When James Quill saw the hoard of messages bombarding him, one after the other, he knew the world had changed forever.

He had gone through his fair share of hardships, but nothing like this. Nothing on this scale. There was no denying that this was reality, for the pesky back injury he suffered while weightlifting had been healed. The soft, soothing energy enveloped his back before he could even understand what was going on, and a minute later he was back to 100 percent. It felt like he was ten years younger.

After looking through the options, James was clear on his decision. He didn't know what aliens or devils were waiting for him on the other side, but he wanted to meet them armed and kitted out with defensive gear. He didn't really know what levels would do, except he would be on par with the average alien in terms of durability? strength ? He wasn't really sure, and even if he was on par with them what would he even do unarmed and without any combat armor? Die instantly, maybe.

The one thing he was grateful for to this God-like existence was that he would not be separated from his family. The system had informed him that he would be spawned next to his direct family, allowing him to relax a bit and make his decisions without worrying too much. Even if they were going to be thrown into a hell hole, at least he would be there to protect his wife and son.

After he chose option 1, the system told him to select a weapon. There were thousands of weapons available, but they all seemed to be made of the same dull material, which resembled iron. He thought of many different weapons, but in the end they all seemed too light for him. He needed something that could channel his massive strength, to crush his opponents with overwhelming weight.

He settled for the [ One handed hammer ], a weapon with a haft around an arm's length, with a large, unassuming grey brick affixed to its top. After making his decision, he was teleported much like Tim was, landing on a sunny grassland with beautiful multicoloured herbs dotting the landscape and birds chirping.

James started looking around somewhat panicked, hoping the system wasn't playing some sort of cosmic joke on him. Sure enough, he found his wife. There was nobody else in the surrounding area though.

He ran up to her and hugged his wife hard, then asked her if she knew where Timothy could be, he wasn't thinking straight. How could his wife possibly know? But, she was calmer, and explained to her husband " Maybe Tim was located too far from us and got teleported elsewhere? He did live 2 states away after all ".

Upon hearing that, James felt it was logical. The system had no obligation to babysit them. It could probably evaporate them with just a thought. He felt very worried for Tim, not knowing how he would react mentally to such a situation. For now though, he could only pray and try to understand this new world and when he reached the citadel, he would do everything in his power to contact his son.

They both received a message from the system, explaining to them how the nature of the world had changed. There was no longer any different continents, the system had fused all the continents together and it was one giant landmass. The entire landmass was divided into 701 citadels, each citadel (except the 701st) citadel hosting roughly 10 million cultivators.

The journey to the citadel would take roughly 2 weeks if they travelled very quickly, or 4 weeks if they decided to go at a snail's crawl. All families were being placed an equal distance away from the citadel, explained the system. The first to reach the citadel would be declared the [ Citadel Governor ] along with which came taxation rights and a few other things that had no relevance to James in the current situation.

If they wanted safety and a roof to sleep under, they had to reach the citadel. James then asked Amelia what option she had selected, considering he saw no robes or weapon in visible sight. She explained that the second option was what made the most sense to her, considering she was rather dainty at a height of 5'4, and with a lithe frame, she could really use some more firepower.

Amelia Quill had directly reached level 5, and after discussing with James for a while she decided to focus her 20 stat points in constitution and agility in a ratio of 2:1. She had no insights into the dao, or titles to boost her stats, so she was only a slightly augmented human. Maybe she could survive a blade that sliced at her abdomen as long as it didn't hit the vitals. If she was focused, she could even dodge the first strike that came for her, though evading a second would be rather difficult.

James saw Amelia testing out her new abilities, and while it did impress him.... it wasn't enough. He took off his enchanted robes and gave it to her, accepting none of her protests. He already had a 5 in strength to begin with, even at level 1. The robes adjusted to her size, looking far more elegant on her than it did on James.

Then they tore the information scrolls assigned to them, getting all the relevant information needed to survive in this new world relating to all sorts of wonderous flora. Moving in the direction of the citadel, James walked in front with his one handed hammer, using the support of his shoulder to keep it upright.

