"Ouchhhh" Ace growled, his body lying on the transparent and seamlessly shifting ground. As he opened his eyes to see where he was, his mouth dropped. He was immediately taken aback by what he was seeing.
"Wha?"
He immediately pulled himself up as he gazed at the wonder of machinery around him. Every direction he looked at was shifting transparent and mirror-like cubes.
"Is this the assessment that the System was talking about?"
As if on cue, the System UI appeared before him once more.
[Ding]
>System trial Initiating Level 1
[Instructions]
>The player must finish the test in the given time to survive!
[Penalty]
>Death!!!!
Ace didn't know what to feel. He stood there, Frozen. Staring at the screen as he curved his lips upwards. Something about the fact that he was going to die right after getting reincarnated didn't sound pleasant to him.
"Fuck you mean that the Penalty is Death!! I just got Here! I mean, it's not like life is just going to throw me another chance, RIGHT?!."
Suddenly, Ace noticed something was off; looking around, he was no longer surrounded by shifting transparent cubes. No.
He was in the middle of a huge desert!!
The dry air slapping against his skin, throwing dust all over his eyes, Ace didn't know what to feel anymore. He had been through so much that he actually forgot what feelings stood for in the first place.
After all, no matter how many times he yelled or cursed at destiny, No subject would come to change. So, Why even bother?
Just as he thought things couldn't possibly get worse than they already were, fate slapped him back to reality.
All of a sudden, the ground started to vibrate. The sand below started to swirl around as it got sucked down by some kind of vortex.
"Now what?….." Ace roared, looking back. However, this was a decision he had wished he never made. Behind him, stood a large, mountain-tall, Worm? and it didn't seem happy.
As its full body came out of the sand below, it let out a huge and sickening roar at Ace, leaving him with green goo all over his clothes and face. Ace's heart sank as his body was literally the size of an ant compared to the shadow of the worm.
With no time to think, Ace took off, flying like a plain above the sandy ground. The giant horrific worm was not about to let its lunch escape so it lounged back to the hole it came from, slithering right behind him.
"Oh Come on, What's with me and supernaturally large monsters today? I'm not even that tasty!" Ace raged as he raced on ahead.
[Ding]
The system panel appeared before him again, this time with even more horrifying news.
[Mission]
>Defeat 100 worms within the required time frame to pass level 1 of the system assessment.
[Time frame]
>100 seconds/ 1 minute and 40 seconds.
Ace's eyes went white, no longer could he comprehend what he was being asked of. His mouth filled with white foam just from the shock.
"One hundred!!" his voice dropped as his face darkened.
"One hundred of those things!!, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" he screamed.
"How am I supposed to do that if I can't even kill one!" he yelled looking back at the worm, still chasing.
[Hint]
>The Player should use his Martial Art to combat the worms, not RUN AWAY!!
Ace's pressure rose to an all-time high; after all, he couldn't forget he was inhabiting the body of a useless and good-for-nothing Bastard, Skysher.
At the moment, the highest martial art Skysher could perform wasn't even able to cut an orange, let alone combat a 20-foot-tall Worm. So the only option he currently had left, was nothing but to not look back and keep running. No matter what.
[System Reminder]
>If the player does not pass the assessment, he will be penalized.
Seeing the warning on the screen, Ace was once more reminded of the consequences he had to face by not passing the system trial. Right now, Ace had 2 options In front of him. That was, DIE OR DIE! Either way, his fate was sealed.
However, instead of considering his options and formulating a possible solution to his survival, Ace's mind decided to wander elsewhere.
"Hmmm," He said, looking back at the shifting sand, 'How come only 1 worm has been chasing me this whole time?!' he thought. As if ever considering it would help him.
Ace asked and his luck answered. Out of nowhere, 2 other spots alongside the worm started to bend and shift. It was 2 other worms who had joined the hunt and were as hungry as the first one.
Looking back, now Ace had 3 hungry predators after him, instead of one. And by the look of things they weren't getting any slower either, while Ace was already running out of breath.
"Gahhhh, Man. Why did I ever ask?" he wailed, gasping for air. His legs, cramped by the overwork from the running. It was obvious, he was running out of time.
Ace started to look back, back to the moment he had to run like his life depended on it. The moment it all began, the suffering, and cruelty. The moment he pushed Kaiser out of the way. His last moments on earth. When the truck hit him.
Then came the darkness and the loneliness, and getting swallowed by a huge dark whale. The second trial he had to face, and the second time he lost his life.
