He ignored the floating, fox-like creature that hung around the red status window declaring the creature's words and thoughts.
[ You ungrateful—! You should be thankful I even gave you your skills! ]
Yeah, right.
[ I can feel you rolling your eyes at me in your head. You truly have no sense of shame, even your very existence is—! ]
This (noisy, annoying) System had made an appearance to him the day before the end of the world, saying it had chosen him as the hero. That he would be granted munchkin status, provided all possible cheats necessary to defeat monsters, and he'd gain the world's admiration and acknowledgment.
Being the sane person that he was, he'd immediately taken to ignoring the thing and checking with his parents if they could see the same creature as he did.
They didn't.
Of course, he didn't directly point the creature out to them either. He wasn't an idiot; he knew that was a surefire way for his parents to get concerned and send him to a psychiatrist.
They just didn't say anything even as it hung around him. Even as the thing chattered inanely at him, they said nothing, as if it wasn't even there.
The creature, too, had said that he was the only one who could see it, and feel its existence.
It was a curse. A nightmare walking, and he couldn't wait to fall asleep by night time so he could get back to his usual sanity and schedule as if nothing had happened. He had firmly believed that it was just a delusion from work-exhaustion that should be ignored, lest he be taken further into insanity. It didn't matter that the thing was annoying for the first few hours and even more grating by the time night passed—what mattered was that he had no time for bullshit.
Unfortunately, bullshit had all the time for him, because the apocalypse was announced the day after.
World leaders got killed. Governments either made an attempt to rule with an iron fist, or were completely overthrown. Portals opened all over the continent and outside it. Monsters crawled out from said portals, made their existence known from the very depths of the ocean, flew in from the skies—
It was pure insanity.
He was fortunate, somehow, that his family was safe despite all the chaos that erupted in the world. While he heard news of his peers dying, their family dying, neighbors dying, his own family had remained safe and sound. As if the world had bestowed upon him an odd kind of blessing in the midst of the apocalypse, until he was reminded by that damned System—
[ You owe your life to being chosen, Malic Agcaoili. Your family is alive because the story chose this fate for you. ]
He was stubborn, but he was no fool.
He ended up accepting the System's offer on gaining skills in advance, deciding that he'd rather make the choice himself in that moment instead of being forced to later on. He'd even told his parents himself about the sudden change in their lives—that he would now be the world's hero, that he'd be putting himself in danger—because he'd be damned before he ended up letting them die from ignorance.
His father had cried. His mother, though wet-eyed, had held in her tears as she held him. Told him,
"I raised you to be strong, but I didn't think it would be used in this way. If I'd known…"
He had smiled then, even if the words felt bitter in his mouth.
"I didn't expect this either. And it ended up being useful, so don't think of it as a waste, mom."
It was already months from that time. Months of acknowledging the System at the bare minimum, months of living through the apocalypse as if it were only natural that he'd be the world's savior. The small fame he had as a dancer exploded into something beyond his understanding all from that one choice to save the world, and all he could do was stand through it.
Even if it was irritating, even if he felt part of himself crumbling by the day, he had no choice but to keep moving. He was strong, even before he became the hero.
Something like the end of the world wouldn't be enough to destroy him.
[ Are you going to keep acting like this even if I tell you that I have hints for the next mission? ]
His eyes narrowed at those baiting words. Again, here was the System with its odd bonuses meant only for him. As if he should be thankful that he got the assistance, when this was the same System that triggered the apocalypse in the first place.
He wouldn't be thankful. Not when the world was suffering enough.
Still, he gave an acknowledging glance over to the System's manifested form, keeping an ear out for his companions' conversation at the same time. They were discussing the use of the reverse scale and the monster heart, so they were occupied enough to not pay him any mind.
[ The next main mission will transport you to a corporate tower. ]
An office building? That sounded oddly tame compared to the hunting games they'd been going through so far that it was even more suspicious. There was no way this would be easier.
Then the System smirked with its fox face, making him frown.
[ You can thank your newest joiner for this one, hero! ]
He didn't look at Nikolai, even when his instincts told him to do so. If he had to thank Nikolai for this, then there was no doubt about it; the next mission would be another test, same as the old ones were. They'd already gone through each other's selected trauma in past main missions—with his own having thrown him right back into his memories of failing to perform onstage—so it wasn't surprising to know that the same would apply to their newest member.
This poor bastard. He'd only recently come along into their group, and he was already being thrown to the sharks.
"Is there something wrong, Malic?"
He looked over at the sound of Nikolai's voice, and found the man watching him with a curious gaze. He didn't seem to notice the System as it bounced over the status window to settle on his head like a fur head warmer.
"It's nothing." He started walking, the others swiftly following behind him. Kira made sure to stay at his side, while Nikolai followed just a step behind. "The main mission may start soon, so we need to rest while we can. We'll use the abandoned apartment we passed by earlier as a temporary resting space. If you need to charge your phones, charge them as well."
Rhiannon spoke up. "Ren and I will be scouting for supplies. Just send us a photo of the apartment and we'll follow after."
Malic gave her a nod. Just as promptly as she'd spoken, so too was her promptness in leaving alongside Renato, their speed buff leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.
[ For a proud person, you accepted this newcomer easily. I'm surprised. ]
He ignored the System as he gave the others a signal to speed up. He wouldn't lose the System since it wasn't bound by a physical form, but it was a nice thought regardless.
[ You can't tell me you aren't suspicious? ]
Ji-yeong went ahead to scope the building they'd first passed on their way to the beach, only to find out that it wasn't as abandoned as they'd initially thought it would be.
A couple of elderly people greeted them when they entered. A few teenagers, some adults, even fewer children. People who wore smiles on their faces despite the danger they were living in, people who invited them in with the knowledge that he was the hero, and the people with him were his accomplished companions.
Though some of the elderly gave them wary gazes, no one spoke against their presence.
Not loudly, at least. There were certainly mutterings, but Malic paid them no mind.
Had he been any younger, he would have called them fools already. Not just the elderly, but all of them. People who had chosen of their own will to live near the ocean even when multiple warnings had already been given out on the dangers the location posed, people who would foolishly risk their own lives even when repeatedly told to evacuate.
He was older now. A little wiser, he believed.
Poverty was a disease that couldn't be killed that easily, even with all of one's efforts. Not without the right amount of luck, or connections. These people, he didn't doubt that they believed there was no other choice.
To risk their lives with monsters that may or may not make an appearance, or to risk their lives by spending more than they could possibly afford.
What kind of choice could they even make, given those two options?
[ Hero, you can't ignore me for long. Aren't you curious why Nikolai knows what he knows? ]
Of course he was.
It was as they'd already settled down, phones and portable chargers plugged in and stove heating up for him to cook a quick meal with, that he ordered Nikolai to sit with him.
"Nikolai."
Nikolai looked up from his phone, still plugged in and charging. He was sitting in a corner of the room that a kind, elderly couple had allowed them to borrow for a moment, saying, "Please, feel free to rest for a moment, son. We know how hard your work must be. You all look so young…we feel sorry that we couldn't be of any more help as we are."
Even if the world was ending, and even if some other hunters were not as cooperative as he'd like, one thing remained true.
There were still some kind people in the world, people who would offer help even if they needed as much help themselves. Humans could be even more monstrous than monsters that relied on base instincts, but humans could just as well be kinder than even fictional angels despite that.
The instinctive smile on Nikolai's face at the call of his name reminded him of such kindness.
"Yes?" Nikolai asked.
"You owe me some answers."
Nikolai lowered his phone then. His instinctive smile had dropped now, in favor of a serious expression—his brows set at a neutral angle, his lips pressed into a firm line.
"What did you want to know?"