[07: 15: 52: 12]
…
Haa, before I venture out… what was the main objective again?…
Scrolling through the notifications until he found the one he was looking for among the starting notifications.
[DING! FIND THE MAIN OBJECTIVE AND COMPLETE THE TASK FOR STORY CLEAR]
WOW! Just wow, I have to fucking find the main objective myself, and I have to do this in 7 days… Safe to say there will be no redos.
"Fuu… breathe in… breathe out…", though seven days might seem like plenty of time, the need to learn how to fight—to truly survive against vicious, unforgiving monsters. His first encounter was harsh and sudden. It taught him that hesitation was a luxury he could not afford.
I'm no trained soldier and neither do my stats make me invincible…I've got to be smart. I've got to use my brain and every advantage I can find…
Taking a long, cooling sip from one of his water bottles, Cassian pushed the heavy thoughts aside. He rose slowly and began a series of light stretches. As he moved, his mind organized itself around the tasks before him.
After finishing his warm-up, he turned to his makeshift pack as he fitted three water bottles into the bag, arranging them so they wouldn't rattle or shift with his every step. Next, he gathered the four flashbangs and the salvaged gauze from earlier scavenges. An internal debate flickered through his mind as he decided on their placement: two flashbangs he secured in the outer pocket for immediate access, while the remaining two, gently wrapped in gauze, found a home in the main compartment. With a final tug, he zipped the chain on his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
His eyes then drifted to a worn sofa, its leather cracked and faded. Taking his knife, he set to work tearing off strips of the sofa's leather, trying to craft a makeshift sheath for his blade. "Better safe than sorry," he murmured under his breath. Happy with his work, he looked around one last time for useful things he might have missed.
Nope, there is not much value here.
Then, he stepped out, leaving a place that had nothing more to offer. The sun blazed brightly above. Judging by the position of the sun and the intensity of its rays, Cassian guessed it was early noon.
"Good," he said softly, a spark of relief mixed with determination lighting his eyes.
"I should have enough time with the light to explore and find the damn quest… a lone monster would also work, and I could test the strength of [Lightning Bolt]."
With that thought energizing him, Cassian hit the road. His gaze lifted to the massive mountains that loomed on the horizon, their jagged peaks etched against a brilliant blue sky. He started walking toward them without a clear sign. The mountains looked amazing and significant. He could also see a faint plume of smoke rising from somewhere up there… it could be just a random fire but well it was what he was walking towards.
Looking at his left arm to check his "remaining lifespan" [07: 15: 30: 32]
Man, this is depressing. I need something with full sleeves to wear; looking at the time as the seconds tick by isn't good for my sanity.
…
It had been almost thirty minutes since he started this journey. His path led him through a desolate residential area—a ghostly landscape of battered houses and broken dreams. The streets were lined with the skeletal remains of what once were vibrant homes. As he moved cautiously among them, Cassian couldn't help but scavenge for anything useful. In one crumbling house, his hand closed around a machete propped against a splintered wall. "This might come in handy," he thought, stowing it away with a quiet nod of approval.
Most houses yielded little. Yet, in a stroke of luck, he found a sturdy pair of boots in one of the more intact abodes. They were perfect—robust leather accented with metal braces that promised extra support and durability. Running his fingers over the smooth surface, he whispered, "Nice find... they're exactly what I need."
A few pairs of jeans and shirts were found nearby. These clothes were carefully tucked into his bag.
The final stroke of luck came when he discovered a simple analog wristwatch with cracked glass. Despite its imperfections, it still ticked away reliably, displaying the current time as [02:10 PM].
Each house he looted had a story. The walls showed claw marks, deep bite wounds, and burn scars.
I think the residents must have been evacuated in a hurry, judging by the state of the things in the houses.
Soon, the architecture shifted. The clustered houses were replaced by scattered, sparse buildings, and destruction was also more thorough. As Cassian walked, he felt the unsettling sensation that he had, in a strange way, come full circle.
