This Is Not the Life That I Imagined

John didn't know how many hours had passed since the breakout, but everyone alive was dead tired. After that flying monster attacked the military, other flying monsters also came out of the portal. Some went after the agents, while others targeted the military.

Even though the soldiers were still afraid, they had adjusted enough to handle the monsters with fewer casualties than before. Every five minutes or so, a barrage of rockets launched at the portal's location, but the ammunition was running low, and the portal showed no sign of stopping the flow of monsters.

 John stood at what was supposed to be the wall. The last blast had just ended, and he was waiting for more monsters to emerge from the portal, as had happened with every previous wave. To his surprise, thirty seconds passed without new monsters in sight. Suppressing his need to rest, he tapped his comm.

"Captain Liam," John's voice, heavy with fatigue, broke the silence. "Do you know who has the most serious injuries? I want to help while we have this pause. I don't know how long it'll last."

"Yes! Yes, wait a second. I'm gathering data right now." Liam's voice snapped out of its grim focus. He was staring at the portal from a platform behind the wall, built to shield him from attacks. After tapping his watch, detailed data appeared on his comm, displaying the conditions of the agents.

What he saw made his heart harden. Four agents were dead, and three were critically injured and would likely not survive the next wave unless moved to the supply truck. The rest of the agents were in bad shape, but they couldn't all leave their positions.

No one could guarantee that the monsters wouldn't reach the supply truck next by how the wall barely could be called a wall anymore. Still, it was a chance they had to take.

 After a heavy sigh, Liam commanded, "There are three critically injured. I've sent you their locations; start with the west side."

John sprinted along the wall until he reached the first injured agent. The team's earth element user had encased him in a dome for protection during the fighting. Nobody spoke; with a wave of his staff, the earth user collapsed one side of the dome, revealing the injured agent.

John's heart clenched as he saw the bloodied figure, every inch of his body riddled with gaping wounds. John has no idea how he was still alive until now, but John would do his best to make him continue living.

Grabbing the agent, he dashed back to the supply truck. There, he lowered the agent gently to the ground, opened a foldable stretcher, and placed the agent on it. John gave him an emergency shot and a healing pill before restoking his arrows and replacing his sword with a new one.

Just as he felt the silence on the battlefield would last for a while, a chilling growl sounded from the portal direction, followed by more blood-curdling growls. John rushed back to the wall just as hopeful news came through the comm.

"I just got a reply from HQ. A foundation rank agent is coming, but he will take an hour to reach here. We just need to hang on for another hour." Liam's voice had a hint of hope after what looked like there was none.

"God damn it! Now they reply? After my friend is dead?" an agent cursed over the comm.

"Coming to collect our corpses? How considerate of them!" another voice mocked bitterly. The news failed to lift morale.

Reaching the wall, John instinctively nocked an explosive arrow and began firing toward the portal without pause. No need to think. No need to look. Just fire in the portal direction; it will hit something.

After five minutes of relentless firing, another rocket barrage annihilated the approaching monsters. But this time was different.

"Captain Liam, I'm afraid we can't help anymore," the military commander's words shattered the fragile morale.

"What?! Why?! You know what will happen if no support arrives. You and your soldiers will be the first to bear the next wave after we…"

"We're out of missiles," the commander cut him off, his tone weighted heavily.

Liam's frustration boiled over. "God damn it! God damn it! F**K!" His fists clenched so tightly that his nails drew blood from his palms.

"Let's do our best, guys. At least we die fighting," someone said over the comm, a grim attempt at rallying the team.

John wasn't sure who spoke, but he wasn't in the mood to care. His mind was consumed by a single thought: 'Should I get out of here?'

He glanced at his stats and talents, weighing his options. His talent's second effect offered immense power but at a steep cost. It was a gamble with his life.

(Talents:

1: INSANITY CHECK:

Effect 1: Boost one attribute by 5 points without side effects. Changeable freely.

 Effect 2: boost all attributes by 5 for 40 min. Upon expiry, all stats drop by 3 and extreme exhaustion for 60 min.

2: Double Focus:

 Effect 1: Increase focus, heightened senses and increase reaction speed. Usable anytime.

 Effect 2: Heightens the user's senses significantly. Allowing him to ignore his surroundings and focus solely on the object of interest. Significantly increase eye-hand response speed. Significantly increase reaction speed. Increase control over body muscles.

Note: "Effect 2" Usable only with INSANITY CHECK fully active.

Stats:

STR: 13.

 AGL: 11.

FLX: 10.5.

VIT: 12.5.

INT: 12.)

John knew very well that his talent's second effect only allowed him forty minutes of stats boost. He had three options here. The choice weighed heavily on him. Fight to the end, flee now, or fight strategically and flee with ten minutes left to spare?

He was not like before; even after the effect ended, he would still have more than normal human attributes. The problem lay in the extreme exhaustion part after it's end, where he can't lift even a finger for a few minutes before getting used to the attributes drop.

If the effect ended while there were still monsters around, it's a death sentence to him. Before he could struggle with the choice much longer, a rumbling growl echoed from the portal…