How To Survive A Calamity

A sudden quest screen appeared before my face.

===

...

•[DING!]

•[New Quest Alert!]

•[Type:- Survival

»Name: Classless Messiah

»Description: Prevent Alexander Crossfield, the Hero from dying.

»Duration: ...

•Reward:

»Location of a fragment of the God-Slaying Spear, Goliath.

»+1 Instant Rank-up (Mortal Rank --> Eta Rank)

»???

•Penalty:

»Death, ???

....

————End of Quest————

===

Now what the fuck is this?

[Surpassing a bottleneck like yours isn't uncommon. And only the right level and amount of stimuli is required often.] Meta said.

I blinked my eyes in confusion at her words. The sudden appearance of the quest screen was distracting that i had almost forgotten what we were just talking about.

"What?"

[The reason you've neen unable to efficiently level up and breakthrough for the last few weeks, or even months, is because all the necessary energy keeps overflowing from your body. Your body, which is like a vessel, has become slacked after tireless, persistent and repeated tension, making it weak and unable to hold the necessary amount of energy and instead disperses it back into the world one way or another.] Meta explained.

"Wait. Don't you think I'd notice if i was loosing energy or something like that?" Meta's words didn't make that much sense to me.

In words much easier to understand, Meta was implying i had exhausted my body and core repeatedly with training and desperation, but i hadn't noticed.

It turned out all of my attempts and sincerest efforts in leveling up gor the last couple of weeks, and even months, had only gone to make my body, my vessel weary and overworked without me realising.

Because of that I've been walking around while spewing energy like a leaking pipe for sometime now.

Before i could finish sorting through my thoughts, Meta responded in her usual manner.

[The only reason you, or anyone else around has failed to notice is because of the Artifact you constantly have activated on your body.]

At Meta's words, i reflexively glanced at the bronze ring resting on my left finger.

The Ring of Solomon glinted in its usual dull, and unassuming radiance. It's fitted form, all of a sudden it felt colder and tighter against my skin.

[That ring has been the one devouring the overflowing energy from your body, more or less seeming to keep things as usual. At the same time, it's notorious Enchantment keeps you shrouded in a deceitful veil that makes it harder for anyone else around you to notice anything wrong.]

Fuck.

Talk about self-sabotaging.

All of this sudden revelation began to make me feel pressured and doubtful once again.

"How come you're only just telling me about this? If you knew my vessel had grown weary, why are you only telling me now? Isn't this against your incentive in having me grow stronger? You keeping such a secret away from me like this defeats the purpose. Hah! For fuck sake, whatever you fo defeats all purposes for anything at all." I sneered.

There was a short pause before Meta responded.

[Unfortunately, it has only been until of recently that I've noticed. In the end... Even i was deceived.] The unexpected words were grave and ominous.

But instinctively, i understood.

I glanced at my left arm again.

"The Ring of Solomon."

[As expected of a Cursed Artifact. It's ability can not be easily dismissed. Even with the Enchantment activated, eventually you would begin to feel changes for the worse in your body. Perhaps you may already have, but haven't noticed. Haven't you realised how much often lately you've been feeling sore despite your constitution? That is merely a small symptom of your developing condition.]

As soon as Meta pointed out that little detail, i began to think back on those various instants in the past.

"Wait, those were all symptoms of my worsening condition? Shit, i just thought i was pushing myself a little too hard lately."

Well, technically, i was. Pushing myself 'a little too hard lately', was what brought me here.

I inhaled.

"This is all sounding serious. What would have happened if I let this continue?"

Meta lingered before replying in a deadpan manner.

[Aside from being unable to advance further as an Awakened, you're body and mind, with your core will slowly collapse from the inside out. Your abilities and status will regress rather than develope or evolve, until finally, you'll become but a null shell and empty husk unable to do anything. Actually, your current state could evolve into much worse conditions that could afflict you for the rest of your life. You've been this close all this time to crippling your career as an Awakened, possibly for good.] Meta explained generously, sounding as charming as ever.

That's terrifying.

To think that all of my tireless effort in getting stronger was just me raising a blade to my neck all this time.

I gulped and glanced back at status screen still hovering before me. It still had tye strange and sudden quest generated boldly before my eyes.

