[You have died.]
[Reanimation has begun.]
[Defeat the Fallen Knight to advance through the story.]
In the blink of an eye, Jayhan found himself standing at the entrance of the street, the Fallen Knight standing a few feet in front of him.
'What just happened?'
He looked around, as if answers were plastered on the walls.
'I was sure this monster killed me just now. So, I didn't die?' He looked at his hands—yep, they seemed real.
Not to mention, he appeared to have gone back to the moment before he accepted the quest to fight the Fallen Knight.
How did he know this?
Well…
[Would you like to battle the boss again?]
[YES.] or [NO.]
The notification before him proved it.
'Calm down. I shouldn't get ahead of myself. As a gamer, knowing where the spawn point is located plays a critical role in gameplay. If this place is meant to be the spawn point, then I'm all the more lucky—the question is, is there a limit?'
The system hadn't mentioned anything about that, but he wanted to play it safe. Dying in the real world because he failed to kill a boss was not how he hoped to go out.
Now looking at the dagger in his hand, he took a defensive stance, all his attention focused on the monster.
'I'll use the spawn point to my advantage and read the monster's moves with every death. From what I know now, it's very fast when it swings its sword. I have limited speed, so I can't keep up with that—which means—'
[You have spent 2000 on speed.]
[Speed 29 >> 45.]
[You have spent 1400 on agility.]
[Agility 28 >> 39.]
Jayhan was prepared to face the monster again.
Not that he looked forward to dying, considering he felt every ounce of pain. As such, he was going to try his best to stay alive and maybe defeat the monster without having to respawn.
But if he happened to die—
Then he would learn from it and strike again. That was the mentality of a gamer.
"I'm ready."
[You have accepted the quest.]
[Defeat the Fallen Knight.]
Just like the first time, the knight moved, raising its blade to launch another strike almost immediately after it woke.
Jayhan was prepared.
Taking a quick step to the side, Jayhan dodged the first sword strike of the knight.
But—
Crash!
Jayhan slammed against the wall. Since he wasn't used to moving so fast, he couldn't help but lose control.
That was when another attack occurred.
Strrrk!
[You have died.]
Jayhan respawned.
"Again!"
He went on fighting the monster. This time, he had grown familiar with his spike in speed and agility. This allowed him to maneuver around the knight, practically dodging every attack it threw at him.
It was all too easy, and Jayhan felt he had won this round already, seeing as the knight hadn't landed a single hit.
So, he tried to land his own attack, aiming to put an end to the fight.
While he did succeed in landing an attack—it didn't go as he expected.
[You have died.]
'Dammit, its armor is too thick. This dagger can't cut through it that easily.'
[You have spent 1000 on strength.]
[Strength 36 >> 45.]
Holding the dagger with both hands, he activated his skill.
[You have activated the Blade of Flames.]
[Your dagger will now inherit the flames that burn.]
[All attacks are increased by 50%.]
"Ahhhhh!"
Jayhan went on the attack again.
The moment the knight swung its sword, Jayhan ducked low, allowing the strike to pass over his head, giving him an almost perfect opportunity.
Slash!
He swung the dagger sideways, the flames hugging the steel blade as it easily sliced through the knight's armor, tearing its body in two.
[Congratulations, you have defeated the Fallen Knight.]
[1-5 story progression has been unlocked.]
[You have gained a chance to deal a mythical weapon.]
[You have gained 5000 coins for clearing the first stage.]
Panting heavily, Jayhan stared at the first notification. It seemed the most important. In fact, that was his main reason for attempting to fight the boss in the first place.
According to what he knew, the 1-5 story progression would likely cover the stories of three characters so far, as those were the only characters he had any knowledge of since entering the simulation.
First was the main character of the story, Seo Yuna, a teenage girl who was also a victim of the apocalypse. She was blessed with the ability to copy any ability she came in contact with, but so far, he didn't know much beyond how she got dragged into the apocalypse.
Second was a side character, Terrance Wilson. He didn't have much backstory, but from what Jayhan could remember, he built a harem in the apocalypse. The reason for this hadn't been made clear.
And the last person—the one who was hidden with no information linking to them.
This person was one of the reasons Jayhan wanted to advance through the plot.
If he was going to survive in this world, he needed to use everything in his arsenal to his advantage.
Click!
[Downloading story progression.]
[Story progression 1-5 has been downloaded.]
[Story synchronization in progress.]
In that moment, Jayhan felt different information flood his brain, almost as if he were living in that exact moment.
Stories of different people began to fill his memories, tying into the very world he once lived in—an impersonation? Who were these people, and why did they fit into the world before the apocalypse began?
Seo Yuna—
Jayhan saw everything, how she cleared the 1-5 scenario like it was nothing. Even more, he began to learn new things about the apocalypse that he had never known before.
After a while, the story fully synced with his memory.
[Synchronization has been completed.]
Jayhan looked at the ground with a stoic expression.
'I see…'
He sighed.
'I won't overthink it now. This is good. This is exactly what I need. On to the next story.'
...
[A\N: If you like the story so far, please vote for me.]