《The Old Path》 The Book Selflessness, a word to describe an incredible selfishness that feels its thoughts superior to any other line of reasoning. The teacher Mr. Labodius evoked loudly, ¡°If we have an opportunity there is a duty to help those in need¡±. A senior who was dozing off jerked up at the loud comment. Slowly, he picked up his pencil and began jotting down notes. Despite being the only upperclassman in advanced European History, he did not lead by example because his thoughts were focused far into the future. He was busy thinking about what he would do after graduating instead of learning about religion. ¡°Mr. Daniel, see me after class as we need to speak about your recent performance.¡± Daniel was confused because although his grades were poor he did not believe them low enough to need a conference with a teacher. As the bell rang he began to hear a large amount of notifications from his phone. ¡°Heed my warning descendants of the devil, my champions shall move forth to strike out your covetousness. Fear the Lord of Lords and my grace shall be with you.¡± An unknown number had sent the ominous note, so Daniel ran to the teacher¡¯s desk. He looked up at the teacher and told him of what was going on, but the teacher merely smirked. Daniel flipped his phone around to force the teacher to believe him, and they decided that they should gain more information about the situation now plaguing them. Mr. Labodius mentioned that ¡°it is likely that this is the Christian God speaking considering he mentions the devil, but the Bible only speaks of a few descendants of the devil. It does describe those not believing Christ as being of the devil so they thought maybe it was describing satanists and cult followers. It could be the police trying to lure out criminal cults?¡± Daniel was about to respond when another notification appeared on his phone. [Task One: The Path] [Survive for 6 Hours] [Devil¡¯s shortcut: Kill One Living Being (Automatic Survival for the remainder of the Task)] The World trembled as outside of the school thousands of gigantic mythical beasts began spreading disaster. Blaring car sirens from giants making their way, dozens of gigantic insects splitting bodies in two, and dragons cremating anyone in sight. People saw the notifications on their phones and began to panic, others who were not checking also listened to their survival instincts and ran from the screams. Others began reading the last message and out of sheer desperation from the beasts approaching, some started to ask ¡°is the shortcut real?¡± Eyes darted wondering who would be the first to go, hoping someone would test the viability of the method. ¡°Sorry Mrs. Harrison but you''re 90% in the grave already!¡± A young man snapped the old lady¡¯s neck and a dark title appeared above him. [Deal Accepted: Immortality Granted for the remaining time] At that moment a gigantic wolf stepped away from the young man and began chasing other prey. ¡°AAAAagh! GET AWAY FROM ME! PLEASE DON¡¯T KILL ME!¡± a sound of a girl screaming rang through the halls and into the European History room. ¡°See babe EVEN HELL is telling me not to forgive YOU CHEATING ON ME!¡± A struggle was apparent with the lady attempting anything to escape the grasp of the athlete, but the girl¡¯s voice eventually faded away. [Deal Accepted: Immortality Granted for the remaining time] A psychotic laugh rang through the school building and every few seconds another heavy hit fell onto the defiled corpse. A chain of panic erupted throughout the school so Daniel and the teacher frantically came to barricade the door. The noise muffled as he examined his surroundings trying to think of a plan moving forward. 6 hours was not a significant length of time, but an ounce of complacency could result in death. He pulled out his laptop and the two sat in a corner of the classroom adjacent to the door to prevent any watchful eyes checking for living humans. After trying to search on the web he saw a mysterious message again reading ¡°Updating User Interface¡­System Now Reloading? What does that mean?¡± Suddenly a 2D black box appeared in front of him that read: Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. [Welcome Back, User 124] [Restoring Previous Data] [Date Access Error] [Date Access Error] [Attempting to Restore Save Data] [Attempt Failed] [Restoring Status] [Gift Restored: The Book of Knowledge {Status: Locked}] ¡°What is this gift thing, some sort of ability, like in a game?¡± Daniel tried to analyze the Status Window that had appeared in front of him. Mr. Labodius spoke up ¡°Art does imitate Life, what if this was all intended to prepare us for now? Furthermore, it would seem as if the man above is playing a game with humans at stake. This is why management is always blamed for everything.¡± Daniel was confused by the remark because he knew the teacher was not part of management, but maybe he was speaking in general and he had no reason to question the statement. The discussion ended abruptly with the banging on the door with a loud cry for help, ¡°Please someone help¡­I don¡¯t want to die, please anyone!