Andrew entered the bathroom with his sleepy eyes and Darius glanced at him calmly, a barely visible smile on his face.

"Andrew… Just a nightmare."

"Oh? About the book of power again?"

"…"

Darius frowned after hearing this name and asked calmly,

"Book of power… Have I said anything else about it?"

After yawning and nearing the sink to wash his face, Andrew said sleepily,

Well, you were mumbling about it like you were searching for it desperately. Going around like, My book, where is it? Why don’t you have it yet? Where is my book of power? Or something along these lines. It was creepy, man. You had that dream about a week ago."

"Oh, I see."

He turned back to the mirror to also wash his face and after Andrew said a few more things, he wanted to leave when Darius asked in a neutral voice, washing his hands in the sink with his back at Andrew.

"Hey Andrew."

"Yeah?"

"… We are friends, right?"

Darius asked in a light tone and Andrew seemed confused by his question, only to chuckle and shake his head in ridicule,

"What in the world, man? Is that what Bromance looks like? Dunno man, don’t really swing that way."

“Alright, just fuck off, will you?"

"Kekeke~."

Andrew left while laughing, but as he left, his smile turned into a smirk, a cold gaze visible in his eyes.

I am your friend, Darius. For now, that is...

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Darius’ smile vanished as a cold and calm expression took its place, his eyes showing no emotion as he was clear on his next move.

I’ll be sure to take care of you the same way you did to me, friend.

In his past life, Andrew backstabbed Darius during a mission to exterminate the monsters near the Eastern City’s military base, exterminating the whole squad by destroying the protective gear against the miasma, ending up turning everyone mad after a storm rich in miasma enveloped them. Darius was lucky to have found the damages in his costume beforehand and patched them up early. However, he never expected for everyone to have the same problem, except for Andrew and some others who ended up being spies of the cult.

The Demonic Cult is a secret society that works in the shadow of the Human Coalition, with ranks ranging from the lowest soldier of the Main Army to the leaders of different countries. They are a secretive force in which only a selected few are aware of key pieces of information, while the ones who hold the true power from the sahdows are the barmen, those who are also working with recruiting members and distributing them different types of quests and missions.

When Darius got betrayed, the demonic cult’s spies inserted in the military base decided to reveal themselves en masse during their respective squads’ missions and deal another blow to the main army. Back then, the shock suffered made him fall into negation and desperation while trying to escape the infested area, burdened by the betrayal of his best friend. After meeting with Andrew again, he wanted to ask for some explanations, only to be greeted with a bullet through his chest. Once again, luck was on his side, as his heart was missed after instinctively moving slightly to the left, but he still had to be hospitalized for a month, his depression burdening his recovery.

It was the first and worst betrayal he felt in both of his lives. After going through that and after finally recovering, he came back for revenge and killed both Andrew and the other betrayers, assassinating them all.

And in this life, I’ll be sure to do so before any of you bastards get the chance to lower our numbers.

No more arrogance, no more ignorance, and no more mercy.

I fucked up big time in my past life, especially after getting infected by the miasma and turning insane. But I swear on my name and on my bastard soul, I won’t let humanity suffer any major losses in this world ever again.

This time, Darius was set on letting those who were useless to die and those who were useful to continue on living for the greater cause. This time, there will be no kindness without equal rewards.

He gazed deeply into his own eyes and observed how his once brown eyes were now shining with a dark purple glow, a similar color to the pillar emanated by the rift itself.

When Miasma touched someone, this glow was typically visible in their eyes. Darius wasn’t touched in this life, or at least not yet. However, he still showed such traits.

.

.

After the day began, everyone quickly changed into their uniforms, made their beds, and got summoned to the conference room, a.k.a. classroom.

""………….""

Nobody said a word.

Every soldier stood straight on their seats and looked at the general in front of them, who was reading some reports with his legs on top of the office. After 20 whole minutes in complete silence, with the exception of the general’s occasional snorts while reading the report, he finally threw the papers on the ground and looked at the 200+ soldiers under him that stared at him with expressionless faces. After he examined everyone’s gazes, a superior smirk appeared on his face.

"Not a word this whole time. Good."

The general got up and walked in front of the office, closer to the soldiers.

"I’m glad to see you tools knowing your places. As a daily reminder, you are nothing but tools. You are humanity's’ sword and shield, disposable little shits that can be easily replaced by the next generation of orphans. Your only job is to grow stronger, learn how to fight, and get used to following orders. Simple, right?"

""YES SIR!""

