"Well," the imp starts. "To be exact, it's the end of your world as you know it."

I notice that everyone, like me, is looking at an object that is invisible to each other's eyes.

"The box in front of you is representative of your character. Some will be black, some white, some green, and some," the imp glances at me. "Will be a little peculiar."

The imp makes a grand gesture of blowing fire in a circle. "You are given a base attribute based on what is deemed will suit you; think of it as a superpower. To gain more of these superpowers, you must achieve great feats or get sponsored by the constellations."

"Constellations are, well, gods and goddesses to all of you. They are deities that have ascended beyond mortality," the imp says. "And, they are also the audience for these games."

Games? Toying with human life is a game to these people?

"Oh, and by the way, my name is Gxyuip this time. Think of me as a moderator." Gxyuip claps his little hands twice and the information in the box changes, entering my head.

End one person's life before time runs out. 20 minutes will be given.

"If you don't comply with the rules," Gxyuip starts. "Then you will die." A satisfied smile creeps to the imp's face.

I look to the students and notice that they begin to gaze around, scrutinizing the people around them. They are wondering what to do, looking for someone to support them and lead the way.

A boy no older than fourteen years sets down the bag on his back and begins digging for something. After several minutes, he takes out an object and reveals a metal blade in a swift motion. An eerie glint appears in his eyes. The girl next to him tries to get away, eyes wide in horror, but in the next moment, a gash appears on her belly, and she crumbles to the floor, screaming and holding her injury. She again begins to crawl away, the crowd around her spreading out in avoidance. The boy, almost calmly, walks to her side and stabs her in the back of her neck. Warm blood begins gushing out, spraying onto the boy's clothes and face. He remains emotionless.

Chaos breaks out, with those who once stood in silence screaming in panic and trying to break out. The blue field surrounding us is unable to be broken, as I have already deduced. A being that is powerful enough to do all this would not let us leave so quickly.

Then, the students begin to look at each other. Some start fighting, and some stick together. If to live means killing another, then people will choose to kill. This is human nature.

The boy who murdered the girl starts walking over to me, slashing at anyone who gets too close to him. I suppose he sees me as an easy target.

"Hey, Griffon!" he says, a smile on his face. I look at him uneasily. He knows me? "Why don't we team up? Get back at the shits who fucked with us?" He nods at a group of people, the same people who were following Bradley before he died.

I shake my head. I have no personal vendetta against them.

"Come on," he starts. "I know you're just like me. You've been fantasizing about killing them for ages, haven't you? This is our chance." He gestures to everything around him. "It's like we're in a video game. We get stronger by killing people, don't you understand?"

"This is no game," I reply, shaking my head once more. "Human lives are valuable and should not be squandered so easily."

His face darkens. "You're a fucking coward."

He lunges at me at an abnormally fast speed, and I am startled, but I manage to step to the side in time. I get into a defensive stance, questions racing through my mind. How is he so fast? Does he have qi? No, I cannot sense any qi coming from his body; it must be another power.

"When'd you learn how to fight?" he spits, his voice oozing with anger. He lunges at me again, but this time I am prepared. I duck forward and grab his bladed arm with one hand and the back of his neck with the other. I bring his head down with my hand on his neck and strike the middle of his face with my knee. Repeatedly.

"Ow! Stop! Wait!" he screams, defenseless in my grasp. His form was sloppy and nothing I couldn't handle, even with the boost in physicality he received. I lift his head up by pulling on his hair and look him in the eye.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Have you learned your lesson?" I ask him. His blood-stained face nods, eager to get out of my grip.

I let him go, and he backs away. He is coughing and spluttering, blood spilling out of his mouth. We stand in silence for a moment.

"Griffon," he pants. "I can't deal with this fucking world." I nod, though I am not sure what he means.

He clasps his trembling bladed hand and holds the weapon with two hands. I squint at him, making sure that he does not try to attack anyone else.

He points the blade at himself, then plunges it into his chest. I watch in surprise.

"Think of this as a favor," he grunts as he grows pallid and falls to the ground. Information soon floods my head.

Congratulations! You have passed the first trial.

I grimace. I have killed animals before, but to take another human's life, even indirectly, brings a sour taste to my mouth.

