It has been a couple of years since the world ended, and by the end, I mean the era in which humanity started to decline. The technology that once lifted our ascension had made us suffer to the brink of extinction. Paradises that contain plants with perishable goods are no longer habitable due to radiation, and animals that can be considered livestock are now tainted with poisonous substances.
Let's face it, it's pretty much humanity's end the moment the war came to a halt.
The moment when America bombed North Korea, the great war started between the East versus the West. It was once considered World War 3, but as journalist minds published articles, it was no longer numbered, it was the last war humanity should face, thus, they called it "The Apocalyptic War"
It was a series of war after war in a period of two years. In the first year, America allied with all the countries of Europe, and all of NATO, except Germany (Which allied with Russia). The CSTO, eastern countries such as the entire Korean peninsula and Japan, mainland China (with people in Taiwan), and pretty much all Asian nations including Philippines, Timor Leste, and Asian third world countries allied together. Those who were not allied were either colonized by threat or reduced to ashes without any external protection. The international conflicts ended after one and a half years, this resulted in the eradication of 80% of the human population, and with the results; nobody won.
Most of the earth became polluted and radioactive due to nuclear wastes, and places that were not affected by it were either inhabited with savage flora and fauna or uninhabitable by nature.
The remaining human population, according to reports, were the central part of what is known as Venezuela for the west, The Luzon part of the Philippines, and Turkey. Despite the declared habitable places, it does not necessarily mean that the remaining population is native. Some are international refugees that managed to stay there by pure luck. In addition, there are also some settlements in other areas, some beg to say- nobody knows for sure though.
In the succeeding months, it was a hunt for resources, and for quite an absurd reason, this additionally declined the human population by another 50%. The reported remaining population was estimated at 900,000 at that time.
In the present times, I can only imagine my previous life coming back. No mother nor father to call, no person to call a friend, merely resource rivals. I am merely sitting on a concrete bench, painted in blue to call it mine with 5 expired biscuits that could make me last for a week, it was the remaining items I have.
The air smelled like shit, blood, and sweat. Men and women are only wary of each other in the midst of crisis, nobody is trusting each other. In my life as a 17-year old, I managed to survive by stealing abandoned weapons of war to protect myself from hostile creatures.
My very own ran-down jacket could shield me from the cold no more, and my rotting pants can only shield my leg from the rain that falls from the sky- which we cannot consume as it is dangerous to the point where it has the same properties as Isopropyl alcohol.
The temperature is slowly dropping as fumes of pollution are covering the sky, covering the sun. This was the saddest day of my life, to count.
Food, a bottle of smoky water, a gun with three bullets, and a dagger, it's what I was holding. The fire camp that the survivors have shared has run out of dry wood, thus, we can only bear to suffer in the dropping temperature.
My wrinkles are starting to wound, my eyes are dropping, yet I cannot sleep- I must stay cautious to protect myself and what I have come to own.
My Asian features have become indifferent to the western men just beside me, as cautious as I am. Nobody knows what will happen next, God knows (even people doubt his existence).
Nobody knows nobody's name, merely aliases we call ourselves, so we can assert. There are only a thousand people, even less, just within a mile of where I sit, as the habitable land can only reach up to 10 miles tops, beyond that is what we call "the red zone.", filled with radioactive chemicals and poisonous fumes surrounding the air. Since it has been years, plants start to mutate and became unconsumable. Those who tried to cross it died a few hours later. The tint of the fog beyond that line has begat green, a symbol of hazard.
"Is this the end?", a husky voice sighed in front of me, it was alias "Candy"- named after the only item his child left him before it died, he shared about it as we were talking about death. "What do you think, Potato? Is this really the end?"
He was that type of talkative person that never thought of anything wicked. According to him, he was once a pastor in China, and despite his eastern heritage, he can speak proper English as he learned it through his foreign friend (who is now supposedly dead). Not even facing him, I still know he held the same thing he held the other day, a rusty machete and a couple of uncooked noodles.
Right... Potato, that's me, named after the food I munched on bit by bit as the rescuers found me trapped under the debris of a broken building. How funny that when the government said to take refuge in the Malacanan Palace, it was the first place to be bombarded with Western enemy troops.