"Chuckle, good. Now, get someone to clean this up. Inside the drawers are the papers with this month’s schedules. There won’t be any theoretical classes anymore for you since you reached the level of elite, so you better just focus on your physical growth and proficiency with weapons. Dismissed."

After the general left, two men from the first row got up; one of them gathered the thrown papers, while the second went to the drawer and grabbed all the papers, sharing them between the others.

The schedule was simplistic: they had to do the morning run around the camp every day, having to run for a whole hour, at least 10 km. If you were able to do more than that, then it was better for you, since as an elite soldier, your main interest was to grow stronger no matter what. If they did worse than that in 1 hour, which was pretty much unheard of, then they were kicked out of the military camp butt-naked and left to die from hunger in the middle of nowhere. It sounded brutal, but in a place where strength and power meant everything, someone with low physical and mental strength was only dead weight, risking bringing everyone else down with them.

Since Darius’ physique was more on the slim and fit side, his stamina was also lower, but his explosive power was greater, so the next training regime was better for him:

After the run, they were sent inside a changing room to calm their rushing hearts for about 5 minutes, change their sweaty shirts if they needed to, then go to the canteen to eat. After finishing eating, they did some warm-up exercises and went to train on their aim with multiple fire weapons until 10 a.m. when they had to continue their physical training by finishing a course with obstacles and training their parkour skills.

I always loved this course.

Because of his agile physique, Darius was among the first to finish the parkour course. After having to climb and jump over multiple tall walls and fences, he then had to climb a two-story building by using nothing but his own body. He would run full speed towards the wall, then jump up and push himself higher by stepping on the wall. Grab onto the edge of the first floor’s window and pull himself up, then grab onto a gas pipe from the side to hold his balance. Step hard on the wall to launch himself upwards while at the same time pulling onto the pipe to send himself further upwards. After doing so, he was able to reach the 2nd floor’s window and do so again until he reached the top of the floor. Reaching the other end, Darius held onto the building’s edge like a monkey, then let go only to grab again after he reached the 2nd floor’s edge, then do so again to reach the 1st floor. Afterwards, he pushed himself away from the building, turned mid-air, and rolled on the ground to continue running. All of this took Darius less than a minute to reach the other end of the building, leaving his comrades in awe since this was the first time he finished so fast.

"Oy Darius! Since when were you so fast? You were already among the best at climbing buildings. But isn’t this faster than before?"

The person who finished after him in 1.30 minutes was amazed after trying to copy Darius’ style.

"If you put your mind to it, you can get better at anything. Just imagine you’re being chased by field-boss-tier monsters."

"T-that’s not even funny, man…"

Field-boss-tier monsters were creatures strong enough to destroy a few squads of tanks on their own. Bullets dealt no damage, while explosive shells were the only ones to injure them, at least for a bit. They were most of the time at least as tall as a 5-story building, and depending on the type of monster, they could reach or even surpass the speed of sound while dashing. Let alone a 2-story building; not even a skyscraper could stop them if they were to chase you.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Darius smirked, and while patting the dust off his hands, he commented calmly,

"Sometimes to improve, you have to be a bit more extreme."

"True. I’ll remember that."

The man smiled and nodded, appreciating Darius’ advice.

Not only were they living, fighting, and training together, they were also trying to pull each other up the best way possible since being an elite didn’t only mean they were the strongest among their peers, but it also meant that their teamwork was among the best compared to any other militaristic groups, and their will to sacrifice for each other was the greatest. That also meant the trust between one another was incomparably stronger than in any other place.

And because of that, Andrew’s betrayal hurt that much more after he turned against his own brothers.

Seeing the man in front of him smile with such a friendly grin, Darius barely held in his murderous intent since he was also between one of the terrorists’ spies.

After this course of free-running, they went to eat again and, immediately after, went for hand-to-hand combat training.

"Oy Darius, you smell different from before. Did you know that?"

"Are you a dog or something?"

Darius and Andrew were standing face-to-face, with the backs of their front hands touching, while staring deeply into the eyes of one another, combat-ready.

The first to make a move was Darius, who shot out a light jab right into Andrew’s face. The impact wasn’t that strong, but it still took Andrew by surprise, making him tense ever so slightly.

That jab wasn’t to inflict physical but psychical damage, lowering Andrew’s confidence. Darius then threw another quick jab that ended the same way, with a hit right into his face. It was a cruel psychological attack that normally had two results: The first was to implant the thought of "I can take you out whenever I want" if the attacker was able to dominate the defender. The second result was to annoy the defender, forcing him to stop thinking and attack at random, making it easier to dominate them mid-combat.

