Chapter 89: Chapter89-One VS All?!
Chapter 89: Chapter89-One VS All?!
Huh? It's done...
The panels exploded outward in a shower of glittering shards, and I was thrown off balance.
It seems like I'm about to fall now...
I expected this...
I stumbled through the broken glass, and the Abomination's huge charge threw it into the mess.
It crashed through the shattered panels, its massive body swaying dangerously at the edge.
In a tense moment, Abomination lost its balance, flailing its giant limbs in a desperate attempt to stay upright.
But, at least I felt a bit relieved knowing that the creature was falling with me.
With a roar of shock and anger, it toppled over the edge, descending alongside me into the abyss.
**SIGHS**
I'm about to die againwhat a strangely nostalgic feeling this is...
As the initial shock faded, an unusual calm washed over me.
The feeling of free falling, the rush of wind, the adrenalineit all felt strangely familiar, like a dream I'd had many times before.
Hooo, No more regrets. Time to advance the plan.
I reached for the daggers strapped to my belt, my fingers wrapping around them...
I already expected this outcome. If I had tried to sidestep, the monster might have taken me down with it, so I jumped first.
But I didn't jump recklessly. I didn't want to experience the fall damage again, so I made a plan that might help me if I fell.
And now, it's finally time for the plan to prove its worth.
"Focus," I muttered to myself, trying to clear my mind.
I knew I only had moments to act.
With a swift, practiced motion, I seized them firmly...
Everything was unfolding in just a matter of seconds...
The shiny blades caught the faint glimmers of light from the chasm walls as I pointed them downward.
My gaze fixed on a narrow ledge on the 3rd floor, rushing up to meet me.
It was my only opportunity.
As we approached the ledge, I thrust the daggers into the rock face with all my strength.
The blades bit into the stone, a jarring impact that sent a shockwave through my arms.
"Suck itttt!"
I tightened my grip, my muscles straining to hold on as the momentum of the fall tried to wrench me free.
A little more...
Pain shot through my shoulders and wrists, but I held on, my body slamming against the rocky surface.
The impact knocked the breath out of me, but I clung to the daggers, my fingers white-knuckled around the hilts.
"Huh... At last, I was saved once-
I immediately glanced to my side and saw the Abomination still falling, its huge body flailing as it dropped past me.
How could I forget about him, especially since I was in this situation?
I would certainly give him the most credit for it.
Its angry eyes met mine, promising revenge...
But I knew better than him that this time he had really fucked up.
Then, with a final, deafening roar, it kept plunging into the darkness below.
The creature's massive body fell downward, its limbs thrashing wildly in a desperate attempt to grab onto something.
But the chasm's walls were too rough, and the Abomination had no way to stop its fall.
Its roars grew quieter as it fell, echoing off the jagged rocks.
I watched in grim fascination as the inevitable happened.
"Oh."
My mouth fell open in surprise because...
The Abomination fell straight into the path of a huge, jutting rock.
With a sickening crunch, its head hit the stone.
The impact was brutal, the sound of bones and flesh breaking echoed through the abyss.
The creature's body went limp, its roars silenced forever.
Then, system messages popped up in front of me, showing that I had earned a good amount of experience points.
Damn, I didn't expect him to go like this.
I thought he'd fall and die from hitting the ground, but I never imagined his end would be so tragic.
Rest in peace, my friend.
I'll always remember you for your genuine EXP...
Breathing heavily, I climbed onto the narrow ledge, my muscles aching with every move.
I lay there for a moment, staring into the dead body of Abomination.
The silence that followed was overwhelming.
I stood up slowly, testing my balance on the shaky ledge.
The path ahead was narrow and dangerous, but it was my only choice.
I began to move, each step careful and deliberate, the memory of the fall still fresh in my mind.
But what should I do now?
I couldn't just stay perched on the ledge up here...
I looked down and saw that there wasn't much depth, but I could still get hurt, so jumping wasn't an option.
I might have considered jumping if this were the second floor.
For now, I decided the other option was the better choice.
I pulled out one of my guns and gripped the trigger tightly while making sure I didn't fall.
Then, "Bang!!!"
