Apocalyptic System: Raka's Revival

Not the Only One

That red notification was still pulsing in Raka's vision, emitting a light that seemed to sear his retinas. Player Kill. Two words that officially ended the tutorial phase and dragged him into a more vicious wilderness. Down below, amidst the subsiding drizzle, a man named Bara stood with an arrogant air. The blinding glare of military vehicle headlights reflected off the blade of his massive machete.

"Come down, Raka Pratama! Or we will level this building!" The voice thundered, projected through a megaphone held by one of Bara's subordinates.

Raka turned toward Sari, Jaka, and the teenager. Their faces were deathly pale, more terrified now than they had been facing the wave of zombies last night. Sari gripped the sleeve of Raka's jacket, her trembling fingers feeling ice-cold.

"What are they going to do to us?" Sari whispered, her voice nearly swallowed by the roar of motorcycle engines.

"Stay behind me," Raka answered shortly. He clenched his fists. System, give me a power analysis of the enemies in front of me.

[Scanning... Player 'Bara': Level 7. Skill detected: 'Berserker Aura'. Threat: Very High.]

Raka clicked his tongue. A two-level difference might sound small, but in this world governed by numbers, it could mean the difference between life and death. He realized that fighting here, with Sari and the others as potential hostages, was suicide.

"I'm going down," Raka said quietly. "You guys stay here. Don't resist if they come in."

"Raka, don't! They're armed!" Jaka tried to hold him back, but Raka was already stepping toward the corridor filled with the black dust of zombie remains.

Raka descended the stairs with heavy but steady steps. Each step he took felt like a countdown toward an inevitable confrontation. As he stepped out of the shattered lobby doors, a dozen muzzles of rifles and modified crossbows were immediately aimed at his chest.

Bara stepped forward. The man was a giant, with a scar running across his left cheek. His eyes were sharp, radiating an aura of dominance that seemed to compress the air around him.

"Level five in twenty-four hours?" Bara smirked, revealing a row of uneven teeth. "You've got talent, kid. But in this city, there can only be one king."

"I'm not interested in being king," Raka countered, his eyes flashing coldly under the passive influence of Predator's Eye. "Let the people upstairs go, and I'll do what you want."

Bara laughed, a coarse sound that resembled stones grinding together. "Negotiating? You think this is still the corporate world where you used to work? Here, strength is the only currency. Take him!"

A day passed in a torturous blur. Raka did not resist when his hands were bound with steel wire. He wanted to see where Bara was taking them. He wanted to understand this new battlefield.

The jump in time brought him to a large warehouse complex on the outskirts of the city that had now been transformed into a gruesome fortress. Raka was pushed roughly out of the truck bed. The sight before him made his stomach churn.

This place wasn't just a refugee camp. It was a prison.

A three-meter-high barbed-wire fence surrounded the area, with guard towers at every corner occupied by armed Players. In the middle of the yard, dozens of ordinary humans, men, women, even the elderly, were crawling on the ground. They were chained at the ankles, forced to sort through piles of looted goods from the city: canned food, clothing, even oxygen tanks.

"What... what the hell is this?" Raka muttered, his eyes widening as he saw an old man struck with a rifle butt for dropping a water bottle.

"This is called efficiency, Raka," Bara's voice came from behind. The man walked casually, his giant machete slung over his shoulder. "The world is broken. Resources are limited. These people without the System have no more value than tools. They work for us, and in exchange, we let them live another day."

"You're treating them like cattle," Raka growled, his pace faltering as he saw Sari and her group being herded into a barred cell in the corner of the warehouse.

"Cattle?" Bara chuckled, shaking his head. "Don't be naive. Without my protection, they’d already be zombie fodder on the streets. I give them purpose. I give them structure."

"A structure built on the suffering of others isn't civilization, Bara. It's just madness," Raka shot back sharply.

Bara stopped walking, turning his body to face Raka directly. A sudden heat radiated from his body, making the asphalt beneath their feet seem to vibrate. This was the Berserker Aura.

"Listen, Rank Two," Bara whispered, his face only inches from Raka's. "You see that screen in the sky? The Global Ranking isn't just for show. The higher your rank, the more privileges the System grants. And to climb, I need resources. I need EXP. And I need other Players to submit."

"So that's why you brought me here? To show off?" Raka stared back without fear, even as his system continued to blare danger warnings in his head.

"I brought you here to give you a choice," Bara pointed toward the cell where Sari was held. "Join me. Become my right hand. With your abilities, we can control this entire region before Phase Three begins. You'll have the best food, any woman you want, and absolute security."

"And if I refuse?" Raka asked flatly.

Bara smiled, but his eyes remained ice-cold. "Then you'll just be a massive pile of EXP for me. And those friends of yours... well, I hear the guards are looking for some entertainment tonight."

Raka's blood boiled. The sense of inferiority that had haunted him, the feeling of helplessness when insulted by the old world suddenly exploded into pure rage. He looked toward Sari, who was watching him from behind the bars, her eyes pleading for him not to do anything stupid. However, Raka knew that surrendering to a man like Bara would only delay death in the most humiliating way possible.

"You talk about choice," Raka said, his voice now sounding eerily calm, a calmness that signaled an approaching storm. "But you don't have a choice yourself, Bara. You've already become a slave to this System. You threw away your humanity just to be a king over a pile of trash."

Bara's face turned crimson. The muscles in his neck tightened. "Slave? I am the ruler here! I decide who lives and who dies!"

"You're just a small player on a much larger chessboard," Raka stepped forward, even though his hands were still bound. "And me? I am not your pawn."

Bara drew his machete with lightning speed, the tip of the sharp blade stopping exactly at Raka's throat. A single drop of fresh red blood trickled down onto Raka's collar.

"You've got guts, I'll give you that," Bara hissed. "But guts won't protect you from a higher level."

Suddenly, a system notification appeared before both of them, pitch black with an elegant gold frame.

[Attention to all Players in Sector 004-ID.]

[Rank 1 Player 'Bara' and Rank 2 Player 'Raka Pratama' have triggered a 'Competition Event'.]

[Mission: Duel of Supremacy will begin in 48 hours.]

[Reward: Full control over the regional territory and an Epic Grade Item.]

[Terms: Winner takes all. Loser is deleted.]

Bara lowered his machete, staring at the transparent screen with eyes gleaming with power-hunger. He then turned back to Raka, a triumphant smirk curling on his lips.

"Forty-eight hours," Bara said, spitting to the side. "Enjoy your final moments, Raka. I'll let you stay alive until then, so you can watch how I crush everything you're trying to protect."

Bara turned and signaled to his guards. "Throw him into solitary confinement! Don't feed him! I want him weak when I take his head in front of everyone!"

Raka was dragged roughly by four armed men. As he passed Sari's cell, he managed to catch her gaze. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but Raka could only give her a small nod.

Two days, Raka thought as the pitch-black door of the solitary cell slammed shut in front of him. I have two days to surpass his level, or I will die as a loser once again.

Raka sat on the cold cement floor, closed his eyes, and began to summon his system interface. In that darkness, only his blue screen glowed, offering a bloody way out.

"System," Raka whispered into the silence. "Show me every hidden quest available in this area. I'm going to tear this place down from the inside."