I knew the location where they were keeping Ariel. I would launch a surprise attack on them before they knew what hit them, they would never see it coming.My increased agility, strength and stamina gave me confidence, but I didn’t feel prepared enough.I knew these guys were probably amateurs based on how they left the room after they left, but I couldn’t underestimate them. For all I knew they could have guns. I couldn’t take any chances.“System?” I said.“Download and install martial arts techniques from all regions of the world and download them to my muscle memory” I said.[Yes] [No]“Is there any way to reduce or avert the pain?” I said.I didn’t have time but I guessed that that would have to do.“Alright, begin the process.” I said.*DOWNLOADING INFORMATION…**DOWNLOAD COMPLETE**TRANSFERRING INFORMATION…1%*With all my preparations being put in place, I threw on a black jacket and a black top with black pants. I would go at night and I waited patiently for the sun to set.
I was shocked by my own guttural strength. The door weighed at least 300 pounds and I was lifting it easily.I jammed the door into its hinges and walked into the room. I could see that they were prepared for me as they all stood shining flash lights at me.When they stared for a while and realized it was me they all burst into laughter, they must have thought I was a sitting duck and that I’d fallen right into their trap, little did they know that I was the predator and they were the prey.‘I need to find a way to take out their light sources, one of them has a gun, he’s the one I need to target first. If I can get my hands on his gun, I can use it to shoot the other flashlights from their hands, but then I’d also be blinded by the darkness.’ I thought.‘System, do you have a night vision function?’ I asked.[Yes] [No]‘Perfect’ I thought. In my early teenage days Fred would take me to the shooting range on our property and train me on the use of guns. I’d go there whenever I had a
As he stared at me in disbelief, he suddenly ran and stood in front of Ariel and pulled out a knife from the pocket of the hoodie he was wearing.He placed the knife at her throat, desperation and fear clouding his judgment.“Don’t move, you’re not going to pull the trigger, if you do I’ll slit her throat!” He yelled, a desperate final attempt at redemption.I kept my cool, just to be sure that everything would be under control, I tested out my new skill. It would burn the rest of my stamina but would be worth it.“System, activate Future Sight.” I said.ACTIVATING…In an instant I saw multiple scenes of how the future could play out. Unlike foresight, future sight showed me multiple scenes and lasted longer, it also had a lower cooldown. It was convenient.In the scenarios I’d seen, he didn’t slit her throat in any of them.I began to laugh once again and it annoyed him greatly and then I spoke.“Which do you think would be faster? A bullet or your hand. I’d personally like to find o
I couldn’t believe my ears, I knew she hated me, but never to this extent. Why would she want to kidnap me? I felt the rage and anger begin to well up within me, but I calmed myself.For years I bore with the preferential treatment my father gave to her and my step brother over me. I bore with the domestic torture she would always put me through.I bore with the constant abuse and slander she would do to me and I bore with not having a family. But I could confidently say that out of everything she’d ever done to me, this was the height of it.I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she would change someday and be a better person, maybe she would even love me like a mother would to her own son.But not anymore, my hatred for her had finally reached its peak and I was done making excuses for her, my father, brother or anyone else.I made up my mind right there and then that i would get my revenge on them for all the years of abuse, negligence and torture.But first of all,
I untied the men and we cleared the place out, after which I exchanged contact info with their leader.We made sure not to leave any traces behind and I carried Ariel on my back and we left the warehouse.The men went in a separate direction from me and I walked to the bus stop in hopes of finding a cab, it was very early in the morning, around 4AM.I waited for about 10 minutes before finding one and I entered it with a little trouble, as I was carrying Ariel, who remained unconscious.She appeared to be sleeping so I didn’t encounter much trouble from the cab man anyway.“Where to sir?” The cab man said as he raised his hat up.“The Great Globe Hotel” I said.“Alright buckle up” he said and we were on our way.On the way I thought about the events of the past few days, my story had been unfolding into a very intriguing plot.My connections had expanded once again and I felt a sense of pride, my empire was slowly being built.In the background I was actively making money from stocks
As I finally got back to my room, I thought about my step mother and her actively trying to essentially ruin my life.If I failed the exams I would lose the favor of my father completely and would probably get disowned from the Shade family.That must have been her plan all along, I was ashamed to call her my mother. I wondered why someone would be so cruel to me for no reason, I was never mean to her as a child and always gave her the utmost respect.‘Anything to ruin me and win my fathers approval i guess’ I thought.I had to be careful of who I let into my life from then onward, I hated myself for letting Ariel get involved in this.I was better off alone and I was given a constant reminder once again.Apart from Logan and Satushi, I had to keep my circle as small as possible, not because I was a bad person, but in order to protect them.I was confident in my own abilities, but when it came to protecting others I wasn’t so sure.‘I should think about something else, going on about
I’d been camping out at the hotel for a couple of more days and finally the day for my exams came.I woke up that day, feeling unmotivated as ever. My passing was assured, I wondered if I even had to do the exam.I groaned loudly as I got out of bed and ordered some room service. Breakfast was served to me shortly and I brushed my teeth before enjoying a light meal.I was barely excited or elated about the exams, I just wanted it to be over.“Couldn’t my family just use their influence to get me into this school!” I shouted as I lay down back on the bed.I just wanted to go back to my normal life, I hadn’t jogged, worked out, done martial arts or been to the gym in days.I barely left the room and with good reason, the less people that knew I was camping out here the better.Today was no exception, I couldn’t go to the gym once again and with good reason. My exams would span for the entire day, beginning in the morning and going on all through the afternoon.It would take place in bat
The invigilator left and was back in a few more minutes, at exactly 10.50AM, he was back in the room with some sheets and passed them round the class. When he got to my desk he stared at me for a while and then spoke.“I’m sorry but I’m going to have to ask you to take off your hoodie and face mask, I need to have eyes on your face at all times.” He said, politely, surprisingly.I nodded and complied with what he said, my hair was scattered across my face as I removed my hoodie and I had to arrange it back in place.The girl beside me stared at me with a look of recognition in her eyes and I simply ignored her, refusing to stare back. The invigilator finished passing the sheets and went back to the front of the class to instruct us.“I believe everyone has a computer in front of them, turn them on as that would be where you would take your exams, for details would be given shortly and any complaints should be directed to me. Everyone get your writing materials ready, the exam will com
“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