Ch 40 – The Birth of a Monster

(A Few Hours Later)

[Zoran: You guys ready?]

[Jong-ga: Yep]

[Sora: Yes!]

[Akihiko: Yeah *thumbs up emoji*]

[Zoran: Well I'm going to launch the game now! Wait for my invite!]

As Zoran sent the message, I look away from the floating window in front of me and opened Otherworld, the new game made by Hunter Agency.

As I appeared in the same black void with 2 certain pedestals in front of me that has two hovering texts above them that says MMO and Sandbox appearing in front of me.

And as I waited for the invite to appear, a portal appeared in front of me with Zoran's icon floating on top of it which I walked through without hesitation, and as the flash of light receded, I appeared in front of Zoran, Jong-ga, and Sora standing beside each other.

"Mmm! Well the pedestal is there for us already" said Zoran as we neared the pedestal that is for the MMO version of the game.

"There's no turning back now! See you on the other side!" suddenly said Zoran and before we could stop him, he jumped towards the pedestal and disappeared from our views.

"Sigh, well I'll be off then!" said Sora as he went on top of the pedestal and also disappeared with a pillar of light.

"So, you or me?" asked Jong-ga by the side with a wry smile.

"Well you could go first," I said with an amicable smile as Jong-ga nodded and went on top of the pedestal without a second thought, and just like that, he also disappeared from my view with a pillar of light that swallowed him whole.

With me all alone in the black void, I walked towards the pedestal with a confident smile and also got swallowed by a pillar of light just like the other three.

As the light receded from my vision, I felt my feet making contact with the ground, and also the sensation of shoes suddenly appearing out of nowhere along with some uncomfortable clothes covering my whole body.

And after a while, I managed to finally open my eyes to see that I was inside what I expected.

In an open street, I saw a certain shop that pinpointed my location.

The moment I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the sight of an open field of grass along with a fountain in the distance as benches and stone paths were all around me, and with that, I instantly knew where I am.

"It seems like I am in Hope Park, well as intended, it is only a few hundred meters away from where I live in the real world" I muttered while opening my status.

[Akihiko Tanaka] [Title: ]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Hunter]

[Gift: Blessed Light Manipulation(Legendary)]

[Body: F]

[Mind: F]

[Energy: F]

[Skills: ]

The class was still Hunter due to us still not knowing if we can attain different classes but maybe in the future, the world is constantly evolving with new fauna and flora so maybe the system will too.

The Gifts were able to be replicated due to many previous info and data gathered from Gtech and New World so replicating Gifts was nothing but a breeze along with my talented team constantly making the game more realistic for more data gathering.

But basically, your Gifts is the same one you have in the real world that you inputted in the registration process and we will update it whenever your Gift ranks up in the real world to encourage people to not only get better in-game but also in real life.

And this whole world is a replica of Earth but the insides of most houses are empty except for a few essential buildings like markets.

As I stood there looking around the picturesque park before this gets destroyed by wandering monsters from rifts that were left alone, I opened the group chat in-game to see that the others were already talking with each other.

[Sora: Where are you, Aki? I'm currently at the market place]

[Akihiko: I'm at Hope Park, what about you guys?]

[Zoran: I'm at the mall]

[Jong-ga: Hospital]

[Akihiko: So where do you guys want to meet up? It said that there is a timer before rifts start appearing so we should hurriedly plan out how to tackle the rifts and find a base of operations]

[Sora: Why not at the park? Only a few NPCs are there right now because it's still Monday and most of them are busy with work or school]

[Zoran: Wait what!? You mean the game also accounts for things like that!?]

[Sora: Yeah, I read the game notes and it seems like it is true]

[Zoran: Where are the notes? I wanna read em!]

[Sora: Let me send the screenshot to you a bit]

As a screenshot was sent by Sora, I remembered what Otherworld would be.

A world that is aimed to be a trainer of Hunters who would help the world in the future, a pool of data that can be gathered by me, a place where I could gather talents that will go under my wing in the future, a source of Gifts I could gather from.

As the future plans for this game filled my mind, I started to realize how deranged I have become since the loop, all of this for just a single question I wanted to be answered.

With unknown emotions overpowering my mind, I calmed down and look back at the window floating in front of me.

[Zoran: Woah! Are you saying all of this is real!?]

[Sora: Yeah, I read the game notes and it seems like it is true, even the behavioral pattern of the NPCs are just like real humans]

[Zoran: You mean it rivals New World?!]

[Sora: I don't know, I haven't played New World]

[Jong-ga: It does, the NPCs around me are so lifelike it's even disturbing]

[Zoran: Really? Then is it even better than the NPCs of New World!?]

[Jong-ga: I think so, but it does say that the population was reduced by a few billion so it doesn't overload the servers, compare that to New World which houses tens of billions of intelligent NPCs, it really shows how great New World was]

[Zoran: Oh yeah, New World was a really big world if you think about it, but do you guys want the park or not as the meeting place?]

[Jong-ga: I'm fine with the park]

[Akihiko: That's fine by me, I'm already here so I don't need to move]

[Sora: The park is also fine for me]

[Zoran: So we all agreed with the park then, see you guys later, I'm heading off right now]

With that, we all disconnected from the chat room while I sat down on a random bench and watched the fountain spew water in the distance.

"With this game, I'll find most people who have Epic rank Gifts and above because of the selection requirements of the system, not only that, I can gather data, gifts, and more" I muttered with a sinister grin as a light butterfly appeared on my fingertips with impeccable detail.

But as the light butterfly moves around my arms, it slowly transforms into a human puppet controlled by light strings and soon a world grasped by a gigantic hand of light.

With a blank stare, I watched the hand flood the whole world in golden light and dissolve it into a certain word.

"The truth," the word says as it neared my face that singes my eyes in the process but I didn't care and kept staring at the constantly changing image.

From a baby to a toddler, to a thin boy, eventually into a weak silhouette of light that of a teenage boy, that was then covered by a crimson red light that made the figure big and strong as horns and tails sprouted from its head and tail bone that depicts that of a devil.

"A dream? A fickle aspiration? Why do I even want this? To achieve this goal? Isn't it better to just live life as it is? Just be a hero and be with my family for decades… no, I've already gone past the boundaries of moral values in all the times we have looped back, I must see the truth and find the cause of everything I have been true, am I but just a puppet governed by strings, am I living a life that is just a lie? That is the question I must answer" I muttered as the light construct in front of me dissolved into flakes of light while my eyes showed a sinister void behind my charismatic appearance.

I have experienced death countless of times before I became a villain, I have experienced pain and sorrow my whole life before I resorted to the means of evil, I have received nothing but suffering from this world before I took my destiny onto my own hands.

Because if power grants me a life worth living, well so be it!

I'll reach the pinnacle of this whole fucking world, no! This whole universe!

I'll become so powerful that nothing can defy my will and create a universe I deem correct!

No matter the means!

I'll make a universe that is my very own!

As long as I can construct the end I deem fit, then all is fair in this bloody path I shall partake in!

AN: This is 1580 words, you're welcome.

Other chapter titles:

A Sinister Promise

The Genesis

Reaching for the Apotheosis

Villainous Hero

The Sword of Damocles hangs above each and everyone one of you with its ever present threat of despair, so send me some power stones with your power of friendship and save the thousands perhaps even millions to come who will read this masterpiece immortalized in the tunnels of time.

(April 19, 2022 – 146th day of writing)