"Kill them! Kill them all!"

"Don't let them get the chance to recover! Don't let the chance our leader gave us go to waste. Fuck them!"

Adam closed his eyes as the sound of war roared once more in the air, as his team caught up.

It's sad, isn't it? You think these people would—

But of course, since they were at war, Adam didn't have time to be lost in thought. As soon as he closed his eyes, someone got close enough to stab him in the back. The blade struck his armor… but didn't even pierce through the plating inside his suit.

Adam glanced back at the attacker, a young woman with tears streaming down her face. He sighed, and then gently smashed the back of his hand against her jaw.

Of course, she crumpled instantly.

Adam caught her, placing her on the sand. The only thing he could do now was knock out as many people as possible to stop them from fighting back and dying.

He picked up the woman's weapon and tucked it into his belt, then rushed forward once more.

A man leapt in the air to kick him in the head. Adam lowered his head to avoid it, then lifted the Shion's pommel upward, striking the man between his legs. The attacker's scream cut off abruptly as he collapsed, completely neutralized… along with any future children he might have had.

Adam no longer thought of anything else. He just rushed forward, knocking out everyone he could along the way. Some still chased after him, while most were already locked in battle with the Red creeps behind them.

More and more minutes passed. Fewer and fewer people chased after him.

And finally, after leaving thousands of prints in the sand, he reached the enemy's Outer Crystal.

The massive structure floated three feet above the uneven sand, its blue light pulsing like a massive heart. The pillar of energy surrounding it stretched impossibly high into the desert sky, casting an eerie glow across the dunes.

In a way, without all the destruction of a city around it, it looked… beautiful.

But Adam only pondered for a moment. He scanned his surroundings, checking if any Hero had returned. When he was sure no one was present, he quickened his pace and leaped when he got close.

Gripping the Shion with both hands, he brought it down on the crystal with everything he had.

The loud bang echoed across the desert like thunder, causing everyone within miles to stop in their tracks. The pillar of light flickered violently.

But Adam's sword simply bounced back, leaving only a slight crack in the crystal's surface despite the tremendous noise.

Adam didn't mind—he'd expected this. Even with his arms still vibrating from the impact, he raised the Shion above his head again and struck down.

The crack grew bigger.

"Grah!" He roared, striking again. And again. His palms were shredded, and healed. And then shredded again.

And then, finally, someone else struck the crystal beside him.

Adam looked to his side and saw one of the veteran thugs from earlier, swinging his dagger wildly.

"Come on, you bastard!" the man grunted, his blade chipping away at the crystal's surface.

Another figure joined them—the veteran woman from before. Soon, more Red creeps arrived, practically swarming the crystal. The cracks covered its entire surface now.

Until—

[Wow! Enemy's Outer Middle Crystal, destroyed! Such ferocity!]

The crystal exploded into millions of glittering pieces as Adam's weapon finally broke through. The other veterans started celebrating immediately.

"We… we did it! We fucking did it!"

"H-holy shit! H-how?!"

"What the fuck you mean 'how'?! It's because of him!"

"Yes! I leveled up!"

"Finally! Two more points!"

"We did it!"

Most of the Creeps who helped crush the Crystal leveled up… and of course, so did Adam.

[1 Status Point has been granted!]

Without hesitation, he allocated the point to Strength, just as he had before.

[Name: N/A | Planet: SS4E | Strength: 6->7 Agility: 1 Endurance: 1 Perception: 1]

He could have placed it in Perception or Agility. But as he'd learned from his experiences with Clementine and the other Heroes—no matter how many points he added to speed and perception, they would still be too fast for him to follow.

The only way he could win was through pure will and tenacity.

Three more levels, Adam.

Adam waved off his status window, and as soon as he did, he heard the voice of the Administrator—different from earlier, but familiar.

[The Administrator, Mikhail, remembers you from the last Game and is very curious about you.]

"Hm…?" Adam blinked a couple of times, looking at the other Creeps beside him. But none of them reacted, still busy celebrating their huge win.

You're… the only one who could hear this, Adam.

[Mikhail wants to grant you a gift and become your sponsor. Do you accept?]

Accept it, Adam. You won't get a chance like—No.

[Mikhail is very disappointed that you refused his gift. He will be watching you closely.]

…They can hear you. They can't be trusted. It—

And then, all of a sudden, another announcement echoed throughout the entire battlefield.

It was followed by another announcement.

[The Administrator, Zyhael, is being replaced by Mikhail. Good luck, everyone!]

The other Creeps seemed confused at this, but didn't think much of it.

As for Adam, he squinted and looked up at the clock. He'd spent time researching the Administrators, trying to learn about them.

But maybe... being noticed by them was the best way for that to happen? Perhaps he just needed to contribute to this Game as much as possible, and it would give him the chance he needed.

…Maybe he should've accepted the gift? But… what would they need in return?

Adam continued staring at the clock, then sighed. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away for now, and finally looked around at the veterans surrounding him.

Every single one of their faces was covered in blood. He looked back toward where they'd come from and saw the same thing—everyone's face was splattered with red.

Adam stood there frozen, his gaze slowly moving downward to the sand around their feet.

Corpses. Dozens of them, scattered across the battlefield like broken dolls… and he was sure of it.

The people he had knocked down were one of them.

Even though he had knocked them unconscious, even though they were already incapacitated... his team had killed them anyway.

"Oh…"

All his careful planning, all his attempts to preserve life—it had been meaningless.

In the end, the Game always got what it wanted.

Death.

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