Ruminas hesitated a bit then immediately clicked on it.
Instantly, the screen in front of her changed. It was pitch black, then white lines of text appeared line by line, like an e-book turning pages by itself.
"The world used to be a peaceful place—or so people thought."
It all started on Fate Day, a day that no one could have foreseen. On that day, the Reality Barrier—a barrier that separated the human world from the outside world—suddenly collapsed. No one knew it existed, but when it was gone, everyone realized that they had been living in a glass cage all along.
Mysterious portals appear all over the world. From them, creatures never recorded in any historical records pour into reality. They are called Chaos Monsters—beings from another dimension, bringing chaos and destruction with them.
They don't just kill. They assimilate. Humans they capture don't just die, they transform into monstrous entities devoid of any humanity. Cities are engulfed in flames, entire civilizations collapse in less than a week. No one can stand against them, because modern weapons are completely useless against otherworldly creatures.
The number of humans quickly decreased, they had to gather together and build city-states to survive but even so, all was hopeless when monsters continuously attacked from outside.
But then, in the most desperate moment, the System appeared.
No one knows where it came from. It has no origin, no explanation. All that is known is that one morning, all the survivors heard a voice in their heads: [Survival System Activated]
[Select qualified individuals. Activate Player authority.]
From that moment on, the chosen ones became Players, possessing abilities that normal humans could not have. They could level up, learn skills, and fight Chaos Monsters. But in return, they were also bound to this system—and had to live by its rules.
In order to save the world or at least end the monster invasion, players need to complete the 100-story "Tower of Faith" that appears at the center of this world.
A bloody war...
The old world has ended. A new era has begun. An era where only the strongest can survive.
Ruminas read this and the screen suddenly turned off, returning to the original status interface. She sat still, pondering for a few seconds.
"Reality Shield? Chaos Monster? System?"
Everything was happening like a science fiction story, but this was not a story. This was the reality she was living in.
Questions kept popping up in her head. Who created the Reality Barrier? Why did it collapse? And most importantly—what exactly is the System? Is it the savior of humanity, or just some mysterious force manipulating everything?
But right now, Ruminas knew that she couldn't answer those questions right away.
"First, I have to survive."
She took a deep breath, tightening her grip on the dagger in her hand. Even if the world had changed, even if it was all a conspiracy , she would not let herself be swept away by fate.
"I have all the necessary information. Now there is one more thing I want to do."
Ruminas went to the next room, which contained the corpses of two monsters she had defeated not long ago. She had no idea what they were before, but now that she had the appraisal skill, things would be simple.
Ruminas looked at the big round monster in front, shouting in her heart: "Appraisal"
Immediately, the information of that monster was displayed before her eyes.
[Low-level Chaos Monster]
[Description: It is a creature of unknown origin. It is only known that its personality is that of a killing type, using other creatures as food for its own growth. Once it swallows enough, it can evolve]
[Characteristics: No eyes, no nose, can only recognize things through normal sounds. Can also recognize targets through oscillating sound waves, but the condition is that you must be close (5 meters) and in the same space as the target. Attacks with physical attacks from tentacles, teeth, and legs. Can shoot highly corrosive liquid from the mouth, relatively high recovery ability]
[Weaknesses: heart and fire]
[Special: Its blood is very beneficial]
"Just as I thought"
Ruminas was glad that her quick thinking had found a way to win. After letting out a sigh of relief, she looked back at the remaining monster.
[Stage One Parasite]
[Description: The meat of the chaos monster contains a special parasite. If any creature eats it, it will gradually transform and lose control of itself. The transformation state will vary depending on the creature, but there are generally four stages of transformation.]
[Characteristics: Average physical strength. Attacks with claws and corrosive liquid from mouth. Tentacles on abdomen will sometimes extend to attack but not always]
[Weakness: heart and fire]
"So they're just the weakest species… And it's already this difficult? It's unbelievable." Ruminas felt that it was really difficult.
She looked at the two corpses and then looked down at the knife in her hand, a new determination rising in her heart.
"Let's practice!"
Ruminas spent the rest of her time in her room practicing basic moves like swinging a knife and creating her own combos. Everything was going well, but there was one problem: she couldn't find any water around.
"What bad luck…"
Although I went to all the houses in this area, it was obvious that the owners had taken everything with them. The food would last another week, but the water was officially gone.
"What to do…"
While at a dead end, Ruminas thought of another idea.
Blood of the monster!
Before the appraisal, the information was also given, although its meat is inedible, its blood is beneficial so it is probably drinkable.
"But wait, it only said it was beneficial, it didn't say it was drinkable. Try re-appraising it."
[Black blood: drinkable]
"So great!"
Ruminas was delighted then frowned as he looked at the black blood. Even though it was drinkable, drinking this thing really required a spirit of steel.
"Whatever, I'm thirsty!"
Ruminas closed her eyes, then took a small sip she had gathered. Immediately, she felt her body tense up, her pupils dilated and her body convulsed slightly. However, right after that, she felt a surge of power slowly emerging.
"What is this for anyway?"
Ruminas immediately tried to appraise it again.
[Black Blood: Can be consumed, temporarily increases the user's stats but also comes with "Evil God's Will". If the user is not sober enough, they can still be taken over by "Evil God's Will"]
"Oh, it's both beneficial and harmful…"
Ruminas tried to feel inside herself, her power was indeed increasing but she couldn't feel the thing called "Evil God's Will" anywhere.
"Or maybe I drank too little? But just a few drops like this are enough to quench my thirst, so I shouldn't drink too much."
Knowing the uses of this item, Ruminas immediately collected it all and put it in her item space. After a few more days, she learned how to adjust the dosage properly when taking it.
On days when you do nothing, one small sip is enough for the whole day, on days when you exercise a lot, two sips. After drinking, you should calmly feel it to prevent your will from taking over, but Ruminas has drunk it several times and still doesn't feel anything unusual.
"We should go"
Ruminas had been here for almost two months now, her injuries were gone and she had gotten used to using weapons and skills so next was to start moving around and doing quests.
She doesn't need to bring anything because all the necessary items can be put inside the item space.
"That's convenient."
She only held her dagger in her hand. She had trained quite a bit in the past while, so now it was time to go into actual combat.
"But where should I go now? The first stage mission says to go to the first meeting point, but it doesn't say where that is… How should I go?"
Ruminas opened the quest board again, then she discovered that as long as she entered quest mode, the instructions would appear automatically. She looked up at her head and indeed saw an arrow pointing forward.
"Um, here it is."
"I definitely won't die! Keep it up!"