System, I choose to transform,” I spoke to the system in my mind.
1/3
+25 BONUS
Chapter 8
While Axel was momentarily distracted, I dashed down from the observation tower.
The slanted wind carried torrential rain, and the ground beneath my feet crumbled wildly.
I ran to the shore and shouted, “Whale!”
A whale fall would thrive all.
I transformed into a whale, but saving the world was never something one whale’s sacrifice could achieve. The world needed justice; it needed a voice.
Axel chased after me without hesitation, with Aria and Grandpa following close behind.
The gale howled, the ground split open, and the thunderstorm roared.
I should’ve known. Their skills represented typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
The rain burned the skin, players turned into monsters, and the ocean was black.
Wasn’t that all a sign of a post–nuclear world?
The Earth, once a paradise, had been polluted. What was once paradise was now a deserted island.
The fourth boss had always been here. It was the sea, the land beneath us.
It was the environment.
If I thought about it that way, its wish must have been to be restored.
At that moment, I finally understood why the system had given me the ability to transform.
But using this ability meant I might perish along with the game.
Axel was desperate. Somehow, he crossed the boundary of the ocean and caught me..
He held me tightly and whispered in his gentle voice, “You increased my affection level and saved me. I promised to protect you.”
I didn’t know what was happening. My entire body felt feverish, but as I sank into the sea, it became cool and soothing.
“Didn’t you ask me what I wanted to do after we’re free? Of course, I’d find you.”
When I woke up again, I was in a hospital. The beeping of medical equipment confirmed it–I was alive.
Well, the system had never said that self–sacrifice would kill me.
The doctor said we were lucky to be alive. The bus had rolled down a hillside on the highway, yet five of us survived.
I guessed that, besides me, the other survivors must be the new players I had shared food with.
“Heidi…” I suddenly heard someone call my name.
The voice was soft and gentle, yet it made my face flush to my ears.
The young man who had jumped to his death years ago due to public shaming was actually a wronged hero.
He hadn’t died. He had just been asleep for a long time.
A group of doctors and nurses wheeled Axel away in a chair. “You just woke up. No strenuous activity.”
2/3
Chanter
+26 BONUS
I smiled. Outside the window, the sun was shining brightly A free bird landed on the lush branches of a tree.
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