The commotion echoed past the camp walls, loud enough to draw attention—and not the good kind.
Nearby zombies, slow and alert to noise, began stumbling forward.
Before panic could spread, silent arrows shoot out from the watchtower.
The walkers dropped instantly. No fuss.
Inside the camp, the fight still raged. Blood smeared across dirt and skin.
Luck stayed still, watching closely.
[New Mission: CAUSE SHANE’S DEATH]
[Bonus points if you mentally torment him]
[Conditions: Must be completed before sunrise. Must appear as an act of justice or mercy. Direct kill or indirect result accepted.]
Luck’s eyes narrowed.
It seemed the system was more twisted than he thought. Giving him a mission like that... it felt straight out of How to Train a Villain.
’Is this some kind of test? Or does the system want to corrupt me?’
Logically, a mission was too easy for the kind of reward he got.
That could only mean one thing— the system didn’t care about difficulty. It saw value in forcing him to make choices .
Decisions that blurred the line. That pushed him closer to depravity.
’I’ll humor it for now,’ If it’s just killing
He grabbed two wooden poles and hurled them across the field.
’Let’s settle this once and for all. You two fight—whoever wins, decides what happens next.’
Both men stood, and the fight turned brutal right away.
At the start, both fighters moved with equal skill and determination.
The crowd held their breath as the two circled each other, neither willing to give an inch.
For a while, it looked like Shane might take the win.
His stance was strong, and his focus unshaken.
Every time Rick lunged forward, Shane parried expertly, pushing him back.
But everything changed in the final clash.
As they locked eyes one last time, Shane thrust his pole forward with all his strength.
The wood cracked sharply—then snapped in two. Silence fell over the crowd as he stumbled, momentarily thrown off balance.
Rick didn’t hesitate. He saw his chance and struck quickly, exploiting the break in the defense.
Shane sat there, breathing hard, the broken pole lying useless beside him.
"It’s your call, Rick. What happens now?" Luck asked.
"Kick him out. Right now. I don’t want him anywhere near this place."
Shane struggled to his feet and turned to Luck, desperate.
"Let me stay until morning," he pleaded. "If I go out there now, I’ll die."
Rick hesitated for a few seconds.
But before he could take back his words, Luck grabbed Shane by the arm.
"W–What are you doing?!" Shane gasped, stumbling to keep up.
"What your best friend asked—kicking you out. Right now."
Luck smirked and whispered . "And you’re even dumber than I thought. You forgot it’s already morning. So even if he said yes... you would still be screwed."
"Wait," Rick stepped in, voice low but firm. "Please... just let him stay until sunrise."
"Can’t do that. You gave the order. And I’m a man who keeps his word."
"I was just angry," Rick replied. "I didn’t mean—"
Luck finally faced him, shaking his head.
"That right there? That’s why your wife cheated on you. Because you’re too damn easy to sway. Grow a spine, Rick. Stand by your decision."
Rick froze, shame and anger battling across his face.
In the end, Rick could only grit his teeth and turn away, grabbing Lor and his son as he headed back to camp.
The others stayed quiet.
Even Shane’s own friends kept their heads down, too afraid to speak.
No one wanted to be the next one kicked out for saying the wrong thing.
Shane seeing a gap tried to scape, but just one grip from Luck made him cry in pan.
"Wow. You really think you can outrun someone who cuts through waves of zombies like an overpowered main character?"
"Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?" Shane cried.
Luck sighed deeply. It was all the system’s fault, but now he had to be the bad guy and deliver the bad news.
"Man, don’t make this harder than it is. Honestly, I don’t care about that cheating stuff. I even gave you a chance, but you lost. So, this is all on you."
"Boss, listen—I think Rick cheated. My pole just snapped out of nowhere. That’s why I lost."
Luck ignored him and dragged him toward the watch tower.
If he was being honest, he was disappointed with Rick’s performance.
He expected him to strength, especially after learning his wife got screwed by his best friend.
"Why did you bring me here?" Shane was confused.
"Opening the gate makes too much noise," he added, tightening his grip. "So I’ll just make you climb down through a rope."
"You can’t be serious..."
