Across the continents, an army of gold and silver made its way toward the horizon.

Feared by all, the army passed through all borders and kingdoms without encountering resistance. The erected flags of an azure sun a deterrent factor to any who may gaze upon both its past and present glory.

The hidden reason for such a mobilization, only possible by one of the strongest powers of the entire world, was quite unexpected.

Only one piece of information was relied to all.

The apostle of the Hallowed Mountain held a meeting with the Azure Sun Kingdom's king.

As for their objective, it was in direction of a distant and forgotten land. Where only recluses and victims of poverty lived.

The lost empire of Malhav.

Once surrounded by the ten neighboring kingdoms, it was brutally defeated and ransacked overnight. After which, in a mere two thousand years, both the Hallowed Mountain and Azure Sun Kingdom fought and swallowed whole everything left alive.

Unfortunately, a legacy may not forever last. As both forces could not halt their decline, they needed to enforce a similar amount of damage to the entire world.

If one continuously lost height and could not bring it back, the only way to survive against these stagnating or even rising powers would be to make them suffer the same.

Simply put, other than struggling to keep one's head higher, the best way was to break the legs of all others, keeping one's head above the rest anyway.

The journey across the lands was not short. And never will. As within the lost empire now resided the creator of all.

Said creator was now complaining as another one of his fishing poles broke, yet again.

And with a low growl, took another one out for the ride.

'After breaking twenty-two of them, I caught five. I don't think the returns are worth the losses here...'

A rather evident conclusion brought him away from his fishing session, his Divine Sense still tightly sealed away, as to not spoil the fun. But as usual, Alexander's senses were still just as sharp.

And obviously, when a young, dirty young man famished by his own lack of skills tumbled around, he was not unaware of it.

His vision peerless, Alexander caught a small speck of metal dancing around within the youth's brain.

'A system..?'

Extracting it from afar, Alexander studied it before transplanting it within himself.

'...'

'Mmmh... Levels, classes, skills... basic stuff all around.'

Returning the system, Alexander patiently waited for the youth to come closer.

Hearing his own ragged breath, the youth took a break standing atop a boulder. Below, a beautiful wooden cabin and river passed through the world. As for the white robed man with silver hair and eyes, fishing next to twenty-two broken fishing poles, the youth did not intend on interfering.

However, one's curiosity was a potent factor.

Stealthily making his way down the slope, the battered young man was as secretive as a bull charging ahead in the middle of a flat desert.

"Young man, why bother acting like you are the least visible man in the world? Even a blind man could see you, and a deaf man hear you!"

"..." Pursing his lips, the young man was not so sure about his next action. The elegant man up ahead lacked visible hostility, but a starving man's instincts were not the dullest.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't know you were here, I will go back now." Bowing a perfect ninety degree angle, the youth turned around, his previous words clearly learnt on the job his life was.

"Hold on. Young man, care to come over for a moment? I want to ask a few questions. Think of it as repentance for lying straight to my face."

Freezing on the spot, the young man felt embarrassed. Indeed, his lies were more obvious than he previously thought.

"Yes... yes! Right away sir!" Speeding up, the young man arrived near Alexander, still seated.

"Young man, tell me more about this world. I'm staying here as my vacation. I want to know a bit more about it while experiencing the eyes of a local."

"Hum... I don't know much... I only hear stories from the village's grandpa."

"It's fine, it's fine! Just tell me what you remember."

Clearing his throat, he soon began.

"Hum, there exist continents and seas... there are people everywhere and a lot of beautiful sceneries behind this place! The strongest villages are the Azure Sun Kingdom and Hallowed Mountain! Apparently, they are at odds with each other and keep fighting. Well, that's what grandpa said last time."

"Hum... the... the empire..? I think grandpa talked about how this place used to be an empire. He said that an empire was super big and powerful, but I don't understand how it's possible... except for our village, there is nothing much here..."

Struggling to remember, the young man kept playing with his fingers while trying to form sentences, but nothing came out. Panicking, he heard Alexander's voice.

"Alright, I get the idea. As a reward, take this!" Exchanging the system with one of his own, Alexander wanted to entertain himself.

"What is-" His eyes wide, the young man saw a cryptic language appear in a golden box of light. It spoke to him, mesmerizing his consciousness.

You have received the Mana System v2.45 (Lite)!

"Wha...wha... what's going on?! Mister! What did you do?!"

"Don't worry about it, it's a gift. With this, instead of getting a bit more powerful with stupid levels only granting you meagre strength, you will get to your hidden golden age in mere moments!"

"I don't get it... but it's amazing!"

You have received your very first quest! >Collect the following items :

-Three flowers of any kind (0/3)

-Ten blades of grass of any kind (0/10)

-Four pebbles of any kind (0/4)

Opening his eyes wide, the youth did not even hesitate, a new game to play with right in front.

Crouching, he collected ten blades of grass on the spot. After which, he rampaged around at the edge of the clearing where trees and flowers alike appeared and took three of said flowers out.

