Apocalyptic System: Raka's Revival

Bloody Tutorial

The neon blue light from the System interface flickered amidst the raindrops, illuminating Raka’s face, which was smeared with thick blood. The blue hue reflected in the metallic-smelling puddles beneath his feet, creating a bizarre contrast with the stifling darkness of the alley. Raka took a deep breath, feeling his lungs burn as if scorched by the cold air and the foul stench of corpses.

"One hour? Ten lives?" Raka muttered, his voice hoarse, swallowed by the rumble of thunder. "You’re joking, right? I can barely even stand!"

[Warning: 59 minutes 45 seconds remaining.]

[If the mission fails, the Player's life will be immediately revoked.]

"Damn it!" Raka cursed. He gripped the rusty iron bar in his hand until his knuckles turned white. "So this is really a game? My life is just numbers on a screen now?"

A zombie with a jaw hanging askew crawled out of the darkness. The creature let out a groan, a low sound that vibrated against Raka’s eardrums. Behind it, four more figures followed, walking with a horrifying, shuffling gait.

"Come on then, move!" Raka screamed, trying to shake off the fear creeping up the back of his neck. "I have nothing left to lose! My job is gone! My pride is gone! You won’t take my life too!"

Raka lunged forward. His broken leg still throbbed with pain, but every time he moved, the heat from the Adrenaline Rush status seemed to cement his cracked bones. He slammed the end of the iron bar into the temple of the nearest zombie.

Crack!

The skull shattered like a dry eggshell. Black fluid sprayed across Raka’s face.

[Target neutralized.]

[Gained 10 EXP.]

[Passive Effect: Basic Recovery activated.]

[HP: 5/100 (+4 HP from kill).]

Raka winced. The stinging pain in his shoulder wound suddenly eased, replaced by a warm sensation spreading slowly through him. His eyes widened as he stared at the screen in the corner of his vision.

"Wait... what was that?" he asked the empty air. "My HP increased? I feel... stronger?"

[Correct. Every kill provides a small recovery to the Player's vitality.]

[Suggestion: Continue attacking to maintain a stable heart rate.]

"Continue attacking?" Raka laughed bitterly, though his hands were still shaking violently. "You want me to be a killing machine? Is that what you want, huh?"

Two zombies lunged at him simultaneously from the side. Raka rolled across the wet asphalt, ignoring the stabbing pain in his knees. He thrust his iron bar into the neck of one zombie, then kicked the chest of the other, sending it flying into a pile of metal trash cans.

"Two!" Raka shouted. "Three!"

Every time his iron pierced that rotten flesh, Raka felt something shift inside him. The sense of inferiority that had crushed him for years the image of the boss who insulted him, the condescending looks from his neighbors everything seemed to shatter along with those zombies' heads. In this collapsing world, he was no longer Raka the unemployed loser. He was a survivor.

"Come on, who’s next?" Raka panted, his chest heaving rapidly. "Is this all you’ve got? I haven't even broken a sweat!"

However, the human body has its limits. After killing the fifth zombie, Raka fell to his knees. An overwhelming exhaustion hit him like a sledgehammer. The iron bar in his hand felt like it weighed a ton.

"It hurts... damn it, it hurts so much," he whispered. He looked down at his legs. His jeans were completely torn, revealing skin that was bruised blue and swollen. The adrenaline began to fade, and the reality of the pain returned to collect its debt.

[Time remaining: 45 minutes.]

[Kill count: 5/10.]

"I can't... my legs..." Raka crawled backward as three new zombies emerged from the shadows of the buildings.

"Why are you just sitting there?" Raka screamed at the blue screen still floating calmly. "Give me something! A skill, power, anything!"

[Access denied. The 'Predator's Eye' skill will only be granted after the mission is completed.]

[Warning: Hesitation is death.]

"Hesitation is death?" Raka repeated the sentence with a cynical tone. "Easy for you to say! You’re just lines of code, while I... I’m bleeding!"

One of the zombies, a woman in torn office attire, leaped toward him. Raka didn't have time to dodge. The creature's sharp nails tore into his left arm.

"Aaaarrgh!" Raka shrieked. The sting was real. The stench was real.

[HP: 2/100. Critical Warning!]

"No... not again," Raka muttered, his eyes suddenly turning ice-cold. "I will not die here. Not by you, you disgusting creatures!"

With the last of his strength, Raka grabbed the female zombie's neck, twisting it with full force until the sound of a snapping spine echoed. He didn't stop there. He used the zombie's corpse as a shield as the other two approached.

"Die! Die!"

Raka stabbed, slammed, and kicked relentlessly. He moved like a man possessed. He no longer cared about the pain in his legs. In his head, there was only one command: Kill or be Killed.

Fifteen minutes passed in a bloody chaos.

The rain now fell harder, as if trying to wash away the sins that had just occurred in that narrow alley. Raka stood in the middle of a pile of motionless corpses. His shirt, originally gray, had turned a deep blackish-red. He leaned against a concrete wall, his breath sounding like a broken engine.

[Target neutralized.]

[Kill count: 10/10.]

[Bloody Tutorial Mission: Completed.]

[Reward Received: Active Skill 'Predator's Eye' (Level 1).]

[Restoring 50% HP and 50% Stamina as a completion bonus.]

A golden light, brighter than before, enveloped Raka. This time, the sensation wasn't just warm; it was like an electric current repairing every cell in his body. His broken leg bone made a small crack as it returned to its original position. The open wounds on his arms closed, leaving thin scars that faded quickly.

Raka stood tall. He straightened his back, feeling a new power flowing through his veins. He looked at his own hands, then stared at the System screen with a different gaze.

"Predator's Eye?" Raka whispered. "Show me."

Ziiing.

The world before Raka’s eyes suddenly changed. Everything became monochrome, except for pulsing red dots of light behind building walls and in the distance of the highway. Those dots were heartbeats, the remnants of life or the energy driving the zombies. He could see their weak points: a small glowing circle at the nape of the neck and the forehead.

"Incredible," he muttered, a thin, bloodthirsty smile curling on his lips. "Now I can see all of you."

However, his satisfaction was cut short when he heard a loud explosion from the direction of the main road. The ground he stood on shook violently. A roar far larger, heavier, and more primal than any zombie he had ever encountered shook the night air.

Raka turned toward the mouth of the alley. There, under a flickering streetlight, he saw a giant shadow nearly touching the second floor of the building. The creature didn't shuffle; it ran on four legs, crushing the cars in its path as if they were plastic toys.

"Is that part of the tutorial too?" Raka asked, his voice no longer trembling with fear, but with challenge.

[Warning: Anomaly detected.]

[Stage 1 Evolution begins in your sector.]

[New Mission: Escape the Red Zone or Survive for 10 minutes.]

Raka gripped his rusty iron bar, which now looked far too small to face this new threat. He knew that what he had faced before was just the opening act. The real hell had just begun, and he had just received his entry ticket.

"Ten minutes?" Raka wiped the blood off his cheek, his eyes flashing red under the influence of his new skill. "I was just starting to get comfortable with this power. Let's see how fast you can catch me, monster."

In the distance, the giant creature stopped right in front of the alleyway, its massive head sniffing the air, searching for the most interesting scent of prey in the city. The creature's eye

s met Raka's, and an ear-splitting roar exploded, marking the start of a new chapter in Raka Pratama's struggle for life.