Lord of Myriad Systems

In the year 2035, the world was plunged into utter chaos as unknown beasts and monstrous species descended upon the earth. In the wake of this cataclysm, some humans awakened supernatural abilities, while the beasts grew terrifyingly powerful under the influence of the invasion. A strange energy permeated the atmosphere—one that revitalized the spirit and relaxed the body with every breath.

Humanity named it "Spiritual Energy."

As the years passed, researchers unraveled the secrets hidden within the air. By the third year, mankind developed cultivation techniques to absorb and refine this spiritual energy, using it to temper the human body beyond mortal limits.

That was how modern martial arts cultivation was born.

Twenty-five years later, in the year 2060.

7:45 PM.

A young man navigated a crowded street with hurried, eager footsteps, clutching a large gift box in his arms. Despite the exhaustion etched across his face, a bright smile broke through his fatigue as he approached a small roadside apartment.

Charlie knocked gently on the door. Silence answered him. He knocked several more times, but the door remained shut.

"Maybe she stepped out?" Charlie muttered.

He fished a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door with practiced ease.

The moment he stepped across the threshold, strange sounds drifted from the bedroom—rhythmic clapping, mingled with ragged breathing and breathless moans.

"Ohh..."

"Yeah... just like that..."

Charlie froze. That voice belonged unmistakably to his girlfriend, Eunice Gilbert.

Pah! Pah! Pah!

The wet, slapping rhythm echoed down the hallway. With every step Charlie took toward the bedroom, the noises grew louder and more frantic.

"Give it to me, baby! Ah... slower... please..."

"Take it all, you little slut!" a deep masculine voice growled from inside.

Charlie’s hand trembled as his fingers wrapped around the bedroom doorknob. His chest tightened until he could barely draw breath. Gritting his teeth, he shoved the door open.

The gift box slipped from his grip, thudding heavily against the floor. Charlie stood paralyzed, his world crumbling at the scene before him.

Eunice was on her knees before a towering, muscular man, her head bobbing eagerly between his thighs. The stranger held a fistful of her hair, guiding her mouth as muffled, choking noises escaped her throat.

Catching sight of Charlie standing frozen in the doorway, the man didn’t pull away. Instead, he flashed a smug grin and winked.

Oblivious to the open door, Eunice continued with frantic enthusiasm, her tongue working diligently.

The man let out a low groan of pleasure, savoring both the sensation and the sheer humiliation written across Charlie's face.

Blood rushed to Charlie's head. Blinded by rage, all reason vanished. He lunged forward, throwing a desperate, wild punch straight at the man's jaw.

Smack.

The stranger caught Charlie's fist effortlessly with a single hand. Before Charlie could even process the strength gap, the man twisted his arm with sickening force and hurled him across the room.

Charlie crashed against the wall, sliding down into a heap of bruised limbs.

Eunice scrambled backward into the corner, clutching a bedsheet to her chest as she watched the one-sided beat down.

"Is this the useless trash you were telling me about?" the man asked, his voice deep and resonant.

"Y-yes..." Eunice stammered, shrinking beneath his gaze.

"Then dump him. Right here, right now," the man barked, towering over Charlie. "I don't share my women with street rats."

Eunice hesitated for only a fraction of a second before turning toward Charlie. Her timid expression hardened into pure coldness.

"Charlie, we're done," she said, her tone devoid of warmth. "We're not meant for each other, and I'm tired of pretending. The only reason I stayed with you this long was pity—pity for the scraps you spent on me and the pathetic way you hovered around like a dog. But Young Master Guidon is a real man. My heart and my body belong to him now."

"You're throwing away three years for a bastard who treats you like an object?!" Charlie gasped, clutching his bruised ribs as he struggled to stand. "To him, you're nothing but a cheap plaything!"

"Shut your mouth, beggar!" Guidon roared, stepping in. "Trying to drive a wedge between us?"

Guidon’s heavy boot slammed into Charlie's stomach, followed by a vicious rain of kicks and punches. Charlie could only curl into a ball, coughing up blood against the floorboards.

