My big break had finally arrived; I guess fortune had finally smiled upon me. I’d been yearning for this promotion for a very long time, and finally, it began to materialize. The atmosphere created around me by my team and everyone who came to celebrate my promotion with me felt surreal. Laughter, toasts, and congratulations filled the air, and I couldn’t be happier. As a 40-year-old marketing consultant, I, Malcolm, had nothing to show for it but a shady apartment, a salary that could barely take care of my needs, no girlfriend – I mean, I didn’t even have a car. Pretty sad, huh? But I wouldn’t think too much about it. Right now, I just enjoyed the pleasant demeanor around me and drank the night away.“A toast to the brand new marketing manager of Moonwolf Corporation, cheers!” Everyone retorted as they began clicking their glasses together in a rather noble fashion. The rest of the night went on as a blur as the effects of the several wine glasses I’d had finally began to take
I screamed in terror as I awoke from what seemed to be a terrible nightmare. "Where am I?" I thought, gripping my chest tightly, desperately scanning for any sign of injury. To my relief, I realized I was perfectly fine.'Huh, that’s not right,' I blinked in confusion, finding myself seated in a university lecture hall. My experience in that alley felt too real to be a dream— the blood, the pain, that unforgettable face. ‘What the hell was that!’ I thought. The new surroundings were familiar, giving me a sense of nostalgia, and the faces around me seemed very familiar, like I’d seen them before.I furrowed my brow, putting two and two together I remembered where I had seen these faces. These were my classmates back when I attended cram school. But why would they be here and why now? I’d already graduated from university more than over a decade ago, so what was happening?And then the realization hit me – could it be possible that I've been transported back to my past? I quickly ru
I squared my shoulders, staring at the two bullies who once made my life miserable. The alley felt tighter, and the dim light flickered overhead, casting eerie shadows as if nature itself anticipated the showdown. My heartbeat thudded in my ears, but this time, it wasn't the rapid pulse of fear. It was a rhythm echoing newfound resolve.The leader of the duo, a broad-shouldered guy with a menacing smirk, stepped forward. "So, what’s this, heh? Malcolm suddenly thinks he can fight back? Well, think again, pal. There’s two of us and only one of you." His accomplice chuckled, cracking his knuckles.I clenched my fists, my palms sweaty but unyielding. "I'm not the same person you used to bully," I snapped back, the words escaping my lips with a confidence I never knew I possessed.The bullies exchanged glances, uncertainty flickering in their eyes. "Enough talk. Give us your money if you know what's good for you," the leader snarled.I merely stared back coldly, my focus unwavering. "
I squinted my eyes as the rays of sunlight creeped through my curtains hitting my face, illuminating my room as I stirred awake. It was time to face reality –all this was not a dream. I reached for my phone on the shelf as I felt it vibrating, realizing that I’d gotten a text from none other than my father.His text stated thus: "Remember, Malcolm, use your allowance wisely."‘As cold as ever,’ I thought.I blinked my eyes to try to get the remnants of sleep away. Checking the calendar, It was a new month, the date being the 17th of August 2002 and there, staring back at me, were the stark numbers. 49 days until my final entrance exam into Columbia university– just a bit over a month and a half. The responsibility weighed down on my shoulders , and I was brutally reminded of the task ahead.I directed my attention back to my phone as my allowance had been sent, my fingers swiping across the screen."$10,000," it read.An amount that would seem like a lot to the average student bu
Logan sat in the bustling, ever busy office of Hudson Investments, going through social media on his phone as he sat in his booth sipping his coffee during his lunch break.He was living the life of a basic stock broker, sitting in his stall each day, waiting for a job from potential clients.“Sigh, I never have anything to do, look what getting that degree got me , a crappy life stacked with debt with no friends, family, and as usual horrible bosses,” he said in a tired voice.His life wasn’t the perfect spectacle that most people would imagine as though he was an office worker and worked for *Hudson investments*, a financial giant at the time, he was experiencing a financial crisis.He was in debt, a lot of debt and had no active income that he would make use of to clear his bills.The stock market's unpredictable dance had kept everyone on their toes and actively expecting its next fluctuations, and even in these moments of constant anxiety, the air was charged with anticipation.L
As I sat alone in my lonely apartment, I embraced the solitude of my room as my mind began to dance around my memories and thoughts of my past life.I could vividly recall who Logan was and the significance he held in my past life. He was a stock broker and my friend, in fact my only friend.He was genuinely a good person, but he’d made a lot of bad choices and financial misjudgments here and there which caused him to rack up a large amount of debt, a lot of debt which he had no active source of income to pay back with.You could say that the major prerequisite of our friendship was the fact that we both had financial issues and lived crappy lives, and Logan, my friend, became my intricate guide into the world of stocks and the possibilities it presented. And he was probably my main drive toward my passion for stocks in my past life. I threw myself into studying how it functioned, the fluctuations in the rates and I knew the most profitable investments at that time.I was practically
