Rohan was back at the house, lying in the kids' room. His face was devoid of emotion as he clutched the knife in his hands. It wasn't for his protection, just the opposite. Rohan had ended his life five times. After seeing what had happened to the world, he gave up. He had already hated his old world, but now this place was devoid of life, replaced with horrific beings that not even the most twisted individuals could conjure up.
What was the point of living in such a place? He was already suicidal and only tried to find civilization to end his life painlessly. But that option is now unable to happen, and Rohan is forced to do it in a more gruesome manner. Rohan had pierced his own throat with a knife; it was a horrible ten seconds before he passed, only for him to return alive a few seconds before committing the act. It should be impossible, wasn't the creature responsible for his death loop?
That was his first thought.
Perhaps it was the house that was keeping him alive? He did the deed far away from the house, the only thing that happened was him walking back and a disappointed expression was etched on his face. He tried numerous ways to end his life, some more painful than others, but all of them resulted in the same thing. Rohan returning to life, or in this case, respawning. This wasn't due to any outside interference; this was Rohan's other…. ability.
[ABILITY: RESPAWN POINT] [LV 1]
[Upon death, time rewinds to the point before the battle or the cause. The user can respawn every time, even if their soul or very existence is attacked.]
He wanted to burst out laughing; it was honestly truly comedic. An overpowered ability that pretty much makes you immortal, anyone would kill for this kind of power and yet this ability was given to a suicidal person. It would be so hilarious if it weren't for the fact that reality set in. No matter how hard he tries, Rohan will never escape this world. He was doomed to stay here for the rest of his life, possibly for an eternity, seeing as this power might even cure his old age.
This was hell, there isn't any argument about it. He had died off the bridge, and he was sent to hell for the crime of taking his own life. Rohan just dismissed the screen and went back to staring up at the ceiling. What now? Rohan had stayed in this house for about…actually, he doesn't know.
There isn't a day and night cycle in this place, only fog and a tiny bit of light. But back to what's doing, well, he hasn't been doing anything since he discovered the city. He unconsciously moved his arm to rub the part where the long-fingered monster tried to slash at him, only to find there was nothing, as if that moment never happened. There are a few things he discovered with his ability: Respawn Point. The first was that any previous injuries to him before death would disappear along with the rest of fatigue.
It's not too different from mechanics in games where a character dies coming into battle with half of their health, only to regain it in full after dying to an NPC. It wasn't just injuries or stamina; it also reseted his hunger. His last attempt to die was to starve himself, it wasn't the most painful but damn did it take long for him to die. In fact during his fifth day without food, he nearly sliced his throat by how long it fucking took. But in the end, it means jack shit as Rohan revived looking fresh and filled, rather than the pale skinny boney appearance a minute before he died.
It seems after dying, he is put in peak condition. Although it comes with a cost.
[NAME: ROHAN] [LV: 2] [0%]
A week or a month earlier, his EXP percentage was at 67 percent, but now it has dropped to zero. He noticed it after his first death. It seems as punishment for dying, his EXP percentage resets. He is not sure if it was due to dying by his hand or just dying in general causing it to reset, though he was sure it was the latter. Rohan dismisses his screen and rubs his face in frustration. Out of all the abilities he ended up with, he got the power every suicidal person hates.
It was infuriating, but what could he do? He was powerless; not even death could allow him to escape this world. A world full of those monsters, and he has a feeling he was the only human in the world, there isn't any point in venturing out there and dying multiple painful deaths. Even with the system to guide him, Rohan wasn't a fighter; he could barely kill one of those disgusting creatures. And since killing them requires levelling up, it was quite the tall order from him.
Still, at the same time, he doesn't want to spend eternity in this god forsaken house doing nothing. The silence and the lack of anything is driving him crazy and the one thing he wants to keep in this screwed up world is his sanity. There are no books, no games, nothing to pass the time. Rohan gets off the bed and stares at the window, the fog of the forest beckoning him to enter. It's like it was taunting him to come.
A sudden thought flashed through his head, perhaps his ability could be cancelled or disappear? I mean, he was in a world completely different from his own. At this point, an artifact or an item of some kind could neutralize his power, which would make him mortal. Killable. But it was a long shot; regardless, he still plans to go out.
If he wants to die, he needs to put in some effort. Rohan heads downstairs, grabs his backpack, and opens it. Stored inside were multiple kitchen knives along with some canned food. He quickly tosses some of the cans, seeing he could just reset his hunger and after eating a few of them a day ago, they taste like shit. Honestly, he would rather die than eat a single bite of this.
With how much his pain resistance increased, killing himself got a little easier. Rohan then gripped the largest knife in his hand and stared at the door near the kitchen. He swallowed a lump in his throat, and he started feeling hot all of a sudden. This was the door to the basement. He never went there, of course he wouldn't, he was in a world full of monsters and going down in a dark, creepy basement is a surefire way to get killed.
It is horror movie 101: Don't go to the dark basement. Still, Rohan needs all the useful supplies he can get, and while he wasn't sure what was down there, it may be just nothing at all. But there was even a chance a really useful item was down there, he had to do it. Rohan lets out a shaky breath that he didn't know he was holding before turning the knob. Greeting him was a wooden staircase descending to the darkness, even with the flashlight, he could barely see anything.
He gulped, the grip on his knife shook, before taking large, deep breaths to calm himself. His hand was still shaking, but it was far more manageable than a few seconds earlier. Rohan descends, cringing as his foot presses the wooden stairs, making them creak. Eventually, he reached the cold pavement floor, shining his flashlight everywhere, expecting to see a disgusting monster, but there was nothing.
But somehow, the lack of any other presence still causes a chill to tingle down his spine. He wanted to run back upstairs, to go back to the light. Rohan steeled his nerves, taking multiple deep breaths, gripping the knife hard. The basement was unfinished, and there was much there, except for something on a wooden table in the corner. Rohan warily crept up to it, and his surprise was that a sword was lying on a table.
It had a leather sheath along with a strap. Rohan set his knife and flashlight down before reaching for the sword; it was quite heavy. He carefully removed the sheath, his mouth gaping in awe of the blade. It was a real sword, with how heavy it is and how it looks, it could break his knife in half; there is no doubt this was real. If he remembered correctly, this sword was used by Ancient Roman soldiers.
It was a little difficult to swing around, but that didn't matter; he now has a viable weapon against the monsters. Still, Rohan wasn't comfortable staying in the dark basement, and so he sheathed the sword and brought his flashlight with the knife and ran back upstairs. He's never going to a dark basement like that ever again. Rohan packed the backpack with all of the essentials and strapped the sword to his hip. Along with his backpack and the sword, it was difficult to move around.
There is no choice; he would just have to make do. Rohan exits the house, and the fog of the forest is seemingly more terrifying outside than the view of the window. He takes a step back, a small part of him begging to stay in the house, to be safe, to be without pain. But nothing is going to happen if he were to stay. Rohan takes one last deep breath before venturing to the woods to return to the fallen city.