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2024-10-29 19:42:56“What happened to him?”
“He was beaten up. Someone saw him in the alley and called for help to get him here.”
Zack groans as he blinks and tries to focus on the voices around him. His eyes slowly adjust and he sees two figures standing over him. He immediately recognizes one of them as Celeste. He tries to sit up, but pain shoots through his body and he groans again.
“Celeste?” he whimpers.
“Are you now ready to tell me what’s happening with you?” she asks, a scolding tone in her voice.
He grimaces as memories of the beating flood back into his mind. He winces in pain, trying to sit up again. He was beaten up more than he thought.
“You’ve been badly beaten up, Zack. You need to rest,” the male nurse says as he places a hand on Celeste’s shoulders. “Be kind, Celeste. I will leave now, but if you need help, just tell me.“
She nods and when the nurse leaves and closes the door, Zack fears the incoming admonishment. She didn’t speak immediately though, but she moves closer and checks all the injuries he sustained.
When she raises his arms, he groans.
“That’s painful, huh?” she asks. Then she presses on his chest and asks, “How about this?”
“Aw! Stop! That hurts!”
She glares at him. She is getting more angry by the second, the more she checks his injuries.
“This, too?!” she asks, her voice rising.
“Aw! Why do you sound angry? Do you need something? I will get it for you.”
She presses against his stomach, and he gasps in pain. “You stay in bed, asshole!” she screams at him.
He freezes as panic rises within him. Celeste never really raises her voice with anger like this. The only times she shouts are when she’s being lazy; being a pain in the ass; and when she’s asking for a lot of things to be brought to her.
“You are not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on with you!” she scolds, her lips pursed in anger, and her chest heaving.
He looks around, searching for anything to protect himself against her anger. He’s been beaten enough. He doesn’t want to be beaten by her.
“I… I got myself in trouble…” he whispers.
“I can see that!” she yells at him.
“Ahm… I loaned money from loan sharks…” He glances at her and sees the anger in her face. Still, he continues, “My sisters need money for tuition and their daily allowance, and you’re not around, I don’t have food… and I—“
“You have your job! Surely, you can feed yourself at least! As for your sister, you should have told them to write a letter telling their teachers that I am currently out of the country!”
“You’re out of the country? You said you were just out of town.”
“Don’t make this about me, Zack. You should have not let it get this far when I was just out for over a month!”
“But I was desperate…” he mumbles weakly.
Celeste clicks her tongue. “The way you are now, it’s all because you are lacking in decision-making skills! I told time and time again that you need to think! Always think about all the repercussions! Exhaust everything before—”
But Zack is no longer listening. When Celeste starts nagging, she will nag until the end of the world. And if he listens to each of her words, he will feel so inadequate until he wants to end his world, too.
“You are also to blame,” he says, cutting her off. “You can’t blame me for everything.”
“What?!”
He meets her angry gaze. “You heard me.”
“I dare you to say that again!” In a split second, she has already climbed on his bed and is clutching at his collar.
Zack glares back. “You’re putting all the blame on me, but you could have been better at helping me and my family, too. We are not beggars, we are your family too!”
“You—”
“You’re always so busy with work and your own life that you never even bothered to ask how we’re doing! You didn’t even know that I lost my job!”
“How dare you—”
“You make it all seem as if you hold our lives! But my parents helped with the expenses too! I also help when I had a job!”
Celeste’s grip loosens as she sits beside him. “You… You have no idea, don’t you?!” she asks, her voice still loud.
“I know that we don’t owe you our life, you weren’t even helping enough to—”
“Shut the fuck up!!!” she screams.
It is so loud that he’s certain that the nurse earlier heard her screams.
“You think you are entitled to my help, don’t you? Just because you are my cousin and you obviously needed my help?! Do you think I am so kind-hearted that I will help just about anyone?! Even if they are my family?!”
“I—”
“Don’t think so highly of yourself! How can you expect to receive MORE of my help when you don’t even want to help yourself!?! Time and time again, I’ve given you a couple of hints on how to fix yourself! But you brush them all off! How do you expect—”
“Those are just hints! You could have told me straight out!”
Celeste punches him in the face, catching him off guard. He holds his cheek, feeling the sting of her fist. She looks at him with such intense anger that he feels a tremor of fear. This time, the nurse comes into the room and lifts her off his bed.
