[STATUS: More equipped, bruised but not beaten]

  In response, the Papyropede whipped its tail around, slashing Remi in the side. It burned, and air left his body in a rush, leaving him slightly winded as it scooted towards the room's center, likely attempting to get out of range. He noticed with dismay that his health had dropped to 19.

  Remi needed to reposition himself to get closer again, but to keep himself safe, he slid sideways in an arc, gliding between the desk rows. The room was a prison, and he needed to manage his confinement cautiously. He kept his eyes firmly locked on the creature's shifting mass and prepared to retreat if necessary. He placed his left hand on the desk, leaned forward, and swung in a downward side arc with his right. Clipping the monster on the side. It spun in a circle. At least he had a bit of a barrier, he thought. But it didn’t rise again, as he expected, instead staying low to the ground, going under the desks to bite Remi’s foot. Scissor fangs tore through the leather of his loafers, nicking his flesh with a searing sting.

  “Shit, that hurt!” Not to mention, he was going to need to get a new pair of shoes.

  If the desks were not an excellent barrier, the open space would be better, leaving him more room to swing. He flipped the closest desk with his free hand, sending it tumbling to the floor with a crash. His distraction worked, as the Papyropede’s head snapped left to follow the sound.

  This gave Remi a small window to extricate himself from behind his desk. As he sidestepped right to get out of the empty row, he spied his personal student desks. There were two of them, jutting out from the left innermost U, where he had them set up to face the class. Normally a place for leftover handouts, they could serve an even greater function right now. One of the two didn’t have a chair, Remi preferring to roll over his desk chair when he sat. It was positioned right between him and the Papyropede. So again, mainly on impulse, he kicked the desk as hard as he could. Sending it shooting towards the monster. The desk careened on protesting metal legs, its corner spearing between two of its carapace joints. Staples and pushpins rained onto the floor. Remi was happy to see another decrease in life.

  It was now down to 75%. The responding hiss was louder and more aggressive this time. Remi had hoped the desk might trip up the Papyropede a bit, but it didn’t impair the Papyropede long; it quickly moved around it, landing another bite on Remi’s leg.

  The meter stick was proving unsurprisingly inadequate, so even though he had some reservations, Remi squatted down and cast Mana Pulse. Another wave shot forth from his hand. Blue translucent rings pulsed from his palm, rattling desks and fanning the Papyropede’s segments like book pages caught in a sudden storm gust. The force pushed the creature backwards.

  He was again disappointed that the damage was less than if he had simply whacked it with the stick. While there was limited damage to the creature, the room didn’t fare as well as the pulse had upended many of the desks. Even if the pulse didn’t affect its life directly, Remi saw it pause its movement, apparently disoriented. This was exactly what he needed. A moment to think.

  He needed more power for his swing. Remi had an idea. He flipped over his other student desk, freeing the chair underneath, and slid the freed seat towards the creature. As he quickly ascended to the top of the wobbly seat, its plastic shrieking like it was just surprised in the shower, Remi thought how he was pretty sure Health and Safety was going to fail him on his annual ladder training module after this. Hopefully, his chair climb would get his feet and legs out of easy bite range. The elevation would also give his swing more power, but a topple would leave him extremely exposed. Remi swung downwards, double-handed in a full overhand arc that wouldn’t have impressed Tiger Woods, but was good for him. Remi remembered to follow through. As it struck the Papyropede, the words CRITICAL HIT again flashed in front of him in large red letters.

  That is two more of those than I thought you would get!

  A faint shimmer appeared as a thread of gold curled like spilled ink across the bottom of his vision. It rippled once and was gone. He didn’t know what it meant yet. But the story had noticed.

  Wow, I thought you would be dead already. Keep it up, Remi. You might just make it out of this room today.

  He had no time for banter right now, so he ignored the AI’s needling. The monster had recovered from its daze and had lifted its head, landing a solid bite into Remi’s side. At 14 HP, he was feeling woozy; his head swam and his vision momentarily blurred.

  The monster spun in a wide loop, but rather than attacking again, it attempted to get on an even level with Remi. The Papyropede undulated sideways and then upward as it climbed the far desk rows, coiling itself onto one desk. It had learned, and now it loomed. From here, it prepared to strike Remi, having finally gotten the high ground. Luckily, before it could land its blow, there was a snap, the desk collapsing under its weight, snapping in half, and dropping the monster to the floor, its teeth gnashing empty air as it tumbled. For the first time in his life, Remi was thankful for the substandard quality of his student desks.

  The creature, suddenly finding itself without purchase, flailed momentarily, and attempted to scramble back to its feet.

  Remi needed more time; he was losing health fast, and he needed to end this quickly. The creature was back on its feet, and the smart board—scratch that, terrifying board—beside him flickered, an unblinking eye icon appearing in the corner of his vision. This is straight-up Orwellian nightmare fuel, he thought. He didn't have time for this, so he just ignored it.

  He pulsed one more time. This time not quickly, not as a reaction, but with focused intent. The wave that shot forth was larger, the ripples deeper, and the reaction greater. The damage remained about the same, but the monster truly appeared dazed this time. In the slight reprieve, Remi dismounted the chair and backed up to give himself room, ensuring he positioned himself as far from the monster as possible, but still kept the chair between himself and the creature. Before it could wake up, he rushed forward, rapidly covering the distance to the chair. He vaulted off of it, sailing through the air with the meter stick double-fisted over his head, and as he landed, he hammered the stick down on the Papyropede’s head with a sickening thud.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  CRITICAL HIT!

