The shock of the System notification, announcing the abrupt arrival of 'Adam Scholar' into their scenario, hung heavy and cold in the air above the desolate, two-mooned expanse. Every single person, particularly the shell-shocked members of 'Black Phoenix', froze in place.

The invasion of alter Adam, the System's greatest enemy, the source of so much pain, destruction, and death, was an event that commanded unanimous fear. What made the notification even stranger, and yet no less worrying, was the implication that he had arrived alone... In all of alter Adam's previous incursions against other teams, he had always brought the bulk of his army, often led by his fearsome "Demon Generals". But here, the notice indicating he was the only invader was unusual, extremely so.

However, the person most utterly consumed by consternation was Adam himself. While the minds of everyone else were focused solely on the fact of the invasion, the boy's eyes had locked onto the second part of the System's message... It clearly stated that two individuals had supplied the energy necessary for the manifestation of... whatever this sudden breach of causality or "narrative" was. This indicated an even more terrifying truth: Charles was not the only enemy infiltrator present in that location.

An instant later, an absolute, heavy silence fell upon the rocky island as a pillar of pure light descended from the sky with a low, thunderous roar, a manifestation chillingly similar to the one that had heralded the arrival of Beowulf and Brunhilde in the 'No Name' team's previous scenario. The light quickly dissipated, revealing the source of the shock.

To be honest, Adam had expected to see someone towering, someone exuding raw, uncontained power, or perhaps someone draped in countless, powerful artifacts. But what appeared there was simply a young man, similar in build to himself, but with stark, unnerving differences.

Alter Adam stood there. His frame was clad in a long, dark coat and a pale undershirt, his shoulders and arms covered in strange, dark, sutured skin patches that stood out starkly against his pale complexion. The stitched lines gave his face and throat a grotesque, menacing aesthetic, like he had a lot of wounds that were unable to heal and were just patched into his body. His brownish hair was spiky and disheveled, and his whole demeanor was one of profound, effortless tranquility, emphasized by a calm, soft smile that didn't waver.

Adam was not the only one unsettled by the appearance of the newcomer. The members of 'No Name' stared in confusion, but the reaction of alter Drake was the most profound.

His eyes were wide and trembling with confusion, utterly unable to recognize the man who stood before them. No, the Adam Scholar, the scourge of the System, was not like this. Who in the hell was this? The original Adam Scholar was a figure of overwhelming power and palpable, sadistic aggression; it was impossible to forget.

Beside them, Charles instantly dropped to one knee, bowing his head in profound reverence.

"Leader."

The blond murmured, the single word sealing his affiliation and intent beyond any doubt.

Adam reacted instantly, trying to pierce the mystery. He activated his [Cursed Vision], attempting to see the status information of his counterpart; however, nothing happened. The skill failed to activate, as if the target did not exist or was somehow shielded beyond the System's analysis.

The only consequence of his attempt was that alter Adam turned his gaze directly toward Adam, his expression still calm, the quiet smile remaining firmly in place.

Finally, the newcomer spoke, his voice carrying the calm, almost amiable tone of his personality, yet with an undertone of chilling malice.

"You know…"

Alter Adam began, his words directed squarely at Adam.

"It is usually customary to introduce yourself before attempting to view another person's data."

He then tilted his head slightly, as if just realizing something crucial about the man before him.

"Oh, so you are THAT one, huh?"

He continued, a note of detached curiosity entering his voice.

"To be honest, I imagined you would be quite different, especially after knowing what you were gonna do originally in this scenario."

Adam did not know how to respond to the bizarre comment. However, alter Drake took the opening. He shot to his feet, raising his legendary sword and pointing it directly at the infiltrator.

"Tell me immediately who the hell you are!"

Alter Drake demanded, his voice cracking with a desperate mixture of desperation and rage. Alter Adam adopted a look of mild confusion, the gentle smile still in place.

"The System notice was not explicit enough, I take it? I am Adam Scholar. You know, leader of Team Abyss, we even met before, remember when..."

But alter Drake did not let him finish the sentence.

"The Adam Scholar we knew was a damned monster!"

He screamed, his voice thick with past trauma.

