[You have been cursed by the God of **********.]
[You have been Cursed by the ***** ***.]
[You have been blessed by the God of *******.]
"Where..?"
"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen!"
A man with the a clown mask greeted him.
Stepping back and being in a fighting stance, Zaon become wary of the guy.
"Who are you?"
"Relax, you're already dead, so I won't harm you."
But still, Zaon did not give him any response, he just became more wary of him.
"Zaon Stillevia, brother of Zander Steillevia. Age 35, Single, Blood Type O, and still a virgin."
"What?"
"Oh, you're not a virgin anymore?"
"No, I mean, what does being a virgin affect what is happening to me now?" Zaon asked.
"Nothing, just wanna say it."
Zaon's face twisted as he looked at the man.
The man then magically pulled out a table and a tea set from thin air. He then pulled out a chair and sat on it, while sipping tea.
Zaon looked at him like a sort of a weirdo. After a few minutes, curiosity got ahold of him.
"So, what will I do here? Am I your servant now?" Zaon said as he just looked at the man.
"Nope. To be exact, you're gonna regress back."
"Regress? Just like in the novels and comics?" Zaon asked.
"Not quite but yes."
"So, what am I still doing here? Why don't you just send me back?"
"Of course I'm not just gonna send you back empty-handed."
The man then clapped his hands, and a myriad of cards appeared before him.
"Before you go, I prepared here a list of items, skills, classes, titles, and many more for you to choose from."
"Okay, let me see them then."
Zaon walked forward, but then, the cards also moved, like floating away from him.
He did this a few more times, and failed to look at the cards. He then walked towards the table and slammed it.
"WHAT SCAM ARE YOU PLAYING?"
"Scam? No, it's not a scam. I just want you to choose a card, but I did not say that you may choose what you want."
Zaon facepalmed as he heard it. It's a scam, and he was played.
The brain of Caelestia, twice being dumb inside a day.
He sighed as he looked at the cards.
The cards have only one color, which is gray, and no other design can be seen in the cards.
"Hey banker, can I use a lifeline?" He said as he looked at the man.
"Phone-a-friend and Ask the Audience cannot be used." The man replied.
"50:50 it is then."
The cards then all flew out, and only 50 cards were left.
"So you won't feel cheated, I'll show you the 50 cards that I removed."
The man then made the collected cards fly in front of Zoan.
As he looked at the cards, he can see the sheer joke and scam he was being played with.
One of the cards has the words "Undead Legion" written in diamond letters.
Another card has the "Mythical Mage", also written in diamond letters.
There are also the "Hero", "Time-Traveller", and the "Chaos Void Entity" cards.
And why is he sad?
There is a probability chart in front of him, and out of 100 cards, 5% of them are diamonds.
Basically, all the highest ranking rewards are out of the picture.
When he checked the table, and the cards in front of him, he was a bit relieved that there are still 4 platinum ones, 8 gold, 20 silver and 18 bronze ones.
The probability of getting a good draw is 24%, which is almost one is to four ratio.
It is a bit good, because he saw the 7 deadly sins as bronze cards taken out of the picture.
"Hurry up, the more time you spend here, the less time you'll get when you get on Earth."
"What? Why are you just telling me that now?" Zaon said as he looked at the cards.
"Whatever it is, be good." He said, and looked intently at the cards.
"Hurry up!" The man said, startling Zaon, and with that, his hand touched a card.
And...
"It's a bronze card."
Spending too much time, but only got one bronze card.
"Time's up, you need to go to Earth now." The man then clapped his hands, and a portal opened in front of him.
"That fast? Wait, what about the curse-- Woaaaahh oowh"
"BYEE!" The man shouted, as the portal closed, and silence enveloped the place.
A little while later, a small woman walked towards the man who was still sipping tea.
"Are you sure he's gonna be okay?"
"I think so."
"Why do you think so?"
"Look".
The man then pulled the cards which Zaon picked one.
All of them, all gleamed diamond letters.
"Barbarian Lord", "Pirate King", "Draconic Berserker", "Aether Knight", "Voodoo God" and many more.
Out of 49 diamond choices, he got the only bronze.
But, that's not it. All the 99 cards, who were originally platinum, gold, silver and bronze ones reverted to being diamond.
"Then the test?"
"It's not actually a test, but a way to see if he has a goal in mind."
"And what is that goal?"
"I'm afraid I can't say."
"Is it revenge?"
"Definitely no." The man answered.
- - - - -
In front of a burial place.
As the coffin is lowered, Lara stood under the rain, with her belly still with the obvious bump.
Beside Lara is a guy in his early twenties, with eyes deep and piercing gaze.
His gray hair flutters in the wind, with his stature that of a slim guy. His face is smooth, but also has some masculinity in it.
"Is this what he said that I'll be late?" Murmuring to himself, Zaon walked towards the now lowered coffin.
