I slowly opened my eyes feeling well-rested. The alarm clock on the bedside table read 7:30 am, which prompted a chuckle from me. It had only been a week, and I was already used to getting up so early.
I quickly got out of bed and turned off the alarm, which wasn’t set to ring for another half an hour, and headed to the bathroom to get myself ready. I had a big day ahead of me, after all.
Even though my interview with Goldshanks wasn’t until that afternoon, something made me feel that I wasn’t ready yet. I needed time to prepare, even if it was just a few hours. All of yesterday disappeared because of the bank union fiasco, and I still somehow slept another full eight hours besides sleeping another six yesterday afternoon. Who knew what the hell was up with this body?
It didn’t take long to shave and shower, and drinking my coffee was even quicker. I was out the door before eight o’ clock and already hitting the town.
The area around the Atlantic City suburbs were completely different from the inner city. There were still casinos that dotted the streets, but none compared to the sheer size of three I went to yesterday. The city also looked cleaner. Graffiti was limited to small alleyways and the back of dumpsters, and the air actually smelled like air instead of piss.
I made my way down the sidewalk dressed in semi-formal attire. That meant a button-up white shirt, dress pants, and a simple tie. My interview wasn’t for a while, but I didn’t plan on stopping by my place until it was over.
That meant three hours until my date with destiny. Something about the way Goldshanks talked about it made me believe that it would be the biggest challenge of my life, and I felt a shiver as I recalled his words, his piercing gaze, and his sheer force of will. Maybe he was just good at being dramatic? But I wasn't going to take any risks. I needed to do something to prepare, and there was only one thing I could do.
I took a deep breath and calmed my mind. The streets were almost desolate, save for the half a dozen or so people up this early on a Saturday. It wasn’t much, but I still hesitated as I toyed with the mental switch for [Detect Cheating]. The active form wouldn’t be much help alone, since all it gave me was a name. That was why I had to do it.
The world around me went calm and I activated the Skill’s passive form. I’d readied my mind for a mental barrage, and that was exactly what hit me. Two seconds was all it took before I turned [Detect Cheating] off, and it was all I needed.
My eyes darted around the street at blinding speed, picking out everyone around me that triggered the Skill, and passing judgment.
Detect Cheating (lv 4)
Target
Kate Weston
Detect Cheating (lv 4)
Target
Mortimer Goss
Detect Cheating (lv 4)
Target
Sherman Powers
Detect Cheating (lv 4)
Target
Ari Fenrisson
A flurry of menus filled my vision. I was somehow able to make out each of them and match it to a person on the street. Their names and their crimes were known to me.
The couple getting frisky with each other in the alleyway over there? Kate Weston and Mortimer Goss, actively cheating on their partners with each other. The gray-haired man sitting by himself in the car as if he’s looking out for someone? Sherman Powers, probably waiting for his mistress to show up. The kid at the burger place down the street? Ari Fenrisson, he was… cheating on his homework by buying the answers off of someone else. Scum, all of them. I was going to make them-
[Skill Level Up! Detect Cheating lv 4 -> 5]
My eyes opened wide as the sudden level up brought along a moment of clarity that pulled me out of my rage-fueled stupor. “What the hell?” I mumbled to myself before giving my head a thorough shake. I had to sit down at a nearby bench and take several breaths before I started to feel normal again. “Holy shit, that Skill is turning me into an asshole! Fucking last time I ever use it if I have to.”
I felt a pang of guilt. I wanted to grind [Detect Cheating] some more before my interview, but there was no way I could keep the passive on for much longer without doing something really stupid. Not to mention, if I walked into the interview with a homicidal attitude, there was no way I was getting hired!
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That settled it, there wasn’t anything else to do.
I got up from my seat and continued down the sidewalk. I could at least explore the town a bit more and get a bite to eat in the meantime. Maybe I’d find something interesting?
It didn’t take as long as I expected for that to happen.
On the corner of the street was a strange building. It was painted white, extended two storeys tall, and was festooned with stained glass windows. It looked like a chapel, likely because it was a chapel. But unlike any chapel from back home, its mere presence commanded my attention and pulled me inside.
I didn’t consider myself to be particularly religious, but seeing the kind of hope that believers of a faith could wield against their inner demons left me feeling envious back home. Maybe that was what I needed now, then? Hope. Hope that I could ace the interview and use my job to carve out a safe and comfortable place for myself in this world.
