What would you do if... hmmm... I say… you're gonna go and die today. Well, not literally die, but if you think of some philosophical view of death, technically... it is death. Okay, I'll be more specific.

  What would you do if... a God came to you and said somewhere on the lines of "You would be able to achieve your dream on XX XX XX". X, simply cause it's better than saying the date. More ominous, am I right? Well, he did tell me the date, and that date, is today.

  He told me, that flying orb told me that on this day, a few months after my encounter, I would be transported to another world where I would climb a tower harder than the 12 Labors of Hercules and more painful than Sisyphus's, Tantalus's, Prometheus’s, and Ixion's punishments combined!

  Okay, yeah, I just searched up those four punishments. God just told me that the journey would be like asking for death while you're just a speck of dust on the ground still alive while going insane, asking for help, and having nothing else you could do but suffer forever as constantly feeling nothing and everything forever.

  I did not understand that, so I just, like, searched for Greek's most punishing punishments. It sounds fun, right? That's basically death. Is it my dream though... well, he never said I would die. Modern life has no physical thrill other than bullying or depression. I need something different, more like what our ancestors went through when it was just the age of fire. Eternal punishment for immense growth that transcends humanity! That's what I want!

  ***

  "Meow."

  "Well, thank you for listening to me, Mr. Cat. I would have told a friend if I had a close one."

  "Meow."

  "Also, did you know, I prepared absolutely nothing? I didn't even have a bag, nor did I even exercise, but I at least lost some weight. To survive, all you need is adaptability. It's survival of the fittest once you enter a different world. As long as you're insane and a maniac who has absolutely no morality or care in the entire human world or even your own life, you're good to go."

  "Meow."

  "Oh, bye... oh... it was a Ms. Cat."

  On the side of a road, a male human around the age of 16 was walking towards his school. He had no bag, and he didn't even wear his uniform. With a simple attire of a sleeveless shirt and shorts, he avoided the gaze of the guards behind street poles and parked vehicles like a stalker or a pedophile.

  His name was Harley, a simple teenager who had nothing other than his parents, who, to him, were barely passable as actual parents. Three months ago, while crying out his tears like a routine, God appeared before his eyes, and at that point, everything changed.

  After a few minutes of unnecessarily complicated yet ineffective hiding, he walked up the stairs to the second floor and stood in front of his classroom door. It was colored blue with a rectangular glass in the middle at face height. He looked inside, staring at the teacher discussing. Once their eyes locked for a second, Harley closed his eyes... and took a deep breath.

  God didn't tell him much. All he learned was the exact date, exact time, that it was a tower, and that he would suffer. That was everything. He tried asking some questions, however, the orb just stayed floating in the air, all silent. Harley was the type of guy to be incredibly unlikable. Not only is he insufferably insulting, but at the same time, he was lazy as a rock. Even if he learned that the world would end, all he would do is kill people and not even try to survive the apocalypse. It's all gains for him, nothing less, nothing more.

  It was exactly 7:59 in the morning. The time he was told was 8. Even if his class started an hour earlier, he didn't wanna wear a school uniform into a place where you'll be put inside a tower. That was a place that would test physical abilities. He would rather not go to class than strip naked.

  "It was just class... I'm going either way..." He smiled. Then he released all the burdens in his heart out of his mouth. He opened his eyes... and slowly opened the door... greeting him with a flash of bright white light.

  The moment he opened his eyes, his entire body was strapped to the door, each limb stretched like a starfish. Even his mouth was glued shut. The teacher in front of the classroom was also glued to the wall in the same position he was in, while the students sat on the chair, also stuck.

  "What is goi-!" The teacher yelled until her mouth gagged and smoke came gushing out. Her skin slowly dried, and her groans matched the ever-flowing smoke. Once the floor looked like a mist forest, the teacher turned into ashes as a figure appeared in the middle of the room.

