Chapter 6: Chapter 6: System's Prank

Elio sat on his bed, his stomach growling with the ferocity of a small monster. The weight of his decision still pressed heavily on his mind, but the demands of his body were becoming impossible to ignore. Just as he was about to rise and seek out some sustenance, the door to his room burst open with a bang that made him jump.

Three young men tumbled in, a whirlwind of laughter and playful shoves. The first to enter was a tall, lanky guy with a shaggy mop of blond hair and a mischievous grin on his face. His eyes sparkled with barely contained mischief, as if he were perpetually on the verge of some elaborate prank.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he exclaimed, his gaze zeroing in on Elio with predatory glee. "A fresh recruit! Come on, newbie, let's hear that name!"

Elio hesitated for a moment before responding, "Elio... Elio Elian."

The blond's eyes widened in recognition. "Elian? As in, the madman who took on the Fire Monster without any gear? Are you some kind of suicidal genius or just plain crazy my friend?"

Before Elio could formulate a response, his attention was drawn to the second newcomer. This one was built like a monster from the scrolls, all rippling muscles and thick limbs. His dark hair was shaved down to stubble, and his square jaw seemed carved from God's stone.

Elio couldn't help but wonder at the point of such excessive musculature in a world where, once an adult, the System determined one's strength. It was a pointless waste of time that could only change one's appearance for the worse.

"Give it a rest, Kriz," the human behemoth grunted, crossing arms thick as Elio's thorax over his chest. "You don't want to rile up the craziest rookie of the month before we give him a proper welcome, do you?"

The last to enter was a stark contrast to his boisterous companions. He moved with a calm, deliberate grace, his piercing dark eyes taking in every detail of the room. His neatly combed brown hair and relaxed posture spoke of a composed nature that seemed at odds with the energy of the other two.

"That's quite enough, both of you," he said, his measured tone carrying a hint of authority. "The poor guy just went through two grueling trials. The last thing he needs is to be harassed by a pair of overgrown children."

Kriz, the blond, let out a laugh that seemed too big for his lanky frame. "Harassed? Come on, Ren, we're just giving him the ol' Barracks 1515 welcome!"

Before Elio could reply, Kriz slung his arm around his shoulders in a buddy-buddy way.

Elio frowned as the muscled guy, whose name he still didn't know, joined Kriz in surrounding him.

Suddenly, a wicked grin crossed Kriz's face. "Hey Brok, remember that guy Galen from last year?"

Brok's eyes lit up with malicious glee. "You mean...?"

Kriz nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly. What do you say, buddy? Give the rookie a the full initiation treatment?"

"Aw c'mon Ren," Kriz said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "It was just a bit of harmless fun."

Ren shook his head, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. "Perhaps we should make amends by treating our new roommate to a meal. I imagine he's quite famished after his ordeals."

Kriz and Brok nodded, their enthusiasm seemingly undiminished by the scolding. As they led the way towards the dining hall, Elio found himself falling into step beside Ren, grateful for the other young man's calming presence.

"Thanks," he murmured. "For stepping in, I mean."

Ren nodded, his dark eyes twinkling with understated amusement. "They mean well, truly. Their methods are... unorthodox, but their hearts are in the right place."

As they walked, the four young men fell into an easy camaraderie. Elio found himself laughing at Kriz's outrageous stories and marveling at Brok's poses of 'strength'. Even Ren, for all his composure, had a dry wit that frequently caught Elio off guard.

Eventually, they arrived at a large door that opened onto an elevated platform. Kriz flung it wide with a dramatic flourish, revealing a breathtaking view of the walled city. But what truly captured Elio's attention was the nightmarish spectacle unfolding on the other side of the wall.

Tens, no, hundreds of thousands of monstrous creatures seethed and writhed atop one another, like massive waves, straining to scale the towering 500-meter rampart. The air was filled with a cacophony of inhuman shrieks and growls, a sound that seemed to vibrate in Elio's very bones.

The roiling sea of screeching, twisting creatures was a horrific yet hypnotic sight.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Brok said, his usual bravado tempered by a note of awe. "Without those God's Punishment turrets, we'd be little more than monster chow."

Elio swallowed hard, a chill running down his spine as he took in the endless tide of creatures assaulting the wall. It was a vision that defied imagination, a living nightmare threatening to devour their fragile sanctuary at any moment.

"Yeah, it's terrifying," Ren chimed in, his calm demeanor cracking slightly in the face of such horror. "But that's why we're here, isn't it? To feed the turrets that keep those abominations at bay and protect our families."

Kriz snorted, his demeanor turning serious for the first time. "Ren's got it right. Might seem like a joke now, but that's our job. Just by contributing 10 mana points a day, we're fighting against those monsters, keeping our loved ones safe."

Elio nodded slowly, the gravity of the situation sinking in. It had been easy to lose sight of the Book System's true purpose, caught up in the challenges and trials. But now, seeing the relentless threat lurking beyond the walls with his own eyes, he realized just how much rode on his daily mana contribution.

"Well, my friends," Brok said, clapping Elio on the back hard enough to nearly send him stumbling, "what say we get some grub? We'll need all our strength for what's coming."

As they turned away from the nightmarish view and headed towards the promise of food, Elio felt a new sense of purpose settling over him.