My Origin System

The price of hesitation

Chapter 4

Owen swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.

That roar...

It wasn't the shriek of a zombie or the howl of a wild animal. It was deep enough to shake the air itself, echoing across the city like distant thunder.

His eyes drifted toward the glowing rift hanging in the sky.

A chill crawled up his spine.

Whatever was behind that thing, it was huge.

Owen tightened his grip around the crowbar until his knuckles turned white.

Rifts.

If his memories from all those novels were worth anything, they were gateways. Leave one open long enough, and zombies would become the least of humanity's problems.

The real monsters would start pouring out.

He rubbed a hand down his face, forcing himself to breathe.

Panicking wouldn't help.

Then another thought crossed his mind.

"I killed a zombie..."

Shouldn't he have gotten something for it?

Owen focused on the Origin System.

A translucent blue screen shimmered into existence before his eyes. Lines of text scrolled upward as he mentally skimmed through the notifications until one caught his attention.

---

«Level 3 Zombie Eliminated.

Reward: 1 Stat Point.

Allocate to: Strength, Agility, Stamina, or Endurance.»

---

A grin tugged at the corner of his lips.

"So I was right."

One stat point.

Not much... but it was a start.

His gaze lingered on the notification before another realization struck him.

The system had been talking to him this whole time...

Could it respond if he talked back?

Only one way to find out.

"System," Owen muttered, "show me my stats."

The notification dissolved, replaced by another blue panel.

---

«Strength: 15/50

Agility: 15/50

Stamina: 17/50

Endurance: 35/50»

---

Owen's brows knitted together.

"...Seventeen?"

Yesterday, his stamina had been fifteen.

He hadn't used his stat point yet.

So why had it increased?

"System," he asked, "why is my stamina seventeen?"

The screen flickered for a brief second before new words appeared.

---

«Error.

Upgrade the Origin System to unlock Question & Answer Mode.»

---

Owen let out a slow sigh.

"Figures."

Nothing in life came easy.

The message disappeared, leaving his stats floating quietly before him.

One stat point.

Four different choices.

Owen tapped the crowbar lightly against his leg as he thought.

Strength...

He tightened his grip around the metal handle. The steel groaned softly beneath his fingers.

A higher strength stat probably meant stronger blows... enough force to crush a zombie's skull with fewer swings or lift obstacles that would've been impossible before.

His eyes shifted to Agility.

Dodging.

Reacting.

Moving faster than whatever wanted to rip his head off.

Against slow zombies, strength was useful.

Against something faster...

Speed could mean the difference between life and death.

Then there was Stamina.

His aching muscles reminded him he hadn't slept properly in days.

Every swing of the crowbar burned his arms. Every sprint stole another breath.

Without stamina, it didn't matter how hard he could hit or how fast he could run. Eventually, exhaustion would catch him.

Finally...

Endurance.

Owen glanced down at the bruises already forming along his forearms from blocking zombie attacks.

Pain.

Injuries.

Poison.

Fatigue.

If endurance increased his body's resistance to all of those...

It might be the reason he was still standing after everything that had happened since the previous night.

He exhaled slowly.

No matter how he looked at it, every stat had its own purpose.

Ignoring one for too long...

Could end up getting him killed.

Owen stared at the glowing notification for another moment before dismissing it with a thought.

One stat point.

For now...

He'd let it sit.

There was no telling what lay ahead, and he wasn't about to spend his only point without knowing which stat he'd need most.

Slipping his phone from his pocket, Owen tapped Vivian's number.

The call didn't even ring.

Call Failed.

He tried again.

The same message flashed across the screen.

"...Damn it."

He shoved the phone back into his pocket, tightened his grip on the crowbar, and stepped out of the pharmacy.

The city was still a battlefield.

Gunfire cracked through the air in rapid bursts. Police officers fired from behind overturned patrol cars while civilians screamed and scattered in every direction. Ambulances weaved through the chaos as medics dragged the wounded toward makeshift rescue points.

"Move! This way!"

"We have another survivor!"

People sprinted toward the rescue teams with tears streaming down their faces.

Owen ran the opposite way.

Home.

Every second he wasted was another second his mother and Vivian were alone.

A zombie lurched into his path.

Crunch!

The crowbar caved in its skull.

Another stumbled toward him.

