A Novel Concept - A death a day, MC will live anyway!

Chapter 202: A Rough Start (Last part)

The wind blew in the right direction, propelling the catamaran toward the Dune of Pilat. With a firm hand on the helm, Priam steered the small sailboat. Beside him, Victoire remained silent, likely mulling over the information shared by the System.

Hidden Quest completed: Get your hands dirty.

You have purged the soul of a corrupted Rank I.

Reward: Intel

The nearest portal to you is atop the Eiffel Tower.

The quest provided not just one piece of intel, but three. Knowing the portal's location now only fueled Priam's determination to reach the airfield. Getting to Paris by any other means was out of the question.

The woman on the beach was a Rank I corrupted. This was either the most powerful or the weakest class of corrupted. Who am I kidding? Priam harbored no illusions: not all his enemies would impale themselves on sharp sticks.

The last clue he discerned was the existence of hidden objectives. Killing a higher-ranked corrupted was sure to offer another reward. Perhaps a starting point for a solution...

"We're almost there," said Victoire.

After an hour of sailing, the sailboat had crossed the bay smoothly and silently. A hundred meters ahead, the water gave way to sand. Just as a smile formed on Priam's face, the wind died. The sailboat halted, and he cursed. Was this a trap by the System? Without wind, oars, or an engine, they could remain stranded here for hours. So close, yet so far to the beach.

"What do we do?" asked Victoire.

"...We wait a bit," he said in a dark voice. He was angry with himself: why hadn't he thought to bring oars?!

Forty minutes later, the two lovers exchanged a glance.

"Damn. We'll swim," Priam sighed. They couldn't afford to wait here for hours. The boat was clearly visible from the beach, and the city behind it likely harbored a bunch of corrupted humans.

"The provisions?" Victoire asked.

Priam tossed a buoy into the sea and placed the bags and rifle on it. The balance was unstable, but the absence of wind and waves worked in their favor. Priam attached a rope to the buoy and wound the other end around his wrist.

"The water doesn't inspire confidence," Victoire whispered.

"Please, don't raise flags..."

The dark water that had welcomed him all his life suddenly seemed foreign.

Taking a deep breath, Priam smiled at Victoire and then dove in. Living by the ocean, he knew how to swim swiftly. It wouldn't take him more than fifteen seconds to reach the shore.

A few meters later, the System rewarded his impeccable front crawl.

You have gained the skill: [Swimming].

[Swimming] - Life evolved in water three billion years ago. Born of this extraordinary fluid, you return to it today. If not with grace, then with passion, at least.

Are you sure it's wise to read this message now?

STR +1

As Priam read the last sentence of the description, he felt something under his hand and hastily pulled back his arm. Too late.

Letting out a cry of pain, he stood up—his foot touched the ground! Looking at his hand, he almost vomited. His left ring finger was gone. A disturbance in the water caught his attention, and Priam felt his stomach knot. Despite the shallow water, he couldn't distinguish his legs.

"Priam?"

Behind him, Victoire was swimming closer. Something touched his right leg, and Priam recoiled, hitting the water with his valid hand.

"Swim!" Priam shouted before running after his girlfriend toward the shore. Water up to his hips, he hoped to scare off the aquatic creature and protect Victoire. A few seconds later, he joined Victoire on the beach, breathless and shocked.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, but... Oh my god! My heart, your hand!" Victoire tore off her T-shirt to fashion a makeshift bandage.

Tired and shocked, Priam pulled weakly on the buoy's rope, retrieving their belongings.

Ten hours later, Priam felt his heart racing. His wound had stopped bleeding. He had found medical gauze in a pharmacy, and Victoire had cleaned it. Yet, he felt unwell. An extreme fatigue dulled his body and numbed his mind.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Deep down, Priam knew he wouldn't last a week. Perhaps not even the day. The wound was strange, almost… corrupted. That's Impossible difficulty for you.

Paradoxically, his condition had given him some perspective on the situation. The world was over. Nothing but an intervention from the System could save him. If he continued to be cautious, he would die—and with him, Victoire. As if I'd accept that.

"This is madness," his girlfriend murmured.

Priam blinked before grabbing the steering wheel to fight off vertigo. They were in the cabin of a delivery truck, atop a steep street. Five hundred meters away and over twenty meters below lay a stone-covered market.

"This is our only chance to catch up. We've worked for hours on this."

