Ch. 3 - Gormless Strategy
Somewhere in a realm far detached from reality, where gravity twisted and the sky bled with violet fire, a towering obsidian structure groaned its last breath.
Inside, surrounded by the corpses of fallen horrors, Verez stood amidst the crumbled remains of the final floor of The Abyssal Tower.
His body trembled from exhaustion, blood trickling down his jaw and chest, but his eyes, cold, determined, burned with quiet triumph.
> | You have completed all 500 stages of [The Abyssal Tower] |
> | You have succeeded in completing the [Destroy Generation] quest. |
> | You have unlocked the title [Tribunal Judge] |
> | Your attributes have been significantly increased. |
> | You have unlocked the ability to store real-world items in your [Inventory] |
> | You are the first [Awakened] to complete [The Abyssal Tower] |
> | You have been promoted to [Player] |
> | You have been given [A Gift From The Gods] |
> | Do you wish to delete [The Abyssal Tower]? |
{Yes} {No}
Without hesitation, Verez tapped {Yes}.
> | Are you sure? This is permanent. |
| Deleting [The Abyssal Tower] will prevent other [Awakened] individuals from completing the [Destroy Generation] quest. |
{Yes} {No}
Again, {Yes}.
> | Are you SURE? |
| Continuing will notify all [Awakened] individuals globally of your actions. Penalties and global consequences will follow. | {No} {No}
Verez scoffed.
"Cut the bullcrap and do it already," he muttered, speaking as if the System itself were an old, tiresome rival.
> | Very well. |
A notification was broadcasted all around the world to every single Awakened:
> | VEREZ has completed all 500 stages of [The Abyssal Tower] and has chosen to permanently delete it. |
| As a result, you are now unable to complete the [Destroy Generation] quest. | | PENALTY: 75% of your coins have been deducted. XP gain is reduced by 60% for the next 3 days. Any unclaimed rewards tied to the Tower have been erased. |
> | A new quest has been issued! |
| [Hunt and kill Verez ] |
| OBJECTIVE: Eliminate Verez by any means necessary. You may act solo or as a team. |
| REWARD: Completion of [Destroy Generation] quest, restoration of all lost coins plus 110% bonus. One Legendary-ranked item per participant. |
| CONSEQUENCE: If Verez is not killed in 5 days, 10,500 random Awakened individuals will be sacrificed. |
| Verez's location will now be tracked in real time. |
All across the globe, Awakened froze. Gasps, screams, and curses echoed through every training ground, safe zone, and stronghold. The world had shifted.
Many immediately began preparing: alliances were formed, equipment reinforced, battle simulations launched. The hunt for Verez had begun.
As for Verez.
He stood at the tower's edge, still catching his breath. Then he laughed as the system notifies him too.
It started as a chuckle.
Then a sharp, unhinged laugh that echoed across the sky.
"You're insane," he said aloud, addressing the invisible interface. "Truly out of your fucking mind."
He reached into his inventory and retrieved the shimmering black-and-gold vial labeled 'Elixir of Power'. He tucked it into his inventory without drinking it. "Not yet," he muttered.
He pressed [Leave Dungeon], and in a blink, the bizarre dimensions of the Tower collapsed behind him as he reappeared in a dark alley somewhere in Manila. The real world.
—------------------------------
Meanwhile, across the globe...
Within a grand circular hall powered by a System-generated projection matrix, 342 individuals, leaders, tacticians, and awakened elites, sat in high-backed chairs. Each bore a holographic nameplate. At the center sat the 'Chief', his name plate identifying him as Chief Tieanano, leader of the IOA (Interdimensional Operations Authority).
"We must act now," Chief Tieanano began. "Verez is dangerous . He is a ticking time bomb especially since he stole the elixir."
Murmurs broke out. One man in a deep navy coat adjusted his fedora. "The Elixir. I've heard myths. What exactly are we dealing with?"
Another, clad in ornate robes, spoke calmly. "The Elixir is theorized to be a divine-grade object—capable of granting the user full command over dimensional laws, time dilation, and physical reality itself."
"In the wrong hands," added a grim woman in military garb, "it's the end of civilization."
Someone else snorted. "And the ██████ want it to resurrect the Demon King, right? Sounds like fiction."
"It's not fiction," Tieanano replied sharply. "The top echelon of the ██████ are apostles of the Demon King, yes. But the rest? They're also not human. They're flesh-puppets. Vessels."
A silence settled.
"We cannot risk revealing ourselves," another leader said. "We must lure him. Somewhere isolated. Somewhere where the public won't find out."
A man with a stern voice replied. "The System requires us to remain hidden until the so-called Event, but we don't even know what the Event is. Why is it that we're only allowed to reveal our true nature as Awakened, when the Event begins?"
Many nodded in agreement.
"Five days," Tieanano reminded. "Five. Then the System kills 10,500 of our own and we don't even know who it'd be. We move now. We must hunt now."
A final voice, calm but chilling: "And we pray Verez isn't already in contact with the ██████."
