Chapter 2: Chapter 2: World's End: Apocalypse.
Laying on the cold hard ground, Rex's eyelids slowly lifted as he awoke from his slumber.
'...'
Darkness. His awakening was greeted by the complete absence of light.
In confusion, he closed and opened his eyelids repeatedly. He couldn't see anything.
Initially, he felt fear. His sight was the only sense he had after losing his hearing.
However, once his senses adjusted, this fear was quickly overlapped-
His lips erupted in a gut-wrenching grunt. Gritting his teeth, he stared into the distance with bulging red eyes.
His right leg felt like it was being crushed as an intense burning sensation coursed along it. The pain shook him to his core. He had never experienced anything like it.
'Argh!!! Fuck it hurts...! I-I can't move my leg!' He cursed inwardly as he laid immobile on the floor.
As he took deep breaths to cope with the pain, he noticed that the ground was shaking. violent tremors passing beneath him as the ground trembled.
'Shaking... Ah earthquake! Fuck, the building must be collapsing!'
In spite of all the pain occupying his thoughts, even he could tell he didn't have much time.
Rex slowly looked around in search of Lucia but it was no use. It was too dark to see anything.
As the rubble piled up, it was difficult to breathe, and it was impossible to predict when help would arrive. He became desperate as a result.
'Move...'
With gritted teeth, he pushed on the rubble that had fallen on his leg and as he put more and more strength into his arms, veins bulged out of Rex's neck and forehead. As he held in his breath, his face grew redder and redder.
'Move damn it...!!'
His efforts, however, only barely budged the surface.
'All that hard work... All that pain and suffering that I held in...'
'All of it... Just to die a dog's death?'
The tremors grew more violent and upon realizing that he would really die, his face twisted into grim expressions of agony.
'Don't fuck with me...! Don't you dare fuck with me..!'
*Ba-dump!*
'I won't accept it...!! I'm not going to fucking die here!!'
*Ba-dump!* *Ba-dump!*
'I... I don't want to fucking die!!!' He roared inwardly.
At that moment-
*Vwoom!*
In the dark, Rex's eyes widened as a glowing golden pen manifested before his eyes. His eyes scanned the pulsating a warm energy as it levitated in the air.
It barely illuminated the dark surroundings, just enough for him to see the rubble on top of his crushed leg and the blood around it.
[Author's Pen: Level 1 has been activated.]
[Energy: 100/100%]
A bright blue screen had been digitalized beside the pen. There were unique texts written on it.
In awe of its majestic aura, he reached for the pen with his hand.
And in the instant he grabbed it -
*Ba-dump!*
The golden light shifted into a bright crimson one as the top half of the pen rotated 45 degrees.
[Mode Shift: Command Mode.]
[Write your command.]
His mind was flooded with emotions such as confusion, fear, and doubt.
But all those emotions were overshadowed by his desire to survive.
And as if it were the most natural thing to do, his tired trembling arm slowly began spelling out letters in the middle of the air.
As he wrote, each letter was highlighted in crimson light, and when he stopped, the letters merged into one forming the word.
[Erase.]
A bright light flashed from the word, so blinding that Rex couldn't help but cover his eyes with his hands.
Suddenly, Rex felt the crushing sensation on his leg fade away as he felt a cold breeze brush his body.
When he opened his eyes, he noticed that a large chunk of rubble and part of the building wall had disappeared without a trace.
'It... It really worked...?'
'This pen... Just what is it...?'
[Author's Pen: Level 1 – Command.]
[Command mode allows the user to manifest and harness the power of words.]
[Word Limit: One.]
[Energy consumption is variable on the word's intensity.]
[Warning: Failure to properly write the word will result in backlash from the word.]
Two different screens appeared before him, one beside the other.
[First Activation Bonus: No energy was consumed for the word.]
[Warning: The intensity of the word used exceeds the user's current energy capacity.]
[The use of such a word at the current level will result in backlash.]
'Backlash...?' Rex inquired.
