Chapter 11: Three Death Row
Hart was accused of being a pawn.
Apparently, people could get their profile ’bought’, faking classes and status to live a more comfortable life.
Only a higher class could surpass the fake system profile. And Jupiter caught on too quickly.
Hart, however, kept his mouth shut after the reveal, his fists clenched so tight they shook, the crescent moons of his nails digging into his palms until his skin split and bled.
"Oh sweetheart. Don’t sulk like that. I understand you. But bullying? That’s what I don’t stand for." Jupiter said, stepping toward the dome’s exit, the broken twig crunching under her boots. She stopped right behind Elian.
"So," she tilted her head, "you want me to join or not?"
Hart reluctantly agreed, shuffling away from the heat of other members’ stares now that his truth was out.
Crix patted the dust off his thick pants, getting up with a grunt. "Oi. I’ll follow too. We need more hands to save the black pieces survivors ey? And I’ve got the strength for that!" He flexed his muscles.
Jupiter smiled at him, shaking her head. "No, you stay. We don’t know if those plants still lurks around. Too many legs can raise more stakes."
Crix pouted his lips, sitting right back on the forest soil. "Yeah. Okay," he replied flatly, throwing a tiny pebble. "Incase you need help, I’m here. I’mma keep an eye on these twins aight?"
Jupiter nodded, turning as she walked right out of the dome’s protection.
Elian looked back at Crix, and Crix guestured to him with a wink before he too left.
When they stepped out of the dome, the metallic tang of scorched air filled their lungs. Everything lay in ash and cinders, the street a blackened skeleton of what it used to be. For a moment, luckily, the man-eating plants were nowhere in sight.
They split ways not long after. Jupiter spotted signs of life among the rubble and veered off to check—three trapped kids crying beneath a collapsed building. She ran towards them, sprinting to help.
That left Elian with Hart.
The silence between them was like a rope tightening. Hart’s boots crunched on charred glass as he walked a half-step ahead.
They were inside a broken three story building that was once a market store. Elian noticed he hadn’t seen anyone while they walked.
Going a floor higher to maneuver whatever monsters that were roaming round the streets, Elian couldn’t help but worry about his sister. His pace quickened as Hart found it hard to keep up with him. Is she okay? Did she find help? Have she even eaten. I always told her to cook a little food—
"So..." Hart’s voice was low, casual in that way people used when they were anything but..."Why’d you start the game? Didn’t you hear about the damn prophecy?"
The Prophecy was stupid and unclear.
What do you mean we should ignore the system’s message and there’s doom befalling us all? Without any proper details?
Elian refused to spare him a glance, walking forward.
"Or are you one of those pathetic types who hides behind a weak act? Y’know, letting other people take the hits while you slink around collecting scraps?" Hart kept going, his tone needling. "I’ve met your kind. Bottom feeders. Always pretending you’re nothing so no one notices when you’re sucking them dry."
Elian’s gaze slid to him flat and cold. "You’ve got a rat’s face, you know that?"
Something in Hart’s jaw twitched. His lips curled.
"Say that again."
Elian looked away. "Rat-faced man."
Hart’s face erupted bright red, fuming. "Oh you fucking piece of shit! How dare you say that to your senior huh?" He violently nudged Elian.
Elian scoffed, rolling his eyes as he was clearly fed up. "It wasn’t me who was hiding behind a fake class, was I? We’re both trash class. Why the stupid fuss. And guess what? You’re even more pathetic than an F-rank pawn. So beat it."
Hart’s face twitched in spiraling anger, he gnashed his teeth, hands raising for a slap. But his lips tuged upward into a smile, surprising Elian himself. What got him cackling up?
Before any prior reaction, Hart’s palm slammed into Elian’s chest and shoved him hard enough to fall.
The world tipped.
The ground vanished.
Elian’s stomach lurched as he tumbled down into a nest of blooming white petals the size of coffins. The plants hissed as their pollen burst into the air.
Tendrils writhed, teeth lining the petals in serrated rings.
He didn’t even hit the bottom before the first one closed around his leg. The bite came with a wet, fibrous crunch that rattled his bones.
