My Atomic System

Chapter 6: Penalty Zone

Sweat.

There was lots of sweat.

    And Haruto sat in it, only concerned by what just happened to him. It all seemed like the world had quickened up for him alone. He was on the brink of madness already.

One trouble after another! Who exactly did I offend?!.

Before it's too late?

Who are they?

After the whole event, he had rushed home in an instant. Clearly frustrated. 

First I died once, then resurrected in a dead body at the brink of death. 

And now, THIS!!

Haruto rested his back, a deep frown etched on his face.

Am I going to die?

Again?

What the frack is all these?

Damn it!.

    But, in a sense, it was good news for him. From when he had met his little sis, he had desperately searched for a way to protect the little girl. But…he was just too weak. He couldn't do anything against those vicious humans who always ate their fill all the time. That was until he visited the cinema one particular day and discovered two new characters. One was super and the other was a spider…they were both addressed as men. Stupid as it seemed, they were very strong. He'd forgotten their names. But he had long since believed that powers beyond human understanding existed. Luckily, the system had come in time to prove his point. And now this?!

Ting!

Haruto suddenly paused. 

That sound…

I've not heard it the whole day.

He quickly glanced at the clock on the wall. It was half past eleven.

“It's half past eleven already?!” 

The screen flickered quickly and materialized in front of him.

[You have failed to complete your daily quests in 24 hours, you will now be transferred to the penalty zone.]

[00:00:05 ]

He stared at the screen blankly.

    Haruto gulped hard, his throat suddenly dry. An unknown fear suddenly attached itself to his heart.

Wait. 

Could the system punish him? 

     He hadn’t even considered that possibility—until now.

[00:00:02]

    His pulse slammed against his ribs. Could someone be sent to kill him? Would he just drop dead? Or—

Crack.

    The sound was sharp, like glass under pressure. Haruto’s breath hitched as a jagged fracture snaked across the wall, glowing faintly.

“No, no, no…” His feet staggered back, but more cracks spread like spiderwebs. The air around him rippled.

Then, everything collapsed.

“What the…” 

Haruto looked around. 

    Everything crumbled, replaced by darkness except of course, the middle of what he suspected to be a hall. There was a spotlight that covered a large amount of space.

There was a figure there.

    He was clad in golden armour and wore a hood that covered his face. A dark aura oozed out of his whole existence. He was just stagnant, as if waiting for something or someone.

There was some text hovering above his head.

[Lord Khai (Legendary) (Weakened)]

Is that some kind of name?

Am I seeing things?

The system appeared in front of Haruto.

[Name: Lord Khai

Class: Undead Knight

Hp: ???

Attack:???

Defense: ???]

Hp? Doesn't that mean health points?

The system can't access it?

And attack and defense?

What did I get myself into?

    Haruto could feel immense pressure similar to what he felt from Nagisa emanating from the figure, only it was many times greater. He was standing so far from the creature and yet his knees lost strength.

Beads of sweat formed on Haruto's forehead.

Crap, what did Nagisa do to me?

    Haruto gritted his teeth as he stared at the figure, he could tell he was dead meat.

Ting!

[ Goal: Survive 50 moves against Lord Khai. You would automatically be teleported out once you complete your task ]

[Pick your weapon from the armoury]

50 moves!!!

Isn't this system broken or something?!

I don't even have any powers!!.

    Haruto gulped hard again. He was sweating profusely.

    After a while, the figure still had not made any moves.

Damn it!!

    Haruto tried his best to calm down so he could access the whole situation.

    First, he looked at the new inventory that materialized in front of him.

    There were a lot of weapons there. Powerful ones, as far as he could tell. But, he knew he had to choose wisely.

    If I'm truly going to fight that thing in the spotlight, then a wrong weapon choice would definitely cost me my life. No doubt I would die for real if I can feel so much pressure coming from that thing.

    Haruto scanned the inventory over and over again. Swallowing gulps of saliva as time passed.

Survive 50 moves against something like this?

    I'd need protection, weapons are out of it since I can't inflict damage or even exchange moves with something whose attack and defense powers are off the chart. 

I'd need either an armour, or a shield.

    Haruto scanned the armoury patiently and soon enough, a fancy armour caught his eye.

He inspected it.

[ Quantum Guard

Defense: 1,000,000,000

Integrity: 1000

Buff: Boosts agility by 500%

Grade: Epic

Description: An old armour once used by the Emperor of Atoms]

“Whatever this is? this seems to be what meets my needs now or more like what would have a chance at sparing my life” 

    Haruto hesitated before selecting the armor. His fingers hovered over the choice for a second too long.

I don’t even know if this will work.

He exhaled sharply. 

“Screw it.”

    The moment he chose to equipp it, purple light spiraled down his body. His skin tingled as if energy coiled around him, but just as quickly as it appeared, the glow vanished.

    Haruto flexed his fingers. Nothing felt different. He patted his chest—no weight, no metal, no sense of protection.

“What the hell?!” he shouted. 

“It’s a scam!”

The inventory vanished, leaving him alone with the armored figure. Haruto swallowed hard.

He gritted his teeth as much as he could.

Slowly, he approached the spotlight.

If I don't go, I'll probably be stuck here forever, I'd rather die now than remain in the darkness.

    Haruto paused for a moment, immediately he got near the spotlight.

According to my guess, it'll move immediately when I enter the spotlight.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

    They should've just let me die in the first place. Now, I have to experience death yet the fourth time.

    Haruto took another deep breath and summoned courage.

He entered the spotlight.

