Knock! Knock! Knock!
Markos Emmett opened his eyes hearing the loud knocking at his door. He got up from his tiny bed and walked towards the door. Who would be knocking so hard at his hard this late? He had to be prepared to deal with some insane guy.
He opened the door slowly to see who was on the other side and not get into trouble. However, once he saw the face of the person, his body went completely stiff from shock.
There he saw his old landlord, Robert, an old man that rented him a small home studio who had passed away a few years ago. What was going on? Had the alcohol got to his head and messed up his brain?
"Hey, you finally opened the door young bastard, I thought you had died from a stroke or something. Glad it did not happen, as I do not want to drag your body out of the room. Hahaha," The old man looked a bit irritated but still joked once he saw Markos opening the door. "So, how is your life going? I hope it is going well as you are already late one week in your rent payment. If it was not because of my good heart, I would have already kicked you out… Huh?"
Seeing no response from Markos, the old man decided to shake him up. Once Markos felt the old man's hand on his shoulder, his body shook violently as if it had been electrocuted.
Waking up from his daze and still not knowing what was going on, he gave a short answer. "Do not worry Old Robert, I will make sure to send you the payment this weekend. You know I always pay; I just had some issues come up at work."
The old man looked into his eyes trying to find if something was wrong with him but ultimately decided to believe Markos' strange behavior was due to him being overworked.
"It is okay, young man. I just came by as you never missed payments without calling me beforehand. I know your little sister needs your support, but do not overwork yourself to death. She will have no one by her side if you suddenly pass away." Just as the old man was walking away, he suddenly turned around to say something. "If you need money that badly I can find yourself an easier job that does not drive you to death. Just ask for it."
"Thanks, Old Robert, I will call you if I need it. Be careful on the way home" Markos managed to give out a stiff answer and wave goodbye to the old man before anxiously closing the door.
What was happening? Why was Old Robert alive? Had he not passed away three years ago? Was he seeing ghosts?
He still remembered how hard it was for him to find a new home after the old man passed away. Although the old man seemed a bit stinky at times and always told Markos he was going to kick him after every missed payment, he knew Old Robert had a really good heart. He even offered him higher pay jobs multiple times, but Markos always rejected his good intentions. What he experienced since young had made him a lone wolf not willing to associate with anyone.
Markos' parents had died in a car accident when he was just fourteen years old. He had to take care of Elena, his nine years old little sister who had also been involved in the car accident but managed to get out alive, although with severe injuries that kept her in critical condition at all times.
While the insurance company their parents had contracted paid them a good amount of money and kept making small payments until both of them reached eighteen years old, his sister's medical condition needed continuous hospitalization. Thus, all the money was being eaten away by it.
After reaching eighteen years old, Markos lost his rights to insurance payments. Just relying on his little sister's payments was not enough to continue her treatment, so he had to give up continuing his studies and jump into adult society to make money.
However, how much could a high school graduate earn? The minimum wage plus the extra hours combined with the insurance payments was barely enough to pay for his little sister's treatment and his minimum living conditions.
Therefore, once Elena reached her eighteen birthday, things became ugly. His job was not enough to pay for even a third of her monthly treatment. It was easy to see how desperate Markos felt.
Luckily, in the Year 2085, Scarlet Corporation, the biggest company on Earth, launched the largest Virtual Reality MMORPG ever seen: 'Exodia Quest'. Coupled with a VR Equipment able to bring a 99% realistic experience to the player, Exodia Quest became the so-called Second Earth.
There was a lot of money to be made, but Markos did not manage to play it from the start and thus lost a golden opportunity as he was considered one of the most talented players. Even though he only started playing It after two years after its release, Markos became one of the Top 500 Assassins in Exodia Quest. Many speculated that, if he had started playing since day one, Markos would have been one of the ten strongest assassins.
His personality made it impossible for him to join a guild, so he became one of the very rare top mercenaries. Players inside the Top 500 Rank for their respective classes not associated with any guild were scarce. Markos did not have any friends inside the game nor was he affiliated with any organization. He just worked for whoever paid the most.
This allowed Markos to earn quite a large amount of money, enough to move his sister to a top hospital and live in a bigger apartment. However, it was sadly too late for Elena.
The injuries that plagued her for years had taken a toll on her body. Doctors told Markos that while Elena's injuries were treatable, her condition had gone to a non-return point. Finally, in September 2090, Elena went into a coma and died a few days after. This was something that completely broke Markos.
He went on to drown his sorrows in alcohol for months. The last memories on his brain before hearing his old landlord knocking at the door were some vague images of him falling down the stairs with a bottle of vodka in his left hand.
Feeling overwhelmed with this, and not knowing if he was in a dream, Markos walked with heavy steps towards his bed. There, he took his phone with a shaking hand and pressed the home screen button.
15:39. March 19th, 2085.
"Hahaha." A dry and crazy laugh came out of Markos' mouth. This was ridiculous. He had gone back five years in time, just two days before Exodia Quest's official launch.
Tears started to fall alongside his crazed laugh. he did not know how it happened, but he had gone through rebirth. Markos swore that, in this lifetime, he would do the impossible to cure his little sister's illness.
This time he was going to become the best Assassin in the game. No one would be allowed to get in his way to the top.