Sys Apoc Beta - Chapter 4 - Why (Patreon)

Chapter 4 -  Why?

I stared at the message with a good deal of apprehension. The system's intention was to eliminate 80% of the competitors. The sheer brutality of it made me hold my breath for a couple of seconds. Besides, the system also incentivized competition between players.

Players? Is that what I'm gonna call myself now? Am I already so deep into this? The words lingered in my head as I read the message repeatedly. 

It was hard to grasp the true meaning of it, if there was one at all. What would be the best thing to do? A part of me assumed the best thing would be to fight one of the bosses alone. This way, more people would have a chance to fight and survive. While another part of me— a more sane one— decided that didn’t make any sense. 

If I fought with others by my side and we all succeeded and advanced to the next challenge, I’d be ensuring the survival of people I somewhat trusted. But can I trust anyone in this place? 

The system messages kept saying over and over that there was no place for the weak in the multiverse. That would mean people would soon start killing each other to secure a spot among the top two hundred. 

As if reading my mind, a system message popped up before my eyes. 

Max Jankovic has just earned the title [Murderer] - Be the first to kill someone of your own kind.

Shit, it looks like someone here is much more inclined to go on a killing spree.

We’d been in the proving ground for no more than ten minutes. This Max Jankovic wasn’t someone to mess with, and his name didn’t sound like the one of an elf or a demon. A picture of a giant Russian man popped into my head, and I chuckled as I shoved the idea away and prepared for my next move.

I needed to understand what I had done to perform the magic that killed the goblin. I tried saying the word "skills" in my mind, but nothing happened. 

In all the RPGs I’d played before, there was always a menu with several options—a status page, like the one I had just seen with my evolution stats, inventory, and some notifications. But none of the words I was thinking were working. That was when I decided to say it out loud. "Skills."

As soon as the word left my mouth, a blue box appeared before my eyes. It was just like the others and showed ten slots. Four of them were whitish, three bluish, two purple, and one a bright orange. 

The word ‘Shards’ appeared at the top of the box. In the first two whitish spaces, the words ‘Common - Basic Stealth’ and ‘Common - Lightening Afinity’ appeared.

Below the colorful slots, a message from the system awaited me:

This is the Shards system. Congratulations on being alive and well to read this. Throughout your journey in this partial integration, you will face challenges, and those challenges will reward you with Shards. Shards can be used to upgrade your skills, improve your status, or open different paths of progress. All of this will be discovered as long as you live to fight another day. You have two common Shards related to your class. These two can be removed at any time, but any other Shard that you place in your slots cannot be removed. For now, choose wisely. If you exit the Proving Ground, you'll be rewarded with the possibility of combining Shards and creating new, powerful skills.

I read it twice before closing the message and paying more attention to the skills. The Stealth one was quite simplistic. It only explained my steps were hard to hear and my presence could be hidden more easily amidst shadows. 

The other shard sparkled more my curiosity.

Your Soul Core has a Lightning Affinity. You can still learn to use other kinds of magic, but Lightning will be stronger and easier to command. A basic Lightning Strike skill is granted to one with a Soul Core aligned with the Thunder.

Right, so that explains the lightning that killed the goblin, I thought as I wiped my clothes clean and prepared to move. My determination was finally set on what I had to do next. 

I played enough games to know that the stronger I got in the early levels, the easier it would be to face the boss. I could try to rush and find an entrance to the second and then the third floor, but the chances were that I’d be dead as soon as I faced the ultimate enemy. 

Besides, I was sure there were plenty of enemies around. Being a rogue and with my life experiences, I’d probably be able to gather resources and navigate my way through this strange labyrinth discreetly.

As I walked I noticed the tunnel walls were far apart, and the ceiling was high. The place was well-lit, and it didn’t trigger my phobia. I was thankful for that, but at the same time, I knew that if this place was as dangerous as the messages made it out to be, I’d better be prepared to face the phobia again. 

I walked for five or ten minutes before I heard the first signs of life. At the end of the corridor shadows moved, coming from a side wall. Small steps echoed as they stomped the ground. I tightened my grip on my dagger and slowed my pace, preparing to face whatever waited for me.

The way these tunnels were designed made hiding nearly impossible. Unless someone could turn invisible with a powerful ability, one could only run or fight. It was an effective way to keep people engaged in life or death situations.

I wondered what the beings watching me were thinking as my hands shook and I prepared to face another enemy. Is Leo watching? Are the kids from Saint’s Jerome? The thoughts crept into my mind, but I pushed them away. There was no reason to dwell on that now. I needed to be ready to fight. There was no room for hesitation.

The figure’s head appeared first at one of the tunnel’s corner. I’d seen those bastards several times before. Back when I hadn’t found a better way to live, some of them had gotten really close to me. They would scurry past as I slept, stealing my food or even chewing on my blankets.

