Chapter 12

Strength is everything.

That was one of the first things I learned when I stepped into this crazy world.

Kindness will get you nowhere, no matter how hard you try.

Only strength allows you to climb the ranks.

Only strength will earn you the respect of others.

And I have nothing but strength on my side.

Life has always thrown obstacles at me since I was a child.

My parents were drug addicts and abused me. Other kids avoided me.

No, they didn't.

I was the one who shunned them.

I didn't want anything to do with all those things that had to do with friendship and other "nice" things.

This led to me being bullied by my classmates as well. I couldn't even defend myself because I was so meager and weak.

Life presented me with obstacles that I could not overcome.

I hated my weakness.

I wanted to become strong so that no one would pick on me.

Even after school, life seemed to make fun of me.

My first job was waiting tables.

Because of my physique, I was always laughed at by my co-workers, which made the workplace a living hell. Everyone laughed at me, even the customers.

I changed jobs.

But my life did not change.

That was my life until my 25th birthday.

Only then did life seem to smile on me.

I got the system.

Naturally, I was thrilled. It was as if life had decided to reach out to me as a reward for all that I had endured.

In that moment I saw a light. Something that could lead me away from the darkness of my past.

The System was a true blessing.

Thanks to it, I became strong. My always meager physique, which could not be improved by training, became more muscular with every level I gained.

I reached level 10 and became a warrior.

It really suited me.

Finally, I had what I wanted.

The power to stand above others.

From now on, no one would ever mock me again.

No one would dare to bully me.

No one would dare look down on me. 

Leonardo Pisani told me that.

I believed him.

I felt that the light was getting brighter by the day.

I was finally coming out of my darkness.

I would become even stronger.

Stronger than anyone else in the world, so that my past would never reach me again.

So that this darkness would no longer overshadow my well-deserved happiness.

 But it was all just a dream.

I reached my limit at level 20.

I felt betrayed.

Betrayed by the system.

Betrayed by Leonardo Pisani.

Betrayed by life for the second time.

Suddenly, the light that was growing stronger disappeared.

I was plunged back into darkness.

I was still weak.

Too weak to defend myself against the whole world.

What if my past was repeating itself?

No.

I could not let that happen.

I wouldn't let anyone walk all over me again.

I would have been just as strong no matter what.

The level of the system proves nothing.

I would defeat anyone who dared to stand in my way.

I was no longer the weakling I once was.

I was stronger.

And I would be again, no matter what the System told me.

I was going to be better than everyone and everything.

I would prove that I was superior to others.

I would prove that I was a true warrior.

My fights within the portals became more aggressive. Thanks to my strength and cruelty, they became one-sided. No monster could stand up to me.

Thanks to this, I made a name for myself.

Others feared me.

Seeing the fear and nervousness in their expressions when I approached them gave me a sense of joy.

I was getting what I wanted.

Respect.

The kind of respect that can only be earned through strength.

No one would dare stand against me.

It seemed that life was still smiling on me.

It had not betrayed me yet.

It went on like that for a long time.

Until now.

I had entered a portal with other adventurers. Weak, like the portal. 

Only one person had the same level as me. But he was also weak.

Even before I entered this portal, I knew how low his level was compared to mine.

But I still agreed to participate.

The reason is simple.

I wanted to kill monsters. I wanted to prove my strength to everyone.

While I was killing all the zombies, I heard the rest of the group complaining that I was killing them all. 

Weak.

In this world, the only way to get ahead is to have the balls to beat others.

And someone seemed to understand. A young boy stepped forward to face the monsters.

Inside, I was furious.

Was this kid trying to outdo me?

Was he trying to prove that he was stronger than me?

I didn't care about his age, I would have crushed him anyway.

Suddenly, the others also took on the remaining zombies.

The damn brat seemed to have motivated them with his actions.

And that's fine.

It would have only made my victory tastier.

I wasn't going to let any of them overtake me.

Because I am stronger.

After a few minutes of walking, we arrived in front of three other entrances.

The others were deciding what to do.

I huffed.

Weak.

Those who are strong don't need to think about how to act.