  "Welcome, young participants. My name is Rooge." A hybrid of a human and a rabbit slowly rose from the ground. His voice echoed through the room. From his feet to his legs, the smoke from the ground built a human body covered with rabbit skin. Its two fluffy ears stood firm like horns. The rabbit was completely naked.

  "I've glued you and shut your mouths so that we don't have any unnecessary commotion. Now, I would gladly explain the situation to you... but... I received urgent orders that we have a little too many people... so..." He sucked his lips, his saliva being the only sound that filled the room.

  "The only thing I'll do here is to activate your system so that you can acquire your unique trait. After that, I'll be gone. You'll be given 3 minutes to check your status screen, and you will immediately start."

  The rabbit snapped his fingers and a blue transparent screen instantly popped in front of everyone. "That is all, good bye! See you... later."

  Subsequently, a screen also appeared in front of Harley.

  [Name: Harley]

  [Level: 1]

  [Unique Trait: Liar]

  Liar? Do I lie that much to be called a liar? Oh well, I hope this isn't some useless skill. Oh, that wasn't some bullshit call for it supposedly being useless but actually it's good, I'm not as stupid as other main characters

  Harley thought. He frequently talks to himself to the point that he can't live without having a line of words running inside his head. For someone who didn't have anyone to really talk to, he really talked to himself a lot. After meeting God, this only worsened his already narcissistic mindset.

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  It was only a matter of time before something became common sense. For Harley, he knew exactly that thinking of opening the trait would show more of what he needed.

  [Liar]

  [A Liar is a perfect human. One who could lie can be anyone he wants. Say you are a God, then you are. Say you are the most powerful being alive, so then you are. Anything you want will be yours! Say that you hold the greatest treasure in the world; it's true! Say you know absolutely everything about the universe, and who would argue with you?! That's the power of lying. A lie is only a truth that has yet to be true.]

  Okay, that was just a lot of bullshit monologue, I did not get anything out of that. Well... it's interesting. For it to glorify so much about it, it must be that amazing, or maybe it's just lying. Maybe this is just a trait that gives you immense confidence. Or... I could even lie about my status screen... or I could lie about anything and any lie detecting skill will not be able to see through me.

  Is this the perfect trait? No, yes, it is! If I say it is! Then it is! Phrases like that last line is what I live by, there's even a bullshit till you make it. This won't help in combat, but who cares?! That just gives my life more thrill!

  Before Harley could continue his inner monologue, his eyes were once again blinded by white light. The moment he opened his eyes, they were in the middle of an empty grassy hill.

  "Are we in a game?"

  "Am I in an anime?"

  "There's no way I'm getting isekaid!"

  "What's going on!"

  Many yelled and questioned the situation. From asking what was going on to where they are, some cried, some were scared, and some quickly adapted to some degree and asked about the unique traits.

  While the others did their own thing, Harley quickly left the group without being noticed despite his overwhelmingly unique set of clothes. The first few seconds felt incredibly peaceful. The cold wind and the warm gaze of the sun was the perfect heaven for a lot. However, Harley ran down as fast as he could. Soon he would even hear some mention his name.

  This is supposed to be the hardest shit in the world. Ain't no way I'm staying on a hill that clearly is like a fucking pedestal for a God or Gods, I don't know, Constellations? Hello? You exist? Hope not; they are annoying. Anyway, the sun might just blast that hill up or maybe a meteor will just drop. I don't care if I'm overreacting as long as I'm alive. Oh wait, shit! What if it's actually monsters spawning and the hill is an advantage?

  Harley immediately stopped. Then, another screen came, making his cluttered thoughts just stop.

  [Mission]

  [Survive for 10 Minutes]

  "Okay... fuck it I don't care."

  He stood halfway down to the grass plains and the steep hill. The hill was incredibly steep that after running with everything he got, he only reached halfway down. It was a hill with a steepness of 250 meters.

