MMORPG: Surviving a Death Game with a Glitched System

Pain.

Unabated, unadulterated pain.

Ash had only just begun falling when the sensation overwhelmed him.

"Argh!"

Pushing through it with the help of [Focus], Ash managed to guide the tip of his pike into the neck of a Marauder, killing it before he even reached the ground.

[You have slain a Marauder]

[+11 EXP]

The sudden pain had thrown off his execution, preventing Ash from immediately following up against the others.

"Shit!"

Thankfully, [Dragon Fear] seemed to have worked. The panthers had slowed considerably and now appeared hesitant.

Ripping the pike from the disappearing carcass, Ash jammed it into the throat of another Marauder as it lunged at him.

[You have slain a Marauder]

[+11 EXP]

It was another instakill, but that was where Ash’s luck ran out.

Having kept the hunter in the corner of his eye, he noticed the creature’s fingers twitch.

Acting on pure instinct, Ash swiveled his torso to the side.

"Ow! Fuck!"

The black arrow landed cleanly in his shoulder.

A moment later, the last Marauder tackled Ash, slamming him into the tree before attempting to bite his neck.

But before it could, Ash gripped its neck with his clawed hands and squeezed.

Tighter and tighter, racing against the final second of [Focus].

’Screw you!’

Finally, a glorious spray of blood covered him.

[You have slain a Marauder]

[+11 EXP]

The next moment a black arrow struck him square in the chest.

The glitch had reactivated just in time to prevent his untimely demise.

Out of breath, Ash collapsed against the tree and looked down at the arrow embedded in his tunic that was meant to kill him.

"Ugh..."

Ash panted heavily as the two arrows inside him vanished into nothingness.

’Since when was I this careless?’

Mentally, Ash had prepared. He’d run through every possible scenario in his head.

The goal was to assassinate all three Marauders during a single use of [Focus] while using its enhanced perception to dodge any direct attacks from the hunter.

Even if he couldn’t dodge entirely, Ash was prepared to tank a hit.

To that end, his plan had worked perfectly...

’It hurts, damn it.’

But it would have gone far more smoothly if not for his immediate oversight...

At the same moment he’d cast [Focus], part of his heel and tail had clipped into the tree.

Sitting on his tunic, Ash lifted his right foot and looked at the gaping hole.

’Valuable... knowledge.’

He’d been wary of the possibility, but not wary enough.

Maybe he would have been more careful if he had known it was possible, but he hadn’t. And he’d paid the terrible price of ignorance.

The flesh that had been inside the tree as he fell had been cut out of him like dough beneath a cookie cutter.

"Eurgh..."

Grimacing, Ash focused on the injury to his tail.

’Why does that one... hurt so bad?’

The injury to his tail hurt even worse than the one on his heel.

Though, to some extent, there was an underlying logic.

After all, the black scales on his body were mostly hidden, only emerging when he received damage. However, there were certain areas they always covered: his neck, feet and ankles, and his tail...

’How negligent of me.’

Still panting heavily, Ash lifted his gaze.

He stared at the terrifying hunter, which stared back at him while tilting its head slightly.

♫Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm hmmm...♫

The beast lowered its bow and began humming again as it paced leisurely around him.

The situation was dire, and Ash was in immense pain — more than he’d ever experienced in his entire life.

Yet, right then, he had an out.

He could retreat back to the Totem. If he didn’t passively heal, he could have Éloi use [Mend] on him. As long as he didn’t use [Focus] again, Ash felt that he could make it.

’But...’

Would he really retreat?

Lose to this bastard so pitifully?

’Hell no.’

Failure was not an option for Ash... It was never an option.

Besides...

"This is so much fucking fun!"

Ash let out a pained laugh as he watched the hunter disappear from view, having circled behind the tree trunk he rested against.

"When was the last time I was pushed this hard..."

Ash may have seemed insane, but he was anything but.

After all, to him, everything he’d done on Earth had been life or death inside his mind. The only difference now was the literality of the statement.

Eventually, the hunter reappeared on the other side of him, still slowly pacing in circles.

’I could also wait... to passively heal.’

But that wasn’t going to satisfy Ash.

He wouldn’t win in such a boring fashion.

In fact...

[You have unequipped [Starter Pike]]

The silver pike lying next to him began to disappear. He waited for it to be entirely gone so it didn’t self-destruct into nothingness like the mace.

Then, a crude wooden stick grew from his left palm. It continued to grow until its tips curved first inward, then outward. A thick string stretched taut between the ends.

[You have equipped [Starter Bow]]

In his right hand, five arrows slowly materialized.

’I haven’t been so pumped... in a long time.’

’I’d forgotten what this felt like.’

With a grimace, Ash staggered to his feet, balancing on his left heel.

Slowly, he hobbled forward until he stood out in the open, then threw down four of the arrows, planting them in the ground and leaving only one in his hand.

As he looked down, he noticed the hole in the middle of his tunic from the second arrow, which he’d barely avoided.

A reminder of his own inadequacy. The same inadequacy he remained on a permanent quest to crush.

Raising the bow, Ash took aim at the tree he’d just walked away from.

’As I thought...’

He’d tried it in the tutorial and failed, but there was no reason not to test it again after assimilation.

Once again, no force was exerted on the arrow when he tried to fire.

Turning to the creature still circling him, Ash pointed his bow and arrow.

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