"Wha- what the?" Johan muttered, overwhelmed in every description of the word. That's when he noticed something else-
[Name: Barbara Cole
Titles: Caretaker of *** ***** Miracle, Clear Sighted Mortal
Race: Human
Age: 68 (Deceased)
Occupation: Street Baker
Description: The younger sister of {The ******* Bearer}. She took care of {*** *****)
Miracle} until her final moments. Even though it killed her. She was killed by a Ghoul.]
-------------------------------------------------------------
Johan was always a smart boy. Articulated and quick on the uptake. He learned fast, but he read even faster. He could read and comprehend the entirety of the screen in front of him in the time it took for his aunt to cover his face in blood.
'De…ceased?' Johan understood. He felt and truly understood what this was in front of him. It was intrinsically connected to him. Even if the why and how escaped him.
He looked above him, at what cast a shadow above him, at what captured his attention, at what killed the woman he loved most.
[Name: ?
Titles: ?
Race: Ghoul
Age: ?
Occupation: ?
Skills:
Description: ???]
Johan didn't understand much. Just that he knew that it was a ghoul and that it could… Devour?
He looked down at himself. Everything was a blur. He couldn't understand anything.
[Name: Johan Quincy Cole
Titles: His Final Miracle, The Gamer, Genius, The Last Cole
Race: Human(?)
HP: 81% (?, ?, ?)
MP: 96% (?, ?)
Age: 12
Occupation: N/A
Skills:
Description: Son of
His gaze flicked over everything, memorizing it with his eidetic memory before flicking over to what was causing him pain.
[Name: Devourer (Poor, Worn)
Titles: Mortal Slayer, Bane
Race: Stygian Steel Sword
Age: ?
Owner: ?
Skills:
Description: A sword made of Stygian Steel by an amateur blacksmith. It has killed many but hasn't been maintained very well. Has syncronized with its owner because of its long time of use]
Everything raced through Johan's head like a monster escaping Tartarus.
'The screen wall is back? Another monster? Aunty is dead? Am I next? Those titles, my titles- Typhoon? The monster god? Human question mark? What the hell do I do?'
Blood began dripping down his face as the ghoul removed his worn blade from his guts and his aunt's corpse. His aunt's face began to pale unnaturally.
The pain made him want to roll over in pain, but he couldn't. He could hardly move his neck.
'No way, I can't move? No! Move! Come on!' Johan tried to move, but his body was robbed of strength and a chill spread through his body from where he was stabbed.
'The sword… that
"Kieehehaha, It's been a while since I feasted on a clear sighted mortal. And a young demi to boot? The fates shine on me today." The ghoul cackled darkly.
The monster licked his blade clean with an unnaturally long tongue that had black spots on it.
'Ew. Necrosis?' Johan mentally commented before looking down at his wound to see something similar.
'Fuck, necrosis. No wonder I can't feel myself bleeding out. Fucker killed my flesh.' New plans had to be made in the face of this. Johan was never without a plan. Even if Johan was terrified out of his mind, plans had to be made, steps had to be envisioned.
Even if he could hardly think with the grief of his aunt's death on his chest both literally and figuratively, his instincts, ones he never knew he had, worked overtime to make sure he survived.
"Oh? This taste? You don't even know it yet do you? Booo. They taste better when they know." The ghoul addressed Johan, even if only partially.
'Don't look at me you half dead freak!' Johan yelled out mentally, trying his best to find the ability to move.
"Glare all you want, unless your godly parent is a select few… I doubt it'll do much. Tsk tsk." He tsked.
'Wait what?' Johan's mind halted, dots connecting.
'[Race: Human(?)], "And a young demi to boot? The fates…", [Skill:
The ghoul paused to take a deep sniff, "Kieehehehahhh, there it is!"
"Now you're getting it! But not fully. You boy, you're a demi-god. Son of some greek fuck who couldnt keep it to themself. So now your mommy had to die to little ol' me, and now I get to feast on the fruits of a god. Chieeehahaha!" He cackled madly, revelling in Johan's facial expressions.
"Your pops never came around right? Gods can't interact with their mortal spawn directly. All thanks to the God King boy. If not for that, maybe you wouldn't be dying today." The ghoul monologued, breathing in Johan's growing smell.