I’d seen some fat ones, but never one as big and ugly as the monster in front of me. 

The rat was the size of a shepherd dog, with glistening yellow eyes and two immense teeth at the end of its long snout. Its fur was gray, and its feet were strangely elongated. The evolutionary purpose of its big legs or the bulk of its body made no sense to me, but the shriek that creature let out sent a shiver down my spine. This rat wasn’t here to eat my blankets; it wanted to eat my guts.

As soon as it spotted me, it rushed forward with rapid steps, closing the distance in seconds. I planted the balls of my feet on the ground and prepared to fight. Nothing in the system had told me how to use magic; all I could do was rely on my instincts. 

When I fought the goblin, the magic had surged from my hands when I intended to kill the monster. I outstretched my left hand and willed the energy to strike the rat. It was as instinctive as I had hoped. I felt the energy travel from my heart, up through my hands, and out through my fingers. A lightning bolt shot out of the small blue crystal at the end of the magical wand, and the tunnel lit up with a blinding white light.

However, my aim wasn’t great. The magic hit the ground near the creature, and it jumped to the side with a loud shriek, surprised by my attack but not willing to give up the fight. 

“Right, little bastard, come on,” I called as I waited for it to get closer. I’d never shot a gun, but I knew that a point blank shot was way easier to hit than a distant one. I just needed a little patience.

When the creature was ten feet away from me, I unleashed another burst of energy into my left hand. The lightning strike appeared faster this time and hit its mark. The creature was struck just beneath its left ear, sending it rolling to the ground, landing on its back. 

A cry erupted from its throat, but what surprised me more was the strange noise I heard at the end of the corridor. From where the rat had come, the clang of metal against metal and voices screaming sounded loud and urgent.

I rushed to the rat, deciding I needed to finish it off before moving to discover what was happening ahead. If there were more enemies fighting, I needed to be in a safe position to counterattack. 

I dashed toward the monster, gripping my dagger tightly, and as the creature rolled to its feet, I drove the dagger into its skull. I felt the blade slice through the monster’s skin and bone; my strength levels were apparently high enough to pierce its skull and hit its brain. I tried to twist the blade, but the bone was too damn hard. 

Fortunately, I didn’t need to. 

I pulled out the dagger, and the creature was already dead.

Messages flashed before my eyes, but I dismissed them with a mental command. Surprisingly, it worked. 

I heard gruntings and cursings in the distance. Whoever was fighting there was human, and that sparked something inside me. I moved cautiously but quickly. I needed to see what was going on.

When I reached the corner of the corridor, my eyes widened once more. In the tunnel’s middle, two humans—a young woman with black hair as dark as night and a smaller man with blonde hair slicked back—were fighting against two extremely tall elves. 

The humans had swords and shields in their hands, while the elves wielded daggers. The humans had the upper hand in weaponry, but the elves had longer arms and seemed faster. 

In the few seconds I observed the scene, I saw one of the elves, who appeared to be female, land a slash near the man’s neck. My heart pounded, and I rushed to help.

I aimed my wand to command a lightning strike but gave up midway. I would probably hit both the man and its attacker with my strike. I dashed faster, my brow soaked with sweat as the figures got close.

I had little control over this part of me, a part I often wished didn’t exist at all. Seeing others in distress always filled me with hate. 

The only elf I had known had been gentle to me, and I’d met several humans who were anything but gentle. However, they were still humans. 

I couldn’t let the duo die like this.

As I rushed forward, I shoved the wand into my pocket and dashed toward the elf on the right—the one who had just wounded the blonde man.

The creature was about to deliver another strike, aiming for the open wound, but I reached the enemy first.

My dagger clashed with theirs, sending a jolt through my arm and shoulder. The elf was strong, but at that moment, we had the upper hand. As soon as our blades connected, the blonde man raised his sword and thrust it toward the elf’s heart. 

His movement was quick and precise. The creature lost the strength in its legs and collapsed, falling to its knees. The blonde man had to step back to give it space to fall. Before the creature reached the ground he was already swinging his sword at the head of the other elf. The female elf took the hit with all the force. She got slammed against the wall.

The black haired woman swung her sword in a wide arc, slicing the creature from neck to the opposite armpit. The movement was precise and powerful, and the elf fell wounded on the ground, life escaping from her with each labored breath. 

The fight didn’t took more than a minute, but somehow it felt like an eternity.

A message popped up in my vision.

Universal skill learned: Multiversal language. You are now able to understand all the races of the Multiverse. Listen carefully.

Just as the message disappeared, the elf looked deep into my eyes and asked a single question in a slurred english.

“Why?”