I increased my pace as I hurried to class, I was late. ‘I spent too much time playing around, I shouldn’t let this happen often’ I thought to myself.The large lecture hall was filled to the brim with other students attending the cram school and buzzed with anticipation, one could easily notice the conversations between students and shuffling of papers all coming together to create the sense of harmony that was university life.Each step I took, my heart felt heavy as I realized that classes had already started, meaning I would basically have to avoid the stares of every single student and face the unnecessary attention given to me by the lecturer who felt like she had this obligation to look after me as I opened and walked through the large doors of the lecture hall.I honestly couldn’t care less at that point and as I walked into the lecture hall, the large doors creaking loudly as I pushed them open, an uneasy silence fell across the classroom as everyone stopped their conversing
Fast forward to a week later, and I'm in the gym, getting my grind on.This is how I'd been living my life for the past week. I'd wake up, go to the gym for a workout, take my self-defense classes, go home, do some research on stocks, and then prepare for cram school for the rest of the day.My schedule wasn't all too versatile, and I was content with it as I had enough time for myself and for my goals.After finishing my sets, I went to the restroom to take a small break. Looking in the mirror, I was impressed with the amount of progress I'd made. It had been about 4 weeks, so I wasn't expecting anything too much, but I was finally gaining some weight and coming out of my lanky frame.This was good; I'd keep this up and continue to monitor my progress."Okay, it's back to the grind, I guess," I thought as I finally left the restroom.I was on my way to resume my sets when I noticed another guy working out on my spot. "Bro probably doesn't understand gym culture; well, I might as well
“Genesis, I don’t intend to engage them in a prolonged battle. My plan is simple: I’ll transport them to a specific location in another world, use Starforge to unleash an all-out attack, and then transport myself back to my world before they can retaliate. I won’t give them a chance to regroup. It will be swift and decisive.”I stood firm in my conviction, determined to see this through, despite the risks.Genesis remained silent for a few moments, processing the information.Genesis let out a long sigh, almost as if the system itself was struggling to come to terms with my proposed plan.[Damon, with the potential for so many things to go wrong, I must give you a more honest assessment of the situation. Based on my calculations, I estimate your chances of success at only 10%. This is an extremely risky endeavor. If even one variable does not go as planned, you could be facing a formidable enemy without my support, and your odds of survival would diminish drastically.]I took a deep b
As the garments glowed, Genesis's voice rang out once again, its appraisal clear and concise.[Holy Garments of the High Pontiff (Legendary, Level 70)][Effect: +300 Intelligence, +5% Holy Damage, +15% Resistance to Dark Magic, Spell: Holy Shield, Blessing of the Pontiff]I considered the garments carefully, recognizing the potential they offered me. While I couldn't use the Grimoire, these robes could prove invaluable in my journey.It was from one high level equipment to another, but I couldn't keep this up for long.Considering the amount of damage they could potentially cause to my world, as well as the constant sneak attacks, I knew I had to get moving…quickly.However, there was still one more thing I needed to confirm."Genesis, the skills I obtain each time I'm attacked, are they permanent?” I conveyed my thoughts toward it expecting a response.[Damon, the skills you obtain through the Counter skill are indeed temporary. Cognos provided you with the ability to create these t
[Skill Created: Celestial Shield (Lv. 1)][Skill Activated: Celestial Shield (Lv. 1)]A shimmering, silver-white energy shield manifested around me, just in time to deflect the beam of light with a resounding CLANG!Though I still felt the intense heat, the shield held, protecting me from the destruction of the safe house. My whole line of sight was enveloped in smoke, and my vision was hazy.Suddenly, another panel manifested before my eyes.[Skill Created: Celestial Gust (Lv. 1)]I raised my hands, channeling the power of the wind to clear the smoke around me. With a simple gesture, I activated the new skill:[Skill Activated: Celestial Gust (Lv. 1)]A burst of air rushed through the safe house, scattering the smoke and revealing the aftermath of the destruction.The whole surrounding area was left in ashes, and right next to me was a horrible sight.Remains of Vlasdilav’s body lay there on the floor, a pile of bones nearly burnt to ashes.I felt the anger well up within me, whoeve
