[Before death, F.A.T.E headquarters]

The call of death. The screams of anguish. What could be outside that door? Surely ruin, would it not? But if he stayed inside, death would surely come as well. So like most choices in his life, it came down to two options. Sit around and do anything, or at least try to do something.

Looking at Cecilia, it was clear that she wasn't in a state to fight. Her mind was still focusing on the room, instead of the dangers outside of it. If he did go out of the room, she would just slow him down. However, if he left her, she would surely die. Once again another set of choices had been laid out for him.

Each time he used a fraction of thinking power, Oliver was bombarded with what ifs and choices. What if he went out and immediately died? What if this was just a prank or some hallucination? What if he just waited until everything blew over ? What if? What if? What if.

"Fuck this sucks..." Oliver said to himself, crouching down as he held his head.

So many choices ranked up in his brain. It started to physically hurt. Why was this happening to him? What did he do to deserve to be in this situation? As he thought of those words, he looked at his badge. The badge signifying his rank. C tier. A mediocre rank. Not good, not bad, but what is signified was much more embarrassing than a simple letter.

“Huh did you hear about Oliver?” A male operator asked his female operator friend.

“Him? You mean that C ranker?” She commented, shrugging.

“Yeah apparently he lost his weapon on his first day! And he got kicked out of his squad!” He responded.

“What a loser! He's even worse than E tier, he should be given the F tier!” She laughed.

He overheard this type of conversation many times in the last few months. Honestly he had gotten used to it. He couldn't tell them they were wrong, even he himself admitted that he was useless. So instead of fighting it, he accepted the label he was given.

One day though, he was pulled aside by his squad leader.

"Do you know why you got the C tier, Oliver Rand?" Ying Yue asked.

"U- um no ma'am... actually I do have an idea... It's probably because of my lackluster physical exam scores right?" Oliver responded, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Ying Yue shook her head. That response shocked Oliver a bit.

"Your physical exam marks were actually quite remarkable considering your skill level..." Ying Yue said, as if praising Oliver.

"But what brought you down to C tier, was your written exam..." Her voice this time was serious.

Oliver was surprised by her words.

"Were my answers really that bad?" Oliver said, trying to lift up the mood.

"No not that... But that was actually a bit funny I'll give you that... Your part A and B marks were the fourth highest out of your batch, which you should feel proud of you know. However, your part C was a problem. You see part C is meant to be a personality test of sorts. As an organisation, we need specific cadets with the right kind of personality and ideals, so that we don't get wussies who run away the moment they see trouble..." Ying Yue explained.

Oliver looked down at the ground as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I guess I was one of those wussies huh?" Oliver said, chuckling to himself awkwardly.

"Nope. Even that would be better. Looking at your Part C, it's clear you're a man that has no belief in his own ideals..." Ying Yue explained.

In such a blunt and forward way, he was told why exactly he had been failing in life. Instead of listening to those words though, he continued blaming external factors. Oh it was his depression that stopped him from growing, it was his squad mates who weren't supportive, it was his laziness holding him back. It wasn't any of that. Those weren't the reasons he didn't make any progress, it was because of his personality. His inability to believe in himself. At any point he could've picked up his slack, but instead he continued to just sit idly, because he couldn't believe that he was able to do something great. He was scared.

"As a Investigator, you must be somewhat egotistical. To believe that you can do something without failing, is what makes the A tier, different from the C tier"

Oliver stood up, and made his way to the door. He didn't care anymore. Why should he care? He was going to die either way. So for once, he'll at least try to show everyone he wasn't useless. Seeing his movements, Cecilia turned to look at Oliver, giving him a confused and concerned look.

"Hey where are you going?" She asked, still a bit shaky.

Oliver smiled.

"I'm going to run out and find help," Oliver said.

His words were nonsensical to Cecilia. Why would he run out? They both clearly heard the announcement. Death was waiting for them outside.

"... I don't wanna be alone though..." Cecilia said, not really thinking about what she said.

Oliver paused for a moment before looking at the door.

"Then come follow me. We're going to be dead anyway, so what's the harm in trying to find a way to survive?" Oliver said, shrugging.

The difference in attitude scared Cecilia a bit, but thinking logically, the odds of survival would be much higher if they found even one A tier cadet.

"I'll come... But, if you abandon me I swear I'll hate you forever..." Cecilia retorted.

Oliver chuckled.

"I won't abandon you, promise. Besides, I gotta thank you for trying to cheer me up, right?" Oliver said smiling.

His smile calmed Cecilia down a bit. Seeing someone able to smile in a tough situation like this, let her lie to herself, that maybe this would turn out okay in the end. Oliver opened the door, before taking a deep breath.