[Quest completed! >Find out…]
Johan didn't have the attention to spare for that-
'This… Can't be true.' Johan said, taking a once over at himself again, drawing on instincts to bring up his status screen.
[Name: Johan Quincy Cole
Titles: His Final Miracle, The Gamer, Genius, The Last Cole
Race: Demi-God
HP: 78% (Aura of Undeath I, Necrosis II, Bleed I)
MP: 93% (Aura of Undeath, I, Necrosis II)
Skills:
Description: Demi-god son of
'Demi-god…' Was all that rung through his brain.
"Yessssss, YESSS! THAT'S the smell of one who knows. A godling that understands." The ghoul licked his lips, drool escaping from a hole in his cheek.
"Now boy, it's time to feast. Don't run from it though- I intend to take my time to savor you alive."
Johan didn't know if the strength he managed to regain would be enough despite the time the Ghoul took to monolouge-
'No! It has to be. Either this, or I die before I get to truly live. This world… So many things to learn! I refuse to die without understanding it all!'
With newfound resolve, his limbs twitched and obeyed him, albeit sluggishly. And then his eyes fell onto his wound that was surrounded in black flesh.
[HP: 77% (Necrosis II, Bleed I)
MP: 90% (Necrosis II)]
'It'll do!' Johan thought, and with an effort backed by the resolve to learn all that is learnable, he forced himself up.
[Quest Comple…] He couldn't spare enough attention with the sensory inputs he was receiving at the moment to even notice the screen, much less read it.
He felt way too much at the moment.
He felt his aunt roll off of him gracelessly, he felt her blood seep into his wounds, he felt her blood drip from his chin, he felt his own blood begin to leak from his stomach, he felt bile rise to his gullet, he felt thoughts swirl through his head at mach speeds, he felt…
He felt rage.
Unfettered, uncompromising, chest crushing, heart straining, temperature changing, boiling, breathless rage.
'You'll pay!' His mind was focused. He was locked in, his own breath feeling like tongues of flames on his lips.
"Ohoh? Was the strength boost of learning of your true heritage enough to allow you to shake off the bite of Devourer? Interesting." The ghoul seemed content to play with his food.
'Think Johan! His sword, it's short, right? But his arms are longer than your legs. And his legs… fuck, they're longer than my torso, he could get in and out of attack range without me being able to do anything. And he's a monster, adult looking, so probably stronger than me. But his left leg is missing flesh, maybe even certain muscles. It could be a weak point.' Johan's eyes lit up as he deeply examined his foe.
"Mmmhn, that look, that smell. I can't WAIT to feast!" The ghoul moaned out before he charged.
He almost blurred in Johans sight.
*ZHIIIII*
Almost.
And on what was nearly pure instinct, he ducked under a wild slash from the ghoul that was aimed for his eyes.
"Shit!" Johan yelped once he ducked under the attack.
*ZHHIII*
He couldn't catch his breath, he heard the sound of the sword ringing through the air towards him again, and he had no choice but to roll towards the ghoul.
"Bad choice godling." Was all the ghoul said before swiping at Johan again.
*Fwhh*
'What? That noise, the swords behind me thoug-' Johan didn't get to finish his thought as pain raked across his face, from his ear to his mouth.
Johan screamed in pain as the Ghoul's claws carved into his face, taking pieces of his left ear, nose, and some of his bottom lip with him.
The ghoul licked his lips and chewed on the flesh he managed to take with him. Meanwhile necrosis built up on his face and spred disgustingly, blurring his mind with pain and something sinister.
[HP: 62% (Necrosis VI, Bleed II)
MP: 87% (Necrosis VI)]
'I cant… Fuck.' Plans trudged through his mind as he fell away from the ghoul, but none of them were feasible. He couldnt see a path to success.
The ghoul simply watched as Johan clumsily fell away from him and shakily stood back up.
"Still got any fight left in ya? Chiiieehehehehhhh" He cackled sadistically.
'FUCK! THIS ISN'T WORKING! Stay away and that sword'll freeze me up again with that aura. Get close and I risk losing my eyes to those damned claws and FUCKING necrosis. Damnit! All I have is this screen that tells me shit! Shit I could figure out on my own! Fuck fuck fuck! Okay, I need a weapon! What can I use?' Johan was panicking, he couldn't figure out how to survive this encounter.
