Elian woke up choking on dirt. His whole body ached as he tried to sit up into a much more comfortable position.
But it burns!
More soil clung to his torn clothes.
[You have unlocked a new stat.]
[Infamy: +1]
[Remarks: Aven, Queen of the Black Piece, thinks you are dumb.]
[Jun hates you.]
Yeah, sure. After dying in another miserable event. It was predictable to receive such. But gaining another stat from that?
[Current Infamy: 3]
[Stat Effect: Infamy affects your reputation among higher-tiered constellations and world rulers. The more infamous you are, the more attention you attract. Not always the good kind.]
More system notifications blocked his vision, spiraling into a migraine. He winced, touching his head.
[Title Unlocked: Mad Pawn]
[Effect: Slight resistance to fear-based skills. Slight increase in chaotic stat gains. You look dumber, but hit harder. Kinda.]
[Resurrection Skill Activated. Remaining Death Count: 3/5]
[Level: 2]
Dirt clung to his eyelashes. His mouth tasted like gravel. A rock had made itself comfortable under his back. He sat up with a groan, spitting soil and blood.
The grave was shallow. A few pitiful shovels of dirt barely covered him. Whoever buried him hadn't been trying to hide the body. More like... insult it.
He looked around, surrounded mostly by trees.
There was a slightly thick stick lying across his chest.
His stick.
Buried with him.
Elian knew immediately that Aven was the one who buried him. He grimaced, dusting the dirt off his clothes.
"Asshole," he muttered, dragging himself upright. His ribs screamed. His system pinged again.
[EXP from Fatal Encounter: +25]
[Unspent Points: 200]
[Guess dying was worth it. Do you want to allocate it to your Will stat again… Mad Pawn sir?]
[Oh and, you have been dead for 10 minutes. Try better, Kay?]
Elian cringed. He sighed, flexing his stiff arms. "Don't call me that. But add them to Strength and Agility. Both. I'm tired of getting thrown around like a wet sock." And I need to get Aven back for burying me in such a shallow grave!
[Stats Updated. STR +3]
[AGI +2]
[Buy a new stick. Please.]
No, this one still works fine. Why should I waste my points on a new one?
[What a petty man.]
Elian ignored the system, standing up, brushing dirt off his black hair.
However, something rustled nearby.
He turned, eyes searching the area for threats.
He spotted eight red-eyed Bone hounds. Mutated wolves with exposed ribcages and cracked horns jutting from their skulls. They growled, spit trickling down their large fangs, circling around him.
[Monsters Detected: Bone-hound wolves]
[Class: Low LVL 3]
Shit! Where did Aven dump my body?!
His body tensed. He reached for his stick. Splintered, crooked, and holy in its stubbornness.
Then the system dinged again.
[New Skill Unlocked: Sucker Punch Lv.1]
[Description: A dirty, desperate attack that deals triple damage if your opponent is arrogant.]
[Cooldown: 2 minutes]
Elian blinked, then grinned widely at the system.
"Oh, finally! Nice."
He raised the stick, tightening his grip.
Do I get EXP for killing them?
[Well, yes. If you win. Please Do.]
The first wolf leapt.
He sidestepped, rolled under its jaws, and jabbed the stick straight into its eye. The wolf howled in pain. With a groan, he activated the skill, punching its jaw.
The wolf's head exploded.
A bloody spray coated his face. Warm and stinking.
"Oh. It worked."
Another came in. Elian ducked, twisted his torso and slammed his knee into its jaw, then grabbed the stick and drove it down through the beast's throat.
[Sucker Punch Lv1 skill activated.]
He twisted his foot into the dirt, heart pounding, hitting his stick on one of the wolf's hind joints.
Boink!
Elian blinked, confused. What do you mean boink?! Okay maybe I'm not strong enough. I expected more—
But in an instant, blood and fur shredded across the clearing. Its bones pinged off trees.
