~Laurent
I woke with a gasp—air tearing into my lungs like I had been drowning for centuries. My eyes darted around. White walls. A ceiling fan that clicked faintly as it spun. Curtains drawn halfway across a window where sunlight streamed in too warm, too gentle, too alive.
My trembling hands flew to my chest, then my arms, then my legs. My body was whole. No bones shattered, no blood dripping. My ribs—weren't they broken? My skin—wasn't it flayed? I flexed my fingers, watching them curl and uncurl in disbelief.
"I… I'm alive?" My own whisper startled me.
The door creaked open. Several men in crisp uniforms entered, their footsteps measured, their expressions tight but relieved. Administrative staff from the Academy.
"Laurent," one of them exhaled. "Thank goodness you're awake."
I sat up weakly, voice rasping. "What happened? Where am I?"
"You're in a hospital." He replied.
"What about the monsters? Did you kill them? Do you know where they came from?" I asked.
The man at the front—stern face, streaks of gray in his hair—shifted uneasily. "We don't fully know yet. The forest chosen for your field trip was inspected personally by the director and a team of hunters. They swore it was clear of any high-ranked beasts. How creatures like the ones that attacked you managed to appear… it's still a mystery to us."
I stared at my hands again, remembering the screams, the blood, the shadows of claws behind us.
"My classmates…" I croaked. "Are they… okay?"
"Some of them survived. They met the rescue party on their way out, and we brought them to safety. Others…" He paused, jaw tight. "…others went into the cave you all were fleeing from. They said there was nothing inside. No traps. No corpses. Nothing that your colleagues claimed was in there, all we found was you. You were found inside a well. Barely alive. It's a miracle you're even breathing now."
I gasped, remembering someone I should not have forgotten. "What about Ciela? Is she okay?"
For the first time, the man's expression softened. "Ciela. Yes. She was the one who told us you were still inside. Without her, we might never have gone back for you. She's alive, but…" He exhaled slowly. "She's shaken. Deeply. She won't be resuming classes anytime soon. Neither will most of your classmates."
Relief washed over me, followed immediately by guilt. She had risked herself for me, again and again.
"And me? When can I leave? I feel fine now."
"You have to stay here for at least a week. The hospital can't discharge you yet. But whenever they can, you'll be able to resume classes."
And with that, they left, closing the door gently behind them.
I saw a flicker just above my head when they left.
At first, I thought it was just the sunlight catching my eyes but then glowing shapes bled into the air before me—letters, crisp and sharp, suspended in front of my bed.
[Status Menu]
I froze. My breath caught. "What… what is this?"
I reached out instinctively, and my hand passed through it. The screen rippled like water but held its form. Rows unfolded in neat columns, alien and clean:
• Strength: 0
• Agility: 0
• Endurance: 0
• Perception: 0
• Intelligence: 0
Each line pulsed faintly, as though alive. Beneath it, a smaller box blinked:
[Daily Task Generated]
Perform: 50 Push-ups
Reward: +1 Strength
Failure: Penalty – Pain
I blinked. My mouth went dry. "Push-ups? Are you kidding me? There's no way I'm exercising after that near death experience I had."
I sagged back into the bed. My body still felt like glass held together with string.
I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. For a few hours, I slept peacefully. My body finally getting the rest it hadn't gotten in a while but then I was jolted awake by pain.
It began as a throb in my chest, dull but insistent, like someone pressing a thumb into a bruise. Then it spread. Muscles locked, bones ached, nerves screamed. I arched off the bed, clenching my teeth to stop from crying out. The agony climbed like fire through my veins, relentless, searing. My skull felt like it was cracking from the inside.
I tried to claw at the sheets, at my skin, at anything—but the pain was everywhere.
For one endless hour, I writhed in silent torment, sweat soaking the sheets. My throat was raw from holding back screams.
And then, just as suddenly, it stopped.
I collapsed, gasping, trembling like a leaf.
The task blinked again.
[Daily Task Generated]
Perform: 50 Push-ups
Reward: +1 Strength
Failure: Penalty – Pain
"…you have got to be kidding me," I rasped but obeyed.
I slid off the bed, knees weak, arms shaking. I collapsed after five. The push-ups were clumsy, pathetic. My arms screamed. My breath tore ragged from my lungs. But the memory of that pain drove me forward.
Six. Seven. Eight. Collapse.
Fifteen minutes later, I crawled back into position.
Ten more. Collapse.
The task didn't disappear until my chest hit the floor for the fiftieth time. My arms gave out completely, but in its place came a soft chime.
[Task Completed]
Strength: +1
I blinked at the glowing numbers. Strength: 1
I climbed on to my bed and stared at the menu showing just before my eyes. What the hell was this?
The next day, another task showed up the way the last one did, with the same punishment attached for failure. Sit-ups. Hurdles. Then sprints—though I could only shuffle down the hallway under the nurse's suspicious gaze. Sparring drills—pathetic flailing at an empty corner of the room until my arms remembered movement.
Every failure brought pain. Agony so sharp that I learned to move no matter how broken I felt.
Every completion brought reward. The numbers ticked higher. I still had no clue what those numbers were actually doing but in order to avoid pain, I followed through with all the tasks.
By the seventh day, I stared at the screen with a strange mix of fear and awe:
• Strength: 8
• Agility: 6
• Endurance: 7
• Perception: 6
• Intelligence: 6
The numbers had increased a lot since I woke up and the daily tasks felt a lot easier for me now. I could now do more than fifty push ups without difficulty, jogging for miles was no longer a struggle and sit ups became a breeze.
When they discharged me, my legs didn't feel like twigs anymore and my arms weren't as flabby anymore.
The next morning, I stood in the Academy cafeteria, tray in hand. The murmur of voices fell as I walked past. Dozens of eyes clung to me, whispers trailing behind. I just ignored them though. I kept my eyes down, clutching the tray, searching desperately for somewhere—anywhere—to sit.
And then I saw her, by a table sitting by herself.
Ciela.