**BLAST**
I fired a shot, shattering the glass wall, and carefully made my way to the floor.
After entering, I immediately sank into a nearby chair and rested my head on the front desk.
The exhaustion from constant jumping and running was taking its toll.
It was all becoming monotonous.
These fights and dangers were becoming part of my daily life.
I sighed.
When I first arrived in this world and inherited this body, I thought I could balance battling with some fun activities.
But looking back, that thought seems foolish.
Living in a post-apocalyptic world and expecting everything to go your way is nonsense, especially when you're the bad guy.
It's like the saying, "You can't live a bad life and expect good things to happen with you..."
"Achoo!"
'Damn, it seems I've caught a fever too...'
Really at
"Achoo!!"
"Ahh, fuck!"
I cursed out loud in frustration.
I have to admit, I do find a certain satisfaction in cursing...
***
Name: Michael Frostburne
Race: Human
Current rank: Iron.
Titles:- Netori King and, Lust King.
Progression to Gold rank: 70% (1750/2500 essences)
...
"Hmmm..."
Right now, I'm checking my status bar to see my experience points.
So, that guy gave me 100 essences...
That's way too little compared to how much work I put in just to take him down.
But at least I got some experience points...
I refocused on my surroundings, the shattered glass panel, and then let my mind wander.
For now, it seems better to stay here since I don't want to face another Abomination.
Also, I'm not sure where I threw the torch I had during the run.
I could try to find it and head out again, but my brain is too lazy to search for it in the darkness with just a bit of moonlight.
I pushed all my worries to the back of my mind and sat back with my head down, trying to get some sleep, even though I knew I had only woken up an hour or two ago.
***
Warm sunlight gently streamed through the shattered glass wall, casting a soft glow on the black hair of a figure.
The figure was seated in a chair with their head resting on the desk, taking deep, steady breaths that clearly showed they were asleep.
That figure was me.
I wasn't sure how I fell asleep so suddenly...
Maybe it was the boredom of just sitting around that made me so tired.
***
After another hour, I finally woke up, feeling the intense heat of the room seeping through my body.
Once I was awake, I did my usual stretches and yawns, then decided it was time to get moving.
Before leaving, I took a moment to check my watch.
The display showed:
**Name:** Michael Frostburne
**Total Rules Broken:** 1
**Current Rules Broken:** 0
**Time:** 8 a.m.
...
Goodness.
Am I seeing this right? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?
Ten hours? Ten fucking hours have already passed?
That's incredible...
I never expected so many hours to go by, especially since my plan was to get out of here before 4 a.m. to avoid the zone.
The zone, yeah, the zone. Where is it?
Shouldn't it have engulfed this place by now? Why hasn't it?
LWait, which part of the city am I even in?
I should figure that out first...
I stood up and headed toward the staircase, making my way to the rooftop of the building.
Since the elevator wasn't working when I needed it, I had no choice but to take the dreaded stairs...
After moving up the stairs for countless painful minutes, I finally reached the rooftop entrance.
Before opening the door, I took a minute to rest.
When I stepped onto the rooftop, I quickly ignored the sunlight and made my way to the edge.
This time, I kept a safe distance and remained cautious, not wanting to meet the same fate as I had in my dreams.
I looked out over the city and saw something shocking.
So, this is the reason...
The building I was in was actually located near the central plaza, which explained why the zone hadn't reached it yet.
I should leave now and head further towards the center.
Afterward, I went back down and left the building for good.
Unbeknownst to me, a few minutes later, a huge bear came towards the building and completely destroyed it, turning it into ruins.
***
After walking for an hour and navigating through many buildings, I suddenly stopped as another interesting thing caught my attention.
Lia and Anna, along with five or six other people, were trying to defend themselves from a group of rebels surrounding them.
Both sisters were holding each swordAnna wielding a longswordwhile the others had makeshift weapons or nothing at all.
I took out my binoculars from my inventory and tried to get a closer look at their situation.
After a few seconds of adjusting, everything came into focus. Lia and Anna were clearly exhausted, with several wounds and cuts on their bodies.
The other guys were literally shitting on their pants...