Wait, didn't the place I woke up in have a similar style? This place is probably in a circle, and I just finished the residential areas, so now I'm in a different one.
It was then that he heard it—a low, guttural sound that grew steadily louder. The familiar noises of the monster he'd encountered earlier echoed around him, but now they came in a pack, multiple and dangerously near. Cassian's heart rate spiked. He took a deep breath, cracked his neck, and flexed his knuckles, steeling himself for what was to come. With careful, measured steps, he advanced toward the source of the sounds.
Rounding a corner, he soon found them: three hulking hounds with grey, matted fur and long, elongated snouts, each nearly the size of a bear. Their eyes shone with hunger as they devoured an animal corpse. The gruesome slurps and wet crunches filled the air, overwhelming his senses. The very sight made his stomach churn, and he had to swallow hard to keep from retching.
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ SAYS IT'S SHOWTIME !!! ]
Geez, you have no patience, man.
"Fuu," he breathed in, then exhaled deliberately, centering himself. Slowly, he crept closer to the monstrous trio. As he moved into a better position, one of the beasts paused mid-feast. Its blood-smeared snout lifted, and for a brief, heart-stopping moment, its gaze swept the surroundings. Cassian's heart hammered against his chest. He could feel every second stretch into an eternity. But just as suddenly, the creature resumed its ravenous meal, seemingly satisfied to ignore the intruder in its midst.
Relief mingled with a simmering determination as Cassian realized he had not been detected.
"[EXPEDITE]."
In that instant, a surge of power coursed through him. The world around him sharpened, each sound and movement coming into acute focus. He felt lighter, faster—an electrifying clarity flooding his senses.
"Here we go," he murmured, his voice a mix of excitement and grim resolve. With his index finger raised as if mimicking a trigger, he locked his gaze on the three monstrous hounds.
His lips quickly shaped the words:
" [Lightning Bolt] "
" [Lightning Bolt] "
" [Lightning Bolt] "
The words exploded from him, each repetition a surge of destructive energy aimed directly at the beasts, although Cassian did notice a faint delay and resistance when he tried to cast the sorcery card simultaneously in quick succession. A searing flash of red light erupted from his fingertip, lancing through the air with unerring precision. The hounds convulsed violently as the spell struck them, pained screams and guttural howls filling the air. Within mere seconds, the chaos subsided into an eerie, oppressive silence.
[DING! YOU HAVE CASTED DESTRUCTION TYPE SORCERY [LIGHTNING BOLT] x3]
[DING! YOU HAVE KILLED AN ADULT GREYSNORT]
[ DING! YOU HAVE KILLED AN ADULT GREYSNORT ]
[DING! YOU HAVE KILLED AN ADULT GREYSNORT]
A surge of triumph coursed through Cassian as he read the notifications. "Haha… I did it…" he laughed softly, the joy of victory mingling with disbelief at the raw power he had just unleashed. He took a moment to enjoy his success. He felt this was the breakthrough he needed.
But before he could fully celebrate, an unexpected jolt of pain and disorientation seized him. His vision began to blur and double, the edges of the world dissolving into a dizzying haze. His legs buckled beneath him, and with a sudden, unceremonious collapse, he fell face-first onto the cold, cracked pavement.
[DING! WARNING YOU HAVE OVERUSED YOUR ESSENCE RESERVES]
[DING! WARNING STATUS DEBUFF GAINED]
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ LAUGHS! YOU HOOMANS ARE ALWAYS SO STUPID! HAHA]
…
Cassian woke with a jolt, his eyes snapping open to a haze of dirt and scattered light. He spat out a clump of grit and blinked frantically, trying to make sense of his surroundings. Fortunately, it was still daytime. His muscles screamed in protest as he struggled to sit up and it felt like someone was banging on his head.