After that, something he could only describe as his worst nightmare, Reincarnating as the person he hated the most in all of fiction, Skysher. Getting hit with the realization that he was absolute garbage and his future spelled nothing but doom for him.
And then finally, The system assessment test he was facing. Getting chased by huge ass worms who only wanted to tear him apart.
With his only escape route being to either die in a painfully and excruciating way. Getting digested In the stomach of a filthy creature. Or die from whatever the system had in store for him.
He felt hopeless, he felt depressed, he felt guilt. But most of all, he felt Anger. Pure and untapped madness, deep down inside, he had compressed it for too long and now was time to let it all out.
True, destiny had fucked him up, However, Ace had enough. He faced his fair share of pain and loss. What more did he have that he could sacrifice, what more could he give? No longer was he going stand back and watch from the sidelines, it was time he took control of his own fate. His own destiny.
Ace had had Enough. With one flick of his hand, he summoned a stiff and old, silver blade. Frustration took him over. No longer would he stand for the suffering, No longer would he stand for the humiliation.
Holding his sword tightly gripped in both hands, Ace turned back and stopped. In an instant, all three worms flew out of the sand as they let out a huge, deafening growl.
"MARTIAL ART!!" Ace snapped, his eyes filled with anger. His voice cracked and low. As he let out all of the Martial Energy his body could conjure up.
Out of nowhere, three invincible slashes of pure destruction lashed out straight forward. Cutting all that stood in their way. The winds shifted and the sand settled.
Within a flash of a second, flesh and blood started raining. The three huge worms no more, instead a huge pool of green goo.
Ace stood there, looking at the result of his destruction. Surprised by his power, a wide smile spread across his face. But it was too late. Behind him, another worm had sneaked up without Ace noticing.
It was just a matter of seconds before the worm was above Ace, towering behind him, and descended on him. While he did all he could, he never got close to defeating the enemy behind all of his misery.
[Ding]
>System assessment FAILED!
> The chosen one is a worthless commoner!
>Initiating reboot In;
3
2
1
Ace opened his eyes, air swiftly sliding against his body. He was falling! and right through his house!
"Ahhhhh," he screamed as he fell through the roof, leaving a huge gap in the ceiling. However he landed safely, his fall broken by the food Skyra had left him.
A huge thud spread across his room; his face landed atop the cold and mushy food, his hands on the two halved parts of the broken table that lay beside him, and his legs straight on the ground.
With a bit of strength still left on him and a lot of support from the broken table, he stood up. Wiping the food off of his face, he couldn't believe he was alive. Better yet in one piece after falling a whole roof!
A huge sigh came off of him as a bright smile painted his face. He had forgotten all about the previous trials he had faced, and all he wanted was to remain in this peaceful and calm state.
[Ding]
The happiness and relief on Ace's face immediately faded. His eyes slowly turned to his right, waiting for the deadly message that awaited him.
[System Alert]
> The chosen one has failed the System Assessment.
>System analysis loading.
"Damn right, I failed; how was I supposed to defeat 100 worms?! Better yet, How am I still alive?" the question confused the hell out of Ace, but the system refused to give an explanation.
[System analysis]
>Monsters killed; 3/100
>Time spent; 101/100 seconds
>In short, the system host is basically the weakest in the whole novel!
The system mocked Ace for what he was, but he, too, agreed with it. The truth was, he was, without a doubt, the weakest Artisan that existed in history and the future. Just as he was to continue talking, he suddenly caught eye of an opportunity.
[System Alert]
>Villainous System has been Activated. Do you [Skysher] accept to be the host of the system?
[Yes] [No]
Upon looking at the word villain, Ace recalled something. A claim that he had made a while he still liked himself. Kaiser and he were quarreling about villains, and Ace, being cocky, said.
"If I ever reincarnated in another world, I'd be the ultimate villain!"
But looking at his situation now, there was no way he could make that true right? Or maybe there still lay a way. A way to Make Skysher an actual villain instead of a sidekick. A path to actually make himself a villain instead of admiring them.
Ace smiled, right then and there, he had the power to break his tragedy. A route that could actually allow him to break his destiny! A way that he could get back at the world that stood against him.
"If the world wants a villain, then a villain it shall get!"
He smirked, gazing at the system panel. The choice was simple, the tool to becoming what he wanted was In front of him, and all he had to do was EMBRACE IT.