"Join us, and never betray us."
The oath they had once sworn as teammates still echoed in his ears.
Now, it sounded nothing but bitterly ironic.
John's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the teammates who were pinning his limbs to the altar little by little.
Among them were several people whose lives John had once saved.
And yet now, without the slightest hesitation, they drove sealing spikes into his body.
The cold-blooded indifference on their faces chilled him to the bone.
Guild Leader Sein fiddled with the ring on his finger and smiled.
"John, don't blame us.
This opportunity to advance an S-rank talent to SS-rank was something I worked very hard to obtain.
Lord God requires us to sacrifice an A-rank awakener, so I really had no choice."
No choice?
Then why don't you sacrifice yourself?
Bastard!
Sein, you bastard!
John's mouth was sealed shut. Only beastlike growls could escape his throat, while the hatred in his eyes was so intense it seemed ready to bleed.
Sein looked down at him from above, his gaze indifferent.
"Stop struggling, John.
The racial war has gone on this long. An A-rank assassin like you has no value anymore.
Rather than continue wasting resources raising you, it's better to use your worthless life to let me advance to SS-rank.
To die at the hands of Lord God… your life will at least have been worth something."
Lord God…
John forced his head up and looked toward the so-called god.
It was no god at all, but an indescribable monstrosity stitched together from flesh and meat, covered in countless eyes.
At that moment, it hovered in the air like a diner waiting for its meal, calmly anticipating the sacrifice that was John.
"Begin."
Sein waved his hand and gave the order.
"I'll do it, Guild Leader!"
The warrior Kaer stepped forward on his own initiative, pulling out a dagger.
The moment John saw him, his eyes nearly split with rage.
Kaer.
The disciple he had raised with his own hands.
When Kaer had still been a rookie, John had saved him more than once. In daily life, the man had always acted loyal and respectful, calling him "Master" at every turn.
And now, that beloved disciple was walking forward with a dagger in hand, shamelessly stepping up to murder his own teacher!
John stared at Kaer, roaring in his heart.
Bastard!
Traitor!
A bunch of lowly vermin!
Pffft!
With a savage grin, Kaer sliced open his chest.
His heart was carved out alive.
The piercing pain was so unbearable that John wished he could die on the spot.
"Lord God above!"
Kaer held up the still-beating heart with both hands in reverence.
The grotesque creature lowered a tentacle, wrapped it around the heart, and swallowed it whole.
Amid the frenzied, excited cheers of the people around him,
John's consciousness gradually blurred and sank into darkness.
…
"Ugh!"
John jolted awake and found himself sitting on the rooftop of a high-rise building.
The night breeze was gentle, and the clamor of the city washed over him. Everything felt both familiar and strangely distant.
As his gaze swept around, one familiar and hateful face after another came into view.
Sein. Kaer…
The guild members were all sitting not far away, drinking and laughing together.
John instinctively touched his chest.
There was no wound.
His heartbeat was strong and steady.
I'm not dead?
I'm still alive!
Realizing this, John abruptly looked up.
Above his head, a crimson countdown timer hung in the air, glaringly conspicuous.
[00:29:47]
This was…
the game countdown?
Holy shit!
I've been reborn to before the server launch?!
In his previous life, it had been on this very rooftop that he entered the game called Apocalypse together with his guild members!
In the corner, the blond-haired mage Pierre stared at the steadily shrinking numbers in the air and asked, "Hey, everyone, this countdown's been hanging there for two years. Now it's finally about to hit zero.
If what it says is true, and the game really descends into reality, the whole world's already split into four major factions over this. Which one should we join?"
Vice Guild Leader Ham picked up the conversation.
"Personally, I kind of like the Order Faction.
The old order made life too exhausting. Maybe a new order will make things easier.
My second choice would be the Rebellion Faction. Who knows? Maybe if the game descends, aliens really will invade.
Anyway, there's no way I'd ever choose those lunatics in the Cult Faction who worship the game as a god."
Nearby, the shield warrior Hansen shook his head.
"Both the Order Faction and the Rebellion Faction are too extreme. Better to choose the Evolution Faction instead.
I really like their theory. Imagine working out inside the game and having your arm circumference grow a whole size every day. Just thinking about it feels awesome!"
Bang!
A beer can came flying over and smacked into silent John's forehead.
The yellow-haired Pierre sneered. "Weren't you usually pretty talkative? Why are you mute now?"
John's gaze swept over the group, calm to an almost frightening degree, making everyone feel a chill in their hearts.
In a hoarse voice, he asked, "Can it make money?"
After a few brief seconds of silence, the whole group instantly burst into laughter.
"That's so John."
"Hahaha, well said! Aren't we here to make money in the first place?"
"Who cares about all those damn factions? If the world's ending anyway, we'll work for whoever pays the most!"
Guild Leader Sein also laughed and shook his head. Rising with his glass in hand, he said,
"Come on!
For money, for Opportunists—cheers!!!"
Everyone raised their drinks, and the noisy atmosphere resumed.
Opportunists was the name of their guild.
At first, John had joined them for one reason only:
money.
There was no moral coercion here, no fake sentiment, no human obligations.
