Reborn as the Apocalypse Master

"Drop the bag right there." Charles Winthrop wiped a smear of glowing blue blood from his silver gauntlet. "We are done with the first floor."

​Kai let the canvas sack slip from his shoulders, hitting the carven

​The canvas straps had rubbed the skin right off his collarbone. His chest heaved as he sucked in the cavern air. His muscles cramped and spasmed from hauling two hundred pounds of monster parts for six straight hours.

“Ahh” . Kai groaned, forcing himself to stand straight despite the agony radiating down his back. “Just get the core and get out” he thought 

​"My share." Kai held out a calloused hand. "The guild contract said one low grade beast core for carrying your harvest."

​Charles threw his head back and laughed. 

​"A core for a trash tier porter?" Charles sneered. "You are out of your mind."

​"We had a signed agreement." Kai kept his hand extended. "I did the heavy lifting. I butchered the Varnids. I earned my pay."

​"Guild contracts protect real citizens." Natalie Pierce stepped up beside Charles. Her magical staff pulsed with a soft blue light. "You unawakened rats barely qualify as human."

​"I am awakened." Kai gritted his teeth. He hated that derogatory word.

​"Oh right." Natalie rolled her eyes. "You have Minor Storage. A walking backpack. Truly a legendary combat power."

​The rest of the Silver Fang squad snickered. They were four elites wrapped in expensive enchanted gear. They looked like royalty taking a casual stroll through a park.

​Kai was freezing. The rift environment bypassed normal weather logic. The air was thick with a biting frost that seeped directly into his bones.

​Twelve months ago the world fractured. Rifts opened in the sky and spewed monsters into the streets. The old governments collapsed within weeks as the world burned.

​Soon certain people awakened to magical abilities. The awakened took control of the ruins. They conquered the rifts and claimed the beast cores to level up their own power.

​People like Charles became the new royalty. They possessed rare combat classes and offensive magic. They built walled safe zones to keep the remaining monsters out.

​People like Kai became the new underclass. Kai was technically awakened but his skill offered no combat utility. It allowed him to hold fifty pounds of extra weight in a pocket dimension. To the elite hunting squads he was nothing but a cheap beast of burden.

​"I need that core to pay my residency tax." Kai stared at the glowing red gem. "If I do not pay the gate guards by midnight they will throw me out of the safe zone."

​"That sounds like a personal problem." Charles slipped the core into his own spatial ring. "We risk our lives to farm these cores and keep the cities safe. We deserve the rewards."

​"You farm cores to get rich." Kai did not back down. "You just bought a penthouse in the upper district. I just want the single core you promised me."

​Charles lunged. He grabbed Kai by the throat.

​The silver gauntlet was cold and unforgiving. Charles lifted Kai off the ground with zero effort.

​Kai clawed at the metal fingers. His boots kicked at the empty air. 

​"Listen to me very closely." Charles squeezed tighter. "The System selected us for a reason. It recognized superiority. We are the architects of the new era. You are just the leftover debris."

​Charles threw Kai to the ground.

​Kai hit the hard stone. He rolled onto his side and gasped for air. His lungs burned. Tears pricked his eyes from the severe oxygen deprivation.

​"You have zero combat skills." Charles stood over him. "You have zero value to society. Giving a beast core to you is a criminal waste of resources."

​"If we feed cores to useless trash like you, humanity stays weak." Charles looked down at him with deep disgust. "Be grateful we even let you breathe the same air as us."

​Kai stared at the dirt floor. He tasted blood in his mouth.

​The world was split into two clear halves now. The strong awakened hoarded all the beast cores. The weak scrubbed their boots and carried their bags.

​Beast cores were the only way to level up an ability. By denying him the core Charles ensured Kai stayed a slave forever.

​"Please." Kai forced the pathetic word out.

​Bile rose in his throat. He hated himself for begging. He hated the weakness in his own voice.

​"I did my job." Kai coughed. "Give me my pay so I do not freeze to death outside the walls tonight."

​Charles kicked him right in the ribs.

​Crack.

​The sound echoed loudly in the cavern. Agony exploded through Kai. He curled into a tight ball. The pain radiated through his chest in sharp blinding waves. He coughed up a speck of blood onto the stone.

​Charles stomped his boot down. The metal ground the fingers of Kai against the rough rock. Skin tore and bones groaned.

​"Know your place." Charles leaned down. "The strong rule. The weak knuckle under. That is the new law of the world."

​Charles turned his back. "Pick up the bag. We are heading down to the second level."

