"It's done! I've done it,"Elena's voice echoed in the base of the Scavengers.
"Good," came a deep voice.
She lit up with a grin. "So, now… any chance one of your guys can tag along to show me this factory of yours? I'm short on time—plus, I still need to grab that sexy lingerie you said you wanted to see me in tonight."
"Now that's what I'm talking about. Gerald!" the man commanded. "Accompany her!"
Shin was hiding behind the wall of their hideout, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his palms, drawing blood. He bit his tongue, suppressing the urge to bolt out and kill all of the Scavengers in cold blood.
Because that would've been suicide. He knew he was still too weak. But that wasn't going to stop him from getting his revenge.
After everything he had done for Elena. After how much he had trusted her. She went ahead and betrayed him. His heart throbbed with pain. Everything he had lived for was gone. He had no purpose left.
Except to kill her...
He quickly snuck away as he heard them coming, stopping just outside. The sun had just set, so the streets had gotten dark since streetlights now were a thing of the past in this small town of theirs. He waited in the shadows, gripping a dagger with trembling hands.
Like any normal human, he was afraid to cross the line. But this world had left him no choice but to become a monster.
Just when Elena and her bodyguard stepped out, he exhaled deeply and then lunged from his hiding spot, driving his dagger deep into the man's neck.
The man's warm blood gushed over his hands, squirting across his shirt and splattering everywhere. The man tried to scream, but he yanked the blade out and stabbed him again. And again as he groaned in anguish. Then he dragged the dagger across the man's throat, slicing his esophagus in half before letting him collapse to the ground in a pool of his own blood, lifeless.
[+50 EXP]
A notification popped up before Shin's eyes, but he ignored it and turned to Elena, who had begun crying out in fear.
He couldn't risk her making noise and alerting the others, so quickly, he clamped his blood-soaked hand over her mouth and dragged her to the darker side of the street, shoving her into an empty room littered with shattered glass.
He didn't care. He slammed her inside, his dagger in hand and locked a murderous glare onto her eyes.
"Make any noise, and I'll slice your head clean off."
She trembled, her tearful eyes staring at him. "Shin," she whispered. "What happened to you?"
He let out a dry, bitter laugh. This bitch was really testing him.
"You happened to me, DAMN IT. Why did you do it, Elena. Why?" He asked, his voice filled with sadness.
"I'm sorry, Shin. But this is the only way to survive. I did this so that—"
He silenced her with a sharp backhand across the face. The sting was instant—but the shock hit harder. This? This was what she called survival? She had to be kidding.
"You did what you thought was necessary to survive," Shin muttered, his voice low and cold. "Now it's my turn to do the same."
The warmth that once colored his words was gone—replaced by something else. Something Elena couldn't recognize… or understand.
She tried to speak her way out, but turning a deaf ear, Shin used his dagger to tore the short dress she was wearing and shoved it away, leaving her completely naked in only her panty. She tried covering herself with her hands, crying and begging for mercy, but her pleas were now nothing but music to Shin's ears. He grabbed her panty and tore it apart roughly with trembling hands.
He had to do it. This was his only way of getting strong and exerting his revenge.
But, well—before getting deep into that…
Let's talk about how it all started.
*
*
February 13, 2025.
That's when the world began to rot.
It was a peaceful afternoon in the small town of Okutama, Japan. Shin was celebrating his grandfather's birthday in their cozy, two-story house.
"So... sixty, huh?" He said, elbowing the old man with a grin.
His grandpa chuckled, the white streaks in his once-black hair glinting. "Sixty... and I still have more stamina than you, boy. Your grandmother knows it best," he said, patting his belly with a deep laugh.
"Ew... Grandpa." Shin grimaced as he watched his grandmother, Suzune giggling at the side, blushing like a schoolgirl as she lit the birthday candles.
"Don't act like you're not head over heels for that Elena girl," The oldman teased. "Tell her how you feel, boy. Before someone like me swoops in."
"Stop feeding him your nonsense," Suzune said gently.
