Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

But as soon as he escaped that area, he felt free—free like he had never before.

So much so that he forgot the risks of this world; he forgot that this was an apocalypse.

But reality gave him a hard slap on the face as he realized that things were not as easy as he thought.

[1:33]

Just one look at the timer in front of his eyes was enough to remind Shushant that he didn\'t have any option but to talk to the foreign guy in front of him—the same guy who was looking at him with a gaze so cold that it freaked the hell out of him.

"I just want a little help. J-Just think of it as if helping a fellow v-victim of the system, a-and hear me o-out…"

With all the courage he could muster, he let out those words, but the more he looked into Alex\'s eyes, the more his words broke until he went quiet.

"... please…"

His head bowed before Alex as he got no response other than a cold look, and he added a word filled with all of his hope and plea.

Shushant had his head bowed, but his focus was on Alex, so the moment he saw Alex lowering the bow a bit, he couldn\'t help but jump in joy.

\'Yes!\'

He clenched his fists in joy, as if he were sure that Alex was going to help him now.

Alex, on the other hand, just wanted to know what was happening.

He wasn\'t even interested in this conversation until he heard the guy mention the system.

\'What did the system do now?\'

Alex frowned inwardly before he activated his analytic eyes on Shushant.

[[Name: Shushant Negi.

Race: Human.

Title: --

Coins: 0

Stats:

- Strength – Level 3 (Tier 1)

- Defense – Level 2 (Tier 1)

- Agility – Level 2 (Tier 1)

- Stamina – Level 2 (Tier 1)

- Mana – Level 2 (Tier 1)

Skills:

- High Adaptability (Uncommon) (Level 1): You have dealt with many situations where you have to keep your mind straight even though you are frustrated to the peak, making you adaptable.

-> Adapter - You can adjust to situations without much problem.

-> Strong mind - Your mind can take pressure more than any normal human can.

- Street Fighting (Common) (Level 1): You have experienced fighting on the street, and you can fight enough to defend yourself.

]]

The AI commented as it saw the skill set of Shushant, along with Alex.

\'Hm.\'

Alex nodded as well, now more confident about facing the guy if necessary, as he could see that Shushant wasn\'t that strong; he was rather weak in this apocalyptic world.

"Can you please lend me 10 coins?"

But as soon as Shushant opened his mouth, voicing out his request, Alex\'s eyes sharpened.

*Strain*

The sound of the bow string being pulled was heard as the arrow that Alex had lowered a moment ago was now back at Shushant.

"H-Hey! Clam down!"

Shushant, who had a smile on his face, suddenly went pale; his arms were raised and his legs were trembling.

He could feel the hard gaze of Alex almost piercing his body; the arrow that was aimed at him—something that didn\'t look like it would miss—just added to his fright.

But seeing no change in Alex\'s emotions, he started to rack his brain until something clicked.

\'System…\'

He recalled the minute shift in Alex\'s expression the moment he mentioned the system before.

*Gulp*

He gulped, not sure if it would work, but with his eyes focused on Alex\'s fingers that were holding the arrow, he added with a hesitant yet hurried voice.

"I-I just don\'t w-want to face the penalty from the system!"

He didn\'t look at Alex\'s face; he knew that there wouldn\'t be any change in Alex\'s expression since it had been the same since the start.

The only minute changes he had seen were few, but they were not really important since a change in expression could mean many things.

But as soon as Shushant noticed the grip on the arrow that Alex had loosening…

"Sigh…."

A long sigh of relief escaped his lips, and his body relaxed a bit.

However, he knew that Alex wanted to know more about this topic as those cold golden eyes kept gazing at him, as if trying to peer into his soul.

[1:09]

However, the moment his eyes noticed that 30 seconds had already passed without any progress, he couldn\'t stop himself from panicking.

"I-I don\'t have much time!

Please! J-Just give me the coins first!

I-I swear to god that I will explain everything—"

He tried to reason with Alex, his hands moving around frantically, and he even took a step toward Alex, but the moment he did so, his words were cut short by the sound of something whistling through the air.

*Swoosh*

*Thunk*

An arrow was shot, and it was just next to the feet he had moved ahead, causing Shushant\'s body to stiffen in terror.

\'D-Did I almost lose my foot…?\'

He stared at the arrow next to his foot with a stupified look; he couldn\'t believe how close he was to losing his foot.

But then he heard Alex\'s voice again, for the second time.

"Stay back."

Shashant\'s quivering eyes turned to look at Alex, who already had another arrow knocked on the bow, aimed right at his head.

His message was clear: \'Move a single step and you die.\'

From the accuracy with which the last arrow had embedded itself on the ground, right a centimeter away from Shushant\'s foot, the guy was sure that it wasn\'t a miss but intentional.

And knowing that Alex was an archer who was skilled enough to do something like that only contributed to elevating Shushant\'s fear.

[0:58]

But as he saw the time slip out of his hand, his mind raced, and he clenched his fist in anger and frustration.

\'Can\'t he just do as I say?!\'

\'Like, what am I even asking for? It\'s just 10 coins!!\'

He gritted his teeth, as the fact that he was tight on time kept repeating itself again and again inside his head.

The next second, however, his fists loosened.

From the hard gaze of Alex, it was clear that the guy wasn\'t going to budge from his decision, so with no other choice left, he sighed—a sigh filled with resignation.

"Sigh…"

His gaze was unwilling yet yielding.

He knew that he didn\'t have a choice, especially with the arrow aimed at his head.

His eyes again moved toward the timer going down.

[0:57]

The fact that the penalty wasn\'t specified didn\'t help him cool down at all.

It just made him more anxious, but he took a deep breath.

*Inhale**Exhale*

Before he looked into Alex\'s frosty golden eyes, his black eyes were gleaming resolutely.

He was going to give Alex a quick and brief explanation of what was happening.