Alex was just on his way when another message popped onto the screen.
[THE TRIBUTE, "WILLIAM EISNER", HAS BEEN ELIMINATED]
"What the hell....". Alex halted mid-sentence. Realization struck him hard, like lightning. He looked around himself at the last remnants of the "Musa" he had killed, its bones and its flesh, and then at the claws he had been rewarded with. His eyes widened.
"Don't t-tell me .....", he said, with the clear indication of a stammer.
He dropped on the ground. Burying his still wide-eyed face into his shaking hands, he whispered to himself,"I-I k-killed a h-h-human...".
"What have I done ?"
He could no longer bear to look at the "beyond mutilated" mush of tissues. It horrified him. Not the bloodshed, but the fact that he had just ended the life of a fellow human being. Finished him off the face of this universe. No mortal being is granted the right to do so.
He could have killed the wolf because it posed a threat to him, but never a human being. A human is a 'sane' creature who has no reason to kill other humans.
With a stagger, he lifted himself up on his legs. His eyes were still showing signs of horror. He left the place as fast as he could. He couldn't stay there any longer.
Even after hours of walking, the image of the message still hovered inside his mind.
The tribute, William Eisner has been eliminated.
It was clear to him what was happening.
Each and every creature on planet earth has been dragged into this hell, which had no visible escape. But what was worse that all were not incarnated as "players", but rather as "tributes" or "characters" who weren't even aware of their own actions.
The shithead who did this is gonna pay for it. Dearly.
...
It has been ten days since Alex had respwaned. Since then, he has been continuously walking. His pace now seemed to be steadfast and brisk. If one looked at his eyes, they could no longer recognize him if they had known him before. His eyes were now expressionless. Nobody could tell what he was thinking. His emotions, unreadable.
But that was a fail safe.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SLAIN A "MUSA"!
58/1000 BEASTS KILLED TO REINSTATE AURA
YOU HAVE LEVELED DOWN TO -4]
Though his expression appeared smug, his insides were bursting with guilt. He was carrying the burden of killing 58 fellows he didn't even knew, who weren't even his enemies.
[THE TRIBUTE "KARL MORRISON" HAS BEEN ELIMINATED]
While reading the message, his eyes showed a hint of sadness.
But he had to do it. In order to get to the bastard who started this and exact his revenge on him. To free everyone from this damned dystopia.
Alex tried to divert his mind by asking questions to the system.
"Is there any bonus reward system in this game ?"
[...]
"This is much more like "what you take is what you get", hah."
[YOU CAN RECEIVE BETTER REWARDS BY SLAYING HIGHER LEVEL BEASTS]
"Just shut your crap about killing everything just to get playthings to kill more. This vicious cycle will devour the whole world."
What Alex was desperately in need were new clothes. He had been wearing the same tattered trousers and t-shirt for days. They now seemed that they would fall off him any moment. He desperately needed out of the forest.
He heard a familiar sound a few feet behind him. He tightened his hands to activate his curse....
...
"Finally goddammit!"
Alex Parker was out of his breath when he came out of forest. He was completely soiled, stained in dried old blood. He appeared like a monster. His hair was all mess and his limbs covered with cuts and bruises. He was short of breath.
It was almost night and he needed shelter. Luckily he had found a small opening in a mound in the wastelands.
After days, he rested peacefully. He took a long nap. He had a busy day ahead of himself.
...
When Alex woke up the next day, he felt more energetic. Taking a look at himself, he noticed his muscles had quite bulged a little. He did not look as frail-looking as he had been in the real world.
He helped himself out of the opening. The usual two suns greeted him in their earnest. Though the surrounding environment was still resolutely gray.
In the distance, he could clearly see the outer fringes of the city. The tall tower sitting right in the center of it was emanating a menacing demeanor. Eyeing it for a full 5 minutes, Alex let out a sigh.
"Still a long way to go".
He scooped up all of his belongings, mostly rewards from killing the 'Musas', and started walking again. "Here we go again, on the goddamn journey."
He had been rewarded with quite a lot. He had Musa's claws, fangs, thick fur which blocked non-lethal blows. The fur looked so comical, Alex thought he'd rather stay naked than wearing that shit. He also had received Musa's intestinal juice, which was supposed to cure constipation, but he threw it away just by the look of it.
"Let's get goin'".
...
Alex had been walking down a gentle slope when he heard a loud crash to his left. It was deafening. Hearing the sound, he immediately turned his attention in that direction, not of intimidation, but for the reason that it was familiar. He could never forget it. It was exactly the same. The shock wave of the three eyed eagle.
"Time to crush a bird."
His curse, "Demon's right hand" had evolved to level -4. He could even uproot 5 trees in a row with a single light punch. That eagle was now no match for him, for that is what he was expecting.
With brisk steps, he reached the site of the fight in few minutes. For some strange reason, he didn't feel sympathy for the fact that the bird was a human being. He was enraged, he wanted to exact revenge.
As he had assumed, the bird was perched in front of a woman. She appeared to be 23-27 years of age. Her hair was stark black, and unlike him, she looked clean. She seemed to be engaging the eagle. Trying with all her might to dodge its attacks.
Fascinated, Alex leaned against a tree and folded his arms, inspecting the fight.
By the looks of it, the woman was completely losing. She did not seem to possess the strength to knock that giant beast down, but due to her agility, she was avoiding the fate that Alex had gone through. She seemed to be trained in combat, but in this world, it was completely different. Mere raw power was not enough to defeat the creatures in this world . The woman's strength seem to falter moment by moment. Her movements seemed to slow down and the eagle's shock waves would occasionally hit the edge of her limbs. She was heading to hell's door. Unlike him, she didn't have his particular aura, she wouldn't possibly reincarnate.
Finally, Alex decided to step in.
Up until now, she hadn't noticed his presence. She was mortally engaged in her unlucky duel. But the sound of cracking knuckles he made, she immediately turned her head towards him.
Crack! She was nearly going to be hit by another shock wave if she hadn't noticed the bird moving out of the corner of her eye.
"Back off", Alex told her, in a firm voice.
She seemed to be stunned by his bloody appearance. She couldn't comprehend what she was seeing.
Alex, on the other hand, turned around, facing the eagle.
"You better gonna cough up my arm and leg."
He tightened his fist to activate "Devil's right hand". Green light covered his arms, as usual. They had become a darker shade of green than when he had first used it. Apparently, the effect of leveling down.
The eagle turned its fierce gaze towards him. With its usual movement, it initiated a shock wave. But this time, Alex was prepared, he was better. He blocked the whole of it by his right hand, though it dragged him back a feet or two.
I don't even need my claws to kill this bastard.
He leapt high in the air.
Though the eagle turned to face him, it was already too late. Alex landed a mighty punch on its head.
It shattered into a million pieces.
Blood was raining like glass all over the area in a radius of 20 meters.
In the middle of it, Alex was standing, motionlessly.
He was now bearing the blood of 59 creatures.
You were right Winky. I could be better, I could be stronger.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SLAIN A SOLITARY EAGLE!]