"I cannot forget the pressure I felt the last time I saw him in combat. Just being in the vicinity of that demon was overwhelming!"

Alter Adam replied almost cheerfully, completely unfazed by the intense accusation.

"I appreciate the compliment, truly, but it is me. And though I do not strictly have to, I will gladly prove it."

He immediately displayed his user profile data on a System screen for everyone to see.

[Name: Adam Scholar] [Race: Human] [Team: Abyss] [P.O.I.N.T.S: 100,000] [Potential: S]

Everyone was stunned, though for different reasons. Only Katya gasped audibly in a sound of absolute terror upon seeing the astronomical P.O.I.N.T.S tally… As a former member of Team Abyss, she knew that this statistic was only gained after killing another user. This meant that this individual had murdered at least half that amount, so fifty thousand users? How was that even remotely possible?

Alter Drake's irritation reached a boiling point.

"This is false! The same thing Charles used to fool us!"

He bellowed, his argument focusing on one specific line.

"It even indicates that the supposed Adam Scholar's race is 'Human'! Everyone knows that is not true!"

Alter Adam sighed, a faint sound of patient exasperation.

"I understand your point, of course, but you have to understand the circumstances."

He said, and as he spoke, a chillingly dark smile spread across his face, his eyes taking on a predatory glint while showing his horribly patched body.

"After all, I had to undergo quite a few procedures to recover my humanity."

As he finished the statement, alter Adam's silhouette vanished instantly. The movement was so blindingly fast that no one could follow it with their eyes. He reappeared directly in front of Adam.

Alter Adam continued his thread of conversation, his voice now a low, conspiratorial whisper, as if the two of them were alone.

"Unlike you."

He commented, referring to the still frozen boy and examining him for a brief, judgmental moment.

"How exactly is your race even pronounced? It looks like you are running a zoo in there… You even are similar to our "original", color me surprised."

Adam finally snapped, recognizing the genuine threat and the condescending nature of the mockery. He launched a wide, sweeping attack with his cursed lance, 'Az'Karul's Versebreaker'. Alter Adam simply avoided the massive weapon by casually tilting his body to the side, evading the blow with extreme, almost dismissive ease.

"Woah, woah, calm down."

He said, his hands raised in a gesture of false surrender, the terrifying smile still plastered to his face.

"I am not here to fight, if I can avoid it. Would you believe me if I told you I just wanted to talk?"

Adam did not reply. He immediately retreated with a sharp leap backward, even as, to the surprise of almost everyone, nearly all the members of 'Black Phoenix' suddenly surged forward to attack.

The combat erupted into a brief, violent flash. Alter Drake charged, fully clad in his holy armor and golden angel wings, his legendary sword slicing the air as he moved toward his objective. Alter Li immediately utilized his spellbook to cast the spell [Shin Physica Naguru], an evolved and vastly more potent version of Li's base enhancement spell. A brilliant aura immediately enveloped all the members of 'Black Phoenix', boosting all their statistics and causing their energy to explode to peak levels.

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The enhanced alter Drake assaulted alter Adam with his sword, but the boy did not even bother to defend himself. He simply began to evade the attacks with agile, effortless movements, never once looking concerned, even as the holy sword strikes exploded like divine energy bombs in the space where he had been standing an instant before.

As alter Drake executed his fierce, dodging assault, multiple gunshots rang out. Teo was reinforced not only by alter Li's spell but also by his Empress ghost, which flew at his back, giving him every ounce of energy she had. He fired rounds imbued with so much raw energy that they resembled cannonballs, all shot with perfect mastery to narrowly avoid hitting his leader while he was in motion, aiming to alter Adam's evasion path. Yet, none of the rounds landed. Alter Adam managed to dodge every single shot, even those aimed directly at his blind spots.

However, Nikolai's voice suddenly cut through the violence and resonated everywhere as if he were using a megaphone.

He activated his boosted skill [Silver Tongue]'s specialized use [Power Words] and ordered.

"Every attack shall not miss its intended target!"

He immediately coughed up a spray of blood, dropping to his knees, touching his throat as the activation cost of the powerful skill took effect.