"Whatever happens... Just run"

And just like that, they began running. The manufacturing ward was like a labyrinth, even more maze-like than usual thanks to all debris blocking the way. Not to mention how dark it was. The only thing illuminating their way, were the sparks of live wires. Fortunately for the two, Cecilia knew the manufacturing ward like the back of her hand.

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"If we make it to the clothing department, there's a lift. It got installed after the clothing department complained about not being able to receive materials quickly. Haha... I guess their complaining actually paid off for once..." Cecilia said, trying to lift up the mood.

Oliver didn't respond, as he was too focused on their survival to care. He had turned off all rationality and thought; he was no different from an animal. Cecilia felt even more concerned for Oliver, but if she faltered for even a moment, he would surely leave her behind.

Making their way to the clothing department, a sense of relief flooded their systems. Salvation was just a few steps away, they actually made it. They actually survive-

"T- treasure... T- treasure..." a low voice said in the darkness.

"And there it is... The last minute obstacle. Why does this always keep happening to me..." Oliver said, sighing.

The figure crawled out from the shadows, revealing itself. A tall, lanky creature with large four arms, withered feet, and a single gem replacing its eyes. The wide grin across its face struck fear in Cecilia, but what caught Oliver's attention were the orbs stuck on its waist. They resembled those capsule toys one would get outside of a store when you were a kid. A sense of nostalgia washed over Oliver, despite the tense situation. The monster crouched down, and rotated its face 360 degrees.

"Do you guys have any treasure....?" It asked, the grin never disappeared from its face.

Staring the creature down, Oliver felt fear, but also apathy. To him, he already accepted his death the moment he stepped out. Even still, he couldn't lie and try to act brave. Although, he could do something stupid. He ripped off his badge and threw it far away. The badge’s glimmering shine caught the monster's attention, and like a dog seeing a stick, it ran towards the badge on all fours. Oliver grabbed Cecilia's hand and opened the lift. He pressed for the lobby then pushed her inside.

"W- wait, aren't you going to come?" Cecilia said.

Oliver paused for a moment before smiling.

"Nope. If we both go, it'll chase us down. Then both of us will die. This way... Only one of us will" Oliver said.

"W- why... Why do this for me? I barely know you!" Cecilia shouted, her voice shaky.

"... I'm mainly doing this so I can say that I actually did something with my life before dying... Besides, you helped me without knowing me first, so it's only fair right?" Oliver said, still smiling.

Cecilia tried to go back to him, but Oliver slammed the close door button. In the few seconds before Cecilia went down, Oliver gave her a thumbs up.

"Tell my sister she's a loser" Oliver managed to say before Cecilia left.

In front of him now, was an empty elevator shaft. The window on the door reflected his face back at him.

"You're stupid"

"Yeah I know"

Clenching his fist tightly, he smiled wearily at his own reflection.

“Because I really don't wanna die!”

The Fester finally caught up to the badge, scooping it up greedily. It examined the badge using its jewel eye, to detect its true value. Its jewel eye turned green, and an enraged expression began crawling up the Fester's face. "This... This isn't treasure, it's trash!" The Fester said, screaming hysterically.

It practically threw a tantrum by the way it swung its arms around. However, this hissy fit gave Oliver enough time to counter attack. He grabbed a nearby pipe, then swung at the Fester's head.

"Don't call another man's treasure trash!" Oliver shouted.

The swing temporarily stunned the Fester, but once it regained its composure, it turned to Oliver slowly.

"You.... You gave me a fake... You're a cheat... I'll kill you" the Fester shouted, grabbing one of the capsules from its waist.

It crushed the capsule, which caused an attachment unit to pop out from it.

"So you're the bastard who took the weapons!" Oliver said, taking a step back a bit.

The fester ran towards Oliver madly swinging its sword. Oliver rolled out of the way, but the Fester didn't let up. Swing after swing, Oliver had to dodge. It didn't help that it's long arms let it hit him from far away. Oliver ran and ran, as if he even stopped for a second, it would chop his head off. The halls started to blur as he ran madly from the Fester. The more he ran, the more he regretted his previous decision. He didn't even know why he did it; or more accurately, he couldn't think of a reason for his actions.

“I don't want to die! I don't want to die!” Was all he could think of.

Eventually, even a rabbit will get tired from being hunted. Oliver fell face first to the ground; hurting not only his face, but also his pride.

Oliver began to panic, believing that he was about to die. Fortunately for him, the Fester was distracted by some valuables on the ground. Oliver sighed as he held his head.

"Thank goodness… but I can't keep running forever... how do I beat it? Maybe if I assess the situation. In any case, that's the only thing I can do..." Oliver thought to himself.

