Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

Alex had been walking, sometimes running all the way while resting from time to time to drink water, hydrating his growing body.

Along the way, he had cleared some zones, mostly going for the level 10 zones as they kept spawning here and there every now and then.

Unlike before, when level 5 zones were covering most parts of the globe, now the level 10 zones have replaced them.

It was as if new monsters had been summoned, and those monsters were now taking over the zones that already belonged to the low-level monsters.

Now, the number of level 5 zones was very low, lower than the number of the newly appeared levels 15, and 20, equal to the number of level 25 zones, which were considered the most dangerous zones.

Among the level 10 zones that Alex cleared, most of them were carnivore beasts such as ligers, flaming panthers, staring cats, and swift ferofelises.

All of them had their own specialties, each with dangers of their own, but Alex passed right through them as his weapons kept whistling through the air, piercing their heads, killing them without much effort.

Alex was strong—way stronger than any other human—but as he walked through the streets of Muzaffarnagar, he had his body tensed and his eyes squinted, focusing on the faintest of rustles he heard.

[["You know, if you just asked, I could help you point out their locations."]]

A new notification flashed in front of his eyes, different from the usual system notification, as it was the certain god that was using her special means to chat with him.

She was dissatisfied with the fact that she would have to share the notification panel with other gods, so she simply made a new way to communicate with Alex.

Here, she won't have to share—something she didn't like in the least.

Alex, however, didn't even focus on her words.

It was not like he didn't believe her words; it was just that he knew how the world worked.

Nothing was for free.

If she was willing to help him, then even if she didn't ask for something, Alex would still feel indebted to her, and he didn't want that.

Not when he already had the shorter end of the stick if he made a deal with her, especially after being saved by her once.

Right now, he was on full alert, not wanting to miss the tiniest of mishaps in the surroundings.

Unlike normal cities, where people could be seen roaming around forming groups to clear zones, here, all Alex saw were dead bodies of beasts and humans.

There used to be a level 5 zone here, and Alex was going to clear it out, as it came his way, but now he saw this the moment he stepped into the zone, causing him to recall the messages he saw in the world chat.

[Pratish: Hey guys, is anyone interested in teaming up for the hunt for the first ranker on the bounty list? If yes, then DM me!]

This was the first message in the state chat, but no one actually responded to that guy at that time.

Soon, however, people started to reply.

[Rakesh: (@Pratish) Hunt the best? I'm in!]

[Preety: (@Pratish) Count me in, but I want his head!]

These messages were the reason for that chilled flash to pass through Alex's eyes, but only for a second before he realized something.

The AI came to the same conclusion as Alex.

The three who texted in the chat were all on the bounty list, and although not high-ranked or mid-ranked, they were still on the bounty.

As for what they were planning, even Alex couldn't guess that.

He had seen some chats where people were talking about meeting in a city, but he couldn't read the complete chat as he was busy fighting a bunch of feral cats who were trying to tackle him the moment they saw an opening.

So, he missed the location they were going to meet up at, but now it seemed like this was the place.

"Do... fast! The Lord... urging... hurry up!"

Alex's ears twitched as his beastly instincts picked up faint noises, causing his brows to frown.

His cold eyes turned to his right, where he could see a pile of bodies lying beside a large piece of debris.

That debris was from a very large building that was situated right where the broken concrete and rods are now.

That spot was around 100 meters away from Alex, and that was probably why he could only hear a word or two from there and not the complete line.

He kept staring at the spot with a serious yet contemplating expression, not sure whether going close to the spot was the best thing to do right now.

It was rocks and concrete pilled up everywhere, making it hard for Alex to even make out what was behind the next heap of debris, much less one that was 100 meters away.

But just then, as if wanting to give him a reason to move closer, the AI spoke, causing Alex's frown to deepen.

'How do you know?'

Alex questioned, his grip on his dagger tightening as the moment he heard the AI's words, he felt a bad premonition.

*Step**Step*...

With light steps, he jumped to the top of the debris, intending to stay on the higher ground in case it was an ambush or something like that, still waiting for the AI's reply.

<The way the bodies are placed and the way only those with their heads cut off are at the center, it is making a complex magic circle.

One that connects this world with the underworld, making a connection through sacrifice instead of mana.

These things are related to magic, and I can copy anything related or unrelated to magic—that is how I know.>

The AI, just like Alex wanted it to, gave him a detailed answer, and although Alex didn't know much about the underworld or magic circles, the feeling of urgency he felt just got elevated the moment he heard the word underworld.

[["I can give you information on what is happening and what might happen, you know~?"]]

The enchanting voice of the certain god made its way into Alex's ears as a series of floating silver texts appeared in his line of sight, tempting him to accept her help, but Alex just gritted his teeth.

*Swoosh*

He waved his hand, making the notification disappear while increasing his speed, moving closer to one particular pile of debris that was placed close to the magic circle that was going to be used to summon someone from the underworld or hell.

But just as he moved closer to the designated spot and was just some meters away, he heard some sounds.

*Slash**Pierce*

"Arghh!"

"W-Why…?"

A slash and a sound of flesh and muscles being impaled echoed through the almost silent surroundings, followed by a painful scream and a disbelieving grunt, causing Alex's muscles to tighten and his eyes to turn cold.