On the day of the first Task, there was a certain degree of emotion in all of the Opfer. Some became hysterical, tense that they didn't prepare enough for the Task and would be killed. For many, they had glossed over the idea of killing another human being and now that they were about to come face to face with their opponent, they couldn't help but feel sick to their stomach.
Even if they learned how to use magic, or wield a blade, did they practice fighting? Did they really understand what it meant to fight with their lives on the lines? Many would have to answer, 'no', but there were a select few who were more prepared than the rest.
Some prospered while in the Program, their potential restricted from a harsh environment on Earth. Like Marcus Aldeni, who was only able to survive so long on Earth because of his sharp wit and cunning, as well as his ferocious streak of doing whatever it took to survive.
For this specific Opfer, it wasn't it first time killing another person, but it would be the first time where his skills would be put to the test against someone else who he couldn't catch by surprise or trick.
He was a scrawny kid on Earth, who's growth was delayed because of the lack of food and proper nutrition he could get. Eating unhealthily was a given to him, a natural fact of life, the harsh way of living hardening his heart where he wouldn't even bat an eye at the death of a friend.
Annoyance, or maybe even disappointment. Those would be the only things the boy would feel, had felt when he saw his friends die. All that mattered was that he survived, and that he was here now.
In the Program, Marcus had been given enough food to counteract his unhealthy life from before, and the magical energy from the Void that he'd been exposed to made his stagnated growth explode, allowing him to grow a couple inches in just a few short weeks.
Weak limbs suddenly packed on muscles trained from calisthenics, and his sunken-in face changed until the youth he grew into no longer resembled the weak kid he was when he entered. He might even be called handsome with his attractive features and messy black hair, if not for the gaze full of hate.
Everybody had their desire to live, to come home, or to gain more power. However, the members of the Foundation who came into contact with Marcus couldn't help but wonder what his desire was, what motivated him to grow more powerful.
There were of course some Opfer who were more prepared than others, who had access to weapons, magic spellworks, or training that the others didn't. Like Fen, Marcus had been one of the Program candidates to learn about the Points Table and enter the Scenarios after Fen, and he survived and grew stronger because of it.
Where Fen had delved into the path of the Knights, putting magic secondary, Marcus devoted his entire being into the study of magic, picking up skills like basic Mana manipulation and and the ability to throw magical energy extremely quickly, all the while never losing his heated gaze. In the youth's free time, Marcus performed combat training either alone or with some of his companions in his Squad.
The Program was the perfect place for Marcus, safe, and with tons of knowledge and power that he could gain.
In Squad 12's room, Marcus and three other people waited with various expressions on their face.
"It won't be long now. Just a few more minutes, okay? We're gonna be okay." A girl named Liza squeezed the hand of the girl next to her, a younger girl who had the name Orphinia. The two of them didn't know each other before the Program, of course, what with the thorough scouting of the Foundation's members and careful planning, but they became much closer in the month leading up to the Task.
Liza had light hair and dark skin, while Orphinia had both dark hair and skin.
Seeing the two of them comforting each other, Marcus only spared them a glance before rolling his eyes and looking away. Liza noticed his action and snickered while her partner blushed. However, the other boy in the Squad had a very different reaction.
"Oi, can't you not do that," the boy's voice had a sliver of contempt in it, "when I'm watching? Better yet, just don't do it at all. Don't you know what the Heavenly scriptures preaches? 'Humanity should not be enticed by others of the same nature', it's basic."
Even to this day, fanatics who still worshipped the Heavens existed. While everyone knew about Heaven and its existence, most people didn't worship them religiously or even at all. After all, it was more science than faith, with many more people choosing to study their history rather than worship.
"Can't believe I got stuck with two of you, argh! So... repulsive... When I bring the forces of Heaven back home, I'll make sure that the two of you are purified! Then, you can follow the rest of us to serve them!" The boy, unironically nicknamed Preacher, continued on with his passionate ranting long past after the three of them stopped paying attention.
"Do me a favor Marcus, won't you please shut him up again? Pretty please?" the older girl Liza clasped her hands together. The two of them didn't have a bad relationship, and although she sometimes thought he was a little strange, he was much more preferable to Preacher.
"Sorry, but if I hurt him too bad he might die in the Task. You probably wouldn't be okay with that." Marcus shrugged, before going back to maintaining his own equipment. From running a Erudite Scenario, he'd been able to afford a Mage's staff made from some useful materials, which amplified his magic power by a good amount.
