself to die yet again.
By the time he opened his eyes, the pillager was already throwing a punch.
Rui's eyes widened. Time seemed to slow as he stared at the incoming fist. By pure reflex, Rui managed to duck.
The pillager recovered his balance and turned around.
He laughed.
"Who do you think you are?"
SWOOSH!
He swung again. This time aiming for the chest.
Rui didn't have time to dodge, so he made a tuff call.
Rui swung the hatchet in front of his chest.
The parry did not work. The impact sent Rui flying backwards, his grip on the hatchet staying strong.
Rui rolls when he lands, every part of his body now aching.
"This is booorrinnngg!" The pillager taunted while walking over.
Rui leans up, kneeling and clutching his side, his grip on his hatchet still strong. He coughed, a bit a blood coming out as well.
As he looked up, he saw the pillager swinging down on him with a sword. Rui closed his eyes to accept it.
Nothing…
When he opened his eyes, he saw that the pillager had frozen in place, along with everything else in his surroundings.
SYSTEM NOTICE: DANGER CRITICAL
WARNING: DANGER LEVEL EXCEEDS MAXIMUM SURVIVAL RATE.
Do you wish to activate [SKILL
Rui stared at the screen. He was still shaking from the attack.
"Undying will?"
"Hell with it" Rui stuck his hand out and pressed the button
Rui's wounds healed almost instantly. A strong flow of adrenaline rushed through him.
The pillager rocked Rui right in the jaw, a hit that should've taken him out.
Rui's eyes shot back to the pillager.
Whether it was the ability or sheer rage, Rui swung his hatchet once more.
SLACK!
The hatchet went clean into the pillager's neck.