Chapter1-Apocalypse

"Aren't you always boasting about being favored by the Goddess of Luck? Let's see if the Goddess of Luck will favor you this time."

"Why bother talking to him so much? Let's kill him, we've got more important things to do."

"You lunatics! How could you do this! Let go of me! What are you going to do?"

A searing pain shot through John's abdomen, but he had no time to care.

His strength ebbed away with his blood, leaving him to watch helplessly as the delicate figure that shielded him was violently pinned to the ground by the two of them, the torn mage's robe scattered everywhere, revealing her smooth, supple body.

Screams and lewd laughter rang in his ears, followed by wretched cries of agony.

John clenched his fist, reaching toward the darkening vision before him.

He felt his consciousness slipping away, each breath growing heavier than the last.

Suddenly, words flashed before John's eyes, and then his world was completely swallowed by darkness.

…

"...According to NASA, the rift that mysteriously appeared near the sun has been certified as posing no threat, and the panic that has lasted for almost six months will finally end today."

The familiar sound of an old television echoed in his ears.

Gazing around his slightly messy apartment, John felt a sudden warmth in his heart as he hurriedly grabbed his phone and glanced at it.

"June 11th, 2035. One day until [Cataclysm]."

John swallowed hard, a look of confusion flickering in his eyes.

In one day, on June 12th, Earth would be struck by an unprecedented catastrophe—floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, plagues, volcanic eruptions.

Scenes that had once existed only in ancient myths would simultaneously unfold across the world.

Amidst the eerie surge of electromagnetic waves, this apocalypse-like disaster wiped out nearly 75% of the Earth's population, and brought modern technology to its knees in one fell swoop.

Humanity's progress regressed by nearly a century overnight!

For seven days, the catastrophe raged, leaving seven bottomless chasms on Earth, which people later named [Abyss].

However, what truly made hearts tremble was not limited to this.

After seven days, the Earth experienced a brief calm.

When humanity thought they could begin rebuilding, countless monsters suddenly emerged from the endless abyss, impervious to conventional weaponry.

Their only means of survival was preying on humans!

But.

The appearance of [Apocalypse] offered a lifeline to the helpless survivors.

Overnight, all survivors were presented with a game-like interface, where the system informed them that Earth was on its last breath, and [Apocalypse] could provide them a sanctuary.

However, this sanctuary wasn't as idyllic as they had imagined.

Within [Apocalypse], they faced a new, completely unknown world with rules far harsher than those of Earth.

To survive, they had to grow stronger within [Apocalypse], and that power could be brought back to Earth to fight the bloodthirsty monsters!

They could even become new gods!

Of course, John didn't quite believe the part about becoming a god.

After all, before his rebirth, he had survived the seven days of disaster and entered [Apocalypse], where he lived for a full two years without logging out.

Though John became one of the strongest top-tier players in the game, he still fell far short of divinity.

Moreover, as they grew stronger, so too did the monsters on the earth.

John thought he could proceed step by step, continuously striving toward that seemingly unattainable goal. But his brother's betrayal came so suddenly.

As the legendary gear [Apate's Whisper], which he had personally gifted, pierced his abdomen, countless questions flashed through John's mind.

Yet...

"Why have I returned to this day?"

John furrowed his brows, suddenly recalling the legendary gear he had obtained as the first to clear a semideity-tier dungeon—[Tear of Chronos].

John vaguely remembered the description beneath this legendary gear:

[Chronos, the god of time, stands at the end of the river of time, leaving behind tears of regret. The tears immerse in the river of time, and at that moment, time reverses.]

"It seems this is the thing that has granted me rebirth. Chronos, the mover of time, the god who controls time, even he feels regret..."

John smirked, but his emotions were complicated. He was thrilled to be reborn and have the chance to start anew. But the thought of facing those despairing seven days of catastrophe once again made John unable to rejoice.

"Whatever the case, I have to be prepared…"

In his past life, John had barely survived the seven-day onslaught, and this time, the Goddess of Luck must surely favor him again!

Just as in the memories retained in John's mind, at the stroke of midnight on June 12th, the ground trembled, thick clouds swept across the globe, completely covering the bright moon, plunging the world into darkness.

Hurricanes and earthquakes rampaged through this small city of less than three million people.

In the face of natural disasters, all beings are equal, and no one can control such catastrophes; they are all victims.

Every day, every hour, and even every second, countless lives were torn apart by these disasters, reduced to just another piece of bloodstained rubble in the ruins.

Fortunately, thanks to John's thorough preparation, though the disaster took nearly half of his food supplies, it didn't harm John in the slightest.

Thus, he sat cross-legged, eyes closed in deep thought, waiting for the right moment.

When the second hand struck noon on June 19th, a piercing headache came over him, and a voice resounded in the minds of all survivors simultaneously, "Survivors of Earth, I am System [Apocalypse], now…"

"Cut the bullshit," without a moment's hesitation, John immediately drew an inverted triangle in the air before him, entering [Apocalypse].

In the previous life, the system's sudden appearance shocked everyone, and it was only after enduring a lengthy introduction and much skepticism that survivors began to trickle into the game.

But what they didn't know was that you didn't have to listen to the system's introduction to log in to [Apocalypse], and, typical of online games, the earlier you log in, the more amazing the rewards!

In his previous life, there was someone who managed to log in early and obtained the S Level talent, Infinite Firepower!

In this life, John would not let anyone else have this opportunity!

The next moment, John only saw a dazzling white light flash before his eyes, and when he came to, he was in a world full of chaos and void.

Then, an emotionless mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

"Welcome to [Apocalypse], player No 001. Congratulations on being the first player to log in. You will receive a special reward. The system will provide a random talent pool, please make your selection within 10 minutes."

John's gaze swept over.

Countless Inscription Stones floated before him.

These stones held talents within them, and each player had to pick one.

This choice was critical!

It would determine early and mid-game development!

But the Inscription Stones all looked identical, with no visible differences. And the selection time was limited, much like a lottery draw.

Just as John grew frustrated, his vision changed strangely. A faint white information box appeared next to each Inscription Stone.

[Long Range (Talent)]: Low-level talent, +10 natural attack range, with upgrades permanently increasing attack range by 20%… Too weak for early stages, not recommended.

[HP Recovery (Talent)]: Low-level talent, restores 1% of max HP continuously, upgrading to 5% per second… Weak in early stages, not recommended.

"What's going on?"

"Can I see hidden information?"

John was overjoyed. He didn't dwell on it much longer. The attributes of the Inscription Stones were now clear as day!

John hurried to find the right talent.

[MP Recovery (Talent)]: Low-level talent…

[Infinite Vision (Talent)]: Low-level talent…

[Silent Recon (Talent)]: Low-level talent…

Damn it, though there were thousands of talents, and most were different, nearly all were low-level talents.

A talent is the starting point!

Without a powerful talent, how could one become a strong player?

[Damage Reflection], mid-level talent…

[Attack Adds HP], mid-level talent…

[Random Magic Immunity], mid-level talent…

Mid-level talents seemed decent, clearly much stronger than low-level talents.

But there was no need to rush.

There was still time.

He could keep looking.

After filtering through a thousand more Inscription Stones:

[Bloodthirsty Count], high-level talent… Recommended.

[Wings of Supremacy], high-level talent… Recommended.

High-level talents! More potential, more room for growth!

They could crush 99.9% of players from the starting line.

Which one to choose?

No, don't choose now!

With just over a minute left, he couldn't give up on other potential options.

Who knew if something better would appear?

John raced against time, continuing to gather hint information.

Thirty seconds, twenty seconds, ten seconds…

In a corner, a seemingly insignificant Inscription Stone caught his eye.

[Kiss of Luck (Talent)]: SSS Talent, has the ability to significantly enhance a player's LUCK (current level multiplier: 100x). Upgrading will turn it into a Divine talent. This is an extremely rare and powerful talent with the ability to infinitely enhance a player's LUCK, significantly increasing item drops, crit rates, etc... Highly recommended!

"You're the one!"

Without hesitation, John made his choice.

The Inscription Stone released a bright light that completely enveloped John's body.

[Ding]

[Talent fused. The system will issue a fusion reward. Please check upon login.]

...

John had never expected that, as the first player to enter the game, he would receive a hidden special reward.

For a player like him who had been part of the closed beta, it was like adding wings to a tiger!

You have to know that LUCK is extremely difficult to improve.

Apart from special items and tools, the points earned through leveling up cannot be added to LUCK, which shows how precious it is!

"Please confirm player name."

"Player name, let's just go with John."

John clearly remembered that even inside the game, player names couldn't be changed.

In his past life, he had spent two years in the game under the name "Right Brain Hemiplegia," which had earned him the affectionate nickname "Hemiplegia Bro" from his teammates.

"Player name confirmed, establishing player image. Player number 001, John, welcome to [Apocalypse]."

As the words faded, the chaos and gloom surrounding John gradually dispersed, revealing the true face of this world—a small, somewhat impoverished village nestled at the foot of a mountain, Adra Village.

In this setting, John was a villager of Adra Village, and his house was located in the southeastern corner of the village, in the most remote corner.

"John, child? Are you home?"

A familiar, aged voice sounded from outside.

John quickly stood up, pushed open the wooden door, and looked calmly at the elder with white hair and wrinkled skin before him.

"Chief Haren, what can I do for you?"

"Well, my child, a few days ago, some villagers reported seeing a lone bloodwolf near the farmlands. But it's now the busy farming season. If we let the bloodwolf wreak havoc, it might affect next year's harvest. So, John, can you go near the farmland and either drive away or eliminate the bloodwolf? The chief will give you a reward."

Hearing this, John exhaled deeply. He knew this feeling all too well.

According to his past-life experience, there was something called Affection Level between players and the natives of [Apocalypse].

The higher the Affection Level, the more generous the subsequent quest rewards would be.

However, for most newbies, the short sword and leather armor given as rewards for early quests were urgent necessities, so no one paid much attention to Affection Level.

"No rush, development comes first," John thought, and after pondering for a moment, he said, "Chief, as a member of this village, it's my duty to drive away the bloodwolf, so I don't need a reward. Please give me a little time, and I will head out after some preparations."

"Thank you, my child."

"It's no trouble, Chief. Take care."

Watching the old chief wobble away, John suddenly heard a prompt.

[Ding, quest triggered]

[Player 001, identity authentication complete. System reward has been sent to your inventory. Please check.]