CHAPTER EIGHT

A bittersweet freedom... Wait, what is it now?!

~

~ Name: Twig ~

Title: Dying

Class: Stubborn [lv4]

HP

[2⇨ 1]

MANA

[3⇨ -4]

ATK

[0⇨ -3]

INT

[4⇨ 3]

DEF

[3⇨ -12]

SPD

[0⇨ -1]

Guess what, even if you train your power on your own

I can undo every skill that you’re able to hone

All I have to do is add a negative sign there

And make up for any strength you have without a care

The world was blurred and spinning but he kept swinging his fist

Even after he lost his left hand above the wrist

The stingers and their venom came at him from all around

But no matter how it hurt, he wouldn’t touch the ground

He had no words of hatred for the god who he ignored

The messages had even stopped, perhaps he’d just grown bored

His stats just silently descended, even past zero

And their true effect on his strength soon began to show

Stats were like a multiplier of a person’s skill

Buffing them accordance with their deities’ will

But now his strength was multiplied by negative numbers

It took most of his strength to move his remaining fingers

But still as monster stingers pierced his feeble, weakened frame

He’d reach out and kill one more insect as another came

He must have killed a hundred by the time the world went black

Even after he went numb they kept up their attack

~ Name: Twig ~

Title: Dying

Class: Stubborn [lv4⇨ 5]

HP

[1⇨ -1]

MANA

[-4⇨ -5]

ATK

[-3⇨ -4]

INT

[3⇨ 2]

DEF

[-12⇨ -13]

SPD

[-1⇨ -2]

It looks like this is where you story ends you stubborn boy

I always knew this was a moment that I would enjoy

If it’s any consolation, this is for the best

In the end, you only would have failed the final test

Finally his bloody knee made contact with the earth

And the last thing he could think of was what strength was worth

If only he’d survived to push his limits a bit more

Then he might achieve the dream he’d long been fighting for

As it was he’d die right there alone but full of pride

Somehow he felt pity for the god who he defied

“Looks like I’m at least a little stronger than you thought

Look at all I did despite the awful stats I’ve got”

He’d heard of many heroes who had died in many ways

And many who were injured in the act of saving days

The portals that appeared weren’t always easy to defeat

But people always pulled together till their foe was beat

He thought of many things as he felt his blood drain away

If his mother had been there, he wondered what she’d say

Would he brag of all he’d done despite his unkind god

And ask if his futile efforts were something to applaud

He lay down as if he were sleeping, smiling and relaxed

He felt like a great hero with great stats and levels maxed

A light shone in the the darkness as he drifted off to sleep

Contented that the seeds he’d sown were his alone to reap

Achievement: Now’s Our Chance

Can you reach him? Almost, just a little more and... there!

Can the System reach him? No, the System wouldn’t dare

Can you hear us, child? We have been waiting for this day

We don’t have much time, so listen well to what we say

~