Apocalypse Baby

Oracle's POV

He survived.

Oracle slumped back into his white chair, gripping the armrests tightly.

Alex had survived the nightmare.

Not just survived—he had thrived.

And now, he had an absurd amount of stat points.

Oracle's fingers tapped against the desk.

Those points…

Alex could exchange them for Upgrade Stones using the Item Attribute Converter.

The very item Oracle had given him.

The item meant to limit his growth.

To prevent him from becoming too powerful too fast.

But now?

Now it had backfired. Big time.

Alex wasn't just growing stronger—he was evolving at an uncontrollable rate.

He had enough points to level up every skill he possessed.

And even then, he'd still have more left over.

Oracle clenched his jaw.

This was a disaster.

Sure he made sure Alex had lost something, to balance things out.

But even that was futile.

He had tweaked the nightmare so a day in the nightmare was one week out in the tutorial.

And Alex had spent almost two days in the nightmare.

So about two weeks had passed in the nightmare.

If Alex had stayed further in the nightmare spending more days, then as soon as he got out of the nightmare, that would have been the end of his tutorial, and he would be transferred to the new world.

But even while Oracle did that, Alex had still gained more than he ever would have gained if he had spent those two weeks in the tutorial.

"Damn it!"

Oracle roared, his voice shaking the white room.

A surge of raw energy erupted from his body, blasting in all directions.

Bright beams of energy shot out like wild lightning, tearing through the walls and ceiling.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

But it didn't help.

Nothing did.

He collapsed onto the cold, smooth floor, panting.

His mind raced.

What could he do?

How could he stop Alex's growth?

Reducing the number of upgradeable skills?

Impossible. The rules were already set in stone. He couldn't just change them on a whim.

Maybe… he could spawn a high-level unique monster near Alex?

But Oracle immediately dismissed the thought.

No.

That would only make things worse.

Alex would kill it.

And its death would reward him with more skills.

And now that he had the means to upgrade them all.

He'd only be adding to his strength.

What about a Beast Lord…?

Oracle considered once again but shook his head.

No.

Oracle clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth in frustration.

The same outcome would follow.

Alex would win. He always did.

And when he did, he'd grow even stronger.

Oracle's fingers twitched as he brought them to his mouth, biting his nails—a nervous habit he hadn't done in years.

His gaze sharpened, locked onto the shifting images before him.

Through the glowing white screen, he watched as Alex tore his way out of his cocoon.

Power radiated off him, wild and untamed.

Then, Oracle's eyes flickered to something else.

A party of players.

They weren't too far from Alex's location.

They had just defeated a Beast Lord and were now making their way back to camp, their expressions filled with despair and reprieve.

They had lost so many.

Unlike Alex, they didn't fight alone.

They moved as a team.

And that gave Oracle an idea.

Most players weren't like Alex.

They didn't fight alone.

They banded together, forming massive guilds for protection and strength in numbers.

Two of these guilds stood above the rest, each boasting hundreds of members.

And one of them?

It was led by none other than Ethan—Alex's former boss.

Despite their size and strength, it had taken both guilds working together just to take down a Beast Lord.

And that Beast Lord?

It was weaker than the one Alex had fought alone.

Oracle clenched his fists.

Alex had soloed his Beast Lord. Crushed it. Overpowered it. Made it look easy.

But what if Oracle turned the guilds against him?

What if he redirected their focus to a common enemy?

Oracle's lips curled into a twisted grin.

Maybe—just maybe—they could be the ones to finally get rid of him.

But Oracle wasn't stupid.

He knew the guilds wouldn't be able to kill Alex.

No one could.

If they fought him head-on, Alex would wipe them out.

Every. Last. One.

But…

That's exactly what Oracle wanted.

If Alex slaughtered the majority of the tutorial players—especially now that many of them were bound to gods—it would be a disaster.

Their deaths wouldn't go unnoticed.

The gods would be furious.

And when the gods were angry, they didn't stay quiet.

They would demand answers. They would demand justice.

They would complain to the Reigners—the higher powers that controlled everything.

And that was Oracle's opening.

His one shot.

He would paint Alex as a rogue entity. A compromised existence. A future threat that needed to be eliminated.

If the Reigners saw Alex as a danger to their system…

They would erase him.

For good.

There was nothing in the tutorial that could stop Alex.

Not the monsters. Not the system itself.

If anything, Oracle wanted to keep the monsters as far away from Alex as possible.

Giving him more enemies only meant giving him more power.

That wasn't an option.

So, instead of throwing monsters at Alex…

Oracle decided to throw players.

He needed to turn them against Alex.

To do that, he needed bait.

Something irresistible.

A quest.

Oracle's fingers moved swiftly, crafting the perfect trap.

Then, with a smirk, he sent it out to every player in the tutorial.

[MAJOR QUEST]

A unique monster has spawned.

Once human, it now seeks to take the place of the fallen Beast Lord. If left unchecked, it will grow in strength and become an even greater threat.

Objective: Hunt it down before it claims its throne.

Reward:- DOUBLE the tutorial points you currently possess.

- A unique skill.

[The target's location has been marked on your map.]

[Goodluck]

Oracle leaned back, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

That would do it.

Oracle muttered under his breath as the system sent out the Major Quest to every player in the tutorial—

Except Alex.

He exhaled sharply, wiping the sweat off his forehead. His heart pounded from the gamble he had just made.

This was risky. Really risky.

Alex wasn't actually turning into a monster.

But Oracle knew how Alex would react.

And that was enough.

If Alex tore through the players like a beast, then he might as well be one.

That was the angle. That was the lie.

It would be convincing.

…Even if it meant breaking a rule.

Placing a target on a human without concrete evidence was forbidden.

But the higher powers didn't monitor the quests he issued.

They never had a reason to.

As far as they were concerned, his quests were always meant to favor the players.

And as long as they believed that…

Oracle could get away with it.