[Amon Order Executioner – Ruthless Corxus]
[Corxus Valren, despite being born human, spent most of his life in a state where he could not be considered "human."
He was born at the end of the Dark Ages and died with the end of the Dark Ages.
He was born in an ordinary village in an ordinary world. His village was branded as corrupt, and the executioners of the Amon Order, following orders, ordered everyone in the village to undergo "purification."
Corxus, who was ten years old at the time, lost his family, siblings, friends, and acquaintances... all in a single night. Corxus, who was chosen as an apprentice at the appropriate age for purification, was taken to the Amon Order headquarters before the ashes of his village had even cooled.
The Amon Order reshaped individuals taken at a young age, starting with their minds. Established and destroyed at the end of the Dark Ages, this order was a sect of religious fanatics who spread and enforced the teachings of Amon, one of the last gods.
Corxus became a perfect product of this order. He was taught that mercy was nothing but treason and that weakness was a great sin.
In his early years, his only task was to execute prisoners sentenced to death. He had stained his hands with the blood of dozens of people while still in his youth.
However, Corxus's ability was not limited to cruelty. He was able to maintain his speed even under his massive armor and wield two-handed swords with ease, using only one hand, which allowed him to rise from apprentice executioner to fully authorized executioner.
As the years passed, his name began to be spoken with fear. On some tasks, he "purified" entire villages and towns single-handedly.
It is said that not a single person on the purification list survived during that period thanks to Corxus. The nickname "ruthless" he earned during these tasks became permanent on the day he killed even his own flesh and blood without batting an eye.
During one quest, a woman and a little girl who appeared in front of him in an area designated for purification reminded him of his own mother and sister with their facial features. He paused for a moment, but only for a breath. Then, following orders, he executed them both.
From that day on, the last spark of humanity within him was extinguished. Now, for him, purification was not just a task, but the meaning of his existence.
The Amon order was protected by an absolute hierarchy.
Even the most powerful executioner at the top could not fight recklessly without orders.
Corxus, however, held the highest badge of loyalty in the Amon Order. Among the powers granted to him was the right to sacrifice his own life for the sake of the order. He used this right when he died.
When he lost the upper hand in his final battle against the "heretics," he overloaded the golden core he had been given by the Order as the most powerful executioner and destroyed himself in a huge explosion. This explosion was not only to destroy his body, but also to erase all traces he could leave behind. Leaving nothing behind for the enemies of the Order was his final act of purification.
Even today, when the name of the Ruthless Corxus appears in the Records of the Order of Amon, those interested in the history of the dark ages note that loyalty is perfect when stripped of mercy. Corxus was the greatest living example of this. -Veritas]
"Even compared to the history of our world, this religion seems more fanatical."
William's hair stood on end. "I wouldn't want to live in that era."
He stared at the console screen for a long time.
"Loyalty is perfect when it is devoid of mercy..." he muttered.
These words sounded powerful, but at the same time, dangerous.
He looked at Kerrin's story, who had used his intelligence to bring his race to the top, then destroyed it with his own hands.
Corxus, on the other hand, had adopted someone else's beliefs and commands as his own, eventually reaching a point where he could destroy himself. Corxus seemed to be in love with his executioner.
William weighed the two different ways of thinking in his mind. There were points where both were equally strong, but in the end, they seemed to balance each other out.
One had become a slave to his own obsession, the other a slave to someone else's obsession.
William didn't know if there was a real god in the Amon Order, and the concept of god now seemed much weaker to him.
"If there is a god, it is just someone who is very powerful compared to others," he thought, because even the system could now be considered a god.
If someone with level 90 came out of nowhere and showed that they could move mountains, they would be equal to a god for weak humanity.
That's why he thought the concept of God in the Dark Ages was different.
He believed that what they referred to as God was not a metaphysical entity, but a real, flesh-and-blood, powerful being.
William sighed deeply.
"My path is different from both of these. I don't know if I have an obsession, if I am a slave to my ego. Maybe a little. But I will definitely not be a slave to someone else's obsession.
This raises the question in my mind: is the system an obsession, and are we, whether we like it or not, followers of the obsession of those who created the system?"
William lay down on the floor. The cold stone was hard beneath his back, and the dim lights of the console cast scattered spots in his eyes. His thoughts were heavy, his breathing slow.
"I think my path is based more on selfishness. The stronger I am, the longer I live. The better I am, the more I will hurt myself. The worse I am, the more I will hurt others. It's best to follow the balance. To exceed my own limits as a human being."
William took a deep breath and stood up again.
"I guess I'll learn all this slowly, bit by bit, as I live my life."
William then answered yes to both questions on the console and raised his swords to face the creature that appeared before him.
This time, it wasn't a humanoid; it was a true creature.
William's neck would have snapped as he looked up at the creature's head, which was over four meters tall.
Each of its claws was the size of William's chest.
Its fur was long and white in places, reflecting its years of experience, but it was too short to hide the golden fur and silvery white stripes underneath.
On its back were two mysterious, ugly, featherless, bony protrusions. These could have been the roots of wings.
