2 Countdown to Descent
Just as the two were about to have a deep conversation, the door was knocked on by someone.
A young girl's voice came from outside the door, "John, hurry up and open up, I know you're in there!"
Coco paused, a hint of panic crossing her face, as she stood up and hid behind John, whispering, "Your girlfriend?"
John took Coco to the apartment window, their place was on the first floor, "Coco, you better head back first. I'll contact you later."
"Damn it!what a buzzkill. Just remember to call me when you're done." Coco said as John helped her out the window, blowing him a kiss as she left.
John closed the window, walked back to the living room, and opened the door.
Outside stood a girl with a pure and cute look, sporting neat short hair and exceptionally fair skin. This was Anna, his girlfriend from his college days.
Facing the person who would betray him in the future, John's gaze gradually turned cold.
When the gates to the other world first opened before his rebirth, Anna hadn't been among the first batch of awakeners. Only those with exceptional talent could absorb the energy dispersed at the initial arrival of the gates and become awakeners.
Those who didn't become awakeners had to rely on a second method—"Awakening Crystals"—a rare item that could only be obtained by clearing certain gates. Thus, the price of Awakening Crystals was exorbitant, far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
As one of the first batch of awakeners, John, a pharmacist with no combat abilities, was nonetheless an indispensable member of any team.
Without needing to engage in direct combat, he could conserve a great deal of energy, allowing him to tackle two gates in a day. Moreover, he could sell the healing potions he made, amassing a considerable fortune to buy an Awakening Crystal.
Anything could happen inside a dungeon. Faced with high-stakes rewards, even brothers might betray each other, so John needed someone he could trust implicitly.
With John's help, Anna became an awakener, her class being a Rogue.
By then, John had already reached level 30 and successfully transitioned into an [Alchemist Master]. He provided Anna with a plethora of resources for cultivation and precious class-transition items, gradually helping her catch up to his pace.
But what John hadn't anticipated was...
After gaining strength, Anna began to distance herself from him and later chose to join a team of awakeners with stronger combat capabilities.
Initially, John didn't mind. He had his own adventure team, a group of companions who had been through life and death together. To him, Anna had become dispensable.
Through relentless effort, John successfully underwent six class transitions to become a [Sanctuary Pharmacist], the only one among the awakeners.
Six transitions were the limit for humans. Nobody could break through to the seventh.
John was also rated as an S-class awakener by the guild, becoming one of the pinnacle existences among humans.
Two more years passed, and another highly dangerous gate to the other world opened. Two S-class awakeners died attempting it. The Awakeners' Guild took it very seriously, summoning several S-class awakeners to tackle the gate together.
John was among the team.
To his surprise, after two years, Anna had also reached S-class and was part of the team.
But what John didn't expect was that from the beginning, it was all a conspiracy.
A conspiracy aimed at him.
The entire Awakeners' Guild had betrayed John.
They believed that the blood of a Sanctuary Pharmacist held immense magical power, necessary for initiating the seventh class transition. Inside the gate to the other world, they killed John's companions, and Anna even plunged a dagger into his heart.
Waking up again with resentment and pain, John found himself reborn before the arrival of the gates to the other world.
This time, he couldn't make the same mistakes!
Anna, facing John's icy gaze, couldn't help but shiver, sensing an unfamiliar aura. She asked in confusion, "John, what did I do wrong? Why... why won't you see me?"
Facing the woman who had once betrayed him, John took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to kill her on the spot.
"I made it clear over the phone. We're breaking up," John said coldly. "Get lost, I don't want to see you again."
Tears welled up in Anna's eyes as she looked at John with a mournful gaze, then turned around and left.
...
At 2:56 PM, in the downtown shopping mall.
John, dressed in black and wearing a baseball hat to cover his face, carried a bag meant for badminton rackets on his back.
He looked like a student just done with sports, sitting and resting inside the mall.
It was a weekend, and the mall was busy with young people browsing and shopping, oblivious to the impending danger.
John checked his phone. Only four minutes left until the descent of the gates to the other world.
The mall was one of the four gates that would appear in Star City.
John had considered activating the fire alarm to evacuate the crowd and minimize casualties... However, he did not do so, which could put himself at risk of exposure. If the authorities noticed, he might be taken away for questioning.
Soon, it was half-past two.
The clear skies over Star City suddenly darkened, the sun obscured by lead-gray clouds. A bolt of lightning struck, and the entire mall lost power, plunging into darkness.
"What's happening? Why did the power go out? Did the wind knock down a power line?"
"Honey, I'm scared!"
"Come quickly to mommy, you two!"
Panic began to spread among the people, but John remained calm, sitting there.
At the entrance of the mall, a black spherical energy orb appeared out of nowhere, piquing the curiosity of a few security guards who approached to inspect it.
But in the next instant, like a black hole, the orb began absorbing nearby objects, tearing everything sucked into it to shreds.
Screams of terror filled the air as the three guards were instantly vaporized into a blood mist, consumed entirely by the black hole.
Seeing this, the crowd panicked and started running towards the mall's back doors, trying to escape from the bizarre energy orb.
The black orb, as if satisfied with its energy absorption, began to expand, transforming into a massive black plane that acted as a gateway to another world.
John stood up, feeling the power of an awakener coursing through him, as a semi-transparent panel appeared before him.
[Awakener: John]
[Selecting the most suitable class for you...]
It was time. John took out the prepared snake venom and succinylcholine, injecting them directly into his body.
The potent toxins spread rapidly through his system, making it hard to breathe.
An awakener's class is awakened based on one's attributes.
Those with strong physical conditions could awaken as warriors or berserkers, those with high mental power as priests or mages, and those agile could become rogues.
The ancient tome mentioned a hidden class that required one's body to contain a large amount of toxins.
Becoming a Poison Master would grant high [Toxin Resistance].
As expected, the system panel updated.
[Your class: Poison Master]
[Talent skills: S-level Toxin Resistance, S-level Toxin Penetration, S-level Toxin Extraction, S-level Toxin Fusion, A-level Potion Crafting]
[Collected toxins: Mixed Snake Venom, Succinylcholine]
The toxins in John's body were instantly suppressed, the pain vanished, and he felt reborn.
He then accessed his system panel.
[Host: John]
[Class: Poison Master]
[Level: 1]
[Physique: 6]
[Mental: 8]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 6]
[Skills: C-level Healing Potion (can add toxins)]
John quickly reviewed his system panel, realizing that [Poison Master] was likely a variant of the [Alchemist] class, retaining the same skills but with the option to add toxins.
The chittering of monsters filled the air as dozens of bizarrely shaped giant spiders began pouring out of the portal!
Their target was clearly the humans as they began indiscriminately slaughtering the people around.