¡± Daniel stood up preparing to unlock the door and save the person crying, but a hand tugged at his shirt. ¡°Are you stupid!? What if they¡¯re trying to get an easy kill? The world is all about living for yourself, individualism, not collectivism.¡± [5 Hours and 30 Minutes Remaining for the first Task] Daniel ignored his remarks and went outside anyway to find a girl on her knees being approached by a man with a shard of glass in his hand. Daniel with only his notebook stared at the man running at him. He successfully read his movement and blocked the stab towards his left abdomen with the book throwing the glass away from him to the ground. Daniel also used the thrusting motion to his advantage striking the back of his knee to send him into the floor. ¡°What the hell? Don¡¯t you see what''s happening outside it''s kill or be killed and I for one refuse to die! That girl is not worth anything. Just let her di-¡° A loud snap is heard which came from a full-force kick to the head from the young woman. ¡°Hey, he''s not worth it, don''t kill him!¡± Daniel tries to stop her, but she yells ¡°he said it himself kill or be killed, he earned it.¡± Unable to argue anymore he pulls her away whispering ¡°then let the monsters take care of him we¡¯ve already made too much noise.¡± She shoves him off her ¡°nothing can kill me if I accept the agreement.¡± ¡°That may be true, but how do you know it won¡¯t cost anything more in the future, if this is the same devil in the Bible that is evil itself then what if there¡¯s another condition? Just stay with us you¡¯ll be safe that way and there won¡¯t be more risks¡± Daniel with a soft voice using his last attempt at convincing her otherwise. [Deal Accepted: Immortality Granted for the remaining time] ¡°Good luck you wimp, the name¡¯s Eve¡± she throws a smirk at Daniel before walking off with her immortality. Daniel walks back into the room and replaces the barricade where he asks the teacher why did he let him back in instead of letting him die for his inability to listen and for his failure in saving her even though it was the reason he left. Mr. Diabolus answered ¡°Daniel you¡¯re a smart kid and now I¡¯m certain you¡¯ve learned your lesson from this, helping out others is a waste of time. We need to compile the information we have.¡± Daniel asks ¡°Mr. Diabolus did you also get the screen?¡± ¡°Yeah that screen, have you noticed anything off about it, especially the gift thing?¡± he replies. ¡°No, it just seems to be like any other 2D Status Window you''ve seen in games,¡± I ask wondering if there¡¯s any difference between our screens. Mr. Diabolus asks ¡°can you draw a diagram of what you see and I¡¯ll compare it to mine?¡± Although it was weird that he needed a diagram it made sense that they should make sure there was no differences in their screens. After looking at Daniel¡¯s diagram Mr. Diabolus tells him ¡°there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything different for me, and would you mind telling me your gift, Daniel?¡± ¡°Mine¡¯s weird it¡¯s called []#[]]}##%.¡± said Daniel feeling a sharp pain inside him when he tried to state his gift, ¡°I¡¯m sorry teach but I don¡¯t think this system wants me to tell you but it feels useless as of right now because it is locked. What was your gift Mr. Labodius?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll tell you some other time because it seems that we are unable to discuss our gifts,¡± he explained. As they try to do more research and analysis on their new screens, Daniel discovers a spider crawling on his computer and asks "Hey Mr. Labodius the devil is cunning right?" Mr. Labodius replies "Yeah he is known as the most cunning, why do you ask?" "I might be able to outsmart him," Daniel says with a cheeky grin. [5 Hours and 30 Minutes Remaining for the first Task] A Ploy ¡°I never thought about that, it might just work¡± the well versed historian answered and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m going to try it now, if it doesn¡¯t count it shouldn''t change anything with how we are living right now.¡± Daniel says as he grips the spider in between his fingers, and in a bolt eliminates the critter into a batch of blood and dust. [Deal Accepted: Immortality Granted for the remaining time] ¡°It worked! Thank God it worked, there was a path out!¡± the student runs around the room no longer afraid of death. Daniel shouts ¡°Teach let''s look for one for you too! There¡¯s gotta be something else here you can end!¡± Daniel eagerly searches for another bug, but as if a twist of cruel fate, none are spotted. ¡°Crap, there''s no way¡­ What if we go outside and look for one c¡¯mon you are not dying today teach!¡± Mr. Labodius slowly gets up ¡°alright let¡¯s go no time like the present.¡± After each piece of their fortress is laid down, they walk through the school. Traces of fighting: blood, broken glass, and bodies are littered through the halls. A locker is spotted being dented in the shape of a head telling a distinct story. The duo checked around cobwebs and along the ridges of the halls, but nothing was found except dried, already dead flies and roaches. They decide to go to the cafeteria to see if any ants could be found. ¡°CHOKE HIM!