I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 90: Victory and Visions!
It’s been sixteen hours since they’d fallen into only what could be referred to as a hellhole. Thirteen hours since they’d stepped into the pocket S-rank nightmare and met the Sun Knight.
However, as time ticked along, Kurt’s advantage was finally surfacing.
The longer the fight dragged on, the more energy the knight expended. But every time Kurt resurrected, he came back fresh.
It was like pressing the reset button. New body, renewed energy, ready to go another round. Theoretically, he could fight forever.
Of course the only thing that didn’t get reset were the scars spreading across his skin like bloody tattoos, one tick at a time with each death.
The downside, and there was always a bloody downside, was the backlash. The system would eventually realize when he was done fighting, and all that accumulated fatigue would hit like a collapsing dam. But that was future Kurt’s problem.
Right now, Kurt was locked in a grappling match with the Sun Knight, muscles straining, bones creaking under the pressure, and believe it or not, he was actually winning.
"Let’s finish this proper, yeah?" Kurt growled through clenched teeth.
The egg pulsed far behind the knight, its rhythmic heartbeat echoing through the chamber.
Yellow aura surrounded Kurt like a second skin while his magnetic field pulled relentlessly at the knight’s golden armor, dragging it off balance, and kinetic Absorption drained force from every movement, feeding it back into his own strength.
Couple that with his stats, the reset advantage he had? He was finally close enough to press this golden bastard. And the knight seemed to realize it too.
The hollow darkness in its helmet flared brilliant gold, and that signature unibeam of pure solar energy erupted from its eye sockets at point-blank range.
Unfortunately for Goldie, this was an attack Kurt had been waiting for.
He switched out Kinetic Absorption for Warp King in a heartbeat, and a portal snapped open directly in front of his face. The solar beam screamed into the rift, vanished, and exploded out of a second portal directly behind the knight.
The blast hit the knight square in the back, golden armor scorching black, and it staggered forward.
Kurt didn’t waste the opening. His magnetic field yanked hard on the knight’s discarded greatsword lying across the chamber, pulling it through the air like a bullet.
Sam caught on immediately as blue light flared around the blade, her telekinetic grip augmenting Kurt’s magnetic control, and thank god she did because the sword was heavy.
The blade spun like a helicopter rotor, screaming through the air, and drove straight through the knight’s back at the exact spot where the solar beam had just blasted it.
The sword punched clean through, tip emerging from the knight’s chest, and it dropped to one knee. Still almost Kurt’s height even kneeling.
Kurt stepped forward, placed his hand on the embedded blade, and grinned. "Sorry, mate. You were an honorable one, I’ll give you that. But honor? Gets you bugger all in the end."
Orange light spread from his palm, charging the blade with kinetic energy, and the knight’s helmet turned slightly toward him.
No words. Just that empty black stare, and perhaps... acceptance.
Then the blade detonated.
KRA-BOOM!
The explosion erupted from inside the knight’s chest cavity, force ripping outward in a sphere of fire and concussive force. The knight’s body staggered, golden armor cracking, and it collapsed forward onto the stone floor with a thunderous crash.
The greatsword clattered beside it, scorched but intact. Too high-quality to be destroyed by Kurt’s ability, but the damage from detonating *inside* the knight had been enough.
Silence fell across the chamber. Broken by the Ding! from two notification screens materializing in Kurt’s vision, glowing bright blue.
[Quest Complete: Clear S-Rank Dungeon]
[Reward: +25 Points]
[Sub-Quest Complete: Defeat Sun Knight]
[Reward: +25 Points]
[Available Points: 50]
Kurt stared at the screens, then at the fallen knight, and let out a long, shaky breath. "Bloody hell."
Rushing over, Sam wrapped her arms around his torso, squeezing tight, eyes closed for just a moment before she looked up at him. "You did it!"
Kurt lifted his hands and placed them on her shoulders, managing a tired grin. "I think it’s safe to say *we* did it, love. You’re full of sur—"
Sam stretched up onto her tiptoes and silenced him with a kiss.
Her lips pressed against his, soft, warm and desperate. Kurt froze for half a second before his brain caught up. Then his hands moved on their own, one sliding to her waist, the other cupping her face, and he leaned down properly, kissing her back.
Sam moaned softly into his mouth, fingers curling into his coat, and when they finally broke apart for air, both of them were breathing hard.
Kurt’s grin turned lazy, that familiar charm bleeding back into his voice. "I’ll take this as my reward over any points."