"What the fuck happened?" he rasped, his voice rough and uncertain. His fingers found their way to his pounding skull, massaging the tender bruise beneath his hairline. He fumbled for his water bottle, taking a few small sips to quell the burning in his throat. He then tilted the bottle toward his face, allowing the cool liquid to trickle over his forehead, hoping it would ease the pounding in his head and steady his racing thoughts.
Fuuu… Ahhh that helps…
Leaning against a crumbling pillar, Cassian closed his eyes for a moment, drawing deep, measured breaths. The pain in his heart—a dull, persistent ache—seemed to ease as he focused on the rhythm of his breathing.
When he finally glanced down at his digital watch, the time flashed [04:30 PM] at him, along with the unsettling countdown on his left arm:
[07: 13: 52: 12]
A cold shiver ran through him.
"Holy hell, I was out for nearly two hours," he muttered under his breath. His mind raced as he tried to stitch together the fragments of his memory. "What in the fuck happened?" he demanded of himself, his tone equal parts anger and bewilderment.
Even as he wrestled with his thoughts, a series of digital notifications began to blink in the corner of his vision. He sighed, willing the messages to appear so that he might glean some clarity from their cryptic words.
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ … LAUGHS]
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ …SAYS LOL]
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ SCOLDS YOU, WHY WERE YOU SPAMMING SORCERY SO MANY TIMES, HOOMANS ALREADY START WITH A PUNY AMOUNT OF ESSENCE]
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ HAS BEEN TIMEOUT OUT DUE TO SPAMMING IN TIMEBOUND CHAT]
[DING! WARNING: YOU HAVE OVEREXERTED YOUR ESSENCE RESERVES, EMPTYING YOUR WELL WITHOUT ANY PROPER MEASURES CAN LEAD TO SEVERE CONSEQUENCES]
[DING! YOU ARE IN A STATE OF 'ESSENCE SOURCE DEPRIVATION' AND 'MINOR ESSENCE POISONING']
[DING! IT IS ADVISED TO NOT USE ANY CARDS UNTIL THE STATUS EFFECT (NEGATIVE) CLEARS OFF]
[DING! FOR FIRST TIME EXPERIENCING 'SOURCE DEPRIVATION' AND 'MINOR ESSENCE POISONING' YOU HAVE GAINED A 'FLEX' — "Walnut for a brain, Empty Reserves"]
[DING! FOR THE FIRST TIME GAINING A FLEX YOU HAVE BEEN AWARDED A KNOWLEDGE PACKET]
...
[DING! KNOWLEDGE PACKET INSTANT CARDS]
Instant type cards are special one-time use cards that don't have any requirements to use. Naturally, this means instant cards are much rarer. Instant cards cannot be suppressed by any means. Instant cards, once used, can be recovered back by paying the cost and bringing them back from the graveyard.
...
[DING! Status updated and new stats available]
Cassian blinked, his mind reeling as he absorbed the rapid-fire barrage of system messages.
"That's a lot to take in" he whispered, more to himself than to any audience. Yet amidst the barrage of notifications, a spark of hope flickered inside him. "It's great that instant cards have no cost," he noted, his tone mixing relief with curiosity, "and even better now that there's a possibility of bringing them back. I can use [Angel's Embrace] much more freely now."
Also, is the system mocking me?… how in hell would "Big Brain, Empty Reserves" would be a flex feels like a stupid decision… unless that is what it is System recording my dumb moves.
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃'s TIMEOUT ENDED]
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ SAYS HOOMANS ARE DUMB, HAIRLESS, AND WEAK SPECIES. SO EASILY SWAYED]
"Wait what the fuck! Can you hear my thoughts?" Cassian cursed but received no response, Great no privacy, and hairless? What sort of insult is that?
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ SAYS THE ETERNAL CODE IS ALSO DUMB WHY TIME THEM OUT]
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ HAS BEEN TIMEDOUT]
Nice At least there will be peace for some time... Mods delete their account...Hehe...Ouch!
