SYSTEM ASCENSION

The usually quiet forest erupted into a bounty quest. The reward alone "elixir of life" was enough to make anyone go mad. A substance which when drunk brings immortality.

However, no one had the mind to turn against themselves yet, seeing that one predator is chasing them.

Elias.

One after another, notifications exploded before every remaining participant in the sector.

"What...?"

"My system changed!"

"What’s a Trial Override?"

"Who triggered it?!"

Every screen ended with the same answer.

[Trigger Reason: Elias Morail(kill count: 210)]

Panic followed.

The survivors who had fled from the clearing didn’t stop running. One finally dared to glance at his screen again.

"...Reward...Elixir... of Life?"

Another looked over.

"No way..."

"The reward is an Elixir?"

The group slowed.

"If we kill him..then...it’s ours."

Fear and greed collided.

Elsewhere in the sector. A groups that had never met Elias stared at their own notifications.

"The trigger is... a person?"

"Who is Elias Morail?"

"Forget who he is."

A female tightened her grip around her spear.

"If the Trial itself is offering that reward, he’s become the target of everyone."

The hunt has begun. Or so they thought. One by one, their number began to reduce.

One person per day.

It wasn’t any random killing. It was done by the one person they had expected to be the prey. The smell of blood soaked the ground.

[Elias Morail]

[kill count:211]

[Elias Morail]

[kill count:220]

[Elias Morail]

[kill count:250]

He picked at them, one after the other.

The rest teamed up to take him down together. That faithful day, they lost twenty of them.

Hostility and distrust grew among them, and they went into hiding for a while, all to get away from Elias.

No killing happened for the next week.

After that, Elias began to hunt them out of their hiding spot. His name spread with terror.

He seem different anytime anyone escape to tell the tale.

"He uses a sword." They say.

"I saw a spear." They say.

"Dagger are his speciality." They say.

And whenever they try to describe him.

"When I saw him, he was barely up to my shoulder, but for some reason he seem to be taller?"

"He looked fragile at the beginning of the trial. Could he have a body growth ability?"

Days turned into weeks! weeks into months, and months into years. Eventually, living a bounty quest life became normal for the players.

There was only one rule.

Avoid Elias Morail.

Unfortunately, the rule wasn’t enough to keep them safe. Whenever he comes across any one of them, he didn’t hesitate to send them off.

By the end of three full years, the last survivor escaped from the forest, badly wounded and shivering even under the scorching sun.

He turned around. Behind him was the familiar face, covered in dirt and blood. His eyes were cold. He held his hunter dagger.

The youth flinched at the sight of Elias.

Standing at 6’2" and impossibly huge for his age. Barefooted even with the burning sand. Shirtless, despite the heat. The cracked necklace caught the sun, and his dark eyes stayed behind his messy long hair.

"Wait no!" The person began to back away. "I’m sorry! I was not among them! I didn’t plot to kill her!"

Elias raised a brow. He took a step closer.

"Plot to kill who?"

The youth flinched.

"Huh? Where you not hunting us because of that girl?!"

Elias raised a brow.

"What girl?"

The youth paled, voice raising in desperation. "Why then?! Everyone is dead! Why are you killing everybody? Why did you trigger a bounty quest?!"

Elias thought. He raised his head side and then back to the youth.

"Why..."

A grin slowly lit up his face. "Because I can."

The youth began to crawl away.

"Get away from me! Get away from me, you monster!"

Elias waved off the dagger, and conjured a spear. He stepped closer and stood beside the youth and raised it.

"No... don’t kill me! Please! Plea_"

It ended with a stab to the skull.

Silence descended. Everything had ended. The three years slaughter.

Elias turned around and yawned.

"What girl did they plot to kill?"

Mona’s voice came. "That A rank girl. Yvonne."

"Yvonne..." Elias repeated. "Who is that?"

"She was with you in the tub."

"Did I like her?"

Mona snorted. "No. Not really. She’s not important."

Elias nodded. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the spear, and turned around.

Then,

Ding! The screen appeared.

[Bounty quest: complete]

[Sector seven trial: complete]

[Number of survivor: one]

[Name: Elias Morail]

[Age: 16]

[Height: 6’2"]

[Weight: 80kg]

[Species: human]

[Occupation: S rank raider]

[Status: player]

[Ability: creation]

[Reevaluation in progress...]

Elias stared at the panel he had grown familiar with. "Human...with a question mark?"

[Re-evaluation complete]

[Name: Elias Morail]

[Age: 16]

[Height: 6’2"]

[Weight: 80kg]

[Species: Mortal?]

[Occupation: S rank raider]

[Status: Chosen/Sector seven sole survivor]

[Ability: creation]

"Chosen?" Elias narrowed his eyes. "Chosen for what?"

He hasn’t been able to make sense of it when another notification came.

[Bounty quest reward: Elixir of life]

[Reward: Invalid]

"Invalid?" Mona wonder aloud. "It’s not giving it to you?"

Elias didn’t say a word. He just stared at the message that boldly say invalid. From the start, he had never been interested in immortality, but the fact that it wasn’t given to him felt off.

"I feel like the system treat me bad."

"Obviously." Mona agreed.

The screen popped again.

[Observation ending]

[Returning ’chosen’ to civilization]

[Countdown to thirty seconds]

[00:30]

[00:29]

Elias turned around to look at the desert.

He clearly remembered being brought here. He remembered running from Nulls. He remembered haunting crawlers. Anymore than that were wipe clean. Faces, voices, certain activities.

"Should we go home?" Mona asked.

"Do you remember the way home?" Elias raised a brow.

"Find a fancy pit. Attempt a death dive. Survive the fall. Home sweet Home."

Elias almost chuckled. "I’m not going home."

"Why?"

"You know how petty I am."

"We’re the same person."

"Then I remember spending six damn years in tubs and cages."

[00:04]

Mona chuckled.

[00:03]

"I guess we’re making a quick stop."

[00:02]

The blinding light that had once brought him here envelope him.

[00:01]

And the desert was left behind with no breath and nine hundred and ninety nine corpse.

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