Sometimes, there are people who 'woke up' and felt like that exact moment was the day they lived.
But Adam felt it differently.
He felt dead inside. Having only the strength to prop himself up using the sink. Standing weakly.
Perhaps the slightest nudge could throw him over.
'What happened to me?' That dream had felt like an eternity. Everything within it had felt so real.
The love… The hatred…
The passion… The intimacy…
However, just like all dreams, he could feel the details were becoming vague after awakening.
Like it would vanish from his memory in an hour.
Somehow, Adam felt that it would be a waste if he didn't do anything while the memories were fresh.
The first thing he checked was… 'Inner Energy'.
He tried remembering that sensation within his dream, then tried moving his hidden strength.
Awakening his potential partially.
[… … … … …]
Perhaps because of the ringing sound of his eardrums, he couldn't hear the voice of the world.
Only thinking that he'd failed.
'Heh~ It WAS a dream.' Adam thought by himself.
Since he had nothing better to do, the young man took out his phone in order to waste some time.
Only to see his App had updated since then.
'Huh?' Adam raised a brow at the screen.
Was this not an error?
Or did his phone crash?
Not only did the loading and title screens vanish into thin air, but it was on a pre-battle screen.
With no way of going forward into an online battle stage, nor returning back to pick better options.
Like always, he saw a few empty boxes on it.
'Did I lose all of my characters? FUCK!' The situation suddenly became depressing to see.
He'd spent who knew how long trying to save up for a new Gacha character, but what was all this?
All of them were gone…?
{You have been awarded 100 Free Gacha Tokens.}
{Each token can be used to pull from a new pool of characters. All legends and heroes are included.}
[Each token is worth 10 pulls.}
He saw two new messages.
It at least made him feel a little better.
Gachas worked in a very particular way.
They awarded a small amount of resources in order for the player to 'Pull' characters from a banner.
And these banner' ranged from the vast yet unfocused 'Standard Banner', and the highly specific time-limited 'Exclusive Banner'. What you got was equivalent to your luck and resources.
Most characters and other items ranged from 2 Stars to 7 Stars. Some having higher growth limits.
It really depended on what you got.
The moment Adam read that each 'Token' he had was worth 10 Pulls, he felt a little bit better.
Although it wouldn't be enough to pay back the money he'd spent, it COULD regain his progress.
At least by an extremely small margin…
{Consolation reward of 7 year progress reset was sent. Would you like to open the new Gift Box?}
He immediately clicked on 'Yes'.
His screen suddenly lit up after showing a box open. The radiance seemed different than before.
Since when did light make his body shiver…?
He held onto the phone for his dear life.
{Congratulations! You have been awarded a complete set of divine-class legends. For each year of progress lost, the rarity of the characters will increase in rank. Starting from B Rank.}
{Year 1- B Rank}
{Year 2- A Rank}
{Year 3- S Rank}
{Year 4- SS Rank}
{Year 5- SSS Rank}
{Error!}
A loading icon suddenly popped up after the rank of the characters almost exceeded the limits.
SSS Rank was the highest level possible to attain.
There was nothing beyond that.
At least, that was what Adam initially thought before the App seemed to 'fix' that critical issue.
{'Amalgamation' has been added as a feature.}
{Characters can be fused and refined. The ranking system's limits has gained two ascension levels.}
{Year 6- L(egend) Rank}
{Year 7- U(niverse) Rank}
Adam's jaw suddenly dropped when he saw the two unheard levels that had just been added.
Another flash of light threatened to burn his hand.
'The fuck!?' He stopped himself from throwing the phone. It felt like that light was making him healthy.
Although he couldn't explain how.
{Complete beginner set exclusive to the user includes 3 Transcendent Gift Slots, 1 Transcendent-Class PIXIE, 3 Universe Rank Amalgam Characters… Compensation sent.]
He started to realise at this point this wasn't a normal 'Gacha game' anymore. A light erupted out.
{Please choose any Transcendent Class PIXIE.}
A list suddenly appeared in front of him.
{1. Noblesse Oblige- Lucia Arcadia (Control)
2. Mystery- Eva Graham (???}
3. Odin- Simon Rainglow (Assault)
4. Zeus- Kang Hyuk (Support)}
He wasn't sure what was going on, but didn't seem like he'd get any references to make a good choice.
So all he could do was choose based on looks.
