As I opened my eyes, I was intrigued rather than shocked. I was in the middle of nowhere, only inhospitable lands as far as I could see. I looked at my hands and became speechless, one was black, the other white. My bare chest and abs were also bicolor.
But suddenly my focus shifted from my bicolor hide to my abs. I caressingly rubbed my left palm over them.
"I am looking good," I murmured to myself with a flirty, self-loving tone.
I lowered my hand below my abdomen and slowly gripped the hem of the torn wrapped cloth. I sneaked a little peek at my willy; both disappointment and excitement slapped me in the face.
"Geez, that's too…" I sighed. "But at least it's better than my precious one."
I stood up slowly, looking around. There was no one. I was barefoot, standing on a land of ashes, like it had been burned down. The only proof was the ash sticking to my wrapped cloth around my bottom. I patted the cloth to remove it, but suddenly I sensed something dangerous watching me.
Instinctively, I became alert, scanning everywhere. Then suddenly, a human appeared in front of me. The man was nearly waist-high, but as I steadied my breaths, I realized I was the taller one. Still, something about him was unsettling, he radiated an intense, dangerous vibe. I was sweating because I didn't know my stats or even how to summon the status bar. Mr. Rude Entity had trapped me in something without any explanations.
I saw his fists clenched around the hilt of his blade. Suddenly, the sword was out of the black scabbard. He vanished, passed through me, slicing off my head smoothly.
I immediately shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I was dumbfounded, the man I saw earlier had just been taking his fighting stance, and now he was moving again. I didn't think; my survival instinct kicked in. I dashed toward him before he could move further and threw a punch at his face.
I was intrigued by my own strength, his head squashed like an egg. Immediately, I heard an inner voice. It wasn't Mr. Rude Entity; it was a female voice, though I had no idea who she was.
Status & Level-Up
[Level Up]
[Mission 1: Gather Meal Is Now Complete]
[Status Bar Enable]
Then a red window appeared in front of me:
[Name: Hans Inoshioium]
[Species: Karlores / The Pseudo God]
[Title: Locked → Requirement 1 Million Kills]
[Age: 10,000 Years Old (teen)]
[Ra: Locked → Requirement Level 500]
[Re: Locked → Requirement 5000 Saints Kill]
[Speciality 1: Locked → Requirement Level 200]
[Speciality 2: Foresight → Level 1 → Can See 20 Seconds Into the Future]
[Speciality 3: Permanent Activation → 24/7]
[Current Level: 1]
"Huh…" I was frustrated; my right fist was soaked in that human's blood.
"It is unfair. I don't get anything here."
I sighed, disappointed, and kicked the dead body lying on the field to calm myself.
"Ah… what's that?"
I scrolled down and saw "FAQ By Ms. Teller". I tapped it.
A chat thread appeared.
"Hello there! How may I help you today?" She sounded like an AI. I see. I tried to ask her some questions with inner thoughts, like telepathic communication. I want to make sure that I don't look like a mindless Pseudo God in front of others. I know in a systematic world the status bar is mostly—no, not mostly, I think 99% of the time—invisible and hidden from others.
"What are you? An AI for my system?"
"Almost correct. I'm an AGI. I can think logically, I have consciousness, I only don't have physical sensations." After a few seconds of silence, she telepathically murmured,
"But the status bar is not hidden in this world, although we can telepathically communicate."
I sighed. Why? Because Mr. Rude Entity, a being who is the creator, is also an asshole to mess up such an essential feature.
"Okay, can you tell me about the next missions?"
"Sure. The leveling system for you is not bound by the ordinary leveling system. You will need to complete level-number-based missions to level up."
"I am… I didn't understand what you mean?"
"Let me explain. For Level 1 you need to complete 1 mission, which you already did. For Level 2 you need to complete 2 missions. The completed mission doesn't count. This pattern is available for you in each level."
"Meaning… for Level 500 I need to complete 500 missions individually."
My mind was spinning with all that information.
"Guess what? Fuck you then."
"Hahaha."
"Why are you laughing? And how can you even laugh?"
"Well, look around, because you are the one who is going to be fucked."
As I heard her remark, I immediately turned around and yes, I am fucked now. There are some more humans. Maybe the death of one's ally… a female among them was crying. Maybe she was his lover or something. But it's not the time to think. It's time for me to fight all of them.
It's do or die.
Before they could attack, she telepathically murmured,
"You don't need to fight. If you make a bargain with me, I'll let you use one of the broken abilities you'll only unlock after level 500."
I was excited but also cautious about the bargain.
"Really? Then state your terms," I asked with desperation, because it was 1 vs 18 and I was inexperienced.
"I'll grant you Liquefaction, the ability to liquefy your opponent's solid form."
I nodded in agreement.
"In exchange for what?"
"I want to become a physical being with flesh and blood. As I said, I have consciousness, which also means I have emotions."
I paused. Why would an AGI want to be a physical being? It didn't make sense.
She continued, "So, what is your verdict?"
I smirked mischievously, with a mocking tone I telepathically whimpered,
"My verdict is not more valuable than my life."
She was quiet for a bit.
"We can resume our conversation later… if you help me right now."