"I don't even know anymore, sir Candy.", with my broken voice, like a bird that was about to cry, I managed to speak more under the cold with chilly smoke coming from my mouth, "If it was the end, I could have wished it would be faster."
"What a suicidal statement from a child.", he chuckled and took a bite from his perishable goods. "Ugghk- this is no longer edible, haha."
The breeze was no longer good as it reminded each and every person that death was already in front of them. Afterlife seemed like a comfy pillow, yet as per human instinct, we are against it. Who knows, there might be another beginning after the end.
Another child, in his early puberty, began to cough blood. "Ugh!"
Including myself, nobody bothered to help him, it was a sign that he'd end his own suffering a little early. It's frustrating that death has become a common sight among men, especially in the safe zone here in Luzon.
With a couple of coughs more and he fell to the ground with a huge poof of dust in the ground. He was now a corpse, nobody wanted to handle (As people, we know that it may contain any disease upon contact). Instead of giving it a proper burial, we only moved aside and let nature rot its body as the other people did (The main reason for the shitty aroma of the entire land).
Silence filled as the boy went with the other rotten corpses. If only, just maybe, greed hasn't consumed humanity...
If only...
Life...
Can give us another...
Chance...
[You have completed a quest: Survive the Apocalypse]
What? A screen appeared in front of me, like some sort of a high-technology screen floating right in front of my face. What is this? I looked at everyone who was facing the same predicament.
"D- do you see this?", Candy, like watching an invisible platform in front of him, flinched and moaned. "What?"
"I- I see it too.", a couple of people agreed with him. Almost everybody agreed with him, including me.
People looked at an invisible screen in front of them like a psycho, like curious dullards, however, I looked like that too when I saw it. It turns out everyone has their own personal screens that apart from themselves can see, just like me.
People were confused, curious, and annoyed, mixed emotions carried sanity together as if there is still some sanity within us after the war.
[Calculating the prize]
Prize?
"A prize?!", the people moaned in confusion and shock, some were skeptical that the thing they see is a visual illusion, a hallucination due to radiation. But as a young adult who spent hours playing games and reading comics that almost has the same plot as this before the war, I was giddy instead of surprised. Like any other Korean manhwas, it almost felt like all those deaths meant nothing. My parents and my brother, were their deaths just that easy to let go of?
I guess, I just ran out of empathy to give as so I run out of tears to cry.
[Prize: Complete Full-body Healing]
From that simple context, the wound on my hands disappeared in a heartbeat, and so did the scars on my feet. Green dust appeared healing every gap on our skin and every rotten fingernails we got.
"I'm healing!", mister Candy shouted and stood up as he jumped. "I'm healing! Thank God!"
Not only did the tab heal our physical body, but it also refreshed our stamina and mental state- although the stigma of pain and suffering did not disappear, it somehow gave each and every one of us a sense of peace and calmness.
The tears in my eyes that forcefully dropped due to neverendingly thinking about death fell unto the soil.
"Is it God?", I smiled.
"Potato, we're free!", Candy hugged me as he went on a rampage of joy with his boisterous attitude reaching all the people that are around us. "We're free, miss Fish!", he greeted all the people near our space, "We're free, Peanut!"
The smile on his face began halting as soon as the next message popped out. His energetic state began to weaken as he looked at the wooden box floating in a parachute falling with its trajectory towards us.
Though the smiles were not complete seeing the dead boy who just coughed out blood still dead near the rotten corpses. He did not make it.
The wooden crate began falling at a safe speed, enough to fall to the ground without any casualties or it breaking. It was stamped with the letter "G" on each side of it, what could it possibly mean? Nobody knows.
It was not just a single crate, in fact, there are multiple mysterious crates falling from the sky, however, the coordinates it has been fated to fall were nowhere near us, it could be for the one thousand people that compose our settlement (I cannot really call it that since we're nowhere near settled).
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
As the crates fell onto the ground, they made a loud noise- exposing the possible items they may contain since the clang of metals was loud enough. Why did it contain metal? Do we need it rather than food? Is it really God?
