Henry ran for his life.
He could sense the approach of more of those monstrous doctors and nurses, just steps behind. They were approaching fast. Henry knew he couldn’t outrun them, and the amount of times that he could use his skill was fast approaching the limit. Yet the exit was surrounded by those damn nightmare creatures.
Henry gritted his teeth, he was so close to his destination and the chance to get out of those fucking hellhole. The door to the outside world was so close...
With one final grunt of effort, Henry drew on a force of will he never thought possible, and his image disappeared from view once more. His already depleted MP was ticking down alarmingly quickly, and he had only one potion left to replenish his reserves. He’ll have to save that for the final stretch, once he’s out of the building proper.
It was enough.
He slipped through the guards and bolted towards the door. If the information that he managed to collect over the past 48 hours was correct, then the main entrance doors were never locked. He had suffered through so much to get that information, not to mention the key needed to start his escape, and it was now time to risk his life to see if he was correct.
One final surge of adrenaline and Henry ran straight into the door and into the glorious outdoors.
He had been right! Now it should be smooth sailing since no one aside from the dreaded Physicians could exit the building during work hours. There were only a handful of those in the whole building, and Henry was certain that he could evade them once his mana reserves were replenished. With the eternal dusk that blanketed the whole courtyard along with the huge open space, he couldn’t fathom a world where he couldn’t get out.
But Henry was disciplined. He ran towards a dark corner, hiding behind some dense foliage, and took a moment to rest. He wasn’t out of the Trial yet, and he couldn’t afford to be sloppy. He took out the last mana potion from his inventory and drank it quickly. Henry decided to wait the full 20 minutes for his mana to recharge before making his move, and although it was a risk to wait for the Physicians to all come out, it was most likely more dangerous for Henry if he couldn’t use his invisibility skill to complete his escape.
With his mind made up, Henry made himself as small as he could and waited. All was well for the first 10 or so minutes, and he was even starting to relax his body. He hadn't realized how fatigued he was until now; he hadn't been able to rest with the constant fear of doing something wrong. He had seen how the poor sap sleeping next to him had been taken away because he was snoring. They couldn't make any sounds outside of designated hours, and these freaks made no exceptions to the rules.
Since that moment, Henry was on edge. It had been more than 2 full days since he had any amount of rest, let alone sleep, and he was starting to feel its effects even through the enhancements of an Aspirant. Damn would he get a good night's rest and a proper soak in the hot tub when he was out of this nightmare, then he'd have a proper "talk" with that idiot of a party member who decided it was such a good idea to leave Pandora for an extended adventure.
Henry breathed in and out, he was so close to freedom now. He just needed to wait a little longer and he was home free.
All was well until it wasn’t.
A sudden chill enveloped the Aspirant followed by the telltale sounds of heavy footsteps. Henry froze up. There was no way someone could have found him, right? His skill hid all traces of his presence, including footsteps and odors, so how could a physician locate him this quickly? He had only released his skill for 10 minutes, that wasn’t enough time for any traces of his presence to leak out. No, Henry rationalized, it was probably some other staff, maybe a gardener or something, just passing through.
But to be safe, Henry bent down and slowed his breathing. He had recovered enough to use his skill again, but doing that, or using any mana at all, would disrupt the efficiency of the potion. He cursed himself for buying the discount stuff at the stores. The high-end elixirs didn’t have this drawback.
Just pass through! Just let it be some random worker!
Henry closed his eyes and prayed for the first time in his life.
You’ll be fine, Henry, just a little more and you’re out. Then you can just stay indoors and never risk leaving the damn city again!
A sharp, piercing pain in his leg told him that he was wrong. Henry was not fine. He suppressed a scream and saw that he was wounded from a strange black dart made out of… hair?
“There you are, Patient 755!” a cold, raspy voice said, piercing through the gloom, “Did you think you could escape? That’s very naughty of you!”
Henry inadvertently looked up, even through the agony of his new wound. His heart almost stopped.
