Maximus had been waiting at the Gayle Royalty lobby for almost half an hour with Ben still standing behind him. Ben had not uttered a word since, it seemed he was still in a trance and Maximus did not want to stop his train of thought. Just a tire screech was heard outside and it seemed to Maximus the Gayle family were finally here.Daniel Akkris Gayle, Amelia, Sirius Xavier and two other elders who were both at early grandmaster-rank. Maximus sensed Daniel's powers and realized his step brother had advanced to intermediate master-rank. They all stepped into the lobby and Sirius eyes were instantly filled with hate as he set his eyes on Maximus who stood like an emperor with his hands behind his back.“Hello Daniel, times has been a bit hard, hasn't it?” Maximus asked with faked concern, in fact it was so fake everyone knew it was fake and Maximus was in fact just mocking Daniel.“You bastard! You should never have returned!” Daniel screamed. Maximus simply laughed and then totally ig
Bryan was amazed by how an individual could compile the life story of people. How did this person even get access to his targets private life? Wait! What if he was being watched by this individual as well?[Ding!The Host should not worry. The one known as Zero can not get to us. If Host wishes, I can show Host virtual information of this Zero]Bryan was glad when he heard what the system said.“Yes please, show me.”[Ding!Transmitting in 3.. 2.. 1..]*[Host is welcome to the early life of Drake Michaelson, aka, Zero]A bright light flashed and a humanoid figure dressed in military uniform appeared. This figure looked exactly human but a bit unrealistic. It looked human, but it wasn't human. It had an oval face, lean body and wavy hair. It's military uniform fitted his tall lean body. This was the character of Drake in the game 'Galaxy'.“Alright, the war between Germinal and the Six Nations is still ongoing. The quest states that I have to meet up an old soldier in a little bunker
“Test subject number 24. The subject lasted for two minutes and forty-five seconds after the administration of Valkyrie. Time of death: 4:22AM.”'I should be the only one at home. Who's talking?'Drake opened his eyes, only to be blinded by light. The familiar hatch of his VR capsule was no longer there, instead he was facing a white ceiling. The walls that surrounded him were also white and reminiscent of cold, hard metal. They felt like something straight out out of science fiction. The room resembled an intensive care unit, and Drake lay atop a cold metal table, barrel-chested and wired to all sorts of machines. His back was freezing.Drake noticed there was a group of people in white coats surrounding him, and they were looking at him as though they had seen a ghost.'I thought I just accepted a leveling request? Where am I?'«Ding!Alpha Link System initialized. Host selected; Drake Michaelson of East View New Jersey. Welcome.»«Ding!Alpha Link System activated. Transferring unp
“Thank God I have a system!” Drake was ecstatic but quickly discovered that there were several irregularities.'NPC, not a player? Countdown timer? Torturous future ahead?'Drake furrowed his brows as he organized his thoughts.First of all, although he had no idea how the system had transmigrated together with him, he had to treat this world as a new reality, meaning that if he died, he could not bank on being able to respawn like in the game, he will be dead for good.Secondly, he could still access the system's interface despite being classified as an NPC. This suggested that he could still level up like a player, which was good news.Thirdly, if the countdown timer confirmed his suspicions that he had indeed traveled back in time to before the game's launch, did it mean that 'real players' will soon appear?Lastly, and most important of all, the 'torturous future ahead' meant only one thing; he was currently in grave danger!Drake felt indignant. Didn't people who transmigrated no
Drake's heart sank. Brainwashing was a common method of subordination, and while in the game, a brainwashed character would simply become an ally of the faction, it was completely different now! Losing his sense of self was the worst case scenario.'No way!'The good news was that memory altering technology available on the planet was still under-developed, so the organization's method were very primitive; they made use of sensory stimuli to re-calibrate the subject. A character with at least ten points in intelligence would be immune to the effects of the brainwash.Valkyrie had already given Drake a +1 boost to the growth of potential of Endurance. Growth potential was an innate star that affected the growth rate of the affected stat. Different races had differing starting potentials in each stat, and in the entire world of Galaxy, humans generally had a mediocre growth rate. They did, however, boast the highest intelligence potential. As they also possessed the lowest Health, this
Suddenly, an idea occurred to Drake. He abruptly tossed the book to a side and proceeded to stare at the gun on the guard's to waist with a blank expression.Hila frowned but did not act. Everyone looked to see what Drake was up to. Drake walked rigidly towards the guard. As if to make his intentions extremely clear, he reached out exaggeratedly for the gun.The guard instinctively drew his gun, and although Drake did not seem to have any intention of snatching it, he tightened his grip. As Drake was moving extremely slowly, the guard did not see a need to fire.“Unload the gun and let him have it.” ordered Hila. She was keen to know Drake's motives.The guard obliged and proceeded to do so.Upon receiving the gun, some information popped up on Drake's interface.«73-WASP (Small Caliber Handgun)Grade: GreyDamage: 28~35Fire rate: 1.1/sPower Output: 13Key Components: Spring, slide, firing pin, magazine (missing)»[Basic Assembly] automatically gave Drake knowledge about many types
Hila made a call through an encrypted line.“Boss, the situation has stabilized.”“Is the brainwashing complete?” the man's voice was hoarse.“I oversaw the procedure. There was no issue. What arrangements do you have for Zero?” Hila asked.“The Valkyrie experiment's aim is to train soldiers, so train him.” the man replied a bit irritated.“How is my sister doing?”“Don't forget the deal.” the man warned.“I gave you permission to visit her once every two months. Don't cross the line.”Hila clenched her fists when she heard this. Then there was a click and she knew the call had been disconnected by the man.*The interior of the underground Valkyrie lab was almost entirely white. Guards constantly patrolled the grounds. After a night's rest, Drake was brought to an isolated training field where Hila awaited.While he was not too sure of what arrangements the organization had for him, he was certain that they would value his 'learning ability', meaning he would definitely get the chanc
One day, a number of armored guards came to the tuning room to move a large portion of Drake's resources away. As Drake watched them quietly, a person walked up to him.“You have let the organization down. From today onward, your resources will be cut by eighty percent.” the person who spoke to Drake was test subject number 'One'.“I heard that you're my predecessor. With so many resources, is all you can make garbage like this? You are a failure, and I have been chosen to replace you.”For some reason, the sight of Drake irked number One. Drake remained silent.The organization prioritized results. Since Drake was not giving them results, he was stripped of his privileges. They planned to devote their resources to grooming the more promising no One.As the research lab did not have any maintenance personnel for machinery, Drake still got to keep the tuning room for himself. He was now assigned to perform maintenance and repairs.“Tsk tsk, sad rats.”A few guards who saw the pair bega