He wondered if the hammer was a shitty idea. This thing was incredibly heavy, with him barely managing to prop it up, often needing two hands to balance it, stopping it from falling on his foot.

They met their first adversary not soon after, it was a mutated fox that was spotted in hues of purple and yellow, looking quite majestic. James didn't know whether the creature in front of him would spew poison or breathe fire, but he stood in front of Amelia regardless of that.

It was not that he wasn't afraid, but the adrenaline was thrumming in his chest and he was ready to do whatever it took to protect his wife. He had failed once with Timothy, and he would not allow failure a second time.

The spotted fox moved towards them, but it's speed was no different from ordinary animals. However as it opened its mouth and revealed two pitch black fangs, James eyes widened in shock. Instinctively out of self-preservation, James didn't think any further and brought his hammer down as fast as he could, not thinking of his action's potential ramifications. A crunch sound was heard, the sound of his wrist breaking from the abrupt, jerking motion that was done without warning. However the swing had served its purpose, the slight lack of strength near the end compensated by gravity.

James felt something wet splash on his face, and realized the fox had.... exploded. His shirt was coated with the blood and viscera of that terrifying creature, though it was surprisingly easy to kill. Apart from the broken wrist, which the level up thankfully fixed, his first kill had gone as smoothly as you could hope for in this twisted world.

He scowled at his hammer, cursing at the stupid weapon for almost getting him crippled. Where was he supposed to go for a medical checkup in this dystopian reality?

The fox was a level 2 creature, though it felt really weak. He pumped all his stat points into strength that he had just gotten from the level up, hoping this was enough to use the damn hammer. Well... it wasn't as if he couldn't use it before, he just panicked and pulled the trigger too fast. Though if you asked him, he wouldn't admit it even if you beat him to death, a man had his pride after all. It wasn't as if he didn't consider constitution, but from what Amelia said, she didn't feel vastly different compared to before, and there was no way she'd survive if that creature bit her on any exposed part like the neck.

After reaching 10 strength, he could use the weapon pretty comfortably, even swing it with one hand without too much strain. And the colossal impact it had, man it made him grin like a kid opening Christmas presents. They got some notification about an Earth's Vengeance getting some title, the only thing that made them raise their eyebrows a bit was the name, but it was soon forgotten because they had far more pressing concerns to worry about.

James pretty much spent the first day clearing off these mutated mobs that came in his way, it was mostly foxes, some mutated chickens and even one boar, which gave him a nice, cushy pelt that he gifted to Amelia. Few monsters survived more than a single hammer strike, the ones that did were rewarded for their perseverance with another hammer strike. James marvelled at his own benevolence, he was liking the hammer more and more as he got better with handling it. He was close to level 3 by now.

They had met a few families until now, though James didn't agree to travel any of them when asked to, only parting after talking a bit and exchanging some information. For now, the people they met didn't seem to be overly distraught or grief stricken by the whole experience, with no group seeming to have suffered any casualties, of those they had met.

Amelia didn't understand why James straight up refused the offer to travel with them, and that too rather rudely. When they were finally alone and away from that particular group, James said softly " I know you're angry at me. Those were good people, but Amelia you have to understand, this is only the first day. I don't know what's going to happen when we move forward, what sort of mutated monstrosities we will face. I can't trust some random group with your safety, what if it all goes to shit and they run off? We are only 2 people, with one weapon between us".

And then he said with a sigh "And you do realize that humanity is not some happy band that is overflowing with compassion for each other right? What's the easiest way to acquire weapons and armor? Sooner or later, people are bound to realize that there is no government left, no social structure left to constrict their behaviour..... and well all I'm saying is I don't want to be there when they do. Some are still in denial, but if there's one thing humans have, it's adaptability. Not only will our race survive, some will even thrive in this new world ".

Amelia shuddered at what her husband was implying, and how deluded she had been. It was as James said, some were still in denial....and she was one of them.