Reborn as the Apocalypse Master

The Vanguard

"Initiate the avatar projection." Kai shifted the canvas sack onto his right shoulder. "I need to hit the market before the Guild registers the Vipers as missing."

He walked toward the glowing blue portal at the end of the cavern. He prepared to step out of the rift and back into the human city.

A sharp chime rang inside his skull. The system interrupted his departure.

[Alert. Avatar projection initiated. The Master's true body will enter a dormant state while the avatar is active.]

Kai stopped walking. He lowered the sack to the stone floor.

"Define a dormant state." Kai demanded.

[Your physical vessel will sleep inside the Sanctum. Your consciousness will transfer to a new avatar constructed outside the portal.]

[Warning. It is highly advised to secure the domain before departure. A dormant core cannot issue active defensive commands.]

Kai considered the risk. His physical body would sleep unprotected on the floor next to the red crystal.

If an elite squad breached the lower floors while he was away they would find him unconscious. They could sever his head while he dreamed. They could shatter the core without facing a single trap.

He agreed with the system logic. He could not leave his domain defenseless.

"Cancel the projection." Kai turned around. He faced the dark cavern. "Open the management interface."

The translucent blue screen expanded in his vision. He currently held seven hundred and fifty Dungeon Points.

He reviewed his current forces. He had fifteen baseline Varnids remaining on the first floor. He had one Malakor boss guarding the Sanctum staircase. It was a weak defense.

"Spawn fifteen baseline Varnids on the first floor." Kai issued the command. "Spread them across the ceiling crevices."

[Command accepted. Deducting one hundred and fifty points.]

Raw meat and bone materialized in the shadows above him. The red light of the core pulsed. Fifteen new nightmare bugs hatched from the stone and scurried into the darkness.

"Spawn ten armored Varnids on the second floor." Kai continued. "Assign them to the main tunnel."

[Command accepted. Deducting two hundred points.]

Down in the depths of the second floor thick gray carapaces hardened in the dark. The heavy variants took their positions.

"Purchase a second Malakor." Kai looked at the boss roster. "Assign it to the second floor bottleneck."

[Command accepted. Deducting one hundred points.]

The stone floor vibrated. A massive fifteen foot mantis beast clawed its way out of the bedrock. Its glowing purple teeth spun rapidly in the dark.

Kai checked his ledger. His defenses were doubling. He had spent four hundred and fifty points.

He held exactly three hundred points in his reserve. He needed a commander.

He could not issue orders while his consciousness walked the city. He needed a proxy to run the slaughterhouse.

Kai opened the advanced unit list. The monsters in this tier cost two hundred points each.

He examined the combat stats. He could purchase a brute force juggernaut with a high kill rate. He could purchase a unit with extreme intelligence and zero combat power.

He selected a unit named Drela.

"Spawn the Drela on the second floor." Kai authorized the purchase.

[Command accepted. Deducting two hundred points. One hundred points remain in reserve.]

A new creature materialized at the bottom of the Sanctum stairs. It did not look intimidating. It was a tall slender humanoid with four long arms.

It lacked armor plates. It possessed a large swollen head that pulsed with glowing blue veins. It looked frail compared to the towering Malakor.

The Drela opened three black eyes. It looked directly up the stairs toward the core chamber.

"Master." A cold sharp voice echoed inside Kai mind. "I am ready."

The Drela did not wait for further instructions. It was not a mindless beast. It immediately took control of the second floor.

Kai watched the live feed on his monitor. He watched the Drela point a slender finger at the armored Varnids.

The bugs stopped wandering aimlessly. They formed a tight defensive phalanx blocking the main tunnel.

The Drela pointed at the new Malakor. It directed the beast to hide behind a wide stone pillar near the entrance. It set up a lethal ambush.

"The eastern tunnel is exposed." The Drela spoke through the domain link. "I am directing the baseline units to dig pit traps."

Kai watched the regular Varnids tear into the dirt floor. They dug deep trenches. They covered their glowing acid sacs with mud to hide their presence in the dark.

The Drela organized the chaos into a lethal military operation.

"Hold the line." Kai spoke to the creature. "Kill any human that breaches the portal."

"Understood." The Drela replied. "We will feed the core."

Kai smiled. His dungeon was secure. He could separate his human life from his rift responsibilities.

"System." Kai picked up the canvas sack filled with cores. "Initiate the projection."

His vision faded to black. The warmth of the core chamber vanished.

Kai opened his eyes. He stood in a muddy alleyway just outside the blue rift portal. The stench of rotting garbage and exhaust fumes filled his lungs.

He looked down at his hands. He wore the same cheap clothes he died in yesterday. He was back in the lower district of the human city.

He checked his internal status. His physical body felt incredible. His Strength was forty five. His Agility was fifty. His Vitality was one hundred.

He checked his mana. It read exactly five.

The infinite well of domain energy was gone. He was disconnected from the red crystal. He was a powerhouse with almost zero magical ability.

He hoisted the canvas sack onto his shoulder. The bag weighed over two hundred pounds. Yesterday this weight tore his shoulder muscles and blistered his skin.

Today the bag felt like a pillow. He carried the bulk effortlessly. He did not even break a sweat.

Kai walked out of the alley. He stepped into the crowded streets of the lower district.

Unawakened citizens sat in the mud. They begged for food. They wore rags and shivered in the cold city wind.

Kai walked past them with perfect posture. His new agility gave him flawless balance. A speeding supply truck veered toward the curb. Kai took a single relaxed step backward. The metal bumper missed his chest by an inch.