Luck drew his sword, "Don’t make me say it twice," he warned. "I gave you a chance. You lost. Fair and square. Now get out."
"I’ll die out there,"
Luck gave a slight grin.
"Maybe. You’ve got a fifty-fifty shot out there."He raised the blade a little higher.
"But if you keep pushing it, I’ll make sure you don’t even get that chance."
Looking around, Shane spotted zombies across the street. There weren’t many, but he was not really in the condition to fight.
"Don’t waste my time. I still need to sleep with my girlfriend. Unlike you, I like my women fresh and untouched."
Shane nearly lost it. It was clear Luck did not like him.
"Tsk." Luck clicked his tongue, grabbed Shane by the shoulder, and the two of them leapt onto the wall—Luck made sure they landed safely.
"I’ll stay with you until you’re out of the perimeter so be quite."
Both walked forward. Whenever zombies came near, Luck took them down.
When they reached the boundary, Luck stopped.
"By the way, I forgot to tell you—if it was a little consolation, I think Lor loves you."
"W-What do you mean?" Shane’s eyes widened.
Luck stopped and scratched his nose, looking very guilty.
"When I told Lor to frame you so I could kick you out, she begged me not to. Said she didn’t want it to happen. I told her I’d expose your relationship if she didn’t go along with the plan, so she was basically forced to betray you."
Shane’s face went pale. "You... you set me up?"
Luck nodded slowly. "Yeah, the one and only."
"I wouldn’t shout if I were you. If those zombies come running, you’re dead meat... literally."
Without waiting for a reply, Luck turned around and walked away, leaving Shane standing in the cold.
It didn’t take long for the zombies to appear.
Shane bolted toward the wall, heart pounding, but the moment he caught sight of Luck still nearby, he changed direction without thinking.
He couldn’t bear to run toward the same man who just ruined everything.
In his mind, he would survive. He would come back stronger and take his revenge—that was the plan.
But just as he picked up speed, a small stone cut through the air and struck his leg.
His body collapsed, scraping hard against the pavement.
Pain shot up instantly, but what hurt more was the sinking realization.
The way the stone hit him was the same as what happened during his fight with Rick.
Luck had rigged the game from the start.
Every move, every outcome—it would always lead to his death.
"BASTARD!" Shane roared, his voice filled with rage.
Zombies piled onto him, tearing and clawing as he thrashed beneath them.
When they were done , the horde turned toward Luck.
Calmly, he rolled his shoulder and cut them down one by one, his movements quick and effortless.
Within seconds, the street was silent again—only torn limbs and blood left behind.
[Bonus Mission Completed]
’I hope the reward’s worth it after all that drama,’ Luck muttered, flicking blood off his blade before turning back toward the compound.
He headed straight to his office to claim the reward.
In total, there were five golden boxes waiting for him. But one of them stood out—it had a different pattern, simpler and less flashy than the rest.
Opening them all at once revealed five different-looking items, each unique in design.
But one stood out immediately—a black ring.
[Ring of Malice (Stage: O ) : A ring that stores negative emotions to evolve itself. Each stage unlocks a new ability, each one stronger than the last. The ring has 10 stages in total.]
’Oh... so this is the reason behind that odd mission,’
It all made sense now.
For now, he just wore it. It had been prepared by his mysterious grandfather so it was bound to be powerful.
’What is this?’ he muttered, feeling a strange sensation pulse through his ring finger.
The black stone—another one of the rewards—suddenly felt like it was calling to him.
Not with sound, but with pressure, like it wanted to be held.
He reached out and grabbed it.
The moment his fingers closed around it, a new notification flashed before his eyes.
[Stored Malice Ball: A one-of-a-kind item created by a handsome, godlike figure who mastered the art of extracting negative emotions from everything around him.]
He rolled his eyes. "That’s my grandpa, alright."
The over-the-top description gave it away instantly. No one else would dare write something that ridiculous with a straight face.
The stone shattered in his hand.
A sudden burst of negative emotions surged out, flooding straight into the ring.
’I wonder what skill I’ll get,’ he chuckled to himself, unable to hide the excitement building in his chest.