Hard truth

<Welcome to the Main Hub World!>

With expressionless eyes, Frederick stood unmoving for about three hours. Then, he blurted out, "I was naïve and stupid. Thinking that I could achieve everything without giving up anything in exchange. I could live freely and happily by using others as stepping stones. But it's not that simple. I have to change more than that… I had to suffer so much just because of a little thing known as 'curiosity'—an invisible, deadly poison.

I wouldn't have suffered as much if I hadn't investigated those noises. If I hadn't loved Chloe, I wouldn't feel betrayed. I wouldn't have lost my job if I hadn't trusted Jacob and became his friend. If my anger hadn't clouded my mind when I discovered their affair, I wouldn't have abandoned my car and left behind evidence of my crime, making me a fugitive. If I had stood up instead of being a coward to those bullies and fought back, even to the death if necessary, my childhood could have been much better.

The root of all my troubles is just 'emotions.' They prevent me from being truly happy. I have suffered all my life because of this.

Frederick thought for a moment and opened his status.

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<Welcome back, candidate>

Name: Frederick Field

Race: Human

Age: 26 years old

Level: 1

< Authority>: Forgotten times (Unique)

<Curse >: One Against the World (Unique)

-One Against the World (Unique):

Effect: The world will try to kill you by every means possible, and the experience points earned will be divided ten times.

Remark: How did you even survive until now?

<Statistics >

-Constitution: 10

-Mind: 10

-Perception: 10

-Dexterity: 10

Experience points: 0/1000

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"As much as I would like to, I can't just rid myself of all emotions. But… what if my ambition was stronger than the rest?"

Frederick stared at his status panel, particularly his level.

"Power... Yes, that's what I need. True happiness lies in power. Power won't forsake me like my parents did. It offers everything, unlike the orphanage in my younger days. With power, I wouldn't have been the pitiful coward of my youth. Power doesn't betray nor stab in your back. With power, I wouldn't have died earlier… And godhood… isn't that the peak of power and happiness?"

Frederick started laughing, disregarding any hidden enemies that could be lurking. He only stopped laughing when he had enough.

At that moment, a new realization hit him. "So, this is the first way for the Chronicles to get rid of weaker candidates?"

Observing his surroundings and not finding any living beings except those monsters and humans

"I can't fight those monsters now as they can rip someone apart as easily as paper, talking from experience," Frederick reasoned. "The Chronicles probably know this and offer an alternative way to level up—hunting humans."

"Four months is probably the time given by the Chronicles to become strong enough to survive the Main Story," he mused. "However, I thought the Chronicles wasn't as harsh, as the puppet never mentioned the death of candidates who fail a Main Story and only their right to reach level 99. Now that I think about it ... It's highly possible that failing means death. No wonder we are the 8th batch of candidates."

Frederick considered the second method to get stronger through a side story but couldn't find a way to access them yet. He even tried to yell things like "Open side story menu" or "side story status" in vain.

'Now isn't the time to dwell on that. I need to find water as soon as possible. Perhaps some fruits will do, but I never found any fruits the last time I walked around. Does the Chronicles want us to eat monster or human meat?'

With an unchanged expression, Frederick began walking in the opposite direction of his previous path. To his surprise, he rapidly encountered a group of candidates consisting of a female and three males, all wearing grass clothes.

He hid in the tall grass for a moment, then decided to show himself and stood as tall as he could to appear imposing and deter potential threats... such as cannibalistic humans.

"Hello, everyone!" Frederick greeted them with a bright smile. All survivors turned their gazes to the newcomer, sighing with relief upon seeing Frederick.

"Another one?" a man with distinct Asian features muttered. His prominent nose added character to his face, exuding strength. Despite his unique features, he had an overall average appearance.

"Hahaha, it's fine. There's enough bread and water for all of us. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Alexi. Alexei Stukov. I'm from Russia. Nice to meet you," said another man, radiating confidence with his striking face. He looked considerably handsome.

The other survivor remained quiet, his eyes fixed on Frederick. However, the only woman among them was looking elsewhere since Frederick was still naked.

Frederick noticed it but didn't care. He was more focused on the word "bread."

'Bread? They must either have an "authority" that creates bread from nowhere or found it somewhere,' he thought. He could guess that "authorities" must be some power, although he wasn't sure yet. As for "curses," they might be a way to balance the authorities' strength.

'So the power to go back in time...' Frederick was ecstatic, though he didn't show it on his face.

'Wait... How did the last batch of candidates still fail if they had a similar power as mine? Is going back in time-limited or...' Frederick contemplated the issue, but it was futile to ponder.

"I'm Frederick Field. Nice to meet you, too," he responded with a warm smile. 'For now, I should stick with them. I'm too weak to defend myself, and I can try to see if there's any opening to kill any of them.'

"So, what are those crates you mentioned?" Frederick inquired, looking at Alexei.

"We were about to share the information we gathered. Care to join?" Alexei invited, his smile even brighter. After brief consideration, Frederick accepted and moved to sit with the rest of them. However, Alexei pointed at Frederick's lower body and then at the woman, still averting her gaze. Frederick understood what Alexei meant and hastily plucked some grass before attempting to conceal his private parts. However, compared to their makeshift "clothes," his attempt seemed rather primitive.

