บท 1: Chapter 1
Year 91 of the New Calendar
Mountainberry Kingdom, Gold City, in a certain public school, class 3A
"And the death of the S-Tier Chosen marked the end of the Great War. The Eternal Empire lost their trump card and got conquered by the Imperium pretty fast afterward. This marked the end of the Great War. Calling itself Eternal, heh, what an irony.
"All right, time's up. You're dismissed."
"Ms. Clark, how strong are S-Tier Chosen? You only ever mentioned them, but never explained how strong they are?"
"Edward, that is a nice question. However, I cannot answer this question. Does anyone in the class know why?
"Yes, Thomas?"
"You never specified how strong S-Tier Chosen are because you simply do not know. All information about them is strictly classified, as is information for all other Chosen."
"That is correct. Edward, you must remember that Chosen aren't human. They are weapons of mass destruction. Everywhere they go, they leave behind war and death. Understandably, the King doesn't want information about them to be spread. It would only cause panic among the population. The only thing we know about them is that the Tier of the Chosen their strength levels determine.
"As for S-Tier Chosen, some say they are only myths. But if you look at the world map, you can see the aftermath they left behind in the Great War.
"But the same rules apply to them: If you meet a Chosen, you are dead. Only the King's army can defeat them.
"All right, this is the real end of the class. We will see us tomorrow"
Edward and the rest of the class quickly packed their bags and left the classroom. It was the last lesson for today and Edward had to hurry. He was late for work and he did not want to arrive late. But just as he wanted to go, someone tapped his shoulder.
"Hey Ed, you still owe me money. Don't you remember?"
Edward did not turn around. He sped up and his mood hit rock bottom.
"Hey, where are you going?!" His classmate quickly reached him and held on to him.
Edward sighed. His life really was shit. All he wanted to do was to live in peace, but that mysterious power called debt always crossed his path. He still had to pay this month's rent. It was generally known that he was dirt poor. Why would his stupid classmate ask for his money now?
"Listen here, I still have to pay this month's rent. You know that. You also know that I do not want to sleep on the streets. Also, don't you remember that time I bought you a drink? So, can I please pay the money back another time?"
"What the actual f*ck are you talking about? The last time you bought me a drink was two years ago! Also, I just wanted to remind you. But don't think I don't know what you spend your money on. You aren't poor. You always spend all your money on beer at the beginning of the month!"
Just as Edward's classmate finished saying that, the air around Edward changed. It seemed as if he became another person. He became more serious, more mysterious. It was time for him to bring out his real skills. He quickly put on a mysterious expression and said:
"It has been two years already? Time really flies by, huh. But a drink bought is a drink bought, after all. Also, shouldn't we humans, surviving in this world, fighting against nature, and cultivating to the peak of knowledge set aside our materialistic views and treat each other with kindness? We are friends after all.
"Who needs money, and who needs capitalism? It is just a human construct! Set it aside and become enlightened! Overcome your weakness!" Edward kept an absolute straight expression while saying that. If he, the master of bullsh*tting couldn't do that, no one could.
His classmate was speechless. He has never seen someone this shameless. Everyone knew that Edward wasn't only stingy, but also poor with money. However, hearing Edward, the one who once bought a goat while being drunk, who spends all his money on alcohol and luxuries that he can't afford, talk about 'setting aside our materialistic views' was a new level of shamelessness. His mind went blank. This was absolutely unbelievable!
Using his classmate's unresponsiveness, Edward continued.
"Alright, since you're quiet, it seems like you were able to set aside your materialistic views. Good job, I got to go. See you"
Edward quickly left the campus. He truly had to go. That old man didn't want to wait. He quickly went to the bookstore. He was a professional "Purification Specialist". In other words, all he had to do was to wipe away dirt and dust in a bookstore. But he called himself "Purification Specialist" because it sounded way cooler.
In the end, he arrived late anyway. His boss wasn't happy, but he couldn't fire him. No one in their small city wanted to do that job.
While cleaning, Edward thought about today's lesson. The S-Tier Chosen were always mysterious. Why didn't the King release information about them? It was just a few Chosen. The King's army could easily kill them. All these rumors about destroyed cities were obviously fake. But the thought of Chosen bothered him.
"Hey old man, you traveled across the world in your youth, right? Did you meet any Chosen or even S-Tier Chosen?"
"Ehh, did you become mentally retarded? I should hit you less. If I ever met a Chosen, I wouldn't stand here today. Let alone S-Tier Chosen, they are only legends."
"So, you never saw how strong Chosen are? Hmm, I think these destroyed cities are only propaganda to make us obey the King. Think about it, there's no way a single person could destroy a whole city."
"You surely are mentally retarded. Just because I did not see a Chosen in person does that not mean that I haven't experienced their power. I once saw the aftermath of a fight between several Chosen…
"Listen here, this is important. Chosen aren't overexaggerated, they really are killing machines. While it is true that Chosen can destroy whole cities, they rarely do that. They usually only destroy districts in fights."