For a split second, i decided to shove the thoughts of what could happen to me in the nearest future away, and focused partially on the quest.

"And what does all that have to do with this? This quest...are you sure the system isn't just being impulsive and sulky just because i shouted at it a little?"

The number of times i received a quest from the system could be counted easily on one hand.

It first all started and began with the very first quest i opened my eyes to in this world.

The quest warning about the Great Calamity. Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

The second time was the hidden quest I received but didn't know about in the Inheritance Dungeon of Laplace about a year ago.

And the third quest was the most recent one i had a few weeks back with Ceres.

The quests so far had been all random and out of the blue. And aside from the Great Calamity Quest, the others were more like side, or situational quest that seemed like the system, Meta was just throwing work at me

And now, the fourth quest, or third side quest i would receive so far was glowing right before my face.

But the quest this time around...

I swept a glance across the screen once again and ran my eyes through its content.

"Meta, if this is a sick joke, stop it."

The content of the quest wasn't something i couldn't take likely.

What did it mean by saying i had to prevent Alex from dying, all of a sudden?

'And the rewards...'

I shifted my gaze downwards.

===

•Reward:

»Location of a fragment of the God-Slaying Spear, Goliath.

»+1 Instant Rank-up (Mortal Rank --> Eta Rank)

»???

.

.

===

[It is exactly as it seems. One of the rewards for accomplishing the following Quest is an instant breakthrough to the next rank. You'll finally be able to surpass your bottleneck. What is there to think twice about?] Meta urged.

I pursed my lips and groaned slightly.

"Yes but..."

I started to feel uneasy all of a sudden.

"Are you sre about this? Is Alex really going to..."

[Not unless you get moving.] Meta interrupted my words before i could finish. She added — [There's no designated time or duration for the quest. Do you truly wish to waste more time going back and forth right now?]

Tsk, this hateful system.

"Fuck. Fine." I gritted my teeth and dismissed the screen.

At the same time, i shoved aside all other thoughts scattered around in my head and swiftly dashed for an exit in the ruined chamber without thinking, with a growing sense of urgency that slowly consumed me from the inside.

"Hamlet!" My lips parted open and i shouted. Soon a silver blob of smile leaped against my shoulder and snuck back into my clothes to hide.

'Dammit, dammit, dammit all. Again, i have absolutely no idea what's happening.'

What the hell was the system playing at by suddenly giving me this kind of quest? It sure as hell wasn't because i was whining about being unable to breakthrough, right?

'That would be too much!'

As much as assigned situational quests the system gave like this would definitely make me stronger, i didn't exactly want it at the risk of Alex's life or death.

I ran through an exit passage leading from the ruined portion of Dark Castle as my thoughts raced.

"Goddammit. Alex, that bastard better not get killed!"

But where the fuck am i supposed to begin?

Dark Castle was a literal labyrinth filled with traps and twisting corners.

I have absolutely no idea where the actual fuck Alex is, nor where even i was.

Before i was just running around hunting down every monster i came across without any thoughts of a direction.

"Shit, i still have to find the others, too!"

If there was one thing i knew or was very certain about, the system never bluffed.

Ever.

If something really was going to happen to Alex, at the same time i began having a dark premonition stir from inside me of a bigger picture.

Deandra and the others may also be in trouble.

But i had to set things into priorities.

I summoned the quest screen again and glanced at it as i ran.

"First, Alex."

I gritted my teeth.

No matter what else that might happen, i had to fulfill this quest.

At the same time...

Alex couldn't die, no matter what.

Certainly memories flashed through my mind. Scenes from the visions i had seen.

Ah, fuck everything.

I'll say this again.

"Alex, that bastard better not die off his own volition!"

The moment I thought that, the wall next to me exploded suddenly.

-Boom!

It shattered into debris and rocks, and a considerable force swept me away suddenly across the ground.

I grabbed my head defensively in a roll and regained my balance, scraping my knee slightly in the process.

'Monster? Ambush?'

Warily, i rose my head and prepared to re-summon my spear which I'd dismissed at some point before.

But as soon as the slick, slender shaft appeared wrapped in my hands i paused and gape forward.

"...uh?"

Right there, in the dust clouds that slowly dispersed, a familiar figure slowly emerged.

I blinked twice.

"Deandra?"

Speak of the fucking devil!