No matter what I would find myself in there, I would walk past them all and arrive in front of the boss of this weak portal.

With a murderous smile, I ran into the first cave in front of me and began to kill all enemies.

This time it was not only zombies, but also skeletons with swords and bows.

Nothing changed.

I slaughtered them just the same.

Every time I entered the battle, my heart beat faster and faster.

I got so excited that I could no longer see anything around me. It was a good feeling.

It was only when I heard a voice shout that I realized I was not alone against those monsters.

I was joined by someone else.

When I turned toward him, I saw him on the ground, intent on holding his stomach as blood flowed from his body.

I watched him cry out in pain, speaking softly.

Weak.

He got hit by one of those stupid monsters.

Calmly, I approached him, trying to understand what he was saying.

"Why...?"

He kept talking, but I didn't understand what he was saying. I moved even closer to him with an indifferent expression.

"...Why did you hit me?"

I opened my eyes wide.

Had I hit him? What on earth was he saying!

How could I have hit him if I wasn't even....

Suddenly, I had like a flash.

As I was killing those monsters, a voice called out to me.

"Hey, leave some for us too, damn you!"

This guy approached me, and without realizing it, I hit him with my sword.

When combat excites me, I do not notice what is around me.

Only his cry of pain brought me back to reality.

Looking at his face, the light in his eyes was fading. Without treatment he would have died.

My heart beat fast. It was me.

There was nothing I could do to cure or medicate him.

I am a Warrior.

I only have strength on my side.

"What did you do...?"

I raised my head toward the other voice.

It was another boy who had followed me.

That look...

He was looking at me with fear.

Strange.

I always appreciated people looking at me with fear in their eyes, but this time it was different.

I trembled.

As soon as my eyes rested on the boy I myself had accidentally injured, my body froze.

The light in his eyes disappeared.

I looked above my head. A hole in the ceiling allowed the moon to be seen entirely.

How strange.

That moon gave me a feeling of calm.

I did not know why.

Looking at it almost made me forget what I had done.

No, not "forget."

It made me appreciate what I had done.

Killing one person had made me happy.

A very familiar sound in my head made itself heard.

[DANGER!]

THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN CORRUPTED! TURN AWAY FROM THE DARKNESS!

The darkness, it says...

I have already turned away from the darkness long ago.

I am happy.

Yeah, that's right.

Right now, I...

"I am happy." I said in a peaceful tone.

I am bathed in the light I longed for.

I am strong.

I cannot wish for anything better.

My gaze shifted to the other boy who was looking at me in terror.

If until a few seconds before this made me feel strange, now it made me feel alive again.

The fear in people's eyes was all I wanted to see.

A smile made its way across my face. The boy instinctively recoiled as soon as he saw my gaze.

I can tell. I'm scary, aren't I?

You are right to be.

I want to feel even more alive.

"I want to be even happier."

And right now nothing makes me happier than killing.

In fact, no.

I've always found happiness in killing.

But killing monsters is no longer enough.

I got up from the ground and, with lightning speed, slit the throat of the weakling who had unhappily chosen to follow me.

His body fell to the ground, devoid of any life.

I knelt down again.

My smile grew bigger.

I heard footsteps coming from behind me.

I did not turn around, but it did not take long to realize that it was more than one person.

Killing monsters was no longer enough for me.

Again.

I began to laugh softly.

I want to kill again.

My laughter grew louder and louder.

I want to kill more people.

I felt the chill coming from those weak people who were watching me.

I felt their fear.

I turned toward them and let slip a murderous expression.

"I will tear you apart."

END OF CHAPTER.

--------------------------------------

I finally managed to find the will to translate the chapter! Yay! Anyway, this chapter, as I had partly mentioned in the previous one, was a test. I am trying out various writing methods. I know that this character's background is nothing much, in fact bad, but it was my testing ground. In the future you will see a different kind of writing for flashbacks (for now I have only written one more xD) In any case, it is a style that can fit. What do you guys think? Nice, poor, awful?

Comment, review and give me YOUR PRECIOUS!! (a.k.a. Power Stones xD)

Until the next chapter! Bye!