Chapter 7
this is a fictional story by realTensai
“You have two months left to live.“
Once again, Alvis woke up to those words.
Alvis pressed a hand to his chest, making sure the hole the vampire created wasn’t there anymore. His breaths were measured, his movements deliberate, betraying no hint of the storm raging within. The stabbing pain had vanished and as Alvis turned his head, he saw the white walls and also his parents. Upon seeing their faces filled with life and anguish, he exhaled.
I’ve respawned.
The realization brought a strange sense of familiarity. Alvis found himself calmer than anticipated, almost resigned to this repetitive cycle of demise. His heart thrummed in his chest, but it was a steady rhythm, not the panicked beats of his initial deaths. Each death seemed to dull the edge of his fear.
Yet Alvis refused to repeat this loop any longer. Dying didn’t scare him anymore. No, it was something else, something way darker that made his blood boil in anticipation.
A dark resolve bubbled within him, his mind fixated on the singular goal of ending the vampire’s existence. His jaw clenched, the gears in his mind turning purposeful, driven by a determination that surprised even himself.
The last run made it clear to him. Alvis would keep suffering as long as the assassin was alive. That meant if Alvis wanted to live a peaceful life, he had to dispose of the assassin.
And he would do everything to do that!
Wait, I want to kill someone?
Alvis didn’t notice that this malicious intent had formed within him. It was his normal thought process that led to this decision, yet wasn’t this against his morals?
Though deep down, Alvis knew the answer.
I have to do it!
Alvis didn’t hesitate to admit that, even though he was a practicing Arifuner. This situation wasn’t a normal one. It was kill or be killed, and Alvis would always choose the former. It was something he had known since his early childhood. Flashes of the day when he almost killed them ran through his head.
They had called him insane, a monster, yet this was what he needed to be if he wanted to survive. Being a monster would only help him in this time loop he was trapped in. No normal person could keep staying sane, having to deal with dying that often, anyway.
Alvis would use his broken personality to the fullest!
After he came to terms with his emotions and inner state, he shifted his attention to the blue box. The blue box kept blinking, and he knew what that meant. Not wanting to waste more time, he opened it.
NOTIFICATION
[YOU DIED!]
Experience is awarded for dying!
LEVEL 1: A mysterious attacker
Mission: Survive
General:
Name: Alvis Silva
Race: Human
Class: None
Level: 2
Skills: Basic mana manipulation Lvl.1-> Lvl. 2
Stats:
Mana: 66-> 71
Strength: 21–> 24
Intelligence: 52-> 57
Endurance: 21–> 26
Reflex: 22–> 27
Health: 25/25–> 30/30
Interesting.
Alvis knew his stats would rise after death, but he didn’t know how high they would go. Because of his run before he noticed that the rising of his stats had to do with what he had done before he died. That was why he was not surprised that his mana, intelligence, endurance, and reflex stats rose by five points. In his fight against the vampire, those were the things he depended on the most. He couldn’t really feel a difference in his intelligence, as he would have to do an IQ test to prove it. But perhaps was the odd calmness that he felt proof of his improved intellect.
Seeing how his basic mana manipulation skill went up to level 2 put a smile on his face. Even though he hadn’t studied how to use his mana to cast spells, he somehow managed to not only create fire, but also a fireball.
Alvis puffed his chest out, tempted to pet his own shoulders. In school, he often heard his non-human classmates complain about how hard it was to manipulate mana. For him to be able to do it so easily had to be because of his skill, or else he would be considered a genius. Not that I would mind.
His strength stat just went up by three, which was not bad at all. He would try to do some pushups, later on, to see how much stronger three stat points made him. Just by clenching his fist, he could feel the increase in power, yet his biceps still remained humble.
So, what now?
Alvis had finished his analysis of his stats and now had to focus on the most important task.
How to defeat the assassin!
He already tried running away and calling the police, and both options failed miserably. With those two options out of the way, there was only one reasonable way of action left.
Alvis had to beat the assassin on his own!
A few restarts ago, this would’ve been impossible. But now Alvis knew he could do it. In their last fight, Alvis injured the assassin with his fireball and even blew his ear off. That was a big feat, showcasing that he could injure him. However, this wasn’t enough.
Alvis had to deal with a trained vampire assassin! His half-baked skills weren’t nearly enough to beat him in a fair one-on-one battle. If Alvis would evaluate his chances of winning such a battle, he would say it was less than 10%. And Alvis’ predictions were always accurate.
Yet he still was confident of winning this time.
It was because Alvis knew with whom he had to deal and he wouldn’t come unprepared!
Like a wise man once said, if you know your enemy and yourself, you don’t have to fear the outcome of a hundred battles.
Alvis would use everything he could to come out top, not hesitating to fight dirty. Every single piece of information he got through the restarts would be an asset. He knew his opponent’s race and abilities. Why not use this information to my advantage?
Like the pieces of a puzzle coming together, a plan formed in Alvis’ head, and it was the best one he had come up with thus far. But it was also the craziest!
——
Alvis and his family left the hospital and were on the way home. Just like last time, Alvis convinced his parents to go buy the new War Of Races game. He used the same words, and it had the same effects.
Alvis waited for his parents to be out of sight before carrying out his plan. This time, he wouldn’t go home and walk straight into his death. He had to do some shopping first.
There were several things he needed so he could even dream about winning this fight. Luckily, he had his bank card with him, so he didn’t have to worry about money.
Alvis already knew which shop he had to go to. It was the shop that had everything. Alvis always bought his equipment for his inventions there. Thinking about his inventions, Alvis mentally sighed. Most of them would get destroyed in the upcoming fight.
However, Alvis would rather sacrifice his inventions than his life. As this thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t help but laugh. If one would have asked him a day ago, he would have said the complete opposite.
How ironic.
The shop was not too far away, yet Alvis had to hurry if he wanted to finish everything before his parents came back. He could not risk a tragedy like last time.
With that in mind, he ran off.
——
“That makes 58,76 unions, please.”
Alvis just held his card against the device and waited for the confirmation sound. 58,76 unions were a fair price to pay, so he didn’t mind. Not that he got another option.
“I must say, Alvis, the things you usually buy are weird, but this time they are extra weird. Haha, if I didn’t know you, I would think you would want to kill a vampire or something,” the cashier said, laughing.
“Haha, stop joking, Mark. You know I wouldn’t do that.”
The sheepish smile Alvis had on his face almost exposed him.
Alvis just said goodbye to the cashier and started walking home. He got everything he needed to take on the vampire. Carrying the stuff was a bit hard, but luckily the shop was near his house, so in a few minutes, he would be there.
But before he would go home, there was one last crucial thing he had to do. He took out his phone and contacted him. He was the last variable in his plan. Only with him, everything would work.
Alvis worded the message carefully and then sent it. Now there was no way back. It took him one more deep breath in and out to strengthen his resolve.
Let’s go.