Elian staggered back, blinking through the warm rain of gore as the smell of burnt flesh smothered the air.
He exhaled shakily. "Okay. That... was badass. And it's just Lv 1?"
The remaining five circled him warily.
Elian shouted, swinging his arm in a defensive arc.
But one wolf was faster.
Its teeth clamped onto the warped wooden rod and tore it free from his grip. It bolted, running back to its pack in triumph.
"My stick!" Elian bellowed, chasing a few steps before stopping short, fuming.
Blood dripped from his knuckles. His breath came ragged.
[Haha. Whoops… sorry.]
[You are now unharmed. Buy a new weapon? It's about time, don't you think?]
Fangs slashed across his shoulder.
He gripped his bleeding arm. You should be helping.
[I am… helping. Use your head.]
"..."
[Sigh. After Resurrection, your stats are abnormaly increased. Which means…]
Elian, now distracted, spotted another Bone hound chewing on his stick.
And that's when he lost it.
As one leaped at him, his fingers dug into the fur, then ripped the wolf's lower jaw clean off. Bone snapped. It whimpered before collapsing.
Another lunged at him. He kicked it in the ribs, then grabbed its horn, twisting until its spine cracked.
He was screaming now. Covered in gore, slipping in blood and fur.
By the time he was done, he was shaking.
Breathing harder and faster than usual. The other hounds whimpered, slowly backing away from him and running back into the woods.
He slowly walked forward, picking up his stick and wiping the slippery slime off.
His system pinged again.
[EXP Gained: +40]
[HP Restored to 80%]
[Note: Dying grants you stronger gains than usual. But continued deaths will have side effects.]
[Do not die meaninglessly.]
Well thank you for the note. It was VERY helpful.
[Hey, I am only doing my job. You reek.]
He wiped his face with his sleeve. The cloth stuck to his skin.
Elian sat back on a rock, panting. His body was drenched in blood. Not all of it was his. His heart thudded against his ribs like it wanted out.
Somehow, dying made him stronger. Who knew he'd tear off wolves head like opening a can of coke?
It felt like he was forgetting something important and it was biting his skin. Abruptly, he stood up, remembering that he left someone waiting.
Rin.
"...My sister!"
His eyes widened. Panic crawled down his throat. I told her I would come back. But—
Where exactly was he?
He frantically turned, circling around and searching his surroundings.
Ruins stretched for miles. Nothing but a few shattered buildings and more forest woods.
He tried to open his map. Maybe I'm still near home?
[You are off-grid.]
"Of course I am."
He tapped the system window again, and opened his profile.
[Class: Pawn]
[New title: Mad Pawn]
[Level: 2]
[Deaths: 2/5]
[HP: 208/300]
[STR: 17]
[AGI: 15]
[WILL: 12]
[INFAMY: 3]
[Unlocked Skills: Sucker Punch Lv.1]
[Skill: Resurrection— Divine Variant (Unknown)]
He squinted.
"Now that I'm more curious, if this resurrection skill is divine... then who's my sponsor?"
[Affiliation: The Nameless god]
[Constellation Status: Watching.]
Elian froze.
A shiver rolled down his spine, biting through his skin.
[Reminder: Constellations influence chessboard events. They fund battles, manipulate quests, reward or sabotage incarnations. Most are corrupted beyond mortal comprehension.]
[No one chooses a pawn. Pawns die.]
[You are... unusual.]
He stared.
"You're saying someone picked me?"
[Of course someone picked your weird ass, yes.]
[And no.]
[But you? You keep coming back. Every death of yours hurts like hell.]
[And yet you crawl out again. That's not a loser. That's a bad investment turned into a wild card.]
He swallowed hard.
Somewhere behind him, he saw something moved.
Elian turned sharply, raising his chewed stick as some form of defense.
A shadow moved behind a twisted tree.
"...Who's that?"
Elian's stomach dropped.
Had someone seen him… seen him rip a wolf's jaw off like it was nothing?