The pain shot up to his head.
He screamed, but the pollen burned his throat, flooding his lungs with chemical sweetness until blackness swallowed everything.
The only thing he could hear was his system’s annoying ding.
[Congratulations! You just DIED.]
[And a quite vengeful death at that. Sweet. Haha. Sorry.]
[Passive Skill Activating: Resurrection.]
[Tip: Get that rat faced man back for pushing you. He’s annoying.]
But... won’t I keep dying? After all, I fell into a bouquet of carnivorous plants.
His vision blackened.
Fuck you, Hart. I swear. I swear I’ll —
After a few minutes, Elian’s eyes snapped open with a choking gasp.
His body convulsed, retching out a stream of gold-flecked mucus that burned his tongue raw.
Every inch of his skin screamed. He looked down, half his calf was missing, gnawed away to pale bone, tendons dangling like chewed wires.
[You have been dead for 12 minutes. Move your butt.]
He dug his nails into the dirt, dragging himself forward. One arm, then the other.
His breath came out uneven, pollen sticking in his throat. More flowers curled around him, petals twitching with hunger.
A tendril coiled his waist before he reached the blackened street. It yanked him back. His nails tore from their beds as he clawed at the dirt, leaving bloody furrows.
The flowers swallowed him whole this time, teeth shearing through his side in a hot, wet explosion. A petal clamped over his face — his own scream bouncing inside his skull before the pollen drowned him.
[You Just Died.]
[Wow. AGAIN? You’re really bad at this part.]
[Passive Skill Activating: Resurrection.]
[Tip: Maybe try... not breathing poison next time?]
Elian woke up again. How many hours has passed? My whole... my whole body burns.
[You have been dead for 15 minutes. This is getting boring.]
He came back mid-cough, lungs raw meat inside his ribs. It hurts! It hurts it hurts!
The air tasted metallic with his own blood. His vision jittered from the feverish burn of the toxin.
If only i can find my stick... I could have used my sucker Punch skill. Shit.
He stick had fell off his hand when Hart pushed him into the flowers.
He dragged himself, his leg trailing behind like it didn’t belong to him anymore.
A petal brushed his hair. He flinched and rolled, his shoulder socket tearing with a wet pop. His scream was just breath this time, no sound, his voice burned away.
He didn’t stop.
A tendril lashed his thigh. Teeth grazed his heel. He kicked weakly, ribs grating under his skin. His nails ripped, hands slick with mud and blood.
By the time he collapsed onto the road, the flowers hissed behind him but did not follow.
Elian lay there, panting in short, broken bursts, his skin mottled with swelling where the pollen had blistered him from the inside out. His hands shook, only for his vision to blur as he coughed up blood.
[Oops! You body couldn’t keep up with the toxins.]
[You have died.]
The notification blinked lazily in his vision. Then he fell limp, at least he had gotten away from those plants. Flashes of memories of his skin tearing apart, roots curling in his intestines, flowers biting his head the second time as the beast shared his torn flesh flood through.
His eyes were bloodshot, rolling to the back of his head before everything went dark.
[Passive Skill Activating: Resurrection.]
[This will take a lot of time. Hehe.]
20 minutes passed, and Elian’s eyes flew wide, sucking in a gallon of air as he tried to scramble up. His body twitching all over.
[You were dead for 21 minutes. Your stats are now stable, your heartbeat has returned to normal.]
[You’re welcome by the way. Yes, you can repay me later by putting your money into good USE. By buying yourself some GEARS.]
Elian clicked his tounge from the mild annoyance of his system. What should bother him was how his resurrection takes longer every death he faced.
However, more pop-ups from his system blocked his vision.
[Quest Completed: Survive Five Fatal Encounters.]
[Progress: 5/5]
[Reward: Permanent Resistance to Plant-based Toxins.]
[You are now in LvL 5.]
[Check for your unlocked skill.]
[Also, now go skin that rat-faced bastard alive, champ.]
[TIP: You get EXP from killing someone.]
Elian got up slowly.
His blood dripped onto the cracked floor as he staggered forward, eyes locked in the direction Hart could have gone.