He had a shimmering red cloth draped around his body, a robe which provided him some protection from blunt and piercing attacks whilst also boosting his ability to recover his own Mana. It was good equipment, but being a Mage, if he let an opponent get too close then he might be in trouble, even with his toughened body.
Opfer who studied in the paths of a warrior would pose a very large threat close-range, not to mention the Knights, who combined the warrior's skill in close-range combat with the monstrous ability to heal and recover from near-fatal wounds. Although there'd been rumors of an Opfer being able to regenerate, Marcus himself didn't belief in them although he did keep some items with him just in case he fought such an opponent.
"Hmph. I guess I wouldn't be..." Liz had a cross expression, before turning back to Orphinia next to her. "You sure you got everything?"
"I think so." The younger girl had a dagger in her right hand, and no other equipment besides her weapon. She wasn't brave enough to enter the Scenario too many times, which worried Liz, who didn't know if she'd be able to kill someone. She wasn't entirely sure if she'd even be able to do it either...
"Before I forget, take out your hand."
Liz took out a roll of cloth she had in her uniform's pocket, wrapping the dagger Orphinia had around her hand.
"There! To make sure you don't lose it in a fight."
"Ah, you didn't need to..." Before she started speaking, Orphinia could already feel her face heating up. She was never so thankful that she was born with dark skin, but unfortunately for her, Liz also possessed dark skin and recognized the signs of her blushing.
The two of them started stupidly grinning at each other, their faces heating up more and more.
Marcus smirked as he watched them embarrass each other, but he nonetheless prevented Preacher from ruining their moment by lighting up his fingers with a burst of blue electricity. He understood more than anyone how important letting kids enjoy their youth was, because he himself wasn't able to.
Rinnnng!
With a flutter of golden particles, the interfaces in the room started gushing with light to formulate a massive screen with the almost-forgotten face of Archon Ellora. A note on the bottom corner of the screen showed that this message was actually live.
Her face was pale as usual, with a solemn expression which didn't match her usually eccentric slash insane personality. Her eyes looked tired with bags underneath them, like she hadn't slept much, and her voice was gravely with wariness.
[Hello. It seems that most of you survived until now. Let me inform you, the Opfer have lost in total three-thousand one-hundred and fifty three members leading up to the first Task. The numbers are within the Foundation's expectations, but they will be remembered, even if only by me. While the rest of my organization may forget, I will not. Most of you haven't had the pleasure of seeing me again, but I do know most of you, because I worked with others to pick you into the Program.
So, it hurts that much more when I have to watch you kill one another. Those who survive will become stronger, not because they learned to kill, but because the restrictions to their knowledge will also be lessened.
Some of you may have already noticed the gaps in information that we, the Foundation, have given you. Others are like simple sheep who take what they are given and don't question the world outside their pens, and will be treated like sheep because of it.]
[When my video is cut off, input your individual Marks into the interface near the exit. The glowing energy will guide you to where your Task will commence. Don't stray from the lines. Failure to reach the assigned area of the Task will result in immediate execution by the Foundation members, and your opponent will be able to pass without facing combat. Nobody benefits from that situation.
The Rift back to Earth has long already been disabled anyway, so there's no point in avoiding the Task unless you're tired of living. If you are, just come and meet me, and I'll be glad to perform certain 'experiments' on you before you die.
Anyways, good luck.]
Marcus turned over his left wrist to reveal his Mark; a browning book that occasionally opened to reveal different colored magical spellworks. Right now it was open, with a blue dragon popping out of the pages and wrapping around his wrist.
Everyone got their Marks from the first Lesson they chose in the Program. Fen's golden tree was from the Basics to Vitality Manipulation, Amelia's was from the Flame Magic Lesson, and Marcus' was from the Basics to Mana Manipulation. Rather than skipping the basics to immediately choose a path in magic, he instead strengthened his grasp of the basics.
He believed choosing the basics was worth it. His genius-level of skill with manipulating his own Mana and the magical energy around him allowed him to learn multiple times the speed of everyone else, who struggled to formulate spellworks in the correct patterns.
After waving goodbye to Orphinia and Liz, ignoring Preacher, he inserted his Mark into the interface and followed the growing trail of brown energy in the facilities walls.