A sharp, insistent pain stabbed through him as his chest moved from laughing and every time he tried to shift his weight it felt like a tiny needle jabbing at his heart.
"Argh…" he groaned. "Pain is lessening, but it still feels like a constant jab."
Fuuu… fuck. I should first find a safer place, check my status, and then move again.
With painstaking effort, Cassian pulled himself to his feet. He walked carefully away from the wreckage. His eyes scanned the area, spotting the creatures called Greysnorts. The name fits well. He left the corpses behind for now and turned toward a nearby residential area.
Amid dilapidated houses and broken dreams, he found one structure in relatively decent condition. Collapsing onto the cool floor, he allowed his body to rest; even walking now felt like a difficult task, whatever I messed up affected my whole body. Cassian's hand trembled as he unscrewed the cap of his water bottle, taking a few measured sips. The house was quiet. His heavy breathing broke the silence, along with the soft, occasional beeps of notifications.
After a few minutes, as the initial shock faded into a weary resignation, Cassian exhaled slowly and focused on the messages that had appeared.
[DING! YOU HAVE CASTED DESTRUCTION TYPE SORCERY [LIGHTNING BOLT] x3]
He frowned, recollecting the sequence of his actions. "Okay, before this I used [Expediate] once—that makes it four casts in total," he murmured, tallying the numbers in his head.
Another series of messages followed, their tone matter-of-fact and devoid of empathy.
[DING! YOU HAVE KILLED AN ADULT GREYSNORT]
[DING! YOU HAVE KILLED AN ADULT GREYSNORT]
[DING! YOU HAVE KILLED AN ADULT GREYSNORT]
Cassian allowed himself a brief, wry chuckle. "Yup, Greysnorts indeed… Weird," he noted softly, scanning the notifications. His mind whirled with questions—where was the experience gained? Did he not receive anything for slaying these monsters?
Clearing his throat, he addressed the ever-watchful system. "Hey," he began cautiously, "do I not get any experience for killing monsters? Is there no such mechanic?"
[DING! This information is hidden. You have to find it yourself or spend 3 days, 2 Hours, and 1 minute of time to gain this knowledge packet]
"Fuck, the system is way too greedy…" Cassian grumbled, the words laced with both irritation and resignation. He scrolled through the subsequent notifications, his mind churning through each detail.
[DING! WARNING: YOU HAVE OVERUSED YOUR ESSENCE RESERVES]
He frowned, the warning echoing in his thoughts. "So this happened because I emptied my energy source and still tried to cast from that empty well? But I remembered there wasn't any energy stat."
His eyes narrowed as he recalled the status update message. He knew he had a "Status Updated" notification somewhere in that barrage, but the details now seemed maddeningly elusive. And the bored entity whatever 'it' or 'they' were, They know a lot of stuff and given how much they liked to spam messages, and it doesn't hurt to try… what the worst they could say.
Clearing his throat, he looked upward, as if addressing an unseen observer, and spoke with careful politeness, "Um, I know you're watching. Can you tell me anything that might help me?"
For a long, tense moment, silence reigned as he waited for a response. Then, the screen flickered with another message:
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃'s TIMEOUT ENDED]
Arggg! why system... I demand a longer timeout.
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ KNOW YOU DON'T MEAN THAT, HOWEVER, IF YOU SHOW YOUR SINCERITY AND ASK NICELY, MAYBE THEY WILL ANSWER]
Cassian's eyes twitched. He drew a steadying breath and, summoning every ounce of courtesy he could muster despite his frustration, spoke again in a softer tone, "Oh great being who is always watching, please show your generosity and enlighten me."
Time stretched as he waited, his heart pounding in rhythm with his anxious thoughts. Finally, the screen flashed a curt response:
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ SAYS NO]
"You—…" he cursed under his breath. Almost immediately, another message punctuated the silence, its tone mocking and gleeful.
[DING! ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⏃ LAUGHS… MUAHAHAHA]
…