From what he knew, this thing enjoyed collecting "treasure", and a telltale sign to know what kind of Fester you're dealing with, is what they look like, or in the cases of hyper class Festers, what they say.

"I guess all those lectures from Mr. Sieg weren't all useless after all... Now then, if we're dealing with a treasure Fester, it must hate when its treasure is stolen. However, from what I just saw, this thing has Attachment units in those capsules. If I can just somehow get one, I think I can turn the tide of battle... But how do I distract him?" Oliver thought to himself.

He quickly analysed the room he was in, and noticed some pipes high up. He realised that he was in the energy supply department. Meaning that whatever the pipes are carrying, it could stun or at least blur its vision.

“I guess all that running wasn't for nothing…” he thought to himself, a hopeful look in his eyes.

Oliver patted down his body to find any valuable items, but the only thing he found was the vial from earlier.

"Well... It's probably valuable to someone right?" Oliver thought to himself, clenching it tight.

He positioned himself strategically in a way that prevented himself from being hit by the pipes contents, but also in a way where the pipes perfectly hit the monster. The moment he heard the Fester's footsteps, Oliver threw the vial directly at the pipe. The fester didn't look away from Oliver, but it used one of its four hands to grab the vial. It's callousness leading to the pipe being broken. A jet of steam sprayed the monster which effectively stunned and blurred its vision.

"Jackpot!"

Oliver ran towards the monster, grabbing whatever capsule he could. As he touched the capsule on the far left, Oliver felt an overwhelming amount of creepy energy rushing towards his finger tips. It was as if his fingers were being stabbed by thousands of little knives that were somehow biting him. And what was even more creepy, was the voice that called out to him as he touched it.

"Use me"

The pain caused him to jerk his hand back, leading to him grabbing a different capsule by accident.

"Shit didn't manage to get it... Well whatever, I guess this thing will do..." Oliver said to himself, looking at the capsule.

He tried crushing it, but it was way too hard.

"Should've expected as much... Well, if you can't break with your hands..." Oliver thought to himself, a smile creeping up his face.

He put the capsule down, then crushed it with the broken pipe on the ground. Once it was broken, an attachment unit popped out. Oliver quickly grabbed it, then pressed the side activation button. The attachment unit transformed into a knife, causing Oliver to sigh.

"Why a knife?! Close quarters combat against this thing is like fighting a bear with a hug!" Oliver shouted, a bit frustrated.

As the steam cleared, the Festers turned its attention to Oliver. It noticed that Oliver had taken one of its treasures, which caused it to get mad.

"You Thief! That's mine! Mine mine mine! Give it back!" The Fester screamed as it began running towards Oliver.

Oliver took a deep breath, before taking off his coat. He held his knife tightly as he crouched down a bit. Doing such a stance, reminded him of the training he had to endure during his first month as an Investigator. It was the worst month he had ever lived.

"Attachment units are marvelous things. Since they're made from the corpses of Festers, they can do significant damage to them. Even a C rank attachment unit can cut down an advanced class fester with ease.... But what makes them really useful, is the burst" Oliver remembered the words that came from his squad mate.

Oliver flipped the knife so that the blade was pointing downwards, then hit the Fester with all his strength. The moment the tip of his blade came into contact with the monster, he gripped the handle tightly to enter its "burst state". Releasing the descent energy from the edges of the blade, Oliver was able to cut the Fester's front arms clean off. The Fester jumped backwards and began writhing like an insect being sprayed with bug spray. Oliver stood proudly, even tossing his knife up in the air for style.

As the Fester writhed in pain, its jewel eye cracked. Unbeknownst to Oliver, his strike even hit its eye.

"I should definitely get a promotion for that! But wait... Nobody's here to see it..." Oliver said, scratching his head.

The Fester's writing stopped. In fact, everything about the Fester just stopped. It was as if the Fester was in grief. It couldn't believe that its most prized organ was damaged. It denied it; and after denial, came anger. From the crack in its jewel eye, fingers emerged out. One by one, ten fingers, for two sets of hands, came out from the jewel. The hands ripped apart the Fester's body, like a ripe banana. From the corpse emerged a much more defined Fester. It now stood on two legs, and its upper body showed visible muscle. The capsules from before are now like jewelry which was scattered all over its body. It definitely looked less feral, but it's anger was clear. Oliver tried to get into a defensive position, but the Fester already grabbed his throat. Oliver struggled, but the Fester only tightened its grip.

"You broke my greatest treasure... Now die" the fester said, tightening its grip.

Oliver struggled even more, but it was no use.

He was going to die.