Since PIXIEs were tiny helpers that floated around the user and assisted them in battle, it was better to choose one with more support effects. He was curious what the second one did, but it was better to get something concrete than gamble effects.
At least, that's how Adam saw it.
When he clicked on Zeus, the divine light in front of him congealed into a figure he'd never seen before.
Being summoned out of his burning hot phone.
It was an androgynous man wearing a white cloth like a Greek god. His eyes held a sense of maturity.
But the moment this tiny creature opened its mouth, Adam figured out that things had changed.
"Woohoo~! Thank you for choosing me. Think of me as your 'Helper Fairy'. I'm here to support you all the way!" The PIXIE spoke while looking awed by its own body. As if it was the first time it woke up.
Adam didn't think much of this, as his emotions had already grown dull from that dream earlier.
His eyes were empty while clicking the screen.
{The zodiacs of Python Serpentarius and Crab Cancer are thrown into the amalgamation feature.}
{Gifts shall be fused...}
{Python (Universal Digestion) + Crab (Sleepless Stamina) = Scorpion Serpent (Universal Stamina)}
{Processing and refining Bestowed Gift...}
{Gift Name: Universal Stamina (Scorpion Serpent)
Description: Able to generate an endless amount of stamina and digest anything to fill one's stomach.}
Another loading screen ended.
{Refinement success…}
He heard a ping, then…
{Gift Name: Blood Nurturer (Scorpion Dragon)
Description: Gives access to one of the four Life Pillars: 'Blood Essence'. Allows one to cultivate and improve it using any resource or knowledge. An endless supply of stamina makes you sleepless.}
Adam found his mind being energised to the point he was back to normal, but it still seemed bad.
He was still hallucinating about that PIXIE.
There was no way any of what he saw was real anyway. This was likely an everlasting lucid dream.
One that brought him into its pace.
After all, there was no such thing as magic.
"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Kang Hyuk. You are?" The midget fairy reached toward.
Showing its tiny little baby man hands.
Adam hesitated, then reached out to grab that little hand without replying. He felt a jolt in his heart.
That hand… wasn't illusionary.
"Adam Graham." The young man squeezed the PIXIE's hand before forcing himself to let go.
Leaving the helper fairy confused.
He was about to hurt the man's hand and cause a fight, but managed to pull his mind together.
It definitely wouldn't be reasonable to offend it.
So he decided to live out this dream to the fullest.
"Let's leave the introductions. So what has happened to me recently?" Adam held his head.
"You're a narrator now." Hyuk narrowed his eyes.
"…Be honest." Of course, Adam wouldn't believe such a bogus explanation. It sounded so stupid.
"A narrator's job is to always be narrating." These words from the PIXIE suddenly enlightened him.
There was no way the young man would miss it.
"That's why that happened? Since I couldn't be doing any 'narration' when asleep, my mind continued the narration of another world?" Adam wanted some answers, but Hyuk only shrugged.
"Maybe…?" The PIXIE also didn't look in-the-know.
"You don't know anything?" Adam frowned at him.
"I only know that this 'Narration' isn't a Gift. A higher entity known as Mr Wallkin is now part of you." Kang Hyuk spoke in riddles. Was this daft exposition supposed to make any sense to him?
"Then what DO you know?" Adam sighed.
"You got a cool Gift~! I'm sure you could have tons of sex without rest. Your 'endurance' is high enough to please a harem." Hyuk's emphasis on that part made the young man increasingly pale.
'How useless…' Adam was about to tap the screen once again in thought, but was stopped by Hyuk.
The PIXIE used its transparent wings to float towards him and halt his finger from falling.
"That's enough for now." There was a seriousness in the perverted creature's eyes while saying this.
"And if I don't?" Adam took that personally.
"I'm saying this for your mental health." (Hyuk)
"I'm fine." (Adam)
"Endless stamina doesn't mean you have a steel heart. You'l go crazy if you continue." (Hyuk)
"Might as well then." Adam felt like destroying himself and the world after experiencing all that.
The pain of loss… The agony of betrayal…
He would never be the same person ever again at this rate. Unable to 'un-see' that fucked up story.
He'd felt all the emotions Sidmund Tailor felt in his first venture. Every intermingle and intimacies.
As well as the heartbreak of seeing the girls dead.
Some had a hole through their skull. Others were stabbed through the back. Even poisoned.
Having no choice but to watch countless lovers die.
'I should get stronger and kill her.' The more the memories of being a butler faded, the greater his hatred for the evil woman became. He wanted to rip out her tendons. Make her suffer like THEM.