But the command worked. The consecrated rounds, which alter Adam had just evaded, suddenly spun at absurd angles, turning back toward their target. Alter Drake's sword also veered mid-swing, following the new instruction and finally impacting his target.

Without wasting a second, Samantha dashed forward, producing a small vial. She quickly threw the contained powder across the field.

"Spice Curtain!"

She shouted, followed by a System message that immediately announced the effect of the potent support skill she had just used:

[All skills and traits of regeneration or healing capabilities in the area have been disabled while the effect of [Spice Curtain] persists on the affected individuals.]

It seemed that they had achieved something significant, no matter what insane healing factor the enemy might have, which they knew he had; no one could escape unscathed. But when the smoke and dust from the explosions and impacts cleared, all of 'Black Phoenix' watched in horror. Alter Adam remained standing there, perfectly still, without a single visible injury… Despite the concentrated, enhanced assault, they had seemingly done absolutely nothing to him.

Alter Adam sighed, brushing a speck of dust, or spice powder in this case, from his dark coat.

"Again, I only wanted to talk for a moment."

He stated, his voice carrying a note of profound weariness.

"I will attend to you later, as I also have accounts to settle with all of you."

With that, and before anyone could react, alter Adam delivered a sudden, swift chop directly to alter Drake's neck. The blow was so incredibly powerful that the blond's armored body was sent flying backward with tremendous force toward his waiting companions.

Alter Drake immediately began to writhe in agony. The blow had been so precise and devastating that it appeared to have caused a serious internal injury in his throat, despite his armor. Alter Adam calmly pointed at the suffering man and addressed the rest of 'Black Phoenix', while Samantha, Teo, alter Li, alter Kazue, and even the wounded Nikolai had rushed to his aid.

"Treat him immediately."

Alter Adam ordered.

"It would be a real problem if he died right now."

He then brushed off his coat once more and turned back to Adam, who had felt the massive, illogical difference in their power levels. It was pointless to attack without a plan, and while he knew it was a trap, he had no choice but to listen. The boy slowly nodded in agreement.

Alter Adam approached again and examined him once more, his eyes lingering on his long hair.

"I find it strange that your hair is so long."

He commented, tilting his head in consideration.

"But perhaps it was something the 'Author' did to differentiate you from me."

Adam's brow furrowed.

"The Author? Are you talking about the patrons?"

Alter Adam did not answer the direct question. He looked at the boy, and then his gaze swept over the members of 'No Name'.

"He was right."

Alter Adam continued, his eyes returning to his focus on his counterpart's face.

"It was a good idea to change the 'narrative' of the scenario to interfere in this way. It is a pity that I still do not have enough points to establish a permanent connection."

Adam did not know how to react to the continuous, strange comments. Alter Adam saw his confusion and chuckled softly, almost kindly.

"Since you somehow came here, saving me the trouble of finding you, I will explain a few things as gratitude."

He offered, although his words were more sarcastic than anything else.

"After all, it does not matter whether you know or not, but I feel it is the best way to justify the new 'narrative' structure. You know, exposure helps justify abrupt changes."

Alter Adam explained that he had recently acquired the skill [4th Wall No More], courtesy of his generals, a man named Jeongu Kim. This skill had given him an entirely new perspective on how to carry out his plan.

"In any other circumstance, this encounter would have been very different. Although if the 'narrative' had followed its intended course, I would not have even appeared in this scenario, and Charles here would have ended up dead. That is something I simply cannot allow."

Alter Adam explained, his voice flat and factual. Adam clenched his teeth, truly failing to grasp the meaning behind his counterpart's words. Alter Adam, seeing the deepening confusion, promised to simplify his explanation into terms that someone like him could understand.

"Simply put..."

Alter Adam began, his voice taking on a professorial air.

"I have an ally who can see vestiges of the future and the fixed destiny of certain people, things, and events. However, destiny and the future are normally unalterable, unless you possess the skill [4th Wall No More]. This gives you a certain, let us say, 'new perspective' on how this world and System operates."

He paused, letting the words sink in.

"The fact is, this scenario had a fixed destiny, specific events that should not have been able to be changed."

