A Worthy Sacrifice

Nico thoroughly read the system screen and couldn't believe what he was reading.

In the true concept of the game, the player was granted a system to kill the gods, not work for them.

It was created by Xīngtīan, the Chinese, god of war, and a mysterious person who was never identified by the player, even after the game.

To not only change the system but pit it against humans was an act of cruelty that only the gods of Olympus could show.

The rain was cold and so was the expression in his eyes.

His body ached in places he didn't know could, and his breathing was shaky from the rain.

He finally snapped out of his thoughts when the thunder and lightning roared, lighting up the skies above.

Nico then calmed down.

It wasn't easy, but he managed to do it.

He furrowed his brows and looked at the corpse of the man he killed.

Just as the players did to him, he stripped him of his clothes and covered his shame.

He also took the knife and put it inside the pocket of the coat.

Then, he walked away without turning back.

The guild was only an hour away. He had little time to be distracted.

50 minutes came to pass.

Nico was still walking through the bloodied streets of Pyrros, each corner hiding danger and starved homeless people.

7.

So far, Nico had killed 7 people who tried killing him first, giving him extra stat points and coins.

In total, he had accumulated æ4,000 coins and 15 stat increase points, which he hadn't distributed yet.

Killing a player didn't mean he would level up all the time, so, at the moment, he was at a pleasing level 5.

As he drew closer to the Adventurer's Guild, he saw the truth behind the video game world.

Weapons, drugs and sex were a powerful form of information, currency and respect.

He saw this first-hand when a woman gave up her body to a gang of thugs for some decent food.

Even as she pleaded for them to be gentler, the thugs never eased up.

In their eyes, she was nothing but a slut who would do anything for food; even if it meant losing her dignity, she too, needed to survive.

Then, a few homeless people begged players to give them a small dosage of drugs in exchange for weapons they managed to earn from awakening.

By hiding in plain sight, Nico was able to avoid being targeted for those last 5 minutes.

He thought about why the people chose these forms of currencies and quickly pieced together the most logical reason:

Value.

Coins were both hard to obtain and expensive to keep.

A single weapon that had great durability and decent enchantments cost at least 15,000 coins, and that was on the low end.

On top of that, maintaining a weapon was challenging if the durability was terrible.

But, by buying weapons and trading them, the players had little to lose and spent less to get good weapons.

As for sex, it was a universal pleasure for primates. At least, that's what Nico assumed.

He was a virgin, so he had little to comment about that.

But, his suffering finally came to an end when he stepped in front of the Adventurer's Guild building.

It towered high above, practically touching the sky, and was coated with white paint and glass panes on each floor.

The building was also clean and well-maintained, proving that this was the true safe haven for players.

Nico almost shed a tear as he stared at the building.

But, before he could even set foot inside, he was rushed by a hooded figure and kicked towards a nearby building.

Nico's body collided against the hard concrete, his vision blurring and his back aching on impact.

「HP: 50 / 100」

His health bar went from a dangerous orange colour to a heart-throbbing red.

He stood up and pulled out the blunt knife, hoping to use it to defend himself.

Unfortunately, that did not help him in the slightest.

The hooded figure reached him in seconds and landed an uppercut on him, causing him to bleed and stagger backwards.

Then, the figure dug its knee into his manhood, making him scream as he lowered his head.

His voice was hoarse and broken from the pain, his head spun from disorientation and his entire body might've stopped functioning.

There was a lump of blood stuck in his throat. If that wasn't the case, he would've screamed even louder than before.

「Critical Hit!」

「HP: 20 / 100」

「Critical Condition! Reach the nearest Adventure's Guild to receive treatment!」

「‐5 Value」

「Old Value: #1,571st Place

New Value: #1,576th Place」

Nico felt his head hurt and his chest pop. He slowly looked at the figure, who removed their hood and smiled at Nico.

She had long black hair that cascaded on her back and reached the length of her elbows.

With eyes as green as the forest, she was both mysterious and alluring, while the crude smile on her face hinted at her love for inhumane acts and violence.

With her green hooded coat, brown pants and black knee high boots, she exuded a regal but dangerous energy.

This woman may have been gorgeous, but she was dangerous.

She grabbed Nico's right hand and hovered it above her own, causing two holographic screens to appear on each of their palms.

Nico tried to fight, but he was too disoriented and fatigued due to him reaching a critical condition on his health.

「Aestrol Coins: 0.00」

After stealing his coins, she slapped him in the face and disappeared, cackling through the storm.

Nico finally regained some recognition and grit his teeth in frustration.

Ever since he arrived, he was treated like absolute dogshit.

He was jumped in the first hour of his arriving, thrown into the dumpster, robbed and attacked by some homeless people...

And now, some crazy bitch just ruthlessly attacked him and stole his coins.

Worst of all, she kicked him on his family jewels.

He raised his arms and screamed at the top of his lungs, slammed them onto the concrete floor and broke his arms.

「HP: 5 / 100」

His arms bled as his muscles throbbed in agony. His heart was burning with hatred.

'Am I going to allow myself to be a victim over and over again...?'

'Why? Why did it have to be me? Why do these people insist on making my so-called "new life" hell?!'

"Nah... I'm not some fucking teat you can suck on for nutrients...!"

He gritted his teeth as he groggily stood up, his knees buckling, struggling to hold his fatigued body.

He limped through the rubble, his arms bleeding and his head spinning as he walked back to the Adventurer's Guild.

He arrived in a few minutes and stepped through the glass sliding doors, entering the reception and taking a much needed sigh of relief.

The smell felt like home as the scent of fresh flowers hit his nose, a stark contrast to the wilderness he just come from.

His blood stained the clean floors and his limp body barely held onto itself as the realization hit him.

「You have entered a Safe Zone」

'Safe Zones are places where bloodshed has little chance of happening. Of course, not everyone has the luxury to stay here, or even stand in the reception.'

Nico looked at the receptionist's desk and made his way there.

He found a woman toggling with her holographic computer and she immediately looked at him.

Her eyes were hazel brown while her skin was fair. Similar to her eyes, her hair was long and brown.

Her body was one of a model with an hourglass figure, B-cup sized breasts and an alluring energy, despite her cold shoulder.

"Greetings. My name is Melissa, and I am Pyross' Adventurer's Guild operator in the South. How may I assist you?" she inquired, her voice soft but her face uninterested.

"What's the quickest way for me to make money without killing anything or anyone right now?" Nico quickly inquired.

"Besides events, your best bet would be to decrease your value... For each value point you sacrifice, you get æ1,000 coins."

「Value: #1,576th Place」

Nico didn't even think twice.

"Then, let's drop mine to #1,600th place."

Melissa raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but Nico couldn't care less.

If he wanted to survive, to make sure that no one disrespected him ever again, he'll need to get stronger.

Besides, he can always increase his value by taking revenge on those who treated him like shit.

Melissa sighed and began with the process.

After a few minutes, Nico's account had a whopping æ24,000 coins.

Most players had a hard time gathering half, and he did it in only a few minutes.

But, it came at a great cost. Even so, it was a necessary sacrifice.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to get healed, and buy a few items and clothes before I head out."

"Very well."

Nico transferred æ500 coins for his treatment and followed Melissa to the back, where she would begin treating him.