The Path To The Goodhood

Raven's eye narrowed, his gaze icy cold. "Then you will die, boy."

The boy stood firm, unflinching despite Raven's intimidating stare. "Do what you want," he declared proudly. "I won't play this game, even if it means death."

The old man, who had been quietly observing the scene, stepped forward. His eyes shone with admiration as he gazed at the boy. "You know, boy," he said, his voice filled with admiration, "despite your youth, you are the only one here worthy of being called a man. The rest," he glanced around the area, "are nothing but children in comparison to you."

The old man's gaze locked onto Raven's icy stare. "I, too, refuse to play this game."

"Do what you will," he added, his voice firm.

Inspired by the boy's and old man's courage, the crowd began to stir. A third person stood up, his voice clear. "I won't play this game either."

The protest gained momentum as others joined in, their voices rising in defiance. Feng Yun rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a grin spreading across his face.

"This is getting interesting," he said, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Fear has given way to courage; the meek have become mighty."

As Raven's eyes darkened, preparing to strike the crowd, a voice intervened, calm and authoritative.

"Don't hurt them, Raven. We need them. They agreed to play this game at the start, so let them have their moment. In the end, they'll have to play by the rules."

Raven hesitated, his gaze uncertain. "M-Manager? I-I apologize, but what do I do now?"

The manager's voice remained composed. "Return, Raven. Time's up. Their failure to listen is not your concern. The system will teleport them soon. Just come back."

Raven's laughter echoed through the air. "Do whatever you want, you lowly humans... Hahahah!"

Riyal turned to Feng Yun, concern etched on his face. "H-hey Leon, I think we need to stop them."

Feng Yun raised an eyebrow. "Why? Isn't this interesting? Don't you hate him too?"

Riyal nodded grimly. "Yes, I hate him, but as you said, he's too strong for us to handle. When everyone protested, I thought he'd kill us all on the spot. But instead, he's walking away... and now they're cursing him. If he hears that, he'll surely kill us all."

Feng Yun burst into laughter. "Kill us? Nah, he'll never do that. We're the only players in this area. Think about it - if we die, who'll play his game? I'm sure it's crucial to him and that creator he mentioned earlier."

Riyal's face fell, his expression disheartened. "So we're not going to play this game?"

Feng Yun shook his head. "No, we are. We agreed to their terms at the start. Remember the tutorial? The system asked if we wanted to play. If we touched 'no,' we would've died."

Riyal's anger flared. "This is cheating!"

Feng Yun shrugged. "So what if they're cheating? Do you have the strength to fight back?"

Riyal remained silent, his gaze fixed on Raven, who had stopped mid-air and turned to face them. A sly grin spread across Raven's face.

"Little advice for you all," Raven said, his voice dripping with malice. "Strong live, weak die."

The old man, still smiling, stood up with the boy and said, "You see, as humans, we may be weak individually, but united, we become the strongest."

Just then, Raven flew back, and the portal collapsed behind him. The sky cleared, and the sun began to set, casting a warm orange glow over the scene. As the group shared a laugh, Riyal turned to Feng Yun and asked, "So, how are we going to play this game now?"

Feng Yun began to respond, "I'm not entirely sure—" but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the system.

[Ding... You are about to be teleported to a random world.]

Before Feng Yun could finish his sentence, Riyal vanished into thin air. And in the next instant, Feng Yun disappeared as well.