Lazy Gods and Hungry Shadows

The soft chair at Riverside Café felt like sitting on a cloud. Adrian let his head lean back into the cushioned fabric. He exhaled, the sound mixing with the noise of cups clinking and people chatting about expensive things. His old life had been exhausting, struggling with bills and cheap food. In this life, he’d found the ultimate trick. He didn’t need to fight with swords or speak strange words like the arrogant fools filling this city. He just had to be alive.

A blue transparent box appeared before his eyes, only he could see it.

[Lazy God System Active]

[Status: Resting / Sitting / Breathing]

[XP Gained: 6,000,000]

[Current Level: 99]

Adrian held back a yawn. Five million points just for resting. It was almost too simple. He watched a man in an expensive suit pass by, puffing his chest with pride of a Level 12 Awakener. That guy probably spent eighteen hours every day in a training chamber to reach that weak level. Adrian shifted slightly, and the system gave him another wave of strength for the tiny movement.

“Another coffee,” Adrian said to a passing server.

He was completely lazy, yet the world around him was like a bomb about to explode. Dark sorcerers fought over the city, secret groups controlled the money, and evil magic users watched from the rooftops. Adrian didn’t care as long as his coffee stayed hot and his chair stayed soft. He took a slow sip, his eyes half-shut. The system made another soft sound, a digital chime that tickled his mind.

[Skill Unlocked: Lazy Aura]

[Passive Effect: Enemies within a five meter radius feel a crushing weight of apathy.]

“Great,” Adrian whispered. “Finally, a way to keep people away from my table.”

The café’s feeling changed instantly. The polished wooden floor shook from a sudden, violent tremor. Adrian didn’t move. He was eating a pastry, and he wasn’t going to let his morning be disrupted by a small earthquake. The front windows shattered inward with a loud crash of glass pieces. People screamed and hid under tables as a figure in dark clothes flew through the broken entrance.

Isabelle hit the ground hard, breathing fast and desperate. She was beautiful, even in the middle of danger. Her silver hair was dirty with dust, and a rip in her fancy dress showed blood on her shoulder. She crawled toward the closest table, her eyes wide with fear. She looked around the room, and her gaze landed on the one person not hiding.

Adrian stayed relaxed in his chair. He didn’t even look up from his phone.

“Hey, you!” Isabelle screamed, running toward him. “Get down! They’re right behind me!”

Adrian frowned. He looked at the destroyed entrance, then back at his half-eaten pastry. “You’re getting dirt all over the floor, Miss. Do you know how hard it is to find a good café in this area?”

Isabelle grabbed his collar and pulled him toward the ground. Her face was red from panic, and her chest heaved against his arm. She smelled like burned air and expensive perfume. “Are you not listening? There are killers coming! They’ll destroy this whole block to get to me!”

“They’re going to ruin my morning, that’s what they’re going to do,” Adrian said, not moving.

Outside through the broken entrance, three figures appeared from the smoke. They wore dark hooded cloaks that seemed to pull in the light. Their hands glowed with sickly purple energy, and black lightning crackled between their palms. They walked like trained assassins, their eyes fixed on Isabelle. The leader pointed a staff at Adrian’s table.

“Give us the noblewoman, boy,” the leader hissed, his voice like dry leaves on concrete. “Your life is worth nothing compared to the reward for her.”

Isabelle pressed her back against Adrian, her heart pounding against his spine. She was shaking. He could feel the heat from her skin. It was interesting, so different from the cold feeling of his system interface. He looked down at her hand gripping his sleeve so tight her fingers turned white.

“Are you going to do something?” Isabelle whispered, her voice shaking. “Or are you just going to sit there and let us die?”

Adrian checked his system notifications. The dark sorcerers were getting closer, their energy rising. He felt something he hadn’t felt in years. It wasn’t fear. It was irritation. Deep, real, and overwhelming irritation.

[Quest Alert: Protect the Noblewoman]

[Reward: 60,000,000 XP]

[Failure Penalty: Your favorite chair is destroyed]

Adrian stood up. He did it slowly, stretching his arms above his head until his joints popped. The sorcerers froze, feeling a sudden heavy pressure filling the room. The air felt thick, like lead pushing down on their chests. One of the sorcerers fell, his magic dying.

“You really shouldn’t have broken that door,” Adrian said, his voice empty of feeling.

He didn’t pull out a weapon. He didn’t speak any magic. He just flicked his wrist like brushing away an annoying bug. A ripple of golden energy tore through the air, shaking with impossible power. It hit the sorcerers like a falling building.

They didn’t even scream. The hit destroyed the lead assassin, leaving only a smell of burnt air. The other two flew backward, smashing through the stone wall of the café and vanishing into the chaos outside.

Quiet returned to the shop. Dust floated in the sunlight coming through the broken windows. Adrian stood in the middle of the damage, looking at his hands with a bored expression.

Isabelle stood behind him, her mouth wide open. She stared at where the assassins had been, then looked up at Adrian. The fear in her eyes had changed to pure shock. She reached out, her trembling fingers brushing dust from his jacket.

“Who,” she breathed, “are you?”

Adrian didn’t answer. He turned his look to the street. More cloaked figures were coming from the shadows, their eyes glowing with an evil light. They weren’t just sorcerers. They were an entire group. The leader stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he realized his people had been erased.

“The Faction doesn’t accept interference,” the voice boomed, echoing through the empty street. “Kill them both. Leave nothing but ash.”

Isabelle stepped closer to Adrian, her body pressing against his. She was shaking again, but now there was something else in her eyes. “There are too many. Adrian, we have to run!”

Adrian looked at his system interface. The XP counter was climbing fast as the sorcerers gathered. Fifty million points for finishing the quest. A slight smile appeared on his lips.

“Run?” Adrian whispered, his hand sliding down to rest on her waist. “I haven’t even finished my coffee yet.”

He watched the sorcerers raise their staves. The air crackled with deadly energy, turning the sky a bruised purple. Isabelle held his shirt, pulling him closer as the first wave of dark fire shot toward them, lighting up the room in a bright, hellish flash.