And so, Britt began working on my face.Firstly she placed a mask on my face, it was wet to the touch and stuck to the edges of my face.She tapped it on all sides to ensure that my face was properly covered and then covered my eyes.In most spas I’d seen on the internet and in magazines, I used to think that the people's eyes were covered with cucumbers.Apparently they weren’t, she placed them on my eyes and though they looked like cucumbers, they felt softer.Like a piece of cloth, or cotton of some sort, that was what they felt like.They were very nice and I liked the way they felt on my eye lobes.She then brought a machine close to my face and turned it on. I couldn’t see what was going on, but I could tell using my intuition.It was probably a heater of some sort, as she brought it close to my face, it first released warm hair and gradually got hotter.Eventually, it got very hot and I started sweating profusely on my face.Apparently it was to soften my skin and open the pore
I thought waxing was going to be an entirely painstaking process, but it actually felt kind of nice when she first started it.She applied some cream all over my body and it felt nice, the feel of her soft hands on my bare skin made me tense up.After some time, she applied the wax on my body, and then placed the cloth strips on them.All seemed to be going well, till the time to remove them came around.“Alright, now for the hard part,” she said and went and stood behind me.“What do you mean hard….urgghhhh,” I groaned in pain as she ripped one of the strips off my body.“A little warning would be nice you know, at least I could prepare myself mentally,” I said as I turned to face her.“Hehe, sorry,” she said and chuckled.I prepared myself for the next few minutes, with my mental health already fortified, I would only groan slightly after each rip.“And we’re done,” she said as she ripped the last one off my skin, leaving me like a hairless mole.My skin was red and felt sore, it wa
****All the items I purchased were being moved to my car, me and Britt were walking towards my Pagani, along with someone carrying my shopping bags.We finally arrived at the car and I unlocked the trunk by pressing a button from the key.It opened automatically, and the person carrying the luggage hauled them into the trunk.I turned and faced Britt as he closed the trunk and began to walk back toward the store.It was around seven in the evening, and the sun had gone down.“So Britt, I’ll be back here in about an hour to pick you up, sound good?” I asked her, she already gave me assurance of me taking her out after work, I was just reassuring myself.“Of course Malcolm, don’t keep me waiting too long okay?” She said and smiled.“Oh I won’t,” I replied and I pulled close to her and hugged her tightly.I then proceeded to my car and drove out of the compound, as she walked back into the store.As I drove my car at high speed on the highway, my thoughts wandered around aimlessly.‘Wel
I entered the reception with my face mask on and spoke to the receptionist.“Hello,” I said.She looked up from what she was doing and responded, “why hello there, do you have reservations?” She asked.She was smiling and seemed to have a cheerful attitude, this was the type of person that would make customers want to stay.‘Britt could use someone like this at her complex,’ I thought to myself.“I like your smile,” I said and she smiled wider.“Thank you sir,” she said and blushed a little.“Well so to answer your question, I’m afraid I don’t have reservations, but I should be back in an hour's time. Can I make reservations now?,” I asked.“Well I’m sorry sir, I’m afraid you can’t do that, I’d assume you’re interested in the rooftop dinner correct?” She asked.“You’re right on the money,” I responded.“So yes, the rooftop section is always booked for weeks, so I’m afraid there aren’t any available spots right now, but I could make reservations for you on the first floor here right no
“Well I don’t appreciate your tone, whoever you are,” I snapped at him.‘Now comes the whole recognition phase, and he’ll apologize for snapping at me, classics,’ I thought.“Sir, please keep your voice down, that’s…the Mr. Malcolm Shade,” the receptionist whispered.She was standing behind me and I wasn’t looking at her, so she must have assumed I wouldn’t hear her.He then stared at my face, and I frowned back at him.After some moments the look of recognition washed over his face.‘Here we go with the apologies, I should wrap this up, I’m getting tired of this,’ I thought.“Mr. Malcolm, forgive me sir, I…” he spoke and I cut him off mid sentence.“Yeah yeah, look, spare me the apologies. I’m here to make reservations for the rooftop, do you have a table or not?,” I asked, I was very frustrated.“Of course sir,” he simply responded.“Good, so I’ll be back in about an hour with a guest, make sure the table is ready,” I said assertively and turned toward the door.I was about to leave
We got to Britt’s house not quite long after leaving, her directions were spot on.As I drove in the night, I removed the sun roof of the car and allowed the breeze to hit our faces.The night sky was beautiful, and the feeling of the atmosphere was exhilarating.Me and her hardly spoke on the way, we just enjoyed the scenery that was unfolding around us.Soon we pulled up to her house, it was just on the side of the road, in a less populated part of town.The environment was peaceful and tranquil, and there wasn’t a person to be seen in sight.There were only houses lined side by side, and I was surprised about how organized her neighborhood was.The road has trees growing on both sides, and they gave the neighborhood a modern look.It wasn’t an estate, and had no security checkpoints. Yet, the neighborhood was so peaceful, it was admirable.Soon we pulled up to the front of her house, and I drove and parked in the open compound.It didn’t have a gate and there wasn’t anyone in sight
We chatted for a couple of more minutes, before she went back up to her room, and I was finally able to fall asleep on the chair.I woke up around nine in the morning, and there was a sweet lingering aroma in the air.I followed the small and found out that it was coming from the kitchen.There, I saw that Britt was making breakfast.She looked at me standing in the doorway and smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back.“Rise and shine,” she said, stirring something in a pot.“What’s for breakfast,” I asked and went and stood beside her.“Just some pasta I’m making,” she said.“You know I would’ve made a much better breakfast, you should’ve let me cook,” I said, and we both laughed.“Well, you’re at least going to stay for breakfast right?,” she asked.“I really don’t think I can,” I responded, but just then, my stomach let out a huge growl.We both laughed as we heard this, and I realized I’d been defeated.“Okay now I’m definitely not going to let you leave, not until you’ve had so
The next day came faster than I expected. Time seemed to move fast and I appreciated it.I just wanted to be done with all this unnecessary romance, so I could have time to focus on other things.I had a lot of things I needed to do concerning my business.Getting a building for my company, contacting Stephen Johnson, foreign exchange and finally, employing Logan.There was so much on my plate, and to be honest me going out with Melissa was simply, wasting time.I was dressed pretty normal, I wore a baggy hoodie as always, with some baggy jeans and kicks.I left the house around two in the afternoon that Saturday and I hopped in my car and left.Melissa had already emailed me her address, so I knew exactly where I was going.Moving forward I would bump into her more often, her father and mine were dealing in some business together.I sped across the road in my car, the sun roof was always removed.I loved the way the wind blew in my face, even though most times my hair would end up be
“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