He did not flinch. His reaction speed was far beyond a normal human.

He walked for three miles until he reached the central Awakened market. It was a massive fortress built inside the city walls.

Neon signs flashed above clean paved streets. Armed guards stood at the steel gates.

"Halt." A guard lowered a heavy spear. "Porters use the side entrance by the loading docks."

"I am not a porter." Kai did not stop walking.

He stepped past the spear point before the guard could react. He moved with alarming speed. He vanished into the crowded market square.

He ignored the weapon stalls and the armor vendors. He walked directly toward the main trading counter.

A familiar merchant stood behind the reinforced glass. His name was Silas. He wore a fine silk suit and tapped numbers into a metal ledger.

Silas was the man who controlled the food rations for the lower district porters.

Kai approached the glass counter. He dropped the canvas sack onto the floor.

Silas looked up from his ledger. He pinched his nose in disgust.

"Get away from the glass." Silas pointed a fat finger at Kai. "You are tracking sewer mud onto my clean floor."

"I have salvage." Kai rested his hand on the bag. "I need an exchange."

Silas sneered. He looked Kai up and down. He saw the duct tape on the boots. He saw the stained cotton shirt.

"Who is your master?" Silas demanded. "Which elite squad let their pack mule wander off with the loot?"

Kai stared at the merchant. He remembered this man clearly.

"Last week I came to this counter." Kai kept his voice low. "I asked to purchase one pound of scrap meat. I offered you my entire daily wage."

"Scrap meat is for paying customers." Silas laughed. "I told you to eat the rats in the alley. Rats are free."

"I remember." Kai nodded. "Process my salvage."

"Call your squad leader right now." Silas reached under the counter toward an alarm button. "You stole this bag. I am calling the city guard to arrest you."

Kai did not argue. He reached down and grabbed the bottom corners of the canvas sack.

He lifted the bag and tipped it upside down over the trading counter.

One hundred and twenty glowing beast cores crashed onto the reinforced glass. The thuds echoed loudly through the quiet trading post.

The blinding red light of the mana illuminated the dark room. The volume of cores spilled over the edges of the counter and clattered onto the floor.

Silas dropped his metal ledger. It hit the ground with a loud clang.

His jaw hung wide open. He stopped breathing.

"Process it." Kai leaned over the glass counter.

Silas stared at the glowing mountain of wealth. His hands shook violently.

"Where did you get these?" Silas stammered. His voice lost all its arrogance. "These are fresh. They are still warm."

"I harvested them." Kai replied.

"A porter cannot kill a Varnid." Silas shook his head in denial. He picked up a large armored core from the pile. "This is a heavy variant. It takes a full squad to bring one down."

"I am not a porter." Kai tapped the glass with his knuckles. "Process the transaction or I will take my business to the trading house across the street."

Silas hated Kai. He viewed him as human trash. But Silas loved money more than he hated the poor.

The merchant guild took a five percent processing f*e on all core exchanges. The f*e on this pile would make Silas rich.

"Baseline cores process at one hundred thousand credits." Silas spoke quickly. He scrambled to activate his scanner. "Armored variants process at three hundred thousand credits."

"I know the exchange rates." Kai watched the scanner tally the total. "Do the math."

Silas ran the scanner over the pile. The machine beeped rapidly. The numbers on the screen climbed higher and higher.

The final total flashed on the display monitor.

"Twelve million four hundred thousand credits." Silas whispered the number. He looked at Kai with pure terror. He realized he was dealing with a monster.

"Transfer it." Kai held up his bare wrist.

Silas typed the command. A green light flashed. Twelve million credits transferred directly into Kai's personal account.

Kai turned his back on the merchant. He left the empty canvas bag on the floor.

He walked out of the trading post and headed straight for the market garage.

He found the luxury vehicle dealership. An elite salesman in a sharp suit tried to block his path.

"No vagrants allowed." The salesman held up a hand.

Kai transferred four million credits directly to the dealership account. The terminal beeped a confirmation of sale.

The salesman choked on his words. He bowed deeply and handed Kai a set of black electronic keys.

Kai walked over to his new purchase. It was a reinforced all terrain armored vehicle. It featured a matte black finish and thick puncture proof tires. A heavy spiked grill covered the front engine block.

It was a machine built for war.

Kai climbed into the driver seat. He left the dealership and drove toward the armory sector.

He parked the truck in front of the highest tier weapon shop in the market. He walked inside.

He spent one million credits in ten minutes.

He purchased a long black combat coat woven with mesh. It deflected low caliber bullets and minor slashing attacks.

He purchased a belt harness filled with high grade healing vials.

He purchased a sleek steel combat knife. The blade hummed with a minor sharpness rune. It could slice through standard iron armor with ease.

Kai changed out of his rags right there in the shop. He strapped the knife to his thigh. He pulled the black coat over his shoulders.

He stepped out of the armory. He looked exactly like a high tier Awakened elite. The stench of the slums was gone.

He climbed back into his armored vehicle.

Down the street Silas watched through the reinforced glass of the trading post. A crowd of elite Awakened gathered around the window. They stared in stunned silence.

The trash they kicked in the mud yesterday was driving their dream car.

Kai started the engine. The massive block roared to life. The sound echoed off the market walls.

He shifted the gear and hit the gas. He drove the black war machine out of the market gates.

He had the money. He had the gear. Now he needed a target.