Cheat In Apocalypse

Seven

[Remaining Time: 0 seconds.]

“s**t,” Ray whispered, feeling his pulse slam against his ribs as the last moment ticked away.

[Monster invasion has begun. Good luck.]

“It starts now.”

He did not spare a glance for the red Portals forming behind him or the wolf-like creatures stepping through it on two legs. His focus stayed on the task he had prepared for since the moment he realized he had returned to this day.

He reached for the axe strapped to his back. His body protested at once. Pain shot across his chest and down his arms, but he held tight and forced himself to lift the weapon.

Barely two seconds had passed since the system’s final message, yet the rat, the flytrap sapling, and the man who had begun mutating had all completed their transformations. The leveling system and the achievement functions were now fully active for the very first time on Earth. For Ray, this was his second time witnessing their arrival.

The Vileborn had not opened its eyes. The creature stood frozen at the end of its metamorphosis while the woman beside it reached out in disbelief, unaware that the man she loved no longer existed.

Ray was already moving.

The axe arced downward, cutting through the damp air. Every muscle in his frail body strained as he committed all his power to the strike.

The blade hit the creature’s neck, slicing halfway through. A burst of warm blood sprayed across Ray’s face and spattered the woman, who stared at him in horrified confusion. To her, it looked like Ray had just attacked her boyfriend.

The blow did enough damage. The creature’s neck snapped, and the Vileborn crumpled to the pavement with a dull thud.

[You have killed a Level 1 ‘Vileborn’ that was much stronger than you.]

[Extracting the life force of the ‘Vileborn’ that was much stronger than you and using it as experience to level up.]

[Every time you kill a being, their life force will be absorbed and used to level you up.]

[You have reached Level 1.]

[For every level, your physical attributes will gain a point.]

[Congratulations! You are the first person on Earth to kill a Vileborn.]

[Achievement Unlocked: First Killer of Vileborns.]

[Reward: +5 Free Stat Points.]

Ray exhaled sharply, but he pushed away the instinct to rest or celebrate. Three more achievements still remained: the first kill of a mutated plant, the first kill of a mutated beast, and the first kill of a Portals monster. He had no time to spare.

He had learned about these achievements during his time with the Association. Those who obtained them in his previous life had earned them only minutes after the system descended.

He had just claimed the Vileborn achievement within seconds. He needed to keep that momentum.

“No time for notifications,” he muttered under his breath.

The warm sensation of leveling up tingled through his body, but he ignored it and reached for the knife in his pocket. He turned toward the mutated rat, which was clawing wildly at the bent bars of its cage.

Without hesitation, Ray drove the blade into its flesh.

[You have killed a Level 1 ‘Mutated Beast’ that was stronger than you.]

[Your experience has increased.]

[You have reached Level 2.]

[Congratulations! You are the first person on Earth to kill a ‘Mutated Beast.’]

[Achievement Unlocked: First Killer of Mutated Beasts.]

[Reward: +5 Free Stat Points.]

Ray wiped the blood on his sleeve and freed the axe from the Vileborn’s neck. He spun toward the mutated flytrap plant. The creature now towered nearly four feet tall, its body anchored into the asphalt, its leaves lined with jagged teeth.

Ray tightened his grip and began cutting into the stalk, hitting the same point again and again until the plant collapsed.

[You have killed a Level 1 ‘Mutated Vine.’]

[Your experience has increased.]

[Congratulations! You are the first person on Earth to kill a ‘Mutated Flora.’]

[Achievement Unlocked: First Killer of Mutated Flora.]

[Reward: +5 Free Stat Points.]

Breathing heavily, Ray staggered back a step. Strength was beginning to gather in his limbs as he leveled up, and the fog of exhaustion started to thin. But the deep ache in his chest remained unchanged, pulsing sharply with every breath.

Still, he had reached the halfway point. Three achievements down, one left.

The last requirement was the hardest. He needed to kill a monster from a Portals. Others around the world had managed it fairly quickly on the day of the apocalypse, though many achieved it under chaotic circumstances. Even so, not every kill qualified. The system’s rules were precise and unforgiving.

For the achievement to count, the kill had to be made through personal strength alone. Firearms or any weapon that relied on external force were f*******n. A kill made without physical effort did not count toward achievements.

This was why only a handful of people had attained these titles in Ray’s previous life. Many had killed monsters early, yet they failed to meet the system’s strict conditions.

Ray had succeeded so far only because he used his own strength. His knife and axe served as extensions of his body, not replacements for effort.

There were similar rules for leveling. While anyone could gain experience by killing monsters, the amount of experience changed based on certain factors.

He remembered the primary ones clearly:

First, experience grew higher when fewer Gifteds contributed to the battle.

Second, greater rewards came when the Gifted’s battle power was below the monster’s.

Third, there were additional secret conditions, but he could not recall all of them.

A Gifted’s battle power was calculated using their total attributes compared to the opponent’s average attributes, unaffected by bonuses from talents, techniques, abilities, or titles.

If Ray used his free stat points now, his battle power would rise, shrinking the gap and lowering the experience he would gain. He needed his attributes to stay low for as long as possible to maximize his gains.

Two minutes had passed since the system descended.

“That man from Japan earned the achievement seven minutes after the descent,” Ray thought, checking the cracked watch on his wrist.

He had roughly five minutes left to take the title for himself.

Screams tore through the street.

“Monsters are coming!”

“Get away!”

“Run for your life!”

People scattered in every direction. Cars crashed into storefronts. Others were abandoned mid-street as terrified civilians fled.

Ray’s eyes shifted toward the red Portals. A handful of wolf-like creatures had already fully emerged. They resembled wolves but stood on two legs, with elonPortalsd snouts, pointed ears, and muscular bodies built for killing. Dark fur clung to their frames. Their claws were long, curved, and sharp. Thick yellow fangs dripped with saliva as they tore into the first humans they found.

Their eyes were void of emotion, completely black and hungry.

“I need to kill one within four minutes,” Ray muttered while slipping into a narrow corner to assess the battlefield.

The monsters were already in a frenzy. They ripped into the screaming civilians with savage enthusiasm, tearing away chunks of flesh as they fed.

The sight hit him harder than he expected. Even after reliving this day in dreams and nightmares, seeing the c*****e unfold again was suffocating.

He forced himself to look for a target. After a brief search, he spotted one creature slightly separated from the others.

---

[Name: Savage Lycan]

[Level: 3]

[Origin: Lytoria]

---

“A level 3,” Ray thought. “That is manageable. But the problem is the company it keeps.”

Three level 4 Lycans circled around it, feasting on a dying human whose screams were growing faint.

Ray dug his nails into his palm as he weighed his options.

He needed that achievement.

But reaching the lone monster without drawing the attention of its stronger allies would be a challenge that could cost him his life.