Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

17:13, 14 July, 20XY.

Clock Tower, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Alex, sitting atop a huge cluster of debris from a large building, stared up in the peach-colored sky at one particular spot where the brightest star used to shine, a frown marring his face.

The AI, who knew the reason why Alex was frowning, tried to console him, but Alex just shook his head.

'I know that.'

He knew it was not his fault that this certain god was kicked out of the game. He was never the one who asked for her help; she did so herself.

What bothered him now was the fact that he was indebted to her, and being indebted to a god was not something Alex wanted to be in the apocalypse--especially when the said god was kicked out of the game just because of her attempt to help him.

Being kicked out of a game must be a very big thing since it was the only punishment a god gets, and they seemed scared of being kicked out.

But soon, he waved it off.

He couldn't do anything to the gods, and they were not someone he wanted to interact with, not until he was strong enough to be able to stand against them, so he decided to let it go.

'Whatever happens, happens.'

For the umpteenth time after the apocalypse, Alex thought the same thing.

He was never this relaxed or unbothered by anything, but gods and the system were things he couldn't control, so just letting things flow was the best thing he could think of.

All he could do was do his best and survive, just like any other human would.

His gaze then turned to look at the blinking exclamation mark on his status screen.

[Title: Undead Slasher, The First Ones.]

There, he saw a new title that he had unknowingly gained during his fight with the smilodon.

The moment he killed the level 6 smilodon, he received four notifications, which he ignored at that time.

[Congratulations on defeating a beast impossible for you to defeat.]

[Your achievement is being recorded.]

[You are being granted a suitable title.]

[Congratulations on gaining a new title, 'The First Ones'.]

However, when he finally got some time to focus on it--focus on the title he had received--he was surprised, to say the least.

[>The First Ones (Heroic): As one of the first beings to ever dare to fight against a being in a level 10 zone and win, even though you are under level 5, you have achieved an impossible feat.

- The First Boost - Whenever you're fighting with a beast with 3 or more stats higher than yours, you will gain a short-term boost, depending on your mana and the disparity between the powers.

- The Last Boost - If you are completely out of mana when fighting a beast with 3 or more stats higher than yours, you will automatically recover 5% of your mana, if and only if you win the fight.

<]

A Boost that only worked on beasts with higher levels than him, but that alone was broken as it increased his stats no matter what situation he was in.

He hadn't tried it yet as he didn't want to risk getting himself killed; the difference between level 5 and level 6 was already a bit too much, much less the higher levels, which he didn't even want to face right now.

There was one thing he would've wanted to be in this title: Help dealing with humans as well.

These skills didn't help when fighting against a human with stats higher than yours, after all.

Speaking of other humans...

Alex's eyes turned to look down at the swarm of humans in the area.

It was almost time for the first main scenario, an event that had been the source of every human's worry, no matter which country they belonged to.

The number of humans in this area was...

It was a number as high as that, and one must know that this was just an 8000 square meter area, including the debris.

Yes, people were standing on the debris as well, but one could tell how crowded it looked right now.

Alex, however, was thinking about something else.

7000 people in 50 green zones make the total number of humans participating in the scenario reach up to 350,000.

But were there only that many people left alive from the 10 million people of Uttarakhand?

No way, right?

Does that mean the remaining people would stay out of the scenario?

Will the system let it be?

[Ahh! Finally, it's time!]

But just as Alex was busy with his thoughts, a voice echoed through the head of every human present in the area, causing the area to go still, devoid of any noise.

*Fwoooo*

The wind blew, only elevating the tension in the air.

Every person here was much too familiar with the voice they heard; it was the reason for whatever they were going through.

Many people had their eyes quiver in trepidation, some fidgeted in their spots, some had their bodies tensed, while some just hoped that things wouldn't be that hard for whatever was coming for them.

Alex, on the other hand, squinted his eyes, a cautious and solemn gleam passing through his eyes.

*Woosh*

[Look at you all, standing there like obedient little mutts. Realized your place, have you?]

The human then saw a bright flash brightening the whole area, followed by a voice filled with elation and malice, causing the humans' heads to hesitantly turn to look at the center of the bright flash.

As soon as the flash subsided, they could see the owner of that irritating yet ethereal voice.

It was the game system, floating up in the air with a sneer of disdain; it was as if the humans were not even bugs in her eyes.

[Well, since you've all decided to play nice and stay quiet like good little pets, let's get this first scenario over with, shall we?]

Soon, however, the system did a dramatic shrug, her eyes gleaming with glee.

She was intentionally trying to taunt the humans, wanting to make them angry so that one of them would shout at her or try attacking her, but to her disappointment, none of that happened.

So, he just went on with what she was supposed to do.

[Oh? Still alive, are we?]

But just then, her gaze caught sight of Alex, scrutinizing him before her eyes lit up with a mocking light.

To her eyes, Alex's condition was as clear as it could be.

She could see the bloody marks on Alex's body, clearly not yet healed, making him vulnerable, as she gazed harder at him.

[Aha, I see you nearly got yourself killed. Keep it up, and it won't be long before I'm rid of you for good.]

The system chuckled, revealing the vulnerability of Alex in front of so many people without even blinking her eyes, causing Alex to frown, but that was all.

[What? That's all? Just a frown?]

The system, however, frowned in disbelief.

{Humans are supposed to get cocky when they gain a little power, aren't they?}

She was baffled by the lack of response from Alex, especially when she revealed his weakness in front of this many people.

Yeah, not all of them got the meaning behind her words, but many did.

But in the end, she just sighed.

Her gaze stayed on Alex for a while before she snapped her finger with an irritated yet dismissive huff, causing a new, illusionary blue panel to materialize in front of them.