“You fucking bastard!!!” she yells at him.
Zack’s mind is reeling. Celeste has always been the calm and collected one in the family. But now, she’s like a ticking time bomb ready to explode.
“You have no idea how much I’ve done for you and your sisters!” Celeste continues, her voice trembling with emotion.
“I didn’t ask for your help,” he says defensively.
“Because you’re too proud to admit that you fucking need it!” Celeste screams.
“I am not the proud, arrogant one! It is YOU!”
“No! It’s you, Zack! You are unable to rise on your own in your current predicament! Do you think that your meager salary in the convenience store can cover everything that your sisters need?! How can they survive alone, especially when your mother has abandoned all of you already and has left with another man!?! Not to mention that your father has recently had a heart attack and can no longer work?!”
Zack opens his mouth wide at the information. “My mother did what?” he asks, but Celeste is too angry to really listen to him. “My father is what?”
“Your sisters are living in my family’s house! And I provide for the majority of their needs! It’s just this one time that I was not looking and you have already destroyed your life!! Don’t help someone when you can’t even help your fucking self!”
“Celeste, calm down,” the nurse says, imprisoning her in his arms as she struggles to escape him to punch Zack again, but when she can’t, she continues to berate him.
“Do you know why I don’t give all the help I can provide to you?! Because I fucking need you to stand on your own two feet! You are too old already! I am not expecting you to live with me forever! You are going to get married and if you don’t know how to survive, then how do you expect to create a family on your own!!!”
“Shhh… Celeste, calm down,” the nurse whispers in her ears.
Zack snorts. The nurse is a looker, muscular arms, nice face, and looks reliable. Also, the way he holds her seems as if he is more than just a nurse to her. It’s obvious that they were friends before, or more than that.
“You talk all that, but tell me, the only reason you are successful is because you flirt with men, do you? You give them hope, like you did with Mason. In exchange, they give you things.”
Zack watches in horror as Celeste’s expression changes from anger to hurt. She freezes and quiets down. He knows he shouldn’t have said those words. He swallows hard, but he has already said it out loud. There’s no use taking it back now.
“Is that so…” she whispers. Without another word, Celeste turns and leaves Zack’s room, the nurse following closely behind her.
Feeling guilty and ashamed, Zack buries his face in his hands. He knows he has hurt her with his words, and now he regrets ever saying them, especially when he completely knows that Celeste is not like that.
Jaq DropHello, readers (if there are actually readers)! If you find something weird in the story (I edit occasionally), please remove from the library and add it again. The edits will be reflected in that way. :)
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The Zenith System Chapter 015
*********** TRIGGER WARNING: Self harm and Suicide. Consider yourself warned. ************ Zack hunches over in the corner of his room in Celeste’s apartment. He returned from the hospital yesterday and he hasn’t left his room since then. He is afraid to come across the loan sharks again. Thankfully, Celeste is too angry to request things from him. He shifts his attention to the window, which is covered in blinds, not allowing any light to flicker inside his room — or Celeste’s room, since she is the one paying for the entire apartment. “Useless,” he whispers in the darkness. He already knows it. He is fucking useless, but Celeste should have been more gentle about it, even if it is true. How can she dismiss his struggles with such callous indifference? He is also her family. Besides, it is also partly her fault, right? And now, he has hurt her, too. He scratches his head and hides his face. He doesn’t want to hurt her like that. He just wanted her to see his worth. That’s all he
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Zack’s consciousness flickers like a faulty bulb of light, thrusting him back into the realm of the living with a jarring dissonance. His eyelids pry open, his gaze fixed on the bland ceiling. A sterile scent mingles with antiseptic as he realizes that he is back in the hospital again. He can even hear the sound of a machine beeping in a steady cadence. Zack sits up, but his body is aching. He feels weak and there are some tubes connected to him. He is about to take it off him when a voice says, “Easy now.” He shifts his attention to the voice and finds the same male nurse who acts more than a friend to Celeste. He snorts. He is about to say something when he realizes that he feels exhausted. “You are in a hospital, Zack,” he says. “Do you remember me?” He looks away. “The man Celeste is fucking,” he says. His throat is raw and dry. “Oh, you are still jealous,” he says, chuckling while giving him a glass of water. “She’s my cousin. I am not jealous.” “Just angry, huh?” he asks.