Before he could ponder any further, he unexpectedly gazed out of the hole in the wall and his pupils dilated.
'What... What am I looking at right now...?'
'What the hell is happening outside...!?'
Darkness covered the sky, obscuring the moonlight and coating the city in darkness.
There were blue glowing circles that looked like portals scattered throughout the city, providing dim sources of light.
A great fire ravaged throughout the city, and buildings collapsed one after another. Giant monster silhouettes could be seen in the flames, mostly obscured by darkness.
One recognisable shape was that of a giant centipede tearing through the buildings.
In the skies, strange flying monsters emerged from portals. Peering down below, he was barely able to discern strange humanoid figures walking across the city, spreading destruction as they went.
It was complete chaos.
'It can't be... There's not an ounce of electricity anywhere... This... This all resembles what happened in my novel...' He shivered. 'World's End...'
In response to his mention of the title of his book, another screen appeared in front of him.
[System]
[Level: 0]
[LP: 0]
[Race: Human.]
[XP: 0/50]
[Coins: 0]
[HP: 2/5]
[Energy: 100/100%]
[Strength: 4]
[Agility: 5]
[Stamina: 5]
[Sense: 10]
[SP: 0]
[Skills]
[Author's Pen: Level 1]
[Shop.]
[Quests.]
The shock on his face was palpable.
'A system interface!? But there was never a system in my novel!?'
His mind was full of questions, it was all too much to handle. One thing was certain, however.
'If what's happening now is related to my book... We're all fucked.'
In a rush, Rex brushed aside the interface and looked down at his leg. Using the red light provided by his pen, he could see just how deformed his leg was.
'Maybe with this I can fix my leg...'
In the air, he wrote four letters after spending a few seconds contemplating it.
The highlighted letters merged and formed the word.
[Heal.]
Astonishment filled Rex's eyes as the blood slowly began flowing back into his leg and as it reverted to normal.
[Energy: 100 -> 95/100%]
[Energy: 95 -> 90 -> 85 -> 80%]
The leg was rapidly regenerating and at the same time, the intensity of the light from word was dimming as well.
[Energy: 55 -> 50/100%]
[HP: 2 -> 5/5]
It only took seconds for his crushed deformed leg to revert back to normal.
'Fuck... It took half of my energy to fix a broken leg... I can't afford to get injured anymore.' He thought to himself as he stood up and swung his leg a few times.
As if the injury had never occurred, the pain was gone and he could move it freely.
'Each word uses a different amount of energy... And if I run out... I'm guessing I'm fucked.'
In search of Lucia, Rex looked around the dark room. Despite the glow from the pen, it was still too dark and there were too many debris pieces scattered around.
It was only the broken traces of his laptop that was visible near him. Under the fallen debris, part of it had been completely crushed.
His hard drive was somehow intact, which was a blessing. It contained all the important information of his novel, and it was probably the only clue he had to figuring out what had happened.
Before resuming his search for Lucia, he quickly picked it up and placed it in his pocket.
'I'll use a word to light up the room so that I can find her-'
His arm rose to write the word 'Light,' but just as he was about to, he stopped. In his novel, monsters and other races gathered around the fires and portals, which were the main sources of light.
The light from the word could end up backfiring on him. The last thing he needed right now was the attention of monsters.
So instead of light, he chose a different word.
[Trace.]
[Energy: 46/100%]
Rex shivered with fear whenever the word's activation light flashed.
It was fortunate for him that the light this time was dim as a highlighted thread emerged from the word.
In watching the thread extend, Rex soon found himself sweating as it sped out of the room.
'...Did it not work...?'
'I remember falling asleep in the same room as her... But If she's not here then that means...'
*Ba-dump!* *Ba-dump!*
Rex's expression grew dark, veins bulged out of the side of his neck as he grit his teeth.
'Something... Took her.'
Rex believed himself to be someone who held complete control over his emotions. Even if his pride was trampled over, or if he was beaten, he could somehow find a way to bottle all up his rage.
But for the first time in his life, the already cracked bottle, shattered.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone