Five Days

"What the fuck is that?" Alex spat out those words as he narrowed his eyes, trying to identify the movement in the distance. Dust covered the area and loud noises could be observed. "Wasteland" was the only word that came to mind as he witnessed the area through which the sand had passed.

Broken cars, shattered light posts, and cracked roads. Demolished buildings were also visible in the distance.

Immediately, Alex headed towards Bryxton Tower. Two days had passed since he awakened, and he had absorbed 197 Stones of Soma in total, which caused him to sprint faster than ever before.

Several people who had conquered their assigned dungeon cowered in fear as Alex passed through the abandoned roads of Vancouver. They remembered the day of slaughter, on which Alex had mercilessly murdered over a thousand people.

Alex, surprisingly, did not spot any of Carl's members. 'Did they all die in their dungeons? No, that's not possible, is it?'

Unbeknownst to him, his prediction was correct. Since they possessed guns, the dungeon they were assigned was exponentially more difficult than others. Now, since they only possessed powerful attacks without the presence of any defensive or agility-based moves, their teams were quickly wiped out.

Alex, unsurprisingly, quickly arrived at Bryxton Tower, where he spotted the figures of Sarah and Eugene as they conversed outside the entrance. Their expressions seemed joyful as if tragedy hadn't struck upon Earth itself.

'It seems they've adapted, too,' Alex commented inwardly. 'Then again, Bryxton Tower does seem somewhat light-hearted with all the people roaming around.'

The shock of the apocalypse had begun dying down, and, since they'd enjoyed a ten-day break from the trials, many had adjusted to the new way of living.

'Little do they know, it's all going to come crashing down soon,' Alex scoffed. 'The last trial of the first tutorial is an arena battle that'll be pretty similar to the day I killed over a thousand people.'

Such was the reality that they now had to face. Even these so-called "breaks" would eventually not be offered. It would be war every day, and even if they managed to rise to a high position in Telos Dou Dromou, they would still be subject to assassination.

'They haven't realized that hell hasn't even begun,' Alex thought. 'It'll get way worse, and only a fraction of you will survive.'

As he roamed around the Tower, he spotted Eric's figure in the distance. The man's appearance was so haggard, that even a homeless person would drop a coin or two if he were holding an empty cup. No, haggard was an understatement.

Many directed gazes of disgust towards him. Despite such an awkward atmosphere, Eric seemed as frivolous as a human trapped in an apocalyptic world can get. He sat in a corner near the entrance to the Tower, staring at the sky with glittering eyes.

"Hello," Alex greeted as he pointed to the ground beside Eric. "Can I sit there?"

"Suit yourself," Eric said somewhat disinterestedly. Alex quietly sat as he waited for the djinn to appear. In an hour, the preparation time would be finished, and it would mark the beginning of the final trial of the first tutorial.

"Do you remember what happened in the dungeon you conquered?" Alex asked, his voice extremely serious. At his words, Eric grimaced considerably, gritting his teeth as he maintained a poker face. "Do you remember killing your teammates? Do you remember not letting their lives end peacefully by summoning them as your undead soldiers, ruining even the afterlife for them?"

Maxwell had informed Alex of Eric's weakness. Despite it being extremely detrimental to Eric's mental health, such a method was needed to prevent such a talent's worthless death. 'I won't let him die without making him realize his potential,' Alex commented inwardly.

Eric's eyes widened as he stood up immediately. The dark mana that had awakened filled the atmosphere as his emotions raged as if they were a tidal wave.

"This is going to be difficult," Alex shook his head in defeat, disappearing from his spot before performing a slicing motion using his hands to Eric's neck, rendering him unconscious. "We'll try again later."

He carefully lay Eric's body on the ground before sitting beside it to prevent others from attempting to take advantage of such a vulnerable state. Vulnerability equated to death, and Alex could not allow that to a potential seed.

As he sat beside Eric, Eugene and Sarah's eyes landed on him. The two also gazed at Eric, whose appearance was disheveled. The two approached Alex, as the person in question raised his eyes to glance at them.

"Hi, Alex!" The two greeted simultaneously in an unusually enthusiastic tone. It seemed they had forgotten the tragedy that had occurred less than a month ago.

"Hello," Alex replied in a mundane tone. He then extended his legs frivolously to find comfort while sitting on concrete.

"Where's Maxwell? Didn't you guys travel together?" Sarah asked, poking Eugene's ribs using her elbow.

"We split up a couple of days ago," Alex stated flatly. An awkward silence descended as no one knew what to say.

"But, he should be back in under an hour, right?" Eugene suggested. "Otherwise, he'll miss the announcement.

"When did we become so friendly?" Alex finally asked the question he had been wondering ever since the two approached him. "I killed your 'best friend' or whatever, so why did you guys suddenly become sociable?"

"Because it's better to form allies than enemies," Eugene stated. "You realize that humans have a trait that twists their minds whenever they are faced with mild discomfort? Twisted minds mean that no one cares about morals. Anyone can stab your back at any point in time. Now, isn't it better to form trustworthy allies in such a situation instead of keeping to yourself and eventually getting killed?"

"I agree," said Alex, revealing a content smile. "You may be lacking in power, but you have the spirit."

"So, you were testing us?" Eugene asked in shock, prompting Alex to nod in a casual manner. "This is why no one likes you."

"Resorting to childish remarks is not going to be of benefit," replied Alex as he turned his head, only to spot the figure of a child approaching him and the others. "There comes Maxwell."

Maxwell's expression seemed to be filled with unease as if he were tense about something. The boy quickly approached Alex with eyes of fear before pointing towards the unusual appearance of what previously seemed to be dust.

However, if someone concentrated on it now, one could possibly identify the presence of monsters. Thousands, maybe even millions of them.

"They're rushing towards us," Maxwell informed Alex and the others. They had noticed it too, yet they did not find it to be important. Alex knew the contents of the next trial, which is why he quickly dismissed the outrageous belief that their opponents could be those monsters.

"Calm down, Maxwell," Alex said as he waited for Maxwell to steady his breathing. "They aren't rushing towards us. It's probably just to make us fearful of the next trial."

"Are you sure that isn't the next trial itself?" Eugene asked. "That looks pretty serious. They're leaving nothing behind as they move towards our direction."

Alex wanted to deny it, but it did seem like Eugene's words were correct. He had already witnessed many changes to the future ever since his regression. A couple of seconds later, he realized that his worries weren't unfounded.

[All right, people. The next trial is to prevent that horde from, well, killing you. The situation is fairly simple. I will provide you with basic equipment, and your job will be to kill those filthy monsters. Now, without further adieu, let me state that you have five days to prepare.]