Observing this, Hiro Suzuki, the Asian man, rolled his eyes and growled, "Let me handle it." Hiro approached Frederick, picked up a chunk of grass nearby, and tossed it at him. He then placed his palm on Frederick's head, saying softly, "Authority of Threadweaver's Touch." The grass blades started to glow with white light and rearranged into a piece of clothing covering Frederick's body perfectly.

Frederick was taken aback by the wonders of this Authority. It was his first time experiencing an authority directly, apart from his own. However, he noticed that Hiro seemed in pain, though he was trying to hide it.

'So, Authorities are truly supernatural powers that can be used. Each Authority seems to have its unique power... But why the rarity? Is it about the strength or the limited number available?' Frederick pondered while observing the unique rarity of his status.

"So let's talk while we eat," Alexei suggested, taking some bread and a few glass bottles filled with water from a large crate concealed near a tree. He distributed food and water to everyone, excluding Frederick, who politely declined despite his hunger. It would be dumb to die because of poison.

During the discussion, Frederick gathered several exciting pieces of information, particularly about the stats.

Constitution is the stat of the body, so upgrading it will boost strength, vitality, agility, etc… This much can be guessed pretty easily by everyone, as it is clear.

The mind stat is a bit more complicated. It enhances your "mind" and increases what the puppet called "calculative power." The calculative power is used to activate authorities and represents how much information you can process. Frederick asked if it doesn't use mana or something similar, but apparently, there are no magic spells or mana. Frederick also discovered something fundamental about mind stats: This stat can protect its user against the perception stat.

Talking about the perception stat. This stat increases the user's awareness of their environment and can even give a sixth sense in case of danger or crisis. But the more exciting part is that this stat can forcefully access another candidate's status if the user's perception is twice higher than the target's mind stat. This means that someone with a ten perception stat can see the status of anyone with a five or lower mind stat.

When Frederick asked about the dexterity stat, the only woman in the group who had said nothing until now said, "It is apparently for better control of authorities. When I asked for more details, the puppet said, I have to discover that by myself."

'So in summary, mind stat is for raw calculative power, dexterity stat is for better manipulation of authorities, constitution stat is for a better strength, and perception stat is self-explanatory.'

The woman's name was Amely Adam. She had vibrant red hair and freckles on her fair skin. Her green eyes were lively, and a scar marked her left eyebrow. She looked confident and athletic.

As for Ethan, the overweight man who could locate hidden food crates thanks to his Authority, Frederick thought multiple times about making him his first target but didn't, as he was too valuable in this situation. Frederick's mind raced with calculations as he considered who to ally with, prioritize, and eliminate.

Suddenly, a rustling from the nearby grass made everyone tense. Frederick was on the verge of fleeing, even contemplating using his companions as bait if a monster appeared. After all, only he knew the terror of being caught by those creatures.

Everyone remained vigilant. Alexei's fists were even ignited with fiery red flames. Frederick noted this and reminded himself not to provoke him yet. His ability to go back in time seemed to offer no offensive or defensive capabilities.

With another rustle, an elderly woman appeared from the tall. She had a gentle expression, white hair, and wrinkled skin due to age. Anyone could see she must have been a beauty in her youth.

The group sighed in relief, except Frederick, who'd learned the hard way that this world was different from his own. One couldn't do much against numbers on Earth, but this place seemed different.

With a surprised look and a smirk, the old lady spoke up, "Well, well, well, hello there. Whew, I'm relieved to find someone around again finally."

Alexei stopped his Authority and massaged his head because of the pain. Even a short power usage seemed to take much of his calculative capability. However, despite his pain, he armed his face with a smile, and without looking directly at the naked lady, he said:

"I'm Alexei Stukov! Nice to meet you! Do you need our help? Also, what did you mean by again-"

"Authority of Blood Dominion"

Before he could finish, the old lady sent a tiny red needle that instantly pierced his left eye and his brain, killing him.

Everyone was speechless. 'He was dead just like that?' Meanwhile, the group was too frozen to move. Frederick didn't hesitate to run away in the opposite direction with haste.

As the now lifeless body Alexei's body fell, a tiny bright blue marble dropped from his bloody head.

Unfazed by Frederick's escape, the old woman's smile remained gentle as she invoked her power again, "Authority of Blood Dominion." With dull thuds, three more bodies collapsed lifeless on the ground, and soon, three green marbles came out of their body. With a nod of satisfaction, she observed a screen materialize in front of her:

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< Congratulations on reaching level 3. Please assign your free point to a stat>

-Constitution + ( 10 -> 11 )

-Mind + ( 13 -> 14)

-Perception +( 10 -> 11)

-Dexterity + ( 10 -> 11)

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Without hesitation, she chose the mind stat and immediately felt relief as her headache, caused by the overuse of her Authority, lessened.

"Hmm, it's a shame one escaped, but it's fine. I need to find more. But for now, I need to recover," she muttered. The older woman laboriously dragged the corpses together and then began to feed, drinking their blood from their necks.

While she was engrossed in her gruesome meal, a sudden rock struck her head from behind, knocking her unconscious. Her limp body crumpled to the ground. However, the assailant didn't stop there. They continued to punch her with the rock until, at last, a purple marble fell onto the ground.

Struggling to catch his breath, Frederick, hidden nearby, had never felt so satisfied to see his experience points going up.