  Its health dropped dramatically, and in a turn of luck, it remained frozen. Using this fortunate secondary gap, he raised both arms and brought them down together but separate, pulsing downward with his left, while striking with the meter stick in his right. Another satisfying drop in its life. Only 25% remained. The Papyropede screeched as its HP bar dipped perilously low.

  The fight was far from done, with the chitinous crawler lashing out at Remi, but he was prepared this time. Hyper-focused, he stepped to the side. It grazed him, but in doing so mistakenly overextended, leaving Remi time to move to circle right to the front corner of his class. To his bookshelf. He was hoping the monster would interpret his movement as retreating, a weakness of prey desperate to escape. Leaning into its misbelief, Remi collapsed his frame, making himself look small and vulnerable.

  He had an idea, but he needed the Papyropede to come to him. Moving as far to the right as he could, he positioned himself back to the wall and right next to the bookshelf. As the monster pursued, Remi tossed the stick to the side, where it could be easily retrieved. He grabbed the top of the shelf with both hands, and he heaved the bookshelf forward; wood joints and cheap lag bolts groaning like old cabin floorboards in a winter frost. The MDF backing flexed until screws popped free and the frame toppled onto the prone form with a crash that was both heard and felt, the monster pinned just before it reached him.

  This was no longer survival; it was an execution. A momentary flicker of amber pulsed at the periphery. Like a ring drawn in ink, then wiped away.

  With the Papyropede immobilized, it thrashed against the shelf, the dry rustle of its paper body scraping against the shelf as it frantically attempted to escape. With no easy way to free itself, Remi hastily went and retrieved his meter stick, his steps echoing as if amplified on the floor. He bent and grabbed his meter stick.

  He wasn’t sure if this counted as ending a life. Remi did not know if the paper construct was alive in the traditional sense. But he knew he could not let it get up. There was no exiting this place while this creature existed. So without further thought, he raised the stick and brought it down ruthlessly in a series of quick, calculated strikes. Remi brought his weapon down, returning paper to pulp, as the metallic smell of spilled ink permeated the air as it pooled beneath the twitching monster.

  His stomach churned, and his heart beat wildly, slamming against his ribcage as if it were the floorboards, beating louder and louder with each stroke downward. One, two, three, he peeled sheaf after sheaf from the monster, until the creature finally collapsed in a flurry of parchment fragments, as one last beat marked the end of this paper. Finally, thankfully, “the hellish tattoo” of his heart, as Poe had named it, finally came to rest and Remi could hear it no more.

  He just stood there. His chest heaved and lungs burned as the adrenaline drained away, to leave only quivering fatigue in its place. The room was silent except for his gasps for breath. In and out. In and out. He struggled to regain a sense of composure. The room was a disaster, with upended furniture and paper scattered everywhere. PING!

  [SYSTEM NOTICE]

  NARRATIVE CONFLUX RESOLVED: CONFLICT COMPLETE

  C-RANK ENTITY NEUTRALIZED

  [INKWELL UNLOCKED]

  [HP: 14/30 | MP: 11/15 | INK WELL: 30%]

  [Status Update: Winded but stable. Minor injuries.]

  He couldn’t help himself, as his horror curdled into incredulity. The moment felt like a Salvator Dali painting, absurd and macabre and warped. Remi recalled taking his niece Bea to see a musical about Charlie Brown, and before a song about her new world view, Lucy reflects on the mark she received on her janky coat hanger mobile. Remi had seen several of these hastily assembled projects in his lifetime. As if 5 minutes and some yarn would be enough to show actual knowledge. Regardless. It was in her dumbfounded disbelief that Remi found himself now. She yelled, “A C! A C! I got a C on my blah blah test.” It was the same feeling of indignation that Remi was experiencing currently.

  “A C!” he yelled out loud to the AI. “That was a C-level monster? And minor injuries, I lost half my life!” Remi looked at the pile of destroyed stationery, which was very reminiscent of Lucy’s school sculpture, “I sure as shit don’t want to see what an A looks like!” Archie responded through the intercom speakers.

  You’re right! You don’t. Level A isn’t even the highest there is, but you’re unlikely to see one of those. Frankly, I can’t believe what you did actually worked. As for your life total, don’t be a suck.

  “I—I‘m not being a suck,” Remi yelled.

  Waaaa. Waaaa. I almost died! Please. Many others failed their trials. At least we didn’t kill you. Which is surprising. Honestly, I didn't put my money on you. So congrats for now, but I have some better fights to watch. There’s a superb one that involves your brother.

  The eye on the screen blinked, and then it went black. “Wait! Dorian is here? Come back here! Answer me!” There was no use; Remi could feel that the AI was gone. At least the part that allowed for interaction and the system messages continued, ignoring his plea.

  DING! [LEVEL UP!]

  Level: 2

  [Stat Points Awarded]

  +1 to each core stat

  +1 additional Choice Stat Awarded

  >> KEEP WRITING! <<

  The world thrummed in his ears. Not a sound really, but a feeling, like his name was being spoken by someone who didn’t have a mouth. Then a shimmer at his feet. A small box appeared.

  [SYSTEM MESSAGE]

  [Protagonist Thread: Assigned]

  /* Lost that wager! He’s going to be unbearable. */

  [System Protagonist Conversation]

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