Everything was about profit!
John had once believed that where everything was driven purely by self-interest, betrayal would have no place.
But the moment he recalled what had happened in his previous life, hatred surged through him like a tidal wave. He wanted nothing more than to kill every last one of these scum immediately.
In his previous life, every time the guild took on a dangerous mission, Guild Leader Sein would always claim that "the capable should do more" and send John to take the lead!
Every time, the lion's share of the rewards ended up in Sein's private pocket!
The advancement materials John had obtained through life-and-death struggle were redistributed to Sein's trusted lackeys under the pretense of "centralized allocation."
Even the one and only chance John ever had to advance his talent to S-rank was lost because the key item had been secretly swapped out!
From beginning to end, this guild had never treated John as a human being.
To them, he was nothing more than a dog they could cast aside at any time, a blade held in the hand!
In his previous life, John had worked tirelessly and endured everything. By the middle stage of the game, he had finally glimpsed a sliver of hope for his future—
and then, in the very next moment, these beasts offered him up as a sacrifice on the altar for some so-called advancement opportunity, cut open his chest, and tore out his heart!
Old hatred and fresh hatred surged together in that instant.
John's eyes burned red as he swept his gaze across every face around him.
In this life, I'll make every one of you repay your blood debt in blood!
Just then, the countdown in the sky reached zero.
In an instant, heaven and earth changed violently.
All scenery flattened at astonishing speed. High-rises, crowds, mountains, rivers—everything became like sheets of paper laid out flat. All color and sound vanished completely.
Darkness swallowed John's vision, and he lost all sensation.
[The game has descended into the real world!]
[Initializing game interface…]
John opened his eyes.
Before him was the familiar game login screen.
A goddess in white robes looked at him with a smile. Her delicate lips parted as she spoke:
"Welcome to the Age of Apocalypse, my warrior. I shall grant you supreme strength."
The goddess lifted her staff, and light poured down over John's entire body.
[Drawing talent…]
However, in the very next moment, the goddess's smile froze.
Her figure suddenly shattered, and a line of scarlet text appeared.
[Detected temporal turbulence within the player. Restarting the game…]
Before John could react, another panel appeared before his eyes.
[Congratulations, Host, on awakening the Supreme Modification System.]
[This system can use System Points to modify game values.]
[For every second you survive, you automatically gain 1 System Point.]
John was utterly shocked.
A system that could modify game values?
Wasn't that basically the same as using cheats outright?!
Just as John was overcome with ecstasy, the game interface returned to normal, and the Goddess of Light once again cast down divine radiance.
[Drawing talent…]
[Congratulations, player. You have awakened the SSS-rank talent: Wrath of the Raider!]
[Talent Effect: Upon killing a target, there is a 10% chance to trigger the plunder effect, allowing you to designate and plunder 1 item.]
John was dumbfounded.
It was not just the appearance of an SSS-rank talent that shocked him—
what shocked him even more was the discovery that, beside the numbers 10% and 1 in the talent description, there was actually a "+" and a "-" sign!
"What does that mean? Don't tell me… even talent values can be modified?"
Looking at the continuously accumulating System Points on the system panel, John's heart pounded wildly as a bold idea formed in his mind.
He did not rush into the game.
Instead, he chose to wait patiently for five minutes.
When his System Points reached 300, he decisively pressed the + sign next to 10% in the talent description.
The probability immediately jumped to 11%.
"It really can be modified!"
Overjoyed, John began pressing the + sign frantically.
The plunder probability shot straight up to 100%, and the loot quantity climbed all the way up as well, until it reached the cap of 200 items.
Only then did John stop and confirm the modification.
[289 System Points consumed. Plunder probability increased to 100%. Loot quantity increased to 200 items!]
The already outrageous SSS-rank talent had, after modification, reached a completely monstrous level.
Still not satisfied, John reopened the panel—
only to find that the ± signs after the numbers had disappeared. It could no longer be modified again.
At that moment, John finally understood how the modification system truly worked:
System Points could be used to modify game values. Each adjustment could only be +1 or -1, and this was not restricted by units—1 System Point equaled 1 value. Each stat could only be modified once. Once the change was confirmed, there was no going back. There also seemed to be a modification limit, though for the moment he had not fully identified it.
[Please choose your class.]
There were five base classes in Apocalypse:
Mage, Warrior, Assassin, Cleric, Archer.
Later on, players could advance into higher-tier classes.
Since he already had plenty of experience from his previous life, John once again chose Assassin.
[You have chosen Assassin.]
[Class Passive: When attacking an enemy from behind, there is a 15% chance to land a critical hit, with critical damage increased by 25%.]
"So class passive values can also be modified."
Seeing the ± signs on the panel, John's heart stirred.
Without hesitation, he directly modified the critical hit rate to 100%, and raised the critical damage bonus all the way to 50%!
After reaching the modification limit,
he still did not log in immediately. Instead, he sat down and waited.
Only half an hour later, when the game prompt began counting down, did he finally rise to his feet and say in a deep voice:
"Log in."
[Assigning your game server zone…]
[Temporal turbulence detected. Assignment failed.]
[You have been automatically assigned to Zone 5.]