Ss stood there in bewilderment after hearing the mechanical voice in his head. He nced around, searching for the source of the voice, but after a few moments, he realized it wasing from the red glowing object he had dug out.


    "What the hell is this thing? Could it be the artifact the group was searching for? The artifact of the Apex Mutant? It has to be, because the voice mentioned something about a host of the Apex Mutant. But what does it mean by that?" Ss pondered internally.


    Ss was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts as the mechanical voice spoke again.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [You have one minute to decide whether or not you will ept the power of the Apex Mutant.]


    [59]


    [58]


    [57]


    [56]


    Ss''s heart raced as the countdown began. He was still trying to understand what was happening, and now he was given limited time to make a decision.


    His mind drifted back to the words he had heard moments ago.


    "I wonder what will happen if I ept? It clearly says I will be the host of the Apex Mutant. But what does it mean by ''host''? Does it mean I''ll inherit all the powers of the Apex Mutant and get stronger? Is that even possible?"


    Several thoughts raced through Ss''s mind as the numbers continued counting down.


    [10]


    [9]


    [8]


    [7]


    "What do I have to lose? Besides, if this really can make me stronger, then it''s best for me to ept it," Ss mused before finally speaking two words.


    "I ept!"


    As soon as he said those words, the countdown stopped instantly.


    [Congrattions, you have epted the mantle of Host!]


    [The process will now begin!]


    The familiar voice echoed in Ss''s head again, but this time, he wasn''t as shocked or nervous.


    He shifted his gaze towards the glowing red object in his hand and noticed it was turning into dust. The object quickly disintegrated into tiny particles, and when Ss identally inhaled the dust, he dropped to his knees as a sharp pain shot through his head.


    The pain was excruciating, like someone was drilling inside his skull. He grabbed his head with both hands and screamed at the top of his lungs.


    The painsted for a few minutes before it finally subsided. Ss let go of his head and slowly rose to his feet, panting heavily.


    *Ding!*


    A soft chime echoed, followed by the familiar robotic voice. But something was different this time.


    "What the hell is this screen?" Ss wondered, his gaze fixed on the red window floating in front of him.


    The holographic screen disyed the same words spoken by the robotic voice.


    [Two tasks are required toplete the process.]


    [The first task is hidden.]


    [Click the ept button to start the first task. The first task will be revealed after it ispleted.]


    Ss stared at the screen with a dumbfounded expression.


    "What the hell is going on here? First, there was the strange voice, and now this strange screen?" Ss mused as he rubbed his chin.


    "This appeared right after I agreed to be the Host, so I''m guessing it has something to do with that," Ss thought. "But how am I supposed toplete the first task if I don''t even know what it is?" hemented while examining the screen.


    He still had doubts about whether any of this was real, but he figured there was no harm in giving it a shot. After all, he was probably going to get eaten by the god of the realm soon anyway.


    After staring at the red holographic screen for a few moments, Ss reached out to click the ept icon on the screen. His finger passed right through it as if it wasn''t even there.


    "Hmm... So it''s not a touch screen. How do I start the first task then?" Ss muttered.


    As soon as he said those words, the screen in front of him morphed into a new one.


    [First task has been initiated.]


    [Host will now run wild.]


    Ss nced at the new screen, and his eyes widened in terror as he read the words written boldly on it.


    "Wait, what does it mean by ''host will now run wild''?" Ss shouted, his heart racing, but there was no response from the system. Suddenly, he felt dizzy and fell to his knees.


    "What the hell is happening?" Ss muttered weakly as his eyes began to close. He fought to stay awake, but eventually, he couldn''t resist anymore and passed out on the floor.


    ---


    **Outside the chamber...**


    David and his group stood in front of the chamber door.


    "That fool actually bought our lie," Aisha said, shaking her head with a mischievous grin. "I almost feel bad for him."


    "Why feel bad for him? He''s a useless piece of trash with no mutant ability, Aisha. He had no worth or future. Sacrificing him to the god for the artifact was the best decision," David interjected.


    After the war against the mutants years ago, scientists figured out a way to create portals that led to the realms of the mutants. Guilds traveled through these portals to hunt down mutants and sell their valuable body parts for tokens, while others crafted weapons from their corpses.


    There are different portals for different grades of mutant realms. A portal''s grade is determined by the grade of the mutants that dwell in that particr realm. These portals are sold to guilds or solo rangers at a high price since they can earn a lot of tokens from hunting.


    However, some portals appear in different locations without anyone activating them. These portals are usually grade five, and unlike the other realms, these particr realms are always governed by a god mutant.


    The god mutant keeps the other mutants in the realm in check. Once the god mutant is killed, the rest of the mutants in the realm die, and the realm copses.


    Some of these god mutants have intelligence like humans and are capable of bargaining.


    Before the group entered the realm, they had already examined the god of the realm and saw that it was an intelligent mutant, one that could bargain. They also scanned the chamber and realized it dwelled in a temple, meaning it was the type of mutant that needed a sacrifice to grant a wish.


    The group knew they wouldn''t be able to kill the god on their own, and the god would definitely grant their wish as long as they sacrificed one of their members to it. David was aware of this, which is why he asked Ss to join the group—so he could sacrifice him to the god and demand the artifact in return.


    "It''s been an hour since he went in there. He must have been torn apart by the god by now. Let''s go in and make our demand," David said as he ced his hands on the gigantic crimson door and pushed it open with all his might.