After which, he returned to the river and grabbed a handful of pebbles.

Incredible!!! You have achieved the impossible!!

Mission Completed! (Secret condition met)

>Rewards :

-Strength raised to the level of an Aura God!

-Martial prowess increased to the level of a master!

Since you managed to breath in and out ten times, you successfully completed this secret assignment!

>Secret condition reward :

-Strength raised to the level of a Mana God!

-Magical prowess increased to the level of a master!

His body blasted apart in a blinding white eruption of light, the young man's body was reconstructed right after, the reincarnation stages completed.

Feeling his strength, the young man was baffled.

"..."

"Mister... wasn't it too easy?!!"

"Tsk! what do you know? I especially made everything extremely hard. All of those items you collected were protected by my powerful magic and could never be retrieved without a substantial amount of talent and power!"

"Really?" His eyes shining, all he could see next was Alexander's distorted face.

"What the fuck, no? Are you stupid?"

"Oh..."

Blushing, the young man felt embarrassed from even believing any of his words. He understood himself to be quite gullible.

"Anyways... we have visitors..."

'Let's see how fast this kid can be corrupted from the enticing charm of might itself.'

"Mister, do you have gues- Waaaa!!" Almost puking from a sudden visual distortion, reality bending strangely, darkness overtook his recovering senses.

Beyond the forest, spreading across the infinite plains under the clouded sky, a sea.

This sea had been painted from shades of gold and azure, clear droplets falling upon it.

Under the rain, the ten thousand strong army of the Azure Sun Kingdom stood rooted in place, nearly organized.

Leading it, an aged man with black and grey hair. This burly man was covered in scars, clad in an orange armor blazing like the sun.

Even without a sun to shine upon it, the armor's natural glow overtook the attention of all.

Far above them, standing on air as if the sky was nothing but a platform at his disposal, Alexander. Next to him was a hanging youth. Snapping his fingers, Alexander teleported the young man below, right in front of the army spanning far into the horizon.

Without the time to ask anything, a familiar prompt appeared in front of his very eyes.

"Wha- Are you serious?!!"

You have received a quest! >Complete the following conditions :

-Defeat the army (0/1)

-Spare no soul (0/10 433)

-Bath yourself in the blood of your enemies (0/1)

-Suffer less than a thousand fatal injuries (1000/1000)

Under the admin Alexander's command, you will receive the following buffs!

>Infinite Needs' Satiation (Until all conditions are met)

>No hunger!

>No thirst!

>No excretion!

>Limitless Stamina (Until all conditions are met)

>Thousand Lives Art (1x) [Passive]

>Will regenerate you until the thousandth death!

>Bloodthirst (Peak) [Passive]

>Wrath State (Altered) (Lesser) [Passive]

>Demonic Mind (Intermediate) [Passive]

>Unorthodox Sainthood (3x 30 minutes) [Active]

>Chaos Mind (Lesser) [Passive]

>Absolute Martial Meteor (1x) (Altered) [Active]

>Divine Judgement (1x 10 minutes) (Altered) [Active]

Under the admin Alexander's command, you will receive the following items!

>Painkillers (10x)

>Low grade Black Iron Glove (Altered) (2x)

>Picture of a random cat (1x)

>Bad drawing of a random dog (4x)

>Spoon (15x)

"Hum..."

"Sir..."

From reading the quest's content, the young man was already terrified. Especially so when looking at the bloodthirsty soldiers barely a few dozens of meters away from him.

Unfortunately for the young man, before an answer could reach him, his mind warped in red and black.

His vision covered by a shade of blood and tendrils of the abyss, his heart was already pumping blood throughout his body at record speeds.

Veins bulging everywhere, his body turned a shade of red while his saliva was being made at incredible rates.

Unable to keep still, he jumped forward without even realizing it.

Obviously the army would not stand still, especially as soldiers. They obeyed orders and defended their kingdom as well as its reputation.

To them, it did not matter if the opponent was an army of a million soldiers or a singular baby. All were the same, enemies!

"Careful! It might be a bomb!!" The frontline putting their giant shields up, they prepared themselves for a sudden explosive burst ahead.

However, the young man jumping at them was not a suicidal bomber but a regular youth forced to battle.

"No mercy!" One of the commanders on horseback shouting, the army repeated right after.

"No mercy!!"

Without noticing it, the army advanced with steady steps, already hypnotized by the youth's buffs. Their effects not only affected the host but also the surroundings.

Since they were mostly created from Alexander's Daos, some caused side effects. A great example would be the Dao of Wrath. Alexander already experienced this situation when playing his system-filled-game back then. After destroying items, his reputation would go down. To enforce it, the systems used his own Daos to create an unfavorable aura and even direct anger toward him.

'This is going to be a wild one...' Taking out the fish he previously caught, Alexander began cooking it mid-air, a light flame embracing his prey, imitating the youth below, a flame of frenzy rampaging a sea of many fish.