REALISTIC ISEKAI: I didn't read this in my novels!

'

surface? Is this how it's always going to be?'

'These people still went ahead to revive me, didn't they!?'

I struggled not to vomit whatever was left in me from all the disturbing sounds I was hearing in my body. The constant knitting, breaking, peeling, and the pain.

Oh, the pain.

The pain was like none before. Feeling your body being destroyed slowly and rebuilt just as slowly was worse than the torture I faced at the hands of the Crimson Blade that invaded my body back then.

'Why does the world somehow always show me that the worst I've faced in my short life doesn't even scratch the surface? Is this how it's going to be?'

My vision blurred and cleared continuously as I rolled my eyes uncontrollably to see where I was.

Some broken roots were the first thing that I managed to catch a glimpse of, alongside the peelings of my own skin, a deep shade of red coloring them.

My body shuddered heavily, I felt goosebumps form all over my newly made skin, my foot curled even harder, and my mouth retched despite my will.

It was utterly disgusting. Not the fact that I was basically staring at pieces of my body. No, I had become used to seeing that. It was the fact that I was forced to live, and I knew deep down that I would never be able to kill myself again with the overwhelming amount of life energy coursing through my veins.

After what felt like hours, I finally managed to move one of my feet onto the root-filled floor.

I shuddered uncontrollably, my teeth clattered with an intensity I didn't know was possible, and my increased heart rate filled my ears.

I didn't know if I was oversensitive since my nerves were basically relearning these sensations, but the ground was inexplicably cold.

But I persevered. I brought my second foot down and let the intense cold pass through every inch of my body; the hairs on every part of my body stood on end, and my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest with how intensely it was beating.

I tried clenching my teeth to pull through, but the clattering didn't give me that privilege.

I clenched my fists till they turned white and pushed myself off the bed.

And fell flat on the ground.

I didn't try to get back up; I just let the heat from my labored breathing hit my face, the roots causing discomfort.

'Damn it all...what am I going to do after this? Exact revenge? On whom exactly? The people who struggled to save my life? I can't possibly blame them for using me as a bridge between the two races, and besides the fact that I was basically used as a test subject, it did succeed...somewhat.'

'Wipe out the Crimson Blade members? I'm definitely going to do that, but that's barely enough.'

Silent footsteps reached my ears, and I instinctively moved my head to see who was coming.

The moonlight poured through a hole in the cave, a faint scent of ivory wood wafted through my nose, and the hem of a yellow robe came into view as the person crouched.

A flat tone passed through my ears. "I expected to see you in a pitiful state, but this is more than I predicted."

'This voice sounds familiar...but where?'

Two delicate fingers grasped my chin, two empty green eyes locked with mine, his ashen hair swaying with the wind.

"So you're the latest victim of the elders, is that right?"

My eyebrows furrowed in anger, and I shakily moved my hands to push myself up. "Let go of me."

"Calm yourself; the healing magic is strong, but the brain—at the end of the day—has control over the body."

I ignored his words and shakily moved to my knees. "Shut your mouth and get the fuck out of my face."

A ghost of a smile passed through his face as he let go of my chin and stared at me condescendingly. "Your will to live is strong, I'll give you that."

"Or maybe it's not yours after all..." He mumbled under his breath.

I placed my hands on the side of the bed and sat on the edge of the bed, the occasional cracking of bones breaking the eerie silence.

"What do you want from me? Why do all this?" I asked, anger practically spilling out of me.

His face didn't give out anything; his eyes were fixed outside the room, distant, empty... familiar.

"All the things that make us who we are—what has to happen to make those things change?" He spoke.

I cocked my head to the side, my fists finally stabilized, my feet straightened again, and the hairs on my body finally calmed down.

"Forget I asked." I spoke, my voice becoming more recognizable.

"I'll be taking my leave now; take care of yourself."

Without giving me a chance to respond, he left the room, his expression the same from start to finish.

"...System"

******

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host for—]

*****

"Skip all that rubbish. Show me my stats."

*****

[...]

