CHAPTER 4 – The Game System.

Alex walked out of the forest with the head of the tiger in his left hand, while his right hand was holding the knife he used to cut the head of the tiger.

For him, who had a gun and an aim that could let him kill someone 200 meters away with just a small pistol, it was quite easy to kill the tiger.

If that was not enough, he had a feeling that his body grew a bit stronger.

It wasn't that much of a difference, but he, who had perfect control over his strength, could feel it.

'Is it because of that thing from yesterday….?'

Alex wondered.

He wasn't sure, but his senses told him that it was somehow related to that thing or whatever it was.

Alex was sure that it was not just his imagination and whatever that thing was, it was real.

The voice that he heard in his head and the connection he felt were too vivid for them to be a dream.

'Operations will be suspended until the host returns to an optimal state.' 

Alex could still remember its words, and from that, he could tell that all he needed to do was heal faster.

Then he'll have all his answers.

As he neared the village, he could hear a guy's yell; he was yelling about something or someone, but Alex just ignored it.

He walked out of the forest, and he could feel the eyes of everyone on him, but just like before, he ignored it.

He focused on the two people he knew in this village.

"Big Brother!"

Alex saw Misty running toward him, and then Gulshan doing the same.

'Big brother?'

He just waved it off before he gestured for them to stop.

He could see the tears of happiness in their eyes, but he didn't care about that.

He knew that they were a bit too attached to him, but that wouldn't make him trust them.

Gulshan and Misty both stopped when they saw the bloodied palm that Alex raised toward them.

They looked at him in confusion.

"Here," Alex said, throwing the head of the tiger at Gulshan's feet.

"With this, I repaid the debt of all the food and care I received."

Alex spoke without an apparent change in his voice, but Gulshan and Misty were shocked by his words.

"We never did that so you coul-"

Gulshan was trying to say something, but his words were left stuck in his mouth since, right at that moment, a blue-colored screen appeared in front of him.

"What!"

He was shocked but then he saw Misty hugging him from the side as she looked at something in front of her.

He couldn't see it, but he could tell that she must've seen the same thing as him.

However, the shouts of the villagers, the yelps of surprise, and the fear of the unknown told him that everyone could see the same thing.

Alex, on the other hand, was calm as he muttered inwardly.

'What's this now?'

He had already seen something like this once, so he was not shocked—a bit surprised, but that's all.

However.…

'This one is different….'

And….

'I'm not the only one seeing it.'

Alex, just like Gulshan, could tell that everyone could perceive the same thing.

However, no one had the time to think too much about it before the mechanical voice was heard in all of their heads.

[Humans from Earth, the time for you to experience something new has arrived!]

"Who are you?!"

'What are you?!"

"Am I the only one hearing this???"

Many kinds of questions were heard.

People were panicking, but that was fair in a way, after all, who wouldn't panic when they start hearing a strange voice in their head?

But the voice continued.

[I am the Game System, created by the gods, just so that I could make games, and I will do just that.]

The voice was mechanical, with no emotion whatsoever, but Alex could tell that even if the voice was mechanical, it still had emotions.

It could be just his feeling, but he felt like the 'game system' was listening to all of them, even if it looked like it was ignoring them.

[All of you will be entering a game, a game where you kill, fight, struggle, plot, and do many things that you never thought you would, just to survive.]

The voice might be listening to their words, but it went on and on as if their shouts were nothing.

[If you survive a game, you will be rewarded; if you don't, then you die, simple as that.]

The villagers who heard those words froze for a second.

All of them shared a similar look on their faces.

Fear.

Fear was the only emotion on their faces, and it was as clear as it could be.

There were some other emotions, such as uncertainty, doubt, confusion, etc. but...

'Death.'

Every human feared it.

And more so when it came from the mouth of something that was unknown to them.

The game system was already a mystery, but it was speaking about their deaths so lightly that it scared them.

But not all of them were sane-minded; someone among them was not having it.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"Who the fuck are you?!

You think you can come here and scare us with these puny tricks of yours?!"

Mr. Pandey yelled as he looked up in the air.

First, his plans were foiled by a puny brat with scary eyes, and now this mysterious MF was trying to play with his life.

'What do you take me for!!'

The Gamer system paused for a while; there was no response from the system.

"Hah!"

Mr. Pandey scoffed as he raised his nose up in the air.

"That's how you scare a fucker away!"

Mr. Panday claimed with pride.

The villagers waited for a while, and not hearing anything from the system, they started celebrating.

"YAAAAAA!"

"MR. PANDEY!"

But just then, a soft sigh was heard.

[Sigh….]

The sound was barely audible; it was that low.

But everyone heard it; every single one of the villagers heard it, and for some unknown reason, the air stilled.

The voice was low, but it was in their heads, so the villagers could easily discern the sigh.

And the sigh they heard was not a sigh of resignation or defeat; it was a sigh of relief….

That scared them more than the tiger that used to live in the forest.

[Thank heavens, you said that!]

The voice of the system, that was mechanical till now, turned jolly.

It was no longer an emotionless mechanical voice; instead, it sounded like a 12-year-old child who just got a lollipop.

"Huh?"

Mr. Pandey's brown knitted together into a hard frown.

"What are you blabbering- ARGGHHHHHH!!!"

Mr. Pandey, still drunk on the thought that he had won, continued in a haughty tone, but it was his biggest mistake and his last mistake.

[I thanked the heavens above for making you say those words, idiot!

Yet you still continued; that's why I call you mortals idiots! Hahahahah!]

The gamer system yelled in joy.

"ARGHHHHHHHH!"

Mr. Pandey, on the other hand, was now on the ground, writhing around as he screamed in pain.

No one could tell what was happening, but not for long as the system spoke in a generous tone.

[I know you mortals won't understand what's happening; after all, you are all the lowest of the low.

So, this great system will tell you something.

I am lenient, but if you take my lenience as my weakness, then you will face the same punishment as him.

And to tell you the truth, I like punishing naughty mortals…. Heheheheh….]

The system started in a haughty tone, but by the time it reached the end, it was giggling with glee.

A gleeful giggle that sent shivers down their spines.

"…. argh."

That was Mr. Pandey's last groan before his body stilled.

[Tsk, weak mortals, I can't even torture you all to the full extent.]

The voice of the system was heard again, and this time, only frustration was audible in that child-like voice of the system.