Never has he seen a monster so grotesque. The thing’s face was all raw muscles and sinew, with only small, rotting patches of flesh left clinging onto his horrible visage. His mouth was widened to an impossible decree that was a gross parody of a smile, the thing’s muscles sawed off so that its grin could reach from ear to ear. Or at least it would have if the creature had ears. Instead sharp, corroded metal wires dug into the thing’s ear canal, the metal bent around his face and ended with small metal hooks that permanently kept its putrid eyes open.
How it even spoke with its neck so mutilated was beyond Henry’s comprehension, and he quickly activated his class ability. Worse yet was the awful doll sitting eerily on the creature’s shoulder. The escaped Aspirant could swear that he could see it move as it judged him with its unblinking stare. Henry panicked. The horrible pain in his legs was a forethought, and he didn’t even see how the wound was slowly spreading to the rest of his leg.
Henry didn’t have any thoughts other than to get out of there as quickly as he could.
Henry ran.
Yet somehow, despite his skill, the freak of a doctor appeared to be following him. Henry made random movements, dashing left and right, turning around and zig-zagging as he left, but no matter what he did, the distinct sound of the horrible Doctor's wheezing rasp was omnipresent. Henry couldn’t help glancing back to confirm his fears, and it was true, he was still following him. Worse still, all of his random movements had made the gap between him and the monster close up. He didn’t know how that was possible for it to track him, but he had a sinking suspicion that it was the creepy doll. No matter where he turned, how he ran, the damn thing would continue to stare right at Henry.
How was that possible? No one in the entire hospital, not even that one dreaded physician he met on the first day, could see through his abilities. What had he overlooked? Henry was so sure that his plan for escape was perfect. He almost died stealing that key and map, and even spent hours meticulously tracking all of the staff and the rules they had to obey. But it was all going downhill fast…
Then Henry realized something. In his panic, he lost track of his position and didn’t know where he was running to. He knew that it was imperative that he stayed on track when he was out in the open, the eternal night and foggy weather made navigation a nightmare, but his rush to escape had destroyed days of careful planning. Worse yet, he was visibly slowing down. That wound on his leg that he ignored earlier was a lot worse than he thought.
“What’s the matter, little patient?” that mockery of a physician said, its putrid voice sending chills down Henry’s back, “Are you giving up already? Run faster! Run!”
Henry didn’t need to be reminded of that. He scrambled through the thickening fog, and as luck would have it, he saw a gated-off area just to his left. Squinting his eyes, he saw that there was an opening in the corroded metal fencing that looked to be just wide enough for him to squeeze through. It was his only hope. His stamina was fast approaching its limits, and the pain in his leg was becoming unbearable even through the adrenaline. If he could get in that area and find a spot to rest, if only for just a moment…
He made up his mind and rushed towards the gate. The fog and weather were getting so dreadful as he neared his destination that he couldn’t make out what was on the other side of the fencing, but nothing could be worse than being chased by that creature. Henry reached the rusted metal and using the last reserves of his strength, he grabbed onto the cold bars and heaved. They distorted just enough for Henry to squeeze inside, he tore up his right arm and back in doing so but was relieved to see that the Doctor monster stopped when it saw that Henry was out of reach. It was still smiling at him.
Henry backed away slowly, his legs aching like he never believed possible, all the while taking uneasy glances back to make sure that he was no longer being chased. Little did he know that the doctor went back to the opening and straightened out the metal fencing, trapping the Aspirant inside. Then, once its work was done, the doctor strolled away leisurely. His work was done for now.
Henry retreated into a large stone mausoleum and all but collapsed onto the ground. It wasn’t the best place to hide, since there was only one way in and out to the outside. The only other notable feature was a dreary set of stairs near the back that led down to the crypts. Henry hadn’t realized that he had gone into the gated-off cemetery, but it wasn’t like he had any other choice. He didn’t hear anything about the place when he was gathering information.
Either way, it was too late for regrets, and at least he was out of the dreadful weather inside the mausoleum. Henry took out a small lantern and took some time to care for his wound. He pulled his trousers up and gritted his teeth at what he saw. The dart thing that the doctor monster threw was made of hair, and this damn hair was starting to crawl up his leg from the inside.
