Chef in the Apocalypse-Chapter 20: World Quest

The aftermath of Rubick's swift judgment was nothing short of chilling. As the dust settled from the destruction of booth #83, the players stood in stunned silence. The eerie atmosphere seemed to thicken as Rubick nonchalantly continued speaking, as though taking a human life was merely routine.

"There's no time to dwell on such matters," Rubick spoke, his voice carrying an unsettling tone that sent shivers down the spines of the listeners. "Instead, let us focus on the celebration and competition ahead!"

Jayce couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that enveloped him. Rubick's demeanor, the way he seemed detached from the gravity of his actions, made him appear like an otherworldly being. A puppet master pulling the strings of fate with an almost sadistic delight.

"Now, my dear supporters, it is time for the inaugural quest!" Rubick announced, and the room was filled with a mix of anticipation and trepidation.

"Our top 100 supporters shall compete for a grand prize!"

These words gave rise to many questions, however after remembering Oil Prince's harrowing fate for speaking out of turn, no one had the courage to ask. Jayce shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, having a bad feeling about the situation.

Rubick looked around the room a couple of times, and placed his hands on his hips. He let out a harrumph, puffing his cheeks slightly in irritation "Hmph. Well I thought you'd all be a bit more excited."

Of course, his attempt to act cute was lost on the room's occupants. Not only did they just see Rubick brutally murder one of them, his face was also hidden behind a creepy mask that caused those who looked at it to feel fear.

"Ahem. Anyway, let's get onto the competition!" He clapped his hands together, producing a loud noise and sending smoke billowing out similar to a smoke grenade.

Jayce saw his screen begin to turn opaque due to the smoke. He panicked for a moment, worried that he may suffocate if the smoke made its way into his booth. However, he did not have to worry for too long.

The screen in front of him glitched for a moment before a two dimensional figure appeared on the center of his screen. He blinked a few times, dumbfounded by the sight in front of him.

"Hiya everyone! Can you see meee?"

'What the hell is this?' Jayce recoiled.

A chibi version of Rubick was dancing around his screen. It reminded him of the cute drawings in the author's words section of some of his favorite manga. However this was much creepier.

Rubick seemed to be enjoying his new look as he jumped around, making noises in a high pitched tone. A window appeared on the screen with the title "First Cataclysm Competition [World Quest]" with a list of conditions underneath.

Welcome to the First Cataclysm Competition, intended for sponsors only.

In recognition of your unwavering faith and contribution, we invite you to partake in the First Cataclysm Competition. This momentous event serves as an opportunity for humanity to stand united and forge a path towards survival.

We hope you take this chance seriously, as failure to complete the task will immediately result in ultimate extinction for the human race.

Objectives:

Create a Faction (minimum 20 players) 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗻𝐨𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Faction members reach an average level of 10

Kill 50 Goblins

Kill 50 Bloodfang Wolves

Reward:

1st place: Unique Skill

2nd place: Epic Skill

3rd place: Rare Skill

Jayce's face paled immediately, seeing the words written in front of him. Extinction of the human race was particularly concerning to him. Was this also what happened in his previous life?

He frowned deeply, he had never heard of anything like this in the past. However he had never been a supporter, just an ordinary swordsman who had managed to survive for 10 years.

Thinking back to the list of supporters he had been shown, he recognized quite a few that were leaders of guilds and factions in his past life. Things started to fall into place, piece by piece.

If the guild and faction leaders were all supporters in his previous life, it would make sense why no one else would know of these quests, due to the threat of being "permanently banned." It also explained why there were never any outright wars between factions.

Faced with the extinction of the human race, the guild and faction leaders were fighting their own battle to ensure that man would not cease to exist.

Jayce had always wondered why the big guilds would dare to challenge high level bosses for gear and item drops. It never made sense to him. After all, if all you were trying to do was survive, it would be more prudent to just bunker down and be defensive.

However, now that he knew about the yearly [World Quest] that was provided by Rubick, and the result of failure, everything began to become clearer.