I had to make a bonfire to warm myself up.“Achoo! Damn snake!” I grumbled, still seething over how the python had messed me up. Even though I technically won, it felt like dying might have been the easier option.
The fire kept me warm, but only barely. The ice elements hadn’t just frozen my body—they had also disrupted the spiritual threads within me, slowing the flow of spiritual energy through my system. I had to meditate constantly to counteract the freezing effects while keeping the fire alive to maintain some warmth.
After a while, I started feeling better and decided to head back to the city.
The forest was eerily calm on my way back. I didn’t encounter a single beast, but when I reached the city, I understood why.
The walls were splattered with blood, and people were cleaning up the aftermath of an attack. It looked like a beast tide had struck. The chaos must have been caused by the python going berserk in the forest and releasing so much spiritual energy. The weaker monsters had been scared off, driven from their hunting grounds, and, in turn, moved toward the human city where no other monsters lived. It caused a domino effect, forcing many beasts to flee in the same direction—straight to the city.
As I entered the city with my mask on, the guards didn’t stop me like they had last time. They must have already found the person they were searching for.
Back at my inn, I sat on the bed and tried to catch up on the news. What I learned shocked me.
Twenty-eight cities had been destroyed.
Although there were many cities in this Realm, each one possessed at least three gates that led to the First Realm. Losing 28 cities wasn’t a minor event. Each city housed a minimum of 10,000 people, meaning at least 280,000 lives were lost—likely even more.
The reports blamed the Truth Seekers for the destruction, but I couldn’t believe it. Why would they destroy so many cities? And how could they even manage to pull it off?
Exhausted, I lay down on the bed and piled as many blankets as I could over myself, hoping this lingering cold would go away soon.
But sleep wouldn’t come easily. The clashes between the city lord and the organizations raged on, the unrest outside keeping me awake.
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Creak!
A vase flew across the room, smashing against the wall as a man vented his frustration. The entire room was in disarray, with furniture turned upside down and papers scattered everywhere.
“Damn them all!” He roared. “I was so close to having the city lord in my grasp. Why did they interfere?”
The man’s features were contorted with rage, but if anyone were to see him, they would think he belonged among the most handsome men of all time. With crystal-clear blue eyes, black hair, and a perfectly built body—muscular enough to be both imposing and attractive to any woman—he exuded an aura of effortless charm. His voice was as smooth as silk, yet his personality was anything but.
He knew his failure would soon be reported to his father, and he dreaded facing the same fate as his brothers. He was one of the four who had failed to cover for the old man in the Dark Hawk organization’s headquarters. The old man had killed his sons, branding them as failures and blocking their advancement in the Realms. His father intended for his daughter to inherit the company without competition.
The only reason he was still alive, he knew, was his ability—not his looks or genetic capabilities. Under his leadership, the company had gained control of several cities, but one misstep could have cost him dearly.
“Damn it!” He muttered, shaking with anger. “Why did you all have to mess things up in the end? And those damned Truth Seekers too! It cost me a hundred platinum coins just to fix my leg!”
He blamed everyone but himself for his failure. Why? His father had eyes and ears around him constantly, and they reported anything suspicious. In the company and his family, no one dared to speak ill of him—disobedience would result in death. Even his mother had perished for criticizing him behind his back. He considered himself lucky that his eldest brother’s mother had met a similar fate at the hands of that monster.
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As he sat down, his hands shook from a mix of fear and anger.
“Hehe, hehehe… HAHAHA!” he suddenly erupted in maniacal laughter—not from joy, but from the sheer terror bubbling up inside him.
“If I die, then let me drag all of you down to hell with me!” he vowed, staring out at the city with a twisted smile that would make anyone who saw it deeply uncomfortable.
“This tea was excellent, Jerad,” said a man with an elegant aura surrounding him, his eyes giving off a glimmer of hope in the darkness as he looked at his butler. His face could be considered average in a crowd, but his aura made him the center of attention in any room.
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“Sir, it is my honor to serve you!” said the old butler, beaming with happiness as he bowed towards the man sitting in the luxurious chair in his well-appointed room.
“Can you tell me something, Jerad?” said the man, taking a sip of his tea with a casual smile. “Anything, Sir!” responded the butler eagerly.
“Do you know about a letter that was exchanged between you and the Dark Hawk organization?” the man asked, his tone indifferent. “Even now, you’ve not stopped exchanging letters with them?”
“That’s a lie, City Lord!” Jerad pleaded, dropping to his knees in front of the City Lord. “I would never betray you!”