"I turned twenty, Granny. I can handle this," Shin mumbled, his eyes on the table. "I'm asking her if she'd like to be my valentine tomorrow. It'll be 14 Feb after all."
"That's my boy." His grandpa smiled and reached to ruffle his hair. "You're walking the romantic path, just like me."
"Enough chit-chat. Blow the candles. We're starving." Suzune grumbled in.
They all laughed. Even though they were the only family Shin had left, it felt like enough. Just the three of them with their cheap chocolate cake, and some laughter—that was all he needed.
His grandpa leaned in to blow out the candles… but the lights flickered.
He paused, glancing up. "Is the power really going out on my birthday? What timing."
"It's probably the storm," Suzune replied.
"Duh. Come rain or thunder, I'm eating my cake!" he said with a laugh, blowing out the candles and starting to cut the cake, dished it to the others. But before they could eat it—
Ding.
Shin heard a sound come out of nowhere. "The hell was that?" He looked around.
"What? I didn't hear anything," His grandpa shrugged.
Then suddenly, a blue screen appeared in front of him, words typing themselves out like a machine.
[System Initialization Complete.]
[Welcome, Players.]
[Global System Online]
He blinked, stunned, then reached out to touch it, but his hand passed right through.
"Alright, alright, you got me," He heard his grandpa say, and when he looked up, he saw both his grandparents with the same screens like the one he had in front of him.
The old man pointed at him, laughing. "Is this some kinda AR prank? Like one of those deep-fake hentai RPGs you're always talking about?"
"What?! I never—wait, this isn't me!" Shin said, standing up. "I swear, I didn't do anything!"
Then, new lines appeared on their screens:
[Reformatting World Settings...]
[Real-World Currency Disabled.]
[Physical Laws Adjusting to Game Protocols.]
[Initiating Player Culling Sequence...]
[All Players Age 60 and Above Will Now Be Eliminated]
"What the fuck is this?" Shin muttered.
His grandpa looked at him, dead serious. "Boy… what kind of joke is this?"
"I—I don't know!" He panicked. "I told you, it's not—"
ARRRGHHHHH!!!!
Suzune let out a scream, pointing at the old man. When Shin turned to see where she was pointing at, he saw the old man's legs fading and dissolving like pixels.
"What's—" the old man's voice trembled as his hands vanished too. Within seconds, he was completely gone.
Just like that.
One moment he was laughing. The next… he was gone.
Suzune dropped to the floor, tapping the chair where the old man had been sitting as if she was trying to see if he had really disappeared.
When reality sank in, she began crying, tears streaming down her face.
Shin couldn't comprehend what had just happened. He ran a hand through his hair, hoping this was a dream. His breath ragged as he went over to slam his head against the wall.
But when he felt pain, that's when he realized this wasn't a dream.
This was real.
His heart thundered in his chest as a new message appeared on the screen:
[Players aged 60 and above successfully eliminated]
[1.1 Billion Players Eliminated]
[Analyzing Player Data...]
Name: Shin Takamura
Age: 20
Sex: Male
Level: 1
Title: Newborn Player
System Type: Filthbound
Unique Skill: Lewd Reap
Coins: 0
EXP: 0
Stat Points: 0
MP: 50
[Explanation = Your skill "Lewd Reap" allows you to steal one skill from other Players by getting intimate with them. Only a single skill can be stolen from one person. Target loses stolen skills permanently.]
He blinked, his stomach turning. What the hell was happening?
[Congratulations Player Shin]
[In this new Filthy world, you're the Filthbound]
[Players are now able to earn Coins by killing other Players.]
[Coins can be exchanged for food, shelter, weapons… and more.]
His knees went weak as he dropped to the floor.
Congratulations? Really? His grandfather had just died in front of him, and all this mysterious screen had to say was congratulations?
Then the message that twisted human nature appeared. The one that flipped the world upside down.
[Second Elimination Round in 14 days]
[All Level One Players Will Be Eliminated by the end of this period]
[Kill the others or complete given quests to level up]
[Players who fail to level up will die!]
And just like that...
The world began to rot.
TBC