Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

7:45, 09 August 20XY.

Palam Colony, Delhi, India.

"I think it's time, Alex..."

Ridha, sitting on the cracked floor of a building's terrace, looking down at the city filled with humans, muttered, turning her head to the back.

"I know," replied Alex, sitting at another corner of the building's terrace, doing the same thing.

"Well, the system said that it was going to be a turning point, so let's see what happens..." another voice added, followed by a beastly growl, "Grrr..."

They were Shera and Garvit, sitting at another corner, staring down at the people gathered below.

"It had been almost 14 days since then..." spoke another male voice, sounding a bit lower in tone, as if whispering to himself. It was Karan, and he was sitting on the last remaining side of the building, staring at the makeshift houses made by people.

Humans were adapting very fast; they had made houses for themselves, using their power to make use of the already existing things. Some used large pieces of debris to make their houses, some used wood and other stuff, and others used their abilities to make themselves houses.

People were now settling in, making this apocalypse more comfortable than before, finding people they could live their lives with.

The system had already said that the red zones were now fixed; there wouldn't be any more red zones. Only once that was here right now would grow stronger, if anything. But that was fine. At least the humans now knew that they could settle down at one spot without having to fear a red zone sprouting right beside them.

This change made things easier for humans, but for some reason, as they recalled the words from the system—the words she spoke before she vanished—they couldn't help but feel concerned about what was going to happen.

[This was the first phase of your game; after this scenario would be the real test for you people. In those scenarios, you will realize that the world you see right now is way smaller than you could imagine.

Hah... what am I even doing, telling you guys these things? They aren't going to enter your brains anyway.]

Those were the words spoken by the system, and although none of them knew what the system was trying to say, they knew that something big would happen, so in the past 14 days, the humans did whatever they could to make the best use of that time.

They fought and killed, they rested a lot, healing themselves, and they helped their loved ones grow stronger.

After seeing what they could do when they worked together during the third scenario, the humans—no matter what race, caste, or nationality—started helping each other.

Yeah, not everyone turned a new leaf. There were still many people who loved violence as if it were their long-lost lover, but no one could actually make all of the humans unite.

No matter what, there will be those who would want to go against the majority.

People had formed groups, calling themselves by different names, and the already exciting groups had grown larger. Working in a group was profitable in the long run; Alex realized that as well, but he still didn't change his ways.

If people in the group could continuously fight, gathering more coins, then he could just work harder and do the same thing alone, amassing more points without having a need to divide it.

By now, the average level of humans has been raised to level 40, and some have already reached the peak of what they could achieve after clearing the third scenario, which was level 70. Those few people are the ones making groups, thinking that just by having stats they are strong enough.

In this world, no matter how much work you did, you wouldn't be able to defeat others until you had something special, and that special thing was ability and skills. The ones with stronger abilities and skills are the ones who rule.

The bounty ranking was still there, and Alex was still at the top; by now, he was the first ranker of India, as the bounty ranking and the world chat all had the lowest sort set at India.

It seemed that whatever was going to happen next—whatever scenario was going to take place—it would be conducted with India as a whole, unlike the previous scenarios where they were divided into zones.

But that much was already clear when the system sent a message all over India for 10 people to volunteer to be the first ones to take part in the next scenario.

That had happened just some days ago, but when it did, no one actually wanted to be the first one to go, especially after they recalled the last words of the system. It must be dangerous—was the only thought in their heads.

Even more so when they recalled that the system had canceled the sub-scenario that was supposed to be given to them because it wanted them to be prepared for the next scenario.

The first one to take the offer, however, somehow turned out to be Karina. She didn't say anything, nor did she talk with anyone about it—she just put up her name. There were no names before her, so she didn't have to do much, and her name was accepted pretty quickly.

Her actions, however, confused everyone else, making them wonder why she would do it. Some questioned her about it, only to receive a simple answer: Because no one was doing it.

