All Chapters of Becoming Apex: The System In My Mind : Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
10 chapters
Chapter 1: The Rift
I was used to being bullied, from the first day I stepped my feet into the grounds of Aegis academy. It was all my fault, I should have known better than to help out the school’s existing outcast. The rule was simple: help a reject, become one.In his defense, Lian Soren tried all he could to warn me. But what was I supposed to do with the boy bleeding out by my feet? I damned us both.Keeping us both alive became a battle. Lian was picked on for his unassuming looks that made for the perfect human to target, while I was targeted for the opposite, I stood out a little too much; with my silver hair and strange blue eyes, I was a magnet for trouble.The world was already screwed up anyway. With the constant opening of rifts all over nations, the world powers are now actively working with the hunters (humans with abilities, or more appropriately, Ae) to battle the monsters and nightmarish creatures that crawled out of said rifts.Aegis Academy is also a means to an end, a school where ki
Chapter 2: System Integration
For some reason, it never occurred to me that hell would be dark, but it was. Darkness was the first thing I saw as I woke up, that and the sickening smell of warm blood, accompanied by the occasional crunching and slurping noise that pervaded my brain.[System integration: 32%]An eerie robotic voice filled my head, and it startled me up to a sitting position as I grasped my head and groaned. I was filled with grief, but I could not even remember why. I heard that sickening crunch again, and squinted my eyes to see, and slowly I could make out the stooped body of the creature from earlier bent over something I could not make out.I needed to get out of this hell, I needed to think, I needed to find Lian and escape…..wait…..Lian?A sudden cold swept over me and as I crawled up slowly, still clutching my head. Lian, where was he? I needed to see him, I thought as I stood up.[Warning: Host body integrity: Critical]I looked down, I was badly injured indeed. But was it talking about me
Chapter 3: A Cold Haunting Blue
I have been stuck in isolation since I emerged from the tunnel Rift and fainted where I stood. The school authorities claimed I was under supervision. Apparently, exposure to a Rift for too long was life-threatening for a low-ranked hunter like me.I have been alone with only the apathetic voice in my head for company.I didn’t mourn.I don’t deserve to, not until I’ve done right by Lian.So I listened to the scientists and doctors speak. I watched them. It wasn’t until the third day that I realized I could see the different levels of their aura.The lowest I’d seen glowed a muted orange, a step above my yellow. Breaking out was impossible, so I just listened.They said a lot of things I didn’t care to answer. They informed me Lian had been sent home for burial. I could only nod. Maybe my lack of emotion startled them, because soon after, I was sent for another round of psychological evaluations.They wanted to know if the Rift had messed with my head. Maybe it had.Maybe it hadn’t.E
Chapter 4: The Cat-like Schemer
The timing was so wrong I would’ve sworn if I could.Ryo stood right in front of me, the last person I wanted to see, while a bomb threatened to detonate inside me. I had sworn I’d never be weak before him again, but reality has never cared about vows.“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing your face to me, Ryo,” I gritted my teeth, keeping my face blank even as my core twisted like a festering wound.But he only arched his brows as he looked at me. Disgust. Disregard. One thing was missing from Ryo’s gaze though, remorse.He should be wallowing in guilt and fucking remorse, he should be on his knees begging me for a quick death, not looking at me like the dirt beneath his shoe. And for this reason alone he was going to die. He just does not know it yet.I just had to survive first, that was all I had to do, then I would bring pestilence upon his head.“The loser survived a Rift and now thinks he’s something,” he laughed, and his minions echoed like the loyal parasites they were.I opened
Chapter 5: Cultivation Mode
The Preliminary Ascension is in three days, I thought as I stared at the mass email on my phone sent by the school. We always dreaded the ascension trials, because we were usually the stones for others to climb on.The Ascension includes a series of terrible and often bloody trials where each division from A to F are tested for retention. It is usually brutal because lower classes try to use the opportunity to ascend, while the higher divisions would do anything to stay in power.Removing the wet towel hanging around my neck, I sat down on my bed and activated the system. Its robotic voice is now a source of strange comfort to me.“What are the chances of me surviving the preliminaries in my present condition?” I asked as I got up to pull warm clothes over my body. Due to the level of ice in my veins, it has become necessary to stay as warm as I could at all times.[In your present state, defeat is a guarantee]I gave a wry scoff at the sordid truth. I guess it was best to stay away f
Chapter 6: Calculating Laser Frequencies
We stood before the gate.Six divisions lined up in perfect symmetry across the field, the morning air tense with anticipation and fear. The labyrinth loomed ahead; a colossal structure of steel and stone, veined with shifting lines of glowing runes that pulsed like a mechanical heartbeat. Magic and science fused in grotesque harmony.The head examiner’s voice echoed across the field through invisible speakers.“Each division will enter the labyrinth. You have one hour. Survival, cooperation, and intellect will be tested. Failure is fatal. Good luck.”The air shimmered as six archways lit up, each corresponding to a division. I watched as Division A entered first, efficient, focused, each step synchronized. Led by Lucien Crowe, the student president. He barked a single command, and the formation tightened immediately. Division B followed, just as organized, Kael Draven at the lead, his presence quiet but commanding. The system inside me stirred faintly at the sight of him.[Warning.
