"Join us, and never betray."
The promise made back when they teamed up still echoed in his ears—but now, it felt unbearably ironic.
John's eyes burned red as he stared at the teammates who were nailing his limbs, one by one, to the sacrificial altar.
Many of these teammates had once had their lives saved by John.
And yet, now, they were mercilessly driving the seals into his body.
The cold, heartless expressions on their faces made John's blood run cold.
Guild Leader Sein fiddled with his ring, smiling.
"John, don't blame us.
This chance to advance an S-level talent to SS-level is something I fought hard to secure.
The Supreme God asked us to sacrifice an A-level awakener, and I had no choice."
"No choice?" John's thoughts raged.
"Then why not sacrifice yourself?
You monster!
Sein… you monster!"
His mouth sealed, John let out a beastly roar from his throat, his eyes nearly bleeding with fury.
Sein looked down from above, his gaze indifferent.
"Stop struggling, John.
With the racial war raging on, an A-level assassin like you has no value.
Rather than wasting resources raising you, why not use your worthless life to help me advance to SS-level?
If you die in the hands of the Supreme God, you can consider your life worthwhile."
"Supreme God…"
John struggled to lift his head, looking toward the so-called God.
It was no god at all—just an indescribable creature, a mass of flesh stitched together, covered in countless eyes.
It hovered like a patron waiting to consume its meal—the sacrifice that was John.
"Begin."
Sein waved his hand to give the order.
"I'll do it, Guild Leader!"
The warrior Kaer stepped forward, drawing a dagger.
John's eyes widened in disbelief.
Kaer, his very own disciple.
When the boy had been a novice, John had saved him countless times. Kaer had always played the loyal student, calling him "Master" at every turn.
And yet now, that beloved student had stepped forward with a dagger, shamelessly ready to kill his master!
John stared at Kaer, his inner roar shaking with fury.
Bastard!
Traitor!
A bunch of worthless mutts!
Pfft!
Kaer grinned wickedly and cut open John's chest.
His heart was ripped out, alive.
The pain was excruciating, more than John could endure.
"Praise the Supreme God!"
Kaer held the still-beating heart high above his head with reverence.
The grotesque creature lowered its tentacles and swallowed it whole.
Amid the frenzied, ecstatic cheers of the onlookers, John's consciousness faded, dissolving into darkness.
…
"Ugh!"
John suddenly awoke, finding himself sitting on the rooftop of a building.
A gentle evening breeze blew, and the noises of the city at night washed over him. Everything felt both familiar and strange.
His eyes scanned the area, seeing familiar yet hateful faces.
Sein, Kaer… the guild members were sitting not far away, drinking and chatting.
John instinctively touched his chest—no wounds. His heart beat strong and steady.
I didn't die?
I'm still alive!
Realization hit him, and he shot his gaze upward. Above, a blood-red countdown timer burned brightly.
[00:29:47]
This is… the game countdown?
Holy shit!
I've been reborn before the server opens?!
In his previous life, it was on this rooftop that he had entered the game Apocalypse with his guild members.
In the corner, the blond mage Pierre stared at the shrinking numbers and asked,
"Hey guys, this countdown has been stuck at two years for ages. It's about to hit zero.
If the game really manifests in reality like the screen says, humanity will be split into four factions worldwide. Which faction should we join?"
Vice Guild Leader Ham answered, "Personally, I prefer the Order Faction.
The old order made life too exhausting. A new order might be easier.
Second choice would be the Rebellion Faction. Maybe after the game manifests, aliens will actually invade?
Either way, I'm not picking the Cult Faction that worships the game like a god."
Nearby, the shield warrior Hansen shook his head.
"Order and Rebellion are too extreme. Evolution Faction is the better choice.
I like their theory—imagine in-game training where your arms grow a whole circle in a day. Feels amazing just thinking about it!"
Bang!
A beer can flew and hit the silent John on the forehead.
Blond Pierre teased,
"Hey, you're usually so talkative, why so quiet now?"
John's gaze swept across everyone, calm yet terrifying, sending a shiver down their spines.
He croaked,
"Does it make money?"
