Chapter 1: Fate

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White hall, City Z ~~~ Sept 2065

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“At what point does a man become irredeemable. You ask,” He puffed on a cigar, “Most would say— people become irredeemable when they start to relish the dreadful acts they commit. Although some might argue, people can commit heinous crimes and be ghastly, terrible people, but it’s always possible. Even if it’s unlikely, for them to change— turn their lives around, regret what they’ve done, and do as much good as they can while they’re still here.”

“Mr. President, but what about Razius the dead?” asked a reporter

“Can he be redeemed?” asked another reporter.

After a moment of silence, “No matter what the world might say, Razius was a good man” He continued, “A good man with a rotten fate.”

“So, can his actions be justified on the basis of his orthodoxical upbringing and prejudiced treatment during his childhood?”

“Evil—” His low tone in his voice shifted, “—can never be justified. The world has never been fair, and countless people have experienced a fate worse than Razius’s, yet they didn’t give up on their sanity. They walked a thorny path of a martyr and engraved their names on the pages of a history book.”

“So, he cannot be vindicated under any circumstances?”

The white smoke filled the room, “That’s not for me to decide.”

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30 Years Ago

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One decision. Life gave him one last choice,

One decision.

Looking at the quest, he wondered, just why? Why him?

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24 hours earlier

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[The five high-rankers shall today embark on a journey to vanquish the dread of the Tower.]

[After 20 years cruel years, the world will now enter an era of peace and prosperity]

The squabbles from the TV spread across the reasonably small room. Except in front of the door, bookshelves occupied all other corners in the room. The sole source of light in the room was the fluorescent light bulb hanging in the ceiling. There were no windows.

Piles of notes and written runes were arranged neatly in small tables, resting in front of the shelves.

Razius didn’t enjoy board places. So, even though he could afford extravagant villas, he lived in a congested apartment. Money served like dirt in his hand. As a high-ranker, he could collect as much dirt as he desired, but Razius relished his mediocre lifestyle.

From his wardrobe, he took out a black leather coat and pants. He only had two pairs of clothing. One the ranker outfit he wore when going to work. Another a simple black robe he wore at home.

After he donned on his black ranker outfit with silver linings, he glanced towards the TV News.

The squabbles about the high rankers final quest had spread like wildfire across the web.

His arms slightly quivered in a forecast of what was to come.

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On the way,

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“Go heroes!”

“Hail to a new future!”

The crowd screamed. They cried; they roared, all in excitement.

Five Rankers ambled across a red carpet, waving at the people.

The one-hour walk commenced from the Hunter Association would end at Triple-Gate. Rather than using any vehicle or transportation spell, the five rankers choose to walk in glory. The walk served a purpose—to spread a message of humbleness and inspiration. And assured the people that everything was going to be alright.

A red carpet stretched across the middle of the street, where the rankers walked. On other sides, people gathered and hooted with long banners.

Razius scouted his eyes across various people and glimpsed at the names on the banners.

Redsworn, Scarlet Viper, Phoenix, Reaper. People worshipped the names of the four high rankers. Big posters were hanged from the roofs, cheering the rankers. Some even went as far as to tattoo the ranker’s symbols and faces on their own body.

Razius surveyed his eyes through the crowd of over 20,000 people. Even among thousands of banners for other rankers, he saw just one-two banners, with the name Razius the Dead. But when he saw those two banners, he felt some warmth in his heart.

Razius had pale skin mottled with blue and purple patches. In the eyes of others, he looked like a walking corpse with a hideous face. So, people called him Razius the Dead. Initially, the title had started as an insult by one of the fellow rankers. But the name stuck over time.

Razius didn’t mind the name. At least it was better than the insults he got as a child.

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After the Quest

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“Make sure to fit the entire head!” Redsworn rested atop the severed green dragon head’s snout. He was an eccentric young man with red hair and donned red-scaled armor made from fine serpent scales.

“Eh? But the head's too big...” Reaper stood in front of the dragon’s head. His blue eyes glittered even in the dark, contrasting perfectly with his black robe outfit and a hoodie. On his face, he wore a simple black mask, covering his face from the nose below.

“Why do I have to do this?” He whispered as he struggled to capture the entire dragon’s head along with Redsworn in the camera’s frame.

