"Well I guess that's more money in portfolio~"
A young man, 21 years of age hummed as he checked his phone where a notification of money being transferred to his account popped up.
He simply took a short glance at the notification and after typing out a short note about investing when he got home, the young man put his helmet on before taking off on his scooter.
"What will I have for dinner… Do I still have food in the fridge?"
Driving leisurely through the busy city streets, the young man's mind thought of what to cook when he got home as he carefully maneuvered through traffic.
"I had chicken curry yesterday so… what other meats do I have? I remember that I should still have a bit of ground beef… "
The road was not as busy as it normally was, thanks primarily to the event that was going on today-
[2 Year anniversary of the Golden Dragon Hunter Alliance]
Billboards and signs all had the same notice, featuring a group of handsome men and women clad in fantasy gear.
2 years ago this would look like an ad or event related to video games or ESports but now it was something that people respected.
"It's been two years huh?"
The young man thought, recalling the first day the change occurred as his gaze shifted momentarily towards a distant silver tower.
2 years ago, the silver tower, a staple of fantasy settings in Korean Player Fantasies appeared in the world for real.
But unlike some fantasy created by a Korean, the tower's numbers were not random or weird.
Each nation had one tower that stretched to the sky.
A total of 195 towers stood tall in the world.
Moreover, unlike Chinese, Japanese or Korean fantasies where the main players were CN/JP/KR, US and RU, what happened when the towers appeared was… simple.
Unlike what others believed, the selection of people eligible to enter the tower did not happen. Everyone could enter the tower to become a hunter. But the talents one awakened were not all equal.
Moreover, as much as some people wanted to use their high tier talents to get ahead, the challenge of the tower was far more realistic than the video game reality a LOT of idiots believed in.
The current leaders of the world were the US and EU, RU and CN came in close second while everyone else lagged behind.
How did this come to be? Well, with a certain amount of military spending and highly patriotic operators, clearing the challenges of the tower, even with the most basic of talents, was simple.
Unlike kids who thought they could rush to large opponents and smack them too much like an anime character, the realistic and methodical approach of militaries were more efficient.
Moreover, access to the towers was restricted by the countries where they stood.
Some managed it loosely while others more seriously, the US and other successful countries militarized the towers.
Others were held back by protesters and rights advocist but… in the span of a few weeks, the rapid rise in casualties due to venturing into the tower showed how different fantasy is from reality.
Could you get stronger in the tower? Yes
Could you survive the tower? Yes
How likely is it that you will die in the tower? YES
Such was the meme that many US citizens spammed online when the casualty rate increased worldwide.
Worse of all was the fact that many of these casualties were young men and women trying to become the next Sung Jin Woo.
Recalling the past, the young man sighed in exasperation as he arrived home.
It was a small house, but it was in a suburban community.
The house was not something that he inherited, it was bought, using money he earned himself.
Entering his home, the young man moved robotically as he locked the door, and proceeded to prepare for dinner.
It took him less than 30 minutes to prepare his food.
It was a simple dish, rapidly cooking the ground beef in high heat, he cut onions, peppers and garlic.
After sauteing the veggies and meat together, he added half a can of tomatoes and let it simmer as he checked his pasta.
A simple spaghetti dish, using a tomato-meat sauce made of whatever he had on hand, the young man made enough to last him till breakfast.
He prepared a plate for himself, then made a simple high calorie beverage made of mountain dew and vodka, rocket fuel as others call it.
With his food in hand, the young man ate in his kitchen satisfied after another fulfilling day.
-Is this really fulfilling?-
A confused voice suddenly echoed in the young man's ears.
"Huh? Did I call someone?"
The young man took out his phone but he saw nothing, confused, the young looked around and saw no one.
-Well at least you are not dense or stupid, but how can you be happy with just this?-
Again the voice echoed in his mind but as he heard it the second time, still as clear as before, the young man realized that this was not something normal.
"So are you God or something?"
He asked curiously.
Ever since the towers appeared in the world, there were many people who claimed to have heard the voice of God.
Some claimed to have been chosen but Ares, that they were a descendant of Zeus.
Of course, these people were proven to be liars, psychotic idiots who were deep into their self-fulfilling prophecies.
Facing a situation where he "may be hearing the voice of God". The young man did not rejoice, he did not start calling anyone or panicking.
'If I keep calm, this will be gone as quickly as it came.'
The young man thought but his mind seemed to have been read as the voice spoke out once more.
-Come on Jonathan, you're not so stupid as to believe that you are going mad are you?-
Being called by his name did not make the young man flustered or believe, instead he thought to himself-
'Of course my mind would know my name, I'm not an idiot who would believe my own fantasies just because it knew MY name'
Still unconvinced, Jonathan continued to eat his pasta ignoring the voice, instead his mind wandered to his work.
'Ah… I need to finish this up quickly, I still need to do some trading'
Jonathan quickly finished his meal completely disregarding the unknown disembodied voice.
-...-
In less than 15 minutes, Jonathan finished eating, he then spent another 15 minutes cleaning up after the mess he had made and after all that was done, he headed for his room.
-...-
In his room, Jonathan turned on his computer and began working on various projects he had going on while keeping one screen on the market trends. Today, he was listening to a nostalgia playlist of altrock music.
"In the end it doesn't even matter~"
He sang along at some points, although he did not sound exactly like the original artist, he still showed mastery by hitting the notes.
-...-
It took Jonathan a good 3 hours to complete all his tasks and set a few trades for tomorrow.
"Well, time for some sleep"
The time was just right for Jonathan to sleep so he took a quick shower, brushed his teeth and then changed to his sleepwear- a pair of boxers, before collapsing on his bed.
-Hey… I could send you to another world…-
It was at this time that the disembodied voice came back, this time it was just exasperated as it spoke but upon hearing the voice Jonathan's reply was-
"No"
A simple "No", he did not bother to explain nor did he care for what the voice wanted to say.
-...-
-I don't care if you say no, you will be going to another world!-
The voice rang once more but Jonathan ignored it, he simply laid on his bed and closed his eyes to sleep.
-You… well, suit yourself-
When Jonathan heard the voice's words he smiled but what came next made him frown-
-I'll send you out randomly, normally I would give you some time to prepare, you know, survival equipment and the like but well~ since you don't care then good luck-
Hearing the words, Jonathan quickly stood up, he did not know if it was all his imagination or not but-
'I'M FUCKING NAKED!'
Rushing towards his closet, Jonathan reached out for the closest bundle of clothes and then-
[WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF MARVEL]
'...fuck'