"What do you mean by that?"

Adam demanded, his voice tight with apprehension. Alter Adam's expression remained serene as he answered through the interruption.

"Among the many ramifications that could occur, the life of users is the only constant variable. Changing the destiny of a user not only requires enormous energy but radically changes what the 'Author' had planned for them."

Adam tried to interject, to dismiss the entire conversation as the ravings of a madman.

"You are completely out of your mind!"

Upon hearing this, alter Adam violently interrupted him, his previously calm demeanor cracking in a terrifying, explosive shout.

"Do you believe I'm crazy? … No, do you know what actual insanity is?! Do you think that you are free?! Do you believe that everything that happens to you is due to luck?! How would you feel if I told you that everything that doesn't depend on you, good or bad, occurs solely due to the caprice of someone else?! How would you feel if I told you that your existence is destined only for suffering because some superior power decided it so, no matter what you do to avoid it, while another version of you was given the happy ending that was denied to you from the beginning, just for the amusement of someone else?!"

Alter Adam appeared genuinely disturbed by his own outburst. He took a deep, calming breath, immediately reverting to his serene, unsettling composure.

"Ahem… I apologize."

He said, his voice even once more. He continued his explanation, his tone reverting to the conspiratorial.

"As I was saying, in this scenario, a few things were going to happen that I could not allow. They were as follows: Adam Scholar murders Chloe Vanderlyle. Adam Scholar awakens his Personal Skill due to it. Adam Scholar murders Charles Hong."

Alter Adam paused for effect.

"As you can appreciate, Charles is a very valuable pawn to lose. Furthermore, I could not risk your Personal Skill being something that could cause me problems later on. No. I am here to check a few things and to corroborate that I can take the necessary time to carry out the proper actions before proceeding."

Adam's mind was a complete storm. He was going to kill Chloe? And Charles, too? What in the world was going on? But Alter Adam was not finished.

"Do not worry."

He assured his counterpart.

"I will avoid killing any of the users present who were not originally scheduled to die. This would complicate the 'narrative' too much, and the less uncertainty, the better for me. However…"

As he said that final, chilling "however", alter Adam lifted one of his arms toward the cluster of the 'Black Phoenix' team. An enormous pressure immediately emerged from his body. Adam's [Cursed Vision] activated instantly, forced into action by the sheer magnitude of the skill being channeled, and finally able to see some of the information.

[Personal Skill: The ■■■ who Hates ■■■ (Aberration) Lv15] [Additional Information] [Skill of the ■■■ Aberration type that ■■■ allows the ■■■ to copy the Personal Skill of ■■■ another user that has been killed ■■■.] [Cursed Vision Knowledge] [Hint: It is only possible to use it if the target has awakened their Personal Skill.] [Notice: The copied skill can only be used during the scenario in which it was acquired. After that, it will be removed from the ■■■'s skill list.] [■■■: The ■■■ can use the skill [Skill Devourer Lv■] to mutate the stolen skills and keep them. Beware!]

What in the hell was that? Adam's eyes widened, and he quickly backed away as the entire environment began to feel as though the gravity had increased dramatically.

[The ■■■ has selected the mutated Personal Skill [Incarnation of the Living Planet Lv10] for use.]

The sudden gravity focused in alter Adam's extended hand became so intensely localized that before anyone could react, Teo was violently sucked toward him, his head caught tightly in the boy's grip.

"And my favorite part of the unchangeable fates in this scenario."

Alter Adam said, his voice a low, cold whisper for the benefit of the terrified man in his grasp.

"Adam Scholar kills Teo de Leon."

Teo could not speak; the crushing grip suffocated him. Though he struggled to break free, alter Adam's arm held him with such localized gravitational pressure that it was impossible to move. The Empress ghost flew toward Teo, but it was too late... Alter Adam pulled the man's head close to his own.

"Do you remember me, asshole?"

He asked, but when only choked screams answered, the boy finally closed his fist. The man's head, and then his entire body, was instantly crushed into a sphere, as if absorbed by a miniature black hole, until he simply disappeared.

Alter Adam finally released the gravity.

"Guess not."

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