I bailed on martial arts classes for the day and decided to head home.
This week had been so eventful already, and I barely had any time to speak to Logan about business.I took a shower as soon as I got inside, and in a few more moments, I was seated at my work desk with my phone in my hand.Before calling him, however, I decided to take a look at my updated status window.‘Display my status window,’ I thought.[Status Window]Name: Malcolm ShadeAge: 18 yearsOccupation: StudentCurrent Status: Healthy/UnemployedHP: 100/100 (Fully recovered)SP: 150Stamina: 100 (Recharged)Skills: Foresight (D+ Rank){Additional Information}Repeated use of foresight has caused it to undergo a slight upgrade. Continue using the skill to increase its rank.[End Of Information]I guess the constant use of skills leads to them being upgraded. And an increase in rank? Another loophole.‘System, explain the concept of skill ranking to me,’ I thought.*SKILL RANKING*Skills are grouped into various ranks based on the level of stamina they consume and the amount of SP they require to be purchased. They are also grouped based on how powerful they are.The levels of skills are D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, and god level.When a skill shows a + or - sign, its level begins to appreciate or depreciate based on its number of uses, and a skill will rank up from its previous skill when it reaches a required threshold.A skill can also be deleted when not used for a long time, as D- skills are deemed useless to the host and, as such, are deleted by the system.Finally, god level skills cannot be purchased from the SP shop but can only be obtained by upgrading SSS rank skills or by reaching a required threshold called godhood.The process of upgrading skills in rank is called realization, and the process of skills decreasing in rank is known as reduction.[End of information]‘No, that will be all for now.’ The system was very explanatory with relaying information, and I realized I could rely on it more for things I didn’t know about.“I should call Logan now; I think it’s finally time I revealed my identity to him,” I said, dialing his number.“Hello?” Logan said expectantly.“Hello, Mr. Logan, how’s business?” I said.“Business is really booming; your predictions have been spot on, and we’re making a lot of money, sir,” he said respectfully.“And how much is our total revenue currently?” I said.“We made a total of $469,840 from our last exchange, bringing our revenue to a total of $5,672,290, sir.” He said; I could feel the excitement oozing from him.“Well, that’s to be expected. Oh, and Logan. I think it’s finally time I revealed my identity to you, I trust you now, and our work relationship has been one I’ve really enjoyed.” I said.“Are you sure? I’m perfectly fine with not knowing your identity, sir,” he said.“My name is Malcolm Shade; I’d prefer if you called me Malcolm from now on.” I said.“Wait, Shade as in-“ he spoke, but I interrupted him mid-sentence.“Yes, I’m the son of Lucien Shade, the head of the Shade Corporation.” I said.“B-but h-how?” He stammered in confusion.“I’ll explain later; we will both have to meet up eventually; we have very important things to discuss. I have to go now, but I’ll email the details.” I said.We said our goodbyes, and I hung up. Time had flown by, and I had about an hour before my classes, so I decided to arrive early.I didn’t see the point in going for classes; I wasn’t gaining anything; the exam would be easy enough, and worst come to worst, I would rely on the system.It could be called cheating, but I didn’t care, and no one would basically catch me or anything.But to avoid the attention of the teacher and especially my father, I’d have to comply.I arrived at class, and only a few people had arrived. I positioned myself at my back seat and brought a book pretending to read so as to avoid unnecessary attention.I scanned the room, and my eyes caught a girl staring at me; immediately, she noticed me locking eyes with her, she looked away shyly and flustered.I recognized her; in my past life, I had a crush on her and never truly had the courage to speak to her and never saw her again after I failed my entrance exams to the university.Had I piqued her interest now? Well, I couldn’t care less. Girls weren’t exactly my priorities right now, and she didn’t exactly meet my tastes anymore.I was a man in a boy's body, so girls my age weren’t exactly my taste. I felt disgusted at the thought anyway; I wasn’t some weird pedophilic pervert or anything like that.She didn't look in my direction anymore, so I guessed it was my imagination and couldn’t care less.Class went on pretty quickly, and sure enough, the girl didn’t approach me, so once again, I brushed it off as my imagination.I begin to walk home alone, planning what I’d eat for dinner. Thinking about branching at a supermarket, I looked behind me and saw two familiar figures behind me.It was the two bullies who I’d had an altercation with. As I saw them looking less of themselves, I burst into laughter as they approached me; I then stood smiling and waited to be sure they were approaching me.When I was sure their intent was with me, I stood tall and faced them.“You guys were for another round?” I said cracking my knuckles. I was more than confident in my abilities now and didn’t even give any sign of backing down.“No, it’s not like that; we were just here to apologize,” said one of them remorsefully.“Yeah, we’re sorry for causing so much trouble for you, we were hoping if we could be friends from now on,” said the other.“Okay, no problem, friends, meaning I can call you guys whenever I need something, right?” I said an idea coming to my head.I would use them if the need ever arose. Establishing connections and building my small army was vital, and I’d start with this.“Sure no problem, guess we’ll see you around.”“Yeah, later.” I said waving them goodbye as I continued my lone walk home.
Latest Chapter
A Vantage Point
“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
A Daring Plan
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
Foes
[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
Incinerated
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
Vladsilav
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
An Unexpected Alliance
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
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