As Vladislav shared his experience with the Player Wars, I couldn't help but grin, a spark of recognition in my eyes. "I've been through it too," I admitted, nodding in solidarity."So you know what it's like then," he said, a sense of camaraderie growing between us."Yes. The Player Wars are no joke. They're brutal, but I survived. I'm still here." I said, a sense of pride and resilience in my voice."Looks like we have more in common than we thought," Vladislav replied.Curious about the skills that made him such a formidable assassin, I asked, "So, what are your skills? What's your main specialty?"Vladislav's eyes narrowed as he considered my question. "Assassination, obviously. My skill set includes Shadow Cloak, which lets me become invisible for a limited time. Silent Stalker, which muffles my footsteps and masks my presence. And, of course, Bloodlust. The more enemies I kill, the stronger I become.""Not to mention my enhanced senses. There's also Silent Strike, which allows
I still felt some sort of apprehension at the fact that the other person in pursuit had escaped, but that was beyond my power now.All I had to do now was focus on what came next, and honestly, I had no idea what to do.‘Genesis, if only you were here,’ I thought to myself. ‘You'd know what to do.’Just as I finished that thought, I was startled by a sudden notification in my mind.NOTICESystem upgrade completed. Rebooting.A progress bar appeared, counting from 0% to 100%.The progress bar steadily crept towards 100%, and I couldn't shake the thought that Genesis would once again be available to me. ‘It'll be back, I'm sure of it,’ I thought, and I felt a surge of optimism and relief washing over me. The assassin, sensing my distraction, cleared his throat. "Do you have a plan?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice."For now, we return to the safe house. I'll need some time to think things through." My response seemed to placate the assassin, and he nodded in agreement.We mad
He then explained the quest log that they all received to me.The assassin, still trembling, began to reveal the contents of the quest log that had been shared among all players. His voice shook as he explained that I had been marked as a target, and every player had been transported to this world with the sole purpose of eliminating me. According to the quest, until my demise, none of the players would be able to leave my world. They were granted unrestricted access to their skills, allowing them to utilize their full potential in their pursuit to end my life. The rewards for succeeding in this quest were immensely valuable, with each contributing player being granted a single wish.This revelation shed light on the relentless pursuit I had been facing from them, as well as the desperate lengths that the players were willing to go to claim their rewards. It became clear that, to them, my life was nothing more than a means to an end, a stepping stone to fulfilling their deepest d
“Now it's my turn,” I said.The two men stared at me in horror, before making their moves.The assassin threw out some pouches to the floor which generated a dark mist, preventing me from seeing them.I brought out my wings and flapped them with so much might that it generated enough wind to disperse the mist.However, they were nowhere to be found.I closed my eyes and heightened my senses, searching intently for any hint that they might have decided to give away.By combining my Draconic senses with Thought Acceleration, I was able to comb the vast expanse of land in mere moments.Suddenly my ears picked something up to my left, it was the assassin, using yet another camouflage skill.I flew toward him at top speed and crashed into the ground right in front of him.I got up and paced angrily toward him. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now,” I said.The assassin, realizing he had been discovered, quickly activated a skill that shrouded him in an aura of dark e
A wave of confusion swept over me as I watched the two men recoil back in fear of me. "What's going on? Did you feel that too?" the assassin asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice."Yes, I did," the other man replied, and he locked his eyes onto mine. "I don't know what he did, but he feels like an entirely different person from when I first faced him."I couldn't help but ponder their reactions. ‘Huh? Why did they suddenly back away from me? I don't feel any different from before, so what's wrong?’ I thought, perplexed by the situation.I decided to try contacting Genesis again, hoping to shed some light on the matter. ‘Genesis,’ I thought. However, once again, I received no response.The silence was as puzzling as the men's reactions, and I couldn't help but wonder what had changed. ‘This all began after my meeting with Cognos, what did he do?’ I thoughtDespite the lack of communication from Genesis, I knew I had to press on.“Tch, you snooze you lose, I'm about to steal my p
Cognos looked at me with a mix of understanding and concern. "You must understand, young one, with great power comes great responsibility. The pursuit of power alone often leads to a dark and destructive path."I felt impatient, my mind was simply fixated on the quest he'd entrusted me with. "How am I supposed to carry out the quest you gave me then?" I asked, and the frustration was clear in my voice.Cognos paused, then reluctantly nodded. "Very well. If power is what you seek, I shall grant it to you. I will give you the power to counter anything that stands in your way."I stepped closer, with a look of curiosity mixing with anticipation. "How?" I asked."Come closer," he said. I complied, and he placed a hand on my head. A comforting warmth spread through me, soothing and invigorating at the same time. It felt like pure energy was flowing into me. When he finally removed his hand, the sensation remained, leaving me feeling stronger and more capable than ever before. I didn't kn