"Bastard! Since when were you such a dirty player with me- Guh!" Mid-sentence, Darius struck him again, this time even cutting his lower lip because he opened his mouth.

"Come on, shit-stain. Do something! Since when were you such an obedient bitch to get slapped like this?"

"Mother fucker!"

Andrew lost it and went in for the attack, grabbing Darius’ front wrist and pulling towards his fist.

"Moron."

Darius smirked as he immediately reverse-gripped by releasing himself and grabbing Andrew’s wrist right back, then lowered his head to dodge his fist. He then pulled downward onto Andrew’s wrist and, at the same time, spun with his elbow raised high to come down like a guillotine, striking Andrew strongly on the back of his head.

"Gah!"

The impact was strong enough to shake the eyes in his head for a moment, a moment used by Darius to turn again and kick upwards right into Andrew’s face… Or at least that’s what he wanted to do.

"This would’ve ended ugly if it wasn’t just training... That's why you should train not just your body but your mind as well, Andrew."

He stopped his shin just a few centimeters from reaching Andrew’s face to shatter his jaw, Darius calming down and helping Andrew to stand tall and focus his sight.

"Damn. I thought you seriously wanted to kill me, man. Since when were you this ruthless? And that dirty play at the start... Man, you made me feel like shit, you know?"

"Every type of battle has its own psychological warfare as well; remember that. If your mind's shaking, then you're already losing. For that, you better focus on training in the Coliseum."

I hate that place..."

"I know. But it’s the best to train your mental fortitude."

The "Coliseum" was how the higher-ups called the arena used to fight against captured beasts. Because it resembled how the gladiators used to fight against beasts inside the coliseum, the higher-ups thought it was the most befitting name for such a nasty place.

Although there were guards to save the soldiers unlike in the actual Coliseum, there were still moments when a beast was able to land a fatal strike that ended up killing the soldier instantly. This training method wasn’t mandatory; that’s why the soldiers were able to enter it at their own risk to train further. They must come in groups of two at least, so one can stay on guard as the third one was fighting inside the arena with only a gun and a knife.

Since the weapons used were just a gun and a knife, the monsters’ weren’t higher than mid-tier monsters since no gun could penetrate a high-ranked monster’s skin.

Also, with the exception of Darius, nobody knew about the hidden cameras in a few, especially large rooms, cameras used by the military base’s chef, who used the videos to make bets on the black market.

When Darius first found out in his past life, he wanted to report to the Main Army, but he was quickly stopped by Annabelle, one of the main heroes, who knew that if he went through with his report, he’d only risk getting assassinated before the case could even start.

However, for almost everyone, even the mid-tier was too much since they were either too agile or their defense was too strong.

The ranks for the monsters were as follows:

Lowest tier: monsters that are vulnerable to even well-equipped soldiers. They were on par with bears or lions when it came to vitality and raw power. If a dog-type, lowest-tier monster were to appear while facing a fully grown lion, whenever the lion or the monster would win, the chances would be 50/50.

Low-tier: monsters that, although harder to kill, fire-weapons were still able to deal damage to them. Normal soldiers were still able to deal damage to them. Their vitality and raw power were comparable to elephants and hippos.

Mid-tier: To take one down, it required a few magazines of ammunition if you had no armor piercers since their skin was especially hard to penetrate. At this point, it was best to use anti-infantry turrets or heavy rifles, maybe some explosive rounds. Although difficult, an especially skilled soldier could deal with one if equipped with plasma knives, grenades, and a powerful gun akin to an LMG. Depending on the type of monster, they can be either too quick for aiming your gun or too strong for the normal bullet to penetrate. Using a plasma knife to penetrate their skin was the best option, but good luck to whoever dared to go into close combat against a monster that could easily throw a car or outrun one. Their vitality can rival that of a cockroach as well, since they will still move even after blowing up their hearts.

High-tier: Monsters that no soldier should even think of approaching. Can be dealt with only by using heavy weaponry such as: rockets, tank shells, C4, and other heavy weaponry. Grenades can also be used, but in greater amounts. They are especially hard to deal with because armor-piercing bullets can hardly penetrate their defenses, and they are too quick for normal humans to be struck down with a simple plasma knife. Until data about the monster's movements has been shared beforehand, the chances of facing such a monster are below 10%, even for elites.

Boss-tier: A multitude of heavy weaponry must be used to deal with such a monster. Not necessarily the strong defense, but their mobility and speed are what make it harder to deal with, needing a great deal of explosives to cover a wider area. Their offense is also a factor in why heavy weaponry is advised against such monsters.

