Clyde opened his eyes. He blinked a few times and paid as much attention as he could to catch the sounds around him.
'Where's the notification?'
Clyde sat up on the bed for a few minutes. However, nothing could be heard around him. This morning, it was suddenly so quiet.
The yellow light that was supposed to be sunlight was sneaking in from the window next to him. The light penetrates the thick expensive curtains in this room.
'Nothing. This is weird.'
Clyde got up from the bed and put on a black coat and the Elderglass Sword.
Even though no notifications sounded, and no monsters or robots came in and attacked him, Clyde knew that something was approaching.
This isn't over yet. So, this silence and serenity can only mean one thing. This was all just the calm before the storm they had been expecting to come.
He came out of his room. As soon as he came out, it turned out that the sunlight looked a little different than before.
The light looks warm and bright. But as soon as Clyde stepped into the light, he felt a chill.
Not only that, but his body also felt odd. There was a sensation as if his energy was slowly being pulled out. Even though Clyde didn't feel pain, the feeling was unnatural.
He stepped to the front door and opened it. What he saw made his forehead furrow deeply.
"What the hell?"
Outside, the sky was filled with black mist that looked like thick overcast clouds. However, there was lightning that glowed yellowish-like sunlight that kept striking non-stop in between the black mist.
The yellowish lightning made the atmosphere bright. But also cold at the same time. The light he saw earlier before wasn't light from the sun. But from those yellow lightning.
Clyde had never felt the cold feeling from lightning before. Moreover, the lightning continued to strike without a sound, making its existence even more mysterious in Clyde's eyes.
"So it's begun."
Rodney's voice came from behind him. Clyde looked up reflexively. Rodney walked over with a tense look on his face. Clyde could see that his jaw was clenched tightly.
Rodney didn't look at Clyde as he walked over to him. Instead, he stared outside. To the lightning that continues to strike intensely.
Now, the lightning was striking faster and faster - though still silent without any noises. The reflection of dancing yellow light was reflected on Rodney's face.
Clyde looked outside again. "What happened?"
"The Outer God is preparing to appear," said Rodney.
"Why are no notifications showing up?" Clyde asked.
"No notifications." Rodney shook his head slowly. "This is the time when we all should perish. So, there's no point in giving any notification."
"So they don't expect anyone to survive after this," Clyde said.
"Yes," Rodney said. 'Unless, not until recently.'
From behind, the sound of footsteps could be heard. The rest of the group came together to approach them.
Asqa let out a gasp as she stared outside. Her eyes widened in terror.
"What happened?" asked Asqa.
No one answered Asqa's question because they were all drowned in the same terror.
Especially the Regressors, who seemed to be frozen with immeasurable fear of having to face the thing that killed them again.
Unlike the obstacles in the previous Chapters where they can still be more calm and courageous because they have reached a high Level.
The threat they were about to face right now was something on a different level from anything they had faced. This is the last BOSS which is arguably an impossible obstacle.
After all, what would appear from behind the black mist and yellowish lightning was an Outer God. An entity whose power could not be measured.
Among all of them, only Clyde knew that there was a possibility that the Outer God that would appear was just an imitation.
Although it is clear that the Outer God will have extraordinary strength, it does not mean that it is invincible.
After all, Clyde had something that could guarantee that he would be able to injure that Outer God.
"When did it appear?" Clyde asked in a calm tone.
His attitude made them all look at him with shocked faces.
"I know you are strong but what we are going to face is different from what we faced before!" Reed said to Clyde in disbelief. He was sure that Clyde felt confident because he felt strong enough. But then again, the Outer God's power was on a different level.
"So, what do you want to do?" Clyde asked Reed back.
Reed, of course, didn't know how to answer that question. He was so scared, yet he knew that there was no other choice for him but to fight.
Rodney said. "It won't be long now."
Rodney pointed outside. They all followed his directions.
There is a terrible change taking place out there. Along the horizon, something like threads of various colors was rising up from the earth into the black mist.
"What is that?" she asked.
"The Outer God is absorbing energy from the earth," Rodney replied.
"Shit." Sonya Gulped. "What happens if he absorbs all the energy from the earth?"
"I'm sure you've guessed it. Basically, the earth we're standing on will slowly crumble," Rodney replied.
"Can we prevent it if we kill that Outer God?" Clyde asked while looking at Rodney.
Rodney and the Regressors wanted to make a remark about Clyde seeming to have underestimated the Outer God. But as soon as they saw the look on Clyde's face and eyes that were full of seriousness, they canceled their intention.
It was as if, Clyde really believed that he could kill that Outer God when it appeared.
The Regressors had already seen the Outer God's inexplicable power, yet somehow they felt certain that Clyde had a chance against it.
Seeing that, Rodney couldn't help but think: 'Does he have something to be that confident?'
The Regressors turned towards Rodney. Then, Rodney said. "I'm not sure. It never happened before."
After hearing that answer, Clyde looked ahead and walked out of the house.
He looked up then spread his gaze. Trying to find something that looks like the body of the Outer God.
But he found nothing but a collection of black mist and yellow lightning that seemed to rule the sky.
Seeing no choice, the rest of the group left after Clyde.
"You guys really have nothing to say about that monster?" Clyde asked one more time to make sure.
The Regressors knew that the question was directed at them. Yet, what they could say to Clyde was not far from a 'no' answer. Although pronounced differently.
Clyde looked at them. "Alright, then. If you want to survive, you'd better also fight as hard as you can. That way we can see what happens after this monster."
Rodney is increasingly convinced that Clyde has something up his sleeve. He always acted mysterious yesterday and entered the Main Control Tower alone. So he definitely got something there.
They waited for a while in thumping hearts. Including Clyde, who, despite putting on a calm and straight face, also felt a nervousness in his heart.
~~~
In that white room, Agatha and Luccio stared at the monitor screen that showed the whereabouts of the remaining seven players.
There was a faint smile on Luccio's face that gave off a sly look. Realizing that, Agatha asked.
"Don't you want to go up to him again and offer a contract, Senior?"
"Yeah. But the time hasn't come yet," said Luccio.
"What time do you mean?"
"I'll wait until he feels despair. Until he realizes that he can't do anything despite having a high level and strong skills."
Agatha knew that the 'Outer God' present here was not a real thing. However, the monster called 'Outer God' in this Chapter was indeed something that was impossible to defeat even for max-level players.
Because all of their Stats were capped at level 10. If they could use all of their Stat Points, then the 'Outer God' wouldn't be a problem.
It was intentional for the players to feel immeasurable despair. Some of them even died less than a minute after the 'Outer God' appeared and was immediately declared a failure.
However, there are some who manage to survive longer than others.
The player who survives the longest will graduate with Grade A.
It was a simple selection system but also quite cruel. All their efforts up to this point would only be determined by how long they lasted. Because they couldn't possibly get away with killing the 'Outer God'.
'But I'm sure that this time will be different.'
Agatha tried to keep her smile from appearing and making Luccio suspicious. She saw that Clyde looked the calmest of them all.
Clyde has the Nightmare Orb. No Player has obtaining that item before because its location is hidden and hard to reach.
'I'm so looking forward to what he's going to do,' thought Agatha.
~~~