Sam raised an eyebrow like he’d just said the dumbest thing she’d ever heard, then she laughed, cheeks flushed pink, and her gaze shifted past him toward the giant golden egg still pulsing at the center of the chamber.
"What are we gonna do about that?" She pointed.
Kurt turned to look at it, and as if answering her question, the system brought up a new screen.
[QUEST: Retrieve Sun Dragon Egg and Hatch It]
[Reward: +5 Points]
[NOTICE: Sun Dragon Egg requires exposure to sunlight and a name to complete the hatching process]
Kurt read through the notification twice, then looked at the egg, then back at Sam. "That’s a sun dragon egg."
Before he could say anything else, his knees buckled. The backlash finally came. Fatigue crashed over him, every death’s toll collected at once.
He hit the ground hard, both knees slamming into stone, and the world tilted sideways violently. His vision blurred, sounds muffled like he’d been shoved underwater, and then the excruciating combo of memories flooding in followed.
***
Kurt was ten years old, standing in the corner of a dingy flat that reeked of stale cigarettes and spilled beer. His father loomed over him, massive and red-faced, fist cocked back.
"You think you’re clever, boy?" His father’s voice was slurred, venomous. "Think you can talk back to me?"
Kurt didn’t answer. He’d learned that answering only made it worse.
The fist came down. Again, and again, and again.
Kurt’s vision went white. He hit the floor hard, tasting blood, and his father kicked him in the ribs for good measure.
"Useless little shit," his father spat, turning away. "Just like your whore mother. It’s your fault she’s dead. Not mine, yours!"
Kurt lay there on the cold floor, bleeding, and promised himself he’d never let anyone have power over him. Never trust anyone enough to give them the chance.
[Memory Fragment Recovered]
[+5 Points Awarded]
Kurt reached for his aching temple as another bombardment of a past memory followed immediately after the first faded, assaulting his mind:
Kurt was twenty-two, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit he’d stolen from a department store, sitting across from a wealthy businessman in an expensive restaurant.
"I can’t believe it," the man said, eyes wide. "My cousin. After all these years."
Kurt smiled warmly, playing the part perfectly. "I know. It’s been far too long, hasn’t it?"
The man reached across the table and grabbed Kurt’s hand, shaking it enthusiastically. "You look just like your father. God rest his soul."
Kurt had no idea who the man’s actual cousin was. Had never met the real one. But he’d done his research, memorized the details, and now he was sitting here collecting a "family loan" of fifty thousand credits.
"Family takes care of family," Kurt said smoothly.
The man signed the check without hesitation.
[Memory Fragment Recovered]
[+5 Points Awarded]
It was moments like this that made Kurt curse the day he met the keeper as another agonizing memory slammed into his head. This one more recent judging from how he looked in it:
Kurt stood in a small, dimly lit room, adjusting his coat, checking his gear. The Fang Dungeon contract was routine. Easy money. He’d be in and out with Raven’s Crow.
The door opened behind him, and a woman stepped inside.
She was beautiful in that dangerous way Kurt liked, white hair falling past her shoulders, sharp eyes, curves that made a man want to stare for ages.
She closed the door behind her with a soft click and locked it. "Off to the Fang again?" she asked, voice low and teasing.
Kurt turned, grinning. "Just a quick run. Be back before dinner."
She stepped closer, "Then I suppose I should give you a proper farewell gift," fingers already working at the buttons of her blouse. "And we don’t have to use a condom this time," she whispered seductively.
The blouse fell open, and Kurt’s grin widened. "You’re gonna make me late, love."
"Good," she whispered, and pulled him close.
[Memory Fragment Recovered]
[+5 Points Awarded]
***
[Available Points: 65]
Kurt’s vision snapped back to the present, and he was on his hands and knees, gasping for air like he’d just surfaced from drowning.
Sweat poured down his face, every muscle trembling from exhaustion that had nothing to do with the fight. Veins bulged around his temples, and he could barely hear Sam’s voice through the ringing in his ears.
"Why do you always pass out on me?!" Sam was saying, her voice pitched high with frustration, while her hair ribbon wiggled on top of her head like it was expressing her emotions for her.
Kurt tried to respond, but his mouth wouldn’t cooperate. He lifted one shaking hand and pointed toward the golden egg across the chamber.
"Retrieve the..." His hand fell limp, hitting the stone floor, and darkness swallowed him whole.
The last thing he heard was Sam’s exasperated voice: "Oh, come on! You can’t just—Kurt? KURT?!"
Then nothing.