  A second after the screen appeared, a green beam of light appeared at the edge the bottom of the hill. It stretched infinitely to the sky. Almost instantly, the entire hill was surrounded by a green barrier that stretched to the sky. Then, just as everything escalated, monsters appeared at the bottom and started to run uphill.

  Wait... am I supposed to survive for 10 Minutes... or reach the green barrier?

  [Yes]

  A red screen instantly appeared and then disappeared in front of Harley. A smile reaching to his eyes formed on his face, and then his legs made a run for it.

  I have no weapons, not like numbers will do anything when there's thousands of them, and instead of waiting, I'll go. God... or whatever you really were, orb. Thank you. It seems you're even watching me right now.

  Harley took a deep breath. Shit! He almost couldn't exhale. The amount of pressure on himself was draining every bit of his energy. His heartbeat could be heard a mile away. Sweat fell like rain, hair standing stiffer than a tree. Harley was scared, incredibly scared. However, with one simple phrase, it all changed.

  I'm not scared. Like a miracle, everything felt like heaven. He was jumping on clouds light as a feather. I'm not scared. Why would I? His face turned stern. A lie, yes it may be a lie, but either way, as long as you believe, as long as you can do it, nothing is a lie.

  Harley ran without wasting a minute. The bottom of the hill was filled with monsters, from the simple slime to a bigger monster like an orc. The variety of monsters couldn't be counted in just one hand, each served nothing but clutter on the eye, fear in the heart, and waver in one's belief.

  The monsters began an uphill battle, their numbers more of a hindrance than an advantage. Each one tripped against the other, the bottom looking more like a spiked trap than a pit of killers.

  Harley looked at the chaos with eyes full of lies. It wasn't something to fear but an opportunity. Their clawed-up limbs, sharp teeth, and bloodshed eyes kept growing at each climb. Gaps showed the monster's hesitation to kill those besides them, like they were hypnotized to do only one thing. That one thing was to kill people like him.

  Harley was just a few meters away; any second now, his skin would either bleed or his heart would be pulled and crushed at the monster's whim. It wasn't just the monsters that he was close to, it was also the green barrier. That was the only hope he could see past the wall of dreadful beasts.

  An orc burst from the pile, launching at Harley at top speed. There was no time to react for a normal human; the amount of fear and stress would make one’s eyes close in an instant.

  Through the darkness, even with everything bending against his will, Harley went around the orc as it toppled from the uneven escape and fell to the ground. The lie was not enough to make his heart and mind numb. Was it a lack of resolve, or was it something else?

  A lie is a lie because it’s not true. Once it becomes true, it’s not a lie anymore. So was the description of the trait even real? Everything fell apart the moment Harley realized that. But wasn’t that the entire point, to lie until it becomes real? Harley believed that it worked; earlier it showed, it stopped everything, only his belief was lacking. There was nothing wrong with his trait, nothing.

  Harley felt no pain, no fear, nothing. His eyes were glued on the monsters in front of him. The monsters soon took notice of his presence, circling him from the sides. In front of him were six monsters: another orc, two goblins, and three slimes.

  One of the goblins jumped at him, holding a small, broken, rusted knife. Harley stopped at the closest point he could. The green barrier was just 15 meters away. He turned around, facing the previous orc that he had run past. The goblin sliced his arm, then a slime jumped on his back, burning his clothes and skin.

  The pain was bearable, actually, it was almost nonexistent. His entire body was shaking uncontrollably. Even if Harley didn’t want to feel it, his body knew the pain. The blood gushing out of his arm was a pain out of this world. To make it worse, another goblin stabbed him in the chest, and Harley immediately panicked.

  He turned around, kicking the goblin. Before he could pull the sword out, his other arm was cut. Then, as his eyes fixated on the orc running at him, his back felt an immense pressure. His entire body was launched like a mannequin into the air, spraying blood like a sprinkler. He landed on the grassfield, staining everything on his path with trails of blood.

  Harley landed barely on the edge, his body bouncing from the impact.