The phone lay upside down. The camera faced the ceiling, showing cracked concrete.
Exposed rebar, dust drifting slowly down.
The viewers couldn't see Daryl anymore. They could only hear him. The noise of wet breaths. Broken sounds.
Something between crying and choking. The chat exploded.
[WHAT HAPPENED??]
[TURN THE CAMERA]
[IS HE ALIVE??]
[CALL THE POLICE]
[SOMEONE CALL EMERGENCY SERVICES]
The audio shook. A deep vibration echoed through the mic.
Heavy, slow footsteps. Each one sent a dull tremor through the phone as the ceiling frame rattled.
Then-
A massive foot entered the frame. Covered in dark fur, cracked concrete dust falling off it. The sole pressed down right onto the phone and the screen shattered completely.
The stream went black.
---
Daryl couldn't scream. The iron rod pinned him to the floor. Every breath felt like knives in his lungs as blood kept pouring out.
His leg was gone, crushed by the boulder resting on it like a final judgment. He felt pressure, then pain, and then nothing.
The creature stood over him. Its shadow covered his entire body. It leaned down. Its eyes met his, crimson and cold.
Evaluating.
The creature reached down. Its massive hands wrapped around the boulder and lifted it.
Daryl's body arched. Pain exploded through his nerves. His mouth opened wide, but no sound came out.
Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.
"…Mom," he thought.
"…Dad."
Images flashed through his mind. The time his mother called him, telling him to eat properly. His father's angry voice. The apartment. The rent. The stream. His stupid dream of making it.
"…I really wasted it," he thought.
The boulder was raised above his head, blocking what little light remained. The creature's grip tightened. It was about to swing.
Just then-
The world stopped.
Everything stopped. The dust froze midair. The creature froze mid-motion. Even the pain paused.
And there was silence.
Then-
A translucent blue window appeared in front of Daryl's eyes.
---
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Congratulations.
You have met the minimum conditions.
Supernatural Hunting System - Qualification Confirmed.
Would you like to accept?
---
Daryl stared.
"…Hah," he thought weakly.
"Figures."
His vision blurred.
"This is it, huh?"
A hallucination at the end.
At that moment, he closed his eyes and had the most nostalgic dream.
---
In the dream, Daryl was asleep at his desk. His head rested on his arms. He felt the classroom was loud. Someone laughed. Then someone else.
A shadow fell over him.
"Daryl."
He flinched awake as the entire room burst into laughter. His classmates pointed. Some covered their mouths. Others didn't bother.
The teacher stood beside his desk. A woman in her thirties. Strict glasses and a flat expression.
"Young man," she said.
"If you keep sleeping in class and ignoring your studies, you will never amount to anything in life."
The words were harsh, even more than the laughter, but Daryl said nothing.
He just stared at his desk.
A while later, the school bell rang. The hallway filled with noise.
Sounds of footsteps and doors closing. Daryl left with the others, then he stopped.
His bag. He had left it behind.
The school grew quiet as he walked back.
It was quiet. The classroom door was still open. He stepped inside.
That was when he saw it.
A skeleton stood by the lockers. It was tall. White, with clean bones. No flesh. No blood.
It was pulling books out one by one, flipping through them, then tossing them aside.
Pages fluttered to the floor.
The skeleton turned its skull toward him. Its eye sockets were empty, but Daryl felt like it was looking at him.
He didn't scream. He didn't run. He just stared in awe.
The skeleton went back to the books. It ignored him completely.
Daryl walked in, picked up his bag, then sat down nearby on the floor as he watched the skeleton read.
Slowly and carefully. Then it shook its head and threw the book away.
It continued like this as time passed.
Daryl didn't know how long, but the sun shifted and evening shadows began to stretch.
Then the door burst open.
"Daryl!"
His teacher rushed in, a security guard following her.
"Why are you still here?" the teacher demanded.
"Your parents called. They've been looking for you."
Daryl looked up and pointed.
"There was a skeleton," he said.
"It was reading."
The teacher froze. The security guard looked around.
There was nothing there. Only a pile of scattered books on the floor.
"…What skeleton?" the teacher asked carefully.
Daryl looked back.
The skeleton was gone. Only the books remained.
His teacher sighed.
The security guard exchanged a look with her.
"Let's get you home," she said.
The scene faded, and darkness closed in.
---
Daryl woke up. The dream lingered.
And somewhere deep inside him-
He had the feeling he was being watched.
A stupid fantasy.
He couldn't move. He couldn't escape.
"…Yeah," he thought mockingly.
"Sure."
Accept.
---
System Integration in Progress…
Initializing Core Modules…
Loading Interface…
---
Something cold spread through his body, and the screen changed.
---
[STATUS PANEL]
Name: Daryl Copper
Age: 22
Height: 183 cm
Occupation: Supernatural Hunter (Unregistered)
---
Aspect: None
Talent: None
Physical: 0
Spirit: 0
Perception: 0
Luck: 0
---
Abilities:
None -
---
Daryl blinked.
"…Everything's zero?" he thought.
Figures.
A new prompt appeared.
---
[Lucky Draw Available]
Would you like to use it now?
---
"…Why not," he thought.
Yes.
A spinning wheel appeared.
Symbols flashed by.
Weapons.
Skills.
Abilities.
It slowed, then stopped.
---
[Result: Redo Ticket]
---
Daryl frowned.
"…Redo?"
---
Would you like to use the Redo Ticket?
---
He hesitated.
"…What do I have to lose?"
Yes.
---
Warning.
All EXP and items acquired prior to the redo point will be forfeited.
Do you wish to proceed?
---
"I don't even know what that means," he thought.
"…But I'm dead anyway."
Confirm.
---
The system went silent.
Everything snapped back into motion.
The boulder crashed down, and there was darkness.
---
Then-
A donation alert rang.
And then came a familiar sound.
¥20,000 DONATION
Daryl gasped. His body jerked upright. His heart pounded. His lungs sucked in air.
He was standing. Alive. His phone was in his hand.
The stream was live. The theater was intact. The chat was scrolling wildly.
The same message appeared from the same anonymous account. The same cursed request.
Before Daryl even realized what was happening-
He slammed the donation block. The alert vanished. The feature shut off.
Silence fell.
Daryl stood frozen as cold sweat soaked his back.
"…No way," he whispered.
His hands shook. His chest hurt, but he was not injured.
Just terrified.
He looked around.
The same place. Same time. Same chat panic.
But the monster wasn't there.
Not yet.
"…I went back," he whispered.
The words sent shivers down his spine.
"…I regressed."
The stream kept going.
And Daryl realized-
This time-
He knew what was coming.