“Drag him into the dungeon,” the City Lord ordered. Two guards entered the room and roughly hauled Jerad away. Once in the dungeon, Jerad’s fate was sealed—people who entered there never saw the light of day again.
The City Lord maintained his iron rule by not allowing any opposing factions or voices to rise against him. His alliance with the Dark Hawk organization stemmed from his sister’s marriage to one of the organization’s high-ranking executives. However, their relationship had soured not long ago when his sister and her husband were sacrificed to the tribes.
Outsiders knew nothing of this, and the City Lord never spoke of it. His sister had kept the secret too, fearing they would use her against him. They had grown up together in the slums, and because he possessed a high gene cap, he quickly rose through the ranks. Rather than ascend, he chose to stay in the city and take control, ensuring a safe place for his sister. But later, he learned that his sister had married and had a family—he was overjoyed at first but then devastated when he learned she had gone missing. He searched high and low for her, only to discover her fate.
Every time he ate sweets or drank tea, he was reminded of their shared happiness—their playful days building sandcastles on the beach, catching fish in the river, or sleeping under a bridge in heavy rainstorms, clutching each other for warmth to stave off the cold. The sweetness always tasted bitter to him afterward. His butler, Jerad, continued to bring him sweet tea, unaware of the dark memories it stirred.
As he put the empty teacup down, the City Lord looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought. He was not strong enough to face the tribes or the organizations that had sacrificed his sister.
He even searched for rebels to help them, and that’s how he met the old Hen. Sadly, the rebels weren’t strong enough to face the tribes or any other human factions unless they ventured into forbidden territories.
Sighing, he got up and gave up on the thought of fighting against the tribes. Yet, his heart refused to give up on any hope. One day, he would take his revenge. Only if such a day ever comes, but hope is the last thing to be extinguished from any person. No matter how darkness veils the sky, the light will always break it apart.
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“A-choo!” Damn this cold! Why doesn’t it go away?! I thought to myself, frustrated as several days passed without me getting better. Even Hen chased me back, saying I should get better. When I tried to meditate, the frozen energy in my body greatly affected me. I could only search for anything that might help me in the system, but there was nothing. So, I had to give up on those thoughts.
My only happiness was that I finally maxed out my gene cap for extraordinary monsters. I was only short about 44 silver from the Elite gene cap potion, but my situation didn’t allow me to go hunting outside the city as I felt weak all over my body. Unable to meditate or control spiritual energy in a normal way, I lay on the bed, covered myself with blankets, and thought about what to do. For the first time in my life, I felt bored.
I always dreamed of living in luxury and doing whatever I wanted once I reached such heights. But now, here I am. I can be considered one of the strongest people in the First Realm, yet I’m bored to death. Was that always my dream? It was, but not anymore.
Do I want to become the strongest for revenge? No, it’s something else. Is it a weakness? No, it’s not weakness. I hate the people for experimenting on me, but I also hate myself for my weakness. If I had had strength, none of that would have happened to me. Is this the fault of the world we live in? I could only ponder until I heard a bit of laughter entering my room.
As I went to the window and looked outside, I could see people laughing and talking with each other. The scenery seemed warm. Did those people, who had enjoyed such a life before, become zombies or were they killed by fishmen? They never did anything wrong or unjust. They just wanted a quiet and slow life with their families around them.
They did not wish for power or authority, but this world demanded it from them. This world turned people against each other. But can I change this world at all? I looked from the people to the sky and doubted myself.
I remembered the system and how heaven-defying its abilities were. “Do you want me to change all of this world?” I could only ask the air in front of me, but no one answered—only the cold silence remained. Yet, I felt as if the answer was ‘Yes.’
Watching the happy people, I soon saw it turn ugly as soldiers sent them into their homes. “Sigh,” I muttered, “No matter where I go, people never change. Evil is always lurking in the heart, and if given a chance, it sprouts like a mushroom after the rain, eating away all the good in a person’s heart.” I could only lament the people and their fate.
To change the world, I needed to change the people first, but how do I do it? Strength, as it grants everything a person needs. But first, I need to play according to the world's wishes to gain my wish. I removed the blankets around me and started meditating, even though it hurt. I must go on.
I need strength to overcome all obstacles in front of my path. I must break this game. Remembering how weak the python was against the Realm, I knew I had a long way to go to reach the top. Yet, it would be fun. For the first time in my life, I genuinely smiled. The meditation hurt, but it motivated me—knowing my path was the right one.