His lovers… No, Sidmund's lovers.
'No, it is all just an insane dream. Nothing I saw really happened.' Adam was feeling conflicted.
"Hey…" He looked up to see the PIXIE's face, and saw a sincere warmth in his smile towards him.
Hyuk continued: "…I'm here for you. I might not be an all-knowing fairy, but I AM a help-you-out one."
The little man's face sparkled.
"…" Adam hesitated, but it would be a lie to say he didn't appreciate such warmth at this moment.
Having someone to talk to…
About an hour later, the young man was laying down on his front and getting an electric massage.
If it wasn't for his mind being consistently energised right now, he would've fallen asleep.
"This is just right…" Adam felt his muscles loosen.
"Right~? Enjoy it while this lasts." Zeus, who introduced himself as Kang Hyuk, suddenly said some foreboding words. A chill ran through Adam's spine when he realised what those words meant.
He suddenly pushed the PIXIE off of his back.
"Hey… Pikachu." Adam glared at the 'fairy'.
"It's Hyuk."
"Pikachu…" The young man grasped the creature by the head and gave a fake smile: "…Explain."
The little creature suddenly felt an immense pressure from the young man. He had a crazy look.
"What are you thinking?" (Hyuk)
"If you don't say it, I'll want a piece of you." (Adam)
"Err… I taste really bad." (Hyuk)
"Have you checked yourself?" (Adam)
"No…" (Hyuk)
"Then I can always test that for you." Adam felt the new Gift has somewhat influenced his appetite.
He could go for some chicken wings right now.
Or maybe 'fairy wings'?
"Alright, alright… I can't tell you everything, but I CAN say that this world is about to get attacked."
"By what?" Adam felt like he was listening to some random urban fantasy script, but this was too real.
If his ability was genuine, then could it be…?
'My family…' The young man immediately thought of calling them up, only to hold himself back.
"How long…?" (Adam)
"A month." (Hyuk)
It wasn't that much Tyne, but it also wasn't enough to make him feel uncertainty about the future.
Adam took a deep breath and started to internalise recent events. He wondered what he needed to do.
But the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like he had zero control over the situation.
"What things will we be 'attacked' by?" (Adam)
"Beats me." (Hyuk)
"I thought you knew…!" (Adam)
"Sorry brother, I only know what I know." (Hyuk)
"Then what do you expect me to do?" (Adam)
"Either train, or amass an army of your own. A lot of people will awaken abilities at that time." (Hyuk)
"Motherfucker…" Adam held his head and felt like his whole life had become a lot more harder.
"Don't despair." Hyuk comforted with a laugh.
"Says you? Why the fuck is all this happening right now? Is it because I left?" Adam felt a bit sickly.
The questions in his heart left unanswered.
"You're already getting good perks early on. Don't look down on yourself." Hyuk patted his shoulder.
…That's right! Doesn't he have a 'Transcendent Gift'? With it, he could probably become amazing!
"That Gift should help you run away if you're ever in danger as well." Hyuk's words made him gulp.
"W-what?" Adam couldn't believe it.
"It will help you run." Hyuk nailed that down.
"B-but… 'Blood Nurturer'… 'Scorpion Dragon'… It sounds super strong. How could I lose?" (Adam)
"It's a 'Late Bloomer' category Gift. You'd take about a hundred years before you can refine this into something useful in battle. For now, it will help you increase your own survival rate." (Hyuk)
The PIXIE didn't seem to want to lie. It was really aboveboard in how screwed Adam was right now.
'Damn…' The young man reached out.
"Wait!" Hyuk stopped his finger again.
"What do you want?" Adam was going to check what his other Gifts were. He needed to fight.
If he didn't get a better Gift, his family would die!
"I'm not saying you can't. Just think about what you need right now. The App will give you it." The PIXIE let go after saying as much. Allowing the young man to independently make his next action.
Adam thought about his situation.
In his paranoid frenzy, he had surrounded himself in the company of a witch that fed on human life.
He wasn't sure of the 'Sophia Hildegard' of that world and this one were similar, but he didn't feel safe being surrounded by her mercenaries. Even if that blonde surrounded herself with female guards.
He didn't notice it at first, but he realised he'd need something that could work on the opposite sex.
Something that neutralised them.
It was with this thought that he tapped on the screen once again. Opening his second Gift.
A bright light erupted from his phone...