Field-boss-tier: A whole militaristic force is required to eliminate such a monster. Depending on the type of monster, even a carpet bombing wouldn’t be enough to deal with just one monster and would require the intervention of multiple squadrons to bombard the whole area since they can also be agile or simply that sturdy. And that was only if they wouldn’t strike back; once they used their full arsenal, the explosives would have a hard time reaching them in the first place, let alone peeling off the ridiculous defense.

Higher-boss-tier: Explosives are still useful against these monsters, but whoever wants to get near a higher-boss-tier monster, then they would need more than just what’s humanly possible. Let alone their defense, their offensive alone won’t let anything anywhere near them. Maybe only if one were to blow up a nuclear bomb near them could they be defeated by man-made weaponry, but the probability of a bomb getting near such a highly sensitive monster is improbable, while if it were blown a few kilometers nearby, the post-radiation after such a bomb would still not be enough to kill them since miasma nullifies the gamma radiation.

Great-boss-tier: There’s nothing that could deal with such a demi-god-like creature. Once a monster of this caliber decides to end a city, then, for sure, no man-made weaponry would be enough to stop it from doing whatever it wanted. Planes will be shut down before they can enter the strike zone. Rockets will be destroyed mid-air before they can land their marks; shelves make too much noise and are easy to detect by these monsters. Until one reaches the monster, they can easily either dodge it or intercept it. As for using the Thor’s Hammer (the spatial satellite that drops tungsten spears from space), only a bull’s-eye would be strong enough to deal a significant blow, but it might not really kill it. If the spear were to miss, then that would only annoy the monster, making it actively hunt the ones who provoked it.

But either way, it really depends on the type of monster. If it was a shadow-dog-type monster as a boss monster, then a surprise attack with some anti-tank mines and more C4 should be more than enough to turn it into powder. Since their only advance was their ridiculous offense, the nick-name "glass cannon" would be the most befitting. However, if it were a golem-type high-tier monster, then the best option would be to use heavy weaponry from a distance. Even if you were to be detected, their linear movement would make it easy to continuously bombard them as they regenerate until their cores are destroyed. If the explosives get rid of the surface lair around the core, one bullet would suffice to put a hole through it. Although they are graded by their offensive might, some monsters could be killed easier while others harder.

"Yeah… I think it would be best to train in the Coliseum."

Andrew sighed, and after shaking hands with Darius, they prepared for the next round, but with different partners.

When sparing ended, they were now offered some free time, which Darius used to enter the Coliseum, this time on his own.

"Alone? Are you crazy?"

The one who supervised the coliseum felt his forehead pulsate as he glared at Darius like at some mad man.

"What do you mean alone? Don’t I have you?"

"Do you think I’ll babysit you throughout your time in there?"

"If you could just throw a glance now and then, I would appreciate it."

"You know what? Fuck it. Do as you wish. It’s not even my life, so why should I care? Here, sign this so I can have proof that’s not my fault whatever happens, and also, here’s your card with the arena’s number. Go have fun then."

"Thanks."

The guard grinned completely irritated but Darius simply smiled confidently, not minding the man’s twitching grin as he glared at Darius from behind.

The Coliseum was a building with multiple arenas. But because it was the only one of its kind in this military base, the female soldiers were also using it, making this place also nicknamed The Bragging Spot. It comes from the desire of the male soldiers to show their skills to the women of the military camp and score some points with them. Obviously, because of that, many fools ended up dying mid-combat or suffering severe injuries while trying to impress the women, fighting beasts beyond their capabilities.

After going to the male’s changing room, Darius changed into a full-body combat costume and equipped the plasma knife and gun. The costume was more like armor—bullet-proof and also hard to rip or penetrate by all means. It was still easy to move into, but such costumes were so expensive to create that the ones used in the training were also those used in real combat when sent into missions. It was said that if your armor broke, then you were as good as dead, since the army had no intention of offering you a new one or helping you repair it for free if you weren’t in the top 10 best elites.

Although Darius could easily reach the top ranks, he had no intention of damaging the armor too much. Because even then, he most probably would need to pay some fine for damaging the armor.

Arena nr. 7... there it is.

Reaching in front of an iron gate with a large 7 above it, Darius looked over a screen where more monsters were lined up, each set on their respective rank: from lowest to mid-rank monster.

Already knowing what he wanted, Darius scrolled down, passing the lowest and lowest-ranked monsters all the way to mid, more exactly to the last monster that was considered to be the hardest to deal with as a simple soldier.