Only when Eunice reached out and grabbed Guidon's arm did the beating stop.

"Save your strength, babe," she murmured softly. "He isn't worth dirtying your shoes."

"If not for this beauty begging for your miserable life, I would've crippled you permanently," Guidon sneered. He grabbed Charlie by the collar and tossed him out the front door into the corridor.

As Charlie skidded across the hallway, a crimson metal badge slipped from his shirt pocket, clattering against the floor.

Guidon looked down and picked it up. A mocking grin spread across his face as he recognized the insignia.

"Hahaha! You actually sold yourself to the mercenary guild as a dungeon explorer?!" Guidon laughed until his shoulders shook. "Tsk, tsk.

Canon fodder for the dungeons! I guess I shouldn't expect self-respect from a stray dog."

Curious, Guidon glanced down at the gift box that had dropped by the entrance. He kicked it open, revealing the sleek packaging inside. "A lover boy to the end. You signed away your life just to buy this girl the newest Zeephone?"

Eunice’s eyes flickered with fleeting discomfort, but she quickly suppressed it. Striding into the hallway, she looked down at Charlie with undisguised contempt.

CRACK!

A stinging slap whipped Charlie's head to the side. The blow didn't just sting his cheek; it shattered whatever lingering affection he had left for her.

Eunice picked up the brand-new smartphone and hurled it onto the concrete floor, smashing the screen into pieces.

"Take your garbage and get lost," she spat, slamming the apartment door in his face.

Inside, she immediately walked back to Guidon, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing herself against his back.

"Come on, handsome... let's finish what we started," she whispered seductively, her fingers tracing a path down his chest toward his waist. The meek, hesitant girl from earlier was completely gone.

Soon enough, the heavy, rhythmic clapping echoed through the apartment once more, muffled only by the ambient noise of the city outside.

…

Charlie walked aimlessly down the asphalt road, staring blankly at his bloodstained hands. His body ached, but the numbness spreading through his chest was far worse. Every sacrifice, every ounce of sweat and blood he had poured into that relationship had been rewarded with mockery and a broken phone on the floor.

[Ding! Are you suffering from a lover's betrayal? Have you been bullied by the powerful? Are you seeking absolute revenge? Look no further—the Talent Awakening System is here for you!]

[Are you ready to bind with the system? Yes / No]

A crisp, mechanical chime rang inside his mind, pulling him violently out of his daze. Before he could even formulate a thought, a second voice echoed in his consciousness.

[Ding! Money stops all nonsense! Bind with the Lord of Wealth System and watch your ex crawl back to you on her knees! Yes / No]

[Ding! Wonder what happens when you court death and survive? Endless rewards await the daring! Bind with the Death Seeking System and revel in the thrill of the brink! Yes / No]

[Ding! The Ultimate Flirting System is online...]

[Ding! God-Level Sign-In System detecting suitable host...]

[Ding! Infinite Mana System requesting connection...]

Chime after chime detonated in his brain.

Transparent blue screens materialized out of thin air, overlapping one another until over a hundred flickering panels crowded his vision. The mechanical voices overlapped into a deafening roar, demanding an answer.

Charlie clutched his head, his eyes bloodshot. The sheer absurdity of the moment shattered his despair, replaced by a sudden, reckless fury.

"You want a choice?" Charlie growled through grit teeth. "I choose all of you!"

[Command received. Commencing universal synchronization...]

Instant agony struck.

An unfathomable torrent of raw data, system frameworks, and foreign energy flooded his sea of consciousness all at once. Charlie fell to his knees on the pavement, clutching his skull with both hands.

"Aaargh!"

His head felt like an active forge—blistering heat searing through his brain while thousands of rhythmic hammers battered his consciousness from the inside out. His vision turned white, then black.

Unable to endure the sheer weight of a hundred systems crashing into a single mortal vessel, Charlie collapsed onto the sidewalk, completely unconscious.