Funnily enough, death doesn't seem to be the end in all cases. Sometimes you have reincarnators, others you have second chance guys, sometimes even revival and immortals!

Thing is, though, they are rare enough to be considered the exception, not the common. Since you don't even know if you're part of the 0.01% you can't even risk it! Dumb thing to be immortal and afraid for your pitiful life at the same time...

I grew up in a small village haunted by weak monsters day and night with little to protect it. Whatever villagers lived there with me had already given up on life; the place was something like an exile, you didn't want to be close to it, not even in your wildest dreams. Still, the ones who had it worse were the kids born there and unable to leave cause of some weird law...

Yesterday another friend of mines died. The rumour has it he tried to steal some food and got his ass handed to him. I wonder who is going to help his brothers now... well, I guess they will die soon after, that is the life here.

Shaking my head, I admonished myself for growing used to the life here. I saw a small rat with the corner of my eye. Before it could react I wanted to catch it, maybe Sore's family didn't have to die, I could help them. Thing is, I first needed to help myself; the rat didn't run when it spotted me, it simply attacked first.

With agile movements I evaded the rat that went for my legs. If it had bitten me I would have died most likely; lost mobility and some weird disease would have been my end. Still, with that danger I didn't dare to let the fight go on for long. I kicked with all my strength the very next moment I evaded its attack and the fight was over. I longed for a time where even the weakest animal wouldn't be a threat to me...

Breaking the rat's neck for a good measure, I visited Sore's family to give them the rat. I wasn't fast enough it seemed, they were already dead, killed by some opportunistic bastards I imagine. At least the bastards didn't eat their bodies, it meant I had something to bury with my friend.

After finding Sore's grave, I dug it up and put the body of his wife and his younger brother in it. We were both fifteen, but he was so much stronger than me, he was living a much better life than I did, yet once he ended up dead everything went wrong.

As I left their graves, I noticed I was being followed. It weren't humans, they would've been too cunning for me to notice, it was probably some low level monster. I contemplated about running for my life or trying to fight it, but risking my life when I already had food on me was stupid. I would only get a few levels to show for it and perhaps some poisonous meat, it wasn't worth it.

I noticed that no one was on the streets at the dead of the night, everyone already in the safety of their homes or hidden well enough to survive the night. I cursed at my stupidity, I shouldn't have lost track of time, it's dangerous at night yet I still made the mistake.

After a few minutes of running and losing some of my stamina the monster was still following me. Seeing I had stopped running it even revealed itself, a much larger rat than the one I was currently holding inside my clothes, one the size of a dog; talk about karma.

One attack from it would be enough to incapacitate me, even kill me if I wasn't careful. If I remembered well this monster had a somewhat tough hide and teeth that could pierce through weak steel. Explosive speed with no agility to show for it; evade its first attack and stab it with a sword, can't be easier than that, only I didn't have a sword.

I searched around me for some kind of a weapon, but the streets couldn't have been more useless than now. However, as much as I would have liked to develop some sort of plan, I didn't have more time to think as it charged towards me.

Calling it fast would be an understatement, it closed a ten meter gap between us in three seconds, max! I barely evaded its attack, yet it was already preparing for a second charge.

I couldn't be passive all the time like that, if I wanted to get out of this alive, I had to make a move against it. So, as it charged towards me, I moved to close the distance even faster, fainting a moevement towards its left only to move from its right. Like that I managed to not only evade it, but also get behind it without losing any ground.

I jumped on top of it, hitting it a couple times in the neck and trying to kill it before it could recover; fat chance it would happen. The rat threw me off, seemingly more annyed than injured.

I didn't know if the same thing would work on it twice, but I wouldn't hope to dare. I run, trying to avoid runnning in a straight line as the rat would catch me in seconds if I did.

Passing through the streets with the fatass rat of a monster following closely behind me, I spotted a broken broom at the front door of one guy; perfect weapon.

When I touched it though, this happened,

An item strong enough to be recognised by the system, just my luck!

Everything went black, and I was pretty sure I died... but since I didn't know what death should be like, I was hesitant to declare myself dead and be over with it.

Huh?

Then the darkness faded and I was holding a broken broom facing the large rat like before.

It was still charging at me, but due to what had happened, I was taken off guard.

At the moment the rat was on top of me, I instinctively activated my ability; everything felt a bit slower but it was barely enough to avoid the rat.

Still armed with the broken 'cursed' broom, I imediately spun around and stabbed the rat in the head. Its skin and bones were hard enough for the broom to break instead of kill the darned pest, but I didn't give up. Before it recovered from the hard hit on its head, I aimed well and threw the broom into it open mouth then put all of my weight behind it.

The rat could move no longer and I collapsed on the ground, heaving from the immense extersion.

At this point I could barely think, but even so I wondered why the broom was cursed. I dared not imagine, but the answer came only a few seconds later,

Fuck...