The whisper brushed against Kai's ear.
H̶͙̠͇̥̋ủ̷̧̦̥͇͚͗̀̎͗̈͛͐̀m̴̪͍̮̻͔̐̑̒̋̓̓ä̸̧̜̗̯̮̅͐͒n̷̨͉̯͉̩͔̞͉̬͐͊̉̋̀̈̈̎̕͝.
The world froze.
Kai 's heart skipped a beat.
In a fraction of a second.
Everything went silent.
No screams.
No wind.
Nothing.
Then instinct took over.
Kai threw himself forward.
CRASH!
A pair of pale sharp fingers tore through the space.
Fragments of concrete scattered across the ruined street.
Kai rolled across the ground and immediately got back on his feet.
Kai's chest rose and fell rapidly.
"What the hell was that?!"
The creature stood motionless.
Smiling.
Its eyeless face stared directly at me.
Watching.
Waiting.
It shouldn't have been possible.
It had no eyes.
Yet I felt exposed.
Like every thought inside my head was laid bare before it.
Then the System suddenly appeared.
[WARNING]
Hostile Nightmare Detected.
Analyzing...
Nightmare: Smiling Walker (D-)
Classification: Psychological Predator
Danger Rating: Death!!!
Kai's pupils constricted.
"D-?!"
"The Gnome monster would be enough to kill me!"
"And this thing appeared from nowhere."
The Nightmare's smile widened.
Vanished.
Kai's body reacted before his brain could.
Kai ducked.
WHOOSH!
Something passed above Kai's head.
Then a freezing sensation followed.
Kai looked up.
The streetlight behind him had been sliced cleanly, the upper section slowly slid off before crashing onto the pavement.
Kai's face went pale.
One second slower.
And that would have been my head.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Then a word echoes inside Kai's mind.
Run!
Run now!
Kai turned and sprinted away.
Abandoned vehicles.
Corpses.
Blood.
Scattered limbs.
Monsters.
Kai ignored everything he saw and avoided it all as possible.
Kai's instincts screams.
That monster.
Its hunting me as its prey.
"I need to run away, as far as possible."
Then Kai noticed behind him.
A laugh.
Soft.
Playful.
Distorted!
A sound of failed mimicry of child's voice echoes in every intersection of the building.
Kai didn't dare to look back.
Kai felt a burning sensation in his lungs, his legs screams in agony.
Yet Kai didn't give in.
He continue sprinting away.
Though the laughter remain closer.
As if the creature was intentionally matching Kai's speed.
Playing.
Toying with Kai.
[QUEST GENERATED]
Objective: Survive the Smiling Walker.
Time Limit: Death!!!
Failure: Death!!!
Reward:
• 100 Experience
• Beginner Wooden Box
Alternative Objective: Kill the Smiling Walker.
Reward:
• 150 Experience
• Beginner Wooden Box
• Skill ???
[Warning]
Survival Rate: 3.2%
Kai laughed.
"Three percent."
"Three. Freaking. Percent!"
"You call that survival rate!?"
"And time limit, Death!?"
"Might as well tell me to die!"
The System remained silent.
Kai continued sprinting randomly, hoping to survive.
_______
Then a sudden realization struck him.
"The System."
"If it could create quests..."
"Could it do more?"
Without hesitation Kai shouted.
"STATUS!"
A blue screen appeared instantly.
[Status]
Name: Kai Vilia
Level: 1
Race: Human
Title:
HP: 100/100
Strength: 8
Agility: 9
Vitality: 8
Intelligence: 7
Available Skills:
Instinct Lv. 1 New
Mental Stability Lv. 1 New
Kai's eyes widened.
"This is real."
"A genuine RPG system."
Before Kai could process.
The laughter stopped.
Every muscle in kai's body tensed.
Sensing danger!
Kai dove sideways.
BOOM!
The creature landed where Kai stood.
The ground cracked.
Dust exploded outward.
Kai stared in disbelief.
That thing wasn't merely fast.
It was strong too.
A strength enough to shatter concrete.
The monster slowly tilted its head.
The smile stretched wider.
Wider.
Wider!
Until the corners of its mouth nearly reached the back of its skull.
Nightmare Encyclopedia LV: 1 New
New Entry Added.
Nightmare Name: Smiling Walker
Classification: Psychological Predator
Rank: D-
Description:
Smiling Walker a low-ranking nightmare born from humanity's instinctive fear of being watched by and criticize by their peers.
Weakness: ■■■
"What the fuck!"
"No weakness!?"
The Nightmare Encyclopedia Level is too low, increase the level by observing and encountering Nightmares.
"What with this system!?"
"I had to increase its level to show more information."
"Might as well tell me to die in this situation."
The creature took another step.
Then another.
Slow.
Patient.
Confident.
It knew Kai couldn't win.
And Kai knew it too.
But something bothered me.
The Nightmare Encyclopedia says.
Psychological Predator.
Which meant...
It wasn't trying to kill me immediately.
It slowly trying to break me.
Draining my energy.
Kai continued running away from the Nightmare.
Then a plan began forming inside Kai's mind.
A terrible plan.
But a plan nonetheless.
"If it wants to play..."
Kai tightened his grip on the knife.
"Then I'll give him one to enjoy."
The Smiling Walker suddenly disappeared.
Kai immediately ran toward a collapsed shopping center.
The creature appeared behind Kai instantly.
"Exactly as expected."
It likes chasing.
Good.
Very good.
Because Kai had noticed something.
Each time it attacked—
It appears from a shadow, every single time.
A possibility.
A weakness.
Maybe, maybe not.
But it was all I had.
The ruined building loomed ahead.
Dark.
Collapsed.
Filled with broken pillars and debris.
Kai sprinted inside.
The Smiling Walker followed.
Smiling.
Laughing.
Still convinced it had already won.
______
Beyond the broken heavens...
Something is watching.
Interested.
Curious.
Waiting to see whether this insignificant human would survive or become a corpse beneath the endless smile.
To be continued...