Time Remaining: 11 seconds.
Aiden's fingers trembled as the three choices hovered in front of him.
10 years of lifespan.
His right arm.
A core memory.
His breath hitched. His ribs screamed every time he inhaled.
The Ghoul Wolf snarled and stepped closer, claws scraping stone. The sound shot straight through Aiden's spine.
Time Remaining: 8 seconds.
His vision blurred.
Ten years meant dying early.
An arm meant he couldn't fight or climb.
A core memory… what even counted as core?
His mother's face flashed in his mind.
Her last words.
"Aiden… don't give up."
He gulped, chest tightening. Losing that would break him… wouldn't it?
A new notification snapped in front of him:
---
Warning:
The monster will pounce at 5 seconds remaining.
---
Aiden's pulse spiked.
Time Remaining: 6 seconds.
The wolf crouched.
Aiden's heart hammered. He couldn't die here. Not humiliated. Not powerless. Not like this.
He inhaled sharply.
"Damn it—!"
His hand slammed the third option.
---
You have chosen:
Sacrifice a Core Memory
---
A tearing sensation ripped through his skull.
Aiden screamed, clutching his head as a piece of his mind was yanked out like someone ripping open old scars.
Something faded—something warm—something that once kept him alive on the worst nights—
But it was gone before he could even grasp what it was.
Aiden gasped. "What… what did I just lose?"
There was no answer.
Only a cold message:
---
Memory Sacrifice Complete
Penalty Delivered.
System Performing Emergency Override…
---
His body jerked. His vision flashed white.
---
Skill Unlocked:
[Adrenal Surge — Lv. 0]
Temporarily boosts reaction speed and physical strength. Duration: 4 seconds.
---
Aiden's eyes widened.
Four seconds.
Not enough to win.
But maybe enough to live.
The Ghoul Wolf pounced.
Aiden didn't think.
He triggered the skill.
---
Adrenal Surge Activated
---
His body snapped awake like a lightning strike hit him.
Breath sharpened.
Pain vanished.
Instinct took over.
Aiden threw himself sideways, rolling across the rough stone as the monster slammed into where he'd just been.
The impact cracked the floor.
Aiden scrambled up, back pressed to the cavern wall. "Come on… come on…!"
The Ghoul Wolf whirled around, growling, eyes locked on his throat.
Aiden sprinted.
He didn't feel fast—he felt desperate.
He dodged another swipe, then another.
The wolf's claws grazed his chest, tearing his shirt open and carving a shallow cut across his skin.
Blood spattered the ground.
The skill timer hit 0.
Aiden's body instantly collapsed.
His muscles burned. His lungs seized. His strength vanished like it had never been there.
"No—no, no—!"
The wolf leapt again.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't even lift an arm.
And the system didn't bother sugarcoating it:
---
You Will Die in 3 Seconds
---
Aiden's eyes widened in raw panic.
Then—
A new prompt flashed red.
---
Emergency Second Quest Unlocked
QUEST: "CLING TO LIFE"
Difficulty: Extreme
Reward: New Stat Type Unlocked
Failure: Immediate death
Objective:
Use your environment to avoid the fatal strike.
Hint:
Look left.
---
Aiden's head snapped left.
A narrow crevice.
Barely wide enough for a body to slip through.
But only if he dove now.
The wolf lunged—
Claws out—
Fangs wide—
Aiden threw his entire weight toward the crack in the wall.
Stone scraped his skin raw as he forced himself inside, ribs screaming, shoulders nearly dislocating—
The Ghoul Wolf slammed into the wall behind him with a thunderous roar.
Dust rained from above.
Aiden gasped, half inside the crack, half outside, heart slamming against his chest so hard it hurt.
The wolf clawed at the crevice, snarling, too large to reach him—but furious enough to try to bash the entire cave open.
Aiden sucked in air, shaking, dizzy.
His system chimed.
---
Quest Complete
Unlocking Reward…
---
A new window opened.
---
New Stat Type Unlocked:
[Tenacity] — The stat of refusal.
The harder you cling to life, the stronger it grows.
---
Aiden blinked. "A… new stat?"
No one had Tenacity.
No one even talked about a stat like that.
His heart trembled.
Maybe he really could change his life.
Then—
The ground under the Ghoul Wolf cracked violently.
A deeper roar echoed from the abyss below.
Aiden froze.
Something else was down there.
Something bigger.
A new red alert exploded onto the screen.
---
Danger:
A Tier-B Monster is rising from beneath the cavern.
---
A shadow climbed up.
Large.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Aiden's blood turned cold.
The Ghoul Wolf fled instantly—
But it was too late.
A massive scaled hand shot upward, grabbed the wolf mid-run, and pulled it into the darkness with a bone-crunching snap.
Something enormous growled below the crack.
Aiden's entire body turned numb.
Then the system delivered the final blow:
---
Forced Quest 3: "Don't Blink"
Initiating in 10 seconds.
---
Aiden's jaw dropped.
Another quest.
A stronger monster.
And he was stuck in a stone crevice with nowhere left to run.
The ground shook.
The deeper monster started climbing.
Aiden inhaled sharply—
10… 9… 8…