Meanwhile, Phoenix examined the colossal dungeon gate that had yet to open. Her golden eyes peered upon the dragon runes engraved upon the gate. With her two soft hands, she pushed the gate with all her might, but the gate did not budge an inch.

“Tsk” Her face brewed a scowled expression. Right after the five had slain the Keeper, a notification had emerged in front of all of them.

[You have slain the Keeper. The 5th Dungeon Door would open after 30 minutes.]

She found the notification suspicious. They had already slain the Keeper, so what was the point of trapping them inside here? Not to mention, she couldn’t access any of her abilities right now.

Looking back, she saw Redsworn and Reaper goofing around like always.

‘Idiots’ Then, her eyes fell over Viper. Like always, the scarlet-haired women looked busy dismantling the dragon’s corpse.

Phoenix’s veins bulged, looking at how none of the others felt any concern about the current situation.

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Razius rested, leaning against the wall in one of the corners. From his view, he could see Redsworn and Reaper near the severed dragon’s head, and Phoenix near the gate.

Killing the Keeper turned out to be easier than expected. The dragon wasn’t weak. The five of them were just too strong.

Right here, looking at the others, he dwelled on a question, “Why are they adored and idolized?”

Many times had he contemplated the difference between him and the others. He, too, possessed parts of the traits that made the others famous.

Reaper had a timid personality. He was shy and would often teleport away in the sight of a camera. The public found such a trait adorable. Razius, too was similar. He was shy, but of course, no one knew what kind of personality he had. Cameras were rarely pointed towards him, as people found his face grotesque.

Redsworn was known for his flaws. Just a few years ago, his drinking problem and drug addictions became public news. Thereafter, he was idolized as a man, who even with flaws, always kept fighting for the people and saved millions in the battle against the red serpent.

But no one ever praised Razius for fighting to protect the very people who despised him.

Phoenix—she was considered a Paragon of Justice. She gained that title during the conquest of the ten demon lords when she saved the children enslaved by the Demon Lord of the frosty mountain. In truth, she mindlessly spread her flames throughout the hill, not caring about the civilians trapped in there. It was Reaper who stopped her flames from demolishing the innocents, and Razius who rescued the children. But alas, the kids considered Razius a monster and a demon and ran away. He didn’t mind. They were but children, after all. Later Phoenix got the entire credit for the operation.

And last, Viper. No one knew her origins. No one knew what kind of person she was. She never participated in any form of rescue operations and only fought when she needed samples for her research. Yet, people still tattooed her name in their hearts. All because of her enticing and enchanting face.

Razius sighed. Life was unfair. He realized it better than anyone and had come to terms with it.

At least, he thought he’d, but all it took was one notification to make him question his entire life decisions.

“What?” He looked in awe. “-20 years?” For a moment, his entire life flashed in front of his eyes.

“No, no” He shook his head and facepalmed. It was a ridiculous quest—kill all of the rankers in this room. How could he possibly do that? They were not bad people. Especially Redsworn, Reaper and Viper. Three of them were the only ones who never looked down on him.

But if the quest starts 20 years earlier, then this future would cease to exist. That would mean… “I never killed anyone.”

“No, no” He shook his head. But images of what-ifs kept flashing through his mind. If he could travel back 20 years, he could avoid the incident that caused his exterior to look nightmarish. He could make a better impression during awakening, “No, no.”

Since his awakening 20 years ago, the one thing he realized was that the system was absolute. But still, he couldn’t convince himself to accept this quest. True, he may not be liked by everyone, and other rankers might have millions of admirers but he’d at least 10-100’s of admirers. That was enough for him. He may not have fan-made sites like other rankers, but he could still find articles about him being an underrated Ranker when he searched his name.

Such little things helped him come to terms with his life. His struggles laid a foundation, which in turn gave birth to an unwavering conviction. But if he accepted such a quest now—it would mean his conviction was a lie.

A man who’s properly content with his life doesn’t dream of a second chance. Razius struggled to convince himself that he was satisfied with his life.

His arm quivered as he lifted it to press [No]. This was the only way. This way, he could prove to himself that his life was not a lie.

He could not do it. Who was he kidding? He could not even convince himself that his current life had any meaning.Looking at the grim ceiling, he realized how pathetic he was and how miserable his life was.