Chapter 7: Wake-Up Call
Archie woke up that morning with a splitting headache. Could it have been because he hadn't gone to bed until well after one in the morning? That was probably the answer. He heard heavy thumping on his door. "Archie, wake up! Time for school!" Jess yelled from the other side of the door before her footsteps quietened as she walked down the stairs. He let out a large groan as he sat up, stretching his arms. His eyes were red as he got up, getting dressed into his school uniform before he went downstairs to eat breakfast.
Archie's school uniform consisted of a wine-red jumper with a blue shirt alongside a pair of black trousers with a black belt to keep them in place. There were no regulated shoes, so he wore a pair of black runners with no logo. He opened the door to his room and walked down the stairs while stretching. He accidentally ignored the pitfall his eldest sister had placed on the stairs, so this was his wake-up call. The sudden fall caused him to immediately snap awake and grab the edge of the pitfall, grasping on for dear life. Archie heard his sister excitedly yell about her catching him, and he could only sigh in response. He pulled himself up, wide awake from his sister's trap, ensuring he hadn't injured himself. Archie walked into the kitchen, sighing while looking at his eldest sister, who had a large grin. "Don't even start," Archie stated, walking over to the cereal cabinet, where he grabbed a box of Corn Flakes. "I'm way too tired to deal with you."
"Now, now, Lauren. Don't hassle your brother. He didn't get home until one in the morning last night, so give him a break." Their mother defended him, bringing a relieved smile to his face. "Come on, why can't I use my abilities on him? Is it wrong to use the powers I have?" Lauren complained. "No, but it is when you're trying to hurt your brother." Their mother countered, stopping Lauren from complaining since they didn't want to argue. Archie smiled as he grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge, pouring it onto his Corn Flakes. The table was occupied by Lauren, Jess and Patryk, so Archie ate his breakfast while standing up and leaning over the table. This was a usual occurrence, so he had gotten used to it.
Archie quickly finished eating, being the first person to finish despite being the last to start. He placed his bowl on the sink and walked over to his school bag. He exchanged some books from his school bag for some on the table. After all, they didn't have the same subjects every day. He zipped up his bag and started to head towards the door of his house. "Alright, I'll see you guys later!" Archie yelled to his mother. "See you later, Archie!" She yelled back, hearing the door close soon after.
As he heard the door close, Archie willed his system to show him the quest board. He wanted to know what that notification he got last night had said. It pulled up a text box instead of the quest menu.
{Wake Up.}
Archie woke up in his bed, sweating with fear, holding his head in his hands. He tried to scream, but nothing came out of his mouth. After all, in the real world, he could not speak. 'What...' Archie mentally asked himself. 'What the fuck was that?'
{That was a night terror that comes as part of the system. Here, you will fight a monster of your imagination. I don't know what you'll be fighting against, but until you beat him, you won't be safe while sleeping.}
'How often will I have to fight these things?' Archie asked in fear, looking around his room for whatever creature could be there as the pale moonlight illuminated his room slightly. He didn't question why the system answered his questions with a different text box.
{It's random. You'll never know when you'll be forced to experience such a bad dream. Now, I'd recommend looking behind you.}
[New Quest: Defeat The Night Terror!]
Archie quickly turned around, jumping away as a monster covered in shadows tried to attack him. It had bear-like claws, a male human body and a black void for a head. There appeared to be no lower half since it just floated in the air. Archie stared the creature down, his eyes shaking as he tried to understand what he was looking at. Suddenly, the monster jumped at him, claws outstretched. Archie dived out of the way, rolling once he hit the floor to stand up quicker.
'Silence Sword, activate!' Archie yelled, gritting his teeth as he grabbed the handle, slamming it into the back of the monster while the blade extended. The dark blue glow of the sword blended slightly with the darkness, but it still pierced the monster's back. A scream erupted from the Night Terror's body, letting Archie know he had damaged it. Archie pulled the blade downwards, creating a severe cut down its body. As soon as the sword's edge hit the floor, Archie jumped back, adrenaline rushing through his body as he held his sword with his shaking hands.
The monster turned around, looking at Archie as its wounds regenerated. A pair of eyes emerged from the monster's body, red irises contrasting with the darkness. Archie's body shivered in fear, his eyes shaking as he charged forwards, trying to slice at it with his sword. However, he was no trained swordsman. His slices were sloppy, but give any idiot a sword, and he'll do some damage with it. He dealt some blows to the Night Terror, but no matter what he did, he couldn't deal real damage to the monster for some reason. It almost felt like the creature was toying with him. Archie was swinging his blade when the creature dealt him a devasting blow to the left side of his body, piercing his ribcage with his claws. Archie wanted to scream in pain but couldn't make any noise, for he was now silenced.
Archie was flung against the wall. He felt the left side of his body with his right hand, looking at the blood pouring from his body. He couldn't form coherent thoughts for the moment, but he was able to produce the emotion that meant he wanted to activate his armour. A pastel blue light that blended with the moonlight surrounded him. Archie stood up, using his blade to hold himself up. 'You...bastard...' Archie thought, barely able to think.
{You're going to die.}
'Do you...really think...that's going...to stop me...?' Archie replied to the voice in his head, a grin appearing on his face before he started to mentally laugh.
'Bring it, you fucking Night Terror!'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone