System Fall

Standing atop one of the last of the Manhattan Rooftops, I scrutinized the area maps in front on me. One of them shimmered with a curious blue hue, momentarily shifting to reveal an interface akin to my player menu. An intense sting flared just behind my eyes, and before I could fully figure out what was going on, my [Eyes of Legacy] ability was forcibly terminated.

It tried to start it back up and found myself blocked.

[Eyes of Legacy – Penalty Cooldown 04:54]

A full five-minute cooldown. While the ability termination caught me off -guard, it really shouldn’t have. Potent skills were known to have limitations, and the fact that this one had a penalty cooldown was good to learn now rather than later. The only thing I didn’t understand was why I didn’t get some form of explanatory text instead of just the timer.

I gave it a moment of thought, thinking back to just how I got the skill in the first place.

"It was granted to me. Maybe it was only partially developed," I told myself. Maybe the pop-up message had appeared for Annie instead, and since the data had already been shown to her, it didn’t reappear. I wasn’t sure how it worked when a skill had a prior owner. Not as much was known about it; it wasn’t a common occurrence in my prior life.

My mind swirled, and for a moment a massive pressure spread throughout my head. I pressed my fingers into my temples, attempting to alleviate the mounting tension, yet it did nothing. The throbbing would persist until the cooldown subsided. I gritted my teeth and bore it.

Still…

I also knew one other thing about cooldowns that bore a silver lining.. Sometimes, when an ability was put on cooldown, there was a possibility of a skill evolving into something new, not just simply reaching a peak for what it could do. That thought at least helped with some of my discomfort.

It was then that the rest of the group I’d been traveling with caught up. Kenney was visibly fatigued and had lines of sweat under his armpits. Nirme tagged along behind, and the girl was in the back. They seemed content to let Kenney do all the work.

"You could’ve chipped in, Nick, you didn’t need to leave us behind," Kenney muttered with annoyance and glared at me.

I laughed at him.

"Wasn't it you who cautioned me against plunging into every avoidable fight?" I retorted, recalling when Kenney had tried to dissuade me from battling the Detritus Mantis and had left me alone on the rooftop against it. His scornful glare felt unjustified.

Suddenly, Zagren materialized above us, sunlight glinting off its metallic, emoji-inspired form.

[10, 15, 50, 65…] Zagren tallied. [Ah, excellent. More than enough of you made it, but not too many. I applaud your perseverance to reach this point with such an impressive count. No need for the brutal culling like we had at the onset of this Advanced Tutorial.]

All around the surviving players grumbled and cursed, figuring that something bad was about to happen after Zagren showed up.

[As you may have discerned, this tutorial aimed to measure your adventurous spirit. Those relying on others for survival won't endure long. From now on, the survivors of humanity will hold some sway in the decision-making process. I advise you to examine the maps, assuming you're not too dense to have overlooked them.]

Though Zagren's words carried a sarcastic bite, its voice was tinged with the weariness of a seasoned mentor. Unlike its counterpart, its tone bore a deeper resonance, more reminiscent of a teenager than a young child. Mostly it sounded tired.

[Imagine elevators that can take you wherever you want within the confines of this cityscape, provided it's a valid destination marked on the map. If you select a location not registered on the map but in existence within the Advanced Tutorial, you might land in an area exceeding your Rank. In such instances, no safeguards would be in place.]

That surprised me. I furrowed my eyebrows, taken aback. It was unexpected. Before, elevators were restricted purely to designated points on the map. It wasn’t possible to wander beyond the limits of the tutorial.

My thoughts trailed off, and the answer seemed obvious enough.

I was living proof that something beyond the limits of the [Admin] and System Fall was at work. Or at the least, some entity with some kind of power was manipulating things.

"Sandbox…. Somebody is tossing stones from outside the sandbox." I mumbled to myself thinking once more about Annie’s note. I wanted to take a look at Zagren with my [Eyes of Legacy], but the ability was still on cooldown.

"So, how do we operate these elevators, then?" asked a girl from a group I didn’t recognize.

[In order to employ these elevators for safe transport, each of you has been granted a [Silver Token].] The bot responded as If it was the dumbest thing it had ever heard.

[You have obtained 1 Silver Token.]

The notification materialized in front of everyone while Zagren continued its instruction.

[One token will allow you to use an elevator, which can carry up to three people. That means, you need three tokens to activate an elevator. You can count for yourself how many elevators there are. Just enough for everyone who should go one, to get to go on. A convenient coincidence,] Zagren proudly proclaimed. [I suggest you hasten your preparations, as the rooftop you're currently on will begin to crumble with the rest of the city skyline if you linger too long. Oh…] as though it were merely a casual remark, and not a metaphorical knife twisting in our guts, it delivered another piece of information. [A single token will transport you to a random location. If you prefer a specific destination, it will require two tokens per person.]

Considering the token I'd just received, paired with the one I earned after defeating the Detritus Mantis, it would seem I had everything necessary for my next venture. However, the nuances of the bot's directions remained murky, meaning I couldn’t trust it completely.

What if two people desired different locations? Would the elevator separate them accordingly? If someone accumulated three tokens, could the elevator depart, leaving two individuals stranded? Could someone with two tokens shepherd two others having only one token each to a preferred location?

Seeing the chaos that broke out, Kenney changed his tune towards me.

"Nick. I never asked, how long did you last before you had to run from that thing? You don’t expect me to believe you killed it, right?"

"That’s your guess?" I countered, my lips curving into a wry grin.

"I get it. How do you think this will play out?" Kenney asked. "If I possess two tokens, and two others have just one each, can I choose a location for the other two that seems safe enough?"

"If the System was fair, I’d say that’s maybe. If the system was fair," I ventured, feigning uncertainty. "Otherwise, think of how things were when we arrived. One out of every group had to sacrifice a member, just to level the playing field."

Kenney looked noticeably queasy at the thought. "So, you believe there's no way to predict how this will go."

"Not even a little." I responded, "You’ll just have to get yourself ready and move on."

"On a related note, I happened to acquire another Silver Token as loot," Kenney disclosed in a low voice to me. "And there's no chance you don’t have one stashed as well, so how about we forge an alliance? I have a team waiting, and we're considering the establishment of a formal faction where all members can contribute and be fairly rewarded."

While he spoke, Kenney unveiled a beaded chain he was wearing, and on one of the dog tags was the emblem of a flame that glowed briefly when he touched it.

All guilds started humbly. I had been part of such a small group during my initial run. I felt a bit of regret. With my plan to go solo, linking up with a guild wasn’t in my plans.

I was still curious about his proposal and wanted to know more. "What was that?" even though I knew I'd reject his offer.

"It’s a symbol of our guild, the Cleaners," Kenney explained. "Our leader is Weiss. We just want to figure all of this out and to endure the current chaos, paving the way for civilization's return. We're scheduled to meet at Center Island. Find me if you ever decide to join."

"Even its icon on the map was inviting. "If I ever decide to," I replied, allowing the statement to linger. Taking the hint, Kenney continued on his way.

"Hey!" A shout rang out, followed by a minor disturbance. I walked towards the edge of the Manhattan skyline, leaning against an elevator as the small clash escalated into a full-blown brawl over the possession of tokens.

A woman let out a victorious shout, gripping three Silver Tokens between her fingers before boarding an elevator. "To Central Park!" she declared.

However, the person she’d gotten the tokens from followed in hot pursuit, halting the elevator's ascent. "What the hell?" she barked before stabbing him with her sword, swiftly disposing of his body from the elevator. The elevator resumed its journey, accelerating before anyone could follow.

Panic erupted. With 69 people present, all could have avoided the final collapse with the elevators that were available. But things had changed already. One man without hope eyed his peers like a famished predator. He lunged at Nirma, but Kenney instinctively stepped in and beat him back. The older man’s war-hammer left a vicious dent in the attacker’s forehead with a loud crack.

During the distraction, I watched another girl rip a token away from Nirma. I wasn’t the only one who saw it.

I grimaced. Even if they managed to survive this part of things, failure to protect crucial survival items suggested a bleak future. Yet observing this disturbing spectacle of ordinary people reduced to savages wasn’t why I lingered. With my cooldown expired, I activated [Eyes of Legacy] to study Zagren.

Each bot seemed to have a unique personality and voice, bordering on sentient AI. Whatever they were, they were practically little imps or gremlins.

My leaning towards AI was reinforced as I noticed menu windows floating next to Zagren. I couldn't decipher the characters, but their ant-like shifting suggested a continuous flow of information. A blue cursor hovered over its head.

"Black for humans, red for the mini-boss I defeated, and blue for these bots." Parts of it mirrored the Mana spectrum. Zagren began to rotate towards me. Out of caution, I deactivated my [Eyes of Legacy]. The bot’s attention didn’t linger on me.

Taking a step back, I stopped ocking so closely at Zagreen with my ]Eyes of Legacy] once Zagren started to pivot in my direction. I found myself contemplating, 'Should I continue to consider her a mere AI, or was Dungeon Master a more fitting title now?'

The Manhattan rooftops were beginning to empty, as elevators carried away those who wished to flee. The once-crowded space was dwindling with every passing second.

Suddenly, I felt a presence rushing toward me. Turning, I saw Kenney pulling along his companion, Nirma.

"Nick!" Kenney's voice echoed against the concrete. "Will you keep Nirma safe?"

I met his pleading eyes with a cool gaze. "What about you? Or the girl??" I asked, my tone indifferent.

"It can’t be helped," Kenney confessed, his voice just above a whisper. He handed a silver token to Nirma, whose wide-eyed shock mirrored my own surprise.

I sighed, shaking my head. "She needs to learn to survive on her own. Having her tag along will only increase the difficulty of my journey and I’ve enough problems. No. I won’t be taking her."

Kenney started to rage, his voice a thunderous roar in the quiet cityscape. "Is this the world you want? A place where we abandon each other?"

I met his outburst with a frosty stare. "The world has always been this way," I responded, my voice echoing off the skyscrapers around us.

Kenney seemed ready to retaliate, yet he held back, aware that directly confronting me was something he wasn’t capable of doing.

No sooner had I moved away from them, than the rest of the crowd fell on them, desperate to claim any advantage they could. Kenney and Nirma were overrun. Kenney tried to fight back briefly, but his focus was on keeping Nirma safe, not himself. It wasn’t a winning strategy. I watched as they fell, the scene evoking a burning rage within me. This chaos, this despair, it was all [Admin]'s doing.

"Please... kill me," I heard Riley, the girl who’d been with Nirma call out, her voice, fragile and trembling. "I can't die like this. I don't want to fall from here." An empty holster strapped to her thigh was all she had left. Without a weapon or a token, she was as good as dead.

"I can't do that," I said, my voice firm.

Her anguish erupted. "Why? I've lost everything! Don't stand there acting like you’re somehow above all this!" She was nearly hysterical.

I ignored her.

"This is quite a view, isn't it?" I commented, my words dripping with hospitality, not so much towards the girl, but towards the entire situation.

Just as the words left my lips, an arrow tore through Riley’s side. Blood seeped out, staining her clothes a deep, foreboding red. She fell, a gasp ripping from her throat, her body hitting the wet rooftop. Swiveling my gaze to the side, I found a stranger with a crossbow, already loading another arrow.

Reflexes honed by countless battles kicked in. Before the stranger could loose his second arrow, Legender was up and had already taken out the arrow in midair, not only slicing the arrow in two but also cleaving off the stranger's arms. The pieces of the arrow hadn't even hit the ground before I was moving again, my fury roaring like a wild tempest within me.

About a dozen survivors remained, and Lydia, wielding her enchanted daggers, was dispatching those who remained with ruthless efficiency. Each kill added to her power, each victim bringing her one step closer to becoming a threat I might have to deal with in the future.

Then, I heard a whispered plea. "Please... end it," Riley rasped from behind me. Her eyes were filled with pain as they darted from Lydia to me. "Please."

Inhaling deeply, I wrestled with a turmoil of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. My mind was a battlefield, as I stood torn between compassion and cold pragmatism. Lydia's rise in power was a reality I had to address, but was there another way?

Voices of Aria and James echoed in my mind, their pleas resounding like spectral cries in the depth of my consciousness. But I needed to take control of the situation, to find another way. Legender, poised in my hand, was not an instrument of mercy. I needed a different strategy.

A quick scan of the area and I spotted what I needed. A broken steel cable from a nearby bridge, thick and sturdy. I sprinted toward it, scooping it up. With a swift movement, I turned and expertly swung it at Riley, aiming for the back of her head. The cable connected with a solid thud and Riley crumpled unconscious onto the rooftop.

"Lydia!" I called out, my voice echoing amidst the towering structures. "More of a bitter mercy, isn’t it, Don’t be a coward. This ends."