Henry saw it wiggle just under his skin as if it was alive. The Aspirant took out a rag and bit down on it. With both hands, he grabbed onto the tuft of hair sticking out of his leg, and before he could second guess his decision, Henry pulled with all his might. He almost passed out from the pain, but his enhanced stamina and endurance saved him from the worst of it.
He quickly threw the living mass of hair to the side and burned it with a lighter. It sizzled in the flames. Looking down, Henry tried his best to staunch the bleeding as best he could with a precious potion before wrapping the wound up as best he could. He was thankful that the cold was numbing the worst of the pain.
But once again, right as Henry was about to get comfortable, he felt every single sense in his body warning him of danger. Was the doctor somehow back? But he couldn’t hear the thing’s ominous footsteps. Henry focused his senses, trying desperately to understand what was going on.
That’s when he noticed the subtle temperature change. It had gotten… colder. No, it was still getting colder, and after just a few minutes the Aspirant could see his breath condense before his eyes. He scrambled to get up, but his leg gave in and he stumbled on the ground. There, standing by the mausoleum entrance, Henry, was a pale girl dressed in all white. She moved slowly towards the terrified man.
With his heart going into overdrive, Henry forced himself up. The girl didn’t look dangerous, not like that monster that was just chasing him, but his experience in the Trials told him that this creature was equally - no, it was worse than that doctor. He had to run, but his only way out was blocked by the child, and the only other exit was down the stairs, deeper into the crypts.
Could he fight the thing? No, there was no way that he could in his current state, Henry felt that he would collapse from just walking, let alone combat. Seeing no other options left to him, Henry forced his exhausted body down the dark stairs. He resolved himself, if he was going to die, then he would make these damn abominations work for it!
Want to read ahead? Check out my Patreon! It's what's keeping this project alive and well!
It's currently 29 chapters ahead with a new chapter uploaded daily!
Check it out if you want to support the author, and as always, thank you for reading!
Henry ran for his life.
He could sense the approach of more of those monstrous doctors and nurses, just steps behind. They were approaching fast. Henry knew he couldn’t outrun them, and the amount of times that he could use his skill was fast approaching the limit. Yet the exit was surrounded by those damn nightmare creatures.
Henry gritted his teeth, he was so close to his destination and the chance to get out of those fucking hellhole. The door to the outside world was so close...
With one final grunt of effort, Henry drew on a force of will he never thought possible, and his image disappeared from view once more. His already depleted MP was ticking down alarmingly quickly, and he had only one potion left to replenish his reserves. He’ll have to save that for the final stretch, once he’s out of the building proper.
It was enough.
He slipped through the guards and bolted towards the door. If the information that he managed to collect over the past 48 hours was correct, then the main entrance doors were never locked. He had suffered through so much to get that information, not to mention the key needed to start his escape, and it was now time to risk his life to see if he was correct.
One final surge of adrenaline and Henry ran straight into the door and into the glorious outdoors.
He had been right! Now it should be smooth sailing since no one aside from the dreaded Physicians could exit the building during work hours. There were only a handful of those in the whole building, and Henry was certain that he could evade them once his mana reserves were replenished. With the eternal dusk that blanketed the whole courtyard along with the huge open space, he couldn’t fathom a world where he couldn’t get out.
But Henry was disciplined. He ran towards a dark corner, hiding behind some dense foliage, and took a moment to rest. He wasn’t out of the Trial yet, and he couldn’t afford to be sloppy. He took out the last mana potion from his inventory and drank it quickly. Henry decided to wait the full 20 minutes for his mana to recharge before making his move, and although it was a risk to wait for the Physicians to all come out, it was most likely more dangerous for Henry if he couldn’t use his invisibility skill to complete his escape.
With his mind made up, Henry made himself as small as he could and waited. All was well for the first 10 or so minutes, and he was even starting to relax his body. He hadn't realized how fatigued he was until now; he hadn't been able to rest with the constant fear of doing something wrong. He had seen how the poor sap sleeping next to him had been taken away because he was snoring. They couldn't make any sounds outside of designated hours, and these freaks made no exceptions to the rules.