Bang! Bang! Bang! Though there were no casualties, the crates did almost hit multiple people.
[Please select a weapon]
As soon as another screen opened, so did the wooden crates. It contained many weapons that were used for combat, and I can assure everyone that it is really used for lethal purposes as decorative swords aren't as sharp as those that were displayed on the crate.
There were multiple weapons in it: daggers, swords, guns, bows, knives, mace, and many more items that are really used for warfare.
A couple of people started grabbing weapons the moment the screen popped out, they were hesitant at first, however, they have grown to select one for themselves; nobody knows where it could be used. Even the skeptics selected their own weapons, while some chose to go with sharp items, I went with blunt armaments, an iron club.
[Please wait for further instructions]
People became obsessed with their weapons to the point where they'd hug them, people tend to amaze me with their foolishness sometimes (Speaking as if I am not a human myself, which I despise, sadly).
Candy picked a sword, not just any sword, but a katana, he said that it reminded him of his Japanese friend that died during the American raid. They were drinking tea at that time when American soldiers raided their house and blew his head up, luckily, Candy survived when he begged them, in English, to use him as their sex slave, to which they disgustingly agreed. Oh how pitiful that a priest could end up such a sorry state.
It was a weird thing for heavenly decisions to grant us weapons in the post-apocalyptic era, on top of that, digital-like screens only individuals can see.
[A quest will be released in 5 seconds]
People were giddy as they waited for the screen to once again, pop out to release a message, an instruction that they called "Quests".
"Do you have any idea what's happening, Potato?"
"Not a clue, Candy."
"Same here."
...3
...2
...1
[Kill a human (0/1)
Time: 20 minutes
Prize: Tower Of Babel Pass
Penalty: Eternal Torment
Note: Succeeding kills will be compensated with additional points (100 per kill), points can be later redeemed in exchange for skills, stats, or items. ]
"..Am I reading this correctly?", Candy stared directly into my eye as deep as ocean trenches, it seemed like he was hostile to me enough that his bloodthirst made me activate my primary defensive instincts- to block their stare with my weapon. People beside me were also wary that some may rampage, thus, it was a hunt amongst men.
"...Eternal torment?", the people began staring at each other like stray cats waiting to fight.
It was surely the end of humanity, we're more than savage beasts the moment divinity interferes.
"AAAAAhhhhh" "FUCCCCKKKK!" "AAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!"
Far from my location, multiple screams and stab noises can be heard, it was a massacre.
I just stood like a statue, petrified in fear and confusion, staring at the gray horizon that was once blue. My hands were shivering while holding my blunt weapon, and intense horrid emotions and feelings came rushing down my spine like a tsunami. I could not feel my legs.
"Forgive me, Potato." a voice approached me.
Peanut pointed her dagger in front of me with hesitation. It was clear that she was also shivering, she had her doubts, and it was a question of morality.
Despite it all, my doubts were no match for the intense chaos surfacing like a manifestation of satan's lair, hell.
However, in this lifetime, it was not my objective to die, what more to experience eternal torment? Eternity does not end, however, as long as I manage to finish the tasks given by who knows who... I just want to live!
Against my personal moral judgment, and against what I consider good- and what I consider my high principles, I took the pistol right from my ragged jacket, got rid of the safety, and placed my index finger on the trigger.
"No, I'm sorry, Peanut."
I fired the gun right in front of her head, Candy watching in fear. The bullet flew directly in the middle of her cranium, penetrating his head, and making him drop everything in his possession.
He was no longer alive, but a corpse. It did not feel good. The way the cadaver just falls to the ground, lifeless, still gives an eerie vibe that makes me want to puke.
Despite not being trained to handle a live firearm, the recoil made my arm drop the gun, however, I did not suffer any serious damage to my hand. The ammunition has run out, my gun is empty and of no use, and I can only rely on my club for defense if circumstances promise me hostility.
"Is killing...", Candy looked at me with shaking arms, "That easy for you?"
"No..." tears started rolling off my eyes. "No!"
"Will you kill me?", with fear in his eyes, Candy handled his weapon well.