Owen ducked beneath its claws and drove the hooked end into its jaw before ripping it free.

He didn't stop moving.

The zombies weren't what scared him anymore.

As Owen sprinted down the street, his gaze drifted upward.

The rift still hung in the sky.

Its jagged edges pulsed like a living heartbeat, spilling crimson light across the clouds.

Another deafening roar rolled out of it.

The air itself seemed to tremble.

A knot tightened in Owen's stomach.

That thing...

Whatever it was...

It wasn't a zombie.

If the rift stayed open...

The monsters waiting on the other side would soon pour into the city.

No one person could stop something like that.

It would take armies.

People with strength.

People with power.

Owen could only hope someone in the government realized that before it was too late.

The pharmacy wasn't far from the bus stop.

Normally, the ride home took seven minutes.

Walking...

Fifty.

Maybe forty-five if he hurried.

Today...

Even an hour felt impossible.

More zombies poured into the streets with every passing minute.

"Why are there so many of you?"

Owen swung the crowbar again.

Crack.

Another corpse collapsed.

A claw sliced through the air where his face had been a heartbeat earlier.

He twisted away.

Before Owen could regain his balance, another zombie rushed from behind.

He spun and smashed its skull apart.

Blood sprayed across his cheek.

He barely noticed.

Then...

A tiny whimper reached his ears.

Owen froze.

A child?

His head turned instinctively.

That single moment of hesitation...

...was enough.

A zombie lunged.

Owen whipped around and raised the crowbar just in time.

Its decayed fingers clamped around the metal shaft.

"What the—"

He yanked with all his strength.

It didn't let go.

Another zombie charged from his left.

Owen drove his foot into its chest.

The impact threw it backward.

It hit the pavement...

...and climbed right back up.

No sluggish movements.

No stumbling.

It sprinted at him again.

"Wild zombies..."

A sudden burning pain exploded across Owen's back.

"Argh!"

He stumbled forward and tore himself free.

His hand shot behind him.

Wet.

Warm.

Owen slowly brought it in front of his face.

Blood.

His blood.

His heartbeat pounded inside his ears.

"No..."

Behind him stood another zombie.

Fresh blood dripped from its rotten teeth.

It had bitten him.

Something inside Owen snapped.

With a roar of his own, he grabbed a broken plank from the roadside and slammed it into the zombie's head.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

Again.

Wood splintered.

Bone cracked.

Owen didn't stop until its skull was nothing but mangled pulp.

The zombie holding his crowbar abandoned it and charged.

Owen snatched the weapon from the ground.

Crunch.

Its head burst apart beneath the iron hook.

Silence.

A cold raindrop landed on Owen's cheek.

Then another.

Within seconds, rain poured from the darkened sky, washing crimson blood from the streets.

Owen stood there...

Motionless.

Rain soaked through his clothes and ran down his face.

He looked up at the sky.

"AHHHHHHH!"

The scream tore itself from his lungs.

His back still burned.

Every heartbeat sent another wave of agony through his body.

This wasn't a nightmare.

He'd been bitten.

Images flashed through his mind.

His mother.

Vivian.

Their smiles.

Their laughter.

Their faces.

"Is... this really it?"

Was he going to become one of them?

After everything he'd sacrificed...

After everything he'd endured...

Was this where his journey ended?

A tear mixed with the rain rolling down his face.

Owen's fingers suddenly twitched.

A violent spasm shot through his arm.

His knees buckled.

He crashed onto the wet pavement.

Pain exploded throughout his body.

His neck jerked violently.

Crack!

His shoulder twisted with a sickening pop.

Bones shifted beneath his skin.

Owen bit down so hard he tasted blood.

"No..."

His vision blurred.

"I refuse..."

Another spasm ripped through his body.

"I refuse to die here!"

Owen slammed his fists against the pavement and forced himself forward.

Every inch felt like torture.

A nearby trash can became his only lifeline.

He grabbed its side and dragged himself upward.

His knees gave out.

He fell.

Got back up.

Fell again.

Every movement sent another crack through his body.

His thoughts became sluggish.

The voices around him faded.

His sanity...

It was slipping away.

"No..."

Owen clenched his teeth until his jaw ached.

"Mum..."

"Vivian..."

"I promised..."

One final scream ripped from his throat.

Then...

Everything went black.