Tieanano stood, hands planted on the marble table.
"For now, put your rivalries aside. This is no longer about factions, territory, or coin. This is about survival. This is about humanity. Unite, or be erased."
No one objected.
---
The Next Day in a popular mall located in Manila:
Crowds swarmed the mall's walkways. The usual weekend bustle. Food stalls, retail, cinemas. Children running. Music echoing faintly.
And in the center of it all, Verez strolled casually in civilian clothes, sipping from a buko juice. His eyes scanned the area.
"Let's see if anyone's got the balls to start something in a public place," he muttered.
He smiled slightly.
Unknown to the public, the area was under heavy surveillance.
In the parking lot beneath, armored vans and black-clad Awakened agents, armed with high-tier gear and spells preloaded in scrolls, readied for engagement.
Chief Tieanano himself monitored from a command vehicle, his face cold.
"On my mark," he said into the comms. "Eyes on the target. No civilians harmed. This is a retrieval mission. He cannot be allowed to escape."
But Verez stopped walking.
His head turned slightly.
Then he smirked.
"They're here."
He dropped the juice.
"Good morning everyone!"
Verez's voice thundered across the sleek marble tiles of the mall, reverberating off glass walls and polished storefronts like a cruel echo in a cathedral.
He stood atop a fountain centerpiece, arms raised like a showman addressing his stage. Security guards looked up, startled. Shoppers froze, confused.
His voice was warm, almost joyful, but it carried a sharp edge—like a dagger wrapped in velvet.
"Shit, what's he trying to do now?" an Awakened agent hissed into his comms, hidden among the crowd near the escalators.
Chief Tieanano, observing remotely through a feed, clenched his jaw. "Hold. No one engages. Not until I say."
Verez spread his arms wider, smile widening beneath the shadow of his hood. "Today, everything in the mall is free! That's right—everything! I'll pay for it all! So go on... grab anything you want! Go wild!"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Shoppers looked at each other, skeptical. Some laughed nervously.
"Is this some kind of prank?"
"He's joking, right?"
A mother clutched her child tighter. A store clerk frowned and started dialing security.
But then, a child bolted toward the toy store, encouraged by Verez's grin.
Then another. Then a group of teens took off sprinting, snatching sneakers off display shelves. People started rushing. Grabbing. Shoving.
A shopping cart slammed into a cosmetics stand. A perfume bottle shattered on the floor.
Chaos bloomed like fire on dry grass.
Total anarchy.
Verez stood above it all, watching it unfold with the calm of a man watching the rain fall.
Inside their concealed command hub, a squad leader swore under his breath. "We were going to fake a police operation. Arrest him quietly. We had uniforms. Badges. Everything. What the fuck is the plan now!"
"We can't do it now," someone else muttered. "He wants us to make a scene. He wants us to expose ourselves."
"He's baiting us," Tieanano said, grim. "He knows we can't expose ourselves until the event begins."
And then—
Sirens.
The sound was deafening, bouncing off parking structures and mall glass like a swarm of angry wasps. Outside, agents confirmed what they feared:
Real police. Hundreds.
Blue lights lit up every side of the building like the mall was a crime scene in a war zone.
Dozens of vans and tactical units rolled in. Officers fanned out, shouting orders, guns raised.
"Shit. We're boxed in," one of the Awakened whispered. "They're locking down every exit."
Tieanano stood frozen, watching the feed. His fingers slowly curled into a fist.
Thirty-two of the 133 top leaders had insisted on being physically present to witness Verez's apprehension.
They were now trapped. Him included.
And then, with dreadful precision, a matte-black convoy pulled up. The back doors of the lead vehicle swung open, and Police Major Lazar stepped out.
He looked exactly as the whispers described, towering, silver-haired, emotionless, draped in a long, obsidian trench coat that moved like it had weight beyond fabric. Beside GC TV tx Rdhim stood his assistant.
An Awakened agent gasped, recognition dawning in horror.
"The ██████... They're here."
Before anyone could process that, the System chimed:
> | Announcement: |
| All 20 Apostles of the [Demon King] have arrived in Manila. |
It was like the oxygen had been sucked out of the air.
The notification was broadcasted to every Awakened within the area. Panic spread in seconds like a silent, unseen plague.
One of the Apostles appeared on the top level of the mall—a tall woman clad in ceremonial crimson armor, her eyes glowing like dying stars.
Another was spotted near the food court, seemingly blending into the crowd in a business suit. One by one, their presence was felt.
And yet—Verez laughed.
He stood alone in the middle of it all, eyes scanning the upper balconies and the chaos below. He whispered to himself, the words like a taunt to the universe.
"Now this... this is where the real fun begins."
Back in the command vehicle, Tieanano's voice cracked as he barked into the mic. "Pull the agents back! We can't handle this. Unlike us, they can publicly reveal their existence if deemed necessary. Retreat!"
But it was too late.
The ██████ already had already surrounded them.
--TO BE CONTINUED--