Apocalypse Baby-Chapter 46: Rewards [Bonus]

Alex’s eyes fluttered open, greeted by a clear, endless blue sky.

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He groaned softly, raising a hand to his throbbing head.

His mind felt hazy, as though shrouded in a thick fog.

For a moment, nothing made sense. The memories were gone, but the disorientation didn’t last long.

Suddenly, it all came rushing back, and a smile crept onto his face.

The corners of his mouth curled into a grin as he remembered it—the maniacal laughter that had escaped his lips just before he passed out.

"Ah…" he groaned, satisfied.

"That’s right. I won."

Sitting up, Alex let his gaze sweep across his surroundings.

But almost immediately, his brow furrowed in confusion.

This place was completely unfamiliar.

Gone was the icy forest where he had battled the Cockatrice King.

There were no trees, no frost-covered ground, no green canopy above.

Instead, he found himself sitting on jagged stone.

He rose to his feet, his boots scraping against the rough cliffside beneath him. The sharp wind tugged at his hair, and as he stepped closer to the edge, he stared down and saw green below.

He had somehow ended up on a cliff.

"What the hell…" he muttered, his voice low. "How did I get here?"

His mind scrambled for an answer.

Could Murzok have survived? That thought struck him like a lightning bolt.

Maybe the zombie bird dragged me here while I was unconscious.

But as soon as the idea formed, Alex dismissed it.

"No," he said under his breath, shaking his head.

There was no way Murzok would have gone to the trouble of moving him instead of finishing him off.

Besides, the last thing he remembered before blacking out was hearing the system notification informing him he had killed the Cockatrice King.

Alex clenched his fists as the memory became clearer.

Murzok hadn’t survived.

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He’d won.

But that still didn’t explain how he had ended up on this cliffside.

Alex checked the system notification, his fingers swiping instinctively in the air to bring up the familiar glowing screen. As his eyes scanned the lines of text, he exhaled in relief.

There it was.

The confirmation he needed.

The battle hadn’t been a dream or some cruel trick.

"We’ll, as long as I’m not in any danger," Alex muttered to himself with a smirk, dismissing his worry about his location.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, eager to dive into the notifications and see the rewards waiting for him—especially the skills and accessories he might have earned.

The chime of the system rang out again.

Ding!

[You have killed the Cockatrice King, Murzok.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

Alex blinked, staring at the screen in disbelief.

"Five times? Wow."

He hadn’t expected that.

Before battling Murzok, he had been at level 23. By his calculations, leveling up from there should have been a grueling process, requiring endless fights and grinding.

But Murzok wasn’t just any opponent.

The Cockatrice King had been a high-ranking beast, and the experience points (EXP) gained from the fight were enough to catapult him up by five whole levels.

Ding!

[You have received 25 stat points.]

[You have received 5 power stones.]

[You have received skill: Petrify]

[You have received weapon: Murzok’s Fangblade]

Alex’s eyes widened as he read through the rewards, but it was the new skill that immediately caught his attention.

"Petrify?" he muttered, tapping the notification to pull up the skill’s description.

[Petrify]:

User unleashes an aura of paralyzing energy that freezes all movement within a 20-meter radius. Targets affected by this skill are unable to move, leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks.

Resistance is futile for most, as the skill bypasses standard defenses.

Duration: 10 seconds.

(Note: Those with exceptional willpower or unique resistances may shatter the effect prematurely.)

"Pretty sick," Alex said with a hearty grin, leaning back slightly.

It was the skill Murzok had used on him.

He had almost pissed his pants the first time it was used on him.

A skill like this was no joke, it was a game-changer, especially in tight battles where movement could decide life or death.

But the rewards didn’t stop there. Next, Alex checked the weapon he had received: Murzok’s Fangblade.

It was a sleek, one-handed sword with a jagged, fang-like design with a high damage output and a deadly poison effect that sapped an opponent’s strength over time. The sword increased the user’s speed, making them faster on the battlefield.

Alex studied the blade’s glowing details in awe.

It was a masterpiece, perfectly balanced for deadly strikes and swift movements.

"Oh…" Alex muttered, running his hand through his hair.

A smirk spread across his face. "Looks like Eclipse Edge might be getting a replacement."

He couldn’t help but feel thrilled. The rewards from the Cockatrice King were better than he had hoped, and the combination of Petrify and Murzok’s Fangblade would make him a force to be reckoned with.

"Let’s see who’s ready to mess with me now," Alex murmured with a confident chuckle.

Ding!

[Apocalypse Baby kicking in]

[You have received 25 stat points.]

[You have received 5 power stones.]

[You have received skill: Minor Telekinesis]

[You have received accessories: Attribute Converter]

Alex’s eyes scanned the glowing text, and one phrase immediately grabbed his attention: Minor Telekinesis.

[Minor Telekinesis]:

Allows the user to move small objects using the power of their mind. (Scale increases with level.)

"Oh," Alex gasped, his eyes lighting up like a kid who just found out they had superpowers. "So freaking cool."

His mind raced with possibilities. The idea of moving things without lifting a finger made him grin.

However, a quick skim of the description dampened his excitement a little—small objects.

He couldn’t throw trees or boulders around just yet.

"Well, I guess I’ve got to start somewhere," Alex muttered, shrugging.

He stood up, cracking his knuckles, and decided to test his new ability.

His eyes locked onto a nearby rock, small enough to fit in his palm. Alex focused, willing the object to come to him.

At first, nothing happened.

But then, the rock wobbled slightly before lifting off the ground, floating through the air toward him. Alex grinned as he reached out and caught it mid-flight.

"Okay, that’s pretty sweet," he said, admiring the rock for a second before deciding to push things further.

Holding the rock in front of him, Alex concentrated again, making it hover and spin around in the air like a planet orbiting a star. After a few seconds of showing off, he flicked his hand and sent the rock flying off into the distance.

"Not bad," he mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Now it was time for a bigger challenge.

He turned to a larger rock, about the size of a basketball, and focused hard, willing it to move.

He clenched his fists, furrowed his brow, and even let out a low groan of effort.

The rock didn’t budge.

"Sheesh!" Alex groaned, rubbing his temple as he eased off. "I almost popped a vein."

Alex then turned his attention to the newly acquired item, his eyes narrowing as the glowing text shimmered in front of him. From the name alone, he knew it was something special.

[Attribute Converter]: Exchanges 50 assigned attribute points for a single Upgrade Stone, which can be used to rank up skills.

Alex’s jaw dropped.