Using one of his minds to focus on the fleeing criminals as he flew above them in the skies, following their trail, Adam's other mind went back to looking at the sudden prompts he had received from the Book of Genesis. It seemed like it was time for him to face another ordeal.
『 Major Ordeal: Black Knight
Description: Eradicate all the members of Blue Shark with no exceptions.
Reward: 1000 Karma points.
Note: For every member killed, you get an additional 10 Karma. 』
『 Major Ordeal: White Knight
Description: Forgiveness is the path. Everyone is worthy of second chances. Make the leader of the blue shark repent and give himself to the authorities of justice.
Reward: 1500 Karma points.
Note: The deeper the change the more the reward will increase. 』
『 Major Ordeal: Grey Knight
Description: Do not let anger cloud your mind. Follow the most optimum path to obtain your goals. There is no such thing as friend or enemy. Only eternal benefits. Vengeance brings nothing. Work with the leader of the blue Shark to obtain more benefits.
Reward: 3000 Karma points. 』
As he had expected, the Book of Genesis had given him some ordeals to complete. Once again he received three quests that were more akin to morality choices than just being your average quests you would see in the RPG games or LitRPG series.
However, there was something different with the choices he had received. This time — unlike the time in the park, when he was helpless to truly take some of the other paths — he was freely able to choose any of the three choices that had been presented to him. No matter which ordeal or moral he wished to pursue it would only end in an advantage for him.
Be it killing everyone, allying with them, or forcing the leader to repent, they would all result in the Blue Sharks gang either weakening or the gang being swallowed up by their gang in the end. Moreover, no matter what choice he decided to make the Karma points that would be rewarded to him would still be quite staggering.
'I…What do you think of this, Genesis?'
[I believe that the least effective path is the one of White Knight. But at the same time, it may be the one with the greatest reward that you will be able to accumulate through this ordeal.]
[Note: The deeper the change the more the reward will increase.]
What did that notice even mean in the first place? By how much would the Karma point increase? What were the factors and basis that would be used to determine the increase in rewards? Just how much did he even need to change the person to receive the maximum possible benefits? There were so many questions but answers to not a single one.
The additional rewards that would be given to him were quite vague and Adam understood the reason behind this phenomenon.
People did not do good acts expecting a huge reward in return for their sincerity. Sometimes good people were rewarded greatly for their works but oftentimes the kindness they bestowed upon others gave them nothing in return, but they still had the self-satisfaction of having done something that resonated with their morality.
The Grey Knight path was quite appealing to him at a glance, however, since the Blue Sharks were the enemy of Yui and her gang, following this path may lead to more complications for him in the future.
Furthermore, he was not aware of the reason behind the gang targeting his aunt Shuri. He did not even know if the leader was even the cause of this sudden attack. There were too many unknown variables that constricted him on this path.
Finally, the Black Knight path.
Adam could only give a bitter smile once he realized that this path, which would have once disgusted him to no end, only caused a very mild amount of repulsion and disgust in him. Moreover, he was seriously entertaining the idea of simply exterminating everyone from the get go.
His finger unconsciously moved toward the Black Knight path and he was about to accept it when he stopped suddenly and started carefully reading the description of the ordeal that he would need to accomplish once he chose to go through with it.
[Description: Eradicate all the members of Blue Shark with no exceptions.]
What did it take to count as a member of a particular gang?
Unlike what people thought, a gang was not only filled with gangsters. There were many more additional staffs and helpers that constituted the internal structure of a gang. Moreover, there were also outside relations that would do minor jobs but would also count as an extended body of the gang. Even the company they protected could be said to be part of the gang as well.
In the case of Yui, for example, all the gigolos and waiters in the bar were considered to be part of her gang in their affiliation. Even though they were not aware of the dealings that were done in the shadows or didn't even know that who they were working for was a gang in the first place.
'This is…'
Furthermore, even without taking into account the potentially innumerable people that he needed to kill in order to accomplish this ordeal, Hae-Won and her child should also be part of the gang as an extension of the whole.
'Genesis. When they say all members. Does it take into account all indirect members as well?'
[Indeed.]
Adam groaned and cursed in his mind, wishing there was at least a counter to this scenario akin to the last ordeal, but he was not given such a luxury this time around. If he undertook this ordeal then he needed to go all the way through, there was no way around it. He would need to kill and exterminate absolutely everyone without any exceptions.
He sighed and began to think about not only the moral questions that accompanied this choice but more importantly, which one of them would be less of a hassle for him.
'Would I be bothered if I kill Hae-Won?'
He quietly contemplated that question. Truthfully speaking, he felt only the slightest bit of compassion for the woman. Aside from this, he could not really find himself feeling much for her aside from pure and raw lust for her beauty and body.
He didn't have to take responsibility for someone's life simply because he had fucked her once, right?
'Ugh… Fuck it!'
A tumultuous frustration was growing in his heart the more he pondered on this subject. He was really indecisive about this.
'Do I need to take a decision now?'
[The quest will always be here until the cause of this quest vanishes altogether.]
Adam nodded and slowly began to approach the ground. He lacked information, way too much information to make an educated choice on this matter.
He would have to first discuss with Yui about the situation at hand but first things first… He needed to obtain the information necessary for him to make a firm choice that he would not have any regrets over.
———
When the car finally stopped close to the docks, one man and a woman walked out of the car hurriedly after making sure that they had left no traces of their arrival at this place and hurriedly went toward the inner part of the Dock.
"What the hell was that?"
"I don't know. But we have to inform the team leader."
They had received quite a simple mission and it shouldn't have been too complicated for them to accomplish it. After all, the target, despite her position as a lawyer, was just a normal woman. She knew nothing about the true horrors that lay under the veil of darkness.
The only reason they hadn't gone for a more direct strike was because of the laws of the hunter association.
It was one thing having the LAPD after them, it was another to have the LAPPD after them. Even more so after the recent major event that had taken place in the city.
But this simple mission was proving to be far more complicated than they initially expected.
After all, they had already lost two companions at the very first part of their plan. They needed to inform the leader that supernatural forces were in place to protect the target.
But it was then…
The two immediately stopped, not due to their own will but due to the overwhelming feeling of dread and horror that was coursing through their body for a particular reason.
The darkness seemed to become thicker and a shadow walked out of it. They could see nothing but dreadful red eyes and the sound of the ever-approaching steps.
The shadow opened its mouth, like the maw of a large beast ready to swallow them whole at any moment without the slightest hesitation.
They felt fear… True unadulterated fear.
Sweat covered their brows and all their limbs shivered in fright. They did not even entertain the thought of fighting back or defending themselves. Even the option of fleeing was non-existent.
"Hello… Do you want to play a game?"
'Ah…' They thought, 'So this is how all of it ends, huh…'
There was no escape. It was simply an inevitability.
Later on, the scream of the two filled the sky. But no one could hear them as that sound was stifled by the gravity of the surroundings.
———
(AN: I wonder what choice do you think Adam will take and how will he go at it? Hehe, it will be interesting to see I think. Anyway, don't hesitate to support me by subscribing to my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HikaruGenji or my other social media. I plan to use YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hikarugenji1737 and Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hikarugenji97 as a platform to help me with promotion. My next book of SHK will be out on Amazon around August or September and it will cover events from Vol 4 to Vol 5 of the Webnovel version.)
New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on free(w)ebnovel(.)com