A few seconds of stunned silence, then laughter erupted.
"That's John for you."
"Hahaha, well said! We're here to make money, aren't we?"
"Who cares about some stupid faction? The world's ending. Whoever pays more, we help them!"
Guild Leader Sein shook his head with a smile, raising his cup.
"To money! To the Opportunists! Cheers!"
Everyone raised their cups, and the clamor resumed.
The Opportunists—that was their guild.
John had joined them for money.
No morality, no favors, everything was about profit.
He had thought pure self-interest would prevent betrayal—but thinking of his past life, rage boiled in him, and he wanted to kill these bastards immediately.
In his previous life, every dangerous mission had him leading, as Sein claimed the capable must take more responsibility.
The bulk of mission rewards went straight into Sein's private pocket.
Materials obtained through near-death risks were distributed to his inner circle under the pretense of "allocation."
Even the one chance John had to advance to S-level talent slipped through his fingers because crucial items were swapped.
This guild had never treated him as a person—just a disposable dog or a tool.
John had worked tirelessly, reaching mid-game and seeing a glimmer of hope—only to be sacrificed on the altar by these monsters for their promotion.
Old and new grudges surged in his heart.
John's gaze turned red, sweeping across everyone.
This life, you'll pay your blood debts in full!
At that moment, the countdown in the sky hit zero.
Suddenly, the world changed.
Everything flattened at an incredible speed—buildings, people, mountains… all laid out like paper. Colors and sounds vanished.
John blacked out, losing all perception.
[The game has manifested in the real world!]
[Initializing game interface…]
John opened his eyes. The familiar game login screen appeared.
A goddess in a white robe smiled at him, her lips parting gently.
"Welcome to the Apocalypse era, my warrior. I shall grant you supreme strength."
She raised her staff, light bathing John's entire body.
[Talent drawing in progress…]
But in the next moment, her smile froze. Her form shattered, and red letters appeared:
[Time distortion detected on player. Game restarting…]
Before John could react, another panel appeared.
[Congratulations, Host! You have awakened the Supreme Modification System.]
[This system allows the use of system points to modify game stats.]
[One system point is gained automatically per second of survival.]
John was stunned.
A system that modifies game stats?
This is basically a cheat!
As John rejoiced, the game interface returned to normal. Light shone from the goddess again.
[Talent drawing in progress…]
[Congratulations, player! You have awakened SSS-level talent: Wrath of the Raider!]
[Talent effect: 10% chance to trigger a plunder effect on kill, allowing one designated item to be looted.]
John was dumbstruck.
Not only because of the SSS-level talent, but also because he noticed that next to the "10%" and "1" in the talent effect were + and − symbols!
"What…? Talent stats can be modified too?"
Watching system points accumulate, his heart raced. A bold thought struck him.
He didn't rush into the game. He waited patiently five minutes, letting system points reach 300, then pressed the + next to the 10% plunder chance. It jumped to 11%.
"It actually works!"
Elated, John relentlessly tapped +, raising the plunder chance to 100% and loot count to the maximum of 200 items.
Satisfied, he confirmed the modifications.
[289 system points consumed. Plunder chance set to 100%, loot count set to 200!]
The SSS-level talent was now absurdly overpowered.
When John reopened the panel, the ± symbols disappeared. No further modifications were allowed.
At last, he understood: system points could modify game stats, one point per unit, +1 or −1 at a time. Once confirmed, there was no undo. Limits likely exist, though none were found yet.
[Please select a class]
Apocalypse had five base classes: Mage, Warrior, Assassin, Priest, Archer. Later, advanced classes were available.
Having experience from his past life, John chose Assassin again.
[You have selected Assassin]
[Class passive: 15% chance to crit when attacking from behind, critical damage +25%]
"Class passive stats can be modified too."
John saw the ± symbol and immediately boosted crit rate to 100% and crit damage to 50%.
After reaching the modification cap, he waited calmly, letting the game countdown finish.
Then he stood and said in a low voice,
"Log in."
[Allocating game server…]
[Time distortion detected. Allocation failed.]
[You have been automatically assigned to Zone 5.]