    Immediately, he sensed a great amount of killing intent wash over him. He instantly wanted out of the spotlight.

But, 

“Crap!” Haruto cried out.

    The perimeters had immediately been covered by a barrier.

    A loud voice suddenly resounded through the place. The surrounding air warped with the passing of each word.

“You sure have a lot of balls for coming here”

Haruto rolled his eyes.

‘Like hell I wanted to come here myself, I don't have a death wish.’

    The figure suddenly turned to Haruto and continued.

“Either way, it ends with your death”.

    The knight bent forward and held the tilt of his sword.

Haruto closed his eyes, ready for his inevitable death.

Click!

The knight unsheathed it's weapon midway at Haruto.

Clang!

The sound of clashing metals resounded through the darkness.

Haruto opened one of his eyes.

Hm?

I'm not dead?

Ting!

[ 1 attack survived]

The armour worked!

Haruto smiled in ecstasy.

It seems to have a special effect of not physically materializing, it could work wonders in the real world for me.

But first, I need to get out of here.

“Seems like I have a chance at this beast” 

He chose to inspect his armour status again.

[ Quantum Guard

Defense: 950,000,000

Integrity: 990

Buff: boosts agility 500%

Grade: Epic

Buff: Boosts Agility by 500%

Description: An old armour once used by the Emperor of Atoms

]

Haruto broke a sweat immediately after he saw his stats.

This beast can deal 50 million damage with a full attack. If my calculations are correct, I'd need to dodge 31 of it at minimum and take the full hit of 19 if I'm to barely survive.

Thankfully, my agility is enhanced by the buff, but it still isn't guaranteed I'd live.

    He bent forward into an attack stance and let out a sinister smile.

“You sure have some nerves, human” the figure said.

“I just want to survive,” replied Haruto.

The figure roared, causing the air to warp violently.

“Only the strong survive!!!”

    The figure charged at Haruto and swung it's sword in his direction.

Boom!

    A massive crater appeared where Haruto formerly stood.

[ 2 attacks survived]

The figure paused.

“You dodged it?” 

“Don't underestimate humans” replied Haruto. He quickly distance himself from the figure. In reality, he wondered what would've happened to him if he took the full brunt of the attack without any defense whatsoever.

“Either way, it still ends with your death”.

The figure charged at Haruto again.

    The sound of clashing metals echoed through the endless darkness. Both figures danced elegantly in the spotlight at blinding speeds. Haruto felt like he had truly become a god. But at what cost?. He needed to get out of here. He gritted his teeth and fought with more determination. 

‘I've finally found a way to Lily, I'm not letting it slip off’

Massive craters and large smoke as well as turbulent air appeared all over the place. Haruto was forced to overtask his brain. The fight took place in an ultra fast manner. And never in his life did Haruto think he'll be involved in such a peak fight. Somehow instead of feeling weary of death. His fighting spirit heated up.

Haruto was forced into a passive position with no room to fight back — not that it would've been of any use.

On most occasions he dodged, on the rest, he bore the full brunt of the attack.

[5 attacks survived]

[10 attacks survived]

[23 attacks survived]

[25 attacks survived]

[32 attacks survived]

    For a while, only blinding lights that left two figures moving at lightning speed were visible. And the air was very violent, and it warped from the Knight's every attack.

    Haruto’s chest heaved, lungs burning as he  struggled to suck in air. His entire body felt like it was on fire, sweat drenching his clothes and dripping from his chin. 

    Each movement sent sharp jolts through his limbs—his muscles screamed.

    After a while, the battle paused. The armored figure stood motionless, sword resting at its side, as if bored.

    Haruto clenched his fists, his fingers numb from gripping nothing but survival instinct. His throat was so dry it felt like he had swallowed dust. The ground beneath him trembled slightly, responding to the weight of his exhaustion. His chest heaved, indicating his desperate need for a break.

I can’t stop now.

    He wiped his mouth and forced himself to stand straight, meeting the knight’s gaze.

“Tch…” The knight shook its head.

“You’re still standing?”

Haruto grinned weakly. 

The knight charged again.

[Quantum Guard

Defense: 51,360,455

Integrity: 100

Grade: Epic

Buff: Boosts agility by 500%

Description: An old armour once used by the Emperor of Atoms

 ]

    Haruto tried hard to catch his breath, his throat was very dry and he was highly dehydrated.

    The figure approached Haruto slowly. He dragged his sword on the ground as he approached Haruto.

“Can you see now? You're weak and you can only blame yourself for your death” 

The figure swung its sword at Haruto's head.

Everything seemed to slow down.

No, no, I can't die here.

I have to dodge it, I have to dodge it.

   The armor's defense could only take one attack, the next would be a gamble. So he was left with no choice but to absolutely dodge this to make it fifty. He was pretty sure he'd survive if he did so. Haruto tilted his head sideways with all the energy he had left.

The sword was an inch away from his head.

Arghhhh!!!!!

Swoosh!

I did it!

“You pest!”

Haruto felt something hit him.

He crashed into the barrier with a loud boom.

[ 50 attacks survived ]

[You have obtained a new title]

[ You have unlocked the inventory ]

[Rewards have arrived , do you wish to check them?]

    White light enveloped Haruto instantly and he disappeared from the hall without a trace.

***

    The knight watched White light envelope Haruto and turned its back on him.

“Looks like you've found a gem for yourself” 

His eyes flickered, peeking directly into the dark, as If referring to it.

“well…”

The knight started to fade as much as the space started to crumble.

“...good for you”