Using a ladder, Victoire had taped a phone five meters high. The phone's alarm would sound in a few seconds.

"This has to work," Priam muttered.

Too far to hear the shrill sound, he smiled when the first corrupted gathered at the bottom of the street. Emerging from buildings, narrow alleys, and sewers, the creatures clustered around the sound source. Some leaped to dislodge the phone— in vain. The alarm continued to blare, agitating the creatures.

A few seconds later, Priam's smile widened: a different monster was approaching from an adjacent alley. It towered over its kin in size and bulk, but Priam was sure it wasn't a corrupted rugby player.

It was a monster. His stomach twisted in fear as he beheld the horror half a kilometer away.

"What's that thing?" Victoire murmured, her voice trembling.

Priam's vision had never been impressive, and his contact lenses didn't allow him to see as clearly as his girlfriend.

"A human who chose Hard difficulty, I suppose—a Rank II. Is it different?"

"It has claws. Not long nails, but claws. I’m too far to be sure, but its skeletal structure looks strange."

The Rank I corrupted parted to let the Rank II pass, and Priam squinted. "They have a hierarchy."

"This is bad for us," Victoire murmured. "I hope the difference is physical and not mental."

Priam nodded. The stupid Rank I creatures hadn't even thought to throw something to dislodge the phone. The only advantage Priam and Victoire possessed over them was their intelligence and tools. If the corrupted became smarter, the difficulty would become... Impossible.

Too tired to worry about the future, Priam focused. Once the creature dug its claws into the stone wall, he released the handbrake, ignited a braid of firecracker fuses and jumped out of the truck with Victoire. Gravity pushed the vehicle downward, and it began to hurtle down the slope.

At the same time, the Rank II corrupted began to climb the wall toward the phone.

"Will it work?" Victoire asked, dragging Priam behind a low wall. It wasn't the time to be spotted.

Priam shrugged as he watched the truck gain speed. "We locked the steering wheel with the seat using several padlocks to keep it going straight. The truck is loaded, so it's heavy. It should have built up enough kinetic energy by the slope's end to cause serious damage. If that's not enough, we have one last surprise..."

Victoire didn't reply. Out of the corner of his eye, Priam saw her clasping her hands in prayer. He hesitated before shaking his head. Priam had always had respect for religions, but he wasn't a believer himself. Finding faith a few hours before his death seemed hypocritical. Though it's now or never.

As the truck reached the top of the wall, the Rank II plunged a claw into the phone and flung it to the ground. Satisfied, the monster leaped down. While about twenty Rank I creatures crowded around him, it turned toward the truck hurtling down the slope.

The creature's roar of anger made Priam grimace.

When the truck came within a hundred meters, the Rank Is rushed toward it. The Rank II hesitated.

Priam clenched his fists as the collision approached. The impact between flesh and bumper was brutal. Bits of bone and organs flew in all directions. The Rank II threw itself to the side, dodging the ram.

"Damn."

The next moment, the truck violently struck the stone building, turning several others corrupted into pulp.

Priam counted eight survivors, including the Rank II. Seeing the remains of the motionless truck, they drew closer.

"And boom," Priam smiled.

Maybe he had timed his fuse well, or perhaps the crash had ruptured some of the plastic containers. Either way, the lit fuse eventually touched the gasoline and dish soap mixture. The flammable liquid ignited instantly, increasing pressure in the trailer and causing an explosion.

The siphoning of hundreds of cars had not been in vain. The deflagration of thousands of liters of fuel was terrifying. A mushroom of fire rose into the air as Priam and Victoire winced at the noise.

The corrupted were blown backward, doused in flammable products. Screams rose before quickly subsiding.

Only when the sound of the notification echoed in his head did Priam unclench his fists.

Hidden Quest completed: Rising Star.

You have purged the soul of a corrupted Rank II.

Reward: Talent

[He Who Dreamed of his Death]

[He Who Dreamed of his Death - Unique] - You wake up at the beginning of the Tutorial in a start. You dreamed of an unsuccessful first attempt and a bloody ending. From this dreamlike experience, you only retain memories.

A beautiful death is a useful death.

Notes:

• Activates upon your death.
• Knowing this Talent exists prevents you from receiving it.

Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)

PHYSICAL:

Strength 14

Constitution 13

Agility 13

Vitality 14

Perception 10

MENTAL:

Vivacity 18

Dexterity 11

Memory 17

Willpower 20

Charisma 14

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