As he was moaning in agony, he simply... died.
[You have acquired "Tower of Babel Pass" 1x
Will you proceed? [Yes] [No]
Note: After 20 minutes pass, those who accomplish the task shall be transported to Babel. However, for those who wish to remain, "G" cannot guarantee your safety.]
"Will you kill me?", his voice reverberated in my mind.
"I'm sorry...", I looked at the invisible screen in front of me with the baggage of killing an acquaintance. Despite murdering, however, I did not feel intense guilt- it could be perhaps we didn't have a sufficient relationship I could go haywire in grief, or this so-called "G" has deleted our sense of morality.
"I will proceed to Babel.", I sighed.
[You are rendered invincible for 10 seconds]
[Teleporting...]
Flakes by flakes, each part of my body began to dissipate into thin air. The last time I managed to see this sight was merely in movies, CGI-provided occurrences that make a dullard believe it's real because of the details. However, in my case, it was happening real time.
Bits of my body was disappearing from below, yet I could feel them moving on a different platform.
The moment the flaking reached my upper body and into my head, the vision of a scared Candy turned different, it was a sight in front of a huge marble and sandstone tower. Each brick was placed in a distinct order making the overall aesthetic of the tower calming to the eyes.
The detailed tower surpassed that of what the eye can see upwards, I could say it has exited the atmosphere, however, due to its height, even my eyes cannot determine its exact height.
As for the wideness, calling it as big as a quarter of the Republic of San Marino would be an overstatement, it could be less, however, similar to its height, my eyes cannot accurately estimate it as I can neither reach the end of where the sides of the tower end.
[You have successfully arrived at the outskirts of Babel]
[Your invincibility has expired]
Curiously, I looked at my surroundings like a stray dog entering an alien territory. The sun was nowhere to be found, however, the more I stare at the dark sky, I can see glowing dust- making up the light that makes the entire surroundings visible to the naked eye.
The ground was rock-solid, it was neither soil nor sandy, it's more similar to mossy cobblestone, however, since I have experienced impossible things, the ground I step could also be something straight from fantasy (As if the event I'm in isn't).
"Welcome to Babel."
A soothing voice entered my head as if it was speaking to me telepathically, however, the source of it was just the floating mermaid (She was floating as if the air was water), her scales were coral pink, and her breasts were out in the open (For some reason, she had no nipples, depicting she was not a bit human). She had a face with human characteristics, a beautiful woman with somehow Hellenic features.
Staring at such a confusing entity, I took a step back to assess the situation.
"Who might you be?"
"My identity is irrelevant.", she took my hand and guided me to the tower, "The moment you enter there, you will be given a 64-sided dice, roll well, it will define your overall experience."
She dragged me along ominous locations with her overflowing aura that still made me thrill as she guides me. It turns out that she had an ability that made her exist multiple times in different locations, omnipresence, thus, it was not just she was guiding, but rather, including the hundreds of people that arrive here in the outskirts per minute.
Time passed and I arrived in a long line of humans with the scent of dried blood floating through the air whenever I'm near the crowd. (Expecting that I do not smell the same, which I do.)
It was a long line, and as each second passed, another human appears behind my back- it was truly an odd sight to see, and only minutes passed- the tally of all the people in my back would tally to millions.
"Hey, flying lady, would you just tell this fucking G to get me out of here." a man a meter away from me yelled as he was throwing tiny pebbles to the floating merlady.
"Say insult to G one more time and I'll blow your head off. As long as you have not rolled a dice, you are not a resident of the tower. Hence, I have all the right to shut you up." she answered with a calm tone.
"Try me!" the man replied with hostility and pride.
The lady smiled. "Remember, there's no afterlife after this..."
Boom! There goes his head. Blood, splashing all over the place. Everyone was seeing it, but nobody, including me, bothered to shout. It was not a fate everyone wanted to experience.
I just forced my eyes to not look at the remains of the corpse, instead, I merely tapped my back to calm myself down. It will all be fine, I hope so.
And so, another screen popped out.
[Updating Ranking]
Hmm?
Another screen popped out showing the top 5 players with the highest points.
