As I stretched the couch underneath me groaned in protest. I had just finished a reading binge of my favorite light novels. I had been reading them since I found them in middle school. online novels had quickly taken over my life. my name is Ryan Hollberry, I had recently turned 23 last month, not that anyone knew. My family stopped taking care of me the moment they didn't have to legally. now I worked 8:00 to 6:00 at a shitty little gas station, just to pay for a shitty little apartment and internet.
I was sick of it.
But then the thing I had been praying years for happened.
WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE
your world has been decided to be the next lucky contestant in the Great System! we will be adding in classes, magic, and a full system, how lucky! good luck surviving!
"YES! YES! YES! It finally happened!" I had dreamed of this day for most of my life. A system came! I literally dreamed about this for years.
I had long ago made what I affectionately termed my "destiny plan". Step one - get to safety, step two - start training in magic manipulation (if that’s a thing), step three – make zombies/ become necromancer, step four – profit (survive and thrive baby!).
I jumped off my couch and began running towards the closet. Back when I first made my destiny plan I bought a bunch of swords and tools and put together a survival pack.
But then the ground started shaking underneath me.
I lived on the 13th floor of a very old apartment building, the only reason the thing hadn't collapsed is luck. I only lived there because of the rent; it was cheap. the building hasn't seen a handyman or a repairman in at least 40 years. and it seems it just ran out of luck.
I started booking towards the closet if I could reach it, I might be able to survive. Sadly, it seems like I was destined to die as I felt the floor buckle underneath me, “oh shit!” was all I could mutter before it all went black.
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whatever change was caused by the advent of the system wouldn't be known to Ryan Hollberry. as the earth changed and expanded under the manipulation of the system it caused the 86-year-old apartment building to collapse. right underneath Ryan. as the building collapsed Ryan's life ended. his soul floated inwards and sideways, moving in directions it didn't know existed.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
he ended up dying not knowing how he died. his soul going back to the great cycle that is reincarnation just as it was connected to the rest of the multiverses cycle just for a moment.
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In another world deep outside the system's part of the multiverse, the was a small village. the village of Randyll is a small frontier village on the very edge of humanity's kingdoms. Randyll rested right on the border between the grand Solstice Empire and the orcish conclaves. The village was a bit generous of a term, it was more like a loose collection of buildings where farmers would go to sell their crops and go to church. Randyll was founded only four years back. there was only four actual building in town, not counting the six farmhouses, there was the Inn, the trading post, the blacksmiths, and the mayor's house.
It was a bit of an exaggeration to call it the Rusty Plow an inn, it was more of an alehouse with a few extra rooms. it was cheap beer and ciders, that attracted any customers to the squat building.
next to it, standing near the main road, was the trading post. Meyers House of Trade was a small one-story building it had the only stable in town right next to it. Meyers House of Trade was the only place you could sell anything, it was founded by a friend of the mayors.
Across the road from that was the blacksmiths, it was a stereotypical smithy, a squat stone building, with a large forging area near the front and a small shop inside.
The village hall was where the mayor lived with his young son. It was a two-story building with a basement where the town held church services. It was starting to get a bit run down since the mayor built it himself.
the mayor was a rank two commander that was given the land back when he retired. He decided to set up a town as many had before. he lived alone with his son because his wife died when giving birth.
the first real harvest just came in, so the entire village was celebrating. they were having their first harvest festival, the inn supplied alcohol, the blacksmiths made decorations, the mayor hunted a rank 1 beast, and Meyers hired a few entertainers. The excitement was palpable.
But as with most stories, tragedy struck.
As the villagers celebrated an orcish war band stormed the village in the night!
The burned and slaughtered their way to the village square. People tried to run but the village was surrounded. The mayor tried to fight back but he was eventually captured.
Having won slaughtered most of the villagers they captured the rest and dragged them down to the church. After they were all rounded up a large figured in a cloak hobbled out of the darkness.
“well commander, did you really think you beat us back?” a hoarse voice echoed from the figure. The mayor started shaking. “well no matter me and my brothers will have our revenge in time…” the figure crooned to the mayor.
The mayor recognized that voice from the battle that one him this land, it was a hunt for a pair of orc leaders. The most brutal ones the humans fought. He managed to kill one of them the other apparently survived.
The orcs slowly started chanting as the figure signaled them. They dragged the mayor’s young son from the crowd and held him over the village alter. With a cheer from the orcs, the figure whipped out a knife from the cloak and slit the throat of the child. The orcs chanted in joy as they started and finished the slaughter.
That night the village of Randyll burned.
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With the blood spilled on the alter the soul of the sacrifice which had already started to fade into the great cycle was called back. Bu on its way out it got snagged on another soul…