The Zenith System Chapter 017
Zack freezes as Celeste wraps her arms around his neck. He doesn’t know how to respond. She is crying and trembling and the arms around him are getting tighter. “Zack, please let me help you,” she offers again. “You’ve been adrift for far too long.” His throat tightens. The walls he has built around himself are beginning to crumble under the weight of her words. Rather, her words feel like a lifeline tossed to him. Should he really grab it? Will his pride allow it? But he has been receiving her help for quite a while, right? It’s just a matter of finally admitting it. When he doesn’t respond, Celeste says with her voice trembling, “Why do you hate me so much?” Her initial anger, hot and bright, begins to wane, replaced by anguish and pain instead. “I don’t hate you,” Zack finally replies. “I think I just... I envy you.” She continues to cry, his shoulder getting wet with her tears. In truth, Zack wants her to hit him instead, rather than her, hugging him like this, trembling, as i
The Zenith System Chapter 018
*********** TRIGGER WARNING: Violence and Attempted Rape. Consider yourself warned. ************ Zack glances at Celeste, a silent exchange of dread passing between them. “Listen,” he starts, trying to reason with the barging men. “I don’t have money right now, but I promise I will pay.” “And we warned you before,” Adi says. “Just steal it from that woman over there.” “How much was it?” Celeste whispers to Zack. “Don’t bother, Celeste,” he says, not wanting to involve her in it. Suddenly, Celeste steps forward. “How much is his debt?” she asks again, her voice laced with defiance. Zack pales at the sight of her standing up for him, for them. “Celeste…” he tries to intervene, but she brushes him off. “I just told you I will help, right?” she says, before turning to face the goons again. “How much was it?” she asks again, this time louder. “Ten thousand dollars,” Adi replies with a sly smirk on his face. Zack gasps. It has already ballooned that much?! Celeste turns her atte
The Zenith System Chapter 019
Zack’s mind races, trying to make sense of what’s happening now. It looks like the screen of an ordinary video game, but smaller and miniaturized with fewer details. And besides… Attributes Statistics? Death? An empty Consequence? The system? What does it all mean? Then, remembering the urgency of his situation, he shifts his attention to Celeste. Her eyes are closed tightly, her face a picture of fear and disgust. A notification appears again. “Being a first-time user of the Zenith System, all your attributes will be reset and all wounds will be healed.” There’s a ting, and Zack stands up, discovering that his body feels light and energized. There is no more pain and exhaustion. The wounds on his face and body disappear as if they are never there. He looks around, everything is still moving in slow motion. Without a second thought, he moves towards Celeste, who is still struggling under Adi’s weight. He can feel the power coursing through him, urging him to protect her. He grabs
The Zenith System Chapter 020
Zack sits on his hospital bed, his back against the headboard. A few days ago, the police had already visited him and Celeste. After the investigation, Adi’s death was deemed as self-defense. His eyes shift to Celeste. She is sitting on a chair beside his bed, smiling at Kevin, who is telling her some funny story. Thankfully, her wounds were superficial, and she was discharged after a day. As for him, he requires stitches and a few days of rest. However, he still cannot believe that she could fatally injure a man. The way she struck Adi, pressing at the knife to lodge it deeper into him, he had no idea where she got it. Maybe from reading too many books? He notices when Kevin whispers in her ears, and she looks at him. “What is it?” she asks. “No-nothing,” he responds, looking away. He takes a deep breath and glances at the notification instead. It is still hovering in front of him. It reads ‘Activate’, probably referring to the Attributes Screen. He then taps on the glowing ‘Act
The Zenith System Chapter 021
Zack frowns. Why is failure always equal to death?! And why is the consequence always left as blank?! Nevermind that. At least, he got a new task this time. He’s not going to question it for fear that it will disappear. But, seriously? Thugs are following him? Are they in the same loan agency as Adi and the other three men? And so, Zack enters a convenience store. He buys the cheapest drink they have and subtly glances outside. There they are, he thinks, seeing the men outside the store, looking for him. They are wearing their typical dark clothes, their faces obscured by hoodies. Zack can see the telltale signs of their tattoos, peeking out from underneath their sleeves. He can also see the knives holstered to their belts. Thankfully, they don’t have guns, or else this task has already ended — with his death, that is. He finishes the last sip of his drink and heads outside, ready to face them. But before that, he needs to bring them somewhere with no crowd. It should also be a pla
