And somewhere above the sky, the reward waited— All-Directional Movement, just out of reach.
Sounds useless...
But right now… I guess I only need to stay alive long enough to grab it.
My brain is moving too fast.
No— The world is moving too slow.
Every sound is slowed. Everything is dragged. Even the roar of the monster felt disorted, like it was being played underwater.
For a moment, it felt like I was thinking in the space between seconds.
Normally it's… think then… move then… regret.
But Right now it was think > then > think > then > think then. "oh crap..."
Then suddenly—
Everything snapped back.
My thoughts crashed into real-time right as the beast's massive jaws lunged straight toward me and Ivy.
"MOVE!!" someone screamed.
Yeah. That was definitely Lila.
She came out of nowhere and slammed into both of us with everything she had. We hit the ground hard. Me, Ivy, and her rolling across broken pavement just as the monster's claws shredded the exact ground we've been standing in.
The impact rattled my skull.
Then it roared.
"RAWR…!!!"
The sound went straight through me. Not in the ears. In the bones. Like my skeleton was being screamed at from the inside.
Damn.
I… I actually feel abused.
Beside me, Ivy's voice cracked.
"Vesper…! Where is Vesper, Noona?!"
"Damn… you call her noona now?"
Then she clawed onto my sleeve with both hands, shaking so hard it felt like she might disappear out of existence if she let go.
I forced myself upright, knees wobbling, lungs burning, and grabbed Lila's wrist.
Ivy clung to my chest like a terrified cat.
Then I finally looked around properly.
The parking lot was… completely destroyed.
Cracked asphalt. Smoke everywhere. Chunks of concrete floating in the air like gravity had been partially turned off. And above all of it…
The portal.
Still open.
Still leaking glowing debris that looked like melted stars falling from the sky.
And then I saw her.
Far.
Too far...
Vesper stood alone near the sidewalk, not with us, not behind the cover. She aas Half-kneeling. One hand glowing faint gold and Breathing hard.
"WHAT?!" I screamed. "WHY ARE YOU ALL THE WAY OVER THERE?!!!!!"
She lifted her head slowly. Her expression was strange, caught between irritation and something close to shame.
"I attempted teleportation," she said in that calm Victorian tone, even while clearly struggling to breathe even now.
My brain short-circuited.
"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE US TOO?!"
Her gaze dropped. "I truly tried. However… my mana is insufficient. The spell dragged only myself."
Her fist clenched. The faint golden light flickered and died like a blown-out candle. "I failed to bring thee with me."
Atp... I want to yell...
I want to scream...
I want to demand why the universe hates me...
But then the beast roared again and turned its massive head toward Vesper.
Locking onto her.
Making her completely exposed.
(A/N. AYO! Not that kind, you degenerates. Perv.)
I froze.
Ivy choked on a sob.
Lila whispered like she was losing her grip on reality.
"No… no, no, no… this isn't part of the dream… this isn't…"
I wanna tell her to drop that. BS Dream of her and focus right now... But then the monster took one heavy step toward Vesper.
THUD.
The ground cracked outward like a crack— crack…
Another step.
THUD.
It lowered its body.
And I— I don't even... Know...
I think...
My legs then move before my brain does, I grabbed Ivy tighter to my chest. And lock my other hand around Lila's wrist.
And I ran.
For half a second my dumb instincts tried to send me straight toward Vesper.
Then my survival instincts slapped me and I pivoted hard toward the shattered entrance of the CU store still carrying Ivy as Lila struggled to keep up.
Glass crunched under my feet. Inside, the shelves are collapsed, lights flickering weakly. I then gently set Ivy down behind the counter and looked Lila straight in the eyes.
"Take care of her for a bit," I said, firm, steady, even though my chest was tightening. But at least lila nodded. "O-Okay…" she responded.
As I turned back toward the parking lot, ivy grip my hand. "D-dad! Don't go." Sure... I wanna stay but... Yeah vesper will die.
Then she let out a sob. "Please... You promised that you won't leave me alone."
I crouched and patted her head, "Yes, yes, I'm not gonna leave you alone I will just save vesper, don't you want that?" but before Ivy could respond,a massive impact shook the entire store.
I turned...
I turned toward Vesper.
And saw the beast crouch low, muscles tensing, ready to lunge straight at her.
I gently pushed Ivy's arms off me, and stepped back outside.
Vesper stood yards away, alone, breath shaky.
"I attempted to transport all of us," she called out in that formal tone, "yet my feeble reservoir of mana barely permitted myself."
"Okay!" I yelled. "Just... Don't do anything,"
"Okay" she responded.
But the beast didn't care about our yelling. And it was seconds away from ripping her apart.
Then my eyes caught something on the cracked pavement.
The eggs...
The pack of eggs Ivy was supposed to be holding… lying there, miraculously intact. But then my body moved before I even finished thinking.
I grabbed the carton, grabbed it off the ground, and... "HEY!!!" I shouted and threw the eggs at the beast.
It... It didn't reach the beast. It dropped halfway.
Both Vesper and the beast stared at me... Like they were watching an idiot… and they look like they're laughing from the inside…
I then threw another egg but this time with everything I have. And Thank god. The eggs curve through the air and smash right across the hybrid wolf-dragon's snout.
It froze... Then slowly... very slowly... its head turned toward me. Those eyes. All of those eyes... locked into mine. And I felt it— the full, crushing weight of its aggression shifting toward me.
Then its entire body pivots toward me, claws scraping thru asphalt, now facing me. And... I just know that I'm its target...
I tilted my head up at the sky. To admired it.
And a single tear rolled down on my cheek.
Why... What did I do in my past life to be this unlucky... Was it all the karma that my past body accumulated?
Then, the System appeared, right above my head.
────────────────────────
[Check It?]
────────────────────────
Sure...
────────────────────────
[System Noticed.]
New quest: move!!!
Objective: MOVE!!!
Reward: Tent.
[Are you dumb? Move!]
────────────────────────
"A tent...? What the FUCK..."
I lowered my head and looked at the beast lunging.
Then— reality snapped.
My foot moved without my permission.
And for the first time since the system arrived.
Something inside me clicked.
Not strength nor speed.
It was timing.
The world slowed again.
Not completely.
Just enough. Enough for me to run.
I ran.
——
Wohoo VOLUME ONE ALMOST DONE!!!!