MMORPG: Rebirth as an Alchemist Chapter 907 The END

"Here, take this," Joker passed Ren a firearm matching Angelica's exactly. "Simply squeeze the trigger like on any regular gun. But watch out and don't shoot us by mistake, alright?"

Ren grasped the weapon. Owning a gun, despite his lack of skill in fighting, beat facing danger empty-handed. He'd handled firearms before, spending time at a shooting range purely for leisure.

Gripping the pistol, Ren pondered his aiming ability. Surprisingly, a targeting reticle appeared in his vision as he lifted it.

"This is a unique firearm with a built-in targeting mechanism," Joker clarified. "That said, the sniper mode won't help much versus these speedy mutants. Fire off shots rapidly instead. No need to fret—it doesn't fire bullets and holds 1000 rounds. The projectiles dwarf regular ammo, so hitting is easy. Though its damage output is low, it's still superior to bare hands, isn't it?"

Ren stayed silent. He swiftly targeted the incoming Stingfeeders. His initial shot went wide, yet the next pair hit the beast's torso, and the final one blasted its skull, detonating on contact.

Joker hadn't overstated the projectiles' size or the gun's precision. Ren was amazed at how nearly impossible it was to miss, unless the foes zipped around too fast.

Relief washed over Ren as his muscles instinctively recalled gun handling and shooting.

Yet, the shock of ending a life—even a twisted human's—hit him for the first time, needing time to adjust.

[ACQUIRED! 1 CP!]

His initial credit point at last. So this was the system, Ren mused. It truly resembled a game.

COVENANT aimed to accelerate human evolution, after all, and Angelica with Joker hinted the creators hailed from the future.

In that case, they'd foreseen such chaos. They ensured evolving humans adapted swiftly to the end times.

Ren owed the developers gratitude; he'd deemed them cunning once.

Looking toward Joker and Angelica, Ren gaped as they'd slain dozens of Stingfeeders while he'd downed just one.

"How did that occur so fast?" Ren pondered, baffled by their blistering pace and deadly prowess.

Enemies leaping at Joker suddenly halted mid-air, as he blurred across the field like lightning. Knife flashing, he carved through the Stingfeeders with ease, a relaxed grin on his face.

Angelica, meanwhile, stayed eerily composed, masterfully firing her gun while evading the mutants' rushes. She seemed gifted with foresight, predicting every foe's strike flawlessly.

Watching his allies' skills, Ren speculated on their advancement levels. They clearly thrived battling these horrors.

Ren's musing shattered at a familiar sight.

Even with its grotesque mutations—swollen fly eyes and proboscis mouth—Ren knew it instantly, from clawed feet to flowing golden locks.

"Leo . . ." Dread parched Ren's throat.

Oddly, spotting his old comrade as a abomination barely rattled Ren's pulse, like he'd braced for it.

Leonel screeched and barreled forth, prompting Angelica to aim and Joker to ready himself—until Ren signaled them back.

"Hold on . . ." Ren advanced, eyes fixed on Leonel's warped shape. "I'll take care of him."

He alone should grant Leonel release from torment.

Angelica and Joker shared a knowing look before reluctantly holstering their arms.

Leonel lunged without pause, hurtling straight at Ren. At point-blank range, Ren leveled his pistol.

"I'm sorry, Leo. See you in the next life."

BaNngG!

A thunderous roar shattered Leonel's head, sending his corpse sprawling.

Gazing as vitality fled his dearest companion, Ren felt profound void engulf him. No relief came with the deed—just an unfillable void gnawing his soul.

In that instant, Ren clung to one comfort: reunion with comrades beyond this world.

That faint light alone drove him onward.

=======

Time elapsed until the earth's violent tear shattered the peace, unleashing a wave of disasters never witnessed before, forever remembered worldwide as the "Day of the Cataclysm".

Violent quakes ravaged the ground, causing mountains to collapse and valleys to reshape dramatically amid raging seas.

Disaster struck with blinding speed and ferocity, leaving humanity unprepared: a mere handful endured, huddling for shelter amid the mayhem while sun and moon fused in an endless eclipse.

An immense earthquake rattled the planet's core. Bustling cities crumbled into debris from the unending quake assault, skyscrapers toppling like flimsy playing cards.

Paths warped and contorted like wild waves in a tempest. Bridges, fortresses, and walls all yielded to the ruthless quakes, fragmented and scattered over the barren terrain.

Scattered remnants of society endured the apocalypse, a sparse few desperately holding onto existence in the ruins of former vibrant cities and harbors.

To those few remaining souls, reality morphed into a terrifying ordeal. The formerly radiant sun, reduced to a pale waning sphere, appeared to dim and decay from some mysterious power, hurling ghostly shadows over the terrain.

Crimson tones bled across the heavens as a scarlet moon devoured the weakening sun in a malevolent grip. Gloom crashed down like a thick shroud, smothering all in its choking hold, cloaking the globe in eternal dusk.