It was a usual peaceful morning, and people went about their daily lives.
Yet everything changed in a mere second.
Seven distinct trumpet sounds blasted across every corner of the world, filled with divine terror.
An indescribable darkness loomed over the sky, swallowing both the sun and the clouds.
The earth fell silent almost instantly.
Humans halted their chores and tilted their heads toward the ominous sky, shivering as they spoke in fearful tones.
Some switched on their phones and televisions, but none worked. They were offline. For a world dependent on the internet, this alone deepened the fear, making it almost tangible.
As unrest began to spread, holographic windows suddenly appeared before every single human, displaying texts with fantastical meaning.
Questions filled the air, yet no one had answers.
Inside the classroom.
"What is this?" a male student asked, trying to swipe the holographic window away.
"What is happening, Mrs Bennet? Are you playing a prank on us? Please stop, this is scary," a young lady cried fearfully, looking at her teacher for answers. However, her teacher was just as terrified and confused.
Draven sat amidst the growing chaos in the classroom, ignoring the noise and focusing on the holographic window before him.
The text was quite long.
The last time, he had ignored it due to anxiety, just like more than ninety percent of the world's population.
This time, he paid attention.
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Earth has reached its evolution limit. At its current state, your planet will either self-destruct by breaking its protective layer, allowing dangers such as meteors and the sun's unfiltered scorching rays to burn the world to cinders, or, in rare cases, evolve into a world similar to those your kind reads and writes about in novels.
Unfortunately, your world is not fortunate in this regard. It has already begun the process of self-destruction.
Nonetheless, a certain group of benevolent divine beings has decided to give your planet a chance, given how much your kind worships and adores them.
Your planet must complete the fifteen chapters of the apocalypse to prevent self-destruction and evolve.
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After finishing the message, Draven could not help but sneer.
'Benevolent my foot. They merely created these challenges for their entertainment.'
He turned slightly to the side and saw his friend scratching his black hair frantically as he read through the text.
Draven's expression softened slightly. Aside from Magnus, his older brother, Rowan was the only person who had treated him kindly in this elite academy, despite his poor background. Rowan's death had caused him months of grief.
"Rowan, calm down and read it carefully," he said, his voice softer.
Rowan turned to him quickly, his eyes reddened.
"Dude… calm down? Calm down? How can I calm down?"
His voice was loud, though partly drowned out by the chaos in the classroom.
"You can see the windows, right?" Rowan continued in the same raised voice, pointing at the holographic display before him.
At this stage of the apocalypse, all systems were visible. Everyone had a blue holographic window in front of them, resembling scenes from a sci-fi movie.
The other classmates were no better than Draven. Some had even knelt and begun to pray for forgiveness of their sins, fearing it was judgment day. If only they knew it was far worse.
'The important part has not started yet.'
Draven thought with a faint frown.
He scanned his classroom briefly, noting every face.
Most of them would die. Some would mutate instantly, and only a few would awaken and survive the first chapter.
But none of them would survive the fourth chapter, The Purge.
It was a strange feeling, knowing everyone around you was going to die. It was even stranger when you knew exactly how they would die.
Still...
'Why did Magnus ask me to pick the middle package this time? Was he aware I was going to regress? Has he regressed before? He didn't seem like someone who had experienced the apocalypse before. If he had, he would have warned everyone...'
He wondered.
He recalled that during the fifth chapter, there were rumors that revealed the sixth and seventh chapter challenges, which later turned out to be accurate.
Yet no one ever found the anonymous foreteller, and no prophecies came after that. Could that have been Magnus? Could it be that he had died before the eighth chapter in his previous run, and thus could only give information about the first seven chapters?
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Given humans' weak bodies, each one will be presented with an opportunity to select from three packages, which will decide their fate
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A new notification flashed before him. It was the same for everyone else in the classroom.
"It has changed. What the heck is it saying?"
"Dreaming… yes, I must be dreaming. I will wake up soon."
"Please make it stop…"
His classmates' reactions were just as he remembered.
'Should I try to calm them down? Maybe save a few of those who mutated because they failed the first test?'
Draven shook his head.
No one would listen to him. He was the trash of the whole school. Even students from lower classes would spit on him when they had the chance, and his own classmates particularly hated him for being the poor kid, yet still the class topper.
If he were to be honest with himself, he would prefer they die.
At that moment, three holographic gift boxes appeared, floating midair before everyone. A five-minute countdown was displayed beneath them.
They all reacted similarly to the previous notifications.
Rowan was still scratching his head. It was his usual habit when he was nervous.
The last time, Rowan had selected a package and awakened a combat-type talent, yet he was killed on the same day. Draven vividly recalled that scene over and over again.
This time, Rowan nervously reached out and picked the package on his right.
At that instant, the holographic window before him vanished, or rather, it became invisible to others.
Draven turned toward his own.
Recalling the words of his brother.
He reached forward and picked the one in the middle.
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Congratulations, you've successfully become a player
You've awakened the talent (Parasitic Contract)
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