"Why is that so?"
The old man quickly looked around. When he assured that no one was in the bookstore at the moment, he began speaking.
"I'm not allowed to tell you that, but I don't want you to die when you meet a Chosen. So, listen. If you ever meet a Chosen, there is a way to survive."
"What?! How do you know that?!"
"You know I was once a guard. Don't ask questions. Chosen are generally just normal humans. However, if they sacrifice a body part, they get superhuman powers. Some destroy a city gate with one punch, and others can even spit fire. The only way to survive when meeting them is to kill them before they can activate their powers.
"Otherwise, only the King's army or other Chosen can stop them."
"What? Why don't they tell us that in school?! We could eliminate them if everyone knew that!"
"We couldn't. There are too many. Anyway, back to work"
Edward started cleaning even though he couldn't believe that the old man just told him that as if it's common knowledge. If the nobles knew what he knew, he would probably be in prison right now.
Edward clicked his tongue. That damn old man just got him in danger. He quickly calmed down and swore not to tell anyone of this information. Even though there was nobody that could've heard him, the feeling of knowing secret information bothered him. He tidied up shortly after and left the store.
As soon as he left, two figures appeared out of the backroom.
"Is he really the one?" said one of the figures, appearing to be a man.
"He should be. The Lady said the chance of him being the one is high. Even if he isn't the target, he should be fine. No noble would care about such trivial information.
"What do we do if he becomes a Chosen?" said the other figure, a woman.
"We will monitor him. If he can't even leave the city without our help, he isn't worthy. The Lady said he will likely become a C-Tier Chosen. If he can't defeat some city guards as a C-Tier, he is without a doubt useless."
"Gotcha, what are the reports saying?"
…
"Hey Ed, how is school doing?"
"Same as always, but at least I'm almost finished. I will try to get a job in the capital after that and live my life in peace. Can't be said for you though…"
"Well, I chose that job voluntarily. I know I won't have a personal life, but I want to help people. You should know that."
"It's just that I miss the old days. Back in our childhood… we didn't have any worries."
Both of them were still. They reminisced about their old peaceful days, but they both knew that they grew up. Life couldn't stay the same for everyone.
"How long do you intend to do that job? You know… finding them."
"As long as it takes."
Pace looked around, pretended to look for a waiter, and carefully whispered his next words.
"In recent years the number of cases has rapidly risen. You should be careful. The headquarters even sent a team of Exterminators to this region. They expect chaos in the nearby cities soon. But don't tell that anyone."
"Huh? An entire team? Don't tell me they expect one to appear here?"
"It seems so. This is why I have to work more these days. But I should be safe, don't worry. My team only has to do intelligence gathering."
Edward contemplated his best friend's words while taking a sip of his beer. They were both twenty-two. Yet, while he was still a silly boy in school, Pace took on the responsibility of protecting people like him. He became quiet.
Pace was able to notice Edward's change in mood. He, too, was quiet.
After they each drank a bit too much though, their previous gloomy mood was quickly forgotten. They started a drink competition with the entire tavern. In the end, however, Edward still wasn't able to defeat his archenemy 'Big Sip'. In shame, he left the tavern.
Although having drunk too much, his way home from the tavern was engraved in his bones. He walked that route all too often. He quickly opened the door and was about to sleep on his bed. However…
An explosion rang in his mind! It seemed as if he smashed his head against the floor a hundred times.
The pain was unimaginable. Edward screamed.
"AHHH! HELP ME, SOMEONE!"
His words were not able to leave his mouth. The pain took control of his body. He collapsed. The pain intensified. Needles seemed to be piercing every part of his body.
First his arms, then his legs, and finally even his heart.
Edward's mind went blank. It was a kind of pain he never felt before. He could not handle it.
He wanted to die. And he was resolved to exercise his will.
Edward slowly crawled to the kitchen while trying to scream to no avail. He almost grabbed a knife when he suddenly imagined seeing a face.
He couldn't tell its gender nor age. But he saw it smiling. His suffering seemingly amused it. It was the cause of his pain.
"YOU BASTARD! I WILL KILL MYSELF!"
Edward quickly grabbed onto a knife and was about to stab his heart. However, suddenly a tiny mark appeared on his forearm. It appeared to be a straight line. On a closer look, it was made of countless strange characters.
But what mattered more was that Edward's whole body started to set fire. Blue flames engulfed him.
"AAAAAHHHH! PLEASE KILL ME"
The pain seemed to increase tenfold. Edward's rationality faded due to the pain. It was torture and he couldn't end it.
The blue flames activated every pain receptor in his body. The word pain could not be used anymore. It wasn't just a temporary feeling. Pain was all that was left. Time flew for an eternity while Edward's suffering continued.
In the beginning, he still tried to scream words. Later, he only mumbled syllables, and after that, his screams resembled animalistic roars more than human ones.
Edward lost his sense of self in that moment.
Then, everything went black.
…..
"Hehe, you futile being. Let's see how you do."
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