The next day I woke up in high spirits, my results would be coming out that morning and I was eager to see how they would turn out.I was told at an earlier date that a link would be sent to our emails, where we would be able to check our results.I immediately jumped to my feet and rushed to my computer.Sure enough, the email was right there waiting for me.I clicked on the link and after a few steps, I was finally able to access my result.What I saw exceeded my expectations, I finished the exam top of the set, and I had perfect scores in all the subjects.I expected this, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. I ran downstairs and met Logan in one of the living rooms, he was doing some push ups.I jumped on him and we both crashed to the floor, thankfully we had a soft landing.He sat up first and was scratching his hair, “heyyy, what was that about,” he said.I jumped up to my feet and asked him to follow me, and I practically dragged him up the stairs.When we got to my ro
I finally finished packing my bags and I got dressed shortly.I got back onto my computer to reply to my texts.I congratulated them both and I informed them that I passed as well, but I didn’t go into much details about my results.I also added the fact that I would be unavailable for a while, and that I wouldn’t be able to entertain online conversations.When I was done, I took the packed bag and headed downstairs.I’d packed enough necessities to last me for a night, as that was probably all I would need.When I got downstairs, I saw Logan fully dressed.“Malcolm, I was just about to inform you that I’d be leaving now, are you going somewhere?” He asked, and he looked at the bag I swung over my shoulder.“Well, you’re right on the money, I’ve decided to pay my loving family a visit,” I said.“Oh? I’ve never heard you mention family before. What’s the occasion?” He asked and smiled.“Nothing too special, I’m basically going to rub my perfect scores in their faces,” I said and we bot
I was being dramatic, very dramatic, and I was just having fun on the spur of the moment.When the head of the security heard me say this, he looked up and saw the menacing look in my eyes, and quivered in fear.So it really was working, even I was surprised.“Please sir, I beg you to forgive my incompetence,” he said and he looked back down.‘Okay I think that’s enough with the dramatic antiques,” I thought to myself.I got back into my car and simply drove into the compound, the gates were already left open.I found a parking spot and I drifted into it, my tired screeching the floor loudly as I did so.The idea was to get my fathers attention, and let him see me in the car, but that didn’t seem to work.I got down from the car, a little bit frustrated, but all my angry emotions soon became null and void when I saw a familiar face.It was Benjamin, he was standing in front of the mansion, up the stairs.I practically ran up the stairs in one single leap and met with him.“Welcome Mas
“Master Malcolm, you'll need headphones for tha….” He said.Bang! Bang! Bang!I hit the shots with incredible accuracy.My shooting had improved drastically, I couldn’t tell if it was because of my upgraded attributes, or if it was because of my larger frame.Benjamin stared at me in disbelief, he was in awe of how accurate my shooting was.When I finished, I blew the smoke from the muzzle of the gun with one small whiff, and I returned it back to where it was supposed to be.Benjamin walked up to me and spoke.“Master Malcolm, you really shouldn’t be shooting without headphones, you could damage your hearing,” he said with a concerned look on his face.“Yeah, yeah I hear ya, I won’t do it again,” I responded.Shooting a gun so large was a workout, and I was sweating profusely when I was done. I took off the tank top I was wearing and left my bare chest out in the open.I was panting a little bit, and I let the air blow against my body.Benjamin had another reason to be shocked, and s
I wondered if one of my old rich friends had decided to pay me a visit.There was one who loved cars like this anyway, Tom Sawyer.‘That old thief, I wonder what he wants anyway, it’s been years’ I thought.I decided to confirm for myself from Benjamin first.“Benjamin, whose car is that?” I said and pointed to the car.“Where sir?” He asked and turned to see what I was pointing at.He saw it and laughed a little, but just enough to not be disrespectful.“That’s your son's car sir, he’s currently around,” he said.‘My son? Malcolm? There’s probably some kind of mistake. How on earth would Malcolm have enough money to afford such a car, what is he even doing here?’ I thought to myself.“That’s Malcolm’s car?” I asked, I had a very surprised look on my face, and I couldn’t even hide it.Just then, my wife came down from the car and put her arm on my shoulder.“Dear? What’s wrong?” She asked and looked in my direction.Benjamin greeted her and she scowled at her, she was such a callous p
It was a very despicable smile, and it sent chills down my spine.A smile that looked like it could haunt my nightmares, and the thought of it shook me.I stood my ground, I was curious to know what businesses he was into.“Oh and what business might that be?” I asked.“Well” he said and took a napkin to wipe his mouth with.I waited patiently for him to finish and when he was done he dropped the napkin and spoke.“I’d rather keep that to myself thank you very much,” he said and smiled.I was infuriated, he was in no place to speak to me this way.It hurt my pride to be treated this way by him, and the rage began to well up within me.“I demand to know what business you’re into,” I simply said in a low but commanding voice.He looked at me and laughed, and then responded saying, “you don’t seem to get it do you. Whatever I’m involving myself in is none of your business,” he responded with the same tone I used.He usually wouldn’t have the gall to talk back at me with so much confidenc
I calmed down, he was out of the room now and I regained my composure.I was pissed off by how much he had just embarrassed me, but deep down, I was proud of him.It took me a while but soon I returned to my usual expressionless self, and I ate my food in silence.After a short while, I broke the silence and spoke to my stepson, Damien.“So how about you Damien, you’ve seen your older brother Malcolm and how much he’s excelling, what do you have to say about your own studies?” I asked in a cold voice.I was very hard on him, but the way I treated him paled in comparison to how I treated Malcolm.I hurt him very much, and I scarred him his entire childhood because of my selfish attitude.I honestly should have treated him better, he was the only memory I had of the love of my life.If she was here now and she saw all I’d done, how would she feel?I’d messed up big time, and it was certainly too late for me to try and be a father to him anymore.The damage had already been done, and it
It was a slap that echoed across the room, and Damien grabbed his face in pain.He stared at me with tears in his eyes, but I didn’t care, he’d just embarrassed me greatly, he needed to understand the position we were in the family early on.If he didn’t get himself together and man up, it may have been too late for him to realize.Yes, my method may have been harsh, but it was necessary, necessary to shape him into the boy I wanted him to be, the boy who would inherit the Ruby family.“You know how much he hates losing to someone, or coming in second. With Malcolm impressing him so much, how do you think that would affect us? Why would you tell him about you coming in second?!” I shouted at him.The position we found ourselves in was very delicate, and he was just making matters worse.“I won’t lie to him, I refuse to lie to my father,” he said in a calm voice.I calmed down a bit, he didn’t understand the situation properly, he still has so much to learn.“Listen to me Damien and yo
“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