Chapter 101: Chapter101-Sacrificial Quest

Remembering something, I closed my eyes and focused, just like I had before.

As I concentrated, I noticed a strange smell, creeping into my awareness like a dark fog.

It was foul, an odor that seemed to cling to the back of my throat and twist my stomach in knots.

What is this awful smell? It's really disgusting...

Wait! This smell... It's familiar... Have I smelled it before?

The scent was acrid, stinging my nostrils with its sharpness.

As I inhaled more deeply, trying to place the scent, a wave of recognition washed over me.

The smell was unmistakable, and a shiver ran down my spine as I realized what it was.

It's blood, right?

"Wake up! Michael!"

Huh? Michael? Who is that?

Ohhh, that's me...

With that realization, my eyes fluttered open...

The world came into focus, but my vision was jostled as somethingor someoneshook me relentlessly.

What... Is.... Going on?

The room spun and blurred as I struggled to understand what was happening.

The shaking continued, insistent and urgent, pulling me further from the darkness of unconsciousness.

Finally, the voice paired with an image, and as my sight cleared, I saw a familiar face leaning over me, his features etched with worry and frustration.

It was Allen.

How the fuck is he alive?

Seeing him so close, I instinctively jarred back, my body reacting before my mind could process.

The sudden movement sent me tumbling off the bed.

My shoulder slammed into something hard as I hit the floor, pain radiating through my body.

Disoriented, I couldn't make sense of anything around me...

"Michael, you should really thank me, you know. I wasted half of my lifetime to wake your damn ass up," Allen sighed, a mixture of relief and exasperation in his voice.

I ignored his words completely and groaned, clutching my throbbing head as I tried to sit up. "Ouch, my head..."

"Man, you finally woke up," Allen said, shaking his head. "You had me worried. Do you have any idea what's going on?"

I blinked, trying to piece together my scattered thoughts. "No... What happened? Wait, wait! Before that, how the hell are you even alive?"

Allen looked at me in confusion and said, "Heyyyy, what happened to you? Are you okay? Is your head right? Did you lose your memory or something?"

He bombarded me with a torrent of questions, his voice a frantic rush of concern and bewilderment. I didn't understand why he was reacting this way, but his worry was palpable.

I said, "Nothing is wrong with me. What's going on with you? You do remember, right? We were just killed at the hands of Lia?"

Allen sighed and made an expressionless face, which was pretty rare for him. Then, without warning, he slapped me hard.

**THASH**

"Ahh, ou... That hurts..." I groaned, the sting of the slap jolting me fully awake.

I immediately shouted at him, "You"

But before I could finish, he cut me off, "Did you get your common senses back?"

I was confused, my mind still reeling from the slap and his words.

He continued, "Man, you must have a ghost messing with you or something! But seriously, as your friend, I have a duty to remind youwhat you just said could have been your last words if anyone else had heard them."

I knew exactly what he meant.

The government had established a law that deemed spreading misinformation or speaking ill of the leading families as rebellion...

Anyone caught doing so would face execution without exception, while the informant would receive a generous reward.

However, before the execution and all formalities, both the accuser and the accused would undergo a lie detector test to verify the truth of the accusations...

From Allen's reaction and what he said, I could tell he had no idea what happened to either of us.

Thinking about it more just made things more confusing, especially since I didn't die either...

I had many possible explanations, but one thing kept bugging me: was it all an illusion?

There was a good chance it was, since Allen didn't remember any of it, which can only happen in an illusion.

Only illusion monsters could do that, which meant we were likely trapped in some kind of illusion.

But that raised another question: why didn't the person, who I identify as a super monster, erase my memory?

Did they want something from me?

I couldn't figure it out, but I was certain Lia could clear up some of my doubts, since she was the one who had been possessed.

The gravity of the situation sank in.

The slap, the urgency in his voice, it all made sense now.

Allen wasn't just angry; he was truly worried about me...

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "Alright, Allen. I get it. I'm sorry. I just... I don't know what came over me."

I quickly made up an excuse and said it without much hesitation.

Allen replied, "It's okay, I understand."

Then, I gestured to my surroundings and asked, "So, what happened here?"

Allen ran a hand through his hair, looking more serious than I'd ever seen him. "There was an attack. You got hit pretty hard. We're not safe here. We need to move."

I rubbed my chin, thinking hard.

It didn't take long to come up with an idea since my mind was clear...

Doesn't this mean I can use it?

Yes, I can definitely make this work...

There's still a chance it might succeed...

Hehehe.

Not realizing what was going through my head, Allen took a step back when he saw my creepy smile.

Unbeknownst to me, my outer vibe changed, becoming darker and more intense...

Alright, let's focus on the current situation.

I quickly stood up and checked my watch for the time.

**Name:** Michael Frostburne

**Total Rules Broken:** 1

**Current Rules Broken:** 0

**Time:** 5 p.m.

Wow, I didn't expect I'd slept for that long.

Still, it's good news since there are only two more hours left...

I quickly turned to Allen and asked, "Allen, where is Lia?"

Allen grinned and said, "Huh? Lia?"

"Yes!" I said...

He went into deep thought, trying to figure it out.

"Come on, did you see her?"

"I don't know, man."

'What? You just wasted my time with your useless thinking.'

I felt a surge of anger, but I quickly controlled myself since I wasn't as hot-headed as others...

"Then why are you here? Go help your brothers."

Allen started to say something cheerful again, but I interrupted him sharply. "Allen, this isn't a joke. We don't have time to waste. Go now."

His expression changed as he realized how serious I was. "Alright, I'm on it," he said, his tone now serious.

I quickly left the room and realized I was on the highest floor for some reason...

Maybe Allen brought me up here since he was the only person around me when I woke up.

Approaching the window, I looked down to see hundreds of elite-ranked fighters clashing with each other.

"Hmm, that's little unexpected..."

To my surprise, the rebels were still holding their ground against us.

I had thought we would win quickly because we had more people, but the battlefield showed a different story.

We had misjudged the rebels' numbers, which led to this unexpected stalemate.

I searched the area for Lia, seeing fights everywhereon the floors, the rooftopsthe whole campus had turned into a war zone, except for the upper floor where I was...

I didn't know why it was empty here...

Where the heck is she?

I sighed and decided to focus on other things...

The most important thing now was the quest that required me to protect 30 people until it ended.

I opened the system screen and brought up the previous quest again...

As I looked at the quest more closely, I noticed something interesting.

The quest never said I had to save only my group's people.

This meant the rebels could also be counted as people to be saved.

If I carefully avoid this so-called "danger," I might be able to use this loophole to finish the quest more easily...

Hm..

With that settled, I immediately began running to get to the ground for some urgent work. I reached the fifth floor quickly but stopped short of entering when I noticed an ongoing fight.

Still on the stairs, I peered cautiously over the edge to see who was involved.

Two figures came into view.

I was a bit surprised to see the second person because I had expected him to be occupied with another boss fight.

The first person was Lia. Her presence wasn't shocking; when I didn't see her on the battlefield or elsewhere, I had assumed she might be here.

But the second person was a complete surprise.

I hadn't anticipated him fighting Lia, especially considering his rank.

I couldn't understand why he was fighting someone of a lower rank.

Shouldn't he be battling opponents of equal or higher rank?

Who gave him that overpowered status?

It was disappointing.

I had high expectations, but he squandered them with this pathetic display.

I didn't expect this kind of fight from him at all.

That guy was...