Gxyuip flies into the field and claps his hands together. "Time's up, and... it seems a couple people have managed to survive this time. I hope the constellations at home had a good time watching!" He snaps his fingers, and many people around me erupt in blood, their bodies almost fizzling out of existence. I withhold the urge to throw up.

"Good job to all those who chose to kill, and congrats on surviving," the imp says, grinning. I glance around, and people are standing over dead bodies next to them, gasping and panting. It seems that they have chosen to murder in order to live. Not much time has passed, but it seems that a transformation has occurred among the students.

"Then, we will have the first round of sponsorships for the people here." Gxyuip looks into the distance. "Are any constellations interested in these youthful folk?" I hear a ding in my ears.

Marduk wishes to gift you the all-perceiving eye. Do you accept?

Ares wishes to gift you the strength of three men. Do you accept?

Loki wishes to gift you the trickster's mask. Do you accept?

You may only choose one.

I ponder for a moment, but decide to choose the all-perceiving eye. I must grow stronger, but my late grandfather always used to tell my big brother and me that knowledge surpasses strength in nine out of ten encounters, and I trust his words more than anything.

You have received the all-perceiving eye. You may now check the attributes of the people around you.

There is a tall and lanky man near me, and I immediately turn to him. I activate my new attribute.

Base Attribute: Runner

Speed will be significantly increased when escaping.

Attribute 1: Strength of Three Men

Strength has been multiplied by three.

So Marduk's all-perceiving eye allows me to scout people out and check their abilities. This will be very useful.

The blue field around us evaporates, and the landscape around us has been completely transformed. The buildings that once touched the sky have collapsed, and an eerie silence has replaced the usual noisiness of the city.

"For completing the first trial, you all will be taking a break," Gxyuip says, flying from person to person. "Find some food and drink, have some sex; I don't care. Just don't bother me. We'll get back to all of you when the time comes for the next trial." Just like that, he disappears in a puff of smoke, transported to wherever it is he comes from.

The students seem to have resigned themselves to their fate and begin walking away in their tattered uniforms. Some of them have grouped together, but most are alone. A wave of calm engulfs me as they leave, probably due to my second base attribute.

My second base attribute, "Outcast," bothers me. I do not feel like someone who is antisocial, but it might be the effect of inhabiting Griffon's body that his attribute is given to me. It is almost as if our souls are intertwined. I look in the direction of Griffon's home. Should I go and see if his family is okay?

Suddenly, a man with glowing wings comes into view, flying to me. I get into a fighting stance, but he seems distracted as he lands, looking around for someone or something. He has dark, straight hair, piercing black eyes, and a skinny build, though his gait makes him seem abnormally confident for his size. His clothes are only slightly disheveled, but bits of red mark the hem of his outfit, putting me on guard.

I use my all-perceiving eye on him.

Unable to read this user's attributes.

I try again.

Unable to read this user's attributes.

He looks at me, and a miniscule light shines in his eye before it disappears.

"So Marduk's taken a liking to you, huh?" he says. My eyes widen, and he raises his left hand. "Don't worry about it; I'm not an enemy. Or at least, I don't have an attribute that would make me one yet. Have you seen a crazy guy with a knife? I'm sort of looking for him." He turns away from me, then looks back. "Odd. He said he would be here last time... on another note, it's even weirder that you have two base attributes. But I guess it's not the craziest thing I've seen."

"Who are you?" I say, glowering at him.

"My name's Sung," he says, squinting at me. "You seem like you could be useful. If you live, then come find me." He starts walking away, and his wings appear once more. With a gust of wind, the two feathered parts propel him up, and he flies away.

I look at my attributes again, searching for the one from Marduk.

Attribute 1: All-Perceiving Eye

The attributes of normal individuals may be observed.

So it seems that something is able to block Marduk's ability. I put a finger to my chin. I must be wary of that "Sung" person, just in case he decides to become an enemy.

Nobody is around me anymore, and my stomach is grumbling, telling me that this body is becoming hungry. I look back at the wrecked school, the building only displaying a fraction of its former glory. I sigh deeply, the tension from the sudden chaos being relieved.

With nowhere else to go, I start walking back to Griffon's home.

I hope his parents are still alive.