Its tail was much thicker and longer than normal and covered with metallic gray scales, resembling a snake.
Its face bore the marks of years and battles. A huge scar ran across its lip, and its right eye was completely white. Three claw marks above its right eye explained why its eye was white. His left eye, however, shone with a vivid green clarity, the light in its eyes reflecting the forest it ruled.
When its eyes fell on William, he realized that this creature was not only powerful, but also intelligent.
"A human..." said the creature. Its lips moved, but the sounds did not match its lips.
"You can speak?" William opened his eyes in astonishment.
"Why can't I speak? I am also part of the system."
After hearing these words, William took a step back. "I understand, but why are you speaking?"
"Isn't the purpose to kill and move on to the next level?"
"Hahaha..." The tiger's voice was undeniably loud. William thought the sound was similar to the clicking sound of a door opening onto a huge amphitheater.
"Partially correct, but not at the moment."
"Then what is the purpose of this level?" William frowned. He held his swords in both hands, ready for anything.
"The purpose of this level is..." The tiger couldn't control his right eye, so he narrowed his left eye.
"The purpose of this level is to pass me."
"Pass you? How?" William asked in surprise. He hadn't expected to encounter such a situation in this tower.
"Then this tower isn't entirely focused on combat," he thought.
"Simple. Answer my questions or kill me!"
The tiger spoke in a hoarse voice.
William knew the answer to this question, of course, so he chose the simplest and easiest way, but he needed a few answers first.
"What happens if I don't know the answers?"
"You will be considered to have failed this level and will be thrown out of the tower." When the tiger realized that William would choose the question route, he crouched down while speaking.
"I understand, then I choose to answer the questions."
The moment William said this, a green ley wave spread from the tiger's left eye and swept over William's body before he could react.
William felt as if he had been exposed, completely. William felt that the tiger could see all the secrets of his body, but he remained calm.
"Interesting..." The tiger grinned in a way that didn't suit his face and licked his claws.
[Hunter ChontKarr Lv15]
William waited for the creature to ask a question, but the wait lasted several minutes.
It was as if it had seen all of William's memories and was waiting to digest them.
"Did you love Melisa?"
William opened his eyes wide. "What kind of question is that? What you're doing is against human rights!" William's face turned red.
"Human rights? But it's not against tiger rights. Hahahahahaha!" The tiger's appearance was like a demon from hell, laughing comically.
William wanted to defend himself further, but the tiger's words interrupted him.
"Like it or not, I asked a question, and I want an answer."
William scratched his head, took a step back, and took a deep breath.
"Yes, I like her, okay? I liked Melisa. Even more than myself." William clasped his hands in front of his chest, as if to show his reaction.
Then he thought about it. He wasn't surprised that a tiger could talk, but he was confused as to how the tiger knew Melisa and how it could ask if he liked her.
"What is this system? How does it work? How can a tiger talk?"
The tiger paused for a moment. He raised one of his claws and bent three of them in an odd way, leaving one extended. It looked like he was making a "1" sign.
"One question at a time. I ask a question, and if the answer is correct or to my liking, you ask a question. Don't rush, little one."
William nodded. He understood. He had expected to be the only one asking questions, but this suited him just fine. Asking a few of the thousands of questions swirling around in his head would ease his mind.
"How can you talk?"
The tiger rested its head on its two paws. "I congratulate you, human, for using your question privilege on such a silly question. The answer is energy, ley energy."
"But that's not clear enough!" William rolled his eyes to show his dissatisfaction with the answer, but the tiger didn't seem to care.
"Take it or leave it, like it or not, that's the answer."
William shook his head. "Ask," he said.
"Do you like Eliza?" The tiger spoke. His voice sounded like that of a gossiping old man.
William put his hand on his forehead. "What kind of questions are these?" he thought.
"Yes."
When no answer came from the tiger, he realized he had answered correctly and asked his own question.
"What is this system?"
"Another boring question. It's a cultivation tracking system created by the Seven Ancients."
The tiger then raised its left claw and licked the long, metallic claw. Then he asked another question.
"Do you love your mother or your father more?"
William couldn't take it anymore. He sat down and leaned his back against the console.
"You know these questions are more ridiculous than mine, right?"
The tiger shook his head. "I don't think they're ridiculous. How many billions of people do you think I've asked this question and liked their answers? Believe me, not many. So be honest and answer my question."
William took a deep breath. "If you had asked me this a few years ago, I would have said my mom, but as I've grown up, I've started to understand some things better. The answer to this question doesn't really exist for me, but since you want an answer, I'll give you the one you want. I love my dad more."
The tiger nodded. "At least you're honest."
"I never planned to lie to you from the beginning, and besides, I think you've seen everything there is to see about me, haven't you?"
The tiger nodded. "I'm not counting that as a question, but yes, I've seen everything there is to see. Now for the next question."
The tiger straightened its body and showed its majesty to William.
"What are nine family members doing inside your body?"
William opened his eyes wide. The tiger's pressure was thousands of times greater than normal.
The pressure was so great that William began to sink into the floor of the tower. It was as if a huge world had been placed on his shoulders.