Chapter 11: A Timer
Chapter 11: A Timer
But just as quickly as the excitement had come so it went and panic crept in because the speed was a bit foreign for him and he was not fully used to it yet.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jerry tried to slow down, but his sneakers skidded across the pavement has his momentum carried him forward, sending him tumbling into a hedge near the sidewalk.
The groaning Jerry sat up and brushed some leaves out of his hair, "Okay, Definitely need to work on getting use to this new speed and reflexes."
Despite the embarrassing fall, he couldn't stop smiling, because of the rush of running so fast and the thrill of feeling powerful, it was addicting.
---
[Quest Complete!]
+10 EXP
+1 Stat Point
---
[Host Stats]
Level: 2
Exp: 20/200
Strength: 12
Speed: 12
Intelligence: 15
Bravery: 5
Extra stat points +2
Skill points +1]
---
He stood up and dusted himself clean and headed back inside the garage with a spring in his step.
Once Jerry was back in the garage he leaned against the workbench while still feeling high from his speed test, But soon something else pulled his attention.
The mark on his palm was tingling again, He held up his hand and stared at the faint outline of the fang-shaped symbol, as It pulsed softly and glowed faintly.
"What now?" Jerry muttered.
The system responded, a new prompt appearing in his vision.
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[Shadow Affinity: Activation Unlocked]
[Would you like to test your affinity? Yes/No]
---
Jerry frowned at the word "shadow" the word didn't exactly fill him with confidence, But the curiosity that had been driving him all morning was stronger than his Cautious nature.
"Alright," he said with a steady voice, "Let's see what this is all about" He then selected Yes.
The change was immediate.
The temperature in the garage dropped sharply, sending a chill through Jerry's body.
The lights flickered, casting distorted shadows across the walls, Those shadows began to shift, while curling and twisting unnaturally.
Jerry's breath felt hitched, "Uh… is this supposed to happen?"
The shadows seemed alive as it moved closer to Jerry, he could hear faint whisper echoing through the room, it was too soft to make out what it was saying as It grew louder and overlapped into a haunting chorus that made Jerry's chest tighten.
His heart pounded as he stepped back while his eyes darting around the room. "System! Turn it off!"
The interface blinked back into view.
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[Shadow Affinity Test Complete. Deactivating...]
[Level Up To Gain Shadow Ability]
---
All the lights began to stabilize and the room returned back to normal, But Jerry's pulse didn't as he sank onto a nearby stool with his hands trembling.
"What the hell was that?" he whispered, staring at his marked palm.
The system chimed again, cold and clinical.
---
[Warning: Shadow Affinity Unstable. Further Training Required.]
[Level Up To Gain Shadow Ability]
---
Jerry slowly exhaled while trying to calm the storm inside his chest.
He felt that whatever this shadow affinity was, it wasn't something to take lightly.
From the corner of his eye, he thought he could see a shadow flickering, his heart read and he turned sharply, But when he looked at the direction, there was nothing there.
Jerry continue sitting on the workbench in the garage and stared at his palm, the space felt colder than it was, and the shadows around him started to look normal again, But even with this Jerry couldn't relax.
He couldn't stop himself from thinking about the shadow from just now, the shadows had moved like they had a minds of its own, Jerry shook his head hard trying to not think too much about it', "It's nothing," he told himself, "Just my imagination"
Suddenly a new system message popped up in Jerry's head.
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[Warning: Full Moon in 3 Days.]
[Your bloodlust will grow uncontrollable.]
---
See this unexpected new notification made Jerry's heart jumped into his throat.
---
[Time Remaining: 72:00:00]
---
The timer appeared and started counting down in the corner of his vision, which made his stomach felt like it was tying itself in knots.
"Uncontrollable?" Jerry whispered to him self, this word made his chest feel tight and suffocating, "What does that even mean? Like… I'll go crazy?, Or… or hurt someone?"
Jerry squeezed his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.
"No," Jerry said while shaking his head, "No way, I can't let that happen"
His breathing started to become unstable as he thought about what could go wrong, "What if I couldn't stop himself?, What if I hurt someone that I cared about?".
"What if i hurt… Tim?".
Jerry quickly shot up from the workbench, his legs began to feel shaky beneath him, He didn't have all the answers, but he knew one thing: he couldn't do this alone.
He grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts, His thumb hovered over Tim's name for a second, then he tapped it, The phone rang twice before Tim picked up.
"Yo, Jerry!" Tim's cheerful voice rang out, "What's up, man? Did you finally watch that zombie show I told you about?"
"Tim," Jerry quickly said with his voice tight, "Can you come over?"
"Uh… sure?" Tim replied, sounding a bit confused, "You okay? You sound kinda freaked out"
"I'm fine," Jerry lied and tightened his grip on the phone, "Just… just come over, Please"
Tim hesitated for a few seconds before replying, "Alright, I'll be there in ten, And you better not tell me it's about a math test or something, dude"
Jerry hung up without saying anything else.
---
The ten minutes it took for Tim to get to Jerry's house felt like an hour, Jerry couldn't sit still as he paced back and forth in the living room and running his hands through his hair.
Jerry started thinking of how he could tell Tim about everything that has been happening, "Hey, Tim, I've got superpowers and a countdown to going full-on monster mode"? Yeah, that sounded great Jerry mumbled to him self with a tone of sarcasm.
Every so often Jerry would glance at the clock on the wall, even though the glowing timer in his vision was impossible to ignore.