MAGNUS DEI SYSTEM: CRIMSON RESOLVE

CHAPTER 4: UNKNOWN ENEMY OR FOE

Alex sucked in a breath, it felt like he had been walking for ages.

He looked forward, the tower was coming into sight. “We are almost there, I can make it.”

It was simply a tall building, but it felt like salvation. 

“A reapers station.” Alex muttered to himself when he arrived at the front.

The tower was designed strangely but it gave Alex the unending sense of familiarity, especially with the appearance of what looked like a sign etched above the door.

It was two swords crossed above an energy gun, it was the Reapers Sigil.

Alex frowned, it must have fallen by the invasion of the infection.

There was no time to ponder on what could have happened, dawn was already here and very soon, so would those monsters.

Alex was about to ram his shoulders into the door but he stopped himself and decided to give a push instead.

The door creaked open, revealing blinking light and trashed-up interior.

With calculated steps, Alex walked into the building, highly vigilant. There could still be crawlers around here.

His body was growing weaker by the minute so he needed some place to rest.

The appearance of the tower’s compartments appeared in his head as they were taught in the academy.

Using the direction of the flickering lights, Alex moved forward and found a small space.

The room was quiet and empty, and he laid his fainted companion on the floor and without much thought, he collapsed to the floor himself.

Every part of his body produced light tremors but as he took his breath, he was glad to be safe.

“Now.” Alex stated, looking above him.

Expecting the system to answer his questions, Alex flooded his mind with various thoughts.

“What are you? Who brought me back? And why did they bring me back? What created you?” Questions flowed from Alex. It was now or never.

Then a voice echoed unlike the usual automated voice, sending tremors into Alex’s body. It was strange yet filled with warmth, but he wouldn’t let his guard down. 

He could feel this voice from deep within his soul and not the system.

‘I am what remains when hope refuses to die.’

‘You were not chosen by mere men or the abilities of mortals. There is a Will far beyond algorithms and atoms. One that sees what is broken… and breathes life into what others throw away.’

‘Call it fate, call it mercy… or call it what an answered request.’

‘But know this, Alexander Ray—you are here because mercy reached deeper than death.’

There was a short silence before a chuckle erupted from Alex.

“Mercy? What a joke.” Alex scoffed under his breath. When his father was dragged like garbage to hell, where was this infamous mercy?

Or when his mother cried herself to sleep thinking a creator was listening?

He clenched his fists. “I don't have time for a riddle like this. I just have to get back and clear my name.” He muttered.

“But first of all, I need weapons, food, and supplies” Alex asked, turning to his friend, there were some injuries on Trent’s body and it would be dangerous to leave it that way.

There had to be some benefits to this game thing and maybe it was time to find it.

[Acquisition Protocols Active.]  

[Host has access to the following items and progression systems:]

[1.Scavenge Mode] 

 – Search abandoned zones, Reaper ruins, or corrupted territories.  

 – Loot able: Weapons, food, gear components, and hidden system fragments.  

 – Risk: Moderate to Severe, depending on zone tier. Mild risk can generate low-grade loots, and severe risk can generate god-tier loots.

[Crafting Bench (Unusable until Host reaches Level 10]  

 – Craft gear using recovered materials.  

 – Unlock condition: Find blueprint and unlock “Engineer” sub-skill.  

– Requires: Core materials, blueprint knowledge, and crafting level.

[System Shop]  

 – Purchase basic items, weapon scrolls, recovery vials, and low-tier equipment.  

– Currency: Gold Coins are earned through missions, kills, loot, or dungeon clears.  

 – Warning: Higher-tier items would appear when Host Level increases.

[Zone Trading Nodes.]  

 – Rare trade hubs scattered across zones.  

 – Traders offer high-value relics, enhancements, information, currency, quests, and contracts.  

– Side Note: Traders are not human. Caution advised.”

[System Trials]

 – Tiered test environments offering powerful loot and stat rewards. 

 – Types: Survival, Puzzle, Combat Arena, God-Touched Realms.  

 – Gain Experience points, Gold Coins, Divine Fragments, Random Skill Cards, and more

[Gold Coins are earned from kills, completing system directives, scavenging, selling loot, and Trial victories.]

[They are used in shops, Black Node trades, or to upgrade passive skills.

[Experience points are earned from combat, quest completion, successful exploration, and crafting.]

[Attribute Points are awarded upon level up, and spendable on core stats: Strength | Stamina | Intellect | Agility | Vitality  

[Advanced Attributes unlock at higher host ranks.]

[Skill Tokens are used to unlock or upgrade a host's active or passive skills and are dropped from elite kills or found in system trials.]

[New Host’s Bonus.]

[System trial available.]

[Would the host like to access the system trail?]

Alex stared at the large inflow of information and it almost induced a headache even though his questions were answered in detail leaving no stones unturned.

He looked at the blinking icon in front of him? The attributes on his status bar were very low so would he be able to do well in the system trial?

Just as he was about to make a decision, a sound startled him. It was the man he had just cured and his heartbeat quickened.

But wait? Why did that man look so familiar?

“Trent?” Alex inched closer. There was no mistaking the familiarity. He couldn't believe who he was seeing. 

That face. Every laugh, every chat, every promise from training school hit him all at once.

Alex swallowed hard. “You made it into the Reapers academy and this is how I found you? What did they do to you?”

His fingers trembled as they touched Trent’s shoulder.

“You are awake.” Alex muttered, causing the man to look at him, confusion evident in his eyes.

Trent did a sharp intake of breath and his lips trembled, “ Where am I?” He sat up slowly, his forehead creasing in what looked like pain.

“A reaper's station tower.” Alex answered, taking a step closer. “Trent, do you remember anything?” He asked him, closely inspecting his features.

At the mention of the word, ‘Reaper’, the man groaned, his fingers tightly gripping his head. There were pieces of some pictures but he could barely understand them.

“What?” Trent muttered and raised his gaze. “Alex? Is that you?”

Alex stiffened, “You remember me?”

Trent nodded but he looked away, hugging his body close. “The red moss. We got caught in the red moss, the crawlers were overflowing…”

Then his gaze fell back to his fingers, “Why? How am I alive? I should have been turned.”

Alex kept silent. He didn’t plan to expose his secret to anyone, so he let the man continue.

“I remember screaming and something… someone. I don't think…” Trent shook his head and his body trembled. 

No matter how he tried to, he couldn’t remember a thing or his teammates.

Alex was about to say something when he heard a soft ding.

[System Alert: Faint Signature Detected.]

[Location: 4,970 km South-Southeast.]

[Sync Interference: Very Minimal.]

[Status: Active yet Separate System Host Confirmed.]

His eyes widened. Did this mean there was another system? And more importantly, was there someone just like him?