I slowly entered the chapel, opening the polished, dark wooden doors and taking in the main chamber. The floor was laid with similarly dark hardwood, the walls were covered with a layer of cracked plaster leading up to stained glass windows featuring hues of red, orange, and purple. The most unexpected feature of the inside was that instead of a cross or crucifix at the end of the room above the podium, there was a statue of a large feather quill carved out of pristine marble.
There was nothing like this back home, this wasn’t a religion from Earth. I made my way down the aisle past the pews that lined most of the space. All but two of them were empty, where the three occupants in total were in deep thought or prayer. I found myself an empty space far away from the others and took a seat. There was a large, leather-bound tome nested inside a pocket on the back of the pew in front of me, which I picked up and began to leaf through.
Whatever I was reading, it definitely wasn’t the bible. And even if it were, I doubted that “Thou shalt not commit adultery” would be part of its 10 commandments. I chuckled to myself as I tried to get a general sense of what I was reading. While the verses did have a similar prose and style to the new testament, the contents were completely different.
Most of the stories seemed to be about people looking for purpose or meaning, and facing big changes in their lives. My muscles relaxed as I continued to skim the book, feeling hopeful that it was exactly what I needed to rekindle my faith. As I finished skimming through the first third of the tome, I was interrupted by a man in gray, priestly robes.
“I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before,” said the older man, who looked to be in his sixties with a gray, balding head and a kindly look. “Welcome to the Church of Ultarian, my child.”
The name rang a bell. Harold and his wife back at the apartments were worshippers, but I was otherwise completely in the dark about it. “I just moved here, actually. I’m not really familiar with this religion in particular, could you please tell me more about it?”
“Of course, my child! But in particular you say?” he asked with a look of surprise. “This is the religion of Ultarian, whom all worship. Were you perhaps raised in one of the cults?”
“Hold on, all? Like the whole world? This must be one popular religion if it’s going to compete against Christianity.”
“Of course! And it looks like you were raised away from His good word. But you should worry no longer, for by His grace you have arrived here to learn the truth! There is no other true religion other than that of Ultarian in His wonderful world, and you would do to quickly forget the lies of the cults!”
I nodded robotically, forcing my mouth to remain tightly shut. I had dozens- no, hundreds of questions, but it would probably be easier to let the priest tell me everything himself.
“Very well, then. Long ago, Ultarian came to us and showed us His grand vision. You see, He is the ultimate storyteller, and his desire is for His children to experience the joys and sorrows of a story in order to grow.”
“What kind of stories in particular?” I asked.
“All sorts of stories! Romance, thriller, betrayal. Anything that brings spice to life! For what is the purpose of existence if it weren’t for some excitement?”
“But what about when you want a break from it?” I quickly shot back. “When you’ve had enough excitement for a lifetime?”
“Enough excitement?” The priest looked down on me gravely. “Never, excitement is what it means to live! It’s the one purpose given to us, no other exists without it. What else would you do with your life if you weren’t to pursue excitement?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I’d actually be living my life, then.”
The priest remained silent as he processed my blasphemous words.
“I didn’t ask for this, any of this.” I slowly rose to my feet. “I finally got a second chance at life and I can’t even live it! Everyone’s just too goddamn horny to leave me alone, and even when I’d learned to ignore it, I got dragged into a war with the mob just to keep my fucking way of life!”
The older man stared at me for several seconds before opening his mouth. “A war with… my goodness, Ultarian has truly blessed you with an exciting life, my child! You should give Him thanks.”
“He can kiss my ass! If putting me through all of this is what makes him happy, then he’s not getting any of my worship! He doesn’t deserve to be a god.”
The priest’s brows slowly furrowed. What happiness he felt had boiled away under the burning anger that I could see in his eyes. “Leave, now,” he spat. “I pray that you will find guidance. And only then will you be welcome back here.”
I turned around and began to leave, not bothering to give the old man a response.I made sure to get a block away from the chapel before I opened my mouth.
“God dammit,” I whispered to myself as the mid-day sun shined into my eyes.
It fit. It fit perfectly, and I hated how much it did. Ultarian’s ideals explained everything about this place, but which came first? The god or his ideals? Which one of the two really deserved my hatred? And was Ultarian even real real, or did nobody know for sure like back on Earth? And if he was real, was he the one who brought me to this world?
I let out a sigh, shrugged my shoulders, and continued down the sidewalk. “Eh, even the insane sex cults back home make more sense than this Ultarian shit.”