Quest

They all saw something they had never seen before. When the teenager caught sight of it, her cell phone slipped from her hand and clattered onto the floor.

Standing in the center of the subway car was a demon.

But it wasn't the kind of demon anyone would expect. Its small, pear-shaped body was covered in thick black hair, giving it the unsettling appearance of a grotesque toy. Two long, thin black horns jutted from its head, and its wide mouth was filled with jagged, yellow teeth. The most striking feature, however, was its eyes—or rather, the two glowing purple crystal spheres where its eyes should have been. Short, hairy arms and legs completed its bizarre appearance.

For a moment, fear lessened as people took in the strange creature. Some even began to mock it.

"Hey! Stop messing around with your weird experiments! I don't have time for this!"

"Who gave you permission to film here? Is this a joke?"

The grumbling continued until a bald man with bulging muscles, who looked like he lived in the gym, approached the demon. He clenched his fist, as if preparing to intimidate the creature, but the moment his eyes met the demon's glowing orbs, his confidence evaporated.

The demon, seemingly unfazed by the crowd's jeers, grew visibly annoyed. Its purple crystal eyes shifted to a deep, menacing red. Lifting one hairy, stubby finger, it pointed at the bald man.

"Boom."

A small hole appeared in the demon's fingertip. With a deafening crack, a red electric projectile shot out, moving faster than anyone could react. It hit the bald man square in the forehead.

The man collapsed instantly, blood pooling beneath his body as a gaping hole marred his skull.

The subway car went silent.

The demon's yellow teeth glistened as it smiled with sinister satisfaction.

"I see we understand each other now," it said, its voice cold and mocking.

Suddenly, a glowing blue system window appeared in front of every passenger:

[Only the strong survive.

Kill at least one organism.

Difficulty: F

Time limit: 40 minutes

Reward: System activation

Penalty for failure: Death]

"I wish you all death," the demon declared before disappearing into thin air.

Panic erupted. Passengers screamed and pounded on the subway doors, desperate for an escape. Some pulled out their phones, only to discover they weren't working. A teenager stared dejectedly at her dead screen, tears welling in her eyes.

In the chaos, Bob remained calm. He had faced hardships before, and while the situation was dire, he refused to let panic consume him. However, he was acutely aware of one problem: he didn't have a weapon. His friend Daniel had taught him how to fight with his fists, but he was far from skilled.

Scanning the car, Bob's eyes landed on an elderly repairman. The man was furiously hammering at the subway door, his efforts futile.

A plan formed in Bob's mind.

He approached the repairman, his gaze cold and calculating. The repairman noticed Bob's expression and visibly paled.

"Y-young man… do you n-need something?" the repairman stammered.

Bob's lips curled into an eerie smile.

"Your hammer—and your life."

The repairman froze in fear, unable to react as Bob grabbed his hand and wrenched the hammer free. With a swift, brutal motion, Bob brought the hammer down on the man's head. Blood sprayed, and the repairman crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

A system window appeared before Bob:

[You are the first to kill something in the apocalypse. Title earned: First Blood]

[+30 XP]

[+100 coins]

[Quest completed: Only the strong survive.]

Bob grinned at the notification.

"Let's spill some more blood," he thought.

The other passengers stared at Bob in horror, backing away from him as though he were a monster. Only one man—a bodyguard in a tailored suit—stepped forward to confront him.

"Hey! Calm down! If you don't, I'll have to—"

Bob didn't let him finish. Swinging the hammer with precision, he struck the man on the head, sending him crashing to the ground. Blood trickled from the man's skull, but no system notification appeared.

Bob knelt over the body and struck twice more until a message finally appeared:

[+40 XP]

[+120 coins]

"This one was tough," Bob thought with grim satisfaction.

The remaining passengers kept their distance, too terrified to approach him.

Suddenly, the demon's voice echoed in their minds:

"It seems Bob is the only one serious about surviving. Since the rest of you are wasting my time, I'll shorten the clock. When the timer hits zero, everyone who hasn't killed will die."

A new system window appeared before them:

[Time remaining: 10:00]

The countdown began.

Panic turned to madness as passengers attacked one another, desperate to complete the task. Blood splattered across the walls, and screams filled the air.

Bob thrived in the chaos. He moved methodically, his hammer striking down anyone who crossed his path.

[+25 XP]

[+110 coins]

[+35 XP]

[+100 coins]

As the timer ticked down, Bob accelerated his efforts.

[+30 XP]

[+100 coins]

[+20 XP]

[+90 coins]

When the timer hit zero, the subway car went eerily silent. Those who hadn't killed froze where they stood, their hearts stopping in unison. They fell like marionettes with cut strings.

The demon reappeared, its grin wider than before.

"Now, no more killing," it warned. "Or you'll join the dead."

The surviving passengers—only four besides Bob—stared at the bodies surrounding them.

The demon's gaze settled on Bob.

"You've impressed me. For your…enthusiasm, you've earned a reward."

A new system notification appeared before Bob:

[You've obtained an Uncommon Weapon Box Stored in inventory]

The other survivors glared at Bob with envy and fear.

"Hmph. Four survivors. I was expecting more," the demon mused. "No matter."

The survivors were still a little shaken from what had just happened. They probably didn't fully realize what they had done.

Blue circles appeared beneath the survivors' feet, and they vanished from the subway car, reappearing at the subway entrance.

A final system notification greeted them:

[System successfully adapted to user.

Welcome to the apocalypse]

Bob tightened his grip on the hammer, a cold smile spreading across his face.

"This is only the beginning."