Since that moment, Henry was on edge. It had been more than 2 full days since he had any amount of rest, let alone sleep, and he was starting to feel its effects even through the enhancements of an Aspirant. Damn would he get a good night's rest and a proper soak in the hot tub when he was out of this nightmare, then he'd have a proper "talk" with that idiot of a party member who decided it was such a good idea to leave Pandora for an extended adventure.
Henry breathed in and out, he was so close to freedom now. He just needed to wait a little longer and he was home free.
All was well until it wasn’t.
A sudden chill enveloped the Aspirant followed by the telltale sounds of heavy footsteps. Henry froze up. There was no way someone could have found him, right? His skill hid all traces of his presence, including footsteps and odors, so how could a physician locate him this quickly? He had only released his skill for 10 minutes, that wasn’t enough time for any traces of his presence to leak out. No, Henry rationalized, it was probably some other staff, maybe a gardener or something, just passing through.
But to be safe, Henry bent down and slowed his breathing. He had recovered enough to use his skill again, but doing that, or using any mana at all, would disrupt the efficiency of the potion. He cursed himself for buying the discount stuff at the stores. The high-end elixirs didn’t have this drawback.
Just pass through! Just let it be some random worker!
Henry closed his eyes and prayed for the first time in his life.
You’ll be fine, Henry, just a little more and you’re out. Then you can just stay indoors and never risk leaving the damn city again!
A sharp, piercing pain in his leg told him that he was wrong. Henry was not fine. He suppressed a scream and saw that he was wounded from a strange black dart made out of… hair?
“There you are, Patient 755!” a cold, raspy voice said, piercing through the gloom, “Did you think you could escape? That’s very naughty of you!”
Henry inadvertently looked up, even through the agony of his new wound. His heart almost stopped.
Never has he seen a monster so grotesque. The thing’s face was all raw muscles and sinew, with only small, rotting patches of flesh left clinging onto his horrible visage. His mouth was widened to an impossible decree that was a gross parody of a smile, the thing’s muscles sawed off so that its grin could reach from ear to ear. Or at least it would have if the creature had ears. Instead sharp, corroded metal wires dug into the thing’s ear canal, the metal bent around his face and ended with small metal hooks that permanently kept its putrid eyes open.
How it even spoke with its neck so mutilated was beyond Henry’s comprehension, and he quickly activated his class ability. Worse yet was the awful doll sitting eerily on the creature’s shoulder. The escaped Aspirant could swear that he could see it move as it judged him with its unblinking stare. Henry panicked. The horrible pain in his legs was a forethought, and he didn’t even see how the wound was slowly spreading to the rest of his leg.
Henry didn’t have any thoughts other than to get out of there as quickly as he could.
Henry ran.
Yet somehow, despite his skill, the freak of a doctor appeared to be following him. Henry made random movements, dashing left and right, turning around and zig-zagging as he left, but no matter what he did, the distinct sound of the horrible Doctor's wheezing rasp was omnipresent. Henry couldn’t help glancing back to confirm his fears, and it was true, he was still following him. Worse still, all of his random movements had made the gap between him and the monster close up. He didn’t know how that was possible for it to track him, but he had a sinking suspicion that it was the creepy doll. No matter where he turned, how he ran, the damn thing would continue to stare right at Henry.
How was that possible? No one in the entire hospital, not even that one dreaded physician he met on the first day, could see through his abilities. What had he overlooked? Henry was so sure that his plan for escape was perfect. He almost died stealing that key and map, and even spent hours meticulously tracking all of the staff and the rules they had to obey. But it was all going downhill fast…
Then Henry realized something. In his panic, he lost track of his position and didn’t know where he was running to. He knew that it was imperative that he stayed on track when he was out in the open, the eternal night and foggy weather made navigation a nightmare, but his rush to escape had destroyed days of careful planning. Worse yet, he was visibly slowing down. That wound on his leg that he ignored earlier was a lot worse than he thought.
