The Unfortunate Master Of The Apocalypse

Chapter 6: Copy System Activated

Ethan lay face-up under a starless sky, the streetlight above him flickering, then holding steady. His mind was foggy. He couldn't move his body. It felt like he had been in a worse fight than he remembered. Then recent events came flooding in. The attack and Priya taken. He didn't know if she was still alive. She was probably dead. The ghoul might have taken her to their territory. There was no coming back alive from that. He also knew he wouldn't make it. He closed his eyes. He wondered what it felt like to be dead. Some said it was eternal darkness. He wondered if it was like the darkness behind his eyelids. He hoped so because it would be easier to transcend from one darkness to the other.

The darkness was interrupted by ethereal blue letters rearranging themselves into words. He thought it looked beautiful. Then he remembered. He had seen something like it before, earlier that evening. It had said something about meeting a condition. Activating a copy system. Wait, a copy system? Like his copy talent? That drew his curiosity. He opened his eyes. The words were still there, overlaying his vision like augmented reality.

[Internal Trauma Detected.]

[Stabilizing Fatal Injury.]

[Overriding Locked Passive Skills.]

[Regeneration Partially Activated]

[Poison Resistance Activated]

Something moved through him, like a hand pressing a wound shut from the inside. He could feel the broken edges of his bones glue back. The pain in his head started to fade. His memory started to clear. Then he felt something in his veins, moving outward through his right arm. He raised his hand to the streetlight. A black liquid was coming out of the spot the ghoul had bitten. It wasn't blood. He knew that. He wasn't bleeding anymore. It was viscous and cohesive, like mercury. His mind went to the text on his vision. The thing was healing him. The black liquid was the poison from the ghoul. If he still had it, he would have less than twelve hours before he turned. The thought of being a ghoul turned his stomach.

When he couldn't feel the movement in his veins anymore, he brought his hands up again. The last of the black liquid was evaporating into the air. The words appeared in his vision again. Multiple texts, one after the other.

[Fatal Injuries Stabilized]

[Welcome To The Copy System (The Engine That Powers Your Copy Talent)]

[Please Wait. Home Screen Loading…]

Ethan stared at the words. Even though everything was explained, it was still strange.

[Rank: Novice (Your Current Rank)

Ghoul Kills: 1 / 5 (Number Of Ghouls Killed)

Active Slots: 1 / 2 (Total Talent That Can Be Copied)

Active Skills (For Combat)

1. Weapon Mastery

2. Empty]

This was the only thing that made sense. Weapon Mastery belonged to Priya. He had copied it just before she was--. His chest twisted at the thought.

[Passive Skills (For Productivity)

Enhanced Senses: Locked (Improves sight, hearing, smell, and other senses.)

Regeneration: Locked (Gradually Heals Injuries.)

Poison Resistance: Locked (Neutralizes The Effects of Ghoul Toxins.)

Survival Instinct: Locked (Improves Instinct For Finding Food, Water, Shelter, And Safe Routes.)

Tracking: Locked (Improves Ability To Follow Traces.)

Stealth Movement: Locked (Reduces The Sound And Visibility Of Your movements.)

Situational Awareness: Locked (Improved Ability To Process Surroundings More Effectively.)

Next Rank: Amateur (5 Ghoul kills required)

Note: To Unlock Passive Skills You Must Locate Users With The Skills And Copy It.]

Ethan closed his eyes. He couldn't make good of it then. What good could it do now? Why did the strange power activate now, when the world had already decided what he was worth? If he had had this from the beginning, things could have been different.

But it wasn't too late to start correcting his past. He had let them decide. He had stood there and let it happen. He had told himself after, every time, that it didn't matter. That revenge wasn't the point.

No more.

The world wouldn't look down on him anymore. This system had given him a second chance.

He got to his feet. The street tilted once, then steadied. He found that even healed, his external injuries were still there. The open wounds he had sustained were still present. The pain was mild in those spots. The bleeding had stopped. The only wound closed was the bite mark from the ghoul. His mind went back to what the System had said about stabilizing fatal injuries and partial regeneration. It had saved his life. It hadn't healed him completely. He tested the collarbone, the ribs and arms and everything was okay. At least.

He was thirsty enough that his skull ached with it. Hungry in a way that had stopped being a feeling and started being a fact about his body he would have to deal with soon. None of the wounds were going to close the rest of the way without help he didn't have.

He needed medical supplies and he needed food. He started walking, steadying himself with every step.

That was when the bite on his forearm started to burn. Not the dull ache it had settled into. Something sharper. A heat radiating from the mark. He pressed his other hand against it without thinking. The heat didn't ease. If anything, it sharpened. He heard footsteps in the opposite direction. He turned, slow, without deciding to. Just down the street, half-swallowed by shadow between two buildings, something stood there. Watching.