Chapter 7: The Student Council
People are ridiculous. We survived the preliminary and now the school can’t stop talking. I scrolled through the chat forums. Rumors. Gossip. Wild theories. Astounding.Information is power, and that was the only reason I checked. Somebody grabbed my arm and forced me to a stop, I turned to see Jin and Lara breathing hard as they waved at me to give them a moment.“What on earth do you think you are doing?” Lara gasped and I frowned, wondering what she was talking about now.“You can’t be here!” Jin gestured wildly at the deserted hallway, I turned to look at him in confusion.“It is empty.” I muttered impatiently, ignoring the tension that crawled up my neck and tugged my arm from his grip. Lara palmed her forehead.“Exactly! The student council always passes through here after evaluation briefings. Do you have a death wish?” She hissed frantically, and Jin was going to add something when the door ahead opened up, and the council stepped in, all six of them.They were majestic to loo
Chapter 8: The Field Went Red
They called it training. Capture the flag, with judges and aura zones and enough theatrical danger to make a good story. The field glazed under a sun that pretended to be polite. Six divisions lined the edges like predators with different teeth. Division A glinted. B moved like a machine. C chuckled in a way that suggested sharp things. D and E looked bored. F shuffled in and tried to look competent.Before the whistle, Ren came to my side and leaned too close for casual conversation, too close for the way everyone watched us now.“Kairo,” he murmured, mouth pressed nearly to my ear. “Someone informed me of a ‘potential genocide.’ But I was bound to a contract of forgetfulness, so now I can’t recall the face of the informant!”Saying this, he pushed his glasses up his nose nervously.It was a whisper. Maybe paranoia. Maybe a nervous kid trying to help his mouth be louder than his fear. He wanted me to watch the perimeter, the southeast quadrant where their practice rigs sat. He want
Chapter 9: Fruit Basket Diplomacy
Recovery, they called it. I called it humiliation.A few steps from the field was all it took for me to collapse like a weakling. Apparently, my body was in a more terrible shape than I thought. Pathetic.The infirmary smelled of antiseptic and artificial lavender, someone’s idea of “comfort.” The ceiling tiles had been scrubbed so clean they reflected my face, pale and thinner than I remembered. My system was quiet, dormant. The silence should’ve felt peaceful. It didn’t. I only felt a deep sense of irritation.I’d been awake for five minutes when Division F burst in like an invading army.“Careful, he’s still weak. So no talking, alright?!” Kira announced, balancing a tray of soup that was 90% steam.My eyes twitched.Ren followed with a stack of books and a grin that didn’t belong in a sickroom. Behind them came Jin and Lara dragging a small holo-screen between them, wires trailing like entrails.My absolutely disgusted expression tightened as more people barged in, and a pink hair
Chapter 10: Tearing Of Veils, Breaching Of Walls
Sleep came like a blade, slicing through the exhaustion in my bones. Darkness pressed in from every corner. I was aware of it all: the field, the traps, the blood, but the dream was something else.A green hand reached for me, slick and glistening in the shadows. My chest tightened. Then the voice came, deep, cold, and resonating inside my mind:"Master of frost and shadows. You have called me, and I am here to fulfill a blood debt."It was a sight I would forget in a hurry as the goblin that started it all kneeling before me in absolute supplication.The shard thrummed. My system buzzed faintly, clarifying in static whispers:[System: Bloodlink detected. Goblin unit available. Objective: Recon and report. Power increase: significant. Action recommended: summon blood of first kill.]A shiver crawled through me. For a moment, I felt it, the shift of power, the weight of control. Sadistic delight coiled inside my chest. The creature that had once threatened me now, obedient, waiting for