All out

Alden began to wave his hand through the air and as if his ability was telekinesis, he controlled the dagger, using it to damage the tanks from afar. The tanks were thrown in confusion at the sudden attacks being launched at them. Alden made excellent use of that confusion and managed to bring down about 3 more tanks before the boss-level tank managed to get his tanks in order.

"Go to him! Don't wait for him to kill you all!" The boss tank bellowed. The tanks finally organized themselves and began to charge to the building Alden was on. With a single jump, the tanks managed to land on the building on which Alden stood.

"They're fast!" Alden was surprised by the speed of which the tanks reached him. A tank swung its mighty hammer at him, Alden watched as the burly weapon neared his head at a speed he could hardly catch.

"44 EXP points from defeating the 4 tanks, now I've got 5 points from leveling up. All points into Agility..." All these messages ran through Alden's mind at lightning speed, and in that split second, he had made up his mind. The tank only saw a blue flash as Alden disappeared from its eyesight.

"Gurh?" The tank grunted in confusion. Suddenly, a dagger flew through its head, causing a hole to appear in it. It fell to the ground, its body still.

"5 down, " Alden muttered, a blue glow in his eyes. " 10 more to go.

The tanks turned around to face Alden's new direction all of them roaring with anger. Alden waited for them at the building he was at and sure enough, the tanks were quick to chase after him. Alden jumped high into the sky, avoiding their ruthless attacks. He waited for that split second of pause after the tanks landed and moved his hand through the air, sending the dagger through 2 tanks' heads. The remaining orcs jumped into the air in chase of him. Alden was forced to activate [GLITCH] so he was 4 buildings away from the tanks. He waited for the tanks to stop in midair and used that extra seconds to reduce the number of orcs to 6.

"60 EXP, " So far, Alden said as he waited for the tanks to land. That would allow for an extra window from which Alden could attack. But the Tanks were now ready, the moment they landed. Their weapons were raised, ready to block any attack.

The dagger flew toward the head of a tank wielding a large hammer with a long handle and the moment it neared the tank it lifted its hammer and used it to hit the dagger away. Then the building shattered with the force of the tank bolting off it. The tank neared Alden in the blink of an eye and swung its weapon toward him. Not able to think, Alden could only raise his hand to deflect the attack which sent him flying away.

Alden crashed into building after building, not stopping until he was a good distance away. He found himself buried under a large pile of rocks from the building he had crashed into. Alden tried to move his hands to push off the dirt but a horrible piercing pain made him stop. "Is it broken?" Alden could just wonder.

Alden activated GLITCH and appeared above the pile of rocks which had once been a two-story building. Alden realized the tanks were already a few blocks away, as they charged toward him. Alden felt dizzy as he watched the Tanks grow nearer, he stumbled backward and nearly tripped on the rubble and debris lying around.

He tried to control the dagger but it was too far away to use.

"Am I going to die here?" Alden thought to himself as his heavy eyelids threatened to shut. He felt his body falling backward as he slipped out of consciousness.

Then scenes began replaying in his eyes.

He began remembering when his father bought him a computer. He had never been allowed any electronics before so he was ecstatic when he unpacked the box containing it. But that very same laptop had been a means of escape for him: It was an intoxicant that had rid him of his stress and his worries and he spent hours using the PC. In a way, it led to his downfall.

Alden's thoughts drifted back to his father, did his father die not being proud of him? He had been at his worst when his father left him and he could feel a fiery guilt burning deep in his heart. He felt guilty for hating his father. He felt guilty for blaming his father. He felt guilty for putting his father through hell, and he felt guilty for not apologizing properly. His father had left him and now he was full of regrets.

Alden had hurt his father.

Just before the world grew dark before the slit of the light from the apocalyptic world faded. Some familiar words played in his ears.

"Treat life as a race. A race you've been running since the time you were born.

The part of the race you've already run is your past and the part that you've still gotta run is your future.

The point at which you are is your present.

Now, by focusing on the past, you're just taking a few steps backward and you're not progressing but doing the opposite.

However, the part of the race you ran does matter. It matters because it reminds you how much you've run. But that's all it is. Don't make it any more than that."

"Ah, yes, I can't change the past, " Thought Alden. Where was he now? What did he have to lose if he stopped running?

His mothers, tired yet kind face appeared in his head. Yes, he still hadn't apologized to her, right? He couldn't lose the chance to tell her that he was sorry, he could still make her proud...

Alden heard the roars of the tanks a few feet away from him. In the next few seconds, their weapons would be aimed at him, and he...

No.

He would live.

"For mom..."

Alden felt his skin tingle as he unconsciously activated a skill. His eyes were forced open to land on the tanks which had their weapons lifted, ready to tear him to pieces. The calm breeze caressed his skin and caused his long hair to tickle his face. The roars of the tanks were much clearer and the red sky behind them seemed less ominous, and more beautiful...

Those damned tanks, however, were blocking the view.

That would be fixed in a minute, however.

SYSTEM ALERT!

SKILL LEVEL UP!