"Little godling~ Do you forfeit? Should I just kill you now?" The ghoul taunted, licking his fingers still.
His mind was in shambles, he couldnt see a psth forwards. Fight, flee, convince, reinforcements… Nothing. There wasnt anything he could do. His godly power was a damned game system screen-
At that thought, Johan noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Another screen, one that was off to the side of him that lay ignored.
[Quests:
>Find Out Your True Heritage<
Figure out what you really are(Completed)
Reward: Related Skill Level Up x2
>Who Were They<
Find out who your godly parent is.
Reward: Related Skill Level up
>Avenge Your Aunt<
Kill the ghoul that killed your aunt.
Rewards: Related Skill, Skill Level Up Token
>MY SOLDIERS RAGE<
Fight off the Aura of Undeath and stand up to your death. (Complete)
Rewards: Celestial Bronze Sword]
'So that gamer title is there for a reason… Wait! Sword! Where is it? An inventory or something?' Johan wondered as an inventory screen appeared as soon as he thought of it.
[Inventory- |Celestial Bronze Sword| ]
A screen with ten grids, if Johan counted correctly, appeared in front of him, and in one of them there was an item in it. Below the grid was the words 'Celestial Bronze Sword'.
'How do I get it? I need it! Fuck! Do I just …' Johan reached out towards the grid slowly, uncofnidently. But the screen, no, space itself rippled as a sword materialized in front of him.
The ghouls gaze sharpened with recognition immediately.
"Space manipulation? And a sword of that cursed metal? What in the underworld fucked your mommy boy?" The ghoul no longer held whimsy in his voice.
'Okay Johan, you've got this.' Johan grit his teeth through the pain and brandished his sword.
"Like a sharp baseball…" Johan muttered, calmly watching the ghoul in front of him, 'Brawlhalla taught me that being passive is the easiest way to win.'
"Damned god spawn! Do you think-" The ghoul said, charging him, "YOU CAN FUCK WITH ME?!"
A flash of silver and a *ZHHIII* was all the warning Johan had, and he barely deflected the sword. Well, less so deflected, and more so batted the damned thing away to his left.
This overextended them both.
Johan found his sword nose-diving to the concrete below, and the ghoul ended up sliding just past Johan.
Not without taking a chunk of Johan's forehead with his claws of course.
"ARGH!" Johan screeched in pain, both the pain of batting away the sword and of course the claws that cut into his forehead bone deep.
[Skill Gained -
The skill was gained right on time as Johan barely managed to steel himself with a mixture of fear, adrenaline,
He spun on his heels and re-upped his guard, trying out a new stance clearly aimed at deflecting. His then eyes flickered down to his own hands as he urged his skill
[HP: 45% (Necrosis VI, Bleed IV)
MP: 81% (Necrosis VI)]
'Two more hits and my HP hits zero. But I've confirmed it. That damned leg. It is weaker. I'll win. I have to!' Johan glared at the ghoul. He was ready.
The ghoul in question was greedily gobbling at the flesh on his fingers.
'Gluttinous bastard.' He mentally remarked with shivers of disgust running down his spine.
'But I feel like if I tried to charge at him I'd pay…'
[HP: 44% (Necrosis VI, Bleed IV)
MP: 81% (Necrosis VI)]
'And then the damage over time. Fuck.'
"You actually deflected my slash. I can't let you escape and get stronger. I'll end you-" The ghouls dashed mid sentence again, but Johan was still prepared, "NOW!"
The ghoul stabbed at him instead of slashing, which caught Johan off guard. But his instincts led him into a back step as he swept at the blade, leading him to awkwardly deflect it to his right. He wouldn't dare deflect him to the left and allow the ghoul to claw at him so easily again.
Or so he thought.
The thrust was weak. A feint!
The ghoul spun around Johan's blade, disengaged the bind and led the spinmove with his claws extended for another swipe at his necrofied face.
His eyes widened in panic as he instinctively ducked again. And then the sound of that damned sword rang Johan's ears.
*ZZZZHHIIIIIIIIIIIII*
*DEATH*
Johan could feel it. If he didn't move… He'd die.
A blind swipe above him might not be enough if it's a swipe from the opposite side, or if it's a well placed thrust.
Rolling could roll him directly into the blade.
Jumping? He may as well slit his own throat.
Time seemed to slow down, his skill
He could… See it.
The entire fight sprawled out in a matter of milliseconds, drawn in black and white. The ghoul began the fight with a stab. The ghoul is right handed, so he pushed off with his left leg, stepping forwards with his right. The transition into a spin came so fast because of that, it began from his right leg. But now? The ghoul was on his left leg, and he spied see the claws of the monster just next to his head. The body of the ghoul became clearer in his head.
He could see it. It could only be three attacks.
An overhead downwards stab, a similarly downward stab, but from the hip, or a wild wound up swing.
'No wait- The sword didn't make such a sound when he stabbed at him before! It's a slash!'
He's right handed and it's a slash, likely wild and winded up, with torsion energy from the spin.
A controlled overhead or a wild crescent slash?
'Doesn't matter, they both have a dead space. Right in front of me.'
He spent too long thinking, even if it was at super high speeds. It was time for action. Another roll towards the ghoul who had overextended himself.
'Wait, I did this last-' were his last thoughts before pain wracked his nervous system.
"GUUUAAARRG!" It was overwhelming. It wasn't a crescent slash or an overhead swipe. It was an underhand upward slash. He didn't have enough time to think. Not enough experience. He fell victim to experience.
[HP: 11% (Aura of Undeath II, Necrosis VIII, Bleed VI)
MP: 43% (Aura of Undeath II, Necrosis VIII)]
Johan's senses dulled and blurred, he found himself lying face down on the ground, his back burning coldly and he felt his blood soak into his clothes despite the necrosis.
He couldn't move, not even adrenaline and
Tears welled up in his eyes, he couldn't do it-
'I did everything right! I don't know how to fight! How to use a sword! I CANT! How am I supposed to fight against this?' Tears fell down his face and mixed with the blood of the Coles and fell to the earth.
'Dad… Mom… Aunt- I'm- Im so sorry. I… cant.' He felt his adrenaline die.
11% HP, even a half assesd claw swipe could kill him, and that's if necrosis and bleed didnt do it first. He couldn't stand, couldn't fight back.
'I didn't even land a single hit on him…'
'I can't continue-' He almost kept the train of self-deprecating thoughts going, but something entered his vision.
[Skill Gained -
And then they continued once he read what it said, 'Oh joy, I might die of blood loss instead of necrosis.'
[Skill Gained -
'Or I'll live juuust long enough for the ghoul to HAVE to finish me off. Amazing.'
[Skill Gained -
'Level 0? Wait wait- Undeath affinity? What?' Johan didn't know what to think.
Slowly, the oppressive and chilling aura that previously paralyzed him seemed to ebb away. No it didn't just peel away, it began go energize him.
'What-'
[Titles: Alive in Undeath
HP: 17% (Aura of Undeath I, Necrosis VII, Bleed V)
MP: 45% (Aura of Undeath I, Necrosis VII)
Johan was so shook that he finally heard what the ghoul was saying, back to monologuing now that he neutralized the threat.
"...on't you? You should feel the call of the underworld, of undeath. Cheh. Dirty gold born. Almost made me worried. I'll make sure to eat you as slowly and painfully as possible." The ghoul went right back to monologuing, licking his sword yet again.
'That 'No, he's monologuing again, my final chance! If I fuck up here, I'm dead. One last shot!' He locked in.
[HP: 22% (Necrosis VII Bleed V)
MP: 47% (Necrosis VII)]
Johan found his senses back online, and he found that his sword was no longer in his hand.
'Fuck. Okay, where could it be?'
The battlefield unfolded in his minds eye, devoid of color. "Well, it's not like you can hear me huh? Let's just finish this." The ghoul sighed
'Double fuck! My sword is just in front of me, I must've dropped it when I rolled away from him after he slashed at my back. Okay, wait until his weight is on his weak leg, charge at him and slip my hand under the sword and slash at his legs.' A plan came into mind almost immediately.
