Chapter 78: A Will That Rivals The World?

[Option 1: Kill the Tier 2 Vicious Beast.]

[Reward: Something Random Will Be Given to You (Legendary)]

[Option 2: Jump Into The Chasm Immediately and Take Revenge On The Beast Once You Get Back On The Surface.]

[Reward: Supernatural Meal Voucher (Legendary)]

’...What?’

Nero stared at the choices in disbelief.

’Tier 2 Vicious Beast? Where?’

He immediately looked around, but there wasn’t a single beast in sight.

And what was with the second option?

’Jump into the chasm? Are you trying to kill me?!’

Nero looked down into the enormous hole before him.

A comet had fallen here several hundred years ago, leaving behind this massive chasm. According to what he had learned, strange radiation beneath it interfered with both detection and modern technology.

Researchers had spent years attempting to explore it before eventually giving up.

Even now, nobody knew exactly what lay at the bottom.

’And you want me to jump into that?’

Nero was beginning to wonder whether the System had finally gone insane.

He had come here expecting some extraordinary training location, not a choice between fighting a Tier 2 Beast and jumping to his death!

Beside, where even was the Tier 2 Beast? He was now starting to doubt whether his system was malfunctioning.

"System, are you sure this is the right place?"

Unfortunately, there was no response.

Just then, Nero heard something moving behind him.

CRACK!

A tree branch snapped.

He immediately turned around, only to freeze when he saw an enormous spider emerging from the forest.

Its body was almost as large as a car, with eight long legs ending in sharp hooks. A faint red haze surrounded its dark shell.

’It really is a Vicious Beast!’

Nero instantly recognized the demonic corruption surrounding it.

The system was right!

There were two types of beasts in this world, Spirit beast and Vicious Beast.

Unlike Spirit Beasts, which retained their intelligence after adapting to Mana and could even form Soul Contracts with Humans who call themselves Beast Tamers, Vicious Beasts were those batch that had lost their minds during mutation.

They were driven entirely by their instincts and couldn’t be reasoned with and they populated far more faster than an intelligent Spirit Beast.

And judging by the System’s options, this particular beast was Tier 2!

’I’m so dead.’

Nero knew he had become much stronger recently, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think he could defeat a Tier 2 Beast.

His current Power Index was barely above 2.0!

Even with his High-Human body and Cellular Reservoir, he had no confidence in surviving such a fight.

As he was musing, the finally spider noticed him.

Its enormous body turned toward Nero, and a horrible screech escaped its mouth.

SCREEEEE!

"..."

Nero looked at the spider.

Then he looked at the chasm.

’So it’s either getting eaten by a giant spider or jumping into a bottomless hole?’

What kind of choices were these?!

However, something suddenly occurred to him.

The System had specifically led him here for training.

If jumping into the chasm was part of the route, perhaps there was something below that would allow him to survive.

’There’s no way it brought me here just to kill me, right?’

As he thought that, the spider began approaching, its hooked legs digging into the ground.

Nero swallowed seeing this.

’Alright, System. I’m trusting you!’

There was no other choice. D-Rank began at a Power Index of 4.0, while Nero was barely above 2.0. The spider was also far too large for him to trap with anything nearby.

He immediately selected the second option.

[Option 2 Selected.]

Then, before he could change his mind, Nero turned around and jumped with his eyes closed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The ground vanished beneath his feet as he plunged into the darkness.

’SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!’

Nero had expected something to happen after jumping.

Perhaps the System would teleport him, or a mysterious force would catch him before he hit the bottom.

Unfortunately, nothing happened.

He just kept falling.

’WHERE’S THE SAFETY FEATURE?!’

As if answering his question, a notification appeared.

[First Objective Completed: Jump into the chasm.]

[Remaining Objective: Take revenge on the Tier 2 Vicious Beast after returning to the surface.]

[Reward Pending: Supernatural Meal Voucher (Legendary).]

"..."

Nero almost wanted to cry seeing this.

However, just as he was wondering whether Telekinesis could slow his fall, a strange glow appeared beneath him.

The light grew brighter, eventually forming a thick, glowing layer that stretched across the entire chasm.

’Is that the radiation?!’

Before Nero could react, he fell straight through it.

Something strange happened.

The surrounding cliff suddenly split into several pieces before his eyes.

One section appeared to move sideways, while another duplicated itself, as though someone had copied part of the world.

’What the hell?!’

Nero raised his hand instinctively, only to see three identical hands overlapping one another.

The sound of the wind disappeared and then broke into several distorted bursts.

Even his sense of falling began to fade.

For a moment, Nero couldn’t tell whether he was moving downward, upward, or standing completely still.

Then everything was swallowed by light.

Chirp! Chirp!

Just few moments later, sound of crickets reached Nero’s ears.

’...Huh?’

He slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was the Mana.

An enormous amount of Mana surrounded him, so dense that he could almost feel it pressing against his skin.

’Where am I?’

Nero pushed himself up, only to discover an old man standing a short distance away.

The stranger was watching him with a gentle smile.

"The world is a big place, isn’t it?"

Nero nodded without thinking.

His head felt strangely heavy, and he was having trouble focusing on the man’s face.

"The world is endless, but we are material beings. Our lives can end before we understand even a small part of it."

The old man slowly approached.

"Some spend their entire lives searching for its limits. They die believing they’ve come close when they haven’t even reached the threshold."

Nero wanted to ask where he was, but his vision was already beginning to blur.

The old man stopped directly before him.

"And yet, here you are."

"A being who possess a will that rivals a world."