​Kai tried to stand. His legs betrayed him. His knees buckled and he collapsed back onto the dirt. He looked at the canvas sack on the floor.

​"I said pick it up." Charles drew his broadsword. The steel blade hummed with red fire magic. "Or I will leave you here for the scavengers."

​Before Kai could reach for the canvas straps the cavern floor vibrated.

​A loose rock fell from the ceiling. It shattered inches away from Natalie.

​The temperature inside the cavern plummeted further. The frost on the ground thickened into solid sheets of ice. A deep resonant hum vibrated through the stone floor.

​"What is that?" Natalie gripped her glowing staff. Her arrogant smile vanished.

​The shadows at the far end of the tunnel twisted and expanded. A creature stepped into the light. 

​It stood fifteen feet tall at the shoulder. It walked on four jointed legs like a nightmare mantis. Thick plating covered its entire body.

​It had no face and no eyes. It only possessed a vertical maw filled with spinning rows of glowing purple teeth.

​"A Malakor." Charles took a slow step backward. His confidence vanished. "That is a floor boss. What is it doing in the starter zone?"

​The Malakor shrieked. The force of the sound knocked Natalie to her knees.

​Kai covered his ears. The noise pierced his eardrums. His stomach heaved.

​We are dead. His heart hammered wildly against his broken ribs. All of us are dead.

​"Kill it!" Charles screamed. "Hit it with everything you have."

​Natalie screamed a chant. A sphere of condensed fire erupted from her wooden staff. It slammed directly into the broad chest of the Malakor.

​The flames washed over the plates. The smoke cleared away a second later. The monster did not have a single scorch mark on its shiny armor.

​The Malakor lunged forward. It crossed fifty feet of stone in a single terrifying bound.

​Gregory Shelton raised his shield. He was the tank for the Silver Fang squad. He roared a battle cry and braced his boots against the stone.

​The Malakor swiped its claw arm.

​The enchanted shield splintered apart like rotten wood. The jagged claw tore through Gregory. His armor folded like wet paper. Hot blood sprayed across the damp cavern walls.

​Gregory fell to the stone floor in two separate pieces.

​Kai stared at the steaming blood pooling on the rock. His mind went totally blank.

​Gregory was an elite. Gregory possessed minor invulnerability. The boss cut him in half without even slowing down.

​"Run!" Charles shouted. He dropped his expensive broadsword on the ground.

​The fearless elites broke their formation. They scrambled toward the glowing blue rift exit like terrified children. Their bravery was just a fragile illusion built on fighting weak prey.

​Kai tried to run. His broken rib flared with blinding pain. He stumbled and fell hard to the dirt.

​The Malakor crushed the remains of Gregory under its foot. Its featureless head snapped toward the fleeing squad.

​Charles looked back over his shoulder. He saw the angry Malakor preparing to charge again. He saw Kai struggling to stand up.

​Charles pivoted. He sprinted straight toward Kai.

​Kai reached out a bloody hand. "Help me up."

​Charles grabbed Kai by the collar of his jacket. He lifted Kai up with his superhuman strength.

​"Fodder should be grateful to die for their betters." Charles looked Kai right in the eyes.

​Charles threw Kai backward with all his might. He threw him straight into the path of the charging Malakor.

​Kai flew backward through the freezing air. The wind rushed past his ears. Time slowed down to an agonizing crawl.

​He saw Charles and Natalie sprinting for the blue exit portal. They did not even look back once. They were going to live.

​They were going to go back to the safe zone and drink expensive wine to celebrate their survival. 

​Kai hit the stone floor hard. He rolled right to the feet of the Malakor.

​The foul stench of rotting meat and earth filled his nose. The monster loomed tall over him.

​Kai looked up at the glowing purple spit and the dripping claws. His racing heart suddenly calmed. He felt no panic. He only felt a cold and consuming rage.

​They took everything. Kai stared at the portal. They took the wealth. They took the power. Now they take my life for a head start.

​The Malakor raised a claw. The sharp bloody edges gleamed in the dim cavern light.

​Kai locked his eyes firmly on the retreating backs of the Silver Fang squad. The portal glowed brightly behind them.

​If I ever get another chance. Kai made a silent bloody vow in his mind. I will hunt you down.

​The giant claw descended toward his face.

​I will tear the Silver Fang squad apart piece by tiny piece.

​The cavern light faded away.

​I will grind this rotten superhuman hierarchy deep into the dirt.

​The sharp scythe tore right through his chest cavity.

​Steel severed his collarbone. It sliced through his lungs and fractured his spine. Agony exploded through his nervous system. His own blood drowned his scream.