[Skill gai-] 'NOT NOW!'
As the ghoul's weight shifted to his left leg and his right foot began rising off the ground, Johan bolted like lighting, sword barely slipping in hand.
"Wha-" The ghoul was undeniably shook. The boy should have died, or at the very least be knocking on Chiron's boat. Not charging at him.
The ghoul faltered backwards, off of his left leg.
'Shit! Commit!' Johan screamed internally. He fumbled with his sword a bit before getting a good grip and taking a page out of the ghoul's book.
Mirrored form. Left in front of the right, weight on the right, upper body upright to draw the sword upwards, sword dragging just above the ground, hands near his hip, biceps and triceps engaged, back activated, two hands instead of one, as if swinging a bat. But he learned. He led with the blade, with the edge.
And with a single, swift stroke, he swung.
The ghoul reacted impeccably and placed his short sword in between the two.
But it wasn't enough.
His stance was terribly imbalanced. His sword was knocked out of his grip and into his own gut and Johan's sword bit into his groin, and cut upwards, barely missing his bones before cleaving up and into his rib bones, only stopping after slicing through two of them.
The ghoul's face fell, he couldn't breath.
"Guh- agh. You… Fuck." Was all he could say before dissolving into a poof of golden dust over Johan's sword and his face.
[Great Achievement! Slay Your First Monster! Reward: Title and Related Skill.]
[Quest >Avenge Your Aunt< has been completed. Rewards: Related Skill, Skill Level Up Token]
Johan was frozen in place. This was a first. He didn't kill the last monster he saw. He and his aunt had run.
He shook.
Rage, sadness, exhilaration… Everything came crashing.
He fell to his knee, sword biting into the concrete. He had to catch his breath. Sort out his thoughts.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Johan's status screen below as promised, but don't skip the important yap. Gotta yap at the end of the first chapter y'know? It's only 400~ words
Now first things first. Thank you for reading to the end and not skipping the yap. It's fairly important.
Girst things first. Johan may have the "Gamer System" but if you couldn't tell, it's not the exact same.
For one. No gamers body or mind.
Two. No dungeons.
Three, no hp count, mp count or the likes.
And despite Johan somehow getting skills faster than the OG- I know, shocking- it's for good reason. This isn't permanent. You remember what the Ghoul said when Johan stood up?
"Ohoh? Was the strength boost of learning of your true heritage enough to allow you to shake off the bite of Devourer? Interesting."
That wasn't without reason. I intend for Demi-gods to get a related boost in strength once they learn of their true nature. And for Johan? Son of a god stated to be a "…great god of knowledge, games and growth."? stacked on top his skills On that note, Johan doesn't have levels does he? Or stats? How bizarre.
Beyond that note, his three latest skills are based on skills from a game, I wonder if yall know where they're from.
Also, how was the fight scene? I tried to make it realistic by flailing about in my room just like I imagined the characters. Criticize me so that I'll grow.
And should I change how the status screen is formatted? Because it feels kind of bad. And with the upcoming prestige of observation I can canonically change it in universe.
Now boys, criticize me well. But don't just say "Oh this is bad", and expect me to improve much. Sure it helps more than silence, but I accept suggestions of all kinds and being directed from mistakes helps a shit ton.
And on the note of things I'm sure I'll get criticism on is Johan's overthinking. I'm certain it was annoying. But I wanted you all to see how fast he thinks and how much he values knowledge sooo…. Yeah. Might have to change how I show that, looking forward to criticism on that.
Now for the end of chapter status-
Asterisks allow readers to quickly look at what's changed since the chapter started. So pretty much everything will have a star next to it this time.
Anyways, as per tradition before you get to the status screen. This chapter has 3,692 words including status screens. Without them it might be around 2.3-2.8k. Pretty big.
But enough yap, lets go ahead and see how our boy Johan has grown.
[Name: Johan Quincy Cole
Titles: His Final Miracle, The Gamer, Genius, The Last Cole, **Alive in Undeath, **Bane of Undead
**Race: Demi-God(God, Human)
HP: 20% (Necrosis VI, Bleed IV)
MP: 14% (Necrosis VI)
Age: 12
Occupation: N/A
Skills:
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **Description: Demi-god son of