[#1: XXX - 1900pts
#2: WatchAndListen - 12500pts
#3: Jepoy Dizon - 11400pts
#4: Charmaine - 10900pts
#5: Titania - 10000pts ]
It seemed like the ranking is constantly updated by the system. What- how did they acquire this many points? They're inhuman- they massacre, and they have lost morality completely.
How could they kill humans like they're merely pigs? Are they ex-convicts? Or brutal by blood?
In deep thought, I completely lost my entire consciousness thinking to the point I forgot that I'm on a line.
"Human, roll the dice.", a deep voice enough to bring chills down my spine woke up my senses.
The line was faster than I originally thought...
He was a huge minotaur, or so how I describe the creature in terms of mythology. He had long sturdy horns and his height would be thrice compared to mine, he had fur all over him. He was formal as he wore a western tuxedo topped with a bow tie for the top, yet completely naked starting from the waist.
"W-what would the dice mean?", I asked.
"The higher value you roll, the better the stats and skillset you receive from G.", he handed a 64-sided dice. "However, if it reaches 1, you return to earth to suffer once more."
I took the dice and looked at it with awe. "And if it does not land on a number?"
"It's a special case in which the dice would decide, and that's too much chat for a mere human." he brutely handed the dice over. "Spin."
How scary...
I rolled the dice in my capsulated hands and just hoped for the best. I breathed unto it and just prayed for a lucky roll... a lucky roll.
...Every beat the dice dances, I tremble. I fear. I don't want to suffer once more...
Give me something decent... please...
And so it was. As each bump of my heart and each sweat on my head dropped, the dice landed on a perfect stand, it did not land on a number, it was a special case.
"Wh-", I smiled. Ah yes, of course. I will live that manhwa life. I mean... why not? It's me. Hahaha.
"Human, you have received a special case.", the huge minotaur took the dice and breathed to it, "The dice have spoken..."
Come, fucking tamaraw. What do I get? Don't tell me I get to rule this tower.
"What do I get?"
"Human, for some absolute reason, all of your stats will start at 0, except for your luck stat which starts at -100."
Huh?
What?
Excuse me?
"W-what?"
"You also get a complimentary Worship-a-clown skill."
[You have acquired Worship-a-clown]
"What does this do-", the minotaur dragged me by the back and threw me inside the crowded place of Babel.
"Too much chat!"
The beef pushed me further into the tower.
[You have entered Babel Floor 0]
Similarly, the system reacts to what I need when I want them to show something, it's like in the comics I read, it's quite a privilege to know these things.
The moment I try to stand up from the throw, I instantly fell down to the ground resulting in a wound on my forehead. For some reason, I just can't stand up without getting injured, this unlucky thing is making me sick.
Fuck! This is automatic?!
That dude did not lie when he said that my luck stat was negative, but is that even possible? Is that even fair? An extremely low stat?
But first, I need to know this skill "G" bestowed upon me.
"What is Worship-a-Clown?"
[ Worship-a-clown (Skill-Passive)
Every time someone compliments you or shows you gratitude, your wisdom stat rises by 1, but your luck stat decreases by 1]
What the hell? Is this even allowed? This is the most unfair thing I have ever experienced in my entire life, except the part where the Great Britain Fleet kidnapped my cousins leaving me alone, in silence, hiding in the dark, living in agony seeing my fellowmen tormented, but that's beside the point.
"Show status screen."
[ Name: Potato
Title: None
Class: None
HP: 90/100
MP: 100/100
---
Strength: 0
Dexterity: 0
Endurance: 0
Wisdom: 0
Charisma: 0
Luck: -100
Accuracy: 0
---
Skills:
(Active)
Lowest Grade Healing (Cooldown: 1 hour)
(Passive)
Worship-a-Clown ]
I could have wished for a cooler name, however, "Potato" seems nice, such memories it implies. However, how did it get accepted into the system, and who decided to carry on my alias?
But hey, a free "Lowest Grade Healing", at least I can heal the wounds inflicted when I fell. The fact that I got happy when a healing skill appeared even in its lowest grade makes me rethink my life... it's shittier than the shit stink back on Earth.