Before the System message came, Ark was happy like those people too. He remembered how he had been beaten up by Anthony. That had ruined his entire day. That feeling of agony quickly vanished when a surprise birthday party had been thrown by his friends that night. They too had jokingly said to him, that they would see him the following year. It was the last promise they ever made to him. Ark felt a pang of guilt as he scrolled through his contacts, trying to remember the people he had lost contact with over a century ago.
This time, he could not make it to his own birthday party. He had been busy making preparations for the coming apocalypse. In his past life, he had not been able to save any of his friends. He himself had survived the first scenario by the skin of his teeth. He was not sure whether they would be able to survive or not. Ark had lost the memories he had made with his friends. It was a long time ago. As he climbed up the tower, he made new friends. They were the precious people Ark wanted to protect. Many of them had been lost because of something he did or something he never got to do.
Ark made up his mind. If he could, he would try to save his friends who had climbed the tower with him. Ark was not a messiah. He never considered himself one too. What he did, he always did for selfish reasons. He saved those he liked and forgot about the despair of those he left behind. Ark was a hypocrite too. He was the only human among the Gods. Perhaps this time, the outcome could change…Ark let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He mentally chided himself. It was not very wise of him to dwell on such things before the first scenario even started.
If Hephaestus was there with Ark right now, he would slap Ark on the head and tell him to stop thinking about useless things and concentrate. Ark breathed in and out for a few minutes to ground himself. This was an exercise he always did before a particularly stressful situation. He readied himself both mentally and physically. He would meet Hephaestus soon anyway. He did need a sword desperately.
There was no shop in the entire own that sold functional swords. Of course, they sold movie props but a blunt edged weapon would not help him survive. The best Ark weapon Ark could come up with in a moment’s notice were the two butcher knives which were resting in the pockets of his clothes. Ark stood in the cross section of the four roads which led in different directions. There was a simple reason. He would be able to protect the people as soon as the monsters appeared. Doing so would require him to know the exact location of their appearance which was practically impossible. Ark settled for the best choice in this situation.
Ark looked around the crowd. Many had thrown him some glances here and there but none that stuck out to him. Suddenly he felt that someone was watching him. He looked around and sure enough, there was Anthony and two boys who were staring weirdly at him. Ark looked directly at Anthony as his eyes instantly became cold. A faint killing intent from Ark was all it took for the boys to avert their gazes. Ark did not have the time to engage in tomfoolery with some college boys. It was pointless after all. A little killing intent went a long way to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
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It was a few minutes earlier when Anthony and his friends had come out of Timmy’s bar to see the sights of the city. Timmy’s bar was a no smoking zone. It was also one of the primary reasons why Anthony didn’t like it there. The no smoking policy was enforced with a heavy hand. Anthony spat on the ground and took out a cigarette. All that talk about Ark pissed him off. This had ruined the last day of his perfectly fine year.
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“Bro…is that Ark standing in the middle of the road?” The boy with the glasses pointed towards the boy standing in the middle of the road with loose clothes on. On further inspection it turned out that the boy actually was Ark. He was wearing loose clothes that looked straight out of a medieval movie and his hands seemed to be fiddling with something inside his pockets.
“Why does he look so cutesy man? He should be like our Anthony yeah, so hip and cool…”
Both of Jason’s friends had apparently drunk some hard liquor before he had even got there and now they were drunk beyond belief. But their assessment was correct. Anthony realized belatedly that his hard earned money was spent on these clothes and he clenched his hands together. He had made a resolution. The next time he would see Ark, that boy was going to be dead and now it was a perfect opportunity. Anthony was just starting to move towards Ark when something unexpected happened. Ark turned around and made direct eye contact with Ark.
Anthony felt a shiver run down his spine. It froze him in his place. Those eyes…they were so cold. Ark was going to kill him if he moved a single step closer and there would be nothing Anthony could do. What happened to the meek freshman? The boy in front of him was a monster. It was not a battle Anthony would bet his money on. He slowly backed away, his head held low fearing Ark’s wrath.
It was almost the new year now. It was then that a sudden chill went through the night. Everything became quiet all of a sudden. The laughter could not be heard anymore, neither could the songs that played from the cars nor could the cheering and weeping of those too drunk…
[The Tower has found its home]
[Only the worthy shall enter it]
Anthony froze for the second time in the day when a screen appeared in front of him. He looked up at the clock on the tallest tower of the city. There was only one second left till the New Year. One second passed by. Tick…but the second hand did not move. Suddenly, Anthony was jolted out of his drunken state as a wave of something hit him at full force. He looked around to see apparitions, white and grey appear. They were creatures straight out of nightmares. Anthony was sure he was having a bad dream. He would wake up and everything would become normal.
As monstrous as those creatures might have been, they did not move a single inch. They just stood there waiting for something to happen. It was then that a status screen was broadcasted to every single person present in the town square
[The first scenario has started]
[Starts in: 00:59]
[Objective: Survive for thirty minutes]
[Compensation: 500 coins]
[Failure: Death]
Ark who was standing in the middle of the road was long prepared for this. He always knew that there was a possibility that the first scenario would be different. Unfortunately for him, it was the same. It was one of the scenarios where the maximum number of lives were lost.
Ark had vowed to save as many people as he could. He would try his best to keep this promise. He looked impassively at the timer which counted down the beginning of end times on Earth. The Doomsday had finally come.