Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

"Your speed is too fast for me to catch up."

Alex's words echoed through the chilling silence of the forest, and Karina, who was trying to run away from him, could only grow exceedingly anxious.

"I will stop following you."

Whenever she thought that Alex would stop now, and just kill her, she would hear his voice again; this fear of death—something she had yet to feel—was taking a toll on her mind.

"Your death would be agonizing."

A chill ran down her spine as she heard those words, and although her skill told her that it was a lie, she, for the first time, didn't want to believe it.

But then she frowned as she noticed something.

'He said he wasn't going to kill me; then why is he saying that my death would be agonizing?'

The gears in her mind churned, and her gaze turned firm.

'How long do I have to keep going on with this?'

Alex, on the other hand, didn't notice that his words were turned contradictory; all he did was speak the first lie that came to his mind, but how long would he have to go on like this?

He was sure that sooner or later Karina would notice something amiss, and if that were to happen, then things would get a bit tricky.

"I don't know your name—"

He spoke again, but the next moment, his words paused as his worry came true, and Karina stopped in her tracks, causing Alex to frown a bit.

"I don't know your name."

But he still continued, stepping out of the bushes, now staring right into Karina's dark blue eyes.

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"You know about my skill, don't you?"

Her question made him frown harder as he gazed deeper into her eyes, wanting to see what emotions she was trying to hide, but all he saw was determination, stubbornness, and fear within them.

"I don't."

Alex said, adding to another lie he spoke.

<6 more lies and I will be able to copy and make the skill a bit better for you.>

It was then that the AI replied to Alex's question, causing him to frown inwardly.

'6 more times?'

He had already made her skill get activated 8 times, and the AI needed 6 more times? Wasn't that a bit too much?

The ability he wanted to copy was a subskill after all.

"So, you know—you aren't trying to hide it..."

Karina, on the other hand, had a sharp glint pass through her eyes as she stared back into Alex's eyes before she added.

"Who was it? One of my subordinates, right? Or do you have an inspection-type skill?"

The harder Alex's brows creased, the more she gained confidence.

"..."

Alex, however, just started silent; he was sure that he would be able to kill her, but that didn't mean he would tell her about his skills.

Answering her question would mean that he was telling her that he had an inspection skill; after all, she had lie detection.

Telling her lies would only mean pushing her toward the truth.

"You would've answered if the answer was the former, but since you didn't, that means it's the latter."

Karina, on the other hand, just nodded her head, her expression still solemn.

She wasn't a normal human after all; she had been the owner of a big company, and she knew how to play with her words, and how to understand things based on people's behavior.

She could easily guess what Alex was trying to do, and this made Alex frown harder before he spoke.

"You are wrong."

Now that the cat was out of the bag already, why not make use of it?

<The ability you want to copy is a subskill of a legendary skill, and no matter how basic it is, I will have to decrypt a part of an ability ranked that high.

Added to that, I will have to change some sequences along the way to improve the ability to your liking, which needs more work.

So, the number of times I asked of you is the least it can be.>

The AI, which could tell that Alex thought of 6 more times, which was now reduced to 5 more times as a lot, explained to Alex why it was happening.

It was a legendary ranked ability, the second highest rank humanity knows about; how could it be easy to copy such a skill?

"Why are you lying to me then? What are you trying to achieve from that—from lying to me, who knows perfectly well that you're lying?"

Karina, unaware of the chat between Alex and the AI, stepped forward, questioning Alex about his motive, knowing full well that she wouldn't receive an answer.

She somehow felt that Alex wouldn't kill her, not for now at least, which gave her the courage to step closer to Alex.

"I have nothing—"

Alex surely wouldn't kill her, as he had some use for her, but that was all; he just wouldn't let her die.

So, he didn't stop her from moving forward; instead, he made use of this opportunity to say another lie.

He was going to say that he had nothing to achieve from all this—which was obviously a lie to make her skill get activated—but his words were cut short at the next second.

*Slish*

"Say another word, and I will kill myself."

A short dagger appeared in Karina's hands, and she turned it toward her neck, ready to push it deep inside.

Her hands were trembling as if she were scared and she wouldn't do it, but from the look in her eyes, Alex could tell that she wasn't just saying it, causing his eyes to squint.

Karina still didn't know how strong Alex was or how many abilities he had, but she did know that his actions weren't pointless; he must have a motive.

Before she knew what it was, she wasn't going to make it any easier for Alex to get what he wanted, and looking at how Alex's expression contorted, she knew that what she did really put Alex in a hard position, but just then...

*Woosh*

Alex, who was standing right in front of her, vanished, or he was just too fast for her to perceive, as all she saw was a flash.

*Thud*

"Arghh!"

Only to find her face pressed on the ground while her hand, which was holding the dagger, was held up by Alex, making her groan in pain as Alex had her hand twisted.

'W-What the hell?'

Inwardly, she found herself dumbfounded by the fact that the disparity of power between them was so great that she couldn't even protect herself, but she wasn't one to go down easily.

'Ghhh!'

She groaned inwardly, still feeling the ache in her hand, before a poison arrow started to form in the palm of the hand Alex was holding, but before it could get conjured, Alex spoke up.

"Give me all the artifacts and relics you have, and I will let you go."

Those words were like a bucket of cold water poured onto her hot head, which was about to make a rash decision right now.

She was about to fight Alex even though the chances of her winning were close to zero.