“What’s the matter, little patient?” that mockery of a physician said, its putrid voice sending chills down Henry’s back, “Are you giving up already? Run faster! Run!”
Henry didn’t need to be reminded of that. He scrambled through the thickening fog, and as luck would have it, he saw a gated-off area just to his left. Squinting his eyes, he saw that there was an opening in the corroded metal fencing that looked to be just wide enough for him to squeeze through. It was his only hope. His stamina was fast approaching its limits, and the pain in his leg was becoming unbearable even through the adrenaline. If he could get in that area and find a spot to rest, if only for just a moment…
He made up his mind and rushed towards the gate. The fog and weather were getting so dreadful as he neared his destination that he couldn’t make out what was on the other side of the fencing, but nothing could be worse than being chased by that creature. Henry reached the rusted metal and using the last reserves of his strength, he grabbed onto the cold bars and heaved. They distorted just enough for Henry to squeeze inside, he tore up his right arm and back in doing so but was relieved to see that the Doctor monster stopped when it saw that Henry was out of reach. It was still smiling at him.
Henry backed away slowly, his legs aching like he never believed possible, all the while taking uneasy glances back to make sure that he was no longer being chased. Little did he know that the doctor went back to the opening and straightened out the metal fencing, trapping the Aspirant inside. Then, once its work was done, the doctor strolled away leisurely. His work was done for now.
Henry retreated into a large stone mausoleum and all but collapsed onto the ground. It wasn’t the best place to hide, since there was only one way in and out to the outside. The only other notable feature was a dreary set of stairs near the back that led down to the crypts. Henry hadn’t realized that he had gone into the gated-off cemetery, but it wasn’t like he had any other choice. He didn’t hear anything about the place when he was gathering information.
Either way, it was too late for regrets, and at least he was out of the dreadful weather inside the mausoleum. Henry took out a small lantern and took some time to care for his wound. He pulled his trousers up and gritted his teeth at what he saw. The dart thing that the doctor monster threw was made of hair, and this damn hair was starting to crawl up his leg from the inside.
Henry saw it wiggle just under his skin as if it was alive. The Aspirant took out a rag and bit down on it. With both hands, he grabbed onto the tuft of hair sticking out of his leg, and before he could second guess his decision, Henry pulled with all his might. He almost passed out from the pain, but his enhanced stamina and endurance saved him from the worst of it.
He quickly threw the living mass of hair to the side and burned it with a lighter. It sizzled in the flames. Looking down, Henry tried his best to staunch the bleeding as best he could with a precious potion before wrapping the wound up as best he could. He was thankful that the cold was numbing the worst of the pain.
But once again, right as Henry was about to get comfortable, he felt every single sense in his body warning him of danger. Was the doctor somehow back? But he couldn’t hear the thing’s ominous footsteps. Henry focused his senses, trying desperately to understand what was going on.
That’s when he noticed the subtle temperature change. It had gotten… colder. No, it was still getting colder, and after just a few minutes the Aspirant could see his breath condense before his eyes. He scrambled to get up, but his leg gave in and he stumbled on the ground. There, standing by the mausoleum entrance, Henry, was a pale girl dressed in all white. She moved slowly towards the terrified man.
With his heart going into overdrive, Henry forced himself up. The girl didn’t look dangerous, not like that monster that was just chasing him, but his experience in the Trials told him that this creature was equally - no, it was worse than that doctor. He had to run, but his only way out was blocked by the child, and the only other exit was down the stairs, deeper into the crypts.
Could he fight the thing? No, there was no way that he could in his current state, Henry felt that he would collapse from just walking, let alone combat. Seeing no other options left to him, Henry forced his exhausted body down the dark stairs. He resolved himself, if he was going to die, then he would make these damn abominations work for it!
Want to read ahead? Check out my Patreon! It's what's keeping this project alive and well!
It's currently 29 chapters ahead with a new chapter uploaded daily!
Check it out if you want to support the author, and as always, thank you for reading!