I mean their faces looked terrified, their hands trembling as they struggled to hold their weapons or maintain their stances.
The rebels clearly had the upper hand, their confident stance and aggressive postures showing they knew they were winning.
There was an old age rebel who was lazily hanging around for no apparent reason. I could tell his age by looking at his hands.
I think he's the leader of the group.
I'm not sure, but my instincts say so.
They closed in slowly, savoring the moment of impending victory.
Anna's grip on her longsword tightened, her knuckles turning white as she fought to stay on her feet.
Lia's breathing was heavy, and a deep gash on her arm bled profusely.
Despite their dire state, they stood their ground, ready to fight to the last breath.
The rest of the group was in disarray.
One man had dropped his weapon entirely, clutching his head in fear, while another desperately looked around for an escape route.
From the looks of it, it won't take long for the rebels to kill them all...
Wait, what am I doing? Why
Suddenly, my system screen flickered and a new quest appeared:
**Quest: [Saviour Of Beauties!]**
Save Lia and Anna from the rebels.
**Objective:** Save 0/1
**Reward:** 100 EXP
Accept or Reject?
"Of course, Reject!"
Why should I fight them?
I used my appraisal skill on each of them and found out that everyone except the old man was at least a Iron ranker.
The problem was, if I jumped in to help, it would mainly be up to me, Anna, and Lia to handle the fight.
The others are just weak bronze rankers who would have been dead by now if not for Anna being a Gold ranker and Lia being a Silver ranker.
So, I clicked the reject option, but...
[Host, this quest is mandatory and can't be rejected.]
"Eh, what?"
What's going on?
'System, if this quest was mandatory, why did you even give me the option to reject it? You could have just selected it automatically.' I thought.
[Host, I only gave you the option to complete the formalities.]
'Oh, fuck your formalities! Is this really the time to joke?'
The system stayed silent, not answering me.
Damn it...
Since the quest is mandatory, I need to come up with a plan right away.
The rebels won't wait long before killing everyone.
"Huhhh..."
I sighed...
I looked at the situation in front of me.
There were seven people surrounding them.
The distance between us was about 300 meters or more.
That means I'd have to use my guns, but I'd be relying on luck to hit at least one or two of them with bullets, which is unlikely.
Since I'm not a sniper, my chances of missing are also pretty high.
For now, I need to get closer without being spotted.
Yeah, I can use the alleyways to approach them quietly.
So, I started moving closer to them slowly, and it didn't take long to reduce the distance to about 150 meters.
But then, something unbelievable and unexpected happened that blew my cover and changed the whole situation.
As I continued to observe, the old man, who had been lazily hanging back, suddenly made a sign which looked more like a command to kill them all...
At his command, all the rebels lunged at Anna and Lia with renewed ferocity.
The rebels, driven by their leader's order, attacked in unison, overwhelming the sisters with their sheer numbers and aggressive tactics.
Anna, though skilled with her longsword, struggled to keep up with the relentless onslaught.
Her movements were slowed by exhaustion and the numerous wounds she had sustained.
Lia fared no better, her cuts and bruises clearly impairing her ability to defend herself.
Despite their best efforts, the rebels pressed in on them from all sides.
The rebels' coordinated assault quickly overpowered the sisters.
Anna was pushed to the ground, her longsword clattering away as a rebel pinned her down.
Lia was also swarmed, struggling against multiple attackers.
It seemed like the end was near for both of them.
Their breaths were ragged, and their defiant shouts were becoming weaker and more desperate.
Seeing this, I realized I couldn't just stand by.
The situation was rapidly deteriorating, and I had to act now. I raised my gun and took aim at the group.
"Damn it," I muttered, as I fired multiple shots in quick succession toward the rebels.
It's either going to be me or them who will die today...
The bullets flew through the air, and I watched as chaos erupted among them.
In a surprising turn of events, one rebel was struck in the head, collapsing instantly with a muffled thud.
Another was hit in the stomach, falling to the ground with a pained groan.
The sudden gunfire caused a brief moment of confusion among the rebels, as they turned their attention toward the source of the noise...
"Bring it on, bastarddddds..." I shouted...
"It's me against all of you..."