¡± The principal could be heard not only enjoying a group of students fighting to death, but also enticing them as the authority figure. ¡°$5000 if you kill someone in the next few minutes! I¡¯ll even double it if you make it interesting!¡± He was a true maniac and he kept going, ¡°And if you try to escape, even with immortality, I¡¯ll make sure you know your place.¡± The kitchen became used as a place of torture. Not even immortality could protect someone from the intense torture from being rolled into a pizza oven. Not to mention, others were being drowned with a weight around their neck to keep them under the water. Every contraption built for continuous pain for the remaining time until they could perish. Struggle was pointless in their conditions, so a majority just tried to keep themselves from going insane from the constant pain. The teacher and Daniel hear the screams of pain, and arm themselves with a fire extinguisher and meter stick respectively. They enter the scene and Daniel sees a pure violation of human life and their rights. Mutilated and defiled corpses that were alive, and someone who was paid to protect kids was standing above them all. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°You cruel, senile, old man! What the hell is wrong with you?! Aren¡¯t you a respectable man Doctor Charles!¡± His words were puffy bullets incapable of wounding the man before him. ¡°Why does any of that matter? The world wants change and I¡¯m just another agent of that change. I am still preparing these kids for the future.¡± He pauses before continuing ¡°Always people complaining, but never trying to create a solution. If you think you¡¯re right then prove it otherwise it would be wise of you to shut up, boy.¡± Daniel held the stick out in front of him as men who all the immortal tag surrounded him. Daniel reacted with a ruthless efficiency striking one in the neck before spinning the meter stick to strike another in the liver. Mr. Labodius was also helping, using the blunt force of the fire extinguisher to knock the opponents back. Although they were immortal they still felt pain and emotion, so they retreated backwards to let themselves regenerate. ¡°A bunch of idiots. I guess you all think punishment is a joke. How about this great idea I''M GONNA RUN OVER YOUR HEADS OVER AND OVER AGAIN AS I WAIT FOR THEM REGENERATE BACK¡± Daniel takes the opening as they are healing to get up the stairs and face the principal, and the teacher blocks the students from following him. Daniel sees a notable figure among the people standing behind Dr. Charles, his favorite teacher Ms. Susanna was there. Despite being an extremely kind and heartwarming person, he could not believe she had gained immortality and was standing with the principal. He stared at his Biology teacher when he noticed her trying to signal him something, but instead of trying to listen to her he just looked at them angrily. In a split second Ms. Susanna stabs the person standing behind the principal with a scalpel then drags the principal to Daniel¡¯s side. Albeit her hand was shaking it was clear that she was fed up with the situation. ¡°I do not know how you can even believe you were educators when you allowed that vermin to have his way. Does money even matter now? The world has gone to its final days and you all care about money and profit.¡± Daniel whispers ¡°hypocrite,¡± but he does not act as keeping control of the principal was the most important variable first. ¡°If the principal is lost then all the money you¡¯ve earned will disappear, so are you going to listen to us or try and stop us? Like he said torture still hurts even after being immortal.¡± The others back off leaving the principal at the mercy of the teacher. ¡°EVERYONE LISTEN UP, THERE IS NO NEED TO KILL EACH OTHER. Any multicellular organism visible to the naked eye that is alive counts excluding grasses.¡± ¡°I gained my immortality almost as soon as the message on my phone appeared by accidentally killing an egg that I thought was infertile. In the short time I checked outside I didn¡¯t see any notification messages appear over those running along the grass meaning I am likely sure these are the restrictions for this test.¡± Daniel clenched his fist knowing she was right, and spoke up ¡°I¡¯m sorry Ms. Susanna, I judged you too fast without thinking of the possibility you completed the mission in the same fashion. She is right. I got my notification of completion from killing a bug, not another human.¡± ¡°So please stop this, and if you can please help me save those people from those cursed punishments that are a clear violation of any human rights¡± ¡°Daniel, what do we do with this man?¡± the biology teacher looked to him for an answer, but she is interrupted by the principal ¡°You dumb pieces of sh*t! You believe them over me? I am the only one worth listening to. I should be the king.¡± A fire extinguisher bashes straight at the head of the principal. ¡°You pathetic idiot, no human is allowed to be the king, that word is reserved for a holier being.¡±