Chef in the Apocalypse

While Jayce was having an existential crisis, Rubick was busy humming a tune on the stage. It was as if his whole personality had changed in a matter of moments, hammering home that he was in fact mentally unstable.

"Ah, I feel better." Rubick said, adjusting his tophat.

"Oh, that’s right. The World Tria— Er, I mean Quest."

With a wave of his hand, everyone received a notification, opening up a quest window automatically.

[World Quest: Outside Invasion]

Earth is in the midst of evolving into a higher realm. Those who are currently in power do not wish for this to occur again, therefore they will be sending invaders to destroy Earth and its inhabitants.

Objective: Defend Earth from the invaders, allowing your planet to evolve

Failure will result in the destruction of Earth and its inhabitants.

Jayce’s mouth opened wide, staring at the text in front of him. It was as if he’d been hit over the head with a hammer, removing any of his earlier thoughts out of his brain.

Earth is evolving into a higher realm, and this wasn’t the first time? Invaders are being sent to destroy them?

Just what kind of sci-fi bullshit was this?

It wasn’t just Jayce that was feeling this way, everyone in the entire room apart from Rubick was going through a similar crisis. If they were allowed to talk, there would definitely be an uproar within the theater right now.

Jayce had so many questions, but looking at Rubick who seemed to be merrily humming a tune upon the stage, he was sure that they would not be answered.

As if feeling some gazes upon him, Rubick added, "Oh I forgot to mention. This quest doesn’t start for another two years while the barrier is still up."

Barrier? Jayce was beginning to get frustrated with this whole situation. How could Rubick just nonchalantly drop all of this information, not bothering to explain anything. He couldn’t even get any words out, let alone ask any questions.

"Anyway, that’s all that I gathered you for. I’m sure you won’t let me down when the time comes." His gaze lingered on Jayce as he said these words, the red eyes twinkling behind his mask.

He waved his hand, causing everyone in the audience to begin to fade away.

"I’ll give you some advice... Don’t rely on the system. Oh and remember not to tell anyone about your role as supporters, otherwise... perma-ban!"

Rubick’s words echoed in their minds as they were transported back to their bodies.

Now that he had transported everyone back, Rubick was left alone on the stage, staring at the empty seats in front of him. While he had been in a terrible mood to start with, seeing the progress Jayce and Leah had made filled him with expectation.

All of the work that he had done would not be in vain. Even with their intervention, Earth would still rise again, perhaps even stronger than before.

Just the thought of this scenario put a wide smile on his face.

"This is all I can do for now." Rubick murmured, his thoughts moving elsewhere.

***

Jayce sat up almost immediately after regaining consciousness. He suddenly felt a thud on his forehead, as if he had just headbutted something hard.

Tony who had been hovering over Jayce ever since he had gone unconscious, suddenly slumped to the floor, losing consciousness himself.

"Ah, damn it!" Jayce rubbed his forehead, feeling a lump appearing. The fact that his hardy body had actually sustained damage from the collision, showed just how tough Tony’s bum chin was.

After using Analyze on Tony’s unconscious body and confirming that he was fine, he got up to his feet and looked for the twin sisters. Lianna was still sitting cross legged in meditation, while Leah was just stirring awake now.

"Leah, are you okay?" Jayce asked, noticing how shaky his voice was.

"Mmm." Leah nodded, though her face was grave.

Sitting down across from her, Jayce decided to use this time to talk about what had just happened. Tony was unconscious and Lianna was still gaining enlightenment, it was the perfect opportunity.

"He signaled us out because we have comprehended a Law."

"Yeah, I thought as much. Rubick also said that we shouldn’t rely on the system, that means that this is the right path." Leah stared at her fist, feeling the power of nature swirl around it.

Jayce nodded, yet he did not look pleased. "I only happened to come across the Law of Fire because I lost all of my mana. And you only found it because of the Dryad."

"That’s true, it seems li— wha? What did you just say?" Leah shook her head not fully believing what she had just heard.

"I lost all of my mana." Jayce repeated, realizing that he had not yet told anyone about his... situation.

"B-But how did you use your Law of Fire if you don’t have mana?" She blinked a few times in confusion, finding this information incredulous.

Jayce let out a sigh, deciding to explain his situation as best he could. From the existence of meridians, to what had happened when he opened up his Dantian, he carefully spilled the beans.

Leah listened quietly, not interrupting at any point. When he had finally finished, she had a weird look on her face. "So you’re saying that you have Qi now? Like the ones from those Cultivation and Martial Arts Novels?"

"Well, when you put it that way it sounds kind of silly." Jayce admitted, yet he did not deny the claims. He was just coming to terms with what had happened, after all it had only happened the night before they came down into the tree.

"So maybe that’s why your Law of Fire is so powerful?" Leah muttered, staring at her fist once again.

"What do you mean?" He tilted his head in question.

"Well, I can use the Law of Nature but it’s hard to control. As if there is something prohibiting me from using it freely. At first I thought it was because I hadn’t fully grasped it, but now I’m not so sure."