"This time, I will make my promise true." Zaon said as he let go of the white tulips he was holding.
"Don't worry brother, Caelestia won't come down this time."
That is the truth about how Zaon became a player of Project: Zerø.
Zander and Lara were genius programmers, that's why Lara has the Jester class in the future, or shall we say the past(?).
This class was one of the classes she created, and was her "best" creation.
Today was the day that the capsule used by Zander will be delivered to Zaon's house, and that will be the birth of the Brain, Zypher Miracle.
Lara then soon rode her car and left the place. The others also decided to go home, but Zaon stayed for a moment.
He sat beside the tombstone for a moment, and looked up in the sky.
"Kuya, it hurts, you know?" He said as tears flow from his face.
Kuya is a Filipino term for brother, which is Onii-san in Japanese and Oppa in Korean literature.
He was excited when he knew that he will be reborn, but was disappointed when he arrived at the place.
This place, is the loneliest place, and this time, was the loneliest time.
"I won't let those guys get what they want this time around."
He stood up as he walked down away from the tomb.
With the wind and the rain above, his mahogany eyes sparkled in rage.
- - - - -
When Zaon got home, there were two people who were installing the capsule in his room.
One of them is Brixter, the middle aged man next door that is a booze addict. He was once a drunkard, but Zander helped him, and decided to make him a guardian for Zaon.
"Oh, you're here. Clean yourself up first, then try this gift from your brother." Brix said as he plugged in the capsule.
The technician then bid his farewell and all was left in the room is Brix.
He looked at the capsule like it was his own child, and smiled.
"Hey old man, are you a creep?" A voice was suddenly heard from behind him.
"What?! What are you saying kid?!" Brix shouted at Zaon.
Zaon covered his ears, but the sheer sound is still not pleasing.
After a few minutes, Brix grumpily walked out of the house.
Zaon just watched him and chuckled for a bit.
"Old man, come eat dinner with me later!" He shouted.
"Dinner, my ass!" Brix then entered his house.
Zaon walked towards the capsule, and checked the manual.
"Omega Mk.II"
That was written on the cover of the capsule.
Omega was the brand of capsule that was invented by Tablet Inc. that boosts 90% of synchronization to the body. It means whatever you do in the game, is almost the same as the one you want to do.
There is a bit of lag, but still, is above the other capsule types.
The most modernized capsule is the Alpha Mk. VIII, which is a helmet, gloves and boots that can detect even the slightest movement, and is redefined by Tablet Inc. which gives 95% of synchronization.
In the future, Iota Mk. X will be used to synchronize 100% of the body, but is taxing to the brain, so additional fluids is injected.
Knowing these, Zaon took a notebook and a pen, and decided to write the events that will happen in the future, and as a geek of novels and comics, he controls how much he can change for the butterfly effect not to become a hassle.
Maybe, just maybe, this time, he will be able to make the Caelestia Guild greater than it is.
And so, he took the Celloid Fluid and inserted it to the machine. Each fluid is almost 500 mL, but can be used for three days.
Zaon now has 10 cans, which can last him a month.
Each can in the market is almost 200 Myrrh.
Myrrh is the type of currency used by the people of Earth due to the changes did by Tablet Inc. and Project: Zerø.
In the game, you can exchange 1 Gold for 1 Myrrh.
And so, he has to earn 3000 Myrrh for another month of use.
Zaon knows how much a quest now can give, and is in a pinch.
Quests normally give out 3 gold, and daily quests give 2 gold. If he wants to have a month of use, he needs to earn at least 10 gold per day.
There are also uncommon quests, rare quests, epic quests and legendary quests.
But then, these quests are rare, and even if he finishes a legendary quest, it can only give him two to three months of Celloid Fluid supply.
But, legendary quests are not cabbages that can be picked up from the side of the road. They are needles in a haystack.
But then, a regressor has his own knowledges.
This is where the "cheat" comes in.
"There are two legendary quests in the Kingdom of Acias, "Life Alchemy" and "Golden Needle"."
With the knowledge of the future, no, his past life, and from the research he did in the gaming world, he now knows the keys to unlock those two quests, and finish it as soon as possible.
Without further ado, Zoan entered the capsule, and closed the lid.
It was 6 PM that time, and has all the time in the world for he had already graduated.
Also, gaming is the trend this time, and how people earn their keep.
As soon as he entered, a familiar voice greeted Zaon.
[Welcome to Project: Zerø.]
[Please select your character.]
Are you a:
[Male] or [Female]
Zaon pressed Male and the character design continued.
After a careful consideration, Zaon decided to use his past name and face as in the game.
[Welcome to Project: Zerø - Zypher Miracle.]
[The kingdom of Acias awaits its hero.]
[Transporting....]
[Good luck.]
And his favorite line that always appears whenever he is teleported.
[Nothing becomes one, but all comes back to zero.]