Going through multiple corridors and seeing other Opfer walking around following their own trails of energy, Marcus eventually found himself in a room with two people in it, a older Foundation member and a boy around his age standing awkwardly to the side.
"Ah, now that you're both here, step forward to the interface."
In front of the seemingly-ancient man, a rock popped out of the ground from which the familiar golden particles of the interface popped out.
"Reach out with your Marked wrists to the interface. It will connect the both of you to a Scenario space, of random generation. There will be no other creatures or monsters there, the only living beings will be you two. Do your best to survive and find each other, and when you do... well, I don't suppose I have to explain that part, right?"
Marcus shook his head at that, while the other Opfer shifted nervously. The boy seemed to be shaken by his calm attitude at having to kill someone.
"Any items you have on you will also be transported to the space with you. Any wounds you have will also be with you when you come back, but we'll have experienced Healers on standby for any emergency so don't worry about that.
Also, depending on what you show here, you may receive extra points based on your performance. What that means is try your hardest. The Foundation expects nothing else from candidates fighting for their lives, so this is nothing but a reminder that from now on the organization will put forth much more attention on you.
I should stop rambling though, so go ahead and begin whenever you're ready."
The older man stepped back and pulled out a mobile interface from one of the many pockets in his uniform, getting a visual link to whatever Scenario space was being generated. He nodded approvingly to see the two candidates reach out to grasp the golden particles, although he was a little worried to see the calm look on Marcus' face.
It was almost as if the boy had done this before... he quickly put that thought out of his head. Wondering about the pasts of the candidates wouldn't do him any good anyways, when they completed the Program they'd completely different people after all.
A flash of golden light appeared in the room, and the only person left was the old man who was now looking into the fully generated Scenario space. By the looks of the interface, they were both in a desert. Not a great place for anybody, but at the same time at least the two candidates would be able to find each other quickly.
****
Marcus was able to find his opponent rather quickly. Surrounded by nothing but sandy dunes, it wasn't hard to pick out the black and silver uniforms of an Opfer from the yellow-goldish sand. After that, it was quite easy to prepare a basic Lightning Spear spellwork and control it to pierce the boy's back.
'How disappointing, for him. To die without even seeing your opponent.' That was the only thought Marcus had, there was no other emotion. There had been too many times to count in which he did the same thing for survival, this was no different.
Waiting in the sand, there was no flash of light to announce his victory, even after a minute passed. At that point, he started wildly looking around himself before sprinting towards the body impaled by his Spear spellwork.
Crashing into the sand next to the body while still looking around him, Marcus roughly grabbed his shoulders and turned him around, only for shimmering green particles of energy to start collapsing at his touch.
Cursing, he used his staff to pull himself up, preparing multiple Lightning Spears around him.
Thunk!
The spellworks did nothing to protect him from the tiny object that landed in the sand at his feet.
The 'body' that he had shot before was an item found in the Store, a decoy meant to distract an opponent. Apparently, that wasn't the only item Marcus' opponent had bought.
Boom!!!
[Flame Grenade]
[Properties: Inspired by the well-known 'fragmentation grenade' commonly used by military, the Foundation altered the item by putting a magical crystal in the center, infusing the material with multiple Flame magic spellworks to cause a powerful explosion in the place of detonation.]
Grinning gleefully, Marcus' opponent appeared in the ground near the explosion, hopping in the ground with excitement.
People like Marcus, cold and emotionless from living on the streets, weren't uncommon. Rather, it was the psychopathic killers like his opponent which were truly considered 'rare' by the Foundation. While watching, the older Foundation member snorted as he realized that his nervousness was nothing but an act.
Stepping closer, a disgusting smile was on the opponent's face, at least until a 2 meter long wave of powerful Mana cut off his head. With a wet splat, the head landed on the sand nearby, where a pissed off Marcus was laying on the ground.
An ornament on his waist started disintegrating into ashes before nothing remained.
'Two can play that game, bitch.' Fierce coldness was the only emotion flashing through Marcus' eyes. There were a few burns on him, but nothing that couldn't be treated.
He too had bought several items from the store, one of which saved his life from the explosion.
With the match finally over, a towering pillar of bright golden energy surrounded him, pulling him out of the Scenario and back into the room of the facility.
The old man was there to meet him.
"Congratulations, young candidate! You are now free to do whatever pleases you, Marcus Aldeni, until the Foundation calls upon you."