Name: Clark Thompson

Rank: E+

Class: Battle mage

Level: 30 (+11)

Exp points: 879

Mp: 1000/1000 (+50)

_________________

Strength: 890

Agility: 570

Vitality: 100000 (continual increase)

Intelligence: 750

______________

Weapon in use: Nil

Weapon rank: Nil

Weapon proficiency: Nil

______________

Skill(s) in use: [Liar] [Masseuse] [Calculative]

Skill proficiency: 100% (masseuse)

• 101% (Calculative)

• 68% (Liar)

•100% (Desperation)

_____________

Skills possessed: Liar lvl. 3, Masseuse lvl. 10, Calculative lvl. 7, Magic Fingers lvl. 2, Rank Nullification lvl. 3, Desperation lvl. 5, Lamantar's Lightning lvl. 5, Eagle's Eye lvl. 4, Reaper's Descent lvl. 0, Stealth lvl. 5, Rank Ascension lvl. 6, Weapon Prodigy, Iron Fist, Mana Circulation, Strong Mind, Blood Reckoning, Killer's Calm.

____________

[Ding!]

[Completely mastered skills can now be merged into one skill.]

[Does the host wish to merge [Masseuse], [Calculative] and [Desperation]?]

____________

'I wonder what the stats of S ranks look like. Maybe that's why I couldn't see Oliver's when I checked.'

Had I gotten these stats through normal means, I would have been ecstatic, but at this point, these improvements were the bare minimum for all that I had been through.

'I can merge mastered skills now, huh? Guess the system isn't completely useless as I thought.'

"Merge," I mumbled.

*****

[Ding!]

[Merging in progress....]

[Merging complete.]

Skill Name: [Nervebreaker]

Description: A skill born from melding physical precision, mental calculation, and the raw will to survive. Every strike is calculated down to the smallest nerve, exploiting weaknesses in an opponent's body while fueled by desperation's reckless surge.

Effects:

Precision Impact: Attacks automatically target vulnerable spots (joints, nerves, tendons) with near-perfect accuracy.

Adaptive Calculation: Subconscious analysis predicts opponent's next moves, slightly increasing evasion rate.

Desperate Surge: The lower the user's vitality, the stronger and faster they become. Backlash has been nullified to an almost nonexistent degree.

____________

Remark: How...is the host feeling?

__________

'Letting me suffer before giving me some average skill...amazing.'

I ruffled my hair in frustration, and I watched a strand fall off.

"Is my hair blue...?" I mumbled absentmindedly as I studied the fallen strand of hair.

I cast a water spell and froze it immediately.

'Much easier than before,' I analyzed.

'And is that me?'

The person I was staring at in my mirror was vastly different from the image I was fairly used to.

My face was perfect...too perfect. My face was pale, and my eyes weren't black and white anymore. They were blue...and characteristically empty.

"Can't I show anything?" I mumbled, my thin fingers buried deep in my palms.

"Isn't [Liar] active? What kind of useless skill is this? It can't even assist me in making fake expressions."

'Deactivate [Liar],' I commanded.

*****

Skill: [Liar has been deactivated]

*****

My mana immediately flared to heights I didn't know I could achieve, the room shook violently, and the instruments I was hooked into previously all fell or shattered completely.

I hastily stared at my reflection after stabilizing my mana.

I was crying...blood.

I bit through my lower lip, my two canines colliding through it and cracking at the tips.

My calmly beating heart suddenly palpitated wildly and erratically. I coughed a thick mouthful of blood on my reflection, and my breathing became labored.

The urge for bloodlust rose rapidly within me, the chatters from the elven folk in the distance caught my attention and I stood with a speed faster than usual and ran in their direction.

'I need to let this out somehow, just one kill, I won't kill the children, just the parents and I'll leave...yes...yes!'

My bare feet ran through the patches of grass, vaulted through the large trees, my eyes were extremely clear, [Eagle's eye] was in full activation and I could see a small gathering of green haired elves chatting without a care in the world.

'They don't get to have a happy life while they're the one that made me suffer..they don't get to!'

'But they're not the ones responsible for your predicament!' A voice sounded in my head.

'What are you talking about?! They caused everything! If they had just left me to die, none of this would've happened!'

'Blame the elders, the people in charge of the ritual, but not these innocent people!' The voice pleaded.

I jumped down a branch and sighted a couple with three children carrying bright lights in their arms.

'I'm not arguing with you anymore—!'

My hands instinctively held a blade aimed for my neck mid–air and I swung the light figure a distance away from me.

"I warned Andor it was a bad idea to leave you alive," A feminine voice sounded. "And you've given me a perfect reason to kill you."