Just then, a raw voice rose from the crowd on the left side of the square. The sound of hard metal scraping against concrete was followed by an angry shout.
"Where did you get that sword, huh?! Answer me! I'm talking to you!"
"A sword?" I muttered. A flash of insight struck my mind. Someone having a sword in the modern world was proof that the system didn't just distribute stat points, but physical objects as well. My curiosity overcame my fear; pressing my rifle to my chest, I slipped through the crowd. Roy and Elara shared an anxious look and followed me.
When I broke through the human barricade, I saw them right in the middle of the clearing that had formed at the center. The man shouting was a massive, hulking type, his t-shirt completely soaked in fresh blood, his veins bulging as if they were about to burst. He had probably dumped all his stats into Strength. He was shouting furiously: "Who am I talking to, huh!?"
The moment I turned my gaze to the person he was targeting, every cell in my body turned to ice. My breath caught in my throat. It was him... The man I had seen from the school window, walking calmly out of the chaos, watching the whole world as if it were a theater stage. He was right in front of me.
"Alex, what’s happening? Who are these men?" Elara’s whisper reached my ear, but I couldn't answer. I had gone rigid.
The hulking man had gone completely berserk at the swordsman's silence. "So you won't answer... Then die!" he roared, swinging his massive fist like a sledgehammer.
The event ended in seconds. Before the big man's fist could even get centimeters from its target, the swordsman made a single move without even shifting from his spot. Only a silvery light flashed in the air. A sharp "whoosh" sound that grated the ears...
The massive man’s fist remained suspended in the air, then his head slid off his shoulders like a ball and hit the ground. While blood spurted into the void like a fountain, the swordsman flicked his blade to the side with an expression of indescribable disgust. The blood on the steel spread across the pristine marble like a ribbon. As the metallic "click" of him sheathing his sword echoed through the square, his ice-blue eyes found me directly from within the crowd.
Our gazes collided. In that moment, I realized I was locking eyes not with a monster, but with an executioner.
Roy grabbed my arm and pulled me back sharply. I only came to my senses once we had blended back into the crowd.
"Hey man, what's going on? You went stiff," Roy said, his voice worried. "Do you know that swordsman? When you locked eyes, it was like your soul was drained."
I took a deep breath, gripping my rifle tighter as I tried to stop my hands from trembling. "Sorry... Yes, I saw him before, in those first moments when everything started. I don't get good vibes from that man. We definitely better stay away from him. He seems to know what this system is much better than we do."
The crowd in the square had dispersed a bit more upon seeing the corpse on the ground, and a wide circle of death had formed around the swordsman. Everyone's eyes were on the navigation arrow, but no one dared to speak loudly anymore.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The moment the navigation timer in the center of the square hit zero, a grating, dimensional tearing sound was heard. The texture of the air ripped like paper, and a being that defied the laws of physics emerged. Floating in the air was a creature with strange, purplish fur, two small wings on its back, and two small horns glowing on its forehead—looking like a distorted fusion of a cat and a demon.
"AKAAAKKKRRRGGH AJJJJTTUUUULLLL!"
That shrill, brain-racking sound echoed not just in our ears, but directly inside our minds. Hundreds of people in the square covered their ears in pain. The creature brought its claw to its throat and tapped it a few times.
"Voice check 1, 2, 3... It should be working now. Can everyone hear me?"
The voice in our minds was as clear as a radio broadcast this time. Elara gripped the handle of her rifle with trembling hands and moved closer to me. "Alex, what's happening? Is... is that thing talking to us?" she whispered.
"Probably, yes," I said, not taking my eyes off the creature. "Don't make a sound for now and don't stand out. We need to understand what's going on."
The creature did a flip in the air, a humanoid but distorted smile appearing on its face. "Based on your reactions, you can hear me. Great! Congratulations on completing the first quest. You must be annoyed that you didn't earn much of a reward, right? Well, if you were lucky enough, you could have fulfilled hidden conditions and earned a few rewards... But it seems there isn't anyone that clever in my sector. How annoying!"
Hidden quests? I thought to myself. I clenched my fist. Was there such a thing? Damn it, in the station we were only focused on survival; who knows what we missed...
As the creature's bright eyes scanned the square, they snagged on the pile of corpses the swordsman had just caused. It saw the severed head on the ground, then turned its gaze to the man sheathing his sword. "Hmm," the creature said, placing a finger on its chin. "Maybe there are some people worth watching..."
In that moment, everything became clear in my mind. That flawless sword in that man's hand wasn't just a coincidentally found piece of loot. That man had fulfilled a "hidden quest" while we were struggling for our lives in the station and had received that reward.
The creature began to speak again. "Anyway, my name is Bilt—"
Just as it was about to say its name, a man from the back of the crowd lunged forward, screaming. "WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE! STOP THIS ALREADY! I CAN'T STAND ANY MOR—"
He didn't finish his sentence. In the blink of an eye, as if it had moved at the speed of light, the creature appeared right next to the man. Its small mouth opened to an incredible width and, in a single move, it bit the man's head off his shoulders and swallowed it. A chewing sound, then the crunch of bone... The crowd recoiled in horror, screams filling the square.
The creature wiped the blood from the corner of its mouth and continued to float in the air. "Anyone else want to speak?"
A deadly silence fell. No one dared even to breathe. Elara grabbed my hand in fear; her hand was ice-cold and trembling violently. As people huddled together in panic, I involuntarily looked at the swordsman. Among all those people, he was the only one standing calmly, as if sitting in a park, without shedding a single drop of sweat.
"Well then, I shall continue speaking," the creature said, its voice more cheerful now. "My name is Bilton, and I am the overseer responsible for this sector. I will do my best to entertain the viewers, though that is not something you need to know."
Viewers? My brain throbbed. Is someone watching us? All this blood, these mutations... Is it just entertainment? In that moment, I noticed the disgusted expression on the swordsman's face deepening as he gritted his teeth. He was aware he was being watched.
"Well then," Bilton said, flapping his wings as he rose toward the sky. "It is time to begin your second quest!"
In the sky, massive, blood-red digits appeared: 2000.
"This number is the number of people here," Bilton said, looking down with disgust. "If this number does not drop to 1000 within one hour... You all die. Good luck!"
Bilton let out a laugh and dissolved into the air. There was a moment of silence in the square, then whispers rose. "What? Does he want us... to kill each other?" "This is impossible!" "I can't do it!"
Right then, the cold system notification hit our field of vision like a slap:
[SECOND QUEST: CULLING]
- Objective: Reduce the number of people in the area by half (2000/2000).
- Reward: None
- Failure: Death
- Time Remaining: 01:00:00
The air inside the blue sphere changed instantly. The victims who were standing side by side just a moment ago, sharing the same fate, began to look at each other like hunters. Everyone reached for their weapon, sword, or skill. Roy silently clicked the safety off his rifle; there was a darker expression in his eyes than I had ever seen before.
"Alex," Roy said, his voice lower than a whisper. "The number has already started to decrease."
He was right. On the other side of the square, the first knife had already been plunged into someone's back.