Alex, however, knew pretty well that it was probably because of her business-minded ability pointing her to do it that she did it, and if that was not enough, her name on the list had a golden-colored crown with one written over it, making it look grand.

That made Alex step up, making his name appear just below Karina's with a silver badge molded in number 2, making him realize that his guess was right, and Ridha, who saw Alex stepping up, didn't even think twice before she gave her name as well. She just wanted to be next to Alex.

Soon, people noticed the bronze badge next to Ridha's name, and realization dawned on them.

Many tried to get their name up there, but unfortunately, the 10 places were filled in just a microsecond, not giving anyone a chance to even do anything.

Now, there were 10 people who were going to be the first ones to go for the scenario, and four of them were sitting on top of this building.

Yes, Garvit and Karan were also among the 10 participants all over India who were going to take part in the fourth scenario. The other people whom Alex knew, Ragha, Saurav, and others, were not lucky enough to be able to get their names up in time. There were people smarter than them in India who knew an opportunity when they saw an opportunity.

"What are you guys doing here?"

It was then that Alex asked this question. It was directed at Garvit, Shera, and Karan.

"Wha... Why are you acting so distant to me, brother?! Can't a brother come to sit with his brother??" Exclaimed Garvit with his palm clutching his heart and a pained expression on his face.

He was the first to reply to Alex's question, followed by Shera, "Grrr!"

The tiger lay flat on his back, trying to imitate the expression on Garvit's face, making Alex glance at them for a second before he shook his head with a sigh.

He was not new to their antics, so he let them be as they weren't really doing anything annoying for now. The system had asked them to gather here, so just like other top 10 rankers, they had come here as well.

"I just came here because the view up here was great."

Karan, a bit curious about Alex and Garvit's relation, answered Alex's question, but as he saw Alex's cold golden eyes still focused on his, he just let out a long sigh and added, "...and I wanted to tell you that we all, the ones who are participating in the next scenario, need to work together to make the best result out of it."

Karan's eyes, after saying that, remained fixed on Alex, some hope in his eyes. He hoped that, just like last time, Alex would agree to work together again. But to his bad luck, Alex just turned his head away, not saying anything.

That could mean yes, but when it came to Alex, having less expectation was better.

Karan's eyes then turned toward Ridha, the only girl who had made Alex not kill her even after she tagged along with him almost every second of the day.

No one knew who she was and what she did, but they knew that whatever she did made Alex immune to herself. It was as if her being next to him didn't really matter to Alex.

How could they have known that Ridha, after 14 days of continuously having Alex tag along with her for hours, had somehow earned some place in Alex's mind?

Unknown to all of them, even Ridha herself, Alex had tested her a lot of times, checking what she wanted, and no matter what he did, all he got was a single answer: She wanted to stay next to him.

Alex could already guess what was happening and why she wanted it, but since she wasn't being a nuisance for now, nor was she baggage, he let her be. She could be used for some things later on.

["Alex, I need to tell you something..."]

It was then that Alex, who was staring down at the people below, heard the voice of Certain God, sounding way different than she usually does, her voice laced with uncertainty.

He didn't even have to question what it was as she went on, telling him what was happening, and Alex, who heard her words, had his eyes widened a bit before a grim look covered his face.

But he didn't have the luxury called time, so before he could even think about it deeply, the system's voice, which they had been waiting for a long time, echoed in all humans' heads, and a portal appeared in the center of the area.

[All of you who had chosen to take the first 10 spots, enter the portal.]

That was all the system said, and the humans, after exchanging a glance, moved toward the portal.

The ten humans, including Alex, entered the portal without much wait, and just as they did, the portal closed, and a new system's announcement rang.

[The remaining would now be transferred to the next scenario randomly; please brace yourself.]

The system's voice, again sounding mechanical, unlike her snarky voice, spoke again, making the humans' eyes widen, but before they could even do something, they found themselves vanishing from their spots.

They were now going to start a new journey—a journey that might be harder for some and easier for some, but everyone knew that things were going to change.