The Zenith System Chapter 022
“What is going on?!” Zack groans, feeling like he’s trapped in some horror movie.He quickly finds himself running down a narrow alleyway, the sound of footsteps behind him growing louder. He takes a sharp turn and sees a door at the end of the alley. Without hesitation, he flings it open and shuts it behind him, leaning against it to catch his breath.“Man... This Luck stat is really NOT working out for me,” he pants between deep breaths. However, he knows that he needs to defeat ten zombies within 24 hours, but to do that, he needs weapons.After gaining his breath, he looks around. He’s in some kind of an abandoned warehouse. Maybe he can find some weapons here? Now, more than ever, he needs that Luck attribute to work!“Come on, where are you?!” he mutters under his breath.Just then, he catches sight of an old metal pipe lying on the ground. Without hesitation, he grabs it and swings it around experimentally. It’s not the best weapon, but it’ll have to do for now.He takes a dee
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Then Zack notices something else as well. At the man’s head, there are small horns protruding from his forehead. No, not just any horns. They are black and twisted and seem to pulse with an otherworldly energy.And so he grips his katana tighter, trying to steady his trembling hands. He knows that this will not be an easy fight, but he also knows that he cannot back down either.“What are you?” Zack manages to ask, his voice shaking slightly.The dark mage chuckles. “I am a human and a dark mage,” he declares proudly. “I think you know that by now, given how you are looking at me.”“Then… how are you affiliated with the loan agency?!”“Ah, that? Well, I get my fresh supplies of humans to experiment on from them.”“What kind of experiments?” Zack demands, his grip on his katana tightening even more.The dark mage chuckles, a sinister gleam in his eyes.
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Zack takes a deep breath and tries to calm his nerves. He knows he’s no match for this level 32 woman, but he refuses to back down. He grips his katana tightly and prepares for the fight ahead.The woman rushes towards him with surprising speed, her fists clenched and ready to strike. Zack quickly evades her punches and tries to strike back with his katana, but she dodges effortlessly.“You’ll have to do better than that,” she taunts, her voice filled with confidence.Zack grits his teeth and tries to think of a strategy. He knows that he can’t rely on brute force alone, so he decides to use some of his skills. He concentrates and activates his Power Strike. But she easily deflects it with a flick of her knife.“Not bad,” she comments as she continues to dodge Zack’s attacks. “But you still need more.”Zack’s frustration builds within him as he realizes that none of his skills are wo
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Zack takes out the katana from his weapon storage. Holding the weapon in his right hand, he pushes open the door with his left.In the middle of the room, a man stands before him who is eyeing him warily. “An attack, huh?”Zack places the katana in front of him. “It might be,” he answers.“But why is there only a single person? Are you crazy?”“The others asked the same earlier.”“This place. Is this your doing, too?”“No,” he admits.“You have a weapon. Do you know how to use that?”“We’ll find out.”Zack keeps his guard up as the man suddenly lunges at him with his bare hands. He swiftly dodges the attack and counters with a slice from his katana.The man stumbles back, surprised by Zack. “Ugh, where are my gun and knife, anyway?” he mutters to himself.The man attacks again, but Zack is faste
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Zack steps inside. The place behind the fourth door is dark and musty, with only a small beam of light shining through a crack in the ceiling. In front of him is an old man who seems lost and is looking around.The instant Zack enters, he looks at him.“A young man,” he remarks. “Care to tell me where I am and who you are?”“I am sent to destroy a loan shark agency,” he admits.“Oh,” the old man says, looking up at him. “So, you’re here to defeat me.”“You?”“Are you hesitating because of my age?”Zack swallows. He doesn’t want a repeat of the zombie dungeon. He doesn’t enjoy hurting the elders.While he is hesitating, the old man takes his stance and prepares for battle.“I really—”Suddenly, the old man moves surprisingly fast for someone his age. He launches punches and kicks towards Zack. Thankfully, he has a Quick Dodge, and he is able to evade each surprise attack.“You’re good,” the old man comments as they circle each other. “But can you keep up?”Their movements become faster
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Chapter 028
Zack opens the Zenith system interface. He presses on the Level Up? text and sees that he only gained one level from completing the first floor. He also only earned eight chests and a hundred thousand zeniths. It feels weird. This is a loan agency, and he is earning fewer zeniths than the zombie dungeon? So, he proceeds to open the items instead, hoping that there are some good items in there. However, there are only four health potions, one ability point, and the rest are zeniths. Disappointed, he stands up. He searches for the staircase and ascends it. He pushes the door open and is met with a line of goons on the second floor. Zack swallows hard. Unlike the goons on the first floor. These people are tall and very muscular. They look as if every single one of them is a VIP bodyguard. He won’t even be surprised if they are using guns. On the other hand, he has the same strength as the first floor. He hasn’t moved his available skill points into his stats yet. Hopefully, they only
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Chapter 027
The sun is setting as Zack goes back and forth across the same street where he chances upon the zombie dungeon. However, nothing is changing. It has the same atmosphere, the same clean looking building, and the same living people. No zombie dungeon is opening up! Disappointment washes over him. He prioritizes increasing his Luck attribute all because of this particular problem. His health is at 200/200 and he feels more than ready for a mission, and yet, it is not appearing! He looks at the time. It is close to six PM. He still has time. So, he explores the area again, looking for any clues or signs on how to enter that dungeon. As he walks down the busy street, Zack’s ears pick up on a loud argument coming from an alleyway between two buildings. Curious, he turns the corner to investigate. A group of men have another man backed against a wall, their voices filled with malice. One of the men spots him and sneers, “Beat it, kid.” Ignoring the warning, Zack steps forward and holds h
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Zack wakes up with his stomach growling. He groans as he stretches his aching muscles, still feeling drained from his stay in that zombie dungeon. He slowly pushes himself out of bed and stumbles towards the kitchen. His health has regenerated, and it’s no longer decreasing. As he rummages through the cabinets and fridge, looking for something to eat, he hears Celeste’s voice coming from the living room. “You really need to take a bath, Zack,” she says. “How long did I sleep?” he asks. “I don’t know. I didn’t see you for a few days. But you smell terrible,” she remarks. Zack feels heat rising to his cheeks as he realizes that he must have smelled pretty bad after days without bathing. He’s just too hungry. In fact, he didn’t even notice Celeste when he passed through the living room earlier. “That bad, huh?” he asks, peeking from the kitchen and into the living room, where Celeste has her laptop on. She peers through her eyeglasses and nods. “Pretty bad,” she says, scrunching h
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“AHHHHH!” Zack screams, trying to get courage and curb the pain from all the screaming. The time is ticking. Only five minutes remain and he is still sandwiched between the giant zombie and a wall of a house. ‘I need to kill it…’ he thinks to himself. Zack’s adrenaline kicks in as he tightens his grip on the longsword. He activates his Power Strike skill and uses all his remaining strength to pierce through the giant zombie’s skull. The longsword cracks and disintegrates into pieces, but not before delivering a fatal blow to the giant zombie. The giant zombie lets out a final roar before collapsing onto the ground, lifeless. Zack takes deep breaths, feeling exhaustion wash over him. The timer disappears, indicating that he has completed the task just in time. “Task Completed.” “Title Unlocked. You are now a Zombie Hunter.” “Weapon Storage Unlocked.” He wants to laugh at the absurdity of the rewards. What’s the use of a title? And now that his longsword has disintegrated, he ha
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Chapter 024
Zack heaves as he wipes the sweat off his forehead. He doesn’t know how many hours have passed since he pressed that YES prompt to continue defeating zombies. Thankfully, when he increased his Luck to 10. There are no more zombies of babies and young kids that appeared. He glances at the notifications in front of him. There are ten prompts about chests that are almost obscuring his vision. Earlier, he was making count of how often these chests appear and he realized that for a group of ten defeated zombies, there is a chance for at least one chest to appear. Then another notification appears about his Low health. Now, he’s on 5/100, almost dying. Instead of pressing the Level Up? text screen. He starts opening the chests instead, hoping that it contains one or two potions. Besides, potions in the shop are too expensive for him. One health potion in particular is around 200,000 zeniths. A longsword costs two million, while a katana amounts to four million zeniths! After opening the t
